Pacman gobbles up the Tijuana Tornado

As expected, Manny Pacquiao won over Antonio Margarito, despite giving up 17 pounds in weight, 5 inches in height, and 6 inches in reach. Margarito is the biggest opponent Pacman ever faced, while Pacman is the smallest Margarito opponent in 15 years. The sportscasters who covered the fight never ran out of superlatives in talking about our sports hero. This should goad the egoistic Mayweather into accepting a fight.

The victory will be the talk of the town for at least a week. We will be discussing not just the boxing win per se since the Pacquiao phenomenon transcends over many aspects of Filipino life. Pacman's interest in show business, other sports, product endorsements, and politics mean Filipinos will be talking about many other highlights of the fight.

- The inclusion of politicians in his entourage leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Panira talaga ng eksena pag kasama ang may sabit.

-  I saw an overly excited Kenneth Duremdes waving a flag in the crowd.
-  Dr. Belo is doing a tremendous job on Jinkee. She now looks prettier than her identical twin sister.
- The singer who sang the Philippine national anthem was doing it right until the last 2 words, but I'm nitpicking.
- Still the surest way to make men stand erect is make voluptuous blondes wearing pekpek shorts sing the national anthem.
- Margarito's son looked nervous before the fight but his parents were beaming. Perhaps he knows what happened to Pac's previous victims. His parents surely know what 3 million dollars is.
- Pacman may have indicated that he is losing interest in boxing. He did not go for the knockout and said they are not there to kill each other. What happened to the killer's instinct that Pacman fans knew?
- Pacman is a big loser from the appreciation of the peso. His 20 million dollar purse is now effectively 40 million pesos lower. But it is still like winning the biggest lotto jackpot ever twice over.
-Pacman is the man! Unlike before the Barrera fight when nobody, even Michael Buffer, cannot pronounce Pacquiao, everybody knows how to say Pacquiao.
some photos from Yahoo

GrandLotto 6/55 odds - 1 in 28,989,675

Lotto Game	Lotto 6/42	MegaLotto 6/45	SuperLotto 6/49	Grand Lotto 6/55
Numbers in Pool	42	45	49	55
Chosen	6	6	6	6
No. of combinations	5,245,786	8,145,060	13,983,816	28,989,675
Amount needed to bet for all combinations	P 52,457,860	P 81,450,600	P 279,676,320	P 579,793,500

The biggest jackpot prize ever in Philippine lotto will go to the Grand Lotto 6/55 bettor(s) who will conjure up the winning 6 number combination from a pool of 55 numbers. The total number of possible combinations is just under 29 million. The odds of winning are insane, but more insane odds were those of the defunct PowerLotto 5/55+1, which the Grand Lotto replaced. In the old Power Lotto, the odds are 1 in 35 million, and a ticket costs 50 pesos. The Grand Lotto tickets cost just 20 pesos. The old PowerLotto gave the least bang for the buck.

Despite the odds, expect dreamy eyed Pinoys to queue up the betting booths. Even more perplexing are the multiple winners that normally crop up in the megamillion draws. Whenever multiple winners share the top prize, many believe that Palace people, especially in the previous administration, dipped their hands into the money pool. But people don't mind and continue to dream on. After all, 20 pesos can buy a dream.

White hair chronicles XXXV - Wellness is in, all for a happy ending

I had some quick local travels to various destinations these past few weeks. I noticed some peculiarities which I didn't notice in the places I've been to before. For instance, Tacloban now implements jaywalking laws and I think it has the most number of drugstores per capita. Tuguegarao must have the highest density of tricycles in the country. Cebu is open to businesses that Mayor Lim enjoys closing. Legazpi, a very clean city like Palawan, has many unabashed tricycle drivers/pimps.

A common denominator in all these cities is the apparent wellness (read: massage/spa) boom everywhere. I saw many establishments have sprouted all over the country. A friend has even taken a new short-lived career as a manager of one of these services in Metro Manila.

I think no city beats Dagupan city in this aspect. I saw at least a spa/massage clinic in every block in downtown Dagupan. And they are fully booked well into the night. That's a sharp contrast with General Santos City. Sure there are massage/spas around but they don't have the level of activity as in the other cities.

It's been a generation since the initial massage business boom back in the college days of this white hair chronicler. The industry now has taken a more professional tack. There is no more stigma in being spotted within the vicinity of Lighthauz, Emerald, Maalikaya, Crown, Macho and the like. This white hair chronicler and his generation indeed truly need the soothing experience the wellness spas offer. A happy ending is still welcome.

Now, that's a good business name. Happy Ending Massage Parlor - HEMP. ;)

White hair chronicles XXXIV - A gleek not too glad with Glee

I like Glee. Not just its music but also its effort to foster tolerance of gays, minorities, unwed moms, and (musical)  geeks. Filipinos have added reason to like it with the entry of Charice.

I am surprised that not a whimper has been raised by some sectors on the oversexed themes of late. I thought the show got away with it last season. Now it pushes the envelope further.

I am no prude and I have no problem with the mature theme - if the show is about adults or at least college life. There is a wealth of comic material in oversexed characters. I love the adult characters and situation in The Big Bang Theory and How I met Your Mother. But Glee is about high school although the actors are definitely beyond their college years. Our high school students are 12-16 years old. Are we saying that the Glee culture is acceptable behavior for our high school kids?

Ok na sana, may miss lang! (It would have been okay, but for Mai Mislang)

Many welcome PNoy's push for the use of social networking sites in governance. After all, Filipinos are early adopters. But I'm sure nobody foresaw the diplomatic faux pas that can ensue from over confident government underlings.

Definitely, Mai Mislang was out of bounds when she tweeted her displeasure about the wine served at the state dinner. Her tweet about the crossing Vietnam's streets as the surest way to day can be forgiven for it could have reflected more on her non-ability to properly cross a street. Her tweet about 'walang pogi dito' was in Tagalog. It might not immediately offend the Vietnamese as they can counter - maganda ka ba? - 'Bạn nghĩ bạn là đẹp? '

I doubt that the Vietnamese would have noticed her tweets if not Filipinos had pointed them out first. Who among the Vietnamese follow her anyway? But trust some Filipinos' ability to find ways to denigrate a countryman. Much more so if she works for PNoy.

Mai Mislang has since deleted the offensive tweets. She has even deleted her account. Even her Facebook account is deactivated, at the least. She has apologized. She has learned her lesson the hard way. Her immediate boss, Ricky Carandang, has swept the matter under the rug. Vietnam didn't mind the tweets at all.

It is the social networking people who are quick to pounce on PNoy and his team. Not long after Mai's apology, a bogus Facebook account surfaced. If this gathers critical mass, Mai will be back to singing the blues in no time.