White hair chronicles XXXVII - Kenkoy

The Facebook campaign to change one's profile picture to a cartoon character from his childhood caught on among many of my FB pals. The campaign says it is an invasion of memories and aims to stop violence against children. Though I still don't know how that helps, I changed my profile picture to Kenkoy.

I remember Kenkoy from Liwayway magazine back in my grade shool days. Today not many knows who he is. Perhaps even some remember Kenkoy as the character in Mike Hanopol's Mr. Kenkoy. But Kenkoy came way before that. In Pinoy idiom kenkoy connotes a funny man.

Turning to the trusty web for the roots of Kenkoy, we stumble to this blog. The blog says Kenkoy "was a debonnair, bombastic, irreverent, hilarious, and best-loved ... "' Kenkoy's outfit kept up with the times but his trademark hairstyle, slicked back and reflecting a four-paneled window, remained. I think Kenkoy best personifies Juan dela Cruz.

Women's tennis album - Elena Dementieva

My second favorite tennis player, Elena Dementieva, has retired at 29. She never won a major but she won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She reached her highest ranking (no. 3) just last year. She retired as world no. 9. To my mind she was at the top 2 in the beauty department when she retired last October, just behind my favorite Ana Ivanovic.

Biggest jackpot won

Finally, the biggest lotto jackpot has been won! A lone bettor placed a bet on the 6 winning numbers and won more than 3 quarters of a billion pesos. Wow! That will make someone extremely happy while disappointing millions who now have their dreams of winning shot down. Many people have lost a small fortune chasing down that jackpot

Malacanan's decision to take back control of the PCSO is right, considering the legalities around it. But I think it was ill-timed. They should have waited for the jackpot to be won. In the previous administration, whenever a big jackpot was won, many people believe that the Palace had a hand in it. This time will not be different.

I contributed largely to the pot. I won some but I bet some more. I also churned out lots of statistics on the winning numbers. I will post them later.

White hair chronicles (XXXVI) goes to Lubang

This white hair chronicler went to Lubang Island last week after being last there 18 years ago. I spent vacations there many summers ago. The white hair generation remembers the splendid island's claim to fame,  Japanese WWII soldier Hiroo Onoda, who was found there 1974 after hiding in the jungles from the end of the war in 1945 until his surrender. A brave, if not lonely, straggle for 29 years.

My mother traces her roots to the island. I went back because a grand aunt died. She was 92. She used to be the eldest person on their street. The distinction now belongs to her younger brother, 87. Their father and mother both born in the 1800s lived up to their 90s. This white hair chronicler surely has the longevity genes.

The island is smaller than Siquijor. It has better beaches but is less developed for tourism. Needless to say, it has tremendous tourism potential. An evening at Lubang night is very similar to Siquijor's, minus the blaring videoke bars. A roll on-roll off boat takes you there from Manila's Pier 6. Once you set foot on the island, you'll feel transported back in time. Just 6 hours after boarding the boat at the hustler-filled pier, laid back Lubang lifestyle will lull you sleep.

I stayed a mere 15 hours. I will be back.

low tide

el fraile

their version of the tricycle looks like a baby jeepney

Lotto winners by the numbers

Using available data from PCSO covering the lotto (6/42, 6/45, 6/49, and 6/55) draws from January 2, 2002 to November 19, 2010:

• Number of draws - 3,039.
• Number of draws jackpot was won - 649.
• Number of jackpot winners - 908.
• Number of times with more than 1 jackpot winner - 171.
• Biggest jackpot won -PhP 347,836,903.20 (shared by 2 winners on Feb 22, 2009)
• Smallest jackpot won - PhP 3,000,000 (2 times)
• Most number of winners in a draw - 21 (they shared the PhP 4,748,265 jackpot on Feb 27, 2007)

These numbers suggest that during GMA's term, Filipinos steadily learned how to predict lotto winners. From 55 winners in 2002 winning an average of close to PhP 23 million jackpot, the number of winners grew to a high of 160 in 2007, averaging just over PhP12 million in jackpot. The number of jackpot winners in the last 6 months of GMA equals the total for the year 2003.

This means there is an unsung GMA legacy. There were clearly more lotto winners under her. The numbers do not indicate that there are more bettors. Conspiracy theorists smell a stink and they have other theories.