Why I think Manny did deserve the win over Marquez (Pacquiao VS Marques III)
Indeed it was a very close fight and one where I think a draw would be acceptable. But given the win by majority decision of Pacquiao being questioned by many, I didn’t expect to have a different opinion until I watched the whole fight 2 days later where I could rewind and playback moments of the fight. The final scores were: 114-114, 115-113, 116-112 in favor of Manny Pacquiao. Both fighters had injuries but there were no knockdowns from either fighter in the whole fight. Overall, Pacquiao was not as aggressive as his previous fights but he also knew Marquez well than any of us and I think he was careful and fought with more strategy keeping in mind his opponent’s strength in counter-punching.
So why did I say Manny did deserve the win? Let’s look at this more objectively:
1. Manny had better statistical performance.
Not by much but Paquiao threw more punches and had more landed in. Marquez got a little bit more accuracy but this is boxing and not archery so more landed punches are better.
2. Juan Marquez got complacent in the last round when his trainer told him he’s winning.
Careful he doesn’t catch you with one punch and you down. Because then everything will be drop but you’re winning!…….the fight is yours! -Marquez’s Trainer to Marquez before the 12th round.
His trainer shouldn’t have said this. Unless he is a judge or can see into the future, he shouldn’t plant ideas in his fighter’s head. His advice caused Marquez to play the last round safely thinking he had the fight but it may have actually cost him as Pacquiao did not let up in the last round. When the last round ended, Marquez was throwing his hands up and jumping up and down the ropes thinking he had won while Pacquiao went back to his corner to pray as he always does whether win or lose.
In contrast, Pacquiao’s own trainer just told him to go out there and fight.
3. Marquez steps on Pacquiao several times in the fight.
Its arguable whether this is intentional or not. Marquez never really looked down on Pacquiao’s foot but some say you don’t need to if you have planned and practiced to fight dirty. Some say its natural because Manny is a southpaw. Either way, it did happen whether intentional or not.
4. Marquez gave Pacquiao a headbutt in the 10th round.
Again, intentional or not, this did happen. The sports commission confirmed it. The headbutt caused a major cut in Pacquiao’s right eyebrow. Even if this was not scored, the hurt and pain it will cause Manny for the next few rounds is there.
5. Marquez gave a flashier performance, Manny was more consistent.
While both fighters were conservative throughout, Marquez did show more flashier punches. Great punches that would make excellent replays and Internet pictures. However if you look closer and objectively, Pacquiao gave back enough counter punches as well though not as great looking.
If Marquez had been able to knockdown Manny, that would be a different story. Since it didn’t, this is not the movies and flashier moves does not mean a better fight even if it does look better on TV.
Conclusion
All in all, this 3rd fight between Manny and Marquez did nothing to forever define who is the better fighter. There is an humor image circulating in the social networks on this. I would have been content if the fight was a draw but I think the judges got it right this time. Especially the one that gave the 115-113 score as indeed this is a close one.
Mitchelle’s Sweet Kiss is False Advertising
I bought a coupon for a pre-ordered cake from Mitchelle’s Sweet Kiss on a box of Angry Birds cupcakes. The advertised photo was great but what I got was so different. I checked my photo when I got home and was really disappointed. See image for your own judgement. I am so sorry to the recipient of this cake. Sorry.
TV Series Review: Game of Thrones
I just finished a recent TV series by HBO called Game of Thrones. The series is based on author George R.R. Martin’s best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of seven planned fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones. Season 1 just finished and Season 2 will start shooting in July 2011 to be aired in 2012.
Its a short 10-episode series spanning 1 hour per episode. I will say outright that the series is good. Good enough that I enjoyed enough to blog about it. The setpiece is a fantasy world in the medieval era where the balance of power is a delicate thing and you never know who are your real friends.
The series is filled with nudity and violence but they are all essential to deliver the ambiance and feel of the times. Do not watch if you are faint hearted at the sight of blood because there is a good deal of it.
I love how the show has focus on the story telling but yet has just enough of the action to keep it interesting. The show’s writers are well enough to also leave cliff-hangers at the end of each episode to keep you wanting to go to the next one.
Overall, this is a 4 out of 5 for me as there could be room for improvement but is definitely a must-watch for fantasy enthusiasts.
Red Cross 72-hour Survival Kit
Below is a list of important items to have ready in the event of a disaster. Store these in a location that’s easily accessible but safely out of reach for young children. Remember to get the entire family involved in preparation because disaster preparedness is everybody’s business.
This kit is enough to cover a family of 5.
Original content and post courtesy of Philippine Red Cross. Thank you very much to whoever made the time and effort to provide the information.
WATER
✓ 3 bottles of DRINKING WATER (5 gallons/bottle)
FOOD ITEMS
✓ 10 kilos RICE
✓ 10 cans CANNED GOODS (2 cans meatloaf, 2 cans corned beef, 6 cans sardines)
✓ 7 pouches INSTANT NOODLESs
✓ 1 kilo SUGAR
✓ 1/2 kilo SALT
✓ 1 liter VEGETABLE OIL
✓ 1 pack ASSORTED BISCUITS
✓ 1 pack CANDIES or CHOCOLATES
NON-FOOD ITEMS
✓ 2 pieces FLASHLIGHTS with extra batteries
✓ 1 piece AM/FM RADIO TRANSISTOR with extra batteries
✓ 5 pieces WHISTLE (or 1 whistle/person)
✓ 1 piece POCKET KNIFE/MULTI-PURPOSE TOOL with can opener
✓ 1 piece LIGHTER or 1 BOX OF MATCHES
✓ 1 roll PLASTIC OR GARBAGE BAG WITH TIE (medium)
✓ 1 set EXTRA CLOTHING FOR EACH MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
✓ 5 pieces RAIN GEAR
✓ 1 piece WATERPROOF ENVELOPE (containing copies of personal documents, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies, etc.)
✓ 1 piece DUCT TAPE
✓ 1 pair SCISSORS
✓ 1 set of GAMES AND ACTIVITIES for children
✓ 5 pieces FAMILY EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION CARD
HYGIENE KIT ITEMS
✓ 2 bars SOAP
✓ 5 pieces TOOTHBRUSHES
✓ 1 tube TOOTHPASTE (225 grams)
✓ 2 pieces SANITARY NAPKIN
✓ 5 pieces PERSONAL TOWEL (14″ x 27″)
✓ 5 sets CLEAN CLOTHES (long-sleeved shirt/long pants/underwear)
✓ 2 rolls TOILET PAPER
✓ 1 pack COTTON BUDS (100 pieces)
✓ 1 bar DETERGENT SOAP
FIRST AID KIT
✓ 20 pieces STERILE GAUZE PADS (4×4)
✓ 4 pieces SANITARY NAPKIN
✓ 6 pieces ROLLER GAUZE BANDAGE (4″)
✓ 6 pieces ROLLER ELASTIC BANDAGE (4″)
✓ 4 pieces TRIANGULAR BANDAGE
✓ 3 pieces PLASTER/ADHESIVE TAPE (1″ width)
✓ 30 pieces BAND-AID ADHESIVE STRIPS (assorted sizes)
✓ 1 piece BANDAGE SCISSOR
✓ 1 piece TWEEZER (plastic)
✓ 3 pairs STERILE GLOVES (medium)
✓ 2 pieces PERSONAL FACE MASKS
✓ 5 pieces TONGUE DEPRESSORS
✓ 10 pieces COTTON APPLICATORS
✓ 1 bottle POVIDONE IODINE (100ml)
✓ 1 bottle HAND SANITIZER (100ml)
✓ 1 bottle CALAMINE LOTION (50ml)
✓ 1 tube BURN OINTMENT (25g)
✓ 1 piece PENLIGHT
✓ 1 piece THERMOMETER
✓ 1 piece CPR ONE-WAY VALVE FACE SHIELD
✓ 1 piece INSTANT COLD COMPRESS
✓ 2 bottles DISTILLED WATER (500ml)
✓ 1 piece EMERGENCY CALL CARD
✓ 1 booklet FIRST AID/EMERGENCY GUIDE
✓ 2 pieces EMERGENCY THERMAL BLANKET
✓ 1 piece CLEAR PLASTIC CONTAINER BOX (Water Proof)
COMMON MEDICATION
✓ 15 tablets PARACETAMOL (500mg)
✓ 15 tablets IBUPROFEN (200mg)
✓ 15 tablets LOPERAMIDE HYDROCHLORIDE (2mg)
✓ 15 tablets ANTIHISTAMINE (10mg)
✓ 10 pieces ORESOL PACK
Hostage Taking in Philippines End in Tragedy
Manila, Philippines. After 12 hours of hostage taking drama, it all ends in tragedy. Some hostages were released early, some were killed, and some survived. Exact counts are not yet known as of this writing but what is really sad here is the deaths could have been prevented. The handling of the situation by was so poor by the local police that it is really sad and shameful. So many mistakes had been committed that I do not even know where to begin.
Quick backgrounder on the situation: On August 23, 2010, Monday, a discharged ex-police captain by the name of Rolando Mendoza took hostage of a bus in Manila, Philippines. The officer has been dismissed on grounds of possible drug charges. Charges he denies. Whatever, the case, the demands of the hostage taker are that he wants his case reviewed and to be re-instated.
While the actions of the man is clearly misguided, the overall handling is really bad. The hostage taker already released hostages early in the day, mostly elderly and children. He asked for food and gas for the bus’s air conditioning. He gave a 3pm deadline but the deadline passed without incident.
At around 7pm-ish, the police arrested his brother and some relatives without cause in front of TV. His brother was claiming that the police would harm him in revenge for his brother’s action. The hostage taker’s brother refused to move on the floor and claims he wants to either be let into bus to talk his brother down or be taken into custody of media for safety. The police eventually pulled him off the ground, cuffed him, and shoved him into a squad car. They arrested him anyway on supposed charges of being an accomplice. At this development, the hostage taker went mad that they took his brother and proceeded to give a 5 minute window to return his brother who is being sent to a camp. When his brother’s release did not happen, he proceeded to kill a few hostages. Everything went downhill from there. SWAT tried to storm the bus after the driver slipped out but it was mostly failed attempts.
The event finished after finally throwing in tear gasses that prompted the suspect to made bad movements that led to him to being shot by a sniper.
What went wrong? Here are some of the gripes I had about the mishandling of the event.
1. During most of the day, the police failed to properly secure the area. It should have been properly cordoned off and people moved back. In failure of this, a bystander was shot by a stray bullet. Pure luck the bystander lives. Then at the end of the event after the hostage taker was shot, bystanders stormed the bus area and it was chaos. I am pretty sure this hindered the retrieval operations and movement of authorities.
2. Failure of Media Blackout. Where is it right that live broadcast of police actions, activities are broadcasted on mass media? The hostage taker has full access to police movement with clear video if he had a TV or a play-by-play guide if he is relying on radio.
3. Focusing on the brother who is not a threat. The police focused on arresting him in front of the media. I cannot understand why they spend so much focus and effort on a guy clinging to the ground who is in no way a threat to lives of hostages instead of focusing on the armed hostage taker in the bus? Whether the guy is really an accomplice or not, figure it out later. He is clearly not an immediate threat to the hostage’s lives. They should have focused on the bus and made efforts to investigate on the brother’s background and possible involvement. The wrong move of public arrest led to the hostage taker’s emotional outburst and killing hostages. Provoking the hostage taker does not make good sense. They should be tiring him out.
4. Half-hearted effort in storming the bus. When the bus driver escaped and told everyone that people are dead, police decided after maybe 10 mins to start assaulting the bus. However, they just did over an hour of window smashing, door pulling (and failing) and poking around. They even failed to properly grip the smashing hammer and on several occasions throwing the hammer into the bus by accident. I would have thought that they should pop a few windows open, flashbang the place and stormed in. Should be quick and simple. Not an “hour long assault”. And oh yea, the official excuse of not using teargas earlier was because they do not have gas masks. Sheesh, I am sure Hong Kong would have sent us gas masks over if they knew we needed them. LOL.
Argh, this is already a very long post. I just really feel bad for the hostages. Lives could have been saved if our authorities had been better prepared, better trained, and better led. This is a failure of all sorts and it will be the people and the nation that burdens the shame it brings to our country.
Getting Healthcare Abroad at National University Hospital (NUH) in Singapore
I have recently just came back a few weeks ago from a medical trip to Singapore. It was to accompany my mom to undergo surgery of the surgical spine to take care of a problem she had been enduring for the past 2 years. While I will not discuss more on the medical case for my mom’s privacy, I would like to share my experiences with the trip and hope this can help anyone considering offshore healthcare.
We went to Singapore’s National University Hospital (NUH). They are one of the larger government managed hospitals in Singapore with the other one being Singapore General Hospital. We chose NUH because we already had prior good experiences here. They have well equipped facilities, courteous and properly trained staff, and a clean modern environment.
So how does one avail of healthcare abroad? Here are some of the things you need to do:
1. Get medical diagnosis and tests locally. Do some of your tests here locally. While you may or may not have any procedures done locally, it is always good to be prepared. Think of the foreign medical advice as second opinion. Also, by having some of your tests done before your trip, you can make sure the first consultation with your foreign physician is alot more productive since you can already show him results recently taken before your trip. More often than not, he may ask you to repeat the tests using their facilities for his confirmation and also to eliminate unknown factors for him since he is unfamiliar with the quality of the equipment used to take your first exam. However, think of this as confirmation of results rather than double costs. I would much rather pay for confirmation of data rather than mistreatment.
2. Contact NUH International Patient Liason Center or IPLC as they call it. I would have posted a picture of the office but they disallow photo taking. They have experienced and professional staff that will provide you assistance and hospitality before, during, and after your trip. You can contact them via email or phone and they can help recommend you the right doctor, find you lodging, set appointments, and help you with directions. They can do alot more than that and you can just refer to their website for more information. However, I must warn you that they now have a call center to field some emails and calls. The call center personnel in my opinion is less qualified and have poorer service. Try to talk to the in-house personnel if possible or keep that in mind so you can be more patient when dealing with the call center agent. During our trip, the in-house person that was very helpful was ‘Steve’. He is the best!
3. Buy a Plane Ticket. Once you have worked out with IPLC your doctor’s schedule and have set an appointment, it is now time to book your plane ticket. To save yourself money from hotel expenses, book to arrive a day before your appointment and to book your return flight roughly 5-7 days later depending on how long you think you will need. Just for reference, it is possible to arrive Day 1, consult on Day 2, perform tests on Day 2-3, consult again on Day 4, perform treatment or surgery on Day 5-6. Return Home on Day 7. (or more if your procedure requires you to recover more prior to taking flights).
It is very easy to book and buy your plane tickets as well. Check out the websites of PAL, Cebu Pacific, or Singapore Airlines and you should be on your way to Singapore soon.
4. Reserve your hotel/lodging. Now that you have your dates and length of stay, you can book and reserve your hotel and lodging. There are many hotels around Singapore and it is up to you to book the classiness of your lodging depending to your budget. Remember that you will be out of your room most of the time and at the hospital. Ask IPLC before hand too if the patient may need to be confined so you will not book extra rooms or extra beds unnecessarily. I would suggest you book a hotel that is near an MRT station for convenience. This is because there is no MRT station at the hospital but they have a free shuttle service running every 10 minutes shuttling people to and from a nearby MRT station. At the time of this writing, it is the Dover Station on the East-West (green) line. One recommendation is the many hotels around Chinatown. You can look for Furama City Center, Hotel 81 or some others in that area. They are 2-4 minutes walk to an MRT Station and is not many stops away from Dover where the shuttle bus is waiting.
Don’t bother trying to look for hotels already in Dover. I tried. The nearest ones are not really near the MRT Station where the free shuttle bus is. One side of the Dover MRT station is the Polytechnic University while the other side is forestry.
5. Getting to NUH upon arrival. From the airport, take a taxi or your hotel transfer or any arrangements you may have IPLC setup for you to your place of stay. When you do need to get to NUH, there are several ways. You can find the details on this link: Getting to NUH.
As mentioned before, my suggestion is to stay in Chinatown and use the MRT to get to Dover station and take the free shuttle bus. This is the most cost effective, convenient method. I will show below the map and markings of the stations. I suggested Chinatown because the stations along the green line is mostly residential, offices, and academic. As a visitor, Chinatown offers more shops, hotels, restaurants, banks, money changers, taxi and bus stands, etc. All your needs as a visitor even for a medical trip will be more accessible in Chinatown while still being a few stations away to Dover.
Once you are at NUH, find IPLC and they can take care of you from there. For reference, here is the are map of NUH as of this writing.
There, I think this is quite a long post but I hope this should be able to get you started if you are considering healthcare options in Singapore. I think its a good option to consider especially if the medical condition is like surgery or something. Everything is well organized, all your information and test results are given to you in a CD at the end of your trip, all medicines are properly prescribed and labelled, and the cost is often the same or just a little more expensive. (For our last trip, it actually costs less than what would have costed us in Manila. We were pleasantly surprised).
Feel free to post comments and suggestions as always. Thanks for reading.
Lupang Arenda Medical Mission (Oct. 18, 2009)
I have been privileged to serve the people of Lupang Arenda last Sunday alongside wonderful people. I was part of a multi-sectoral team that helped organize this event through the support of Red Cross Rizal Chapter. We went to Lupang Arenda(its near Laguna De Bay in East Taytay, Rizal). There are about 50,000-80,000 people in that area that had been affected by Typhoon Ondoy. We went as one group and we were able to setup 3 medical units and 1 surgical station. We served over 900 patients and we had nearly 200 volunteers. The patients served for the most part were not only diagnosed/treated but comforted to some degree. The people I went with were very caring and I can see the genuine gratitude of the people from Lupang Arenda as we were the first and only group to give them a medical mission as of this writing.
I am grateful and forever glad to know that in times of need, there are men and women who can rise to the occasion. See below for the video of our medical mission. (warning: video may take some time to load as I crammed over 100 pictures into one video)
While I will be sure to miss out some (and my sincerest apologies), here are some of the companies and individuals I remember that has been supportive of the mission. (In no particular order and I do not mention individuals anymore when associated with a company).
- Red Cross Rizal Chapter
- Red Cross Makati Branch
- MediCall
- Philippine Medical Association
- Makati Med
- Intelinet Global
- Dasmarinas Village Association and Barangay Dasmarinas
- Star Paper Corporation
- i4 Asia Incorporated
- Assessment Analytics
- PLDT
- Smart
- Globe
- Sykes
- Eximius BPO
- Lyon Couriers
- Northstar Logistics
- MapCentral
- Luis Galvez and Udit Galvez
- Jo-an Uy
- Jackie Orbon
- Mir Mapagu
- Benjo Ramos
- Christine Zarandin
- Atty. Fortun
- Josh
- Alex
- Angela
- Nadz
- Allan
- Kris Corpuz
- Van Capalungan
- Tin, Honey, and Kate
- Arman Taylo and Steffen Uy
- …and to the people of Lupang Arenda who has been so nice to us
Thank you everyone for making this a success and my warmest regard to you all.
Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) Video
This is a very good video that really shows how bad the storm is. However, there are scenes of horror that we cannot yet imagine without being there. It really is a sad tragedy. Working the past few days with Red Cross has opened my eyes to many people I highly respect. The drive for the common good and the desire to help. May we get through this soon.
Typhoon Ondoy Floods Metro Manila
On September 26, 2009, Metro Manila experienced one of its worst flooding ever. Thousands of people were stranded and the death toll has already risen to 75 as of this writing. What started as continuous rain on a quiet Friday night silently turned into a national calamity overnight. Dams were open to prevent overflow and that in turn added to the drainage problems Metro Manila is already experiencing.
The floods quickly rose and forced people to seek shelter on top of their roofs. Whole subdivisions were submerged, structures collapsed, cars flooded in. Some were even to be unfortunately to be trapped and drowned. Rescuers responded swiftly but were met with strong resistance in the currents. They have rubber boats but they lack motorized boats that can fight through the current.
All government agencies were working hand in hand with private sectors from foundation, media organizations, multinational corporatations, to the next door neighbor volunteer. The Filipino has shown tremendous spirit and care today. Everyone contributed in their own ways through donations in kind or cash, volunteer efforts, or information dissemination.
After 24 hours, there are still people waiting to be rescued but most of the nation is already cleaning up and getting back up. A next typhoon(Pepeng) is coming in a few days. I hope its not as bad and people could recover quickly enough from Ondoy to prepare for Pepeng.
Avatar Trailer and Sneak Preview – A James Cameron Film
One morning last week, I was very lucky. I was driving on my way to work and suddenly, the DJ of the radio station I am listening to blurts out “Caller#3 gets an exclusive invite to the first ever sneak preview of ‘Avatar’.”
I have no idea what that was but hey, why not? Ring Ring Ring…Guess what, I am caller #3. The stars must be lined up right. =)
Anyway, fast forward to present. I just came home tonight from the sneak preview that was held in an IMAX Theater. I must say, what I saw blew me away. At the end of the 20 minutes preview screening, me and everyone else around was clapping. I mean, how often do you see the audience in a theater clapping to the film?
Here’s the plot summary from IMDB
“In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.”
And blah blah blah, if your still reading this and not watching the trailer? Thanks, but you should be hitting the play button soon.
Lastly, if you find this trailer awesome, imagine watching it in 3D. Its frickin amazing! I always found IMAX to be expensive but this is one movie I will shell out for. It was also rumored that James Cameron turned down eight trailers from FOX because he wasn’t satisfied. He eventually made it himself so rumored.
More info about the movie at avatarmovie.com
Hello,
