Good Fight, Ugly Decision-Making?!

1/10/2016 8:59:20 PM

Photo credit: Bleacher Report

I saw the main event of UFC 195 last week. It’s been a very long while since the last time I have seen a very good fight at the MMA world.

Perhaps, a good fight; but with a ‘disgusting’ result. A split decision was awarded to Robbie Lawler; thus making his title defense successful once again despite his opponent Carlos Condit (the fourth contender for their division) dominating on majority of the fight.

Like seriously, when I saw the replays, it was quite clear that Rounds 1, 3 and 4 went in favor of Condit; while 5 were for Lawler, and the second period was quite a fair-odds game.

And especially when the statistics were flashed at the screen for few seconds, it’s very obvious that Condit were striking hard and performing very well.

But more than just numbers game, I think what happened to this fight was similar to the other clashes in combat sports. Take for instance, Pacquiao-Marquez III where despite the dominance laid down by the latter, it was still the Filipino top boxer who emerged victorious in a controversial decision. This is where every viewer was figuring out what happened and what went wrong (and even right upon understanding everything).

I guess, judges score based on not just every statistical and efficiency categories. It’s more than that. It can even be considered a different thing.

It’s as similar to a basketball game: it doesn’t matter if you’re outnumbered on other categories, be it rebounding, assist, defensive stuff (steals and blocks), or even by the number of players and efficiency ratings . At the end, it all boils down on how many points you have scored; and if it’s barely enough to win over your opponent.

Yes, it’s all about out-pointing your opponent.

So perhaps, that already speaks a lot. Though I think both fighters are agreeing with the sloppish decision. Lawler found a classical fight in Condit so he wanted to do it again. Condit, on the other hand, dropped a word that he though his effort was enough to dethrone Robbie. But no, even if he thought he had three out of five rounds.

Now, what could be the factor here? Is it because of “championship rounds” where it was a 1-1 despite an established dominance early in the contest? 

Maybe.

But fuck it. Sports science can be really a complicated subject. It's not just about the numbers. It also has physicality, efficiency, and whatsoever technicalities that has yet to be understood in a layman's term. And being an instant analyst will not make you a legitimate expert even for a short while.

Just let the rematch happen.

Author: slickmaster | © 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Flick Review: All You Need is Pag-Ibig

1/10/2016 12:57:03 PM

Photo credits: starcinema.abs-cbn.com

Seems the Star Cinema-Antonette Jadaone experiment turned out so well for the romcom scene, eh? Perhaps, it was since her project with then-Cinema One Original That Thing Called Tadhana days.

And All You Need is Pag-ibig may sound like too cliche or something with Kris Aquino being on “tackless-and-dealing-with-other’s-lovelife” self; but certainly it fared so well that it focused more on stories about the romances of both young and old. It’s like Aquino played a not-so-minimal role yet remained not-so-dull-yet-not-so-very-significant either. And the same goes with Derek Ramsay.

But you know? That is how you do a love story, Jadanone style. With animations and realizations as part of the formula, All You Ned is Pag-ibig clearly stated two things: first, romance is not just for the teeny-boppy (and sometimes, bitchy) ages. It applies to all. 

And second, love is not all about romance. While we enjoyed those sweet nothings between the roles of Mel and Eric (Jodi Sta. Maria and Ian Veneracion), it also showcased several tales of family relationships.

Those perhaps, are the lessons we should bear about love.

And if there’s another best supporting actress award, it should be given to Nova Villa. Sure, we may all know her by being Azon, Manay Dita, or Freddie Webb’s wife on Chicks-to-Chiks and Chika Chika Chicks; but apart from doing comedy, the veteran proved that her acing prowess can still stand the test of time as always-romantic Loisa, especially with Ronaldo Valdez as her partner Jaime.

It simply broke away from the stereotypes about love stories done on film without even the need of a clear degree of separation of one account to another and connecting them somewhere along the way.

Again, that is how a romantic comedy should be done. 

Verdict: 6.7

Author: slickmaster | © 2016 september twenty-eight productions

One vs. All

1/5/2016 12:56:59 PM

As far as the live tweets of WWE Monday Night RAW is concerned, Roman Reigns faced Sheamus with Mr. Vince McMahon as the match referee. Obviously this created buzzing stirs among wrestling fans, even if we all know it’s scripted as fuck.

Of course, we can’t help but to think of various results along the way. And that’s one reason why I love professional wrestling as an entertainment tool.

So, at the end Roman defeated Sheamus with three referees declaring the match. Obviously, conspiracy theories made by the Authority was made somewhere, with McMahon returning to the scene as the heelest of them all. 

And to think of it, the elder McMahon wanted Reigns to be the top face of this WWE generation right now and sadly creative people had done a lot of over-experiments leading to screwjobs along the way.

And at the end of the night, Vinny Mac declared Reigns will be defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship... In a Royal Rumble Match; the first since 1992. 

So is this another conspiracy theory planted by the authority on the juggernaut? I’ll say “Now we’re talking!” You know, Reigns has had this gimmick called ONE VS. ALL and proved it most of the times even since his days with The SHIELD. 

I just wish he could do more than just five moves, remain on his “man of few words” persona and once he snapped, he’s totally on his vicious self.

Now that’s a more exciting Royal Rumble to watch out for.

Author: slickmaster | © 2016 september twenty-eight productions

The #iBlog11 Experience (Part 2)

1/2/2016 11:01:02 AM

Saturday, 5th of December. I just had a brief nap from attending an EP launch. And prior to that, I had a new edition of my identity EAT SLEEP RANT REPEAT T-shirt, and moreover, attended the first day of the 11th Philippine Blogging Summit held at the Penthouse Bocobo Hall, UP College of Law in Quezon City.

Still, I managed to make it despite being late and the first talk was already underway with Jane T. Uymatiao tackling the power of anyone in using blog and social media. Mark Pere Madrona followed suit when he talked about the medium as the source of information as well as for the people on knowing what’s legit compared to what is not.

Also, during the morning, Christian Melanie Lee sparked a discussion on getting invites from the PR firms and avoiding the bad habit called “gatecrashing.”

Another part of the cautious topics was James Arom Mangun’s talk about Trolls and Cyber-Harassment; and Arpee Lazaro spoke about the dos and don'ts for an emergening venture called Food Blogging.

Before iBlog11 reached the halfway point of Day 2, insights about Blogging for Advocacy and Purposee became a worthy discussion to hear as Joemar Belleza tackled about using the venue for HIV Awareness; on how to netutralized the misconceptions brought by the sterotype and discrimination among the HIV victims and on how can we bloggers help spread awareness and help among them.

Event host Flowell Galindez introduced another “first” in iBlog11; and it’s called Faith-based Blogging with Lawrence Andrew Fernandez as its speaker; while Apple Allison Perez talked about being an ambassador for promoting Philippine Tourism through all virtual possible means without being tagged as a paid hack. Simply because we have a lot of good things here (sorry, Up Dharma Down!)

After lunch, Rey Baguio, Marco Polo Demo, and Glen Dimaandal had their respective sessions about how to improve your blog content; with DEMO’s Bloggers Need to L.I.E. Struck more on my mind (Level Up, Innovate and Evolve).

Joining them later on were the speakers Carlo Angelo Gonzales, Valerie Joy Deveza, and Roel Jan Manarang, as they speak on how to do a self-marketing and building an audience for your blog and influencing them in the process with the help of social media.

Also, the usage of tools were part of the discussion as Venchito Tampon, Jr., told us his 15 recommended blogging tools one must take for increasing traffic and link purposes; while Marites Manahan spoke about what people need to know about Twitter.

Donald Lim had a very interesting talk about the modern trends in advertising and mobile blogging; while Louie Sison gave seven tips on how to turn you blog as a hobby into a money-maker. And lastly, Sydney Dondon shared lessons in doing Affiliate Marketing and Blog Monetization.

Before the summit ends, iBlog11 organizers raffled several prizes, including T-shirts and a printer courtesy of Lazada. Turns out I was a sudden runaway winner for the latter. Hey, I didn’t saw it coming. Thanks a lot, iBlog and Lazada!

At the end of the day iBlog11 was still an enriching thing for the Philippine blogging industry considering everyone can be a blogger at their own right. And things like this should pave the way for a lot of us to take some time for learning and other activities.

Frankly enough, I had a lot of pages filled with anything and everything that involves iBlog11. It may come a bit later; but the saying goes, better late than never. 

And with the shorter time span come iBlog12, I couldn’t be more exciting. Will summer of 2016 come faster, please?

Author: slickmaster | © 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Flick Review: Walang Forever

1/2/2016 10:14:54 AM

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Walang Forever may appear to be another hellish romance movie with comedy and dramatic portions lying somewhere in between. But with the advent of the popular term called #hugot (or angst)in the emotional Filipinos, it’s quite more easy to stereotype Walang Forever; considering a lot of people arguing whether the F word really exists or not, especially at the context of romantic relationships.

Dan Villegas was a successful guy in adding the hugot flavor to English Only, Please. He, along with Anj Pessumal and Antonette Jadaone were the new breed of key players in doing such programs right now. No wonder why emotional angst and intellectual wits were the trending combo factors when it comes to making drama or romcoms right now.

And it's quite impressive too that Fernando Ortigas and EA Rocha invested a quality picture on romcoms, too!

It’s kinda effective to put Jericho Rosales and Jennylyn Mercado in the mix, with the latter obviously being the standout for the Best Actress accolade once again at the awards night of the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival. The two had built a good chemistry on-screen. 

However, I had a problem on how he got a terminal disease along the way? Because it shows no symptoms that’s why all of a sudden, his slowly demise appeared like an RKO outtanowhere? Perhaps, or maybe.

But nevertheless, this movie will make you think about the existence of forever. Perhaps on a deeper aspect, like how winning an improbable task of getting back, or how to deal with the stacking odds.

And in the process, make you believe on it.

I only had another problem: if Honor Thy Father wasn’t disqualified for the Best Picture, either WF will lose or at least give HTF a very good fight.

Verdict: 9

Author: slickmaster | © 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Weeknights to Remember: SlickMaster's Memorable Gigs of 2015 (Part 1)

12/31/2015 3:00:36 PM

The post was supposed to be named Fridays and Saturday Nights to Remember only to realized a few things: first, gigs are happening every single weeknight; second, most of them aren’t even planned by yours truly to attend; and third, I have been to almost 70 gigs for 2015.

2015 has been a heck of a good year for me as I discovered Philippine music anew -- and it broods at the place where minority of people knows -- the independent scene. Over the course of time, I attended about 50 events starting from a random night out that happened 24 January 2015 at Route 196. I was then supposed to watch my college friend whose already a musician.

And since then, the Philippine independent music scene became another world conquered by yours truly. I became part of a production group; I was posting anything about gigs for most of the time; and indie music also served as a venue for me to grow as opportunities came from out of nowhere -- be it writing or anything else like photography and videography.

Fast-forward to the year-end, despite attending the last one or two music events of this year from small-time gigs to the big or concert-level ones, I can say I had a lot of memorable evenings. 

Jensen and the Flips from the far-away angle

Tagaytay Art Beat (19 September 2015 / Museo Orlina / Docdef Productions)

Tagaytay Art Beat was perhaps the first of two lifestyle events I’ve been with. With all the preparation hype (plus I was also the contributing videographer), Art Beat turned out to be very successful as 1,200+ people occupied the garden/amphitheater of Ramon Orlina’s prized masterpiece venue for almost 11 hours of musical extravaganza. Plus the art exhibition galleries were worth the ticket, too!

What makes it more memorable is that it also became part of the Philippine trends on Twitter the following morning. Perhaps that makes it up for not-so-good signal around the area as most people arrived in Manila witnessing a Woodstock-like gathering. 

And you’re part of the hardworking men and women who made Tagaytay Art Beat possible. Now, isn’t that worth reminiscing?

Tandems 91

Dusk Til Dawn (17 July 2015 / Route 196 / Vandals on the Wall)

Music web portal Vandals on the Wall celebrated their second year of existence by putting up a special evening that seemed more than just one with the combined effort of Gabi Na Naman Productions and VOTW’s very own The Rest is Noise.

Giniling Festival

SaGuijo’s 11th Anniversary (3 October 2015 / Saguijo / Saguijo)

I rarely go to SaGuijo. But then, I have to be familiarized with the place considering the fact that SaGujo was the place-to-be at the South. And true enough for few reasons.

First, when I arrived by 5:30 in the afternoon, the place was already jam-packed.

Second, 16 bands performed during the evening, with Up Dharma Down billed at the middle of the event? It’s like a main event at the primetime hours.

And third: because SaGuijo will not be 11 years stronger if not for the strong fanbase.

Autotelic

Autotelic Birthday Bash (15 October 2015 / Route 196 / Otelik, Docdef Productions)

I admit: I have been a huge fan of this band since hearing them for the first time. Watching them live for like 1321464178461 times was never a tiring experience.

And celebrating their birthday with Docdef Productions, as well as hearing the duo of Gabby Alipe and John Dinopol on acoustics? Totally refreshing for me.

The Purplechickens

#FeteIndie2015 a.k.a. The 2015 Fete de la Musique Independent Music Stage (21 June 2015 / 12 Monkeys Music Pub and Hall / Docdef Productions, NDFY.me, Vandals on the Wall)

What makes it memorable? Simple answer: First time. 

Yes, it was the first time for me to attend a Fete De La Musique Philippines event (after a decade of dying to do so). Plus, it’s more memorable to think I got a break in music photography. 

And to think there are 19 musicians that rocked the indie stage for FDLM from 3:15 PM ‘til 2:45 AM of Sunday? Total package!

Farewell Fair Weather

JD On Stage Indie Music Awards (17 April 2015 / Whitespace Makati / Jack Daniel’s Philippines, Teamworks)

First time to hear the likes of Cynthia Alexander, Urbandub, and Flying Ipis on Stage. Plus seeing your favorite band Autotelic make it to the Top 3, and your friends Farewell Fair Weather winning the most-coveted distinction of being “The Chosen One.”

MilesExperience

MilesExperience Love Supreme Music Video Launch (16 July 2015 / Route 196 / Docdef Productions, 9 Roots)

MilesExperience, a boy-band from UST whom their music and sex appeal seemed to rock those kolehiyalas out there, launched their music video for their single Love Supreme in a holiday Thursday at Route 196.

And it’s no surprise this band were a bunch of badass mutherfuckers as the crowd reached its fire hazard level during their set; prompting yours truly to secure a breather by doing a back-door exit (laughs).

But seriously, MSex (as they call themselves) was one of the bands out there who can make sexy music and have a massive cult of followers in the process.

Mr. Bones and the Boneyard Circus

Docdef 100: In D’ Flow (28 November 2015 / Flow House Manila / Docdef Productions, Flow House Manila)

In D’ Flow is not just an ordinary concert as Flow House Manila also had a series of events on the side: DJ sets, live art painting, skateboard painting contest, and even offered their specialty called Flow Rider to VIP ticketholders.

I think it’s this time when Docdef goes all out, not just offering their signature of all-feel good music lineup. Yes, how about going a bit higher with Mr. Bones and the Boneyard Circus and Mayonnaise at the lineup?

PART 2

Author: slickmaster | ©2015, 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Playback: Autotelic – Gising

12/13/2015 10:59:24 AM
It seems for every single song that Autotelic performed on stage, there’s always this kind of vibe that made me either document them or just sing-along and dance to the tune, or do both.

But differing from their typical sound check en route to their first song, this version is quite different; perhaps a livelier one. And it draws closer to their signature sound.

Misteryoso may talk about literally spotting a mysterious lady which for instance gave a strange kind of affection. But Gising, is quite even stranger (though in some good sort). Like the quarreling worlds of dreams and reality (okay, I’m sounding not-so-poetic here).

Their early version actually sounds good, though when they did it as their buena mano on their usual sets, it just got better.



I actually recorded several versions of Gising during their gigs only to ended up hearing them on my road trips.

Now I can’t wait for their upcoming record soon. But I swear to anyone else: Gising is a heck-livelier when heard LIVE!

Author: slickmaster | ©2015 september twenty-eight productions