And there are times of overdoing humor

The focus is on the topmost panel. The previous panel (from the previous page which is not shown here) "shows" crunching sounds illustrating that someone is eating outside the window. The top panel on this page shows that it's Spider-man, eavesdropping on the Jamesons' argument.

Spider-man eating popcorn? How's he doing it while having his mask on? I'd believe he'd get the bottom half of his mask up (just like when he's doing his kisses - dang, of all the references to make). And does Spider-man really have the time to go get some popcorn before unexpectedly seeing the two Jamesons go at their argument?

The purpose of the humor is understandable. It is also unbelievable.

This is comic book world though.

Brownout!!! (or blackout, as it is properly termed)

Last February when I was supposed to conduct a Conflux Launch Party, Dumaguete City got a rude awakening with the city-wide flooding. Almost 3 months after and with another Magic set in mind (and a supposed trip that got canceled because Customs wouldn't let the products through), I'm stuck here where there hasn't been any electricity for 21 hours and counting.

And I thought I've had worse in Iligan City during Aquino's power crisis. Back then, the number of hours that mattered was the hours that we would have electricity and not the number of hours of not having any.

It's dangerous to walk in the streets when there's no light. True, Dumaguete City is supposed to be a safe city but without street lights, I don't think so. Having no street lights is the perfect invitation for motorcycle-riding robbers to poke a gun-like metal object on the back of an unsuspecting streetwalker and ask for their precious wallet and cell phone.

Well, there are at least 2 things to be happy about (and I'm always looking at the bright side of things):

1. It's a further opportunity to save the Earth.
2. It's a preview of what would happen if "The Day After Tomorrow" comes.

The NBA playoffs are finally here!

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 8 Detroit

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Chicago

No. 3 Orlando vs. No. 6 Philadelphia

No. 4 Atlanta vs. No. 5 Miami

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 L.A. Lakers vs. No. 8 Utah

No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 New Orleans

No. 3 San Antonio vs. No. 6 Dallas

No. 4 Portland vs. No. 5 Houston

Some quick comments:

Detroit at number 8. Wow! My favorite team and consistent playoff bound team ends up at number 8, barely making it to the postseason and holding off the Charlotte Bobcats (of all teams!). As how it's always said, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Detroit will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. Back then, it used to be a second round match up, with both Detroit and Cleveland ending in the top 4 in the Eastern Conference standings.

If the Cleveland versus Detroit match up is not going to be as exciting as the previous years, then the East's match up to watch is the Miami at Atlanta game. Who would have thought that the Hawks would grab the 4th spot in the East? Who would have thought that the Heat would be back with a rookie coach handling the reins. Of course, Dwyane Wade has taken the mantle of Superman for Miami.

Utah finishes 8th and Dallas jumps to 6th in the Western Conference. And here I thought that the Dallas Mavericks were doing a Detroit Piston falling mightily. Poor Utah. They draw the mighty LA Lakers in the first round. I'm pretty sure they won't just roll over and lose easily.

New Orleans is the West's version of the Detroit Pistons. The former 2nd seed is at a lowly 7th this year but that doesn't mean that they're a bad team. But they do have the (un)fortunate situation of drawing the Denver Nuggets (also a surprise as the 2nd seed).

Portland is a surprise at number 4. Like the Miami Heat in the East, Portland returns to the postseason after a near appearance in 2008. They have the homecourt advantage against the Houston Rockets, who are looking for their first playoff series win. This should be fun to watch.

It's San Antonio versus Dallas in the first round. Like the Cavaliers versus Pistons, these two teams are old rivals. Now they meet in the first round.

Predictions:

Cleveland over Detroit in 5 (and prompting another change from Joe Dumars!).

Boston over Chicago in 4 (that's quite a bold prediction but it hinges on the health of KG).

Orlando over Philadelphia in 6.

Atlanta over Miami in 7 (this series could be all about Wade).

LA Lakers over Utah in 7 (Jerry Sloan won't back down on this one).

New Orleans over Denver in 6 (upset alert!).

Dallas over San Antonio in 7 (Manu Ginobili will be sorely missed).

Houston over Portland in 6 (Houston finally wins a playoff series).

It's looking clearer and clearer that we'll have a Cleveland versus LA Lakers NBA Finals. LeBron versus Kobe. Nike is going to be wearing a smile the whole series and so will David Stern.

A guess at From the Vault: Exiled

Somehow, with just too much time before I go on a vacation and the persistence of trying to predict the list for Wizards' From the Vault: Exiled, I've come up with:

From the supposed spoiled pack from April 1's Draft Viewer:
Balance - $4
Sol Ring - max at $15 for the most recent version
Land Tax - $5
Mind Twist - $3 or $4
Skullclamp - $2.50

Since the essence of From the Vault: Exiled is that the cards are/have been restricted, Tarmogoyf, Umezawa's Jitte and the rest of the non-restricted cards from the said Draft Viewer have been removed.

Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall have been removed from the list also because they are currently in Wizards' Reserved List.

5 cards remain and they all have mellow prices.

Here's where the wild theory comes into play once more:
Mana Vault - $2.50 - $3
Voltaic Key - $4
Disciple of the Vault - $0.50
Vault of Whispers - $0.75

These are cards that are featured in the prank From the Vault: Vault announcement. Since I considered Disciple of the Vault as a possible inclusion in a post at a forum, why not some of the other "vault" cards being featured. It somehow makes sense. The three other cards have been on the Restricted List.

Further look at the Draft Viewer (where I got the list that had the Tarmogoyf, Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, etc. list), there's:

Enlightened Tutor - $6

The Enlightened Tutor is a bit of a reach but for prediction's sake, it's in.

That's a total of 10 cards so far.

The breakdown is as follows:
White - 3
Black - 2
Land - 1
Artifacts (without counting the artifact land) - 4

Red, blue, and green has to be represented of course. Wizards probably would not want a product to be favoring (or not favoring) certain colors in the color pie. A quick look at what's possible reveals (note: anything above $5 has been removed):

Brainstorm $1
Channel $0.50
Crop Rotation $0.50
Fact or Fiction $3
Frantic Search $0.50
Gush $1
Hermit Druid $1.50
Kird Ape (varied prices)
Merchant Scroll $2
Mind's Desire $3.50
Orcish Oriflamme $0.25
Ponder $1
Rebirth $0.50
Recall $0.50
Regrowth $1
Rukh Egg $1
Squandered Resources $1.75
Tempest Efreet $0.50
Windfall $0.75
Worldgorger Dragon $4

Out of the blue (pardon the pun), I'd remove Kird Ape and Ponder. Both are recent reprints and would be too boring for fans.

I think Wizards will include Squandered Resources (the only gold card I see so far), Gush (for being such a storied card - in and out of the Restricted List), any of the ante cards (Tempest Efreet or Regrowth) because they are just that - ante cards, Merchant Scroll (one of the last remaining tutor spells left), and Channel (somehow I always hear, "Hey, I used to have that Channel-Fireball deck." The card is "famous" for just that.). If Channell is included, I would expect to see Tempest Efreet get included in the list (or maybe even Burning Wish but it's at $7 right now).

That's my wild guess list!

The new Chris Gatling

For those who are not familiar with who Chris Gatling is, here's a Wiki entry of him. Just to mention the important parts for the reason of this entry:

1991 - 96 Golden State Warriors

1996 Miami Heat

1996 - 97 Dallas Mavericks

1997 - 99 New Jersey Nets

1999 Milwaukee Bucks

1999 - 2000 Orlando Magic

2000 Denver Nuggets

2000 - 01 Cleveland Cavaliers

2001 - 02 Miami Heat

For a player who had quite a reputation (one time field goal percentage leader and All-Star), he's well traveled. In one occasion when he was traded, he publicly announced that he was just renting a place rather than buying. He always knew that he would be traded (again) so renting was the feasible thing to do.

Of course, he's not the most well traveled player in the NBA. I'm sure that someone else has that distinction. Names like Chucky Brown, Tony Massenburg, and Jim Jackson pops up when you Google "most traveled NBA player." And then there's Joe Smith, a player who every team seems to want. That's just weird.

The player that I would christen as the new Chris Gatling is Drew Gooden. He just got traded to the West Coast to the Sacramento Kings. Previous stops include Memphis, Orlando, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Chicago.

Pause for a moment. So, what makes Chris Gatling and Drew Gooden special that they're mentioned not in the same sense as Brown, Massenburg, and Jackson (journeymen). For one, Gatling and Gooden are both highly touted big guys. And instead of being journeyman players who signs just about anywhere, Gatling and Gooden are always in the middle of trade transactions. Gatling always had that contract number that teams covet (aside from the talent). Somehow, Gooden has inherited that honor from Gatling.

I pity Drew Gooden. He will have to study closely the career of Chris Gatling. Don't buy a house. It's bound to be worthless. I'm betting that he'll be traded sooner than later by Sacramento. Maybe he'll finish the next season as a King. Then again, maybe not.

10 Random Things

Inspired by Mark Rosewater's 25 Random Things, I thought about my own Random Things. It's a nice exercise. As I'm writing this, I really don't know how many I can compile. 30 is quite a big number and I'll probably just end up with 5.

These things are under the category of "Things people are least likely to know". Although I'm not a believer of exposing a lot of things (the more you know about me, the less interesting I become), I'll just enjoy the exercise.

I've set myself up to alternate the things I do and things I don't do (or positive things and negative things, however it will be said). Without further ado:

- Given a fair amount of time, I can probably name all 52 states of the USA. As a kid, I used to stay alone in the room. I love to read and one of the books from my mother's collection that I read from cover to cover was an Information Please Almanac (I think it was a 1984 Almanac). I got interested in the facts about all the states. This was also the time that I got interested in basketball. I was determined to understand how the NBA divided their team divisions so knowing where a particular team is located was very important. I eventually know a lot more than normal Filipinos know about the United States. The information I kept in my brain became useful in my senior year in college. My literature professor, who was an American, was quizzing about the United States and I was the only student who was able to point out where Florida, California, and some other states were in the map that he had drawn on the board.

- I don't like to dance. Most especially in a disco house. And I can even fall asleep inside a disco house (maybe if I'm too tired). Working a sweat or having fun while dancing just does not translate as enjoyable to me. The few moments that somebody else got me to dance was because I was forced to perform an intermission number. Anyway, I feel like a total jerk with such an ungraceful body whenever I attempt to dance. I think I have to be given the dance moves to follow. Which means that I'm not creative when it comes to dancing. Still, I feel like a total jerk with choreographed dancing.

- Comic books are a big part of my life. When I learned how to read, I took the opportunity of reading all the bound comic books that my brother had and started to really appreciate the joys of reading. Later, I was able to have my own collection of comic books. A family friend from the US would bring me a pile of cheap comic books. One summer vacation, I probably spent half of my pocket money in just one day for comic books. The best thing that I got from comic books was during my senior year in high school. My brother and I started an order-basis business selling comic books. He would purchase from Manila and I would sell it to my school mates in Iligan. We were able to profit around 9,000 pesos in 5 months of operation. With my share, I got to open my own ATM account. My father gave me specific instructions not to go into the comic book business while I was going to study in college. Right now, I still read but only through downloaded scanned comic books.

- I've banged my head on something hard more times that I can remember. There are 2 serious incidents though. One was when I was very young I banged my head while leaning back on a chair. The wound required several stitches. I still remember the ticklish sensation of getting knitted up. I was also required to swim in the sea to help heal the wound. The 2nd incident involved a ceiling fan. I was in my 3rd year in high school and our class was forced to transfer to a room in the first floor of a two-story building. The room had a ceiling fan that looked like it was going to drop if used continuously. Our teachers kept telling us to not use it but we didn't listen. After a classroom recess which involved the usual sweaty games, my friends turned on the ceiling fan and as I passed by, the ceiling fan dropped on my head. The first thing I did was recover my spectacles and then I took out my comb from my back pocket and combed my hair.

- I don't have a sense of smell. Or I believe that I don't have any. Halfway in my college education, I seem to have lost the use of my nose. I don't usually breathe through my nose. A medical check up found out that I had multiple polyps. Afraid to have a surgical operation, I still have the same nose and situation. It has its advantages and disadvantages. For one, I don't get to smell unbearable bad odors. The disadvantage is I don't get to smell someone who smells good. Purchasing a cologne is always an adventure as I need a companion to help me describe what a particular cologne smells like. Thankfully, there are such sites as perfumeemporium.com to help me figure out the nice colognes.

- My siblings like to describe me as the politician in the family. I seem to have that talent to try and please both sides of a conflict. When my mother died, I was the only person who was able to talk properly to a drunk uncle who blamed my father and my siblings for the death of my mother. I had to "convince" him that it was nobody's fault. I could say that I negotiated my way out of a tough situation. At present, I'm the only child left that is still close to my father and his wife. Both my siblings are now considered in the wrong side of things. I hate being right in the middle but considering that I need to respect them, I will have to do what I need to do for the good of all.

- In high school, I was able to represent my school in chess and swimming competitions. My best anecdote for chess is about a citywide competition involving private schools in the city. Instead of playing a round per week, the organizers asked if we were willing to play all the rounds in just one afternoon. Since most of the participants agreed, we played (I think) 6 rounds of chess in that afternoon. I went home in the evening feeling like a zombie - my brain all drained out. For swimming, I used to wake up early during Sundays just to swim. My swimming days ended when I almost contracted typhoid fever after an afternoon of intense swimming. Unfortunately in college, I never participated in any of these events because I was too shy to try out.

- I don't sing (much). Maybe I do on my own but I've found out that I don't have the best voice so I am rarely heard singing in public. I used to enjoy the old-school singing via Multiplex but I was discouraged early by my siblings. That said, I don't enjoy karaoke sessions. Maybe I'll sing if I get to drink a few bottles but unfortunately I'm on a quest to not drink for a year. I do enjoy music except for techno, disco, and novelty music.

- My favorite manga is One Piece. The first time I was exposed to One Piece was through a Shonen Jump issue which had the 50th chapter of the manga. I was captivated by the diverse characters and I started reading from Chapter 1. Now, I can't imagine that One Piece is on its 531st chapter and still going strong.

- I never watched Braveheart. Of all the movies that I never watched, Braveheart is probably the most "memorable" because it broke apart a friendship. During my high school (and my brother was in college/work), my brother came home and wouldn't stop talking about Braveheart. The whole time that he was home, he kept saying the infamous phrases from the movie. It felt like I had watched the movie also. In my first year in college, I had a discussion with roommate about not being able to watch Braveheart. His reaction (and like most of his reactions to what I did) was "What? If you haven't watched Braveheart, you've missed half of your life!" I reacted by saying that a movie (or any movie) can't be such a huge part of my life (much more to be half). That argument was probably the turning point between me and my roommate as we never talked again casually after that. And even until now, I still haven't watched Braveheart.

And that should be enough for Random Things. It has taken me a day to finish but then I can't just reveal everything in my life. 10 things for now is enough.

Favre retires AGAIN

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/02/11/favre/index.html?eref=T1

I've honestly lost count on how many times he has declared that he's retiring. Peter King says that this time it's for real. People have said the exact same words the very first time Favre retired. The worst was last year when he had the teary eyed press conference. Who knows, Favre might be looking towards getting his biceps injury healed and when it's healed, lo and behold, Favre will declare that he's back (AGAIN!).

So, I reiterate my call for Brett Favre to retire. It's time. If he had retired last year, he could have retired while being on top. So maybe he's just a step down from being on top but that's going to be an expected trend. As his body deteriorates, so will his game. Retire now and savor the moment. Rid yourself of the shame of another lackluster season. With all the records and awards, it should be enough to stay happy for the rest of your life. And surely, Hall of Fame is going to be a cinch.

Express Counter

Express Counter?


It clearly says 10 items only. In the foreground, that's more than 5 items already and there are almost 5 through the bar code reader. A couple more of closer looks:


I should have taken an earlier picture of the basket.

Anyway, it just bugs me that people line up at the Express Lane and bring in more than 10 items. Those ladies at the counter should at least be able to spot them beforehand and tell them to transfer to a different counter. And customers should have the decency to line up in a different lane.

Oh well.

The Raphael Levy Bohol shirt

Raphael Levy at GP Manila Day 2. August 2008. He acknowledges that he just had a 3-day vacation from Bohol.

Raphael Levy wears the same Bohol shirt for Day 2 of GP Paris.

Inspired by Hall of Famer Raphael Levy, Team Bohol dons the famed Raphael Levy Bohol shirt during the Conflux Prerelease in Neutral Grounds JY Mall, Cebu City.

Conflux Prerelease experience

I played Conflux prerelease at Neutral Grounds Cebu JY Mall last February 1, 2009.

Knowing that the cards would be passed, I thought hard looking at an Ajani Vengeant and 2 Inkwell Leviathans (1 of which was a foil). The Inkwell Leviathans were an easy choice to make. My table mates all commented that Ajani Vengeant isn't that worth it considering it's readily available as a Prerelease foil. I passed the card pool knowing that the player using the deck will play red (possibly Naya to accomodate Ajani) because of the removal at that color's disposal.

I was happy to receive a Tezzeret the Seeker in my card pool. It was enough to make me smile. I passed an Ajani for a Tezzeret!

I initially opted to play Jund shard since I had 2 Scarland Thrinax, Sprouting Thrinax, Hissing Iguanar, Dragon Fodder, and all the other appropriate creature removals in that color (3 Bone Splinter, Vithian Stinger, etc.). I didn't remember any bombs in the shard I chose and I totally remember not having a flying creature at all.

While deciding over what shard to play, I had checked the number of artifacts that was available at my disposal. I had an appropriate number of artifacts to play with Tezzeret and at the last moment, changed my deck from Jund to Esper (I had already finished the whole deck). It was a late decision but I figured that it wasn't a lousy one either. I had plenty of flyers at my disposal (Tower Gargoyle, Tidehollow Strix, Parasitic Strix, Sphinx Summoner, Kathari Screecher - of this list, only the Screecher isn't an artifact). 2 Agony Warp and an Executioner's Capsule also helped me to decide to change shards. Other key cards included Tidehollow Sculler (another artifact), Court Homunculus (yet another artifact), Puppet Conjurer (yet another artifact!), Windwright Mage (yet another artifact!) and 2 counter magic: Hindering Light and Traumatic Visions.

Game play observations:

- I finally got to appreciate the power of Tidehollow Sculler. Initially, I would have just set it aside because of the "drawback" that the removed card would return when the Sculler dies. I got to remove an Oblivion Ring and a Volcanic Fallout in separate games. The Sculler helps to save the day.

- Playing control in an environment where guys are wanting to play fast is not for the feint-hearted. The two counter magic mentioned both saved me from apparent losses. I was able to counter a game winning Exploding Borders with Traumatic Visions and a game winning Absorb Vis with my Hindering Light in separate games. The Traumatic Visions helped fix my mana in another different game which helped turn my mono-blue land hand to blue-black.

- Puppet Conjurer is just unfair. I was explaining to an opponent that I didn't have to sacrifice the Conjurer if I didn't have a Homunculus to sacrifice. I even provided the addditional insight that without the sacrifice "drawback", this card would just be too nasty.

- I saw only one Path to Exile. In one game in which I was stuck to having only Islands and Swamps and couldn't play my gold cards that needed white mana, one of my creatures got removed by Path to Exile. It was a no-brainer. I searched for a Plains without hesitation. My Tower Gargoyle came during the next turn. Good game.

- Frontline Sage was a key card in my deck. I had an instance of having an initial draw of 5 Islands and 1 Frontline Sage. I kept the hand and proceeded to filter my deck for more needed cards.

- I was paired against another artifact heavy Esper deck in the third round. I was envious of the Ethersworn Canonist and Etherium Sculptor that he had. He probably felt the same seeing my Tezzeret, Tower Gargoyle and Sphinx Summoner. I also saw a player playing beside us with a Sharding Sphinx. I would definitely would have wanted that in my deck. Well, it just goes to say that you can never have everything in Magic.

- I didn't see much Planeswalkers in play. Aside from the Ajani Vengeant that I opened, I heard one player getting a Nicol Bolas. He did the right thing in dropping. A $20 card is worth it to drop especially if it's just a Prerelease.

- Speaking of Planeswalkers, having one in play is definitely gamebreaking. Tezzeret is probably the least of the Planeswalkers to play in Limited but I was thankful to have quite a number of artifacts available. I might have done a bad thing by not putting all the artifacts at my disposal into the deck. Every bit of extra artifact would have helped. I had 2 Kaleidostones (the card draw would have been a great bonus but I considered everything else of the card as useless), 2 Manaforce Mace (I thought that it was too costly), Obelisk of Naya (wrong colors although I always needed that one white mana all the time), and a Bone Saw! I wasn't able to activate Tezzeret's ultimate ability but I always was able to reach 5 loyalty counters easily. Just untap any of the artifacts in play and that's it.

- Best plays that involved Tezzeret:

a. With not much artifacts in play yet and my Tezzeret already at 6 loyalty counters (activating the ultimate ability would have netted me only two 5/5 artifacts), I opted to search the cheapest artifact in the deck: Executioner's Capsule. I had the option to kill one of my opponent's creatures (we were at a standstill with each having an equal number of creatures in play) and I could still use Tezzeret's ultimate ability the next turn.

b. I had Tezzeret at 5 loyalty counters but instead of activating the ultimate ability, I opted to search for a Sphinx Summoner (again, I didn't have enough artifacts in play). I figured I'd maximize the Tezzeret searching ability by getting the Sphinx Summoner into play. Sphinx Summoner comes into play ability then searched for a Tower Gargoyle and played it (and while holding on to precious two mana to be able to still play Hindering Light).

- My most expensive card in the deck was Kiss of the Amesha. 7 life and two cards is just painful for the opponent late in the game. The kiss helped me escape one situation where a big 5/5 was pounding at my life total. All that hard work and a Kiss of the Amesha to ruin it all.

I would have finished 3-1 but I gave away my third round. I finished 2-2 instead. It was still worth it. One of the packs I won yielded a Noble Hierarch.

But the most important thing of all was I had fun. It was nice to visit Cebu (first time for 2009) and see the Magic guys there once again.

Picking out my All-Star Reserves

With the All-Star Starters already voted in, the debate now shifts to the Reserves. This is where things that the fans messed up are fixed. It is an ironic statement considering that after the All-Star Reserves are announced, even more debate rages out on who was left off the list and who is undeserving to be called an All-Star.

There are two ways that I'll go about on this. First, I'll pick out the players who I think I'd want to make it on MY team. Second, I'll pick out the players who I think are going to make it based on how the NBA and the coaches think.

Before moving on to my lists, I just want to air it out that Allen Iverson is the poorest choice for a starter but the fans can't be blamed. There is no other guard in the East with the same charisma as AI. Hopefully, fans will have heard who Devin Harris or Joe Johnson is after the All-Star game.

My list first:

East:
Paul Pierce
Chris Bosh
Devin Harris
Joe Johnson

The four guys above are the can't-miss players for the East. Four guys who would get in despite whatever the record of their teams. Thankfully, the record is good for both Pierce and Johnson. Harris has been outstanding this season. And Bosh makes it as the only true outstanding big man in the East (aside from Howard and KG, of course).

The East's other 3:
David Lee - this will probably come out as a surprise to whoever gets to read this blog. But I like David Lee. He always plays hard despite how the NY Knicks have become. 2008-09 has been rewarding with the arrival of a better coach and he's continued to work hard. He deserves a break and deserves to be an All-Star.

Danny Granger - another player who works hard. He's playing lights out right now and who would have expected it when the season started? I didn't and Granger has placed the Pacers on his shoulders and has carried them all season long. This should also serve as a reward.

Mo Williams - LeBron's partner gets my vote for the last remaining slot. His arrival has helped transform the Cleveland Cavaliers into a better team. He has always been a good player. Paired with an All-Star, he just becomes great.

West:
Dirk Nowitzki
Shaquille O'Neal
Chauncey Billups
Brandon Roy

The 3 players above jump right out to me. Never realized the moment when Shaq would jump right out as a reserve. Dirk gets in considering how clogged up the forward position is for the West (he'll thank Carmelo and Boozer for their injuries). Chauncey is the key player for Denver (and also thank you to Carmelo for that). Roy is now the required player for the Blazers if they continue to play well in every season.

The West's other 3:
Pau Gasol - he deserves this honor being Kobe's partner with the surging Lakers.

Kevin Martin - Martin continues to play well for a struggling Kings team. I'd say he does it all for Sacramento.

Paul Millsap - the Utah Jazz needs a representative to the All-Star and I say Millsap is the appropriate guy. He's a typical Jerry Sloan-type of a player. Plays hard but doesn't say much. And oh yeah, may I add that Boozer will not be a Jazz next season because of Millsap.

Probably Actual List:

East:
Pierce, Bosh, Harris, Johnson, Granger, Jameer Nelson, Ray Allen

Nelson is playing well as of late. Orlando's success and his major contribution at their most questionable position will highlight his success and All-Star vote. Meanwhile, Allen is sort of an obligatory pick here for the coaches. The big 3 can't be the big 3 without their sharpshooter.

West:
Nowitzki, O'Neal, Billups, Roy, Gasol, Tony Parker, Steve Nash

Parker is another obligatory pick who makes it after past years' success. But he's still a great player, of course. Nash meanwhile is a former MVP. I'm pretty sure he won't make it but then again, the coaches can always screw this up.

Diop gets traded again

Diop is traded to Charlotte

And I quote from the Yahoo News:

"DeSagana is the type of player that has a natural athletic ability to block shots, rebound and defend," Charlotte general manager Rod Higgins said. "This is someone we feel will add size, depth and experience to our power positions."

Diop is one lucky player. He gets traded to the Nets for the Jason Kidd deal to help match salaries. He was a vital piece as he had an expiring contract. His contract expires and lo and behold the Mavericks sign him back. The deal is quite understandable considering Dallas lost a bit of their toughness after losing their leading shot-blocker. Then again, it's supposedly so easy to find a replacement. Who wouldn't want to play in Dallas?

Things have been pretty funny ever since I read the first news about Diop being on the trading block. Lo and behold, a team has actually traded for Diop! And of all the teams, it's the Charlotte Bobcats. Yes, the same Charlotte Bobcats that has Michael Jordan behind some of their mind-boggling transactions.

And why is it that the decision makers always has to sound funny whenever they defend the players that they traded for no matter how stupid it looks? Please.

Reading Scud

Scud: The Whole Shebang

Rob Schrab's Scud the Disposable Assassin is a surprisingly (yet late) read for me. I've heard of it from Wizard magazine but never bothered to look for one (with a publishing outfit like Fireman Press, it's not that easy). I never expected it to be THIS funny. It's probably been a month since I laughed while reading a comic book.

Scud (the protagonist) is unbelievably thinks practically like a human. This is how artificial intelligence will ultimately become: considers survival as an ultimate basic need. So, here's the dilemma with Scud since it dies when its primary objective is met. What will it do to survive?

Kevin Garnett Taunting Jose Calderon II

My office colleague showed me the video and my first (and probably only) reaction was pure disgust. I've gone to read at forums and most people are saying that KG is classless and should have been assessed a technical foul for taunting. I think it's pure sellout. The NBA is too chicken to deal with stars (I assume that they consider KG as one of the faces of the NBA).

Other people are saying that they miss the good old NBA where taunting and physicality was the norm. Taunting is fairly normal but it shouldn't be that obvious to the public. Players can go on to trash talk (though Gary Payton would also be assessed a technical foul for non-stop trash talking before) and not get T'd up. That's okay because that can still be considered as part of the game. Kevin Garnett was not doing a normal trash talking. Chasing a player from one end of the court to the other end? Clapping? Heck, I get a technical foul when I clap my hands while I'm on the court!

Fans who are posting in defense of KG are saying that Calderon might have said something while chasing after KG's shot. That to me is the correct way to trash talk and taunt. How KG reacted to it is pure disgusting.

And if the NBA does not wish to go back to the days of the Palace brawl and Ron Artest, they better think again and review how KG was taunting another player which would have warranted a brawl (if I were Calderon's teammate, I would have words with KG and who knows what would happen next).

In this regard, I am starting a "No to KG in the All-Star" campaign. Kevin Garnett does not deserve to be in the All-Star game. True, it might have been just once that he did such a thing but he should be a better player than that.

Kevin Garnet Taunting Jose Calderon

My top 10 Shards of Alara cards

I had a top 10 Shadowmoor cards when the said expansion was released. I wanted to do Eventide but I realized that after I ranked the cards, it didn't make any sense at all. I forgot what was my number 1 card but I know it wasn't worth it.

I'm changing my outlook on these rankings. Instead of just ranking them on how "powerful" they really are, I have to look whether the card would be applicable to have a deck that would make use of it. This different outlook will look towards how useful the card really is in the current metagame, and hopefully I have enough grasp of the metagame.

I'm ranking the cards from 10 going to 1. First, an honorable mention:

Mindlock Orb is bound to be a sideboard card. And it's just too bad that it's rare. I'm going to assume that players will cringe at opening packs that have this as the rare card because it's not that useful at the first glance. Seeing as it can affect quite a lot of powerful and useful cards: the Lorwyn tribal harbingers, Primal Command's search mode, Shards' panorama lands, etc., I've ranked it as an honorable mention. Not good enough to be in the top 10 but it should not be put aside also.

10. Ethersworn Canonist

It's a control player's card. It's not just for an Esper shard deck but placing this on a white-x control deck helps limit the spells that an opponent would play per turn. But there's just a catch. If the opponent is an Esper shard deck though, that's a situation. Overall, the advantages trump the single disadvantage. It's a circumcised Rule of Law on legs and it's a bear to boot!

9. Elvish Visionary

The new Sakura Tribe-Elder? Sure looks like it but it's not as fast. The card draw on legs is a great card for green and green has always been the color that needs card draws. Even late in the game, Elvish Visionary provides the body to block potential game killing creatures while providing that one extra card for a possible solution.

8. Wild Nacatl

The new Kird Ape is more at home in an extended deck with the Ravnica shock lands. I'd gamble in using Wild Nacatl even in a standard deck. 1 to cast for 3/3 is a good enough card.

7. Ranger of Eos

The art doesn't do him any justice but since this is not a top 10 for Magic art, disregard my last thought. First look I see Reveillark written all over it. Granted that there aren't many game changing 1 to cast creatures out there, it makes the card look a little bit tame. The first card to search that comes into mind is no other than Figure of Destiny. Figure of Destiny is one card that one wouldn't mind to get in the late game considering it can be transformed to its bigger incarnations. Another card option is Akrasan Squire. That one extra point (or 2 extra points) of damage from the Exalted ability might just provide the win for that turn.

6. Jund Charm

I placed Jund Charm here because of the instant Pyroclasm effect that it provides. The card instantly makes Pyroclasm useless for a red-x deck. Jund Charm's versatility is with the two other modes. Removing a player's graveyard is good against graveyard manipulation decks. Meanwhile, getting two +1/+1 counters isn't bad either. But the Pyroclasm effect is enough to convince me to put it at where it is.

5. Hell's Thunder

Hell's Thunder is currently looking like it's too high at where it's at. All I see in this card is a 3 to cast 4 damage similar to Flame Javelin. Or in another way putting it, it's an 8 to cast for 8 damage. Clearly it's not that as good as Flame Javelin because it can be killed before it can damage. At least, with its Unearth ability, it can provide a 2nd go-around. And that ability just makes one think twice before wasting a creature-kill on a creature that will just come back later on.

4. Goblin Assault

Following Morningtide's Bitterblossom, here is Shards with their own version but this time it is a red enchantment (quite unusual itself) that's 3 casting cost and produces the same 1/1 creature but with haste (and not flying). The lack of evasion puts this card down a little bit. But I've always associated red to producing creatures (right next to green) and the ability to churn out those pesky 1/1s every turn is good. And for those planning to just be rid of the creatures later on for Shards' Devour ability, go ahead.

3. Empyrial Archangel

It's costly at its casting cost but Empyrial Archangel can turn things around on its own. At 5/8 and shroud, it's got a huge butt and an unaffected butt at that. If it can get through, it's at most 4 turns of attack while the opponent has to figure out to dish out at least 8 points of damage to attempt to get rid of the angel. Altogether, it's a difficult situation to be in and the angel's game turning ability is a reason why I placed it at the 3rd spot.

2. Naya Charm

This is one charm that can turn out to be a game winner. The third mode says it all by tapping all the creatures that target player controls. It totally fits the Naya shard since it's a possible relentlessly attacking shard. The first mode is not bad itself considering that it's a creature removal mode.

1. 3-color tap lands


Ah. Lands. Beautiful lands. The 3-color tap lands will be a dominating presence in Standard constructed. Will they win games on their own? Not exactly. But they are sure to provide the mana that will win the games. And that is all that is required for these lands.

Magic the Gathering fat pack

Here's an attempt at chronicling the only Magic product that I've bought religiously.

I started buying fat packs during Champions of Kamigawa. I had recently returned to playing Magic (actually, returned during Fifth Dawn) and I was aching to get my hands on several cards in one sitting. One of the attractions was the novel and the Kamigawa block had a beautiful story going with it. Even the previews provided intriguing stories.

The local store had not even heard of a fat pack before. The contents were as follows: 6 booster packs, a novel, 20-sided die, 40 basic lands, a random foil card, and the player's guide (printed on letter-sized glossy magazine-like paper).

The Kamigawa block fat pack was packaged elaborately: wrapped in cheap plastic and with a prominent display-like appearance to attract buyers.

The fat pack stayed this way for the whole block.

Aside from the interest in the novel, I enjoyed the player's guide tremendously as it helped in deckbuilding. It was only one block but it helped a lot.

Things changed with the release of 9th Edition Core Set. Wizards maintained the 6 booster packs, 20-sided die, and the 40 basic lands. They improved the player's guide by printing it on a smaller sized but thicker paper. Since Core Set releases are not connected to any story, there was no novel. Changes included the 2 card boxes that featured new artwork and the card dividers. All these were wrapped around a packaging that featured artwork from the set.

The card boxes are uber-necessary. With no proper container for my cards, I was able to finally stock the cards that I needed and not place them in 4-sleeved albums.

The new expansion block Ravnica: City of Guilds continued to apply the changes from the Core Set. The novel continued. The 20-sided die got replaced with a different life counter (card-like with rotating numbers to keep track of the life). Well, there's not much to say about the novels because they've always been poorly written. The huge miss was the life counter. To this date, I've never used the Ravnica block life counters and they're just somewhere with the cards in the card boxes.

Right in the middle of Ravnica and the next expansion, Wizards released Coldsnap - said to be the long lost 3rd set of the Ice Age block. Thankfully, the 20-sided die returned. The novel that was included was just the story from Ice Age and I must say that I have never opened the book.

Time Spiral block ushered in the old school feel of Magic and the fat pack continued without any change. The 10th Edition Core Set lost the novel once more (as expected) but maintained everything else.

The fat packs of Lorwyn and Morningtide continued to have the same contents but a huge change came with Shadowmoor. To offset the loss of 1 card box, the fat pack now got "fatter" with 2 more booster packs. The fat pack also lost the card dividers. I might have to say that 1 card box has the same price as 2 booster packs then. The loss of the card box doesn't hurt much because there's still one left. Which now leads us to the most recent change of them all.

Shards of Alara fat pack loses the novel and replaces it with a preview "booklet" of the Planeswalker's Guide to Alara. Coupled with the 1 basic land per booster pack arrangement, it seems that Wizards is doing quite a lot to stay profitable and I'm not amused at all over their cost-cutting measures.

The fat pack has now become unworthy for its money. And oh yeah, suggested retail price even increased! The pain!

Just to add more pain: How about getting Ooze Garden in one of your packs? Or not getting a mythic rare at all. Sheesh.

Sorry I have to be grouchy.

NBA 08-09 season in just less than a month?

Wow!

Didn't the Boston Celtics just won the 2008 NBA season like a month ago?

It seems like I never got to miss the NBA season. What would NBA players playing in that other season and winning it all. I'm talking about the 2008 Beijing Olympics were the NBA players were at win-or-go-home mode.

So, it's October and it's officially less than a month to go before the 82-game season kicks off. There has been a lot of offseason activity that's going to change the real season.

In the tradition of sports sites where they preview and rank the 30 NBA teams, here's my own version of ranking the teams. For ease of view, I'm ranking them by division.

The Boston Celtics division:
(note: I don't know each division's real name. Funnier to name it the way I'm naming it)
1. Boston Celtics - the defending champions showed that having 3 great players and 2 other mediocre players can win a championship. I doubt that everybody else is going to get surprised by this team. But they're still strong. They'll miss James Posey come playoff time and that's a story for another post.

2. Philadelphia 76ers - the Sixers get Elton Brand. They're getting back the rest of their core players. Brand has never been a selfish player that wants all the attention. He'll relinquish the scoring role to Andre Iguodala.

3. Toronto Raptors - the Raptors also beefed up in the offseason in getting Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal has a lot going against him so it should help fuel his drive (and hopefully his body). The Raptors got rid of PG TJ Ford to get O'Neal. The trade is not disadvantageous for the Raptors because they have an excellent PG in Jose Calderon.

4. New Jersey Nets - the Nets are prime candidates to finish last in this division but who are we kidding from giving the last place to the Knicks. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd suddenly win this division because Lawrence Frank has that notion to get his team going even if it's only just a season. They have the right blend of players to be surprising.

5. New York Knicks - eeyuck! There's no way that the Knicks will have a winning season this year. Not yet. They have to learn to play together.

Detroit division:
(I call this the Detroit division after how many seasons the Pistons have led this division)
1. Cleveland Cavaliers - will this be the season when the Cavs rule the division? Will this be the season that LeBron James wins it all? Won't he be too tired after the Olympics? Will he share the scoring responsibilities with Mo Williams? All these answers will lead to the Cavs winning the division finally. And maybe because the Pistons are in a turmoil.

2. Detroit Pistons - they just won't go away that easily. Maybe what will hinder them is the lack of experience of their new coach. Otherwise, everything else should be the same because everyone else is back for another season. And yeah, nobody got traded. Nice bluff, Joe Dumars!

3. Milwaukee Bucks - because no other team will come out of the cellar, I'll give the default 3rd place to the Bucks. Here's to Skiles and teaching this team to play defense. He's got the core group to get them over that defensive hump.

4. Indiana Pacers - they're not that organized yet. Larry Bird wants to get rid of the players he currently has in his team and that doesn't sound good to any coach.

5. Chicago Bulls - new coach. Let me restate that, new inexperienced coach. Good luck Vinny del Negro. You got to win over Ben Gordon, who is agreeing to only a one year contract. You got to win over Luol Deng who definitely wants to be recognized as the true team leader. You got to win over Joakim Noah who as a rookie already started getting in teammates' faces. Isn't that saying something about his future?

The other East division:
1. Orlando Magic - Dwight Howard rules this division! The man-child is primed for MVP consideration, finally. And with not much competition, it's a walk over.

2. Washington Wizards - after giving a huge contract extension to Gilbert Arenas, they find out that he'll miss the start of the season. They don't actually need him in the regular season. And they'll survive with what they currently have in Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. Rest easy, Gilbert. The team needs you during the playoffs.

3. Miami Heat - I'd want to see the Miami Heat come back to win this division. But then again, if they do, I'd expect Pat Riley to suddenly take over just like the last time he took over for Stan van Gundy. Huh? Van Gundy didn't want to coach anymore? Nobody pushing him around to resign? So why the heck is he coaching exactly right now? Sheesh. 3rd place for Miami to temper down Pat Riley. Stay retired please.

4. Atlanta Hawks - just because we saw them make the playoffs this year doesn't mean they come back. They got in because this is the Eastern Conference where 8th place teams are one-hit wonders.

5. Charlotte Bobcats - what can Larry Brown do? Michael Jordan has to scout players properly otherwise Brown will end up with bad players. There's just so much a coach can do without getting the proper personnel in place. The Bobcats will compete. I'm sure Brown will make sure of that.

Texas division:
(ah, one of the most, if not the most, intriguing divisions in the NBA)
1. New Orleans Saints - they still have it. And James Posey will try to prove that he's got the championship touch a la Robert Horry.

2. Dallas Mavericks - I like Rick Carlisle. He did wonders for the Pistons. He might be a little bit controll-ish but he gets the job done. Dirk Nowitzki should be happy playing for him. And Jason Kidd will enjoy setting up all those plays.

3. San Antonio Spurs - Tim Duncan is still a dominant player. And there's no way that they will be ranked lower in the Texas Division. They'll miss Manu Ginobili but I can see them racking up the wins when he comes back. In the meantime, they'll bore you to death with their methodical game strategies.

4. Houston Rockets - where else would they be? It's a tough division. But considering how Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming have never finished the season together doesn't bode well for the Rockets. Hopefully Ron Artest can negate the possible loss from the two star players.

5. Memphis Grizzlies - I hope one day they'll do a Tampa Bay Rays impersonation and surprise everybod in the Texas division. They're young and inexperienced but hopefully they can run.

California division:
1. Los Angeles Lakers - the team with not much change in the offseason is sure to come back to lead this division once more. They will not surprise rivals anymore but they can still dominate. Now, if they can really get a decent point guard other than Derek Fisher...

2. Phoenix Suns - they're the lucky team to be 2nd place in the division. And that's because no other team is that good to keep up with the Lakers. The Suns have a new coach in Terry Porter and the same old bodies in Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq isn't retiring yet and who knows what he went through in the offseason to be energized for the new season.

3. Los Angeles Clippers - I'll trust on Baron Davis to lead this team. Big men are the premium in this league and thankfully he still has Chris Kaman left. Losing Elton Brand isn't going to go well but Davis did just fine without a legit big man in Golden State.

4. Golden State Warriors - they lose Baron Davis but get Corey Maggette. And they still won't play defense this season. They didn't acquire a legit big man so they'll continue to run this season.

5. Sacramento Kings - the last place team by default. I'd expect them to be a competitive team just like the Charlotte Bobcats in their division. And I wouldn't be surprised if they'll pull of some sort of miracle a la Memphis Grizzlies wishing. Kevin Martin needs help. That's all.

The other Western division:
1. Utah Jazz - the Jazz win this division by default again. But they better be careful because the Portland Trail Blazers are up and coming. The Jazz still has to deal with AK47 Andrei Kirelenko. They can trade him now for serviceable parts.

2. Portland Trail Blazers - Greg Oden is still a rookie. The Blazers can surprise the Western Conference this year. They ran out of gas last year. They've added numerous weapons. Nate McMillan will be challenged to utilize everyone. Make them all happy coach!

3. Denver Nuggets - they lost Marcus Camby in a cost-cutting move. Camby was the only defender in the team. So, the Nuggets are back to becoming an offense-oriented team. Joy! My advice to the Denver organization, get rid of Allen Iverson now and buckle up for this season.

4. Minnesota Wolves - they get the benefit of the doubt here. They didn't lose a major player and instead added a serviceable Kevin Love. His impact is still questionable and hopefully Love doesn't spell out to BUST.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder - last place name gets last place position. Ugh. Why couldn't they find a different name. Sooners already taken? Kevin Durant is going to have a franchise-like season. He'll be considered as MVP if the Thunder end up out of last place.

And of course, meeting the guys of 8th Realm

It was great to meet the 8th Realm regulars during my visit to Manila.

First, I got to shake the hand of fellow 8th Realm moderator JT Porter, former Philippine National Champion.

On Sunday, I met up with Chingpag to collect my souvenir for supporting the May 25 Mox Pearl tournament. On hand was Lauren de Jesus.

I hooked up with JB and he pointed to me the 8th Realm guys: Dawgie, Rainman (I'm not forgetting your name here this time), Naps, Morris Tan, etc.

And there was mistervader also, the celebrity magician.

It was nice meeting you all!

GP Manila 08

It's too dark... But I hope the logo is prominent enough. I just got back from Manila (specifically Mandaluyong City) after a grueling 2-day (got to participate in the first day only) Grand Prix tournament that enticed the likes of MTG Pros Raphael Levy, Shuhei Nakamura, Tomoharu Saito, Terry Soh, and many others to join.

Getting to win would have been achievement but joining the said tournament was worth the travel. The experience and feel of a huge tournament that comes but once in every two years in the Philippines has inspired me to be a better player.

Anyway, as a sort of a summary, here is my GP experience report (never mind the actual tournament performance report because I sucked really bad):

I arrived 10AM Friday in Manila at NAIA 3. Thankfully the terminal wasn't that confusing as described by several articles in the Internet regarding the inefficiency of the operation in the terminal. But I did have to endure a long walk from the plane to the terminal exit.

The said Grand Prix was once again held at the Megatrade Hall A of SM Megamall. Upon arrival there, the place was already bustling with activity as players were vying for last chance byes. I instead joined a Super FNM Sealed Deck tournament. I didn't bother to ask how many rounds the tournament would be and upon learning that it would be 6 rounds, I quit after the 4th round (6 PM on my watch). I figured that playing for two more hours would be killer.

Saturday - I got to the venue by 10AM and proudly flashed my ID to the security people which allowed me to enter into the building ahead of everybody else (why does everybody want to get to the mall early?). To sum up my tournament performance: two wins, 5 losses and 1 draw. I thought I was doing good after the 4th round when I got my 2nd win. Some will say that it's just coincidence and some will say that it might be superstition. After the 2nd win in the 4th round, I went out to take a leak and then grab lunch (it was already 4PM and I was starving). Things spiralled downward after that.

For the tournament proper, I had my opponents sign a basic land for remembrance sake. I figured that I might face a foreign opponent and ask for his/her signature, I might as well do the same to my fellow Filipinos. One opponent remarked that I was doing something unique. Yeah. That was the idea.

Oh yeah, before the tournament started, I got to ask for Terry Soh's and Raphael Levy's signatures. I still used a basic land (unfortunately, if I did have their Pro Player cards, I couldn't find them among my binder).

I was suprised by the number of women who played. And to think that they were all pretty looking! Now, that's my type of a girl. But all of them couldn't beat the best judge in the tournament - the only lady judge among the roses, Nikki.

One thing that could have been improved was how players would know where to sit in the tournament. It was too much to crowd around a small short-sized bond paper. Well, I don't have an exact idea on how it can be improved but I sure hope the organizers will be able to solve that dilemma.

Sunday - since I wasn't qualified to get to the 2nd day (with that record? Ugh.), I relegated myself to being a spectator. I only got to witness Soh vs. Nakamura as a featured match and it was great seeing two great players go head to head. Meanwhile, I got to talk to Saito. While asking for his autograph, Nikki got in to the act also and I shamelessly asked for her autograph.


I got Nakamura's autograph after his game with Saito. I did get to use his Pro Player card. Another shameless act: I asked for Nikki's marker.

The best memory of the GP? My moment with artist Darrell Riche. I was going to ask for an original sketch. He showed me what he was currently working on and I told him I'd be getting the next one he would make. Around 5PM, Mr. Riche was asked to pack up for an interview and I got back to him. He told me that he'd sell the work he showed me earlier but I respectfully declined, telling him that I wouldn't want the guy who asked for it to get mad. True enough, the guy got back. Mr. Riche gave me a thumbs-up that he was already working on my request.

He probably thought that I was leaving the venue because he came after me and gave me the drawing he was working on. I got my hand into my pocket but he declined my payment, telling me that I saved him from being on the bad side of the guy who asked for the first drawing.

And there it was. Mr. Riche told me that I was a noble person, shook my hand and told me that he was happy to have met me.

As what they say, good things do come to good people.