Mexico's Most Wanted

With his trademark roar, "Let's get ready to r-r-r-rrumble!!!," Micheal Buffer signaled to Manny Pacquiao that he can add a new entry to his Mexican menu. No, it's not taco. It's Larrios, Oscar Larrios. Yesterday, life stopped in the Philippines as the whole country watched Manny's date with Oscar on the ring. The much-tauted Round 1 knock-out did not occur (making many gamblers poorer); in fact, everybody, almost had a heart attack when Larrios cornered Pacquiao in the third round and pounded the pride of the Philippines for several seconds before Manny clawed his way out of a potentially very humiliating incident if the Mexican floored him in front of his countrymen.
Manny did not meet his goal of sending an unconscious Larrios to the canvas and the fiesty Mexican exceeded expectations by standing on his feet when the bout ended, even if Manny knocked him down twice. But he lost by unanimous decision.
Barrera, Morales, Marquez as main dish. And now Larrios as an appetizer. Manny sure loves Mexicans. I wonder if they have put his name on their all-time favorite list of exotic cuisine. Or have put they put up posters offering a rich bounty for any Mexican who can put Manny to sleep?

From Superman to Superdad?

I caught a screening of "Superman Returns,"last Saturday. The film lived up to the intense hype that it has generated, that if I were to rate it, it's close to a perfect 10. Okay, the producers followed tradition by tapping an unknown actor to don the iconic red cape and brief (it's not an underwear since Superman wears it over his costume, which is probably how Kryptonians wear their Hanes and Calvin Klein) , and blue suit. It was a very risky move, but it gave the world Christopher Reeves who seemed to be destined to play the role.
The ladies in the moviehouse - and some men of the Brokeback Mountain variety - would sigh, shriek and say, "Oh, Shit! He is so handsome!," whenever the camera lingered on Brandon Routh's face. Judging by their primal behavior, I can say that Routh is eye candy for them. Kate Bosworth did not elicit catcalls from us, hot-blooded men who have been reared on Pamela Anderson, but she is pretty. Acting wise, she overhauled Lois Lane's image. By the way, the shrieking reached a crescendo when the Man of Steel and Lois were reunited after five long years, so remember to put that ear plug when you see that scene in the baseball field.
With Lois Lane aboard for the famous love story, they have to put a bad guy in the script to make Superman's life dangerous again. Enter Lex Luthor. Diabolical and bald as ever, he wants to become a construction magnate sans the heavy machinery and pesky foremen by stealing Kryptonian technology.
And a clever twist in the plot was the injection of a paternity issue that would confront Superman.
What? Superman's a daddy? That's how it was implied in the movie. I mean, if Lois Lane's son can crush Luthor's goon with a grand piano, his dad's identity is settled, even if James Marsden, last seen as Cyclops of the X-Men, is happy to claim that it was his sperm that got her egg.
I have already revealed enough spoilers that I am afraid that the Man of Steel's lawyers and accountants will pay me a visit if I don't shut my mouth because their boss is still befuddled if he really did it with Lois Lane.

Saving Corporal Shalit

He may be just a lowly corporal in the Israeli Army, but Galid Shalit's humble rank was not a good excuse for Israel to leave him behind enemy lines as it launched a mini-invasion of Palestinian territory to rescue him. For a state that ensures that the enemy losses more lives for every life that it takes away - its Air Force has maintained a very high kill-loss ratio in dogfights, a feat which the U. S. Air Force can be envious of - its actions to move heaven and earth to rescue the abducted soldier can be considered drastic, even by its own standards. But it is understandable.
Surrounded by a sea of hostile states, it wants to send a very strong message that it should not be trifled with. It has the rumored nukes, a topnotch armed forces and the political will to enforce its policies, even if it meant international condemnation - things which the Philippines sorely lack.
To start with, the Philippines has no nukes, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is weaker than a paper tiger, and its leaders have no political will. How many times did the government allow itself to be slapped by marauding rebels before the world? First, they allow the proliferation of armed groups, both rebel and criminal(the line here is very thin), when the AFP and PNP should be the only legitimate armed forces in the country. Second, it has turned a blind eye to the establishment of camps which have become enclaves for terrorists. Third, they have a penchant for negotiating from a weak position. The negotiators sent to peace talks tend to spoil rebels with concessions that negate the gains made in the field. And fourth, Filipino leaders like to be kicked and bullied around by their counterparts when our neighbors should not be meddling in our affairs.
I wish that the balls of steel that Israeli leaders seem to genetically possess can be transplanted to our officials. Then, maybe, the troublemakers would not be so bold in raping the Filipino nation.