I don't usually make reviews of my gadgets as I am no techie expert, but I guess this one is an exception. I just love the quality I got for the price of the Sony MDR-EX60LP In-Ear earphones. For just P1299, that's approximately $40+, I was surprised at the great buy I had for this one.
I am actually a fan of Sennheiser, but I'm a bass-head and love my bass loud and deep. This is just something that I can't get from my Senny. Also, my senn is starting to beg for a replacement as the wires have started to split up after about 4 years of use. So I was looking at the Senns for a replacement. I tried a lot of models that fit my budget, but just can't get the right bass that I want. So I was about to go home and think some more of what model to get when I saw the Sony displayed in a store. The salesperson was kind enough to open one for me so that I could try it and the moment I listened to it, I immediately fell in love with this little bugger! Asked how much it was and fell more in love with it! The bass boomed right out of the little in-ear speakers the way I've always wanted them too. The sound is still crisp and clear, and the fit was just great and comfortable. Not too loose or too "suffocating" for my ears. It came with different colors and I chose the blue but it has purple and yellow and pink. It also came with it's untangler.
For me, this earphone is really a bang for my buck. If you want an affordable in-ear earphones, I'd say this one is a good buy. Don't get me wrong. The Sennheisers are still one of the best out there. But on a tight budget, this is a great buy. I'll continue saving up for a good set of headphones by Sennheiser, but for the meantime, I'm happy and contented with my Sony :)
This one was a quick creation. While going home from work and listening to the song Detox by the Filipino band The Oktaves, the image of Parker and Nate in the rehab facility in The 12-Step Job episode just popped into my mind. I've been delaying the creation of the video for several weeks, but finally found the free time to do it.
Two years ago, the Alaska team almost made it to the play-offs of the 2011 PBA Governor's Cup only to be beaten out by Petron by virtue of the quotient factor. The team was led by import Jason Forte, who at the first few games were quite unsure of themselves, but gradually developed into a tough team that had a great run at the end of the elimination round. However, it was not the fate of this team to go to the play-offs despite playing well and finishing the elims as the hottest team of the league. The team actually had high hopes coming for the next season because the team was intact, the rookies drafted all seem to be good additions to the team.
Then the team was hit by the unexpected blow. Tim Cone asked Fred Uytengsu to release him from Alaska. And suddenly, the team was left without the constant figure of our leader. Cone moved to a SMC team, while Alaska literally looked liked a lost dog. It struggled to get wins despite an intact line-up. It finished its first conference without Tim Cone ranking 9th with a 3-11 win/loss record. The year actually turned out to be the worst in the franchise's history in the PBA. A lot of fans left, a few of us stayed. It was painful to watch the team struggle. To watch the team get frustrated because the players know they can do better but just can't seem to get things going right. Coach Joel Banal couldn't get the winning formula for 2 conferences, so Coach Luigi Trillo was tapped to be the interim coach for the 2012 Governor's Cup but the team still continued the downward spiral.
Rumors were circulating that the team is leaving the PBA because they just can't compete with the big teams of Cojuangco and Pangilinan. But Fred Uytengsu stayed firm. He hasn't given up on his team, and so why should we? He made a shocking decision to offer Luigi Trillo the permanent position to coach his beloved Alaska Aces. Doubts arose, from basketball analysts to fans like me. Coach Luigi's coaching career is tainted with his 0-28 record in the UAAP when he coached the Adamson Falcons. He hasn't won anything whether in the D-league or PBL and his coaching stint at the 2012 Governor's Cup was a measly 2-7 record, the second 9th ranking for the Aces in 1 season.
But Fred saw something in the young coach and I guess, his gut told him to give Luigi a chance. So the fans trusted Coach Luigi because Mr. Uytengsu trusted him. Luigi was then given the freedom to choose his coaching staff and make changes to the team. And he chose well. He brought in Louie Alas and Alex Compton. Topex Robinson was retained. He brought in 7 new players in the Aces and the biggest player that he had to let go was LA Tenorio. LA has been Alaska's premiere point guard for several years now. His career blossomed with the Aces and he was the orchestrator on court. But I guess, letting LA go was a blessing in disguise. The Aces were able to get Jvee Casio and veteran DonDon Hontiveros in return. Other new players were RJ Jazul, Raffy Reyes, Karl Dehesa, Aldrich Ramos and of course, the stellar rookie, Calvin "The Beast" Abueva. Veteran Nic Belasco also returned. The Aces team that Coach Luigi formed was definitely a new team, a mix of young and veteran players, but all with one goal. To get back to the winning tradition of Alaska and put the team back on top of the league.
The start of the 2012-2013 PBA season was an average start for the team, but sooner, rather than later, the team found it's groove. And all of a sudden, the team was winning again! The team chemistry improved game after game, the players learned to trust each other, from their fellow teammates to their coaching staff. However, the Aces run was ended after losing to eventual 2013 All-Filipino Cup champion TNT in their semifinals, 4-2. But despite the loss, you can see that the team has improved massively from the team that they were a year ago. They no longer looked lost, not knowing how to win. This time, they know what they are doing on-court and you can see in every players' eyes that they mean business.
This attitude continued to the 2013 Commissioner's Cup. They got the perfect import in Robert Dozier. The team's motto for the year is "We Not Me" and indeed, the team showed that there is not one superstar in the team. With this mentality, everyone is contributing, doing his own share for the end goal of winning. And because of this great chemistry, attitude and focus on one common dream, a championship, that dream was realized. The Alaska Aces dominated the 2013 Commissioner's Cup, losing only 4 times the whole conference. It was as if everyone wanted to prove that the Aces can win again. That the Aces can recover from their worst season in the PBA and get back to their winning ways again. To prove that they can win without Tim Cone and to prove that they can beat Tim Cone.
And it was as if fate was testing them when the team had to face the Cone-led San Mig Coffee Mixers in the Semifinals. The Aces has yet to beat Cone ever since he left the team. And after losing the first game of their series, it was as if, the curse isn't going to be broken just yet. But the team proved that they are a better team now. They proved that they wouldn't just go down without a fight. They have come a long way since the start of the season. They are playing their best basketball ever since the new team was formed. From here, they were finally able to bounce back and break the losing streak, winning convincingly in the 2nd game of the series. And to prove their resilience, to prove that they want nothing but a ring on their finger, they won the last 2 games of the series in a come-from-behind fashion. Since their first win against Tim Cone, they never looked back. Despite the huge wins, the team was so focused in getting the championship that they never celebrated their big victories against San Mig Coffee.
Come the Finals, they pounced Ginebra and sweeped the Finals series, 3 games to nil, to finally win their franchise's 14th crown. The team was so prepared in the series that no matter what Ginebra throws at them, they are able to counter. And when the final buzzer finally sounded, the balloons falling on them on the court, we finally saw the players actually celebrating. The huge pressure was released and they got what they wanted. The team that had something to prove has proven that they can get back on top of the PBA and be one of the best teams in the league once again.
Each championship is very sweet and this one truly has it's own way of being special. It's the start of a new winning era for Alaska. And for sure, this team wants more. As they say, when you're at the bottom, there's no way to go back up. The Aces hit rock-bottom after Cone's departure. And indeed, they went nowhere but up. They didn't stop until they reached the highest point and be crowned Champions once again. Cliche as it may sound, this time, it again rings true...Wala Pa Ding Tatalo sa Alaska.
This
was a request from Youtube user BoomBoxSaula who asked if I could do a
Leverage team video with the song, Raise Your Glass by Pink. I hope you
like it BoomBoxSaula and thank you for suggesting the song :)
Also,
I think it is appropriate for Leverage as well. Our dysfunctional
family of thieves was the fighter for the underdogs and the show
deserves a toast for 5 awesome seasons!
Aaaaannnd it's fan video time once again. This is the third installment of my "Season Themes" Leverage Fan Video. I'm telling you, it's getting harder and harder to do these because there is so much going on right now in the seasons. I must admit my favorite video so far is still Season 1 - Trust. We can really see in the scripts of Season 1 how the stories evolved around the theme. But hey! This is not to say that the other seasons are bad. They are great in their own way. And the way Rogers, Downey and Devlin made Leverage, each season is a stand alone season, so it's really unfair to compare them from each other.
So season 3 of Leverage is about Patience. Patience in doing the cons, in dealing with each other, in knowing Sophie's real name, in wanting pretzels and in taking down Damien Moreau. This season also dwelled on the character development of Eliot, Parker and Hardison after the first 2 seasons centered more on Nate and Sophie.
The recent sad news about a University of the Philippines (UP) Freshman taking her life due to financial problems ignites the flame once again about the tuition fee increase that the State University has implemented for the past years.
My take on this is that, we should take this issue from all sides. Don't simply blame the University, and don't simply blame the family. Suicide is a very complex issue. It does not stem from a single factor, but I believe that someone commits suicide because of several things that may have accumulated over time. And from this burden, a small trigger can result to the person losing control and jumping to do the inevitable.
Articles and news reports were very quick to blame the University for the reason the student committed suicide. They said that the reason the student took her life was because the she was forced to take a Leave of Absence after not being able to pay the tuition fee for the semester. And from this, the University was put under scrutiny once again. People started to complain and campaign against tuition fee hikes. For your information, the State University charges 1000 PhP (Philippine Pesos) per unit. This was a 300% increase from my tuition last 2004 (which was 300 PhP per unit). This 300% increase took effect a few years after my graduation and the UP community was divided with regards to this issue. I, for one, was in favor of this. Not because I'm an alumni already and wouldn't be paying the increased fee (thus not caring if they increase it or not), but because after studying in the university for 4 years, I believe that it is indeed time for it to increase its budget to maintain the high quality of education that it gives. The 300 PhP per unit fee was the tuition fee for, God knows how long. The University hasn't increased or adjusted its fee with the economic struggles, inflation and all other financial problems that the country has faced for the past 2-3 decades. How then do you expect it to maintain its buildings and resources in good condition? The hallways are dark and gloomy. The chairs are definitely older than the students. The microscopes we use in our college are working, but not in their best conditions. I could go on and on about these things, but I won't. My point is that, this tuition fee increase is justified. Now, people are saying that UP is a state University and the tuition fee of its students is subsidized by the Filipino taxpayers. So why the increase? Then ask as well, if indeed it is subsidized by the taxpayers, then why is the University budget so low? If the budget is decent, then the University doesn't need to do this tuition fee hike. Thus, it stems to the Government and the education budget. This is a very complicated discussion and I don't want to go into it. I just want to say that one should not be quick to blame the University for having these tuition fee hikes. If you want to continue with quality education, you have to have a good budget to fund your teachers and resources. If the Government can't give the school the budget, then UP has no choice but to increase the tuition fee. You cannot expect the University to live on a budget that was made 20 or 30 years ago and still deliver the same quality education.
On another note, I've said that suicide is a complex matter. The patient, in this case, has been showing classic signs of depression. But the support was not there. This is where our competency in Mental Health comes in. A colleague of mine has posted in his Facebook account about how sad this was. If the student was given Mental Health support or just counselling, then this tragic event could have been avoided. So this time, it's our health sector that is under scrutiny. Mental health still has the stigmata in our society today. Sadly, this should not be the case. Because Mental Health is as important as our physical health. If someone is not mentally healthy, one can suffer from anxiety, depression and eventually, a person loses control, becomes psychiatric or worse, suicide is the end result. We should really try to remove the stigmata from Mental Health problems. The act of simply reaching out, telling a person that maybe one needs help is a big thing. These people who are depressed or anxious just needs someone to reach out to them, to listen. It's not bad to seek professional help about this. Psychiatry is not for those who have lost their minds. Psychiatry addresses Mental Health issues which includes depression. And a depressed patient is not just someone asking for more attention. Severe depression is serious and shouldn't be taken lightly. I don't usually talk about heavy stuff in this blog, but I felt I just had to say something about this issue because people have been very quick to blame the University for the suicide. It is just the tip of the iceberg and it is not the sole reason for the suicide. As I said above, suicide is a complex issue. Let's not make this a simple issue of tuition fee hikes. There is more to it than meets the eye.
