Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao

I know Boxing is an old man's sport, but I'm really looking forward to the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao fight.

Even though it's a huge mismatch.

Personally, I feel it's a no-win-situation for Oscar De La Hoya.

To be completely honest, as a boxing fan, I think it's kind of pathetic that De La Hoya is fighting the much smaller Manny Pacquiao.

To me it feels like a desperate attempt by him to gain the support of a Mexican audience he's never had. To most boxing insiders, it looks like he's fighting Pacquiao simply because he's famous for defeating Mexico's best fighters, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera.

I like a good fight as much as anyone, but De La Hoya is FOUR inches taller than Pacquiao and has a SIX inch reach advantage over him. Not to mention that Pacquiao is going to move up TWO weight classes to fight De La Hoya.

Can you realistically script a more lopsided fight?

To me the physical mismatch is equivalent to the difference De La Hoya had against Bernard Hopkins in their fight.

We all know how that ended.

I do believe that Pacquiao has a better shot than De La Hoya did though. He's faster and quicker than Oscar. Pacquiao has a good shot if he boxes with De La Hoya and tries to win by decision. I also think it was a good move by Pacquiao to take the fight. Besides the money, it gives him more visibility and international fame in the sport. It's a win-win situation for Manny.

Don't get me wrong, I still hope that Manny wins and I'd love to see him knock De La Hoya out.

But let's be realistic. Pacquiao is going in as big underdog. It would be a huge upset if he won.

Last week during the Ricky Hatton match, the HBO announcers said that even if Pacquiao loses the match to De La Hoya, he'll still be considered the pound for pound champ because of the big jump in weight class he's making.

I agree.

But I'll still be watching on December 6, because I love Pacquiao and I'm hoping for the epic upset.

But if Oscar wins as expected, I hope he steps up and tries to fight someone his own size. Maybe someone like Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto.

Those two would dish out a beating on Oscar he won't soon forget.

I think the Golden Boy wouldn't be so Golden anymore.

Black Dynamite- Red Band Trailer

When I see epic trailers like this, it makes me acutely aware that we are now in awards season.

I find it very improbable that this film will slip through the cracks when critics consider their top 10 list for 2008.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's named the greatest film of the decade.

There's nudity, kung fu, Arsenio Hall and anamorphic duovision...honestly, what more does one need in a film?

Nuff said.

So...for your consideration...the epic Black Dynamite.

Star Trek Trailer and Star Trek 90210

The Star Trek XL trailer has finally found its way onto YouTube, but a high definition version of the clip has been available for viewing at apple trailers for about a week.


I'm really excited about seeing the film. It looks like the movie has the potential to fulfill everyone's expectations, even non-trekkers.

Of course there are a cynical few who aren't too happy about the reboot. This fan-made trailer capitalizes on the criticisms, although I believe they are also looking forward to the film, judging by the description of the video.



Classic.

Let's hope J.J. makes it less 90210 and more Star Trek, so that we don't have riots at movie houses.

Update:

Paramount has released an alternative version of the original trailer with footage of Leonard Nimoy as Spock.

The Wrestler - Trailer

The full length trailer for the upcoming movie The Wrestler was released last week and I've gotta say it looks pretty amazing. It's about time there's been a serious look at the wrestling profession. The piece seems to expose the extreme physical and emotional toll the business takes on the participants. Honestly, it's been a pretty mediocre year for the movie industry. I'm really hoping that this film closes the year out right.

Congratulations Don Wakamatsu

Being a die hard Los Angeles Angels fan, it's hard for me to give kudos to another baseball team. Especially to a team in the same division as my beloved Angels. But just to show that I'm not a heartless slob, I wanted to take this moment to officially congratulate the Seattle Mariners on hiring Don Wakamatsu.

Wakamatsu is the first Asian-American ever to be named manager of a Major League Baseball team.

Being a Filipino-American, I can't downplay the significance of this moment.

It's especially heartwarming to consider that my son now lives in a world where doors that were previously closed to people... are now open.

Watchmen Trailer #2

The first full length trailer to the Watchmen has arrived and the footage finally features dialogue from the film. The thing I appreciate most about the trailer is that it gives a more accurate sense of what the story is about, playing up the mystery noir elements of the tale.

This trailer has made me significantly more optimistic about the film. Let's hope it's able to deliver.

The Slide of Life

When I saw this picture of my children on our backyard slide, the first thought I had... after... of course how cute they looked, was what a fascinating story that my wife captured with this photo.

For some...the slide of life is fun, for others...not so much...especially when you're not the one in control.

Glory Days

I was recently doing some SEO research on me and my site and I stumbled upon some reviews of my theatre performances in college.

It looks like the Los Angeles Times has released a batch of archived reviews.

Without spending too much time researching and reminiscing....cause that would be kind of pathetic...I found three reviews.

Apparently...judging from these reviews... I might have been pretty good.

Here's an excerpt from a review of my performance in Macbeth.

"Raymund Manukay’s Macbeth, without delving too much into detail and subtext, is a forthright and honestly confused political parvenu. He doesn’t understand his failures, thinking he’s totally right to begin with, and especially in his “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” speech on hearing of Lady Macbeth’s death, Manukay has a reserve and a distracted air that is effective." - October 20, 1998

Then some more kudos in the play Cloud Nine.

"All the actors deftly carve portraits of characters making the uncomfortable transition between eras. Raymond Manukay is exceptional as the boy in servitude to the African raj and as the career-conscious Martin in Act 2."
- October 16, 1997

And yet another review from the play Ah, Wilderness.

Raymund Manukay stands out for his naturalism and reserve as the crafty salesman who lures Belle away from a tiddly Richard."
- March 26, 1998

And finally another review from the play Equus.

"As the stable owner who hires Alan and furthers his passion for horses, Raymond Manukay is solid and strong." - October 25, 1999.

So what do I take away from all this?

Obviously...it's that I'm fucking awesome....and I'm heading to Broadway. I suggest everyone start kissing my ass...now... so I can mention you in my Oscar acceptance speech.

OldBoy - U.S. Version

Variety is reporting that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are set to respectively direct and star in a U.S. remake of the excellent Korean mystery film Oldboy.

The fan boy crowd is obviously upset by these turn of events.

Although I agree that the idea of remaking this film for U.S. audiences seems strange. Especially since the original film comes from a very Korean perspective of honor, revenge and redemption.

But I don't think the film in the hands of Spielberg and Will Smith will be a total disaster.

The Departed was proof that Asian films can be successfully translated for American audiences.

Spielberg is capable of very dark material and the casting of Will Smith lends an extra edge of affability to a character who is seeking unspeakable revenge.

I believe that the film with its current creative team is an upgrade over the previous team of Justin Lin and Nicolas Cage.

I do have concerns however, especially considering the shocking subject matter. I think if the filmmakers compromise the original story and twist employed in the original film than it should honestly be considered a complete failure.

But I have faith that won't be the case. Especially in light of the accurate translation of The Departed.

No need to fix something if it isn't broken right?

I'm also looking forward to seeing how the rest of the casting turns out.

In the end, it's a chance worth taking. A bad U.S. remake doesn't take away from the greatness of the original.

I look forward to seeing the film.

The Expendables

Variety Magazine is reporting that Sylvester Stallone is writing and directing an action film called "The Expendables".

The film will star Stallone, Jason Statham and possibly Jet Li.

The plot concerns "a team of mercenaries on a mission to overthrow a South American dictator."

I can't help but think that the film was at least partially inspired by Quentin Tarantino's original idea of "Inglorious Basterds".

For years, Stallone heard rumors that QT wanted to use him and other 80's action stars in a "men on a mission" movie. Like an old school Dirty Dozen or The Great Escape type of war movie with Eddie Murphy, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Obviously QT decided to go in a different direction.

But it's fun to see that Stallone has taken the ball and run.

Albeit on a smaller scale.

Stallone already pulled off a decent "men on a mission" movie with the last Rambo film.

Now we get to see an old school action film with an all-star cast.

It would be really cool if he could get a couple of more action stars in there.

Make it a big ensemble piece.

Maybe get Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. What the hell, throw in Chuck Norris in there too.

That would be classic.

Maybe not a good film....but still classic.

Top Ten Stupid Things Americans say to Brits

Letterman and Ricky Gervais....can't miss...guaranteed laughs.

It's over...time to get a life

I think this clip from Comedy Central's Indecision 2008 accurately sums up the post election dip that many people and talk shows will feel.

It's hard to top the biggest and most important reality show in the country's history.

I'm sure a lot of people will be asking themselves, "What now?"

I'm sure Saturday Night Live will be struggling to find new material. The Sarah Palin stuff was the only reason to tune in.

Oh well....

The 44th President of the United States

Vote... for Lando Calrissian!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Barack Obama and John McCain on Monday Night Football

Down the stretch they come!!!

To be honest, I'll be very glad when this election business is all done. I'm honestly looking forward to seeing the two candidates collaborating together instead of against each other in helping the country get back on it's feet.

Make sure to vote November 4th! Make your voice be heard!

Obama Primetime- American Stories, American Solutions

Tiddy Bear

Thank God they invented this. My shoulder strap on my seat belt always irritated my crotch. Umm....wait....according to this, the strap goes....

Bush and Palin on SNL

Recommendations for Ray Manukay

To read more about Ray Manukay visit the page About Ray Manukay!

“Ray is one of the hardest working, intelligent and considerate people I've ever worked with. He has my highest recommendation based on his dedication and ability.” October 23, 2008

-Jason Calacanis, CEO & Founder, Mahalo.com Inc.
managed Ray at Mahalo

"People like Ray are the reason companies succeed. He is dedicated, passionate and has an incredible work ethic. At Ayzenberg, he has done social media engagement for our biggest clients including EA, Yahoo and more. He is an expert at understanding how to use social media to engage brand customers and advocates in meaningful conversations and ensure their experience with the brand is second to none. He has been a huge asset to our team for more than 2 1/2 years and I would highly recommend him for any social media engagement or community management position."

- Rebecca Markarian Social Media Marketing and Communications Specialist at Ayzenberg Group

"Ray is a born leader. Both the community and the other staff just 'want' to work with him and for him. I was extremely fortunate to have a truly passionate leader like Ray on such important community assignments. I'll absolutely look to Ray again if given the opportunity."

-Keith Pape Social & Emerging Media Digital Agency Executive, Speaker, Writer


“Ray was a truly amazing employee. Again and again he surpassed impossible goals. 'Above and beyond' does not even do justice to the effort that Ray put into his job. One of the truly great and incredible people I have had the rare privilege to work with. Anyone who gets him gets a huge and very serious winner. Ray was one of the heroes of Mahalo. I was personally very sorry to see him go. I would hire him back again in a heartbeat.” October 23, 2008


-Mark Jeffrey, CTO, Mahalo.com, Inc.
managed Ray indirectly at Mahalo

" I have been Ray's immediate supervisor for several years. I found him to be consistently pleasant, tackling all assignments with dedication and a smile.
Besides being a joy to work with, Ray is a hard charging and reliable employee, he is dependable and always willing to help and take on assignments. He has successfully developed several social marketing plans for our company that have resulted in increased brand visibility. During his tenure, we saw an increase in Facebook, Twitter and other social media branding that is directly attributed to Ray. Though he was an asset to our social marketing efforts, Ray was also extraordinarily helpful in other areas of the company. He was our main blogger, he maintained the company corporate blog, and he also selected content and helped maintain many of our websites. I highly recommend Ray for employment. He is a team player and would make a great asset to any organization. "

- Matthew Campos, IT & Operations Manager, Kingdom WWW Operations, Inc


“Ray Manukay is a hard-working and dedicated person. During my time as Editorial Director of Mahalo, Ray was one of the most prolific Guides reporting to me, producing more pages per day than anyone else on staff. In the early days of Mahalo, he was the first employee to build over 1,000 pages on the site and, if I remember correctly, he hit that record when we were only 12,000 pages strong. Ray is adept at internet research, keeps his head down, avoids distraction, and knocks out good work fast.” October 23, 2008

-C.K. Sample III, Editorial Director, Mahalo.com, Inc
managed Ray at Mahalo

“Ray is the hardest-working person I have ever met. He is a dedicated and intensely loyal employee. If he's given a new, more difficult goal to achieve, he'll do it - quietly and subtly. He's not a glory-hound, and he's not one of those people who flaunts how much they're working to try to score points. He's unobtrusive about his hard work, but it shows in his amazing productivity. He's the epitome of the strong, silent type, a rock that you can build a team around.” October 22, 2008

-Nicole Gustas, Lead Guide, Mahalo
worked directly with Ray at Mahalo

“Ray is one of the best mannered and hardest working people in our organization, which would be a feat in itself, except that Ray also manages to do this while being the most liked person in our organization. Truly a rare and special talent. I would recommend Ray to any friend, family, colleague, etc wholeheartedly and without reservation. Ray is the kind of person who when he wins employee of the month, everyone cheers.” October 22, 2008

-Tyler Crowley, Director of Marketing and Strategy, Mahalo
managed Ray indirectly at Mahalo


“I had the privilege of working in the same office space with Ray during his time at Mahalo, and being able to see him work firsthand. To say that he was hardworking and reliable doesn't do him justice. There was rarely something going on that Ray wasn't involved in and supporting. He helped grow Mahalo, especially during the crucial first year, to immense heights. Ray is an extremely valuable commodity to anyone looking for someone they can rely on, and not have to worry about whether or not the job is getting done.” October 22, 2008

-Ryan Budke, Programming Manager, AOL
was with another company when working with Ray at Mahalo

“Ray was always a blast to work with, he tirelessly produces high quality work no matter how challenging the work environment may be. Once he told me how he rushed into a burning building to save a family, on a scale of 1 to 10, he is certainly a 7 or better, hell he is a 11.” October 23, 2008

-Sean Percival , Social Media and Technology Guide , Mahalo
worked directly with Ray at Mahalo

“Ray Manukay is one of the most efficient workers I have ever met. He is very focused and capable of adapting to constantly changing goals. If I ever find myself looking for employees, Ray will be one of the first people I contact.” October 28, 2008

-Mike Rhoads , Guide , Mahalo.com Inc
worked directly with Ray at Mahalo

“I worked with Ray at Mahalo for nearly two years. During that time his dedication never flagged, his work was of the highest quality, and everyone in the office enjoyed working with him. Any company would be fortunate to have him on their team.” October 26, 2008

-Sara Kettler , How To Writer , Mahalo
worked with Ray at Mahalo

“I can't even begin to say enough about Ray, so I won't even try (there isn't enough room on this page). I would like to second everything that has been said in his recommendations. Not only was Ray THE MOST productive person at Mahalo over its first year of existence, his work was consistently high quality and his professional demeanor and ethic was impeccable. If there is any justice in this world, Ray will be running this country in eight years. Mark my words.” October 25, 2008

-Andrew Kaufman , Editorial Director , Mahalo.com
worked with Ray at Mahalo

Laid Off from Mahalo

I was laid off from my full-time, in-house position at Mahalo.com on Tuesday.

The reasons for this can be found here.

Basically the culprit is the well publicized problems with the economy.

It's hard to fault the business sense behind this decision, but obviously this was a devastating development for me and my family.

The security of a salaried position with benefits is something that a person and their family can't truly, truly appreciate...until it's lost.

The past several days I've experienced a wide variety of emotions, such as sadness, disappointment, regret, depression and of course anger.

But after several days, I think back to my nearly two years at Mahalo and many great memories come to mind. The camaraderie, respect and friendships that develops with a group of hard working, talented people in the trenches of an immense and ambitious project is an experience that I will cherish forever.

The accomplishments we made as a group, especially in the early days were awe inspiring.

The elation I felt winning employee of the month, literally brought me to tears.

The fact that I was singled out, above such a hard working and talented group of people was an accomplishment I will carry with me for my lifetime.

It's something that still makes me smile, even in the midst of such a dark time professionally for me.

But as much as I take this personally, I know that my story is a very similar tale to others out there suffering similar fates at this time.

Especially my fellow, talented, co-workers, who also lost their jobs after dedicating their lives to the great product we have today.

All is not lost however, even though I am no longer an in-house guide, I've accepted a gracious opportunity to work as a remote guide on contract. The opportunity allows me to keep working for the site, while trying to find another full-time job with benefits.

It's a position that I can hopefully keep, even when I do find another job.

That's how passionate I feel and how much I believe in Mahalo.

So I now look forward to the next chapter in my life and to the exciting opportunities which will inevitably come my way.



Recommendations for Ray Manukay's services can be found here.

New Watchmen Trailer

A new trailer for the Watchmen was released at the Spike Awards.

It's basically the original trailer, with new scenes and images sprinkled throughout the clip.



I have to say the footage looks cool, but I'm still wondering if they are selling the movie as something that it's not...especially the uninitiated, non-comic book fans.

The Watchmen is a mystery and a drama, with some action....actually not as much as one would think in a comic book film. The book is basically a lot of guys in outlandish suits sitting or standing around and talking.

If it's anything like the novel, the trailer sets up the film to be something it's not.

An excellent article by Dan Doodswen on Empire Online makes the same point.

I'm just hoping for a good movie, still hard for me to imagine the filmmakers telling that story in less than two hours.

Jose Canseco apologizes for naming names

I'm not sure how sincere he is, or if he is just taking advantage of the publicity he's getting on his new A&E documentary "Jose Canseco: The Last Shot" but... for the record... Jose Canseco has officially apologized for writing his tell all book "Juiced".




I'm sure at some level he is sincere.

They say the hardest thing for an athlete to do is admit when it's over...and to walk away from the sport that they love. For an outspoken, celebrity craving, athlete like Canseco, I'm sure it was especially difficult to walk away...or to be pushed out, as he puts it.

No word yet on if the players named as steroid users in his book will accept his apology....I doubt it though.