Edelweiss - Christopher Plummer's own voice

Edelweiss - Sound of Music - Christopher Plummer's own voice from Mark on Vimeo.


Thanks to the Internet - you wonder/wander and you find interesting bits like this.  


I think I like this  better than the sanitized movie version - it is more intimate, reassuring. Just like what a cool father should be.   Which brings me to....


It was my Tatay's birthday last May 29.  Kung hindi siya makulit at tumigil sa pakikipagdate kay Champion na Hope (the cigarette not the Centeno), 82 na sana siya ngayon. 


I miss the fun of having Tatay around.  Corny one liners, crazy admonitions like - Hoy wag kayong maingay magagalit si Panget (my Nanay) - I kept waiting for him to say - magagalit ako, but he never did. Or when he would sheepishly ay - Huli ba? - when he get caught going to Laloma attending his favorite pastime - sabong. How about when he says, Panget (addressing my mom), i-tape mo na lang ang sermon mo. Press rewind ka na lang daily para hindi ka mapagod kasi replay naman yang sinasabi mo. We were never rich but Tatay made sure that our home had lots of laughter. 


For the few times that Tatay gets mad, he would try to raise his voice to feign anger.  In times like that, we, his kids, just laughed it off because we knew he was play-acting. But when he gives us that disappointed/sad look, its time to behave because we knew he'd reached his boiling point already.  Tigil ang kakulitan pag tumahimik si Tatay.


Advance Happy Father's Day and belated happy birthday to you Tatay.  We pray that you continue to RIP wherever you are.  Watch over us as we continue making you proud.  Ayos naman kaming lahat, tanong mo pa ke Eva.  Tama siya na lang tanungin mo o kahit si Meng.  Wag na ako, magugulatin ako, kaw din baka atakihin ako sa puso, gastos sa ospital yan, di naman kita masisingil. Tsaka magagalit si Nanay.


By the way, we have a third Max in the family, Tatay.  Fortunately for him, mas pogi siya sa ating 2. Fortunately for him, uso na ang weird names these days kaya hindi na siya aasarin dahil ang pangalan niya ay Max.  And fortunately for me, di ko na rin siya uutuin at di na rin ako magreresearch ng pampalubag loob para pagaangin ang kanyang loob dahil sa siya ay si Max.


There was never a moment of regret in me having you as my Tatay. For me, you are what a father should be - a reassuring presence in a child's life. Er, I made a mistake.  There was a moment of regret - Tatay, you died too soon, bitin ang tawanan..  Hehehehe, Junior mo nga ako, kasi pareho tayong mais.

Djokovic over Nadal in 2011 Italian Open

Novak Djokovic celebrates

as Rafael Nadal walks by.  The Serbian won the 2011 Italian Open, defeating Nadal, 6-4, 6-4. It's the fourth win by Djokovic over Nadal in four final meetings this year.  It is his 37th straight win for the year, second only to John McEnroe's 42, set in 1984.

More importantly, it is the second straight win by Djokovic over Nadal on a clay court, long considered as Nadal's turf.  That should make Djokovic a strong favorite in the 2011 French Open.

But no matter how I like Djokovic, the conditions in the Roland Garros and the longer playing time (3 sets if he wins straight, but could be extended to 4 or 5 sets) favors Nadal.  I pick Nadal to win the French Open but for sure Djokovic wins will pressure Nadal just as Nadal did to Federer before.

Nadal's tweener

What is so special about the Djoko that for the second time, I think, he gets a shot like this.

So Long Goodbye Farewell

The Lakers, soundly beaten, whined, complained and played dirty to end their 2011 NBA.

The trashing was so surprising that I had to blink lots of times just to make sure that it was not the Clippers the Mavs were playing. 

"The number one ranking is not in danger - it's finished. Let us not lie to ourselves, that's the reality" said Rafael Nadal as he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 Madrid Open Finals.

The win, Djokovic's third straight over Nadal in 2011, maybe the start of a new rivalry in tennis.