Manny Pacquiao Scandal: Say cheese!

I wanna give 'Better Philippines' a break and for the moment, just settle down to good old Philippines as we know it right now.

It ain't that bad, really.  And, some times, the only way you'll realize how good you have it here is to find another place that will give you a contrasting experience.  Sure, we deserve better, but I guess 'better' shouldn't mean boring too.

It was my brother Gene, who currently lives in Toronto, who clued me in on the great things about being Pinoy.  He was born sixteen years ahead of me, taught me how to love reading great literature (is Playboy considered literature?),  taught me a few things about writing, taught me how to ride a bike, and till this day, still teaches me new things or reminds me of lessons learned.

Last year, he came over to visit and to settle a few things.  During the three weeks that he was here, he raved about almost everything except the traffic.

He pointed out that a visit to the nearest mall (and he isn't crazy about malls) is sure to amaze first time visitors to the Philippines and even Balikbayans.  I'm not sure if it was at the Mall of Asia or SM Centerpoint that he pointed out that almost every single store clerk almost always greeted customers with a smile when you ask for help.  People in Toronto, he said, aren't as smiley and here, we smile for all sorts of reasons.

Just saying 'Hi!' will get you a smile.  Wave at anyone, even at an absolute stranger walking across a street, and you get a smile.  Even when a fight breaks out in the middle of a street and people mill around the two protagonists, just ask loudly what the fight is all about and you'll get what?  I'll give you one guess.

Does our Pinoy penchant for smiling equate to happiness?  Perhaps.  Or then again, may be somewhere deep inside every Filipino is the unworded assurance that no matter what happens, everything will be alright if we can just smile.

Next to the Pinoy habit of smiling for any reason is our love of cheese.  LPGD who writes a couple of blogs (Words for Moolah, Better Philippines, Pinoymediainsider), pointed this out.

He says he'll eat anything with literal cheese but admits to gagging on figurative cheese or cheesiness.

My mother, during a tour of Canada sponsored by my other brother Jun, was at one point inundated with all sorts of cheese from various parts of the world.  My siblings had apparently taken her to a cheese tasting thingy and after the Cheesmeister introduced all the sorts of cheeses, all my mother could blurt out was: "I don't like (sic) chezz (cheese)."

It has become a running joke ever sincel, at least, for me. 

I'd admit to being averse to Pinoy cheesiness but sometimes my inner cheese-monger gets the best of me.  I am not a hardcore afficionado of Pinoy cheesiness (unlike my wife and my middle sister who both watch Boy Abunda), but given the right moment and provided that it is on the internet, I'll indulge in a bit of cheese.

Take for instance the Manny Pacquiao Scandal.

Yesterday I decided to install Feedjit, which is a widget that shows if visitors came to my blog and what they were reading before they clicked on a link going to my blog.  It is pretty useful in finding out where people are coming from and what they are looking for.

After fiddling with it for a bit, I discovered that its mainsite also lists the most popular blog entries for particular geographic locations.  In Makati and Manila for instance, I saw that one of the top posts was the "Manny Pacquio Scandal" and before I knew it, I was neck deep in cheese.

I am sure that this is not what it looks like and I would really like to appeal on behalf of our Pinoy Boxing Champ that people stop spreading unfounded rumors of his womanizing.

I am not saying that he is a saint, but I am sure that Jinky (and all wives) will understand that the picture was OBVIOUSLY taken in a very noisy bar.

They are not hugging or kissing, they are just putting their heads closer so that they can hear each other talk.

And why would Manny Pacquiao risk philandering in public!  The reasoning goes that if any man were to betray his wife, he would most likely do it in a place where the deed would not be discovered and not in public where anyone with a camera could just get pictures.

Hahahaha!

I wonder who that chick in the background is.

Also, did you notice that after these pictures came out in the internet, Pacquiao's English sort of straightened out a bit?

I'd say, it must have been because Jinky's left hook to his balls.

Hatton doesn't stand a chance against the REAL champ.