Just a small, small update...

I wanna buy a Gameboy Advance. Can someone please give me recommendations? What about link cables? Can a GBA link to a GBC? How many cartridges do I need, especially with fighting games?

And to all who greeted me, Merry Christmas, too, jabronis!

Best (material) gift: A Pocket PC! Whoo!

Was there even a single shadow of a doubt who it would be? Without further ado...

The Top 5 People Marcelle Is Most Grateful To This Year!!!

1: GRACE!!! Who else? She's been my girlfriend for the past three years and two months, and I have to say that I couldn't ask for anything more from her! She's been the most wonderful friend I could ever dream of, and the sweetest girlfriend I thought I could only end up imagining. Grace has a heart of gold, and I'm sure every single friend whose life she has touched is extremely grateful. Imagine how grateful I am, in that light.

What else can I possibly say about her that I haven't? Well, for one, I got to know her through pure serendipity. The both of us joined this contest in RX, and we were on at the same time. We exchanged numbers, and from then on, a beautiful friendship developed. Imagine if I didn't wake up at four in the morning to join that contest. Would I have ever known her? Sure, she had another friend I got to go against in the same portion, but even then... I just don't know. The odds of something like that happening to me are simply mind-boggling, to say the least.

Lots of people tend to wonder how peculiar Grace and I happen to be as a couple. Yes, we aren't exactly seen together too often, but you can be quite sure that the both of us are very much together. We've seen the best and the worst of each other, and we wouldn't have it any other way. I guess what makes her a cut above the rest is the sheer amount of understanding she has for me... I don't know of a single person on this planet (Yes, not even my parents.) who can possibly put up with all my mood swings, rantings, ravings, and so forth on a regular basis the way Grace does. I guess I'm grateful to her that to this day, we're still very much together despite all the setbacks, trials, tribulations, and such that we've gone through, including THAT summer...

The both of us have become far better persons by sticking it out with one another. I guess she's a very lovable person, and no matter what anyone says, that will not change. Unlike me, she has very good diplomatic skills, and has relatively few hostilities to deal with (Yeah. I don't think I'd see the day she'd punch a faggot in the arcade... :) ). Yes, we may be two very different people, but together, we are very much there for each other. I'm not the most romantic person in the world, and I'm glad that neither is she. One can only sweep another off her feet so many times... :)

You know I'm grateful for this year and the years to come with you, Grace... and... of course I love you!

Once again, let's go and take another look at...

The Top 5 People Marcelle Is Most Grateful To This Year!!!

2: Abby! I would have to say this is, without any amount of bias on me, the first time she would be someone I'd have to be grateful for since, I dunno... first year High School, I guess. If you want to talk about a loooonnnnggg history, what went down between me and her is certainly the epitome of that. I was courting her for the longest time, and only this year have I truly come to terms with the fact that I need to move on. I guess I needed some shock therapy to get me going in that direction, but if it finally would make me a better and happier man, I think it was well worth it. I'm glad she finally learned to "express her feelings", as well. Some time ago, she did say that a part of her kept it bottled up because of a traumatic experience... at least now, I can clearly see she's happy with who she's with.

Abby's been my friend for around six years now... I suppose we've been through a lot (One to two big issues a year, so it seems... :) ), but I guess this was the year where I simply owe her a lot. More than ever, she's been a great friend to me, ironically at the point when I gave up TRYING to bring back the time we were really close friends. She was the one who helped me and Grace work through THAT infamous summer, and she's one of the few people I can really count on all the time.

I guess she's also happy about this blog. I don't have to count on her as much anymore, and I recognize that she's going through some tough times every now and then, all the same. Somehow, I hope I can return the favor to her as well.

Abby, it bears repeating: thank you so much for this year. I know this year has made me a better, and stronger person, and you had a lot to do with it... Enjoy your holidays. At least, this year, hindi malamig ang iyong Pasko:)

Let's bypass the long talk between me and my Philo Prof. Not tha it wasn't important, but I think I'd rather focus my energies on giving the right people the rub (A wrestling term for "A shot in the arm".)...

The Top 5 People Marcelle is Most Grateful To This Year!!!

3: Mich! My blockmate for the past two years, and one of my favorite people there. She, like Maia, would fall under the writer type. Unlike Maia, however, Mich is most likely going to be one of the top journalists in the near future. She's an achiever by nature, but at least, she's still fairly laid back in comparison to most other achievers.

Yes, she is a great friend. But I think that her most astounding characteristic is the fact that she is one of the strongest people in the face of adversity I have ever met. I can't help but respect how she manages to still be there for you as a friend, even when to most other people, what she would be going through at the time would cause them to completely break down. I know I've been fairly demanding to her as a friend in that respect, but I'm glad that she lets me return the favor when it's my turn to cheer her up when she's down. Rarely do I get to do that for someone, and I sincerely relish it. I hope she appreciates this blog, because she's been hearing me rant a lot less since the time I started writing here, but... that's digressing. :)

I hope that this Christmas, she'd have a truly merry time. With the knowledge that there's a friend as great as she is in my life, I'm pretty certain I would. :)

Here's the next installment to...

The Top 5 People Marcelle Is Most Grateful To This Year!!!

4:Elvin, Ato, Cyril, and the rest of Calf Up! These people have been the only people in my entire life whom I can wholeheartedly consider as my barkada. Of course, being a loner kind of pushes me in that direction, but that's digressing. I put them together because not only will none of them be probably able to read this, but at the same time, they're people who I am happy being with. Of course, there are a few others in the Calf Up, such as Chinese ProspectTM Number 2, Kendra, and Rob, so kudos to them, all the same.

Elvin, of course, is one of the guys I owe big time this year. He has educated me on the finer points on dining (READ: Aling Banang's!!!), and he introduced me to Aling Banang's. Did I mention that he showed me where Aling Banang's is and how good it is? Yes, I was repeating myself, but something THAT good deserves repeating... :)

Ato and Cyril, on the other hand, are the people I would rely on for advice the soonest in school. One's a biology major, the other's a pre-div major. But the quality of their advice has absolutely nothing to do with that. All I can say about these guys would be the fact that they're one of the few people I can really count on. Be it good times or bad, you can be sure they'll be around.

Thanks, guys. I couldn't have chosen a better barkada than you.

This, I suppose, will not be part of the top five... I'd need a separate post for that.

I just don't know what's wrong with her. I really don't. I'm too lazy to put a link so you'd find out who I'm talking about, but I've talked about her a bunch of times already.

I gave her two weeks to cool her jets. She's still as mad at me as ever? Bah Gawd, I don't think I deserve that anymore, jabroni.

After a full week of ranting and actually missing out on writing a shiny new Top Five, I decided to do a weeklong Top Five in anticipation of the holidays. I won't guarantee a rant-free week, but at least they'd be in separate posts. After all, the so-called Christmas Spirit hasn't flaunted its power upon me yet. I mean, just why is the focus so much on Santa Claus? Well, this will hopefully be a positive spin on me (Bah Gawd, I need one!)... so without further ado...

The Top 5 People Marcelle Is Most Grateful To This Year!!!

5: Maia! I've known Maia for only a couple of months, but she's been such a wonderful person in the short time I've known her. Always witty, extremely smart, never at a loss for words, and gifted with extraordinary *ahem* charms, Maia is bound to go a long way. One can say that she's one of the best friends you could ever have, but don't you even dare get on her bad side. Not only will she give you a hellacious time in return, but her friends/groupies/fans will all be at your throat all the same! She's the kind of person who leaves such an indelible mark on you and can make you both humble and proud at the same time. Humble at the thought that there is such a great person like her, and proud because that great person is someone you can call a friend.

Maia also got me into this blogging thing, so you can tell how great that really is to me, that I'd actually be able to blog out my feelings without having to force-feed my negative energy on anyone... :)

I'm glad to be your friend. Thanks, Maia... have a merry Christmas, and enjoy! :)

Will the wonders ever cease, Marcelle? You go out of the library after your last post, with all these dark, gloomy thoughts in your head. You go to Centerpoint to play some King of Fighters 2K1, and after all of that, what happens? You get ganged upon for your troubles! Dammit, how pathetic can life get for you? To get your mind off OB and the trouble, you go there. Then, a reprisal beating for what you did to one of the faggots there last week hit you from out of nowhere.

Sure, they were cowards. They needed numbers AND a sneak attack to get a decent blow in you... if you can even call it decent. But you? You didn't even fight back? You just smiled and walked away? Marcelle, that was plain stupid. Don't go telling me you were too depressed to act. You should've acted. You should've shown them that you can do that and get away with it had you wanted to. But no... you just smiled at them and walked away. I mean, isn't that dumb? You think they'd be afraid of you next time around? Chances are, they wouldn't! Or is this part of your plan to actually get yourself into more trouble by fighting them AGAIN? That, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is pretty dumb. As Abby once said, you sure are a trouble magnet.

And what next? Yipee... you're back as a Rusher? A Rusher? And since when were you wholeheartedly accepted as one, anyway? Wherever you go, Marcelle, you seem to have that sign on your head that says "I'm an irritating nitwit." And sure enough, people read that sign! Take your high school, your block, OB, your CCG group, and even the Rushers once again as history telling you that you're not just going to change, Marcelle. You'll still be as pathetic as ever.

Guess what? When you went back there to be a Rusher, who's there? Yeah... WHO'S THERE? Isn't there some degree of irony in your return to their fold? Don't you think there're some loose ends you'd have to tie up? Honestly, if you make the mistake of not fixing it, you'll get the same result you got from OB just this week... perhaps worse. These people have known you longer.

In the end, Marcelle, you just ought to be thankful your girlfriend is the most wonderful human being who could ever put up with you. After three years and a month of you, it's a miracle she's still there for you. It's a miracle that she understands what in Hades you're going through at this point because frankly, I don't see much anyone else seeing things the same way.

Just be thankful. Count the blessing/s you still have, Marcelle. Just keep on having a reason to live, and maybe, just maybe, your life would be a little less pathetic than it always has been.

So where do we go from here, Marcelle?

I look at you, Marcelle, and I see a pathetic excuse for a human being. Just look at yourself. May mukha ka pa bang ihaharap sa OB? I mean, honestly. What made you think for one moment that things wouldn't explode like this? You had your chance to shut up, and you didn't take it. Now, even if you weren't to be warned or banned, it sure looks like your pride will not let you darken the doorstep of Otaku Boards again. If in case you actually make the mistake of showing up back there, what next? People are angry at you. The people who run the site are rightfully angry at you, regardless of your denials. People you trusted, people you counted on, all magically turned their backs on you. That's probably because you're not worth it. You never were worth it.

So where are all your so-called OB friends, huh? Did they just leave you to die for your atrocities? Oh, wait... one of them actually wants you dead! And what of the time you said you'd never let that person know your problem? Did you stick to that all the same? Either you did, and you were really stupid to get to this point, or you simply didn't. Either way, you're screwed, boy. You've absolutely no idea what you got yourself into, and whatever you do next, you're damned.

I frankly don't care whether you're telling the truth or you're lying. I frankly don't care whether you were wrenched out of context or not. What bothers me about you, is the fact that you still have so much as an inkling to stay there. There? Where each and every move you make is now going to be very monitored? There? Where one of your so-called friends actually wants you dead? There? Where you're not entitled to your own interpretation? Why? What's there for you to come back to? Your OB friends? Where the bloody Hades are they?!? Are they within the background, just waiting to defend you? Defend you? For what? For making a fool of yourself? What's there to defend?

Oh, are there some of them who still stand by you? Well, where are they? And why the bloody Hades are you looking like there's still anything to live for? It's not like your family life, or your school life, for that matter, is any better. You're the bloody black sheep. You're the frigging perrennial loner. You're an all-time loser!

Tanungin mo lang sarili mo, Marcelle. Kapag bumalik ka doon, ano ang babalikan mo?

New link: My really old website that I no longer have any idea to update. I hope I can soon, but I have to relearn how...

I also found Sacha's website, but I don't think I need to link into it... it's fairly nice, though, for a very simple website, but what else can we expect from Sacha, right?

I'm still afflicted with writer's block... why can't I write the way I used to? Honestly, maybe being happy isn't doing my creativity any good... then again. maybe it's just me...

Still, I'm actually surviving Cyril's Dungeons and Dragons campaign, despite being hit by five negative levels... I'm sure lucky, to say the least, that I managed to make all my saves so far... Oh, well...

I've had it with those faggots at Centerpoint. Dammit.

You see, here I was, playing a game of King of Fighters 2001, and up comes one of the cheap players in the area, who happens to be gay. Hence, he's surrounded by his friends. Do note that I have FOUR RANDOM CHARACTERS. He puts in a token, and proceeds to SELECT HIS CHARACTERS. Yes. Not a single random character. Not one. I beat him the first round, and... guess what? He PASSES THE CONTROLLER TO ANOTHER FAGGOT. This time, the second one is the CHEAPEST player in Centerpoint. Think Marvel vs. Capcom 2 minus super jump... I proceed to beat him. That ought to remind them not to cheat a guy who plays FOUR RANDOM CHARACTERS.

Afterwards, the aforementioned faggot challenges me again. Guess what? Despite being the best/cheapest in the area, HE SELECTS HIS CHARACTERS. He then beats me, then beats me without random characters on my part for a couple of times, but his cheese was still ever-present.

The final straw came when I was Benimaru, he was Kula. He knows that if Kula loses, Whip will not stand a chance against Benimaru. So... what does he do? He hits Benimaru WITH AN INFINITE COMBO. Wow. How... original.

This was when I snapped. I hate having to resort to violence, but I just had to punch his face. And I did. And you know what? If he makes the mistake of cheating Marcelle in the arcades that way again, he will get even more pain coming his way.

I don't care if it's unbecoming of me. I've had enough. Absolutely enough.

New link addition: the blog I made for the novel I'm writing. It's there in the links corner. Do check it out, and if my shout-out section isn't up there yet, please do use the shout-out section here... Thanx!

The Top Five People Who Better Stay Away From Marcelle Within This Week...

1. The ruddy wretch I've been talking about below.

2. If SHE makes the mistake of getting on my nerves for a perceived fault she can only speculate at, yeah, she better stay away too- for her own good.

3. If my DM at Dungeons and Dragons tries to kill me on Tuesday because of some tripping on his part, I'm walking out of his bloody game.

4. If those faggots at Centerpoint try cheating me at KOF 2K1 today, they might want to care about their personal well-being first and leave.

5. My stepdad. No ifs.

Damn, what a wretched week this has been.

Boy, am I getting really ticked off with somebody. This somebody is really, really testing the limits of my patience...

Dammit, I may joke around here and there and all, but fact of the matter is, there's not a bone of intent in that. I know where I stand. At the same time, I know when someone's got something against me. I don't see an ounce of humor in your snide attempts at subtlety, and I'm just letting you slide. Buddha will forgive you thrice, jabroni.

Just because you're so high and mighty, jabroni, doesn't mean I'm going to take this bull from you. Just because with a click of a button I'd be in trouble, does not mean you're going to get the better of me. I will let all these bloody frustrations blow over, and you wouldn't even know it. That's probably because you don't deserve to know, jabroni. You won't goad me into a position where you can assert your bloody "supremacy" over me. You're not going to get that chance, because I won't stoop down to your level and strike back at you the way you lash out at me so... "subtly". Roll your eyes for all I care, that is, if you're even going to see this.

You mess with me, I mess with you back. But since you decided to play it so insignificantly from such a high and mighty position, well, jabroni, Marcelle will not give you any satisfaction, dammit.

Hmm... there won't be any classes for Friday, so I guess I'd have to make the Top Five tomorrow...

Nonetheless, I'm just tossing these ideas around. Sort of a mini-character guide for me, regarding the Order of the Grecian Urn story I've been trying to write. I'm hoping for some suggestions from some of you jabronis.

Don Honoratio Veracruz: One of the gatekeepers of this plane. He is the one who organized the Order of the Grecian Urn, and little else is known about him. For a vague ideas on planes and the like, refer to Magic: The Gathering.

Fernando Veracruz: (Yeah, the name sucks, so I need something else to replace it with.) The only son of Honoratio. Carries out the orders of his father.

Charmie dela Cortez: The really cute secretary to Fernando Veracruz. I don't think she has powers. But that might change.

Adrienne Davleon, aka Lady Alpha: She's one half of the de facto leaders of the group. I don't know what powers to give her yet, but I think she should be able to combine her powers with Lady Omega to do some really powerful stuff... student.

Diane Cromwell, aka Lady Omega: The other half. Same thing here. No idea yet. I guess she'd be a student, too. These two will prolly be the youngest of the lot.

Geneva Mae Silverburg, aka Althena: (Methinks I need a better family name/ code name, or something.) She's got a fairly significant history with one of the male members of the Order... something about unrequited love, or conversely, they could be together... I guess she could have powers similar to Psylocke's Psi-Knife... Oh. She wears glasses. ;) She's a college graduate, and prolly in advertising...

Sandra Jane Chan, aka Keltrice: (Yes. A better code name is needed. I so wanted them to be like Sailor Moon, where evryone had "Lady" at the start, but I ran out of cool words other than Supreme and Ultima...) Patterned after someone I know (A lot more than anyone else in this novel, I guess.), she's the brains of the operation... Internet savvy, Linux, Binary, whatever other computer stuff, name it, she's got it... prolly a resident psychic/psionic... oh. She wears glasses, too. ;) She's a tech consultant.

Fiona Kirk, aka Triona: (YES! A code name change is in order!) Just a temporary character who may or may not make the cut... I'm figuring she'd be like the Flash, or perhaps, an elemental. If it pushes through, she'll be Tyrone's co-DJ...

Cyril Charles Cedric Chester (+ a few more C names, perhaps?) Calloway, aka Nihil: (No, I like this name. I don't think I'd change it.) He'd be a biclops if he were the leader of the group, but no... he's more than that. Looonnngg history with Geneva, and he's arguably the strongest in the group. He doesn't have many other powers, though... not if it's not triggerred. Expect him to be the punch-happy guy with energy-laden fists, or something. Messatsu and Orochi blood is not far off, but I may discard this idea. Since this is my self-portrait to a large extent, expect some friction between certain types of people in the story... ;)

Tyrone Mendrick, aka Maximus: (Name/code name subject to change) The other guy in the order. Playboy type. I'll leave some other details out, but he's a martial artist, a disk jockey, and his powers involve a lot of thinking over. I've no idea yet.

I'll stop here. I've no idea how to describe the main villain yet...

Input? Ideas? Hope this has proved to be a fun read!

OB is not working right now, so I feel pretty cut off for the moment... right now, I have bigger worries....

(The following is an in-character post.)

Marcelle is the Tournament Organizer of RAW Deal in the Philippines, hence, all prize support goes to him. They send prize support via snail mail, and lately, his biggest worry is that he hasn't received any belts in quite a while. There are only two things that could cause this: the stupid postal system, or his parents.

If it's the postal system, then what can he do? But if it happens to be his parents, then we have a quandary here.How can he prove it? You see, they hate playing cards. They thought Magic was occult, and they hate Wrestling. RAW Deal is a wrestling card game. Those are two things they hate right off the bat. Thus, knowing how covert they can sometimes be, Marcelle wouldn't hold it above them to tell the maids to actually intercept THE MAIL. Marcelle hasn't received belts in nearly three months. He's supposed to receive belts once a month. Worse, the commissioner of Comic Images (The company that makes RAW Deal.) isn't exactly tolerant of these occurences. Now that's quite a problem. How does he find out if they've been intercepting his mail without risking their ire? How does he prove it? Dagnabit.

Secondly, ever had writer's block? Despite working on some drawings to get started, that's exactly the problem Marcelle is going through right now with the novel he's been trying to write for years... it's so sad, because the storyline in his head seems to look really good... hopefully, he can get another blog going SOLELY for the novel...

(End of IC post... time to go OOC again.)

Anyways, ideas?

My links section is up now, courtesy of Voltee, but... as you can see, it doesn't look so good yet. Please bear with me... Haha-haha!

Wow... talk about a wonderful EB... I have to say that this one was great, and we've seen some budding actors/porn stars in OB yesterday...

As for my certain problem, I suppose I was right in letting her cool her jets first...

Moreover, my OTHER little brother got a 3510. Goodness, why? It's not even his birthday. Now, I think that's really unfair to me...

Liz, I don't see why you have such a violent reaction to my last post... my girlfriend didn't seem to mind when I showed her the posters... no harm in looking.

Haha-haha-haha! You wouldn't believe it, but in Ateneo, posters of Sacha are littered all over! Her her face is practically everywhere you'd turn to! And she's even wearing this matrix-type costume... methinks I should take home one or two... or three or four... or ten... :)

Hope to see some nice people at the OB EB tomorrow. Too bad Maia's not going. At least certain other people are...

OB Gossip Thread: Wow! Talk about a den of liars! Haha-haha!!!

As a once-a-week thing (I hope...), I'll just give a top five on anything, in addition to any other posts I may make. Let's see... for today, I'll go for:


IC: The Top Five Reasons Marcelle Feels Life Is Unfair

5. Marcelle plays KOF 2001, uses four random characters, and someone challenges him and chooses his characters. Thank God Marcelle then proceeds to whoop him.

4. Marcelle's D&D character is a Barbarian, and he loses in an arm wrestling match to a frigging Wizard.

3. Marcelle seems to gain the ire of the friends that mean a lot to him (See some of the previous entries for reference.)

2. Marcelle's 14-year old brother gets a Nokia 5510 for his birthday. Marcelle is 19, and had to save up for a year to get his 3350.

1. If Fernando Poe Jr. runs for president, no matter how great his opponents are, he will still win.

Just a little something I'm doing for my PR class... hope you jabronis like it!

Company: World Wrestling Entertainment


http://allsands.com/Sports/wwfwrestlinghi_vac_gn.htm SOURCE

What? World Wrestling Entertainment? Do you smell what it's cooking, jabroni?

Identity: The World Leader of Sports Entertainment.

This identity was established by the WWE through four decades of professional wrestling. In these four decades, the WWE has faced innumerable obstacles and challenges, yet remained steadfast despite them all. Until the 1980's, wrestling was regional, meaning that each wrestling organization focused on a particular part of the country. A typical wrestler would spend a year or two in one territory; when his character started to get stale in that area, he packed up and headed for another territory. Only a handful of wrestlers, such as Gorgeous George, were nationally known.

The AWA (American Wrestling Association) was run out of Minneapolis. Run by Verne Gagne and family, the AWA once held stars like Sergeant Slaughter, Curt Hennig, Nick Bockwinkel and even Hulk Hogan. The Von Erich family ran World Class Championship Wrestling in Dallas, Texas, and other organizations were based out of Memphis, Tennessee (where current WWF announcer Jerry "the King" Lawler first found fame), Hawaii (a territory run by relatives of the Rock) Florida, Georgia and more. The NWA (National Wrestling Alliance, the major part of which became WCW) was a loose alliance of the regional organizations that ran "supercards" where hometown heroes would square off for larger championships.


And then there was the World Wrestling Federation- or, as it was originally known, the World Wide Wrestling Federation. It operated out of the Northeast and its main venue was Madison Square Garden. (Even today in "wrestling industry-speak" a wrestler can refer to "New York" meaning the WWF organization, though the company is technically based out of Connecticut). Vince McMahon, Sr., father of the now-infamous "Mr. McMahon," was the promoter, and his main star from the very beginning of the organization was Bruno Sammartino.


Sammartino was a former bodybuilder from Pittsburgh who, in his time, was unquestionably the king of the WWWF. Bruno headlined over 150 sold out WWWF cards at Madison Square Garden and holds a record for longest WWF title reign, holding the title for over eight years without losing it! In today's wrestling world of quick title changes, it's hard to imagine a full-year title reign, much less an eight-year run.


Bruno had a solid array of power moves, such as the bear hug and the backbreaker, an impressive physique, and most importantly, a strong connection with his fans. In an interview Bruno remarked that after losing the WWWF title for the first time (to Stan Stasiak), there were fans actually crying because he had lost the title. His charisma, though perhaps understated in today's terms, was undeniable.


Another WWWF wrestler who had massive star power was Andre the Giant, though of course anything involved with Andre would involve the word "massive." The French-born Andre was an impressive sight at over seven feet tall and over four hundred pounds. Yet Andre could carry himself like a much smaller man, performing some acrobatic moves that surprised and dazzled fans. But Andre's charm belied his fearsome size and strength, and his popularity made him at one time the highest-paid pro athlete in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.


Vince McMahon Sr. died in 1982, and left his company to his son Vince Jr., who had been in charge of one of the smaller parts of the WWWF territory, and he dropped the "W" to rename it WWF, or World Wrestling Federation. This would mean huge changes for the industry. Vince Sr. believed in cooperation between the various regional wrestling organizations. There were times, in fact, when WWF champion Bob Backlund, who reigned in the late 1970's and early 1980's, fought NWA world champion Ric Flair. Both fought AWA champions as well. Each group loaned out talent to the others from time to time when business wasn't up to par. Vince Jr., on the other hand, saw the AWA and NWA as competitors, and decided to run his cards in their parts of the country. Vince Jr.'s WWF was poised to become the first truly national wrestling organization. But one piece of the puzzle was needed, and that was a name so nationally recognizable that the company could actually sustain a national following. The name was Hulk Hogan... and the rest was history.


Hogan at the time was part of the AWA, and a part in one of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky sequels got his name known in a big way. While the Hulk was extraordinarily popular, promoter Verne Gagne refused to put the AWA title on him. (There was a famous match where Hogan apparently beat Nick Bockwinkel for the title; when the referee announced that the decision was reversed, the crowd literally almost rioted.) Gagne's rationale was that Hogan was a lot of charisma, a lot of muscles, but not much wrestling. Gagne was absolutely on the mark about Hogan's strengths and weaknesses, but he misunderstood the public's stance on the issue: if it was between Hogan and pure, technical wrestling, they wanted Hogan, and they wanted him in a big way. After being told in no uncertain terms by Gagne that the AWA belt was out of his range, the Hulk came to the WWF and almost immediately became their champion.


This title change, in January of 1984, made Hogan the focus of the WWF and gave the company the national star power they needed. Almost immediately the WWF took off on the strength of Hulkamania. Not that it was Hogan's stardom and McMahon's marketing savvy alone: as the company began to grow, other talented stars began to head to "New York" and try their hand in the WWF. Rowdy Roddy Piper, who had previously been known for brutal, bloody feuds with Ric Flair and Greg Valentine, came to town and with his clever wisecracks and brawling style, he quickly became Hogan's nemesis. Colorful managers like "Captain" Lou Albano and "Classy" Freddie Blassie brought color to otherwise humorless teams like the Hart Foundation (featuring Bret "Hitman" Hart before he became a superstar in his own right) and the Killer Bees.


This was the first time in wrestling history where "gimmicks," or the addition of nicknames and personas in addition to wrestling skills, became paramount to each athlete. While this disappointed longtime wrestling fans (Bruno Sammartino, the company's top star in the 60's, still refuses to watch modern pro wrestling because of its "sports entertainment" focus), the Hollywoodization of the WWF continued on. Vince McMahon continued to expand in new directions, harnessing the power of pay-per-view television by creating Wrestlemania, now regarded as the focal point of the WWF calendar.


Hogan's popularity was unmatched for the rest of the 80's, despite other big names like Randy "Macho Man" Savage and the Ultimate Warrior. But as the 1990's rolled around, the WWF was showing signs of stagnation. Hogan almost never lost, which meant his matches were becoming predictable. Plus, he was getting restless and began looking to Hollywood for movie roles, eventually leaving the WWF in 1993. However, no one was big enough to replace Hulk Hogan, and so business began to decline. Heroes like "American Made" Lex Luger, Diesel and Bret Hart gave it a good shot, but the WWF's "huge hero vs. evil villain" model no longer worked.


At the same time, McMahon and several other WWF employees were indicted by the federal government for various charges of distributing and selling illegal steroids. During the trial, Hulk Hogan and other wrestlers testified against McMahon and the WWF, admitting they had used steroids. The negative publicity was damaging, and combined with the large threat from Ted Turner's WCW organization, they led to the company struggling to keep from folding.


How did the WWF survive? By changing course once again, casting off "last year's model" and trying a new format. Gimmicks remained an essential part of each wrestler, but now their roles were less cartoonish. Characters like the half-human Mantaur and plumber TL Hopper were discarded, while more focus was placed on the personality of each individual wrestler. Shawn Michaels stopped brown-nosing fans and played up his wisecracking, sneaky persona to create Degeneration X. His partner, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, went from a snobby socialite to the irreverent punk known as Triple H. Athletic, fan-friendly Rocky Miavia became the self-obsessed Rock, and silent Stone Cold Steve Austin turned into the rugged, beer-drinking, cursing "toughest SOB in the WWF." Plus, the company abandoned the traditional good guy-always-fights-bad guy format, pitting everybody against everybody else, leading to some unique feuds.


And of course, this has led to the rebirth of the WWF, which, in its current form, is undoubtedly the most popular wrestling organization of all time. On March 21, 2001, the WWF managed to purchase its sole national competitor, the WCW. As far as it goes, the WWF was now a monopoly in the national scene. But this didn't happen overnight. Just as its current format will play a role in its future, the history of the WWF is part of what it has become. In a recent legal battle with the World Wildlife Fund (Also WWF.), the WWF had to give up its rights to the acronym and change its name. Hence, it is now officially known as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE.

Image (Corporate): The ONLY leader in Sports Entertainment.

Image (Product): Anything can happen in the WWE.

The WWE's corporate image spawns from the fact that it has been the most dominant pro wrestling organization in the entirety of the United States. In fact, just like the NBA, the global coverage of the WWE has been a powerful force only the now-defunct WCW came close to reckoning with. By being the ONLY leader in Sports Entertainment, the people who closely follow the WWE know that Vincent K. McMahon Jr.'s business savvy is matched only by his ruthlessness in eliminating the competition. This entails numerous questionable tactics on his part, ranging from the aforementioned steroids distribution, to talent raiding of budding federations in order to prevent it from gaining ground. Most competitors view the WWE with little respect and great fear, simply because of these cutthroat practices, and while this is not a good way to connect with competitors, the WWE's sponsors are nonetheless confident that this is the best pro wrestling company they can turn to.

On the other hand, the WWE's product image can go either way. When one says anything can happen in the WWE, ANYTHING is certainly not an understatement. Events in recent history within the WWE have involved fatal accidents from a rapelling stunt, a gay wedding ceremony, and a necrophilia storyline. While the shock value of these storylines do attract a lot of media attention, and thus give a lot of exposure the WWE, a lot of backlash likewise happens. While sponsors are sure of the fact that the WWE is the best in its genre, it is however unsure of the viewership of the WWE, especially as of recent times. Sponsors, due to much bad publicity caused by the WWE's unpredictability, tend to back out.

On a positive note, the fans of the WWE enjoy its storylines because of its refreshing mix of drama and athleticism. Over the past decade, pro wrestling has been regarded as "The Man's Soap Opera", and while still considered as low-brow entertainment, pro wrestling in general has been more accepted into the mainstream than it was in the early 80's. The storylines of the WWE in particular, are very gripping to the casual fan (Although the self-proclaimed "smarts" in the business tend to find the WWE predictable.), and it's been a known fact that despite the openness, most WWE fans still think that the product is NOT scripted. The sheer power of the PR machine employed by the WWE to still exude this kind of an image despite its openness to being scripted is simply phenomenal.

Media Usage:

The WWE uses two forms of media quite heavily: Television and the Internet. Print, radio and film are secondary, but very crucial as well. Being a televised product, the WWE heavily relies on its TW coverage and syndication to get its product across, and a bulk of its advertisements come from there. It uses television very effectively, as its production quality is very high in comparison to its other competitors that are locally televised. Most of its storylines are teased in elaborate video packages aired on their respective networks, and even some of their wrestlers end up on the news, be it for an upcoming storyline, or, say, a charity event. On the flipside, these same individuals can also be there for the latest criminal offense. Their wrestlers also do guestings on other programs quite often as well.

On the internet front, WWE.com is one of the most frequently-visited sites in the world, generating an average of 50,000 hits a day, much more during Pay-Per-Views and live events. Within its website, a treasure trove of information about your favorite Superstars can be found, and most of their press releases are likewise placed there as soon as they are made available elsewhere for public consumption. Its official website is usually more reliable to check than your daily newspaper if in case you want to know the WWE's stand on anything.

Print media is a necessity for the WWE. Most of its press releases are coursed through there, and not through television. Likewise, they are fond of making full-color print ads that tend to catch the eye, and thus attract people to watch their shows. Radio, through guestings by their personalities, is also used to make their product more known. They rarely rely on radio for news updates, leaving this to TV, Internet, and to a lesser extent, print. Lastly, their use of film is quite apparent in the latest blockbuster hit "The Scorpion King", where Dwayne Johnson did not drop his ring name, The Rock, and used it to instead draw moviegoers through his star power, and likewise, draw moviegoers to watch wrestling even more. Lots of other wrestlers also make cameos in different films, and their association with the WWE is made very clear. Hence, even in film, the WWE is making its product known to its publics.



The Bottomline:

The researcher has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and he can say without a doubt that despite the fact that the WWE is not the best at public relations, the bond Vince McMahon, Jr. managed to make with the fans has been so strong, as to actually surpass all obstacles that faced the company, in the form of bad publicity, upstart rivals, and disgruntled former employees who write tell-all books. The magic exuded by Mr. McMahon is simply beyond logic: how else can you explain the fact that the WWE is the ONLY national wrestling company left in North America? VInce could've done all the underhanded tactics he'd like, but if he didn't come out with a good product in the first place, nobody would've been watching his program, and no matter how small the competition, the ratings will always tell the story.

Indeed, as far as public relations, in terms of its primary public (its audience), the WWE has certainly achieved a milestone. Where else can you see a company that swears it's lying, and yet nobody believes it?

That's the bottomline. It's true! It's true!

Haha-haha-haha! I aced Fr. Reyes' quiz today! I finally got the hang of knowing what to expect from him. I hope this continues, and I may still end up seeing a perfect semester for myself... haha-haha-haha!!!

Let's get one thing straight about yesterday's problem, and why I chose to blog in the first place: yesterday was really messed up. Fact is, even today, I deliberately decided not to approach her when I saw her. I feel that she hasn't been herself lately, and I'd give her some time to revert back to herself. I choose to blog not because I'm so totally depressed I'll be engaging myself in a downward spiral (The title of my in-the-works short story, btw.), but so I can get it out of my system, and hence, you wouldn't hear me talk about it in other venues much...

Maia, you gave good advice. It wasn't bad. What was bad was how she ran away from a problem. I didn't. She did. My fault? Not in this respect. Thus, I took your advice because I knew it was the right thing to do. Oh, and sorry if I've been texting you a lot lately... just making my monthly bill hit a nice, round figure. Seriously, nagpaparamdam lang ako, at ganun talaga ako. If it's a little too much... I'll ease off a bit, don't worry... methinks overtexting is what got her so hot under the collar (In a non-sensual kind of way.) with me... And thanx for the advice. The same gratitude goes out to the other people who gave advice: Madame no Miko, and Lizard.

On the lighter side, funny stuff on the Otaku Boards right now... a gossip thread, with one of them most likely pointing at me and my so-called non-existent girlfriend. Here's a hint: you guys have seen her already. Trust me.

One more thing: me and my so-called non-existent girlfriend, Mary Grace, ate at Aling Banang's for the umpteenth time last night. Anyone in the Centerpoint area, I highly recommend you to eat there. Imagine: halo-halo for only 30 bucks! The catch: instead of shaved ice, it's ice cream! how about that? It's near N. Domingo street, if you're wondering. Do try it out there. Recommended meals: Tapsilog, Litsong Kawali, at Porksilog.

See you later, jabronis!

IC: Marcelle is officially in despair.

OOC: Yep. I can't believe it. I took maia's advice, and tried to speak to her in a civil manner. The answer? "I have homework kasi, eh..." then she proceeds to "do" her homework, and CHAT with her friends. Wow. Is she joining a lame excuse contest or something? Chee...

What in heaven's name did I do to deserve this? I've been so nice to her, and I haven't done anything dastardly enough to her for me to deserve this. I know I'm repeating myself from two days ago, but damn, it bears repeating.

All I wanted was to be her friend. No more than that, no less than that. I'm happy with my girlfriend, and if she, for one moment, would actually think I'd give Grace up for her just like that, then I hope she gives me more credit than that. It's been really distressing for me to go walk up to her and be completely embarrassed like that. Why in Hades would she act like that towards me? I've done meaner things to people I've never even met, and I managed to patch things up with them!

IC: Marcelle hopes this whole thing gets resolved soon. It doesn't do any good for him to be going through this, and he realizes half of the people at OB are grateful none of this is ending up on the threads... :) Nonetheless, it's still quite a quandary he is faced with...

Sheesh.

Here's the thing... I guess I'll be in character at times, but not all the time. Since I LOOOVVVEEE writing in third person, I suppose I'd give in to that here and there, but conventionally, I won't.

With that out of the way, can I just say that hearing HHH coming back on RAW TV so soon is such bad news? Honestly, RAW was doing better without his presence. Much as nostalgia is great, yet another HBK vs. HHH match will begin to bore everyone to tears... I really hate the way Paul Levesque uses his backstage influence to give him such a prominent role on the program... it's not like he's doing the company a big favor by being there... and for a heel, I can't understand why he's so dominant without having to resort much to underhanded tactics. It's completely inane.

As I said in an earlier post, it looks like Fr. Reyes is beginning to grow on me, after all. He's funny and all, but I'm still on a wait and see mode, as to whether or not he'd just be fine. One thing's for sure: I'd have to bleed to get an A from him this semester.

While my links section isn't up yet, I sure hope people wouldn't mind linking my blog to theirs if they deem it worthy... :)

Overall, I guess I don't have much to worry about, though yesterday's issue remains to be settled... hence, no third person today.

One last thing... when you get the chance, do take Jim Paredes as a teacher. You wouldn't know the stories he can give! Example: Did you know that the song "Magkaisa" by Tito Sotto was a song commissioned by Imelda Marcos? Simply put, it wasn't as "People Power" as they'd have us believe... that's why APO composed the song "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo", as an antithesis. The APO Hiking Society? A renegade group? Wow! :)

I'm trying to see now if I can actually write better if I break character, and write in the third person...

Ah, well. Sorry if it can get irritating at times, but hell, I guess I have a knack for irritating people, don't I?

Marcelle could've fallen in love with her, but he didn't.

Yep. He didn't. Despite the fact that she's Chinese, and she wears glasses, and that's exactly his template, he didn't. He's very happy with Grace right now, as they've been together for three years already, so why even fan the flames of regret, to begin with? She's a great person, she'd make a wonderful girlfriend, but Marcelle wouldn't even dare try while he's attached to someone very special...

But let's be clear about one thing: had things been just a little different, he would have fallen for her. But things are not different... so Marcelle is happy with being her friend. Hopefully, Marcelle could even be her close friend. That's why he's been so nice to her, though maybe he's guilty of being a little too sweet, for lack of a better term...

So why in Hades is she ticked off at Marcelle?

Honestly, the logic escapes him... he's been nothing short of gallant towards her, and at each step of the way, he's made it perfectly clear that nothing romantic is to come out of it... they joked about it a lot in the past, and she would be the last person Marcelle would expect to take it seriously. Yet when he called her last night, there was a certain kind of coldness to her voice... and she refused to answer the all-important question: "Did Marcelle do anything wrong to her?"

That very refusal to answer the question, amid all silly excuses to get off of the telephone, was more than enough of a signal to Marcelle that something is wrong. Something is very wrong... but why?

Was it because he was too nice to her? Was it because there was one flirtatious joke too many, and it finally got to her? Was it something stupid that Marcelle did? Something stupid that Marcelle said? Was it something so vile, yet Marcelle has absolutely no idea about it? Or is he just being plain paranoid, to the point that there's nothing to even worry about to begin with (Though this is probably not the case... you had to hear the conversation yourself to agree...)? Or, quite shamelessly, and even less likely so than the latter one, is it because she doesn't want to feel too attached to him? Is this friendship getting too close for comfort?

Marcelle is not going to go out here and tell you that he's innocent, that he did no wrong. For all he knows, he probably did something wrong. All he really wants to know is what. Doesn't everyone deserve to know what?

Marcelle seems to have this sad, sad effect on the people who are close to him...

It's becoming painfully clear to Marcelle that this early, a perfect A-everything semester is next to the impossible dream. That Theology Professor of his decided to ask an inane question exclusive to the readings he gave on the day that he rejected Marcelle from his class to be late. Is it fair? Marcelle doesn't care. Is Marcelle ticked off? You're damned right he's ticked of! It's not easy to take that you'd review all night for an article, and the next day, he decides to do something cute and ask you something you never really expected to be asked. Is he even Christian? Marcelle hopes Fr. Reyes eventually grows on him, or else he'd be stuck with a clunker for the rest of the semester....

As for the results of last Sunday's Survivor Series, Marcelle can't understand why, of all people, did Shawn Michaels have to win the title? Honestly. What does that do for the credibility of the other four men involved in the match? RVD, Booker T, and Chris Jericho are all great individuals who have had their share of paying A LOT OF DUES. It's time the WWE realizes that nostalgia kick like HBK will fizzle after a while, the way the Hogan nostalgia did a little after he won the title at Backlash...

More so, let's face facts: Six matches in a Pay-Per-View is an abomination. Really now!

Marcelle is completely flabbergasted... is his Theology teacher this Draconic? He comes from a class that ends late, then gets rejected at Fr. Reyes' class! He wouldn't accept any reasons... just turn around and walk away... yeesh! To think Marcelle failed his first quiz with the guy... this does smell like trouble, to say the least...

Regardless, Marcelle would like to thank Maia for being such an angel and helping him out with the shout-outs. It's just unfortunate that the site she gave him doesn't really work, so he can't make a links corner just yet. Thank you very much, nonetheless!

First day of classes today, and Marcelle's about to work on my novel real soon. He thinks he should get to doing a short story first, though, so he'd get the feel of it again... expect things to start cooking by the end of this month. It's too bad he doesn't know how to write a good lemon fic yet, though. Marcelle thinks it takes a lot of talent to write a classy one, and that's what mainime's got a lot of... maybe it's time to look to the experts once more?

Wha? Looks like the Otaku Boards aren't even up... oh, well. Right now, Marcelle will just shut up,and think stuff over. Thanks to mainime, it looks like he'll be writing stuff again, soon... a novel, a couple of short stories, and maybe a bunch of poems... more on this soon.

Okay. So Marcelle's here now, trying this thing out. He has absolutely no idea how this works, but... here goes. Oh... and do forgive the references in third person. It's a personal quirk... :)