Jason Kidd in his rookie years (fun to watch)

Today (March 23), an all-time point guard great turns 40. Jason Kidd entered the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1994-95 season and won Rookie of the Year award (together with Grant Hill). Below is a clip during his rookie year.

Jason Kidd continues to break some records. Here is a list of his all-time records. Last night, the win by the New York Knicks over the Toronto Raptors put the Knicks to the playoffs. It will be Kidd's 17th straight playoff appearance, the longest streak among active players and 3 short of the all-time record by Stockton.

Below is the peak of his career, bringing the New Jersey Nets to its only back-to-back finals appearances in 2002 and 2003 seasons.

Of National Importance When Bourgeoisie Complains

SSource: www.philippinestodayus.com

This week, the Philippine national media recently feasted on the news about Kris-James and Heart-Chiz love stories. The stories paralleled the news of Filipinos to be tried in Malaysia for "terror" acts and possibly mete out death sentences. The dominance of few families in the Philippine social, political, economic, and cultural spaces can never be doubted in the very moment when Kris Aquino sheds tears and Heart's parents pleads to a Senator, and not to their daughter, to end their May-October love affair (well, 16 years gap may not qualify for May-December affair, to my mind).

Kris is Kris. She is an Aquino. She is a Cojuangco. She is the daughter of  Ninoy and Cory Aquino. And she is the youngest sister of the current President of the Philippines. She is a showbiz star. And she is very wealthy. Now, she is complaining of harassment from her estranged husband and seeking a temporary protection order from a court to prevent her former husband access to their son.

Source: www.pep.ph

And then, the Ongpaucos who own a chain of popular restaurant held a press conference and declared that their daughter is being manipulated by her politician-boyfriend who is running for reelection. Their daughter, Heart, is 28 years old. In the heat of political campaigning, the wealthy couple threw accusations after accusations to the current Senator, Chiz Escudero, who is aiming for reelection in the senate. The couple denied that their actions are election-related, and they are only expressing their parental concern about their daughter's welfare. But they enumerated their complaints against Chiz and the reason why they wanted him to return their daughter to them.

The netizens and media persons caught the bourgeois fever. And so the whole country was abuzz. The plights and problems of Kris and the Ongpauco parents have grabbed the national limelight. Why?

The bourgeioisie has in possession of what society apparently values - wealth and prestige. People tend to identify with them because they too aspire to have those values. Often, in pursuit of these values, or in defense of the bourgeiois status, people use their ruling or "borrowed" mentality to keep "other" peoples from their spaces. Little do they know, their space is shrinking. The "others" will not be fooled again. Rise up, unite, and make own stories and history!