Curry Shoes History

Wardell Stephen Curry II was drafted in 2009 by Golden States Warrior Round 1 Pick 7.

Shoe Road Map


NIKE ZOOM BRAVE V

Nike Hyperfuse 2010 Steph Curry PE

Steph Curry spent his first 4 years in NBA with Nike. Nike Originally offered Curry a deal worth $2.5 Million per year. The first Nike shoe they initially settled on was the
Nike Zoom Brave V which is the same signature shoe as Tony Parker which was also being worn by Portland's Wesley Matthews during that time. Curry, Parker & Wesley were set to have the same shoes but Curry said that they are lower & wider than what he is used to which are Hyperdunks and Lunar Hypergamers. Nike headquarters analyzed more data and features that will fit Curry's style and they finally came up with the Nike Hyperfuse 2010 'Steph Curry PE' (Player's exclusive).

In 2014 to 2015, Under Armour offered Curry less than $4 million which Nike did not match. Curry's impact to Under Armour business has been profound. In fact, Under Armour was valued at a little over $14 Billion prior to Curry's UA contract. If Curry will continue his streak, the difference in the market capitalization value could be approximately $14 BIllion which will make Under Armour value at $28 Billion. (That's according to Business Insider in April 2016). 
That makes Steph Curry's statement true that he built the company (Referring to Under Armour) during an interview regarding KD's comments on UA shoes.



    

UA Clutchfit Drive PE

 Prior to Curry One release, Curry is wearing an Under Armour Clutchfit drive PE .

In February 2015, Curry One was released. The release of Curry one skyrocketed the Under Armour's revenue by 30% for the first quarter, which is at $1.05 Billion, beating the analyst's estimate of $1.02 Billion.

On the same year, Curry Two was released (October 2015)





Curry One

CURRY 3

Curry TWO



The brand struggled after the Curry 3 (released on Oct 2016) failed to gain traction.  Under Armour is now looking for the new shoe to drive sales & attention. Curry 4 was set to release in October 2017 but after selling through preorder stock on underarmour.com, the shoe will not ship until November 18, analyst Sam Poser of Susquehanna Financial Group wrote in a report to investors.

Under Armour will also release UA Curry Golf Shoes.

What do you think of Curry 4?

CURRY 4 Black & White

CURRY 4

Curry 4 worn by Steph on GAME 1

Curry Golf Shoes



 

 



 

ANG TUNAY NA ASTIG MAPILI SA PANCAKES!!!

Welcome back to me!!! 

My welcome back blog entry on comfort food... PANCAKES!!

Where to find the best pancake within a 25km radius from book- off suplados' crib.

I do not have a sweet tooth but I always get this craving for pancakes once in awhile. Don't expect a very detailed price list on this blog because I know you can get it from other sources. If you want to know the overall feeling on every restaurant I went to in search for the perfect pancake, this is the blog to read.

KANTO FREESTYLE RESTAURANT
3 Spoons

The location is not really hard to find but for a direction guru nightmare like me, I must say I don't think I can find it if riding a cab will not be an option. It is located on San Joaquin St in Plainview, Mandaluyong.

Kanto Freestyle

It will give you a real "kanto boy" experience. The tables are literally on the streets so expect flies, mosquitoes and smokes from the car passing behind you or from the cigarettes smokers from the other table. Self service: You have to order by the counter and expect at least 10 to 15 mins for your food. Finding a table is easy, you just need to grab a folding table and plastic chairs then set it up by the pavement and you're all set. In short, if you want to bring out the annoying side of your "conyo" friends bring them at Kanto Freestyle. 

PANCAKES: Kanto Freestyle claims that they serve gourmet breakfast. I thought they are

Peanut Butter Pancakes

experimental and they liberate a regular comfort food. I must say that it's below the standard gourmet that you think of. I ordered Peanut Butter Pancakes. It has a generous peanut butter serving on 2 pieces of pancakes for 90 pesos. They used the usual grocery pancake mix in a yellow box. I accidentally saw it when the person by the counter asked a waiter to hand the boxes of pancake-mix to someone. That's why you will find the taste of the pancake very familiar, it's like the pancakes you cook at home just with a peanut butter on top and some chocolate syrup dressing. They also offer Fluffy Pancake Topped with Oreo Cookie Butter, Mixed Berry Berry Pancakes, and Fluffy Pancakes Topped with Goya and Chocnut Ganache.

Kesong Puti and Tuyo

I also tried Tuyo flakes and kesong puti with pesto. It was good but the dried fish they used was way too salty than the usual. Kesong puti and tuyo is a perfect match. Genius!

iHOP in BGC
3 Spoons
I've been to iHOP thrice in the past 3 months. 1st visit, I thought it was overrated but I was amazed at the waiter who can remember at least 12 orders without writing it. My 2nd visit was on a weekday, I thought the service was really good or it was just because they offered coffee right away. My 3rd visit was on a weekend, iHOP was crowdy, hot and the service was terrible. It's not a good place to dine on a weekend. 

PANCAKES: You can say that it's better than the usual grocery hotcake mix but I can't give more than 3 spoons because I find it a bit mouthful on every bite. It's probably too thick that's why it felt heavy on every bite. You have 4 options for the syrup: old fashioned, blueberry, butter pecan and strawberry syrups which was too sweet for me. I enjoyed the chicken fajita omelette than the pancakes. 

Pancake House
2 Spoons

I gave Pancake House 2 Spoons. I really feel that it shouldn't be called the Pancake House because their pancakes should really be called sugar flapjacks (sorry pancake house fanatics, peace). You'll feel the burst of sugar on every bite even without the syrup. I believe that a good pancake shouldn't be too sweet and the sweetness should just come from the syrup. I'm not a fan of their pancakes.

Fast food Pancakes: 
I run to McDonald's for an immediate pancake cravings satisfaction. They serve a very neutral-tasting pancake. 
Jollibee pancakes?? naah!! not a chance. It's way too sweet for me. 

I probably have not found the best pancake that will suit my taste buds yet. The pancake that will deserve my 5 spoons rating but my search is still on. Until my next pancake blogs.

Life of Pi

I dare you to watch the film and be moved. 2013 has just started and the film Life of Pi just gave my year an exclamation mark. I remember vividly when the scene from the film Ice Age 2 moved me. Funny right? but yeah it made me cry. More than Titanic, more than Nicholas Park's books, and more than Pursuit of Happiness.. that's right! Ice Age 2 made me cry. In reality, you will not know what will hit your emotions. You may not be convinced by the example I gave but Life of Pi is not a film that will make you move because of sympathy or even because of someone else's lost but because of your faith. It made me feel so special and so blessed. Stream of reflections flowed from my heart after watching it and I just can't get over it. With the way I know people perceives me, I don't think anyone would even get a hint that I was moved with such a film.

I remembered the book "The little Prince" by Antoine Exupery where every line seems to make you reflect about your life. In the movie Life of Pi, every scene seems to make you feel blessed. Some would give meaning to every character, to every situation, every word that Pi is saying, I may not see it that way but one thing is for sure, it just says God loves us.


God gave us troubles so we can find him. Religion is like a door that opens our mind. It tells us about God and our faith confirms that God exist but only our troubles, challenges and problems in life make us find God.

You cannot lose anything if you are selfless. Pi is right! Life is about letting go. Letting go of your bad feelings like letting go of your anger and embracing humility when in a heated discussion with others. When others are saying bad things about you, let go! because they may need to say it to make them feel better, when others pull you down let go! because they are below you. When all the negativity in the world seems to be around you let go! because in the midst of it, you will find God. When you feel hopelessness, let go! and be happy because God is with you.

I guess we don't need to go to the wilderness to find God... just look at our troubles, pray and reflect, list down your blessings and we'll find God.

This blog may seem to be out of the ordinary blog I write but just give it a thought, you might be surprised because you might be the next one writing a reflection about your blessings. :)

Feeling Japanese!

“Can I buy you extra rice??” if you’ll use that pick up line to me in a restaurant, you’ll surely turn me on. Haha! I’m one of the average Filipinos who can’t live without rice. Let me help you picture it out. Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino food are for the main meals of the day while Italian, American, Mexican etc food are for snacks.

On a fine day, I woke up craving for something Japanese like miso soup and sushi but this time I know where to get it. I believe that you can only say that you know the taste of the authentic Japanese food if you’ve been to the streets of Japan but the thing is I haven’t been to Japan and I don’t want to spend much money to fancy Japanese fine dines so I checked some Japanese fast food and restaurants around Makati area.  I may not compare it to the authentic but I can tell if the food is good or not, like if it is Japanese-ish haha!

I tried to compare the Japanese fast foods and restaurants around Makati area. Miso soup and sushi, I never fail to ask for that when I’m in a Japanese restaurant.

Tokyo Tokyo- This is a massive Japanese fast food. There’s nothing really special about their miso soup, just tofu bits and spring onions with no nori or wakame seaweed at all. If you’ll get the chance to taste other Japanese’s fast food’s miso soup, you’ll say that Tokyo Tokyo’s miso soup is lousy. Sushi- not bad but they don’t use Japanese rice so I guess that says it all. It is the cheapest Japanese fast food that you can find around but I can’t say that it is value for money because of the quality of food they serve. RATING: 1 spoon

Tempura- I tried Ramen, sushi and miso soup. Their miso soup has almost the same price with Tokyo Tokyo but it taste better. Sushi- we tried their maki, there’s nothing really outstanding about it but it is far better that Tokyo Tokyo. Ramen- I’m not sure if I’m just hungry that’s why I finished it or its really good that’s why I almost take it on the bowl. The service is not so fast, you’ll really have to wait for 10 to 15 mins before they serve your food. Value for money- not cheap but not too expensive just enough for a regular employee’s budget on a payday. RATING: 3 Spoons

Teriyaki Boy- Their miso soup serving is just like the Tempura and Tokyo Tokyo’s servings but this is the best so far. I’m not sure if it is wakame or nori seaweed but I thought it was really good, not too salty and not too bland, just enough savory taste to satisfy your Japanese food craving.  The prices are almost the same like in Tempura. Their sushi is a little expensive probably because of the QP mayonnaise on top of it. I’d say that it is not bad at all. Value for money- still affordable but not that cheap but I don’t think that you’ll mind because of the good service and quality food they serve. RATING: 4 spoons

Sumosam- I went to their Greenbelt branch. If there is a must try in that restaurant, that will be their Spider sushi, soft shell crab sushi. For a seafood person like me, i’d say that it was a feast for my taste buds. It’s a bit expensive but it worth its price. The miso soup in Sumo Sam has the same price with the one in Teriyaki Boy but they serve it in a big bowl but I thought my kidney will explode after I had it. It was too salty that I wasn’t able to finish it. The ambiance of the restaurant was really good with the attentive waitresses on Japanese street fashion clothes I’m sure you’ll have a good dining experience.

Little Tokyo - A group of Japanese restaurants near Makati Cinema square. I went there for lunch and unfortunately the restaurants inside the compound were closed so I tried the restaurant by the main road. The compound mimics the classic Japanese street well, with the heavy wooden chairs with low back rest, wooden tables, hanging lamps, Japanese marking all over the place. I’m sure the place will be just perfect at night. But the thing is, I went there for lunch and I don’t want to put my efforts of going there to waste, so I looked for restaurant that’s open and fortunately, the restaurants outside the compound were open. I tried Shinjuku, they claim to have the best ramen in town. I tried manten, miso soup and sushi. The manten was creamy and good but I can get almost the same ramen in Tempura at a lesser price. The miso soup is expensive but I thought Teriyaki boy has better miso soup. I tried they’re Maki but it has the same taste as in Teriyaji Boy. There’s nothing extra special about that restaurant. The service wasn’t good at all. You’ll have to wait for 30 mins and they’ll serve your food one at a time in 5 mins interval and you’ll need to remind them of the napkins and the utensils etc... Bad service period. I don’t want to ruin my views about little Tokyo just because of Shinjuku. I’ll definitely go back and try the ones inside the compound. I’ll make sure to go there for dinner to feel the ambiance.

I hope this blog helps in any way to suit your Japanese cravings. It’s all about fulfilling your cravings without spending too much.

Usapang Kanto: San Augustine's Sound Of Music

Usapang Kanto: San Augustine's Sound Of Music

San Augustine's Sound Of Music

San Agustin Church

This blog has long been overdue. I just want to share another amazing day of my life the “Usapang Kanto” way. There’s no better way to do this kind of whole day affair other than doing it with your family. We started the day with a good food at one of my family’s favourite Filipino restaurant in Intramuros, Ristorante Delle Mitre, located near CBCP. We had the usual and as ever, I had their mouth watering signature dish, sinigang. We tried their coffee. It’s fine, value for money, nerve stimulating hmmm anything that will describe a good brewed coffee but it will not change the way I crave for Sumiyaki at UCC and my Bustelo at home will still be better than Ristorante Delle Mitre’s signature coffee. I’ll make sure that I try their pastries on my next visit.

Anyways, my brother was invited in an exhibit in San Agustine Church. It was an exhibit of images of saints made out of ivory. It was Fr. Pooh’s friend doctor, whom I forgot the name (I’m sorry), who made and designed the images. The location was really secured because the images are really valuable and expensive. Cameras were not allowed inside the exhibit rooms so ergo, I don’t have any pictures. It was my first time to roam around San Agustine Church because most of the time, we only stay inside the church. I never thought that San Agustine is a one big museum. There’s a 17^th or 18^th century feel when you’re inside the museum area.  Accdg to my brother, all the churches in the Intramuros area fell down during the war because of the bombings except for San Agustine Church and also, the most valuable treasure of the church is the church door. I so love being with kuya when we do museum trips because he always has a trivia to say. I lost count of the numbers of rooms we’ve been to but I can tell that some of the rooms have a creepy feel, some gave me goosebumps. It was probably just paranoia because I know that it’s an old church so there’s a big possibility that there are a lot of entities inside it. The best room we went to is the room where the bamboo organ is. If I’ll paint an 18^th century choir area, I will paint it exactly like that. Big chairs with oversized hand rest, big strips of wood for the floor, ceiling high bamboo organ and the view of the whole altar. It was a very hot day when we went there and as much as I wanted to, I can’t stay inside the exhibit rooms for long because not all of the rooms were well-ventilated. Good thing, there’s a friendly refreshment store by the exit. The exhibit left me with good feeling. Overall, it was such a good exercise of nationalism and religious beliefs.

We spent the next half of our day at the Resorts World to watch the Sound Of Music. It is always a must to have coffee before watching a play. Maybe not for everyone but at least for my family, I guess our blood is partly coffee and we badly need to sustain it haha!

SanAgustine Church Entrance

The lead star, who portrayed the role of Maria Von Trappe, on the date we watched The Sound of Music was, Joana Ampil. We were lucky enough to get a good seat; we were like 5 rows away from the stage. My mom always gets sleepy when watching plays or performances onstage, but she never snoozed throughout The Sound of Music. I even saw her singing once in awhile. The last time she snoozed on a play was with “Sampung mga daliri” by the UST conservatory of music (please don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of “Sampung Mga Daliri” and it was incomparable to the Sound of Music, I just used it as an example to express my mom’s sleeping habits when watching plays) The Sound of Music was such a blast. All of them did well. I love the accent and their voices and the orchestra. It was never a snore fest and I highly recommend everyone reading this blog to watch it. I think it will run until February 2012. Aga Muhlach’s daughter, Atasha, was so adorable. I can go on and say a lot of good things about it. I guess you just need to watch it to experience it yourself.

It was a long and amazing day... another well spent time for family bonding. Until my next blog! Chao! 

Illustrado for a Day

Illustrados for a day wannabees

Villa Tortuga by Lito Perez- I’m sure you’ll get a lot of information about it if you’ll search it on the net but this blog will be helpful if you want to know the exact feeling of the whole trip.

August and September are our family months, we made sure that we set up a family day every week for those months. We thought of a different kind of trip this year. Initially, we thought of going to the beach but my parents hate riding the local airplanes so we tried to think of something else. My brother got an article from the inquirer about VillaTortuga.

Villa Tortuga

It is a vintage house rented and preserved by Lito Perez, a designer, in Taal Heritage Village in Batangas. Reservation is a must so we called a day before. I’d say hmmm not bad for 1500php/person which includes welcome drinks, lunch, heritage tour, and a family photoshoot on Lito Perez designed vintage clothes.

We started our day with a good cup of coffee that we brought at the Basilica de San Martin de Tours in Taal. Cafe Bustelo plus the view of an enormous and mountain-like 256 years old church opened the Henry De Tamble within us and it led us back in time... Batangas Illustrado for a day wannabe? Let’s get it on!

Basilica de San Martin de Tours in Taal, Baangas- We met our tour guide, Kuya Bennet, at the Basilica. He gave us a lot of nice to know facts:

*Taal is a UNESCO heritage site. The local government in Taal made sure that there’s no commercial establishment in the area like SM, fastfood chains etc except for the only convenience store in the area, 711, which strictly followed the rules and regulations of the local government like minimal ads etc. It is also true that there is no night life in Taal.

*Basilica de San Martin de Tours claims to be the biggest Catholic Church in Asia by land area which includes the area outside the church itself. The thought was contested by the Sto Domingo Church.

Basilica Ruins

The Basilica was undergoing renovation when we went there. Our travel guide, Kuya Bennet, also gave a short history on how the elders in Taal debated on how the church’s ceiling should look.

Old Taal- after the Basilica tour, the next part of the Itinerary should be at the Agoncillo House but it was closed for maintenance on the day we had the tour so instead, we went to the Old Taal which is by the Taal lake and overlooking the volcano and Mt Makulot from San Nicholas, Batangas view. On the way to the lake is the ruins of the old basilica that was destroyed by the volcanic eruption in 1600s.

Lunch @ Villa Tortuga

Caysasay Church- This church is very rich in history. The church was made by the Chinese traders and has a hint of Chinese culture is every part of it. One can tell right away that the church was inspired by the Chinese people because of temple-like roof and windows. The history of the church evolves with the image of Virgin Mary caught by a fisherman, Juan Manicad. The history is a bit weird but it made sense. Near the church is a healing well.

Villa Tortuga- After the tour, we headed to Villa Tortuga for lunch. Villa Tortuga is situated by Pansipit River which drains to the Balayan Bay to the South China Sea and Taal Lake. Pansipit River was the super highway in 1500s since most of the Chinese traders use it to sell goods during those times.

lakas trip pix

We had our welcome drinks served by a waiter on his 16^th century costume. After an inspiring and perspiring morning time travel, a fresh mango juice from Villa Tortuga, will really make you say “aaah refreshing!”

Evolution of Cameras

 

 

 Sir Rogee , the person who manage Villa Tortuga, gave us a quick tour of the house then we all went to the photo studio inside Villa Tortuga. Lito Perez had the house air-conditioned. They said that the temperature inside the house is the same during 1600s, maybe that’s why people in the past can withstand wearing long Filipiniana gown and coats. One will surely understand why a reservation is needed once you got inside Villa Tortuga. The house is not that big and the dining area can just probably hold 20 persons at a time. At the photo studio, we changed to Lito Perez’ designed 16^th century Filipiniano clothings then we had our family sepia photo. After the photos were taken, we headed to the dining room, still on our filipiniana clothes. There were 2 helpers serving heirloom recipes.

We had Malunggay Sotanghon soup, Adobo sa dilaw, ensalada, paksiw, tapa ng Taal, pork with pineapple, fish omelette in tomato and the best dessert ever... suman and batirol Yummy!

It was a good experience. You’ll really feel that you are living in the 1600s with the ambiance, the helpers in costumes, us in costume, and the music that adds accent in every factor that I said. The music they played can only be heard from the show at Paco Park. My parents enjoyed every bit of our stay in Villa Tortuga. After the good food, more photos taken at the dining area, and loads of conversation, we headed to the next part of our itinerary the Villavicencio house.

Rizal in Calamba

Villavicencio Compound: They call it as the gift house. It was the gift of Gliceria Villavicencio’s husband to her after the wedding. It is a big colourful house where the new telenovela of Nora Aunor was shot. It is also a bed and breakfast so anyone can stay there for the night. There was a bridge connecting the gift house to the main house but they were not able to preserve it. At the main house, a cold face towel was given to all of us before the film showing about the history of the house and the unrecognized heroine, Gliceria Villavicencio. After the tour, we had another serving of Batirol and Suman for our snacks. For the last bit of our tour, we went to Galleria Taal.

Galleria Taal- I think that this is the most expensive museum in Taal. It features the evolution of camera owned by Manny Inumerable and vintage photos from John Silva Collections. The photo that caught my attention was the last photo of Jose Rizal in Luneta.

Well, it was a good experience. We enjoyed every bit of the trip. I will definitely recommend Villa Tortuga to my friends but I guess it is just good for a one time experience. I can’t think of a reason to go back.

After the Villa Tortuga Taal Tour, we spent the night in Tagaytay and ended our day with a dinner at Leslie’s. We thought that we still had a hangover of being an illustrado the day after so after our breakfast at Bag of Beans, we went to Calamba to see Rizal’s Heritage House. It was a disappointment because the furnitures were just replicas. There is a saying that “There’s nothing to do in Calamba” well, I think I’ll second demotion to that. After seeing Rizal’s Shrine in Calamba, we had lunch at RSM then we met up with some family friends. That's how our Illustrado for a day ended. It is so nice to express how you love being a filipino once in a while.