Work in progress

Since this video back in November, I've tweaked a few things like shortening the backswing. This is really just for fun. Comments welcome.

Peaceful Gym... sort of

Believe it or not, the American Club gym (they call it The Edge...) has been quite peaceful these days.

Tall Mean Dude actually re-racked his own weights when I asked him whether he was done with them. We even small talked about the WTO riots (he seemed excited about the riots... don't ask).

Talkative Asian Duo became a trio last night, and although they were still mighty talkative, the "third wheel" actually re-racked their weights afterwards. What still bothered me was that the three of them hogged the bench. They consecutively did sets of the bench press while talking to one another non-stop. They also predictable did only BP, biceps and pullups. It was funny watching them trying to do pullups. They were really loud. When will people learn to STFU.

Orgasmic Situp Girl has not showed up for nearly a month. I'm crossing my fingers that she and her "coach" decided to move to Mongolia.

Ditto with Talkative Women and Hurt Himself Dude.

So life is good at the gym as I start my new workout. Check it out.

Sox management drops the ball

Free agent Johnny Damon is now a New York Yankee. The Evil Empire signed him to a $52 million dollar four year deal.

This is just unbelievable. Besides getting rid of junk players and strengthening the pitching staff, a priority of the Red Sox should have been to keep Manny, Ortiz, and Damon. I'm really wondering whether the Sox purposely let Damon go. Its almost as if this was never an issue. All the talk was about Manny wanting to be traded, yet we keep seeing Johnny Damon on the free agent list week after week.

JD has speed. The Red Sox don't have that right now. There's a huge gap in both the lineup and the outfield. Aside from a weak arm, Damon is a great center fielder. He is also one of the best lead off hitters there is. The Sox are going to have to fill both these positions. Its going to take a lot of work or be a big compromise if these positions are to be filled. Add to that the need for a shortstop, the Sox still have a lot of work ahead of them.

Lets hope they don't screw this up and nullify the great deals made just a few weeks earlier.

(I can't stand visiting ESPN today since they're showing that pic with him in pinstripes nonstop).

Z Gundam Movie Part 2 Trailer

The video quality is not so good because of YouTube. Go here for higher quality.

Anyways, the second episode of Z-Gundam: A New Translation looks as good as the first. The new re-done parts look great, and the dated original parts look dull. Oh well...

Corporate America screws up again

Support this film, not Walmart.

I think by now, it is no longer a secret how Walmart treats its employees (like crap). I haven't seen this film yet (being in Hong Kong), but I hear that its good. It doesn't blatently bash Walmart, but proves its point through a th0rough investigation.

Hero... or GOD?

That is the latest talk concerning the NFL right now. Its not about which team is the best, or who will win it all. The Indianapolis Colts and almost-credible-superstar Peyton Manning are now 13-0. Three more wins, and they tie the Dolphins record of winning all their regular season games. A couple more wins, and they've got themselves not just a Superbowl victory, but immortality.

Wouldn't you know that ultra serious Colts coach Tony Dungy is planning on playing it safe. He plans to rest his starters as much as possible for the remaining three games so they'll be in top shape for the playoffs. That ladies and gentlemen, is the dilema. Do you play it safe and go for the Superbowl which Indy has been waiting so long for, or do you take this rare opportunity and go for a place in the upper echelons of football immortality?

At first I couldn't understand why they wouldn't. They've always had the best offense in football, and now they even have a defense to match. To my dismay, they finally defeated their recent nemesis, the New England Patriots, in the Pats' own stadium. This is their year! Finally they are 13-0, they definitely look good enough to go all the way. What's three more wins against some teams that are nowhere near their caliber? Let's see...

San Diego Chargers - Okay, the Chargers aren't that bad, but they just lost to a sub-par Miami team. Plus, they haven't had any convicing wins over good teams except Kansas City, and they haven't dominated in any of their important wins. Compare that to how Indy basically stomped on every one of their opponents since the beginning of the season. Okay, they only beat the Jags and the Browns by 7 points, but since then (week 3), they have steam-rolled everything in their path. Chargers: no chance.

Seattle Seahawks (at Seattle) - The Hawks look convincing at 14-2, but just look at their schedule. They played the Niners TWICE! Their previous pummeling against Philly was of course a joke considering the Eagles' situation. This team has beaten no one good. Forget these guys, no chance.

Arizona Cardinals - Another sub-par team that the Colts will absolutely cruise through. At 4-9 (two wins from beating the Niners), this team isn't even worth talking about.

So even if the Colts go all out against Seattle and San Diego, they'll have an easy time against Arizona, and still be in top shape for the playoffs. But...

I slowly began to understand why Dungy is being so careful. Its not just his personality. The Colts have been trying so hard for so many years to go all the way. All these years they have failed. Dungy has had the best offense in the league for at least three years, yet he's been unable to capitalize. Dungy simply doesn't want to blow it.

I also understand how big winning the Superbowl is to the players, especially to those who have never done it. There are so many players (a lot of good ones) who have never tasted a Superbowl win. There are some teams that come so close, but are unable to take the final prize. Every year there are two teams that get to the Superbowl, and one that walks away empty handed. You're within arms reach of your ultimate goal, but at the last second it is snatched by someone else. Just look at Philly. They made it to the big game last year, they lost, and now they have no chance of getting back to the form they were in. They were so close, but couldn't close the deal.

So yeah, immortality doesn't come along very often, but neither does the Superbowl.

(Secretly, I'm asking Tony Dungy to grow a set of balls and go for it!)

Welcome new idiot gym character!

There has been a recent addition to the American Club gym's "List of Idiots".

Our newest character is: Orgasmic-Situp-Girl-!

She comes in around 9:30 in the evening with her trainer/workout dude. I've seen this guy before, and he's one of those people who never says hi (this gym is infested with people like this). Anyways, he basically breaks all the rules: uses mobile phone, doesn't re-rack weights, takes ten towels (literally) and leaves them all over the place.

The dynamic duo spend the first half hour on the treadmill. Orgasmic Situp Girl (OSG for short) appears to be a novice runner, as she runs with an "upward" motion and stomps down on the moving path which makes for 30 minutes of very loud pounding.

The worst part of OSG's workout, comes when she starts doing her situp/push-up/step-up routine. With every situp she does, she lets out a shriek like she's having the big-O. Its a good thing she can only do about 5 situps at a time because she is LOUD. During this routine, messy-gym-partner-dude acts as her trainer and gives her support. Then they spend time chatting and laughing hysterically after every set or so.

I really want to go over and tell her to shut the fuck up, but I don't want to be mean. This also doesn't seem like something to complain to management about. Arr... I'm so sick of people in general.

What is a Softbank?

Seattle Mariners add more eastern magic to their lineup with Fukuoka Softbank Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima. This guy was a great player in Japan, averaging .305 and 30 homeruns per season for the past 5 seasons. On the defensive side, he's also a gold glover.

Besides looking like an exciting player next season, he reminded me of my awesome trip with Betty to Fukuoka just recently. I almost bought a piece of Fukuoka Softbank Hawks memorabilia. Then I decided I didn't want anything to do with a team that called themselves "Softbank".

I understand the need for corporate sponsorship, but when companies embed their name to a team or its stadium, it just annoys the hell out of me. I already thought the idea was stupid
when Candlestick Park was renamed to friggin' 3Com Park in 1995. That was thanks to when 3Com leased the name rights to Candlestick. Then Monster Cable leased the rights and the park was officially called "Friggin' Monster Park" in 2004 (ok ok, its actually just "Monster Park"). Guess there are people who agree with me:

A measure passed in the November 2, 2004 election states that the stadium name will revert back to Candlestick permanently after the current contract with Monster Cable expires in 2008. This highlights San Francisco's extreme distaste for corporate naming, especially of this particular venue. The stadium is still almost universally referred to as Candlestick Park despite the name change by both locals and the media. The Monster Park moniker is confined to the 49ers front office and a few national broadcasters just as the 3Com name was years before.

HA! Sweet justice indeed.

I am so glad that Fenway Park is just good old "Fenway Paak". Unfortunately, there's still Gillette Stadium and Fleet Center that we have to deal with. Bleh...

Oh well, their jersey is ugly anyways.

Josh Beckett: Welcome to Fenway

The Red Sox welcome Josh Beckett from the Marlins, as a much talent for our ailing pitching staff.

Okay, I've become somewhat of a bad blogger. Work has been busy lately, and that's all I can think of everytime I sit down in front of the computer screen. I hardly have time to check my favorite websites, or update this blog which I do like doing. Tomorrow sounds like a good day for a nice long entry.

Ignorance prevails

Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on winning the AL MVP. That's the only nice thing I have to say about that.

So some of you may be asking, why the old Gay-Rod Handbag picture again?! Why? Because I'm not happy that A-Rod won the MVP over David "Big Papi" Ortiz. I've had a few days to think about this, and I my thoughts were shifting left and right. I told myself that the MVP award really isn't that important. I mean, who cares? In a few years we won't even remember who won what award from the years past. We might remember oh so and so player was MVP X number of times, or as great as so and so player is, he never won an award, et cetera. What really matters is whether the Red Sox win or lose.

I became upset after the actual news came out. When I found out that Papi didn't win, I just naturally became unhappy. Its pretty strange since I told myself that it didn't really matter. Who could care? The season was over, the White Sox lived their dream, that's it. Who cares who's the best player especially if that player's team didn't win? I was mad because I actually witnessed the greatness of David Ortiz, and naturally I was keeping track of the spectacular, yet mediocre performance of A-Rod. Why mediocre? Because none of his hits or home-runs really mattered. They didn't break ties, win games, or in any way save the Yankees. Ortiz on the other hand single-handedly won around 13 games for the Red Sox. Without Ortiz, the Sox would probably have lost 13 more games and not made the playoffs. Last season, Ortiz was that important, and that's what being the Most Valuable Player is all about.

Yeah, okay. Numbers mean a lot in baseball, but I hate it when guys just look at the numbers and don't take other factors into consideration. In the real world, being clutch actually means something. Just think about it: who would you want to take your game-winning shot? Would you choose Robert Horry or Tayshaun Prince? Would you choose Reggie Miller or Steve Smith or Rip Hamilton or Ray Allen? Do you want Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in the 4th quarter? There is no dilemma here. Of course you choose the proven clutch player over the not proven clutch player. Okay, so not everyone watches the Sox and the Yanks, but I still don't see how they could have overlooked this simple fact: Ortiz is clutch, and with similar stats, it should have put him over A-Rod.

Then there's the whole Designated Hitter issue. I was listening to MLB radio, and this self-rightious journalist was being interviewed. He went on and on about how he would never vote for a DH because playing defense was not involved. Then the host asked him what about a player who played defense, but was injured and was forced to DH for the latter part of his career. Guess what? The dimwit journalist said yes. I'd like to remind people that Ortiz played first base in the NL, and he has played first base in some games for the Sox. He's a pretty good first baseman too. Most definitely a better defensive player than Jose Canseco, who won the MVP award in '88.

So I'm not unhappy that A-Rod won and Papi lost, but unhappy that people can be so stubborn sometimes and overlook the details.

Quick note: ESPN did a poll on their website, and 86% of the nation voted for Ortiz. So even people who don't pay attention to the Sox know that Papi is better.

Z Gundam: A New Translation

Woo hoo! I just saw the new Z Gundam movie last night. I had a lot of fun watching it. Was it absolutley mind-blowing? Well... it was half the time.

Here's the thing: half of the animation was brand new. The new CG and character/background/mobile suit drawings were superb! The level was nothing short of modern day OVAs. Simply beautiful! Just look at the poster above and you can see how pretty much everything has been updated in terms of artwork. Unfortunately, only half the movie ultilized brand new animation. The other half is basically taken directly from 1985. That's right, they took it directly from the original Z Gundam TV series. They didn't even bother to touch it up.

Think Star Wars episodes four, five, and six, when George Lucas updated them in the late nineties. He added some CGI, added some new scenes and stuff. Z Gundam did this on a much bigger scale. Half the movie is brand new, but its still combining the new with the old.


Compare this to the poster up top

I'm sure you're thinking WTF. Well, so was I in the beginning. I was actually pretty disappointed. However, I was too mesmerized by the new animation to take any points away from this movie. I wish they just made the whole thing from scratch. If you see the new scenes, you'll know what I mean. They just look that much better. C'mon, we're talking about 20 years worth of innovation. Plus, I'm sure much more time and effort were spent on the new scenes as opposed to the 50 episode TV series that was made back in '85.

Animation
I already spent too much time talking about that.

Sound
The sound was awesome, but the theater sucked! I guess the theater guys thought, "oh, anime can't possible have good sound, so lets turn off all the speakers". Idiots. I could hear and feel the explosions and Gundams flying around, and ships, etc. It just seemed so distant. I'm positive that its because of the theater, and not the movie.

Story
In terms of storyline, most Gundam fans know the story already. I went with a friend who wasn't too familiar with his Gundam history, and he got confused. Like any movie that is derived from the TV series version, bits and pieces are cut out to fit everything into two hours. Initial D is an example of how this was poorly done. I thought Z Gundam did a good job, but if you're not familiar with the story you could get confused.

Character
You can't screw this up. You've got the legendary characters of Gundam: Amuro, Char, and Kamille. To be honest, I don't remember many of the newer Gundam characters of recent, but Amuro and Char are always fresh in my memory. The other characters are classic as well, but the main characters really make the movie. I must note that the new character artwork is awesome. Everyone looks so good in the new animation. Besides looking better, you see more in terms of body movement and facial expressions. A huge improvement.

Value
I don't know. If you like Gundam, you'll watch this shit over and over again. If you don't, you'll likely just see this movie once.

Enjoyment
Sweet. I enjoyed it. Again, this depends on how big a Gundam fan you are, how well you know the story. I got the jitters when I was Amuro and Char meet eye to eye for the first time in this movie. Oh, the drama.

The theater was pretty full, and its inhabitants were all people my age or older. Everyone was in their work attire, and they all seemed to be fans of the classic Gundam genre. I'm really glad they decided to remake Z Gundam into a movie. Its about time. It would be much nicer if they re-did the whole thing though, rather than just bits and pieces.

Episode II comes out soon.

Rich guys need to learn to drive

So I'm on my way to work as usual, and I come across this yellow Porsche GT2 that I see in the same spot occasionally. Today, I finally see the owner. He's opening the door for a girl to get in. I sure hope he knows how to drive. The GT2 is a 465hp rear engine, real wheel drive car. To enlighten the non-car nuts: the rear heavy, RWD setup makes it really easy to oversteer. This guy could end up in the Pacific real soon if he's not careful.

That makes me think of this evil site I once came across: http://www.wreckedexotics.com

I want to say I can't believe how many idiots out there managed to wreck their $100,000+ sports cars. Unfortunately, I can. There are so many idiots out there who have too much money, and too little driving experience/training. In order to buy a Ferrari, it should be mandatory to either a) pass a special driving test, or b) take special driving lessons. Why? Because most people aren't used to handling cars that are that fast, and that easy to lose control of.

If you check out that site, you'll see part of how many of these specimens of road speed were wrecked. Some even list the reasons why. They were stuff like, wrecked while trying to overtake a bus, or wrecked while trying to show off, or let wife drive it on the track (ha ha). Pure stupidity.

Hey, I'm no genius of the road myself. I have had no performance driving training, and I'm sure I couldn't have taken even my front engine, front wheel drive, 200hp Honda Prelude to the limit. I know about the basic concepts of driving, but I have no actual experience. So basically, I've read a lot of books and played some Gran Turismo on the Playstation. I'm sure some of these exotic car owners have done even less than that.

So if you're going to buy a Porsche or Ferrari or Lamborghini, please learn how to drive it properly.

Note to self: keep Enzo in one piece.

I need my own gym

The gym I am a member of is really nice. The latest machines, plenty of free weights, plenty of cardio equipment as well. Because its so nice and because it costs a pretty penny to join, there are naturally a whole bunch of rich, irresponsible, and lazy members I have to share it with. There are a few who I see all the time and have nicknames for:

Talkative Asian Duo: Two Hong Kong guys who are always there together. All they do is talk talk talk while they help each other out with the weights. Of course, all they work out are the "clubbing muscles". I don't know if they're showing off or what, but they always put on more weight than they can handle. I really couldn't give a shit whether they're exercising properly or talking too loud. What pisses me off is that they never ever re-rack their weights. Lazy bums. Some people think because they have money, there will always be someone who picks up after them.

Tall Mean Dude: There's this tall guy who is pretty fit with the meanest look on his face. I said hi to him once (I say hi to everyone... almost), but got no response and that's fine. What bothers me about this guy is that he sweats all over the place. Wherever he walks, he leaves a trail of sweat. Okay, no problem. Some guys just sweat more. But this guy sweats all over the equipment and doesn't bother to clean that shit up after he uses it. Plus, he does this plyometric exercise where he steps on the bench press bench with is shoes. Why can't he uses the plastic "steps" like everyone else? Lazy bum.... I mean asshole.

Dude who's going to one day hurt himself: This guy comes in and first thing he does is jump on the rowing machine. He then goes all out on the thing. Its painful to watch. His back is completely arched on the pull back. He does it for like 10mins. Trust me, one day one of his discs is going to fly out and hit me straight in the face. Idiot.

Women there to socialize: Some women just show up to walk the treadmill at 1mph and watch TV. Then when their friend shows up, they start talking and talking and talking. They'd use machines next to each other and talk. Then they'd finish exercising and keep talking. Then they'd move that conversation outside (thank god). Then I'd see them still talking after I'm done showering. I guess that's just another difference between men and women. My peeve about them is that they're not really exercising. They're talking while hogging the machines. Please take your conversation elsewhere.

I remember the good old days in college when my roommate and I went to the gym everyday. We had a group of weight room buddies who we'd only see in the weight room (weird). I'd see those guys every day, but never outside of the gym. Whenever one of us missed a day, we'd always get ridiculed the next day for our absence. That gym at Wheaton College was worn out and the equipment was old, but it was great. Those guys would never let anyone do an exercise wrong. They always cleaned up after themselves, and kept all the equipment in good order even though it wasn't ours. Everyone felt responsible for one another, and everyone felt responsible for the gym.

Now in my current gym, it just seems like people have a total lack of respect for the gym, the staff, and the other members. What a pity money can do to people.

Underdogs... yet again.

Well well well... whaddaya know.

Every season since 2001, the Indianapolis Colts have been favored over the Patriots. The fact that the Pats were and are Superbowl Champions 3 out of the last 4 years has made no difference. The Colts are always rated higher, and they are always favored to win. Guess what, they never have. The Patriot defense has always managed to smother the supposedly "best in the league" offense. Poor NFL poster QB Peyton Manning has always come short when it comes to playing against the Pats.

Tomorrow's game may change that. The undefeated Colts are making their annual trip to Foxborough. The Pats, plagued with injuries, departures, retirements, are a mediocre, but "not dead yet", 4-3. So yet again, the New England Patriots are underdogs agains the Colts, and this time, its finally for good reason.

Though the Colts have just about everything going for them right now leading up to this game. A pillow soft schedule, minimal injuries, finally a defense worth mentioning, and a bye week just before this week's game. The Pats are really really shorthanded, and that's pretty much all there is to say. I can't think of a better situation for the Colts to play their rivals. If they win this one, their confidence boost could really lead to a stellar season for Manning and his team.

That said, I would just love to see the Pats win. This win could boost them out of this injury funk, and somehow find a way to get in the playoffs. The Pats have played many many close games, and a lot of their wins were come from behind wins. They simply know how to win in all situations. The Colts have had an easy ride so far this season. They may not be up to the challenge. Despite the losses to injury, Bruschi is back, Brady is still here, Corey Dillion will hopefully play, and of course we have Coach Belichick.

Lets bury these Colts once and for all.

Alex: see, not baseball this time!

Goodbye, Theo. You will be missed.

Only a hyphen differentiates the word resign from re-sign. It was somewhat of a rollercoaster ride for fans when now ex-Red Sox general manager, Theo Epstein first made it clear he was to re-sign with the Sox; only to resign hours before his contract ended.

There are plenty of people out there asking, what the hell happened. I'm going with the answer that upper management toyed around with Theo, and he simply couldn't take it anymore. He valued pride and dignity over his dream job and walked away.

When Epstein first became the Red Sox GM, I was skeptical just like anyone else. He was young and inexperienced. He wasn't much older than me! Could someone like that run an organization like the Sox? All that money, all the pressure. Would he just crack and end up squandering our next five years of hopes? The answer came soon enough as a resounding NO, as 2004 came and went. The man made some gutsy moves, got a little lucky, and tagged World Series Championship to his resume.

Despite my skepticism at the time, I was also pretty excited. The guy was young, he was a fan, and he was from Boston. Because of his young age, I could sort of relate to him. It was a nice change too not having some old foggie making conservative run-of-the-mill decisions. Theo was cool. Of course he wasn't perfect, and I was pissed when he overhauled the 2005 team when he may have been better off leaving it as it is. No one would blame him for keeping the team in tact. Definitely not after the amazing 2004 season.

Either way, I'm going to keep this short and simple. Its no use arguing or nitpicking. The point is, I thought Theo would be with the Sox for a long long time. Now he's gone, and most are sad to see him leave.

Goodbye Theo, and good luck.

Bye Bye Baseball

Okay, I'm back. After somewhat of a hiatus, I am back to blogging. It was pretty frustrating not being able to post while in China. All those great thoughts about baseball and saving the world all went to waste, as I only have a short-term memory.



Anyways, baseball season is over. The Chicago White Sox have won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. Their road to becoming champions was much less dramatic than that of the 2004 Red Sox. They took a huge lead in their division from the start. Something ridiculous like a 30 game lead. Then they lost that lead while crazy-genius, Ozzie Guillen, decides to experiment with the lineup. Essentially tossing their lead out the window, but giving the team a huge advantage in the post season. So congradulations, Chicago. Congradulations, Crazzy Guillen. I don't really care that you won, but as a Red Sox fan, I feel your joy.

So, I've been wanting to ask for a long time, but really too tired to do so. What happened to the Red Sox? I suppose the question has been beat up many times already considering the size of the Red Sox fan base. However, I feel that in order to get some closure this season, I have to let it out of my head like everyone else.

To be honest, I'm still too happy about 2004 to be sad about 2005. Plus, like many others, I secretly understand that there will never ever ever (at least in my lifetime) be another season like 2004. It really snuck up on us too. 2004 Red Sox baseball was disguised as "another disappointing season" with one event after another. Not getting A-Rod, Pedro being sad, Lowe pitching like crap and crying afterwards, Arroyo's ups and downs, Byung Hyun Kim, Nomar's departure, and the shadow of 2003 ALCS. That surge at the end to get us the Wild Card was awesome, but big whoop, we do that every year. Then of course being down three games in the ALCS, some of the unfaithful thought it was all over.

I was disappointed from the start of 2005. It just felt like so many of our heros were gone. Letting go of Lowe was a smart move. He wasn't doing too well, and that was a decision that I agree with the most. He is still a Red Sox hero in my mind, but he's probably better off somewhere other than Fenway. Despite Pedro's subpar performance in 2004 regular season, it was really sad to see him go. The drama and performance he gave us was priceless. Also, it is reported that he keeps the mood light in the locker room; a huge morale booster. I'm happy that Pedro is doing well with the Mets, and that he has resolved "paternal issues" with the Yanks.

Okay, so that's the bad news. Here's the sad news: they broke up the team. Yes, of course they kept Schilling, Varitek, Damon, Manny, Papi, all the "stars" of the team. But they through some sort of brain fart, decided to give away all the guys who got us there. Any Sox fan will know that I'm talking about O-Cab, Dave Roberts, and Pokey Reese! These guys got it done when it mattered. Aside from Big Papi, Dave Roberts basically saved our WS hopes with clutch hitting and running scoring the tying run against the Yankees in do or die game four. Perhaps his amazing performance was overshadowed by Papi's clutch game tying, game winning hits, and Schilling's bloody sock performance in game six. You see, that's exactly what I'm talking about: everyone had a huge hand in winning it all last year. Management made the modern baseball mistake of just looking at the numbers. Its almost as if they were clueless as to how much 2004 meant to Sox fans. 2004 means the team and the players. So for me it was a sour beginning. But what was I to complain about, I was still reeling in joy from 2004. To see the World Series banner go up on home opening (on TV of course) brought tears to my eyes.

The season goes on as we see Baltimore play extremely well, and the ChiSox play extremely well. Sox and Yanks were at the bottom for once. The Sox grab a huge lead only to falter to poor pitching and the surging Yanks. They Sox played okay, but just okay. Schilling has trouble coming back, Foulke is unable to come back. Meanwhile, the stupid media and a small group of ungrateful fans start calling Schill and Foulke selfish.

Listen up: these two men risked their careers for our 2004 World Series Championship, HOW DARE YOU CALL THEM SELFISH.

My blood is boiling as I type this. These are the evil fans that Bill Simmons talks about. All they do is whine. Screw the media for drumming up hate and disappointment just to sell another article. Bullshit.

Anyways, as the season died down, injuries, lack of bullpen consistency, and poor defense (should have kept Reese, O-Cab, and Mientkiewicz) turned our monster lead into a one game deficit against the Yankees. We limped into the playoffs thanks to the dominant ChiSox and the self-destructing Indians. The ChiSox sweep came as no surprise to me, and don't give me that keep the faith crap now cause I kept the damn faith after game three 2004 ALCS thank you very much.

As I said, I'm happy cause the curse is over, we're still 2004 World Series Champions, we still made the playoffs, and the Evil Empire didn't make it past the DS either. We were playing hurt, and we still made off pretty well. What makes me sad is that management decided not to try to keep our championship team in one piece. Some departures were inevitable, but some guys they didn't even try to keep. Well, one amazing thing about 2005 that carried over from 04 was clutch clutch clutch batting from David "Big Papi" Ortiz. It is uncanny how good he is late in the game. If you kept up with Red Sox baseball, you would have been shocked and wide-eyed at how Ortiz's late game heroics just happened so often. Towards the end it just felt like a regular occurance. I wasn't even surprised anymore when Ortiz tied the game or hit a walk off homer. I was still happy, but I was almost confident that Papi would get the job done. He probably felt that way too.

Censorship's a bitch

Yes, my dear friends. I'm sure you have noticed I haven't updated in a while. This is because I have been in China for the past few weeks and will continue to be there for the rest of this week. Does that give me the right to be a bad blogger? Absolutely not. However, I have been unable to access blogger dot com, the host of my weblog.

Apparently, the Chinese government thinks Is That A Bear dot com is corrupting the youth of China. Suddenly, surges of chinese kids are liking the Red Sox, drinking Cherry Coke, quitting smoking (god forbid), falling in love with basketball teams of colleges they've never heard of, and are beginning to bitch about the intricacies of life in general.

Naturally, I'm kidding. But its true, blogger dot com is blocked in China. Ay... I should really host this blog myself...

Love that Tito

"If we lose tonight, I'll come in and try to tell you that we're going to try to win tomorrow. If we win tonight, I'm going to come in and tell you we'll try to win tomorrow."

-Terry Francona when asked who will win

NBA is boring

Most of my friends will tell you that I'm not a huge NBA fan. My interest mostly lies in the college level. I didn't go to a big basketball school, so I have the privilage of rooting for which ever college team I like. What does keep me watching NBA stuff on ESPN is the off court drama, and people like Shaq. I love guys like Reggie Miller. Then there's pure insane entertainment from idiots like Ron Artest.

However, I just love college hoops. It is an entirely different game. For me, there is no comparison in terms of excitment level. Though some will disagree, I just feel that NBA players don't play that hard during the regular season. The games start to heat up towards the end of the season and during the playoffs no doubt, but at the college level, everyone plays hard all the time.

There are no slackers
Perhaps its because in college, they only play somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty games per season. This makes each and every game that much more important. The ranking system also depends on which opponents they play, so a win against U of Maine is not the same as a win against Duke. The team game is also extremely important. A good team can beat out a bunch of good players.

The venues rock
The audience in a college game is entirely differnet. At an NBA game, people are walking around, getting up and down to grab a beer or food, going to the bathroom. At a college game, you don't see people doing this especially at a big basketball school. What you do see are painted faces, college kids and alumni, all doing the same cheers or chants for their team. Before watching college hoops, I had never imagined a stadium could be so quiet will one player would make a free throw. Everyone in the gym would hold their hands above their heads as if to will the ball into the hoop via telekinetic force. If the free throw is made, the crowd lets out a almost grunt like vocal expression in unison. Then the cheering continues. The noise level is ridiculous, and you won't find that in many NBA venues.

Teams are new every year
There isn't much "rebuilding" going on in college hoops. You don't grab a franchise player and surround that guy with other players like in the NBA. You're basically recruiting good players that you need, and putting them together. There is no guarentee, but everyone will play hard and try to work it all out. Intangibles are key in college hoops. Even if you do get a great player that everyone plays around, chances are that the guy will leave in one or two years if he's that good. So it never gets old. There is always new blood, always the new talent to rave about. Naturally, teams will have their ups and downs, but the thing about college hoops is that it never gets old.

The Tourney (aka March Madness)
Nothing beats March Madness in terms of excitment. Why? Because anything can happen. Its not like those seven game series you have in the NBA. In those situations, the better team usually prevails. But in college, you can never know. Crap teams can have the game their life and beat even the best teams. Only one game gets you eliminated, so the intensity is again upped another level.

Yup... those were the days: college basketball on ESPN every night. There was almost always a good game on. The big matchups, the rivals, filling out brackets before the Tourney. That was fun.

Now that's funny

"I was an earthling last season," Shaq said in reference to his strength level. "I had to go back to my alien roots."

Ah... the wonderful and amusing Shaq. His quotes are solid gold.

Why a "smoking section" is absurd

In response to my dear friend, Arthur, and his comments on a smoking section:

I think it is ideal to have Smokers and Non smokers in seperate sections. I believe that Giving the people choices to pick from is at least better then BANNED it all together. Hey, you think Smokers Don't want a place to smoke freely and not Posion others? Heh

Do smoking sections really work? I cannot remember the last time I went to a crowded restaurant in Hong Kong, sat in the so called non-smoking section, and did not smell smoke. It is extremely difficult to properly create smoking and non-smoking sections within the same restaurant. The problem lies in the nature of smoke. Smoke is a gas, and that god-awful smell can travel around closed doors, air-conditioning vents, and even neighboring apartments.

Restaurants make feeble attempts to accommodate customers by drawing an imaginary line between tables that have ashtrays and tables that do not. Then they half-heartedly try to sit smokers far away from non-smokers. This works fine for the smokers, but sitting across the table or across the room makes no difference for someone who does not smoke. Most restaurants and bars simply don't want to put in the time, money, and effort into creating a segregated environment for smokers. Those that attempt to do so are often met with other problems such as the setup not working, or one set of people not able to get a "window" seat (just read some HK restaurant reviews and you'll see), or the smoke simply edging its way to the other side of the room as it always does.

Another problem is that most smokers simply haven't got a clue. They just cannot possibly fathom how much regular people are bothered by cigarette smoke. So here are some of the reasons:

1. Smoking kills. Everyone with half a brain knows that, yet why people continue to smoke baffles me. Why cigarettes are still on sale, I can understand. I don't agree with it, but at least I can see why tobacco is still being put on shelves (the answer has to do with economics in case you slept through that course in college). There are absolutely no redeeming qualities in smoking. Why do people still smoke? What the fuck? Anyways, I've strayed off the path; back to the topic at hand.
2. Smoking sucks because of the pollution it creates. Tobacco is a crop that destroys the land. Ground that has been used to grow tobacco takes a much longer time to recover than lets say... if it were used grow corn, or rice, or apple trees. However, most people tend to ignore or are oblivious to this fact.
3. Cigarette smoke smells really really bad. Think about a smell that you absolutely detest. Now imagine that smell being sent towards your direction constantly in the form of a gas. Even if its not sent in your direction, that gas starts to dissapate, and eventually reaches your clothes, nostrils, hair, eyes. It clings to every part of your skin, hair, and clothing. This god-awful smell won't disappear until you take a shower (sometimes twice) and wash your clothes. That is what cigarette smoke is like for people who don't smoke. People who do not smoke are quite sensitive to cigarette smoke, and smokers are naturally not as sensitive to smoke; hence, the divide widened even more.

*I am hesitant to mention that cigarette butts are polluting our streets and destroying the look of our cities because this is the result of human laziness and utter lack of respect for fellow citizens, also known as: littering. It is not necessarily a direct cause of tobacco and cigarettes, so I won't include it in the "list".

Okay, before you let loose your army of hate mail, let me explain why some smokers don't have a clue. Let me first explain the ones who actually do have a clue and understand how much non-smokers detest cigarette smoke.

• Type A: the smoker who does have a clue and does not smoke in the presence of non-smokers. I have one or two friends who do this, and I bow down to their considerate behavior. Mr. A. Huang, you are awesome, and there aren't many people out there as considerate as you.
• Type B: the smoker who does have a clue and just doesn't give a shit. These people know that smoke bothers the people around them, but they are too selfish to care. Some of them even write rants about how they hate people who get in the way of their cancer sticks. These people are all over Hong Kong, and sometimes they'll go out of their way to smoke in designated non-smoking areas. Why? Because they're assholes, that's why.
• Type C: the smokers who try to be considerate, but don't have a clue. These smokers mean well: they try to cause non-smokers less pain and suffering by blowing the smoke in a different direction, or hold their cigarette under the table, or behind their back in attempt to somehow hide the smoke from non-smokers. They don't have a clue because they don't know that these well-meaning actions make little to no difference to the non-smoker. They think that opening a window, blasting the AC, or turning on a fan will make the non-smoker feel better. It does, but its like taking a piss to put out a forrest fire: the effects are minimal.

So in response to Arthur's comment: yes, it is good to give people a choice, but 99% of the time (at least in HK), you're taking that choice away from people who don't smoke. Even when smoking is completely banned, smokers can still always choose to do their puffing outside the establishment. Non-smokers have never been able to choose to avoid smoke.

Keep your cancer to yourself

Will someone please explain to me why smoking is still allowed in restaurants and bars?

I cannot understand why restauranteurs are fighting so hard to have smoking be allowed. Their claim is that a smoking ban will drive away customers and thereby decreasing their revenue. Do they think that smokers will stop eating altogether if smoking is banned? Have they ever considered how much business they are losing by banning smoking? Why are these people so stubborn? Look at what success cities abroad have had with a smoking ban. People don't stop eating and drinking just because they can't smoke anymore. What does smoking have to do with anything?! If anyone's been paying attention at all, Hong Kong's only smoke-free restaurant/pub, Dublin Jack, is still alive and kicking despite being the only pub to have banned smoking.

I for one, would be more inclined to eat out and go out in if there was a smoking ban in place. Nowadays, when I'm forced to sit in a cloud of carcinogenic air, my eyes water then dry up, I can't breathe, and I end up smelling like an ashtray, a.k.a. shit. How is that a positive night out?

I'm angry and I'm negative about smoking, so kill me... wait, you already are.

What the truck is this?

Hey now! Many of my friends know that I have a sport wagon fetish... errr... uhh... obsession. I am obsessed with a car that can haul arse while at the same time haul groceries, hockey equipment, lawnmower, you're wife's luggage, etc. So wagons that go fast really float my boat. Audi RS4s, and STi wagons have long sparked my interest, even the Volvo V50 has caught my eye many times over. Forget the Ferraris and Lambos. They are fast, but their trunks won't fit my monster 460cc driver, and what can I possibly buy at the supermarket with a Lambo, two apples?

So when I heard the Mitsubishi Evolution IX had a wagon version, I was quite excited. Hmm... well... after some quick clicking and tapping, I had found it. All I can say is... well... THIS IS ONE UGLY PIECE OF SHITE! Great work Mitsubishi design team! You've managed to make another awesome sedan into another awesome yet ugly wagon (see: Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Legnum).

The front end is smooth, sporty, and aggressive. The Evolution VI and earlier had always looked boxy and squarish. Perfect for robots or boys who haven't reached puberty yet. Evo VII, VIII, and IX have rid themselves of the boyish look with a smoother, meaner look in the front. Getting rid of those ugly, attention-whore, fog lamps was a great idea afterall. Unfortunately, the rear end gives it a completely different persona. The rear is too high, too square, and should slant downwards like the STi does. It just says grocery-getter all over it. That wouldn't have been an issue if the front weren't so aggressive, and if this car was named Mitsubishi Lancer Emporium IX. It gives one the feeling that two different people designed the look of this car.

Other than getting brutally beaten from behind with the ugly stick, the LanEvo IX wagon is still a superb performer on the road. It still has all the traits that the Evolution has given us in years past making it one of the best if not the best driver's car for under US$50K. I won't bore you with the details of the Evo's performance, since it is all over the internet. My friend Sergey has a nice little site that will point you in the right direction.

Sporty in the front. The IX now combines turbo omph with variable valve timing. Sweet!

You start to feel your stomach churn getting a glimpse of the rear with this side view...

The car with an ugly arse that can haul arse. Eww...

Sweeeeeeeeet (literally)

I was delighted to find Cherry Coke for sale in my local supermarket. I have been deprived of the syruppy cherry sweetness for over a year now ever since moving back to Hong Kong. So upon seeing the deep red colored cans, I immediately began unloading them from the shelf into my shopping cart. It is then when I noticed that they all expire on the 7th of November 2005. I proceeded to slowly stack the cans back up on the shelf until my cart was left with three. Oh, the cans were also really really dirty. I brought my three cans home and washed them with soap and water before stuffing them in the fridge. I put one of them in ice water so I could sample the tasty beverage sooner.

Seeing the situation of the cans at the store, I began to wonder how long this Cherry Coke stint will last in Hong Kong. Perhaps that supermarket has already stopped ordering Cherry Coke, and that is the last batch for ever and ever. Now that pisses me off. With all the promoting The CCC did for the mediocre Vanilla Coke and seemingly popular Lemon Coke, they did absolutely zero promotions for Cherry Coke. I didn't even know it was available.

For those of you that care, I found Cherry Coke at the Red Hill Wellcome in Tai Tam. Get it before it expires.

Insanity is Relative

I caught what resembled the flu a few days ago. This rendered me unable to attend work, or get out of bed for that matter. Something good did come out of this absence though. While mindlessly flipping through channels on broadband TV, I came across this really good film: Igby Goes Down.

Igby Goes Down is a deeper, darker, and modern version of the great Catcher in the Rye. This is hardly a new concept for a storyline, but its the smart and funny dialogue, plus the extraordinary delivery/acting that makes this movie a gem from back in 2002. How could I have missed it back in the day? This is a DVD that I'm adding to my collection.

The stellar cast includes: Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman, and Susan Sarandon. The main character, Kieran Culkin, brother of Macaulay (Home Alone, Party Monster), and Rory (Signs) puts on an amazing performance.

The film is really well written and directed, both are credited to Burr Steers in his directorial debut. The dialogue is just too good that printing it here won't do it justice. So please, do yourself a favor and check out this cult classic. Flu symptoms not required.

What happen to our monster lead?

One two punch of the Sox offense congradulate each other. Sox crush D-Rays 15-2.

Okay, I'm a bit confused here.

The Sawx are now only HALF a game ahead of the Yanks for the AL East. I kind of expected this. With the weak Sox pitching and Yankee resilience, I pretty much knew they'd be back in the pennant race by September. So should I be worried?

I mean... it is pretty much like old times. But its usually the Sox catching up from behind to barely grab the AL wildcard spot to eventually play the Yanks in the playoffs. Schilling had a strong showing against Tampa Bay, and they did beat them 15 to 2, but I'm still not too confident about The Schill. Oh man, I wish Keith Foulke were in last year's form so Timlin could take his usual reliever spot. You have to give the guy credit for doing such a tremendous job as a closer.

Thankfully, the Yanks are also half a game behind the Indians, who lost to the ChiSox who are three games ahead of them in the AL Central. Interesting... so its sort of between the Sawx, Yanks, ChiSox, and Indians. The ChiSox have pretty much dropped the ball in the last two months. I don't seem them having any sort of advantage in the remaining games, but last night's win was huge. A consecutive loss to Cleveland would have been devastating, immediately dropping a game to their closest competitors. As for the Yankee/Red Sox deal, it may just come to a photo finish on the 2nd. Could it possibly be a Schill vs. The Unit? Definitely a playoff caliber game.

Anyways, I'm confused because I don't know whether I should treat the Sox as the Sox of the old, or World Series Champions of last season. If its just the Sox being the Sox, then I've got nothing to worry about. They'll grind their way into the playoffs and play the Yanks and we'll see how that goes. But if its World Series Sox we're talking about, then I'm not so sure. Should a World Series caliber team have to limp their way through the pennant race?

To make my life easy, lets just accept the Sox being the Sox like we accept Manny just "being Manny". Go Sox!

Krazy-oke

In honor of Kwannie being initiated to "Krazy Karaoke", KK will sometimes be called "Krazy-oke". It was another fun night at the infamous California Red. The highlight of Sunday was definitely Kwan getting his "Alec Baldwin". Too bad we couldn't get a picture of that spectacular event.

Podcasting

Today I discovered "podcasts". In iTunes, you can download and/or subscribe to what are basically radioshows. The episodes are automatically downloaded onto iTunes so you can listen to them on the go. There is a ton of variety in terms of podcast content. All the mainstream subjects are covered (i.e. news, sports, entertainment, tech, etc.), and the beauty of it is that anyone can do podcasting. So there are more and more podcasts done by amateurs on subjects they're interested in. Some people treat it as a blog in spoken form. For those of you who have iTunes, give it a try! For now, take a look at the silly thin iPod nano.

The day my life stood still

September the 18th marks the day when my best friend, Kiki, died after being in a coma from a car accident in Los Angeles two years ago. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about him. Its been two years, but I'm still pretty lost about the whole thing. He was the older brother I never had. I could talk to him about everything and anything. He was a friend. I miss his laugh, his jokes, his humor, the prank calls, the drinking, the good natured fighting. He was more than a friend. It wasn't just that we had a good laugh once in a while. Kiki actually cared about what I was up to, about whether I was looking for a job, whether I was doing okay with my girlfriend, whether my new apartment was nice. He was the one person in my life I could tell absolutely anything. He would listen, and he would respond. Kiki was never selfish, and he always spoke the truth.

We had our ups and downs. I first met him during my first year at boarding school. He was a quiet kid not happy to be away from home. He was pissed off at something during that year, but I did get to know him. Then we became friends. Not really close, but we had the same circle of friends. The next year, I hated his guts. He was a cocky, show-off, attention whore. We had stupid arguments, but were still sort of friends. The third year was when we really bonded. We spent so much time together just hanging out, talking, playing one-on-one basketball. I have never played that much one-on-one with a single person before or after that. We'd just play and play, memorizing each others moves, trying to outsmart each other. Lots of great fun and laughs in between. It was then and throughout college where I finally discovered who my best friend in the whole world was.

The last stretch of time I spent together with him was during the summer of 2001 when Kiki came to visit Hong Kong for a couple of months. He liked it so much that he even spoke of moving here permenantly. Now thinking back, I wish I had convinced him to do so. We had such a great time that summer. After all is said and done, one thing I don't have is regret for not being the best friend I could to him.

Even after two years I still feel like I'm missing something in my life. I lost so much when I lost him. Nowadays, I feel stuck. Things I used to tell him, I no longer have an outlet. He's no longer there to give me that kick in the ass, that sound advice from a friend who is so close to you that he couldn't tell you anything but the truth, no matter how hard it was to hear sometimes. Still to this day, I'll see something funny and think to myself, "Kiki will get a kick out of this when I tell him". Then it immediately dawns on me that I won't get to tell him, and we won't share that laugh because he's no longer here.

I'm still not sure how to deal with losing Kiki. What do I need to do? Should I even attempt to not think about him? Is it stupid of me to still keep that answering machine with his silly prank calls recorded on it? Occasionally, I'll have that recurring dream that he's suddenly alive again and I'm so happy that he's back. Perhaps that's more of a nightmare... but only after I wake up.

Anyways, this is getting out of hand. If Kiki were around, he's probably tell me I'm wasting my time and should get on with life. He's probably right, as usual. Either way, Kiki, my mentor, my brother, my friend: I miss you.

Is this the bandwagon?

Apparently, I now have a weblog.

Yay! Now I can rant, vent, complain, bitch, moan, whine, and expostulate like the rest of the world (or those that have blogs at least...). Fair warning: my life and daily routine are pretty dull, and since I got such a late start, some of these entries will likely be on things of the past. Another warning: many of these entries may be on the subjects of baseball, football, and the Red Sox.

This is just the beginning. Stay tuned...!