Let the Chaos Begin...

Lakers win the battle for Los Angeles

The Clippers’ goal all season long has been to prove that, in Chris Paul’s words when he was acquired by the team earlier this season, they “are not a joke”. Their team had been the receiving end of really bad jokes up until last year when they started to become better during the emergence of the phenomenal Blake Griffin. 

Here are some of the jokes about the Clippers back then:

Q: What’s the difference between the Los Angeles Clippers and a dollar bill?

A: You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill. 

Q: What do the Los Angeles Clippers and possums have in common?

A: Both play dead at home and get killed on the road! 

Q: What does an Los Angeles Clippers fan do when his team has won the NBA Finals?

A: He turns off the PlayStation 3. 

Q: Did you hear that the Clippers basketball team doesn’t have a website?

A: They can’t string three “Ws” together. 

The doctor has extended my leave to 2 weeks. I tried going back to work last Sunday but the company nurse sent me home because I still had the mumps. So the doctor agreed to give me an extension til Friday.

I have to admit, i kinda hate it. I don’t miss going back to work at all, but I just hate being stuck at home. If ever I do go out I have to wear a face mask which actually sucks especially because of the intense summer heat. So majority of the time I would stay at home and be bored to death.

But a few days ago, I stepped in the world of Hayao Miyazaki. I’ve only watched two of his works at that time (Spirited Away and Ponyo) but I don’t know what magic urged me to start looking for some of his older movies. I started with My Neighbor Totoro and was instantly lured in deeper into the awesome depths of Miyazaki’s fantastical world.

Princess Mononoke in my opinion is his greatest work and after watching his other films, I started to notice some dominant progressive themes. He is a feminist and I love all his strong-willed leading female characters. Most of his works also deal about the evils of man’s over-reliance to technology and its harmful effects on nature. He is also fascinated with aviation and flight. Most of his characters would either have the ability to fly or use flying machines or magical broomsticks and I think that’s one of the reasons why I loved all of his movies so much. Who doesn’t want to have the ability to fly?

A couple of days passed and suddenly I found myself drawn in much deeper. I even watched other Studio Ghibli produced movies that Hayao Miyazaki didn’t write or direct. The most recent one is the devastating but wonderful Grave Of The Fireflies. I’m still recovering from it. It’s the saddest movie ever created. 

These movies are so nostalgic and sort of brings me back to my childhood days with my younger sister. Our house was one of the first houses ever built in our village back then and the whole place used to be just a huge and wide rice field and me and my sister used to play around it especially during the summer when the rice field would dry up. Everything was just simple back then. Things like cable TV and the internet weren’t there yet to make everything complicated. Hayao Miyazaki  movies brought those memories back to me. 

I’m a bad Laker fan.

Last night, I stayed up until 3:30 AM this morning to watch the LA Lakers play against New Orleans Hornets. I went home around 2 AM so I figured I could just stay up and see the game.

It started up pretty good for the Lakers, outscoring the Hornets early in the first quarter and they seemed really well rested running a lot of transition plays. But then Kobe started missing a lot of open shots. It was so painful to watch. He just couldn’t buy a shot anywhere in their home court. It was like there was a lid covering the rim whenever he takes a shot. Good thing Pau Gasol didn’t have the same curse. He was the only one scoring for the team mostly in the first half with Stephen Blake’s 3 for 3 rainbow connections. But it wasn’t enough. The Lakers suddenly became lethargic and out of focus as Kobe continued to struggle ending the first half with zero points. 

When the third quarter started I was hopeful that the curse on Kobe would be over but the rim just won’t let his shots go in. Then the Hornets took the lead and extended it to double digits late in the third. I gave up. I just couldn’t stand to see the Lakers struggle that much against a very short-handed team that also happens to be at the bottom of the western conference standings. I gave up on the Lakers and went to sleep.

Hours later when I woke up, I went to NBA.com expecting to see another home loss but was surprised to see that the Lakers have managed to win the game! And it was Kobe’s game winning three pointer that sealed the deal! He was 0-for-7 on three point attempts prior to that shot. At the end of the game, he only had 11 points, all of them in the final quarter. 

“He is Kobe Bryant. He is going to find a way to score and he’s going to will his team to win. He’s an amazing, hall of fame player.” Hornet’s Jason Smith on Bryant’s struggles.

A lot have been said about Kobe’s way of handling his shot selections over the course of this shortened and exhausting season. But he is who he is and at the end of the day, he will do whatever it takes to will his team to win.

I was a fool to lose faith in him and in the team. I’m a bad Laker fan.

“It was awful. The shots I was taking were good shots and makeable, but they just weren’t going in. But the crowd had my back and I have great teammates to get us through it.” 
— Kobe Bryant on his worst shooting performance in 14 years.

Today I felt that it was about the right time for me to finally go out after 6 days of struggling against mumps. I can still feel it’s there but it doesn’t hurt as much and I was just dying to get out of the house.

So I went out and watched not one but two movies! Originally I was only planning to watch Wrath Of The Titans but I figured that the doctor only approved me to stay off work only til Sunday and that I won’t be able to get to have all this free time in a long while again so I decided to watch Hunger Games as well. Also, I was just curious what the hoopla was all about.

Wrath Of The Titans is an improvement from the previous Clash but I still felt it was lacking something when I was watching it earlier. Although they added some awesome fight scenes with huge two headed dragons and cyclopses I still think it wasn’t enough to get rid of the bad taste that the Clash Of The Titans left in my mouth. I was expecting epic battles in God Of War or Shadow Of The Colossus scale.

The ultimate reality show. It’s like Survivor and The Truman Show on steroids. A little bit watered-down according to the people who have read the book but what do you expect? It wouldn’t have earned that much on its first weekend if the producers decided to go all Battle Royale on us. Despite of it, I still think it’s an extremely entertaining movie for the family to enjoy. 

Today is day 4 of my ongoing struggle against mumps. Yesterday was probably the worse it has ever been. My face was so swollen it could explode. It has deflated ever since but it still hurts especially when touched. I have also lost the ability to chew and that really sucks because I can’t eat properly. I wanna eat so bad!

Anyway, I will be back to the hospital again tomorrow for a follow up. I think the doctor’s prescribed antibiotics are really awesome and I think this will all be over in the next 2-3 days. I can go out of this house again! This is the worst vacation ever!

Watching some of the movies I’ve missed was the only thing that kept me occupied in the last 4 days. I’ve watched a lot and I haven’t turned off my laptop since lol. The most notable one was Akira, which I just saw a few minutes ago. I have always wanted to watch this movie and I don’t really know why I haven’t also and I’m not kidding, I just watched it for the first time ever. And I was blown away. The animation is just so ahead of its time it’s just ridiculous. I just hope that any attempts to do a live action of it will be shut down. It just couldn’t be done. 

Lol I have mumps.

My right jaw has been aching for the past couple of days but it got worse yesterday. It hurt to the point where I couldn’t sleep plus, I caught a light fever. It didn’t take long until I figured something must be up. So I went to our company nurse and she quickly determined I have mumps. 

To be honest, I didn’t really know what mumps is and I never really had it before and it freaked the shit out of me. I thought I would need to be hospitalized for days on end but the nurse told me there was no need for that. She told me though to drop by the hospital and go to the outpatient department to have me checked out and stuff. 

Again, I totally freaked out when the doctor ordered me to stay in the isolation room. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind while I was sitting there in that small and cold room with a lot of strange medical apparatuses and stuff. What if I got out and everyone was already eating each other’s brains out? What if I was a carrier of an unknown virus strain that will end all life on this planet? Lol I just couldn’t avoid thinking of all those things.

After about 20 minutes, the doctor got in and told me that potentially I have mumps, but they still need to run some tests and they needed to get some of my blood. Totally freaked out of my brains again. They want my blood now? There could be something more to this than just mumps. But I agreed and stayed in that isolation room for over an hour to wait for the results thinking of horrible things.

I was on the verge of going insane when the doctor got back to tell me about the results and she confirmed that I did have mumps and that it’s viral and although I don’t need to be confined in the hospital, I’m not supposed to go to work for a week. The first thing in mind, VACATION! The doctor then sent me off with a prescription of a bunch of weird sounding meds which I’m supposed to take for the next 7 days.

Today I woke up and my right jaw’s swelling got worse. Lol I look like a Ninja Turtle! I went back to the hospital and they gave me a much more potent antidote  (?) and they told me to come back if the swelling gets way way worst and that if it get’s really bad they would need to have an operation on my right jaw to suck the infection out. TOTALLY FREAKED THE SHIT OUT AGAIN.

So here I am with a bloated jaw waiting and observing. Get ready your food supply and find a safe shelter. You don’t want to be MUMPSIFIED do you?

The Walking Dead Season Finale Edition

I really enjoyed the shit out of TWD’s season finale and it sucks that we have to wait a full seven months for season 3.

It had everything the fans ever wanted. A lot of zombie shooting sprees and chaos and death and destruction. A great culmination to an awesome run the show had been having this season.

But I think the best and most important thing about the whole finale is that they are now aware that they are all infected by the zombie virus (or whatever it is), that they are “the walking dead”.

And of course, Michonne’s first appearance. I don’t consider posting this image as a spoiler because I assume that you have seen it already if you consider yourself a fan of the show. If you haven’t well, what the fuck man how dare you call yourself a true fan? lol

Also, that “tease” of the prison was unexpected and it totally made me want to have Hiro Nakamura powers of travelling through space and time. Come on, seven months? :(

It will be an awful long and agonizing wait but I am hopeful that the next season will be as, if not more awesome than the one that just left us begging for more.

And besides, Game Of Thrones will be back next month so…

I has been really hectic in the NBA in the last 24 hours or so because of the very much anticipated Trade Deadline. And now that it’s over, who do you think got the best deals?

Dwight Howard is the biggest troll in the NBA. Everyone was expecting him to move some place else but the dude decided to stay put in Orlando (at least until this season ends). I think it’s a good choice considering the fact that Orlando is playing well as of late and just a little more push and they’d be a contender this year. 

I think the team that made the best deal out of the deadline is Milwaukee Bucks. Monta Ellis is a good scorer and along with Brandon Jennings, the bucks will enjoy utilizing an awesome 2 hit combo in the backcourt.

In Lakerland, fans had a huge sigh of relief when Pau Gasol wasn’t moved and because the point guard problem is now fixed by the acquisition of Cleveland’s Ramon Sessions. But everyone didn’t see it coming, the management decided to trade their veteran other point guard Derek Fisher in exchange for Houston’s Jordan Hill. I was shocked myself, devastated even. I thought, “Why can’t they just let him retire as a Laker?”. We’re talking about a guy who has showed a lot of leadership in the team especially in huddles and in the locker room. He is Kobe’s closest friend and confidant. He should’ve always been a Laker. But having to rotate 3 point guards with him, Blake and Sessions would be messy. It makes sense. And emotions aside, I know it’s for the better. Kobe is not getting any younger and he needs to have a much more competitive ally in the backcourt to get that sixth ring. I would love though, to see Fisher back in the Laker bench again in the future. Not as a player but part of the coaching staff. The Old Man deserves it.

Andrew Bynum has been phenomenal in the Lakers last two games scoring a total of 57 points and grabbing 40 rebounds. Is this enough proof that they are ready to let go of their other 7 footer Pau Gasol? I don’t think so.

Gasol was really efficient as well especially on tonight’s win against the Grizzlies. The Lakers’ strategy had been consistent, do a pick and roll play between Kobe and Gasol, leaving Bynum open for lobs and strong finishes most of the time. In total, Gasol ended the game with a game high 8 assists. 

Warning: The Walking Dead spoilers ahead.

It’s been a long time coming but Rick finally did the deed, ending the roller coaster ride of a friendship him and Shane had been going through ever since the zombie apocalypse started. 

To be honest, I kind of liked Shane’s reincarnation in the TV series. In the comics, there wasn’t any character build up and all we know is that he was a jealous prick. But in the TV series, there was more to him than that. He seemed to be making a lot of good calls especially because they were in survival mode but he just couldn’t present them well enough to make everyone agree that they were the right things to do. He was trouble but he was an asset.

But in the end, it was still his jealousy that got the most of him.

Again, I’ve been stressing this out ever since that failed 3 team trade that would’ve landed Chris Paul to the Lakers, trading away a player like Gasol, who makes your team special, would be another wrong decision in a season filled with them.

Right now, the Lakers appear to be vulnerable and wounded but this guy was the impetus of the team’s success in the last 5 years and letting him go is the stupidest idea ever.

They are opting for a younger point guard in Houston Rockets’ Kyle Lowry but will that make the team better? I don’t think so. I’m all for improving the team’s roster, but maybe the culture and atmosphere surrounding the franchise need to change first.

There have been rumors that the players are losing their faith with their new Coach Mike Brown. These same complaints have been plaguing Brown even during his stint with Cleveland Cavaliers, late game management and so on. 

The need for a young point guard to head the back court is a must but the Lakers focusing on their own inner-turmoil is much more important.

What the fuck is wrong with tumblr?

It takes forever to load more post. And sometime it refuses to load anything at all! You will have to hit F5 almost all the time. Now my F5 button looks all busted up because I’ve been pressing on it every 2 minutes. It’s very irritating.

I tried finding out what it’s all about earlier and apparently, I’m not the only one dealing with this issue.

I know we don’t pay tumblr for its services and I can’t really complain. I bet they are working hard to fix it right now but I’ve been so attached to this site too much. I’ve been a user since early 2009. Others have come and gone but I’m still here.

So today was a payday and normally I would hop into my local toy store and score some action figures and would  eventually end up spending more than I could manage. But today, I decided to get my feet some extra lovin’.

Before I started to revamp my action figure collection, I used to be a sneakerhead a few years ago. I would get sneakers every pay day to the point where it wasn’t healthy anymore. At first I stuck with Vans skate shoes then migrated to some Nike SB’s and Dunks. But I don’t know, something might have happened that made me stop buying them damn shoes.

This time around, I chose comfort over style. Wearing these Ecko Unltd. S.C. Plex sneakers is like sex to the feet! 

To complement the shoes, I also bought 3 shirts because I thought I kinda needed some lol.

New sneaks, Lakers won, greatest day in a long while!

The 2012 NBA All-Star game last Sunday sure broke some records. Viewership has increased tremendously and it hasn’t been that high since 2005. The West team also made history when they scored 88 points in the first 2 quarters breaking the previous record of 87, and then Kobe surpassed Michael Jordan’s All-Star scoring record with a two handed slam late in the third quarter.

Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade also left a mark in history as he committed the first ever All-Star Flagrant Foul. 

Seriously? Who does that? It’s just an All-Star game goddammit! 

He went too far by drawing blood on a hard two handed foul to Kobe Bryant as Kobe drop stepped him in the post and on his way to an easy basket!

 ”I obviously didn’t try to draw no blood, but I took a foul,” Wade said. “Kobe fouled me two times in a row, so he’s still got one up on me.”

Yes, let’s say he did foul you twice in a row, but you can’t just break his nose in return. This is not UFC All-Star (lol do they even have an All-Star weekend? I’m sorry I’m not a UFC fan). 

Let’s also say Wade didn’t do it purpose, that it was just part of the game being physical nearing the buzzer, but he didn’t go and check if Kobe was alright! Instead, he went to the bench and laughed with his Miami Heat team mate Chris Bosh! Are you kidding me?

That crossover that could have been a potential dunk would have made Kobe tied with Michael Jordan’s All-Star scoring record of 262. He sunk both the free throws for the cheap foul anyway so Wade’s attempt to thwart that was useless. Kobe even went on and surpassed MJ late in the third and continued to add more points in his record all throughout the game as he ended with 27 points (he only needed 19) and now has 271 overall.

It wouldn’t have been such a big deal to me if D-Wade just manned up and apologized to Kobe right then and there. Come on! He couldn’t even walk over and say “My bad” or something?  

In a game where everybody is just trying to have fun letting all defensive strategies go just to entertain fans with lobs and dunks, He couldn’t even give up one dunk to Kobe. That’s saying a lot. 

What little respect I have left for Dwayne Wade has gone the way of the dinosaurs.

Kobe left immediately after the game and has not spoken to the media since. Reports say he was examined after the game though. Results of a CT scan revealed that Bryant suffered a nasal fracture. It is expected that Bryant will be examined and re-evaluated by ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. John Rehm when he returns to Los Angeles.

KOBE: TRADE PAU OR LEAVE HIM ALONE!

Kobe Bryant wants an answer and he wants it now.

“I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him,” Bryant said crisply after the Lakers’ 102-90 loss Sunday. “It’s just tough for a player to give his all when you don’t know if you’re going to be here tomorrow. I’d rather them not trade him at all, but if they’re going to do something, I wish they would just … do it.”

The man is fed up with all the uneasy air of gloom in the team. The elephant in the room. 

In my opinion, they don’t really have to give up Gasol. They made a lot of heads turn when they got him back in 2008 and he was one of the people responsible for the back to back championships in 09-10, they can’t just let him go. Yes, he was inconsistent during last season’s playoffs but he is playing better now. Not as good as before but he contributes a huge chunk in points and especially rebounds. Letting him leave would be a big mistake.

“He’s been the consummate professional,” Bryant said. “He’s going out and he’s trying to do what he can. But let’s be real. If you didn’t know you were going to be here tomorrow, if your head’s on the chopping block … it’s tough to put all of yourself into the game.”

Without a focused Gasol, the Lakers won’t be able to seriously challenge the Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks and Clippers for the top spot. It would be awesome if they get to have Dwight Howard, he could be a great help in anchoring the team in the playoffs but it would cost them having a disoriented team again. They are still struggling with Mike Brown’s new system and having another new player in the mix would be difficult especially in this lockout season. Not enough time to adjust thoroughly and have chemistry. 

There is no need for the Lakers to have another big man because they have 2 of the best in the league. What they really need is a legitimate point guard. Or someone to help the back court. I was really excited about the rumor that Gilbert Arenas is going to be playing for the Lakers a few weeks ago. But no news from the management so far. I guess we will just have to wait til the All-Star break is over. In the mean time, Good luck to Pau in wrestling with the daily drama of the rumor mill.

Today’s Action Figure Haul

I haven’t been buying any toys for almost a month now because I’m still waiting for the wave 2 of the new Marvel Legends. But I went to my local toy shop and saw these figs and ended up getting them. These are rare Legendary Comic Book Heroes figures (well maybe in my area) and passing them up would be a big mistake.

From left to right: Judge Death, Savage Dragon, The Darkness, Marv and Mad Man.

So today me and my bud went out to watch Ghost Rider Spirit Of Vengeance. I wasn’t really expecting much but I hunched it would be better than the first one mainly because it was directed by the guys who made the Crank movies with David S. Goyer as one of the writers. The plot is really simple. It sorta reminds me of Terminator 2. We still have Johnny Blaze who is still played by Nicholas Cage, still struggling trying to find a way to get rid of his curse and the main villain is still the same guy from the first movie (Mephisto), but played by Ciarán Hinds this time. Johnny Blaze is asked by a secret sect of the Church to find and save a boy named Danny from The Devil (Roarke, Mephisto) and is promised that they will get rid of his curse in return. 

It is quite evident that they were going for a more darker tone compared to previous Ghost Rider. 

God Move: Adding Idris Elba into the mix. He’s just a badass actor. I want to see him play more Marvel characters though. He would be an awesome Luke Cage or Black Panther.

Bad Move: NICHOLAS fucking CAGE. He was really off in this movie and it was really painful watching him to be honest. Like seriously, all throughout the movie I was like, “Ughhh just turn into Ghost Rider already!” I didn’t have any clue who he was channeling in the movie, it was really bad acting. Even worse than the first Ghost Rider and all his other bad movies. 

As a whole, the movie isn’t really that bad. All the parts where Ghost Rider is actually in are really awesome. I liked his new burned out look a lot and I really enjoyed all the action scenes, all thanks to the Crank guys. 

After watching the movie, my bud Mike and I decided to walk around the wet rainy streets of the city again. 

And then we pigged ourselves out with some delicious Japanese food.

Kampai!