A Post 4 Months in the Making

First of all... thank you to the NFL players and owners for ensuring that we will have an excuse for drinking on Sundays... and more importantly, a fantasy football season.  We knew it would happen eventually, I'm just glad we didn't sacrifice any regular season games to the lock out. 

Secondly, the show "Wilfred" on FX (10:00pm on Thurdays) is the surprise hit of the summer.  I love it.  Elijah Wood is surprisingly hilarious, though we should have seen this coming after his starring role in the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right Revisited" video. 





Okay, on to the main focus of this blog: The "Game of Thrones" HBO series and the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series written by George R. R. Martin.  I first heard about these books from my friends Ethan and Kata, who both seem to like ready nerdy fantasy-based fiction that I usually stay away from.  However, when I heard that HBO was going to be making a series about it, I decided this had to be worth looking into.  I started watching the series - the first season ended a couple of weeks ago - and was soon so caught up in this fantastical, medieval-feeling, politically charged drama that it was all I could think about.  After seeing this trailer, how could you not be at least intrigued...



Now, the first season basically covered the first book of the series and hinted a little bit at the second book.  I of course had to know what was going to happen next so I bought the rest of the books.  There are currently five books out, with two more on their way.  I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't get into the plot details.  Sufficed to say, Martin takes you on a roller coaster ride with scheming, honorable and secretive characters, all who seem to have alterior motives justifying their actions.  Just when you think you've got characters pegged as "good guys" or "bad guys" everything gets turned around, and you realize you were basing your protagonists and antagonists on only fractions of the story. 

Aside from the books, the series itself is amazing.  They did most of the filming in Europe in countries like Ireland and Italy.  Hans Zimmer performs an original musical score written by Ramin Djawadi, and it really adds depth to the scenes.  The result of this is a fantastical story set in a very realistic back drop.  The costumes and make-up are phenomenal and the acting is superb.  Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister aka The Imp) might be the overall most impressive performance through the series, but Sean Bean (Lord Eddard Stark) is nearly as good.  However, the rest of the cast pulls off really believable acting as well.  My personal favorites include Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), and Maisie Williams. (Arya Stark)  The writers did a very good job sticking to the book, and when they did add scenes, it only added to the emotions we're meant to feel for each character.  I guess for the amount of money HBO pumped into this project, they're getting their just returns.

I'll leave you with a clip from the show.  Probably one of my favorite scenes from season one.  Enjoy, and remember, "Winter is coming..."

Top Ten Lists Continued...

Okay, before I jump into this list, I'd just like to say how irritating golf is.  I mean, you can go from having a terrible front nine to a great back nine, or vise versa.  What I don't understand is why I can't put two good nines together.  The only thing that made my day enjoyable was the fact that the course was really nice and well maintained.  FYI... Pearl Country club has a great deal for weekday play.  It's 50 bucks and you get a 5 dollar off coupon to use at the restaurant, where the food is pretty good.  You know that the club house is classy when they serve 24oz. bottles of beer.

Alright.  The subject of my top ten list today will be attractive female celebrities.  So athletes, actresses, singers... basically anyone worth being on TMZ.  I'll make the decisions harder by trying to select women who wouldn't be on anybody else's top ten list.  I guess this list could best be described as Kimo's secret celebrity crushes.

1. Giada DeLaurentis - This Food Network star hosts both Everyday Italian and Giada At Home.  First of all, she can cook.  So that in itself is awesome.  She is married, and her husband shows up on her shows once in a while. (Total douche-bag by the way)  However, she gets extra points for being a mom.  (Not that I'd like the extra luggage, but I do love a good MILF)  And I'm sure it takes a lot of effort for her to be able to have kids, cook all the time, and keep her body looking like that.

2. Natasha Leggero - I don't think too many people know who she is, so she should be a safe choice.  I first saw her perform stand-up comedy on Comedy Central.  Now she makes more than a few appearances on Chelsea Lately's round table of comics, and yes, she is hotter than Whitney Cummings.  I think it might be her comedy that makes her hot, because right now I can't come up with a specific feature that makes her hot.  Whatever, my list, my rules.
3. Vanessa Anne Hudgens - Yes, she was in the High School Musical movies, and yes, she was young then, but she'll be 23 at the end of this year, and that means she's 22 now, and that means she's legal, and that means she can be on the list.  Plus, anyone who looks like her, is as famous as her, and decides that it would be a good idea to take nude photos of herself and allow them to get leaked to the media has gotta be a fun chick.  Right?
4. Britney Spears - Speaking of fun chicks, this girl might have invented the trend.  I hear she's cleaned up her life, and decided to actually be a decent mother, but if I could go back to 2004 and party with this girl, I'd be there in a second.  I did some quick google images research, and it looks like she's gotten back into shape.  Maybe not quite I'm a Slave for You shape, but almost.  Still... I'd hit it.

5. Tamlyn Tomita - This one is still pretty (like geisha).  The first time I saw The Karate Kid II, I realized that there were changes happening to my body.  Yes, I'd like to thank Tamlyn Tomita for sending me down the road of puberty.  If not for her, I would not have come to love my pubescent body... or at least not as many times.  Let's just say that it's very appropriate that she ended up on the show "JAG" for a year.

6. Tina Kinght  - The reality star from Mounted in Alaska.  This show might have already been cancelled from History Channel rotation, but when it was on, it was awesome, and this girl was the main reason why.  She is a smoking hot daughter of a taxidermist, and a gun-owning Alaskan who is most likely a republican.  I'm regretting having her this low on the list now.  Check out the youtube clip to see what the show was about.

7. Elisabeth Hasselbeck - I remember watching Survivor in college, and thinking, man, this Elisabeth Filarski chick is hot...  Especially when you consider that they weren't wearing make-up and had scrapes and bruises from roughing it in the wild.  A few years later, she's married to an ex-NFL quarterback and co-hosting The View.  Still super hot, and apparently, being a mom hasn't affected her body at all. 

8. Kate Micucci - Yes, for those of you who have watched Scrubs, The Gooch.  Aside from being an actrees, she's a very talented singer and songwriter, and plays the piano and ukulele.  Let's be honest, her face is kinda... different looking, but those doe eyes will get me everytime.  Plus, her music is awesome.
9. Michelle Beadle - Let me explain how there is almost nothing sexier in a woman than her ability to converse knowingly about sports.  This co-host of Sports Nation on ESPN is cute, but her knowledge of sports makes her almost irresistable.  Actor/Comedian Jim Carrey, once told her she was the perfect woman when they were on Live With Regis and Kelly together.  I would tend to agree.

10. Jayma Mays - Emma Pillsbury, for you Gleeks out there, (I wouldn't know I've never seen Glee) is a 32 year old actress who will also be starring in the upcoming Smurfs movie.  This is another unexplainable attraction of mine.  I mean, she's basically a ginger with big eyes and a decent face.  When she talks it kind of sounds like a tickle me Elmo that needs new batteries... That being said, there's something adorable about it.

Well there you go.  My secret celebrity crushes list.  I will leave you with a couple of Kate Micucci's songs.  Honestly, they're awesome.  If you have time, I highly recommend all of the "Garfunkle & Oates" videos.  Most of the songs are hilarious.  I was too lazy to post all of them.

Truth Be Told...

It's been awhile since my last post so let's recap the news.  It's been really hot lately, the U.S. absolutely blew it in the Women's World Cup, our alumni basketball team needs to improve immediately, and Jay Leno is still making Casey Anthony jokes.  So bascially, not much has happened in the past few days.

This post is basically about those annoying facebook posts people send asking you to list your top ten this or your worst five that.  I'll be honest, I actually find these entertaining, it's just that I'd rather hear people justify their selections than just look at a list.  Also, I hate it when people just half-ass their way through and put no thought into it, which is usually the fault of the person who started it because they do something generic, like "What are your top 10 favorite movies?" or "Who are the top 10 hottest actresses?"

I'd like to make things more interesting.  They say that life is all about making big decisions, so I've forced myself to make these decisions, none of which were anywhere close to being easy.  I've also included attempts to justify my answers.

Top 10 movies I hate to admit I enjoyed:

1. Titanic - Okay people, maybe the Celine Dion love ballad took things a little to far, but James Cameron doesn't make bad movies.  The effects for their time were amazing, and the story could have been worse.  Plus, Billy Zane was mad evil, and Leo's Italian friend was awesome.  "BASTARDO!"
2. Sixteen Candles - John Hughes was basically the Steven Spielberg of 1980's teen drama.  Classic brat pack action plus Gedde Watanabe (aka Long Duk Dong) equals awesome.  "No more yankie my wankie.  The Donger need food."
3. Josie & The Pussycats  - I went through a Rachel Leigh Cook phase while in college.  Unfortunately, the phase didn't end with "She's All That."  In my defense, a band made up of Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, and RLC is not a bad thing to look at, and Tara Reid lives the rock 'n roll lifestyle anyway.
4. The Matrix - Maybe people are saying, "Why would you hate admitting you liked this movie?"  Well, you don't hang around the same people I do.  I just feel that this movie was made for nerds, but for some reason I liked it.  The sequels and that animated crap was total trash though.
5. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - I might be partial here.  I never saw the movie in the theaters when it came out.  I never bought the DVD when it came out.  I did watch it on TBS with limited commercial interruption sometime in 2004.  I don't see why people were so upset about it.  The story had to start somewhere.  Jar Jar Binx might be even lamer than Affleck writing himself into "Good Will Hunting," but aside from that it was a decent flick.
6. Jersey Girl - Yes, we expect more of Kevin Smith.  The man gave us some of the best independent, low-budget films ever.  His attempt at a studio budgeted movie wasn't terrible though.  Did people hate it just because Bennifer was in it?  (By the way, too bad about J-Lo and Mark Anthony right?  But seriously, the guy has looked like a corpse for the past decade, so I guess it should have been expected.)  Plus, in 2011 we were reintroduced to Gertie (Raquel Castro) via "The Voice."
7. The Lion King - Okay, Elton John music, lions, babboons, and hyenas all in cartoon form.  I know it sounds weird, but it works.  Jonathan Taylor Thomas as baby Simba and Matthew Broderick as adult Simba?  Broadway can't beat that lineup.  Plus, Mufasa sounded a lot like Darth Vader.
8. The Breakfast Club - Sherman, Illinois strikes again.  That's the town that John Hughes based all of his movies in.  Judd Nelson was HARSH!  And don't judge me, but I thought Ally Sheedy was pretty hot as the emo, goth chick.
9. Charlotte's Web - Not that piece of crap remake with Dakota Fanning and Julia Roberts.  I mean the cheaply animated classic from the 70's.  My mom was an English teacher, and she showed her classes the movie after they read the book.  I must have watched the movie at least a hundred times.  Never gets old.
10. Airborne - I did see this classic in the theaters.  Probably the day it came out.  Rollerblading was undoubtedly the greatest thing ever in 1993.  I think the lead role was played by some kid named Shane McDermott, but more importantly the movie featured a young Jack Black and a younger Seth Green.

That was fun.  I think I'll continue with another list tomorrow.

Seriously though, Mark Anthony looks like a patient whose AIDS medication isn't working.  Is he trying to get cast as the lead role in some Seve Buscemi bio-pic?  How is that guy still alive?

"You ought to spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people." - Richard Vernon, The Breakfast Club

31 is the new 21

I never really thing of myself as being in my thirties.  I think it's really weird.  Do I have a psychological disorder?  'Cause I still think of myself as being about 24 or 25... just with more life experience.  That being said, I've decided to change my life completely around and go back to school.

Crazy right?  But I figure, if I'm serious about this, it'll lead to me being a lot happier in the long run.  I've decided to get an Education degree.  Which is borderline ridiculous, because when it comes to a masters in ed., my BA in Journalism is pretty much useless.  I have talked to a UH counselor, and it seems like most of my credits will transfer and I only need two or even one and a half years to finish a Bachelor's in Education, after which I could move on to my masters.

Anyway, that being said, I officially quit my job as of yesterday, to become a full time student in the Fall.  That's the plan, at least for now.  For now, quitting my job will have the following consequences:
1.  I have to remember not to spend money on ridiculous things (this will probably be the toughest)
2.  I will get awesome at golf.
3.  I will see more summer movies than I ever have in my life.
4.  I need to get a job I can do part time, that won't stress me out while I'm a full time student.

Strangely enough, I'm worried about liking school too much.  I mean, the last time I was in College, I definitely fell in love with it... and ended up staying a year and a half more than I really should have.  I'm totally gonna be the old guy in class buying kids their kegs aren't I?  I might as well just accept it as a fact of life.

Alright, all serious life decisions out of the way, let's talk about what's taking up a major part of most of my week:  The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin.  While I've never really been into these fantasy epic series (though I did read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series when I was a kid)  this one is different.  The characters are very believable, and the author based the actions and behavior of the characters on the War of the Rosese between England and France.  While this make-believe world of "Westeros" contains dragons, giants and magic, it's the politics of the lords and ladies that really interests me.  There's no good guy, there's no bad guy.  Everybody just has goals, whether they be just or not we may not yet know, and do whatever it takes to get to those goals.  I'm about half way through the 3rd book of the series, "A Storm of Swords."  The fourth book is already out, and the fifth book, "A Dance with Dragons," was just released this week.

Something awesome happened today.  I went to Gamestop looking for a N64 copy of  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  I wanted to play that game over again because I remember it being pretty awesome, and probably my favorite of the Zelda series.  Anyway, this guy is at the cashier trying to sell a used PS3 or PS2 controller.  I will leave you with their conversation in lieu of a quote:

CUSTOMER:  ...Yeah all the buttons work fine
CASHIER:  Your R2 button seems worn
CUSTOMER:  This R2 unit has a bad motivator...
CASHIER:  ...What?
CUSTOMER:  There's an awful lot of carbon scoring.  Looks like this R2 unit's seen a lot of action...
CASHIER:  ...What?
CUSTOMER:  Laughing to himself (while holding up the entire line) You don't like 'Star Wars?'
CASHIER:  I didn't know what that was from.  You know what, move to the side while we test this controller. Mutters quietly while helping me.  F*cking dork.

Lazy Sunday

It was indeed a lazy Sunday for this guy.  Woke up early enough to splash water on my face and brush my teeth before going to golf.  Shot a 99 which is amazing considering the amount of strokes I wasted on the greens.  Pretty embarrassing. 

But not as embarrassing as Kata, a friend of mine since college, deciding about half-way through our round that it would be a good idea to husk and eat a coconut that had fallen from one of numerous trees that littered the course at Ewa Villages.  First of all, this guy didn't have any tools for husking or breaking the coconut, so he decided to bite it and tear small strips off the outer shell.  At one point, right around the 17th tee box, while waiting for the foursome in front of us to clear the fairway, Kata chose to sit down on the grass, and wedge the coconut up against his shoe spikes while tearing at the husk.  Needless to say, he made more headway here than he had the previous two hours.  It was unbelievable.  It was as if Polynesian Cultural Center was putting on a show just for us, but instead of a 6'5" Samoan, they'd sent us a 5'7" Japanese kid.  I didn't get to see him again until we were getting off the green at 17 and proceeding to the 18th tee where he was sipping on coconut juice through a hole he had somehow made through the shell, with the look of an eight year-old child, who just learned to ride a bike, worn proudly on his face .

After our round I came home with a stomach ache that was no doubt caused by whatever we drank the night before, and passed out.  When I woke up, the replay of the USA vs. Brazil soccer game had come on, and luckily I got to see all the good parts. (Basically from the start of overtime to the end of the penalty kicks)  AMAZING!!!  I guess soccer overtime does need to be at least a half hour long.  That was probably the most unlikely end to any World Cup game, men's or women's... ever.  Also, for those of you that watched, was the head referee of that game in Al Qaeda?  Cause she hated America.  Seriously... it was like all the referees conspired to try to screw over the United States.  Maybe they're just upset that the team that's gonna win this tournament will return to a country where soccer is MAYBE the 5th most popular sport.

Speaking of refereeing.   In my last post I mentioned we had a basketball game, well I didn't score 10 points as promised, but I did drop 8 on them... Them being a team that was 7 years older than us.  Oh well, a win is a win.  Anyway, there's a referee that works alumni league games every year.  He wears these ridiculously baggy black shorts so that he looks more like a Foot Locker employee than an official.  He takes his job way too seriously.  Some of our team had gotten there early and watch the game before ours.  He was one whistle short of throwing somebody out of the game, and almost got himself killed in the process.  Every single time he refs our games, I worry about fouling out... even though I don't play defense.  That guy just likes the sound of his whistle I guess.  I can't believe that he hasn't figured out that the whole league hates him.

"Achievements on the golf course are not what matters.  Decency and honesty are what matter." - Eldrick "Tiger" Woods

Saturday

We have a game tonight.  An 'Iolani Alumni League Basketball game to be precise.  I plan on dropping at least 10 on whoever we're playing.  I am inspired to do so after watching the Japanese Women's soccer team defeat the German team 1 - 0 this morning.  Okay.. "One - Nil" for you soccer purests out there.  I figure I'm ethnically half Japanese so I can bask in their reflected glory.  

I'll have more to play for since my motherland still lays in ruins after the biggest natural disaster to hit them since Godzilla fought Mecha-Godzilla in the streets of Tokyo.  In fact, I wonder if the "earthquake" is actually a giant cover-up to hide the fact that a giant fire-breathing lizard lives in the seas just off the coast of Japan... Very suspicious if you ask me.  The next thing you know, the Empire of the Rising Sun will shine once again riding the destruction of their iguana-like monster.

Sorry, I got a little off topic.  While watching this "match" between Japan and Germany, I found out that even though a soccer game is already 90+ minutes long, if the game is tied at the end of regulation, they play another 30 minutes.  Okay, I guess this is proof that the rest of the world has more patience than the U.S., but seriously?  Half an hour of overtime?  I mean, sure college football games that go into more than one overtime can last an extra half hour or more, but Soccer has a MANDATORY 30 minute overtime.  Actually the overtime is split into two fifteen minute halves.  That's ridiculous.  Go to a shootout.  Have a ten minute overtime, and for God's sake, run the clock DOWN so that we actually know when the game is over.  Seriously... do any other team sports have clocks that run from 0 to 90 minutes?  And oh by the way, we felt like you guys were dragging out the clock so we'll tack on another coupler of minutes... 

As a side note to this... I'd like to say that I've been wrong about womens sports.  I'd always said that softball players were uglier than women's soccer players...  Generally speaking of course.  However, after watching both the Women's College World Series and several of the Women's World Cup games, I'd like to retract that statement.  I should have known I was wrong since Jenn Brown and Bianca Cruz (See Below) played college softball. 



So come of University of Hawaii.  Let's start getting our recruiters out there.  I'm sure some of these ladies would love to play ball in Hawaii.  I think I may have just convinced myself to go back to school.

"Take your time, don't live to fast.  Troubles will come and they will pass." - Lynyrd Skynyrd  "Simple Man"

The Legend Begins

You know, if I had a quarter for every person who recommended that I start keeping a blog, well, I'd probably have enough money to enjoy a tall, cool, refreshing Arnold Palmer. (As I recently discovered, the greatest non-alcoholic drink known to mankind... but I digress)  While I'd like to thank these people for suggesting a blog as platform for my brain to unload its hot load of creativity on, it does make me worry.

"Worry?" you may be asking yourself.

That's right.  Worry.  The fact of the matter is that if I had simply come up with this idea on my own, there would be no pressure on me.  But the fact that people (most of them friends) gave me this idea basically means I have standards to keep.  Though judging by the group I spend most of my weekends with, the standards won't be too high. 

First issue.  What should the blog be about?  Well simply put, I'm going to write about anything I feel like writing about.  I'm guessing the topics that will most often frequent this blog will include the following:  Sports (Specifically anything related to my alma mater the University of Oregon), Entertainment Gossip (Yes, I watch the E! Entertainment Network & TMZ), Food, Music, Movies, and bascially whatever crosses my mind.

Second issue.  How often should I update this blog?  Well, at first I was thinking daily.  But let's be honest, my friends and family will all make fun of me for not having a life.  So then I thought I could do one every week, but that makes me seem lazy.  The conclusion I came to is that I'll update this blog based on the following schedule:  WHENEVER THE F*CK I WANT.  I mean... isn't that what separates bloggers from real journalsits?  I certainly don't want to be on a deadline when I'm not getting paid to write this.

With those issues out of the way, I'd like to welcome my readers.  I'm sure I know most of you because right now the counter on the right side of the screen, under the word, "Followers" is at zero.  I guess I know how those kids in 'Glee' feel.  Yes I watch 'Glee.'  Don't judge me.  I watch what I want. 

Anyway, I'd like to weigh in on the NFL Lockout that seems to be the top story of every sports news outlet.  I heard several so-called "expert" opinions on this, and basically it comes down to two things:  The players' love for the game, and the owners' love for the money.  Now hear me out, I'm not taking the players' side on this one.  At least, not completely.  "It takes two to tango," right?   So fault lies on both sides of this.  I understand that the players want more out of their contracts, but they have to realize that they are demanding more rights, benefits and money for playing a game that others would play at less than a quarter of what they make.  The owners have to understand that the players are the ones risking their lives (Yes, I don't think it's a stretch to say that and mean it literally) to make a million dollar industry a billion dollar indstry.  In the end I'm sure we'll still have a season.  There's just too much money to be lost.  I mean, by definition Sue Sylvester will always be at odds with Mr. Schuester, but if you kick one off the show, you end up with no show.  Eventually the players and owners will get together and everything will work out ala Rachel and Finn.

In the catergory of "things I care about more than Glee or the NFL," have you seen the new Episodes of 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians'?  Is it just me, or is it awesome the Kris Jenner has gone completely crazy?  I mean, in order to get your entire family or two families to be mad at you within two episodes of the season opening, you have to be a pretty terrible person... ahem...

Anyway, in a no-doubt fleeting attempt at coming off a smarter than someone who Cliff-Noted his way through most of his literature classes, I'll leave you with a quote which I may decide to do at the end of every update.  Since this past Monday was Independence day, I'll quote American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Most of the shadows in our life are caused by our standing in our own sunlight."