Meet chainsaw!

I've just adopted a cat by defacto. Her name is chainsaw because my neighbor said that when she lays on your chest and purrs, it sounds like a small chainsaw.

She's going to be an outside cat, because I'm allergic. Ha!




-- Post From Marks Super Terrific iPhone.

Stand by your Manny

This coming weekend promises to be one of entertainment, comraderie and good ol' butt kicking. Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotta will engage in fisticuffs this Saturday as the world waits with baited breath!

One of my buddies who used to work at Disney Consumer Products, just created a shirt for the occassion. It's pretty awesome, and it was even featured on Big Boy's website - http://www.radiobigboy.com/. If you want to support your local artist, holler at your boy, and I'll let you know how to cop one of these shirts.

Start of the season

The official first game to start the season! Planned games this year-

Vs. Minnesota
Vs. Washington
Vs. San Antonio

I'm definitely not going to as many games as last year. :(

The lakers played the hawks tonight and won. I predict that we won't surpass 72-10, but I do think we'll repeat.

I love L.A.!





-- Post From Marks Super Terrific iPhone.

All NBA Injured Team (First)

Every year, the NBA has what it calls the "All NBA First Team" and "Second Team." It consists of the best players at their positions...arguably the best of the best. They do it for the defensive category and the rookie category as well.

If the NBA had a starting five of great players that are always injured, these guys would win the award for the "first" team.

PG - Gilbert Arenas
SG - Tracy McGrady
SF - Grant Hill
PF - Jermaine O'Neal
C - Yao Ming

Honorable mentions that might lead the second team can be Shaquille O'Neal (abdominal and plantar fasciatus) and TJ Ford (that guy is always getting in some kind of life threatening injury).

LOST!

Here's the new print from Tann-O the Mann-O for Lost.

For more deets on the direction of his piece, check out his blog on my "Homies in the Gangsta Lean" section on the right side of my page.

I'm selling these from the back of my trunk if you're interested. You know where to find me!

Top 5 ABDC dance crews

1. Jabbawockeez
2. Super Cr3w
3. Beat Freakz
4. Quest Crew
5. Fanny Pack

This season isn't as good as the last three seasons.


-- Post From Marks Super Terrific iPhone.

Coming out the woodwork!

I've been getting a lot of communications lately about lots of different food vending trucks that are hitting the scene. It looks like the modern day roach coach is making quite the splash, and everyone is jumping in on it. The first truck that I heard about was the Kogi BBQ truck that took advantage of early tweeting before it hit the big time. In the last few weeks, a few more trucks have popped onto the radar. I'm going to keep a running list of these to see how many we net out with in L.A.:

Kogi BBQ - Korean BBQ meets taco truck
Baby's Bad Ass Burgers - Sliders served by Hooters-esque girls
Nom Nom - Viet banh mi and Viet tacos, that's dac biet girl
South Philly Experience - Philly Cheesesteaks to gizzzo
Lomo Arigato - Peruvian/Japanese fusion

The Near Future for the L.A. Lakers

[writing assignment]

We’re in the late part of Summer, and it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers have made most (if not all) of the moves that they’re going to make before the season begins. To quickly recap, they didn’t re-sign Trevor Ariza who left for Houston, but in return they did sign Ron Artest. They re-signed Shannon Brown to two years for about $4M and were able to re-sign Lamar Odom to three guaranteed years and an option on the fourth year. They cut Sun Yue, sold some of their draft picks and have Adam Morrison and his contract lingering for another season. All in all, it seems that the Lakers made a lot of right moves this off-season. But what lies in store for Los Angeles’ beloved franchise? Optimistically, three or four more championships…in a row. Realistically, maybe only one or two within the next four years.

Below is the first of a series of analyses of how the Lakers franchise will shape out over the next few years -

Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest

This is a highly debated issue both amongst Lakers fans and non-fans. “Why would we trade Trevor Ariza? He’s a great role player, can hit the open spot up shot, has solid defense, meshes well with the team’s chemistry and overall has a good head on his shoulders.” All excellent points for Trevor, and I cannot disagree with any of them. However in Ron-Ron, L.A. gets a lock-down defender (All-NBA defensive team, NBA Defensive Player of the year 2004), instant offense (as needed) and lastly, what I like to call the “thug factor”.

In short, the thug factor is having that guy on your team that nobody wants to mess with because he looks a little mentally unstable OR he looks like the guy that nobody can beat up. It would be like having Deebo from Friday on your team. Good examples other than Artest are a Rasheed Wallace or a Paul Millsap. Last year’s Lakers did an exceptional job winning the title without the thug factor. In some years, one team might bogart these players in the league, i.e. the Portland Jailblazers (Trailblazers) in the early-mid 2000’s.

Now it’s arguable that Ariza has the brighter future between the two, and that Artest is a gamble because of his reputation for lashing out. These are both points that I agree with 100%, however, the one factor that needs to come into consideration is time.

Although Trevor has a bright future ahead of him, he is not super-star material. He’ll make his bread and butter as a defensive specialist with the ability to score in double figures, similar to a Bruce Bowen or Tayshaun Prince. He is not the type of player that can carry a team or build your team around. He is more or less the defensive piece to a championship team.

Intro Kobe Bryant. Kobe is the superstar on the team who is about to sign the last big extension of his career. It’s speculated that he’ll make somewhere between $86M-$91M over the next three years. I’m assuming the Lakers might try and lengthen that to at least four years. Kobe is currently at the peak of his career and will probably start declining in the next two years or so, which means the Lakers need to squeeze out as many championships out of their Alpha player while he still has the physical ability.

Ron Artest is in a similar stage of his career. He’s nearing 30 and has maybe hit his peak a few years ago, but his game isn’t declining at an accelerated rate. He has about four more solid years ahead of him before his game really starts going downhill. He can still defend the Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony on the other team without being outmuscled like Trevor (and sometimes even Kobe!) did during the playoffs and regular season. In addition, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are in similar places of their player life cycle. These next three to four years have the Lakers core aligned to win a few more championships before the team has to rebuild again. And they will probably build around Andrew Bynum and bring in another “A” caliber player. At that point, a player like Trevor Ariza won’t make a huge difference.

The Black and White cookie

There's an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry and Elaine are in the Royal Bakery and Jerry buys the Black and White cookie.

JERRY: Oh look Elaine, the black and white cookie. I love the black and white. Two races of flavor living side by side [mumble?] It's a wonderful thing isn't it?

There's a pretty funny site called Homies and Honkies that has a collage of awesome duos throughout time who are the essence of the Black and White cookie. There are even stretches of the imagination where ethnicity or color were never given, but strongly implied, such as Lion-O and Panthro from the Thundercats. We never knew Panthro was "black"...but in actually, I think we did know. Interesting!

Anyhoo, it's a great stroll down memory lane. You'll see amazing tag teams like Karl Malone and John Stockton (Utah Jazz), Danny Glover and Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapons 1-3), Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson (White Men Can't Jump) and even Michael Jackson and Michael Jackson!

Who knew?

I was in Japan last week, and caught this band called The Telephones. They're a super catchy band that reminds me a lot of Hot Hot Heat. They're super good, and I think I'm going to buy their albums...as in actually purchase their music through a legit medium.

Here's the song that caught my attention while I was there. It's called Monkey Discoooooooo.

Hooked!

When I initially bought my iPhone, I told myself that I would only download apps that were for utility, so that I emulate Penny from Inspector Gadget, when she pulled out her computer/book. I've downloaded a ton of these apps that help me find my car, tell me what restaurants are around me, emulate a room commander remote and even a tool that tells me when women menstruate. One thing I also told myself is that I would not download a lot of games.

One month later, I have arcade basketball, air hockey, table tennis, bowling and even beer pong! The latest game I downloaded is Geo Defense. I have to say that this game is the SHIET! It is considered a Tower Defense game where you have a few different types of weapons to stop "creeps" from reaching your base. Weapons include lasers, canons, tasers, missile launchers and vortexes, all at your disposal to blow up the bad guys.



I found this app slickdeals, because it's currently on sale for $0.99 in the app store. It's usually $3.99, and has a really good rating.

If you need a game to pass the time, or play while you're on the pooper, definitely check this out for your iPhone.

IMAX

Transformers onbthr big screen. I talked to an employee here once and he dogged the ANC Burbank saying that it wasn't a real IMAX. We'll see if there's a diff.


-- Post From Marks Super Terrific iPhone.

Test

Testing the blog from the mobile. 10 points if you can guess where I ate lunch.


-- Post From Marks Super Terrific iPhone.

The Onion

I stumbled onto this site after reading an article that my roommate sent me. It's a pretty funny site, and this article was pretty funny. Check it out.

Mental Note - 6/19/2009

Movies to watch:

Summer Hours
Moon
Tokyo!
(500) Days of Summer
Departures
The End of the Line
Whatever Works
------------------------

Drag Me To Hell
Terminator Salvation

Mr. Sandman

Growing up in a Filipino household, I've always been proud to practice cultural pluralism, as opposed to assimilation. One example is that there have been words in Tagalog that I know how to say, that I don't know how to translate into English. It wasn't until high school that I was able to identify singaw (sing-ow), as a canker sore.

Another word that I still haven't been able to nail down is muta (moo-ta). In English the closest thing to it would be eye boogies. I asked Staggs what the proper English word for it was, and she didn't have a concrete answer, but told me that it is what's left when the Sandman pays you a visit at night. Normally, the Sandman brings you good dreams by sprinkling sand in your eyes, but she brought it a step further, implying that the Sandman was a jerkn and the eye boogies are the result of the Sandman pooping on your face.

So without further adieu, we are adding that to our list of entries of awesome names for gross sexual acts. When you give someone "The Sandman", you drop a deuce on their eyes.

Lastly, below are a few more infamous Sandmen...

Writing Exercises

For the past few months, I feel like I've been getting a little more dumb every day. Guilty pleasures like reality TV, tabloids and online commerce have made me feel stagnant and not as sharp as I used to be.

I was reading an article and Will Smith said something along the lines of, (paraphrasing) "If you read and run everyday, then that day was productive because you've made an effort to better yourself both physically and mentally."

I can honestly say that I have not been productive on both fronts for the last few weeks. However, my daily reading intake has increased, and it's basketball season again, so I'm making an effort. In addition, I've challenged myself to do small writing exercises to try and keep me sharp. The only drawback is that I have problems finishing things that I start.

I originally started writing a player profile for Los Angeles Lakers player, Trevor Ariza, but didn't end up finish it. I decided to do a short "free write" type exerise as a baby step to writing longer things.

----------------------

Particles in Motion

Everyday, we pass each other -

Merging on the freeway,

Finding our gate at the terminal,

Standing in line at an amusement park,

And on the way to work.

We run, walk, stop, sit,

And talk.

We stop, drive, rush and bike,

To get from point A

To point B.

And along the way

We interact.

These interactions spawn new directions

And new destinations

That mean everything and nothing at the same time.

But in the grand scheme of the universe

We are constants and variables in life’s equation.

A means to an end – balance.

And in its simplest form, we are just, particles in motion.

-- Mark Gabriel

Zack Attack!

You gotta give it up to Mark Paul Gosselar for doing something like this...




In related content, this is just as cool...

NBA FINALS!

I was fortunate enough to get tickets for Game 2 of the NBA Finals. After watching the Lake Show clobber the Magic in Game 1, I have a good feeling that I'll be going to a championship parade this year. Although it's always a little concerning when one team blows the other out in the first game. It can do a lot in terms of the mentality of approaching future games, and there's always the fear of a team becoming lackadaisical. Nevertheless, I initially predicted that the Lakers would take this in 6 games, but after last nights killing spree, I'm calling Lakers in 5.

I've been lucky enough to go to a ton of games this season, including a lot of playoff games. It's hitting my bank pretty hard, but I figure if this there is a year to go to a shitload of Laker games, this is it! And after every game I tell myself that I should make signs for the next game, but I never get around to it. Seeing as this will probably be my last game of the year, I finally made some signs!


















The Lamar Odom sign flips, and although it was my idea, it came from Staggs' inspiration of having a candy related sign for her favorite player.

Health providers on this side of town...

I thought I would be a team player when looking for a primary care physician (PCP), and pick a doctor that was "in the community", meaning party of the Filipino community. I went with Dr. Lansangan who has been my PCP for the last two years. I always wait until there are a few things wrong with me before I see her, so that I can maximize every visit. And after every visit, I leave with the feeling of this was a "good, but not great" visit. This time however, was horrible. In short, the waiting in the lobby is long, the waiting in the patients room is long, and I could have given myself the same evaluation that she gave me. The doc herself is really nice and polite, but the analysis and the whole waiting game was infuriating. On top of that, you have to pay for your time there in terms of parking fees.

On a happier note, I would totally recommend Blackstone Optometry for anyone looking for an optometrist to go to. Dr. Cheng is a really nice guy, they have a ton of hip frames there, and they are uber punctual.

On a totally different tangent, after I went to the doc's office, I headed to the bank and dropped my prescription on the floor. And I think this guy picked it up, followed me all the way to the teller line, and politely gave it back to me. If it is this fellow below, then I will make a conscious effort to stop making fun of him and his movies.

Places to go in Toluca Lake...

If you are in, or around Toluca Lake, and need some highlights, I'm going to post some pretty awesome places to visit. Today's spotlight is Ernie's Tacos on Lankershim (it's technically NoHo).

Ernie's has some delicioso Mexican food and if you go on the right nights, they have a trio that plays live music in the bar area. And if you go on a really special night, you can be a witness to some creepy dude trying to pick up on a girl and her date. Ernie's is pretty low key too, so there's never a long line, and there's a parking lot and street parking.

New York 2009 trip in a nutshell

Top Five 2009

It's time to refresh the freebie list for 2009! Last year's list included Vanessa Hudgens, Kim Kardashian, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ramiel Malubay. The last name is always one that is questionable, as I try to fill it with a rotating reality start that is somewhat local. After some thoughtful debating with myself over the last few weeks, it's not surprising to see that some of my Top 5 freebies from last year made it to this year's list as well...





1. Rashida Jones
Still hot and her career is blossoming. Plus, Staggs said that if I can ever convince Rashida Jones to come back to the apartment, I've got the green light for the threezy!

















2. Kim Kardashian
She has been on and off of the list more than anyone. But you can't say no to that giant butt.

















3. Scarlett Johansson
She always has good taste in tops to wear.






















4. Emanuelle Chrique
Sloan (E's girlfriend on Entourage) is kind of a wildcard. Regardless, she's hot stuff.



















5. Kina Grannis
The #5 slot is always saved for a lower level celebrity...someone who is more of a reality star at the time and somewhat local. Kinna Grannis is an artist who won the Super Bowl commercial contest last year and who is also what I would consider a "viral celebrity." She's a great musician, and as my buddy Pierre always says, "she totally eye fucks you while she plays."

Poker Face

My roommate and I were having a conversation a while back about the song Poker Face by Lady Gaga. I think there is some hidden meaning behind the song but I'm not 100% sure.

Anyhoo, I've come up with my own definition of Poker Face and it is when someone is going to get bukaked, and they do not change their facial expression throughout the whole experience. That person stares down genitalia as the rain comes down and doesn't flinch at all. That my friends is a Poker Face.

Here's another good poker face

Who's Bad?!?

Stagganopolis and I went to the House of Blues on Sunset this past Saturday for one of the best shows that I've been to in a long time. Who's Bad - The Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute band, put on quite a fiesta this past weekend. They only played one show in California, but if you ever get the chance to see them live, definitely do it. What's nice is that they play straight covers, no reinterpretations or reiterations to a different style...just the real deal.



Side note, if you are practicing lent this year, a good lunch/dinner alternative is The Best Fish Tacos in Ensanada. It's a tiny taco place in Silverlake that has fish tacos for $1.50 and shrimp tacos for $2.00. That's all they have...except for a bunch of different salsa.