RBK Question III

As is generally the annual holiday trend for me, I went Christmas shopping this past weekend and ended up buying a little something for myself.



I'd been trying to get away from buying non-retro performance sneakers, but I really dig these Question IIIs. I love how Reebok kept the twin hexalite windows that the original Questions had for that whole honeycomb effect. Throw on the oversized strap for a more futuristic feel, and you've got a pretty nice looking sneaker. Maybe not nice enough to warrant the $90 retail, but totally worth it at the price I managed to land them at. Plus, now I have a pair of shoes to kick around with the powder blue UNDRCRWN tee that I had stocked away in my closet. The set will probably have me looking like a huge Iverson fan, but I guess that's ok.

AVPR > AVPG-13?

Alien Vs Predator -Requiem
(spoilers below)

For one reason or another, we decided that it would be a good idea to catch the newly released AVPR to top off our Christmas. I've always been the selectively squeamish type (I'll pass on any eyeball violence, thanks), but there really wasn't much to get grossed out over in AVPR. They certainly didn't skimp on the violence this time around - if nothing else, the R rating was a step in the right direction - but the deaths, though they come at a somewhat alarming rate as the film hits the stretch run, are neither creative nor particularly grisly. The Aliens themselves, while undeniably iconic in the monster genre, are actually somewhat difficult to root against in a movie where the human characters are simply inane and badly acted. Some of the shortcuts taken in an attempt to make the Aliens despicable "characters" are so blatant that they end up coming off as laughable instead (it's suggested that the main Predator-Alien enjoys dining on human infants, a face-hugger gets to impregnate its first 8-year-old, etc.). And unfortunately, the only things that the Predator consistently has going for him are his plethora of toys. It's almost James Bond-ish the way that he'll break out a new gadget once or twice every movie, but his mystique has arguably been gone since the halfway point of Predator 2. Oddly enough, the movie even has a teen slasher feel to it, with subplots revolving around a pizza delivery guy, the pretty blonde that he has a crush on, and her jealous boyfriend. The blonde eventually bites the dust when she gets impaled by one of those giant ninja stars that the Predators like to carelessly toss around, which is about as close to a ballsy move as we see in the film. Of course, as teen slasher flicks generally go, we're never really given a reason to care that the blonde is alive, so spectacular impaling or not, we don't really care much that she's dead either.

Utter trash? I wouldn't go that far. It's an improvement over the first AVP, though both movies are significantly less fun than their Alien predecessors because they're set in present day. A lot of the Alien/Predator fight scenes are kind of cool, and seeing (sorta) a pack of Aliens tear through a squadron of soldiers is somewhat reminiscent of the Aliens/Marines exchanges from the second Alien flick. The Predator does have some moments as well, as he hilariously transitions from the stealthy hunter who goes around setting traps and erasing evidence to the "fuck this shit" intergalactic warrior, heedlessly firing his energy cannons at unarmed tenants and blowing up the town's power generators. The movie clearly isn't high art by any stretch of the imagination, but AVPR is semi-fun, violent, nonsensical trash. Worth a gander if you're a fan.

Merry Christmas from Sheed and the gang

Rasheed Wallace, J-Max and co. with the Jingle Bells REMIX. Pretty much the most incredible thing ever.

whoops

Listening to:
Kylie Minogue
X








So I guess it's a good idea to ask the pre-K students if they need to use the bathroom before I start with the lesson. Had to learn that the hard way today.

鉄拳６

I was initially worried when Namco released the first Tekken 6 previews with the game looking like nothing more than a slightly-tweaked version of Tekken 5 DR. Thankfully, Tekken 6 is shaping up really nicely with the non-test versions slated to hit the Japanese arcades in early 2008.



The images sort of speak for themselves, but the game is looking beyond crisp in motion too - check out this video. The sheer impact from the striking is almost flagrant (read: good thing), and you can really see the bubble and flare effects ripple off when the big moves connect. Plus - and maybe it's just me - the awesome BGM playing during the fight gets me a smidge amped =) So it's all peachy aesthetically, but aside from the new "rage" system, the gameplay unfortunately looks nearly identical to that of Tekken 5. While I'm all for doing minor tweaks on the engine, I just hope that Tekken 6 isn't to Tekken 5 what Soul Calibur 3 was to Soul Calibur 2. While Tekken 4 was just silly with the absurd stages and balance issues, at least it took measurable steps away from Tekken 3 and TTT (which in hindsight, were the vastly superior fighters) and did things to warrant its title as a true numerical sequel. Of course, the DR engine was nearly perfect, and there's really not much that hasn't already been done with fighting games at this point...so perhaps it isn't particularly fair to clamor for innovation in this genre. Let's just enjoy the pretty pictures. Guess I can start saving up for that PS3 and HDTV w/ 5.1 set-up now :-/

Grant Hill, 35, still making posters

OH NO HE DIDN'T



We lost the game, but I don't really sweat the Mavs in the playoffs. The Spurs are another story. Oh, and Suns/Lakers on Christmas day? That could potentially make for one heck of a Christmas gift, but you know you're probably a little too emotionally vested in sports if Sasha Vujacic can ruin Christmas for you.

Jordan XX3

First images of the Jordan XX3 are out. It goes without saying that this year's release is significant because it's #23 in the series (duh). Every sneakerhead on the face of the earth seems to hate the XX3, but you know what? I actually like them a lot. And it's not like I've ever really been into Jordans either. Aside from the awesome XX2, I've hated almost every modern incarnation of the Air Jordan since the XV. Peppering the shoe with M's was apparently done in an attempt to stymie counterfeits, and the resulting quilt effect gives the shoe a really unique look. Can't say that I'd be willing to part with the $200 that it'd take to land a pair, but the XX3 does have that commemorative feel and a definite one-of-a-kind vibe.

Top Songs of 2007

As a little appetizer to this year's Top 25 albums list, here's a rundown of the top singles of 07 (in my not-so-humble opinion).

J-POP
5) 木村カエラ - Yellow
4) RIP SLYME -
スピードキング　
3) 島谷ひとみ - Neva Eva
2) YUI - CHE.R.RY
1) 安室奈美恵 -
Baby Don't Cry

This one was easy. Amuro dropped "Baby Don't Cry" way back in January, and I've been listening to the song probably every day since then, but incredibly, I've yet to get tired of the damn thing. "Baby Don't Cry" sounds like a mid-tempo 90's R&B joint with some serious bass, and though fans who like her dance stuff might argue otherwise, I honestly think that this is her best song ever, no question. I was always peculiarly attached to "Never End" for personal, nostalgic reasons, but everything about "Baby Don't Cry" is so, so slick and seamless. There were a ton of awesome J-pop songs this year, but everything comes in a distant second to this track. YUI's typically great "CHE.R.RY," Shimatani Hitomi's fun, ridiculously over the top "Neva Eva," RIP SLYME's dope, NES-ish "Speed King," and Kaela's rockin' "Yellow" round out the rest of the top 5.

US
5) Talib Kweli feat. will.i.am - Hot Thing
4) Feist - My Moon, My Man
3) Big D and the Kids Table - Shining On
2) Rilo Kiley - The Moneymaker
1) Kanye West - Stronger

Things stateside were a tad more tricky. Big D's "Shining On" effectively blew RBF's "Cheer Up" and TB's "No Good Very Bad Day" out of the water as my new no-frills, totally happy song. If you sit through "Shining On" and don't have a giant, shit-eating grin on your face by the end of the track, there's something seriously wrong with you. I really wanted to give Rilo Kiley's saucy "The Moneymaker" the nod, because that song is just stupid catchy - in a grimy, half-wanton way - but in the end, I went with Kanye West's "Stronger." Even ordinary Kanye fluff is better than good by today's standards, but "Stronger" is really the best thing he's put out since "Through the Wire" and "Jesus Walks." Some will inevitably point out that the Daft Punk sample is doing most of the heavy lifting on "Stronger," but honestly, would the song have worked with T.I. rapping? Ludacris? Jay-Z? Unlikely. Perhaps more importantly, would any of those guys have thought to do it in the first place? Love him or hate him, it's difficult to dispute that Kanye is one of the few (if not the last) creative artists left on mainstream radio today.

Early Christmas gift

Listening to:
Do As Infinity
Need Your Love

After being seemingly the only person I know to dodge the cold that's been going around for the past few weeks, I finally woke up with the bug this morning. I'd been munching on Airbornes and drinking orange juice like my life depended on it, but to no avail apparently. Still, I guess you're bound to get sick sooner or later when you work with kids almost every day. Taking inadvertent kicks to the shins and wiping up boogers has become part of my daily routine. For the most part though, I love my kids. Today I was working with one of the 4-year-olds, and I noticed that she was digging in her pockets for some reason. After letting her rummage around for a minute or so, I asked her if she was looking for something. She confirms this by pulling out what appears to be a worn-out piece of cardboard with flower designs on it. "For you," she says. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be just a tag from some sort of clothing (complete with "Children's SIZE: 6"), but it was still pretty much the sweetest thing ever. At the risk of sounding a tad corny, the most incredible thing is when someone with nothing material to offer tries to give you something anyway. It ain't an easy job, but there are brief instances when I feel like I'd be willing to do it for free.

「迷走宣言」

おいおい。半冗談で名前を入れたんだけど、けっこう合ってない？みんなもやってみ。http://maker.usoko.net/nounai/。フェチバージョンもあるぞ。ほれ：古本貴志の脳内フェチ。「尻」と「脚」がごっつ出てるんだけど、そこは男みんな一緒だろ？てゆうか、何で俺言い訳してんのかな？

四字熟語メーカーもやってみました。古本貴志を表す四字熟語。「迷走宣言」。。。メイソウセンゲン？ははは。やらない方が良かった。

FPW Returns

Playing:
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
(PS2)

Ok, this game rules. Fire Pro is literally the first grappling title that I've bought in several years, but I like to think that I was just waiting for a wrestling game with an engine similar to the N64 Wrestlemania/No Mercy titles...which FPW delivers in spades. I was already well aware of the extensive roster of bootleg Japanese pro-wrestlers (since the only thing more ridiculous than playing as Curry Man is playing as a fake Curry Man), but I wasn't expecting a sizable roster of MMA fighters as well - meaning you can duke it out w/ Rampage Jackson, Ernesto Hoost, and Don Frye, among others. The kicker is that no pinfall, MMA-style matches in the octagon are also available for play. The octagon fights still feel decisively like wrestling matches since the bouts are so dependent on the somewhat strange proximity grappling system, but the overall package is a dream come true for pro-wrestling and MMA enthusiasts like myself. The graphics kind of stink if you're looking for anything beyond SNES-esque sprites, but the game is still inexplicably fun (and difficult) nonetheless.

Further proof that I still think like a college student: I bought the game with the intention of playing it all winter break, but then I realized that I have no winter break. Whoops.

Running the gamut of emotion at Aloha Stadium

1st quarter
J, less than enthused.

score:
Hawaii - 0
Washington - 21






4th quarter
J, losing his mind.

score:
Hawaii - 35
Washington - 28




LOL, good times. Sugar Bowl baby!

INFOBAR2

KDDI's INFOBAR2. The whole retro-futuristic design is pretty slick, but you kind of get the feeling that you'd be better off displaying the thing on a shelf next to your Kubrick figures than actually using it on the daily. My i425 has sort of served as a reminder of why I've made it a point to stay away from candy bar models, so I can't really say that I was particularly drawn to this phone initially. The INFOBAR2 does little (in terms of appearance) to sway pundits who may be partial to clamshells, but upon closer examination, it's clear that the INFOBAR2's design is truly several steps beyond marvelous. The phone actually isn't that impressive until you start to look at it from odd angles, which reveals the curvy surface of the phone that is some kind of crazy.



Pretty wild.

Now, I love phones, but you knew there had to be something else to warrant this entry right? ;-) Indeed, NIKEiD is putting out special edition Dunks to commemorate the release of the INFOBAR2.





Fresh. I can't honestly say that I'd make the effort to seek out just the INFOBAR2, even if I were in Japan, but I'd be willing to drop a hefty sum for the mobile + the Dunks. Which inevitably begs the question; do we really need kicks that match our cell phones?



Well, yeah.

それほどでもないけど。。。

「すごい」

。。。だって。たしかに自信だけはすげぇんだけどな。まあ、とりあえず悪くなかったと言っておきます。

AC protecting the McNuggets

Oh snap, Anthony Carter was ballin': 17 points, 7-12 FG, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals in 33 minutes of work. The Nuggets lost, but that's ok, because I don't give a shit about the Nuggets. And in case you're wondering, yes, I fully intend to make note of every good game that Anthony Carter and Penny Hardaway have this season.

Not Bad Pretty Good Day

Listening to:
Tsunami Bomb
The Invasion From Within
track: "No Good Very Bad Day"

It's kind of ironic, I only listen to Tsunami Bomb's "No Good Very Bad Day" because it's an upbeat track that puts me in a good mood. I guess that's the point of the song. Work hasn't been bad at all lately, and aside from having to eat leftover turkey twice a day for the past 5 days, I've got considerably few qualms about life at the moment. In reality, I think my good mood has less to do with Tsunami Bomb and more to with my scheduled meeting for tomorrow afternoon getting canceled. Nothing like an unexpected day off to get you and life on good terms huh?

Upcoming movies/Hollywood scuttlebutt:
-Fast and the Furious 4 will feature a returning Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster (!). So who knows, it might actually be a pretty good movie like the original. Not to say that I didn't enjoy the two sequels, because I quite liked Tokyo Drift, and to a much lesser extent, 2 Fast 2 Furious, but you can't deny that they both emphatically fall under that "shut your brain off for 90 minutes & enjoy yourself" category. Not that there's anything wrong with that. One thing for sure, when Vin Diesel is bringing a sense of acting legitimacy to the cast, you're probably not going to get a whole lot of sharp delivery. I'm actually looking forward to this one though.

-A Juggernaut X-Men spin-off is rumored be in the works next, joining the already confirmed Magneto and Wolverine flicks. Given the clusterfuck that X3 turned out to be, solo "origins" type spin-offs might actually be the way to go to give the films a sense of focus. And really, if you're going to lift three actors from any of the X-Men movies to do spin-offs with (Patrick Stewart aside), Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, and Vinnie Jones are definitely the three guys to go with.

-Common has reportedly landed the role of the Green Lantern in the upcoming Justice League movie. Haha. I'm actually not sure what to say about that.

-The live action Dragon Ball Z film is a go. This is notable because 13-year-old fanboys from all over America have been clamoring for this movie to be made for years, and now the rest of the world will have to suffer as a result. I really want to give the idea of a live action DBZ flick a fair shake, but is there any chance that this movie turns out to be anything other than an utter cinematic disaster? I don't actively dislike Dragon Ball, nor do I care about the series enough to be worried about some Hollywood flick sullying the franchise (ha!), but it's clear that the vast majority of animated shows out there don't translate nearly as well to the big-screen as their live action directors would like to believe that they do. Dragon Ball will effectively become the epitome of this rule.

-A live action version of Akira has also been confirmed. What's up with Hollywood deciding to make movies based on successful 80's anime titles all of a sudden? Strange. But along with Robotech, I'm guardedly optimistic about this one. What can I say? I'm a sucker for violent, post-apocalyptic stuff.

-Actress Hayden Panettiere (of Heroes fame) has reportedly gone on record saying that she would, "...love to have an affair with Angelina (Jolie)!" Yeah, well get in line. I'm actually not really sure why Panettiere voicing the opinion of 80% of the world's population qualifies as news.

-Fabio has reportedly called George Clooney "half a man" after the two got into an altercation at a restaurant a few weeks ago. Not that I have anything against Clooney, but this rules, because Fabio is the shit.

Kweli @ Pipeline, UH @ #12 BCS Rankings

My favorite live shows to date:

1) Dance Hall Crashers (Pipeline Cafe, 2003)
2) Talib Kweli (Pipeline Cafe, 2007)
3) No Doubt (Andrews Amphitheater, 2000)
4) Talib Kweli (Pipeline Cafe, 2006)
5) Rufio (Pink Cadillac, 2006)

Being a music fan in Hawaii is tough sometimes, but I guess I've been pretty diligent about catching my favorite acts when they do come down. There's a Lupe Fiasco show on December 27, about a week or so after The Cool drops...I'm thinking that it might be a good opportunity to extend upon some of that post-Christmas afterglow. We'll see.

The latest BCS polls are out, and as of right now, UH is sitting right on that #12 spot. Unbelievable. It's one thing watching the team handle Boise like they did during the 4th quarter of Friday's game, but to think that we're the sole undefeated team left in the nation? Pretty crazy stuff. Of course, all the BCS talk is moot if we don't beat Washington - a team that actually took out Boise State earlier in the year - so hopefully the Warriors will handle their business this Saturday.

モーニング娘。「みかん」

Listening to:
モーニング娘。
「みかん」

買っちゃた。金ないのに。でもまぁ、新しいバイト始まったから別にいいか。最近のモーニング娘のシングルは全部いい曲ばっかりだよな。「笑顔YESヌード」、「悲しみトワイライト」、「女に 幸あれ」、そして新曲の「みかん」。最近は２位まで行ってるけど、今度は１位入るようにオレもちょっと強力しました。（。。。オレもアホだな）

ガキさんカード付きやで。



出来ればもちろん高橋の方が良かったんだけど、小春以外なら別に誰でもいいか。

Thanksgiving Day

Listening to:
Do As Infinity
Gates Of Heaven
track: "Thanksgiving Day"

More often than not, Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year. I'm finding that I tend to hate my birthdays, and Thanksgiving isn't like Christmas, where the buildup is so immense and prolonged that you inevitably end up setting yourself up for disappointment on some level. To be perfectly real about it, Thanksgiving is more or less the ultimate excuse to do nothing but eat a ton of food and watch sports on television...which is pretty much what every day would be like in my vision of the perfect world. Have a good one everybody.

My rapidly receding waistline & rapidly expanding Motorola collection

Listening to:
Rilo Kiley
Under The Blacklight

Something strange is happening. I dropped another 4 pounds overnight. So within the past 6 months or so, I've managed to cut 24 pounds now. I don't know if you'd call that excessive, but it's downright bizarre by my standards. At first I thought it was because I've been stressing out a lot recently, but I don't feel particularly unhealthy, just really lean. So I guess I'm doing ok. I haven't been walking lately (so who knows where all those lbs. are going), but I'm thinking that once I get used to my work schedule I'm probably going to extend my summer exercise regimen to a year-round affair. Say what you will about people who lift weights obsessively, but you can't deny that it's incredible for relieving stress.

After a month or so of debating whether or not I should drop my Boost phone and go exclusively with AT&T, I've decided to stick with both providers and picked up one of these to boot:

Not that I was tired of my i860 by any means, but the i425 was dirt cheap. And now I have a backup Boost phone for my backup Boost phone. I use my Boost almost exclusively for AIM and mobile web (more specifically, ESPN.com), so I really don't need the thing...but we don't really need socks or underwear either, and I rock both of those on the daily.

Henderson/Silva, UH 10-0, Penny, PHX, and Nas' ugly kicks

Weekend sports musings

Word is that Dan Henderson could be dropping to 185 to face Anderson "Spider" Silva for the middleweight title. Awesome. I suppose I enjoy watching Silva break Rich Franklin's face as much as the next guy, but having Silva fight someone in his league for a change will be compelling stuff. Nothing against Franklin, who's a really great fighter in his own right, but whenever I see him eating Silva's knees in the clinch, I can't help but imagine him yelling, "HELP! HEEELLP!!!"

Speaking of compelling, the UH football game sure as heck made for some good TV on ESPN. A solid win considering that Brennan only took 2 snaps, and I think I actually blacked out for a second when Kelly's second kick went through. Haha. The last time that happened was when Tim Thomas hit the trey to send game 6 of the 2006 Suns/Lakers series into overtime. This coming Friday's game is going to be huge, as Boise State has been looking absurdly good recently. A pair of top 20 WAC teams facing off? Who woulda thunk?

Penny Hardaway can still shoot the rock. Miami @ Jersey on Saturday: 6-6 FG, 4-4 3Pt, 16 points.

I've been watching most of the Suns games, and though they haven't looked particularly good as of yet, they're 8-2 through the first 10 games. So they're having cohesion issues and still playing .800 ball? Considering that they started 1-5 last season, I'll gladly take it. Grant Hill has been better than advertised, Amare, not so much. One thing for sure, it's going to be nasty when this team goes on its annual mid-season tear.


In other news, Nas apparently has some new shoes coming out. And as one might expect, they look really, really bad. Considering how much rappers love sneakers, you'd think that they'd make an effort to put out some nicer shoes. The Game, G-Unit, Nelly...they all release the same ugly kicks. The only dude with halfway decent shoes is Pharrell with his Ice Cream line. Everything else is all f***** up. Still, it's Nas' shoe, and the "Disciple" is a cool name, so maybe I'll consider grabbing a pair when they inevitably end up on Champs' clearance rack.

来た。しかも早っ！

本日来ました。うれしいっす。

Growing pains

Listening to:
Lupe Fiasco
Food & Liquor

I don't miss attending class in the least, but I'm finding that I miss being on campus from time to time. I know that this isn't necessarily true, but sometimes I feel that post-grads shouldn't be allowed to goof around and be immature. I mean, sure, we've all been "adults" for a while now, but part of me thinks that college is your last opportunity to act like you're not one. And that's another thing. I think that maybe I'm afraid of the real world because I'm afraid of dressing like a real adult. ;-) Not that I can't pull it off, just that I don't always want to. Oh well, I suppose the sneakers and fitteds will always be there for me on the weekends.

DQM and my intermediate writing skills

Playing:
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (Nintendo DS)

けっこう楽しいぞ。It's essentially DQVIII + Pokemon, which more or less explains the 1.4 million units sold in Japan alone. After all, what do Japanese folks like more than Dragon Quest and Pokemon? White rice? Impossibly small cars? Baseball? Koda Kumi? E-mail? With the exception of Koda Kumi, that's a pretty select list of wonderful things right there...I'm surprised the game didn't sell 2 million.

Recently I've been chatting a lot with my Japanese professor regarding my application to get into JET, and a couple of days ago, he sort of offhandedly noted to me that I was a good writer. Then, as if remembering that I had a BA in Journalism, he amended that and said that I was actually a "great" writer. Normally, I'd gladly take either as a compliment, but I'm fairly certain that he was just being very amiable. And regardless, I'm at a point in my life where I've come to terms with the fact that I'm merely above average as a writer anyway. I lack the drive and the commitment to become a truly great journalist, and in terms tackling something substantial like a book, I'm really totally devoid of the dedication necessary to write anything of consequence outside of cute feature pieces. It's no longer really all that depressing or even sobering, it just means that I'm very, very normal. Which is fine. Anyway, my old Japanese instructor is such a cool, intelligent cat, and I think that if I had taken a course from him earlier in my college career, I would have seriously considered majoring in Japanese. No joke.

後藤真希...ゴッチン？

最近まで新しいiPod欲しかったんだけど、やっぱりSansaで行こうかな。正直言うと、この後藤真希の『Some Boys Touch』のPVを見てからそう思うようになったんだ。後藤さんはやっぱ少しかっこええよなぁ。ハロプロから卒業したらしいんだけど、つい最近オレもちょっとファンになったんっす。今度は彼女のアルバム買おうかなと思ってたんだけど、この間モーニング娘のシングルコレクションを買っちゃったばかりだから今は金ねぇしなぁ。まぁクリスマスはもうすぐだし、誰かプレゼントにくれや。＝）

ちょっと古いけど。。。後藤真希『Some Boys Touch』



CMもたまに利くもんだな。ハハ。

Retro Air Penny II Coming

Nike Air Penny 2. Mos definitely my favorite shoe of all time. I remember my mom thinking I was crazy paying $140 for a pair of these back when I was in the 7th grade. If memory serves me correctly, Nike eventually released a hideous black colorway, as well as a marginally less hideous white/white joint with the Penny logo on the side of the shoe, but nothing could top these. What's messed up is that I still have my OG pair - with the 96 next to the swoosh on the back - and they look like I threw them in the wash, the dryer, and the garbage disposal in concession...several times over. A new pair will do my heart good. The retros are slated to come out in Fall 09 (a whole year!?), and you're kidding yourself if you don't think I'm grabbing these.

Like birth, only less dramatic and painful ( I imagine).

Listening to:
Motion City Soundtrack
Even If It Kills Me

So, 1,961 days since originally joining Xanga (we don't really actively count, the kind folks at Xanga just make sure to remind us how long we've been posting on the daily), I've decided to take the not-so-bold step and jump to Blogger. The great thing about blogging as a hobby, is that like reading and getting immunized, you're never really too old to do it. So while the content of this journal may border on being adolescent from time to time, we can all rest assured that the actual activity of blogging is not. At least that's what I tell myself.