sliced bread word salad

=)

2012-01-17T23:09:00.005+09:00

Not sure if anybody still follows this thing, but I'll be permanently moving all of my sneaker, fashion, and video game talk over to my tumblr. You can check out my thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII-2 (among other things) there:

http://arqinnovations.tumblr.com/

Join & follow. And while you're at it, check out my modest little photo blog, still a work in progress:

http://arqindustries.tumblr.com/

Blogger has been fantastic to me, but you'll find most of my musings and activity elsewhere, for now. I'll still keep this blog alive and check in every once in a while to review the occasional wrestling ppv. Peace.

That Doesn't Seem Right...

2011-12-01T21:07:00.007+09:00

Tekken Hybrid

US release date: November 22, 2011
JP release date: December 1, 2011

US MSRP: $39.99
JP MSRP: ￥7140

I'm as big of a Yamashita Shunya fan as the next guy - not to mention a Xiaoyu user - but I'm not sure if the slipcover warrants that type of a price disparity.

Survivor Series 2011

2011-11-28T13:27:00.012+09:00

About a week late, but I tracked this puppy down after hearing positive things about it. Of course, this year's Survivor Series is notable because it features the Rock in his first in-ring action in roughly 7 years. This show also apparently marks the 10th anniversary of John Laurinaitis' tenure with the company. Michael Cole: "ALLRIIIIGHT!" I guess he's a fan of John Laurinaitis? We kick things off with Zig-Zag Man (as Booker T likes to call him) and the soon to be released John Morrison.

United States Title: Dolph Ziggler vs John Morrison

A pretty massive "We want Ryder!" chant from the fans to start. The crowd boos everything that Morrisson does - because he isn't Zack Ryder, I guess - but he gets some cheers after whipping out a corkscrew plancha. Vickie Guerrero drops by to scream incomprehensibly at Morrison. John: "Hey, stay away from me!" Not sure if he was breaking character there or not. Ziggler eventually takes over and begins toying around with Morrison. Vickie: "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Morrison makes the comeback with the Moonlight Drive, which is apparently just a "neckbreaker" now. Vickie gets sent to the back for getting a little too involved, and she is not happy. To say the least. The boys go into a slick pinfall reversal sequence that ends with Ziggler getting a sweet Fame-Asser for a close 2. Yes, Ziggler is so awesome that he can even make Billy Gunn's moves look good. Dolph eventually gets the 3 after blocking Starship Pain and hitting the Zig-Zag. Hot opener. It's pretty crazy how good Dolph Ziggler is getting. He would go on to tear the house down with CM Punk the next night on RAW, and have another good outing with Randy Orton a week later.

Crowd still wants Ryder, and indeed, he shows up to a pretty massive pop. He hits the Rough Ryder, which Dolph sells by flipping completely over and flying out of the ring.

Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix vs Eve

ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzTOPROPEGLAMSLAM!

Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Hunico, & Cody Rhodes vs Sheamus, Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, & Randy Orton

Hunico is now dressed exactly like Homicide. If you're a wrestler of Mexican origin, I guess you have to be either lucha or gangster. Cody Rhodes gets a pretty big pop despite being a heel, probably because he rules. Sweet retro IC title, too. You know, I'm pretty sure I once watched a porn that featured Sin Cara's music. Just saying. This Mason Ryan guy can't be real. He has more muscles than a Ninja Turtle. Or a Rob Liefeld illustration. I kid you not, this is the look on Jack Swagger's face as Mason Ryan makes his entrance:

Ziggler takes an RKO and is eliminated first, which is understandable since he's pulling double duty tonight. Match breaks down and Sin Cara and Kofi Kingston do stereo dives to the floor. Well, they do in theory, except that Sin Cara somehow injures himself mid-air and manages to eliminate himself from the match. As advertised before his debut, Sin Cara is indeed amazing, albeit for all the wrong reasons. No idea what happened there. Note: there was much speculation following the show in regards to how Cara could have possibly injured himself so severely on that dive, but most have come to an agreement that this official WWE Sin Cara t-shirt best explains what went awry.

Yes, Sin Cara's MASSIVE ERECTION got caught in the ropes, which is why he's now out of action for 9 months. Get well soon, Sin Cara. And yes, that is an actual t-shirt that was apparently very close to being sold at WWE events worldwide. I guess someone with eyeballs managed to spot the GIANT PENIS on the design before it went into mass production.

Things come to a halt momentarily, as everyone regroups and tries to figure out what to do since Sin Cara has legitimately injured himself. Mason Ryan tosses Hunico around for a bit, but Cody eliminates him with the Beautiful Disaster and the Cross Rhodes. Crowd chants for Cody after that. Smart people. Speaking of Cody, he has kneepads now. Odd. Did he sell his mask and purchase those? Kofi goes next after getting hit with Barrett's Wasteland. I like Barrett, but his finisher is still pretty lame. Now Sheamus comes in, and he's incredibly angry. Perhaps because Sin Cara has more size than he does, but more likely because his Survivor Series team sucks. He starts killing cats and ends up getting disqualified for kicking too much ass. Well, I suppose that's one way to eliminate the guy without having him eat a pin. Sheamus takes out Swagger with the pump kick on his way out, which allows Orton to make it 3 vs 1. So we have Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, and Hunico. One of these things is not like the other. Hunico apparently senses this, so he busts out a Springboard-Diving-Face-Into-Your-RKO on Orton. Glad he can take a hint. Hey, now that standard Sin Cara is on the shelf for a while, would it hurt to put the mask on Hunico and bring back Sin Cara Negro? He was actually pretty badass. Anyway, Orton holds his own for a while, but Barrett catches him with a Wasteland to give his team the win. Is it me, or has Orton been laying down for everyone after Mark Henry took his title?

World Title: Mark Henry vs Big Show

Crowd chants "Sexual Chocolate" at Mizark. Show is now calling his punch the WMD. Ever wonder why he never just punches guys in the face right at the start of the match? I mean, everyone else does it. The crowd is now chanting "D'Lo Brown". This Madison Square Garden crowd is pretty awesome. The match isn't Angle/Benoit or anything, but both guys work hard. Show kicks out of a World's Strongest Slam, so Mark spears him through the barricade on the outside. Always a cool looking spot, but not enough to get the 10 count for Henry. Not sure if it was that spear through the barricade, but Show thinks he's Macho Man when he gets back to the ring and starts climbing the turnbuckle. He manages to make it to the top and takes half the ppv to get his balance, but eventually comes off with a BIG elbow drop. For two. Mizark gets desperate and unleashes the World's Strongest Kick right to Show's Weapon of Mass Destruction. That's a disqualification, so Show wins while Henry retains the title. Mark Henry ends up getting his leg destroyed by Show after the match, I guess because Big Show isn't a fan of getting his nuts crushed.

WWE Title: Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk

Punk brings out Howard Finkel as his guest ring announcer to counter Ricardo Rodriguez. Funny bit as Punk is all "Dude, WTF?" after Fink takes an eternity to introduce him. IT'S CLOBBERING TIME! When did Punk start using Mongolian chops? That's going to take a bit to get used to. Great match, as you'd expect from these two. Del Rio keeps working the arm, and Punk keeps going for the GTS, but to no avail. Punk eventually gets caught in the rolling armbreaker, but the crowd chants his name and pops big when he finally makes the ropes. See, that tells you two things: 1) as simple as it is, the crowd really buys Del Rio's cross armbreaker as a dangerous submission hold, and 2) CM Punk is so over (at least with the New York crowd) that the people will chant for him to break said submission hold. Aside from the kids chanting for Cena, you really don't see enough of that nowadays. Not to be outdone, Punk comes back with the Anaconda Vice. Del Rio does an awesome sell of the hold, ripping at Punks face in his attempt to escape, but taps clean to give Punk the title. Good stuff.

John Cena & The Rock vs The Awesome Truth

Rocky is absolutely ripped. He takes the Miz and R-Truth down with armdrags, then breaks out a gorgeous la magistral cradle. The crowd goes crazy for that. Crowd: "You still got it!" Indeed. Truth wants in, and he ends up taking a nice fisherman suplex, perfect bridge and all. Not to knock HHH, because I like him as a wrestler, but HHH takes half a year off, and all he brings to his match with CM Punk are punches and a half dozen Pedigrees. The Rock takes 7 years off, and he comes back with new moves in his arsenal. Rocky "tags" Cena in, and Cena finishes a snapmare sequence with a monkeyflip and a dropkick. MSG: "You still suck!" Tough crowd. Miz and Truth eventually take over on Cena, while Rock paces around on the apron. R-Truth, probably feeling the need to add unnecessary theatrics to simple moves with the Rock and John Cena around, does the splits, spins, dances around, then drops a leg on Cena. Booker: "Ah, ah, lookatdatboy, lookatboy get wicked, ahhhhhhhhhhh, haha, R-Truth, R-Truth get wicked baby!" Clearly, Booker needs to be calling more R-Truth matches. Little kid in the crowd: "Truth, I love you!" Truth: "TAKE THAT LITTLE JIMMY!" It's too bad Truth got suspended following the show, because he was really on the roll of his career here. Anyway, Cena gets the crap beat out of him for a while, until Truth tries another one of his dancing legdrops. Booker: "Ohhhhh, this boy gon do it again, there he go, a little rockin', ohohohohoho!" It unfortunately misses, allowing Rocky to get the hot tag and clean house. He gets the least electrifying Sharpshooter in sports entertainment on Miz, probably to let everyone know that nobody's perfect. Truth saves, which allows Miz to act like a dick for a while, before a spinebuster and a People's Elbow finishes things. John Cena spent virtually the entire match getting beat up, but this was more of a showcase for the Rock, who certainly didn't disappoint.

Cena tries to slink off after the match and give Rock the spotlight, but Rocky calls him back to the ring. He has Cena play to the crowd in the corner, then he climbs the opposite corner to show Cena who the crowd likes better. They do this TWICE, and Cena looks like a doofus for playing along.

Cena tries to leave again, but the Rock gives him the Rock Bottom to really punk him out. Geez. Even Sin Cara came out of this show looking better than John Cena. They're going to need Cena to snap and beat the hell out of the Rock at least once before Mania, because his character just has zero edge at this point. I mean, we get it, Cena is a good guy, but that last segment was pretty much a commercial for the WWE's anti-bullying campaign with Cena as the victim.

Black Cement III

2011-11-26T16:50:00.004+09:00

No words. Just emotions.

SC Air Penny 2

2011-09-27T19:47:00.004+09:00

Night Of Champions 2011

2011-09-20T19:13:00.011+09:00

...joined in progress, as I had Monday off and caught this thing sorta live (JP time) when I woke up. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase are beating on each other, which I guess would make this the Intercontinental Title match. I apparently missed Air Boom vs Awesome Truth while I was sleeping. I wonder what creative savant is coming up with these fantastic team names? I'd like his guidance when naming my future offspring. Whoa, the crowd is dead for this one. Maybe everyone else is just waking up as well. DiBiase pulls off Rhodes' mask, briefly popping the crowd, but he then immediately gets rolled up for the pin. Way to go, Ted. Nothing bad here, but the crowd just isn't behind DiBiase as a babyface at this point.

Hey, it's Christian. This show just got a lot better. Naturally, he wants yet another title shot. The crowd actually chants "one more match" with him until Sheamus interrupts. Sheamus is here to talk about his uncle's green testicles and to kick Christian in the head. That is all.

US Title: Dolph Ziggler vs John Morrison vs Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger

The story here is that Ziggler and Swagger are competing for Vickie Guerrero's managerial services. She should just team them up as ZigSwag. They'd make a hell of a team, too. I caught Ziggler's match against Orton a few weeks back, and this dude can really work. No joke. Anyway, pretty good match here, as all four of these guys can go. After a contrived spot in the corner that sees everyone tossing each other off the top with various suplexes, Riley gets a hot 2 off of the implant DDT. Thought that was it. Swag eventually hits his powerbomb to put Morrison out, but Ziggler steals the pin to retain. Vickie is THRILLED. Seriously, she is really, really happy right now.

Smackdown World Title: Randy Orton vs Mark Henry

Orton is nicknamed the "Apex Predator" (I guess by the same guy who came up with "Cerebral Assassin"), but I'm not sure about his chances against Henry, an actual Predator. The alien species, not the commonly used noun. They've done a really fantastic job with this Henry push, having him destroy every big man on the roster not named the Undertaker. Now let's see if they go all the way with it. Henry immediately wins me over by bending Orton around the ringpost like he's Gumby, then standing on him with both of his fists raised in the air. This is hilarious stuff. Booker T on commentary says that even in his prime he wouldn't want to face Mark Henry. See, the good thing about having Booker at the announce table is that he's willing to put over the current talent at his own expense. Henry proceeds to dominate most of the match, although Orton does manage to get his elevated DDT in a rather impressive looking spot. I leave to cook up some hot dogs, and I guess Orton injures his leg while I'm away because he's limping around the ring when I return. Orton goes for the RKO, but Henry is like, "Bitch, please," swats Orton down to the mat, kills him dead with the World's Strongest Slam, and we've got a new champ. Okay, that was DECISIVE, as Henry absolutely punked Orton out at the end there. Crowd pops pretty big for Henry winning, too. Never thought I'd say this, but hopefully they'll let Henry run with the title for a bit. Henry gets on the mic and welcomes us all to the HALL OF PAIN. Thanks, Mizark! I celebrate with my hot dog while dancing to Mark Henry's music, which is not how I envisioned spending my Monday off.

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly (...Kelly) vs Beth Phoenix

We're apparently in Beth Phoenix's hometown, and indeed, she gets a pretty massive reaction. The crowd chants "Kelly sucks." Usually they'd be right, but Kelly promptly responds by flipping out of a hiptoss and going all Eddie Guerrero with a springboard hurricanrana. Hey now. This match has like 10 times the heat of the Rhodes/DiBiase match, which is pretty funny. Beth is feeling frisky so she breaks out a top rope superplex. Pretty impressive, as even the boys usually do it from the middle rope. Finish comes when Kelly rolls through a powerbomb attempt and gets the 3 to retain. The crowd absolutely hates it, and I can't say that I blame them too much. I mean, it's just the Divas Championship. Why not have Beth win in front of her hometown fans? Kelly can always take the belt back on RAW if they really want the title around her waist.

RAW World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs John Cena

Alberto hoofs it to the ring because Cena stole his Ferrari. So John Cena stopped rapping because it was unbecoming of him as a role model for millions of impressionable children, but grand theft auto is cool? Del Rio brings in Ricardo to introduce him the right way: in Spanish. Not to be outdone, Cena does his own intro, pointing out his Team Jordans, his jorts, and the fact that he dresses like a Fruity Pebble. That's 3 strikes right there. The match itself is pretty good stuff. Alberto's run-up enzuigiri is a thing of beauty. Cole mentions that Del Rio main evented Wrestlemania, which I guess is what they call it now when you curtain jerk. Alberto gets the armbar, but Cena goes to the Rampage Jackson powerbomb counter to escape. He manages the slam, although we'll call it...somewhat less than emphatic. The STF is eventually applied, and Del Rio taps clean to make John Cena a 12 time world champ. Nothing against Cena, but I fail to see the logic in taking the strap off of Del Rio so soon.

HHH vs CM Punk

Michael Cole has lost his voice, so things are looking up. Punk: *checks imaginary wristwatch* "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" Indeed. Punk attacks HHH while he's spitting water, which is unheard of. Seriously, they let punk shoot on the McMahons AND attack HHH while he's doing the water spit? That Shawn Michaels endorsement must really go a long way. Pretty good brawl ensues, as they beat each other into the crowd and back. Punk gets a pretty sick flying elbow to put HHH through the Spanish announce table, but then things get difficult to follow. Miz and R-Truth show up. They attack both CM Punk and HHH. They put Punk on top, presumably because they want HHH to lose and step down as COO. Punk kicks out. Truth makes funny faces. Miz tries to punch the referee, but the referee BLOCKS it and punches Miz. Miz and Truth beat down said referee. HHH and Punk recover and beat down Miz and Truth. HHH with the Pedigree on Punk. Referee is dead. Go 2 Sleep on HHH. Truth stops the count and saves HHH even though they want HHH to lose. Truth clearly has no idea what is going on. Neither do I. Go 2 Sleep on Truth. Pedigree on Punk. Punk kicks out (!). Kevin Nash is here. He is Booker's big homie. Nash beats on HHH and Punk. Nash tries to powerbomb HHH. Punk saves HHH. Nash powerbombs Punk. HHH hits Nash in the face with a sledgehammer. HHH Pedigrees Punk. HHH wins. Say what now??

Impressions: The main even was an overbooked mess, but I understand that they wanted to keep HHH as COO (what does that stand for again?) for storyline purposes, while keeping CM Punk strong in the process. At the very least, the Miz & Truth stuff is interesting, and I like the idea of them aligning with Kevin Nash to form a new Outsiders group of some sort. Overall, it was just an okay show, but they really hit it out of the park with the Mark Henry push.

Games I'm Waiting On (Part 2)

2011-09-17T23:02:00.007+09:00

5) One Piece Kaizoku Musou

When KOEI released a Gundam game with the good old Dynasty Warriors engine, I managed to avoid it in spite of myself. When they released a Fist of the North Star game, again molded in Dynasty Warriors fashion, I marveled a bit at the trailers before forgetting about the title completely. But a One Piece beat-'em-up done by the DW team? Yeah, I'm there.

4) Twisted Metal

I wasn't sure what to think when recent trailers revealed transforming cars, but Twisted Metal has been looking so good that it'll take more than that goofy Sweet Bot to douse my enthusiasm for this title.

3) Tekken Tag Tournament 2

With Ultimate MVC3, SFxT, and SC5 all on the calendar, the fighter that I'm still most looking forward to is Tekken Tag 2. It's been about 12 years since the original Tekken Tag (!), and I can't wait to see how the reintroduction of the tag feature shakes things up.

2) Mass Effect 3

My current obsession with ME2 may have something to do with how high up this one is on the list. Or maybe it's the fact that PS3 owners won't have to wait an additional year longer than their Xbox counterparts this time around.

1) Final Fantasy XIII-2

In spite of the many faults that we never fail to bring up with FFXIII, here's FFXIII-2 at the top of my list. I mean hey, the game looks absolutely gorgeous, and I guess we're suckers for pretty things. Some decent closure after the less than stellar ending to XIII would be nice, and I'm all for a roster overhaul if we're only keeping Lightning and Serah around (uh, what happened to Snow and getting married and all that?). December 15th, just in time for Christmas.

Games I'm Waiting On (Part 1)

2011-09-16T01:15:00.003+09:00

It's occurring to me that I've been neglecting my blog for the better part of 2 months now. What can I say, I had a pretty busy summer. For no particular reason, here are the Top 10 games that I'm looking forward to sticking into my Playstation 3 over the next year or so.

10) NBA 2K12

94-95 Orlando Magic? All day.

9) Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena

I'm not even sure if that's what the game is really called. Varying interpretations of the title aside, the announcement of this Persona-based fighter totally caught me off guard. Under normal circumstances I'd be wary of a 2D fighter pitting characters from an RPG game against one another, but with Arc System Works' BlazBlue team reportedly at the helm, there's no reason why this shouldn't be awesome.

8) BioShock Infinite

Although I ended up skipping BioShock 2, footage from BioShock Infinite has caught my attention with its rather breathtaking visuals and the game's entire steampunk environment. Everything about Infinite looks fantastic, and it's an interesting change of pace to have the game set in the almost radiant city of Columbia after hours of squinting your way through Rapture in the original BioShock.

7) Street Fighter X Tekken

Not really sure what to think of all this "Pandora's Box" silliness, but I was far too excited about the prospect of a Zangief + Marduk team to bump the game from my top 5. Then pictures surfaced of Kuma taking a gratuitous dump all over Rolento, prompting it to fall to number 7. I just don't care to have that degree of doodoo in my games.

6) Arkham City

I'm not a big enough Batman fan to have this thing at the top of my list like a lot of other people, but Arkham Asylum was indeed awesome and there's no reason to expect otherwise from the sequel. It would have been cool to be able to drive the Batmobile this time around (not so), but a handful of playable missions as Catwoman is a decent enough consolation prize.

Grail Status: Achieved

2011-07-08T20:09:00.003+09:00

My girl got me these a couple of months back: 1996 OG Atlantic Blue Penny 2, size 10, deadstock, w/ original box & the N1996 on the heel. This would be the exact same pair that I was rocking in the 7th grade.

1996. My holy grails. Still deep in the shoe game, but if the world ended tomorrow I would die a happy man.

Stay Classy, LeBron

2011-06-14T18:33:00.008+09:00

LeBron James, upon losing to the Mavs in the NBA Finals:

"All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal. But they have to get back to the real world at some point.

Translation:

It's LBJ everyone, look how Bron is livinn'!! So bummed right now that I have to throw on this Armani suit and talk to you broke-ass reporters. The worst part is that after this I have to hop in my Ferrari and reflect upon what just happened all the way back to my multi-million dollar mansion. I'm probably going to ponder what tomorrow will bring while I wait for the elevator that takes me from my kitchen to my custom memorabilia room. Then I might ask my private chef to saute me some lean chicken breast while I go and watch film from Game 6 in my personal theater. Either that, or Kung Fu Panda 2, I haven't decided yet. I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning to freshly squeezed Spanish orange juice and a Tyrannosaurus Rex omelette, while all you NBA fans will wake up to the stale leftover pizza and the flat Pepsi that you and your friends ordered last night when you got together to watch King James on your modest little 32 inch television. Good luck with those overdue phone bills and car payments, I don't really know how all that works since Ma bought me that Range Rover in high school. Anyway, enjoy that Miami Heat loss, because I certainly enjoy stepping over you to get into the club and watching you buy my sneakers in 20 different colors. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going scuba diving with Chris Tucker and Aquaman. All hail the King.

NBA Heat Check (2010-11)

2011-05-31T21:13:00.021+09:00

A lot of players, a lot of games, a lot of basketball sneakers, but these 5 gentlemen brought the style, sense, and swag to put to shame the shoe game of every other player on the NBA hardwood, at least for one night during the 2010-11 season. I present to you, the NBA Heat Check.

5) Courtney Lee - Houston Rockets

Weapon of Choice: Nike "Cough Drop" Foamposite One
The thing about Courtney Lee that I really like is that he always mixes things up with his shoe game, from the Penny III, to the Air Hoop Structure, to the LeBron VIII. He was spotted this season wearing the "Cough Drop" Foamposite Ones, in what may be his greatest footwear moment to date.

The thing about Foams is that they definitely don't go with everything, so I can appreciate when a player has the presence of mind to make sure that the sneakers match the colors up top before throwing them on. While not one of my personal favorite incarnations of the Foamposite One, the "Cough Drops" looked pretty amazing with that Rockets uni.

4) George Hill - San Antonio Spurs

Weapon of Choice: Nike Air Penny III Metallic Silver
Speaking of matching the sneaks to the jersey, George Hill rocking the House of Hoops Metallic Silver Penny III was a no-brainer. Keith Bogans would lace up the silver 1/2 Cents all the time last season, and as soon as the silver Penny IIIs were announced, I knew that they'd look good on some San Antonio Spur.

It pains me a little to see someone on the Spurs rocking a Penny so well, but you gotta give credit where it's due. George Hill was killing it in these.

3) J.J. Hickson - Cleveland Cavaliers

Weapon of Choice: Nike 1/2 Cent "Cranberry"
Continuing the Air Penny theme (surprise!) is J.J. Hickson in the "Cranberry" 1/2 Cent. He was actually doing work in these, and came up with one of the more memorable plays of the season in them, emphatically blocking a Blake Griffin dunk and earning a certain degree of revenge on behalf of the rest of the league. My dude Hakim Warrick was also a semi-regular user of the Eggplant version of the 1/2 Cent, although he unfortunately wasn't blocking any shots or playing any manner of defense whatsoever.

If there's one 1/2 Cent colorway that I still contemplate picking up from time to time, it's the Cranberries. Damn, those things are loud.

2) Gilbert Arenas - Orlando Magic

Weapon of Choice: FILA Grant Hill (95)
Gilbert brought the heat every night and even wore a handful of my personal favorite pairs - Air Penny II, Royal Foamposite One, Cool Grey XI - but I like the FILA shout-out that he gave to Grant Hill.

Bold, nostalgic, unique, clean.

1) Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls

Weapon of Choice: Adidas Crazy 8 Chicago
While Derrick Rose's adiZero Rose signature isn't bad, it wasn't until he pulled out a Bulls colorway of Kobe Bryant's old Crazy 8 that he caught my attention.

Yes, they were pretty amazing, and yes, I'm still hoping to get my hands on a pair.

The Ongoing PlayStation Network Saga

2011-05-17T17:26:00.011+09:00

With the PlayStation Network supposedly up and running again, I figured that I'd go ahead and log in so I could do the required password reset. Imagine my surprise when I attempted to do so and was immediately prompted with the same old "PlayStation Network is currently undergoing maintenance" message that we've been seeing every day for the past month or so. Turns out that while North America (and just about every other country) has access to the network, Japan will have to wait a while longer until Japanese authorities have deemed the upgraded network safe enough. Figures. Still, I suppose the prolonged wait doesn't bother me so much. I rarely play games online and it's not like we're paying for the service, so whatever.

If there's one positive to come out of this, it's the "Welcome Back" package that will be made available to all returning PSN users. We already knew about the free month of PlayStation Plus, but Sony has also revealed that users will be able to download 2 free PS3 and PSP games. Here's the PS3 list:

DeadNation
inFAMOUS
LittleBigPlanet
Super Stardust HD
Wipeout HD + Fury

Ok, I was expecting stuff like Crash Bandicoot and Angry Birds, so all things considered, that's a pretty awesome list. And a calculated one as well, considering that inFAMOUS 2 needs the promotion and that Little Big Planet 2 could see a sales boost if people enjoy the first one (which they will). Well played.

Throwback Clips: Penny Hardaway

2011-05-15T20:46:00.007+09:00

No real reason, just had that urge to watch some old school Penny clips that I get from time to time. He's absolutely beasting on the Pacers in the 95 ECF here.

Air Jordan "Wolf Grey" V

2011-05-14T15:25:00.011+09:00

I knew the Wolf Grey Vs were going to be special the first time that I saw pictures of them, but wow, in person? They are absolutely gorgeous. The Cool Grey XIs were amazing, but I'm going to go ahead and say that these are even better. An instant classic.

Catherine Impressions

2011-05-07T20:28:00.009+09:00

Playing:
Catherine
(PS3)

The idea of tackling an intricate action/puzzle game normally wouldn't resonate with me, but as a huge fan of Persona 3 and 4, the prospect of playing Atlus' first offering on the PS3 was just too good to pass up. Atlus has dubbed Catherine an "adult horror" title, which isn't quite as risque as the naming might imply, but a fitting moniker nonetheless. The game does indeed have a mature vibe to it, but you won't come across anything here that you wouldn't find in a fairly tame PG-13 film (well, aside from the exploding bodies). Much like how Persona 3 and 4 combined elements of traditional RPGs with those of simulation games, Atlus blends us a rather interesting puzzle/action/sim combo with Catherine.

Without spoiling too much, the story revolves around our hero Vincent Brooks, a somewhat unkempt gentleman who has been having some rather peculiar nightmares as of late. Vincent manages to get himself caught up in a bizarre love triangle involving longtime girlfriend Katherine, and a younger, bubblier woman, also named (yowza!) Catherine. The aforementioned nightmares are a concern because other men around town have been mysteriously dying in their sleep. We take control of Vincent and try to get to the bottom of the mysterious dreams, while attempting to figure out whether they have anything to do with the town's recent deaths.

While the simulation aspect of the game isn't nearly as extensive as those of the Persona titles, it does have a subtle depth that you'll come to appreciate as the game goes on. Vincent spends virtually all of his waking hours at the bar getting drunk out of his mind and fielding text messages from his two lady friends, but it's through the various encounters with the other bar customers that you'll gradually solve the mystery behind the nightmares. You'll also learn a whole lot about alcohol in the process. Don't ask.

Now, rumors that you may have heard regarding Catherine's difficulty are probably true. The game is HARD. I'm talking one of the most frustratingly difficult "easy" modes of all time here. The premise of the game's puzzle portion is simple enough. Once Vincent enters "Nightmare" mode, he must attempt to scale a sprawling tower of blocks in an effort to reach a podium at the very top. Players do this by pushing or pulling the blocks to create pathways or ascending steps while dodging the occasional trap. Other dreamers appear in the form of sheep, but they're more of a nuisance than an actual threat. At first the puzzles are fairly simple, and even the massive bosses - though they help introduce an element of panic - aren't terribly difficult to evade.

However, once the player begins to reach the game's later stages, the puzzles leave precious little margin for error, which can result in an incredibly frustrating experience. Expect to pull out some hair and toss a few controllers. In fact, the game was so difficult that Atlus released a patch which would in effect turn the game's "easy" mode into a "very easy" mode. Unfortunately, the puzzles remain unchanged even when you toggle the patched easy mode, though the stages are now littered with special energy drinks that allow Vincent to bound up blocks 3 squares at a time (as opposed to just one). What's funny is that this makes the game too easy, as previously frustrated players will likely be scratching their heads as the once stagnant Vincent flies through each level without breaking a sweat.

This isn't to say that the puzzle portion of the game can't be fun. It can be immensely rewarding and I personally quite enjoyed it, but the game certainly isn't for everyone. Catherine will inevitably attract the Persona crowd, but while RPG fans are used to being able to grind out experience points to get out of a tough spot, Catherine will just bludgeon players with the same unforgiving puzzle over and over again.

Yet in spite of the constant bouts of frustration, the dark, intriguing murder mystery plot drives you to keep playing. Overall, it's a unique, fantastic little package, but simply one that's hampered by some overwhelming difficulty issues. Despite that one flaw, you won't find anything out there quite like Catherine. Recommended.

NA Fans To Get Deluxe Edition Catherine

2011-05-06T21:54:00.003+09:00

I'm jealous. $79.99 is a bit steep, but that's a pretty slick package. I guess I must have really enjoyed the game because part of me wants a pair of Vincent's boxers. Sweet shirt as well.

Finally got around to beating the game the other week, so I'll have a review up later.

Extreme Rules 2011

2011-05-03T18:02:00.013+09:00

I'm not planning on making this a regular thing, but I went ahead and tracked down a copy of Sunday's event because I really wanted to see the Smackdown title match. This event is EXTREME, and we'll thus see the superstars going at it in various no disqualification scenarios. Tables, ladders, cages, oh my. We kick things off with Punk and Orton, and I swear, the amount of combined tattoos between these two men has already increased considerably since April 3rd. The anonymous Raw General Manager immediately sends the New Nexus to the back, which CM Punk does not approve of. One of the Nexus members seriously looks like Batista's pissed off little brother.

Randy Orton vs CM Punk (Last Man Standing)
Booker T is doing color here, which makes things infinitely more interesting. He kind of has that Dusty Rhodes vibe on commentary, where he'll get excited to the point that it isn't always immediately clear what's coming out of his mouth. Great match, as you'd probably expect from these two. Some pretty sick bumps here, including CM Punk taking an RKO on the announce table. Punk comes back by wrapping a chair around Orton's throat and ramming it into the ringpost. Booker: "Oh my goodness, he could have crushed a larynx or anything, WHAT THE HELL!" Finish comes when Orton catches Punk up top and brings him down with an elevated RKO. They gave them 20 minutes here, so no real complaints aside from the fact that CM Punk loses yet again. Does this guy ever win on PPV?

US Title: Sheamus vs Kofi Kingston (Tables Match)
This one is technically a bonus match since it wasn't advertised to be on the card. Good for Sheamus since he got shafted at Mania, though you gotta figure that he's losing here since RAW needs a secondary title and Sheamus just got drafted to Smackdown. Decent match. I like that they worked an actual logical tables match, with the entire focus being table spot, counter, table spot, counter, table spot, etc. Kofi takes it after coming off the top with his legdrop onto Sheamus who was outside the ring. Sheamus took the table bump while standing which made it look a lot more impressive.

R-Truth is getting interviewed backstage. I guess he had a title shot but lost it when John Morrison beat him on RAW. Truth smells conspiracy (but apparently can't spell it). Truth: "Conspiracies ain't good, they BAD." He's like Dead Prez meets Mystikal and Sesame Street.

Michael Cole & Jack Swagger vs Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross (Country Whipping Match)
I guess last month's King/Cole match didn't live up to expectations, so they decided to add Jim Ross and his technical wrestling wizardry to the equation. Cole comes out wrapped entirely in bubble wrap, which is actually kind of funny for a few seconds before the whole thing goes to hell. Cole surprises JR with a rollup to take the win. Moving on.

Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio (Falls Count Anywhere)
Cody Rhodes' character has really grown on me. He's accompanied to the ring by a pair of gentlemen who proceed to cover the faces of ringside fans with paper bags because they're "extremely ugly." Tremendous. Falls count anywhere, so they eventually make their way to the back where Rhodes catches Rey with that springboard knee of his. The fans backstage chant "holy shit" and "this is awesome" at that. Um, that seems a tad generous. Back in the ring, Rey breaks out the green mist (!) before hitting the 619 and a splash for the victory. Evil grin from Mysterio afterward. What is he, a heel?

Michelle McCool vs Layla (No DQ, Loser Leaves WWE)
Haven't sat down and watched a proper Divas match in ages, but McCool seems to be pretty good. Layla spends most of the match bawling - as in crying - which is somewhat annoying. McCool hits a Styles Clash, but Layla reverses the pin to steal it. Viscera makes his return after the match and kills McCool dead with a double underhook facebuster. Why is he picking on women? Oh wait, apparently it's not Viscera, but Awesome Kong. Cool. Her WWE ring name is Kharma.

Smackdown World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs Christian (Ladder Match)
I like Del Rio a lot, but I've been a huge Christan fan for over 10 years so I'll let you figure out who I'm rooting for here. Booker: "Alberto Del Rio reminds me of myself back in the day as far as going out there and totally trying to get the job done at all times." Indeed, if the definition of "getting the job done at all times" is breakdancing in the middle of the ring instead of pinning your opponent. Not the Jeff Hardy-esque trainwreck that ladder matches are often associated with, but kudos to Del Rio for taking a big ladder bump off a missed elbow drop. Really good match here in spite of Brodus Clay and Edge getting involved. Christian annihilates Brodus Clay with a ladder, which leads to Clay bleeding all over the place like he got shot in the head. They're going to have a lot of fun editing that one out for the DVD release. Christian eventually pushes Del Rio off of a ladder all the way to the outside before climbing it himself to secure his first world title. Edge looks legitimately happy for his friend here, and Christian celebrates with the belt like the title actually means something to him. You don't see enough of that nowadays. Tough not to be happy for Christian, one of the guys who's worked hard and always been a total pro. Great moment.

Alex Riley is talking to the Miz about his upcoming triple threat title match. Riley says that Miz mathematically only has a 33% chance of winning. Well, not if you ask Scott Steiner:

Tag Team Titles: Big Show & Kane vs Wade Barrett & Ezekiel Jackson (Lumberjack Match)
Not trying to be funny or anything, but I seriously have no idea who half of these lumberjacks are. Whatever happened to Wade Barrett's push? Never mind, perhaps Big Zeke ate it. Seems like they have big plans for Ezekiel Jackson, the dude certainly is...large. Show chokeslams Barrett to pick up the win. Nice to know that even though LayCool can't get along, Big Show and Kane will always be BFF.

RAW World Title: The Miz vs John Cena vs John Morrison (Steel Cage Match)
Remember when Miz and Morrison were tag champs? I would have bet money on Morrison becoming world champ first. Hey, this one turned out to be pretty good. Morrison really adds an interesting element to the match with his unique offense. He busts out a C4 at one point, which kind of goes over the head of the crowd. Cena and Morrison try a double superplex on Miz, but Miz takes the bump on his head like it's a brainbuster, resulting in the sickest spot all night. I guess Cena gets jealous of all of Morrison's springy, flippy offense, so he decides to break out a monkey flip. ABUNAAAAII!!! Morrison almost manages to escape through the cage door, but R-Truth shows up and kicks his head in. He proceeds to beat down Morrison and Cena before leaving. You know, I've never been a fan of Truth because he was always this goofy rapper/dancer character that couldn't rap or dance, but at least he has an edge as a heel. Finish comes when Cena recovers and catches Miz with an Attitude Adjustment off the top rope. Good show.

Two days later: reports from this week's Smackdown taping have revealed that Christian has lost the world title to Randy Orton. Wow. I hate that they didn't even let Christian make it through a single episode of Smackdown as champ before slapping the title on Orton for the 8th time. Would it have killed them to let Christian run with the title for one month before having him drop it at the next PPV? On the other hand, I'm happy that Christian got his moment. Taking the title off of him so quickly was absurd - especially considering the reaction he got from the fans when he won the belt - but he's a former world champ now, and that certainly counts for something. Hell, maybe now they'll finally turn him heel. A heel Christian going after Orton would at least be a pretty fresh feud.

Trying To Capture Lightning

2011-04-29T12:24:00.013+09:00

With Nike releasing limited edition Tokyo 23 versions of the Jordan 5 and CP3.IV exclusively in Japan today, I made it a point to make good use of the holiday and try to land one or the other. First things first, you have to lace up a decent pair of hunting boots when going on the hunt:

With rumors swirling that these would be extremely limited (as low as a several hundred made of each pair), I decided to not take any chances and head to my sneaker spot early. Unfortunately, the mall's parking lot wasn't open yet, but I managed to find a pay lot a couple of blocks away.

As expected, several people were already lined up and waiting. Lots of heat in attendance - Cement III, Fire Red 5, Space Jams - but all the buzz was clearly about the T23 "Lightning" Jordan 5. Oddly enough, there were lots of people waiting in line at the theater as well. Not sure what's more weird, the fact that the movie theater opens at 8:00 in the morning, or the fact that there are actually people who want to watch a movie that early.

Unfortunately, rumors surrounding the production run seemed to be fairly accurate, as the store apparently only had 10 pairs of each shoe in stock. The size run was even a bigger surprise, as they only had 7.5 through 10. Considering the size breakdown, logic suggested that they would likely have no more than 2 pairs of the Jordan 5 in my size (10), and likewise for the CP3.IV.

Rather than risk a stampede when the doors finally opened, the employees did the smart thing and asked customers for their preferred model and shoe size before handing out vouchers. When the girl taking sizes got to me, there was just one pair of the Jordan 5 left in a 7.5, as well as a few pairs of the CP3.IV, with the biggest size being a 9.5. I weighed my options for a minute, but eventually decided to grab the largest available pair of the CP3s, figuring that I could make a 9.5 work with church socks (maybe). This is all that they had left by the time I got to the register:

I let the dude behind me take the last pair of the Jordan Vs. In hindsight, I could have just bought the shoes anyway and flipped them since they'd probably fetch Yeezy-type prices (people online were offering me $500-$600 to land a pair), but I never got into the sneaker game to turn a profit through reselling and all that noise. The dude behind me said that he planned to take the 7.5 pair and try to find someone online that would trade him an 11, and I believe him. I did make it a point to snap a picture of them, considering that it's possible that I'll never see another pair in my life.

Pretty nice huh? I do like the 5 silhouette a lot, but I don't know if I would have ever rocked the T23s, even if I managed to grab a pair in my size. With the Wolf Grey 5 due out on 5/14, I think I can manage without the Lightnings in my life. So, my spoils for waking up early on my day off? One pair of T23 CP3.IVs in 9.5. And some stickers.

I suppose my initial reasoning was that I'd rather have a pair of the CP3s a half size too small than a pair of the Jordans 2.5 sizes too small, but I'm kind of glad that I went with the CP3.IVs since they are really, really nice and just as limited. I'd been looking at those XI-inspired Bred CP3.IVs, but these T23s blow those way out of the water.

Clean. Needed New Orleans to win today to really put a cap on things, but it was still a good day. I'll post more detailed pictures later.

All Of The Lights

2011-04-25T17:02:00.004+09:00

Been spending a lot of time ogling pictures of the Sharp Blue Crazy Light that Adidas has put out. They supposedly weigh a mere 9.8 ounces, good enough to earn the title of lightest basketball sneaker on the market.

Although the name of the shoe is a bit dumb, the design is definitely on point, as are most of the colors that are set to release. Derrick Rose has been playing in a nice black/red pair, but it's this shade of "sharp" blue that really punctuates the futuristic feel that the shoe has. The price is a bit steep at about $130 a pair, but if they perform as well as Adidas has promised, they should provide a nice alternative to Nike's current Hyper-everything basketball line.

Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light

2011-04-24T16:45:00.002+09:00

Playing:
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
(PS3)

Not really much of a review since the game has been out for 8 months or so now, but I figured I’d post a few thoughts on this one after getting it off of the PSN store on sale for $7.50 a couple of weeks back. I’ll go ahead and call it my second favorite Tomb Raider game in the franchise (behind Tomb Raider II, which remains a sentimental favorite of mine), though you’re free to make of that what you will, as I only really played Tomb Raider through Tomb Raider III on the original Playstation before skipping every PS2 incarnation and jumping all the way to this one.

Although Crystal Dynamics has completely redefined the gameplay mechanics, Guardian of Light is a good deal of fun, providing tons of challenging puzzles in true TR fashion, as well as a multitude of treasures and weapons to collect as you make your way through the game. It plays nothing like the original trilogy, but manages to retain that “Indiana Jones with boobs & automatic weapons” vibe that we all fell in love with back in junior high. Combat feels more like Contra than TR, but the arcade-style shootouts mesh oddly well with the rather contrite puzzles that are scattered throughout the levels. A local co-op mode is also an option, as Lara teams with a spear-wielding God of War-ish warrior of sorts. I managed to beat the game over the course of a few days, although I imagine that a more dedicated gamer could conceivably plow through the whole thing in one sitting. The adventure is a tad on the short side and somewhat easy, but definitely a deal at $7.50, and probably worth the full $15.00 price tag as well if you’ve enjoyed a Lara Croft game in the past. Solid recommendation.

Hey Jealousy

2011-04-14T16:37:00.003+09:00

It doesn't happen very often, but once in a while someone down here will pull something out of the closet that manages to really impress me. One of the school's former teachers showed up to visit yesterday with these on his feet:

Metallic Silver 6 Lows? Tough. I think this topped the time when one of the math teachers (different dude) broke out his 2002 Raptor VIIs during one of our basketball tournaments.

New SF X Tekken Trailers

2011-04-12T17:48:00.001+09:00

Capcom recently released some new footage for the upcoming Street Fighter X Tekken at Captivate 2011. I don't smoke, but I almost needed a cigarette after watching that first trailer.

Wrestlemania XXVII (Part II)

2011-04-07T17:28:00.009+09:00

Okay show so far. Last year the two title matches and HBK/Taker really delivered, so we'll see if HHH/Taker and the RAW title match can push this thing over the top. HHH's intro starts off with Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" before Motorhead kicks in. Sweet. On the other hand, I'm not really sure what to think of the Undertaker coming out to Johnny Cash's "Ain't No Grave." Great song, but it doesn't really work as a wrestling entrance theme.

Undertaker vs HHH
Here we go. It's definitely going to be tough for them to top that epic Michael Cole/Jerry Lawler encounter. Brawl to start things off, and it isn't long before they're destroying things at ringside. HHH tackles Taker through the Cole Mine, which probably sounds more impressive than it looked. That would have probably gotten a bigger pop if Cole were actually in it. Interesting spin on last year's HBK/Taker bout, with Hunter taking on the role of, um, hunter, and the aging Undertaker doing everything in his power to survive. HHH brings out the heavy artillery: tables, chairs, Pedigrees (3 of them), the works, but the Undertaker somehow manages to hold on each time. At one point, Taker goes for a goozle, but he's so battered by then that HHH just shrugs him off and Tombstones him. Awesome.

Hunter goes for the sledgehammer when that doesn't get the job done, allowing UT to catch him with the Gogoplata. HHH fights it forever but eventually taps to give Taker win #19 in the streak. Here's the thing: it was a mess and the outcome was never really in doubt, but the drama was nonetheless there and they managed to tell a pretty good story. It can't touch the two HBK matches, but this one was pretty good in its own right. A lot of people will argue that there was no substance with both guys repeatedly throwing their finishers at each other, but the show desperately needed something that would get the fans out of their seats, and this certainly did the trick.

Trish Stratus, Snooki, John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler, LayCool
We don't get Jersey Shore down here so this would be my first time actually seeing Snooki. Um, I guess she's sort of cute and all, but well...let's just say that I feel like I ordered a medium and ended up with a large instead. Trish is still looking good, though. She and McCool do the bulk of the work here until the the guys get involved (sorta). I guess Morrison was only allowed one move, so he decides to do the most dangerous thing he could possibly think of given the circumstances and Starship Pain himself all the way to the floor. At this point something weird happens, as Snooki turns into this chubby little ninja and starts doing flips all over the arena, pinning McCool in the process. You know, if only Jersey Shore actually featured fat chicks who do too many Grey Goose shots and then proceed to cartwheel all over the club and body splash other women, I might actually be interested in tuning in.

RAW World Title: The Miz vs John Cena
Miz has a pretty cool intro video set to Nas' "Hate Me Now" with old Real World clips and highlights from his wrestling career so far. Not really a big fan of Miz's trench coat + underpants look. Alex Riley is also here in his ring gear for some reason. And maybe I missed something, but why is he still carrying around the briefcase? Just what the hell is in there? Cena's elaborate entrance features gospel singers and an even better video set to DMX's "Prayer III"...never thought we'd see that. Those poor singers must be wondering why they're getting booed. The match itself was...not very good. It ends in a draw after both guys are counted out, thus Miz retains. The Rock doesn't like that, so he restarts the match, Rock Bottoms Cena, and Miz retains anyway. Ok then. The thing is that the match the people really wanted to see was Cena/Rock, and as such, the crowd was completely dead until the Rock got involved.

Overall? Decent. It felt sort of like WM2000 or WMXVIII, with the final match just leaving you with a foul aftertaste. The show wasn't without its high points (Punk/Orton, Cody Rhodes, HHH/Taker), but aside from the Undertaker match, there wasn't particularly much that stood out as a definitive Wrestlemania moment. The main event really should have been the culmination of something, but it was instead used as buildup to next year's WM. Make no mistake, John Cena vs The Rock will be absolutely off the charts, but it did nothing for this year's show.

Wrestlemania XXVII (Part I)

2011-04-06T18:37:00.008+09:00

I'll be doing this in two parts because I can't sit still and watch wrestling for...well, you know the drill. Apparently Sheamus/Daniel Bryan got bumped off the main card and was turned into a dark match. Then it got changed to a lumberjack match. Then it got "out of hand" and was changed to a battle royal. Then the Great Khali won. Alrighty. Glad that I didn't put money on that match, because I was thinking "Sheamus over Daniel Bryan via Brogue Kick," not "Great Khali over 70% of the roster via superior size and strange, whimsical booking decisions." Sucks for Sheamus and Daniel Bryan, because there's no question that they deserved to be on the card.

The Rock starts the show off with his usual promo. I wonder what else they could have done with those ten minutes...

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs Alberto Del Rio
So we're starting off with the world title? Wouldn't this spot have been perfect for, say, I dunno...a US championship match maybe? It's pretty funny that Alberto Del Rio makes Brodus Clay walk to the ring. I mean c'mon, Eddie Guerrero would have let the dude ride shotgun. Del Rio probably hops on a private jet after the show while Brodus Clay catches the greyhound. Anyway. Edge must be feeling frisky tonight because he busts out a goofy looking somersault plancha. Del Rio does him one better with that SLICK springboard enzuigiri of his. Love that move. Del Rio eventually gets his rolling armbreaker, but Edge takes the win after wearing Del Rio out with his wacky Sharpshooter thing and hitting the spear. After the match, Edge and Christian destroy Del Rio's car with a crowbar to really drive the point home. Jeez. I remember when they were into playing with kazoos and stuff.

Rey Mysterio vs Cody Rhodes
Rey's special Wrestlemania outfit this year is...PUCK!! YES!!! Oh wait, never mind, I think he's supposed to be Captain America. Cody Rhodes' special Wrestlemania outfit this year is Richard Hamilton. He has a darker, moodier remix to his music to go along with his "disfigured" gimmick. That's actually kind of cool. The match is chugging along just fine until Rhodes pauses to give Rey a nice, sensual shoulder massage midway through. Didn't he learn anything from Randy Orton back when he was a part of the Legacy? Chinlocks are the way to go. Not a bad match, minus some silliness with Rhodes' mask. The right guy eventually goes over as Rhodes hits the Cross Rhodes for the win. Let the Sin Cara era begin.

Snoop Dogg is backstage looking for talent. This leads to Sir William Regal busting a rhyme:

Straight out of Blackpool, I'm William Regal
Everybody knows that I do nothing legal
Mess with my man Snoop and you won't be chillin'
Cuz I'll show you why I'm straight up villain.

Best Wrestlemania ever. Funny that we have William Regal and Hornswoggle rapping, but not a sign of R-Truth.

The Corre vs Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston
Kind of sad that Kane is stuck in an 8-man after having probably the best year of his career. This one goes a whopping 2 minutes before Show punches Slater in the face. Great job making The Corre look like ~~a dangerous up-and-coming force to be reckoned with~~ losers here.

The Rock and Mae Young are backstage being inappropriate. They talk about strudel and Mae Young being as old as Moses until Stone Cold shows up. Austin and the Rock have a stare down for old time's sake. Ok, that was pretty cool.

Randy Orton vs CM Punk
This should be good. Good lord, these guys must really enjoy getting tattoos. I wonder what they're going to look like at Wrestlemania XXXII. Nice match with Punk working Orton's leg throughout to negate the punt. Punk even busts out Bret Hart's old ringpost figure four. This one felt a little slow overall with so much of the match revolving around Orton's injured leg, but the finish was a hot one with Punk managing to escape an initial RKO attempt, only to springboard directly into a second. Would have liked to see CM Punk go over here, but the loss doesn't really hurt him too much. Best match of the night so far.

Jerry Lawler vs Michael Cole (w/ Jack Swagger)
Funny bit as Stone Cold comes blazing out on his ATV while Swagger is on the ramp doing push-ups. This would probably be the match with the best buildup, but also the one that needs to be over as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case as we are treated to seeing Michael Cole on offense. Josh Matthews: "Look around the ring, there is anguish on the face of everyone in the WWE universe." Josh Matthews, this is true. Lawler eventually makes the comeback and takes it after a fistdrop and an anklelock. As usual, Austin acts a damn fool after the match. This one went on way too long, but at least Lawler got his feel-good Wrestlemania moment. Or so we think, until the anonymous GM reverses the decision to give Cole the win. Whatever.

Part II: Taker/HHH, Miz/Cena.

SHARP IS03

2011-04-04T18:22:00.007+09:00

My trusty old SANYO W63SA started acting erratic the other week, so I decided to retire the poor guy after 30 months of service. I considered joining the iPhone revolution but eventually decided against it since the SoftBank coverage is less than spectacular down here. Since I wasn't too keen on the idea of switching carriers, the decision to pick up KDDI's SHARP IS03 was a no-brainer.

Some specs:

3.5-inch screen with 960×640 resolution capacitive touchscreen (rivaling the iPhone 4's Retina display)
world’s first “combination LCD” combining a main display and a secondary memory LCD (which shows the time and battery life even when the main display is off)
1GHz Snapdragon processor
9.6MP camera with CCD sensor and auto focus
Android 2.1 with Flash Lite 4.0 support
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
ports: microUSB, microSD/microSDHC (32GB max.)
apps for YouTube and Twitter pre-installed
battery life: 200 hours standby, 230 minutes talk time

Pretty impressive. Here's a shot of the "memory" LCD in action. Although the main display is off, the secondary display will always show the time and battery life.

The feature certainly won't change your world, but it's nice to be able to glance over at your mobile and check the time without having to pick it up, especially if you've got your hands full with paperwork. I was also somewhat surprised to find that the phone still had a pull-out digital TV antenna.

In a sense, the IS03 does its best to combine the glitz and power of the new wave of smart phones with the more traditional bells and whistles that have come to define Japan's keitai generation. I'm hearing now that the battery life isn't quite up to par with manufacturer claims, but I guess we'll see.

キャサリン！

2011-03-14T23:27:00.003+09:00

I was leaning towards waiting on the July NA release, but my girlfriend went ahead and got me a copy. Still playing MvC3, but I'll check back with a few thoughts on this one after I've spent a little time with it.

Air Zoom Rookie LWP Images Leaked

2011-03-03T19:05:00.003+09:00

A picture has recently surfaced online that appears to confirm Nike's second Penny hybrid. While the 1/2 Cent was a fusion of the original Foamposite and the Penny I through IV, the Air Zoom Rookie LWP was supposedly going to be a "rookie" fusion of all the sneakers that Penny wore before he got his first true signature. But judging from the leaked image, it appears that the shoe borrows elements primarily from the Foamposite One and the Air Flight One, as well as a little from the Zoom Flight 96.

Not that I'm complaining, since those are three of my all-time favorite sneakers, but it doesn't seem to really fit the concept of this being a "rookie" hybrid when you take into consideration that Hardaway wore some of those shoes after the 93-94 season was over. But I suppose they had to throw Foamposite on the thing so they could charge $190 for it. I'm digging it as far as the design goes, but I have to admit that I don't really get the color. Waiting to see what they look like in an Orlando colorway.

Catherine NA Release

2011-03-02T07:41:00.005+09:00

We finally get a release window for those of you stateside:

I might just wait for the American version so I can understand what the hell is going on.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 Impressions

2011-03-01T17:04:00.015+09:00

Playing:
Marvel vs Capcom 3
(PS3)

I was a fan of Marvel vs Capcom 2 and owned the game on both the Dreamcast and the PS2, so I had some pretty high expectations for this one. Fun fact: I actually bought a Sega Dreamcast for the sole purpose of playing MvC2, and it would be the only game that I ever purchased for the console before eventually selling it. Kind of odd in hindsight, especially considering how great the DC library was. But I digress...

MvC3's overall roster is nice, though it's tough to not be disappointed by some of the omissions (Venom? Zangief?) as well as puzzled by some of the inclusions (X-23? MODOK?). The comic book nerd in me kept hoping for Havok, or Blink, or Bishop, or Valeria Von Doom, but it's tough to complain after seeing - and hearing - Deadpool in action.

The graphics are nothing short of spectacular, and the controls are a breeze once you condition yourself to stop thinking in terms of punches and kicks and get a hang of the simplified Light, Medium, Hard, Launch setup. Diagonal air dashing and double jumping seem to be less effective in air combos - good news for the more casual players such as myself - and seem to have been toned down in favor of the flashier and easier to use team aerial raves. Yet at its core, MvC3 is still the fast-paced senses overload that the previous installment was, and vets of the series should have no problems jumping right back in.

The game is unfortunately somewhat hurt by its lack of any real additional modes. After spending some time learning the new controls, I was almost immediately able to jump into arcade mode and beat the game on the hardest difficulty. Beyond that, there isn't particularly much more that MvC3 offers in an offline setting. Mission mode is useful for what it is - an extension of training mode that walks players through moves and combos for each character - but it's essentially a carbon copy of the challenge mode found in SFIV.

The real treats of the game are the countless winks and nods to both the Marvel and Capcom universes that the creators have sprinkled throughout the game. You'll get a kick out of Deadpool mocking Magento with his infamous "Welcome to die!" line and declaring his love for Street Fighter when he meets Chun-Li, or Thor proclaiming his showdown with Amaterasu a battle of the gods, or even Ryu getting ready to fight Marvel's Iron Fist in his ending, a subtle little nod to his upcoming foray into the King of Iron Fist world in Street Fighter X Tekken. There's absolutely no semblance of a cohesive story to be found here, but the creators certainly did their homework and got the little nuances of each character right.

In the end, MvC3 is certainly about fan service, and that's the one thing that really pushes the game over the top. As a huge Okami fan, it's a dream to get to use Amaterasu in a fighting game setting and take out Galactus. My only real complaint would be the relatively modest roster size, but as advertised, the game is both incredibly fun to play and amazing to look at. Easy recommendation for those who have yet to check it out.

Back From Tokyo

2011-02-24T21:28:00.006+09:00

No place quite like Tokyo to get some good hunting done. We only devoted a day or so to shopping, which is just as well since I went in with the intention of sticking to a relatively modest budget. My haul:

Kweli's new record. Finally managed to find a copy at the Tsutaya in Shibuya.

Limited edition chopsticks from the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara.

KIDROBOT fitted from ONSPOTZ.

Stitch crossbones keychain from Tokyo Disneyland.

Playoff XIIIs from GALLERY2. Had to settle since they were sold out of the Orlando Penny 1s in my size :-/

キャサリン

2011-02-17T20:19:00.004+09:00

Went to the local game store to grab Marvel vs Capcom 3 today and almost ended up walking out with a copy of Atlus' キャサリン instead. Damn, this game looks good.

YES

2011-02-12T22:45:00.003+09:00

YES

YES

YES

Arenas x UNDRCRWN

2011-02-05T12:33:00.005+09:00

Gilbert Arenas has teamed with streetwear brand UNDRCRWN to produce some pretty cool t-shirts that celebrate his status as the league's premier sneaker king (I guess since his basketball game is pretty average). He also has this pretty cool symbol going, another homage to Penny Hardaway's classic "one cent" logo.

Arenas continued to turn heads in a loss to the Miami Heat, wearing the Royal Foamposite Ones that Penny Hardaway made famous against the (who else?) Miami Heat in the 1997 playoffs.

EIGHT

2011-02-04T11:31:00.000+09:00

It took me a little while, but I finally got around to listening to Do As Infinity's new album. Interestingly, the record debuted at #4 on the Oricon charts, the band's highest position since their Need Your Love record hit #3 before their hiatus way back in 2005. They didn't move too many units as far as overall sales go, but they finished their first week at #6 before dropping out of the top 10

Not great, but a lot better than I expected.

BATISTA IS DOWN

2011-02-02T20:50:00.000+09:00

This past weekend's Royal Rumble provided a few memorable moments, with (my dude) Santino almost managing to take the thing, Alberto Del Rio (also my dude) becoming the eventual winner, and even an appearance by Kevin Nash as Diesel. But more importantly, Booker T made his return, and word is that he'll be joining the Smackdown announce team as a color commentator. Which is awesome.

BATISTA IS DOWN.

Gilbert Arenas In The Air Penny II

2011-01-20T17:39:00.006+09:00

Gilbert's stellar shoe game has been well-documented this season, and he recently paid homage to Penny Hardaway by rocking the white Air Penny IIs in a home game against the 76ers.

He already broke out the Penny I during his first home game with Orlando, and I'm willing to bet that we eventually see him in the white/blue Penny IIIs and IVs, not to mention the Royal 1/2 Cents and Foamposite Ones as the season progresses. Gilbert's statistics have unfortunately been less than stellar (to say the least), but at least he's looking sharp out there.

This Game Needs More Zangief

2011-01-07T22:35:00.004+09:00

The latest characters to be revealed for MvC3 were Phoenix (of X-Men fame) and Mike Haggar (of Final Fight fame). Really digging the inclusion of Haggar.

Unfortunately, this seems to indicate that Zangief users (such as myself) will have to make do with Haggar instead of the Red Cyclone. Haggar is beyond cool, but how awesome would it have been to be able to team him with Zangief? As the game's release rapidly approaches, rumor is that the remaining characters will be Hsien-Ko, Akuma/Gouki, Sentinel, and Taskmster (!). The roster doesn't come close to the massive MvC2 one, but it's pretty solid overall. There are a lot of notable omissions, but I think that we'll see additional DLC characters once fans start to clamor for them.

ELECTRIC

2011-01-06T21:51:00.001+09:00

So I was about ready to compromise and get some Volt Total Uptempos or a pair of Dunkman LeBron VIIs in lieu of not being able to land some Altitude XIIIs, when my prayers for something mean & green for my feet were answered: Air Max Pennys in what appears to be ELECTRIC GREEN.

Insane. No word on whether these will actually release or not, but the prospect alone is enough to get me to set aside some cash. Looks like the PHX pair is a definite pass now.

Cool Grey XI

2010-12-28T22:57:00.007+09:00

I guess this would be my Christmas gift to myself. Got them for retail, no lines, no crowds. The hype for these shoes were so off the charts that there really isn't much left to say about them, but I have to admit, that blue tint on the sole is a really, really good look.

Throwback Clips: Touch The Sky

2010-12-20T21:54:00.004+09:00

This unfortunately is no longer the guy who will be suiting up for the Suns later this week, but let's get a little Vinsane for old time's sake. The closest that man has ever come to flying:

That dunk against the Clippers still blows my mind.

Concord XI Holdiay 2011 Release

2010-12-19T18:41:00.006+09:00

A rumored holiday 2011 release of the Concord XIs has recently been confirmed. It appears that we'll be getting a different incarnation of the XI every year right around Christmas. Perhaps the Columbias in 2012?

Suns Land Carter, Pietrus, Gortat

2010-12-18T23:56:00.000+09:00

The Suns acquire Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark. Disappointing to see J-Rich go, but Carter should at the very least come close to duplicating Richardson's scoring, and the move was more about getting rid of Turkoglu's ridiculous contract than anything else. It remains to be seen if we'll see the Vince of old with the Suns, but his play of late with Orlando doesn't seem to indicate so. Carter did play some of his best ball with Jason Kidd in New Jersey, so perhaps he will be rejuvenated by a similar pairing with Steve Nash.

Though Carter is the bigger name, the centerpiece of the deal appears to Marcin Gortat, who gives Phoenix an additional presence inside that they've been sorely lacking. Mickael Pietrus will serve as a decent perimeter stopper and another shooter to help spread the floor, and his days with Golden State are a pretty good indication that he'll be effective in the Suns uptempo attack. If nothing else, Pietrus and Gortat have proven that they can be effective bread in a Sasha Vujacic sandwich, and that alone makes this a worthwhile trade.

On another note, with Gilbert Arenas in Orlando, I think it's safe to assume that we'll see him breaking out the Orlando Air Pennys at some point. Something to look forward to.

PHX Max Penny, Now w/ More Orange (sorta)

2010-12-17T21:44:00.006+09:00

I had these written off as a definite pass, but new images of the PHX colorway have surfaced, showing off a little of the "mandarin" that Nike originally promised when they announced the release.

I like them a lot better than I did 6 months ago, and the detailed shots really do wonders for this shoe, but well...it's just so heavy on the black, and the purple accents don't do much to distinguish the sneaker as a Suns makeup. This one really had the potential to be so much better, so it's a little disappointing to me personally since the Suns are my favorite team and Penny was my favorite player. Maybe I'll buy a pair and see what some orange laces can do for them.

Retro White Cement III

2010-12-12T11:19:00.010+09:00

Went hunting for the Altitude XIIIs but ended up with a pair of Cement IIIs instead. I was under the impression that January 22 was the official drop date for these, but hooray for Japan and early Asia releases. The retro packaging is a nice touch.

I wasn't counting on this being a December purchase, so I might have to pass on the Altitudes and settle on one of the Bulls colorways instead. I guess that JB didn't stop to consider that it was Christmas and that some of us actually have gifts to buy (for other people).

Suns Drop 22 Treys On L.A.

2010-11-16T23:02:00.003+09:00

Here's all 22. So funny. You gotta love how Hedo drops that last one right in Kobe's grill. Cold-blooded~.

Early Tekken Tag 2 Gameplay

2010-11-15T17:27:00.003+09:00

Looking good. My one complaint with Tekken 6 was that it felt too much like Tekken 5, so it'll be good to have the tag feature back to really stir things up.

I'm intrigued as to how the command input will work for some of those tag combos, since characters appear to tag out then stick around for team beatdowns. Controlling both characters at the same time doesn't seem to be particularly realistic, so we'll see how that works. The tag throws also appear to be back, and in spectacular fashion. Law flying in with his dragon kick out of a Paul waist-lock is pretty cool, but King hitting that Diamond Dust off of Armor King's shoulders gets me all giddy. It's early, but things are looking good so far.

TRIUMVIR x SFA3

2010-11-14T01:18:00.000+09:00

That Nash shirt is so clean.

Check them out: www.triumvir.com

September, October (More Or Less)

2010-10-31T01:29:00.008+09:00

Listening to: Felt
A Tribute To Rosie Perez

-The boys take first place at the prefectural track & field meet. The annual meet is a pretty big deal, as the entire student body skips class for the day to cheer the team on. The events start at 9:00 in the morning and run until 6:00 pm or so, at which point everyone is sunburned beyond recognition and entering the early stages of dehydration. The vice-principal and I severely mistime a high five in our excitement when the winners are announced. Awkward, but everyone (from our school) goes home happy.

-A typhoon warning cancels the first day of school back from summer break. The scene at the supermarket is pretty wild. I stock up on beer and ice cream while everyone around me buys real groceries.

-The cat is pretty good about not chewing on my stuff, but he did go to town on my photo album and my high school yearbook. I can only conclude the following: HE FEEDS ON MEMORIES.

-I want to go to the beach, but it seriously rains every weekend and only on the weekends.

-One of the 3rd year students shows up to school in a pair of the fakest 6 Rings that I've ever seen. I would laugh at him, but that would be very unbecoming of me. As a teacher, not as a sneaker collector.

-I threw some serious change at a brand new suit, and the cat promptly jumps on my back and claws the shit out of it.

-We decided to check out the old haunted hotel remains near my village. The story is that some millionaire decided to build a hotel on sacred grounds near an old castle ruin, but people mysteriously started dying during construction and it never got completed. Weird stuff inside: no rooms looking alike in spite of the fact that it's a hotel, stairways that lead to nowhere, other stairways that inexplicably turn into ramps, creepy boiler rooms, etc. The layout to the place is so bizarre that we get lost and have to jump out of windows and hop rooftops to escape.

-Today's vocabulary test has the words "salmon" and "jazz" on it. I have to stop myself from giving bonus points to the kid who somehow manages to misspell them "semen" and "jizz." Unbelievable.

-Went to my first Okinawan style wedding. Kind of like a real dapper Halloween party where only the bride and groom dress up and everybody gives them treats. In the form of money.

-I want a pair of KDIIs. I have dreams about those. Can't believe I slept on the Creamsicles. Can't believe I didn't pick up the Scoring Titles. Can't believe I didn't look harder for the All-Stars. Sometimes I think of flying to the states just to see if Foot Locker still has any KDIIs in stock. Sometimes when I get really hungry, I think, "Man, I wish had a pair of KDIIs." Then I order a pizza. Sometimes I start believing in Santa again because I've been pretty good this year and he might hook me up with some KDIIs. Sometimes I consider selling my ride and buying like 100 pairs of KDIIs. If I ever found a magic lamp, I think I'd wish for a pair of KDIIs. Three times in a row.

-The seasonal sandwiches at McDonald's here are off the charts. There's a chicken fondue that makes my heart all warm and fuzzy.

-You want to know what my new hobby is? Watching the Los Angeles Clippers bench whenever Blake Griffin or Eric Gordon dunk on someone. I've never seen grown men quite so excited.

-We finally find a new home for the cat, and I in turn find that I miss having the little guy around quite a bit. I do discover that I'm no longer picking kitty litter out of my socks, which I suppose I could get used to.

Just Wanted To Say...

2010-10-21T18:49:00.006+09:00

...I need a pair of KDIIs in my life.

That is all.

Homesick @ English Camp 2K10

2010-08-20T19:22:00.005+09:00

Day 1 - Decided to leave the iPod and DS at home this year. Just two things that I won't have the time to use. • Good group of kids. Not all of them are totally into English, but they try in the classroom and follow directions outside of it. Not too much more you can ask for. • I forgot to pack deodorant. That's probably the single worst thing that I could have forgotten. • No shower in my room, so I use the large public bathing area in the middle of the night after everyone has gone to sleep. I'm not ashamed to admit that this is somewhat frightening.

Day 2 - There's apparently a typhoon approaching, which is bad news because all of our activities were meant to be played outside. • I don't mind the rain so much, but this wind keeps blowing the screen doors off their hinges. • There's a 6th grader here that speaks really perfect English with a British accent. It's really adorable, like having a tiny Harry Potter character around all day. Turns out that she studied overseas in England for a year, which explains a lot. • Who doesn't love Twister?

Day 3 - Nothing like playing table tennis against elementary school kids to make you feel like you're much better at it than you actually are. • We're doing a lot of dancing this year. Times like these, I wish I went to one of those schools where the students actually learned the "Electric Slide" in P.E.

Day 4 - The weather finally clears up. • The facility this year has no gym, so we walk 45 minutes or so to the community rec center so that the kids can play some volleyball and basketball. • Forgot my gym shoes again, so I play ball for a good hour in my socks. I promptly proceed to open up all the blisters that I got last night from dancing "Cotton-Eyed Joe" with the kids.

Day 5 - Aya accidentally calls me "Dad," which is kind of depressing. • Some of the junior high boys engage in an impromptu session of hallway bowling, using a basketball and a bunch of plastic bottles as pins. I should probably stop them, but I opt to bowl a few frames instead. • The students are playing tag when Ryo - who is as tall as I am and probably weighs about 175, 180 - takes out one of the younger elementary boys with a shoulder. The kid stays down on the ground for 5 minutes or so, but he'd eventually be okay. I talk to Ryo and the junior high boys about how it's their responsibility to be looking after the younger kids, not hurting them, which is something they already know, but also something that I'm obligated to say when people start getting hurt. Ah well, we almost managed to make it 4 and a half days without an incident. • I walk into the recreational room and see Ryo teaching some table tennis tricks to a couple of the elementary kids (including his victim from this afternoon). You can tell that it isn't necessarily his idea of fun, but he makes the effort nonetheless, which makes me really proud.

Day 6 - ULTIMATE FRISBEE. • Dai falls asleep in the middle of the afternoon, so everyone goes to town on his face with stamps and stickers. I'd step in, but it's not like they're sticking carrots up his ass or anything. As long as it washes off or peels off before class, it's fine by me. • Hide shows up at my door in the middle of the night because he's having some sort of a panic attack. It's kind of hard to discern what is actually bothering him because his eyes are constantly darting around the room and he isn't particularly good about answering questions. Hide is actually one of the few students attending camp from my school. I really like the kid a lot, but he's always falling down and getting hurt, or losing his glasses, or seeing spirits, or something. Maybe I'm overstating our relationship because I see him at school every day, but it's kind of like having a really weird nephew.

Day 7 - If I were a Sesame Street character, I'd apparently be Grover. • Ultimate frisbee again, because it's the most fun shit ever. • The kids learned that World Cup song "Wavin' Flag" in class, and the damn thing has been stuck in my head for the past three days. Maybe I should have brought my iPod after all. • Loco Moco for dinner, which makes me a little happy. A lot of the kids are happy for me, which is kind of cute.

Day 8 - Aquarium day, which the students are excited for because they get to look at fish and not study English for a change. • Usually the kids fall asleep on the bus ride back, but everyone's knocked out on the ride over this year. • I'm looking for a nice little memento at the gift shop, when Kurisu shows up next to me with blood shooting out of his nose. That sort of sums up what my entire week has been like.

Day 9 - Breakfast, last class, graduation, lunch, goodbyes. • I take a nap as soon as I get home, and fittingly, I dream of screaming children. • ESL camp. Nothing quite like it.

Chun-Li SB Dunk

2010-08-19T22:36:00.001+09:00

I wasn't really into the Ryu Dunks that were revealed earlier, but these Chun-Li Dunk lows are pretty fresh. I'm hoping that they come up with something for Guile.

"For The Love Of The Game"

2010-08-08T08:15:00.001+09:00

Olympic VII

MINDstyle x CoolRain x NBA Figures

2010-08-06T14:12:00.004+09:00

First revealed at Comic-Con (because nowadays, what isn't?), this set of NBA figures by designer CoolRain will be available during the 4th quarter of this year. They're looking pretty sweet.

Unfortunately, these will be blind boxed, which means that you won't know for sure which figure you'll be getting until you pop the box. The prospect of landing a Kobe Bryant figure when all I want is a Steve Nash one will probably keep me from making the purchase. Potential MSRP notwithstanding, the 1 in 8 odds are just a little too steep.

Rumor: Altitude XIII Holiday Release

2010-08-05T11:53:00.000+09:00

Well, I was expecting them next year, but don't say I didn't warn you. ;-)

Tech Info:
Air Jordan XIII
414571-002 BLACK/ALTITUDE GREEN
Holiday 2010

Flashing Lights

2010-08-04T01:37:00.000+09:00

Resisted the urge to go HID and kept it safe with the white halogen bulbs. Honestly, the 4500K halogens are plenty bright.

SF X Tekken Gameplay

2010-07-26T22:33:00.005+09:00

We heard all the rumors about a Capcom vs Namco fighter that was supposedly in production, but I never thought it'd turn out to be this. Do you hear all those idiots losing their shit while watching the video? That's exactly how I feel.

Perhaps more intriguing is the news that Namco will be working on Tekken X Street Fighter, apparently with the Tekken fighting engine.

Making Moves

2010-07-19T21:40:00.007+09:00

Feeling a lot better about this team now than I was a week ago.

Josh Childress: Always loved his game, but he dropped off the NBA radar when he went to play ball in Greece for 2 years. If Childress is the same player who helped Atlanta push Boston to 7 games a couple of seasons back, then this is a big pickup for Phoenix. He'll help bolster a Suns lineup that is already looking as deep (albeit small) as last year's squad. Childress brings a lot of the same things to the table as Grant Hill and Jared Dudley, but I suppose that may be the point of the signing with the mileage on Hill getting up there.

Hedo Turkoglu: A lot depends on whether we get Orlando Turk or Toronto Turk. Reports have indicated that Hedo really wanted to come to Phoenix, and he'll likely be motivated to play well on a team coming off of a trip to the WCF. We'll see. His versatility and ability to get his shot off from virtually anywhere on the floor make him an ideal player to plug into the Suns system, and the idea is that his playmaking skills will give Nash a few breathers on the offensive end. Turkoglu certainly isn't Amare Stoudemire, but his presence should bring a variety of interesting offensive wrinkles to the Suns attack.

Size and interior defense remain a serious concern, especially if Robin Lopez goes down again, but the roster is versatile and absolutely stacked. Not the worst position to be in.

Oh No They Didn't

2010-07-10T12:40:00.002+09:00

*barf*

I'm rooting for the rest of the league next season.

Shoryuken!

2010-07-08T22:22:00.003+09:00

Hey, it looks like Deadpool will actually have his Shoryuken in MvC3. It'll probably be an uppercut of the Dan-ish sort, but it's nonetheless a pretty cool little inside joke for all the old comic book geeks out there.

The Knicks Are Back...?

2010-07-06T22:32:00.003+09:00

So says Amare Stoudemire after reportedly agreeing to ink a 5 year contract worth approximately $100 million.

I expect Amare to play well in New York - this isn't Jerome James or Eddy Curry we're talking about here - but even with the addition of Stoudemire, the Knicks look...well, mediocre. As heralded as this free agent crop is, there are still only 2 players in the entire lot with the ability to single-handedly take a team from the lottery to the postseason, and Amare isn't one of them. I love STAT, but the Knicks already had their 20 & 10 + shoddy defense guy in David Lee last season. If the allure of playing in MSG is enough to snag LeBron, then the Knicks will certainly be back. With just Amare? They're merely better.

Lesnar Once Again Undisputed Champ

2010-07-05T22:11:00.000+09:00

I was thinking TKO in the second round, but Brock surprised everyone by securing an arm triangle choke for the submission victory. We all used to speculate how dangerous Lesnar would be when he started to get some experience as a real fighter, and he's given us a glimpse by sprinkling in some Jiu-Jitsu to compliment his wrestling acumen and freakish athleticism. Perhaps more impressive than the choke was the beating that Brock somehow survived at the hands of Shane Carwin in the first round. Lesnar took something like 50 punches from Carwin, which would probably be enough to kill any normal human being. Heck, it would probably be enough to kill most human beings twice. And here's the thing: I can't think of anyone that hits harder than Shane Carwin, and if he couldn't knock out Brock, then who can?

John Wall Wearing The Reebok Zig Slash

2010-06-20T19:22:00.005+09:00

John Wall was recently spotted working out for the Washington Wizards wearing the Reebok Zig Slash. One might have assumed that Nike or Adidas would have been the front-runners to ink Wall to a contract, but Reebok reportedly gave him about 25 million good reasons to sign with them.

In reality, it's an all-around suave business move by Wall. He'll immediately be the face of a brand that currently lacks a truly marketable superstar, and he'll get to follow in the footsteps of his childhood idol, Allen Iverson. No word on whether he'll be wearing the Zig Slash during the season, which is a shoe that has been receiving a lot of mixed reactions.

I'm actually a fan of the design. There probably hasn't been a universally well-received Reebok basketball sneaker since the Question, but if Reebok can channel the bolder designs of Shawn Kemp's old Kamikazes or Shaq's Shaqnosis, they'll certainly be heading in the right direction.

"Suns" Air Max Penny

2010-06-18T18:38:00.001+09:00

...aaannd they're pretty terrible.

Maybe it's just me, but I was expecting a little more orange.

Drop Test: FAIL

2010-06-09T21:35:00.004+09:00

Funny, for 4 years I couldn't break my P200 if I tried, but one good tumble is enough to split the LCD on my W380 wide open.

I thought about getting the screen replaced, but it'd probably make more sense to throw the money it'd take to repair the thing at a new point & shoot.

Ring a Ding Dong~

2010-06-06T11:35:00.005+09:00

カエラ！〜

ドコモに異動しようかなぁ。。。

Foamposite Force

2010-06-03T23:52:00.007+09:00

So it turns out that Nike's big Foamposite surprise was a Foam-inspired Air Force 1 High. Interesting.

You can view an additional picture of the shoe here. The thing is more of an AF1 featuring Foam technology than a hybrid meshing designs of two existing sneakers, so I don't know why people are spewing their anti-hybrid hate at this particular shoe. I can nonetheless see why some are a little underwhelmed by it, especially since Nike already showed us a Foam Air Jordan I a couple of months back. Not my cup of tea, but I'd like to see what it looks like with a little royal blue on it.

Before Sunset

2010-06-01T22:33:00.008+09:00

God knows that there's nothing that I hate more than seeing my Suns lose to the Lakers, but I gotta say...these Suns had one hell of a run. From being labeled as borderline playoff squad and possible first round Laker fodder, to unlikely Western Conference finalist pushing said Laker team to 6 games, this Suns team overachieved mightily behind team chemistry and the type of collective selflessness that you rarely see from professional athletes these days.

Perhaps one of the most memorable moments of this year's playoffs came after Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, when TNT's Craig Sager was interviewing not Steve Nash, not Kobe Bryant, not Amare Stoudemire or Pau Gasol, but a quintet of Suns bench players: Channing Frye, Jared Dudley, Leandro Barbosa, Lou Amundson and Goran Dragic. I followed this team closely. Read every article, every report, watched every seemingly pointless locker room video, but I never imagined that Frye would develop into the sharpshooter that he became, that Goran would have so much guts, that Dudley would hold everything together like rubber cement.

But this wasn't just about a ragtag second unit becoming the best set of subs in the league. It was also about would-be stars taking a step back for the greater good of the team. Amare making a conscious effort to shed the "selfish" label that had followed him over the course of his career and embracing the role of team captain. As important as his bullish rolls to the rim were within the confines of the arena, his efforts to help the squad bond - taking the entire team out to dinners or movie excursions - were equally important outside of it. J-Rich scaling back his high-wire 360-windmill-between-the-legs act from Golden State and being content to fill the seams and pick his spots on a team full of effective, if mostly modest scorers. Both still had their moments; Richardson exploding for 42 in Portland and Amare likewise against Los Angeles, but the lasting images of these two sky-walkers were not when they were throwing down their trademark slams, but when they were jumping up and down on the sidelines, reduced to being crunch time cheerleaders as their replacements ably filled their minutes. As defining snapshots went, there were too many to count. Amare baptizing Tolliver in the Bay, Robin Lopez turning into a lunatic when Goran put Derek Fisher in the spin cycle, Barbosa's goofy Avatar video, RoLo posterizing his brother, everybody singing Lionel Ritchie's "All Night Long" on the team bus...the list could go on and on.

The word "synergy" was thrown around a lot this season, and indeed, this group was a team in the truest sense of the word. While the NBA will get to showcase the Lakers/Celtics series that everyone wants to see, it's a bit of a shame that this tightly knit Suns group wasn't quite good enough to be there in the end. I don't know if I can live in a world where Sasha Vujacic has two championship rings while Steve Nash has yet to win one.

Steve Nash.

As Charles Barkley noted, Nash represents everything that is good about the game. The man is classy, affable, incredibly intelligent, funny and - I'll say it - the greatest point guard of his generation. A lot of people have gone as far as to say that they feel sorry for Steve Nash, but why? He's got 2 MVP trophies, a huge multi-million dollar contract, a gorgeous wife, adorable twin daughters, heck, even a spot in the Hall of Fame waiting for him when he retires. I'll always root for the guy because it's almost impossible not to, but feel sorry for him? Nah. I don't. I really don't. He'll be fine.

In the end, the Suns faithful will, as they should, remember this team fondly. They were pegged to be mediocre, above average at best, but they instead attained excellence by embracing a uniform goal and rooting for one another. In all my years as a fan, this is the team that I wanted most to make the Finals, not because they were up against the Lakers, not because they vanquished the Spurs, not because it may have been Nash and Hill's last chance at a ring, but because of all the teams that I've followed in all my years watching the sport, this is the group of guys that deserved it the most. Well done.

With that, I'm done watching the NBA until November. Any other year I'd still be tuning in, but I don't think I can sit and watch the Lakers go for their 16th title and the Celtics their 18th when the Suns came so close to playing for their first. If Amare leaves and we're looking at a different Suns team next year, so be it. It was one heck of a ride.

Foam Talk

2010-05-28T23:51:00.009+09:00

Some interesting messages have popped up on Nike's twitter feed which seem to suggest that the sneaker community should expect a big announcement regarding some form of Foamposite footwear soon:

My initial thought was that they were going to officially announce another re-release of the original Royal Foamposite One, but the post clearly states that this shoe (we'll assume) is "something the world hasn't felt before." A subsequent message would back this up:

I'm intrigued in spite of myself. One possibility would be another original sneaker in the Foamposite line ala the Foamposite Lite, but the "something the world hasn't felt before" bit seems to suggest something a little more groundbreaking. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something wild like trying to fuse Foamposite and Flywire technology, especially given how well both have been received by the basketball community in the past. That would be my guess. Incorporating Foam into the next numbered Jordan sneaker would also certainly stir things up, but I imagine that they'll keep the AJ2011 under wraps for a while longer (and if they're smart, until Dwyane Wade signs somewhere). Other possibilities? Perhaps a hybrid? Imagine a performance sneaker featuring an updated lightweight version of the Foamposite One silhouette, with the Air Max base from the Total Foamposite Max and the zipper/velcro enclosure from the original Flightposite. Somewhat unlikely, but I wouldn't put it past Nike given how crazy they seem to be about hybrids these days. We'll see.

In other Foamposite related news, a few blurry images of the Cranberry 1/2 Cents have surfaced in recent weeks, and they're looking pretty ridiculous. These are seriously going to turn some heads.

Way too much black & red going on in my closet already, but I'll have to put these down as a "maybe" on my to-buy list. Lots of buzz generating for these, so I guess you could say that cranberry is the new eggplant.

タバコ禁止

2010-05-15T15:38:00.003+09:00

Japanese people smoke way too much. Which is fine.

Just not in here.

Redemption

2010-05-14T17:42:00.000+09:00

Gave it a few days to sink in. San Antonio had tortured us Suns fans for the better part of a decade, so watching Phoenix sweep the Spurs out of the playoffs was pretty much the next best thing to winning the championship. Seriously, it meant that much.

Sounds like Robin Lopez will be starting in Game 1 against the Lakers, which gives the Suns an additional big body to mix it up with Gasol and Bynum down low. Not too many people are giving Phoenix a chance in this series, but hey, that's cool. I'm sure they're used to it by now.

Return Of The Dragon

2010-05-12T22:48:00.003+09:00

So long Daniel Bryan, welcome back Bryan Danielson. I was really wondering where they were going with this "Daniel Bryan" business and the whole losing streak, but it's looking like the payoff could actually be worth it.

Time to kick some heads in.

Enter The Dragon

2010-05-09T11:58:00.005+09:00

So what could top LeBron going for 21 against the Celtics in the 1st? Goran Dragic dropping 23 on the Spurs in the 4th. A little surreal watching the Suns reserves pick apart the San Antonio starters, but such is the makeup of this PHX squad. Certainly not the most talented roster in the league, but they're deep and clearly have an unmatched degree of chemistry. Prior to his outburst against the Spurs, Dragic's biggest claim to fame was being the guy who ended up as the less flattering half of that Derrick Rose poster, but Suns fans have seen flashes of brilliance from the second year guard before, including the time that he went for 25 in the first half against Utah earlier in the season. I'm excited because he's going to be the guy running the team once Nash retires, but more happy for him as a person because he's literally the nicest kid ever.

Manu Ginobili:

In the first game, we fouled them too much and they [scored] too much in transition. In Game 2, they stopped running but they beat us on offensive rebounds. Tonight we didn't foul them, they didn't beat us on the offensive boards, Amare scored seven points and they killed us anyway. That's the tough part to swallow.

Music to my ears.

My Rims Can't Buy Beer

2010-05-04T17:29:00.000+09:00

But they can buy cigarettes.

And porn.

And Here We Go

2010-05-03T22:46:00.007+09:00

Spurs vs Suns. Possibly the most one-sided rivalry in the NBA, considering that the Suns unfailingly lose whenever the two teams meet in the playoffs. As they always do, San Antonio is peaking at just the right time, and it's tough to pick against Popovich, Duncan & co. here, especially considering how things have unfolded in the past. If there's one edge that the Suns have got going for them, it's their rotation (a legit 10 deep). D'Antoni's teams pretty much went 7 or 8 deep in the past, and the short rotations generally meant that the starters had some difficulty closing out games. Not too many people remember that Grant Hill was also severely limited by a groin injury during the last series, and while Gentry certainly can't count on him to check Ginobili, Parker and George Hill, fact is that he's the team's best perimeter defender. Amare routinely puts up big numbers against San Antonio, so it'll likely come down to J-Rich, Frye and Dudley being able to hit their shots.

Barkley is going with his heart instead of his head and is saying that the Suns take the series, and hey, who am I to argue? Phoenix in 7.

Dis(Incentive)?

2010-05-02T17:50:00.002+09:00

Serious question. Which makes you want to steal more?

Exhibit A?

Or Exhibit B?

Roethlisberger Suspension

2010-04-23T19:42:00.007+09:00

There was some talk that the Steelers would move Roethlisberger if they could land a talented prospect in exchange for him, but with the first round of the NFL draft having come and gone, that scenario seems less probable now. On the one hand, it isn't likely that you'll be able to get equal value when you give away a quarterback with Ben's mobility, arm, age and resume. On the other, if Steelers management is going to factor in Santonio Holmes' questionable behavior into his trade to the Jets, I don't see how they can't consider doing the same with a case involving a possible serial rapist.

Certainly, common belief is that wide receivers are replaceable, while quarterbacks - especially those of Roethlisberger's caliber - are not. Fair enough, but keeping him on the roster does nothing for a franchise that reportedly is concerned about cleaning up its image. Yet purely from a football standpoint, you can't justify moving Big Ben without getting a substantial package in return. If I'm Pittsburgh, I'm swallowing that 6 game suspension and giving Roethlisberger a chance to avoid that 3rd strike. As a fan, it's tough to continue rooting for a guy who's clearly something of a dick off the field, but who knows? Maybe having $2.8 million shaved of your salary is enough to get you to turn over a new leaf. But maybe not. I still feel that if the Steelers franchise wants to compete for titles in the future, Roethlisberger is the guy to take them there. For better or worse, that may be the bottom line.

In unrelated news, the Suns/Blazers game is getting that semi-matinee treatment on Saturday, so I'm going to be watching the game at 5:30 in the morning on Sunday down here. You do what you gotta do.

Air Max Penny I

2010-04-22T21:16:00.003+09:00

Isn't she lovely~? Coming in Spring of 2011:

I've got 6 pairs of Penny IIs, a pair of IIIs, 2 pairs of IVs and 2 pairs of Foamposite Ones. But for one reason or another, I've yet to own the original Air Max Penny. I'd explain if I could, but I can't. The "Orlando" Black/White-Varsity Royal colorway is a given, but the second colorway will reportedly be a Black/Bright Mandarin-Club Purple makeup. I could be wrong, but Mandarin/Purple more likely than not = Phoenix. Can't wait to see some images of that bad boy.

MvC3

2010-04-21T20:32:00.003+09:00

That's got a nice ring to it.

Oh, it's on. A lot of the usual suspects are said to be included on the preliminary roster, along with rumored new faces such as Chris Redfield (well, confirmed since he's in the trailer), Green Goblin, Super Skrull, Deadpool and DMC's Dante. Deadpool? Super Skrull? I'm sold. If we can't have the Fantastic Four, Super Skrull works just fine for me.

桜木 6

2010-04-14T22:27:00.003+09:00

Dunno why I never caught this before, but the soon to be released Varsity Red VIs were on the feet of Slam Dunk's Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Via KIX-FILES:

In the story, Sakuragi wore the Air Jordan 6 at the beginning and changed to wear Air Jordan 1 after his Air Jordan 6 was broken. He persuaded a sneaker shop owner to sell him the Air Jordan 6 Chicago Bulls colorway OG in 300 Japanese Yen.

The success of Slam Dunk is cited as an influence in the increased popularity of basketball among the Japanese youth during 1990s. Until now, Slam Dunk is still the most popular basketball comic around the world. The Air Jordan 6 also became one of the most popular Air Jordan shoes in Japan, especially this particular “Sakuragi Hanamichi” colorway.

KTFO

2010-04-06T19:29:00.002+09:00

Wrestlemania XXVI Thoughts (Part II)

2010-04-05T22:55:00.011+09:00

I'll be skipping the Divas match, but let me just say that Vickie Guerrero is the best sport ever. Here's to hoping that Vince is paying her a fortune because she certainly deserves it. I haven't been this amped for a pair of title matches since we had Eddie/Angle and HHH/HBK/Benoit at WMXX, so that's saying a little something.

Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon

Pretty surreal. Vince reveals that he has payed off the entire Hart family to be lumberjacks in his corner, which is promptly followed by Bret revealing that they're actually in his corner. Okay then. Match was about what you'd expect from a post-stroke Bret and a senior citizen. Vince sells the beating like a champ, but the crowd is mostly dead until Bret finally locks on the Sharpshooter 10 minutes in. Not much of a match, but if it brings a bit of closure to the "Bret got screwed" saga, then I suppose that it wasn't for naught. Coolest moment was probably the Hart Dynasty hitting Vince with a pretty stiff Hart Attack, which hopefully means that management has some plans for them.

Smackdown World Title: Chris Jericho vs Edge

Now we're talking. Unless I'm mistaken, this would be Edge's first big match since returning from surgery. Things start slow but get going towards the end with Jericho working on Edge's surgically repaired ankle. Cool moment saw Jericho seamlessly counter Edge's spear into a Codebreaker. Uh, Edge, perhaps your opponent wouldn't see the move coming if you didn't encourage the 70,000 in attendance to chant "spear." Y2J eventually gets the pin after a good old-fashioned belt shot and a second Codebreaker. Both guys have had better matches, but this was nonetheless quite excellent.

RAW World Title: Batista vs John Cena

Pretty good reaction for both wrestlers, and this one definitely has that big match feel to it. A pretty awesome power bout ensues, with both guys swinging for the fences and repeatedly landing the big moves on one another. Say what you will about Cena, but damn, the dude is freakishly strong. Dave Batista is no cruiserweight, but I haven't seen anyone get that much air out of an F-U (Attitude Adjustment, whatever) since Brian Kendrick. Cena is a beast. Finish comes when Cena rolls through a powerbomb attempt and locks in the STF(U). Real good power match. I've always been hot or cold on Cena, but he won me back over to his side with this one. Funniest moment of the night comes when Cena walks over to a bunch of fans wearing "We Hate Cena!" t-shirts and celebrates in front of them with a huge grin on his face. Gotta love that.

Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels

And here we go. Similar start to last year's match, with Michaels dancing away from the Undertaker's strikes and peppering him with chops. Undertaker eventually injures his leg while going "old school," which prompts Shawn to go to work on it with a bunch of submissions, including the anklelock + grapevine combo. Nothing wrong with that, but it'll just be weird 10 years from now when we're watching this reputed Taker/HBK classic and we can't help but say, "Hey, that's Kurt's move." Anyway, in a bit of luck (or a rather stunning display of ring psychology), Michaels moonsaults Undertaker through the announce table and catches him square in the legs. Ouch. The match features a great running story throughout, with Taker repeatedly throwing all 4 of his finishers at Shawn, but HBK just refusing to die. Awesome ending with Taker imploring a withering Shawn to just "stay down," and HBK responding by using the last of his energy to slap the Undertaker across the face. Jumping Tombstone Piledriver, 1, 2, 3, farewell, Shawn. Not quite as flawless as last year's masterpiece, but this one meant more and will thus be the one that everyone talks about for years to come.

Overall? One of the better Wrestlemanias. I still prefer X-Seven and XX, but this one was great in its own right. A couple of the undercard matches desperately needed more time, but the two title matches and HBK/Taker delivered, so there's not too much that you can complain about here. Definitely check it out.

Wrestlemania XXVI Thoughts (Part I)

2010-04-03T17:45:00.013+09:00

I'll be doing this in two parts because I just can't sit still and watch wrestling for 4 hours straight anymore. On paper, this looked like it would be one of the all-time great Wrestlemania cards, so let's see if this bad boy manages to live up to some of the hype. They've got the stadium roof open, and the set looks incredible in typical Wrestlemania fashion

Unified Tag Titles: Big Show & the Miz vs R-Truth and John Morrison

Truth comes out first doing his rap thing. I wonder if he's just as incomprehensible to the live audience. Morrison follows, and as Dave Chappelle once said, everything looks better...in slow motion. And finally, ShoMiz, with that terrible entrance music and all 27 of their titles. Predictably fun match, though I had to play it back since I went to get a bag of chips and the match had somehow finished while I was away. Seriously? ShoMiz get the win after Big Show punches Morrison out of the sky. In a perfect world, you'd have the Hart Dynasty or Cryme Tyme challenging for the titles here, but I can understand throwing RonJohn together because there's no question that they deserved a spot somewhere on the card.

Randy Orton vs Ted DiBiase vs Cody Rhodes

Pretty massive pop for Orton. I've only been a sporadic viewer of the product at best, so Orton sort of caught me off guard with how well he seems to have nailed down that deranged persona of his. Everything, from the way he stomps on his opponents to the way he moves around the ring is unique, which really adds another dimension to that character. He unfortunately made DiBiase and Rhodes look like a couple of pussies here, but the decisive booking should probably vault Randy back into the title picture. If the WWE is smart, they'll keep him as a renegade Austin-type tweener, one who's a little too crazy to discern between good and bad.

Money in the Bank: lots and lots of people
Jack Swagger comes out looking like a proportionate Kurt Angle. I actually kind of dig his fake Rage Against the Machine music. My money was on Christian, but I forgot that Drew McIntyre was in there as well. The usual fun match, but nothing really crazy as Shelton Benjamin has apparently decided against going through with his annual attempt to kill himself. Kofi Kingston slips on a ladder while trying to teabag Kane in the corner, but makes up for it later by using two halves of a broken ladder as stilts in an attempt to get the briefcase. At one point in the match, Christian reverses a Matt Hardy Twist of Fate into a reverse DDT off the ladder, but Michael Cole still calls it a Twist of Fate. God, Cole sucks. But then again, Jim Ross would have probably called it an Unprettier, so I guess nobody's perfect. Finish comes when Swagger(!?) knocks Christian off the ladder and grabs the case (after taking an eternity to get the thing unhooked). I actually have no problem with Swagger winning, I just hope that they tag him with a new nickname because the All-American American sounds like a Carl's Jr. sandwich or something. The guy has size and talent as opposed to just size for a change, so he's not the worst guy to elevate.

HHH vs Sheamus
The arena roof remains open, which means that Sheamus will be getting some sun, perhaps for the first time in his life from the look of things. Just weird seeing HHH this far down the card. He even comes to the ring sans any Halloween costumes or an appearance by Motorhead, which is pretty subdued by his standards. Hunter eventually gets the pin via Pedigree after an okay match. Sheamus probably should have got the win here, but they put him over as a guy who could hang with HHH on the big stage, which I guess counts for something. First time really seeing Sheamus in action, but I guess he isn't terrible. Just terribly white.

CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio
This should be pretty darn good. Punk cuts his typically awesome promo while walking down to the ring. Apparently this feud escalated when CM Punk interrupted a birthday celebration for Rey's daughter on an episode of Smackdown. Let's just ignore wrestling logic for second - Mysterio celebrating his daughter's birthday in a wrestling ring? And we're supposed to be mad at Punk for interrupting that? If I paid money to go and see Smackdown live, I'd want to see wrestling matches, not birthday parties. Anyway. Criminally short match, but lots of cool stuff thrown in during the allotted time. Rey even manages to (mostly) hit that springboard backflip DDT that he only ever pulled off at Halloween Havoc with Eddie Guerrero. Lots of cool GTS reversals by Rey, and he eventually gets the pin following a 619/splash combo. Awesome chemistry between these two, but the match needed at least 10 minutes.

Part 2: Bret/Vince, World Title matches, and of course, Taker/HBK II.

From Copper To Silver

2010-03-30T23:03:00.004+09:00

These are pretty insane.

Might have to make them my second pair of Penny IIIs.

WMXXVI

2010-03-28T20:20:00.002+09:00

Tomorrow's Wrestlemania 26 card is looking pretty awesome. The WWE has actually been on a bit of a roll as of late, pretty much because it's the opposite of this:

Seriously, if TNA were like that every week I think America would definitely tune in, albeit for all the wrong reasons. No WM predictions this year, but I'll try and check back with some post-show thoughts if I can manage to track down a copy of the event.

YES

2010-03-25T23:18:00.005+09:00

YES

YES

YES

Need A Break, Get A Breakthrough

2010-03-24T22:00:00.002+09:00

Listening to:
The Rocket Summer
Of Men And Angels

The academic year finally wrapped up the other day, and in a somewhat odd decision (at least to me), the teachers decided that it would be a good idea to run to the year end party. Run, as in not employ the use of vehicles. The hotel that the party was being held at was a good 9 kilometers away - 5 and 1/2 miles or so - which prompted me, perhaps as the lone American member of the staff, to wonder why we didn't just drive there like the modern human beings that we were. After all, what was the point of going on a 9 km run immediately before having to get spruced up and dapper for a fancy dinner? But as it usually is with Japanese folks, this wasn't necessarily about comfort or efficiency, but about taking advantage of an opportunity to bond with one another. Aside from my left kneecap nearly crumbling to dust during the final stretch, it was a good time. We laughed a lot, stopped a lot of traffic, almost died a few times, but made it to the end mostly intact. Personally? I'd much rather drive, but I suppose that I'm willing to hoof it from time to time as long as it means a little something.

Amare Channeling Durant?

2010-03-18T21:22:00.006+09:00

Found out that I had 15 days of paid vacation saved up, so I used one the other day to take care of a few loose errands. Spent a couple of hours watching the Suns ring up 152 on the T-Wolves, which doesn't mean particularly much because, um, it's the T-Wolves, but it's always a good time watching your squad put on a clinic.

One thing that I couldn't help noticing were the KDIIs on Amare Stoudemire's feet in place of his customary Hyperizes. He's apparently been hooping in the KDII for a couple of weeks now...

...which is cool. After all, it's a pretty good look.

But it's just odd seeing him rocking another player's signature joint, especially considering that he's been playing like the old Amare as of late. If anything, I wish he'd wear some retro Barkleys like Nate Robinson. I actually really regret sleeping on the old S.T.A.T. sneaker that Nike put out for him a few years back.

That thing is sleek. Like an orca.

Enjoy That Sausage

2010-03-16T21:30:00.002+09:00

Steve Nash's Crotch feat. Robin Lopez.

It was a nice pass.

I know, I loved that pass.

Lucky XIII

2010-03-12T17:18:00.005+09:00

Space Jams or not, passing on the 11s last year wasn't that big a deal to me. But 13s? I said that the XX3s were my favorite incarnation of the Jordan, but the 13 is a very, very close second. Rumor is that Nike will release these two colorways come this holiday season:

Bold prediction (or perhaps wishful thinking): we'll see the return of the Altitudes sometime in 2011.

26 In Pics

2010-03-05T20:21:00.005+09:00

Unexpectedly got saddled with a couple of extra classes first thing in the morning (surprise!), but when I greet ２年５組 with the usual "Good morning everyone!" bit, they answer with "Happy birthday Ma-ka-su!" I'm not entirely sure how they all know, but they do.

Jun comes to the teachers' office before lunch and gives me a high five and a small plastic bag with Mickey Mouse on it. The cookie inside is broken, but it's still one of the sweetest little gestures ever.

Thought about breaking out the Atlantic IIs to celebrate the occasion, but decided to go stealth instead. The 1/2 Cents are actually a lot more comfortable than I imagined they'd be.

Kept it easy on a weekday like an old man should. Japan's interpretation of a "Large" pizza is akin to a personal pan back home, but size discrepancy is nothing that a couple of Coronas and an evening with your favorite person in the world can't set right.

Cranberry, Eggplant 1/2 Cents

2010-03-04T18:58:00.000+09:00

Now I'm kind of glad that I didn't jump on all four of the original colors. It took a little longer than I thought, but I actually called this a year ago: "I can’t imagine them not making a black & red pair, and an “Eggplant” version (there, I said it) also definitely works, so we could be quickly approaching overkill territory with this sneaker."

For what it's worth, these are two really nice colorways, but I'm not sure how I feel about Nike deciding to throw Eggplant on absolutely everything. Those Cranberries are gonna be some serious neckbreakers, though.

Got Milk?

2010-03-02T17:05:00.006+09:00

Went with the Oreos over the Motorsports. Actually an easy choice, considering that the Oreos are nicer (in my humble opinion) and cost a bit less.

Just a ridiculous shoe, from the speckled lace lock to the translucent sole...if only they didn't make me so hungry.

New Toys

2010-02-28T00:03:00.001+09:00

So I finally got a proper internet connection going. Having a fast connection for the first time in forever is nice and all, but it's another sizable chunk out of my bank account that I'm going to have to deal with at the end of every month. On the plus side of things, Yamada Denki gives you a pretty hefty ２万 in credit to use as you see fit once you sign your contract with OCN. My new toys:　

I still intend to get my SLR one of these days, but the DSC-W380 gives me a nice, compact alternative to hold me over for the time being. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how my P200 is still alive and functioning after 4 years of abuse.

Earthquake

2010-02-27T15:37:00.011+09:00

Listening to:
東京事変
スポーツ

Woke up this morning at 5:30 thanks to a pretty big earthquake. It was reportedly a magnitude 6.9 quake that lasted for about 30 seconds. Although 30 seconds probably doesn't seem like a long time in print, it honestly feels like an eternity when you're waiting for the roof to cave in on you. My girlfriend's cell phone apparently has some sort of a natural disaster warning system function, because it started sounding this ridiculous "your space station will imminently explode" type alarm when the quake hit. That's all good and well, but the thing went off in the midst of the earthquake while the world was ending, so the whole time that the alarm was sounding, I was just like, "F***, I know, I know!" For the most part, the quake felt a lot worse than it actually turned out to be, but tsunami warnings were issued, a point of concern since the beach is right across the street from my apartment. We decided to play it safe and move to higher ground (more for fear for our cars than for our personal well-being) and made the trek to her place in our pajamas at the break of dawn. A Tsunami Bomb track is the second song that comes on when I shuffle through my music on the drive over, which is ironic but not at all funny.

In the end, it sounded like everyone on the island it made it through the ordeal unscathed. We watched the news for a bit, went to sleep again and woke up a few hours later with the world back to normal. Not exactly my definition of an ideal Saturday morning, but hey, you can always make up sleep.

Still A Sun

2010-02-21T14:47:00.004+09:00

Despite weeks of trade speculation, the trade deadline comes and goes with Amare Stoudemire still in Phoenix. STAT had been absolutely beasting amid all the trade rumors, averaging 26 and 11 over a stretch that saw the Suns go 6-2. The Suns now run the risk of letting Amare walk away for nothing should he opt out of his contract this summer, but given his play of late when paired with Robin Lopez in the starting lineup, I can understand why Phoenix would be willing to roll the dice here.

Woke up this morning with nothing to do, so I made myself a proper breakfast and watched the second half of the Knicks/Thunder game. I gotta say, T-Mac in a Knicks jersey is pretty cool. He and Eddie House looked right at home in New York, combining for 50 points in their Garden debut. But how scary is Oklahoma? I'm convinced that Kevin Durant is the best player in the league not named LeBron or Kobe, and Russell Westbrook is like a pit bull out there. Kind of reminds me of a young Baron Davis.

SFIII Characters Confirmed For SSFIV

2010-02-20T22:32:00.001+09:00

The latest issue of Famitsu has revealed that Makoto, Ibuki and Dudley will indeed be playable in the upcoming Super Street Fighter IV. I mentioned back in October that the inclusion of Alex, Makoto and Ibuki would make me very happy, so although the omission of Alex is a bit disappointing, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Kind of interesting how the first set of new characters were from Super Street Fighter II (Dee Jay, T. Hawk), the second batch from Street Fighter Alpha/Zero (Adon, Guy, Cody), and now this third group being from Street Fighter III. Another original character or two should round out the roster quite nicely.

Engine Issues

2010-02-17T19:58:00.002+09:00

Just kidding.

Tire Issues

2010-02-15T18:22:00.003+09:00

Woke up this morning to a flat tire. I guess I managed to run over a screw in the midst of putting in 160 kilometers the other day. The guys at the gas station patched it up real quick and I ended up being only about 5 minutes late for work, but I suspect that I may be reprimanded should another automobile-related mishap hinder my punctuality come Tuesday morning.

I was secretly looking for an excuse to get new rims, but I suppose that it can wait.

Battery Issues

2010-02-13T18:04:00.004+09:00

Woke up the other morning to a dead car battery. I managed to get the thing replaced pretty quickly and was only about a half an hour late for work, but it turns out that I had a 4-year old Kei unit under the hood. It's a wonder that the thing lasted for as long as it did, especially considering all the juice that I'd been running to my speakers.

Much better. Might have actually been a blessing in disguise since I'd been planning on driving around the island on Sunday.

Unfortunately, dead batteries generally mean that your audio settings get shot straight to hell.

The Most Ridiculous Man In The World

2010-02-11T23:55:00.000+09:00

He can speak 22 languages...

...at a 1st grade level.

Seriously, Steve Nash is the man.