Always Think Twice (Do Think Twice~)

Listening to:
Michael Jackson
Billie Jean

Weird day today. I woke up at 6:00 in the morning and drove into town to take the road test for my Japanese driver's license. I'd heard that the test was bloody hell for Americans, so I was already clearing my July schedule for those inevitable retakes (6 on average, or so I'd been told). But with a little bit of luck, I managed to pass the thing in one crack. I was feeling pretty good about myself then, but while waiting for the paperwork to process a little while later, someone noted to me that Michael Jackson had died. Talk about a buzzkill. Not that I'm some mega-Michael Jackson fan, but there are a handful of his songs that are simply timeless. Bille Jean? 17 years later, and that song is still the jam. Crazy.

On the way home, I picked up my copy of BLAZBLUE. I'm counting on it to keep me busy until Tekken 6 drops in October. Thoughts on the game later, unless it's just GGXX with new sprites.



It's kind of weird, every time I leave the house, I half expect Steve Kerr to trade away another All-Star for Sasha Pavlovic while I'm away. I have nightmares of reading "Suns trade Nash to Lakers for Vujacic and Walton" on ESPN.com. To give credit where it's due, I'm pretty thrilled that we got Earl Clark at #14 in the draft. Surprised that the front office didn't sell the pick for cash or inexplicably include it in the Shaq trade.



Latest rumor also indicates that Amare Stoudemire might be moved to Golden State for a package of players that includes Stephen Curry. You know...after the Shaq deal went down, I was hoping that we'd get Tyson Chandler to help plug all of Amare's defensive holes..but if we can manage to get Curry from the Warriors for him, I would not at all be offended.

Diesel To Cleveland

The Suns trade Shaq to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a bag of chips and a Pepsi. More or less. Sasha Pavlovic and a Ben Wallace on the verge of retirement? We might have been better off with the chips and the Pepsi. None of the above can defend the pick & roll, but at least the later is a delicious snack.



DAMMIT STEVE KERR, YOU'RE A SUN!



I mean, shit. I know this was probably Sarver's move, but let's get it together. Of course, it's entirely possible that the Suns will deal Wallace and Pavlovic to New Orleans for Tyson Chandler...but I'll believe it when I see it.

Out Of Category

Listening to:
P.O.S.
Never Better
track: "Out Of Category"

Our school was hosting the district volleyball tournament for teachers on Friday night, and we ended up taking first place. There were only 6 teams participating, so I guess that may not be saying a whole lot, but it was notable to me because I hadn’t played an organized game of volleyball since my high school days. I put down a few big kills and was thinking that I still had it, until I realized that the height of the net had been adjusted to accommodate the female players. Right. I felt kind of dumb then, but I suppose the important thing is that we all had fun in the end. And that we won. Because winning is always the most important thing.

In other news, I was out at a club at about 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, when Lil Jon (in town for a concert) and his posse sat down in the booth next to us. Pitbull and J. Holiday were also wandering around, but there’s just something about Lil Jon – besides the obvious – that remains comical to me after all these years. Anyway, the best moment of the night came after Lil Jon and his crew had left, when some random white dude walked up to their table and picked up a half empty bottle of Hennessy that had been left behind, grinned at us, then danced off with it while 50 Cent’s “I Get Money” was playing. I’m sure that it was because it was late and I’d had a really long day, but that was the funniest shit in the world to me. Or maybe it was just funny because I’m an out of category a-hole who thinks that he’s above the whole Lil Jon and Hennessy scene. Either way, I wasn't planning on getting to do this in Okinawa, but I guess that I can scratch "kinda/sorta party with Lil Jon" off of my list of random shit to do before I die.

According to SC, the Atlantic Penny II will be making a return soon.



About time. I don't care what anybody else says, this is THE greatest sneaker of all time.

マークII

Here’s my new baby:





Broke the bank to get my hands on her. I looked at a lot of rides, but I’ve figured out that I like my whips like I like my kicks: white & clean. If she behaves herself, I just might get her a little boom for the trunk and something shiny for her feet.

Fear And Loathing Of Public Speaking

Listening to:
Do As Infinity
∞1

Want to know the hardest things about attending speech/story contests? Trying not to nod along to your student’s speech, and trying not to nod off to everyone else’s. Those district contests that have like 40 participants are rough, and I doubt it’s just me, because I think that sitting through three straight hours of kids reciting “The Lion and the Mouse” will test pretty much anyone’s resolve. My student didn’t end up placing in the top three, but I was still really proud of her. She’s not the type to speak in class, at all, ever, so a 5-minute speech in front of 100+ people with no notes and no microphone was a pretty epic undertaking for her. She did her best and (hopefully) grew a little as a person in the process, so I’m not disappointed in the least. At the same time, it’d be nice to actually have one of my kids place in a speech contest for a change. Not exactly easy considering that we only have two of them per year, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with clawing towards goals that are a little on the lofty side.

Mitsuharu Misawa

I was going to post about Mirko Cro Cop's successful return to the octagon, but simply can't after hearing about Misawa's untimely passing. He reportedly took a suplex during a match and just never got up. We'd watch him wrestle sometimes and wonder how he could still take all those crazy bumps in his forties, but it turns out that he was mortal after all.



三沢 光晴 1962-2009

RIP Misawa. Truly one of the greatest and most important pro-wrestlers of all time.

生まれゆくものたちへ

Pretty kick-ass song. Digging the HUGE hook.



6/17/2009



Literally been waiting years for this single.

Robot Walk

Remember how I said that Eva crap was for sale everywhere? It looks like ABC Mart - a sneaker retailer here in Japan - will be putting out these limited edition Evangelion sneakers to commemorate the release of the latest movie.



Honestly, as a big time sneakerhead and a one time anime nut, I wouldn't mind having a pair just to have them. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing those things around town, but that's sort of beside the point. On the other hand, if there's a pair of mech-inspired footwear that I'd actually use, it's these Gundam house slippers.



Equally ridiculous, but nobody cares how you look at the crib. I knew I would regret not picking them up back when we were in Tokyo.

でかっ！

Times like these I wish I were on SoftBank. There are needs and wants in life, and a 30 cm cell phone strap definitely falls under the need category.



It's just so ridiculous.



I didn't care for her much as a teenager, but Ueto Aya can pretty much sell me anything nowadays.

Sole Collector Air Penny II

So sick. I'm going to have dreams about these bad boys.





Unfortunately, they'll be exclusive to the Sole Collector magazine staff. I knew I should have just immediately went the journalism route and started writing about sneakers.

As far as the attainable objects of desire go, I've got my new whip picked out. I was looking real hard at a Celica SS-II, but decided to throw a little more paper at something else. More on that later.

TUF 10 To Feature Kimbo Slice

Kimbo on The Ultimate Fighter? Wow.



Again, wow. I definitely did not see that coming. Given the fact that Rampage is coaching again, we have reason to assume that this will be the greatest season of the show to date. Really, the mere thought of Rampage and Kimbo in the same house is enough to crack me up.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

My dad sent me an email the other night to let me know that he had taken my dog to the Humane Society to get euthanized. It's not something that I didn't see coming. I've had my dog since I was in the 4th grade, and the last time I saw him, I could tell that his eyesight was starting to go. So all things considered, I took the news pretty well. But I did shed a tear when I read this little detail in my dad's email...

"Brutus sat in the basket all the way from home."

Not sure why. I guess there's just something really sad about that image of my little buddy sitting there in the car and behaving himself on the way to be put to sleep. And more than that, I kind of wanted to be the one to take him for that last drive.

Doesn't seem fair, but I guess that's life.



Thanks for everything buddy. =)