I love kevin Garnett. His post game interview after game 6 might have been over the top to many, but if you have been paying attention to the NBA for a while, you should know by now that that's just how this man operates. He's emotional. But it's real, unwavering and unapologetic. He is who he is, and you gotta respect that.
Seeing him up there, just screaming, giving props to his old team, old friends, and family. Justing releasing all the energy he's put into this game, was inspiring.
I was sitting with a friend watching this, and I think we both shed a tear. There on tv was a good, talented man who worked hard, faced adversity, and fought his way to the top of the world and championship certification. OH yeah, and he didn't thank god for choosing him and the Celtics over Kobe the Lakers.
Like the man said, he's certified, which was quite ironic for me personally because two days before I had finished with my own certification for English teaching, and also screamed at the top of my lungs that anything was possible!!!!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
In Memory of
It's hard to believe, but today would have been the 37th birthday of Tupac Shakur. An inspiration in my life and many others even 12 years after this passing, I often wonder how America and the world would be different had Tupac not died so young. What I see when I imagine of this scenario, is a world still caught in the same struggles of war, racism, and slavery, but with much more resolve, much more passion to fight. That was Tupac, a self-described "rose that grew from the concrete," he embodied the one thing that can withstand and combat the machinery of our money driven world-- soul. He felt struggles deeply, hated wrongs passionately, and fought with everything and the only thing he had, his words. We lost those words, and hip hop lost its essence, social justice lost its most capable leader, and the earth lost a better day for its children. But on today, lets let his word be reborn, and remember we still need to fight for those better dayz.Below are the most hopeful words I can think of:
Sunday, May 4, 2008
simpliest of solutions
After a night of drink-coping to subdue the pain of a gut punching lost to the nuggets, and yet another playoff-less year for the warriors, i found myself in one of those morning panics. I had somehow awoken at khai house in San Jose and had to find my way back to the city to work (I would have called in sick, but I had called in the previous two days, and it was also the day of my scheduled 3 month review). Deciding that the easiest way was to hop onto the cal-train at freakin 7 in the morn, and take it straight to center of the machine at embarcadero, walk a few blocks, and work in the same clothes I had slept in, partied in, and morned in from the night before. It just sucked. I wanted nothing more than to sleep in, not think, and avoid responsibilities at all levels.
Made it to the station to see the other passengers getting on, had to buy a seven dollar ticket with my credit card for a minimum of 20 bucks, and sprinted onto the train as the conductor yelled out "last call." Found a seat, put on my [ipod], only to have it die on me 3 songs into the trip. It was somewhere near Palo Alto that I realized my car needed to be moved for street cleaning purposes, and that my plan to take the train straight to work wasn't going to happen. Switched over at the airport to the bart, and took that close to home. Walked a mile from the bart to my home, moved the car to the other side, washed up, changed, and got onto the muni. I had completed the mass transit trifecta: caltrain, bart, and muni, all within one gloomy foggy morning. Needless to say, I was already late, and had called in guessing to my boss that I would be in an hour late.
It was on the muni that i sat behind this old lady.
She was one of the many old ladies that take the muni everyday. I can always judge how fast the K will be by counting the number of old people on the train. The more old people, the faster. I'm not sure why this is a fact, but it is, try it. I think there's a correlation with old people's morning proactivity (yes, i made this word up from proactive) and muni's morning mass shuttling.
Everyday, there's at least 5-7 elderly Asians on a train. On that day however, she was the only one. It felt like a dubious sign that I would make it to work later than the hour late I had asked for.
But then a strange thing happened. The sun came out. The freaking sun came out, lit the right side of the land, and also, the right side of our train, warming everything and everyone.
Right in front of my eyes, in what seemed like slow motion, the lady pulled out a baseball cap, guided it over her thin white hair, and turned the bill side ways to block the sun.
Somehow, that made all the difference, and what was potentially an epically horrid day became a great day. Her, turning that hat, made me smile, and twisted me back into what I've always known to be true: Asians grandma are hardcore blood gantsa at heart, and that even through the gloomiest of days, the sun will shine eventually, and even that arrival can be dealt with by the simplest of solutions.
Made it to the station to see the other passengers getting on, had to buy a seven dollar ticket with my credit card for a minimum of 20 bucks, and sprinted onto the train as the conductor yelled out "last call." Found a seat, put on my [ipod], only to have it die on me 3 songs into the trip. It was somewhere near Palo Alto that I realized my car needed to be moved for street cleaning purposes, and that my plan to take the train straight to work wasn't going to happen. Switched over at the airport to the bart, and took that close to home. Walked a mile from the bart to my home, moved the car to the other side, washed up, changed, and got onto the muni. I had completed the mass transit trifecta: caltrain, bart, and muni, all within one gloomy foggy morning. Needless to say, I was already late, and had called in guessing to my boss that I would be in an hour late.
It was on the muni that i sat behind this old lady.She was one of the many old ladies that take the muni everyday. I can always judge how fast the K will be by counting the number of old people on the train. The more old people, the faster. I'm not sure why this is a fact, but it is, try it. I think there's a correlation with old people's morning proactivity (yes, i made this word up from proactive) and muni's morning mass shuttling.
Everyday, there's at least 5-7 elderly Asians on a train. On that day however, she was the only one. It felt like a dubious sign that I would make it to work later than the hour late I had asked for.
But then a strange thing happened. The sun came out. The freaking sun came out, lit the right side of the land, and also, the right side of our train, warming everything and everyone.
Right in front of my eyes, in what seemed like slow motion, the lady pulled out a baseball cap, guided it over her thin white hair, and turned the bill side ways to block the sun.
Somehow, that made all the difference, and what was potentially an epically horrid day became a great day. Her, turning that hat, made me smile, and twisted me back into what I've always known to be true: Asians grandma are hardcore blood gantsa at heart, and that even through the gloomiest of days, the sun will shine eventually, and even that arrival can be dealt with by the simplest of solutions.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
much obliged, much obliged
i think:
there are some great writers out there that will forever support my efforts through their words. "i found myself in harlem, with $1.50 in my pocket, no job, but plenty of hope." -Zora Hurston.
i know:
I remember every single moment in my life where I had to push a car.
1st time:
The first time. My dad's red Ford Fremont.The corner of White street, and Mabury. One block away from our home. I was laughing out loud, but determined to push, and happy to be close to home. I pushed hard. It was easy.
I can only guess that my dad was concerned, perhaps frustrated over another stress to fix, and more money to allocate. He pushed too, but steered cautiously.
I knew my older brother was embarrassed. Yelling, grimacing, then panting. He pushed tiredly.
It was a magical moment, and sent us on our way home, and also, to where we had to be.
2nd time:
The parking lot at school. In the fading Nissan. After dropping off Cindy and what's her name off from a day of cutting class and mall-ratting it. I was just supremely glad that the car had died after the girls were gone, but had no idea how to get myself back going. Then came John. John, the football linebacker, the white dude, the korean homie, the happy hapa, the bitter wrestler, the I-gotcha-back friend. Then came John Britz, who perhaps at the time was pumped up on alcohol and roids, and gladly pushed my car all the 2.5 miles home.
there are some great writers out there that will forever support my efforts through their words. "i found myself in harlem, with $1.50 in my pocket, no job, but plenty of hope." -Zora Hurston.
i know:
I remember every single moment in my life where I had to push a car.
1st time:
The first time. My dad's red Ford Fremont.The corner of White street, and Mabury. One block away from our home. I was laughing out loud, but determined to push, and happy to be close to home. I pushed hard. It was easy.
I can only guess that my dad was concerned, perhaps frustrated over another stress to fix, and more money to allocate. He pushed too, but steered cautiously.
I knew my older brother was embarrassed. Yelling, grimacing, then panting. He pushed tiredly.
It was a magical moment, and sent us on our way home, and also, to where we had to be.
2nd time:
The parking lot at school. In the fading Nissan. After dropping off Cindy and what's her name off from a day of cutting class and mall-ratting it. I was just supremely glad that the car had died after the girls were gone, but had no idea how to get myself back going. Then came John. John, the football linebacker, the white dude, the korean homie, the happy hapa, the bitter wrestler, the I-gotcha-back friend. Then came John Britz, who perhaps at the time was pumped up on alcohol and roids, and gladly pushed my car all the 2.5 miles home.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Diet Coked Up
I usually don't like to blog about work, because it just sucks, and it has no relevance to anything i care about. But, this moment was too poignant not to rant about.
This lawyer lady wrote an email complaining that the Diet Coke at the soda fountain near her office was out and that it needed to be replenished "immediately" because she doesn't want to add on five pounds drinking regular Coke. What was funny to me was this: she also didn't want to walk the extra 30 feet to the next soda fountain where the Diet Coke was flowing freely.
What's wrong with people? A pill to fix everything, a soda to cure all, but fuck actual painless and beneficial effort. Talk to anyone who diets through sodas for just a minute, and you come out of it knowing full well the person you just talked to was full of saccharin shit.
outtee.
This lawyer lady wrote an email complaining that the Diet Coke at the soda fountain near her office was out and that it needed to be replenished "immediately" because she doesn't want to add on five pounds drinking regular Coke. What was funny to me was this: she also didn't want to walk the extra 30 feet to the next soda fountain where the Diet Coke was flowing freely.
What's wrong with people? A pill to fix everything, a soda to cure all, but fuck actual painless and beneficial effort. Talk to anyone who diets through sodas for just a minute, and you come out of it knowing full well the person you just talked to was full of saccharin shit.
outtee.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
To da New Year!
It's been a long long winter. I've finally snapped out of that winter funk, and i'm ready to tackle on issues that no one really cares about. January is a useless month. Nothing really goes on in this month; people are getting acclimated to writing a new numerical year, people are holding on by a emotional thread to their under-ambitious resolutions, people are watching playoff football waiting for the superbowl to start their year, that's about it. No one, absolutely no one, does their best work in the month of January. No one cares when there's eleven months left. That's why the most underhanded laws are attached to bills and passed during this winter funk. It's a non-religious lent that everybody agrees to on a subconscious level. You just kinda live through it, take notes, and wait for a better month.
That's what i've been doing, watching, observing, filling up notes, and waiting. Now that the superbowl is over, I can finally get back. Expect this to be longer than most of my blogs. Fair warning, there will be images, videos, and opinions that will undoubtedly be offensive to all. I kinda apologize for this, but only because my Confucius upbringing has taught me to be polite and fucking apologize for everything.
December 28th:
Chris Rock once defended the tiger that mauled its owner Seigfried against media depiction of primal craziness by saying: "that tiger didn't go crazy, that tiger went tiger." The mauling at the San Francisco zoo, a zoo that is a five minute bike ride from where i live in dreary, cold, fog-infested sunset district of San Francisco, is just a bizarre incident. But, it serves to prove my belief that all zoos and that zoo in particular needs to be shut down, the animals need to be sent to land reserves, and the land needs to be converted into one gigantic Costco. Honestly, why do we need zoos anymore? Growing up, i always thought that zoos and circuses were the same thing. The circus just seemed more dangerous because the performers (when not scooping up pounds of elephant dung) seemed to mock the animals with bright clownish outfits, and training whips. It just never made sense to me how a lion tamer tamed a lion with only a whip. Isn't that just like fishing for a shark with only some twine?
Zoo were the humane circus. No whips, no performances, just lazy animals sleeping. But somewhere in the name of profitability, even that line blurred. There's a certain hypocrisy in the structure of all zoos. Often ran like a corporate entity, its' directors and board members promote the beauty and preciousness of wildlife to sustain profits. But the sustainability of these animals do not rely on profits. What they need is big land to roam around in and an absence of human beings to bother them. Since the mauling, the question of the zoo's fault and future has been brought up in the media. People, often parents, have defended the zoo, citing it's vital part to the city's culture, and to their kids awe. But, what are we saying to our kids when we take them to the zoo? "See little billy, imprisonment is a part of life, and for these animal, life is imprisonment. It's okay to imprison life as long as long as you get some kind of hedonistic joy out of it." In this time and age, there are other ways. Why can't we put webcams around these land reserves and allow kids to watch them online. They could see the animals closer than they would in zoos, and the animals would be left relatively at peace. And the last reason, for just destroying the zoo structure is this: Planet Earth, as in the Discovery Channel's documentary show. If you think your kids are amazed to see a chimp swinging on trees, wait till they see a monkey tribal fight.
Decembert 30th:
The story just gets stranger and stranger, with reports that these kids teased the tiger, who in her rage, managed to climbed out of her confinement, hunt the kids down in another part of the zoo and proceed to kill one of them. It's horrible that the kid was mauled to death. I can't think of a worse way to go than to be eaten alive by anything...tigers, sharks, ants. But why were they teasing the tiger?. Don't kids have anything better to do anymore? I got to thinking about my childhood, I never like to tease anything that could bite me, even gold fishes. But i do remember a few friends, who liked to tease animals, and did so regularly. Is there an ingrained behavior in human beings to humiliate animals for pleasure? I did some research (google animal teasing/cruelty/videos), and stumbled upon a bunch of videos and images of people who not only felt the need to tease animals, but a need to film it as well. Here's the link to a clip where a Japanese couple are doing it in front of a chained up lion. This one will definitely fall under: what the hell were the thinking? And how did they get into the cage? This next clip, which i found on the same website, shows that teasing animals isn't exclusive to minorities and michael vick. For all the dieheart animal lovers who in the back of their minds are thinking it's a lower class minority thing to kill and tease animals check out what these white people did with a bear. Warning, this one will just fall under: Fucked up. Both videos are horrendous, and says so much about human nature and nature. Teasing animals has become such a commonplace activity that many zoos now have warning signs for such behavior. According to a zoo official in an interview by The Hindu, primates are the most teased of all animals in zoo. I don't question any longer why they hurl dung at visitors. Hell i would too. I just got a feeling that this disrespect for life did not come out of some kind of deeply-embedded primal survival instincts, but rather from the arrogance of being the most deadly and harmful species on the planet. It's the perfect setup for a huge upset. Lets just hope all the other life forms (tiger, monkeys, bears, bacteria, insects, viruses) do not join forces to kick our asses.
January 2nd:
It's definitely a new year, but doesn't it feel the same. Same president, same war, same indifference, same thing. I will celebrate the new year, when i know there's change coming, otherwise it's just another day to the same era. If the new year were to guaranteed the promise of a new thinking, a new dedication, and a new health plan, but i don't think that's coming soon.
January 15th.
It's been raining for three straight days, and by rain, i mean delude. It pours constantly, floods the drainage system, and the knocks over trees. I'm not a meteorologist but the pictures they show of this storm that covers all of north America, doesn't it look like a hurricane? There were a few images where i saw an elliptical arm, and what looks like an eye of a storm. kinda freaky, but still wouldn't be too much of an impossibility in our modern climate. Below is a satellite image showing the beginning of a small hurricane eye in the "cold" water of the Pacific in 2006. Look, it's on parallel with California, Northern California, damn near Oregon.
January 20th:
Never bet on football. Ever. Unless you have money. Never.
January 28th:
They say this will be bush's last state of the union, and everybody is overjoyed with that fact. I couldn't care less. The damaging effects of this presidency will not vanished with his departure. Like a stale, raunchy fart, it's going to linger, and only get worse before it gets better. But like i did the previous two state of the union, i'm adding my thoughts to his speech to decipher it's true meaning and hypocrisy. My thoughts are in brackets and red. here is a snippet:
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney [Real President Cheney], members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: Seven years have passed since I first stood before you at this rostrum [Seven long long years]. In that time, our country has been tested in ways none of us could have imagined [Imagination actually wasn't needed, just literacy. The scenario for 9/11 was already suggested in a memo] . We faced hard decisions about peace and war [and we decided on the profitability of war], rising competition in the world economy [he means China] , and the health and welfare of our citizens [health??? hahaha]. These issues call for vigorous debate [or non-essential bantering], and I think it's fair to say we've answered the call [to our overload bankers]. Yet history will record that amid our differences, we acted with purpose [malicious, tyrannical purposes]. And together, we showed the world the power and resilience of American self-government [this might be the most honest part of the whole speech, the us executive branch of government has shown it's true might over its people, who have no one to blame but themselves for letting this happen].
I did the whole speech, but thought it would make this blog too long.
Feb 3rd:
Best superbowl this decade. Like many, I gave the giants no chance to win this superbowl. I thought they would make it close, but ultimately lose to the mighty pats. It's great to see Goliath fall. It's great to see perfection flawed. It's great to see other people's dream unfulfilled, especially when they're pompous cheating assholes. The Giants enter the game with no fear and a game plan, and that was it all they needed.
Feb 7th:
The new lunar year is here. Happy real new year to all. May the new year bring with it: academic, career, and personal successes, much money (even the ever decreasing us dollar), and motivation in all y'alls endeavors. It's his year. Listen to the Master Splinter. (This just came into my head, but why was the Asian dude transformed into the rat character?)
"Now, i can finally start my year."
That's what i've been doing, watching, observing, filling up notes, and waiting. Now that the superbowl is over, I can finally get back. Expect this to be longer than most of my blogs. Fair warning, there will be images, videos, and opinions that will undoubtedly be offensive to all. I kinda apologize for this, but only because my Confucius upbringing has taught me to be polite and fucking apologize for everything.
December 28th:
Chris Rock once defended the tiger that mauled its owner Seigfried against media depiction of primal craziness by saying: "that tiger didn't go crazy, that tiger went tiger." The mauling at the San Francisco zoo, a zoo that is a five minute bike ride from where i live in dreary, cold, fog-infested sunset district of San Francisco, is just a bizarre incident. But, it serves to prove my belief that all zoos and that zoo in particular needs to be shut down, the animals need to be sent to land reserves, and the land needs to be converted into one gigantic Costco. Honestly, why do we need zoos anymore? Growing up, i always thought that zoos and circuses were the same thing. The circus just seemed more dangerous because the performers (when not scooping up pounds of elephant dung) seemed to mock the animals with bright clownish outfits, and training whips. It just never made sense to me how a lion tamer tamed a lion with only a whip. Isn't that just like fishing for a shark with only some twine?
Zoo were the humane circus. No whips, no performances, just lazy animals sleeping. But somewhere in the name of profitability, even that line blurred. There's a certain hypocrisy in the structure of all zoos. Often ran like a corporate entity, its' directors and board members promote the beauty and preciousness of wildlife to sustain profits. But the sustainability of these animals do not rely on profits. What they need is big land to roam around in and an absence of human beings to bother them. Since the mauling, the question of the zoo's fault and future has been brought up in the media. People, often parents, have defended the zoo, citing it's vital part to the city's culture, and to their kids awe. But, what are we saying to our kids when we take them to the zoo? "See little billy, imprisonment is a part of life, and for these animal, life is imprisonment. It's okay to imprison life as long as long as you get some kind of hedonistic joy out of it." In this time and age, there are other ways. Why can't we put webcams around these land reserves and allow kids to watch them online. They could see the animals closer than they would in zoos, and the animals would be left relatively at peace. And the last reason, for just destroying the zoo structure is this: Planet Earth, as in the Discovery Channel's documentary show. If you think your kids are amazed to see a chimp swinging on trees, wait till they see a monkey tribal fight.
Decembert 30th:
The story just gets stranger and stranger, with reports that these kids teased the tiger, who in her rage, managed to climbed out of her confinement, hunt the kids down in another part of the zoo and proceed to kill one of them. It's horrible that the kid was mauled to death. I can't think of a worse way to go than to be eaten alive by anything...tigers, sharks, ants. But why were they teasing the tiger?. Don't kids have anything better to do anymore? I got to thinking about my childhood, I never like to tease anything that could bite me, even gold fishes. But i do remember a few friends, who liked to tease animals, and did so regularly. Is there an ingrained behavior in human beings to humiliate animals for pleasure? I did some research (google animal teasing/cruelty/videos), and stumbled upon a bunch of videos and images of people who not only felt the need to tease animals, but a need to film it as well. Here's the link to a clip where a Japanese couple are doing it in front of a chained up lion. This one will definitely fall under: what the hell were the thinking? And how did they get into the cage? This next clip, which i found on the same website, shows that teasing animals isn't exclusive to minorities and michael vick. For all the dieheart animal lovers who in the back of their minds are thinking it's a lower class minority thing to kill and tease animals check out what these white people did with a bear. Warning, this one will just fall under: Fucked up. Both videos are horrendous, and says so much about human nature and nature. Teasing animals has become such a commonplace activity that many zoos now have warning signs for such behavior. According to a zoo official in an interview by The Hindu, primates are the most teased of all animals in zoo. I don't question any longer why they hurl dung at visitors. Hell i would too. I just got a feeling that this disrespect for life did not come out of some kind of deeply-embedded primal survival instincts, but rather from the arrogance of being the most deadly and harmful species on the planet. It's the perfect setup for a huge upset. Lets just hope all the other life forms (tiger, monkeys, bears, bacteria, insects, viruses) do not join forces to kick our asses.
January 2nd:
It's definitely a new year, but doesn't it feel the same. Same president, same war, same indifference, same thing. I will celebrate the new year, when i know there's change coming, otherwise it's just another day to the same era. If the new year were to guaranteed the promise of a new thinking, a new dedication, and a new health plan, but i don't think that's coming soon.
January 15th.
It's been raining for three straight days, and by rain, i mean delude. It pours constantly, floods the drainage system, and the knocks over trees. I'm not a meteorologist but the pictures they show of this storm that covers all of north America, doesn't it look like a hurricane? There were a few images where i saw an elliptical arm, and what looks like an eye of a storm. kinda freaky, but still wouldn't be too much of an impossibility in our modern climate. Below is a satellite image showing the beginning of a small hurricane eye in the "cold" water of the Pacific in 2006. Look, it's on parallel with California, Northern California, damn near Oregon.
January 20th:
Never bet on football. Ever. Unless you have money. Never.
January 28th:
They say this will be bush's last state of the union, and everybody is overjoyed with that fact. I couldn't care less. The damaging effects of this presidency will not vanished with his departure. Like a stale, raunchy fart, it's going to linger, and only get worse before it gets better. But like i did the previous two state of the union, i'm adding my thoughts to his speech to decipher it's true meaning and hypocrisy. My thoughts are in brackets and red. here is a snippet:
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney [Real President Cheney], members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: Seven years have passed since I first stood before you at this rostrum [Seven long long years]. In that time, our country has been tested in ways none of us could have imagined [Imagination actually wasn't needed, just literacy. The scenario for 9/11 was already suggested in a memo] . We faced hard decisions about peace and war [and we decided on the profitability of war], rising competition in the world economy [he means China] , and the health and welfare of our citizens [health??? hahaha]. These issues call for vigorous debate [or non-essential bantering], and I think it's fair to say we've answered the call [to our overload bankers]. Yet history will record that amid our differences, we acted with purpose [malicious, tyrannical purposes]. And together, we showed the world the power and resilience of American self-government [this might be the most honest part of the whole speech, the us executive branch of government has shown it's true might over its people, who have no one to blame but themselves for letting this happen].
I did the whole speech, but thought it would make this blog too long.
Feb 3rd:
Best superbowl this decade. Like many, I gave the giants no chance to win this superbowl. I thought they would make it close, but ultimately lose to the mighty pats. It's great to see Goliath fall. It's great to see perfection flawed. It's great to see other people's dream unfulfilled, especially when they're pompous cheating assholes. The Giants enter the game with no fear and a game plan, and that was it all they needed.
Feb 7th:
The new lunar year is here. Happy real new year to all. May the new year bring with it: academic, career, and personal successes, much money (even the ever decreasing us dollar), and motivation in all y'alls endeavors. It's his year. Listen to the Master Splinter. (This just came into my head, but why was the Asian dude transformed into the rat character?)
"Now, i can finally start my year."
Friday, November 16, 2007
A Dalat postcard for all y'all
Dear Friends,I have been fed up with all the implemented horseshit that's happening to our world, and so.., I have decided to go back in time, to Dalat. Here's a 1960s post card from that region and that era to prove it. Please note, things aren't so much better here. Although beauty is abundant here like smog is back in our times, chances are: if that brave pedestrian falls into the creek, the seeping chemicals of war will one day (perhaps our days) strip his child of something precious. That's just a hunch now, but one day (our days), it'll be a denial, and then.., an excuse. Things are crazy here, but at least over here, it's like it is over there. youknowwhatimean? Over here in Dalat, you can't run away from it; so u just gotta cherish it all. miss ya much, be back when the smog lifts.
ur friend,
Ty
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
