THE STUDIOUS LOOK?

I've noticed lately that several of the NBA superstars are now wearing glasses when doing interviews after the game. Now I could be wrong but I seriously doubt that all of a sudden all of these players needed glasses. I mean I've seen Dwight Howard (see photo), Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade just to name a few. I personally think it is a new fashion trend and theses glasses are simply clear glass. I just find it a little hard to believe that all of these young athletes suddenly have developed eye problems. Well that could explain why Dwight Howard shoots free throws so poorly OUCH! Now I must admit that many years ago I also bought some fake glasses at Venice Beach and used to wear them at work around raise time. My co-worker used to tell me to "take those ridiculous things off". I would simply say "please don't make fun of my astigmatism" HAHA! My co-worker got even more mad when I got a nice raise with my new found studious look. Hmmm.....maybe I should try this trick again. HAHA!

BEST PEANUT BUTTER CUPS EVER?

Now I have to admit that I've always been a fan of Reese's Peanut Butter cups. I mean it's the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Truly a match made in heaven. When chilled slightly in the refrigerator these peanut butter cups are simply the best. Now recently I tried the new Reese's Peanut Butter cups made with Dark chocolate. WHOA! What have we here? Where have you been all my life? These things are delicious! Now as much as I like the originals I have to say that these new peanut butter far surpass the originals. All I can say is check them out!

THE TASTE OF BLOOD - HUH?

Up until recently there were a few places that I would go that would create a very odd sensation in my mouth. Now for whatever reasons (fear?) whenever I would go until a hospital or a church, this strange phenomenon would occur. My wife would think I was a nut and just imaging things. I guaranteed her that this was the real deal. You see what would happen is that I would get the taste of blood in my mouth. What? Yep, I kid you not! I literally could taste blood in my mouth. Now I don't know what or why this would occur at these two places but it always seemed to happen. I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all of this (oh really?) but all I know is this doesn't seem to happen any longer. Very strange indeed.....

REGGAE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - STEEL PULSE

I've always been a fan of the reggae group, Steel Pulse. Their cd titled Babylon the Bandit was one of the very first reggae cd's I had bought way back when. One of my favorite songs from this cd is a song titled School Boy Crush. Now I have to admit that I only own three cd's by Steel Pulse but they are all winners. Anyway, here is my Reggae CD Pick of the Week with Steel Pulse and their cd titled Babylon the Bandit. Check it out!

CAN SOMEONE DUMP THE TRASH FOR ME?

On my recent trip I would frequently find these types of signs in the restrooms (see photo). Yes, I take my camera to the restroom HAHA! Anyway, being an American I found it a little hard to comply with this requirement but I figured it was either follow the rules or plug up the plumbing. If that happened you know the American (me) would get blamed for not following the rules and be subjected to public shame and humiliation. So I did this as needed but it sure felt odd to me. I think what bothered me most was thinking about the person that would get stuck dumping the trash. HAHA! Anyway, all I know is I never got stuck dumping the trash!

GAMBLING AND SAXOMAN

Now I have to admit that I've never been very much of a gambler. I mean I haven't even been to Las Vegas in 14 years! What? Are you kidding me? I think that when I did go to Vegas I enjoyed the all you can eat buffets more than the gambling. HAHA! Now when it comes to gambling I don't know if it's the fact that I hate to lose my hard earned money that could go towards buying more cd's and dvd's or what. I also know that I've never been particularly lucky so I typically never win when I do try and gamble. Now sometimes when I see the Mega-Lotto has gotten up to some multi-million dollar amount I will buy a ticket or two. So SAXOMAN and gambling.....sorry but not my thing.

SONG OF THE DAY - Q.A.S.B.

Last night I was browsing YouTube while watching the Laker game. I found this super funky track from the Japanese funk group Q.A.S.B. that I had blogged about before. Now for some reason Q.A.S.B. reminds me a lot of the funk group Seawind. I guess it's the female vocalist and the funky horns. Anyway, here is my song of the day with Japanese funk group Q.A.S.B. performing The Key. Check it out!

SONG OF THE DAY - THE OHIO PLAYERS

One of the lesser known hits from the Ohio Players is one of their very early songs and deserving of my Song of the Day. This song is titled Pleasure and is from the album of the same name. This was actually the second album from the Ohio Players. Their first album was titled Pain and featured the title track as the biggest hit from that album. Anyway, for those of you that only know Skintight, Fire and Love Roller Coaster, check out Pleasure from the Ohio Players and hip up!

LATIN CD PICK OF THE WEEK - CABAS

As I was eating dinner tonight with the iPod playing in the background (of course) I heard a song from the Colombian singer Cabas, Although this release was his very first and goes back to 2002, it is in my opinion his best cd. So I went and revisited this cd and it is as good as I remember. So with that being said my coveted Latin CD Pick of the Week goes to Cabas with his debut cd simply titled Cabas, Because I have several favorite songs on this cd I decided to include two of them here. So here is Cabas singing Mi Bombon (Salsa version) and Tu Boca. Check it out and hip up!

LINSANITY - SWEEPING THE NATION

For those of you that may be living in a cave, LINSANITY is sweeping the nation! What? Yes, Jeremy Lin has revived the lowly New York Knicks and has led them to seven straight wins. After graduating from Harvard What? and going undrafted by the NBA, he then spent time in the NBA's D- League and was also cut by two NBA teams. He was riding the New York Nicks bench and sleeping on his brothers couch on the verge of getting cut again when two star players were out of action. He came in and now is a national phenomenon! LINSANITY is now sweeping the nation!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK -WAYNE SHORTER

Yes, I know it has been a while since my last Jazz CD Pick so without further fanfare here it is. This weeks Jazz CD Pick of the Week is Wayne Shorter with a classic Blue Note recording titled Schizophrenia. Now I'm really not sure if I had picked this before ( I think I may have) but I was listening to this in my car on the drive home and was re-reminded of how good it really is. With Wayne on tenor sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone, James Spaulding on alto sax and flute, and Herbie Hancock, Joe Chambers and Ron Carter rounding out the rhythm section. A truly hip acoustic jazz set that jazz lovers are sure to enjoy. Here's one of my favorite cuts off this CD titled Tom Thumb. Check it out and hip up!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - THE WOMAN KNIGHT OF MIRROR LAKE

Yes, I know it has been a while since my last DVD Pick of the Week. As you know I have been out of the country and am just catching up with the latest in Asian cinema. I've seen several movies that were just so-so but this one stood out above the rest. The movie is titled The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake. I thought the title was a little odd as the lady wasn't a knight and I didn't see anything about a mirror lake in the movie. I dunno.....maybe it's just an attempt at translating the title to English. Anyway, not a ton of action but a very good story and enough action to keep you satisfied. Check out the trailer here!

SECURITY SYSTEM - HUH?

One of the things I got a kick out of on my recent trip was the creative ways people would provide security to their homes. In the photo here you can see where large, sharp pieces of glass are cemented in the top of the wall. It's kind of a Peruvian version of barbed wire. Now some of these I saw were really colorful with different and colored glass. All I know is I'm not trying to climb over this wall! HAHA!

BATHROOMS FOR COWBOYS - WHAT?

On my recent trip to Peru one of the things we did was to go shopping. Now as we were shopping all of the sales ladies would tell me "Caballero, come in, look around". Huh? I asked my wife why these ladies were all calling me a cowboy. My wife just shook her head and said "No, they are calling you a gentleman, not a cowboy idiota!". OOPS! Now how could I make this simple language mistake? Now I have a brother in law that would wear boots and I would always call him caballero thinking I was insulting him and calling him a cowboy. Now it seems I was just calling him a gentleman. HAHA! So later on the trip when the wife and I were out eating I would see bathrooms marked as Caballeros. I would then tell my wife "Hey look, they have a bathroom for cowboys! HAHA! Yes, I'm a funny guy.....yes I am. HAHA!

REST IN PEACE - DON CORNELIUS

Rest in peace Don Cornelius! I heard the news today that Don Cornelius is dead at the age of 75. The reports are that the death was a suicide and due to possible lingering health problems. All SAXOMAN can say is that I am shocked and saddened by this news. Now way back in November of 2009 I had blogged about Don's hugely popular show, Soul Train and the influence it had on my life. Now for me Don and his show Soul Train provided a much hipper alternative to the much squarer show American Bandstand. Don always had the hippest musical guests, the finest ladies and the brand new fashions. The attached video shows the only time Don actually participated in the famous Soul Train line (twice!) Check it out! Rest in peace Don Cornelius! You will be missed!