DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - UNBEATABLE

This weeks long overdue DVD Pick of the Week is a Hong Kong action movie titled Unbeatable. Mostly action with a mix of drama thrown in this was a movie that SAXO really enjoyed. It also earned the star a best actor award at the recent Hong Kong movie awards. Anyway,check out the trailer for this fine piece of cinema.

I'LL FIGURE IT OUT - WHAT?

I remember back in the 80's I used to carry a briefcase to work. Now one day I remembered a co-workers wandering eyes as I dialed the combination to unlock the briefcase. "Hey did you lose something" I said. He just looked at me and shook his head and said "it's only three numbers, I'll figure it out" What? A look of panic came over my face as this was a guy that did differential equations on his lunch break so if there was anybody that could figure it out it would be him. thankfully he never bothered with my briefcase cuz about the only thing in there was my lunch. HAHA!

I WEIGH HOW MUCH???

Now recently SAXOMAN stepped on the scale at work and as the digital display settled down I was shocked! What? How much? Can this be correct? There must be a mistake. Well SAXOMAN weighed in at a whopping 200 pounds! What? Yep, I kid you not. How could this be I wondered? Now I have weighed between 194 - 197 for probably about 20 years and now this? What could have caused this? I'm still eating the same, still running so why? Well I can only guess that the extra pounds are muscle that I've packed on by lifting weights. That's gotta be it right? HAHA!

A DISTURBING TREND....

Yes, SAXOMAN is back after a lengthy break from blogging. I finally realized I still have many things to say so let the blogging resume! Anyway, I've noticed a disturbing trend lately. Now I don't know why or what the reasoning would be but let me tell you I just don't get it. OK, so what am I talking about? I'm talking about the disturbing trend of men that carry their wives/girlfriend purses. What? Yep, I kid you not. What the hell? Now I don't know why any man would do this. The wife has noticed this too and she seems as perplexed as me. She did mention once that carrying a wives heavy purse is a sign of love. I responded with "well if a woman didn't carry so much unnecessary junk then the purse wouldn't be so heavy". HAHA! That seems to end the conversation. Now recently  the wife and I were at the movies. My wife then hands me her purse. A look of horror came over my face. "Don't panic she says, just put it on the empty seat next to you." Oh...ok, I guess I can do that. HAHA!

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SAXOMAN?

OK, so where in the world has SAXOMAN been? Well to be perfectly honest I have been a little lazy lately (like my cat - see photo). It's not that I've stopped buying cd's (oh no!) or stopped watching Asian movies (double oh no!) its just that I haven't felt much like blogging lately. I promise some blogs soon, who know maybe today. We shall see.....
Out

YES I'M STILL BUYING CD'S

In case you may have thought otherwise SAXOMAN is still buying cd's. There is really nothing I like better than scouring the used bins for hidden gems and walking away with some great stuff. Call me old school or a renaissance man. Here is the latest purchases and additions to SAXOMAN's jazz library. For those that don't know we have Charlie Parker, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Max Roach, Stan Getz and Chet Baker, Oliver Nelson and Art Blakey. Some real good stuff and welcome additions to the ever growing SAXOMAN library.

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - TOM YUNG GOON 2

Yes, finally Thai sensation Tony Jaa is back! After several years away from the movie scene after the disastrous Ong Bak 3 Tony Jaa is back with a vengeance in Tom Yung Goon 2. Don't mess with his elephants! HAHA! Now Thai movies are typically pretty low budget adventures and this one is no different however what they lack up in budget they make up in death defying stunts. Oh my! Although my bootleg copy was a little dark in spots overall a good action movie with plenty of fighting scenes for all of you Muy Thai fans. Now not a great movie but better than anything SAXO has seen in a while so therefore it gets the coveted DVD Pick of the Week. What? You haven't seen it yet? Well here's the trailer for this fine piece of cinema. Check it out!

CH-CH-CHANGES

Well there's been many changes in the SAXOMAN household lately. Out with the old and in with the new. OK, so what am I talking about? Well first the wife and I got rid of our old dishwasher and got a brand new one Yep, so this is what clean glasses really look like HAHA! Next we got rid of our old linoleum floor in the kitchen and replaced it with tile. What? Wait there's more. then we replaced our refrigerator for a new double door stainless steel model. Nice! Then we replaced our Cal-King bed with a new somewhat smaller bed (Cozy, yeow!) What, yep many changes going on in the SAXO household. Many things we have had for years are now a thing of the past. Now hopefully the wife doesn't decide to trade me in on a newer model too! HAHA!

REST IN PEACE CHEO FELICIANO

I heard the news today the great latin singer Cheo Feliciano had passed away. Now I must say that this was quite a surprise and a sad day for latin music lovers. One of my favorite songs by Cheo was his version of El Raton. Here is Cheo singing this classic tune with the Fania All Stars and Jorge Santana too! A great live version with a cast of All-Stars. Check it out!

REST IN PEACE - WAYNE HENDERSON

Yes another great jazz musician has passed on. Wayne Henderson, trombone player from the Jazz Crusaders and later The Crusaders passed away last week. Now I was (and still am) a big fan of the Jazz Crusaders and always thought the combination of the trombone and tenor sax was a perfect match. I believe the very first jazz album I bought was Pass The Plate by The Crusaders (see below). Here is the tune Young Rabbits from this classic cd. Check it out!

A COW'S HOOF - HUH?

Now as you know I am always observing things around me. Maybe it's just me or maybe others are drawn to odd sites, I dunno…..Anyway, the other day I was at a small market with the wife when something caught my eye. A cow's hoof in the meat section of a market! What? Yep, I kid you not. Now maybe this is common but I sure as hell never noticed this before. I mean what do you do with this? I mean you can't eat it can you? It's gotta be hard as a rock! Do you put it in soup? Jeez, I have no clue whatsoever. Oh yeah, it was right next to the cow's stomach lining (also known as tripe) Yuck! Gross! Any the cows hooves were only $1.49 a pound so maybe I should have bought some. HAHA! No thanks!

25 MILES TO GO……HUH?

During my recent running of the L.A. Marathon I remember just barely starting out and running through the streets of L.A. I then hear Edwin Starr's classic hit 25 Miles to Go. HAHA! Perfect! A great choice as SAXOMAN probably had about 25 miles to go. Oh man….25 miles to go I thought. Oh well, as you know SAXO persevered and the rest is history. So here is that classic song for all of you to enjoy!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - STANLEY TURRENTINE

This weeks long overdue Jazz CD Pick of the Week is my man Stanley Turrentine with the cd titled A Bluish Bag. Now I have to admit that I have a ton of Stanley cd's in my collection. When i saw this cd I wasn't quite sure if I had it or not. I asked the store clerk if I could return it if I already had it and they said no. Jeez…..what do you think, I'm going to download to iTunes and return it. Hmmmmmm……Anyway, recorded back in 1967 on the Bluenote label this gem was only recently released. Featuring more of a larger ensemble than Stanley normally works with. Featuring hip bossa novas, ballads, blues and jazz standards another treat from Stanley Turrentine. Anyway, check it out!

SAXOMAN RUNS THE L.A. MARATHON - WHAT?

Yep, you read right my many readers. SAXOMAN ran the L.A. Marathon! What? Yep, I kid you not! Last Sunday SAXO joined 30,000 others and ran from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica. 26.2 miles, oh yeah! Now I must say that this was my very first full marathon and quite a physical challenge. Starting in the wee hours of the morning we all converged on Dodger Stadium. Because we could sit anywhere in the stadium I took full advantage and went and sat behind home plate. Nice! Probably the only time I will ever be able to sit behind home plate but regardless it was very nice! Anyway, the hot day made the race even more difficult as the streets were lined with cheering fans who urged us on to the finish line. Several people told me cool ocean breezes were up ahead but I'm sorry to say there were no breezes to be found. As a matter of fact it was over 80 degrees in Santa Monica where it's supposed to be cooler. Oh well…..anyway, thanks to my brother-in-laws for meeting the wife and I at mile 13 for some much needed Gatorade and a quick snack. A special thanks to the Pasadena Pacers who had a cheering station at mile 20 where you could get about anything you needed. The photo here is my actual medal that was presented to me at the finish line. Now as I'm running this ungodly distance I'm thinking to myself I'm never, ever going to do this again. This will be a one and done experience for me. But now that the pain and soreness has gone away I'm sure I will sign up for another marathon and forget about the difficulty I had. Now I will probably have my eyes set on improving my time. HAHA!

SONG OF THE DAY - DUKE ELLINGTON

I was watching the recent movie American Hustle the other day. One of the songs featured in the movie was the song Jeep's Blues. This song is also featured at the end when the closing credits are rolling. Now I had really forgotten what a hip tune this really is. From the Duke Ellington album titled Live at Newport this is one great cd and a great tune. Now I must admit I used to have this cd but ended up selling it because the sound quality wasn't very good. I ended up buying the reissued two-cd set with greatly improved sound quality. After watching the movie I pulled out this cd again to re-visit it and it is even better then I remember. Not hip to jeep's Blues? Check it out and hip up!

A PIGS HEAD - HUH?

So on one of my trips to the market in Viet Nam I saw a pigs head sitting there for sale. Huh? What? A pigs head? What are you supposed to do with a pigs head I wondered? I dunno….I have no clue. How do you serve this? Cook this? What exactly are you supposed to do with a pigs head? Now I'm sure there are probably many ways to eat a pigs head but I personally have no clue whatsoever. Oh well….Because this definitely caught my attention I just had to take a photo for my many readers. enjoy! HAHA!

A SHAVE AND A CLEAN EAR - HUH?

Now I know many of my readers have been anxiously awaiting photos and comments from my recent trip to Viet Nam. So while I was in the city of Hoi An I would pass this barber shop every day. Hmmm…..an old fashion shave sounded interesting but I was just a little confused by the clean ear sign. I mean what do you get? what do they do? Do they clean your ear or just clean the shaving creme out of your ear? I dunno……all I know is I passed on the shave and clean ear. Maybe next time. HAHA!

REST IN PEACE - RUN RUN SHAW

While I was on vacation I was saddened to hear that Chinese film mogul Run Run Shaw had passed away. Now to be honest I didn't even know that he was still alive so it was a surprise to hear this news. At only 106 years old (what?), Run Run Shaw lived a long and prosperous life. The founder of Shaw Brother studios which turned out hundreds of movies and many Kung Fu classics like The One Armed Swordsman, Five Fingers of Death and countless more Mr. Shaw was a true legend. Now I have to admit that I probably have at least 100 (or more) of Shaw Brothers movies in my library. I'll have to pull out some of these classics and give them another watch. Rest in peace! Not hip to the Shaw Brothers movies? Check out the trailer for the classic Five Fingers of Death (aka King Boxer).

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SAXOMAN?

OK, now I have to admit it's been a while since my last post. Well the reason is that SAXOMAN has been away on vacation for the past three weeks. What? Another vacation? Yep, SAXO has been visiting Vietnam as well as a brief stop over in Cambodia. Enjoying the local sites and food as well as getting several massages I am finally back home. A good time with many blog posts and photos to follow so stay tunes!