DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - ONG BAK 2

The DVD Pick Of The Week is by Thai superstar Tony Jaa in the long awaited (and way overdue!) Ong Bak 2. For those not familiar with Tony Jaa go rent Ong Bak, The Protector or this fine film to see what I'm talking about. Tony Jaa is the real deal from Thailand and the next big thing so check him out now before Hollywood gets a hold of him.

I picked up a bootleg copy of this movie today in Chinatown for $4 and no, I never get tired of going to Chinatown. Although the ending had me scratching my head, the fight scenes in this movies are first rate! This is typical Tony Jaa bone crunching, blood spattering, non-stop action so make it a point to check it out! I've never steered you wrong have I?

Check out the trailer for this fine film to see what I'm talking about!

Note: The scene of him running on top of a herd of elephants in this trailer is pretty cool.

LAKERS ADVANCE TO NBA FINALS

You all may have noticed that I have been conspicuously silent during this round of the NBA playoffs. My beloved Purple and Gold (Lakers) have frustrated me to no end with their Jekyll and Hide performance and their failure to show up for big games. My idle threats of taking a swan dive off of Suicide Bridge in Pasadena (see photo) was just that, an idle threat. You all know that SAXOMAN wouldn't deprive his many readers of their daily fix and reading material. No way. I'm sure you all couldn't live without my witty insight into life right? Besides, hurting yourself over a sporting event is pretty silly and something maybe those nutty soccer fans would do. HAHA!

Anyway, now that this series has ended my beloved LAKERS are going to the NBA Finals and we are planning on winning it all this time!

GO LAKERS!!!

MY SECOND JOB - BUSTIN' SUDS

Back on May 6th I blogged about my very first job experience delivering newspapers (a horrible experience!). I would like to tell you now about my second job that I had when I was in High School and about 16 years old. I was bustin' suds (washing dishes) for an Italian restaurant in Pasadena. I can tell you that this was one horrible job as well! I worked from 6:00PM until approximately 1:30AM and received a grand total of $10 in pay! Yep! You heard right! Ten bucks!

When I would show up at 6:00PM the area was already flooded with dirty dishes and dirty pots and pans. I had waitresses yelling at me all night that they needed more water glasses, more silverware, more salad bowls, more plates, and on and on it went all night long. I also had the cooks yelling at me that they needed more pizza tins, more pots or pans, etc...etc..all night long.

When I finally had some down time and the dishes slowed down I had to slice salami and pepperoni and grate cheese and any number of other grueling tasks my boss would decide he wanted done. At the end of the night I had to sweep and mop the floors as well.

I can tell you that I worked extremely hard for those $10 and did this job for a lot longer than I should have. I saved every penny that I made and bought a stereo, a new tenor sax and then a new soprano sax. My friends were all buying cars (low riders) but I had my priorities. So there you have it, another chapter in my life and employment history.

BABIES - DON'T ASK ME...

OK, now I don't have anything against babies as long as you take them home whenever you bring them over. Don't ask me to hold them, babysit them, change them, and worst of all don't ask me who do they look like!

I'm sorry but to me all babies look like round-headed, usually bald, fat-faced babies. I am amazed at those people that can sit and stare at a baby and say it has this persons nose, this persons hair, this persons eyes, etc...etc....I'm sorry. Maybe I'm blind but I just don't see it. Not at all. To me they don't look like anything except what they are which are round-headed, usually bald, fat-faced babies. So don't ask me who they look like because all you're gonna get from me is just a blank stare.

SOUL CD PICK OF THE WEEK

This weeks Soul cd Pick of The Week is the Temptations with their cd titled Temptin' Temptations. This is classic 1965 vintage Motown with the original Temptation lineup. For those that have watched the tv movie about The Temptations you know that they went through a lot of personnel changes but this cd contains all the original members. I personally watch the movie whenever I see VH1 is showing it (which they do a lot).

As for cd's I personally steer clear of "Greatest Hits" or "Best Of" compilations as I feel record companies truly overlook some real gems that the artists records. Although this cd has some well known hits such as Since I Lost My Baby, The Girl's Alright With Me, My Baby, Girl Why You Wanna Make Me Blue and Don't Look Back it also contains some real undiscovered gems such as Everybody Needs Love, I Gotta Know and I'll Be In Trouble that I had personally never heard before. A great cd that I just recently picked up while shopping at Amoeba. Imagine that, some hipness I was unaware of. Oh well.........it just shows you that even a hip guy like me can still get hipper!

Go to the Amazon link to hear sound samples from this great recording
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000DBY6/ref=s9_simx_gw_s0_p15_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0VN199F8FYNXEDKTG1KP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Here's a video of The Temptations singing their hit My Girl which I'm sure you all know. Right?

TATTOOS - WHY ON EARTH?

OK, I can honestly say I don't get this younger generation and their fascination with tattoos. Do they get tattoos because they generally want to have something on their bodies forever or are they just doing it because everyone else in their age group is doing it? Either way, I just don't get it! I personally cannot imagine anything I like so much that I would want to have it tattooed on my body forever except possibly the Laker logo HAHA! I'm sorry but there is just no way I am trusting some so called "artist" to disfigure this perfectly chiseled body! Now I have seen some tattoos that are really works of art but have seen others that look like crap. Some tattoos look like the "artist" used too much ink and the lines run together. Other so called tattoo "artists" should just be arrested for their obvious lack of talent.

To me having a tattoo is like wearing the same shirt everyday that you can't take off. It just seems to me you would get tired of looking at the same thing everyday on your body.

There also doesn't seem to be any respect anymore for the tradition of tattoos. It used to be a spider-web tattoo on the elbow meant you committed a murder. Nowadays you see just about anyone with one of these spider-web tattoos. Jeez.....no respect for old school traditions!

Call me old fashioned but that's my two cents on this new craze with this younger generation.

NEW TARANTINO MOVIE COMING SOON

For those faithful followers of my blog you know that I am a big Quentin Tarantino fan. I have all of Quentin's movies and of course own the Super Duper Special Deluxe Limited Collectors Edition Directors Uncut Two DVD set versions of all of these movies (yes, even Death Proof haha!). Would you really expect anything less of me? Anyway, currently screening at the Cannes Film Festival is the latest movie by Quentin Tarantino titled Inglorious Basterds (yes, that's how it's spelled). Touted as part Kelly's Heroes and The Guns of Navarrone this is another one of Quentin's movies that I can't wait to see. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly when this will be coming out but I expect sometime soon so be sure and keep an eye out for it! Remember, it is my duty to hip you to these things so get hip and if you haven't seen all of Quentin's movies then what are you waiting for? Get moving!

JAZZ ARTIST OF THE WEEK - WARNE MARSH (AN UNSUNG CAT)

This weeks jazz artist of the week is the great tenor sax player Warne Marsh. Who you may ask? Well many of you out there in the jazz world may not be familiar with the name Warne Marsh but you may be more familiar with the recordings he did with the group Supersax. What? Still drawing a blank? If your not familiar then get hip! Warne is one of the true under recorded and under acknowledged legends of the tenor sax. I actually had the privilege of taking sax lessons from Warne at a local Pasadena music store in the early 70's and later on at his home. At the time I started my lessons I was a teenager who didn't even know how to play a single note or hold a saxophone and here I was studying with a jazz legend. Incredible! I just recently re-read a book about Warne's life (see photo) titled An Unsung Cat. This book title came from an interview with sax great Branford Marsalis when asked what he thought about Warne Marsh and his comments were "Warne was a really unsung cat". Although an acquired taste is needed to fully appreciate Warne's playing, his music is definitely worth checking out! Me? I have about 15 of Warne's cd's along with a few others he did with Art Pepper as well as some with Pete Christlieb. Although there is not a lot of video of Warne performing, here is an early clip of Warne with Lee Konitz that I was unable to paste into this blog but go to the link and check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZKJdpbh4g

SHOPPING AT AMOEBA MUSIC - IS THERE ANYTHING BETTER?

Since my graduation about a week ago I have had several gift certificates that were burning a hole in my pocket. Thank you to all that gave me these! Because of this I decided to take a trip to my favorite music store, Amoeba Music in Hollywood (see photo). It had been a while since my last visit so I decided to take the drive to Sunset Blvd. and do some long overdue cd shopping. I was able to find parking in the underground garage (which is rare) and there I was! As I walked in it was just sensory overload with cd's everywhere. Where to start? What to look for? Did I bring a list? Did I bring my iPod?

I grabbed a shopping basket and dived in head first to the Soul section. From there I moved to the Reggae section, then the Latin section and then hit the Jazz room. As I am always looking for a deal I will usually pass on the overpriced brand new cd's that they carry and instead focus on the ones that are used and a lot cheaper (more bang for the buck!). Anyway, after hitting all of these rooms I debated whether or not to go upstairs and look at the dvd's. OK, why not I said to myself.

Once up there I saw they now had a full martial arts section of dvd's and even had the dvd's separated by actor (Jet Li, Gordon Liu, Jackie Chan, Sonny Chiba, etc.) Aaughhhhh....get me outta here! I left the dvd section in a hurry as I already had way too many things in my basket.

I get to the cashier and pull out my gift certificates and the clerk tells me "I'm sorry but we don't accept American Express Gift Certificates"

WHAT!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? WHY NOT???

After I calmed down I said OK I'll put this back, and this back, and this back, etc..... By this time I was close to tears as to all the things I could no longer buy.

Anyway, I got out of there with several good things so I guess I should look at the positive side of it. I picked up several early Temptations cd's (how could I not have these?), Mandrill, Bobby Hutcherson, Los Amigos Invisibles, Tina Brooks, Cannonball Adderley, Ike Quebec, Eddie Lockjaw Davis. All and all a great day of shopping however I'm still thinking of all those good things I had to leave behind. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make another visit!

OH YEAH, AMOEBA ONE MORE TIME!

REGGAE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - BOB MARLEY

It was suggested by one of my many readers that I include Bob Marley as the Reggae CD Pick Of The Week. In my efforts to hip my many readers I thought my past reggae selections of the week would expose you to other reggae artists you may not be hip to. I had deliberately ignored the obvious choices (Bob Marley) and went with the lesser known but still deserving picks. Maybe I misjudged the hipness level of some of my readers. With that said this weeks reggae pick is Bob Marley's great live double cd titled Live At The Roxy. Recorded in 1976 this is a must have for your reggae collection so go check it out! Click the Amazon link for some audio samples of this great cd and get hip!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009V7T0/ref=s9_simx_gw_s0_p15_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=11FRJ81PJ4W51HA19J3S&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
Here's Bob Marley and The Wailers singing Get Up, Stand Up. Dig it!

MANDRILL - STILL FUNKY (OH YEAH)

Back on 5/13/09 I blogged about Mandrill - One Of The Most Underrated Funk Group Of All Time. One of my many readers reminded me that I was referring to Mandrill in the past tense and that I needed to check out some of their recent release. Imagine, someone hipping me when my mission statement is to "hip the un-hip". Although I had Mandrill's web site bookmarked as one of my favorites I was not familiar with some of these recent releases. To my surprise I then received some blog comments from one of the actual members of Mandrill (Doc Ric Wilson) asking for my mailing address so that he could send me these recent releases and bring me up to speed as to what Mandrill is doing now. I was stunned! Shocked! WOW! There are people that actually do read my blog and one is a member of Mandrill! Yours truly (SAXOMAN aka Afro-Samurai) was speechless!

A few days later I received Mandrill's Live in Montreux DVD, the Live in Montreux CD and also the ballad cd titled Sunshine. Too much! I have watched the dvd and listened to the cd's and all I can say is that these are great! Mandrill is still as funky as ever.

For those of you that want to get hip to these items then go to Mandrill's web site at http://www.mandrillis.com/ You will not be disappointed - Guaranteed! Have I ever steered you wrong? Check it out and get hip!

Now how about one of those Mandrill Original Logo t-shirts in XL for SAXOMAN? HAHA!

LATIN CD PICK OF THE WEEK - EDDIE PALMIERI

This weeks long overdue Latin CD Pick of The Week goes to the great Eddie Palmieri with his classic recording titled Sentido. Released in 1973 with vocals by the great Ismael Quintana this is a must have for your salsa library. Although somewhat short with only five songs (and a somewhat cheezy album cover) the standout cuts for me are Puerto Rico, No Piensas Asi, and the over nine minute classic Adoracion. Go to the Amazon link to hear some audio samples of this classic recording or check out the the video of Eddie performing Adoracion. Check it out and get hip!
http://www.amazon.com/Sentido-Eddie-Palmieri/dp/B00000JP9W/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242741371&sr=1-33

OLD SLANG - WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?

What's up with people that use old slang? I don't get it. It's like wearing something that is ridiculously out of fashion. There comes a time when a slang expression needs to be dead and buried (see photo). Don't people realize how silly they sound when they use slang that is severely outdated? Now even yours truly SAXOMAN has a family member that still uses the slang word "bitchin" that I haven't heard since Junior High School. This is clear cut evidence that hipness is not hereditary! HAHA! I know of others that have recently used the slang word "bad" as in meaning good and others that still say "that's the bomb". There are others that just recently gave up the Snoop Dogg slang "fo shizzle my nizzle" or "off the hizzle" and still others that use the Bud Lite "whaaazzzzuuppp" slang. Now maybe at one time some of this slang was cool and hip but there comes a time when it "plays out" (some more old slang for you!) and you have to move on.

So don't be using old slang or your gonna hear about it from SAXOMAN Dig daddio? Out! HAHA!

LAKERS VS ROCKETS - GAME 7

Well my beloved and unpredictable Lakers won a deciding Game 7 against the Rockets today. It was a dominating game from the Lakers from start to finish. I only wish this dominating team that I saw today is the team that would show up every night to play. My swan dive off of Suicide Bridge in Pasadena is now on hold as my Lakers continue to torture me with their inconsistent play. So now it's on to the next round! Yeah!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK - THAILAND

This weeks photo of the week is one that I took when I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand about two years ago. This photo shows that you have people of all ages trying to make a living by selling things.

GRADUATION DAY

Well today yours truly (SAXOMAN aka Afro-Samurai) graduated from Claremont Graduate University. Yes, it's true. SAXOMAN is not your typical uneducated blogger but one of extreme intelligence and wisdom. I am sure that my many readers have been able to tell my extreme intellect based on my vast knowledge on so many subjects such as music and Asian cinema. Too bad they didn't teach these subjects in school! HAHA! I have now obtained my EMBA (Executive Masters of Business Administration). It took me a little less than three years to accomplish this goal and I truly enjoyed the experience. I think this is a major accomplishment for a guy that barely got through high school.

So now that I am done what's next? Obtain my PHD so all of you will have to call me Dr. SAXOMAN? Run for Governor? Run for Congress? Mayor? Who knows, maybe I'll just take over the world! HAHA! Anyway, now it's party time so I gotta go!

I think this video of Homer describes my feelings perfectly!

MAN VS FOOD - WHAT?

Those that know me know that I can eat a lot of food. I have a never ending appetite but still seem to maintain my chiseled physique. Lately I've started watching a show on The Travel Channel called Man vs Food. Basically what this guy does is go to all these eating places that serve mammoth amounts of food and tries to conquer their house special. Last night the host of the show (Adam) was trying to eat a 7 pound burrito and I can tell you that thing was huge! (see photo). He wasn't successful in this challenge but he has succeeded in many more. I wasn't able to post any of the videos of this program from YouTube so you'll have to check it out for yourselves! Enjoy!

HOMER SIMPSON - DOUGHNUTS AND BACON HUH?

OK, we all know I am a big Simpson's fan right? And we also know that two things that Homer loves are doughnuts as well as bacon. Now here's a combination that I feel Homer would truly love. The combination of a doughnut (maple bar) with bacon on top. I kid you not! This scrumptious treat is available at The Voodoo Bakery in Portland. I saw it on the Travel Channel and yes I know, I have way too much free time on my hands. HAHA! I think Homer's drooling says it all.

ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED FUNK GROUPS OF ALL TIME - MANDRILL

One of the most underrated funk groups of all time is Mandrill from the early 70's. With funk classics such as Fencewalk and Hangloose, Mandrill was the real deal. What? You say you're not hip to Mandrill? Well shame on you! Check out the link for some audio clips of the double cd (pictured) titled Fencewalk - The Anthology. This double cd contains the best that this funky group has to offer.
http://www.amazon.com/Fencewalk-Anthology-Mandrill/dp/B000001EIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242258768&sr=8-1
On a related note: Back in my early days in Pasadena I was in an original funk band called Stone Cold Sweat. We were an original funk band and rehearsed five days a week but seldom played any gigs. One day our manager brought Wolf Wilson from the funk group Mandrill by our rehearsal to hear our group. He liked what he heard and came back a second time with a tape recorder to record us. We recorded a few songs but the tape recorders speed was way too fast making us sound almost like The Chipmunks. We were not happy with the quality of the recordings so went and continued with our rehearsal completely ignoring the opportunity that was right in front of us. Who knows what could have been? We could have been an opening act for Mandrill! And then? Headlining arenas! and then? Smash hit after smash hit? I could be playing Old School Funk Festivals till the day I died. Oh well.........such is life I guess.
Check out this video of Mandrill in 1973 playing Get It All! Dig it!

REGGAE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - BURNING SPEAR

Here's a long overdue reggae cd pick of the week. This weeks pick is the great Burning Spear with the cd titled 100th Anniversary. This cd contains two albums (Marcus Garvey and Garvey's Ghost). Released in 1975 these were the lp's that put Burning Spear on the map! What? You say you've never heard of Burning Spear? Oh my god! Well, as my mission statement says "my mission is to hip the un-hip" so check it out and get hip! Burning Spear is constantly touring and performing so go check him out! Me? Why of course I've seen him in concert. I am hip you know....

Go to the link on Amazon to hear some audio samples or check out some video of my man Burning Spear in action!

http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Spear-Marcus-Garvey-Garveys/dp/B000003QGU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242232291&sr=8-2

LAKERS VS ROCKETS - GAME 5 - 40 POINT BLOWOUT

My beloved Lakers looked like a whole different team last night. The Lakers continue their Jekyll and Hyde like performance by playing like the best team in the world (at least for this one game). This was in contrast to Sunday's game when they looked like the worst team in the world. Oh well..........Anyway, I enjoyed every moment of the victory and was not ready to turn off the tv as I know the Lakers love to blow big leads. So now the Lakers are up in the series 3 - 2 with the next game on Thursday. I look forward to (hope) that the Lakers wrap up the series on Thursday. They would then play the winner of the Dallas/Denver series and I can tell you Denver is playing really well right now.
Me? Well it looks like my swan dive off of Suicide Bridge in Pasadena will have to be postponed for now. What? ( see blog post of 5-10-09)
That's ok, I believe oh yes, I still believe........

LAKERS VS ROCKETS - GAME 4 - LAKERS A NO SHOW

My beloved Lakers were a no show for game 4 against the Rockets. Although the final score shows the Lakers only lost by 12 points, it was never ever close. At one point the Rockets had a 29 point lead! How humiliating! And this was supposed to be an easy game when it was announced that Yao Ming would be out for the rest of the playoffs. WhooHoo! we all shouted! The series is ours now!

I had rushed home to catch the game and all I saw was lay up after lay up by the Rockets (in between them hitting three point shots). A thoroughly humiliating defeat! All I can say is if my beloved Purple and Gold don't get it together soon they will be sitting on the sofa watching the remainder of the playoffs. If that happens, look for yours truly (SAXOMAN aka Afra-Samurai) to take a flying leap off of Suicide Bridge in Pasadena! Noooooooooo!!!!!

LATIN FUNK CD PICK OF THE WEEK - LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES

This weeks Latin Funk CD pick of the week goes to the the Venezuelan group Los Amigos Invisibles and their cd titled The New Sound Of The Venezuelan Gazadera. This is one funky cd and I definitely recommend that you check it out!
Check out the video of Los Amigos Invisibles playing their hit Ultra-Funk and get hip!

LAKERS VS ROCKETS - GAME 3

Even though my beloved Purple and Gold was without D. Fish tonight, the Lakers played a smart, error free game and hit 11 three pointers, committed only 6 turnovers, had 11 steals and also had 9 blocks. An all around solid effort from my Lakers! Artest was ejected again (knucklehead) and Yao limped off the floor at the end of the game. The Lakers now lead the series 2 - 1 with the next game Sunday afternoon. I look forward to my Lakers going up 3 - 1 on Sunday and wrapping it up at home. This is their destiny. I believe.....oh yes, I do believe! Stay tuned!
P.S. I still feel that Yao Ming was genetically created in a test tube!

GAINING WEIGHT

OK, as most of you know I have unlimited free time on my hands. Because of this I find myself eating and snacking a lot more than I normally would. Because of this I have probably packed a few pounds on my normally chiseled physique. That or I just wanted to post a pic of Fat Homer wearin' a moo-moo. HAHA!

MANNY - WHY? WHY? WHY?

Well in case you haven't heard, Manny Ramirez of the L.A. Dodgers has been suspended by the league for 50 games for testing positive for a banned substance. What is the matter with all of these players? Do the benefits of millions of dollars in salary and the shattering of long standing baseball records entice players to use these banned substances? Well I guess it does as so many players have been caught cheating. What is interesting is that most of the top name players in the game are getting caught so it makes you wonder about all of the other, younger players looking to establish a name for themselves.

I feel Manny should come clean and explain what he did and why he did it! Instead he has a statement issued that was no doubt written by an agent or publicist or who knows who. Manny, Manny, Manny..........I was looking forward to going to Dodger Stadium this year, buying me a Manny wig and sitting in the Mannywood section of the stadium.

Now? I just don't know........I am deeply disappointed in you Manny.

REGGAE PICK OF THE WEEK - WHAT'S UP?

Some of you may have noticed that it's been a while since my last Reggae Pick Of The Week. All I can tell my many readers is to be patient as a review will be coming shortly. In the meantime I felt a compelling need to post this pic of Rasta Homer. HAHA!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - THE TEMPTATIONS

When I was a young teenager my favorite group was without a doubt, The Temptations. I thought the Temptations were the coolest thing on earth with their dance steps, fancy threads, and five part harmony. The Temps were just too cool! So because of this I am picking the DVD titled: The Temptations Definitive Performances 1965 - 1972 (see photo) as my DVD Pick Of The Week. This is a great DVD that contains the following performances:

1. The Way You Do The Things You Do (1965)

2. My Girl (1966)

3. My Baby (1965)

4. Don’t Look Back (1965)

5. Get Ready (1966)

6. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg (1967)

7. I Know I’m Losing You (1967)

8. Sorry Is A Sorry Word (1967)

9. You’re My Everything (1967)

10. I Wish It Would Rain – (1968)

11. Cloud Nine (1969)

12. Runaway Child, Running Wild (1969)

13. I Can’t Get Next To You (1969)

14. Ball Of Confusion (1970)

15. Just My Imagination (1971)

16. Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (1972)

One of the great things on this DVD is that you can listen to 15 of these songs acapella with no music backing track at all! Here you can just sit back and enjoy the true singing and harmony of this great vocal group! Here are The Temptations singing their hit I Can't Get Next To you! Dig it!

GOOFBALLS

I don't know what it is but for some reason I get a kick out of these two really goofy guys from the Carl's Jr. Milkshake commercial. Check it out! HAHA!

LAKERS VS ROCKETS - GAME 2 - LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE

Well in Game 2 of the Lakers playoff series with Houston a lot of things occurred. There were several technical fouls called and two players were ejected (Fisher and Artest) from the game. The Houston coach also sent one of his players to the locker room for arguing with the coach. I look for things to heat up as the Lakers head to Houston for the next two games. I am hoping that Laker Derek Fisher is not suspended for popping Scola (see photo) but I think he will be. So now the Lakers who were criticized and called soft come out with some fire and win game 2. I look forward to the rest of this series. It should be real interesting!

YARD WORK

Because I have unlimited time on my hands (still) I have been spending a lot of time working in my yard. I have been trimming and cutting and planting a variety of things. What's bothersome is how I can work for hours and hours in the yard, fill up a jumbo size container with yard clippings and it still looks like I didn't do anything when you look at the yard. Very frustrating! After I have spent several hours working in the yard I am then dead to the world (see photo) for the rest of the day. All I can say is yard work is hard work and is definitely not my favorite pastime!

MY VERY FIRST JOB -THE PASADENA STAR NEWS

I had my very first job when I was in the 6th grade. I think that would make me about 12 years old. Now I don't know if there were any child labor laws at that time but all I can tell you is there should have been! What was this job you ask? Why I was delivering newspapers for the Pasadena Star News on my Stingray bicycle.
I'm not sure how I got into this job but it was either because my older brother started doing it and I thought I would make some money or it was because my Mom worked at the Orange Julius right in front of the newspaper drop off spot. Either way, it was a job that was definitely no fun at all!
Nowadays your paper is delivered by people in cars and you get a bill in the mail. Back when I delivered the paper you had to do the following:

1. Stuff the newspaper with any advertisements
2. Fold the newspapers and secure with rubber bands
3. Load up the newspapers on the handlebars of your bike
4. And off you went.........pedaling away on your route to deliver all of your papers to your customers.

You may ask that this job doesn't seem so bad. What is SAXOMAN complaining about? Well I can tell you that the Sunday paper was pretty thick and heavy and trying to carry all of that on your handlebars was a real challenge. I remember tipping over and all my papers falling out. No fun at all! Occasionally it would rain as well and there I was pedaling my bicycle in the rain. I remember throwing a heavy Sunday paper to an upstairs apartment only to see the rubber band break in mid-flight and the paper flying everywhere. I remember throwing the paper on someones porch and hearing the breaking of glass milk bottles or throwing the paper only to see it land on the roof of the house but wait, there's more!

Collecting? There was no mailing of bills back then! We had to knock on the doors and do the collecting as well. Several people would tell you that they didn't have the money or come back on Friday or any number of excuses. If you didn't collect the money from them (which happened several times!) our boss would deduct what they owed from our pay! What? Are you kidding me? Could he do that? Well all I can tell you that this is what he did. I don't know how long I stuck it out and did this horrible job but I can guarantee you I made absolutely no money doing this job! So there you go, the story of my very first job.

LAKERS VS ROCKETS - GAME 1

OK, after having received several e-mails, phone calls and verbal abuse from even my own wife on the Lakers loss last night I felt compelled to address this subject.
Yes, my beloved Purple & Gold lost last night but I have several theories about all of this that I'm sure my fellow Laker fans will agree with.
1. Kobe had a sore throat and the chills. This is why he played so bad plain and simple. His off game had nothing to do with Ron Artest. Hopefully its not the swine flu or anything serious.
2. My Lakers had a whole week off so they were very rusty and because of this played a sloppy game.
3. And finally..........I feel that Yao Ming was genetically created in a test tube and has an unfair advantage. I think Yao should be banned from the league. I mean come on, when have you ever seen a Chinese person that is 7' 6" tall? Just look at Yao's big square Frankenstein head (see photo) and you can see what I'm talking about. There, I said it but I know you all had the same thoughts as me on this subject. It's kind of like the steroid pumped Russian boxer in Rocky IV and we all know that Rocky prevailed just as my Lakers will.
P.S. I see where Sasha cracked Shane Battier's head (see photo). Good man Sasha!
Anyway, if you think this is all sour grapes then you are absolutely right! I am not happy with the Lakers loss and I look for them to bounce back in game 2. I believe....oh yes, I still believe!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - THE ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN

This weeks dvd pick of the week is The One Armed Swordsman starring my man, Jimmy Wang Yu. This is classic 1967 swordplay from the Shaw Brothers studio and is of course a must see (that's why it's my pick of the week). This classic movie spawned two additional sequels (Return of The One Armed Swordsman and The New One Armed Swordsman) and yes, of course I have all of them. Jimmy Wang Yu is one of my favorite Shaw Brothers actors and put out many other fine films including: The Assassin, The Chinese Boxer, Magnificent Trio, Golden Swallow, The Sword of Swords and many, many more. You can even rent this one from your local video store so what are you waiting for? Go check it out! Still not convinced? Check out the trailer for this fine film. Enjoy!

LAKER OR "FAKER" FANS

I know a lot of people that call themselves Laker fans but they are really not true die hard Laker fans (like me). These people I commonly refer to as "Faker fans" because they don't watch the games all season long (like I do), don't know who all the players are (like I do) and didn't even follow the team when they weren't winning. But now? Well suddenly it's playoff time and all these Faker fans are driving around town with their Laker flags (see photo) proudly flying on their cars. For all you so called Laker/Faker fans, don't just hop on the band wagon when it's playoff time but stick with your team through the good and the bad (like me!). Sorry, I just had to vent after seeing so many Laker flags on cars around town this past week. GO LAKERS!