MICHAEL JACKSON - REST IN PEACE

I know at one time we all have probably said some negative things about Michael Jackson and his criminal charges, eccentric personality and ever changing face. There is one thing that you can't deny and that in his peak, Michael was the most electrifying performer of all time. The release of a new album, a new video or a concert performance was always a major event. Who didn't like the music of the Jackson 5 or own a copy of the Thriller album? Even today (before all this happened) I still saw kids dressed as Michael doing imitations of his dance moves. Michael, you will be sorely missed. Rest in peace. Here is Michael performing the Beatles classic Come Together.

SHREDDED TOILET PAPER - WHAT?

OK, now I really thought my cat was over this phase. I mean this is something she liked to do when she was a kitten but she's not a kitten anymore! Jeez......anyway, this is what I found this morning in the bathroom. A whole roll of toilet paper shredded. Darn cat!

THE GREATEST LAKER OF ALL TIME - CHICK HEARN

When one thinks of the greatest Laker of all time several names may first come to mind. You may think of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain or Kobe Bryant to name a few. In my opinion the greatest Laker of all time has to be legendary Laker broadcaster, Chick Hearn. For 43 years Chick Hearn was the voice of the Lakers. With an unbelievable work ethic and an astounding 3,338 consecutive game streak, Chick was the voice for several generations of Laker fans. Whether you were sitting at home watching the Laker games on tv or listening in your car radio, Chick provided his "word's-eye view" of the games that made you feel as you were right there seeing the games in person. I just finished reading the book (pictured) about Chick and felt the need to comment on how much he is missed by all of us Laker fans. Chick came up with so many "Chickisms" that is impossible to list them all here however we all knew when Chick put a game in the refrigerator that a Laker victory was secured. Here is one of many videos of the Lakers that you can find on YouTube with Chick doing what he does best. We miss you Chick! Enjoy!

HIGH SCHOOL REUNION TIME

OK, now there have been several High School reunions that have come and gone and I never attended any of them. I don't know why but I just never had any interest to go. It may stem from me not being very sociable at times but that's another story. Anyway, this past Sunday I decided to go to a High School reunion that combined the three different High Schools of Pasadena (PHS, Muir & Blair) and also combined several different graduating years. One big event all rolled into one!

I was a little nervous on the way over there as all kind of thoughts ran through my head. What if I don't know anybody or don't recognize anyone? What if no one talks to me? Will I look older than everyone? Be fatter or balder than everyone? And on and on my imagination ran, all the way over to the park in Altadena.

When I got there I saw a small group of older people that just couldn't be the reunion I was looking for, could it? As I got closer I started reading the name tags and yes, I was in the right place! A couple of girls I remembered right away and they remembered me and a few other people came later that I also remembered. Several girls were looking at me and giggling like, well schoolgirls so I walked over to see who they were. Although I vaguely recognized their names there was no way I could place a face with the way they looked now. No way! Sorry! Anyway, they seemed to know all about me in High School and asked who my plastic surgeon was and if I use botox. HAHA! I guess this was a compliment as I can honestly say that I felt that I looked much younger than most of the people there. It was an odd feeling seeing people that you hadn't seen in years and really don't know anymore. Very odd indeed.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Yes, today is the day that yours truly, SAXOMAN (aka Afro-Samurai) celebrates the day of his birth (6-22). Another year older and another year has flown by. Well wishes, congratulations and donations to my Paypal account are gladly accepted. HAHA!

BUYING BOOZE....AND UNDERAGE (WHAT?)

OK, now when I was a kid I wasn't what you would call a model citizen and the friends I hung around with were probably a lot worse than me. Anyway, in high school and up until I finally turned 21 we would do whatever was necessary to score us some booze (typically Schlitz Malt Liquor). This usually meant standing outside of the liquor store waiting to ask someone who looked somewhat cool if they could buy us some booze. Typically we would see a possible candidate getting out of his car and then it would go down like this: "Hey that guy looks cool, ask him", "No, you ask him!", "No you ask him", "No you!","No you!"

On and on this went until it was too late and the guy was already in the store. Typically we would waste an hour or more doing this nonsense until we finally got someone to buy us some booze. I remember once we asked a guy to get us a couple bottles of wine and he comes out with the two bottles of wine and says "here you go, one for you and one for me!" What? What do you mean? We were too stunned (and young) to say anything when this happened.

Occasionally we would be hanging out in the parking lot of the liquor store and my Dad would show up since we were right down the street from my house! We pretended like we were just leaving and got out of there fast HAHA!

We also had a friend our age that looked a lot older than us and actually had facial hair (unlike us). He was always a sure shot when he was available. Anyway, that's just some of the many things we went through as kids trying to score some booze. I don't see kids doing this anymore so can only assume that their parents probably buy it for them. Just look what fun they're missing out on.

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - THE WARLORDS

This weeks DVD Pick Of The Week is The Warlords. An epic film featuring Jet Li and Andy Lau. This movie is based on the killing of general Ma Xinyi (a true story) and also a remake of the original Shaw Brothers classic titled The Blood Brothers (another fine film). Although this film has yet to be released theatrically in this country you can still pick up the DVD. Me? I own the Special Edition 2 Disc Set of course.

Anyway, check out the trailer for a glimpse of this action packed film.

JAZZ ARTIST OF THE WEEK - JOHN COLTRANE

This weeks jazz artist of the week is the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane. Coltrane is without a doubt my favorite saxophone player of all time (closely followed by Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon). I own just about everything that Coltrane ever recorded and that is a whole lot of music. From Coltrane's early days as a sideman with Red Garland, to his days with the timeless Miles Davis group, and all the recordings of his own as a leader on Atlantic and Impulse. Many people find Coltrane's music a little too deep for their ears and can't get into it. I know some that refer to Coltrane's later recordings as "the crazy years" or "when Coltrane lost his mind'. To me, this is when John Coltrane just took the art of saxophone playing to another level and I agree that this music is not for everyone. These later recordings are serious, intense stuff that are not for the casual listener. Coltrane's influence over the tenor and soprano sax is still felt today and can be heard on many of today's sax players. Coltrane also reintroduced the soprano sax (after Sidney Bechet) to the public and this instruments popularity continues to grow.

Here's a video of Coltrane playing one of his big hits, My Favorite Things. Check it out and get hip!

LAKERS CHAMPIONSHIP PARADE - TEARS OF JOY

I'm sorry but did I fail to mention that today was the LAKERS Championship parade? Yes, the streets were lined with thousands of fans all wearing the purple and gold. Me? I watched the parade from the comfort of my sofa, safe in the Vanilla Suburbs haha! I didn't want to risk getting arrested with any rowdy Laker fans so decided to stay home and enjoy the festivities on tv.

Tears of joy came to my eyes as I watched the celebration. It was an overwhelming and emotional moment for me as are most Laker moments.

I know I've promised to provide more updates on music and Asian cinema but right now I am basking in the glory of this championship so please bear with me. I'll be back on track soon.

I'M SORRY, BUT DID I MENTION THE LAKERS ARE THE WORLD CHAMPS?

I'm sorry but I did I forget to mention that my beloved L.A. LAKERS ARE WORLD CHAMPS! THAT'S RIGHT! WORLD CHAMPS! AT LAST!

Look for my blog to have more upcoming music and Asian cinema reviews now that basketball season is finally over.