Napster Part 3
For the third time I decided to try Napster Premium last week. But this time I think I'm going to keep it. It's like music heaven. Michael Jackson's "One More Chance?" Not a problem. "Regulators?" hah, haven't heard it in a while, but it's there. I can't say what the other services provide (iTunes, Music Match, etc.) but I'm happy with Napster. Sure it doesn't have old Dru Hill, or Bone Thugs, but I've got their albums already. I decided to rip all my CD's to computer, so I'd have the added selection. Since then, this service has been going almost 24/7. I guess I could have gone to Kazaa and downloaded all this music, but it seems like too much hassle. I guess I'm getting too old to be searching for songs illegally. I'd rather pay someone for the convenience. Sad isn't it? But anyway, this has sparked my music tastes once again. Eminem, 2Pac, Dave Matthews Band (Ants Marching is now my favorite song. Damn, I wish I could play drums.), Evanescence, Linkin Park (I remember thinking I'd never listen to them.), Boyz II Men (In Spanish :D), Blue Man Group, the list goes on and on. Hell, I'm even listening to (and liking) a lot of the pop music out there (Hoobastank and Vanessa Carlton to name a few.).
To justify the cost, I cancelled my Final Fantasy XI account... I was paying $12.00 a month for a game I haven't played since April. So far it's worth it. I haven't gotten around to buying music online, but I'm sure I'll be doing that pretty soon. At least now I have something to listen to when I'm folding all my hands in poker.
Poker
Well, Brendan saw me drop quite a bit of money the other day. That was fun, but I deserved it. Thanks to the long, I found out when I play poker for longer than X hours I start playing really stupidly. Maybe it's because I've been overloaded. I logged about 30 hours in one week. Yes, I was up for most of that time, but thanks to my awesome playing, I'm back to square one again. So like everything in the world, moderation is key. 'Nuff said. Since then I've gone on to Video Games.
Video Games
More specifically: Silent Hill 3. I don't know what it is about these titles, but I don't LIKE playing them. I buy them because I love the whole survival horror genre. Yet when I get down to playing the game, I hate dodging dogs/slow moving zombies. I want to kill them all. Doom 3 style. The game is disturbing, and the "story" is actually kind of interesting in it's presentation. I get paid this week, so I guess I'd better beat it so I can buy new games... This week, Phantom Brave, Gradius V (Since Brendan's been hyping it up. I'm waiting for that Blog!) Finally to finish my smooth flowing blog...
Ju-on
Saw the preview. IT HAS THE FRICKEN SHAMBLE. That alone is enough to scare. Not to mention that little kids can produce the scariest scenes. I'm excited.
I'm done. Back to you, BLuck. :D
Oct 1, 2004
Sep 30, 2004
I'm sitting in school right now wondering if I should be doing work. I decided against it and instead won money online so I can go play cards with Steve, perhaps this weekend. I'm not exactly sure how much longer we are staying so I will give you an outline of what I am going to blog about either tonight or tomorrow. Please hand out the itinerary (spelling?) to everyone in the room...
Star Wars Episode III and the Star Wars DVD's. Opinions and what needs to happen in Episode III for me to forigve Lucas for JarJar.
Sony's PSP. Why it is going to suck and why I am still going to buy it.
Gran Turismo 4. Opinions and mostly Nip bashing for not making it online.
Hold'em advice. Just some observations that I saw at Cache Creek against some of those suckers.
Saw. Rated NC-17. The Grudge. Remake of Ju-on. Scared?
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Kevin the blackman told me to watch this film. Of course the film was done playing in theatres. My thoughts.
My goodbye to Gradius. Not that I am finished with it, but this is supposedly the last installment.
Time to roll out of class.
Star Wars Episode III and the Star Wars DVD's. Opinions and what needs to happen in Episode III for me to forigve Lucas for JarJar.
Sony's PSP. Why it is going to suck and why I am still going to buy it.
Gran Turismo 4. Opinions and mostly Nip bashing for not making it online.
Hold'em advice. Just some observations that I saw at Cache Creek against some of those suckers.
Saw. Rated NC-17. The Grudge. Remake of Ju-on. Scared?
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Kevin the blackman told me to watch this film. Of course the film was done playing in theatres. My thoughts.
My goodbye to Gradius. Not that I am finished with it, but this is supposedly the last installment.
Time to roll out of class.
I'm sitting in school right now wondering if I should be doing work. I decided against it and instead won money online so I can go play cards with Steve, perhaps this weekend. I'm not exactly sure how much longer we are staying so I will give you an outline of what I am going to blog about either tonight or tomorrow. Please hand out the itinerary (spelling?) to everyone in the room...
Star Wars Episode III and the Star Wars DVD's. Opinions and what needs to happen in Episode III for me to forigve Lucas for JarJar.
Sony's PSP. Why it is going to suck and why I am still going to buy it.
Gran Turismo 4. Opinions and mostly Nip bashing for not making it online.
Hold'em advice. Just some observations that I saw at Cache Creek against some of those suckers.
Saw. Rated NC-17. The Grudge. Remake of Ju-on. Scared?
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Kevin the blackman told me to watch this film. Of course the film was done playing in theatres. My thoughts.
My goodbye to Gradius. Not that I am finished with it, but this is supposedly the last installment.
Time to roll out of class.
Star Wars Episode III and the Star Wars DVD's. Opinions and what needs to happen in Episode III for me to forigve Lucas for JarJar.
Sony's PSP. Why it is going to suck and why I am still going to buy it.
Gran Turismo 4. Opinions and mostly Nip bashing for not making it online.
Hold'em advice. Just some observations that I saw at Cache Creek against some of those suckers.
Saw. Rated NC-17. The Grudge. Remake of Ju-on. Scared?
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Kevin the blackman told me to watch this film. Of course the film was done playing in theatres. My thoughts.
My goodbye to Gradius. Not that I am finished with it, but this is supposedly the last installment.
Time to roll out of class.
Sep 20, 2004
It's worth double posting... Quick hand history on me this morning on my first hand. I will never get this. Ever Again.
Texas Hold'em $1-$2 (real money), hand #339,502,403
Table Hodeida, 20 Sep 2004 1:45 PM ET
Seat 2: gowy ($86 in chips)
Seat 3: diggs30 ($38.50 in chips)
Seat 4: forloquitur ($49 in chips)
Seat 5: Arasirsul ($61 in chips)
Seat 6: rinopastee ($104 in chips)
Seat 7: hitter17 ($50.25 in chips)
Seat 8: Vaehan [ QC,KC ] ($40 in chips)
Seat 9: wil 97 ($69.75 in chips)
Seat 10: igotthenuts2 ($19.50 in chips)
ANTES/BLIND
Sigotthenuts2 posts blind ($0.50), gowy posts blind ($1), Vaehan posts blind ($1).
PRE-FLOP
diggs30 folds, forloquitur folds, Arasirsul bets $2, rinopastee folds, hitter17 calls $2, Vaehan calls $1, wil 97 folds, igotthenuts2 folds, gowy calls $1.
FLOP [board cards AC,5C,9H ]
gowy checks, Arasirsul bets $1, hitter17 calls $1, Vaehan calls $1, gowy calls $1.
TURN [board cards AC,5C,9H,JC ]
gowy checks, Arasirsul bets $2, hitter17 calls $2, Vaehan bets $4, gowy calls $4, Arasirsul folds, hitter17 calls $2.
RIVER [board cards AC,5C,9H,JC,10C ]
gowy checks, hitter17 checks, Vaehan bets $2, gowy calls $2, hitter17 calls $2.
SHOWDOWN
Vaehan shows [ QC,KC ]
gowy mucks cards [ 9C,JD ]
hitter17 mucks cards [ AD,KD ]
Vaehan wins $31.
SUMMARY
Dealer: wil 97
Pot: $32.50 Rake: $1.50
gowy loses $9
diggs30 loses $0
forloquitur loses $0
Arasirsul loses $5
rinopastee loses $0
hitter17 loses $9
Vaehan bets $9, collects $31, net $22
wil 97 loses $0
igotthenuts2 loses $0.50
Texas Hold'em $1-$2 (real money), hand #339,502,403
Table Hodeida, 20 Sep 2004 1:45 PM ET
Seat 2: gowy ($86 in chips)
Seat 3: diggs30 ($38.50 in chips)
Seat 4: forloquitur ($49 in chips)
Seat 5: Arasirsul ($61 in chips)
Seat 6: rinopastee ($104 in chips)
Seat 7: hitter17 ($50.25 in chips)
Seat 8: Vaehan [ QC,KC ] ($40 in chips)
Seat 9: wil 97 ($69.75 in chips)
Seat 10: igotthenuts2 ($19.50 in chips)
ANTES/BLIND
Sigotthenuts2 posts blind ($0.50), gowy posts blind ($1), Vaehan posts blind ($1).
PRE-FLOP
diggs30 folds, forloquitur folds, Arasirsul bets $2, rinopastee folds, hitter17 calls $2, Vaehan calls $1, wil 97 folds, igotthenuts2 folds, gowy calls $1.
FLOP [board cards AC,5C,9H ]
gowy checks, Arasirsul bets $1, hitter17 calls $1, Vaehan calls $1, gowy calls $1.
TURN [board cards AC,5C,9H,JC ]
gowy checks, Arasirsul bets $2, hitter17 calls $2, Vaehan bets $4, gowy calls $4, Arasirsul folds, hitter17 calls $2.
RIVER [board cards AC,5C,9H,JC,10C ]
gowy checks, hitter17 checks, Vaehan bets $2, gowy calls $2, hitter17 calls $2.
SHOWDOWN
Vaehan shows [ QC,KC ]
gowy mucks cards [ 9C,JD ]
hitter17 mucks cards [ AD,KD ]
Vaehan wins $31.
SUMMARY
Dealer: wil 97
Pot: $32.50 Rake: $1.50
gowy loses $9
diggs30 loses $0
forloquitur loses $0
Arasirsul loses $5
rinopastee loses $0
hitter17 loses $9
Vaehan bets $9, collects $31, net $22
wil 97 loses $0
igotthenuts2 loses $0.50
Sep 11, 2004
The Apprentice Season 2
The first event was so true to life, I have to put it down. They had the task of picking a group name. The guys picked one or two and gave a verbal vote, taking a few seconds. The girls on the other hand picked 30 billion names and whittled it down. This is the fundamental difference in our thought processes.
*cry* and Trump says, "At 22, you either have it or you don't."
The first event was so true to life, I have to put it down. They had the task of picking a group name. The guys picked one or two and gave a verbal vote, taking a few seconds. The girls on the other hand picked 30 billion names and whittled it down. This is the fundamental difference in our thought processes.
*cry* and Trump says, "At 22, you either have it or you don't."
Sep 9, 2004
Tournament Blues
I understand where all this is coming from... Back in the day, we used to play for "fun." To me, poker was an excuse to meet up with you guys and talk about random stuff... Soon after, it became more about a single game... A game where anything could happen. We were a few years early on it, but we were caught up in the craze. What other game had more extensive research done? I don't believe baseball has more than one paragraph devoted to it in the poker library. It was something we could study and learn to get better in.
So we then moved to structured texas hold 'em. That was all well and good to learn more about the mechanics of the game. We became more comfortable with the game, and learned the hard way how not to play, even with "friends." It became less of something fun to do, more of a skill we wanted to excel at.
Then we moved to tournaments. This is where our love for the game has changed into something more. We played the game to win. To test each other. Yet even at this point, we're still not playing real poker... This is why I don't count these games as wins or losses. With friends, we're more apt to fool around, tell each other that we're holding 72x... Tournaments kind of stifle this, since we are playing for the sole purpose of winning. If we don't win? We sit out and deal cards to the winners. In a tournament style, we play tighter, maybe we won't play those weird K10x anymore, we throw more hands away and wait for the next hand. No longer can we call back upon the "Whatever" mantra. Have junk cards? Ahhh, let's play them for shits and giggles. The tournament does not allow for stupid mistakes like that. So we're a little more serious. And we all know we can't be serious for very long.
I can't speak for everyone, but I'm in favor for mixing up the games a little more, playing less tournaments, since of course there are people that will lose, and become excluded. Watching hold 'em isn't all that exciting after the 100th hand. Of course, I can always fall back on DDR/Karaoke Revolution, so I'm fine. And you guys still playing cards can enjoy my tap patterns/singing voice for hours to come :)
I think it also has to do with "outplaying" people. You can't gloat about it, like you can in Tetris Attack, because you're physically taking something away from that person. We all win a big hand at times, but are we happy about it? Yes, but we are also apologetic to the loser who is holding the second hand to the nuts who had to go balls out. If we did it to a stranger at the tables? We'd be joking about it for months to come.
And totally unrelated...
Happy Belated B-day Kevin and Shannon!
I understand where all this is coming from... Back in the day, we used to play for "fun." To me, poker was an excuse to meet up with you guys and talk about random stuff... Soon after, it became more about a single game... A game where anything could happen. We were a few years early on it, but we were caught up in the craze. What other game had more extensive research done? I don't believe baseball has more than one paragraph devoted to it in the poker library. It was something we could study and learn to get better in.
So we then moved to structured texas hold 'em. That was all well and good to learn more about the mechanics of the game. We became more comfortable with the game, and learned the hard way how not to play, even with "friends." It became less of something fun to do, more of a skill we wanted to excel at.
Then we moved to tournaments. This is where our love for the game has changed into something more. We played the game to win. To test each other. Yet even at this point, we're still not playing real poker... This is why I don't count these games as wins or losses. With friends, we're more apt to fool around, tell each other that we're holding 72x... Tournaments kind of stifle this, since we are playing for the sole purpose of winning. If we don't win? We sit out and deal cards to the winners. In a tournament style, we play tighter, maybe we won't play those weird K10x anymore, we throw more hands away and wait for the next hand. No longer can we call back upon the "Whatever" mantra. Have junk cards? Ahhh, let's play them for shits and giggles. The tournament does not allow for stupid mistakes like that. So we're a little more serious. And we all know we can't be serious for very long.
I can't speak for everyone, but I'm in favor for mixing up the games a little more, playing less tournaments, since of course there are people that will lose, and become excluded. Watching hold 'em isn't all that exciting after the 100th hand. Of course, I can always fall back on DDR/Karaoke Revolution, so I'm fine. And you guys still playing cards can enjoy my tap patterns/singing voice for hours to come :)
I think it also has to do with "outplaying" people. You can't gloat about it, like you can in Tetris Attack, because you're physically taking something away from that person. We all win a big hand at times, but are we happy about it? Yes, but we are also apologetic to the loser who is holding the second hand to the nuts who had to go balls out. If we did it to a stranger at the tables? We'd be joking about it for months to come.
And totally unrelated...
Happy Belated B-day Kevin and Shannon!
Sep 8, 2004
Steve as usual like a little girl read this blog all wrong. So I thought I should stick a disclaimer here for fun. If I came across as me being all high and mighty when it comes to cards and it reads like I don't want to play with you guys then sorry about that. BUT hopefully you read it as me wanting to help everyone out at the real cardrooms and trying to keep everyone involved in the fun when we play cards. Anyway I already got two responses from people...
Steven - Doesn't care. Still enjoys the tournaments. Thinks I'm overanalyzing it too much. Would rather play Knock ur Balls.
Bryant - Sees my point. Also doesn't care if he gets knocked out. Still enjoys it. Would ironically also like to play Knock ur Balls more often.
Steven - Doesn't care. Still enjoys the tournaments. Thinks I'm overanalyzing it too much. Would rather play Knock ur Balls.
Bryant - Sees my point. Also doesn't care if he gets knocked out. Still enjoys it. Would ironically also like to play Knock ur Balls more often.
Post number 420. Get out the One Hitter Quitter...(that's really good weed for all you non smokers...like...uh...me). Quick shout to Kevin and his birthday. You are fucking old...like a prune.
So I'm going to blog this for the sole intent on getting feedback from the Pooky clan. I voiced my opinions to Eecs, where he then proceeded to grill me on what exactly I was thinking. I ask you to read the whole way through without trying to come up with opinions before I'm done blogging. That way you won't form any type of biased opinions before I'm done. (I know I have just asked the impossible...does anyone read anything objectively anymore? I don't. Gwahaha.)
So I told Eecs, and I expressed this to Eecs since he is the one that got me studying the game of Poker from the basics to the subtle nuances that Eecs and I share when we both have a losing session at Bay 101, that I am getting a little burnt out on Hold 'em with my friends. I bet none of you were expecting that to come up. Without getting too complicated, I decided to create a list of why I'm getting burnt out on Hold'em, mainly tournaments...before I even go down the list, you will have to believe me that I honestly don't feel this way because I've been knocked out of the tournaments lately. I know that is part of the game. I usually get my money in with the best of it or when I feel a bluff will work so when I lose I know that I did what I could with the cards that were dealt. You can go ahead and say this blog is part of me expressing opinions while I am on a getting knocked out streak, but quite honestly I think I handle tilt and losing better than most. On with the list.
- The first and foremost thing I want to express is that I realize that tournaments are NOT about the money. For some of you it might be. Quite frankly the buy in of five dollars or even the big 10 dollars is nothing compared to what I lose at a cardroom or online. My biggest loss and probably my last tilt session...was about 600 bucks...okay 725. (That happened about 2 years ago maybe…) I was just trying to save some face. Some HOT face. Inside joke. So needless I've come up huge at cardrooms also so the money in these games do not phase me. Keep that in mind while we go down this list.
- I miss the mix up of games. I'm not saying we need to play Screw thy Neighbor over and over again...or crazy 8 Ball or any other game that we used to play. Shit, I'd give anything to play Tails...and when Brian brought that to the table I wanted to puke. Haha! Why can't we try to 7CardHiLo8OB. Why can't we try five card draw with the jokers (just like they play in actual cardrooms)? You can go ahead and come up with some argument for this...but I present this and I think Eecs and my dad (who wanted to start hold em all night games before me) can vouche for me on this one...look at how long it took us to introduce Hold'em as a regular game. When the idea first came into play I can name off people that were NOT excited about the idea. I remember hearing, "Hold'em? For every round?" Now we can't even get away from it. If you were able to give Hold'em a chance why not something else? If anything, playing different games will help you as a card player. You might not believe it will help your Hold'em game...but it will. Who knows? Perhaps we will start playing 7-Stud and become confident at the cardrooms...then if the table is looking better than Hold'em, we can actually sit down and win!
- This one is going to be hard to argue because I stated above it is not about the money. Yet I'm just going to say it. I honestly enjoy Hold'em a lot more testing my skills against unknowns or people that live at cardrooms. Why? I've invested so much money and more importantly time in learning the game...and I have so much more to learn...but I like to see how I stack up against people that play all the time...like we all know...most of the FOBS at Garden do. Haha. In this case it might seem like the money is important...but you gotta believe me that I feel a lot better outplaying someone...the pot is just a nice side bonus. You might say...well why do you judge how well you are playing on how much you win? Well in all honestly that is somewhat true, but the bigger picture is that you will have losing sessions...and you will have sessions where the cards play themselves...but if I lose money one night I don't judge myself harshly unless I know I played bad. When I come up 3-400 bucks...I don't say I'm a kick ass player. I just take it all in stride...I know I'm up in the long run...I can't tell you exactly how much (which Eecs will tell me I should keep better records), but I know its significant. So I consider myself a winning player with a lot to learn.
- Since most the games take place at my house...I feel like I am the host of the game. As any good host should do, you should make sure your company is having a good time. We all know this. When I go to Bryant's house he asks me right from the get go whether I want something to drink or perhaps Candy Cane Ice Cream. When I got Eecs I get freshly baked brownies and mochi. As a host I feel that I need to let everyone have a good time. How does this relate to cards? Well with tournaments people get knocked out. When I get knocked out I'm obviously going to be bored, but no where near angry. I mean I can go paint Audrey instead...either way it is my house and I can find something to do while the tournament winds down. However, if one of you get knocked out then you leave the table. When you leave the table the table itself starts to get less fun for me. Lemme explain. Since it is not about the money, I pay the buy in for entertainment. Yesterday we had a kick ass game. Even Derek came and made an appearance...and he was sick. The table was funny yesterday...the cards were falling funny...everything was going awesome...until people started getting knocked out. You can go ahead and argue this...but I can remember Bryant getting knocked out and going home...I can remember Tony getting knocked out on some crazy draws and he leaves our table. As a host I feel bad that people get knocked out of the fun. You might say for example, Tony and John had a great time playing DDR when they got knocked out…okay that might be true…but they didn’t come over to play DDR, they came over to play Poker.
- It seems to me that a lot of you are striving to be better at the cardrooms. I have heard Steve say that he wants to get better so he can sit at the table for awhile and come up. I have heard that Bryant feels he is getting better at being more patient. That is all good and great, but the bottom line is that playing other card games and also playing limit holdem is a better way to practice than tournaments. Tournaments are good for practicing tournament situations. Look, in all honesty, I know where I come from. I know I am an online player (but Eecs and I both started before the rush really hit poker) and I know I am an online trained player. You gotta believe me when I say that online is a different game than the cardroom. Some people like Eecs are very good at adjusting their online game and in person game. However, it took me some losing sessions to finally realize that the strategy in online games is a bit different than live games. I can't explain how or why. It is just a different texture. If you want to get better in the cardrooms without playing against strangers for bigger amounts than you want to lose...you should play in home games with limit betting patterns. You can learn to adjust to the player by the way he looks and acts...you can practice reading people...all these things you cannot do as effectively online. I feel I kind of lost my point here...bottom line: Tournaments (in my opinion and by my experience) will only help you mostly in tournament situations. You cannot play the same game in limit games than no limit...and if we play nothing but tournaments...I feel that some of you might blur the lines between smart limit play and smart tournament play...and you could possibly pay one hundred dollars in a cardroom for it....rather than 5 bucks at my house.
- On the other side of the coin...as the host I feel stupid for never really bringing this up in the first place. I might have dropped hints here and there, but nothing really pointed out. If everyone is happy playing tournaments...then so be it. You might think this post is me hating tournaments. As far as I'm concerned I have won my share of these tournaments. I don't feel I need to prove anything. I've come in very high in online tournaments and will hopefully soon step into the live game tournaments. This post is not about me hating tournaments at my house...that is not the case. I love tournaments. I love the thrill of the tournament. If you think I don't like tournaments just because I have been getting knocked out...well that is you shitting on me as a cardplayer. Lemme say it again...I love tournaments. More specifically I love how our tournaments start out...I hate how they end. Also I don't feel that I am a WAY better player than all of you so don't take this post as me talking down to you. I just want to make sure that everyone is cool with being knocked out early...if they are then I won't feel so guilty when they do. All the other rambling is just some of my observations and some points you might want to consider next time we decide to play no-limit or limit games...for "fun".
Eecs said something along the lines of (and I don't EVER want to put words into his mouth...just my cock sometimes when he acts out of line) "I don't want to assume too much...but I bet you don't feel this way when you are going heads up for the championsihp." I replied along the lines of..."yeah I still feel for those that got knocked out." This suprised Eecs. What I didn't tell him was that I not only feel for those that got knocked out...but I feel the seriousness of the game that wasn't there when the game started...I feel myself taking the game too seriously when its down to me and one other player...how can I not play too seriously...after all...everyone already got up and left the house.
So I'm going to blog this for the sole intent on getting feedback from the Pooky clan. I voiced my opinions to Eecs, where he then proceeded to grill me on what exactly I was thinking. I ask you to read the whole way through without trying to come up with opinions before I'm done blogging. That way you won't form any type of biased opinions before I'm done. (I know I have just asked the impossible...does anyone read anything objectively anymore? I don't. Gwahaha.)
So I told Eecs, and I expressed this to Eecs since he is the one that got me studying the game of Poker from the basics to the subtle nuances that Eecs and I share when we both have a losing session at Bay 101, that I am getting a little burnt out on Hold 'em with my friends. I bet none of you were expecting that to come up. Without getting too complicated, I decided to create a list of why I'm getting burnt out on Hold'em, mainly tournaments...before I even go down the list, you will have to believe me that I honestly don't feel this way because I've been knocked out of the tournaments lately. I know that is part of the game. I usually get my money in with the best of it or when I feel a bluff will work so when I lose I know that I did what I could with the cards that were dealt. You can go ahead and say this blog is part of me expressing opinions while I am on a getting knocked out streak, but quite honestly I think I handle tilt and losing better than most. On with the list.
- The first and foremost thing I want to express is that I realize that tournaments are NOT about the money. For some of you it might be. Quite frankly the buy in of five dollars or even the big 10 dollars is nothing compared to what I lose at a cardroom or online. My biggest loss and probably my last tilt session...was about 600 bucks...okay 725. (That happened about 2 years ago maybe…) I was just trying to save some face. Some HOT face. Inside joke. So needless I've come up huge at cardrooms also so the money in these games do not phase me. Keep that in mind while we go down this list.
- I miss the mix up of games. I'm not saying we need to play Screw thy Neighbor over and over again...or crazy 8 Ball or any other game that we used to play. Shit, I'd give anything to play Tails...and when Brian brought that to the table I wanted to puke. Haha! Why can't we try to 7CardHiLo8OB. Why can't we try five card draw with the jokers (just like they play in actual cardrooms)? You can go ahead and come up with some argument for this...but I present this and I think Eecs and my dad (who wanted to start hold em all night games before me) can vouche for me on this one...look at how long it took us to introduce Hold'em as a regular game. When the idea first came into play I can name off people that were NOT excited about the idea. I remember hearing, "Hold'em? For every round?" Now we can't even get away from it. If you were able to give Hold'em a chance why not something else? If anything, playing different games will help you as a card player. You might not believe it will help your Hold'em game...but it will. Who knows? Perhaps we will start playing 7-Stud and become confident at the cardrooms...then if the table is looking better than Hold'em, we can actually sit down and win!
- This one is going to be hard to argue because I stated above it is not about the money. Yet I'm just going to say it. I honestly enjoy Hold'em a lot more testing my skills against unknowns or people that live at cardrooms. Why? I've invested so much money and more importantly time in learning the game...and I have so much more to learn...but I like to see how I stack up against people that play all the time...like we all know...most of the FOBS at Garden do. Haha. In this case it might seem like the money is important...but you gotta believe me that I feel a lot better outplaying someone...the pot is just a nice side bonus. You might say...well why do you judge how well you are playing on how much you win? Well in all honestly that is somewhat true, but the bigger picture is that you will have losing sessions...and you will have sessions where the cards play themselves...but if I lose money one night I don't judge myself harshly unless I know I played bad. When I come up 3-400 bucks...I don't say I'm a kick ass player. I just take it all in stride...I know I'm up in the long run...I can't tell you exactly how much (which Eecs will tell me I should keep better records), but I know its significant. So I consider myself a winning player with a lot to learn.
- Since most the games take place at my house...I feel like I am the host of the game. As any good host should do, you should make sure your company is having a good time. We all know this. When I go to Bryant's house he asks me right from the get go whether I want something to drink or perhaps Candy Cane Ice Cream. When I got Eecs I get freshly baked brownies and mochi. As a host I feel that I need to let everyone have a good time. How does this relate to cards? Well with tournaments people get knocked out. When I get knocked out I'm obviously going to be bored, but no where near angry. I mean I can go paint Audrey instead...either way it is my house and I can find something to do while the tournament winds down. However, if one of you get knocked out then you leave the table. When you leave the table the table itself starts to get less fun for me. Lemme explain. Since it is not about the money, I pay the buy in for entertainment. Yesterday we had a kick ass game. Even Derek came and made an appearance...and he was sick. The table was funny yesterday...the cards were falling funny...everything was going awesome...until people started getting knocked out. You can go ahead and argue this...but I can remember Bryant getting knocked out and going home...I can remember Tony getting knocked out on some crazy draws and he leaves our table. As a host I feel bad that people get knocked out of the fun. You might say for example, Tony and John had a great time playing DDR when they got knocked out…okay that might be true…but they didn’t come over to play DDR, they came over to play Poker.
- It seems to me that a lot of you are striving to be better at the cardrooms. I have heard Steve say that he wants to get better so he can sit at the table for awhile and come up. I have heard that Bryant feels he is getting better at being more patient. That is all good and great, but the bottom line is that playing other card games and also playing limit holdem is a better way to practice than tournaments. Tournaments are good for practicing tournament situations. Look, in all honesty, I know where I come from. I know I am an online player (but Eecs and I both started before the rush really hit poker) and I know I am an online trained player. You gotta believe me when I say that online is a different game than the cardroom. Some people like Eecs are very good at adjusting their online game and in person game. However, it took me some losing sessions to finally realize that the strategy in online games is a bit different than live games. I can't explain how or why. It is just a different texture. If you want to get better in the cardrooms without playing against strangers for bigger amounts than you want to lose...you should play in home games with limit betting patterns. You can learn to adjust to the player by the way he looks and acts...you can practice reading people...all these things you cannot do as effectively online. I feel I kind of lost my point here...bottom line: Tournaments (in my opinion and by my experience) will only help you mostly in tournament situations. You cannot play the same game in limit games than no limit...and if we play nothing but tournaments...I feel that some of you might blur the lines between smart limit play and smart tournament play...and you could possibly pay one hundred dollars in a cardroom for it....rather than 5 bucks at my house.
- On the other side of the coin...as the host I feel stupid for never really bringing this up in the first place. I might have dropped hints here and there, but nothing really pointed out. If everyone is happy playing tournaments...then so be it. You might think this post is me hating tournaments. As far as I'm concerned I have won my share of these tournaments. I don't feel I need to prove anything. I've come in very high in online tournaments and will hopefully soon step into the live game tournaments. This post is not about me hating tournaments at my house...that is not the case. I love tournaments. I love the thrill of the tournament. If you think I don't like tournaments just because I have been getting knocked out...well that is you shitting on me as a cardplayer. Lemme say it again...I love tournaments. More specifically I love how our tournaments start out...I hate how they end. Also I don't feel that I am a WAY better player than all of you so don't take this post as me talking down to you. I just want to make sure that everyone is cool with being knocked out early...if they are then I won't feel so guilty when they do. All the other rambling is just some of my observations and some points you might want to consider next time we decide to play no-limit or limit games...for "fun".
Eecs said something along the lines of (and I don't EVER want to put words into his mouth...just my cock sometimes when he acts out of line) "I don't want to assume too much...but I bet you don't feel this way when you are going heads up for the championsihp." I replied along the lines of..."yeah I still feel for those that got knocked out." This suprised Eecs. What I didn't tell him was that I not only feel for those that got knocked out...but I feel the seriousness of the game that wasn't there when the game started...I feel myself taking the game too seriously when its down to me and one other player...how can I not play too seriously...after all...everyone already got up and left the house.
Sep 7, 2004
Video Game Rant:
Penny Arcade was right when it said that too many good games have/are comming out... I decided to take a look at the number of games I want that have come out this last week til the end of September. Guess how many games are on my wishlist? 11. (Star Ocean, Phantom Brave, SF: Anniversary Collection, Silent Hill 4, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, Gradius V, Syberia II, DDR: Extreme, Mega Man X: Command Mission, Myst IV, and SNK vs Capcom: Chaos) And that's not counting the other games I've pre-ordered for November. (Beatmania IIDX 8th Style, Karaoke Revolution Vol. 3) Whee.
Actually, I know what this is. My roommate explained to me that it was all a big conspiracy by video game makers for us to fail school. Last year, I think we ran into the same problem, when Knights of the Old Republic, Soul Calibur 2, and F-Zero for the GC came out. Exciting times for gamers. Glad I don't have very much class to go to this time around.
Is there a point to this post? Nope. Just making those that play video games aware of the goodness that is happening til the end of the year, and making myself look more nerdy. This is what I get for posting at 3 am....zzzzzz.
Penny Arcade was right when it said that too many good games have/are comming out... I decided to take a look at the number of games I want that have come out this last week til the end of September. Guess how many games are on my wishlist? 11. (Star Ocean, Phantom Brave, SF: Anniversary Collection, Silent Hill 4, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, Gradius V, Syberia II, DDR: Extreme, Mega Man X: Command Mission, Myst IV, and SNK vs Capcom: Chaos) And that's not counting the other games I've pre-ordered for November. (Beatmania IIDX 8th Style, Karaoke Revolution Vol. 3) Whee.
Actually, I know what this is. My roommate explained to me that it was all a big conspiracy by video game makers for us to fail school. Last year, I think we ran into the same problem, when Knights of the Old Republic, Soul Calibur 2, and F-Zero for the GC came out. Exciting times for gamers. Glad I don't have very much class to go to this time around.
Is there a point to this post? Nope. Just making those that play video games aware of the goodness that is happening til the end of the year, and making myself look more nerdy. This is what I get for posting at 3 am....zzzzzz.
Aug 27, 2004
Some quick overrated things in life:
AIM/Yahoo Messenger/ICQ/Etc - it's a convenient way not to talk to people. Who needs to hear voices or interact? Though, I will add that it allows for easier multi-tasking, but with the age of technology, we're running far away from the days where you would actually have to talk to someone.
Shaquille O'Neil - People always talk about him having so much skill....like what? Turning around and dunking over everyone? If I were that tall and big, I would hope I could do the same thing, but I wouldn't classify him in every "superstar" class. Guys like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson, had more to them besides dunking in their scoring portfolio. They were also leaders and they had class....O'Neil...doesn't have much. But he has a great hip hop career in his future. And maybe acting...SHAZAAM!
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - I haven't finished this movie yet, but so far it is quite a bore. I don't know what it is, but it feels like some jokes run a little too long or they kill the sarcasm. I will try and finish the movie, but I can't help falling asleep each time.
Hillary Duff - I don't really know that much about her but I've seen Lizzie Maguire and listened to some of her music and I think...."This girl makes way too much money!" She'll be just as sluttly as the rest of those pop girls in 5 years. She'll get out of her good girl phase and go through a bad girl phase that she won't be able to get out of.
Concerts - I hate going to concerts now w/ a passion. I pay 50 bucks to go hear some band that I do like, but that night they don't seem to want to play any of my favorite songs. Then I spend the rest of my night getting bumped around by gross, sweaty people and then it takes me an hour and a half to leave the place because of the traffic. I rather listen to a CD and just kick it. Or watch the concert on TV.
Lindsay Lohan - First she has poor taste...Wilma Valderrama ...are u kidding? I did like her in the Parent Trap, but the rest of her movies sucked ass. She has a terrible singing voice. Now she's hanging out w/ Paris Hilton...good call...RETARD!
PS2 - I would not buy one of these now if I were anyone. Graphically it's not that great anymore, it has a useless DVD player that skips, loud, and it has a few good games. Also the network implementation doesn't seem the most thought out idea. The games that are supposed to be PS2 seem to be making their way to Xbox and GC. At the time it was awesome, but there wasn't much from the competition and the number of games weren't there. Now, if my PS2 broke in half, I wouldn't cry.
I also agree the Yankees are an overrated team and they are terrible for sports. Any sport. But I don't agree that baseball sucks. I love baseball and I know the game seems boring, but for some reason I can sit and watch a baseball game for hours. There is some thrill there and I like the nuances in terms of defense, pitching styles, types of pitches, the sound of a bat when the ball is hit on the screws. Baseball doesn't have a lot of action, but if you watch for the little things, you start to appreciate it. I really don't have a great argument here because I used to be one who would fall asleep watching baseball...but then you start seeing the little things.
At first, I was going to disagree with Brendan, but then he explained further to me and I see his point. Drinking can be fun, but I would never use that an excuse to go have fun....like if I were bored, I wouldn't resort to going out drinking for the sole purpose of drinking. There has to be some social aspect to it for drinking to be fun. I see drinking as overrated if you have to do it every weekend to have fun. There are other things in life that don't need to be enhanced by alcohol.
San Jose:
Just to expand on Tony's thoughts....
San Jose is a great place to live. Everyone says that it's boring and there's not much to do, but where is a place that has more?
SF? Besides clubs,bars and some site seeing stuff, what else is there? Homeless people?
NY? same as above except more people
I like San Jose because 90% of the time you do not have to worry about finding parking. Even if you have to pay for it, you can easily find a parking garage and it's not really a hassle.
No matter where you are in San Jose, you're 15 min from all other places - Fremont, Milpitas, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, etc....
You don't have to worry about not finding a place to shop or buy videogames. This is huge coming from SLO and Tucson where you can only find a select amount of places where you can go shopping.
The only thing I wish about San Jose is if it had more of a college type atmosphere. Younger crowds, not as busy, more laid back.
Yes Steve....Welcome back to the Promised Land! We will have fun and we will make you forget about....u know...that place where you went to college....ya...
Tony - yes we should hang out more. I've very excited about Smallville 2.
Brian - it was nice seeing you around for a summer for once. Hopefully you'll come visit more often when you graduate. You should come back, just like Steve did. =)
Alright my shift is about over....Talk to you all later.
AIM/Yahoo Messenger/ICQ/Etc - it's a convenient way not to talk to people. Who needs to hear voices or interact? Though, I will add that it allows for easier multi-tasking, but with the age of technology, we're running far away from the days where you would actually have to talk to someone.
Shaquille O'Neil - People always talk about him having so much skill....like what? Turning around and dunking over everyone? If I were that tall and big, I would hope I could do the same thing, but I wouldn't classify him in every "superstar" class. Guys like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson, had more to them besides dunking in their scoring portfolio. They were also leaders and they had class....O'Neil...doesn't have much. But he has a great hip hop career in his future. And maybe acting...SHAZAAM!
Monty Python and the Holy Grail - I haven't finished this movie yet, but so far it is quite a bore. I don't know what it is, but it feels like some jokes run a little too long or they kill the sarcasm. I will try and finish the movie, but I can't help falling asleep each time.
Hillary Duff - I don't really know that much about her but I've seen Lizzie Maguire and listened to some of her music and I think...."This girl makes way too much money!" She'll be just as sluttly as the rest of those pop girls in 5 years. She'll get out of her good girl phase and go through a bad girl phase that she won't be able to get out of.
Concerts - I hate going to concerts now w/ a passion. I pay 50 bucks to go hear some band that I do like, but that night they don't seem to want to play any of my favorite songs. Then I spend the rest of my night getting bumped around by gross, sweaty people and then it takes me an hour and a half to leave the place because of the traffic. I rather listen to a CD and just kick it. Or watch the concert on TV.
Lindsay Lohan - First she has poor taste...Wilma Valderrama ...are u kidding? I did like her in the Parent Trap, but the rest of her movies sucked ass. She has a terrible singing voice. Now she's hanging out w/ Paris Hilton...good call...RETARD!
PS2 - I would not buy one of these now if I were anyone. Graphically it's not that great anymore, it has a useless DVD player that skips, loud, and it has a few good games. Also the network implementation doesn't seem the most thought out idea. The games that are supposed to be PS2 seem to be making their way to Xbox and GC. At the time it was awesome, but there wasn't much from the competition and the number of games weren't there. Now, if my PS2 broke in half, I wouldn't cry.
I also agree the Yankees are an overrated team and they are terrible for sports. Any sport. But I don't agree that baseball sucks. I love baseball and I know the game seems boring, but for some reason I can sit and watch a baseball game for hours. There is some thrill there and I like the nuances in terms of defense, pitching styles, types of pitches, the sound of a bat when the ball is hit on the screws. Baseball doesn't have a lot of action, but if you watch for the little things, you start to appreciate it. I really don't have a great argument here because I used to be one who would fall asleep watching baseball...but then you start seeing the little things.
At first, I was going to disagree with Brendan, but then he explained further to me and I see his point. Drinking can be fun, but I would never use that an excuse to go have fun....like if I were bored, I wouldn't resort to going out drinking for the sole purpose of drinking. There has to be some social aspect to it for drinking to be fun. I see drinking as overrated if you have to do it every weekend to have fun. There are other things in life that don't need to be enhanced by alcohol.
San Jose:
Just to expand on Tony's thoughts....
San Jose is a great place to live. Everyone says that it's boring and there's not much to do, but where is a place that has more?
SF? Besides clubs,bars and some site seeing stuff, what else is there? Homeless people?
NY? same as above except more people
I like San Jose because 90% of the time you do not have to worry about finding parking. Even if you have to pay for it, you can easily find a parking garage and it's not really a hassle.
No matter where you are in San Jose, you're 15 min from all other places - Fremont, Milpitas, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, etc....
You don't have to worry about not finding a place to shop or buy videogames. This is huge coming from SLO and Tucson where you can only find a select amount of places where you can go shopping.
The only thing I wish about San Jose is if it had more of a college type atmosphere. Younger crowds, not as busy, more laid back.
Yes Steve....Welcome back to the Promised Land! We will have fun and we will make you forget about....u know...that place where you went to college....ya...
Tony - yes we should hang out more. I've very excited about Smallville 2.
Brian - it was nice seeing you around for a summer for once. Hopefully you'll come visit more often when you graduate. You should come back, just like Steve did. =)
Alright my shift is about over....Talk to you all later.
Aug 24, 2004
Back in san jose...I'll leave my thoughts about that for my personal blog. You guys don't wanna hear that crap anyways. If you do, the link is down to the right.
Poker games are good. It's especially cool now that Tony seems to be a regular. Good times. Tony is one of those guys who speaks his mind, but speaks it in a way that you agree with whatever he says. Laid back. If charisma isn't his middle name, then it should be.
Fuck Garden whatever it is Poker room. Fuck stupid fobs that take you money and talk shit. Fuck nasty chips that stick together. Fuck the "3rd blind". Fuck that. Vegas seems to be the only place to play poker. That and the Bluckyday crib. Either way I lose. Whatevers. At least I'm beat by impossible hands like straight flushes.
Karaoke Revolution was pretty fun for a game with the worst song choices ever. I still think we should all hit up the real thing. I still think that i do not sing good. I still will never play DDR. I just don't got the feet for it.
BTW, Jon is teaching me some new dance moves. I have finally witnessed Jon dancing. I can say without any kind of doubt that he is one of the best dancers I know. I can't wait to hit up a club and force jon to battle some black guys. Cuz when you can beat a black guy on the dance floor, then you're the shit. Period.
Garden state. From what i've heard and what i've seen, I'm afraid to watch it. The expectations for it are near the point of "best movie i've ever seen". And I'm afraid that it won't live up to it. Then there's always the Scrubs thing. Worst show ever. Fuck that janitor. Shoot his ass and I'll watch it. Anyways, yeah...I guess I'll watch it eventually. I mean, if it's about a twenty something who is forced to move home to a dreary existance then I think there's no doubt in my mind that i'll be crying at the end.."so true...so true..."
I'd have to say tho, that my #1 movie of all time will remain "swingers". I've watched this movie so many times..but you start to notice some things about it the more times you watch it. It's so easy to relate the movie..and like i was telling Brendan..movies to me are good if they 1) make you laugh 2) help you interpret something in life. Swingers does both of that. The different kinds of friends..how their differences are what make the friendship so strong...the trouble that girls are...the difficulties of breakups...the drama that sometimes happens out of nowhere....having to leave home for something that's supposidly "good for you"....the awesomeness of a "on a whim" trip to vegas...the attempts to look cool...that one friend that can put everything in perspective for you...the inside jokes..the hitting up parties with certain people just so you have something to do...and how everything just hits you like a pile of bricks one morning. That's life..and that's a damn good movie. "nothing to lose" is pretty cool too tho. heh.
btw, if you guys wanna see the website of the guy who runs the tram at disneyland, here's his URL: http://www.homestarrunner.com He's the big white guy with no arms. Don't ask brendan or jon about it tho. They won't remember.
Till the next poker game or video game session...peace out.
Poker games are good. It's especially cool now that Tony seems to be a regular. Good times. Tony is one of those guys who speaks his mind, but speaks it in a way that you agree with whatever he says. Laid back. If charisma isn't his middle name, then it should be.
Fuck Garden whatever it is Poker room. Fuck stupid fobs that take you money and talk shit. Fuck nasty chips that stick together. Fuck the "3rd blind". Fuck that. Vegas seems to be the only place to play poker. That and the Bluckyday crib. Either way I lose. Whatevers. At least I'm beat by impossible hands like straight flushes.
Karaoke Revolution was pretty fun for a game with the worst song choices ever. I still think we should all hit up the real thing. I still think that i do not sing good. I still will never play DDR. I just don't got the feet for it.
BTW, Jon is teaching me some new dance moves. I have finally witnessed Jon dancing. I can say without any kind of doubt that he is one of the best dancers I know. I can't wait to hit up a club and force jon to battle some black guys. Cuz when you can beat a black guy on the dance floor, then you're the shit. Period.
Garden state. From what i've heard and what i've seen, I'm afraid to watch it. The expectations for it are near the point of "best movie i've ever seen". And I'm afraid that it won't live up to it. Then there's always the Scrubs thing. Worst show ever. Fuck that janitor. Shoot his ass and I'll watch it. Anyways, yeah...I guess I'll watch it eventually. I mean, if it's about a twenty something who is forced to move home to a dreary existance then I think there's no doubt in my mind that i'll be crying at the end.."so true...so true..."
I'd have to say tho, that my #1 movie of all time will remain "swingers". I've watched this movie so many times..but you start to notice some things about it the more times you watch it. It's so easy to relate the movie..and like i was telling Brendan..movies to me are good if they 1) make you laugh 2) help you interpret something in life. Swingers does both of that. The different kinds of friends..how their differences are what make the friendship so strong...the trouble that girls are...the difficulties of breakups...the drama that sometimes happens out of nowhere....having to leave home for something that's supposidly "good for you"....the awesomeness of a "on a whim" trip to vegas...the attempts to look cool...that one friend that can put everything in perspective for you...the inside jokes..the hitting up parties with certain people just so you have something to do...and how everything just hits you like a pile of bricks one morning. That's life..and that's a damn good movie. "nothing to lose" is pretty cool too tho. heh.
btw, if you guys wanna see the website of the guy who runs the tram at disneyland, here's his URL: http://www.homestarrunner.com He's the big white guy with no arms. Don't ask brendan or jon about it tho. They won't remember.
Till the next poker game or video game session...peace out.
Aug 23, 2004
Short and simple.
Well, it's my first day back in Rohnert Park, and it's quite a change. We made less money the entire day than we would have in one shift back in Hayward. How did I ever think the store was busy?
I just wanted to take the time out and thank you guys for a wonderful summer. We may not have gone anywhere, or done anything out of the ordinary, but it was awesome nonetheless. From nights in a club, to putting together a workstation; from playing DDR, to playing poker, I enjoyed every minute of it. Who says we can't have a good time? Now all that's left is Cosby and I'll be happy never to see you guys again :)
Steve, good luck with grad school... Living back in the town you grew up in isn't that bad. Just bad enough to make you wish you were back in SD :) Just think, you're close enough to take part in the interest-free sucker loans now!
Well, it's my first day back in Rohnert Park, and it's quite a change. We made less money the entire day than we would have in one shift back in Hayward. How did I ever think the store was busy?
I just wanted to take the time out and thank you guys for a wonderful summer. We may not have gone anywhere, or done anything out of the ordinary, but it was awesome nonetheless. From nights in a club, to putting together a workstation; from playing DDR, to playing poker, I enjoyed every minute of it. Who says we can't have a good time? Now all that's left is Cosby and I'll be happy never to see you guys again :)
Steve, good luck with grad school... Living back in the town you grew up in isn't that bad. Just bad enough to make you wish you were back in SD :) Just think, you're close enough to take part in the interest-free sucker loans now!
Aug 21, 2004
I was going to blog about overrated stuff and coconuts, but I decided against it. Instead I will first start off by saying I am blogging on my new computer. Big shouts out to my ace, B3 who got this computer all together. He may never put together a workstation ever again, but he is smarter because of it. Remember, heatsinks are good when you install them correctly. Werd.
This computer is soo friggidy fast that whatever small lightning pulses that are often mistaken for rational thoughts by me in my brain, come out on the computer before I even type it. Titties. See I didn't type that. That is how fast this Gay Porn computer is. This computer can pose some gigantic Pissing Tentacles problems. I'll just pretend I'm Kevin...he has no rational thoughts whatsoever. See? It worked.
Garden State. I know everyone has had to listen to me hype this film up for about 4 months now. My mom claims she told me about it, but I was the one that actually decided to find the trailer. Therefore that makes me the one who discovered it. Jonathan especially has had to listen to me talking Garden State and how it is going to be the best film of the summer. In fact I might have even said it was going to be my best of the year. I know I did repeatedly tell people that it was THE best trailer I have ever seen. I ask you to find a better one. Although if I can remember correctly, I thought the Rounders trailer was pretty cool. I just never went to go see it in theatres because I don't even remember it playing in theatres. Anyway, after seeing Zach Braff's work two times...and I want to see it once more...I feel I can give my trained by fags at SFSU opinion on this film. You can of course see the film for yourself and make your own opinion...but as usual you don't know shit about film or what is good. Haha.
The film itself holds together nicely. The way the story moves along is not that of your typical screenplay. There aren't three acts. There isn't a big dynamic resolution. The ending while a bit cliche...shows that even if you think you have the answer to how to live life...it can't be solved in 90 minutes. The character themselves are amusing enough for me. Natalie Portman shows that Lucas is the one responsible for her bad acting. I've gotten into so many arguments with inferior filmfakers...I mean filmmakers at my school about if she is a good actress or not. They always base her ability on her Star Wars role. Shows how smart they are. In this film, as Sam, Natalie is adorable. Pardon the gayness, but there really isn't another adjective I could find. Perhaps spunky. Zach Braff holds his own while showing little emotion in the beginning then slowly unraveling. Which brings me to my next point...
This film looks very, very good. Almost surreal in some of the shots. For those that have seen The Graduate, you will notice some similiarities. The scenes almost have to be overdramatic because Large (Zach Braff) can show little emotion in the beginning of the film. Some of my favorite shots in the film are...
Sam and Large in the swimming pool. The first shot where it is overhead and you see Large separated from his friends on the opposite side of the pool and Sam swims toward him. Then the shot where the camera is almost sitting on top of the water when they are talking.
The fireplace conversation. The lighting and staging of this scene is incredible. Also when Sam is tapdancing for Large...the light coming through the windows and the orange light from the fireplace...money.
The bottom line of the cinemtography is this: I wish I fucking made it. Zach Braff shows that you don't need a huge budget to make a film look awesome. He was only able to spend 2.5 million on it...and the picture itself is worth 100 million. I'll stop talking now so you can go form your own opinions on Garden State. I said it was going to be the best film of the summer and after looking back at all the shit that came out this summer...I think I'm right. It may not be the most action packed, story driven film this summer, but I think when it comes out on DVD, this film will slip into my top ten. That is how much I loved it.
By the way, if you have time or want to check out some interesting stuff...search for Garden State and go to the official page. Check out Zach Braff's personal blog and take a look at some behind the scenes stuff of Garden State. Oh yeah and Steve was making fun of me listening to the Garden State soundtrack. This soundtrack kicks ass...you could say it is because I liked the film so much, but like Eecs said...it is good mood music. Frou Frou made that trailer even more awesome than it already was. Oh yeah to clarify, I meant the teaser trailer.
Well that is it for now. I gotta go to bed because I have work tomorrow. I hope you found this somewhat insightful...and I hope you enjoy the film as much as I did.
This computer is soo friggidy fast that whatever small lightning pulses that are often mistaken for rational thoughts by me in my brain, come out on the computer before I even type it. Titties. See I didn't type that. That is how fast this Gay Porn computer is. This computer can pose some gigantic Pissing Tentacles problems. I'll just pretend I'm Kevin...he has no rational thoughts whatsoever. See? It worked.
Garden State. I know everyone has had to listen to me hype this film up for about 4 months now. My mom claims she told me about it, but I was the one that actually decided to find the trailer. Therefore that makes me the one who discovered it. Jonathan especially has had to listen to me talking Garden State and how it is going to be the best film of the summer. In fact I might have even said it was going to be my best of the year. I know I did repeatedly tell people that it was THE best trailer I have ever seen. I ask you to find a better one. Although if I can remember correctly, I thought the Rounders trailer was pretty cool. I just never went to go see it in theatres because I don't even remember it playing in theatres. Anyway, after seeing Zach Braff's work two times...and I want to see it once more...I feel I can give my trained by fags at SFSU opinion on this film. You can of course see the film for yourself and make your own opinion...but as usual you don't know shit about film or what is good. Haha.
The film itself holds together nicely. The way the story moves along is not that of your typical screenplay. There aren't three acts. There isn't a big dynamic resolution. The ending while a bit cliche...shows that even if you think you have the answer to how to live life...it can't be solved in 90 minutes. The character themselves are amusing enough for me. Natalie Portman shows that Lucas is the one responsible for her bad acting. I've gotten into so many arguments with inferior filmfakers...I mean filmmakers at my school about if she is a good actress or not. They always base her ability on her Star Wars role. Shows how smart they are. In this film, as Sam, Natalie is adorable. Pardon the gayness, but there really isn't another adjective I could find. Perhaps spunky. Zach Braff holds his own while showing little emotion in the beginning then slowly unraveling. Which brings me to my next point...
This film looks very, very good. Almost surreal in some of the shots. For those that have seen The Graduate, you will notice some similiarities. The scenes almost have to be overdramatic because Large (Zach Braff) can show little emotion in the beginning of the film. Some of my favorite shots in the film are...
Sam and Large in the swimming pool. The first shot where it is overhead and you see Large separated from his friends on the opposite side of the pool and Sam swims toward him. Then the shot where the camera is almost sitting on top of the water when they are talking.
The fireplace conversation. The lighting and staging of this scene is incredible. Also when Sam is tapdancing for Large...the light coming through the windows and the orange light from the fireplace...money.
The bottom line of the cinemtography is this: I wish I fucking made it. Zach Braff shows that you don't need a huge budget to make a film look awesome. He was only able to spend 2.5 million on it...and the picture itself is worth 100 million. I'll stop talking now so you can go form your own opinions on Garden State. I said it was going to be the best film of the summer and after looking back at all the shit that came out this summer...I think I'm right. It may not be the most action packed, story driven film this summer, but I think when it comes out on DVD, this film will slip into my top ten. That is how much I loved it.
By the way, if you have time or want to check out some interesting stuff...search for Garden State and go to the official page. Check out Zach Braff's personal blog and take a look at some behind the scenes stuff of Garden State. Oh yeah and Steve was making fun of me listening to the Garden State soundtrack. This soundtrack kicks ass...you could say it is because I liked the film so much, but like Eecs said...it is good mood music. Frou Frou made that trailer even more awesome than it already was. Oh yeah to clarify, I meant the teaser trailer.
Well that is it for now. I gotta go to bed because I have work tomorrow. I hope you found this somewhat insightful...and I hope you enjoy the film as much as I did.
Aug 8, 2004
Aug 3, 2004
:: Brendan's List of Overrated Shiet ::
Citizen Kane - This film, which for some reason is number one on every single "Greatest Films" list, is overrated. I see why it was acclaimed for its technical merit. For those who don't know, Orson Welles and some other dude no one knows created a deep focus lens in 1941. This created an image that made things far and close in focus at the same time. I don't know how many Pookiers have actually seen this film (I know Derek and Tony have), but there is a shot in there that I find extremely overrated, yet in every single class the shot comes up in discussion. Kane as a child is seen framed through a window while the adults talk about what to do with the child from inside the house. Big fuck'n deal. The shot isn't that appealing and in my eye, boring. Bottom line: Technically the film is pretty amazing...story wise and watchability...sucks dongs.
Mercedes Benz - This car that is somehow on the list of every single successful, black people and rich white people. I can think of at least 15-20 cars that I would want instead of these pieces of shit. Whatever, black rappers also think goblets filled with pimp juice is cool looking. Which leads to my next item...
Dirty South Rappers - Nelly started some bullshit. Now I have to hear it everywhere. I see it on television, I hear it on the radio and somehow no one seems to get tired of these overrated "rappers". All their shit sounds the same and they have retarded fashion sense. Now they all want to break out in film and Hollywood. I'm glad that no credible director has put them in any films other than some bullshit video with the same shit as the next guy. Bottom line: They can all take pimp juice up their ass, but then again I'll probably have to hear some bullshit scream like, "yeeeeeahhhh".
American Pie (All of them) - I can stand stupid humor. Dumb and Dumber is genius...monks hitting their heads with books makes me laugh out loud (extra points if you know what film that is from) and Space Ghost is awesome...but these films were overrated. The first one was okay...but the more people laughed out loud like they were never going to laugh before in the theatre made me hate the film more. The second was a joke. The third, no one cares about. You can go ahead and tell me I hated it because a lot more people liked it...but if you enjoyed these films...you probably also saw Not Another Teen Movie and A Cinderella Story...and liked them. Bottom line: I'm hoping that if I lose half a brain, I could still make films and everyone that has even less than one half a brain will still pay to go see shit on celluloid.
M. Night ShamadabapoonjabiIbidalan - Give me a break. I will admit that perhaps me guessing the obvious in Sixth Sense (c'mon people...he didn't talk to anyone else or even make connected eye contact with his better off wife) ruined the suspense, but I will give the overrated director this...He does build suspense very well. The problem I have with this is that he feels that everything requires some type of crazy twist at the end. This makes him write scripts into a corner and he finds the easy way out. Unbreakable...oh no, not water! Signs...oh no, not water! The Village...oh no, not red! Bottom line: I'll give you Sixth Sense, but I will not give you anything else.
Optimus Prime - You know my argument with this...but Brendan Morris decided to try to be intelligent because he also went to dirty, overrated Berkeley and tried to tell me he doesn't think he is overrated because of the idea that most people don't really like him personally, but he is the icon of the Transformers therefore he seems popular. I then told him to shut up and used Pookiers names' that cried when Dopetimus died. He is overrated. Bottom line: Everyone knows I hate him, everyone knows why I don't like him...he has a big backside that is worthelss...which brings me to...
J.Ho - Nope, that's not a typo. J.Lo is a stupid bitch and quite frankly, I'm glad Affleck got his head out of her or his ass and started playing cards again. She thinks she can act. She can't. She thinks she is good looking. She isn't. She tries to show that she is from the block. Really she reminds me a hooker on the block. She thinks she can sing. She can't. I bet you're gonna say that I hate her because she is successful...well everyone knows that I think society is retared so her being successful doesn't suprise me. Honestly, I don't think she is that good looking. Perhaps it is the way she carries herself, but shouldn't that matter too? Bottom line: Her bottom line is overrated and I hope her and Skelator Marc Anthony move out of the states.
Pablo Picasso - I brought this up a couple of nights ago and suprised that some actually agreed. If you saw his non cubist paintings, they were good, but I don't think they should be regarded in such a high place. The cubist shit is somewhat cool, but I wouldn't pay for a Picasso. I'd rather have something else in my house...don't ask me to name artists...I can't spell their names right. Bottom line: He used to many lines himself.
Drinking - For the 1 percent that don't drink much (me) we are looked down upon as not knowing exactly how to have fun by most. Well Steve himself said that he wouldn't drop because he doesn't need it to have a natural high at a rave. Well I say the same thing about drinking. When I talk about drinking I don't mean a drink at dinner or perhaps ONE drink at a club, but for those that think it's funny to get wasted, I honestly don't feel sad that your going to die from liver failure. I bet I'm going to get shit about this one, but those that drink to get wasted shouldn't ever tell anyone else that drugs are bad when they themselves probably kill more innocent people because their judgement is all fucked up. Bottom line: Cocktails are fine. Alcohol is fine. Abusing it is annoying for us one percenters. On another note, I bet some of you think I don't go clubbing because I don't like to dance...perhaps a bigger incentive not to go is so I don't have to observe drunken behavior. Yeah, I'm boring.
**More to come...again I'm tired and I got work tomorrow morning. Hope you agree and disagree with the list. Good night.
Citizen Kane - This film, which for some reason is number one on every single "Greatest Films" list, is overrated. I see why it was acclaimed for its technical merit. For those who don't know, Orson Welles and some other dude no one knows created a deep focus lens in 1941. This created an image that made things far and close in focus at the same time. I don't know how many Pookiers have actually seen this film (I know Derek and Tony have), but there is a shot in there that I find extremely overrated, yet in every single class the shot comes up in discussion. Kane as a child is seen framed through a window while the adults talk about what to do with the child from inside the house. Big fuck'n deal. The shot isn't that appealing and in my eye, boring. Bottom line: Technically the film is pretty amazing...story wise and watchability...sucks dongs.
Mercedes Benz - This car that is somehow on the list of every single successful, black people and rich white people. I can think of at least 15-20 cars that I would want instead of these pieces of shit. Whatever, black rappers also think goblets filled with pimp juice is cool looking. Which leads to my next item...
Dirty South Rappers - Nelly started some bullshit. Now I have to hear it everywhere. I see it on television, I hear it on the radio and somehow no one seems to get tired of these overrated "rappers". All their shit sounds the same and they have retarded fashion sense. Now they all want to break out in film and Hollywood. I'm glad that no credible director has put them in any films other than some bullshit video with the same shit as the next guy. Bottom line: They can all take pimp juice up their ass, but then again I'll probably have to hear some bullshit scream like, "yeeeeeahhhh".
American Pie (All of them) - I can stand stupid humor. Dumb and Dumber is genius...monks hitting their heads with books makes me laugh out loud (extra points if you know what film that is from) and Space Ghost is awesome...but these films were overrated. The first one was okay...but the more people laughed out loud like they were never going to laugh before in the theatre made me hate the film more. The second was a joke. The third, no one cares about. You can go ahead and tell me I hated it because a lot more people liked it...but if you enjoyed these films...you probably also saw Not Another Teen Movie and A Cinderella Story...and liked them. Bottom line: I'm hoping that if I lose half a brain, I could still make films and everyone that has even less than one half a brain will still pay to go see shit on celluloid.
M. Night ShamadabapoonjabiIbidalan - Give me a break. I will admit that perhaps me guessing the obvious in Sixth Sense (c'mon people...he didn't talk to anyone else or even make connected eye contact with his better off wife) ruined the suspense, but I will give the overrated director this...He does build suspense very well. The problem I have with this is that he feels that everything requires some type of crazy twist at the end. This makes him write scripts into a corner and he finds the easy way out. Unbreakable...oh no, not water! Signs...oh no, not water! The Village...oh no, not red! Bottom line: I'll give you Sixth Sense, but I will not give you anything else.
Optimus Prime - You know my argument with this...but Brendan Morris decided to try to be intelligent because he also went to dirty, overrated Berkeley and tried to tell me he doesn't think he is overrated because of the idea that most people don't really like him personally, but he is the icon of the Transformers therefore he seems popular. I then told him to shut up and used Pookiers names' that cried when Dopetimus died. He is overrated. Bottom line: Everyone knows I hate him, everyone knows why I don't like him...he has a big backside that is worthelss...which brings me to...
J.Ho - Nope, that's not a typo. J.Lo is a stupid bitch and quite frankly, I'm glad Affleck got his head out of her or his ass and started playing cards again. She thinks she can act. She can't. She thinks she is good looking. She isn't. She tries to show that she is from the block. Really she reminds me a hooker on the block. She thinks she can sing. She can't. I bet you're gonna say that I hate her because she is successful...well everyone knows that I think society is retared so her being successful doesn't suprise me. Honestly, I don't think she is that good looking. Perhaps it is the way she carries herself, but shouldn't that matter too? Bottom line: Her bottom line is overrated and I hope her and Skelator Marc Anthony move out of the states.
Pablo Picasso - I brought this up a couple of nights ago and suprised that some actually agreed. If you saw his non cubist paintings, they were good, but I don't think they should be regarded in such a high place. The cubist shit is somewhat cool, but I wouldn't pay for a Picasso. I'd rather have something else in my house...don't ask me to name artists...I can't spell their names right. Bottom line: He used to many lines himself.
Drinking - For the 1 percent that don't drink much (me) we are looked down upon as not knowing exactly how to have fun by most. Well Steve himself said that he wouldn't drop because he doesn't need it to have a natural high at a rave. Well I say the same thing about drinking. When I talk about drinking I don't mean a drink at dinner or perhaps ONE drink at a club, but for those that think it's funny to get wasted, I honestly don't feel sad that your going to die from liver failure. I bet I'm going to get shit about this one, but those that drink to get wasted shouldn't ever tell anyone else that drugs are bad when they themselves probably kill more innocent people because their judgement is all fucked up. Bottom line: Cocktails are fine. Alcohol is fine. Abusing it is annoying for us one percenters. On another note, I bet some of you think I don't go clubbing because I don't like to dance...perhaps a bigger incentive not to go is so I don't have to observe drunken behavior. Yeah, I'm boring.
**More to come...again I'm tired and I got work tomorrow morning. Hope you agree and disagree with the list. Good night.
Aug 1, 2004
We used to laugh at double blogs. Well just me is probably more accurate. Yet I don't think I should be punished even if this fake plan went through. Did it ever occur to you that I have been blogging recently because of the mere fact it was dying? Besides a double blog is a blog and a bullshit blog put together. If you got nothing out of my poker stories...that three dollar average is probably about right. Haha. I still say you're a better card player than I am. I just get luckier with the idiots at Bay.
On another note, my financial advice was sound. I feel I didn't need to put in the most obvious shit in the world. I'm just lucky that clubbing ain't my thing. Which rules out drinks. Which rules out girls. Which rules out losing money on a slut. In the end, "I win." However, I think we will all agree that it is the little things that you don't think costs you a lot of money that will eventually kill your gangsta roll. Again on another note, I also feel that movies are a rip off. Yet calling people who do go see movies a sucker? If suckers are going to go see my movies (minus Jon of course) then I better go pay off the suckers who are going to be my bosses...it is all about paying your dues.
So to keep this blog alive I tested a conversation with T-Wrecks, Hapachan, Brendan and Andrew last night to see if this would fly. It got positive reviews and in fact made us laugh out loud for over an hour. The conversation was fun and made for some good arguments. So I bring it to Pooky. This isn't necesarily something brand new or unheared of, but as far as I can remember, Pooky never had a list like this before...
I would like to know what you feel is overrated. I want to hear why it is overrated backed by somewhat decent facts that can make people laugh at your intelligence or tastes. As with all overrated lists, Kirsten Dunst is a default so no one needs to blog about her. Yet for the sake of feeling better about ourselves...go ahead and bash her. So my list which will not be the last installment will hopefully get the ball rolling. Lists do not need to be in any paticular order, but let us know if there is something that really, really gets under your skin. Also for those that were in the conversation yesterday, there might be some reruns up in this mutha fucka.
PS: Hey Steve, I know you don't blog on here too much anymore for whatever reasons (which I know), but I think you would come up with some hilarious shit for this...let the poo throwin' start!
**Okay I would have started my list, but I got some stuff I gotta get done...so hopefully later tonight!
On another note, my financial advice was sound. I feel I didn't need to put in the most obvious shit in the world. I'm just lucky that clubbing ain't my thing. Which rules out drinks. Which rules out girls. Which rules out losing money on a slut. In the end, "I win." However, I think we will all agree that it is the little things that you don't think costs you a lot of money that will eventually kill your gangsta roll. Again on another note, I also feel that movies are a rip off. Yet calling people who do go see movies a sucker? If suckers are going to go see my movies (minus Jon of course) then I better go pay off the suckers who are going to be my bosses...it is all about paying your dues.
So to keep this blog alive I tested a conversation with T-Wrecks, Hapachan, Brendan and Andrew last night to see if this would fly. It got positive reviews and in fact made us laugh out loud for over an hour. The conversation was fun and made for some good arguments. So I bring it to Pooky. This isn't necesarily something brand new or unheared of, but as far as I can remember, Pooky never had a list like this before...
I would like to know what you feel is overrated. I want to hear why it is overrated backed by somewhat decent facts that can make people laugh at your intelligence or tastes. As with all overrated lists, Kirsten Dunst is a default so no one needs to blog about her. Yet for the sake of feeling better about ourselves...go ahead and bash her. So my list which will not be the last installment will hopefully get the ball rolling. Lists do not need to be in any paticular order, but let us know if there is something that really, really gets under your skin. Also for those that were in the conversation yesterday, there might be some reruns up in this mutha fucka.
PS: Hey Steve, I know you don't blog on here too much anymore for whatever reasons (which I know), but I think you would come up with some hilarious shit for this...let the poo throwin' start!
**Okay I would have started my list, but I got some stuff I gotta get done...so hopefully later tonight!
Jul 26, 2004
Okay so everyone now gets to see that my hot streak is over. I just got back from Bay101 and realized that I walked out of there with 100 dollars less than when I walked in. I don't know how that happened...maybe someone robbed me. Or perhaps I decided to go ahead and try out my theory again. Except this time I would play it exactly how I would play it before the theory. Confused? Basically I raised a lot more preflop with my premium cards...where as normally I would just limp in and see what develops. Well I lost money. So far my theory seems to work somewhat well...more testing will be done at the expense of my bankroll...since no one else seems to play. Hehe.
So what made my barber so funny? Why did the passing of my barber, Joe Love make me sad? A tribute blog to the only person on this world who could cut my hair like no other. (Yes that includes you to Reiko-chan)
1. The first time I went in there I believe we found the place in the phone book. We knew that the hairstyle I wanted had to be cut by a black person. For all of you that go to some Fob...you don't even know what your missing. Anyway, I walk into the barbershop with my dad and everyone in the shop kind of looks at us. I just stepped into a black barbershop. Of course when I was this young I didn't realize that a black barbershop was special. I asked if I could get a haircut. I think they all kind of laughed because I should have known to make an appointment...yet the woman who owned the shop, Belinda said that I should go talk to Mr. Joe Love. About 20 minutes later I was sitting in his chair. While sitting there I could remember being taken back by how everyone was talking and joking. Jon will be happy to know that funk was surely being played that day. This was the first memory I have of Joe Love.
2. I still laugh at the fact that it took Joe about 6 months to realize that I wanted it shaved to the scalp. Perhaps he didn't shave it to the scalp because he never cut an asian's hair and he thought it would look funny. You could say that I should have just told him that I wanted it closer...more close...more close...until he got it right. However, Joe had a funny way of talking...almost like Cedric in barbershop and everytime he asked me a question...for 6 months straight I had no fucking clue what he was saying. He would say something...and this is how it sounded at the time, "yeeah dat hair is short, u wanna short'n up da fade or line up...damn I dunno bout dis right here...what u think'n young'n?" I responded with, "..." Joe responds with, "hey u listenin right?" and I go "yeah that looks good". He stands in front of me and says, "yeeah". Before I knew it the neck apron was off and I was shoved out the door. I didn't want them to think I was disrespecting them by not understanding what the hell they were all saying. After 6 months I was fluent in black folk talk. Haha.
3. Before Joe had to go into the hospital for health reasons...for about four straight years he had to smoke 3 cigs while cutting my hair. When I got into the chair he would go, "hold on 'dere", go outside...grunt and smoke and bring his butt right back into the store...after one side of my head was done...he breathed in heavily and went outside to smoke again...after he was done with my hair he would go outside and smoke another one. Derek, another barber there, told me that I was the only one that caused him to smoke before, during and after cutting my hair.
4. My hair is a bitch to cut. My head is shaped funny. He let me know it. He asked why I had such a flat head and why my hair was so damn course. One time he was cutting my hair and he stopped...he had to borrow Belinda's tweezers because he was getting hair stuck under his skin like splinters. So one time he decided to try rubber gloves. Everyone in the barbershop was laughing because they have never seen a brother cut hair with rubber gloves on.
5. Again my hair was so thick that I ruined one his favorite clippers...he was just going up the side of my head when it basically choked. I'll never forget that day because he got all pissed off because everyone was laughing at him because I guess he never liked to buy new equipment. I found out the next time I visited that he cleaned the shit out of it and it still had life in it and he still wanted my business. That right there speaks volume about his character.
6. One time Derek and Joe were talking about dancing. Derek was the youngest barber in the shop and he was asking Joe how he used to dance. Joe straight up stopped cutting my hair and went in the backroom. He put on some EWF and started dancing. Yet he was dancing like I dance which is not that good and Derek told him he's gotta stop before he breaks a hip. To prove everyone in the barbershop wrong, he kept on dancing while cutting my hair. The energy in that shop was crazy.
7. Again Derek and Joe were arguing about some sports something or other and Derek told Joe he needs to stop acting like he knows everything. I can't remember what Joe said, but he went off on like a 5 minute lecture and at the end of it everyone in the barbershop just looked at him. He kept on cutting my hair and another brother that was waiting for his turn was like, "what in the hell did you just say?" And everyone started laughing because no one had the guts to say anything to him...I started laughing and my head jerked and he messed up my fade. Joe said I deserved it for laughing...haha.
8. By the time I was in highschool, my cousin Miya used to stay with us. She was then the person to drive me to get a haircut. Man, when I first took her in there...all the guys in there were like, "who's dat dere?" "who that be?" Ever since then and even up to the time of my last haircut, Joe would ask where his girl is at. Miya really did brighten up their day when she dropped my ass off.
9. I asked Joe if there was some way he could brush off the excess hair on my head because my hair was beginning to give me splinters in the back of my neck...he tried using the barber's brush, but the hair kept on sticking...Joe mumbled something and he brought in the vacuum cleaner from the back...he straight up took that vaccum to my head and caught my big ass ear in the pipe. The funny thing besides that is that he didn't even apologize and said, "damn you got some big ass ears...never noticed that before".
These are just some of the memories I have of this barbershop and I'm hoping that Derek will take me in since Joe passed on. There are way too many to write about...you have to realize that I got a haircut every two weeks. Over a decade that is a lot of visits. The dynamic energy they had in there will be something I will never forget. When Miya went in there recently she said it was quiet than what she remembers. Hopefully they'll get back to where they were.
The final thing I'd like to say about Joe Love is that he took me in and watched me grow up. He would always shake my hand and always made sure I was doing good. He always told me to come back soon and to take care. He always asked about my family and how my directing was going. When he cut my hair for prom he said not to make any babies because I got too much stuff to worry about. He really did care about all his clients...knew them by name...hell knew them by voice. I remember that he would be staring at my hair with the back toward the door and someone would walk in and say, "hello Mr. Love" and Joe would always respond without even looking...with their name and a genuine how's it going.
Joe didn't just cut my hair well. He didn't squeeze in as many people as he could to make more money...he loved what he did, he loved the people and he loved his life. You guys could say that it was just a barber, but for the first real time thinking about how I will never see him again...he was considered a closer friend than I ever gave him credit for. Thank you Joe Love for the fades and the memories.
So what made my barber so funny? Why did the passing of my barber, Joe Love make me sad? A tribute blog to the only person on this world who could cut my hair like no other. (Yes that includes you to Reiko-chan)
1. The first time I went in there I believe we found the place in the phone book. We knew that the hairstyle I wanted had to be cut by a black person. For all of you that go to some Fob...you don't even know what your missing. Anyway, I walk into the barbershop with my dad and everyone in the shop kind of looks at us. I just stepped into a black barbershop. Of course when I was this young I didn't realize that a black barbershop was special. I asked if I could get a haircut. I think they all kind of laughed because I should have known to make an appointment...yet the woman who owned the shop, Belinda said that I should go talk to Mr. Joe Love. About 20 minutes later I was sitting in his chair. While sitting there I could remember being taken back by how everyone was talking and joking. Jon will be happy to know that funk was surely being played that day. This was the first memory I have of Joe Love.
2. I still laugh at the fact that it took Joe about 6 months to realize that I wanted it shaved to the scalp. Perhaps he didn't shave it to the scalp because he never cut an asian's hair and he thought it would look funny. You could say that I should have just told him that I wanted it closer...more close...more close...until he got it right. However, Joe had a funny way of talking...almost like Cedric in barbershop and everytime he asked me a question...for 6 months straight I had no fucking clue what he was saying. He would say something...and this is how it sounded at the time, "yeeah dat hair is short, u wanna short'n up da fade or line up...damn I dunno bout dis right here...what u think'n young'n?" I responded with, "..." Joe responds with, "hey u listenin right?" and I go "yeah that looks good". He stands in front of me and says, "yeeah". Before I knew it the neck apron was off and I was shoved out the door. I didn't want them to think I was disrespecting them by not understanding what the hell they were all saying. After 6 months I was fluent in black folk talk. Haha.
3. Before Joe had to go into the hospital for health reasons...for about four straight years he had to smoke 3 cigs while cutting my hair. When I got into the chair he would go, "hold on 'dere", go outside...grunt and smoke and bring his butt right back into the store...after one side of my head was done...he breathed in heavily and went outside to smoke again...after he was done with my hair he would go outside and smoke another one. Derek, another barber there, told me that I was the only one that caused him to smoke before, during and after cutting my hair.
4. My hair is a bitch to cut. My head is shaped funny. He let me know it. He asked why I had such a flat head and why my hair was so damn course. One time he was cutting my hair and he stopped...he had to borrow Belinda's tweezers because he was getting hair stuck under his skin like splinters. So one time he decided to try rubber gloves. Everyone in the barbershop was laughing because they have never seen a brother cut hair with rubber gloves on.
5. Again my hair was so thick that I ruined one his favorite clippers...he was just going up the side of my head when it basically choked. I'll never forget that day because he got all pissed off because everyone was laughing at him because I guess he never liked to buy new equipment. I found out the next time I visited that he cleaned the shit out of it and it still had life in it and he still wanted my business. That right there speaks volume about his character.
6. One time Derek and Joe were talking about dancing. Derek was the youngest barber in the shop and he was asking Joe how he used to dance. Joe straight up stopped cutting my hair and went in the backroom. He put on some EWF and started dancing. Yet he was dancing like I dance which is not that good and Derek told him he's gotta stop before he breaks a hip. To prove everyone in the barbershop wrong, he kept on dancing while cutting my hair. The energy in that shop was crazy.
7. Again Derek and Joe were arguing about some sports something or other and Derek told Joe he needs to stop acting like he knows everything. I can't remember what Joe said, but he went off on like a 5 minute lecture and at the end of it everyone in the barbershop just looked at him. He kept on cutting my hair and another brother that was waiting for his turn was like, "what in the hell did you just say?" And everyone started laughing because no one had the guts to say anything to him...I started laughing and my head jerked and he messed up my fade. Joe said I deserved it for laughing...haha.
8. By the time I was in highschool, my cousin Miya used to stay with us. She was then the person to drive me to get a haircut. Man, when I first took her in there...all the guys in there were like, "who's dat dere?" "who that be?" Ever since then and even up to the time of my last haircut, Joe would ask where his girl is at. Miya really did brighten up their day when she dropped my ass off.
9. I asked Joe if there was some way he could brush off the excess hair on my head because my hair was beginning to give me splinters in the back of my neck...he tried using the barber's brush, but the hair kept on sticking...Joe mumbled something and he brought in the vacuum cleaner from the back...he straight up took that vaccum to my head and caught my big ass ear in the pipe. The funny thing besides that is that he didn't even apologize and said, "damn you got some big ass ears...never noticed that before".
These are just some of the memories I have of this barbershop and I'm hoping that Derek will take me in since Joe passed on. There are way too many to write about...you have to realize that I got a haircut every two weeks. Over a decade that is a lot of visits. The dynamic energy they had in there will be something I will never forget. When Miya went in there recently she said it was quiet than what she remembers. Hopefully they'll get back to where they were.
The final thing I'd like to say about Joe Love is that he took me in and watched me grow up. He would always shake my hand and always made sure I was doing good. He always told me to come back soon and to take care. He always asked about my family and how my directing was going. When he cut my hair for prom he said not to make any babies because I got too much stuff to worry about. He really did care about all his clients...knew them by name...hell knew them by voice. I remember that he would be staring at my hair with the back toward the door and someone would walk in and say, "hello Mr. Love" and Joe would always respond without even looking...with their name and a genuine how's it going.
Joe didn't just cut my hair well. He didn't squeeze in as many people as he could to make more money...he loved what he did, he loved the people and he loved his life. You guys could say that it was just a barber, but for the first real time thinking about how I will never see him again...he was considered a closer friend than I ever gave him credit for. Thank you Joe Love for the fades and the memories.
Again I apologize for writing about poker (however this blog by me will definetely be on a lot more serious subject), but I am always trying (believe it or not) to make better poker players out of my friends. I think Jon once told me something along the lines that he would love all of us to go to Garden or Bay and all come up big winners in the same session. I agree with this so I'm trying to give you more insight into the game based on my observations.
Obviously we all know that playing with the best hand and favorite hand (yes there is a difference...and I don't mean favorite as in J7offsuit hehe) is key in low limit games. I mean most of the time we need to show the best hand at the end to win the pot so why should we not play only premium cards? Well an interesting situation came up when I was playing at Bay a couple of days ago. I was in the big blind and someone raised it. Everyone else folded so we were in a heads up situation. Now my cards were exactly good but they weren't too bad either. 56suited clubs. Well any other time I would fold this hand if I was up against a raise. Even more so, Jon will tell you that the pot odds weren't exactly spectacular holding that kind of hand. Most of time with suited connectors you want a lot of callers to pay you off if you hit big. Thinking quickly I realized that I'm putting out one small bet (because I was the big blind) to win 3 bets plus the small blind. Even if I was the underdog in the hand I was getting profitable odds.
So what? I'm protecting my big blind. Well the second part of my thinking is this...if the flop came out all rags I would probably have a good chance to steal this pot. So the flop came out and it was indeed rags HOWEVER I did pick up middle pair with a 5. The board was a 5, 3, 8 rainbow. Now realizing this guy was kind of ridiculous in his betting from past hands I decided to check it...he paused for a bit and bet. Does this really look like a raiser's flop? Like I said though this guy could be holding anything...so I called. Right when I called I saw him chuckle a bit. This made me realize something...
We always think it is hard to play against someone who has a big hand. If we put someone on a big hand and we have a decent drawing hand it is tough to figure out what actions we want to take...HOWEVER it is equally hard for people to play against someone like me who shows a lot of the best hands and then I check/call the flop. Now this guy was probably thinking, "shit...he could be holding anything and he is a bit of a tight player." Then again he could have been thinking, "I should have stayed in the jungle where I belong." Either way I thought of the chuckle as weak.
The flop came out a 2. Thinking I have a gutshot I decided to try to get a free card and checked...he bet and I then realized that he might be trying to buy this pot. I dunno...call me weird, but I just didn't think he could be holding anything...perhaps two overcards which leaves him with 6 outs...either way I decided to fuck it and raise. He thought for a bit then threw his hand away.
No doubt I got lucky in him not having a legit hand after the flop. Also the board did help my hand a bit so raising was exactly a total bluff...however it made me realize that perhaps a raise with 2 or less callers is worth me putting money in just to see the flop...not only because it was cheaper for me to do so when I'm on the blind, but because my opponents really have no fucking clue what I could be holding...and why would I call and raise with nothing in my hand when I've been showing them the best hands on the showdown?
On a more serious note my cousin Miya has just informed me that my barber that I have had for over a decade passed away about a year or so ago. This came up out of the blue because Miya took someone to B-Pizzazz to get a haircut for my cousin's wedding about a month ago. She used to take me to get my haircut when she lived with us and the barbers always loved it when my half black half japanese cousin came in to visit. Anyway she went to the shop and asked where my barber, Joe Love was. Another barber whom I have known since my first day going in there told her that he passed away right after I took a break from him because Ricki needed practice in cutting hair. This just came out over dinner and my parents and I were like, "he did?!?"
So what is the big deal here? Well I'm not exactly sure how many of you had a friendly relationship with your barbers (Jon you don't count because you cut it or your dad does), but Joe Love has watched me from middle school all the way up through last year. I got a lot of memories from that barbershop and the conversations we used to have. With all honestly that barbershop was A LOT more live than the barbershop movie. On my next blog I'm going to go ahead and tell you about some of my memories because they in my mind pretty damn hilarious.
Obviously we all know that playing with the best hand and favorite hand (yes there is a difference...and I don't mean favorite as in J7offsuit hehe) is key in low limit games. I mean most of the time we need to show the best hand at the end to win the pot so why should we not play only premium cards? Well an interesting situation came up when I was playing at Bay a couple of days ago. I was in the big blind and someone raised it. Everyone else folded so we were in a heads up situation. Now my cards were exactly good but they weren't too bad either. 56suited clubs. Well any other time I would fold this hand if I was up against a raise. Even more so, Jon will tell you that the pot odds weren't exactly spectacular holding that kind of hand. Most of time with suited connectors you want a lot of callers to pay you off if you hit big. Thinking quickly I realized that I'm putting out one small bet (because I was the big blind) to win 3 bets plus the small blind. Even if I was the underdog in the hand I was getting profitable odds.
So what? I'm protecting my big blind. Well the second part of my thinking is this...if the flop came out all rags I would probably have a good chance to steal this pot. So the flop came out and it was indeed rags HOWEVER I did pick up middle pair with a 5. The board was a 5, 3, 8 rainbow. Now realizing this guy was kind of ridiculous in his betting from past hands I decided to check it...he paused for a bit and bet. Does this really look like a raiser's flop? Like I said though this guy could be holding anything...so I called. Right when I called I saw him chuckle a bit. This made me realize something...
We always think it is hard to play against someone who has a big hand. If we put someone on a big hand and we have a decent drawing hand it is tough to figure out what actions we want to take...HOWEVER it is equally hard for people to play against someone like me who shows a lot of the best hands and then I check/call the flop. Now this guy was probably thinking, "shit...he could be holding anything and he is a bit of a tight player." Then again he could have been thinking, "I should have stayed in the jungle where I belong." Either way I thought of the chuckle as weak.
The flop came out a 2. Thinking I have a gutshot I decided to try to get a free card and checked...he bet and I then realized that he might be trying to buy this pot. I dunno...call me weird, but I just didn't think he could be holding anything...perhaps two overcards which leaves him with 6 outs...either way I decided to fuck it and raise. He thought for a bit then threw his hand away.
No doubt I got lucky in him not having a legit hand after the flop. Also the board did help my hand a bit so raising was exactly a total bluff...however it made me realize that perhaps a raise with 2 or less callers is worth me putting money in just to see the flop...not only because it was cheaper for me to do so when I'm on the blind, but because my opponents really have no fucking clue what I could be holding...and why would I call and raise with nothing in my hand when I've been showing them the best hands on the showdown?
On a more serious note my cousin Miya has just informed me that my barber that I have had for over a decade passed away about a year or so ago. This came up out of the blue because Miya took someone to B-Pizzazz to get a haircut for my cousin's wedding about a month ago. She used to take me to get my haircut when she lived with us and the barbers always loved it when my half black half japanese cousin came in to visit. Anyway she went to the shop and asked where my barber, Joe Love was. Another barber whom I have known since my first day going in there told her that he passed away right after I took a break from him because Ricki needed practice in cutting hair. This just came out over dinner and my parents and I were like, "he did?!?"
So what is the big deal here? Well I'm not exactly sure how many of you had a friendly relationship with your barbers (Jon you don't count because you cut it or your dad does), but Joe Love has watched me from middle school all the way up through last year. I got a lot of memories from that barbershop and the conversations we used to have. With all honestly that barbershop was A LOT more live than the barbershop movie. On my next blog I'm going to go ahead and tell you about some of my memories because they in my mind pretty damn hilarious.
Jul 22, 2004
For the record in case some of you forgot...
The Disneyland trip when Jon and I met up with Steve and Helen was the most hilarious dinner I have ever had in my life. Not trying to make you jealous...well yes I am. Just thought you would like to know the hijinks of being a lil drunk at the most magical place in the world.
Also for the record...Steve ain't lying. He really did eat a leaf in tomorrowland.
The Disneyland trip when Jon and I met up with Steve and Helen was the most hilarious dinner I have ever had in my life. Not trying to make you jealous...well yes I am. Just thought you would like to know the hijinks of being a lil drunk at the most magical place in the world.
Also for the record...Steve ain't lying. He really did eat a leaf in tomorrowland.
Jul 21, 2004
First off, I would love to go to Disneyland next summer. That place is fun, though I dunno if I can handle the rides anymore. I know they only go like 10 mph, but the last couple times I went to a theme park, I started feeling ill. Maybe it's just the ones that are really spinny. hmmm...
SF:
I hate the place...why?
My Status:
Everything else with me is going ok...I still not feeling "single" yet. The freedom that it brings hasn't sunk in yet. This week I was actually feeling ok because of stupid classes, but then I went to Friendster and saw Tiff's profile and she changed her status to being single. *Sigh* This may sound petty and gay, but like I said before the whole ordeal hasn't totally sunk in yet, so I was feeling kind of blue after seeing that. After talking w/ her some more, I've realized that I think she's accepted the fact that she's single. I wish I could....
One thing that I wish....it was common knowledge that her and I broke up. I think I've been asked 3 times this week how things are going b/w us and I wish for each time I had an automated response saying, "We broke up, I needed some time to myself, she took it ok, we're friends." It hurts explaining it each time, hope that ends soon.....
Last weekend:
Total fun! Playing poker Thursday was great, though I was dead tired on Friday for work. Then going out to Miyake's w/ Kristen, Kevin and co. was a blast. Drank one too many Sake bombs and I entertained the heck out of everyone in the car on the way home w/ my singing. Then passing out @ brendan's was great as well. Didn't lose any money playing poker and didn't go out and play pool, so I saved me some dough hehe. Saturday, was fun as well. Going to Obon and kickin it with everyone was great.
Highlights:
-Attendees - Bryant, Jonathan, Brian, Kevin, Andy, Sudhir, Anthony, Matt, Vikram, Martha (Sudhir's girl)
-Seeing Tiff...first time we've seen each other since the break up and it was great. She looked great and I had a good time talking w/ her. She hooked me up w/ a beer. haha
-Meeting Jonathan's perfect match in eating -> Vikram. They both were racing to see who eats slower and Vikram won by like 2 bites (meaning he ate faster) hehe.
-Andy Andy Andy
-When I first encounter Andy, I was talking w/ Tiff. He comes over takes her hat, puts it on and starts walking around. Then he puts it back on her and then bats it down.
-Tiff then starts to introduce Andy to her friend, his response "No, I don't want to meet her" right in front of her friend. He was kidding, and then he preceded to whisper something into her friends ear. I think he offered to buy her a beer or something.
-Andy then goes and buys some fries, over does the ketchup because it's all over his hand. This one fry drops that had massive amounts of ketchup on it and Andy kicks it. It hits some lady, Andy says sorry, but no response from the lady. He then says to her, "That's ok, it happens." Or something along those lines (heard from Sudhir).
-Over by the beer area, Andy drops a dollar. Instead of picking it up like a normal person would, Andy decides to hit someone in the back of the calf to see what they would do. The person turns around, sees Andy's massive frame and turns around because he's smart. Then Andy turns to him and pretends to kick him, while he's looking at Andy. hahaha.
-I guess I had a couple entertaining moments, quoting Little John, Usher, "To da windows, to da walls!" was my theme song. I also showed off some of dance moves that I would be displaying @ the club later that night. My warm up dance was ....The Running Man. LOCK UP YOUR LADIES BAY AREA, BRYANT IS ON THE PROWL (simpsons quote w/ a couple touch ups)
Post Obon:
-Jonathan, Brian and I precede to Loft 11, club in SF. The place was small, hot, and not crawling w/ good looking girls. There were a couple cuties though, but I was in no mood to put the Bryant Mack on if you know what I mean haha. So instead, I drank.
-Danced w/ Jonathan's friend Vy's roommate, most of the night. She was an ok dancer, mediocre on looks (please tell me no Berkeley people read this), but she liked Kobe Bryant, so I was down with her. I tried talking w/ some other girl, but she was 29 and ready to make out w/ some other dude, so I was ok with that.
-Danced and drank and went to Denny's. Got home @ about 4. Went to pass out, but then Kevin decided it was a good idea to wake me up. Boy was he wrong. It was like he unleashed a monster. I grabbed Kevin and started wrestling with him, but then I started hearing "I'm not wearing any pants." So I then let Kevin go and that's when I got out my room and started dancing around the house. I am guessing that the alcohol wasn't quite out of my system yet and also that I wasn't as tired as I thought. I probably didn't get my groove on enough either. So I got on the couch and did a booty dance for everyone. Gave Brian a personal dance, jumped on Kevin and Andy while they were in bed, and went all around the house. I got rave reviews the next morning. A quote from Sudhir, "Andy! Bryant is ready to have his way with you." Spoken by Anthony. Sudhir and Martha thought I was so funny that they didn't mind that I woke them up @ 5 in the morning. Kevin thought it was so funny he took pictures. Him and Andy couldn't stop laughing. Brian was as enthused as the rest..."you ever come that close to me again, I will kill you!" I know he's just messing around hehe.
Overall I had a great time, mostly because my best buddy Kevin was around and I got to hang out w/ all my good friends. (Minus some others, but I'm sure most of you wouldn't want to be around me.) Though in telling this story, I am blushing and embarassed, I had a great time and my friends let me have a good time. Funny thing is, if I was with Tiffany at the time, most likely she would've spent the night and most likely Kevin would've never come in my room and all this wouldn't have happened. I did realize something, I did miss nights like this where it was just the guys having "silly" fun. It's been a year and a half since I've had a night like this.
Thanks to all for showing me a great time, it was exactly what I needed. Steve, can't wait until you return so that you can join our good, clean fun. Kevin, we have your camera so you gotta come back.
Pictures will be on K I M C H E E F I E D when I get a chance.
Another thing that was fun...class...only because it gives me time to doodle in my notebook. Missed those days in college. haha.
Peace out y'all.
SF:
I hate the place...why?
- Smells like piss
- Crowded
- Dirty - air and the streets
- Parking there is a bitch
- Too far away, but everyone loves it
- Too fast paced for my liking
My Status:
Everything else with me is going ok...I still not feeling "single" yet. The freedom that it brings hasn't sunk in yet. This week I was actually feeling ok because of stupid classes, but then I went to Friendster and saw Tiff's profile and she changed her status to being single. *Sigh* This may sound petty and gay, but like I said before the whole ordeal hasn't totally sunk in yet, so I was feeling kind of blue after seeing that. After talking w/ her some more, I've realized that I think she's accepted the fact that she's single. I wish I could....
One thing that I wish....it was common knowledge that her and I broke up. I think I've been asked 3 times this week how things are going b/w us and I wish for each time I had an automated response saying, "We broke up, I needed some time to myself, she took it ok, we're friends." It hurts explaining it each time, hope that ends soon.....
Last weekend:
Total fun! Playing poker Thursday was great, though I was dead tired on Friday for work. Then going out to Miyake's w/ Kristen, Kevin and co. was a blast. Drank one too many Sake bombs and I entertained the heck out of everyone in the car on the way home w/ my singing. Then passing out @ brendan's was great as well. Didn't lose any money playing poker and didn't go out and play pool, so I saved me some dough hehe. Saturday, was fun as well. Going to Obon and kickin it with everyone was great.
Highlights:
-Attendees - Bryant, Jonathan, Brian, Kevin, Andy, Sudhir, Anthony, Matt, Vikram, Martha (Sudhir's girl)
-Seeing Tiff...first time we've seen each other since the break up and it was great. She looked great and I had a good time talking w/ her. She hooked me up w/ a beer. haha
-Meeting Jonathan's perfect match in eating -> Vikram. They both were racing to see who eats slower and Vikram won by like 2 bites (meaning he ate faster) hehe.
-Andy Andy Andy
-When I first encounter Andy, I was talking w/ Tiff. He comes over takes her hat, puts it on and starts walking around. Then he puts it back on her and then bats it down.
-Tiff then starts to introduce Andy to her friend, his response "No, I don't want to meet her" right in front of her friend. He was kidding, and then he preceded to whisper something into her friends ear. I think he offered to buy her a beer or something.
-Andy then goes and buys some fries, over does the ketchup because it's all over his hand. This one fry drops that had massive amounts of ketchup on it and Andy kicks it. It hits some lady, Andy says sorry, but no response from the lady. He then says to her, "That's ok, it happens." Or something along those lines (heard from Sudhir).
-Over by the beer area, Andy drops a dollar. Instead of picking it up like a normal person would, Andy decides to hit someone in the back of the calf to see what they would do. The person turns around, sees Andy's massive frame and turns around because he's smart. Then Andy turns to him and pretends to kick him, while he's looking at Andy. hahaha.
-I guess I had a couple entertaining moments, quoting Little John, Usher, "To da windows, to da walls!" was my theme song. I also showed off some of dance moves that I would be displaying @ the club later that night. My warm up dance was ....The Running Man. LOCK UP YOUR LADIES BAY AREA, BRYANT IS ON THE PROWL (simpsons quote w/ a couple touch ups)
Post Obon:
-Jonathan, Brian and I precede to Loft 11, club in SF. The place was small, hot, and not crawling w/ good looking girls. There were a couple cuties though, but I was in no mood to put the Bryant Mack on if you know what I mean haha. So instead, I drank.
-Danced w/ Jonathan's friend Vy's roommate, most of the night. She was an ok dancer, mediocre on looks (please tell me no Berkeley people read this), but she liked Kobe Bryant, so I was down with her. I tried talking w/ some other girl, but she was 29 and ready to make out w/ some other dude, so I was ok with that.
-Danced and drank and went to Denny's. Got home @ about 4. Went to pass out, but then Kevin decided it was a good idea to wake me up. Boy was he wrong. It was like he unleashed a monster. I grabbed Kevin and started wrestling with him, but then I started hearing "I'm not wearing any pants." So I then let Kevin go and that's when I got out my room and started dancing around the house. I am guessing that the alcohol wasn't quite out of my system yet and also that I wasn't as tired as I thought. I probably didn't get my groove on enough either. So I got on the couch and did a booty dance for everyone. Gave Brian a personal dance, jumped on Kevin and Andy while they were in bed, and went all around the house. I got rave reviews the next morning. A quote from Sudhir, "Andy! Bryant is ready to have his way with you." Spoken by Anthony. Sudhir and Martha thought I was so funny that they didn't mind that I woke them up @ 5 in the morning. Kevin thought it was so funny he took pictures. Him and Andy couldn't stop laughing. Brian was as enthused as the rest..."you ever come that close to me again, I will kill you!" I know he's just messing around hehe.
Overall I had a great time, mostly because my best buddy Kevin was around and I got to hang out w/ all my good friends. (Minus some others, but I'm sure most of you wouldn't want to be around me.) Though in telling this story, I am blushing and embarassed, I had a great time and my friends let me have a good time. Funny thing is, if I was with Tiffany at the time, most likely she would've spent the night and most likely Kevin would've never come in my room and all this wouldn't have happened. I did realize something, I did miss nights like this where it was just the guys having "silly" fun. It's been a year and a half since I've had a night like this.
Thanks to all for showing me a great time, it was exactly what I needed. Steve, can't wait until you return so that you can join our good, clean fun. Kevin, we have your camera so you gotta come back.
Pictures will be on K I M C H E E F I E D when I get a chance.
Another thing that was fun...class...only because it gives me time to doodle in my notebook. Missed those days in college. haha.
Peace out y'all.
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