ESPN.com - NBA - Glove in hand: Payton opts to stay with Lakers

huh? considering the fact that he didn't fit in, he still wants to give this a try? well, maybe the fact that shaq's leaving's giving him more oppurtunities to feel better again.

like sam said; there's a HUGE possibility that about 1 yr from now, the laker bandwagon will... GO TO THE CLIPPER BANDWAGON; clippers are a good team, but they've really not being taken notice; just watch... geez, i hope that doesn't happen; socal ppl will suddenly go, "go clippers," but we know there wasn't such thing as a hardcore clipper fan in the first place... a huge lol waiting to happen from the norcal ppl... just glad i'm a warriors fan first and foremost, THEN a kings fan... just in case we ever hit the big time.

also, i love the possibility of tmac and yao ming, but i do like francis, and i really loved the chemistry he had w/yao and the rockets; hope he gets good success in orlando, cause he really didn't wanna go there in the first place. the sad part is though, as much as the nba is entertainment, it is also a business. things like that happen. shaq COULD go to orlando though, so factor that in... although, if he does, i'm not too sure francis would remain in orlando, but i don't want him to become a laker. the possibility of shaq+francis+okafur/howard is there though...

i also heard talk that shaq COULD go to dallas... i hope that DOES NOT happen... don't give me another reason to hate the already hated-on-my-part mavs...

my baked salmon w/miso didn't turn out THAT well; i probably didn't coat enough of the stuff on, cause the fish tasted SOMEWHAT salty; ie not enough brown sugar. was my 1st time though, in all respects. and the salmon steak i bought WAS pretty huge...

haha... check this out... i'm trying audioblogger.com... now i can record anytime for free from my phone, to here.

oh yea; go watch "best damn sports show period" on tuesday; mike dunleavy from norcal's favorite team, gsw's gonna be a guest

(gilbert arenas is also gonna be a guest on wed, but since he's gone, we all don't care bout him no more)

wow... are the lakers done(at least for a while, til the hollywood stars start chipping money in again?)

-kobe bryant's now an unrestricted free agent... i think he really wants to leave now... well, let's make one thing clear; i don't think he'll want to play for shaq; at the very least LA is going to lose one of its superstars.
-shaq will only play for phil jackson, at least that's what he says
-phil jackson is going to leave(therefore, shaq is going to go, by that logic)
-payton wants to leave, cause he doesn't fit into the role player thing, OR, he sucks now; really, so either way LA doesn't have it good w/him; the playoffs(didn't even have to be the finals) showed that he is NOT even a decent player now; i'd rather have george or fisher be a pg, or luke walton.
-malone is a free agent; i'd say he helps glue LA together, but injuries have been a factor in him deciding whether to retire; for him it's either stay or retire.

heh heh... if you're nor cal... you gotta love this... LA's gotta start over the hard way, like most other teams... like the pistons :D not like anyone in LA's listening... they prob think they can just buy talent again... (don't feel bad, LA; you have a chance to get tmac; he should be a good starting ground...) you gotta love the pistons success story... unless if you hate D, only love flashy offense, and only love superstars and scoring(in which i say to you, "your mentality is a disgrace to bball; pick up another sport")

pistons weren't even favored to win the nba championship this year...

poll

i'll be honest though... i thought pistons were (hopefully) going to come out of the east, and thought the spurs were going to win it all... i was wrong... 1 for 2. however i did think the pistons had a good chance of winning against the lakers IF THEY TRIED; guess what; they did. in fact, they tried TOO HARD. 2 of 3.

maybe next year ppl won't hate on the pistons... i doubt it. (that said, i think pistons need to win a 2nd title again, to really show the hard-nosed that they weren't a fluke) ppl still think a superstar can take over. i bet everyone's going, "but LA had no chemistry... a superstar plus role players and chemistry... now THAT'S a winner!" really? all LA really had to do was give the ball to shaq on offense. a soap opera doesn't really take away from the game... they were obviously hating each other before they even got to the finals, but they did well... please, stop w/the nonsense. did you see game 5? they did just that... give it to shaq. did they win? no, because most possessions in game 5 looked more or less like this:

-give the ball to shaq
-shaq hook shots, misses
-ben wallace rips down the rebound(if this guy doesn't convince you to do a hops program just to rebound better, i don't know what will; seeing him work on the defensive end is a JOY)
-fast break, leading to either 2 or 3 pts from ANYBODY(stats show all starters for pistons were in double figures; at one point ben wallace was FIVE FOR FIVE)

btw, what's up with the saying of sports fans going, "my won"? or "yea, they beat my ?" the thing is, ppl always have a favorite team. for me, it's gotta be the warriors, pistons, kings and spurs, in that order. close 5 and 6 are twolves and rockets. however, i don't think i should be allowed to say "my warriors won," or "i hope my warriors get a good draft pick next season;" did i DO anything for that team? did damp call me up last night and say "gjob on that low post move?" no; 12 black guys(or ppl who act like they are) who i have never met in my life won the game, not me. so really, everybody should stop the nonsense of using the term, "my ." call them your favorite team, call them the team that you root for, do whatever you want to show that they're your FAVORITE team, but until you own them, or do something for them, don't call them YOUR team.

hey, i just dl'd "hello;" xanga ppl aren't the only ones who can upload pics to their site; blogger enables you to as well, so i'm trying a test run; this is a photo of my bro w/the guys from "the violet burning," his favorite christian rock band.
Posted by Hello

joe: hey dude
me: hey
joe: how bout them lackers?
joe: hahaha
me: haha
me: so you watched the finals too?
joe: i think i'll buy a pistons jersey and wear it around south central
joe: nope
me: dude... all pistons
joe: but did see the news highlights here
joe: haha
me: every one thought lakers in 6
joe: and i have conference calls w/a coworker in detroit
joe: so i get my updates
joe: i can't stand them stinkin lakers
me: but even pistons in game 2 were pretty close, until kobe launched the 3 ball
me: haha
me: but game 3, was all pistons
me: game 5, pistons actually won by OUTSCORING the lakers
me: they got to 100 :-)
me: then they brought out darko :-)
me: dude, if you wanna buy pistons stuff, you should buy this: http://palacelockerroomstore.com/products/urinal-screen.html
me: i showed it to jon and sam, and they started laughing
joe: haha...i've seen it before
joe: it's great
joe: they should show a photo of shaq or something
joe: it's like peein on shaq
joe: hhaha
me: haha
me: that'd be awesome

my top 10 list you rooted for the pistons because you're a pistons fan, NOT an anti-laker fan(in rough order)(i wrote this cause it just seemed like a lotta fans in norcal rooting against the lakers were anti-laker fans, NOT piston fans who really loved their team):

10. you would've not cared about the finals in the same way if the nets or pacers represented the east
9. you rooted for the pistons BEFORE they got to finals, before your precious insert-your-western-team-here team got beaten in the playoffs
8. you love d over offense anyday, the way the wallaces and prince get up in your face and send that pathetic excuse of a shot out into the crowd
7. you LOVE the fro, and think the face mask is now the next best thing in nba wear(next to the all-classic elbow-band and headband)
6. ben wallace w/the rebound, ben wallace w/the rebound, ben wallace w/the rebound, shaq w/th-no wait, ben wallace w/the rebound... (and you wish you could rebound like him too)
5. you thought the best play of round 2 playoffs was billups sinking that put-up-that-prayer 3, not fisher's 0.4 miracle
4. you LOVE all of tayshaun prince's 84 in wingspan, 6-9 ht, and went "DAAAAAMN!" when he did his thing on miller game 2
3. you knew pistons stood a chance before the finals even started(or at least, made some prediction like "pistons in 5" after seeing game 1)
2. you shouted, "bring out darko!" when 5 min were left in game 5, and started cheering, "go darko!" whenever he got the ball
1. you think pistons have a pretty good chance to repeat 2k4-2k5.

i think #1 pretty much sums it up IMO; a lotta ppl thought that what the pistons did was incredible, and YET, about 80% who replied to the online polls don't think pistons will repeat come next season. ppl STILL don't respect them.

DEEEEEE-troit BAAAAAAA-sket-BAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!

final score: 100 to 87.

were it not for the game 2 miracle by kobe, this would have been a sweep.

larry brown, i am happy for you.

ben wallace, you are the man. you had to do an incredible job of guarding shaq, and while that's like an exercise in futility, that was a full-out heartfelt workout that you gave... and even after that, you still had the energy to fight for every single rebound and drain a couple of shots.

prince, you did an incredible job on kobe, and for that, i commend you. plus, you had some nice wheeling and dealing for game 5; too bad you didn't make that layup when you were fouled, or it would've been SWEET

billups... no comment... he was the offensive backbone of this team. the fact that rip worked alongside of him instead of demanding more minutes meant they got even more done.

in fact, i love all you pistons. and let's not forget darko!

nba.com, post up some videos of big ben's putbacks and his block on shaq plz!

and laker fans, stop taking the pistons for granted now. because tonight has shown that defense does indeed win championships, and close teamwork is always gold over individual talent. it wasn't about what the lakers didn't do, it was about what the pistons did do. and btw, my remark about feeding shaq the ball=success? apparently, i was proven wrong; shaq was definitely fed the ball, but ben and sheed proved too much to him. he couldn't make a lotta shots.

team basketball, with the desire to hustle and be aggressive, and to play with all your heart will always win over talent. we are seeing it now.

i'm gonna repeat what i said to sam, for the entire www viewers to see, after the pistons won game 1 vs la:

"PISTONS IN SIX GAMES OR LESS"

looks like unless la actually plays with character and are willing to give it to shaq on all their possessions, the lakers won't be able to keep the series alive past tuesday.

oh yea, you can buy this for all the ppl in socal if you want(best item i've ever seen; must see):

Beat LA urinal

i love the detroit pistons... game 3 showed why; it's like tom tolbert said, "if it keeps going like this, and they lose the finals, we'll be saying what the pistons did wrong, instead of the lakers"... they are more than a capable team... who says defense doesn't win games? 88-68... haha what's kinda funny is when the game ended, the tv programmers got it wrong, and the score read pistons-68, lakers-88.

i wonder at times why i hate the lakers so much; part of it has to do with the fact that i'm norcal, but i think a lot of it has to do with the fans; a LOT of them are bandwagon fans; you may notice that whenever the lakers make the finals, suddenly EVERYBODY'S a laker fan(it gets more severe when you're in socal, according to sam)... as if the only teams they back are the ones which can win... which is why you see so little socal ppl as clipper fans... why? i think it's obvious. (don't mistake me; i don't think there's anything wrong with a team that wins, but if you're socal, where's the love for that other team you've got? i've got mine for my underdogs...)

and it occurred to me... i wonder at times if that's what God hates as well; "bandwagon fans" i have a feeling that many ppl support religion as a bandwagon fan; they want whatever gives them the wins, whatever looks like it's gonna win. and in most cases, that seems to be themselves. the israelites were like that; they worshipped whatever country's idol seemed to have the greatest success; for instance, at one time, they worshipped the assyrian god because it was the military beast at the time. they wanted the easy way out; this is human tendency.

but the truth, is that God wants followers who stick through the loses as well as the wins. he hates ppl who support him just because of what he gives them, because in a way, that's just loving the gifts he gives you. he wants you to love HIM. THAT'S true love. that is worth more than gold. he in a lotta cases, wants you to love him the same way he loves you; sacrificing everything, overlooking everything you are made of, but your heart for him. i wouldn't be surprised in comparing loving God to being a warriors fan(:D); notice how few warrior fans there are? because a lotta ppl simply don't want to support a team that sucks. (side note; i remember playing ea live 2k4 at my small group leader's house, and both of us were playing on the same team, so i decided we'd go w/warriors against clippers; some other guy remarked, "dude, that's like playing blind") but that's true christianity for you. and when you wait around long enough, they'll pull the occasional win out; ditto w/God; stick around enough, and he'll give the blessing to you.

on wed, i had some arcade fun w/some of the christians from my church... absolutely reamed them playing tekken 3. i used to be able to use heihachi, but i scrapped him, as playing with jin kinda screwed him up for me. now my main characters of interest are jin, nina and law. it's kinda funny when you play fighting games against me; if i absolutely ream you 1st round and notice you don't poke right, etc(basically are dead meat), i start playing lenient 2nd round, except i'm not good at disguising it while looking challenging, so it looks like i'm just walking forward into attacks. without attacking. but yeah; i love standing jab into throw, and standing jab into juggle starter.

do you like my comparison of christianity and bball? hit me up...

this is what ben wallace said to stuart scott after game 1(paraphrased cause i don't know exactly what he said):

scott: y'kno, a lotta ppl would think that an afro would be less aerodynamic, because the wind in the hair would slow you down

ben: well now, when i start running, the wind starts getting in that afro, and starts lifting me off the ground a bit, and i start jumping higher and get off the ground better

scott: so it's not about the game anymore, it's about afros and cornrows

ben: exactly

(HAHAHAHA)

i don't wanna brag too much, cause game 2's equally important, but...

NOW WILL YOU LAKER FANS TAKE THE PISTONS SERIOUSLY?

haha... this is only my 1st blog of the week... lesse here...

GO PISTONS! :D yeap, who's on top of the east? :D i love this... the pistons were doubted so much i think, but they're a lot more talented cast than ppl think... games were painful to watch as they matched up against the pacers(i rethought what i said about good defense; true the games were marked with a defensive mindset, but there's no excuse for wide-open jumpers that whiff or miss completely), but in the end they're the beast of the east. take that david letterman! they also fought hard and came back against the nets to everyone's surprise to win it. i love the pistons, truly my favorite team of the east. me and sam, jon, fred(one of my apt roommates) are prob the only true pistons fans rooting in the finals now... the rest are just laker haters :D oh yea, the whole sec of motown.

now, when it comes to matching up against the lakers, i won't lie, it's gonna be hard for the pistons, much harder for them than the lakers, but i truly believe they can top them if they tried. i think the main factor offensively's gonna come from billups; rip and kobe sorta break even, fisher and prince slight wt advantage to fisher, rasheed on malone i wanna say rasheed, but malone has been effective on kg and duncan, and shaq on ben i love ben, but we all know what happens there, as ben will have to call a double for this. billups needs to have a hot hand right from the get go if they want any chance to win... and then later in the series when jackson adjusts for a double on billups everytime, you have to get the team involved... and i've just tackled the starters; chances are that okur, one of the taller guys on the pistons will have to take the fouls for the hack-a-shaq.

weird... in the french open so many americans got knocked out... now there's virtually NONE... the last one i think to get knocked out was that beast jennifer capriati... the clay surface does something to them i guess... clay, if you haven't figured it out, is different from other tennis surfaces... the balls bounce higher, so you have to grind longer to earn your points... endurance is key, and so that could explain the surprise of roddick going out early(although he was weak from food poisoning or something?)... i remember my bro saying how michael chang was a beast at the french open though when he was still around... he simply outran and outendured everyone on the court, since the balls bounced so high.

i'll end with this art i found from someone at my church, cut and pasted from his site:

On a mission from God

By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com

It would seem like the bedroom of any other high school hoops star. Basketball shoes strewn about the room. A game jersey left where it was dropped. Posters of Michael Jordan and Julius Erving, two gods of the hardcourt, on the wall.

Seemingly, a typical room of a typical hoops junky.

If not for the hand-crafted wooden cross over the bed.

If not for the framed copy of the Ten Commandments that hangs beside it.

If not for the crude drawing of the NBA logo with a cross affixed over the heart of Jerry West's silhouette, the exclamation to Dwight Howard's own personal commandments, handwritten on notebook paper.

Howard, indeed, is not a typical teenager. He's this year's LeBron James, a 6-foot-10 power forward with the game that could make him the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, but with an evangelistic spirit that he hopes will "raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world."

The NBA arena, as is his want, will be his pulpit after he declared for the draft on Wednesday.

NBA scouts are believers in his game. But will NBA fans buy his message?

"I want to be able to speak to non-Christians so that I can get them saved or change their lives around," Howard said before last week's Roundball Classic in Chicago. He then flaunted his God-given skill, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the first of a series of all-star games that the nation's top high school players use to showcase their court skills.

Howard, named both the Naismith and McDonald's national high school player of the year, is used to talking about his faith. He has attended Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy since kindergarten and his high school basketball coach, Courtney Brooks, is also a Bible teacher who quotes scripture before every game. His favorite song is a gospel hymn, "Praise is What I Do." And when someone asks for his autograph, Howard writes "God bless" alongside his signature, so that he can "let people know that everything that they've gotten is because of God."

While it has often been speculated that highly paid endorsers like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have been hushed about their personal opinions by the multinational companies that pay them handsomely to pitch products, Howard said he has no intentions of giving up his goal of spreading the Gospel.

And if it's God's will, he says, then the riches will follow.

"I think I can make as much money or even more than LeBron. But it will be up to God for that to happen," Howard said. "If he wants me to market myself, then I'll do it. I'm not trying to give glory for myself. I'm trying to give glory for Him."

It may take divine intervention for this year's preps-to-pros phenom to make anywhere near the kind of off-the-court money that LeBron makes as a rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That may have as much to do with the fact that James continues to command the media spotlight and among sports' richest endorsement deals, totaling an estimated $135 million. But perhaps more to the point, sports marketing experts are divided over whether Howard's message of faith will be a hard sell for companies looking for a player to pitch their products, no matter the wholesomeness of his religious convictions.

"This is the first time an athlete will be able to overcome what (former San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson) couldn't do," said Sonny Vaccaro, the Reebok executive who has been running the Roundball Classic for the past 40 years. "David was a leader in the crusade of being religious and being a great athlete, but Dwight's plan could work because we're in an era of niche marketing. He's taking a stand saying, 'I'm going to do this and some company is going to buy into it,' and that fact is that these companies have millions and billions of dollars to brand Dwight as their hero.

"If he's as good as I think he will be, he'll be the perfect role model for this segment of the population."

Others aren't so sure.

"Dwight's religious appeal is amplified by the fact that the majority of this country can relate to what he practices, but it would be a mistake to use his celebrity as a bullhorn for his personal beliefs," said Scott Becher, president of Sports & Sponsorships, a sports marketing firm.

"There are some people who are disgusted at a guy like (St. Louis Rams quarterback) Kurt Warner, who after winning the Super Bowl gives glory to Jesus Christ," said Mike Rohrbach, the long-time chaplain for the Seattle SuperSonics who also directs Run to Win Outreach, a youth sports ministry. "They think, 'I don't need to hear about religion when I'm watching the game.' "

Certainly, Howard will hardly be the lone evangelist in the league, as religion and sports seem to go hand and hand for a growing number of players. Each NBA team has a volunteer chaplain who leads non-denominational services before games, and players commonly reference "God," "Christ" or the "Lord" during postgame press conferences.

About 50 percent of the league's players attend at least one service during the season and seemingly every team has a player who considers himself a devout Christian, said former ABA and NBA guard Claude Terry, executive vice president of the Pro Basketball Fellowship, which oversees the NBA teams' chaplains.

"I would hope that Dwight's beliefs wouldn't hurt his chances to market products," Terry said. "I would think that marketers would want to embrace someone with such values. At the same time, I can understand that we live in an age where people are supposed to be tolerant of the choices others make and it could be interpreted that he is imposing his beliefs on them."

In an era in which even a player's image that was as squeaky clean as Kobe Bryant's could be tarnished in mere moments and companies aligned with that player could be faced with the fallout, Howard's profession of Christian ethics could help ease the fears of company officials who have grown weary of their risky alliance with athletes.

"Companies will welcome the good guys," said Dwight Howard Sr., a Georgia state trooper who moonlights as the athletic director for his son's school. "There will be a market for guys who stand by their religious principles."

The topic of religion has heated up off the court in recent weeks. "The Passion of the Christ," a Mel Gibson movie about the final hours of Jesus' life, has generated controversy and almost $300 million at the box office since its Feb. 25 release. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, is hearing the case brought by a California man who challenges that the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. The use of the phrase often recited by schoolchildren has tied up courts for more than a decade.

Though more than 75 percent of Americans (160 million) call themselves Christians, high-profile athletes who have professed their faith often have struggled to land endorsement deals. Warner was one of the exceptions, signing more than $1 million in endorsement deals for two consecutive years in 1999 and 2000.

"The choice to talk about faith both helps and hurts in the endorsement world," said Rob Lefko, vice president of marketing for Priority Sports, who negotiated deals for Warner. "There are speaking circuits and companies run by Christian individuals or groups who find that athlete more attractive. And there are also companies who are hoping to appeal to the broadest possible group of people who think the stance on religion is exclusionary."

Howard said he realizes that religion hasn't always been seen as a selling point, having observed one of his role models, Robinson, struggle with airing his religious convictions publicly. Despite playing a major role in two NBA championships in a five-year period, Robinson did not score a slew of national commercials. A host of reasons could have contributed, including a lack of flash on the court, the size of the San Antonio market, as well as his clear religious preference.

"The more mainstream a product is, the more officials at most Fortune 500 companies have an increased sensitivity toward athletes using religion in their off-the-court message," said David Schwab, director of strategic marketing and media for Octagon, which represents many athletes who have been openly religious, including Robinson, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser and recently retired tennis player Michael Chang.

"It's clearly about the green when you are talking endorsements," said Carey Casey, president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. "There is a system that has been followed in the past by athletes when they sign with companies to tone down some of their individuality. Dwight might need to abide by those rules if he wants to maximize his earning potential, but that doesn't mean he still can't dream about talking freely about his faith and signing big deals."

Howard's marketability might also be hindered by two factors -- relative lack of national exposure and lack of what marketers call "Street Cred," the ability to appeal to urban youth who spend their disposable income on athletic shoes and apparel.

Before James was drafted, two of his high school team's games were televised by ESPN, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, and he was on his way to becoming a household name. Howard played a game on ESPN, but he's still far from being known on a national level.

As far as his appeal to the urban culture, Howard is not exactly a great fit. Unlike James, who drives a luxury SUV, Howard is intent on keeping his 1984 Crown Victoria his father bought him for $900. Howard's favorite movie? "Finding Nemo." And he freely quotes lines from his favorite characters, Marlin and Dori.

"I know I haven't grown up on the streets and I don't have that bad-guy image like Allen Iverson," Howard said. "My message is different, and I still feel that I can touch a lot of different people."

Vaccaro, for one, believes that Howard can do just that.

"The cold reality is that there is only so much room for the lionized one and LeBron's the man," Vaccaro said. "But Dwight will be fine making his dollar in his niche and people will be very supportive of him and his beliefs."

this is the only daylight i have to throw something up on the blog, so lemme make it quick:

i wish i could've seen sam ho play electric guitar this sunday; it's only cause i'm so lazy and was unable to hear my alarm clock that i got up at 9:00. ah well; maybe in the near future when i'm done w/my sophomore year.

i have found this program which enables you to get revenge against any spammer; SpAmVenger; it enables you send as many copies of an email to any address you want... not that i would use it frequently, but man, it is pretty evilly tempting to use this upon one of those "NEKKID PICS CLICK HERE!" spamming emails... especially when i have clicked on the remove me from the list link to no avail...

12 stones and sanctus real's upcoming sophomore albums don't seem to be satisfying so far... so yea... pillar's sophomore album is gonna be the next one i add to my list... and it seems to be chock full of songs, that i like... just gotta wait til the 15th of june... which brings me to last 2 points...

twolves won on saturday... which is good, but what's better...

pistons are 3-2! i'm hoping they end this tuesday...

god works in mysterious ways...

i awoke at 8:00, but then turned off the alarm and went back to sleep... wake up, it's 11:30(aaacck! my 10:30 pass time went by!) so i get up, quickly turn on the cpu, log in, am just PRAYING as i try to log in and register for my classes and... the system lets me in; praise god, praise god.

i think it's official that every wednesday and saturday morning my legs will BURN, ACHE and HURT... for at least 2 months, so no need for me to repost every wednesday and saturday that OH GOD, PLEASE KILL ME NOW, I'M DYING... if i gain any vertical from this, that'll be good.

old nba news:

twolves are down 1, lakers have won 2 games... oh please, do not lose twolves...

game 2 of the pistons and pacers was just AMAZING... that was just a game of (exciting) defense... ben wallace was quiet offensively, but had 4 blocks and about 8 rebounds; rasheed backed up his risky guarentee by leading the pistons with 5 blocks. and let's give it up to motown's main man of the night, tayshaun prince for BLOCKING miller on a breakaway layup to win the game. (i have made a wallpaper of him blocking the layup, and dl'd the clip and watched it 30+ times :D) if you got bored watching the game you need to get a life... DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS... i hear a lotta comentators take devil's advocate and say the game was horrible offensively, which was why it was great defensively... i say, with the pistons having a grand total of 19 blocks and 13 coming from prince, ben and rasheed alone, how can you say that was NOT terrific defense? the game was bad offensively BECAUSE of the defense. when the lane becomes cluttered with guys and you start getting everything blocked, layups become jumpers become 21 footers outta fear of being rejected, which is why everything turned out bad; you either drove and got rejected or spotted up but the ball was going to rim out. game 3 was also good, cause they just extended their lead, and rasheed actually contributed offensively.

i am waiting for jerm to appear online on aim so i can finally taunt him, as he is a miller/pacers fan :D safe to say at least 3/4 of the ppl in my apartment are pistons fans :D D is awesome to watch, especially when it's detroit bringing the D.

white chicks... the wayan brothers are at it again...

so is ben stiller with DODGEBALL... "NOBODY MAKES ME BLEED MY OWN BLOOD!!!"

i'll be back this weekend; posting in advance cause saturday i'll probably be mooching internet, so no guarentees i'll throw something up on this blog.

my legs hurt today... basically, i actually started the vertical leap program, instead of sitting on my ass... i'm not even sure i did it correctly 100%, but whatever happened, my legs hurt like heck... add the fact that i drive a stick shift, and the atypical davis spring weather at noontime, and i was hurting trying to get back... but if my heart is in it to finish this stuff up, i'm hoping in about 3 months i'll get some 10 in increase in my vertical leaps...

twolves are down 1... kg needs to step it up...

pistons are down 1... sniff... that sucked... considering how at times they fought physical bball today... you could've made a case that either team should've won today, but me being the bwall fan that i am, i wanted the pistons to win; rasheed needs to step it up if they ever want to win; the reason they got him was cause they needed offensive inside presence... however, he is slightly hurt, so i could understand if he can't do stuff... but man, at least try... billups should've been more on the inside on the 2nd half too...

if ben wallace steps up and becomes an offensive force, that'd be awesome... i think maybe larry brown told him he was gonna make ben a better offensive player, to which he responded "cool"... he actually doesn't need it to be considered a threat; he's already such a good defensive player... but it's like icing on the cake... it wouldn't hurt... for right now, though, he seems like just an outside shooter... get some inside presence, and he'll truly be something... he shoots more in practice than anyone else... his work ethic is truly incredible... for instance, he outrebounds more other ppl not due to positioning, but simply cause of his jump... i don't think you'll ever see such a small player play a big man's position and get such good results...

also, what's up w/ppl thinking the east is a more defensive org? lesser points does not = better defense; it's not the entire story; lower shot percentage tells the story. although, give credit where it's due; pistons and pacers are both exceptional defensive teams, and in the west, you of course have the spurs, but the twolves, and sometimes the lakers amongst others can be up there...

here's something to think about; if twolves meets pacers for the finals, that's kevin mchale vs larry bird :D

oh yea; here's the options i've heard that tmac could go to if he chooses to leave magic(from espn; not too sure):
-spurs
-lakers(god forbid! don't tell me shaq speed-dialed him too)
-rockets
-suns

seeing tmac on spurs would be nice, but i'll be honest; spurs are a defensive team, tmac, as fun as he is, is an offensive force who needs to be given the ball to win; granted, sometimes spurs really need that offensive spark, but until tmac can prove he pulls steals like ginobili, give this one a pass... so that leaves rockets and suns... i'd like to see him go to rockets... imagine that combo; yao, steve and tracy... although, amare, shawn and tracy would also be cool to watch...

been lately listening to the steaming samples that sanctus real is putting up for their new album on their site... they're playing full length clips each week... so i'm doing the smart thing and getting as much listening time to see if i am going to be a repeat customer... so far it's sounded good...

remember the good ol days of street fighter 2 champion edition? bison was BR0KEN in that game... i really had no idea, but he is pretty much a 1-touch-and-you're-dead character... if you connect his short scissors kick, you can combo a crouching strong, then link a standing forward onto that everytime... the opponent is dizzied, then do crouching jab times two, standing jab cancelled into short scissors kick, crouching strong, standing forward, it all combos together, opponent is dizzied AGAIN! then just throw for the K.O.

oh yea; phil did me a nice favor and put up pics of his son(aka my nephew) up at a new site of his(you can find the link on the left)... he's awesome... hope someday i will meet his son...

x out the kings...
spurs are gone...
twolves i would root for, the sad part though is that they had to beat the kings to get where they are... but what's done is done.
the laker fans might be getting pretty cocky now; sac's out, and they eliminated the defending champs...
so in reality, i'm pretty much rooting for the pistons... if they lose on thursday, i am praying for a twolves and pacers finals(hey, this was one of my initial hopes for the finals, it could still happen, spurs and pistons and kings w/pistons are out the window though), i don't wanna see nets and lakers though... would be ok w/twolves and pistons. lakers and pacers, though i don't wanna see lakers make the finals(because they'd most likely win, unless of a combination of foster and o'neal can guard shaq and ron artest totally denies kobe), would somewhat be ok with(pacers made it to finals but lost to lakers the last time they did so), as a rematch would be cool.

i need to focus... i can't remember the last time i did that...

man it hurts watching the playoffs for me lately... my eyes burn...

first of all, lakers are up 3-2; they have just won 3 straight, and take it back to la for game 6; the buzzer beater by fisher was just painful to watch, considering the effort the spurs put in the entire game; you may not be a spurs fan, but if you're a laker hater, you cannot deny that out of all the remaining teams left, spurs stand the greatest chance of topping the lakers; if they don't do it, it's gonna be that much harder for them to go; minnesota comes close, but duncan+nesterovich on shaq is much better than kg+candyman. i KNOW the spurs can do it, but the question is, is their heart in it?

pistons are also down 3-2; considering the 3x OT game they faced and the fact that they still lost is a DAGGER... ben wallace played a TOUGH game of defense, but in the end, fouled out... ditto w/rasheed... and i thought the game would be over after martin fouled out...

kings are also down 3-2; don't get me wrong, i like the twolves, but i like the kings more

at least pacers are still tied w/heat...

on a non-baller note, this friday msm fellowship joined w/cef fellowship; gooks and chinks fellowshipping together... it was a beautiful thing... and we need to do this more often; a house divided against itself can't stand. my mind immediately gets drawn back to acts, when stuff just started happening to the disciples, simply because they did two things: they gathered together, and they prayed. that's it; unity, and prayer; these two things will change every christian you know; hearts will change, attitudes will melt, powers will be bestowed... you name it. there's like a TON of fellowships out there, but we gotta reunite together, or it won't work. i wonder if what i suggested about unity and prayer to warren(the mc of the night for msm) had any impact a while back, and whether it led to this.

jerm's up for this friday and saturday...

Fox Trot: H chord on electric guitar

haha... that's good man... that's good... i wish I could play the H chord...

or i used to think:

"how many notes can you play on your violin?"
"depends how badly you play"

may 8th, 2004...

birth of michael tsai... about 4:00 AM

guess who's an uncle to his bro's son man?

weird... it'll take a while to set in... i'm still in shock... and i'm only 20!

(he's prob gonna grow up a twolves fan :D and a vikings fan :D the sad part is that he's probably gonna be a twinkie, like most azns in minnesota, but don't tell phil that's how i feel :D)

i have to make sure i got the date right though; my cell phone can have a funny way of leaving me voice messages a WHILE later.

that's the only thing worth posting today... ONLY thing...

if i can get my bro to send me pics, you can send me an email requesting them; put requests in the comments box plz

i think i'll change what i initially said; from now on, 2 blog/week; 1 blog doesn't really give me a lotta time to do stuff, and in the end, it just leaves me writing down everything i wanna say for the weekend... that wouldn't help... so here we go, w/blog #1 of this week:

go kings :D i want the kings to represent the west for the finals this year; runner up would be spurs, then twolves. i was definitely surprised to see the kings take game 1 vs twolves though; hope it keeps up :D

spurs are up 2... that is awesome... game 1 was awesome... tony parker is a HUGE reason for the spurs' offense... he blows by ppl like you wouldn't believe... and considering that he's 21, he still has room to improve before he gets slow... he shook devean george, constantly runs circles around payton, drives around kobe like it's nothing... defense i don't need to talk about; it's the spurs, not the kings, for crying out loud :D that said, i love the play action that parker and duncan had at the end of 4th qtr game one; they ran a double pick n roll after parker got pissed; my all time favorite play of game 1 :D lakers are going down :D

and how bout the pistons limiting the nets to 56 pts :D ben wallace w/the complete package; 13 pts, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks... whadda player.

i thought about what sam has said, and it's so true; nobody wants to see defense for the nba finals; mark my words, though it wouldn't be boring(to me, sam, and bob, the spurs and pistons fans :D), ppl are afraid of the spurs taking the west and the pistons taking the east... defense ISN'T all boring and work; it can look good; both teams have their flashy streaks; you got parker on the spurs when they're on offense, blowing by ppl, ginobili always drives to the bucket, on the pistons, you have ben wallace just being an AWESOME defensive threat; rebounds, steals and blocks(THE complete package, and at about just 6-6 of ht)... they also now have rasheed, who is an excellant post threat, and of course on offense prince and hamilton are superb... ppl just dickride the espn guys; they may be right most of the time, but they're not right ALL the time. casual fans need to get something straight; defense is NOT all boring, and it's not unnecessary; defense wins your championships. i personally am amazed at the defensive ability ben wallace brings; he is not very tall, but he just outrebounds, steals the ball, and blocks ppl larger than him; that is athletic ability period.

i will have to buy a jump rope this weekend; so i can get on w/my hops program

what else; tues in davis is a great nite to eat out; it's like an azn night:
del taco: tues, 3 tacos are 99 cents. so at $4, you will be full dot com
31 baskin robbins: single scoop is 99 cents on tuesday nights.

phone service has been better in davis; cingular merged w/at&t, so now my phone actually gets reception in my apt :)

we replaced our living room tv, so no more lines across the screen when i'm watching the playoffs :)

favorite teams of mvc1: lilith/strider, red venom/wolverine, striderine, red venom/chun-li, double war machine; i think i would use striderine the best, but red venom/wolverine is up there too. both are just fun steroid teams; rush your opponent down and don't give them a chance to breathe; no duoing though. i've given up on strider/wm not cause i don't like this team, but it seems not as fun as double war machine. lilith/strider is also up there for duos; too fun w/this team, the only weakness is that lilith takes a while to get used to. heck, i've given up on mvc1; it's taken too much of my life away. (who the hell am i taking to w/this post?)

i read back on some of my earlier blogs when i first entered college... man, somewhere between then and now i lost my enthusiasm for college, what the hell happened? i want that again; i sounded so willing to dive into classes and stuff. i really need that attitude now again.

to close this blog, i'll give you 2 links; i'm always looking for new free music software, being the music freak that i am; here's what i've stumbled across:

OTS Turntables
this one's GOOOOODD... you can scratch your .mp3s, .wavs, and cds. change the pitch, tempo, decide when to fade in, when to fade out... the works... and it's free; this one's fun, fun, fun. ever tried playing lifehouse's "hanging by a moment" in reverse while scratching it to a switchfoot "dare you to move" going 20% faster in forward? :D can't save, but i did explain how i recorded stuff a while back. even if you don't scratch well, it's nice for your .mp3s; you can change the pitch and tempo; there's some songs that i've thought could be better if they were slower or had a lower voice; hint bob; you could practice worship songs by using this to change the pitch

Finale Music Notepad
write sheet music... BUT... you don't need to be a music theorist to do this(i know it's been a while for me); it will play the notes you put down as you're going along... this is GREAT for writing songs while you're not close to a guitar... and it will improve how you know music on paper as you're going along... definite recomend from me as well. it's free too; my only gripe is all the notes are played back on piano, but oh well

they should've called this friday's fellowship the "LOL night;" at least that's what it turned into...

but it occurred to me just how ppl seem to think the whole "speaking in tongues" thing is a freaky, unnecessary thing... basically one of the guys stood up and tried to get us to go to prayer hour every mon and thurs at church, saying back then, they had 3 problems when he actually went, and didn't go again til a while:
1)the lights went out
2)some guy started going "pshpshpshpshpsh..."
3)some other person started going "AAAAaaAAaaaaHHHhhhHhH!!!"

i call that prayer... time w/God... well, it's not exactly speaking in tongues, but everyone prays in their own way... everyone is touched by God in dif ways... you got a prob, bring some earplugs...

i goaded jerm into coming up to davis sometime soon; haha... what could he do... i had a counter-strike cd key, and he wanted to play :)

why do i always get a judgemental feeling that some ppl are being flaky, or talking like such and think they're cool, when they're not?

davis essentials: i need to get my swimsuit and goggles(or buy a new swimsuit; our apt complex has a pool), and a jump rope for my hops program... would like a delay pedal sometime in the future... my future pedal setup will be guitar-> dist-> flanger-> delay-> wah-> amp

What kind of asian are you?
(i'm either an azn-american or a fobabee...) maybe a tea egg :) cause i got the darkness going on sometimes :)

spurs and lakers... you KNOW that's going to be a good matchup... i'm anticipating this matchup even more than twolves and kings(hoping the kings win in that one, but they haven't been full strength)... spurs will roXor in 6... at least, that's what's i'm hoping for... i'm hoping they shock the world again by pulling a game 6 upset, just like they did last year... oh man, that was perhaps the best game i've watched last year... when everyone, even me, thought the lakers were going to come back... but guess who maintained their lead in the hornet's nest...

go pistons...

someday, i should watch the rundown... what the clips i saw, it looked good... i should write down all the movies i wanna see somewhere so i don't forget, but then i'm not THAT big into movies, though i like watching them sometimes...

if president bush were black

yyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

it's come time to end my week's blog, so til then...

ok, so i only wanted to post once each week... but i couldn't pass this up... it was too funny for words...

great... this week is the 1st time i've become seriously sick at davis... i threw up all over my bedroom carpet in the middle of the night, so it WAS hecka nasty, made worse by the fact that i threw up spaghetti(think of the hard-to-clean-redness)... luckily it took me about $4 to clean MOST of the stains up... i'll thank safeway for the foam carpet cleanser... when will i ever learn... i WANT to say i got sick cause i ate bad spaghetti, but it could have been likely caused by a lack of sleep(have GOT to go to sleep EARLY), plus not covering my bedsheets properly, giving me a cold, headache feeling... don't worry, i'm better now... i basically didn't eat thursday, cause anything i stuffed in my mouth(including just water), i threw up... *sigh* when will i ever learn.

wayne brady is hecka funny... the episode where he's seen on chappelle's show made him look hecka badass, defying his clean-cut image... google "wayne brady" "dave chappelle" and click on the 1st link... you will die hard... "is wayne brady going to have to choke a bitch?"

am i surprised to see ginobili actually TOP this week's top 10 countdown... i didn't think he'd make it, considering that there were 2-3 kobe replays of his doing clutch plays, and 1 of shaq... but he's so far got 70% of the vote... are ppl seriously taking ginobili for real now? the replay had him drive by 3 grizzlies and dunk on pau... sweeet... there was one on the countdown too where dunleavy had a SWEET no look pass behind to jrich for the dunk... spurs are most likely going to win against the grizzlies in 5, maybe in 4.

chris mullin is now vice prez of warriors... maybe we can expect GOOD decisions from our management now? i am praying and hoping hard... warriors have had a history of the most stupidest management decisions... case in point, we had cwebb and spre once and actually made it into the playoffs... and last year, we ALMOST made it... only to start from scratch this year... well, can't blame everything on management... damp's prob going to leave on his own, so we'll need another good center... foyle's good already, but we'll prob need a backup... gonna miss damp... above-average center, we were really lucky to have him... a good defensive player.

oatmeal contains so much dietary fiber... about 1/4 of the recommended daily serving... this is quality carbs at its best... i decided to just buy a large can of that instead of the usual cereal i get... and the real stuff(not the instant oatmeal with the seasonings mixed in) is so filling... oatmeal sweetened with dark brown sugar is up there with orowheat's whole wheat bread as one of the better forms of carbs... definitely...

i have a little pet peeve with college freshmen in love... while i admit, it always varies from ppl to ppl, it just seems like when they're like that, they're just rushing into things... and if they're both christians, yet talk about each other all the time, then IMO that makes it seem like they don't have the right focus... in fact, i think i have a LOT of pet peeves... this is just one of them...

sometimes i wish i could swear in God's name so that i would actually carry out what i wished i could do... but i am afraid that i am going to break my promise, and then, where does that lie for me?

i'm out of ideas at the moment, so...

that's all from me for this week.

i have GOT to cut down my time that i spend on my cpu... i should only post on this site once a week... i eat up so much of my time that way... so this is prob my last post for this week...

pillar's new album comes out june 15th, and chances are that's the next cd i'm gonna get... i still like sanctus real, 12 stones, and jeremy camp, but i think it'll be good to increase my cd collection by adding a new artist, not a new album... besides, i really like "bring me down"

there is a possibility that my nephew could be borne on the same date as my mom... and speaking of that, michelle's planning on attending johnny's wedding which occurs about 2 weeks after the due date... not too sure if this seems a bit rushed... for michelle... give or take about 2 weeks, and i'll be an uncle... becoming an uncle seems like becoming a father, but not really...

ucd now has coke icees! ownage... btw, icees seem to have less ounces when you buy them, but they also seem to be comprised of more liquid than ice compared to 7-eleven's slurpee... so go figure... 1.35 for a large icee, 1.48 for an extra large slurpee that doesn't seem to last as long... plus, if you have a card at ucd, every 5th icee you buy, you get a free medium icee... weird, considering how much davis jacks up the stuff you can buy in their on-campus stores...

have yet to feel real peace at davis for a long time... and i feel this is partially due to the fact that i have not been able to control my time lately well, leading to me constantly trying to catch up... and partially because i don't spend time with God... in meditation... in songwriting(well, that's debatable how much time you can spend time with God when creating and cut and pasting drumloops)... it's the little things that add up for me...

you become less of a man when you think that you are better than others just because you have the right religion...

God... others... me...

taken from christian rock dot net(both articles):

Absence of Mustaine on New Pillar Album
Saturday, April 17, 2004
It was earlier reported that Pillar cowrote a song with Dave Mustaine from Megadeth (who is now a Christian). This bit of news is true, but it was also said that this song was to be put on Pillar's new album. Sadly, this news is not true. Although it will not be on "Where Do We Go From Here?", Pillar is planning to release it to the public in the future.

Switchfoot's Impromptu Minneapolis Set
Thursday, April 15, 2004
As Jon Foreman belted the song out in a scratchy, road-weary voice, I couldn't help but feel a little proud when I saw the band I'd been listening to since its Legend of Chin days play on "the big show" in front of all kinds of impressionable kids who had just watched Eminem's new video with D-12 only moments before. In those three minutes, they were hearing a message that MTV isn't usually selling, "We were meant to live for so much more! Have we lost ourselves?" It almost seemed to be the antithesis of what the network is all about; yet there they were playing at that very place.

And with all the airplay the band has been getting lately with "Meant to Live," and now, "Dare You to Move," people who've never heard them before are finding out what I've been buzzing about for a while. My 22-year-old brother, Casey, (the coolest kid in Wisconsin, in my humble opinion, of course) is one of those people.

He, my sister, Lindsey and some of their friends were hoping to see Switchfoot play in Minneapolis last night. The band has played in the Twin Cities area several times, so tickets have begun to sell better and better each time. While that's great for the band, it wasn't so great for my siblings as they didn't get to go to the show.

But then something unexpectedly cool happened. My brother went down to the venue to pick up some tickets for another upcoming show when he bumped into Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman.

Instead of the usual "Hi, nice to meet you" pleasantries that bands and fans usually exchange, Jon grabbed his guitar and told the crowd of 20 or so that waited outside, "I know a lot of you didn't get tickets for tonight's show," and proceeded to play an impromptu three-song set on the street in front of the venue. He even asked a homeless man who was seated next to him to join in on his bongos.

With this gesture, the band probably made 20 new fans that night. But more importantly, they were able to extend kindness in an impressionable place outside of the walls of the church. Now, that really makes me proud all over again.

wow... someone from megadeath is now christian? blows my mind... wasn't a BIG fan of them, but they were heavy metal, and i've heard them before...

that's switchfoot... to be honest, that is awfully nice of jon to do that...

sam's right...

the nba is so pc...

that's why ron artest and not ben wallace was named defensive player of the year...

ron artest may have been the most improved... but i would still want ben wallace as a defender over ron artest on my team anyday... his improvement on the offensive end is a nice touch, but it shouldn't come into play judging a player's defensive prowess...

the only reason he was picked is cause he's a guard, and many ppl think a big man who doesn't try to shoot like ben wallace is boring... don't believe me? in a poll, ppl think the best matchup in the nba is kobe on tmac, over shaq on yao, over duncan on kg... ppl like offense... not to mention rick charlisle constantly advocating ron artest... you think larry brown's been spending his time advocating ben wallace? let the skills speak for themselves.

i would love to see spurs on pistons for the nba finals, or twolves on pacers...

Romans 13:8-10

awww sick... this is so tight!

How to make Chinese hand-pulled noodles

Also this

Photo Diagrams

ok, so they're difficult to do... so what? i love hand-pulled noodles! so much better than the factory type stuff! totally! i shall master the art someday! along with my numerous things that i wanna do... i especially love them, cause everytime i go to tsing tao in campbell, ca, i order the spicy noodle soup... it's the best, and it's made with these types of noodles... they're way better... a chewy texture to them...

my 1st round predictions are pretty simple; anyone in the top 4 beats the lower 4. (don't get any ideas though; aside from indiana on boston and minnesota on denver, most of the teams will have to work for their wins)

from there... i'll post tomorrow... chances are indiana's gonna ride it all the way to the finals(although i would love to see the matchup against detroit)

west, it's a bit more iffy... the odds are on minnesota, then san antonio, then lakers(basically, if bobby jackson and cwebb are stronger than they have appeared, kings will be better than them, but if not...)(i'm gonna love the minnesota on san antonio and sac on la matchups... sac on dallas would also be nice too)

http://www.n-j-a.cjb.net/

good thing i've got mondays, wednesdays, and fridays more or less completely free... i could try the one promising 10 inches in 2 months... i mean, if it doesn't work... i'll still be slightly better in hops... i've more or less given up dunking... i'm not doing this to dunk... to improve my shot blocking ability... and it'll give me a reason to get out of bed early, on days that i don't have morning class...

it's playoff time... which means the socal ppl are acting stupid again...

read one laker fan's xanga, and then had to quit... reeked of stupidity... thought that LA was the best, and NO ONE else was good... hello? minnesota's hella good right now... kings... ok, calling them queens is just weak... gee, i'm gonna imitate shaq's level of genius... that's really bright of me... how bout we start making fun of shaq's iq? or stoop down real low and about kobe and his cleanliness? san antonio? hello? did you forget who schooled you last year? in game 6 where you were expecting a comeback? and in the last confrontation? rockets? at best, they've broke even... and the east being weak? do you forget that indiana has the best record IN THE NBA? hello? so that's not just a "we dominated the east" thing... that's a we-rocked-them-all thing... what about detroit? with the wall of wallace? *sigh*... i have to stop, or i'm gonna explode... socal ppl...

i am not saying la can't pull off a championship this year... they have 4 friggin all-stars, and a veteran coach, they are well capable of doing so, but i'm saying, don't underestimate the rest of the league; plus, la has shown signs that they aren't consistent, and doesn't play a complete game, which is why i feel the way i feel. they also can't defend the pick-n-roll too well. not to mention all the ignorant, dick-riding socal ppl... tomio and george are cool though :D (we're cool right? right?)

(note to self; improve hops and quickness, then next quarter comes round take on all the socal ballers and smother them with defense, ak-47/ben wallace/kg/duncan style)

"we are the time haters... we've travelled all the way back through time, to call you a cracker"

that's it from me today; i shouldn't read other ppl's xanga's near playoff time; let actions speak for words... or i'm just be filling myself with even more hate. but all we can kinda do is sit back and watch the games... and pray :D

(for now, go rockets! chinks represent yo! and wh0re that pick-n-roll!)

Watch what plants you eat

so much about loving peaches and strawberries... and spinach and celery... wonder what's the risk/reward ratio on this...

i changed my bookmark of 1st corinthians 8:13 to include the entire chapter; this is one of the best verses i've ever come across in the bible; it has basically taught how to deal with anything into this modern-day era, even though paul is not on the earth to write any more epistles concerning hip-hop, or bht-infested cereals, or what not... basic idea: it is ok to indulge in the things of this world, even when they are things devoted to other things other than God, because idols are nothing, and God is everything... BUT! you have to watch for whether those things can drag your christian brothers and sisters down. if they don't have this mentality, and see you doing such, they may be misled, and so be enticed to sin. when that happens, it becomes bad, and you must toss it away.

(haha... it's like in family guy when peter and chris are driving through las vegas, and there's a communion place... under the sign reads "all you can eat" :D)

of course, a simple concept, but it can be very hard to judge some things of today; or at least, try to convince others... like abortion. clearly wrong, because it murders... but time and time again, ppl argue for it... esp in the philosophy classes i've taken at davis. it's not that you can't argue against abortion, but it is THAT MUCH easier to argue for abortion than to argue against it.

modern music fads are also difficult to see. however, we have to see that it DIFFERS from person to person. so while we shouldn't write off christian rock, i think that depending upon the person, it might not be that good of an idea to promote it on a friday night. give those people alternative places of meeting that friday or something.

i never realized just how much of a defensive monster andre kerilinko is; he's one of the leaders in steals per game(something like 1+/game), and is #3 in the league in BLOCKS! in BLOCKS! when's the last time you saw a small forward be #3, right behind ratliff and wallace, in BLOCKS? too bad they didn't make the playoffs; i liked the new skool jazz with the exception of ostertag; they had a lotta potential.

as the nba post season is about to begin, here are the teams i'm rooting for:

west:
minnesota- definitely one of the most improved teams; furthermore, kg has just gotten so much better since a lot of the load has been taken off of him... all around player, can do it all... no apparent weakness... prob the team i WILL root for...
kings- one of the best offenses in the game, and while their defense isn't that good, it's often underestimated(christie plays a big part in it)... i'm mainly rooting for them cause i'm norcal(i'd rather root for warriors, of course), and especially for them if they ever have to clash with the lakers or mavs
spurs- one of the best defenses in the game... i love duncan and ginobili... duncan is an all around player who does so much with so little(has such a strong fundamental game); i think that kg is the best player in the nba right now, but duncan doesn't fall too far behind, the only crutch of his is his lack of good free throw percentage. ginobili is THE MAN, because he can always drive in, for some weird reason, and plays good defense too.
rockets- and no, it's not cause i'm an azn... i like francis, and i like yao BECAUSE OF HIS HEIGHT... this is another defensive-minded team that is fun to watch...
nuggets- carmelo's the scorer, but my preference goes to earl boykins... he is so fun to watch.

east:
pistons- two words: ben wallace. such a defensive monster.
pacers- a lotta ppl in the words of j.o., underestimate this team. but if we're going by win-loss record, this is the best team right now. i'm hoping celtics advance, but then again, i like this team; vastly improved; artest is so friggin good now; so versatile. j.o.'s gonna be j.o., but he can't create as well as the other famous big men; he needs open space to operate.
celtics- well, i dunno now, now that pierce may be out... but i gotta for the time they're still in, root for them.

WOOT!

hey bob, warriors aren't consistent... they beat the mavs! :D

woot, woot, woot!

108-107... in YO FACE, MAVS!

man on fire is like a black punisher, haha...

for those of you who don't know, man of fire stars denzel washington, who is a security guard who fails to guard a small girl and she ends up being kidnapped... he then launches a vigilante effort to bring her back...

punisher is of course based upon the marvel vigilante(funny how this is the only marvel hero who fights using his brain and human abilities, not some supernatural power, thus, giving him a coolness factor), a former fbi and top-notch marine, whose family becomes targeted and killed due to a past failed mission... he launches an effort to bring down the man who started it all... marvel movie rated R, which seems funny in itself...

to be honest, although both are probably hyped up movies, i would like to see them... (maybe i'll wait for a rental dvd) funny considering the last movie i just saw was one teaching compassion against opposition, not fire against fire... man on fire looks slightly better because of denzel washington's presence(i'll take you down piece by piece! you gotta love that quote), but punisher has john travolta play the evil guy, so that could be a plus in itself(this is not vengence... no... it's punishment).

i wonder how many times i've updated the things AROUND my blog, instead of writing in it...

added japander on the left; think of "lost in translation" where a white boy is doing commercials in japanese... the ahhnold one on the energy drink is just weird

he has risen, just as he said.

Matt 28:6b

you come to think about it for a bit, and you'll realize how the resurrection and dying were both necessary for forgiveness to all who wish to receive it; without jesus dying, God would not be able to say he justly punishes sin; God loves us, but he is a just god; sin is sin, and it must be punished; luckily his son paid the price for everyone who chooses to accept him. and the resurrection was also necessary, because without a god around to administer that forgiveness, the sacrifice would have been useless.

in other words, we have something the world will never experience; hope. that word should be in capital letters actually: HOPE

looking to get back into christian meditation; haven't done that for a BIT

isn't it weird how famous ppl become through dying?

after i crawled out from under my rock yesterday and discovered diana died, i've found maybe 300+ pages pointing to her death... and maybe just one on her when she played bball(this was from the cupertino courier)... many of those come from xangas and blogs... a couple from the east coast area's paper publishers...

i honestly still can't believe that someone like this person committed suicide... seemed to have it all too

this nails a lid on the whole taiwanese happiness idea: study hard, go to a good college, get a good lover, get married, get a good job, have kids, and you can be happy. living life in the now so much that you are unprepared for anything that occurs outside of that... it's good to live life in the now... but it's not good to do it so much that you can't see your future...

so if that azn bubble of happiness bursts, what does that leave you with? there's gotta be more to life than this... do we depend upon what society offers us so much that we are clouded beyond belief?

sometimes i am thankful that God saved me at an early age... you could argue that i might've not known what i was doing, but the concept of heaven and hell is so strong in my head that i could not induce myself to commit suicide now if i wanted to... even if i'm spiritually backsliding...

God, i ask you to open my eyes... i ask you to open my eyes... don't ever make me close them... there are a lotta ppl in this world who still haven't really heard about you... you gotta just make me see who needs this... help me to look around me... i don't need to go to africa to show your message... there are many around me who need this message... help me to be brave, and to do this out of love...

didn't want to stay up, but somehow, i just found out one of the girls who came from the same class as mine at mvhs died about a month ago... freaky:

Death of Diana Chien

truly saddened to hear about this... truly am... and still contemplating how much one can do to help... what could i have done when we were still at monta vista, instead of living in my bubble? sometimes it tears at me... maybe i'll take a hint that grades and money and success and a good lover are simply not enough... maybe i'll start looking out for others' needs instead of living in a virtual bubble...

ykno what's interesting is during spring break, sarah, sam's former girlfriend, also came that close to death... and was also from mvhs... the difference is that she didn't voluntarily want to go into it, that the car she drove got totalled, but she walked away unharmed... she decided then to get baptized... and to rededicate her life to christ...

and on the other note, yesterday was good friday... this was the most important message ever sent: Jesus DIED... the fact that Jesus was actually willing to die... the fact that he died a gruesome death... the fact that it was JESUS who died, and not "some man..." now do you see the awesomeness of this? also, the death would have all been for nothing had not Jesus rose again...

hey it's time to wake up/ hey it's time to see/ it's time to get off of this merry go round

Inhabited- Merry Go Round

you know i'm stuck in between/ the walls they confine me/ i want you to lift me out/ when i let go/ let you take control/ i give you everything/ everything i am

Inhabited- In Between

inhabited is like alanis morrisette vocals with an upbeat indie/rock bg...

now i understand why 12 stones doesn't get that much respect... there's the criticism that they sound too much like Creed... that there's too many bands which sound like Creed... i can kinda understand this... also a lotta of their songs are familiar... yes, the talent's there... the talent is there... but it's as if all the songs are the exact same... this is to a better 2nd album...

rock hard, christian... but keep your eyes on christ... because once your eyes are taken off... you tread a fine line between what is good and what is secular... the potential for good is there... but so is the evil... but a lotta things are like that... like money...

coke slurpees and milk are ownage... not taken together though... that's just nasty...
just like how i have a preference for cheese and bbq korean beef ribs, but don't want the two mixed together...

speaking of coke, i bet you never really thought about the ingredients that contribute to coke's flavor:
original recipe:
Merchandise # 1 is sugar

Merchandise # 2 is caramel

Merchandise # 3 is caffeine

Merchandise # 4 is phosphoric acid

Merchandise # 5 is a coca leaf & cola nut extract

Merchandise # 6 is probably lime juice, but was incorporated into merchandise # 7 as an oil

Merchandise # 7X is the flavoring mixture

Merchandise # 8 is vanilla

Merchandise # 9 is probably glycerin, but is no longer used

the 7x flavoring mixture:

http://www.sodamuseum.bigstep.com/generic.jhtml?pid=10

you can never really figure out the ingredients unless if you are "hunting" for them as you're drinking the drink... to me, the nutmeg and phosphoric acid stand out though... and the sugar... vanilla could stand out as well too...

maybe God does want me to be a surgeon after all...

check this

i'm not jumping to conclusions yet though... i need to improve my studies, and i still can't wavedash :D

ok, if you google "taco bell" lent, you should be able to hear a .rm file of npr driving up to taco bell asking for lent specials... they would not be doing this unless if they were going down on sales... also, as i was looking through various journal entries on this, someone brought up an interesting point about how they could be doing this as a "post-passion" craze... it's quite possible... like how the capitalist society seems to always want to find some way to cash in on the current fad... i could imagine booger fling or macfondle's doing it... in some ways they are... cheaper fish fillets i think... but really, you think giving up meat draws someone closer to christ? well, i dunno... everybody has their own issues to work out... surfing the web and video games seems to be my crux...

but personally, lent is not about the giving up... it's about the filling up... i haven't done the filling up part yet, but i'm getting there... getting there...

feeling like the walking dead... moving around on 2 hrs of sleep today... maybe it was less... but i can't go to sleep... i'll just end up living on tokyo time like the end of last quarter... it's alright, it's just a day... and right now i don't feel that tired... i just have to keep moving and thinking...

using the setup on the blog below, i just completely messed up what was a perfectly good-sounding jeremy camp- understand song :) my cd's fine though... but the created .mp3 is just utter garbage... it's instant fun though... haven't you ever screwed around with your phonograph when you were younger?

i remember once just turning it to play, then turning it off(you could still hear the vibrations of the phonograph, just that the record wasn't turning, then just whirling it(remember, i'm a kid, so i have no sense of rhythm) backwards or forwards... i also remembered using the NEEDLE to scratch on other occasions... bad idea... i ruined a few good disney songs that way... our indiana jones: temple of doom record is messed up because of it... the narration keeps repeating "the walls began to shake... began to shake... began to shake... began to shake..." i copied my bro's way of "fixing" the narration cause it looked funny; he'd jump and land hard on the carpet, making the needle jump... of course, he'd jump too hard, and so the record would skip too far forward, so he'd jump again to try to fix it, but he'd just eventually end up "jumping" the entire record... man, the things you did to satisfy your inner child... y'kno, the funny part is, i would love to do simple stuff like that all over again... and even for a moment escape the current hectic state of life...

i was walking home from the bus, and wondering just how whitewashed i am... then i catch the shadow that is leading me as i'm walking to my apt, and compare it to the azn girls nearby and guy... they are walking with shoulders unmoving, going forward...

my shoulders are bobbing, alternating back and forth... if it was any more emphasized, i'd be doing a thug strut... if i was black, they'd think i was full of it...

so i can never be completely whitewashed now... there's the proof... as long as i unconsciously strut walk... as long as i know how to emcee

the crap under my toenails might smell like stinky cheese sometimes... don't worry, i never force anybody to smell my feet, unless if they want to... and it doesn't have a very high radius where you can smell it...

here's something recently learned... chinese have been all over the world far earlier than you would expect, in places you prob haven't considered beforehand... they were in cuba helping the cubans drive out the spainards, in the phillipines helping THOSE ppl... they were in peru... in louisiana before any of the future americans came over...

yeap, writing's getting boring...

pod - change the world

of all the places you'd expect to find a sign advertising for lent...

taco bell?

i wish i had a pic to show you guys... it was weird... they were advertising vegetarian quesadillas and tacos for ppl observing lent... jeez man... christians aren't vegetarians... some of them have special ways of observing lent... but i've never heard of a guy going quesadilla because of his devotion to christ... even if you're mexicano, you have to be some messed up follower there...

trevor, lead vocalist/guitarist of fm static, strangely did NOT leave thousand foot krutch... he's still in both bands, which is funny, cause on one hand, tfk is this hardcore, emceeing, heavy distortion band, and on the other hand, fm static is a poppy rock band... which is probably funnier is that the photos on both band's websites look totally different too; trevor looks like a blink 182's mark on fm static, and yet on tfk he's all with the hooded sweatshirts and the gangsta look...

latest weird free software setups to fool around with:

try this:

download and install all of these(all these are free btw):
silent bob
(enables you to record any sound that's coming out of your soundcard and save to .wav, you'll need to spend maybe $10 on some other equipment to fool around fully... more on equip later)
ots cd scratch 1200
(a cd player that you can use to scratch cds with the whole authentic vinyl effect... very good at that... no ability to record what you make though, and that's what the above is for)
analogx scratch
(enables you to scratch and save .wav files)
bon wav2mp3 converter
(enables you to convert .wav files to .mp3 files to save space)

can't really save with the above, but if you wanna play around with more:
kb piano
(enables you play with your keyboard as a piano keyboard)

getting any ideas by now?

for equip, just go to radio shack and get:
a 1/8" stereo to 1/8" stereo miniplug... that enables you to plug the line in from your soundcard to your line out of your soundcard
and get a headphone adapter, which branches your line out to 2 outputs... this enables you to be able to still hear what you're doing, as you're gonna plug the above into the line out part

i'll leave it to your creativity to figure out what you wanna do from there...

some other stuff that might interest you:

beat it- like linkin park's keyboard; load up to 16 samples, and you can play them back
ap guitar tuner- best software tuner... ever...
hammerhead rhythm station: still my fave music ap... next to any recording software such as cakewalk's music creator... make authentic drum loops, and then save them as .wav's...

of course, dj'ing's not my main... guitar playing is... but sometimes it is interesting what happens when you combine scratches and dist w/emceeing aka linkin park

4.4.04

this marks the day joey became an uncle :D

happy bday, austin lin

and congrats, paul!

go congratulate joe(and paul)...

*sniff*... this is weird...

Boondocks on passion once again

how true... such is religion and philosophy... you tell ppl you have the solution to all of their problems... but they've gotta do their hw... they've gotta read into it to get the meaning, they have to spend hours hunched over book... and they shut you out from there... why do you think the only jews who are christians are the only ones who have pored over a bible?

ppl are paying tribute to kurt kobain, the guitarist/lead vocalist of rock band nirvana... it's been about 10 yrs since his death... i have mixed feelings about this... this is because i have a cd of "nevermind" from my bro... and a lotta ppl thought his music style at the time was revolutionary... perhaps... it did break away from the norm... i also liked a couple of his songs, such as "nevermind"... but you could also music more or less went downhill from sometime around there... although we could credit that to offspring or green day i guess... all the rock songs you hear these days are made up of ppl just playing rhythm guitar... how creative... how talented... also, let's honor kurt kobain, the musician, not the person... he was known to be somewhat, well, knocked up in the head sometimes... so no wonder that he would take his life... his personality was not something we should respect...

did i mention i'm happy the spurs snapped the lakers' win streak on sun? don't rule out the spurs... they pulled the upset against the lakers last season... they could do it again this year... sometimes i can be more anti-socal than pro-norcal...

christianrock.net isn't a bad internet radio station... too bad i can't listen to it at the apt, internet radio ends up bandwidth like crazy...

it seems that the more we chart the signs in revelations towards the end times, it seems that the more we are in a bind... like the mark of the beast... we all know that the end will come about partially by this way... but yet, we can't do anything about it; like for instance, if you try to stop the production of these chips(trying to blow up the building which creates them), that's also a sin; true, God knows what you're doing, but he intends to make it happen, and you'll just be wasting your precious time... it's sorta like a "terminator 3" scenario; john connor couldn't stop skynet from being formed; the us government still found its way to create it... and strangely enough, like john connor, our role isn't to stop the chips from being formed, but to warn others... eh, whatever, i gotta study now...

3: God's number; well, one of God's...
6: man's number; if you don't me, take any fact about man and society; there's a big chance any number you churn out can be divisible by 6; case in pt; man has 6 qts of blood; has 6 main sections to his body, has 12 months in a year, has 24 hrs in a day, has 60 min in an hour and 60 sec in a min... etc, etc... interesting, eh? and man is given 6 days to work
7: the number of completion; Revelations is chock full of the number 7
now here's a new one you won't expect if you're hiding under a rock like me:
11: the number of urgency

you'd be surprised how many numbers you take pertaining to 9.11 has the number eleven in it...

also, i found this site, trying to search out meaning for revelations in the bible:

List of links

take with a grain of salt though; i haven't explored all the links, but this one seems particularily interesting:

link

mark of the beast

i find the 2nd link to also be very interesting; it not only lists some of the trademark things of the end times(mark of the beast, the antichrist, false prophets, etc), but lists some headlines which chart the progress of how we are progressing towards those end times

Comic about Passion

ditto

i'm not worried about being whitewashed... i'm more worried if i lose my sense of what it means to truly be a christian... because i can find my true identity from that... however, just to be sure i'm a bit more aware of what's going on from my ancestral country more often, i bookmarked a website that links you to all the latest taiwan news... in english, not engrish... on the left

i dare you to move/ i dare you to lift yourself/ lift yourself off of the floor -switchfoot

some miso soup w/trout would be good for today...

um... i'm getting boring huh?

see, this is where my blog begins to pale compared to others... since i'm not rich, i can't afford the luxury of taking a pic of myself making a silly face or capturing jon when he's unawares and then posting it up to redeem myself...

the infamous dickwack aka "richard e wack" at collegehumor.com puts richard weiner to shame... well, at least bob's "richard head" was pretty close...

wishlist(ok, so it's not christmas, i still don't have a job, etc... i'm bored, ok?):
-delay pedal, +various ac adapters(i'm thinking 2 more, maybe another surge protector)... i would love to be able to hook up delay,wah,flanger,dist all together... ok to be honest i would love to hook all the dif types of fx pedals boss has together in series, all powered by ac, and have a crybaby wah at one end... but i'm trying to paint myself as a modest guy(haha yea right)... so delay it is...
-preamp... would be useful if i ever get back into live playing again, so i can hear myself w/o putting others in "harm's way..." i could connect my headphones to it, then be able to play good riffs that don't reqr the sound to be turned up... man, that's like another 150+ or something... also, would i get another one for usb, for recording purposes?
-arcade joystick... psh... another 100 dollars thrown out the window... just to be able to hone my dp skills down pat...
-and then there's the cds... 12 stones, pillar, sanctus real, jeremy camp... maybe linkin park, maybe switchfoot(or their mp3 legally)... kj-52?
-minor, but i would like to see what it's like to play electric guitar w/a wireless cord... also a strap that stays on, so i can pull a throw-my-guitar-around-my-head and catch it...

ah yes, our toys get more expensive as we age... long ago, you couldn't push my wishlist's price above $60 if you tried... but i gotta convince myself that i would be just fine w/o the above... coveting's wrong... we all do it anyway... it's just that i'm being vocal putting my stuff down right HERE... i know i don't fit the mold, so i wonder what girls want as they grow older... please, tell me it's not shoes... or clothing...

foxtrot and boondocks both cracked me up pretty hard today...

Falling Up's official site

i especially like "bittersweet" and "broken heart"

wednesday's low post move of the day(thought of this one at home):

start w/ball in both hands, facing back to defender, to basket:
1.pivot outer foot towards the baseline to the top of the key, so you eventually turn around and face the defender
2.land hard with the foot to jab step towards the key
3.start to lunge the other way and start to dribble
4.crossover back to your jab stepping foot and drive in

lately i've been down, and it's probably due to my not-so-stellar performance in college lately... ah, the classic struggle between what a christian is supposed to believe in vs what they're feeling due to society... how "strong" are we supposed to be? callous that nothing in the world can shake us, NO MATTER HOW BAD IT LOOKS FOR US? how much of that down feeling from society is due to our fear of ppl looking down upon us, where we're either saddened that we've let them down, or humiliated because they're laughing at us? how do we lift the heavy burdens off our chest? how hard do we pray? are we praying the right request? etc, etc, etc...

thank God... my car's FINALLY fixed... supposedly... please, don't fall apart... not now... i don't really care about stick anymore; what good's a stick shift w/10 disc cd changer that keeps falling apart every 2 months or so?

it's interesting really; i am that car... i see my downness impersonated in that car... my car problems were due to a coolant sensor problem... and likewise... my downness is due to a coolness problem... angry when i shouldn't be, saddened too long by the wrong stuff when i shouldn't be... this is my lastest cliche thought, and i think it's a good one to remember:

WHAT'S DONE IS DONE... WHAT'S NOT DONE HAS NOT BEEN DONE...
(WHAT'S THE POINT OF WORRYING ABOUT WHAT YOU DID? NO MATTER HOW TERRIBLE THE THINGS YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST, WORRYING DOESN'T CHANGE THEM; JUST CONCENTRATE ON WHAT OCCURS NOW...
i understand you sometimes wanna worry so there's less chance of making a mistake, but really, why? so you can get an ulcer that breaks you down at 40? please, life ON EARTH is too stupid for that type of thinking... every phase has really just one blip on a cpu screen of life)

writing up a FAQ on bball low post offense... a flowchart of sorts... that way i can refer back to it when i'm trying to find out how to improve my offensive game... defense is simpler, but to get that i'll need to work on shuffling, hops, and liners... which i'll try more often in UCD now...

song's not finished... but then i had only one short week... hopefully though i get a lot done tonight...

wolf in sheep's clothing?
-------------------------------

as you know, my favorite genre of music is "christian hard alternative..." more or less i like some other songs from other genres, but this is the big one... it's hard, it's fast, it's upbeat... i smile upon it more because the writers are looking at God, you get a positive message in their lyrics, and if you get lucky, they throw in a good riff and fill from the lead guitarist... at times though, i have to wonder, how acceptable is this type of music for a christian? a lotta times, you can't find the positive message in the songs until you look them up and then go "AHHHH!" if pillar put one of their harder songs on 104.9 FM, i would doubt many ppl would cry out immediately(since the secular society is against christian rock), and call in going, "hey! what's this christian stuff i hear?" am i jumping up and down to the hard, driving rhythms, or because my heart is going "praise God! amen w/this man's message!" i wonder stuff like this at times...

the fact is, music can sometimes go deeper than the lyrics, to the melody, harmony, and rhythm... i've never been calmed by listening to hard, alternative rock... or hip-hop... my feet instead starts bouncing, my head starts tilting to the left, i might even start air guitaring or fake a mic trying to emcee... i think the high point may be when i hear a good riff... sometimes i'm calmed by that... but it's still kinda rare... contrast that with listening to classical music... you just feel a lot calmer from listening to that... not saying that's it's wrong to listen to music which gets your heartbeat up, sometimes you want that(though listening to it before you turn in is a BAAAD IDEA), but is christian music supposed to be calming, or upbeat, or just simply concentrate upon God? there's a lotta jumping, dancing, whatnot commanded in the psalms about praising God, so is that enough to justify an upbeat, hard song? am i dancing to the good lyrics, or to the melodies/harmonies/rhythms? the "big three" of music can't testify to an existance of God... or do they?

and then what about the music having an effect to you OUTSIDE of listening to it? if i keep listening to pillar/12 stones/ etc, and the laptop turns off, and i walk away, am i going to just explode every time something annoys me? "I FEEL LIKE THIS!!!" sometimes i wonder where i get this temper of mine... bball? playing tekken? could be, but hard to say...

it's funny really; almost every new music carries a demonic connotation w/it... i remember when heavy metal used to be categorized w/the devil; a lotta musicians honestly just said right out that they were satanists, and did pretty stupid stuff... metallica had some evil lyrics, the curent one ppl frown upon is manson... hip-hop is currently categorized with pimping w/the hos and bling bling, and dance/trance is the new one... it feels like spazzing so much, and since it's often played in dance clubs, sometimes it carries a negative connotation w/lsd and esctasy, to name a few... however, those used to be categorized w/rock...

but the bible suggests to test everything, and hold onto the good; therefore what i'm eventually going to try one of these days is to hold off a week or two on listening to music at all(the one exception will be songwriting); if i do listen, it would be classical music, but i don't have any, therefore i'm trying for the cold turkey treatment... maybe when i try that i'll also cut off cold turkey on video games and bball watching... if my behavior improves, i'll have to reevaluate...

Luke 8:13-15

i am still the person who receives the seed as well as a seed getting thrown on a buncha thorns... i still end up playing by the rules of society even after i hear the message and want to believe it, yet i throw every single teaching that i have grown up by away... i have not remained in God lately, do not produce his fruit... *sigh*...

the ppl who have made mistakes yearn for the past... the ppl who have not made mistakes or don't care yearn for the future... it takes a real person to be grounded in what is occuring now, leaving the past behind and not bringing it into consideration of what's occurring, but not minding if the future suddenly came along...

switchfoot- dare you to move, has to be one of the few switchfoot songs that i REALLY like... it really is an exception, considering i was never into the coldplay, slow alt rock style... there's another one i really like, but i can't pull the title off the top of my head... it's not gone, meant to live, or more than fine...

but for the moment, i'm just waiting for building 429 to put their audio clips up...

context... nobody ever takes things IN CONTEXT anymore... a lot of the criticisms of other things would have been pulled back if ppl actually took things IN CONTEXT...

Casting Crowns - Who Am I

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You're

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours