some dude walking into kaiser up to the information desk where i help out, and while my fellow volunteer was already good on giving him help, i had to give a shout out when he was leaving of "i like your t-shirt" because it was a sportscenter t-shirt.

---

starting july 1, 2008, california police will now stop you and give you a ticket if you are caught talking on your cell phone(hands free is ok) when you are driving. about time; i keep getting pissed everytime a person(hinthintasian) is holding everybody up. 1st offense is 20, then 50 afterwards. i think the penalty should be steeper.

btw, you might want to consider going to freeheadset.org. according to a speech a person in my communcation class gave, that site will give you a free quality wireless headset to use for your cell phone; you just pay shipping and handling. they don't have my model yet, but hopefully it won't take long.

---

one of my favorite all-time quotes:

"liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right to be able to do what we ought." (or something like that) -lord acton.

i actually thought of something similar before i even saw that quote. the premise is this: if the founding fathers of the usa realized we were going to abuse the freedom of speech or action the way we do today, i truly believe they would not have rebelled against britain and formed the usa. the freedom of speech is not given so we can say stupid crap(internet forums ForTheLoss), but so that if we see something wrong with the government, we can stand up, speak out, say "that's not right," and not get punished for telling the truth. etc, etc. the liberty given takes the power out of any single individual, and puts in the hands of the people, who *hopefully* are wise and discerning. (i could say that regarding what is right, would be something similar to "something that does not take away from the rights of others.")

and on that similar note, that is partially how the usa parallels christianity, how it was essentially a christian nation overlooking many of the founding fathers having a belief in God. the president of the usa does not hold the ultimate power in the country; the constitution does; a single written document by which all are held to. likewise, a single person in the world does not hold absolute power in christianity; the word of God does.

---

WO is such an impressive cvs2 c-ryu player. i just went through a couple of match videos this morning i had on archives on my external hard drive, and was blown away by his solid ground game. and ryu is supposed to be a mid-tier character too.

just did a massive pic dump onto my facebook account. i didn't add the leon powe rookie card pic though, but the kg bobblehead's on there.

this sounds like something straight outta a cartoon

2 down, 2 more left to go. or more like 1.5, or 1.

---

a lotta ppl talk about how paul pierce really showed how good he was this year because of his improved defense, but i'm surprised nobody talks about how he stopped taking jumpers at the 3 pt line and started driving to the hole every single time; prior to this season, he spent so much time on the 3 pt line. i'm a big fan of in close shots.

"annnyyythhinnngggg's poooossssiiibbbblllleeee!!!"

including not winning next year

[/end quote]

goodness, that was way too funny when i read it on a forum.

i remember when i watched game 3 of the 2002 ecf finals, and paul pierce and antoine walker led the celtics to that ridiculous comeback. it was a special game, and one of my favorite all-time nba games i ever watched in person (partially because of the dramatic change in offensive strategy to start the 4th quarter; no more 3s; all layup attempts)

well, this probably topped it. i'm impressed. too many things to list.

---

y'kno, one of things i hate is how everytime ppl who try to justify how kobe is allowed to do what he does, is they play the jordan card, but the one that ticks me off perhaps the most is how he's allowed to be a team leader the way he is, arrogant, not really friendly, etc, "because jordan was like that." look, can we just admit jordan was a really unique case? yes, let's all do small ball and have average centers and have 2 and 3s who are arrogant as hell for our team leaders. that'll give the teams we root for 2 3-peats.

---

i'm really bummed that all the trade rumors i've heard for the pistons almost always involve tayshaun prince. i really guess he's not going to play all his days as a piston; i really wished a lotta good all-around players played their entire days on the same team that drafted them; like pierce. there is one SMALL plusside to this though, that maybe they'll have piston tayshaun prince jerseys for really cheap after he leaves. always wanted one of those.

---

control your emotions, and you control yourself.

---

2 more weeks. i gotta quickly figure out what to do.

---

that's it; i'm checking http://ecanaan.org/calendar/ every week before i practice on saturday; i'm getting tired of driving 15 minutes only to find a workshop is taking place in the sanctuary.

hahaha: "Police: Man in DUI Crash Said He Was Driving Around to Sober Up"

what's up with democrats FINALLY trying to impeach bush?

the baron davis and adam sandler tv commercial where they parody the nba "there can only be one" commericals with zohan and b-diddy cracked me up. "nooo... you haffF a dWeEaMn..." and then they cut back from cuts of the movie to b-diddy wearing the same clothes as zohan.

i bet i'm not the only one who is wondering why kg is not parking his ass on the low block. but yes, that 2-handed putback was golden. loved how the crowd erupted when paul pierce got back on the floor and nailed back-2-back threes. (but where was the love for perkins when he made it back?)

also props to ray allen; if yesterdays' game is any indication of how he's tried to change his game to complement his teammates this entire season, i admire what he's done. guarding kobe(although rivers prob wanted to do that more to keep pierce out of foul trouble). choosing to drive and pass to teammates most of the time rather than take the shot and spot up. getting 6 boards. etc.

new season, improved bench, same coach, same result. i seriously think game 3 was the deciding factor in this series.

welcome to die, pistons (and piston followers).

it's stuff that makes me glad i have multiple hobbies, or i'd be constantly bummed every june.

not that i hate the c's; i pulled for them during the 2002 ECF's. here's hoping they get the chip.

news article: japan woman lived in man's closet

lol at japan; ninjas to the core

if it's true what sheed said, then yeah, the league must REALLY be willing a lakers-celtics finals.

well, can't really say it's over til it's over.

is it wrong to have a negative outlook on life, so that when bad things happen, you're not surprised by them? cause everytime i hope so hard for good things to happen, and they don't happen, that drags me down so much. or maybe it's possible to EXPECT bad things to happen, but always hope for the good?

guess the celtics finally have to win on the road; i'm hoping the pistons don't go easy on them; ride DAT home court advantage. seems like the guys at need4sheed kept making fun of sheed and chauncey rocking the tights in game 1; maybe that's why they lost. and i keep thinking it, but somebody finally beat me to putting it on paper or audio: rodney stuckey is sorta like dwyane wade. in that case, you COULD say joe dumars corrected his 2004 draft mistake; remember that he could've gotten dwyane wade, but passed him up. stuckey's just been incredible in the playoffs. the other thought somebody beat me to on espn.com was that rasheed wallace and kevin garnett really are the same type of player; defensive-minded, likes deferring to teammates and not taking low-post shots but when they do, have an unblockable turnaround, etc, oh yeah, both are kinda emotional during games.

i've been keeping an anime journal on my desktop; not so much a journal and review and critique, but more just a list of anime i've watched and completely finished as well as how many volumes there are, anime i'd like to watch but isn't at the library, anime i'd like to watch, and is at the library (cause i'd like to believe eventually someday down the road i'd like to buy a couple of different animes). it's kinda long, lol. i always have some anime volume on request by reservation at the library. i'm planning to eventually put up the 2008 list at the end of the year.

along those lines, i wanted to do something similar; start a music journal, but when i listen to music i check out at the library, i usually don't always get through the entire album; listen to a couple of songs, then return. i started the anime journal before 2008 rolled around, but i didn't do anything at all for the music journal, so it's very tough to recollect all the music i went through. fyi i'm going through a couple of pearl jam and goo goo dolls cds currently as i speak. pearl jam's clearly one of my favorite music groups; top 5 i'd say. listening to their greatest hits album, rearview mirror, was like a trip down memory lane. i already have the "ten" album, but i'd like to get the rearview mirror album someday. i also went through a steve vai cd prior to that(actually went through the entire album). basically, unless the album's an artist i REALLY like, chances are i won't just push play on the cd player and leave it.

---

i am really kicking myself mentally for realizing i put down wrong entries on my midterms. it sucks. and i think i still gotta figure out a better way to study. that's the one thing i hate about myself; i just haven't found that one best method to study that enables me to not have to be very very tired because of having to stay up late at night the night before. i think it has to do with the flash card software i have(jMemorize is awesome, it really is; you should try it sometime), that much i know, but i'm still working on the other components of it.

---

sometimes if your brain is smart, you end up discovering methods and things others don't really get; here are two things i've discovered:

1. How to avoid static electricity when reaching for a door handle: take the bottom palm of your hand and touch it to the door above the handle, before touching the handle. works because the skin under your palm is a lot thicker than on your fingertips(horray for somewhat learning something during science classes at uc davis), so even if static did hit your hand, you won't feel it as much, plus your fingertips are very sensitive, compared to your palm. as for touching the door as opposed to the handle? dunno, just seems to work better that way. when i do this, i never get static shock(drum fill for referencing the cartoon). happens all the time when i'm rubbing my hands on my jeans, which i tend to do often. i still get shocks from all other different stuff though, because i'm not always touching other stuff with the bottom palm of my hand. guess i should start touching my car handle the same way.

2. How to do a "natural smile" for a camera shot: i'm not good at smiling on camera, but i more or less discovered what you need to do to give a natural smile a few months back, the few times i had to interview for a job: show teeth, but leave a tiny gap between the upper and lower teeth. also, squint your eyes a little. those three tips usually tend to do it; should make you look like you're giving a shy smile; but it looks natural, like you're half-chuckling from a joke. my most recent photo is the only one which i use this technique, but it looks completely natural: my de anza id card.

3. How to low post. (LOL) I gotta head back to work. So i'm not gonna list it here now. But I will say if you memorize the number 24 or 222, you will be able to figure out what moves to use, what counter-moves to use.

that recent page 2 article scoop jackson wrote about the pistons is so spot on... so spot on. i was so impressed in 2004... and then, from there on out? it's been all up and down. up and down. but you can't ignore them, can't turn away, cause they're so unique, and have that feel about them making them so unlike any other team in the league.

you do realize that david stern's worst nightmare OR sweetest dream could occur this june? there's a very good chance the spurs and pistons play each other again, or the lakers and celtics.

---

i'm gonna be a dead man walking by the end of this week; just midterm after midterm, and not enough time to study.

youtube video is blurry, really blurry at the library, but it was good enough for me to finally watch the lebron dunk. that was impressive. i guess iso plays for players who have speed are now done everytime at the top of the key as opposed to the wingside, eh? the head fake james threw at posey was probably what was most impressive during that sequence.

---

if you've wondered where michael cooper was after that awful stint trying to coach the denver nuggets and trying to get them to play defense only(good luck), the answer is... the los angeles sparks' head coach. i was taken aback when i saw it.

---

i see james lin everytime i volunteer at kaiser; cool eh?

i genuinely thought before i left the library yesterday that the cavaliers were going to win game 5. celtics don't look as complete a team in the playoffs that they looked in the regular season. you HAVE to be able to win on the road. maybe not all the time, but have to at least 2-3 times during the journey to the magical number of 16 wins.

---

i didn't say this, but the pictures that show tayshaun stopping hedo's dunk look a LOT more like he's getting posterized because his head is back, lol(maybe the cameramen shouldv'e taken the picture earlier). thank god that wasn't what happened.

---

*sigh* i'm not gonna be having a lot of fun this weekend and next week.

---

i wonder how much drive i have. couple that with my above-average IQ = ?

the prince of the palace doing his thing on d

all-defense team:

1st:
"G": kobe, bowen
"F": duncan, garnett
"C": camby

2nd:
"G": bell, paul
"F": tayshaun, battier
"C": howard

my only main objection is that camby should NOT be on there. at all, 1st or 2nd. not closing out on shooters so you don't give up rebounding position is not good d. move howard to 1st, put tyson on 2nd. debatably, bell shouldn't be on there either; shaun marion was clearly the suns' best defender, but now he's gone.

i so wanna see a video of that dunk lebron james put on garnett after blowing past pierce and head faking posey outta the way.

(yea, yea, i know, rich, how can you like the cavs-er, i mean, lebron, if you're a die-hard pistons fan?)

(and why do the best dunks always seem to come during blowouts?)

that drive to the floater that tayshaun made to win game 4 so reminded me of what he used to do all the time during the 2004-2005 season; get the ball on the wing, fake a shot, drive and put up a floater in the paint. just pretty.

and lebron james' blocks and passes are just amazing.

showing some love for tayshaun via need4sheed:

turning the corner off of the pick n roll

throwing the oop to sheed

impressive list of 75 things every man should be able to do

now i get about 7 days of no tests, but i gotta keep up.

got a buncha cds from best buy thanks to their 4.99 cd sale. gonna be listening to rush and soundgarden in about 1 week! the spirit of radio is one of my favorite rush songs, maybe one of my favorites of all.

i love how rasheed wallace loves dwight howard. if you keep up with various news, you'll notice that rasheed wallace always pulls dwight howard aside and whispers in his ear at various times, but it's always stuff about how to get better, not where to eat, etc. the reason? rasheed likes how dwight howard is not concerned about his fame and money. if you read the article on espn a bit back on sheed(which was good, btw), you'll notice how much rasheed wallace is not into money, not into fame. he was unwilling to do a photo shoot with espn the magazine for his article, and kept looking down and not maintaining eye contact during the interview. and if his teammates wears something stupid from their money they get(i'm thinking rip hamilton's furcoat with the foxheads count here), he pins it on the blackboard, and writes a big ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! on it. rasheed wallace states himself that he's old school; i believe him.

(i will say that the love is reciprocal; during the 2005 season, i think dwight howard pulled for the pistons to win the championship, because he said that if he did go to college, he would've gone to unc)

this news article has LOL written all over it...