This is Harder Than It Looks

Keeping up a full-time blog is pretty difficult. This is further exacerbated by the fact that I have a full-time job.

I will do my best to keep this blog entry going...but life is boring. Maybe something will happen soon.....

Oh Wow

It's been over a month since I've posted anything.

You never realize how much time becomes a commodity when you start working full-time.

Hopefully, I will be able to post more regularly now that I've become situated. Keep reading guys, I'll be posting more...very shortly.

Man...

Moving out sucks.

The Reason For My Sparse Updating

For those who frequent my blog and continue to leave with a feeling of disappointment and betrayal, I sincerely apologize for my sporadic and inconsistent updates. I hope to remedy this soon.

One of the major reasons I did not have a chance to update this blog is because I was a little preoccupied with my graduation self-present: a trip to California. As always, I was jetting with my favorite Airline, the good peoples over at JetBlue. I am usually adverse to shamelessly plugging corporations, but I will gladly whore myself to Apple and JetBlue. It's just how it works on occasion... But let's be real here, there are over 40 channels to watch during the flight. There are complimentary drinks and snacks. The seats are soft and there's a fantastic amount of leg room. As long as I am flying domestically, I will be flying JetBlue.

Am I getting a commission for this? I wish.

The Departure

The day I left, it was approximately over 98° with incredibly, unfathomably, and unbearably high humidity. I could not wait to get out of the Northeast. In case you have never been to the Northeast United States, let me tell you something, do not come here during the months of January, February, July or August. You will want to kill yourself. However, if you ever find yourself to be displaying symptoms of bitchassness or softness, come during those months. Our weather will help you build some character.

Anyway, some 6 hours later, I successfully completed my journey from JFK to SFO.

A view from my boy's crib. Shoutouts to Balboa Ave Station.

The Arrival

San Francisco International Airport is very very nice. It's clean, it has a lot of shops, a lot of duty free shops, a lot of exhibits within the airport, a comprehensive lounge and food court. On point, it certainly is. It's probably my 2nd favorite airport behind Hong Kong International Airport. Anyway, upon arriving, I was picked up by my good friend Janice. Big ups for the housing too! I see you ma. Of course, being from New York, the first order of business was In-N-Out. Let me tell you, the burgers are delicious, the ingredients are fresh and the employees are paid well with benefits. Their dry fries aside, In-N-Out is the greatest fast food chain of all-time.

Kanye memes never get old.

The Weather

The weather in The Bay is absolutely fantastic. It's alarmingly comfortable during  the day and refreshingly cold during the night. Additionally, there is no humidity...anywhere. San Francisco was cold. Oakland was cold and Daly City seemed to be even colder. It was mind boggling. But it's not cold in the sense of winter. cold If you live in New York, think of The Bay in July as late October in NYC. Basically, once I had on a pair of shorts and a hoodie (odd combination, I know), it was like I was in Heaven. The weather is perfect. Conversely, San Jose and the South Bay is considerably warmer. Again, there is no humidity. 90° in San Jose is about as uncomfortable as 78° with 95%+ humidity. It's that serious. After experiencing Bay weather in the summer, I am convinced now that my decision/hope/dream to move to San Francisco is the right one.

The Golden Gate Bridge being eaten by #datfog

The Food

Food is California is very very good. This is probably because they grow most of the food we eat. Most importantly, they have quite possibly the most amazing avocados on the planet (thanks Mexico!). In addition to having incredibly fresh ingredients, it just seems like a very "green" state. The food quality is pretty amazing.  The culinary standouts include: San Francisco's famed Mission Street Mexican food, San Jose's Vietnamese sandwiches, San Francisco's brunch spots, In-N-Out (way to beat a dead horse Thomas), and perhaps most life-changing of all, Ike's Place. Ike's sandwiches are so official, they are on par with New York's top Halal Carts. I was so impressed with the food, I even wanted to buy one of their shirts.

Mad good... Hella good, even.

Expenses

The cost of living in The Bay is lower, significantly lower. How is it lower? Well for one, cigarettes are only $5.xx. In New York, cigarettes are $11. I don't smoke cigarettes, but this is already a huge indicator of what you're working with if you move to California. Secondly, gas is not as expensive as you think it might be. It's basically on par with the gas prices in New York. On the flip side, the sales tax is pretty gruesome at a staggering 9.25%. *shiver* Perhaps, the most notable difference in California is the perplexingly cheap retail pricing of oregano. In NY, an 1/8th will run you 50-60. A quarter around 120. In California, an 1/8th is 40 and a quarter 80. Incredible. If I were a consumer of oregano, I would save $1040 if I bought an 1/8th per week, over a period of 52 weeks. For another example of how cheap California is, please continue reading.

Close enough.

The Yankees

No blog post is complete on my part unless there is a mention of the New York Yankees! On July 7, 2010, I went to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to watch the Yankees play the Oakland Athletics. I was able to watch my hometown Yankees go against Janice's hometown Athletics. It was a great time. To my surprise, there were A LOT of Yankees fans at the stadium. If I were to venture a guess, I would say about 40% of the Stadium was filled with my kind. I guess it's true what they say, "The Yankees travel well." Oh by the way, the picture you see below, I was 22 rows behind the Yankees dugout. The ticket only cost $40.

I took this photo. HOLLA.

Things That Are Different From New York That I Did Not Adjust To

Mass Transit: BART is great. The rest of California's mass transit system is rather unimpressive. The biggest travesty...it doesn't operate 24 hours a day.

Radio: I may not be able to articulate this section properly, but California radio stations play music differently from New York radio stations. California seems to play more pop and Top 40 than New York. New York seems to play more traditional Hip-Hop. But on occasion, certain California stations will have old school days. When the Bay does Old School, they do it official. Better than NY does Old School. Another big difference, California Gurls vs Empire State of Mind.

Hella: I could not get used to people saying hella.

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Final Thoughts

California is an amazing place. In fact, it is so amazing, I want to live there. If you have not gone there, I highly recommend it. My only regrets for this trip is that I did not get the chance to go to Berkeley. Another one of my favorite cities in California. As far as SoCal goes, it's ah-iiiight to me. The Bay is where it's at.

Until next time...deuces.

Hip-Hop Linkaround

During my high school days, I built a fairly solid reputation for discovering remixes to top singles and finding up and coming artists before they became over-saturated media commodities.

With that said, I have fallen off dramatically in my musical crate-digging. With that as my preface and disclaimer, I would like to say that I find Slaughterhouse and Dipset's music to suit my tastes wonderfully (pause).

As far as Slaughterhouse goes, you can't find a better squad of lyricists alive. I'm talkin about a collection of lyrically gifted artists on par with the likes of The Firm and The Commission. For a better idea of what I'm talkin about, please turn your attention to the great guys over at YouTube for allowing me to embed these videos.

Joe Budden

Joell Ortiz

With Dipset, you had a group of artists that weren't gifted with adroit lyricism, but had something that allowed them to reach a wider audience: One of the best ears in the industry. I rarely hear a single that has poor production values or any of their fringe singles with less than stellar beats. I was in high school when Dipset truly was a movement. But all of that changed when Cam went on vacation and Jim Jones was wild'n out.

One of my favorite Dipset tracks (Shoutout to the 5th Floor for puttin me on. If you didn't go to Stuy, you wouldn't know):

There's a video for this song, but it sucks. If Dipset reads this, I'm just kidding guys. =)

To end this quick entry, I will not link you guys to one of my favorite Hip-Hop videos of all time. Enjoy.

It was the end of a Empire!

Blowjobs

I meant to post this entry yesterday, but in my kushed out mental state...I forgot to do so.

This post was inspired by the excellent blog, NoMaas. They came up with this post a few weeks ago and it brought a tear to my eye. In order to avoid the tag of "plagiarist", I instead opted for the tag of "late." 

Regardless, the following image makes me a very happy Yankees fan.

Thomas, I don't get what you're trying to prove.

With the exception of CC Sabathia, what do these guys have in common? WE FUCKIN DEVELOPED THEM IN THE FARM SYSTEM! Also, in Phil Hughes' next start, he will probably take over the team's strikeout leader. Hughes has 2 fewer starts than CC with an 8.53 K/9 ratio to CC's 7.36.

So to all you bitch ass Yankees haters...

Long story short, Yankees haters can S my D. *salutes*

And So It Ends

So my torment has officially ended. The 2009-2010 NBA season has reached its conclusion  and unfortunately, another champion has been crowned.

As a proud, sometimes nauseatingly so, New Yorker, this year's NBA finals was vomit inducing. I don't remember 2008 much because I was contemplating suicide as Yankee after Yankee went down with an injury and Yankee after Yankee underperformed his way to a playoff-less season. Since I was born in 1988, not seeing the Yankees in the playoffs is like a visit to the dentist - numbing with an annoyingly faint and indescribable discomfort. This year, I am not as psychologically and emotionally damaged. Thus allowing me to feel some form of emotion as it relates to this year's playoffs.

No, clearly not in 2008.

First off, I have the worst rooting interests in the history of pro basketball. I am cursed with having an affinity for loose, offensively minded basketball teams. My team this year was a severe disappointment, my Denver Nuggets. So much talent, so little resolve. Did George Karl's health concerns affect the team? Very possibly. *sigh* Such is my life.

Secondly, it is no surprise that I am a Yankees fan. Despite being so, I really do not feel the vitriolic disdain for all things Boston that most of my fellow Yankees fans have. Really, my severe loathing and contempt for Boston is isolated to the Boston Red Sox. So basically, I wasn't exactly rooting against the Celtics because they have 3 players I really like: Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. I like Pierce because he was stabbed 11 times in a club and still played in all 82 games. Gangsta. I also stole his patented step back jumper. Rajon Rondo because he is probably my favorite point guard in the League right now, overtaking Boom Dizzle. Ray Allen because he has the sexiest jump shot form in the world. You don't understand how physiologically perfect and poetic his jump shot is... it's incredible. (Double pause). However, because they were a Boston team, I felt obligated to root for the other team. The only problem is...

I hate this guy and I will take every chance to shit on him I can.

Third, the other team had Kobe Bryant. His existence offends me. I am from Camp Jordan and I will never leave Camp Jordan. Consequently, every mannerism, every fadeaway, every scoff at a teammate is just another failed attempt to be more like Money. Am I a hater? All signs point towards yes. But I don't give a fuck. I hate Kobe Bryant. He's a fraud. He tries to act hard and fails. He tries to keep it hood and fails. He tries to model and he...looks like the picture above.

Fourth, my hatred for Kobe Bryant also got in the way of my New York pride. The Lakers had two guys from my borough.... QUEENS! Shoutouts to Queensbridge and Jamaica. I'm happy for RonRon and The Goods. Two New York kids putting in work for the title.

Fifth, I actually enjoyed watching the Celtics play basketball, further conflicting with my New York pride. They play fantastic team defense and their offense is fairly dynamic for such a defensive minded team. I'm sorry if I offended you New York...but you know I hold it down for you wherever I am.

Sixth, in my mind, I wished the following scenario would have occurred: Prior to Game 7, the Staples Center gets destroyed with nobody in the building. As a result, David Stern is forced to deem the 2009-2010 NBA season to be championless. New York rejoices. Speaking of a happier New York...

Ciara is a bad baaaaad woman. Does she have to do with anything in this post? You decide.

Lastly, today is June 18, 2010. In 13 days, LeBron James will officially become a free agent. This is probably one of the most important offseasons in recent memory for the NBA. More importantly, this is the most important free agent year for New York basketball in recent memory. If the Knicks sign Breezy and someone else (Bosh?) The Knicks look real good on paper. Will they be a playoff contender? If they decide to play defense, I think they can be.

In two weeks, the 2010 NBA season can be salvaged. Here's to hopes and dreams...

The city of New York would be so lucky.

The Most Overrated Event in Sports

The World Cup sucks. I said it. I don't care who I offend. The World Cup just sucks.

I can't stand the fucking horns that are blaring for 90 unfathomably unbearable minutes.

I can't stand the flopping. Fuck Spain especially. Don't think I forgot what your basketball teams did in 

北京 2 years ago.

For my female readers...if I have any.

Regardless, after much soul searching, I have finally formulated my rooting interests. The United States and South Korea. My rooting for the United States is pretty obvious. Gotta hold it down for the Red, White and Blue. My rooting for South Korea is fairly mind-numbingly predictable. Basically, South Korea is the closest country to China and we both share the historical commonality of being imperialized by Japan. While North Korea is actually geographically closer to China than South Korea, I cannot rationalize the notion of rooting for a country run by someone who is probably dead and a country that has butchered Karl Marx's ideology regarding communism. I'm a Marxist at heart, what can I say.

Speaking of bibimbop... as I was watching the ESPN broadcasting of the North Korea - Brasil game, I ran across an interesting anecdote. Supposedly, Chinese actors were paid to be North Koreans for the duration of the World Cup and root unabashedly for the North Korean squad. My roommate and I laughed vociferously. Such is the reality of an isolationist, totalitarian regime.

Seriously though, the vuvuzelas need to fuckin go. They are annoying as fuck.

For my male readers. If you focus enough, you can find a flag.

The NBA...It's Faaaaaaaaaan-Tastic!

Apologies for the lack of posting for the past month, graduation looms and I have been grinding away, making sure that I will receive that oh-so-important-piece-of-paper known as a degree. In 4 days, I will have completed my 18-year educational journey. Wow.

Without further ado, a lot has changed in the past month. Let's start with the NBA.

As predicted, my Denver Nuggets got merked by the Utah Jazz, who subsequently got ravaged thoroughly by the Los Angeles Lakers. Since my team in the Western Conference got eliminated, I'm not going to talk about that side of the NBA Playoffs at length...or any length (pause). Congrats to the Lakers. I guess. *vomits*

However, the most important development in the 2010 NBA Playoffs has been the resurgence of the Boston Celtics. Prior to the start of the Playoffs, I foresaw success for the Celtics. Did I think that they would be in the Finals? Not really. But then again, the one team that played the best basketball in the first 2 rounds in the Eastern Conference also had this guy:

I concur, Vince. Your performances against Boston were, in fact, hilarious.

I said it last year and I'll say it again. Hedo Turkoglu is better than Vince Carter. In fact, this is one statement where if you called "Bullshit", I would have a plethora of chat logs on tap to prove my sagacity. If anyone watched Orlando's games last year, Hedo was straight up playing point guard the entire game. Pick and Rolls against guards who are half a foot shorter poses tremendous matchup problems. As someone who played organized ball, being able to see over your defender as a point guard in pick and roll situations was like having a Gameshark in the 90s, overkill. Also, Vince Carter just simply blows dick. When it matters, he doesn't show up. When the team needs him, he hurts his pinky. His cousin is far better than he is.

Other things going against Orlando: a midget point guard who can't pass, a racist back-up point guard who can pass, and a center who once wanted to have the Holy Cross as a fixture of the NBA logo. Religious zealots...ugh.

Conversely, Rajon Rondo is officially the man. I was on his bandwagon before, I'm driving it now. Rondo has cracked my Fave 5. Paul Pierce is gettin it in as usual (pause). Kevin "I'm the biggest fake ass thug on the basketball court" Garnett is doing his usual "I'm 7'1" but I like to shoot jumpers and fade away on post ups". But the biggest surprise has been Rasheed Wallace. I feel like Rasheed Wallace is the smartest man in the world. He pretends to not care in the regular season, plays like an asshole, and to top it all off, was in the worst shape I have ever seen him. When the playoffs started, he started defending, hittin' 3s and lost the weight fat suit.


Man-Boobs? I prefer to refer to them as Decades of Wisdom manifested into the form of fatty deposits in the chest area.

Anyway, just my quick thoughts on the NBA Playoffs thus far. NBA Finals preview coming soon.

Quick Reactions from Tonight's Yankees-Red Sox Game

1) Josh Beckett is a piece of horseshit.

2) Josh Beckett is a 2-bit ho.

3) Josh Beckett is an emotional little bitch.

4) Josh Beckett can go suck a dick.

Here's hoping the following players are healthy and can make a speedy recovery:

Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Nick Johnson, Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson.

New York's Greatest Year

On occasion, I experience fits of homesickness. I try not to feel homesick. I mean, what kind of a grown ass man has the same psychological crutch as a toddler?... Don't answer that.

One of the good things about living in Philly is that I'm only 2 hours away on a bus. The bad thing is that it takes me 2 hours to get home. Anyway, as I was thinkin about New York, I got to thinkin...what was New York's greatest year?

The more I thought about it, the more the answer became clear to me. New York's greatest year was easily 1994.

Quick Recap as to why 1994 was Ali..."The Greatest of All Time."

1) Nas releases Illmatic.
2) The New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup. (The Islanders also make the playoffs)
3) The Notorious BIG releases Ready To Die.
4) The New York Knicks make it to the NBA Finals.
5) The New York Yankees have the best record in the AL before a strike hits.
6) Rudy Giuliani takes office as the mayor of NYC.

What exactly did Giuliani mean to the city of New York?

There is only 1 King of New York...who's not named Biggie.

I) He turned a city filled with crime and the distinction of being the murder capital of the US into a city that would eventually become the 2nd safest city in America with over 1,000,000 residents. According to our fantastic government, New York is the safest city among America's 25 most populated cities. None of this is possible without Giuliani's hyper-aggressive tactics against crime, organized and otherwise.

II) Rebuilds Times Square's image. If you don't know, do yo' research.

III) Extending healthcare for city employees.

IV) Lax immigration laws and believing in protecting illegal immigrants because he recognizes what they contribute to the economy.

V) Rudy was gangsta: "On January 13, 1999, Giuliani suggested a "reciprocal relationship" whereby other states such as Virginia were obligated to accept New York City's garbage in exchange for being able to visit New York City's cultural sights." - Wiki.


------
I Couldn't have said it better myself, Rudy.

Life was good in New York in '94...yes it was.

The Best Cheat Code Ever... Robinson Canó

Quick Thoughts on 2009

As I was watching the baseball playoffs last year, I always thought that the offensive key to the Yankees' playoff success would be Robinson Canó. My logic was that opposing pitchers would be primarily focused on containing Teixeira and Rodriguez. In conjunction with the fact that Robbie would be hidden in the lineup by hitting 7th, I thought it would be the perfect scenario for him to showcase his incredible bat skills. Well, Cano did terribly in the playoffs. The Yankees won the title despite the fact that Teixeira, Swisher, and Cano did pretty much nothing.

Yes, this is how I felt watching you in the playoffs last year.

Unfortunately for opposing teams, A-Rod decided that he was just joking around for the past few postseasons and flexed his Hall of Fame skills to the tune of .365 Avg, 6 HR and 18 RBI. The Yankees' top 3 pitchers pitched out of their mind. Although on occasion, it seemed as if AJ lost his mind. Most importantly, David Robertson and my personal choice for MVP, Damaso Marte, were brilliant and mind-numbingly clutch when we needed outs.

It's hard to complain since we won the World Series. But, as it is in Yankeeland and Cashman's office, a ticker tape parade means we expect more the next year.

Flashing Forward to 2010

As we moved into the offseason, the huge surprise was the 3-team deal that helped us land Curtis Granderson. I initially thought it was a bad move. I was one of the few who thought that an OF of Leches (Melky) in LF, Gardner in CF, and Swisher in RF would be more than enough. I really wanted to see Johnny Damon go. He threw like a bitch (no misogyny-o). I also thought his speech was very distracting. Have you seen his post game interviews? Takes that mofo 3 minutes to get one sentence out. Ridiculous. Anyway, I digress, I liked the defensive alignment of Melky, Gardner and Swisher. Statistically, Gardner was nearly as good as Franklin Gutierrez in CF. That is ridiculous.

Franklin Gutierrez plays for Seattle. He catches the ball...all the time.

Anyway, Man-Crush aside, the offseason moves resulted in the following:

Notable Adds:

Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez, Nick Johnson

Notable Losses:

Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Brian Bruney (hah, just kidding)

Before the season started, there was a lot of discussion regarding what the outfield alignment should have been and what the batting order should have been. This what I was hoping for in February:

1) R - Derek Jeter - SS

2) L - Nick Johnson - DH

3) S - Mark Teixeira - 1B

4) R - Alex Rodriguez - 3B

5) L - Curtis Granderson - LF

6)  S - Jorge Posada - C

7) L - Robinson Canó - 2B

8) S - Nick Swisher - RF

9) L - Brett Gardner - CF

As you can see, I was nearly spot on with the current batting order. Obviously, the biggest glaring mistake I made was the batting order of Granderson and Cano. Robbie's 2009 RISP numbers and postseason numbers disheartened me to such a degree that I thought it would be better to leave him in the 7th hole with more low-leverage situations. From a defensive standpoint, I thought that Gardner would be best suited for CF given his ridiculous range and speed. Plus, if you guys saw Grandy towards the end of the year, his defensive routes really made you scratch your head. From a pitching standpoint, I thought the Javy move was fantastic. Absolutely brilliant.

Was I Right In My Apprehension?

No, I was wrong. Very wrong. In fact, I was so wrong, I want to personally apologize to Robbie and Curtis. Curtis has played a fantastic centerfield this year and he hit a game-winning home run off Jonathan Papelbum. Despite his recent slump, Granderson has had a great first month with the Bombaz.

And now, Robinson Cano. Robbie, my bad. I fucked up.

Robbie hitting 5th has turned into one of the best moves this season. How good has he been? Let's see below.


Robinson Canó's 2010 Stats (Courtesy of Fan Graphs):

Season	Team	G	PA	H	HR	R	RBI	SB	BB%	K%	ISO	BABIP	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	UZR	WAR
2009	Yankees	161	674	204	25	103	85	5	4.5 %	9.9 %	.199	.324	.320	.352	.520	.370	128	-2.2	4.7
2010	Yankees	21	90	33	8	21	17	2	6.7 %	12.3 %	.383	.385	.407	.444	.790	.510	226	-2.9	1.4

Some Reactions:

1) My man is hitting .407 as of April 30, 2010.
2) He leads the AL in runs scored with 21.
3) He's 2nd in HRs with 8.
4) His walk rate has increased since last year. In fact, it's the highest of his career.
5) His ISO is .383. That's good for 5th in MLB. (ISO is an advanced metric judging a player's power by the simple formula of Slugging % - Batting Average)
6) His BABIP (Batting Average for Balls in Play) is a ridiculous(ly unsustainable) .385. For a comparison, Albert Pujols' career BABIP is .317.
7) I suppose the only alarming trend is that his strikeout rate has risen considerably. But that's ok because he's seeing more pitches than ever before, so his Line Drive Rate is nearly 25% and his Home Runs Per Fly Fly Ball Rate is 29.6%.

For those who don't care what the stats mean, Robbie is basically God/Allah/Buddha handling a bat.

"Thomas, make sure you pick up my bat while I circle the bases."

"Yes, Master Cano."

Long story short, I was wrong about Curtis, wrong about Javy (what a bitch), and most importantly, wrong about Robbie.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I Present to You...The Chief of Swag

Pride of the Yankees

Monday was a good day. The World Champs were at the White House. Barack Obama was charismatic and entertaining as usual. I would continue gushing about the Yankees and Obama, but that would be in severe distaste. I will spare you guys the indignation of having to read my entries. Instead, today will be a YouTube Day. First up, an important message from our White House:

Bonus Pic:

Alex Rodriguez's Stylist. I need him/her.

The Good & The Bad: LeBron James

The Knicks have been bad. The Knicks have been bad for a decade. Much of that has to do with a front
office that has been wild with its finances and moronic with its basketball operations and personnel 

moves. So to solve this issue, the Knicks have to do one thing and one thing only: Sign LeBron James.

Really, it's not that hard. You already have Jay-Z whispering in his ear. You already have the Yankees and
CC Sabathia whispering in his ear. This is a layup. Don't fuck this up. I don't even care about the Knicks. I
just care about bringing glory back to New York City basketball. Let's face it, the best player from New
York and claims New York as his home is Joakim Noah. All of our high school talent has been overrated
and overhyped for over a decade. Carmelo Anthony, born in Brooklyn, claims Baltimore as his home. 
Where did it all go wrong?

Anyway, New York needs LeBron for all he brings on the court and off the court. Also, doing things like
this helps too:

The Best of Both Worlds

P.S.: I will leave you with the following statistic: 31.19. Michael status.