Well, well, I've reached the 1,000 subscriber mark! I guess that's pretty good for an abridged series without the series' actual title in the name of any of the videos (or anywhere in my channel at all for that matter). But yeah, I'm actually pretty happy about that. Thanks to all who watch my videos!! =) =)
Although if any of you reading this don't know what I'm talking about, click on my YouTube link in the sidebar or check out this video below of one of my favorite episodes:
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Summer Suckage Subsides with Summer School Session
Polkamons News:
Episode 12 has been written, but I'm struggling to find the time or means to record lines and do the video work. With any luck, it'll be done before the summer ends, but things may not be looking as promising as I thought. Read below for information on my life's happenings that may give you some insight on the cause of this delay:
____________________________________________________________________
So to put this in the simplest terms possible, my summer has sucked balls so far. I applied for about 8-9 jobs, but this damn economy has limited my options to nothing but going back to the movie theater where I worked last summer.
For anyone who is unfamiliar, working at the movie theater is being paid barely over minimum wage to serve food to, and clean up after, the epitome of obese America. I just can't comprehend how some people can stand in a concession line for 15 minutes straight debating against oneself on the best combination of nachos, hot dogs, pizza, pretzels, large popcorn extra butter, and a large DIET Coke. Thank you sir, that'll be 185 dollars. And let's not forget the roughly 20% of people who throw their still full Cherry Cokes into the trash at the end of the movie, or leave their crap in the seats and cup holders for the employees to pick up. People, come on. You already wasted your health and money buying this overpriced garbage. At least burn off three of those popcorn kernels by picking up your own trash! Oh well, at least every 9-hour shift I work provides me with an extra $45 towards buying myself a Mac. Joy.
Which is largely why I'm planning to head back to school early to take a summer class. I know, right? Summer school at will? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with me is that I've had a remarkably boring AND frustrating summer, and I need to get away. The campus is really beautiful, especially during the summer with not many people there. Fortunately, some of my friends are also taking summer classes, and I'll be rooming with two of them in an apartment close to where my freshman year dorm is. I'll also get the chance to take a Spanish class that'd I otherwise have to wait a year to enroll in. Voy a ser un mexicano muy pronto! I've been told I look Mexican before...
What's more, the school is always looking for students to work over the summer. The bookstore, the gym, the music hall, I'm almost guaranteed any decently paying job that doesn't involve spending all waking hours popping popcorn (believe me, you'd hate it too rather quickly). So yeah, spending the rest of my summer with friends, a campus full of stuff to do with no crowds, nearly definite employment, Español, and a bit of solitude and space to clear my head? If this plan doesn't bomb at the last minute, I'm set!
Episode 12 has been written, but I'm struggling to find the time or means to record lines and do the video work. With any luck, it'll be done before the summer ends, but things may not be looking as promising as I thought. Read below for information on my life's happenings that may give you some insight on the cause of this delay:
____________________________________________________________________
So to put this in the simplest terms possible, my summer has sucked balls so far. I applied for about 8-9 jobs, but this damn economy has limited my options to nothing but going back to the movie theater where I worked last summer.
For anyone who is unfamiliar, working at the movie theater is being paid barely over minimum wage to serve food to, and clean up after, the epitome of obese America. I just can't comprehend how some people can stand in a concession line for 15 minutes straight debating against oneself on the best combination of nachos, hot dogs, pizza, pretzels, large popcorn extra butter, and a large DIET Coke. Thank you sir, that'll be 185 dollars. And let's not forget the roughly 20% of people who throw their still full Cherry Cokes into the trash at the end of the movie, or leave their crap in the seats and cup holders for the employees to pick up. People, come on. You already wasted your health and money buying this overpriced garbage. At least burn off three of those popcorn kernels by picking up your own trash! Oh well, at least every 9-hour shift I work provides me with an extra $45 towards buying myself a Mac. Joy.
Which is largely why I'm planning to head back to school early to take a summer class. I know, right? Summer school at will? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with me is that I've had a remarkably boring AND frustrating summer, and I need to get away. The campus is really beautiful, especially during the summer with not many people there. Fortunately, some of my friends are also taking summer classes, and I'll be rooming with two of them in an apartment close to where my freshman year dorm is. I'll also get the chance to take a Spanish class that'd I otherwise have to wait a year to enroll in. Voy a ser un mexicano muy pronto! I've been told I look Mexican before...
What's more, the school is always looking for students to work over the summer. The bookstore, the gym, the music hall, I'm almost guaranteed any decently paying job that doesn't involve spending all waking hours popping popcorn (believe me, you'd hate it too rather quickly). So yeah, spending the rest of my summer with friends, a campus full of stuff to do with no crowds, nearly definite employment, Español, and a bit of solitude and space to clear my head? If this plan doesn't bomb at the last minute, I'm set!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
We'll Have a Gay Old Time?
So I just finished watching an episode of "30 Days" on same-sex marriage. To be as concise as possible, a housewife and mother of two kids who is opposed to gay marriage and gay adoption rights spends 30 days in the home of two gay men and their four adopted children. Because I have an absolutely terrible short-term memory, let's called this woman Sheila, and the gay couple Tom and Dennis (though I believe those are actually the men's names. At least Tom is right, I know). Naturally, Sheila is outside of her comfort zone, and ideally, Tom and Dennis and Sheila would have a chance to understand each other better and they would all leave enlightened by the end of the month. In a normal episode of this show, that would usually happen. Not this time.
Like many who oppose gay marriage, Sheila's opposition is rooted in religious beliefs. Tom and Dennis spend the month trying through numerous ways to convince her that gay parents are capable of being just as successful parents as straight parents. The children are overall very happy and healthy, the parents love the kids and each other, the house is well-maintained, they live in a safe neighborhood, and they have a dog. Sheila even begins to admit that she respects what Tom and Dennis are doing and that love, support, guidance, good values, and appropriate rules (qualities that she feels are important to the structure of a family) are all being implemented very successfully. Tom and Dennis feel they're making progress.
One day, Sheila meets with two adults who were foster children for their entire lives. The two explain their childhoods to Sheila, how one of them slept in her shoes and coat because of being moved from home to home on a frequent basis, how the other grew up in one of the most dangerous urban neighborhoods in the city, during which time his mother was shot and after which one of the houses he grew up in was firebombed. Both of them assure that gay couple or straight, foster children need homes. Any stable home and family is better than having to live in fear for at least the first 18 years of your life. Sheila is moved to tears.
Another day, Sheila meets with a gay rights advocacy group called C.A.R.E. and speaks with one lesbian (let's call her Sarah) who shares her story about how her partner, with whom she had a child, decided to kick her out of the baby's life. Since Sarah's child was technically her partner's biological child, and not her own, Sarah did not have any custody rights over the child, and the child who knew Sarah as his own mother never saw her again. Because Sarah and her partner were not legally allowed to marry, Sarah lost her child, her child lost one of her parents, and Sarah's partner got away with something horrible. And is it at this point in the episode where I start to acquire the desire to rip Sheila's head from her body and feed it to a pack of wolves. After hearing Sarah's story, Sheila exclaims, "I feel so sorry for you! That story breaks my heart! But you know, you could have avoided this situation if you just decided to not have a child in the first place and raise it in a lesbian sort of environment."
I will admit that when I was younger, I was uneasy about the prospect of two men or two women getting married, more or less having children. It has nothing to do with religious beliefs, but more to do with the fact that gay people in the media are usually portrayed as floaty, bubbly sex-puppets or buzz-cut brawns who build houses and growl at people (which is funnily enough just like straight people if you switch the genders). However, I grew up. I met gay people, some of them floaty, and others who were a thousand times more intelligent than me and every bit as responsible and hard-working. While I can never see myself engaging in raunchy activities with someone of the same sex, I couldn't give a crap if other people did it, as long as it was behind closed doors =P
And here's where I don't understand Sheila one bit. Although she claims to admit that she can see gay people being responsible parents, how she can see that a gay household would be better than living in increasingly crowded foster care where your house is likely to be bombed, she still opposes gay marriage and gay adoption. Why? Her religious beliefs. At numerous times during the show, Sheila either insinuated or flat-out said that her anti-homosexual religious beliefs are "in [her] heart, the right beliefs" and "a gut feeling." Her religion and her gut tell her that homosexuality is a sin, that gay marriage is a sin, despite the overwhelming evidence that gays CAN raise kids, and that with the overwhelming number of foster kids, that gays NEED to raise kids. Countless times, Sheila confronted a group of gay couples stating "my beliefs tell me that gay marriage is wrong," and when questioned "why do you feel so strongly about that" or "how do you know your belief is right against all other beliefs," she storms away, offended and insisting that everybody 'attacked her.' This same woman speaks to Dennis and Tom the next day, when Dennis calmly says to Sheila, "I like you, and I respect your right to disagree. But your disagreement, when put into action by voting against gay marriage, infringes on my right to raise a family and could potentially aid in the effort to break up the families of gay couples everywhere. If you vote to tear our lives apart, we can't be friends." Her response: "But your vote FOR gay marriage infringes on my beliefs, so I have a right to vote against you" and "I don't know why you take this so personally."
There was some segments in this episode in which several people oppose gay marriage for non-religious reasons. In one segment, a woman who was raised by a gay father describes the perils of having a dad who was sexually open to a frightening degree. He would bring home partners and calmly discuss very inappropriate sexual activity at the dinner table. This man also brought his daughter to sex shops and tried to make her feel very open and free about sex. Understandably, this left some pretty deep emotional scars, and she suppressed her emotions for most of her life. Her traumatic childhood has led her to become opposed to gay marriage and gay couples raising children. A man in a different segment pointed out some statistics about how homosexuals are generally more AIDS and HIV-infested and how gay men and women are more sexually promiscuous, either in public or in private.
My thoughts on the episode? I was sincerely hoping that 30 days in a stable, gay family would change her views. I was highly disappointed. Her views on gay marriage "infringing on her beliefs" is absolutely bullshit in my opinion. Yes, I believe in the right to respectfully disagree on certain issues. However, I would hope that ideally this disagreement would stop at something like what kind of tax system to implement or whether or not universal health care is necessary. I draw the line when it's a battle of I-want-to-marry-someone-I-love-and-have-a-family versus Gays-are-icky-and-make-me-uncomfortable. The woman has nothing to lose besides irrationally worrying that gays are going to start roaming the streets f***ing 24/7 and that God will burn the Earth down to the ground for letting gays marry.
Which brings me to my next point: the religious argument. I do NOT want to trash any body's religion, but the Bible probably has thousands of interpretations all across the world, and even this country. There are die-hard Christians who claim that the Bible is not against homosexuality, or that the Bible is a 2000-plus year old collection of scripts that needed to be interpreted appropriately to a society that has made evolutions in science and civil rights. For this woman to have the gall to claim that her view is undoubtedly the right one just because she believes it so strongly isn't holy or godly. It's stubborn and arrogant. What does religion do? It teaches people to be moral citizens. It teaches respect for thy neighbor. It teaches how to give, how to thank, and how to live virtuously. Does this woman really think that Jesus Christ would advocate such hatred or even disrespect for a group of people who's only sin is trying to marry the one they truly love? I personally don't see Jesus marching a protest line holding a sign that says "God Hates Fags." From what I've heard of the man, it seems to contradict the very morals of love and peace that he stands for.
This country isn't a theocracy. It's a democracy which is just populated by a high percentage of Christians who oppose gay marriage. According to Christianity, I'm going to hell. I'm agnostic and don't accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I am therefore a sinner. Should I be barred from marriage? What about my Muslim friends? Leave religious reasons out of the voting process. Be responsible. Carefully ask yourself, "Am I voting this way because the other option just makes me a tad uncomfortable, or will my vote genuinely impact the safety, security, and well-being of my family and the country as a whole?" Yes, the stats say that sexual promiscuity is more common among homosexuals. The stats also say that black people commit more gun-murders than other races. Some stats also say that white men rape women more than black people do. Do we bar black people from owning guns and chop off every white man's penis? Of course not! Also, look at it this way: marriage is an institution of a monogamous relationship. The two partners are expected to love each other, care for each other, and remain faithful. What do you think a relationship like that would do to the stats? My best guess is that this "sexual promiscuity" will start to decrease. Treat gays like common citizens, and many of them will act like common citizens. Treat them like second-class sex animals, and many of them will act like second-class sex animals.
The bottom line is that being gay does not necessarily affect a person's ability to form a loving relationship and raise a good family. There will be gay families that fail at doing that, much like there are straight families who fail. The solution is not to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Instead, we let people marry who they want and hold everyone to the same standards. Punish those who abuse or neglect their kids. Reward those who love their kids. Our society needs to look beyond the "icky" factor caused by either the media or religion. If your religion says don't marry your own sex, then don't do it. But learn to accept people for who they are and don't use your religion or discomfort to deprive potential parents to give either their own kids or destitute foster kids a chance for a better life.
God does NOT hate "fags." That's my two cents.
Like many who oppose gay marriage, Sheila's opposition is rooted in religious beliefs. Tom and Dennis spend the month trying through numerous ways to convince her that gay parents are capable of being just as successful parents as straight parents. The children are overall very happy and healthy, the parents love the kids and each other, the house is well-maintained, they live in a safe neighborhood, and they have a dog. Sheila even begins to admit that she respects what Tom and Dennis are doing and that love, support, guidance, good values, and appropriate rules (qualities that she feels are important to the structure of a family) are all being implemented very successfully. Tom and Dennis feel they're making progress.
One day, Sheila meets with two adults who were foster children for their entire lives. The two explain their childhoods to Sheila, how one of them slept in her shoes and coat because of being moved from home to home on a frequent basis, how the other grew up in one of the most dangerous urban neighborhoods in the city, during which time his mother was shot and after which one of the houses he grew up in was firebombed. Both of them assure that gay couple or straight, foster children need homes. Any stable home and family is better than having to live in fear for at least the first 18 years of your life. Sheila is moved to tears.
Another day, Sheila meets with a gay rights advocacy group called C.A.R.E. and speaks with one lesbian (let's call her Sarah) who shares her story about how her partner, with whom she had a child, decided to kick her out of the baby's life. Since Sarah's child was technically her partner's biological child, and not her own, Sarah did not have any custody rights over the child, and the child who knew Sarah as his own mother never saw her again. Because Sarah and her partner were not legally allowed to marry, Sarah lost her child, her child lost one of her parents, and Sarah's partner got away with something horrible. And is it at this point in the episode where I start to acquire the desire to rip Sheila's head from her body and feed it to a pack of wolves. After hearing Sarah's story, Sheila exclaims, "I feel so sorry for you! That story breaks my heart! But you know, you could have avoided this situation if you just decided to not have a child in the first place and raise it in a lesbian sort of environment."
I will admit that when I was younger, I was uneasy about the prospect of two men or two women getting married, more or less having children. It has nothing to do with religious beliefs, but more to do with the fact that gay people in the media are usually portrayed as floaty, bubbly sex-puppets or buzz-cut brawns who build houses and growl at people (which is funnily enough just like straight people if you switch the genders). However, I grew up. I met gay people, some of them floaty, and others who were a thousand times more intelligent than me and every bit as responsible and hard-working. While I can never see myself engaging in raunchy activities with someone of the same sex, I couldn't give a crap if other people did it, as long as it was behind closed doors =P
And here's where I don't understand Sheila one bit. Although she claims to admit that she can see gay people being responsible parents, how she can see that a gay household would be better than living in increasingly crowded foster care where your house is likely to be bombed, she still opposes gay marriage and gay adoption. Why? Her religious beliefs. At numerous times during the show, Sheila either insinuated or flat-out said that her anti-homosexual religious beliefs are "in [her] heart, the right beliefs" and "a gut feeling." Her religion and her gut tell her that homosexuality is a sin, that gay marriage is a sin, despite the overwhelming evidence that gays CAN raise kids, and that with the overwhelming number of foster kids, that gays NEED to raise kids. Countless times, Sheila confronted a group of gay couples stating "my beliefs tell me that gay marriage is wrong," and when questioned "why do you feel so strongly about that" or "how do you know your belief is right against all other beliefs," she storms away, offended and insisting that everybody 'attacked her.' This same woman speaks to Dennis and Tom the next day, when Dennis calmly says to Sheila, "I like you, and I respect your right to disagree. But your disagreement, when put into action by voting against gay marriage, infringes on my right to raise a family and could potentially aid in the effort to break up the families of gay couples everywhere. If you vote to tear our lives apart, we can't be friends." Her response: "But your vote FOR gay marriage infringes on my beliefs, so I have a right to vote against you" and "I don't know why you take this so personally."
There was some segments in this episode in which several people oppose gay marriage for non-religious reasons. In one segment, a woman who was raised by a gay father describes the perils of having a dad who was sexually open to a frightening degree. He would bring home partners and calmly discuss very inappropriate sexual activity at the dinner table. This man also brought his daughter to sex shops and tried to make her feel very open and free about sex. Understandably, this left some pretty deep emotional scars, and she suppressed her emotions for most of her life. Her traumatic childhood has led her to become opposed to gay marriage and gay couples raising children. A man in a different segment pointed out some statistics about how homosexuals are generally more AIDS and HIV-infested and how gay men and women are more sexually promiscuous, either in public or in private.
My thoughts on the episode? I was sincerely hoping that 30 days in a stable, gay family would change her views. I was highly disappointed. Her views on gay marriage "infringing on her beliefs" is absolutely bullshit in my opinion. Yes, I believe in the right to respectfully disagree on certain issues. However, I would hope that ideally this disagreement would stop at something like what kind of tax system to implement or whether or not universal health care is necessary. I draw the line when it's a battle of I-want-to-marry-someone-I-love-and-have-a-family versus Gays-are-icky-and-make-me-uncomfortable. The woman has nothing to lose besides irrationally worrying that gays are going to start roaming the streets f***ing 24/7 and that God will burn the Earth down to the ground for letting gays marry.
Which brings me to my next point: the religious argument. I do NOT want to trash any body's religion, but the Bible probably has thousands of interpretations all across the world, and even this country. There are die-hard Christians who claim that the Bible is not against homosexuality, or that the Bible is a 2000-plus year old collection of scripts that needed to be interpreted appropriately to a society that has made evolutions in science and civil rights. For this woman to have the gall to claim that her view is undoubtedly the right one just because she believes it so strongly isn't holy or godly. It's stubborn and arrogant. What does religion do? It teaches people to be moral citizens. It teaches respect for thy neighbor. It teaches how to give, how to thank, and how to live virtuously. Does this woman really think that Jesus Christ would advocate such hatred or even disrespect for a group of people who's only sin is trying to marry the one they truly love? I personally don't see Jesus marching a protest line holding a sign that says "God Hates Fags." From what I've heard of the man, it seems to contradict the very morals of love and peace that he stands for.
This country isn't a theocracy. It's a democracy which is just populated by a high percentage of Christians who oppose gay marriage. According to Christianity, I'm going to hell. I'm agnostic and don't accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I am therefore a sinner. Should I be barred from marriage? What about my Muslim friends? Leave religious reasons out of the voting process. Be responsible. Carefully ask yourself, "Am I voting this way because the other option just makes me a tad uncomfortable, or will my vote genuinely impact the safety, security, and well-being of my family and the country as a whole?" Yes, the stats say that sexual promiscuity is more common among homosexuals. The stats also say that black people commit more gun-murders than other races. Some stats also say that white men rape women more than black people do. Do we bar black people from owning guns and chop off every white man's penis? Of course not! Also, look at it this way: marriage is an institution of a monogamous relationship. The two partners are expected to love each other, care for each other, and remain faithful. What do you think a relationship like that would do to the stats? My best guess is that this "sexual promiscuity" will start to decrease. Treat gays like common citizens, and many of them will act like common citizens. Treat them like second-class sex animals, and many of them will act like second-class sex animals.
The bottom line is that being gay does not necessarily affect a person's ability to form a loving relationship and raise a good family. There will be gay families that fail at doing that, much like there are straight families who fail. The solution is not to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Instead, we let people marry who they want and hold everyone to the same standards. Punish those who abuse or neglect their kids. Reward those who love their kids. Our society needs to look beyond the "icky" factor caused by either the media or religion. If your religion says don't marry your own sex, then don't do it. But learn to accept people for who they are and don't use your religion or discomfort to deprive potential parents to give either their own kids or destitute foster kids a chance for a better life.
God does NOT hate "fags." That's my two cents.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Cloverfield
So my sister rented "Cloverfield" last night and asked me if I wanted to watch it. I told her, "Nah, Game 6 Lakers vs. Celtics is on. Let's watch it tomorrow." Little did I know that 'tomorrow,' I'd be wasting 90 minutes of my life.
For those of you who need a brief summary, "Cloverfield" is basically the horrific events of a monster attack on Manhattan (gee, where have I heard that before?) captured on tape by a dorky man who never puts his fucking camera down. Genre is sort of pseudo documentary/horror film.
To be fair, I guess I can kind of see what the director was trying to get at. Seeing a terrible atrocity from the perspective of a single common citizen could potentially do well at humanizing those events a bit more. However, getting a realistic sense of what an everyman would go through in that type of situation would only seem to work if the entire movie was actually realistic. Unfortunately, that movie fails in ways not limited to the following (if you don't want the movie spoiled, I suggest you skip this part):
Girl: Hi! It's 6:23 AM on May 23, and I just yanked a steel blade out of my heart an hour ago!
Maybe I'm just viewing this movie too critically. No, I don't expect it to be entirely realistic, but to me, this movie just seemed so poorly scripted and executed that any sort of abnormality only gave me a bigger headache. Then again, I'm not one for horror movies in general, but I managed to peacefully sit through "Disturbia" without too much frustration. I guess sitting in my basement with my sister, both of us trashing the movie while watching it, probably made the bad things stand out. I'm sure that plenty of people out there would LOVE this genre of cinema (whatever that is). Unless it's produced better, I'm just not one of them.
For those of you who need a brief summary, "Cloverfield" is basically the horrific events of a monster attack on Manhattan (gee, where have I heard that before?) captured on tape by a dorky man who never puts his fucking camera down. Genre is sort of pseudo documentary/horror film.
To be fair, I guess I can kind of see what the director was trying to get at. Seeing a terrible atrocity from the perspective of a single common citizen could potentially do well at humanizing those events a bit more. However, getting a realistic sense of what an everyman would go through in that type of situation would only seem to work if the entire movie was actually realistic. Unfortunately, that movie fails in ways not limited to the following (if you don't want the movie spoiled, I suggest you skip this part):
- The thing attacking Manhattan is a giant Godzilla ripoff whose skin seems to be composed of little crossbreeds between a spider and Dry Bones from the Mario games.
- I will say it again, the man DOESN'T PUT HIS CAMERA DOWN! If a monster did indeed ever attack New York, I highly doubt that any sane human being running for his life would have the ability to hold a video camera upright for a full hour without either being hit by falling debris or having one of his friends punch him in the balls for being a moron.
- Throughout most of the movie, one of the main characters attempts to save his sort-of-girlfriend-but-not-really by running to her apartment in the precise area where the monster's running rampant. Why? Because she called him at the onset of the attacks and muttered, "I can't move...BLAAAH!" *phone connection dies* But don't worry, because her all but decimated apartment building leaning against the side of another skyscraper isn't going to stop this man from hopping to her apartment off of the roof of said skyscraper, finding his perfectly alive and coherent 'It's-Complicated'-on-Facebook and RIPPING A JAGGED METAL ROD FROM HER HEART! That, of course, wouldn't be as ridiculous if she had actually died from that instead of getting up and running alongside her friends throughout New York. In heels.
- Not only is the cameraman insane for carrying that damn thing the entire time, but he also finds time to make some really stupid jokes at the worst possible moments. Picture this: a group of four people in their mid-20's walking down a subway tunnel, their only light source emitted from the camera (it's only practical use the entire movie), trying to save one of their friends and then escape the city before they're eaten or crushed by the Statue of Liberty's head. One of the guy's brother died in one of the attacks. The guy holding the camera says something to the effect of, "Hey, it'd be cool if that thing were from another planet! Like Superman!" What the hell?
Girl: Hi! It's 6:23 AM on May 23, and I just yanked a steel blade out of my heart an hour ago!
Maybe I'm just viewing this movie too critically. No, I don't expect it to be entirely realistic, but to me, this movie just seemed so poorly scripted and executed that any sort of abnormality only gave me a bigger headache. Then again, I'm not one for horror movies in general, but I managed to peacefully sit through "Disturbia" without too much frustration. I guess sitting in my basement with my sister, both of us trashing the movie while watching it, probably made the bad things stand out. I'm sure that plenty of people out there would LOVE this genre of cinema (whatever that is). Unless it's produced better, I'm just not one of them.
Celtics Rise Once Again
So I can't pretend I'm not the least bit disappointed at the Laker's recent loss in the NBA Finals, but then again, this is honestly the only outcome that I would have been satisfied with. My favorite team played like crap, their opponents played like champions, and the Celtics deserved to take back that trophy for the first time in over 20 years.
Why L.A. lost:
- Age and inexperience. So much of their bench is in their early 20's, and they don't have much of the playoffs experience or overall maturity to make the better plays during crunch time. Maybe after another season or two, they'll settle down and learn how to make better decisions on the court.
- They choked. Let's face it. This Lakers team doesn't know how to deal with pressure. Sure, they can put on killer first
quarters on their home court and make outstanding plays when things are going their way. But when faced with a team like Boston that's been through the hardships and the adversity, L.A. freezes when neither the game's momentum nor the crowd is on their side. They make sloppy passes, blind shots, and turn the ball over way too often. In short, they're not good with pressure.
-The stars didn't step up. None of them. Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Derek Fisher are all important to this Lakers team. Yet, for whatever reasons, a large part being Boston's defense, none of them were consistent down the stretch when their team needed them the most. Yes, Kobe made that "steal" in Game 5, but what the Lakers need is consistent leadership from their star players. Fisher didn't step up the way I expected him to, Odom missed layups left and right, Gasol's sloppy ball handling and tentative play led to many Boston steals, and Bryant put himself in positions where open shots AND passes were hard to come by.
Why Boston won:
- Defense. The first thing you think about when you see this Boston team. And not just individual defense. TEAM defense. On virtually every one of Kobe Bryant's drives, the Celtics doubled and tripled him in ways that not only blocked his penetration, but also left him no room to even find an open teammate. They protected that basket like no other, and the only shots the Lakers consistently have available were long three-pointers.
- Better Bench. I know everyone of these sports broadcasters talks about the young, athletic Laker bench. But the Celtics had a bench of both veterans AND young guys who played smarter basketball and knew how to get rolling. Eddie House and James Posey knocking down open threes, Leon Powe putting on a show in Game 2, PJ Brown blocking shots and clearing the lane for Pierce's drives, Grandpa Sam Cassell shooting the ball every time he touches it (fortunately for Boston, he still has a good shot and most of them went down). Overall, these guys really stepped up when Boston needed them
- The 3 Celtic Stars. Unlike with the Lakers, Boston's stars DELIVERED! Allen delivered a performance every damn game, knocking down so many threes and open drives, Pierce's all-around game demolished the Lakers' abysmal defense, and Kevin Garnett, though not consistently on fire during this series, became a force late in these Finals. After being teammates for only a year, these guys played like they were best friends, communicating almost flawlessly and making crucial plays that were always for the benefit of the team rather than personal glory.
-They wanted it more. Probably the single biggest reason why they won. Boston wanted this championship They wanted the rings. They wanted that trophy. With 2 All-Stars that have played their entire 10+ year career without a title, and one All-Star and coach who were part of this 24-win, worst-in-the-Eastern-Conference train wreck of a team last year, these Celtics were driven by a bunch of guys who WANTED IT BADLY. And with such a great team put together this year, and the realization that a Championship was very possible, they weren't going to let that chance slip away. No way in hell.
So congratulations Boston Celtics on your 2008 NBA championship. The better team won.
Why L.A. lost:
- Age and inexperience. So much of their bench is in their early 20's, and they don't have much of the playoffs experience or overall maturity to make the better plays during crunch time. Maybe after another season or two, they'll settle down and learn how to make better decisions on the court.
- They choked. Let's face it. This Lakers team doesn't know how to deal with pressure. Sure, they can put on killer first
quarters on their home court and make outstanding plays when things are going their way. But when faced with a team like Boston that's been through the hardships and the adversity, L.A. freezes when neither the game's momentum nor the crowd is on their side. They make sloppy passes, blind shots, and turn the ball over way too often. In short, they're not good with pressure.-The stars didn't step up. None of them. Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Derek Fisher are all important to this Lakers team. Yet, for whatever reasons, a large part being Boston's defense, none of them were consistent down the stretch when their team needed them the most. Yes, Kobe made that "steal" in Game 5, but what the Lakers need is consistent leadership from their star players. Fisher didn't step up the way I expected him to, Odom missed layups left and right, Gasol's sloppy ball handling and tentative play led to many Boston steals, and Bryant put himself in positions where open shots AND passes were hard to come by.
Why Boston won:
- Defense. The first thing you think about when you see this Boston team. And not just individual defense. TEAM defense. On virtually every one of Kobe Bryant's drives, the Celtics doubled and tripled him in ways that not only blocked his penetration, but also left him no room to even find an open teammate. They protected that basket like no other, and the only shots the Lakers consistently have available were long three-pointers.
- Better Bench. I know everyone of these sports broadcasters talks about the young, athletic Laker bench. But the Celtics had a bench of both veterans AND young guys who played smarter basketball and knew how to get rolling. Eddie House and James Posey knocking down open threes, Leon Powe putting on a show in Game 2, PJ Brown blocking shots and clearing the lane for Pierce's drives, Grandpa Sam Cassell shooting the ball every time he touches it (fortunately for Boston, he still has a good shot and most of them went down). Overall, these guys really stepped up when Boston needed them- The 3 Celtic Stars. Unlike with the Lakers, Boston's stars DELIVERED! Allen delivered a performance every damn game, knocking down so many threes and open drives, Pierce's all-around game demolished the Lakers' abysmal defense, and Kevin Garnett, though not consistently on fire during this series, became a force late in these Finals. After being teammates for only a year, these guys played like they were best friends, communicating almost flawlessly and making crucial plays that were always for the benefit of the team rather than personal glory.
So congratulations Boston Celtics on your 2008 NBA championship. The better team won.
Monday, June 16, 2008
NBA rigged?
This may be my first "real" blog post. Not incredibly deep, but I'll just write what I feel.
When I was a kid, I used to follow NBA basketball. I grew up watching Michael Jordan in his prime, so I was exposed to the very best at an early age. The man's skill, athleticism, sportsmanship...at 8 years old, it was like watching a superhero. After Jordan's retirement, I quickly became a Lakers fan after hearing about a supposed basketball prodigy named Kobe Bryant. I spent three years of my life seeing that team completely dominate the playoffs and the Finals, and I was less than pleased when the Pistons slaughtered them a couple of years later.
Being somewhat young and stubborn, the downfall of my favorite team after the departure of Shaquille O'Neal turned me off the sport completely, and I only got back into watching the NBA earlier this season. Being a freshman in college, I was surrounded by guys who did nothing but watch sports, so the exposure helped get me back into it. Knowing that Kobe was still a Laker, I continued to root for that team, despite injuries and multiple setbacks. Right now, they're in the finals against the Celtics. It's kind of nostalgic, even though I wasn't even alive during the two teams' last face-off.
Unfortunately, having watched almost the entire playoffs this season, reading some forums, watching YouTube videos of recent and not-so-recent games, my doubts that the entire NBA is rigged are only increasing. I used to be able to shrug off such comments, thinking that most of these accusations were solely out of anger of their favorite team losing, but as I watch more games with a more objective eye, I can't help but see some truth in the claims. For those of you who follow NBA, you'll agree that the Derek Fisher foul against Brent Barry was pretty obvious when first committed, but ignored by all three refs. Whether they didn't see the foul, the NBA admitted that there should have been a foul called, possibly sending Barry to the line and sending the Spurs to win that game. And then the post game comments along the lines of "That foul deserved to be ignored because Barry didn't sell the contact enough" had me kind of enraged AND disappointed. Of course I agree that over-acting is sometimes necessary to get the refs to notice a foul, Fisher basically landed on top of the man, and nothing was done. Perhaps the refs really are on the Lakers' side after all.... It's sad to think that your favorite team's achievements may not be entirely deserved.
And now the Finals. While I'm less than pleased that the Lakers are behind the Celtics, I guess it may be an indication that the league's not entirely rigged. Save for that foul-ish steal by Kobe in the 4th quarter of Game 5, the officiating that game seemed pretty solid.
But overall, the realization that the NBA may be fixed is incredibly disappointing to me. I grew up watching NBA basketball. It was one of my childhood joys, and it quickly became one of my college joys. But to find out that the professional sport may not be played and broadcast with the integrity I thought is a major blow to my faith in a league I once had a lot of respect for. But I'll continue to watch it, and come next season, I'll view these games as objectively as possible and discern for myself whether these refs are either flawed humans or corrupt puppets... =/
When I was a kid, I used to follow NBA basketball. I grew up watching Michael Jordan in his prime, so I was exposed to the very best at an early age. The man's skill, athleticism, sportsmanship...at 8 years old, it was like watching a superhero. After Jordan's retirement, I quickly became a Lakers fan after hearing about a supposed basketball prodigy named Kobe Bryant. I spent three years of my life seeing that team completely dominate the playoffs and the Finals, and I was less than pleased when the Pistons slaughtered them a couple of years later.
Being somewhat young and stubborn, the downfall of my favorite team after the departure of Shaquille O'Neal turned me off the sport completely, and I only got back into watching the NBA earlier this season. Being a freshman in college, I was surrounded by guys who did nothing but watch sports, so the exposure helped get me back into it. Knowing that Kobe was still a Laker, I continued to root for that team, despite injuries and multiple setbacks. Right now, they're in the finals against the Celtics. It's kind of nostalgic, even though I wasn't even alive during the two teams' last face-off.
Unfortunately, having watched almost the entire playoffs this season, reading some forums, watching YouTube videos of recent and not-so-recent games, my doubts that the entire NBA is rigged are only increasing. I used to be able to shrug off such comments, thinking that most of these accusations were solely out of anger of their favorite team losing, but as I watch more games with a more objective eye, I can't help but see some truth in the claims. For those of you who follow NBA, you'll agree that the Derek Fisher foul against Brent Barry was pretty obvious when first committed, but ignored by all three refs. Whether they didn't see the foul, the NBA admitted that there should have been a foul called, possibly sending Barry to the line and sending the Spurs to win that game. And then the post game comments along the lines of "That foul deserved to be ignored because Barry didn't sell the contact enough" had me kind of enraged AND disappointed. Of course I agree that over-acting is sometimes necessary to get the refs to notice a foul, Fisher basically landed on top of the man, and nothing was done. Perhaps the refs really are on the Lakers' side after all.... It's sad to think that your favorite team's achievements may not be entirely deserved.
And now the Finals. While I'm less than pleased that the Lakers are behind the Celtics, I guess it may be an indication that the league's not entirely rigged. Save for that foul-ish steal by Kobe in the 4th quarter of Game 5, the officiating that game seemed pretty solid.
But overall, the realization that the NBA may be fixed is incredibly disappointing to me. I grew up watching NBA basketball. It was one of my childhood joys, and it quickly became one of my college joys. But to find out that the professional sport may not be played and broadcast with the integrity I thought is a major blow to my faith in a league I once had a lot of respect for. But I'll continue to watch it, and come next season, I'll view these games as objectively as possible and discern for myself whether these refs are either flawed humans or corrupt puppets... =/
I've joined the trend
So it looks like I've succumbed to this trend called blogging. I can't wait for my life to become an open book for all those who care to read this ;)
For those who don't know me, I make parody videos of the popular television show "Pokémon" (if you don't know what that is, I don't recommend you watch my videos). But if you do know what that is, and if you don't mind a little sophomoric humor, feel free to watch my videos! I promise you the later ones get better!
For those who don't know me, I make parody videos of the popular television show "Pokémon" (if you don't know what that is, I don't recommend you watch my videos). But if you do know what that is, and if you don't mind a little sophomoric humor, feel free to watch my videos! I promise you the later ones get better!
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