Matilda - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who continues to refuse issuing marriage licenses to gay couples - even with a Supreme Court mandate to do so, is really a laugh. How can someone who’s been divorced three times and married four times (including the whole mess of having the third husband’s twins while still married to the first husband, and the pair eventually getting adopted by the second husband) can possibly have any leg to stand on when it comes to the vaunted “sanctity of marriage”, is way beyond my levels of comprehension.

If we are to strictly interpret the Bible - as southern Christians are wont to do in regards to gay marriage, though curiously not when it comes to shellfish eating - Kim Davis has committed the act of adultery three times over! I don’t think issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples will condemn her to God’s consternation and a ticket to Hell; this harlot is already there.

2. The legendary broadcaster Vin Scully will be back for the 2016 MLB season, and us baseball fans are all the better for it. It will be an immensely sad day indeed when he does hang up the microphone, though I think the baseball world seems to shun away Scully’s mortality deep inside a locked closet, even as he creeps ever close towards 90 years lived. Don’t dwell over it; live it one season at a time. Enjoy the great orator’s voice and wonderful stories as long as it’s still here.

3. As seen in the tragic death of the Texas Sheriff getting gunned down while refueling at a gas station, a good guy with a gun can’t stop a bad guy with a gun (as NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre so famously state to the contrary a few years ago). The time for universal and comprehensive background checks for gun ownership is way overdue. A person with an unstable mental state shouldn’t be able to just walk into a gun show and purchase a weapon without any obstacles whatsoever.

What am I saying? The gun debate is already a lost cause. If dozens of elementary school children getting massacred on campus grounds did nothing to change the status quo, absolutely nothing will. Well, that’s not true: you’ll see new gun laws enacted real quick if a bunch of minorities started open-carrying guns in States that are legal to do so. There will be no fear in the hearts of the White establishment quite like seeing a bunch of Black guys walking around in public carrying AR15s - even when it’s perfectly legal to do so. But, if a Black man can’t traverse a Walmart whilst holding a toy gun without getting shot down by police, a group of them exercising their open-carry rights will most certainly not end well.

America doesn’t get to call itself exceptional as long as gun deaths each year dwarf all other developed nations.

4. If I woke up tomorrow without any of the obligations and restrictions of today, I would jump in my car and go on a perpetual road-trip to see the world, taking photographs and writing about it along the way. It may appear to be fantasy world, but even with the societal pressures of being an able adult (read: being gainfully employed), my free time preoccupied with traveling to places, practicing my photographic hobby, and writing on my blog.

Because when you ask yourself the “what if I work up tomorrow…” question, you’ll find innately what you want to do with your life. What happens next is the magical part: you simply go and do it.

5. It’s always funny to me to see San Franciscans complain about upper-70s as “hot weather”, even though I too live in the city. When had we gone so soft? Perhaps it’s the high real estate price round here that somehow makes us feel entitled to the constant mild mid-60s that was so promised in the brochure (bring a jacket!). New flash, San Franciscans: upper-70s and low-80s isn’t remotely what’s considered as hot (and not shorts weather, either). The rest of California laughs at our childish tantrum whenever the mercury crosses the 70 marker.    

6. If you haven’t please read Wright Thompson’s long-form piece commemorating the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans as it relates to sports, please do so right now. It’s fantastically written, and the stories within give you a slight glimpse of what life has been like in the Crescent City since the natural disaster.

7. It’s the year 2015, and yet Microsoft Word still isn’t smart enough to provide you with a sample revision when its grammar check finds that sentence of yours to be fragmented. How long has the venerable word processor been in circulation? We’ve got massive amounts of power and information in the palm our hands, and yet Word is still as archaic as that versions I used back in middle school. It's incredibly frustrating when an error is found, but Word doesn’t provide a suitable solution. What on earth am I using it for if it’s not capable of correcting my mistakes? I paid good money for Office! Okay, that’s a lie; I receive a hefty employee discount on campus.

8. It’s surprising how as people my age at the twilight of our 20s are still infatuated with the annual MTV Video Music Awards. To steal a line from the eminent John Oliver, how is that still a thing? I’ve cut cable television a long time ago, but I fairly sure MTV has ceased to play music videos on its channel completely (ah, those TRL days were simpler times indeed). Why, then, does it still host an award show dedicated to them? I’ve sort of answered my own question, haven’t I: people my age, and presumably people younger than us, still care.

Advertising capital rules the world, if you haven’t noticed.

9. Seeing one of my friends shopping for a car and another shopping for an apartment to rent makes me glad that I am doing neither of those things. Granted, I’ve only ever done the former, and it was a painless process as I essentially did the transaction over email. The first time I set foot in the actually dealership was to pick up the car. I expect apartment hunting to be a much more involved and stressful process, though I guess that’s why real estate agents exist (they actually help, unlike a dealership salesperson).

Of course, the worse time to shop for an automobile or a flat is when you’re in desperate need of one. Sellers can smell it like blood in water to a shark.

10. I hope the racist Jeb Bush develops an allergy to oxygen, what with his ridiculous comment about anchor babies and it being mostly prevalent in Asian immigrant communities. 

Don't be shy - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Lots of false outrage going round over the University of Alabama’s Alpha Phi sorority recruitment video. Are people really pretending that sorority life isn’t exactly as it is depicted in the video? The University can’t actually be surprised that its campus Greek organizations are hugely segregated and homogenous. Ask most Americans what is their first image to mind when mentioned of Sororities, and I bet that picture is exactly as depicted in that Alpha Phi video. The only outrage should be towards the people who are in denial to the realities of Greek life.

2. I’m glad Fat Jew, a thief profiting off the works of others and none of his own, is finally getting his moment of scorn by the mainstream media. Good-bye, book deal. Farewell, Comedy Central Show. In today’s Internet landscape where content is absolutely everything, stealing the genuine work of other creators for your own gain is a cardinal sin. Josh Ostrovsky ought to just disappear and never come back.

However, let’s not kid ourselves: the issue of content thievery is much bigger than Fat Jew. Tumblr and Instagram alone are rife with accounts that do nothing but re-blog or straight up steal – accounts with immense following, at that. These swindlers make money off the backs of real content creators by selling ad space to companies eager to reach a vast and young audience, without a care for authenticity or originality, or by hawking their own merchandise.

The public prosecution of Fat Jew isn’t at all likely to change that status quo. Unfortunately, it’s up to artists and creatives to be vigilant about the work ending up elsewhere when it shouldn’t be, and to confront the thieves publicly when it does occur.

3. John Oliver’s establishment of Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption church just might be his biggest coup yet. In an attempt to point out the glaring exploitation and hypocrisy of evangelical churches and the IRS, Oliver set up his own place of worship to show just how easy - and legal – it is to cheat people out of their hard-earned money. 

The fact that all proceeds from the exercise will go to the Doctors Without Borders, one of the most impeccable humanitarian organizations in existence, is simply the best. If you got a few dollars to spare, I urge you to donate to Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption; it’s the proverbial killing of two birds (laughing at the IRS and contributing towards MSF) with one stone.

4. It’s been a horrible year for motorsport. Barely off the mourning period for Jules Bianchi, it’s devastating to lose Justin Wilson this past weekend. What’s most troubling and disappointing is that both incidents could’ve been very much prevented. I’ve been an avid fan of open-cockpit racing cars for the longest time (still follow Formula One religiously), but with the speeds reached with these modern cars, and the circumstances of Bianchi and Wilson’s death, the time has come to enact some form of head protection (beyond the lone helmet) for open-cockpit cars. 
I believe cockpit protection will happen within the next few years in all Grand Prix series, though it’s a continuing shame that lives need to be lost for motorsport to improve upon safety. Yes, it’s a dangerous sport, but the strive for better safety should be constant and proactive, rather than reactionary.

Justin Wilson donated six of his organs to save their respective recipients from meeting his same fate; a gentleman racer of the highest order indeed, right down to the very last moment.

5. I’m happy to support artists and buying their prints, but no way am I spending hundreds of a mere frame. Wasting money on such appendages is the domain of the one-percent, which I am most definitely not a part of. However, works of art - even the casual photograph or poster - should never go unframed. I simply purchase the cheapest poster frame on Amazon approximate to size and it’ll suffice very nicely.

6. I don't have much sympathy for people that leave expensive items in their car, and then subsequently it get broken into and the items stolen. I leave absolutely nothing in the car but the necessary documents and a pack of gum. Even a locked glove box or out-of-sight trunk isn’t comfortable enough for me to put anything of value whilst I’m away. For people that grew up in poor neighbors like I did, this is automatic: cars get broken into everyday in “the hood”. I suspect those that are cavalier with leaving their belongings in automobiles grew up in areas where they didn’t have to worry about such woes of society. Must be nice.

7. There was a sizable earthquake in the early morning hours a week back, and I slept through the brief entirety of it. This is not a good. Living in San Francisco, the BIG tremor is all but inevitability. I sincerely hope when it does arrive, it’s during the daytime, cause I’m going to be in a bad situation if it were to occur during slumber hours.

I don’t think it’s safe for me to live alone. I need someone more alert and aware than I to wake me to the danger.

8. Sesame Street has moved from PBS to HBO, so the first question should be: who’s going to get killed off?

9. If you’re the proverbial car-guy or petrol-head, the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has got to be on your list. What a spectacular event! It’s chocked full of vintage racing cars in a full-access paddock, allowing you to be as close to these wondrous machines as you’d ever imagined. And the noise; a cacophony of mechanical whine, chatter, and screams can be heard all day long. You’ll need earplugs, but you won’t want them because the sound is that intoxicating.

And to see these priceless cars (A 250 GTO worth $25 million, as an example) on a race track, with their respective owners giving them the full beans, is just about the epitome of car enthusiasm. I will be back, if not next year.

10. Extremely happy and excited that this year’s Playstation Experience will be held in my very own city of San Francisco. It was in Vegas the previous year, and I had planned a trip this year thinking it would be back at the same venue. The switch to Moscone West convention center saves me the hassle and money of traveling, which is just lovely. I’m most anticipating towards more news of the forthcoming Final Fantasy VII remake come the event in early December. 

Reunion - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. The reason for Donald Trump’s surprising popularity amongst GOP electorate is simple: he doesn’t back down. Over the past few years we’ve seen scores of people from the Republican Party spew all sorts of crazy rhetoric, and nearly all had to apologize in public for it. Well, the GOP base is sick and tired of seeing their mouthpieces and representatives apologize for words that they don’t think of as wrong at all. They blame the liberal PC media for bludgeoning their voice and opinion out of existence. Enter, the Donald.

Trump began with a bang, didn’t he? Incredulously referring illegal immigrants from Mexico as rapists whilst in the middle of his campaign announcement, the general public was expecting a swift mea culpa from Trump - but it never came. He doubled down on his words, refusing to cave to media and corporate pressure. The move proved popular with the GOP base, the lot of whom believes the same fantastical idea as Trump: illegal immigrants are the scourges of society. The base was immensely happy to see a public figure from their parts for once, stand his ground.

As we’ve watched with great amusement and hilarity, Trump hasn’t yet rescind any of the radical rhetoric said since his campaign commenced, and his poll numbers are the better for it. The Republican Party establishment must be squirming at Trump’s continual staying power, because they know that while his message is massively popular with the base, he will never win a general election antagonizing immigrants, women, and veterans of the armed forces (to name a few).

I have to say it is incredibly fun to see Trump point out the hypocrisy in the GOP (McCain is a hero, but John Kerry, he’s a loser!), though likely not his intention. I hope he stays in the race as long as possible, because it’s highly entertaining indeed.

2. Never lend money to a friend you couldn’t otherwise bear to lose. It’s a maxim that has served me quite nicely, and one that has thus far allowed me to avoid getting punched in the face and left with a broken jaw. No matter how good of friends you are, the person who keeps hounding the other for money always end up looking like an asshole. The proper thing to do is simply wait for the friend to pay you back, no matter how long it takes. If you need the money in haste, you shouldn’t have loan it out in the first place.

3. Henry David Thoreau’s Walden is absolutely essential reading, and I’m only ashamed that I haven’t gotten to it in my formative years. His account of two years spent in a cabin by Walden Lake is a masterpiece in prose and storytelling, and the lessons and maxims sprinkled sporadically over the book is as critical as any found in religious texts (in my opinion, anyways). My key takeaway from the book is that life is at its most rich when it’s the simplest.

4.  Really, EPA? You quite literally had one job. The EPA spilling waste into a river is like a babysitter leaving the kid at home whilst he goes off gallivanting at the local mall. The agency hand out fines to polluting corporations, but who there to penalize the EPA when they themselves, however unfathomable and illogical, neglect the environment? Wasted tax dollars is what it is. I for one welcome a congressional hearing on this incident, rather than a forum on Benghazi for the fiftieth time.

5. Within the same calendar year now, we’ve witness the end of both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and that is a stark and strange reality indeed. It’s super cliché to say this, but I absolutely grew up with those two programs of political satire. Like many of my generation, it’s the only political “news” program I watch, and while it most certainly did shape and color my own political compass, I would’ve gone the same direction regardless of Stewart and Colbert - I wouldn’t have kept on watching for over a decade otherwise.

I’m expecting big things from Trevor Noah, Stewart’s heir to The Daily Show throne, and anticipating seeing Colbert out of his signature satirical character (forever?) in hosting The Late Show. That said, an immeasurable void will forever remain in Comedy Central’s 11PM to 12PM hour, an end of an era indeed.

6. When I do make my prodigal son-like return to the motherland of China, I’m for sure taking the stairs at all times. The news of Chinese persons getting eaten alive by escalators is Final Destination sort of frightening, if it weren’t so real. Yes, Chinese regulations and building codes aren’t exactly world renowned, but that isn’t going to change overnight, is it? I don’t care if it’s the soon to be finished Shanghai Tower - stairs is the only option if life preservation is important to you, and it is to me.

7. Watching Ronda Rousey fight (or do anything, really) gives me tremendous amounts of joy. Her withering stare is altogether fearsome, and oddly attractive. Dominance does not even begin to describe what she has done to her opponents over the past few years. For those of us born too late to witness Iron Mike Tyson in his utter prime, Rousey is every bit the substitute.

She’s also a noted fan of Pokemon and Dragonball Z. That’s just not fair.

8. It seems we care more about a lion in Zimbabwe than we care for the actual people in Zimbabwe who are struggling with poverty and hyperinflation. While I am all for preservation and ensuring a planet populated with as many species as possible, let's take care of our fellow man first before we worry about endangered species. Just as a mother on a distressed airplane should put the mask on herself first before the child, any charity of mankind must first be towards our own. It’s a difficult visual indeed when social media is full of Cecil the Lion sympathy, whilst hundreds of migrants are drowning in the Mediterranean.

Also, lots of the false outrage over Cecil’s death reeks of vegans driving a car with leather seats.

9. My already immense love for Amazon Prime shot up a whole other notch after it announced the former Top Gear trio of Clarkson, Hammond, and May - along with much of the old production crew - will migrate to Amazon and signed on for at least three series worth of motoring program.

It’s a surprising coup for the retail giants, as most of us expected the trio to land with Netflix. Both are equally good platforms; unencumbered with advertisements, the forthcoming show won’t have to placate any one automaker. Clarkson will, just as before on Top Gear, have free reign to rubbish the Porsche 911, or reference Ferrari road car’s propensity for spontaneous immolation. Of course, it likely came down to money, which obviously Amazon has in spades over Netflix.

I’m just happy to see the magic of Clarkson, Hammond, and May, continue on.

10. It’s Monterrey Car Week! Though I’ll be stuck at work for much of the week, I’m excited to attend for the first time the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion this coming Saturday at the legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It’s going to a (hopefully) bright and early morning indeed, as the doors to the track opens at 7AM, and I’m about two hours up north in San Francisco. 

Perfect weather, can't get no better - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Where were you the night Reddit when all to hell? I seldom frequent the website (I personally find it difficult to navigate), but it was interesting to see the uprising of the site’s moderators in protest of the administration. Who knew that underneath the immense success and traffic volume, lays such amounts of discord and dissatisfaction?

Judging from my Twitter feed, quite a few of the people I follow have sworn off Reddit for good. And good for them, because rather than spending inordinate hours of time in front of a computer screen reading message boards, people should go out and take in some of that fresh air while they still can - before climate change destroys it completely.

2. 11AM east coast baseball games should be banished from existence. This past Fourth of July I was extremely annoyed to wake up to a baseball game that has already gone on for a few innings, and it was only 9AM! Whoever did the scheduling for this particular day ought to swiftly walk themselves in front of a moving bus.

I understand baseball’s need to schedule a slew of games for the holiday, but they must take into consideration the home markets of the respective teams. MLB simply can’t schedule an early east coast game for a west coast team. I missed nearly a third of the Fourth of July Giants game, and would’ve been even more incense had the early innings been critical to the outcome. Get it together, baseball.

3. 50 wins might only get a team the 8th seed in the NBA’s western conference next season. It appears the Warriors’ historic season has prompted other westerly franchises to load up and retool. The Spurs became the instant favorites after the acquisition of LaMarcus Aldridge, Durant and the Thunder will be back with a vengeance, and the likes of the Rockets, Mavericks, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Pelicans will only improve from the previous season. There’s the x-factor of Kobe’s final season with the Lakers, too. Of course, with Draymond Green back with a long-term contract, the Warriors are doubly equipped to defend their recent crown.

More so than other years, it’s looking to be an absolutely gauntlet to emerge out of the western conference. And you already know the Cavaliers are coming out of the east.

4. I’m not overly fond of Fourth of July, because living in the hood means all through the night there will be a constant barrage of illegal fireworks from the neighborhood children. It’s literally non-stop bang after bang from around 7PM onwards until hours pass midnight. It must’ve been terrible for normal folks trying to get to their slumber but don’t possess proper earplugs (I’ve got a pack of them for this exact occasion).

Also, it must be said that people who dabble in illegal fireworks during the holiday are being massive assholes towards pets and war veterans with PTSD.

5. McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis referring BBC F1 pundit Eddie Jordan as the village idiot of Formula One was completely hilarious. No one dishes out insults in the most prim and articulate manner quite like the British do. Big Ron could’ve simply used any of the common, single-word insults to disparage Edide. Instead, the audience gets to enjoy this roundabout yet elegant prose: "I consider F1 a kind of family and a village always has a village idiot and [Eddie Jordan] is the idiot."

6. Many congratulations to the United States women's national soccer team on their World Cup triumph in Vancouver this past Saturday. What a brilliant display of dominance from the first whistle on, with Carli Lloyd doing something (a hat-trick in a World Cup championship game) only done once before in either the men’s and women’s game. What an inspiration the team is for the many young girls in this country; that gender shouldn’t and isn’t an impediment to pursuing whatever they dream to do.

7. Starbucks raising prices on its drinks is coinciding perfectly with my recent decision to stop drinking coffee. Not by choice, mind you. Readers of this blog should know that coffee’s innate acidity is preventing me from enjoying the good cup. Even the less acidic cold-brew method has proven futile to stop the stomach’s protests.

8. Greece and China’s financial sectors better get their shits together, because my domestic and international investments are taking quite the beating thanks to their economic malcontent. Particularly, Greece should leave the Euro, default on their debt obligations, and start anew. For sure there will be immense amounts of financial hardship the first few years, but I reckon by allowing the free market to work, Greece will come out better and stronger than continuously accepting bailouts from European banking consorts.

9. Whatever labor/wage exploitation that Amazon is doing to offer Prime members free same day shipping, I don’t care - I’ve seen the future and it is awesome. I click to buy something in the morning and by the time I return home the item is there waiting.

This past weekend I ventured to IKEA to do some furniture shopping (needed a new bed-side drawer) and eat Swedish meatballs. While there I was reminded how hassling it is to wait in a long line to pay for your purchase. I’ve been so pampered and spoiled by the benefits of Amazon Prime - having stuff deliver right to my door in two days’ time - that Brick and Mortar shopping has largely been relegated to last-resort status. Now with Amazon offering free same-day shipping on certain items, I just might never leave the house to do shopping other than for food (unless I can get on the Soylent program).

10. "Our cars are meant to be driven, not polished." - Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche