One last chance - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. I’m not the lease excited about the prospects of a third Spider-Man origin story within the last 15 years. I understand the franchise is starting afresh within the Marvel universe, but can’t they just skip all the getting bit by a spider business and get on with fleshing out new stories?

Sadly, people are no doubt still going to come out in droves to see the forthcoming Spider-Man movie, even if it means seeing Uncle Ben get murdered for the third time.

2. Bravo to the lovely and talented Taylor Swift in standing up to the great Apple empire. Her open letter to the Cupertino tech giant made Apple reverse course, and will now pay artists for streamed songs on their forthcoming Apple Music platform during the free three-month trial period.

Now if only she can get Apple to finally make a Macbook Air with a retina display (no, the MacBook is far from being that).

3. Dietrich Mateschitz is a sore loser. When Mercedes was struggling all those years, they had the integrity to keep their mouth shut, their heads down, and got on with the program. Red Bull F1 is hurting mightily right now; publically stating your discontent with the sport and throwing your engine supplier Renault under the biggest bus ever is not going to change a damn thing. What does it say about your brand/team when the top boss comes off as such a crybaby?

4. Pride Week is always a special time here in San Francisco. I wish plenty of happiness to those who are reveling in the annual celebration. I on the other hand will be trying my best to avoid the downtown gridlock that is bound to occur during this weekend.

5. I have no words for the church shooting that happened last week in Charleston, South Carolina. Jon Stewart’s soliloquy on The Daily Show the day after best captures how I feel: people in power aren’t going to do jack shit about this terror. Nothing's going change, and that’s the ultimate tragedy in my view.

6. A woman should not displace Alexander Hamilton the 10-dollar bill. Rather, a woman should go on the 20-dollar bill in place of Andrew Jackson. Isn’t it bad enough that Hamilton got killed in a duel at the hands of Aaron Burr?

7. More than a week later and I am still in massive disbelief that Final Fantasy VII is finally getting remade for the Playstation 4 system. If you thought the wait for the announcement was lengthy and excruciating, the wait for the game’s release will be unimaginably more so. But heck, another three to four years of wait is peanuts after the incessant begging for the remake for over a decade.

8. I recently setup my GoPro Hero 4 as a dash-cam in my car, using a GoPro-branded suction cup mount. While the main purpose of a dash-cam is to have a visual recording in the event of an accident (to prove innocence or otherwise), a side benefit is that I get to review footage of the myriad of crazy drivers I encounter on the road on a daily basis. I might even throw some footage on here if it’s egregiously terrible or hilariously funny, likely both at the same time.

Now I'm just waiting for that meteor, airplane, and or a crazy Russian.

9. If your song features Fetty Wap then said song is utterly ruined.

10. I always get tremendous amounts of grass-is-greener syndrome during the summer months, because the European continent has got all the cool and awesome automotive events. Back in may it was the 24 hours of Nurburgring, last week was Le Mans, and now coming up this weekend is the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I’ve had endless dreams about living in the EU, and traversing the its fine road networks to attend all these automotive events. The views are often spectacular as well, from what I gather.

Then again, being an automotive enthusiast in California isn’t so bad. We’ve got a few marquee events here as well, one of which is the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion in mid-August, which I’m most anticipating making the trip out to Laguna Seca. 

Symphony this life - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Someone is going to have to explain to me how the Warriors are down one game to two against a Cavaliers team that hasn’t got Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving. On paper they should be crushing them, but as the saying goes, that’s why they play the games.

2. Chipotle is already one of my favorite chain restaurants, and now, even more so. It’s been announced the company will begin to offer paid sick leave and vacation for its employees - including part-time workers. Suffice it to say, the Chipotle will see plenty more of my money in the future.

3. Last week I heavily criticized the Mercedes F1 team for their horrendous gaff at the Monaco Grand Prix, but thanks to FOM releasing new radio messages between the team and driver, it looks like half of the blame needs to go towards Lewis Hamilton! Turns out the decision to box the car wasn’t the sole wonton decision by the team, but Hamilton himself wanted to pit as well - he was entirely complicit to the maneuver! It’s no wonder he didn’t go ballistic against his team in the aftermath - he knew he cocked it up.

4. I take great satisfaction in the fact the current Giants third baseman Matt Duffy has got a higher OPS than the acrimoniously departed Pablo Sandoval. “The Panda” should’ve probably done something with the bat first before trashing his former organization. Karma is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

5. I think Zoe Saldana’s husband taking her last name is absolutely beautiful.

6. Sergio Marchionne is a very impressive man in the flesh, so it’s puzzling as to why he is unable to steward the Fiat group into anything resembling a proper auto manufacturer. (Ferrari not withstanding.) Lancia is all but dead, Fiat can’t decide what it wants to do, Maserati can’t compete with the Germans, and Alfa Romeo is on its hundredth revival plan.

Perhaps the ousted Luca Di Montezemolo should’ve taken over instead.

7. The Gilmore Girls reunion at the ATX Festival was absolutely everything. Yes, I’m an avid fan of the series, except for season 7. I don’t see how anybody can actually like season 7.

8. It’s a shame I’ve got to wait until autumn, because my iPhone 5S could really use the battery and storage-space saving technology in the recently announced iOS 9. That, or I just badly need to upgrade to iPhone 6.

9. If you’re sick of Hollywood whitewashing Asian-themed films (the Aloha movie, ahem), then you really should support Wong Fu Productions first feature film Everything Before Us by watching it on their Vimeo page. As always, it’s immensely important to support independent artists.

10. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is this weekend, and I promise I’ll actually attend one of those within the next few years. It’ll have to coincide with the big European jaunt that anyone who doesn’t live on that continent aspires to do.

In the meantime, I’ll have to make do with the sublime people that do the Radio Le Mans broadcast.       

No 관심 in that bag - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. It’s official: the mighty BBC has sacked Clarkson from Top Gear due to what has been humorously categorized as a ‘fracas’. It’s absolutely an end of an era for the venerable motoring show. Hammond and May are both likely to follow Clarkson to whatever he does next.

All good things must come to an end, right? I positively grew up on Top Gear, and it’s quite the melancholic moment when the news broke. I’m likely to still watch whomever the BBC choses to replace the three hosts, but deep down, long-time fans of the show all understand that it will never be the same. 

I still want that LaFerrari, 918, and P1 track battle, by the way. Make it happen, BBC. 

2. It was my understanding that you’d have to be born in these United States to run for the presidency, so someone will need to explain to me how on earth is Ted Cruz - born in Canada - is campaigning for the Republican party nomination. Actually, don’t bother; he’s got zero chance to win the ticket anyways. 

3. It’s a damn shame that with a reigning German world champion constructor, a German driver fighting for the title, and Seb Vettel in a rejuvenated Ferrari car, the German Grand Prix got cancelled for 2015. Worse, it’s position on future F1 calendars is very much in doubt. I join the chorus of F1 fans that lament the continuing lost of ‘tradition’ European races on historic and classic circuits, in exchange for far-flung, uninteresting circuits in oil-rich countries that no one cares about. 

4. After watching John Oliver’s brilliant takedown on the NCAA evil empire, I refrained myself from filling out a March Madness bracket this year. I also did not watch a single game. Call it a boycott, call it having got something better to do than sit in front of the television the entire day, watching sports that ultimately have to effect on my life many years from now. 

5. They never said it was going to be cheap: I just had the first major service done on my WRX STI, and it most certainly wasn’t kind to the wallet. It’s what happens when on top of being a high-performance car, it’s got one extra set of axles more than the typical car (being all-wheel drive and all). The dealership change practically all the fluids in the car: engine oil, coolant, brake, gearbox, and three differentials. They would’ve even washed the car too, but I instructed them otherwise. 

Some of you might ask, why don’t you simply do the work yourself and save a bit of coin? The answer to that is simple: I value my time, plus the fact I live in an apartment complex that hasn’t got the requisite space to perform vehicle maintenance (it also violates the lease agreement). I much rather pay the few hundred for a certified dealership to take care of servicing the car, all the while I’m at work earning. Besides, having a paper-trail does well to the resale value - if I do decide to part with the WRX. 

6. The first weekend of May is going to be absolutely spectacular: the much anticipated second Avengers movie comes out in theatres, and that particular Saturday night is the showdown fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. I’m so looking forward to it. 

7. Of course I want one those slim and shiny new Macbooks, but I reckon at it’s current first-generation state, it’s just a bit underpowered for what I need. Much like the genesis Macbook Air, it’ll take some time and evolution before the new Macbook can be a machine fit for general consumption. That’s why I’m likely to acquire a Macbook Air in the near future instead. The 11 inch version is arguably more portable anyways.

On other hand (no pun intended), I’m completely uninterested in the forthcoming Apple Watch. I prefer my timepieces to be mechanical, hand-crafted, and exquisite, thank you very much.

8. Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors on their Pacific Division championship. It won’t be long until the time is ripe for me to jump on the bandwagon. Hashtag no shame.

9. I wonder if Meghan Trainor prefers a man with bass and no treble. Something tells me it’s likely the other way round. Her hit song isn’t about confident body-image, it’s about I’m fat and I’m to lazy to loose weight but love me anyways because I’m awesome.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

10. As a person well into his 20s, I tend to take it as flattery when I get carded at bars and clubs. Oh, you think I look young enough to be 21? That’s so awesome! 

However, recently I got carded while purchasing tickets at the cinema to a rated R movie. Apparently, I look younger than 17 to the ticketing person, and that I actually find quite insulting. I’m not sure why that is as it’s but a four year difference from 17 to 21, but I guess as a full-fledged adult, you never want to be accused of still looking like a teenager.  

I can't stop saying bro, bro - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Yesterday was an absolutely glorious day for automotive enthusiasts: Ford announced the much anticipated Focus RS all-wheel drive monster, Porsche announced the long-rumored and much pined-for Cayman GT4 purist masterpiece, and Ferrari announced the 488GTB, the successor to the critically acclaimed 458 Italia. 

The frequent murmurs of performances automobiles having already had its golden-era can finally be put to rest. My god it's a great time to be a petrol-head. 

2. Formula 1 kicked off the 2015 season with preseason testing in Jerez, and to be honest my interest for the 2015 campaign is not all that great. The formula hasn't really changed much from the previous season, so suffice to say, it'll be the two Mercedes works drivers battling for the championship. 

Still, it's infinitely better than just one guy winning everything.

3. It's still hard to fathom just why on earth did Seattle not run the ball at the closing moments of the Super Bowl. I and everybody thought for sure they were going to punch it in once they got down to the New England one-yard line. When you have arguably the most physical running-back in the game, it's monumentally inane to put the ball in the air and count on your mediocre-at-best receivers. Marshawn Lynch could've simply fell forward and would've gotten that single yard. 

And I'm far from being a fan of Seattle.

4. The media reports over the return of measles due to parents not vaccinating their children is incredibly maddening. I strongly believe parents should have the freedom to make decisions for their children, but when said decisions have negative effects towards the general population (or endangers the child), then governments have a civic duty to put a stop to it. 

Don't want to vaccinate your child? Fine; said child should not be allowed outside in public.

5. Word on the street is the San Francisco Giants will introduce yet another alternate jersey for the 2015 season. I so hope it's the all-black one from the early naughts, but I'm not holding my breath. My money is ready if and when you do, Giants. 

6. I really want make it to Le Mans 24 hours race within the next few years. The LMP1 class is getting very competitive and exciting indeed. Nissan's new front-engine, front-wheel drive LMP1 challenger is an absolute stunner considering all other LMP1 cars are mid-engine, rear driven. Innovative technology and engineering is why I love and watch motor racing so much. 

7. Missy Elliot was the lone bright spot in the Super Bowl half-time show, and she simply killed it. When the beat dropped to "Get UR Freak On", it was straight gully from then until she bowed out from the stage. Kids these days don't know nothing about that good music from the early naughts.

8. It'd be perfect if the _Celebrity Jeopardy _skit makes a return during SNL's 40th anniversary show on the 15th of this month. Will Ferrell is scheduled to appear, and Darrell Hammond is already the show's announcer; the timing is ripe. I simply need to have Hammond's Connery tell Ferrell's Trebek he'd just fornicated with his mother. 

9. The entitlement mentality most certainly isn't just a psychological disease exclusive to millennials. As I've recently encountered, people of all age brackets are afflicted with the progressive disorder. I simply cannot stand people who refuses to take any personal responsibility. 

10. That Carls Jr. super bowl advertisement featuring the gorgeous Charlotte McKinney is everything.