Anchors Aweigh

To my friends:

Im sorry if I don't speak to you all in the next couple of weeks. For those who don't know, I've joined the Navy and will be reporting for basic training soon. This isn't a dream of mine, or exactly what I planned to do with my life, but I still want to make the best of this experience and be successful.

I will be focused on becoming a sailor and achieving my goals from this point forward, so this will be my last post for a while.

stay tuned...
Corey

Celebrity Crushes

The other day I saw a segment on a news program that discussed how average people have celebrity "crushes". There was a psychologist and a therapist, of some kind, debating whether it's healthy for someone in a relationship to admire celebrities.

I didn't care what they had to say, (healthy, or not)! The whole time I was thinking about my celebrity crushes. Yup, I like one or two girls I'll never have...

*Keisha Castle Hughes, Natalie Portman, Parminder Nagra, Rosario Dawson

Indian

Over the last couple of days I've been hearing the word "Indian" used a lot:

*The Cleveland Indians are just a baseball team, but the name and logo had to come from somewhere...

*Adam Beach plays a Native American Marine in Flags of our Fathers and his character takes constant abuse, nicknamed "Chief". It became annoying after hearing it so much , but it is indicative of the time and was acceptable for that reason.

(plus more...)

The examples I gave above are clearly relating to Native Americans. So, what's the problem? It's offensive. As an African American currently observing many different race controversies, I feel like I should have enough to worry about. But I think it's ironic that not only are African Americans threatened with racial problems, but many other (__________) Americans are being taunted about their ethnicity as well.

Just as I my skin color is not "BLACK", I don't like being called it, (although I don't really mind). So when Native Americans are called "Indian", I'm sure that they're annoyed because they're not from India.

And recently I've heard people talk about how oversensitive Americans are becoming. But I feel that if people are being taunted by ignorance and discrimination constantly, then it's not oversensitivity. It's more like cultural awareness.

Because of this I've been trying not to refer to African Americans as "blacks"; although it is easier to say and has been embedded into our society as an acceptable term. From those two examples alone I realized that words are more powerful and influential than we think. So be careful not to offend someone, no matter if it seems not to bother them.

STREET VIEW!

When will the Yankees get it?

All of New York, and almost all baseball fans know by now that the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs yesterday. Im happy they lost, but not because I hate the Yankees-- I actually like most of their players, but I feel that their loss is really significant for baseball and Yankees fans.

My problem starts with the organization. It seems like ever since I was a kid, Yankees Management has always tried to "buy" the best team. Every year, instead of calling up players from their minor league teams or going after smaller trades, it seems that they've always went after the most flashy and expensive free agents or trade seekers.

This may have worked for a couple of years when they won 4 or 5 consecutive championships in the late 90's. But, WOW!!! Look at how that's backfired on them! They've got the highest payroll in the league and they struggled to make into the playoffs! Honestly, if my team, the Mariners, didn't have horrible, unexplainable losing streaks the Yankees would've never made the post season!

My second beef is with Yankees fans. Get over it already!!! They can't win all the time! And what do expect when you have a team full players that only care about their own personal stats? And, Im not even gonna begin to speak about how lame it is to blame the coach...(*cough, cough, fire Brian Cashman!!! *cough, cough)

So, that's enough because I don't care to speak anymore about a team I don't like. Hopefully, for their fans, Yankees management will work out a better strategy to help them play, and win, with some kind of dignity...

Discovering Jurassic 5

I've been the biggest J5 fan since their EP, (I was 14 then). These videos started it all:

Time isn't on my side

Another game that I won't be able to play, yet.(Not only because I have others to finish but also because I don't have a stylus for my DS!)















The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

NY State Senator

Today on the bus I was sitting next to New York State Senator Bill Perkins. He represents Harlem and actually lives here!

Masked Musicians

Cornelius (keigo oyamada)
-Wearing the mask of the character who he takes his name from, Cornelius from Planet of the Apes








MF Doom
-Doom, aka "Viktor Vaughn', aka "King Geedorah" taking after Dr. Doom, the Fanstastic Four villain.












Daft Punk
-These guys rarely appear in human form, so this is just one of their disguises.

Graduate With Honors

Excuse me if Im a little late, but Graduation by Kanye West is an amazing album! Im sure you're listening to it right now just like I am, so you should agree that this album is out of this world...literally!

This album is sooo reFRESHing! A well deserved diploma.













FAVORITES:
*Champion
*I Wonder
*Can't Tell Me Nothing
*The Glory
*Big Brother

Criterion Collection Store

I just got an exciting email from the Criterion Collection about the revival of their online store. Starting tomorrow they will be reopening a fresh online store, but that's not what I'm going crazy over. This time around, instead of just selling gift items like t-shirts and coffee cups, their DVD's will be for sale too!

This is a big deal for the people that enjoy their great work and are grateful for their amazing collection of classic films, because the official Criterion version of those films can be hard to find.

Last I checked there are hundreds of DVD's in their collection. I own 3, (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, and Mon Oncle), but I plan to buy many more very soon! Maybe as soon as the store opens tomorrow...

New Yankee Stadium Construction

I took these pictures on my way to my little brother's baseball game in the Bronx. I'm not a Yankees fan, but it's exciting to see how the new stadium is coming together.






One of these days I'm gonna go check out the progress on the Met's new park, Citi Field.

"Louder, Louder!"

I don't know if this is the official video for the song,(Im almost sure it's a fan video), but it works.

Ugly Duckling - "Turn It Up"

Overgrown trees

Look at how these trees are growing over the fence.

Vintage VW

Mon Oncle

I picked up this DVD on trip out in the rain this morning. I first saw some of this film in French class in college, but I haven't seen the entire thing. From what I remember, it's very funny. The director, Jacques Tati, was also a talented writer and actor who, I believe, achieved an important role for comedic characters like "Monsieur Hulot".

Here's a clip:

No hip hop stereotypes, please! (3)

"Say Hey There"

No hip hop stereotypes, please! (2)

"Crowd Pleasa"

No hip hop stereotypes, please! (1)

"Nostalgia"

Barry Bonds makes history

So, yesterday Barry Bonds claimed the Major League homerun record, and afterwards took a few annoying questions about steroids. It's just too bad that some people don't agree with his "method"*.


*Bonds' "method":

new apple keyboard

Looks very modern, but crazzzy awkward...

New Wes Anderson film!

The Darjeeling Limited



-I'm sure it will be as funny as The Royal Tenenbaums.
corey

Fictional Fountain

I found this water fountain hidden in Morningside Park in Manhattan. It seems like there's an entire story behind it, or as if it's depicting a scene from a childrens novel. Even so, it looks amazing. Can you find it?

Vlad and Ichiro

My main man Ichiro Suzuki is the 2007 All-Star game MVP!
Ichiro is number 1! Anybody complain???




...while Vlad Guerrero won the HomeRun Derby [I knew he'd win]. His only competition was Ryan Howard, but he choked. (Btw, Vlad is my 3rd favorite player behind Griffey Jr., and Ichiro, of course.)

Kobayash-eat!!!

Takeru Kobayashi, Nathan's hot dog eating champ, will compete to maintain is title tomorrow. Hopefully, his injuries won't affect him too much.



He's so good at this competition it's hard to believe that he doesn't train by eating hot dog's; since they aren't even sold in Japan!

phones of the future

So, the iPhone was released yesterday with much hype behind it. Im a gadget freak and it would be cool to have an iphone, but its definately not worth waiting in line for, or making an event out of.

Apple iPhone


Fresh out tha' gates as well, RIM's new Blackberry Curve(also sold by AT&T...)

Blackberry Curve

(Did AT&T shoot itself in the foot by selling 2 new smart phones at the same time...Nah! The iPhone is tooooo popular!)

My point??? People shouldn't always be suckers for new gear. These types of things are gonna keep coming out. Who cares if you're the first to have it? Sooner or later everyone will have it, (if it's popular enough), and then you'll look like a fool for hyping it up!

*If that sounds a little jealous, it's because I don't have either of these phones, yet...

Summer Video 6/21

Step Up, step-step up, step up!!! Not really a summer video but definately a summer vibe mixed with west coast flava. This week's summer video:

2Pac- I Get Around

My new G-Shock

I got a new watch yesterday, which I really needed. I've had my old watch since I was 15!

old...



NEW!!!



It isn't what I expected ( the downside of buying things online -_- ), but I'll get used to it. The best feature is that this watch can tell the time for 45 major cities!

Summer Video 6/15

Here's this weeks' summer video:

Lenny Kravitz - California

Summer Video 6/8

Here's this week's summer video:

Paul Oakenfold w/ Shifty-Starry Eyed Surprise

Summer Video 6/1

Today is extremely warm in New York, actually much warmer than it usually is for the time. So I've already been thinking about what the summer will bring...I love music videos that set the summer up, so here's one for ya:

Pharrell- Frontin'

cityscapes

Cityscapes are my favorite genre in all of art and filmmaking. It shows that the artist has a very detailed perspective and can really bring parts of a city to life. Here's Tokyo,(I saw this on another blog).

OLED

So I've been seeing advert's everywhere for Sony's new OLED technology. I thought to myself that I've already seen this before. But the deal this time around is that these screens are flexible.



I guess this is in responce to all of their easily destructable LCD screens...

Preme's Blends Part 3

Royce da 5'9 and Premiere

Preme's Blends Part 2

Gangstarr and Jadakiss

my cousin's prom

My cousin Brandee went to her senior prom tonite. I hope she and her boyfriend have a good time.





They tooked the Rolls Royce Phantom!

Preme's Blends part 1

Premiere and Nas!

Nas is Like

Arrrgh! Pirates!

So I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, today. Here's a spoiler-free review in 5 points in case you want an opinion.

1. It's a decent sequel.
2. It's a very entertaining film.
3. Still seems a lot like the Disney World ride.
4. Slightly confusing at times.
5. Surprise cameos(for me, at least), by Chow Yun-Fat and Keith Richards.

Enjoy!

2D is still the best!

Spiderman 3, Sherk the Third, the third Pirates of the Carribean film...see the pattern here? All sequals(each the third in the series), but also very reliant on 3D effects and one is entirely 3D animation. However, 2D is much better. check it:

A Scanner Darkly
-Actually this is rotoscoping, but its still better than 3D.


United Airlines Ad
-United Airlines did so well with this style they made a bunch of Ads using it.


Gedo Senki (Tales from Earthsea)
-Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki never disapoint. Now his son, Goro, is making masterpeices too.

Disgracing the game

The news about Jason Giambi's failed drug test isn't really surprising, but I imagine its extremely embarrassing for Yankees fans and ownership. This would be the perfect time to rip on the team since I hate them, but I actually happen to like most of the players so that's unnecessary.



However, Giambi deserves it. Daryl Strawberry definately did --which Im sure wasn't only for his drug use. And, if anyone can ever prove that Barry Bonds used "performance enhancing" drugs Im sure he'll be ridiculed even more than he is now. The bottom line: cheaters only get screwed when they become too good at it.

thro ya f**kin' neck out!

Yo, ever wish that there was a music video for one of your favorite songs? Here's one:

Big Boi performing "The Rooster" on Chapelle

M1A2 Abrams

I grew up loving military machines and technology,(partly because many of my folks were servicemen). So, I often watch the Military Channel. Recently I saw a program called "Tank School", where Marines were in "A" school learning to be tank crew members. I completely understand that war provides horrible outcomes, but for those that appreciate this stuff it's amazing to see.

M1A2 Abrams


If you want to learn more about the M1A2 Abrams tank, check this out:
http://military.discovery.com/interactives/arsenal/abrams/abrams.html

last day? not quite...

Today I had to go back to school to hand in one more assignment- a "term paper". Unfortunatly, I'm not done completely. One more final exam to take and the semester is over.



Plus, I ran into my friend Munenori. For a minute we were chillin' on campus, catchin' up.



Another year is almost done. So, for those that have summer classes, enjoy!

Ox-like

Hey, just as I don't believe in superstition, I evenly don't follow chinese zodiac. But I saw in my profile here that I was born in the year of the "Ox", according to the zodiac. So I had to find out what makes an Ox, and I was shocked by how well this description(from the trusty Wikipedia, lol) completely describes me.

Ox

The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. This powerful sign is a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. As one might guess, such people are dependable, calm, and modest. Like their animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in their work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint.
Ox people need peace and quiet to work through their ideas, and when they have set their mind on something it is hard for them to be convinced otherwise. An Ox person has a very logical mind and is extremely systematic in whatever they do, even without imagination. These people speak little but are extremely intelligent. When necessary, they are articulate and eloquent.
The Ox is not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox sleepless nights.
Ox people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. They are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome because of their honesty and patience. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the Ox people are wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new.
It is important to remember that the Ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such people and they engage all the trials of the whole world and seek solutions for them.

(How freaky is that?)

train à grande vitesse "high-speed train"

The TGV V150 at 357mph...WOW!



I love trains.

where's my good luck?

Usually I don't entertain superstitions but a pigeon crapped all over me today. I tried to look on the bright side of it, which is that Im magically supposed to gain good fortune, (hopefully its something useful)!

my poop stained bag


The good thing about the time I spent in the park was that my brother's baseball team destroyed their oppenents, final score: 15-3.

T. Hopper at the plate

A little patience

Hey Folks, I just created this blog in my absence from Myspace. I don't plan on going back there, so Im going to blog here. That was my favorite feature on Myspace but now that I've found blogger I'm glad to have another forum. Hence the title of this post. I've known about blogger for a while because I've been looking for a way to start blogging way before I had a Myspace profile. But, when I first found blogger I couldn't read the site because the text was in Japanese! So it took a minute to figure out how to change the language. Anyway, I'll be using this for as long as I can. Enjoy, and check daily!