Comic Strip: Secret Asian Man

A comic strip by Tak Toyoshima.

Here's another link to Secret Asian Man.

It's about an American male of Japanese descent, living in New York.

I Wrote My 100th Blog Last Saturday

It's been about a year and a half since I've started blogging. I was introduced to it by a college buddy.

It has proven to be a viable outlet for me to chronicle relevant happenings in my world through electronic literary communication.

I wrote my first blog on 12/31/03. It was about knowing who to keep in my social circle after experiencing trials.

I started at GeoCities. Visually, it's not much to look at. But I feel it contains some of my best writing.

Check it out if you're bored.

Korean-Canadian Trying Out for NBA

I have long yearned for a Korean-American to make it to the NBA so I could have someone to identify with when watching Laker games.

Ha Seung-Jin was the first Korean to play in the league this season (Portland Trailblazers). But I can't relate to him because he's a fob. And it seems one of the main reasons he was drafted was because of his 7'4" height. Not necessarily because of his talent.

I came across a highlight clip last night of a Korean-Canadian, Brian Kim, who, last season played for Vanguard University in Mesa, CA (lead team in scoring with 18 pt. avg.). There's one play where he drives baseline and dunks over a defender, rousing the crowd. It was absolutely jaw-dropping. The next play down he hits a three-pointer. And starts slapping his chest. This guy is for real.

He was drafted this year by a professional Korean team (second pick overall). But plans on trying out for the NBA in pre-draft workouts in June.

Check out the first video clip (the one that says w/Headband).

We're Living In a Disconnected World

We've all felt disconnected from people at certain moments in our lives. At speed dating parties, during lunch hour at work, at bible study, during a conversation with friends.

The image above represents what happens internally to two people when they are not "vibing" with each other.

Example One:

I remember I was sitting in a theater watching The Incredibles at the Century City Shopping Center. I didn't laugh once, while apparently lots of people in the audience found many moments of the movie to be chuckle-out-loud funny.

Example Two:

I was at a small group meeting in Redondo Beach, and I told a girl I had majored in English. She responded by saying, "I don't like reading." This from a UCLA graduate.

Example Three:

I was at someone's home, sitting at a table eating, and somehow the conversation turned toward living in an apartment.

I said I'd rather live in a studio because it's cheaper and because I don't require that much space. One person said in response that studio's aren't for him because when people sleep over, you get no privacy. And other people at the table starting nodding their heads in agreement.

I don't usually have people come over. Like Randy Moss (pictured below).



According to the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, Moss, the most prized wide receiver in the NFL, rarely has guests and professes to be ruthlessly self-sufficient.



Kobe prefers to go it alone and is oft-maligned as a loner.

One of the reasons I enjoy reading about public figures like Bryant or Randy Moss is because sometimes I feel I can relate to their personalities, and the ways in which they cope with the world.

A Hard Day of Basketball

Basketball is a very physically demanding sport.

Running up and down the court; getting low for the proper defensive stance; executing offensive moves effectively; making proper passes.

It is enough to deplete most people's energy.




I played on Saturday afternoon right outside the Anteater Recreation Center.

It was the hardest I played in a while. I felt intense fatigue during the course of one full court game after I had dribbled down the court and tried to drive in for a lay-up.

It's beneficial for my physical and mental well-being, though.

ESPN Special: Kobe Isn't To Blame For Lakers Break-Up Last Summer

I saw a special on ESPN about reasons Kobe isn't to blame for the Lakers break-up last summer. Elizabeth Kaye (writer for Los Angeles Magazine) mentioned Kobe resented the fact Shaq was the sun around which the planets (players) rotated, because he had the potential to be a sun himself.

I remember experiencing the same thing when I was in seventh grade and my English teacher chose Andy Nelson's (my classmate) story as the best in the class (our assignment was to write a narrative about three wishes). But for some reason, even at twelve-years-old, I thought one of the main factors she chose his was because he was white (like her).

During the read-arounds, before the top story was picked, Andy Nelson said out loud "I like Pye-Young's" (among the ones he read).

It wasn't original though, I based it on a Twilight Zone episode I saw about an owner of a pawn shop who gets an unexpected visit from a genie.

Two Masters of the Cinema: Spike Lee and Alexander Payne

I watched Spike Lee's He Got Game the other day.

The film's story centers around Jesus, a top high school basketball prospect (Ray Allen in a surprisingly effective performance) who's in the midst of making the "most important decision of his life": choosing which college to play for. Making matters more complicated, his father (Denzel Washington), who's been serving time in prison, has been released for a week to try to convince his son to attend Ball State (the governor's alma mater) in exchange for a reduced sentence.

I appreciated the movie's visual style, and the obvious passion with which it was made.

I first saw it in theaters when I was a sophomore at UC Irvine. But, like Hoop Dreams, I enjoyed it and was affected by it a lot more upon a second, years-later-as-my-perspective-has-matured viewing.

On a side note, Arthur Agee, one of the two boys featured in Hoop Dreams, makes a cameo appearance in the film's opening montage.


Sideways is another good movie I've seen recently. It's about two friends, who are very different, one is a nerdy, needy middle-school English teacher, the other is a fading TV actor who currently does voice overs for commercials.

Both movies are examples of cinema at its best.