Christmas Shopping: Phase 1 Complete!

Yeah Baby! ... Phase 1 is complete! ... I got an early start today, hit up Square One this morning at 10AM with my sis ... No Crowds, No Lineups, No searching for parking spaces ... Beautiful! ... We got Mom and Dad's presents today, a Sony Digital Media Player and a Sony Illuminated CD Clock Radio (with a couple CD's to go with it) respectively ... There was one thing about shopping at that Sony Store that really ticked me off though ... At first this one Salesman was handling our inquiries ... Then before us or the salesman knew it, the store manager took over the inquiries ... The Store Manager then got mad at the Salesman for why a different model Radio was pulled up on the computer screen, my sis then interjected and said that it was what we originally asked about ... We then paid for the clock radio and the store manager rang it up ... When we left the store, I asked my sis to check the receipt to see who got the commission, it was the store manager ... That really struck a cord with me, I felt really sh!tty about it too, because that's not right ... It should've went to the salesman, because he was helping us ... First of all, the store manager obviously has a higher salary, so why does he need to steal the saleman's commission on this sale? ... But after talking it over with my sis, what could we or the salesman have done? ... If me and my sis made a fuss about it at the store, it may have caused some dissension between the store manager and salesman, thus the store manager could fire him if he wanted ... I guess you can find crooks where ever you go ...

As for Phase 2, I'll get to that some time in the next couple of weeks ... Still to shop for: my sis, 2 godchildren and myself ... Still undecided on what to get for my sis, but I'm getting the godchildren gift certificates, one for EB Games and the other for Chapters, can never go wrong with gift certificates ... As for myself, there's nothing that I can really think of that I want this year ... I was thinking of goin' big and spluging on a PS3, but I looked at the price $499, I know that if I buy it now, that price gets slashed by $50 in the new year and $100 by next summer, so I'll hold off on that ... I'll probably treat myself to an assortment of things: accessories for my PSP, a few DVD's and maybe some new gear ... Christmas gifts for myself? ... The way I see it, you should never expect or depend on others for anything, if you want or need something, get it yourself ...

One,

- J -

Interesting Tuesday Convos

-I was talkin' to someone yesterday about women in Toronto ... we were both in agreement that Toronto has some of the most "stush" women in the world, if not THE ... this guy, who I'll refer to as DC, was sayin that these women don't just turn you down, but they disrespect you if they can ... DC also went on to say that if you have GAME in Toronto, you have game anywhere ... I told him that clubbing outside Toronto is way different, for example, New York City, New Jersey and Las Vegas, women are more inclined to talk to you in those places ... You don't even have to go that far, Kingston and Hamilton will do just fine, where us guys can get the "respect" we deserve ... As far as the reasons for their attitude, DC and myself speculated and concluded, that it's almost as if they've all been hurt before and the next guys (or us) have to suffer the consequences ... I told him a couple of my beefs ... First, is the inevitable 3:1, guy:girl ratio at the clubs nowadays ... When that clock hits 12:30, that ratio dramatically increases to 5:1 ... For the $10, and in some Toronto clubs now $15, cover, I don't want to be payin' that kind of money to be dancin' with guys ... My other beef, it's a new breed of women nowadays, when I used to go clubbin' back in my "prime" in '03, the formula was much simpler before, make eye contact, you walk up, say what's up, dance with 'em, get their name & number ... nowadays you're lucky if you get past step one, I say it's because they're not as "individual" as they were before ... you can never catch them alone anymore, they always run in "packs" ... DC agreed and we labelled each of the group members ... 1) The sexy lookin' one everyone in the club wants to get, 2) The nasty lookin' c*ckblock, 3) The average lookin' one that has the best personality, whom you eventually warm up to ... No matter if you have some level of success with 1 or 3, number 2 will put a stop to the entire thing, unless you have a friend that's willing to "take one for the team" and get with #2, that "pack" is off limits ... I presented my solution to the Toronto problem to DC, and that was to just hit up a cougar bar ... They don't front, and they know exactly what they want, another thing is that they're 10 times more likely to "give it up", if that's what you're lookin' for and that I'm speakin' from experience (even though it was only one time), they're definitely not as stuck up ... ughhh, more beefs with Toronto ...

-I had another conversation with this brown guy later on, he actually came up to me and asked if I was watching the Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton fight ... At first I'm askin' myself how does he know I'm into boxing? as boxing fans are a rarity nowadays with the rising popularity of "human c*ck fighting", errr, I mean MMA, ughhhhh, stupid sport, if you can even call it that ... Anyways, I figured he must be stereotyping me because of the Filipino thing ... We both agreed that Mayweather has all the talent in the world ... This guy's beef with Mayweather was that he doesn't finish off opponents in the ring, my beef is that Mayweather is calling himself the greatest, but is clearly ducking legit opponents, but we both still think that Hatton is gettin' his a$$ kicked in a week's time ... We discussed the excitement of the Taylor-Pavlik fight and later this guy said a Mayweather-Cotto 'bout would be awesome, I responded by saying that it won't be happening anytime soon ... I told him that Cotto will have to get through Margarito, the winner of Williams-Cintron, then maybe De La Hoya, in order to get a shot at Floyd ... Because "P*ssy Boy" Floyd will be ducking as always, contining to give the excuse that there wouldn't be "any money in it", in this case Cotto ... The conversation concluded with myself declaring my allegiance as a Pacquiao fan ... The guy was like, "How did I know you were gonna say that", LOL, I guess he was stereotyping me after all ... He went on to say that he didn't like Pacquiao, I was ready to punk this guy right there ... But then he explained that Pacquiao doesn't have the best defense in the world ... My explanation, "it doesn't matter, if you're able to punch someone with fists that feel like a ton of bricks, the best defense is a good offense, when Manny gets hit, he goes nuts, and his opponent is 10 times more likely to get knocked out" ... The guy agreed, and he also explained that he grew up a fan of the Mexican boxers, ie. Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera ... That's OK, even though Manny is the "Mexican Assassin" and ended both their careers ... I told him that I respected Morales for taking his beating like a man, and didn't respect Barrera for ending his career by running ... Ahhhhh, a conversation with a boxing fan in Toronto, that's not over 35, probably too young to remember the 80's and not Filipino ... Refreshing ...

-I hung out for a bit with my cousin Juddimac yesterday at the Eaton Centre, we discussed the health of the patriarch, and we both agreed that we should get the Fam together for prayer some time in the next couple of weeks ... not to put any light whatsoever on the situation, but at least most of the Fam is on Facebook, and yes that includes the older generation (uncles), LOL, so it'll be easier to get something organized, LOL, "you know it's time to get off Facebook when ..." ... Juddimac also told me that he might be movin' to Scarborough, as he might be gettin' a new job there and he's considering enrolling in college, whether it be Centennial or Seneca ... I'm cool with that, because it gives me a reason to be in Scarborough more often ...

-Finally I ran into one of Toronto's TV/Radio personalities at my sister's workplace, it was Mark Strong, I think he was a host on Flow 93.5 and NBA XL, I know most of you are thinkin' "ooooooh big deal" ... but here's the story, we saw each other in passing, he was on his cell and it went like this,

J-Smooth: "Mark Strong, right?"
Strong: "Yeah, how's it goin'?" (handshake)
J-Smooth: "Not bad ... hey can you hook me up with Nikki Reyes?"
Strong: (laughs) Yeah, I'll do that

LOL, he forgot to give me her number, ahh well, LOL

All in all, some interesting conversations on Tuesday ...

One,

- J -

Prophecies to Armageddon

I was watching a documentary last night, I think it was on Discovery Channel, regarding prophecies to the end of the world ... Apparently there are a whole bunch of prophecies, of Christian, Native American, Old English origin, they all point to the year 2012 as the end of the world, December most specifically ... They all indicate things such as water levels to rising, earthquakes, rise in Earth temperature ... Well, this may go along with the scientific predictions of global warming ... as far as earthquakes, there have been two over the past few days, Indonesia and Japan ... The prophecies also indicate some astronomical event of some sort, maybe a collision, but some have described a change in the Earth's rotation, which if it happened, would drastically alter the climate and environment on the planet ... Doom and Gloom, in my opinion unlikely ... there was a lot of hype prediciting the end of the world at the millenium, obviously didn't happen ... I hope not, because there are a few things I'd still like to accomplish, but I guess it would all be meaningless if the world ended ...

One,

- J -

Ruff or Buff?

Just for fun ... Here's a website from the U.K., Choice FM ... People send their pictures in to get rated, LOL, superficial, I know, but again just for fun ... What's funny about this is the percentages some people get ...

Just imagine how many people look at that site in the U.K. ... If your percentage for "Ruff" is off the charts, like some people (eg. 95%), you'd be a celebrity, LMFAO ...

One,

- J -

The D-Mac

Tough times in the Fam right now, with an illness to the patriarch ... It's been tough for my mother, father, grandmother, my aunts and uncles ... I was talking to my sis last night about gettin The D-Mac together for prayer, she said it was a good idea ... Myself, I'm holdin' up OK, tryin' to be steady for my mother ... I'm tryin' to be hopeful, but at the same time preparing for the day ... We had a reunion in the Philippines last Christmas, the trip was planned over the two years prior ... Everyone wanted to do it, because they all had a sense that it would probably be the last and only time the entire family would be together ... I was actually balking at going on the trip, but now that I look back, I'm glad that I was a part of it ... It was tough for my cousin "O", he was the only one that couldn't go because he couldn't afford the time off ... I'm close to most people in the Fam, but mostly with the D-Mac Brethren, which includes: Arizona's Finest, O, Juddimac among others ... Those are guys that I never have to worry about ... We all like to have fun and joke around, but when things are rough, there is always the mutual support and lookin' out for one another ... I'm sure it will be no different over the next few weeks ... I pray to God to watch over my family ...

One,

- J -

TJ vs. Jose

For all the TJ-haters that are calling for Jose to start, last night was the evidence on what life would be like without TJ ... Jose's statline: 10pts on 4-13 shooting, 8ast, 2 turnovers, in 40 minutes, so much for a "Pass-first" point guard ... If TJ had the exact same statline, people around Toronto would be calling for his head ... Wow, so much for the "Per 48 minutes" argument ... He needed 13 shots to score 10 points ... Only to beat the lowly Grizzlies by 6? ... I mean that should say it all right there, he's simply not good enough ... If Bosh doesn't rack up his 22 and 19 yesterday, the Raptors easily lose this game ... Anyone notice how TJ is getting to the hole better than Jose this year ... Jose isn't getting anymore of those uncontested layups ... I guess teams finally clued in and actually scouted him, he's virtually ineffective when you D him up ... I look at Jamario Moon as more valuable to this team than Jose, because Moon actually plays some defense ... Jose's been abused over the last few games, by Deron Williams, Baron Davis and Devin Harris, I haven't seen TJ get beat that badly ... This city is nuts, that includes the media, Doug Smith and Michael Grange tend to criticize TJ more often than not and praise Jose, even if he has a mediocre game ... If TJ or CB4 ever left, or are traded from, this team, J-Smooth converts to a Raptor Hater ...

One,

- J -

What to blog about?

bored right now ... have very little to say, which is different, but I'll try ...

-I'm reading The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins ... Finally! a book that I'm not bored with ... A novel where I can relax and not have to think about the significance of the plotlines, or form or context, or characters ... It's a novel from the Victorian Era, but the premise is a classic, "who done it?" ... I give Collins credit, one of the first novels of its kind, definitely paved the way for detective novels down the road ...

-Learned about the process of beatification and canonization last week ... for all you non-Catholics, how you become a saint ... I wonder if it would be possible to have a St. "Smooth" or the Chuch of St. Smooth, LOL ... blasphemy!

-Question: What is more important to you, Autonomy (free will) or Well-Being (your own good)? ... for myself Autonomy, I'm a firm believer that in a normal state of mind, the individual is the sole judge on what is best for him/her ... ughhh!, enough with this philosophical B.S.

That's all that comes to mind right now, I'll be back soon with something a little more interesting ... Oh yeah, Christmas in 35 days, can't wait! ...

One,

- J -

Movie Review: Gridiron Gang

This was a movie that I've been putting off watching for a while ... I've seen many sports movies, so I live by the notion that I've seen it all, but I said I'd give this movie a chance ...

Overall, the movie was good, the storyline was solid ... There were no plotlines that were unrealistic ... It had it's share of dramatic and emotional moments, even had me misty-eyed in a few scenes ... It was not as predictable as I first thought, when the trailers for the movie first aired ... Sure it has elements from other good sports movies, Remember the Titans, Hardball and Coach Carter ... But again, the storyline was solid, at points I even forgot that "The Rock" and "XZibit" were even in it ... It was a good movie, but comparatively, Remember the Titans, was the better film ...

In The Rock's WWF days, people criticized him for not being a technically sound wrestler, but that didn't stop him from becoming a superstar in the ring ... Same goes for his movie career, he's not the greatest actor I've seen, but he ain't bad either, he may never win an Academy Award (who knows, maybe he'll prove me wrong), but thus far he's proven that he can hold his own as a legit leading man in Hollywood ...

If the box office numbers of his latest movie, The Game Plan, is any indication, "The Great One" is destined to "Layeth the Smacketh Down" in Hollywood for years to come ...

Rating ... 3.5/5

One,

- J -

Weekend Recap; Boxing; Jessica Alba, Raptors

Went out to Mandarin for Prophet's B-Day last night ... Prophet, his Fam, his crew "LC", Octal and myself at the restaurant ... I must be gettin' old because, boy was it expensive, in terms of when I last ate there ... But I'm not complainin' at all about the food ... But as Octal was saying, it's was a Chinese restaurant, but less than half the food was Chinese ... When I go to buffets, the strategy: 1st plate, all chicken, 2nd plate, all beef, 3rd plate desert ... good company, good times ... most memorable part was definitely discovering how Prophet's family is slowly becoming Filipino (skyflakes and pandesal) ... That's cool though, the rest of the world is anyways ... I mean we already have the best boxer in the world, best billiards player, we have Flips in showbiz (Vanessa Minillo, Vanessa Hudgens) music (Black Eyed Peas), Busta Rhymes ("Flip"mode, LMAO) ... Now, all we need is a Filipino in the NBA for global domination, LOL ... Oh, a shout to Prophet, before I forget, a scientific explanation to your "Skyflakes taste like beer" claim, it's produced by San Miguel, one of the Philippines' largest beer producers ... I guess some of that beer "accidentally" makes it's way into the crackers, LOL ...

After dinner, I went to another party, this time with Fam ... I don't get to spend much time with Fam, The D-Mac, so it's always enjoyable gettin' together ... I know I'm vain, but to my young nieces, nephews and little cousins I'm like a celebrity ... As soon as they see me, I get mobbed ... I guess they like me so much, because I like to joke around and I don't talk down to them at all, my child-like nature could also be another reason ... I was challenged to a game in NBA '08 on PS3, my first time actually playing a full game on PS3, this was with my 12-year-old cousin, the bet was, the loser had to kiss the winner's feet, LOL ... While playing, we were so focused, my cousin Mike is definitely a D-Mac, the competitiveness flows in our blood and through our veins ... I'll admit, that was the most challenged I'd ever been in my life by anyone, in any video game ... I'm a shark, (that includes any basketball, boxing or wrestling game), but this time around it was like I was fighting for my life ... I won, but it came down to the last minute of the last quarter ... As far as the terms of the bet, I have the footage on my camera phone, LMFAO ... Yo, a quick shout to my brother Arizona's Finest, the Fam definitely misses you guys at the parties ...

When I got home I caught the Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto fight ... Guzman won and as expected called out Pacquiao ... Like I told "LC" last night, he ain't gettin' Pacquiao, there ain't no money in it for PacMan, Guzman is not a draw, he along with Juan Diaz and Edwin Valero are all going to have to wait in line ... PacMan still has some unfinished business with Juan Manuel Marquez, a fight is close to being signed for March ... Some dream fights that I wish would take place: Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto, Cotto-Mayweather ... Realistically, I can only see one of those bouts taking place ...

Caught the Raptors game today ... They lost, but it didn't bother me too much ... The game became secondary after seeing Jessica Alba sitting front row ... man, do I wish I was at that game ... She's the reason why in high school, I stayed home on Sunday or Saturday afternoons to watch Flipper, ahhhhh the good 'ole days! ... Maybe yesterday she decided to give up on G-State and convert into a Raptors fan, then we'd see her at every game at the ACC, then J-Smooth would go broke purchasing front row season seats on a yearly basis, LOL ... Oh yeah, there was a game ... A nasty dunk from Jamario Moon! ... I'll admit, I knew nothing about this guy until this season, he looks like the real deal, he can shoot, dunk, run the floor, defend, rebound and block shots ... He adds that missing element of athleticism to the Raptors ... He says that he patterns his game after Scottie Pippen, wears the jersey number "33" as well ... If he develops into Scottie, he along with Ford and Bosh will be a lethal core for years ... getting back to the dunk, the fans in attendance weren't even on their feet for that one ... They get more excited seeing Bargnani shoot a three or the "3-finger chipmunk" raise his 3 fingers ... whatever ... Another point about the game, TJ Ford impressed Warriors coach Don Nelson, that he called him "the closest thing to Nash" ... Wow!, take that TJ-haters! ... well if TJ has all-star aspirations for this year, that's one coach down, 28 more to win over, as far as getting voted in ...

One,

- J -

Re-visiting The Roots

I'm sure you've all heard me plenty of times refer to B-Town as home ... But before there was B-Town, before there was J-Smooth, there was young J who grew up in the east end of Scarborough ... If B-Town is home, then Scarbourogh is definitely roots ... I was there today for a viewing ... Of course that didn't stop me from re-visiting some of the old spots ... But before I get to that, a little bit of history ... I actually lived in two parts of the city ... First, on Dawes Road, Second around the Scarborough-Markham border in the Alton Towers area, off of McCowan ... Like I do with most things in my life, I never regret anything, but I think of how different things could've been ... Well, for one thing, if I stayed in either area, I would've went to high school at Senator O'Connor or Francis Leiberman ... who knows how I would've turned out ... knowing how impressionable I was back then, and my need to want to fit in, I probably would've got caught up with the wrong crowd ... But I give full credit to my parents, while they never let material things dictate their happiness, they always strove for more, meaning to say "I'm happy and thankful for all I have in my life, but, do I want better?" ... to that, I'm forever grateful ...

Scarborough is a place that both myself and Arizona's Finest can claim roots ... Even though I lived out west, I was at Zona's place, if not every week, every other week ... I definitely miss those days ... I actually moved back there, in the summer of '02, for an 8 month period ... Boy, do I miss the convenience, everything you needed was literally outside your door ...

Today, I hit up the usual spots Scarborough Town Centre ... One thing of note was that I went to a store, which was my source for urban wear for a good price ... The store's named Ellicit, but the brands are not the same, no Ecko, no Phat Farm, no Enyce, no Timberland, I was just thinkin' WTF happened? ... Later, I was driving around looking for a place to eat, I passed by this plaza on Sheppard and Brimley, it was a Harvey's even before I lived in Scarborough, but now it's been converted into a Filipino restaurant, Jesse Jr., which turns out is a small franchise, with two locations so far ... I will give them their props, best commercial Filipino food I've had ... Ughhhh, free advertising ...

Do I miss Scarborough, Yes ... Would I still want to live there, No ... But the roots and good memories will always be there ...

One,

- J -

Happy Birthday Prophet

Happy Birthday to another long time friend of mine, Black Prophet ... He’s another person that I’ve been knowin’ since the third grade and I’ve been in classes with him from fourth grade all the way to second year university ... If I was asked to describe my friendship with him, I’d say segmented ... There were so many different chapters ... I met him through a mutual friend, Dumpling, his next door neighbour ... My first impressions of him, he was very opinionated, even back then, also he was always proud of being black and proud of his heritage ... Near the conclusion of fourth grade, Prophet, Anthro, Octal and I were headed to a new school together for some “higher” learning, at Newman in B-Town’s “borough”, Bramalea, where legends were born and memories immortalized, LOL ... Over the four years we spent there, Prophet and myself weren’t really that close ... I guess we didn’t mesh because of my immature sense of humour or my “I don’t give a F***” attitude ... There were some points where we wanted to kick each other’s a$$es ... But as fate would have it, he would be a part of my most memorable moment at that school, when I asked out this girl, who I’ll refer to as Genesis ... This moment catapulted my popularity stocks exponentially, ironically Prophet would refer to it as one of the most memorable moments of his life ... When we hit high school, again we really didn’t talk much at first, but one night after class we hung out with most of the Newman Boyz (Grimy Rugz, Prodigal, Chipy, Mype, Anthro, Prophet and myself) at Shopper’s World in B-Town, somehow Prophet and myself got split from the group, and the two of us were eating at the old food court ... That’s when we had our first real conversation, which was about events from our past ... That conversation is what I consider pivotal with regards to our friendship, a friendship which was to be filled with countless debates on various topics and endless analysis on events of days past, we became the best of friends for a couple years ... Great moments and memories: Sr. Band, music-a-thons “They call me U-S-H.E.R.” and the trips to New York City and Virginia Beach, rollin’ with “Harold” and his dramatic moments and personality, being superstar Mathletes (myself bein’ 4 points shy of the scoring title to finish 2nd overall, LOL), just to name a few ... I’d say we drifted, and Prophet would concur, with the formation of B-Town’s own “LC” and because I was spendin’ most of my time doin’ my own thing & chillin’ with a new group of friends, the old CPO crew ... Prophet buildin’ the dynasty and philosophy that was “LC” and myself developing and evolving into J-Smooth, which is its own intellectual property, something which shaped both of our lives and personalities as they are today ... We didn’t talk much at the conclusion of high school, but in my eyes, Prophet tried to stay neutral as possible, no matter what sh!t people were spittin’ about me ... From that point we didn’t chill at all, until this past summer reuniting with him along with Anthro and Octal ...

Prophet, one thing I credit you for is giving J-Smooth his swagger, you never lacked confidence in your abilities, and I guess it rubbed off ... The one thing that I see in my future, is you and I sitting on one of our backyard decks (with Anthro and Octal) BBQ'n, if it's at my crib, my Latina wifey servin' us some nice food, myself downing a Heineken and you still with a non-alcoholic beverage of some kind, still analyzing events of days past, looking at our lives in retrospect, by that time the Raptors will have become a dynasty in the NBA and you’ll still be finding reason to hate, however it seems that they've been growin' on you lately, LOL ... My advice to you is, something which I’ve learned from experience, that past is past and it’s never too late for anything ... Go out and make things happen for yourself, if there’s something you want, go get it ... Happy Birthday bro!

One,

- J -

What's up with J-Smooth?

-A death in my extended family, that makes two in the past 2.5 months ... I'm not gonna say anything cliche, "life's too short" or "you never know" ... But I know they're in good hands, in the care of the almighty, God the Father, Son Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit ...

-What's with this weather? I was sweatin' buckets today ...

-I'm trying to keep things simple with my life these days ... man am I gettin' old ...

-I'm still tryin' to get over this cough, that I caught last week ...

-For some reason, I've been put in circumstances where I'm sitting next to someone with incredible body odour or foul breath, over the past few days ... This one girl's breath was so bad, it's almost as if she farts out of her mouth ... Maybe I'm being punished for some reason ...

-4 weeks and I'm a free man for 3 ...

-Am I happy right now? This is actually the first moment that I've thought about it since ... I don't remember when ... Actually in a state of Purgatory right now ... Actually naw, I'm content ... Because if I was happy I'd be miserable ... If I was happy, I wouldn't have any motivation or feel like I have anything to work towards ...

One,

- J -

Music Album Review: Alicia Keys - As I Am

As promised about a month back, here's my take on Alicia Keys' 3rd (technically 4th, if you count Unplugged) album, As I Am ... Even though I think Alicia is fine as hell, I will put all personal feelings aside, to evaluate this album from a musical standpoint ...

First, I have to say that when it comes to any artist, after a platinum debut album, the sophomore album is to prove that the first wasn't a fluke ... The third album however will determine whether the artist has reached superstar status, meaning they will be able to go the rest of their career selling records on their name alone regardless if it's garbage, ala Jay-Z ...

As far as this album goes, I understand why Alicia released No One as her first single, it's clearly targeted to those "fans" ... the fans that would, for example, buy a Timbaland album for two party tracks ... I like No One by the way, but it's not a reason to buy an entire album ...

Alicia's second single off this album, Like you'll never see me, I think is horrible, from a technical standpoint, it's way too breathy, something that you'll notice in a few songs throughout the album, another example The thing about love ... It's almost as if Alicia is reaching back, but it's just not there, in those tracks at least ... One could draw the conclusion based on those two tracks that her voice is going on her ...

Superwoman is a nice track though ... some elements of the song are reminiscent of her re-make of People get ready on the Glory Road soundtrack ... Superwoman will definitely appeal to the young women ...

Where do we go from love is probably the track where Alicia pushes her vocals the most ... Although I personally do not like the song ...

My favourite track on the album is definitely Lesson Learned ... It is more Aliciaesque ... The musical track combines elements of R&B, soul and a touch of Jazz ... It's smooth ... It's good vocally, Alicia's tone is clear ... At the 2:11 mark, "life perfect, ain't perfect if you don't know what the struggle's for" ... nice! ... She's got some other nice lyrics, like in Sure looks good to me at the 2:22 mark ...

Overall, the album was good ... However, in comparison to The Diary of Alicia Keys, it comes a bit short ... But, if I'm comparing it to the crap that Fergie, Britney Spears and Rihanna have released over the past couple of years, Alicia is still on a level all on her own ... Sure does say a lot about the state of music, if a sub-par Alicia would still blow away the rest of the field ...

I considered Diary a 4/5 album, thus I'll give As I Am a 3.75/5, this album was probably enough to propel Alicia to "superstar" status ...

One,

- J -

Cotto UD's Mosley in a 12 Round Masterpiece!

Incredible fight! ... That is definitely up there among the best fights of the year ... Two even fighters, took each others best shots, and shots landed dead even when all was set and done ... Even though there was no knockout, it was still an awesome fight, because both were taking shots that would've floored a regular man ... Cotto seemed to be running in the last round, but it didn't take away from the fight at all ... At different parts of the fight it looked as if Cotto was in trouble ... I will say this, if Cotto fought Mosley, while Shane was in his prime, this would've been an entirely different result ... Shane wins that fight by knockout ... So what's next? ... For Cotto, I'm sure the media and fans will be calling for the winner of Mayweather-Hatton ... But even if Mayweather wins as expected, I fully expect him to duck Miguel Cotto ... P**** Boy Floyd doesn't want to fight anyone legit ... Thus, Cotto's next best option would probably be Oscar De La Hoya, which would be another big money fight ... Other options: Antonio Margarito, who scored a dominating 1st round knockout over Golden Johnson tonight; or the winner of the Paul Williams-Kermit Cintron WBO-IBF unification bout ... Shane Mosley on the other hand has nothing to be ashamed of, this fight could've been scored either way, he pressured Cotto at various points in the fight ... But, this definitely puts the nail in the coffin to a possible Mosley-Mayweather bout ... But in defeat, he was 100% class ... Every one talks about a fight that could "save boxing" ... judging from the fights we've had this year, boxing doesn't need to be nor did it ever need to be saved.

One,

- J -

"G8 Summit"; Places I'd like to go

The Newman Dynasty (Mype, Chipy, Octal, Prophet, Anthro and myself, our version of the G8 Summit) hooked up last night for dinner ... Short and Simple, Good Food, Good Company, Good Times ...

One of the topics thrown out rhetorically was where people have been and where people would like to go in the world ...

so here's my list as far as where I'd like to go ...

1) Hawaii - makes no sense because I'm not a fan of extremely warm weather ... but, I've been told that it's a completely different way of life out there ... That's one of the things I look for when I go on vacation ... Experiencing different lifestyles, always leaves me with a fresh new perspective on life, not just looking at things one way, ie. the hustle of Toronto life ... As far as Hawaii goes, I've always been intrigued with their culture and their scenery ... It wouldn't be that much of a culture shock though, because a good percentage of the population is Filipino, LOL ...

2) Miami - I have to see what all the fuss is about ...

3) Australia - A neighbour of the Philippines, I've heard nothing but good things about it ... When I was in the Philippines last Christmas, I met a couple of Filipinos that were residents of Australia, with the accent and all ... It would also be cool to see live kangaroos and koalas, LOL, don't ask ...

4) Japan - A country with a lot of history, and highly advanced in technology ... I'm real anxious to see the Hiroshima museum/exhibit they have there ...

5) Russia - I've been learning about the history of Christianity and I'd like to go visit the Church they have there ... I forget the name, but that church has so much history to it ... It was built, then destroyed after Stalin took power, then re-built ... I also want to get me one of them Russian hats ...

6) The Caribbean - I'd probably do this on a cruise and experience a few of the Islands, I don't want to limit myself to just one ... Cuba is one that I'd like to see, The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico ...

7) Brazil - you would've had to of been at dinner last night to have my reasons for this ...

8) Europe - I've always said that I could live the rest of my life without seeing Europe, that still holds true today ... However, I wouldn't mind seeing it ... Some cities, moreso than others ... I definitely couldn't do the "backpacking" thing, It'd probably have to be a travel package ...

I think that's just about it ...

One,

- J -

2nd blog for today - Raptor related

Great move by Sam Mitchell, replacing Bargnani with Nesterovic in the starting lineup ... Makes sense, Bosh and Bargnani are both scorers, meaning they both need their shots to be effective ... Ford has better chemistry with Nesterovic anyways, add that to the chemistry he has with Kapono and Bosh, which means more chemistry ... Now if they can find some way to replace Parker in the starting lineup ...

These stupid Raptor message boards and forums were already calling out for Bosh's head after his slow start this season ... Ford and Bosh are far and away the most talented players on the team, yet they are the most hated on ... But on the flip side, Calderon and Bargnani catch no hate at all ... hmmmm, I wonder why?

One,

- J -

What a difference a suit makes

I was dressed in a business suit yesterday and walking through the underground PATH we have here in T.O. ... Then I get to a hotel, which shall remain nameless ... I noticed that they had computers set up, like an internet cafe, in the lobby ... So I'm like, cool, I'll go surf to kill some time ... This female hotel worker comes by, I was on Facebook, so I quickly switched over to CNN news, the business section ...

Worker: "good morning sir"
J-Smooth: (acting like I'm an out-of-town business man) "good morning, your Canadian dollar is like a locamotive, there seems to be no stopping it ... quite remarkable"
Worker: "yes, it is unbelievable"

LOL

But then I'm like, damn!, "sir" ... What was funny was that some brown guy, I estimate around my age, he's sportin' an enyce hoodie and jeans, sits down at another terminal ... another hotel worker, this time male, comes by and asks him, if he's a guest in the hotel, the dude says no, thus he was asked to vacate the terminal ... wow! ... then, this hotel worker looked over at me and didn't say a word ...

After a half an hour of surfing, I went on my way ... As I was walking up the street, who do I see about a block away, headed in my direction ... T.O.'s mayor ... A few people walked by him, but he didn't say anything to them, so I figure he's just minding his own business ... Then when he sees me,

Mayor: "Good morning sir, have a good day"
J-Smooth: (nodded) "you too, have a good one"

I looked around, there was nobody near me, so he was definitely talking to me ... What I was actually planning today was to dress up as "hood" as possible and do the same things I did yesterday, see if I get the same responses, I'd be willing to bet money that I wouldn't ...

Just proves my point that you are judged on your appearance ...

Elsewhere, some random shots:

-damn Raptors, damn Sam Mitchell, WTF is TJ Ford doing sitting on the bench with the Raptors down and less than 6 minutes left in the game ... I'm glad to see Chris Bosh come back to form somewhat last night ...

-the "band" is back together tomorrow night, myself, Anthro, Prophet, Mype, Chipy, Octal (it's about time, it's been too long) and maybe Garneteye ... I'm hardly surprised that Prodigal rejected the invitation, with an excuse that I'm not buying, but I guess that's his choice, whatever ...

One,

- J -

Currently Annoyed With ...

As follows:

-people that go to work, school or out period when they're sick, not being considerate of people that don't want to get sick ...
-a system, based on bullsh!t distributions and policies ...
-brownnosers ...
-people that are so damn fat, that they take up both sides goin' up an escalator ...
-people with body odour ...
-people that don't know how to f*ckin' drive ...
-panhandlers ...
-monotony ...
-people that think they can pull a fast one on me, with backdoor dealings ...
-Toronto sports stations (TV and Radio) and their non-stop hockey coverage ...
-radio stations with repetitive playlists
-people that front (women in particular)

There's more, but that's all that I can recall at the moment

One,

- J -

Random Shots

I'm killin' time right now, so I'd figure I'd blog, since I definitely wont have time later tonight

-The TTC's new prices took effect today ... The fare for one ride remained the same, but it's now $11.25 for 5 tokens/tickets, up from $10.50 ... With our dollar at a high right now, that's robbery! LOL ... I find that the TTC has always cried poor over the years, but yet, they managed to open a new line (the Sheppard line) and still manage to pay their drivers (trains and buses) pretty well ... I mean, I don't know the exact figure, but their salaries are somewhere between 50-60,000 annually ... That is more than the starting salary at a lot of office jobs ... No disrespect to the TTC employees, but after their strikes and threats to strike over the years, my question is, what do they have to complain about? ... Same goes for postal workers ...

-for some reason, this brings to mind a conversation with Prophet and Anthro about a parking lot attendant Saturday night ... We were driving around looking for a parking spot near the lounge, the street parking was taken up ... But there was this dude, that looked like he was homeless, standing in front of a vacant lot next to a warehouse ... The guy charged us $10 for parking ...

J-Smooth: "$10, that's robbery ... can you imagine, if he's just some homeless dude, just standing there, taking our money"
Prophet: "The owner of the warehouse just probably decided to pay this guy to do that"
J-Smooth: "There's no way in hell I'm standing out in the cold all night to do that"
Anthro: "leave him alone, he's an enterpreneur"
J-Smooth: "It's funny how in high school, on career day, they don't have a booth there for parking lot attendant"
Prophet: "You're a real class act, J"

LMFAO ... But everyone has to make a buck somehow, right? ...

-So, Canada is contemplating introducing a $5 coin and a $200 bill ... While we're at it, why not come out with a $10 and $20 coin ... Hell, my pockets are heavy enough as it is, my decreased waistline and the heavyweight Canadian dollar (feels like an anchor, LOL) have my pants falling to my ankles ...

-speaking of the dollar, something funny ... On a recent news broadcast on CNN, someone was talking about America's neighbours to the north and our dollar kicking their butts, they finished off by saying "come on neighbours, be nice" ...

-So there's a Hollywood strike among the writers ... Who f****** cares? ... Best case scenario (an extreme one at that), no writers, no movies, no overpaid Hollywood stars, then they find out what it's actually like to budget money, but knowing that most of them have the IQ of a grapefruit, they'd probably be filing for bankruptcy within a couple months ... Realistically, this strike will be resolved ...

-Studies say, Alcohol and Energy Drinks are a bad combination ... Duh! ... People needed a study to tell them this?! ... A depressant + A stimulant = bad combination ... But I guess not everyone pays attention in health class ...

-I'm trying to formulate a thesis, on whether mental states and physical processes are distinct, or whether mental states are in fact physical processes ... If I was still in high school, I would've had the energy to actually care, LOL ...

-I saw a preview of The Price is Right the other day, Bob Barker is gone, I'm probably the last one to find that out ... It just doesn't seem right to have the show without Barker, the two are synonomous with each other ... But the show survived without Rod Roddy, life will go on without Barker ...

-North Korea, is shutting down (to some degree, from what I understand) their Nuclear program ... What I don't understand is why only countries like Russia and The United States are allowed to have nuclear weapons ... hypocracy! ...

-With Christmas just around the corner, the holiday shoppers are in full force ... My Christmas shopping strategy, know exactly what I want to get for everyone (with a backup in mind), then go and pick it all up in the same day, my Christmas shopping takes no longer than an hour total, that includes lineups ... This is a better alternative as opposed to walking around malls for hours looking ... My mother is probably the toughest to shop for, that's the frustrating part for me every year ... But luckily she's hinted at what she wants this year ... Now it's just a matter of finding the time to shop ...

-Studies show that a lack of sleep may lead to childhood obesity ... I'm not an expert or anything, I thought it was caused by overeating ... so for you dumba$$ parents out there, stop over-feeding your damn kids ... Here's a groundbreaking idea that I've taken from past studies in nutrition, a normal food intake = a normal body weight ... This study was probably done by fat people, trying to make excuses for themselves ... I experienced this first hand when I volunteered for Big Brothers ... the child who I was responsible for was an 11-year-old and he weighed close to 250 lbs ... He was a good kid so I'm not knocking him, but I would think that his parents would've clued in and said at some point that this was unhealthy ... I mean 250 at 11, give it 2-3 years, he'd be ready for WWE ... I felt bad because his parents really didn't find it as too much cause for concern ...

-For any of you astronomy buffs, there's a big fuss right now about Comet Holmes, apparently it's visible to the naked eye ... I'm more interested in the idea of life on other planets ... Regarding spatial objects, sure they're cool to see, but that's pretty much it for me ... Unless, those spatial objects are headed on a collision course with Earth, I'm not overly concerned with them ... If that scenario, God forbid, played out that there was a comet or asteroid headed towards us, that would really suck ... That would mean no more Raptor games or Pacquiao fights, LMFAO ...

-On the topic of the Raptors, what an awesome ball game yesterday between them and Celtics ... TJ Ford has some major league ONIONS, LOL, the dude is clutch, he silenced the haters (who actually have a brain) for at least one night ... I've said it before, aside from Nash, there are no other PG's in the league that would be able to tally double-digits in assists and at the same time averaging less than 30 Minutes Per Game ... TJ is a threat for 30 points or 20 assists on any given night ... The only two young point guards in the league that are better than him at this point are Chris Paul and Deron Williams ... Back to the game, Ray Allen was sticking jumpers all day long ... You'd think that his defender, Anthony Parker, would be sticking to him like giz, and not leave him open for one second, but that's just my opinion ...

-So Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley is regretting his decision to let Jason Kapono walk ... Well if he's wants him back, he can give us Dwyane Wade in return and we can call it even ...

-Cotto-Mosley this coming Saturday, FINALLY, I've been waiting for this fight all summer ...

One,

- J -

Happy Birthday Anthro

It’s time to send my birthday greetings and best wishes to a long time friend of mine, Anthro ... Here are a few words ... actually, I have plenty of words, this is Anthro I’m talkin’ about ... A few things I’ve already discussed with him recently, a few maybe not ... I first met Anthro in 3rd grade, we lived on the same street, the legendary Brookfield Court, where many great sports battles took place ... On a side note, I said it first on Facebook and then I reneged on it in person, but I’ll acknowledge it now, and it bruises my ego to say this, Anthro was/is the best all-round athlete from that street, PERIOD ... I don’t mind staking claim to second, he proved his skills in a one-on-one game in ball with me about a month back ... Even though, we lived on the same street, we really didn’t talk until the fourth grade, when we were put in the same class ... The thing which I quickly learned about him was that he was never short on stories ... One of the first things he ever told me was how his dog was eaten by a whale in Newfoundland, leaving Octal and myself with dumbfounded looks on our faces, LOL ... We share the same heritage, Pinoys and damn proud of it, we went to four different schools together, at every level, spanning from elementary all the way to university ... Now how many of you can say that you have a friend that you share that much history with? ... I’ll always remember the day that Anthro called me into his beat up blue van and pulled out his secret collection of Porn (magazine clippings in a brown grocery paper bag), LOL ... As for my favourite memories of Anthro, 2 things ... First were the pranks (from high school, when we ordered a taxi for these a$$holes across the street, when Anthro prank-called someone with the “Is your refrigerator is running?, well you better chase after it” joke or when he phoned a strip bar and got his mack on with the strippers, then gettin’ punked by the bouncer) ... Second were the times I hung out with him this past summer (Octal’s bachelor weekend which is when the legend of Anthro was born, and clubbin’ at the end of summer with him, Prophet and Dumpling) ... Ahhh, those moments, priceless! ... Another thing Anthro is good for is quotes, let me see if I remember correctly “Dai Go!”, “Toneee!”, “Look at the rotation”, or whenever he plays football “Ahhh yeah,_________ (fill in the blank with the name of a famous quarterback)” ... His most recent, regarding 18 year old girls, “they’re on a journey of discovery, I’m just here to help them find their way”, LMFAO ... The thing I respected the most about Anthro was that he always managed to be himself, always kept it real, and didn’t change for anyone, I can’t say that about too many people, including myself ...

Last night, I was out at a lounge with Anthro for his birthday, we kicked it with Prophet, Chipy and the Brookfield Boyz ... Again, he wasn’t short on stories, quotes and on this night “revelations”, so much so, he had Prophet and myself literally bustin’ a gut laughin’ all night ... And what otherwise would’ve been a sub-par night by my standards, Anthro simply bein’ Anthro easily made up for it ... Last night definitely adds another chapter to the legacy and further solidifies the legend that is Anthro, LOL ...

Anthro, I know you’ve got your goals in mind, keep persisting, it’ll take you a long way ... When you do make a success out of yourself, I better be riding shotgun in whatever high end vehicle you’re driving in the future (A Porsche or a Benz, or hell, even a Range Rover), we’ll pull up to a club or lounge in your ride, then “we goin’ get, all the b!tches!” LMFAO ... If you ever manage to corral a group of cuties or hoodrats, never hesitate to shout J-Smooth for a wingman ... Happy Birthday bro, enjoy your day!

One,

- J -

Hometown Visit; Newman; Unfinished Business

I was chillin' in the "hometown" with Mype yesterday, hit up the spots, Sonny's and Raxx ... Finally, a little bit of down time from my hectic schedule, Mype said the same thing ... It was cool, two members of the Newman Boyz, in similar situations, downin' a couple beers & shootin' pool ... Mype and I never really hung out much, aside from school, back in the day, but like with most of the Newman Boyz, we all just share a mutual respect because we all did time together and we're all pretty much easy to get along with ... what's unique about the group of us, is that we all come from different backgrounds, we all have our own circle of friends (I've got mine, Anthro has his boys, Prophet has his crew, Octal, Mype, Garneteye and so on and so forth), everyone's just got their own unique style ... just from looking at all of us on the street, you wouldn't even think we would all be friends, but when we all come together, we get along fine, I liken it to the G8 Summit, a gathering of the minds to address the state of the world, LOL ... ahhh multiculturalism at its best, you gotta love it, LOL ... I'm all for socializing and meeting new and different people, but the one thing that I can say about all the boyz from Newman is that I never have to worry about them crossin' me, or doin' me wrong, so trust is never an issue, I can't say the same about people I've met over the past 5 years ... Despite all the knocks from outsiders on the hometown, it's still home ...

In a past blog, I talked about some unfinished busuiness ... Well to shed some light on that, it's two-fold ... The part which I'll talk about now, is a battle, which comes to a head on Wednesday ... the best analogy to describe the current situation is being a boxer ... Option A, I could take an easier fight, guaranteed money deal, however significantly small or Option B take the risk, take a big-money fight against an established fighter, but the catch is that I only see a large percentage of the purse if I win the fight, therefore, no guaranteed money ... In one corner, you have this established fighter, a big draw, with a reputation for dirty tactics in the ring and issues out of the ring, as far as in ring ability, the fighter is a giant, a knockout artist, known thoughout his career for having huge punches, but nothing else, only fights one way and that's looking for a knockout, with the perception in their mind pleasing the fans ... In the other corner, a young and talented fighter, with all the tools, power, speed, great defense, toughest chin in the game and can adjust to any style fighter ... The latter fighter was undefeated, until the last fight, where he was on the losing end of a controversial split decision ... It was clear, to all observers that he had the fight won, in addition there was even evidence of corruption with the judges ... Now this upcoming fight, the result will be way different ... Critics and Experts have the young fighter as a heavy underdog against the established fighter, however, fan support is clearly with the young fighter ... My take, there are only two possible results ... One, the established figher can only win by decision, because there's no way in hell the young fighter can get knocked out, he knows the established fighter's game up and down, the established fighter's punches have lost sting over the years ... Two, the young fighter turns this into a boxing match, establishing the jab, dancing circles around the established fighter, frustrating him and tiring him out, when the opening comes, land a devestating uppercut or hook to floor him ... The young fighter would score the knockout victory, the established fighter would continue with his career, however would have a blemish under the loss column ... In my corner, I have a high-priced, well established trainer and of course my entourage ... So it comes down to Wednesday, it'll be the start of a yet TBD number of rounds of boxing ... However, in my eyes, no matter the result, I've won this fight already, because I don't plan on taking any dives or running throughout the fight ... No matter if this fight ends up in my win or loss column, history will show that I confronted this established fighter head on, no fear, and never backed down ...

One,

- J -

Opening Night Raptor First Impressions

Yeah 1-0! ... A win is a win, but there is no way the Raptors should've coughed up a 22-point lead to the re-building Sixers ... I'm feelin' this new +/- stat that NBA boxscores include now ... TJ Ford, with a team high +24, to along with his 14 points, game high 12 dimes, 2 steals and only 1 turnover, for an Assist to Turnover ratio of 12:1, the only thing he didn't do right was nail his jumper in the early going, but he made them when they counted down the stretch ... Meanwhile, his backup Calderon, was trigger-happy in the early portions of the game and finished with only 4 assists, LOL, so much for a pass-first point guard, finally his +/- was a -13, one off the team low, LMFAO, take that all you Jose-d!ckr!ders !!! ... Chris Bosh, had a sub-par night, Head Coach Sam Mitchell admitted that Bosh was "gased" ... But, that's Bosh's tendancy, after coming back from an injury or long layoff, he's usually rusty ... His performance last night already has the Internet Raptor Forums calling for Andrea Bargnani to be the number one scoring option ... Ughhhh, stupid Toronto fans!, this is exactly what I was talking about the other day ... Bosh will be fine, he's good for double-double averages in points and boards this year ...

While I was watching the game, I got a phone call from Anthro, he himself watching the game with his crew, Chipy and 'Skrat ... He was biggin' up Bargnani, my response was, "so what" ... Then I hear in the background from Chipy, "racist!", LMFAO ... This isn't the first time he come at me with that garbage, LOL ... So what?, if I don't like white players, I'm somehow a racist? ... Me and Chipy are cool though, it's all harmless, nothing personal, but I'll address this a little bit ... Yes, I'm a fan of Bosh and Ford, BUT, I also like Jason Kapono (who was solid last night, hitting jumpers when he needed to, only missing one shot) and Rasho Nesterovic (a big body, and a player that understands his role) ... Bargnani had a nice game last night, I'll give him that ... My problem with him is that Toronto fans expect him to be a great player in the league, and some are already inducting him into the Hall of Fame ... Bargnani is a big man that can shoot the jumper and score, he also has a decent quicks and handles for a 7-footer, but his defence and rebounding are horrible ... With the Raptors playing him at center, his deficiencies on D and on the glass will negate his scoring, because he'll likely give up just as many points ... He reminds me of a player from back in the day, Toni Kukoc, a gifted scorer that couldn't defend and rebound ... Nothing wrong with that, nor do I have anything against Bargnani and Kukoc, but neither are premiere players in the league ... Bargnani is a nice piece, but he will never be THE guy ... back to the racism issue, let me flip the script, if Andrea Bargnani was "Andrew Bigsby", a black player, with the exact same basketball skillset (picture a 7-foot Glen Rice), would Chipy, or Toronto's supposed ball fans for that matter, be supporting him the same way? ... They all would be lying through their teeth if they said yes ... One of my boys reads my blog and talks to Chipy frequently, so he can report my rebuttal to him ... It's all good though, no beef, LOL, simply agreeing to disagree ...

Overall, there was nothing spectacular about yesterday's game, but again, a win is a win ... This is just one step towards winning my bet with Arizona's Finest (yeah, I'm shoutin' you little brother!, much love) ... The real tests are coming up on Friday (versus the New Jersey Nets) and Sunday (against the Boston Celtics) ...

One,

- J -