"Thanks for stopping by. How to describe myself?
Smooth. O-Pinoy-nated.
Nostalgiaholic. Just like my entries, somewhat comical, slightly controversial, but always keeping it real."
What’s good everyone? ... been kinda aloof with this blogging ish over the past little bit ... but, it’ll probably be like that for the foreseeable future ... but let’s get to it ...
-Illmatic is what’s playing in my car at the moment and it's given me a New York State of Mind
-safe travels to Prophet and Anthro, whom are both at my motherland as we speak ...
-last I kicked it with Prophet before he left for his trip ... got our Sonny’s fix, of course ... and talked about a bunch of things, of course ... one subject was music ... both his readership and that of myself, know that we both like to write spits (framed by existing songs, but spun with our own original material) ... he mentioned that back in high school that his crew LC and himself used to write spits during class and that they wanted to put together enough songs to have a full length album ... something which I’ve been doing myself over the past year ... I started writing spits back in 2004, not from other songs, my own original stuff, but nothing serious ... it would be cool if LC and J-Smooth both managed to complete full albums, would be B-Town’s version of 36 Chambers and Illmatic, LMFAO ... earlier last night, we briefly met up with Prophet’s LC running mate, Slinks, and I pitched the idea of a collabo with him ... we’ll just have to wait and see ...
-didn’t catch the Bernard Hopkins – Kelly Pavlik fight live last Saturday, but sat down and watched the replay on TSN ... I gotta hand it to B-Hop, definitely silenced all of his critics (myself included) ... he managed to turn back the clock and hand Pavlik his first loss ... where do they go from here ... well, first off I’m hoping for Hopkins to get a re-match with Roy Jones Jr., but Jones will have to beat Joe Calzaghe for that to happen ... after that, B-Hop should call it a career ... Pavlik on the other hand should stick at middleweight, and try to unify the two remaining championships (WBA and IBF) to his WBC and WBO titles ...
-I’ve actually been following the World Series ... I don’t want to say “yeah, I called the Phillies from time”, but I did mention it in passing to my dad before the season started that the Phillies had a nice team, two MVP’s (Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins) plus our old Toronto Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick running the show ... congrats to the Phillies ... I said it before, when Paul Beeston and Gillick left, Toronto’s brain, as far as baseball goes, went with them ...
-the NBA season is finally underway ... let’s just say, for me, it started with a thud ... everything that could’ve gone wrong, did ... my Trail Blazers fell to the Lakers and fell hard, I’m starting to think Greg Oden is cursed, he’s got the worst luck ... in addition to that, the Craptors won their first game ... I bet all the idiot Craptor fans are planning the parade route for this June ... there’s only gonna be one parade this summer in Toronto, and I won’t be attending that one, because I don’t wear leather pants, plaid or pink ...
-I’ve added something along the left-hand column of my blog ... the standings of my NBA fantasy league, most of those names I’m sure my readership will recognize ... as far as my place right now, I’m not worried in the least bit, but it would sure be nice to get Deron Williams back as soon as possible ... A’yo Octal, keep that seat at the top warm for me, I’ll be back to claim it soon enough ...
First order of business ... I wanna wish a Happy Birthday to my little brother Arizona’s Finest ... I know things may seem “rough” right now, but just a few words of advice based on experience, just try to maintain some sense of perspective, because in a few years things will not be as big as they seem right now ... two things: 1) breathe 2) keep your head up ... Wish I could kick it with you on your birthday, but since I can’t, just promise that you’ll take time out today for yourself, much deserved ... I’ll check you sometime in ’09, I’m proud of you brother, much love ...
And now, the long overdue, long awaited, 3rd spit from yours truly, like Esco says, “never on schedule, but always on time” ... two things ... 1) here’s the video for reference ...
2) some Tagalog (Filipino) translations, rough-pronunciations for you non-speakers ... in the song, Tagalog will be indicated in Italics ... yeah that's right, I flipped Spanish to Tagalog, J's got skills ...
Line 2: This is it/Here it is
Chorus: Talk is harsh Because there’s a lot of stupid/ignorant people You all didn’t like what I said But just speakin’ the truth
Verse 1, Line 1: (Pin-oy saa poo-so, yoo-n see-goo-ro) Pinoy to the heart, that’s for sure Verse 1, Line 2: (Oo-lo) Head Verse 2, last line: (Kaa-yo aa-ng taa-lo) You all lost
And without further ado ...
100% Pinoy [“100%” – from Big Pun’s YeeeahBaby Album]
Ooooooooooohhhhh ... Fili-pino
Ito na
[Chorus] ‘Sama’ng salita Maraming tanga kasi ‘Di n’yo gusto ang aking sinabe Pero tutoo itong salita And J don’t stop Y’all gon’ be forced to take it Y’all b*tches can keep on hatin’ J’s still standin’ up on top
Pinoy sa puso, yun siguro shoot lead from my lungs right at yo’ Ulo, you know, I ain’t even got a gun You numb, off my spits like morphine, lyrics formulating Gators string’d across the chest, Titty BLING! My rhymes they shine like money, dirt’ south they gritty Holdin’ down my town, yeah B-Town my city Reppin’ proud, talk loud, this my crown can’t kill me Match up pound-fo’-pound, fifteen rounds melee Get smacked silly, for frontin’ at the club J’s known for choppin’ jubbs at cougar spots to the Rub-n-Tugs What matters, rats exposed through the chatter Master plots hatch, Fil-Cans sellin’ them souls to the man That’s a fact, they be like 5-0 Make J wan’ go out and rumble, and lay some Manny Pacquiao jabs on you Thought beefs was done, but now a Judas plottin’, cockin’ his gun Concealin’ but I see it, “What the f*ck you thinkin’ son?”
[Chorus]
From Brampt-on to The Quez-on, I’m a Don Juan, been all along Pimp strong, get the freakin’ on B*tch let the liquor fuel you, then I’ll give it to you Verbal shots to the heart, the twisted thoughts confuse you Eyes rollin’ at the Fobby, Uncle Toms sound r*tarded like watchin’ some dumb white b*tches at a party They down Bacardi like some next man’s c*m Red Horse that’s my sh*t yo – lace it with Filipino rum Now that’s hardcore, two sips you hit the floor Few years cr*ckers gon’ be on these Philly brown balls Been gunned at since day one, Re-tal-iation Time I take them, and smoke them like they blunts You feel me? I’m like Big “P”, Nas, Prince Rakeem all balled up nice like hooks from Alicia Keys Recognize me, I’m the one that’s talkin’ what’s real yo J-Smooth lives on while kayo ang talo
In connection to the commencement of the NBA Season, yours truly participated in a draft of his own ... Yahoo Fantasy Sports NBA Basketball ... In this league I’m joined by close friends and family, namely: Octal, Prophet, Zona, Juddimac, Carteron, Anthro’s little bro Mags and Octal’s bro-in-law ... Now I’ve participated in these leagues before and they’re fun because it allows you to compete with friends with one aspect of your NBA knowledge (statistical categories) ... I’ve had moderate success in years past, but one thing that irked me was missing out on particular players that I wanted for my squad ... But this year couldn’t have turned out any better as I got every player I wanted who was available during each round of the draft ... I’m so pleased with my roster that I only see two players on other teams (who shall remain nameless, as it may hinder trade negotiations) that I would be willing to part with core players for ... but regardless, I could realistically envision a scenario where I stick with my current roster as it stands for the duration of the season ... I ended up with the sixth pick (of eight) overall, which wasn’t a bad position in its own right, because of the draft order reversal in successive rounds, but I was all but sure I’d be missing out on a handful of elite players ... As for my squad breakdown, it goes as follows by round:
1)Dwight Howard – I was pleasantly surprised to see him drop past the top five picks ... his low Yahoo pre-draft ranking may have played a role in this, but regardless, I picked him without hesitation ... had I been in a position as high as the third pick, I would’ve taken him ... this was a great start because from a categorical standpoint D12 covers: points, boards, FG% and blocks ... if he continues to slightly improve his FT%, as I was noticing in last year’s playoffs, he’ll definitely be my franchise this year ...
2)Deron Williams – This was easy as well, as he is among the league leaders in assists ... I was debating between himself and Dwyane Wade, but the assists were the compelling factor in my selection ...
3)Andre Iguodala – Another guy who covers a wide range of categories, because he’s the go-to-guy on his respective team ... points, steals, 3PTM and for his position he’s money for assists and rebounds ... his versatility was also a plus, because I’m able to play him at guard or forward positions ...
4)Brandon Roy & 5)LaMarcus Aldridge – in a term coined by Prophet, “sentimental picks” ... but I beg to differ ... the first three rounds of the draft are literally no-brainers, it’s pretty hard to mess up those picks, unless your name is Carteron, LMFAO ... but the mid-to-later rounds are where the league is won ... in the mid rounds I tend to lean towards young established players that I feel still have room for growth ... this was easy because I had to look no further than my real life squad the Portland Trail Blazers ... both Roy and LA cover my points nicely and their averages should only increase this year because they are option 1 and 1A on their team ... Roy gives me assists and rebounds from the 2 guard position, while I get more rebounds and blocks from LA ... if they both improve upon their already decent FT%, that’ll only help my squad further ...
6)Hedo Turkoglu – he had a career season last year in almost every major statistical category ... I’m hoping for much of the same this year, in particular 3PTM ...
7)Samuel Dalembert – a rebound and block machine ... shoots a pretty good FT% as well for a big man ...
8)Ray Allen – clearly on the downside of his career, but from a fantasy perspective his 3PTM and FT% are money ...
9)Tracy McGrady – “sentimental pick”, how so? ... especially at this stage in the draft, low risk, high potential reward ... it’s no secret he has his health issues, but when healthy, he’s a 20ppg scorer who fills other stats as well ...
10)Tyson Chandler – only adds more rebounds and blocks to my team ...
11)TJ Ford & 12)Charlie Villanueva – now these are “sentimental picks” ... two players whom Bryan Colangelo IMO ignorantly traded away, two major reasons for my jumping ship off the Craptors wagon ... TJ will be “the man” on the Pacers this year at the lead guard position, thus this translates in starters minutes, and hopefully inflated stats ... CV on the other hand, was fighting for minutes on the Bucks last year, sometimes barely seeing the court ... but with Yi traded to New Jersey, CV is now the starter and will see consistent minutes ... in spurts he can put up points and pull down boards like a mad man ...
13)Tayshaun Prince – a player I absolutely love in real life, but from a fantasy perspective doesn’t contribute much to your squad ... but I took him for his blocks, steals and rebounds from his position ...
Well there you have it ... a draft I was more than happy with and a squad I’m proud of ... every now and then I’ll provide my readership with updates and my insights on the happenings in the league ... Commissioner Smooth wishes his competition the best of luck, because they’re all gonna need it ...
Just briefly wanted to wish my readership, especially my close friends and family, a Happy Thanksgiving ... I love this time of year, 'cause it officially kicks off the Holiday season and leads right up to Christmas and New Years ... I'll be spending my Thanksgiving in Woodbridge today with familia, obviously ... should be good, will probably get in a few games of ping pong, pool and NBA on PS3 ... In addition familia parties always have good food ... the only thing that I think is the most over-rated is Turkey ... now I've tasted it prepared by many different people, of different races, different recipes over the years ... but no matter how it's prepared it's still the same old dry, tasteless meat ... I usually prefer the roast beef or roast chicken on the table ... hmmmm, what am I most thankful for this year? ... my health, perspective, a great year of sports and God Almighty for keepin' me tested this year ...
I can’t believe I forgot about this track ... a collabo of NYC’s finest: Big Pun, Jadakiss, Raekwon, Fat Joe and of course Escobar aka Nasty Nas ... 4/5 of NYC’s boroughs are accounted for: Uptown (Bronx), QB (Queens), Brooklyn and Staten Island ...
Seems like my American readership has dissipated somewhat over the past couple months ... the URL address change and fewer entries may have something to do with that ... so let me reach out to find those readers again, in an attempt to up my American hits, LOL ... how to start? ... I guess go back to my original formula ...well ... what are the current buzz words? ... OK here we go ...
-U.S. Presidential Elections, Barack Obama, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Joe Biden ... I must be the only person in North America not paying attention to any word that any of the aforementioned candidates are saying ... people should already know my stance on politicians, and how I don’t buy into anything they say, and I vote based on personality and charisma, period ... my parents, on the other hand, had their eyes and ears glued to the Presidential and VP debates, and their TV is set on one channel alone, CNN ... If I had a vote, which I don’t, I’d go with Obama/Biden, without any hesitation ... but Sarah Palin, now there’s someone who’s been hit hard by critics, like I said, I haven’t been paying much attention, but here’s a thought ...
“There’s nothing in this world sexier ... than a woman that you have to salute in the morning.” -Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessep), A Few Good Men
-more buzz words, world market meltdown, financial crisis, Wall Street bailout, Black Friday ... markets crashing, huh? ... is this what life’s become about, worrying about money? ... seems to me like, “meaning” and more so perspective, have been lost ... f*ck, why do those corporate suits get a “bailout”, where’s J’s “bailout” ... I’m not asking for money to go crazy and spend ... how ‘bout this, someone put $10M into my bank account and I’ll live off a modest 1% interest ... that would allow me the freedom to do more travelling and devote my time to a double career of blogging and fantasy sports ... “keep dreaming J” ...
-sticking to this “financial crisis”, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking for a bailout for his state ... LOL, The Terminator’s broke ... my fave Arnold quote of all-time ...
“I believe gay marriages should be between a man and a woman.”
-well, at least gas prices are down ...
-onto Canada ... our elections are this coming Tuesday ... I got a call from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s party ... “Sir the last time we contacted you, you indicated that you were undecided, are you still undecided?, or can we count on your vote for the upcoming election?” ... my response, “yeah right!” ... our economy is going into the crapper and I just heard that the debt from the Afghanistan war is in the billions ... what are our troops still doing there anyways? ... If the federal spies are reading this entry, I ain’t voting Conservative, EVER! ...
-anyone been to Wal-Mart lately?, or should I say Wal-Mart Superstore ... they’ve got groceries now ... damn, how many competitors are they trying to KO? ... I’m not going to be a hypocrite and knock Wal-Mart, because I shop there too, they’ve got the lower prices, and times are rough ... but they are sure cut-throat and ruthless in their business ... department stores and supermarkets don’t stand a chance at competing with them ...
-so Maple Leaf has found more traces of listeria in their plant ... that franchise is DONE ...
-speaking of contaminated food ... I saw the news reports of the rats found at a Toronto Chinese restaurant ... I try to avoid Chinese restaurants wherever possible, because sanitation is not exactly at the top of their priority list ... now before my words somehow get twisted and myself getting accused of being a racist, it’s a given fact ... I mean, when Toronto implemented those Health & Safety procedures a few years back, a great percentage of those restaurants shut down and/or in violation of policies were Chinese restaurants ...
-word has it that Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant again ... in other unrelated, Miley Cyrus is reportedly dating a 20-year-old ... Hollywood produces some of the greatest role models, don’t they? ...
-I watched an old movie, Cellular, starring Kim Basinger ... brief review, over-the-top and the storyline strained credibility ... big waste of my time ... score: 0.25/5 ...
-so they’re making a modern version of Punch Out for Nintendo Wii ... good lookin’ out Zona! ... the Wii system is actually not that bad ... it’s what the original Nintendo’s “Power Glove” should’ve been able to do ... when I was in NYC this year, I played Mario Kart, it was actually fun ... maybe when I’m overseas, I’ll get both the Wii and Playstation 3 ...
-ahhhh, NYC ... I’m jealous, Octal’s there this weekend ...
-I think I may have jumped the gun again with my critiquing Smallville ... I’ve watched the past couple of episodes and they weren’t half bad ... this new Lois and Clark storyline of the early stages of their relationship is actually intriguing ... it sure beats the same old, played out Clark and Lana storyline ... I didn’t think the show could survive without Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor), but they seem to be holding their own ...
-I caught the show on MTV, I want to work for Diddy ... it’s crap, just like Making the Band, but knowing me I’m sure I’ll tune in to a few more episodes ...
-Teletoon Retro has added another program to their lineup, Alvin and the Chipmunks ... well that show and Superfriends, so far are the only shows on that channel worth watching ... but if they get smart and add He-Man and/or Thundercats, then they’re in business ...
-I caught re-runs of Survior: Marquesas, the fourth and in my opinion the best season ... why this season is not on DVD is beyond me ... others I’m waiting for: the remaining seasons of George Lopez and The Wonder Years (damn music licensing fees) ...
-I did tune into the Toronto Craptors game, boooooring! ... tuned out after 5 minutes ...
-so my cousin Tatsu’s fiancée, Carteron, apparently has a hook up for ball tickets, because he’s a season ticket holder and he can get ‘em for 40% off face value ... he asked me which game I was looking for, I told him The Portland Trail Blazers obviously ... but he’s yet to get back to me ... discount or no discount, I’m not missing this game for anything ...
-over the past couple days I’ve done two-a-day workouts ... I’m f*cking sore! ...
-no plans for Thanksgiving as of yet, but I’m sure something will come up ...
-I know where we left off last time and how I said I’d give y’all another entry on a subtle observation ... well that entry is typed up, but it’ll be filed away with the “lost entries”, maybe another time down the road ...
-for now I want to give you guys a glimpse into J-Smooth’s life with an experience as I went through it ... not that it’s anyone’s business but I’m a Roman Catholic ... I guess on the surface you can call me a “good” Catholic, as I regularly attend mass every week ... but underneath, not so much, it’s not my favourite thing in the world to do, but regardless I still go ...
-just a quick aside, here’s my favourite church/holy song ...
-anyhow, last Saturday afternoon ...
-the setting: a relatively older parish ... the church layout: two side sections, two middle sections and one upper section ... the elderly are always seated in the back portions of the middle sections ... another thing, the choir at my mass is the same choir that sang at my old parish back in the hometown, B-Town, a heavily Filipino choir, but more on them later ... facing the altar, the choir is located in the front of the left side section ... in my town, the expansion over the past 5 years has brought in a significant Filipino community ... the Filipinos all attend this mass and all sit on the left side section, same as the choir ... the other (and I hate this word) newbies (all Caucasian) sit on the right side section ... thus, left side, sea of brown; back-middle, sea of white hair; right side, sea of white skin ... can you say, segregated? ...
-as for the church itself, I hate to make light of this, but it should really be re-named Our Lady of life support ... because since I’ve been going there, I can recall at least three incidents where an elderly person passed out, lost consciousness and they’ve had to stop mass because of it ...
-onto the mass, we have a new priest to our parish, and again, I hate to make light, but if you want to get an image in your head, picture a hunched-back Caucasian and envision what you think a pedophile looks like ... ie. unkept red hair, big glasses ... and I’ve dubbed this guy “Father Charisma”, and I say that sarcastically, because, he has none whatsoever ... there should be a disclaimer before mass, “do not operate heavy machinery after listening to this guy preach” ... speaks in such mono-tone, that it’s sedating ... NyQuil’s got nothing on him, I’m telling you ... do you guys remember that painter on PBS, that used to come on in the afternoon? (“theeere”, lol) ... would it be so much to ask that we get a priest that can grab your attention with compelling homilies? ...
-back to the choir, like I said before, mostly Filipinos ... I don’t know what it is about Filipinos that makes most like to sing ... not only that, thinking that they all sing well ... do you guys remember those nuns on the movie Sister Act ... let’s just say that Whoopi Goldberg and divine intervention couldn’t help this choir ... they are atrocious ... I’m thinkin’, “do you guys listen to yourselves? or hear what you sound like?” ... however, there is always that diamond in the ruff ... there is this one great singer, who usually does the solos to start the songs, but then the choir comes in and ruins the whole thing ... what’s worse is they try to add the second voice to harmonize, but I’m thinking, “you guys can’t even sing the first voice right, why even bother with the second” ... I tell my parents this all the time, and my mother says, “well J, why don’t you join them and be a solution to the problem” ... oh heeelll no, I know I can’t sing, besides, my voice would probably get drowned out with all the off-pitch, off-key noise from the choir anyway ... back to the soloist, his solo this week was supplanted by a female duet (also Filipino) and to put it mildly, they sucked sh*t ... picture sensitive people’s reactions to scratching a chalk board ... my father’s and myself however, picture a person’s face when they smell something foul ... I know what y’all are thinking, “it doesn’t matter if God’s songs are sung outta tune, what matters is that they’re sung from the heart” ... well, that choir is singing from every body part, with the exception of their diaphragms, God knows if they even have them ... my solution is two-fold ... 1) buy them playback monitors, tape recorders and hearing aids so they can actually hear what they sound like ... damn, the hearing impaired at our parish are thankfully spared from the experience ... 2) confiscation of “Magic Sing” karaoke machines away from the Filipinos in the choir ... those inflated scores that the machine gives, are obviously making them think their voices are worthy of a record deal ...
-I’m guessing some of you are thinking, “J, you’ve gone too far ... sounding off on mass now?” ... well, I’m speaking my mind, and this is my blog, so tough ... two elements that make or break the mass experience for me (the preacher and the choir), in this case both fail miserably ... I’m just hoping for something that’ll make the mass experience more pleasant ...
October already!? Damn! ... a couple things on J-Smooth before he gets on with the main part of the entry ...
-how’s J keepin’ busy in his “retirement” ... well, it’s just that, BUSY ... have my head in a few books and articles at the moment ... keepin’ the fans updated and writing about whatever via Blogger (guess that makes J a writer/journalist) ... and preparing to draft my squad for a Yahoo Sports NBA Fantasy League (these sorta work like the stock market, guess that makes J a broker/analyst) ... now just have to figure out how to make money from these two jobs, LOL ...
-the goal to get in great shape for next summer is going very well ... fast food sobriety is at 1 month now and counting, 11 to go ... I’m damn proud of myself ... the coinciding workouts have been goin’ well too ... the workout plan goes as follows: 2-on/1-off, the “on” days are what I call 20/20/20 (20 minutes treadmill, 20 minutes free weights, 20 minutes Total Gym), the “off” days, for now, consist only of the 20 minutes treadmill, after a month or two, I plan to really make those “off” days ... 8 months to go till next summer, hoping this all pays off ...
anyways on with the entry ... have any of you ever just “sat back” and observed?, take a passive approach and try to pay attention to everything that’s going on around you? even the little, more subtle things ...
-I was passing by a Tim Horton’s yesterday, and I overheard two guys at the counter speaking Tagalog (Filipino, for you uneducated people out there) ... then their manager, also Filipino, in a serious tone told them “hey, speak in English” ... sounded like she was reprimanding them, WTF? ... it’s a personal convo for God sakes, it’s not like they’re speaking to customers in Tagalog ... as a matter of fact, when they were serving people, they spoke in English and were waaay more polite than “Canadian” English-speaking workers ... ie. “Hi Sir/Ma’am, may I take your order?” ... when I used to go to Tim’s on the regular I’d usually just get “next in line!” and lucky if they even made eye contact ... back to the Tagalog incident, I was wondering if this was an example of the Filipino inferiority complex, that by speaking in Tagalog, they feel inferior to their English-speaking counterparts ... I can’t completely wash my hands clean, because I’m just as guilty somewhat, I mean, whenever I hear people around my age speaking fluent Tagalog, the immediate reaction is to snicker and think “FOBS” ... but thinking about it, they’re a lot smarter than ignorant people give them credit for, ‘cause they have a handle on two languages ... when I was in the Philippines this past summer, I made every effort to speak to relatives in Tagalog ... I’m certain my accent and pronunciation weren’t on point, but I knew my stuff ... Why I chose to do so was three-fold, 1) I wanted the practise, 2) I was comfortable speaking it, and 3) I wanted to make those around feel comfortable with me, by not making them think I was above them in any way ... well, that’s just me anyway ... living in Canada all these years has made me really come to appreciate where I came from and who I am ... getting back to those two Filipino-speaking workers, hell, if that’s how they feel comfortable, then dammit let them be ... if they’re performing their job well, WTF does it matter what language they speak amongst themselves, they don’t have to impress anyone ... I speak English ‘cause I grew up learning it, but I have no problem same way speaking in Tagalog when I’m in public ... I’ll just come out and say it, I DON’T GIVE A F*CK about trying to impress and/or assimilate with these Canadians ... hell, maybe I’ll do a future entry in Tagalog ...
damn, this entry ran a little longer than I planned, but dammit I got sh*t to say ... next entry will be about another subtle observation ...
