J-Smooth looks back on ‘08

Looking back on the year that was, a year in review, all the major networks and local newspapers have done theirs, so why shouldn’t J do his? ... 2008, if I could describe in one word, memorable ... but for many reasons ... personally and things going on the world, it was definitely an eventful year ... I’ve taken a look at all of my past entries from this past year and picked out the most significant things to look back on ...

Headlines:

-sure there was the financial crisis and the continued war in the middle east (that shoe throwing thing has been spoofed by everyone already, LOL) ... but there was only ONE clear cut winner of headline of the year, Barack Obama ... watching him deliver his victory speech from Grant Park in Chicago, was awe-inspiring, surreal, moving and every superlative under the sun ... one of those days that you’ll always remember where you were and what you were doing ...

Sports:

-an Olympic year and quite honestly up there next to Atlanta 1996 as my favourite Games, ever ... What Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps did were just beyond belief ... I also enjoyed watching The Redeem Team doing their thing and reclaiming the gold ... that kick on the judge by the Cuban Tae Kwon Do dude unfortunately put a damper on the games ... finally, not forgetting the United States Women’s gymnastics team, just as entertaining as 1996, just watching Alicia Sacramone was time well spent ...

-Tiger Woods just pulled off some superhuman stuff in this year’s U.S. Open ... and Rocco Mediate, the journeyman and underdog, proved a more than worthy adversary and co-star to Tiger’s theatrics ... best tournament I’ve ever seen in my life ...

-losing my respect for the Craptors was another highlight ... it started in an early 2008 game against the Pistons, continued with the Cavs game I went to, even further with the Blazers game, then culminated with the trade of TJ Ford ... full-fledged Craptor-hater at this point, I don’t see that changing ... that is unless I see the names, Howard, Paul, McGrady, Billups, Bryant or Wade stitched on the back of those Craptor jerseys ...

-a vintage NBA Final this year, Lakers versus Celtics and it’s looking like more of the same for 2009 ... I still blame Pau Gasol and Sasha Vujacic for costing Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson another ring ...

-who could forget the greatest Super Bowl, or rather, football game ever played ... What a year for the Patriots, 50 seconds away from perfection, only to have it slip away, then lose their QB for the following season, now miss the playoffs ...

-WWE ... ok not a sport, but this year was memorable for the retirement of Ric Flair ...

-Finally, in my opinion the best sports story of 2008 was none other than “The Fighting Pride of the Philippines” Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao ... 3 victories in 3 divisions this year, from 130 to 147 in ONE year ... even after a victory over Oscar De La Hoya, 2009 is looking to be an even bigger year, with Pacquiao facing Ricky Hatton on May 2nd, and should he get by him, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is lying in the wings ...

Fam:

-another year, more chapters to the Anthro legend ... there was the night at that upscale, bougey club in Toronto, which revealed a weakness in the armour of Supermanthro ... there was also the castle party that he took Prophet and myself to ... it’s really hard to believe that in a few weeks Anthro won’t be around anymore ... Prophet has been saying it since the summer, but it’s really starting to hit me now ... but the three of us, Octal included are all Fam, nothing’s gonna change that ...

Familia:

-a few impromptu family reunions this year ... my family from Jersey came up for a few days ... my Phoenix familia were up on a couple of occasions, Uncle Shark in September, and in the summer Zona and AVAD came up, but that was unfortunately cut short due to the passing of my grandfather ...

-I loved being in the Philippines this summer, it’s just unfortunate that I was there under sad circumstances ... The day of the funeral and delivering the eulogy were a couple of the toughest things on me emotionally in my life thus far ... If I could speak to my grandfather right now, I’d say the whole familia loves and misses you, and we’ll never forget you ...

-but where life ends, it begins again with my new goddaughter ... hope to see her some time soon ...

Miscellaneous:

-The Dark Knight, biggest hype for a movie ever and turned out to be the second biggest grossing movie in history ... the late Heath Ledger definitely carried the film ... my review of the movie itself, eeeehh, it was OK, not great, but just OK ...

Personally:

-my stance on the iPod has shifted completely ...

-enjoyed my annual NYC trip ...

-improved on my golf game ... two highlights: my clutch 10-foot putt on the last hole, to beat my father, uncle and cousin in a skins challenge ... then my 41 back nine against Chippy ...

-another year where I’ve further embraced my identity as a Filipino ...

Finally:

-Any New Year’s Eve plans? I’m still undecided, just spoke to Prophet a few minutes ago, he’s in the same boat, LOL ...

-No resolutions this year ... if I’m going to change something in my life, it’s gonna take more than a change in calendars for me to do so ... I would just like to take this time to wish my readership a very Happy New Year, and all the best in 2009 ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

even more recaps

last Saturday:

-kicked it with Anthro, Dumpling and Roldy, as it turns out it was Roldy's B-Day ... we were at Roldy's to catch the UFC card, you all already know I'm not a fan, I just came out just for the sake of coming out ...

-unfortunately for the UFC contingent at the apartment, they were having technical difficulties ordering the fight, thus we never ended up watching it ... wow, what a big loss ...

-we ended up watching the Craptor/Blazer game instead ... five words, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge ... it's just sad to see what the Craptors have been reduced to ... WTF, am I saying?, it's great to see ... now coming up, on consecutive games, Chauncey Billups and Tracy McGrady, on Wednesday and Friday respectively, will be in T-Dot to do further damage ... then on Sunday, Dwight Howard will finish up what's left ...

-Prophet joined us later that night ...

-the car ride home, I have to say made me feel like I was in high school for an instant ... whether it be Dumpling being Dumpling, with his trademark stunts that make you scratch your head ... whether it be the back-and-forth banter with Anthro questioning his Filipinoness (side note: it's finally starting to hit me that this is one of the last few times we're gonna hang out, as my brother's destined for greater things in a few short weeks) ... whether it be, jamming to the old school tunes (especially the J-Smooth player anthems) of the golden era of music ... it was nice to be taken back, even if it was for a few hours ...

last Sunday:

-watched what was on TV ... nothing ... except a movie, called Love Actually, starring British actors Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon and Keira Knightley ... I have no clue why I started watching it, but I quickly got into it ... the movie is four or five separate storylines told concurrently, they are not inter-related in any way ... then it hit me ... Martine McCutcheon is f*ckin' hot!, and those who know me already know I'm not a white girl lover at all ... but Martine has body though, curvy and womanly ... and Keira Knightley, this is probably the best I've ever seen her ... I felt like a complete fruitcake, 'cause I enjoyed the movie "actually" ... I know I'm gonna get clowned for this, but I'm not gonna front, my score 4.25/5 ... yeah I said it! ... I'll probably end up buying the DVD some time down the road ... just one of those things that defy logic, enjoying something that I never thought I would ... but then again, I have Girlicious on my jPod and I enjoyed watching Cheetah Girls, LMFAO ... yeah, I said that too! ...

yesterday:

-another slow starting day, but picked up quickly when I hit up Best Buy's website and saw a Bose iPod Sounddock for $199 ... but I also looked it up on Future Shop's website and saw it marked down as well for $219 ... Future Shop is in a closer proximity, so I went there and took advantage of their price match policy ... plus they gave me an additional 10% off the difference with Best Buy ... I used up my Christmas money on the Sounddock, which I have to say I'm very happy with ... the clarity and sound quality of Bose is unrivaled by anyone ... I've always said, that the best deals come on Boxing Week not Boxing Day ...

-the rest of the night was spent "acquiring" more music for my jPod ... I have more music, that some would consider suspect, but I have no problem manning up and saying, yeah that's what I listen to ... my 90's library of music is about 85-90% complete, the next order of business is to build my 80's library, then eventually down the road put my movies on it ... I'm lovin' the jPod ...
upcoming:

-New Year's Eve plans haven't been set yet ... Octal's called out the troops, but hasn't relayed the battle plan to us as of yet ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

X-Mas, Boxing Day Recaps

On the 25th:

-went to Christmas morning mass as per usual ...

-got home, ate ... and ate some more ... M&M's oriental party pack, yummmm ...

-opened gifts ... my mother decided to give my sis a joke gift to start off with ... my sis is always complaining about how her room is a freezer, to her credit, it's true ... so my mom wrapped up a portable heater ... reaction ... priceless ...

-sis got me an FM tuner for my iPod, or jPod ... parents just gave me $$$ ...

-caught the first quarter of the Hornets/Magic Game, before heading to Hamliton/Stoney Creek for the Familia thing ... Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, two of my fave players in the game right now ... if those two were on the same squad they'd be contenders for more than a decade ...

-When I got to Gigg's place, they were watching The Dark Knight, ughhhhhh!!!! ... all I thought was the Lakers/Celtics game better be on when the clock struck 5 ...

-I joked around with the familia, aunts, uncles and cousins ... but spent most of my time with the male continent of the D-Mac in the basement playing Rockband ... I finally got the concept of playing the guitar ... J-Smooth an ace on the guitar and drums! ...

-I spent a lot of time ragging on my Craptor fan cousins ... all of whom echoed the same sentiment, "trade the whole damn team!" ... my response, "I've been saying it since last January and you all didn't listen, that's what you get!" ...

-can't have a D-Mac get-together without Pacquiao talk ... one of my cousins has already been studying Mayweather's fights, looking for a weakness, LMFAO ... even I'm not that hardcore ...

-we left pretty early, around 4, which was perfect, gave me enough time to get home to watch Lakers/Celtics ...

-a lot of hype, certainly didn't disappoint ... I love Ray Allen, I love Kobe Bryant, but my hate for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce is the tiebreaker ... pretty good game, one of the best of the year ... I can easily envision a Finals rematch this year ... but don't sleep on the Rockets ...

-a pretty good Christmas all around ...

On the 26th:

-I heard a few days back, that Future Shop would be opening at 5:45 in the morning ... I figured, I'd never done anything like that before, going to an early morning opening on Boxing day, so I said, "why not?!", I'll try anything once ...

-I got there and there was a lineup all the way around the building, apparently some people had been lined up since midnight ... F*CK THAT!!!, I saw the lineup and bounced! ...

-I just decided to go to Wal-Mart to check out their deals, they were opening at 6 anyways ... a lot of people showed up there too, apparently to pick up the XBox and PSP which were both on sale ... I just went to see if there were any deals that jumped out at me ... NONE!, I bounced, went home and crashed ...

-later in the afternoon, my parents said they were going to Square One ... my life, in its current state, is boring as is, I had nothing better to do, so I tagged along ...

-parking was a b*tch to find ...

-crowds were unreal ...

-people were lining up just to get into certain stores ... I just thought to myself, y'all are nuts! ...

-The commercialist/consumerist mentality of all was on full display today ...

-like in the morning, didn't see any deals that jumped out at me ...

-This was my first time coming out for Boxing Day since High School, and this is the last time I make the decision for myself to come out on Boxing Day ... never again, big waste of time ...

-but to at least make something out of nothing, I got myself a cheesesteak ...

-lastly in some unrelated, it's nice to fill up my car with gas and only spend $20 ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Merry Christmas

Been sleepin’ on this blogger ish for a bit, but y’all didn’t think I’d leave all my fans without a word on Christmas Eve ... What has J been up to?

-Christmas shopping is thankfully over ... this year was painful to say the least ... my strategy every year is the same ... know what I’ll be getting everyone, pick a day to shop, go to the mall/outlet right at opening, then get everything ... that technique has gotten me through the past 8-10 years, and never once have I exceeded 45mins to complete everything ... this year was a different story ... I had to go out, multiple times on multiple days to complete everything ... and this was just for 4 people ... I was confronted head-on with my two biggest Christmas season pet peeves, crowds and lineups ... I can say that the best part about this year’s shopping experience is that it’s another 365 days until I have to do it again ...

-I watched a couple of movies as well ... I’ll give a mini synopsis of each, only because I don’t know how I could do a full out review without spoiling either movie ...

Traitor – starring Don Cheadle ... now this was a great movie, I put it on par with one of the last movies I saw, Rendition ... and like that movie the plot was driven by terrorism ... the movie also takes the viewers around the world, England, France, Spain, Mexico, The United States (Chicago, Washington, California) and even Canada (Toronto, British Columbia) ... it’s a movie about intelligence versus counter-intelligence ... one thing featured in the movie is Cheadle’s character playing chess with another ... all I’ll say is that the movie as a whole seems like a chess match ... again, like Rendition, it’s not a movie I’ll watch over-and-over, but it was very well done ... score: 4.5/5

Gone Baby Gone – starring Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris, also the directorial debut of Ben Affleck ... the movie is set in Boston and the plot is driven by an abduction of a little girl ... Casey Affleck’s character and his wife are hired by the missing girl’s aunt to find her ... morality plays a role in this movie ... I’d just say that the movie was O.K., nothing special ... score: 2.75/5 ...

-I’m a firm believer in “if there’s something you really want, get it yourself, don’t be expecting anyone to get it for you” ... there was nothing different about my attitude this year ... I got myself a big present, which I won’t disclose at this time ... and a little one, the WWE DVD set: The History of the Intercontinental Championship ... it’s supposed to feature all of the best championship matches ... myself no longer being a wrestling fan, only a wrestling historian, it seemed appropriate that I picked it up ... I’ll be watchin’ it tonight ...

-Many people have a Christmas wishlist ... myself included, and it’s a long list, however, unlike many of the materialistic people out there, majority of my list consists of things that don’t fit in a box or gift bag, can’t be bought and have no price tags ... but like I said before, I’m not expecting anyone to get these things for me ... all I’ll say is bring on 2009, when I continue my quest to obtain as many of these things as I can ...

-How does J plan to spend his Christmas? ... tonight, a very quiet night at home, spent eating, drinking and watching my DVD’s ... Christmas morning, Christmas Mass ... then headed to Hamilton from lunch to dinner, for the usual family stuff ...

I would just like to take this time to wish you all a very Happy Holidays ... To mi Familia, especially those I won’t be spending Christmas with, and to those I consider Fam, have a very relaxing and safe Christmas ... Much Love and God Bless!

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Heat of Competition

Just refer to the standings to the left, that pretty much explains the motivation behind this entry ... If there's anything that I love just as much as winning, it's competition ... For reasons easy to explain, it's in the blood ... ever since I was young, people have for the most part been a step ahead of me and there's just something internal that just drives me to be better than them ... I'd like to address the fantasy league, but moreso for the competition aspect ... there's no way around it, I'm getting my preverbial *ss handed to me, or just real talk, I'm taking a serious beatdown ... but seems like I'm still getting in the heads of people in particular ... a handful of people, they know who they are ... the one pet peeve I have with this internet ish (and I've gotten some heat for this before), it's impossible to gauge a person's tone ... when I talk trash online, it's all in good fun, I've never been serious once, I'm usually laughing my *ss off when I type ... maybe I'm just reading people wrong, but seems like my trash talk has gotten under the skin of the "handful" ... but then I think about it, even if I hadn't opened my mouth once this season, people would still rub my current position in my face ... that being said, trash talk is all just part of the competition, especially in basketball ...

I'll rewind for a second to my young basketball days ... I sucked! period! meanwhile my contemporaries, Prophet, Anthro and Octal were all leaps and bounds better than me ... but I guess that's what drove me to seriously work on my game ... by the time high school rolled around, I'd worked on some fundamentals, especially the jumper, copied the Jordan fadeaway and developed, not great, but serviceable handles ... from that point on, I ran Brookfield when it came to ball ... just ask Magnum and Anthro, if they say otherwise, they're lying through their teeth ... my domination got to the point where they had to bring in their cousin Roldy from the T-Dot to face me, which turned into a spectacle on our street, 'cause everyone came to watch ... and guess what, Roldy was by far the more skilled player, but I still came out with the victory ...

I further developed my game by playing with much older, tougher competition ... playing a weekly pick up session in Vaughn with older Filipinos ... there I learned how to attack the basket ... then I played another weekly pick up session during office lunch hours, with managers that had all played ball at the college level, and that's where I toughened up ... I think overall I developed into a very good player, to the point where I know I could've beaten Prophet and Octal, convincingly ... I've never beaten them to this day, but then again, I haven't played either since ninth grade ... as for now, any time, anywhere, LOL ...

I played Anthro last year at his house ... up to 15, I had a 12-1 lead, but I coughed it up ... embarrassing, no doubt, but by last year, I was greatly out of shape ... plus when I had the lead, I played laxed D and on the offensive end, settled for the jumper ... but, no way around it, I lost, but if there was a rematch in our near future, to put it lightly, I wouldn't make the same mistakes twice ...

Now back to my rivalries with my fantasy competitors ... you all take things too seriously, I'm just having fun playing the villain ... it makes things more interesting ... WTF am I supposed to say?, "you're doing well, keep it up" ... gimme a break! ... I once heard that if you say stuff and people don't respond, that means they really don't care ... I guess the fact that guys respond on command to what I say, I should be taking it as a compliment of sorts ... Don't get me wrong, I'm still playing to win and I'm still gonna be running my mouth until season's end ...

some last few words in typical J-Smooth fashion, you can all have your wins in fantasy ball, because if this was real ball, none of you would stand a chance ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

weekend recap

-Saturday, was Octal's B-Day/housewarming party ... it was cool ... Octal's furnished the crib nicely since the last time I was over ... he extended an "open door" policy of sorts ... LOL, I'd be careful with the offers there Octal ... but on the real though, the top floor entertainment room is definitely ideal for gatherings ... I will say this though, Octal is definitely a model for where I'd like to eventually be in my life, having my own place and being financially stable ... overall the night was fun, I must say, I stuffed myself with the food and drinks put out ... I was kept pretty entertained with the big screen TV (caught the repeat of the Pacquiao fight and couldn't believe my ears with the hate coming from Prophet), video games (Rock Band and beating Anthro's *ss in Mario Kart) and Board Games (Taboo and Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition) ... Last word on it, the party was definitely a refreshing change from clubbing ...

-Sunday, was my familia Rosary for my grandfather ... there's some good-natured jealousy amongst myself and cousins at the moment ... every time I ask my aunt to make a dish for familia gatherings she is more than happy to oblige, as was the case on Sunday ... but this doesn't sit to well with her daughters ... "why do you always make what he wants?", LOL ... my response, "you know why? 'cause I'm who I am!" ... during lunch we caught the Craptors game, it was a hostile environment, with the whole familia against me ... but I came away happy for 3 reasons: 1) the CP3 crossover on Frauderon, 2) the CP3 spin on Frauderon, 3) the New Orleans victory ... on a side note, seems like the Hamilton faction of the D-Mac has been ducking the last few familia parties ... I wonder if there's anything behind that ...

-Finally, it's done ... the "album" has hit "stores" ... just waiting to hear how it's received by the "critics", one in particular ... after that, I'll get the creative juices going for a follow up ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

The Dream Fight: Aftermath

-The Pinoy equivalent of Ali-Foreman, in terms of significance ... Going into the fight, Pacquiao had many doubters, but in the ring Saturday Night, he left no doubt ... Who says boxing’s not entertaining? ... MMA has: strategy, submissions, blah blah blah blah blah ... Pacquiao stuck-and-moved, came at De La Hoya from angles, and used his footwork to turn him around, all this to neutralize Oscar’s left hook and jab, sounds like strategy to me ... all in the while, methodically broke De La Hoya down (the sweet science baby!), pummelling him into “submission”, forcing him to quit, now that’s a submission! ... none of that school girl rolling on the ground bullsh*t, excuse for prize fighting ... If I want to see rolling around on the ground, it’s gonna be J-Smooth on a videotape with some jubb, LMFAO ...

-speaking of that sh*tty ass “sport”, UFC’s Dana White was in attendance ... afterward criticizing the event for its production and entertainment value ... saying anything to bring his sh*tty *ss UFC any kind of respect, credibility and legitimacy ... also there was Tito Ortiz, who when he was shown on the big screen, was booed heavily ... boxing fans’ way of saying “keep your garbage *ss sport’s presence out of our house!” ...

-I found out that my uncle “Shark” was at the MGM Grand, in attendance for the fight ... he’s friends with someone on Pacquiao’s VIP list, so he got in free of charge ... boy was I the deepest shade of green with envy ...

-what was up with Keisha Cole’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner? ... she got booed by the 15,001 in attendance at the MGM Grand and deservedly so ... first of all she comes out dressed in some busted *ss outfit, where she honestly would’ve looked more in place “walking the strips of Las Vegas”, if you know what I mean ... her hairstyle made her look like she just rolled outta bed ... finally, she was all over the place with her vocals (got crazy with the rifts and runs) ... I’m guessing she was drunk ...

-the fight wasn’t short on star power in the crowd: Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Russell Crowe, Usher, Reggie Miller, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, George Lopez, Mark Wahlberg, Frank Thomas, Gary Sheffield, Mike Tyson, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Pacquiao’s expected next opponent Ricky Hatton ...

-boxing’s star power is taking a major hit, with the expected exits of Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya this year ... so what’s next for The Golden Boy? ... after seeing him last night, there’s no question that, like Jones Jr., he’s done ... he admitted, the mind and heart say yes, but the body does not ... he’d be doing himself a favour by hanging it up, he’s already set for the rest of his life, no need to risk permanent injury ...

-Pacquiao’s trainer Freddy Roach is looking like an absolute genius ... he predicted a ninth round TKO stoppage, but PacMan did it in eight ...

-post-fight ... Bernard Hopkins joked with the media, that he couldn’t make 147 (to face Manny), so he said not to ask ... Manny’s promoter, Bob Arum, replied that he’d send Manny up to 170, LMFAO ...

-The REAL Dream Fight, that I NEVER thought could/would/should happen, looks like it’s just one step away from becoming reality ... Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. ... Pacquiao had a relatively easy time against De La Hoya, so he should be ready for a ‘bout in the spring with Ricky Hatton ... and should he dispose of The Hitman in less than the 10 rounds it took Floyd, I think Mayweather’s ego is big enough that he will be compelled to come back to battle PacMan for Pound-for-Pound supremacy ... 2009 is looking on the up ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

PACQUIAO P4P G.O.A.T.

I've never been more excited, but in stunned disbelief at the same time ... I've never been this ecstatic, but also at a loss for words ... Simply put, when talking about the Greatest Of All Time Pound For Pound boxers in history, Manny Pacquiao's name definitely has to be put on that list ... His total domination and destruction of Oscar De La Hoya tonight, I would be lying if I said I saw that coming, the beat down was just so systematic, it was a clinic ... I'm going to enjoy this win, but bring on Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jr. ... hell, even Roy Jones Jr., why not? LMFAO, O.K. maybe not that far ... way to make idiots like Max Kellerman and Floyd Mayweather Sr. eat their words ...

Manny you did the Philippines and Pinoys around the world proud!!! ... Thank You! ...

how the hell am I supposed to sleep now?!?! ... LMFAO ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Pinoy Pride

Yessir!!! ... this is it, today’s the day I’ve anxiously awaited for the past few months ... “The Dream Match”, “The Fighting Pride of the Philippines” Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao vs. “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya ... In a sport invented by whites, previously dominated by blacks, currently ruled by latinos, a Pinoy can stand on top, undisputedly recognized as THE absolute best ... I can’t even describe what this would mean to millions of Filipinos in the motherland, not to mention those scattered across the globe ... For those of you that just think this is just a boxing match, I beg to differ ... Let me put it like this, when has a Filipino in history, ever stood on top and been recognized as the best at anything? ... I can’t even name one time ... I don’t think I have to remind people of my love for the sport, not only as a “sweet science”, but as a metaphor for life ... it’s a constant struggle, a fight ... tonight is potentially the night when a Filipino will take the spotlight ... If I sound passionate and preachy at the moment, damn right I am ... Everywhere I look, the political landscape, the corporate ladder, sports, entertainment, the list goes on ... whites, blacks, even latinos have had their shine ... it’s about time Filipinos got theirs ...

Now for the second half of this entry ... what makes someone Filipino? What is Filipino? Pinoy? What is Filipino identity? ... to answer those questions, quite honestly I’d seriously have to sit and brainstorm ... but what I can answer is what they’re not ... Filipino is not sellin’ out to whoever and whatever, compromising your identity ... Pinoy is not ignoring what stares at you in the mirror every morning ... what p*sses me off is the ignorant and naive, supposed Pinoys/Filipinos out there that refuse to recognize who and what they are ... look in the f*ckin’ mirror! ... the only ones that have any excuse are mixed breeds ... but if your father recognizes himself as Filipino as does your mother, then that’s what and who you are and should be proud of ... Like I was tellin’ Prophet the other day ... if you took a Filipino and placed him/her with 9 white people, then someone asked “which one is (insert name)?”, I’ll be willing to bet my life savings that everyone would answer “the brown guy” ... I reiterate, look in the f*ckin’ mirror!, if you don’t look at yourself as Filipino, NEWSFLASH, everyone else does ... in immigrant nations such as Canada, the United States, to a lesser extend Great Britain and Australia, if you are a visible ethnic minority you’re not looked at as Canadian, American, British or Australian, you’re whatever your ethnic origin is ... like I was taught at a young age, you are not the same as “Billy” or “Margaret” ... h*ll yeah, it’s not fair, but that’s the way it is ... and to ignore that fact is complete stupidity ...

Now that being said ... tonight’s fight, all Filipinos need to come together to support our guy ... h*ll, Pacquiao’s done more for The Philippines, relative to what Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has done for the country ... as far as “what is Filipino?”, in my opinion what it should be is sticking together, something which is not always the case ... for example, Apl.de.ap (Black Eyed Peas), people can criticize and hate all they want to, that his music is not that great ... but him being a Filipino and making a success out of himself, I respect and recognize that ... same goes with Pacquiao, whether you’re a boxing fan or not, as a Pinoy, you should be in his corner ... like I said before, if you’re not watching, your “Filipinoness” is in serious question ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

The Day Before Tomorrow

-Happy Birthday to my bro Octal ... brothers "off the court" but bitter rivals on the "fantasy court", I have a feeling we'll be going head-to-head for years, LMFAO ... I can honestly see us still goin' at it, when we're of retirement age playing fantasy ... each of our kids will probably look at us, like we look at old geezers playin' BINGO ...

-Anthro's finally coming back home from the motherland after holding a supposed pimping clinic ... son, if you're reading this, I have a feeling Prophet's prepared an intense interrogation session and I'm anxious myself to get to the bottom of this ...

-I can't believe it's one day away ... the day that a Filipino Icon, can affix the title of legend to his name ... I've been following the coverage over the past week, and it's great to see boxing finally get some mainstream ink ... websites, sports-talk radio shows, sports networks actually talking boxing for the first time in as long as I could remember ... but a lot of people have been counting Manny out, saying he doesn't stand a chance ... we'll just see about that ...

-Manny Pacquiao's had many visitors to his camp and hotel since he started training ... among them: Mark Wahlberg, Shawne Merriman, Mike Tyson and even A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez) himself, LOL ... Wahlberg, the "Shooter", says his whole family including his young son love PacMan ... Merriman, in my opinion one of the best defenders in the NFL, has gotten close to Manny and his family, coming over for dinner on the regular ... Tyson, one of my fave fighters of all time next to Manny and Shane Mosley, stopped by yesterday to give Manny advice ...

-What I found funny was that Pacquiao sent a Thanksgiving present to Oscar De La Hoya's camp, a 12 pound cake ... and to a boxer, trying to maintain weight, this is a cheap shot, Oscar kinda lost his cool and chucked the cake into the street ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

Spears=Smooth?; Sam

-I was watching a behind-the-scenes documentary on Britney Spears yesterday ... don't ask why, because I honestly don't know ... but there were things of note from watching it ... now a quick disclaimer, I've never been a fan of hers, never been a fan of her music and to be quite honest, I've never really thought much of her ... that being said, this documentary called Britney Spears: For the Record, basically followed her around for a few weeks to give people a glimpse into her life, seeing things through her eyes ... real interesting to say the least ... all is calm when she's in her house and in her SUV, but as soon as doors open, swarmed by media, flashbulbs, screaming people ... people can say, "what's the big deal?", but quite honestly I can see why she's become what she has ... I'm a private person myself and if I had people in my face everyday, I'd probably turn into the biggest *sshole on the planet ... the things which Britney said which struck me the most was, how she just felt sad and alone, also how she's numb and doesn't feel anything anymore because everyday seems the same ... I could totally relate on both fronts ... for years I've felt numb and alone, but the difference is, that was mostly a choice that I made ... But, I've always lived by my principle that the only person you can and should be depending on is yourself ... Britney said however, the things that make her happy the most are dancing and performing ... I guess that's what I have to do, look deep down and find something that makes me happy ... I liken watching that documentary to having an enemy in high school, but after sitting down and talking, finding some common ground ...

-So the Craptors, actually Bryan Colangelo, finally pulled the trigger on a move, firing Sam Mitchell ... but I'm gonna take a different spin with this ... and that is, "Colangelo, make up your damn mind!" ... when he came in, he wanted to implement a system similar to his Phoenix Suns, free-flowing, run-and-gun ... so he dealt Charlie Villanueva for TJ Ford to ignite a fast break offense ... but he doesn't surround Ford with any talent that's gonna run alongside him ... which in my opinion was the downfall of Ford ... the Craptors evolved into a half-court team (ie. dump the ball into Chris Bosh and get outta the way) ... so then they dealt Ford, because Jose Frauderon was a "better fit" ... O.K., so this season, the team is running the half-court crap that they were built for ... Now this team looks horrible, only two people in the GTA saw this coming from a mile away, long before the season got underway, I was one ... So now, Colangelo decides to axe a guy for not producing with this sh*tty team, that HE built ... I honestly think that the results would've been the same, even if the late-Red Auerbach was coaching ... at the moment, Jay Triano takes the reigns, and says that he wants to re-institute the transition game ... what the hell does Colangelo want?, like I said, make up your mind ... now my question is, "you wanna run, but who's gonna run?" ... Looking back at Colangelo's career in retrospect, what has he really done? ... the Jason Kidd for Stephon Marbury deal was horrible ... yes, he did luck out and sign Steve Nash, who made Diaw, Q-Rick, Barbosa, Raja Bell and all those scrubs from Phoenix look like a million bucks, in turn making Colangelo look like a genius for acquiring those guys, but it was Nash who gave those guys careers ... and now here in Toronto, what move has he made which really stands out? ... I can only think of one, the Ford trade ... but he quickly negated that by dealing a good young asset for a broken down power forward ... if you ask me, what's to come of the rest of this season, can you say "lottery"? ... Sam Mitchell really got the raw deal here ...

-watching Chauncey Billups slice up Frauderon the other night en route to a 39-point Denver trashing of the Craptors, was definitely a thing of beauty ... doubling Frauderon in the points and assist categories ... checking the schedule, the Nuggets are in town New Year's Eve, maybe I'll check it out ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~

J-Randoms

-I'm lovin' my new iPod ... just a different way to enjoy music, having your whole music collection there at your finger tips, what a concept! Welcome to 2008 J! LOL ... iPod + uTorrent = the greatest tag team in history ... the only problem is that the Torrent sites that I have checked out, don't have the old school classic albums I'm missing at the moment ... I guess I have to find someone that has the CD's so I can just do a direct transfer ... right now, I've got most of my CD collection uploaded to my iPod, now I'm planning to put a few of my DVD's on there as well ... the only problem is that it's not as simple as CD's ... I have to download software for two programs ... one to decrypt the CD, the other to convert it to an acceptable iPod format ... but having all my music and movies on my iPod will be great, for the next time I go on a trip, which can't come soon enough ...

-So, Canada will be getting a new coalition government ... way to go, something I said should happen a while back ... if it was up to me, I'd just have the NDP's merge with the Liberals, so we have a two-party system like they do in the States ... Canada made the wrong choice this past election, by re-electing the Conservatives, so good on Dion, Layton and Duceppe for sayin' "O.K. Harper, O.K. Conservative-voters, screw you, we're flipping the script on this sh*t" ...

-I saw the other night's Lakers/Craptors game ... the thing that stood out the most, besides the thorough a**kicking the Craptors got, was Bosh sitting on the bench laughing near game's end ... shades of Vince Carter? ... Bosh has more heart and class than that ... he was probably thinking at the time, "man it's funny how sh*tty my squad is" ...

-I've watched the first three episodes of HBO's De La Hoya Pacquiao 24/7 ... very interesting stuff to say the least ... boy does Pacquiao have guys around him that fit the description of mooches and freeloaders ... only a few days remaining 'till the biggest event in boxing history, for Filipinos anyways ...

-I just found out the other day that one of my old colleagues, was charged for being in one of those illegal massage parlours a.k.a. "rub-and-tugs" ... this guy B-Romes, another dude Nutz and myself were all supposedly "crew" at my old workplace ... those guys always claimed to have my back, but deep down I always knew better, I only fully trust a handful of people ... but we were all in the same situation at one time, so I just played the hand I was dealt ... B-Romes, is someone who is even more egotistical than myself, if that is believable ... he's got a girl that's essentially his fiancee, but cheats on her on a daily, when I last spoke to him he had two sideline girls, both from our workplace ... in my opinion, all three of those girls were butt ugly, but that's besides the point ... on top of that he was a regular at this massage parlour ... I'm not one to be hypocritical, because I've cheated on a girl in the past, but I just can't respect a guy who lies on a daily, like it's nothing ... I've known this guy since high school, and I know deep down he's a good person, but he's just a pathological liar ... Nutz on the otherhand is a guy that had a good relationship with myself, that is until, I advanced with greater speed and success than he did ... he didn't do a good job hiding the outright jealousy if you ask me ... the day I got a major promotion, he gave a half-hearted congrats, then left work for the day ... I found out from credible sources that he was upset that I got the job and he didn't ... Nutz, like B-Romes I'm sure deep down is a good guy, but he's also a the type of person that always thinks he knows everything, when he really has no clue, then it comes back to bite him huge later ... now he's stuck in the same dead end job, that he's been in for the past two years ... as for myself, I've made it a point from a while back to surround myself with the best people ... maybe not working at the same place as those guys right now is a blessing, because those two are on paths that I don't envy one bit ...

-man, that last bullet point was blog-worthy on its own ...

-lastly, the J-Smooth evolution continues ... as far as the game goes, I've taken things to a new level ... I liken it to Nas' career ... and like Escobar, I'm now in the Def Jam era ... more mature, bold new direction, trying new things, pushing my game to places where I never thought I would take it ... I've already gotten the snickers from some "haters" out there, one in particular, LFMAO ... I'm at the stage now where confidence is no longer an issue ... I'm no longer out there trying to prove anything ... it's about trying to leave a mark now for myself ... winding down the career ... I'm no longer about trying to appeal to the masses, I'm doing this for the "true" fans ... only time will tell if this latest project gets a certain "fan" buzzing ...

Peace!

~J-Smooth~