I'm having a hard time understranding...

how exactly the NBA and the hacks that it calls referees can possibly justify how Kobe Bryant wasn't fouled on the Lakers final possession against Boston today.  True, Kobe made the jumper, but Ray Allen fouled him no less than 5 times on the play.  The fouls were so clear that nobody would argue that they happened, even before reviewing the play in slow-mo.

It may just be a microcosm of how poor the refereeing is in the league, and I really don't care if my team is a beneficiary of bad calls or not, the game needs to be called better and more consistent to the rules.  If they are going to be so concerned as to review close shots to determine whether they are 2 or 3 points, then the league needs to be just as judicious in the way in which the enforcement of the rules is administered during play.  This includes traveling (which happens far more often than it's called) and these little chip-fouls like Ray Allen made in an attempt to gain advantage.

Heck, maybe I'm just pissed at how awkward the Lakers played and am still not satisfied with the W that we got, but the reffing issue just had to be addressed...

A New Decade

After numerous half-baked attempts to branch into the blogosphere, I think I've come to the conclusion that I really should just stick to a basic op-ed style that can leads toward an informative nature, but pretty much is just a place for me to be me and to put it out there (quite succinct, I know). So here we go; not a re-dedication or a re-focus, just reality.  Cheers to 2010, people!

I haven't had a good rant in a while...

But let's get one rolling...can we talk about the weakness that the music industry has been throwing at us this year? Seriously, most of the stuff that we've been listening to for the past few months is on albums from 2008. BEP came out with an album that I personally liked, but is really too polarizing to call great or epic, and certainly was not on the level of 808's. Other than that, you've got an Eminem album falling short of expectation, a sophomore album which is a great adjective for Flo Rida's R.O.O.T.S. album. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but didn't really mature from the first album. Don't worry man, Kanye had the same issue.

But other than that, where has a solid album from anybody been in 2009? I'm waiting for a nobody to show or Weezy to pull out back-to-back amazing albums, or perhaps we can hope for Relapse 2 to be everything Em was holding back from us in the first album. Green Day pretty much phoned in their album, The Fray was average, and Blackout! 2 was a letdown, not to say there wasn't a solid track or two. And let's face it, Sean Paul is not going to wow us in August. Hey maybe, just maybe, Witney Houston will have a better rebirth than even Mimi. And maybe, stick with me here, maybe Mariah's album will be good, too. They both come out in September.

Maybe Pearl Jam will be great, perhaps Skynyrd will rock again. Both have albums coming out this year. But something tells me that we may not be in for much. I'm really looking forward to these albums coming out and I would love to be impressed by them, but we've already been let down by a few bands and artists this year. Seems like the recession's got them in a funk, too.

Bally's Makes Me Nervous....

Now, I'll be the first to exhonorate the fitness club chain if everything closes without a hitch, but let's just say that I have my doubts.  Currently, I have a membership at Bally's that is paid through 7/3/2009.  I signed up shortly after moving to the neighborhood, knowing that I needed a gym, and that with my recovering shoulder I didn't care if there was a basketball court.  Well, now that my shoulder is better and there are no Bally's locations with a court that are within a reasonable distance, I've decided to terminate my Bally's membership and switch to 24 Hour Fitness, since their 2 closeset locations to me have courts for me.  Makes sense, right?

So, in cancelling my Bally's membership, the nice lady on the phone (not her fault it took 20 minutes to get in touch with her) explained that I was paid through July 3rd and would no longer be charged for monthly services.  However, on Monday, I received a letter in the mail from Bally's that was a bill for next months payment!  I'm hoping that 's just them implicitly begging me to reinstate my membership, but I've got this nagging feeling that they'll just accrue a balance as a "late payment" if I don't do anything.  However, in looking online, I did notice that it said my membership expires 7/3/2009.  So, I'm hoping everything goes smooth with this transition, but I wanted to post my concern so that if the worst happens, I at least get to say that I called it.  I mean, I've heard stories, so I don't think I'm reaching to far with my concern, here. Tell me I'm not crazy! ;-)

KGB: Great Idea, Non-viable Business

I can see it now...A group of friends are swaying as they walk down the block trying to hail a cab. As numerous taxis whizzed by, the group begins to wonder what the average wait time is to hail a cab in their city. They begin a heated debate and wished they could resolve the issue with objective information. One member suggests it would be great if they could just text somebody to look up the answer for them to solve the disagreement. Boom! The idea of KGB is born.

But the problem with this idea is that it doesn't translate well in practice. Maybe it would have worked perfectly 5 years ago, but the technology today doesn't warrant paying $.99 for these answers. Smart phones can readily produce the answers to these questions with internet access that users already pay for at their disposal. Wikipedia, Google, Bing, Ask.com, and others can all provide these same answers at no additional cost to the user.

I thought I would give KGB a try last weekend after hiking Runyan Canyon, in order to find a Habit Burger near Studio City. Not only did the process with KGB take 7 minutes (could've found that info myself in under 7 minutes), but KGB came back with BAD INFORMATION! I was told the nearest Habit Burger to Studio City was at 12659 Moorpark St. in Studio City (there is no Habit in Studio City, trust me). A Google search of "habit burger studio city" returns a top result which indicates that the nearest Habit Burger is in Sherman Oaks and directs you to the main Habit website. Below that is a "Best of the Web, Local" entry which notes a Habit Burger Grill at the address they gave me, granted, but if you look at the site yourself HERE, you can understand that even a moderately internet savvy individual would not have considered this information viable and gone to the Habit's main site and location locator. If I'm going to pay 99 cents for a convenience, let's make sure we get it right and that it's convenient, yes?

My advice: If you know that you have a specific question that you want the correct answer to, just look it up on your phone's internet browser or dial 411. If you have Verizon, they'll even text you the phone # and address of what you're looking for, and even send it to the GPS on the phone to guide you there! So tell me again, KGB, what added value does your idea provide? Thought so.

In case you were confused....

That's right! GO LAKERS!!!!

BEP - The E.N.D. is Here!!!

On Tuesday, The new Black Eyed Peas Album, The E.N.D. comes out. Of course, you can get it early right HERE. Believe it or not, it's been 4 whole years since BEP released Monkey Business on May 30, 2005. Both Will I. Am and Fergie had solo albums in the interim that did respectably. And honestly, after both Monkey Business and Elephunk, I wasn't too sure that they would be able to produce an album at that level again.

I'm sure you've all heard "Boom Boom Pow," the debut single off of the album. Like most debut singles, it's catchy and provides hope that the remainder of the album will be play off of the single and it works and they pull it off. I must admit that I was a bit irritated at Will I. Am with the debut single just playing into the current sound and wasn't anything new. If anyone set the standard of wratcheting up the playing field with their last album, it's Kanye. 808's was just so different that it could not be ignored by the rest of the industry, and somebody had to bring an answer to that album.

Ladies and Gentlemen, pardon my French, but fuck Alan Iverson, THIS album is The Answer. Let BEP take you back to the 80's with The E.N.D.'s electronic sounds and samples. You'll welcome the deviation to the standard song structures you hear every day on the radio. Looking to hear something different? Pop on "Alive," and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Long story short, the Black Eyed Peas have set the standard for album of the year in 2009, and have shown their ability to keep their edge with The E.N.D.

We're Back in the Finals!!!

Yessir!!! The Los Angeles Lakers are back to back Western Conference Champions!!! After dispatching the Nuggets (which, holy crap, who was the favorite in that series, even to the media, when it was clear who the better team was....when they woke up), the Lake Show will take on Orlando in the NBA Finals, starting with Game 1 at Staples Center on Thursday (still holding out hope that I might have a ticket). This could be a very exciting series, considering Orlando took both games from us during the regular season. Granted, they won both games by a total of 9 points, but they're still dangerous and can bomb 3's like no other. Nonetheless, I'm going with our Commander in Chief on this one and say Lakers in 6.

Navigating LA City Streets

So I'm walking home from the gym on Wednesday (yeah, I've been getting there 3x a week for the past few weeks, being good), and I look up at the Venice street sign as I cross and note that I'm on the 10500 block. Now, because I'm a complete dork, I know what that means, but I'm not sure that most folks do. And it's helpful when navigating a grid-based city like LA, because while the grid is never perfectly shaped, the basic principals apply throughout the city.

So, as I crossed Venice at Mentone, I'm at the 3800 block South and the 10500 block West. This means that I'm approximately located 3.8 miles south and 10.5 miles west of the center of the Los Angeles address grid, which is centered at 1st and Main St. Don't believe me? Go check, take a walk one block north, west, east, and south, and you'll be on the 100 block in each case.

One of the most prominent corridors that demonstrates the expansive address layout is Ventura Blvd. which begins as it intersects with Lankershim Blvd. and begins at 10600. This indicates that the intersection is 10.6 miles West of the City Center, and judging by the adjacent Lankershim addresses, is 3.8 miles North of City Center, almost the same approximation from City Center as I was at Venice and Mentone.

Now an example in practice: My office address is 23945, and while it is not exactly on Ventura Blvd., it is still on an E-W street which carries the same numeric principal on the LA City grid. Therefore, I'm 23.94 miles West of City Center, and since I know that I am 1 block North of former Countrywide Headquarters, street number 4500, my office is approximately 4.6 miles North of LA City Center.

Pretty crazy, right? Hopefully this helps you cruise around the city a little easier. There are a few shifts in the grid that make the distances only an approximation, but it's pretty close. Also, the grids start and stop to shape around the topography, but again, it's a pretty solid general rule. And that will conclude my nerdy rant for this 3-day weekend leading Friday!

A New Perspective of Downtown

View of Downtown from the 53rd floor of the JW Marriott tower @ LA Live