Star Ocean 3

Ducks were too cocky. They had that feeling of entitlement since the two stars came back, that it was a given to get past this series. I can't blame the penalties, because those have always been there. Maybe Burke's whining created that attitude within the team. Or Bertuzzi, not because of his cursed past, but because he did nothing this season. Most of all, I blame myself for not being there for them.

Good to see the Ducks taking the Patriot route of a Dynasty, with a year off. Now, in five years, after they've gone 94-0-0 (maybe 82-0-11, shootouts are tought), or however many games there are in the season, they can get swept in the Finals by the Hartford Thrashers, closing the chapter in dramatic fashion. Now, again, only one half of Cheechoo-Teemu remains. This will be hard.

What hurts is that I can't be there to support them. I can't even bring myself to call, it's so bad...these long-distance relationships are so tough.

Kellerman's is the best. I think they're calling it the Kellerman and Kenny Show now, but Brian Kenny is still more of the sidekick. I like how he isn't afraid to expose the fact that golf isn't a sport. Then there's Dameshek in LA...the show is good at times, but he really has no control over his show. He'll get interuppted by the producers, or cornered by callers, so he's kind of an underdog on his own show. Then he'll rail on pizza toppings, and Kimmel/Simmons/Cousin Sal call in a lot, so there's a lot of humor.

These are just practice playoff games, right? They don't count! I do like the LA Times' new motto for the Ducks - Wait 'till last year. Anyway, it's good of the Ducks to build more suspense like this.

Isn't this comments that don't warrant a thread?

I can't wait 'till the playoffs start.

My goal for these playoffs is to watch more than 4 minutes of a Ducks and Sharks game. Now, if there's some streaming video on an official website, that's good, but I'll probably get that bullcrap "this is not available in your region" message. I'd hate to have to watch the road to the best playoff matchup ever a day late in clips on youtube. Maybe I'll just read the game recaps as if they were erotic fiction novelletes. A simple play by play isn't enough, I have to imagine it all unfold before me. I'll close my eyes, and see before me the strong, yet tender wrists of Teemu sneaking a steal from a Star, and then witness Cheechoo go all the way up to Dynasty Station, before falling to LA. And after every recap I'll feel guilty, but will just get that feeling back when a game has finished.

The Kings should just merge themselves into the Ducks or something. Then the LA Ducks of Anaheim can play in Staples.

Yeah, screw this. I found some site that had links to streaming episodes of The Simpsons from this season, but I forgot it. This is too hard to search for on Google.

Minutes? They can't even get to the front lobby on time.

Yes. The super old board games were awesome. You got Landslide, Rich Uncle...and then there's Fireball Island, 13 Dead End Drive...

No way, those are both girls

Yeah, I don't know any of these. More from the same day

What the- 10 in a row for the Sharks? When did this happen? I'm missing so much.

The way things are going, it'll be Ducks and Sharks in the first round. This is why Selanne returned, and will be the greatest hockey ever. http://www.richbanks.com/uploads/Cheechoo_..._Me_Feel_Me.mp3

Bugs are people, too.

I think the Ducks are finally getting over those shootout loses. That third column needs to be done away with, already. The next outdoor game needs to be in LA - Ducks vs. Kings, on Santa Monica beach. You'd see the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, waves gently crashing...beautiful people in bathing suits, kind of watching the game, kind of playing in the sand...that's what hockey is all about.

I finally got the chance to go to a convention, and see cosplay in person. That's right...here's a taste of some authentic Japanese cosplay, taken by myself!

I woke up at 7:00 am to watch this game at 8:30. It was worth it. That's all I got.

I felt kind of sorry for Credible when they came out on Heat, and Justin started to do his "that's not just the coolest" catch phrase. As he started to say it, he paused and looked out, expecting crowd reaction, but there was just silence.

Yeah, those are exactly right, thanks. One website says tatemae is "face; official stance; public position or attitude (as opposed to private thoughts)," and honne is "real intention; motive."

I really thought she was already dead.

No, I'm not Asian, zero Asian blood, in fact. I'm mixed with a whole bunch of stuff, but basically half white/black. I've gotten people in Japan and LA asking if I'm Egyptian, European, Mexican, Morrocan...people are all over the place when they guess. About Koreans, one of my teachers here is actually full-blooded Korean, but was born in Japan. She had to go through years of hardship to be able to be considered a real citizen here. She speaks no Korean, and doesn't consider herself tied to that country at all, but because of what she says was discrimination in trying to become a citizen, she really dislikes this country and wants to leave. It was a pretty strong way to start off a seminar class here, with only 2 foreign students besides myself. The Japanese students in general don't say much in their classes; they're trained to just sit and listen, so they don't get the ability to speak their mind. I don't think they really get the ability to gather their thoughts enough to put themselves in a position to speak their mind, either. With that, there's an actual Japanese term that I forgot, which describes the action of thinking one way, but acting another. I know that's basically hypocrisy, but this term relates to tolerating foreigners, pretending to welcome them, but inside resenting them. I'm sure that relates to the not speaking their mind thing, and overall just avoiding causing trouble. But I can't say that I've really had bad experiences here. There are the looks and stares that any non-Asian foreigner would get, but not all of them are out of dislike. I've had a group of strangers on the train, from a different school, start talking to me in English and complimenting me out of nowhere. I think it's otherwise very rare for a Japanese to approach a complete stranger; the fact that they get to speak English almost puts them in another world. For the most part, the Japanese here who have studied abroad, and learned other languages, English or not, are the ones that will reach out and welcome different people to their country. They're the ones that. when they see foreigners on the street, are more likely to ignore them like they would any other passerby, as opposed to blankly staring or whispering to their friends. I guess it's easier to have a good experience here; the welcoming people will let you know it, organizing all of the parties and free tours for foreigners that are so common, and the rest will just keep to themselves. Then, of course there are those that are attracted to foreigners, and have no real problem with them. In closing, my banter about the Ducks in the hockey threads is no more annoying than giving yourself the name "Cock Ring Warehouse."

OK, now it's snowing. This is the first time I've seen snow in maybe 10 years. And to think that in the summer this town was skin-dissolvingly humid. I'm sorry, but I just had to turn dissolve into an adverb there. But, the traffic...I guess it's not a surprise public transportation is so good. The streets and everything are so small, that there has to be an alternative to driving. I'd walk down a neighborhood, thinking that it's just some back alley, then a car passes by. OK, so it's a street, but it has to be a one-way street, right? No, cars are going in both directions. And the driveways are so narrow, I don't know how people could back into those things perfectly everyday. Mopeds are pretty popular, too. That's another good alternative.