Author: Ruel

Day 145: Zombiefied

Rick Grimes is not feeling well.

Rick Grimes is not feeling well.

Over the last three days, I’ve been out of the house exactly once (for Saturday’s Star Wars Day in Rancho Cucamonga). Thankfully, my wife has gone above and beyond in taking care of me, nourishing me back to health while I spent most of my time in our room. When I was craving In-N-Out animal-style fries, she went out and got me an order to munch on while I zoned out on the TV. Now that’s true love.

Since I’ve been such a zombie lately, I decided to watch some zombie films. But either my illness gave me Attention Deficit Order or I’m getting a bad case of cabin fever, since I couldn’t stay focused for the entirety of Dawn of the Dead. I still wasn’t up for getting out of the house, though, so I searched for zombie short films and found some excellent viewing material.

Below are the youtube links for two of my favorites; one is funny and the other is surprisingly touching. The best thing about these short films? You can watch both in less time than the previews at your local movie theater.

Too Late

Cargo

Day 144: Sunday Sickday

Jedi Elvis

Jedi Elvis

I’m still wiped out from my sickness (which wasn’t helped by being out for Star Wars Day), so today’s post is short and sweet.

Above is Jedi Elvis, the hilarious singer/Star Wars geek. Below are links to my photo/video albums from the last two events I live-tweeted.

Star Wars Day photos and videos

Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Arts Night photos and videos

Day 143: Star Wars Day in Rancho Cucamonga

(Last night I posted this on my Google+ page; after being sick the last two days, I learned my website had exceeded its bandwidth)

I’ve been in bed sick since Thursday and I was getting a bad case of cabin fever. Thankfully, I was feeling a little better today, just in time for Star Wars Day in Rancho Cucamonga. This was the seventh year of the event and it’s better than ever. In addition to all of the amazing cosplayers, attendees were treated to Star Wars storytime with Darth Vader, arts and crafts (my wife and I wore our Yoda ears proudly), origami, artists (we scored a quick-draw sketch of Han and Leia by Jimmy Purcell), customized Star Wars cars, a fun lightsaber demonstration by the Saber Guild, kids costume contest, Wack-A-Jar-Jar (hilarious!), and my personal favorite, Jedi Elvis (songs from The King re-worked with Star Wars lyrics … yes!).

It was three hours of free Star Wars fun for the whole family. I liked how all of the activities were kid-friendly. It’s never too early to get the next generation into Star Wars and considering all of the light saber duels, costumed wee ones, and big smiles on everyone throughout the day, it’s safe to say that Disney’s multi-billion dollar investment will pay off in the years to come.

Day 142: Tea Time

Tea time

Tea time

Ugh. I caught a bug a few days ago and it hit me hard last night. My throat’s sore, my body aches, and I feel sluggish. I’m trying to take the positives out of this illness, though, and I can think of two things:

1. I love hot tea with honey and lemon; being sick lets me drink this all day long.

2. I should be somewhat better by tomorrow, so I can live-tweet from Star Wars Day at the Cultural Center in Victoria Gardens.

Day 141: Next Binge

The X-Files

The X-Files

My wife has never watched the X-Files, so we’re starting with the pilot and she’s leaving it up to me to pick-and-choose the best episodes to binge. It got me excited again for next year’s limited series and I’m going through articles with titles like “Best X-Files Episodes to Watch Before Next Year” and “Scariest X-Files Episodes Ever.” I’ll introduce her to Eugene Tooms next, then perhaps cool things off with Jose Chung.

I hope she takes to the show like I did so many years ago. It’ll give us another excellent series to binge together … and I definitely don’t want to watch Home by myself again.

Day 140: Letterman

David Letterman

David Letterman

Tonight’s the big finale for David Letterman, who wraps up his late-night run after 31 years.

My cousin showed me the way to Letterman back in the mid ’80s, when a wacky character named Pee Wee Herman was being introduced to America. I loved Letterman and his silly, genre-redefining comedy, from Larry “Bud” Melman to Stupid Pet Tricks, the Velcro suit to Mujibur and Sirajul. By the time he moved to CBS from NBC, I’d lost interest in late-night television, except for the occasional episode of Arsenio Hall or, later, the Conan O’Brien show. For me, staying up late back then was for doing anything except watching television.

There’s something to be said for Dave’s longevity. Late-night comedy has changed a lot in my lifetime and Dave was right in the middle of those changes, taking the torch (along with Jay Leno) from Johnny Carson (who took it from Jack Paar and Steve Allen) before handing it off to Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and the rest of the digital-age hosts.

While Dave hasn’t had his best stuff in years, he was funny whenever I did manage to watch some of his show. It was comforting to know that he was there on CBS, plugging away and available if I happened to turn on the TV after 11:30pm. I’ll miss that.

Farewell, Mr. Letterman.

Day 139: Bizarro World

Go Lakers!!!

Go Lakers!!!

Remember Bizarro, the Superman villain that did everything the opposite of our hero? As a Lakers fan, I’ve felt we’ve been in a Bizarro world the last few years as the Lakers have become the laughingstock of the NBA while the Clippers are perpetual playoff contenders. Instead of dissecting the next opponent in the playoffs, fans are dissecting the next NBA draft. June used to mean parades in L.A.; now, it means fully devoting oneself to the Dodgers or even the Kings.

Bizarre-o. And then some.

Hopefully today begins the return to glory for the Lakers. In today’s NBA draft lottery, they nabbed the second pick in the draft, which gives them plenty of top-notch players to rebuild around. I’m hoping that the Timberwolves take Karl-Anthony Towns with the first pick and Jahlil Okafor falls into the Lakers’ laps. Or vice versa. Frankly, any good young talent will be a welcome addition to the team.

Whatever the case may be, it can’t be any worse than this year, when I watched the fewest Lakers games in a season since I’ve been old enough to cheer for the Purple and Gold. I miss watching basketball played at its highest level. I miss getting together with family and friends for the annual playoff run. I miss living in a non-Bizarro world.

Day 138: Pulled Back In

imageOne of the things that any golfer will tell you is that every time we start feeling frustrated, we’ll hit a perfect shot that refuels our passion for the sport. It never fails: chunk an approach or top a tee shot and the next thing you know, you’re getting up-and-down from a bunker or draining a two-breaker downhill putt for a birdie.

Just like Michael Corleone, every time you think you’re done with golf, a great shot will pull you back in.

During my last round at a nearby executive golf course, I watched in horror as my perfectly struck approach on a par-4 found the water. I couldn’t believe it; I hit exactly the shot I wanted and thought I was safe from the lake guarding the green, but the ball wouldn’t stop rolling and ended up wet.

Feeling dejected, I fetched a new ball and took my drop in the designated drop zone about 45 yards away. I hoped to get it close for bogey, but knew that double-bogey or worse was in play, after my misread on the approach. Fortunately, like a feel-good sports movie about redemption, my pitch to the green was perfect. It flew over the lake this time, landed a few yards short of the pin and rolled right in. My buddy yelled, “Nice!” as I did my Tiger Woods fist-pump and raised both my arms like I’d just won the U.S. Open.

 

 

Day 137: I Love (Most of) L.A.

L.A. Clippers

L.A. Clippers

My friends will tell you that I love L.A., but here’s a little secret: I don’t love all of it. Obviously, crime, traffic, and smog make my Don’t Like list. And when it comes to sports, I chose my allegiances a long time ago: the Clippers are not one of the teams I root for.

The Lakers, to me, are the quintessential Los Angeles sports team. There’s a glamour to them that only comes to professional teams that have consistently won over many years and decades, like the New York Yankees. They have a championship legacy that generations of  Southern California families (including my own) have enjoyed for decades. The last few years of bad basketball have tarnished some of the shine of the Lakers franchise, but it won’t result in any permanent damage.

When the Clippers, aka L.A.’s other NBA team, were eliminated today, it was like a continued penance that franchise is paying for all of the years they were owned by someone eventually be banned by the league. Obviously, I feel bad for the players; Chris Paul and Blake Griffin don’t deserve that type of heartbreak.

But for me, like most L.A. NBA fans, I only care about whether or not the Lakers can contend any time soon. Until then, I’ll have to make do with all of the things I do love about L.A.: the food, the people, the weather, days with no traffic, etc.

Day 136: Wine Tasting

image

We spent a relaxing day at the South Coast Winery. The weather was chilly at first, but warmed up later, which made  for  a pleasant afternoon.

We did the winery tour and wine tasting, which included a food pairing. The winery was crowded and for good reason: each wine we tasted was excellent and our tour guide was knowledgeable and passionate about wine.

I’ve gone on many tours like this one and they’re all enjoyable, even if they’re predictable: the tour group is  quiet at the start, but by the end of the tour and several tastings, everyone’s laughing and having a good time. It’s exactly why my wife and I keep going on them.