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Day 335: Giving Tuesday

#GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday

While I’ve shunned Black Friday over the years and slowly become more of a Cyber Monday kinda guy, Giving Tuesday is really the only day that matters.

Started four years ago, “#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Observed on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.”

My wife and I have supported Wikipedia and CicLAvia on previous Giving Tuesdays. This year, we donated to a cause very close to our hearts: Visual Communications.

Visual Communications “is the first non-profit organization in the nation dedicated to the honest and accurate portrayals of the Asian Pacific American peoples, communities and heritage through the media arts.”

It felt good to make a small donation tonight. And unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is the only pseudo-holiday that can be practiced on any day of the year, so if you’re reading this days, weeks, or months from now, you can still participate.

Day 334: Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday.

Cyber Monday.

Every year I do more and more of my holiday shopping online and it’s been years since I’ve gone out on Black Friday. I haven’t totally gone cyber, though, since a few of the things I’ve bought in the past required a quick trip to a brick-and-mortar store.

This year I made it a point to not only do all of my holiday shopping online, but to finish it early. I stayed up until midnight last night to get a jump on Cyber Monday and it really paid off. Items that I had bought on Amazon were quickly returned once I was able to take advantage of Target’s 15 percent off Cyber Monday special. Every penny counts these days!

I’m glad I got that head start, too, since Target’s website crashed this morning. I’d gone back to check my account when I saw the over-capacity message. That’s one great thing about cybershopping: a store that’s filled to the brim doesn’t degenerate into fisticuffs and real-life silliness.

Day 333: Kobe

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant

After a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers (my favorite sports team) Kobe Bryant announced that he’s retiring at the end of this season.

There’s an unofficial tradition in my family: picking a Laker to have a love/hate during his career. My uncle always complained about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. My dad couldn’t stand Magic Johnson.

Kobe was my love/hate Laker.

When things went bad, he was a ball hog, a player who didn’t play the game the right way, and a diva that would sabotage team goals in order to score more points or try to be the hero.

When things went well, he was basically Jordan 2.0.

His greatest individual moment was the perfect example of his good/bad: he scored the second-most points in NBA history, 81, on the same night where he dished out two assists. Two assists by one of the all-time greats on a night he was virtually unstoppable?

As someone who came of age when Magic could completely dominate a game without taking a shot, I saw this as one of the greatest sins a player could commit: not sharing the ball.

And yet, I remember that night, completely blown away by his shooting display (and the fact that the Raptors never double-teamed him). It showed everything good and bad about Kobe. His greatness was never in question; his commitment to playing the game the right way was. It’s why, even as a diehard Laker fan, I’d rather watch LeBron James. He’s the one who took the torch from Magic when it came to playing the game the way I watched it in the ’80s. A player who used his talent to make his teammates better.

Kobe was the closest thing we’ve seen to Jordan. He forced his teammates to bend to his will through his unparalleled dedication and preparation to the game he loved.

For me, his greatest display was during the 2001 playoff run, when the Lakers defeated three straight 50-win teams, going 15-1 in the postseason. The way they demolished the favored San Antonio Spurs was spectacular: Shaq and Kobe at their peak playing-powers, a modern Wilt-Jordan combination with the perfect set of complementary players and the best coach in NBA history.

Kobe played perfectly during that run, scoring at will yet doing all of the things a great teammate does: share the ball, rebound, and defend the opposition, but most importantly he made everyone better

It’s a shame that he and Shaq couldn’t work things out because I’d be writing about one of the all-time great players from the Greatest NBA Team Ever.

Instead, I’m appreciating one of the greatest to ever play the game (and one of the top five guards in history: MJ, Magic, Kobe, West, and The Big O) who was part of one of the most incredible postseason runs ever.

Day 332: Twenty Two

Carrie, Mark, and Harrison.

Carrie, Mark, and Harrison.

Twenty two.

That’s the number of times I saw the original Star Wars in a movie theater.

Somehow I convinced my parents to let me go every time the opportunity presented itself. Whether it was with my cousins or classmates, I was not going to miss out on seeing the movie set in a galaxy far, far away.

I saw it at the Pasadena Academy, a huge palace of a theater that now houses a multiplex. I saw it at the General Cinema in the mall, where my brothers and I always giggled at the opening music. I saw it at the drive-in.

I even saw an early bootleg copy on my uncle’s Betamax.

With The Force Awakens less than a month away, I’m curious to see how many times I end up seeing it. The last movie I saw twice in a theater was Avatar, thanks to the game-changing 3-D effects.

My wife and I have had our tickets for opening night for months (thanks to our local comic book store, which is hosting an early private screening) and I’m assuming that we’ll take our niece and nephew when they visit for the holidays. So that’s at least two times I’ll be in the theater. Of course, I’ll have to see it in IMAX, so that’s a third viewing.

But I don’t think I have the desire to see any movie 22 times in a theater. I’ll probably stop after the IMAX version. Of course, that won’t stop me from watching it at home several times after the Blu-Ray release … as long as J.J. Abrams doesn’t pull a George Lucas by adding a bunch of unnecessary CGI to everything.

In fact, can we start a petition for the Blu-Ray release to have FEWER lens flares? I’ve seen one in the trailers so far, but I’m sure there will be plenty more.

Note: This entry was inspired by this excellent article. If you lived through childhood during the 70s and 80s, you’ll appreciate it. 

Day 330: Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

While we didn’t do the traditional Thanksgiving this year (instead, we spent a few days in Las Vegas), I couldn’t be more thankful for my family.

Food, laughs, more food, and more laughs: these always happen when we’re together, no matter where we are.

Day 329: Tacos El Gordo

Tacos El Gordo. Perfect taco al pastor.

Tacos El Gordo. Perfect taco al pastor.

One of my favorite places to eat in Las Vegas is Tacos El Gordo. There are a few locations in town and each is an unassuming taco shop, always busy and consistently serving mouth-watering tacos.

It’s all about the al pastor here, the marinated pork that’s carved off a rotating spit. I always eat a few tacos whenever I’m in town and they’ve never let me down. I think I have a Pavlovian response now: the second I enter the city limits I crave that al pastor, which is some of the best I’ve had north of the border.

Pro tip: ask for pina (pineapple) while they’re making your taco al pastor.

Day 328: Neon Museum

The Neon Museum in Las Vegas.

The Neon Museum in Las Vegas.

I crossed off one of the items on my Bucket List: visiting the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. Ever since I’d heard of its existence I’ve wanted to see all of the old neon signs up close and personal in their final resting place.

The last time I was in town I tried to get a same-day reservation and learned that it frequently sold out. This time I made a reservation weeks ahead of time and had no problem.

My wife and I loved the hour-long tour. Las Vegas has a lot of colorful history and our tour guide did a fine job covering it as it related to the signs we saw. From the segregation in the 1950s to the family-friendly 1990s, the neon Vegas signs were products of their times.

We heard stories about Bugsy Siegel, Howard Hughes, and the Rat Pack in addition to the creators of the signs themselves, including Betty Willis, the woman responsible for the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas Sign.

It was a fun, informative tour and the hour flew by. I wish we could’ve had a few more minutes to take even more photos, but another group had already begun its tour. We were okay with that, though, since it gave us an excuse to do the night-time tour (with a few of the signs restored to their former glory) one day.

Day 326: International Games Day @ Your Library

King of Tokyo.

King of Tokyo.

Yesterday was International Games Day @ Your Library, celebrated at libraries everywhere. Our local library’s event was from 2-4pm and my wife and I arrived about 15 minutes late, only to find things being packed up. Our host said nobody had shown up, so she was happy to get the games back out on the table to game with us.

The three of us started with King of Tokyo, which was an absolute blast. My wife and I had never played before, but it only took a few turns before we got the hang of it. A few minutes later, a lady and her 14-year-old son arrived and we added them to the mix. We enjoyed a lot of laughs as we each took turns attacking each other.

We ended the event with a few quick games of  Wits and Wagers (Party edition) and Timeline: Inventions. My only complaint about the event? We didn’t have enough time to play all of the other great games available.

Day 325: Tea Time

Tea time has never looked so scientific.

Tea time has never looked so scientific.

There’s a new coffeehouse in our neighborhood that serves an outstanding white peach jasmine tea.  My wife and I love the modern, hip space and we really enjoy how the tea is served. It feels so scientific: steep for four minutes, then turn the valve to release the heavenly drink into the small pitcher.

Best of all, the wi-fi signal was strong and steady, which allowed me to watch FC Barcelona shut out Real Madrid.

Not a bad way to start my Saturday.