Under-appreciated in the NBA

smackyjackjack1 Comment

Many of the NBA’s best players go unnoticed throughout their careers. The Best example of an under-appreciated player is Derek Fisher.

Fisher is the team player. He has put up solid stats for his whole career. This season, the 36 year old Laker has averaged over 6 ppg. But what Fisher brings to the court is more than talent, he brings heart. This inspires all of the other players to be better.

Another under-appreciated player is John Wall. Wall is the poster boy for being under-appreciated.  The rookie gets edged out of the spot light because of the fan’s favorite rookie, Blake Griffen. Wall would get the rookie of the year award if it weren’t for Griffen. John Wall is the player no one wants to guard. He is quick and has a good jump shot. He will have quite a career if he can get off of the Wizards.

The final player I want to talk about is Joakim Noah. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Noah is one of the best centers in the league. He is the Derek Fisher of the East. He brings not only heart to the floor, but also talent. 

Weekends?

venturatrekerLeave a comment

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So for almost every teenager, the weekend is a time of rest and recuperation from the stress of school.

But my weekends never seem to end with me feeling refreshed and ready for school.  I’m always so busy on the weekends hanging out with friends and going out.  The reason my weekends always feel so jam-packed is because of the time commitment OVS attempts to put on their day students.

Now, understand that I have successfully circumvented the rules and actually get out of school earlier, AND don’t have to play a sport or fitness.  But for the other Day students that are forced to be around at OVS for agonizing hours on end, they have absolutely no time. When I played soccer, some nights I would not get home until seven o’clock!  So the reason why I believe that weekends leave OVS students more tired then refreshed is simply because of the long hours put onto the students.

The New Punk?

dmilesburtonLeave a comment


Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. Quite a name for a rap group, isn’t it? However, OFWGKTA, or Odd Future, as they are often called, is as far from a traditional rap group as they come.

They have been described as “horrorcore” and “Alternative Hip Hop,” and have dismissed the first, while reluctantly accepting the second. However, thinking about what the represent in the Hip-Hop world today, I’ve come up with an new way to describe OFWGKTA, “Punk Rap.”

The definition of Punk Rock is, “rock music with deliberately offensive lyrics expressing anger and social alienation; in part a reaction against progressive rock.”

Well, if that’s Punk Rock, and Odd Future’s music could be described as rap music with deliberately offensive lyrics expressing anger and social alienation; in part a reaction against progressive rap, then I’d say that that makes them pretty Punk.

I can’t post any of their lyrics that demonstrate it here, but the Orange Juice and Yonkers show it pretty well.

Ran for Japan

shredicusmaximusLeave a comment

Today I partook in a nice run along Santa Monica‘s beach in the rain with a few friends. We ran for two miles and hung out for a while afterwards with all the snacks possible available to us. Why were we there you might ask. The title explains it all.

The Tokidoki relief run took place this morning and I wanted to partake. The funds from the 10 dollar entry fees went to the relief effort for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. We would have bought T-shirts but thanks to the beaten up anime characters on them, we thought “yeah, a simple white t-shirt will do just fine.” They were cute little drawings though. The power rangers were there, and we took pictures with them. For more information please visit my Facebook account.

Josh Duhamel was running it which is the main reason why my friends and I ran into Fergie. Why Paris Hilton was there, well, we won’t argue with another good thing. For us, it was a good incentive to keep running. We wanted to catch up to them. Honestly, they’re well put together, but look the point is it was all in good fun for a good cause.

The day turned beautiful, we enjoyed the beach and chilled for a while afterwards, and got to see the hottest of the Black Eyed Peas. It was a good day to go to the beach, and we all walked away feeling like we had accomplished something special.

If you pay 10 dollars, you might have helped a small piece of Japan, but if you tell your friends and they tell theirs, then you have saved a nice chunk of it.

The Fighter

shredicusmaximus1 Comment

So I was watching The Fighter yet again with a buddy of mine this past weekend. He hadn’t seen it yet and I thought it was rather absurd that it had been this long without him seeing this piece of cinematic gold. It was nominated at the Oscars for many different academy awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress just to name a few. Any way, after I went to Blockbuster and saw it was completely sold out (for good reason), I bought it on my TV. We both sat down, shut up, got the food out, and watched the movie.

The film is set in Lowell Mass. circa 1993. It follows the story of road worker and actual boxer in real life, Mickey Ward played by Mark Wahlberg. A 31 year old “stepping stone” as he is called by critics and the residents, he lives under the over protective eye of his mother/manager Melissa Leo and in the shadow of his trainer/step brother, a once promising boxer Dicky Eklund played by Christian Bale. Eklund is the pride of Lowell for having fought Sugar Ray Leonard on HBO in 1978 and having “knocked him down” even though it is determined that Leonard simply tripped. Yet after having all the  notoriety come too fast and too soon, Eklund has slipped into crack addiction and crime. He lives in a rundown crack house, repeatedly shows up late to training sessions, and is constantly in drug induced hazes on the days of Mickey’s fights.

Back to Ward. Ward is a very talented boxer, but he is simply falling victim to the wrong fights and with a real chance on the horizon at the age of 31, he is torn between doing what’s best for him and his loyalty to his family. It’s a great story about how this very lovable and real character makes it to the top of the boxing world. It is a very Rocky-esque rise to the top indeed.

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Moammar Gadhafi: Enemy, Dictator… Friend?

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“He gave us life. I am ready to die for him. He is a father, a brother and a friend to whom you can confide. You have no idea how humble he is.” (Fatia, 27).

When you think of the name Moammar Gadhafi, you don’t necessarily think “humble”. Well, supposedly, while the rest of the world sees this pernicious dictator as a threat to the safety and overall freedom of Libya, the women of his growing army see him as the father they never had.

The girls, or women rather, are recruited by Gadhafi himself and enrolled in a three year training “school” where they are transformed from proper, virtuous, daddy’s girls into highly trained, bazooka blasting, high heel-wearing, ninja warrior, Gadhafi girls.

These young women are literally made into modern day Charlie’s Angels. “Trained killers” is what Lauren Frayer, contributor to AOL News calls them and that is positively what they are. Throughout their training they are educated in martial arts and rocket launching and are unconditionally devoted to their Libyan leader. Women who will literally [like Jesus] die for him. I mean really willing to die. For example, as Gadhafi was being shot at, one of them jumped in front of him and took the bullets and died! That, my friends, is loyalty.

“Revolutionary nuns” is what they call them. Yes, “nuns”. And whatever ideas you can draw out of that…it’s true. I won’t go on any further.

So, could this be the work of Gadhafi’s “Casanova” prowess, or does Lybia’s fearless leader actually have some fraction of a soft side?

“The Black Plague”

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First it was the “Bieber Fever,” which was pretty awful to begin with, but now the world has moved onto a new disease; “The Black Plague.”

To be honest, I’m really surprised that no other fellow OVS blogger posted anything about her. It’s been a considerably sociable talking subject.

To be honest, I feel really bad for her for three reasons.

One, she may very well think that she is a good singer. I can openly admit that I’m an absolutely awful singer, and that would stop me from ever wanting to take a career in vocalizing. Can’t she hear herself sing? How could her parents let her put herself out there. The world is cruel and no matter how great she may be, the general public will pick away at her until they could find something worth hating. However, in her situation, her main act was apparently worth hating.

Two, all the death threats. Even if she is a good singer, nobody deserves to be told “I hope you cut yourself,” and “I hope you’ll get an eating disorder so you’ll look pretty, and I hope you go cut and die.” It’s awful! Even if she was an awful conceited person, she doesn’t deserve to be told that. No matter how many times she may deny the fact that it really takes a toll on her confidence, it must.

Three, her fifteen minutes of fame are really from people making fun of her. Even if she is thirteen, there is no excuse for using something so embarrassing to put yourself out there even further. I guess that you could say her confidence may be admirable, but this seems more like ignorance. Is she really that oblivious to what people actually think of her?

Mumford and Sons.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Mumford and Sons

Mumford and Sons are a folk rock band from London. They are a four-piece band with one common cause- to make great music.

Formed in 2007, the band emerged from West London’s Country Scene. When the group first  came together they shared one thing in common, passion. They’re  love for music, specifically in the folk scene, made it easy for them to write and create great songs  that emitted their enthusiasm.

After writing their first bundle of songs the band hit the road, drawing in the masses with their unique style and quirky songs.

By October 2009 Mumford and Sons released their first album “Sigh No More.” This debut proved a success both in their home nation, coming second in the UK Album Chart, and in the U.S where it peaked on the Billboard 200.  Mumford and Sons had not just triumphed their hometown but also a super power.

After the release of their first album the group have only gone up in people’s opinions. With melodies full of warming tones and lyrics that tell of great tales, the group really can do no wrong.

That 84 percent.

smackyjackjack2 Comments

With the human population nearing 7 billion, I think it is a time we examine ourselves very closely.

One thing that I find very interesting is the fact that 84% of all people on this planet, are, in one form or another, religious. The superstition of Gods and other such things has been one trait that we have not been able to shake.

33% of all humans are Christian. That makes the Vatican one of the most powerful organizations in the world. The Catholic Church is so powerful that it has become it’s own country.  I am completely dumbfounded by what humans have allowed to happen. Religion is responsible of worst atrocities ever committed, yet people still follow it blindly.

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Life as a Teenager

vabenissimoLeave a comment

Just a year ago when I was striving to survive my junior year, comtemplating about my life was considered as an act of luxury.

Now that I have gotten so much time to kill, I brood over making right “choices.”

How much should I allow my parents, friends, and other mentors to interfere with my decision-making?

How do I know if I tried my best?

And, am I on the right track?

Since I have to put an end to my teen phase soon, I ponder, ponder, and ponder once again about EVERYTHING. I am pretty sure some seniors experience the same.

All my dilemmas sprout from this single fact; I soon will not be considered as a child, but as an adult.

My life as a teen was fabulous. My immaturity and childish ignorance had been the best excuses for my mistakes. But, the thought that these excuses will no longer be valid terrifies me.

On the bright side, my mind-processing skills have improved vastly over the time. As I look back, the questions that I had during my middle and high school years sound so inane, except for a few that I still struggle to answer.

Hopefully, I will find a balance soon between this sense of ambiguity and assurance.

Until then, my migraine will probably to linger. Urgh.