new football coach

today, ucla hired neuheisel as coach.

i am afraid of possible violations and sanctions.

some cool videos during cupcake season...

in anticipation of the game against uc davis tonight, which i expect to be won in a very convincing manner, i found the below videos of my boys in blue and gold on youtube.

i love my boys!




i miss arron afflalo! ...and i love alfred aboya's hustle and he friggin eats cats, rats and vipers! haha!

grieving the loss of a santa hat

my grief

i miss my UCLA santa hat.

i wore it to a basketball game.

i wore it on the plane - on a game day before christmas when UCLA had basketball and football games.

unfortunately, i lost it (and a wool cap and a glove) on a night out filled with sangrias, kamikaze shots, carbombs, heinekens and grey gooses on the rock.

it makes me very, very, very sad to have lost my UCLA santa hat.




my anger

i love that UCLA santa hat.

so when a friend received his own UCLA santa hat as a present, i was happy for him.

he loaned it to MIRRIAM who wanted to wear it at a party full of u$c fans.

he agreed so long as MIRRIAM promised to return it before the game last saturday.

he made sure that MIRRIAM had his address so she can drop it off prior to the game.

what did MIRRIAM do? she did not return it until the day AFTER the game.

he called and texted prior to the game. MIRRIAM never responded.

he did not have the UCLA santa hat at the basketball or the football game -- which happened in one day -- on this big game day immediately before christmas.

i do not like MIRRIAM.

a glimpse into a christmas family gathering

i haven't celebrated xmas with this side of the family in about 10 years and it was good to come back... albeit, having to brave below freezing temperatures and the infamous "wind chill" factor that brings down the actual temperature even lower. yeah, i literally was freezing my arse (face, legs, hands, and pretty much my whole body) off.

nonetheless, i did brave the frigid temperature because xmas on this side of the family is always a blast because it pretty much focuses on the kids, food, catching up, kids and the food. the whole set up is reminiscent of family reunions past. then, all the kids were all forced (yes, forced) to do a talent show. one either sings, dances, plays an instrument. whatever. that way, the parents get to be proud of their kids and the elder family members get amused.

i remember avoiding the talent show like the plague. i would hide out with my cousins (my age) so no one could force me to do anything. of course, once you reach a certain age, you are no longer subject to such torture.

well, things have changed. in this chicago version of the family reunion - christmas style - the talent show involves kids who actually want to show off their talents. in years past, the kids started off with singing or banging on the piano (literally). but as they aged, their talents have gotten better. and it is quite a joy to see that.

video taped talent shows of years past show my nephew, who is now 18 but was then about 8 or so, running to grab the mike to sing as many christmas carols he could think of -- and then, making some up -- to the amusement of his adoring public. he was, of course, quite embarassed now and he received a lot of good natured ribbing as only family could give. and to protect the innocent, i will not mention his name -- but he is the oldest son of my eldest brother! haha!

all in all, the kids have been great at providing entertainment. they are pretty much kids desiring to enroll at julliard. they play the piano, violin, cello, clarinet. and if my 18 year old nephew did not "graduate" from the talent show, he would have played the saxophone. and if my 13 year old nephew was around, perhaps an electric guitar would have been involved (although he plays the trumpet and has done so at the NY pops). to my 13 year old nephew's credit, he did play his electric guitar for us -- also willingly and with minimal prompting -- over the speaker phone. he was quite good.

yep, it is true, my torture, apparently, to these kids, is not theirs. aaaaahhhhh, kids. go figure! (or maybe, it was just me.)

on to the food. it was a smorgasbord. the food included kare kare (oxtail with peanut butter), kaldereta (goat), dinuguan (pork blood), pansit (noodles with shrimp and chicken and veggies), fresh lumpia (which should be differentiated from other kinds of lumpia, which are all fried), empanada (pastry with ground pork, chopped hard boiled egg, raisins), pork sinigang (tamarind flavored soup with pork), grilled fish (pompano).... oh and yeah, ham.

veggies pretty much consisted of a veggie platter from costco, that as far as i knew, remained untouched. :D

dessert was also quite a treat. we had buko salad (coconut meat, jello and milk), tinudtudok (sweet rice flour and sugar) and palitaw (coconut and sweet rice flour). i must admit that a chocolate mousse, sees candies, baklava and some brasilian candies also showed up at the dessert table.

i am sure there was more food, but i only have one stomache and could not eat/remember everything. darn!

but most importantly (to me, at least), these types of gatherings afforded me to catch up with family - uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, and the whole lot. cuz i have got plenty. and that is alright with me.

to be fair, my other side of the family also has the same talent show and the same smorgasborg of food -- albeit on a smaller scale - but that was a function of quantity - my grandparents on that side did not reproduce as much as the grandparents on this side. :D

some of the family


my grandparents started it off. ...and this isn't even close to including everybody!



and some of the food


fresh lumpia - individually wrapped




pansit




kaldereta - goat meat





kare kare - oxtail and tripes in peanut butter sauce





grilled pompano - must be eaten with the chopped tomatoes and onions and patis (fish sauce)





buko salad - coconut meat, jello and milk

left (top to bottom): baklava, palitaw, pork empanada, brasilian candy, sees candy

right (top to bottom): chocolate mousse pie, some candies

my half eaten empanda - served warm. yummy!

mamon on the top left. tinudtudok on the top right. and my half eaten tinudtudok, which one of my cousin says has the highest sugar content.... i ate about 5 or 6. so yummy!

ramblings about a winter wonderland

i am in chicago and it is COLD!

i have always wondered how people can live here. and i still keep on wondering. when people say it is freezing -- they are not lying. it is literally freezing. ...and then, you add on the wind chill and you're really really freezing.

i went on a walk yesterday. bad idea. my head was warm, my body was warm, my feet were warm. my legs were getting prickly cold. my face was about to fall off. it was freezing!!!!!

here are some of my freezing pix:

yeah, i was that cold!


it looks pretty from afar. but it was cold!


pretty lights

thank god it is basketball season

UCLA = first school to win 100 ncaa national championships. GO BRUINS!!!

last night, i went to my first game of the season at pauley (most likely my only game at pauley this season -- no season tix this year).



we were rockin' our kevin love shirts courtesy of matt.

idaho state tried to play the zone. but they weren't good enough to befuddle my boys. there really was no competition right from the beginning.

i thought that i would see nikola dragovic rain threes. he barely played and he didn't make any basket. his defense was not quite there.

darren collison was progressing nicely after his surgery. he was the highest scorer of the game.

kevin love barely played -- understable given the blow out. he missed some dunks but he made a couple too. i have to remember that he is a freshman.

saw chace stanback play -- around the last 4 minutes of the game. he'll be fine in a few years.

i was pleased with how my boys improved on their free throws. aboya was 4-4 and mata was 2-2. very, very pleased. ....even though i was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

even caught this dunk courtesy of mata:


as much as i enjoyed the pass from shipp to love for a dunk, and mbah a moute's dunk and collison's tres, i have found my newest "kelvin kim." that would be #55, a.k.a. the walk-on matt lee. as blowouts go, coach puts in the third stringers. lee played his heart out and was determined to score. the last 6 seconds on an inbound pass, he was still playing and trying to get past defenders. then, just right before the buzzer went off, he went for a three. ....and it was in! matt lee. my new kelvin kim.

score: ucla - 89 v. idaho state 49.

congrats to coach ben howland on his 100th win last night as the bruin head coach!

interesting stats from espn:

Ben Howland earned his 100th victory as UCLA coach, tying him with John Wooden and Steve Lavin as the second-fastest to do so. Wooden, who won a record 10 national championships, and Lavin, who was fired, both reached the milestone in 142 games. Jim Harrick, who was fired after winning the 1995 NCAA title, hit 100
in 136 games.

i know coach howland ain't following in the footsteps of he-who-must-not-be-named (a.k.a. "rico hines is the coach on the floor").

as for he-who-must-be-revered, ak.a. coach wooden, i did not see him at pauley last night. it still never ceases to amaze me that we have a living legend at most home games.

it's good to be a bruin.

reflections on a fantastic 3-week trip to brasil

i am in love with bahia. i would love to go back one day and just explore it even more. although i would love to visit the rest of the gold coast (recife, fernondo de noronho, natal, jericoacoara, etc.), the amazon and iguassu.

here are my one word reflections:
music in salvador - dynamic
morro - idyllic
beaches in morro - beautiful
boipeba - unspoiled
sunsets in bahia - breathtaking
body issues - confidence
hang gliding in rio - amazing
futbol game at maracana in rio - wild
christ the redeemer as a 7th wonder - really?
rio - busy
buzios - blah
driving in brasil - scary
people - friendly
food - mediocre
caipirinha - yummy

i am so sad to have missed olodum, as they were touring when i was in salvador. for those who don't know, olodum is one of the more established drumming groups based in salvador and performed with paul simon in this video of the obvious child:


the first scene shown on the video is the same place where i saw the reggae star geronimo play and where i met wonderful new friends from chile, italy and england and whom i hope to visit soon.

compare the opening scene in the video with this picture i took:

the place is a bit run down now but it is still a great place to hold concerts. i was there... dancing and drinking! :D i love salvador!

i did enjoy other drumming from salvador, which i absolutely enjoyed. view those videos here, here, here and here.

even though i did not see olodum, i am now addicted to at least 2 of olodum's songs:
1. faraó divindade do egito (i think it is something about the pharaohs of egypt)
2. i miss her

if you click here, it will take you to the olodum site that has a radio playing their music.

here are some practical tips if anyone plans to go solo to salvador, morro, rio and buzios for 3 weeks:
1. if you don't want to check anything in, just buy your toiletries there. everything is cheap and the quality is the same. if you land in sao paulo, rio or salvador, pharmacies abound to buy shampoo, soap, toothpaste and all other liquids you want to avoid packing.
2. if the only electronics you plan to bring are your ipod, cell phone and camera, don't bother bringing a converter. usually, those take 110-240 volts. make sure you check though.
3. don't bother bringing flip flops. buy your havaianas (very comfy flip flops) there. it is cheaper there than here. buy one the first time you land. then shop around for even cheaper ones for your stockpile back home and/or presents.
4. bring only one bathing suit and buy your extras there. first, it is cheaper and second, you get the brazilian fashion so you don't stick out like a sore thumb at the beach.
5. i took 3 gigs worth of memory card for my digicam. i used up about 2.75 gigs in 3 weeks. keep that in mind.
6. definitely bring a phrasebook with you if you don't speak portuguese or spanish. a lot of the locals don't speak english.

helpful words/phrases:
"mais devagar, por favor" [mahysh deh-vah-gah, por fah-vor] - slowly, please
"obrigada" [oh-bree-gah-dah] - thank you (use this if you are a girl)
"obrigado" [oh-bree-gah-doh] - thank you (use this if you are a boy)
"muito obrigada/obrigado" [moy-toh] - thank you very much
"onde banheiro" [ong-day ban-yeah-roe] - where is the bathroom?
"tudo bem" [too-doh beng] - everything's alright (this is the literal translation but it is equivalent to "what's up." you can respond by saying "tudo bem" back or just the shortened "tudo")

my favorite phrase i learned the entire time i was there
"vocé está brinquendo con meu coração."
guys in brazil are very passionate. they say all these things that i would not hear an american dude say. it sounds so cheesy but it sounds good when you hear it in portuguese.

so, what does it mean? it means "you are toying with my heart."

how does one say it? voh-say bring-ken-do cong myo koh-rah-song.

fyi, no one said it to me nor did i say it to anyone. but i love it. it is hilarious!

head to head:
salvador v. rio - salvador wins
morro v. buzios - morro wins
salvador v. morro - tie
rio v. buzios - rio wins
morro v. boipeba - tie
caipirinha v. caipisaque - tie
lime caipirinha v. any other fruit caipirinha - lime caipirinha wins
any other fruit caipirinha v. any other fruit caipisaque - any other fruit caipisaque wins

extensive ramblings on my trip can be found here.

another call for dorrell to get fired!

washington state v. ucla. ucla lost. ....to wazzu! the same team that was 0-4 in conference play before ucla came in to the palouse. ugh!

i am not as angry as yesterday. but dorrell has got to go. now.

random ramblings

on the wildfires

i don't understand arsonists. apparently, it is suspected that at least one of the 16 or so fires burning in southern california was caused by arsonists. what kind of kick could arsonists possibly get?

my thoughts are with friends, family and everyone else living and/or evacuated from the affected areas. i hope the winds die down soon so the fires could be contained and no longer endanger lives of thousands.

perhaps, some good can come out of this disastrous event: better urban planning, better environmental controls, and better prevention of global warming.


on albus dumbledore being gay

jk rowling, author of the harry potter series, announced dumbledore is gay. cool!


on college basketball

aaaaaaw! this is a real good article about kevin love and coach wooden.

Love also is going to ask as many questions as he can to absorb what it means to be at UCLA, how he can hang a 12th national championship banner in Pauley Pavilion and maybe, even if he's in college for only one season, become as effective as some of the great centers who have passed through the school.

this kid is gonna do BIG things for ucla. i can't wait!

as for u$c, this is hilarious! per u$c coach tim floyd:

"We're trying to be comparable nationally to what Duke and Carolina have accomplished 10 miles apart," Floyd said. "We recognize that the other three [Duke, UNC and UCLA] are there. Ten years ago, 12 years ago, I would have never made a comment like this, because you never try to over-promise and under-deliver, but at this point in my career I recognize this is my last job. We want to set the bar high, and we'll never get there unless we set the bar high."

apparently, floyd fancies himself comparable to coach k:

Floyd compared USC's private school education, the lofty price tag to attend and the academic reputation to Duke. He said the wealth of talent in southern California makes the rivalry even more of a possibility.

as much as i dislike duke, at least duke has won national championship banners and made regular appearances to the final four.

floyd takes $c to the sweet sixteen once and he thinks he can win a national championship and/or make regular appearances to the final four!

another w -- courtesy of defense

bruins beat the bears!

again, 1 touchdown was courtesy of defense after an interception. defense also did a good job in holding off cal. good times.

HOWEVER, there was a time when the crowd was chanting "fire karl!" because offense was terrible. and i must admit that i joined in....

is it possible? from LAT:

IT'S THE first game off the Notre Dame debacle, and TomDienart from
sportingnews.com reports a few days ago: "A source told me that UCLA AD Dan
Guerrero met with Bruin defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker last week during
the team's off week to discuss the possibility of Walker taking over as interim
coach this season if Dorrell is let go early."

UCLA insists there is no truth to the report, so Dienart takes it off the website, which indicates sportingnews.com's operation is about as shaky as the Bruins' offense at times.

UCLA confirms Guerrero and Walker had a breakfast meeting, though, but only to discuss Walker's career development.

it was a sold out game!

out the tunnel.

end of the game celebration. GO BRUINS!

players leading the 8 clap

overheard at the game:
alumni cheerleader: who does america wants us to be?
crowd: BRUINS!
alumni cheerleader: who does al qaeda wants us NOT to be?
crowd: BRUINS!

the alumni cheerleader

hurrah for basketball season

it is official: today is the first day of practice. woohoo!!!

again, dorrell has dashed any hopes of making football season exciting. so, i look forward to bball season.

i love this quote from gary parrish's article at cbs sportsline:

the first Friday before Oct. 15 has arrived, meaning college basketball teams are allowed to begin practicing without limits, and many are starting with a Madness celebration of some sorts designed to rally fans and impress recruits.

At Memphis, it's Memphis Madness.

At Indiana, it's Hoosier Hysteria.

At Southern Illinois, it's Maroon Madness.

At Kansas, it's Latenight in the Phog.

At UCLA, it's ... well, it's just practice.

"We don't need the hype," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We've got plenty of hype."

Spoken like a man with 11 national title banners in his arena, not to mention Darren Collison and Kevin Love on his roster. No question, a lack of hype is not an issue for the Bruins, who are a wise pick to make the Final Four for the third consecutive season.

yep, HUGE expectations at pauley. but, what's new?

GO BRUINS!

... and COACH WOODEN -- ADVANCED HAPPY 97th BIRTHDAY!!!! (10.14.07)

dorrell sucks!

fire dorrell!

there is a lot of blame to go around during ucla's loss to notre dame -- who, previously, was 0-5. embarassing! but the blame, primarily, rests on dorrell.

it was utah all over again. no touchdown loss. again.

third string, freshman, walk on quarterback played. yes, he made bad decisions -- like throwing the ball to a notre dame guy when there was no bruin anywhere around that guy. (i did say that him starting can't be good...)

there were also TWO failed touchdowns because the bruins seem to keep on dropping the ball! WTF?!?!

but primarily, what plays where they calling?!?!?! bethel-thompson is a third string, freshman, walk on. and why was he told to keep on throwing the damned ball?!?!?!

why did bethel-thompson look so unprepared given that a) cowan is injured, b) olson is injury prone and got injured and c) there are no other quarterbacks after cowan and olson?!?!?! yes, i know he is a third string, freshman, walk on. but they've got what they call "practice" and "coaches" to at least prepare him for something. good lord he was awful!

and do i need to repeat it? notre dame was an 0-5 team? what was dorrell doing in practice?!?!?! he better not blame this loss to "injuries."

8-clap

bruin spell out

highlights of the day (because the game was a definite lowlight)
1. spotted: lorenzo mata (who is now lorenzo mata-real), james keefe (with a new haircut) and deandre robinson before the game (i can't wait for basketball season to start!!!!)

2. the bruins won! i meant those kiddie bruins playing at half time against the kiddie trojans. and the baby bruins did it with a touchdown!!! so adorable!

*as a sidenote, how come those kiddie bruins know what to do to get a touchdown and dorrell doesn't!?!?! (perhaps, because the kiddie bruins weren't doing the west coast offense?)

3. there was also that moment of joy in the stadium when stanford tied u$c, and eventually got the extra point to BEAT $c. both bruins and irish at the rose bowl were happy. the bruins had to find victory elsewhere because it ain't happening on the field. the trees' victory over $c also means that there is still a chance ucla could be pac-10 champs because the utah and notre dame losses were non-pac 10 games.

4. the $c loss meant the headlines were primarily about that upset and not about ucla giving the irish their first win of the season.

5. spotted: kevin love after the game towering over the crowd (i can't wait for basketball season to start!)

...oh, and have i mentioned, i can't wait for basketball season to start!

looking forward.... to saturday and basketball

i know ucla won yesterday against oregon state. but it was ugly. the score might state otherwise (40-14) but the first 3 quarters were painful to watch.

i am looking forward to the notre dame game this saturday...

but more importantly, i am looking forward to college bball to begin. so this article re kevin love makes me laugh. i just have to remember that he is, after all, just a kid and most likely hormone crazy:

Asked why he chose to attend UCLA in 25 words or less, Love lists his teammates' names, along with "campus, academics, atmosphere, winning, tradition and California girls." Asked if he's more tired of answering questions about Bill Walton '74 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar '69 or — talk about California Girls — the Beach Boys (singer Mike Love is Kevin's uncle), he admits it's Kareem and Bill. "How can you respond when they compare you to the two best college basketball players ever?"

The comparisons continue, but Love seems ready. "My role will be different than [in high school]," he says. "Now I get to play with great scorers like Josh [Shipp] and Darren [Collison] and rebounders like Luc [Mbah a Moute] and Lorenzo [Mata]. We will look out for each other. My goal is to win the NCAA championship."

Well, that's one of his goals. His final e-mail concludes, old-school style: "I am also looking forward to getting to know the many girls on the UCLA campus. Girls, keep me in mind, please."

nostalgia for the czech republic

i want to go abroad now.

but, because i am not abroad, i can only fondly remember trips of the past and my then-ramblings:

within minutes of arrival (with no sleep on that trans-atlantic flight) with no clue what i am looking at and just excited to be there!



first night at prague (still no sleep) and doing pub walk stuff



zizkov tv tower ramblings



ramblings just hours before leaving prague, with more info on what i am looking at.

man, i want to travel badly!

i heart la

yes, i am a homer but here is one reason why i enjoy living in this melting pot that is lala land: the people. in this case, this funny guy lets it all out on olvera street.

uh oh

FOOTBALL



















pre-game

saw a beautiful full rainbow on the 10 on the way to the rose bowl.


the game

went to the rose bowl to watch the ucla v. washington game. it was a w. thank god -- especially after last week's debacle.

we lost patrick cowan to an injury -- saw him on cruthces. we have a third string quarterback (bethel-thompson) most likely starting next week. a walk on. it can't be good. although i'd like to be pleasantly surprised and eat my own words.

again, defense scored a touchdown off an interception. there was a touchdown off a punt return. otherwise, our offense sucks! ...or more appropriately, our play making sucks! so frustrating to know that we always run the ball down the middle. ugh!

doesn't dorrell know that everybody else knows what he's gonna do? and just going back to basics: what about all those false starts (4 of them, i think)??? how many returning starters are there? how many seasons has dorrell been at ucla???? ugh!

a friend said that ben olson is having difficulty learning the west coast offense. he said it took drew olson 3 seasons to get it down before getting good at it.

meanwhile, ben olson has been injured last season and appears to be injured again this season; thus, can't possible be comfortable with dorrells' offense. i said, why can't dorrell coach and make plays that enhances the strength of the players he's got? why does he have to force the west coast offense on them?

i see it like this. coach ben howland works with what he's got -- coach howland's (initial) recruits may not be superstars but we've gotten back to the big dance in his second season, the national championship game in his third season and back to the final four in his fourth season. we've gotten nowhere with dorrell in his first 4 seasons. and i think coach howland had to climb out of a bigger hole from what lavin left than what dorrell had to get out of from what toledo left.


out the tunnel. GO BRUINS!!!



we are the mighty bruins!

fight song. U-C-L-A, UCLA fight, fight, fight!

the hoochie dance has gotten tamer.

post-game

went to roscoe's chicken and waffles after.

saw neyo.


BASKETBALL

let me just say this now. if kevin love makes a sweet outlet pass (or any other pass) to darren collison, that should be referred to as a "love line" -- i think "love connection" sounds too cheesy. you heard it hear first!!! do i have a proprietary interest in that? you betcha!

ucla football and legal ramblings part quatre

ucla football

ucla fell out of the ap rankings today because of that horrid "no touchdown" loss to utah. utah!?!?! the same utah that was 0-2 before the game against ucla!!!!

olson has not delivered. clearly. but, i think a lot of this has to do with coaching. ucla barely won against byu. and this loss exposed the joke that dorell has been.

i am almost dreading going to the ucla-washington game this saturday!

surely, ad dan guerrero knows what to do next..... and it starts with getting an exploratory committee to get a new coach in!

more on chemerinsky

the word today is that chancellor drake rescinded the rescission of chemerinsky's contract and he will now get to be the first dean of the uci law school. over the weekend, there have been reports that some conservatives were on drake's ear prior to the rescision.

i almost feel that chemerinsky should just say "thanks, but no thanks." i am sure that chemerinsky will do a fabulous job as dean and get funding, hire excellent faculty, etc, etc. but there have just been too much bad karma already. and, if in the .0000000000000001% that he fails, the conservatives will just have ammo to say "i told you so." and i hate that.

legal ramblings part trois

professor chemerinsky wrote an op ed piece about the rescission of his dean-ship with the about-to-be-established uci law school. was this a surprise? of course not. we all know he is outspoken.

but, it appears that even if the rescission is rescinded (through petition efforts), he will stay at duke. darn.

... if i were chancellor at ucla or dean of ucla law, i'd offer you (and professor fisk) a position.

legal ramblings part deux

the whole chemerinsky affair has been much discussed in the legal profession and in uci circles today. so, uci chancellor drake issued this statement today. interestingly, drake says

The decision was mine and mine alone. It was not based on donor pressure or political pressure; it was based on a culmination of discussions – over a period of time – that convinced me we could not effectively partner to build a world-class law school at UC Irvine.

well, let us look at the timeline. drake offered chemerinsky a job on august 16, 2007. chemerinsky supposedly signed a contract on sept. 4, 2007 and drake rescinded the contract on sept. 11, 2007.

what possibly could have happened between august 16 and september 11 that convinced drake that chemerinsky was not the person for the job? drake alludes in the la times article that he did not want chemerinsky to write op ed pieces because chemerinsky should "focus on things like legal education in this new role." but the op ed piece that apparently irked drake was published on august 16, 2007 -- the same day drake made the job offer to chemerinsky and well before chemerinsky signed the sept. 4 contract.

if drake was so unhappy about the existence of the op ed piece, he should not have made the offer when the op ed piece was published. if drake did not know about the op ed piece until after he made the offer, drake should not have negotiated terms of the contract or given the contract to chemerinsky (i assume that negotiations occurred between august 16 and september 4 -- 19 days!!!). instead, drake should have immediately rescinded the offer before there was any acceptance.

drake then makes this excuse:

In fact, there are individuals here with political views far more liberal than Professor Chemerinsky’s who conduct research, teach and serve in senior administrative positions.

still sounds bad...

legal ramblings

so i read that professor erwin chemerinsky was axed days after signing a contract to be the dean of the university of california irvine's brand new law school. what a shame.

i think that professor chemerinsky has a brilliant legal mind and to have him as a first dean would have brought national prominence to a brand new law school. he is a nationally known constitutional scholar and to axe him because he was perceived as "too liberal" is just outrageous!

perhaps professor chemerinsky should go to ucla. he and professor catherine fisk (his wife) could teach at ucla. it would be a nice point-counterpoint between professors chemerinsky (the supposed liberal) and eugene volokh (the supposed conservative).

speaking of professor volokh, his blog shows that a couple of his bloggers are just as outraged at the canning of professor chemerinsky.

professor volokh, states that

It is generally not proper, for instance, to refuse to appoint a professor because he's too controversial; but it may well be proper to avoid deans who are lightning rods for criticism, or likely to run into trouble with the Legislature or with others.

The example I give is Dean Ken Starr of Pepperdine. If he wanted to move to UCLA, I'd be delighted -- but, if the faculty, the administration, or the Regents opposed such an appointment on the grounds that he'd be too controversial, and the controversy would get in the way of his effectiveness, I would not condemn their position as a breach of academic freedom, or of the First Amendment.

another professor at ucla law, professor bainbridge, is outraged by uci's action.

uci, i think, majorly screwed this one up.

so professor chemerinsky (and professor fisk), if you are reading this, forget uci (and duke).... move back to southern california and please go to ucla!!!!

ucla, please extend an offer to professor chemerinsky -- you already had him as a visiting professor in the 90s -- why not offer him a tenured position? it'd be good to balance his views with those of professors volokh and bainbridge!

i have that wanderlust

i just had dinner with an acquaintance who now lives in london and is back home to visit family and friends. while living abroad, he gets to travel to portugal, spain, france, hungary and all other parts of europe -- just because it is so close. i am so jealous. as much as i love cali, i am not that close to the carribean or europe where i can just jet off for a weekend jaunt. i am so wanting to go to croatia, slovenia, slovakia, romania, hungary, and on and on and on.....

so much to see and do.... so little time... so true.

"d!%^ in a box"

i think it is quite funny that this won an emmy. WARNING: contains explicit lyrics and a lot of sexual content (posted by NBC on youtube).

offense needs a lot of work

went to the rose bowl today to watch ucla beat byu 27-17.

it is a w. but 7 of ucla's 27 points was off a defense interception. plenty of times, bruin defense held off a byu charge.

but, offense, c'mon! this was supposed to be olson's "in your face" game against his old alma mater. but, no. offense was, at times, painful to watch. block! what a concept.

they better play better at the end of the season!!!

...and beat $c december 1, 2007.

sadness!

i just realized that ucla is NOT selling mini plans for the men's basketball season. apparently, because of ucla's recent successes in the tournament, ucla scrapped them altogether and only offer full season tickets for sale.

i gripe because 1. those damned season tickets are expensive, and 2. i can't go to all the games because of work. as a result, i don't even know if i can go to any games this upcoming season. (except for the wooden classic, maybe)

after all my anticipation with love coming in, i feel like being kicked to the curb and stomped on. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! i have been going to those games for years (since the up and down and further down days of the lavin years) and i certainly don't feel the love now. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

i am so feeling the love

i know i am supposed to talk football now with the bruins home season opener against byu just around the corner.

but i can't help it. sports illustrated did a nice story on coach ben howland yesterday, and today, something on kevin love. i love this quote:

One thing Love does not need counseling on is his outlet-passing skills; he has long been known as a virtuoso of the long-bomb outlet on the AAU circuit. Bruins point guard Darren Collison got to experience it first-hand when he and Love played pick-up together for the first time, earlier this month at the Adidas Nations Basketball Experience in New Orleans. "We were setting up a little thing at the free throw line," said Love, "and right when I'd take the ball out of the net, he'd take off on a full sprint, and when he caught it at the other end, he wouldn't even need to take a dribble -- he'd just lay it up."

"People were asking us afterwards how many times we'd played, saying, 'You look like you've been playing together for years,'" said Love. "But that was the first time we'd played together, so it was good hearing it. Hopefully we'll take that into the season and make a run for a national championship."

and here's a video of love's skills, among them, his famous outlet passes (from a YEAR ago!!!). he can only get better.



i am so excited for this upcoming season already!

from what coach howland says, it appears that mata will play the 5 and love will play the 4. interesting. i do like mata's hustle and defense, but dude just doesn't have strong hands! but, the coach knows what he's doing.

in memoriam: victims of the 8.0 earthquake

living in earthquake country myself, i am keenly aware of the horror that happens when the ground starts to shift. and so, my heart goes out to the victims of the earthquake in peru and to those who were injured and lost their homes.

i do remember my short time in lima and fondly remember a neighborhood called miraflores (the santa monica of lima). it makes the news stories of the earthquake more personal as i read about people in miraflores and in the affected areas, in general, go through their horrifying experience.

i hope that peruvians can soon find peace, safety and healing.

shocker!

espn actually gave pac-10 bball a lot of love. they went even as far as saying, pac-10 is "Best in the nation good. Scary movie good."

was there a shake-up over there?

got off scott-free?

ucla decided to reinstate eric scott today even though "During the investigation, previous incidents in Scott's background were discovered." karl dorrrell said "'Eric fully understands and is very clear on the importance of being a good role model and the standard of behavior expected of a coach at UCLA. He also recognizes that UCLA has given him the opportunity to further his professional career and positively impact the lives of many student-athletes.'" meantime, ad dan guerrero said "'While being supportive of the decision, I also reinforced with Eric the standards expected at UCLA.'"

hmmmm.... i hope scott can still be a good role model given his "previous incidents." perhaps, he can use such "previous incidents" as an example of NOT what to do and NEVER doing anything like those things again. otherwise, the "standards expected at UCLA" will be one big joke!

injuries.... not again!

as much as the 2005-2006 season turned out surprisingly well for the ucla men's basketball team by going to the national championship game even after all the injuries, it is just not good to have injured athletes. news came today that james keefe is going to have surgery tomorrow while josh shipp is still recovering from his second hip surgery.

i hope the kids recover nicely and remain healthy and be ready to contend for another national championship title when the season starts.

go bruins!

players need role models

eric scott has been vindicated. according to brian dohn of the la daily news:

Scott cleared
According to Sgt. Leonard Rivas of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the district attorney's office was just alerted them that no case will be filed against UCLA assistant coach Eric Scott.
"The D.A. declined to file on Eric Scott,'' Rivas said. "The reason was the victim was unavailable and declined to testify.''
Jane Robison, a spokesperson for the the district attorney's office, said a reason for not filing charges was a lack of cooperation from the witnesses and victims.
"We're aware of the district attorney's announcement,'' UCLA spokesman Marc Dellins said. "A statement about coach Scott's status will be made after a meeting between coach Scott, coach (Karl) Dorrell and the athletic administration.''
According to sources, that meeting is Friday. Scott is expected to be re-instated.

as much as i am happy for him, makes me wonder how the victim could both be "unavailable" while "declin[ing] to testify." hmmm....

eric scott has been instrumental in the recruitment of highly touted athletes. that being said, this whole arrest thing has brought to light some unsavory details about his past. as much as i advocate for second chances, i just hope that ad dan guerrero and karl dorrell know what they're doing if scott is reinstated. after all, scott is not only going to be reinstated in the assistant coach position but is also supposed to act as a role model to these recruits.

love better not be a big letdown

yes, there is a lot of hype involving kevin love. for the most part, i think that he can back up the hype. i am just a tad concerned that this young man (18 or 19) is partying at the highlands (which is, last i checked, a 21 and over club). he better not be getting in trouble off the court!

on another note, here is another profile on sidney. i am rooting for you , ben, to get renardo to ucla in 2009!

go bruins!

answers to some of my harry potter questions

jk rowling answered some of my questions about the end of the harry potter series. no, she and i did not have a conversation; as much as i would have wanted to.... i got my answers through the nbc interview of jk rowling and cnn's chat with her. i got some answers. and it makes me happy.

here is the full nbc interview. and here is the full chat with jk rowling on mugglenet.

more harry craziness

if you all think i am harry potter crazy, check this out.

my favorite:


the runner up:

student athletes need role models, NOT burglars!

crap like this makes me mad because this is not supposed to happen at ucla. what 32-year old assistant coach of a prestigious school goes around burglarizing homes with 23 year old kids? i know, there was the guy who got the dui and fleeing the scene of the crime thing (i'm not mentioning his name) and the whole disability placard/parking fiasco, or even the alleged brawl at the denny's in westwood allegedly involving former bruin football players.... but this isn't supposed to happen! ugh! ugh! ugh!

but, i am hoping for the best and that maybe this is just one big misunderstanding. (*crossing my fingers*)

game fixing sucks

while the nba is attempting to weather the storm on this game-fixing scandal, i can't help but feel disgusted and disillusioned with the pro game. not that it may not happen with college b-ball (after all, march madness is HUGE with gamblers), but i'd like to think that the refs won't fix the college games.

while both the nba and college b-ball have their share of me-first players, at least in college, there is more of a push towards making the game a team game and not just about individual egos.

that being said, nothing will dampen my enthusiasm for the 2007-2008 and the 2008-2009 college basketball seasons. again, here is another rosy outlook for ucla's future:

"I really think UCLA has the best class (of committed players due to graduate next June) in the country," another Pacific-10 Conference coach said about the apparent fruits of the recruiting efforts of Bruins coach Ben Howland and his staff.

and here's another rosy outlook for the near future:

Love Dunked on Emeka Okafor during the 5 on 5 scrimmage, blocked Josh McRoberts shot 3 TIMES, and he also showed everyone who watched the game his famous outlet pass.

Apparently, Love belonged on the court with the best of the best.

more on harry

i would like to think that jk rowling read my questions about the harry potter characters because she now claims that she will be writing an encyclopedia about what happened to all the characters. yay!

i got caught in the harry potter mania

so i ordered my harry potter and the deathly hallows (book 7) and i had it scheduled to be delivered on july 21, 2007 -- the release date.

at noon on july 21, ups had not delivered it. so i called ups. ups said they delivered it to my post office the day before and that usps would deliver it on july 21 with my regular mail.

at 3 pm on july 21, i received my mail but no harry potter. so i called the post office and asked why i haven't received my harry potter. they said it was because so many people ordered it and their system was: deliver all mail to all households on their route, then deliver all the harry potters.

so what did i do?

i walked around my neighborhood until i found the post woman, showed her my driver's license and asked (without sounding like a stalker) to have my harry potter. luckily, she did not think i was psycho and gave me my harry potter.

i then ran home and read. and read. and it was gooooooooooooooooooooood.

if there is that remote chance that jk rowling reads this blog, here's my message:
thank you for the series!

now here are my questions:

what happened to the dursleys?
what happened to george weasley and the joke shop?
what happened to the death eaters? was there a war crimes tribunal?
what happened to seamus, cho chang, luna, etc.?
what happened to mcgonnagal, sibyl trelawney, filch, etc.?
where did harry and family live - 12 grimmauld, godric's hollow or elsewhere?
what happened to kreacher?

best line of the book (us page 736):
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU B!^*H!"

yuppie

who are "young" urban professionals? my real question is: what is the cut-off age for these so-called yuppies?

so i decided to use my reasearch skills and looked in wikipedia. after all, the collective brain trust should have the answer. and, they seem to suggest (but not really say), as follows:

Although the term yuppies had not appeared until the early 1980s, there was discussion about young upwardly mobile professionals as early as 1968.

Critics believe that the demand for "instant executives" has led some young climbers to confuse change with growth. One New York consultant comments, "Many executives in their 20's and 30's have been so busy job-hopping that they've never developed their skills. They're apt to suffer a sudden loss of career impetus and go into a power stall."

so there you have it... i think...

i can't wait to fall in love

love is here. at ucla. and there's this great story about him. i can't wait to see him pass, to see him dunk, to see a real center and real low post threat. i can't wait!

on the other hand, here is some cheesiness from that he-who-shall-not-be-named person who singlehandedly crapped on the ucla basketball program. he is getting married and when he received too many people who rsvp'd yes, he uninvited them and decided to get married in europe instead. and he hasn't told the resort! how tacky!

7 wonders, i wonder

the list came down to:

great wall (china)
machu picchu (peru)
chichen itza (mexico)
colosseum (italy)
taj mahal (india)
petra (jordan)
christ the redeemer (brazil)

i agree that great wall, machu picchu, chichen itza and colosseum should be there. i personally think that the acropolis, easter island and angkor should have been up there too, but what do i know? i was only 1 vote among (apparently) 100 million.

words of wisdom, the future, the near future, and a year after the near future

i know i am a ucla homer. but, i thought that kareem abdul-jabbar spoke eloquently at the 2007 ucla graduation ceremony. he said:

"I'm not claiming that you have to sell all your worldly possessions, wander the
globe in rags, and, worse, cancel HBO," he quipped. "You should embrace and
celebrate your pleasures."
"But also prove that you are worthy of being successful by making yourself significant."

amen.

i may become a detroit pistons fan (except when they face the lakers or clippers) now that they signed arron afflalo! congrats, arron!

as for ucla's schedule for the 2007-2008 season, i guess howland decided out of conference play during pac-10 play is out. i can't say i disagree but then again, that tactic works out well when pac-10 is superior. otherwise, to play in the big dance, we would need to boost strength of schedule (yale?!?!? prairie view a&m?!?!?!). hopefully, this year, pac-10 will be as superior as being predicted.

that being said, so happy that jrue holiday will be an incoming freshman at ucla in 2008! woohoo! and if kevin love stays for his sophomore season, that 2008-2009 team has got so much potential.

so now, i am crossing my fingers (still) for renardo sidney, hollis thompson and the wear twins in 2009! (stanford, stay away from these twins!)

lists - just because

not necessarily in order...

top 10 places to see/go before i die:
1. the view from the top of mt. kilimanjaro, the serengeti
2. zanzibar
3. angkor wat
4. hanoi
5. athens, crete, mykonos, santorini
6. rio de janeiro
7. galapagos
8. base camp at mt. everest (i am not that ambitious to climb up)
9. moscow, st. petersberg
10. international space station or the moon (realistically, probably not; but i can dream)

were in the "top 10 places to see/go before i die" list but been checked off the list:
1. machu picchu
2. paris
3. rome
4. venice
5. florence
6. amsterdam
7. london
8. prague
9. new york
10. new orleans

my fave hikes:
1. hiking the inca trail to machu picchu
2. hiking to half dome
3. hiking to the bottom of the grand canyon

places to see before i die

someone recently gave me a book entitled, "1,000 places to see before you die." it is great! but, it made me depressed that i have only been to 65. 65 out of 1,000!!!! UGH!

i can't help that going to nick san and seeing lance armstrong is not on that list! or going to pauley pavilion and seeing coach wooden is not on that list either. heck, watching the u.s. open in flushing meadows isn't on there either. or watching a lakers game at the forum (back in the day) or at staples center isn't on there either. oh well.

shady...

tim floyd must be crazy. he just recruited an 8th grader to play college b-ball --- before the kid even decided which high school to go to.

first off, that kid is still developing.

second, what if the kid doesn't pan out... that is one scholie off.

crazy!

cabo sports sightings

who knew that cabo san lucas, and specifically, nick san, is a hotbed for sports figures....?

michael strahan of the ny giants was on a date with eddie murphy's ex-wife.

one table over, was lance armstrong with a group of dudes.

and of course, one table over was.... me.

i took off for the nowhere bar. a few minutes later, lance followed. and later still, strahan and his date followed.

that was funny.

btw, thanks to fc for the photo.

a new meaning to "down the toilet"

it is always disheartening to read a story like this. individuals can find ways to try and help eliminate poverty. but, as a collective, i don't think we are doing enough.

high expectations

was ucla being chosen by gary parish as the top school to dominate college basketball the next 5 years really a surprise? i think not.

indeed, if jrue holiday comes to ucla in 2008, ucla will, arguably, have the best incoming class with drew gordon, jerime anderson and malcolm lee. sweet.

then, in 2009, my fingers are crossed for renardo sidney.

bruin haters redux

no apology from the bruin hater. instead, he now claims he was complimentary and not sexist or dismissive of women athletes in general and of male athletes not playing football:

1) In the column, I wrote, "UCLA’s women’s teams have won 30 championships. That’s more than the total titles won each by Tennessee, Colorado and Nebraska." Period. That’s what I wrote. Folks, this was a compliment. Nothing more. Some thought I was mocking women and being sexist.

2) I also wrote, "The Bruins have been more successful than any other school in sports that don’t make headlines or money. But that’s not the worst development, particularly when mixed with 11 men’s basketball championships and that whole Wooden Era thing." Period. That’s what I wrote. Again, this was intended as praise. Nothing more. Do you really think someone would attempt to demean the contributions of John Wooden? No one, not even me, not even 10 of me, is that big of an idiot.

Given the tone of my column, it’s understandable how these points were misconstrued.

misconstrued? folks, this is called revisionist history. again, here is the original column entitled, "ucla's titles add up, but do they count?" hard to misconstrue that one.

and then i laughed again for his sorry attempt to re-write his original column.

adding mauritius to my "must visit" list

i recently learned that this tiny country off the east coast of africa is not only beautiful but an amazing melting pot.

most citizens have at least one of the following ethnic background: indian, chinese, african, french. most citizens have one of the following religious belief: catholic, hindu and muslim. the economy is strong, the percentage of people living below the poverty line (10%) is lower than in the us (12%), uk (17%) or canada (15.9%), the literacy rate is high (85.6%) and they all get along well. violent crimes are uncommon and some say, the overall crime rate is relatively low. what utopia.

perhaps we could learn from mauritians on how to embrace differences and diversity and still live well in a beautiful paradise.

king drew redux

this "new training" for staff was a little too late for edith isabel rodriguez. but, i suppose, it is better than nothing.

i am still appalled that after all the past fatal mistakes, gross negligence and incompetence previously unearthed at king drew (i guess, it is now king harbor), all of those things still continued.

one can only hope that the county supervisors, hospital managers, doctors, nurses and every other staff at king drew learn something about actually caring for patients. but then again, they should have already been trained.

another tragedy is that this hospital is supposed to serve an impoverished community. unfortunately, that service has not been provided.

in memoriam: edith isabel rodriguez

i read this very disturbing news story about edith isabel rodriguez, who died after writhing in pain from abdominal pains for 45 minutes on the floor of the emergency room at king drew hospital and where NO ONE - doctors, nurses or other staff - helped her. this is unacceptable!!!

one would think that this tragedy should never have happened. yet, it did. how can we avoid this tragedy from ever happening again?

bruin haters make me laugh

i recently read this sports column in the orange county register regarding ucla's place in history as the first school to win 100 ncaa national championships when ucla's women's water polo team won.

the columnist wrote:

Impressive, 100 championships certainly are. That's a nice round number. Then again, so is zero — the roundest of them all, in fact — and also the total number of football championships won by the Bruins since 1955.

Isn't that the real way colleges are compared on the sports pages, by who beat who on Saturday and who outranked who on Sunday? Especially in this town, where everyone knows the name of USC's backup quarterback even as the Bruins themselves struggle to name their starting quarterback?

Sorry, UCLA boosters. Sorry to mention the four-letter word USC in a story about Bruins brilliance. But it's hard to escape the shadow of Trojans football, especially with the season opener lurking only 108 days away.

the article was so filled with hate that my knee-jerk reaction was anger. then, i just laughed. because the columnist apparently is a fan of u$c and couldn't contain his jealousy, he ended up sounding petty and jealous of ucla's accomplishments in sports....

in addition, he sounded like a hater of title 9 and a hater of anything not involving u$c football when he diminished the accomplishments of ucla's female and male athletes who played on non-football teams. he said:

The Bruins have been more successful than any other school in sports that don't make headlines or money. But that's not the worst development, particularly when mixed with 11 men's basketball championships and that whole Wooden Era thing.

Someone has to win men's volleyball (UCLA has 19 times), men's tennis (UCLA has 16 times) and softball (UCLA has 10 times). So three of the school's past five titles have come in women's water polo. That's better than not winning three championships in a row.

what he doesn't understand is that these "non-money making" or "non-headline making" sports produce world class (female and male) athletes that make every american proud. think of those women gymnasts and softball teams winning medals in the olympics; think jackie robinson; think arthur ashe; think jackie joyner. i guess, to this guy, they don't count and were "the worst development."

considering that ucla swept u$c in basketball, football and baseball in the 2006-2007 season, i suddenly found the article funny. i also remembered that ucla has the longest winning streak against u$c in football (8 years). that made the article funnier.

by the way, i did not misquote the columnist when he said, "Sorry to mention the four-letter word USC in a story about Bruins brilliance." (emphasis added.) then, i laughed some more.

love is in the air

i know we are only about a month and a half removed from march madness but i can't wait for the next college basketball season to start. it took me a while to get over ucla's most recent and repeat loss at the hands of florida.... but, those losses are in the past now.

i have also moved on from arron afflalo's decision to bail for the greener pastures of the nba, where he can join other bruin alums baron davis (golden state), matt barnes (golden state), earl watson (seattle), jason kapono (miami), dan gadzuric (milwaukee), and former teammates jordan farmar (la lakers), ryan hollins (charlotte), and trevor ariza (orlando). (am i forgetting any other bruins?) besides, kapono's record as a 3-point specialist (with an nba ring to boot), golden state's inspiring playoffs performance in the nba courtesy of the plays of baron davis and matt barnes (albeit unsuccessful) and farmar's not-so-bad performance as a starter against steve nash in the playoffs (again, albeit unsuccesful), have eased the pain of afflalo's departure.

so why all the anticipation?

love.

kevin love is coming to westwood! finally, ucla will again have a legit center with nice, strong hands and smooth post moves. as much as lorenzo mata and alfred aboya have done for the program, i consider them to have either spaghetti (mata) or brick (aboya) hands. how many times have they been stripped under the basket, or worse, just couldn't hang on to the ball? i do appreciate their hustle and grit (and they are definitely way better than fey), but love will just take the program to lofty heights.

high expectations? hell, yeah! ucla went to the national championship game in 2006 with a ryan hollins just barely coming into his own and struggled his first 3 1/2 years at ucla as its 7'0 center. this year, ucla went to the final four with mata and aboya. with a true center like love, ucla has a legitimate chance to win it all. i am NOT going to jinx it by saying they will definitely win it all because there are so many unknown factors that come into play.

after all, josh shipp just had another hip surgery. but hopefully, he learned from past mistakes by taking rehab seriously this time so he can be ready to play come november. we still don't know whether nikola dragovic could play within howland's defense-first system. michael roll still needs to play better defense and gain confidence in his offense (and please, stop all the pump fakes!). and james keefe needs to be tougher. also, i don't know who howland will start as a 2 because of afflalo's departure (maybe westbrook?) and whether that person will have afflalo's defensive intensity. also, will howland's teams ever learn to play offense against a zone?

but then again, darren collison is back with a more experienced russell westbrook (who performed admirably though poorly during that ucla v. west virginia game) backing him up at point guard. again, mata and aboya will still provide much needed support off the bench. mbah a moute should be injury-free to regain his explosiveness, and chace stanback is coming in along with love. and finally, florida's big men are gone.... finally!

yes, love will bring much joy to westwood. he has the talent, skill and the athleticism. i saw a few youtube clips of him playing and the kid has a knack for throwing some nice passes. i can see him play within howland's system, and, he seems like a nice kid who is not all about fame and glory. all the pieces are there.

so, good luck in the nba, arron. bring much pride to the bruin faithful when you join your bruin bretheren in the nba. you were instrumental in bringing the ucla basketball program back to where it should be and pulling it out of the stench created by he-who-must-not-be-named.

welcome, love! ....and i am dreaming of banner number 12!