Leave LeBron alone

In case you live underneath a rock, LeBron James recently decided to join the Miami Heat, leaving a city that once called him its savior in chaos. He announced his decision during an hour-long ESPN special, which drew criticism from fans and members of the NBA.

The Heat now has a solid nucleus composed of James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, while the Cleveland Cavaliers were left with nothing.

For leaving his hometown and announcing his decision on national television, James is now one of the most hated players in the league—possibly even rivaling Kobe Bryant.

But, let’s take a look at this thing objectively.


Did he quit?

The King was described by Dan Gilbert, team owner of the Cavaliers, as a traitor and a quitter.

During the tail end of the Cavaliers 2009-2010 playoff run, LeBron was no longer himself. Fans watched him give up against the Boston Celtics as if he was already thinking of the next season with more than ten minutes in the fourth quarter left. It was unbecoming.

However, you still have to give him credit. He played for seven seasons for a team that never gave him ample support, even taking them to the finals during the 2007 season.

Before you call him a quitter, look at the stats. For his seasons in Cleveland, he averaged more than 27.8 points, seven assists, and seven boards. While in the playoffs, he averaged 29.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 7.3 assists.

Statistics don’t lie. The two-time MVP did try. If he was given more support, many believe that he could’ve won some hardware for Cleveland.

Take this into consideration: many teams cut players during the offseason and the teams don’t get any criticism for doing so; however, when players decide to go another direction, they can be branded as traitors?

That doesn’t make sense.

The Decision (business not personal)

This is where most basketball aficionados got ticked off—rightfully so. The one-hour special had a negative effect in the James brand. It was simply a bad idea.

The only question here is: who planned it? Reports say that it was LeBron James himself. But I find that hard-to-believe. These superstars have their own drivers and health advisors, and a marketing advisor is no less than a prerequisite for any NBA star.

As commissioner David Stern explained: “Had he asked my advice in advance, I might have suggested that he advise Cleveland at an earlier time than apparently he did that he was leaving, even without announcing where he was going, so we could have eliminated that. I would have advised him not to embark on what has become known as ‘The Decision.’”

Stern continued, “I think that the advice that he received on this was poor. His performance was fine. His honesty and his integrity shine through. But this decision was ill conceived, badly produced and poorly executed. Those who were interested in it were given our opinion prior to its airing.”

The only conclusion here is: somebody made money from the LeBron camp—one who did not have James’ best interests as heart. Whoever orchestrated this campaign should have foreseen this media nightmare. Any PR advisor should’ve seen this coming unless he/she had something to gain.

There was nothing wrong with James leaving Cleveland. It was just the manner that he left.

The decision was purely business and not personal. Miami presents a better opportunity for James, and taking a pay cut says that he’s not all about the money.


Say sorry, Bron

Yes, he left Cleveland. But, that’s how it is in the NBA. Players changing teams is nothing new. It just hurts more in this particular situation, but Cleveland didn’t do anything to make James stay either. Had they acquired big names, James’ decision could’ve been different.

The only thing left for LeBron to do now is to write a formal apology and a thank you note to the city of Cleveland and its basketball team (even to its owner Dan Gilbert). That would be the high road for the 25-year-old.

To Cleveland fans, being bitter about his decision is not going to change anything. Sure, you can ‘boo’ him when he visits Quicken Loans Arena twice or thrice a year, but is it really worth it? Look forward to your upcoming seasons. Worry about your team first, before wishing ill fate to LeBron. The team has so much cap space open and it can definitely get superstars in the years to come.

To Dan Gilbert, the open letter was too harsh. Your pain is understandable, but you should’ve thought about the consequences of that letter before you published it. If you had thanked LeBron and wished him good luck, you would have been an instant media favorite. Now, Stern has fined you $100,000 and you still have no superstar in your roster.

To the Miami Heat, you better make sure you get to the finals within the next three seasons. Anything less would be a severe disappointment.

2000s: The Creative Drain

What did the 80s give us?

Aside from bad hairdos and synthesized music, the decade gave us skinny jeans.

Back then, these denims even had leg zippers for ultra-tight grip. And they were mostly worn by rockers. While I never wore a pair (and do not intend to), it is funny seeing 80s fashion being worn by today’s “in” generation. Even Ray-Ban wayfarers are back.

See 80s product placement here.

If you think about it, the 2000-2010 decade is a thief. The fashion is loosely based on different decades, several movie remakes, and even television shows are basing their themes from past generations.

The successful series “Glee” is actually an updated version of musical films of the 1930s and 1940s.

My 10-year-old cousin’s favorite band is Tears for Fears. While I have no idea what other 10-year-olds listen to, he says that his friends enjoy listening to the band as well.

And if you look at basketball, the NBA’s current champion (Los Angeles Lakers) is led by Kobe Bryant—who plays and talks a lot like number 23.

So, what did the 2000-2010 decade give us?

Well, aside from Hayden Kho scandals.

The dancing Tokyo Trooper

Months ago, an individual dressed in a storm trooper costume started dancing in the streets of Tokyo, Japan.

You’ll be surprised to know that the man beneath the plastic helmet is actually Danny Choo, son of fashion icon Jimmy Choo. You won’t be surprised to know, that this wasn’t the career path Danny always wanted.

Growing up in London, Danny was set to follow the footsteps of his father. But something was missing: passion. More than anything else, Danny Choo loved toys, figurines, Star Wars, electronics, and of course, dancing. That’s why he dumped the aspirations of the runway and made his own way to Tokyo.

In Tokyo, he created www.dannychoo.com, a site that features everything “geek cool,” including toys, figurines, and videos of him, dressed as a storm trooper, dancing to the beat of numerous disco hits. Believe it or not, the site is pretty successful—averaging 2.5million users a month.

When questioned about his son’s chosen career, Jimmy Choo said, “It’s something special.” The shoemaker never failed to express how proud he is of Danny.

When asked “Why do you do this?” Danny Choo, the self professed “king of geeks,” said “To make people happy and it also makes me happy at the same time.”

This type of story only happens “In a galaxy far, far away” (Well, actually it’s just in Tokyo).

Playing God

Will Wright, the creator of The Sims, has turned the story of evolution into one of the most ambitious computer games in history: Spore.

If you think about it, who would want to play a game that has no winner and no ending?

You can judge Will Wright for many things, but you can’t fault the man’s ability to design top-selling video games. In fact, The Sims is the best-selling video game in history. The graphics are mediocre, at best—but, the idea is radical, fresh, and most of all impossible. That’s exactly why game designers consider him a living god. And now, he wants to make you a god too.

Wright’s newest game is titled Spore (Doesn’t sound like much, does it?). At the beginning of the game, a comet crashes into the earth carrying organic material from outer space—this comet, as the game implies, bought life to earth.

Now, your job is to cattle this life form through its single-celled stage until it’s ready to crawl onto land. At this point, you get to decide where the eyes, the ears, the limbs, and the other appendages will be placed on your character—Let your imagination take control! After that, your creature learns to eat, reproduce, and eventually, communicate with other creature tribes. For the finale, you get to travel to outer space to meet other sentient beings.

My comment: you can't turn the story of evolution into a video game without wrestling some serious questions. Wright should be careful in treading the line between ‘great game’ and ‘religious blasphemy’... Right now, I'm thinking... great game!

The Sopranos taxi advertisement

This “mobile advertisement” (literally) drove around the streets of New York earlier this year. Last March, the taxi was auctioned off in the 6th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event, which took place in West Palm Beach, Florida. Proceeds were donated to the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.

Advertising is such a competitive industry nowadays, and you have to make use of all the advantages you can get. Quoting from one of my favorite movies, “Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention” (John Doe, Se7en, 1995).

Well, maybe Kevin Spacey was referring to something different, but the quote still fits.

Samuel L. Jackson in Titanic

Yes, it’s Samuel L. Jackson reprising the role of Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson) in the mother of all tear-jerker films: Titanic.

I must say, Jackson adds some much needed style and spunk to the role. Play the video, to see the great performance of the man who showed us Shaft, Jackie Brown, Mace Windu, and now Jack Dawson.

Props to the guys from minimovie.com!

Do you really want to know KFC’s secret recipe?

A new web video that exposes KFC’s cruel treatment of animals in their factory farm house is now downloadable through the internet (Play Video below article). What would Colonel Sanders say?

Kentucky Fried Chicken or Kentucky Fried Cruelty? We’ve all heard rumors about how our fast food gets prepared; we’ve heard about the Wendy’s customer that had a human thumb in his shake and the bionic chickens that came from… Well, that was KFC too. But this one takes the cake, because this new expose is backed by a well-known actress Pamela Andersen.

How I found the video. This is a great example of shrewd internet advertising. I was browsing through an ad website, when I saw a link in the side panel of the page. It showed Pamela Andersen with her bosom censored, which had a message overlay: want to see my new video? (Yes, it was very enticing). I clicked the link and to my surprise, it was a link to her official petition against KFC –which, although less interesting was also worth my time.

The petition exposes animal cruelty in the KFC slaughter house located in Moorefield, West Virginia. In the video, the chickens are so crippled that they can’t even walk. They are forced into tanks of scalding hot water where they are completely conscious –hence, they feel a tremendous amount of pain.

The petition titled Pam Andersen’s Kick the Bucket campaign will attempt to boycott KFC until they agree on better preparation procedures.

Now, this complaint may just become hot air –in the Philippines food preparation is maybe ten times worse and no one does a damn thing about it. But I think it is the responsibility of these big companies to ensure these types of problems don’t happen. They specialize in food; they should –by all means– do everything over the boat. After all, a better public image will always be met by better sales.

Other than that, I think Colonel Sanders is turning in his grave.