Birthday Thanks

Just thought I'd let you all know how much I appreciate all the great birthday wishes last week. I had a great birthday and 5 birthday dinners! I also appreciated the birthday cards and e-cards...like the Hoops and YoYo one below:

Friday night, we went to have dinner with our parents at Outback Steakhouse.

They got me my favorite chocolate dobash cake from King's Hawaiian. Joanne also got me a balloon...which says a lot since she's not a big fan of the balloons (nor does Buster).

On Saturday, we went to the Yard House to celebrate two birthdays...Shuji's and mine.

I had the pleasure of enjoying 2 half-yards of beer: one Lost Coast Downtown Brown and one Fat Tire. Apparently, they no longer serve whole yards of beer. I guess too many people were breaking those extremely cumbersome glasses. Anyway, at the Yard House, 2 half-yards (32 oz each) is more than a yard (48 oz).

Back at the house, Lori made Shuji and I an awesome birthday cake!

I'll be putting all the birthday gifts together to get myself a new camcorder (just for baby).

Happy Birthday, Russ-O!!

Just wanted to wish Russell a very Happy Birthday!



Wait! How old is he going to be again?



That's probably not a good indicator...

The Office Webisodes !

"The Office" is featuring some web-based episodes called "The Accountants" featuring Phyllis, Kevin, Oscar, and Angela. They just started them today and they have 2 "webisodes" up. They are pretty short, but I'll take what I can get during the off-season. New "webisodes" every Thursday! (LINK)

And there's deleted scenes! (LINK)

Scenes Made Awkward

I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this version of a scene from A Few Good Men.
(Make sure your volume is up)


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Pirate Booty

We went to go check out Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on opening day Friday. Apparently we helped it to have the largest single/opening day ever! $55.5 million on Friday alone (beating Star Wars: Episode III) and $132 million for its opening weekend (beating Spiderman). It took it only 48 hours to hit $100 million. I thought the movie was pretty good, but it was a bit long. The cliffhanger ending definitely cues up the need for part 3, At World's End, that comes out in May 2007.

That makes Summer movie #10 for me. Here is my Summer Top 10 so far (not specifically based on plot or acting, but for the entertainment value it provided me...with or without cocktails.)

1. X3 - 2. Pirates - 3. Nacho - 4. MI:3 - 5. Superman - 6. Cars

7. DaVinci - 8. Break-Up - 9. Fast/Furious 3 - 10. Omen

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Use your head, Zidane !

Don't know if you caught the World Cup Final yesterday, but it was pretty crazy. Pretty decent game although I'm still not sure how I feel about the entire game being decided with a penalty kick shootout. The real news of the game is how Zinedine Zidane shamefully headbutted Italian Marco Materazzi in the last minutes of overtime. (Click here to see it) One of the best players of the game and he ends his soccer career with a low class act like that. Not only that, but he didn't even get to make any penalty kicks to decide the game (something he is known for). Zidane still won the Golden Ball award (player of the game) despite his act. Maybe it was his cool name.

In the end, Italy took the win over France because of a penalty kick that failed to go in. What's up with that, by the way? France's one goal was earned by a penalty kick...when penalty kicks go in the majority of the time. I don't know about that. Italy makes an amazing header for their goal and France makes theirs by flopping near the goal. My solution...2 goalies for all penalty kicks. How great would that be? Then, making a penalty kick would mean something. (and you might even catch moments where the goalies collide)

Oh well, maybe next World Cup. 2 goalies!

35 CDs = 1 iPod

Trade in your old CDs for an iPod! 35 CDs will only get you an iPod Shuffle, but you can get a Nano for 65 CDs. On this website you actually have 2 other options: you can trade in your CDs for other used CDs (2 for 1) or you can just buy used CDs for about $5 each. Is it worth it? I just thought it was an interesting idea. (LINK)

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Trapped in the Closet

I'm sure you thought this was over. NOPE! The fantastic South Park "Trapped in the Closet" episode has been nominated for an Emmy! Check it out, it's up against Family Guy's "PTV" (also a great episode) and The Simpsons "The Seemingly Neverending Story" for Outstanding Animated Program. (LINK)

If you haven't already checked it out when I posted it up back in March, you can check it out here. Since the entire 22 minute episode got pulled down, I replaced it with a 6 minute clip.

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53 3/4 Hot Dogs !

I'm sure you saw it already, but in case you didn't you can watch all 12 minutes of the 2006 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest right now! Go check it out on ESPN's site here.

This year's event was probably the best in all of Hot Dog Eating History. Takeru Kobayashi took down 53 3/4 hot dogs in 12 minutes, just 1/4 of a dog more than his previous world record 2 years ago. This was his 6th victory in a row...unbelievable. Also amazing was the 2nd place contender, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, who devoured 52 HDBs (hot dog and buns). It was the stiffest competition Kobayashi has had since he first dominated the sport in 2001. Chestnut set a new American record just after he broke it 2 months ago. Sonya Thomas took 3rd with 37 hot dogs, the same amount she took 2nd with last year. Two rookies, Patrick Bertoletti and Chip Simpson took 4th and 5th place. It will be exciting to see next year's competition.

One thing you will not be able to see in the ESPN link above are the pre-game celebrations. ESPN does a great job of covering the event, providing an entire hour to the 12-minute event. They present some of the best stats during the pre-game, so I took some pictures for you.

17,000 calories!!


Some eating methods for you to try at home. :) Koby uses the Solomon Method.


Kobayashi has never been beat by a human.


You know you're good when you're compared to Babe Ruth.


And my favorite...now he's tied with Lance!
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They'll be replaying the event on ESPN2 for a while, so check it out!

Superman Returns

We went to go check out Superman Returns last night in IMAX 3D and it was great! The movie was even better than I thought it would've been. The ladies will dig it since it's basically an action chick flick. I thought all the actors did a good job in their lead roles: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, and Kevin Spacey. How did the 3D work? The movie only had 20 minutes of 3D in it, so they put up a little warning when you should put on and take off your 3D glasses. It worked out pretty well. The only complaint I had was that I was waiting for when Superman would call out "Up, up , and away!"

That's 9 summer movies down. Next up... Pirates of the Caribbean 2!

Transformers !

It's coming next year and the teaser trailer is already out! Check it out! (LINK) The movie's website has a countdown to the release of the teaser trailer, but apparently it leaked out early. The trailer doesn't give you much, but it got me excited for the movie.

2006 Hot Dog Eating Contest

It's that time again. It's almost the 4th of July which means it's almost time for the 2006 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest! I'm sure by now that you are all familiar with Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi and his world record of eating 53 1/2 HDBs (hot dog and buns) in 12 minutes. He set that record 2 years ago and dominates this field of competition. I followed the live footage last year (Pre-Game and Post-Game) and am eager to watch it again. Kobayashi won last year with 49 dogs, giving him the title (and mustard yellow belt) for the 5th year in a row.

Last year, Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas set a US record (and women's record) with 37 HDBs. Finishing 3rd was Joey "Jaws" Chestnut with 32. But just last month, Joey Chestnut took down 50 hot dogs in the Las Vegas qualifier, setting a new American record. Will the US fight back this year and take the title from Kobayashi?

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Catch all the action live on ESPN (and ESPN HD) on Tuesday July 4th at 9am!

Lakers get Farmar !

In the NBA Draft yesterday, the Lakers had a #26 pick and selected Jordan Farmar from UCLA! Farmar was UCLA's point guard last year and helped take UCLA to the NCAA Championship game. Hopefully the Lakers can help clean up his defense enough to give him some play time next season.

Spiderman 3

Superman Returns comes out today, but I won't be seeing it until tomorrow (in IMAX 3D!). I heard the reviews are good, so now I can't wait to see it. In addition, they should be showing the teaser trailer for Spiderman 3 (which doesn't come out until May 4, 2007)! If you can't wait, you can watch it now from the convenience of your own computer. The trailer has the Black Spiderman in it! (No, it's not Venom...or is it?) (TRAILER)

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Stupid Wind

Apparently a heavy storm took down the 140 year-old Elm tree that stood in front of the White House. They better replant a new tree or you better start throwing away your outdated $20 bills.

Baby Hirotsu Update

And now some news from in the womb...

Baby Hirotsu is in his/her 10th week now and everything is going fantastic! The pod (amniotic sac) is way bigger now and the little bambino is now almost an inch long! We definitely saw legs, a head, a body, and of course, the heartbeat. Our next update won't be for another month and we're getting closer and closer to finding out if it's a him or a her! The circle at the top of the pod is the yolk sac and to the right is our little teddy bear lying down with its head to the left. (It's sleeping)

Save Lego !

Apparently Lego has had some challenges lately. Their toys are finding it harder and harder to compete with electronic gadgets. This article says that they plan to lay off 1200 people early next year and close their manufacturing plant in the US, so they can relocate to Mexico. I didn't even know until just today that Lego no longer owns their 4 Legoland amusement parks in California, Denmark, Germany, and England (and yes, I've been to all 4 of them). (ARTICLE)

RPS Championship Recap

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If you didn't get around to watching the Rock Paper Scissors Championship this past Saturday (which is just about all of you), I will provide you with all the great details. Apparently the USARPS (USA Rock Paper Scissors) League just recently started in January 2006, so this was the first annual USARPS Championship. It's great to be able to get in on the bottom floor of history in the making. Here is what I learned by watching this 1-hour TV special:

- The tournament is single-elimination with 64 contenders competing for $50,000.
- Each throw of rock, paper, or scissors is considered an engagement. The best of 3 engagements is a set. The best of 3 sets is a match.
- Each throw is performed with 3 pumps and a throw. 1-2-3-throw, not 1-2-throw.
- "Paper" can only be thrown horizontally. If it's palm up, it's called "serving the subpoena."
- Three "Rocks" in a row is called a "Caveman."
- 50% of all people start with Rock. 53% of all women start with Scissors. 68% of all women with short hair start with Scissors.
- Just about every contender has a nickname and costume.
- Like every good sporting event footage (including the spelling bee), background stories of select competitors were shown.
- Always release your throw at the last moment. Rookies often release their throw too early, allowing the opponent to telegraph their throw. This move is called "The Western Union."

Still questioning the strategy of RPS? Look here for the Science of RPS. (LINK)

The highlight of the tournament was when two guys were on their third set, each with 1 win. The next throw determined their fate. They then threw down 9 ties in a row with the last 4 throws being rocks. Then, on the same throw, one threw paper in attempt of covering the repeating rock. Expecting his opponent's move, the other guy came back with scissors to take the win. I give that one the RPS Play of the Game.

In the end Dave "The Drill" McGill took down Robert "Fast-Twitch" Twitchel in the third set with paper covering rock. Watch the final round here.

Nacho Libre

We got to watch Nacho Libre Friday night. The audience was pretty much laughing hysterically the entire movie. You just gotta love Jack Black. If you're not a Jack Black fan, I don't necessarily recommend this movie. Nachoooooo!!!

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Rock Paper Scissors Championship

Paper will be cut. Scissors will be crushed. Rock will be covered...by paper.

Just so you know, we all missed the Rock Paper Scissors Championship that happened this past Monday. The good news is that it will be on A&E tomorrow at 9am. Needless to say I will be checking this one out. Everyone is already aware of my obsession for marginal sporting events. I have to know what makes this "sport" tick! (LINK)