Texting

Girl. Texting. Open manhole. Hilarity Tragedy.

There's an element of truth in the carelessness of the city's workers. No matter how long they needed to get their flushing equipment, and assuming that they did not mean to be gone long, bright objects such as orange cones should be ubiquitous enough to place as a casual warning.

Still, the idiocy of being so engrossed in a small cellphone screen that one cannot see a gaping 36" diameter hole in the sidewalk in front of you is amazing. And sewers smell. Generally, an offensive odor causes one to look around for the source so that one may avoid it.

Yet, the girl does not seem to want to take responsibility. And her mother wants to sue, claiming that this manhole would've been a greater danger to "an elderly person, a mother pushing a stroller. It could have been anyone."

Uh, no.

An elderly person would likely be moving slowly enough to notice there's a hole in the ground. A mother pushing a stroller better be observant enough to know where she's pushing her baby to avoid any holes in the ground. [Insert example] hole in the ground.

It is easy to understand how any person could think themselves capable of paying attention to the sidewalk/road while making sure they press 8 twice instead of once or three times. Or making sure to push l-o-l on the Blackberry any high school student doesn't actually need. Yet, there's a reason why texting is banned while driving. Multi-tasking necessarily decreases attention and focus on any single task at hand.

Take responsibility for being distracted, Miss Longueira. The workers did make a mistake, but so did you. And really, we're sorry that you fell into the sewer and lost a shoe. It's a terrible experience to be sure. But enough is enough; we don't need another tragic stupid, frivolous lawsuit.

15

15, that's the number of Grand Slams Roger Federer has after his ridiculous, epic Wimbledon win over Andy Roddick, 16-14 in the fifth set to surpass Pete Sampras as the man with the most singles Grand Slam titles in tennis history.

This is how a great player became legendary in all of sports. Immediately after the win, a Nike commercial showcasing Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, and of course, Sampras congratulated Federer on his historic achievement.

But there will be enough articles and words written for Federer. Because a legend was cemented, a loser had to be beaten. And in an encore of the greatest match ever played in last year's Wimbledon tournament where Nadal prevailed over Federer, Roddick gave Federer all he could handle.

4 is the number of times Roddick has lost to Federer in the finals of a major tournament. This match was by far the most complete match Roddick has ever played against his indomitable opponent but still, not quite enough. Yet his progress has been remarkable since he was the fresh faced 21 year old that won the U.S. Open in 2003 on a big serve and powerful forehand.

Today, not a fluky once or twice, but many times did Roddick send a powerful backhand drive past Federer. This is a play that before, would have likely resulted in a deferring slice shot, useful in some situations but hardly a shot that someone at Roddick's caliber should have relied on. And previously, far too often Roddick would use the slice instead of a proper backhand during a rally, giving up the advantage and offensive momentum to his opponent.

Clearly, his new coach Larry Stefanki has done good work. Roddick is more fit, having lost 15 lbs since last year; his fitness evident in the fact that he could still crank out 136 mph serves 4 hours after the start of the match (Federer's continuous stream of perfectly placed aces was also ridiculously impressive). Roddick also showed much greater touch in the approach game, gamely moving up at (mostly) the right times and winning points with far more frequent forays to the net. In the past, Roddick showed an ugly propensity to run up behind poor approach shots and this likely cost him one, maybe even both, tiebreakers today in the second and third sets. But overall, his all court game has shown improvement. Never before has Roddick dictated points to Federer and forced the master into a defensive position.

The serve is still there, as mighty as ever, and a noted difference this time around against the Fed Express was that Roddick sent many serves directly at Federer, jamming him and preventing a proper extension and return. The official ace count will show 50 aces for Federer against only 27 for Roddick, which is highly misleading. Because Federer is so blessed with great movement and anticipation skills, he is able to get a racket onto many of Roddick's serves even if the return is in the net, misses, or is weak enough for an easy reply from the server. This is why in most of their matches, Federer usually has more aces though Roddick is better known for his power.

Roddick will never have great movement, but his footwork has improved. He doesn't have the most talent, but his heart has come on strong in this tournament. He's as classy as ever, deferring well to the all-universe talent he just lost to in post game interviews and the trophy ceremony, even cracking a joke to the crowd and Sampras who sat in near courtside. Considering his age, turning 27 this August, Roddick has a few more good years ahead of him at the pace he's working at. He gave Federer a fabulous run for his money today and if Nadal was to come back healthy for the U.S. Open season, we could see a fantastic finish to a summer season that is already at the pinnacle of tennis.

Championship Change

Well, I guess all that talk about Lakers general manager, Mitch Kupchak, believing in the value of Ron Artest a couple years ago wasn't just talk. Today news came out that we were going to lose Trevor Ariza and gain Artest.

At first, I believed that because Ariza has the same agent that really dragged out Andrew Bynum's contract extension negotiations last fall, the Lakers would go through the same phase and eventually get Ariza back. But clearly, the love for Artest was too great. And yes, the price we're likely to get him at is fantastic considering his talent level.

But talent is not the issue. Kelly Dwyer, probably my favorite basketball blogger, puts it perfectly; why does a championship team need to alter its formula? The triangle offense plus the most skilled player on the planet put the Lakers at or near the top of offensive efficiency in the league. Also, according to ESPN's John Hollinger's statistical analysis, our team ranked 2nd in defensive efficiency (3rd in offense). So while Artest may have greater value than Ariza in terms of pure points, rebounds, post-up efficiency and other various stats, would it really improve the Lakers' standing in the league?

The main issue with Artest is the kind of player he is. He gets pretty good numbers but has a deserved reputation for being a very emotional kind of player. We already have an emotional leader in Lamar Odom and a game leader in Kobe Bryant. There was a system in the role players, in guys like Luke Walton (who is horribly underrated by Laker fans), Shannon Brown, and Ariza. There was a chemistry. Pau Gasol is the best passing big man in the league, maybe the most skilled as well in terms of footwork and basketball IQ. All these factors combined to make the 2009 NBA champs without an effective Andrew Bynum in the post or Sasha Vujacic on the outside. Even Jordan Farmar's production dropped off as a backup point guard.

The potential growth in this young group was undeniable. Farmar will get better; next year is a contract year for him. Bynum will develop more; Kareem is his personal coach/advisor, enough said. Ariza worked all last summer under Kobe's tutelage to become the shooting threat he was during the playoffs. With the fantastic leadership that Kobe, Phil Jackson, and Derek Fisher provide, this group was primed already for success for the next 2-3 years at least if not more.

Chemistry is everything in basketball. Hoops is a real team game, requiring personal sacrifice to achieve the pinnacle of team success, much like soccer and unlike baseball (a topic for another time). There's a reason the Lakers of 2004 with Karl Malone and Gary Payton failed to beat the cohesive Detroit Piston team that lacked any superstar. And that is also the reason I worry for Artest's arrival in Los Angeles and Ariza's departure. His arrival shakes up the foundation that led to success once and was primed for many more years of team greatness.

Everytime the Lakers played Artest's team, I felt victory was assured because of him. He's a guy who consistently would get the ball, isolate himself, and take a bad shot. This is completely contrary to the triangle offense and yes, Kobe does the same thing. But he's Kobe Bryant. Ron Artest is Ron Artest and I'm not sure he can grasp the nuances of an offense built around movement without the ball and movement of the ball in reaction to the defense without many set plays.

To be sure, I am cautiously excited that the same leadership that Kobe and Phil Jackson have shown all year will be able to reign in Artest. Because if this works out, we now have 4 All-star talents on our roster in Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and Artest. Imagine the perimeter defense with Kobe and Artest and the interior manned by Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. Who needs to defend quick point guards? Oh wait, toward the end of the season, Ariza was our best option against quick guards...

It is true to note that Ariza's success this postseason could be attributed to the heavy attention defenses gave to other Lakers. Shot are easier to make when no defender is up in one's face and when one's teammate is Kobe Bryant. Thus, Ariza's efficient production is likely to drop on whatever team he ends up on, probably the Rockets, when his defender is shadowing Gasol or Kobe.

Kobe certainly has proved that he makes his teammates better, so we could very well see an integrated Artest performing at his Defensive Player of the Year status while still working within the smoothest offense in the league. Kobe and Artest already have a decent relationship and Phil Jackson with his 1o rings commands the attention of any player.

I also agree that Odom is a greater priority in resigning than Ariza is. Dwyer has always defended Odom's mecurial greatness; he does so again here. Therefore, Odom must be resigned; his skill set is too unique and along with Gasol's, too perfect for the Lakers' offense.

But can this, what is essentially a trade with Houston, deal with Artest work? If the team clicks and Bynum continues to develop, then no one can stop the Lakers (barring injury). San Antonio if healthy is the greatest threat. Shaq is too old and doesn't bring anything to Lebron's Cavs that really pushes them over the top into the championship tier. The Magic getting Vince Carter but losing Turkoglu is simply a lateral movement. Celtics obtaining Rasheed Wallace would be intriguing, but their age is simply pushing it.

The glass half-empty approach says the championship formula has been altered and the broken chemistry is unlikely to orient itself properly for another run at the Larry O'Brien trophy. However, if optimism shines through and Kobe gets his new teammate into the system and brings back his 6'10" candyman point forward, we're looking at a new Laker dynasty that could be better than the dynasty that was likely to happen anyway if we had simply kept the team together.

This is the very defintion of high risk, high reward.

The Space Sonata

For the past few months, I've been working on a piano composition entitled "The Space Sonata." As the title implies, it's a 3-movement piece (about 15 minutes long total) that's intended to sound like one is exploring outer space. Imagine yourself on Earth as you strap yourself into a rocket ship that blasts off and leaves the blue planet behind. Then you float peacefully, gazing at the beauty of galaxies, stars, and the great beyond. But not necessarily without some hazards along the way.

That's what I was going for, anyway. Most of my inspiration came from Wall-E and Super Mario Galaxy - and I suppose I should mention Stargate Atlantis as well, although not so much the music in the latter case.

Musically, I used a lot of #4, triplet rhythms, and a variety of different keys. It was a lot of fun to play around with. I recorded the three movements and posted them all on YouTube (see the links below). Let me know how "space-y" it sounds to you - it might help me validate my theory that keys sounds different from one another. (More on that later.) Personally, my favorite movement is the second - it's the most inspirational and soothing. Anyway, I hope you like it.

The Space Sonata - 1st movement, "Liftoff"
The Space Sonata - 2nd movement, "Frontier"
The Space Sonata - 3rd movement, "Mission"

Animal rights, clearly overrated

Just a thought.

Michael Vick got two years in jail for killing dogs.

Donte Stallworth got 30 days for DUI manslaughter.

Lakers: NBA Champions

4 rings for Derek Fisher.

10 rings for Phil Jackson.

4 rings for Kobe Bryant.

15 rings for the Lakers.

A championship for Lamar Odom, Mitch Kupchak, and all the other pieces to a fantastic puzzle.

This is the crowning achievement from when Kobe and Fisher were drafted in '96. When Trevor Ariza was thrown away by the Magic because he was not a developed shooter yet. From when Pau was essentially stolen in February of '08. The list could go on and on. But certain things stand out.

Kobe Bryant
Obviously the focal point of these finals, Number 24 is the deserving Finals MVP. He passed, he defended, and carried all the intangibles needed for this young team to win. Throughout the playoffs and season, it sometimes seemed that Kobe was actually doing more coaching than Phil Jackson. And of course, he scored from everywhere on the court with his usual array of shots (with a still taped up broken pinky finger on his shooting hand). The enormous passion, drive, and dedication to his game has to be respected.

The misconceptions: ball hog. But no serious NBA fan who actually follows the game of basketball labels Kobe with that anymore. The best player on the planet deserves the ball to make the plays that win games. Winning without Shaq? Follow all the champs of the past; Shaq couldn't have won without Kobe just like Magic had James Worthy, Kareem and Jordan had Pippen. Bad teammate? 3 years ago, his starting point guard and center were Smush Parker and Kwame Brown. The last two years, Kobe has elevated and developed a team with some actual skill into champions with unparalleled determination and accountability.

Greater than Jordan? Let's not get ridiculous, but Kobe Bryant is surely in the pantheon of greatest ever. Jerry West, aka the Logo of the NBA, has called Kobe the greatest Laker ever. In footwork and all-court offensive skills, Kobe is arguably alone on the mountain. In pure willpower, he stands with Michael. Regardless, NBA fans should appreciate the greatness that we are witnessing. He deserves this title.

Pau Gasol
It is still unbelievable how people still call Gasol "soft." It is true that last year, Gasol was pushed around by the Celtics, but over the summer he, under the urging of a certain Mr. Bryant, worked out and focused on getting stronger. Pau has averaged nearly 20 points and 9 rebounds this finals series, shooting 59% and most of all, limiting the supposed best center in the league all series long. His importance in the triangle offense cannot be understated, an offense which requires skilled post play. Soft cannot be used anymore to describe as Magic Johnson put it tonight, the best skilled post player in the NBA next to Garnett.

Phil Jackson
With 10 rings, Phil Jackson is the greatest coach in NBA history and arguably, professional sports. The critics that say Jackson has been gift wrapped Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe don't understand that managing teams with such superstars is hardly an easy task, and that particularly in the last two years, the Lakers head coach has done a phenomenal job developing role players, and finding a balance between trusting his players/veterans and managing the games himself.

The upcoming offseason will be interesting, with Ariza and Odom going into free agency and Kobe with the possibility to opt-out of his contract (unlikely, but it's an option). Keeping both Ariza and Odom will be difficult while paying them appropriately, and letting both go would be a huge blow for the Lakers' chances of earning more titles while Kobe is still in his prime. The two really stepped up their games, particularly Ariza, who at 24 is still developing and fulfilling his potential.

Whatever the future holds for Lakernation, bandwagoners aside, it's bright. The present though, should be celebrated. Let's hope LA can actually get a parade going.

Strait Developments - WHO?

There was an interesting development in Taiwan-China relations today.

The initial impression is that by allowing Taiwan to join the WHO, China is merely throwing a bone to Taiwan's president for simply being less confrontational about being separate from the mainland than Chen Shui-bien was from 2000-2008. The fact that the observer status comes under the name of Chinese Taipei, like it does in the Olympics, further underlies this notion.

Having observer status means being able to participate in meetings with the 193 members and the couple other observers, but not being to vote or propose new resolutions within the WHO. Therefore, the Chinese government likely feels that by removing their opposition to Taiwan's previous efforts to attain some kind of status within the UN's international public health arm, they can give a pretense of warming relations between the two states. It is a pretense because the number of short to medium range missiles pointed across the Taiwan Strait has increased from 200 at the beginning of the decade to well over 1000 presently, a more than five fold increase in cruise and ballistic variants. The 2006 U.S. report on China's military strength also mentions that 1/3 of China's military (the world's largest standing army with 2.3 million soldiers spread across the army, navy, and air force) is based on the notion of Taiwan being the enemy. Hardly a tangible reduction in tensions. To be fair, the establishment of 28 cargo flights and the increasing number of passenger direct flights are a positive sign toward future developments even if their impact has been difficult to ascertain because of the global economic downturn and fluctuating oil prices. But I digress.

Being part of the WHO brings benefits to the Taiwanese people, which should be the aim of Ma Ying-jeou's administration. The international monitoring of infectious diseases the WHO provides will be helpful, particularly with the possible current trends regarding swine flu, and the government had complained that without the WHO's assistance, SARS was able to gain a greater hold on the populace than it should have in 2003. The WHO also spearheads an AIDS initiative and in a culture where talking about condoms and drug use is not particularly encouraged, access to such a program combined with Taiwan's own "harm reduction" policy, could be hugely beneficial in stemming the rising number of HIV positive cases. Having proper information with near or full pandemics is important for providing the proper care in public health, an essential function of any government. Therefore even observer status should be celebrated for the one year old administration and for Taiwan's citizens.

And just by being part of an international organization and separate from China's delegation, this development is arguably a positive step toward greater international recognition of national sovereignty. A small step to be sure, but a step forward nonetheless. However, the bottom line of this article from the Associated Press is simple and a bit of a diversion from my initial reaction. The Taiwanese people are helped by their inclusion into a global public health organization and who can argue with that?