Kickin' and Screamin'

Christmas weekend was decent. But the part about getting into a heated argument with my little brother after church and hitting on a semi-attractive woman 22 years older than me in Spanglish wasnt.

I spent those two days of it at two of my friend's house. I didn't receive alot of stuff this year other than a $75 Macy's gift card and a $50 check from my pops, but I liked watching my friends, their kids and nephews and nieces getting excited and watching their reaction as they unwrapped the presents they got. I also watched two films on TV during that weekend at their place: Horrible Bosses on DVD and A Game of Honor on my homie's Showtime On Demand. When Horrible Bosses came out during the summer, I thought that it was gonna be a piece of shit film with forced played out jokes and light bland acting. Plus I didn't like the concept of it as it came out during a time when people didn't have a job with bosses to bitch about, and those fortunate with jobs can't bitch about their bosses on their Facebook status. That was all before I watched this movie. After it finished playing, my opinion was different cause that entire film was funny as hell.

They should've made Jennifer Aniston a cameo in this flick and her acting in the movie is different as a minor cast member instead of taking lead roles as in other film. The plot of Horrible Bosses is slightly similar to Office Space, another earlier film that Aniston was also in, which relates to those fed up with their everyday jobs and the managers that signs their checks.

A Game of Honor is a documentary about the behind the scenes leading up to the annual traditional Navy-Army college football game that was played earlier this month (the same game that my homegirl Tina and I watched at Yardhouse in Newport Beach which I last blogged about). Its amazing and mind-thumping to see the new students at the US Naval Academy having to go through the intense disciplinary lifestyle and saying goodbye to their parents during the orientation. I got re-fueled alot more about responsibilities and respect from watching that documentary, from having to go defend and represent your country after finishing the requirements at the academy, as well as doing what it all takes to win a football game with your team members and showing your respect to those who gave you what you have from having to pull a lot of work and sacrifice just to put you were you're at in a fortunate position, just like the troops and soldiers have done for the past 225 years . If you're into the Armed Forces or know anyone who's served in the military and likes football, then this is a excellent film to check out. Major super props to the those in the Air Force, Marines, Army, Navy and the Coast Guard for doing so much work. I've been to military bases at Port Hueneme in Oxnard, El Segundo, Las Vegas, Sacramento and San Diego and just watching those in uniform had me thinking all the time, in a way similar to being in the same room with a traditional elder who's been alive for over so many years (at least 85) and still has perfect health. That's something you can't argue or debate about. Its untouchable. Forget money or politics in this, those are people just making lives better, and they're set for life for doing that. Again, thanks to those using their time in the military bases and the De La Torre's and Galvez's for the hospitality not just during the holiday weekend, but this entire year as well.

Another thing that was been happening throughout the holiday weekend was the release of the Air Jordan XI Concords colorway. In the last post I said that the release for this sneaker was gonna be wild with fights breaking out, AND I WAS TOTALLY RIGHT. Many people who've never collected expensive Nikes as a passion were surprised to see this occuring just for a basketball show, yet they fail to realize the whole meaning behind this shoe, not just because Michael Jordan wore it to win his fourth ring. It was the first (well second after the rare Nike Sky Force thanks to legendary east coast sneaker connoisseur DJ Bobbito Garcia from Its The Shoes) to have Patent Leather on a basketball shoe as well as carbon fiber on the bottom which has never been done before. Also, this was the first Jordan sneaker that Michael wore for his first full season in 1995 back from his first retirement. Ahmad Rashad debuted the XI's by wearing them during the Bulls playoff game against the Orlando Magic that summer before the Bulls 72-10 season on National television, which started the longevity buzz for the shoes, and in the finals during the 1995-96 season, the Chicago Bulls won their fourth title on Fathers Day that June, and it was significant for Michael cause this was the first championship that he won without his pops James Jordan to witness it, and there's a photo of him on the floor in the locker room that displays that moment. The XI's are Michael's personal favorite shoes, which makes it the most sought out Jordans of all time. That release from last Friday was nothing new. Everytime the XI's have been released (such as the Cool Grey XI from last year and 2001 when Jordan was in the Washington Wizards, the Space Jams XI re-release in 2009), there is always reports of chaos and fights in the shopping malls, but the Concords XI was another backlash.

The whole damn news media was in this all over the world. I knew that there was gonna be some shit that was gonna happen, but NOT LIKE THIS! Damn, there were fools who hid inside the malls just to get this shoe, with lines formed with over a THOUSAND PEOPLE, and I'm surprised many of them have the cash to get those sneakers, yet they complain and whine about fuel prices and not obtaining a job? Shut the fuck up man. And I'm saying to those who buy the shoes just cause its hot and everybody else will wear them with no knowledge of the origins of the shoe, or Air Jordans in general. What made this shit go to another universe was that some kid lost his life for those Concords and that's where the negativity come in. Yes, they were being sold for $180 which is a lot. As a sneaker enthusiast, I'm not surprised about the price. Its all about supply and demand. The hottest shoe plus greater interest in them from the consumer generates unimaginable profits for Nike, Brand Jordan and the resellers. Now because of this mess, Jordan Brand is being viewed by non-sneaker enthusiasts as "a company that creates expensive basketball shoes that people will die for", literally. There were lines EVERYWHERE, which shows just how serious the Air Jordan XI Concords. I didn't intend on getting a pair since I paid majority of my emergency savings to help pay for my little brother's rental car but, shoutout to the people who got them and have been planning on copping those XI's for the past year. To those who've never worn or owned a pair of Air Jordans such as those not earning income or the newsmedia, talk about something else and quit expanding the negativity for the Concords. They're just shoes, and don't be surprised if the same shit happens when the Columbia XI's get released next year, the shoes that Jordan wore at the 1996 All Star Game in San Antonio that year.

Well, all this talk about the Jordan XI's bring me back to my days of smelling a brand new pair of fresh Nikes. That's pretty much the main reason why my photography business name is JustForSneaks Ent. I created it during the summer of 2006 when I was creating a screen name for my account on NikeTalk, an underground sneaker forum. The JustForSneaks Ent. name (originally JustForSneaks07) came from a DVD that came out around the time of my high school graduation called Just For Kicks, which is a documentary about the sneaker culture and the history behind it and how popular it became over the years. I took that name and switch the word "Kicks" with "Sneaks" as a synonym. The 07 was for the following year 2007 and the Ent. part of the name is short for either Entertainment or Enterprises, or both, two of my core focuses. During that time was when it was fun and awesome to buy shoes and to get reactions from them by other people. I once got a remark from my 12th grade Goverment teacher when I wore my Zoom Kobe 1's to class, and he said this during class. Great feeling. Now I hardly buy sneakers, and I haven't got a pair in two years. But then again, the recession and the price hike of Air Jordans overshadow the reason.

I've always been into shoes for a long time. Started out with a new pair of Payless shoes twice a year in elementary, then Adidas and Converse from 8th grade to the middle of 11th grade. I never liked Nikes during the 90's until I saw Michael J. Fox rock the OG 1985 Nike Bruins with the red swoosh and of course the Air Mags in the Back to the Future trilogy. I though I was shit out of luck when I realize that Nike stopped making those since they came out of in the 80's but I saw that the Nike Dunk and Air Force 1's has been brought back for people to wear again during high school, and they were similar to the Bruins since they were also from the 80's and have a big ass swoosh on it. When I saw the price for them at Foot Connection next to the Red Robin at Northridge Fashion Center in 2002, I was upset and of course my parents wouldn't copped them for me since my allowance game was weak as hell. I got my very first pair of Nikes in March 2005 for my 17th birthday, which were the Nike Franchise Low. This is what it looks like...

Unfortunately, this was the only photo I have wearing them when I was in 11th Grade. I was shooting a short film at the Kennedy High school track field with the Canon ZR80 DV camera during my filmmaking days back in June 2005 during the last week of school. My friends and I spent the entire last day of school editing it. By the way, the blue Fruit of The Loom Shirt and Puritan Khakis were both less than $15 from Wal-Mart, plus the shoes which were $35 from the JCPenney at the Fox Hills Mall my aunt got for me totals to $50. I bought a pair of Air Jordan basketball shorts for $50 in 2007 once.

I'll probably make a separate blog about all the shoes that I've gotten and give you a history about them. I don't know when that will happen but probably after I buy my next pair of shoes, which is either the Zoom Kobe VII's or the Air Jordan White/Cement IV's that they're bringing back, which ever is first. The next post will give my final thoughts of 2011 and a recap of this past year, which I'll have up by the end of by tomorrow or on New Years Day this Sunday. Thanks alot for reading alot of this.

Soirees, Scrimmages and Scrooges

Haven't been on this shit in two weeks, so lets get on with the recap since then.

So two Fridays ago I had to go to a clinic in Hollywood for a regular basic checkup in the morning. I didn't feel like being there, but since the staff was really short with only one physician with a Ph.D and a grip of patients, I decided just to go and let the bloke get his job done instead of postponing it or flake out of it. Then later on, shit got really off-beat. Just after the doctor examined me which lasted less than two minutes, one of nurses said that there's a shooting outside on Vine Street and that we can't step out. The nurse had a very thick Filipino accent and I thought that she meant that there was a film production outside the clinic since the building is a block from Sunset and Vine, just walking distance from the Arclight Parking lot and the McDonald's in front of it on Vine and De Longpre Avenue (the clinic is on De Longpre). But instead, what she meant was that there was an ACTUAL shooting, WITH GUNS. I couldn't fucking believe it. I mean, what kind of demented maniac goes off on Hollywood and starts blasting in broad daylight. Didn't he learn anything from the North Hollywood shooting at the Bank of America on Laurel Canyon Blvd 14 years ago? (I was in third grade that time in school at Colfax Elementary, which is also in North Hollywood, but two to three miles south the Valley Village neighborhood)

We then were stuck in the clinic for two hours. I was playing just about every game that I let my friend's kids and nephews download off the Android market on my phone last month during Thanksgiving, until I got tired of it. Later on, I was then told that I could leave and when I stepped outside, I was like "Damn this can't be unreal". The cops shutdown De LongPre, Sunset and Vine so that they could do their investigation on the bloke who went wild on the street. It was weird cause I didn't hear any gunshots, and the clinic was close to the scene. Maybe the wall at the doctor's office were soundproof or something. I recorded the streets that were blocked off on video with my phone. The intersection of Sunset and Vine was empty with the exception of the news vans and the LAPD. I saw a journalist from KNBC channel 4 getting ready to broadcast the story and I took like two pictures of her on my phone, cause she looked hot. Plus those at the LA Film School and the staff at Amoeba Records couldn't go anywhere for a while. I took the subway instead of driving back to the Valley.

The next day, I read that they were gonna open a flagship New Era Store at the old Bathing Ape shop on Melrose on Saturday Morning, and that the first customers receive a free custom made fitted or snapback with the words "Los Angeles" embroidered on it. I used to be into fitteds from 2006-2008 and I haven't bought any since then thanks to the great recession. Would've gone and waited outside the store from 5 to 10AM to be one of the first customers, but instead I went to another store opening in the O.C. with a friend of mine. I had to go with her cause first of all, it was a year of us knowing each other. Nothing too serious or spacious. Just good friends since I first ran into her at the Kardashian Konfidental book release in Century City exactly one year ago. I've done this many times before with a lot of other female friends. And secondly, the store was at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. I driven past this mall three times this year and I've never been inside it before. Plus, I've heard a couple of myths about that place such as 50 something women who look half their age and that you can occasionally run into Kobe's wife there since she lives in Newport (I'll get into more of her later).

After 15 minutes of looking for parking, we went to the store where the opening was gonna take place. The place is called Casey's Cupcakes and Cappuccino's and its ran by this residental affluent hot chick named Casey Reinhardt. They had a ribbon cutting ceremony and unlike other ribbon cutting ceremonies that I've been to in the past, this one didn't have any excessive media press, just one photographer that they hired, which isn't me despite the fact that I did bring my Nikon N70 SLR with me. I took some shots of Casey and one with her as my friend went to go try out her cupcakes. It wasn't as big as I though it was since Casey appeared on TV. They're were about 25 women that showed up who looked like they want to spend the rest of their lives as rich single moms, and some of them brought their daughters to the event.

The mall is nice. Wasn't as I though it was gonna be, but the structure of place itself wasn't something that's new to me. Fashion Island is a lot like the Simi Valley Town Center mixed with Westfield Century City and parts of the Valencia Town Center after its expansion. I would've also thrown The Grove into the mix, but the buildings aren't that tall. The other thing about that mall is that its close by to the beach, so you can watch the sun set off to the coast from the mall. Its very cool. They were also constructing a movie theater, which is already opened right now, and after doing some research on it, the name of the theater is called Island Cinema and inside there's a five star like restaurant that you can go to before your film starts, and they serve Wine and Beer! So you can be a rich yuppie couple getting intoxicated before watching one of Steven Speilberg's two films that are out during the Holiday season, which are Warhorse and TinTin ( the OG cartoon was the shit). My friend and I then feasted at YardHouse while watching the Army/Navy college football game on their TVs, in which Navy defeated Army with President Barack Obama in attendance of course. The food at YardHouse is delicious, and this was my first time eating there. I got a pizza with some thin fries and a garden salad while my homegirl got the same thing. After that we then took some photos, including one in front of a big ass Pine Tree with some decorations on it (I don't feel like saying the word Christmas Tree). I was surprised that they have a Ritz Camera there at Fashion Island. I talked to the manager there and told him that I though Ritz Camera was bankrupt and out of business. He said that only the Los Angeles County locations are closed but everywhere else is open in a few locations. Back before I got into digital photography, I used to take my prints to the Ritz Camera in the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square where I worked that time and my little brother copped a the OG Playstation Portable that was being sold at that location. Finally we went to Macy's cause my friend had to try on some high heels. After an hour, we dipped Orange County and drove back to the Valley in LA County.

Then on Sunday, I shook over to Lee's 4 Cocktails to go watch some Week 14 games in the NFL and there were a few decent games. I was mostly interested in the Green Bay Packers V. Oakland Raiders contest, but it wasn't as interesting as the Denver Broncos/Chicago Bears game that was also on at the same time. That was the game of the week right there. Quarterback Tim Tebow getting his seventh straight win with team in a very crazy ending. Also the Sunday Night between the Dallas Cowboys V. New York Giants had very fantastic football being displayed cause the top seed for the NFC East was up for grabs that night, with the Giants taking the win. Major shoutout to the homegirl Carissa Blau for celebrating her birthday there which made the day more exciting.

Now during the rest of the week, which was last week, it felt like I already opened my Christmas gifts two weeks early. I was at The Grove taking some photos of Katy Perry launching her new fragrance last Wednesday. The event looked like it was completely over done, with a big ass stage over the fountains in front of the Pacific Theaters there inside the Grove. Plus there were a shitload of fans that showed up later. I got there early so that I can get a closer angle of her on stage but security kept moving us all the way to the back between the Cheesecake Factory and the Apple Store, and they left that space in front of the stage for the press and media. They weren't kidding cause there were several television cameras and press photographers, which I thought it didn't make sense until I found out that the event was being live streamed on the internet. I didn't really plan on being there since I saw her twice already but I had to pick up some prints at Samy's Camera and I had plenty of time to kill before the Christmas party that I have to be at starts.

Now this party that I went to, its located just not to far from Rio Vista School, the elementary school that I went to from Pre-K to First Grade. They referred to that area in North Hollywood now as West Toluca Lake. I spent the first two years of my life at an apartment just a block from where the Christmas party was being hosted at. I found out about it randomly on Twitter and after communicating with one of the people who promoted the party, they said that I can attend. I didn't know ANYBODY at this party. The people that showed up are in their twenties and they reminded me of my old co-workers at the Apple Store in Sherman Oaks just down west on Riverside Drive. It was hosted by this organization called Red Eye, where they go out to the community and give back to those who are disadvantaged and live in tough situations. The only thing I do know about this party was that The O.C.'s Mischa Barton was gonna host it, and she was a chill person to talk to. Everybody didn't go wild on her and to me, she was just a regular person. I didn't think that she would speak with a British accent since she spoke like an American on the show. But the coolest part about the party that got me by total surprise was that they needed a photographer to take photos of the event as one of the hosts, named Justin Mayo, announced after everyone showed up. I told them that I do photography right after he said that and showed him some of my photoshoots I stored on my phone. Justin them got relieved and then he sent me to another dude upstairs to receive the camera that I was gonna be shooting with. I though it was gonna be some old Canon EOS Rebel or a Nikon D3000 entry level DSLR. But instead:

THEY GAVE ME A MOTHERFUCKING CANON EOS 5D MARK II DSLR TO USE FOR THE ENTIRE NIGHT! WITH A GODDAMN 24-70MM F/2.8 LENS ON IT! HOLY FREAKIN' SHIT!!!

For those who don't follow up with photography or filmmaking that much, this camera has a full frame sensor with 21 Megapixels and it can capture full 1080p HD Video. Shit, you don't really need a flash with this camera since you can escape with fantastic low light shots in an ISO rating at least 3200 or higher. This is a top of the line DSLR that's WAY up high the bar. Plus, that camera was HEAVY. Weighed about 3 pounds with the lens adding the weight. I was holding about 4 grand worth of equipment that night and that shit is more than a recent Mac Pro tower. Photographers would give up their daughters tuition money just to get this device. Damn, I never used the 5D Mark II before and I ALREADY LIKE IT. The results are just too much, where it can save me less time in the post production in Adobe Lightroom 3. To me, this is just one of those rare ass moments, photography wise as well as social wise to party with some well raised adults my age, and Mischa Barton, who was one of the biggest TV Stars back when I was in high school. I even did a photoshoot of her with that camera that night. Jesus, and the trust that they gave me there was, for the lack of better terms, so awesome, I can't even put it to words. It was a excellent night.

That Christmas party wasn't the only rare moment that took place that week. I managed to score tickets to watch the Lakers practice and run a scrimmage in front of a crowd at the USC Galen Center that Friday. I was surprised that nobody else wanted to attend since I had a extra ticket, but fuck it, it was during a time when everyone was at work or taking some final exams. I even tried scalping it to this one girl but she backed out in the last second. To be honest, y'all missed out. For reals. I was in the front row watching the team shoot buckets and run some drills with Coach Mike Brown taking charge. Kobe Bryant came out last and when they showed his face on the video screen, I was wondering why he didn't come out with a smile or something. This was a totally different Lakers team to watch since Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown are no longer there in Lakerland. Lamar left on his behalf since he was originally involved with the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers that didn't happen, but he still wanted to be traded to a different team regardless. That entire shit got me upset, and what's more mindblowing was that Chris Paul got traded from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Clippers, the city's other professional basketball team. Obviously, it threw off alot of people. For example, during the scrimmage, whenever Chris Paul or the Clippers were mentioned or shown on the video screen, every started booing and jeering, yet I don't blame them. But, on the positive side, the fans cheered like crazy in the Galen Center when Lawrence Tanter announced Ron Artest's new legalized name "Metta World Peace" for the first time. After the event was over, I then hit up the Burger King across USC to get some free fries since the restaurant was giving away their new cooked French Fries they introduced. It wasn't as wild as the ones they did back in the late's 90's, when the lines would be long for free fries.

I then went to a second Burger King in San Fernando to take more advantage of the free fries promotion and then I just found out that Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa filed for divorce on my phone. I didn't see that shit coming and I WAS JUST WITNESSING KOBE BRYANT ON THE COURT IN PERSON WAY BEFORE THE NEWS BROKE! No wonder he wasn't happy when he came out during the scrimmage. I though he was set and loaded with his wife and two daughters. Fuck, it just shows that marriage is not easy at all, mostly towards the affluent notable figures. Maybe he got bored with her and they been together for a decade. I've been noticing that when some people are rich and young, they like to do things so fast that it dries out very quickly as they start to realize it. But hell, this ain't my business and Kobe may not be over it too much just as long as it doesn't affect his game play. Its gonna be tough for the daughter to deal with this now that their pops moved out of Newport Beach. And what's worse was that the Lakers lost to the Clippers during first preseason game in the Staples Center with the Lakers court on Monday Night, by almost 20 points. I was watching that game right after the power blew out in Candlestick Park during Monday Night Football between the Niners and Steelers, in which the score was 20-3 with San Francisco getting the home win and not allowing Ben Rothlisberger to make a touchdown.

So that has been my two weeks notice during the middle of December. I'm typing this from my pop's house which I've been staying at this past week. I've helped my little brother pick up and help pay for his rental car, a 2011 Toyota Corolla LE, since the bumper in his car got dented from a party he went to. Thankfully he's safe. And because I had to contribute for my little brother, I won't be able to get the Air Jordan Concord XI's that I've been focusing on since the Cool Grey XI's dropped last year, which I hated. Well, that chance is gone now. Looking forward to reading the stories about the crazy shit that might happen during this release rather than reading about those fools who's girl surprisingly spoiled them with those overhyped kicks that is worth the hype. Special thanks again to Red Eye and Mischa Barton for the party and everything else, and shoutout to Dr. Jerry Buss and the Lakers organization staff for hosting that free practice scrimmage viewing that may never happen again. Thanks for your time reading this and have fun returning your presents at Macy's or Target the day after Christmas, which happens to be my moms and little sister's 17th birthday.

Second Nurture

A post update on a Saturday? Hey, the Breakfast club had to spend the entire Saturday in detention 26 years ago.

I didn't recap my Thanksgiving weekend from last week cause I didn't feel like typing about it for some weird reason. It was just a regular occasion to me. Went to three different houses which involved alot of football watching and a lot of food, including the Turkey obviously. My friend Marlene De La Torre's daughter Yvonne gave birth to her second daughter on that Thursday as well, which made it alot more special and interesting since I was with their family for that weekend. Spend Saturday and Sunday taking photos of the newborn on film. She's very gorgeous, and I give my ABSOLUTE, ULTIMATE best to her, and her parents Yvonne and Nestor the very best in their new blessing.

Also, week 12 of the NFL was just another Sunday. Bad teams losing to good teams and Denver's Tim Tebow still getting criticized and ridiculed by football fans despite his 5 game winning streak. That bloke is still probably getting the most heat from the New York Jets fans after that insane 90+ yard drive his offense performed in the final minutes of that Thursday Night game. He might somehow get a close break from the Chicago Bears in week 14, but I have a obvious feeling that the "Tebow Time" run will shut down when they greet the New England Patriots the following week. But then again, both of those games are home at Mile High Stadium... I mean Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Remember when Sports Authority used to be known as SportMart more than 5 years ago?

That's it for now. Damn, this is the SHORTEST post I ever typed in a while. And last thing, I hope those who were affected by the power outage and the Santa Ana winds damage to their vehicles and houses around the Pasadena area this past week will get something rewarding by the end of the month. It just sucks to think about those who unfortunate and have to deal with that shit, especially around this time during the holiday season. Thanks for you time reading this.