Leap Years Suck!

I don't know what the deal is, but today has been a total piece of shit. Work was hectic all day long (all for nothing I found out at later), and the Lakers lost to Portland due to an extra lazy effort, which snapped their 10 game win streak. Since I have no other explanation as to why these events occurred I am going to blame it on Leap Year.

If only it was 1987 again!

So lately I've been much more into heavy metal than usual. Im not exactly sure why but I guess it just takes me back to some fond memories of my youth, when I thought that Guns N' Roses were gods, when Iron Maiden and their "Satanic" ways had me scared shitless, and when being a sleazy glam rocker who wore spandex and makeup would get you tons of chicks (see below). Ahhhhh... those were the days! In the past few months I've seen Van Halen play at the Staples Center, Velvet Revolver play the Wiltern, and Iron Maiden play the Forum. In this same period of time I've also imported about 50 new heavy metal CDs from my friend Kris's collection, I've bought and beaten Guitar Hero 3 for PS3, I've read Slash's autobiography in about 5 sittings, started reading "Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction", bought a Van Halen Shirt and 2 Iron Maiden shirts, and also bought Iron Maiden's "Live After Death DVD". That might seem like a bit much already, but to top it all off, yesterday I shelled out another $360 for 4 Iron Maiden tickets at Irvine Meadows on May 31st. I just don't know what has gotten into me. Maybe... it's the work of the Devil.
This guy gets all the chicks!

Can't Wait Until July

After long last my girlfriend and I finally booked an awesome vacation to go on this summer. We were originally thinking of Guadalajara, but with the recent crime and turmoil that seems to be going down in mainland Mexico we decided to go the more touristy route and book a vacation in Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula. We got an INSANE deal through Orbitz.com and have some great excursions lined up while down there. So far we have a zip line jungle tour, a snorkeling expedition on Cozumel, and we're also going to the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza. Its going to be sooooo fun! Im sure I will post a few pics once the trip happens. Until then I hope these next 4 months fly by!Paradise!

The Jinx

I seriously can't even believe how crazy of a turnaround this NBA season has been for the Lakers. It went from Kobe being one step away from leaving, to seeming like he will be a Laker for life on a perrenial Championship caliber team. The outlook was so bleak in late October that I was about to cancel my season tickets, and I've had those since 2000! Thank God I didn't or I'd want to kill myself right about now. Which brings me to last nights game... The Lakers vs Suns game last night was epic! It had a playoff feel to it, and had bigtime implications on so many levels. Everything from the Kobe vs Shaq rivalry, to Shaqs first game as a Phoenix Sun, to the sole possession of 1st place in the Pacific Division was going on last night, and both teams brought it in a major way. After pulling out the victory in the end (after leading for most of the game and blowing a double digit lead) I think the Lakers are sitting pretty right now. They are a bonafide force to be reckoned with and in my opinion the team to beat in the West. I know this will probably jinx everything but Im predicting right now that the Lakers will win the NBA Championship this season and Kobe will get his first and long overdue MVP Award. There it is. I said it. Lakers 2007-2008 NBA Champs!!! Oh yeah here is a picture of Kobe throwing one down in last nights game after blowing by his defender. What a badass! GO LAKERS!!!
Booya!

Lunar Eclipse

So last night there was a pretty cool looking Lunar Eclipse. The forecast had called for cloudy skies and rain but surprisingly it was crystal clear. On the way home from work I pulled over on the outskirts of Chinatown to get a good view and snapped a few pics. Unfortunately I didnt have a tripod of any kind so I had to do my best statue impersonation and hold the camera as still as possible (which didnt work too well). Anyways here are the 2 best shots of the Eclipse that I took last night. Hoooowwww trrrriiiiiipppppyyyyy...
Dark Side of the MoonWow!

Iron Maiden @ The Forum

Bruce is back!
The Troopers
All I have to say is that the show rocked in a major way. It was metal-head central last night at the Forum and as expected the music kicked ass. It wasnt too easy to get there and we definitely thought we might be late, but thankfully we got there in plenty of time. Traffic sucked big time on the drive over and once we got inside, the seats were really really hard to find. In combination with the retard usher who was completely useless, these stoner metal head bozos were sitting in out seats and gave us a hard time when we told them they were in the wrong seats. They eventually moved and then passed out from being to wasted for almost the duration of the show. Then Iron Maiden came on. Maiden opened up with Aces High and played a bunch of the favorites. For me, the hi-light of the show was when a huge Eddie puppet (or was it a guy on stilts in a costume?) a la "Somewhere In Time Eddie" walked across the stage with a huge lazer gun and then put on a Kobe Lakers jersey. The funny thing is that the crowd started to boo the Lakers since most metal heads seem to hate sports. Either way it was a sight to be seen and I thouroughly enjoyed it. Fear of The Dark was another awesome song they played last night. They cut the lights and everyone sang along and broke out their bics and zippos (as shown below). The mosh pit was pretty insane throughout the entire show and there appeared to be some serious bruisers wrecking shop down there. Finally they closed the show with "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (which is probably my favorite song by them due to Toy Machine's Welcome to Hell video) and also anounced some new US Tour Dates (which I will definitely be going to). All in all it was a great time and I cant wait to see them again in May. Here is another cell phone pic I snapped during the show, but I cant remember what song this was during. Fear Of The DarkRock On!

666! The number of the beast...

Tonight me, and a couple of friends are going down to the Forum in Inglewood to see Iron Maiden. This show is going to be insane! First of all none of us have ever seen Iron Maiden live, and secondly its their ONLY U.S. stop on the World Tour they are currently embarked on. I cant believe that I actually waited this long to see them. I guess its better though since Bruce Dickinson is back in the band. I can’t wait to get the hell out of work and be on my way to the show! The only downside to the show that I can see that its on a Tuesday night, since concerts tend to be much more fun when they’re on a Friday or Saturday night and you don’t have to worry about going in to work the next day. Fuck it. I’m going to have a blast regardless.Shhhhhh! Eddie's trying to do some homework right now!