our kids don't stand a chance

seriously. i sometimes get very concerned about the world we're sending the little ones into.

they stand absolutely zero chance against today's advertising and corporate trend makers. the whole idea of cultural and ideological appropriation is so intertwined with post-modern thinking that in this new world, where modernity has become just another aphorism that comes prepackaged with a matching clothing line and accessories, musical tastes and political values, where do we even begin to delineate cultural dissolution from cultural creation? and all things considered, is the fact that these ideas are now arguably one and the same actually the true definition of our generation?

has the last line been crossed? has independent thinking itself been co-opted?

they're trying.

www.nikelegacy.com is an online community set up by nike to gauge trends, opinions, and general interests. cool hunting, trend setting, early adapters -- these are the people marketeers and companies are sitting on and watching.

but this website man, it just looks at the feedback loop and says "fuck it. this takes too long." nike legacy is a "social community" for those interested in nike basketball. it combines every resource into one place, and allows for interaction where instead of taking surveys and focus groups to task, it simply puts a blank screen in front of kids and asks "what do you want us to sell you?".

as a marketer, i would say it's genius. as a consumer, it scares the shit out of me.

exhibit a. would be the websites first activity for new members: take a picture of your closet and send it to nike, including details of everything you own in said picture.

and you know what? teens are glad to do it. they take pride in showing off their shiny material goods, paid for by overwhelmed parents or minimum wage jobs -- or both.

now, don't get me wrong. anyone who knows me will know that i am unabashedly a nike fan. but when the intrusion becomes so blatant, so bold; even i can't help but feel dirty.

i'm not against capitalism. to be honest, i kind of laugh at the idea of hipsters who refuse to support major corporations but will then drop $200 on pants made by a smaller clothing brand, which in turn is likely prospering off a subcultural niche being propagated by one of many said corporations the person is trying to avoid.

i love money. but even moreso, i love the idea that money is the result of chasing things you have a passion for that are not....well...just money. this is what makes our world interesting. and when capitalism begins to exist outside a free market and enter into the realm of hyper-consumption, one can't help but wonder where our priorities got misplaced, and how to fix things.

i'm probably sounding an awful lot like a communist. but i swear i'm not. i'm not trying to be partisan, or pretentious (well, ok, maybe a little), or hell, even personal.

all i'm venting about is the bigger picture: what does it even mean to be an individual anymore?

and most importantly, what will we tell our kids when they ask us?

maybe, maybe not

so increasingly, i find everyone just wants to play softball.

i've been playing for a lot of summers now, and it's always a good time. i mean, you get to enjoy the weather, run around a bit, and spend the day hanging out with good friends. what's not to like?

but it seems recently, people have started to go softball CRAZY. so many of the same people i played with in church league are now playing softball at least 3-4 times a week, every week during the summer. now, i'm not saying this is a bad thing. i am merely saying that as much as i like the sport, there has definitely been a noticeable surge in the games popularity (particularly amongst asians) over the last couple years, and it continues to grow.

i mean, even at my church, we went from having just 1 team, to 3, to 4 teams this year, with enough numbers realistically to field 5 teams if we had the resources.

what's up with this? i think it's great kids are getting into it (although personally, i'd have my own kids play hardball instead) but, where the heck did this come from?

actually, what i think really makes me envious is that people don't show this kind of interest in basketball. if i had people to play basketball with 3-4 times a week, i'd be in much better shape.

i find it comes in fads amongst us asians. it used to be dragonboat, but that is starting to wane. now softball is peaking, but you can already see that the next thing coming up is going to be ultimate, and kind of along with that golf.

hmm.... now that i type it out, i suppose it makes sense, since those sports go from the most exerting down to the least...

dammit. i guess i should invest in some golf clubs....

like an onion

new york can't come soon enough. finally bit the bullet and bought tickets to see the yanks play the red sox in their final regular season game of the year.

it's going to be amazing. plus i'll get to say i saw a yanks/sox game in the house that ruth built, before they tear the shrine down and put up the new yankee stadium.

still; for the price i paid, this better be the most exciting baseball experience of my life.

where every child wants to go

camp okutta!

trust me, you want to check it out.

bill walton is on crack

// i heart samuel dalembert. slammin' sammy was doing his best tim duncan impression against venezuela last night, dropping a few crunch time buckets and clutch free throws. on top of that, he was swatting shots and protecting the paint as if leo rautins threatened to send him back to haiti if we didn't win. big boy finished with 18-8, and 5 blocks. not too shabby//

//consider this: steve nash is holding himself out of international play mainly to save his body for the grueling NBA season. if the suns do in fact go all the way this year, is nash then more inclined to play for canada if we make it to beijing? if magloire decides to get off his lazy ass for the chance at an olympic medal, can you imagine a canadian starting lineup of magloire, dalembert, brown, english, and nash? not exactly the most feared lineup in the world, but at least it'd be fun to watch some real talent wearing the colours. at the very least, we'd have to be considered a darkhorse for a medal merely for having nash. i mean, dude took a team with sherman hamilton and todd mccullough to a 5-2 record in sydney. just one more reason to root for the suns//

//speaking of our boy sherm, i would love to meet the programming director of raptors tv. has anyone actually ever watched X's and O's? and i'm paying a monthly premium for this channel? yikes//

//quote of the day: "take that hugo chavez!" -- tony kornhesier during PTI, in regards to the beatdown the united states put on venezuela in their FIBA tourny opener two nights ago. of even more interest is that after the U.S. made the venezuelans look like the washington generals, team opec came out tonight and looked like a bunch of all-stars against canada. to put things in perspective, we had no answer for the offensive force that is hector romero. we're going to get massacred on saturday. i can't wait to watch carl english being checked by kobe. poor kid's probably having nightmares even as i type this//

//i wonder if celine dion will be at the game on saturday. i hope not. if anything that would only motivate the americans to crush us more//

//on a personal note, i was blasting feist in my car yesterday and pulled up at a light next to a dodge caravan with what i can only describe as a prototypical canadian soccer mom at the wheel. she quickly turned to look at me, and flashed a huge grin with two thumbs up, as she proceeded to bob her head in her seat. needless to say, i turned the music down, and quietly sped away as soon as the light turned green//

only because herb asked

here's one of those updating my life with current event posts that i rarely if ever partake in.

this weekend, i went to vanex's jack and jill, organized brilliantly by the leung family and crew (that would be us). it went off without a hitch, and fun was had by all while enjoying company, celebrating the couple of the hour (and hours continually onward until september 22nd), and doing some salsa dancing. lots of fun, no stories to tell, except that one where brian was macking girls. i bore no witness to said macking, but he has promised to repeat it next time we go clubbing with even greater results. i am giddy with anticipation.

today me and a small gaggle of gals took in finals sunday at the rogers cup. justine henin won it all again this year, and we learned several things from our first live tennis match, including the zeal of serbian tennis fans, as well as the importance of sunblock.

speaking of which, upon inspection when i got home, the right side of my body is definitively and quite obviously more tan than the left side.

to further sate herb's appetite for news from the homeland, i will update him regarding the five juicest pieces of gossip currently making the rounds:

5) wendy has a friend that we officially refer to now as date-rape. it is the rare occasion where that term can be used, and despite its absurdly inappropriate nature, we generally all just laugh because we actually understand who we're talking about.

4) western has turned brian into a pimp. why that never happened to us, i do not know.

3) the current hottest topics of conversation are: weddings, engagement rings, and things to wear to weddings (in that order).

2) somebody has a crush on cammie

1) that somebody is herb

unison

i'm probably going to look back at this summer in three months and really regret how i spent my time and money.

until then -- lets party like it's 1989.

a brief window

can you imagine how liberating life would be if we had no concept of time?

fascinating.

Bill Simmons is wise

In this day and age, what even constitutes cheating? I don't know the exact rules for the era in which women dress like hookers, shrug off one-night stands and dance by grinding their butts against the groins of various strangers at dark nightclubs. So what's cheating in this universe?A threesome with two of their boyfriend's best friends? Sleeping with their boyfriend's brother or dad? I give up. Just know that I'm sending my daughter to high school in a suit of armor every day.

what a well articulated man that Simmons is.

a movie script ending

it's funny what can happen in a couple months; how perspective can change so drastically, for better or for worse.

is it possible for a person to change who they are over one single summer?

what could have been...

is it worth it to throw sensibility to the wind sometimes and just enjoy where life leads you despite your better judgment concerning long-term ramifications? i mean, is there much to be said for the meaning and value of living in each "now" moment and just being confidant that whatever the consequences you'll be able to handle them? after all, if we don't live for the now, than why live at all?

conversely, is sacrificing the short term excitement for long term stability and practicality really a bad investment? is protecting your own interests -- even at the expense of someone else -- and curtailing some immediate gratification in lieu of the "big picture" really ever unwise?

is it silly to live life hoping to make every decision wisely? is it worth living life that way? am i romanticizing spontaneity?

is it ignorant to think that the above two scenarios are necessarily mutually exclusive? am i asking too many questions?

...probably.