So it’s been quite a while since I last posted…and if you’ve been following me, you see random posts about (beautiful) morning news anchors, GPS systems and the like. If you can’t tell by the title of this post, today I am writing about 3Kings. And this is something you definitely want to read. Let me just put it in it’s only little paragraph because it really is that important.
THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING YOU WILL WANT TO READ.
One of the big reasons I’ve been gone from this little blog of mine for a few weeks is that the 3Kings team has been hard at work. I am happy to announce that in addition to the “Original 3K” and “L’etat, C’est Moi”, we will be releasing three additional shirts to complete our first run of 3Kings Clothing for the Fall/Winter season. It took a little longer than we wanted, but we’re really excited that we’ve taken the time to bring you some quality, original gear.
A couple other things…our website will be launching within the next few weeks, but we are really looking forward to the H-Town Sneaker Summit where will will be posted up. PLEASE check out whats goin on over at www.htownsneakersummit.com. There’s a couple of other things I wish I could tell you, but what fun would that be? Might as well open Christmas gifts tomorrow. So that’s that. 3Kings is back.
P.S. Be on the look out next LLLEE…I mean week. Happy Friday!
Fact: There is no better way to start a weekday morning than by tuning into CNN American Morning and(CNN’s) HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade.
Easily a candidate for the Overlooked & Underrated, Kiran Chetry is the beautiful Nepalese born co-anchor who brings us important news from 5am to 8am CST, every weekday morning. I was at the gym early one morning and CNN was on. I made sure to never forget the channel and the name of the anchor I was watching. Rarely mentioned in the “hottest female reporter” debate versus the likes of Melissa Theuriau, Jackie Guerrido, and even KPRC’s Jennifer Reyna, Kiran often flies under the radar–possibly due to the extra early time slot, and lack of publicity. Or maybe I was never that up early to catch the lovely Kiran. From Wikipedia:
“Kiran made Maxim Magazine’s top ten list of TV’s Sexiest News Anchors, placing third on the list: Kiran was ranked as America’s sexiest female anchor and the world’s second sexiest female anchor. On September 24, 2007, on American Morning, CNN’s medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, used Kiran’s photo to illustrate a study on the biological reasons that people gaze longer at attractive individuals: the segment on an American Morning was entitled, “Who’s Hot to You? Why You Can’t Look Away.”
Kiran is HOT to me. And no, I can’t look away. Thank goodness she’s off by 8am or I’d be late to work. Pictures online really don’t do her any sort of justice, so you’ll have to check out this Youtube clip…compiled by an even bigger fan.
So 8pm comes and I have a couple minutes left before work to catch some more news so I then move to HLN where Robin Meade graces the screen…
As I post the mandatory picture, I realize that pictures don’t do Robin any justice either. But anyways, Robin airs from 5am to 9am on her semi-self-titled show “Morning Express with Robin Meade.” I remember driving north on 59 and seeing her billboard and again, I noted the channel and her name. From then on I’ve been a fan. With Robin, the producers at CNN/HLN knew what they had on their hands. A beautiful, cheery, likable anchor. So they made sure to put her in the lime light, gave her a some decent advertising and let her do the rest. Apparently she’s been doing a good job. Morning Express has been on since 2005 and continues to go strong.
Pictures really do no justice...
It’s safe to say everyone else agrees that Robin Meade was/is/will be quite the looker. She was a top ten finalist in the 1992 Miss America Pageant. That puts her at cougar status, however, she, like Kiran, is married. Robin has also written a self-help book titled “Good Morning Sunshine”. Amazon says 4.5/5 stars. Not bad. Forreal, even girls like Robin Meade. While at lunch one day with el Cabitan and his co-workers, one of his female co-workers expressed how much she enjoyed watching Robin in the morning. So females, please, quit hatin.
Kiran Chetry & Robin Meade. It’s a win-win situation. News and pretty women. Better than Folgers in your cup.
Going through my feeds this morning, I came across this little system where you stick it on your child and you can basically track them wherever they are. You’ve seen it in the movies, but now it’s available for use…and they’re marketing it to parents to use for their children. It’s called “The Little Buddy” by the value brand Insignia (you see them at Best Buy). You can call it a tracking device, beacon, whatever. They’ve been out for a while but they seem to be getting more mainstream. Price: $100
Anyways, It got me to thinking. I got no kids, but I remember when I was little Paolo J, things were much different. I’m not even that OLD and things were way different. Man, I hardly even remember that much from the past, but I do remember there was no tracking device to be put on me and have my parents follow my every movement. Obviously you can see my stance on such a device, but I’m going off on a tangent…
Here’s how it works. Yout take this gadget, and, without your child seeing, you sneak it on them somehow. Maybe their backpack, maybe their lunch box, I dunno. But you get your stealth on and SNEAK it onto your child. SNEAK. Then of course you can follow them via the internet hoping they don’t find this cute little blue wannabe flash drive. In the event that they do find it and stash it on someone else realizing they’ve been bugged, tech-savvy parents are out a hundo.
Here are a couple better ideas…
The obvious one is if you suspect your significant other of cheating. Or you could just call Cheaters the Show.
This one is for el Cabitan… plant it some girl’s bag at the gym so you can “randomly” run into her one night.
Sneak (common theme) it onto a friend so you can hide around the corner and scare the crap out of them.
What would you do with the Little Buddy?
The moral of this story is that GPS is pretty handy, but thinking about what you can do with it can be a bit disturbing. I got a mass email the other day saying a GPS was stolen from a car, they found the person’s address in the GPS and went and robbed their house because that person was out. Though the Little Buddy may be useful to some parents (we are all entitled to our opinions), I would only buy this if I was rich and wanted to play some mean jokes on friends.
It’s amazing what the human mind is capable of achieving. If you haven’t seen this guy or others like him, you GOTTA check this out. It’s truly an inspiration. With out taking away too much from the video, Stephen has the ability to simply observe a city for 30 minutes to an hour and recreate the cityscape from memory, with amazing detail and accuracy.
On the subject of Autism, it’s still one of medicine’s great mysteries, again highlighting the strength, or more appropriately the complexity of the human brain.
Seriously though, watch the video. He also has a website: http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/
Definitely one of my all time favorite word combinations.
I googled that combo and found out there was a book titled “Failure is not an Option” by Eugene F. Kranz which is all about his experience from mission control to the Apollo 13 mission. Why do I like that phrase so much? Maybe it has to do with the fact that fail is one of the most negative words in the english language. I challenge you to find one worse. A word that makes you just feel like crap when it is used against you. Perhaps the negative power of the word came from the fact that you either pass or fail a class and the amount of pressure that one must bear when getting an education. It’s even become one of those internet sayings kinda like this.
Person A: I lost my keys and missed the most important presentation of my life.
Person B: FAIL.
That period at the end of FAIL is pretty emphatic but fail is such a demoralizing word. Would you rather be a POS or a FAILURE? I’ll say it now. I’d rather be a douchebag then a failure. You may laugh but even DBs can be successful and live happy lives (when you use the word failure in a more broad sense). But enough of talking strictly about the world FAIL (failure, etc.).
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION
If you ever tell yourself those words, you know that you’ll give 110%, everything you’ve got to achieve whatever it is your doing. And even if you don’t attain that goal, you know you put it all on the line. This doesn’t translate to gambling (i.e. betting all your chips on red and losing), but you get the point. The ultimate goal as an athlete is to be a champion. Would you call Charles Barkley a failure? The dude was one of the most amazing 6′ 6” power forwards in the game. Check the stats if you don’t believe me. Barry Sanders? Some would argue hes the GOAT. Haters will always say (in this case) that if you couldn’t elevate your team to champion status, then you’re short of being a champion. Though technically they may be right (cuz they are HATERS), it’s nothing more than a tiny foot note on your otherwise stellar resume.
Looking back on this post… just having that “won’t take NO for an answer” type mentality is pretty much what it means when you say failure is not an option. But when you take the most negative word in the english language and smacking it int he face it just sounds so much more epic.
If you’ve got got your mind set on something, then go for it . Give it 100 and you’ll be better for it. Have a great weekend.
It’s been far too long since I last posted so here I am. For anyone interested, I was in the Philippines and Thailand from September 12-25. Thankfully I avoided the typhoon that hit Manila and surrounding areas but unfortunately the damage was pretty devastating. I have some distant relatives that lost a lot in the storm so my prayers go out to anyone involved. Thanks also to anyone who has helped the cause in the Philippines.
Just a quick recap on my trip, I had a lot of fun and it was definitely a great experience seeing where my family is from. Makes me even more appreciate what my parents have done for me. So, a week in the Philippines then off to Thailand for 5 nights which was great as well. Bangkok was straight, but Phuket was the spot if you’re into beaches. I could go on and on and talk about about tons of different things from my trip but I’ll let the pictures do the talking. They aren’t in any particular order, but I was able to do more sight-seeing in Thailand. You can find the pictures HERE.
Just another quick note…jet lag is the real deal. It was my first time flying overseas and across numerous time zones. So if you think jet lag is for sissies, you’re dead wrong.
Also, a quick update on 3Kings…it’s been quite a while since anyone has heard about us. With myself being gone for a full two weeks and also having to catch up on a myriad of things (work), 3Kings seems to be in the shadows… Well if you know me, you should know better. Though it would be a heinous lie if I said that 3K wasn’t slightly pushed back, things are definitely moving forward! Look for some serious gear to drop right in time for the holiday season. We won’t let you down
Finally, check the blog often, I promise to be more active in bringing you material to keep your mind fresh during the day. That’s a wrap. Paolo J is back.
It’s been a while since I’ve last posted and this will probably be my post for the next few weeks. The reason being is that I am going “home” to the Philippines and also visiting Thailand. “Home” is in quotations because, though both my parents are Filipino, I was born here. So yea. I’m pretty excited, minus the flight, but I hope to come back with tons of pics and videos to share with anyone who cares about me, or travelling to foreign countries.
But I digress…
My goal here is to start a new themed posted which I’d like to call, “Overlooked and Underrated”. I’ll probably start another one called “Underqualified and Overrated”, but thats for another day. And to make sure this isn’t just a cheap excuse to post pictures of extremely attractive women, I will take all suggestions for people and also will not limit it to people in the entertainment business.
Another thing to stave off any ill-willed comments…I know there may be objections to what I write, but please remember, I don’t follow millions of people. If the current O&U person is someone YOU are a huge fan of, than obviously that person isn’t O&U to you. Think about it.
Anyways, if you follow me on twitter (@paolojackson) you’ll already know that the first O&U person is:
Charlize Theron. Why she qualifies? We know how pretty she is, but you never really hear THAT much about her. Maybe she wants it that way. But quietly she’s been doin it big for some time, and then some.
Okay, okay. Maybe there are more Charlize fans than I thought, but I was reading on other forums and I PERSONALLY have overlooked and/or underrated her. She’s pretty damn gorgeous but with class. I last remember seeing her in Hancock, which was ehh…but at least Charlize was in the movie. Not only is she pretty, but she can actually act (unlike many of the underqualified and overrated stars of today). She won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2004 for starring in Monster. AAAANNNDDD she’s making this world a better place with her Africa Outreach Project ( http://www.charlizeafricaoutreach.org). If that doens’t make her super awesome, then something is wrong with you.
So there you have it. Charlize Theron. Overlooked and Underrated.
What no pictures?! I thought you’d never ask. Oh, and check out this video from funnyordie.
Comic books are often passed on as some hobby that only nerds partake in. With obsessive fans gathering in full-blown costume at events such as Comicon, it’s easy to be turned off by comics or graphic novels. But if you really can get past the stereotypical image of a comic book reader, you can experience some really great stories with really great art.
I haven’t been reading for very long. When I first saw the preview for Watchmen, saying it was the greatest graphic novel of all time, I went out and bought it. The book sat on my shelf for months until I finally got around to reading it. While I wouldn’t recommned Watchmen as the first graphic novel to read, it undoubtedly is a fantastic read.
(Note: comic book and graphic novel will, for all intents purposes, be used interchangeably)
Anyways, practically all superheroes came from comics. Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Ironman, X-Men. But comics don’t just stop with tales of superpowers and villians. You can practically find them on anything. Before this post turns into a long boring post, I thought I’d share some of the series I’ve enjoyed reading over the past year. When I first started, I just looked up what people really liked…
Y: The Last Man – This is definitely like a summer movie. In an instant, all men on earth die except one young man named Yorick Brown. Then the story just takes off.
100 Bullets – Some man goes up to you with a briefcase full of information on someone who did you wrong. Also in the suitcase is a gun and some bullets. If you choose to seek revenge, you have protection above the law.
Fables – A bunch of fairy tale characters live together in NYC. Sounds kind of lame, but it is actually very entertaining.
The Ultimates – A new age take on the classic Avengers.
Batman: Year One – There are several “classic” Batman volumes. This is Batman from the beginning. Probably some of the recent movies took inspiration in these comics. Not like the Batman cartoons you may remember.
This is just a short, short list. Seriously though, go out and read some comics. To make it easier, go to your local Barnes or Borders and look for graphic novels. Older comics are sold in TPBs (trade paper backs) which collect 5 or more comics of the same series into one volume. It might take a while to get used to the format, but once you do you just might get addicted!
Finally, the wait is over! It’s been a long time coming and the first two shirt designs are finally in. I took a couple of snap shots to share with everyone our different colors. The first two pics are the Original 3K (OG3K) T-Shirt. That style is available in charcoal, navy, sand, and cardinal red. The next picture is the L’etat C’est Moi, available in black, white, and navy with grey type. Last we have a close up of our label, and also one of the co-founders of 3Kings, Cabby (look at him gettin his Blue Steel on). The online store should be up very soon, but if you don’t want to wait (and why would you???) you can always hit me up here, on Facebook (fb.com/3kingsclothing), or Twitter (@paolojackson, @3KingsOnline).
Matter fact, follow the whole team: @CabbyJames, @MoneyMody_of_3K, @_asif, @notahickie
Oh and PLEASE leave comments, we’d love to hear your feedback!
While meeting with the 3Kings team last night, someone brought up Maxwell’s latest single, “Pretty Wings” and how much they loved the song. Yea Jill, it was you. Anyways, I’d been having the album for a little while and I thought I’d give a mini-review since it seems Maxwell been getting his due as of late. That’s a good thing because I’ve been jammin Maxwell since Urban Hang Suite and at least his singles have always gone hard.
Rather than just the traditional R&B that you hear on the rap/hip-hop stations, Maxwell falls under that “soul” or “neo-soul” category. To the casual music listener, much like myself, you can kinda think of it as Keyshia Cole vs. Lauryn Hill or Ginuwine vs. Anthony Hamilton. This is not to say that Keyshia Cole and Ginuwine aren’t soulful, but I don’t think you would classify them in the subgenre that is “neo-soul”. Before people start writing me vicious emails about this or that, we’ll just leave it at that.
Maxwell’s latest offering is a solid one. I could definitely play it through the whole way, no interruptions if I was in that type of mood. Maybe just chillin at home doin research on the computer. May driving home from a long day at work. It’s that kind of CD. Black Summer’s Night has a total of 9 tracks and spans a pretty diverse range. It really was a nice touch and frankly, it caught me off guard when the last song on the CD, Phoenix Rise was just a 3 or so minute instrumental. As a vocalist, when you can dedicate 1 of 9 tracks or 11% of your CD to you not singing…that says something. Either you’re stupid or you really care about your music.
We’ve all by now heard his single Pretty Wings and it’s a really good song. Music aside, check out they lyrics and you’ll see what I mean. More and more I’ve started to enjoy music thats a little less straight forward, music that makes you stop and think a little. Or maybe it’s the “Emo Song Effect” (shout out to Trevor and Cabby) where singers/rappers/etc. talk so “deep” that is sounds cool, but it really don’t mean a damn thing. All jokes aside, looking back at my favorite Maxwell songs, it’s always been that way. Lyrics a little hard to follow and open to interpretation. Take for example Coldplay’s smash hit Viva La Vida. Maybe I’m just a shallow music listener but I can only guess what that song means. It does, though, seem to be a common trait of well-respected music…but now I’ve just gone wayyy of track.
One thing I like to do when I download/buy a new album is go through the whole thing listening to 30sec to 1 minute of each song. If it doesn’t catch my in that time, I probably won’t like it until I give it another go. When I did this with BSN, track 7 Fistful of Tears really jumped out to me. It was most likely the instrumentation along with the waltz-ish 3/4 time signature that gives it a back and forth sway. Definitely is my favorite song of the album after a few listens.
So wrap up this mini-review that happened to go all over the place, Maxwell’s Black Summer’s Night (again) is solid. I definitely enjoy Pretty Wings more than this Boyfriend #2 and Birthday Sex that plays over and over on the radio. I really think it’s 9 tracks very well put together. Maxwell knows his audience and gives them what they want. While it will appeal to others, one might be hard pressed to pick this one up unless they are a Maxwell fan or if they want to try something new, which I very much recommend. Will the songs on BSN hold up to his other popular songs (in my book) such as Ascension, Fortunate, Lifetime, This Woman’s Work, or Whenever, Wherever, Whatever? I was in LA a little over a month ago and the DJ dropped Ascension…with that funky baseline to boot. Boy I haven’t got that cool vibe feeling in a bar in a long time. Maybe I’m just getting older.
But yea, Black Summer’s Night is a healthy 3.8/5.
I’ll leave you with the aforementioned Fistful of Tears. Enjoy.
