Hosive

i already have a column about comic books but i also wanted one exclusively on collecting(mostly toys). so i thought of the collector…the supervillian identity of the comic book guy on the simpsons….this is a nerdy homage to him, collecting and indirectly to matt groening.

i read somewhere that we are all collectors. its part of human nature to collect. so a question to ask, that is strangely revealing, is what is it that we collect?……handbags, music, stamps, coins, shoes, clothes, memories, gadgets, junk, plastic bags to reuse, rocks…what’s your poison of choice? my father in law collects expensive liquors and figurines. i have a friend who collects lighthouses. my mom loves little trinkets and toys. my dad collects pieces of wood. no joke.

i collect all kind of things…too many things….including some toy lines that are highly regarded as some of the best ever…the playmates simpsons line, for example. more about them in a later post.

i also started collecting these futurama figures….there are 6 figures in the line so far…each comes a part to build an additional figure: a robot to boot. so buy 6, get one free. i am a sucker for deals like that.

i got these on sale in texas. i rarely pay for anything full price. its the chinese in me.

i love a few things about this line. i love the sculpts of the figures. the figures look like mini-versions of the characters. this is not always the case…as some figures don’t look anything like the originals.

i love the attention to detail. even the packaging shows love and care. the art is not just slapped together but well thought out and executed.

i love the fact that its a new line of figures and i can collect it from the beginning as opposed to getting into the game late and having to chase sold out figures on ebay. i also love that since the series is relatively short, the line will not cost me an arm and a leg. i hope.

and i love the motivation for collecting all the figures to get the last figure! its old school. i remember getting excited about give aways and mail aways as a kid.

it is doubly ironic for me and my profession to be excited about this bonus figure. for those faint of heart, i take off the horns and its just evil robot! or chinese new year, red robot!

Posted under android dungeon/card shop

in this segment, i’ll detail my amore for the art and medium of comics. the title comes from a comic shop i frequented as a kid and a nod to my boy q and his blog. i haven’t done one of these in a long time so you might want to go back to the earlier/first post to read what this is all about. you can use the nifty select category button on the right if you are on the agapeshack.com site. sorry, facebook.

in high school, there were two forbidden planets in nyc…one downtown and one midtown. i even saw/felt the presence of stephen king at the midtown one. i was looking at books and felt a shiver go down my spine when i heard the cashier ask someone for a few autographs. i turn around and see the scary nerd red sox fan who is stephen king. he was creepy even back then in the 80’s. that moment and picking up mike grell’s green arrow run starting with the longbow hunters are the clearest memories from that forbidden planet.

2 forbidden planets! but….that was the high level of comics sales back in the day. today, comic shops have closed down and are getting smaller.

i intend to use these columns to tell you what i’m reading but i’ll start off by telling you what i’m not reading.

i’m not reading trinity, the new dc weekly series. i gave it a try…three issues worth…and i was bored. i would have given it a longer chance that three issues but the main reason i cannot risk another 52 week series is…..

this:countdown. cover #6 says it inadvertently…countdown was a disaster. no payoff. weird writing. and the sin that cannot be forgiven: not interesting.

i am a sucker for these gimmicks. i love comics and willing to give any innovative format a chance but 51 weeks later….i felt ripped off. i hung in there for a year and paid way too much for this nonsense. i can’t take a chance with trinity. if i read that the reviews are good, i’ll pick up the trades(paperback collections). i’m wondering if the competition, marvel comics was right in their response to whether they too would dabble in weekly comics: “we don’t do comics weekly…we do them strongly”

i’m spending my money on people i can trust….grant morrison, geoff johns and the return of my favorite writer: james robinson.

one thing i am reading and re-reading is starman….my favorite monthly comic of all time. i introduced steph to this comic and she devoured it. they have just come out with the first of these omnibus type collections of the whole run. it is about a gen x’r reluctant hero who finds himself….yes, its about good guys and bad guys but like all good fiction, its about life and is a mirror for us to see ourselves clearly. and as you can see, the art is amazing. the comic is also about the city….james robinson wanted to make opal city a character in his story: from the skyline to the suburb to its shops to the citizens that inhabit. he wanted to show why you love a place….a city…a home. pretty literary stuff for a comic.

this is light years ahead of countdown. go to the barnes and nobles and flip through it. then buy it. or again, the offer is open to come and borrow it or read it at the agapeshack on the upper, upper west side.

a non-superhero comic i’m reading is this autobiographical travel log to north korea, the other white meat. its the diary of an animator who gets sent to north korea on a project and he starts sketching and recording the culture shock and difference. my wife, of course was totally into this especially after we went to see propaganda village and the north earlier this year. steph is reading it now….even new friend michelle, herself an artist has read it. and her sister too. i am going through it slowly as to savor it.

i will try to feature comics that are not just super-tights…though starman is more than adults wearing underwear on the outside. while, most of american culture is enamored with super-hero culture(check your movie theatre), i hope they also discover the non-super hero side of this genre.

Posted under comics, forbidden planet chronicles

when people come into the city, we are always surprised by where they want to visit or go eat. they are equally surprised that we do not frequent those places or want to go eat there. no. i do not want to eat at ruby tuesdays , bennigans or tgifridays in times square. then they ask where we go……so here are the places we like…not the best or the cheapest or whatever category….just where we go and go on a regular basis:

this one’s for my friend, wilson: the shake shack

sometimes people dismiss this place as hype or even touristy…but i have never had a tourist ask me to take them here. i always have to suggest it. regardless of the detractors, this place has the best damn burger in the city. it is made with fresh steer meat and crack. on top of that, i can get a shake with crazy flavors like spiced cherry, raspberry lemon, salted caramel, raspberry jalapeno, blueberry…even basil? new flavors every month. check out their menus online: http://shakeshacknyc.com/menus.html

also online is a line cam as the line can grow pretty nutty at peak times. like a half an hour or more wait.

they don’t just have burgers…there’s brauts, chicken, hot dogs and veggie fare too(i’ve read). check their menu out as you wait on the mind boggling(long) line. but i go for the burgers and shakes….just ask wes what he thinks.

an outpost is going to open up on the upper west side…i’m looking forward to not having to always trek down to madison square park.

recently, i received this email from a facebook application that my friends can use to compare me with other friends. i am pitted against their other friends and there’s a vote! ‘compare people’ notified me that my rankings had changed…let’s take a look at the results:

This email was sent by Compare People.
Changes in your ranks:

#14 best father (potential) (lost 6 places)
#17 most generous (lost 5 places)
#21 toughest (lost 12 places)
#23 most desired for marriage (gained 2 places)
#26 best listener (gained 1 place)

How others compared you recently:
• “Who has better hair”, you won 1 and lost 0 times.

its good to know that i still have good hair. i am happy to have hair. its also good to know that i am seen as a good listener. and its sad to know that people think less of me as a father….

but once again….! my “friends” have voted…and i continue to climb up the charts for most desired for marriage! who is voting for me?

and who am i competing against? hitler? osama? dead people? and why are you also friends with these fiends? don’t people know i’m already married???? (note…people always ask but no, theresa does not have this application so she is not stuffing the ballot box.)

i’m married….see…..?

……early in our marriage, we decided to have a physical tangible reminder of our years together; we collect this series of christmas ornaments called christmas windows that originated in 2003, the year we got married. here is the 6th one in the series as we celebrate our 5th anniversary and start the 6th year of marriage.

the power of physical reminders…..like our wedding bands or an engagement ring or something bought on honeymoon that hangs in the house….

be reminded, voters! be reminded, “friends”!

if you’ve been following my blogs, these ornaments look super familiar so i won’t rehash this stuff……. i’ve blogged about this series many a time over in my xanga site: http://www.xanga.com/hosive/607170356/item.html and here: http://www.xanga.com/hosive/514453853/item.html

the second link isn’t working really well…….

but i’ll note a few details…

the series presents the theme of children looking into windows and dreaming about the magic of fake christmas. i love the details and the little touches…

we are part of this ornament club that produces this line……and the ornament usually comes before our anniversary on july 26. this year, it came super early! by the spring, i believe. i love clubs and exclusives! i’m such a sucker.

again….it is stunning to see all six ornaments and consider how the years have flown by.

happy anniversary! and happy birthday sweet t!

it was an epic week in the city….and for the city as new york hosted major league baseball’s all star game and turned it into a week of festivites. it started with this…..

25 years ago(if you were alive), if you were asked who’s next to join the pantheon of great concerts in the park ala simon and garfunkel : the police, u2 or bon jovi…..if you had the police or u2…you lost!

dj jazzy victor got the tickets at yankee stadium a few weeks ago….all of them free! so add bon jovi to the list of superstars that have done a free of charge show. 60,000 tickets…but only 50,000 would get into the main area with 10k in the overflow.

obsessive new york events attender greg wong went early and got a good spot in the middle of the crowd. some slept out over night or woke up in the early morn for the 2p doors. we were loosey goosey and we would have been happy sitting in the overflow in front of a giant screen. but we were glad greg went and spread his big blanket for the 6 of us. the two couples, greg and his friend stephanie. we will not mock this man’s obsession again! well, maybe…if he gets ridiculous!

…where we were seated, we wound up watching television anyway! the band looks tiny. but still a fun, fun night!

and i’m no bon jovi fan…i didn’t even know all the songs(i only own a greatest hits album)…however, i remembered enough: the hits and a few that were buried in my subconscious from my high school years. the crowd was electric the whole night singing and screaming, making the earth shake…selling even the unknown and less than stellar songs…even the laughable bad medicine…..the park exuded waves and waves of energy and even soul in the heart of the city….

bon jovi has become so americana, so mainstream…so popular in a band of the masses way….no longer the bad boys or rebels or big hair obnoxious…..they are like the beach boys or the beatles(if they were still around)….their songs are giant sing alongs; equally for those raised AND those born in the 80’s and 90’s.

they played 2 hours. an hour would have been good for a free show(see earlier posts for examples). an hour and a half would have been generous….but they were going for epic. they hit the stage at 8p sharp and 20 songs plus later…..

i love the fact that the band loved nyc….and nyc loved them back. it could all just be talk as in “thank you(insert city)”…except jon bon jovi now lives in the city and talks in we and 9/11 tones. 9/11 was 7 years ago and if new orleans, tsunami and myanmar talk have faded from our consciousness…where does that morn in the early fall inhabit in the mind of americans? for nykr’s, it happened last week and that’s the way bon jovi talked about it’s effect.

it is rare for nyc to allow a concert like this(the last one being 1981 for simon and garfunkel’s opus?)..especially for a rock band(unthinkable in the early 80’s)…for context, imagine a hip hop concert two decades from now…….so nyc had no holds barred in celebrating(and courting)mlb.

all star week continued with work out day and home run derby at yankee stadium! at first, i was bummed by how high the seats were….but later, we got great views of the majestic flights of the ball. the seats were not good for batting practice…but we moved down until the derby, so we got to see most of the light hearted interaction between players…and of the mascots!

theresa was not a happy camper….wondering what he husband dragged her to. since it was all star weekend, i let her wear her orioles cap. normally, opposing fans get showered with a-hole and the other f word that the gay community despises. it is not pc at the house that ruth built. but people were more tolerant during this all star truce. red sox fans did not get the same amnesty…they still got their sexuality questioned.

theresa asked when the game was going to get started….”there’s no game???” she had never seen a derby before. but once the balls started launching into the sky….it was like fireworks and my baby was like “oooh….and ahhh”. this might be the most fun she’s had at a baseball related event.

then. then. then…….josh hamilton stepped up to the plate.

theresa was disappointed that she didn’t know many of the players in the derby(so was mlb). no celebrities. no big names. no sizzle. but i told her…..this guy…this was the guy we came to see. he’s a freak of nature!

my wife thinks i’m a genius! taking her to this event and pointing out to her to watch this guy.

she would have noticed without my help. josh hamilton launched moon shot after moon shot. he had 28 hrs in the first round. the next highest was 8. the totals of the three guys behind him were 23! he hit shots into the upper decks….the back of the bleacher walls…one could have left the park if he angled it over another 15 feet. at one point he hit 12 in a row on 12 straight pitches.

the stadium rocked and chanted his name…an opposing player! at one point, the whole upper deck was standing; maybe the whole stadium was. i already knew…but espn later confirmed and gushed that this was the greatest performance in hr derby history. even though josh hamilton lost the derby in the final round, he won the greater victory: the hearts of the people. there’s a sermon illustration there somewhere. or an application for the wars we fight.

by the end of the night, my sweet t was much happier. another glorious night in gotham.

the very next night….i went to the all star game with my yankee buddy, jackie. i think that she maybe the most fanatical(but reasonable)yankee fan i know. for example, during the introductions and game, we booed the red sox players but clapped for terry francona, the sox manager.

so we left our spouses at home, got there way early to settle in for a long night of epic baseball.

and that’s called foreshadowing, kids.

some of the early highlights and sights were seeing giradi and his son shagging flies, arod and jeter taking batting practice and fielding groundballs, the rows and rows of “free” seat cushions neatly assembled for arriving fans, the gap where josh hamilton almost sent his homers out of the stadium, player introductions including the biggest cheers for rivera, and the yankees actually playing in the game

the pre game hype is where you get most of your goosebumps. the game itself usually is a yawner.

joining the all stars were hall of famers at every position including many old time yankees which gave the crowd a thrill:wade boggs, yogi berra, dave winfield, reggie jackson. the boss, george steinbrenner also showed up for a victory lap around the park and to deliver ceremonial baseballs.

a stealth bomber also passed overhead….ironically, the crowd cheered. usually, the arrival of stealth bombers brings out fear and trepidation….not joy. more bizarro weirdness living in the united states.

the game buzzed along and we had some great moments like papelbon giving up the go ahead run. then wagner losing the lead. rivera pitching just under two innings and almost winning, a ton of great defensive plays that stunned me until jackie reminded me:”well, they ARE all stars”

but if you didn’t hear…it was a long, long, long night of baseball.

i think jackie is the only person who would’ve stayed the whole game with me. regular folks would have had to work the next day…theresa would have wanted to go home by the 9th inning….so midnite rolled around, 1am passed…a sobering wake up call was the 14th inning stretch!!!

i was running out of room on my scorecard and down to my last column. i asked jackie, how much longer she was willing to stay….3am? 4am? she said the 15th inning would be it…so in the bottom of the 15th, on a fly ball, there was a runner headed for the plate and……though he looked out from our angle…the ump called him safe. we laughed out loud in delirium. we said the umpire wanted to go home too!(later on replay, he did look safe)….and our night ended at 1:37 in the morn.

it was the longest game in all star history and the espn experts were saying it was one of the most memorable. perhaps one of the best in a long, long time. it was all these things for us.

the all star game comes to a city maybe once every 30 years…the last one in ny was 1977…its perhaps a once in a lifetime experience…and at my age, that might be more so!

but with not one but two new stadiums in the city, we might get the game again sooner. nyc did such a great job hosting with events all around the city..at the javits, the parade and the concert..i suspect baseball will want to come back in the next decade…maybe twice in the next 10 years!

but if not, it was a glorious, epic few nights in the city. thanks, mlb and nyc for putting on a great show. this is way better than driving around the burbs and winding up at the mall.

Posted under new york

the irony of living in this expensive city is that there are so many free things to do. sometimes, there’s even free swag! theresa says they have to make it up to us for what we pay in housing and taxes. however, when i look at gas prices around the country….i think we got it pretty good with only having to pay $81 per person per month for travel costs. i’m not looking forward to paying what it will cost us to drive around california in about a month.

before we lose conan to said california and the tonite show, we will try to catch our boy as much as possible. i have a closet full of free conan late nite t-shirts. strangely, no t-shirt this time around.

the fan club include me, t, steph and my favorite australian….theresa had to work so this time we invited conan studio newbie, jason tseng. green was the clearly the color of choice as steph and i continue to exhibit uncanny fashion prophetic abilities and were dressed in that color…..pei li sorta got the memo.

based on our place in line….as well as our usual luck….guess where we sat in the studio?

no front row at the free coldplay concert at msg…well, sorta…..front row in the upper level!!!

this is coldplay’s only nyc appearance this go around listed so far…and all the tickets(all of them!) were given away for free(free!) via a lottery held worldwide. had no luck winning the lottery but its better to have friends than luck. my groomsman and lifetime friend, steve lau and i have been getting tickets for each other for the past decade. a few u2 shows, an upcoming sox/yanks game at the stadium and of course this……

the concert itself was short…16 songs but just over an hour. this is their usual amount of songs but usually they go longer time wise. but when you consider old heads like u2, bruce springsteen and even bon jovi play 20-24 songs and for hours…you wonder what coldplay is thinking. the excuse used to be that they did not have enough songs. we’ll see what the story is this time.

good to hear the new tunes but i suspect most came to hear the greatest hit parade. whenever i hear a band, i want to hear new stuff….it sounds different live! the new album has some instant hits and a few gems that need multiple listenings…and live versions would help. but i’m in the minority:people came to hear yellow and in my place.

chris martin is a good showman….when the cameras are on. most people think he’s on all the time because they usually see him at the grammies or the mtv movie awards. but i’ve seen him do a few subdued shows when there was no tv or filming. if he wants to propel his band to u2, e street band or even richie sambora status, he’s got to bring it every night. i’ve seen more energetic shows from arcade fire, mute math and the killers.

but i give coldplay mucho credit for doing a number of free shows. none of those bands i mentioned have done a free show……yet. more on that soon.

our annual rite of summer is taking in free shakespeare in central park. the delacorte theatre is an open air semi-circle venue that has the park as its backdrop. with a light summer breeze and the setting sun fading into dusk, its a magical atmosphere. this year’s offering was hamlet which features a violence warning and disclaimer. just the way shakespeare should be: bloody.

in the interest of keeping the arts accessible to the common man, all the tickets are free. you can however make a donation and surprise! they thank you with a handshake and a ticket!

but unless you are willing to make a “donation”, you have to get tickets the old fashioned way:

you have to get in line! and early! they hand out tickets at 1p but some camp out or come before dawn. we usually shoot for 6am or a bit earlier.

no cutting. no saving spots. no leaving the line. no switching out or swapping people or relieving people(though we have done that out of necessity….but people really can’t tell us asians apart!….does steph in a cap really look like theresa in a cap??)

being used to waiting for u2 all day long, this is easy time. we’ve waited at 5:30am until 9p for the boys to take the stage. besides, we have portable lounge chairs that even have foot rests. you do have to sometimes brave the elements but the passing rain is worth it! each person can ask for 2 tickets and they will do their best to accommodate groups.

and viola! the twins sans hats, dave and i wait for our friends and dates for the evening show.

“twins”: look at that skin tone difference: its like day and night!

Posted under coldplay, concerts, new york

my lame excuse for not blogging is that we’ve been busy living and jetting around the country…..

actually, that doesn’t sound lame at all.

our annual pilgrimage to camden yards in baltimore for yankees/orioles. our deal is that we provide the tickets…you provide the car. we split gas and food…and food means baltimore specialties.

while there maybe better crabcakes from hole in the wall and local joints, we don’t do too bad with a sampling of crab yummies from the famous phillips chain. chain usually means bad…but philips means super duper yummy.

we took josiah and wing and the day looked glorious. front row again thanks to daddy pak. also, i caught this omen outside the park. clearly the “birds” were going down to the yankees.

but theresa and her orioles would rule the day and josiah would have to settle for a baseball and millar’s batting glove. just seconds before, wing being the diehard yankees fan red sox hater, was badmouthing mill-ahh…then kevin popped out of the dug out, pointed out josiah and gave him the batting glove. wing responded: “ok….he’s not that bad”.

later, an orioles coach gave josiah the baseball. good thing wing told josiah not to wear his yankee cap.

onto…….

dallas!

my texas years continue with more rudy’s bbq and of course, my little niece jaq. i want to see her as much as i can before she’s all grown up. my ambition dies when i think of her. the work and the world seem to fade…the important becomes a joke. all i want is……time with baby. she does this weird, wonderful thing where she looks at you and explores your face with with her hands in silence and in wonder. starting to be more aware and yet an innocence…..curiosity…..and magic….

i’m always looking for magic….

but work is why i did come to dallas this time. i am part of this asian american leadership pastor’s group gathered to learn under some of the elder statesmen of the asian church including dave gibbons, ken fong and jeff lee. it was a great time of reflection and learning….and more importantly meeting fellow pastors and hearing how god is working in their stories.

a talented member of the leadership network staff recreated all the church logos to greet us and i thought the vision logo translated well….looking pretty good.

onto…….

los angeles!

a short trip so this time around la was centered about family: grandma, aunts and uncles and little cousins not so little anymore. and the necessary runs to korean bbq and in and out!

at the pool, allison does her own cali thing while danny takes after big cousin, theresa.

but it was old, old friends that brought us far west. friends i’ve known for twenty years or more! my friend warren got married to lily. here’s a shot of us old heads. we used to terrorize our youth pastor rick carey. now no one would be scared of us.

vision weddings…even ones on the west coast….have another fringe benefit: seeing vision folks i met not 20 years ago but only a few years ago…hanging out….enjoying the goodies of asian california life.

i miss these guys!

yeah….i was feeling the 21st century angst of not blogging enough…feeling lame……but it’s not that lame….to not be posting….but instead to live! to reunite! to remember! with family! old friends! new friends!

viva la vida and not following death and all of his friends.

the american nintendo flagship store is in nyc so we get a lot of premieres and launches for wii products. the wii fit is the exercise peripheral that has been sold out in japan, england and now here. they did pre-sales with limited edition t-shirts and i snagged two….one for me and one for my girl, dris.

when i went to pick up my wii fit, there was a predictable mob. “sorry, sold out” was heard repeated over and over. i stepped up to the counter with my receipt and received two.

“hey! if its sold out…..why does that guy get two?” i felt like a bag of rice and beans in a refugee camp. the nintendo dudes explained to the masses that i had a presale

i told theresa….let’s get out of here….dem customers is looking at me funny.

we had to wait until dris came to pick up her wii fit so we went upstairs and took turns trying the games out. i didn’t because i don’t like to do things in public….a very weird personal quirk considering what i do on a weekly basis.

 if you look carefully behind theresa’s booty, you’ll see our nintendo booty.