I am Your Sunshine

音樂界盛事 Live Earth 於7/7/07 在紐約倫敦約翰尼斯堡裡約熱內盧上海東京雪黎漢堡展開.

Sydney 的 Lineup
Jack Johnson, Crowded House, Eskimo Joe, Wolfmother, Ghostwriters, Collette & The Finish, Blue King Brown, John Butler Trio, Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Sneaky Sound System
比較有興趣的是 Jack Johnson, Missy Higgins 之前聽過了, 覺得還好.

Hamburg
Snoop Dogg, Chris Cornell, Shakira, Mando Diao, Enrique Iglesias, Lotto King Karl, Juli , Katie Melua, Jan DelayMana, Roger Cicero, Michael Mittermeier, Silbermond, Sasha, Reamonn
Shakira 現場不知道怎樣, 搞不好很high. Hamburg 這場的女歌手/團我都蠻喜歡的. Juli, Katie Melua, Silbermond 等.

London
Beastie Boys, Madonna, Red Hot Chill Pepper, Duran Duran, Damien Rice, Corinne Bailey Rae, Genesis, James Blunt, Foo Fighters, Keane, John Legend , Black Eye Peas, Snow Patrol, Metalica, Razor Light, Bloc Party, David Gray, Kasabian, Terra NaomiSpinal Tap, Pussycat Dolls, Paolo Nutini
哇哇哇~ 倫敦這個 Lineup 讚! Modonna 在 Live 8 現場蠻 high 的, 不過我不會特別興奮. Duran Duran 竟然還在… Damien Rice, Corinne Bailey Rae, Razorlight, Bloc Party 這些都是我會想去聽的. James Blunt, Keane 跟 Snow Patrol 則是我已經看過現場一次以上的, 所以還好. 不過前天拿出 Keane 來聽, 還真懷念耶…

New York
Roger Water, Taking Back Sunday, AFI, Kelly Clarkson, Akon, KT Tunstall, Alicia Keys , Ludacris, Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge, Dave Matthews Band, Fall Out Boy, John Mayer, Smashing Pumpkins, Kanye West, The Police
TBS 七月的 PR 我就可以看到了! AFI 應該不錯, 另外我很喜歡 Kelly Clarkson 充滿力量的唱法, 最近怎麼一直聽到 Melissa Etheridge, Dave Matthews Band 應該不錯, Fall Out Boy 也是. 不過基本上這個 lineup 還是略遜倫敦一點. (對我來說)

還有, 美國電視難道不重播 Live Earth 嗎… 我周末沒空看啊… orz

好可愛喔

A’s fever, but the A’s has really let me down and made me down. :(

I need to get myself together and be ready for Chelsea. And maybe give A’s and myself a break… like Roger did.

I had dreams in which I heard the broadcaster saying something like, now Kielty batting (I have nothing against this recently released from DL DH), swung and missed; ground-out; fly-out; strike-out; double play…those phrases, the frustration built up not only in reality but also in dreams, very much qualify as nightmares.

My “poor nerves” are like that. (And darn, did the A’s have any compassion on my poor nerves? No, they didn’t. And nor did Chelsea, don’t grin at the corner and thought I didn’t see you guys! We all remember how you were notorious for being “bad for the heart”.) Whenever I’m too into one thing, it occupies the whole of me, and I’d go up and down along with it.

I’m like that. I can’t help but wonder if it’s in fact that I need something, or even someone, to exhaust my overflowing energy inside my mind to an extent that I’m really, completely exhausted. And how funny is it if it’s really so. I’m knowingly trying to fill the “hole” in my life with all kinda nonsenses (sports, fictional characters and etc) that I know all along what it should be filled with. I just can’t help it. All of these just happened by themselves or well, I allowed them.

I know it looks silly to be so upset over these things, but I also think that for some people who take these lightly and laugh at those who don’t don’t really understand the heart and soul of these kinda passion and in fact are missing out a lot. Some people are obsessed with the numbers and only care for “the best“, and when “the best” doesn’t live up to their expectations, they just turn away and look for another. It’s not my way of loving, okay if you wanna argue, obsessing over, something.

I was telling myself not to, but eventually couldn’t resist the bench clearing video link on MLB.com. I watched what happened in the 7th inning. Blanton is still young and has a lot to learn. And everyone has different level of tolerance toward how a person acts out of frustration. Some said Blanton should act smart and try to get a interfering call and some said they won’t fault Blanton at all for losing it. I don’t have problem with either view. I just know that I HATE all Mariners right now.

Seriously, I gotta get myself outta baseball a bit. Time to watch Valencia 1-2 Chelsea game, which… err… is a nerve-wrecking one as well.

Game 3
pitching: A’s former ace, recently resurrected from DL, Rich Harden

Ellis broke King Felix’s no hitter.
But still the A’s are not hitting enough. Ergh.

And it’s sooooooo annoying that a bunch of Mariners fans sat in front us. (One had a Red Sox hat on tho.) And the one wearing a Mariners hat said something that pissed me off so much that had I a cup in my hand, I’d definitely throw it at his stupid head. Seriously. My first reaction was shouting “what the fxxk” at them (well, not very loud cos they’re big and I’m a chicken) and trying to find whatever at hand to throw.

Game 4
pitching: hot hot hot Joe Blanton

Lineup: Stew, Ellis (L), Siwsh (CF), Cust (RF), Kielty (DH), Chavy, DJ, Crosby, Kendall.
Cust in RF is pretty concerning. I want Buck back. But regardless, the most important thing is to get the offense up. Way up.

Ichiro is such a freak. I really really really don’t like him. -_-
Ellis’ beautiful catch at second and the crowd cheered loudly. How I wish I was at the stadium to witness it and cheer for him.

What’s worse than hearing A’s lost 7-3 on the radio on my way back home? Hearing that the losing pitcher is my fave A pitcher? One would think so, right? No, learning that Blanton was ejected resulted mostly in the frustration piled up for him. (I’m huge fan of sports commotion. However, it’s just so sad, not exciting at all, to know that Blanton was so frustrated and he just lost it.)

We really need to do something different during the break. I have a feeling that things are sort of falling apart.

I can’t wait to see you shine

Game 2
Pitching: Dan HAREN!!!!!!!!!!
starting lineup: Stew, Kots, Elly, Swish, Cust, DJ, Ellis, Crosby, Scoot, Kendall. Kots is back, apparently he had a stomach flu and now he’s feeling better and with Kots back to the lineup, Ellis is pushed back to 6th. Chavez still has a sore back, bleh. The A’s suffered a bit with Chavez’ absence last night. Come on, Scoot! (Or, come on, Mariners, don’t hit the ball there.)

Just before the game, FSNBA replayed a few highlights of the game last night, including Nick Swisher’s solo celebration dance after the solo homer. I feel it’s gonna be a moment people will remember after a while.

During the game, FSNBA played K for Harden commercial, which made sense coz Harden is starting tomorrow!!! But why did they play Chavez’ Bad Day commercial before the game when his back still hurts and cannot play?

滿肚子怨氣, 睡覺去.

天使交給洋基, 水兵就交給我們了!

今天下午雙城跟白襪的比賽, 竟然打到 20-14. 我剛好看到最後一個 K (再Gameday上)
再三分就可以破美聯單場比賽積分最多的紀錄了!

上周末跟 Yankees 的比賽, 剛剛晃 MLB 上面 A’s 的討論區, 有白目 Yankees 迷來嗆聲, 結果他嗆的內容竟然包括 “你們的高速公路 280, 880 很弱!” 什麼跟什麼啊! XD

那天我們從 McAfee 出來, 看到球場有一面旗幟寫著 AL 20-Win Streak 紀錄. 後來不小心看到資料寫說 2002 年 A’s 的20場連勝紀錄中, 第 20 場非常的具戲劇性. 從一開始 11-0 領先, 後來竟然被追到平手, 最後誰的 walk-off HR 12-11 拿下比賽.

昨天 A’s 對水兵的比賽, Swisher 打出 HR 回到 dugout, 跟隊友教練們擊完掌, 繼續走到 dugout 最裡面, 對著空氣做了平常跟 Bradley 會跳的 HR celebration dance. 大部份人覺得很好笑, 少數人覺得感傷, 我也是其中之一. 雖然我對 Milton Bradley 沒什麼感覺, 畢竟我開始跟 A’s 之後他大多時間都在 DL, 不過在季中就被打包賣掉這種事, 實在給我很大的驚嚇. (其實也沒有啦.) 我之前跟職業運動往往跟只會跟一季就是因為我不喜歡球員買賣和轉會, 我喜歡一個球隊是喜歡由 ABCD 一起組成的球隊, 不是這個球隊殼子, 也不是 ABCD 他們個人. 我真的很慶幸今天夏轉 Chelsea 還沒有哪個我很喜歡的球員走掉, 不然我真不知道該怎麼辦.

今天好累, 我快睡著了… 都是 Huston Street 害的.

無名前幾天忽然來的大動作讓我從此再也不用同時維持兩個一樣的 blog (是說還有其它的 XD)

雖然說我不用搬家 (這就要感謝壞人同學05年就幫我搬了!) 還有一些東西需要收拾一下, 最重要的就是 Altarena Playhouse 的 Armando Fox 的留言了! Continue Reading »

Continue Reading »

昨天比賽第四局時 Huston Street 到樓上轉播室當 Ray Fosse 還有 Glen Kuiper 的特別來賓.
(He is pretty darn cute, don’t you think?)

Huston 回答了一些問題, 不小心就幫 A’s 加油. Ray 他們開玩笑說, “嘿~ 你在電視上不能偏心.” Huston 不滿, “開什麼玩笑, these are my fellows!” Ray 連忙安撫他, “好啦可以啦… 我也希望每天比賽我們能有一局是偏心的轉播. ”

其中他們問了 Huston 與他爸爸的關係. 他爸爸是前美式足球員, 他聊了他爸爸的教育態度. 另外也提到他終於在 Taxes 買了個 condo, 搬出他父母的家. 他之前一直被其他隊員笑, 因為他還跟父母同住. (這就讓我想到 2005 年的 A’s 廣告. 裡面 A’s 的球員輪流稱讚 Huston, “Huston 是個很棒的小鬼, 他才…十一歲?” “他根本就應該 咻~ 直接進 Hall of Fame!” “但是, 明顯地要進入 Hall of Fame 有些條件… 你要至少能自己開車才行.” 然後畫面就是 Huston 他爸媽送到他球場… XD)

最有趣的部份是他們聊到 Swisher, Glen 問他, “你之前還得跟他住對吧? 真可憐.” Huston 連忙澄清, “Swish 人很好的! 他幫我們弄到免費 cable (因為 Swisher 幫 ComCast 拍廣告), 還有電視… 我不太看電視, 不過 Swish 跟 Gaudin 很愛看. 還有一個桌球桌! 我們常常回家沒事就打桌球比賽. 只有冷氣他搞不定. ”

還沒解釋冷氣是怎麼回事一局又很快地結束了. Huston 忍不住讚嘆 Gaudin.

廣告結束之後, 他繼續說, “okay, back to the air conditioning…” 完全像是 The Late Night with Huston Street 了! (他退休後如果不主持節目或轉播球賽實在太浪費了.) “去年整個夏天, 我們住的地方 A/C 根本就壞掉了. 球賽結束回到家, Nick 跟 Joe Blanton 他們會洗超級冷的冷水澡, 然後不蓋被睡覺. 我們有請人來修, 他們竟然告訴我們冷氣沒壞呀! 我說, 你來這裡睡一晚, 看它有沒有壞! ”

還有 1500 朵玫瑰的故事, 不過我沒興趣講…

(為什麼這些傢伙都要那麼早結婚啊 -_- )

Preview
This 4-game series is gonna feature Gaudin (applaud), Haren (applaud), Harden (allegedly, applaud anyway) and Blanton (applaud).

So looking forward to it. I’d very much like to see SS’ butt being kicked by my team. Offense, wake up and rock the colliseum. Defense, please do live up to your commercials. Go A’s!

Game 1
I still don’t know what the heck happened last night, aside from Kennedy 1 inning disaster that is. Kostay and Chavez were taken out later in the gameand I can’t seem to find any news about them. (Okay, I hadn’t looked hard enough.) Anyways, it seems that Chavez won’t be back tonight. I wonder what the lineup will be like.

I’m glad that I switched the dinner date to today. Now I have the luxury to decide whether I should sit at home and watch Haren pitch or go to the movies (Transformer + Ratatouille) with Glow2 in the expense of not witnessing Gaudin’s pitching. Anyways, A’s managed to get a win with Ichiro hitting into two DPs and one of which the game ending play.

There were three DP today and two of which involved Ellis and Crosby. They’re really good DP partners.

The lineup today was: Stewart, Ellis, Swisher, Cust, Johnson, Crosby, Scutaro, Kendall, Suzuki
Always love to see Ellis batting 2nd. Feel like he’s valued. Swisher’s coming back homer was awesome. Cust has 1 for 2, which is acceptable. DJ, well, DJ has done well in the past few days so it’s okay. But Crosby, Bobby Crosby, the first A’s player I noticed because of his always innocent eyes, hit a jack tonight after Swisher’s game-tying blast. Not that it is sufficient for BoCro basher to shut up, not that I’m a Crosby apologist (Crosbologist?), either, but at least he’s making some effort and even if it was pure luck, he did contribute to the team big time tonight and I’ll give him that. Keep it up, Bobby! Scutaro came in for the possibly injured Chavy and even tho he went 0 for 3 at bats, he made a fabulous catch of Ichiro’s line drive at 3rd base and assisted the sweet game ending double play, giving people no chance to say “if only Chavy were there.” (Even though, apparently, they’ve said it quite a few times today already.) Job well done! (Ellis gave him a pat on the head, which made me love Scutaro even more because he gave Ellis camera time.) Kendall almost had a double at 7th, nice effort though.

A’s won the first game of the series 3-2. Keep up the good work. And more offense, please. Go A’s.

ps. darn, the precious moment I missed today – Huston Street was in FSNBA booth doing interview with Ray and Glen during the game. I wanna see the cute, cute Huston! >< Shoulda record the game. darn darn. [updated] Okay, thanks to my secret source, I was able to watch the game. (Thus, stayed up late til 3am. TGI Friday.) Huston is so darn cute and I LOVE those inside stories!

to dislike summer vacation.

今天中午吃飯時,

Flora 很驚喜地對我說: 耶! 以後電腦有問題可以找你囉!?
yo同學: 你現在才知道她是 IT 嗎? =_=
Ethan: 你一直以為她只是拿著地圖到處帶你去玩的人嗎?

XD

(Ethan 說完之後其實我腦袋裡想的是, “我沒 GPS 那麼厲害啊! @_@”)

其實很懶得寫, 其中一場是太興奮而無從下筆, 另外兩場則是慘不忍睹到讓我懶得下筆.

Game 1
李唱那買來的 Lenny DiNardo 讓我們 7-11 輸掉. 難得 offense 那麼賞臉, 跑了七分. 卻仍然不敵 DiNardo 在第三局丟掉的六分, 還有之後牛棚穩定地放火.

Game 2
7/3 Independence Day eve, Joe Blanton pitching. I’ve been wanting to watch an A’s game ever since I fell in love with A’s and get to know each one of the Athletic – Ellis, Swisher, Haren, Blanton, Kendall, Gaudin and more. I successfully lured Ethan and Mr. yo to go with me (told them there’s gonna be fireworks after the game.) knowing that Blanton wouldn’t let me down, and he didn’t.

We got the the collisuem early and we were lucky enough to secure 3 plaza infield along first base line tix for this later sold out game. Our seats are facing the A’s dugout. I could see Ellis, Swisher and etc sitting in there clearly… as if!

We circled around the colliseum, checked out displays and the stands. Aside from food (garlic fries and jumbo souvenir cup Pepsi,) I was determined to buy a green 14 Ellis shirt. I asked at a couple of stands and got the same answer, “sold out, sorry.” When did Ellis become so hot? I hope I can get one the next time I go there, and I hope that “next” time is not too far away.

Being in Giants’ SBC Park once, the McAfee Colliseum looked even shabbier. We are indeed a impecunious club. However, the field itself is beautiful. The sky of east bay is always always clear, sitting on the shoulder of the green and gold stadium. The view along relaxes you and you can’t help but being amazed by the simple elegance. Early evening game is even more of a treat. It turns from thick sky blue to lighter blue and then to a pale yellow ray by the skyline. The lights starts to take effect while the sky turning grey-ish blue. Breezes coming from the sea, caresses your skin and calms your agitated heart.


(courtesy of Mr. yo)

I was overwhelmed with excitement when Joe Blanton steped on the mound and Ellis and Swisher took their fielding positions. And everything in the game was just great. Here are some highlights of the game.

After 3 frustrating strikeouts, Jack Cust hit a solo HR in the 8th, giving the A’s another insurance run. (I was just back from the restroom, saw the pitch and *BANG* it’s gone! I cheered on the aisle like crazy. Always love to see a Cust jack!)

And Joe Blanton, after giving one run in the first inning, got his control back. But in the top of 9th, with two out, Blanton seemed to be pretty burnt out and when the pitch count reached 3-2, Bob Geren visited the mound. The crowd booed and shouted “sit down, Bob.” Eventually, Geren returned to dugout and we all stood up and cheered for Blanton. The 3-2 pitch was still a ball and Rios walked. We groaned but we knew it’s alright, so we cheered on, standing. Let’s Go Oakland, clap clap. Strike, ball, ball, ball, foul, foul and Glaus hit it ground to Crosby, Crosby to DJ and ended the ining. And Joe Blanton pitched a complete game and gained his 8th win of the season!!!

The fireworks was awesome as well. What a great pre-holiday night!
Several hours after I got home, I was still too exhilarated to sleep and write!

Game 3
Joe K. made another of his career records: being sent off 2/3 of an inning. It was even worse than the Pettitte we were laughing at last week. (Note to myself: don’t ever laugh at opposing players.) It was a sad game. I’m sooooooo glad we didn’t go for this one. I don’t even want to post the score.

* 藍鳥板上在 Game 2 時就說, 下駟對上駟(指 Joe Blanton). 這麼看來, Game 1 是中駟對下駟 (Lenny DiNardo), Game 3 是上駟對下駟 (Joe Kennedy). 咦, 等等! A’s 怎麼兩匹下駟? (我們也不願意啊………………………..)

覺得 LIVE 的 Lightning Crashes 很好聽 (嗓音, 調調…等) 去查了一下他們的 tour dates, 結果發現他們這個夏天跟 Counting Crows, Collective Soul 一起巡迴耶!!

Counting Crows!!!!!!
Collective Soul!!!!!!

兩個我最愛的 C 團 (跟 Creed 並列三大 C 愛團, 但是 Creed 已經解散了)

但是他們都不來北加 (還好不是已經來過了, 不然我會嘔死)
8/1 在 Buffalo, 可是 Moni 在台灣 ><~~~ 如果能同時聽 Counting Crows 跟 Collective Soul 真是太幸福了!

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讓我某一天不小心三點半才睡的罪魁禍首.

A’s 有很多很有趣的廣告, 有些讓我重覆看好幾次都還不過癮. 除了形象廣告之外, 還有 A’s 活動的廣告. 像是煙火之夜, Root bear float 之夜等等.

2007 Commercials
我很喜歡的有:
Ambidexterity (左右開弓在 Ellis 面前 show off 的 Swisher)
Coincidence (關於奧克蘭運動家對的巧合… 還是命定? <-其實是個很冷的廣告) Six Sense (Kotsay 配上很 eerie 的音樂) 還不錯的有: K for Harden (Swisher 講手機, 實在是太有他多話的風格了. Chavez 真有美術天份!) Bad Day (讓我注意到 A's 的廣告) 2006 的廣告
Sunglasses (Kotsay真是冷面笑將)
Gym (Joe Blanton 的健身)
Goatee (看看現在的 Haren 跟 Harden, 真有點感慨)

2005
Breakfast (Kotsay 怎麼都拍這類型的啊)
The Old Man (Zito 是 The Old Man XD)
Copy Cat (Swisher copies Crosby)
Autographs (這樣發簽名球才是王道!)

本來覺得這個很無聊的, 但看到 Chelsea 的結果之後, 不得不說它還真是貼切啊…


而我自己則是…


然後… Continue Reading »

足球現在離我好遙遠的感覺 (廢話, 每天都在看棒球 orz)
不過桌上擺著笑容滿面的 Mark Ellis, 我看到牆上貼著的 JT 海報 (courtesy of J) 還是會覺得… “Ahh, this is my guy.” 然後腦海中浮現他在球場上掌控並指揮大局的氣勢風範… 綠蔭草地上的熱血.

Hmm, 我想七月中去看 Chelsea 友誼賽之前還是先復習一下 Chelsea 的比賽好了.

有沒有哪場比較推薦的啊, 不然我又會去看對 Barca 戰了…
手邊有, 10月對港嘴 (疑疑, Niko 有上嗎?), CC 對課本, 10月對 Sheffield, CC對Villa, 11月對Watford, CC對Wycombie, 二月對米堡, CC final, 四月對熱刺, 歐冠主場對利記. 歐冠對 Barca (這兩年的四場都有)
(話說板上最佳比賽什麼時候才要開票啊!)

但是星期天快要過去了.

星期六起床, 看完 A’s 7-0 打敗邪惡 Yankees 之後吃個遲午餐就去參加靈糧特會 (其實早上九點就開始了 orz) 玩到十一點多才回到家, 很累, 沒多久就睡了. 因為今天早上 A’s v Yankees 又是 day game, 所以我去作早堂主日, 再趕回家看 A’s ace Danny Haren 投球. (看到板上 A 說 Haren 今天爆了, B回, 這樣叫爆? 再有人回, 這對 Haren 來說是爆了. 看起來就覺得很得意. 雖然說這是他這季投的最不好的一場… 另外, 為什麼在他爆的時候才有 run support 啊… XD)

Anyways, 這場比賽比較長, 一來是 A’s 打線大爆發, 一來是 Haren 也小爆了一下, 給出了五個得分. 看完比賽換個衣服肚子也差不多餓了, 我就前往 Valley Fair 吃 Fish & Chips. (主要目的是去買 Shiseido 的防曬.) 吃飽喝足買完防曬還不小心買了兩件衣服, 我帶著 Michael Lewis 的 Moneyball 準備去 Santana Row 聽音樂看書. 最近都八九點才天黑, 在暖陽微風下看書真是再愜意不過了! 不過, 在我還沒找到個喜歡的位子之前, 我在左岸前面遇到了 Ben 跟 Nick 還有 Solomon! 原來他們一群人帶兩個 DC 來的小朋友 (一個是高中生一個大學生) 來逛逛, 除了他們三個之外還有 John, Marlina, Fion, Chloe, Carrie, Jeff Chu, Jasper, Pat 等人, 一行總共有十幾個人吧. 都穿著 burgandy顏色的 Glow T-shirt, 走在路上超像觀光團的. 我也跟著他們晃了一晃, 最後我建議他們可以去 Stanford 逛逛, 他們分配了一下車子就去了, 我則留在 Santana Row 看我的書. XD

又看了一兩章 Moneyball, 後面的人開始講話大聲起來, 於是我跑進 Borders, 看有沒有新的足球雜誌. 果然有! 七月的 442 跟 World Soccer, 還發現了 Athletics 的官方雜誌六七月號,
封面是…
!!!!!

我抱著三本雜誌上樓, 迅速翻完 442. 很好, 根本沒什麼藍衣服的人, 除了在倒數幾頁賣鞋子的廣告旁邊隱約有 JT 的照片. World Soccer 就留著下次看好了, 七月還長. 我迫不及待地翻開 Athletics 看 Ellis 的專文介紹.

看完之後也沒心看 Moneyabll 來, 我下樓重新找了一本最乾淨漂亮沒有折痕的 Athletics 去結帳. (那個店員有點粗魯讓我很不爽. A’s 官雜很薄, 很容易折到. 而且我超怕她在 Mark 臉上留指紋的.)

晚上找 Ethan 吃飯, 因為我們是唯一留在 bay area 沒有出去玩的人. XD 結果他不餓, 所以他買了 Jamba Juice 來我家, 我們看了 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (超好看!) 然後又開了 Eric Ross 的 Old Vine Zin.

真是開心的一天呀~