reading the jj collective: a carcinogen?

(Joshua Masayoshi Huff)

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (associated with the World Health Organization..I know, right? WHO?) said that working the graveyard shift is a probably carcinogen.

Fine, it's not particularly relevant to me at this point in my life, and cancer is nothing to joke about. We've all lost people dear to us because of this terrible affliction.

However, it seems like everything these days is a carcinogen. Using my cellphone. Drinking coffee (well, coffee is a carcinogen and an anti-carcinogen, somehow, which probably illustrates the problem at hand...nobody REALLY KNOWS what causes cancer). Eating McDonalds. Watching TV.

What's next? Playing basketball? Riding my bike? Typing these posts?

Like I said, I'm not trying to make light of cancer--though the article itself says that working the graveyard shift is only a "possible cause" of cancer. It's really more dangerous biologically to work at night? That just amazes me, to be honest.

It's a serious disease that touches us all. I don't really think it's smart science to push out "possible causes". People already say this and that and everything in-between cause cancer, and I mean, we just have no way of telling what actually does and doesn't. Sure, we should live healthily--but there are certain lines to draw. I just think we need a better correlation than "possibly". People are going to blow that into "probably" and "definitely", and everybody is going to be afraid to work the graveyard shift (even more than they already are).


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To follow our ongoing thoughts and conversation about Sean Taylor's tragic, unfortunate and untimely passing, we provide the following link:

ESPN.com has a story about other NFL players fearing for their lives.



And two posts about death in the last two days by yours truly? We need some happier news.

Sean Taylor: a follow-up

(Joshua Masayoshi Huff)

Following up bsto's last post, it seems that certain things are coming. Antrel Rolle, who played football with Sean Taylor since the age of six (through college at Miami) said that Taylor had been living in fear for awhile...because of old friends who he had tried to distance himself from.

His girlfriend, though, said he had none of those problems.

This obviously presents problems: who to believe? Maybe it's a mixture of both--but it's easy to see that by deciding to "get out" instead of "hang out" (as Wilbon put it), one's old friends can take it not so kindly. They want a piece of the pie--they want to roll deep in the entourage...we're boys, you know--if one of us makes it, we all make it.

That's what's tough about guys. We do have this idea in mind. I'm incredibly proud of bsto for getting on with the dcist, and I feel like it's my victory as well. It's not so much that we live vicariously, but our boys are extensions of ourselves--you are, the old saying goes, the company that you keep.

I mean, my dreams of "success" always include hiring friends as partners in whatever venture I take on, and I know the same is true likewise. Is it hard to differentiate between good friends and business associates? Sure--but I think I have friends that would be both.

And Taylor probably decided first that his friends were both, but upon reflection, saw that his boys were friends, not business partners. It's not that they weren't his boys and, thus, he had to ditch them--it was because they WERE his boys that he had to leave them behind.

As Michael Vick's case illustrates, hanging out with "your boys" can get you into a lot of trouble. And, unfortunately, leaving them behind also complicates things, as Sean Taylor tragically found out.

I think Wilbon oversimplifies the situation, to be honest. However, he gets it right when he writes:
Mainstream folks -- and, yes, this is a code word for white folks -- see high-profile athletes dealing with this dilemma and think it's specific to them, while black folks know it's everyday stuff for everybody, for kids with aspirations of all kinds -- even for a middle-class kid with a police-chief father, such as Taylor -- from South Central to Southeast to the South Side. Some do, some don't. Some will, some won't. Some can, some cannot. Often it's gut-wrenching. Usually, it's necessary. For some, it takes a little bit too long.

This isn't just an African-American problem--it's a problem that we all face. Unfortunately, we hear about it most in the black community because African-Americans simply aren't given the same opportunities to get back on track. There's just less opportunities for minorities to go to college and really get things going in the right direction. Sean Taylor made good on his life--his old buddies, who were unfairly disadvantaged, could not.

It's a problem with the system more than it is with anything else. That's what it always comes down, to, though--the system.

And if you think that we've all got the same opportunities in America, not only will you strongly disagree with my point, but I want you to know that you're lying to yourself. In no other country in the world is there such a disparity between the haves and have-nots than in America, and this creates the problem that took Sean Taylor's life way too soon.

Giant Killers Once Again

(Pat Burgwinkle)

This Saturday, Aston Villa F.C. take on Arsenal F.C. in Birmingham at Villa Park. Arsenal is top of the table in England, but Aston Villa is only one point off of fourth place Chelsea and are currently tied with Liverpool. Clearly this is a highly anticipated Premiership clash.

In actuality, it probably isn't. However, this the second JJ derby (Liverpool edged Villa 2-1 after an absurd Gerrard free kick in the first one) and since Arsenal are pretty good at soccer at the moment, I thought I'd outline what I think are Aston Villa's keys to victory. They're fairly straight forward, but I honestly think if they follow through on these points, they can win.

1. Attack hard, fast, and often

I'll do my best John Madden impersonation here by pointing out that in order to win soccer games, you must score goals and in order to score goals you must attack. However, Villa does need to attack as opposed to sitting back and attempting to weather the storm that is Arsenal in hopes of grabbing a draw. Aston Villa has speed in abundance in the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young. These guys are fast as hell and can make things happen in a hurry. Add to this the anchoring presence of Garreth Barry in midfield and you have a fairly formidable offensive unit that is capable of scoring goals in abundance. 4 goals against Tottenham and Blackburn, 3 goals against Middlesborough and two of those games were also shutouts. This brings me to key point number 2:

2. Focus on marking

When Villa played Tottenham, they went up 4-1 and then conceded 3 goals, including a 90th minute equaliser. The major problem was when Tottenham attacked in a meaningful way, the Villa defense seemed incapable of covering the men who were in and around the box and unable to clear the ball in an effective manner. In the Manchester United game, a 4-1 loss, Villa actually scored first. Then, Manchester attacked and for reasons that remain unknown to me and anyone else who is even vaguely aware that Wayne Rooney is a deadly striker, the Villa defense refused to put a man on him. I'm pretty confident that Villa can score goals against Arsenal. They've scored 2 on Chelsea and 1 each on Liverpool and Manchester. They're capable of attacking the big four. However, Arsenal has many deadly offensive weapons, Cesc Fabregas being the one I'm most concerned about. If Villa get complacent and don't offer meaningful challenges to Arsenal's formidable offensive weapons, they will lose.

One hopeful sign for Villa has been the goal keeping of Scott Carson all year, but especially the two shut outs he has recorded since his disastrous appearance for England against Croatia. His confidence is clearly not shaken and since the game is at home, he won't have to endure the abuse of an angry England contingent like he has at Middlesborough and Blackburn.

I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't settle for a draw, but to be honest, the American in me thinks draws are for sissies. Arsenal is playing for the top spot in the EPL and have a tough December ahead with games against Villa, Tottenham, and Chelsea all awaiting them in December. Villa on the other hand, is playing for a European spot and, all things considered, could still get that even if they lose this game. Thus, I would recommend taking a page out of Croatia's playbook and just play as if you nothing to lose because essentially, Villa have nothing to lose because people expect them to anyway. As for my prediction for the game, assuming Villa play like they are capable of playing, I'm going for an upset at Villa Park: Aston Villa 3 Arsenal 2

UP THE VILLA!

Sean Taylor, Jews, and Asians

Jheez and I, you might have noticed, write considerably on African-American issues. To be more precise, we like to write about two segments of American culture in which African-Americans are major contributors, namely hip-hop and sports.

Our interest in these issues stems simply from the fact that we both grew up with passion for music and athletics. But—and here I’ll stop speaking on behalf of Jheez, what follows is solely my view—I feel that there are other reasons that tie into our interest with African-American culture.

I feel that our personal backgrounds and cultural identities play a significant role. In other words, I see a correlation between myself as a Jewish male from the Midwest, as well as Jheez being a half Japanese and White male from Hawaii, and our interest with African-American culture. Both because of decisions we have had control over and innate characteristics we haven’t, we find ourselves in a position in society related in many ways to the position of African-Americans.

To name just one example, we simply do not feel completely comfortable with American history and its tradition of discrimination. Jews and Asians were, like African-Americans, persecuted and discriminated against across the country.

But the main reason why I feel a certain relation to African-American issues is the sense of marginalization. Jews, Asians, and African-Americans are community peoples—for the most part, they live surrounded by other Jews, Asians, and African-Americans.

And yet here we find the major difference: of the three we’re talking about, only the African-American community is so harmful to its own members (forgive me for speaking generally, of course not ALL such communities are harmful). The Jewish and Asian communities are famously over-protective—think “Jewish mother,” or “Korean mother”—and yet in African-American culture the overriding sentiment seems to be that the only way to succeed is to get out of the community.

What has made me really think about this is the recent murder of Sean Taylor, who was killed during what appears to be a burglary and might well have been a targeted killing.

Michael Wilbon wrote an exceptional reaction to the killing in the Washington Post today, and he spoke at some length about the struggles for African-Americans as they try to leave their community’s negative impact. He says at some point, every African-American has to decide to either “hang out or get out.” He continues: “The kid who becomes a pharmaceutical rep has the same call to make as the lawyer or delivery guy or accountant or sportswriter of football player: Cut off anybody who might do harm, even those who have been friends from the sandbox.”

Isn’t this the real African-American tragedy? That while Jews and Asians are known to use their communities for connections to jobs, known to remain entrenched among their own kind, African-Americans must LEAVE their community for better chance at success.

Taylor’s death really hit me this week. Maybe it’s just because I’m here in DC, but I suspect that the real issue is that I have such respect for professional athletes. On my recent trip to Stanford, I was reacquainted with the Women’s Swimming Team there and now re-appreciate the sacrifices and commitments and struggles athletes have to endure to get where they are.

Taylor was able to endure. And he rose to an amazing athletic height. Yet he was not able to get away from some harmful habits—charged with a felony in 2006—and it could be that his killing was a retaliation (tinged with envy) for a fight he got into a year ago.

I don’t mean to start rumors or anything. It is a fact that somebody put 15 bullets into his SUV not long after the fight. It’s also a fact that Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed when his car was riddled with bullets after some nightclub altercation.

The fact is, Wilbon is right. The killing is infuriating and saddening, but not surprising. And this violence, this infighting, this social restriction is the part of African-American culture I will never truly understand or be comfortable commenting on.



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bsto's newest DCist contribution here.

The Three Lions Ain't Cerberus

Here, in my opinion, is the biggest problem with the English national team: they suffer from being grossly inflated. It's as simple as that. They're overrated. Media, FA, fans, even the players themselves--all have terrible misconceptions of this team.

When was the last time they lifted a major cup? 1966. That was a World Cup. How many Euro Cups have they won? Um, nil.

So how come everyone in England persistently seems to think that England is the greatest team in the world?

It's probably because they are blessed to watch what might be the world's most exciting league. The problem is that some call it the best league in the world, somehow overlooking the fact that most of the league's best players are not English.

Here's an argument that should be utilized: the reason why the English league is so fruitful is that most of its coaches are British. In this way, the players--foreign or not--are only the benefactors of a strong coaching tradition. You could argue that because of the coaching talent in Britain, it is fair to expect the Three Lions to do well.

And that's fine, but even Gus Hiddink couldn't get Russia past Israel. You need players. More importantly, you need players who can play together. That's the real secret behind Senegal's success in '02, or Ghana and the Ivory Coast in '06. They had a team.

And, to be fair, it's not like England lost in the Euro Cup finals here. They didn't even qualify! That's a failure for any team that even considers themselves competent.

The team was bad. Really bad.

This English team not only lacked talent to begin with, it cast away one of it's most important pieces (Beckham), totally mismanaged its one talented section(failing to fix Lampard/Gerrard issues), and then buckled under the pressure from the media (not beating Israel?!!!).

That, my friends, is a bad team. It was bad before Owen got hurt against Austria, and it was bad even before Mclaren took over. It's just bad. They were good with Shearer and Scholes and Seaman. They are not good with what they have now.

If nothing else, at least they have a bright future to look forward to. Walcott, Derbyshire, Bentley--these are young players with amazing talent, true passion and grit, and none of them have a tendency to get afraid and choke in big situations like the senior players did this year.

moving units.

(Joshua Masayoshi Huff)

Last week, I heard that Karl Rove was Newsweek’s newest columnist, and I cannot say that I’m anything but appalled. I’m not disgusted because of my political leanings and my particular distaste of the current administration—it’s because Karl Rove is an outright criminal. He should be in jail…and yet, here he is, with a column in one of America’s premier (albeit very watered-down) news periodicals.

I picked up Newsweek while waiting for my plane at LAX—I wanted to see what Karl Rove had to say. Fine, Newsweek got what it wanted—another paper sold—but they should stand for something other than the paper chase.

Rove’s piece was on how to beat Hillary in the presidential race. Timely, relevant--fair enough. His key points (taken verbatim from his article)?

• Say in authentic terms what you believe.

• Tackle issues families care about and Republicans too often shy away from—like health care, the cost of college and social mobility.

• Go after people who aren’t traditional Republicans.

• Be strong on Iraq.

I’m sorry, but NONE of this is groundbreaking—the man is getting paid to write this? It’s basic politics, especially point four, which essentially means “get more votes!” Obviously, Karl, the way someone wins is by getting more votes than their competitor. Thanks for the refresher!

The fact is that anyone who takes a class on American political culture or a political course in general (or, who basically understands democracy) would have been able to write this column. I think it’s degrading to Newsweek’s readers that the company printed this stuff—as if the reader didn’t already know this? Newsweek’s readers aren’t stupid, and yet, this Rove article makes it seem like Newsweek thinks they are.

This man was the brilliant secret of the Republicans? And the Democrats lost to him?

Congratulations, Newsweek—your newest columnist writes the equivalent of every university’s junior poli sci majors. Great investment! I have a couple of friends who need jobs, and it doesn’t seem like a degree is required—you have a firm offer ready?

(is Karl pulling the wool over our eyes? Is he a follower of the Jay-Z idea that "he would spit it/if y'all could get it"? Maybe he's keeping his best secrets in his arsenal, just in case he gets the call to help out the next GOP hopeful...nah, I doubt it)

the world is full of crashing bores.

(Joshua Masayoshi Huff)

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Well, Sir Patrick Burgwinkle beat me to writing about the game.

Congrats, England! You failed to qualify for Euro 2008! (All the highlights/lowlights here)

Neither bsto nor myself were cheering for them to pull of a draw with Croatia today. England just did not deserve it. It's funny hearing the commentators talk about how England really were the better team when they went down 2-0 (they were not) and how they just make excuse after excuse. One pundit later said "we're going to take a break, and I'm going to throw myself off of a bridge".

The thing is qualification won't ever mean that much to the US...and not because nobody cares about soccer (even though hardly anyone does)...but because we will always qualify for the World Cup. CONCACAF is so lousy that, from here on out, the US just has nothing to worry about.

And this goes for bigger things, too. America is such a huge country that no national team is really all that supported. Nobody really cares if Team USA wins the FIBA World Championship or comes in 4th. Nobody really cares that our baseball team won the Baseball World Cup last week. Why? Because this country is so segmented, and we are comfortable with our international standing--so domestic sports take on a much bigger role. We know we have the best sporting leagues (outside of soccer), so we don't even concern ourselves with national sports pride.

Yes, it's unfortunate, but it's the truth. America is a massive, massive country--and it's also very segmented. I, too, would like to have a country that's maniacally fanatic about our soccer team, but it's just never going to happen--we Americans don't do anything fanatically other than eat and go to war.

Yes, it's sad that Europe 2008 will be missing one of it's great powers--but the Netherlands weren't at the 2002 World Cup, either. It just happens that one great team has to be left out.

It should be a good wake-up call. Becks can still play--it's funny how the British want to forget that. He would be starting at most British clubs today.

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I was making a list of European teams that I'd rather watch instead of England. Here they are:

Spain (such an amazing midfield)
France
Holland
Germany

Then, probably, England. Portugal are too dull and I've never been a fan of Italy.

And, I mean, really? Steve Maclaren? Why? The England job is exactly like the Notre Dame job, I suppose--it's so storied that every coach wants a crack at it...unfortunately, it has really lost a lot of luster as of late.

I'm telling you, Jose Mourinho will take the job, although Steve Bruce's appointment at Wigan being put on hold is also curious--has the FA lined up Steve Bruce taking the England job? Scolari? Martin O'Neill? Sir Alex Ferguson? The Guardian has the betting odds on the next boss!

One thing is clear: Arsene Wenger is not taking it. I couldn't be more thrilled about that.

A very well-written piece by the Guardian, though--England just isn't that good.

And what's to blame for the loss? American football!

One last thing: Gareth Barry instead of Owen Hargreaves? What in the hell, Steve? Hargreaves might be the best player on the squad (him and Gerrard are neck and neck, but Gerrard hasn't been playing that well for Her Majesty as of late), and you don't include him? You deserve to be shown the door for that.

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Enough soccer.

The Dalai Lama is thinking about picking his own successor.

Obviously, he doesn't want China to interfere (they imprisoned the last Tibetan-chosen Panchen Lama...), but how can he pick his reincarnate? Theoretically, you have to be dead before you can be reincarnated (I'm not just trying to be a smug student about this--I'm absolutely serious).

There is usually a 1-2 year search for the new Dalai Lama after the death of the old Dalai Lama. I just don't understand how this would work logistically. He cannot pick the reincarnation of his spirit if his spirit is still within him.

I'm sure bsto will chime in--he's a huge Dalai Lama fan.

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Hawaii High School basketball is finally turning the way of high school basketball everywhere else--recruiting out of district.

The debate is over a female player who lives on the Big Island. Punahou, one of the state's most storied and revered private schools (of which Michelle Wie is an alum), wants to give her a scholarship to play ball. Dennis Agena pushed her towards Punahou. Agena is somewhat of a basketball guru in Hawaii--he has ball-handling clinics year-round that turn out the state's best players...as well as some of it's more non-descript players. I attended the clinic for 10 years...as did Derrick Low, a pre-season All-American at Washington State University. My all-time basketball highlight? Low went up to try and swat my layup, and I finger-rolled it over him. Swish.

This kid might be an NBA prospect, and I scored on him--when he was ACTUALLY trying. You think I'm not gonna tell my kids that story?

Anyway, I digress. Welcome to the 21st Century, Hawaii Basketball. This has been happening for years. If the girl wants to leave the boringness that is the Big Island for a better education, she should go. Punahou and Iolani offer lots of kids these sorts of chances, and if education is important and Punahou says they'll foot the bill, consider it. Of course, it would be hard to leave one's friends behind, but it is what it is.

Personall, I could never have attended Punahou or Iolani--it just felt wrong to me. And, in the case of this young woman, if you stand out, you stand out. If this girl is as special as she's made out to be, the colleges will find her.

---------

Great article on Pete Carroll at ESPN. I'm still a bit upset that this USC team can theoretically play for the Rose Bowl with two losses, while Hawaii may go undefeated and be forced to stay home.

It doesn't mean that I don't like Pete, though. He's really a well-spoken, charismatic man...and I don't think anyone at 'SC is going to feel slighted if he leaves for the NFL. You can tell he wants the best for the school, and as a result, we all want what he wants.


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Today's videos...The Chemical Brothers' "Star Guitar"



The video is really neat...I couldn't find a great quality one, but Michel Gondry (one of the greatest music video directors ever) did a really great job. The scenery passes to the beat of the song--and the scenery is just absolutely gorgeous.

According to Wikipedia, "The video is based on DV footage Gondry shot while on vacation in France; the train ride was shot ten different times during the day to get different light gradients"

Here's a video of the making of the "Star Guitar" vid:




The song is really amazing too. I used to hate this band with a passion--but bsto's constant playing of them made them grow on me (I still think they have a terrible name). It doesn't hurt that My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" is one of their favorite albums, either.


And, for good measure, here's My Bloody Valentine's "Only Shallow"



Such a woozy, off-balanced and moving song.

Jay-Z "Blue Magic"


This isn't the strongest song on the album by a long shot, but it was referenced by one of my professors in class today. The discussion was on the poor state of the dollar and the pegging of the Chinese yuan...and the professor said "CNBC said a rapper was flashing Euro's in his video...I don't know who it was, though". I just laughed and said "it's probably Jay-Z" and he said "Yes! That's him!" So, there's the video. Jay-Z knows his money--I mean, he is a business, man.

Lastly, a fan made video for Radiohead's "Bodysnatchers"

bodysnatchers from sanddunesandsea on Vimeo

Such a creepy, creepy video. Hopefully Radiohead buy out whoever made this and use this as the official video--it's just that good.


Well, I'm off to the Bay for a few days. Enjoy the holiday, everyone--and don't spend too much on Friday.