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What is the escape from mediocrity? How am I different? I write online, I work at an intellectually stimulating place, I study language and I do cultural things. I enjoy these things. I would do them for their own intrinsic value.

And yet, I still cannot shake a feeling. Perhaps it’s not even what I do in and of itself, but rather how I organize them in my head. I cannot help but describe my life in terms of work and then those ‘extracurriculars.’ It’s as if no matter why I do an activity in the first place, my internal narrative sneaks it into juxtaposition with the rest of my life, carving a college application essay or (worse) cover letter that simultaneously gives whomever it may concern a window into my experience and my value. Worldliness and capital E empathy conveyed through a grocery list of activities? I want to vomit, but all I can regurgitate are anecdotes where I Faced a Challenge, Overcame an Obstacle or Led a Team.

There’s a voice trapped in my head that longs to express itself and yet never quite has the right medium. In the world of twitter, facebook, wordpress, pinterest etc. along with Art, radio, film, DIY I have not found it. The Outlet. The fault is surely with me. Never before has a cohort had so many options for giving voice to this Voice. Our opportunities are boundless, limitless and unencumbered.

But if, as they say, the world has no limits and yet I have not achieved the unimaginable, then the fault is with me. Then there is a bound, there is a limit and there is a…cumber. And that cumber is me. Oh, I blog. I’ve kept a journal. I’ve tweeted and facebooked, Done It Myself and pinned my interests. But my thoughts are ephemeral even when written down. Rarely, if ever, do they come together in Great Ideas.

It has come to me, just now like a thing that you hear the roar of before you feel the impact of. Am I…(even now, I hate to put it this way, hate to limit myself to words on a page–no media attached, no interactive chart to add dimension, no innovative give-and-take mechanism) ashamed?

I do good things. I am proud of myself. My self-esteem is in good repair. And yet.

There is a shadow I am so tempted to deny. One whose existence even minutes after writing this I will most likely deny with indefatigable determination and stubborn abandon.

I could do more. I should do more. With so much Opportunity out there, even a failure to do a Medium Good thing is a Big failure.

Learn a new instrument. Volunteer. Travel. Write more. Be a better friend. Stay in better touch. Take up an issue. Fight for a cause.

I can feel the drive. The pressing need to do more.

But, I think, what I need is a push back. A balancing thought. Some sort of “keep doing” feeling.

So that I do not start so much, because it is so easy to forget that many starts are stops for something else.

Seems Kobe’s mom, Pamela Bryant, made a deal with Goldin Auctions to sell hoards of Kobe’s bball swag, including a 2000 All Star game signed ball, game and practice jerseys from his days at Lower Merion High School, a Lakers jacket and shorts, trophies, his varsity high school letters and lots of other stuff.

According to a lawsuit … obtained by TMZ … the auction house gave Pamela a $450,000 advance, which she says will be used immediately to buy a new home. According to the lawsuit, Pamela told the auction house Kobe gave her all the stuff outright 5 years ago.

But Kobe has beef, claiming he’s the owner of the stuff and he’s trying to block the auction.

So a fearful Goldin Auctions has gone to court, naming Kobe as the defendant and asking a judge to declare Pamela the owner of the goods.

A judge has yet to rule.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/page/2/#ixzz2SI4CvGKX

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Los Brooklyn Nets han perdut els playoff contra els Chicago Bulls a l’últim partit i no serà per falta d’esperit. Això ho vam gravar davant de l’estadi del Nets acabat d’estrenar un dia de partit:

The Brooklyn Nets lost the playoffs against the Chicago Bulls but not for lack of supporters. This was near the entrance of the brand new Nets stadium on a game day:

L’estiu ha arribat a Prospect Park (Brooklyn) i Bryant Park (Manhattan):

Sumer arrived to Prospect Park (Brooklyn) and Bryant Park (Manhattan):

La Freedom Tower ja té antena:

The Freedom Tower has antenna:

I hem descobert una terrassa pública a la vora del East River:

We discovered an amazing public space by the East River:

I això és Bensonhurst a Brooklyn on la via del metro està elevada per sobre del carrer. Quantes vegades haurem vist a les pel·lícules persecucions amb cotxe a tota velocitat entre aquestes columnes?.

And this is Bensonhurst in Brooklyn where the subway train goes elevated along the street. How many times we have seen car chases between those columns on TV?.Si hi havia una cosa que decididament volíem fer a Nova York, era la ‘Five Boros’. És tracta d’un event annual on els participants recorren 60km en bici pels 5 ‘boroughs’ (‘boros’ o districtes) de la ciutat (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx i Staten Island).

La sorpresa ha estat descobrir que els tickets es van esgotar el mateix dia que sortien a la venta (22 de gener) i que valia 86 dòlars!. L’any que ve…

We were really interested in joining the ‘Five Boros’ event, a 60km bike ride through the 5 boroughs of New York (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx and Staten Island).

The disappointment came when we found out the the tickets were sold out on the first sale day (January 22nd) and the price of the inscription was $86!. Maybe next year…

Aquest són uns quants participants a punt de creuar el pont de Verrazano des de Brooklyn a Staten Island.

Those are some cyclists approaching to the Verrazano Bridge that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Wisteria-covered Spear, the symbol of Kindra and Kaye.

The nerves in his stomach quickened as he bent down and kissed her slowly, one hand holding hers, the other snaking its way behind her neck and into her hair. Bryant’s heart raced, but he took his time, kissing her fully, exploring her reactions. When his hand moved down her neck and over her shoulders she sighed, and when he trailed his fingertips down her wing she trembled.

She stepped closer, pressing herself to him and he did it again, running one finger from the base at her shoulder blade straight down to the tip. He lowered them to the cot without breaking contact, and lifted her onto his lap so she could feel how much he wanted her. He ran a hand up her leg, pushing the fabric up until she could sit straddling him. She was wearing nothing beneath the dress; his hand was so close he could feel the heat coming off her. She pushed him back and straddled his hips with her dress around her waist, just hiding her body from view.

Bryant pulled her down and kissed her hard before he let his hands wander again. Her hands lost their shyness and explored him as well. She touched soft and curious, staying above his waist but becoming more bold. Every time he touched her wings she stopped and shuddered, and she ran her hands under his shirt and up his chest. When he sat up to pull the article of clothing off she took the opportunity to reach behind him and trail her fingertips across his wings. Bryant let out a shuddering breath as her touch shot to his core and he pressed her hips down onto him, pushing against her as he leaned back for leverage. The fabric of his pants was a wall between them, and he wanted to tear the wall down.

He grasped her thighs as he pressed against her again, slowly, repetitively. He was surprised when she made the next move, slipping her small hand through the band of his pants and running her fingers over him like she had with his wing.

“Oh,” he groaned as she wrapped her hand around him. A sharp intake of breath when she reached the tip, and then she was moving her hand in the same slow rhythm he’d already begun.

He kissed her mouth, her neck, whatever was closest as she rocked against him, moving her hips in time with her hand. He slid his hand up her thigh and found the hidden place he wanted, her skin slick with desire. When he touched her she sucked in a deep breath and stopped her movement until he slid a finger inside and she relaxed onto him with a sigh. They moved together, rocking in fluid motion until he pulled his hand away and pushed her dress over her head and onto the floor. She helped him with his pants, and then they were both naked. They switched positions, Bryant laid Kaye on her back in the creaking cot. He ran his hands up her body—her skin was hot and perfect beneath him—before he lowered himself onto her. She moved her legs and gasped when he entered. But he moved slow and gentle and soon he could think only of the feel of her body and his movement inside her. Their pounding rhythm came to a climax as he let out a groan of delighted agony, and shivered as he lay on top of her.

Kaye ran her fingers through his hair, kissed his face, and pressed against him as her own body gave up the sensation of using and being used. She shuddered beneath him twice before he found the strength to roll to the side, careful as he released his hold on her. They lay with their arms and legs intertwined, brushing their fingers across sweaty skin, giving soft kisses and murmurs of appreciation.

Bryant hoped he made Kaye feel welcome.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Kobe Bryant is in a court battle to try to keep his mother from auctioning off mementos from his high school days in Pennsylvania and his early years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

A New Jersey auction house filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Camden on Thursday for the right to sell the stuff after the NBA star’s lawyers wrote the firm telling it to cancel a planned June auction.

The disagreement is a high-value, high-profile version of a question many families face: Can Mom get rid of the stuff a grown child left at home?

In this case, the 900 mementos happen to be worth upward of $1.5 million.

Among the first 100 or so items Pamela Bryant intends to sell: the NBA star’s jerseys, practice gear and sweatsuits from Lower Merion High School; varsity letters; a trophy for being the outstanding player at the 1995 Adidas ABCD basketball camp; and a signed basketball from the 2000 NBA championship game.

And then there are rings, for the 1996 Pennsylvania high school championship, a pair that the Lakers made for Bryant’s parents for the 2000 NBA championship and one from the 1998 NBA All-Star game.

According to court filings, Pamela Bryant struck a deal in January with Goldin Auctions in Berlin, N.J., which earlier this year sold a rare Honus Wagner baseball card for a record $2.1 million.

She got $450,000 up front, which she intended to use for a new home in Nevada.

In its court filings, Goldin says Pamela Bryant told the auction house that she asked her son five years ago what he wanted to do with the items that were in her home.

“Kobe Bryant indicated to Pamela Bryant that the items belonged to her and that he had no interest in them,” the auction house’s attorneys wrote. So she put them in a $1,500-per-month New Jersey storage unit.

The challenge came Tuesday when Goldin sent a news release announcing the auction. By day’s end, Kobe Bryant’s lawyer had sent a cease-and-desist letter telling the auction house to call off the sale and return the items to him.

Kenneth Goldin, owner of the auction house, says he can’t cancel the auction because he’s already advanced $450,000 to Bryant’s mother and put money into advertising the auction.

Kobe Bryant’s lawyer Mark Campbell said in a statement, “Mr. Bryant’s personal property has ended up in the possession of someone who does not lawfully own it. We look forward to resolving this legal matter through the legal system.”

Bryant has had a sometimes icy relationship with his mother and father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, a former pro basketball player who is now coaching in Thailand.

Seems Kobe’s mom, Pamela Bryant, made a deal with Goldin Auctions to sell hoards of Kobe’s bball swag, including a 2000 All Star game signed ball, game and practice jerseys from his days at Lower Merion High School, a Lakers jacket and shorts, trophies, his varsity high school letters and lots of other stuff.

According to a lawsuit … obtained by TMZ … the auction house gave Pamela a $450,000 advance, which she says will be used immediately to buy a new home. According to the lawsuit, Pamela told the auction house Kobe gave her all the stuff outright 5 years ago.

But Kobe has beef, claiming he’s the owner of the stuff and he’s trying to block the auction.

So a fearful Goldin Auctions has gone to court, naming Kobe as the defendant and asking a judge to declare Pamela the owner of the goods.

A judge has yet to rule.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/page/2/#ixzz2SI4CvGKX

Visit the TMZ Store: http://tmzstore.com

A southern New Jersey auction house is suing for the right to sell the stuff after the NBA star’s lawyers wrote the firm to say it could not.

Bryant contends that his mother, Pamela Bryant, doesn’t have the right to sell the collectibles including his high school letters, a 2000 NBA championship ring and hundreds of other items.

But Berlin-based Goldin Auctions says Bryant told his mother years ago that he didn’t want the items.

Legal papers say Pamela Bryant intended to use her $450,000 advance to buy a new home.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

1. Willingness To Coach The Best: Phil wasn’t scared of coaching the best and showed them how to be even better. His leadership brought out the legendary best from the likes of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Great leaders take on the best, and build a great supporting cast around them. That’s how championships are won.
2. Win Without The Coach: Phil prepared his teams in a manner that allowed them to believe in themselves and get it done without his direct supervision. He taught his team how to play through long stretches without timeouts or his direct interaction. He schooled his players more than just execution; he made them great leaders and confident thinkers. Great leaders prepare teams to perform at a high-level, even in the leader’s absence.
3. Mastered The 3-Peat: Phil was able to “3-Peat” several times with several teams. He not only won championships, but he did it again and again and again. The one time he didn’t 3-Peat, he just repeated again. He even said it in his closing press conference upon his retirement, that the thrill of chasing the “3-Peat” is always a great challenge. Great leaders don’t want their teams to just win, but to win again and again.
4. Created A Culture Of Winning: Creating a culture of winning comes with extreme give-and-take, strategy, encouragement, and believing in those you lead. It requires taking the best basketball players on the globe, and meshing them role players and players with quirky personalities like Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest. He created a culture of focused chemistry that made all players valuable and maximized potential in everyone. The number-one priority in coaching–and leading–is to create a strong team culture by developing leadership, empowerment, communication, authentic care for others, relationships, trust, and motivation.
5. Cool, Calm and Collected: Phil Jackson was one of the most calm and collected coaches in the game. He would sit on the sidelines, as cool as the other side of the pillow, even under immense pressure. This translated to his team taking on that same persona. Teams feed off of their leader; if their leader demonstrates a “we got this” mentality, it’s destined to rub off on the players.
6. He Knows When It’s His Time: Phil retired into the sunset of Montana to relax for a season. He stated that he has had a good 20-year run of coaching, and now it’s time to give some of the younger coaches an opportunity. Some leaders don’t know when their time has passed, and they make it rough on an entire organization. It’s important to remember, just because you take a pause, a rest, a vacation, or a sabbatical does not mean that you might not have one more run in you at a later date. Know your time. Know your seasons.
7. Great At Selling His Leadership Style To Players: Phil’s style, especially his triangle offense, was not an easy sell. He was able to elevate the importance of his unique style of coaching to a place of relevance so high that the best players to ever play the game, such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, bought into it. If a leader has a style worth its salt, team members will gladly buy in. Phil Jackson never tried to be someone else; take it or leave it, the “Zen Master” was the “Zen Master.”

Related articles

• Report: Phil Jackson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2011 (tracking.si.com)
• Phil Jackson to hear Raptors’ pitch, maybe others (cbssports.com)
• Recognizing Effective Leadership Skills (rasmussen.edu)

The injury could not come at a worse time. Bryant was trying to lead his team into the playoffs, and there were only a couple of games left in the regular season. The Lakers ended up making the playoffs but got swept by the Spurs. The team just is not the same without Kobe. In honor of him, Nike put out a 4 minute commercial recollecting his career thus far. In all honesty, I am not a big Kobe fan; I never liked him. After watching the video, I gained tons of respect for him. Under the comments section for the video, people commented about how they cried from watching it. He plays his heart out every night, and plays through all types of injures. Kobe proves all the doubters wrong. The Black Mamba will come back from this injury and prove everyone wrong again. Below is the Nike ‘You Showed Us’ Commercial:

Besides the slew of talent Mitch Kupchak (GM) and the Buss ownership group managed to get to wear the purple and gold for the season, the organisation shares half of all championships won in NBA history with the Boston Celtics and is largely accustomed to success. Firing Mike Brown after a 0-4 start to the season brought MIke D’Antoni and his largely unorthodox system, which made Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol uncomfortable. Injuries to Dwight Howard brought some more drama to LA between him and Kobe Bryant.

To cap things off, just when it seemed like D’Antoni got the hang of it and Pau was healthy again, they loose Kobe Bryant to a torn Achilles injury. Winning their last five games gave them the seven seed in the west, only to have them be swept in what is arguably the worst playoff performance in franchise history. The sweep included a 31 point loss at home, in Staples Centre, setting a bar for the worst playoff loss at home in NBA history. 

To sum it all up, i expected just a bit more from the Lakers. They thanked their fans through instagram (photo) , but I feel their fans deserved more. That is just my opinion, let me know yours in the comments, as best as you can, describe the Lakers’ season.

(EPA/George Frey)

By Kevin R. Linares

The Lakers dropped game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday 91 to 102. The Spurs shot the ball better than they did in game 1, shooting for 51 percent. Tony Park led his team scoring 28 points and dishing out 7 assists. For the Lakers, both Dwight Howard and Steve Blake led the way with 16 points each.

Injuries have pretty much made the season a terrible one for the Lakers and something they would have liked to avoid for the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Lakers will have a tough one in game 3 with reports of Steve Blake out indefinitely  and both Steve Nash and Jodie Meeks doubtful. Steve Nash was seen hobbling on the floor during game 2 because of the injuries he still has not recovered from. Pau Gasol told reporters that if it was the regular season Nash would still be sidelined. Jodie Meeks did not play in game 2 because of the sprained left ankle he suffered in the first game between the two teams. Meeks is considered to be doubtful for game 3. Steve Blake who has been impressive in the absence of Kobe Bryant went down suffering a strain to his right hamstring.

Game 3 will definitely be scary to watch for Laker fans with there guards down. With Blake, Nash, Bryant and Meeks injured, the Lakers are now left with the options of Chris Duhon, Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris. If the Lakers had problems getting the ball down low before it will only get harder with the Spurs having to face less of a threat from the outside.

The better match up for L.A. was the Spurs but that was with their super star Kobe Bryant and at least most of the roster being healthy. The Lakers now have three seldom used guards to look to hopefully play well enough to steal a game at home. The Lakers take the floor against the Spurs for game 3 at home on Friday and it will be interesting to see how the possible future center piece for the Lakers in Howard and the rest of whats left of the team responds.

I was doing one of my radio shows when I saw it on the monitor in the studio.  Since it’s a live show, I incorporated it right into what we were talking about.  That one short segment is the poster child for so much of the mindset we all deal with and can easily fall into every day.  Something went wrong.  Something is not where it’s supposed to be.  This isn’t right!  Who’s to blame?!?!? Someone has to pay for this horrible thing!  In fact we get so caught up in finding someone to blame or positioning ourselves so we’re not to blame that the most important part of the problem is lost on everyone.  What’s the solution?

We can apply this to our work place and work related situations, of course, but this is also applicable to our overall life as well.  Things we deal with in life, problems we face, struggles we swim through like we’re in quicksand can all take us to a victim’s point of view where we want to talk about how we’ve been wronged or hurt but never do we just go to working on the solution.

The victim model that we can all fall into starts with emotional blind spots that we all have which lead us to blame others for our situation and what we’re dealing with.  It’s their fault.  It’s your fault.  But there’s nothing I’m responsible for.  These two steps lead us to then come up with excuses about why we can’t make things better for our life.  “I can’t”.  “You just don’t understand”.  And all of these step put together then lead us to feel like we’re trapped in our own life and we just wait and hope and see if things turn out ok.

Conversely to that point of view is the accountability model.  In this mindset we acknowledge truth, whatever that truth is.  “I have an anger problem”.  “I have problems in my relationships”.  “I have a judgmental problem where I always want to take other people down”.  The list can go on and on and on.  Once I acknowledge the truth about me or the situation, then I can own what is going on and that leads to finding the solutions that are needed to move forward in life.  When I can do that, then I can enjoy much more of what life has to offer.

I would suggest that we look closely at how we react to the problems we face.  As long as I want to blame others for what’s going on in my life it’s going to be hard for me to enjoy what it is

I think I want.