As hard as I try to stay away from the place as much as I can (for my liver’s sake), Las Vegas always seems to be calling my name. I have no idea how I always end up there, but I do. Going to Las Vegas to me is like going to the DMV, or getting a TOOTH BRUSH for Halloween. It’s kind of unbearable (for my liver). But as long as friends decide to have birthdays there, or throw there once in a life time BACHELOR parties there, or decided that they want to get MARRIED there, I have no choice but to summon the courage, and take part of the madness that always transpires. I guess I’m just getting old.
But the best thing about going to Vegas is the in between towns from Victorville to Stateline. In between there you’ve got Barstow, Yermo, Zyzxx, Baker, Calico, and such. These places are really special. I suggest on any Vegas drive that you take a few extra hours on your road trip to visit these hidden gems because you will meet some of the most interesting, eccentric, people in California.
This episode of What Mike Saw is pretty cool. It features my surprise birthday party, which was carefully orchestrated by my best friends in the world. When I’m 80 years old, I will look back on this video and feel blessed that I had so many wonderful and inspirational people around me.
American soccer has a long way to go if it ever wants to catch up with World football. I may be talking outside my realm of expertise but just as an observer, watching American (U.S.) soccer players is somewhat reminiscent to watching AYSO at the neighborhood park every Saturday with my FRIENDS. If Americans ever want to catch up, they will have to work on lot more than just their game. They need to add the flare, spunk, attitude, and mystique comparable to footballers from around the globe.
The video is a friendly between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Madrid. If the Americans can learn from anyone, it would be these Spanish CONQUISTADORS who play with the glitz I speak of.
Once the American soccer player begin to take on the role of a worldwide superstar hunk and learns to accept that role, today’s youth will look on with complete admiration and before you know it, we will have our own CAPTAIN HAIRDO playing for us one day.
Martial Arts are an integral part to any young person’s development in many aspects. It accelerates physical GROWTH in a manner uncommon for kids the same age. It helps to create amazing body ELASTICITY for more fluid movements with even the most challenging kata. Martial arts will not only exercise the body, but also the mind, as superior concentration will begin to manifest upon the weak and fragile. Most of all, the ability to fill out an awesome GI in which you pay $49.95 will make you the coolest kid on the block.
There was a rise in Karate enrollees during the mid 80’s due to the success of a very influential film that dealt with the topic of adolescence and teenage angst. That movie was The Karate Kid. While most people would be proud to make the claim that it was DANIEL LARUSSO who motivated them to join Karate, I was a direct product of the 90’s. So I cannot make that claim, nor would I be proud to. Because as we all know, the 1990’s was a sassier time and it was a much sassier film that gave me the courage to join. That movie was THE THREE NINJAS.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far in my martial arts career due to a high roundhouse kick to the nose delivered by SENSEI MIKE’s gigantic black foot. I was so pissed I quit that day. But the great masters would have been let down by my lack of determination to persevere. Would any of the Three Ninjas back down from a challenge? I don’t think so. Do you think that Steven Seagal would have gotten back into that dojo and seek revenge? Probably. Would FABIO let that pigeon get away with rattling his hair? No way.
This video is dedicated to all the martial arts masters I have let down. Especially the greatest one of them all: JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME. I say this because it was really him who not only taught me the importance of KICKBOXING, MMA, GANG BANGING, and ROBOTS, but he also taught me how to be a well-rounded DANCER. Thank you JCVD.
Double features are not very common anymore. The price of the average movie ticket cost more than 10 ARBY’S BURGERS. I saw a great film a few weeks ago called EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, which is a film by British street artist Banksy. You want to know how much two movie tickets cost me? Thirty-two dollars and that is without all the nasty overpriced food they sell inside. I understand that cinema establishments must price everything accordingly in order to maintain a steady profit, but why opt for this on a beautiful summer evening, when you have many viable options?
Just go through your local paper and look up what cool movie specials are attached to the smaller local theaters. We have several theaters in the LA area that show double features usually based around a common theme. For instance, you can catch a double feature at the New Beverly Cinema of GLITTER and CROSSROADS with the theme being “Trannies who can act”.
The older these WHAT MIKE SAW videos are, the more embarrassed I am to watch. These older videos are beginning to look unbelievably ancient in the way that styles change, haircuts are SASSIER, and certain friends are AWOL. I’m just happy that I don’t live like this anymore. It’s pretty exhausting.
I think I’ve taken for granted that LA has one of the best open field music festivals in the world right here in our own backyards. Coachella has been bringing some of the best musical and STAGE acts to San Bernardino County for over a decade now. Before Coachella was around, my friends and I would wake up at five in the morning to sit outside Tower Records just so that we could get great seats for bands like Blur, The Pixies, or LFO. Coachella can bring all those acts to us in one event. They personally have never let me down.
If you’ve never been to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, then don’t mind this video because it is a poor representation of what the experience is like. Due to high alcohol consumption and a lack of natural light, we were unable to capture the true Coachella experience. Trust me, Coachella this year was way more fun. This video makes it look like a THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER audition. Basically, it’s a bunch of crap we shot on the last day (Sunday) of our excursion and most of it doesn’t even take place inside the polo fields.
(NOW STREAMING IN HD. YOU MAY TURN OFF HD IF INTERNET CONNECTION IS SLOW)
There really aren’t many words to describe this video. Basically, just sit back and admire the beauty as we did pulling up on our little longtail boat. This was shot in Thailand at Maya Bay. This is where the movie The Beach took place. My Chinese friend Cary is in there somewhere but can’t be seen. He must be hiding. My homey Kevin shot this picturesque moment.
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 2:12 AM. 6 comments
Miami is one of the biggest hustle and bustle cities in America. Some of the hardest working people come out of Miami and their hard work SHOWS. Miami is one of the most appealing American cities to live in because of its sunny tropical climate, no state taxes, and an innovative FASHION sense. Plus, Miami is also known for its beautiful architecture, successful sports FRANCHISES, and some of the BEST FILMS of all time. That is why big things are about to go down in the city of Miami this summer.
If you are a sports fan, be prepared for the basketball world to be turned upside down. You will either love it or hate it because it looks like DWYANE WADE was able to orchestrate one of the biggest free agency moves in NBA history. His free agent SUMMIT were able to keep him in Miami, while acquiring Chris Bosh and LEBRON JAMES. This is just crazy! Plus they signed Mike Miller. Yay! Good job on them for creating the second best team in the NBA.
In addition, one of the most successful and entertaining circus’s is coming to the city. The Jersey Shore cast shot their next season in Miami. I can’t wait to see how many ab competitions THE SITUATION will win this summer.
This is the song that Boston Celtics fans will be singing by the end of this week. Although our LA Lakers are down 2-3 in the finals, we still have home court advantage. This is where we are supposed to be. So in the meantime, there is no need to fear. Tonight, Lakers will win game 6. By this time next week, we will be celebrating our 16th title (or else I’m deleting this).
Anyways, the words above reminds me of my own favorite bar encounters I had with a special lady. In LA, I see “so-so” girls every day. They are only “eh” because most of them have really low self esteem as they exude absolutely no confidence. I need a strong woman who will show me the door if I get out of line. A woman who wouldn’t hesitate to grab me by the jugular and force me to wear her favorite OUTFIT. A woman like “Destiny”.
I only know your name because it was called over the loud speaker. Ironically, it felt like Destiny when I laid my eyes on you, Destiny. I was hanging out in my favorite bar, STONEY’S ROCKIN COUNTRY, when I lay witness to one of the most breathtaking sites I had ever seen. Stoney’s mechanical bull CHESTER, as always, was the focus of that evening. Though it was not the bull that caught my attention. It was your transcending beauty as you manhandled Chester in the center of that bull ring. Most dudes I catch riding that thing are unable to stay on for more than 8 SECONDS. But I was in complete awe of your angelic presence straddling the rugged physical beast that is Chester.
It was as if you and Chester were moving in slow motion. The bar’s central air conditioning flowed through your shoulder length hair like a freshly microwaved cup of CUP O’ NOODLES. Of the many times I’ve hung out at that bar (by myself), never had I witnessed someone with so much grace and talent. You should really think about auditioning for America’s Got Talent. You would go far, and perhaps win. I don’t even care that my girl was in the background staring at me stare at you. For a moment, I know that you and I made eye contact. Your MAN was standing right next to me, but for that millisecond, our connection was undeniable. The butterflies in my stomach were lifting me away. This video is dedicated to you. This video is , “Love At First Site”.
Due to a poor global economy and a lack of tourism around the world, I have been finding these amazing deals to very appealing destinations lately. A few years ago, flying across the world would set you back over $1000. Now, if you look close enough and get in on the deals in time, you can get to the same DESTINATION for around $400-$800. Right now, you must be thinking that I work for CONTIKI TOURS or something. No man, I’m just trying to share with you what is out there.
Unfortunately, these cheap flights are in no way first class. The planes themselves are in decent condition, but you most likely will endure multiple stops with long layovers before you get to your destination. At then end of last year, we went to Buenos Aires for $550. But that came with a 14-hour layover in Mexico City. That wasn’t so bad because we left the airport and checked into a hotel. It’s the five-hour layovers that hurt.
For the most part, there’s nothing better than getting away from Los Angeles. Sure I’m in love with the shiny shirts, the “HILLS” wannabes, and the assorted variations of world class CUISINE that come with LA, but once in a while, I feel the urge to get out of town. And despite the long grueling flights, endless layovers, and people sneezing their nasty mouth molecules on me, there is nothing like finally arriving.
The video below shows tidbits of the 31-hours we spent getting to a remote island in Thailand earlier this month. We started off at LAX and took a flight to Taipei. We had a 3 hour layover in Taipei and got on our connecting flight to Bangkok, Thailand. Three hours later we got to Bangkok but had a 5 hour layover until we could get onto another flight to Krabi. The flight to Krabi wasn’t so bad since I completely passed out. Then finally arriving to Krabi, we had to take a one and a half hour bus ride to some restaurant where we hopped on a boat that took us to Railay Bay.
You can really see the fatigue in our faces, but for me, I prefer taking the road less traveled.
The 2010 World Cup is right around the corner and even though four years ago a few colleagues and I made a PACT to travel to South Africa right after the 2006 Cup, all plans in doing so somehow dissipated. I’m not the football fan I once was when I used to wake up early as crap on a Sunday morning to drive to Pasadena to catch a RED DEVILS match, but I do enjoy watching here and there. I’m already too preoccupied with my fanaticism with other sports like SLAMBALL, and MONSTER JAM.
I’m more of the soccer movie fanatic if anything else. You know like SHAOLIN SOCCER, GOAL, RUDO Y CURSI, and a very underrated film my good friend Matt introduced me to: THE BIG GREEN. Usually I will just pop in one of these entertaining films get my soccer/football fix.
The movie below is not quite the World Cup, but a World Cup qualifier. I happened to be in Buenos Aires during the South American qualifiers and Argentina was in a really bad spot. Just like some of the usually dominant European countries that found themselves in the same position, Argentina was a game away from not qualifying for the 2010 Cup if they lost to Peru. Our hotel gave us a horrible deal on a pair of tickets so we decided to go last minute.
The game was pretty nutty. I’ve never been to a sporting event where people jump and chant, especially coming from LA where the crowds are pretty glum so this was refreshing. What was even more refreshing was the torrential rain that dumped on us during the last minutes of the match. Nobody would have guessed that it would rain that hard with the skies so clear earlier that day. I just have to hand it to my woman for braving the storm with me. She somehow only ends up in situations like this with me. And another thing, there’s a guy in the video sitting right next to me with a rattail/mullet. His name is Joshua and he’s from Echo Park. Also pretty nutty.
