Lunar New Year 2017 -Year of the Rooster

source: Google image search results

A minor, probably nit-picky gripe tonight. Yesterday began the new Lunar New Year (Rooster).

I may be ethnically Chinese, but am on a mission to stop calling it "Chinese New Year". Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia are among a few Asian countries that also celebrate the Lunar New Year as well.

I even found 4 of my first 5 Google search results for "Lunar New Year" show "Happy Chinese New Year" or "Happy Chinese Lunar New Year". Hoped it would change when I cleared my cache and logged off my Google account. It didn't.

End of gripe. I wish everyone Happy Lunar New Year to family and the friends I consider family. If you're reading this now, you're probably one of them.

Bowling Alley for Real Bowlers

source: etsy.com

Today's very rainy day brought out the kids and casual bowlers out in droves.

It can make Sunday practice for league bowlers a challenge.

We find ourselves on high alert for spilled drinks, food scraps, 5-6 people who aren't bowling standing on the lane approach, and, my biggest pet peeve - failure to observe lane courtesy.

Ever since I began bowling competitively, I've told a few bowling friends if I had tons of disposable income, I'd open a bowling alley just for bowlers.

Business model: run it like a gym with membership fees. Monthly, yearly, per game, 2 to 6 game packages for bowlers who can't commit to a conventional league.

Most importantly, the best way to weed out pizza parties: NO HOUSE SHOES, BALLS OR BUMPER GUARDS.

Leagues would be doubles and trios, special events would include no-tap, Monte Carlo (hit colored pins for money), mini tournaments, fund raisers, and special parties.

The concept may not be financially sustainable, but for me, it'd be the ultimate experience - bowling purely for sport.

'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me' - Guest Host Tom Hanks

source: Andrew Gill, NPR
L: Bill Kurtis, R: Tom Hanks

On my drive to bowling practice this morning, I was tickled to hear Tom Hanks (click blue box "Listen to Full Show") as guest host on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

If you're not familiar with the program, here's the description from NPR's website:

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is NPR's weekly hour-long quiz program. Each week on the radio you can test your knowledge against some of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world while figuring out what's real news and what's made up.

For trivia buffs like me, it's entertaining, educational, and best of all, lots of fun. Especially when Woody's the host.

NBC Asian America

source: Twitter @NBCAsianAmerica

A few months ago, I found my cousins followed on Facebook NBC Asian America. It wasn't long before I began following them too.

From their website:
ABOUT
"NBC Asian America Presents..." is a digital video channel by NBC Asian America that features original longform content and documentaries focused on themes and voices found in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

New videos and series can be watched at NBC Asian America, as well as NBC Asian America's Facebook page, NBC News' official YouTube channel, and the NBC News app available on mobile devices, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.

Launched in 2014 by NBC News, NBC Asian America is the country's first English-language national news resource dedicated to covering Asian American and Pacific Islander news, features, perspectives, and more. With the launch of "NBC Asian America Presents..." in 2016, NBC Asian America has grown into a robust multimedia platform for the AAPI community by the AAPI community.

Here's the trailer from their YouTube page:

Season Enders - Ohio State Buckeyes and San Francisco 49ers

source: Forbes.com
L to R: Jed York, Chip Kelly, Trent Baalke

Happy New Year!

The much highly anticipated Fiesta Bowl (College Football playoffs) match between Ohio State and Clemson turned to be a lopsided disaster for Buckeye Nation. Clemson dominated the entire game and shutout Ohio State, 34-0.

North of Arizona, the San Francisco 49ers lost their last game of the season to the Seattle Seahawks, 25-23. As reported from numerous news sources, San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York fired General Manager Trent Baalke and Head Coach Chip Kelly.

Less than a month ago (see December 4, 2016 entry), it was in my humblest of opinions that new ownership and/or management of the team is sorely needed to rebuild effectively long-term.

Hopefully, next year there will be the photo of 3 different faces when the 2017 NFL season begins.