Run Around LA

Despite being kind of a recluse so far in 2014 and concentrating most of my athletic energy on playing dodgeball, I still find time to run, which keeps me in shape. I’ve lived in a lot of places in LA since I started law school (and coincidentally when I started to run outside daily……..and lost a significant amount of weight), including USC (great campus, fountains everywhere), Culver City (there’s a lookout point that overlooks the whole of LA that’s wonderful to run up to if you have the uphill stamina), Santa Monica Pier (run from the Pier down to Venice Beach/Muscle Beach area, spectacular) the Rose Bowl (crashed on a friend’s couch for a while in Pasadena, great 3-mile loop around the stadium), Monterrey Park (run and pick up some Chinese food!) and even through downtown Philadelphia! (ran up and down the Rocky steps all the time). But the two locations I’ve run for the last half-year or so have been truly great.

 

1.)    Working in downtown has its perks, one of which is proximity to one of the greatest places in L.A. I’m really surprised more people don’t run around downtown, as I rarely see people on my route. Maybe my route is just particular and unique, but it’s really scenic: I start at the World Trade Center on 5^th and Fig, get a great view of the Westin Hotel and the U.S. Bank Tower where I work (tallest building in L.A., I might add), head up to the John Ferraro Building where there’s a man-made moat with seagulls and ducks and other birds floating in the artificial lake around the building, not to mention a spectacular view of the cityline during sunset as well as a glimpse of Chavez Ravine and Dodger Stadium, head off down to fountains and city hall in a straight downhill, cross through the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which besides being a resplendent work of architecture, also has an open-to-the-public park on top of it which I whip through, then head towards the Wells Fargo building/Deloitte Building on Grand Ave, ending at the Angelus Plaza where there’s a great view of the easter part of LA (not a great view, admittedly). It’s really one of the more gratifying experiences I get during the week, yet nobody seems to share in it.

 

2.)    Running up to the Hollywood sign- Get off FWY-101 at Gower St., head up north to Beachwood St. until you reach a sandy parking lot area, park. Not always open to the public, but when it is, it’s a great run up to the Hollywood sign. Beautiful scenery along the way involving horses, sometimes peacocks, the whole of L.A., and even a view of the OTHER side of LA, the sights and sounds of wonderful Glendale, CA. A lot of uphill involved, but great when coming downhill. (The whole area of Hollywood Hills is a great place nestled in the heart of L.A. that reminds me of a European village (not that I really remember what a European village looks like). Lots of winding streets, hills, and obscured areas suddenly opening up to a great view.  Won’t ever forget 2013-2014 when I lived in this area and could just go out and explore any time I wanted. O and I almost got ran over by a deer one time. True story.

 

Running generally is just a great way (as long as it’s safe) to explore an area and get a good workout at the same time, or listen to a podcast/ music. Keeps me sane, really. It’s to the point where if I don’t go for a run or exercise for the day, I feel weird, something’s missing.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

A Song of Summer

Summers agree with Bobby Yan,

He enjoys the world as much as he can.

Vacation spots galore to visit and adore,

Although planning for those visits can be quite a chore.

Only season in the year to visit Chicago,

By the time winter hits it’s a big no-no.

The brain gets a little soft and slow,

But just relax and let your inhibitions go.

Time to sail away far from father and mother,

Or indulge yourself in the chaos of Big Brother.

Game of Thrones finales,

Ending Vegas trips at Bally’s.

Baseball road trips to embark,

Or watch the epic adventures of Tony Stark (Iron Man for those who don’t know).

The Japanese tell horror stories to keep themselves cool,

Some resort to belly-flops and diving into the pool.

World Cup comes every 4 years or so,  

To a South American team the championship should go.

Shorts, sandals, bathing suits, shirtless,

Make sure you lose that belly from Christmas

Long Days, short nights, wonderful sunsets,

Watch them from a boat with fishing nets.

New York, Moscow, Berlin, Toronto, Tokyo,

Your whole body will spiritually heal.

Soriano, Ibanez, Venable, and Butler are all summer creatures,

One or more will get hot and ESPN will feature.

NBA Finals wouldn’t be complete without the Heat.

Boy do I hope San Antonio can prevent the three-peat.

No matter where, no matter what, have no fear,

Summer is here, it’s the Best Time of the Year.

 

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

National Spelling Bee 2014- Just the Beginning

 

Bobby News Network here again just before the Final Round of the National Spelling Bee 2004, with just TWELVE contestants left for tonight’s rounds. (After a controversial computer test that whittled the field from 31 to 12 after the semifinal round, something that the bee has just recently been doing that not everyone likes due to the sentimentality for live, in-your-face, traditional spelling where speller has to spell the word up there on live television). Anyway here on the (hypothetical) betting odds for chances to win tonight:

Hathwar: 5 to 2 (the Mike Trout of this competition)

Venkatchalam: 6 to 1 (the Edwin Encarnacion- the hot hitter that could easily slide in should the top falter)

Abiad: 8 to 1  (the Max Scherzer- not the best player in fantasy, but rock solid)

Veeramani: 10 to 1 (the David Ortiz – the track record and his demographics support a possible win)  

Konakella: 10 to 1 (the Matt Carpenter- not very well known, needs some stuff to go right)

Gibbison: 16 to 1 ( the Dee Gordon- the one-hit wonder)

Horton: 20 to 1 (Brandon Belt- maybe even better a year from now)

Field (Others): 20 to 1

 

As betters would know, Hathram is a really prohibitive favorite as 5 to 2 gives him almost a 40% chance of winning. Others might disagree that it’s actually HIGHER now that preseason favorite (and my pick) Vanya Shivashankar didn’t make it to the final, it’s now a clear track for the Sriram Express. Taj Gibbison (seriously, I’m loving this guy’s name) gets a 16 to 1 because it’s been 16 years since a Jamaican won the National Spelling Bee, so it could happen, it’s just difficult to predict for those guys cuz they have a new representative each year, and there are some siblings that get some odds because who knows how much of a leg up their siblings gave them.

As I was watching the semifinals today, however, one reason why I love the NSB came to me: you’re watching really, really smart kids before they’ve even fully developed. They’re going on to bigger and better things. I  googled a random assortment of ex-speller’s names (mostly champions, but some non-champions) and colleges like Cornell, Harvard, and Stanford came up. Anurag Kashyap went on to win a Jeopardy. George Thampy works for the National Spelling Bee. A lot want to be neurosurgeons; some actually do become neurosurgeons. These kids are smart, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that “won the National Spelling Bee 2004” shows up on their resume to set them apart from the crowd, but it’s certainly evidence that these kids are motivated and eager. When we watch professional athletes, they are at their absolute peak and winning championships, etc. It’s not gonna get any better for them, they’re already at the top of their game. Lots of times it gets significantly worse for those people when they step down from the limelight, as we hear stories of bankruptcies, life-altering injuries, and worse. But for National Spelling Bee participants, they’re only just getting started, and the best awaits. It’s really refreshing to read about those stories years later.

It’s also a purely merit-based competition. Think of successful politicians, world leaders, businesspeople, the most powerful people in the world. Yes, some of them built their company from scratch from their garage. That’s pretty lucky. I’d say most of all the most powerful people in the world had some connections, had political capital, was the right demographic or had the right background, had the right parents, had the right financial capacity, etc., to make it big (think George Bush, Paris Hilton, etc.) These kids don’t. These kids literally have to study from scratch and fill their minds with information from a very young age, and it takes a great deal of determination especially nowadays with so many clubs, activities, sports, and school things going on that spelling has been their life for a long time. Yea you can be smart, but you also have to work really hard and refresh your brain all the time to get to the level of some of these spellers. Lot of time, lot of dedication, and for some, the possibility of it ultimately paying off(see Rajeev Patel, Lauren Newcome, Finola Hackett, Matthew Evans, etc., etc., just to name a few recent ones as greatest spellers not to win the big one)

With that said, I usually don’t have too much of a vested interest in the Spelling Bee’s outcome, but tonight I’d like to see Sriram Hathwar win the National Spelling Bee. Here’s a kid who’s been in the National Spelling Bee since age 8, who knows when he started actually studying spelling words at a competitive level, and every year he gets disappointed, but he gets back up on his feet and keeps grinding. 7 years his season has ended in disappointment and every year he’s come back more motivated than ever. His written round to the finals showed it: he got the best score. He’s more prepared than ever. He deserves it. Sriram for championship.

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan

Bobby News Network Presents........The Exclusive 2014 National Spelling Bee Preview!

Welcome to Bobby News Network’s coverage of the 2014 National Spelling Bee! I’m your host, Bobby Burgundy, and I’ll be giving you a full preview of the 2014 Semi-finalists. Yessir, we already have whittled down the massive field of children in America (and other territories, countries, and provinces) to 46 well-deserving semifinalists. We’ll be taking a look at favorites, dark horses, and intriguing stories in a second. But first………..

The spelling bee is HARD. I just took the written round and would not have qualified for even the semifinal round. Sure I haven’t studied a long time for the spelling bee like these kids have, but I am also TWICE most of these kids’ age, and have had much more life experience, and I still can’t measure up to these kids. This is definitely a fierce competition and some of the smartest kids in America on display, and we get the privilege of watching it on live TV. I’ve done it for almost a decade now and I just don’t get tired of it, especially the Semifinal/ Final rounds on Thursday. Can’t wait. Let’s get to some of your calls.  

 

Q: Who are the favorites this year?

A: That’s easy. There’s 2 that ESPN will surely be focusing on and you should too.  Sriram Hathwar, the lone 5-year returner in the field, and Vanya Shivashankar. Sriram is remarkable because he started this thing in 2008!!!!! And made the finals as early as 2011. Yes, THREE YEARS AGO he was one of  6 spellers left at the National Spelling Bee and really had a chance at winning. Then there were a couple years in there that he messed up in the Regional round, not even making it to the bee, really a blip on the radar of catastrophic proportions. Without those 2 eliminations in regional rounds he would be the bee’s first ever SEVEN-YEAR repeater! He’s gotta be focused this year as he’s 14, it’s his last chance, and he’s had SEVEN CHANCES at this thing, but don’t you have to think in the back of your mind what happened those 2 times he messed up? Whatever the case, it’s truly a remarkable story, and I look forward to seeing the end of the Sriram Express Tomorrow.

Also in my Top 5 are Gokul Ventkatachalam from St. Louis who’s gone 10^th and 19^th the last 2 years. Don’t take that lightly, that’s a big flashing sign that says, “I’m ready to be in the finals and win this year!” I like Alia Abiad not just because she’s one of the few Oriental Asian representatives and not only cuz she goes to school in Chicago but she’s a 4-year returner and can do some major damage. Lucas Urbanski could be inspired by his favorite Happy Potter series to pull some magic this year after a 19^th place finish last year.

 

Q: Paul from Minneapolis, I was wondering if you have a dark horse in the field we should watch out for in this year’s spelling bee.

The classic darkhorse of course was 2012 (and to an extent, 2010 o) with the win of Snigdha Nandigphati.  Even 2008 seemed like a bit of a shock with the less-heralded yellow-shirt numnah win of Sameer Mishra. It’s an even year, so it might seem like a good time for another dark horse, but this year has what those other years lacked: 2 established frontrunners that have tons of experience, and a 3^rd who’s finished just outside the finals the last 2 years. Those magical years in front of the ESPN lights cancel out the maturity of a renegade 8^th-grader, 14-year-old making his/her  inaugural or 2^nd appearance.

 

Q: What’s a theme of this year’s spelling bee I should look out for?

Siblings, siblings, siblings. Seems like an exceptionally high number of past contestants’ siblings in the field, including 2010 Champion Anamika Veeramani’s brother Ashwin, Joseph Delamerced who had BOTH his sister and brother compete in the national bee (don’t try to get out of the Cincinaati, Ohio regional on those guys), Paul Keaton, sister of Kentucky legend Emily Keaton, Mary Horton, sister of jovial and remarkable kid Jonathan Horton, and of course none other than sister of 2009 Champion Kavvya Shivashankar and perennial ESPN favorite Vanya. Seriously, this is the 7^th year I’ve been watching the bee, Vanya has been involved (first as adorable watcher, then as fierce competitor) EVERY year. And yes, having a sibling be in the national spelling bee would appear to help. At the least, you have access to years of experience and all their notes/words.

 

Q: Cool spellers?

A: Yaah man, after a one year hiatus, sir, the Jamaican speller is back in the semifinals. Thank you, sir. The representative this year is Tajaun Gibbison, no not Taj Gibson from the Chicago Bulls, Tajaun Gibbison, a 13-year-old 8^th grader from Knox College. Hannah Jackson from Saginaw, Michigan is a “natural athlete” and has climbed the Sierras in Yosemite National Park twice, that’s some lofty accomplishments (get it?). Lydia Loverin from Albany, new York is on her way to become a writer; no pen name needed that name will sell some novels.  And Max Danner from Athens, Ohio still likes playing Minecraft. Welcome to the 21^st century, Max.

Q: Who wins this year?

The name is the same, the story still there, the proud father, the beaming mother, the sister who had a climactic rise to the top of the spelling bee ladder in 2009, the pedigree, the support of ESPN. A great story is there, the dedication, the repeater status, the national finals experience , basically casting The Shivashankars as the Spelling Bee’s equivalent to the Williams sisters. . Seriously, TWO YEARS ago Vanya had the highest score on the written round and was touted as the FAVORITE of that spelling bee! She was 10 years old! She’s had 2 more years to study words and review the dictionary. Who knows what she’s been doing during that time? She could have been going over the entire Webster’s unabridged Dictionary TWICE during that time! It is insane, and if she doesn’t win this year, she still has ANOTHER year to do it, although ESPN would be disappointed with not having their marketing headliner.  Five years after her sister accomplished her dreams, Vanya takes home her own title.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

 

Mother's Day Post - Appreciation for my Mom (Chinese and English)

美国的母亲节是每年五月初举行的，主要是庆祝母亲的努力和重要性。世上有很多母亲属于可畏的女强人， 但我觉得我妈可称头号队员。

 

我妈一直做了不少的牺牲。 我真的不能想象她来美国有多么困难，有多么艰难。一个人来了人生地不熟的地方，英文能力也是有限的。 要换我的话可能无可耐和，人仰马翻地大矢败, 半途而废地狼狈回家了。 可我妈拼命奋斗， 为了我和我还未出生的妹妹争取一片光，总算是活下来了。

 

我妈在中国是一位老师，工作了好多年才积累了一笔钱来美国留学，而且当优秀学生获得了奖学金在一所美国大学做研究生. 就算如此我妈还必需打工，不学习时做外快， 哪里有什么玩的时间。这一点我很羡慕我妈，所有付出的精神和赚来的钱都是为了家里的人，全心贯注地奋斗, 争取可以让我也搬到美国一起住。虽然她吃了不少苦而她的青春就渐渐失去了， 但她从来不跟我埋怨， 低声不响地，咬咬牙坚持下去。 我看妈妈那么能干吃力也没借口了， 只好在学习上多用工， 用好成绩和奖状来表示我的感谢。

 

我记得我第一次在美国过圣诞节， 一直盼望着要一台任天堂游戏器。 我妈那时没多少钱，但是因为是儿子的心里愿望，她就不顾一切地省钱，总知最后买了一台，我在圣诞节打开礼物时笑容满面，连续喊＂盛诞老人是真的！＂那时我没发现我妈比我还高兴， 因为对她来说我的幸福就是她的福。在我生活中这样的例子发生多次，比如说上足球队是我妈出钱，上中文学校也是她出钱。 不管多少钱，要是花在我身上她都觉得值得。

 

 

Mother's Day happens every year in early May, and for me it celebrates the hard work and importance of mother's. There's a lot of mothers in this world who can be considered strong women, but my mom ranks right near the top.

My Mom has always made many sacrifices. I really can't imagine how hard it was for her to come to America, a place where she knew no one and possessed limited ability to speak the language. If it was me in her place, I would be all out of sorts, suffer a miserable fail, and would have to surrender and go back home with my tail between my legs. However, my mom persevered through thick and thin, and survived (thrived, really) so taht my sister and I could have a place in this world.

My Mom was a teacher in China and had to work for a long time to accumulate money to study abroad in America. On top of that, she was accepted to a graduate university under a scholarship program. Even so, my Mom still had to work to pay the bills, and when she wasn't studying she would do part-time work, so recreational time was out of the question. I really admire my Mom for this point, as all her effort and money went towards her family, as she focused all her energy on being able to bring me to America (from China) and live together. Although she suffered a great deal and her youth gradually slipped away, she has never complained to me about it and has always perservered without complaint, always striving on. Seeing my Mom so persistent, I have no excuses but to study hard and express my appreciation with good grades and awards.

I remember my first Christmas spent in America, I was looking forward to getting a Nintendo video game system. My mom didn't have much money at the time, but because it was her son's wish, she broke the bank and bought a console. I was so happy that Christmas when I opened my present, exclaiming continuously, "Santa Clause is real!" I didn't realize then that my mom was even happier than I was, because for her my happiness was her happiness. This is just one example in my life, with others including instances where my Mom paid for soccer, paid for Chinese, etc., etc. No matter the cost, my Mom has always spared no dime when it comes to me. Thank you, Mom.

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan

 

 

 

 

Chaos Theory

Chaos theory is the theory of apparent randomness, the theory that complex natural systems obey rules but are so sensitive that small initial changes can cause unexpected final results, thus giving an impression of randomness.  It’s amazing how the fantasy baseball world resembles the real world: minor little changes in the world (Martin Prado has blurry vision, leaves the game, but is fine afterwards, for example) interlaced with some BIG, catastrophic changes that alter the entire landscape (Jose Fernandez out for the season with a UCL Tear comes to mind). I’ve always adhered to a similar philosophy in my daily life: human beings actually have very little control of what happens in the world, contrary to what one might believe. Sure humans can decide what to wear in the morning, but society determines what is acceptable to wear, so you’re really only given a select few options.  When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And because humans are so defined by external forces, it’s those who adapt to what happens to us (and not surprised and go into the panic mode) who succeed the best.

When people new are starting out at fantasy baseball and ask me for advice, my tip is always: Don’t assume you know any particular thing will and MUST happen. You can’t predict the future.  That’s why I scoff (and many fantasy experts do too) when some theorists rave about one guy, predicting a LOCK of certain statistical prowess and numbers. Sure, those things might happen, but there’s no absolute certainty, there’s no one who can say for sure. I used to be arrogant about fantasy baseball (and the world, really), thinking that I KNEW that Nick Markakis would have a breakout year in 2008 (he didn’t) or Kevin Youkilis would be just fine in 2011 ( he wasn’t). I’ve been right a lot of the times too, but I don’t pretend that I KNEW that that boon would come, I only made an educated guess, positioned myself in the best position possible, and adjusted accordingly when other things changed. Simiarly, I thought law school would be a sure way to get a high-paying job (it wasn’t), I thought Chipotle stock would have tumbled by now (it hasn’t), but I didn’t sell the farm or mortagage my house on those investments………you adjust accordingly.

In fantasy baseball, many call my philosophy the “agnostic theory”- I have no idea what’s going to happen. Under my  agnostic theory, during the chaos of the long, long, long fantasy regular season,  I save my FAAB dollars or Number of moves allowed or whatever format the league uses to make the most amount of moves as possible, because I’m constantly reacting to chaos……Billy Butler had been slumping recently but is now getting hot, pick him up. Closing jobs are up in the air all around the league, pick up speculative adds. That’s how one applies the chaos theory in fantasy baseball- don’t complain about it hurting your team, embrace it and enjoy it, utilize it to your advantage while leaving your opponents in the wake.

More Chaos on Game of Thrones, but (Spoiler Alert kind of but not really giving it away) the characters who have thrived so far on the chaos are Varys and Littlefinger, coincidentally my favorite characters: always reacting to different changes, not being surprised when rulers fall and wars break out, and taking advantage of certain opportunities that arise when chaos is at its peak. Especially Littlefinger. Especially this past episode. That’s all I’ll say.

Some recommendations to deal with this 2014 version of Fantasy Baseball Chaos:

1.)    Might just be me but there’s been a record number of blown saves in baseball this year and a record number of bullpen jobs in flux. Don’t overpay for any of these newly aligned closers, just follow all the bullpens in flux and try to get one of these newly anointed closers on the cheap. Ex: Chad Qualls.

2.)    Might also be a record year for injuries.  A lot of teams are probably holding on to injured guys who take up otherwise useful roster spots, so having an extra couple spots can help get the edge on shorthanded teams.

3.)    A LOT of slow-starting hitters out there: Carlos Santana, JJ Hardy, Billy Butler, David Wright, just to name a few. These are multi-category hitters who have put up numbers over a long period of time, and May 20 is still not the time to panic. Pick up those hitters who have been kicked out of cars dropped by other baseball drivers on the fantasy baseball road of chaos.

The Importance of Tradition

The spelling bee is only 2 weeks away! Orthographers, unite!

The World Cup 2014 is only 4 weeks away! Footballers, unite!

The Amazing Race 25 Finale is this Sunday!

The Survivor 28 Finale is Wednesday!

I have recently been hooked AGAIN onto Amazing Race and Survivor (I started watching both shows in 2003) and can’t believe they’re STILL both on. And they still produce at near-elite levels, although both clearly are past their prime. For Amazing Race, that was the 10 or 11 seasons where there were 2 races a season and all-star seasons lined up and powerhouse teams and drama like Rob and Amber, The Globetrotters, etc. whereas now they resort to recycling a lot of these done-before teams to try to rekindle some of that old flame, and Survivor does the same…….the best season in my opinion and should be consensus was Survivors Heroes v. Villains, a season that truly came together in terms of great characters (Rob v. Russell), great gameplay (especially on the Villains’ side) and intense outcomes. Absolutely riveting TV that gets evoked occasionally in spurts in the current shows, but not to the degree of those times. Why do I still watch, though? The answer partly is because I still like these competition shows (not the drama part of it, CBS, c’mon!) where normal people compete against others, but a big part of it is……..

Tradition.  As I get excited about all of these repeating events, I find myself succumbing to tradition…..something that’s reliable, the tried and true, and realize that I have a penchant for relying on tradition, and things that I can trust. Tradition is important, like being excited about Christmas and getting ready for fireworks on Fourth of July, tradition allows one something to look forward to, some continuity in one’s life. It’s the same reason why companies use the same suppliers over and over again, or why I eat tuna sandwiches over and over again……..I know what it does for me, and I am satisfied with it.Especially in cases of the spelling bee that come only once a year, I like to inundate myself with it for that day, and then log it away in the back of my mind. If life is a marathon, every year would be a cycle or a lap, where you pass the same roadsigns and scenery each time you pass. Each time you see something you notice something different about it, look at it a different way, or form a new opinion about it. And that’s what’s exciting about these events. You know what you’re gonna get, but there might be a bit of a twist. It also preserves some order in one’s life, like, “OK I’ve made it to Memorial Weekend and the Spelling Bee. What do I need to accomplish for the rest of the year?”

One thing I’ve gleaned from watching YEARS (even a decade now!) of Survivor/Amazing Race: the gameplay towards the end can actually get a little worse, especially in Survivor. By Day 39/40/41 or whatever it is on Survivor, these guys get hangry (angry because you’re hungry) and belligerent with each other and just generally can’t stand each other, as well as possibly getting tired of being there and ready to go home. Whatever the case, it seems to lead to poor decisions in the endgame and allows for only the most steadfast and iron-willed of players to separate towards the end (as well as go on immunity runs). This was observed last night by Jeff Probst – “Tony could just be losing his mind out there!” Very possible indeed. On the Amazing Race, I find that boneheaded driving directions and not reading the clue itself actually occurs MORE towards the end of races than towards the beginning when everyone’s still excited and motivated, a product of most likely travel fatigue, sleep deprivation, and irritation. Good thing to remember if I ever………EVER get on reality TV.

In fantasy baseball, I ALWAYS get streaming pitchers like Bronson Arroyo, Mark Buehrle, and Joe Saudners. These guys have been there for me, one knows what they are, and once in a while they’ll give you something different, like a  10-K game.

 Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan