Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Win The 2009 NBA All Star Game MVP Award

Never in a million years did The Blot expect the 2009 NBA All Star Game to end the way it did last night. I was particularly excited for this year’s exhibition game because it would be the first time Shaq and Kobe have played together on the same team since O’Neal’s departure from the LA Lakers almost five years ago.


As many of you know Shaq is my all time favorite player and the Lakers are my all time favorite team, so it was pretty awesome for The Blot to watch Shaq and Kobe playing happily together under the tutelage of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson again, if only for one night. I honestly didn’t expect Shaq to play significant minutes in what could be his final All Star Game appearance, but when he came out during player introductions and did that sick dance with The Jabbawockeez, a hip-hop dance group, I knew he had one last great performance in him. And boy did he!


After the West went down 20-10 early in the game, Shaq and Kobe helped spark their team to a 19-0 run, which unknowingly put the West up for the remainder of the night. O’Neal finished the game with more points (17) than minutes played (11) and put on an amazing show that was capped with a pass between Dwight Howards legs to Chris Paul, who then passed the ball back to a cutting Shaq who finished the play with an emphatic dunk. Shaq’s output was also a new All Star Game record for most points scored in under 15 minutes of play. Kobe on the other hand finished with a game high 27 points to lead the Western Conference All Stars in a commanding victory over the Eastern Conference 146-119.

What’s really amazing about last night was how friendly Kobe and Shaq were to each other before and during the game. Shaq even went so far as to call Bryant the hands down best player in the league. Shaq seems to be making a concerted effort to finally let go of the animosity between he and Bryant, and is making some really crazy overtones about a possible return to the Lakers to finish out his career once his contract with the Phoenix Suns expires. This is music to The Blot’s ears, but whether or not Lakers owner Jerry Buss or Bryant would ever let this happen is another question entirely.


As co-MVPs, Kobe and Shaq have now each won the award three times. This ties them with Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson for the second most All Star MVP Awards received behind Bob Pettit’s four.

My Chemical Romance Watchmen Music Video and Picture Disc Vinyl Record

While The Blot is not really a fan of My Chemical Romance, I think it’s pretty cool that as fans of the Watchmen graphic novel the band was able to do these tie-ins with the upcoming live action movie. Not only have they recorded a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row” to be used in the film, they shot an awesome Watchmen inspired video for the movie and are releasing the single on an official Watchmen Picture Disc vinyl record.


You really don’t see bands get this involved with a movie anymore (unless of course they are creating the film’s entire score/soundtrack), so these tie-ins are an unexpected treat. The “Desolation Row” music video was actually directed by Watchmen director Zach Snyder, and I think he and My Chemical Romance did a great job with it. Check out the song and the music video below!

The My Chemical Romance “Desolation Row” Music Video


The Watchmen 12” Picture Disc, which features the Watchmen Smiley Face logo on one side and the Rorschach City Scene on the other, has two songs on it. Side A is My Chemical Romance’s “Desolation Row” while Side B is “Prison Fight” by Tyler Bates from the Watchmen Original Motion Picture Score. The record can be purchased here directly from the My Chemical Romance online store for the sale price of $11.99.

Watchmen debuts in theaters on March 6, 2009.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Philippines

This week’s episode is very cool because it features No Reservations fan Augusto, a runner up from last season’s Fan-atic Special, as one of Tony’s hosts through the Philippines. Even though Augusto wasn't picked for the Fan-atic Special, he made quite an impression on Tony, and in turn, is treated to a reunion with his family and “the best pig…ever” at a spectacularly large cookout.

A video preview of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Philippines


During Bourdain’s trip to the Philippines he delves deep into what it means to be Filipino by exploring their history and the many prominent cultures of the nation’s many islands. While it would be impossible for Tony to visit all 7,107 islands that make up the Philippines, he does a great job of experiencing a huge cross section of the country’s varied and unique food culture. In this episode Bourdain travels to Manila, Pampanga, and Cebu, visits a Filipino dampa and dines on some incredible food including adobo shrimp, sisig, crab, goat heads soup, ox tail and lechon (a.k.a a suckling pig).

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations airs every Monday at 10/9c on the Travel Channel.