Roadracers and Baoding Balls

Plugging Away:

Please come visit my webstore for the finest selection of Baoding Balls: http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

Movie Review of The Day:

ROADRACERS : Directed by Robert Rodriguez

Roadracers is a 1994 made-for-television film directed by Robert Rodriguez, his second feature film following the success of his 1992 debut, El Mariachi. The film originally aired on Showtime Network as part of their Rebel Highway series that took the titles of 1950s-era B-movies and applied them to original films starring up-and-coming actors of the 1990s (including the likes of Alicia Silverstone and Shannen Doherty) and directed by established directors such as William Friedkin, Joe Dante, and Ralph Bakshi. Rodriguez was the only young director to participate in the series. The series was produced by the son and daughter of Samuel Z. Arkoff, the co-founder and producer of American International Pictures (AIP), the distributor of the films this series takes its titles from.

Robert Rodriguez's take concerned a rebel named Dude (David Arquette) who dreams of leaving his dead end small town and becoming a rockabilly star but gets caught up in a nasty feud with the town's local sheriff (William Sadler) and his son (Jason Wiles). Salma Hayek plays the Dude's girlfriend.

This flick is pretty damn cool, if you ask me. David Arquette, who has starred in his share of cinematic steaming-turds, actually has something to do in this film. The period in time is represented well and the attitude of the film is something to stand back in awe of. Dude is cool and The Nixer is just plain fun.

I am a fan of the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" subplot, simply because it adds to the whole "Grindhouse" feel of this film. I can imagine kicking back in my Rootbeer-Brown 1965 Chevy Impala at a drive-in, making out with some hot chick, and drinking a Cherry Coke while this film plays in the background. I LOVE THIS FILM!

Salma Hayek... what can I say about her that has not already been said? She's smoking-hot, a great actress, and she has fun with her role. She is not a mere puppet in this film. She has some character development that I found interesting.

Now for the gags... I loved the pomade on the skating rink bit. I also liked the cigarette in the hair, the flying bottle of ketchup, and the wig scene. These helped add shlock-value and fun to this crazy film.

The music was great and fit in well. Jason Wiles was a great bad-guy. I got what he was trying to portray and it worked for me. Also, The Nixer's speech about the timeline of his life, as it relates to the lifespan of the universe was acted in a professional manner. Me likey.

I suggest you go see this film. Go see it now. Your only problem will be that this film ONLY EXISTS ON VHS at the moment!!! I have an import-version of the DVD, but I want a badass version with all of the bells and whistles (a Ten Minute Film School is a must). Anyways, you must see this film, even if you can only see it on VHS. I know you will be pleased.

More about Baoding Balls:

You can buy them here: http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

How They Work

Regular use of Baoding balls is believed to calm the mind and body and also prevent, alleviate and even cure some ailments. The mild effort required to use them can relax muscles and joints in the arm and shoulder and improve blood circulation. But the effect of Baoding balls goes a little deeper than that according to Chinese medicine.

Chinese medical theory maintains that there are specific paths that run throughout our bodies. These paths are known as meridians, and they are the conduits of the energy that flows through each person. The meridians connect all the systems of the body, so a seemingly unrelated action could affect something else in the body. Acupuncture and reflexology both take meridians into consideration. Chinese medicine is mainly concerned with unblocking the meridians and keeping the flow of energy strong. If your flow is strong then you are healthy—blocked or stagnant meridians cause health problems.

Because certain meridians end on your palms and fingers, and because these meridians are connected to vital areas of the body, including the heart and lungs, stimulating your hands can revitalize or unblock specific meridians in the body, increasing your well-being.

How to Use Them

To begin, choose a pair of balls you can handle easily. Place them in your hand and use your palm and fingers to rotate the balls in the direction that seems most natural. You can also tilt your palm at different angles in order to let gravity help you along. Once you are comfortable with rotating in one direction, experiment with the opposite direction. Your goal should be to eventually be able to rotate the balls comfortably in either direction.

There are different ways to use Baoding balls. You can rotate them smoothly so they don’t hit each other hard, or for challenge you can rotate them so they don’t touch at all. Remember to keep switching your hands so you maintain a healthy balance. As your hands strengthen, you can increase the size of the balls. If you practice for 10-15 minutes, you will notice that your forearm, shoulder, and hands are receiving a substantial workout.

Baoding Balls:

The Brown Panda Store has a wide selection of Baoding Balls for sale. I will make you a deal and my site has some super-prices just for you. Even J.T. would buy a pair. Come on by: http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

Rocky III and Baoding Balls

Plugging Away:

Please visit my store for all of your Baoding Ball needs: http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

Brown Panda Adventures:

One day I found myself in some village in a remote part of Mindanao and I met this young Arab chap who was holding an AK-47. He nodded at me and gave me a greeting in Arabic. Since speaking Arabic is a sign of brotherhood in Mindanao, I returned his salutation and gave him the slightest of nods. He gave me a toothy smile and motioned for me to come closer.
I unslung my backpack and placed it near a banana tree as I approached the young man. He handed me the AK-47 and said, "Shoot that can over there."
Being a veteran of Bosnia, I aimed the weapon and hit the target. The man smiled and said, "You should join my cause."
I shook my head and said, "I am on a quest to find myself. I have no time for war."
The man said, "But I fight for the side of righteousness."
"Righteousness is in the eyes of the beholder," was my reply.
He pointed at his Holy Book and said, "The rules are laid out in my book. I know what is right because God already told us what is correct and what is incorrect."
I did not argue with the young man. I opened my backpack and handed him a Hershey Bar which was smooshy from the hot and humid air. His eyes lit up and he consumed the sticky mess with a few quick slurps. He nodded towards me as a sign of respect. There would be no more theological discussions, for chocolate heals all heartache.
That is a lesson I learned while searching for the elusive Brown Panda. No matter how convicted somebody is, a small gift can help them see clearly. And chocolate can cure all ills in this world.




Movie Review of the Day:

Rocky III
What can I say that has not already been said? This film has to be my favorite of the series and for good reason: great action, great story, and most of all... great villain! Apollo Creed was not scary, he was not mean, and he was not a serious threat to our hero. He was tough and playful; not the most frightening mix.
Now Mr. T... he is badass! I love his character (even though he is merely playing himself) and I love how he can stand toe-to-toe with Rocky. Mr. T is my hero. If this movie were made today, I would have to hire Ving Rhames to play this part. Mr. T totally owned his role and carries this film.
Stallone is good as always. He is capable and he actually looks like a boxer in this film. He is shredded and looks like he is going to eat a small child. I have no inclination for homosexuality, but Stallone is just plain beautiful in this film.
The opening montage is clean, fun, and I love how the music carries the action. This film is very Hollywood with not much realism in terms of boxing, but that does not matter. This film sets a standard for Hollywood boxing that stands to this day. Nobody can do boxing flicks like Stallone.
The fight with Hulk Hogan is clean fun. It has little danger for our hero but it plays just like a professional wrestling match. Hulk Hogan is playing himself and he plays himself well. He is a scary dude and that goofy haircut does not distract from his character. His skin is the color of a burned hotdog and he stands a few feet taller than Stallone, so he looks REALLY scary to me.
The plot is standard Hollywood fare, but it remains fun and action-packed. I never get bored with this film and the training montages are some of the best ever. Stallone came close to this with Rocky Balboa, but I have to say that Rocky III is my favorite.
Baoding Balls:
If Rocky had used a set of Baoding Balls in his training, I am sure that he would have not lost to Mr. T the first time. Baoding Balls are an excellent fitness tool and should be owned by every serious athlete or armchair quarterback. You can get them here: http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

Karate Kid III and Baoding Balls

Shameless Plug:

Please come visit my store for the finest collection of Baoding Balls in the US. Low prices and super service! http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

The Brown Panda

During my spiritual journey, I found myself on a quest to find the Brown Panda. Some people call it a red panda, but I was always told it was called a brown panda. Anyways, I was on this quest throughout Asia in search of this animal and I had many adventures along the way. I will expound upon my many adventures in future blogs. Today I am going to talk about Pandas.

Let me introduce you to a little known animal. His name is the Brown Panda. The brown panda is dwarfed by the black-and-white giant that shares its name. These pandas typically grow to the size of a house cat, though their big, bushy tails add an additional 18 inches (46 centimeters). The pandas use their ringed tails as wraparound blankets in the chilly mountain heights.

The brown panda shares the giant panda's rainy, high-altitude forest habitat, but has a wider range. Brown pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar (Burma), as well as in central China.

These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft. When foraging, they are most active at night as well as in the gloaming hours of dusk and dawn. Brown pandas have a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many other foods as well—fruit, acorns, roots, and eggs. Like giant pandas, they have an extended wrist bone that functions almost like a thumb and greatly aids their grip.They are shy and solitary except when mating.

Females give birth in the spring and summer, typically to one to four young. Young brown pandas remain in their nests for about 90 days, during which time their mother cares for them. (Males take little or no interest in their offspring.) The brown panda has given scientists taxonomic fits. It has been classified as a relative of the giant panda, and also of the raccoon, with which it shares a ringed tail. Currently, brown pandas are considered members of their own unique family—the Ailuridae.

Brown pandas are endangered, victims of deforestation. Their natural space is shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed by logging and the spread of agriculture (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-panda.html).

So there you have it. The Brown Panda is a beautiful animal and his habitat is endangered. Please help to save the forests of Southeast Asia. Thank you.

Movie Review of the Day:

I tuned in to The Karate Kid III on HBO the other night and I rediscovered my fascination with "underdog sports flicks". The movie was much stupider than I remember and the acting was very wooden. Pat Morita did a good job, as always, but Ralph Macchio was whiny, stupid, and overly chubby. His love-interest, the cute but forgettable Robyn Lively, never develops into anything more than a "firm-handshake" friend. Then she just disappears before the end of the film. I suspect old Danial-Saan may be playing for the pink team, if you know what I mean.

The plot is retarded. Daniel is back in LA, his apartment building is being torn down, and now he lives with Mr. Miyagi. Now Daniel wants to defend his title at the All Valley, but Mr. Miyagi says that "fighting to protect honor or family, OK. Fighting to protect plastic trophy, not OK."

Then Daniel says that the new rules allow the current champion to only fight in the final round. Let me explain to you how stupid this idea is. As somebody who has competed in many martial arts tournaments, there is no way that any self-respecting tournament is going to let anybody only fight in a championship round. The other fighter would be tired from all of his qualifying matches and the champ would still be fresh. This is a totally unfair advantage, IMHO.

So this "bye" into the finals is an obvious plot loophole to avoid tagging another twenty minutes of montage and footage to the end of the film which would essentially be the same as the final 20 minutes of montage and footage in the first film of the series. The idea of a respected tournament giving a bye to the reigning champion seems without precedent and if this occurred in the real world almost certainly would be met with disdain and protest by tournament competitors.

Now for the controversial part. I like Thomas Ian Griffith and Martin Kove. They are very capable actors and Griffith seems to move like a trained martial-artist. What bothers me is that these two were shoehorned into this lame script. I bet that these two actors could have written a better film on the back of a cocktail napkin during a night of drinking after a Dodger's game. The whole scenario, where this rich-kid businessman is going to plot and scheme to get revenge on Danial-Saan and Mr. Miyagi by humiliating them at the tournament is just lame. And the whole "John Kreese is dead" subplot is was just stupid.

Now we get to the biggest leap of faith. Thomas Ian Griffith, who is YOUNGER than Ralph Macchio, is playing a Vietnam Veteran. WTF??? How in the hell is a guy who was born in 1962 going to play a Vietnam Vet? If we forget about the age thing, let's ask ourselves, why is a super-rich kid even going to join the military during the Vietnam War? Didn't he ever hear of daddy buying him a deferment?

What is the most annoying thing about this film? The character named Snake, played by the retarded Jonathan Avildsen in an astonishing act of nepotism (his daddy directed this film). He is not tough, he is not threatening, and he can't act his was out of a wet paper bag. His catchphrase, "You know it," is just plain lame.

Finally, Sean Kanan, who looks like a young Sasha Mitchell, is a nice villain but he is used in such a retarded manner. He never gets to do anything but utter threats and throw a few kicks. I know that Kanan is a better actor than what was captured in this turd of a film.

What I want to know is why Daniel, who fought Chozen for HIS LIFE in the previous film, now acts like a wimp and a crybaby when he's fighting for a freaking bonsai tree. This movie is fun to watch but you have to put on your "suspension of disbelief goggles" to truely enjoy it.

Fun, yes. Believable, nope. I would actually watch part 1 and part 2 and forget that the series continued. I pray that somebody goes Bryan Singer on this film and makes a third film worthy of the first two. Now we need somebody to play Danial-Saan and Mr. Miyagi.

Baoding Balls:

I'm still selling them, folks. Please visit my site and order a pair. Mr. Miyagi would order you to get a set to make your life longer and more prosperous. http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

Baoding Balls, Oh Joy!

First, please visit my store: http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda
Now that we have that out of the way, I can get to my story:
So my latest shipment came in from China and I was looking through the boxes and I found a really neat pair of Rainbow Chrome balls. I emailed my suppler and he told me that it was a special treat for me to try to sell. I listed them on Ebay and they sold in the first day. I was impressed.
I have ordered more of these Rainbow Chrome balls and I will continue to stock my other designs. My supplier has a huge list of balls that he offers so I will be adding more and more as time goes on. Keep checking back with me and I will tell you more.
Now more about me:
I was born in San Jose, California and I was uprooted at a very young age and taken to Malaysia by my family. I was raised in Malaysia and I returned to the US in my late teens. I have been here in the US for about as long as I was in Malaysia so I guess you can say that I am a mixture of Asian and American cultures. Oh Joy.
Movie Review of the Day:
The other day I was watching Hell in the Pacific with Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune and I was stunned at how excellent that film is. Never before have I seen genre filmmaking that was so effective. Lee Marvin is cool, but Toshiro Mifune is my personal hero. He is scary, friendly, and enchanting all at the same time. Lee Marvin is just a plain tough-guy that I would not want to fight, even in his 60's.
The way that the director uses pantomime and the lack of dialogue just adds to the isolation that the characters must feel. I was impressed with this film. I love every moment of it and I wish that there were more films like this that I could watch.
On a side note, I love Comcast's On Demand service. I can watch all kinds of films and rewind, fast forward, and pause them without having to go to the video store or wait for a disk in the mail. Kudos to Comcast!!!
The Brown Panda Store:
This blog is always going to be a shameless plug for my online store (http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda). Please come to my store and look at my merchandise. You can also find deals on Ebay, since I am always listing items just for fun. If you want a deal, check Ebay. If you just want to buy the product, go to my site. I am happy to have you as a customer. Come on over... the water's fine!

http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

The Brown Panda Store (Baoding Balls)

Welcome ladies and gents. My name is P. Romero and I am the founder of The Brown Panda Store (http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda). I have a little yarn to spin about the founding of the store and my subsequent interest in Baoding Balls.

During my early years I found myself on a spiritual quest in South East Asia. I searched the jungles of Borneo and the mountains of Vietnam and Cambodia for answers to life's questions. I lived in the Hmong villages of Laos and studied the religion of my host family.

One night, I dreamed of a brown panda and suddenly, I had to find one. I traveled to the Himalayas on my quest to locate a brown panda, yet my efforts were in vain. Then my guide told me that a nature preserve in Malaysia had a brown panda in its park. I flew to Mindanao and caught a ride on a boat that was headed to Sabah. From there, I wandered throughout the lands of the Iban and found the park where the brown panda lived.

I lived with the Iban for many months and I learned their culture. We hunted fish with spears and tracked tapirs to feed the village. One afternoon, one of the men in the village came to me and said that he had spotted the brown panda. He guided me to the location of the sighting and I climbed a durian tree to get a better look at the creature of my dreams.

I lost my footing and fell into a large durian that had fallen from the tree earlier. I broke both of my hands and was left helpless while my guide ran back to the village for help. I passed out from the pain.

I awoke in a shaman's hut with the pulp of a local plant smeared on my splinted hands. I spent weeks recovering and I found that my hands could no longer perform basic functions. I was devastated.

I told the shaman, who happened to be a Iban, that I was depressed. He showed me a small cloth-covered box and said in his native language, "I have the cure for your hands." He opened the box and I saw two shiny Baoding Balls.

Now you may ask, "What is a Baoding Ball?"

Baoding balls, also called Chinese exercise balls, Chinese meditation balls, and Chinese medicine balls, are thought to have been created in Baoding, China, during the Ming dynasty. Baoding balls are a tool for injury recovery or as an exercise tool to improve manual dexterity and strength. They consist of two or more balls which are rotated to orbit in the hand. The iron-ball system is the greatest of Baoding prefecture's "three treasures." Long throughout history, renowned within China and other countries, this is Baoding prefecture's traditional product. It was first produced in the Northern Song Dynasty, this item of Buddhist martial arts.

Claimed effects from using Baoding Balls include the obvious, like the calming effect of the soft bell sounds and increasing finger speed and control if you practice often enough. But it is the less obvious effects that make the Baoding balls really interesting.
Mostly, it is emphasized that repetitive use of the Baoding balls will help protect against all chronic diseases. The Jakun people believe that the body is composed out of energy channels through which a life force runs. The ten fingers are all linked to the heart, and therefore also connected to every organ and nerve in the entire body. This is pretty much the same as modern reflexology claims, and of course it is similar to the shiatsu meridians and acupressure/puncture.

Spinning the balls will energize the flow of life energy and apparently the blood flow as well. It will balance out all the acupressure points in your body. So when used, the muscles and bones will become stronger and the mind faster. They also promote sleep, loosen the joints, relieve fatigue, drown worries, strengthen the immune system, prolong life, etc. The memory will be beneficially influenced as well. At least, that is what the claims are. The Brown Panda Store aims to offer Baoding Balls, not just for rehabilitation, but for decoration and for individuals who wish to bring a small taste of Asia into their home. Roll a pair of Baoding Balls in your hand and see if you do not become addicted.

Now you may ask, "How do you use these darned things?"

Once you have a set of Baoding Balls, you will probably want to know how to use them. You can throw them and break a lamp in your living room, but where is the fun in that? I prefer to use my Baoding Balls as they were designed to be used. Watch the videos below to fully understand the addictive quality of the Baoding Ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyuIu7jEnsY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSVl2kkzJpw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKAgNWocsts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkKMpBKtVkg&feature=related

Now I know you want a pair of these Baoding Balls. You can buy them online for relatively cheap. Here is my store: http://www.freewebstore.org/brownpanda

I will make you a deal. Come on by.