I guess it is fitting that this should be my post #1,500.?? I have put this (and more on Mako) on my blog too.

I've put together a short (@3 minute) video tribute.?? This is not a music video,??just a collection of a few of my favorite Iroh scenes.?? I wish I could have added more, but I was near the breaking point.?? Sorry if it makes anybody cry.?? Maybe that's what we all need right now anyway.

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

Rest in Peace Mako... geez poor Dante Basco his partner in sarcasm has now passed.

You will be missed~

???.Un-freakin-believable. Here I am, out all day commemorating the anniversary of my father???s death and I come home to this? Oh my God, U4ric, I know just what you mean. I remember when the show was just starting out, I was looking at one of Mako???s recent pictures and was like, ???Holy crap, they actually picked this guy? He looks like he???s ready to keel over any second! You think they would???ve caught on to this kind of stuff by now.??? Now at the time it seemedd like it was just a little bad-taste joke, and I???m not the most superstitious person, despite the environment I grew up in??? but I still regret every single word. I even hoped that they pre-recorded some things in case the worst would happen. I too see how selfish, if not outright callous, I was being.

I don???t know what it is, but ever since my father???s passing, it???s been death after death. I???ve lost 15 members of my family both in the U.S. and in my home country in just one year. Most of their deaths were only weeks apart from each other. Still not crazy enough? Just 3 months after seeing my grandfather (my only grandparent left) for the first time while visiting my home country for my father???s burial, (and as the eldest son, or Opare, I had to do some pretty F-ed up stuff in order to put his body to rest, but I???d do em 10 times over again for my dad) he passed away, on Thanksgiving (same day as Pat Morita). To makes matters worse, the same thing that got my father is happening now to me. We really don???t know what???s going on. My entire family comes from a very superstitious, religious culture. The adult and elders are thoroughly convinced that a curse has been placed on us, while the younger, more modern generation is a bit more skeptical and believes it to be??? pure coincidence. ...I???m beginning to believe. This is really starting to scare me, and forgive if it sounds arrogant, but that???s not a simple task. I???m really scared. It???s like it can happen at any moment and there???s really not all that much you can do about it.

I apologize. I really didn???t need to say all this crap; this is supposed to be about Mako Iwamatsu.?? I guess I just felt compelled to. I don???t know. Feels like I don???t know anything anymore. You always think you???ve got all the answers right up until you realize you???re just another speck. ???It???s been a long day, no a long year. To all those who knew Mako or admired his work, I wish you the best during these troubled times. It can be hard losing someone you looked up to and loved all or for what seems like all your life. I now know how it can truly feel. Also, remember to take care of your own families or those you love. It may seem like they???re always gonna be around, but everyone has their time, some sooner than others. The best we can do is do the best we can. ???So says the new ???man of the house.??? ???Never get tired of hearing that one.