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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Last Blog of 2008


Well, here it is. This is the final blog of 2008. Today, millions of people are eagerly awaiting the year 2009. On the other hand, millions across the globe are already experiencing the beginning of a new era. With the year 2009 approaching around the corner, we can all feel a sense of new change and new hope for all Americans. We have elected a president that we all have faith in to rebuild this country from what it has become in the last several months and years. The next year is really a year to start fresh and forget about the past and look towards the bright future. Tonight, clocks will be ticking, the bells will be ringing, and horns will sound off in celebration of the New Year, 2009. But instead of looking towards the future of things that have not yet occurred, let's go back and see what all went down this past year. Maybe 2008 wasn't all that bad as we think.

First of all, let's look at the bad things that have happened in our world:

  • Gas prices soared the highest in years
  • The stock market fell the lowest in years
  • House foreclosers were rapid
  • Job employment froze
  • Companies began closing down due to a Chapter 11
  • One of the biggest hurricanes hit Texas
  • Car bailout
  • Terrorism attacks
  • Russia and Georgia
  • Israel and Gaza
  • Bhutto's assassination
Now for the good things that have happened in our world:
  • First African American President of the USA
  • First female VP of the USA
  • 2008 Summer Olympics
  • OJ finally went to jail
Here are some good things that have happened in film & music:
  • Cloverfield hype
  • Dark Knight hype
  • No Country for Old Men (Best Picture)
  • Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor for There Will be Blood)
  • Twilight hype
  • Jonas Brothers
  • The return of Britney Spears
  • Taylor Swift
  • Tokyo Hotel
  • David Cook (American Idol winner)
  • Coldplay (Viva la Vida)
Now for the memoriam of past celebrities of 2008:
  • Heath Ledger
  • Paul Newman
  • Bernie Mac
  • Charlton Heston
  • David Groh
  • Eartha Kitt
  • Isaac Hayes
  • Mitch Mitchell
  • Stanley Kamel
  • Sydney Pollack
  • Suzanne Phlesette
  • Tim Russert
  • Roy Scheider
  • Eddie Arnold
  • George Carlin
  • Estelle Getty
Finally, the possessions that everyone wanted in 2008:
  • Blu-ray
  • Guitar Hero: World Tour
  • Rock Band 2
  • Call of Duty 4
There you have it. These are the things that I have tried to remember most of all during the year 2008. If anyone has any other memorable moments for one of these categories, feel free to tell me so that I may add them to the list. I hope everyone had a good year and I hope everyone will have a good year to come. I am signing out for the last time of 2008.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

It's a Tradition!


Every year during Christmas, my family and I have a set of Christmas traditions. Unlike most family traditions, I do enjoy having them. I guess they are traditions that I could pass down to my family and my families family. I've even created my own kind of traditions.

The Santa Hat- Every Christmas Eve, my family and relatives pass around a Santa hat to eachother. Whomever has the hat is the house that we go to for Christmas Eve. If my dad has the hat, Christmas Eve would be at our house. My uncles and cousins would come over to open presents and spend time with one another. Also, the one with the hat is the one in charge of passing the gifts to the person whom it belongs to. After the night is over, we would pass the hat to the next patron. The cycle never changes, neither does the order of who has the hat next. As always, there has to be some sort of catch. If the man of the house has to wear the hat, then the youngest child of the family has to wear the embarrassing reindeer antlers that not only look lame, but also light's up for more total embarrassment. Can you guess who the youngest in my family is?

Youngest to Oldest- When Christmas day arrives and my family and I are gathered around the tree to open presents, we go from youngest to oldest. To go in order, it would start out with me, then my brother, my mom, and finally my dad. Of course, we get gifts for my cat as well. However, in cat years, he's older than all of us, so he always goes last.

The Prayer- Before we ever open gifts, my family says a little prayer. We just simply thank God for another safe year and for watching over us.

Jingle All the Way- This particular tradition is something my brother and I made up on our own. For as long as we can remember, Jingle All the Way, has been our favorite Christmas movie ever. The movie is about a guy named Howard, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has to find a popular action figure known as, Turbo Man, for his son Jamie. However, Howard waited for the last minute to buy the gift, thinking that there would be plenty of them in stock. He goes from store to store in search of the toy only to be in competition between him and a mailman, played by Sinbad. So, every year, my brother and I sit down and watch the movie together.

New Years Eve- Like Christmas Eve, my family goes to one of our friends house for New Years Eve. There, we would play family games like Taboo or Pictionary. We would be with all our good friends and have a joyous time together. Over the years, it has gotten to be a little more difficult for us to fulfill this tradition. Recently my friend, Matt, moved away and a lot of the kids, like myself, have grown up. We have jobs that get in the way of activities and some of us have moved away for college. We try our best to keep the tradition alive.

The Alternate Side


I just finished watching the movie, "The Family Man", on ABC Family. It stars one of my favorite actors, Nicholas Cage, whom is a wealthy, but bitter business man. He is met up with a street thug, played by Don Cheadle, who shows Jack (Nicholas Cage) what his life would be like if he never took the job and settled down with his college girlfriend, Kate. As Jack struggles to figure out why he is living in his alternate life, he is also discovering the love he had for his girlfriend, Kate-whom in his alternate life is now married to-never went away. In his new life, Jack works for his father-in-law, as a tire salesman. Eventually, Jack gets the opportunity to re-establish his position at the job he once had, but later turns it down because he finally realizes what's more important. Jack then wakes up in his original wealthy life. He goes to visit Kate, whom is now a successful law firm agent, but soon discovers that she is moving to Paris. Jack is determined to get her into his life forever. Now for those who haven't seen it, I can't spoil the ending for you. You'll just have to watch the movie for yourself.

The reason that I brought that up was because I've always wondered what it would be like if my life was different. If I was brought to an alternate life of myself, how would it be? Would I have the same friends? Would I have gotten the love of my life? Would I be the person that I am today? I don't know. I do know that every thing does happen for a reason. Whatever thing we do, good or bad, we are destined to do what is right. But the movie showed that a person can really miss out on something good because of money and total success. Just take the life of any celebrity and imagine if they weren't rich and famous. Imagine that they were just as human as you and me. I've always had a dream of becoming something big. I've always fantasized about a life where I am either a big time musician or a famous celebrity in Hollywood. I know those are such surrealist fantasies, but I wonder how my life would be different if that happened. I can also turn this around. What if I never existed? If you've ever seen the Fresh Prince episode where Carlton does not exist, it shows how his families' lives would be different without him. If I didn't exist, how would others lives be different? It's like the old saying goes, "It takes one life to impact another's". Even though we think we have not changed someones life, we have. It's like watching a commercial. Even though we think we don't want the product, it is in the back of our minds always sitting there. So if the opportunity comes knocking at your door that can possibly change your life forever, listen to your heart not your head. If you just do something without thinking of the possible consequences, you could be missing out on the greatest opportunity of your life. Then you'll always be asking yourself, "What if?"

Remembering the 90s


As a '89 baby, I don't really remember the first few years of the 90s, but I do remember the years in which I grew up in. Call me nostalgic, but I wish I could relive my childhood once again, maybe just for a day or so. I thought I'd create a list of all the things that I remember growing up in the 90s. If I remember more, I'll add them, but here's my list:

-Playing Tag around the playground at school
-Playing Red Rover until the school bell rang
-Watching Stick Stickly on Summer Nicktoons
-Watching Ren & Stimpy
-Rugrats
-Playdoe
-Silly Puddy
-Hot Wheels
-Playing Super Nintendo until your thumbs got blisters
-Super Mario World
-Donkey Kong
-Pokemon
-Goosebumps
-Yu Gi Oh
-President Clinton
-N* Sync (Bye Bye Bye)
-Hanson (MmmBop)
-Britney Spears (Hit Me Baby One more Time)
-Christina Aguilera (Genie in a Bottle)
-Blink-182 (All the Small Things)
-Green Day (Brain Stew)
-Backstreet Boys
-Lion King
-Spongebob Squarepants
-Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards hosted by Rosie O'Donell
-The Batman series (excluding the 89 version)
-Punk Rock
-Pop Music
-Rap
-Family Matters
-Fresh Prince of Bel Air
-Home Improvement
-Barney & Friends
-Sesame Street
-Blues Clues
-Recess ( the cartoon show)
-Aaron Carter
-Shaq
-Michael Jordan
-Pagers
-Car Phones (aka Cell Phones)
-Windows 98
-The introduction to CDs and DVDs
-Cassette Tapes
-VHS
-The Oregon Trail (game)
-Cooties
-Walkmans
-Playstation
-Nintendo 64
-Gameboy Color
-Mortal Kombat
-Street Fighter
-Comic Books
-Garfield Comics
-Zelda
-Seinfeld
-Simpsons
-Nirvana
-Long Hair
-Mismatched Clothes
-Spiky Hair
-Bleached Hair
-The Internet
-Body Piercings
-Heavy Makeup
-Free Willy
-Bunk Beds
-Going to Chuck E. Cheese's
-Discovery Zone
-Dreaming of going to Disneyland
-The belief in Santa, Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy
-Laying your tooth under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy
-Waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve
-Hunting for Easter Eggs
-Playing Truth or Dare
-Playing Monopoly was actually fun
-Hearing a bad word was the worst thing ever
-Watching Star Wars over and over again
-Jurassic Park
-Dinosaur toys
-Train Sets
-Roller Blading
-Skate Boarding
-Box Cars
-Little Rascals
-First Crush
-Kids Meals at McDonald's
-The Beach Boys
-Full House
-May Kate and Ashley Olson
-Scooby-Doo
-Americas Funniest Home Videos hosted by Bob Saget
-SNick (Saturday Nickelodeon)
-TGIF (Friday night line-up on ABC)
-FOX Family (Now ABC Family)
-Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
-When Nick at Night used to show classic TV shows like the Munsters and I Love Lucy
-The Brady Bunch
-Kirk Cameron
-Kevin and Winnie (The Wonder Years)
-TRL
-The Real World
-MTV
-Spice Girls
-Vanilla Ice
-Weird Al Yankovic
-Madonna
-Back to the Future III
-Bop It
-Gumby
-Animaniacs
-Boombox
-Home Alone I & II
-Terminator 2: Judgment Day
-Dumb & Dumber
-Mambo #5
-Jim Carrey movies
-Tony Hawk
-Where's Waldo?
-Kenan & Kel
-The Introduction to the NOW: That's What I Call Music series

Monday, December 8, 2008

Life as I Know it


For the longest time, I've been wanting to make a full length movie on my own. I've always been involved with film in some way or another. I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to make any old movie that anyone can do. I'm the kind of person who thinks out of the box and into the question, "what if?". I always think about, what if things were this way or what if this or that was different. All these questions were rambling in my head. It was then that my friend Matt asked me, "what if [I] didn't exist? What if everything was all in my imagination?" That got me to think a lot. I did plenty of research to find such an existence of that idea. There is an idea, called Solipsism, which means that there is no evidence to show that everything outside of the mind is real. Basically, we see what our mind wants us to see, but we have no control over life. It's kinda like a dream. In our dreams, we see, we hear, and we can sometimes feel, but even though it is in our mind we have no control over a dream whatsoever. There are people who actually think like this and it truly is a scary thought. Usually, solipsism can occur if something horrendous had just happened, like a nuclear war. That's when my idea of a movie came to mind. I looked into the events that are currently happening right now and the events that could occur in the near future and I put it all together. I also used my life to depict two of the main characters in the film.

Basically, the movie takes place in the year 2013, a year after the legendary "Doomsday" of 2012. After a nuclear holocaust, a boy by the name of Riley, is somehow still alive and is the only person left on earth. To not lose his sanity, he quickly re-creates the earth as it once was only by using his memory of the past. Every little thing looks the same as it once was, but nothing can ever change due to the fact that he only knows what he knew from the past. Riley continues on with his life, pretty much repressing his thoughts of the war, and seems like everything is okay. He has the same friends, is in the same grade, and has the same love interest, Abbey. For as long as Riley can remember, he has been in love with Abbey, who just happens to be one of his best friends. However, Abbey has a boyfriend and only sees Riley as a friend. Being persistent, Riley is determined to tell Abbey how he truly feels about her. However, weird things begin to happen in Riley's life. Riley has been having reoccurring dreams where it's always sunny, but then lights shoot up into the sky eventually falling back down and destroying everything. Also, Things begin to disappear before his very eyes. At first, little things like a spoon disappears while he is making breakfast and then during school his eraser disappears, which causes him to accuse another classmate of stealing his eraser. The longer he is without physically being around real objects and people, his mind begins to forget about them. Because everything vanishes, everything no longer exists. With that in mind, Riley fears that he may lose the memory of Abbey forever. This makes him more persistent to see Abbey and talk to her as much as he can in order to keep her as a memory. Riley then arranges to meet with Abbey at a local restaurant to explain to her everything that has been happening. After they are done eating, they exit the restaurant and Abbey's boyfriend calls her, which makes Riley somewhat depressed. After she's done talking to her boyfriend, Riley tells Abbey that he loves her. Unfortunately, Abbey responds by saying, "I love you too. I'm glad we're best friends". The thing is is that Riley soon forgets that everything is fake and believes that his whole life is real. Soon, important things like time begin to vanish, which can only mean that the most important things in life are soon to be gone forever, including Abbey. Riley rushes to her house to see her and make sure that she will not disappear. While at Abbey's house, Riley turns on the TV only to witness a newscast that was broacasted ten years ago. Newspapers around her house have similar stories that have already occurred in the past. Later, Abbey goes to bed while Riley stays up thinking about his life. Knowing that everything will eventually disappear, Riley goes into Abbey's room to talk to her while she is asleep. Abbey wakes up, but pretends to be sleeping while Riley is confessing his love to her. Riley then falls asleep on her floor next to her bed. The next morning, Riley wakes up and notices that Abbey is gone from her bed. He begins to panic and calls out to Abbey. Abbey then responds from the kitchen, making Riley feel relieved. She runs up to Riley to tell him that she love him so much. This makes Riley very confused. Abbey admits that she was awake when Riley was talking to her. Riley begins to freak out, because he fears what he said to her will now change their friendship. Also, Abbey will continue to date her boyfriend which also makes Riley upset. Being upset and slightly embarrassed, Riley runs out of her house. As he is running, images of the nuclear war flash into his head, which can only mean that reality is catching up to him. He eventually reaches a park where everything is peaceful and full of life. He lays down under a tree thinking that the time is near. Abbey soon lays next to him under the tree. They both finally hold each others hands and Riley asks Abbey to make a promise that she will still be there when he wakes up. Abbey accepts the promise and finally tells Riley that she truly loves him. Riley eventually falls asleep, but when he wakes up Abbey is gone. His entire memory is gone, which causes Riley to panic because he has no idea where he's at or who he is. He wakes up in a dirt field in the exact same place the park used to be. As he is screaming for help, he realizes that there is something in his pocket. He pulls is out and looks at it trying to figure out who it is. It turns out to be a picture of Abbey, but Riley has no memory of her. He turns the picture over and reads the letter that Abbey wrote a year ago to him. Riley begins to make himself remember who Abbey was, but can't. He finally remembers every memory of Abbey. The final scene of the movie shows a hand grabbing a hold of Riley's hand from behind. The next thing we hear is a voice saying, "Hey, Riley". We never see the face, but we assume that it's Abbey. During the entire final scene, "Love Remains the Same", by Gavin Rossdale, is played. The song plays a major part for the movie. The lyrics goes like this; "Make me want to run til I find you/ I shut the world away from here/ drift to you, you're all I hear/ Everything we know fades to black/ half the time the world is ending/truth is that I am done pretending/ I never thought that I had anymore to give/ pushing me so far/ here I am without you/ drink to all that we have lost/ mistakes that we have made/ everything will change/ but love remains the same."

"Sorry Jesus That Your Birthday Sucks"



We have all heard about this man that goes by several names; St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, the big guy in the red suit, or just Santa Clause. There are those who believe in him and then there are those who are skeptics. Even though Santa does not exist in the way we perceive him as, he did at once exist as a real human being. There are many stories that are told to tell the life and origin of Santa. Many stories include the idea that a man by the name St. Nicholas gave gifts to the poor. He was never perceived as a fat jolly man in a red suit with leather boots and belt until the 19th century. Other countries see Santa differently than we do. Some countries see Santa as he really was and some see him in a similar way that we see him today, but slightly different. There are Christians who believe that Santa actually distracts people from understanding the true meaning of Christmas. Christians believe that Jesus, the Messiah, was born in a manger from the virgin Mary in the town of Bethlehem. Instead of having faith in Jesus, we as a society put our faith in Santa. We bring our children to the malls to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. If they don't get that gift that they asked for, then it's all Santa's fault. Christmas has become all about asking and wanting. It's really like a battle between Santa and Jesus. There are songs that sing about Jesus like; Joy to the World, Away in the Manger, and Hark! The Herold Angels Sing. Then there are songs about Santa like; Here Comes Santa Clause, Little St. Nick, and Santa Clause is Coming to Town. In the song, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Santa knows if anyone has been good or bad, is asleep or awake, which means that Santa is watching each and every one of us each day of the year. It kinda portrays the existence of God. Like Santa, God is also omnipresent, which means he is everywhere all the time watching us. Some people for Christmas put up lights, while others set up their Nativities. Whenever we watch TV, the character will state that Christmas is not about receiving gifts, it's about being with the ones you love. Both of those statements are false. Like I said before, it's about one man named Jesus. Of course, no one really knows the exact day of Jesus' birth, but since it is dedicated on December 25, then it ought to be celebrated. It's almost like the "Sixteen Candles" factor. You wake up and it's your birthday, but no one remembers because of they have other things to worry about. There's a line in the TV show, "The Office" where Michael, played by Steve Carrel, is stressed out by everyone's bad attitude during Christmas and Michael says, "Sorry Jesus that your birthday sucks". It's funny, because it's true. We are so wrapped up in getting the perfect gift that Christmas literally becomes chaotic. I guess we can blame the Three Wisemen for that. Jesus doesn't care if we buy gifts or not. He doesn't expect us to. Santa does expect us to give gifts or ask for gifts. So when we do celebrate Christmas, keep in mind that it's not about Santa. It's all about Jesus. Jesus always wins.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Story of One Man


It seems that Christmas is here once again. It's everyones favorite holiday and it certainly is one of mine. I mean, what's not there to love about Christmas? We get to eat candy canes, put lights on the house, decorate the trees, sing Christmas carols, receive/buy gifts, kiss under the mistletoe, drink hot chocolate, sit on Santa's lap, and watch the Christmas Story every year. It sounds pretty awesome. However, none of those things have to do with the true meaning of Christmas. Unfortunately, not too many people know the true meaning of Christmas. So, I'm going to give you the low-down on Christmas 101.

It happened on a crystal clear night in a little town, called Bethlehem. It was there that a little baby by the name of Jesus was born. His mother, Mary, and his father, Joseph, went to a manger to conceive baby Jesus. But let's rewind a little bit. It all started when King Herod ordered his men to kill any baby within the ranges and age 2 and younger. Herod was so angry that a baby that was claimed to be the Messiah was going to be born. Mary and Joseph were on the run and had to hide to escape Herod's men. They first attempted to stay at an inn, but unfortunately it was full. The only option left was to stay in a manger, or a cave to be more specific. From then, the angel Gabriel appeared to some shepherds in a field. He told them that a baby was born from a virgin and that he goes by the name, Immanuel. The angel told them to follow the bright star in the sky which would lead them to Jesus. They found him and began to worship him. About two years later, the wisemen came and brought Mere, Gold, and Frankincense. There were also more than three wisemen. The three comes from the three kinds of gifts they brought. From that point on, Jesus grew up, but his childhood was never explained in the Bible. Bits of it was, but his life story began as an adult. Soon, Jesus was charged of fictitious crimes against him and was ordered to be crucified on the cross. You see, not only do we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus, but also the sacrifice that He made to save all humanity. That's why some people get frustrated when others spell Christmas as "X-mas". You can't spell Christmas without Christ.

So next time when Christmas comes around, you might think differently. I mean, it's cool to give and buy gifts and wait for Santa and such, but it's just important to know why all of that exists today.