HELLA

I'm disappointed in Calfiornians

2009-05-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

Last year, the fourth of November, to be exact, over seven million Californian's voted yes on Proposition 8. Fifty-two percent of our state that voted in the general election, voted Yes on banning same-sex marriage. Most people voted yes because of a few reasons; some voted yes because of confusing ad campaigns, others were people who weren't very informed, and most of all, people relied on their religions instead of identifying with another human being, who is being deprived of the same right as others; "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are among the inalienable rights of man, I guess Jefferson wasn't thinking about gays and lesbians when he wrote this, just everyone else.

Today, the California Supreme Court has left the state's reputation hang in the balance. They earlier decided that Prop 8 "isn't a big deal"- this is absolute bullshit. I sincerely hope if you voted Yes on Prop 8, that you regret your decision; in this time, you should feel fucking ridiculously stupid.

I thought California was the leader of things like this? Instead, we sit back and ban same-sex marriage, while the rest of the Union smartens up and allows it. So far, three states have legalized same-sex marriages: Massachusetts, Connecticut, and fucking Iowa- IOWA! How the fuck did Iowa legalize it before California, are you serious? Joining them in September, 2009 will be Vermont and Maine. We love to be the "good guys" here in California, and yet, this ridiculous prop was allowed to pass, and hasn't been overturned.

If Prop 8 had anything to do with race or religion, you bet your ass it would've been rejected in a heartbeat, not only by the courts, but by the people. If Prop 8 read:

"YES will add exactly 14 words to the California State Constitution:
"Only marriage between a white man and a white woman is valid or recognized in California."

you best believe, that people would uprise furiously. People wouldn't stand for a prop that would eliminate rights based on race. Let's try the same thing, but exchange "white" with "Christian" or "Catholic", and again, there would be an uprising. Why do people believe that issues banning certain races and religions are so against their constitutional rights, but it isn't the same for same-sex couples' rights? Isn't this the same fight that African American's were fighting forty years ago? The best part is, looking at the statistics on who voted yes/no on Prop 8. I get a crack out of it every time, because these are the same people who would throw a shit fit if they had their rights stepped on.

People love to differentiate marriage between straight couples and same-sex couples as "right and wrong" because that is what their religions tell them. Guess what, your religion doesn't mean shit. One of my favorite lines in the United States Constitution reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." Do you know what this means? It means, that your religion has no say in who gets married. Your religion means jack shit. This country was founded to escape persecution, and it seems that no matter what happens, there is always someone having their rights pissed on.

Hopefully the people, and the courts of California, will finally open their eyes, and see what they're doing is an injustice, and just flat out wrong.

Fuck Prop 8.

An Awesome Time... On a THURSDAY?!

2009-02-27T22:05:00.001-08:00

Last night, if you were not at Rooster's Roadhouse & La Pinata 3, you missed out. Great show at Rooster's. Thievery Circuit, Locked Up AD, Hoods and Give Em Hell all put on a killer fucking show. This is how shows are supposed to be: super fun with minimal to no drama. All bands did a great set, and I had a great time.

Now, this is where the fun begins. We exit Rooster's and hang around outside for a few. Then the bunch of us get in our cars and head to get food at La Pinata 3 on Park in Alameda. We get a table for all of us and wait outside, it takes time to get a table ready for like 18 guys. As we wait, I get hit with a guy on a bike. The bassist from Give Em Hell pushed some dude on a bike and he fell over into me. I was more like, "wtf" about the situation. The guy apologized and then started to BOOK on his bike, for no apparent reason. I looked away, then looked back to see three guys dressed in black running as fast as their legs would carry them down the street after them. We didn't know what was happening. A few minutes later, the three gentlemen came back, they worked at La Pin, the guy and his friend had dine&ditched.

Next, we get seated, and we go inside. The train of us walk in, all yelling and being rowdy as all hell. We get seated, and the first thing that happens, is an eruption of us into the meow mix jingle, twice, at the top of our lungs. Now we're all just being silly and loud, singing random songs like "Take Me Home Tonight" and "BROhemian Rhapsody". Then, Bobby starts to snort a line of salt. The manager thought it was funny and offered to get him a double shot of tequila if he snorted some salsa. So... he did. It was hilarious and he got his shot. The same guy, then asks Bobby if he'll drink a bottle of habanero sauce for TWO doubles. He thinks about it, then passes. There was a big sigh of disappointment, and then a second of silence. I didn't want the party to die... so, this is where things pick up, for me at least. I stand up and tell him to give me the bottle. I uncap it and down the whole thing, and swallow and show off my empty mouth. Everyone cheers and I get my tequila, and happily down it- it was more or less a wine glass FULL of tequila. Needless to say, my stomach, and mouth, are in pain. It was well worth it.

Amidst us being rowdy, two broads in the bar thought we were a riot, and gave us a proposition. If we were to sing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" followed by a high kick dance line, they'd buy us all a round of shots, so we gladly accepted. We sang the song, then stood on chairs and did the high kicking. Following that, there was an array of funny shenanigans. People running around outside, showing the restaurant their balls and asses, and finally someone broke an entire tree.

It was good times.

The President's Weekly Address

2009-01-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

For the first time in eight years, I can say that I am proud of who our President is. President Obama is going to be making weekly addresses to update America on what he is doing in office, and overall what is going on in our country. I think it is awesome that, finally, a President is using the technology we have to communicate with our country, and the world.

Check it out here:

President Obama's First Weekly Address

People Eating Tasty Animals

2009-01-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

I am sick and fucking tired of having information about being vegetarian and vegan shoved down my fucking throat. I'm sick and fucking tired of people trying to change people, only on the basis that their views are "right way to live". I have a shit load of friends that are both vegetarian and vegan, and they have the common sense, and courtesy, to not shove it in my face and try and stop me from doing what it is that I do, and RESPECT my choices in life. You do not see huge campaigns from pro-meat groups, shoving huge steaks and "kill chickens" ads. I'm honestly considering starting a huge ad campaign about how eating meat is fucking amazing, though it most definitely is.

You may be wondering what has triggered this, and it is because PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has a new campaign on the rise. They wish to change the name of the sea creatures known as "fish" to something more cute and cuddly, "sea kittens". The new campaign is called, Save the Sea Kittens, and is supposed to deter people from eating fish, because it sounds too similar to a fuzzy little four legged friend that we wouldn't want to eat. Their thought is that if you were to go eat some fish sticks, people wouldn't want to anymore, if they were called "sea kitten sticks". You know what I say to that? FUCK THAT.

Fish is a word that dates back hundreds of years to fisc, an O.E. word which the word fish is derived; Old English dates as far back as the fifth-century. So we, all English speaking people, are supposed to rename a word that has been around, pretty much forever, to appease a small portion of the population? I think not.

What would you have in other countries, that speak other languages? Gatito de mar? Chaton de mer? Kätchen von der See? Gattino di mare? Sjøkattunge? C'mon, give me a fucking break. There is no way in hell ANYONE is ever going to go for that. Next, it'll be renaming birds into Air Rats or some shit, because nobody would order squab or cornish game hen if it was related to a rodent, right?

One of the best examples of how ridiculous, and absolutely idiotic PETA's request is found on the section of their site about sea kittens, and it says, "Ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Stop Promoting the Hunting of Sea Kittens." I hope I'm not the only one who finds it funny, that PETA is asking people to ask the U.S. FISH and Wildlife Service to do this, especially because they're trying to get the word fish changed to sea kittens. The new name will then be the U.S. Sea Kitten and Wildlife Service, hah.

It is also a bit amusing that PETA is so contradictory of itself, in more than one case. I remember years ago, when a letter came out from the president of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, about the genocide of breed of dogs known as pit bulls, more or less.

I'm gonna go make a steak.

You can read another article about "sea kittens" from an Australian newspaper here.

Also, I recommend you check out the following links as well:

No Kill Now

PETA Kills Animals

From the Bay, to LA...

2009-01-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a quick LA trip with James and Chris, and met up with Jordan while we were down there. Aside from the weather being wack, it was a fun ass trip. Lots of laughs, and good times, zero drama. Quickest three day recap ever:

- Chris loves to sleep more than anyone

- James and I jammin the entire drive

- Winding up at Denny's @ 5am

- First 30 minutes of sleep since new years in a parking lot in Anaheim

- Getting Disneyland tickets from some sketch ass dude, but everything worked out

- Changing & brushing teeth in the Disneyland Friends parking garage with families walking by

- Riding hella rides

- Expensive ass fuckin' dinner

- Almost getting in a fight in CA Adventure

- Driving around aimlessly

- Ay yo mop heddid ass ni

- No, we are NOT in a gang, Alfredo

- James paid $4.50 to take a shit

- Driving around for dumbass long

- Some people took a picture of me on Hollywood/Highland, I don't know why...

- Where are the Van Gogh paintings? and no, we are NOT A GOD DAMN GANG!

- Driving hellllla far to a beach hella far away

- Chris is the biggest sleepy head ever

- Good times all around

Sick and tired, of being sick and tired

2008-12-18T17:07:00.001-08:00

You may ask, "what are you sick and tired of, Mace?" My answer would be something along the lines of:

Stupid fucks consistently trying to undermine the American people, and the Democratic Party. Ever since November 4th, 2008, there has been an unstoppable force, that is the people who didn't vote for Obama, who want you to believe that it was the wrong decision for America.

First, and foremost, I'd like people to take note that BARACK OBAMA is the PRESIDENT-ELECT. That means that he was elected, not only by means of the electoral college, but also in the popular vote by the PEOPLE OF AMERICA. A landslide victory in electoral votes 365 to 173, I mean, the election was over before all states had turned in their votes. Also, about 53% of Americans, roughly ten million people more, voted for Obama than they did for McCain. Also, the American voter had the chance to have a different Presidential candidate, but chose Obama to be their party's candidate for Presidency. Following this, the Presidential Election, they could've voted for an array of people, including writing names in, but again, voted for Obama.

Now, people consistently want to persecute Obama supporters, for being "ignorant", "stupid" and "naive". Apparently, none of us, not a single American, knows enough about Barack Obama to make an informed decision, according to the masses that are upset that he is our new President-elect.

As you've seen and/or read, I'm sure, blogs and bulletins, and television shows taking stabs at Obama supporters for being "over the top". A while back, there was a South Park episode about the election, and it just depicted Obama voters as over the top and ridiculous; more or less showed them as believers that this man was the messiah and was going to come in and everything was going to change, though it did poke fun at both party's followers. Not all of us are like this. I liked Obama since day one, however, I never went out and told people to vote for Obama; I never went out talking about how much "change" there was going to be; I wasn't some tool running around spitting babble out to everyone. I encouraged everyone, to make their very own, informed decision, even though I had extreme problems with where McCain and Palin stood on most of their political issues.

I especially hear this bullshit escape the lips of young people who spit rhetoric they've heard their parents babble about. Some of my favorites include: "Obama is an Arab", "Obama is a Muslim", "Obama is black", "Obama is a- or is in cahoots with a- terrorist". Obama, is not an Arab, is not a Muslim, and isn't a terrorist; anyone who wants answers can simply search the internet for the debate where Obama laid it out on the table and stuffed McCain's geriatric ass on live television.

Now, the reason I've brought this up, is because, today I saw the most ridiculous thing, EVER. I saw a girl, with a shirt that had a picture of Obama and Hitler on the front and it read, "Hitler gave great speeches too..." On the back of the shirt was a quote that read: "What Luck For Rulers That Men Do Not Think. - Adolf Hitler" Really? Seriously? Comparing the new President of the Unites States of America, to the leader of a totalitarian regime. I don't think I need to say another word about why or how that is absolutely preposterous.

Following this, there was a link to a website called How Obama Got Elected, which you can visit here at the link I provided. Here, they have an entire website dedicated to the "fact" that Obama only got elected because the American people were misinformed, and that there was "media malpractice". More or less, they talk about how the media didn't inform voters enough on Obama/Biden, but voters knew all about the cons of McCain/Palin. Now, I don't know if I'm stretching too far on this but, isn't that the point? Pros and cons of both parties = who you decide to vote for, right? The more I learned about Obama, the more I liked him, and vice-versa on my feelings for McCain.

I definitely wasn't voting for McCain due to his stance on several issues, but as soon as the Republican Party chose to pair him with Sarah Palin in hopes of salvaging women's votes from Clinton, he put the last nail in his coffin. This is the way a lot of Americans felt as well. I am not sorry that I didn't want to vote for a 72-year-old man, who is paired up with a woman who said she didn't know how things worked in Washington, and governed a state with less population than say any major city in the US. I don't want an old man to croak and leave the power in her hands, if anything, Hitler's quote applies HERE.

I would love to see these questions answered by the average McCain supporter. Last time I checked, they thought Obama was a Muslim-Arab-Terrorist who shouldn't be our President. I would love to see them answer the questions they asked the Obama supporters in that video. That video, which they noted as "hardly scientific proof", is also a huge load of shit too. Twelve of the "most informed voters they could find". I'd like to know what state & county they filmed that in.

I'm going to stop here, because honestly, this topic is out dated and shouldn't even be discussed anymore. Sour ass McCain supporters need to get the fuck over it, because Obama is going to be our President next year, time to move on.

/topic

Favorite Records of 2008:

2008-11-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to make a quick, comprehensive, list of the albums that got me through 2008.

In no particular order, sorta.

Son Of Ran - Tribute To Sky City

THRICE - Alchemy Index, I, II, III, & IV

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony

Gabriel & Dresden - Toolroom Knights, Vol. 2

UnderOATH - Lost in the Sound of Separation

Steve Aoki - Pillowface & His Airplane Chronicles

Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River and A Wolf at the Table

MGMT/The Management - Oracular Spectacular

The Wombats - A Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

Jason Mraz - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things

Chromeo - Fancy Footwork

Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future

Radiohead - In Rainbows

The Cure - 4:13 Dream

Kerli Koiv - Love Is Dead

T.I. - Paper Trail

Hollywood Undead - Swan Songs

NO ON 8

2008-11-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

First and foremost I'd like to say that if you live in California, you should be voting "NO" on Proposition 8. If you are intending to vote "YES", I beg you to reconsider what you're doing. If you are unfamiliar with Prop 8, I am more than happy to explain what Prop 8 is.

Straight from the California Voters Guide:

"8 ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Changes California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Fiscal Impact: Over next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments. In the long run, likely little fiscal impact on state and local governments."

The first problem I have with Prop 8, is that it excludes individuals, and groups of people, from rights that should be shared by everyone. The second problem I have with this, is that its apparent the gov't is worried about the fiscal impact, rather than the fact they are excluding people from being married, and not providing equal rights for all.

Some other issues I have with Prop 8, are the bullshit, propaganda filled commercials they have come out with it. Trying to inform people that their children are in danger, and that same-sex marriage will be taught to them in school, as if it will taint their minds or perceptions of life.

Here is one of them: Proposition 8 Commerical - Supporting Prop 8

Which was counter advertised by a bunch of people, including the State Board President of the California Board of Education and United States Senator of California Dianne Feinstein. Aside from that, I have several close friends who are K-12 teachers and it has never been mandatory to teach marriage, let along same sex marriage.

Then there are the people, along with fence sitters, who say, "Why can't gays/lesbians just have civil unions, its pretty much the same thing as marriage, without the title." Or, "I'm not against same-sex couples, or against gays, just against gay marriage, marriage is for a man and woman." Thing is, it is pretty much the same, just a title, and a few benefits. Are you SO scared that they get a title? What is your issue with people being happy, and enjoying the same rights as anyone else?

Also, marriage seems to be more of a religious sacrament than anything. I'm not religious, so forgive me for not quoting exact scripture, but I hear people all of the time quoting the Bible, and how it talks about "man should not lay with another man", and that "marriage is supposed to between one man and one woman", and "it is a religious and legal binding." Let me remind you, we came to this land to escape religious persecution in the first place. That was the whole idea of the "separation of church and state." In the Declaration of Independence, one of the most famous quotes from there, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." These are three of the "inalienable" rights of man listed. Also, the one three letter word not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, nor in the United States Constitution, is GOD. This shouldn't be about people's religious views, it should be about what is right, and what is good, and what is equal for all.

So the other night, I was going out with a couple friends, and we came to a major intersection, here where I live. In this intersection, there were gangs of people holding up YES on 8 signs, and cars were driving by honking in approval. I was, honestly, astonished that so many people are in support of banning gay marriage, especially being from one of the gay capitals in the world. The Bay Area is a melting pot for all cultures, races and religions. One thing I observed, was that 99% of the people gathered in this intersection, were not Caucasian. The reason I point this out, is because I'm sure that if Prop 8 were something to do an injustice to any particular race, they'd be quick to change their votes to NO. It hasn't even been 50 years since the end of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, when Blacks weren't allowed to marry outside their race, and didn't have the same rights as everyone else. With that in mind, why would you want to have an inequality between another group of minorities? I'm sure a lot of people would throw fits if Prop 8 read, "8 ELIMINATES NON-WHITE MARRIAGE." If it were about race, it would be a completely different story, right? Well, it shouldn't be. It is the same. You are excluding parties from enjoying the same rights and privileges as anyone else.

In other countries around the world, Germany for example, marriage is a legal binding, and has nothing to do with religion at all. You must go before a judge, in a court, and get married legally before it is even recognized by the government. After that, then you can go and have your ceremony at a church, or in a garden or at the beach. There shouldn't be a difference between a civil union and a marriage. People, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be allowed to enjoy the same privileges that everyone else gets. I'm really about equality for all peoples, and I'm hoping the people of California won't allow this heinous proposition to pass. Please, Vote No on 8.

The Zodiac Killer

2008-08-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Since I was about fourteen or so, I was into reading about unsolved mysteries, and serial killers. Part of it was just the mystery itself, that some things, no matter how hard people look, will never be found. With serial killers, I was interested and captivated by how people could do the things they did. I would read about their lives, what happened to them, what they did and why they did it. With those two elements combined, who better to read about than The Zodiac Killer? Nothing could be better than an unsolved mystery about a serial killer, from the Bay Area, where I'm from, of all places. I got interested in the Zodiac Killer when I was about fifteen. I picked up and read the book Zodiac by Robert Graysmith. I've been hooked ever since.

I've pretty much read all there is to read on the Zodiac Killer; I've read all of the books, the articles, and the papers. I got so fascinated with all of it that I started to spend a lot of time reading about it, learning as much about the case as I possibly could, not because I was intending on somehow solving the case, but because it was just that interesting to me. It never got boring to me, and I always loved learning more about it. One of the most amazing things, is that throughout the entirety of the case, throughout DNA testing and handwriting analysis, there are a few ciphers that the Zodiac left in 1969 that still haven't been broken.

I've seen the movies, starting with The Zodiac Killer (1971) which was a movie that was filmed around the time of the last murders and sightings of Zodiac, and released during the height of the investigations. Then Zodiac came out in 2005, which personally I thought was a shit movie. The script, and the information contained in the movie was just, sub par to say the least. I sort of lost interest for a bit after nothing new was coming to, and I had learned just about all I could about the Zodiac. Then an all new movie about the Zodiac Killer was released. Zodiac hit theaters in spring of 2007, directed by David Fincher. For me it was the most accurate depiction of all that I have read and researched about the Zodiac. Watching a film about all of the case files and factual information got my mind stirring about things that I have never really thought about when reading them. I got interested in it all over again. Started visiting an old favorite website and trolling through the forums on case files and speculations and discussions about the Zodiac. (Visit: Zodiac Killer)

Jump forward to today. Friday, August 29th, 2008. The Zodiac Killer's identity revealed? I'm skeptical on this whole thing. Especially with all of the hype on hoaxes these days. First, there was the Montauk Monster, which is obviously just a skinned animal, but people are trying to say its a rare undiscovered beast. Even scientists have said from images alone, it looks like a skinned raccoon. Apparently the body went missing before anyone could study it. Then, there was the Bigfoot finding in Georgia, where two hunters claimed to have stuffed a sasquatch into a cooler. Apparently it was coming to the Bay Area for scientific study. I haven't followed the story because I heard about it, rolled my eyes and moved on. You can read about Bigfoot HERE.

Now, it is the Zodiac Killer's identity being revealed. In an article released by CBS13, a man claims that his father is the Zodiac Killer. He says that he has an audio recording of his step-father admitting to being the Zodiac. Along with that, he has a mask with the Zodiac stitched on it, which, to my knowledge was never reported in any case findings. The thing Zodiac wore was more like a shirt, or tunic, with the symbol on the chest. He has a knife too, that is apparently stained with blood; pictured the knife only has blood halfway down the blade, but someone as big a man as him, stabbing with full force to kill people, I'm sure blood would be buried to the hilt. Most of all, the man pictured, looks similar to the Zodiac, but so do a lot of guys. Hell, I bet if I got a different pair of glasses and got a crew cut, I could be the fucking Zodiac! (Insert shifty-eyes here.) Only time will tell if the hand writing samples and DNA analysis matches that of the Zodiac.

Articles to Read:

CBS13 Article: Zodiac Identity Revealed?

Zodiac Wiki

Zodiac Killer Forums

Beijing 2008: Olympic Gold, or Epic Fail?

2008-08-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's estimated that China has spent over $40 billion on the summer games. When I heard this dollar amount, I just about shit bricks. I understand that as a Communist country, the heads of state decide what they want to do with their money and their say is final, but it just seems pretty outlandish to me that any country would spend this amount of money when it would've been better spent on other things. Perhaps on the starving and homeless? Repairing parts of the country that are torn apart? The money would've been better spent on the people, but the Chinese government doesn't think so, and I think they're fucked in the head after hearing everything that has been surfacing.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games came to a closing last night. With another epic, but ridiculous, ceremony. The closing ceremonies, much like the opening, lasted a few hours, and seemed to just drag on and on... and on. Although it was an awesome sight, it just seemed like China is trying too damn hard. One of my favorite quotes in headlines has been: "The Counterfeit Games: Designed to Look Good From Every Angle," a headline in the Times of London.

Where should I start with the list of scandals? I guess we could go semi-chronological. Lets start pre-opening ceremonies. Beijing, a region of China known for being the second largest city in China, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and Summer Palace. It is also known for other things: like its pollution. Only covering 6,500 square miles, it has a population of nearly sixteen-million! An area that is only 1000 square miles larger than Connecticut, with five times more people. They have three million cars on the road and a couple hundred factories, in the city limits. Overpopulated, and over-polluted, the Chinese government thought that they could "clean the air" within months, or even weeks before opening ceremonies. This city already has a problem seeing the sun 1/3 of the year, let alone being able to clean up all of the trash and pollution caused in daily life to prepare for the Olympics. I don't see how they thought it was going to be possible to clean up in time. Come open ceremony night, it seemed like it was clear enough to see everything that was going on, but come day one of the Olympics, this is the same image that I saw on the news that Beijing morning:

Beautiful, isn't it? On live television, honestly, you could barely see the Olympic Stadium, and the Water Cube wasn't even visible. So much for "cleaning".

Quick side note: The Chinese were severely offended when a group of American Olympians exited the airplane and walked through the airport wearing face masks. Why be offended? People of China wear these masks on a regular basis, you see it even here in America, there shouldn't be any offense taken.

Now, on with opening ceremony controversies. First, and foremost, the countries national anthem, "Ode to the Motherland" was lip synched. Yeah, China "forgot" to mention that they weren't going to have the little 7-year-old girl sing the anthem due to her small, crooked, adult teeth growing in. Apparently, they were too concerned with what people were going to think, they used her voice and had a 9-year-old, cuter, girl lip-synch the song. Personally, I don't think that the little girl's looks should've mattered one iota, and apparently I'm not alone as China was ridiculed for the move around the world.

A great related article:

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=ap-china-lip-synchedsong&prov=ap&type=lgns

Next on the list, well that depends. Yes, DEPENDS. Not only were the performers forced to train sixteen hours a day, suffer from heat stroke and injuries sustained during rainy and wet rehearsals, but were also forced to wear adult diapers so training could go on. Apparently, this isn't the only time this happened. During opening ceremonies people were hidden inside boxes for hours on end, waiting for their cues to come out of them to perform. They to, were forced to wear diapers, because, well, there wasn't going to be time for a bathroom break; enter "You should've gone to the bathroom before we left" quote here.

Lastly for the opening ceremony, was that part of it wasn't really happening. According to the Beijing Times, a fifty-five second portion of the fireworks display was CG. That's right, China & Beijing spent an year on creating a computer graphics 3D fireworks display. I'm sure it cost them a pretty penny, considering it came complete with fake smog and a "camera twitch" to simulate that it was being filmed from a helicopter. Their defense for this was that Beijing's already smoggy skies would make it hard to watch a fireworks display. Funny that they would say this, because while there was fifty-five seconds of fake fireworks, they lit off nearly 30,000 fireworks. I hope it wasn't too hard to see those ones.

Lets move on to gymnastics. A lot of my Olympic Games viewing time was invested in gymnastics. I think its amazing what these people can do, the sheer strength and poise, and athletic abilities of these people is absolutely mind boggling. Naturally, I'm going to be rooting for the home team, USA. Being from the USA, automatically makes me biased, but I will always give praise to other countries for outstanding routines. Now, my problems in this area, are all with the judges. I'm not sure what the fuck they were doing, but it was absolutely balderdash, seriously. The commentators were constantly mentioning that there was a huge flaw in the scoring. Not only were the judges not giving much deserved scores, but they were taking forever to score. I have never in my life seen it take so long to judge a routine and put up a score. At times it would take minutes.

It started when watching Men's Team All-around. America was in the first standing, followed by a close China (nearly one point) and Japan in the third slot about six points back. Next rotation, China takes the lead by a point from the US, but we still have the lead on the Japanese by nearly five points. This rotation was Men's high-bar. If you saw it, you'd know, the American routines were absolutely stunning. Nearly flawless, high difficulty and stuck landings. After scores go up, what's this, Japan took the lead from the Americans? Japan was down five points, took silver from USA and left them in their wake. I know that the American's did mess up on the rings, and a little on the pommel horse, but not nearly as much as the Japanese on the parallel bars and the high bar. Several mess-ups, and horrible dismounts from the Japanese somehow warranted them a second place silver medal. Team USA struggled and barely took the bronze medal over Germany. How, I do not know. I was pretty upset to say the least.

This, again, occurred with the Women's Team All-around as well. I was watching the way they scored and I was furious. It isn't because I want America to win, and come out on top, but because it seemed absolutely unfair in every way. I would watch routine after routine, and count balance checks, watch dismounts and landings - yes, I even counted whether it was a one-tenth or three-tenths deduction on the steps of the landings. I would watch countless girls from China, have similar routines to USA and Romania, but would mess up just as much as Russia and Japan, and still have higher scores. It would always be .25 more than the last girl too, no matter how good her routine was.

Another thing, were these Chinese women- girl- gymnasts REALLY sixteen? According to Olympic rules, the girl can be fifteen, but must be turning sixteen within the Olympic year. These girls look FAR from sixteen, fifteen even. I was sixteen once, and I don't remember any girls looking like this. They look like they're fucking twelve. Look at their physiques, and compare them to the other girls competing from around the world of the same age. Hell, look at the girls that competed in other sports who are, supposedly, of the same age. Diving, for instance, has some Chinese girls that easily look three to four years older than those girls, and are supposed to be the same age. Apparently, there has been some internet "data" that says these girls are in fact fourteen, and not fifteen turning sixteen like they say. Someone has previously saved pages from a website about the team stating that they were born a different year than now stated, and that the website has been taken down recently. Other things that have surfaced, are papers saying that the girls were born in 1992, when in previous competitions, the same girls had paperwork stating that they were actually born in 1993 and 1994. It has been happening for years that gymnasts have been falsifying their ages to compete. I guess we'll see what comes of all of this. China stands to lose several medals, including a bunch of gold.

Speaking of medals, that is probably the #1 thing I'm most appalled by here in the 2008 Games. There has been a lot of talk that the first place Olympic medals, traditionally made of nearly, or fully pure gold, aren't. In fact, the medals are made of lead, a highly toxic metal.

"The medals, which were supposed to be made entirely of gold, were instead found to be composed of 99% lead alloy and coated with a gold-colored lead-based paint."

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/chinas-gold-medals-found_b_118664.htmlt)

Seriously, WHAT THE FUCK. You can spend $40 billion on the games, but can't give well deserved athletes real gold medals? It hasn't seemed to have posed a problem in the past, what happened, did the world run out of gold? And of all metals, lead? For real? The company who is responsible for making the medals is trying to figure out how that much lead got into the medals.

"We are trying to determine how exactly so much lead got into those gold medals,"
...
"Until we do, we are urging all first-place athletes not to lick, taste, or suck on their medals."

O RLY?! Well what are you going to tell poor Michael Phelps? I have seen AT LEAST one image of Phelps biting into and kissing his gold medal. Did you tell the worlds greatest olympian that he should be careful with his poisonous medals? I hope his collection of 8 doesn't kill him before the 2012 games.

I think overall the spirit of the games remained. Watching the athletes during the opening and closing ceremonies, and throughout the two weeks of the games is proof that people can be good to each other. The games are about uniting in peace, and sportsmanship. There were so many records broken; world record times in swimming, track, marathons, in medal counts and so much more. I think the games were successful in this, and giving the people of China pride in their country. As for the games overall, I think there was too much going on to take away from the games themselves. There was too much in the media, too much bad publicity for China and the Olympic Games to be completely successful.

Alive

2008-08-09T06:59:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am still alive.

Alive [uh-lahyv]

-adjective

1. having life; living; existing; not dead or lifeless.

For the time being.

I haven't posted in a while.

I haven't been very motivated to do so.

I am kicking myself in the ass to post more, hang tight.

I've been doing a lot of drawing, painting, design and photography lately.

I'm thinking about kick-starting the clothing company I've been talking about.

I'm doing some contracted work for a marketing/branding/design firm in the city, via telecommuting. I hope that it can & will lead into a full time position in the future.

Stay Tuned.

My Odyssey.

2008-07-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is long overdue.

Odyssey [od-uh-see]

-noun

(often lowercase) a long series of wanderings or adventures, esp. when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc.

As I've previously mentioned, I have the inability to sleep as of late. With everything that has been going on, it has been getting harder and harder. I've been working out a lot, and going on runs & walks, usually with no destination in particular. Last weekend, one of said walks turned into a fucking trek.

My original plan was just to take a few mile walk, and return home within an hour or so. I got my iPod on, strapped my shoes on my feet, and headed out. I got to the point where I was going to make a right down a street and head back towards the house, when I instead made a left. Thus began the journey.

With a mind full of unanswered questions, and just thinking to myself with the sounds of Vanna blasting in my ears, I ended up walking further than expected. I found myself in San Leandro, downtown. This is where I just decided to keep going and go as far as my feet would take me. Trying to clear my head, just doesn't work. The state of mind I'm in, it just isn't that easy. I kept on walking.

Walking down the broken streets, cold air on my face, my mind in disarray, I kept moving forward. I glanced around once in a while to survey my surroundings, but mostly kept my eyes to the cracked sidewalks. Walking through Oakland around Midnight, all by my lonesome, it was just strange. I get in a little tag here or there, slap a sticker on a random sign or box, might as well while I'm out, right? I can honestly say, I have taken a liking to walking.

Approximately six hours later from the start of my walk, I find myself on Telegraph in Berkeley. Yes, I just walked about 18 miles. It was about three in the morning, I was all alone, and my phone was dying. At least I had the tunes to keep me company. I ended up just sitting on campus for a bit, deciding what to do. I called a friend who lives nearby and asked if I could crash, but he offered a ride home, and I accepted. I sat patiently, listening to music, and thinking more and more, trying to make something of everything that has been happening lately. I'm just so lost, and I don't know what to do anymore.

I look back now, and realize, I walked a fucking distance. For no apparent reason, with no real motivation, I just did it on a whim. On top that, I didn't catch shit from anyone. Not a single person fucking bothered me, just let me be, and that was probably the best part of it. I don't know if I'd do this again, but most likely would just for the fuck of it.

A look at the map...

10-38 In Progress, In Pursuit.

2008-07-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Last night I was with Jordan, Erick and Brandon. We were in the 4Runner and just driving around after we went to see some people race. We were on the freeway, right around Washington Ave when we saw this AC Sheriff hella tailing this car. I look in my rearview and see a car coming up pretty quick, and look back at the other cars in front of us. The car turns blinker on, and moves to the number two lane, and the cop is right on his ass, and changes lanes hella quick. Again, car puts on blinker and changes lane, and the cop does the same, by now the other cop has joined the party and they both turn their lights on. Car doesn't pull over. Wow. By the time we hit Davis, there are at least five squad cars, a mix of SLPD, ACS, and CHP on this guys ass. Fast forward to Fruitvale, we have about ten cop cars, OPD has now joined, and they're following this guy. At this point, you may be questioning how we're seeing all of this. Let me tell you, this was no high speed pursuit, we were going FIFTY MILES PER HOUR!!! Slowest. Chase. Ever. So we're coming up on Oak/Broadway, by now this car has fifteen cars following it, still going as slow as it ever was. It exits Broadway, and drives itself to the Oakland Police Department. LITERALLY. They pulled into the garage area of OPD, and like fifteen to twenty squad cars, at two cops per car, went rushing in after them. It was fucking ridiculous. We circled the block towards Brandon's apartment building which is like the next block over, and it looked like a cop convention, they were all just chillin'. I guess the people in that car knew they were fucked, so skipped the middle man and took themselves to jail. That was, seriously, some straight up tomfoolery.

Foreign Cinema.

2008-07-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have always been a huge fan of movies. I am the kind of guy who will research about a movie if I hear or see something that interests me, and will follow up on it time and time again until release; and for select movies that really have me sucked in, I'll gladly stay awake all night to catch the 12:01AM premier of a flick.

From a young age, I've found myself watching and loving foreign films. A lot of people, especially a boy of twelve, wouldn't want to be bothered with watching a movie in another language, and subtitled, but I always found them to be amazing. I remember watching old samurai films and spaghetti-westerns when I was a kid. I think that reading the subtitles was part of what drew me in.

Foreign films are so amazing, I wish more people would take the time to sit down and watch them. Unfortunately, in our country, there are too many people who aren't as tolerant, and as I mentioned before, wouldn't want to be bothered with subtitles... but that's what bad dubs are for, right? Another tragedy is the fact that American cinema is so fucking lame these days, they just steal from other countries and remake movies that are a few years old into a film featuring white people speaking english- I'm guessing that is supposed to make it easier for Americans to watch, I don't know. Foreign films show us, here in America, what else is out there in the world. They transport us through space and time to places where we never have been, never could've been, and quite possibly might never be. I also love foreign cinema because I get to see films without so many familiar faces, it makes it that much better to see new faces. Some of my favorite things about "Foreign Language Films", as the Academy likes to call them, are: seeing how people live, and the culture of other countries; being able to hear different languages is pleasing all in itself; hearing stories I wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise.

So without further ado, here are some of my personal most favorite foreign films.

My Sassy Girl (2001)

South Korea

I was just introduced to this film this year, but it easily made it on this list. The story is based on a true love story that started as love letters, later adapted into a novel and then into a movie. A young man literally runs into a drunk girl on train, and through a series of events has his entire life changed. The film is really funny, and moving- I cried-, and it is an overall joy.

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Italy

This is a romantic comedy- a bit whimsical to be honest, with bits of slapstick comedy. It's a story of an Italian Jew who marries a woman, who he has stolen from another man, and they have a child. Their son, along with them, is taken to a concentration camp where his father uses his intellect and imagination to preserve the boys innocence by pretending that the camp is actually a game where whoever hides from the guards and stays alive longest wins.

My Tutor Friend (2003)

South Korea

Another movie I was just introduced to this year, and I absolutely fell in love with. My Tutor Friend is a cute story about a boy and a girl who come from two different worlds. An ill-tempered rich boy who continually fails high school, is being tutored by a struggling college girl who needs the money. Through battles of trying to tutor the boy, fending off his girlfriend, and his continuous fighting with gangs, they end up together in the end of the movie. Super good movie; it was funny, sweet, and well acted.

The Eye (2002)

Hong Kong

This is easily one of the scariest films I've seen. Seriously, this movie with the lights turned off can be pretty fucking spooky. It's a tale of a girl who has been blind all of her life, undergoes a corneal transplant and ends up being able to see horrible gruesome deaths. It's a really great horror flick, with some awesome photography and editing.

Offside (2006)

Iran

This film is really a great one. It makes you realize how different things are in the Western world compared to how it is in the middle-East. A group of Iranian women want to go to see their country's soccer team make it into the World Cup Finals. The problem is, it's a mens only event, women aren't allowed. They try to tackle this obstacle by dressing themselves up as men and entering the stadium, but get caught and detained by soldiers. It's just a really get, thought provoking and insightful film, and it's fun too.

Billy Elliot (2000)

I really, REALLY, enjoyed this movie. It's a story of an eleven year old Northern English boy whose father and brother are on strike from work, and are trying their hardest to make money to survive, all the while Billy is taking boxing lessons and stumbles upon a dance class, which sparks his interest and he desires to become a ballet dancer, and he has the raw talent to boot. It has to with gender issues and sexuality, and acceptance. It keeps a nice balance of a comical tale and the hard-edged reality of it all.

The Green Butchers (2003)

Denmark

A black comedy about a couple of butchers whose shop is going to shit. Business picks up once they start killing people and using them for the meat, which just so happens to get business poppin' again. This is truly a funny ass film, just bring a strong stomach.

The Kite Runner (2007)

USA

Although this isn't a true foreign film, it was given recognition as one by the Golden Globe Committee. This is an absolutely amazing film. It's about a boy and his best friend, who is also his servant, and the relationship they have. One is a great kite fighter, and the other has an outstanding talent for running down kites. After witnessing his best friend get raped, having done nothing to stand up for his friend, he turns his back on his friend. As the Russians invade Afghanistan, the boy and his father retreat to America, Fremont, CA to be more exact. He goes to college and marries, and with an opportunity to finally make things right, and escape his cowardliness, he goes back to Afghanistan to rescue his best friends son. It is a beautiful film to watch; all of the elements are absolutely amazing, acting, directing, the photography. Bring your tissues.

Suicide Circle aka Suicide Club (2002)

Japan

A disturbing, twisted tale of a band who has an influence on young girls in Japan. I believe this movie won an award for a most ground breaking film or something or other. It really is just a great film with a lot of detective work mixed in with blood and guts. It's pretty gorey, but I really love the photography and direction of the film.

Gozu (2003)

Japan

This movie, is fucking nuts. I admit, I first saw it while on a heavy dose of hallucinogens, but it was still insane when I saw it sober. This is a great movie, another with great direction and photography. I love the way this movie was shot, it's like having a psychotic dream. Nothing makes sense, but it does at the same time. It seriously is like having a dream while attaining full consciousness. Intertwined by hilarious, ridiculous, bizarre scenes is a Yakuza story of a brother in search of his lost brother, who happens to be dead. I, with all sincerity, recommend this movie to you. Watch it!

Oldboy (2003)

South Korea

Easily the most fucked up movie I have ever seen. I've seen it once, and to be honest, I don't know if I could go another round. Although I've watched it only once, it had to make my foreign film list; absolutely no foreign film list is complete without Oldboy, I don't care what anyone says. In short: it's a story of a guy who is held captive for nearly twenty years, and then goes on a vengeance rampage. Not good with blood and guts? Then this movie isn't for you.

Battle Royale (2000)

Japan

This is another awesome, but bloody, movie. It takes place when a bunch of Japanese students are taken on a field trip where they will fight until their death. A twisted teacher takes them to a deserted island where they are fitted with exploding collars and given sacks with maps, water, and assorted weapons such as knives, guns, grenades and pot lids. A thought provoking film that questions morality, as well as mortality. It's definitely a "survival of the fittest" movie. Action packed, great direction, and not a boring bloodbath.

Seven Samurai (1954)

Japan

It has been a long, long time since I've seen this film. I just remember growing up watching it a lot, I really love this film. It's about seven ronin, masterless samurai, who are hired to help protect a village from bandits. I absolutely love the quality of the film. I'm usually not a fan of black and white films, but this film is just, phenomenal. Great directing and cinematography, and it is a great classic. If you've never seen it, you're doing yourself an injustice.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

This is an English film written and directed by Guy Ritchie who is absolutely amazing. He's probably one of my favorite directors. His style is just great, and I love watching his films. This is a heist flick about a card player who loses a huge some of money on a rigged game, and gets his friends involved and tries to rob a next door gang's house. It's just another great, and hilarious film.

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)

Mexico

This is a great film. It is about two boys that go on a road trip with an older woman. It's a coming of age film, that explores their friendships as they really get to know one another, they both learn things about their attitudes and relationships. It is set with a backdrop of social, economical and political realities of modern Mexico. This is really a great movie, and is really thought provoking, mentally and emotionally. I also love the photography in this film, the way the entire film is shot is just great and it is a really good story. Check it.

Solaris (1972)

USSR

A film from the former Soviet Russia, a space odyssey about a space station that is over the planet Solaris has a strange phenomena. A cosmonaut travels to the station to investigate, when weird shit starts to happen. The planet manifests whatever the host most desires, or doesn't desire. It's a great "futuristic" film, with nice editing and decent acting. A good movie nonetheless.

Spirited Away (2001)

Japan

This is a story of a girl whose family stops to check out a strange tunnel which leads them across a river and to an old amusement park of sorts. After checking things out for a while, famished mother and father find a food stand where they pig out, literally. Chihiro, the girl, is then trapped in this mystical and magical realm and gets a job in a bathhouse. The story develops as she tries everything she can to find out how to get her parents back from the clutches of the owner of the resort, at the same time making a ton of eccentric friends. The movie is an animated film, and is done beautifully. The animation and the story telling combined make it a great movie, and it probably is one of my favorite movies of all time, not just foreign films. It's just a really great story.

Violent Cop (1989)

Japan

Just what it sounds like. "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, easily a favorite actor/writer/director of mine, plays a cop whose partner is killed and sister is kidnapped by Yakuza gangsters. He responds with, well, violence. He breaks every ethical code, as a person and a cop, and goes on a violent rampage using excessive force and violence in any an all situations. It's just a really bad ass action movie. The film in this movie is also just an awesome sight.

Amelie (2001)

France

Where do I start? Amazing photography and editing, acting, and score. This film is one of my favorite foreign films. It's about a shy Parisian waitress who tries to help out all of the people around her, all the while struggling with her own happiness and isolation. I just absolutely love this movie, it is sweet, and funny, and just a great movie to watch alone or with someone. If you haven't already, you need to watch it.

Infernal Affairs (2002)

Hong Kong

This is the first of Hong Kong films I was introduced to. I first saw this in 2002 at a friend's place. It's a great story of two men who are behind enemy lines, so to speak. An undercover cop becomes a drug lord's right hand man, while a gangster becomes a high ranking officer in the police department. It's just a great movie overall. So good, in fact, that it was remade into an American film called The Departed which won an Academy Award for best film, the only film that was a remake of a foreign film to win that award, ever. Personally, I enjoy the HK version more; more often than not, a film is fine the way it is and shouldn't be remade.

Snatch (2000)

This is another great film by Guy Ritchie. I just love his shooting and editing style. This movie is about two different stories intertwined: one, a diamond, and the other, a boxing promotor who is in bad with a psychotic gangster. With a ridiculous cast of bumbling idiot wannabe gangsters, a Russian arms dealer, a gambling-addicted thief, and a bunch of other colorful characters, it makes a really great, funny, flick.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly (1966)

Italy

A great classic. If you haven't seen this movie, then shit, I don't know what to say. This movie truly is a classic. Not only for a spaghetti-western, but as far as films go all together. Great acting, cinematography and direction, accompanied by a fantastic score, it's hard to beat. This is easily in the top five of my all time favorite foreign films. Using classic cinemascope, typical western shooting style, a tale of two gunmen after buried treasure surfaces. Two men who hate each other personally but admire one another professionally, both have half a secret to a Confederate treasure. Through battles and shoot outs and tricks, the men try to get filthy rich.

Five Fortee Seven Ay Emm

2008-07-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

Insomnia [in-som-nee-uh]

-noun

inability to obtain sufficient sleep, esp. when chronic; difficulty in

falling or staying asleep; sleeplessness.

I haven't been sleeping at all lately. My mind keeps racing, no matter what I do. I've done everything short of seeing a specialist and having them prescribe me medication. To be honest, it is absolutely ridiculous. I just want to sleep, but my mind won't let me. I lie down in bed and close my eyes, close the blinds and pull the covers over my head, it doesn't make a difference. Dark or not, quiet or not, I can't sleep. Thoughts being processed a million parts per minute, and there is not a thing I can do.

I have been writing a lot lately. Writing my thoughts, writing short stories, writing poetry. I've also been using a lot of my time to touch up on my drawing skills, and painting, and doing some digital design work.

More than anything I've been dedicating myself to getting my website ready for launch. It's mainly for an online portfolio, and to showcase my work and all of that, but it still is really exciting. I've also been learning a lot about foil transferring. I'm really hoping I can learn how to do it myeslf rather than have some other company do it for me. Oh well, we'll see what comes of this.

I have a letter to be writing, but I don't know where to start.

Goodnight, sleep tight.

Sleep warm, sleep tight, when you turn off the light,

Sleep warm, sleep well, my love.

Rest your head on your pillow, what a lucky pillow,

Close to you, so close to you all night.

Sleep warm, sleep well, let dreams within you dwell,

Sweet dreams of me, my love.

Close your eyes now and kiss me, and whisper you miss me,

Sleep tight, sleep well, sleep warm.

- Frank Sinatra

Beijing 2008: Summer Olympic Games

2008-07-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

Beijing, China; the home of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games has been under much criticism and I'm going to have to join in with those critics. I understand that Beijing won the bid for the 2008 Olympics, but I think it was a poor decision of the Olympic Committee to even allow them to have the bid, having knowledge beforehand that Beijing is one of the worlds dirtiest most polluted cities in the world.

I was reading an article recently that talked about how the air was polluted so much with sulphur dioxide and other pollutants that the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Arena and the "Water Cube" were submersed in a yellow haze that covers the city. The World Health Organization says they have two or three times the amount of smog allowed. Also that they were cleaning up the water ways for sailing, I think they said something like "a toxic green film of algae".

Apparently, the air - that apparently is so toxic they're concerned it will impair the athlete's health, not to mention anyone who goes to watch the games- isn't the only problem. The other problem is the condition of their water, and that they're saying they're going to have to bring their own water with them to Beijing when they go, as well as their own food-stuffs. Isn't the point of hosting an Olympic game for first and foremost, national pride, but also to get your city on the map and get your economy going? So much for that when people coming are scared to breathe your air, drink your water, and eat your food.

This just in: they're going to try to stop a lot of people from going to work in Beijing. Why? A few reasons, I suppose. They say they want to cut down the amount of pollution caused by factories in operation, as well as cutting down the amount of people coming into the city. If there aren't as many people coming into Beijing to work, it will make it so it isn't as crowded for the people who are attending the Olympic Games. GREAT. Kill your economy, even more, and at the same time, take the money out of pockets of, I don't know how many workers, that need to work to get money to survive.

They should've done some long hard thinking about allowing Beijing to host the Olympics. I remember them saying something about it originally being the "Green Olympics" and using a city that is as horribly polluted as Beijing, they would be able to clean up and show they're trying to change. It is apparent, however, that their attempts to clean-up are dire, and that it only takes a look out the window to see that the air isn't getting any cleaner. Trying to control all of that pollution in such a short time is too big of a job for anyone. Especially when all of the factories are coal burning and there are 3.3 million cars on the road. I was reading also, that they had hit their 245 "blue-sky" days, and beat it by ONE. That means out of 365 days last year, they had 246 where they could see a "blue-sky". All I can say to that is: WOW.

Maybe in the future they should stay away from highly populated areas, with bad transportation, and horrible pollution... and I don't just mean Beijing either.

Good luck, Beijing.

You're going to need it.

Friend.

2008-07-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

friend [frend]

-noun

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or

personal regard.

2. a person who give assistance.

3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is

not hostile.

4. a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

Friends help each other. They are there for one another, always.

Friends are generous, and good to one another. Friends spend time

together, and talk to each other. They save one another. They visit

each other, and tell stories together. Friends are trustworthy, and

they're honest. They respect you, and they are loyal. Friends step

up, and help when people decide to turn away. Friends cheer on

your accomplishments, and swallow their own jealousy. Friends

are happy for one another. Friends don't abandon one another.

Friends, are friends always.

Above anything else...

FRIENDS LOVE EACH OTHER.

Ante-Meridiem.

2008-07-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

Awake as hell in the wee hours of the morn', here I sit once again, unable to sleep. My mind keeps racing, thoughts flying by, millions a minute. I just want to sleep.

Since it is the A.M., I thought I'd do a little history research on Ante-Meridian.

Ante apparently in Latin means before and Post (in P.M.) means after, easy enough.

The thing I was always stumped on, was if it was Meridian or Meridiem. Now, on globes and maps, it says meridian; in the English dictionary there is no "meridiem", most likely because it is Latin, but it says that meridian is "a great circle of the earth passing through the poles and any given point on the earths surface."

In Latin, "diem" means day. I'm not exactly sure what "meri" means. I'm guessing it would mean "middle". meri-diem = middle-day? I think that makes pretty logical sense, as ante would be "before" mid-day and post would be, well, post mid-day. I'm pretty sure Meridian came from Meridiem, no idea why they didn't keep it in true latin.

"Being before noon. "Ante-Meridiem" is commonly abbreviated a.m., A.M., or AM, and is used in time designations in the 12-hour clock system to indicate the morning hours. Noon itself is neither a.m. nor p.m., but the minute between 12:00 and 12:01 is p.m., so 12:00 noon is often denoted as p.m. on digital clocks."

That fucking boggles my mind. That means for those 59 seconds, it is neither A.M. nor P.M. It is just Noon. There is nothing about midnight, and whether it is called Midnight, or if it is just a P.M or an A.M.

Straight Up Illuminati Shit.

2008-07-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Starbucks.

Star [stahr]

any heavenly body in the universe

Buck [buk]

an amount of money

star = universe

bucks = money

MONEY RUNS THE FUCKING UNIVERSE!!!

Finding Help In The Strangest Places.

2008-07-02T04:46:00.000-07:00

It's funny to me, that everything I've been going through I've really been able to weed out who I would call a friend, and who I wouldn't. Who is there for me when I need someone, and who could give a shit less about me and my situations. Everything has been falling apart. I know they say, "When it rains it pours", but fucking shit, it's like a tropical fucking storm.

Basically, people that I thought mattered, and would care about me, don't. I know, "they care, they just don't know what to do" or "they just don't know what you're going through." Bullshit excuses. If you care, you care, and you do anything you can to make that apparent. The few people that have been concerned about me, or who have shown an ounce of heart and cared about me, aren't even people who are good, close friends of mine.

One, I've met once in my life. He is fucking absolutely amazing, and I value his friendship so fucking much. Sincerely, without him, I think I might've lost it completely. Funny that someone hundreds and thousands of miles away, who I barely know, cares more than most. I think it's also that he has been where I am at before. He knows what I'm going through and understands. He constantly checks up on me, calls me and lets me talk.

Another, someone I haven't talked to in so fucking long, aside from hanging out which has been even longer... she cares too. I'm not sure why, or what she gets out of it, but she has been nothing but awesome. We were never even close either; we never had much of anything that we didn't fight about, and we never really got along either. In the end, whether she likes me or not as a friend, she showed enough heart to fucking care.

Another someone, someone I barely know--once again, hit it on the head. Through little things I've written, he has known exactly what I was and am going through, and really fucking nailed it. I've probably known him less than a year, and even he has been down for having talks with me, listening to me and understanding.

It's a strange world, especially how you find your friends. I only wish that some of the people I was closer to, would show that they genuinely care. I've always been pretty selfless, and I've been there for those friends of mine who're in need, just looking for a returned favor.

Being John Malkovich.

2008-07-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

For a bunch of years now, people have been telling me to watch the movie Being John Malkovich, and it just so happened to be on, so I gave it a chance.

It's about unrequited love, surrealism, and existentialism. It all starts when Craig Schwartz, played by a long-haired John Cusack, goes to get a job at LesterCorp as a filing clerk; because he is a puppeteer, he's got quick fingers and is a shoe in. LesterCorp is on floor 7 & 1/2... that's right, between floors 7 & 8. Ridiculous. When getting to this floor you use the emergency stop button and open the door via crowbar. Apparently, in the 1800s or something, some Irish guy built this building, and made a floor for his half-sized wife so she could feel important. This is only as weird as Craig's 105 year old boss. He meet's Maxine (Catherine Keener) who is a fucking succubus, and falls dangerously in love with her. Note: Craig is married to his animal-loving wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz) who too falls in love with Maxine when she meets her. Fast forward, Craig finds a trapdoor when he drops a file behind a cabinet, and this modern rabbit-hole takes him sliding into the mind of silver screen actor John Malkovich, who knew? Maxine and Craig start a lucrative business, JM Industries, or something of the sort. Basically, pay $200, then crawl down a dark, damp, dirty tunnel and get sucked into the brain of JM, where you spend 15 minutes before being spit onto the side of the New Jersey turnpike, amazing- symbolism at its best. Lotte and Maxine fall in love with each other, and while in JM, "Lotte" impregnates Maxine. Eventually, Craigs obsession takes him to the point where he learns to control Malkovich, after all, he is a puppeteer. Maxine ditches lonely loving Lotte and uses Craig/JM to fulfill her own sick obsession: being seen, loved and lusted by two people through one pair of eyes. You then learn that this worm hole is actually Lester's portal to living for all eternity, and because Craig has occupied JM, he can't live on forever. Pregnant Maxine ends up leaving Craig for Lotte, who is the mother & father of Maxine's love child. Dr. Lester threatens Craig, says he is going to kill Maxine and his unborn child if he doesn't leaved Malkovich, and Craig leaves, allowing Lester and his gang of old chums to enter Malkovich's mind. In the end, Craig gets the shaft. The love of his life, and his wife, both leave him to be together with their baby girl Emily, and Lester & Co. get to occupy JM. Craig gets hosed.

I could talk about this film for ages. The messages, and unconventional ideas are inane. There are so many great and funny things about this film, and unexpected surprises waiting around every corner; perfect example of an unexpected joyous surprise: Charlie Sheen, enough said. Just amazing work from director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman.

"There is truth, and there are lies, and art always tells the truth. Even when it's lying."

Phantasmagoria.

2008-07-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Lately I haven't been sleeping much if at all. When I do, it seems like the sleep lasts minutes here and there. I seem to nod off, but then any little thing seems to bring me back to consciousness. When I do manage to sleep, I've been having these really, really vivid dreams. I can see everything, and feel everything, all of my senses are alive and alert.

The problem is, more often than not, in the past couple of days I've been having nightmares. I hate the way I feel when I'm in them, and when I awake, I feel even worse. My heart sinks into the depths of my stomach; it's plummeting into a bottomless pit.

I've been trying my hardest to keep my mind occupied and at ease. With everything going the way it has been lately, it's been a hard task to keep my demons at bay. I only wish I could work everything out; I wish I had something to ease my mind.

night-mare [nahyt-mair]

-noun

1. a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness,

extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.

2. a condition, thought, or experience suggestive of a nightmare

3. (formerly) a monster or evil spirit believed to oppress persons during sleep.

Starting Things Off.

2008-07-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

This is my writing place. As the title says, I will be using this page to write about what comes to mind at the time. Rants, raves, ramblings and revelations. All things Mace Hella. What better time to start something than on the first of the month.

With that said, I leave you with this:

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us "the universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as separate from the rest-- a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening the circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein