Archive for December, 2009

Welcome To The Melting Pot

December 29th, 2009

I added new songs to my home page under “Songs On Repeat.” I’ve been really digging these songs lately, and continuously hitting back on my ipod or car or itunes (too bad you can’t hit repeat on Pandora). I hope you enjoy them too.  And in case you weren’t aware, there is a little “play” button next to the song on the home page where you can listen to the song.

Phoenix UnitedIf I Ever Feel Better
United
Phoenix

Lryically this song is a sad yet redemptive song about someone that has gone through a terrible heartache.  He knows that this pain that he feels, however devastating, will some day fade away.  He is confident in that.  However, you can also feel the deep sadness that doesn’t want to believe that.    There is courage in this song.  There is perseverance and faith.

Even though this song has such heavy lyrics, the beat of the music is really catchy and always makes me happy when I hear it.  To me, its a happy song.  I cannot help myself but to dance around and sing to this song.  This song makes me happy.

Dark is the night, cold is the ground
In the circular solitude of my heart
As one who strives a hill to climb
I am sure I’ll come through I don’t know how
They say an end can be a start
Feels like I’ve been buried yet I’m still alive

The Life PursuitDress Up in You
The Life Pursuit
Belle & Sebastian

This is a beautiful, serene sounding song that takes a wallop with its lyrics.  Every verse is a power punch to the gut.  Its going along all pretty sounding and then you hear the F bomb, and have to rewind to make sure you heard it correctly.  The more you rewind it, the more it stands out as brilliant and genius.

I love it when the horn section comes in as well.  I wrote a pensée from this song not too long ago.

Blow up in the face of my rivals
I swear and I rant, I make quite an arrival
The men are surprised by the language
They act so discreet, they are hypocrites so fuck them too!

 

The Blueprint 3Empire State Of Mind
The Blueprint 3
Jay-Z (with Alicia Keys)

I recently posted two videos of this song.  Its a great song about the city of New York.  However, I truly love the lyrics that Alicia Keys sings.  Lyrics that give you hope and that pump you up to believe that anything is possible.  Jay-Z meanwhile takes you through his memory of the city and all that he has experienced there.  Looking back on his life, he is grateful for all he has seen and done.

Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves in life about how much we are blessed.  At the same time, we have to always believe that we can accomplish anything, no matter how difficult a belief that might be.

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
Theres nothing you can’t do
Now you’re in new york
These streets will make you feel brand new
The lights will inspire you

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Posted in Song, Songs On Repeat | 11 Remarks »

I Forgot My Keys

December 29th, 2009

So I had a reaaaallly odd dream last night.  I do not know what it means.  But it is so odd, I thought that I would post it here.

I was at work, but it was in a different office building (the outside was Painted Rock Elementary), and the building was close enough to my home that I could  walk home from work.

They had moved our desks all around, and now mine was out in the open, next to the presidents office in a classroom sized room.  My desk was like teacher school desks,  and not cubicles.  I had people all around me at their desks.  I was feeling the stress of ALWAYS having to be on my game with people looking over my shoulders at all times.

My dream spanned two days and at the end of each day, when I left work I forgot my keys.  So this second day, I hitched a ride with two women who were driving a blue truck.  They were going to take me to get my keys, which I thought I had left in my hotel room in Vegas.  So they started driving me to Vegas.  We could see the strip, and the freeway back to San Diego was PACKED with traffic.  I said, “doh, I just realized, I had my keys at my office back in carmel mountain ranch.  We didn’t need to drive all this way, but could have just gone a block or two.  They made a u turn, knew a short cut, and 3 blocks later we were back in Carmel Mountain Ranch for my keys.

The end of the story was me telling this story to someone, and that “I needed my keys”  cause ever since the break-ins in my neighborhood, I dont keep a spare key out anymore.

the end

one other aspect, I just remembered.  as I was walking away at one point, i ran into “my baseball team” that was waiting to practice.  and I said surprised to see them,  “I showed up to practice all those times, but no one else was there, i thought y’all had folded”

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Posted in Ramblings | 3 Remarks »

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us

December 22nd, 2009

This application on facebook I first found really fascinating.  It takes all your status’ of the year, and forms them into a new year’s card collage.  What an interesting way to sum up a year. 

However, it wasn’t.  It had a VERY limited amount of space.  I started eliminating all long status’ and started choosing mainly the really short ones.  And since I speak mostly in lyric or quote, mainly chose those.  This is what I came up with.

mylifeaccordingtofacebook2009

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Posted in My Poetry, Song, Tidbits | 2 Remarks »

Why It’s Important To Understand English

December 14th, 2009

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange, so I went to the currency exchange window at the local bank.

Short line.

Just one lady in front of me. . .an Asian lady who was trying to exchange yen for dollars and she was a little irritated…

She asked the teller, “Why it change?? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla fo yen. Today I get hunat eighty?? Why it change?”

The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, “Fluctuations”.

The Asian lady says, “Fluc you white people, too!”

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Posted in Classics, Tidbits | 2 Remarks »

2010 Goals

December 8th, 2009

Will you be calling it “Twenty-Ten?” or “Two-Thousand and Ten?” or my new favorite, “010” (oh-one-oh).

I have never been a big proponent of New Year’s Resolutions, or more generically of goal setting.  I have learned over the years that life doesn’t always go the way you expect it or hope.  I have adjusted to life by being adaptable, not getting stuck on any one thought or idea, and having the flexibility to change directions.

I have created goals these past few years, but staying with this go with the flow type attitude, I have kept them generic yet worthy.

I have decided that every year I am going to have the goal to get in better shape:  mentally, spiritually, and physically.  This is a generic enough goal, but also a goal that has deep substance to it.  Although pithy, it is a goal that I can always strive for and feel good about.

However, all that being said, I think this year I am going to box myself in a little bit more, and create goals that fall within those categories;  Actual specific outcomes to help  me get in better shape in those categories.  I will try to keep them realistic and reachable, so as to not overwhelm myself and give up.  And the physical goals are dependant on a healthy body (I go in for a knee MRI tomorrow).   Baby steps towards measured life improvement.  Also, since some goals could perhaps be covered in multiple categories, I won’t separate them.

Get in better shape phyisically, spirtually, and mentally-
In no particular order:

  1. Read one book during the year
  2. Read one chapter of the bible twice a month
  3. Go to church one time per month
  4. Post to Snide Remarks two times per month
  5. Go for a run or walk two times per month
  6. Go to the gym two times per month
  7. Volunteer one time for the year
  8. Review my finances two times for the year
  9. Write one card per month to a loved one
  10. Look to further my career once every two months
  11. Practice guitar two times per month
  12. Practice piano two times per month
  13. Do twenty-five push-ups a month
  14. Do twenty-five sit-ups a month
  15. Have a child
  16. Call my grandparents four times for the year
  17. Complete four of my “big” projects for the year – those items I always seem to be pushing off
  18. Donate money two times for the year
  19. Buy one new song a month
  20. Floss one time a week

I have been thinking over some of these for the past few months.  I should have written them down then.  I reserve the right to add to this list if I recall them.

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Posted in Goals, Ramblings | 6 Remarks »

Experience Your America – Remember Pearl Harbor

December 7th, 2009

A couple of years ago I took a trip with Debbie, Steve, Lisa, Vicki and Juan to Oahu.  We originally were going to see U2 perform, but U2 sadly cancelled their show.  Due to poor weather, we spent most of the trip travelling around the island getting a personal tour from my parents, who used to live there.  It ended up being a really special trip doing things I wouldn’t normally do in Hawaii.

One of the things we did, was go visit the USS Arizona Memorial.  Always a sobering experience of history, I was able to learn more personal information about the day and the people of December 7, 1941.

On each of our tickets was biographical information about someone involved.  I saved three of these tickets and today being December 7th, I’d like to acknowledge these brave men and women again.

johnwilliamfinnJohn William Finn
Los Angeles, California
Chief Aviation Ordnance Man
United States Navy
Kaneohe Naval Air Station

For extraordinary heroism…
Chief Finn promptly secured and manned a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the ramp which was under heavy enemy machine gun fire…Painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and return the enemy’s fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy bombing and strafing attacks.
…received the Medal of Honor 

 

jamesgdanielss3James G. Daniels III
Kansas City, Missouri
Ensign
United States Navy Aviator
USS Enterprise

Wing and a Prayer
On the evening of December 7, 1941, Ensign Daniels was part of an air search comprised of six F4F “Wildcat” fighters.  Their mission was to locate the Japanese Fleet.  Unable to find the enemy, they were ordered to land on Oahu.  On arrival at Pearl Harbor, they were mistaken for the enemy and five of the six aircraft were shot down.  Two pilots were killed instantly, one died later and three survived, including Ensign Daniels.  He was the only pilot to land safely at the naval station on Ford Island.  After his harrowing experience, he called to tell his wife, Helen, that he was okay and very much alive.

 

dorismillerDoris Miller
Waco, Texas
Mess Attendant, 2nd Class
United States Navy
USS West Virginia

First African-American to receive…
For devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack on Pearl Harbor…While at the side of his Captain on the bridge of the battleship USS West Virginia, Miller, despite enemy bombing and strafing and in the face of serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety and operated a machine gun until ordered to leave the bridge.
…the Navy Cross

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Posted in Hawaii, Tidbits, Travel | 10 Remarks »

Take Advantage Of Everything

December 6th, 2009

I was reading an article in my Sports Illustrated a few months ago, and for some reason the last paragraph really stood out to me.  If you have followed along with my snide remarks this last year, you will know that I have become a big proponent of the phrase “Viva La Vida” in the sense of carpe diem.  This paragraph was another example of someone in life wanting to live each day.

“I would love to win another World Series,” he says. “It seems like, yes, that was a long time ago. I don’t want to second-guess myself when I retire. I want to know that I did everything that I could possibly do for my teammates to give us a chance to win. If it didn’t happen, I don’t want it to be because I didn’t give it my best.”

“Every time I have a chance to pitch in the playoffs, it’s great to me. Because I know that one day, I won’t be able to do it. And so I want to take advantage of everything.”

I love how Mariano Rivera, even though he is extremely accomplished, still wants to take advantage of everything and not miss any opportunities.

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Posted in Sports, Tidbits | 2 Remarks »

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