Moar Updates

That's right, it's another post that is not officially a blog post. I'm just putting this up here just to notify all my readers of many of the upcoming 'changes' to the blog.

1. I will still tinker around with the appearance of this blog - I was looking for a dark theme online, but so far I haven't gotten exactly what I've wanted. As you can tell, I've ironically ended up with the stark opposite. So yeah, be sure to check out some of the gadgets on the side. Share the blog with your friends, take the poll, or even translate it to a different language! I will also be tinkering around in the field of gadgets as well.

2. Less personal stuff - As it says, I'm gonna try and limit the amount of personal information that I put on my blog. Not like addresses, emails, and whatnot, but the things of my personality, how I react to certain things, and whatnot. Why, you may ask? That would be because of...personal reasons ;)

3. Expect slow posting for the next two weeks - Well, I've packed up my bags and I'm headed to Florida for a short vacation! Actually, the first thing that I've gotta to while I'm there is go to a conference, so the vacation aspect of it is actually not that big. Anyways, the point I was trying to make was that I won't be near many computers or laptop (I don't use the mobile app cause it simply sucks!) for a lot of time, which essentially results in less blog posts. I'll try to post some pictures and small thoughts while I'm there, but I probably won't get around to posting many blog posts at my usual rate (1-2 days). One thing that I'll still be on a little more frequently is Twitter, so if you follow my Twitter account, it's all good.

Anyways, these are just some small things that all of you, my readers, should expect for a while. If you enjoy reading my blog, don't forget to share with your friends!

Thanks for reading,

Song of the Week

Green Day is not one of the best bands in the world, this I will admit. However, they had a time when they had a lot of mainstream popularity, especially amongst college students. During that time, they made what most would call 'their best music'. According to the lead singer, the album American Idiot was the album that the worked the hardest on. As a result, it became a very popular record and the effort paid off for the entire band. Green Day is one of the modern bands, that in my opinion, set the bar for rock music.

The song that I chose today is one of my favorite from when they used to be popular. You probably know the entire song word for word, and you might as well sing along.

This is just the video of the song. The music video has a bit of a plot line behind and as a result, it is a few minutes longer than the song. Scroll below this video if you would like to view.

Music Video

So what do you think of the song? Do you have another favorite Green Day song? Let us all know in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading,

A Moment of Ecstasy (Part 2)

This is the second and final part. Be sure to check out the first one here.

I suppose it's fair to say that all good things must come to an end. Good thoughts, good feelings; it is inevitable that all of these good 'things' must lay down to rest. That's how we humans are, as we have to endlessly toil day and night only to have brief moments of pleasure. 

Moving on, my dad came back from India last Wednesday, I was ecstatic when I finally saw him again. All of us went to the airport and waited for what seemed to be forever to meet him again. Thinking back on it now, I guess I didn't exuberantly display my affection for him at first sight, yet I still felt glad to see him. We all were a little shocked when we first saw him, he got thinner when he came back from India, and the plane ride back took quite a toll on him. Following the car ride home, it was time to unpack. Everyone in our house (and by everyone I mean my mom and sisters) were excited to unpack in order to see their brand new saris and other Indian clothes. Along with some of the things that we unpacked, we also brought along many snacks from India. And as these things were being unpacked, I realized that there was essentially nothing that my dad had got for me. My dad got me a lousy shirt from India, along with two formal dress pants that seemed a little too big. He also got me laddu, which is an Indian sweet shaped like a yellow ball. Not only was the shirt 'lame', but the laddu was very dry and tasted bland as a result. I found it to be hard to hide my jealousy when everyone else in the family was acting as if it was Christmas. For a moment, i felt as if I was the kid who got the worst presents from his parents ever. I went to my room and played it off, saying that I had other things to do. It seems as if every excitment that I had, from the AP exam scores to my dad returning, seemed to diminish in that very moment. Right then, that moment of ecstasy was offically over. 

So now I suppose it's fair to say that I'm back to normal. It was nice feeling as if nothing in the world could ever stop me, but now it's fair to say that it's all gone. Maybe it was selfish of me to act that way on that night. After all, I shouldn't have expected anything special in particular from him, but I figured getting crappy stuff might just be worse than getting no stuff at all. Or is it supposed to be the other way around? I don't know, but at that moment back then, something in me was simply let down. It's not that I became depressed, but I became grounded again, I returned to what many people define as 'normal'. 

So I guess that was the end of it.

Thanks for reading,

Song of the Week

Day by day, I feel like I'm becoming a bigger fan of listening music from an older age. Not to say that today's music is lacking in quality (although that could be said of what's played on the radio these days), but the origins of much of today's music comes from the century before. In many ways, these artists helped shape music for what it is today. I suppose you could say that this song is one of many that are the roots for what is known today as rock-n-roll and the blues. 

By the way, this song was also featured on the soundtrack for Pulp Fiction, a very popular movie in the 90s. Pulp Fiction has been credited as one of the greatest movies of all time in film-making history.

Title: You Never Can Tell

  Artist: Chuck Berry

Album: St. Louis to Liverpool

Year: 1964

 

Movie Review: Ted (2012)

An R-rated movie about a Teddy Bear?!?

Synopsis:

John Bennett is a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to live as the result of a childhood wish... and has refused to leave his side ever since.

Rated R, 106 minutes

I was one of many people who was excited to hear that Seth McFarlane, creator of the popular TV show Family Guy, would be coming out with his first movie. Coincidentally, a few months ago, I had even taken a survey that asked me which promotional poster would be better for the movie. So, I knew about this movie months before they had even started to advertise it.

Anyways, we decided to go a week after it was released to avoid any large crowds. Unfortunately, we went to see this movie on the  Fourth of July, which resulted in a packed theater. We were forced to find seats in the near front, which in any other circumstance, would have been uncomfortable. However, since this movie wasn't fast-paced or heavy in action, it was easy to get accustomed to.

Moving on to the 'review' part of this movie, I went with three other people who had different comical tastes. However, each and every one of us had a moment where we were bursting out in laughter, myself more than the others. Ted could be considered diverse in the different types of jokes presented in the movie, of course some being more offensive than others. Almost everyone in the theater were consistently laughing at many of the jokes in the movie, although I should say that there weren't that many 'hilarious' moments. If you enjoy watching Family Guy, the humor in Ted is a perfect fit for you. For the rest who may not appreciate or don't watch McFarlane's work on television, you may not have great guffaws, but even then the movie will still be consistently funny. The humor in the movie is also, for the most part, not very cheesy, which was a big plus for me. To sum up the humor in this movie, there is a diverse lineup of jokes and punchlines, yet it does not disappoint expectations.

Let's move on to other parts of the movie. I found Mark Wahlberg as an odd choice for the protagonist of the movie. It's a little odd watching him trying to act like a young pot-smoker along with his teddy bear, or getting romantic with a Mila Kunis much younger than him. Nevertheless, he still acted very well in the movie, based on what he was given. As for Mila Kunis and Seth McFarlane (the voice of Ted) they also did a good job in making their roles as realistic and effective as possible. The visuals in the movie were also good, there were many nice shots of Boston here and there. However, the highlight of the visual aspect of the film was the teddy bear. The way Ted moved, talked, and interacted to its surroundings was very realistically portrayed and well done. In the visual department, the movie does an excellent job of bringing a teddy bear to life.

If you watch Family Guy, you may know how often the soundtrack is filled with many different jazz pieces. Ted is no different. It's quite obvious that McFarlane loves, if not obsessed with, the jazz genre, and the addition of little jazz bits in the movie is a nice change from the soundtracks of other comedy films. Other aspects of the film such as the direction and editing, were also done pretty well, but nothing worth writing home about. 

For his first time as a director and a writer, Seth McFarlane does a pretty good job here. The story was good, the jokes were funny, and the acting was solid. The only few 'criticisms' of the movie that I have since it is well deserving of the R-rating, some of the humor can be offensive to many people. The concept of a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking, teddy bear can be seen as unamusing and not entertaining to some. Since Ted essentially becomes the life of the movie, scenes without him are often mundane and forgettable. Even with that being said, the movie worth watching if you want to have a few laughs (potentially a more 'vulgar' form of humor), or if you enjoy Seth McFarlane's work. This is a very promising start for what could be a very long career for Mr. McFarlane on the big screen.

8/10

It is worth watching again.

Thanks for reading, I would like to hear what you think about this film. 

Oh and since you made it this far, here's the red band trailer:

A Moment of Ecstasy (Part 1)

So it was on Tuesday when it came in the mail. No, not anthrax, just a small envelope with a report, of none other than my AP exam scores.

AP exams were the highlight of my studies in my junior year of high school. The purpose of an AP (Advanced Placement) class is to prepare you for college and even be able provide college credit while in high school. So as you can imagine, there are many students who choose to take an AP class and eventually the exam. Taking the exam is not required, but without it, the class only helps your GPA, and there wouldn't be any payoff for college.

At the beginning of the school year, I was overwhelmed by the amount of AP classes I had to take. As mentioned, they were more rigorous and fast-paced than any of the 'regular' classes in high school. So with five AP classes on my plate, it was the year that I decided to pay attention in the AP classes and pay loose attention to the rest. An AP exam was like a long-term investment, everything you learned and worked hard for the entire came down to a matter of a three hour exam. If you passed it, of course it was all worth it, but if you didn't pass it, well, it was just an investment that didn't have a good return. Another thing about the AP exams was the money, most schools require the student to pay a decent amount for the exam, while they are subsidized by the state to cover a small part of it. Our school paid around $30, but we had to chip in for the rest, and when you're taking five exams, it adds up to quite a large sum. Some of the AP classes I had taken this year were US history, European history, Psychology, Spanish, and Language and Composition (English). US history was probably the most rigorous course of them all, the teacher took it much more seriously than the rest of the other AP topics, we always expected homework, quizzes, and the occasional test. Many students were in for a surprise when they took the course, not many expected to deal with so much work along with the work from all the other classes.

If you don't know how these exams are scored, here's a brief explanation:

5  Extremely well qualified*
4   Well qualified*
3   Qualified*
2   Possibly qualified*
1   No recommendation**

*Qualified to receive college credit or advanced placement
**No recommendation to receive college credit or advanced placement

So, as you can imagine, my heart stopped for a moment when I saw the letter in the mail. The hour of judgment has finally arrived...via mail. Essentially everything that I had worked for the entire school year was finally here in a small letter. After that moment of shock, I pondered what would happen if I didn't get the scores I wanted. I was aiming for a 4 or 5 in every subject, except Spanish, because I don't plan on taking any type of a language major. Besides, in order to be able to pass the Spanish exam requires fluent speaking and comprehension of the language, and I was nowhere near that level. Yet nevertheless, I aimed for a 2 in Spanish, because that would mean that I knew something after all these years of studying the Spanish language in high school. Another thought that came to my mind was what college would I go to, that is if my scores weren't good enough. Now believe me, I'm wasn't planning on going to Harvard (to put it another way, they probably wouldn't accept me!), but I didn't want to settle for a lousy community college. Most schools accept a 4 or 5 in order to receive college credit, but what if I only had a 3, even worse, what if I didn't pass? These were some of the things that raced through my mind as I took the mail back home. I didn't even want to tell my parents what my scores were, I anticipated the abysmal scores that I would eventually have to confess to the rest of the family members. Of course, if I had gotten good scores, that would be the only thing that I would tell them for days if not weeks.

I dropped the rest of the mail at a nearby table and I went to the office room, my mother was there but she was occupied watching a video on the computer. I figured she wouldn't have noticed me opening the mail, and perhaps I could make a getaway if the scores weren't good enough.  Slowly, unknown as to what may be in the letter, I opened the mail. I glanced within  it and took out the only sheet of paper that was there...

And There it was.

I didn't even have the moment to hide myself in anticipation from the scores, they looked at me straight in the eye. Suddenly, there was nowhere to hide, it was time to face the music.

Two 5's, two 4's, and a 2. Suddenly the only thing I could do was leap in joy, it had been worth it! The endless nights of work, the studying for tests, the projects, all of it had paid off! That moment was exhilarating, any feeling of anticipation and dread that remained had gone away. At that moment, none of the troubles that I had to deal with everyday  mattered. It was a moment in life that I cherished, I knew that there would be many nights where I would reminisce this exact moment, and how it may have potentially changed the entire course of where my life would be headed. Suddenly, I felt like  a hero that could accomplish anything in life, be whatever I wanted to be, do whatever I wanted to do, and as long as I put in the effort towards it, I would get there. This moment liberated a rush of adrealin within me, and as a result, I felt as if I were Superman.

So after the emotional arousal, I called up my sister and I told her the good news, and then my other sister, then my mom, then a few of my friends, then a few of my other friends.  It became harder to hold it all in, so I was walking around my house, thinking of what was and could be. After settling down for a while, I realized that my dad was coming back home from India tommorrow! Yes, this too would be another moment of happiness. My dad had gone to India for more than a month, and I was tired of being the one who had to deal with my mom and her mood swings. I realized the big role that he played in our family every day of our lives. For this reason, our whole family missed him when he wasn't around. Besides, he too must know about the AP scores! It seemed as if everything in my life was turning around at the perfect time.

I felt then that nothing in the world could stop me, nothing at all.

Thanks for reading,

This is part one of two, the next post will be here in a few days.

Feel free to post a comment below, it would also be great if you could take the poll on the right. If you scroll above this post, you'll see some of my recent Twitter posts. It would be great if you followed me on Twitter. However, if you're on the mobile version, you won't be able to see the poll, but you can click the hyperlink above to reach my Twitter account.

Song of the Week

Recently, I was watching the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson. He's one of my favorite late night hosts not only because he is funny, but he can also have meaningful and deep conversations with the guests that come on his show. He also excels at making something out of nothing, considering that his show has a relatively low budget and support from CBS (unlike Jimmy Fallon on NBC). Anyways, I was watching a few clips from his show when I ran into a performance from a band called The Imagineers. Now usually, I don't look at these performances, but it's not very often that a band performs on his show, so I decided to give it a shot. After watching the clip, and doing some research, I found out that he had gone back to his native Scotland, did the show over there for a week, and introduced a local band from Scotland to the mainstream audience, which was really nice of him to do. In my opinion, their music has some of the traditional roots from the past but doesn't fail to think on its own, which makes a really unique sound. I also like The Imagineers because they have a lot of potential to be a pretty decent great band.  The lead vocal's Scottish accent adds a bit of a nice twang to the lyrics for each of their song. I found it to be a little difficult to pin down a specific genre that they belong to; based on what I've heard, it sounds like a mix of blues-y rock and some form of alternative, but that really comes down to your opinion. They have an EP called See As I Say, which came out last year. The following is one of my favorite songs that has been come out from the band so far. Give them a listen and be sure to share with your friends!

Title: Mariana

Artist: The Imagineers

Album: See As I Say (EP)

Year: 2011

More information about the band can be found here

Thanks for reading,

One Man Down

It's been a little over a month now since I've seen my dad. On the last week of May, he went to India for a little over a month of vacation and technically "business" (he has a ministry, so he's going over there to see how that's going too). Two things in particular have taken effect due to his absence: A shift in many of the daily responsibilities to myself, and a gaping hole in the entire family.

When my dad first left, I thought it wouldn't be that bad. After all, it was just a month, so I figured I wouldn't miss him a whole lot anyway. For a while, I didn't really feel like I missed him, since school kept me somewhat occupied for about the first two weeks following his departure. However, after school was over and summertime started, I realized how different things had become without him. 

Now don't get me wrong, I love my mother, but she has the worst mood swings. Sometimes she's happy, some times she's normal, but most of the time, she's just panicky and agitated. For the most part, you never really know what you can expect. So I try to be on my best behavior every day (the key word here is try), but I often get so ticked off which in turn only makes matters worse. The only person in my house that has any authority over her is my middle sister, neither does myself or my oldest sister have any control over her mood swings. Perhaps she can do that because she is more like her father, compared to her siblings. However, on most days, she spends her morning at college and work in the afternoon, which also happens to be on campus. And since my oldest sister has been married off, this leaves me to wage the force of resistance against my mother, which is easier said than done. Since my dad isn't here either, my mom chose me to do a majority of the menial work as well as dragging me along wherever she goes. After a while, it's not the peon-esque work that bothers me, it's dealing with my mom's mood swings. My dad was always good at handling her behavior, which is probably why he could deal with her mood swings. You see, when my dad goes away, I am forced to deal with my mom's mood swings. Honestly, I feel as if I am incapable to do such a thing. At times, she comes off as annoying and loud, and I counter that by being just as annoying and loud. My dad had a better way of dealing with this, which he once told me, was to shut your damn mouth and submit yourself to her bidding. There seems to be no way around it, and trust me, I've tried nearly everything...everything but giving in. 

Another effect of my dad's short vacation was the gaping hole he left in the family. When he left for India, he took a part that helped function the family with him as well. It's like slashing a tire in a car. The car can still function, but just not as effectively as it would be if all four tires were filled with air. It's an odd feeling without my dad around, because he is the one who keeps the rest of our family in check. Of course, at first it's a bit of privilege getting to stay up later than usual and doing more...let's just say things that would be deemed controversial by some*. Yet eventually, this feeling wears off and you may not miss the strict rules and regulations, but you miss the person who enforces them. At times, the late nights have become fruitless, for most nights I have sat around the house doing nothing. Without my dad, the other responsible parent in my house, my mom, becomes more paranoid and agitated than she ever would be if he was around. My dad was also the parent we went to if we had any problems, it's simply because he knew how to better deal with almost any situation than my mom could. He was a people person, knew how to deal with both the good and bad type of people. Not just that, but he knew how to deal with many types of situations, from dealing with certain people to changing a tire (although almost everyone knows that, but you get my point). Without that around, there's no form of assurance or encouragement, only the waves of multiple mood swings and paranoia from my mother. I couldn't imagine living without my dad, I wouldn't be the same person today if he wasn't around. He has become such an important part of my upbringing, which essentially makes him a vital part of my life. It would be a different life growing up with my dad not present, but I'm just glad that I'm not down that road.

What's also worse was how he became when he went on vacation. Here the rest of us were, concerned and missing his presence, while he was having a blast over on the other side of world. In only a matter of weeks, he sounded relaxed, refreshed, and content (yes I know, I ruined the alliteration moment!). Hearing his cheery voice made us all miss him all the more, yet at the same time, we realized how we too needed a vacation.

I can't imagine what it's like for kids who don't grow up without a dad, it's not that women are incapable of raising their children. It's just that without a father, there's a key aspect of life that no one else could ever fulfill. Without my dad, I don't see myself becoming the person I am or the person that I will be in the future. I've met quite a few people before who don't have a dad because of death or usually divorce, and it's not that they aren't well behaved or normal, it's just that they're missing a part of their life that could potentially shape the way they grow. This doesn't mean that I'm endorsing the idea of dead-beat dads. In a way, no parent could be better than an abusive one. 

Anyways, my dad is coming back next week. As you can imagine, I'm looking forward to the day that he comes back home again. In a way, the time that he's been away has taught me yet again how much I should value many of the little things that I have in life. 

Thanks for reading,

*Another blog post, I promise!

Song of the Week

I don't remember how I stumbled on to Jamie Cullum, but I'm glad I did. He makes some great music, and even his covers sound very original. He's one of the artists who introduced me to a world where jazz and pop can fuse together. I also got to better know the jazz genre, and today it's one of my favorite. This is one of the songs that he covers on an older album, but it's still pretty good. 

I will admit, it's not his best cover, but I chose it because of how well it pertains to what I'm doing the summer, absolutely nothing. A day where you can do have fun, or find love can really make quite the difference. 

Anyways, take a listen, let me know what you think in the comment section below, and be sure to check out more of his music. You won't be disappointed. 

Song: What A Difference A Day Made

Artist: Jamie Cullum

Album: Twentysomething

Year: 2003 (UK), 2004 (US)

More information about Jamie Cullum can be found here.

Galifanakis

...may be one of the funniest comedians out there, and it seems as if he doesn't even try.

A few days ago, I nearly spent an entire day looking up videos of him on YouTube, and I have to say he is one hell of a funny guy. These days, nearly all successful comedians have to spend days, if not months, working on their material. However, when I see Zach perform his act, I'm under the impression that he doesn't even much effort for his jokes. He just pulls what comes out of his head, and coincidentally, it makes people laugh.

Now I will say that his material is not for everyone. Not because it's severely inappropriate, but simply because some people may not find his material to be funny. After all, a good amount of his material is self-depreciation, and those who don't have the best of personalities may not perceive it to be comical. At times, his material heavily relies on sarcasm, cynicism, and occasional humor regarding controversial topics.

One of the reasons that I think he has become more popular was because of his beard. Almost a decade ago, he hosted a show on VH1 called Late World With Zach. The show was ditched by VH1 at the end of its first season due to low ratings. For most of the episodes, Zach did not have his beard grown. It was quite an interesting sight really, because he is so well known by many today because of the infamous beard. He looks very different back then, on a show that was on air only a few years ago. Even today, I wonder if his popularity would exist in the mainstream culture had he not had a beard. The 'creepy hobo' look would be nonexistent, and perhaps some would have seen a 'clean shaved' Zach a lot less funnier.  I haven't seen a single episode of the show myself, but considering the fact that it received low ratings, I probably won't get around to it.

There are a few reasons that I like Zach, some that make him apart from other celebrities today. Yes, the first one is a no brainer.

1. He's Funny
For the select few people who may enjoy his humor, he genuinely is funny. What separates him from many other comedians is how he doesn't have to continuously fire jokes to prove his point. Perhaps just the way he says certain things or the way he looks at the crowd is enough for one to burst into laughter. A lot of the funny things that he says may not be seen as jokes to some. Most of what he says can be rhetorical questions, remarks, or even obnoxious statements. It's really comes down to not what he says, but the way that he says it. Another thing that I like about him is that he is funny on and off the stage. His standup and performance in movies, more recently The Hangover, are stellar, but what's just as good are his interviews on television. I love the fact that he decides to blow his interviews off when on TV, he often makes a joke or ludicrous lies when asked a personal question. He is able to make the audience laugh, yet at the same time, he is able to keep his personal information...to himself.

Which brings me to my next point...


2. He Values Privacy
Ironically, Alan Garner, the character he plays in The Hangover frequently blurts out random information about himself, a good amount of that information is almost always inappropriate too. However, in real life, he likes to keep the juicy details of his personal life under wraps. It's hard to find a celebrity in Hollywood today who isn't part of a social networking site that he or she frequently updates all the time. Most of them enjoy tweeting either every little thing that comes to their head. Not only that, but you always see some stars making the headlines over the dumb things they say or do that they choose to make public. Most of these people only do it for the fame, with no regard to their credibility or reputation. Surprisingly, Zach keeps most of the details of his personal life to himself. Even on television, his line of jokes and non sequiturs distract the host and the audience away from the matter at hand. These days, it's good to see that there are a few in Hollywood to like to keep things to themselves. A while ago, he got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, yet those details never spilled out until recently. 

Here's an article from Cinema Blend that proves my point:

Zach Galifanakis might often play character prone to blurting out overly personal information, but in his private life, the comedian tends to play it pretty close to the vest. A good example of that secrecy would be his recent engagement. The Hangover star apparently proposed to his girlfriend Quinn Lundberg at some point in the past, but no one outside his close circle of friends found out until one of the wedding invitations leaked this morning.

I'm not saying that everyone should be like him, but it's nice to have people who enjoy being out of the spotlight, instead of acting like the world revolves all around them. Maybe Hollywood wouldn't have such a bad rap if we had more people like Zach out there. But then again, that's just my take on things. Let me know what you think in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading,  

If you have not seen The Hangover, I would advise against watching this next clip.