You don't need resolutions to make a difference

"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews

Well, happy eve of the year 2012. We survived the end of the world on December 21, 2012 (the end of the Mayan calendar b'ak'tun) and survived frivolous (but just a bit more frivolous) days like 12/12/12. Whew! Good thing that's all over. We can get all the lunacy and craziness out of the way...wait, what's this? All of a sudden, I'm being bombarded with resolutions on my feeds in Twitter and Facebook. Yowzers! All these resolutions make me almost wish the world already ended as planned.

Friday's forecast: Great day for a barbecue!

So I come across all these resolutions, and they're superficial things like "I want to lose weight" or "I'm going to have a relationship." I think these resolutions are missing the point (Rule #1: Focus on mastering the correct technique, not the end results. Once you master the basics, the good results you seek will follow on their own). The whole point to make resolutions is to become a better person, don't you think? If that's the case, why wait until the new year to make that change you need in life. In fact, 92% of all people ultimately never keep their resolutions. I say it's because people are doing things for the wrong reasons. Maybe it's just me. This is the reason why I NEVER make any resolutions at the end of the year, as I think it's ridiculous to wait until a pre-determined time to "make things happen."

The confidence of an Angel (and how ladies can get it)

With the Victoria's Secret Fashion being shown this Tuesday, I'd figure I'd dedicate this post to all the women out there who wish they could be as "perfect" as the models that make up the Victoria's Secret Angels. Believe it or not, something can be learned from them and be used to make each and every woman out there just as uniquely attractive as any Angel.

It's my mantra that good looks can only get you so far when it comes to dating, especially when you have no personality to back it up. It's always good to be well-rounded (see Rule #2). It makes me wonder sometimes when some women peruse countless issues of Glamour, Cosmopolitan and other women's magazines for tips on how to find that ever-elusive "perfect man" when it's really not that complicated. Well, allow me to give my insight as a man who enjoys the company of a woman who's attractive in not just the physical aspect, but personality-wise as well. Ladies, you too can take some pages out of the Victoria's Secret playbook and use it to your advantage.

United We Succeed, Divided we Fail

"I don't mind being wrong, as long as I can correct my mistakes." - Cable from X-Men

It's exactly one week after the Election Day. Obama won a second term as President, gay marriage was cleared for legalization in 4 more states (in addition to the 6 existing plus the District of Columbia), and government-controlled marijuana for recreational use was legalized in Washington and Colorado. It seems like a great deal of progress was made during this past election, right? Not according to some certain people like this, who apparently can't even define what a communist exactly is:

This prompts a few questions for me? Have people REALLY done their homework when it comes to important political issues, or do they just resort to name calling for something they don't like and/or not understand? That's like making fun of a person with Down syndrome because he/she is retarded. What IS a communist exactly? It's nothing a dictionary can't fix so let's get started!

The end of the world as we know it?

Whew! It's been a minute since I've updated this blog, huh? Between planning my next move with careers and possible business ventures, trying to relax from what was a few rough weeks (aside from the Florida vacation), and taking in so much I need to learn. Oh, and a hurricane almost blew my house away (well not quite, fortunately).

Now that I'm sitting here at my computer writing this piece, I'm here all cozy, high above any inundating waters and dry. Of course I'm talking about Hurricane Sandy in case you didn't know about the severe weather that struck the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. I'm actually enjoying my "time off," getting things done that needed to be done now that I'm basically stranded indoors until the disruptions of the storm are over. However, I can't help but wonder why some people take this so seriously. Okay, I can understand that people should be prepared, but as long as you're careful, you should be fine. I think some people take it too far and prepare like it's Y2K again.

Never forget: the best part of falling is getting up again

"You can try again and again if you have to" - Forge from X-Men

Whew! Been a rough past few weeks. I've been slowed down a bit thanks to mental walls and getting sick (which may have been a result of mental walls). Finally, I'm able to get back to posting.

As I sit here writing this post on 9/11, thinking of stories and ideas to deliver through this piece, I'm thinking about the future and what needs to be done in order to get myself to the next level that I want to hit. I'm wondering how I got here, where am I headed, and how will it all work out? It's funny how life works out. I didn't exactly plan to be at this spot. It seems like not too long ago that I moved out of the protection and auspices of my parents. In fact, many things are unexpected in life. Who could've seen 9/11 coming? What could we learn from unexpected events such as that?

Privilege: it's not there for you to feel perfect

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

I know I touched upon this subject before here, but I'd figure I'd go a bit further. It seems to me that nowadays, everyone is starting to feel privileged without even having anything to back it up or even having a reason to be. It's getting pretty bad. It seems like the attitude is everywhere, especially when I see some posts on Facebook with the words "be jealous" (I talk about the whole bane of Facebook's existence here). From Wall Street to Main Street, privilege is bringing down people instead of propping them up. Here, I'll show you to get over yourself so you can really get the things you want and show what exactly derivatives are (it's not what you think).

Can't we just all get along? Is the problem really hating others, or hating ourselves?

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How finding the perfect guy can be more fictitous than the Twilight saga (and how a lady can take back power)

"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets."
- Dracula from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Note: As a hardcore gamer, I just have to link to the original speech here, hehe :P

I realize that lately, there has a been a movement in entertainment that's designed to capture the attention of women like Fifty Shades of Grey, the Twilight saga, and Magic Mike. The list goes on. I think it's an interesting direction deviating from the regular formula of let's say Prince Charming coming into a woman's life and sweeping her off her feet by being everything she can want in a man (like in Pretty Woman or Maid in Manhattan). It's based on the whole belief that someday, a man that is handsome, smart, strong, confident, tall, funny, caring, rich, etc. will one day fall into a ladies' lap, and then the pauper gets transformed into a princess. That stuff seems boring and predictable, and I think even ladies have gotten a hold of how unreal that is. So in spite of figuring out how unreal expectations like are when it comes to ladies finding a boyfriend or male partner, it still strikes me how women still tend to be swayed a lot by fiction and how that puts ladies in a self-sabotaging mode when it comes to dating men.

The past and present of social media: is it creating or destroying our social lives?

Rule #6: There is no such thing as being first or last. There is only such a thing as becoming the best or the worst that you can be. 

Me and my friend Pedro (follow him @FreestyleChulo) were having a very interesting conversation through Twitter the other day. He was talking about how some people liked to share mundane, everyday things. Things like what they had to eat, where they're going, or special events like in concerts or clubs. I responded that it's just probably people showing off so they can have a higher sense of "self-worth". This actually got me thinking. Are people using social media to reconnect with old and new friends or are they finding it as a way to show how much "better" they are than others? This concept really piqued my interest, so I decided to look more into it.

The Dark Knight Rises With the Angels

Just a quick post regarding the shooting in Aurora, Colorado that happened last night. It's always very tragic to see the loss of life, no matter how much they "deserve it" or what they've done in the past. Life is always special, no matter what, and one way or another, life must come to an end. That's just nature. My condolences go out to those people involved in the shooting, as well as their families.

How to save on your cell phone bill (and other services)

 

Rule #4: If you never ask for something you want, you will never get it.

I've been busy reading up on a lot of books as of late, and I've been reading this interesting one in particular called Get More Money On Your Next Job...In Any Economy by Lee E. Miller. I've also been gearing up to do something that I've been wanting to do for a while now: re-negoitate my cell phone bill. That was on the top of my "to-do" list.

What Ted: the Movie can teach us about manhood

I went to see Ted: The Movie Sunday because it seemed like an awesome movie and had really high hopes for it. Even though my love for Family Guy is lukewarm at best (Seth McFarlane created both "Family Guy" and "Ted"), I still had a feeling that Ted was something right up my alley.

Ted: the Movie didn't only meet my expectations (I can be a demanding person that will get disappointed if my expectations are not met), but it passed them by a good margin. This is impressive considering that I think Family Guy is something that can use improvement, although it has a lot of potential. Sometimes, I feel that Family Guy tries too hard with the jokes. One thing with Family Guy is that the jokes are made so rough that it loses some laugh value. One example is this clip of Peter getting a prostate exam here, then reacting to it here. It's just a borderline deranged reaction that makes him look like someone that's mentally deficient (a guide for that particular episode is available here: http://familyguy.wikia.com/wiki/Stewie_Loves_Lois). At other times, they make jokes so obscure it requires a "mini-flashback" that seemingly comes out of nowhere so the joke can actually have a punchline. Things like this is what probably keeps Family Guy from being utter genius, since jokes like this seem too try-hard.

Bringing balance to the world - Legend of Korra: Season One reviews, musings, and predicitons for future episodes

One of the reasons why Legend of Korra is one of the greatest shows on TV ever is that even though it's a cartoon, it's very true to life and people can relate to each episode in so many levels, not to mention it's just a flat out work of art in practically all levels. This post will not only provide as a review and thoughts about the future of the series, but also tie many elements of the show into real life and how they're happening today, such as the "War on Terror" and the "Occupy" movement.

Legend of Korra: Season One was definitely the best season to date by the producers of the Avatar cartoon series.  Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino definitely have outdone themselves as the creators of the series.  They have managed to maintain the original humor, drama, real-life lessons (while not being cheesy, which is hard to do), romance, action sequences and animation quality from its prequel, Avatar: the Last Airbender.  Even the soundtrack from this season is beyond amazing, much less the entire series.

***WARNING: Spoilers ahead*** but you may want to watch the entire season here first for a limited time: http://www.nick.com/videos/playlist/play/legend-of-korra-season-one-full-episodes-playlist.html

I may have appeared on YouTube and travel the world, but I'm not special

"Even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion, that means that there are nearly 7,000 people just like you."

- David McCullough Jr. during his now famous "You Are Not Special" Wellesley High School commencement speech

This post is very much going to be based on this viral video, so I might as well embed it in this post.  This video, albeit far from the prettiest graduation speech, has a refreshing dose of reality that the speaker delivers to the audience.

He brings up a very good point that's not really thought about.  We are not special.  However, it's not what you think it is in that he's basically berating everyone and saying they suck (this was what I first thought when I heard the title).  He's basically saying that being "special" is just a title that's bestowed upon people just to brand them unique or better than others.  He uses valedictorian as an example, where there can only be one, but there's also many other valedictorians from other high schools just like that one valedictorian.  As he very eloquently states, "If everyone is special, then no one is.  If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless."

What an NYC street performer taught me about the power of perseverance

"I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

- Michael Jordan

NOTE: This was originally posted on my Tumblr (agentarmando.tumblr.com)

I was headed home with my friend Jonathan after watching Jesus Christ Superstar off Broadway (I’d rate it 6.5/10: Good).  We hop on the E train headed back to Queens when lo and behold, a street performer comes along sure to be soliciting money.  Big surprise, right?

Now this guy’s gag was apparently doing magic tricks.  I saw this guy and figured “What else is new?”  I mean, you live in New York City long enough, nothing surprises you anymore.  I basically blew it off at first because I figured the man was just performing for money.  The man didn’t even look that presentable.  He was somewhat unkept and his clothes had that used, beaten-up look.  Yup, he fits the street performer bill all right.

The Art of Wasting Time (and why it might be a good thing)

“Focus on mastering the correct technique, not the end results. Once you master the basics, the good results you seek will follow on their own.”

- my own personal maxim (now known as Rule #1)

NOTE: This was originally posted on my Tumblr (agentarmando.tumblr.com)

Sometimes, I find myself in an office getting that huge workload off my desk.  Finally, after so much time and effort placed on work, I can finally breathe.

But wait a minute!  Now that I’m finishing up on work, I all of sudden feel a deep sense of dread coming on.  What am I going to do now?  If I have nothing to do at work, I’m going to be dreadfully bored at work!  Damn, that’s probably worse that being worked to death.  I HATE being stuck in an office having nothing to do.  I can’t leave my post or start doing other things on my “to-do” list for the day.  I’m not going to be able to be productive now!  I can’t take this!  I’m getting stressed just thinking about the multitude of things I need to do, and I can’t even do a damn thing.  I have this “free time” and it’s killing me!  I want to take it easy but I can’t!!!  #@%!*

My review of The Legend of Korra (so far)

NOTE: This was originally posted on my Tumblr (agentarmando.tumblr.com)

Happy Avatar Day everyone!  Today is the premiere of the first two episodes of the new series Legend of Korra, which is supposed to be a sequel to the original series Avatar: The Last Airbender.  I’m here to give you a breakdown!

***slight spoiler alert, so watch the episodes using the links at the end!***

My first impressions in the first minute or two is “WOW!”  It’s interesting how they immediately thrust you into the action.  This is compared to the original Avatar series, where it took a while for character development and action to happen.  The creators of the Avatar series said they would only create 26 episodes so they could avoid “filler” episodes.  Let me tell you that they made good on their promise.  Not to say that Avatar: the Last Airbender was a whole bunch of fluff.  It’s just that it was not always a linear story, and sometimes that took away from the enjoyment and excitement of the show, but it was very negligible.  Sometimes, it was nice seeing a slight departure from the main storyline (like with “Tales of Ba Sing Se”), but at other times, it didn’t work so well (like with “The Beach”).  Another reason why the Legend of Korra gets down to the nitty-gritty right away is because they assume that you’re a fan of Avatar (like me) and know already what the role of the Avatar is.  That being said, for best enjoyment, watch the Avatar: the Last Airbender series.  It’s built for the Avatar audience, as many underlying stories have roots in The Last Airbender series (what happened to you, Zukko’s mom?  Darn Ikki and her ADD!) and a lot of these storylines may fly over your head if you don’t know about them.

40 days and 40 nights wandering the desert: my experience without Facebook

NOTE: This was originally posted on my Tumblr (agentarmando.tumblr.com)

First post ever.  Yay!

Tonight, I start off with my experience with Lent, the process of self-renewal and self-acceptance that it’s supposed to mean, AND how Facebook factors into all of this.  Now, for those who don’t know, I’m not one of those preachy, you’re-going-to-hell-if-you-don’t-believe-in-God types that tells everyone how sinful they are and that the Bible is the only truth.  However, I do consider myself very religious.  Just that I show it differently.  I never go to Sunday mass (I actually hate the church for the most part for its policies and methods), but I pray to God every night before going to sleep and I’m never afraid of saying I believe in God and even carry my Rosary everywhere with me.

For those who don’t know what Lent is, it’s the time starting from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.  It’s supposed to signify the time when Jesus Christ wandered the desert for 40 days and 40 nights fasting.  During that time, the devil (Satan) appeared and tried to tempt Him in an effort to distract and keep Him from doing so.  This is important because in Biblical writings, all fasts are followed by enlightenment in the form of God imparting His divine wisdom.  In a way, Satan was keeping God from His ultimate goal: enlightenment.  That’s basically what Lent is supposed to be for Catholics like me: a time of reflection, penance and coming to terms to the “negative” things in life, such as death.  Hence, when you get ashed on Ash Wednesday, the priest doing the ashing says “Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.”