Saturday, December 30, 2006
Goodbye 2006...
While the end of 2006 is merely symbolic, it represents closure to certain things as well as endless possibilities in all of our lives. 2007 will bring a new year, a “fresh start”, and hopefully plenty of sober and non-sober memories. Yeah, that sounded sappy. The following is a list of things I’d like to accomplish in the upcoming year:Travel + Experience:
Go to Japan. This is pretty definite as long as Tom & Amanda still want me to visit when the time comes. I truly think this could be a defining moment to my year, if not my life, as well as a chance to catch up with one of my oldest friends.
Travel to Vegas this summer and play in a $1000-$1500 buy in World Series of Poker circuit event. It would be an amazing opportunity to play with some of the games best poker players as well as a prime opportunity for me to cash in a live event.
Back packing. I haven’t done any real camping since my one year stint in the cub scouts in the second grade. I’ve always done the traditional ‘K-mart’ camping trip during Memorial Day weekends, but this will be different, a few days in the wilderness with nothing but my friends, a backpack, and a couple bottles of liquor.
Spirit:
I’ve been doing a lot of reading on Buddhism lately. I don’t like to think of it as a religion but as a ‘life philosophy’. It stresses a lot of things that I already find important. I hope to continue to gain insight on its main principles and practices.
Friendship:
I’d like to maintain and develop my current friendships. This year has seen a few new friendships and the deepening of existing ones. I anticipate 07’ will bring more of the same.
Body:
I’ve been working out or trying to maintain a certain degree of physical fitness for most of my life. However, the past few years have only seen sporadic spurts of workout and exercise without any noticeable gains or a ‘commitment to excellence’ (to quote Matt Jordan’s high school football spiel). In 07’ I hope to attain a 275lb bench press, as I peaked out at 250 earlier this year. I suppose a bit of running wouldn’t kill me either.
** Oh yeah, I hope to maintain this stupid blog too.
PS: I’d like to say thanks to my closest friends – the few the proud. You guys made 2006 a great year.
-Po memoriesforsale.blogspot.com
Labels: me
Death of a Dictator
Thousands of rednecks and warmongers here in America are almost certainly celebrating the death of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was hanged last night in Iraq. His death to some, including our president, signifies “an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself.” While I remain reasonably moderate in my stance on the death penalty for such a diabolical tyrant, I think that ironically such a barbaric and gruesome death is a step in the wrong direction. His passing, if anything, is a simple reminder that brutality and hatefulness still run rampant in this new ‘democracy’. A life is a life regardless of how horrible the being may have been. By using this ancient and flawed “eye-for-an-eye” mentality the new Iraqi government isn’t embracing peace and advancement as a society, it is simply fueling the fire for dangerous riots, hatred, and confusion - Just what the world needs more of. Po – memoriesforsale.blogspot.com
Labels: articles
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Generation Emo - "Yuck"
I try to keep an open mind when dealing with social stereo-types but the entire emo scene makes no sense to me. A lot of movements, such as the ‘hippy’ movement in the sixties spawned from something meaningful (war, civil rights, psychedelic drugs, increased inner awareness, etc). Emo, in my opinion, is the byproduct of bored post-adolescent middle class America.The emo scene was adopted by many teenagers that were just like everyone else in the western world. They were in a sense, kids struggling to find their own identities and desired degrees of individuality (something that we all have done at some point or another). In this search for identity, many kids began to latch onto a new breed of music – emo (short for emotion). Emo music is essentially a punk-rock spin off with overly dramatic lyrical phrases. The lyrics resemble cluttered teenage poetry containing poorly written trite rants dealing with angst, despair, and failing relationships - something the emo culture can relate to.
Instead of solving their problems and expanding their current knowledge base, ‘emo kids’ are stuck in their own shallow self loathing paradigm. Their attempts at individuality fall notably short. In fact, they have literally regressed into tight girlie-pant-wearing, commercialized, ‘artsy’, emo poster boys and girls (the exact thing that they are supposed to scorn). Just look at the overabundance of ‘emo kids’ congregating like sheep inside of your local Hot Topic store.
Now, the emo crowd is not the most intelligent of human beings, but they aren’t exactly dumb asses either. At least they are in touch with their emotions (no pun intended), and their own self pity doesn’t really infringe upon the happiness of others (since it’s more or less just a clever charade to mask their lack of individuality anyway). While 90% of emo music is complete garbage, there are some good tunes here and there that are definitely better substitutes for those horrible testosterone induced ‘jock rock’ songs currently plaguing the radio waves.
In conclusion, the emo scene is merely a trend that will soon be forgotten. It has no lasting value and it falls incredibly short of ever becoming an actual movement (as movements require a strong belief system and some form of cerebral aptitude). Anyone who considers themselves emo now will look back at it in the same light that eighties teens and young adults do when they think about their old acid wash jeans, raging mullets, and White Snake cassette tapes – “Yuck”.
Ultimately it’s time to leave those bleeding hearts at home kids, for all hope is not lost!
Po - memoriesforsale.blogspot.com
Labels: articles
The Purpose: An Introduction
I have come to the realization that I really miss writing. Being a business major and all I have no real opportunity to write creatively or do too much deep thinking. I suppose in a way I have sold my soul for a deeper pocket book. Anyway, this is where my blog comes in. I originally wanted to create a website filled with my ‘articles’, poetry, and favorite things, but soon realized that it would take entirely too much time and effort. This blog may contain snippets of my everyday life, but its main purpose is to serve as a creative outlet for my thoughts/ideas. I hope to evoke some actual thought on some of the topics I plan on discussing. I really urge you all to participate by dropping off some comments. Well, thanks for reading, check back every few days and I may have some new material up.Po - memoriesforsale.blogspot.com
Labels: me