Sunday, May 16, 2010

The Future


The future. It's a funny thought. Websters dictionary defines it as: Time regarded as still to come. People talk so much about the future, even though there is no way we can really connect to it. Sure, some people claim they can predict the future via magic, but do you really believe them? Of course not, as they have no proof of their beliefs. Thats's what I'm talk about today: the future and what it really means.

Personally, I don't get why people think about the future so much. There are two common phrases: If you look too far ahead of yourself, you'll trip over your own feet, and, Carpe Diem ( Latin for seize the day ). That is one of my favourite sayings, and a rule I live by. I think that you can get through life by just thinking about the present, better than always worrying about how todays decisions will effect you tomorrow. I get that sometimes you have to make sure you don't do some things that will have a massive effect in your life tomorrow, but I don't think that in general you should worry about how your decisions will later effect you.

One of the things I don't like about this world is how people try to get you to believe that they can predict your future. I guess some people could get really convinced that they can really predict the future via two ways: magic or science/math. Some countries people are convinced that they can tell the future by using special cards, or a magic ball. I understand that it is possible for you to get convinced that they can really predict the future if by coincidence the 'magic' works and correctly predicts your future. The one thing I don't get how you can believe that math and/or science can predict your future. This is all based on past events, and how there might be a pattern to life and that what happens on Earth has a purpose, and what happens is not random. I do believe that their is no pattern to life, and these people are 100% mislead. I have a good example of this: around 20 years ago N.A.S.A. sent a capsule with the song Across The Universe by the Beatles across the universe. But when Stephen Hawking heard about this, he began to fret that they had doomed the Earth. He claimed that he had somehow found a way to predict that N.A.S.A.'s capsule had angered advanced aliens and that our world was doomed to extinction. And we're not dead yet.

So that's what I think of the future, a random time that there is no way to connect to, and is pointless to look to for answers.

I commented on Marcus' blog on Basketball.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

2 is for 24


The most over-the-top thing ever made that isn't in any way connected to either Tim Burton or Quentin Tarantino. It's what gives you your weekly dose of action. What has nuclear bombs planted in Manhattan almost every season, and an agent who will stop at nothing to get what America wants. What other show can predict the next president ( at the beginning of the series a George Bush kind of president was the leader of the United States of America, then a black man became president just like Barrack Obama did. Currently, a woman is president in this awesome show ). The show I have just described follows an agent named Jack Bauer ( Kiefer Sutherland ) and that show is 24.
It began on November 6th, 2001, when the world was still in shock from the horrid events of 9/11. But this was a perfect opportunity for Joel Surnow to show the world what he was/is capable of. My guess is that he thought the world ( especially America ) would love a TV show about a James Bond-like, terrorist fighter. Obviously, it caught on. At the height of this series in season 5 ( in 2006 ) 13.78 million people on average watched it weekly in the U.S. alone.
There is a near infinite amount of reasons why I like this show: from its over-the-top filled episodes to the confusing, but action-filled, plots. But why I like it the most is because it occurs in real-time. The show is a hour long in our time, and 60 minutes there. Every season is 24 episodes ( hence the name) but is only one day in the show. This really helps me connect with the characters. You can really see how much pain they are going through as they try to take down the terrorists.
But this part of the show can also show the holes in the plot. I mean, in the current season ( season 8 ) , they stop a evil Russian mob group from smuggling nuclear rods into N.Y.C. Right when C.T.U. ( a private security company hired by the American government ) finds a dirty bomb in the middle of Manhattan, the companies headquarters gets hit by an electromagnetic pulse ( E.M.P. ) and all their electronics go down. But then Jack realizes that there is a double agent within C.T.U so he captures her and begins to torture her until she gives him the location of the bomb. They then find it and disarm it with only 5 seconds to spare. After the investigation, they find out that the Russian government was behind the bombings, but the president decides not to accuse them because that would mean that the peace deal between them, the I.R.K, and the Russians would be off. When Jack realizes how they're planning not to accuse the Russians, he goes rouge and tries to find the terrorists. I know how that sounds crazy enough to happen in one season, but since each episode is in real-time, that means that all of the above happened in just one day!
I really like this show, even though the holes in the plot. Whenever I realize how crazy the storyline is, I stop and think to myself and say, You know what Michael, I don' t watch this show because of the plot. I watch it because of how much action there is and how over-the-top it is. And I do think I'm right when I say that, that I don't care about the storyline, only about the action.
That's 24 for you, and I promise you that you will NEVER find anything quite like this.

Life Lesson: Only look at the good things in this world, and ignore the bad things.

I commented on Rowena's blog about Life!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Q is for Quentin Tarantino


This guy might have the weirdest mind in the entire world. At least in Hollywood, that's for certain. In 2007 Total Film named him the 12th best director of all time. For his two most successful movies, he has been nominated for 15 Oscars, and won 3. He has directed, wrote, produced, and acted in films. He is known for his nonlinear storylines, and exaggeration of violence in his movies. This man's name is Quentin Tarantino.
Tarantino was born in 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was raised by his mother, as his parents were separated before he was born. He moved to Torrance, California a few years later, and took drama classes at his local high school until he dropped out at age 17 so he could go to an acting school full-time. When he was at acting school, he decided to quit his acting career to become a director, because he respected them more. He has no children and is not married and says that he would not consider marrying or having children before the age of 60, when he says he will retire.
He is one of the people that you either like or hate. Many people don't like him because they think that he just copies other peoples ideas, and changes them just enough so that they are his own. I have only noticed this in one of his movies, Kill Bill, which was almost word-for-word copied from a Japanese Chanbera film. Personally, I don't think he copies other people's ideas, but instead mixes many ideas, and puts them together as one. Many more people love his work because of his weird mind. Only Tim Burton can rival his odd movies. Take any one of his many movies, and just look at them. They never lack a plot ( some movies have NO plot and just try to win you over with their affects like Transformers ) but they still have loads of great affects and good amounts of action.
But the main reason why people either love or hate him is the incredible amounts of violence and how over-the-top they are. Look at Inglorious B*****s for example. There is two main scenes that stick out because of their over-the-top violence and how only Quentin could make a movie like that. One is when Brad Pitt & Co. ambush a German patrol squad. They kill all of them in gruesome ways, but not before a 5-minute side-story where they show how one of Pitt's men became one of them. The other part is when they lock the entire Third-Reich in one room and kill all of them, with a movie of a evil-laughing person in the background as the entire room on fire.
That is Quentin for you. A sick-minded director who makes the most violent, odd, but sometimes funniest movies out there. He will make you laugh, or cringe and you will always have to finish his films when you start them.

Sometimes it is hard to believe how messed-up some minds are.

I commented on Andy's music blog.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

J is for JK

JK was the first year of school for me. I was 3 weeks away from turning 4 and I had never been to a real school before then. I didn't know any other kids my age, and my Mom was my only friend. I was about to meet: Robert, Laurel, Kate, Marcus, Lyndsey, Michael N, Emily N, Michael O (Me), Eric, Aleda, Emilie V, Max, Hayley, AJ, Claudia, and Natillie.

I don't remember much about that day, but I really wish I did. Looking back on that day, I now think that is the day my life really began. Before then, I hadn't done anything at all for my entire life, but that was the day it all began.
I only remember two things about that day, and even those memories are fuzzy. I only remember saying 'Hi,' to a kid named Max, and saying my name, my favourite animal (Turtle), and birthday (September 27th) in front of the entire class.
There aren't many other things that I remember for the rest of the year, but a few things I don't think I'm ever going to be able to forget. I remember going over to someone's house for the first time (Marcus), going on my 1st sleepover later in the year at Max's house. I remember Laurel punching me because I got the answer wrong on a French question in class, me and all the other kids except for Emilie Vos thought to speak French all you had to do was speak with an accent. I also remember watching the Polar Express with a hot chocolate.

Lastly, I remember how people had different friends that year and how they were such different people. I mean, Robert, Marcus, and Eric were ALWAYS in time-outs, Lyndsey was the tallest kid in the class (I remember having to look up at her). I remember Aleda sort of being a bully to me, and Max being my best friend.
I think that was probably the best year of my life, as I went through the year in my own bubble, knowing nothing about the world around me. My life was in effected by the events that took place that year, like 9/11, but that is exactly why I liked that year so much. Because of my ignorance to the world. If I had known about all the events that happened that year I probably wouldn't of loved it. Instead of wondering how not just America, but how could the whole Western world recover from such a horrific event like 9/11, I would think and wonder about who my partner for play-time would be.
That is what I remember and think of my life in the years 2001-02 and how I look back on it now.

Life Lesson: Enjoy living as a innocent kid for as long as possible.

I commented on Ethan's blog.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

M is for Music




It's what keeps you from dying of boredom, what keeps you entartained whenever you want. Wether its coming from your TV, I-pod, radio or even yourself its always avaible to you. It has many kinds, and their is always a kind of it that you willl love no matter what your taste is. It is the wonderful, great, awesomematic music.



Music has been around ever since the human race begun. It has evolved from primal drum-beating while singing in the BC, to classical music in medival ages up to about a hundred years ago, to the current music where the music is faster.



There are many different kinds of music, from classical to metal, rock to pop, hip-hop to country, emo to screamo and alternative to punk. Those are just a few of the largest genres of music today. My favorites have to be country and alternative. Today their are so many kinds of music that people like, I mean on the top ten songs on Itunes right now are so varied. I mean the number one song right now is Need You Now by Lady Antebellum (A extremley country group) to number two being Carry Out by Timbaland (A extremley elctro-rap-pop song). I think this shows how varied music is today.



Right now, my favorite bands/artists are Taylor Swift (country-pop) Lady Antebellum (country) Kevin Rudlof (Rock) 3OH!3 (rap-pop) Cage The Elephant (rock) and Cobra Starship (pop). It shows how varied a random persons musical taste might be.

This is what I think of music and what people think of it. On the side of my blog if you scroll down a bit there's a poll about your favoite band/ what instrument you play. If you haven't already please vote on it.


Life Lesson: Music is what keeps humankind alive

I commented on Jordan's inspiration blog!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

P is for People Of Walmart.com


P is for People Of Walmart.com P.O.W. is a hilarious website that my older cousin Matt showed me around a month ago. In that short period of time, it has come to be my favorite website passing YouTube and Trackmill.
It is a free website where people post pictures or videos of people in Wal-Marts who are wearing really weird/funny things and then post a little joke beneath it. They are always extremly funny, and it is updated many times a day, so their are always new pictures.
I think it is amazing what people wear out in public to stores that are almost constantly filled with people and expect nobody to care. Before I knew this website, whenever I saw somebody dressed really weird I wouldn't do anything about it besides laugh a bit in my head. Now, whenever I see somebody I don't take a picture (because I'd feel bad) but I imagine what it would look like on this website and try to think of a little joke that I could put underneath it.
I really do think that this website should be more widely known and enjoyed by more people.
Life Lesson; Be careful about what you wear in public!
If you want the link, it' right here; http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/
I commented on Thomas' blog about elastic bands!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

3 is for 3OH!3


3OH!3 is a band from Boulder, Colorado. They named themselves after their area code, 303, which covers Boulder and Denver. They have two members, Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte, and have been together since 2004, after they met at the university of Colorado.

They have had many hits, including Don' Trust Me, Starrstruk (There is one version with Katy Perry and one without her) and my personal favorite, Follow Me Down (With someone named Neon Hitch). They have also worked with many other artists, including; Ke$ha, Lady GaGa, and Cobra Starship.

Their first album to register on the top 200 list in the US was their second album, Want. I love this album because of its up-beat tempo and different sound. I mean, there's not many other groups that have a singer and more of a rapper together. The only other one that I know of is Alexisonfire which is more of a rock band and there rapper is more of the screamo type. This is one of the many reasons I like this band because they sort of begun a whole new genre of music.

The cover of their album, Want, has a picture of two forefingers and two thumbs touching eachother. This is their trademark, and was reffered to in their song, Holler 'til You Pass Out. This is another reason I really like them because of their creativness.
I think that this is a really awesome kind of music that these two men have created and I think they should be more popular than they already are. I hope that if you haven't already tried this kind of music, you should try it soon.
Life Lesson; Different is almost always good.
PS; When I said screamo earlier to describe Alexisonfire's sceamer/rapper it means a kind of a mix of singer between rock music (like say, Illscarlet), emo (Fall Out Boy), metal, and alternative rock (Green Day). It was popular in the 1990's and went out of style until the mid 2000's. The most famous screamo band was The Used.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

A is for America Idol




A is for American Idol. America Idol is the biggest reality show of all time and is one of my favorite TV shows ( behind the Office and House and maybe 24 ).
There are curretly 4 judges on American Idol;
Randy Jackson, the awesome judge who has to use the word 'dawg' every five seconds, and is producing another show called America's Best Dance Crew. He has bee with American Idol since it begun in 2002.

Simon Cowell, who has also bee with the show since seaso One, has earned the hate of all but a few of the contestants, and is known for his often very harsh, but truthful remarks about the contestants preformances.

Kara DioGuardi, who has produced many ablums, working with stars Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, and is currently working with Kris Allen last seasos winner, she debuted last season.

Ellen DeGeneres, who is the host of the world-famous show Ellen and has been brought in to replace Paula Abdul, who left the show just before the current season. She always said yes even to the worst performances, and always seemed drunk.

Ryan Seacrest has always been the host, and is just there, I've never really thought much of him.


The show works by going to many cities where hundreds of thousands of people come to audiotion to be on the show. If you can get at least three out of four yesses, you move on to the next round.

The next round is called Hollywood week, where all the people who have passed and got the golden ticket preform again with three other singers in front of all the judges. Out of the hundreds of people that make it, only twelve guys and twelve girls move on.

Next, the show really begins. They all do a performance and the viewers vote for who should move on. The person with the least amount of votes is eliminated. This goes on until there are only two people left. Then they each do three performances, often collaberating with famous artists. The person who gets the most votes wins, and gets the prize, a free record deal.
Now I'm going to talk about my top 3 American Idols ever, they are;
David Cook ( who won Season Seven ) beat out David Archuleta and became the first ever winner of American Idol that was neither a country nor pop singer, but more of a rock-and-roll one instead.
Carrie Underwood ( who won Season Four ) beat Bo Bice and thankfully won. I think Carrie's a great singer and that she and Taylor Swift should really do a duet.
Kelly Clarkson ( winner of Season One ) she was the first ever winner of American Idol and set what the standard is for most idols today, to be a young pop-star.
I hope that you agreed with my ideas if you have watched/watch this show and if you haven't I strongly recomend it, being my favorite reality TV show. Also if you ever want to see Simon again on this show you must watch season nine ( the current one ) because he ois supposidley going to leave the show after this season to judge a different singing show, X-Factor, which has been a hit in Great Britian and is going to be brought over here next fall.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

O is for the Office

The Office was originally a British sitcom until it was brought to America in 2003. It was written by very accomplished writer Greg Daniels, veteran of shows such as, the Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and King of the hill. It is wildly successful and is currently in its sixth season.
Its about a branch in Scranton of a paper company called Dunder Mifflen. Its run by Michael Scott (Steve Carrel) who constantly makes jokes and cannot take his work seriously. Other members are Pam, (Jenna Fischer), Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Ryan ( B.J. Novak), along with many others.
Its my favorite TV show and I watch it every night at 9 to 10.
Some of the best episodes are:
The one where Michael decides to start his own paper company which is called Michael Scott Paper Company, and he takes Pam and Ryan with him, to only come back in a few episodes.
When Pam and Jim get married.
When Michael runs over Meredith and has to take her to the hospital, bu when he gets there the doctor says that she has rabies. Michael then does a run for Rabies 'For the diasese thats already been cured' as Jim put it.
Those are just a few of the awesome episodes.

Life lesson; Mockumentaries rule!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

K is for Kelly

Kelly is my littel 9 year old sister. She was born a milenium baby, on March 16th 2000. I was two and a half when she was born. Its sort of weird because even though I was really little when she was born, I still remember it perfectly.
We were at the Grand River hospital after I had been taken care of by my Nana while my Mom and Dad were at the hospital. I only remember two main things from that day.
1. Me holding my sister for the first time and she pushed the button on my shirt that looked like a Sheep so it 'Bahhhhh'
2. Immediatly after that my Mom and Dad gave me a stuffy Panda that they said Kelly had brought with her from 'babyland'. That made me like her.

Life Lesson: Love can be bought.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

M is for Michael

Michael is one of the most popular names on Earth. Its the most common name in America. There are many famous Michaels such as, Michael Jackson, Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan, Michael Ore (guy from the blindside), & Michael Owens.
Michael Jackson was the king of pop. Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all time, Michael Ore is the star of the awesomematic movie the Blindside and is currently the starting left-tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, and Michael Owens is a striker for the English soccer team Manchester United.These are all famous Michaels and will all be remembered at being one of the best of what they did.
Michael was an arcangel in Islamic, Hebrew, and Christian beliefs, and was the field commander of God's army.Michael means ' who resembles God?' The name Michael has been used for centuries and has become popular in many parts of the world including, France, America, Canada, and Ireland.

Life Lesson: Never judge a book by its cover.

Monday, January 11, 2010

F is for Fergal

Okay, when I was on vacation in the Cayman Islands over Christmas break I had a great time. The island was really hot and the ocean was amazing, but everything turned for the better when I met a man named Fergal Quinn.
One night while we where eating dinner I said to the waiter how great the service was. I probably said it too loud cause the man at the table leaned over and said in a extremely thick Irish accent, 'While I agree, young sir!'
Then my family and him and his wife Denise had like a two and a half hour conversation. After I bit I stated , 'You know I'm Irish too.' That made them really excited so they asked, 'Oh where are you from,' and my Dad said, 'My Dad lived around Colona-Kilty.'
And of course they were from there too. And then we started talking about sports. Denise said that she was an avid golfer, and then I said so is our aunt. She asked who our aunt was and I said Dolores. And then she started grinning and she said Dolores Farnen, and I'm like yeah. They golf at the same club.
Then Fergal said that he was the better golfer and he said to me, 'Okay, Michael, ask me who won the first hole.' 'Who won the first hole?' 'Oh I did,' he said very pleased, 'Now ask me who won the last hole?' 'Who won?' 'Oh,Oh Michael I did. '
Then Denise said she won all the middle holes. It was really funny when we were there.
Then we got talking about jobs. He is an Irish millionaire. He first started large supermarket chain called superQuinn, he sold that and made a lot of money, was the head of the Irish post for two decades and is currently an Irish senator.
He said that he wanted to take me under his wing- which is a seriously good thing.

Life Lesson- Karma exists