Cuppin Fuffin

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and while Thanksgiving is a time for wonderful get-togethers, my family doesn't go crazy over Thanksgiving. You see, I guess we're a weird bunch. We celebrate Christmas much larger than Thanksgiving, with three gatherings, not one. Our first gathering is traditionally the Saturday before Christmas, which, this year, is the 21st. We all meet in my Great-grandmother's apartment in Harlem (far north Manhattan.) After that, we meet for the most special gathering, at my grandmother's house here in Warwick on Christmas Eve. My grandmother cooks a feast, and I bake some desserts to bring. Usually I make those pre-made cookies, but I'm feeling something different this year. We gather around 2:00PM, and more people gather throughout the night, until we have somewhere in the realm of 15 or so. We sing, play guitar, and have a nice time. My aunt and I run around with cameras and video cameras, documenting the night. After dinner, (which, as I said before, is a feast fit for a king) we head to a local Catholic chapel, where, my grandfather who's a Catholic preacher, gives mass. This goes until just before midnight. We drive back to my grandmother's house where we all open gifts. My aunt and I, once again, run around with cameras. Everyone gets home by around 2:00AM, by this time it's Christmas morning. This year we're hopefully beginning a new tradition. The day after Christmas, which is a Friday this year, our family is heading to Sayville, Long Island, about two hours out, to gather at my uncle's house. We're going to spend the day there and exchange more Christmas spirit. I will most likely spend the following week there and celebrate New Year's with them as well. It should be much fun. The entire purpose of this post was really to get down to the point that I made some pumpkin muffins, but I didn't want to just come out and say GUESS WHAT I MADE MUFFINS.

I made pumpkin muffins, GUYS! And they're DAMNED GOOD!

 What can one do?

Old Emails

Just a quickie, but a rant about myself again, and how much I hate who I used to be. Like, what the *EXPLICIT* was this?!?!?! READ THIS, AND LAUGH, I ENCOURAGE MUCH LAUGHER.

This was an old email from me to someone I'm sure you can guess, dated 3/2/2007...hah.

This is like an oxymoron, but if I'm not what you call 'normal' next week, at all. I'll just say right now, tonight has been the worst night of my life. No exceptions. Tonight is the worst night I've ever had ever. I just don't...don't expect me normal. You'll know why eventually. Just so you know, this isn't the normal, "So what's bugging you?" This is something that might change my life forever. I'm just giving you the heads up.

I don't know whether to cry, be happy, or be angry. I'm trying to stay emotionless.

What the hell was wrong with me?! Again, I laugh. How pathetic.

Really?

It was brought to my attention a few days ago that my views are one of an extreme leftist. To that person I ask:
-- Really? Am I really that far left? Because, ya know, I beg to differ. It's simple, really...

1. I fully stand by President George W. Bush, not only out of respect but out of praise. Do I think he's been a good president? Yes. I'm the minority in that statistic, and I'm fully aware. We are in a misguided war with previously good intentions. Though most would argue the War in Iraq is a war for oil control, I would starkly disagree. I believe that is a reasonable conclusion, however it must be kept in mind that though President Bush is the leader of this fine country, he is not the end-all be-all power. We all must also keep in mind that through this American public, no one holds more power than we the people. We have the right of protest, and protest is heard in this country by those that govern. What if protest isn't heard? Well that's when we elect a new President, such as Former Senator Barack Obama. Barack signifies a way out of this war that I, too, believe is long overdue, however now out of spite for Mr. Bush. I believe he was a great president. 
2. This economic crisis is easily blamed on republicans, nominally The failures of George W. Bush. May I ask you, what can a president do to regulate a market? We're all quick to find a scapegoat, but this country was based on Laissez-Faire economics, a far cry from imposed British Mercantilism. President Bush handled himself as he should. Stone-Age old laws "governing" economics aren't the fault of President Bush. Just because it went wrong on his watch doesn't make him the evil-doer. 
3. Maybe this is one of my more conservative views. I oppose an amendment to the marriage laws (as does Barack Obama) and I'm extremely pro-life, whether or not you like it. That's why Bush was my man over both Gore AND Kerry. My only crisicism? Failure to advance on the Global Warming crisis, but McCain AND Obama BOTH had that covered for me.

Obama was my man this election, but I'm no Democrat, and I'm no Republican. I'm what you call a noncommital.

Hear ye

Just a quickie - I just read an article of Taylor Swift complaining about her relationship with one of the Jonas brothers and then she continues on to say she's moved on. I don't care about the people in this article, but for anyone that has been separated for this long, shut up, stop moaning, and move on. I did it, so can you. Shouldn't have even taken me the time it did. It's not worth moping.

Sonnet 130 - A Response

I had to read sonnet 130 for ELA and write a response about it, and here is what I was able to fashion out of it.

     Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 130 expressing an opinion few wrote about in his time. His first three quatrains are of a dame, known today as the Dark Lady, aptly named so out of her dun complexion. Love today is rarely idealized, in my opinion. Shakespeare describes women as having hair of wire (golden wire) while his mistress has black, dull hair. Simply this shows that truly, his love is blind.
     Courtly love was an extremely idealistic form of love. Woman were often regarded as strong spiritual forces in a relationship. They often married young so as to have a companion during their "prime" years. After teens, a woman not in the perfect relationship was discounted. Woman were said to have been married and kept chiefly due to their appearance. Shakespeare's words speak the opposite.
     Shakespeare's words ring very true to me. Physical attraction may be a cornerstone to inviting a love interest, but once you trust love a person, a certain part of you never ceases. Romantic love is an ineffable sensation rarely felt. Simply recognized, it's a driving force that makes life so wondrous that renound authors authors write about it to express and solve this inscrutable riddle.

Thanks

Smile

I really wanted to continue on the theme of unity from my last blog post, but I wasn't sure quite how - so I decided it's a good idea to extend it into not just national unity, but global unity. Pictures speak volumes, so perhaps it's better of me to keep it short, sweet, and to the point, and show you a video from the overseas country of Australia, where a viewing party watched on full of some American voters, as well as native Australians. It's amazing how one man can do more than bring a nation together -- he brought the world to one warm embrace. 

Hello World

Hey there friends.What's new? Haven't heard from my usual blog-followers in a while. Anyone wanna give me a shout out? I've been here editing video, and I'm about to go to sleep. I'm so exhausted after a great day in the city filming the Challenge competition. I would post the results here, but the group is under a Non Disclosure Agreement and I can't take any chances online. Ask me about it. I didn't have very many pictures, so I put together a collage of the day's events.

In other news, Ms. Sciarra decided to don the Wildcat mascot suit, and parade around like a nut. It landed her a spot on the channel 12 news tonight. The show will be airing December 20th & 21st at 6:30P and 9:30P. Be sure to catch us all on TV! Best part is, this isn't my only class trip this year! WOOOOOOOOOOOOH.

FUNNY!

You guys will like this... http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=TMHWSZ6KhEhiIHQSK5w99TEwMzU2Nzgz&referred_by=14356385-kCw_wpx

On the Eve of Greatness

Tomorrow millions of Americans will vote, in addition to the millions that have voted already. Early voting numbers have shattered records. Why such the fuss? I'm sure you know exactly why. This election, one way or another, is going to be groundbreaking. We will either have a female Vice President or an African American president. It's going to be a great day for us Americans and our strive towards ethic perfection. As Americans, the world looks onto us. We are the major power in the world today, and one of the richest per capita. We are often the home of human ingenuity and design, and the American workforce is par none. Technology has become an integral and mandatory part of society for each and every one of us. However, through the greats, America is at quite a low, as is most of the world today. We are pouring billions of dollars into two mismanaged wars, and are in the middle of one of the greatest economic crises in our history. Though it's taken this, we Americans have learned the error of our ways, and try day in and day out to correct them without second thought. In America, good isn't good enough. In fact, nothing for us is good enough. We constantly demand more of everyone. Perhaps it's this that gives the American culture unfavorable views among certain other countries. We are uptight, and expect things to get done when we ask for them, and not a day later. Well, I think you could speak just as well as I when I say that when things don't get done on time, well let's just say we freak out.
     It's funny, I just wrote an entire paragraph summarizing the American culture and none of you questioned my reasoning. American CULTURE? When have you ever heard of THAT before? I beg the question, why are we so prone and eager to denoting ourselves to some extraneous background? Why can't we just say that we are Americans? Americans come in all flavors, colors, sizes and minds. This is what makes our culture so great. None are as diverse as we are. My words may seem paradoxical to some, but just think - our differences unite us. We work daily as a nation, together. This is most evident in times of need. When September 11th, 2001 reared it's morose head and the ashes settled, through the rubble and wreckage stood a society. We the people stood together as one, determined to defend ourselves and the attack that equally affected all of us on that heinous day. In August of 2003, there was a large blackout that affected 40 million Americans, (but don't forget the 10 million Canadians, eh?) The last time there was a major blackout (be it 1977) there was major looting. New York City was brought to its knees as men women and children raided shops and broke windows, but what's one to expect of such a materialistic society? Well, in 2003, men, women, and children roamed the streets hand in hand, gazing at the stars. They were amazed by the stars in the sky, as in New York City, the only stars in the sky are those after three or four shots. All roamed looking upward and smiling. Darkness in the city that never sleeps. We were together. It was a beautiful thing.
     Maybe that's why many others can't stand us Americans. All too rarely do we actually unite without a cause. Though I do think it is a flaw in our society, I don't believe that it takes a catastrophe to get us together. In 2004, few people had ever heard the name Barack Obama, nor how to pronounce it. After a rousing speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, he became known. Barack Obama is the Junior Senator from Illinois. He's born of a Muslim Kenyan father, and to a Caucasian mother. I'm not sure about yourself, but I've yet to hear Senator Obama classify himself as a race other than American. Possibly it's out of his self-proclaimed inability to do so. Without being stereotypical, it's not common for a boy to be born of ancestries that inhabit opposite sides of the earth. Out of poverty and a very rough childhood without ever really knowing his father, Barack Obama has risen in America as one of the most amazing figures to grace America with their intellect. Barack Obama is the true American, one who comes out of trouble and times that would bring about negativity and hopelessness. Barack Obama and his supportive family never caved in to those feelings, regardless of how poor conditions were. This man by the name of Barack Obama has spoken to us in a time of undeniable need for change and reconciliation. My fellow Americans, there is no denying that this country is at one of its most polar points in history. I see whites hating blacks, blacks hating whites, slurs and negative epithets flying through the air daily, and it makes me sick. Can't we all just say we are Americans? I am a Puerto Rican American, one with origins to Europe as the majority of this nation, but should that really matter? Where we are from tells nothing of us. Who's to say all blacks are African, and to say all whites are European? Who are you to classify and degrade another culture, when you don't understand them? We the people must unite, and not just out of cause. We must unite as a nation. Let us show others around the world that we can accept each other, and moreover embrace one another. Our differences are what make us so great, so why put them down or try to hide them? Why should we resort to the mistakes of our ancestors, and  apply unfair racial thoughts to certain people just because of how they dress? America, we need to one day move beyond the fact that those wearing turbans or hijabs aren't terrorists. So what if we were attacked by men from that culture? Mind you, we were attacked by one of our own in the 2001 Anthrax attacks, which killed many. A government scientist by the name of Bruce Edwards Ivins was suspected. When informed of this, he committed suicide. Does that mean we should fear ourselves?
     Just as catastrophes have done, should great do. Let us unite, and not only under the bad. Barack Obama has united many cultures of this nation in a way that few have before. Barack Obama is the true American hero, showing how great we can be as a culture, not just a generalized group of distinct segregated societies. Hope to one day us being a single culture that lives the American way. Through good and bad, we will be more successful together. In these trials we face, may we be more strongly linked than ever before, and may this link never waver, all while remembering, if gold was to rust, what then would iron do?