To the King

Well, back at good ol' UCI. It's week three and with plenty to do. I got an essay to do for my sociology class, a FAFSA that's on the verge of being complete (waiting on my dad's PIN that I ended up deactivating), and a buttload of math problems and sociology reading to catch up on. But I don't want to just yet. I would like to talk about something for a bit, it being a special day today.

Today is dedicated to a certain individual who's done much good during his time on this earth. His leadership and charisma helped bring justice to this country of ours: a country that exists on the basis of liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness, yet practiced slavery and later segregated an entire race from white people. This man is none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He took the Civil Rights Movement to new heights, from winning the bus boycotts in Alabama, to walking up to the nation's capital demanding change. He led a movement that gained such great momentum that it allowed others to seek the fairness as well, such as the Feminist, Farm Workers, and Gay Rights movements (I learned that from my Social Problems class when dealing with claims). MLK deserves respect as not only a revolutionary, but as a great human being. The way he moves people was amazing. Just look for yourself... (see video)

His speech always moves me. It can say more than anything I could ever utter from my mouth. And so, I salute you, Martin Luther King, and to all the good you did for this country. God bless you. Just as you deserved your on day, you deserve an entire entry to dedicated to remind everyone why we have a free day from school.

Arbitrary Observations #3

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, women and children of all ages!!! Pardon the cheesy introduction, but welcome to another edition of "Arbitrary Observations", where I discuss several unrelated topics instead of just one. As I've noticed, I've done several of these monthly, so I will continue said trend with January's edition. Let's get into it then...


Back @ UCI!
My winter break ended not to long ago, and I have finally returned to the University of California, Irvine! And it's great to be back!!! And I believe the feeling is mutual for most of Jardin. I missed many of my friends here during the three-week hiatus, and I'm glad to see them all healthy and in good spirits.

But with being back, there's this little nuisance called classes. But for the most part, they aren't so bad. My Chicano Studies and Writing class are pretty cool (the theme for Writing is horror). Sociology 3 isn't much fun, but it's bearable. And with the exception of an 8am class on Tuesday, my classes take place between 11am and 4pm. Thus I have lots of free time during the evening. I put said free time to use yesterday as I went with some of my dorm peeps to go ice-skating. It was my first time, so it was no surprise that I fell on my ass about 4 times. And boy, were my ankles hurting like a bitch afterwards! Good times though!

I look forward to see what this winter quarter has in store for me. And just as I have started my second quarter of college, I would like to wish the best of luck to all my friends in their respective schools. And if you would like to know a little more about a friend of mine at Berkeley and his interests, be sure to check out http://andibobe.livejournal.com/*.

The Road to Wrestlemania
Since for some reason I'm still a wrestling fan, I can't help but notice that the Royal Rumble is coming up soon. And boy, this is the best time of the year for wrestling fans. With the Royal Rumble comin' up soon, the "Road to Wrestlemania" is about to begin. It starts at the RR, where one of the most exciting match concepts takes place, the Royal Rumble match. 30 guys fight in a battle royal of sorts, where two guys start it out and every minute and a half another guy enters the match until all 30 have entered. One must be eliminated over the top rope, and the last guy in the ring wins the match and a title opportunity at Wrestlemania! An hour of craziness

What's interesting for me besides the match is the storylines goin' into the WM24. With the title matches being decided, the other storylines fall into place and the fans get to see what other feuds will be decided and/or begin, what gimmick matches will be at WM, etc. There's about 2 months between RR and WM24, so plenty can happen to shape up an awesome card for WM, which will be held out-doors in Orlando, FL! I have my fingers crossed for an Edge v. 'Taker match for the World Title!

Fuck You Dattebayo!!!
Apparently, do to the fact that people take the fansubbed product that the fansubbing group "Dattebayo" put out online and stream it on websites such as YouTube, they say that they will stop fansbbing production indefinitely.

What a bunch of bitches!!! Personally, as much as I love Naruto and Bleach, I could give two shits if I miss out on a few episodes, especially since I read the mangas (which are chapters away from where both shows are at the moment). What makes me irritated is that they're just assholes. They complain that showing the material they put on YouTube and such will out them and get caught by companies that legally own the shows. Well, that comes with the territory. And I've read some of the other shit they put out on their website, and they sound like a bunch of high-and-mighty nerds that they're above the other idiots in the world just 'cause not everyone is techno-savvy. I know I'm not. And if they're not gonna be fansubbing, I'm sure someone else will eventually.

And what amuses me the most is the computer nerds that can't live without the shows doing Dattebayo's bidding and flagging or spamming videos of their product (i.e. English-subbed videos of Naruto Shippuden and Bleach). It reminds me of what Stephen Colbert said once on his show, where these days people organize online and complain, as opposed organizing publicly (not that this event requires such measures; that would be stupid).

Funniest thing is that they put up this message a few weeks ago, and yet I got to see the latest Naruto Shippuden yesterday, fansubbed BY THEM!!! So much by doing so indefinitely, unless all the YouTube and Veoh videos are gone. Well, those were my two cents on the matter, and if you'd like to hear more about anime, shows I prolly don't watch, go check out http://andibobe.livejournal.com/. Fuck you Dattebayo!!!

The Show Must Go On
Well, despite the writer's strike, several talk shows have returned on-air. Shows like The Daily Show, Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien, and The Colbert Report are back!!! Kinda sucks that they had to return so not have some of their crew fired. Shows that they care about their workers. But it's also great to see them back on my TV. And they're quite entertaining even without their writers. However, I do wish the strike ends soon, so we can go back to they're hilarious sketches and segments.

To Expand or Not to Expand?
Well, my friend Jennifer Tso suggested that I do my blog on LiveJournal, as many of our friends write on that website. Well, as much I would like to write on LJ, I've written so many great entries here that I'm too lazy to go elsewhere. I already cut and paste from this blog to the one on my MySpace, which I started first. I don't think I can go abandon this one and move to another page, as well as cut and paste there too! So for now, I'm goin' to stay here on Blogger, and if my LJ friends really want to comment on my stuff, they can still do so with their LJ accounts (no need to have a Blooger account). And speaking of LJ friends, you can read more about one of them at http://andibobe.livejournal.com/.


...Well, I think that'll do it for this month's "Arbitrary Observations". Be sure to check out next month's, as well as the other occasionally interesting entries I do. 'Til next time, this is Fernando signing off. Peace.


*Andy mentioned me in his last blog, so I thought I'd shamelessly plug his blog for the fun of it. =P

El Futuro

Welcome to my first entry of 2008! Well, my winter break has come to an end, and it wasn't exactly the winter break that I had envisioned weeks ago. I could go on and on about its flaws, but I'm tired of even thinking about it. So now, I look to the future and what I plan to do in 2008. I guess you can say they're New Year resolutions...

1. Do Better @ UCI - I was able to stay above a 3.0 g.p.a. in school, which was pretty cool. However, I am a little upset of my performance, as I know I can do much, much better. Especially with 16 credits, I can't be fooling around like last quarter. It's about time I kick it up a notch... BAM!!!
2. Go to a Club - I'm 19 damn it!!! 'Nuff said!
3. Find Work - Some people might be fine spending their parent's money, or any form of financial aid for their dumb purchases. I'm not one of those people. Therefore, I gots to look for work to have some disposable income for my own dumb purchases. Even to have some scratch for next Christmas.
4. Go to Mexico - It's been a while since I've gone out of the U.S. so why not do so to go visit my grandma in San Luis Potosi. I'm thinking of taking the summer off, look for work, and go visit Mexico. Need to get my passport though.
5. Find a Girlfriend - Wish me luck with that one.
   

I think these are my current goals for '08. Doable, right? Let's hope so. It's about time to put the past behind me, for the most part, and move forward. Memories and familiar faces are good and all, but they should not be of great focus. I learned that during the break. Time to divert my energy to where I can get some reciprocity. And on that note, I'll be signin' off. Hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year! Peace out!