✔©✔
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Texas Tech vs Coach Mike Leach: My stories/my arguments
Why Texas Tech fans and alumni have created and joined “Team Leach”:
Why Texas Tech should have been more patient:
Why Coach Leach should remain Head Coach of the Texas Tech football program:
Why Texas Tech AD, Gerald Myers must resign or also be terminated:
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Family members we missed this Christmas day.
Another awesome Christmas for the record books!
In reflection of Christmas 2009 come and gone, it makes me giggle as I think about how much time and care that goes into wrapping of the gifts, and how it takes just seconds to tear them open with probably little thought being given to how pretty the box looked all draped in Xmas paper attire. As the gifts are opened, the culprits that are us begin to create another layer of flooring - Christmas wrapper flooring - across Mom's living room and foyer. My sister's and I usually take the lead and ensure that all left-over wrapping, bows, boxes, etc is carefully placed into trash bags before we leave or Mom won't let us go (ha,ha). We also do this to prevent too much chaos at the end because as careful as we are to make certain that no gifts are thrown away...trust me, in our family, this has been an occurrence for the past few years to have a gift accidentally thrown away. It is guaranteed to happen each year so we now deem it a family tradition only now we await to see who will fall victim to such said event. This year it was yours truly and my cat. (story about that to follow).
Dude, where's our Xmas gifts?!!
Don’t forget the furry-family members at Xmas time!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Where Have All the Young Stars gone...
In remembrance of Brittany Murphy, 32, who passed away earlier today, Sunday 12-20-09.
(click on each pic for IMDb bio, open in a new tab or window)
I posted on my FB wall that she, like Heath Ledger, was much too young when they died. Heath passed away last January 2008 at the age of 28. Brittany was found collapsed in her shower at the West Hollywood home which she shared with her British screenwriter husband of 2 years, Simon Monjack. The LA Times writes that she suffered a massive heart attack, but hospital sources refused to comment. Additional reports state that Brittany was found in full cardiac arrest and that attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. She was rushed to Cedars-Sanai Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m according to a hospital spokeswoman. TMZ media sources said it was her beloved mother who found Murphy and Brittany's husband who called the LA City Fire Department. The rumormill started out quickly after her death was announced by the LA Times- as is expected in Hollywoodville - alleging anorexia, drugs, and such just like when Heath died last year; his an alleged drug overdose . Many blogs, forums and trash mags all too ready to cite the negative and unproven which is why I am dedicating this post to the late Brittany Murphy in order to shed a brighter light on her career and her life.
Whatever the causes were behind the untimely death of each respective actor, let's not forget that they were still someone's loved one and several broken hearts remain amiss. Somewhere out there survives many a loved one, a close friend, and a grateful fan who will continue to love and will forever miss each one of these brilliant actors. Yes, each one much too young to die especially near or at the prime of their craft, but each one leaves behind a legacy perhaps bigger and surely longer than the short-life they were allowed. Today I remember Brittany Murphy and the movies she made which made me laugh, cry, etc...several emotions brought about but never a disappointment to me. My final thought on the death of Brittany...'what a loss!'
Other actors we lost earlier this year whom were especially endearing to me for different reasons... Natasha Richardson, Farrah Fawcett...
Today I also remember my beloved nephew, Philip Guzman Jr, who passed away May 4th, 2000. Click on his pic to view the blog I dedicated to him...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Remember the Alamo...the Alamo city, that is!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Because I felt like it - or NOT!
I have had people asking me why I haven’t posted a story on this blog in a long time. I really don’t have a good answer for that except that I just haven’t been in the mood. My writing of late has mainly been devoted to other blogs and sites and has lead to the neglect of my own. Any bit of inspiration for contributing to my own “e-opus” has been sucked from my brain due to exhaustion, but I shall no longer allow exhaustion -or the hint of it- to stifle me and keep me from posting stories on my own blog. I feel ready to write a story this evening so here it goes (following this post). I hope everyone will enjoy it and please do comment if you feel inspired…good or bad, it is always welcomed. It makes a good writer even better, wouldn’t you say (rhetorical).
Xmas or Christmas: Apropo or not? Materialistic or not?.
Each year of the 43 years of my life, I have seen and been witness to the very idea that people have tainted the meaning of the holiday. The material side with Santa having the leading role, makes it just another paganistic holiday. Millions of people agree that this is so. So to us, it matters not if people use Xmas or Christmas. It is just another holiday taken for granted by millions of people to show off their financial success by presenting loved ones, friends, co-workers, etc. with elaborate gifts. Or for those less fortunate, a time that financial institutions grossly take advantage of the consumer and make all types of loans which people obviously cannot afford. Overall, the holiday has resorted to being an opportunity for people to make up for their short-comings and such. The idea of honoring the birth of Christ has completely gone awry with Xmas being the most materialistic holiday on the calender.
In closing, it really and truly just astounds me how so many people get upset when one abbreviates Christmas with Xmas. I used to be naive myself and among those who denounced such usage of the word until I delved further into the myths surrounding the whole controversy. I found out that the letter X, in reference to the Greek letter (chi), was often used in reference to Christ. It is an abbreviation for the name Christ which in Greek is Χριστός. Maybe instead of getting irate over the wording of certain things, especially when not meant to be derogatory, people should try being nicer to one another. Maybe we should strive to be better human beings. Instead of showing off our money and success to loved ones, we should be more humble for it and try to share it with strangers who are in dire straits. After all, it is easy to share one's wealth and success with those close to us, but I believe it takes a bigger person to share his/her blessings with strangers.
***********************************
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!
Monday, November 16, 2009
The story many of my FB friends have been waiting 4
Saturday, October 31, 2009
HAPPY HALLOWEEN: Samhain/Old Irish!
BTW, the definition of Samhaim, it is a Gaelic festival or another Irish name or Scottish Gaelic name for November. Another one of its meanings is disambiguation. Disambiguation means to remove the ambiguity from; to make unambiguous. Ambiguous means doubtful, uncertain, lacking clarity of meaning or open to more than one interpretation.
Read the history on the following post:
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Mark Sanchez rocks: let the "hot dog" player eat a hot dog!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
STUPID ECONOMY: My niece Alex said it best.
Going forward in my adult life, I will listen more to what my Mom has to say and what advice she has to offer as she is the wisest person with the best foresight of anyone I have ever known. Since the new millennium began, Mom has been telling my siblings, me, their kids, friends...most everyone whom she had contact with to start saving our money, to be less carefree with our money and more frugal with our expenses; to buy groceries & everyday necessities (IE: sundries) in bulk for the hard times because the hard times were coming and coming fast. My Mom has been doing just that - doing just as she recommended that others do and she has prepared her household for those hard times which indeed did rear its ugly face and everyone is clearly seeing its effects if not also feeling its awful effects. She has helped feed others who fell short of being able to buy food, and loaned money as she could afford it herself. She has been a life-saver to many, many people. Her pantry is like a grocery store. My siblings and I are often the beneficiaries of her pantry and we can often grocery shop for the essentials straight out of her pantry. As for the recession that Mom kept forecasting for years & years, it took a few years to finally hit, but they are here. In actuality, my Mom saw the economy start to decline & she was quite vocal about it long before the un-necessary war of "W's" that saw fuel prices sky-rocket, long before the Lehman Bros. fiasco, long before the diabolical home loan/predatory lending scandals, long before bank bail outs and car industry plummeting sales, my Mom predicted the economy going sour long ago and was not afraid to tell people. Our ignorance to even acknowledge such an occurrence was probably born out of fear. Fear that she was right and none of us would be prepared for it.
I am certain that several people thought my Mom was being overly cautious or just paranoid. I am ashamed to admit that those thoughts crossed my mind from time to time, but I respected her views and opinions because she did have a history of being right. She had long been right about many things that most of us would not even want to think about. My Mom got it right as did many older people who have been through the great depression or similar. Those very people who went through worse times than we are seeing now, those people who have made a mental note of past bad times in order to prevent from repeating them. Those older people -our elders - who have since prepared for bad times each and every year. Who better than that generation, my dear Mom's generation, to be able to see when the bad times were coming AGAIN? After all, they had to live through and endure through the world-wide, financial collapse that came to be known as the Wall Street Crash of 1929; the very inciter of the great depression which saw several years of financial windfalls of epic proportions. My Mom's generation lived it, and they remembered it every day until things got better but as they moved forward they proceeded with great caution. The very caution that present day has eluded to once again. Did people forget what catastrophic events had to occur before the world recovered from the great depression? The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and in doing so they... "awakened the sleeping giant". WWII and all that ensued was apparently what brought an end to the great depression.
ANYway, the "W" administration was the worst one to date. "W's" reign began the descent of our country's financial system, of our country's reputation, and of our empire. His lack of action in some areas and his over-reaction in others was just too much. There was never any balance to his administration/reign. Our country would slowly start to spiral downward and it would have a domino effect on the rest of the world. During his reign is when financial institutions began their sorry attitudes of entitlement. No one was watching them anyway, all eyes were on the war and how it was being mishandled. The Lehman Bros. fall was not the beginning of present day recession, this recession started way back on January 20th, 2000...then for the next 8 years, things would just get worse as would the ignorance. I read a book once and in one of the chapters the author referred to a certain theory that touched upon the effect of "a man with no plan but who gains much power is a dangerous one". That theory and description is how I will always remember "W".
I bring this up because it makes me mad that so many people are suffering right now through no fault of their own. So many things could have been done to prevent this recession. I know there are always other people who have it so much worse; those who have nothing, but let me remind readers that had things been caught and tended to during the "W" years, these needy people could have been helped and helped big.
As I think about those who have nothing, I think how much they could have had. As I think of those who had a lot and lost it, I think how much could have been done to prevent it. As I think of the privileged that still have everything and had a hand in the recession, I think about the negative Karma they have invited into their lives and I feel sorry for them. One day they will see the error of their ways and maybe admit a little guilt for this stupid economy.
Recession takes its toll on local, small business owners.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Blame It on Rio!
Monday, September 28, 2009
RSVP's gone ignored...for goodness sake, just say "yes" or "no".
Why we need to remember our past...
If someone needs my last dime, I remember a long time ago being without one myself so I will give it because ever since I have had a change of heart to give rather than to expect to receive, He has never allowed me to go without anything. He has replaced my dime many times with dollar bills or just with a full heart and good health and a loving family with their own good fortunes. If someone needs a ride anywhere, I will bend over backwards to give the person a ride because I remember the countless times I had no ride so that I could go to work, to school, to Dr's appts or just to run daily errands. It totally bites to be without a car, and I just don't see how anyone could ignore other people's needs. I am deeply saddened by the idea that those who have never been without a vehicle simply just do not understand what it is to be without one therefore they justify their lack of helping others by way of some stupid excuse. Or they just ignore the person's needs. It's so very shameful when one ignores others needs when that person who needs assistance is one who has always been there for you. If someone has done something good for me, I will remember it for a long time and try to one day repay the favor or will just show little bits of gratitude here and there. If I once bought you a little gift, took you to eat or just did a little something nice for you...you probably once did something nice for me at a time I needed it the most. If you do not remember an occasion in which you did do something nice for me, then my gift was just to show my love, respect & appreciation for you, of how much you mean to me. The things I do for others are never-never-never about what that person can do for me to repay me one day. I believe in doing things for others without never expecting them to pay you back. Not even money; one should lend money if one can afford it and then treat the idea with no expectations of getting the money back. After all, if you could afford to lend it, you should be able to afford to not get it back. Don't lend it if you cannot afford it - those who truly understand your situation will understand.
I still believe Sara and I have it good, though. There are way more people out there struggling worse than us - whether we know them or not - other's are suffering badly. Some people have no home, no food, no family. I feel very wealthy compared to most. I am most thankful to date for my Mom and for her health. She cares for her family and loves us unconditionally like no one else. She is always there when we need her even when we have forgotten her needs, even when her health is worse than ours, even when someone treated her badly, she is there. She makes excuses for our shortcomings and continues to brag on us even when all we did was what one should do as part of life. I love her dearly and value her so much. I want to love her, appreciate her and do for her as much as I can while we are still blessed to have her here with us.