Common Sense Thought of the Day # 3

Choice … a trait that allows us to look at a relevant situation and make a decision that best helps you and others. Choice, a trait that is at the heart of everyone that wakes, breathes and lives in our country. Choice, something that gives us the ability to read, write, speak and live the way we want that makes fitting the properties of life, love and happiness. Choice, something that is at the forefront of anything logical, reasonable and common in the path of life we come to live … so choosing to be with another person, no matter race or gender , is on the grounds of the person choosing and the person accepting, not a dictation of the book you read or the law of the land. This revealing fact is the reason why, a law was over turned.

I bring up this point of choice for a recent event that has happened over in California. A federal judge in California overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, known as proposition 8. This is a major victory for the gay community, but also a major victory for equal rights and the purpose of freedom. I for one see this as a major step for society and a great step to moving forward to form a more perfect union in our country, but I’ll take a minute to discuss what seems to be a very touchy subject.

First of all, this overturn means a win for the gay community. Not only do they have the right to choose who they want to be with, they have a choice to marry them as well. To prevent someone from being with someone they choose to be, where it isn’t harming or hurting anyone is discrimination. Why do you have the right to prevent someone from being happy, from having the same privileges and security a man and a woman has? No one has the right to tell or dictate to someone they can’t be happy or satisfied for the rest of their lives. Now this leads into the fight of definition of marriage.

Many people believe that, because of what they’ve been taught through words of religion, that marriage is between a man and woman. Alright, that is your belief, but is it your right to enforce that upon someone who doesn’t believe that. There are many ways to live a happy life, to live a true life, to live a balanced life, and not one path is defined by one thought without truth and reason. A book of words is a sign of beliefs that helps people get through their lives, but at the same time, there are many religions in this country and this world, that living is not defined by a single word but the relevance of the point. The infliction of one’s views from a religious aspect is separate from the enforcement of state law; separate of church and state. A belief may guide, but a book translation isn’t literal, as the important is the common sense that people lack to see, the goodness of the reason is the that influence should be for all, not for secular few.

And to make one more point. Are they really hurting your structure on life. Are the preventing you from shopping at the mall, or taking your kids to school, or going out to eat your local buffet restaurant. No one is forcing you to change your ways, it’s the fact of respecting one’s views and accepting for what people are or choose to do.

Choice, a very common aspect on life, but when someone chooses otherwise, you want to berate them for being weird or different. You want to throw stones, spit and curse them on a highway to your hell. Maybe your marriage is shyt, but they truly find that man or woman to be special and want to be with them for the rest of their lives. Maybe it’s a jealously or envy thought, that you aren’t happy so you want to prevent their happiness. Just remember, the law of the land is to protect people, not separate, discriminate of violate anyone’s pursuit to live freely and be happy. We use to have laws that prevented marriage between blacks and whites, and learned our lesson about the violation of equal rights and the discrimination aspect of those laws. Have some common sense, leave people to their right to choose and you will learn to be happy for yourself.

- ... out

Its Football Baby!!!!

The breath, the rush, the feeling of the roar as the crowds screams for a touchdown. Yes, the 2010 season of the NFL is about to start and I'll be smiling from ear to ear. Why you may ask? Well ... there are many things that I enjoy in this world:

Poetry
Movies
Music
Photography

But one of my passions is being a NFL fan. I love me some football, but hey ... most people do, and have their reasons to watch games at stadiums, bars, or even on the couch with a bag chips and a 6 pack. For me, there are plenty of reasons to look forward to the football season, but I'll give you my main 5 reasons I'll be looking forward to this year.


5.) Fantasy Leagues - This is a lot of reason I love football. It means the rush, the competition, the battle between 2 opposing forces. I'm not talking about teams, but fantasy owners: who place players against players and hope they get the points needed to beat the other owner. A few years playing Fantasy football and it is one of the most fun I have with friends, family and co-workers


4.) Madden - The most obvious things that signals the start of the NFL season is the release of the epic game (and only game) that represents football; Madden. It is an annual routine for most gamers of sports games all over America to wait in line for hours or save up money to buy this game. For me, it is that point of the year I look forward to in the summer. New teams, new features, new online modes and all the reasons to whoop some ass online and offline against friends and the computer. Makes me smile when I win, and go crazy when I loose ... but in the end, I have fun

3.) Season Tickets - Yes, a dream of mine and my brothers. Last year I was able to attend 2 games live for the first time and I absolutely LOVED it. This year, a gift of all ages. Season tickets to one full season of football games in D.C. I'm not the biggest fans of the Skins, but the football is universal love, and I love football. Plus if I get to see the Cowboys loose, then its well worth it.

2.) Seeings the Packers live (1st time) - This is a continuation of the last reason, but more particular. I get to see my Green Bay Packers live for the first time in my life. This is a dream come true. I have loved the football team from The Frozen Tundra since I was a young gun, and to root for team with my Cheese Head is just going to make the day all more spectacular ...

and the number reason I'm looking forward to football

1.) Green Bay Packers - Nothing has felt so better, and so good, and so right like watching and hoping, that one day I'll see my team head towards the Super Bowl. This is the year. This is the time. We have the potent offense lead by Aaron Rodgers and a crazy blitzing defense lead my the likes of Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews and AJ Hawk ... I bleed the Green and Yellow, I bleed Cheese Head, I bleed the history of Vince Lombardi, the only thing that keeps me smiling, crying, jumping up for joy and souring at a last second lost, is my team ... I have hope for a great season


And there you have it, my 5 reason I have for looking forward to football. I hope you all get excited for this season, it is going to fun ride, no matter how the Super Bowl presents us.

- ... Out

Sheen vs. Brown: The Domestic Case

Domestic Abuse; something that should never be condoned in whatever form it is shown. That is first and foremost my first thought to this coming blog. So here we go.

Charlie Sheen. You may know him from many movies (Platoon, Major League) and TV shows of liking kinds (Two and a Half Men), but to be up front and most profound, what he portrays on the screen is something that isn’t reflect of his reality, yet he is given more than a few chances in his life to repent for his domestic abuses and vile nature in his private life. Even for his trials and tribulations, he continues to act against the moral ground, but is still given the praise for his work, gets jobs, get shows, gets to stand in the limelight of stardom.

Chris Brown. A young up and coming singer who has a voice that sways the woman of all ages, but one domestic abuse case later, he is vilified, scorn, thrown to the trash dumps and ridiculed up and down by public opinion and discourse of fans and critics alike. For all the things that is associated with this crime, he is being humiliated in public, but he has only had one offense; one fucking offense that brought down the law harder than a tumbling mountain slide of rocks and mud. Since then, his image tarnished, his record sales falling, and he basically had to go on live TV (The BET awards) to try and repair an image of disgust (as according to the public) to try to make something of himself again. He has had to face the harsh public, and so forth for one offense that he has already pleaded his guilt and tried to move on from it.

I bring up these facts based on the side to side comparison done at another blogging site. When you compare the men's private encounters, the obvious criticism of both are varied, like standing a midget against a giant. As much stuff as Sheen has done in his life, as much shyt that he has brought upon the world, he isn’t being badgered or belittled as much as Chris Brown. You have to ask yourself, how one man can face so much and get off scott-free, when another has one offense and has to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

People, this is the definition of a double standard. People are so disgusted at the facts, they blindly badger something or someone while standing with the hands of hypocrisy. If you truly want to hit someone hard, it should be Sheen, not Chris Brown. Presently, Brown has said his peace, faced the crime, took his punishment, and yet … even when someone tries to make his life better, he has words thrown at him like he is the villain, when he isn't. This is a scar on our society, when someone of a mistake tries to repent but is continually abused, but another continually repeats the same behavior, but just pays everyone off, and continues to live a life of paradise. Could this double standard be a sign that race still factors in people decision and opinions, that deep down inside that an image is tarnished by a color other then character. Who am I to say that this is the case, but sometimes the literal sense has a strong presence then the underlining tone of the good and evil sides of a committed crime.

No matter what happens; people need to take a look at the facts. First and foremost,domestic abuse is for and will always be something that is terrible, vile and ill conceived by any measure of society. People should be punished for their crimes, but … when someone continues to face so much hardship as one Chris Brown has, it is time to let things go, and let him live his life. Sheen should be taken the force, but … the media plays to its own beats. I cannot change society, but I can only present the thoughts of a well being. Hopefully you all will see the same.

- ... out

It is a ... Story

Do you, fantasize about things. Do you delve into the wonder and awe that perplexes the human mind? Do you dwindle on things that are full of thought provoking material that even the slightest change will affect a climax of living or a thought of belief of the real world? Well, what could you think of; you fell into the world of ‘the story’. The story is enlightened and now you are a fan, a follower, a believer of the world created within words of delight, fear and humility.

So, you like the story you read. You like the meaning, the purpose behind the story, characters and riveting rivals and relationships within. You like that the little old boy was saved in time from the mean people or the dragon was slain. Could you believe in this hope without the epic showing of something fanatical and unreal? Maybe yes, maybe no, but one thing’s for sure, whatever goes into the bleeding of truths, also goes into the fabricating of something unique. Hey, even a story of vampire love is a best seller, so … what does it take to make a story?


A Beginning - Something to begin with, something to see, it is a spark of something to start, to show, to give a doorway to the path or the place where the garden grows. Nothing is certain of what will happen next, but either the princess gets taken hostage, your parents die by an evil sorcerer or you rise to the heavens, there is a beginning, even if its war of the third age (Lord of the Rings)

Plots/Stories - There is something to tell the reader. There are cities to explorer, places to conquer, a path to follow, a reason to make the book in the first place. Have the glue to bind it together. If you do, you can then bring a plot, a reason, and a purpose to spread the words within your story. There is a drive for a novel, or a collection of short events that happens in a given town. Maybe it is meant to show the control of evil forces or a journey in a wonderful land down under. Wonderland you say, maybe it could be a desert, a holy city, a 20th century town in America or a futuristic place on the edge of the galaxy. Who knows, you need some kind of plot to explain the reason of being there.

Characters - One important point of your given story is the characters. How do the readers relate to the many characters you have within your story. Do they speak morals for or against society? Is there a motto for them, a reason to breathe, live or love? Are these characters just a reflection of some challenge in some psychological way, or you just need someone to be a martyr. From the main to the sidekick, from the godfather to the straggler cleaning the door mat in front of house of a village taken over by werewolves, there is something to be said about whom or what within the given story. They represent some kind of emotion for the read to have some kind of connection with said 'character'.

An End - No matter if its series, a short, a page or even a whole trilogy, there is an end. There is a reason to explain everything; a reason to lead all plot threads, characters to some conclusion. How will it end? Will it end with a destruction of a ring, a rise of a king, a boy finding a father or just some day old apocalypse? I don’t know, I’m not writing the story, so explain to your reader what shall be the end. Why am I sailing away to a sunset? Some purpose is brought with this meaning. Open ended or left to sparkle the smiling whore, whoever or whatever happens, there is an end, even for the tears of a child.


So there you have it, the specifics that make a story. A start, middle and end. You have your characters, you have plots. You also have reasons behind the many, or even a secular vision to prove a philosophical standpoint for the few. Whatever you leave in the words underneath, just remember … no matter what happens, it’s still a story. Moral bound or just passing words through time, everything weaves into fiction, even if it’s believed to be true.

Common Sense Thought of the Day # 2

So here we go. I am diverting from my plans on the blog I am working on for the next post (will be posted soon) to speak about something that just boggled my mind today. Maybe I just don't understand, but frankly, it doesn't take a fucking dead as a doornail perception to not realize this plan is just fucking wrong.

Reading the daily news, I come across another ridiculous thought confusing law being presented, and possibly get passed, in the state of Arizona, which aims to ban granting citizenship to newly born babies to illegal immigrants. If you have been hiding under a rock, Arizona had passed a new immigration law that entitles the police to ask people for their citizenship status upon 'reasonable suspicion'. I for one agree that reform is necessary for immigration, due to all the illegal immigrants and to improve the process of naturalization. I for one come from a line of people that are recent immigrants to the United States, so anything spoken hits at home. But here is a common sense perspective:

Do you really need to be that dull and ball bearing that something as dire as citizenship can be taken away if parents are illegal? They (referring to the babies of these illegals) are born on American soil, and based off the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment (Citizenship Clause) it states the following:

Amendment XIV, Section 1, Clause 1:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

Maybe I am no law practitioner or even a scholar of any sorts, but I do have the common sense to think that this goes against the Constitution. Anyone born within the boundaries or is naturalized is a citizen, no questions asked. They paid their dues or were legally brought into this world under our banner. Frankly, I am ashamed to think someone would believe in such a thing could battle illegal immigration, but then it is the same state that banned ethical studies from school. I guess the train of thought is to be secular and conformed to nothing but a backwards thought process. I look forward, so anyone that says (quoting from the banning citizenship to babies CNN article above):

If you go back to the original intent of the drafters ... it was never intended to bestow citizenship upon (illegal) aliens

They should just pass along with the tumbleweeds of the burning desert. Take a breath of reality, the newly born in an American hospital aren't illegal. Go fly a kite and maybe you'll be able to get high off that.

5 movies with Scarlet

Just take a second and look at this picture. She is defiantly a sight worth bearing for days on days, but beyond the application of beauty and wonders in her eyes, she is truly, a gifted actress. Beyond the looks, there is a person who has talent unforeseen to any other actress out there. OK, I might be exaggerating a little bit, but she is a honestly very talented, which leads to the point of this blog. From the perception out there, you might be in the boat of not knowing she has made quiet a few movies throughout the years before Iron-Man 2. I'm going to guess you probably haven't seen all her movies, but don't cry a river just yet. Today, I am going to give you a list of 5 movies starring the beautiful Scarlet Johansson that you should check out:


1.) Vicky, Christina Barcelona - A movie about a trip to Barcelona with friends, her acting sparkles wonders in this movie, as everything is forwarded through dialogue and interaction ... brought out by the talented director Woody Allen

2.) Match Point - Playing the part of a femme-fatal, she shines as the temptation falls to a former tennis star. Another shine of great acting ... also brought out by the talented director Woody Allen

3.) A Girl with Pearl Earrings - Playing the part a peasant girl who works for artist\painter Johannes Vermeer, becomes his assistant ... truly a remarkable film as the subtle motions are brought out in moments between her and the painter, the moods are full of grace and awe, this is the movie that got me to believe she will be going places with her acting

4.) Lost in Translation - The movie that put her in the spotlight with that first camera shot of her ass, the movie is based on her and bill Murray's characters exploits in Japan. Very deep in comedic elements but very articulate, this movie isn't for everyone, but it is the movie that garners true dramatic acting and put Scarlet on the map of A-List status

5.) The Other Boleyn Girl - Picking the fifth movie was hard, but I settled with this. Set before Elizabeth's reign, it follows two girls exploits with King Henry VIII. This film is a period piece, and draws great elements from both Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, but her acting is just as wonderful as the other four on this list.


So there you have it, 5 movies with Scarlett. I hope you go out and check out these movies, you will not regret it. She is truly gifted and you'll fall in love with her as I did.

- ... SA

What's in a Word?

So to speak, is to be heard. To be heard is to be known. To be known for something with a description gives proof of some kind of meaning, no matter if you puncture the heart of gold or smolder under the might of the shadows.

So, to speak a word, would you mean what you say? Do you even know what the word could mean to what is prowling around the world around you. Maybe you do, maybe you don't ... but for the while you read this, we will delve into the motion of what could be behind the words that are said, specifically the following:

freedom
faith/hope
racist
rape


So to say freedom, what is the feeling that is conjured in you, think about the two sides that are faced with just flinging something around like it weighed less than paper. On the one side, what is conjured if the word 'FREEDOM' is spoken of someone that takes it for granted, just placing it in the crowd like it is on a factory line ready to be a part of a mundane phrase. Like most Americans, freedom is left in the sights of mass media and consumerism when you don't know what struggles lay behind the product of your boombox or that new pair of high heels. On the other side, when speaking the word 'FREEDOM' to someone outside the states, it stirs a moment to dream of a better life. This word moves stronger in someone that breathes for a chance to speak with free thought and words but are thrown into turmoil like the People of Burma or blocked out like the Censorship in China. Take a minute to think what that single word has done for the past, present and maybe the coming future:

French Revolution
American Revolution
India breaking away from the UK
The Tearing of the Berlin Wall

The future holds many new places for freedom in such place like Latin America and Asia, but the word you speak, think about it what you are saying.

Leaning into freedom, people could speak of faith and hope. The conjure of the notion of having faith in some power or hope of something better could bring a chance forward to some light, or a chance to redeem someone or others. This is a good thing, in some sense of the word. The words of faith and hope, that are spoken for greatness is also present in the thoughts of the opposed. The thought of stories of morals and powers that flow are used also to bend a truth for a cause of selfishness and greed. We forget about the things faith has caused, like it's hand in the middle ages, the leading of The Crusades and a badge of honor to commit terrorism. Maybe their is good to have hope for a future and have faith in some kind of messiah, god or a master's teachings, but think about what it means to push someone into acceptance when you're shown one side and forget the other side of history. It is a blind eye that is turned in people that use faith as an excuse to kill and take a chance to take out someone's culture, but for the Yin, there is the Yang. Excuses are a double-edge sword, faith rides on the lines of words, so what's to say that it is right or wrong in the end?

From divisions of faith, there is another strong word from most culture that cause division: racist. It is like superglue, you speak it of someone, it never leaves them. There will always be that perception stirred in the ignorant and no one will want to be around the profound bigot. You look at them with a different eye, and probably alienate them and lead to another lesser form of badgering and turn into the prejudice ones. Maybe there was a reason to act on the racist thought, but the facts to profess someone a racist, do you think to analyze why you speak it in the first place. The meaning of it is someone with the opposition based on color. So do you jump to the conclusion of calling someone in spite of any knowledge of your moral ground. Do you think to realize, there is something behind your opposition when speaking the word racist. So what's to say you aren't a racist. Maybe the second you see a crowd of a certain race, you assume trouble. Maybe the minute you walk in a high scale neighborhood, you're assumption is not to find certain things or people there. Everyone has the right to live anywhere and do anything, judge the content of character fair sir, which you aren't. Do you think about that? NO ... so practically, calling you the racist is better left to be said.

What's to say, in any word. A proof could be in a very strong, abused word: rape. Scream it in the middle of the night, and get away from a real treacherous plot. Scream it without knowing the situation, and someone innocent of the crime could be plagued for it forever for false accusation. Rape is conjured for the worst of the worst to the abuse of something that is only meant for the harness of crimes. Innocence is something that could never return, but remember when it's spoken, it last forever. Innocence could be blamed even for a touch on the shoulder, and then you could be labeled a rapist by the stroke of a fallible mind. Watch when spoken, it could mean a label you wish you could regret.

So what's to say in a word, what's to say anything without proof of purchase, sanction of the meaning, or lacing of a chord. Learn what to say, use the mind of choice and know, you can't take back that word. It may be last thing said ... or the best speech you ever made.

- ... SA