I'm with Coco....

I attended a middle school and high school that began at an abnormally late hour. Over time, I gradually began to fall asleep at later times. By ninth grade, my head would not touch my pillow until Late Night with Conan O'Brien would conclude at 1:30am. For those four years, it was the only show that I watched pretty much as a daily routine.

His skits and jokes have always been very goofy, off beat, perhaps even immature, but boy did he make me laugh to sleep. I especially enjoyed it when he would interact with the members of The Max Weinberg 7. La Bamba is the funniest! Some of my favorite sketches were If they mated, Noches de Pasion con Senor O'Brien, Fake Celebrity Interviews, Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage, Horny Manatee, and of course, In the Year 2000.

I do admit, that I haven't watched it as "religiously" as I used to, after all, midnight is my personal studying prime time hour (haha). However, if I'm up late and have nothing to do, I love tuning into his show. I haven't been able to catch many of the Tonight Show episodes, but the ones that I've caught still had Conan's signature dance moves along with his self deprecating, wacky and unconventional humor. I still find him making me laugh to sleep when opportunity allows.

All this being said, late night (not the show, but just in general) would be losing a great comedian by not having him on. So here's to hoping that Conan and his peers find another home where their humor and hard work is much more appreciated.

I'm with Coco!

PS- Just as a random note to add: Jimmy Fallon might not be the greatest host, but gosh darn it it's awesome to turn on tv late at night and be able to listen to the Roots.

The Story of Coca Cola the Beagle

There are dates in your life that you will never forget. For some people it’s the day they graduated. The day they got their first job. The day they got a promotion. The day they got married. The day they became parents. The list goes on and on. But whatever the date is, it brings back not just the memory of that specific day, but also everything that happened thereafter.

June 9, 2000, was one of those special dates for me. It was a sunny Saturday and summer vacation was just around the corner. I woke up bright an early with excitement. I hurried everything that morning. My shower, my tooth brushing, my getting dressed and my breakfast, all took place in about 10 minutes. Tops. Finally, my family and I were out the door headed for a pet store located just about 10 minutes from my house at a place called Tower Plaza. As soon as I walked into the store, I smelled that funny smell that many homes with dogs have. It’s not a bad smell. It’s just… a smell. My mom walked with me to the glass windows and pointed out to me the dog she had seen the night before.

She had huge ears and huge paws in comparison to the rest of her body. She was tri-colored and had sad eyes. She had a little, heart-shaped nose. But funniest of all, there was a dog sleeping on top of her. She was just hanging out underneath. They let me play with her for some time in a small room located next to the cages. I immediately fell in love with her goofy stare and floppy ears. So, we took her home. The first big decision was her name. We finally decided to name her after my mom’s first dog in El Salvador. She became Coca Cola the beagle. Every time her name was asked, people would laugh at my answer.

The first night at home, we decided to follow what the book said. We got a small cardboard box, put it in the kitchen, and placed her in it when it was time to sleep. However, she began to cry, so I snuck her in my room and let her sleep with me that night. I’m almost certain that it was that night that our bond was formed.

Her life always, some how, and for some reason, revolved around mine. If I was taking a shower, she just had to be in the bathroom in there, waiting for me to get out. If I was watching tv, there she was, sitting next to me on the couch. If I was on my desk doing my homework, there she was on my bed next to me. She followed me around everywhere. When I was away at school, she would just sleep on my bed all day long. Her life would resume as soon as I walked in through that door. She waited for me every day at around 4:30pm to follow me around for the rest of the day.

I know people always say dogs give you unconditional love. Dogs are a man’s best friend. Dogs are very loyal. But in many ways, those are all understatements. Yes she loved me with out condition. Yes, many times, and in many ways, she was my best friend. Yes, she was very loyal. But she was so much more than quotes and sayings. In her I found a silent but understanding companion. Some how, she knew when I was happy. When I was leaving. When I was sad. The first time I cried in front of her, it’s as if she had been preparing all along for that date. She got up and placed her head under my hands so that I would pet her. She then licked my tears. It may sound a bit disgusting to some people, but believe it or not, it’s one of the most comforting feelings for a teenaged girl.

So let’s see. The things she loved: first and foremost, she loved getting her belly rubbed. She loved car rides and sticking her head out the window. She loved chicken. She loved water. She loved walks where she could sniff just about everything around her. She loved my bed. She loved barking at strangers. She loved running after critters. She once almost killed a chicken that belonged to my aunt. She loved sunbathing in the afternoons. She loved when she got attention. She loved going on road trips. She loved it when I came home. She loved many people. And she loved me. All she ever really wanted was to be with me.

Things I remember: I remember the day we took her to the beach and she swam like she had been doing it all her life. Her little paws never stopped flapping around the water. I remember hiding from her at night before going to sleep, and my entire family laughing because she would run around so worried looking for me and wanting to find me. I remember many times finding her on top of our dining room table, looking for something to eat. In fact, we found her there last week (lymph nodes enlarged and all, haha). I remember her wanting to pick fights with dogs twice her size. I remember her first road trip up to Tennessee and how she did not want to poop when we were all staring at her. I remember her always looking for soft spots to lie down on that were near me (sometimes, just paper lying on the floor would do). I remember her turning over her food plates at least once a week because she was hungry and didn’t want the dog food on her plate. I remember her going on her back and asking for a belly rub. I remember her sniffing out every single grocery bag we brought home, checking to see if we had either gotten her a toy or food. I remember her dreaming in her sleep and moving as if she were running. I always did wonder what she dreamt of. I remember the time she poked her eye causing her eyeball rolled back and we took her to the vet so worried. Hahaha. We could only see the sclera of her eye. They put some fluorescent dye in her eye (to check it) and turned off the lights and it looked like her eye was floating.

She’s made me laugh so much. She’s made me smile an infinite amount of times. She’s made me worry. She’s made me love her. And now, I have to make a decision that I really don’t want to make. I have tried to say goodbye to her but I just sit and remember and wish I could fix her instead. I know to some people it is hard to understand the love between a human and a dog, but rest assured, it’s one hell of a special kind of love. You see, the thing is, can make you feel pretty incredible inside on a daily basis. Not many humans can give that same amount of feeling (not to compare, but, alas, it's true). And she was nothing less than an amazing friend to me.

Yesterday I took her to the park. Her last time at the park. She enjoyed it so much, even if it was short. She sniffed just about everything she wanted to. Except for the dog poop, which I had to move her away from, haha. Apollo was being very sweet with her. It’s as if he knew it was his last time at the park with her. He loves her so much. He followed her around the entire park. In the car, she stuck her head out the window. And like always, the air makes them flap away from her face, which makes her look so very funny and goofy. But when we got home, she got worse. She barely slept at night. She moved around my entire room the entire night. She vomited twice. She fell down once, while trying to get up on her blanket. She was breathing so heavily and there was a whistle in her lungs. This is her third day without eating. I’ve tried so hard to make her eat. I’ve given her her favorite foods and placed them in her mouth to tatste. But she just isn’t hungry anymore. Her stare is sad. Instead of physically following me around, she follows me with her stare. Since I know it’s what she loves to do, whenever I leave a spot, I carry her with me, because I know that’s what she wants.

Today is going to be so hard. My arms become so weak thinking about it. But I don’t want her to spend another night like last night. Coquita, Linda, preciosa, I’m going to miss you so much. I love you and will never forget your goofy stare. I love your ears and your whiskers. I love that you still won’t let me grab your paws. I love everything about you. And I’ll miss everything about you. But I have to let you go. You have to rest now, mi princesa. June 9, 2000, was one of the best days of my life.

Hello from summer 2009

'Ello folks!
I thought I'd share a pretty cool video. The ending is fantastic.

Jack Kevorkian at NSU

So I was pretty excited about Jack Kevorkian coming to my school last week, mainly because I wanted to hear about his personal experience with euthanasia.  It was held at the UC arena, where about 2,600 persons showed up to see him that night.  First, I have to say, I was a bit unimpressed by the fact that there was no introduction whatsoever.  As he was walking up the steps onto the stage the audience began to clap.  He then continued straight to the microphone and began talking.  It surprised me because at every other lecture that I have been to, there is always an introduction and it creates a setting.  Well, maybe if I wanted a setting I should go read a book, right?  The other thing that bothered me was that he was struggling with some poles he had brought with him.  The man is 80 years old, and no one thought of perhaps helping him out by setting up this strange ornament he was trying to build before his speech?  But now that I think about it, maybe there was a reason as to why no one helped him with those poles...

I don't know the exact words, but his first sentence was somewhere along the lines of, "you are all slaves because of the government."  Well, you know, I'm probably as open-minded as they get, but if I wanted to hear about how we're all slaves I could just come online, get on some message board and begin the never-ending war between the left and the right.  So that threw me off a bit.  He then proceeded to explain how the United States is a fascist country, which pretty much encompassed his entire speech.  In between his rant, he said a lot of things I did agree with, but he also said some that just didn't make sense.  For example, he mentioned that when a crime is committed, it should be left upon the victim (or victim's family) and the accused to decided what the punishment will be, if any at all.  That's just a bit too extreme for my taste.  We need certain laws that people need to obey.  Plus, I am not a believer of an "eye for an eye" world.  He also spoke a lot about the 9th amendment and how we should read it thoroughly to fully understand our rights.  His history lesson continued for quite some time, at which point, people began to leave.  I think most just wanted to hear about euthanasia.

Throughout his entire speech, there was a man who was sitting behind him that kept coming up to him and whispering into his ear, at which point Kevorkian would add a note to what he had just said, or just stop talking about it altogether.  Because of this, I assumed it was his lawyer.  Finally, questions and answer came, which was like a nice cold lemonade on a hot summer afternoon!  This is when the good stuff began.  But of course, the microphones weren't working correctly and Kevorkian has major hearing issues (he is 80 years old, so you can imagine).  And so it took a few screams into the microphones, people walking up to the stage to speak to him directly, and finally a man who became the "messenger" from the microphone to Kevorkian's ears.  After that entire fiasco, we were finally able to enjoy the question and answer portion.  The questions ranged from people who supported him to those who think he should still be in prison.  

When, finally, asked about euthanasia, he began laughing and said, "I'm on parole."  That made the entire audience burst into laughter.  The man can barely talk about euthanasia because he's on parole and that lawyer of his makes sure he doesn't get himself into trouble.  However, he assured us that in just a couple of months, his parole is over, which again caused a major laughing uproar.  He also mentioned that if we were interested, the instructions of how to perform euthanasia have all been published online in "great detail."  Another clapping and laughing uproar. 

He then said he wanted to finish up the night with some quotes.  And so he and his lawyer put up the american flag on the same poles he was struggling with earlier.  He then told us that the way this country was headed, we would eventually turn into a Nazi Germany regime.  He said, "Let's all say the Pledge of Allegiance," and turned the flag around.  I happened to have floor seats and was sitting directly in front of the podium about 6 rows from the front, so I couldn't immediately see what was on the flag.  However, the boos and gasps began, so I figured it was something bad.  But I still couldn't see it.  I had to step over the person sitting next to me to see that instead of the stars on the flag, he had placed a large white swastika with little swastikas inside of it.  Then a photographer began screaming at him and cursing, and well, you can only imagine the reactions.  Some people started clapping, others were pretty much outraged.  I was just thinking the entire time about whether the school knew he was going to do that, because if they didn't know, they must have also been freaking out. 

I understand the point he was trying to make by showing us that flag, but in all honesty, I found it completely inappropriate.  He could have gotten his point across using many other things but he chose that one because he knew he was going to stir up all sorts of emotions from people.  Not cool.

That being said, I completely support euthanasia and I applaud Oregon for passing the Death with Dignity Act in 1997.  The question is, who will follow?

If your are interested in watching Jack Kevorkian's lecture at NSU on February 5, 2009, click here.  The videos with the Q & A are the only ones I would recommend.

Salut!

J'ai passée la majeure partie de mes vacances d'hiver au pays de ma naissance. Canada peut être très amusement mais quand il fait trop froid ou quand il neige beaucoup, il n'a pas beaucoup à faire. Alors, la question pendant mon temps au Canada[ici] a était: Que faites vous quand vous avez du temps libre? Mais, spécifiquement, quand vous ne pouver pas aller dehors? En tout cas, mois j'ai vu beaucoup de films. J'ai aussi vu la mini série de HBO, John Adams. Si vous êtes intéressé par l'histoire américaine, elle est fantastique! En particulier maintenant que Obama va prendre la présidence des Etats-Unis.

J'ai aussi eu une révélation: Je dois plus practiquer mon Français! Je l'ai pratiqué dans le lycée pour trois années mais la vérité est que j'ai besoin de plus de pratique. Mais comment le faire quand tu parles l'anglais le jour entier? C'est dificile! En tous cas, j'essayerai à l'avenir. Peut-être sa sera ma résolution pour la nouvelle année lorsque j'en ai besoin d'une.
Bon, je dois aller manger, à la prochaine est bonne année! Happy New Year! Feliz año nuevo!

PS- J'espère que ma grammaire n'est pas si mal!

Istanbul

I haven't had much time to keep up with the news lately, but I managed to catch just a bit today and it happened to be about the explosions in Istanbul.  First, it's a terrible situation and I do give my condolences to the family members of those who didn't make it and those who were hurt.  On a second note, I felt so safe while traveling around Istanbul last week, even after what occurred at the American embassy and the possible coup d'etat allegations, that it still came as a surprise.

The city is quite stunning, especially to those who have never seen arab-like architecture.  It also has the unique distinction of being located between two continents.  A quick trip on a bridge and you're either in Asia or Europe.  It is divided into the Old and New Istanbul along with some other smaller districts.  Old Istanbul is where many of the most visited places by tourists are: the Hagia Sophia, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), the Topkapi Palace, the Archeological Museum, the cisterns, etc..  The New Istanbul consists of newer buildings and is on the other side of the Golden Horn (the Halic).  My hotel, the Conrad, was located in the New Istanbul area where the Bosphorus is the main sight in view.  

 The airport I came into has got to be one of the most nerve racking ones I have ever been to.  You are checked, double checked, checked again, and once more just to make sure.  When our taxi cab finally got to the hotel, there was a man at the gates who, with a device hooked up to a long black pole and some 3D looking glasses, checked the entire cab for weapons and bombs.  Then, before entering the hotel, you have to go through security. Yes, this includes placing all of your luggage and bags into an X-ray machine, and then walking through metal detectors.  This had to be done every time you were entering the hotel.  At that point I wasn't sure whether to feel very safe or very unsafe.  It was all very alarming for someone who isn't used to all these sorts of security methods, however, I never felt I was in danger.  I enjoyed the city extensively; its food, its people, its architecture, its history, its prayers that are played throughout the city at different times of the day.  Everything was great.  Everything was stunning, entertaining, and interesting.  

On the way back, I ended up reading an article about those men who were accused of trying to take over the government, and it turns out it includes their current leader.  Apparently Turkey has a constitution that is rather secular, and this new leader has implemented some things that seem to point to his want of changing it a bit back to a mix of religion with government.  Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country but at the same time, it is much more liberal than most other predominantly Muslim countries.  There is a mix of people.  You see anything from women wearing a burqa to women with a typical western look.  It's almost as if the country were in some sort of transition where it isn't sure which way to go.  It's really interesting to see the division that exists in thought within it's people and then to read the news articles from the west.  To see these three past incidents happen within a couple of weeks is really unnerving and unfortunate because it is a beautiful country with a lot of potential.  It has the potential to show that change can happen if done correctly.  I truly hope that things calm down and are sorted out so that it can continue the path it is still on.  It is the country I have most enjoyed visiting and I hope that I will have the chance to return some day.

Note: In the photo you can see the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) in Istanbul.  The photo was taken just a few days ago.

Cryonics

I don't know about you, but I was under the impression that Walt Disney was cryonically frozen.  Apparently this is an urban legend that is not true.  Am I the only one that was still under this assumption?  It was a huge blow.  I honestly thought the man was frozen somewhere waiting for his comeback.  Well, anywho.  This brought me to doing a bit of research on the subject of being cryonically frozen.

Sometime during the 1990s, people were amazed that victims who had undergone cardiac arrest had been brought back to life.  Zombies? No.  Although that would have been rather interesting (see Fido).  Thus, enters the thought of information-theoretic death, which states that if the structures in the brain responsible for important functions such as memory or personality, are substantially disrupted, then the person is considered dead.  In other words, if important parts of your brain are destroyed, then you're dead.  This is pretty obvious, isn't it?  Well, in terms of cryonics, they attempt to preserve these important structures of the brain by freezing them.  

The body is cooled to the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.  On a side note, speaking of liquid nitrogen, last night on the Top Chef finale, Richard used it to make bacon ice cream and the judges loved it.  I question any judge's palate who praises a dessert that consists of bacon, ice cream, and liquid nitrogen.  Really?  

Back to cryonics.  The biggest problem in keeping the body preserved this way is that ice may form between the cells which damages them extensively.  Ischemia is another problem.  If the brain is without blood circulation for a long period of time before the process is done, then it may also be extensively destroyed.  Then the biggest problem is of course, the revival part.  As of today, it is impossible.  I suspect that perhaps in about 500 millions years we'll have it.  But by then there will most likely be no purpose since according to many models that is the time limit given for Earth's inhabitability.  Apparently the oceans will disappear due to accelerated carbon dioxide cycles caused by the sun's increase of luminosity because of higher helium ash in its core.  So much for these immortality seekers.  Or maybe they can also figure out to to invade the sun's core.  Now there's an idea...

Well, I found a paper that basically gives the recipe to a good cryonic resuscitation (in case you're interested).  Here it is: working on atoms by atoms (nanotechnology), ribosomes (for your proteins), some sort of assembler, a computer that can instruct the assemblers, and positional chemistry among a few other glitches.  Oh yes, and I almost forgot the most important one: money.  Well, in any case, this is all theoretical but this guy believes that if they were able to keep the brain well enough by using liquid nitrogen to freeze it, all these other things would come into play to bring the brain back to life.

A much better, realistic, and interesting approach to cryonics is the fact that some scientists have been able to keep certain isolated tissues cooled with liquid nitrogen only to have them re-warm successfully.  Now there's an interesting path!  Other than that, I still consider cryonics a good premise for a science fiction book/film and only that.  That would be one chaotic world.  You add some mind-uploading there and you have got yourself the perfect dystopia.  For those who have never heard of mind-uploading, it is the theory of transferring the human mind to some sort of simulation computer.  Sometimes I think my laptop has a mind of its own.  Does that count?

Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, ooof, not only has a rather long name but was actually very long itself.  I went into the film without having seen any of the previous Jones.  In fact, the only scene I know from the previous films is the one where there is some sort of immense, rolling stone trailing Indiana Jones, who of course, manages to escape it.  So, as you have probably guessed by now, I have nothing to compare it to.  That being said, here's my take on this new adventure flick.

I am under the assumption that the old Indiana films were very popular for their action and adventure scenes (and probably their fantastical stories).  I'm also guessing that the action scenes, such as the ones seen in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, were, well, awesome?  Fast forward to 2008, and they come out as goofy but nonetheless entertaining.  

I have to admit that I was constantly laughing at the fact that Dr. Jones must have pushed people off from cars and surfaces on more than a dozen occasions.  I mean, this man was an excellent pusher!  Also, many of his escapes and defeats were purely based on luck.  He would some how land on the perfect place, at the perfect time, to find the perfect weapon and deliver a perfect blow.  Wow, if I had half of his luck I would play the lottery and win it every time. He also managed to survive a nuclear bombing by hiding inside a 1960s, green refrigerator, tumbling and turning quite a few times only to come out from it without a single scratch.  All I kept thinking of was that Mythbusters episode on the Discovery Channel where they proved that refrigerators only serve for refrigerating purposes and not for life-saving ones.  But then again, it's Dr. Jones and I still think that there is a slim possibility that refrigerators can save lives.  

The story was a bit difficult to follow and I think I've come to the conclusion that the reason is that it's also a bit silly.  Extraterrestrials and Mayans were buddies?  Umm, well, okay.  I did, however, find the last bit all too amusing and fascinating:  Cate Blanchett's character (who by the way was sporting a rather intimidating wig) literally combusted because of all the knowledge she received from the non-talking alien.  I knew it all along; you can't know it all without having your head explode.  

So in a nutshell:  it was silly but amusing.