Wednesday, April 30, 2008

GORILLAS IN THE MIST

The African Gorilla is such a rare creature to those who live in the America's that when I saw Nightlinewas featuring a piece on these beautiful creatures I knew that I had to tune in.

To make this feature even better one of my favorite reporters/co-anchors Cynthia McFadden on Nightline made the journey to Rwanda to witness first hand these gorgeous apes! If you missed the piece that aired late Tuesday night log onto the site below to see Cynthia's Reporters Notebook on her adventure.

But first, before you click on the link, pay close attention to her detail and eloquent writing style, she is pretty amazing - so are the apes!!!

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=4746911&page=1

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

GREAT iTunes!!!


GUESS WHAT JUST HIT THE iTunes STORE TODAY?????



REPEAT OFFENDER


Don't the first minute of these two songs by Madonna and Duran Duran sound exactly alike? Funny, both tracks were produced by Timbaland.

IN MY OPINION THE BEATS/BACK TRACK IS THE SAME... SHOULD TIMBALAND BE RENAMED TIMBA- BLAND for his lack of originality?



Saturday, April 26, 2008

There are so many profound emotions that life gives us. While many will go an entire lifetime without experiencing true love - lately I feel that's the road I am traveling down, one of the most amazing feelings is that of hurt and despair. A great friend, who I still know and respect highly to this day, once said that it's essential that we all cry and experience feelings of sadness for that makes the feeling of happiness that much sweeter. While those were not her exact words I think you get the gist of what she was getting at.

Last weekend on one of my many drives to Long Beach to visit my good friend Danny, I was listening to Mariah Carey's new song "I Wish You Well."

If you haven't heard this song make sure you listen to it below, it's definitely one of the standout songs on her new album E=MC2. The song brought tears to my eyes because it reminded me of the hurt and rejection I have felt in my life. The song, while not necessarily talking about rejection, has some poignant lyrics that are pretty universal to connect with.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

DO YOU HATE CATS?

Love em or hate em scroll down for a FREAKY YouTube clip!!!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

DANCER IN THE DARK


i will never forget the first time I saw the movie Dancer in the Dark starring Bjork! I can remember it vividly; I was on a trial date with a Los Angeles DJ and we picked the movie because we both liked Bjork. Little did we know that we'd exit the theater sobbing like we had just witness a live execution.

While naysayers do often dismiss and label the movie as boring, long winded and depressing, in my opinion it is poignant, beautifully filmed and a delight to watch. If you haven't seen the movie then check out the trailer below. If you have no intention of seeing the movie and want to see Bjork at her best then check out the second YouTube clip. Be advised, the scene is a spoiler but the song that Bjork sings at the conclusion of the scene is heart wrenching!



AMERICAN IDOL. WHAT DID YOU THINK?


Am I the only one that thought this performance was just mediocre? I've only seen American Idol a few times this season and I am not addicted... then again I am addicted to Big Brother. Go Figure!!!

CATS ARE THE DEVILS PRODUCT

Today was a beautiful day in Los Angeles. I think that when I eventually move out of LA the weather is one of the things I will miss the most!

My posting today is not going to be about weather - believe me, it's beautiful but not worthy of two paragraphs!! If you've been reading my blog lately you know I've been hooked on funny reporters and the crazy things that happen to them while they're LIVE.

To preface this video I've never been a feline fan. No, not a Celine fan, a cat person. These animals are unpredictable and scary to be around. When I used to work at Cybersocket, my coworker Michelle always told me that in her opinion cats were for people who were independent since cats don't rely on their owner so much she always feels that dogs are for codependent people! Well this video below goes out to Michelle and if you're watching/reading this clip is the reason why I don't f**k with p$%sy... literally or figuratively!

OTRA



Anytime I am feeling shitty all I need to do is watch this clip above and it makes me laugh hysterically! The weatherman and the cockroach clip is funny as well but it takes too long to watch, this one is instant gratification! How in the hell can you mix up being gay and blind? Oh sweet niblets!

Have a good day everyone!!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

IT'S ONLY PIZZA

It was only a pizza yet I was almost in tears because it was the wrong kind - WTF???

I guess you can say today was a stressful day, especially with my father's operation. I won't go into what got me all flustered at 7 A.M. this morning
but what I will say is that the smallest inconvience was a HUGE deal to me, I can also say that I kept my cool even if careless mishaps occured and/or certain people said stupid shit that pissed me off. Something I am slowly learning to do is smile and grin, venting my loud mouth silently instead of at the person who is breaking me down by their actions or words.

The great news of the day is that my dad's surgery was a success! The surgery went quick, extremely quick: he was checked in at 7 a.m. and was out by 10 a.m.! The doctor, who is amazing performs anywhere from three to five hip replacement surgeries a day - AMAZING! I left the hospital a little after 1 p.m. and then went home and slept for three hours - I was emotionally and physically exhausted!

I think all the tension came to a boiling point when I ordered the wrong pizza tonight from a popular Italian restaurant. Instead of the Garden Pizza I ordered the Veggie Pizza - obviously a HUGE difference, LOL! Can you picture me eating a piece of pizza on the verge of tears? It's a bit comical actually - God I am a mess!

Good Night Friends, Love You All!!

Monday, April 14, 2008

IN YOUR THOUGHTS

Speaking of being 'weak,' tonight at work I felt so helpless and at times on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Tomorrow morning my father is having a hip replacement at Kasier Baldwin Park. While I understand that hip replacements are a somewhat routine procedure these days, I have not been to this hospital since my mom was there... those were not such good times when she was being treated at that hospital.

I am also not thrilled at seeing my dad confined to a hospital bed. Most of us can think back and remember how we thought our dad was invinceable and the guy you wanted to grow up to be like. It's tough to see your father weak - even if it is temporary. While I know getting old and having an operation is part of life it sometimes makes me sad knowing that I only have one parent to rely on - and with Mothers Day around the corner it makes me reflect even deeper.

Anywho, if you have a chance keep my father in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow, it will be a long and trying day for all of us!

MY WEAKNESS


I am often plagued by my peers and people I have dated as being 'too hard to read.' In my mid-20's I never understood this accusation or assault (as I took it) on my character.

As I approach the big birthday I now understand that I am hard to read at times. I also can appreciate that it wasn't an all out assault on me to try and bring me down, instead it was because the people that told me about this minor flaw truly cared enough to tell me how they perceived me.

I truly appreciate honesty from my friends and the people I date - the first sign of a liar or dishonesty I am outta there, I guess that is why I am completely and brutally honest with my friends and the guys I date.

I also realize that the reason why I am hard to read at times is because it's a sort of defense mechanism to prevent me from either showing that I am too vulnerable or that I like someone a little too much too early.

It's amazing that when you get older you learn and recognize your weaknesses and can improve upon them.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

CRASHING IT


Tonight is going to be so much, I almost cannot wait.

Today is one of my very good friends 30th birthday party, all of my high school and personal friends are turning the big 3-0 this year and it's a HUGE deal!!! I got Laura a cute gift that I've been wanting to give to someone for a while, I am quite proud of it and can't wait to give it to her.

After, 250 gay guys are going to crash an Old Town Pasadena (STR8) bar... that should fun. If you've never heard about Guerilla Gay Bars then you should Google one of the newest gay club phenomenon's of 2008! There are two that I know of within in the Los Angeles vicinity: one is based in the Hollywood area and the one I am attending tonight is in Pasadena - www.pasadenagayborhood.com ! I don't want to divulge the location but there is a picture above that gives you a good hint if you're familiar with Old Town Pasadena - yah, all three of you that will read today I'm sure are Pasadena aficionados *grin*!

After we are headed to Here Lounge and The Abbey to party with the WeHo gays - it has been three weeks since I've been to West Hollywood so I cant' wait to see my favorite bartender Pablo and flirt with the boys in Boyz Town!

Friday, April 11, 2008

RUNNING JUST AS FAST WE CAN...

On Wednesday I not only ran 9.6 miles but I also hiked 5.4 miles... that's a whole hell of a lot of cardio to do in only a few hours!!!

The run (3X) around the Rosebowl with Anna was pretty incredible - and emotional at the same time. Driving to the arena with JJ as my copilot it instantly hit me that when I run the Pasadena Marathon my mom would not be at the finish line waiting to hug me and congratulate me.

When I ran the Honolulu Marathon in 2002 I remember finishing the marathon and looking for my brother, my best friend Joseph and my mom of course. Have you ever been in a large crowd and were desperately searching for a familiar face? It was kind of like that!

The Pasadena Marathon will not have my mom there but it will have lots of friends there waiting to greet me - hopefully!

JJ ran with Anna and I the first 3.2 miles and then we threw him in the car and finished the remaining miles on our own. What a test of mental and physical strength it is to just run!!! I can remember when I was almost finished my body all of a sudden stopped running and started walking for less than five seconds - it was a completely natural and non-cognitive. I quickly woke up out of my daze and started running to finish the 9.6 miles... I am so proud of me!!!

Next week we are going to do 11 miles - cutting the mileage down by one mile to reduce injury, I think its a good idea and so does Anna!

Afterwards I met up with Johnny Hazzard to go hiking with his new dog. JJ and his dog, Petey, could be brothers - they looked so cute together and played nice too. I couldn't believe JJ walked by Petey side the entire time and was so well behaved. Petey was so well behaved and cute, I told JJ to take notes on how well behaved Petey was acting, hoping JJ would learn some obedience tricks - yah right! I volunteered Hazzard to drop of Petey whenever he needs to, I think JJ and him would make awesome play buddies since they are around the same size and both pit bulls!

Next week we are going to try and go hiking again... I can't wait to run and hike!!!

I'M COMING OUT


Today on Oprah she discussed being Gay Around the World and I was impressed of the diversity she had on her show. Both the mature nature of the show combined with the light hearted humor balanced the show making it an enjoyable hour that seemed to breeze by. One thing in particular that got my attention was Oprah mentioning how far we've come with gay rights and acceptance, prime example: Ellen Degeneres. Oprah recalls when she played Ellens shrink on Ellen's sitcom in the early '90s she received an unprecedented amount of email blasting her for doing such a thing. Fortunately I found the clip online so I can share it with you all...

WHEN FUNNY THINGS HAPPEN TO FUNNY REPORTERS





AND NOW... THE BEST CLIP EVER!!!!!!

CRUNCH TIME


This week I have been to two different grocery stores and I have not seen one single box of my favorite cereal: Raisin Bran Crunch. Imagine your favorite cereal GONE from your favorite grocery isle... yah, pretty bad huh? Well Raisin Bran Crunch must still be in business because I just saw a new commercial for the wonder cereal. Please do not confuse Raisin Bran Crunch with plain old Raisin Bran - there's a difference and unfortunately I will have to taste the difference for the next week as I had to buy it because I couldn't find my Crunch!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

BYE BYE






My brother just came into my room and told me about the new Mariah Carey song that hit the radio today and I have to say its an amazing ballad. Imagine One Sweet Day mixed with Tupac's "Life Goes On." Listen to the song and let me know what you think... oh yah I forgot, no one comments, you all just read and email me!

Speaking of Tupac and his song "Life Goes On," that was one of my favorite songs in high school, more specifically senior year 1996. Tupac's final album while he was alive "All Eyez On Me" was released that year and every song on the two CD album was flawless and bangin' - definitely a must have album for every music fan!! The song I mention above is for anyone who has lost a friend because of gang violence or any senseless act of violence.

OOPS


I was watching some previews for tomorrows Ellen and I farted because I laughed so hard - YES, ELLEN IS THAT FUNNY!!!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN


Sometimes cardio is a real bitch!

On Saturday Anna, my coworker and training partner for the Pasadena Marathon, told me that instead of running the Rosebowl that we should opt for running up this mountain in Pasadena. I am up for usually any challenge someone puts infront of me so of course I accepted with a grin when she said we can go as slow as I wanted to and walk if needed. 'Walk?' I thought to myself, lol, I don't walk if I am training for a marathon.

Little did I know that I woudl end up walking the majority of the time uphill. This 2.6 uphill climb was making my lungs beg for oxygen, putting me out of breath faster than ever. I have to say that for the first 30 minutes I was the Little Engine That Could. Unfortunately after that my body was begging for me to slow down and relax. The mountain we climbed was referred to as The Haunted Forest. I can remember in high school we would go up into the woods that surrounded the infamous mountain and drink alcohol. There were so many stories surrounding the woods that the truth was turned into anything but the truth.

After climbing up the mountain we were treated to a historical lesson of how wealthy Pasadena used to be. Check out the picture above, this hotel used to sit on the top of this Altadena mountain. From 1894 until the year 1900, the rich would take the train up the Mount Lowe trail and stay at this well-to-do hotel for $5 a night - $25 a week. Of course, at the time this was a lot of money for the time. This magnificent hotel operated for six years until a fire devasted the entire mountain top, taking out both the hotel and the railroad. That is the short story, however if you hike up to the top the full story, sans how many were killed, if any, is up there. The foundation of the hotel is still up there and the railroad tracks too - so friggin' fascinating!!! Below check out a YouTube clop someone posted of the top of the mountain, you can see the foundation and the reminents of the historic hotel! Another YouTube clip below that is of the old trolley that would take visitors to the top... amazing huh?


After we poked around Anna and I ran down the entire mountain - about 30 minutes to do 2.6 miles downhill!

Today I am so sore, mostly my chest. Anna said in two months I will be able to run all the way up Mount Echo without stopping once - yah, we'll see about that!!! Digressing just a bit, I have become a bit obsessed with Mount Lowe and Echo Mountain in the last 24 hours. This may sound a bit weird but I felt strange when I was up there yesterday; almost as if the history and people who had stayed here from yesteryear were beckoning me and telling me to stay and poke around more. I think I am going to go up there again this week with JJ and take pictures... I can't wait!

Friday, April 4, 2008

SMALL UPDATES

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

This blog goes out to all of my friends abroad or in different cities throughout the cuntry *wink*!

In the last week Dina, Karen and a few others have emailed me complaining that I have not contacted them - I know I've been very bad at keeping in touch! Dina, now located in Argentina, said that I've been replaced by a gay that lives in Argentina but is originally from Britain - I bet he is hot!

So my life hasn't been too crazy, primarily working on my new job at Collin O'Neal studios and part-time at the restaurant. I converted my garage into a small work station outfitted with a desk, a laptop computer and a printer. I plan to have a guy come out and install a jack in the garage so I can have a landline phone out here and hook up my printer which doubles as a fax machine... too much fun I know! I am also contemplating putting up some PG-13 posters as decoration but I want to be sensitive to my dads eyes since he does come into the garage to get some of his stuff out whenever he stops by the old house!

This weekend was originally planned to be a relaxing weekend that I wanted to use to reconnect with local friends that I haven't seen in a month or so - somehow things got all fu*ked up and this weekend won't be used for that. Instead I am going to be working all weekend long so I can have enough money to buy George Michael tickets on Monday. It's funny, I have told numerous people about Mr. Michael's return to the U.S. and most people yawn at the idea. I've been a fan of his for so long and yet I've never seen him in concert before. In fact he is one of the people that I want to see in concert before I die.
I'm sure all music afficionados have their own list. Mine is:

1. Depeche Mode: Reunited with Alan Wilder's ass back in the band!
2. The Smiths
3. Elton John
4. Cher
5. George Michael
6. Dolly Parton

I'm sure I have more but I can't think right now, stay tuned, maybe I will add more -I know you are dying to know who I want to see, LOL!

Speaking of concerts, on the Today show this morning New Kids on the Block made their triumphant return to TV showing off their pretty faces to America. Okay, how good did they look? Growing up I can remember hanging out with Cindy and Julie in middle school (Annunciation Catholic School) obsessing over NKOTB, Paula Abdul, Depeche Mode and Arsenio Hall. Well we didn't obsess over Arsenio but we used to pretend we were on the show and Julie would be the audience... random thoughts! I remember our folders were filled with NKOTB pictures. Thinking back it's pretty amazing that i wasn't teased about liking the band. Going to a Catholic school for 8 years was a sheltered experience in a way. I essentially grew up with the same kids for 8 years and we all were stuck in one classroom for the entire day. No one called anyone else: gay, faggot or any other destructive names. Oh, wait, Pearla came to the school in 6th grade and we were pretty mean to her... again side note! Anyway, NKOTB is so exciting to me, seeing them on the TODAY show was pretty special too. I hope their new album is good, but let's face it, the odds are against them. The only thing left to figure out is if anyone will go to the concert with me!

I think Danny Wood is sooo freakin' hot as an adult... yummy!!!

Okay time to sign off... wow, what a random blog posting... sorry!!!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

This breakfast snack food sounds so bad I almost want to try it to say that I've experienced a truly awful idea - or is it? Leave it to a breakfast shack to come up with a pancake/sausage on a stick WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!! When I saw this in the grocery store today I did a triple take and took a picture to show everyone in Long Beach.

SAVE YOURSELF... TIME!


What a bad movie! I can't say anything else about this film but it was painfully slow with almost zero story line and/or climax.
I had to leave the room on several occasions it was so bad!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

FIGHTER

I just finished watching last night episode of Big Brother on www.cbs.com, and I have to say every week I am amazed at James'ability to excel in a house that doesn't want his ass in there anymore.

James is a fierce competitor - more so than Dick in my opinion. James has not used fear or put-downs as tactics in this game, instead he has used true wisdom, competitive fierceness and also a little thing I call LUCK!!

Joshuah is another housemate that doesn't lay down and die. Joshuah and James both almost saw their demise this week but like true competitors they cried about it for a little while, regained their composure and then thought about what kind of situation they are in. Basically they started using the FLIGHT OR FIGHT mechanism that lives deep inside of all of us!

Tonight I am headed to Long Beach for dinner with friends and I can't wait to get home and see who is voted out - poor Sharon, it looks like it will be her!

What a webisode!!!

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