1 week.

Holy shit 1 week!

Ahhhh

Wrong.

I was wrong. Last night was not what I thought it was.

You proved that to me, and I love you for it.

Actions

Actions speak louder than words.

You said a lot to me the other night. And I wanted to hear all of that, and you said things that made me incredibly happy.

But I think you went against those things you said tonight.

Pretty disappointing. If you want this to work, we have to put in some effort.

I already miss you.

Yes,

I think it is over now.

And I am not happy. But maybe you are right, and this is how it has to be.

I hope to see you when I get back home.

Love ya.

I am ridiculously lucky.

I am in the most beautiful place in the world. I am surrounded by people that are brilliant, passionate, and welcoming. I am learning about myself and others everyday. I have a family and friends back home who love me.

And I am happy.

Three Apples

Three apples changed the world. The one Eve ate, the one that fell on Newton's head, and the one Jobs introduced.

Smiling

Honestly tonight has been amazing.

I got so many things done in terms of school work.

I finished the problem that has been bugging me in CS for the last few days, which was one of the most self-gratifying things that has happened to me in the longest time.

I started a tumblr, and began posting the various pictures I have taken during my time here in Stanford in my class.

I found her tumblr.

I got to see her!

The last one alone was enough to make tonight wonderful, but somehow despite this rainy weather in Stanford I am having a great night.

If you could see the smile on my face

Giel(2)

Giel

I have started a tumblr. To share my pictures that I take in my amazing Computers and Photography class.

Enjoy.

This Weekend

Is going to be off the charts amazing.

Thursday (Yes, thats the weekend): Second Frat Party of the Year

Friday: OFWGKTA show with some of my best friends and then spending the night in Berkeley

Saturday: UCLA Game, RedZone

Yes!

Stanford

I'm here.

Yes, I am here in Stanford. I have actually been here for eight days. That length of time is surprising to me, cause it surely does not feel that way. Part of me feels like I just got here, and that I am still adjusting and that everything is till new and exciting and unique in every possible way. The other side of me feels so welcome, so at home, so at peace here that I feel I have been here all my life, and this is where I belong.

This is really strange, but I love it.

I love everything about this new place, and that is as far as I will elaborate about that aspect on this post.

I do miss some things from home. I miss my parents, and my brother. I won't let them know that yet, but I do miss them. I miss some of my friends, those that left before me, and those I left behind.

I really do look forward to seeing certain friends again, when I head back down or possibly when they come to visit me.

Missing them has not stopped me from being myself here though, and I am actively making friends and pursuing what I enjoy here. Freedom is wonderful, and I can confidently say that I am embracing it in the best of ways.

Twain love, Stanford love, as well as Tustin love.

Worth it!

She knows how to make me smile, and feel on top of the world.

And that makes everything worth it.

Sleep

As much as I have praised it and searched for it tonight, I cannot find it.

I think i will be able to watch the sunrise without seeing sleep tonight.

What

What the hell am I thinking?

This is everything I wanted for the last 6 months, and more.

Why the fuck should I be unhappy? I have to enjoy this all now!

Gawd,

I really work myself into a mess sometimes.
Sleep should do the trick.

Insomnia

Is clearly getting the better of me.

Mind wandering, heart racing, and sheets stirring.

Sleep looks attractive right now.

Brandon is Gone.

I have no male friends from my Senior Year left in Tustin!

1 week

Crunch Time

Talk about preparation for college:

I am torrenting every possible thing I can right now. Before its too late!

Brainfeeder

I think I downloaded like every single album every artist on the Brainfeeder label has.

This is my type of music, no joke. This is what spins my wheels. I know like 95% of everyone doesn't feel the same way about it. But this is my favorite type of music.

Brainfeeder

I Don't Even Know

What to think anymore,

but I know that tonight made me happier than I have been in a while.

I missed that, so bad. Music = Love.

That was Good.

Scratch, that was great.

As if a load was pulled off my back, I feel at peace.

Everyone was wrong, and my gut was right. I knew it to be so. And now I can smile, sit back, and be at peace with myself and you.

Time to live!

No Need to Elaborate

Sorry.

Life is so sadly unfair.

Long Distance

Is it possible?

Cause I am trying to figure this out for so many reasons, and nobody knows them but me.

Supreme

Drove all the way to Hollywood today with my homies. Stood in line outside to get in. Got sketchy looks from people.

I took a picture of the shop and posted to Instagram. It was quite the experience, so I had to document. I like the picture.
/http://instagr.am/p/ML5Iv/

Bought my hat.
It is the best hat ever, quite original. Fun day.

Tustin vs Foothill

Tonight was the Tustin vs. Foothill game. The infamous cross town rivalry that marks the beginning of the school year and the beginning of the football season.

I, still not yet moved into school yet, attended.

As has been the trend, Tustin won, and I celebrated. But as all the current seniors went to rush the field, I stopped. I figured that was their thing, this was their time, and it was my turn to participate in other new things. They could rush the field and celebrate like they should, I would move on to do something else.

Weird feeling and weird thought at a weird time; but I thought it was worth sharing.

I guess this is growing up.

Suddenly

Suddenly things are seeming to be good for me, I am a lot happier.

It's strange how one little aspect of my life changes, and my whole outlook on life becomes increasingly more positive.

I hadn't done any of the summer assignments for Stanford the entire summer, but as of tonight I am on page 170 of one of my books I need to read.

I hadn't researched any of the classes I planned on taking at Stanford the entire summer, but as of yesterday I signed up for a new seminar course called: "Computers and Photography- From Capture to Share."

I had an Alcohol Education course for Stanford, I just finished that too.

I for some reason feel so much better, like I have things to look forward to, instead of dwelling on the past or penting up my frustration.

Just look at my posts from the last month and a half, they are so depressing. Ugh, that was a bad phase.

Unless this good thing suddenly changes for me, I don't think I will be posting stuff like that anytime soon.

I think the worst you will hear from me is homesickness.

I am an emotional being, and my emotions obviously are dictating my life in a much more positive direction.

I like this.

September 1st

Its Septemeber 1st.

High schoolers return to school today, in fact in only a few hours.

My brother is now 16, and a junior in high school. I lament the fact that he is taller than me. He is starting to actually have to shave. His voice is almost indistinguishable from mine on the phone.

I leave to Stanford in 18 days. 18 days, what the fuck. Thats so scary, and fun, and mind-blowing, and ridiculously new.

Just writing this now is sorta giving me the chills.

I am going to see OFWGKTA again at the end of this month, along with my friends who are gone to different colleges. That should be quite the experience as well. Its all drawing so close.

Time is flying by me, and I am just happy to be along for the ride.

Should be a good month.

Girl,

you got a lot of heart.

Give me that chance one day. Cause I know its there.

And it will grow to something much more.

You got a lot of heart.

Breakdown

Dammit, I did it again.

I need to be stronger. I need to focus.

Cause it's nights like these that really ruin any/all progress.

Proven

Tonight, you proved it to me.

Everything anybody has ever told me about you, all those negative things they said to try to prove to me that simple fact, they have all become realized to me as truths.

Maybe I couldn't see it as true before for some weird reason, like I was somehow blinded from the obvious.

But that veil seems to be lifted, cause tonight I saw it firsthand and raw.

I saw it, and I recognized it, and it hit me like a truck. It was as if suddenly all those people told me everything they told me before, but instead of ignoring it all I paid attention.

And it was hard as hell to comprehend. But it truly made sense.

For a second, you showed some true maturity, and I thought you had proved me and everyone else wrong. For a brief period of time, I was so proud of you.

Then you proved it all over to me.

That your immaturity still has a hold of you.

That you can't handle what I want emotionally.

That now is definitely not a time that we can be together, cause you. Not me, you.

And part of that is a relief. Cause I can know all that I put into this was not worthless, and that I am capable of something worth committing to.

But also its sad. Cause I know if you were mature enough, we would be really happy.

I say this in the best way possible, grow up. And one day you will see what I have been feeling this whole time.

Bye, -----.

Tonight, you proved it to me.

Decision

You need to stop playing with me, teasing me. I realize now that if you really cared about me, you would have showed it to me. 

Talk is cheap, but actions are priceless. 

I need to remember this as life goes on, cause I think I have trouble remembering this, putting me in this very predicament. 

I need to go one way or the other, and I need to stop being in limbo. 

Before I Leave

I want to see you!

So call me, or text me, or something. Let me know when I can spend time with you.

I leave on September 19th, so I don't have a lot of time.

And you know you mean the world to me.

Wake up

I need to start preparing for college and stop messing around in summer.

That has become increasingly more evident to me.

Still Wandering

I try to go to sleep but I can't.

I wonder where this all went wrong. And why.

Mind Wandering

Sometimes I wonder.

I sit: and I wonder where you are, how you are doing.

I wonder how your family is, and how you are handling everything.

I wonder what music you are listening to.

I wonder if you are still up, as I sit alone in my bed, wanting to call you or text you, but not knowing if I should.

I continue to contemplate, and I begin theoretically.

I wonder what would have happened if I had never met you, or never gotten to know you the way I did.

I wonder the consequences of my actions, and if I had acted differently, where would we be now. I wonder if things are meant to be, or just random.

I still sit, and wonder.

I wonder if I am crazy for thinking this much. I wonder if you are doing the same wondering.

I think of you.

I wonder why you hide your feelings.

I wonder if you hide them because you are scared of being vulnerable in front of others, or if you do it out of self denial.

I wonder if you will ever show me your feelings again.

I wonder if you ever read this, if you know how I feel.

I wonder,

and I don't sleep.

Call me.

HARD Summer 2011 Official Video - YouTube

Check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uucjbzn7b7Y&feature=channel_video_title

If you look closely at around :39 as Left Brain crawls back on stage after a stage dive, you can see a boy wearing a blue shirt to the left, about second row.

That's me. Great night.

Paying off.

Finally got a MacBook Pro.

Wanted one for so long.

Maybe things are going my way.

Addict

I imagine this is what an addict feels like

Gets the experience of something that is amazing, feels great in every way, and makes life seem so much better.

Then realizes the hurt that was once hidden, and experiences this hurt. A hurt that ruins you and breaks you down.

And you stop using drug that made you so happy once, you stop and remove it from your life.

Its so hard to remove it from your life, to make it gone. Its harder than anything you have ever done. And you withdraw from it, wish it was still the way it used to be when you felt no hurt and everything was great.

Relapse.

But every once in a while, you see that drug, you get that opportunity to experience it again, and you give in.

You know you shouldn't, but you do nonetheless.

With mixed feelings on an emotional rollercoaster you continue this. No end in sight.

I feel this way,

not about any drug or controlled substance,

but something much more meaningful and rare.

Damn,

Just like an addict, I never thought I would be the one to end up like this.

Higher Standards

In reference to my last post:

Maybe I was wrong.

Maybe what I felt before wasn't the normal, maybe that was the exceptional.

But it was amazing, and everything I wanted.

So maybe it's not ironic I cant get that feeling back. Maybe everyone wants that feeling and I somehow got lucky enough to experience it,

but I still want to have it again.

Bleh.

I dont know anymore.

Too confusing.

Normal

Is it ironic that I find it difficult to return to normal?

Like to feel normal, to think normal, just to live normal.

I just feel so out of whack with myself. Like something is off that should be on. And I cant find the switch.

Or maybe I know where the switch is, and I just cant reach it anymore, like it has moved on.

I am not even sure, but I know this:

That I want to return to normal again, feel myself, feel that way I know I should.

Stop going to sleep at night feeling empty, and waking up feeling doubtful.

Normalcy, the concept alone is simple, yet so easy to achieve for myself now.

Identity

Everything I am is not me. 

Everything I am is simply a collection of everyone I have ever been around. 

None of it is my own. 

Physically and meta-physically, I am not myself. 

I am a masterpiece of life, surrounded by all the other masterpieces exactly like me in every originality. Everywhere I go, everyone I meet, every step I take, every breath of air I take in shapes me, changes me, reforms me to a new standard. 

I am simply a piece of clay in the hands of a world of potters. 

I fear this, that nothing about me is truly me; and that makes me wonder: "Is that fear even my fear?" 

--------------------------------

I am proud of this, that nothing about me is anything but me; and that makes me recognize: "Even my faults are my own." 

The world is simply a piece of clay in my potter's hands. 

Everywhere I go, everyone I meet, every step I take, with every breath of air I take in I shape, I change, I reform myself to my own standard. 

I am a masterpiece of life, surrounded by all the other masterpieces exactly like me in every originality.

Both in body and in mind, I am me. 

All of it is mine. 

Everything I am is defined by myself, like a self portrait of a man with no shame.  

Everything I do is by my own accord. 

Damn it Zuckerburg

stop messing with your baby.

Facebook is fine. Stop trying to make it annoying.

I know its bad when someone I am trying to chat someone and we both simultaneously say "Damn it Zuckerburg."

Not like I am going to leave you, or sub you for Google+. But c'mon.

#rant

The Surface

Here I am, once again at the surface.
Back where I started,
bobbing at the surface.

With you, I grew. 
I grew my wings, you taught me to fly. 
I stumbled, I faltered, you took me higher
so high 
to


a point where 

nothing else mattered

We flew flew flew,
We rose rose rose,
no looking down,
no blinking,
no missing a second of bliss.

My wings clipped, I plummeted to the surface. Down down down to the surface. I peered over my shoulder, and you covered your eyes in shame.

splash

You cut my wings.

After what seemed an eternity of flying I returned to the surface, completely forgetting how to float. Like a prisoner who spent years in a cell I returned home, and forgot how to live. I couldnt float.

I was dragged down down down
so low 
to 


a point where

nothing else mattered

Water encompassing me, filling my lungs, crushing my frail body which was once so full of life. I looked back up towards the surface and saw the filtered sun.

I am once again at the surface,
back where I started.
Yet now I gasp for air,
and search the horizon for the one who taught me to fly.

Relationships.

Relationships are incredibly hard to maintain.

I realize this now. I realized this maybe too late.

The tough thing about relationships is its like a friendship, with two people mutually engaged in a partnership of sorts in order to share experiences together. The only problem about relationships is unlike friends, relationships have the underlying hormones and emotions and raw feelings not as closely associated with friendships. And these emotions often control the relationship, and wherever they go, so does the relationship. Which can be amazing or terrible, one just as easily as the other.

Relationships are perfect and can make you feel on top of the world.

Relationships are impossible and will force you into dark places you don't want to ever be.

A relationship is effortless. Physical effort sure may be a part of a relationship, but emotionally a relationship flows so evenly and easily that there is no effort necessary. And as soon as effort is necessary for the relationship to stay together, it seems as if it is no longer a relationship, but just a future break up.

I love relationships. I love the partner you find, the friends you make, and the experiences that you acquire.

Life goes on, and I am sure I will find more meaningful bonds in the future.

Doesn't mean I can't miss the past.

In Response

to the recent criticism concerning my blog and how my posts are "too long, they make my head hurt" I decided to write a very succinct and direct post titled "In Response."

Enjoy.

Graduation

I can't believe it already came and passed.

It all happened so fast; one day we were at Knott's having tons of fun riding roller coasters, the next day we were at practice in the hot sun, and then suddenly we had our caps and gowns, walking into the stadium with our friends and family all there to see us on our big day.

It was just so sudden: I felt like I hadn't been preparing myself for it for the last four years. I felt like it was just another day, but at the same time it felt like I was on top of the world. Honestly at one point during the ceremony, sitting in my cap and gown, I looked to my left and right. I saw some of my closest friends. I looked across to the other seats, and saw the rest of my friends. I looked to the teachers and staff and the administration, and saw my mentors. I looked to the stands, saw my amazing girlfriend. I looked further in the stands, picked out my family: my brother, my parents, my aunts, my cousins, and even my grandma. Everyone was here to support me and celebrate me. And it was nice to feel that loved.

Sure high school wasn't much of a challenge for me. or most of my friends. But it sure as hell matured us. I honestly loved Tustin High and all that it had to offer. My time spent there differed dramatically, from the classroom, to the locker room, to the parties, to the dance floors, to the principal's office. All of these experiences were drastically diverse, and all of them left positive impressions on me.

I may head to Stanford next year and be underprepared in some aspects. My studying habits may be lacking, for I was not challenged enough in high school. My etiquette might be rough, for that wasn't a priority at Tustin. My experience in some things might be limited, for honestly Tustin is a poor school and doesn't offer all the high tech and costly things other schools does. But I know that I will be able to handle adversity and diversity with ease. I know I will be able to look at a problem, and solve it for myself by myself. I know I will strive independently. I know I will have the drive to succeed. And I know I can hang, I can chill. Tustin didn't give me everything, but it gave me the right things.

I gave a speech at reflections, I want to share it for it says somewhat how I feel about Tustin:

"Tustin High has more to offer than what I initially assumed. Tustin, at least for me, has broken many of the presumptions that others and I made about high school and this school in specifics. I simply would like to share these misconceptions.
Coming into Tustin, I assumed high school would be like it was in the movies. Cliques here and there: segregating the students and the lifestyles. I was convinced that groups would be separated throughout the school, with little or no interaction between them.
I came to Tustin and found a campus open to everyone, and a student body open to those around them. For some reason, Tustin High has this ability to be chill, to not care about the so-called 'divisions' in the student body. Tustin High is a school where one can float around campus during lunch and not feel isolated, alienated, or forcibly divided from the rest of the body. This relaxed mentality and openness allows for the students to feel comfortable on campus. At Tustin, a student can feel at ease.

Over the years I think our class has taken this quality for granted; I know I have. I didn’t even know that other schools were actually like what was depicted by Hollywood in the movies. I thought that Hollywood depictions of high school were just simple fiction or drastic hyperbole. But as I spoke to friends at other schools I learned the sad truth: that not every school was like Tustin.

As I continued at Tustin, people would often ask me where I was attending high school. I obviously would answer, 'Tustin High.'

I noticed that many people up the hill or over in Irvine would kind of wrinkle their noses at the name of my school, our school. I noticed they would sort of frown upon it. As if Tustin were unsafe, or as if this school didn’t breed success. As if Tustin was the poor ineffective school, the school where those without the money to live in the hills or the gated communities attended.

After four years here, I can say that that snobby attitude is unjustified and in fact is simply wrong.

Tustin may not have the best physical campus in Tustin, but that is not indicative of the strength this school possesses. I do not need to elaborate on why this is true. Simply look at the staff at this school, to help nurture young minds and help them find direction. Look at the sports programs, which foster talent and make it skill. Look at the alumni list, which is full of successful individuals. Finally, look at this class. Look at the class of 2011. This class showcases all that Tustin has to offer, academics, the arts, music, sports, anything that you would want to see in a high school: you can see in this class.

Tustin’s diversity and acceptance as well as its strict commitment to excellence have helped this class tremendously. And as we leave this school and head to our individual futures, whether that be college, trade school, or straight into the work force, our class of 2011 can know that this school, Tustin High, has shaped us to be the people we are today, and the successes that we will be in the years to come.

Once a Tiller, Always a Tiller."

Graduation was a time of hugs and goodbyes, a time of tears and smiles. I honestly will probably never ever see most of my peers from that class again, save maybe for a reunion. And there is a good chance that I may not see my close close friends ever again either, which is quite saddening.

I am young and excited, filled with adrenaline and testosterone moving a mile a minute, not stopping.

Graduation gave me the chills, and even thinking about it now I really have trouble thinking this is all happening. It may be because it really hasn't hit me yet. I don't think I fully comprehend the meaning behind it all yet. Not sure if I ever will. But parts of it will hit me. When my friends move off to college before I, maybe it will hit me. When I wake up in my dorm, alone and disoriented, it may hit me.

Or possibly, it may never hit me.

I know little about this new life I am living, I have barely started it. And it doesn't seem much different from high school for I have been with my friends the whole time. Whether I like it or not, it has happened and I will have to leave Tustin behind soon enough.

Tustin has been good to me, and the possibilities of this new life ahead of me are so vast and spectacular. But shit, I am going to miss high school.

Thanks Class of 2011,

I will miss you.

Stencil Project

I have been blogging forever about my addiction to and love for street art.

So when Mrs. Willoughby assigned our Lit class with a small senior presentation that represents in some way who I am or what I enjoy doing I instantly thought:
"Time lapse stencil"

So, here it is



I will briefly explain what I did.

Ok so I took an idea that I had for a stencil before. I took a picture offline of a child soldier who I believe is Viet or Cambodian. Either way it makes a good image and a good statement.

I took it into Gimp2.0 and erased the excess off the image. Then using the threshold and tweaking it a bit I made the stencil-like image.

Printed it.

Cut it.
The cut was difficult, this picture has a lot of hanging white which in stencil terms means a lot of annoying figuring out how to cut it. So that was difficult but I think it came out quite nicely.
To get that shot of me actually cutting the stencil I used the clamp with the camera (featured at the end of the film) and pointed it down towards myself. The cutting actually took around 45 minutes, but with the help of iMovie I made it only a little above 2 minutes. So me cutting it is actually at 40x speed.

One little funny thing to mention is if you notice while I am cutting the head of the boy, the blade falls out and I have to put it back in. It only lasts a few seconds on the video but you can see if you watch closely.

I then sprayed the stencil. Wanted to get video of that but just didnt have time.

Actually the video editing was very fun and difficult as well. Gave some examples of stencil art or street art for reference. Those with a keen eye may catch that I took the picture of the boy with the green shirt stencil in Venice. Added some chill music (Flying Lotus and Teebs). Added titles.

Voila.

I gave the stencil to Willoughby, I think she liked it.

Finally

Done with the Italy posts.

Italy was an amazing trip, in an amazing place, with amazing friends.

Viva Italia.

Padua

Padua was the city we had been staying in for the last few days of our trip.

All of our time we spent in Venice and Verona we actually had a hotel in Padua and rode a train or bused to the location we were headed to that day.

Our hotel in Padua was unique, to say the least.
It was an art-deco style hotel: meaning the entire hotel was supposed to have some sort of artistic influence throughout it. But really it just ended up meaning it had crazy weird paintings in it, like a lot of weird paintings.

Apparently the owner's wife or daughter or someone was artistic(-ish) and drew/painted all the pieces in the hotel.

Unfortunately all of these pieces were really weird. The majority of them were naked women paintings. This is alright, in its own way. Yet these paintings were not simple paintings, but more like sculpture paintings. They were basically paintings using random objects put together into the shape of a woman.

In the room that Conner and I shared for example, it was a naked woman made mostly out of plastic sea shells. I mean it was just weird.

I was just glad I wasn't in the room where the doll was in. Every room had a different painting, and one of the rooms was very unique. It was a black canvas with a small creepy doll glued to the center of it. Just hanging there on the wall. I doubt I would hav slept if I had that room.

The city of Padua was itself a very cool city in my opinion. Very laidback-ish.

We were allowed to enter the prestigious and illustrious church, the Sanctuary of St. Anthony of Padua. This is semi-coincidental for me. For my confirmation, I was required to choose a saint and write a report about him/her. I chose St. Anthony of Padua, and then there I was: standing in the Sanctuary of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy. Quite extraordinary actually.

The church was crazy. Super elaborate, and with so many relics in it as well. Just a lot and lot of relics and sanctuaries and crazy paintings and frescos. It was the coolest church I have been to. Probably because technically I was in a branch of the Vatican. Apparently as soon as I entered the doors to the church I entered Vatican property and officially left the state of Italy. So that was pretty fun, if not to do then at least to say.

One amazing part of that church was that they had preserved and kept pieces of St. Anthony and put them on display. There were pieces of his Jaw, his Larynx, his teeth, and his Tongue. They just looked all shriveled up and disgusting but nevertheless they were interesting pieces. They also had his tunics and some of his original manuscripts and such.

When we left the church we went through he city. The city looks very Italian, but not too grand or elaborate. Just kinda "basic" Italian I would say. Still pretty cool I would say.

While we were there the university students were protesting. The university students are notoriously vocal and active in politics and they were fed up with the inability to acquire jobs in the market after leaving and graduating from university. So they went to the streets, holding banners and yelling into microphones. It was quite interesting, and not only university students supported them. Old and young supported their movement against the government. (On a side-note, it seemed everyone in Italy despised Berlusconi.)
After seeing the protest, we saw another form of public involvement. A man with a little footstool was standing in the street, asking people as they walked by questions and asking them to answer the questions by standing on the footstool. This eventually became a whole forum, a whole little interaction and discussion of random people in the street. It got quite passionate, and I did not know what it was about. I eventually learned that they were all arguing about the university students, and whether or not they had a valid point about the jobs. They were to stand on the stool and speak their opinions. Some said yes, some said no (I could tell by their demeanor). The whole nature of the discussion was amazing though. Everyone was respecting one another, and everyone was listening to one another and then debting about their opinions. I was just so entranced by it cause I felt that this sort of thing 1) would not randomly be started in the US 2) not go as smoothly in the US. So I enjoyed that part very much.

I ended up, on the last day in Italy, trying non-Italian food. I had heard that the middle-eastern food in Italy was delicious, but for most of the trip I sought the autentic Italian food. But this time I did not want simply another pizza or another panini or pasta. I wanted something new! So I tried a delicious kabob place, and it blew my mind. I was glad I did so.

There was quite a bit of interesting graffiti in Padua. For some reason there was a lot of anti-Nazi stuff on the walls, specifically things that said "Death to Nazis" and "No Nazi zone" in Italian on the walls. There was also an artist who drew these long colorful humanoids with very long and dull features, interesting stuff. Probably my favorite was some artist who was writing interesting sayings throughout the city in English. For example: one said "Don't look back into the sun." And another said "It's not easy to make a name for yourself." I found these quite interesting.

Padua was where I had my last gelato. So sad. 

Verona

Verona was a strange city.

Verona is the infamous setting of the best known love story in the world: Romeo and Juliet. So it had some important aspects.

We came in to the city by bus. Saw a lot of rivers and castle like buildings, but none of that large importance. Mainly we saw large buildings we didnt know the name of or purpose of, but we knew they looked pretty. And old. Which was ok with all of us, we were tired and it was kinda cold.

We walked through Verona. We ran across these giant old Roman walls and even a colosseum type structure. We also encountered Roman ruins that the city itself had been built on top of. In fact, what we consider the floor of the city was sitting approximately 20 feet above the ground on supports hiding the Roman ruins below. Quite interesting.

It rained in Verona, and even looked as if it was snowing at one point. A lovely twist to our trip.

We went to the famous Juliet balcony, where Romeo professed his love from below to the beautiful Juliet above. It was kind of interesting to see, but really it was more of a tourist thing.

I did get to write on the wall outside the building, which is found covered in the names of love-bound couples and groups everywhere. In fact, the wall is so covered in spots you cant distinguish names or writings, just colors.

I wrote blacApps on the wall, just for good measure.

Verona got boring quickly. This was unfortunate, but in fact it ended up being relaxing. There wasnt much to do in the city and it was very very cold so when we got free time we sat around in cafes drinking coffee and bonding with our friends. Ended up not being too bad; but really, how bad can hanging out with some friends in Italy be?

*Cackle Cackle*

Sorry.

Ok I havent been blogging in forever.

Reason: Too busy with everything.

Bad news: Still have to finish Italy posts.

Good news: So much has been going on I have a lot to write about.

Stay tuned.

Venice

So after Florence we went to Padua, which was where we stayed for the rest of the trip. We used Padua as a kind of staging area and rest area from which we could travel to the more sought-after travel destinations.

The first of those destinations was Venice.

We took the train to Venice. The train ride was packed, busy, crammed. But it was better than yet another ride in the tour bus. We passed a lot of water on the way to Venice, which at first didn't quite make sense to me, but I will explain that later.

Right out of the train station

Walking out of the train station, I got my first feel of Venice. Right out of the gates of the station, you run across your first canal and your first bridge and your first ferry and your first gondola and your first breeze of salty air rushing to your nostrils.

Thats Venice.

Venice is by far the most unique city I have ever been to. I mean, it doesn't have streets for automobiles. It only has canals and ferry-ways. I would like to think that Venice is unique in that aspect. Additionally it is the most ridiculously confusing city ever. Example: On our way to Saint Mark's Square, our guide led us through the city. Now remember, there are no streets, so the only way to get around is by canal, or by walking the winding confusing alleyways. And considering the fact we didn't have a boat, we walked. Problem is, the signs that are supposed to direct the flow of pedestrians are not clear. In fact, they are completely contradictory of one another. The signs literally point in opposite directions. One arrow on the sign says to get to San Marcos you go right, and on the same sign an arrow also points left for San Marcos. Another little unique eccentricity of Venice. The other thing is the impracticality of Venice. It is easily the most impractical and annoying city to live in. The way to get around is difficult and expensive. All products in the city are expensive since everything is imported and nothing can be produced locally. Not to mention, the city is sinking. Yeah, the original foundations that the city were made on are disintegrating and becoming flooded with sea water from the lagoon. Couple that with the rising sea levels attributed to global warming and you have a problematic city. In fact, when we were in San Marcos, the flooding was happening. What I mean by that is that approximately half the square was full of about an inch of sea water due to flooding. Which apparently is not that uncommon of an occurrence. So yes, it was a unique city.

There is something about Venice that is difficult to put in words but is quite tangible while you are there. The city is ver old, and very easy to get lost in, and everything about it is just peculiar and engrossing. Walking around everywhere is just astounding. The age, compactness, and presence of the buildings is just euphoric; in fact I could feel a definite adrenaline pulse as I walked through the streets with my friends.

Also there is some level of intrigue and mystery about Venice. The interesting thing about the city is that everything looks that same but different, so its like as you walk the streets you have seen it all but also have not seen any of it. The alleys and walkways branch and loop and swirl so oddly that you feel down any of the random little streets may be something amazing, like a hole in the wall restaurant or a unique shop. Thats the appeal. The mystery and the adventure and discovery of something that most likely wasn't found previously. Its exhilarating.

I could go and talk about the landmarks of Venice, but honestly thats quite useless. The whole city is a landmark, and the few landmarks within the city are simply references, guides to where you are in position to the rest of the city. See the whole city is an inter-connected series of islands with canals and bridges in between. So essentially as you walk around Venice, absorbing all thats around you, you may be easily lost due to the winding alleys and confusing signage. Yet in reality, it is quite hard to get completely lost, you are on an island: where can you really get lost to? You get lost, but just lost enough.

Carnevale was beginning as we were in Venice. Like Carnevale, THE Carnevale. So yes, we all bought masks and some even took it to the level of buying a cape. It was all good fun. And I am sure the celebrations got even crazier in San Marcos that night we left Venice. Either way, it was a fun experience seeing the craftsmanship and beauty of the masks. Plus there is something about seeing a group of elegantly dressed individuals wearing masquerade masks in broad daylight that just makes you say "woah."

My day in Venice was debatably one of te best in my life. And although I would never be able to live there, Venice was the ultimate place to visit.

Oh and with my interest in street art, I had to appreciate the graffitti in Venice. Which was top notch. 

Florence

Florence, what a city.

After leaving Pisa we took our bus to Florence, called Firenze in Italian. We arrived in the last hours of sunlight, right as the sun was setting. It was amazing. Not only because we were back in a legitimate Italian city (after the trap that was Pisa) but because of the starlets.

Thousands upon thousands of little birds flying in giant formations, flowing, bobbing, ebbing and weaving. The small birds flew together in something so organic and natural that it was simply beautiful. We all stood dumbfounded as we watched the starlets go every which way, each one independent from the rest yet simultaneously a part of a much larger organized symphony of motion. And in this way, I was introduced to Florence.

As we proceeded to our hotel, I saw a college student that I had met in the General Assembly in the conference. I didn't mention this in the Genoa post so I will now. He was a Chinese national that was going to school at NYU yet was studying abroad in Florence. Pretty awesome. His ideas about traveling, and mostly studying abroad really positively influenced any decision I have about the matter. I personally have decided that I want to study abroad as well during my time in Stanford.

All that aside, we arrived at our hotel. I received my room assignment, and was lost. I looked around for room 28, but could not find it. Then I walked upa narrow passage of stairs, and found it. Yes, we had the penthouse. It was quite amazing, although I did have to share it with three other guys. For a European hotel room it was huge though, which was a very fun experience.

I opened the window to the hotel room, looked to my left, and there it was. Lit up by the city lights, massive and looming, was Il Duomo. I had seen it in books and on the computer, but there it was, within perfect site of my hotel room window.

Il Duomo from the hotel room

Eventually we were able to properly tour the city of Florence. Over the course of two days we hit all the main "attractions" both cultural and historical. These include Il Duomo, Il Galeria di Uffizi, and Il Ponte Vecchio.


Il Duomo. Its pretty amazing. The giant dome can be seen from almost anywhere in the city, in my opinion making it hard to get lost. It was right around the corner from our hotel, actually, our hotel was right around the corner from it. The dome is huge, just ridiculously large on top of an already large cathedral. The ornate decorations all around it are simply breathtaking. The inside is somewhat dull, yet it is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular sites I have ever been to.

On top of its sheer size it has deep cultural and religious importance as well. I really dont want to get into it, so if you are interested: look it up. But the gist of it is this: The Renaissance started there. Yeah, The Renaissance. Kind of a big deal. 


Il Galeria di Uffizi was also quite incredible as well. Il Galeria is a large building and square along the river, and is known as essentially the political capital of the city. From what I understood it isn't the physical political capital but more of a symbolic one for Florence. The square is large, with various statues all around it: most notably the replica David by Michelangelo. The museum, or Il Galeria, is at one corner of the square, closer to the River Arno. 


Il Galeria di Uffizi is essentially a very large and famous museum filled with important art pieces from mostly Italian artists. Now I am going to sound either snobby or uncultured here but I would rather be honest and harsh than lie and flattering. I was not that impressed by the art in Il Galeria.  

Il Galeria di Uffizi

I love art, I really do. I appreciate it on so many levels. I have been to the Hermitage in Russia and found the artwork there incredibly engrossing. Yet unfortunately for me Il Galeria di Uffizi did not impress me  in terms of artwork found inside. I am pretty sure that 90% of the paintings in the Galeria were of Jesus on the cross or Madonna and Baby Jesus. And after walking around for an hour or so, every Jesus painting looked the same. I know this sounds so bad but honestly it was not as I expected or wished for. The highlight of Il Galeria was Birth of Venus. It is an iconic painting and seeing it in the flesh was by far the highlight of the tour of Il Galeria. 

Il Ponte Vecchio

Il Ponte Vecchio, right next to Uffizi, spans the River Arno. And it is just awesome. Its a very old, very traditional looking bridge, covered with different colored and shaped buildings. The only thing on the bridge is jewelry shops, really really expensive jewelry shops. I loved it. 


It just felt so Italian, and really looked the part as well. The bridge and the surrounding buildings along the river all had this look, that I now associate with this trip to Italy. People lock padlocks onto chains along and around the bridge, throwing the key into the Arno. This "locks" their love on the River. Il Ponte Vecchio was just amazing. It was just an awesome bridge that gave off an awesome vibe in a truly awesome city. 


Florence was the best. 
There is just something about that city that is hard to put your finger on, but makes so much sense when you feel it. THe only way I can describe it is simple: It is a grand city with a personal feel. It has the monuments and the large statues and the reputation as a cultural capital. Yet the city feels alive, it doesn't feel like a tourist location or an imperial palace. It feels like a bustling city full of real people, simply because it is. 


If I could use one experience in Florence as an example for the entire experience of the city, it would be my meal at Trattoria Mario. Basically I was sick of eating little random panninis and I wanted a real meal one day. I asked the owner of our hotel where he would suggest we eat. He directed us to a place called Mario's, where "if you want authentic Tuscany, authentic Tuscan food" you would definitely go to eat. 

Trattoria Mario

We searched throughout the winding streets of the city, every building at least 3 stories high searching in the direction he told us to go. We ran across the market, the street vendors, interesting graffiti, the works. We found it eventually. And it was worth the journey. 


We enter and its packed. Full of people. The tables are like benches, with everyone sitting together very communally and very close together. We are led to our seat by a busy waitress and as we sit she points to the menu on the wall. We have no idea what to get, like none. The waitress returns and asks us what we want in Italian. We have honestly no way to answer her so we ask her in a mix of English, Spanish, and bad Italian what she would suggest. She points at a dish that another older Italian man is eating to my left, on the same bench as us. We all say yeah, lets have that. 


The dish comes out, and was it good. It was like a braised beef and potato dish cooked down in some sort of delicious sauce whose only ingredient I could pick out was red wine. We devoured it. It was just too good. We tried to hold ourselves back, enjoy the dish and appreciate where we were. It happened, briefly. But really it ended up that we were going to eat this dish down to the last drop of delicious sauce. In fact, I took a piece of hard bread and wiped up all the sauce from my plate, wiping it clean. 


Trattoria Mario was amazing, and so was Florence. The people, the food, just the city in general was outstanding. I will never forget Florence. 


In one of the markets, I touched a bronze statue of a boar. Legend says if you rub its snout, eventually you will come back to Florence. 


I hope the legend is true. 

Pisa

Pisa was by far my least favorite city of the entire trip. We left Genoa, the bustling and urban industrial city that we had our conference in and left to go to the cultural center of Florence. But on the way, we stopped by the tourist trap known as Pisa.

We arrived on a rainy day, and found ourselves in a bus stop full of tourists and scalpers. The scalpers were all of African descent, and due to the rain were all wielding umbrellas covered with corny pictures of Italian landmarks. Most of the tourists were Asian, from what I later learned Japanese. Apparently the Japanese love Italy and are the largest tourist group in the country.

Once we got past the scalpers we arrived at the bus depot. From here a bus shuttles all the tourists from the bus stop to the city of Pisa. We took the shuttle with many of the other toursits, and we arrived outside the walls of Pisa and once again are attacked by scalpers. We proceeded again repeatedly saying "No" to all the various scalpers. Almost at the gates of the city, we were confronted by a group of gypsies. They were holding babies, speaking in Slavic tones, and moving in a pack through our group. They grabbed one of our girl's purses and caused quite a scene.

After that conundrum, we finally entered the gates of Pisa. Initially, we were stunned. There were three marble structures, a large dome closest, a cathedral behind that, and a small, infamous, leaning tower behind that. It was fun, seeing a landmark known throughout the world for its unique quality. We took the corny stereotype pictures of us holding up the tower. We took pictures of all the cathedral, the dome, the facades of the city. Others payed large fees to enter the cathedral, or the dome, or the tower itself.

The advisors freaked out after we got inside. They told us to make sure our wallets were in our front pockets and all our valuables were secure and accounted for. We weren't sure why at first, but we deduced that someone had their wallet pick pocketed. Eventually we learned that one of the advisors lost their wallet, probably due to the gypsies that we ran into earlier. This put a tone of danger as well as suspicion in our experience of Pisa.

Others payed to go up the tower, but I declined. I walked with Ashley and a few others through the city and went to get coffee.

I sincerely thought about the city while we walked, and at one point it hit me. The whole city was a sham. A big sham. It was three large landmarks in a small city that had no true importance. Scalpers and pickpockets were rampant, and there was no legitimate Italian culture present in the city. It honestly just made me mad. It wasn't an Italian experience, it was a tourist experience. It didn't show you what it really was, it showed you what you wanted to see. After being in such a real city like Genoa, going to Pisa was simply a disappointment.

Thankfully, Florence was next. Ahh Firenze.

Genoa

Genoa was the first Italian city we actually visited. Despite landing in Milan's airport, we didn't see any of the city. So when we arrived in Genoa it was the first Italian city most of us had ever been to, so we were stunned.

All of us in front of our hotel. Note the dangerous stairs.

Genoa is a port city, the largest in Italy. Known originally as a city full of trade and culture, it is now known as the center of industry and shipping. Much of the city is a ghetto with large tenement like buildings housing large amounts of workers for the shipyards and all that. Luckily the conference was in the center of the more urban, cosmopolitan, more fashionable side of the city. Our hotel was on the border of the nice neighborhood and right next to the bad one. I was actually solicited by a prostitute one night while walking along one of the streets. Apparently parts of the city are notorious for crime; in fact some of the Genoese students said they had never even been to the "other side of the city" because it was so dangerous.

Genoa had a very urban, somewhat dirty feel to it. The streets were littered with graffiti, typical of the political movements which represent the lower income Italians and foreigners. The city had a lot of trash and had a feel of not being well maintained at parts, yet at other parts was very clean; probably a result of the class cleavages that were so evident witht the neighborhoods.

The conference was held in giant palaces spread out throughout the city. It was quite impressive to be having the conference in such large buildings that were definite centerpieces to the city. My committee was held in the Palazzo Rosso yet the majority of the committees were held in the Palazzo Ducale, a central point in the city where several streets met.

Palazzo di Ferrari- the Site of the Ducale

One of the best parts about Genoa was the exploring. Conner and I decided one day to take the vicolli or allies instead of the main streets that the advisors told us to take in order to get to the Ducale. We had not really seen these tiny, winding allies before and because of it we only wanted to take them. They were so exciting, so unique to Italy and we wanted to use them so badly. Problem is they are mighty disorienting as well. The slight curves of the streets cause you to lose your bearings quite easily, and the direction you thought you were headed is now slightly off from where you thought. And since Genoa didn't have as many landmarks as a city such a Florence did, the probability of finding an area of familiarity was relatively low. To wrap up the story, Conner and I ended up on the wrong side of the Ducale, after walking by it without even noticing. But that was part of the adventure, and definitely worth the danger and confusion we faced in the winding allies.

The conference was overall unorganized. From what i heard it was typical of the Italians to run a conference in such slack style. Yet sometime hypocrisy and tension regarding dress codes and things like that seemed to overshadow the fun involved. Thankfully my committee was very competitive and fun, and I had a good time in committee; meeting other kids and just getting acquainted with their ways of life. I really kicked it off with this kid from Dubai, and a German from Ukraine. Overall I met a great variety of characters in the committee, from the clean cut European who speaks perfect English, to the messy smelly European who slurs and mumbles his English. Fun no matter what.

Genoa, like much of Italy, is quite hilly and has large changes in elevation. Although we stayed mainly near the relatively flat coast, if we proceeded further away we would have reached the part of the city built upon the large hills. In fact, it seemed the Italians used the hills as an excuse to just build buildings on top of buildings. Our hotel was built on a building and then on top of another building. For this reason to reach our hotel we had to climb a series of worn down marble steps which proved very dangerous. Nonetheless, it gave a very European and awesome feel to the hotel as we approached it.

The bridge.

The view.

The main metropolitan district of the city was off a main street that ran from the Ducale. Full of all the suave shops and the apparently richer areas it was a very nice place to stroll and window shop. A large bridged spanned the street in a very central position. Conner and I made it our goal to get on top of that bridge by the end of lunch one day. After winding up some random streets we ended up on top of the bridge with a great view of everything.

Genoa was an interesting city. Filled with a large disparity between the rich and the poor as well as a very urban, metropolitan feel Genoa introduced us to Italy in a very appropriate manner.

I really miss Signiori Pasta. Ciao.

Italy

So, I just got back from one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. I toured Italy with a group of my closest friends for nearly two weeks. It was honestly one of the most outstanding periods of time in my life. It definitely not only brought me closer to my friends, but gave me another point of view on a culture and people that I would not be able to comprehend without the first hand experience this trip allowed for.

My next few posts will outline my trip city by city and how I felt about them. Maybe I will post some pictures too.

Ciao.

CIF

So Friday night was my last game for high school soccer. In the incredibly strong rain I played my last game for Tustin High against the Mission Viejo High School Diablos. It was a really competitive game. We could have easily won. But in the end, we lost with a scoreline that in no way was representative of how the game went: 2-0.

The individual game wasn't particularly what made me feel motivated enough to write about it here. It was one of the most memorable games of my four years definitely, but the idea that it was my last game in high school hit me hard. It was one of the steps toward graduation that really woke me up.

I realized that I probably wouldn't ever see any of these guys again. Or at least not after we graduate. And that all those old memories would never have the chance of coming up again. This sounds very melodramatic. But the idea of never seeing your soccer team again grows into never seeing your high school friends again. Which I can deal with, but its just a big leap.

It all hit me that the year, and what I know of life right now, will be gone after I graduate. So just like CIF essentially ended my relationship to the soccer team from player to former member, graduation will change me from student to alumni. And my world will change drastically.

But I guess that is growing up.

Banksy

Banksy, as I have mentioned before as one of my favorite artists, is in LA. Many believe it is due to his movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" being nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Film, and he is creating some hype for the movie by making some artistic appearances throughout the LA area.

I really dont care why he is here. I am just excited he is here. I love his art, I love his message, and I loved his movie. Most of his work is done in his native Britain, but the prospect of him being here in the United States makes me pretty excited. He has already made a few "pieces" here in LA this last week, including a mockery of Charlie Brown and the American Dream. I am really excited to see what other pieces come up and how American politics/society influences him to do unique things with his art.

And when his movie wins the Oscar, he will most likely make a mockery of that too. I can imagine that golden little statue man might get a little spraypaint on it.

Whatever happens, I am excited to see an artist with such social, cultural, and political influence so close to home.

American Idol

My mother loves American Idol. Like loves it. Every night whenever it comes on, nothing else matters. Drop everything and run to the television, turn on Fox, and get quiet. Cause Idol is on.

Due to the inherent nature of the program, and the way my mother reacts to it, I have trouble explaining how much I dislike American Idol.

I think the funniest part about this whole thing is what my mother does after the show. She calls her mom. And they talk about the show, the contestants, blah blah blah. The talk then proceeds to be about whatever, something random. Usually the events of the day, the way old people make every insignificant event a long drawn out boring story. And my mom insists on walking from room to room with the phone on speakerphone. Meaning she spreads the noise very loudly, and tells you to be quiet when you speak cause Grandma can hear it all.

Ugh.

Anyways,

Seacrest out.

Stanford Kids

Ok so today I went to an Orange County Stanford Acceptance meeting. Basically anyone that had been accepted to Stanford already met in some community recreation area in Huntington Beach and got to know each other. So all these high school seniors who had been accepted on Early Action met and talked about a variety of things, mainly school related.

It was an interesting group of people that created very interesting conversations. Yet I noticed a couple things in common with the majority of these kids.

Firstly, as expected, these kids were undoubtedly smart. They were using big words and subtly bragging about their accomplishments. I didn't mind, I mean I played that game too, but they definitely had some knowledge or achievements. Not that I expected to be, but I will definitely not be the smartest person at this school. There are some really brilliant kids, and I only met the ones from OC.

Secondly, they all seemed to have money. They were complaining about how high the tuition was and how it was going to rob their wallets and their parents wallets as well. I, on the other hand, am going to be receiving a very significant amount of financial aid in order to attend this institution. This means that the difference in the salaries of our parents is fairly different. And by fairly I mean very largely. These kids' parents are making a lot more money than mine. Also a lot of them went to private schools or more academically focused schools than Tustin High. Which implies that they are either more financially well-off or have parents that make more money to live in nicer areas with nicer schools. Point is most of them were wealthy, or wealthier than my family and I are.

Next point, a lot of them were Asian. I have nothing against Asians, I am simply stating a fact. Probably 50% of them were Asian. Which is a lot.

Also, they seemed to have parents that were very tight on them. Like the now infamous "Tiger Parents." These parents seemed to have large amounts of influence and involvement on the academic lives of these kids. I can honestly say that my parents are not that involved in mine. I go through my studies with little to no interference or guidance from my parents. I do it mostly by myself. But I have a feeling that despite these kids being very smart, they have their parents constantly watching over their shoulders when it comes to schoolwork.

Overall, I found myself to have a lot in common with these kids (besides obviously the above points.) I learned a lot more about Stanford and am absolutely positive I will love my four (+) years there.

By the way, University had at last 5 kids get accepted Early Action to Stanford. Thats a lot. Like wayyy too many.

Midnight Snack

Microwave food tastes significantly better at night. That Asian soup-noodle bowl took about three minutes to make, but damn it was satisfying. Pink Lemonade to wash it down.

The combination of sodium and sugar was probably not the best thing I could do for my body at midnight, but I will live to see another day.

1984

So today, along with probably all my classmates, I started the novel 1984 by George Orwell. We were only assigned the first 20 or so pages and thats as far as I read. But from that little snippet introduction to the novel and the story I can immediately tell that I am going to enjoy reading this novel. Why? Besides being a classically good book, it relates to so much of the art movements seen today in the contemporary modern scene.

Who? I am referencing Shepard Fairey. Many people don't know who he is but they know his work. His most widely publicized piece of art is the Obama poster with any variety of captions including "Hope" & "Change." If you attend high school you have undoubtedly seen kids wear his shirts with the distinct red and beige stenciled-out prints. But the one I have to relate to 1984 is his famous print of Andre the Giant with the command OBEY below it.

Of course the famous thing taken from George Orwell's 1984 is the phrase "Big Brother is Watching You." The novel revolves around the idea of an ever-present totalitarian government that strives off of propaganda and mind control. This phrase and the subsequent relation of big government to "Big Brother" is present in pop culture and referenced often.

I knew of Shepard Fairey through mainly his clothing brand which is also named Obey. Yet when I watched the Banksy documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop" (you really should see it if possible here is the trailer) I learned a lot more about Mr. Fairey, his philosophy, and his artwork. I learned that the initial print of his famous Andre the Giant OBEY poster was meant to be somewhat of a social experiment. He came across the idea that if something is is repeated enough times, people will accept it as true. So to test this he put up posters, sticker, stencils, whatever he could of the Giant and the script OBEY. Apparently people eventually began to ask about it and what it meant and all that. He was an underground celebrity and a founder in the underground art scene. His depictions of fascist leaders, social corruption, and the degradation of morals show the problems in the world that he sees today and for the future.

I think George Orwell (Eric Blair) was the 1940's equivalent to our Shepard Fairey. I think his political and social ideas were very similar to the ideas of Fairey. I really feel that if Orwell were alive today the type of messages that he would send in his medium of literature would be eerily similar to the motivation and ideology found behind Shepard Fairey's work. I saw this mural by Fairey which reminded me of The Party's three mottos in Orwell's 1984: "War is Peace, Slavery is Freedom, Ignorance is Strength." I think this art piece really shows a connection between the two artists.

I found out after I wrote this blog, while searching for pictures to put in it, that in fact Fairey has made large murals and prints with the quote "Big Brother is Watching You." He also made special edition covers for Orwell's two most famous pieces: Animal Farm and 1984. So apparently my insight was not that profound or unique, but I definitely wanted to share it.

Dancing

Ok so while I was at the SuperBowl party the subject of dancing was brought up by some of the parents and more elderly folks. This was caused by the Black-Eyed Peas and their momentary segment of shuffling. Once the young-ones mentioned the word shuffling the older folks became very interested. They wanted to know "how teenagers danced nowadays."

This was bad.

Ok so first of all they wanted us to shuffle in front of them. I was over it, and my brother thought it was hilarious they were even saying the words shuffling. Then my dad tried to shuffle, and looked like Forrest Gump with stilts on. Yeah I compared my father to Forrest Gump. It was hilarious.

But this is where it got bad. One of the older people asked us if this was how we danced at school dances. After the awkward pause trying to avoid the conversation my dad said: "Freak Dancing." I tried to avoid it even more. Discussing freak dancing with older people, especially parents and grandparent type figures is so awkward.

But it gets worse. They asked us to show them what Freak Dancing was. I just ignored it as long as I could. I did NOT want to get up there and show them that. NO WAY.

Eventually the awkward requests subsided and my dad explained to the others that Freak Dancing is basically dry humping. And the facial expressions were classic. Amazing. All these old people were like "woah" but with their faces. Awesome. My dad eventually called Freak Dancing a "ritualistic simulation of coitus." Which is terrible and funny all together.

I really have to defend the idea of Freak Dancing though. I don't know why, but I feel that I must. First of all, its one of the few ways of dancing our generation has been taught. Really all we know how to do for dancing is that, and things that take incredible skill or coordination. And considering that many of us are too bad of dancers or too lazy to be coordinated it ends up that Freak Dancing is the only thing we know how to do. Secondly, it is natural for us teenagers. We are raging with hormones. Lots and lots of hormones. And the majority of hese hormones tell us to go and hump the opposite sex. So Freak Dancing falls in this category and simply makes sense. Lastly, it is basically the only type of dancing that works with the type of music we listen to today. I am not saying hat if they played Swing music we would dance like we were from the 50's, but I am saying that this music played at dances really is meant for the bumping and grinding that is Freak Dancing. Even though I am not the biggest Freak Dancer ever I felt the urge to defend it.

Thankfully I didn't bring up the Cat Daddy.

Moral of the story:

Watching your father try to do the most current dance is hilarious, and worth the necessary awkwardness.

Superbowl XLV

Just got home from a party I attended with my parents for the Superbowl. I am pretty full, mostly junk food and cake. But I found the game to be fairly disappointing. The rallying points of the game were meager, and the overall tempo of the play seemed boring, especially in comparison to some of the playoff games leading up to it. So yeah.

I like Aaron Rogers though. He seemed like a good guy, and an exceptionally skilled quarterback. His composure in the pocket is pretty amazing. I know I couldn't remain that calm, or even look that calm with a bunch of 400 pound men running at me. No way.

Earlier today I was thinking about some of the ridiculous things about the Superbowl. Like how even those who don't watch professional football, like myself, watch the game. And how it is essentially an unofficial holiday for millions of Americans, and even non-Americans, every year. I also thought about the ridiculous amount of money spent in this singular game, specifically in the advertising. I know that the ads are often more entertaining than the game itself, which seemed t be the case this year. But the absurd amount of money spent on seconds of advertising really astonishes me. I mean it makes sense, but the pure amount of money that goes into it is ridiculous. I mean public high schools run out of paper all the time, but like 10 million dollars for 20 seconds of advertising. Done.

Halftime show, that was bad. I like the Black-Eyed Peas. They are a group thats interesting to listen to. But live, they were awful! It was bad. They are quite obviously a studio band, too much editing and auto-tuning. It just doesn't do well. And when I have to look at their gaudy and over-extravagant futuristic costumes it just makes it worse. Slash was a nice touch though. That segment was actually alright. I also thought it was funny that the giant stage that was supposed to spell LOVE ended up not lighting up all the way so it kinda looked like LO\E. Which is embarrassing for some roadie out there. Additionally, the coordinated dancers will never be as good as the Beijing Olympics ones. Those Chinese kids were awesome! Amazing. And they all did it for the price of a bowl of rice a day. That Chinese labor market just likes to prove us Americans wrong everytime.

Which brings me to an interesting point: What do people in foreign countries think about the Superbowl? (Besides the obvious non-comprehension of our "barbaric" sport) I mean when they see that ridiculously strange, extravagant, crazy halftime show, what do they think? Just saying, I mean I would like to know. Do they think we could be spending that money on other things like education or green energy? Or do hey embrace it and love America for it? Probably both.

So Congrats to the Green Bay Packers. And to Capitalism and Advertising. And to America. Next playoff game I will care about: not really sure. NBA? Only if Lakers are there. March Madness? Doubt it. MLB World Series? Definitely not. Most likely NCAA Football, since I will actually be attending a school with a decent team. Not for sure though. Only certainty will be next Superbowl. Which is sad.

I really wish the World Cup would come around. Soccer is the only sport I can really enjoy watching.

Social Network

Just got finished watching The Social Network with my family. Well, everyone but my mom cause she sleeps anytime we sit down to wach any sort of cinematic piece.

Just before I go on about The Social Network I would like to say that however fictitious and libelous it is, it is a damn good movie. Like a wonderful movie. This was the third time I saw it, and I noticed a few things about the tone and the rhythm of the movie that have convinced both my father and I that David Fincher deserves the Oscar for Best Director this year. And the score by Trent Reznor really set a stage for tension as well as awe.

Anyways, the point of this post was to draw the connection between what I am doing now in high school and what Jesse Eisenberg did as Mark Zuckerburg in The Social Network, Facebook. I am referencing our little company that has stemmed from Tustin High School, blacApps. I want to make some comparisons to and some contrasts from my venture and the one detailed in the movie.

Firstly, I am blogging. This is not because I want to replicate Zuckerburg or Eisenberg's character in any way, shape, or form. First contrast: I am not intoxicated, or comparing women to farm animals. I am not calling a girl a bitch, nor do I think this blog will end up being a major regret of my life or career. I am doing this blog cause I wanted to, and I need to vent in the form of writing somehow.

Ok but seriously when it comes to comparisons the alleged beginnings of Facebook in the movie and the actual growth and development of the company blacApps are very similar. Both had inspired young minds: Zuckerburg for Facebook obviously, and the four of us in blacApps. Both had a willing investor: Eduardo Saverin for Facebook, and Mr. Chad Smith for blacApps. These comparisons are obviously incredibly broad but the point is still there.

Additionally, each company has a range of specialists, those with particular talents or skills that will contribute to the company. In the movie there is a scene where Eisenberg (as Zuckerburg) wants to expand the Facebook experience from just Harvard to Yale and Columbia. Saverin then mentions that Stanford should also be included (Yay!). But this is the moment that drew my attention to this topic, this comparison. At that point Eisenberg tells Dustin Moskovitz in the movie to work on additional coding alongside him for the expansion. He tells Saverin that he will need a larger, more capable server to handle the amount of internet traffic. He then tells some other guy whose name escapes me to market the deal, to help make sure that people get to know whats going on and to ensure that Facebook spreads like wildfire into these schools. He proceeds to tell the Asian girls on the couch to remain comfortable. Besides having hot Asian girls on our couch, this scene is very similar to that of the blacApps company inner workings. Chad Smith runs the business, although he owns only 8% he is the little extra business glue in the operation, and he assumes that leadership position to make sure all of us are assigned jobs and that we follow through with them. Conner Fromknecht and I are the Zuckerberg and Moskovitz of the situation. Conner is obviously a way more talented programmer and code writer than I, making him Zuckerburg and myself Moskovitz. Chad Smith is the investor, the one allowing for initial capital investments, but also like Saverin he is looking to monetize the company, make sure it generates some revenue. Long Huynh and Brandon Leventhal are like that other guy who was in charge of the marketing, the will ensure that our company gets as big as possible as fast as possible. And just like Saverin did in the movie by making a little suggestion with the addition of Stanford onto the list of schools, all of us are key parts to both the creative and business genius that is blacApps. All of us have our parts, but all of us do everything as well.

Key differences that we hope to draw from the movie The Social Network is the business agreement. Obviously we are close friends like Zuckerburg and Saverin were, but we don't plan on splitting up or suing each other for hundreds of millions of dollars. We have in place firm business agreements, written in ink, and not just verbally agreed to as the movie portrayed. We have an elder involved. This makes him sound incredibly old but we have Mr. Chad Smith involved as an overseer, who has invested interest in the company but is not the central core of the company. By having him there he can help to make us more stable, more secure, and less likely to be corrupted by greed or success. We also have a system set in place for rapid growth. In the movie they say: "Facebook is growing faster than we expected." This means they weren't prepared for it to grow at such a rate. With the help of Mr. Smith we have prepared ourselves for success, in fact we have probably over prepared. But this is alright because the idea of losing large amount of money in settlements is a reminder of the necessity for preparedness. Definitely not the last of the differences but the last I am going to mention is the lack of outside influence. In the movie Justin Timberlake plays Sean Parker, creator of Napster. His presence in the movie and the company is definitely portrayed as one of bias and skewed negativity. It is obvious to the viewer of The Social Network that his presence in Facebook led its crumbling and its loss of coherence between its founding members. At blacApps we are determined to make sure this does not happen, and that we stay together as a company and as friends through high school, through college, and into our professional lives.

Look forward to more news on blacApps as we plan to launch our Applications soon.