Holidays

Merry Christmas everyone! I haven't written in over a month, mostly due to the fact that I have been trying to get as many books read as possible before the end of the year. Needless to say, I won't reach my goal for this year, but the new count will start again on Jan. 1st. Hopefully, I'll be able to start reading books before September since I won't be constantly catching up on magazines. So on behalf of myself, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannakah, Happy Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year! See you in 2011!

Peace and Love

Two Documentaries

So last night I decided to check out a couple of documentaries that I had in my instant queue on Netflix (which by the way is one of the BEST investments that anyone can make who enjoys watching movies, tv shows, etc. We pay $9.16 a month for unlimited dvds - we can only get 1 at a time, but as many as we want in a month as well as unlimited instant views, which we can watch on the computer, or on the tv - people can use it through their xbox 360 or wii).

The first documentary I decided to check out was called "Modify". It was about body modification, in many forms, some of which I had never categorized as body modification before such as plastic surgery and body building. It also explores tattooing, piercing (a lot of piercings - all over the body), plugs in ears (which is stretching of the earlobes), branding, the splitting of the tongue, and suspending (which is when people suspend in the air by hooks in their back - kind of shocking to see. This documentary will open the eyes to those who haven't seen a lot body modification in its extreme forms. I wouldn't recommend this movie for young children as genitals and blood are shown. Overall, I thought it was an interesting documentary, but nothing that really changed my views, since I am pretty open minded.

The second documentary that I watched was called "Super High Me". Kind of based on the premise of "Super Size Me", Doug Benson (a comedian - who is known for smoking pot) decided to go without pot for 30 days and then smoke all day, every day for 30 days. He explores the pot industry, especially California, where marijuana is available for medicinal purposes thanks to proposition 215. It shows the dispensaries where people can purchase pot, in all forms - some people can't smoke it, so they have topical sprays, pills, and even lip balm. Unfortunately, the federal government still views all marijuana distribution as illegal, even though California does not view it as such for these dispensaries - so the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) invades a couple of these places, completely removing everything - all the pot products and the computers where patient information is stored. But the people keep fighting back and the dispensaries are re-opened. You see Doug do his stand up and take several tests including the SAT, a psychic test, and a memory test, as well as checking his sperm count both without and with the use of pot - which provided some interesting results. Overall, I thought it was a highly interesting documentary that I wouldn't have though of watching before, but offered a lot of information that I wasn't aware of and opened my eyes to the world of pot.

The Cove

So today is one of those days. I love that it's rainy and cloudy - something most people hate. But I'm kinda missing my Dad. He lives in Georgia and I haven't seen him in three and a half years. Really sucks. I have a great relationship with him and sometimes, I just miss him. Blah.

On a more positive front (I guess), I watched the Cove last night. What an impactful movie. Little known fact about me: Dolphins are one of my two favorite animals (with Tigers). I have always wanted to go swimming with dolphins and think it would be an incredible experience. I still have that goal - only now I would rather do it in the ocean as opposed to some place where they are living in captivity. This movie completely shined a light on places like Sea World and aquariums where dolphins live and perform in captivity. These intelligent creatures were not meant to be "show ponies."

But the main focus of the movie takes place in Taiji, Japan, in a small cove where dolphins are sorted out. The "best" dolphins are taken to be placed in these aquariums while the rest are moved to a hidden lagoon where they are slaughtered. No one has ever been able to see what goes on in this place, and these people were able to set up secret cameras in order to be able to capture the whole thing. To actually see what happens - it's horrifying and sad. This is a movie that EVERYONE needs to see. We need to stand up against this horrible act of violence. We need to do whatever we can - contact the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, the government of Japan, the IWC (International Whaling Commission), EVERYONE. We need to stop this before it continues to get worse.

Calvin and Hobbes

I just finished reading the entire collection of one of my favorite comic strips of all time: Calvin and Hobbes. Compiled into three books (each of which is HUGE) is the entire works of Calvin and Hobbes created by Bill Watterson. I have read a couple of the smaller books before, but had never really read everything that I had been published in this collection. Luckily, I found a library that sent over the entire collection to my local library so that I could read these books and I was no disappointed. The creativity that this comic strip includes is truly genius, and the artwork is pretty incredible. I feel that kids Calvin's age truly are becoming quite that smart and he was definitely ahead of his time, but nonetheless, I smiled throughout the entire time I read these books. My ratings:

1. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: Book 1 by Bill Watterson
2. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: Book 2 by Bill Watterson
3. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: Book 3 by Bill Watterson = A+!

If you have never had the opportunity to read the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed if you take the time to check it out.

Get in the Game

So, it's November 6, 2010 and I have only read 14 books. I'm not confident that I am going to be able to reach 75 books before midnight on January 1, 2011. But I'm still going to try. In fact, I recently finished two books.

The first book I read I have read before - last year I believe. It is called "Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference" by Cal Ripken, Jr. This book is an incredibly inspiring book about the things that Ripken has learned throughout his life and have been applied to his life since childhood. He discusses his baseball career and his personal life, where he has come from, and what he has learned along the way. There are so many lessons that can be applied to anyone's life - no matter who you are, where you are from or what you do for a living. This book has inspired me to keep fighting when I feel that I have nothing left. This books gets an A+ from me and I highly recommend that everyone read this book.

The second book that I just finished is called "I'm With Fatty: Losing Fifty Pounds in Fifty Miserable Weeks" by Edward Ugel. You may have noticed that this is the same man who wrote the lottery book that I finished a little while ago. This book seemed to hit a little more at home for me though. If you have followed my blog, you know that I have sleep apnea and have been trying to lose weight to see if I can get rid of not only that, but my migraines as well. Since the end of February, I have lost 13 pounds, which doesn't sound like much at all. But I'm proud that I have done that so far. Anyway, this book (which I had heard nothing about and was published this year) was like reading about myself to a degree. When Edward found out that he had sleep apnea and had to wear a CPAP mask, he absolutely hated it. I dread the idea of having to wear one. That fact inspired him to lose weight in order to not have to wear one anymore. He enlisted the help of a nutritionist and a trainer (neither of which I would be able to afford), and really started to change his life. He loved fried foods and Asian cuisine. He considered himself a "foodie", which I love. He was considered the cook in his household and he had to completely change the way that he lived his life. It was inspiring to read his story, which was not only informative, but humorous as well. He told of his experience with his first colonic and going on a cleanse, his meltdown where he binged on bad food for a week while his family was out of town, and how he realized that this was something that wasn't a short term project, but the way he would have to live the rest of his life. This book deserves an A+ and will inspire those who read it.

Money for Nothing

I just finished a book - it's been a little while since I've read one since I've been catching up on my magazines, but I finished it. It's called "Money For Nothing: One Man's Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions" by Edward Ugel and I must say, it was an incredibly interesting read. Based on the title, you would probably think that it is about a guy who won the lottery and in a way, he did - but not in the traditional sense that you would think. This book is about a man who worked in the lump-sum industry. When a lottery winner decided to get annual payments (since not all states offer lump-sum choices when they win) and spends all the money and is strapped for cash, they can sell some of their payments to a lump-sum company. Edward was one of the salesman in the industry who would negotiate for those payments. While in theory it sounds like they are doing the winner a favor (by being able to help them out when they are strapped), the winner is getting screwed out of some of their money. These salesman are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars - which in the case of some of them, was comparable to winning the lottery.

This book completely opened my eyes to a side of the lottery industry that I never knew existed. I had always thought that if I was ever lucky enough to win money (which is only possible if you play, which I don't), I would be able to take care of my boyfriend and pay our bills, as well as paying off my school loans and maybe being able to go back to school. Coming from someone who worked on the other side of the equation, I began to understand why some people who had won the lottery wished they hadn't.

I love reading autobiographies and non-fiction books. There is something about reading about real people and situations that opens my eyes to so much more that is outside my own little world. I think this book is definitely worth reading and I would definitely give it an A+, five stars, whatever you want to rate it as. It is a book that I may not have initially been attracted to, but coming from me (someone who will read just about anything), I'm glad I took a chance and read this book.

Peace and Love!

Take me back...

I've been gone for far too long. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it before, but I am a horrible blogger. I either seem to totally forget about it or think that anything I could possibly write about seems stupid or redundant. But in this case, I don't care if what I am saying is either of those things.

So being bored out of my mind and wanting to listen to some music tonight, I decided to go back in time (I guess) and listen to some music that I haven't listened to for a very long time: the Backstreet Boys. That's right - I said the Backstreet Boys. When I was in middle school and high school, they seemed to be all the rage - and I listened to both them and N*SYNC, which (if you know me) means that my musical taste is spread out all over the place. Sometimes, I think listening to something as old school (and somewhat comforting) as music from my past makes things better, even though it doesn't really change anything that is going on. Music just seems to have a way of making people feel better or bringing out emotions in us that have been suppressed for a while. In my case, I think it is more about remembering what my life was like before medical issues and bad decisions. It takes me back to a place where I didn't have a lot of responsibility, thus not leading to disappointing a lot of people. Here I go ranting again. Oh how things change...

Peace and Love