THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0061: REMEMBRANCE
“There are stars who's light only reaches the earth long after they have fallen apart. There are people who's remembrance gives light in this world, long after they have passed away. This light shines in our darkest nights on the road we must follow.”
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0060: TAKING RESPONSIBILTY
by duvalia
August 29, 2010
One thing I’ve never been able to understand is how parents can blame fast food places for their child’s obesity. Yes, I’ll agree that these fast food joints are enablers, but damn, take some responsibility. Do you really not have the power to get your child something else to eat?
Ever heard of exerting some self control? Or using your brain?
Okay, I’ll be sympathetic and let’s say you have a brat of a child who LOVES burgers and really won’t eat thing anything else. First off, YOU’RE still the parent. If you’re getting bossed around by a four year old, than that’s a different problem altogether. Secondly, the world is getting more health conscious and healthier foods are becoming more available. Some turkey or veggie burgers instead?
But if you really decide to let your child eat the unhealthier (and most likely tastier) burgers, then do so in moderation. Turn off the TV and get your child outside playing. Take some responsibility for your children’s health. They’ll thank you for it later.
August 29, 2010
One thing I’ve never been able to understand is how parents can blame fast food places for their child’s obesity. Yes, I’ll agree that these fast food joints are enablers, but damn, take some responsibility. Do you really not have the power to get your child something else to eat?
Ever heard of exerting some self control? Or using your brain?
Okay, I’ll be sympathetic and let’s say you have a brat of a child who LOVES burgers and really won’t eat thing anything else. First off, YOU’RE still the parent. If you’re getting bossed around by a four year old, than that’s a different problem altogether. Secondly, the world is getting more health conscious and healthier foods are becoming more available. Some turkey or veggie burgers instead?
But if you really decide to let your child eat the unhealthier (and most likely tastier) burgers, then do so in moderation. Turn off the TV and get your child outside playing. Take some responsibility for your children’s health. They’ll thank you for it later.
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0059: CURTAIN CALL
by MRAM
August 29, 2010
44 years ago tonight on a Summer night inside a baseball stadium in San Francisco, four legends decided that enough was enough.
From the time they burst onto the worldwide scene in February 1964, this group of youths from Liverpool, England had been working day in and out, creating new material, participating in the obligatory mindless interviews and inane photo shoots and more importantly...touring.
Not that this 'Fab Four' didn't have fun in those early times. Who wouldn't, with the fame, money and fan adulation?
But, as with all bad relationships, the bad times started outweighing the good.
Recognize that there were no "Roadies" back then. The group had to pretty much lug their own equipment around from venue to venue. Of course they had one or two friends help them. That's 1 & 2 as opposed to a at least 50 which are used by bands today.
That would be fine if this 'little band' was touring small clubs in a few nearby cities and such. But no, they were doing stadiums and arenas WORLDWIDE.
Man, I get tired just lugging my suitcase to Las Vegas!
Now just imagine dragging multiple guitars, drums and amplifiers to Australia by way of Germany!
Performing a quick 10 song, 20-minute set to a crowd that could not even hear them perform over the roar of 45, 000 plus at times finally took its toll.
It's like working in a bell factory. After a while, you just don't hear the bells anymore.
They were tired and the fun most likely died a long time ago during a gig in some country on one of their world tours, which by the way they did 2 a year for 4 years. Bands today go on a world tour once every other year to put things in perspective.
Factor in that they could not leave their hotel rooms due to lack of security and absence of personal bodyguards during that particular time. Imagine going from city to city, country to country and just performing to screaming fanatics that can't tell that you've forgotten the lyrics to your own songs or that you had missed numerous chord changes. Then picture going back to your hotel room and doing it all over again for the next few weeks or months?
All that glitters isn't gold, People.
They were stuck in the proverbial rut and there was only one thing to do. The only thing they could do.
August 29, 2010
44 years ago tonight on a Summer night inside a baseball stadium in San Francisco, four legends decided that enough was enough.
From the time they burst onto the worldwide scene in February 1964, this group of youths from Liverpool, England had been working day in and out, creating new material, participating in the obligatory mindless interviews and inane photo shoots and more importantly...touring.
Not that this 'Fab Four' didn't have fun in those early times. Who wouldn't, with the fame, money and fan adulation?
But, as with all bad relationships, the bad times started outweighing the good.
Recognize that there were no "Roadies" back then. The group had to pretty much lug their own equipment around from venue to venue. Of course they had one or two friends help them. That's 1 & 2 as opposed to a at least 50 which are used by bands today.
That would be fine if this 'little band' was touring small clubs in a few nearby cities and such. But no, they were doing stadiums and arenas WORLDWIDE.
Man, I get tired just lugging my suitcase to Las Vegas!
Now just imagine dragging multiple guitars, drums and amplifiers to Australia by way of Germany!
Performing a quick 10 song, 20-minute set to a crowd that could not even hear them perform over the roar of 45, 000 plus at times finally took its toll.
It's like working in a bell factory. After a while, you just don't hear the bells anymore.
They were tired and the fun most likely died a long time ago during a gig in some country on one of their world tours, which by the way they did 2 a year for 4 years. Bands today go on a world tour once every other year to put things in perspective.
Factor in that they could not leave their hotel rooms due to lack of security and absence of personal bodyguards during that particular time. Imagine going from city to city, country to country and just performing to screaming fanatics that can't tell that you've forgotten the lyrics to your own songs or that you had missed numerous chord changes. Then picture going back to your hotel room and doing it all over again for the next few weeks or months?
All that glitters isn't gold, People.
They were stuck in the proverbial rut and there was only one thing to do. The only thing they could do.
Stop.
One of the few positives that came from being trapped in their existence during this time was that their new material was being fine tuned and curious experimentation both professionally, musically and socially (ahem) paved the way to what may have been their finest work.
They had now moved on from the arenas to the studios full time and never looked back.
44 years ago tonight on a Summer night inside a baseball stadium in San Francisco, four legends decided that enough was indeed...
enough.
One of the few positives that came from being trapped in their existence during this time was that their new material was being fine tuned and curious experimentation both professionally, musically and socially (ahem) paved the way to what may have been their finest work.
They had now moved on from the arenas to the studios full time and never looked back.
44 years ago tonight on a Summer night inside a baseball stadium in San Francisco, four legends decided that enough was indeed...
enough.
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0058: MINDLESS BUYERS
by duvalia
August 22, 2010
Companies know how to sell their products. And we know they know how and yet we still buy their products.
For instance, the original Star Wars trilogy has been released and re-released countless number of times. Oh, it’s on DVD now? Must buy! It’s been digitially remastered? Must buy! It’s has changed scenes and added commentary? Must buy!
The introduction of Blu Ray has already started a mass rebuying of things.
Introducing Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. The exact same movie as FFVII:AC but on Blu-Ray and thirty minutes of extra footage. And I bought it anyway.
Street Fighter IV… one of the biggest games when it came out. Amazingly improved graphics with 23 characters at your disposal, Cammy, Chun-Li, Vega, M.Bison… just to name a few. Then less than a year later Super Street Fighter IV comes out. With 10 new characters and new modes to play. And we buy it anyway!
I’m not saying we’re stupid for buying the new product with additional content. Just that these companies and advertisers really know how to do their job.
August 22, 2010
Companies know how to sell their products. And we know they know how and yet we still buy their products.
For instance, the original Star Wars trilogy has been released and re-released countless number of times. Oh, it’s on DVD now? Must buy! It’s been digitially remastered? Must buy! It’s has changed scenes and added commentary? Must buy!
The introduction of Blu Ray has already started a mass rebuying of things.
Introducing Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. The exact same movie as FFVII:AC but on Blu-Ray and thirty minutes of extra footage. And I bought it anyway.
Street Fighter IV… one of the biggest games when it came out. Amazingly improved graphics with 23 characters at your disposal, Cammy, Chun-Li, Vega, M.Bison… just to name a few. Then less than a year later Super Street Fighter IV comes out. With 10 new characters and new modes to play. And we buy it anyway!
I’m not saying we’re stupid for buying the new product with additional content. Just that these companies and advertisers really know how to do their job.
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0057: DEAD...AND ALIVE.
by duvalia
August 8, 2010
Screw the sensuality of a beautiful woman having her blood drained by her mysterious unknown visitor and those two measly little marks left on her neck after he‘s finished with his meal. It’s all about the blood spattering aftermath of a zombie sinking its teeth into your flesh and tearing out your innards!
Okay, so maybe zombies are just as old a subject as vampires, but blasting your way through hordes of vampires doesn’t sound as fun (though I’m sure some of you may disagree if you have something against those sparkly ones that seem to be so popular nowadays).
While there are some variations in the way people portray the blood sucking undead, those changes never really stray away from what’s been done before. The slight differences range from how sunlight/water/garlic/etc affects vampires to some ‘power’ they might possess.
However, the brain eating undead may have an unfair advantage as ‘the infected’ seems to have become synonymous with ‘zombies’ thus creating a broader range of possibilities. You can have the T-Virus infected from the Resident Evil series, the exceptionally infected beings from the Left 4 Dead series or the simple pole vaulting zombies of Plants versus Zombies.
And then you have zombie movie quotes like “Are you a fighter, Fish Queen, or zombie food?"
Hmm... Maybe vampires do win this round.
August 8, 2010
Screw the sensuality of a beautiful woman having her blood drained by her mysterious unknown visitor and those two measly little marks left on her neck after he‘s finished with his meal. It’s all about the blood spattering aftermath of a zombie sinking its teeth into your flesh and tearing out your innards!
Okay, so maybe zombies are just as old a subject as vampires, but blasting your way through hordes of vampires doesn’t sound as fun (though I’m sure some of you may disagree if you have something against those sparkly ones that seem to be so popular nowadays).
While there are some variations in the way people portray the blood sucking undead, those changes never really stray away from what’s been done before. The slight differences range from how sunlight/water/garlic/etc affects vampires to some ‘power’ they might possess.
However, the brain eating undead may have an unfair advantage as ‘the infected’ seems to have become synonymous with ‘zombies’ thus creating a broader range of possibilities. You can have the T-Virus infected from the Resident Evil series, the exceptionally infected beings from the Left 4 Dead series or the simple pole vaulting zombies of Plants versus Zombies.
And then you have zombie movie quotes like “Are you a fighter, Fish Queen, or zombie food?"
Hmm... Maybe vampires do win this round.
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0054: ANONYMITY
by duvalia
July 18, 2010
The Internet has opened up a whole new world of anonymity. You can create multiple accounts on countless websites and your friends and family may never know they’re looking at your artwork or reading your writing.
However, this level of anonymity also seems to have given viewers the audacity to say whatever they want about the work posted and even about the poster himself. It’s one thing to have a differing opinion on a piece of work, but there’s no need to be a jerk about it.
After reading my observations, you can comment how I’m not being fair as I only present one side of the story. Or you can say how the view I’ve written is completely wrong and that I’m an ugly moron for having written it. You’re entitled to your opinion, but keep the comments relevant to the topic presented.
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0053: GRAMMAR
By duvalia
July 11, 2010
Living in the world of instant messaging, texting, and constant status updates it’s normal to come across misspelled words and messages like “omg i lyk totally PWNED u!”, “i’ll c u l8r” and “kthx bai”. But if you’re writing a newspaper article or an essay for school? Run a spell check or at least stick the word in a search engine box if you‘re too lazy to look for a dictionary.
Texting someone? Then write whatever way you want. Understandably, it’s a hassle to type whole words out and people expect quick replies. Though sometimes it can be annoying when unknown acronyms start popping up and you have to search the internet for what they mean.
But to be fair, I’m a horrible speller who still manages to screw up the written English language. So for the most part, poor grammar and lack of correctly spelled words doesn’t bother me. Key words being “for the most part”. We all have our pet peeves. At the top of my list…
Trending topic: #yourlame
I click the link and ninety-eight percent of tweets are “#yourlame because” whatever lame reason.
You fail because of your lame grammar.
Living in the world of instant messaging, texting, and constant status updates it’s normal to come across misspelled words and messages like “omg i lyk totally PWNED u!”, “i’ll c u l8r” and “kthx bai”. But if you’re writing a newspaper article or an essay for school? Run a spell check or at least stick the word in a search engine box if you‘re too lazy to look for a dictionary.
Texting someone? Then write whatever way you want. Understandably, it’s a hassle to type whole words out and people expect quick replies. Though sometimes it can be annoying when unknown acronyms start popping up and you have to search the internet for what they mean.
But to be fair, I’m a horrible speller who still manages to screw up the written English language. So for the most part, poor grammar and lack of correctly spelled words doesn’t bother me. Key words being “for the most part”. We all have our pet peeves. At the top of my list…
Trending topic: #yourlame
I click the link and ninety-eight percent of tweets are “#yourlame because” whatever lame reason.
You fail because of your lame grammar.
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0052: CLEVELAND ROCKS?
by MRAM
July 8, 2010
OK, Let's get the information straight here...Cleveland offered $30 Million MORE than any of the other teams including the HEAT. They signed a bunch of max contracts to surround LeBron with better players the past couple of years. Now they are stuck with those contracts with no flexilibilty to help improve their team. They did have the best record in the league and were Title contenders for the past 4 years were they not?
July 8, 2010
OK, Let's get the information straight here...Cleveland offered $30 Million MORE than any of the other teams including the HEAT. They signed a bunch of max contracts to surround LeBron with better players the past couple of years. Now they are stuck with those contracts with no flexilibilty to help improve their team. They did have the best record in the league and were Title contenders for the past 4 years were they not?
So let me get this straight: LeBron James wanted a better chance at winning an NBA Championship?
Man, give me a break.
It wasn't about having better players at this point, it was getting a BETTER COACH. Phil Jackson took over a Laker Team from Del Harris with pretty much the same personnel and won a title. Kobe could have joined another team & made more $ elsewhere when he was a FA in 2004 when Shaq left. It's not a question about 'Hating'. It's LOYALTY that i have issues with.
By the way, what is he the King of anyway?
The world wonders...
Labels:
Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0051: LACK OF CONNECTION
By duvalia
July 4, 2010
I’m all for the world of technology… First off, posting this for all of you to read would be impossible without it. Secondly, I’m an avid gamer, which means hooking up a console, a flat screen TV, and the added stereo system to enhance my gaming experience. And who can forget the wonderful air conditioner, which keeps you nice and cool on a hot summer’s day.
As you can see, I have a deep appreciation for the advancements mankind has made, but these things never come without some sort of unconventional price tag.
Cellphones…connecting people all around the world with the press of a button! Annnnnd… alienating the people sitting next to each other on the couch.
Here’s the situation…
You look around the room as your companions click away on their cell phones. Then feeling stupid since you’re just sitting there doing nothing, you decide to pick your phone up as well. Now you have a silent room of friends more in tune with what’s happening out there. But being glued to your phone is understandable in certain situations like you’re expecting a call, are on call for your job, or even if there’s a lull in conversation.
But if someone’s actually talking to you, it’s common courtesy to place aside your phone to at least let them finish their sentence. Otherwise, you “lose your connection“. The person sits there feeling like you obviously have better people to talk to or that you honestly don’t care what he has to say.
It’s great to get the latest status updates, news feeds, and tweets from friends and family… but don’t forget to connect with the people right in front of you.
Labels:
Observations
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
