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Showing posts from 2009

IS THIS REALLY IT?

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  I still remember the many times I sat in front of the TV feeling mesmerized by the newest video from the King of pop Michael Jackson. His music and his image were so avant-garde at the time that one's attention could not help but to be captured by them. Twenty years later, it is now almost 2010 and the king is no longer ruling. I was shocked like the rest of us when MJ's death was announced earlier this year and I am certain that the memory of that day will always be with me. I have been reluctant to blog about this as the media frenzy on this issue has been intoxicating enough on its own. Recently however, I went to watch Kenny Ortega 's movie THIS IS IT and I was reminded of the true grandeur of Michael's music and of the importance of writing an article like this to commemorate the many memories I lived through the king's music. Ortega's movie flows really smoothly as it is a documentary and concert hybrid. While sitting at the movie theatre you

I Love Haters

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A few weeks ago, one of my best friends at work @lucidlemon lent me a book that she really enjoyed. She mentioned it was very cute but yet naughty at times and that it made reference to the Mexican culture quite often. She also told me that she read it with a Spanish dictionary by her side as she took some lessons in highschool but she still wanted to make sure that she fully understood what all the terms meant.  Needless to say I was intrigued at that point. It had been a while since I last picked up a novel and the title of this one immediately caught my attention. The book I am referring to is called Haters , and the author is Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez - @alisavaldes . This novel depicts the story of an adolescent girl who moves from the quaint town of Taos New Mexico to the glamorous and often plastic Orange County, in order for her dad to make a mark in the animation industry. As one could expect, once in the OC , the protagonist found some extremely beautiful and well put to

Is Thanksgiving really just about the turkey and the stuffing?

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Celebrating the holidays with my family and loved ones has always been one of my favourite pastimes - the food, the laughter, the conversations - they all make an essential part of these wonderful gatherings. In these modern times however it so easy to forget about the true meaning behind some of these holidays, and thanksgiving is a perfect example of this. This year, my husband @guccisimo spent almost two weeks preparing to host our first ever thanksgiving dinner at our new home and seeing him go through all the preparations for this grand celebration made me reflect upon the meaning behind the words THANKS-GIVING.. It was exciting to be a part of his journey, as he meticulously selected recipes, ingredients and decorations to honour our guests. By the way, when I say honour I truly mean it, as when it comes down to hosting a dinner party Martha Stewart has nothing on him (although I must admit that he did follow her turkey recipe this year - but let's keep that our secret).

Why Are Mexicans _________ ?

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The other day I decided to go through my twitter's timeline to catch up on the recent posts from those I follow. It was then that I came across a specific tweet that disturbed me and deeply saddened me. It was posted by @cuaquilino - a twitter friend who happens to be Mexican like me. @cuaquilino 's tweet is a picture of the search suggestions that come up when one types "why are Mexicans..." on Google's search bar - The suggested statements are racist and demeaning and they promote hatred amongst different nations and races. Instead of focusing on the many good things both Mexico AND Mexicans have offered to the world they portray offensive and prejudicial notions of what we as Mexicans stand for. It is extremely distressing to realize that after so many centuries of suffering and mistreatment, the human race still chooses to segregate others based on the colour of their skin, the country they were born in, or the gender of their partner. Humans are naturally

Remedios Varo - Mystical Surrealism

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Art is a language that helps to blur the differences between human beings from different countries, races and religions. As an esperanto, art breaks the boundaries that otherwise would hold our thoughts and emotions captive. I am an art fanatic and as such I enjoy dance, music, painting , photography, and many other artistic expressions. Very few forms of art however, have the complexity and mysticism that can be found in the paintings of Remedios Varo . I still remember the first time I came across one of Remedios' paintings. I was still a young child. The magic portrayed in her art amazed me. It was as if a story was being told without having to say a word. There were characters full of emotion, hidden objects, furniture that became alive, animals that could speak. The intricacy of her art is indescribable until captured by one's own eyes. Remedios was born in Spain in 1908. She always struggled to combine the mythic with the scientific, the sacred with the profane. H

Vinyl Toys - Art Or Collectibles?

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A few months ago, one of my co-workers introduced me to a set of small creatures that live underneath his PC screen at work - he referred to them as "Dunnys". At first glance, Dunnys looked like new millennium toys that a child could pick up and play with. However, it wasn't long before I realized that there is much more to them than that. I always tend to be drawn to any form of art expression and as such these tiny characters quickly became my new craze. This " designer toys " are brought to life by artists all over the world, many of who have gained further popularity by deciding to participate in these projects. Dunnys are made by the internationally renowned toy and fashion apparel manufacturer Kidrobot . The best part of purchasing a Dunny is that you have no idea of what it will look like until you open the box it comes in. This makes for a novel experience and it promotes online forum participation of Dunny fans as trading parties and special events a

Calvin Harris Live - Electro Heaven on Earth?

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I don't know if it is because of my Latin-American background but somehow when I listen to good music my body just naturally starts to move to the beat. I enjoy all music genres as I appreciate music's diversity. However, when it comes to my absolute favourite music style I would need to go with electro. For those of you who may not be familiar with this genre of music, I would describe it as a mix of 80's synthesizers with a good selection of drums and dance beats. I find electro to be intense, yet sexy and seductive... and no, I'm not describing a person here :) My first face-to-face encounter with this type of music was back in 2002 when I went to see GusGus live at Sonar nightclub in Vancouver. I was literally in awe. When I purchased the tickets for their show I was not expecting to listen to electro for the first time, as GusGus' previous material was more dance-like. Needless to say, I fell in love. The crowd was going wild that night as we all rocked o

Here they are... the reasons why I love Paris Hilton, Onch and Stephen Hampton

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I recently decided to change the wallpaper on my computer at work to one of Paris' pictures. At the time, I could have never anticipated the kind of reaction I would get from my co-workers for having done so. Multiple people started asking me (sometimes several times a day) what I liked about Paris Hilton and why I would decide to put a picture of her on my screen at work. I clearly knew the answers to their questions, but their constant interrogation made me reflect on why I love people like Paris Hilton, Onch, and Stephen Hampton - hence this article. Let's start with Paris - several people would come up to my desk and make statements like - she doesn't work, she is just a socialite, she has no real talent - but having gotten to know Paris better than that through interviews, BFF episodes, and most importantly through her official twitter account, I strongly defended her position. Paris IS a talented woman - not everyone can build an entire marketing empir

25 Random Things About Me

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1. I believe that truly listening to someone can change that person's life for the better. 2. Pink is my favourite colour.  I love to see how people react when I say that. 3. Friendship and family are the single most important things in my life. 4. I truly believe in bi-sexuality. I know some people believe that bisexuals are just people who can't decide to play for one team or another but I believe people fall in love with a soul and not with a gender. 5. I have always loved cats but recently I have been wanting to get a West Highland Terrier "Westie" so I can walk it around on the beach and take it with me. 6. I have cried in several movies, especially in "A Walk to Remember" 7. I love any type of ice cream, but especially chocolate. 8. Music is my drive and my energy. Dancing is my second nature. 9. I am a perfectionist (too the point where it drives people crazy) and I feel that being succesful is something I must achieve before I die.

Time Flies At The Hair Salon

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This long weekend sure made me feel like I got to do a lot of things in a very short period of time. My high school BFF Samantha had been looking for a new haircut for a while now and she asked for my advice. We went to a nearby salon and spent several hours in the process of transforming her look. We had multiple discussions about what colour highlights she should get, whether bangs were good for her, what length the new hairstyle should be, etc. Who knew one could have such lengthy debates about ash versus bronze highlights? :) I don't know about you... but when I am in a hair salon I feel like the time just flies by. For some strange reason I always end up having the best conversations while I wait for my friends' makeovers to happen. I have wondered before whether hair styling was my true calling, but in the end my need for reliability and stability win the battle. I want to share with you some of the photos I took during Sam's transformation. She is comical by natu

Great new electro sounds for 2009

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For those of you who don't know me in person... I am the kind of guy who is always looking for new forms of entertainment. Since music is my favourite companion I am always on the hunt for artists and sounds that make my ears happy. Strangely enough, this last month I happened to run across 4 great albums that have exceeded my expectations - that doesn't happen very often :) I love sharing my finds with those who have similar interests. So... if you like electro or dance music this post is for you. Here are my album suggestions for the Fall of 2009. Enjoy!~ Little Boots - Hands  http://www.myspace.com/littleboots La Roux - La Roux  http://www.myspace.com/larouxuk   David Guetta - One Love      http://www.myspace.com/davidguetta  Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend    http://www.myspace.com/calvinharristv

One Word Survey

ONE. WORD. You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word. No. Explanations. Not as easy as you might think... 1. Yourself: Angel 2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: Cassidy 3. Your hair? Brown 4. Your mother? Amazing 5. Your Father? Re-united 6. Your Favorite Item: BlackBerry 7. Your dream last night: Unavailable 8. Your Favorite drink: PiƱa Colada 9. Your Dream Car: Murano 10. The room you are in: Office 11. Your Ex: Genius 12. Your fear: Aids 13. What you want to be in 10 years: Succesful 14. Who you hung out with last night? Husband 15. What you're not? Shy 16. Muffins: Carrot 17: One of Your Wish List Items: Blu-Ray 18: Time: 2:52 19. The Last Thing You Did: Phone 20. What You Are Wearing: Jeans 21. Your Favorite Weather: Beachy 22. Your Favorite Book: Perfume 23. The Last Thing You Ate: Sushi 24. Your Life: Wicked 25. Your Mood: Happy

Interesting View On Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30 , then you're PUSHING 40. W! hoa!

My Ten Names

1. YOUR REAL NAME Angel 2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Turtles Kitkat 3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three of your last) A-CLE 4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal) Pink Cat 5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, town where you were born): Fernando Distrito 6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom's maiden name) CLEANARD 7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink) Black Kahlua 8. STRIPPER NAME: (your first pets name and the street you live on) Shanti Cardero 9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father's middle names) Fernando Lucia 10. MARTIAN NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, last letter of your moms middle name)

LIGHTS

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.... LOVE HER!! Great new song. I can't wait to hear the full CD.