So this post, which is the first post in many, many months, attempts at returning to blogging, and long, fruitless writing sessions which were later scrapped. This post also has … Continue reading A Waterbottle Full of Stickers/A Life Lived, Met, and Ready to be Revealed/The Slow Process of God/The Hero Returns
So, here’s a movie trailer, for a movie called Desierto.
It’s being directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and stars Gael García Bernal as “a father crossing into the United States to reunite with his son.”
Now, I don’t yet know how to feel about it. Cuarón has previously directed Gravity, Y Tu Mamá También, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and though I wasn’t fully thrilled with Gravity (I believe when I watched it, and it probably exists in text messages between Brielle and me, I called it “the greatest, most expensive deodorant commercial ever made”), it was still visually striking and very well directed. The other two movies are also both amazing, for very different reasons, though the directing has been consistently top notch.
I’m also a big fan of García Bernal, and all of the awesome work he’s been a part of, including Amazon Prime’s Mozart in the Jungle, which got it’s second season released about a week ago. It’s wonderful to see people that looks like me, in a lot of ways, finding great success in the entertainment industry. But the concept of the movie is what I find a big unnerving?
So many people have opinions on the subject of immigration, and I don’t want a movie to be but a simple response to the opinions that differ from our own. I also feel that, though I personally don’t like the idea of minute men, this movie might seem to demonize them. It also seems like it’s taking a topic that’s very real, and very personal, and attempting to make a sort of horror/thriller out of it.
Of course, we’re talking about just a trailer, and this trailer is about as much as I actually know about the movie, but I guess I just don’t want this movie to get too caught up in the story telling, to the point that it doesn’t reflect a reality that many people experience, without at least giving us a sense that these are real issues. It’s very easy in comedy to push things to extremes, which is why satire can be a very useful tool to open up opportunities for dialogue. But horror/thrillers can be a trickier route to navigate.
I hope that Cuarón and García Bernal do a fantastic job, because I look up to both of them, and I especially appreciate them creating a story that speaks more so to my own experience than necessarily a Gravity, a Harry Potter, or even a Mozart in the Jungle. I hope that this movie opens up great opportunities for dialogue and social action, and also a route to more Latino Filmmakers and Actors and such making more films and television shows and such that speak to the experiences of Latinos in this country, more so than just a story about the border, though the Latino side of this story is definitely one that needs to be told.
Peace!…
Do you enjoy crying? Are you into cutesy stuff? Do you enjoy crying at cutesy stuff? Do you enjoy gum commercials? Do you fall especially quickly for arguments rooted in Pathos?
Well then, I have the youtube video for you!
Also, let’s take a moment to appreciate the fact that this cat’s name is Juan. Like, there’s a good chance he’s supposed to be Hispanic. It bugs me a little that he looks explicitly white, and that there is no nod within the video that he could be Hispanic/Latino. Since this is supposed to be a commercial, no one will see the title, so the only indicator that this cat might be Hispanic/Latino suddenly holds no weight. If this was Extra’s attempt at diversity, even as a last minute “good will” effort, a candle cannot be held to it. If they honestly tried to make this guy Hispanic/Latino, as more than a simple last minute call, then it’s a shame that he’s so white looking, and there’s no attempt at trying to make him less Anglo. So, it’s probably just a name.
So this probably isn’t a mixed couple (so it’s not intentionally trying to be progressive, which is good, because it’s not). But that’s alright. I mean, to an extent.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, I still cried at the video, so don’t take me willingness to read this in a “chicano” or “colorist” critique (or whatever the racial equivalent to feminist critique would be, in this instance) as me not enjoying it.
You can enjoy things, while still actively understanding where they misrepresent and underrepresent minorities, and in other cases, undermine and stereotype minorities.
SO I LIKED IT, WHILE STILL DISAGREEING WITH PARTS OF IT. Deal With it.
Peace!…
My childhood, man…
Today’s Daily Gratitude is for those who were a part of my life before this blog, and especially for those who have remained. Thank you.
Peace!…
THIS IS ME SHARING: Cool song: John Green: Buzz Feed on Mexican stuff: http://www.buzzfeed.com/norbertobriceno/things-all-mexicans-know-to-be-true?bffb Twitter stuff of the same vain of things on Mexicans: http://www.buzzfeed.com/norbertobriceno/tweets-that-only-mexicans-would-understand COFFEE: Today’s Daily Gratitude is … Continue reading Allow me to Share
So, I admit today was probably not the most fun day. Besides studying for finals (yay…), and other non-social activities of the day, I had a lot of time to think. Now I know what most of you are thinking, “Uh-oh….”, but hear me out.
So I’ve been thinking a lot about loneliness (which actually makes a lot of sense to think about in my peudo-isolation). At some point I probably texted a lot of my friend (sorry, guys…) asking them a simple question, “Do you ever have the feeling that even when you’re surrounded by people, you’re still alone?” The results were astounding. And by “astounding”, I mean nobody texted me back when I asked them that question (thanks, guys…).
“Well, what does this mean, Jorge?” Well, this means one of two things: a). They’re all doing something busy, more than likely studying for finals, or out with other friends, or something like that, or b). They just feel like ignoring me, and stuff…
…Oh, that’s not what what you meant, ME? Get you’re stuff straight…
Well, if you meant, “Where are you going with this post?”, then I shall tell you. I feel like loneliness, as much as it might suck, isn’t all that bad. I mean, sure, we humans are social creatures by nature, and social interaction is what helps humans stay sane, but there’s plus sides to being alone. (But never alone for TOO long!)
When you are truly alone, you are probably in the best place to be to figure things out. If you ave a problem or an issue that’s bugging you, of course getting advice is only a natural course of action. But when you have advice from multiple sources, and then you give yourself time to think about the issue, you’ll figure what’s best in your scenario. Plus, in an intimacy with nature, and with your own thoughts and calmness, inspiration seems to come like a lightning bolt. I’ve never felt more inspired than when I’m with no one but myself (that, of course, is wisdom for all of my creative thinkers, out there).
Now, this is where I ask you what I asked all my friends over random-text today: “Do you ever have the feeling that even when you’re surrounded by people, you’re still alone?”.
I feel like that a lot. I especially feel like that being the new kid at school. Of course, I don’t let it get to me. I mean, most of these kids have known each other for the last few years, if not even longer. It’s nothing to be surprised by. And I’m not surprised. But I still feel that loneliness strike me in the heart, and consume me. I feel the ebb and flow of the tides of darkness enter my heart and swallow me whole, taking every part of me not tied down by the few things I can still hold onto in my sanity. Or something like that.
Enough of the pity-party, though. I haven’t been nearly as alone as I let myself believe. I have good friends (who don’t text back…), and family and people that care about me. So don’t thinking I’m depressed or anything, I’m fine.
But this loneliness that I’m now talking about can’t be something that only I experience. So let me know what’s on your mind, if you ever feel like that too, or if you are feeling like that now and want to talk (or if you just want to talk). There’s a comment section underneath, follow me (tweet @jpthepalacios) [http://twitter.com/jpthepalacios], or post something on my Facebook, or message me through Facebook [http://facebook.com/thedailyjorge]. Until next post, Peace!…
This post is dedicated to the people who have loved, and lost, and those who are no longer with us. May the souls of the innocent be cared for, and may they never be forgotten among us. “‘Everything happens for a reason’, they say, but I say there’s a reason things happen.” -Blue Scholars
There’s a Led Zeppelin poster hanging up in my room. (Actually, no there isn’t. There should be though, so I will act like there is one until I get around to buying one.) There is a calendar laying on the four-moths-to-one-page page on another wall. I have an amp in the weird corner, with a bulletin board on which I hang “important” things hanging above it. Next to that I have two guitars (my blue acoustic-electric, which is still in its case, and my Mexican 12-string, which is actually called a Bajo-Sexto) on stands, and a medium sized dresser with lots of drawers. On the other side of the Bulletin Board is the Bathroom door, which is also next to the foot of my bed, which lies on the opposite side as the dresser. My closet is about half of my wall on the other side of my room. Next to my bed is a night stand, on which lies a bunch of junk.
Right now, I have my laptop on top of my bed. I am sitting next to the side of the bed, on top of a special drum called a “cajon”, which is made for people to sit on.
As I am typing, I get a text from a weird number I haven’t seen before. I text back and it turns out to be a friend of mine who’s number I hadn’t saved. I probably didn’t have it before, and am wondering if I gave him my number or not. No matter, there are plenty of other ways of him having gotten it, so I don’t really mind. I also see I have a message I didn’t notice from another friend I was texting. “Dang, I hope she doesn’t think I ignored that text.”, I think to myself.
I notice that I am typing a lot of things about what I’m doing and what I’m saying.
Too my right is an acoustic guitar I was playing earlier, and to my left is my Electric, which is still in its gig bag. I think about getting it out to play. Maybe “Chameleon”, by Herbie Hancock. Or maybe I will just mess around for a bit.
I come to and…
FREEZE.
That has been an exploration of stream of consciousness writing, from myself. It was a little weird, and probably really boring. To compensate, I shall write humorously now:
So when people talk about stuff, a lot of the time I have these little thoughts that creep up in my mind, saying things like, “Oh, tell us more about [ex: how your parents don’t love you],” or, “Wait, are you actually saying this stuff right now? Are these words actually coming out of your mouth right now?”. Suffice to say, I often times feel like punching people in the jawswhile they are making: a). bogus or petty appeals, b). attacks on someone else through really bad humor or logic, or c). saying things that should be outright banned in public. Of course, I’m no angel, but if you’ve read my other posts as of yet, that’s probably nothing new.
So, I believe we need to educate everyone (yes everyone, even me) on what things we should and shouldn’t say, and to whom. Obviously you can say more to your friends than you can to strangers, but there are certain things even your friends shouldn’t have to hear you (or me) say.
For example, there is an explicit difference between having an honest and reasonable dislike for a teacher and, for example, calling her “Satan” when ever the opportunity to do so arises (i.e. someone mentions her name). [That’s an actual thing. Not my best or my worst example so far. Also, I apologize to the friend who’s example of this I’m using. Knowing you, you’ll probably either love me or hate me for doing so. No names, of course.]
I realize, though, how unrealistic of a goal this is. Sometimes, though, it is not the worst of us, but the best of us, that fall to the temptations of saying something really stupid. Such as myself. Take what you will from the use of the two last sentences.
Hey, maybe I’ll continue this ran tomorrow. Yeah! That sounds like a great idea! Check the rest of this rant tomorrow. Until then, peace!
An Open Letter to Starbucks: “Dear Starbucks, I want to start out by saying that both your ice-cream/dairy based products, and your caffeine and sugar infused products, are quite good. … Continue reading Open Letter: Starbucks
HOW TO KILL KITTENS WITH NOTHING BUT A NAPKIN AND SOME CHICKEN QUESADILLAS, BECAUSE NARWHALS WILL TAKE OVER THE EARTH AFTER CYBER-ROMNEY WINS THE ELECTION.
The topic (in the title!) kind of explains the post, and considering how many articles (and such), there must be on the topic (somewhere, right?), I thought I’d take a different approach.
So, while there might not need to be any sort of structure, necessarily, there are certain things we do need. When I write, I like to hook my audience right away. (Read the very first line again…) I think you need to get a person’s attention before you can truly maintain it.
“But what do you do with a person’s attention once you have it, Jorge?” Whatever you want. Or in this case, whatever I want.
So, I had a dream I was in a dubstep video. It was horrible. There were two dudes, one dressed like Michael Jackson, and the other in a straight-jacket, and they were bleeding, and dancing, and torturing small animals, and then one started turning into smoke, and the other started doing something weird, I don’t even remember. I’m pretty sure I woke up out of breath and sweating. It was weird. And what made it weird was that the background was like a really green, open field with a beautiful, blue sky during the day time. It really messed with me.
See, that wasn’t so hard. Random stories help carry along the overall message of what you’re trying to get across. That’s another thing, have something you’re trying to give the audience. In this case, a bunch of nonsensical and ridiculous advice on writing a blog. Not that I encourage you all to write a blog, necessarily. Mostly because it isn’t all that great. This is also mostly just to fill another post, for another day, but I also want to explain my “process”, whatever that means…
And so, also include media. People love to hear, watch, and see things. So to conclude this post, everybody’s favorite rapping father, straight out of RJHS, Father Steele.
After thoughts:
Well, there that was. How does that compare to the first post? Leave comments, share with friends, etc. Cool. Peace!
The Daily Jorge 