RANDOMora: Happy Thanksgiving :]

Whatever day you may be having I hope you are sharing it with the people you love most. Eat turkey, mashed potatoes and whatever pie your mother likes to bake. Get ready for a full tummy the rest of this week. Enjoy the football game, and congrats if you caught the parade. Play outside (or rake whatever is your fancy) and enjoy the atmosphere of family friends and feast. I knew I could use alliteration.

Happy Thanksgiving gobble gobble cough cough...I am ill.

CARINA 360°: San Francisco Chronicle Going Glossy!

One of the biggest newspapers in California recently underwent a complete makeover.
Hair, nails, headlines and all.

The San Francisco Chronicle will no longer be printed on that bland, grayish paper - oh no. Now stories of war and celebrities will be read on high-gloss paper.

In the past six months, the Chronicle has been suffering. Losing $1 million a week, it needed to take some drastic measures.
Along with some new gloss, the price on the newspaper itself will rise, and some unlucky staff members at the Chronicle will lose their jobs.

With more and more people relying on the Internet for their daily feed, one could say it's the not best time for newspapers.

However, as shocking as this may sound, it just might work. People like glossy things! And shiny, glossy news is hard to resist ... for me anyway.

I think Stephen Colbert explains it best.

www.colbertnation.com

RANDOMora:Ting Tings go GANGSTA?!

According to Yahoo, the Ting Tings have signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label as well as producing music for the two. A shock indeed.

"Jay is hoping to lend his production skills to some of the new material. The Staccato rhythmic style of The Ting Tings sits well with what he does best, so that was the attraction. Jay can make them one of the biggest British bands in America," a source told Britain's Daily Star newspaper.

Really? Well, if anyone can make an indie pop band into superstars it's Jay-Z! I think this will publicize them more, but "the biggest British bands in America?"--I think not. This isn't Donald Trump here who can just make money and fame come true, and they are certainly no Beatles.

One thing is also a question: If the Ting Tings are so tired of flying to different parts of the world away from home, why did they sign? Okay there is money. But being homesick and quote "We've seen the world. God, we've seen it about five times," is a thing they've got coming to them a whole lot more since their 2008 May tour.

What do you think? Will they succeed and become the next big band to be worshiped, or just a dub. Yea or nay?

RANDOMora: Let's WRITE...sonnets

Yes, you've heard from "That Religious Guy" that our class is writing sonnets and having to present them memorized to the class. If not, you need to check in more often.

I am a poem geek myself since I can remember from dinky couplets to haiku of the century--I love poetry. I love writing in general i suppose but poems are something I just like to focus more onto.

Anyhow, this project has made me realize that when writing or studying poetry, you must balance two acts: creativity and structure. Free writing is another thing, but when you're stuck writing a limerick and making it sound "punny," you got to realize the amount of paper you're willing to waste and rip from a 50 cent notebook. It's tiring and exciting, but with this project I think I may have a tougher battle with iambic pentameter. It is the road block to expressing my thoughts. How cruel.

Iambic pentameter is the structure of which I am having a hard time holding without giving my work a bit of pizazz. However, I also realized that just starting is its own road block for some of our classmates. Thus proving that not only kids should read more, but WRITE. Grammar (of which I make mistakes time to time), tone, figure of speech and so forth is important whether someone thinks so or not.

It's our language, the language of humor, heart, and mind.

So let that be a thought and maybe a poem?? -- WRITE. It's wonderful to just write whether it is poetry, journal, or just plain gibberish. Why not open yourself and see what you have inside?

A horrific saying would be: Why not cut yourself open and bleed yourself out onto the paper?
No, not emo, just plain cool.

That Religious Guy: Catholic Climate Covenant!

..... I took the pledge just minutes ago, the St. Francis Pledge that is. The pledge is part of the nationwide effort by Catholic Climate Covenant (CCC) in helping reduce individual carbon footprints and protect the poor from the ill-effects of global warming. The several goals are to:

1. PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.

2. LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.

3. ASSESS how we-as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations-contribute to climate change by our own energy use, consumption, waste, etc.
4. ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.
5. ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.

..... So pledge now on their Web site: catholicclimatecovenant.org and be one of the so far 2,323 individuals who have vowed to help the earth as much as possible.

..... The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is calling the faithful to act now and do their part for the betterment of the community. “At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family” said the USCCB. Pope Benedict XVI also has released similar statements, urging governments to moilize their citizens to action.

..... So why does the Church care about climate change? After all, is the protection of the environment really a part of Christian obligations? According to the USCCB and CCC, it is. Since God made us all in his image, we are blessed with the dignity to be someone not just something. Climate change will more directly affect the poor and the helpless, so everyone is accountable, everyone is a part of this global problem. As the sanctity of human life concerns the rejection of abortion, euthenasia, and the death penalty, it also influences the Church's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. By protecting the environment, we are indirectly caring for the poor and all of Creation.

..... Now, when I say Church, I don't just mean that building that you may or may not attend on Sundays depending whether you want to sleep in. By Church, I also don't mean just its hierarchy, that is its deacons, priests, bishops, cardinals, and the Pope. When I write Church in this blog and in almost every other blog, I always mean the whole universal community of believers, including the common folk or "laity." Seen in this light, hopefully, you can understand that we're connected to everyone regardless of location, family ties, etc. So, the preservation of the enviroment truly is the responsibility of every man, woman, and child.

..... The Church in Stockton, CA, under Bishops Stephen Blaire, has also taken the pledge. Bishop Blaire took the pledge for the entire diocese, to affirm its commitment to the CCC's goals. He has established an Environmental Justice Sunday during Respect Life Month. Parishes all over the diocese are also using energy efficient designs and material in the construction of new buildings. The Stockton Diocese also helped pass California's AB 32, "The Global Warming Solutions Act," which obliges the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.

..... As you can see, individuals have already started the work for a cleaner future for the world. The question is, whether your here to help or not?

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

That Religious Guy: It's Not Easy Being Religious

..... I spent yesterday [Friday] afterschool with Celine, the French foreign exchange student and Claire at the Dollar Tree. The topic of eternal damnation came up in conversation (as it always seems to when I'm around, although I didn't start the topic!0). Celine apparently was fully convinced she was going to hell since religious people were apparently telling her so. Oddly enough, she rejoiced with Claire, who also joked she was going to the fiery pit! This would be my response to Celine if she ever reads this blog!

..... It's not easy being religious...

..... Sometimes it takes all you have to believe in something. In my early years, I was a grade-A atheist. I regarded religion as a fable and God as fictional. If you had told me that I would grow up to be a religious kid, I would have called you a liar. Now that I have re-instated my Roman Catholic heritage in my life, I feel more at home in the world. I feel as if I can do anything, as long as God's there to help out. In the end, it doesn't really matter what you do with your life, as long as you live it in a pure manner. At least trying to be "good" sometimes is worth more than living a life of sin. Don't wait till it's too late to be virtuous. Just try.

..... Unfortunately, some people in the world are so focused on condemning people to the fiery pit that everyone else just accepts this theological garbage and convinces themselves that since they can do nothing to escape their fate, they should just keep doing what they do. Only God decides who goes to hell or heaven. Nothing man can say or do can change that fact. It really makes me angry to see people shove the prospect of hell into the faces of the average joe or jane. We're all sinners. Some just admit it while others just hide it.

.....We religious people are so fine tuned to how to live the "right" way that we condemn ourselves more since we know the differences between right and wrong. In a way, just like how a clean shirt can make a tiny red spot visible, living a "good" life can high light your sins. The main point here is that don't be so hard on yourself. God is forgiving and you can always turn back for help.

..... Maybe it is kind of easy being religious afterall...

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

That Religious Guy: Feel Good Moment #1

..... So, I was thinking of doing a regular post on just some of my observances on life. Basically, a blog but more than that. It's my first ever Feel Good Moment post blam blam boom! Read it, feel good, and keep reading the other blog posts. Here goes:

..... Shakespeare Quote: "In sooth, I know not why I am so sad." [Antonio-I. i. 1]
..... Scientists call it a chemical imbalance. Parents describe it as waking up on the wrong side of the bed. I just call it sadness. By our nature, humans are happy creatures. Our joy leads to new discoveries, new inventions, and new ways to live life. Life isn't however, always a game of contentment. Sometimes people lose a turn and must go back five spaces. This is when that little emotion called sadness comes in. No one knows why other people are sad because only the person really knows why. Even then, that person might not know why they're bathing in misery. It could be anything really: nostalgia, pity, or pain. When life drops me into the depressing dumps, I know that it's always important to bounce back. For when sadness has you in its clutches, you'll never escape unless you choose to.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz