(I can't sleep so I decided to blog. Damn, I've totally neglected this thing...)

I know next summer is still a long time from now but that doesn't mean I can't plan my vacation! And I know exactly where I want to go: LONDON. My brother is graduating from college next spring and was saying how he wanted to celebrate by traveling to Europe. I'm all for that idea! We were originally talking about going to Japan but Japan in the summertime is sheer hell. Humidity, typhoons, and bugs galore. No thanks. The Philippines also crossed our minds but if we go, it wouldn't really be a vacation at all since we'd probably be stuck with our relatives the whole time. Don't get me wrong, I love my PI family to pieces but I don't want to spend all my vacation time with them.

Why London? Well, for one thing, I have quite a few friends and assorted favorite cousins over there and this'll give me an excuse to see them (you know who you are :D). Two, my recent addiction to a few BBC shows has prompted an urge in me to go visit Cardiff. I heard it's like the Huntington Beach of the UK and I want to see whether or not this is true. Three, I want to see everything there, especially the historical landmarks and buildings and such. I've been watching a lot of shows on the Discovery and Travel channel. Four, I'm really digging a lot of the new music coming from there, and I really want to check out the music scene for myself. Five, I haven't been on a real vacation since high school. Can you believe that? I've been spending the last 5 summers catering to my family stuff or volunteering at church. How sad is that?!

I'm going to make it happen! This new job I just got hired for will help put this plan into motion (need funds if I'm going to make this work). So get ready London friends, I'm coming your way next year. ;)

I saw "Alice in Wonderland" at the IMAX in Irvine Spectrum last night with Marty and Monique, and it was awesome! The visuals were beautiful and I absolutely feel in love with Alice's wardrobe. And I really don't know how Johnny Depp does it. He can dress in the most ridiculous outfits, wear tons of pastel makeup, and speak in an accent you can't really understand sometimes yet women will still swoon over him and want to have his babies (yes, I am one of those women). There are a lot of cute moments throughout the film, and it was fun recognizing which actors played with of the animated/CG characters. And the little girl who plays young Alice is absolutely adorable, especially when she's wearing her blue dress and pinafore.

However, I highly recommend watching the "Alice in Wonderland" cartoon before you go see the movie because there are a lot of references to certain scenes in the cartoon and the pacing of the movie is very fast. If you haven't seen it or vaguely remember it, you will get a little lost.

( SPOILERS! Read at own risk... )

It's almost 3 o'clock in the morning and I can't sleep. Lately that's been happening a lot. I'd lay in bed in the dark, my body physically tired but then I start thinking about something in the hopes that I would nod off but instead, my mind goes into overdrive. It's happened consistently this week, to the point where my mom suggested I take sleeping pills. The thought of taking sleeping pills kind of scares me, especially since I've seen all these stories on the news about how some sleep medication have some very serious side effects. I don't know, I'll think about it but I'm not completely sold on the idea.

While I was laying in bed, my mind went back to a conversation that my brother and I had not too long ago about movies from 2009. He asked me which movies I thought had the most innovative plot and storyline. I immediately said "Up." I don't know how Pixar did it, but they took a story about an old man, a floating house, and talking dog (three elements that would seem totally and completely unrelated) and made a movie that was not only funny and enjoyable, but extremely touching as well (no joke, the first 2 minutes had me sobbing). In a previous entry, I even put it at the top of my 2009 favorite movie lists. I swear, the animators modeled Doug after my cousin's dog, Dakota. The way he looks and his mannerisms all reminded me of Dakota (he's a cocker-spaniel and golden lab mix). And if Dakota could talk, I firmly believe that Doug's voice is what he'd sound like.

 
(Christmas '09, wearing his bandanna)       (Wearing "The Cone of Shame.")

Now the general favorite for this year's Oscars for best picture seems to be James Cameron's "Avatar." Initially, I wasn't interested in it but I kept reading or hearing reviews about how great it was so my brother and I went to an IMAX 3D screening. Honestly, I set myself up for major disappointment but I ended up really liking it. The special effects were really amazing. It didn't seem like a three hour movie at all. I think that's why it was so successful; it had the ability to keep the audience engaged and wanting more, even if the beginning was a little slow.

That's not to say, however, I don't have grievances with this film. I think the biggest issue I have with it would be the story. Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly reasonable and acceptable story BUT (and this is a big but), we've heard it sooooo many times before. It's nothing new. Imperialist nation invades new world and attack indigenous people in search of profit. Sound familiar? That's because it's even part of United States' history. It's basically a mix of "Pocahontas," "Fern Gully," "Dances With Wolves," & "The Matrix" all rolled into one. James Cameron himself said at the Comic-Con panel back in July (I didn't actually see the panel myself, I left immediately after the "New Moon" panel ended but I saw clips of the "Avatar" panel on YouTube later) that this movie is going to be the "most innovative, original, groundbreaking" story of this decade or something like that. Uh....no. Cameron basically borrowed elements from other movies, repackaged it, and called it his own. Don't believe me? Watch this then:



That's why I don't want "Avatar" to win best picture. It was a good movie but it wasn't as groundbreaking and compelling as everyone is spouting it out to be. "Up" has way more creativity and originality by far. And "Titanic" still powns "Avatar" in my eyes (Long live Leo!).

And James Cameron doesn't need any more of an ego boost. I heard that the Oscar producers are so afraid of insulting him that they pulled Sasha Baron Cohen's "Avatar" parody from the intro. WTH! If the man can't lighten up and take a joke, then that's really sad.

The show last night was absolutely amazing! I know I use the word 'amazing' a lot to describe things but I'm being completely sincere right now. It was really the best gig I've been to out of all the gigs that I've went to in the past 3 months (Sorry, boys, but it's true. Don't worry, I still love you). It was a completely sold out show. There were even a few people trying to get in and looking to see if anyone had extra tickets. The audience was really great. Lots of cheering and clapping, but they also knew when to be quiet and just listen. I think the guys were a little blown away and humbled by the warm reception they got. They were constantly thanking us, all the while grinning and smiling brightly.



The set list included a lot of my personal favorites ("Little Lion Man," "The Cave," and "Roll Away Your Stone"), and they also played 3 new ones for us. One of them was untitled but there was one called "Lover of the Light," which they played twice. The first time they played it, Winston's banjo string broke so the song got shortened. Marcus was amazed that that happened because he said while he breaks his guitar strings all the time, it doesn't happen with the banjo. I really do love all their songs, especially the ones that start off all nice and quiet but then pick up during the bridge or chorus. I especially love the bridge to "Roll Away Your Stone." That one line, "Stars hide your fires / For these here are my desires / And I won't give them up to you this time around" floors me all the time.

I'm so impressed with how multi-talented all these guys are. They can all sing, harmonize beautifully, and can play a variety of instruments. When Marcus got behind the drums for "Lover of the Light", he continued to sing the lead vocal. I've never seen anyone who could do that as well as he did. But I think Ted and Winston are my favorite. I'm so in love with those two. They have the best dances and facial expressions. We were standing right in front of them so at point point, I kept making eye contact with Ted and he would stare back at me, then proceeded to make funny faces, almost causing me to choke on my gum. So hilarious! Ben was all the way on the other side of the stage so we didn't get to see him much.

A not so great thing that happened was that there was this really annoying, arrogant British guy who shoved his way by us to get to the front. He was being really rude and obnoxious. He kept yelling in Monique's ear and I got so fed up by it that I put up my hoodie so I couldn't see him in the corner of my eye. As a result, I think Ted and the camera guy filming the show were probably wondering if I was either really cold or being really emo (I swear, I wasn't. XD).

Tidbits we learned: The day they arrived in the US, Marcus said how they all wanted to do the touristy thing so they went out and played Bingo. Um...ok? I don't think that's a touristy thing to do, IMO. Marcus was born in Anaheim so he has mad love for Orange County. His family and his Orange County friends were all in attendance last night. As an OC native, I was super happy to learn that (yes, I know, what a weird thing to be happy over). And also, according to Marcus, Winston is very "delicate." We have no idea why because Winston wouldn't let him elaborate on that.

Bonus: Jake Gyllenhaal was in attendance last night. He stood in the balcony right above us and watched the show from there. I'm so glad I didn't notice him until the very end of the show because otherwise, I would've been so distracted. But he was rockin' out and having a fantastic time. Yes, he totally fanboyed over them. At some point, he was screaming and clapping louder than we were. So cute (and yes, he's soooo gorgeous in person).

I'm so happy they're coming back in June. I can't wait. I'm so addicted to them now.

...in a completely non-sexual way. He owns me. :)
( Click to See! )

Final - Part 2

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FINAL – American Religious Diversity

1. Name: Monika Tayag

2. Username: snugglebubble05

3. Attendance:

a. Missed – 0

b. Late – 1

4. Movie: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=H21DJIRC

5. What I have read for this class:

a. Brian Copeland - Not a Genuine Black Man

b. Reader

i. Emerson Spider, Sr. – “The Native American Church of Jesus Christ”

ii. Lavern Jacobs – “The Native Church: A Search for an Authentic Spirituality”

iii. Frederick Douglass – “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave”

iv. Martin Luther King, Jr. – “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

v. Malcolm X – “Black Man’s History”

vi. Jeanette Rodriguez – “Theological Significance”

vii. Virgillo Elizondo – “Mestizaje as a Locus of Theological Reflection”

viii. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz – “Popular Religiosity, Spanish, and Proyecto Historico – Elements of Latinas’ Ethnicity”

ix. Tetsuden Kashima – “The Role of the Buddhist Church in the Ethnic Adjustment of the Japanese American”

x. Sui Sin Far – “The Chinese in America”

xi. L. Eve Armentrout Ma – “Chinese Traditional Religion in North America and Hawaii”

c. ½ of Dr. Andrea Diem-Lane’s The Guru in America

6. Midterm Grade: B

a. Link:

i. 1) http://snugglebubble05.livejournal.com/8377.html

ii. 2) http://snugglebubble05.livejournal.com/8568.html

7. I think I deserve at least a B or a low A because I have attended every class, listened attentively to lectures, and have done the assignments that were required (i.e. the video project, midterm, postings).

8. Extra Credit: N/A

a. Postings:

i. http://missmonika05.livejournal.com/8054.html

ii. http://missmonika05.livejournal.com/7778.html

iii. http://missmonika05.livejournal.com/7394.html

iv. http://missmonika05.livejournal.com/6916.html

v. http://missmonika05.livejournal.com/6729.html

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MID-TERM EXAM

 

NAME: Monika Tayag

USERNAME: SnuggleBubble05

WEBSITE ADDRESS: http://snugglebubble05.livejournal.com/

 

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Because Lane shared that story with us on how he was trying to expose that one cult leader but the members were too afraid to be named outright in his work, this article reminded me of that whole incident. I don't want to bash on Scientology but all I keep hearing about it is negative news, scandals, and what-not. And to think that a religious group is actually trying to hunt you down is so scary.

Source: The Guardian

Former Scientology Members Tell of Group's Effort to Track Them Down 
by Mark Tran

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This is in response to a post on the Yahoo Groups about whether or not it's alright to discourage children from believing in Santa Clause. People were giving their various opinions on this topic, and shared their personal experiences when they were children. I found this article on CNN that talks about this very thing and I thought it raised some really valid points.

Source: CNN

The Santa Myth: How Long Should It Last?
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I haven’t written a blog in forever, and I apologize for that. Real life keeps getting in the way. Honestly, the urge to write has digressed over the past few years. I think it’s because I’m constantly writing papers for my college courses that there are times when I just don’t even want to think about writing let alone actually doing it. But there are a couple of things I need to address concerning the fandom that has recently been taking up most of my interest lately. I’m just warning you now, if you’re a Twi-hard who thinks that everything about this franchise can do no wrong, you won’t like what you’ll be reading.

The Books

( Click to Read My Thoughts... )

Stay tuned for the next part in my journey through the world of Twilight with Part II: The Movie, which will be posted soon…

Last week Lane briefly touched upon the whole subject of who Mary Magdalene was in the Bible. Well, I was watching this thing on national geographic where it discusses in detail her supposed life and the mystery surrounding her lost gospel. I don't know whether or not it's true, but nevertheless, I did find it really interesting.

( Click here to read more and watch the videos )