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Charice Pempengco.. Must Reads.. California vs New Jersey.. Not Love..
Contents:
Charice Pempengco
I love watching the Ellen DeGeneres show & Oprah Winfrey show.
I missed seeing this...extraordinary (is an under statement) singer when she appeared on Ellen but I'm anticipating and dreading watching her (and everyone else) on Oprah tomorrow.
It's so incredible to see young people with talent who use it (and give it their all) and it gives me hope that my talent can be shared one day too but man...It's people like this that make me feel like a loser. After watching that it's like, man, what can I do that's so great again?
For more information on Charice, visit:
Official Site and Myspace
Must Reads
"HIT" (+) or "MISS" (-)
(My own personal opinion) for each book that I was required to read in high school, which is considered a "must read" with very, very brief comments.
I remember in freshman and sophomore year, I was required to read these books:
All Classics
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - HIT
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - HIT
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - HIT
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - HIT
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence - HIT
Night by Elie Wiesel - HIT
Great!
Muckraker by Billy Callahan - HIT
(Couldn't put it down)
Huh?
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - MISS
(The story is good but either I don't like vignettes or I just don't care for her style of writing on top of the vignettes)
I remember in junior year, I was required to read:
Black Boy by Richard T. Wright - HIT
(I only read Part 1. I want to read Part 2 badly.)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - HIT
(I enjoyed this lots more than I thought I would)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - ?
(Classic that I was glad I read but did not enjoy as much as I would have thought, given the props it's been given. I'm going to read this again when I'll be able to appreciate it more.)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - N/A
(I'll admit it, by the time we got to reading this I was tapped. Sparknotes all the way. I have to read this one day.)
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - HIT/MISS
(The story is good but hard to follow if you are not paying attention and do not understand the writing style)
The Crucible by Arthur Miller - HIT
(A favorite of mine, no doubt)
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - HIT
(Brilliant and yet I still believe that it is over rated.)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - HIT/MISS
(Classic although not of interest to me)
(Excerpts) Beowulf - HIT
(The excerpts I read were really interesting. I want to read it all.)
(Excerpts) The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - HIT
(I want to read all of the tales!)
(Excerpts) Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - HIT/MISS
(This is overall a funny hit even if you don't understand the satire but it is just not of my interest in the end)
Let's not forget the great poets (All HITS):
Shakespeare (Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar)
Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, etc...
I was also required to read and write reports on certain books, one of which:
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - HIT
(This really is a Must Read)
California vs New Jersey
Since I wake up everyday thinking about the day that I will move to California this summer, I decided to compile a short list of the positive and negative aspects of living in California opposed to New Jersey.
FYI: Once I move to California, this blog will mainly be dedicated to (aside from my writing career) all things California.
Positives
1. Weather is so much more beautiful year round
2. Cleaner Beaches
3. Networking Heaven (ie, San Diego Comic Con, etc...)
4. Outside Malls
5. More & Bigger Flea Markets
6. More Vegetarian Friendly
7. LA: Celebrities are Everywhere + Hollywood Events
8. Better chance at being an extra in Movies/TV shows
9. Weekend Trips: San Diego, San Francisco, Vegas, & Mexico
10. Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, etc…
11. Annual Festivals every single month…how could you have nothing to do?
12. Taste of real Mexican food
13. CA Governor can kick NJ Governor’s booty.
Okay, that last one was just for fun.
Negatives
1. Cost of Living is higher but so worth it
2. Goodbye Dunkin Donuts...Hello The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
3. No Wawa but there’s something over there like that, right?
4. No Meadowlands Fair so I’ll visit Jersey in the summer for that!
5. Six Flags is not like ours here in Jersey.
6. Have to wait for Broadway tours in CA (No more NYC trips all the time to Broadway)
7. Traffic is Horrendous but that comes with the territory
8. No snowy winters like Jersey but I can get over that
9. Miss out on Z100 Zootopia but I’ll just go to KIIS Wango Tango
10. I'm gonna look like an idiot at first trying to pump my own gas.
11. Natural Disasters (earthquakes, wildfires, etc…) but no worries
12. LA: Lots of fake people… but hey that’s everywhere.
The BIG question:
What do you call subs in CA? Please say subs. I’m tired of hoagie and a sandwich is just out of the question. I’ve heard grinder but am not positive about this.
Not Love
Afraid of love
Because somewhere
Steps in this story
Are bound to end.
~Melody Simpson~
April 28, 2008
High Hopes
Still nothing changes
But maybe
Wait
Desires tingling
Hopes in seeing
Truth
~Melody Simpson~
April 23, 2007
Now Keep On...
Forget the happenings of yesterday
It has all changed
Now, make time for living
Laugh at yesterday
Keep on.
~Melody Simpson~
4/22/08
It's Really
Desire is not just wanting
It's more than will
That's sensing a way to be sane
In this world
~ Melody Simpson ~
4/20/08
VA Tech Massacre: One Year Later
Today marks one year since the VA Tech Massacre.
I found this article interesting out of all of the ones that I have read.
Since April 16, 2007 I have noticed one change. Colleges and Universities across the nation have focused on mass notification for any life threatening event on campus to the students by telephone, cell phone, email, and text message all that same time. This is a great step forward. Yet, with the list of questions below, it's still not enough. These concerns are still hung in the air:
Have colleges/universities across the country stepped up security?
Will states monitor those who are able to buy guns?
Will states let college students carry guns for their own protection?
Will mental health services at colleges/universities be improved?
What angers me so much is that there are always the few people who say "So what" and in this situation "So what, it was only 33 people, lots of people are killed everyday." That angers me so much because it's not about the number, it's about:
A) lives being taken away and those families being changed forever
B) lives of the injured being changed forever
C) not being safe at school because if you can't feel safe at home and at school, where can you feel safe at?
This is all I want to write on this topic because I'm sure you will be reading/hearing a lot about this today.
Dream TV Schedule Lineup
What is your dream TV schedule lineup for your own TV Network?
Mine would be something like this:
Sunday
8pm Charmed
9pm Big Brother (Nominations)
10pm Desperate Housewives
Monday
8pm Hannah Montana
8:30pm Samantha Who?
9pm Heroes
10pm The Hills
Tuesday
8pm Big Brother (POV)
9pm One Tree Hill
10pm Gilmore Girls
Wednesday
8pm Lost
9pm Big Brother (Eviction, HoH)
10pm Jericho
Thursday
8pm Extreme Makeover Home Edition
9pm Ugly Betty
10pm The O.C.
Friday
8pm All That(Original Cast)- Midseason: Sabrina Teenage Witch
8:30pm Kenan & Kel - Midseason: The Amanda Show
9pm Moonlight
10pm Ghost Whisperer
TV.com
You can now catch me at TV.com and I will post a link on the right column as well.
Getting Through
Getting Through
It's hard to let you go
When I never really knew you
Wanted to
Longed to
Didn't
It's hard to accept that you are gone
When all along it seems you were
For years
Not you
Me
It's killing me because I could have
Known so much more than I do
But it's all over
So I've got to wait
I'll never know you the way I wanted to
Never know you the way others knew
"So what's left for me?"
Is what I'm left to wonder
Everytime I think about this
I really don't know where to go
So I stop
So I won't think about it anymore
I'll try my best to be what you were
In pain
Everyday you made it through
Somehow
And I will too.
Written by Melody Simpson.
April 6, 2008
Comic Con Approaching
As the NY Comic Con approaches and I have begun my countdown to the San Diego Comic Con, I would like to share some pictures I took from last year's San Diego Comic Con.
See ya at the San Diego Comic Con July 23-27, 2008!
Rest in Peace
The last time I signed into my blog was actually the day my Grandfather passed away.
The homegoing service was this past Monday.
There is so much to say and yet I have nothing at all to say. All I will say though is you are always in my heart and rest in peace.
RENT Extends!
The Broadway Musical, Rent has officially extended to September 7, 2008!
Yesssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YouTube
Well, the Legally Blonde event was cancelled (ahhh!!!) but the Spring Awakening performance on Good Morning America was awesome!!!
Although I wanted to share my YouTube link because I will soon be posting videos, mostly pointless and fun, others will review what's going on in Hollywood and important subjects. So make sure you keep checking back at my Youtube Page for more soon.
Legally Blonde + Spring Awakening
As a huge Broadway fan...I just want to share 2 important events going on this week:
Tomorrow, there will be an MTV taping for the Legally Blonde Musical, to find the new Elle Woods...as Laura Bell Bundy will be leaving soon. I am so excited to be going to this event tomorrow. Sorry to say, my lips are sealed, so you will have to either go or wait till this airs on MTV to find out who the new Elle is!
This Thursday, the cast of Spring Awakening will appear on Good Morning America! During & after the appearance, you can catch fans handing out flyers around the studio as well. If you haven't read my interview with cast members from Spring Awakening, click here.
ALSO, FYI if you do not already know:
My favorite show...RENT is closing on June 1,2008!
So get your tickets now!
Also, be ready to buy your tickets for this!
That's all for now.
Being Vegetarian
For those of you who do not know, on January 2, 2008 I became a vegetarian. Late last year, I was shown the Earthlings documentary (without warning of how graphic it was) and it really affected me. Honestly, I did not want to go through my Christmas as a vegetarian, so I waited until after Christmas to start...knowing it would be my last holiday eating meat for as long as I can make it as a vegetarian.
I was really excited about becoming a vegetarian and I did so much research on the vegetarian lifestyle. I found really great websites, bought a vegetarian cookbook, and joined PETA2. I haven't been on PETA or PETA2 since I found this, as I have mixed opinions but I am still as excited as when I first started.
I have a few friends that have been vegetarians all of their lives and they help me out whenever I have questions. I live more by the Whole Foods supermarket which is amazing! For me, the transition has not been hard since I just think about what I saw in the Earthlings doc. and then I don't crave meat. Thankfully, it has not been difficult. Most, probably all of the people that I know are just waiting to see how long I last as a vegetarian. Even though I half expected more positivity from them, the only person you can look to for that is yourself - in any situation. What really matters though is that I am much healthier. Which is why I decided to do this. I love animals but I am not an animal rights activist. I just want to be healthier.
Anyone who wants to learn more, these websites are great sources:
GoVeg
Vegetarian Times
About
I hope they help you!
Elizabeth Smart, 5 Years Later
If you do not already know, I am very passionate about resolving or at least decreasing the issue of missing children.
Today is the 5 year anniversary of the day that Elizabeth Smart was reunited with her family after a 9 month abduction. You can view her 5 Years Back Interview with her family at ABC.
Today made me break out my high school senior research paper, which I wrote about and titled "America's Solution: The Outbreak of Missing Children." I just have a few notes to share with you from my paper as well as useful links.
What You May Know:
On May 3, 2007, Madeleine McCann, 4 went missing from a Portugal apartment her parents were staying at. She has yet to be found.
On January 12, 2007, Shawn Hornbeck, 11 at the time of disappearance and William Ownby, then 13 were found by authorities in the apartment of then 41 year old Michael Devlin in Kirkwood, Missouri. Shawn was reunited with his family after nearly 4.5 years of captivity. William was reunited just days after his disappearance.
On May 30, 2007 Natalee Holloway went missing in Aruba on her senior trip. There has been much controversy over this case as to how everything played out the night of her disappearance. Rest in peace Natalee.
What You May Not Know:
What I found most astonishing sharing my paper with my senior class was that the majority of the class did not know that the AMBER ALERT was named after Amber Hagerman, who was abducted outside of her Texas home at the age of 9 in 1996. Rest in Peace.
Over 797,500 children go missing every year in just America. (NCMEC)
Hayden Panettiere is the first spokesperson of 2SMRT4U campaign to promote online safety. I am proud to say I have my 2SMRT4U ring. My favorite author, Jodi Picoult wrote a book in 2005, Vanishing Acts about growing up in one life and finding out your own parent kidnapped you and raised you in another. Aly & AJ's 2005 album, Into The Rush has a song titled "I Am One Of Them" dedicated to missing and exploited children.
The last White House conference regarding missing and exploited children took place in 2002. I thought America cared about our children. I hope whoever is elected for President this November takes more time to help decrease the number of missing children.
I could go on and on about this topic, so I will end here. Think about what I have written please and do not take it lightly.
America's Most Wanted
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
One Tree Hill Hits 100th Episode
Next Tuesday, One Tree Hill will air its 100th episode! Congratulations!
One Tree Hill has been a favorite show of mine since the first moment I saw it. As a writer, I look up to Mark Schwan and all of the writing staff that have been involved with the show since its start. It did not take long for me to fall in love with all of the storylines intertwined so perfectly. All of the characters have been created so delicately, so vulnerable, so real. The paths that are taken among the main characters show the positive and negative, not just what we want to see. That is so refreshing. Then, at the end of season 4, when many were unsure if skipping the college years for season 5 would be a smart idea, I had faith. Look how far this show has come and it is still amazing. The fanbase is not only huge but so united and really connect with not only the characters, but the actors as well. The actors care about their fans. The show is genuine in all forms.
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