Japan Hope Polo

I recently ordered this polo made by Ralph Lauren and it is a really nice polo. I usually buy clothes because they look nice, but this polo not only rocks, but it's also for a good cause. It's a custom designed polo for Japan and all proceeds will be donated to the humanitarian effort through the Central Community Chest of Japan. The polo cost $98 and it is well worth it, to me at least. Mostly in this time of crisis, I think Japan can certainly use more help or donations, along with the rest of the world that is suffering.

Tragic!

I follow the blog, "The Hmong in Me"

And from reading this "specific" blog, this article breaks my heart and it's really sad that tragedies like this still happens to this day, to anyone no matter of race, color, religion, etc....At the same time, it angers me as well and it hurts even more that we can't do anything about it or even try to save our Hmong people from these tragic incidents. I fully understand the world is not perfect by any means and worse events have and happens elsewhere, but this is ridiculous and meaningless.

http://nickihawj.blogspot.com/2011/04/laos-vietnam-troops-kill-four-hmong.html

Article:

WASHINGTON — Laotian and Vietnamese troops have killed four Hmong Christian women after confiscating their Bible, a US rights group said Friday, condemning growing persecutions of people for their faith in Laos.


The Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) said the unarmed highland Hmong women were "summarily executed" on Thursday in northeastern Xieng Khouang province by soldiers from a special 150-member unit of the Lao People's Army (LPA) led by Vietnamese secret police and military advisers.


The government troops confiscated the group's only Bible, "brutally and repeatedly raped" at least two of the younger women before shooting them at point blank range with automatic weapons in the head and torso, it added.


Their husbands and 26 children were forced to witness the killings and have since disappeared after being beaten and tied up.


CPPA executive director Philip Smith denounced what he called a "tragic and major upswing" in religious persecution in Laos at the hands of Vietnamese and Laotian military and Communist Party officials over the past year.


"In a coordinated and expanded fashion, the Vietnam People's Army and LPA troops and security forces are especially determined to hunt down and kill independent Christian and animist believers in the highlands of Vietnam and Laos," he added.


Smith pointed to a "very dramatic" increase in persecution, imprisonment, torture and killing of Lao and Hmong Christians for celebrating Christmas or worshipping independently, as well as independent Buddhist and animist believers in the provinces of Vientiane, Khammoune, Saravan, Xieng Khouang, Luang Prabang and other regions in Laos.


Communist regimes have ruled in Vietnam and Laos since 1975. Many officials in Hanoi consider neighboring Laos an important part of their defense strategy, and the militaries of the two countries have long maintained close ties.


"We want the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army to remove all of its security forces and troops from Laos, and we want the Lao military and communist regime to respect the human rights and religious freedom of the Laotian and Lao Hmong people," said Bounthanh Rathigna of the United League for Democracy in Laos.


Laotian officials are also said to have destroyed crops in February to cut off about 60 impoverished Christians from their food supply in rural Saravan province. CPPA also cited reports of Christians being driven from their village at gunpoint.

Wisconsin Dells!

Top 10 Destinations for Family Fun

Was reading this on Yahoo.com....It was ranked #2 in the US of A!!! Good shit!

1 point for Wisconsin!!!

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-38952334

Tough Mudder Challenge!!!!

http://toughmudder.com/

 On July 23rd, they have a Tough Mudder Challenge taking place at Devils Mountain. It's a 10-12 mile obstacle course designed by British Special Forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.

This is gonna be a TRUE test to any man!...and will be soooo FUN!!!! I can't wait!

So far it's me, Powder and Eazy E that registered. The only men that have balls!...Either that, or we're just plain dumb and crazy.

The Social Network

I was off from work yesterday and I haven't had the opportunity to watch or rent movies in the longest time. So, I went to The Redbox and rented Inception, Robin Hood and The Social Network, since my brother BJ told me The Social Network was good. I have to say, The Social Network was really really interesting and yes, it was pretty good. The whole concept of the movie based around the CEO/founder/President of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg caught my interest, so I actually went to wikipedia and read more about him and his partners that co-founded Facebook and that was also interesting as well.

I thought the actor who played Mark did a wonderful job portraying him, mostly if Mark really does talk or act like that in real life, (which I doubt, since movies tend to exaggerate characters). The character talked with so much intelligence, smart replies and was a bit quirky, it was kinda comical but genius. Just the whole idea of starting something like Facebook and how he expanded it so far and fast, was mind bottling. Mostly when he had the intentions of doing it all for free and making no money off of it. I thought he was crazy, if that was what he wanted to do. But then he become the youngest billionaire in the world! The guy is truly genius.

Japan Quake and Tsunami!!!!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT!!!!!!...Woke up this morning and was watching CNN in a sad disbelief like WTF!!!. A 8.9 magnitude earthquake, Japan's biggest in their country and the 5th biggest recorded worldwide in history, hit east of Japan also triggering a tsunami, reaching up to 23 feet high. That is terrible! Everytime I see or hear tragic stories or incidents such as this one or the tsunami in Thailand, the earthquake in Haiti, the mudslide in Brazil, hurricane Katrina and the many more global catastrophes. It really devastates me, knowing that tons of people lose loved ones, people go missing, the chaos it creates and the aftermaths of it all. I couldn't imagine any of this happening to myself or any of my loved ones, ever. It truly is a scary thought.

Sometimes I wish I had the funds to fly over and help with relief efforts or even donate a good amount to the victims. I donate when I can, but not much since I really can't afford to give hundreds or thousands of dollars out, but you bet your ass I will in the future! I donated $10 to the American Red Cross for the Haiti earthquake and also donated $25 for the Japan quake/tsunami. It's not much but it does add up and it's more then what others will do with their money. (Update 4/25/11 - I also purchased a very nice Polo for $98 and all proceeds go towards relief efforts of Japan)

You know, sometimes catastrophes like this makes you love and cherish life a whole lot more. One day, you're just relaxing and going about your daily life, then the next, it's gone....It's so devastating and scary thinking about it and ALL my heart and condolences go out to the victims and family of the victims, it's always always sad to lose loved ones. It really is the worst feeling in the world...

The love for life...and why we live?....

You ever catch yourself thinking about or even asking this question? You ever try to search or even wonder why we're here? You ever double guess your purpose?...Hmmmm, I do and I actually do it A LOT! It's almost a phenomenon that people get to breathe air, walk life, go about their business everyday, etc....The human race or any other species out there, is something quite amazing. Some people seem to live day to day, some people live with a plan and know where and what they want to become, some people live for love, some for life itself, some for family and friends and some for no apparent reason. Who knows, right? All I know is everyone finds there way, whichever and however they get there, everyone lives for a purpose and a reason.

It almost seems like a happy medium with life. I read and watch as much news as I can, so I get caught up with the world, get updated, self knowledge and so on, whatever floats my boat I guess. The thing with the news is, everything you hear is mainly bad, terrible stories. Murderers, rapist, criminals, etc....Sometimes you find yourself thinking, "Why the hell is this person even alive?" or "This person never deserved to live" and so on. Everyones guilty of it, even I. Thats what I mean, when I say happy medium. There's good people, then there's bad people. There's Peace, then there's War. It seems everything has it's place and balances out equally across the line. Some people are just born for those reasons, whatever it is, they just are.

Why do I feel I have a privilege to live? Honestly....The older I grow and the more I progress in life, I start to understand what living is and what life is about. Everyone should go through that stage sooner or later. But I feel like my purpose to life is to continue on, living as loud, as long, as willing, as honest, as happy, as conscious, as caring, as giving as I can and as so much more and more, the list just goes on and on. I live for my family as I love them all to death and want nothing but the best for them. I live so I can see all my nephews and nieces grow into men and women and a lot of them really have grown and are still growing. I live because I love life too much and can't pass it by or take anything for granted. I live because I have and love my close friends, almost as family and I cherish the laughs, the ups and downs, the trials and tribulations. I live so I can fail and get back up. I live because I know I have so much more to offer and give. I live to fight another day. I live for Music. I live for Brazilian Jui Jitsu. I live for Art. I live for Love, whoever and whenever that happens, I am in no rush at all, trust me, but everyone has the right to love. I live because I have so much more memories to produce and remember, I live because I want to grow old and feel what erectile dysfunction feels like. LOL. I live because that's what mom and Ezra would want me to do.

I live for many, many reasons and take nothing for granted. I cherish every little thing about life. I love to fail, because I love to learn from it. I lost a lot in life, but I know I'll gain more. Live is forever an evolution within oneself. Everyone just needs to find their own purpose.

Now, I am not being EMO and not one bit. Just has a realization to my own life and why I want to continue living.

Tomorrow is never granted, I don't want to meet myself in 5 or 10 years...Shit! I might be dead by then. I want to meet myself tomorrow and the next day after.

"Word to your mother.....Yo VIP, let's kick it..."  - Vanilla Ice