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| i've been really nostalgic as of late and i always tend to associate certain songs or musical artists with certain points in my life. so here is a list of my 20 most favorite songs. as a warning, this list is most likely an indictment of my horrible musical taste, which is noted by the inclusion of 'beautiful soul' among others on this list. but this is stuff that i could listen to for the next three months every day, never skip a track, and never fails to get me to sing at the top of my lungs. additionally, note that the songs are not listed in order of 'favoriteness.'
i can't sleep baby (if i) remix - r. kelly
too close - next
the light - common
nobody knows - the tony rich project
the hurt - kalapana
two person party - 3 plus
undercover lover - 3 plus
beautiful soul - jessie mccartney
she will be loved - maroon 5
on and on - hoonua version
waiting for your love - stevie b
rock with you - michael jackson
roots rockin - manao company
one love - bob marley
the freshmen - the verve pipe
keep ya head up - tupac
one on one - natural vibrations
only you remix - 112 feat. mase and biggie
goodtimes together - cecilio and kapono
easy street - kanalo
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| so tell me, is the painter really insane?
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| i am officially 1/4 of a cpa now. waiting on two scores and one more exam to go!
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| while today commemorates the fifth year anniversary of 9/11, this post is not dedicated to the tragic day. i will however, say that i was very pathetic in high school. so pathetic that when my mom woke me up in the morning to tell me that two planes had crashed into the towers, i shrugged it off and tried to catch ten more minutes of sleep. and only did the enormity of the situation hit me when i got to school and my asian american literature teacher broke down crying in the middle of class. yes, i was young, naive, ignorant and dumb. and while i don't want to take away from the tragedy that was 9/11, i can't help but say...
i think it's sad that americans get themselves into a huge uproar over 9/11 and decide to illegally topple governments in afghanistan and iraq, while the victims of hurricane katrina were left without food and water for an incredibly long period of time. and even now, over a year from this disastrous hurricane are they finally beginning to rebuild the areas that were hardest hit. so while we have starving, homeless people wandering the streets in louisiana, we spend billions of dollars to wage wars in foreign countries in the name of freedom and democracy. sometimes i just feel that we're all delusional or we have our priorities all mixed up.
and on another note, i came upon a realization that will change my life.
fight club, office space, and american beauty have always been a few of my favorite movies. a pretty interesting collection of movies for an individual who will be working for a public accounting firm in less than a week. all three make a statement about what motivates, drives, and 'consumes' Americans: consumerism. we have grown up in a society that praises instant gratification over saving which explains why the average american has thousands of dollars in credit card debt. we are constantly bombarded by advertisements that constantly fight for our dollars and tell us that we can't live without their product. we all feel the need to keep up with the joneses and that we need to drive the most luxurious car, wear the trendiest outfit, and have the coolest gadgets. we trap ourselves in a life where our sole purpose is to spend.
and from here on out, i refuse to fall into that kind of life. don't get me wrong, i don't plan on living a life of squalor, but i'm going to live my life and not constantly compare myself to my neighbor nor am i going to NEED to get the newest plasma tv that comes out, or the new bmw, etc. in my pre-poker days, money was never a means to buy cool things, it was always a means to live a life of security and comfort. in the past few years, i lost sight of that. i will not become a slave to the things that i buy and i hope that i can be like my parents. savers who made great sacrifices to give their sons the very best education and who never bought into the argument that you need cool stuff to be cool people.
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| i would be the first to admit that i'm not very good at keeping up with current events. other than briefly perusing the headlines of nytimes.com, i really don't know the specifics of what's going on in the world. however, with the civil unrest in iraq and the conflict between israel and lebanon/hezbollah; my interest in israel and the middle east has been piqued.
i remember learning in AP modern european history the justification for creating an israeli state: we share the same political principles, the discrimination jewish people have suffered throughout history, etc. but as our dealings with terrorists have evolved, it seems that the political landscape has changed significantly. al-qaeda has stated that they hate america for two reasons 1.) our support for israel and 2.) our military bases in saudi arabia. hezbollah has stated that they have no issues with the US other than the fact that we have supported Israel for the past 50 years with economic, political, technological, and military aid. which brings me to the question that i have been asking myself for the past four years. if the US truly wants to stop terrorist attacks on US citizens, why does the US support israel?
and before i go any further, i want to make a disclaimer because this rant will undoubtedly be misconstrued. i am not an anti-semite nor am i an anti-zionist. i am just asking questions from an unbiased point of view because while we spend billions of dollars to wage a war in iraq and my personal liberties are being infringed upon by the US government and airport security has become more invasive, it leads me to question where we can find a solution to stop this insanity.
israel is already a modern state that is capable of taking care of itself. it has a GDP that is comparable to south korea or spain, has the best military in the middle east and has nuclear capabilities. yet the US government still sends 3 billion dollars every year (1/5 of our foreign aid budget) in direct assistance to israel.
many people will argue that the US has a moral obligation to protect israel from its hostile neighbors. it has been established that US foreign policy has nothing to do with moral obligations. it is much more concerned with practical issues that affect the quality of life of its citizens. so if the US is going to take this stance of self-centerdness, why on earth would it support israel, when there are no benefits to be had? if anything, our support of israel is most likely largely responsible for many of the terrorist attacks.
after reading this i think i have my answer, but it's definitely not the answer that i was looking for.
on another note, i'm leaving for la tonight to hang out with my SC friends and to attend lyssa's going away bbq. i can honestly say, that while i will miss my friends in LA, USC, and all the cool shopping malls; i do not miss LA one bit. i am a local boy at heart, and it's just so... awesome to be home. BUT it will be nice to say goodbye to LA. for the past four years of my life, it's been a love-hate relationship and while it has its flaws, it did begin to grow on me. i'm also really looking forward to seeing lyssa. it's been about a month and while i'm sure she was glad to have a break from me, it'll be awesome to spend time with her. i don't need to proclaim to the world how much i love her, because she knows and that's all that matters.
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