I was hoping I wouldn't have to post a follow-up to my blog post "exposed to the light" but screw it, I gotta do it
Here's that "exposed to the light" blog post
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/03/exposed-to-light.html
---
I have recieved an e-mail from a friend who thinks his advice like "dont let it get to you", "forget about it", "let it go" are going to help!
That type of advice DOES NOT WORK ON SOMEONE WHO IS ANGRY!
It will only increase that person's anger, but this time, IT WILL BE DIRECTED AT YOU for giving such "high-minded" nonsense!
Advice like "dont let it get to you", "forget about it", "let it go" is just like telling someone "just surrender to your enemies and kiss their ass", "your grievances aren't important" , "I will tell you how to feel"
I also felt like I'm being told "You need to hold things in forever!" and "don't hold others accountable for mistreating you" and "don't stand up for yourself"
Those words can be taken as Fighting Words!
-------------
I'm sure that friend had the best intentions. Me &that friend go way back, to our middle school years.
However, I never asked that friend for his opinion on my "Exposed to the Light" blog post
He thought his unsolicited advice would help! It won't, it's just a bunch of USELESS CLICHE'S!
So, if you notice someone is angry, either
1) pick a side in the conflict
or
2) mediate and set up a peace talk
or
3)shut up & just get out of the way
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The end of the Dana Takahara-Dias era
Earlier this month, UH women's basketball coach Dana Takahara-Dias was fired after 3 losing seasons in a row.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sportspremium/20120308_wahine_hoops_coach_fired.html
She was originally hired back in 2009 to replace Jim Bolla.
Jim Bolla was not just a loser on win-loss records, Bolla was also an abusive jerk that has been to use vicious insults on his players and even kicked one of them!
I wrote a blog post on that issue back in April 25, 2009
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/04/jim-bolla-fired.html
--------
So Dana Takahara-Dias was hired in part to fix the wounds left behind by Jim Bolla!
However, there were many questions about Takahara-Dias qualifications when she was hired.
Yes, she was former UH basketball player!
Yes, she had coaching experience!
But that experience was at the high school level!
Coaching at the college level is a lot more intense. There is recruiting, there is long-distance traveling (especially for Hawaii), students who are more independent, and of course, the much higher pressure to win.
---------
Another issue that comes up is with attendance.
There isn't much of a crowd at UH Wahine basketball games.
Yes, Hawaii fan DO support women's sports!
Just look at the UH Wahine volleyball games! They got the HIGHEST number in attendance IN ALL OF women's college volleyball!
Women's volleyball in Hawaii makes a financial profit! (not true at most other schools)
And the UH Wahine softball team has had big crowds at their games this season.
So the low attendance at UH women's basketball games has NOTHING to do with gender and EVERYTHING to do with winning & losing!
It all reminds me of what I remember reading from (ex-football coach) Bob Wagner's book in which he said about fans/customers/ recruits/ etc.
Which is why fans are willing to crowd the stadiums for winning teams! And why fans will not show up to watch losing teams.
It explains why fans love to crowd the stadiums to watch the very successful UH Wahine volleyball and softball teams.
It also explains the low attendance at UH Wahine basketball games, as well as declining attendance at UH football games towards the end of last season!
And with the economy not being that great, it was even more important for the UH Athletic Department to find a coach that can get the UH Wahine basketball winning, and getting fans into the arena!
-----
And there's the challenge of recruiting of UH Wahine basketball!
In Hawaii, the dominant sport for female athletes is volleyball!
It is a different story in many parts of the continental US, where in many urban areas in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast, basketball tends to be the dominant sport for both males and females.
And even with the successful female high school basketball players from Hawaii, not all of them want to play for UH. Like athletes in many other sports, some of want the continental experience instead of playing for UH!
And to recruit female basketball players from the continental US, it will be hard to convince them to play college basketball at a place where they'll usually get less hype than the mega-popular Wahine volleyball team!
This is NOT to say it's "all a doomed effort".
UH Wahine basketball had some success in the past when Vince Goo was the coach. He was able to recruit the top local talent as well as some outside talent as well.
That success should be repeated again.
Hopefully, they'll get someone who has college coaching experience, can recruit Hawaii and outside, and can bring fans back to the arena!
(photo from Star Advertiser link below)
Dana Takahara-Dias
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sportspremium/20120308_wahine_hoops_coach_fired.html
She was originally hired back in 2009 to replace Jim Bolla.
Jim Bolla was not just a loser on win-loss records, Bolla was also an abusive jerk that has been to use vicious insults on his players and even kicked one of them!
I wrote a blog post on that issue back in April 25, 2009
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/04/jim-bolla-fired.html
--------
So Dana Takahara-Dias was hired in part to fix the wounds left behind by Jim Bolla!
However, there were many questions about Takahara-Dias qualifications when she was hired.
Yes, she was former UH basketball player!
Yes, she had coaching experience!
But that experience was at the high school level!
Coaching at the college level is a lot more intense. There is recruiting, there is long-distance traveling (especially for Hawaii), students who are more independent, and of course, the much higher pressure to win.
---------
Another issue that comes up is with attendance.
There isn't much of a crowd at UH Wahine basketball games.
Yes, Hawaii fan DO support women's sports!
Just look at the UH Wahine volleyball games! They got the HIGHEST number in attendance IN ALL OF women's college volleyball!
Women's volleyball in Hawaii makes a financial profit! (not true at most other schools)
And the UH Wahine softball team has had big crowds at their games this season.
So the low attendance at UH women's basketball games has NOTHING to do with gender and EVERYTHING to do with winning & losing!
It all reminds me of what I remember reading from (ex-football coach) Bob Wagner's book in which he said about fans/customers/ recruits/ etc.
People want to gain good feeling and avoid bad feelings
Which is why fans are willing to crowd the stadiums for winning teams! And why fans will not show up to watch losing teams.
It explains why fans love to crowd the stadiums to watch the very successful UH Wahine volleyball and softball teams.
It also explains the low attendance at UH Wahine basketball games, as well as declining attendance at UH football games towards the end of last season!
And with the economy not being that great, it was even more important for the UH Athletic Department to find a coach that can get the UH Wahine basketball winning, and getting fans into the arena!
-----
And there's the challenge of recruiting of UH Wahine basketball!
In Hawaii, the dominant sport for female athletes is volleyball!
It is a different story in many parts of the continental US, where in many urban areas in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast, basketball tends to be the dominant sport for both males and females.
And even with the successful female high school basketball players from Hawaii, not all of them want to play for UH. Like athletes in many other sports, some of want the continental experience instead of playing for UH!
And to recruit female basketball players from the continental US, it will be hard to convince them to play college basketball at a place where they'll usually get less hype than the mega-popular Wahine volleyball team!
This is NOT to say it's "all a doomed effort".
UH Wahine basketball had some success in the past when Vince Goo was the coach. He was able to recruit the top local talent as well as some outside talent as well.
That success should be repeated again.
Hopefully, they'll get someone who has college coaching experience, can recruit Hawaii and outside, and can bring fans back to the arena!
Monday, March 12, 2012
exposed to the light
What happens to the roaches when you turn on the lights?
Usually, they run and hide! They can't the stand being exposed to the light!
Bullies can't stand a different form of light! They can't stand being exposed!
If you watch the TV news, reporters will try to confront those accused of pollution, discrimination, workplace abuse, family abuse, fraud or other wrong doing!
Guess what those trouble makers do?
They'll put their hands on the TV cameras, or block the reporters from entering, or they just run and hide.
They just can't handle being exposed to the light.
----------
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/11/blocked-out-of-my-list.html
Had that guy simply apologized for being rude and disrespectful, THAT BLOG POST WOULD NEVER BEEN PUT UP!
But no, when I told him why I rejected him from my facebook list, he said "Ha Ha Ha ... f*** you then" and called me a "loner"
Well, if that's how he wants to act, then he will be exposed to the light!
Mr Aban doesn't show any remorse, he just asks me to take my blog post down?
NO I am NOT taking that blog post down!
If Mr Aban didn't want to be exposed to the world like that, he should have thought about it before acting with total disrespect!
If Mr Aban wants to be mad about this situation, he should just be mad at himself!
-------------------------
I'm done with Mr Aban for now, unless he wants to start more drama!
However, I'm just going to expose more wrong-doers to the light!
and I AM USING REAL NAMES! I refuse to protect the guilty with fake names here!
I know some of you will give me this BS like "dont let it bother you" and all this other high-minded crap!
But this "don't let it bother you" crap does more harm than good!
Bullies prosper with this "dont let it bother you" crap!
Those who start trouble need to be held accountable!
Plus, it's not healthy to hold things in!
Also, accepting this "dont let it bother you" crap is for Ass Kisser!
I have NOTHING BUT CONTEMPT for those who encourage Ass Kissing!
1) Classmates
-- To those guys in middle schools for stereotyping me being a "foreigner" because I don't "look local" and told me to "speak English" if I sometimes mumble words ---- I'm exposing you to the light now!
People like Kevin Komoto, Richard Ching, Alika Wong, Young In (Brian) Ko! Look at your last names, I like see you guys go to Idaho or Mississippi and see if anyone there considers you guys "real Americans" HA!
--s!
--- if you're going to diss your classmates for sucking at PE, you better be Olympic or pro-sports material! Otherwise SHUT UP! That goes for Clinton Hurst, Alan Kato, Angela Muraoka, Justin Irvine, Johnson Lee, Jon Rota, Lawrence Kim, Eric Kwong, Anolani Kaio, and whoever I forgot to mention!
None of those chumps made it to the Olympics! None of those chumps made it to the Pros! None of those champs made it to the NCAAs. In fact, none of those chumps even made high school All-Stars!
---
Lauren Kihara -- rude girl from middle school. Called me a "gorilla" for growing body hairs at an early age! She shouldn't talk since her face looked like clam chowder! (I would NOT be mentioning that had she been a nicer person)
She liked to act tough! But she screamed in terror when James Wolford put a lizard right in front of her face! She's lucky YouTube didn't exist back then!
---
Lauren Kihara, Anolani Kaio (mentioned those 2 already) plus Ryan Tsuda, Ikaika Poki and William Reyes all accussed me of "not using deodorant" when someone noticed sweat in my shirt sleeves.
Time for exposing them to the light because their attitudes are what really stinks!
Ryan Tsuda likes to act all tough! Which was why I laughed when I heard that punk got beaten up by Kalen, who was SMALLER than him!
Ikaika Poki was his Ryan's partner in crime. Poki also likes to victimize others, but I remember seeing him acting all scared in aikido class when a more advanced student wanted to challenge him!
William Reyes first stereotyped me as "retarded" yet later on begged me for help with his math work, when it was obvious his "intellect" was NOT up to standard! I also remembered seeing on his history tests lying on the classroom floors! His answers were SO FAR OFF that I tried not to laugh!
----
Those are what I call the "studio gangsters", "wanabees" and "wankstas". They are fake thugs who only pick on those who don't have any rough peers to back them up. Those fake thugs run from a real fight with a real gangsta.
They included Waiokeola Ching, Jared Tsukamoto, Travis Slavens, Gary Okimoto.
the funniest stories about them include
--- Gary Okimoto, talks tough, acts tough until ............ he got slapped around by Binh Van
(a real G) and James O. Then Gary cried for mercy and says "I'm going to sue you".
-- Jared Tsukamoto likes to literally push people around. But he only does so when walking in a group. He did it one time to me and said "move n----- " (in other words, Jared Tsukamoto can't even get his racial slurs right) But he ran like heck and screamed after teasing really tall guy Colin.
-- Travis Slavens calls me the "hairy boy". He's only tough when he's in a group! He's soft without a group! The same is true for Waiokeola Ching.
There was also this guy named Laau Castro. I didn't know him until I accidentally bumped into him in the cafeteria and got juice spilled on him. I understand his frustration, but that little wanksta later brought his friends to back him up. Yeah, little guy is only tough with a group. Later on, we made peace and had no problems. But I want to say this --- #1 accidents happen, just chill! #2 you got a problem, handle it yourself, instead of calling for backup!
----
There was also David Arashiro. Imagine having 6 classes with a sumo-sized guy with a bad attitude. That was my situation with David Arashiro in 6th grade. It was so bad, that it was one of the few times I actually went to the office about being bullied. We had a conference with the counselors about this issue. We never really made peace, but the good news was that we had no classes together in 7th grade. In 8th grade, he went to a different school.
But the funniest story in 6th grade was when David Arashiro was laughing out loud in the cafeteria, an 8th grader told him "shut up you fat f---". David Arashiro was too scared to say anything back.
---
Also, in 6th grade, Phillip Austin stereotyped me of "being from Mexico". Looking at him, I could easily stereotype him as being from Europe. In fact, the other kids kept making fun of him for being a "haole". I don't condone anti-white racism (or any type of racism). But Austin wants respect, he ought to show some respect.
--
, there was also this girl Jodie Ebesu who was so mad that (gasp ..........omg...............no) that I didn't let her cut in front in the lunch line, she responded by calling me a "hairy d--k". How's that for sexual harassment! We ended up going to different high schools, but I did hear some very nasty rumors from those who went to high school with her.
While high school wasn't as bad as middle school, there's still a few people who needs to be exposed to the light!
-- Clinton Hurst, (who I met in middle school but also went to my high school) who tried to start fights with me in 9th grade, but he couldn't take me down! Likes to use vicious insults on others who don't conform to his phony version of cool! Mistaking me as "Arab" when I'm, Latino! And acted surprised when I knew more about hip-hop than him, that Eminem wanabee! Well, that tough stuff has its limits, especially when a bunch of Southeast Asian gangsters mobbed him and took out one of his eyes!
--- Sai Feng, a fake gangsta! In the PE locker rooms, he tried to be the funny guy by yelling "stop looking, or I'll bang your head in the locker". The only thing I was looking at was my own locker! But being that the lockers are set up where you can't see what's going on in the other side, but you can definitely hear what's being said, I took Sai Feng's "joke" as an act of war! The worst thing to do to any straight male is falsely accusse them of "looking" in a locker room! And Mr " I'll bang your hear in the locker" walked away when I started to yell at him and I called him a "wanabee gangsta".
That was so rare for me to do that! I usually avoid fights, but Sai Feng went too far!
Sai Feng is only tough when he's in a group and I'm not! But if I'm with someone and he's not, he does nothing! Pathetic!
Sai's little friend Min Hwan Shin -- a true wanksta! He jokes about my body hair, but at least I ain't short like him! ( Again, I would NOT have bring that up had he been a nicer person!)
---Dominic Gomes - a Vanilla Ice wanabee with a rude attitude! Had a conflict with him during high school graduation practice! I was thinking about fighting him, but that would've meant getting suspended from an important event!
Gomes even bragged to about to the wrong person. He thought Adam Chang was going to laugh along with him! Gomes didn't know that Adam Chang was my friend! Oooops! Yeah Dominic Gomes you dumbass be careful who you brag to!
-- Wayne Fernando. He tried to reach into my pockets without my permissions. He said "I want your money" in a weird voice. I yelled at him with full-blown rage! He thought he was going to impress his friends, but they didn't back him up! They knew he was in the wrong!
---
In a social studies class we were supposed to make groups. I didn't have a group, so I ended with Jasmine Kamaka, U'ilani Hicks, and Lori Mikasobe. Well, later on, the teacher said "there's too many people in this group". What to do, what to do? Well, those 3 people all of a sudden ran off to another table (with the whole class watching) and gave a BS apology. I don't accept BS apologies! Then U'ilani Hicks said I was "too quiet". No, she just talks too much about uninteresting crap! You want me talking, then talk to me about something interesting dammit or shut up! And dont go on pretending to by my friend afterwards. I don't respect phonies!
----------
As for 2 aikido classmates from my teen years -- James McGhee and John Hishashima who liked to joke about "tacos" and "nachos", nothing brave about doing that in Hawaii! Try doing that in a California prison where the Mexican Mafia dominates the gangsta scene!
2) Teachers
I got love for most of my teachers but some need to be exposed to the light! This was especially true for a few that worked at my middle school (Kawananakoa)! I also heard from those 2 left a few years after I left the school.
One is Mr Anjo, a 6th grade math teacher who liked to pit students against each other! He screams when he saw papers that he thought was messy! He accussed me "not knowing what a ruler is" because some lines I drew weren't straight.
In 8th grade, being that I grew facial hair earlier than other kids, Mr Anjo tried to be funny by saying "look, here's a razor". He's lucky that I didn't try to slash him with it!
Mocking students like what Mr Anjo does is the ultimate scumbag move! Middle schoolers are going through changes that they still do not truly understand! It takes a total scumbag like Mr Anjo to shit on not just on any person, but especially kids who might not have the support they need!
I was happy to hear that a few years after I graduated from middle school, that Mr Anjo was no longer there! Good Riddance
---
Another punk ass teacher from the same school was Mr. Komae who teaches wood shop! Whereas that class would probably be an elective at most schools, for some reason it was a requirement at my middle school.
Komae is one of those who gets moody when students try hard but are struggling with the lesson! He also comes with irritating nicknames for people, even when they don't even want it! Which only encourages the other students to join the mockery! Yet, he got SO SENSITVE when students called him "papio" for looking like a fish! If Komae wants respect, he should learn to show it!
Komae was also creepy by trying to kiss the girls IN CLASS! If YouTube existed then, he would've been caught and FIRED!
Like Anjo, Komae was gone a few years after I graduated from middle school! Maybe he did get fired after all!
----
Hasuko also liked to give stupid nicknames to people, but that's not what stood out!
I remember one boy (who was one of the nicest kids I knew) spit on the hallway's floor (NOT AT ANY PERSON)! Mr Hasuko start yelling at that boy and screamed "WANT ME TO KICK YOUR ASS?"
All that boy did was spit on the floor. All Hasuko could've done is ask that boy to get a tissue and clean it up, not yelling out threats!
================
I have already exposed the scrooges, the bully professors and slanderers on my earlier blog posts!
I also have detailed the problems I had with my father when I growing up in previous blogs! Luckily, I've made my peace with him, after finally telling him the truth about how I felt about him growing up! He seems to understand where he went wrong!
But I can't be credible as "someone who stands up for what's right" if I'm not calling out names of those I should've been more confrontational with back in the days!
And if any of you mentioned in the blog don't like what I said in my blog , YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BACK IN THE DAYS! Start being mad at yourself!
In fact, you LUCKY that I haven't become a celebrity (YET!) because you wouldn't be able to hide! Just like the guy who once bullied Eminem during their childhood days got all scared when Eminem publicly called him out! He tried to sue Eminem for exposing the light! After all, how would you like if your former victims has MILLIONS of fans ready to pounce!
If you want to aplogize, I'm cool with it! If you feel I offended you too, please remind me what I did, after all I ain't perfect!
But don't give me this "dont let it bother you" crap, this "get over it" crap or this "please take my name off your blog" crap, because that will only guarantee more fire from me on this blog!
The only way to stop me from saying more stuff on this blog is to kill me! What are you waiting for?
Usually, they run and hide! They can't the stand being exposed to the light!
Bullies can't stand a different form of light! They can't stand being exposed!
If you watch the TV news, reporters will try to confront those accused of pollution, discrimination, workplace abuse, family abuse, fraud or other wrong doing!
Guess what those trouble makers do?
They'll put their hands on the TV cameras, or block the reporters from entering, or they just run and hide.
They just can't handle being exposed to the light.
----------
Which is why some chump who goes by the name of Cris Sison Aban (aka Crisanto Aban) told me to take down my blog post about him, which you can check out at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/11/blocked-out-of-my-list.html
Had that guy simply apologized for being rude and disrespectful, THAT BLOG POST WOULD NEVER BEEN PUT UP!
But no, when I told him why I rejected him from my facebook list, he said "Ha Ha Ha ... f*** you then" and called me a "loner"
Well, if that's how he wants to act, then he will be exposed to the light!
Mr Aban doesn't show any remorse, he just asks me to take my blog post down?
NO I am NOT taking that blog post down!
If Mr Aban didn't want to be exposed to the world like that, he should have thought about it before acting with total disrespect!
If Mr Aban wants to be mad about this situation, he should just be mad at himself!
-------------------------
I'm done with Mr Aban for now, unless he wants to start more drama!
However, I'm just going to expose more wrong-doers to the light!
and I AM USING REAL NAMES! I refuse to protect the guilty with fake names here!
I know some of you will give me this BS like "dont let it bother you" and all this other high-minded crap!
But this "don't let it bother you" crap does more harm than good!
Bullies prosper with this "dont let it bother you" crap!
Those who start trouble need to be held accountable!
Plus, it's not healthy to hold things in!
Also, accepting this "dont let it bother you" crap is for Ass Kisser!
I have NOTHING BUT CONTEMPT for those who encourage Ass Kissing!
1) Classmates
first the middle school classmates
-- To those guys in middle schools for stereotyping me being a "foreigner" because I don't "look local" and told me to "speak English" if I sometimes mumble words ---- I'm exposing you to the light now!
People like Kevin Komoto, Richard Ching, Alika Wong, Young In (Brian) Ko! Look at your last names, I like see you guys go to Idaho or Mississippi and see if anyone there considers you guys "real Americans" HA!
--s!
--- if you're going to diss your classmates for sucking at PE, you better be Olympic or pro-sports material! Otherwise SHUT UP! That goes for Clinton Hurst, Alan Kato, Angela Muraoka, Justin Irvine, Johnson Lee, Jon Rota, Lawrence Kim, Eric Kwong, Anolani Kaio, and whoever I forgot to mention!
None of those chumps made it to the Olympics! None of those chumps made it to the Pros! None of those champs made it to the NCAAs. In fact, none of those chumps even made high school All-Stars!
---
Lauren Kihara -- rude girl from middle school. Called me a "gorilla" for growing body hairs at an early age! She shouldn't talk since her face looked like clam chowder! (I would NOT be mentioning that had she been a nicer person)
She liked to act tough! But she screamed in terror when James Wolford put a lizard right in front of her face! She's lucky YouTube didn't exist back then!
---
Lauren Kihara, Anolani Kaio (mentioned those 2 already) plus Ryan Tsuda, Ikaika Poki and William Reyes all accussed me of "not using deodorant" when someone noticed sweat in my shirt sleeves.
Time for exposing them to the light because their attitudes are what really stinks!
Ryan Tsuda likes to act all tough! Which was why I laughed when I heard that punk got beaten up by Kalen, who was SMALLER than him!
Ikaika Poki was his Ryan's partner in crime. Poki also likes to victimize others, but I remember seeing him acting all scared in aikido class when a more advanced student wanted to challenge him!
William Reyes first stereotyped me as "retarded" yet later on begged me for help with his math work, when it was obvious his "intellect" was NOT up to standard! I also remembered seeing on his history tests lying on the classroom floors! His answers were SO FAR OFF that I tried not to laugh!
----
Those are what I call the "studio gangsters", "wanabees" and "wankstas". They are fake thugs who only pick on those who don't have any rough peers to back them up. Those fake thugs run from a real fight with a real gangsta.
They included Waiokeola Ching, Jared Tsukamoto, Travis Slavens, Gary Okimoto.
the funniest stories about them include
--- Gary Okimoto, talks tough, acts tough until ............ he got slapped around by Binh Van
(a real G) and James O. Then Gary cried for mercy and says "I'm going to sue you".
-- Jared Tsukamoto likes to literally push people around. But he only does so when walking in a group. He did it one time to me and said "move n----- " (in other words, Jared Tsukamoto can't even get his racial slurs right) But he ran like heck and screamed after teasing really tall guy Colin.
-- Travis Slavens calls me the "hairy boy". He's only tough when he's in a group! He's soft without a group! The same is true for Waiokeola Ching.
There was also this guy named Laau Castro. I didn't know him until I accidentally bumped into him in the cafeteria and got juice spilled on him. I understand his frustration, but that little wanksta later brought his friends to back him up. Yeah, little guy is only tough with a group. Later on, we made peace and had no problems. But I want to say this --- #1 accidents happen, just chill! #2 you got a problem, handle it yourself, instead of calling for backup!
----
There was also David Arashiro. Imagine having 6 classes with a sumo-sized guy with a bad attitude. That was my situation with David Arashiro in 6th grade. It was so bad, that it was one of the few times I actually went to the office about being bullied. We had a conference with the counselors about this issue. We never really made peace, but the good news was that we had no classes together in 7th grade. In 8th grade, he went to a different school.
But the funniest story in 6th grade was when David Arashiro was laughing out loud in the cafeteria, an 8th grader told him "shut up you fat f---". David Arashiro was too scared to say anything back.
---
Also, in 6th grade, Phillip Austin stereotyped me of "being from Mexico". Looking at him, I could easily stereotype him as being from Europe. In fact, the other kids kept making fun of him for being a "haole". I don't condone anti-white racism (or any type of racism). But Austin wants respect, he ought to show some respect.
--
, there was also this girl Jodie Ebesu who was so mad that (gasp ..........omg...............no) that I didn't let her cut in front in the lunch line, she responded by calling me a "hairy d--k". How's that for sexual harassment! We ended up going to different high schools, but I did hear some very nasty rumors from those who went to high school with her.
Now on to high school!
While high school wasn't as bad as middle school, there's still a few people who needs to be exposed to the light!
-- Clinton Hurst, (who I met in middle school but also went to my high school) who tried to start fights with me in 9th grade, but he couldn't take me down! Likes to use vicious insults on others who don't conform to his phony version of cool! Mistaking me as "Arab" when I'm, Latino! And acted surprised when I knew more about hip-hop than him, that Eminem wanabee! Well, that tough stuff has its limits, especially when a bunch of Southeast Asian gangsters mobbed him and took out one of his eyes!
--- Sai Feng, a fake gangsta! In the PE locker rooms, he tried to be the funny guy by yelling "stop looking, or I'll bang your head in the locker". The only thing I was looking at was my own locker! But being that the lockers are set up where you can't see what's going on in the other side, but you can definitely hear what's being said, I took Sai Feng's "joke" as an act of war! The worst thing to do to any straight male is falsely accusse them of "looking" in a locker room! And Mr " I'll bang your hear in the locker" walked away when I started to yell at him and I called him a "wanabee gangsta".
That was so rare for me to do that! I usually avoid fights, but Sai Feng went too far!
Sai Feng is only tough when he's in a group and I'm not! But if I'm with someone and he's not, he does nothing! Pathetic!
Sai's little friend Min Hwan Shin -- a true wanksta! He jokes about my body hair, but at least I ain't short like him! ( Again, I would NOT have bring that up had he been a nicer person!)
---Dominic Gomes - a Vanilla Ice wanabee with a rude attitude! Had a conflict with him during high school graduation practice! I was thinking about fighting him, but that would've meant getting suspended from an important event!
Gomes even bragged to about to the wrong person. He thought Adam Chang was going to laugh along with him! Gomes didn't know that Adam Chang was my friend! Oooops! Yeah Dominic Gomes you dumbass be careful who you brag to!
-- Wayne Fernando. He tried to reach into my pockets without my permissions. He said "I want your money" in a weird voice. I yelled at him with full-blown rage! He thought he was going to impress his friends, but they didn't back him up! They knew he was in the wrong!
---
In a social studies class we were supposed to make groups. I didn't have a group, so I ended with Jasmine Kamaka, U'ilani Hicks, and Lori Mikasobe. Well, later on, the teacher said "there's too many people in this group". What to do, what to do? Well, those 3 people all of a sudden ran off to another table (with the whole class watching) and gave a BS apology. I don't accept BS apologies! Then U'ilani Hicks said I was "too quiet". No, she just talks too much about uninteresting crap! You want me talking, then talk to me about something interesting dammit or shut up! And dont go on pretending to by my friend afterwards. I don't respect phonies!
----------
Outside Classmates
As for 2 aikido classmates from my teen years -- James McGhee and John Hishashima who liked to joke about "tacos" and "nachos", nothing brave about doing that in Hawaii! Try doing that in a California prison where the Mexican Mafia dominates the gangsta scene!
2) Teachers
I got love for most of my teachers but some need to be exposed to the light! This was especially true for a few that worked at my middle school (Kawananakoa)! I also heard from those 2 left a few years after I left the school.
One is Mr Anjo, a 6th grade math teacher who liked to pit students against each other! He screams when he saw papers that he thought was messy! He accussed me "not knowing what a ruler is" because some lines I drew weren't straight.
In 8th grade, being that I grew facial hair earlier than other kids, Mr Anjo tried to be funny by saying "look, here's a razor". He's lucky that I didn't try to slash him with it!
Mocking students like what Mr Anjo does is the ultimate scumbag move! Middle schoolers are going through changes that they still do not truly understand! It takes a total scumbag like Mr Anjo to shit on not just on any person, but especially kids who might not have the support they need!
I was happy to hear that a few years after I graduated from middle school, that Mr Anjo was no longer there! Good Riddance
---
Another punk ass teacher from the same school was Mr. Komae who teaches wood shop! Whereas that class would probably be an elective at most schools, for some reason it was a requirement at my middle school.
Komae is one of those who gets moody when students try hard but are struggling with the lesson! He also comes with irritating nicknames for people, even when they don't even want it! Which only encourages the other students to join the mockery! Yet, he got SO SENSITVE when students called him "papio" for looking like a fish! If Komae wants respect, he should learn to show it!
Komae was also creepy by trying to kiss the girls IN CLASS! If YouTube existed then, he would've been caught and FIRED!
Like Anjo, Komae was gone a few years after I graduated from middle school! Maybe he did get fired after all!
----
Hasuko also liked to give stupid nicknames to people, but that's not what stood out!
I remember one boy (who was one of the nicest kids I knew) spit on the hallway's floor (NOT AT ANY PERSON)! Mr Hasuko start yelling at that boy and screamed "WANT ME TO KICK YOUR ASS?"
All that boy did was spit on the floor. All Hasuko could've done is ask that boy to get a tissue and clean it up, not yelling out threats!
================
I have already exposed the scrooges, the bully professors and slanderers on my earlier blog posts!
I also have detailed the problems I had with my father when I growing up in previous blogs! Luckily, I've made my peace with him, after finally telling him the truth about how I felt about him growing up! He seems to understand where he went wrong!
But I can't be credible as "someone who stands up for what's right" if I'm not calling out names of those I should've been more confrontational with back in the days!
And if any of you mentioned in the blog don't like what I said in my blog , YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BACK IN THE DAYS! Start being mad at yourself!
In fact, you LUCKY that I haven't become a celebrity (YET!) because you wouldn't be able to hide! Just like the guy who once bullied Eminem during their childhood days got all scared when Eminem publicly called him out! He tried to sue Eminem for exposing the light! After all, how would you like if your former victims has MILLIONS of fans ready to pounce!
If you want to aplogize, I'm cool with it! If you feel I offended you too, please remind me what I did, after all I ain't perfect!
But don't give me this "dont let it bother you" crap, this "get over it" crap or this "please take my name off your blog" crap, because that will only guarantee more fire from me on this blog!
The only way to stop me from saying more stuff on this blog is to kill me! What are you waiting for?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Rooting for "your own kind"
People naturally gravitate to those who are just like them.
The "just like them" could mean anything. It could mean interest in the same hobbies, being from the same culture, struggling with the same issues, or just being from the same area.
Of course, gravitating to someone just like you doesn't always mean you avoid those who are different from you.
For example, my dad is from Mexico. Living in Hawaii means he won't come across as many Mexicans as he would if he was living in California. But he knows where to find them here, usually in soccer fields and restaurants!
And if they're from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, EVEN MORE SO he'll gravitate to them! Just like he always used to hang out with this one guy from Oaxaca named Quota. From a distance my dad and Quota looked very different. Quota is a Mexican of African ancestry! My dad, while has both Zapotec and Spanish ancestry, his Zapotec features are a lot more visible! But they're both from Oaxaca, so there's a connection.
But my dad also gets along with those of other cultures as well! He would bring his construction co-workers to our house, some of them being of Native Hawaiian, Filipino, or Japanese ancestry! The interest in construction work brings them together!
-------
Now, in the world of sports, there has been "Linsanity" about Jeremy Lin, a basketball player who plays for the New York Knicks!
Lin played college basketball at Harvard, which has had difficulty attracting top athletic talent because of its HIGH academic standards. Lin's a good example of how being intelligent doesn't mean you have to be unathletic or soft!
After college, Lin drifted from team to team until joining the New York Knicks. The Knicks hasn't been doing so well this past decade! The Knicks added some star players like Carmelo Anthony, and Amare Stoudamire. But with some starters injured, it was Jeremy Lin's turn to help the team! And the team has greatly improved with his presence on the basketball court!
But Linsanity isn't just about increased levels of winning for the Knicks. It's also because Jeremy Lin is Asian-American!
Yes, the NBA already had Asian stars like Yao Ming! However, Yao Ming is from China, was already a proven star in China before testing the waters in the NBA!
But Jeremy Lin is NOT a star from overseas! Jeremy Lin is BORN IN THE USA! He is as American as LeBron James and Jason Kidd!
Many Asian-Americans are so excited that SOMEONE LIKE THEM has some real success in the NBA!
For many, for too long, they felt the sting of negative stereotypes of "being too short", "being too soft", "being too nerdy", and being told "go back to Asia" EVEN IF THEY WERE BORN IN THE USA!
While Lin is not as tall as Yao Ming, he is still taller than the average person at 6-feet 3in.
And Lin is definitely NOT soft! You can't last long in the NBA if you're soft, especially with those 7-footers pushing you around!
--------------
Floyd Mayweather, an African-American boxer, has been getting attention not just for his boxing, but also for being an Asian-hater.
Already, people are demanding Mayweather fight Flipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao, but conflicts over drug testing and money has gotten in the way.
Mayweather taunted Pacquaio by telling him to "make some sushi rolls and cook some rice"
UFC president Dana White called it right
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_sGm-E285c
Just like Mayweather shouldn't be confused as being from Haiti or Congo, let's not confuse Asian groups either!
But now Mayweather is implying Jeremy Lin is getting excessive special attention that African-American players aren't getting.
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/daily-take/201202/floyd-mayweather-plays-race-card-jeremy-lin
In case you don't get it, that "black golfer came out of Stanford and started winning golf majors." is Tiger Woods (who by the way, is also part-Asian). And the "two black sisters from Compton dominated the world of tennis" are Venus &; Serena Williams.
Woods and Williams got their initial fame by being black in mostly white sports! Afterwards, their athletic excellence were so great, that most people don't pay much attention to their color anymore.
Now, just look at the music world.
The European-American rapper from Detroit named Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem)
and
the white Cuban rapper from Miami named Armando Christian Pérez (aka Pitbull)
Just looking at them, they would just stand out in the mostly African-American rap music world! They'll automatically get more attention than others. It's human nature to notice that!
And off course African-Americans paid a little more attention to golf when Woods started to win tournaments. Same when the Williams sisters won tennis tournaments.
Off course European-descendants paid more attention to the rap scene when Eminem came along. And off course Latinos paid special attention to Pitbull!
Yeah, I'm part-Latino and I think it's cool that Pitbull has been making hits! I'm also a fan of other Latino rappers like Fat Joe, Big Punisher, Cypress Hill, Lil Rob and Baby Bash.
But I'm ALSO A FAN OF NON-LATIN RAPPERS too!
The Williams sisters, Tiger Woods,Eminem, Pitbull might have gotten their first minutes of extra-fame due to their race, their long-term success isn't just an Affirmative Action deal. Williams and Woods kept winning tournaments. Eminem and Pitbull kept making hits!
It's still early in Jeremy Lin's career! NBA has no guarantees! Many players coming in as the "hot thing" early in the career have declined a few years later!
Yes, Jeremy Lin got some special attention! Yes, some Asian-Americans are paying more attention the NBA now! But that doesn't erase the fact that many Asian-Americans were watching the NBA decades before Lin came on the scene! And while they think it's cool that Lin has made it to the NBA, they can still admire non-Asian players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or Dirk Nowitzky!
The "just like them" could mean anything. It could mean interest in the same hobbies, being from the same culture, struggling with the same issues, or just being from the same area.
Of course, gravitating to someone just like you doesn't always mean you avoid those who are different from you.
For example, my dad is from Mexico. Living in Hawaii means he won't come across as many Mexicans as he would if he was living in California. But he knows where to find them here, usually in soccer fields and restaurants!
And if they're from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, EVEN MORE SO he'll gravitate to them! Just like he always used to hang out with this one guy from Oaxaca named Quota. From a distance my dad and Quota looked very different. Quota is a Mexican of African ancestry! My dad, while has both Zapotec and Spanish ancestry, his Zapotec features are a lot more visible! But they're both from Oaxaca, so there's a connection.
But my dad also gets along with those of other cultures as well! He would bring his construction co-workers to our house, some of them being of Native Hawaiian, Filipino, or Japanese ancestry! The interest in construction work brings them together!
-------
Now, in the world of sports, there has been "Linsanity" about Jeremy Lin, a basketball player who plays for the New York Knicks!
Lin played college basketball at Harvard, which has had difficulty attracting top athletic talent because of its HIGH academic standards. Lin's a good example of how being intelligent doesn't mean you have to be unathletic or soft!
After college, Lin drifted from team to team until joining the New York Knicks. The Knicks hasn't been doing so well this past decade! The Knicks added some star players like Carmelo Anthony, and Amare Stoudamire. But with some starters injured, it was Jeremy Lin's turn to help the team! And the team has greatly improved with his presence on the basketball court!
But Linsanity isn't just about increased levels of winning for the Knicks. It's also because Jeremy Lin is Asian-American!
Yes, the NBA already had Asian stars like Yao Ming! However, Yao Ming is from China, was already a proven star in China before testing the waters in the NBA!
But Jeremy Lin is NOT a star from overseas! Jeremy Lin is BORN IN THE USA! He is as American as LeBron James and Jason Kidd!
Many Asian-Americans are so excited that SOMEONE LIKE THEM has some real success in the NBA!
For many, for too long, they felt the sting of negative stereotypes of "being too short", "being too soft", "being too nerdy", and being told "go back to Asia" EVEN IF THEY WERE BORN IN THE USA!
While Lin is not as tall as Yao Ming, he is still taller than the average person at 6-feet 3in.
And Lin is definitely NOT soft! You can't last long in the NBA if you're soft, especially with those 7-footers pushing you around!
--------------
Floyd Mayweather, an African-American boxer, has been getting attention not just for his boxing, but also for being an Asian-hater.
Already, people are demanding Mayweather fight Flipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao, but conflicts over drug testing and money has gotten in the way.
Mayweather taunted Pacquaio by telling him to "make some sushi rolls and cook some rice"
UFC president Dana White called it right
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_sGm-E285c
"The other thing you said was that Manny Pacquiao should make some sushi somewhere,"
"Sushis from Japan, he's from the Phillipines dummy"
Just like Mayweather shouldn't be confused as being from Haiti or Congo, let's not confuse Asian groups either!
But now Mayweather is implying Jeremy Lin is getting excessive special attention that African-American players aren't getting.
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/daily-take/201202/floyd-mayweather-plays-race-card-jeremy-lin
Jeremy Lin is a good player," Mayweather tweeted Monday, "but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise."
Black players outscore Kobe Bryant every night? Black players who went undrafted rack up at least 20 points and seven assists in each of their first four career starts? Black players go from D-League DNPs to leading the Knicks to five straight wins?
Yes, Lin being Asian is a big part of the story. He's the first American-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent to play in the NBA. That's different, and therefore newsworthy. There would probably also be a lot of hype if, say, a black golfer came out of Stanford and started winning golf majors. Or if, just hypothetically, two black sisters from Compton dominated the world of tennis.
In case you don't get it, that "black golfer came out of Stanford and started winning golf majors." is Tiger Woods (who by the way, is also part-Asian). And the "two black sisters from Compton dominated the world of tennis" are Venus &; Serena Williams.
Woods and Williams got their initial fame by being black in mostly white sports! Afterwards, their athletic excellence were so great, that most people don't pay much attention to their color anymore.
Now, just look at the music world.
The European-American rapper from Detroit named Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem)
and
the white Cuban rapper from Miami named Armando Christian Pérez (aka Pitbull)
Just looking at them, they would just stand out in the mostly African-American rap music world! They'll automatically get more attention than others. It's human nature to notice that!
And off course African-Americans paid a little more attention to golf when Woods started to win tournaments. Same when the Williams sisters won tennis tournaments.
Off course European-descendants paid more attention to the rap scene when Eminem came along. And off course Latinos paid special attention to Pitbull!
Yeah, I'm part-Latino and I think it's cool that Pitbull has been making hits! I'm also a fan of other Latino rappers like Fat Joe, Big Punisher, Cypress Hill, Lil Rob and Baby Bash.
But I'm ALSO A FAN OF NON-LATIN RAPPERS too!
The Williams sisters, Tiger Woods,Eminem, Pitbull might have gotten their first minutes of extra-fame due to their race, their long-term success isn't just an Affirmative Action deal. Williams and Woods kept winning tournaments. Eminem and Pitbull kept making hits!
It's still early in Jeremy Lin's career! NBA has no guarantees! Many players coming in as the "hot thing" early in the career have declined a few years later!
Yes, Jeremy Lin got some special attention! Yes, some Asian-Americans are paying more attention the NBA now! But that doesn't erase the fact that many Asian-Americans were watching the NBA decades before Lin came on the scene! And while they think it's cool that Lin has made it to the NBA, they can still admire non-Asian players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or Dirk Nowitzky!
Sunday, March 04, 2012
The downfall of the rich & famous
When you become rich, famous, popular, victorious or just feeling a great sense of euphoria, you start to get the feeling that this can last forever! After all, everything is going your way now! People want to be with you and want to invite you to share good times! You feel you're just a few minutes away from ruling the world!
However, what comes up will come down.
Not everyone will appreciate your success! You're still a human being, not an immortal! You're not immune to health problems. You're not immune from the past traumas of your life!
And most importantly, if you're not careful, you can totally ruin your own success! For too many people, they are their own worst enemy!
I have 3 great examples from 3 recent celebrity deaths. The celebrites I will discuss are Whitney Houston, Don Cornelius and Joe Paterno!
1) Whitney Houston
(August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012)
Whitney Houston passed away last month at the age of 48!
Houston grew up in a family of great singers. Her mom, Cissy Houston, was a gospel singer. Her older cousin Dionne Warwick, was an R&B singer. And her godmother was the Queen of Soul - Aretha Franklin.
While all those women have been successful in their own right, Houston became the biggest international star of them all!
She rose to popularity in the 1980s with a mix of catchy pop songs ("I wanna dance with somebody", "I'm your Baby tonight", "How Would I Know"), slow love songs ("Didn't we almost have it all") and inspirational songs ("The Greatest Love of All" )
She gave what was seen as the most amazing performance of the USA's national anthem "Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl, just when US troops were out to save Kuwait from Iraqi invasion!
In the early 1990's, Houston wanted to expand her superstar status from not only music, but also to making movies! Thus came films like "The Bodyguard", "Waiting to Exhale", and "Preacher's Wife". And with those movies came a beautiful set of songs from their soundtracks.
The most famous of those songs would be "I Will Always Love You". While it was originally performed by Dolly Parton, and sung by other singers, Houston's version was the most popular one of all!
Houston also sang her version of "I'm Every Woman", originally sung by Chaka Khan.
Houston's other hits included "Heartbreak Hotel" (featuring Kelly Price and Faith Evans), "When You Believe" (featuring Mariah Carey) and my favorite "My Love is Your Love"
Houston's popularity crossed cultural lines.She was an international superstar.
She was an icon that inspired younger singers like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguillera.
Even Rihanna, whose singing style is different from Whitney Houston, used Houston's "My Love is Your Love" as the inspiration for her recent hit "You Da One".
-----------
Yet, even with all this success, Whitney Houston was later more famous for negative things.
First, her marriage with Bobby Brown. This shocked a lot of people back in the early 1990's. Whitney Houston was seen as this innocent princess, the singer of inspirational songs. Meanwhile, Bobby Brown was known as the "bad boy" , the guy who brought the "gangsta edge" to R&B!
Both Brown and Houston did drugs together, with a mix of alcohol, weed and crack. All this took a toll, with Houston having to go to rehab multiple times.
Not only that, they have been both known to physically fight each other. When these allegations first surfaced on the tabloids, people were like "oh no, Brown is attacking our princess". However, their reality show also showed Houston in a bad light, showing us a mean side of her which most likely didn't help!
Even during their visit to Hawaii, there were rumors that Bobby Brown had hit Whitney Houston in the parking lot at Kahala Mall! Rumors later emerged that Brown claimed it was Whitney's sister that he had hit, not Whitney! Either way, not a good sign!
And another visit to Hawaii (this time on the Big Island), Houston was arrested at the airport for marijuana possession. This later led to Rosie O'Donnell dissing Houston by yelling "Aloha" at an award show not long after that incident.
-----------
In 2006, Whitney Houston finally divorced Bobby Brown! But the damage was already done. Houston was already seen by the public as the most famous victim of domestic violence, their reality show showed them in a negative light, and she was addicted to drugs.
Houston attempted to start all over again. However, she needed multiple stints in rehab. Her singing voice was no longer what it once was. She had to cancel tours.
She was working on a comeback album and a film. But it was too late. Houston passed away at age 48!
It will be a while until we know the truth about her death! But it is a sad reminder that even with all her talents, looks, and success, it could all be ruined by drugs and negative relationships.
2) Don Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012)
About 10 days before Whitney Houston's death, another icon in the music industry passed away. That icon was Don Cornelius.
Don Cornelius was the host of Soul Train, a TV show that showcased soul, funk, R&B, disco, hip-hop and other music forms dominated by African-Americans.
Soul Train was started in 1970.
It was a rough time in the African-American community. Sure, the civil rights that Dr. Martin Luther King was fighting for finally became federal law. However, Dr King was assassinated in 1968.
Many African-Americans still felt oppressed by the police and discriminated by the larger society. This led to riots in multiple cities as well as movements like the Black Panthers, who felt Dr King was "too soft".
Even with all this drama going on, Soul Train was about celebrating life. And Soul Train gave many African-American musicians exposure to a national audience. It wasn't just popular among African-Americans, it was also popular among many other Americans too!
That was revolutionary! It made it cool to be an African-American, and made other kids wish they were African-American too! We now take it for granted, but remember, this started a decade after the civil rights movement. Many African-Americans still had fresh memories of not being wanted in many stores, parks and swimming pools. And now, they're seeing their stars being considered "cool" by other racial groups.
However, with all the success that came with a revolutionary TV show, Cornelius couldn't handle everything right. He was arrested for spousal abuse in 2008.
And on February 1, 2012, Cornelius took his own life, shooting himself in the head.
Rumors surround his suicide, but it is still officially unknown what led up to it.
3) Joe Paterno
(December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012)
Joe Paterno was long-time head football coach at Penn State University! He was in that position for 46 years.
Most coaches don't even last 5 years at a university these days. College and pro sports is all about "what have you done for me lately?" If you haven't had enough winning done lately, you're gone from the job!
So, 46 years as a head coach is almost an eternity!
Joe Paterno started as an assistant coach at Penn State in 1950. He was working under Rip Engle. Back then, Penn State was just a rural college in an isolated part of Pennsylvania. It was far from the big cities of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh! But with Engle and Paterno running things, Penn State became a football power. And football fame trickled down to the university itself, which received way more inquiries from potential students than before.
Engle retired in 1966, and Paterno became the head coach! From that time, Penn State became on the biggest brands in college sports. Paterno broke the record for the most wins by a college football coach.
He was also the biggest fundraiser for his university! He helped the university raise funds for not only athletic facilities, but also libraries as well.
He was seen as a God. He made the university famous! He was their legend.
However, things were going wrong! As years passed by, Paterno was seen as "out of touch". He was mocked for being out of touch with modern technology. People wondered if he still could relate to the modern college athletes.
But even worse, he was accussed of being too lenient on his athletes. Some of them got into trouble with the law, but Paterno dismissed such allegations as a witch hunt.
When a player was accussed of sexual assault, Paterno was accussed of not taking the issue seriously.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/10766548/
Paterno replied by talking about past suspensions of Penn State players. He then added: “There’s some tough — there’s so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do?”
However, what comes up will come down.
Not everyone will appreciate your success! You're still a human being, not an immortal! You're not immune to health problems. You're not immune from the past traumas of your life!
And most importantly, if you're not careful, you can totally ruin your own success! For too many people, they are their own worst enemy!
I have 3 great examples from 3 recent celebrity deaths. The celebrites I will discuss are Whitney Houston, Don Cornelius and Joe Paterno!
1) Whitney Houston
(August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012)
Whitney Houston passed away last month at the age of 48!
Houston grew up in a family of great singers. Her mom, Cissy Houston, was a gospel singer. Her older cousin Dionne Warwick, was an R&B singer. And her godmother was the Queen of Soul - Aretha Franklin.
While all those women have been successful in their own right, Houston became the biggest international star of them all!
She rose to popularity in the 1980s with a mix of catchy pop songs ("I wanna dance with somebody", "I'm your Baby tonight", "How Would I Know"), slow love songs ("Didn't we almost have it all") and inspirational songs ("The Greatest Love of All" )
She gave what was seen as the most amazing performance of the USA's national anthem "Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl, just when US troops were out to save Kuwait from Iraqi invasion!
In the early 1990's, Houston wanted to expand her superstar status from not only music, but also to making movies! Thus came films like "The Bodyguard", "Waiting to Exhale", and "Preacher's Wife". And with those movies came a beautiful set of songs from their soundtracks.
The most famous of those songs would be "I Will Always Love You". While it was originally performed by Dolly Parton, and sung by other singers, Houston's version was the most popular one of all!
Houston also sang her version of "I'm Every Woman", originally sung by Chaka Khan.
Houston's other hits included "Heartbreak Hotel" (featuring Kelly Price and Faith Evans), "When You Believe" (featuring Mariah Carey) and my favorite "My Love is Your Love"
Houston's popularity crossed cultural lines.She was an international superstar.
She was an icon that inspired younger singers like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguillera.
Even Rihanna, whose singing style is different from Whitney Houston, used Houston's "My Love is Your Love" as the inspiration for her recent hit "You Da One".
-----------
Yet, even with all this success, Whitney Houston was later more famous for negative things.
First, her marriage with Bobby Brown. This shocked a lot of people back in the early 1990's. Whitney Houston was seen as this innocent princess, the singer of inspirational songs. Meanwhile, Bobby Brown was known as the "bad boy" , the guy who brought the "gangsta edge" to R&B!
Both Brown and Houston did drugs together, with a mix of alcohol, weed and crack. All this took a toll, with Houston having to go to rehab multiple times.
Not only that, they have been both known to physically fight each other. When these allegations first surfaced on the tabloids, people were like "oh no, Brown is attacking our princess". However, their reality show also showed Houston in a bad light, showing us a mean side of her which most likely didn't help!
Even during their visit to Hawaii, there were rumors that Bobby Brown had hit Whitney Houston in the parking lot at Kahala Mall! Rumors later emerged that Brown claimed it was Whitney's sister that he had hit, not Whitney! Either way, not a good sign!
And another visit to Hawaii (this time on the Big Island), Houston was arrested at the airport for marijuana possession. This later led to Rosie O'Donnell dissing Houston by yelling "Aloha" at an award show not long after that incident.
-----------
In 2006, Whitney Houston finally divorced Bobby Brown! But the damage was already done. Houston was already seen by the public as the most famous victim of domestic violence, their reality show showed them in a negative light, and she was addicted to drugs.
Houston attempted to start all over again. However, she needed multiple stints in rehab. Her singing voice was no longer what it once was. She had to cancel tours.
She was working on a comeback album and a film. But it was too late. Houston passed away at age 48!
It will be a while until we know the truth about her death! But it is a sad reminder that even with all her talents, looks, and success, it could all be ruined by drugs and negative relationships.
2) Don Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012)
About 10 days before Whitney Houston's death, another icon in the music industry passed away. That icon was Don Cornelius.
Don Cornelius was the host of Soul Train, a TV show that showcased soul, funk, R&B, disco, hip-hop and other music forms dominated by African-Americans.
Soul Train was started in 1970.
It was a rough time in the African-American community. Sure, the civil rights that Dr. Martin Luther King was fighting for finally became federal law. However, Dr King was assassinated in 1968.
Many African-Americans still felt oppressed by the police and discriminated by the larger society. This led to riots in multiple cities as well as movements like the Black Panthers, who felt Dr King was "too soft".
Even with all this drama going on, Soul Train was about celebrating life. And Soul Train gave many African-American musicians exposure to a national audience. It wasn't just popular among African-Americans, it was also popular among many other Americans too!
That was revolutionary! It made it cool to be an African-American, and made other kids wish they were African-American too! We now take it for granted, but remember, this started a decade after the civil rights movement. Many African-Americans still had fresh memories of not being wanted in many stores, parks and swimming pools. And now, they're seeing their stars being considered "cool" by other racial groups.
However, with all the success that came with a revolutionary TV show, Cornelius couldn't handle everything right. He was arrested for spousal abuse in 2008.
And on February 1, 2012, Cornelius took his own life, shooting himself in the head.
Rumors surround his suicide, but it is still officially unknown what led up to it.
3) Joe Paterno
(December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012)
Joe Paterno was long-time head football coach at Penn State University! He was in that position for 46 years.
Most coaches don't even last 5 years at a university these days. College and pro sports is all about "what have you done for me lately?" If you haven't had enough winning done lately, you're gone from the job!
So, 46 years as a head coach is almost an eternity!
Joe Paterno started as an assistant coach at Penn State in 1950. He was working under Rip Engle. Back then, Penn State was just a rural college in an isolated part of Pennsylvania. It was far from the big cities of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh! But with Engle and Paterno running things, Penn State became a football power. And football fame trickled down to the university itself, which received way more inquiries from potential students than before.
Engle retired in 1966, and Paterno became the head coach! From that time, Penn State became on the biggest brands in college sports. Paterno broke the record for the most wins by a college football coach.
He was also the biggest fundraiser for his university! He helped the university raise funds for not only athletic facilities, but also libraries as well.
He was seen as a God. He made the university famous! He was their legend.
However, things were going wrong! As years passed by, Paterno was seen as "out of touch". He was mocked for being out of touch with modern technology. People wondered if he still could relate to the modern college athletes.
But even worse, he was accussed of being too lenient on his athletes. Some of them got into trouble with the law, but Paterno dismissed such allegations as a witch hunt.
When a player was accussed of sexual assault, Paterno was accussed of not taking the issue seriously.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/10766548/
Paterno replied by talking about past suspensions of Penn State players. He then added: “There’s some tough — there’s so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do?”
“Geez. I hope — thank God they don’t knock on my door because I’d refer them to a couple of other rooms,” Paterno continued. “But that’s too bad. You hate to see that. I really do. You like to see a kid end up his football career. He’s a heck of a football player, by the way; he’s a really good football player. And it’s just too bad.”
That was just a sign of even more bad things to come.
One of Paterno's assistant coaches, Jerry Sandusky was caught sexually assaulting young boys in the shower room. It was witnessed by another assistant Mike McQueary, who told Joe Paterno! Paterno mentioned the issue to the Athletic Director.
But NOBODY told the police about that incident.
Sandusky pretty much got away with his actions until 2011, when the police learned about another incident involving similar crimes.
That neither Paterno nor the other university officials reported the incident to the police, they were seen as "protecting Sandusky instead of his victims". So Paterno and other university officials got fired!
So after all those decades of success, all the people viewing Paterno as a "god", it all came crumbling down!
Only a few months after Paterno got fired, he passed away. While the death was due to lung cancer, many people said it was "heart break" that killed Paterno!
Paterno's downfall is a message to all that no matter how popular you are, how much seniority you have, you are still NOT immune from being held accountable!
Paterno's downfall should also be a HUGE WARNING to anyone who says stuff like "no tattle-telling" or "no snitching".
All such messages, usually taught to children, stays in their heads as they become adults.
This is very dangerous!
It is why many people don't go to the police to report rapists, spouse abusers and even killers!
And it is why Joe Paterno did not go to the police to talk about what heard about his assistant coaches doing.
It ended up getting him fired!
The message to us all : When we see or experience something wrong, we need to START telling and we need to START snitching!
Other people's lives depend on it!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Feds and Birth Control
So much in life is presented as either/or, when sometimes the middle ground is just much more rational
For example, the issue of birth control!
Right-wing conservatives like Rick Santorum believes that states can & should be able to ban not only abortion, but other contraceptives as well!
Right-wing conservatives like Rick Santorum won't be happy until the USA becomes the Christian version of Iran, Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan
Meanwhile, many left-wing liberals like Barack Obama believe in FORCING EMPLOYERS to provide insurance coverage relating to birth control! EVEN RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS that DON'T BELIEVE IN birth control are FORCED to provide insurance coverage for stuff THAT GOES AGAINST THEIR RELIGION!
Look, I am VERY PRO-CHOICE when it comes to abortion, and contraceptions. While I understand why some people dislike abortion, I HAVE NOTHING BUT CONTEMPT for religious fanatics who block entrance to abortion clinics and scream vicious insults towards women who are trying to enter those clinics!
I also have pointed out that yes, many anti-abortion protestors END UP GETTING ABORTIONS TOO!
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/11/even-anti-abortion-protesters-have.html
But the left-wing liberals are also wrong in demanding religious institutions be forced to provide coverage of things they don't believe in!
So if the Catholics don't believe in contraception, they shouldn't be forced to provide coverage for that!
In fact, the left-wing liberals are making their version of "perfect" the enemy of the good! By forcing Catholic hospitals to provide contraceptives, they might just SHUT DOWN rather to go against their religious beliefs. Then there's less people to provide any form of health care!
Just like we shouldn't force Mormon insitutions to serve alcohol, nor should we force Jewish and Muslim insitiutions to serve pork!
It's called FREEDOM OF RELIGION!
If the left-wing liberals want to provide more birth control, they already have Planned Parenthood. They could also align themselves with liberal-leaning churches (ie, Unitarians, Quakers, United Church of Christ, etc) to start their own hospitals!
Cathy Young has said it best
http://reason.com/archives/2012/02/13/obamas-misguided-birth-control-mandate
For example, the issue of birth control!
Right-wing conservatives like Rick Santorum believes that states can & should be able to ban not only abortion, but other contraceptives as well!
Right-wing conservatives like Rick Santorum won't be happy until the USA becomes the Christian version of Iran, Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan
Meanwhile, many left-wing liberals like Barack Obama believe in FORCING EMPLOYERS to provide insurance coverage relating to birth control! EVEN RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS that DON'T BELIEVE IN birth control are FORCED to provide insurance coverage for stuff THAT GOES AGAINST THEIR RELIGION!
Look, I am VERY PRO-CHOICE when it comes to abortion, and contraceptions. While I understand why some people dislike abortion, I HAVE NOTHING BUT CONTEMPT for religious fanatics who block entrance to abortion clinics and scream vicious insults towards women who are trying to enter those clinics!
I also have pointed out that yes, many anti-abortion protestors END UP GETTING ABORTIONS TOO!
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/11/even-anti-abortion-protesters-have.html
But the left-wing liberals are also wrong in demanding religious institutions be forced to provide coverage of things they don't believe in!
So if the Catholics don't believe in contraception, they shouldn't be forced to provide coverage for that!
In fact, the left-wing liberals are making their version of "perfect" the enemy of the good! By forcing Catholic hospitals to provide contraceptives, they might just SHUT DOWN rather to go against their religious beliefs. Then there's less people to provide any form of health care!
Just like we shouldn't force Mormon insitutions to serve alcohol, nor should we force Jewish and Muslim insitiutions to serve pork!
It's called FREEDOM OF RELIGION!
If the left-wing liberals want to provide more birth control, they already have Planned Parenthood. They could also align themselves with liberal-leaning churches (ie, Unitarians, Quakers, United Church of Christ, etc) to start their own hospitals!
Cathy Young has said it best
http://reason.com/archives/2012/02/13/obamas-misguided-birth-control-mandate
Some of the "war on religion" rhetoric emanating from the right has been over the top. When religious institutions perform extensive secular functions -- often with government subsidies -- and serve nonbelievers, they inevitably surrender part of their religious autonomy. (A Catholic hospital, for instance, cannot require that all babies born in its maternity wards be baptized into the Catholic faith.)
The issue is where the line should be drawn; and, for many Americans, that line is crossed when Catholic institutions such as hospitals, schools and charities—with a narrow exemption for churches—are forced to buy employee insurance policies that cover services prohibited by Catholic teachings. Catholics who use contraception, and Protestants who have little sympathy for the Catholic Church's anti-birth-control stance, may still be offended by the state dictating to the church in such matters.
President Obama has picked the wrong fight. Rather than expand birth control options for women, this policy may undermine already shaky support for the health reform legislation. Suddenly, predictions that ObamaCare will result in less freedom and more bureaucratic authority do not seem so outlandish.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Career Updates
Hello everyone,
there has been some changes in my career lately.
I've been working with the Department of Education (DOE) and Macy's.
Here's my updates
1) Department of Education
In the Fall 2011 semester, I was working part-time as a para-professional tutor (PPT) at Palolo Elementary School.
I am no longer employed in that position this semester.
Time to start fresh!
Don't get me wrong, I'm still grateful to have been a part of that school. The school's principal Ruth Silberstein is the best leader a school like that could have. She's the perfect combination of stern and compassionate! A great person to talk to whenever there's a problem.
That school is located by a public housing project that is very notorious for decades. Many of the families are recent immigrants, mostly from the Micronesian islands, though are also some from the South Pacific and Asia as well. Even with the challenges those students faced, the school has been gaining momentum in the test scores! So don't give me this garbage about "poor kids can't learn, no use teaching ghetto kids, certain races can't achieve, certain races are doomed to life of inferiority"! It's all nonsense!
Even though I'm no longer a PPT at that school, I'm still in the DOE system!
This time, I'm just working as a substitute teacher.So I'm back to what I have been doing for 6 years (it will be 7 this coming May)!
Speaking about schools, I've also been working on my master's in elementary education the last few months, from the University of Phoenix.
2) Macy's
My lst job at Macy's was a seasonal worker the previous winter at Kahala Mall. I was a recovery associate, meaning I was folding clothes and making sure things are organized. I did help customers but I wasn't a cashier.
In the summer of 2011, I was hired by another Macy's store, this time at Ala Moana. And this time, I had a different position - sales associate. I was working in the "textille" section, selling towels, rugs, pillows, bed sheets,etc.
When the winter holiday season came up, I decided to switch to the recovery associate position, just like what I was doing at Kahala Macy's the previous winter.
While I appreciate being hired for the sales position at Ala Moana this past summer (a shout out to Donnie A. for the hiring!) and really appreciated the sales manager for textilles (Gregg Kikukawa, everyone's favorite manager), and really learning new things as a sales associate, my true passion was in recovery!
Some workers thought I was CRAZY for switching from sales to recovery! But I don't regret it at all!
My 8 weeks working in recovery at Ala Moana had to be one of the funnest times in my life! I really felt an ohana spirit with the recovery team! I really enjoyed going to different sections of the stores and organizing stuff! I felt the pride and turning messy piles of clothes into beautiful pieces of art! I also enjoyed interacting with the customers while I was organizing stuff!
I have gotten to know the store and the staff a lot more better than when I was just doing sales up in the 4th floor!
Don't get me wrong, I am NOT ruling out sales work forever! In fact, I did pick up a shift being a cashier in the Women's Shoes section in the 1st Saturday of 2012! I am happy to have that experience!
The recovery associate was just a seasonal position. And the holiday season has ended! My time as a recovery associate at Ala Moana Macy's is officially done as of today!
As of right now, I'm just on hiatus from Macy's! I plan on coming back soon, with whatever position fits my schedule, whether its sales, recovery, support, whatever! Macy's will probably calling some seasonal workers for long-term positions next month! If they call me, I plan on being there!
------------
The only side effect of my time working in recovery, was my conflict with Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) , which I have mentioned in these 2 blog posts
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-stood-up-to-scrooge-of-macys.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/part-2-of-me-vs-scrooge-good-news.html
I did win the battle against Scrooge (aka Michelle Range), and I don't need to brag! But I did find evidence of what a hypocrite Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) is, thanks to my facebook friends at Macy's
This was from some event nobody told me about! She's one of the green hats, 2nd from right!
I wish I knew about this photo when I wrote about the eariler blog posts!
And Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) has a problem with my Santa hat?
TOO BAD, because #1- I kept it on and
#2 - everyone else in the store turned against her
# 3 - I'm going to go back to the store next winter and WEAR THE SANTA HAT AGAIN! :)
------------
there has been some changes in my career lately.
I've been working with the Department of Education (DOE) and Macy's.
Here's my updates
1) Department of Education
In the Fall 2011 semester, I was working part-time as a para-professional tutor (PPT) at Palolo Elementary School.
I am no longer employed in that position this semester.
Time to start fresh!
Don't get me wrong, I'm still grateful to have been a part of that school. The school's principal Ruth Silberstein is the best leader a school like that could have. She's the perfect combination of stern and compassionate! A great person to talk to whenever there's a problem.
That school is located by a public housing project that is very notorious for decades. Many of the families are recent immigrants, mostly from the Micronesian islands, though are also some from the South Pacific and Asia as well. Even with the challenges those students faced, the school has been gaining momentum in the test scores! So don't give me this garbage about "poor kids can't learn, no use teaching ghetto kids, certain races can't achieve, certain races are doomed to life of inferiority"! It's all nonsense!
Even though I'm no longer a PPT at that school, I'm still in the DOE system!
This time, I'm just working as a substitute teacher.So I'm back to what I have been doing for 6 years (it will be 7 this coming May)!
Speaking about schools, I've also been working on my master's in elementary education the last few months, from the University of Phoenix.
2) Macy's
My lst job at Macy's was a seasonal worker the previous winter at Kahala Mall. I was a recovery associate, meaning I was folding clothes and making sure things are organized. I did help customers but I wasn't a cashier.
In the summer of 2011, I was hired by another Macy's store, this time at Ala Moana. And this time, I had a different position - sales associate. I was working in the "textille" section, selling towels, rugs, pillows, bed sheets,etc.
When the winter holiday season came up, I decided to switch to the recovery associate position, just like what I was doing at Kahala Macy's the previous winter.
While I appreciate being hired for the sales position at Ala Moana this past summer (a shout out to Donnie A. for the hiring!) and really appreciated the sales manager for textilles (Gregg Kikukawa, everyone's favorite manager), and really learning new things as a sales associate, my true passion was in recovery!
Some workers thought I was CRAZY for switching from sales to recovery! But I don't regret it at all!
My 8 weeks working in recovery at Ala Moana had to be one of the funnest times in my life! I really felt an ohana spirit with the recovery team! I really enjoyed going to different sections of the stores and organizing stuff! I felt the pride and turning messy piles of clothes into beautiful pieces of art! I also enjoyed interacting with the customers while I was organizing stuff!
I have gotten to know the store and the staff a lot more better than when I was just doing sales up in the 4th floor!
Don't get me wrong, I am NOT ruling out sales work forever! In fact, I did pick up a shift being a cashier in the Women's Shoes section in the 1st Saturday of 2012! I am happy to have that experience!
The recovery associate was just a seasonal position. And the holiday season has ended! My time as a recovery associate at Ala Moana Macy's is officially done as of today!
As of right now, I'm just on hiatus from Macy's! I plan on coming back soon, with whatever position fits my schedule, whether its sales, recovery, support, whatever! Macy's will probably calling some seasonal workers for long-term positions next month! If they call me, I plan on being there!
------------
The only side effect of my time working in recovery, was my conflict with Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) , which I have mentioned in these 2 blog posts
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-stood-up-to-scrooge-of-macys.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2011/12/part-2-of-me-vs-scrooge-good-news.html
I did win the battle against Scrooge (aka Michelle Range), and I don't need to brag! But I did find evidence of what a hypocrite Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) is, thanks to my facebook friends at Macy's
This was from some event nobody told me about! She's one of the green hats, 2nd from right!
I wish I knew about this photo when I wrote about the eariler blog posts!
And Scrooge (aka Michelle Range) has a problem with my Santa hat?
TOO BAD, because #1- I kept it on and
#2 - everyone else in the store turned against her
# 3 - I'm going to go back to the store next winter and WEAR THE SANTA HAT AGAIN! :)
------------
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