So as I do from time to time I was looking through the world wide web. I tend to search around trying to expand my mind or just waste time. I have not been on the computer much since well I am trying to get busy living or get busy dying. I stopped by one of my favorite websites “the infamous” Berrics. And to my surprise a old buddy of mine just happen to pop up on the screen, Dug Ketterman. I have to  admit I had to rewind the video just to make sure I had not mistaken Steve Berra for Dug! I then searched him out on myspace, facebook (he doesn’t have one), and the web. He does have his own blog/website/resume that I was stoked to see as well. I can’t honestly tell you if the guy likes me. We worked together for awhile but I hadn’t seen him since the break up with Havik. But it did stoke me out that he is doing what he loves and that is impressive. I think that I have decided that I have a mixture of low self esteem, bad spelling and grammar, mediocre skills (in anything from math, skateboarding, writing, blogging, management skills and just about anything I have tried to do with my life) and little to no ambition. I know this might sound like I am bashing myself but I look at it this way “The world needs ditch diggers.” Not everyone gets to live the dream. So, Dug, I want to wish you all the luck man it really looks like your living the dream. If you end up in Texas again look me up we will skate and I will buy you a beer.

Check out Dug in the Destructing Construction Video!

Get this guy to build your next skate park and tell him TheMostMediocre sent you!

Es realmente muy tarde, no consigo dormir y últimamente estuve sintiendo la necesidad de escribir algo motivado por esas noches en las que he estado llegando tarde y con algo de alcohol en mi sangre, cosa no tan común en mí y de la cual hoy no es el caso.

Algo que sucede en esas noches es que …

Sigo en inglés, perdón. I decided I will write it in english.

Is really late, I can’t get to sleep and lately I’ve been feeling the need to write something motivated by those nights in which I’ve been arriving late homeand with some alcohol in my blood, thing not that usual in me and by the way tonight is not one of those nights.

Something that usually happens in those nights is that you feel like you could write a lot, you are full with ideas, words and sentences flow strongly through your mind and your mood is really high for it. Unlike this night when you have the need but everything feels harder in one or another way. Like many of the articles I write this will have no sense to many people at all. Something unfortuante because I like that feedback, but in cyberspace you can never know.

Have you ever read one of those articles that are deep down anonymous though signed by “some nick” of whom you don’t really know anything about but the article felt so great and suited you exactly in what you were needing to read? Well that is something that happened to me this last weekend and as I consider myself a good seeker, from time to time I experience that, eventhough there are not many great articles out there. Most amazingly, at some point you even consider seriously to write a letter to that “amateur” writer who left you with that smile and those ideas in your head thinking for all the week.

What are the questions that really matter? Did you ever stop to think why Darth Vader has a rough voice if actually nothing happend to his voice strings or lungs for that matter, he was just affected by the dark side but come on he could manipulate midiclorians I bet he could change his voice, right? Or why didn’t the machines from the matrix (AKA A.I.) build high towers with solar panels if after all the sky was clouded but those clouds weren’t so high up as Neo and Trinity flew above them, avoiding this way a war with the almost extinction of a race? Why is the sky blue if I want it to be green?

Is perhaps NP = P or maybe P != NP? Why did that friend, that you have known for two year, give you just now his email address? Why did she flirts with you and then when you are alone with her she pretends that never happened? What are the reasons that made your close friend stop talking with you? Why did that friend “push away” himself? What is the road ahead, the next move in this chess board? Why is my msn list full of crap contacts to whom I never talk, they don’t care about me, don’t know me and don’t care even about their own pathetic life? And what is with that stupid social network, huh?

I guess that which questions are more important for you can’t really be defined universally on an average pattern. Probably none of them. But what if you find in the situation where you have a good life, absolute great work you earn a lot and you are in a comfortable atmosphere, you know that eventually you will meet someone that you will get to know for a short time in contrast with that person you may even had the chance to love and know for a long time during your youth, after you will get married, have some children, keep working to raise them, get old and die? That will be one in which it is all really fixed and you will be fulfilling your routine and role in nature by the book. On the other hand, what if you could never finish your studies (or maybe you did with a lot of effort, stress and many of those), have a crapy job (or average… for that matter), in this case perhaps know someone for some more years, get married, have children (more than the previous case perhaps), work a lot harder to raise them and die sooner than the previous case. There are more cases but all of them can be seen as variations of those two.

In the first case you will have more luxuries in your life and in those scarce “free times” you will do things that give sense to your life… like go to play football with the “friends” you no longer have and brake a leg or your knee to realise that really life has passed in front of your face without you even realising all for nothing, or just for something: to realise you are old, useless and your body is taking its tolls with, catching up with you. While on the other hand, you will have potentially less free time (due to free market of course) but imagining you have still free time it will be useless, you will be busy trying to survive for your kids, trying to rest due to your illnesses, and still if you are free you won’t be busy trying to pay things and you won’t be able to have even those little luxuries that could perhaps make sense in this that society likes to call life.

This mediocre society. Yes sounds arrogant, and… isn’t it? Society has become something unbareable for men with minds and not the actual zombies. Look around you, nobody spreads love, wishes as a goal self realisation, to reach a higher spiritual level, solidarity… welcome to the very hell itself. Face it there is no other way than try to reset your self and wash all those thoughts hoping the programming will fix itself and the machine “decides” to reboot to start over with new energies (a new stack ).

So what is the point in trying? Perhaps nobody cares about this question as nobody did about the previous ones. Well and I care about getting some sleep, cause I have to sit for many tests this month, strangely my parents want, hope or/and wish for me to finish university… I don’t care anymore because I know which will be the end of the road. But due to this I won’t be around much in some time. So if great minds created difficult problems ignorance won’t solve them. As said, someone wants me to study I so will be off until a wormhole appears at my backyard.

I leave you, until the second part (perhaps in another life will arrive). Try to walk your road ahead, and a tip to which I believe is always the best thing to do…. FIND A REASONABLE SHORTCUT

Eter decides to die.

Tekkonkinkreet (2007)
★★ / ★★★★

Based on a manga by Taiyo Matsumoto, “Tekkonkinkreet” was about two children aimed to protect their city from people who either wanted to change the city for the better or demolish it altogether to build an amusement park. Although the medium is animation, the story is not for children because it is very violent and the issues it tackles are geared more toward adults. While I did admire its ability to take risks, it did not completely work for me because it started out as a story grounded in reality but elements of the paranormal or fantasy somehow was added into the mix. It became really confusing, especially toward the end, not only because the movie simultaneously showed events that were actually happening in the real world, it also showed what was in the characters’ heads, and possibly scenes of the future. Perhaps the reason why I didn’t quite get it was because I needed more background information. But then again I always judge a film as a stand-alone piece of work; it should be able to hold up without having to read the source from which it was based on. Undoubtedly, there were some positive things such as the intense chase scenes and the imagination embedded in the metaphysical and surrealistic scenes. Directed by Michael Arias, I wish “Tekkonkinkreet” had less visual stimulation and instead worked more on its emotional resonance. I was interested in the two main characters’ relationship with each other and their society. It would have been a great opportunity to explore how their role as homeless kids, who had to steal from citizens and live in an abandoned car, was directly affected by cops who really cared about their well-beings (and vice-versa). What I love about animes and animated features in general is that it is limitless when it comes to giving its audiences images and emotions. However, there are those animes that simply fail to get me to care or keep my attention due to that lack of balance between the two. Unfotunately, this film is one of those animated pictures that left me bewildered in a negative way.

The English education watchdog says a stubborn core of inadequacy blights children’s life chances…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: high school. The blog is also related to: teaching positions.

Twilight Saga: New Moon, The (2009)
★★ / ★★★★

I cannot believe I saw this in theaters considering I wasn’t that impressed with the first “Twilight” film. However, since my expectations were low, I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed (but I wasn’t happy about it either). I expected a mediocre outcome and got just that. Chris Weitz directed the second installment of the highly popular franchise. He tried to balance Bella’s (Kirsten Stewart) depression when Edward (Robert Pattinson) decided to break up with her due to an incident during her eighteenth birthday and Bella’s attempt at recovery when she finally got the chance to get to know Jacob (Taylor Lautner) who saw her as a romantic interest. And that was pretty much what the whole movie was about because I felt like this was more of a transition than anything. With that said, I found that this movie had no reason to be over two hours long. There were far too many scenes when Edward and Bella would talk and circumvent the main point they wanted to get across. For me, the sexual tension that worked in the first film simply wasn’t there anymore. Simply saying, “I cannot live without you” over and over is simply not good enough. In fact, I hated it when Bella and Edward were alone together because I knew I would hear an extended conversation that lacked gravity. On the other hand, I was interested in Bella and Jacob’s blossoming friendship. There was a certain brother-sister connection there even though Jacob wanted Bella romantically (and not the other way around). I was also happy with the new characters that involved a vampire royalty called the Volturi (mainly Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning). I completely bought that they were menacing, powerful and very unstable group of vampires. One of the many ways this movie would’ve been more entertaining was having more action scenes. I loved the scenes that involved the diabolical Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre). Even though she barely said a word, her presence was mysterious and posed as a real threat. Granted, the film was based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel so it had plot limitations that were strictly designed for this sequel. However, there’s a certain way–an elegance, confidence, and ability to take risks–to make those limitations work for this project but I felt like it didn’t even try. With a much bigger budget than its predecessor, it should have been that much better, bigger in scope and more urgent. Regardless, I’m still curious with how the story would play out in the future installments especially with the way they ended this one. I cannot believe I said (more like yelled) “What?!” out loud when a certain line was said and it cut to the end credits. The fans of the novel probably looked at me and wondered why I watched the movie before I read the book.

I recently met a mustached fellow by the name of Tascar. This is one of his paintings that I stole off of his myspace. I am always stoked to meet a fellow mustached man wondering the world. I am sure that there will be more Mediocre/Tascar/Mustache collaborations in the near future. But I hope that you all can dig that sweet mustache art!

Dance Flick (2009)
★★ / ★★★★

Damien Dante Wayans directed this parody about a girl (Shoshana Bush) who moves to the city with her father after her mother dies on the way to her dance audition. With the help of a friend (Essence Atkins), she’s able to meet others, open up a little more and fall for a guy (Damon Wayans Jr.). If that sounds familiar, that’s because that’s pretty much what “Save the Last Dance” was about. But this movie takes it a bit further by adding in “Step Up,” “Step Up 2 the Streets,” “High School Musical,” and “Hairspray” into the mix with occassional popular references to icons such as Britney Spears, Halle Berry, and the like. As accessible as those references were, I liked that Wayans added some less popular jokes such as from movies like “Black Snake Moan.” As idiotic as this movie was, I somewhat enjoyed it because I saw it when I was in the mood for watching something where I don’t have to think. I also liked the fact that it showed some vignettes where it revealed the stupidity of the plot or meaningful of certain dance movies. For instance, in “Step Up 2 the Streets,” people constantly had to fight for “respect” (whatever that means) instead of focusing on issues that would most likely impact their futures like education and working toward achieving something most people would assume to be impossible. This movie’s ability to bluntly present issues like that made me like it because I hardly think fighting for so-called respect should be the main drive of young people today. Still, the movie consistently lost focus such as whenever it would refer to something ridiculous like “Twilight.” In my opinion, if such in-your-face spoof pictures should stay in their own universe. That glaring decision to show something so out of the blue was not only unfunny, it also reflects desperation. “Dance Flick” could have been so much more fun if it had its act together. After all, there are a lot of dance movies out there to make fun of because they take themselves too far. The difference between those and this movie is that “Dance Flick” knows it’s being ridiculous.

Creo que llegar a esta pregunta e intentar contestarla es la consecuencia lógica de los tres artículos anteriores de Vivir la Excelencia. Debo reconocer que, tanto el artículo “¿Por qué Dejar de Ser Mediocres?” como éste artículo, tienen títulos que podrían ser mal entendidos o tomados muy a pecho. Sin embargo, los presento porque considero que de vez en cuando no cae mal hacernos algunas preguntas, aunque sean un poco dolorosas, aunque no consideremos que se apliquen nuestra condición. Estas preguntas podrían incluir reflexiones como: ¿Soy mediocre o me comporto como una persona mediocre? Y si en alguna área de mi vida encuentro mediocridad, ¿por qué tendría que dejar esa condición? Y más aún: ¿Cómo puedo dejar de ser mediocre?, en caso de haberme dado cuenta de que lo soy.

La receta mágica es…

A ninguno de nosotros nos gusta la idea de pensar que somos mediocres, pero ya hemos dicho antes que la mediocridad es destructiva sólo cuando persistimos en ella, porque es entonces que iniciamos un inevitable descenso. Y persistimos en la mediocridad, cuando creemos que ya hemos alcanzado todo lo que podríamos haber alcanzado, es decir, cuando pensamos que no somos mediocres.

De alguna manera es paradójico que las personas de excelencia sientan que aún pueden dar más de sí (y de hecho, dan más de sí), mientras los mediocres creen que ya lo han dado todo, y mientras los fracasados lloran porque ellos nunca tuvieron mejores oportunidades de superarse. Con este panorama pintado en breves palabras, resulta interesante pensar que cuanto más me esfuerzo por demostrar que no soy mediocre, más me enredo en la mediocridad; pero cuando decidimos seguir la senda de la excelencia, lo que inevitablemente sucede es que dejamos de compararnos con los demás y comenzamos a crecer, a nuestro propio ritmo, es verdad, pero seguimos creciendo. Y entonces cabe preguntarnos: ¿Cómo puedo dejar de enredarme con la mediocridad para vivir la excelencia? ¿Hay alguna receta mágica? Y la receta mágica es… que no hay recetas mágicas para ser personas de excelencia, con calidad de vida y felices.

Aunque vivimos en una época de velocidad, lamento no poder unirme a las voces que oigo por aquí y por allá, dentro y fuera del internet, prometiendo una vida feliz y abundante después de 10 ó 15 pasos. No puedo unirme a los gurús que prometen que con sus cursos (algunos bastante costosos, por cierto) develarán los secretos del éxito, porque sus cursos son los definitivos, los que tienen las fórmulas mágicas para una vida de riqueza y prosperidad. Y no puedo unirme a esas voces que son tan abundantes, sencillamente porque la vida es todo un proceso para el que no existen los atajos. Con esto no estoy queriendo desacreditar la labor que hacen quienes intentan ayudar a los demás a mejorar, sólo quiero poner en perspectiva que una vida de excelencia es mucho más exigente que aplicar una fórmula, porque el ser excelente vive su vida en base a principios.

Así que, la manera que conozco para responder a la pregunta de nuestro artículo de hoy, es la siguiente:

1. Tener un ideal. Cuando tenemos ideales reconocemos que puede haber personas mejores y peores que nosotros, pero no importa, porque lo que nos ocupa es seguir avanzando en pos de nuestros sueños.

2. Cuidar nuestros hábitos. La creación y perfeccionamiento de un hábito es todo un proceso de preparación y crecimiento. Romper con hábitos nocivos requiere mucho valor. El punto es que nuestros hábitos decidirán nuestro destino.

3. Aprender e internalizar Principios de Vida. El amor, la integridad, la gratitud, la fidelidad, la virtud, entre otros, deben dejar de ser meros valores sociales y deben volver a su justo sitio de Principios guiadores (regidores). Y para que vuelvan a su justo sitio, los Principios deben ser estudiados, meditados, pensados e internalizados, sólo así permearan nuestra vida.

4. Desarrollar relaciones fuertes. Siempre hay personas con las que se puede crecer, porque uno es mejor estando junto a ellas. Y para andar la senda de la excelencia, ¿qué mejor que ir acompañado de alguien excelente?

5. Dejar un legado. Viktor Frankl dijo: “Cada hombre debe decidir, para bien o para mal, cuál será el monumento de su existencia”. Y la manera de dejar un legado duradero en aquellos que nos rodean es integrando los cuatro puntos anteriores. Eso nos impulsará a dejar nuestra huella y nos impedirá acomodarnos en el punto medio donde yacen los sueños de muchos que decidieron que ya habían hecho suficiente. Dejar un legado, es estar dispuestos a vivir todo el proceso de una vida significativa, con sus luchas, caídas y equivocaciones, con sus victorias, avances y aciertos.

No ha sido mi intención escribir los títulos de este artículo y del anterior para herir la sensibilidad de ninguno de mis lectores. Quizás sirva de disculpa decir que, como todos mis escritos anteriores, la primera persona para la que escribo es para mí. Mi deseo es que ésta serie de cuatro artículo haya servido para profundizar (o al menos intentar hacerlo) en este tema que nos puede afectar de una o de otra forma y que al pensar en ello hayamos podido encontrar nuevas ideas, tal vez nuevas fuerzas, para seguir avanzando hacia la cumbre que hemos vislumbrado para nuestra vida.

Una recomendación final: Tal vez sería muy bueno que leyeras desde el artículo “¿Qué es Ser Mediocre?” hasta el artículo de hoy en forma corrida. Así tendrías todo el cuadro completo en una sola leída. La razón por la que escribí 4 artículos sobre el tema de la mediocridad es porque me permitiría explayarme en unas pocas ideas en cada entrega.

Hasta la próxima entrega de Vivir la Excelencia.

Crank: High Voltage (2009)
★★ / ★★★★

At this point, I can enjoy just about any movie that Jason Statham stars in because even though most of them are mindless, they’re fun to watch. Statham is as charismatic as ever for his return as Chev Chelios, a hitman who gets caught up with gangsters who (literally) stole his heart. In order to survive, he must constantly charge his artificial heart which only lasts for about an hour. Half of the fun about this picture was the lead character trying to look for ways to charge his life force. The film is lewd, crude and downright crazy because even rubbing up against people could create enough electricity for him to survive. However, even I have to admit that I enjoyed this sequel less than the original for a few reasons. Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the writers and directors, brought back certain characters from the original only to kill them off almost instantly. When a character did come back and survived, the character was not utilized in such a way that they could push the film forward. Therefore, there were many points in the film when it felt stuck even though the characters were kinetic in purpose and movement. I liked the campiness of the film but there were also times when it was too campy. In fact, there was a scene when it tried to summon Godzilla parodies. As adventurous as it was, it was dead on arrival for me because the violence that was being portrayed on screen was not funny, which was unlike the rest of the movie when everything else was cartoonish. In fact, that fighting sequence should have been quite epic, in my opinion, despite Johnny Vang (Art Hsu) being a simple-minded henchmen, because Statham’s character spent more than half of the film trying to chase him. Other actors that returned were Amy Smart as the girlfriend, Dwight Yoakam as Doc Miles, Efren Ramirez as Venus (who played Kaylo in the first), and Keone Young as Don Kim. I enjoyed this film’s enthusiasm to entertain but I ultimately have to give it a mediocre rating because it needed to have more focus instead of just aiming to be all over the place. Even though the first one was crazy, it tried to tell a story. On the other hand, “Crank: High Voltage” just felt like a series of random scenes pasted together which did not make sense as a whole.

¡No puedo con esto! Estoy harta, hasta la madre de los dobles mensajes en mi vida… seguramente empezando por los que yo me digo a mí misma.

A veces me gustaría no darme cuenta de nada… hacer como que nada pasa, que todo está increíble y que la gente que me rodea es la mejor que puede estar en mi vida… pero esto no es cierto. Es una mentira que me vendo porque así me conviene, porque la verdad es dolorosa y se siente en lo más profundo de las entrañas… ellas no se equivocan.

Sé que tengo que poner límites, alejarme de gente que ya  no aporta lo que necesito a mi vida… es triste, pero en ocasiones los caminos se separan y sería mejor irlo entendiendo. No me puedo aferrar a algo que no es.

Ya basta de dobles mensajes… del “te amo, pero no puedo estar contigo”, “eres mi mejor amiga, pero no te hablo”, “te veo las chichis, pero somos amigos”, “crece, pero no nos dejes”, “consigue trabajo, pero vente un mes de vacaciones con nosotros”, “no me importa lo que hagas, pero echarte mirada asesina sí decides hacerlo”… ¡basta!

Sí, seguramente yo también lo hago… eso es lo que aprendí y estoy en proceso de re-aprender una forma distinta de decir y de hacer las cosas. Soy especialista en decir una cosa y sentir otra… desde el típico “¿cómo estás?… bien! (con sonrisa fingida en los labios)” hasta el “no importa, yo te quiero y acepto lo que sea…siempre con sonrisa y ojo vidrioso (sintiendo por dentro que me desgarro y que OBVIO sí me importa y NO acepto lo que sea).

Qué mediocre tener que conformarse por miedo a estar sola, por “perder” a ese “alguien” que en realidad nunca ha estado ahí para ti… cuando menos no de la forma que tú quisieras. Ya estuvo bueno de relaciones mediocres, en la que por miedo a la reacción del otr@ nos quedamos callados, aguantando y creyendo que va a mejorar… noticia de último minuto: NO MEJORA, si acaso, empeora.

Suficiente ha sido tener que ser un lindo tapetito para algun@s… ¡no más! Hoy ya no estoy dispuesta a conservar ninguna de esas relaciones… ¿lo que me sirve de consuelo? Saber que son la minoría de mis relaciones, porque la mayoría son gente que amo con todo mi corazón y estoy segura que es recíproco. La mayoría son relaciones donde el dar y tomar está equilibrado y no estoy dispuesta a seguir “amando de más”.

Ni hablar, siento una profunda tristeza, pero todo tiene un límite y hoy… toqué el mío.

It was time to get to the next main island. Not even considering a ferry ride now, I flew out of Coron on another one of those small propeller planes. The view was stunning as usual.

It was my last propeller plane ride of the trip.

My next stop was Moalboal in Cebu. The most interesting thing that happened was that I had tropical fruit pancakes for breakfast. I kid you not. Aside from the pancake place (very aptly called Last Filling Station), there wasn’t good food to be had in walking distance.

The diving was boring, as I had a mediocre dive guide who couldn’t even take care of himself let alone me. He didn’t point out anything at all. Once he saw a whaleshark but didn’t even bother to signal me and upon surfacing asked me whether I saw it. (Obviously not.) When I spotted what looked like a blue-ring octopus (neon blue pulsing rings anyone?) he told me it was a fish.

Para abordar la pregunta que da título a nuestro artículo de hoy es necesario recapitular un poco. En la entrega “¿Qué es Ser Mediocre?”, hemos dicho que podemos definir la mediocridad como conformismo: conformarnos con lo de media calidad, con lo normal, con llegar al menos a la mitad de la montaña. Y en el escrito “El Problema Real de la Mediocridad” hemos enfatizado que tomar esa actitud conformista es condenarnos inevitablemente a entrar en una espiral descendente de conformismo, fatalismo, negatividad y quejas, y he allí el problema real de ser mediocres.

¿Por qué?

Seamos francos, el mediocre tiene sus ventajas. De nuevo, no intento defender lo indefendible, sólo trato de poner en perspectiva la razón por la que hay que dejar de ser mediocres, y para ello, qué mejor forma que sondear las ventajas que tiene la mediocridad, luego sus desventajas y luego nuestras conclusiones.

¿Qué ventajas puede ofrecer la mediocridad? Si lo pensamos bien, el mediocre ha logrado cosas que el fracasado e indolente nunca ha intentado o soñado si quiera con hacer. Nadie podría acusar a una persona mediocre de no haber intentado algo, porque aunque llegan sólo a la mitad de la montaña, encuentran bastante seguridad psicológica para decirse a sí mismos que al menos lo intentaron. Además, el mediocre no siente sobre sí la presión de tener que avanzar hacia la excelencia, porque al medirse con los fracasados, se ve a sí mismo en una mejor posición, por lo que se siente conforme y en paz consigo mismo. El mediocre tiene buenos empleos, generalmente fijos, con buenos salarios. Seguro que tiene ahorrado algo en el banco y aunque trabaja horas extras, le queda algo de tiempo para salir con su familia o amigos. También es muy educado, tiene una o dos carreras, una maestría y sabe hablar dos o tres idiomas.

Lo curioso es que las desventajas de la mediocridad surgen de las mismas ventajas que tiene, y esto es mucho más evidente si lo comparamos con los seres de excelencia. En esencia el ser excelente lo es por su constante ansia de crecimiento; no se preocupa por medirse con los demás, porque se mide con los ideales y estos siempre sobrepasan cualquier altura a la que creamos haber llegado. El ser excelente también estudia, pero tener un doctorado no es un prerrequisito para la excelencia, pues hay personas de excelencia que nunca han pisado una universidad. Mientras que el mediocre se contenta con al menos haber intentado algo, el ser excelente sabe que no está aquí sólo para pasar por la vida, sino para dejar un legado constructivo, un legado que inspire a las nuevas generaciones a dar lo mejor de sí. Tal vez la persona de excelencia no tenga un empleo fijo o buenos salarios, puede ser que incluso le toque padecer un poco de hambre, pero no por eso renuncia a sus sueños, pues esos sueños son su fuerza para seguir avanzando sin importar los obstáculos. Lo que hace a una persona un ser excelente son sus cualidades, sus ideales, su compromiso con sus sueños, entre otras cosas. Si tiene dinero, bien; y si no, bien también…

En conclusión.

Seguro que hay muchos huecos en la entrega de hoy, pero lo que he intentado es contrastar aquello que parecen ventajas de la mediocridad con la vida de constante búsqueda de la excelencia, para que respondamos personalmente a esa pregunta “¿por qué dejar de ser mediocres?”

Pero si me permiten un par de ideas, me gustaría sugerir que hay que dejar de ser mediocres porque…

… sólo así podremos ver alturas que antes no veíamos.

… dejaremos de compararnos con los demás para medirnos con los ideales de una vida con sentido.

… seremos felices al reconocer nuestra responsabilidad sobre lo que nos sucede.

… seguiremos avanzando por la senda de la excelencia, mientras el mediocre comienza su inevitable descenso.

Por eso, y por muchas razones que seguro ya has pensado, mi querido lector y mi querida lectora, hay que avanzar más allá de la mediocridad.

Hasta pronto y recuerda dejar tus comentarios a continuación…

10. Adam Aylmer

Adam stopped skating probably like 7 years ago or so. Every time I hang out with him I mention skating hoping that he will suddenly decide that skateboarding is cool again. Adam you should come back!

9. JUMA

Justin and Matt are super rad! They are more Mediocre then I am and remind me of the good old days. They also share most of my feelings on skateboarding and life. I know that I will continue to skate with these guys in the future I just want it to be more often! I will be moving closer to their side of town soon!

8. Corey Ruslink

Of course I miss Big Red and I loved to skate with this guy! I don’t see what San Diego has that I don’t?? I can make your days sunny just come back to Texas and Skate! Corey was always a good time on the board. When you visit we have to skate!!!

7. Matt English

Next to Jesse Grubbs, I skate with Matt the most out of anyone on this list. He has once again came out of retirement to stand along side the Mediocre Crew again. This kid has always ripped and always made me wish I was better. He gets me up for the AM sessions and has done the bowling thing from time to time! Lets skate more! Lets film skate parts and put them to weird country music!

6. Dillon Forgy

Dill Dawg is the most fun you can have on a skateboard! This dude is pure motivation! Whenever we skate he does something that blows my mind. Not to mention he ain’t afraid to skate naked! Call me and lets skate! (I might even hit up Lewisville)

5. Mack Dafoe

Mack is like working on 7 different videos as I write this down. I just want to make it in one!! Mack is a humble, funny, positive, rad skateboarder that I think makes me better when I skate with him! Lets skate!

4. Aaron Baugh

Baugh is the reason that I am skating in the first place! So he should stay the reason I skate on a regular basis! You can crash on my couch anytime!

3. Sparky

I hate Florida for stealing Sparky! He pushed me to skate my best everyday at Havik. This guy was always so rad and so under rated. I want to beat him in a game of skate! Come back to Texas and grow back your Mustache!

2. Chris Ebling

I hate Arkansas! Chris was my ticket back to the big game! He invented the AM game. He made me skate. If Baugh is the guy that started me skating then Chris is the guy who saved me from being one of those “I used to skateboard” guys. Come back home Chris!! Texas, Skateboarding, and I miss you!

1. Shane Darnell

Shane Darnell and I have a heated past. We have known each other for at least 10 years. Very few people in this world know each other that long and very few people skate that long. We have managed to do both. Over the past few years we have slowly moved farther and farther apart. Maybe most of it is me being intimidated by the master filmer/skater that Shane is. Shane if you read this lets skate that ledge out in GP, lets skate anywhere we can before me knees give out!

Honorable Mention: Josh Rowe, Joel Hodges, Colin Gayle, Danny O’Shea, Josh Tenny, Lance Canoy, Dan, Jeff Webster, Jesse Grubbs ( Who is the guy I officially skate with the most!) Josh Love, David, Coady Merryman, Cullen, Sturgeon, and everyone else!

Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Islamofascist psychiatric Army physician accused of murdering 13, and wounding 29 other soldiers and civilians at Fort Hood, TX recently, was described by former colleagues and professors at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center as lazy, mediocre and “psychotic.”

The Associated Press is reporting that the source spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the incident, and wrote that Dr. Hasan “had a reputation for being a mediocre student and lazy worker.” The AP is also reporting that Dr. Hasan “as a psychiatrist in training was belligerent, defensive and argumentative in his frequent discussions of his Muslim faith.”

NPR is reporting that because of a “cumbersome and lengthy process for expelling doctors, involving hearings and potential legal battles,” Walter Reed Army officials and others “decided it would be too difficult, if not unfeasible, to put Hasan on probation and possibly expel him from the program.”

Published reports from the AP, NPR and others indicated that Army officials and others were:

• concerned of potential fratricide

• concerned of treason potential if deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan

• from Spring 2008 to Spring 2009 fellow physicians questioned whether Hasan was “psychotic” and mentally fit to be an Army psychiatrist;

and reported that Dr. Hasan was:

• described as disconnected, aloof, paranoid, belligerent and “schizoid”

• “as a psychiatrist in training was belligerent, defensive and argumentative in his frequent discussions of his Muslim faith”

• repeatedly given poor evaluations and warned about substandard work

• “behavior…  perceived as intense and combative”

Because Dr. Hasan’s actions are not presently linked to external terrorist networks, he will be tried in a Courts Martial, rather than a civilian court.

Doubtless, there will be changes to Army, governmental and civil procedures as a result of this man’s actions – as well they should.

* UPDATE * 11/15/09

At this juncture, I predict that Dr. Hasan’s defense will use the Insanity Defense – his colleagues attest to witnessing his behavior over a period of time that points to serious mental derangement – and am concerned of the possibility that he could very well be found “not guilty.” Concerning the mass murders, I think such actions were once called “Criminal Insanity.” Regardless of any trial or outcome, I sincerely doubt he’ll walk the streets as a free man again.

Sometimes you got to get back to your roots. This blog was all about myself and this moustache! Now the mustache owns me. I am merely an accessory  to this fine moustache! I am just glad that this mustache keeps me around or is satisfied with my choice of clothes to wear. When my moustache is grumpy it can throw my whole day into the gutter. So here is a shout out to my friend, my companion, and my supreme ruler. I love you , Mustache!

P.S. Google mustache or moustache and see how long it takes you to find me!!!!

Well known middle-of-the-road pop-funk, adult contemporary band the Red Hot Chili Peppers have recently created a school for children who want to make safe, mediocre music. The Silverlake Conservatory of Music is headed by legendary bass-soloist “Flea”, who is known for slapping his bass guitar with one hand while holding the strings of his bass against the frets of his bass guitar in a method of bass playing called “slapping” or “ruining a song”. Flea harkened back to his days of higher learning, “In high school and after high school, I was heading for disaster. I was on drugs; I was robbing people’s houses; I was wild on the street.” He said.

Experts are torn on whether the students will be taught how to play music that borrows heavily from other, cooler music, or if they will be taught how to write and play the same song and then live on that one song for their whole life. “There are various ways that children can emulate the RHCP” Said an unnamed source within the music industry, “I mean, what better way to teach high school poetry than by going through the Chili Peppers discography? I mean, other than that early phase with that gibberish rapping, there’s a lot of stuff that young children will be able to relate to with their simple minds and lack of experience with the world.”

Children have reacted in much the same way as audiences have over the past two decades when faced with the Chili Peppers’ music. “My mom recently played me some Red Hot Chili Peppers around the house. I liked some of it, but some of it I didn’t like so much.” Said precocious young truth-teller Leo Dacter, who may or may not be suspended for telling it how it is.

Link to Original CNN Article

ategory: Religion and Philosophy

Ignorance is the root of all evil. Absolute ignorance corrupts absolutely. Knowledge is power. Ignorance is weakness.

While there are other factors besides ignorance that force people into poverty we should acknowledge that knowledge is power and ignorance is weakness. Looking at the social spectrum from that point of view it’s easy to recognize that if you’re too fucking stupid to speak a coherent sentence you’re obviously too weak mentally to raise yourself out of poverty. However, the issue is much more complicated than that, because stupidity isn’t black and white. People tend to think you’re either stupid or you’re not, and of course, nobody thinks they’re stupid. Truth is, stupidity is a sliding scale. The 38 year old Forrest Gump clone at the gas station down the street from my office with nose hair as long as my cat’s tail is close to the bottom end of the scale. Yes, it’s insensitive to mock semi-retarded people, but his case does prove a valid point. Because of his limited mental capacity he’ll never achieve financial success. At least he has an excuse though.

Today I want to talk about the people inthe middle of the scale. These are also people just smart enough to hold a mediocre job but not smart enough to change the world. We’ll call them “the middle class.” While stupidity isn’t the only reason a major portion of society floats on the surface of the economic toilet bowl like a layer of stagnant, week old piss film, it is the primary reason for a lot of people, and unless we understand the dynamics of this phenomenon we’ll not be able to overcome it…at least those of us who have the mental capacity to but just haven’t yet fulfilled our potential. For those of us who were just born half dumb, take solace in the fact that your race (as in running, not skin color) is half as long as everyone else’s, and your burden is half as heavy.

Anyway, everybody in the rat race envies those ahead of them, which often translates into resentment. But let’s be honest with ourselves. Don’t you also resent (just a little bit maybe) those below you? You busted your ass for what you’ve got. Nobody gave you a hand out. The only loophole in the system you were able to find to sneak you to the next level up was hard fucking work. If you did it why can’t the people below you do it? Is there some magical force preventing them from working 60 hour work weeks at a job they hate and never owning anything of quality while everyone else around you has the latest and fanciest new cell phones, home entertainment systems, SUVs, and designer clothes? Well, take your own medicine, because that’s exactly how the rich perceive the middle class…except they don’t resent how little you’ve worked. They know you’ve worked hard. They resent how little you’ve thought.

Yeah, it sucks that daddy didn’t pay for your college. It sucks that in order to build good credit you have to go into debt, which is easy for rich people and difficult for middle class people. It sucks that the idiot next door got to retire off of his inheritance while no matter how hard you work probably won’t die with enough money to pass on a decent inheritance. It sucks that you can’t win the lottery when a different poor, irresponsible, alcoholic felon gets to win every couple of months. But can you really pass all the buck off on God? Could it be that some people are stuck in the middle class because they have middle class minds? Hard work will only get you so far in life. If you want a brilliant life you either need brilliant luck or a brilliant mind. You’ve got to work smarter, not harder.

Everything I said in my blog about why dumb people are often poor also applies to the middle class. However, the solution to getting out of poverty and into the middle class requires common sense. Getting out of the middle class and into the upper class requires some level of genius. You’ll live a normal life by thinking normal thoughts. You’ll live an amazing life by thinking amazing thoughts. Do you think amazing, different, creative, groundbreaking, futuristic thoughts? Are you constantly challenging the status quo? Or are you constantly defending it? In any given conversation are you more likely to defend your position against attacks or are you more likely to be attacking other people’s ideas? Mavericks are always considered bad guys until their ideas change the world. Then all the normal people act like they believed them all along. Do you think your ideas and culture are the best in the world? Are you conservative? If so then you’re not a maverick. You’re a defender. You’re normal. You’ll always be status quo, and you will never drastically change your life much less the fate of the world. In fact, you fill fight to keep things as they are…ironically, complaining the whole time that things aren’t better. This is my problem with the middle class. If your world were an ice cream store you’d only sell vanilla. Fuck you. I like mint chocolate chip.

Having talked so much shit about the mediocre class you may be interested to know that I’m much more pissed off at the upper class.

How good a song is

Graph by: ovechkin-chucknorris via Graph Jam Builder

Eu.

Estatelada na frente da TV.

Ingerindo falso moralismo, alienando-me em lixos sociais.

Vendo uma sociedade idiota reprimindo nossos pensamentos, querendo que deixemos de ser seres humanos para sermos exemplos para uma sociedade em decadência.

Ou não?

Não, não, uma sociedade que nem está próxima do fim de sua existência! Porque apesar de passeatas, caras pintadas continua a mesma hipocrisia.

Políticos, padres, pais, não dão a mínima ao que dizemos.

Falam que somos uma juventude alienada, que só queremos fazer barulho para agredi-los.

Essa sociedade medíocre vai continuar a existir porque não somos alienados nem barulhentos o suficiente para mudá-la.

Tenho nojo de mim!

Porque no fundo de minha alma eu me acomodo com essa situação.

A mediocridade passa por mim e eu não faço nada, absolutamente nada.

Adormeço na podridão de meus pensamentos e na indignação de minha existência.

Repudio esta sociedade, mas sei que faço parte dela.

Parte de uma sociedade frágil, ignorante e sarcástica.

Quanta ironia!

*Publicado em 05/06/2009

We’re all told when we’re kids that one day there will be something we’re really good at. Our talent. Our special thing. All we have to do is find out what it is….

What a load of shit.

But we’re kids. And kids are idiots aren’t they? They’re so gullible they believe anything.

They believe a fat guy, with a white beard in a red suit flies around the world in one night, goes into children’s bedrooms and doesn’t even touch them inappropriately.

They believe that when their tooth falls out, it’s actually worth money! And that a fairy comes around in the middle of the night, and collects it! Like some kind of underground nocturnal, slightly paedophilic ivory trade.

What do they think this so-called fairy does with the teeth? Peddle them on the black market? Who to? Baby piano makers? Fine purveyors of disgusting charm bracelets for midgets?

No, it’s much more believable that we have a special talent, and we just have to find out what it is! Then we’ll win gold medals, or play in World Cup finals. Then we’ll be an international pop star, be on Cribs, date movie stars, have a well publicised affair with the nanny, or flash our pants to paparazzi getting out of limousines.

You know… The dream.

That’s why so many idiots try out for X Factor, isn’t it? The bloody “dream”.

“I just want to make a better life for my kids.”

Umm, then go home and look after them! Don’t leave them with their Gran while you try to win a souped up karaoke competition. Which if by some miracle you manage to win, you will be flown all over the world – well, driven around London in a Black Cab – while your kids sit at home reading about all your previous sexual exploits in The Sun.

“Daddy what’s a blow job? And why were you giving one in the toilets of an Essex nightclub?”

And they’re always crying aren’t they?

“I just can’t go back to my normal life after this, I just don’t want this dream to be over.”

Jesus! Put a lid on it! In no time you’ll be back in Blackpool, busking for pennies on the pier, and getting drunk to numb the pain of your broken dreams like the rest of us.

Because frankly, the closest most of us will get to being the next Mariah Carey is warbling Dreamlover at your local karaoke night… in an outfit you borrowed from a hooker.

And guys, the closest you’ll get to being David Beckham is being forced to wear the metrosexual shirt your wife got you, while you acknowledge to yourself that your best years are clearly behind you, and try to remember where you left your testicles.

But why do we have to feel like failures for being normal? Why can’t we just be happy to be average? Why can’t we just accept that we’re mediocre and that’s OK?

I mean gone are the days when you were happy to take an apprenticeship with the local cobbler, or candlestick maker, and married buck-toothed Jenny, the vicar’s daughter. Partly because we don’t live in a Dickens novel.  And partly because we all aspire to be more than we are.

And if you can’t be bothered striving for this elusive dream, people are always calling it settling, don’t they?

He’s settling for that job at Mcdonalds, despite the fact he left school at 15, and is semi-illiterate.

She’s settling for Wayne Rooney’s ugly cousin, despite the fact she closely resembles a bulldog in appearance, body odour, and drool control.

Well, maybe it’s not settling, it’s just not being a greedy fucker. Not overreaching beyond our humble capabilities. Accepting our own crapness. Fishing in our own, slightly contaminated pool.

Think about it. Not everyone can come first, or win the prize. And yet we always celebrate winners – like it’s not enough that they have all the talent. They have to get all the prizes too?

I think there should be prizes for mediocrity. Inspiring people to the greatest heights, nay eschelons of mediocrity.

Just imagine it, the Mediocre Awards, or the Crappys, hosted by Jamie Theakston and Kerry Katona. The hosts will be dressed in George by Asda, with all the guests sipping on Tesco brand Spumante. Mmm, tangy.

The Crappy’s would be the height of mediocre entertainment. Everyone who is no longer anyone, would be there. There’d be a live performance by Gareth Gates, and special appearances by, 5ive, S Club 7 and Hear’Say – all reforming just for the occasion. They’d be lipsyncing of course, but at least they’d be giving it a go.

“The first award for the night would go to Sarah, for working in a call centre for an entire year, without swearing at any customers or management, or gunning down all her colleagues in a Falling Down style rampage.”

“Our next award goes to Josie, for getting into Textile Management at Croydon Tech because she achieved the prerequisite D in English and Basic Maths, and remembered to submit her application form.”

“The award for best actor goes to Ted, who in one evening told his girlfriend that her bum looked great in her jeans, she was a great cook, and that he quite liked watching Sex and the City, even though they were all blatant lies so he’d get his end away. And he did. What an inspiration.”

“And our final award goes to Kevin, for managing to successfully call in sick to work 3 days in a month without raising suspicion that he was actually hung over on every occasion, and spent all 3 days playing play station and smoking bongs.”

“Oh, unfortunately Kevin isn’t here to accept his award, he is apparently ill tonight.”