One of Los Angeles' most well-known suburbs is Glendale. It's approximately 15 minutes away from downtown Los Angeles, that is without traffic, with traffic it may be up to an hour if not more. It's a beautiful town that is comparatively big to other towns in California. Glendale contains the Americana at Brand Mall. Many celebrities go there to shop, meet up with friends, or simply just to hang out at the lovely mall.
Glendale is also one of those cities near Los Angeles that seem to have a lower crime rate. I personally stayed in Glendale for a couple days and I'll tell you, I've never felt as if anything bad was going to happen to me when I went on my runs. Some other places in California I would say different but Glendale is not one of those places.
The location is perfect. It's a nice distance from other larger cities, however it's not necessary to leave the town as there are many markets, theaters, restaurants, etc within the city of Glendale. It could be compared to North Liberty (Iowa), Odessa (Texas), Mount Pleasant (South Carolina) as those towns are growing and starting to become big or more well known.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Calabasas
Another place in California is Calabasas. Anyone who watches Keeping Up With The Kardashians (KUWTK) or has played the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game would have heard of or seen the word Calabasas. That is the place where the Kardashian-Jenner house resides as well as the home of Kourtney and her husband, Scott, along with her son, Mason and daughter Penelope.
The houses in Calabasas are ginormous and a bit pricey as well. They can range from half a million to even eight million, which is a ton of money if I do say so myself. Granted these houses have numerous bedrooms and about twice as many bathrooms, additionally there are many other aspects of these homes that add to the price. Some of those may include a pool/ hot tub, the complexity of the outer anterior of the house, the land acreage, and simply just the label of living in one of the most popular places in California. I would compare the label of living in Calabasas to Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Hollywood, and Compton where if people heard that you lived in that place, they would assume you live a comfortable lifestyle.
The houses in Calabasas are ginormous and a bit pricey as well. They can range from half a million to even eight million, which is a ton of money if I do say so myself. Granted these houses have numerous bedrooms and about twice as many bathrooms, additionally there are many other aspects of these homes that add to the price. Some of those may include a pool/ hot tub, the complexity of the outer anterior of the house, the land acreage, and simply just the label of living in one of the most popular places in California. I would compare the label of living in Calabasas to Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Hollywood, and Compton where if people heard that you lived in that place, they would assume you live a comfortable lifestyle.
Kardashians/ Jenners
It was going to happen sometime, writing about the Kardashians and the Jenners. They were mentioned a little bit in the tab named 'Calabasas'. Watching KUWTK and following them on social media, I think I know quite a bit about them. Granted, the media might portray each of the family members in a certain way, but I will personally tell you what I think of all the members.
Starting off with Kris Kardashian/Jenner. I don't know what her last name is currently as her and former husband, Bruce Jenner, got a divorce after about 20 years of being married. I personally think Kris is a brat and I feel like she is not rational at all and basically all she does is waste money and complain. I feel like Kris is very superficial and only cares about showing the world how much money they have and in a way kind of brag that they are one of the few wealthiest families.
The oldest Kardashian, Kourtney, along with Khloe, might be the only normal Kardashians who don't get on my nerves. All that Kourtney does is focus on her family which includes Mason, Penelope, and soon to be baby as well as her long-time boyfriend or maybe even husband, Scott. Kourtney and Scott's relationship is a legit roller coaster, one day their all lovey-dovey and the next they may be arguing or not even talking. It is evident that Kourtney really cares about her kids, YouTube her and her kids with the paparazzis- you will see she's protective of her kids (as every mother should be).
Second to the oldest is Kim. The reason why she's famous was because of a sex tape, after she got quite a bit of money she started making her own clothing line, with the help of her sisters, and modeling, and eventually got KUWTK. On the show all she does is be ungrateful for what she has and keeps just wanting more instead of finding satisfaction in things she already has. However she has really changed since dating Kanye and having her own child.
Last girl Kardashian is my favorite, Khloe. She's a badass to say the least. Basically the definition to best older sister to both of the Jenners as well as the best aunt to all of her nieces and nephews. Her opinions are truthful despite if it may not be the "most appropriate" but at least they are honest. She lives her life the way she wants, not the way the media wants her to be. She's even mentioned in Berzerk by Eminem, it wasn't a good thing, but still, most people just talk about Kim or about Kourtney and Scott/ their relationship however I feel as if people forget about Khloe.
Keeping Up With The Kardashians is a really entertaining TV series, which is available on Netflix. These are my personal opinions of the Kardashians, however just watching a show doesn't really depict how the person actually is, however on the other hand it might be 100% accurate.
Starting off with Kris Kardashian/Jenner. I don't know what her last name is currently as her and former husband, Bruce Jenner, got a divorce after about 20 years of being married. I personally think Kris is a brat and I feel like she is not rational at all and basically all she does is waste money and complain. I feel like Kris is very superficial and only cares about showing the world how much money they have and in a way kind of brag that they are one of the few wealthiest families.
The oldest Kardashian, Kourtney, along with Khloe, might be the only normal Kardashians who don't get on my nerves. All that Kourtney does is focus on her family which includes Mason, Penelope, and soon to be baby as well as her long-time boyfriend or maybe even husband, Scott. Kourtney and Scott's relationship is a legit roller coaster, one day their all lovey-dovey and the next they may be arguing or not even talking. It is evident that Kourtney really cares about her kids, YouTube her and her kids with the paparazzis- you will see she's protective of her kids (as every mother should be).
Second to the oldest is Kim. The reason why she's famous was because of a sex tape, after she got quite a bit of money she started making her own clothing line, with the help of her sisters, and modeling, and eventually got KUWTK. On the show all she does is be ungrateful for what she has and keeps just wanting more instead of finding satisfaction in things she already has. However she has really changed since dating Kanye and having her own child.
Last girl Kardashian is my favorite, Khloe. She's a badass to say the least. Basically the definition to best older sister to both of the Jenners as well as the best aunt to all of her nieces and nephews. Her opinions are truthful despite if it may not be the "most appropriate" but at least they are honest. She lives her life the way she wants, not the way the media wants her to be. She's even mentioned in Berzerk by Eminem, it wasn't a good thing, but still, most people just talk about Kim or about Kourtney and Scott/ their relationship however I feel as if people forget about Khloe.
Keeping Up With The Kardashians is a really entertaining TV series, which is available on Netflix. These are my personal opinions of the Kardashians, however just watching a show doesn't really depict how the person actually is, however on the other hand it might be 100% accurate.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Same Sex Marriage
I recently watched the 'Take Me to Church' music video this week and it honestly I was overcome with emotions. This song plays on the radio all the time, in fact that is actually how I found this song, however watching the music video made me sick and want to cry. The storyline of the video is about two guys in a happy relationship that abruptly gets interrupted when a gang finds out about the two and tries to kill one of them. If you haven't watched the video I'll post the link here. It ends with one of the men who was in the relationship being beat up by the other group of men.
It wasn't the guy-on-guy contact that truly disgusted me, it was the fact that the gang of other men didn't want them to be together. The happy gay couple did absolutely nothing to those other guys, and yet one of them were beat up. I know it's just a music video but I can guarantee you that things like this happen all the time in different parts of the United States, as well as in other countries but they just aren't publicized.
Beating up someone for something they can't help but feel is wrong. The United States is known for having the opportunity to be "free" however people are still not free to love who they love unless it's opposite gender love. It may be just me, but that does not sound like freedom to me. I know a lot of gay people from working at my job and they are just like any one of my friends- funny, sarcastic, and loving. Having those people be ashamed of what they feel is wrong. They shouldn't have the need to have this stigma of being gay sitting on their shoulder. I'm all for equality between sexual orientations. I hope someday all 50 states in America will legalize same-sex marriage so we can maybe influence other countries to do the same.
There are only 33 states that have same-sex marriage law however more than half of them were just recently passed this year. To tie this into my blog, I'm proud to say that California was one of the first ten states to allow gay marriage. I am all for same-sex marriage because people can help who they like, and I believe it is morally wrong to try to have a gay person "act straight". If you try to switch the roles and have a straight person to act gay, they would most likely say that it's gross or they would plain out just ignore the suggestion. However what straight people don't understand is that it is the same concept to them.
Lakers [Update]
I wrote about the Los Angeles Lakers last week, I believe, and just about a week ago (week ago) the lakers were like 0-4, however just yesterday at work my co worker notified me that they have won one game this season, and their record for this season is 1-9. The game they won was on November 9, 2014 against the Charlotte Hornets. The final score being Lakers 107- Hornets 92. I don't know the reason behind of the terrible start to the season because the lakers have won many championships, I guess 2014 isn't their year.
Things I don't quite like about California
First off- the traffic. Honestly many people who has heard of California traffic but hasn't been in it, is really is worse than it sounds. Especially near those larger cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego where the traffic is so bad you can park your car for 5 minutes because you would only have moved a foot. When we touched down in California at the LAX airport last summer, we were greeted by my aunt, we quickly got something to eat and then went on our merry way to San Diego. It's a two and a half hour drive from Los Angeles to San Diego, and with the traffic, it took 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
UnSuperMomma. Make Aheads Part 3: Oatmeal Balls. 2013. N.p.
But seriously though, my aunt lives about 15 minutes from UCSD and when I visited the university we left the house an hour before just in case there was any traffic what-so-ever. There happened to not have really bad traffic and even had about 20 minutes to go sightseeing or just plainly drive around the area a little bit.
Secondly, parking. Finding a parking spot is a gift basically. It's like when you're going to a concert and you don't go super early and get the "closest" parking spot you can find which is like two states away, that's what it feels like anyway. From living in a small town, the issue of not being to find any parking was really frustrating. Honestly, if I do get accepted to UCSD or UCLA, I will most likely always have a longboard, penny board or just a normal skateboard, for those times where I'm in a bit of a crunch time and can't find parking.
Lastly the thing that I'll miss most if I were to move to California will be the nice people in my area. It's really hard to find a genuinely nice person in larger cities, who don't expect anything from you. For example in the airport in my town, they're all like "Have fun in _____!" or "Welcome home." whereas California won't acknowledge you or aren't as friendly. However that's just how I was treated, I can't characterize the whole state of being that way.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
[Side Note of Santa Monica] Kevin from Cheddars
One of my coworkers has recently told me something I didn't know before. He told me that he was originally from Santa Monica, California and we talked about it for at least five minutes. He shared that he loved everything about it, even living there for seven years. I was surprised he said if he had the money, he would visit because he misses the beach, the pier, the stores, etc. That amazes me that even after seven years of living in an area that a person wouldn't get tired of it. I think that really shows how amazing California is and I know it may seem really over-rated, but I'm telling you the truth- California is addicting, the weather is beautiful, the beaches are perfect, and there are a never-ending list of things to do. :)
L.A Love
I'm sure almost everyone knows Stacy Ann Ferguson or also known as Fergie. Those who know about her may be wondering why she hasn't been playing on the radio or where she has been for a while. However just recently in the last month she has released a single, L.A. Love that is playing on most of the pop radio stations.
This song is so catchy, the tune and the beat-everything will be stuck in your head. Even the first time I heard the song playing on the radio, I was immediately addicted and hooked. All I wanted to do was get the name of the song so I can play it over and over until I get utterly tired from listening to the song. It wasn't until after the song finished when the radio host said the song was sung by Fergie that I really started freaking out. One reason being it's Fergie, and it's been a while since she has released a single and the second being that it's a song, about California (Los Angeles) and I have a weird obsession with anything and everything Cali.
I attached the video so those who aren't familiar with the song can listen to it and understand what I'm saying. Even if you heard the song and didn't pay any attention to the lyrics, I'm certain that you would feel nothing but positive vibes. Everytime I listen to this song brings me back to having fun in California and it also makes me feel the way I felt every time I visited- which is a surreal kind of happiness. This is a kind of happy that is hard to not smile or hard to get the butterflies out of your stomach.
Listening to the song you can hear all of these places like Tokyo, London, Paris, New York, Miami, etc and it maybe hard to follow. The song basically says all these places know of LA, which is true, there are many movies, television shows, as well as music videos that are shot in California, or in Hollywood that are watched by people from all over the world. They may not know where the location is at in California but I'm sure they know that it's in Cali.
This song is so catchy, the tune and the beat-everything will be stuck in your head. Even the first time I heard the song playing on the radio, I was immediately addicted and hooked. All I wanted to do was get the name of the song so I can play it over and over until I get utterly tired from listening to the song. It wasn't until after the song finished when the radio host said the song was sung by Fergie that I really started freaking out. One reason being it's Fergie, and it's been a while since she has released a single and the second being that it's a song, about California (Los Angeles) and I have a weird obsession with anything and everything Cali.
I attached the video so those who aren't familiar with the song can listen to it and understand what I'm saying. Even if you heard the song and didn't pay any attention to the lyrics, I'm certain that you would feel nothing but positive vibes. Everytime I listen to this song brings me back to having fun in California and it also makes me feel the way I felt every time I visited- which is a surreal kind of happiness. This is a kind of happy that is hard to not smile or hard to get the butterflies out of your stomach.
Listening to the song you can hear all of these places like Tokyo, London, Paris, New York, Miami, etc and it maybe hard to follow. The song basically says all these places know of LA, which is true, there are many movies, television shows, as well as music videos that are shot in California, or in Hollywood that are watched by people from all over the world. They may not know where the location is at in California but I'm sure they know that it's in Cali.
Hollywood, California
Many people have heard or know of Hollywood California as it contains many tourist sights to see. If you talk to 10 random people from all over the world who want to visit California, I'm highly certain that more than half of those people would agree to say they want to go to Hollywood. There are many places even within Hollywood that many people know, two of the most famous places are the sign and the sidewalk that contains famous names on stars.
The Hollywood Sign
There are a bunch of movies, television shows, and music videos that shows or mentions the Hollywood sign. One movie in particular that I remember has the sign is Friends With Benefits with Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. In the movie, Justin's character takes Mila to the Hollywood sign and Mila's character then jumps over the fence to climb up the sign and chill in one of the letters. Then moments after the two of them were sitting, there were police trying to get them down via their helicopter. I'm sure there are many rules and maybe even some laws against hopping the fence and getting up close to the sign or going on the sign as it does bring many people from all over the world to look at it. They wouldn't spend that much money as they did making the sign to have it ruined by vandalism or something along those lines. The sign sits on the top of a hill where you can see a lot of California which is amazing and breathtaking (for me at least). The bottom below was taken at the top of the (driveable) hill and in the far distance you can see in small letters 'Hollywood'. I think the only way to get closer to the sign is to hike. Still from the distance we were at, the view was incredible.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
On Hollywood Blvd for a couple blocks there are stars on the streets of famous actors, actresses, musicians, who are well known will have their name on a star. There are also pictures that indicate what the person did, like a famously known singer might have a microphone or an actress or actor might have a film camera. It's a really cool experience to walk the streets and look at all of the famous people and what they do/did. When went here in 2012 I only took one picture due to having a set time schedule and it was ticking fast and we didn't have that much time to really look at the stars and take a picture of all our favorites. As you can tell with this picture there are a couple more feet in the corners of the picture, there were a bunch of people looking at the stars which comes to show this place is very busy and attracts many people .
The Hollywood Sign
There are a bunch of movies, television shows, and music videos that shows or mentions the Hollywood sign. One movie in particular that I remember has the sign is Friends With Benefits with Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. In the movie, Justin's character takes Mila to the Hollywood sign and Mila's character then jumps over the fence to climb up the sign and chill in one of the letters. Then moments after the two of them were sitting, there were police trying to get them down via their helicopter. I'm sure there are many rules and maybe even some laws against hopping the fence and getting up close to the sign or going on the sign as it does bring many people from all over the world to look at it. They wouldn't spend that much money as they did making the sign to have it ruined by vandalism or something along those lines. The sign sits on the top of a hill where you can see a lot of California which is amazing and breathtaking (for me at least). The bottom below was taken at the top of the (driveable) hill and in the far distance you can see in small letters 'Hollywood'. I think the only way to get closer to the sign is to hike. Still from the distance we were at, the view was incredible.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
On Hollywood Blvd for a couple blocks there are stars on the streets of famous actors, actresses, musicians, who are well known will have their name on a star. There are also pictures that indicate what the person did, like a famously known singer might have a microphone or an actress or actor might have a film camera. It's a really cool experience to walk the streets and look at all of the famous people and what they do/did. When went here in 2012 I only took one picture due to having a set time schedule and it was ticking fast and we didn't have that much time to really look at the stars and take a picture of all our favorites. As you can tell with this picture there are a couple more feet in the corners of the picture, there were a bunch of people looking at the stars which comes to show this place is very busy and attracts many people .
Sunday, November 2, 2014
[Video] Lakers vs. Warriors
Video posted by CaCHooKaManTV of the game from November 1, 2014
The video you can see the guard, Jeremy Lin (number 17) passing the ball to Kobe Bryant (number 24) and as Kobe jumped to shoot a player from the opposing team fouled him. What is really interesting is Kobe made the shot that the other player tried to block but also gave Kobe some free throws.
Sea World (San Diego)
There's a Sea World in the northern part of San Diego. Sea World is basically a zoo of just aquatic animals that includes sea lions, sharks, otters, dolphins, and many more. For adults (10+) tickets can range from $84-$220 and the ticket options are one day, one year, two years and many other ticket options that involves bundle packages.
I personally have been to the one in San Diego and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. I liked spending the whole day walking around, looking at all the exotic animals is perfect. The little exhibits that are made for specific animals that somewhat resembles what it would be in the wild so you can see what those animals are like in nature is amazing. You can learn so much about a certain specie just by observing them, like how dolphins swim or the fact that otters can swim on their backs.
However a downside of having these wild animals kept captive is the risk of killing people. You may hear a ton of stories about pet monkeys who are kept as pets and have attacked their owner or killer whales that accidentally or purposely killed their trainer. It's not in their nature to be kept in a 6x6ft cage all their life or to be constantly be doing tricks for the entertainment of others. In comparison, it would be like a person in a jail cell- not enough room for daily and normal humanly activities.
In no way am I bashing on Sea World or zoos in that matter but I personally think it's wrong to put wild animals in cages and having the public pay money to look at them suffer in cages. If anything I think they should be free and the public should be able to pet and love them because I believe animals may not be able to communicate by talking or making noise but they can understand or feel the love given off by humans. It's like babies, they can't talk but hearing a mother's voice can immediately make a baby stop crying.
I personally have been to the one in San Diego and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. I liked spending the whole day walking around, looking at all the exotic animals is perfect. The little exhibits that are made for specific animals that somewhat resembles what it would be in the wild so you can see what those animals are like in nature is amazing. You can learn so much about a certain specie just by observing them, like how dolphins swim or the fact that otters can swim on their backs.
However a downside of having these wild animals kept captive is the risk of killing people. You may hear a ton of stories about pet monkeys who are kept as pets and have attacked their owner or killer whales that accidentally or purposely killed their trainer. It's not in their nature to be kept in a 6x6ft cage all their life or to be constantly be doing tricks for the entertainment of others. In comparison, it would be like a person in a jail cell- not enough room for daily and normal humanly activities.
In no way am I bashing on Sea World or zoos in that matter but I personally think it's wrong to put wild animals in cages and having the public pay money to look at them suffer in cages. If anything I think they should be free and the public should be able to pet and love them because I believe animals may not be able to communicate by talking or making noise but they can understand or feel the love given off by humans. It's like babies, they can't talk but hearing a mother's voice can immediately make a baby stop crying.
Los Angeles Lakers
With the NBA season starting up again, I think it'll be good to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers. It's a largely known team. I mean personally I was never really too into basketball or any sports until recently, but even I knew about the Lakers and two of the current players, the shooting guard and the guard and one of the retired players. The 2014-2015 season, the Lakers aren't off to a great start and are 0-4 as of Sunday November 2. The Lakers' next game is on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns (current record: 2-1), which is home for the Lakers at the Los Angeles Staples Center.
The Laker's shooting guard is Kobe Bryant, is one of the most well known NBA players along with Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Kevin Durant just to name a few. Kobe is number 24 and even has his own website. On his website is an online store where you can purchase clothing that includes socks, shoes, shirts and shorts that must have been customized by Kobe himself. I don't know if it's just me personally but I've always heard the name either a trick that he has done or someone doing something impressive and another person being like "Okay, Kobe."
The next person I personally know a little about is Jeremy Lin who is currently the guard for the Lakers. When I visited the Philippines in 2012, I watched a documentary about him on the plane ride back to Los Angeles and that's what really got me liking the Lakers (and of course Jeremy Lin). Before watching the documentary I knew a little about him because I had seen some pictures of him and thought he was cute and so when I saw his name while looking through the movie selections I got way too excited and I watched it. I learned that he was actually born and raised in California, and is religious. I feel like a majority of celebrities either aren't open christians or aren't religious, but it seems like he is proud to be one. After watching the documentary it made me have mad respect for the basketball player.
One of the retired players that I know about is Magic Johnson. Last year in Health Class we watched a documentary about him. It talked a little about his life and basketball but focused more on him having HIV/AIDS. Magic lived in the time period of having a lot of unprotected sex which caused him to get HIV. It was major in essence that he was in the NBA and he had the disease because at that time they didn't know what caused it and how it spread so the coaches and the NBA were quite skeptical about putting him in the game. However as time progressed and the doctors/ scientist found more out about the disease he was able to play more but everyone still were very cautious. He is still alive today and lives with the disease and actually created his own organization (Magic Johnson Enterprises).
The Laker's shooting guard is Kobe Bryant, is one of the most well known NBA players along with Magic Johnson, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Kevin Durant just to name a few. Kobe is number 24 and even has his own website. On his website is an online store where you can purchase clothing that includes socks, shoes, shirts and shorts that must have been customized by Kobe himself. I don't know if it's just me personally but I've always heard the name either a trick that he has done or someone doing something impressive and another person being like "Okay, Kobe."
The next person I personally know a little about is Jeremy Lin who is currently the guard for the Lakers. When I visited the Philippines in 2012, I watched a documentary about him on the plane ride back to Los Angeles and that's what really got me liking the Lakers (and of course Jeremy Lin). Before watching the documentary I knew a little about him because I had seen some pictures of him and thought he was cute and so when I saw his name while looking through the movie selections I got way too excited and I watched it. I learned that he was actually born and raised in California, and is religious. I feel like a majority of celebrities either aren't open christians or aren't religious, but it seems like he is proud to be one. After watching the documentary it made me have mad respect for the basketball player.
One of the retired players that I know about is Magic Johnson. Last year in Health Class we watched a documentary about him. It talked a little about his life and basketball but focused more on him having HIV/AIDS. Magic lived in the time period of having a lot of unprotected sex which caused him to get HIV. It was major in essence that he was in the NBA and he had the disease because at that time they didn't know what caused it and how it spread so the coaches and the NBA were quite skeptical about putting him in the game. However as time progressed and the doctors/ scientist found more out about the disease he was able to play more but everyone still were very cautious. He is still alive today and lives with the disease and actually created his own organization (Magic Johnson Enterprises).
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