Today's TLA is BAG

Boys and Girls

Ok, here is another Jack Kerouac quotation from his book On the Road. It is about relationships. I am just really into his writing, because well all of his experiences came at the prime of his life. He wrote about his travels and adventures when he was between the ages of 25-32. I am at the exact same stage, so I can definitely relate.

"Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk - real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious."
-Jack Kerouac "On the Road"

I don't know why this resonates for me, but there is some profound truth in what he says. First and foremost, notice his language, he calls men and women, boys and girls, that is very interesting, because it sort of implies immaturity in general relationships. To me, Kerouac suggests the underlying issue that men and women need to know each others' souls before establishing a real and tangible relationship.

Kerouac suggests finding a woman who can talk straight to your soul. This conversation and communication of souls is key to any long lasting loving relationship. If not, then for Kerouac, its just either physical lust or courting talk. I think there is truth in that. Why would you want mere shallow, surface, and superficial talk. If this is a woman who you are going to spend the rest of your life with then at the very least she has to know your soul.

Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is TAP

Telephone Apple Pie

Okay a while back Bean Moriarty aka Gil or Gilberto, or El Engreido, or El Mujeriego, and Katie "Thugs" Chaidez and I decided that inorder to keep our sanity or perhaps to increase our insanity to email each other poems from 2 completely random places/things/events. Yesterday I came up with Telephone and an Apple Pie. And here is what my mad brain came up with.

Telephone Apple Pie

The telephone rings in the dark, cold, lonely, monotnous night.
She bakes in a bewildered scorn of anger in the air.
Her children laughing, fighting, talking back, and have fear from fright.
Her husband's addiction to sports is all his care.

But oh her sweet apple pie makes it all better.
Its for her survival in this tortuous middle american state.
She has but one hope in her life and it is from her lover's letter.
Oh how she wonders and dreams about her fate.

The telephone rings is this her ticket out?
She answers in excitement, glee, and rejoice.
Her lover's soft warm voice speaks without a doubt.
Her thoughts race to hear his voice.

The warm apple pie is uneaten, still sweet, but cold
Sadly enough her children look in utter terror
Her husband speaks in shock, "How bold!"
She leaves her family without a thought of error

Anyways, I was looking back on other such poems and I created a haiku called

McDonald's and a Fiddle.

Mc Donalds french fries...
Salt, oil, grease on my fingers...
Fiddle playing hard...

How about this haiku called Ice Chest and Church.

Ice Chest and Church

A handy Ice Chest...
Man's burning questions of life...
Sunday Church party...

Check out Katie's poem called Moto-pope... I asked her to write a poem about Motorcycles and the Pope, Santo Papa, its probably heretic rhetoric, but I had my kicks from the poem.

Moto-Pope
by Katie Chaidez

Within the ancient revered stone walls
Silently guarded by ancient saints
Relics, treasures unbound
Sits His Holiness, The Pope
What do you see from your chamber window?
People
Pigeons
Ice Cream Cones
Bicycles and Motorcars
All glancing upwards to your marble tower
You looking down
Upon the world and all its wonders
Like Rapunzel, but
Without all that messy hair

Tell me, true
What is the cost of your solitude?
The microphones and cameras can be a real rush
Sure, as is issuing the newest edicts
Do's and Don'ts
Hand-picking the Holy Leaders
Raising up and bringing down
the Saint-of-theYear
Wih a simple wave of your hand
God's right-hand man
Eyes, ears, mouth
Mary's go-to guy
Adorned in gold & silver
Wearing robes has benefits too
Discreetly hiding last night's pork chops
And mashed potatoes

Do you ever get tired, Mr. Pope?
Does that long white robe of yours ever get dirty?
Does the gold that binds around you ever get heavy?
Do you ever think "Gosh, I wish I'd have asked Susie to the prom?"
Or "Gee, I wonder what wine un-united with Christ's blood tastes like?"
Or maybe just, "Gosh. Jeans really do look comfy".

O Pope! Escape!
Now's your chance
Remove your heavy, dusty cloaks
And ride off to Tuscany
Leave this ancient crumbling world behind
Just you and a Harley
And a girl named Francesca
A bottle of chianti
And the latest copy of People Magazine
In the back pocket of your Levi's

Anyways, yeah random thoughts, random poems, random ideas, random number generators? Are they really random?

Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is TTL.

Top Ten List

Well here is a list of 10 things you probably didn't know about me.

10. I was born in the Philippines. I moved to Highland Park, Los Angeles, California when I was 7 years old.

9. I have a habit of trying different hobbies and not really mastering the hobbies. Golf, DJing, Painting, Classical Guitar, Remote Control Cars, working out, drawing comic strips, and obviously writing blogs.

8. If I have time, I enjoy going to my closest Borders Bookstore and reading a book, Maxim magazine, or travel books for a couple of hours.

7. I enjoy singing in my car the following songs Stevie Wonder's 40 years of Stevie CD collection, Juan Antonio Jobim's Corcovado, Jay-Z's H-izo song , Warren G's Regulators, and of course my opening theme song if someone ever made a movie about my life, Bill Wither's Lovely Day.

6. I can communicate in 6 different languages. Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Tagalog, Ilocano, and a little English.

5. I want to say "You are the most beautiful girl in the world." in at least 20 languages. Thus far, I have memorized and mastered 7.(French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Tagalog, English, and Arabic) Hopefully, someday I can say these sentences to my future wife.

4. I was a Math major in college. I really enjoyed studying Cryptography, Cryptoanalysis, and Number Theory.

3. I am a Filipino-American fighting hegemonist philosophy in the world.

2. One of the hardest things and at times one of the easiest things in the world is to make a woman I am attracted to smile during a date.

1. I am a Christian believer.

Today's TLA is IAI

I'm All In

What is it about saying these words in poker? What about saying it at some point in your life other than at a Texas Hold'em Poker game? They are very powerful words. What if you said it for work? What if you said it for school? What if you said it for your relationships with others? What if you said it for your wife/husband boyfriend/girlfriend? What if you said it for a stranger? What if you said it for your friends? What if you said it for your enemies? What if you said it for a woman/man you had some interest in, but you barely knew of her/him? What if you said it for your faith? What if you said it for God?

What would be our expectations and the reactions of those who you said this phrase to? Well in poker you could get called or other players could just fold their cards. But is it the same in life? You could go all in for someone and they could call you and match the bet or they could also just fold because they don't want to play/risk their chips. But what if God started everyone off with a pair of aces? What would you do? Would you pretend you had bad cards? Would you boast about your pair of aces with a big bet which perhaps may scare people off? When would you go all in? Or rather would you go all in at all? How about the issue of winning and losing, about being risk averse versus being a risk taker? Why be afraid to lose, it seems being afraid to lose has the same equivalence as being afraid to win.

But if God wants us to win, then why would we be afraid to win? I think we should take those risks, because we will ultimately win, because God wants us to win. God wants us to win within our hearts, within our friendships, within our faith, and most importantly within our relationship with God. I don't suggest going all in all the time during poker, that would be just stupid, but going all in for your relationship with God and your friends, strangers, coworkers, and even your enemies could be an interesting exercise to say the least. I guess take those risks and go all in, in terms of those enumerated above, I think the potential of winning is far more than the potential of losing.

Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is EIM

Everyone is mad...

I hear the annoying ring tone of a cell phone. What is it? Why did the owner choose such a sound? Mozart? Beethoven? Why? Classical music as a ring tone? Who is calling the owner of the cell phone? Did he pick that ring tone specifically for the person calling? Why do we own things and feel the need to personalize them? Why spend the 15 minutes of your life to actually try and figure out of how to do that on your Nokia? Will it make you answer the cell phone faster? If the ringtone is Jay-Z's 'Girls Girls Girls', then it means its one of the honeys calling. If it is Stevie Wonder's 'For Your Love', then it is a girlfriend or wife. If it is the old Nokia tune. Then its just a random number. But why are we mad to buy that cell phone with the latest and greatest enhancement? Will it make you feel unique, important, hip, and most importantly cool? Why has our society gone mad? Why are we mad to be paid? Why are we mad to be listened to? Why are we mad to be acknowledged? Why are we mad to be an American Idol? Why are we mad to maintain a blog? Why are we mad to meet someone important? Why are we mad to buy low and sell high? Why are we mad to be cool? Why are we mad to be different? Why are we mad to be the same? Why are we mad to be accepted? Why are we mad to be rejected? Why are we mad to be enforce a religion? Why are we mad to be secular? Why are we mad to believe? Why are we mad to not believe? Why are we mad to care? Why are we mad to be insouciant? Why are we mad to do something?

Why are we mad to do nothing? Why are we mad to go to graduate from school? Why are we mad to be a PhD student FOREVER? Why are we mad to watch television? Why are we mad to look at a screen for 8 hours trying to see where the broken logic is located? Why are we mad to have high speed DSL? Why are we mad for gadgets and toys? Why are we mad to feel like a consumer? Or even worse mad to be a smart consumer? What does that mean? We are still mad to consume? Why are we mad to want bigger, better and faster stuff, because we can? Why are we mad to search for something on Google and ask why Google just doesn't get it? Why are we mad to see and be seen? Why are we mad to write? Why are we mad to think? Why are we mad to read? Why are we mad about America's overeating consumption? Why are we mad about our values? Why are we mad about our looks? Why are we mad about movie stars? Why are we mad about Beyonce? Why are we mad about Brittany? Why are we mad about J.Lo? Why are we mad about people whose paths we shall never come accross? Why are we mad about peoples whose lives always cross ours? Why are we mad to get rich? Why are we mad to get a wife/husband? Why are we mad to get a house? We are mad to be economically viable in the long term? Why are we mad to get what you deserve? Whatever that is. Why are we mad for stuff? Why do we have the urge to buy a unique feeling? Why are we mad to collect, hoard, and buy stuff? Why did I go mad about hearing this annoying ring tone of a cell phone to make me rant about the madness in our society? Have you gone mad reading this madness? I know I have.

Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is OTR

On the Road

I don't know why I am compelled to write something about Jack Kerouac's book, but I think his quotation below is part of the reason.

". . . I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes Awww!" -- On the road

I wouldn't mind being that mad person who explodes like a blue centerlight pop and everybody goes Awww. I think God made everyone with the ability to have Awww moments. Life is all about those Awww moments. What else should we live for? The quotation asks you to be different, to be mad, to be unusual, to be active, to influence others, and most importantly to be a light that makes others around you to be in utter amazement and delight.

I was talking with a friend today about this very same quotation. And she remarked at how random I am. You know I told her you know I am ok with my randomness. I told her I would rather be random and unique I think God made me that way. I am a crazy intellectual, a Christian thinker, a mathematical philosopher, a software programmer, a Filipino-American, an artist, a Los Angeles Laker fan, a blogger, a Charlie Parker fan, a bossanova fan, a Miles Davis fan, a Tupac Shakur fan, a Notorious B.I.G fan, an old school hip hop fan, a Latin Pop fan, a traveler, a student, a teacher, a salsa dancer, an aspiring cook, an aspiring comic strip writer, a aspiring haiku poet, a good friend, a good son, a good brother, a God fearing believer, a God loving believer, an aspiring other oriented man for others, and most importantly random!

Anyways, yeah no one really reads my blogs, maybe it is because I am too random. So back to my point... Kerouac's book "On the road" is pretty good.

Enjoy,
Jonathan