Poker Face 2

What do you get when you cross Lady Gaga, Christopher Walken and Cartman from South Park? Check out the video!

Child Proofing Your Home

At least two children have been hurt by falling furniture this week alone here in Phoenix, Arizona. This is sad to hear when there is a very inexpensive solution to the problem. Most people when they are child proofing their home perhaps only think about the electrical sockets and the cabinets where cleaning chemicals might be stored. In my case at least, that is all I child proofed. Then one day I hear a loud crash coming from my 3 year old's room followed by him yelling out "Somebody help me!" Apparently he was trying to change the channel on his 24" TV using his dresser drawers as steps to reach the TV. This of course made the dresser tip over and land almost on top of him. Thank god that other furniture near by deflected the TV. Otherwise the TV would have landed right on top of his head! He wasn't hurt at all just scared. So was I. It actually reminded me that when I was a young boy I also had an appliance fall on top of me. I think it was a stove. Thank god nothing happened to my son, I can only imagine what the families of those children that were hurt are going through. So this is for all Moms and Dads out there, I urge to please secure your dressers,TV's, stoves,refrigerators and anything else you might have that could potentialy fall on your child. A TV safety strap is all you need to keep ou kid safe. As you can see below thet are easy to install.

They are also inexpensive. The one shown above cost only $9.95 but can go up to $30.95 depending on the type of strap you want to buy. You can find the strap pictured above and more info at KidSafe. Another place you can find these types of products is at TotSafe. Bottomline always watch your kids specially when they are totlers it only takes a minute for them to get into something that could potentialy cost them their lives.

Make up your mind already!

A while back I posted a blog about the possible link between a vegetarian diet and brain shrinkage. Well to be fair here is a story about the possible link between eating meat and brain shrinkage. Just goes to show you that you can not believe everything you hear or read. Do your own research. This is for you Ro!

High-protein diets may shrink the brain as well as the waistline, raising the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life.


In tests, the brains of mice fed Atkins-like diets, rich in protein and low in carbohydrate, were five per cent lighter than those of other creatures.

Importantly, areas key to memory were underdeveloped. Although it is unclear if high protein diets have the same effect in people, it is already known that low-fat diets packed with fruit and vegetables, cut the risk of dementia.


The US researchers said that looking at how different nutrients affect human brain health could lead to new ways of staving off the disease that affects 400,000 Britons

Latinos On Da Rise!

Hey guys, I need your help! Pretty soon I will be writing a new Blog about Latino success stories. One or two people a week will be featured on this blog to help bring light to his or her achievements Do you know of a Latino who has gone through a lot of diversity to get where he or she is? Maybe you know a Latino who is making a difference in his or her community if you do, please let me know via E-mail or on Twitter I would love to feature them on the new Blog! I look forward to all of the submissions and thank you in advance for your help!

Poker Face

Christopher Walken reads Gaga’s Poker Face Lyrics. The man is hilarious!

This Is It!

I am really excited to find out that I made it on Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” Mosaic, check it out!! (Here is the link http://bit.ly/oWGfK)

Signs In The Sky

Niagara Falls residents and tourists were left to ponder after seeing an unusual, spectral pattern in the night sky over the tourist district for a period between 9 p.m. and midnight on Oct 17 2009.


Some say the unidentified phenomenon looked like a metallic object hovering motionless and without sound.


"At first it look like a circular tear in the sky," said Joshua Green, who lives on Rob More..inson Street.


"When the spotlights from the casino would rotate, they would hit the object . . . and it would illuminate the object and create a flash coming back down.


"I had never seen anything like that before."


I called my sister and told her to go outside and look at the sky. I called my father to see if he had any idea what might be. He went outside and said he's never seen anything like that."

A tourist said he and his wife were walking along Victoria Avenue near Clifton Hill when they noticed "everybody on the street was looking up in the night sky."


Scott Jordan wrote: "When the four search lights that light up the night sky (over Niagara Falls) came together it appeared like there was something in the sky and it was reflecting the light."


A Niagara Regional Police spokesman said Sunday afternoon he was unaware of any reports coming into police overnight.


Mayor Ted Salci was surprised to hear about the unusual incident, too.


Salci said if it was some kind of object, he doesn't know what it could have been.

What is going on in our world? Recently there has been an upsurge of UFO sightings. Is something big getting ready to happen? Look at the video below and tell me what you think.

Meteor or Something Else?

No one was injured after a meteorite fell near a small town in northern Latvia on Sunday, local Latvian media reported.



According to media reports, the meteorite fell near a residential house on the outskirts of Mazsalaca town in the Valmiera district of Latvia, leaving a crater of some 20 meters (66 feet) in di More..ameter and 10 meters (33 feet) deep.

A spokesperson for the Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service said that rescuers and soldiers immediately cordoned off the territory, however, it is still not clear whether it was an asteroid or a space satellite.

"The territory has been immediately cordoned off as we still do not know what fell down from the sky. According to preliminary information, it was a meteorite. However, it is possible that it was a [space] satellite or its fragment. A radioactive contamination is also possible," she said.

A witness, who saw the object falling from the sky and leaving a burning trace behind, said it was making a noise similar to the one of an aircraft flying at a low altitude. What did crash in Latvia and how did the military get there so quickly? I don't think we'll ever know. What do you guys think?

"V" (The Visitors)

V: The Series was a one-hour weekly television series that aired in the United States on NBC in 1984-85. I remember watching it every time it would come on I was six years old at the time and I loved the show From time to time I go on YOUTUBE and watch some of the episodes to remenisce. You can only imagine how excited I was when I heard that the series was coming back this Fall! My first thought was. "Awesome!" my second thought was, "I hope they don't screw it up like they did with the re-make of Knight Rider!" Knight Rider was another show I grew up watching and in my opinion they killed it! I am definitely looking forward to the new series and I hope it's as addictive as "Flashforward." Below I have posted some sneak peeks to the show. Enjoy. Remember, they are of peace...always.

Here comes Microsoft!

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's first store looks ready to open in an upscale Phoenix valley city in the next few days, as the software maker takes its first step in trying to match rival Apple Inc's successful venture into retail.
Expectations are running high that its first store, in the Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, will open next week, to coincide with the launch of Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system next Thursday.


The site is still boarded up, but a peek through an open door reveals lights and shelving all ready for customers and a large, flat-screen display running along the walls.


Microsoft has so far been coy about its retail plans and a company spokeswoman would not officially pin down an opening date beyond "the fall."


Chief executive Steve Ballmer teased reporters with an imminent opening on Friday, but also would not commit to a date.


"We'll open a couple of stores, try to improve, open a couple more stores," Ballmer said at a public appearance in downtown Boston.

"It's very important for us to have a direct connection with the user," said Ballmer, talking about the planned stores, which he said will be important for "showing the customer what you really can do."


Microsoft unveiled its plan to open stores in February, in emulation of Apple, hiring a former Wal-Mart Stores Inc executive to run them.


In July, Microsoft's chief operating officer said the company would open up stores "right next door" to Apple stores. The nearest Apple store to Scottsdale is several miles away in Phoenix.

The 4WD with seats made of WHAT?!!

A Russian armoured-car builder is boasting that its latest vehicle has seats covered with “whale-penis leather”.


The €1 million ($1.6 million) Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition armoured car has been developed by the same company, RussoBaltique, that built armoured vehicles for Tsar Nicholas, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.

On its official website, the company says the whale-penis leather is the same as that used by Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis on the yacht Christina O.


Onassis is rumoured to have had some of the barstools on the yacht, the world’s most expensive at the time, covered in the controversial leather.


The leather is not the only tacky accessory on the Prombron, which Dartz claims is the world’s most expensive SUV.


The bulletproof windows are gold-plated, the exhaust is made of tungsten, the gauges are encrusted with diamonds and rubies and the exterior has a Kevlar coating.


The car also comes with three bottles of the world’s most expensive Vodka, RussoBaltique, although the website does warn prospective buyers not to drink and drive.


The vehicle is being specially prepared for the ultra-exclusive Top Marques luxury motor show in Monaco next year.


Dartz’s armoured vehicles weigh roughly 4 tonnes, are powered by V8s putting out between 300kW and 400kW and are “rocket grenade-proof” according to the website.


For those wondering just how may whales may need to be harvested to outfit the special edition, the answer is not many. The penis of the Blue Whale, for example, can grow up to 2.4 metres. 

PETA is going to have a major problem with this!

GO DODGER BLUE!

I will never forget the day I saw Kirk Gibson hit a two-run, walk off home run, winning the game for the Dodgers, 5-4 back in 1988. I have always been a Dodgers fan ever since I was 7 years old. I have been waiting for the Dodgers to be champions again ever since then. 2009 has been an awesome year for the Dodgers and Joe Torre. The Dodgers ended their regular 2009 season with the best record in the National League despite Manny’s suspensions. However that doesn’t surprise me the Dodgers have always been a strong team. Today is the first game of the 2009 NLCS. The Dodgers will be facing the Phillies. I am extremely excited to see the game tonight I only wish I could be watching it from Dodger Stadium while eating a Dodger Dog and some Cracker Jacks rather than in my living room in Phoenix, AZ. I remember going to Dodger Stadium growing up it was always a good time! All this year I have said that this is the Dodgers year to be champions again! Dodgers fans lets show the world how deep Dodgers blue runs through our veins!! Millions of fans are rooting for you Dodgers. I will definitely will be with you in spirit. I am looking forward to more great memories from this NLCS!

                                       GO DODGER BLUE!!

Vegetarian Diet Shrinks Brain?

According to a 2008 study, vegeterians are six times more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than meat eaters.



The link was discovered after scientist at Oxford University ran brain scans on 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87, and then retested them five years later.

Researchers speculate the loss of brain mass in vegeterian is due to a deficiency of vitamin B12, which is found in meat,fish and eggs This type of brain atrophy is linked to Alzheimer's dicease and other cognitive failings.

What do you guys think, is it true or false?

Domestic Violence

Today I want to talk to you guys about a major problem in our society. Domestic violence. I wanted to talk about this because of a recent event that happened to someone that I follow on Twitter. As far as I'm concerned domestic violence is an unacknowledged epidemic in America. One report estimates that 2.5 million females will suffer some form of domestic violence each year. Unfortunately 2 out of 3 of those women will be attacked by a family member or an acquaintance. Below, I have listed some statistics about domestic violence...

• Six in every 10 women who are victims of homicide were murdered by someone they knew. About half of these women were murdered by a spouse or someone with whom they had been intimate.
  
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15-44.
  
• Every 21 days, a woman is killed by domestic violence.
  
• Children are involved in 60 percent of domestic violence cases.
  
• More than three million children witness acts of domestic violence each year.
  
• Up to 50 percent of all homeless women and children in this country are fleeing domestic violence.
  
• One in ten calls made to alert police of domestic violence is placed by a child in the home.
  
• More than 53 percent of male abusers beat their children.
  
• One of every three abused children becomes an adult abuser or victim.
  
• Victims and abusers are found in every social and economic class, race, religious group, and sexual orientation.
  
• Factors such as poverty, single-parent households headed by women, and parents with less than a high school education were found to be more common among families suffering abuse.

Unfortunately when I was growing up I was a witness to domestic violence. I can remember my mother and my father going at it once or twice. Thankfully it never got to serious, mainly because my mother was not having it and was quick either call someone from the family that she trusted to help or she called the cops. Unfortunately many women either do not have the support system or the strength to call the police and say "I am not having it!" To those women I say, to please find the courage before you become a statistic! If you know someone in this situation please do something about it! Have the courage to intervene for that person you might be the only chance she has. Yesterday I was out and about in Downtown Phoenix. I noticed a couple arguing in the middle of the street. The guy was pulling around very violently what appeared to be his wife/girlfriend. They were dressed in dirty clothes it was obvious they were homeless or possible drug addicts. I decided to call the police and made them aware of the situation. Now some people might say they were probably some "crack heads." However to me what they looked like was irrelevant. She was a human being. There are always two sides to every coin. There is even a more unacknowledged area about domestic violence and that is domestic violence against men. Men are more likely than women to be victims in dating violence. A recent 32-nation study by the University of New Hampshire found female students initiate partner violence as often as male students. Virtually all sociological data shows women initiate domestic violence as often as men, that women use weapons more than men, and that 38% of injured victims are men. California State University Professor Martin Fiebert summarizes almost 200 of these studies online. Some might argue that women suffer more severe injuries than men. Regardless of the consequences violence from either Male or Female is unacceptable. Domestic violence against men needs to be addressed as well. According to a California State University survey of 1,000 college women 30% admitted they assaulted a male partner. The most common reasons were (1) My partner wasn't listening to me; (2) My partner wasn't being sensitive to my needs; and (3) I wished to gain my partners attention. Violence will only get you the wrong attention. A University of Pennsylvania emergency room report found that 13% of men reported being assaulted by a female partner in the previous 12 months, of which 50% were choked, kicked, bitten, punched or had an object thrown at them, 37% involved a weapon, 14% required medical attention. Keep in mind that these statistics are only the reported cases. Many cases go unreported because men are embarrassed. Both Men and Women tend to think of domestic violence as a "personal matter" not a "crime. It most definitely is a CRIME! Guys, you have rights as well. Unfortunately This problem is not limited just to adults who might be married or dating. It is also affecting teens. Below I have included the statistics for teen domestic violence and they are sad...

One in 10 teen girls and one in 11 teen boys admits to having experienced physical violence in a dating relationship in the past year. One in three teens stay they know someone who has been physically assaulted or hurt by a dating partner.

One in five tweens ages 13 and 14 who have been in a relationship say that they know someone who has been hit in anger by a boyfriend or girlfriend.

One in five teens admits to being emotionally abused in the past year.

Among 11- to 14-year-olds who have been in relationships, 62% of them know friends who have been verbally abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Approximately one in five teen girls have been physically or sexually abused by their partner.

70% of teen girls who have been sexually assaulted knew their attacker. The attacker was a friend, boyfriend or casual acquaintance.

More than half of girls surveyed reported mutual aggression in their relationship – meaning that both she and her partner were physically aggressive toward each other.

We need to educate our children early so that these statistics are a thing of the past! Violence at any age is unacceptable! Here are some effects of domestic violence on children...

academic problems; agitation - feeling "jumpy"; aggression; avoidance of reminders; behavior problems; clinginess to caregivers; depression; distractibility; emotional numbing; emotional changes; fear - feeling scared; fear of natural exploring; feelings of guilt; feelings of not belonging; flashbacks; general emotional distress; increased arousal; intrusive thoughts; insomnia; irritability; low levels of empathy; low self-esteem; nightmares; numbing of feelings; obsessive behaviors; phobias; poor problem-solving skills; posttraumatic stress disorder; revenge seeking; social problems; suicidal behaviors; truancy; withdrawal from activities.

Effects in Adulthood: alcohol abuse; depression; low self-esteem; violent practices in the home; criminal behavior; sexual problems; substance abuse.

INFANTS AND TODDLERS: Infants and toddlers who witness violence show excessive irritability, immature behavior, sleep disturbances, emotional distress, fears of being alone, and regression in toileting and language. Preschool children may develop enuresis and speech disfluencies, such as stuttering.

TEENS: Being a teenager is difficult, as most of us remember. But being a teenager and living in a house infected with domestic violence can have devastating, life-long effects. Teens living with domestic violence face the unique problem of trying to fit in with their peers while keeping their home life a secret. Teens in shelters often face the problem of having to move and begin school in a new place, having to make new friends while feeling the shame of living in a shelter. Needless to say, their family relationships can be strained to the breaking point. The result can be teens who never learn to form trusting, lasting relationships, or teens who end up in violent relationships themselves.

In addition, teens face the same issues as younger children in an abusive family, namely feeling lonely and isolated, growing up too fast, behavior problems, stress related medical and mental health problems, and school problems. Teenagers are also faced with entering into the dating world for the first time. They are formulating their own theories about relationships, and some may not have the best models on which to base a healthy relationship. They have witnessed the cycle of violence with the abuse, apologies from the perpetrator, tensions building and more abuse. Unfortunately, some teenagers may be faced with a higher risk of being victims of dating violence and as mentioned earlier, ending up in violent relationships as adults either as victims or abusers.

As you can see this is a major problem in our society across the board. This is not a gender, race or age specific problem. Please if you know any teen or adult Male or Female in this situation help them before it's too late! I hope this has been helpful. Below I have listed a few places that can help you or someone you know during these hard times.

http://www.ndvh.org/ This is the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The website has a number of ways to educate you about domestic violence. 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 1.800.787.3224 (TTY)
Anonymous & Confidential Help 24/7. (For both Men and Women)
http://www.loveisrespect.org/ this is a teen specific website. This website also has a lot of information to help you out. 1-866-331-9474 1-866-331-8453 TTY

To my Mother

To me (and I am sure to a lot of you) my Mom has been a major influence in my life. My mother to me is my hero. She raised my sister and I all by herself with just $400 a month back in the mid 80's. I am still trying to figure how how she did that without going nuts! While surfing the net I found a poem called "Then which of the favors of your Lord will your deny?" It is a poem from a loving son to a mother. Unfortunately the web page where I found this did not say who the author was. If anyone knows please let me know. I thought I would share it with you all. Mom I dedicate this poem to you!

Yet how often we deny the greatest of favors that the Bestower has granted us. This favor, in the form of a woman……
A woman who carried us within her for almost a whole year of her short life in this world, bearing every hardship and discomfort to protect and nurture our frail being as the Fashioner gently prepared us to come into this worldly realm….
A woman who braved death's door, embracing pain unimaginable to even the most stalwart of warriors, that our tiny form may chance to take its first breath, open its eyes to the light of a new home, and feel her warm, soft caress, as she forgets all that she went through, to make comfortable our awakening into a new world….
A woman who had forsaken rest, slumber, and dreams for far too many nights; to rise instead, and answer the pitiful wail of a helpless creature that always new she would be there to answer its plaintive cry, even as the whole world slumbered on into the dead of the night……
A woman who bore weakness to give forth from her being, a pure and heavenly nectar to nourish our growing bodies and our thirsty souls with sustenance to define our humanity ever onward……
A woman who watered and pruned our character with all the patience and care of a master gardener turning a wild shrub into a beautiful tree…….
A woman who was always there for us, no matter how many backs were turned to us, no matter how many doors closed in our face, to give us a shoulder to cry on, an ear to heed our complaint, a comforting bosom to embrace when there was no other…….
A woman who, even after all of our blunders, all of our impudence, all of our ungrateful gestures and insolent remarks, will not hesitate to say I forgive you when no one else in the world will….
A woman who we call Mother.
If we only knew her lofty station in the sight of He whose mercy is endless, a single portion of which He showered upon the world and it manifested itself as the undying compassion of the mother to her child.
"THEN WHICH OF THE FAVORS OF YOUR LORD DO YOU DENY?"
To deny is to show ingratitude. To show ingratitude is to lose one's blessings……like sand flowing through one's fingers.
To show ingratitude to the all Merciful is to show ingratitude to the means He creates out of His endless mercy. WHAT OF THE MEANS WHICH BROUGHT US INTO THE WORLD?
If one's mother is alive, then cry out of thankfulness to Allah, go to her, sit at her feet, kiss her on the forehead, look her in the eyes and tell her how blessed you are for someone like her……
Tell her how much you love her…..

"Paradise is under the feet of the mother…."
From a loving son

FORECLOSURE NIGHTMARE

Forclosures in the United States is a major issue! Since I live in Arizona this info is specifically for AZ residents. However I have listed a few links where you might find help. Arizona is one of the hardest hit states when it come to foreclosures. According to http://www.defaultresearch.com/, home foreclosures in Phoenix and Tucson increased by 158 percent last year. Although it is going to take some time for the market to recover there are things you can do to determine wether you are headed towards disaster. I went online to http://www.azforeclosureprevention.org/ and found a great work book that gives you step by step instructions on what to do.{you will need an Adobe reader to open the workbook} Starting with how to determine if you are headed to having your home forclosed on to how to rebuild after foreclosure. There are 50 pages in this workbook but it is well worth the time if you want to keep your home. Remember you HAVE options do not dispair. I wish I could have had this info about a year ago. I am currently dealing with Bank of America to modify my loan. It is a long and tidious process that could have been avoided if I would have had this workbook. I can also E-mail you the workbook just E-mail me at monumental13@live.com and let me know. As promised, below are other links that might help. If you know anyone that can use this info please pass it on.

www.hud.com/foreclosure

http://www.995hope.org/

What a bloggy mess!

Wow! What did I get myself into?! A few weeks ago I decided to start a blog. I decided to do this without having a lot of knowledge on how to start one or anything. However in the last week I have learned so much about blogs that it can be overwhelming at times. I mean you have to figure out your layout for your page, your fonts, your colors. There are so many options to those elements alone that making those simple choices could take you hours! Then there is the question of what kind of widgets do you want? Do you want your Twitter updates displayed? do you want your YOUTUBE channel displayed? What about your MySpace link? There now you have just blown your whole day and you are still not done. So many options so little time. Thank god for websites like YOUTUBE and EHOW. These were sites that helped me out a lot on things like how to set up RSS feeds and on how to get the RSS feed to update your Tweeter account when ever you post a new blog. Like this one. I was also lucky enough to have other bloggers help me out with annoying questions of a newbie. Man, had I not had all of these resources I probably would have quit a long time ago. Overall I am having fun learning all of these new terms and HTML codes. It is pretty interesting. I have so many ideas to write about that my mind is going in all directions. However I don't want it to come of as scripted. Too much of that already on the net. Blogging so far has been a great learning experience and I look forward to more blogs in the future. I welcome any suggestions you might have so please leave me a comment. Thanks and Keep blogging!

I love L.A.!

Hi My name is Monumental13! This is my first blog ever so please bare with me.


I grew up in Los Angeles and sometimes it sucked but for the most part I loved it. I loved the fact that if you are hungry all you have to do is step outside and there are about 50 restaurants from Chinese to Salvadoran to Armenian. Anything you want seems to be at the tip of your fingertips. I really miss that. I live in Avondale Arizona about 30 minutes from Phoenix. Unfortunately you don't have that diversity here. More than anything I miss the cultural diversity. I miss the variety of museums and plays you could see at any given time. One of my favorite events in Los Angeles is the Shakespeare Festival. I remember seeing "Caesar" on the steps of City Hall. It was awesome! There are so many beautiful places in L.A. that I love going to everytime I go back home. Griffith Observatory comes to mind as well as Venice Beach. The smell of the pine trees, the smell of the salty air you can not compare it to anything else. It is very unique to Los Angeles. However nothing beats coming home to family and a warm embrace from those who have always been there for you. That is why I am looking forward to going back home to Los Angeles this weekend! I will always be an Angelino no matter where I may be. I love L.A.!!!!