tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15136363159769641332024-03-13T05:54:17.993-07:00The Rio Grande LeviathanA roof is no place for unruly swine.Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-26215251385559915212010-07-28T17:50:00.001-07:002010-07-28T17:50:52.416-07:00Still Alive!I'll be returning soon, don't worry!Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-44794095508569835482010-05-07T11:31:00.000-07:002010-05-07T13:46:04.689-07:00Chaos + Music = Our World, An Interview With DJ Galvanization<div style="text-align: center;">So, trance music.</div><div>Alright, that's sent a few of you running into the hills.</div><div>What? No, it's not techno.</div><div>Techno is not trance.</div><div>Techno is something that plays NTS NTS NTS NTS CHTSSS NTS NTS NTS NTS on loop for about 5 minutes and calls it a song.</div><div>Trance is just...beautiful.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I say this as a Born-Again metalhead.</div><div><br /></div><div>So why I am I raving about trance when I'm usually raving about how cool Brownsville is?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well...I figure I got tired of beating the old dead horse, and a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to catch up with my friend DJ Galvanization, who had been working on his first CD for a couple of years now. He informed me that he had just recently released "Lucid", his first album. The album is now available for sale through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L203DS/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img">Amazon</a> (clicking on the link takes you to the product page) and <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lucid/id356977409">iTunes</a>, and I thought it'd be great to interview him, because I find that he's a very interesting character who is not your average DJ, and because, of course, he's<b> Rio Grande Valley-born and Brownsville-raised :)</b></div><div><br /></div><div>To listen to some of his music, you can visit <a href="http://www.myspace.com/djgalvanization">DJ Galvanization's official Myspace page</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be reviewing the CD in detail later, but if you want to check it out already, here is a 50 word review:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a target="'_blank'" title="'ImageShack" href="http://img265.imageshack.us/i/27031355109569279140149.jpg/"><img src="http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/114/27031355109569279140149.jpg" border="'0'/" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Uploaded with <a target="'_blank'" href="http://imageshack.us/">ImageShack.us</a></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">“Lucid” makes you </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">feel</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> sound. It is a beautiful soundscape resembling the love-child of Kenji Yamamoto (of Metroid fame) and DJ Tiesto. With it you can feel yourself playing a futuristic videogame, dancing with a loved one, traveling through space, or all of the above at the same time.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div>What can I tell you about DJ Galvanization?</div><div>DJ Galvanization not only shatters the typical DJ archetype, but grounds the shards of that archetype into a fine dust which is then sprinkled liberally throughout the CD.</div><div>He is not someone you'd see behind the DJ booth at a club, much less at a club itself.</div><div>If you'd spent time with him you'd quickly learn that he's a family guy, a traditional, straight-edge, churchgoing and God-loving individual who is comfortable with his world and enjoys helping people. He is very affable and easily approachable, and though he knows how to have fun, he's very serious when it comes time to study.</div><div>(or as some have argued, the complete opposite of yours truly)</div><div>He is also a geek. This man is <b>the</b> authority on synthesizers, trance music and anything Metroid-related. He considers himself a Smash Brothers virtuoso (a claim that's been challenged time and time again by his friends and fellow San Antonio Spurs fans), and when he gets a chance to, he'll tell you all about the benefits and awesomeness of nuclear power.</div><div>He's quite the character, definitely.</div><div><br /></div><div>Without further ado, here's the interview:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: Your Lucid CD just came out after years in the making. How does it feel?</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It feels absolutely amazing, Eagleheart. Like this anvil has finally been lifted off my shoulders. Honestly, if it weren't for the fans that have kept up with my music through MySpace and YouTube, I'd still have the album sitting on my shelf. I received a good amount of requests for SELLING what I already have versus working on more music they couldn't buy. I listened and this album is the result. Now that it's out, I can work on the new tracks without worrying about selling anymore.<br /><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: Can you tell us how the CD-making process was?</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Strenuous, to say the least. I had the 5 songs sitting on my shelf and computer for a while. I would always find things I wanted to add to the songs so I hesitated to sell them just yet. For example, Resonance is actually the 3rd version of the original and I love how it turned out. Speed of Dark is a 1st and only version but it took a lot of editing and it was my first dabble at guitar. But when the constant requests came in, I put a lot of effort into perfecting all the songs for the fans. I spent some money paying a sound engineer to master the tracks so that they sound with the quality a commercial track would. I figured, if people are going to buy my music, they better get the bang for their buck, so I made the songs a good length and mastered them as well. A lot of effort went into the artwork, editing the tracks, the mastering process and the distribution.</span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: What inspired you to become DJ Galvanization, and where did you get the name?</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I decided to start making music when I started learning to play piano at age 16. I took classes for the sole purpose of obtaining enough skill to create my own pieces with the right technique. I wanted to be a part of the vast network of musicians that created so much of the music I know and love. I wanted to contribute to it. I already had ideas in my head but I needed the skills to develop my own music. Eventually, at age 17 I got a synthesizer after learning piano for a few months and I got the hang of the system and before I knew it, I had many ideas for songs in my head that I was translating into tangible sound for all to hear. I love many songs but sometimes you hear music and there is just something missing. Something you would have changed here, another thing there, and that is more or less what started the idea for becoming a DJ/producer. I told myself, "If you cannot find the songs that speak to you, make them yourself!" And my close friends pushed me into introducing myself and playing at a talent show. That is truly when my DJ days were born. </span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The Galvanization name was derived from an offhand conversation that took place that day at a close friend's house between that friend (Pabs), another close friend (Mike) and myself. Fully aware of my then recent dabbling in the electronic music realm, they were joking and toying with the idea that when someone heard my music, they'd become "Galvanized" (since my last name is Galvan). They described it as the process of being overwhelmed with powerful sounds (contrary to the true definition of the galvanization process). Since I provide these sounds, they found it fitting that I be called DJ Galvanization. They also coined the phrase, "You've just been Galvanized". It sounded catchy and they pushed me to the name so I went with it.</span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: Which artists have been the most influential in your work?</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Darude, Above & Beyond, Paul van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, and many classical/orchestral pieces I'd heard over the years. I didn't necessarily pick up sounds from them, not beats, but rather techniques and ideas for making the music more "professional" sounding. They were my teachers even though they don't even know it yet.</span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">EAGLEHEART: What song means the most to you in "Lucid"</span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">I'm gonna have to say Moment of Lucidity. That song started it all. It was the gateway and catalyst to all the songs that came after it so it will always have special meaning for me. Without that song, there would be no other songs to speak of.</span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></o:p></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">EAGLEHEART: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Prior to you becoming DJ Galvanization, you were part of the short-lived rock group Five Days From Friday. Did your time there affect you in any way as DJ Galvanization?<br /></span></span></span></p></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;">Yes, sadly 5DFF was short-lived and I loved being a part of it. Of course it affected me! I learned a lot on my own before joining 5DFF but I picked up a few things while involved with the band. First of all, I had a blast. But I also learned the importance of synchronization since other people are dependent on your timing when striking keys so that taught me an entire discipline. I couldn't randomly change tempo as I saw fit anymore (unless it was planned) so that was a very good thing to learn and employ later on. Also, by watching our drummer, I picked up visually how different sounds were generated with different pieces throughout the drum set. This helped me develop the drum loops for my music more accurately. I learn from everyone and everything everywhere I go and from the strangest circumstances. A simple bird chirping instigated a song idea for me one time, so you never know.</span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><b></b></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><b></b></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><b></b></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraph"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Have any commercial ventures or clubs been interested in hiring you? Are there plans for you to play at any venue in the near future?</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Well, back when I was in high school, I was invited to play at several local clubs but I was underage and the parents didn't agree with the club scene exposure just yet. I've played at several parties and events in the past. As of now, there are no plans for playing at any venue since I'm concentrating on college. But if a good opportunity presents itself, I just might take it!</span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">You're known for equating this world with chaos and music. Could you explain a little bit more about this philosophical equation and how it relates to your music?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The equation goes:<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Our World - Music = Chaos<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">so it doesn't take a math major to see that </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Chaos + Music = Our World.<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">What I mean by this is the fact that music is the bridge that connects our insanity with our inner sanity to keep them in check. We already are in an insane world full of things that stress us out and make us want to lose it. But in the background, music has always been there to help you keep it together and brighten your day. You take that away, and you can expect Chaos to take over. Likewise, in the midst of Chaos, if you add some music, it will calm the mind and bring them back to sanity. We, as humans, CRAVE music. The mind begs for it. You can bet that back when humans first roamed the Earth, music didn't take too long to be invented. The human mind seeks constant stimulation and occupation and music provides just that. Music is not a supplement to life. Music is a </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">requirement</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> to life.</span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: Philosophy aside, what's an ordinary day in your life like?</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t changes every semester because of college. Usually, upon waking (normally quite early), I finish any homework I was too tired to finish the night before. I dress up, have breakfast, go to classes, do some lab work. Lately, I've also spent a lot of time writing computer code for classes too. When the class day is over, I go home, have dinner, play the piano for a while to relax and work on new melodies to record on the synths later, and the rest of my day is usually filled with homework, plus all the daily chores and obligations and bills. On days when I have a lot of free time, I work on my music (which takes a very long time) and every now and then I indulge in video games. On weekends, I also participate in a local church choir, which is fun and it's nice to help out. Yes, there is </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">just </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">enough time for a social life.</span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: How do you balance it all?</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Daily obligations are things we all have to do. And sometimes it is pretty difficult to handle so many things when we are limited to a 24 hour day. So, I have no choice but to optimize my time and rank according to importance. I learn from other people that I know are very busy and somehow keep a balance too. That's where the ranking idea came from (even though it seems pretty basic, we don't really do that). Family situations and obligations come first, school and work comes second (and that second one is a big one), and last comes music and hobbies. As much as I love music, that's what it is, a hobby. If I could live off of music, that'd be great, but most of us cannot, so family and school must come first. But if there comes a time when music can be used for a living for me, I'll take it. I'll have my degree as a backup and I'll let the music take control.</span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: What </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">have been your greatest struggles so far when it comes to your music?</span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></b></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The most difficult thing for me sometimes is the frustration of trying to transform sounds in my mind into sounds in the physical world. I develop quite a few of the sounds I use in my music and I try to come as close as I can to replicating the sounds in my head. Usually, I'm quite happy with the end result but not before struggling with it for a good while. Another very difficult thing is recording. I have to play the song about 50 times to get it to be PERFECT and minimize editing. Also, sometimes I have to play a song (the newer ones) in "layers" instead of just one go since it's harder to control so many sounds. So I have to think very far ahead and see exactly what I have to do, so I have to play the layers at the correct time slots and get the perfect end result. It's very frustrating but the euphoria I get when I'm finished overshadows anything that happened before. It's well worth it.</span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">What has been the most blessed moment you've had as DJ Galvanization?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></p><b><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">because I've had so many. I've had the support of my family and friends, especially my family. Every time I complete a new song, I feel blessed that I had the capacity to do so. I thank God for that ability. There's no way I can name all the blessed moments I've had. A particularly nice one, though, was the day of the talent show at my high school because my family and friends were there to support me (even though my family had no idea what I was going to do in the talent show) and I had the most amazing acceptance from the crowd. It my first time on stage and you can bet I had a big case of stage fright. But the crowd acceptance helped me get through it. I feel especially blessed as we speak...because after almost 5 years, the album is finally released. And the album was only released because FANS asked me to do it, so I feel all the more blessed. The fans keep the artist going.</span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></b></span><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></b></span><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></b></span><b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">EAGLEHEART: Any final words?</span></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">DJ GALVANIZATION: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I'd like to thank my family, who has been and will always be there, for their support. And, of course, my close friends, who were there from the get go. They know who they are. Also, I cannot overemphasize how important the fans are to me. Their support will allow the continuation of music to come. I strive to improve in every new track and yet make it unique to the other songs so it keeps things interesting. The fans make it possible. I'll leave you with this thought: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span style="font-size:9.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The artist makes the music, but the fans make the artist.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFF66;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b></b></span></span></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="Tahoma","sans-serif";font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span style="Tahoma","sans-serif";font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;color:#333333;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></b></b></span><b><b></b></b></b></span><b><b></b></b></span><b><b></b></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="Tahoma","sans-serif";font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></span></p><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: inline !important; "><span style="Tahoma","sans-serif";font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;color:#333333;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></p></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></b></b></span><b><b></b></b></b></span><b><b></b></b></span><b><b></b></b></b></span><b><b><p></p></b></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><i>If you're a local artist and would like to be featured in the RGV Leviathan, leave a comment with your contact information :)</i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><i>--Eagleheart</i></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></b></b></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-61177203828208875312010-04-29T23:40:00.000-07:002010-04-30T00:02:36.690-07:00Fun things to do as a Scorpion<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I mentioned in an earlier post how there are a lot of fun things to do as a Scorpion.</span> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Recently I was called out on it, and initially I drew a blank.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But then I thought to myself...I had a hell of a lot of fun as a Scorpion. I should be able to talk about a lot of things.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"But, Eagleheart, it's BROWNSVILLE!"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Yeah, I know.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">However, being how I believe Brownsville IS the college and the college IS Brownsville, I have an entire city from where I can draw ideas about 'fun things to do as a Scorpion.'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Being a commuter school offers us a series of advantages and disadvantages when compared to our elder and uglier sister in Edinburg. (Yeah, I said it.) There's still a lot of fun things to do as a Scorpion. Sure, we may not be perfect, but we're a damned sight better than other universities.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I am adding the 'downside' to things in order to keep some objectivity.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1. Residential/Student Life</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cons: Our full-time resident population is pretty low, so we don't get to have the OMGAWESOMEPARTIES that may be prevalent at other universities. (Compare UH - commuter school, with Texas A&M College Station). Age/gender disparity is also an issue, as the average UTB/TSC student is a woman in her mid-twenties.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I remember that throughout my three and a half years at the University, I was always the youngest, or among the youngest in my class, no matter if I was 18, 19, 20, 21, or 22.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pros: Given that our dorms used to be a flippin' hotel, they're bigger.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">That's one bit.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The rest:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We may not have the vibrant residential life seen in other schools, owing to the smaller numbers of residents, BUT we make up for it by turning other houses in town into party places. I think it is written somewhere that "When two or more Scorpions are gathered in my midst, there is a party."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2. Brownsville</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cons: It's Brownsville. It's hot, there's no [insert hipster thrift store / forever 21 / barnes and noble / games workshop / random store in Austin or Houston ], if you can't speak a lick of Spanish you can't get anywhere, and people value football as they value religion.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pros: Because of our university and our unique position in the border, we have a large city. We're the crown jewel of the Rio Grande Valley. And Scorpions are a big part of it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">See, without our university, we wouldn't have people needing to destress locally.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Let's face it...there's majors in campus that give you a good reason to need an outlet for pent-up frustrations.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Unlike Austin, people born here have a fair shot at being Scorpions.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Unlike Houston, everything's accessible.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If I have a tough week at school, I'd like to be able to have places to release pent-up frustrations The bar scene in Brownsville is great, if you'll excuse the occasional fight. There's karaoke night at Bennigans, live music for decent prices at The Bar, hike along the bike paths, play pick-up games at Morningside, Lincoln, or Brownsville Sports Park, go out to eat at any of our fine dining establishments (being so close to the border lets us have REAL tacos), for more intellectual pursuits we've got an ass-load of museums, a playhouse, a strong [albeit hidden] support for the arts, 2 battlefields, and for those so-inclined, endless opportunities to hone chess skills.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The city is quite literally your playground, Scorpions.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">Any other city in the valley, you'd be like...uh, so what do we do now?</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">Brownsville and McAllen are the only cities in the RGV where the "What's there to do?" lists aren't topped by "1. - go to South Padre"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3. Athletics</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cons: Football dominates Valley and Brownsville life.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pros: Association football [soccer] is a rising force. I mean it. If you get a chance to catch the Scorpions play at the REK Center field, do so. If it's a weekend game you'll see slightly-mitigated passion, but it'll be reminiscent of watching a game at any big-name stadium in the north.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Minus the urine-filled ziplocks thrown at the referee.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I was particularly entertained by Porter High School's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Barra</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, a group of Porter HS graduates studying at UTB/TSC who turned out for several games with drums and combined with the existing REK-Center cheering squad.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In my articles, I began to label them the Scorpion </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ultras</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and they were always there at the games, with orange and blue-painted faces and apparel, for both men's and women's soccer teams. These are people that just make you WANT to be a Scorpion.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then there's of course, the Premier Development League's Rio Grande Valley Bravos, with four Scorpions on their roster, now. Hell, it's not MLS but I'd rather watch a bunch of lower-division kids play amateur football than watch "Real" Salt Lake and New York Red Bull play grabass with each other.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then there's the futbol rapido leagues played off in 511 by the airport. If you get a chance and don't mind the mosquitoes, those games (a number of Scorpions play in that league) are quite fun to watch, too.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But back to the university.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We've got a kickass volleyball team and our baseball team is no longer the mediocre team it was a few years ago.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sure, you're thinking that since we don't play in the NCAA Division I, we're kinda shitty.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Well, no. We play in the NAIA, which is, competitively, between NCAA Division II and III.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And in our conference, we're dominant.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'd much rather reign in hell than serve in heaven, if you catch my drift.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'll give you that in 2009 we caught beatings from U. New Mexico and UT-Pan Am's baseball teams. But when it came time for soccer and volleyball, we slaughtered NCAA division I and II rivals in soccer and volleyball. My favorites were the women's soccer team routing Texas Southern University (3-1 at the REK Field and 5-1 on the road) and the volleyball team consuming UTPA at their own fieldhouse.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And the men's soccer team, well...I've seen them deal 12-0 beatings on other RRAC teams.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pretty hilarious.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>4. Conclusion.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Life is as fun as you make it. "There's nothing to do" is a shit excuse.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you're stuck here and waiting to CAP out to UT or a bigger school, keep your foot on the ground and enjoy it here while your time is out. It sucks sometimes, yeah, but everything's got its ups and downs. There are no perfect universities.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you were off at a fancier school and came back for X reason, welcome back and we hope you'll enjoy your stay. I would suggest remember your old school fondly (or not so fondly if you got out because they screwed you over), but don't take it out on UTB/TSC. Our colleges are different, and every experience is different than the rest. So we're sorry you're not going to get to do a ring dunk, but hey, with time, you can build your own tradition.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Being a Scorpion is fun, and if it isn't to you, you have to MAKE it fun.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">People will give you shit for it, definitely, as there are some of you out there who've been given flak by people who went to other "big-name" schools. Tell them to fuck off. A diploma from a prestigious university might get open doors for you, but it won't hold 'em open. You will do that by yourself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'm going to paraphrase the Boondock Saints now.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Once you hold those doors open, you shouldn't ask yourself how far can you go.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ask yourself if you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Doesn't get any funner than that.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sting 'em hard!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">-Eagleheart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">SNEAK PEEK:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In the upcoming issue of the Rio Grande Leviathan, I will analyze the UTB/TSC Board of Trustees race.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Will I back the administration candidates/incumbents, or will I take sides with the populist challengers?</span></div><div><br /></div></span>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-64138507931610315692010-04-13T09:13:00.000-07:002010-04-13T09:44:57.603-07:00NostalgiaLately, my mind's been bothersome since there has been [at least, up until yesterday] nothing to do.<div>So my mind travels.</div><div>Travels back and forward through time and dimensions that don't really exist, different planes and states of mind, traveling at an unbelievable speed in order to reach these dimensions within the span of a breath.</div><div>In this past-future sight, I go to places and I see them as they were or how they could be. It's strange...just a blink of an eye and then the real world disappears and I'm in a different time. A blink and I'm back.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's always me in these travels. I take on several forms, but it's always me.</div><div>I've traveled the Kanto and Johto regions, flown dragons in Britain, fought alongside and against Napoleon and Salahuddin.</div><div>I've sprouted wings off my back and flown over the entire city of Brownsville. I've met imagined death countless times only to be reborn every single time. </div><div>And it's always me.</div><div>No matter how unreal the situation is, it's always me. I look the same, talk the same, act the same, the only difference is the wings.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's just strange. I don't know what keeps my imagination so excited.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, SGA elections are coming up soon, and once I get wind of the candidates, I'll be posting up my own commentary about it :p</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-41627618704803805432010-04-06T21:41:00.000-07:002010-04-06T23:04:50.401-07:00BougainvilleaSo I'm back in town.<div><br /></div><div>[looks around at nonexistent audience]</div><div><br /></div><div>I know you missed me.</div><div><br /></div><div>A little bit about my return. I unfortunately left Madrid as heartbroken as I left Granada. In my short time I was there, I danced from dusk till down, learned Sevillanas, and was treated to great BBQ by one of my beautiful hosts.</div><div><br /></div><div>The plane back, however...</div><div>I developed a fever mid-flight, a condition which was exacerbated by the fact that I had to put up with the screaming cries of two children for ten hours. Horrible experience compounded by the inedible food. I mean...what's the deal there? It's plastic. What made it worse was seeing the Israeli guy sitting next to me devouring his plate with gusto. Is food in Tel-Aviv that bad that you actually <i>enjoy</i> airline food? In any case, I get back to Dallas, spend a feverish night, come back, stumble across two rejection letters, find that shit is just as I left it, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I'm better now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Enjoying myself more, enjoying the outside world more. But, I have to come back to blogging, particularly since there's a particularly delicious topic this week: Bougainvillea.</div><div><br /></div><div>To the lot of you that aren't familiar with Bougainvillea, it's essentially a prom-type of event that the University of Texas at Brownsville has put on since the year of the nopal. It's a pretty neat event overall.</div><div>Last year, I had the opportunity to participating in the event as a candidate, alongside my best friend. These are the observations I drew from my time as a candidate:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. People take that shit seriously-</div><div>Thousands of people vote for their Bougainvillea candidates. Only a few hundred vote for Student Government positions. Though, given the sorry state of affairs in the SGA...and given the sorry candidates that have been running the show for the past few semesters, I can't say I blame them.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Campaigns are dirty.</div><div>In three and a half years of being around Bougainvillea, it was amazing to see how dirty campaigning got. Two years before I ran there was a big stink going on because one of the candidates was telling people not to vote for X candidate because she was "gorda y fea". Then a year later there was the matter of mutual reporting about rule-breaking going on between candidates. Then during my own campaign, several of our signs were torn from their hinges or simply stolen. Of course during the campaigns there's always administrative involvement of sorts, in some cases covert, and in some cases blatant.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. People <b>really </b>take that shit seriously</div><div>A lot of the candidates, I feel, and I might be wrong, but a lot of them see this as being a chance to be the "royalty" in proms they may not have had a chance of being in high school. I remember walking down in procession and chuckling with my partner at how short our "introductions" were. Then the other candidates went by and we realized that their own introductions were about 2-3 pages long, detailing lifetime and community "achievements" family and friends and of course the exhortation to prayer and a healthy diet and oh my god this is such a special moment in my life.</div><div>Which, of course, only made me laugh a little inside, given how our campaign was run on no such premises. We were there to show school spirit, but took the entire thing as seriously as one would take an extra credit assignment. </div><div>I mean, it's an honor and it's all in good fun, but come on, people!</div><div><br /></div><div>4. People take not voting seriously</div><div>"I didn't do this shit in high school! I'm too cool to vote!"</div><div>Like the people on #3, some people have the same high school mentality, and same chips on the shoulder as they did about people campaigning.</div><div>When I ran, I tried my hardest to make these people understand that despite some candidates running for Prom II, there were some of us doing it for the school spirit and to have fun. </div><div>But NO. </div><div>Either these people see some of the candidates as the spitting image of that jock who jostled them around in high school (which is kind of funny in my perspective, since I was as far removed from a jock in HS as intelligence is to Tea Party members) OR the thought of people having fun was offensive to these people.</div><div><br /></div><div>To those of you that do this, I have one request for you: Have fun being a Scorpion, even if you think it's strange or stupid. </div><div>Case in point:</div><div>In Valencia, Spain, there's a week-long event mid-March called Las Fallas, in which the city's neighborhoods all compete with each other to create huge and elaborate floats that are incredibly time-consuming to make. The winner is selected on Friday and then is promptly lit in a huge bonfire and then everyone else sets of fireworks.</div><div>Strange....but it's tradition.</div><div>And tradition, as a college student, is important.</div><div>The way I've always seen things about college in general is that you have to get involved with the campus. If you're a Longhorn you have to party in 6th Street. If you're an Aggie, you have to party in Northgate and BTHO things. If you're a Scorpion, you grin and bear with Bougainvillea (amongside a wide variety of other things that I'll talk about in a later post). Tradition brings people together and allows for a more positive and enriching college experience.</div><div>It costs you almost nothing to attend the school, other than the stupid textbooks that are unreasonably expensive, so what's wrong with having a little fun here and there?</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not going to tell you who to vote for. That'd spoil the fun.</div><div>If I could vote, I'd support my friends Michael Peña and Cleiri Quezada, who are representing The Collegian, the only student voice on campus.</div><div>But, feel free to choose whoever :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers!</div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-62756252228503544842010-03-28T07:27:00.000-07:002010-03-30T04:44:50.097-07:00Social Commentary from Madrid, IHello, again.<div><br /></div><div>So, within maybe 20 minutes of landing in Madrid, my cabbie (who was as dark skinned as I am) confused me for an Ecuatorian. I naturally didn't say anything other than give him a dirty look because I was TIRED.</div><div>Apparently half Ecuador is here (understandable) so...whatever.</div><div><br /></div><div>But, yeah, I'm [back] in Madrid. Last time I was here was Christmas before last, also on the tail end of a European tour. Nothing's changed since...well, even if something did change I'm not exactly going to notice.</div><div>Unlike Granada, Madrid's not half-covered in works (Thanks, Plan Engaño!), and it's huge,</div><div>Note that I am not by any means dissing Granada's public works program. When it's all done it's going to make the city more beautiful than it already is.</div><div>Which is going to suck for the tourism industry because people are NOT going to want to leave.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back to Madrid.</div><div>Let's talk about the subway.</div><div>The subway is such a novel contraption I wish it could be placed everywhere in the Rio Grande Valley. Except we can't really build one, what with us being on sea-level and all that.</div><div>(And there's a number of people who would break the rails just by virtue of their mass)</div><div>But if anything, we should make more use of our public transportation system. Cut our dependency on our cars. </div><div>And don't get me wrong, I love driving, but hell, if I could have a reliable way to get to say, South Texas ProBAR without having to drive or pay an expensive bus ticket, I'd really appreciate it.</div><div><br /></div><div>We should bring back the trains, too. It'd be a great source of employment.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, how about some social commentary?</div><div>I think I already talked enough about healthcare and education.</div><div>So how about POLITICS?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, in brief:</div><div>-HISTORICAL SEGMENT-</div><div>Earlier in the 20th century, there was this war in Spain. The Spanish Civil War.</div><div>Horrible affair. The right-leaning nationalists (fascists) versus a conglomeration of anarchists, socialists, democrats, communists and international volunteers. </div><div>The "fascists" won because of their unity and because Franco was a BAMF in his own right. I use the term in quotations because Franco wasn't anything but...Franco. He saw opportunities and took them, the ultimate pragmatist. That led him to make buddies with Hitler early on just to be able to use German technology against the Republicans. Combined with the fact that the Republicans had pretty much been like "LET'S KILL ALL THE CAPTAINS OF OUR SHIPS IMPERIALIST PIGS!" without the foresight of having Republican backups to said captains, Franco had the technological edge.</div><div>Later on, when Hitler was doing his stuff, he was like "So...Franco....yeah...you know those planes and stuff we sent you to help you win? Yeahhhh, it'd be cool if you joined me, cuz, you kinda owe me."</div><div>Franco was like, "<i>Sorry, no hablo Aleman"</i> and that was the end of it. Yeah, there was a Spanish Blue Division who fought for the Germans in the war, but it was an entirely volunteer regiment formed SOLELY to fight the Russkies.</div><div>-END HISTORICAL SEGMENT-</div><div><br /></div><div>So what ends up happening is that Franco rules the country as a dictator for awhile, and then when things settle down and several dozen thousand Spaniards are put to death or exiled, he restores the constitutional monarchy in his deathbed. The government is socialist-leaning but with conservative values. So there's a period of conservative leaders from the Partido Popular and then BOOM, the mudjahaddeen bomb the Atocha train station in Madrid as retailiation for Aznar's support for the Bush Invasion...right before the general election.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oddly enough, the people flipped out and elected Zapatero, the candidate for the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) and then there was a pull out.</div><div><br /></div><div>So there's a lefty-leaning government, the opposition party is a right-leaning lefty party, and there is a new center-standing lefty party that's gaining prominence called "Union Progreso y Democracia" who's like Whoa, you guys both suck, but here's my legitimate gripe with you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why do I bring up politics?</div><div><br /></div><div>Because I don't like the way the PSOE is running things. And I think there's room for more debates about fixing shit in regards to crime and punishment. Murderers getting away with...well, murder, is not right. Life imprisonment is NOT inhumane.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of inhumane, there's certain inhumane subsidies that have prejudiced the people of Spain in this foreigner's opinion.</div><div>There's lots of stores called "de chinos" which, as you imagine, are Chinese-owned stores. Problem with these stores is that unlike Spanish stores which tend to close on Sundays and some close from 2-5 for the siesta, these are family joints that run all week.</div><div>Which, y'know, is the capitalist thing to do, right?</div><div>BUT.</div><div>They get subsidies to do so. A Chinese-owned business pays no taxes for five years. Which is weird. I'm all for immigration, I'm all for a lot of things, but I am not for the philosophical jeopardizing of a nation's autonomy. What happens is right before five years are up, the owner transfers the lease to a family member and 5 more years of no taxes!</div><div><br /></div><div>If you know me, I'm a big fan of immigration. However, those benefits should also be given to domestic industries as well, if you're going to start giving those handouts.</div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-4935745527536364032010-03-26T10:15:00.000-07:002010-03-26T10:19:01.478-07:00Closing thoughts on AndalucíaWell...I'm leaving.<br />Yeah, heading off to Madrid, but I've become enamored with this place. The people, the culture, everything.<br /><br />There's two things I need to highlight in this third installment of my commentary: Women and food.<br /><br />Actually, it could be one. Instead of <span style="font-style: italic;">tacos de ojo </span>it's been a month of <span style="font-style: italic;">tapas de ojo.<br /> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span></span>Talking to my Spanish roommate from back home before coming over here, we had a discussion about where the most beautiful women in Spain were. Having spent a few days in Barcelona the year prior, I suggested the Catalunyan women were very beautiful. He said that that was a very dumb thing to say and then swore to high heavens that Andalucían women were the most beautiful in Spain and quite probably the world. I laughed in his face. It was a naive thought. I mean, I'm from northern Mexico and have traveled all around Texas. Surely there couldn't be women as beautiful as that.<br /><br />And I was wrong.<br /><br />Andalucian women are absolutely gorgeous. That's all there is to be said on the matter and it unfortunately brings in this connundrum.<br />Who is hotter?<br />Mexican women from the north<br />Andalucian women<br />or Texan women?<br /><br />You vote.<br /><br />As for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">food</span> ... well...it's all been so delicious. I cannot say for certain what's been my favorite meal. Maybe it's the boquerones, a type of anchovy cured in lime and olive oil, or "pechuguitas Ithaka" chicken dumplings cured in lime or...yeah.<br />Interesting thing about Granada and the Andalucian coast, is that it has a lot of coastal things that wouldn't be amiss in Mexico. Mangos, oranges, limes, etc. No grapefruit, though.<br />And Granada has the only aguacate crop in possibly the entire European union.<br /><br />What else?<br />Well. Nothing.<br /><br />I have two anecdotes. Not my own, of course, but common lore here:<br /><br />The first is that of a blind beggar who was out...well, begging for money, in the city of Granada.<br />A noblewoman walks by and she brushes him off. A passing knight sees this and tells her,<br />"Dele limosna, señora, que no hay mas pena que ser ciego en Granada"<br /><br />The second anecdote deals with Boabdil, the city's last moorish ruler. Legend has it that when he left the city after turning over the keys to Fernando and Isabel, he turned back and looked at the city. He wept and his mother turned to him and said, "Why do you weep like a woman for that which you could not defend as a man?"<br /><br />I understand why Boabdil wept.<br />I understand why being blind is a misery here.<br />And now I leave...who knows when I'll be back.<br /><br />I'll stop by Madrid for a few days before heading back home. Maybe I'll post from the capital.<br /><br />Cheers!<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-53920440699758930232010-03-23T02:02:00.000-07:002010-03-23T02:37:02.228-07:00Social Commentary from Andalucía, II<p>In which Eagleheart muses and then takes on socialized healthcare, socialized education and the European Union...</p><p>Haven't written in awhile.<br />My apologies.<br />Been enjoying my time here. Visited the Alhambra last weekend...three hours after coming back from a night out. I still had fun, though. Seeing the city from above (got to experience the same sight several days later from the opposite side of the Alhambra, in the neighborhood of the Albaycin. Photos available on my facebook, since I can't be assed to put them up in photobucket. Not right now, anyway. Stupid connection issues.<br /><br />Speaking of connection issues but not really, Lady Gaga is going to Houston this summer. And I SO SO BADLY WANT TO GO.<br />Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah. Albaycin. Or Albaicin. Spelling is really up to the user. Something I haven't said about Granada before, is that it's an old city.<br /><br />NO SHIT EAGLEHEART ITS EUROPE ITS THE OLD WORLD LOL<br /><br />Well, yeah, BUT. There's some pre-Roman stuff here. Not a lot, but it's here. To the history buff, meaning me, this place is wonderful. I’ve also visited the Capilla Real, where Fernando of Aragon and Isabel of Castilla (and Juana la Loca and Felipe I de Castilla and the infant Miguel de Paz) are buried.<br />It’s interesting, to consider the what ifs.What if the rulers of Granada had not decided to fight against each other when the Reconquista came?<br />What if Columbus had been turned away from the Catholic Monarchs, too?<br />Some would say that if it wasn’t for the fall of Granada 1/2/1492, millions upon millions of native Aztecs, Tlaxcaltecas and Huastrcas would have survived and the Mayan codices would not have been burnt and we’d all traveling the Empyrean in Mayan spaceships.<br />Or we’d be speaking English.<br />It happened.<br />Mexican race came out of it, so I can’t complain too much. ,)</p><p><em>AUTHOR'S NOTE: THE BULK OF THIS NOTE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE PASSING OF THE 2010 HEALTHCARE BILL.</em> </p><p>Every one in Spain is entitled to healthcare. Even tourists. If I fell sick, I could get treatment.</p><p>Yeah, there’s private care available, too, but it’s just as good and it’s by the same doctors. America, how hard could this be to understand?I understand restrictions for certain things like plastic surgery. </p><p>I mean if you’re Juan and want to be Juana, you shouldn’t chop off your Johnson on the government’s dime. Ditto boob jobs and facelifts. Anything that is purely cosmetic (and not a result of severe burns) should not be covered on a comprehensive healthcare package. Anything else, why not?I mean, it’s not like we’re not wasting money on other fruitless ventures like working to pad the former Vice President’s <a href="http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/time/4183-1.jpg)">stock portfolio</a> or <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Professor-Given-100000-to/4241">stupid research grants.</a></p><p>Just do it, America. Doctors here make some pretty mean cash. There is no starving doctor.</p><p>But hey, I understand, some American doctors just HAVE to have that yacht and that Spyder. Not saying all of them are like that, but, still.</p><p>Lines won’t be too long. If you run into the ER with a gunshot wound that could be mortal you’ll be treated right then and there. And if you need a transplant, yeah, there’s lines and yeah, you could get a quicker deal with a privatized agency BUT it's not as obscene as it's painted to you by your local tea-party mouthbreather (the hypocrisy of these jerks will be discussed in later events) AND it evens the playing field. It means that if Paris Hilton and I get medical treatment, mine will be just as good as hers.</p><p>“Why do you hate America, Eagleheart?”</p><p>I don’t. Rich people are no better than poor people and viceversa. And there’s none of this multiple hundred dollar price tag just for a doctor to tell you “Oh. You have a cold.” If that doesn’t convince you, here’s an excerpt from the United Nations declaration on human rights: </p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>“Article 25.(1) </em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”</em></span> </p><p>The U.S. signed this.Then again, we know how good they the U.S. is at adhering to promises ;) </p><p></p><p>Moving on!<br /></p><p><strong>Socialized education</strong> </p><p>I’m still undecided how I feel about it. I think it’s great that education is free and that even for college will be relatively (as in…there’s ways to get it for free if you fill out the right forms) inexpensive. </p><p>But what happens when you have two-three decades of this? Everyone’s got their master’s, everyone’s got their bachelor’s. The only thing that sets you apart from the herd is your score on the placement exam…which is neat. </p><p>I could argue for it screwing over people who aren’t good standardized test-takers but that’s just a cop out when you get down to it.If you do well on that exam, you could do fun things like go into medicine.If you don’t, well, you could major in the humanities or something like that and hope you find a job somewhere.</p><p>In the United States, it’s not like everyone has a bachelor’s degree or something beyond that, so the more terminal a degree is, the more employable you are (in certain professions) Would I like to see universal education? Yes, most definitely. Everyone deserves a fair shake.</p><p>But I would rather fix the broken and bipolar education system first and then I can get a little bit more comfortable. Health care first.</p><p>In any case, there are many parallels between this system and the American system. If you don't like public schools, you can pay for private schools. Merit-based scholarships are numerous here, too. However, race-based scholarships are rare. So are the"Oh, my grandfather's great grandfather once shook hands with an Indian" type of scholarships.</p><p>However, education in the private and public sectors is great and the only key difference is that going throug private school means your kid probably doesn't get to hang around as many immigrant children. But it's still pretty good. Most European countries learn all about the world, learn proper history, and possibly pick up another language or two. The ERASMUS grant discussed in the previous commentary also gives them a distinct advantage.</p><p>Back in the States, there is an unfortunate disparity between the public schol and private school systems. I do not believe the school makes the student. I believe a smart student is just as likely to succeed in either environment. However, with the horrible deficiencies propagated by <em>lying </em>textbooks and teachers who have to teach to a flawed TAKS or state test, I'd say there's more risk in public school there than here.</p><p>What’s next? Oh, the <strong>European Union.</strong> </p><p>So I’m in class, right, and we’re going over some laws about the European Union. So then the professor starts talking about the organization of the EU and then he kind of casually, matter-of-factly, talks about how the following is entirely possible:</p><p>· Any member of the EU can go to another country in the EU and have passive and active suffrage in municipal elections. Active suffrage meaning they can vote for a candidate, and passive suffrage meaning they can be voted for.</p><p>· If I don’t like the way a criminal or civil court treats me in Spain, I can appeal it to the higher courts of the European Union. </p><p>What the fuck? I mean, I think it’s great to have free travel between national boundaries.</p><p>But…to threaten your national autonomy like that?</p><p>Oh, sure, let me rob a bank in Barcelona but then when I get arrested I’ll complain that I was unfairly treated and with a good lawyer I stand a sure-shot of appealing a ruling against me.</p><p>Just think about the possible ramifications of that. It would make a mockery out of existing extradition rules.</p><p>In the United States, it would probably lead to good things like the destruction of the border wall in the southwest and the legalization of marijuana throughout the northern frontier. </p><p>But Mexico and the United States, while being historically linked (no Mexican session = no United States. No Santa Ana = frontier ends in Louisiana) are two very different countries in about everything else.</p><p>Europe was like that, with several nation-states duking it out and each kicking ass in its own terms. Now it’s moving slowly towards being a single republic again. Crazy. And don't get me wrong, I love the Euro, and I understand it brought back several economies from ruin. This is good. </p><p>What is not good is that combining the other factors, you begin to seriously undermine your own nation's autonomy. Now just wait until the Turks (who still haven't recognized the massacres in WWI) get brought in.</p><p>That's all for now, folks. Time to enjoy my last few days in Andalucía.</p><p></p>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-33072665455327721132010-03-14T13:24:00.000-07:002010-03-14T16:12:48.964-07:00The Tapas Phenom and nightlife in Granada<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This </span></span></span>particular entry will deal more with the idea behind tapas rather than the food. The food bit I'll comment on later.<br />Anyway, what are tapas?<br />Tapas, are simply put, the Spanish equivalent to tacos.<br />Meaning that in its most basic, simplistic definition, a tapa is a piece of bread that you put stuff on it.<br />However, they take on a whole different social situation here.<br />On two fronts.<br />On the first, it's such a small meal that you could eat five-six times a day and it'd be the equivalent of a three-meal day back home, key difference being that food over here tends to be healthier and people walk more, etc.<br />The other front is that you <span style="font-style: italic;">tapear</span> is synonymous with bar-hopping here. An idea like that would not fly at all in the United States for two reasons, the drinking issue (where a majority of people absolutely positively completely need to drink) and because the portions are small.<br />So, what happens on any given night in Granada?<br />You leave your house, your <span style="font-style: italic;">piso</span> as it is called over here, at about ten or so. You meet up with your friends somewhere, then head to a place that sells tapas, which is about 95% of the food establishments here. You order a beer and the beer comes with a tapa, sometimes it's cook's choice, sometimes you pick your own.<br />Then, you go to another tapa place.<br />Then, you go to another tapa place.<br />Then, you go to another tapa place.<br />Then you could hit up a bar or club.<br />Then you go home. At six or seven in the morning.<br /><br />I got to experience that last night with my two awesome roommates here. We left home at about ten p.m., more or less. I of course, was dressed...respectable. Better than I've looked in some, most, or maybe all cases.<br />We hit up three tapa bars, stopping for a <span style="font-style: italic;">caña</span> (a beer) at <span style="font-style: italic;">Ithaca, La Quintana, and La Pajuana</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>. At Ithaca we had the most delicious lime-cured lightly breaded chicken tapas, at La Quintana we had...I don't know what it was, but it was not as good as the previous place. It had some pretty interesting microbrews that were in a red bottle and had CHICKS ON SPEED on it.<br />Then at La Pajuana, we had a hamburger-tapa that was DELICIOUS. I mean, nothing like Ernie's, of course, but if I ever see a Southmost-style burger in this corner of the world, I would probably die.<br />Following that, we hit up a cocktail bar, then two nightclubs, stopping and staying from 4 a.m. onwards at one particular one called El Principe. It had guys on stilts walking around and dancing, and a violinist that was...trippy.<br />Then we got home at seven, and three hours later I was awake, getting ready to go to the Alhambra.<br /><br />Some interesting things about last night:<br />1. Dark shirts are not common in nightclubs at all. Spaniard men go about in bright colors. I am not joking.<br />2. Whiskey and water is an old man's drink here.<br />3. Toronjas do not exist in Spain, which kinda made me look dumb to one of the cocktail bar's bartenders because I asked for a paloma.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-36372086452753015492010-03-10T00:13:00.000-08:002010-03-10T02:31:31.752-08:00Social Commentary from Andalucía IIt's not that the <em>Granadinos</em> are smarter than Americans, it's just that common sense is actually <em>common</em> up here.<br />Here's a number of things I've been noticed about the people here.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">1. Drinking</span></strong><br />The drinking age is 18 here. Woop, woop.<br />Lowering the drinking age in the United States would make parties funner, yeah, and there'd be an increase in the debauchery of Spring Break. BUT BUT BUT people here know how to drink.<br />Along with most of my friends, I was raised to know how to drink. Discovering limits was okay and pushing my body past the limits was okay too, but only once and then only to learn <em>why</em> it's bad to push said limits to a breaking point.<br />It is common, or rather, the norm here to have a beer, maybe two with lunch and dinner.<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/?action=view&current=1.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/1.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The picture above was taken at the cafeteria in the med school here at the University of Granada. Were we to have one at UMIX at UTB/TSC, not only would Mr. Escudero (the owner) be able to put his 8 kids through med school without taking a loan, but he could probably get a house in the Hamptons, too.<br />Why? Because people like to drink to excess back home. No matter the time of day. Bars open early on and don't close till the wee hours of the morning. It's like a need for these people to go about life glassy eyed.<br />And "it's the valley lolololol they have to drink LUL" is NOT a good excuse. We have all sorts of greenery, it's not cow country like in other parts of Texas, and it's great weather. It's not a shitty place to live. You want shitty? There's two huge continents in this hemisphere that are truly shitty to live in. Here's a hint, they both start with A and neither of them are Australia.<br />People need to learn to drink. If people drank European (or at least how they drink here in Granada), the United States would be in a far better place.<br />On another note, it's not kosher here to drink whiskey straight. And it's okay for guys to drink chick drinks here without the respective snickering. The horror!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">2. Driving</span></strong><br />Driving here is a combination of Houston and Monterrey driving, with the added bonus that pedestrians are out to get you as well. It's laissez faire, here, but somehow people manage not to murder each other that readily. Oh, and you can't drive until you're 18 here. Which is AWESOME. Really. Too many brats out on the road back home.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">3. Food</span></strong><br />Food is...delicious. Here's the thing about Spaniards--they don't eat a lot of spicy food. This works great because I don't, either. Every plate I've had (and lord knows I've had a lot of plates) has been absoluetely delicious. The only exceptions have been two: Partridge Paté (wayy too strong for my taste) and queso cabrales, a cheese from the Asturias region of Spain that smells and tastes as if it was cured in shit. Everything else has been delicious.<br />Things to note:<br />Tortillas:Mexico :: Bread:Spain.<br />It's good, though. Tostadas (toast, not tortilla chips, funny enough) are good. I think my favorite so far has been the one with anchovies cured in olive oil and lemon and one I had today, which is a tostada with tomato and olive oil.<br />Olive oil's quite common.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">4. Socialized medicine</span></strong><br />It's not the boogeyman the United States is afraid of. If you're sick, you'll get treated, no matter who you are or where you come from. If you want "better" treatment (it's on an equal level) you can pay for it. Most doctors that work for public hospitals also supplement their income with their own private practice in the afternoon. None of them are starving, they just want to make more money. TAKE THE HINT, UNITED STATES. This type of socialized program is NOT BAD. Unless it's managed in the "oh shit, we actually have to do shit?" style (more commonly known as FEMA style)<br />The only thing there seems to be a backlash for is that some people don't like the idea that their money pays for sex changes.<br />But, honestly, if the gubmint's going to take my money, I would rather pay for Chris to be Christine than pay for the invasion of a sovereign land on false pretenses.<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/?action=view&current=10.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/10.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Where Granada's doctors are born.</div><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">5. Crime and Punishment</span></strong><br />The Spaniards are a wee bit too lax. Shoot, rape gets you 10 years and murder gets you 30. You only get more years in jail for terrorism (separatist or otherwise). Some are trying to change that, but the rule is a bit liberal in that it believes people can change.<br />And my opinion is NO.<br />Some people don't change. Some people are just plain fucked up. Yes, society breaks some of these people, but the way to account for this mistake is NOT by letting a rapist get off after a slap on the wrist (ten years minus good conduct minus what the lawyer can get off equals slap on the wrist). It's extreme measures. I'm all for castration of proven rapists, not the oh my girlfriend is 17 and I'm 22 ones, but the ones where the girl is 16 and the guy's like thirty. Rape is NOT okay.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">6. Gun control</span></strong><br />Getting a gun here is pretty hard. Currently in Granada there's a case where eight guys break into this guy's house, tie him up and proceed to sexually assault his daughter. The guy goes to the safe where the money is, finds a gun and shoots one dead and wounds the other one. The rest flee.<br />GUESS WHO'S ON TRIAL FOR MURDER? (hint: it's not the criminals)<br />in Texas, if the case would even make it to a jury, he'd get a standing ovation.<br />And for good reason. You come into my house and try to rape someone I hold dear, I'm going to shoot you dead. And I'm going to make sure you're dead so that you won't try to get off on a technicality.<br />(That said, an armed campus is a bad idea, but that's a rant for another day)<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">7. Ctrl+A is Ctrl+E</span></strong><br />This makes me MAD. Why is it ctrl+e to select everything here? If Ctrl+A is Ctrl+All, then what is Ctrl+E? Ctrl+Everything? Would make sense except it's a SPANISH KEYBOARD. raaaaarl.<br />That's it for now.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">8. Interculturalism </span></strong><br />The ERASMUS program is simply one of the most brilliant programs devised by Europeans. Basically, say you're getting a degree in X. With the ERASMUS program, you can study a year in any university in the EU and all credits will be counted towards the degree, whether it be a bachelor's degree or a master's degree. It's a bit like study abroad programs in the United States except you actually study abroad and not take 1 class and then play grab-ass with the other clowns who <a href="http://blogs.gnome.org/muelli/files/2009/06/america.gif">believe THAR BE DRAGONS</a>* once you get past Raymondville.<br /> In the class I am taking right now, there's three italians from the program and they're all pretty cool people. (There's also two Colombians and one Mauritanian. The Colombian accent reminds me heavily of the Chihuahuan accent. Pretty neat.)<br />Hopefully one day the EU and the United States and Mexico could get together to have a ... something program like that. Unfortunately given how Eurocentric Europe can be and how Americocentric the US can be, it's unlikely. The horror of some Americans to discover that they weren't the ones to singlehandedly win WWII and the horror of some Europeans to discover how much stuff comes from the Americas that they enjoy in their life would be far too much too handle. One thing, though. Everyone in my class speaks good Spanish, and good Spanish. Obviously it was the first language of many of the people in the class, but it was the second and even third of some others. I am told that in Spain other languages aren't stressed as much (unless of course you are raised in Cataluña or Vizcaya in which case you tend to be bilingual from the start) but elsewhere in Europe, being bilingual is the norm. Back in the U.S., being bilingual makes you awesome, being multilingual has colleges and employers beating a path to your door. Here, not so much.<br />That said, it's a bonus for people like me over there, who stand out and are easily found. The problem here is that since everyone's educated, you have to be pretty lucky to stand out more. Maybe save the prince's baby...from a burning house...while naked...fighting terrorists...and cooking paella...blindfolded.<br /><br /><br />Stinging 'em hard from Granada,<br /><br />Eagleheart<br /><br /><br />*--Point of view is the rule, but there are several exceptionsEaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-51272566960027624132010-03-06T14:49:00.000-08:002010-03-06T15:11:04.137-08:00Food gorge in JaenI feel like a pig. We ate full course meals in Jaen.<br />And by full course, I mean I think I'm done eating for the rest of the month.<br />Tapas of all kinds. Morcillo (ox blood), pipirrana (tomato and tuna and I don't know what else) and all sorts of food. Six courses overall.<br />We also visited a badass Cathedral with incredible wood detail.<br />To get there, we had to cross several mountains. Mountains full of olive trees. Far as the eye could see. Olive trees. Olive trees...one could almost write a song on olive trees.<br />Anyways, enough chit-chat, here's some pictures (to see a better image, just follow the link in the image):<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view&current=P3030016.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3030016.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Olive trees!<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view&current=P3030022.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3030022.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />The head at the top of the cathedral represents a kid who was naughty, so his father, who was a roofer, caught him misbehaving, drowned him, cut off his head and put it on the ledge to warn kids that misbehave.<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view&current=P3030025.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3030025.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />lolkkk<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view&current=P3030026.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3030026.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Outside the Cathedral of Jaen<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view&current=P3030033.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3030033.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Woodcarving in the "sillero" inside the cathedral<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view&current=P3030037.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3030037.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Moorish baths in Jaen<br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view&current=P3030046.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3030046.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Outside the Saint Catalina Castle in Jaen<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Sting 'em hard!</strong>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-18107794750531857452010-03-05T08:32:00.000-08:002010-03-05T09:14:42.924-08:00So I'm hereEnjoying the weather, landed here at...I forgot. It was 5 p.m. here in Granada when I got here, so..do the math.<br /><br />One of the first things I saw after the airport sign, was a warning sign on a crosswalk near the runway that said "YOU ARE NOT A PRIORITY"<br /><br />How nice of them.<br /><br />Anyhow, I'm apparently experiencing the first good weather this region's had in nearly 2 months, and that in those two months it had been alternating between heavy cold and rain.<br /><br />My shoulders are sore from lugging around that big ol' backpack of mine. I think I smacked a couple of people senseless on the way into my seat.<br /><br />About the city, it's my first day here, and damn.<br /><br />No fatties.<br /><br />Granted the student population of about 84,000 has a lot to do with it, but still.<br /><br />Goddamn. I saw like one fatty and he was only a dozen pounds heavier than I am.<br /><br />And the city of Granada has a plaza called "El Botellodromo" [loose translation would be the Bottledome] where starting every Thursday, everyone gathers there to drink publically. On a normal weekend, it's about four or five thousand people just there, chilling and drinking under authorization from the government.<br /><br />Wonder how an idea like that would fare in the United States [outside of Spring Break]<br /><br /><br /><br />A view from my window:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://s422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/?action=view¤t=P3020006.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp306/Lolazo956/Spain%202010/P3020006.jpg" border="0" alt="View from my room"></a><br /><br /><br />Desde Granda hacia el mundo,<br /><br />EagleheartEaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-92006932506734151402010-03-02T21:39:00.000-08:002010-03-02T22:28:21.030-08:00A fruit, a bomb, the fall of an empireIn about 12 hours sharp I'll be sitting in the lobby of the Brownsville/South Padre Island Airport waiting on an army foot patr...er, airplane*1. Then I'll get on said airplane, which will take me to another city in Texas and from there I'll fly to Spain.<div>I get to be an ambassador for the Rio Grande Valley, as well as my hometown and my alma mater.</div><div>A proper Scorpion ambassador in the prestigious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Granada">University of Granada</a> ...so yeah, I'll be sure to let these wonderful people know about the RGV :]</div><div><br /></div><div>In any case, I'll be back in Texas in April, but in the meantime, I'll be updating this blog periodically, with details about my travels in Andalucía. </div><div><br /></div><div>I can be reached via Skype, my username is: eagleheart956.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Cheers,</div><div><br /></div><div>The Eagleheart</div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-17424030890473005342010-03-02T15:48:00.000-08:002010-03-02T16:00:37.971-08:00Night Driver II<i>[sequel to an old poem]</i><div>Night driving<div>back home, honor kept</div><div>sleepless, with cruel intent</div><div>capital crimes</div><div>gone unforgiven</div><div>suffering in comfort</div><div>drawing pleasure from the</div><div>sun rises on my devoured heart</div><div>looped tracks of dried tears</div><div>exeunt reservations</div><div>howling at heaven's gate</div><div>the sound of progress</div><div>concrete jungles</div><div>and metal golems</div><div>marching off to an uncertain future</div><div>reaching out to</div><div>he old world</div><div>cacophony of song</div><div>rivers of street lights</div><div>flashes of brilliance</div><div>and then dark</div></div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-23125620776787284682010-02-25T22:42:00.000-08:002010-02-25T22:43:06.142-08:00Hell!<div style="width: 400; text-align: center; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><p style="margin-right: 0; margin-left: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #7F0000;"><b>Nancy Pelosi</b><br />Circle I Limbo</p><p style="margin-right: 10; margin-left: 10; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #8F0000;"><b>Goths</b><br />Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind</p><p style="margin-right: 20; margin-left: 20; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #9F0000;"><b>DMV Employees, Bernie Madoff</b><br />Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow</p><p style="margin-right: 30; margin-left: 30; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #AF0000;"><b>Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies</b><br />Circle IV Rolling Weights</p><p style="margin-right: 40; margin-left: 40; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #BF0000;"><b>Hipsters</b><br />Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled</p><p style="border-style: solid none; border-color: black; background: white; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0;">River Styx</p><p style="margin-right: 50; margin-left: 50; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #CF0000;"><b>NAMBLA Members</b><br />Circle VI Buried for Eternity</p><p style="border-style: solid none; border-color: black; background: white; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0;">River Phlegyas</p><p style="margin-right: 60; margin-left: 60; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #DF0000;"><b>Militant Vegans, PETA Members</b><br />Circle VII Burning Sands</p><p style="margin-right: 70; margin-left: 70; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #EF0000;"><b>Libertarians</b><br />Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement</p><p style="margin-right: 80; margin-left: 80; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; background: #FF0000;"><b>Scientologists</b><br />Circle IX Frozen in Ice</p><p><a href="http://www.gaydeceiver.com/misc/hell/" style="color: red;">Design your own hell</a></p></div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-61468711406148562532010-02-24T23:16:00.000-08:002010-02-24T23:57:50.455-08:00Risk VariationsSo, I bought Risk recently. And...despite only playing it once, I decided that this is the most EPIC BOARD GAME EVER.<br />Ever.<br />So a few days ago I drafted the instructions for the new version (which only has two types of units) which I've called Risk: World Eater.<br />Yeah, I like WH40K.<br /><br />Anyways, since I tweaked some rules in the new Risk game (placing a city in Ontario instead of a city in Central America aka let's NOT give Mexico its own territory even though it's like four times the size of the other countries in Central America combined? C'mon. ) in order to make it more playable, I decided to look up other such variations.<br /><br />One of these is the following:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Risk: Nuclear War</span><br />At the beginning of the game, before players have set their pieces, shuffle the deck of countries and remove 4 territory cards. Now place a marker [maybe a penny] on each of those four territories. Those four territories are now nuclear wastelands. No troops can be drawn from there and the terrain is impassible. People can still control continents, though.<br />This adds an interesting take on the game, particularly if certain territories like Central America or the Australias are destroyed in a nuclear war.<br /><br /><br />So after I read that and some other interesting variations*1 got to thinking...how COOL*2 it could be to add a d20 (20-sided die) to the game? A die that's rolled at the beginning of every turn and could help, hinder, or downright fuck with someone's turn or plans.<br /><br />So, for those of you Risk players that happen to have D20s lying around, here's my very own variation:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Risk: World Eater - Global Conflict</span><br /><br />Play is normal. After the third full turn, a D20 comes into play. The roll of the 20-sided die precedes the drafting period. For those playing the old risk board (where a soldier = 1 troop, cavalry = 5, artillery = 10), whenever I mention "three" troops in my variations, the equivalent will be cavalry.<br /><br /><b>1 – “Voluntary Enlistment”</b><br />Remove one unit from the units you draft this turn.<br /><b>2 – “Recruitment Drive”</b><br />Add one unit to the units you draft this turn.<br /><b>3 – “Draft Dodgers”</b><br />Remove three units from the units you draft this turn.<br /><b>4 – “Patriotic Zeal”</b><br />Add three units to the units drafted this turn.<br /><b>5 – “Swine Flu”</b><br />Remove one troop from every territory the player controls in North America.<br /><b>6 – “Give me your tired, your poor…”</b><br />Add one troop to every territory the player controls in North America.<br /><b>7-“Black Death”</b><br />Remove one troop from every territory the player controls in Europe.<br /><b>8 – “The Renaissance”</b><br />Add one troop to every territory the player controls in Europe.<br /><b>9 – “9/11”</b><br />Remove the city from Eastern United States for the duration of the game. If city is already destroyed, remove three troops.<br /><b>10 – “Missile Defense”</b><br />Grants player immunity from any D20 attack, useable at will. [Suggestion: To write it down on a piece of paper that is discarded after use.]<br /><b>11 – “The Bush Administration”</b><br />Remove the city from the Middle East for the duration of the game. If city is already destroyed, remove three troops.<br /><b>12 – “World Cup Fever”</b><br />Add one troop to every territory the player controls in South America.<br /><b>13 – “Tibia”</b><br />Remove one troop from every territory the player controls in South America.<br /><b>14 – “Blood Diamonds”</b><br />Add one troop to every territory the player controls in Africa.<br /><b>15 – “The Middle Passage”</b><br />Remove one troop from every territory the player controls in Africa.<br /><b>16 – “The Silk Road”</b><br />Add one troop to every territory the player controls in Asia.<br /><b>17 – “The Mongol Horde”</b><br />Remove one troop from every territory player controls in Asia.<br /><b>18 – “Fifth Column”</b><br />When attacking a territory in this turn, the player removes one troop from the territory he is attacking and adds one troop to his attacking country.<br />[i.e., Player 1 rolls a 18. His southern Europe with 4 troops attacks Player 2’s Western Europe with three troops. Player 1 employs Fifth Column and the rule is now 5 troops attacking 2 troops.]<br /><b>19 – “Captain Trips”</b><br />Player loses one troop from every territory under his control.<br /><b>20 – “The Internationale”</b><br />Player adds one troop to every territory under his control.<div><br /></div><div>So, there you have it. Feel free to employ it in your own time and have fun with it. If anyone asks, direct them over here. As I develop this further, I plan to add more things.</div><div>For example, when I get back from my trip and I try out Risk: World Eater - Global Conflict, I'm going to develop "Risk: World Eater - Gods and Generals" which I might or might not combine with another d20 (or maybe a d4, d8, or d12) to create an epic game of Risk.</div><div><br /></div><div>Enjoy!</div><div><br /></div><div>*1 - Some variations include a NPC "zombie army" which I thought was infinitely awesome. I need to do some more research on this in order to be able to grasp how to play it. Shouldn't be so difficult. </div><div>*2 - To me, things like this are cool. I hope that my excitement for them makes others turn to them and see THEM as cool, too. I make no promises, though. But, give it a shot :D</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-3393451221506463192010-02-13T23:02:00.000-08:002010-02-13T23:52:56.219-08:00Wal Mart<div><br />I don't praise Wal Mart for its low prices [thanks to cheap Chinese labor], for its globalism, its job-exporting, its zeal for undermining the rights of workers.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; ">I praise it because Wal Mart is the face of America.</span><br />What do I mean by that?<br /><br />Going to Wal Mart at any time of day lets you see what America REALLY looks like. Americans in their unadultered, unfiltered selves. Life beyond the lenses of Hollywood or tourist guides.<div>It's so....real. And if you ago anytime after midnight, you get to see an even <i>harsher</i> version of reality. It's people wearing coats and sweatpants. It's craptacular and typo-laden tattoos, it's chanclas and torn jeans and guts that should have their own zip codes, it's faces that could make even someone who's weathered 2 girls 1 cup fall to his knees and empty out his stomach on the tile floor.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's beautiful. Having been to other countries, what they are is what you see.</div><div>America isn't. You have to scratch at the surface so that you can see what's inside. It may not be the prettiest, but it's the realest you'll see people. Reality, to me, will always come before any notion of artistic beauty. Here's another thing: It's inviting.</div><div>Some of you may scoff at these nightmarish creatures, but the truth is, you are subconsciously drawn to them. A thing that the United States has that no other country has is that anyone can become an American. I could move to France right now, live there the rest of my life and die there but I would never be considered a Frenchman.</div><div>That's not the case for the United States. Anyone can and WIL eventually be drawn into the eldritch fold of these Walmartians.</div><div><br /></div><div>America isn't Miami Beach. It isn't the concrete jungle of New York or the liberal paradise of Los Angeles. America isn't a warmongering president whose verbal gaffes will be remembered in centuries to come. America isn't her wars or it's arrogant and hypocritical foreign policies.</div><div>What is it then?</div><div><br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.peopleofwalmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/9521.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 375px;" src="http://media.peopleofwalmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/9521.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is America.</div><div style="text-align: center;">(Image courtesy of www.peopleofwalmart.com)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-1528436312557451312010-02-13T00:51:00.000-08:002010-02-13T01:55:42.566-08:00Murals, Parking, Smoking, oh my!<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Seeing as how this will be a regularly updated blog, I intend to use bits and pieces from </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The Collegian</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, my alma mater's hard-hitting newspaper in a weekly news update on campus. Why? I still care about the campus, and I think the internet should be exposed to the great and...sometimes not-so-great things that the fairest of South Texas does.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">ON TO THE MEAT!<br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lots of interesting little pieces in this week's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Collegian</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">First of all, the <a href="http://utbcollegian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93:construction-boom-continues&catid=2:on-campus&Itemid=13">[in]famous mural is getting put on hold!</a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">: happy dance :</span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://chinasonparade.com/HappyDance.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 150px;" src="http://chinasonparade.com/HappyDance.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"UTB/TSC Provost Alan Artibise said the New Library mural project is on hold “indefinitely.”</span></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Asked why the mural was on hold, Artibise replied because of the community’s reaction.<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">“In terms of this economic time, we just didn’t think it was appropriate to--even though we had the funding set aside from the bond project--to be seen to be spending it on that,” he said. “I have no doubt that ultimately it will be put up</span>.”</span></span></i></span></i></span></i></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Damn right it wasn't appropriate. Six hundred thousand dollars for a couple of splashes of paint on the wall? I think I speak for the rest of the community when I ask: WHAT THE FARK WAS THE TSC BOARD THINKING?</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I'm glad people spoke up. Here's hoping that the funds will be used for something constructive...maybe add another project to the construction laundry list? I hear it's the thing to do.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Don't get me wrong, though. I love the expansionist mood the university's in. Even as my last semester was ending, my heart swelled with pride every time I drove by the Arts Center or the REK Center. And the thought of more things being added just makes me all giddy. I hope they keep up the good work and don't get sidetracked with silly murals. As it is, we're already better than that other university in Edinburg.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">As to whether or not there should be more parking? Eh. Who cares, really? I attended UTB/TSC for three and a half years, and every semester was the same old song and dance when it came to parking.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">1st-3rd week</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">: Parking lots at 199% full. People parking on grass and/or at the river levee.<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">4-6th week</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">: Parking lots 90% full. Students tentatively carry on with their semester.<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">7th week</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">: Students: "Oh. We actually have to show up for class? Fuck it." More spaces free up.<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Midterms week</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">: Students: "Eh, what the hell, let's just take the midterms for the lulz." Parking lots at 80%.<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Post-deadline to withdraw with a W (March 31)</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">: Parking lots at 30% on good days, 40% on normal days.<br /></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Finals week</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">: In a stats-skewing turn of events, parking lots fill back up to 90% as students hope against hope that a good final grade will make up a month's worth of absences.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">All that said, I have two gripes with this parking scenario.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">1. Griping about parking</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Look. Walking is NOT bad. It's healthy. It's comfortable. It gives you an extra minute or two to think up an excuse explaining your tardiness. People will go to great lengths and the occasional, legally questionable driving maneuver just to find a space "close" to their class. What they don't realize is that the guy who parked "far away" and walked rather than wait for someone to leave their class precisely 15 minutes earlier, got to his class first.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Leave your house earlier. Five minutes of sleep mean NOTHING. Eat lunch faster. Don't go for a "quick snack at McDonald's/Pizza Hut/UMix/Subway/Subway in front of Porter/Burger King" because you and 500 other students are thinking the SAME thing.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">2. Parking Citation Officers<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I have no problem with Campus Police officers. They do their job as best they can and are professional about it. The people working for them, giving the citations and selling the permits? Not so much.<br />The only bitching about parking I will tolerate is when said bitching involves the unprofessional attitudes of the people charging students, faculty and staff for their tickets. Because that is a legitimate complaint. Between having my teeth pulled by a drunk dentist and rusty pliers and dealing with the parking people, I'll take the drunk dentist. Without anesthesia.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The little things build up: Clocking out at from 11 a.m. to noon even though you're supposed to work from 9-5, clocking out at 4:45 p.m. even though there's a long line of students who just barely got out of class, and just the way they treat you, overall. It's as if selling you a parking ticket physically </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">hurts</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> them and your mere presence is offensive to their sight. If you have any such stories, feel free to tell me about them and I just might feature them here :p</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">And finally...smoking.<br /></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The Collegian</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> reports that "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 18px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">University officials plan to implement a “tobacco-free campus” policy that is expected to take effect by Sept. 1."</span></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The only thing I have to say about that is that it's easier trying to tell the sun not to set in the evening.<br /><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">This concludes this week's update on the Eagleheart's blog. Until next update!</span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">-Eagleheart</span></span></span></p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border- font-size:11px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal;font-size:16px;"><br /></span></span></p></span></div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-18398709946411988722010-02-09T02:22:00.001-08:002010-02-09T02:25:11.430-08:00Book Mooch!My wishlist :(<br /><br /><script src="http://widgets.bookmooch.com/widget/en/js/wishlist_recent_cover/fiatjustitia/1000/+/" type="text/javascript"> </script><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><a href="http://bookmooch.com">Swap books at BookMooch.com</a></span>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-62991066381083956672010-01-27T23:37:00.001-08:002010-01-27T23:41:41.950-08:00Sorry about the absenceBeen a bit busy lately...well, not as of the new year, but, you catch my drift.<div>Rants to come soon!</div>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-25323915698995291572009-10-04T21:42:00.000-07:002009-10-04T23:03:28.369-07:00Strange people, these Christians<span style="font-style: italic;">So, I went to a church today, willingly, for the first time in God knows how long.<br />Sure, part of it was that I had given my word to someone that I'd go, but I could have wormed myself out of it somehow. But I didn't feel inclined to. I woke up, refreshed, showered and headed to that place on Paredes.<br />And I told myself, at best, I'll gain a new understanding for how these people, who are ideologically different from me, interact.<br />At worst, I'd still gain a new understanding for how people who are ideologically different from me, interacted.<br />So I left my prejudices at the door and went in.<br />And overall, I liked it.<br />(Now, my Catholic brethren reading this, don't panic, I have no intentions of ever leaving the Church. ... Not that it should matter, anyways, I'm a progressive catholic with universalistic humanist tendencies--but that's a story for another day)<br />What I liked the most about the service was that people prayed.<br />Like, not running around screaming and crying like a small, small part of me would have thought they did, but praying. Interacting with the pastor, singing, praying.<br />It wasn't the mechanical lip service some of us are guilty of in our proper Catholic churches, at least the ones I've been around recently.<br />In either case, it was a pleasant experience. I foresee I'll have some political differences with them in the long run, but for now, I'm glad my first time there was a good experience.<br /><br /><br />And on that note, a funny thing I should mention was that the parable discussed in the service was about The Prodigal son :o<br /><br />-eagleheart<br /></span>Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-84611237363756488762009-09-30T20:19:00.000-07:002009-09-30T20:32:51.865-07:00Dining with CortésDining with Cortés<br />there's no telling what could happen next<br />one minute you're there<br />next you're on the floor<br />Dining with Cortés<br /><br />Dining with Cortés<br />life's a test<br />one day to the next<br />instant win instant lose<br />Dining with Cortés<br /><br />Dining with Cortés<br />switch, check<br />like lambs to the slaughter<br />beady-eyed and welcoming<br />Dining with Cortés<br /><br />Dining with Cortés<br />No one saw it coming<br />the greeks bared gifts<br />opening the gates to Troy<br />Dining with Cortés<br /><br />Dining with Cortés<br />this is our end<br />and our beginning<br />for God gold and glory<br />Dining with Cortés<br /><br />Dining with Cortés<br />enjoying our last mealEaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-81566732945841604342009-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:002009-09-30T19:39:05.592-07:00Vigil Solsticeemotional detachment<br />aggrandizing and agonizing<br />internal engines<br />self-sustaining reactor<br />looking for the eastern shore<br />lonely are the glorious<br />the fallen princes<br />mechanical souls<br />priests, glorious in their sin<br />wrought by iron hands<br />we were born to dance<br />make the world of flesh our own<br />become the leaders of men<br />once human now we're half as so<br />made bettr and made worse<br />first born, then made<br />emperors in our own rights and minds<br />machines should not speak for men<br />but men should not speak for God<br />we are the middle ground<br />we are the gloriousEaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-66323654330400477732009-09-29T20:24:00.000-07:002009-09-29T20:30:10.666-07:00Natural Euphoria II<span style="font-style: italic;">(sequel to that poem I wrote many moons ago)</span><br /><br />Late night, I'm still yearning<br />things have changed since then<br />the innocence of childhood is gone<br />murdered one January morning<br />hypothermia set in<br />But still I dream of you<br />of holding your hand<br />my lips brushing yours<br />bodies pressed tight against each other<br />you're older now<br />we both are<br />matured by the fires of industry<br />aged in barrels of wine and flesh<br />our future seems clearer now<br />you turn back and smile at me<br />and we both take that step into the light<br />your laughter rings in my ears<br />we're not perfect<br />far from it<br />but in our imperfections<br />we are perfect for each other<br />two wayward and whole souls<br />lost in our own worlds and<br />touriss in the real world<br />your beauty a shimmer<br />that tears the fabric of reality<br />and leaves this princes breathless<br />paralyzed, immobile in your glow<br />a beautiful torture,<br />natural euphoria.<br />late night, and I'm still yearning...Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513636315976964133.post-36558389067755814722009-09-21T21:59:00.000-07:002009-09-30T21:35:09.786-07:00Eaglehearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780933665556784580noreply@blogger.com0