The Spazzy Blogger

My Dengue Fever Health Care Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:17:00 +0000

One year ago, after returning from a month long trip to the Philippines I developed a case of Dengue Fever.

I went to the hospital thinking it would be an in-and-out thing. Next thing I know, I'm getting branded with the little plastic wristband and carted off to an uncomfortable bed horrible hospital food, and late night nurses visits to take my blood samples and blood pressure stats.

For about two or three days the doctors couldn't tell me what was wrong with me.

I felt worse as the hours ticked away. At night, as I watched a marathon of South Park, I pondered my mortality. Was I near my expiration date? The experience cued me into the important of healthcare. Especially now, not only is the health care's current state of being debated, but also I'm on the cusp of getting kicked off my parents' insurance coverage.

It makes me nervous. Well, petrified is more like it. But I know I'm not the only one. I know at some point, the young people who have had the luxury of having consistent health coverage will get snapped back to reality by the time they've reach a certain age, or haven't scored the job that pays for the monthly trips to the doc's office. Not to mention those who have no coverage at all and have never had the opportunity.

It is because of these reasons that I don't understand why young people aren't a major player in the debate over reforming the healthcare system. Granted, it could be stacked up to the fact that most young people don't give their health coverage too much thought because they're young and for the most part healthy. They may not think the healthcare debate is something they need to worry about. After all, they do have severe educational budget cuts to worry about.

But I think the lack of youth presence in the healthcare debate is attributed to the bigger issue of youth not getting called on to bring their voices to the table. We could Twitter and blog to our heart's content about how bogus our health coverage is, but it doesn't mean anyone will notice. The reality is you have to be old enough to be taken seriously, have the connections, and have wads of money stored in your personal high security Swiss Bank in order to make any obvious impact the way things are run. At least, that's how I feel.

I think the majority of us feel that we have zero political pull in that department, and I don't think it is entirely our fault either.

Health care isn't the only issue youth aren't factored into. Education is taking a major beating from budget cuts and even with students protesting, little seems to be getting done in their favor. Because at the end of the day the people who make these decisions already have the Dream Team they want to please. And we, unfortunately, are eliminated by default.

-- Eming Piansay

Interviewing Youth California Delegate at DNC

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Shot and Edited by Eming Piansay

From Pop to Politics: Obama's Debut in Denver

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:10:00 +0000

After running around Denver like a chicken with my head cut off and getting four hours of sleep a night for the past three days I finally got to walk into Mile High Invesco Field where Sen. Barack Obama would accept the Presidential nomination. I’ve watched events like these on T.V. for years, but actually getting the chance to be a person there, present and part of history -- is a whole new level of surreal existence.

Before Obama made his grand appearance an all-star line up of artists such as Sheryl Crowe and Stevie Wonder entertained the crowd followed by New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson and former Vice President Al Gore addressed the crowd. For a few minutes during gaps in-between speakers audience members did The Wave from one side of the stadium to the other.

During his speech Al Gore addressed the youth’s impact in the election.

“This election is actually not close at all among young people – you are responding in unprecedented numbers to Barack Obama’s message of hope,” said Gore.

He continued on to say, “You recognize that he represents a clean break from the politics of partisanship and bitter division. You understand that the politics of the past are exhausted, and you’re tired of appeals based on fear. You know that America is capable of better than what you have seen in recent years. You are hungry for a new politics based on a bipartisan respect for the ageless principles embodied in the United States Constitution.”

Following a video segment on the young Senator and his life, his mother and family the man himself walked out on to the stage. The floor beneath my feet rumbled, the vocals of every person in the stadium exploded and the digital cameras flickered like Christmas lights.

For the past three days I’ve tried to be objective as humanly possible when it comes to the Obama campaign, but all that melted away during the speech. It was an extremely powerful moment that I’m very thankful to have been apart of – something that does not translate well through a television set.

Obama listed all the things he planned on doing once elected. And even though I wanted to believe him a piece of clouded skepticism slipped in. “He certainly can talk it. But can he walk it?”

But at that point I didn’t care. I wanted the moment to exist for as long as humanly possible.

Obama focused his words on the middle class, the ones who have been neglected by the current administration, prior to his speech several people who had gone through many issues that the population in the middle class are experiencing. One woman, who really touched me with her words, was Pam Cash-Roper from Pittsboro, North Carolina. Pam and her husband both went to major medical surgeries that racked up high medical bills and lost their medical coverage.

“I am a life long Republican,” said Pam, “who voted for Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Bush but I can’t afford four more years like this.”

Obama finished off his speech by urging Americans not to stick to the old game plan of the last eight years.

“America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to do. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to men. America, we can not turn back.”

When all was said and done, Obama’s family and Joe Biden joined him on stage, fireworks lit up the sky and the confetti floated down to Earth like multi-colored snowflakes, I could the sworn the music playing over the loud speaker was a hodgepodge of movie soundtracks, specifically The Matrix, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It had a very buckle down; toughen up feeling, like we were getting ready to go into battle.

But battle cry or no battle cry, Obama’s speech did its job.

Denver: Disneyland for Democrats and the Unity Dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:57:00 +0000

When I looked out the window of my plane before it touched down on the Denver airport runway, a surreal thing happened. The clouds were parted just enough to let long streaks of light shoot down towards the patches of green and brown below. The scene reminded me a lot of those moments in TV and movies where the presence of God, or some mystical force shines down from the heavens. Though I'm not remotely religious, I took it as a good sign of things to come.

Sunday afternoon I got a taste of what the protests might be like during the week of the convention. A few NOBAMAS and one John McCain for President walked down the busy downtown street as a guy sitting across the street screamed BOO! Nice, Interactive theatre.

The downtown streets are so wide and jam-packed with stores and tables of trinkets it's like Disneyland (free shuttle included). The different meetings outside the Denver Pepsi Center are the Democratic National Convention's spinning teacups and the big night on Thursday is Splash Mountain. I'm just waiting for the life size Obama human puppet to walk out of Jamba Juice.

You can't walk anywhere without seeing cops during the DNC. Every time I see eight cops in padded gear hanging off the side of a car I keep expecting to see the Bat Mobile speeding behind.

On Monday night on my way to the Rock the Vote Concert featuring N.E.R.D, Fall Out Boy and YO!'s very own Donny Lumpkins, I got sidetracked by a huge barricade of police, blocking off almost two street blocks downtown. Nothing was going on, people were just standing around and I was too short to see what was going on behind the line of police, but a few people were arguing, venting their frustration. Part of me wanted to stay and see what happened next, but the rest of me wanted to hightail it out of there ASAP.

That whole moment, which probably lasted less than five minutes, gave me the creeps.
The contrast of what I saw within the walls of the convention center during the day and the dozens and dozens of cops lined up like chess pieces ready to pounce got me thinking about 'unity'. All I hear on the news is unity, unity, unity. The whole point of the convention is to get everyone to hold hands and sing Kumbaya as the balloons fall Thursday night.

It's obvious the protests are an attempt to get people to listen to the lesser-discussed issues and criticize the government; which is great, got to love the underdogs in life. When you don't like what you see and you're passionate about something you rally together, and bang pots and pans till the police show up and tell you to disperse.

But in terms of the protests within the Democratic Party, I almost feel this fragile alliance will at some point fall off the face of the Earth.

The Obama and Clinton rivalry may have died between the two candidates but the supporters haven't let go - which is obvious from how many Hillary signs I've seen since I arrived on Saturday. It then begs the question: is the Democrats' stand of unity really a broken teacup glued together with paste or it the real thing?

Is Denver going to have to create its own knock off of Disney's "It's a Small World After All"? But replace all the different ethnic backgrounds with all the major political players in the Democratic Party. I would go on it once, just to tell my grand kids I hopped on the 'Strained Unity Express'.

-- Eming Piansay

Youth Risk it all for 'Change' This Election Season

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:52:00 +0000

During Bill Clinton’s time in the White House, the only type of voting I took part in was the youth voting that happened through the television network Nickelodeon. I’m a little ashamed to say I actually thought I was voting for the next President of the free world. But now that I think about it, I don’t think anyone would let a 4th grader near a legitimate voting booth whose highlights of the week included watching Power Rangers and chocolate pudding. But I think it speaks a lot in the justification that young people do care who is running their country and some do actually want to have something to do with the process – even if the way they vote is purely symbolic.

Twelve years later I’m standing at the peak of an election process that has been propelled forward by the young generation of voters.

Sen. Barack Obama has become the unofficial face for the majority of young people in America. His campaign has been largely been staffed by young campaign workers, many of them too young to even vote for him.

Young voters are banking on Obama delivering what President George W. Bush could not. Obama campaign slogan may be ‘Change’, but change is a pretty broad topic; it’s also a risky promise. If elected, Obama will be inheriting a war, a slumping economy and a wide rage of issues that would make his election an upward climb.

Even though Obama has a large population of youth voters Obama still has a lot of prove to the young generation if he gets elected into office. It’s been so long since this generation could actual trust one of our leaders, it’s like after getting burned in your last relationship and you’re not sure if you can date again. Obama is potentially America’s future boyfriend.

Obama’s worst-case scenario is if his he is elected into office is that the majority of America will be so incredibly unhappy with his performance that come time for the next election in 2012 and it will all end in a train wreck of a divorce. “It’s not you – its me. Well, actually it is you.”

As a young voter who feels she is a small part of a larger chain of people who could potentially make an impact on the world, I’m rooting for Obama to re-energize a generation of young voters now and later that could not only change the landscape of politics but turn down the level of apathy of the politically devoid population.

Being a member of the semi-optimistic young voter population does come with its doubts. Will it happen? Can it happen? Is anything going to change – really? The chances of any President running a fully liberal office is a tough sell, especially after following President Bush.

In order to get the support of both sides of the political party tree, Obama needed to put his hands on both the right and left. Granted, a lot of liberals could say he’s not talking the talk he had in the very beginning. But in a lot of ways Obama is doing what George Bush should have done while in office. Bush always appeared very conservative in his views and it was rarity that I saw a news story where Bush’s actions leaned in favor of the more liberal population.

In order to take office Obama has to balance his views just enough to get both parties on the same page with him. Unfortunately, I can imagine this alienating some of his followers, especially the youth.

But for now, myself, and the rest of Obama’s followers probably figure that whatever Obama brings to the table at this point, is better than what we’ve had for the past eight years.

-- Eming Piansay

Young Campaign Workers Move Beyond the Youth Vote

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:39:00 +0000

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Molly Stone hurried into the front room of the Barack Obama for President headquarters on a late Wednesday afternoon, just days before the important Pennsylvania primary at the end of April.
Like many of those present, Stone was getting ready to call voters and gather information on who would be voting for Obama in the fast approaching primary election. But at 17, she was at least 10 years younger than most of the other volunteers.
“If they’re a strong Obama supporter, we call them the day before the election and make sure they’re going to make it out to vote,” said Stone, her petite figure wrapped in a white t-shirt with bold blue lettering that reads: Property of Students for Barack Obama.

Research shows that the youth vote has dramatically surged this election year, with some 3 million voters under the age of 30 casting their ballots on Super Tuesday – according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). Seven out of eight states that held primaries saw increases in youth turnout, with some even tripling or quadrupling previous numbers.

But the mass movement of youth is doing more than just checking off a box behind the curtain at the voting booth. Dedicated campaign workers like Stone are putting in serious hours organizing for both Obama and Clinton and proving that the millennial stake in this election goes beyond just befriending the candidates on MySpace.

According to Scott Weiner, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, the vast number of young people interested in this year’s election comes from the impression that was left on them by the current administration.
“[Young voters] went through a certain kind of moral bankruptcy from the Bush administration,” said Weiner.
With events like the unpopular War in Iraq and the uncertain economy, young people took stock of the state of their country and made the conscious decision to take action.

“It just got worse over time,” said Weiner. “People see it [happening] and become more motivated.”
Stone came into political awareness during the Bush years, and Al Gore was the first presidential candidate that she idealized.

“I started getting interested in politics in the 2000 election,” Stone said. “I remember I was the only 5th grader who cared about it. I actually liked [Gore] and it wasn’t just because of what my parents were telling me.”
But her interest in politics didn’t stop there. By high school, government became Stone’s favorite subject, and when a friend of hers mentioned the Obama campaign was looking for volunteers in California – she immediately signed up.

“I remember his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention like most people do,” said Stone. “I remember feeling like this guy was really cool.”
In Stone’s case, her hopes for a president are vastly different from those of people concerned about the War in Iraq or the economy.

“I’ve got a lot of problems with my health. Health care is a big issue for me and I’m really passionate about [Obama’s] health care plan,” said Stone. “I have a number of chronic diseases that put me in the hospital a couple times a year.”
With the current state of health care, Stone’s health coverage has been erratic and she's had several surgeries postponed.

“There is some random guy who doesn’t even know me who is saying, ‘No, you can’t have this surgery tomorrow,’ ” continued Stone. “We wouldn’t be able to afford [the surgeries] if [the insurance company] didn’t cover it.”

If there is not a universal health care program implemented by the time Stone graduates from college, her parents’ insurance company will no longer be able to cover her.

But not all young people are organizing for Obama.

“In California and Massachusetts, the youth vote went to Hillary,” said Amanda Coffee, a senior at Univ. of California, Berkeley and a Hillary Clinton campaign supporter. “I think that a lot of the young people I’ve spoken to have just seen [Clinton] throughout their adolescence and just know she has a lot more to offer.”
When Coffee speaks to other young people about why she’s voting for Clinton, she realizes how personal the decision can be for young, first time voters. “I tell [young people] why Hillary is my leader. I just know when she gets [into the White House] she knows what she’s doing. She’s going to jumpstart the Democratic presidency.”

Especially in the age of online organizing, young web-savvy organizers can put in their time on Facebook, instead of walking door to door. Molly Kawahata, 17, did most of her work as the California High School Director of the Students for Barack

Obama group online - from the comfort of her bedroom, which is plastered with pictures of the man she hopes will become president in November.

Since the California primary, Kawahata has begun working virtually for the national team in order to help other states create similar programs like the one she led in California. Recently, Kawahata was elected to represent her district as a delegate for the National Democratic Convention in August.

“The main reason I support [Obama] is because of the political diversity behind the campaign,” said Kawahata.

For Kawahata, being a senior applying to colleges and running a national campaign was a tough balancing act. “It’s definitely really difficult to balance this campaign with school and with everything else going on. The campaign did become my first priority, mainly because I believe in this so deeply,” Kawahata said with a smile. “I remember over winter break starting my college applications on December 21st, when they were all due December 31st or January 1st. That was a huge challenge.”
While all three organizers think that they have convinced a lot of people to cast a vote, they recognize that -- even with the surge of youth voting –- not everyone is as dedicated as them. Stone says she is the only one out of her circle of friends that has really been interested in politics.

“Most of my friends don’t care, they aren’t really into politics. Most of them aren’t going to be able to vote in November,” said Stone. “They’re just like, ‘Okay, you support Obama. Whatever. I’m not going to question it.’”

Goin' to the DNC with YoBlogger

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:49:00 +0000

Se7en Heaven in San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:46:00 +0000

Shot and Edited by Eming Piansay

Inside the Wackness

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 05:55:00 +0000

-- Shot and Editing by Eming Piansay

For Love or Citizenship

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:53:00 +0000

The only reason I exist today is because my dad got on a plane in the Philippines and decided to come to America. He met my mom at a bus stop, fell in love, and a little while later their bouncing bundle of red faced, screaming joy came along. I guess you could say I’m a product of immigration, but I imagine a lot of us already are.

The immigration debate has been a heavy one. From politicians to the everyday citizen, ask anyone and they probably have an opinion on the matter.

I never would have imagined immigration making its way into the reality television world. Frankly, anything that enters the realm of T.V. shows that remotely resembles The Hills – you’re sort of asking to get served a plate full of crap.

According to Reuters, a company in Los Angeles is trying to sell a new reality show to the television networks. The hook? Just think of the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and “The Dating Game” -- then think, “Who wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen?” That’s right. If reality television hasn’t hit the lowest of the low this show will certainly set them over the edge.

The goal of the show is to take the national interest of immigration and blend it into the reality T.V. melting pot.

The show’s host, Angelo Gonzales, said the show is meant to play matchmaker for both U.S. citizens and immigrants looking for a spouse.

I don’t see how anyone cannot be skeptical about this sort of show. Either the producers have an honest to God interest in getting people together from different countries, or it is a mass marketing tool to show just how desperate a person could be to get into the country.

Love may have no borders, but that doesn’t mean it has to be exploited via reality television.

-- Eming Piansay

Thailand: HIV Spreads Among Young People

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 05:51:00 +0000

In Thailand, health officials are battling the growing spread of HIV among young people. Unfortunately, even though there has been a great deal of attempts to educate young people on HIV and safe sex many young people are too scared to go and purchase condoms.

In a poll taken by the Health Ministry indicated that 77 percent of teenagers in Thailand are not educated on how HIV is spread. According to the article, individuals who are infected with HIV used condoms only 50 percent of the time. That is a lot of unprotected sex.

I seriously cannot imagine not using a condom. I have no plans on getting pregnant or catching some kind of STD anytime soon. I also have no interest in getting HIV. It is kind of mind-boggling that half of all their sexual encounters were unprotected.

How do you educate people on an issue that has fallen by the wayside?

There is no cure for this disease. Now unless you feel comfortable beingcondom-free and having sex without thinking about what possible diseases you might be getting – chances are you’ll be popping a wide variety of pills for the rest of your life.

Seeing as how widespread this disease is in Thailand I don’t understand why people would be so afraid to purchase condoms when they could be saving their own life in the long run. Yes, purchasing a box of condoms isn’t the most glamorous moment in your life, but it sure as hell beats the alternative.

-- Eming Piansay

Less Than Enchanted

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 05:50:00 +0000

Growing up the old Walt Disney movies I’ve developed an annoyingly critical take on every Disney cartoon film to come out since then.

This past weekend I managed to go to a free screening of Walt Disney’s new movie Enchanted. Prior to the watching the movie I already knew it was a mix between fantasy and reality – which is what a lot of movies seem to be doing these (i.e. Beowulf).

The beginning of the movie was a hodgepodge between the opening of Sleeping Beauty, the friendly animals of Cinderella, and the wicked jealous Queen from Snow White. Normally, I wouldn’t be so turned off by those elements but even though the general ideas of those three stories were melded together on the screen, there was something obviously missing. Maybe it was absence of intricate artistic details that made it look more like a Saturday morning cartoon show you’d see at 8 am in the morning, or the light-airy believable voices that drew you into the story to begin with.

Though Enchanted made a good effort in giving an old fashion throwback to the Disney of old – it lacked those certain characteristics that made those Disney movies so entrancing. But I’m sure it filled that holiday longing for those needing a reason to sit in the movie theatre and be immersed in the sugarcoated pop melodies that only Disney can successfully get you to like. I suppose that’s the reason why High School Musical has been such a success.

-- Eming Piansay

Don't Kill Your Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:47:00 +0000

With the holiday shopping season beginning, shoppers are feeling a little more than just the average holiday mall anxiety. The news of toxic toys shipped from China have many consumers scared that their next purchase might be lethal.

Even with all the news coverage over the toxic toys it was reported that many of the toys are still being advertised to the public. Okay, everyone, on the count of three swallow a piece of lead.

Even though the toys are no longer in stores this whole tainted toy craze picked the worse time of the year to make itself known. When I think back to all the Christmas’ when I was drooling over toy catalogs I can only imagine what it must be like to hear your parents’ say, “Sorry Timmy, no large-plastic-machine-gun this year. We wanted to get it for you, but chances are it might have killed you.” There’s no easy way to say that to a kid.

Also, many news outlets have reported the fear of contaminated toys is not restricted to new toys. Some parents have started to go through and throw out all toys that may also be contaminated.

It must be nerve-wracking as a parent to stand in the middle of a toy story debating for a good half an hour as to whether they should risk filling her kids’ stocking stuffers with gifts that could make the holiday season a lot less merry.

-- Eming Piansay

Obama Fesses Up

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:39:00 +0000

Just like Honest Abe (sort of), White House hopeful Barack Obama admitted he is no saint. When he was younger he dabbled in drugs and drinking. Wow… shocker.

I love how politicians make these blanket statements about themselves. It is almost like telling kids for the first time there is no Santa Clause.

Republican opponent Rudy Giuliani supported Obama’s choice to come forward with the news, while another Republican candidate Matt Romney believes Obama’s statements were a “huge error”.
It is like a classic chess game. One opponent makes a move and the other shakes their head saying, “What is this guy thinking?”

Obama’s moment of truth may be his attempt to reach out to a young voters in America who may feel comfortable with a man who admits his past blunders, compared to the ones that deny they exist all together. However, Obama’s statement makes it very, very obvious just who he wants to vote for him, the liberal – or at least those who are a little less conservative and feel comfortable talking about that one night they had a little too much whiskey.

I’ve noticed throughout the last few years that candidates, running for any form of office, create their own poster child image. They want to be YOUR candidate. They want to be your speaker box. They want to model themselves in the image of what they think you want. If you hate terrorism but don’t like the way the government is dealing with it – they want to be your poster boy/girl. If you think America is in danger of being destroyed by outside forces – they will strap as many red, white and blue flags on their sleeve as they can just to prove it.

I think it is great that Obama was honest with his past – uh – experiences. There should really be one debate set-aside sometime during the campaign trailer where all the candidates from either side come together and have one giant Public Service Announcement on drugs, alcohol and sex. You could probably learn a lot more from those guys than one session of Health Education in high school. Soon every statement would begin with, “Back in my day we smoked…” and so forth. That would make for an interesting Youtube debate.

-- Eming Piansay

How Do You Get to Shame Street?

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:28:00 +0000

Once I was introduced to the window to the world, a.k.a. television, it was impossible for anyone to keep me away. I hogged that screen like it was life support. Many of my fondness memories growing up were the characters that bounced on and off the screen. Between shows like Mysterious Cities of Gold and Sesame Street I gorged myself in all the shows my parents would let me watch during my pre-school age.

Now, apparently the old season of Sesame Street that my young life pretty much rotated around has been deemed as inappropriate for the today’s pre-school-ers. When I first read this story I went back to the beginning just to make sure I hadn’t read it wrong: Sesame Street – for adults only? Was there some weird puppet on puppet porn I didn’t pick up on?

According to the New York Times, the early seasons of Sesame Street “modeled bad behavior”, such as a skit of “Monsterpiece Theater” where Cookie Monster had a pipe – and then ate it. Right – bad behavior -- just wait till they’re old enough to watch MTV’s The Real World.

First of all, I don’t think anyone could literally swallow down a pipe, dirt maybe, but a whole pipe? Cookie Monster may not have been the best role model in the world – but I don’t think that was his intended purpose. Looking back at Sesame Street and a lot of the old kid shows I used to watch – the reason I liked them so much was they had a variation of characters. They weren’t saints, but they were the most well-rounded and entertaining thing on television at the time.

If you compare Sesame Street to a lot of the other shows airing today – you could probably say most of the shows today are sugarcoated and badass boring blandness.

According to TV.com the highest rated kids show of all time weren’t necessarily the most sanitary of the bunch. Sure, they weren’t targeted at pre-school generation but you’re still in that impressionable age range. The list includes shows such as: So Weird, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Salute Your Shorts, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, Muppets Tonight and Ghostwriter. Considering so many of the shows that aired way back then weren’t as tidy and sanitized as the parental agenda might like – I personally believe a lot of these shows were the best kids shows – EVER, and it is a sad shame that those shows are no longer being aired today.

Even if a lot of these shows aren’t quiet PC most of us probably don’t notice till way later in life. My little naïve self will contest to that.

-- Eming Piansay

Things That Make You Go -- Ugh: The Holiday Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 04:53:00 +0000

If there’s one thing I can not stand about this time of year is the fact that before I have made my rounds in wishing my relatives Happy Thanksgiving; before I have even gotten my plate full of mash potatoes and turkey breast and have gorged myself enough to be bloated for the next couple months, everywhere I turn I am hounded by Christmas.

Last weekend the Christmas tree in San Francisco Union Square was put up and the lights were starting to be hung. The outsides of many big stores had already setup their Christmas window displays. If the medical industry were as ahead of the game as most of these organizations, not to mention a lot more money hungry and materialistic, we’d probably would have cured cancer and every other disease that comes to mind ages ago.

I don’t understand the need to hurry the holidays – really—I see no reason to rush myself into debt with all the Christmas gifts I’m required to buy. Whatever ‘joy’ the Holidays once represented has been smeared and turned into a marketing ploy for every big company with a new toy to sell. The only thing that moves off the shelves on Thanksgiving is food. Until Best Buy starts stocking yams and cranberry sauce the marketing of Christmas on November 1st will be going strong for years to come.

Seriously though, why is everyone trying to speed up to Black Friday? I’ve already seen from a distance the insane mass of people that turn up on Black Friday and have no desire to get trampled by shoppers on a quest for whatever’s hot this year. I’ll most likely be fast asleep when the stampede breaks out at six in the morning – recovering from my food hangover. That --fellow Thanksgiving-ers – is what normal people do after Thanksgiving. I detest whoever made this after Turkey Day tradition, not to mention whoever decided to start putting out giant Christmas displays in early November. Disgusting…

-- Eming Piansay

If Barack were a Rock Star

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:52:00 +0000

I just got back from Barack Obama’s event at San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and I just got to say, if Barack were a rock star there would be mosh pits for miles on end.

The crowd outside Bill Graham was crazy. I was waiting to get trampled by his eager fans as we moved towards the front doors. Before I had even realized this was the location where Barack was going to appear I thought the crowd stretching several blocks was for some kind of concert. Justin Timberlake, maybe? But no, all these people were showing up on a Wednesday night to see the one – the only – Barack Obama.

Once the scary security guys let us through we officially entered Obama Central. Before making his grand appearance several speakers and a choir appeared on stage. One girl, who I believe was a spokesperson for the Students for Obama, gave a speech that sounded more like she was practicing for her future America’s Next Top Model interview.

From an outside perspective, the speeches felt more like time fillers before a photographer behind us at the media platform said Obama’s vehicle entourage was spotted heading towards the building.

When Obama finally arrived, after being introduced by Alice Walker, the room went wild even before we made it on stage. “Hey!” “Hey!” “Hey!” “What’s up!” Obama said, making his way on to the stage.

Now, before I go any further, that it wasn’t until that exact moment that I realized how white the audience standing in front of the press area was. Here, we have a black male candidate running for the White House and – well – the question is kind of obvious. Granted, I’m sure not everyone wants to pay 30 bucks to get 45 minutes of him talking – which could be a reason – but I still had expected some kind of diversity in the audience. Not even just white or black, maybe a little bit of everything.

Anyway, back to the event. Barack affirmed his support of health care, education, ending the war in Iraq, climate change, poverty, HIV/AIDS and Darfur. However, several people we spoke to after the event said they were disappointed that he didn’t mention immigration and women’s right.

Even with those two topics missing the audience seemed to just be happy to have someone who they could rely on, or at least offering them something different than what they’ve seen since the 2000 election.

I don’t know if Barack is going to win the White House next year. But I do know if he plans on doing some kind of spoken, political poetry with events like this, he will not have an empty seat in the house.

When Writers Stop Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 04:51:00 +0000

There’s one thing that gets taken for granted these days more than most, it is the written word. Whether we’re talking about books, newspapers, blogs, online news sites and any form of literary material you can think of.

This week the Writers Guild, responsible for most of the TV sitcoms, has decided to go on strike in lieu of salary issues.

Now, I’m glad to see writers taking a stand in regard to what they’re really worth but then I started to really think about what this strike really meant.

How essential are we, the writers, in the bigger scheme of things? If all the journalists in the world decided to go on a Nation Wide strike for more money – would anyone care? Besides the fact that no one would be reporting on it (since they’d all be on strike) would anyone care as much about that? Mainly since the news of the screenwriters striking seems to be the top story of discussion this week.

Do writers only matter if they’re feeding the Massive Television Franchise with Desperate Housewives scripts?

In the long run of things, the script crisis isn’t that big of a deal. Once the dispute is settled and everything is back to normal you’ll be able to catch the entire T.V. series, minus commercials and writers’ strike on DVD at your local movie rental store, or your favorite online DVD rental shipping company.

All writers (regardless of genre) should be apart of the Writers Guild, script writers, journalists, novel writers, and poets alike in a united front like war buddies, except the only difference instead of battle scars we’ll have paper cuts. That would be one interesting after protest party.

-- Eming Piansay

Good Old Fashion Pop

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:49:00 +0000

Not too long ago the ingredients for becoming a pop star was as easily as purchasing it from a Halloween store. Add in a couple sparkly bras, a dancing poll, a dozen or so dancers, and a vocal synthesizer and you’re good to go.

In the most materialistic way of thinking, some pop music is just meant to make you like it and sell albums, doesn’t matter if the vocals aren’t all that great – as long as there’s a decent music hook, the content doesn’t need much.

Last week Britney Spears’ latest album Black Out hit the street. I managed to hear a couple of the tracks prior to the release. Surprisingly to myself, and probably most of the critical music critics today – the songs weren’t that bad.

Everyone saw Britney’s live performance of “Gimme More” and the music video. I admit, I thought it was horrible. But, of course, after hearing a song for about hundred times its hard to completely hate it.

After I heard the other songs, like Freak Show, Toy Soldier, and “Piece of Me” my chair dancing began.

Piece of Me is probably my favorite so far. I guess this was her finger flip to the media and everyone else who has two words to say about her parenting and partying skills in the past year or two.

Granted, Brit hasn’t been in the best light with the judge taking away her two kids and her documented sporadic behavior – but when it comes to what she produces when she’s in the music studio – I think it is really hard to judge her.

You have to hand it to her though, as much as you may dislike her, she has an army of music producers that could turn a sick woman with a cough into dance floor diva.

This album just goes to show, even if your vocal skills are on the iffy side, and your personal life has become the dartboard for every comedian in the country, as long as you have money to pay you’re producers and handlers you’ll be rolling in dough by week’s end.

-- Eming Piansay

Too Scary to be President

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:48:00 +0000

There are things scarier than goblins, and ghosts. Now according to schools in Illinois Presidents of the United States are “inappropriate” for kids 8 to 10 years old.

West Elementary School in north suburban Glencoe in Illinois has banned political figures from being Halloween outfits.

Now, when you say – “inappropriate”—does that mean ‘disrespectful to the people it depicts’, or does it ‘expose children to issues they normally wouldn’t be knowledgeable of’.

I really don’t think a mask of Bush or Nixon would be that disruptive, unnerving maybe, but not enough to ban any sort of political facial wear on Halloween.

If given a choice I would think the school would choose a mask of Bush over a sexy French Maid outfit.

-- Eming Piansay

Married to MySpace

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:47:00 +0000

I confess, I’m sick.

I should be locked up in a large white room and studied. My brain should be examined. Guys in scary white lab coats should be allowed to dissect me in the name of science. Why? I am an Internet addict. I probably have more conversations online in one hour than I do in real time.

But I’m not alone in this sickness. No friends, I am one dollar is very large vault of money of people who admit the Internet has become more like an always available friend than a piece of technology.

According to a study, 1 in 4 Americas wouldn’t mind being alone – just as long as they have Internet access.

My mom read this story to me over dinner. My hand shot up like a rocket as I proclaimed, “Oh, hell yeah! That’s me.”

She read off the list of categories the survey addressed.

“Can the Internet serve as a substitute for a significant other?”

I kept my hand raised.

“Would you want a brain implant with Web access?”

Hand still raised I shamelessly said, “Yes.”

My parents think I’m a crazy. But being born in a generation where technology is becoming more and more of a presence I think I get a get out of jail free card for wishing for something like that. Granted, I’m not as big a visitor of MySpace and FaceBook as I used to be – I still am vastly dependent on the Internet. Though it is sad to admit my life exists on a 13-inch portable screen, what else am I suppose to do? Go out and play? Please…

-- Eming Piansay

Front Runners Fumble YouTube Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:40:00 +0000

The Democratic debate on CNN/YouTube Monday night showed a stark contrast in the pool of candidates – between the familiar faces and the not-so-familiar ones.

The debate was a team-up between CNN and YouTube: American voters recorded their questions on YouTube, and the questions were played for the candidates during the debate. This forced candidates to address the real questions that most Americans want to know, and show how they plan to address these issues if they are elected.

The media-friendly front-runners of the campaign trail – Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards – played on safe, pre-packaged answers that couldn’t be labeled “unpatriotic” or “un-American.” In comparison, the less familiar faces – Christopher Dodd, Mike Gravel, Bill Richardson, Joseph Biden and Dennis Kucinich – delivered thoughtful, detailed responses and essentially said what most of America wanted to hear – the truth. The truth about what these people would do if they were elected. This is not to say the answers from Obama, Clinton and Edwards were not as truthful; but being the front-runners of the Democratic Party, they have a specific image they want to deliver to the American people.

Tough questions like: “Is it okay to cite religion as a reason to deny gay rights?” forced some candidates to admit their true feelings. John Edwards does not support gay marriage, but does not feel a president should force his or her faith on the American public. I want to believe that if Edwards were elected, he would take the same stance of not discriminating against a certain group because of their sexual orientation. But when certain bills come into play like gay marriage and gay rights, he neglected to say where he would stand if he came to an impasse where he would be forced to make a decision between his religious and personal beliefs and the rights of a nation. It isn’t hard to believe that this could be approved in the next administration.

The debate also included candidates’ individual perspectives on Iraq, and blame tossed on the Bush administration for its sloppy handling of the Middle East.

“How do we pull out now? Are watching the same blanking war?” one man asked, censoring himself. Obama offered the standard pullout plan and sending a clear message to the Iraqi government that at the moment the situation in Iraq cannot be cured through military action. In other words, killing each other isn’t going to solve anything. Even though Iraq has become a melting pot of tension, he said the only way to safely to bring the troops back safely would be a phase withdrawal.

Senator Biden pointed out that there is an obvious difference between him and the other candidates.

“Tell the truth for a change!” Biden said to Obama, referring to how long it would take to pull troops out of Iraq. If the American soldiers in Iraq were to start pulling out of Iraq this week it would take one year, he said.

Obviously, the whole idea of jumping out of Iraq isn’t as easy as it looks. The contrast between Obama’s and Biden’s responses highlighted that there is a clear difference in the messages coming out of the Democratic Party.

Obama offered the standard slow but sure pullout answer, whereas Biden offered a straightforward assessment of what he felt the pullout would entail.

Senator Gravel, another less known presidential candidate, was asked if he thought the soldiers who went to Vietnam died in vain. He connected his answer to the situation in Iraq, saying, “There’s only one thing worse than a solider dying in vain, is more soldiers dying in vain.”

Gravel’s passionate response touched me deeply and made me wish more candidates had such personal interest in the issues being set forward to them.

However, with the limited amount of time CNN/YouTube devoted to each issue, many important topics were glazed over at the end of the 60 seconds given to each candidate.

The debate’s format allowed viewers to get a glimpse into the real personality of the candidates. It was refreshing to hear real people asking questions instead of pre-scripted questions and rehearsed monologues. The best responses are the ones that are off-the-cuff, when candidates have to think on the spot.

The beneficial side of the televised debate was that it allowed the lesser-known candidates to get a chance to appeal to the public. I, for one, came away from the debate unimpressed by Clinton, Edwards or Obama. It was Dodd, Richardson, Gravel, Biden and Kucinich who did an impressive job of trying to get my vote.

Too Hot for Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 03:38:00 +0000

Believe it or not. There is a such a thing as too much exposure. During Halloween some young people (teenage girls) are able to wear Halloween outfits with a much or as little clothing as they like. Though some could argue it is merely a form of self expression -- every other costume that can take a regular everyday occupation and some how turn in into an Mad Lib of "Sexy ________" doesn't seem to have much creativity or self expression to it. But if you're in need of one of these outfits -- I don't think you'll lacking in ideas.

Crushing "The Dream"

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 03:36:00 +0000

In essence, we are all immigrants: illegal, legal and other. The Native Americans were here before the American colonies were founded. We just sort of slipped our foot in the door and started pushing till the former property owners were run-out – run-out being the nice way of saying it.

So, now that we’ve, for lack of a better word, stolen the land and made it our own we don’t really want to share it, or any other of our resources. Which is where the illegal immigrant issue comes into play.

The idea of letting illegal immigrants come onto U.S. soil has not faired well in the U.S. Senate. The concept of people from other countries illegally coming into the US and taking the jobs from Americans, probably has to do with the resistance. Even though I would think most of these jobs are ones Americans wouldn’t necessary want to take on. But I won’t get into that.

On Wednesday the Senate turned down a bill that would have let the children of illegal immigrants be legalized – on the conditions that they are in school or in the military.

The “Dream Act” would have also allowed:

“conditional legal status to illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. at least five years and entered the country before the age of 16”.

Sweet deal huh? But I guess for now this is just a theory in the making.

Illegal immigration is one topic of interest that isn’t going to go away. No matter how you address the issue, or how many fences you build, you can’t hide the fact that people need to support themselves and their families. If they aren’t going to get what they want out of their own country, chances are they are going to move on to bigger and better things, and try to live the America Dream, if possible.

The failed bill may be acting as a filter, preventing any future legalized immigrants from bringing in other illegal immigrants. The so-called “Land of Opportunity” is now an unreachable ideal not only for the adults crossing the border into America, but their children as well. If the eyes of million children cannot soften the hearts of the U.S. Senate, what could?

-- Eming Piansay

Hillary’s Roast and Kisses Fly at Republican Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Emilya) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:27:00 +0000

I forced myself to watch FOX News' coverage of the Republican debate for half an hour just long enough to catch the Republican Presidential candidates pull out a Hillary Clinton effigy, mount her on a giant wooden cross and light her on fire, much to the delight of the audience.

OK, there wasn’t an actual Clinton effigy at the debate, but I was seriously surprised no one brought out a blowup doll in a bright yellow wig from under the candidates’ respective podiums and tossed it out into the audience. Blowup doll provided courteously of FOX News.

Each candidate took a good minute or two to rip into Clinton. Romney and Giuliani didn’t hold back on their view of Clinton. Giuliani took the liberty of deconstructing one of her quotes, which was, “I have a million ideas, America can’t afford them all.” Giuliani quickly responded, “No kidding Hillary, America can’t afford you.”

Har-har-har.

Watching the Republican debate was like getting a small glimpse into an exclusive Boys’ Only Club. At one point, Giuliani thanked Florida for the 2000 election.

He blew Florida a freakin’ kiss, man.

How can you call yourself a politician, who respects the forum for democracy, and then blatantly spit in the face of an institute by tossing the entire election system because thehanging chads of America are just one too many to deal with so why bother going back and re-doing it. Thank you, Supreme Court of the United States, for your incredible disservice to the America people. Blows kiss.

With the Republicans so sure that they will meet Clinton in the final dash for the White House, the candidates failed to mention Barack Obama name during that portion of the debate, which I found a little strange. I suppose since the media has dubbed Clinton the poster child of the 2008 Election, the Republicans feel confident that she is will be the beatable candidate – but I guess that also means they have eliminated Obama from their list of threats.

But in an exclusive club of old, industry savvy, conservative white dudes, the absence of Obama isn’t a total surprise. Did I mention Fred Thompson paraded his ideals of basic rights that come from of religion over the government? Someone needs to get schooled in government 101. Church; State; Separate.

See what happens when I turn on my T.V. – Cynical Super Woman.