Make a Difference

Have you made a difference in someone's life?
Doesn't it feel good?

Since 1963 Congress has required the President to proclaim February as the "American Heart Month." So, as we are coming to the end of this month, I wanted to urge you to think about this, but not in the literal sense. Yes, it is important to take care of our heart by preventing cardiovascular diseases, but it is also important to use our heart to help others. If you haven't watched this video, please do so. Take one minute and thirty seconds of your time to watch it. It inspired me, and I hope it does the same to you. You know, you don't have to do something big...it's the smaller, simpler details that can make a difference in someone else's life. Use that BIG heart I know you have.

Please, mom, don't send emails.

I thought my mom was the only one. But no. Today I discovered she wasn't. My brother's coach also says "send an email" instead of "send a text message." If you haven't heard this before, let me tell you, it's annoying.

So, to prevent future misuses of technological terms, here's a list that all those "older" people that haven't adjusted to the "modern" era should read:

1. You can use your cell phone to access the web.
2. We don't need encyclopedias at home anymore. They are all online.
3. If you have a question: Google it, then go to Wikipedia.
4. If you need "scholarly" information, don't resort to Wikipedia.
5. To google, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Online, means "to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web."
And last, but not least...
6. You "email" on a computer and you "text" on a cell phone!!!

Get pumped!!

Today is The Day we had all been expecting.

Hard work will finally be rewarded.
No more practice. No more soreness. No more aching.
Let's get ready to show we are gifted.

Houston, we have a problem: The Mustangs are here.
They will leave nothing behind
because they have no fear.
Victory has already been assigned.

Remember, the Mustangs have no mercy.
So, girls, let's get pumped to repeat history!

I dedicate this poem to my Lady Mustang swimmers & divers. Today was the beginning of the Conference USA Championships at Houston, TX. This is a very important meet because it is the first step towards the NCAA Championships, which will take place in March, and it is where we get to show everyone how hard we have worked this year.

The Mustangs have a long tradition of dominating this meet. So, all the Mustang fans out there, let's get behind these girls!! and the Men's team too!

Don't mess up

"A child is a curly dimpled lunatic."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

If Ralph Waldo Emerson were to be alive today, he would not be surprised with the storyline that shocked me this morning. When I turned on the TV this morning, I heard this:

How bad is that?

This reminded me of the incident last year where some 3rd-graders had plotted to attack their teacher. These 8 to 10-year-olds had planned to knock the teacher unconscious, put her some handcuffs and tape, and then stab her with a knife.

Look at other recent headlines I found related to my initial story: "Arizona 9-year-old pleads guilty in shooting death of his father Vincent Romero, roommate" and "Arizona boy, 8, accused of murdering father, admits to shooting in chilling video."

I don't want to be pessimistic with the title for this post, but I really believe we need some change. These stories about children becoming, or planning to become, assassins worries me. To me, they reflect our society's values. I don't want to generalize, either, by saying that every aspect of our society is going downhill, but we must reconsider the behaviour we are showing our kids.

First of all, where were the parents? I am very sure that the boy that killed his dad's fiancee showed some signs that had problems: problems against the lady or at school...I don't know...but there must have been something wrong going on with him. By the way, the gun he used was a Christmas gift from his dad. Think about that.

I think kids have the right to have a happy childhood, but current issues aren't letting them have it that way. There are too many wars, too much violence, and too much unhappiness being built up. Kids are quick learners, so they pick up the good and the bad stuff they see.

Let's consider these incidents and learn from the mistakes of these kids. Watch this video and think [warning: it's intense]. Let's prove Ralph Waldo Emerson wrong. Let's build a better society by taking care of our youngest ones. They will, soon, become our future.

"My real life doesn't need any extra drama"

When I saw this commercial at the movie theater a couple of years ago, it became one of my favorites. I think Kate Winslet is a great actress and she has done some really good movies.

This ad is an example of vertical intertextuality: when you see it, you must connect it with "cultural texts" of a different genre. In this case, in order to understand its meaning, you have to relate what you see in the ad with movies that Kate Winslet has done. It's an automatic connection.

Although I have only seen 2 of the movies that are depicted in the commercial, I now know that she talks about Heavenly Creatures, Sense and Sensibility, Titanic, Iris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Finding Neverland. The images and her actions give us clues about these movies. For example, we hear the sound of a boat, which means "Titanic," and she plays with Peter Pan's hat and Captain Hook's hook, which stand for "Finding Neverland."

I think American Express did a good job with this ad. I suppose women were the target audience, and by showing it at the theaters, it was more possible that they would know her movies and, therefore, the meaning behind the ad.

How would you be?

I love m&m's. So, as I was eating some, I remembered how celebrities are becoming m&m's and I thought that it would be really cool to become one someday.

If I could be an m&m character, I would choose to be a yellow swimmer. I think it describes my life right now: I dedicate a lot of time to the sport, and yellow just reminds me of those peanut m&m's that I absolutely love.
So, this would be me:

107.5's switch of ethnicity

Two days ago it was "Movin' one-oh-seven-five;" it is now "Mega ciento-uno-punto-siete."

Yesterday night as I drove down the street, I kept changing the radio stations...I need to mention that 107.5 is the #6 station saved in my car...until I found a good, old, Shakira song being played in the station that was supposed to be playing music in English! 107.5! I mean, I was used to pressing the number 6 and listening to Madonna, not Shakira.

Today, thanks to the wonders of Google, I found out that on Tuesday (February 17) the Dallas radio station changed its "ethnicity." It went from being a mainly white radio station to being a mainly Hispanic/Latino station. Now it plays Contemporary Spanish music instead of Pop and R&B.

Dallas, we now have a new radio station in Spanish. I don't know if this change occurred because of the current condition of the economy or due to the fact that the number of Spanish-speakers in DFW is increasing, but I would like to know. Maybe it's a combination of both. Maybe this new station, which is very good by the way, will attract more listeners and will make more money.

So, if you want to listen to good music in Spanish, click on the image to go to their "Live Radio." Or you can just listen to it from your car, or at home.

The Never-Ending Sales

Yesterday was Presidents Day. And guess what? Macy's was having another sale.

I don't know why but it seems that Macy's never stops advertising its sales, on TV at least. This sounds irrational: if you are a store and you are having a big sale, then you should advertise it because more people will be aware of it and will shop at your store. But Macy's is getting annoying.

Before living in the U.S, I would travel here with my family mainly because of one thing: shopping. Clothes, specially, are much cheaper than in Mexico (my home country) and you are cooler if you wear foreign clothes. Anyways, when I came to live here I got really excited when I saw a Macy's ad for a "Back-to-School" clearance day...I had to take advantage of this exclusive offer or I wouldn't find a good sale until December! I was wrong.

After 3 and a half years of living in this country, I know that Macy's has every (or almost every) weekend an "exclusive" sale. Whether the excuse is Columbus Day, Black Friday, or their One Day Sales, they can't seem to let go of the idea that they are offering the customers great opportunities to save money. Why not advertise that they have "new" low prices instead of tricking us to think that they are having super sales? Their "25% Off" seems to be there every time I go to the store.

I really like Macy's. They have good stuff. But I think they need a better selling strategy, specially now in these bad economic times. Macy's, I know you can do better than that.

The future party

Yesterday my brother received an invitation to, what I would call, a very random party. This what the invitation said:

Wow. What an insightful party! These "kids" are graduating from high school in May and are already trying to figure out what will happen in the future. I'm sure it's just a party for fun and I'm not saying it's something wrong. Their last party was a "Crush" party. So this one just surprised me. A lot.

At the top of the invitation we can see pictures of "Anne the Actress," "Jenna the Park Ranger," "Margaret the Super Villain" and "Sarah the Exhausted Wife."

How do you see yourself in 10 years? Exhausted from raising up kids? Or trying to save the world?

Although I laughed a lot when I saw this invitation, I think it's a good exercise to think about what will you be doing 10 years from now. You can think of your future goals. Are you now in the right direction towards them?

A Colorful Explosion

This ad is like the fountain show at the Bellagio, in Las Vegas, plus some 4th of July fireworks plus some of the most vivid colors you have ever seen. It's joy for the sight.

All these colors bring me to think about the country we live in. If you take a look around, you can probably see many different colors. From the colorful clothes that people wear to the beautiful, bright flowers that surround our nature; we can't escape these everyday happenings. And I'm not referring to the flashy colors, but just to the wide variety that exists.

When I first went to Europe, I took my huge, fluorescent green, American, winter jacket. It was embarrassing. This cultural difference is, as well, highlighted in movies. In P.S. I Love You Gerry says that when he met Holly for the first time in Ireland, "[he] never saw so many colors on one girl before." Holly was American.

Why does the U.S. have this tendency towards the rich colors?

I think it's because it reflects the big American Dream. Colors, to me, represent the happiness of the people that live here. It's a way to tell the world that they are part of an upbeat society advancing towards an even brighter future.
Think of the ad. When you see it, your day most likely will seem uplifted. At least that's what happened to me. The colorful explosion that we saw, is one that can be experienced whenever we walk down the street or go to the grocery store. So take advantage of that. Watch the colors that surround you and appreciate that you live in this country.

Oh. And I don't know what's up with the creepy clown.

Don't take anything for granted

Three weeks ago I was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. It's an abnormality in the heart: sometimes it starts beating faster. Although it's a "common" heart problem (that's what the doctor told me), you can suddenly have a heart attack and die (he told me this too).

I swim for SMU, and basically I devote all my time to the sport. A month ago we had a swim meet against Texas A&M, it was a big deal. While I was swimming my race, my heart started beating much faster than normal and I started to feel dizzy. My heart returned to a normal pace after a couple of minutes, but the dizziness got worse. I didn't want to stop, so I finished my race. I was sent to the doctor. Then to the hospital to do some more tests. Then, I got the news.

This is something very shocking to hear. I mean, they prohibited all physical activities from my schedule, and my parents got very worried. They took the "sudden death" part too seriously. My next step is a "medical procedure" (they don't like calling it surgery)...next week.

What I'm trying to say with this story is that you can't take your life for granted. You don't know what the future holds for you. Everything can change within the blink of your eye. So, don't wait. Do whatever you want to do. Don't think about what others may think of you. Smile. Laugh. Try new things. Learn. Go to new places. Thank other people. Cherish what you have. Be happy.

Although my procedure isn't a major one, the doctor will still go to my heart and burn something inside to stop the abnormal palpitations. And I'm kind of glad this happened right now. First of all, I can get it fixed. Second, I now see life with different eyes. I've tried all these previous things in the past three weeks, and it feels awesome. I even joined the Ballroom Dance Club...I love it. No one knows what will happen next, so why wait for something to happen to open our eyes, change our minds, and make us realize we are mortal? Go try something new today. Live your life. I recommend it.

What did just happen?

I have been surprised in the last few days by these news:

1. Michael Phelps inhaling marijuana through a pipe. On Sunday, a British newspaper released a picture of this super athlete with the pipe. When I saw it, I was truly disappointed. Michael Phelps had just destroyed the image he had built with so many hard work and sacrifices. During the summer, he became the best athlete that has ever existed after winning an impressive record of 8 gold medals. After these incredible accomplishments, and many others, he was a person to look up to...until now. You could say that everyone makes mistakes, but this wasn't his first incident. After the Athens Games, he was put on probation because of drunk driving (at the age of 19). Wasn't that enough trouble? Didn't he learn from that embarrassment? Apparently not. Hopefully he will now learn from this mistake.

2. Dr. Kirschner's new book, Love in 90 Days. The Today Show presented this book a few days ago, in which the author reveals an "instruction manual" to follow in order to find true love. She claims that if you do what she tells you to do, then you will find the right person for you in no time. I found it outrageous. Obviously, authors write about subjects the public will buy. So, how desperate is our society that a book like this needed to be written?

Think about this tonight

Today is Super Sunday. Everyone is excited to watch not only the Super Bowl, but also those amazing ads. I can't wait to see what the companies that dared to pay 3 million dollars for 30 seconds will bring to our screens. Even though we will see very entertaining commercials, people's attitudes regarding advertising will probably remain same; they will continue to see this industry as a deceiving one.

Some ads tell us the truth, some others don't. That's the nature of selling, so why generalize that ads are corruptive?

Here's one of my favorite ads; it's an older one from Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. I think it exemplifies really well how advertising can be beneficent or maleficent. It just depends on our capacity to understand them.

So, this evening have fun, and remember that not all ads are the same.