My favorite Movie of All Time

My first crush as a young boy...

I have a lot of favorite movies, and although it is hard to pick just one, the first movie that hits my brain and my favorite movie of all time would have to be Days of Thunder. Starring in this fast paced action movie from 1990 is Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, and Cary Elwes. With Hans Zimmer in charge of the sound track, this movie is simply A-list. I've seen it so many times I've lost count, yet it never gets old.

Tom Cruise is Cole Trickle, a young driver with huge talent and potential, trying to start out on his own and make a name for himself. Robert Duvall plays the legendary crew chief and race car builder who takes the young driver under his wing to teach him the ropes and make him a star. Randy Quaid plays a used car salesman, trying to hit the big and rich in NASCAR who employs these talents in his vision of racing success. Nicole Kidman plays a young and beautiful doctor responsible for Cole after a freak accident that almost unnerves the young hero and his ambition to live and to win.

The fast cars, the quick action, and witty one-liners makes this movie, in my opinion, stand out from the rest. Everyone loves a rags to riches story, and Days of Thunder delivers on just that. We've all been the underdog at one time in our life, and this movie reminds us to continue to reach out and conquer both our dreams and our fears.

Life: Real, or Electronic?

Oh boy, out of batteries!

As technology increases, our basic social attributes as humankind decrease. It's very easy to go throughout your day without even having to interact with anyone. What's going to happen to those manners Mommy taught you, once you don't have any reason to use them anymore?

Kids don't go outside anymore and play ball. Instead, they sit at their gaming box and play with online friends while eating pizza and pop. With all that sugar in their system, the parents lose control of their kids and then go out have some doctor put their child on prescription drugs. Unfortunately, these children grow up to reproduce, and the cycle starts all over. We end up with a society full of fake internet friends, horrible eating habits, and young folks that are allergic to the sun.

Thanks to modern day technology, we now have the ability to talk to anyone at will, and from where ever we want. However, most of people seem to be so stuck on "electronic" friends, that they forget to have real friends, or just become a hermit all together. With technology, social graces have taken a back seat to facebook and text messages. Someday, we may forget how to interact with other people whatsoever.

Once machines take over the world, maybe a lucky few will remain to take our place as pets. I'm sure there'd be plenty of video games to keep one busy, and you won't have any friends to worry about.

People and their pets

Why do people tend to care about their pets more than they do a human being? Despite your wildest dreams and what that Mexican Guy says on TV, animals do not have souls.

I know of a lady down the street that has an ugly, small dog. This disaster of a creature thinks it is the king of the world. This older lady can barely feed herself, yet she makes sure to pay plenty for dog insurance. One hundred dollars spent at the local petsmart for a doggy cut is no big deal either. She buys treats before she buys herself food. This particular dog is spoiled rotten and is like a demonic plague to those it comes in contact with.

My landlord recently bought a pair of yorkies. She's spent probably close to three thousand dollars on these two creatures. Surprisingly enough, that's exactly the same amount I've paid in rent the last few months.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love pets. I've had my fair share of cats and dogs over the years, but they're not demi-gods or anything. I find no reason to worship them or put them before the needs of my family. They're simply pets, nothing more. Entertainment.

If you're the person that leaves your will to your dog, or puts the morgage in it's name for when you die, you need to reevaluate your life and ask your parents what they did wrong. 

Wish Your Life Away.

It seems these days advertisements are, to be quite frank, instruction booklets for how to live our daily lives. They're simply everywhere, ready to empty our wallets before we even realize it. Hungry? There's a Taco Bell billboard off to your left, telling you to go devour a heaping stack of piping hot tacos. Disregard that it's already midnight and nobody with rational thought needs to eat that late. Perhaps you need new jeans? How convenient; you instantly remember that GAP commercial you saw last night during your six hours of cable television and, without thought, have already decided that it is entirely practical to spend eighty dollars on torn, new jeans. After all, that's why Mother gave you her credit card, right?

As a red-blooded American male, I too approve of using God's most perfect creation, the female body, for advertising purposes. But, I personally like to keep it rated "PG". If it's over the top or just tasteless, or seems like it should be  in a hardcore porn movie instead of outside a golf course near a highway, that tends to disgust me. Afterall, I just hope Grandma approves...

I really like humorous adds, and ones that make you think. Something that makes me do a double take, or take a couple seconds to analyze, is probably going to stick in my head longer than one that is more simple. Laughing always makes me feel better too.

Overall, it's no doubt that we are surrounded by advertisments of all shapes and sizes. While sometimes funny, or shocking, we need to be able to distinguish between wants and needs, while preserving our checkbooks. Sometimes the best choice isn't right infront of your face.

FACEBOOK

Unfortunately, for reasons I can't remember, I have a facebook account. It probably all started years ago just to check out a profile of some girl at high school. I even closed it down for the longest while, until about a year ago or so.

I think people, in general, are way too attached to facebook. Who really wants to know your every thought as it strolls across your brain? I sure don't...and that's why I keep a small friends list, which somehow enlarged itself to about a hundred people. I tend to only invite family, and high school friends. Everyone else is blocked from surfing my profile.

Employers checking out potential work candidates seems like a good idea to me. If little Susie hates her parents because they told her what to do the first eighteen years of her life, and parties hard on the weekends sleeping in till noon, she probably wouldn't be a sound financial investment for employment.

Advertising on Facebook seems like a great idea, especially since so many people spend their lives surfing everyone elses business. I wish I had a sucessful business front on Facebook. Maybe some day.

Social networking is here to stay, but it wouldn't hurt society it actually get out from in front of their screen and have real life friends.

It's Business Time.

I have chosen Accounting as my Major at Wright State University because I feel it is one of the most, if not the single most important business majors available. If one knows where the money is going, and knows how to read the books and speak the language, I believe that that is right where I need to be. A company lives and dies by taxes, audits, and these basic accounting principles. It also sets me up to come back and get a Masters in Business Administration.

I think this is good field for me because it aligns itself with some of my natural abilities I use on a daily basis. I tend to be very detail oriented in my work, and my hobbies, and I’m typically very “by the numbers.” Rules are black and white. Show up on time, turn your work in on time, and play hard. I enjoy numbers as well and I take my personal finances very seriously. The wife and I no longer live paycheck to paycheck, we have a 6 month emergency fund set up, and are in the market for a house to put our down payment on. We drive ten year old cars. Basically, I feel this personal financial discipline translates perfectly into the business world as well. Besides big banks and government bailouts, a typcial company won’t survive if it doesn’t make ends meet.

I plan to stay in the general Dayton area, as to the fact that our families all live here. I would enjoy working for just about anyone, from a manufacturing company to a mom-n-pop hardware store, or even go throw numbers around with the Generals at Wright Patt. Wherever I’m ment to be, I’ll end up there.

Sex, Drugs, Violence, and...teens?

Now would be a great time to "unplug" the kids from the TV.

In these days of economic downturn, it seems the only good news that is easy on an already tight parents wallet would be the fact that most of them already own a very cheap babysitter: the television. Lets not forget that kids already spend a majority of their day SITTING IN SCHOOL, so it makes complete sense for them to naturally plop down infront of the TV(with a clear line of sight of the kitchen refrigerator most likely) and watch that four hour Spongebob marathon every evening. Mom and Dad aren't paying them any attention, so little Johny puts in another microwave pizza for dinner, with doritos and ice cream to boot. It's no wonder that almost a third of children and teens are overweight with all this sitting around and eating they do. No time to go out and play, my show is on! Parents could even do their kids a favor, by stepping in and being parents! Have dinner NOT in front of the tv for once, or take them outside and actually spend time with their kids: just like grandma used to do!

The American Psychiatric Association states "By age eighteen, an Amerian youth will have seen sixteen thousand simulated murders and two hundred thousand acts of violence." Now, I can't blame Spongebob for all of this, but there's plenty of garbage on the other four hundred channels your parents paid for. Violence and profanity are rampant in almost everything we are exposed to. Lets not forget video games either; plenty of gore, death, and language in just about any modern "war oriented" video game purchase. Personally, they seem so realistic these days I'm convinced America is being mentally prepared for an invasion and that I need to go buy Dragon Skin, another tactical rifle, and start filling sandbags.

If the modern pop culture wasn't a clear indication of the abortion of modern American values, than perhaps we can find something or someone else to blame for all the sex and drugs rampantly tossed at our young kids and teens. Miley and Lindsay, for example. The former will be in playboy in six months, all the while her cartoon reruns will still be showing on Nickelodeon. The later has been on a sinking ship for years and has nothing better to do than self destruct and pretend to be a lesbian. These are the kind of people our kids look up to! Our big TV heros!