Apology

I know you all have been waiting patiently for me to write about my travels, but the wait might be just a little longer. I have not yet finished my first post and now I'm driving down to Tennessee for a week. I promise I'll work on finishing it up down there and try to have it up early next week. I might even have a second post up right after(?) but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Again I apologize, please don't tar and feather me...

REJOICE!! For I Have Returned

First and foremost, I would like to apologize to you readers, I know that you thought I would update while I was in China, but the governement censors this site and I was unable to log on and blog about my journey. Never-the-less, I am back in the land of the free [web surfing] and the home of the brave.

So, I have made my triumphant return to the USA and I have many tales of the far east to share with all of you! I know I promised pictures and such, but I have to go through them first and decide which one's will be up here, which ones will make it to Facebook, and I might create a Flickr or PhotoBucket account to host all my pictures so if anyone knows which is better, let me know. My upcoming schedule is busy, but with any free time I might get, I will be posting up what happened day to day as much as I can.

Stay tuned for my newest post should be up by the end of the weekend... hopefully.

1 Day Left

So it's the wee hours of Sunday, the day before I leave and I'm almost all set to go. I still haven't finished packing which is pretty much my biggest thing to do. It's almost surreal, like I can't believe I only have one day left before I'm out of the country for almost 3 weeks. I can't wait to go though! Also, I'm traveling with my girlfriend who also has her own blog http://kaitlinallen.blogspot.com so feel free to check that out too and get another view on our trip to China.

The biggest worry for everyone seems to be the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as the Swine Flu. Apparently, the Chinese government has been quarantining people who have slight fevers or show symptoms. Well I've been making sure I have a lot of sleep and vitamin C so I won't get sick. I'm not very worried about it, though some say I should be, but I don't find the use in getting worked up over something that most likely won't happen.

Well, I'm out for now, but check back soon as I will soon be making my first post from the People's Republic of China!! Get excited...

2 Weeks Left

So in two weeks I'll be leaving for China! I finished up my shopping and got most of the things I needed. I did get a pretty sweet digital camera (thanks Mom and Dad!) and many picture will be taken. I have already had one pre-departure class this past Friday. We were given the syllabus which states the course expectations and assignments for the class. I have another one coming up this Wednesday and I have to prepare a three minute presentation on one of our destinations, although I'm not quite sure which one I want to do.

I have yet to start writing in my journal, but I do intend on starting soon. Just to fill you all in on everything going on though, I'll tell you about what's up with me. I'm pretty anxious about leaving for China. I can't wait to leave and it's hard to be working and everything and not be thinking about my trip. I'm kind of stressed about packing my bags. I hate packing because I always worry that I'm going to forget something important. I'm also stressed about exchanging currency because I have lost my debit/ATM card and now I have to wait a week before I get it back. Other than that, I really really want to leave for China right now.

The Fish Goes Across the Pond

So in case you haven't heard and you're still interested and reading my blog (which both would be a surprise to me), I'm going to China at the end of June. The reason that I'm telling you all this is that I plan on electronically keeping you all informed on my travels in the People's Republic! I know, I know... you can't keep you excitement contained, but please, for the sake of the general public, keep yourself under control.

The trip will be part of a study tour with my school, Bridgewater State College, so this is going to be educational, but knowing me, it'll be more entertaining for you readers.



I will be acquiring a digital camera (hopefully), and will be taking many, many pictures. I will also be keeping a written journal and my hope is that I can scan them and actually show you what I have written down in my journal. Pretty freakin' sweet, huh? My intentions are to keep family, friends, and you web surfers who happen to find this page, just what a trip to China would be like. Kind of like my perspective on everything from the sights, culture, food, language, people, and economy.

Before leaving, I want to put up some articles about some history of China, as well as my itinerary, and some information on the places that I am going while I'm there.

Please check back in as I will start writing in my journal before I leave so you can get a feel of how I'm doing before I leave for my trip. Also, leave comments if there is anything you'd like to ask me or would like to know and I will try to find out a much information about it as I can.

Again, I really want to encourage reader participation so that it gives me more to work with and I can keep this information for years to come and share it with others who hope to study abroad.

I'm signing out for now, but remember to check back in as I will try to be updating as much as possible. Later!

Did I Miss the Memo?

So with the release of "Monsters vs. Aliens", it seems that the reemergence of 3-D movies is in full swing. While I was surfing the web, I came across an advertisement while waiting for a page to load. The advertisement was for a movie coming out called "The Battle for Terra." The big thing about this film is that it is presented in 3-D. What I'm curious about is when did 3-D become so popular or in demand all of a sudden? 3-D was popular when it was introduced in the early 1950s. Hell! They even named a character in Back to the Future after 3-D technology.


Take a good look at the above picture... See that gentleman in the middle towards the background? Yes, that is Billy Zane and you can tell by the scowl on his face that even he is disapproving of those ridiculous 3-D glasses.

Do people really want to pay $11.50 for a movie that they have to watch through a pair of flimsy cardboard glasses? Well they are more than welcome to do so, but as for me, I'm all set to watch my cinema in good ol' 2 dimensional formatting.

Fan Videos

So Bjorn had us watching a few different videos last week. On of which was a couple of star wars fan videos. After talking with some of the other students in class by other students I just mean Trevor), we agreed that most of them were unsatisfactory. So I decided that I didn't want to settle for mediocrity, so I found a few of my own.

Watch Hot Chick Lightsaber Fight and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

yes they're mostly lightsaber duels, but what else would be more interesting?

Home Opener

So tomorrow (Tuesday 4/7) is the Red Sox home opener. Most people in Massachusetts can't wait for the first pitch but what most people in Massachusetts seemed to over look was the home opener that occurred in its most glorious form this past Saturday. The New England Revolution took to the pitch and came out with a 2-1 win! As I sat in the stand on that chilly, windy evening, I couldn't help but think that I have never been so captivated by any game because each pass and each play being set up was so suspensful waiting to see if it would result in a goal. I find it unfortunate that one of the most successful New England teams, aside from the Patriots, are view by less that five to six thousand people. They have been to the MLS Cup 4 times in the last 7 years (although never won). I never understood how the world's most popular sport as well as the largest youth sport in America is one of the least popular sports in the USA.

With the World Cup in South Africa next year approaching quickly, most of the world will be focusing on the qualifying games coming up. Personally, I cheer on Germany in every international competition and I hope to see them take the cup home in 2010. The next best thing though would be to see USA win the World Cup, solidifying our country as a force to be reckoned with on the field.

Which team will you be watching in the 2010 World Cup?

All Minx'd Up

So Kenny Minks, I promised I would write a blog about you so here it is... I never promised it would be good though hahaha!!

So I think Kenny looks like Jay Baruchel (that guy from Knocked Up with the maple leaf tatoo).

If you're a Bridgewater State College student and you don't know who Kenneth "Perrybottom" Minks, then you must live under a rock because Mr. Minks or "Minx" (which is his pseudonym of choice) is freaking everywhere at once.

Kenny this one goes out to you solely because I think you would find this shit hilarious...

Write on the comment's page if you have any good "Minx Tales"



Kenny's middle name isn't Perrybottom, but I would bet that it's something goofy like that.

April Fools? F*** Off

I don't know why this irritates me so much... but it does. I felt compelled to write this blog after going to three different sites in a row and each of them had April Fool's Day pages up. Now don't get me wrong, I like the occasional practical joke from time to time, but I go to certain websites to get informed about... stuff. Why must every jackass web designer think they're being so original with April Fool's Day pages when I just want to know what happening. What happened to thumbtacks on chairs, fake vomit, or whoopie cushions? I just find it very irritating. I'm most likely being irrational with this rant and that's fine if you don't agree (I probably wouldn't either).

Jesus, sometime I'd rather be Rick Roll'd rather than look at an god forsaken April Fools page.




Ahh the internet... yet another medium for April Fool's pranks!

You're Infected

It astounds me how much nonsense the internet provides the public each day. Yes, I am talking about viral videos. Most viral videos I think are the funniest things I will ever see. Hollywood can spend millions of dollars on big blockbuster movies, but all I need is some skateboarder falling hard, some weird cartoon, or some random video jabbering on about nothing. YouTube seems to have a monopoly on virals since its the most widely used website for uploading videos to the internet. They have made such an impact on our society that viral videos from time to time are featured on the news and more recently have been the backdrop for the "Pork and Beans" music video by Weezer. Some virals are just commercials on TV while other are just some creative people messing around with a video camera. Below, I embedded two of my favorite virals (the first one is NSFW just for some cussing) and I will provide links for some other good ones.

Drinking Out of Cups


Cheerleading Dad


"Pork and Beans" by Weezer

Dennis Quaid on the Ellen Show

The New York Post(ed)... something stupid

So recently The New York Post ran a cartoon which caught a lot of flack from the public for its racist overtone. The paper ran an apology to the public (which I was reading about... which is why I decided to blog on it) in which they do apologize, yet they also defend themselves.

Here is the cartoon...


Now I understand where people are coming from saying that the cartoon can appear to be racist, but I think that in the time we live in now, this is just crazy to accuse a paper like this of racism. The New York Post said that the cartoon was "meant to mock an 'ineptly written' stimulus bill." The theme of racism struck most people and have caused an outrage. The cartoon is also taken from an event from this previous week where a woman was mauled and nearly killed by a chimpanzee. The paper did apologize for their accused racism, but they also defended themselves by saying, "However, there are some [people] in the media and in public life who have had differences with The Post in the past -- and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback. To them, no apology is due. Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon -- even as the opportunists seek to make it something else."

I feel that, though this could be taken as a racist cartoon, you should really take into account the situation as well, such as social, political, and public climates. While I stand by my decision saying that I wouldn't consider this a racist cartoon, I will say this... the people who let this cartoon run in the paper were just down-right stupid. They had to be very naive to not think that this cartoon would raise a lot of red flags.

Let me hear what you think about it...

Where did all the Instruments Go?

While I was recently wandering from video to video on YouTube this past week, I found quite the interesting video from a guy named Corey Vidal. He created an a capella video of John Williams theme music using lines from the Star Wars Trilogy. The video was taken down because the whole idea was created by another group, yet it was put back up since viewers liked it so much. So here's the video...


After watching this video, I remebered another great a capella video. I find this kind of music very interesting since its all voice and no instruments. This video was shot on a subway and went viral when it hit the internet. The group is called Naturally 7...

He Usually has Trouble with 1977

As the Academy Awards is approaching I am always reminded of my friend Joe. Now before I tell you why the Oscars remind me of him let me give you some background. I met Joe my second semester of college when I was trying to join a my fraternity. He seemed very laid back and genuine. Joe has an extensive collection of movies, in that he has more movies than every person in the state of Massachusetts combined (and he's watched them all). Now as I was getting to know Joe, I learned that he had a secret talent. The talent, which amazes me to this day, is that he can remember every Oscar winner for Best Picture from the latest winner all the way back to 1958! Yes, that's over 50 years of Best Picture winners to remember. On top of that he can also remember various year prior to 1958. To keep him fresh, I like to quiz him randomly and watch his genius go to work. The most amazing thing about this is that if he can't remember the winner for one year, he'll skip it continue to the next year, and the one he had trouble with will pop into his head. I think something like this is just incredible! Of all the different things that people can do, I still think that Joe's talent truly astounds me.

He also has a knack for choosing who will win best picture (according to him he picked Crash, The Departed, and No Country for Old Men in 2005, 2006, and 2007 respectively.) And if you're wondering who his pick for this year is? .....Slumdog Millionaire

Tales from the Mid-West

So this past weekend I was in St. Louis, Missouri for Mid-Year Leadership Conference for my fraternity, Sigma Pi. The whole experience was just absolutely amazing!! I got to meet brothers from all over the country and some from the northeast as well. It was great to be close and to make connections with people from all over America. The whole time I did not sleep once because I was having such a good time with brothers from Illinois, West Virginia, California, Missouri, and more (for the sake of time I will have to spare the stories, but definitely ask and I will tell you all about it).

One thing that I did notice during the actual conference (when I wasn't indulging in adult beverages... don't worry Bjorn, I'm 21) was how technology has helped disperse information. There were many powerpoints used, as well as P.A.'s and microphones and such. I learned so much on how to be an effective Sage (I'm the president of the Bridgewater chapter) and I noticed that technology help the facilitators educate the throngs of Sigma Pi's in attendance.

This is a picture of me (bottom left in the black) with the brothers at University of Missouri-St. Louis in front of their house.

Patriotic Lighting and Exploding Babies

Last night I was watching TV and caught the end of the movie Eagle Eye. As I sat there watching the movie, they had a group of kids playing The Star Spangled Banner for Congress. While my roommates were captivated by the story and the going-ons in the film, I could only think of the one thing I think of whenever I hear our national anthem... How many times I used to screw it up when I was a kid. No one really ever taught me the song when I was younger, I just kind of mouthed words and listened until I thought I knew what I was doing. As a younger, curious child, I had questions that needed answers about what I thought was our national anthem...

"Jose, can you see? By the Donzerly Light..." Who the hell is Jose and why do we care if he can see? Also, how did everyone seem to know Jose except for me? I used to think that he couldn't see because he was being blinded by the Donzerly Light, whatever the hell that was. Which reminds me, when I was younger and would go to the store with my Dad, I secretly would look for Donzerly lights. Never found a single one. "Oh the red parts we washed..." I never washed anything red when I was a kid and I kind of felt like I was lying in tune with everyone else because there was no way that my first grade class did their laundry either. "And the rockets red glare, the moms bursting in air..." When I actually asked my teacher what the song was about so I could get some clarity, I always felt bad for the burtsing mothers in the Revolutionary War. I could only think about pregnant women hurling through the air exploding randomly and taking out the British Navy.

Well now I know just how naive I was as a kid and I laugh from time to time when I think about it. I eventually figured out the real lyrics and can now belt out the anthem with everyone else. There is one thing that still bothers me to this day... where can I find those damn Donzerly lights?