Super Bowl XLV- Flop or Not?

Source: bedandbreakfastdallas.com

On February 6^th, 2011, the biggest football game of the season is played. Super Bowl XLV,  or 41, played in Dallas, is thought of as one of the best Super Bowl games yet. The Pittsburgh Steelers, loaded with Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and coach Mike Tomlin, take on the Green Bay Packers led by Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and coach Mike McCarthy. At halftime, the Black Eyed Peas are performing and Christina Aguilera will be singing the National Anthem. I personally believe that this won’t be too good of a Super Bowl.

First of all, neither of these two teams did well in the regular season. The Steelers had a 12-4 record which isn’t too bad, but I don’t think they should be in the Super Bowl. Even worse, the Packers were 10-6 with some very embarrassing losses. Another thing; why is Christina Aguilera singing the national anthem? I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard one of her songs… she’s been out of the spotlight for years! I can understand the Black Eyed peas; they have been very successful in the past couple of years.

Where it is being held. Source: betting-superbowl.com

As you may see, I am a traditionalist; I prefer the two best teams going at each other. I would love to see a Patriots/ Eagles Super Bowl or something along the lines of that. I would prefer to see someone such as Beyoncé singing the national anthem, and personally I would want a rock band performing at half time. In addition, I don’t agree with the fact that it’s being held at the Dallas Cowboy’s stadium; the Dallas Cowboys had one of their worst seasons to date.

Just my 2 cents.                        

8 Mile

If you’re like me, the only movies you like to see are comedies. I personally have a hard time sitting through dramas, actions, or anything other than funny movies. In fact, at one point I didn’t understand why anyone would watch anything else. This all changed when I watched the movie, 8 Mile. 8 Mile is a drama/ semi-autobiography about Eminem and his story of rags to riches.  This movie is compelling, suspenseful, and proves that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

Source: eminem.net

Jimmy “Rabbit” Smith Jr. (Eminem) is a blue collar worker in the economically slumping city of Detroit, Michigan. His passion is rap, and his desire is to get out of Detroit and make something out of himself. He lives in a trailer with his alcoholic mother and his little sister, living in poverty and violence. He himself has his own problems, such as breaking the color barrier in hip-hop, “friends” and their betrayal, and relationships.

Source: Gaming Generations

As mentioned, Rabbit gets away from all of this by rap battling. To him, it is irrelevant as to where he spits his rhymes: at work, at home, in a parking lot. Another area is “The Shelter”. This is a club where upcoming rappers battle each other, and Rabbit goes once a week to battle. One week, he goes and “chokes” on stage- he doesn’t say anything, and eventually walks off the stage from all the booing. The next week, Jimmy comes back and proves everyone wrong, having 3 amazing battles against his enemies.
Along with this, Rabbit overcomes a lot more. This movie has taught me that no one is in the way of your destiny other than yourself- it is perseverance, determination, and excellence.

An Eventful Winter Break

Winter Break is without a doubt my favorite holiday. I can’t give you a real reason  why, but I think it’s got something to do with my birthday, Christmas, and 3 weeks of relaxation. For as long as I can remember, my family has gone skiing in Lake Tahoe, California. Now that I am living in Venezuela, I look forward to it even more. It used to be a 3 hour drive from my house in the San Francisco Bay Area, but now it is a daylong affair traveling through planes. I am always checking the weather, seeing if it had snowed over night or anything like that. For most people, waking up at 3AM for a flight is a drag; but for me, I couldn’t be happier, knowing that I will be in California that day. This break, I landed in California at 10PM Pacific Time. I ended up being so excited, knowing that the chairlifts were waiting for me, that I woke up at 5:30 that morning to go skiing. Although there were 80 MPH winds and not all lifts were running, I felt like a little kid waking up on Christmas morning.

Throughout the break, I got new skis and new ski goggles for Christmas. Volkl Bridges, the skis I got, are known for absorbing impact when going off big rocks and jumps. I also got Von Zipper Feenom goggles, which have been on my wish list for quite a while. After getting these, I knew that this was going to be an awesome ski trip.

I had a few goals I set for myself over the break. In the past, I have never had the guts to go off of big cliffs, mainly because of the potential consequences if I do not have good form. One cliff in particular that I have always wanted to do at my mountain, Squaw Valley, is the right knuckle off of “The Fingers.” I have heard about people going off and ending up paralyzed. In fact, there was one person a few weeks ago who ended up fracturing five vertebrae after going off the intimidating Fingers. I ended up getting through it fine, and also on video.

The Fingers. You better do these cliffs well... you're being watched by the entire chairlift.

Over the break, I got in about 16 or 17 days of skiing. To my liking, Lake Tahoe had been receiving record amounts of snow in as early as November! In fact, resorts such as Northstar or Boreal explained how they already had enough snow for the entire season by early December. With the downsides of this, conditions were horrible and people were getting injured left and right. Lucky for me, I only got a few minor injuries. On the other hand, I ended up taking my mom skiing and she ruptured her Achilles tendon 4 inches apart.  She in fact is still in California, getting her treatment. Hopefully she will be 100% by next winter.

As you can see, I have had myself quite the vacation. My family loved it. Only 345 days till the next winter break. My new goal is below...

The Palisades. Do not try this at home.