Ferris Bueller can’t go on a day off anymore

A friend of mine flew in from New York. We were classmates in college and like others we started reminiscing about our college days.

After doing all that, he goes, “So How’s Ferris Bueller?” Then I got reminded that I used to be called Ferris Bueller, like the character in the movie Ferris Bueller’s day off, because of all the shenanigans I used to do as a young man. I think at that time each one of my friends had a nickname similar to the movies famous during the 80’s. There was even a friend we called Lane Meyer, after the character of John Cusack in Better Off Dead.

This question definitely brought back a lot of memories and revivified some adventurous persona within me. But then… after awhile it settled down and I answered “He got old.” All the adventures of youth are great to remember. There will always be a part of me that will be Ferris Bueller but there comes a time we all have to grow up.

Obama or Clinton? Who is it going to be?

They are actually asking either Clinton or Obama to step down for the sake of the Democratic Party’s unity….

Are they for real…. These two people have been fighting neck to neck and both of them proud at that….

To step down would to admit that the other is better…. But then wouldn’t be the one to step down be the more magnanimous one?

This definitely is worth watching out for…. I wonder who will drop out?

Why Continental Airlines did the right thing

After months of speculations, Continental Airline representatives have officially stated that they will not be merging with United Airlines. Everybody knows that fuel prices are going up while the economy is going down. Airline carriers in the US are feeling the pinch of hard times. Delta Airlines has agreed to unite with Northwest Airlines making them the largest international carrier in the world (which doesn’t necessarily equate to being the best –some say the best is Qantas, I go for Emirates).

Given the dire situation of fuel, the best move for any airline is to merge to offset costs. So did Continental make a mistake by not merging? Hell no. Despite the fact that they may encounter financial problems due to the economy, not merging with United is one of the best decisions Continental has made.
Let’s face it – United Airlines has been going to the dumps even before 911. Why else was there terrorist pilots flying their planes? Because of 911, customers are afraid to fly their planes. I mean granted that they may have tightened up their security, but hey, after witnessing 911, watching the movies about it, who wouldn’t be scared of United. Plus, their service is not all that great.

Moreover, United Airlines has been re-trenching and closing their offices left right and center. Most of the jobs are going out of the country and into Asian countries like the Philippines and India. I have nothing against that. That is after all globalization, but there is something lost in translation.
Unites Airlines’ situation is so bad that they continue to lose money. For the first quarter of this year, they have lost $537 million and have also announced cutting another 1,100 jobs.

Now, is it really wise to merge with a company that is having a hard time keeping itself up? Like the Continental spokesman said, “Do you really want to swim out to a drowning man and just get pulled down with them?”

Now it is significant to know that if Continental and United actually merged they would have beaten the Delta-Northwest union in size. It is also a known fact that Northwest has golden shares in Continental giving them the right to veto any merger that occurs with Continental. Delta buying Northwest is a very significant move in the industry as it changes the dynamics in the industry as well as make competition far steeper. This is so because, Delta, which will own the shares of Northwest in Continental will have a say on Continental activities.

So did Delta and Northwest have a hand in stopping Continental from merging with United? Surely. But whether or not they did have hand still makes the non-merger a good move. Now speculations are going on with an alliance, not a merger, between Continental and American Airlines….will it happen? How would that change the landscape of the carrier industry? How will United survive with no one wanting to merge?

United Airlines will eventually find someone else… good luck to that airline….

10 Things You Ought to Know about a Smile

There is a saying that goes “The shortest distance between two people is a smile.” (Anonymous) I believe that…

I don’t know but there is something about a smile that will immediately provoke another smile from the people that actually see the smile. And there is something absolutely attractive about a smile.

There is another saying that goes “A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks” (Charles Gordy). Definitely, because a smile can light up somebody’s face.

You must be wondering what’s with a smile and why do go on and on and on about it. Yes, currently I am obsessed with a smile. There was a girl I met whose smile just has imprinted itself in my mind. I can’t seem to forget her smile. But then she’s not necessarily available. Oh well….

Some people take smiles for granted. I’ve shared two sayings regarding smiles… let me share about five more and just to prove it’s veracity look at the different smiles that come from people…

1. Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. – H. Jackson Brown, Jr
2. A smile can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the unbearable. – Anonymous
3. Life is short but a smile takes barely a second.
4. I’ve never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.
5. Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa
6. A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life’s worthwhile. ~Author Unknown
7. A smile can brighten the darkest day. -Anonymous
8. Always remember to be happy because you never know who’s falling in love with your smile. – Anonymous

Surely, I fell in love with that smile. It doesn’t really matter if I ever end up with her, the point is I have been a recipient of one of the most beautiful gift – her smile – and if that’s all I can have that’s just fine.

Speed Dating…Anyone?

I finally went to the sped dating event. Surely, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. For sure, the speed dating event served as a very convenient ice breaker to meet new people…. And I met a lot of nice people during this event.

I even got some numbers. I do not intend to go out with all these girls though. Maybe we can just hang around. But there was one girl who definitely stood out. We have a lot of common interests. Of course given the short period of time I couldn’t fully explore nor elaborate on these interests… but we’ll see….

Iraq: Should we be responsible for its problems?

Presidential candidates have been talking about the issue of Iraq all the time. The question has been whether to withdraw or not to withdraw? This question has been plaguing the mind of the American. Most of us want our soldiers home. They want them back from a war that should never have taken place. Even our young adults and teenagers realize the devastation that has occurred in Iraq as can be seen in websites like online competitions – claiming that Iraq should never have happened and that Iraq is second to Israel in being the most war torn country in the world.

This is the problem…. Whether or not it should have happened is no longer the issue. It already has happened. We started a war in Iraq. Should we finish it by pulling out troops from Iraq? It may be an ethnic war that does not involve America, BUT, it is an ethnic war that re-emerged because America invaded Iraq. Without a legitimate leader and a stable Iraqi government, how can these outbreaks of ethnic wars be controlled?

I read an article today in the New York Times, “Desertion or a Break? An Iraqi Gives His Side.” It was about this Iraqi captain who went on a 3-day break while his battalion was fighting at the forefront. He extended his break for 2 more days making it 5-day break and is now being questioned as to whether he has deserted his men or not.

He defended himself by saying that with the problems with waging this war he needed this extended break. He enumerated the different problems of the Iraqi army – lack of ammunition, very low morale, death threats from the Mahdi Army, the opponents, who are all fighting within their city of residence.

The Mahdi Army is a loyalist Shiite group which emerged after the Americans invaded Iraq as their leader; al Sadr claimed that the Americans were there to kill the Mahdi, the leader.

According to this captain, the idea was that the Iraqi army will be allowed to handle their own problem with the US army serving as their support troops. But this captain was saying that they were no match for the Mahdi Army and that they do not have the skill or the weapon to fight this battle.

I believe that the reason the American soldiers in Iraq backed off was because of the amount of pressure they were getting for fighting an ethnic war that “should” not include the Americans. But isn’t this ethnic war, although it started millennia ago, was reignited by the American invasion.

Here now is my dilemma – I agree this is not our war and I want our soldiers home. But I also believe that we are partly at fault for the outbreak that has currently happened. Shouldn’t we somehow stabilize the Iraq before we leave? We already mistakenly invaded the country; shouldn’t we at least fix the damage and the collateral damage that we caused?

Instead of asking what is the most war torn country, maybe we should use these online competitions as a sort of poll to figure out what others believe about this situation….

This is a bad situation… and it’s a lose-lose situation… being the most powerful country in the world… what can we do?

I’m thinking too much….

Today was a restless day…. I can’t work and I can’t concentrate…. I’m thinking of the speed dating this coming weekend…..I’m somehow anxious….

I’m just not looking right now for a girl or a relationship…. There’s just too many things in my mind…. Like the market… my career… my goals and my life…

It’s just not fair to jump into something right now when I’ve got not that much stability to offer……

Well I suppose there’s nothing wrong with dipping my toe to check out the water temperature…. I don’t have to dive in…. I suppose…..

On the lighter side…

Enough about what I’ve seen in the newspapers.  People may think that I don’t have a life.  Well… yes I don’t.  My friends have realized as well that I have no life.  So what do they do?

They’re inviting me to go to this speed dating event.  Now I have my apprehensions….

I do not know for the life of me how you will be able to connect or build any chemistry with the opposite sex within a few minutes time…  I have even told my friends that speed dating is based purely on the physical appearance of the women or men for that matter…. So if you’re not good looking what could your chances be…

Not that I’m saying I’m ugly….

But then it got me thinking… Don’t relationships always start with attraction?  So how different is that with speed dating…. Moreover, for those who are not so blessed they are given the chance, at least for a few minutes to try and connect to the girl, a chance that they may not have in any other situation… 3 minutes… tough but at least they have 3 minutes….

After much thought I’ve agreed to attend this speed dating thing…. let’s see what happens next…

Who will be the next American President?

Who will be the next American president? Everyone is holding their breath as the US President is the most powerful man in the world.

Well the Republicans were able to figure out who their front runner would be quick enough while the Democrats are still fighting it out. That is the problem isn’t it…. The democrats are still fighting it out and honestly, the bickering and fighting between Hilary Clinton and Barrack Obama is hurting the Democratic Party.

Just recently the polls have shown that Obama’s lead over McCain has disappeared. The polls have shown that both McCain and Obama have an equal 45% mainly due to the Obama-Clinton fighting. Surprisingly, Clinton has a nice little edge over both candidates with 48%. Moreover, it has been said that if the final race comes to a showdown between Obama and McCain, Democrats following Clinton will be voting for McCain instead of Obama.

McCain is being criticized to be old at 72. If he ever wins the presidency he’ll be the oldest president ever. To his credit, he has had enough experience to become president. He’s been in the political field long enough to know the ins and out of the industry. But then again, he is old.

On the other hand, there is young Obama who somehow reminds people of JFK – from his youth, intelligence, charisma and idealism. But McCain criticized him and said that he shouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. Obama seems to be stating exactly what the problems of America are and the solutions that he believes will get the Americans out of the current crisis they are experiencing. It all sounds good but is McCain correct? Will Obama fail in delivering these promises? Ibeatyou.com members in a competition regarding the presidency went out to say that Obama is the most hated person in America. I believe this is absolutely baseless and immature – Unless, of course, they belong to McCain or Clinton’s side.

Hilary Clinton, on the other side, has been in the White House as the First Lady. There is a running joke that if she get voted as the president that there will be two presidents in the White House governing the country. There is no doubt that Hilary can hold her own, but can Bill keep his hands out of the cookie jar? Apart from this, the strategy that Hilary took in the intial parts of her campaign was absolutely flawed. First, people speculated that she would run and she denied any intention of running. Then she runs for the presidency. There is a credibility problem here. Be that as it may, Clinton is quite able and intelligent enough to become president.

The question remains… who will be the next president? The next president is very curcial for the country. The numerous crises that the country is experiencing is just too much for the citizens to bear – from the credit crisis to the immigration crisis to the Iraq war. All of these have to be resolved and the next president will have to have enough fortitude to be able to solve and withstand all these problems.

Who amongst the 3 will be able to do it?

What you ought to know about celebrities and religion

What is it about celebrities and religion? I know that this is a little off topic but as I was surfing the net for the latest economic news I came across Oprah and her new religion.

Let me try to deduce what goes on in the minds of these celebrities. There is no doubt in my head that fame and wealth can truly screw-up anybody’s life. Just imagine…. Here you are a common Joe who has a talent. Most of your life you struggle to get a role… just one role in a major flick then… BOOM!!!! You get the break and instantly you’re famous.

So much attention and influence, I think half of them don’t really know what to do…. There is no doubt that despite the wealth and the fame there is just too much pressure on their parts to be able to deliver what the whole world wants…

Some of them become alcoholics or drug addicts; we have a lot of examples for those and I wouldn’t be surprised if more than half of them went through that phase. But when they do recover, they have to find something that will keep them sane… they turn essentially to God.

Well, not necessarily God since their religions border the pagan and the heretic. But when they do find their “path” they truly go overboard and somehow they all believe that it is their responsibility to enlighten and save the rest of the world.

Why does this happen? Because, the same way they were “saved” they want to use the influence, wealth and fame that they have to “save” others. “Maybe this is the reason why I am an actor… to enlighten the rest of the world.” They have found a purpose, a mission and some meaning in their lives.

That’s what seems to be happening to Tom Cruise and Oprah.

Tom Cruise is going out of his way to show people the beauty and the grandeur of Scientology. His fanaticism is so much that when you see him talk you can see his absolute belief. He has no qualms as well telling people how wrong they are for believing other things. He does not hesitate to show to people why Scientology is the better path. Here’s an example:

With that, you’d think that Tom Cruise is bad. No… Oprah is much worse. Oprah is truly using her power, influence, wealth and connections to try and “save” people from their miserable lives. What’s worse is that Oprah already had a following before this new religion and so her fans who take her every word are the new converts of Eckhart Tolle’s New Earth with Oprah as the archbishop.

Watch this:

After seeing both videos, which one is worse. I have half the mind of putting an online competition in one of those sites like Ibeatyou.com just to see which one is far worse – Oprah or Tom Cruise?

I believe Oprah’s worse for the simple reason that her reach and her ability to influence is far greater than that of Tom Cruise. She’s just everywhere… but I hope not omnipresent… that would be scary.

But what you ought to know about celebrities and religion is that they are just so confused in their minds that they believe that they can change the world and save every single man from perdition. They have convinced themselves that this is true and as actors it is easy for them to convince themselves… that’s what they do as actors in the first place…

They should just stop… if it works for them then well and good… but then Tom Cruise and Oprah are no Jesus and even if they Jesus is not the way, neither are they.