Road Bloggin' 2

This would be the sequel to the other video, and for all of you out there that think that sequels are not better than originals you must not have seen Rocky II, he actually wins! With no further adieu, the video.

You got family times then you get family crimes.

I just wanted to take a second or two and let my family know how much fun it was to see all of them for a couple of days. It was a little stressful that next Monday but it was definitely worth it. Sorry to the parents and kimmer cakes and Byronius, but I only had this picture of me and the littles up on my roof, yeah those are some of the bright lights of San Fran behind use suckas. Having the family come reminded me of what a cool place I live in, it is truly "Top Dolla Bill", as they say. I also want to apologize in advance, finals are starting and so my life is not over, but the balance between work and life is definitely tipped all the way down to work. So there might not be too many posts for the next month, but we'll see.

Road Bloggin'

On my trip to Utah a month or so ago I took some videos of my drive because I couldn't post on my blog while I was driving. Here is the first installment, if you guys like it there might be more on the way. By the way, I am really buckling down for school so don't hold your breaths on blog posts, if I get incentive through the mail though, that might help.

Friends for Thought

Well it has been a while so I am going to try and pull a Marian and post everything that I have been meaning to post for some time now. I am telling you this even though by the time you read it you will have read the posts before it but at least you will understand at some point. Anywho, if I am too busy to blog, you better believe that I have been busy. School has gotten a lot harder this semester and the next four weeks are going to be the worst by for as I finish class and do my finals, so pray for me. Just to put your minds at ease though, I am really enjoying it and finding things that I never thought I would like are enjoyable, even though it is hard, it is good too.

OK, the reason for this post was the fact that I was a bad friend recently, and I just wanted to make a point about that. I had made plans to visit with someone when I was on a trip to Utah recently, and because of things and schedule conflicts, I ended up not making enough time and kinda ditching them. The point is that they were expecting me and I never showed. I think that we can fall into traps and think that maybe people don't really care that much about seeing us, or that our presence is not that big of a deal, but the really important thing is that when we are friends with someone, and we make a promise, or agree to do something, we are putting that friendship on the line, or our relationship with our family members or whatever. When we don't do what we agreed we are in a way saying that it was not important to us. I think that a lot of times that is not the case, but we don't make it a priority and things come up, but it amounts to the same thing. So when I did not show up I hurt someone's feelings even though that was not what I intended at all. So I hope that we can all try a little harder to treat those around us better and be better friends and family members. One other thing on that note, when this was brought to my attention, I realized that I was mad at someone at the same time for doing the same thing to me. So it just goes to show, I am not a very good friend, and I am a hypocrite.

One more point. After I had done this rude thing that I am very sorry for now by the way. I told that friend that I was sorry and it came out that they were a little ticked at what I had done. The reason that I am sharing this is that I think it is great that they were willing to tell me how they felt. I think we need to be more open and honest in that way. Not only did I get a blog post out of it, but it showed me that I had done something wrong and it made it so I could talk it over with them and it did not hurt our friendship, I hope. So we need to be better friends and if one of our friends bugs us, let them know, it will either strengthen the friendship or let you know that that person is not someone you want to be friends with in the first place.

Happy Easter everyone, and speaking of friends, I am glad for days like today where we can remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hope everyone has a great week.

Food for Thought

I just had a little thought that I wanted to share with everyone today. OK maybe it wasn't such a little thought. I posted a couple of months ago about my determination to go to more things at school and take advantage of this opportunity to see some neat stuff while I was in law school. I took that opportunity again today. Today the Japanese law society put on a video and a panel about Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American. Many of you have probably heard this story.

Fred Korematsu lived in the Bay area when Pearl Harbor was bombed, and he was arrested for not going to the internment camps when the government rounded up all of the Japanese Americans on the west coast. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and he lost. I watched this video today and it was nerd chill central. This is a really sad story. The Japanese were rounded up, they lost over $2 billion in property, and our nation got a huge black eye. I will be the first to tell you that there are always two sides to every story, in this case it was the cowardice of the justice department that is the other side. I am not necessarily talking about the Supreme Court or the President, but a few people that made it so the Supreme Court could not do their job. Don't get me wrong, the Supreme Court will have to answer to this someday, but there is more to the story. Forty years after his conviction Fred Korematsu got the chance to change his story, and that was mostly what the movie was about.

A Professor of law at UC San Diego found some documents from the trial used by the lawyers that represented the government in Fred's case. These documents basically admitted that the lawyer's knew that the statements made by the Army about Japanese American espionage were untrue, and that they were making a false claim to the Supreme Court, but for whatever reason, they did nothing. These documents also included some from the F.B.I. that stated that in all the cases of Japanese American espionage that they had conducted, there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. 110,000 Americans, who happened to be of Japanese descent went to prison, and America did nothing. Fred's conviction was overturned forty years after the fact by a court in California, using the documents the law Professor had found. That is still only half the story. The real story is how Fred and the other Japanese American people handled this terrible injustice.

Fred was never bitter, he was an American and never stopped saying that he was right, no matter what his government did to him. Very few Japanese Americans even protested the internment because they did not want to go against their government. These were exactly the people that we should never have put in prison, people of character and courage.

After the Japanese Americans were interned the government added insult to injury by asking for some of the young men that they had put in prison with no trial or evidence to go fight for their country, and you know what? Some of them did. They put what they, their families, and their people had suffered behind them and they acted like true Americans, even though they weren't being treated like them. The Army, afraid to send them to the pacific theater, sent them to the bloodbath that was Europe. Not only did these men serve their country, they served with distinction. In a racially segregated unit made up of Japanese Americans, they became the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history. Their story is now legend, "They fought in seven major campaigns in Europe, made two beachhead assaults and captured a submarine. In France, they liberated Bruyeres, and rescued the ``Lost Battalion'' -- 275 Texas infantrymen who had been trapped inside German territory for almost a week." You can read their story here. They were not only Americans, they were willing to prove it.

These are some great stories. Fred's daughter and three of the lawyers that worked to get his case overturned were at the panel, and it was incredible to hear their stories. Their stories mean nothing, however, if we do not learn from them and act on that knowledge. Some people think that these problems have been put behind us, not so. We are much too quick to see people as the enemy. Fred's daughter told a story of how Fred has been visiting The University of Michigan and while he was getting a tour of the library a group of students came up and surrounded him and thanked him for his courage. They were Arabic students, Americans. I think that it is really hard to balance National Safety and individual rights and all that. I don't know what the solution is, but sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease. If we give up our freedom and protection of basic rights like right to a trial and free speech, what will it even mean to be American? I am just saying that we all need to take opportunities to do what we know is right. It might not be in any sort of context like civil rights, or whatever, but we cannot be afraid to speak up for what we know is right. Anytime, anyplace. It ain't easy, but it's not easy to live in an old horse stall when you're kicked out of your home because of where your parents are from either.

Tag Towne

Sorry this took so long, Lis. I refuse to do these on Facebook, but I like them on blogs.


--> Spell your name without vowels: Mtt
--> What is the date 2 days after your birthday?: Sep. 5th
--> How many pairs of jeans do you own?: Like at least 12, 8 that I have worn in the last two week or so.
--> How many are designer?: Maybe one? Three are from H&M though suckas.
--> What color do you wear most?: Dark Blue, cause I have three, but my black one's are my favorite.
--> Least favorite color?: Some like light yellow color mixed with brown, like a mix of poop and peep. Hope that is not too racy.
--> Last song heard on the radio?: I don't really listen to the radio, but I remember hearing an Eagles song on my road trip.
--> What's for dinner tonite?: Angel Hair pasta with Garlic and Herb (bought) sauce and browned beef. I'm crazy, I made like half a package.
--> Are you happy with your life right now?: Yes, everything is good. Peace is good.
--> Tell me a secret about one of your siblings: Lets see, I think everyone knows what I know. Lance and I use to sneak out and drink egg nogg and eat bread. One time we took some Spam thinking it was corn beef, sick. We had to throw it over the fence.
--> Anyone ever said you resemble a celebrity?: All the time, seriously. Elijah Wood, I have seriously had strangers tell me this on multiple occasions.
--> Who did you last call on your cell phone?: Last person I called and actually talked to was Lance, my bro bro, no wait, he called me. My roommate Steve.
--> Do you own a..
- PS2?: No.
- XBOX 360?: No.
- PSP?: No.
- SIDEKICK?: No, my cell phone is not only like three years old, but it is my father's old one too. I have not gotten a new phone since 2004.
- DIGITAL CAMERA?: Yes. and a digital camcorder, HD.
--> Do you shop at stores like Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, or Aeropostale?: i am proud to say I can't even remember going into one of those stores, and I know for a fact I have never been into at least two of them.
--> How do you make money?: I don't make it either Lis, the government and various institutions give it to me, and then they think I am going to pay it back. Inflation actually doesn't sound that bad right now.
--> Last thing you bought over 50 dollars?: Ooh, let's see, chains for my car, dang snow on I-80.
--> Are you missing someone right now?: I guess my famdamily, since I just got back from spring break, but I'm pretty chill right now.
--> Finish this sentence. I wish: I was done with school.
--> One word to describe you: Qualitative.
--> Favorite pair of shoes: My Nike hightops, with the plaid tops. Love ya Kendra!
-->Who is the first person in your Blog Links List?: Fashionably Harrison is the first link, but Kendybar is the first person.
--> What would you rather be doing right now?: Nothing, blogging is the height of existence.
--> What should you be doing right now?: Letting my rrommates use my computer so we can watch a movie like I said they could.
--> Have you kissed your significant other lately?: Define "lately". Define "siginificant other". Define "kiss".
--> Last IM you recieved?: I don't really hold with that crap, but if Facebook counts, Tyler?
--> Last text message you recieved? My mother, Draper temples picture.
--> Who did you hug today?: I don't hold with hugging either, at least untill I get a girlfriend.
--> What are you going to do now?: Watch Transporter III.

Brooker and Jamal, this is a fun one so you two do it. Take some time out from your wonderful va-ca. Love you sisters!

Run Run Run

Ok, so Lance Renee and I are sorta training for a marathon. We are hoping to run the Utah Valley marathon in June, if my studies do not get in the way. Anyway, that is just some background for this post so you understand why I was out running.

So we are on a running schedule that builds up our mileage every week, today I was supposed to run nine miles. The most I had run up to this point was seven, so I was already a little worried, but I looked at my route on google maps and off I went. When I was about three miles into the run, I got a little confused. I thought I had gone the wrong way so I backtracked and tried another road, that WAS the wrong way so I returned to my original path, which was the right way, this little detour added about a half mile onto my run I was guessing, but instead of trying to shorten my run I decided to stick to the same route. The reason I did this was because last week I got confused about which street to run to and ended up only running about three and a half miles instead of five, so this week I wanted to make sure I ran the whole nine miles. Anyways, I was looking for a road called Fulton, where I would turn around and then start running back. I passed the road. The sign on it said 30th avenue, I guess they are the same road. I ended up running more than half of a mile before I saw a road that I knew was too far. So I started back and finished my run, it was pretty intense, and I knew that I had run over nine miles, but when I got back I checked it online. I had run 10.7 miles. I had no idea. One good thing about this though, if there was a movie (let's call it, Speed 4: Runner's Challenge) where a bomb was strapped onto a runner and it would blow up if they stopped running, I know that I could at least keep myself alive for two hours while a solution was found, so that's a relief. If you want to see my route, look here. Send me screenplays.