Stanley CUP!!!!! I WAS RIGHT!!!!

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well, I called it. My team, the New Jersey Devils have taken down the New York Rangers and have secured their spot in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings. This has supreme potential to be one of the most exciting and nail-biting series in the history of the NHL. I’m gonna tell you why.

1. The Goalies-Martin Brodeur and Jonathan Quick are going to square off against each other, which usually isn’t a marquee matchup. Well, I’ll rephrase that. It will always be marquee. However, during the season, this wasn’t a matchup that was always seen. The Devils and Kings rarely play each other. These two teams are fairly unknown to each other.

2. The Defense-Offense mismatch-The Devils have flashed some brutal offense this postseason. They’ve been firing on all cylinders and have kept defenses on their toes. Personally, I believe the Devils could have easily exploited Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers had they not been such superior shot blockers. However, the Kings’ defense is no easier. While they are not supreme shot blockers, they are fundamentally gifted. Players like Drew Doughty lead the defensive unit of the Kings. This will be a showdown.

3. Sheer Power-Both teams can hit. That’s no secret. Both powerplay units are above average, as are each team’s penalty kill units. The teams should still try to keep the hits under control.

This is going to be an astounding matchup. I predicted this matchup before the second round. I can’t wait to watch these games. It’s going to be something special.

Supercar Sunday

therightliberalLeave a comment

I get excited by cars. Most of my friends would tell you I get too excited by them, like in a dangerous way.

So naturally it was only right for me to indulge myself by visiting this lovely event called Supercar Sunday in Woodland Hills.

Let me start off by saying that most car shows are lame. They are usually just trying to make money by showing off regular cars with some tuning or old relics that most people don’t care about.

Supercar Sunday is different. Supercar Sunday is a bunch of people with veryyyyyyy nice cars that show up and park their cars so dumb teenagers like me can go look at them and get sexually excited.

They don’t charge, they aren’t selling anything, there is actually parking. This is a pure viewing experience of some of the greatest cars ever made.

There was a Ford GT40 (the real one), a real AC Cobra, more Caterham 7’s than you could believe. There was a Lotus Esprit, a Countach, and some Martini Porsches.

Then there were new cars like (every) modern Ferrari (minus the Enzo), tons of lambos, Aston Martins, 911s, Lotus’ (or is it Loti?) and even two Mp4-12C’s.

There were also some tuners and some cool oldies (MGs, a cool old Sprite, and some lovely Datsuns) that were fun to see.

It was incredible to walk among these cars and get to talk to people who have a real passion for them.

Thanks to a good idea from my friend, we decided to go sit at the corner as the cars started to leave. Holy crap was this a good idea.

Despite there being numerous cops watching every street (the drivers waved at them and rev’d their engines to say hello) it was cool to be able to hear all the V8s and V12s (and a couple of V10’s (yay lambo!). I couldn’t help but quiver every time a Ferrari V8 was rev’d and the sounds of clutches slipping filled the air.

This is a great event because it is run by people who love cars, not by people looking to make money. I didn’t pay a dollar and yet I got to have the best car viewing experience of my life. A major hat tip to those people that throw Supercar Sunday!

P.S. The best Sunday to go is the last one of the month, that is when it is really big. If you are anywhere near Woodland Hills and have any interest in cars, go! you won’t regret it.

The BBC

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

I have come to realize that the BBC puts forth irrefutably superior television programs.

While I enjoy American television shows like Hawaii Five-0, Lost, Human Target, Life and How I Met Your Mother, I have to admit that the BBC’s series are far better.

I was introduced to the wonderful world of Doctor Who in early January of this year.  After watching one episode (“The Shakespeare Code,” episode 2, series 3), I was hooked.

I appreciate the overall quality of the show.  The actors portraying the Doctor in their respective series are divine.  I first saw David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, but I loved Matt Smith as the Eleventh.  I still cannot figure out which one is my Doctor.

David Tennant (left) as Ten and Matt Smith (right) as Eleven

I also think it is refreshing that the show does not require spectacular special effects to make it wonderful.  While none of the visual effects look shoddy or unprofessional, it doesn’t look like the show is trying to be a multi-million dollar Hollywood film.

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Jo and The Dictator.

yrreskrapLeave a comment

Today, my good friend Jo came from to visit from Boston!

Jo graduated last year and we rarely get to hangout! But today, Jo, another friend of mine, and I hit Main Street in Ventura to watch The Dictator.

Now let me tell you, this movie is the farthest thing from pc and has humor that can be offensive to some.

But I loved it. I love how bold Sacha Baron Cohen is with all of his movies. Despite having faced lawsuits for his previous movies, he still continues to do what he does best…make hilarious, vulgar movies.

And what’s even better was that I watched it with two of my closest friends.

Overall, tonight was a win.

the best proposal

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

So I was on yahoo.com this morning and I found the cutest video. So I’d like to share.He is so creative and cute!!! This is like a movie and she is so lucky!!!

Oh, and of course she said yes.

I don’t know what getting married or being proposed feel like, but it’s one of the life-time changing moments because you decide that you will be together with the person who you love for the rest of your life. And I think that’s just so wonderful.

The end of OVS Sports

venturatrekerLeave a comment


Today marked the end of my OVS sports career.  I have been an OVS spud for 11 years since I was in kindergarten.  Although the actual Lacrosse season ended two weeks ago, today we played the alumni to see who was truly better, the fossils or the young blood.

It turns out, neither are, we tied.  But like any true OVS sports event a tie is the best you can ask for.

Some of the alumni were old and out of shape, others were CAL and ASU lacrosse players which made the game a challenge.

Over all it was a great game and I am glad we ended our season on a positive note and I look forward to coming back next year and beating the OVS team.

My Nan.

YourcupateaLeave a comment

Medel

I love to make my Nan proud. Whatever I do, whatever my achievements however big or small, she is happy. Whenever her family is happy, doing well and meeting their dreams she is the one that will always be the most pleased.

Today I rang my Nan to talk about a summer internship I had earned and we discussed my grades in school, graduation etc. She was ecstatic that I had called her which shone through her shyness as she told me all about the family and her garden and life. When I told her about my achievements she was so pleased and told me how she was so glad my work had paid off and I was doing well.

Although I disappointed her when I told her I would not be returning to England she said she looked forward to seeing me in California this Christmas time and still never ceased to show her happiness.

Whatever we do as grandchildren and wherever we place she will always be proud to call us her grandchildren, and that is why I am ever so proud to call her my Nan.

The Joys of Journalism

therightliberalLeave a comment

I joined the journalism class my junior year of high school, doing it more because I liked the teacher rather than the subject. I was good at writing, or so I believed, so I thought I might as well.

But what I have gained from the class has been immense.

Although I thought I was a good writer, I definitely had room for improvement. I have learned how to be more concise as well as deep in my writing.

I have learned to be less superficial in my writing, using fewer words and finding more meaning.

One of the most important things that I have gained is the ability to get people’s story in a quick and effective way. It is not just interviewing techniques but learning to talk to people in a way in which their story is told most effectively.

I have learned the importance of stories, not just as a form of entertainment or news, but the importance to those who tell them and who are involved with them. I have learned that people like to tell their stories to those who are willing to listen.

Journalism is an art and a science. It is a way to show the world the way you see the world, the way you interpret the things around you, but it can also require a formula of sorts, a strategy.

Journalism is not only a great class to take in high school, it is a great subject to be involved with at any point in life, whether it be reading, writing or participating in some other manner.

Journalism is a key way that we communicate and express ourselves, and I thank everyone that has taught me about it.

Journalism Competition!

rangerthecatLeave a comment

Last Friday, 8 out of 10 students from our journalism class went to Cal Lutheran University (where I’m going to college!!!) to attend the TCJEA event which is a very competitive and large journalism competition. There were 15 schools at the event in total and we were the smallest school there hands down. Many other schools had around 20 or even 30 writers with them to compete in all different categories. It was intimidating, yes, but the experience was so awesome that it hardly mattered how small our group was.

We had writers enter almost every category available, including photography, sports writing, feature writing, news writing, and editorial writing. I was in the feature category, and we had such an interesting speaker named Cyrus Nowrasteh wrote and produced a many films including a mini-series titled “The Path to 9/11”. We listened to his story about the controversy over his series and the attempted sabotage of his career by people trying to cover up their mistakes. Then, we had about an hour to write an article on him and submit to be scored against all other works in that category.

Now, Mr. Alvarez is the best journalism teacher I could ever ask for. He has taught me so much – I was a terrible writer when I first stepped into his classroom. Regardless of his immense encouragement and preparation, I was still not confident that I could compete with others in programs much bigger and more well-known than our little “On The Hill” paper. But I was sure that we were a small but mighty force and had a great change of winning awards.

There were so many awards handed out. Each category had 1st through 3rd places and 2 honorable mentions. There were also awards for online newspapers, print newspapers, and overall best team called “sweepstakes”.

In the feature category, there were over 30 students that wrote an article for submission. My fellow feature writer Emmy Addison took a 2nd place in the feature category, and I received an honorable mention! I couldn’t believe it. I was recognized as a top 5 writer in my category. I was ecstatic. Another writer Jack Marcus also received 2nd place in the news writing category. Our online publication of the newspaper took 4th place overall, with is astounding considering it had only been officially up and running for less than a month. Overall in the competition, we placed 4th, receiving an honorable mention in the sweepstakes category.

It is just amazing to me how such a small group of students was able to go to that competition and practically dominate. We really proved to the other schools that even though we may not seem like much, we have an amazing, dedicated, and hardworking group of writers. I am so proud to be a part of this team, and the event was more amazing than I could have imagined. Congrats, journalism class!

Athletes Vs. Technicalities

frog3Leave a comment

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Sports were not always so complicated. Sports use to be simple, the best man/woman would win. Now-a-days virtually every sport is bogged down with rules and technicalities.

Just several weeks ago a technicality “controversy” made headlines. a female golfer by the name of  Caroline Inglis lost a title. The reason for losing her title, failing to fill out her scorecard correctly. She wrote a 68 on her card instead of the correct score of 69. Although she would have won without altering her score she was disqualified and forfeited the championship.

I find this extremely unfair to the athletes. An athlete should win if they are the best not lose because of arbitrary rules.
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