Cyberbullying

(UPDATED: August 30, 2021)

I blogged about bullying before. For this specific post, I want to fully concentrate on cyberbullying. What is cyberbullying? Simple- it's when you use anything online or cyberspace all in hopes of belittling others. It can begin with bad rumors spread about and end up to some people wanting to kill themselves because of their inability to handle being pushed around by others. Maybe some people don't know (or even care) about what they do because life is all about attacking people down to the core according to some people. Everything has to be a competition. Everyone has to be a dart board to some people, and rather than throwing darts, their words and actions feel more like throwing knives. And the sad thing is- a lot of people think it is okay to talk about others like they are the worst human beings in society. This blog post is focused solely on cyberbullying. It is a spinoff of my original post on bullying.

PERSONAL MESSAGE: I would like to devote this blog post to all victims of cyberbullying- from past and present victims.

Special Request!

This is a very old blog post. If you would like to see updated material of mine regarding bullying (let alone cyberbullying), please visit my "John's Life Space" blog post on bullying:

Bullying - John's Life Space

...and also, any newer cybebullying resources requested for inclusion in this blog post will now go into my more updated page on "John's Life Space" here:

Helpful Resources (John's Life Space)

LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S)

AUG 30 2021 - added an extra resource

Cyberbullying and its Impacts.

So what impact could cyberbullying have on someone? Find out by watching this video below. Click on the link below the video to see this video on YouTube if you can't view Flash:


^ "THE CYBER BULLYING VIRUS (YouTube)"

Now that you know what cyberbullying can do and its effects, allow me to talk more about this topic.

ANYTHING to Get Hate Across.

Some people use all sorts of media online in hopes of belittling and downgrading people substantially. I think some people do this... because they can, and because they know they can get away with doing and saying whatever they want to break people down. I have encounter bloggers whom have made mention of others bringing them down with poor comments. There are people who tell others to stop blogging because they don't like their blog(s). There are people who set up fake websites and fake social networking profiles to make fun of or attack certain people. There are online message boards and websites devoted to hating on people for whatever reason. People who use services like Formspring to ask poor questions to others. Some people will "like" Facebook fan pages and join groups just to attack people. Twitter followers will get on Twitter and hate on somebody through the means of Twitter. YouTube folk will subscribe to channels they don't like and view videos of content people dislike... again- just to attack people. I mean, certain people will find ANY means to attack anyone. It is freedom of expression and freedom of speech, but it doesn't make these practices and tactics acceptable.

Examples of What Bullies Say.

What do people say? It depends. Many people just tell others to "go die in a hole" or something like that. Some call people all kinds of things like skinny, fat, ugly, fake, gay, stupid, any sort of insult. Some people who get cyberbullied did absolutely nothing (or very little) to merit so much hate from somebody. Worst of all is being told that someone is better off dead or anything along those lines. Such comments and insults bring most people to their knees and broken down.

What Makes Cyberbullying So Destructive?

The biggest reason why cyberbullying practices and tactics are so successful is for when words and actions eventually get to the target(s). Think about it for a moment. Someone tells somebody else he/she is ugly. That is enough to make someone feel bad. But then, imagine if that same person (or multiple people) start issuing the same insults towards you. What happens then? You begin to feel so powerless to do anything that you basically just give into these insults. As you're taking in constant and endless insults, you begin to dislike yourself- unless you give yourself the courage to fight out of these insults. Most people, though, don't have that courage because they have been broken down substantially. At its worst, people get broken down so badly that they commit suicide because they can no longer stand the constant abuse and bullying. So rather than deal with the same abuse day after day, the one(s) being bullied feel they have no more purpose or worth to this world- so they kill themselves. In other words, what makes cyberbullying successful from bullies is as a result of multiple insults and messages that snowball and pile onto a certain person or group of people.

Don't give me that "sticks and stones break my bones, but names/words will never hurt me" crap. Words hurt just as much as any physical abuse. Just the right words will send anyone over the edge or feeling miserable. Even I can attest to this- when I let name-calling get the better of me. What happened since? I was kicked out of one school and suspended multiple times for fighting. So to anyone who thinks a bad message online can't possibly do any harm, think again. It would be a stretch even to say that hounding someone with mean messages online can hurt about as much as a flesh wound. But- it's true.

Reflection of Current Society?

You know, it's sad what kind of society we've become. Bullying has been around for ages. Today's bullying (especially cyberbullying) is not only a reflection of our postmodern and tech-savvy way of bullying, but a reflection of how we are all influenced and intrigued by hate. Cyberbullying is just a new way to entice and influence abusive and disrespectful behavior. It is a new method of imposing hate to other people. Sure, bullying somebody in person is bad enough, but doing it electronically and through social media is basically the current wave of bullying someone.

We always feel as if people around us are threats that we should eliminate immediately. Nobody wants to be friends anymore. Nobody wants to compliment or show compassion towards others anymore. No. It just seems like all we do (or want to do) is hate people who we think are above (or even below) us. To bolster our own self-esteem, we have to use other people [who don't deserve to be disrespected so badly] to make ourselves look better. It is a terrible shame.

Cyberbullying Resources.

By popular demand, I have included an entire section to cyberbullying in my "Helpful Resources" page of my life issues blog, "John's Life Space." I will no longer be updating this post in this blog. Any further requests for cyberbullying resources can be found in a page on "John's Life Space." The resoruces there will be updated every so often. So where to go in the meanwhile is to visit my "John's Life Space" blog to see these resources and more in regards to cyberbullying:

Helpful Resources (John's Life Space) (includes cyberbullying resources)

Meanwhile, if you or someone you know is being cyber bullied, here are some resources to help you deal with cyberbullying. Take a look at these resources, and let's work to curtail cyberbullying:

• www.stompoutbullying.org
• Stand Up to Bullying
• Cyberbullying Research Center
• Stop Cyberbullying
• Cyberbullying - National Crime Prevention Council
• Cyberbullying | StopBullying.gov
• Cyberbullying - NetSmartz
• BrainPOP | Cyberbullying
• A Comprehensive Cyberbullying Guide for Parents
• E-safety Guide for Parents to Kids Keep Safe Online (added: January 16, 2019)
• The Ultimate Parent Guide for Protecting Your Child on the Internet | vpnMentor
• A Real Online Degree: Cyberbullying Awareness and Avoidance Resource Guide (resource added: March 8, 2017)
• Cyberbullying: The Full Guide For Parents, Children & Schools (United Kingdom)
• eSafety Parents Guide to Keeping Children Safe Online - TotallyHome (United Kingdom)
• Welcome to CyberTraining (Europe)
• Cyberbullying - Cyber Safety Pasifika (Oceania and the South Pacific)

• A Real Online Degree: Cyberbullying Awareness and Avoidance Resource Guide (resource added: March 8, 2017)

• Bullying by the Numbers: A Breakdown of Bullying Statistics and Facts (resource added: August 22, 2019)

• Bullying by the Numbers: A Breakdown of Bullying Statistics and Facts (resource added: August 22, 2019)

• Internet Smarts: Surfing and Shopping Safely (resource added: July 28, 2021)

• How to Keep Kids Safe on YouTube (Restrict Unsafe Videos) in 2021 (resource added: August 30, 2021)

• Ultimate Guide to Cybercrime, Privacy, and Staying Safe Online (resource added: July 28, 2021)


That concludes this blog post. If you want to recommend any other resources, contact me. You can find all of these resources (and more) in my Helpful Resources page in my life issues blog, John's Life Space.





You managed to make it through this post despite this post being about such a rough topic. Nonetheless, thank you for reading. Take care and be well.

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Potential

Everything in reality has potential. Reality is what currently is there. Potential is what we perceive someone or something is capable of. The goal in life is to turn potential into reality. Doing so requires hard work, determination, and sometimes- luck. How can full potential be reached if you don't believe it has real potential? Think about everything you've worked towards. It was because you knew you had it in you that you would go as far as you've gone. It was your courage and determination that you could make something happen. And if you believe in somebody or something for his/her/its potential, then you know you've done your best to help someone or something realize its full potential.

Potential, however, only goes so far; and it all means nothing if that potential can't be harnessed. You will need a good amount of faith and belief that what you see within something can actually be realized and recognized. You then have to work to make something's potential be realized. Even the ugliest patch of grass can be transformed into a beautiful garden (metaphorically speaking). As long as one sees the potential for that patch of grass to become a beautiful garden, and if one works to realize that patch of grass' full potential, ANYTHING is possible.

Even I must say I see potential in all of my online work- blogging and YouTube. What I want is for my online work to profit in various phases and arenas of life and media. I stay with my online work because I feel my work merits great value in all that I do. So therefore, I work to make all of my material great because I still enjoy what I do, and my readers/subscribers/fans deserve to see my best material. I have an obligation to service everyone with class and honor. Why screw that up? If I didn't see any potential in what my work COULD provide, I wouldn't work so hard to make it all worthwhile. None of my blogs would be of any use if I didn't continually try to find new ways to make them better. I see potential in my own work as well as in the work of blogging friends and YouTube friends. I can only affect my own material, but I do wish others the best with their material as well.





I would like to salute anyone and everyone who help people to realize the full potential of anyone or anything. Even more salute going to people who help work to bring out the best in people and things. "John's Blog Space" is a positive place, and I do hope posts like this one helped encourage you. Thank you for reading!

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Defeating Negatives With Positives

Does it hurt to smile? Is it asking too much to be generous and kind? I think our society is too fixated on negativity and hate. And as a result, we are more negative than positive. I began thinking about this topic when I learned of a popular controversial website devoted to people hating on various blogs online. It made me think about just how much people always try to focus on the negatives that impact our lives. Some even try to feast upon negatives and make every possible attempt to break us down even further. Almost as if people are put onto the earth to belittle and desecrate each other.

Let's be positive! The best weapon against negativity is positivity!

--- Defeating Negatives With Positivity ---

In no way am I any sort of advocate or crusader for positivity, but I think it is a sad society we live in to where there seems to be little or no affinity for others. There are some people who will troll online to try to get under the skin of others, basically hating people they think they know even partially. You have the occasional YouTube channel who may think the best thing to do is to target certain channels or videos of a certain theme, and offer the most hateful and disrespectful comments possible. Some of the YouTubers themselves even think it is fun to hate people in such a vicious manner or post material truly offensive to certain ethnicities, nationalities, etc. It is because of peoples' perception in mainstream society that some people can't seem to live each day with a positive rhythm in their lives. Either that, or people think that concepts like being kind to others and helping others in need is some sort of hippie concept or some kind of lifestyle choice that makes us all less of human beings. It's like Christmas sometimes- like we need certain holidays and certain times of the year to be kind to other people when we could really be positive and helpful every day, all year long.

Counterattacks to Negative Thoughts.

Here is a look at negativity that brings us down. The bold text is a negative example, and the text in parentheses () is a positive thought we should consider despite the negatives. Here are some examples:

• "I'll never find a boyfriend/girlfriend."
(That love of my life will come some day.)

• "Nobody loves me."
(I love myself. That should be just enough to hope somebody will love me in return.)

• "I will never find a job."
(I will one day get that job that will help me [and my family]. If only somebody can give me that chance...)

• "This business will never get off the ground."
(There will be that time, even if only temporary, where this business will actually help me profit.)

• "He/She will never understand my needs."
(He/She will understand me one day. That is even if there comes a time where I will finally be heard AND understood.)

• "This garden will never grow."
(Even with my best efforts, I see great things with this garden. Regardless, I will continue to work as hard as I can to make my vision a reality.)

• "I have no chance of winning this contest/sweepstakes."
(I may not have a chance to win this contest/sweepstakes, but just the fact I am entering it gives me some hope of winning.)

• "My team is about to lose this game."
(There is still some chance we can still win the game, even if it doesn't seem like victory is possible.)

• "My life is over. The one I love most is gone/dead."
(Life goes on even when the one I loved is no longer with us or out of my life.)

See what a difference thinking positively can do for you? I read an expression online about how photographers are great at taking negatives and turning them into positives. I've worked in a darkroom before at one of my high schools once. So I can say I have a little experience in using the darkroom analogy. Thinking positively and giving yourself hope is a great way to live each day like there is meaning. Otherwise, each day just seems like another opportunity to fail.

Don't think that I am offering you these tidbits just to draw a positive reaction from my audience. I actually have this positive-focused mindset based on pent-up personal feelings and feeling like nothing in life ever goes right. I am not just typing this stuff up to show I always think positively every day. In fact...

Personal Experience in Positivity.

I will not lie to you. As much as I like and try to think positively, even I fail to REMAIN positive at times when I am down. Having some kind of positive rhythm in your heart helps you feel better each day. Some people get depressed and start feeling like each day is just one step closer to dying. Some people may have serious depression problems that ultimately plays with the physical and emotional well-being of most people. However, it is always nice to know there is something lighthearted and positive to help people deal with their most disheartening moments. Having a focus on negativity can even take away days of your life and harm your health.

The Internet (and even real life) is already full of trolls and others who only create and capitalize on the misery of others. So why should I contribute to that losing cause? My tireless efforts to bring happiness to others come from my own episodes with depression. I feel an obligation to help provide positivity to others when it seems like most other people couldn't care less. I do believe in making fun of others as part of grilling or roasting somebody (making jokes about people out of fun), but I don't believe in hating someone for glory or personal gratification. What is the importance of attacking a certain individual who is getting all kinds of hate for no reason? It's like when people respectively hated on the likes of Esperanza Spalding and Rebecca Black. People... I don't know- they just find somebody to hate on for no reason or for certain reasons us civilized people will fail to understand.

I guess I become frustrated with the need to hate somebody or something, as if there are too many things to love but not enough things to hate.

Driven By Others' Misfortunes?

Sometimes, I like reading and hearing stories of people being down on their luck. I sometimes want to know of honest-to-goodness people who get hated on but have done nothing morally wrong. Part of the reason why I follow these stories is because I want to feel like I could do anything to help as long as it is within my limits and abilities. I always want to imagine I (or somebody else) can be of help. I feel the best way to show your unyielding respect for someone is to try to do something selfless and generous for someone. The person/people in question may not ask for it or want it immediately, but it is nice to know you've provided something that someone can appreciate.

The Impact of Being Positive to Others.

When you can make somebody smile and feel respected, it is refreshing in this day and age. I sometimes cry a bit to myself knowing that I've impacted someone in a positive way. There have been people whom I thought had love and respect for me, or at least... whom I thought I've earned the respect of, all for them to leave me behind and never want anything to do with me again. I want to help other people feel better so I can feel better about myself. I want to grow and maintain any sort of confidence knowing I can make a difference in others' lives. There are bloggers and YouTube channels who are always touched by compliments I may offer to them. In this society, it may be monotonous and fake to have people always agree with you and always say nice things; but at least this is better than constantly getting hate. I think there is too much hate and negativity to where we almost (basically) forget there are positive things and positive people out there.

All I want for people is to feel loved and respected. If I didn't care this much, then I wouldn't have made the efforts I've made to try to offer peace of mind and . I offer love and respect from my heart. I am not trying to be fake or always in agreement. There is too much negative in our society that I want to try to instill some kind of positivity to iron out negatives in our lives. Not every day is a happy day, but at least each day should at least have something positive to get out of it (besides living).

--- Do We NEED Hate? ---

Actually, yes. I just think two things: (1) differentiating between hate and criticism, and (2) knowing if certain comments are actually helpful criticism or outright hate. We can use criticism. However, hate- despite being undesirable- is as much a force of making ourselves better as anything positive we get from others. Some people even say that hate is a way to help us remember that not everyone thinks positively of you. It provides that even balance solely needed to even out the love and the hate in our lives.

Nobody wants to be the target of hate. On the other hand, hate helps us to realize that for everyone who loves our work, there are at least some people who will lovingly think otherwise. It is natural for everyone to have people who love AND hate us and what we do. If you just have people who love your work, you feel like everyone loves your work and that nobody thinks otherwise. So we do need a reminder that there are haters of everyone. It helps to know how some people really feel.

That said, hate is vastly unacceptable. It is still depressing how much outright hate drives our lives, actions, and thoughts. I mostly view hateful comments as a motor towards improvement. Sadly, more people would rather hate than use constructive criticism. It is also depressing how we feel the need to vent about certain things in dedicated forums rather than directly offer constructive criticism (not hate) to people. I think if you're going to hate somebody or something, I think it is done to where you want to offer some suggestions. Most people don't want to make suggestions. Rather, they just throw hate onto you just to break you down.

--- Advice for Haters (and Would-Be Haters) ---

Consider the following. I am especially referring to those who feel that hating is necessary or required.

• You use your voice to lash out and make fun of people whom haven't done anything serious to you.

• You type material in comments and in messages to undermine and disrespect people whom have done absolutely nothing to harm you in any way.

• You're willing to throw a punch at somebody as you believe your target isn't going to do anything about it (or seems too powerless to do anything about it).

As much as you use your collective energy to deliver negative to peoples' lives, why not use that same energy to help be positive to others? You don't have to always be in agreement, but it helps to be more positive to others rather than always seek attacks against others. Why not HELP people whom you think need some guidance rather than hate?

--- Final Thoughts ---

We need more positivity in our lives. It is natural to have hate for things, but I feel we expend too much energy on hating others for any number of reasons. I just wish life and living were more promising rather than feel like each day just brings us closer to dying or suffering a severe setback. This is how we're living- everything is riddled with failure. Misery and depression are what most people try to bring to others. Instead of living each day to make the most out of what life gives us, we always have to be fixated on negatives. These are negatives only increasing the chances of bringing us closer to death or severe depression. There is already too much negative going on. Where are we going to find positive energy to help suppress our own transgressions? When are we going to use more of our positive energy to make society and living better for ourselves and others rather than always be negative or hateful?





You can't remove negativity, but you can certainly prevent negativity from taking over your life and others' lives. What can YOU do to help make life better for yourself or others? Having made this passionate post, thank you for reading.

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FIA World Touring Car Championship

I was inspired to blog about the World Touring Car Championship after a number of WTCC stars followed me on Twitter (follow @johnbmarine). I actually wanted to do an all-in-one post on touring car racing, but this post is on the World Touring Car Championship, around since 1987 and sanctioned by the Federacion International d' Automobile (FIA). I am really unsure how I began to follow the WTCC. But to me, as much as F1 represents the pinnacle of technology and ultra-sophisticated racing; the FIA World Touring Car Championship represents the very best of production-based racing. The cars are very sophisticated in their performance and capabilities, but their performance figures are not overblown from their road-going counterparts like DTM or the Australian V8 Supercar Series. The only real game series that has featured a majority This blog post is mostly a digest of as much as I know about the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

FIA WTCC: The Cars.

Many of the vehicles featured in the championship are not sold in the United States (speaking from an American standpoint). The of-the-moment car from my watching of today's WTCC is the Chevrolet Cruze. Other vehicles from other makers are also quite competitive. These include the likes of SEAT, Honda, BMW, and other makes. What I love about the World Touring Car Championship is the intense racing action featuring production-based everyday cars. That really makes most touring car series fun to begin with. Again- these are sophisticated and purpose-built race cars which have specifications very close to the road-going model they represent. You don't have race cars with overblown performance figures compared to the road-going cars they represent. Since a majority of these cars are based on road-going models, many of the cars are front-wheel drive. Only the BMWs make up the rear-wheel drive cars to the best of my knowledge in today's WTCC.

FIA WTCC: The Tracks/Races.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship goes all around the world to some of the finest race tracks as well as some of the most tricky touring car tracks. They will race on world-renowned courses like Monza and Zolder, and they even race on tough street courses like Macau. Each race run at each venue is done in a dual-race format usually lasting about maybe 20 minutes each. The FIA World Touring Car Championship races just about all over the world.

As of the date of this initial blog post (and to my surprise), the WTCC will be racing for the first time at Sears Point (the track I've always known as Sears Point that was once called Infineon Raceway) in Sonoma, CA, USA. I'd be interested to see the WTCC race in Canada as well. Maybe they can run a round at Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve or the beautiful Circuit Mont-Tremblant. The series does race in Africa in Marrakech, Morocco. Besides that track, Kyalami would be great. Bathurst would be awesome to race in today's WTCC. But if they want to take on Australia, other good venues besides Bathurst include Philip Island, Eastern Creek, Queensland, or even Hidden Valley. Or, they may want to give New Zealand a go and race at tracks like Taupo Motorsports Park or Teretonga Park Raceway.

FIA WTCC: Drivers.

Among racers past and present, I have the most respect for drivers like Alain Menu, Andy Priaulx, and Yvan Muller among others. I also have respect for Tom Coronel. Many of the racers that compete in this series are world-class drivers with immense talent.

What is the WTCC Like?

So what is the FIA World Touring Car Championship like? This video will tell you all you need to know about this great racing series (click on the link if you can't view Flash video):


^ "2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship | WTCC | Race Season Review"

For you gamers out there, about the only real game that has showcased the cars from the WTCC are from the RACE series of games from SimBin. So you can go play that game to get your virtual fill of WTCC touring car racing. There is even a WTCC mod being worked on for rFactor as of now. If and when that mod is finished, I'll update this blog post with a link to the finished product.





This was not meant to be a fully-detailed post. It was basically sort of a "thank you" post for the FIA World Touring Car Championship folk on Twitter for following me on Twitter. I needed to show that I am aware of and am a fan of the WTCC. So therefore, I created this post. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you want to learn more about the FIA World Touring Car Championship or to get social with the FIA WTCC, here are some links for you:

• FIA World Touring Car Championship (official)
• FIA World Touring Car Championship Facebook fan page
• Follow the FIA WTCC on Twitter!
• FIA World Touring Car Championship (Wikipedia)

Thank you for reading!

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Brand Name Attraction

I honestly never cared about always having designer goods or prominent brand name goods. Sure, there are brands and items I most respect, but it doesn't mean I ALWAYS want those items. You will not see me parade around in certain brand names or wearing certain brand name material with the maker proudly emblazoned on it. I don't want to be a walking advertisement for something. Even in my younger days, I didn't care if I was the only kid in grade school not wearing sneakers from Nike or Adidas. I didn't care if I was in school wearing jackets from a company other than Starter. It isn't because I (or my mother) couldn't afford the brand or because I had genuine dislike- I just didn't really care or feel pressured into always wearing high-profile brands. Not even one item in my closet has any kind of big logo on it. Only thing really close is an Old Navy T-shirt with an American flag on it. That's it.

I'm just not real cool about dressing up as a walking advertisement for a certain clothing manufacturer. I don't feel being under any pressure to look great with certain designers or having luxury goods from luxury designers. There is no reputation for me to hold looks-wise regarding having to have luxury goods or certain designer goods just to be personally happy. Then too, I can be as old-fashioned a person you may ever meet.

You have reached the end of this blog post. However, I have something I want to share with you. Read the next section if you are into fashion.

--- A Special Request! ---

This blog post here on "John's Blog Space" has had hints of fashion mentioned. For all of you who love fashion, have you visited my "StyleSpace" blog yet? "StyleSpace by JBM" (or "SS" for short) is my anything and everything blog regarding fashion. Those who may know me online well know I've started to say "welcome to my blogging universe" to promote my blogs. Well, that blogging universe of mine features my fashion-oriented blog called StyleSpace. Some of my fashion-themed posts here on "John's Blog Space" may get moved over to StyleSpace and edited fully. Lots of exclusive posts on SS will also be featured regarding fashion. I want "StyleSpace" to be as successful and as active as my other blogs.

To make this happen, however, I need your help. I will do everything I can to make StyleSpace as great of a blog as possible. While SS isn't a "traditional" fashion blog, I do blog about fashion the way I see it and with my own input. Everything posted has some sort of fashion connection. As I usually do with some posts, I make sure to provide links to other peoples' blogs for certain fashion elements I try to discuss. There are also shopping resources in case you don't mind doing some shopping for relevant items based on what you read in my posts. Take advantage of these online things and help both yourself and me. As usual- I would gladly appreciate your support should you buy something I've posted in any of my blogs or their posts.

Click the link to visit "StyleSpace, by John B. Marine" today! You may also contact me via E-Mail or message me on my Facebook fan page if you have some topics you want to see me discuss on StyleSpace (or even in any of my other blogs).





What is your attitude towards being under some sort of pressure to wear/own/use goods from popular brands or luxury designers? Do you feel more compelled with using goods from well-respected makers as opposed to knock-offs or no-name brands? Speak your mind! Thank you for reading!

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Can You Hear My Cries?

Everyone has dreams. Everyone has fears. Everyone has things they wish for or hope for. Trouble is- it feels like no prayers or dreams are being answered; or at least, not in the immediate future. Can the heavens hear our cries? Things like this motivate me to want to help others any way I'm capable of. I feel like there are a lot of things we ask for and/or work for, but the desired result or outcome doesn't become answered. Imagine not feeling wanted in a loving relationship. Imagine not having enough money or making enough money to establish a decent living. Think of wanting a good-paying job but unable to because of various circumstances. Or for less-stressful matters... imagine your favorite sports team(s) and athlete(s) not performing as well as you want them to. Imagine wanting something you wish you had enough money to get. These are just times when your greatest prayers and wishes go for nothing, or that nothing is ever going right in your life. Imagine trying to win a contest or a sweepstakes, knowing you may or may not ever win. Even imagine trying to win the lottery. Once you feel like nothing is going right, you begin to wonder...

...can anyone hear my cries?

You are praying and hoping something in your life changes for the better or for a positive or acceptable outcome. It doesn't matter if it is a need or a want- you want to feel like the Heavens will answer to your cries and help you towards reaching a positive outcome. Sometimes, you have to work to make a positive outcome come true. Some other times, luck has to be on your side. Whatever the case, we all make our cries for help and/or hope on almost anything burning within us.

My Own Cries.

I sometimes have my own cries, and they involve things in my life and things outside of my control. One thing I mentioned long ago was having interest in doing tech reviews. Someone who may come across me for the first time after seeing one of my tech reviews would probably say I'm not qualified enough... or at least, not qualified enough to do product reviews on certain interesting consumer devices. Allow me to explain- I am a bit cheap. So as I was considering doing reviews of certain portable media players. It isn't like I make money on any consistent basis to where I could afford to buy things myself in order to prepare reviews. The only money I make is based on AdSense material as well as certain affiliate programs I'm involved with. And for as much traffic as I get, it's not enough to feel any sort of long-term security.

Also, I do wish I could better feel like I am getting actual support and respect from readers and visitors. One thing I have noticed is that more loyal types will respond in kind to my latest posts. I am having a somewhat more consistent commenting audience, and I am very sure I can get more people to respond despite the various topics I try to feature. This also pertains to getting more Facebook fans and more Twitter followers. I have various links linking to all of my online material, but I don't feel I'm popular enough or loved enough to get more fans.



It is a sad fact of life here. No matter what kinds of cries you send out to try to better your life, there isn't exactly someone willing to help you immediately. Not many people are fortunate to open up about things deep inside of them that they want to share with others. I think it's understandable with the Internet. You may have certain strangers show up and pretend to be your friend when what they are really doing is trying to screw you in some way. As far as I'm concerned, I care more about people who actually care about trying to make life better for others, even if others don't ask for certain kinds of [otherwise much appreciated] help.

Sometimes, I like when some people open up about things. I feel like I could do someone a HUGE difference if I could help someone in the best way I could resolve someone's matters whether serious or not-so-serious. I think the best way to make someone happy and to show you are a friend is to contribute to or offer something that would make that person very happy. Here is an example- one person you're friends with dreams of wanting to be the next best music producer, and you provide him/her a music studio and some high-end music software and hardware. Someone may dream of becoming a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, and you cheer on and help that person to become a celebrated music star. Or maybe someone wants something he/she has wanted for a long while, and you end up buying that thing for him/her. I think the best way to show your friendship for someone is to help them with their burning desires. You don't have to do or offer assistance to help someone out, but at least it would be nice to know you did something very nice for them.

So when someone has things within himself/herself that he/she wishes would change for the better, can you hear that person's cries? Can you do something to help that person? This whole post was just something to think about when trying to make yourself a better person around others. Become a champion in someone's life by offering your kindness and your generosity to help others who may or may not need help.





As I say about these motivational and inspirational posts, I don't really care about views. I just provide this stuff because I know someone will likely need some motivation or uplifting words. It's there if you need it. Take my advice or leave it. I hope this post- as well as my others in the respective categories- motivated you in some sort of way. Thank you for reading!

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YouTube App for the PlayStation 3

YouTube on the PlayStation 3 meant using YouTube XL. Now, there is a new PS3 app that lets you use YouTube on your PlayStation 3. The app is in its early stages. Therefore, any of my reviews or thoughts on it only apply to what it provides as of its first version. Any changes or modifications to the YouTube app after the date of this initial blog post (August 16, 2012 at 20:00 (or 8:00 PM Central [Daylight] Time) will not be reflected. This blog post is both a review AND a First Impressions assessment of the new YouTube app for the PlayStation 3.

--- YouTube App for the PlayStation 3 ---

The YouTube app for the PlayStation 3 is different from the YouTube XL app mostly made for TV. This app allows you to check out all of your favorite YouTube videos while also logging in to YouTube. You also get to enjoy checking out all of the latest videos as well as videos from your playlists and favorites. So all in all, you're looking at a more refined YouTube experience for your PS3.

At the moment, you can mostly just view videos and not do anything like... you know- upload videos, comment on videos, add videos to your playlists/favorites, and things like that. Things will likely change once YouTube starts refining the app some more.

--- Getting Started ---

To get started, you must download the YouTube app from the PlayStation Store. The download is free and takes up 22 megabytes of space on your PlayStation 3. Once it is loaded, all you have to do is install it and then go over to the TV/Video Services menu on your PS3's XMB. What happens next is that you must log in to allow YouTube to access your information. You will be given a code to input after you visit the link YouTube provides to you. Access that link to activate the YouTube app for your PS3, and then input the code given to you so you can use YouTube on your PS3. Once the code is registered, you will be allowed access to use the YouTube app automatically.

Those of you with mobile devices can use the PS3's YouTube app in conjunction with the PS3's YouTube app. Visit the link the app provides, and then input the code.

--- First Impressions ---

The app allows you to view the most recent content from your subscriptions, your playlists, your top videos, favorites, and more. You can even see the latest and most popular YouTube videos based on a number of categories. Your history of videos can also be accessed along with a look at your recent activity and a handful of videos recommended to you.

Controls.

Actually viewing videos is a pretty clean process.

• To access the main controls when watching a video, press X.

• You can rewind and fast-forward the video from this menu. Or to quickly rewind or fast-forward, press L2 to rewind and R2 to fast-forward.

• The YouTube Search menu is also part of the viewing experience. Press Triangle to perform a search. At any time, you can input a few letters, and YouTube will search for videos based on the search term you use.

• Pause the video by pressing Start.

• View any other videos by pressing L1 to view a previous video in a line, or R1 to view the next video. You can also press left or right either with your D-Pad or your left analog stick to do the same respective functions.

• Press Up or Down to cycle through the different menus and video collections available to you. Depending on certain menus, this may lag up your viewing of a certain video, so be careful and only use these menus when you really have to.

• Press Circle to stop the video and return to the menu you previously were on.

• The right analog stick does nothing. The L3 does nothing either.

• To exit the YouTube app, press the PS button (or press and hold the PS button) and go to "Quit."

Fairly straightforward.

Video Playback.

Videos appear to run very clean on the PS3. Granted I don't have the world's finest Internet connection, videos appear in amazing quality on the PlayStation 3. I am not real certain about being able to change video quality or if you'll always have the highest-peforming video play automatically, but I've been very impressed seeing how some videos seem to run at a faster and cleaner rate compared to viewing YouTube on a computer or on a mobile device.

--- YouTube App: Final Thoughts ---

YouTube did a great job with this app from what I've seen so far. The things I would want to see change would be to perhaps let you change the screen size so videos could better fit your TV or monitor. I would probably recommend being able to use the PlayStation 3's keyboard feature for easier searching rather than by using the standard gamepad. I use a USB keyboard for typing in text easier, so I'd like that functionality for better searching and perhaps even for extra video controls.

From this initial build, the YouTube app runs very well. My test run of this app allowed me to view videos very well.





Have you downloaded the YouTube app yet for your PlayStation 3? If not, at least this blog post gave you a little insight on the new app. Learn more about the YouTube app from YouTube's own blog: Game on: Get the new YouTube app for PlayStation 3 (YouTube Blog). Thank you for reading!

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Central Asian Beauties

(UPDATED: November 1, 2016)

My Asian Beauties series FINALLY is updated with a new batch of lovely ladies to showcase. This time, I am mentioning beautiful women of Central Asia. These include the nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. Asian ladies are in the spotlight yet again but with a new blog post. And let me tell you- I have had a very tough time coming up with this one. It may be one of the toughest "Beauties" blog posts I've ever done due to the lack of information and picture data I've tried to find on many of the featured names.

LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S):

NOV 1 2016 - added another beauty (hint: Uzbekistan)

---

Asian Beauties

---

When most people think of Asian people and things, many people (understandably) think of Asia along the Pacific Rim and many of the outlying Pacific islands around Asia. In this series of blog posts regarding Asian beauties, I will showcase various Asian women as some of the most beautiful from this featured part of the world. I will be sure to feature many more lovely ladies from this certain sector of the world in more posts.

Once the series is complete, you may link to any of the following through the list below. Here is a look at the Asian Beauties series:


--- ASIAN BEAUTIES SERIES ---
• East Asian Beauties
^ beauties of Japan, Korea Republic, [People's Republic of] China, Mongolia, Taiwan, Macau, S.A.R., China; and Hong Kong, S.A.R., China

• Southeast Asian Beauties
^ beauties of Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam

• South Asian Beauties
^ beauties of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka

• Central Asian Beauties (YOU ARE HERE)
^ beauties of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Krygstan, and Turkmenistan


I may plan on doing Middle Eastern beauties separately. Either that, or I may include another blog post in this Asian beauty series to feature Middle Eastern ladies.

Asian Beauties: Central Asia.

Central Asia consists of five nations: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Krygstan, and Turkmenistan. I am familiar with only two of these five nations- Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Part of the challenge of blogging about this topic is in being introduced to and learning about certain nations I am not familiar with. It is also challenging because it is tough for me to find certain pictures or other media regarding such personalities.

How This Blog Post Works.

You will see certain ladies from the seven represented nations that make up East Asia. Here are the represented nations in order:

• Kazakhstan - ladies from Kazakhstan or of Kazakh descent.
• Uzbekistan - ladies from Uzbekistan or of Uzbek descent.
• Tajikistan - ladies from Tajikistan or of Tajikistani descent.
• Kyrgyzstan - ladies from Kyrgyzstan or of Kyrgyzstani descent.
• Turkmenistan - ladies from Turkmenistan or of Turkmen descent.

So let's get started! Some information on featured people were provided by Wikipedia searches. I may only make mention to certain ladies if I can't find pictures, websites, or videos on each featured lady. Don't forget that I may edit this post from time to time to update my material.

---

Central Asian Beauties

---

(THIS REGION: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Krygstan, and Turkmenistan)

Because I am most familiar with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan more than the other three nations, I'll start with these two. Before I begin, let me tell you something. This "Beauties" post was very hard for me because I could not find a whole lot of ladies to feature here, and the information I tried to use is just enough make a decent mention of each personality. I still tried my best to find anything on any of the ladies featured here. I hate disappointing people; and if I do disappoint you, I am deeply sorry. I've done my best. So let me share with you some lovely ladies from Central Asia.

---

Central Asian Beauties: Kazakhstan

---

Hello to all of my readers from Kazakhstan! I would like to share some of your lovely ladies in this blog post to this international blog. I know very litle about Kazakhstan, but I can somewhat find it properly on a map. The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana. Of the five nations featured in this post, Kazakhstan is the largest-size country of the five featured nations here. Now let's meet some of Kazakhstan's ladies!

Gaukhar Rakhmetaliyeva (Kazakhstan).

^ from: www.starnostar.com (best I could find) - Miss Kazahkstan 2007, Gaukhar Rakhmetaliyeva.
Miss Kazakhstan in 2007 is one (born: 1983) Gaukhar Rakhmetaliyeva. She is only the second-ever woman to represent as Miss Kazakhstan at Miss Universe since Dina Nuraliyeva (she represented Miss Kazakhstan in 2006).
MORE INFO: Gaukhar Rakhmetaliyeva (Wikipedia)

Zhanna Zhumaliyeva (Kazakhstan).

^ from: daylife.com - Zhanna Zhumaliyeva was crowned Miss Kazakhstan in 2010.
Born on July 26, 1987, Zhanna is a Kazakh model from Uralsk. She won Miss Kazakhstan 2010 as well as Miss World 2011.

Olga Tereshkova (Kazakhstan).

^ from: www.zimbio.com - Olga Tereshkova at the 2010 Asian Games.
This (born: October 26, 1984)-old is a beauty who is a solid runner from Kazakhstan. She runs 400-meter sprints.

Aibina, of "Aibina's Blog" (Kazakhstan).

Hailing from Kazahkstan's capital city- Astana, Aibina Yeshkeeva is a fashion blogger who shares her looks and outfits with the world. The young blogger is very beautiful with immense fashion charm and goddess-like beauty. Her styles can range from cute and casual to classy and gorgeous. I have continually admire and respect her for her sense of style. I think anyone into fashion blogs should give "Aibina's Blog" a visit. Her blog is bilingual with posts offered both in English and Russian.

You can see more of her looks by visiting Aibina's Lookbook page.

Alina, of "lifeisexpression.org" (Kazakhstan).

(ADDED: January 20, 2013)
The beauty behind LifeisExpression is a lady named Alina. Alina Akhmetbek is a beautiful lady from Kazakhstan who resides here in my hometown of Houston, Texas, USA. Visit the Kazakh beauty's website by clicking on the header to this section.


That concludes beauties from Kazakhstan. If I find more, I'll update as many times as need be.

---

Central Asian Beauties: Uzbekistan

---

Time to talk about Uzbekistan. Hello to all of my readers from Uzbekistan! I know only one thing about Uzbekistan- its capital is Tashkent. Uzbekistan is south-southwest of Kazakhstan.

Nadiya Dusanova (Uzbekistan).

^ from: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com - High jumper Nadiya Dusanova of Uzbekistan.

(Born: November 17, 1987)-year old Nadiya Dusanova is a high jumper. The native of Tashkent, Uzbekistan competed in the Olympics for High Jumping, but did not advance to the Finals. Her only triumph in representing Uzbekistan was when she won Gold in High Jumping at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Milana Vayntrub (Uzbekistan).

(ADDED: November 1, 2016)


^ from: (YouTube) - This is AT&T cutie Lily. But did you know this lady is Uzbek?

So maybe you don't know this name. But if you watch a lot of commercials on American TV, have you seen AT&T girl Lily? Lily in the AT&T commercials is (born: March 8, 1987)-year old Milana Aleksandrovna Vayntrub from Tashkent, Uzbekistan (the capital of Uzbekistan). Milana is a political refugee escaping from some of the many sanctions and such from her native Uzbekistan. I think Milana is very cute. I may not give you my list of favorite commercials featuring her, but Milana is surely a lovely lady. I just didn't know she is from Uzbekistan.


That's as best as I could do. Maybe I'll find some more to feature here in the future.

---

Central Asian Beauties: Tajikistan

---

And now, one of three of these nations I am not familiar with. Tajikistan is to the east-southeast of Uzbekistan. Hello to any readers who may be from Tajikistan.

Nilufar Sherzod (Tajikistan).

Nilufar Sherzod won Miss Tajikistan 2010 and Miss United Nations 2010. Pictures of her can be seen on Nilufar's ModelMayhem page.


Again- I'll feature more lovely ladies from Tajikistan if I find any or learn of any others.

---

Central Asian Beauties: Kyrgyzstan

---

To the north-northeast of Tajikistan is Krygyzstan. Its capital city and largest city is Bishkek, in northern Krygyzstan. Hello to any readers who may be reading this post from this nation!

Altynai Ismankulova (Kyrgyzstan).

Meet the winner of Miss Kyrgyzstan and Miss Asia-Pacific 2011- (born: 1989(?))-year old Altynai Ismankulova. A photo album of Altynai can be seen here: Altynai Ismankulova photos on iStudio.com.


There's your Kyrgyzstan love! Maybe I'll find more to make this post more fun.

---

Central Asian Beauties: Turkmenistan

---

The final featured nation of the five is Turkmenistan. This country is north of Iran and south of Uzbekistan.

Elena Satushkina (Turkmenistan).

^ from: www.missfriendshipinternational.com (best I could find) - Miss Turkmenistan- Elena Satushkina.

I could not find any real information on Elena Satushkina to share with you here. Elena was 21 years old when she competed in China Miss Friendship International 2009, representing Turkmenistan. This is all I can unfortunately pull up about her.


That's all I could do for featuring Turkmenistan.





Like I said before- I wish I could find more to feature. My "Beauties" posts usually are pretty popular as I feature more people. It's just difficult to find even most of the ones I eventually featured here. Goes to show you that while the Internet has a wealth of information, you can only go so far with that information. I say I'd be pretty impressed with my efforts to bring you all at least SOMETHING to feature to keep this blog rolling. So that concludes my look at beautiful women from Central Asia as part of my Asian Beauties series.

In case you're wondering, I am working on and/or considering other kinds of "Beauties" posts. There are other different region-based beauties I want to focus on internationally as well as some non-region based material. Who knows what in the "Beauties" series I will focus on next? I'm sorry it's taken this long. I work on so many other posts that I sometimes don't make enough time for certain topics I know my readers would be interested in. I hope you appreciate my efforts to make this post even remotely useful and chatworthy.

Having said all of this, thank you for reading! Take care and be well.

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Potatoes

Potatoes. So many delicious ways to enjoy this most unique root vegetable. Make some chips. Make some fries. Mash those potatoes! Load up that potato with butter, bacon bits, chives, and stuff like that. Also, you can make one of my personal favorites- sweet potatoes (sweet potato pie!). This is a great root vegetable that can be turned into so many delicious foods.

This blog topic post was created by me per the request of certain interested readers. The blog post here is more of a digest (no pun intended) rather than a seriously-detailed post regarding potatoes. It is a special shout-out to MountainKing Potatoes.

--- Potato Basics ---

According to Wikipedia, there are over 4K varieties of potatoes worldwide. Among that number of potato varieties, there are many ways to enjoy potatoes. There are many more things you can do to turn a simple potato into something special. I usually know of Idaho as the potato country of the United States (hello to all of my Idaho readers who may be seeing this post). You can really come up with loads of meals based on potatoes. Potatoes also offer some health benefits. I won't excessively bore you with health information, but I will make a brief overview of facts. Among others, they are rich in potassium. They have very low fat and no cholesterol. Eating potatoes can reduce stroke. Purple potatoes could lower blood pressure. While the popular form of enjoying potatoes are in having potato chips and fries, they are generally NOT considered as healthy ways to enjoy potatoes.

This blog post is more of a digest on potatoes rather than something (for example) good enough for some book report or research assignment. Visit the following link for a more complete look at potatoes: Potato - Wikipedia.

--- The Many Ways to Enjoy Potatoes ---

How many ways can you dress up (or dress down) a potato? Here are some of the many ways:

Potato Chips.

^ from: www.kettlebrand.com - Potato chips- I'm sure you've had some of these before.

I'm sure my reading and viewing audience has eaten some kind of chips before. If there was a survey of foods made from potatoes, I'm sure the #1 answer would be chips (guess what game show I'm making reference to). These potato chips come in a number of flavors and styles. Everything from plain to Lord-knows-what gets baked into potatoes to make quality chips to eat.

Fries.

^ from: jonathanturley.wordpress.com - Care to enjoy some French fries? Those potatoes make some sweet fries, don't they?

While not considered healthy, fries are one of the most basic ways to enjoy potatoes. I had a McDonald's meal this past weekend that included French fries. Fast food restaurants usually have their own style of fries. McDonald's and Burger King have their usual fries, Jack in the Box have their tasty seasoned curly fries, Wendy's has been offering fries recently with sea salt (I wasn't sold on sea salt fries), and you go from there. Thick steak fries can be made from potatoes. Fries are about as common of potato-based foods as chips. I prefer eating fries without ketchup. It's actually been a while since I had ANYTHING with ketchup. And if you ask me, McDonald's has the best fries. They have just the right amount of salt with such a good taste. I also like those seasoned curly fries from Jack in the Box.

Hash Browns.

^ from: jamiestamm.wordpress.com - You may have had hash browns to go with your breakfast. These are the kind of hash browns I am used to.

Usually, I think of the times I got a McDonald's Big Breakfast; which comes with a hash brown, those tasty hotcakes, and that sausage patty. I am used to the hash browns served in those paper packages. Those are good and are a nice compliment to any sort of fast food breakfast.

Tater Tots.

^ from: www.rolemommy.com - Tater tots are a fun way to enjoy potatoes.

I feel absolutely dumb for not even thinking about tater tots (tater = potato) when preparing this post! The wake-up call for me to feature tater tots was when I looked around on Wikipedia. Embarrassment spared- here they are. Delicious, tasty, and fun; tater tots are usually great to enjoy.

Mashed Potatoes.

^ from: www.simplyrecipes.com - Mashed potatoes are delicious to eat with a meal or on its own.

Nothing like mashed potatoes. I usually prefer mashed potatoes with either brown gravy or country gravy. It wasn't until one time when I was younger when I wanted to have mashed potatoes with country gravy. Before then, it was always brown gravy with mashed potatoes for me. Mashed potatoes with butter always made for a satisfying eating experience when having mashed potatoes. I usually have just mashed potatoes without gravy except when at restaurants.

Baked Potatoes.

^ from: www.easyveganmeals.com - Go ahead- stuff a spud with a bunch of edible things. Eh, maybe you'll have something delicious to eat.

If you really want potatoes you can dress up any way you like, go with baked potatoes. Most traditional baked potatoes are usually loaded with butter, sour cream, chives, bacon bits, or almost anything you can dream of. You haven't had a baked potato unless you've had one of these... check out this baked potato that only Central Texas BBQ can provide:


^ Now THAT is a baked potato!

It is almost as if you can experiment with stuffing baked potatoes with any sort of edible items to make a baked potato delicious to eat. Experimenting with various food items to stuff a baked potato is a good way to enjoy baked potatoes. Play with your food once in a while and have a little fun. Just look at the tasty massive baked potato stuffed with chicken I posted in the above image!

Sweet Potatoes.

^ from: www.self.com - A sweet potato can be sweet to eat for a number of purposes.

Sweet potatoes can provide a sweet and indulgent way to finish off a meal. Or, they can be something you reach for as a late night snack. I have had some sweet potato fries from... I think Burger King. They were alright to me. Such sweet spuds satisfy sufficiently. If you believe in the saying, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach," then one of these is a good way to my heart:


^ from: care2.com - Sweet potato pie is the sweetest and most satisfying way to enjoy sweet potatoes.

Nothing like sweet potato pie. It is a delicious dessert that is sure to satisfy. My only problem is that I sometimes can't tell between sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie. All I know is- nothing like sweet potatoes, especially sweet potato pie!


Told you there are many ways to enjoy potatoes. Now you know some of the many ways!

--- Potato Resources and Links ---

Here are some resources for you if you want to know more about potatoes...

• Potato - Wikipedia
• Are Potatoes Good for You? - nutrition.about.com
• Potatoes Goodness Unearthed - all you need to know about potatoes including recipes


More links may be provided in future edits.

--- Cross-Promotion and Other Reading ---

Here is some other material of mine that might interest you. Because after all, you made the effort to read this post. Why not see more of my work in case you enjoyed your time here? So here you go:

My Favorite Houston/Galveston Eateries (John's Blog Space)
^ Find out about my favorite Houston-area eateries. One of those eateries was highlighted earlier in this post!

Latest "Food and Drink" category posts
^ Hungry for more "Food and Drink" posts of mine? Click on the above link to see the latest posts in the "Food and Drink" category!


Be sure to Subscribe and Follow if you enjoy my work.





What are some of your favorite potato-based meals and foods?

I'd like to send a special shout-out to MountainKing Potatoes, for which this blog post is dedicated to. The table below features links for you to visit my other blogs, a link to my Facebook fan page, and a link to contact me in case you have any serious inquiries or just want to say hello one-on-one. Be sure to use this material to connect with me. You may not know what I'll blog about next! So if you want to keep tabs with John's Blog Space- a blog about anything and everything, make sure you're Subscribed and Followed! Thank you for reading!

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Ukulele Showcase

(UPDATED: August 13, 2012)

The ukulele can be a cool instrument to make music with. Such a small stringed instrument can make big time music. Don't believe me? Well, you're about to see some videos featuring the ukulele being played. While I am more into pianos and keyboards, I do respect other instruments, like the ukulele. So what you are about to see and hear here are various performers jamming to their ukuleles to provide amazing music.

Special salute to all of you who own or play the ukulele! Hope I can do you all proud with my featuring of this instrument.

LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S):

AUG 13 2012 - edited one of the featured ukulele players.

--- Ukulele Showcase ---

An ukulele is no fun. Just a small toy that can't generate good music. You're about to be proven wrong if you actually believe this. Some of these actually come from my blog post about music of the South Pacific.

This post is more about ukulele music rather than the ukulele itself. For an educational piece on the ukulele, this Wikipedia link will be of good use to you: Ukulele - Wikipedia.

Each featured YouTube video has a link to the video in case you can't view Flash media. Click on the link to visit YouTube to see each video. Thank you to all the channels that allowed for their videos to be embedded.

Yuki, of Roconamente.

Yuki is my tomodachi ("friend" in Japanese) who often does covers mostly of anime songs. Here, though, the lovely lady shares with you a mellow and sweet cover she did. I'll actually feature two here- one is an Anime cover, and another is a non-Anime song. As a cute way of marketing her ukulele performances, a fan of hers call her ukulele performances as "Yukilele" performances. So... enjoy this Yukilele performances!


^ (an Agnes Lum cover)


^ The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby

If anyone is visiting my blog from Roconamente Yuki's blog, thank you for visiting "John's Blog Space" and welcome! :)

Allison.

The beautiful Allison Chu is someone whom I've first met on Myspace. She has such a sweet singing voice and is very beautiful. Here is an ukulele performance by this angelically-voiced lady:


^ "Sunday Morning (cover)" - Allison Chu

Natalie, of NDTitanLady.

NDTitanLady on YouTube is one lady named Natalie. This Filipino comedian is quite funny on YouTube as well as being very lovely. This is a very old videos of hers. However, the main point is on featuring ukulele music. Here, she performs a cover of "In This Club" by Usher featuring Young Jeezy. Check her out here:


^ [Ukulele Cover] Usher - Love in this Club

Brittni Paiva.

Around the time I got to meet Allison Chu on Myspace, I was introduced to a lady named Brittni Paiva. She specializes in ukulele music, and does it darned well. Here is some of her ukulele charm right here:


^ Teenage Dream Katy Perry - Brittni Paiva on ukulele

Kalei Gamiao.

Kalei Gamiao will blow your mind with his ukulele play. I hope you're a fan of "Apologize" from One Republic, because that's what this guy is playing in this video:


^ Kalei Gamiao "Apologize" OneRepublic Cover

Chrishia Leon Guerrero.

Chamorrita cutie Chrishia Leon Guerrero hails from the Northern Mariana Islands. This song is as beautiful as she is. She sings sweetly while playing the ukulele. Listen to the lady from Saipan as she sings sweetly while playing one wicked ukulele:


^ MMV-MUSIC VIDEO - CHRISHIA LEON GUERRERO - "SO OVER YOU"


These are only a few of various ukulele performances that I wanted to feature. I may add a few more based on traffic to this blog post and interest from my readers/visitors.

--- Cross-Promotion and Other Reading ---

Just one to share here...

Music of the South Pacific (John's Blog Space)
^ This blog post features many different musicians hailing from the South Pacific. If you love music from the South Pacific, this blog post of mine features many more musicians from the South Pacific.


That's all from me. Hope you enjoyed my blog and this blog post.





Maybe this blog post will interest you in perhaps getting an ukulele. If so, here are some resources to help you out:

• Ukulele - Wikipedia
• Ukulele Underground
• Ukulele Tabs
• Uke Hunt
• KALA Brand Music Company

If you don't have a ukulele, you can buy yourself one by taking a look at these links. I would appreciate your business if you did buy anything that interests you based on the links I've posted:

• Ukulele on Amazon
• Musician's Friend - Ukuleles
• Ukuleles on Guitar Center (search result)

Thank you for reading!

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"Friend" Requests

Friend requests are always cool. Meeting people locally and around the world is always great. However, some really drive me insane. I ALWAYS want to meet new people. Don't get me wrong. My problem is when there are people only trying to get social with you to spam you to no end. I always figure if you want to get to friend me or whatever, it's because you respect me or have respect for me in some sort of way. Friend means friend. It means you want to befriend someone because that person interests you and because you have equal respect for that person. This is a "just saying..." post regarding friend requests and people trying to get with you for reasons other than showing love and respect.

--- "Friend" Requests ---

So what am I talking about in people aren't true friends or fans? Here are examples:

Spam "Friends."

Some people try to follow you or friend you just so they can mostly direct you to certain suspicious websites. I think anyone just trying to spam you should be avoided altogether. You should inform someone if their profile has somehow been hacked. Anyone in their right mind would know that if he/she is concerned about his/her profile, they should be mindful of people who post material the person did not post at all. A few times have I deleted someone because the person just kept directing me to suspicious material constantly. Some people who just want to be friends with you mostly don't even care if you say something like "hello" or "happy birthday" to them- they just mostly post random material online while showing no real compassion or respect for you.

Romantic "Friends."

Someone just trying to friend me or connect with me by pretending to be in love with me or want to get with me are just as bad as spammers. I'd rather take my time getting to know someone than just jump into some relationship with someone who barely even knows me, let alone cares about me. Most who try to get with me are usually two kinds of romantic friends- (1) someone who is seeking love by connecting with almost anyone he/she can immediately contact, and (2) someone who pretends to want you romantically, but really is a living advertisement to promote a suspicious or seedy website devoted to online dating or other suspicious material. If you're THAT desperate for love, you need some psychological help. I guess getting to know someone or continually showing and proving your love for someone is overrated these days...

Seedy "Friends."

I'll classify such people as those who will only contact you to discuss certain suspicious activities. For example, someone once contacted me on Facebook. We had a little chat, and the person mentioned where I could find certain drugs. I'm like, "WHAT?" Really- why contact me about anything illegal or seedy that you wish to acquire? And why do I need to be around people who want to inquire me about illegal stuff? I get at least one spam E-mail every week about drugs or online pharmacies. I don't want that crap in my Inbox online, so why the heck do you need to contribute to this crap to me?

Trap "Friends."

What I mean by "trap friends" are those who try to connect with you by providing innocent material, but then try to offer you something you don't want or didn't ask for. Example: you meet someone, and that person- in return for accepting him/her as a friend, offers you dirty pictures or links you to a suspicious website. Long story short- you took the bait and got trapped by this person. Mission accomplished.

Associate "Friends."

I'll define the associate friend as someone who just wants to be friends with someone... just to say they're friends with them. Doesn't care anything about the person he/she is associating himself/herself with- just wants to be friends or fans with someone just to be cool. What's worse is not showing your respect and compassion to someone that you've longed to associate yourself with. If you're going to be with someone you so respect, at least show it in some positive way. Don't leave that person hanging. Or to put it in a slang sense- jocking somebody's swagger. Bandwagoning. Trying to get a piece of the pie.


And finally, here is a special category...

Traitor "Friends."

In other words... people trying to friend you so they can insult you severely. This can mean many things ranging from the following: friending you online so they can attack you, following you on sites (like Twitter) to send disgraceful tweets to you, subscribing to you on YouTube just so they can be the first person to attack you when you post a new video, etc. They are people just trying to connect with you so they can plan whatever attack against you online. That's not friendship; that is just someone trying to jock you all the time. Are THESE the people you want to associate with?


This is just the way I feel about certain spammers who'll post suspicious links and suspicious material in comments. It's bad enough I don't get as many loyal readers for most of my blog posts. What's worse is when suspicious material is posted in my blog when I could be getting proper and respectful material from others. The same things I put up with blogging are what I sometimes have to put up with dealing with suspicious people on social networks. The red flags about someone are often there in regards to some people. Just have to know who to trust and who to just let go of entirely and for good.

--- Final Thoughts ---

If you're going to be a friend online, at least have some compassion and respect for the person you're trying to get with. I at least try to show my respect to others. I want to assure people that they mean something to me. Sometimes, I chat with current people I'm friended with to show my appreciation and respect for them. I don't want anything special- just saying hello and showing respect. Some people just think I have to have a reason to show kindness to them. I don't! We're friends/family/fans!

Often times online, I don't know what qualifies as being with certain people online. I usually get the feeling I'm rejected because I don't communicate enough with people to where we can actually stay together online. I always feel like people connected in real life should also be able to seamlessly connect online as well. The only real acceptable excuse as to why people SHOULDN'T connect online is if someone just quits using a certain service. Not everyone will stay forever or leave himself/herself visible on a social networking medium 'till death do us part (so to speak). That's why I get concerned (and a bit saddened) when someone drops me from their friends list when I feel I haven't done anything really wrong. And if I did say or do something damaging or wrong, I'll surely apologize and try not to make the same mistake again. Also, some people just don't log on constantly to certain social networking sites. That is perfectly fine, too. Just know that I still care regardless whether someone logs on every day or every so often.

Or maybe... maybe there is some sort of unrequited love I have for people online? Could it be that I am not as loved back by others as I have for others? Could it be that connecting online with others is much different from trying to connect with others away from cyberspace? In my view, if you love/respect someone in one medium, you should be able to almost seamlessly express your love and respect in another medium. However, social networking does not equal life and living. The coolest social media before Myspace and Facebook is simply connecting with people in person. It still remains the best social networking media even to this day.





I would never damage my own integrity with others by being any sort of idiot towards other people. When I seek a Friend Request to others online or want to associate myself with others, it is for the purpose of befriending and connecting with others I respect. That includes everyone from people on social networking media to blogging to YouTube and all points in-between. Even I should be careful and mindful of certain people who seem suspicious that try to get with me in some way online. I honor and salute everyone who follows me, friends me, "like" me (as in Facebook), and more. I am as true blue and stand-up a person as I can ever be. All I ask in return is for people to have equal (or even greater) respect for me and my work. I don't want to meet or be associated with people who have little or no true compassion with me- not online or in real life. If you made the effort to want to be respectful to me, at least show equal effort in showing your continued respect for me. I am not being harsh... I'm just being real and honest.

What do you make of such people who try to connect with you that don't have any real compassion for you? Chat away and thanks for reading! Get social with me and subscribe to my other blogs:

"Like" me on Facebook, Follow JBS, and/or Contact Me via E-Mail!
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