Yes, her accent is pretty funny, but the video is pretty cool. You know you have always wondered why the Big Mac on the pictures look better than the ones you get at the store.

We all know that Hollywood and trashy books over-romanticize love and relationships. Many people (read, mostly teenage girls) see this "perfect" guy in the big screen, who always does the right thing and who always says the right thing and then wonder why their significant other can't compare. Sorry girls, but there's a reason why they call all this fiction. But then, every once in a while, a book or a movie comes along that just takes things to a whole other level of ridiculousness. Yes, I'm talking about the Twilight saga.

This whole series just takes romanticism into the realms of creepy and disturbing. And why are girls swooning over this? A few examples, but oh, there are so many.

#1-Edward watches Bella sleep

Hey, remember that guy in your science class? Yeah, well every night after you fall asleep  he sneaks into your room and watches you sleep. Now how in the world is that romantic? A real, reasonable person would react by calling the cops and screaming off the top of their lungs. If you are one of those girls who for some reason (read, mental disorder) found this romantic, let me know and I'll hire some guy to sneak into your room and watch you sleep. You let me know if you find it romantic then.

#2-A 20 year-old falls in love with a baby

The world has changed. Thanks to the invention of computers and the web, came the creation of blogs. Anyone is the world is capable of having their own blog and sharing their thoughts with the world. Overall, I think this is a great thing. The more people talking, the more chances of us understanding each other. However, my problem arises when some of these "bloggers" somehow become famous, get their blogs turned into books and call themselves authors. Granted, there are some very talented people who started as bloggers and now have become book authors, but the majority are not.

Writers are artists and art is not something you can mass produce. No one can teach you to be an artist. Sure, you can hone your skills, you can learn techniques, but the innate spark that made you want to create has to be there first. There must be something inside of you that completely obsesses you, something that says, "If I don't write, I can't make sense of things. There's something missing." It is that spark, that joy that you feel when you put down words on a paper, or a computer screen that allows you to improve and get better.

Not everyone who learns how to write their name, or a blog is truly a writer. Talent is key. But there's also that unnameable quality, that thing that you can't really articulate but that you feel whenever you read something that is truly amazing. Sure, yeah, there's the language, the idea, the characters, the plot, but there's something else, something that makes it a work of art, something that escapes definition and just is.

For instance, the same could be said about photography. Thanks to smart phones and cheap digital cameras, everyone thinks they are a photographer. There's nothing wrong about taking pictures of your family and your friends and make memories, but the problem comes when some of those people think, "I have a camera, so that means I'm a photographer, let me make a watermark." Sorry, but that's now how it works. If you don't have that innate talent, that unique voice, then it doesn't matter how many lenses you got, you are terrible, or in vernacular, you still suck. Lenses and good cameras will only get you so far. Like I said, unless you have that yearning passion, that obsession and the innate talent, then you may be popular, you may even be rich, but you're not an artist, not in the true sense of the word, not in the way that matters.

These are all upcoming movies in November that I want to see (hopefully in theathers). Enjoy the trailers and maybe see you at the movies!

November 2

"Flight"

This has Denzel Washington in it. Simply one of the best actors alive. Enough said.

November 9

"007 - Skyfall."

Javier Bardem as a villain? He's another wonderful actor, plus the action in any Bond movie is pretty great.

November 16

"Lincoln"

I'm super excited to see this movie. The cast is amazing and of course, Steven Spielberg directing makes it even more fantastic!

November 23

"Silver Linings Playbook"

This movie seems interesting, funny and inspiring! Great actors, including Katniss Everdeen, I mean Jennifer Lawrence.







"Hitchcock"

This just seems like such an interesting movie! Alfred Hitchcock changed the history of cinema, so I'm very curious about his life story and this movie covers part of it.

I write to make sense of things.

We live under the illusion that every single one of us will live to be a hundred and die in our sleep, after having said our goodbyes and making peace with the world. At times, we get glimpses of this fallacy and it feels like a bolt of lightning reanimated our sleeping minds. Twelve years ago, on October 1st, I received one of those wake up calls when the car I was traveling in crashed against another one, launching me against the windshield, losing layers of skin on my forehead and losing my teenage sense of invincibility. After the accident, life became immediate, with words such as "friends" and "family" taking on a deeper meaning, like roots in an ancient tree.

Then a couple of days ago, also on October 1st, a cousin of mine passed away in an accident. He was only 43. He leaves a young daughter behind, a little girl who will no longer be kissed or hugged by her dad. He leaves behind a family who loved him. Tragedies such as this one serve to remind us of how fragile life is. They serve to remind us that we... "do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14)

We are just here for a little while. When you stress out so much about money and bills that you lose sleep, remember that we are only here for a little while. When you work so hard that you neglect time with your family, remember that we are only here for a little while. When you live your life not thinking about eternity, remember that we are only here for a little while. Life is short; eternity is forever.

I don't know what my cousin Javier's standing with Jesus Christ was. I hadn't talked to him in a little while, and especially not about deep things such as faith. He was certainly aware of my beliefs and we did talk about it in the past. Only God knows what happens in the final seconds of one's life on earth, only He is merciful enough to receive someone's repentance and accept him into His kingdom. If death is like a dream, then we all know that a few seconds dreaming seem like a 100 waking hours, certainly enough time to make amends. But I don't know these things with certainty, for this is a mystery. I can only speak of God's grace and mercy.

My cousin Javier was like any of us, he had flaws and virtues. What I remember most about him was his excitement when discussing a topic he was interested in, how he would open his eyes wide, arch his body back and then lean forward and gently touch you in the arm. He had a bigger-than-life personality that demanded notice when entering the room. Many times, when I was driving around cars that would often refuse to run, he would pick me up in his tow truck, saving me stress and money. But what many people didn't know about him was that he was a cinephile. The man loved and knew his film history. Thanks to him, I learned to love film, to see it as an art form. I learned about Fellini, Godard, Rossellini and many others. I always looked forward to new recommendations from him and then telling him my experiences watching those films.

One of his favorite films, which later became one of mine, was 8 1/2 by Federico Fellini. The movie is about a director facing a deadline to finish a movie, while at the same time juggling his personal life. Fact and fiction blur together in this wonderful film, where at the end, the protagonist's movie remains unfinished. Unfinished, that's the best word to describe Javier's life. He was too young and had still too much to accomplish.

We are only here for a little while.