When I think of the elements in pop culture that helped to shape my childhood, I get really excited. The late 80's and early 90's were great times for movies and Saturday morning cartoons. I've been feeling very nostalgic lately, so I've decided that I would like to share some of my more prominent memories of pop culture from when I was very very young.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

This was a group of giant mutant turtles that were ninjas. I guess they were teenagers too... Anyway, the group consisted of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo (all, obviously, named after a famous artist). They were mentored and instructed by an old rat named Splinter.

And of course they had villains. These include BeBop, Rocksteady, Krang, and their arch nemesis, Shredder.

(Bebop and Rocksteady)

(Krang and Shredder)

Honestly, I don't know how the turtles got to be so awesome... The idea of giant fighting turtles seems kind of ridiculous. All I know is that my older brother had just about every ninja turtle action figure and I was envious, even though I had a few myself (including a robot version of the turtles!).

Slaughter

This was a hairband from the early 90's... I don't think anyone even remembers who they are, but they had a few singles which include Up All Night and Fly to the Angels. As lame as the band might be now, my mom liked them, back in the day... and to me they were pretty awesome. Even though they may not be know anymore, I believe the band deserves some credit... the lead singer (Mark Slaughter) has a range from a C2 to D6... and there aren't many who can sing like him (Check them out on YouTube!)

Ghostbusters

Anyone in their early to late 20's would agree that these guys played a huge part in their young life. As for me and my brothers, we were obsessed. We had the movies, we had the toys, and we watched their cartoon, "The Real Ghostbuster" as often as we could. My favorite was Ray Stantz... the one who was kind of nerdy, while my younger brother's was Egon Spengler... the one who was kind of nerdy. As I got older, however, I began to appreciate the "comic relief" (strange to say, for a movie that is designed to be a comedy) of Peter Venkman. I'm still not a huge fan of Winston Zeddemore because he had such a small role in the movie. Of course, now that I'm older, I see the need for his character (being the token black guy). The commentary on the DVD actually states that Winston was designed to be the smartest and more experienced ghost buster, due to his multiple PhD's and the time he spent as a marine. I wish the movie would have brought that out a little more.

(From left to right) Winston, Peter, Slimer, Ray (kneeling), Egon, and Janine 

Beetlejuice

This is still one of my favorite movies. I've come to realize that there isn't much that Michael Keaton and Tim Burton could do wrong. To top it off,  this is another triple threat- I had the movie, the toys, and watched the cartoon frequently. Every now and then I think about watching it as a kid... and how much adult humor was actually put in to that movie that I just didn't understand at the time... and maybe that's why I still love it... because it's a great film for all ages.

And last, but not least---------

The California Raisins

A.C., Stretch, BeBop, and Red 

I had both movies that came out, and I even had a few toys. I've heard that they used to have a cartoon show too. Unfortunately, I don't remember. If you have never witnessed the awesomeness of the California Raisins, click here.

 

Do you remember any of these? What makes you nostalgic?

Shalom.

This Tuesday will mark 1 year since my grandpa died... and I've been thinking about him a lot lately, so it's been kind of hard. And this is something that's to be expected... I mean, everyone knows somebody who's passed on, and it's never easy. Still, the fact that my grandpa died so close to Thanksgiving makes the season, that's supposed to be a joyous time of food and festivities, sort of depressing. Like I said though, we all go through this... and if you haven't, one day, you will have to. It's one of those depressing facts of life.

There are a lot of those... depressing facts of life... There's an old adage that says, "There's nothing certain in this world but death and taxes"... but I would add that we can also be certain that we will go through pain, heartache, heartbreak, depression, and plain ol' bad times. Don't let that get you down though... we are guaranteed great times too... and some days are much better than others, but you never feel more alone then the times you struggle... that's been the case in my life, anyway.

Well... it's easy to blame God during hard times... especially when you feel alone. I think it's because we are taught that God is always there for us whenever we need him... and that's absolutely true, but sometimes it's hard for us to tell that he's there. I'll be the first to admit it... there have been times when things just weren't going how I'd planned them to go and I did nothing more than fall my knees and start pointing my finger at God...


I'll never forget the time my girlfriend of almost 5 years broke up with me for another guy... I've never felt a pain like that in my life... And I let that affect every area in my life... I ended up quitting my job because I just couldn't deal with more pressure... I started doing poorly in school... because I would stay up all night on my knees pointing my finger at God...

"... I tried so hard for you, God... and this is what I get in return?"


I just wanted to give up on God... I wanted to get out... but for some reason, I knew I had to do something...

I started reading Job... it's a book about a man who went through terrible terrible things... more than I can bear... and through it all, he praised God's name... It got difficult for him... I mean, Job was a rich man. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants... and he lost them all... but when his seven sons and three daughters were all killed, he said in mourning and in worship, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away! Blessed be the name of the LORD!"


... How could God let these horrible things happen to a person? And still this man praises God? It just doesn't make sense...

But it was then that I heard God speak...
"Jimmy, "He said "You asked why you are going through this hard time... Now, I will answer you..."
I didn't get a verbal answer. Nothing was explained to me... but everything made sense... because instead explaining why He had me go through my hard time, he gave me wisdom... and a great heart... and a better understanding of what it meant to serve him... And for the first time in my life... I realized that life isn't about me... I'm here simply to worship God...


Sometimes, God doesn't give us clear answers for why we go through our times of trial... Like Job... He left Job with more questions than answers... but the questions themselves were good enough answers for Job. At the end of the story, we see Job asking God why He let all of those things happen... God did not answer... instead, He asked Job a series of questions... causing Job to see how small he really is in reality... and because of that, Job saw how BIG God is.

Really, that's what happened with me. God showed me that the things I deal with may seem important to me... but really... God's plan is so much bigger than all of my problems... and in order for me to see that, He had to remove the things that stood in my way... even if it caused me heartache for that moment... because He knew that eventually, I would understand the greater good.

Now, I am marrying that girl who broke up with me. Sometimes, things don't work out like that... sometimes hearts remain broken. Sometimes parents stay divorced. Sometimes people die... One thing we can be sure of though is this: through it all, good and bad, God has a plan for you. We may not live comfortably all the time, but with God's help, you can overcome anything... and one day, your story of how God helped you get over your hump could help another person get over theirs'.

It's November already... I can't believe it. This means a few things.

1st- It's going to get really cold. Cold weather annoys me... much like people who put clothes on their dogs....


And what is worse than cold weather and dogs wearing clothes?
... When people dress there dogs in cold weather... ugh

Anyway,



2nd- November 24th will mark the 1 year anniversary of the death of my grandpa. Nothing too exciting there... I just think it's interesting that it still seems like I can go over to my grandma's and see my grandpa sitting in his favorite chair in the corner of the living room... but I suppose this will go away in time. I sure do miss him though.



3rd- It's the 6th annual "National Don't Pick on Travis Month".
You may know Travis as Crevis05 here on Xanga... Well, when we were in high school, I picked on him a lot (It's cool... we're cousins... so it was done in love). He decided to set up an annual month in which we would raise awareness of Travis harassment. So far, this yearly event has been successful and the important issue of Travis harassment is now no longer much of an issue at all! We still celebrate this month to honor Travis... and because history has a tendancy to repeat itself, it's good to have a refresher. I think we will make t-shirts next year.



4th- Thanksgiving will be here in a few weeks! I wanted to take this time to say what I am thankful for

A.) A beautiful fiance and a great family. I have a really close family. And I am happy that come March 13th, Tesia will finally be joining the family, as I too, become a part of her family.

B.) God... because he gave me all I have. And honestly, he offers a hope that nothing else in life can ensure.

C.) Xanga (This is my way of brown-nosing the xanga community)

D.) The Cohen Brothers- because they make great movies

E.) The fact that nobody is talking about the Kanye/Taylor incident anymore. I'm just happy it lived it's course... Of course, I brought it back up again...
... It just won't go away, will it?

What are you thankful for?