Japi's Blog

Mickey Mouse Lookalike Teaches Hate for Hamas

I read this article on CNN.com that talks about a children's show on Palestinian TV produced by Hamas where there's a Mickey Mouse lookalike called Farfour.  The mouse teaches hate and martyrdom to young, impressionable kids.  The article describes how in the show's last episode an Israeli official kills Farfour. 

I can only imagine how much the children who watched this show must now hate Israel.  You can also view this CNN report on the TV program.

This was shocking to read... I could not believe it!  I do think that a lot of American television has excessive sex and violence - but this is beyond anything I would ever imagine.  It's like the KKK having a children's show teaching the burning of crosses and their doctrine of hate.

Here's a clip from an older show that I found on YouTube... amazing how kids minds are being twisted at such a young age - it's Hitler-like.

This is a very sad and ugly way to raise children.  The middle east already has more problems than any other region in the world... I can't imagine what the future will bring as the children who have been brought up with this type of hate brainwashing grow up.

David Avellan Dominates in a Mixed Martial Arts Fight

A second cousin of mine (My Cousin's son), David Avellan, had his latest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight televised last night.

I used to watch boxing when I was younger and I've seen some MMA fights, but I haven't necessarily been a fan.  But since David posted bulletins on his MySpace letting his friends know about the upcoming Bodogfight in Costa Rica... I decided to tune in.

The first fight was not very interesting (Nick Agallar vs Ryan Bow), because it was short and the action was not very impressive.  When the fight between David and his opponent, Frenchman Antony Rea was setup, my interest was definitely peaked.

David is about 3 inches shorter than Rea and does not look as bulked up.  From the descriptions given during the pre-fight, Rea has been a great "stand-up" fighter.  He has a lot of reach and a strong punch.  Avellan has a history of being more of a grappler - if he gets you on the mat, you're done!

So it was a match of very different fighting styles. It seemed like the one who imposed their fighting style the most would likely win.  I believed that David was probably going to be able to impose his style much more than Rea - because it's harder to stay standing if your opponent is looking to bring you down.  I was hoping that was the case, at least.

Well, the fight was crazy intense... David's nose was broken in the first few minutes of the fight and blood was all over Rea and the mat..  That did not stop David from dominating.  Everytime Avellan dropped Rea to the ground, he pummeled Rea's face and body.  I was awed by David's tenacity and high risk, high reward approach to the fight.

My guess is that Avellan's lowerbody strength is outrageous - he was able to toss Rea with such ease everytime he hit the ground.  I was both impressed and proud to see the success he has obviously worked so hard to achieve. 

I hope to see him win many more times!

Houston Zoo Launches New Web Experience

Recently the company where I work, Schipul - The Web Marketing Company, engineered the re-design, build and launch of the Houston Zoo’s new Web site.

The site looks fantastic... with beautiful Flash banners and an interactive map (designed by Stemulus).

The banners have a sublte yet striking movement. Be sure to look for my personal favorite - the Lion banner (watch the birds flying from the tree).   The other banners are also beautiful (a Clown Fish, Macaw and Rhino among them).

The site was designed by our creative director, Tim Newton... but it was definitely a team effort. 

• Kim Lange, the project manager, has been working with the Zoo for nearly a year.  Kim provided the zoo with social media consulting in the form of the creation and maintenance of a Houston Zoo blog, Youtube videos and Flickr group to help launch a new online brand for the Houston Zoo.
• Katie Laird and Ed Schipul advised the zoo on ways to effectively communicate their message online.
• Kerry Gayle and her production team worked on the technical aspects of launching the Web site.
• Jenny Qian and the programming team are still working to create new modules in Tendenci to meet the Houston Zoo's needs.
• Annisa Chan's search engine marketing expertise will help the Zoo's long-term ranking in Google and Yahoo.

The new Web site uses Schipul's Tendenci software for content management, calendar of events, e-blasts, posting of podcasts and press releases, a job board, RSS feeds and quite a lot more.

Personally, these are the areas of the site that I like the most:

• The Houston Zoo Podcast, which currently has information about the Grizzly Bear
• The Interactive Map which allows me to see the layout of the zoo to plan my next visit, listen to short audio files to be informed about the different animals and see the schedule of keeper chats.
• Some of the most useful tools on the site are the traffic update and maps & directions sections.

I am very excited about this new Web site.  I'm hoping it will help launch the Houston Zoo to national (and even international) prominence.

Star Wars on Robot Chicken

My kids and a friend showed me the Robot Chicken Star Wars shorts and I found them extremely hilarious.  But there was one that just about made me cry.  If you are a Star Wars fan or have watched some of the movies, I think you will enjoy this.

It's the emperor (Senator Palpatine) sitting at his desk with a couple of his buddies laughing about some of the evil things they have done... then he gets a call from Darth Vader.

I hope you like it as much as I did.

20th Wedding Anniversary

Today (June 12, 2007) is our 20th Wedding Anniversary.... YAY!

Mele and I met on August 1, 1981; the summer before my senior year in high school.  It's been nearly 30 years of love, tenderness, joy, happiness, pain, frustration, compromises, exciting times, scary moments... all an amazing roller coaster ride that has had soooooo many more ups and positives than downs.  We have definitely survived some downs that did not seem possible at the time.   The one thing that has carried us all these years is love and respect.

Love and respect go hand in hand.  Love is a deep understanding of the relationship, the individual and the path in which we both want to go.  That deep understanding of the individual creates opportunities for each other to learn what can cause feelings of anger, joy, frustration, bliss, etc.. in the other individual.  This is where respect plays a major role.   It's important to avoid using what we know about each other to "win" a given discussion or fight. 

Respect for each other has been the driving force behind each confrontation we may have.  This has kept us from hurting each other in such a way for which there is no repair.  I've observed this in many couples where their marriage has either ended in divorce or they are living in a miserable environment.

That said, we have still had difficult times and battled through them. 

Mele is an amazing woman that has been able to keep me focused through the years.  I have accomplished more than I expected and most of it is due to her inner strength to motivate our family to target excellence in everything we do.  I have also helped her in many ways, but I am certain that her contributions to my personal growth have been much greater than mine to hers.

She has a basic instinct that strives for excellence all the time.  Some people could call it being a perfectionist, but she's much more evolved than that.  She is keenly aware of the areas where perfection is just not achievable... she's an amazing woman.

I know that without her by my side, I could not have had a marriage last this long. 

To last another 20+ years, we will continue to have difficult moments, times of love and joy... and continue to ride this wonderful roller coaster that is my life with Mele.

NOTE: After Mele read this blogpost, she asked me to put her thoughts in it as well... here are Mele's thoughts on our lives together for the last 20+ years:

I met Javier one hot Venezuelan afternoon. I was at my best friend's house, sitting on the floor, probably not looking my best, cutting cardboard with a bad knife to help my friend prepare for her birthday party.  That day I got lost in Javier's eyes from the moment we met, felt the sweetness of his smile, and knew that, some day, I was going to marry that 17 year old kid.  And I did.

Once I fell in love with Javier, I never stopped loving him; we had problems of all kinds, yet we survived together. He is the kind of man that gets excited with every crazy adventure that crosses my mind and supports my craziness to wherever I want to take it.   I have been able to be a singer, a student, a mother, a crafter and an artist because of his unconditional love and support.  He's always waiting to see the results of my creative mind and he does it with a smile, boosting my confidence and elevating me to never imagined heights.

Life without my Javier is unimaginable. I love living with him, sharing with him, sleeping with him and waking up next to that same wonderful smile that tied me to him so many years ago.

So… 20, 30, 40 or more years with the love of my life sound just great; I can't wait to see what the future holds for the two of us, holding hands like always and repeating our favorite phrase many times each day:  "I love you".

Messiah gone wrong

A friend of mine sent me this mp3 of a concert this past Christmas in Dublin.  I could not stop laughing when I first heard it.

It's the last part of the majestic song by George Frideric Handel: Messiah.  The organist is playing beautifully.  Some organs have something called a "transposition key" which allows you to raise or lower the notes so one can play a difficult song easier since the organist can use the chords they already know (I hope that makes sense).

This particular "transposition key" seems to have dropped at the end of the song and the result is a horrifying end to a beautiful concert.  Listen to the long pause before the applause begins.

I really feel bad for the organist... but he (or she) should learn the song in the right key <grin>.

Click here to listen to the sound clip

I hope you have a good laugh... I was nearly in tears.