Facebook first infected our brains in 2004, with what I would call the Facebook virus. Taking over how we communicate and even transforming the English language. Our kids won`t know the difference; they have been sucked into this digital age. They will never know that poking someone use to get you in trouble with mom, or that news use to come from paper. It is odd to know that I admit to being bitten by Facebook and now carry the virus myself, spreading “Are you on Facebook?” or “Friend me on Facebook!”, as if it is the same thing as grabbing a cup of coffee sometime. It’s not.

It is almost creepy how we have initiated the possibilities of stalkers and relinquished our privacy so we can poke around in people’s lives, yes the same people we haven’t spoken to since high school, but it is always  great to know that they just got a new dog or that their relationship status fluctuates like heart palpitations. Look, I am not in denial on how dependent we have become on technology and the sources that keep us attached to our mobile phones, laptops and tablet. I am being realistic here. We are simply a shell of our former selves with a virus that has taken over our brains or at the very least, turned us into talking heads, since 2004. I am not the only one.

Robots are becoming more advanced and soon we will most likely have something close to Rosie (Jetsons) invading our homes as common as computers. The more we see their capabilities the stranger it will seem incorporating them within our lives. This video of  a Japanese robot with life-like movements that most humans can not do, such as slick dance and aerobatic moves only intensifies the yearning for wanting one. Until they are available for mass production all we can do is watch with envy.

IMHO The one thing that is missing from this video is a dubstep soundtrack.

Every day we awaken to earn another dollar. To work, is to keep food on our own table, pay bills of necessity and of the things we want, it is what we have been taught from generation to generation which is, working and making money is what keeps the world going round.

Does it?

Having a career and working is essential to keeping us alive, yes, money is important, however, does it truly keep this world of ours spinning in peace and harmony? No.

As a global society, we may have forgotten or put aside the true meaning of life, paying it forward.

Have we dismissed the quality of life that we want to lead?

Perhaps it is due to the economy, the way we are forced to struggle to earn enough money to keep our lifestyles intact. On the other hand, maybe it is due to the greed of our Governments, of those that are in power, even those who are rich may be the cause or perhaps the excuse of what has become of our world, a sense of emptiness, loneliness; a fight for individual gain.

Although taught that money is the key to happiness, each of us arguably knows that when offered a smile, a courtesy, a genuine thought or words of positivity, we feel different. A sense of warmth overwhelms us; we feel a sensation of love, of being understood, seen or heard. Any of these gifts given by another individual has more power than money could ever buy; it is recognition that we are alive.

Perhaps anger and injustice would not harness our world if we did not live for ourselves, if we were not waking only for personal gain, if in amongst each day we added a little something within the lives of another. Perhaps then and only then, our world could find some peace, tolerance and discover the true meaning of unconditional love.

What will make the world a better place?

Another form of currency, Kindness, a simple act can make a bigger impact if we just pay it forward. Maybe One Day, Could be Today.

The Memory That We Were Kind

Does anyone know where the little boy went?

The little boy who used to be me?

He’s still alive somewhere inside this shell

Though the shell is all you can see.

Can you still see him reaching out for love

From behind these time-worn eyes?

The child with a heart as bright as the stars

Hiding beneath this thin disguise?

What a cruel trickster Father Time can be

Changing our costumes as we age.

From infant to child, and from young to old,

A new character with every stage.

We might as well be four different people.

The adult barely resembles the child.

The external transformation is so complete,

Young and old are rarely reconciled.

But there are some whose eyes still twinkle,

For whom the child within never dies.

The outside world can see only the surface

But they know how the surface lies.

What can we learn from all this changing?

From the fact that nothing is real?

How can we judge by a deceptive façade

That hides the way we truly feel?

The only path to true knowledge, it seems,

Is to think of everyone that we see

As the child they were, who they are today,

And the old person they soon will be.

We should also see them as dead and gone,
Their short life on earth finally done,

With all their trials rendered null and void,

All their battles either lost or won.

Whitman wrote, “The powerful play goes on

And you may contribute a verse.”

The same is true for every person we meet.

We make their lives better or worse.

Thus, we should measure disheartening words

And make sure they need to be spoken

So we won’t be among those who caused pain

If they reach the end of life heartbroken.

And when those we’ve known are old and gray,

Remembering years they left behind,

Comforting words we said might return again

With the memory that we were kind.

~unknown~

The year 2011 was a year of numerous modifications, the world shifted in a variety of ways, as we witnessed uprisings from around the world. Revolutions unfolded amongst countries, people had to overcome adversity and the world grew to 7 billion people.

2011 was a year of hardships, as lives in Japan were changed forever from devastating earthquakes and tsunamis, floods overwhelmed Brazil that rippled effects around the world breaking hearts as each image unfolded. Many other disasters occurred this year as well, although not mentioned does not mean they went unfelt.

2011 was the year to watch the falling of a terrorist, to feel a sense of justice for those immediately affected by 9/11 attacks and the final rise of the last Space Shuttle Program launch.

2011 changed in search and social, adding a new social network, making search more social and uniting people from around the world even closer.

In 2011, the Prince found a Princess, The Oprah Winfrey show said goodbye, many celebrities got divorced, and politicians kept being politicians.

The biggest transformation that made a huge impact globally in 2011 was being an eyewitness, bystander or participant in changing the way we are heard; no longer do countries want to be silenced, controlled or forgotten. This transformation has been so tremendous even enabling Time Magazine to recognize 2011’s person of the year as “The Protester”.

People do not want the 1% to rule and dictate a majority, no more do people want suffering or struggles to be undervalued or undermined simply because they are not Government, or as rich as some others, that their power is anything less.

As the year slowly winds down our reflection of the year speeds up as we approach a new year. To each individual the year 2011 will vary in its symbolism, what does the year 2011 exemplify for you?

2011 was the year of…

Mom tries to sing “Ave Maria” and cannot seem to get past the first word without baby making a sad face. He curls his lip to the sound of his own mothers’ singing and even at one point sheds a tear. The most entertaining part is that the baby does not make a sound even though he is clearly upset, yet as soon as his mother stops singing, his face goes back to a peaceful one. I can see an Oscar in his future!

Created originally in Japan, Pac-Man is a classic arcade game developed by Namco and through its popularity has become its mascot. This simple yet memorable game’s creator is, Toru Iwatani, who originally named the character “Puck-Man”, but had to change its name due to American vandals defacing an arcade game. Therefore, Iwatani changed the characters name to “Pakkuman”, which is Pac-Man in Japanese for the American version release; this eventually became the official name. Although developed in Japan like many games, Pac-Man became more common in American culture.

The Pac-Man Inspiration

What exactly inspired the creation of Pac-Man? It was Pizza.

That is correct, Toru Iwatani ordered a pizza and when eating the first quarter of the pizza, Iwatani saw a head with its mouth open, hence the first sight of what we know now as, Pac-Man, which was created in May 1980. It was also in the 80’s when Pac-Man made its television debut resembling the Pac-Land and Pac-Man 2 games.

Namco realized that Pac-Man could be developed for a game system after the game company, Atari, reinvented the game in 1981 with unfortunate flickering ghosts and slow motion characters that were not well liked by players.

Pac-Man’s very first story line began in Pac n’ Roll, where the character trained under Pac-Master during his summer vacation. In this game, the Pac-Master trained Pac-Man how to fight power pellets to help defend Pac-Land. This is when the future Ms. Pac-Man (Pac-Master’s daughter) and the ghosts Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde were introduced. Chronologically, Pac-Man was the very first video game that featured some of these characters that Pac-Man would eat within a maze.

Pac-Man did not reach its popular potential until the early nineties, through figures and games and after Namco released Pac-Man World, a game today’s players are more likely to recognize with its 3-Dimensional characters. It was not until the Ms. Pacman game release when Pac-Man received her as a girlfriend and then wife; this is when Pac-Man Junior made his very first appearance. Pac-Man than took on Pac-Land to save fairies who have been taken by ghosts. The following games would follow, Pac- Man world 2, Spectral Realm, Pac-Mania, Pac-Man World Rally, Pac-Man World 3 and many others.

7 Fun Pac-Man Facts

1. Pac-Man loves to munch on a variety of foods such as, green grapes, strawberries, cherries, oranges, peaches, bananas, pears, apples and of course Power Pellets and the well known Pac-Dots.
2. Pac-Man’s biggest rival is Nintendo’s Mario, since Mario’s original name was “Jumpman” sounding very much like Pac-Man.  This is not such a huge surprise since the creator of Mario; Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that Pac-Man is his favorite video game character.
3. In the original Pac-Man Clyde is the only ghost missing.
4. The ghosts have real names but can only be seen in attract mode.
5. The very first installed coin-machine operated Pac-Man video game was on May 22 1980 in Japan.
6. The name Pac-Man comes from the eating sound paku-paku often heard in Asian cartoons (“paku” is the Japanese sound for “chomp”).
7. Power Pellets power-ups were inspired by Popeye eating spinach.

Pac-Man is still loved by many gamers today and played on new-aged consoles, the latest game is “Pac-Man Party 3D” available on Nintendo 3DS and was just released on November 8 of this year. Below is a highlight of the recent Pac-Man video game to see what you are missing if you have yet to obtain this game. “Wakka, wakka, wakka” dear Pac-Man friends.

Like Ice Cube? Check out a different side of him as he takes you on a brief tour of his view of Los Angeles. Then, be completely blown away as he drops knowledge on you about the husband and wife team of the Eames and how they literally shaped the city of LA. As Cube himself says, “Believe that!”

WARNING: This Cannot be unseen.

Few portable weapons in any military can compare to the sheer power and pinpoint accuracy associated with the FGM-148 Javelin. This third-generation anti-tank launcher has helped the United States and its allies win victories on the battlefield for years and is still used today in Afghanistan and other hotspots across the globe.

Recent budget cuts have forced changes to the ordinance. At $80,000 a shot, the Javelin has not been the most cost-effective way to perform the art of war. Here are the results of these necessary changes:

(via: Reddit)

Katy may have won an American Music Achievement Award for being the first woman to have 5 #1 songs from the same album, but this is the way “The One That Got Away” song should’ve been released…IMHO.