Tasty Flan

flan, a photo by Icubed11 on Flickr.

Flan is an amazing delicious dessert that is heaven to my taste buds.

Flan is a custard dessert with caramel on it and is very similar to creme brulee. It is sometimes referred as creme caramel in Spanish speaking countries and in North America. In the United States, it is known as a Latin American dish though it originated in Spain.

Some Latin American countries such as Argentina and Mexico eat it with dulce de leche. Dulce de Leche is sweetened milk heated so much that it becomes very thick. In the Philippines, they make it with more condensed milk and egg yolks. It is very similar to the Spanish version because Spain has a big influence in the Philippines.

If you have not tried it, you should because it's delicious and amazing. I'm posting about flan because I'm eating flan. (You can also see a glass of milk in the background).

I can't fall asleep, but I sure can dream.

Photo by PhotoSteve101

One thing that fascinates me is the art of Lucid Dreams. Lucidity is a dream that a person is aware of. While doing so, a person can decide what they want to dream about and it is said to be quite vivid and realistic. Frederik van Eeden was the man who named this term. Imagination is very important in these dreams because it makes for a better lucid dream.

An ordinary dream can shift and transform itself into a lucid dream when a person's consciousness changes from a normal waking state into a dream state without fully knowing what is occurring. During regular dreams, you're not aware you're dreaming until you're awake. In lucid dreams, you are aware while you're sleeping. It all sounds confusing, but maybe this YouTube video can help you understand better.

I find this very fascinating because usually dreams are weird and you wake up going, "What just happened?" I usually find my dreams weird and the images are fuzzy, and as in the video says, "In dreams, these images are usually blurred..." and all day I have to try to decode my dreams.

In lucid dreams, it's like being an author or an artist- you decide what happens. As one of my favorite song states, "She ran away in her sleep, and dreamed of Para-Para-Paradise... Everytime she closed her eyes."- Paradise by Coldplay (I bet she was lucid dreaming.)

NOODLES vs pasta

Photo by: cibomahto


Most people in America think noodles and pasta are the same thing with different names. However, they are very different in many aspects. Also many are debating on which one is better and healthier. In my opinion, noodles rain supreme over the common pasta.

Noodles and pasta differ in shape. Noodles are very skinny and sweet while pasta is big. The noodle originated from China, while the pasta is from Italy. Although some people think the pasta dates all the way back to China.

Spaghetti is made only from wheat and flour, while the world famous noodle has an assortment of ingredients. Pasta is typically eaten with the common house hold utensil, the fork. Where as the noodle, it is eaten with the more unique tool, the chopstick.

As you can see, the noodle beats pasta any day. The noodle comforts people while the pasta makes people feel like a monster. If you want to find out more information regarding this debate, you can check out this website.

News: Mass Effect 3

Photo by Vassilena

So I had an assignment that was to wright anything that was in the news or newsworthy and it just so happens that i think Mass Effect 3 is newsworthy.

Mass Effect 3 comes out on March 6 2012. The game has a demo  and from personal experience it is AWESOME!

Mass Effect's are 3rd person shooters combined with RPG (Role Playing Game). In number 3 there are options to play Story, RPG, or Action. if you pick RPG then its a basic Mass Effect game.

If you have Kinect you can use it to shout out commands at your team.

Jazz Festival

photo by: Angela Hawkins

Every year the Upland high music program hosts an annual jazz festival. Not only is it a competition, but they also have guest artists perform with the jazz band.

The next competition is going to be on March 2nd and 3rd. The junior high divisions will be competing on the 2nd and the high schools will be on the 3rd. It will be held from 8am to 6:30pm, and on the third it will be from 8am to 8pm.

The guest artist that will be performing is trombone player Alex Iles. Iles has performed with the world famous jazz band Big Phat Band. Now he gets the chance to perform with the Upland High jazz band.

If you want to find out more information about this event you can visit this website.

Clean Your Yard or Go to Jail

cells, a photo by andreakw on Flickr.

A man named Robert Biel was given many chances to clean up his yard or suffer the consequences.

His yard was filled with boats and cars. He says he makes a living off that, but that didn't matter to the police. He says that no one had the right to take his property or do any of this. The county charged Robert with illegal dumping.

He was on probation where he was supposed to clean up but didn't do it. He is now sentenced to one year and a day in jail. When he gets out he has to clean up.

To me his punishment is a little extreme, but he was given many chances to clean up. It's funny though. It makes me glad that I don't go to jail when I don't clean my room.

You can see the video right here.

Singers, Witchdoctors, and Zombies. Oh my!

Photo by This is Awkward

Recently, while browsing the internet for some inspiration on recent news articles, I found a story that struck to me as very strange. A man, who was impersonating the South African singer Khulekani Kwakhe "Mgqumeni" Khumalo (who died in 2009) claims he is Khulekani, and that he is not really dead. 

His story was that he was kidnapped by a witchdoctor. He states that the witchdoctor then put him under a series of spells and kept him locked in a cave- with zombies. Zombies? How much of a phony do you have to be to make up a story that is set to be true and throw zombies into it? 

Well, police noticed that this impersonator's fingerprints don't match to the real singer's and he doesn't have the same scars that the real Khulekani had when he was alive. Get the full story here and try not to get snatched up by witchdoctors' and imprisoned with zombies and such.

The News Can Do Some Good

     In the past couple of weeks, teens drinking alcohol has become a major fashion. In a particular Junior High alone, over 10 students were caught and suspended for being under the influence of alcohol.

      The dangers of teen drinking are very high in risk. You can not only hurt yourself, but you can hurt others. A local website says that more than 7 percent of eighth graders, 16 percent of sophomores, and 23 percent of seniors report recent binge drinking (5+ drinks on the same occasion). That means almost a quarter of the graduating 8th grade class has tried alcohol under the legal age.
      In some cases, mistakes are made. But in others, they are choices that you make in the sense of tour own mind. Drinking can be dangerous at any age, but under the legal age, more so. Being intoxicated isn't a good choice, and it is up to resources like the news and television to help put the thought of stopping in the kids minds.

Photo by: Pink Sherbert Photography

In other news reports

There has been a lot of crazy things on the news like kids shooting in schools and others. what really caught my eye was a man was fighting employees at Disneyland.

It all started when this 53 year old man had lost his balance infront of tower of terror on this past saturday. He fell and employees tried to help but he ended up punching them. Weird right? One of the secruity gaurds had minor injuries and went to the hospital. The man ended up being arrested and released saturday night. If you want to see the video and more.

I think he lost balance from the ride or he was intoxicated. If it was from aclchol then they should stop selling it to them. People these days fighting at Disneyland.

cred: Rob j Brooks

Fun-Fast-Fabulous-Facebook

Some people have a problem against social networking, but it can be a good way to connect with other people that you can't always connect with on a usual basis.

I personally like to use Facebook and other social networking sites to talk to my family that live in Africa, London, the Philippines, and Colorado. And instead of calling them and using phone minutes and paying long distance calling fees, Facebook is a good way to connect with them.

Social networking, like all things online, can be very dangerous, you just have to know how to use it appropriately.

Photo by: Sean MacEntee

Facebook

 I have a Facebook and from personal experience it is time consuming. When you get on it you cant get off.

It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with some college friends. It was launched in February 2004. it has evolves so much that not only college can use it but everyone 13 and up can use it. over 845 million users use Facebook.

Facebook has games like Farmville, wheel Burro, and Cityville.

social

Facebook,twitter and more. I don't have a facebook or twitter, but i've always wanted one. I've heard it's not all that great though. I guess it more of a bad way to get involved with people.

How it could be good is you can talk to your family members or friends that live in different countries. It could help you be more social with everyone. there this one story where this software developer was getting married and before he kissed his bride, he changed his status to married. Then he told his bride to do the same thing, if I was her I would be like WOW. So that was good example and annoying.

How it could be bad:people could look at anything your talking about. People could really be the opposite of what you think of them. Like a teenage boy you don't know online could really be a old man. even people can hack your account and write crazy things.

I think I wouldn't really want one anymore because of the bad things.

photo by:AJC1

Social Networks= Overrated and Useless

Photo by markopako

Nowadays, there is an app or website for nearly everything. Half of them are unwanted, some not not useful, and some- very useful. Many of you might know of Facebook.com. Well, let me tell you, Facebook is one of those websites where people just post statuses about absolutely anything- what they're doing every two seconds, advertising people to "Like My Status" and it's so pointless.

I'm not saying I don't like people, but the idiotic things they post is just irritating. Don't get me started about my peers' grammar but they write like second graders and I can't see how they're not embarrassed by their spelling choices. Facebook is probably the reason I'm socially awkward- people post those annoying, useless statuses with bad grammar updates and then when I see them at school, I tend to walk the other way.

To me, social networks are pretty much horrid. Once Facebook got corroded with people I call classmates, I stopped going on and now only go on to keep in touch with relatives' or close friends. Unlike most of the people on Facebook these days, I actually have a life and am active in ballet, which is probably important to me by now.

The Network of Socialness

Social Network - Copertina, a photo by marcomassarotto on Flickr.

(If you don't understand what the picture says, don't worry you are not blonde it's in Italian. I just like the little people in it.)

The social network might be fun, but it's a complete waste of time. Sure it might be fun and you get to meet new people but how many of those people do you really know.

Is it that fun to talk to people that are miles away from you who you personally don't know? Or even if they live near you do you want to make them your friend. You have Family, Soccer Team, Band Buddys, Church Youth Group, and then Kid I Met At The Movies. Do you really know that kid who went to the movies? Or do you just want to say, "Oh look at me I have a bazillion friends I'm so awesome!"

I'm not saying that the social network is bad but a lot of people give it a lot of importance. Seriously get a life people. Get a hobby. Go play soccer, or play an instrument, or just clean your dirty house.

As a matter of fact, you should celebrate National Unfriend Day. This day is sometime in November and was started on the show Jimmy Kimmel Live. You go to Facebook or whatever and unfriend people who you don't really know(or people who think that going nude is the latest thing in fashion or people who think that puppys should be worshiped for their cuteness).

Networking

Socializing on the internet has always been a great debate ever since the internet went into the market. In my opinion social networking is a good thing for our brainwashing minds. We need something to fill our technology needs; like going on Facebook.

Personally I do not have a Facebook, but some of my friends do. Most adults have a Facebook, even famous musicians have them. Some performers find their stardom through a matter of Social Networking. photo by: stoneysteiner

Many food makers use Facebook as an advertisement for their own purposes like noodle companies. You could check out this Google page to see how many noodle companies use the power of Social networking for their own gain.

As you can see, Social networking is in the lives of everyone and should stay.








Photo by: Dogbert10

Watermelon

Photo by Two Crows Farm

 http://westchesterdish.com/2007/06/ten-facts-you-never-knew-about-watermelon/ this website has 10 facts about watermelon that most people don't know, like all of the water melon is edible. A watermelon is a vegetable and related to the pumpkin, cue cumber and squash.


watermelon is thought to come from souh aferica and grown in the wild. A game you can play with watermelon is you can through it and watch it explode you don't even have to clean it up because it just grows into the grond.

Nutella

Photo by andreakw

One thing I especially love in this world is Nutella. If you don't know what this wondrous thing is, today is your lucky day. Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread that tastes delicious on mostly anything. It was manufactured by Ferrero, an Italian company and was first shown to the world in 1963, but the recipe was established in 1944.

Gianduja, or the earlier version of this spread, first inspired Pietro Ferrero, maker of Nutella, to perfect Gianduja and make his own, delicious spread. His ingredients include hazelnuts, cocoa beans, skim milk and more. It is considered a hazelnut spread and not a chocolate one because it did not meet the Italian law criteria for the cocoa amount contained in Nutella.

Nowadays, Nutella is enjoyed in over 75 countries around the globe. Many put it on toast and make a lovely breakfast with it and they even sell Nutella & Go! which is a quicker way to enjoy your favorite hazelnut spread with "bread sticks."

I Love Milk

I Love Milk, a photo by Joe Shlabotnik on Flickr.

Milk is delicious. I could drink gallons of that heavenly liquid every day.

Milk is said to have first be drunken in the Neolithic Revolution which was approximately 8,000 BC. Which means that according to scientists, mankind has had this miraculous drink for a long time.

Milk is definitely old if it was mentioned in both the Old and New Testament of the Bible. (The Old Testament was definitely Before Christ.) Milk is mentioned 16 times in the Bible. In the book of Exodus, chapter 3, verse 8, in the Bible it says,"...unto a land flowing with milk and honey..." Milk is definitely special if it flows in land.

It has calcium, which strengthens bones. It also has a bunch of vitamins. I really don't know why anyone wouldn't like milk, unless you are lactose intolerant. That would suck if I became lactose intolerant. I would be very devastated.

Milk is very great. A nice cold cup of milk and some Oreos can make my crappy day a great day.

My daily dose of Jazz

I sometimes eat breakfast, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have jazz band I have no time. Instead of eating breakfast I just listen to music; that is enough nutrients for me. So when I found out that I am performing at Disneyland, I thought of my favorite jazz band Big Phat Band. I listen to this band every morning. Big Phat band is an 18 piece jazz ensemble that is lead by piano player Benny Goodman. This big band plays all over the U.S. including Disneyland.

Their performance is being held at carnation plaza; that is where I am performing. So I went on YouTube and found out they performed about 6 songs. The first song they played was my personal favorite of mine "Hit the Ground Running".

There are many other songs that they performed like Samba Del Gringo, Jazz Police, Backrow Politics, and many more. If you want to find out more videos about this cool band, you could go on YouTube and check it out. If you click here you can find a sample of their music. As you can see, jazz is the only breakfast that I need.


photo by: richtpt

L-U-V Madonna!

     On February 5th, Madonna played the half-time show at Superbowl 46. She did a mash-up of her number one hits, including: "Vogue", "Music", and them came LMFAO with "Party Rock Anthem" while singing with Madonna. Then she sang her new smash hit, "Give Me All You Luvin" which featured Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.. She followed with "Like a Prayer" with featured guest, Cee-Lo Green.
      She ended her flashy performance with a sign that said "World Peace".
      She stated that she never worked harder on a performance in her life. She even rented her own stadium to practice her extravagant show. Hollywood Life says, "She rocked it!"

    
       Madonna is 53, but she still knows how to rock a stage.

Photo by TheHumanSlinky

TOMS

TOMS the shoes cute very inspiring. It all started when Blake Mycoskie an American saw kids in Argentina with no shoes. He then came back a year later to Argentina with groups of people and brought 10,000 pairs of shoes. They give by seeing who needs them more.

Like you would think they would just give the children's shoes and leave. No, they give the kids new shoes when they grow out of them. They give in many other countries they give mostly to South America and Africa.

I've always wondered what it would be like with TOMS. It would be sad because not many needy kids would have shoes and without shoes. they wouldn't be able to get an education. Even though people think there elf shoes or ugly. No, one could ever say there not my favorite shoes.

photo:orangesparrow