The Nick Name Game
So Chuck and Vince (103.9 the edge) on the radio in Phoenix were taking about a theory of childhood groups and their nick names. I don't know how true it is but its certainly had some validity and made me think back to my childhood group. His theory was there was one kid who was known only by his first name, one kid known only by his last name, one kid known as a cool or funny nick name and the last had a mean nick name that wasn't always said to his face. I know in my group we were close to that. I had the several unusual or cruel nick names. My birth name was Pasqual but then was given Paco immediately following becasue no one was able to pronouce my real name. My nick names include "2Pac"; the rapper, "Some-nose"; as it was my similar to my middle name Santos plus I had a big nose and "P-nuts"; as one day this guy was calling everyone - nuts and when they got to me well it stuck, also I was the shortest guy so it really made sense. The leader of our group went by his first name. The baseball guy went by his last name because it was Dutch and just sounded funny: Vandersloot, Sloot for short. And then their was our burnout friend we called Tweak and others I forget. So his theory works for me but another guy on the radio said nothing like that happened in his neighborhood, everyone went by their first of last names. How boring is that? I suggest everyone should have some sort of funny nick name, its all a part of growing up.

Human Animal Relation
So I was driving yesterday and I saw one of those silly Darwin fish logos on the back of a vehicle. I was never fond of bold statements made when no one was around to dispute it. Same goes for vulgar bumper stickers. I can't actually tell the person how distastful their slogan is so really it is just not fair to make such bold statements public. But anyhow, the fish is an obvious reply to the Christian fish that became popular many years before. In their respects they are proclaiming their faith and inviting others of similar faith to know they are similar. I think the Darwin thing is actually a jab at Christianity and therefore a bit obnoxious in that Darwin is not a faith its a science and for too long people have been confusing the two. Christianity is a faith based on the death and rebirth of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the belief system about fish, lizards, birds, or apes. But in fact if we look closely at the first chapter of the bible in full detail it supports evolution as a theory. I didn't come across this knowledge until I was in college and I was looking through my biology text. In graphical form it describe the relation of genetic relationships of animal to Man. The Bible is quoted as,
"20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,[b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Wow that exactly how my biology book is written. Fish are the least like humans, then lizards, then birds, then monkeys, then people. It is said that "Apes share 99% of our gentic material." So why is it that people think we did not evolve when their is so much proof that we did. Well it comes down to the Bible and souls. The human soul is the one thing that separates us. We choose to believe or worship a God we do not see. Animals do not and since we believe a soul can be saved we have separated ourselves from animals. Its our fear of death, not just like a dog, but actual fear of getting old dieing and going to hell that makes us different and thats what can not be a product of evolution from apes. But evolution is real in the world people get taller, faster, heavier, after every generation. We learn new technology and our children are more advanced then their grandparents. Now we haven't yet spawn extra arms or the ability to see in the dark but I can tell you the difference in video image quality my father wouldn't be able to see. Is that evolution or just my own expertise? Its hard to say but I would like to end the debate, evolution is a real science and Christianity is a personal yet viable religion. They are not the same and should not be compared.

I Heart Huckabees : Movie Review
It the comedy styling of the Royal Tenenbaums, this ultra serious comedy was not to be taken lightly. I absolutely loved it. It wasn't some Jimmy Fallon laugh fest, it was a man who had no guidance in his life looking for meaning inside himself with the help of some very eccentric characters. The movie circles around people who don't know who they are and the ultimate question becomes "How Am I Not Myself?" The answer, is when you are pretending to be happy when you are not. The movie is a bit dark but if anyone who has had a rough life its very understandable and relatable. I felt like a door was opened by this movie. I saw unhappy things I had been hiding in my own life and I really think this films brought out a lot of truth. The problem is two fold, people who are not depressed won't get it at all and people who are in denial about their lives won't get it. So the audience for this film is quite limited to the clinically depressed and artistic thinkers. Small or happy minds need not apply. Oh and Mark Walhberg was great!

A Deeper Look at I Heart Huckabees
I saw the movie as outward realization of depression. Albert has serious issues of doubt and self loathing that rule his life and the way he communicates. His parents thought him to not feel and bottle up his thoughts. He can only express personal issues through poems or his journal. As an adult he muttering swear words to himself and realizes his anger by having seriously violent and vulgar fantasies. He was "he was an ornament to [his parents] not a person" "orphaned by [their] indifference." His parents have forced Albert into a state of total denial for his actions and his being. That's where the detective come in. They show him his relevance. And though he found them by coincidence, they show him that everything is still tied together.
Holding in all his emotions was really just him ignoring his being. All of this comes to be clear with the statement, "How I am not myself". His lying is his own protection from hurt. Again when they are hitting themselves with the ball (pure being) they are learning to not think or feel. Its often the same case with drug addicts or cutters. They are learning there is a pain far less than emotional pain. They can substitute this pure being and then they become addicted to this numb state of existence. That is why they can not live like this, total denial of pain is just another form of suffering called, not feeling. And when you no longer feel how do you even know your alive, often people pinch themselves in movies, because pain is the ultimate acknowledgment of life on earth.
As for (Naomi Watts), she says some crazy stuff I totally didn't get. But she also does express that she can't maintain the world's standard of beauty and that's a part of her lie. (Judd Law) also lies about everything he is. And tells stories to distract from his own problems of inadequacy. They both crave attention due to their own lack of self.
Albert eventually ties everything together by hurting (Jude Law). When he is found crying he was at his lowest point, Zero if you will. As a side reference: Fight Club mentions getting back to zero will make everyone even again. This is the point where they were even, they were now the same. Its about humbling yourself, riding of possessions and pride so that its just you and me. Then we are even, then we are happy. The concept of this movie isn't so scientific as much as its un-American. We don't think as a social collective (see Eastern Cultures). Just the mention of which (dinner with the family) was blown out of proportion. Socialism wasn't some evil thing, its a type of government, its contrary to Capitalism. Albert can't live in a world where the greed of (Jude Law) and Huckabees take and do not share. His altruistic giving of himself for the marsh is just another example of how we are all tied together in "the blanket." Shania Twain says, if we give up the trees we change the climate of the marsh that will kill the frogs etc all leading to our own destruction. Creation destruction, that is the cycle of life. We must have both or we have urban sprawl and pointless repetitive lives. Its in destruction we clear the path for something new.
"How Am I Not Myself?" One answer, is when you are pretending to be happy when you are not. Or is it when we are everyone and everything. You are not alone if you are everyone. You don't suffer if we all suffer: "nothings ok so its ok". Everyone is everything and we can't do anything with out effecting everything else. I think that is the emotional basis of the movie.