Victor only has one friend in the world, and that is his dog Sparky. After Sparky's untimely death, Victor decides to bring him back to life, using one of the things he knows about most: Science. But, in the town of New Holland, Science isn't held in high regard, so it doesn't come as a surprise, when its citizens do not accept Sparky, as the loyal dog he is, and only see him as a monster. To make matters worse, the kids are trying to best each other in the Science Fair, so when they find out what Victor did, they'll try to do the same thing but bigger and better.

• New York Times: Barack Obama for Re-Election
• The Washington Post: Lance Armstrong's fall: A case for allowing performance enhancement
• Los Angeles Times: What to do about the L.A. zoo
• El Nuevo Día: Gesta de país con el ambiente como eje

It was fun to read other editorials that had nothing to do with palm trees or "pavas", and it was also interesting to see what editors dub as an important issue, when the elections are so close. It didn't come as a surprise, when I found that the New York Times' editorial was about one of its famous endorsements; this time it was for Barack Obama's re-election. However, it did come as a surprise that other newspapers weren't talking about the Presidential election too; these newspapers don't have the national appeal that the New York Times has, so that could be why they talked about other important issues that didn't involve Romney or Obama. As you can see, The Washington Post talked about Lance Armstrong's doping scandal, about which I've heard enough for a lifetime, the L.A. Times talked about its zoo, and El Nuevo Día talked about one of the hot topics of our own upcoming elections.

Out of all of these, the one that captured my attention was the one about the Los Angeles' zoo because it talks about a debacle Puerto Rico has gone through many times: public-private partnership, or what we know as the famous (or infamous) Alianzas Público-Privadas (APP). The editorial talks about the main problem the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA)--the non-profit organization that'll run the zoo--and the city of Los Angeles have, which is the employees. They're trying to figure out to whom the employees will answer to. Right now they're city employees, which means that even though they're working for GLAZA, they do not have to respond to them. Like the author said, that's a problem. The author offers a couple of solutions that are complicated, but he encouraged that come early  November--when the negotiations will begin again--both parties should continue to talk until they reach a happy medium. He says it would be a waste, if the zoo has to have the deep budget cuts that are expected, if this partnership doesn't work, on July 1. He thinks "it's a frustrating situation because GLAZA and the city are already on the same page about the zoo's mission. Both agree that it should continue to do what it has long done: to fascinate and educate visitors about animals and conservation. The zoo should not become a circus or an amusement park, a Six Flags Over Griffith Park." Since I'm not familiar with the issue the author is talking about, I cannot be certain if he's well informed or not, but at least he sounds like he is. He also exposed his points, without resorting to a complicated and fancy language throughout the whole editorial. I don't know if I could say the author is passionate about the issue, but he definitely cares about the zoo's destiny.

Out of the list of social things that piss me off, the one that is closest to my heart is animal abuse. I've been an animal lover all my life; I love them so much that I actually wanted to be a vet, before changing my major to Compared Literature. My parents always taught me to treat animals well because they're living beings just like us. People can say: "Well, most people say it, but it doesn't mean they'd do anything to help", but they did. In different occasions, we took in dogs because they were either homeless or because they were mistreated by their previous owner. Zeus, one of my dogs many years ago, was mistreated by his owner, so the vet--who was Zeus' owner's brother--removed him from that house and took him to his office. That day my dad brought Nany (whose 17th birthday is today!) for her annual shots; there my dad saw Zeus and decided to adopt him. It was truly a serendipitous occasion, and it taught me a lot.

Animal abuse is something that I cannot accept. I think people have to understand that animals can't be treated as if they were nothing, as if they were play things. It's sad that this is something we see daily in Puerto Rico, from the ban on pitbulls and the misconceptions that exist about them to the poor horse that was dragged by a truck, just a few months ago.  However, the biggest problem is not that it happens, but it's that people think it's okay for it to happen or don't do anything to stop it. Sometimes the problem isn't that other people don't report what's happening, but it's that the authority doesn't take action. Our laws, regarding our animals, seem to be null and void. This can be seen every time a storm rolls around, and the shelters won't accept any animals inside them, even though the law says they can be inside. No wonder some animals get beat around, since our supposed role models are teaching us that animals are just decorations; it's wrong, and needs to be addressed immediately. There are so many cases that happen right under our noses, like the little boy's service dog that got killed because the neighbors didn't like him or, a few years ago, the pets that were thrown off the bridge, by some officers, but these cases are shoved aside for bigger headlines or they're never even resolved. With the bridge incident, I remember thinking how my heart would break, if somebody came in saying they needed to take my pets away, and then find out they had killed them by throwing them off a bridge. It's sad and morbid, but that's what happened to a lot of families from Barceloneta, in October 2007. I think the worst thing is that these problems are either shoved under a rug, never to see the light of day again, or they're resolved with the lowest fine.  My heart breaks every time I see or hear about this, and I think it's something that needs to be changed now, starting with the government, so the rest of us can follow suit.

Personal:
1. When people try to look over my shoulder, to see what I'm writing (specially my lyrics).
2. Repeating and explaining a movie reference multiple times that it ends up not being funny anymore.
3. When my computer decides not to cooperate.
4. When the train leaves, right in front of my face.
5. When TV shows put the laugh track for every stupid thing the characters say, even when it’s not funny.
6. Finding “50 Shades of Grey” in bookstores.
7. People telling me “50 Shades of Grey” is a good book. It’s not.
8. Not finding what I’m looking for.
9. When I see the people that “ship” a couple, not TV couples, I'm talking about real people. It frustrates me because you don't control who these people date, so you can't magically decide that hey're going to date or get back together.
10. People saying: “You don’t look like the kind of person that listens to that type of music…” Oh, really. What kind of person do I look like then?
11. Explaining why country is a good genre of music.
12. People using sarcasm, without knowing what sarcasm is.
13. When my brother takes food out of my plate, and I mean he just sticks his hand in my plate, while I’m still eating.
14. People judging me because I’m a fan of a certain band.
15. People assuming I like every fricking boy band in the world…
16. When people interrupt me, when I have a lot of stuff to do.
17. When people take me seriously, when I use dry humor or sarcasm.
18. Explaining why black and movies do not suck.
19. I have an idea for something or a line for a song, and I end up forgetting it because I couldn’t write it. It really frustrates me.
20. When some professors think that their class is the only one we take.
21. People thinking that they know me, when they don't.
22. When random people (aka people I haven't even seen before in my life) come up to me and start calling me "friend" or any cutesy pet name.

I classified these as personal because they're not things that would bother everybody, but they bother me. They have to do more with my interests and how people react to them. I know not everybody is going to like country music or black and white movies, but if they respect my opinion about it, I'll respect theirs; it's the lack of respect that irks me the most. Others are in personal because they're things I do that bother me like not finding something I'm looking for. It's nobody's fault that I can't find something--unless somebody else moved it, but that's not always the case.

Social:
1. Hypocrisy.
2. Animal abuse.
3. People mistreating others.

It kind of surprises me that this list is so short, since most of the time I'm talking about problems that affect all of us. That's why these are in social because these are things that happen everyday and they should bother us because they're wrong and affect everybody.

Looking back, this list could be so much longer, specially the social one.

1.       When people try to look over my shoulder, to see what I'm writing (specially my lyrics).
2.       Repeating and explaining a movie reference multiple times that it ends up not being funny anymore.
3.       When my computer decides not to cooperate.
4.       When the train leaves, right in front of my face.
5.       When TV shows put the laugh track for every stupid thing the characters say, even when it’s not funny.
6.       Finding “50 Shades of Grey” in bookstores.
7.       People telling me “50 Shades of Grey” is a good book. It’s not.
8.       Not finding what I’m looking for.
9.       When I see the people that “ship” for a couple and they’re still hung up on that relationship, even though it ended six years ago. Let it go!!! (By the way, I’m not talking about TV show couples.)
10.   People saying: “You don’t look like the kind of person that listens to that type of music…” Oh, really. What kind of person do I look like then?
11.   Explaining why country is a good genre of music.
12.   People using sarcasm, without knowing what sarcasm is. (Trust me, it happens… a lot.)
13.   When my brother takes food out of my plate, and I mean he just sticks his hand in my plate, while I’m still eating. (He tried to do that yesterday.)
14.   People judging me because I’m a fan of a certain band.
15.   People assuming I like every fricking boy band in the world… I don’t. Just no.
16.   When people interrupt me, when I have a lot of stuff to do.
17.   When people take me seriously, when I use dry humor or sarcasm.
18.   Hypocrisy.
19.   Animal abuse.
20.   People mistreating others.
21.   Explaining why black and movies do not suck.
22.   I have an idea for something or a line for a song, and I end up forgetting it because I couldn’t write it. It really frustrates me.
23.   When some professors think that their class is the only one we take.
24.   People thinking that they know me, when they don't.
25.   When random people come up to me and start calling me "friend" or any pet name. Okay, you don't know me! Don't treat me like we've known each other forever.

Walter Elias Disney was an innovator. His mind brought us a whole new vision in animation and the creation of amusement parks. When you read his biography, one of the things you may notice is that it’s filled with “firsts”, which you’ll know more about later.  Sure, we can think that maybe somebody would have come eventually and done it, but there’s nobody else; he was the first. He broke down the barriers no one else dared to break down. One of the fascinating things about Walt is that he was inspired by the past, but also was looking to move forward. This can be seen easily seen, if you look at Magic Kingdom’s layout. In Magic Kingdom, we find the hub—a concept Walt invented, which is a landmark in the center of the park that leads to the different lands—around it there’s Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, Storybook Circus (it’s a new addition, it replaced Mickey’s Toontown Fair), Tomorrowland and Main Street USA. Most of these lands depict a moment of US history, for example Liberty Square depicts the colonial age, Frontierland represents the territory's expansion and the need to explore the rest of the continent, and Main Street USA depicts an early 20th Century town in the US. However, on the other side of the spectrum, we find Tomorrowland, which is strangely enough Main Street USA’s next door neighbor, and its attractions like the Carousel of Progress, the PeopleMover, and many others that depict Walt’s vision of the future, since most of them were created by him. You see, he loved history because he could learn from it and make a better future.

His love for the future and a better tomorrow also inspired the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). Why would he want to build that? In his own words, because “we think the need is for starting from scratch on virgin land and building a community that will become a prototype for the future.” This “virgin land” is the 43 square miles of land he bought in central Florida, which we know as Walt Disney World. In this land, he would build a new amusement park—Disneyland had already opened—a motel-hotel resort vacation center and his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. It took 7 years to plan it and 52 months to build it. Unfortunately, he didn't get to see his dream come alive because he died on December 15th, 1966, and Walt Disney World Resort opened as scheduled on October 1st, 1971. EPCOT opened on October 1st, 1982, and the Disney-MGM Studios (now called Disney’s Hollywood Studios) opened on May 1st, 1989. I don’t mention Disney’s Animal Kingdom because this wasn't in Walt’s original plan. However, the Studios were first meant to be a pavilion in EPCOT, but since this concept could easily grow, it became an independent theme park.

Another of his greatest accomplishments was the innovations he made with animation. He started drawing, since a very early age. He continued to develop his artistic abilities, wherever he went. Even when he went to work for the Red Cross in France, the ambulance he drove for a year was covered with his cartoons. After his return, he began his first animation company, Laugh-O-Gram, but it went bankrupt. Before he ran out of money, he had created The Alice Comedies, also known as Alice in Cartoonland, with these cartoons he moved to Hollywood. There he joined his brother Roy O. Disney, and together they began the Disney Brothers’ Studio. One fact that most people don’t know is that without Roy, Walt’s accomplishment wouldn't have happened. While Walt was the one that had the ideas, the imagination and the drive to continue moving forward, Roy was the rational one, the one that handled the business aspect of their endeavor and the one that made sure that his brother’s dreams came true, even after Walt’s death. Their studio started producing the cartoons of Alice in Cartoonland, and they were ordered by Margaret Winkler in New York. They also invented the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Sadly, a few years later, they found out that Margaret and her husband had stolen the rights to Oswald, and it wasn’t until 2006 that the Disney Company regained the rights to the character. Its first appearance was in the 2010 video game Epic Mickey, in which he's jealous of Mickey’s rise to fame because he was the first original Walt Disney character and not Mickey Mouse. Walt had been developing the Mickey Mouse character for several years, but it wasn’t until Oswald was stolen that the studio made shorts featuring the now famous mouse. In the world’s first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse made his first appearance in his cartoons. He also made the first Technicolor cartoons, which were his Silly Symphonies Cartoon Features; he also held the patent for Technicolor for two years, which means his studio was the only one that could produce cartoons in color. Another first, of the many I’m not going to write about right now, is the first full-length animated musical feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; this film is considered one of the greatest feats of the motion picture industry, and it was produced at the cost of nearly $1.5 million. For his work in the studio, he won 22 Academy Awards in his lifetime; eight of them were for Snow White.

Another big accomplishment, that not even a Disney girl like me knew until recently, is that he was the creator and founder of the California Institute of Arts. In 1960, Walt wanted a university that held the performing arts and the visual arts under one roof; he wanted a “community of the arts”. This happened a year later, when Walt and Roy guided the merger between the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and the Chouinard Art Institute. Just like the Walt Disney World project, he didn’t get to see it come true. However, also like the Walt Disney World project, Roy wanted it to move forward. CalArts opened its doors on 1968. Walt wanted this project to be his crowning glory. A funny fact is that most of the founders of Pixar studied and met each other at CalArts, so if Disney hadn’t thought of this university, we wouldn’t have the Pixar Studios or marvelous movies like Toy Story, Up or Wall-E. It did a full circle; think about that now.

Walt Disney was a pioneer; he always wanted to make the world better. I think he accomplished that. Well, Disney World is known as “the happiest place on earth”, but I digress. I love his story, and I’ve always admired him. He revolutionized everything he got his hands on: animation, technology, amusement parks, television, college education, and so much more. However, one misconception people have about him is that they think he was a perfectionist. In a way he was, but his ideas sometimes ended up being incomplete because they were too expensive or because he moved on to another project. For instance, when the Matterhorn opened to the public, its interiors were still in construction aka empty. The interiors for this ride weren’t built until 1978; keep in mind the ride opened in 1959. So, the man wasn’t perfect, but his legacy is still inspiring millions. His company is still producing movies and it keeps growing. Sure, sometimes we yearn for yesteryear and the classics, but the Disney Company is still moving forward. They still think like Walt did; well, not exactly, they wouldn’t dare leave a ride in construction nowadays like he did. But, they still think about the non-intrusive roller coasters for the parks, about how immersive the rides have to be and about innovation. An example of this can be the New Fantasyland; it's the first big remodel that has happened in Magic Kingdom, and I wasn't thrilled about it, until I realized Walt would have loved the change and the new technology, like the 'bucket' car. If it wasn’t for these kinds of changes, Disney wouldn’t be Disney. It’s true that we see Walt’s legacy more in the parks than on other aspects of his company, like the TV shows and some movies. I only wish they would follow Walt’s way of thinking more because I think they’d be better for it. The only exception to that is Pixar because, even before being a part of Disney, it made groundbreaking innovations in animation just like Walt did in his heyday. Here’s to you, Walt! You're still an inspiration!

Sources:
Just Disney
Biography
CalArts
Roller coaster Philosophy

My favorite song can change daily, weekly or monthly. For example, today I'm obsessed with Anna Sun by Walk the Moon, and, for weeks now, I can't get out of my head neither We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together nor Begin Again, both by Taylor Swift. However, I'm not choosing those songs; I'm choosing ones that have stuck around longer than a few weeks or days.

My All Time Doll by Elvis Costello
"Every time I rant and rail, every time I try and fail, any time I want to quit and say: 'That's the end of it',
when I stand and start to leave, you cool my brow, you tug my sleeve..."

Elvis Costello is one of my favorite artists; I just love all he writes and performs. He moves from genre to genre so effortlessly. I chose this song mostly because of the artist, instead of what it means to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love this song! If not I wouldn't have chosen it, but, unlike other favorite songs of mine, it has no memories tied to it, other than the nights I've spent listening to Secret, Profane and Sugarcane over and over again or the times I've spent reading and analyzing its lyrics. In that album, Costello explores the Americana genre and excels in it. My All Time Doll definitely tugs my hopeless romantic side, and it’s also one of those songs that make me think: “I wish somebody would dedicate this to me.” The lyrics in this song, which are my favorite part in all of Elvis Costello’s songs, are light on the metaphors, but there’s always a story. The story—about a man so hopelessly in love with a girl that he can’t forget about her, no matter what he does—has been told many times before, but it’s the way Costello writes it that makes it unique and vibrant. I've always thought that his lyrics alone are masterpieces, but the complete songs are true works of art.

Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
"I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that..." 
"Take this sinking boat and point it home.
We've still got time..."

This song is from the movie Once, which has also been turned into a musical. When the movie first came out, one of my best friends told me I just had to listen to the music by Glen Hansard. My first reaction was: "Who the heck is that?" In the end, I listened and ended up getting the whole soundtrack, then I bought the movie, and a few months ago I watched the musical on Broadway. Yes, I'm kind of obsessed. But, out of all the songs, this one is my favorite. I can't explain why I like it so much. Maybe it's the way the piano and guitar are seamlessly blended, or the way Glen and Marketa's voices sound together. Maybe it's the way it's written. Again, I can't explain it. I just love everything about this song, and there's something about it that always manages to tug my heart's strings and place a smile on my face.

Suelta mi mano by Sin Bandera

I don't hate this song because it's bad. It's just a good song that is laced with bad memories, making it unbearable for me to hear it. I used to sing along to it during the Christmas season of 2005, and I thought it was so beautiful. Yuck. Now, I find it whiny and sappy. I just end up either praying it ends soon or changing it so fast that I can't hear a word out of it. That's the power of music; it just entangles itself around memories, good or bad. In this case, the memories were good, but turned into horrible ones. Right now, my brother is obsessed with this song, and I just cringe every time he plays it in his room. I just hope he gets over it soon enough.

Some movies are flawless. Some are so bad that they end up being good. There are some you can mock, quote or both, but then, there are movies like Nights in Rodanthe, a romance drama based on the novel written by Nicholas Sparks, where nothing of great significance happens. The movie is just there, in all its bland glory.

It was pretty unanimous, when the reviewers said that this pair of actors are excellent together--this is their third movie together--however this was not enough to carry the film. The pair was seen as a remarkable one because of their chemistry and  acting, however Diane Lane's vulnerable performance was praised more than Richard Gere's remorseful doctor. The movie also has an overwhelming lack of coherence. Michael O'Sullivan, the reviewer for the Washington Post noted that "the romance between a guilt-wracked surgeon (Richard Gere) and a dumped wife (Diane Lane), who fall into each other's arms during the aforementioned storm, is utterly and completely unsupported by anything that happens in the film." Another aspect that was criticized, even by the reviewer that gave it a good review, was that it's a predictable movie, full of cliches, and that its dialogue, even in its romantic scenes, was vapid.

I agree with almost everything reviewers said, since it does make sense. except in one aspect which I'll explain later. I disliked the movie because I didn't find it entertaining. Isn't the point of a movie to entertain? But, I digress. The reviewers made me think about why I didn't find it entertaining. Because even though I like the way Richard Gere and Diane Lane act together, I don't think it can hold the movie, like one of the reviewers said. I should note that this reviewer only gave a good review because he liked seeing Gere and Lane together again in the big screen. I think the only aspect they missed was that the movie is unmemorable. Aside from a movie being predictable or cliched, if it's memorable in some way, you'll watch it when it pops up on your TV screen. If not, you'll just change the channel.

Reviewers I read:
USA Today
Cinema Signals
Washington Post