On second thought...maybe I'll keep this one going ;-). Revival??

But, still check out lifeofbar.wordpress.com until I figure out how to separate the two...I do like the randomness here, but if you want food and insight, go to that one.

Be back...soon?ish?

Hey peeps!

I haven't been around in a lonnggg time...BUT, I'm back -- I just moved platforms. Check the new blog out here. Still around here occasionally, but if you want those up-to-date posts, you know where to go!

lifeofbar.wordpress.com

See ya there!
 

Since We Last Spoke....

First off, I want you to play this song as you read the post: RJD2 Since we Last Spoke



I know...I know...I'm sorry. It's been over a YEAR (18 months to be exact) since I last posted on my blog. I have to say I've wanted to pick this up again 1,000 times but its funny how we get inspired to start again (Shout out to the "Broseph" Que's Way, you can check out his blog here). Needless to say, I have a strong competitive spirit for only the best reasons, and I'm BizzacK, with a bunch of posts that I am already working on since so much has happened "Since We Last Spoke" (RJD2, good music man, this album was my sophomore year of college leaving the dorm and heading to the library every DAY...good stuff).

Now, for those who actually found those "three" posts back in 2012 actually entertaining, and for those special people who stumbled upon my blog and actually took my thesis survey (a'-thank-you veddy much), you would and should have expected more interesting stories, tales, and rambles from O'l Jabronicals. I mean really, come on Jabs, pick it up! But it's funny how life works...You think you'll have time to post every week or so, but when the world hits you, you spend months looking for a job, deal with long distance relationships at different points, you realize you are STILL looking for that job, you question your education (a degree for what!??!?), and during all that you ask yourself, "should I do a blog post instead of job hunting?" Forgetttt about IITT...it was "DO WORK SON" season from May 2012-Jan 2013, and a lot of the places I applied to pretty much responded in the same way: By Not Responding.

(No but really if you are like the majority of people who are dealing with the post-college/real world transition, we are HURTING for approval and direction in our lives for sommeee reason and chances are you are showing Signs of a Quarter Life Crisis like 'yours truly')

BUT, now that I have finished grad school, won that twelve-round battle with Life "The Job Hunter" Sanchez, and currently working down in Philly (for the time being), I feel as though I FINALLY have the time to come back and ramble on about the NEW challenges of being a post-grad, working, "Lost Tsol" (That's my side plug for the ABC Series "LOST" that I finally, in 2013 finished...get it, L-O-S-T/T-S-O-L (~SOULS)!?!?!). I swear I'm still stuck on that damn island...

               (sometimes its just deeper than words...You should have believed him Jack...)


So I'm BACK! And mannn I have a bunch of randommmnessss to tell ya! But it is a good kind of randomness...it is an entertaining form of randomness...for some, it will provide both relevant and enlightening randomness...and of course, to a very small niche, it will prove to be inspiring and motivating randomness, depending on what you're looking for. As I said way back in 2012, this blog's primary function is to help me get these thoughts from my head and into the minds of others, but it is here also to remind me that soooo many others are thinking the same thoughts and nonsense that dream up at any given moment. That 'Quarter-Life' crisis is legit, but in order for it to be defined as such, one must understand that a 'crisis' in itself is an unprecedented event, an unexpected change in a given scenario, but every crisis has closure, and every struggle has its accomplishments in the long run (crisis management babayy Eat that COMM 655!).

So welcome me back! I have made a personal commitment to give at least one post a week! (or at minimum 3 posts a month) which is a very manageable task! And to all my apparent fans in Eastern Europe/Asia, I say "Wow, I didn't expect much traffic out there....so umm...yea, you and your friends should definitely keep reading! If you comment, I'll do a whole post about why I want to visit there before I turn 30!"

A quick plug for my thesis research....

Seeing as I have readers (yeahh budddy thanks to all who continue to come), I wanted to inform you of a survey I am conducting research for my Graduate Thesis Project. 

I need participants to complete a short survey regarding their relationship with their banking provider(s). The survey will only take 5-10 minutes to complete. I would really appreciate your contribution, as all respondents are totally anonymous. If you care to, please ask other people to participate as well. 

Thank you to all those who participate! Check out the link below:

Survey on Banking Provider Relationships

The Top 5 shows "Competing" against Power Rangers...

When I was a child...no, when we were children....there was a show...a glorious, wonderful, action-packed 1/2 hour show that keep my attention, Monday-Friday at 4:00pm EST (sometimes 4:30, depending on the year...)


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Zack (the black ranger), Trina (the yellow ranger), (Billy (the blue ranger), Kimberly (the pink ranger), Jason (the red ranger) and Tommy (as both the Green and White Ranger)...

(Go Go....Power.....Rangers....(you go...))

Man! that was a part of my CHILDHOOD!.....BUTTTTTTTTT......there were "others"....dozens.....of action shows during the 1990's....But did you ever wonder why? Well, there are a few reasons...

1) MMPR + the others were all shows that used stock footage from several Japanese television shows 

(ex. MMPR footage comes from the Super Sentai television show) so they were easier to produce.

                   
                                 (It's soooo wild to hear it in Japanese instead of English!)

2) Because of the popularity of MMPR, several companies/networks decided to compete against the titan, with only a few actually having any significant "live action" market share...

3)The same people that produced MMPR produced the majority OF the competition...

So after doing a bit of research, and recollecting memories from my youth,  here are my top 5 

"Power Ranger Competitors"....(some may call them "knockoffs", but I call them "memories")...

  5) Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation 

                                

 You know them, you love them, everyone's favorite radioactive reptilians Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael ,are off to fight crime. This time, the turtles drop April and her yellow raincoat and pick up some XX Chromosome with help from a bald, sassy new turtle, aptly named "Venus De Milo".  Splinter, Shredder, and new villains are along for the ride as the turtles travel about the city streeets and even into space....They earned the #5 spot in my heart, simply because they had a CROSSOVER WITH the POWER RANGERS! 

                                                                (That.... was an epic hour....)

4) Masked Rider

Known as Kamen Rider Black RX in Japan, Masked Rider holds the #4 spot among my "Power Rangers Competitors" because he had a kick ass motorcycle! The basic plot for the this show follows Dex, a Prince from the planet Edoni, who is sent to earth to save the earth from his uncle Count Dregon. Using the power of the Masked Rider, Dex lives on earth, adopted into a "politically-corrected" family,  and protects us from 'space debris' with his superhuman abilities.....he even had a ferbie-like pet named....FERBUS....(stretch?)
......and of course...he was on Power Rangers as well..


              

                        ...(Being on MMPR is like chilling in the VIP section of the Action Club...)

3) Big Bad Beetleborgs

BBB ascends to the #3 spot in my "Power Rangers Competitors" because they were cool, they actually had decent powers, and they were children...(and seeing that I was a child at the time, the reality of this happening to me seemed all the more real).  With clips and characters taken from the Japanese action show Juuko B-Fighter & B-Fighter Kabuto, Drew (blue/gold), Jo (red/purple) , Roland (green/silver), and towards the end of the series Josh (white) were children who wished to be comic book heroes, and with their wish, came endless battles with Vexor, Magnavore monsters, and others...


                     


Oh, and it they were given their powers from the almighty Jay Leno aka Flabber...True Story.

2) Superhuman Samurai Cyber Squad

SUUPPPPERR HUMMANNN SAMUURAIII.....My #2 show in this countdown,  SSSS incorporates footage from Japan's Denkou Choujin Gridman. The show follows Sam Collins and his high school band-mates/lackies, Tanker, Sydney, Amp, and Lucky, who battle the 'goth-nerd' Malcolm Frink, and the evil virus K.I.L.O.K.A.H.N. within the digital world. When Sam becomes Servo, he and his friends battle virtual monsters, while dealing with the issues of high school drama.  I think the real reason why I enjoyed this show so much was because it WASN'T created by Saban Entertainment, who created the other FOUR "competitors" on this list...

                      
(The show was originally going to be called "Powerboy" but that would have been tooooo close to The King, "Power Rangers" ....)

...And the #1 Competitor to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers....is......

1) V.R. Troopers

 

(Peep the EXPLOSION...you know it will be good if there is fire...)

1) VR Troopers

 This show had it all....cool graphics...racial diversity....a talking dog....and it took footage from not one, but THREE Japanese action shows: Superhuman Machine Metalder, Dimensional Warrior Spielban, and Space Sheriff Shaider. Three martial artist named Ryan, J.B., and Kaitlin, train vigorously, while Ryan deals with abandoment issues. His curiousity about his father leads them to the desert, and a digital black man (named Professor "Horatio" Hart...lol...) who transforms them into warriors, fighting in the "Virtual Dimension" parallel to ours. The Troopers saved lives here on earth, while fighting the evil Grimlord, A monster disguised as a 'venture capitalist' and leader of a fortune 500 company....

                         
                                       There was a lot of stuff going on in this theme song.....


So that's my top 5 "Power Ranger Competitors"....Nothing can quite touch MMPR, but I'd say that VR Troopers came the closest to diverting my attention...of course, there are some BAD shows that came nowhere NEAR any of these five....my "honorable mention"...aka "Horrible Mention..."...aka "REAL KNOCKOFFS" below...not quite worth my time to write about....but hey, maybe you enjoyed them more than I did...

Honorable Mention...

-Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog

-Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills
This was just BAD....just watch the intro....

Apparently, Y.O.L.O....

YOLO (You Only Live Once) was a conversation that my co-workers and I had earlier this morning. Now this phrase it itself is old, but it has recently caught new attention (and a new acronym)  due to Canadian Rapper 'Jimmy Wheels' of Degrassi aka Drake and his song "The Motto", off of his sophomore album Take Care.  Amidst the responses from my friends, the aspect of "living" included everything from eating deep fried bread, to random raunchy sex, to writing papers about good men (madd randommm). However, the premise of "taking chances" still seems to be the motivation of our youth.




It's a pretty interesting time to be young in 2012 (and when I say young, I mean under 30). Everyone has a story where they wished they had the confidence to do something different and take a chance (get that phone number from that girl, go to that party, studied a little harder) and everyone has times were unfortunately, they wish that they didn't go to that party, drink that much, or wake up with that girl you don't know. But isn't "being young" about taking chances and learning from your mistakes? If you don't take a leap then where will you fall in life? I can't say that I'm the most adventurous person per se, but I've had my fun, and I've taken chances with both positive and negative results.  I respect the idea of 'high risk=high reward',  and this can be applied to any and everything that you do. Being timid will not give you extravagant results. We only have megastar entertainers, savvy entrepreneurs, and world leaders because these individuals are the ones who dared to be different from the rest.

(But then you have artist who are quite "open" with their social philosophies)

 

Now this post isn't loaded to be in favor of drinking, smoking, partying, (I'm actually quite far from any of this) BUT the takeaway should be to "do what you like" and really recognize the potential that life has to offer.   You only have ONE life (no continues, no extra 1UPs, no restarts), so why not break away from the ordinary routines every now and then? Go hang-gliding, write a blog, make music, get that 'championship belt' (if you watch HIMYM then "props"). Basically, do what YOU like and I guarantee your self esteem and satisfaction will be off the charts.  I know society may frown upon the decisions that you make (depending on what it is you want to do) but hey, the only person stopping you is YOU (or the government, they have a lot of power). I love music, I've sung in several A'Capella groups, but I've never taken a real chance at "making music" (writing, composing, producing) and I really have no excuse. Every possible tool is out there for me, and these programs are virtually FREE.  I'm sure that whatever it is you like, there is a way to make it happen (unless you like uniformity and consistency, then by all means, be the best 'Plain Jane' you can be!). It's all about how dedicated you are to making a difference in your life...At the end of the day, YOLO.

Well, let's get this thing started....

I wasn't sure how I wanted to even begin "blogging". I always WANTED  to rant (and I used to A LOT via the early stages of "Thefacebook.com" (if you don't know about "the" then clearly you must be under 18...)) and I missed the "twitter-ship" that sailed a long time ago, so I figured Tumblr would be the next route. Buttttt, something about having an official "blog" was alluring enough to derail me form that particular social media for the moment. SO, with that said, I could give you the long, drawn out, blah blah of what I want to do with this blog, OR, I can just give you this in doses... I will however, give you the basic topic/premise of what I intend to rant about (but these will be fun rants, dont worry):

-Music ( I listen to too much music, so if you are anticipating a specific genre, I will open up your mind)
-Food (I like to eat...food's great)
-Traveling (I want to see as much of the world as I can)
-Academia (wrapping up this Master's degree, so somehow I will find time to keep this up to date)
-Religion (from time to time)
-Dr. BearSwipe: The Relationship Therapist (but that blog is coming on its own)
-Whatever else is on my mind at the time...

Yep. I finally did it...Maybe I'll become a famous blogger and get pizz-aaidd to write this in the future. Or, maybe not. Whatever. Let's just have fun with it....speaking of FUN.

And speaking of FUN.



Hipster POP!! Say WHHAAAA???? I mean I've always been deep on the indy-scene and I am heavy into electro/powerpop/and all that fun stuff (no pun intended) but yea man! To see FUN., Foster the People, and a few others that are grabbing some mainstream attention, good stuff...Never heard of them? check them out  below:





That's pretty much what I was listening to at 3:29am when I decided to create/post my first blog...peep the dedication...