San Jose, CA

Actor Michael Keaton and many others graced San Jose, California with their presence on March 1, 2008. Michael Keaton was presented with the 2008 Maverick Spirit Award at Cinequest 2008.

There’s actually more to celebrate in the world of maverick films and technology. The festival showcases independent films demonstrating the qualities of individuality, innovation and intelligence.

Camera 12 and several other local theaters will be playing films from noon till 9:30 P.M. until March 9, 2008.

A film festival would not be what it is without special events. On March 7, 2008 Cinequest 2008 will present a Day of The Writer. Writers or budding Writers are able to attend classes and forums.

At The San Jose Repertory Theatre San Jose State University professor Scott Sublet will be presenting Prepare to Succeed: The Right Idea for the Right Writer. Professor Scott Sublet heads the screenwriting program at San Jose State University and has directed two feature films.

After the professor is done, the Director of Film Production at Spartan Film Studios will be speaking on Structure. Barnaby Dalias teaches screenwriting at DreamWorks Animation and is an instructor for The San Jose State University Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre.

Writers may want to choose to learn from screenwriter Robert Phelps. When this Attorney is not at his Santa Clara County office then he’s probably off writing magazines and local newspapers.

Robert Phelps has written for ScreenTalk Magazine. He has also written stories on skysurfing, the San Jose SaberCats and The San Jose Mercury News.

If great movie scenes are your think then check out the 90 minute forum with Author James Dalessandro. You may know him from his best selling novel 1906 and the Warner Brothers epic.

To end a full day, Cinequest and The San Jose Rep present A Conversation with Academy Award Winner Michael Arndt. Michael Arndt is known for many things but most recently is known for Little Miss Sunshine.

I just wanted to share with you the new Grand Theft Auto that is suppose to be release in
April. Will an old breed of criminals be taking over Liberty City to chase the American Dream?

I guess well just have to sit back, have a couple shots of Stoli, and wait for our flight to land in Liberty City to find out. Till then we can still enjoy the clips.

It also looks like Liberty City isn’t the only place that’s talking about leaving home and venturing out. There’s been talk that Electronic Arts might take on Rockstar in 2009. Though if all the big names at Rockstar are not included then the deal might be off.

All strange to me since back in October Rockstar and Electronic Arts were at each other over content of “The Simpsons” game. Will the boys and girls from Rockstar and EA learn to play nice in 2009? Well just have to keep our eyes on the game blogs and find out later.

I thought you would like this. It’s a story about change sent to me by my aunt in Redondo Beach, California. It’s amazing what an eagle goes through in it’s life and maybe those of us who are going through a change in our lives can gather strength from it.

The eagle has the longest life-span of its’ species. It can live up to 70 years
But to reach this age, the eagle must make a hard decision in its’ 40’s. It’s sharp talons are dull and no longer work, It’s crushing beak begins to bend. The eagles heavy wings, become stuck to its chest and makes it difficult to fly.

Then, the eagle is left with only two options: die or go through a painful process of change which lasts about 150 days. The process requires that the eagle fly to a mountain top and sit on its’ nest There the eagle knocks its’ beak against a rock until it plucks it out

After plucking it out, the eagle will wait for a new beak to grow back and then it will pluck out its’ talons. When its’ new talons grow back, the eagle starts plucking its’ old-aged feathers

And after five months, the eagle takes its’ famous flight of rebirth and lives for
30 more years.

Why is change needed?
Many times to servive we have to start the process of change.
Someimes we have to get rid of old habits and past-times that don’t benefit us.
When we are freed from these past burdens, we can take advantage of the present.

It looks like the guys and gals at Electronic Arts have put out another PC game. Sims Carnival Snap City can be fun for the whole family.

The game is a little like Tetris but with a few little twists.

In Sims Carnival Snap City you have to take care of 25 different neighborhoods.

These neighborhoods include several broken down buildings, a city full of crime, and neighborhoods that catch on fire often.

It’s a fun game that caught me juggling:
The need to place the colored pieces in the right place.
The need to build roads in the right places
The decision of if I want to build a Cineplex or a City Park
The need to destroy commercial, industrial, and residential buildings

I was able to handle the thieves and fires in the game but unfortunately I was unable to have the joy of being attacked by aliens in the game. Hopefully you can get that far.

Most of the PC games that I try out don’t require a lot from my computer. Here are the system requirements for this game:
Operating System: 2000/XP/Vista
CPU: 1.0 GHz
RAM: 256 MB
DirectX: 7.0
HD: 61 MB

Sorry there is no version for Mac users. Hopefully Electronic Arts will offer one soon.

Now it’s your turn to try Sims Carnival Snap City and enjoy. You can download this game at Big Fish Games.

For other video game info check out:
1PStart
Wii Rally

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It’s a scary feeling when a tenant gets a telephone call from their landlord asking if there is flooding in the parking lot.

For a view from other cities check out:
Albuquerue, New Mexico
Auburn University

I roughly named this statue “Face to Face” because of the direct of the two human sculptures. This waterfall and statue is one of the many designs that can be found among the buildings or around The Bay Area.

Photograph by Bryce Edwards. Bryce is an amazing photographer if all the photographs on Flickr are his.

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With such a competition in the job market today, one of the several things that you can do to improve your chances is increase your typing speed. If you don’t think I’m correct consider these points:

1. Typing speed is one of the first skills tested at all employment agencies.
2. Typing speed is asked on almost every application.
3. The average typist wpm is within 50 – 70.

If your looking for employment that requires a lot of typing, you might want to get your word per minute score to the high end of the range. Personally, I’ve had several employment agencies request that I actually meet the standard of 60 – 80 wpm.

Good news comes from Go Smell The Flowers and 10 fast fingers. You can now practice and test your typing skills for free.

10 Fast Fingers offers 10 fast lessons on the complete keyboard for free. They also have a speed test of one minute to keep your skills fresh.

59 words

Touch Typing online

Even if you’re not looking to improve you typing speed, this is a fun game to play among friends. I currently rank 77276 of 160661. Can you beat my score?

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The future of the San Francisco 49ers started tuesday at 7 p.m. The Santa Clara City Council, The 49er owners, 49er Chief Financial Officer, and Cedar Fair Entertainment will be sit down to negotiations.

While three of the negotiators are ready to talk business and financials, there is still opposition from Cedar Fair Entertainment. As I have mentioned before, the city council is looking at the city owned parking next to Great America as the home of the Santa Clara stadium.
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Check out the surf and surfers at Mavericks all day long. I’m sure I’ll be hearing about this all day long from my hubby’s coworker tomorrow. You can check out the webcast till 3:30 p.m today.

Every surfer is on the board but it seems like Ambrose is in the lead at the moment.

Of course I’m hoping that the Bay Area surfers will win several heats. Kudos to Pinger for supporting this event. Let’s not forget myspace for hosting the event.

Click on myspace to visit the live event!

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Our very own Spartan Stadium. From the outside this place looks like a field that the local colleges would practice on. When the seats are filled and the crowd is cheering, Spartan Stadium is amazing.

Plus if sports is not your thing, simply travel down a fiew blocks to the local zoo, history park, Japanese friendship gardens, and spend a day with the family at the park.

“Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.”
–Sandra Bernhardt, Actress

I have to admit that Sandra Bernhardt and I do not see eye to eye. I guess I don’t get her outspoken personality but this is one quote that I can agree with. Energy does create energy in different ways. Life is richer and deeper when time and energy is spent on someone other than you.

I know I may be getting a little too philosophical for your tastes but I have experienced this quote first hand. Some of the most joyful and rich parts of my lives came from exerting all my energy towards helping others.
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I have always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I have to be more specific.

- Lily Tomlin, actress

This reminds me of my time with Sacred Hearts employment department. I learned the great value of planning things out and taking small steps towards the ultimate goal was to find a job.

At first the classes could be boring. Classmates sat for an hour each day and learned how to put their best food forward. Along with the classes, classmates were instructed to contact 20 businesses each day for the best results.

I know that a lot of people in San Jose, California and the Bay Are made resolutions for 2008 but how many planned for them.

A goal is always easier when short-term steps are made for your long-term goal. If a person takes the time to figure out steps that they can do each week, even each day, the goal will be easier to reach.

You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth - Shira Tehrani

Shira Tehrani is right. The next minute, hour, day or year is never promised to us. We try but we can’t completely control how long our life is.

The one thing that we can control is how full our life is. I’m not just talking about busy and hectic schedules that we try to fill our time with but the things that create good memories and help us grow.

So take some time this year to find something in San Jose, California that will create laughter, fond memories, and growth in your life. There’s a lot out there all you have to do is look.

This week at the HP Pavilion, The San Jose Sharks will be battling it out with Vancouver and Toronto on the home ice. Let’s hope that The Sharks have the same result with these two teams as they did with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets has kept The San Jose Sharks in the #2 spot in Western Conference. We now also sit at #1 in the Pacific division. I’m sure that everyone (myself included) is praying that San Jose will defeat Vancouver and Toronto on the ice.

Next week The San Jose Sharks take on Dallas, Detroit, and Chicago.

Don’t worry the HP Pavilion has something next week for those who are not NHL fans.

The Harlem Globetrotters will be in town. These Basketball tumbling Ambassadors of Goodwill are amazing. I was able to go to one of their shows in Los Angeles, California and I loved every minute of it.

Did you know that The Harlem Globetrotters first game was played on the U.S.S. Enterprise on January 15, 1967? The Harlem Globetrotters have been amazing people for 40 years. Check out how they are going to celebrate year 41 on MyNetworkTV.

Another great show that you should go to is on January 20, 2008. There really is no way to explain The Blue Man Group because they come up with new music and techniques every year.

Some might say that it’s a modern day digital Woodstock. Just expect to be fully involved in the concert and watch out you might be pulled up on stage. You will definitely have a good time if you decide to go.

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain, American writer

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