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Jess

When love and duty are one, grace is within you.

About Me

"There are seven sins in the world: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice and politics without principle."
-Mahatma Gandhi


THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE by Cher:
"...may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much."

My Interests


I'd like to meet:

Disclaimer: Nobody off of myspace! I like my existing friends, am NOT looking to date and would rather meet folks the old-fashioned way anyway. So, no messages, please! I'm sure you're nice and all... :)

Music:

A day without music is a sad thing. The development of mass music storage and mini players is a wonderful thing for someone like me. :)

Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Etta James, John Coltrane, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Boyz II Men, Usher, K-Ci & JoJo, Erykah Badu, Aaliyah, Al Green, Babyface, Toni Braxton, John Legend, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Prince (Musicology!), The Bee Gees, Ozomatli, Sean Paul, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Rolling Stones, Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Eminem, Snoop, Dre, Tupac, De La Soul, The Roots, Korn, Green Day, Good Charlotte, Blink 182, Incubus, Nirvana, Bloc Party, Rage Against the Machine, Puddle of Mudd, Juanes, Carlos Santana, Marc Anthony, Frankie Negron, Gilberto Santarosa, Luis Miguel, Ricardo Arjona, Los Panchos, Victor Manuelle.

Movies:


I really don't know where I have found the time to watch so many movies and remember so many lines. Yes, I'm that person who quotes movies all the time...but I swear I blend it in pretty well! :)
Some of my all-time favorites are:
Back to the Future - "Who the hell is John F. Kennedy?"
Born in East L.A. - "Anything I want..."
The Breakfast Club - "I wear the required uniform!"
*Coming to America - "He's just a man I met in the restroom."
Dirty Dancing - "I carried a watermelon."
El Bello Durmiente - "Paz! Mucha Paz!"
Grease - "Long distance running..." :)
La Bamba - "Bob-o?"
Look Who's Talking - "hehe...lunch!"
The Lost Boys - "You're eating worms, Michael."
Overboard - "I'm not going back in the water barrel!"
Predator - "La selva se lo llevo!"
Pretty Woman - "I would've stayed for two thousand." - "I would've paid four."
Robocop 1 - "Can you fly, Bobby?"
*Rocky (IV is my favorite!) Can we pretend the 5th one never happened and skip to "Rocky Balboa?" - "Ding. Ding."
Starman - "I watched you very carefully. Red light stop, green light go, yellow light go very fast."
Terminator (just 1 and 2--the 3rd sucks arse) - "On your feet, soldier!"
Top Gun - "She's lost that loving feeling" - "I hate it when she does that!"
Twins - "It's like looking into a mirror.."
Then there's:
10 Things I Hate About You
25th Hour
300
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
*The Break Up
A Bronx Tale
*A Christmas Story
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
American Beauty
American History X
*The American President
*Anchorman
Angelitos Negros
Apocalypto
*Armageddon
As Good as It Gets
*Bad Santa
The Basketball Diaries
The Big Lebowsky
Blast from the Past
Blood Diamond
The Bourne Identity
Boyz n the Hood
*Braveheart
Can't Hardly Wait
Cast Away
City of Angels
Closer
*Clueless
Cocktail
Crash
The Crow
*Delirious
The Departed
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Dogma
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Dumb and Dumber
Edward Scissor Hands
Elizabeth
The Emperor's New Groove
Encino Man
Enemy at the Gates
The English Patient
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Father of the Bride (1 and 2)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Fever Pitch
Field of Dreams
*The Fifth Element
*Finding Nemo
For Love of the Game
Forrest Gump
Frida
Gandhi
Ghost
*Gladiator
Goodfellas
Good Will Hunting
The Grudge (1 and 2)
*Guess Who
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Happy Feet
*Hitch
*The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I Am Sam
In Her Shoes
*The Incredibles
Interview with the Vampire
The Jacket
*Jerry Maguire - BRINGS BACK A SPECIAL MEMORY :)
The Karate Kid
Kindergarten Cop
*The Last Dragon - Leroy & Sho Nuff!
*The Last Samurai
*A League of Their Own
Liar Liar
Little Miss Sunshine
*Love and Basketball
A Man Apart
*Man on Fire
Master of the Flying Guillotine
The Matrix
Memoirs of a Geisha
Million Dollar Baby
Mrs. Doubtfire
Munich
*My Best Friend's Wedding
Napoleon Dyn-o-mite
North Country
Office Space
An Officer and a Gentleman
Old School
Othello
The Other Sister
The Painted Veil
Philadelphia
Platoon
The Pursuit of Happyness
Ray
*Eddie Murphy's Raw
Redemption Lost - More info
*Remember the Titans
Romeo + Juliet
Saturday Night Fever
*Save the Last Dance
Scarface
Shakespeare in Love
Shawshank Redemption
Short Circuit
*Shrek (1 & 2)
Signs
Sin City
Something New
Speed
Splendor in the Grass
The Story of Us
Stranger than Fiction.
Swingers
Tears of the Sun
Thank You for Smoking
*Troy
V for Vendetta
Waking Life
Walk the Line
We Were Soldiers
The Wedding Singer
What Dreams May Come
What Women Want
*When Harry Met Sally
The Wood
X-Men
Zoolander
It's ridiculous, really.

Television:


"Friends" will never be the same for me now, but I will continue to love it for both of us. I will always remember our last Friends Clap. :)

Aside from my favorites above: The Simpsons, Entourage, Sex and the City, Scrubs, South Park, Daria (an old fav), and I get caught up in the ocassional BAD but oh-so-good reality show a la "Flavor of Love."

Books:

Everyone should read: The Bible
Favorites:
1984 - George Orwell

Othello - William Shakespeare

The Art of War - Sun-Tzu (Thank you, Chuckles )

Johnny Got His Gun - Dalton Trumbo (Thanks, Gbrs )

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
(Thanks, Simran !)

The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein

Always Running - Luis J. Rodriguez

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member - Sanyika Shakur

The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros

Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse

Romeo & Juliet - William Shakespeare

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

A Passage to India - E.M. Forster...

Heroes:

Lieutenant Ehren Watada - for having the discipline to stand up for what he believes in and not being afraid to question his country. The founders of our country set us up with the responsibility to do so, after all.
My brothers and my sister. Talking about the love and respect I have for these kids always gets me a little choked up.
Nestor ...I always say this, but the world truly is a better place for having him in it. He is an old soul. Full of kindness and honor. Insightful writer, awesome runner, and such a funny guy!
Carlos ...my "yo se, yo se!" :) A true artist's spirit. He inspires me with how dedicated he is to doing what he loves--putting in so many hours and so much effort to do his best. So funny and so open, direct, and loving.
Erika ...growing up too quickly for me. Such a beautiful young lady. Loves to take care of loved ones, adventurous, funny, and strong. She is not only my sister, she is my friend. As girly as she is, she's a pretty tough cookie, too! And she wouldn't be her without her laughs that come straight from the heart.

My Blog

Banning beer in the clubhouse

This makes an excellent point...one part that got to me was the blatant prioritizing of beer profits.  It's cool, make your money, but don't act like this is some sort of sacrifice.  It's mo...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Thu, 10 May 2007 05:00:00 PST

Smile

I love this song...so simple and so touching...Smile though your heart is achingSmile even though its breakingWhen there are clouds in the sky, you'll get byIf you smile through your fear and sorrowSm...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Tue, 08 May 2007 02:30:00 PST

The "spending bill" veto

I did not expect the House to override this latest impending veto, but it was still painful to read the news.  It is very convenient for the vetoed bill to be called a "spending bill" r...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Wed, 02 May 2007 01:54:00 PST

Determined to get back

Okay, I'm determined to get back on track with working out. I was doing really well and then stuff happened and I couldn't keep up with it. Working out makes me happy...I love accomplishing a goal I s...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 07:08:00 PST

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me i carry your heart with me (i carry it inmy heart) i am never without it (anywherei go you go, my dear; and whatever is doneby only me is your doing, my darling) i fearno fa...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Sat, 28 Apr 2007 04:28:00 PST

VA Tech

I feel so much for the families and friends affected by yesterday's events.  I read the news about all these kids who are no longer with us and because I can now relate to losing someone, it hits...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:29:00 PST

Observations on white priviledge...

This is a bit longer than most blog entries, and I can't say I think the writer has hit the nail on the head, but it's worth a read...  The topic she discusses is actually pretty i...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 11:24:00 PST

Thinking about you once again

Sometimes I can't help but look through old pictures.  I was at the beach a couple of days ago...it was so beautiful.  I really wished he was there with me listening to the waves c...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Thu, 08 Mar 2007 04:47:00 PST

Sonnet XVII - Pablo Neruda

So, I was watching a movie (surprise, surprise!)...and came across this.   I'm a sucker for this crap.. Sonnet XVII - Pablo NerudaI do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arro...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 05:42:00 PST

Racial Politics of Speaking Well

This is an article from the New York Times.  Although this article does not focus on Latinos, the message applies to us, as well.  How many times has someone seemed surprised that you can ho...
Posted by Tia Jessica! on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 04:15:00 PST