Music of the Month: Pure Indie

This month's odes are pure, good old indie tunes, no vibes laced with alt-rock or R&B bases. Just plain old indie, a bit of beat and thrown in with some electronic.


1. The Feeling Kind by Thao

2. White Lies by Max Frost

3. Chinese Translation by M. Ward

4. Never Gonna Change by The Broods

5. Chocolate by 1975

6. Hurricane by MS MR

  Kate Zoe Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Favorite Pastimes: Hiking

Believe it or not, I do more than just eat, shit, sleep, and blog; I also enjoy hiking during bad weather. Literally.

My favorite places to hike are those relatively secluded, woodsy national parks, preferably with a lovely waterfall or stream at the end to reward you for your three hour grueling climb (or crawl) up the mountain.

To me the best days to go hiking are the days when the weather forecaster announces it's going to rain because when it's going to rain, most people usually stay indoors, and when people stay indoors that means there's less people, and when there's less people that's hallelujah for me because I fucking hate people.

So unless you don't mind getting soaked by the rain like me then I suggest you go hiking in sunny or cloudy with a chance of meatball weather.

singing meatballs liven up any meal

This week for me is the anticipated week of the year other than winter break, summer vacation, and my birthday.

What's this week you ask?

SPRING BREAK!

So yesterday right when I read on the weather report that it was going to rain, I seized the opportunity to go hiking with my dad, little sister, and Ali (my dog).

We went to Sturtevant Falls in Monrovia, California near Arcadia. The roads in this park are fairly easy to navigate and hike. Compared to the other hiking locations I went to the trails in this park are very easy to trek and would be a great hike for fat people. It's family-friendly and dog-friendly.

The day was lovely, we had lots of good junk food, and overall it was a great hike.

Here's some pictures from our hike. Photo credits ALL TO MEEEEEE MUHAHAHA. except the ones with me in it, because obviously I'm not a pro-selfie like this person.

the famous "level-expert" selfie lady

  Kate Zoe Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved.

What I Hate: #3 Society Placing the Blame on Hispanics

Historically, whenever something unforeseen or an epidemic occurs, Jews were to blame for it all. Whether it be the black plague when all the white Europeans died because of their lack of sanitation or the economic status of Germany during WWII, they blamed it on the Jews.

The Jewish were blamed for the plague because almost everyone else died in Europe but they didn't. Hey, maybe it'd help if you took a fucking shower once in a while.

But either way, people are always trying to place the blame on others. Especially America.
The land of equal opportunity and diverse demographics.

Let's get to the main point, Hispanics are being used as today's scapegoat for essentially EVERYTHING.

You didn't get that job you applied for? AWWW DANG IT. It's all that stupid Pablo's fault, stealing American jobs.
You heard your child's been smoking pot? AWWW FUCK. It's all those Hispanic kids in school, dealing with drugs, smuggling it into our country.
You scared to walk out the door cause the Hispanic guy across the street might be in a gang? AWW SUCKS FOR YOU.

Alright let's get some facts straight. I love America but there are some really stupid, ignorant people in this country who believe everything they are fed.

Never have I ever seen so much wrongful shit thrown at such a race of hardworking, honest people who know how to party.

The first thing they are incessantly blamed for is the economy.

From an excerpt by Parogar,

"Thanks to a bunch of charismatic morons who excel at getting people to believe lies, many Americans ACTUALLY believe that our failing economy is because of Hispanic immigrants, whether they be legal, illegal, or not immigrants at all and were born here. Mexicans and other Hispanics are not the reason why America's economy is so poorly. No, the reason we're doing horribly is because 99% of our nation's wealth is in the hands of 1% of the people. It is astonishing to me that people can blame Mexicans for the poor economy. For that to be true, Mexican people would have to be the ones holding onto that coveted 99% of the nation's wealth, but low and behold, studies show that 90% of Mexicans aren't wealthy, and that Mexicans are the lowest-earning group in America- yet this is somehow their fault? I'd like to see someone angrily walk up to a group of ten Mexians and shout, 'GIVE ME ALL YOUR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS YOU RICH BASTARDS!'"

The second problem is how the American media protrays the Hispanic race.

Parogar: "Stupid, insect-brained imbeciles believe-thanks in part to Fox News- that Hispanics are violent, drug-dealing war criminals, who prowl the streets at night looking to steal American jobs and smuggle cocaine. When I was a kid, I used to hear horrible things about black people. Now, I hear black people laughing together with white people while saying horrible things about Hispanics, Arabs, and oftentimes Asians. What makes a job an 'American job'? What makes you so fucking special that you deserve work and someone else doesn't?"

What I'm about to say will offend many of my fellow countrymen and countrywomen. YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE BORN HERE.

Being born in a certain location does not make you superior to any other kind of person; being a certain skin color does not place you on a pedestal over anybody.

Not only do Hispanics have to work harder, but they get payed much less for the same job. Then they are blamed for our dying economy.

What kind of stupid, motherfucker would buy into that nonsense??

And now moving onto the idea that Hispanics are violent druggies.

I go to a heavily white populated high school and lemme tell you something.
All the druggies I know are as white as snow or Asian like me. (personally I think drugs are disgusting)

According to Huffington Post, more than 20% of white people have tried cocaine while BLACK AND LATINOS only account for 10%!

And for those who don't know the difference between Latinos and Mexicans, Latinos covers a VERY VERY BROAD category of people.

So in conclusion, that guy you work with at Home Depot? You better respect him or else I'll personally come and find you and cut off your carrot and stick it in your watermelon.

Last but not least, one of my favorite quotes from Salvador Dali a famous Spanish surrealist painter,
"I don't do drugs, I am drugs"

  Kate Zoe Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved.

 

Transcendentalism

So it's been awhile since I've posted anything on this blog.

No apologies though because I've been working my non-existent ass off this junior year, taking 4 AP courses. (No matter how much dang-diggity running and step aerobic exercises I do, my butt looks as flat as the freaking coffee table in my living room).

Anyways, today I'd like to try a hand at philosophy. Good, old-fashioned, Aristotle/Plato/Gandhi/Emerson/Thoreau/Osama Bin Laden philosophy.

Just kidding about the last guy; he's dickshit.

So I recently saw this documentary by Tom Shadyac (the director of Ace Ventura, starring Jim Carrey)
called "I Am".

In this documentary (it's super deeep stuff that makes your mind all boggled and you wonder if there are little colonies of microscopic people on dust-particles afterwards) Shadyac tries to seek out the underlying problem that causes all the other problems in the world.

Let me clarify that.

So in society, as all of you well know, we have a whole heck lotta fucking problems. Society has major issues that needs major rehab sessions.

There's the major, global problems that we, including myself, always complain about but do nothing to improve: 
-world hunger
-pollution of the environment from industrialization
-oppressed countries and anarchy
-child trafficking
-Big Ang's size Z breast implants using up the world's supply of silicone

There's national problems that many face everyday in America:
-unemployment
-debt
-the increasing gap between the wealthy and poor
-Obama's incompetent healthcare plan
-rising cost of crude oil and gold
-the increasing trend of college graduates unable to find employment
-Justin Bieber's reckless driving habits

There's also problems we face in our own homes:
-the decrease of quality family time
-the increased use of technology
-domestic violence
-the increased use of marijuana, cigarettes, hookahs in teens
-somebody is always sneaking off with my orange creamsicle flavored Yoplait yogurt

In the video, Tom Shadyac interviewed many very old looking authors and knowledgeable old people on  world's problems and what they thought was the reason for all these problems. (I know they're all super old because 1) they looked wrinkly and saggy 2) at the end of the video, it said "in memory of blah blah blah who died in blah blah blah" so basically some of the people Tom interviewed with died before he finished making the video....no wonder they stopped appearing halfway through the documentary).

Shadyac believed there was a fundamental problem that caused all of the world's other problems, and he was on a journey to find it.

They eventually stumbled upon the question of the nature of man.

Is man inherently good or evil?

Ahhhhh, the question of all questions, the eggplant of all bananas.


According to the video, scientists studied a herd of white-tailed deer in the forest and took data 63 times. The question was this: Which member in the herd would have the say in where to go and what to do?
Obviously the stag (male-deer, not nerdy loser boy who lone-wolfs dances) or the alpha deer has the say, right?

WRONG

In fact what they discovered was quite interesting. Well, at least I thought it was interesting.

Leaving the clearing to drink at a waterhole was a profound decision. If the deer herd left too soon, some members of the herd would not be able to have their fill of grass while if they didn't go to the waterhole soon, some members might be in thirst and dehydrate. Choosing the right waterhole was important as well. Too far away and they'll all become lambchops or deerchops in this case.

The scientists noticed that one by one the deers turned their heads toward a direction and once the majority of the deers, both elders and the young turned their heads toward a waterhole, they all left there together.
The scientists were baffled! They didnt listen solely to the alpha!!! IT WAS A DEMOCRACY DUN DUN DUN.

And soon, the scientists discovered that it wasn't only deers that used democracy but everything from ants to birds to butterflies!

Native American tribes were also studied in the documentary.
Their culture values cooperation the most while in our American culture, we tend to place competition at the top of our valued themes.

From childhood we've been taught to be better than all of our classmates, get that #1!, #2 is second to last loser!, and great encouragements like that (especially for me, growing up in a Chinese family where my parents stressed a hard work ethic and exaggerated the need to be #1 ALL THE FUCKING TIME).

My parents rarely lectured me on the importance of cooperation with peers or the need to give back to the community. Now I'm not making the generalization that all parents nowadays forget to teach more than how to be better than others but I'm saying that the need to lend a helping hand to those around us is slowly decreasing. 

Humans are a species of animals. Homo sapiens, hairless, naked, and needs to be fed three times a day or else has major stomach cramps that eventually lead to peptic ulcers.

According to Darwin, animals that are well adapted to their environments continue to evolve and live on while those who are weak suffer the wrath of nature and die off from a predator attack, getting their guts ripped out.

Humans have no sharp dagger teeth or thick hides to fed attacks. We don't have huge bodies and long necks to reach food in the trees. We aren't lions who are fed every 5-6 days or cheetahs that can run up to 120 km/hr.

So what on Earth allowed Humans to thrive and multiply and get all infested all over the world while other animals were becoming endangered?

Why are humans so success with reproduction when our species is super weak and sucks?

The answer is simple.

Cooperation.

That was man's best weapon. And now we're losing it.

Man is inherently good. We were born with embedded DNA that gives us the nature impulse to help others. We saw this in 911 when all Americans came together to help the injured both emotionally and physically injured. We see this during any catastrophic natural disaster. But we are slowly losing our grip upon it.

That's why when we see something pain happening to another person, we feel it on ourselves, as though we can feel the pain too. Human nature in us does not distinguish between the pain of others and our own pain.

Humans used to be more compassionate toward each other. But the obsession with money, greed, selfishness, power, and material objects has possessed us.

Here's a little story to help you understand...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once upon a time there was a tribe. The people in this tribe were healthy and happy and equal because everyone was well fed and got along.

During the day time, the strong men would go out and hunt for food while the old people, women, and young stayed at the settlement to cook food, make clothing, etc.

And during the night, the men would return home and they would share the food together, everyone was well fed and no one forgotten.

One day, a strong man said to himself,
"Why should I have to share my hunted food with the weak people? I should keep it all for myself"

He climbed up a mountain, hid all his hunted food in a mountain cave and lived there as the ruler with more food then he could ever eat by himself.

Soon all the other men began to follow his example, they, too, all felt that they should keep the kills for themselves so they all went to mountain tops and lived apart from the tribe. 

Some of the tribe members were starved and had no choice but to go to the men and beg for food, but in return the men made them their slaves, beneath them. 

A class system was made. The weakest members of the tribe- the oldest and the youngest were at the bottom of the tribe and the middle class-the women and young men.  The weakest eventually died away from lack of food and cruelty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This is our society.

We are ruled by the wealthy and power oppressed not as slaves but as consumers, forced to buy, buy, and buy in order to live life while they hoard the money, more than they can ever use up.

We don't help the weak. How many of us actually take out money to hand to that hobo down the street?
How many of us actually care about fundraisers if it wasn't for the chocolate bars or cookies? How many of us donate for the cause of cancer and not only for tax deductions?

Here's to something to contemplate about.

And so to end my post (something that turned pretty serious pretty fast) let's tie this all back with Transcendentalism.

Transcendentalism is transcending above the real world, beyond the material objects and blind routines we perform at church on Sundays.
Finding a larger purpose to the things we do, developing a personal relationship with God and connecting with nature.

Finding that innate ability within ourselves to once again become one with our brother and sister Homo sapiens

  Kate Zoe Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Making & Storing Tomato Sauce

The spring of this year, my grandma stayed over at my house for about two to three months. During that time interval she had the brilliant idea of growing tomatoes, a plant she never before tried growing which is weird since tomatoes are so commonly grown.

After she went back to live in her own house, the Roma tomatoes she planted all germinated and my dad had the brilliant idea of not thinning the little tomato plants, meaning he let them grow super densely together so that they formed a miniture tomato forest in my backyard.

This resulted in a problem.

There's TOO MANY TOMATOES IN MY HOUSE.

LIKE WAY TOO MANY.

LOOK AT ALL MY BABIES.
(After taking this picture, I was informed by my dad that there were still two more buckets of tomatoes hiding in the back of the fridge...)

and yes, those green things sticking out are beans...

I have bucket loads of red things that I have to think of every way possible to consume. I make tomato mozzerella salad, put them in my caesar salad, sprinkle them up with sugar and eat them, make tomato soup, put them in my spaghetti, give them out in bucket loads to my neighbors, BUT THEYRE NOT GOING AWAY.

In fact, our wonderful garden is providing more and more on a daily basis.

just wonderful.

So my dad makes me think of a way to use up all these tomatos;  I decided to make some homemade tomato sauce and preserve them in jars.

Here's what I did:

Boil enough water to submerge the tomatoes

Wash the tomatoes

Score the flower-budding ends with Xs

prepare an ice-water bath

Once the water is boiling add in the scored tomatoes and continue boiling for about 2-3 minutes until skin starts to break and peel open on its own

Pour the tomatoes into the ice bath

The peeling part should be easy. The skin comes right off.

They remind me of human muscles when you peel the skin off.

LOOK AT ALL THAT SKIN

Dump those naked tomatoes into a pot.

Watch it slowly melt in pain. Cook unlided for about twenty minutes or until the water is reduced and the sauce is thick. Add diced onions, basil leaves, salt, and a bit of oregano.

g

Clean out glass jars and cook them, and the lids, so the bacteria die in agony.

Then with tongs, or your bare hands if you want to be burned, take them out and the water should quickly evaporate off and dry.

After pouring the sauce into the jars (make sure you use a spoon to scoop it in, DO NOT POUR STRAIGHT FROM THE POT, TRUST ME I TRIED IT), secure the lid and cook the jar for about 2 minutes until the water is boiling again. And yes, I used a pickle jar. 

Store the sauce up to a year if frozen or refridgerate for 2-3 months.
Use it in lasagna and spaghetti recipes, to top vegetables, and to make tomato sauce flavored ice cream. I'm not even joking my dad tried doing that, he mixed diced tomatos with vanilla ice cream and added some of my sauce, and made me try some. It had this weird, tangy sweet and salty flavor.

Photo Credits to Me! 

  Kate Zoe Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved.

My 8 Favorite Disney Songs

Although I am quick to announce my dislike for Disneyland and it's horrors of endless three hour ride lines and the incessant noise of annoying kids as well as the ridiculous prices they charge, I love love LOVE Disney songs.

Praise the lord and extol them.

These are the songs I grew up to, the songs that shaped our childhoods.

Not the rap songs about sex, clubbing, weed, and alcohol that they play on the radio today (although I usually listen to that stuff too).

The other day I was hanging with my sister and we started talking about Disney movies. And I realized that since she was born in 2004, she missed out on so many great childhood movies the kids in the 90s experienced! So for the past month, I had a Disney movie marathon with her- one Disney movie a night.

And after all the wonderful throwback memories and sing-alongs here are the 8 songs we concluded that were the best and most memorablest...

Song #8

Make a Man Out of You - Mulan

Song #7

Tale as Old as Time - Beauty and the Beast

Song #6

I Won't Say I'm in Love - Hercules

Song #5

Under the Sea - The Little Mermaid

Song #4

 Be Our Guest - Beauty and the Beast

Song #3

A Whole New World - Aladdin

Song #2

Part of Your World - The Little Mermaid

Song #1

Reflection - Mulan 

Hope you enjoyed!

  Kate Zoe Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved.

3 Songs that are Stuck in My Head

Well, the title basically says it all.

Here are three songs that are stuck in my head and driving me crazy.

1. Miguel feat. Mariah Carey "Beautiful"
 

2.  Ariana Grande feat. Mac Miller "The Way"

3. Daft Punk "Random Access Memory Vanderway Remix"

Enjoy. 

    Kate Zoe Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved.