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	<title>In Pursuit of Serendipity &#187; Life</title>
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		<title>The New Immigrants: Why U.S./Mexico Tensions Are How They Are</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/06/19/current-events/the-new-immigrants-why-u-s-mexico-tensions-are-how-they-are/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/06/19/current-events/the-new-immigrants-why-u-s-mexico-tensions-are-how-they-are/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jun 2010 06:25:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Current Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=541</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

The United States of America and Mexico have never had the most cordial of friendships. Mexico entered political turmoil after achieving its independence from Spain in 1821; unfortunately, political corruption still plagues the country today. It is estimated that there are 111 million Mexicans in a land area of over 760,000 sq. miles. This places [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/mexican-session.gif" alt="Mexican Cession" title="Mexican Cession" width="519" height="503" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-542" /><br />
<strong></p>
<p>The United States of America and Mexico have never had the most cordial of friendships. Mexico entered political turmoil after achieving its independence from Spain in 1821; unfortunately, political corruption still plagues the country today. It is estimated that there are 111 million Mexicans in a land area of over 760,000 sq. miles. This places Mexico as the 11th most populous country and the 14th largest by total area in the world, respectively. The United States, on the other hand, declared its independence on July 4, 1776 from  the British Empire and was recognized as independent in 1783. Its remarkable Constitution led to a stable government, which the former British colonies and new American States all ratified in 1788 and amended with the Bill of Rights in 1791. Currently, there is an estimated 309 million Americans in about 3.8 million sq. miles, the 3rd largest by both population and land area, with only Russia and China being larger. Maintaining unity at the end of the US Civil War, securing the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon, and winning the Mexican-American War in 1848 and the Spanish-American War in 1898&#8211; all helped make the United States one of the strongest countries in the world and defined its present day boundaries. After World War II and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, America eventually became the sole super power in the world.</p>
<p>	The reason Mexico and the USA aren&#8217;t warm friends goes a long way back. In 1821, the American, Stephen F. Austin, carried his father&#8217;s vision of buying 307 parcels of land in Texas, a province belonging to Mexico after attaining their Spanish independence, and bringing 300 colonists to the area. The settlers had to eventually become Mexican Citizens and upon receiving their land titles became known as the <em>Old Three Hundred</em>, the first approved Anglo-American immigrants in Texas, along the Brazos River. Mexican law required the new immigrants to be Catholic and prohibited the possession of slaves, but the settlers didn&#8217;t pay much attention to that, since they were settling where no Spanish or Mexican settlements existed; consequently, most were Protestant and about 25% of them brought slaves with them. This would eventually become a problem with Mexico, as more and more Anglos continued to settle in Mexican land, as illegal immigrants. By 1834, Texas had a population of approximately 37,800 with only about 7,800 of Mexican origin. With this in mind, the Anglo immigrants started to think of independent statehood. This ties in beautifully with something Sun Tzu describes in his treatise, <em>The Art of War</em>, which I completely agree with:</p>
<blockquote><p>Mo Tun of the Hsiung Nu established his power near the end of the Ch&#8217;in dynasty. His neighbors, the Eastern Hu were mightier and constantly sent ambassadors, making demands. &#8220;They said: &#8216;We wish to obtain T&#8217;ou Ma&#8217;s thousand-<em>li</em> horse.&#8217; Mo Tun consulted his advisors, who all exclaimed: &#8216;The thousand-<em>li</em> horse! The most precious thing in this country! Do not give them that!&#8217; Mo Tun replied: &#8216;Why begrudge a horse to a neighbour?&#8217; So he sent the horse. Shortly after, the Eastern Hu sent envoys who said: &#8216;We wish one of the Khan&#8217;s princesses.&#8217; Mo Tun asked advice of his ministers who all angrily said: &#8216;The Eastern Hu are unrighteous! Now they even ask for a princess! We implore you to attack them!&#8217; Mo Tun said: &#8216;How can one begrudge his neighbour a young woman?&#8217; So he gave the woman. A short time later, the Eastern Hu returned and said: &#8216;You have a thousand <em>li</em> of unused land which we want.&#8217; Mo Tun consulted his advisers. Some said it would be reasonable to cede the land, others that it would not. Mo Tun was enraged and said: &#8216;Land is the foundation of the State. How could one give it away?&#8217; All those who advised doing so were beheaded.&#8221; Mo Tun then sprang to his horse and made a surprise attack on the Eastern Hu, swiftly decimating them.</p></blockquote>
<p>	The point I&#8217;m trying to make is precisely that, the importance of land to a country. All those centuries ago, Chinese generals understood the importance of land to the State and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna <em>knew</em> this. The white colonizers couldn&#8217;t just keep land that wasn&#8217;t theirs, simple as that. It is analogous to owning land, inviting people to live for a while and those same people wanting to <em>keep</em> your lands afterwards. Thus, Santa Anna marched from Mexico City to keep the Texas colonists in order. We all know the subsequent battle at The Alamo and the Texans&#8217; victory at San Jacinto, which led to Texas independence in 1836. Mexico always planned to take it back, an effort hindered by the United States&#8217; annexation of Texas into the Union on December 29, 1845. This led to further discontent between the two countries. The 19th century American belief of Manifest Destiny was crucial to the countries falling out with one another. Americans arrogantly believed that it was the United States&#8217; &#8220;destiny&#8221; of expanding from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean by any means possible. This precipitated the Mexican-American War, a ruse to take land from Mexico. At the time, Mexico was weak and America saw a juicy opportunity in 1846-48, under President Polk&#8217;s administration, declaring open war on its southern neighbor. Many Americans protested and disapproved of the war. One of my heroes, Henry David Thoreau was one of them. He refused to pay his poll tax, money used to fund the Mexican-American War and was imprisoned for it. Thoreau&#8217;s famous <em>Civil Disobedience</em> essay emerged from that experience: </p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Here, one can easily discern that Thoreau saw the Mexican War for what it was, a scheme by a small group of men to take land from Mexico. However, Thoreau rebukes his fellow countrymen for not being more honest and protesting the war and slave trade in a proper fashion. The war was a disaster for Mexico, as it lost approximately half its territory, in the end only receiving 15 million dollars and an external debt to America cleared. The United States, in turn, had total control of Texas, the Rio Grande River became the official U.S.-Mexico border, and it obtained the present-day states of Utah, Nevada, and California and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Gold was almost immediately found in California afterwards, spurring the Gold Rush.</p>
<p>	I don&#8217;t know about you, but the way I see it, Mexico has reason to be upset, wouldn&#8217;t you agree?</p>
<p>	If we now shift focus to the present day, we can see the current problems between the two countries. Namely, drug trafficking and immigration. Let&#8217;s keep it with immigration. America is the melting pot of the world, everyone knows that. Immigrants, either illegally or legally, come here in search of prosperity, of the &#8220;American Dream&#8221;&#8211; a better life for each person and their family. That is nothing new. Mexico is a third-world country, which means people will migrate to the nearest country with the best economy, and that happens to be their northern neighbor, the USA. It isn&#8217;t rocket science that people will be prone to leave their country in search of a better way of life. America exports much pop culture to the rest of the world, making it all the more attractive. Today, most immigrants come from Mexico, Central and South America, and Asia. The largest flow of illegal immigrants, of course, comes from Mexico. Are they breaking the law? Yes. Are they harming the country? I do not think so, and I can debate anyone, any day of the week, on this issue. I think the common American is truly misinformed of what it means to be an &#8220;illegal&#8221; immigrant. This so, because they do not directly experience the day to day struggle these people go through. It&#8217;s easy to label someone a &#8220;wetback&#8221; and to use them as scapegoats for our dilemmas, but people air their opinions without once putting themselves in their shoes. People are so naive that they think, &#8220;people should come here legally&#8221;. Trust me, if people could, they <em>would</em>. It isn&#8217;t easy for the new waves of immigrants to get here and survive here. Millions upon millions of immigrants from all over Europe used to arrive at Ellis Island in New York, with a much easier pathway to citizenship than the one illegal immigrants face today.</p>
<p>	What is an illegal immigrant, by the way? Is it the name of a second or third rate citizen? Is it someone below human level? More than anything, an illegal immigrant is someone who fights for a better life. Did not God endow us with a visa to the whole world, from the moment we are born? Are people to stop at man-made boundaries, because elite people say so? Modern illegal immigrants come to work, the grand majority anyways. There is always that small fraction that come to commit crimes, but we shouldn&#8217;t form a judgment by such a small group alone. Most do come to work, doing the jobs hardly anybody wants to do. People who do dry cleaning, house keeping, construction, restaurant servers, lawn people, and all types of handymen are often illegal immigrants, for example. It is a rare sight indeed to see an illegal immigrant of not only Mexico, but any country, to be asking for handouts at a traffic intersections&#8211;like many white and black American citizens do everyday. These immigrants come to work. They have the guts to leave home and country behind, facing uncertainty&#8211; all in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones. They start from zero. Can you do that? Would you risk death by crossing the desert or swimming the Rio Grande if that was the means to prosperity? For it is necessity not pleasure that spurs people to leave their homeland. Think of it this way, if your family needs prescription medication but you cannot afford it, and there&#8217;s a pharmacy on your street corner, what would you do? Let your family die for not having the money to buy the medication or break into the pharmacy and take the medication? If you had no other choice, what would you do? I would break into the pharmacy. FYI, the pharmacy <em>is</em> the United States.</p>
<p>	Not to offend anyone, but what type of illegal immigrant is worse? The illegal white immigrant who came to America and eradicated the Native American population and subjugated African slaves, or people that come here to make an honest living by doing the toughest, often most physical of jobs?</p>
<p>	I know which one Thoreau would deem as worse. So, what is the big deal with providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 millions illegal immigrants and passing the DREAM Act, so illegal students can have financial aid for college and a way to get a job when they graduate? Let us not forget that by being an illegal immigrant,  you are denied of many things that can best be summed up as crimes against humanity. Even after being in America for years, illegal immigrants cannot obtain a social security card, a driver license, a passport, financial aid from FAFSA, and many other things. People are prohibited from reaching their true potential and their dreams. What is the point of having a grade-A brain and not being able to find a job worthy of you capabilities? That is a shrewd waste of talent, if you ask me. Now, some people who are anti-immigrant would always point out that illegal immigrants create a strain in our economy. Namely, that such people abuse welfare and medical treatment, that billions of dollars go to waste, money that comes from American tax payers. While that is true, people fail to grasp the larger part of the picture. Illegal immigrants help the economy by paying 8 cents on every taxable dollar for goods and services. They eventually purchase houses and vehicles, thus, helping the economy move. Moreover, many illegal immigrants resort to using fake social security numbers, hence, they never get reimbursed on federal taxes, allowing Uncle Sam to keep billions of dollars every year. Most people don&#8217;t even know that, or just plain don&#8217;t accept it. One must also note that more and more Hispanic immigrants establish their own businesses, with revenue accumulating in the billions of dollars. Therefore, when people come my way arguing how illegals are ruining the country, I return them stupefied. And If you think I am just airing my opinions, think again. </p>
<p>From Wikipedia:</p>
<p> &#8220;According to James Smith, a senior economist at Santa Monica-based RAND Corporation and lead author of the study &#8220;The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration&#8221;, immigrants contribute as much as $10 billion to the American economy each year. Separate research by both George Borjas, Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at Harvard University and Paul Samuelson, Nobel Prize-winning economist from MIT has shown that illegal immigration had a substantial effect on reducing the economic status of U.S. poor while benefiting middle class individuals and wealthier Americans.&#8221; </p>
<p>	Immigrants, be them illegal or legal, are what makes our country strong. If America wants to curtail the flow of immigration, it should build a wall all along the border and add more border patrol and aerial surveillance as well&#8230; but to the people that have been living in the shadows for many years&#8211; those 11 millions immigrants&#8211; they should receive a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship&#8230; now. You simply cannot deport 11 million people. What&#8217;s more, people become Americans by being exposed to the American way of life. A paper shouldn&#8217;t dictate if you are an American or not, it is our values and morals that make us Americans in the end.</p>
<p>	The way things are right now, with the current Arizona law passed by governor Jan Brewer (another reason I dislike conservative republicans), things are beginning to get ugly. If the federal government doesn&#8217;t do something soon, the problem will escalate. It is my hope that the Latino community rises up from its slumber and demands its due. There is a feeling of hatred bubbling up among people on opposite sides of the issue. The fact that U.S. Border Agents shot and killed a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzFqhSkQpFo&#038;feature=fvw">15 year old boy</a> in Ciudad Juarez for reportedly throwing rocks and the murder of a man, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mLL6g8B9pw&#038;feature=related">Anastasio Hernandez Rojas</a>, who was applied taser 4 times and beaten on the head with a baton for resisting deportation, have no doubt exasperated the Hispanic community this month. </p>
<p>I, for one, know where I stand on the issue. Where do you stand?</strong></p>
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		<title>La Luz del Mundo: Revisited</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/02/06/religion/la-luz-del-mundo-revisited/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/02/06/religion/la-luz-del-mundo-revisited/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:24:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=518</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
A couple of months ago, I published a blog about a church, La Luz del Mundo (LLDM), and to my surprise, it has caused quite some stir! I have since learn much more about the church and the mentality of some of the members that attend. As you may know, I pointed out that the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sjf-295x300.png" alt="False apostle, Samuel Joaquin Flores" title="False apostle, Samuel Joaquin Flores" width="295" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-519" /></p>
<p><strong>A couple of months ago, I published a blog about a church, La Luz del Mundo (LLDM), and to my surprise, it has caused quite some stir! I have since learn much more about the church and the mentality of some of the members that attend. As you may know, I pointed out that the church&#8217;s foundation is based on lies- due to their belief in a modern-day apostle, Samuel Joaquin Flores, who is at the core of the congregation&#8217;s teaching. Emphasis is placed on this man&#8230; more-so than Christ. Being straight to the point, people have to <em>believe</em> in this &#8220;chosen one sent by God&#8221; for their salvation in heaven, and what is worse: the church naively proclaims that outside of LLDM, there is NO salvation. It appears that our Lord Jesus Christ, dying for our sins, was not enough and people must revere this new &#8220;apostle&#8221; to be saved. As honest individuals, what are we to think of such bold blasphemies and blatant lies? The church hierarchy, beginning with Samuel himself, to his sons, and his elite inner-circle possess mostly dubious behavior, to say the least. Personally, I would not feel safe if surrounded by this group. They are interested in money and holding their position at any cost. In my other blog, <a href="http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/07/11/religion/la-luz-del-mundo-a-church-founded-on-lies/">La Luz del Mundo: A Church Founded on Lies</a>, I was fortunate to meet several people with a genuine love of God and who put forth their testimonies regarding their negative experiences with this church, if it can even be called that, since it appears to be more like a cult&#8230; unbeknownst to the poor, misinformed people who attend, of course. My aim, and of others here, is not to offend at all but to expose the church for what it is. We are conscientious that many, many people that attend do so out of their love and genuine faith in God, what they do not know is that Samuel preaches a different gospel altogether.</p>
<p>When exposing the truth of this church, we point at the history of the church, the subsequent inheritance of the church by Samuel, and how the church is molded today. I mostly have focused on the history and the life-impacting aspects of the church while others, like Colin, Blue, Christopher and Alberto have put forth very solid and fool-proof biblical Scriptures challenging the authenticity of &#8220;Apostle&#8221; Samuel Joaquin Flores. A connoisseur of the Holy Bible, Colin has submitted evidence that convince, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Samuel&#8217;s &#8220;apostleship&#8221; is a farce. </p>
<p>Revelations 2:2 instructs thus:</p>
<p>&#8220;&#8230;You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.&#8221;</p>
<p>As Colin has pointed out elsewhere, Samuel Joaquin Flores is 0 for 5 in the requirements of a true apostle:<br />
Samuel has never seen Jesus Christ, Samuel was never chosen by Christ, Samuel has never performed a sign or miracle, Samuel has never written an Epistle, and Samuel never had the role in the foundation of the universal church by preaching the original and only Gospel of Jesus Christ&#8230; in short, Samuel soundly fails the prerequisites of a true apostle. Moving on, if you take an objective view on the lifestyle Samuel has had, it is not on par with the rest of the true apostles of Jesus Christ. For example, Samuel is very wealthy, living in luxurious mansions, owning luxurious cars, owning ranches with a zoo of exotic animals, owning other properties all over Mexico and abroad, vacationing frequently to Las Vegas, and dressing in expensive Italian designer clothes&#8230; it begs the question, were the biblical apostles filthy rich? All these are facts. Though we live in modern times, living like this was not the example set by the original apostles. Jesus, in Matthew 6:19, even commands us to not collect treasures on earth, but that is precisely what Samuel Joaquin Flores does.</p>
<p>Now, when you present these points to people who attend LLDM, we are the enemy. A member even claimed that I live a horrible life, made-so by the devil! They call us ignorant, stupid, morons, and other things that aren&#8217;t of a &#8220;Christian&#8221; nature. Regarding his wealth and properties, fanatics will always counter that God has simply blessed Samuel and if he lives in luxury, so be it. Members state that their &#8220;apostle&#8221; never asks for anything (though he sure is quick to accept a yacht, among other things) and that they simply want to &#8220;accommodate&#8221; and treat their spiritual leader well. Pretty preposterous, right? Most of the congregation are dirt poor, and pastors are sent with family in-tow to the poorest of regions to start-up new churches. As one commentator most eloquently put on the other blog, some of the pastor&#8217;s families only have tortillas with salt to eat (if that), while the tithe was mailed religiously to Guadalajara for Samuel and his family to live like royalty. Still, members see nothing wrong with this. They have filters for the reality surrounding their leader. The widows of the pastors exploited by the church do not even receive a pension. On the contrary, the church convinces widows and other members who are ill and close to death to donate their houses and/or their other properties to the church. Pastors have no insurance. As another frequent commentator stated, if a pastor falls ill and needs surgery and medication, he is pretty much on his own and headquarters reluctantly loan money to that particular church to temporary cover the medical costs, money that has to be paid back by the people that attend that church (basically, they pitch in money for the cause). All these points lead to the conclusion that LLDM executives are full of greed and unscrupulous. Yet another example of this is that members are pretty much required to pilgrim to Guadalajara on August 14th and February 14th to pay homage to the self-labeled &#8220;apostle&#8221;. What might surprise you is that February 14th is his birthday! Again, members will say that during this &#8220;holy supper&#8221;,  mention of his birthday is never made. Be as it may, the day is still his <em>birthday</em>. As you read this, LLDM churches from every location are collecting and raising money to buy gifts for Samuel. Since most of the members have little to no education, it is an easy matter to brainwash them. For instance, they are told that the Bible can only be properly interpreted by their pastors, as it is too sophisticated for them to understand on their own. This, of course, means most of the members know very little about the Holy Bible. Even the ones that know the Scriptures interpret them in their own skewed way and defend their faux apostle with such zealot that it is almost admirable. They should remember the old adage &#8220;Just because you believe in something&#8230; it doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s true&#8221;. </p>
<p>Naturally, the truth hurts and LLDM proponents have come out to defend their church. Unfortunately, most only state their opinions and cannot defend their beliefs, while rebuking us for &#8220;insulting&#8221; their religion. On the other hand, those who share my view mostly state clear biblical truths. What is closer to the truth? Contents from the Bible or opinions? If we are honest, and as academics it is our duty to be so, one can easily discern that what we write is VERITAS. Sadly, it has even come to the point that a member has researched me, trying to find out who I truly am, where I live, etc., as well as investigating my father&#8217;s history. Very creepy behavior, wouldn&#8217;t you agree? Yet, not unexpected. Still, who would go through such lengths to find out about a blog writer if the truth written here is not damaging their church? Digging into my family&#8217;s history and contacting some of my father&#8217;s siblings from the church is rather disturbing. It gives an unsettling feeling that I may be targeted for elimination. How far would this cult go to protect its interest? We have but to look to the past to see how fanatics were quick to shed blood like say in the crusades, all for their beliefs. Let us remember <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh">David Koresh</a> who preyed on the ignorance of his followers and manipulated them to carry out his whims. The only difference here is that Samuel uses his claim as an &#8220;apostle&#8221; to get rich. Yes, many members are mad at my blog and for writing about LLDM. In their minds, they are blasphemies and God will surely punish me for it.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, some people have given testimonies that on top of all I have mentioned, sexual abuse has been occurring from long ago. Allegedly, Samuel has had many young women working in his mansion in Guadalajara and, intuitively, one can gather that the apostle has engaged in sexual intercourse with more than one woman throughout the years. Is it true? I do not know, I was not there. What is known is that said young women do wear clothing that reveals their voluptuous feminine figure. Investigation to these claims have always led to dead ends, primarily due to the money and influence of this church in Mexico.</p>
<p>Samuel Joaquin Flores is in his 70s, and his death is imminent. Will he chose a son of his to carry the mantle of &#8220;apostleship&#8221; just as he received it from his father Aaron?!  That is precisely what will happen&#8230; and it will happen quite soon. LLDM criticizes the Roman Catholic Church for having the Pope as their maximum spiritual leader, failing to see that they themselves have their own &#8216;pope&#8221; who lives just as luxuriously and worse, by lying to 5 million people that he was appointed by God himself! Samuel has no education&#8230; but to make amends, he purchased an &#8216;honorary doctorate&#8217;&#8230; so he is now called &#8220;doctor&#8221;! It is an abomination that this man has never been convicted. In Mexico, government authorities like the police are easily bought and controlled. That LLDM steers its congregation to vote for PRI in every election guarantees them immunity from the government.  Members always will tell you that Samuel is a kind hearted human being who builds schools, hospitals, clinics, and such&#8230; what they fail to understand is that none of those services are free. They are all charged for.</p>
<p>It is sad how humble people with a desire to know God are being taken advantage by this false  &#8220;apostle&#8221;.</strong></p>
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		<title>Chess and Paul Morphy</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/01/31/sports/chess-and-paul-morphy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/01/31/sports/chess-and-paul-morphy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:04:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=506</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
There are people who play poker, people who play dominoes, people who play Uno, people who play Counter Strike&#8230; and then there are people who play chess. I am one of the latter. Chess is my favorite board game of all time. Why? Because it is a mental war game! It requires deep thought, focus, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><img src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Morphy_Lowenthal_1858.jpg" alt="Paul Morphy vs. Lowenthal" title="Paul Morphy vs. Lowenthal" width="400" height="301" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-507" /></p>
<p>There are people who play poker, people who play dominoes, people who play Uno, people who play Counter Strike&#8230; and then there are people who play chess. I am one of the latter. Chess is my favorite board game of all time. Why? Because it is a mental war game! It requires deep thought, focus, and creativity. Opponents have to prepare both a defense and an attack and must endeavor to outwit each other&#8230; aiming for the precious capture of the enemy king&#8230; the <em>checkmate</em>! I learned to play chess when I was 13 years old and have been hooked ever since. I would be lying to you if I were to tell you that I have always played throughout the years. In fact, it is a hobby that I leave and come back to from time to time. This is because in my social circles, hardly anybody knows how to play chess&#8230; and if they do, they usually aren&#8217;t good at it. It is not that fun to play with someone who only knows how to move the pieces, the game requires the strategy of a knowledgeable opponent to make it interesting. I used to think I was a strong player in my teens and in my early 20s. That was until I started playing with a 40 year-old co-worker named Victor. Oh, my God&#8230; the guy annihilated me so bad that I still have nightmares! He would even give me odds of a knight and a bishop! It hurt my ego so I started reading chess books and opening theory. I learned tips and tricks and used them accordingly against him. It took weeks but then he would only give me a pawn&#8230; and soon we started our games on equal terms. I must have played over a hundred games with him! I did manage to beat him about 40% of the time eventually. Whatever I learned, he would learn from me during our matches, so I was only making him stronger! I started employing the Queen&#8217;s Indian Defence, the Caro-Kann, the Grünfeld Defence and the Queen Gambit&#8217;s Accepted! Sadly, I changed jobs and never saw him again. I still miss our grand chess games during our breaks and lunch hour.</p>
<p>Since Victor was a strong player by my standards I decided to read chess books&#8230; to become a better player. However, with school and other work (and the fact that nobody at home wanted to play chess), I walked out on my hobby. I just recently returned in full force! I bought a large, hand-carved wooden chess set made in Bethlehem worth $300 and I also bought Garry Kasparov&#8217;s book, <em>On My Great Predecessors</em>. It is part one of a 5-part series in which the 13th world champion, Kasparov, analyses the games of the early masters and tracks the evolution of chess to modern times. Kasparov is actually considered one of the greatest players to ever play the game, with a peak FIDE (the mafia that organizes chess tournaments) Elo rating of 2851 in addition to him being World Chess Champion from 1985-2000. The book is a compilation of masterpieces played by the best players both before and after the World Chess Championship was established and includes select games from the first four official world champions: Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine. It is interesting to note that there were several &#8220;unofficial&#8221; world champions&#8230; Philidor, Le Bourdannais, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Staunton">Staunton</a>&#8230; and most notably <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Anderssen">Adolf Anderssen</a> of Germany and the great Paul Morphy of America. These players were vastly ahead of their time. Anderssen dazzled everyone with his combination play in which he often sacrificed a rook, a bishop, even a queen to checkmate his opponents! He was the strongest player in Europe with no equal&#8230; that is, until &#8220;The Pride and Sorrow of Chess&#8221;, Paul Morphy, obliterated all opposition in both the New and Old Worlds.</p>
<p>Paul Morphy is actually my favorite chess player of all time! I would like to tell you about him. As Kasparov states in his book, Morphy was a &#8220;super-genius&#8221;. He was the epitome of a child prodigy. Born in New Orleans in 1837, he always surprised his family with his intelligence and acute memory. He learned chess from his father and his uncle, who valued chess as a family past-time.  He learned just by looking at his father and uncle play, and upon their finishing a certain game, Morphy pointed out that his uncle had missed a &#8220;checkmate&#8221;. They were in shock since they did not even think he knew how to move the pieces, much less know any tactics. Morphy even arranged the chess board and demonstrated how his uncle had missed the checkmate! Naturally, his family encouraged him to play at the local chess club and at home, and soon, he made everyone his bitch&#8230;  General Winfield Scott, while camping in New Orleans, asked his aides to bring him the town&#8217;s strongest chess player for an evening&#8217;s game. The general thought of himself as an extraordinary player and felt insulted when his aides brought him a 9 year-old Morphy, he thought it was a prank but his aides told him that everyone said the young Morphy was the strongest player around. Needless to say, Morphy vanquished the General not once, but twice. The General refused further games with him and preferred to go to bed! Sometime later, Löwenthal, one of Europe&#8217;s distinguished masters, visited New Orleans and consented to play with a 12 year-old Morphy&#8230; a few moves into the very first game and he knew he was facing a chess monster&#8230; he swiftly lost 3 games during his visit. Morphy went to get a law degree by the age of 19, and legend has it that he memorized all of Louisiana&#8217;s penal codes! However, he had to wait until he was of 21 years of age to practice law, so he decided to return to chess in the meantime. The rest is history. He easily became national chess champion by beating Paulsen, a very strong chess player. He then set off in 1958 to England in search of a match with the great English master, Staunton. He easily beat all the top English masters and Staunton, out of fear, refused to play him. Also, he beat Löwenthal yet again (+9 -3 =2)! However, Morphy was nice enough to buy his defeated opponent furniture with the prize money. Not satisfied, he crossed the channel into France. There, he beat all the top French players! Still not content, he challenged the awesome Adolf Anderssen to a match. Anderssen was not a coward like Staunton and accepted if only Morphy would wait until Christmas vacations since he had teaching duties. Morphy agreed and even pledged to pay Anderssen&#8217;s travelling expenses! While he thus waited for the German master, he kept busy crushing all opposition in grand style, even playing blindfold games with multiple opponents as exhibitions! He crushed two strong amateurs, the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, who consulted with each other as to what to move during an opera, the well known &#8220;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_game">opera game</a>&#8220;. Morphy, perhaps irritated because he wanted to see the performance, quickly destroyed his opponents in a mere 17 moves. When December arrived, Anderssen finally made it to Paris. Anderssen was given the title of &#8216;chess romantic&#8217; and no one could match his combinations on the board. However, combinations, in which emphasis was placed on attacking as the best type of defense was to prove useless with the advent of positional theory, in which small advantages by position could render combinations ineffective. Paul Morphy, though also a combination genius, was the forefather of modern chess because his positional play was here to stay. Later, Steinitz would publish the first positional theories and made them known to the world. Reckless combinations were to become a thing of the past for the most part. Upon Anderssen&#8217;s arrival, Paul Morphy was very ill from an intestinal infection and was being treated with leeches. Morphy, subsequently, lost the first game against Anderssen, then forced a draw on the second game, and then won five in a row! The final score was +7 -2 =2 (Seven wins, two losses, and two draws)! Needless to say, he was a celebrity and Paris hosted a banquet in his honor, he was crowned  &#8216;World Chess Champion&#8217; (It is a pity that the official event of World Chess Championship was not established yet, so Morphy will always be &#8220;unofficial&#8221; world chess champion in the books). Upon returning to America, Morphy was hailed as a hero and was given a grand reception. In a short two years, he did something never before seen. Unfortunately, Morphy gave up serious chess competition forever upon his return. With the start of the Civil War, he was unable to practice law adequately and people sought him more for chess matters than for legal affairs. As it is with certain geniuses, Morphy started to exhibit signs of mental disorder. The disease progressed and he began to lose his grasp on reality, walking the streets of New Orleans everyday, disoriented and without purpose. He died of a stroke at the relatively young age of 47, in 1884. However, he will always be a chess immortal and many world champions since still regard him the best of them all.</p>
<p>So, there you have it! I am a chess aficionado! In the near future I intend to study the games of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Keres">Paul Keres</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efim_Geller">Efim Geller</a>&#8230; among others!</strong></p>
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		<title>On Homosexuals</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/01/16/current-events/on-homosexuals/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2010/01/16/current-events/on-homosexuals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:45:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Current Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=502</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I have always wondered if homosexuals are born as such, or if through life experiences and choice&#8230; they become gay. Perhaps, both? I do not know, but I would like to share with you my view on the subject. It has been known throughout centuries that homosexuals have always been around, maybe since the beginning [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/plug-socket-costume.jpg" alt="Plug and Socket" title="Plug and Socket" width="310" height="500" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-503" /><br />
<strong>I have always wondered if homosexuals are born as such, or if through life experiences and choice&#8230; they become gay. Perhaps, both? I do not know, but I would like to share with you my view on the subject. It has been known throughout centuries that homosexuals have always been around, maybe since the beginning of man. Boy lovers in ancient Athens ran rampant, even Socrates himself was accused of being homosexual and was charged for perverting youths. Heck, homosexual behavior has been observed in several mammals, primates being no exception. Some of those chimps really go at it! Male to male attraction or female to female attraction has always perplexed me. We were designed by God (or evolution, depending your taste) to be a plug (man) and socket (female) combination. Anatomically, you have no need to look any further, men are designed for women and vice-versa, it isn&#8217;t as complicated as the Dirac Equation or Lev Landau&#8217;s superfluidity work (don&#8217;t ask)! Structurally, our sex organs and reproductive systems guarantee the propagation of the human race only in a male-to-female pairing. This is, to me, how nature always intended it. When push comes to shove, be it a successful life or a mediocre one, the one thing we share with most other humans is the ability to reproduce and to leave progeny on earth. Of course, it is not always this way but that is usually how it is and the <em>main</em> idea&#8230; wether we realize it or not is irrelevant. We just fuse DNA (egg+sperm) and out comes the next generation.</p>
<p>If we analyze a male-to-male pairing or a female-to-female pairing, we would arrive to the conclusion that these combinations do not function in the reproduction, propagation, and survival of the human species. It sounds harsh, but a two plug combination or a two socket combination&#8230; is not what nature intended. If all the peoples of the world became homosexual, our species would be in big trouble. There is a possibility that we would cease to exist, or reproduction would become a &#8220;burden&#8221;. Just to be clear, I am not implying that homosexuals contribute nothing to humanity. There are many great people with great hearts and charisma, who help and contribute to society in countless ways. I do believe everyone is entitled to live life as they want, personal lives are private and to each his own. Most of the time, I care not for how people decide to live, as long as they do not affect or interfere in my own life.</p>
<p>However, one can always be curious as to why people adopt a homosexual lifestyle. Perhaps, a gene sequence in people&#8217;s genome is faulty, implying a genetic disease. It is a possibility that we cannot rule out and it kind of makes sense, especially with cases when the child exhibits homosexual characteristics from early on. There is a lot of controversy regarding this theory as correlated twin studies (one twin being homo and the other hetero) discredit this approach. Still, I believe that even twin DNA can vary ever so slightly, expressing different genes. We still have so much to learn about our 3 billion base pairs in our DNA, full of genes and &#8220;junk&#8221;. Another approach to answer why people adopt a homosexual lifestyle involves choice. It is a much easier concept, people of the same sex find each other attractive and choose to be together. Maybe they were not &#8216;born&#8217; gay but they, at some point in their lives, feel an inexorable attraction to the same sex. Sexual activity between said individuals only adds to their attraction and feeling of love. For instance, a male gay couple will get addicted to stimulation of their prostate and so on. We all can get addicted to some sort of physical stimulation but in my view, as a man, nothing can replace the pleasure a woman can give you. Most men (and women) out there will agree with me, but not gay couples, and that is understandable. Lesbians, I regard in a different light, this being so because no man can truly understand the female anatomy as well as another woman. Lately, the world has become more liberal and the gay community has risen to get things like gay marriage laws to be passed. I know I said that everyone is entitled to whatever life they want, but I am divided on this issue. If all the states allow gay marriage, it would fuel an upsurge and many will come out of the closet&#8230; gay numbers may increase. This is just one scenario, mind you, I am no expert on such things. Gay people on the same terms as heterosexual couples is not something I agree in, to tell you the truth. Moreover, in the decades to come, if more and more gay couples are seen in public holding hands and/or kissing, what are little children to think? Would they assume that homosexual behavior is normal? Would those children be inclined to follow such lifestyle if they see it all over? We function on a monkey-see/monkey-do basis much of the time, and I can almost be sure that precisely <em>that</em> will happen. In the end, it is a deviation from our intended design, giving over to physical lust. Allowing gay couples to adopt is also something I do not agree with, but that is just me. I know there are gay couples with great honesty and integrity that should be able to adopt, but as it is in this world, some ruin it for the rest. Mine is only but a mere view on such topic. What do you guys think on these topics?</strong></p>
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		<title>Building an &#8220;Atomic Bomb&#8221;.</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/10/11/random/building-an-atomic-bomb/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/10/11/random/building-an-atomic-bomb/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:15:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=492</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
One of my most memorable memories from my childhood is when I was nine years old. I overheard my father and older brothers talk about the atom bomb and nuclear weapons, how they could wipe our cities out and possibly destroy our world. All this information blew me away, it sparked my interest profoundly. I [...]]]></description>
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<p>One of my most memorable memories from my childhood is when I was nine years old. I overheard my father and older brothers talk about the atom bomb and nuclear weapons, how they could wipe our cities out and possibly destroy our world. All this information blew me away, it sparked my interest profoundly. I decided to make my own “atomic bomb”. What I did was, I kept an empty aluminum coke can in my room. When nobody was looking, I would sneak material into my room and put it inside the can. I would get matches, cut the match heads and dump them inside! I would also add lighter fluid, small pieces of coals of charcoal, and alcohol. The can started to get heavy as the days went by. The problem was that I kept it hidden under my bed. One day, when I got home from school, it was gone—my mom had thrown it away! <img src='http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_sad.gif' alt=':(' class='wp-smiley' />  I have always wondered if my “atomic bomb” would have detonated… or at least light up as a Molotov. Come on, give me a break! I knew nothing about plutonium and uranium enrichment or fission and fusion reactions. The weird thing is that I would still love to build such a bomb and just keep it under my bed.</p>
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		<title>Girls&#8230; just want to have fun!</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/10/11/current-events/girls-just-want-to-have-fun/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/10/11/current-events/girls-just-want-to-have-fun/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:47:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Current Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=482</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There is a particular song by Cindy Lauper called Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, that pretty much summarizes what most girls want. You could be the sweetest, most sincere nice guy out there, but if you do not know how to have fun or live like a hermit—guys, you are screwed. Women are special individuals [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There is a particular song by Cindy Lauper called <em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mft3_A6qtRA">Girls Just Wanna Have Fun</a></em>, that pretty much summarizes what most girls want. You could be the sweetest, most sincere nice guy out there, but if you do not know how to have fun or live like a hermit—guys, you are screwed. Women are special individuals with special needs; they love to have fun and love to be loved. It isn’t rocket science! I will be the first to admit, that I used to be an introverted lout lost in his own little world, reading books and doing outlandishly nerdy things, until it hit me… it sucks to be alone, it really does. <img src='http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_sad.gif' alt=':(' class='wp-smiley' />  Thankfully, I learned of a way to balance my interests and be more outreaching and extroverted.</p>
<p>Girls love to have fun, to go out and drink at a nice bar or a club and just unplug from work and/or school routine. Heck, not just girls, but guys as well. To tell you the truth, if we are single, we go to a bar and hope to find someone. We all yearn to find someone that we can love and be loved in return. For a guy, that is no problem, we drink and can hold our liquor (most of us anyway). If we find someone, fine, if we don’t… then there’s next week. Personally, I do not think like this, but for the sake of simplicity I will write how guys are in general. Guys are dogs, women! Never let your guard down or let yourself be deceived. I know what you are thinking, “heck, Oscar, you ARE a guy”. True, but I am not like those guys… neither am I a saint, of course.</p>
<p>Guys generally go to clubs to hook up for one night stands, contrary to what you believe, most are not looking for a serious relationship. How do I know? One, I’m a guy, and a lot of friends  were like that, and two, I can observe guys at any club I show up and predict what they are going to do. I know, I know, still a nerdy thing to do, but bear with me. A girl drinking in a club is like a sheep entering a wolf’s lair, especially, if she is alone or only accompanied by girlfriends. I know the thinking patterns of guys; they will soon approach such a girl (especially if she is gorgeous) and will start getting their game on, smooth talking like Joel Osteen or Barack Obama, and sporting their tight douchebag clothes. If you start conversation with them and they aren’t cheap, they will gladly intoxicate you further. After all, that is what they want, to get you drunk and turn into an octopus before you know it (you girls know what I mean). That is why, if I were a girl, I wouldn’t trust any stranger at the club. All they want is sex, not the person within you. A true man waits.</p>
<p>Trust the guys at the library or Barnes and Noble. The mathematical probability of them being more honest and having integrity is much more elevated than some random stranger at a bar. Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behavior in strategic situations, in which an individual&#8217;s success in making choices depends on the choices of others. Therefore, the choices you make as a girl directly equate to the success the guy obtains. At the bar, women can make choices that will make the douchebag win. As for the nerd at the library, don’t take him for granted. Despite his uncombed hair, his badly need for a haircut, and crappy t-shirt, he could very well be a party animal if you give him the chance. The douche, sporting the appealing bad boy image and silver tongue will always be beaten by the nerd in the long run. Nerds go places. The other guys get stuck with child support and/or working like mules the rest of their lives, consequently, girls cease having fun.</p>
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		<title>The Qualities of a Gentleman</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/09/23/deep-pondering/the-qualities-of-a-gentleman/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/09/23/deep-pondering/the-qualities-of-a-gentleman/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:30:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Deep Pondering]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mushy stuff]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=441</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
































I&#8217;m here at the University of Houston&#8217;s Satellite Center, eating a Chick-fil-a, and I started thinking about the qualities of a gentleman. The other day, I stumbled upon a quote by Winston Churchill, &#8220;Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities&#8230; because it is the quality which guarantees all others.&#8221;
I really have to agree [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-442" title="The qualities of a gentleman make a knight." src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/knighting-171x300.jpg" alt="The qualities of a gentleman make a knight." width="171" height="300" /></p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;">I&#8217;m here at the University of Houston&#8217;s Satellite Center, eating a Chick-fil-a, and I started thinking about the qualities of a gentleman. The other day, I stumbled upon a quote by Winston Churchill, &#8220;Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities&#8230; because it is the quality which guarantees all others.&#8221;</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman; min-height: 16.0px;">I really have to agree with Churchill. It takes courage to execute all other virtues. I made a list of nine traits a real man (or woman) should have:</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Courage</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Honesty</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Integrity</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Compassion</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Kindness</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Fortitude</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Imagination</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Loyalty</strong></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;"><strong>Assertiveness</strong></p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;">A man must have the courage to defend his loved ones and to make sacrifices. A man must have honesty to earn people&#8217;s trust. A man must have integrity, consistency of actions and morals. A man must have compassion and feel the sorrows of others. A man must show kindness and help others in need. A man must have fortitude to withstand the harsh trials of life. A man must have imagination to achieve dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before. A man must have loyalty to his wife, family, and country. Finally, a man must be assertive- not let anyone walk all over him and to stand up for the ones who do not have the courage to defend themselves.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times New Roman;">A man with these characteristics is the embodiment of a true gentleman. So, where do I stand? It would be very arrogant and egotistic of me to say I have all those virtues. All I can say is that I try to be the best I can, but I will always have flaws like anyone else. The only way you can tell is by knowing me I guess. There are other virtues one can think of, which virtues do you like in a person?</p>
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		<title>HBU vs. UH Main</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/09/21/school/hbu-vs-uh-main/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/09/21/school/hbu-vs-uh-main/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:51:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=434</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
HBU vs. UH Main

This semester has been much more enlightening than the last here at UH. I wasn&#8217;t entirely thrilled to leave HBU, but after some disappointments with certain people, the costs, and the implementation of the semester system from the quarter system, I found very few reasons to stay. HBU was a great stop [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-435" title="Shasta the UH Cougar" src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/shasta75-300x225.jpg" alt="Shasta the UH Cougar" width="300" height="225" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;">HBU vs. UH Main</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;">This semester has been much more enlightening than the last here at UH. I wasn&#8217;t entirely thrilled to leave HBU, but after some disappointments with certain people, the costs, and the implementation of the semester system from the quarter system, I found very few reasons to stay. HBU was a great stop for me, however. Academically, it was and <em>is</em> an awesome place. It is small, the classes are like high-school size, and the professors know your name! This intimate configuration of student to faculty is a blessing to most students anywhere. I once had a class of only 7 students! I couldn&#8217;t cheat! Lol. A public university will never beat that! Also, it is easier to make friends at HBU since you see the same people over and over.  Heck, you even see the girl you fell in love with walking around with her new boyfriend. Oh, wait! That is a con! At UH, you meet someone and never see them ever again! I still have not run into that cute girl I met on the second day! There were several things I did not like at HBU. Many times, I felt like it was like a prison. There were a thousand rules you had to follow, like going to convo, OMG, how I hated that. Not only did I hate going, but when I went, most everyone was playing Nintendo DS, surfing the web on their laptops, or just doing homework! I was like, &#8220;what&#8217;s the point?&#8221;</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;">I am glad I moved to UH. It is a totally different and more filled student experience, at least for me. Academically, HBU is still superior, but not as much as people think. Heck, this semester I am taking classes that are very challenging. For example, out of 130 students in my Cell Bio class, 30 failed the first test and 18 got a D! There were only 11 As! We are talking about seniors who are pursuing a bio degree! To make matters worse, the GPA-killing professor boasted that it was going to be the easiest test of the semester!  Moving on, UH is huge&#8230; over 36,000 enrolled students, making it the third biggest university in Texas (only UT and A&amp;M are bigger). You get to walk a lot, so you get your exercise! When you compare Moody Library with MD Anderson Library&#8230; well, there is no comparison, the library here is like 5-6 stories. UH is a research university, with much more money, so comparing both institutions is not fair. At UH, our Wellness Center is better than the best Bally&#8217;s Total Fitness I know! We have Chillis, 2 Chick-fil-A restaurants, Einstein Bros., Starbucks, Kim Son, Subway, Taco Bell, 2 Pizza Huts, Pita Express, and a bunch of other places to eat with friends without leaving campus! There is even a bar on campus to go have a beer after a test! I know HBU is a small Christian university, but as stated earlier, the biggest pros are that the classes are small and the friends you make are high quality (not all, but most). I think both universities are great, but I feel UH is more of a fit for me. Here, you can smoke in the parking lot or with your professor (not that I smoke much), and we have pretty good football team! I don&#8217;t have that much more before I finish here, though. My academic career has been so different compared to most students I know. I started at HCC Town &amp; Country, transferred to HBU, and then transferred to UH Main! All for an undergraduate degree! Of course, there will always be an aura of prestige when one graduates from a private university, but I am a fond believer that it is in the student, not the institution. I feel more well-rounded by being at different schools, I can compare. You want to know the worst thing about UH? The parking. I kid you  not, I spend more money in gas looking for a parking spot than driving to school! I spend up to 40 minutes looking for someone to leave so I can take their space. Finding a parking spot in UH is almost the equivalent of an orgasm. <img src='http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;">On another note, all universities in America are run like any business, they all want money. They all want you to stay as long as you can to milk you for money. I find it ridiculous that we live in the most powerful country in the world and students have to pay tuition. Look at Germany, Norway, Sweden&#8230; they all provide free university education to their people. Why can&#8217;t we have that over here? Epic PHAIL</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-436" title="HBU, the Hinton" src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Hinton_Center-272x300.jpg" alt="HBU, the Hinton" width="272" height="300" /></p>
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		<title>Honor Roll Bumper Stickers</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/05/27/random/honor-roll-bumper-stickers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/05/27/random/honor-roll-bumper-stickers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2009 03:31:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=251</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The other day, I was discussing with my friend, Nestor, how things annoy me. I can be a grouchy lout at times, I admit. For example, I get inexplicably annoyed when, while driving, I see vehicles that have a “My child is an Honor Roll Student at so-and-so school” sticker on their bumper. Now, I do [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-252" title="honor-roll" src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/honor-roll-300x223.jpg" alt="honor-roll" width="300" height="223" /></p>
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<p><span>The other day, I was discussing with my friend, Nestor, how things annoy me. I can be a grouchy lout at times, I admit. For example, I get inexplicably annoyed when, while driving, I see vehicles that have a “My child is an Honor Roll Student at <em>so-and-so</em> <em>school</em>” sticker on their bumper. Now, I do not get annoyed at a young child’s achievements, on the contrary, I spur all kids to aim for the honor roll. What bugs me is the fact that when most of those kids grow up, they don’t graduate making honor rolls. When have you seen a bumper sticker that says “<em>My son is a pot smoking bum that probably won’t amount to anything</em>”? It is a sad thing how some children with lots of potential get caught up with the mundane; they lose focus, and end up being utterly pathetic as grown ups. They end up as drug addicts, felons, and parasites of society, not all of them, of course but lots of them. My negative attitude is not aimed at the hard working kids but rather how society and life twists them, changes them from intelligent children to average or below average men and women. If I ever do have kids, I would never put one of those stickers if they made honor rolls, I don’t have to show the world if they are smart. I do wonder if parents would buy stickers that say, “<em>My son was an Honor Roll Student but now he is a drug addicted good for nothing</em>”. Still, I do understand where parents are coming from. The love of a parent for his son or daughter transcends everything, and what parent would not feel proud if their child made the honor roll? All parents I know think their young children are angels and geniuses. It is up to the parent to guide their child through the minefields of life, only this way can their child have a high likelihood of surpassing them. That is what it&#8217;s suppose to be about, every newer generation is supposed to be better than the last.</span></p>
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		<title>Is Love Stronger Than Faith?</title>
		<link>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/05/10/religion/is-love-stronger-than-faith/</link>
		<comments>http://www.oscarnuno.com/2009/05/10/religion/is-love-stronger-than-faith/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2009 02:17:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Oscar</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.oscarnuno.com/?p=227</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

Should I start this off with a question? Or, should I speak what is on my mind? How about both: is love stronger than religious faith? Ah, such an entertaining topic this is, one that reveals the real plumage of certain people as well as the inner cogs that make them tick. Well, is it? [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!--StartFragment--></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-229" title="World Religions" src="http://www.oscarnuno.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/20070828bizreligion_dm_5001-243x300.jpg" alt="20070828bizreligion_dm_5001" width="243" height="300" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Should I start this off with a question? Or, should I speak what is on my mind? How about both: is love stronger than religious faith? Ah, such an entertaining topic this is, one that reveals the real plumage of certain people as well as the inner cogs that make them tick. Well, is it? Is love stronger than faith, the very faith that has been been intertwined into a person’s sheer being probably since birth? Tell me, I am dying to know.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A person can claim to be religious and be devoted to their God, but when that same person falls in love with someone of a different religion, what happens then? Do things not change? The scripture is different, the beliefs are different, the culture is different, the Gods are different… I can only wonder, is love strong enough to fill such deep gaps? Ah, if it were only so simple to convince the world, and to convince me, in particular (wagging finger, no-no). A person claims a religion, a religion they practice and follow, but are they following it all the way? Are they following it all the way if they love someone of another religion, who worships a different God? I find such things highly interesting. I ask again, does the love for a person exceed the love of a person’s deity and religious teachings? I honestly believe so. In fact, I have seen it. It happens all the time. It is not my place to judge, but it is irresistible not to observe. It is irresistible not to form an opinion. I like observing and being logical, but, unfortunately, I find such things illogical. Perhaps I suffer from a flawed mentality, one that prohibits me from seeing the big picture. Yes, it is probably me that is the problem.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If a Buddhist man and a Catholic woman fall in love, does it not compromise their relationship? It can probably work if both of them were not religious or a non-practicing Buddhist or Catholic. In fact, I can only see such a union possible in such a scenario. Yet, when both parties are zealously devoted to their religion, I do not know what to think, so I form an opinion. If a Muslim man and a Christian woman fall in love, how does that work? Islam prohibits a relationship with non-Muslims and Christians that are in a relationship with Jesus still fall for someone that does not adhere to the Holy Bible. One believes in the Prophet and the other in Jesus. They can both worship independently, but where is the line drawn? Is it feasible to only follow parts of the Bible or the Koran, and not others? You <em>can&#8217;</em>t eat pepperoni, but you <em>can</em> date a Christian? To this I say, <em>how convenient</em>. If you walk under the banner of a religion, follow it all the way or not at all. In my eyes, many times the love of a person does, in fact, surpass the love of their God. People may counter that it is not true, but I know better.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I may end this with a quote from the film, <em>Kingdom of Heaven</em>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>&#8220;</span><span>I put no stock in religion. By the word religion, I&#8217;ve seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called ‘The Word of God!’&#8230; </span><span>Holiness is in right action &#8211; and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves&#8230; And by what you decide to do everyday, you will be a good man &#8211; or not.”</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>I think I am a good man, but there is always room for improvement.</span></p>
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