Generation Kill

I was flipping through channels last night when I got to HBO and I caught the end of a snippet for a new show, Generation Kill. I immediately thought of the book I read and I was hoping it was based on the book. This morning I went online and confirmed it, HBO will air the mini-series starting in July. If you have a chance pick up the book, it’s a great read; raw, in your face, I don't give a shit I'm just reporting it how I see it. Evan Wright was embedded with the marines First Recon, they were the first to “get some”; if there was an ambush up ahead, it was there job to go in there and determine where the threat would come from. Yes, they had to put themselves in danger in order to report where the threat was located, how to avoid it, or hit it hard. This is one hell of a book that chronicles the war from boring prep days in Kuwait, to the invasion from day one. After I was done reading it I yearned for more. I'm glad it's been made into a series and hope it's as good as the book; I'm looking forward to revisiting those marines. It’s from the creators of "The Wire" so I have faith in HBO to stay true to the book, to remain filthy and raw (in a good way).

Listen to a 2003 NPR podcast where I learned of Evan Wright and his Rolling Stones Article, The Killer Elite, and interview about his book.

Marriage

I am now a married man.

Pay attention to how that sounds... I'm married! - Weird right? NO?! Well it does to me, but not in a bad way. For the latter years of my short life I was single, single but attached, dating, living with someone, etc., but now I am MARRIED! I warned my wife that it will take at least two years to get use to this new term that's been attached to us, but do not fret, I'll try to get it down in half that time :-)

Now that I've been married a bit over a month I frequently get asked, “How does it feel?” I answer that it feels good but nothing has really changed; Alicia and I have been living together for more than a year and been together for nearly seven. I'm more aware of the responsibility that comes from a marriage and that you no longer make choices as if you were an individual; you have to take into account that someone else has a say on things, and consideration is needed. On a post on my flickr page I noted -“we’ll encounter some bumps along the way, but its our love and the extra something we’ve always had, that will make it easy to overcome those experiences that in the end will bring us closer together. “ – and so far it has been true. I know that so far it's been a cake walk, but the reality is that we eventually will face some trying and difficult times, but like I noted above, everything will turn out fine.

I Finally Took Action

I'm a person who is informed and aware of issues both at a local and global level, and several times I've told myself I should be more involved, sadly I haven't done it at all, but this past Saturday I finally took a small step. On Saturday November 17th I participated in a walk, an event aimed at ending homelessness in Los Angeles County. I learned about the walk through an article from my favorite LA Times writer, Steve Lopez, this is when I decided to take action. I received a total of $250 in donations, a great amount for only having 3 days to collect. When I was walking I thought about all the families and individuals that will be benefiting from this great cause, and how nearly 4000 joined this wonderful event. I plan to make this even an annual, for myself and my family. I still excited about what I did, and even got a chance to meet the mayor of our city Antonio Villaraigosa, before the walk. A debt of gratitude to all of those who donated, without you, this would not have been possible.

Here is more info on Home Walk LA and more pictures below.