Carlos Andrés TorresCarlos Andrés Torres

VOTA – Love Found Me

Carlos — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:23:01 +0000

Support this cause just by spreading the word

Tags: love found me, nepal, vota, vota band

Daft Punk – Get Lucky

Carlos — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:14:49 +0000

One of the most original songs this year and yes that’s quite the contradiction but it’s also what separates good music from crappy radio music nowadays anyway. The originality doesn’t come from the fact that it’s something new, because it’s a very familiar sound, but from the fact that no one else can do it the way Daft Punk does it. Their entire album, Random Access Memories is streaming for free on iTunes for a limited time and it’s quite superb. This isn’t cookie-cutter in any way and it’s what real artists put together. Get Lucky is only the beginning.

Tags: daft punk, get lucky, itunes, mp3, random access memories

Endeavour

Carlos — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:46:16 +0000

Recently visited the new home of Endeavour at the California Science Center. Although I’ve seen the space shuttles fly over town on occasion in the past, I’ve never been that close to one before and Endeavour is a wonder to behold! It’s only sitting inside a temporary building for now and the new wing that will house it will actually have the shuttle right side up with the boosters and fuel tank attached to it. It should be a bigger wonder to behold. $2 to see it for now, is very well worth the visit.

Tags: california, center, endeavour, museum, science, space shuttle

MAD MEN – Season 6

Carlos — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:26:58 +0000

Season 6 of Mad Men finally began and unfortunately the 2-hour season opener felt way too disconnected from the events of last season. Although I would like to say that I live vicariously through one Don Draper, his latest conquest just didn’t fit. Yes, I know, who wasn’t in love with Linda Cardellini when she first appeared in Freaks & Geeks? And yes she’s still a very attractive woman, but her character just didn’t lend anything to the arc of the story. Don’s fling with her seemed rushed. If they wanted him to have this affair, they should have flirted with doing so for another episode or so. All the characters were way disconnected with how their lives were changing last season, but I know they’ll bring it all back together beginning this week. Also, it’s way late in the 60s, very early in the 70s and the characters are losing their elegance a bit. They’re too scruffy, not as clean cut as they were and the women, although stunning still, are beginning to move toward looser personalities, not the prim and lady like attitude they used to have. I almost have no idea what happened that last episode, it’s like the season has yet to begin. There’s always some bizarro episode in every series, that one episode where the writers ran out of ideas but that usually happens mid-season. Like I said before, this is certainly the beginning of the end but I have the confidence that it will only get better as it goes on, it always does.

Tags: amc, christina hendricks, don draper, elisabeth moss, january jones, jon hamm, Mad men

“What is Regina?”

Carlos — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:27:23 +0000

The single best line of script from Mad Men Season 5!! I just finished watching Season 5 and what an exceptional season it was. I know that the show probably hit its peak a year ago and that it’s probably on its last 2 to 3 season decline but there’s no doubt that this remains one of the smartest, best scripted and best acted shows on TV. Season 5 hit a bit of a dull halfway through it but the bookends of the beginning and end were utterly amazing. Season 6 begins in just a couple of weeks so I couldn’t be happier to finally finish Season 5. Netflix also just announced today that Season 5 is up on their streaming service, all perfect timing. My new hero, Don Draper, has shown some vulnerabilities but he still remains a tough rock, even as he continues to live a separate life from the one he was given. We said goodbye to a couple of characters, or at least I think we did?! One for obvious reasons, but the other one, I’m not so sure about. Season 6 promises to be exceptional and as riveting as this one was. I’m not going to wait til it’s over to watch it, I can’t.

Tags: amc, beachbody, don draper, elisabeth moss, jon hamm, Mad men, netflix

Los Angeles Galaxy 2013

Carlos — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:33:57 +0000

Coming off back-to-back MLS Cup Championships, this Galaxy team looks a bit different but the core remains so we’ll see what comes of this season. Beckham is gone, Donovan is on a short hiatus and there are a lot of teams around the league that have upgraded whilst the Galaxy haven’t done much dealing in the off season but this is a group that’s been together a while and a group that knows how to jell. Yesterday’s 4-0 thrashing of the Chicago Fire only serves to prove that our defense, as long as it remains healthy, is going to be very hard to score on. We have a new goalkeeper and he’s a world class athlete, so I can’t fault him too much for a couple of gaffes that almost cost us, those won’t happen again. Robbie Keane will find his clinical form shortly and as long as Magee is scoring the way he did yesterday, we may just be in good shape this season. Donovan will be back shortly and that can only bolster our attack. There have been a lot of improvements on a lot of team’s parts and this season is going to be tough. A 4-0 first win doesn’t say that much, considering the long schedule but the Galaxy should be contenders come playoff time. In the West it’s still going to be tough to get past the likes of San Jose, Real Salt Lake and Seattle but the Galaxy’s just the team to do so, the way they have time after time. It was nice having David Beckham here but it’s time to move on, it’s all about the name on the jersey, not the player.

Tags: football, futbol, landon donovan, los angeles galaxy, major league soccer, mls, robbie keane

2013 Academy Awards – Update

Carlos — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 02:41:07 +0000

UPDATED – The 2013 Oscar nominations have been out for a while and I’m still on that elusive hunt to see all the Best Picture nominees before the ceremony, February 24th. Let me give you my opinion on who should win this year along with my disgust at the Academy for completely botching up the Best Director race. It is a complete disgrace that Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow aren’t even nominated for their films Argo and Zero Dark Thirty respectively. How is it that Ben Affleck has already won the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe for Best Director and isn’t even nominated for an Oscar? Total and utter disgrace. From what I’ve seen so far these two films are the most riveting, suspenseful and outstanding pieces of work this year and it’s going to be a sad day when their director’s names aren’t even heard during the ceremony. Ok, enough of my filibustering here, these are the nominees and my predictions:

Best Picture
Amour – Disturbingly powerful film. Could snatch a couple of Oscars here and there.
Argo – Fun, riveting, suspenseful, great story telling. MY WINNER!
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Nice piece of filmaking that showcases a life and a people we’ve probably never ever seen before on the big screen.
Django Unchained – Awesome flick in that style and storytelling that only Tarantino can provide.
Les Misérables – I’ve yet to see this movie.
Life of Pi – Awesome story with some amazing visuals. Nice trip across one person’s life experience and its meaning.
Lincoln – Awesome movie and Daniel Day-Lewis was Lincoln incarnate.
Silver Linings Playbook – Cool movie, it’s the “independent” of the lot. Great performances by the entire cast.
Zero Dark Thirty – Awesome, awesome story and a great job by Kathryn Bigelow, totally riveting.

Best Director
Amour (Michael Haneke)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
Life of Pi (Ang Lee)
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)
Lincoln (Steven Spielberg) MY WINNER!
Sadly, I could have probably done without Benh and David O. Rusell in this category, the slots where Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow should have fit. Steven Spielberg should get this.

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper
Daniel Day-Lewis – MY WINNER! This is not even close!
Hugh Jackman
Joaquin Phoenix
Denzel Washington
Huge shame that John Hawkes wasn’t nominated for The Sessions, his was the only performance that actually brought tears to my eyes. He could have taken Denzel’s spot.

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain – MY WINNER!
Jennifer Lawrence
Emmanuelle Riva
Quvenzhané Wallis
Naomi Watts
One of the weakest races in years, it’s a bit of a shootout between Jessica and Jennifer but I don’t think they’ll cancel each other. The Academy may still remain the political pricks they are and go with Jennifer but this should go to Jessica for the strongest female performance of the year.

Tags: 2013, academy awards, argo, life of pi, lincoln, oscar, zero dark thirty

NEWSBOYS: Top 10 Songs – #1

Carlos — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:45:19 +0000

I was sitting in church back in the early 90s, probably with my closest friends all around me, all on a typical wednesday night and as we sat there the pastor’s wife started relating a story about a young girl that was having some serious health issues. We prayed for her and in what seems like a short amount of days, perhaps a week or two after, we found out that this girl had departed to be with God. Her name was Holly, I never met her, never really knew what connection she had with our church, all I know is that she was probably our age and for some reason that impacted me a lot. I remember sketching her name, being sad about the situation, and at the same time imagining that I will someday see her face to face and perhaps I’ll be able to tell her that one night, a long time ago I prayed for her. This brings me to my #1 song, Elle G. from the Newsboys’ Going Public album. As far as I can tell this is a story about a girl who died way too young to be forgotten and to not be concerned about. I have no idea who wrote the song, whether it was from personal experience or if it was a second-hand story, all I know is that intrigues me to no end as to who this girl was and how true the lyrics are. I wish I could ask someone about this song, about this story, about this girl, to find out how this all happened and why it had to happen. Video and more after the jump

The song tells of an apparent suicide, of someone lost, with no hope, no answers. It tells a very telling picture about how the devil can get a grip on our lives and how without God, without help, without someone to point the way or shed some light, there’s barely any hope. This hopelessness overcame this person and someone was very impacted by what happened. The closest to a complete story, told via song, this song has two of my most favorite lyrics of all time: “Any shade is as good as the next, if your shadow doesn’t go there.” and “How can we return, that which we never could earn.” If you understand salvation, hope, even love, you will understand those lyrics. One of the main aspects drilled by this song is overcoming evil with good. Regardless of what you do in life, there’s no easier way of overcoming the bad things in life, the bad things you see, than by doing good. Whoever wrote this song has the same ambition of seeing this person once again, the same way I hope I will someday see Holly also. Very powerful song, one that probably isn’t in most Newsboys fan’s radars but one that should be. My #1.

Straight out of Romans 12, here’s what the bible says about Love and how to behave against evil:
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Tags: ccm, christian, entertaining angels, God, Jesus, Music, newsboys