Images After DC Snow Storm 2010

For those of you curious about the Weather-palooza (aka DC Snow storm 2010) that happened here in DC, here are some pictures of the…devastation. Taken on February 6, 201o.

It’s a Record Setting Snow Storm…Not a Zombie Attack.

If you watch the news or constantly check Weather.com, you probably know by now that there’s a pretty epic snow storm going on here in Washington DC. The picture above encapsulates all you need to know about the more human side of the storm, made possible by the Gawker Blog.

It’s from a supermarket here in the District. An bit of an overreaction don’t you think?

Seems like the Day After Tomorrow has arrived. Being a California boy, this snow is a bit overwhelming. But why all the panic?

Then again, the Superbowl is this Sunday.

The Five Guys Fight

After much delay, I’m back in the blogosphere. The bigger news is that I’m back in my mecca, Washington.  The past month has been busy, which naturally happens when making a move from California to Washington DC. Alas, I’m finally in and have been settled in for a good three weeks or so.

DC is the most mind-boggling city I’ve encountered for more reasons than one. With this being the case, I shouldn’t be surprised when I encounter peculiar situations on more than one occasion.

That brings me to the gang fight showdown happening at Five Guys during my first week back.

Five Guys, by the way,  is an East Coast burger joint that is the placebo equivalent of In n’ Out ( I do mean that. In n’ Out still holds a special place in my heart).

Anyway, I went up to the counter at the Columbia Heights Five Guys to order my burger. I get it and sit down to partake of an amazingly good burger that will do me well for as long as I’m in Washington.

As I’m peacefully chomping down my grilled onion with A1 sauce burger, there’s a commotion going on with some people behind me. I couldn’t tell who they were. All of a sudden, some Hispanic guy comes inside the restaurant to call out someone behind me…to fight outside

The guy behind me refuses. The instigator exits the door.

Matter over…or so I thought.

Next, there’s some commotion going on outside. Apparently, the kids in the DC school district just got out of school. So, at first I perceived these kids to be the normal afternoon crowd accumulating around the 3 or 4 o’clock hour.

I was partially correct, but also partially mistaken. These kids were here because there’s more about to go down.

It turns these kids are actually crowding around the the outside windows of Five Guys to watch something.

The sizzling burgers? The making of Cajun fries? Not quite.

Before I know it, the instigator comes back into the store with a splintered broomstick, waving around much like a Mexican-ized Bruce Lee.

At that point, due to my mom instilling an intuitive sense of street smarts in me, goes up to the counter to let the burger people know.

“Something’s about to go down here, I said. “And you better call the cops.”

And with that, I headed out the door faster than someone could mutter “Five Guys.”

As I peeked over my shoulder while heading rapidly down the Columbia Heights Metro, three things happened.

1. The burger flippers tried to break up the fight.

2. I could hear some cop sirens get closer.

3. I was glad I got out of there.

According to the security guard I talked to before getting back on the Metro, I learned that gangs are a particular problem in the Columbia Heights quarter of town, particularly with Hispanic gangs. With me being an Hispanic, I’m certainly glad I got out of there in time.

In the city where a black man sits in the White House, the city still has its racial problems.

Is anyone puzzled by that as much as I am? Welcome back to DC, Chris Guzman.

Guzman, we (possibly) have a problem.

With the attempted terrorist attack aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has supposedly implemented stricter security measures. These new screenings are, from what I hear, quite inconvenient. They include the implementation of full body scanners in certain airports.

Nacho Libre once said that beneath the clothes lies a man. And beneath the man is his nucleus.

With new regulations unnecessarily screening every single passenger boarding a commercial airliner, the federal government is already able to see what lies beneath many men, women, and children.

Never mind screening people actually fitting the profile of an airline terrorist (ahem…).

The new security procedures might eventually affect me…especially if the TSA resorts to scanning what lies beneath the man (i.e. the insides of a passenger).  You see, I have a plastic tube in my head for a medical condition I’ve had since five (i.e. Hydrocephalus. Google it or look at that cool picture above).

With new body scanners in place, I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if I got pulled over more than once when I fly next week. From the images above, that tube looks like a fuse to a bomb in my intestine (or something like that).

Commence super-paranoid TSA workers!

News flash: It’s not a bomb.

“No, officer. It’s not a bomb. It’s a tube to drain fluid from my head. I got it when I was 5 years old…blah, blah, blah…”

“Sure it is, Guzman. Have a nice trip…to Guantanamo Bay”

I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to explain this more than once to the three airports I’ll encounter . Next thing you know, Christopher A. Guzman will be on the “Terrorist watch list” and eventually  the “no fly list.” Before you know it, I’ll be headed for a discounted (i.e. taxpayer subsidized) vacation to the Guantanamo Bay Cuban Cabana Resort.

Never mind that I’m a Mexican-American.

This should be fun (as long as the guys at Guantanamo don’t deprive me of sleep by playing Miley Cyrus all night).

I’ll keep you guys posted.

Sports Moments of the “Decade”

Let me say first off that I’m a little annoyed with the dispute about whether the decade ended a few days ago or whether it’s supposed to end next year. Whatever the case is, ESPN has an excellent montage of the high points and low points of the last “decade” in sports.

If you’re a sports connoisseur, this is definitely for you. And what better way to set the mood for displaying the decade’s iconic sports moments other than setting them to the tune of Coldplay’s “Clocks”?

Well done, ESPN. Well done.

New Year. No Limits.

I was watching ESPN’s “Red Bull: New Year. No Limits” special on ESPN. Every New Year’s Eve, Red Bull sponsors some extreme event where some guy does a stunt likely to kill him…should something go terribly wrong. This year, as Travis Pastrana made his 274 foot jump across a Long Beach harbor, nothing thankfully went awry.

Something you may not have known about me is that I’m secretly an extreme sports fan. I attended the X-Games at Staples Center a few years back when I was a senior in high school. That’s where the magic began.

If I wasn’t going to be covering politics, I think there’s a chance I would have been a guy like Travis Pastrana or Robbie Maddison. That would have been quite cool when I think about it. Cool bike (or car), free gear from the sponsors, and (yes) all the Red Bull I can get my hands on.

Then again, it probably wouldn’t have been a great idea to have done those stunts considering the plastic tube in my head.

And then there’s the mom factor. She’s young as it is and I wouldn’t want to have sped up her age with my antics.

Although I must say that, if the job to be a stuntman for the Dark Knight was open, I’d probably not pass that up.

But alas (yes, that “alas” is for you Zack), I am neither an X-Games nor stunt man extraordinaire.

I have the tool that governments fear, that corrupt corporations loathe, and that fringe groups love.

Who knew that a small pen could take down the powerful forces of evil?

For me, 2010 will be a new year with no limits.

What some churches call “worship.”

While laughable for its cheesiness, it’s extremely disturbing to see this video. I hope something like this isn’t as widespread in the Christian church as I think it is. But I’m probably wrong.

The church is to engage the culture, but it shouldn’t be conformed to it (Romans 12:1-2).

I’m not arguing against Christians listening to secular music. I’m arguing its use in a “worship” service, in a time set a part specifically for the Lord.

While the original context was to address the use of spiritual gifts, didn’t Paul admonish the Corinthian church to conduct their services with order (1 Corinthians 14)? This “worship leader” makes a mockery of the biblical principle by asking his audience to take off their shoes and to spin their “sockies” in air.

The Bible calls Christians to bear a good testimony to those who are outside. How does the church live this out if they’re journeying into the realm that’s nonsensical and comical? Has the contemporary church become nothing but a circus?

God is not a God of confusion, but of order.

It’s a fallacy to say that all Christian churches are screwed up, but it’s probably not too far fetched to say that true Biblically-abiding churches are in the minority.

Can you spell A-m-a-z-i-n-g?

Yep. That’s right.

Having some fun at “Chuck” Filming in Los Angeles Union Station.

After hanging at Master’s for the day, I arrived at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles at around 8:00pm on Friday. As I passed the Traxx Restaurant on the way out, I noticed it was closed for business because there was a film crew in there. Turns out they were filming an episode for next season’s Chuck, a sitcom on NBC. [I don't watch it and have no idea what it's about]

I decided to stick around to watch the production in process for a bit. While seeing film crews in Los Angeles is quite the norm, I’m still interested in the whole effort that goes into making a big time Hollywood production. I also wanted to find some humor in the situation,um, responsibly. No, I didn’t crash the scene. Here’s the two things I did do:

1. Some normal lady walked up to me to ask me what was going on. I said they were filming. She asked if anybody famous was in the restaurant. Just for the heck of it, I said “Tom Cruise” to get her reaction. As expected, she almost flipped into a fit of excitement, replying “TOM CRUISE?!?!?! REALLY?!?!” Calmly, I smiled “No, just kidding” Disappointed she walked away. I hope I didn’t  spoil her night. She was a good sport about it and chuckled a bit.

2. Of course, the restaurant was roped off. I was standing right up against the rope watching the production when some guy comes up to me. “You work here?,” he asks me. Considering my incredibly good looks and my Hollywood swagga, I replied, “Yeah, I’m an actor.” “Huh?,” he replies. “Yeah, you want you want my autograph?” “Yeah, you need to back away from the rope because they’re filming right now” Humbled from my high horse, I backed away because heeding authority is a good Christian testimony.

Lesson: Security guards may be termed “rent-a-cops.” But they know a poser when they see one. Serious conversation.

I thought Mr. Security Guard was another  commuting Angelino. It was only after he turned his back that I saw “SECURITY” printed across his back. I like to have fun every once in a while and wasn’t really trying to convince him that I was famous. I didn’t want to give him trouble. I respect the guy for doing his job because it’s guys like him that keep order in a crazy city like Los Angeles. The guy probably does his job to support his family. Nay, he probably works both a day and a night job.

Three lessons to take away from this post:

1. Respect security guards.

2. Don’t be a poser.

3. I am one good looking guy with a swagger cooler than Hollywood.

Movie Night: The Killing Fields

So I started reading a book called Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and not the Problem. It’s a very interesting read thus far. What author Jay Richards seeks to do is lay out the case for capitalism as being the best system that will alleviate poverty. His main goal is to examine capitalism in light of Jesus’s teachings. In flipping through the book, he also apeals to a lot economists, facts, and data. It doesn’t seem to be one of those fluffy, feel good books for sure. I will for sure evaluate what he says in light of biblical interpretation.

Anyway, his tour of socialism and communism throughout history is very clear and easy to understand. He mentions a movie called The Killing Fields, which I am very interested in seeing. It’s about a New York Times Reporter who catalogues the Pol Pot regime and ends up receiving a Pulitzer Prize for his whole account. As far as the movie’s accuracy, I’ll find out soon enough. From what I’ve seen so far in the trailer, it’s usually movies like this that tend to be an eye opener to the atrocities that have taken place in history.

Aside from reading about the Pol Pot regime in historical accounts, the moving visual tends to provide a whole new perspective of the suffering that has taken place at the hands of brutal dictators. From a Christian perspective, we can look at it as testimony to the fallen nature of mankind, attempting to bring heaven on earth apart from God.