Frank Sinatra: The Legend

A lot of people find it hard to believe that a 17 yr. old kid like me would know Frank Sinatra. I mean, who wouldn’t like Frank Sinatra? He’s one of the greatest people who have ever walked the face of the Earth. Why? You may ask, well let me justify my statement.

Why does it say “The Legend” in the title? Well that’s because it is true. Frank Sinatra was and still is a legend. He wrote songs that would make you cry and feel happy at the same time. His songs had meaning, they had life. They told a wonderful story that would just make you stop what you are doing and just listen to the song.

Unlike the songs now, the songs that Frank Sinatra wrote and sang from the deepest part of his heart. He poured himself into his work. He was truly an artist who mastered his craft.    

  

He has inspired a lot of young artists nowadays, just like Michael Buble, Charlie Green and many more. These artists also follow the footsteps of Sinatra, they sing with all their hearts. They are able to make a connection with their listeners. Because they know that entertaining and giving the people what they want is worth more than money.

As for me, I stay inspired and influenced by Frank Sinatra (though I might not have a good voice).  He makes me remember the times when my grandmother would play a vinyl record on the record player. Those were one of the happiest thoughts I have. Ultimately, Frank Sinatra transports you to a happy thought. He makes you feel better. He is unique.

Tim Burton: The Film Artist

      An artist. A husband. A legend.  

    

      If you love strange, weird, absurd and surreal movies, then Tim Burton’s films are for you. He is one of the best directors for that description. This is because Tim Burton embraces the different. He dwells in a place where others dare not go. He is an iconoclast.

          Being iconoclastic is one of Tim Burton’s fortes. He also pairs up with very interesting talents, such as Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The odd pair makes up most of Tim Burton’s movies. And if you have seen some of them, well let’s just say that you were in for a treat. Tim Burton plus those two would be the perfect movie.

          Tim Burton is diverse in his work. Ranging from the comedy thriller “Beetlejuice” to the stop motion film “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Being this diverse, he is able to put his self in to the characters in the movie. Just like Sally in “The Nightmare Before Christmas “he said in an interview that "Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas is stitched together because these are symbols of the way I feel. Being loosely stitched together and constantly trying to pull yourself together, so to speak, is just a strong feeling for me. In a great fairytale you always get these weird images that are symbolic of something else." This only shows how amazing a director and artist Tim Burton is.

          To those who do not know, one of the reasons why Helena Bonham Carter is always in Burton’s films is because she’s his wife. That makes the both of them the perfect weird couple in the history of relationships. This makes them capable to work with each other comfortably. This in turn gives us great movies to watch.

          Tim Burton is a legend in his own way. He is the only one out there of his kind. No one can imitate Burton’s ways; we can only be inspired and influenced by his ‘strange awesomeness’. He helps us realize that it is OK to be a little different. It is OK to be who we really are. And that sometimes being different makes us beautiful creatures. 

Ryan Higa: The YouTube Sensation

          Ryan Higa isn’t your everyday guy. He inspires people through YouTube. He is a YouTube sensation.

          Ryan Higa’s YouTube channel is “Nigahiga” for those of you who do now know. His videos range from rants to parodies of movie trailers. He also does videos with other “YouTuber” like Dominique Sandoval a.k.a “D-Trix”, Chester See, Andrew Garcia, Jr Aquino, Shawn Fujiyoshi and other fun people of YouTube.

          Ryan Higa started making videos since he was still in high school for his family to watch. He realized he had fun doing them and made some more just for fun. After some time, he heard of the YouTube and started to post his videos there. Soon enough, a lot of people started watching them. This then lead to his fame.       

          Ryan has become one of the biggest YouTube stars in the industry. He has set standards and has been the inspiration of hundreds, if not hundreds then thousands of other YouTubers to indulge in what they love, and that is entertaining people with their videos. He is the reason why a lot of us visit YouTube. He is the reason why some of our days get better.

          People like Ryan Higa are the reason why a lot of us work hard for our passion. We are inspired by them. They play such big roles in our lives, because they open our eyes to bigger possibilities. Possibilities that make a nobody(us) into a somebody in society.

          

Raymond "Monds" Fernandez

A father, an artist, a legend; Mr. Raymond Fernandez is many things, yet what truly defines him is his love for art. He is a professor at my school and he teaches a variety of classes, from Art History to Figure Drawing. He is truly inspiring, and that is why I am going to write about him.

Mr. Monds is down to earth. He sees life in a different way; he sees life as if it is a big piece of art that we all have to figure out. Given this, he is able to transmute it in his art; his passion is what drives him to create great masterpieces.

At first glance, you might see Sir Monds as the stereotypical artist, long hair, and loose clothes. But once you get a chance to talk to him, your whole outlook of him would change. It’s because he talks about things, as I said, in a different way.  He is open-minded about things which make being an artist better.

Being a father, he is able to teach his kids about life. He is the boatman to their journey through the river of life. He guides them in their endeavors and teaches them what is right and what is wrong, while at the same time giving them enough space to think about it themselves. He also keeps them intact with their faith in God (He grew up studying in a Jesuit school).

To me, Sir Monds is legendary, why? because of the fact that he is one of the best artist in Cebu, and by the fact that he is a visionary. He envelopes his art in what he sees in life, be it problems, happiness, and even love. He expresses these with so much emotion that you want to make art yourself. He is a truly inspiring man.

Jack Johnson: The Peaceful

Jack Johnson is the embodiment of peace, love, and harmony. His lyrics are full of meaning and are able to move the innings of any human being.

The devotion and effort he puts in his songs is insurmountable. And the effect it has on his followers is equally expressed. He sings about love, peace, and common things we experience in our day to day lives, and that we should value the little things.  His songs make you wanna dance to like there's nothing left to do but be happy.

Album Cover for "Brushfire Fairytales"

Jack Johnson was born in a life full of waves. Literally. This was because he was raised on the northern shores of Oahu, Hawaii. He grew up to be one of the well known surfers in the area and at the same time, he was able to get a degree in film and music production. He pursued his love for music and was able to release his debut album “Brushfire Fairytales” in 2001.

Johnson also directed and starred in two of his films. This only makes him more inspiring and amazing. He moves people and brings them to a state of completeness, where they find themselves and in finding themselves in pure honesty they are inspired to do their own art.

Another reason why Jack Johnson is so motivating, it's because his music is so big that it exceeds one individual that he has to divulge the greatness to other people so it spreads like a musical virus that is true to the soul of humanity.

Johnny Depp: The Strange

People who do not know Johnny Depp should be ashamed of themselves (just kidding). Johnny Depp is an icon and an inspiration to all of us. Why is he strange? Well I’m here to explain that.

If you look up ‘strange’ in the dictionary, it would define the word as “Out of the ordinary or Differing from the normal”. The definition fits Johnny Depp perfectly like a sock on a smelly foot. To me, Johnny Depp is the epitome of acting and of actors; from his portrayal of Donnie Basco to his perfect performance as the loopy Captain Jack Sparrow was just extraordinary.

He delivers his performance in a golden platter. He is one of the most talented people on earth. He’s not only an actor; he is a father, a husband and a great friend to his friends.

Though Johnny Depp has gone through a lot of turns and loop-de-loops in his roller coaster life, he managed to regain composure and stride on with ease. These loop-de-loops include drugs, women, and bad career choices. But I believe that these mistakes were only lessons learnt.

Here is Johnny Depp portraying Willy Wonka

I consider Johnny Depp as one of my heroes, because he gives off this aura that instantly makes you comfortable with him. If you are able to watch his movies, they are really diverse, from his strange portrayal of Willy Wonka to his awesome rendering of Frank Tupelo and Alexander Pearce in “The Tourist”.

As Frank Tupelo/Alexander Pearce in The Tourist

Given all his work, the man dares to be different. He inspires us to be different in our own way. He inspires us to be unique. Because being unique is one thing we all have inside of us. It enables us to live our lives by our standards, just as Johnny Depp acts; he acts by his own rules, by what he believes is right and unique.

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley: The Symbol of Freedom

You could see the emotion Bob Marley puts in his performance.

I would say that Bob Marley was a hero. A hero in his own way, a hero in the way he played his music. A savior of the people through the beauty of his lyrics, He was a symbol, an icon.

A lot of people may know Bob Marley as the man who sang reggae songs and smoked a lot of marijuana when he was still alive. To most of the population, Bob Marley was a just another musical sensation. But, do they really know who Bob Marley is? How he changed history? How powerful his influence was? The sad thing is, they don't. Well, at least most of them don't.

Robert Nesta Marley was brought into the world by Noval Marley a white Jamaican and Cedella Marley a black Jamaican. During those times being born with that combination would be, as they would say it "bad juju" or "bad vibes". Born into a world full of hate,as he grew up Bob started, little by little, to realize what was happening around him.

Here's a photo of Bob Marley and the Wailers

Later in his life, he formed a local reggae band, which was called Bob Marley and the Wailers. The main movement of his band was about educating the people about what was happening around them. Since a lot of his fellow men were not able to acquire a standard in education. A lot of the locals couldn't read, therefore hindering them from the privilege of knowing what was happening around them. 

Through his music, he was able to open the eyes of thousands of exploited and helpless people. He helped them realize the reality of their situation. He alleviated the hammer that was pounding nails of tyranny on top of the people’s heads. This is the reason why Bob Marley was so influential

He sang his songs with pure emotion. He held back no feelings; he poured all of them in his songs. Whether the song was for love, for dance music, or to protest and educate. He was able to convey a message of peace.

To this day, Bob Marley is still influencing a lot of people. From students to big time artists, he helped all them in some point of their lives. So what are you waiting for? Try listening to Bob Marley. And to those of you who have heard of him, keep the faith. Jah Bless.

Gandhi: The Pacifistic Warrior

            We all know the name “Gandhi”, but do we all know the story behind the name? The sad fact is, no, we don’t know the story behind it.

            Mahatma Gandhi was a brilliant man. He believed in protesting through non-violent acts. He was one of the most influential people in the world.

            A lot of peace groups revolve around the teachings and influence of Gandhi. Just like the Gandhi Institute for Peace, they dedicate their time in educating people about peace and how we should approach life. Gandhi’s influence on the world is so great that people begin to change; they evolve in to peace loving individuals, individuals who prefer peace and love over war and hate.

            Being the catalyst of change during his time, Gandhi was under great threat. When he conducted non-violent protests against the British rule, armed guards would react to the situation with such violence that numbers of people would get injured and or die. But no matter how violent the British troops would react to the protesters, Gandhi’s followers would never fight back. It is because of their faith and how influenced they are by Gandhi.

              Even when taken to court for false charges pleaded out guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. As he was imprisoned, he began a hunger strike which resulted in a success. After two years in prison, he was released and followed by a surgery because of ulcer. It is this strong dedication to his advocacy that Mahatma Gandhi planted a seed of hope in the Indians, that soon they would be independent. They would be free.

            To sum things up, Gandhi is the ultimate pacifist. When faced with violence, he would counter with love and peaceful words. He made the British look evil through his actions of non-violent protest. He conducted one of the greatest non-violent revolutions in history.

            All of us should take Gandhi as one of our greatest inspirations. We should be peace loving people. We should learn to understand each other’s sides and react to them properly. So we can achieve a world full of peace and love.

"Be a change if you want to see change in the world." 

Salvador Dali: The Drug

            A wise and crazy artist once said, “I am not on drugs, I am drugs” That artist is no other than the great Salvador Dali.

The surrealist, Salvador Dali is a Spanish artist who changed the face of art in a huge scale. He is one of the greatest components of surreal art.  To be clear this is not a biography, this is how Dali inspired millions of people, I included.

Dali’s art is one of a kind, just like all other artist’s out there. It had created a colossal impact, because of the way he portrays life in his art. Being a surrealist, he is one unique and creative monkey. Surreal art in its movement is really hard to understand when seen through the eyes of an untrained eye, but when you look at Dali’s works of unimaginable art, you can really feel the emotion and devotion he has really put in to it.

            Being an artist myself, I have grown fond and am biased to Salvador Dali. To me he is the definition of an artist; he is a free spirited individual; he is open-minded; he is uniquely bizarre; and most of all he is weird out of context.

He is free spirited because he is able to express what he feels freely in his art. A lot of artists struggle with this. Rather than putting themselves in their art, which by the way is what matters most. Art is about trying to satisfy your feelings, not about if others might not like your art.

He is open-minded, because he accepts new concepts. He incorporates these new concepts in to his art. This only makes him an even better artist. From this, he is able to improve over time. (Though not anymore, since he is already deceased.)

He is uniquely bizarre, because again he is one of a kind. He is a person with a different view of life. He is able to read between the lines and see the grey in every black and white picture.

Lastly, he is weird. A lot of you might ask why, he is weird because he is an artist. He constructs his own world in his head. And when an artist can do this, then he has accomplished a great goal.

               By these traits, Dali reminds us all that there is an artist within us. All we need to do is give it a kick start. Let’s be weird all together. 

Intro to "PEOPLE"

                     

We all know that each one of us is different from the other. These differences are what make us unique.     And from this uniqueness we all have we are able to be of big influence to others. This is what makes people interesting to write about.

My personal favorite. Salvador Dali

People like; Salvador Dali the Surrealist; Albert Einstein the Genius; Leonardo da Vinci the Visionary; Carl Sagan the Astronomer; and my favorite (this is probably biased) Uzi Emperado the Local Artist. These are some of the people who have very interesting stories to tell. Most of the people I am going to write about have influenced masses all around the world.

Carl Sagan

Though some of these very significant people have already passed away, their memory lives on. It lives on through the books, biographies, and stories told by other people. Through these stories we gain influence, we are inspired and therefore become better human beings who capable of living a productive and fulfilled life.

Influence and inspiration are what drives us to become better at life. It enables us to follow our dreams and overcome our darkest nightmares. It directs us and guides us to reach our goals. That’s why I want to write about influential people. I want more of the masses to know about them, so that they too would be inspired and later on influenced by the greatness of the people I’m going to write about.