A Gentleman’s Touch: Philadelphia Winter Photo Shoot

by Jeremy Carden

During this time of the year, cold weather means bundling up under layers of coats and sweaters in order to keep warm. However, A Gentlemen’s Touch (AGT) once again demonstrates how to dress in certain conditions. AGT held a photo shoot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

There might have been diversity in the clothing, but the overall theme was about remaining fashionable and most importantly warm. Footwear ranged from loafers to boots according to the outfit being worn.

Some participants even included scarves and hats which are common items of clothing for the cooler temperatures.

No heavy jackets were worn, the man instead chose to wear: jean jackets, sweaters or light vests.

Some of the accessories included: bow ties, watches, rings and bracelets for men. Overall, the photo shoot demonstrated that cold weather does not necessarily mean heavy winter wear is a must. Sometimes lighter clothing can work well in cooler conditions just as well as heavy coats and jackets.

Looking at the photos it is easy to see that these outfits allow a lot more easier movement than the standard large coat or heavy boots most people chose to wear.

Just as the individual pieces of a puzzle are put together to form a beautiful picture, the same can be said about picking up an outfit. AGT can be summed up in a one word: class.

At first glance, it appears that the organization only teaches about the importance of dressing with style no matter what the occasion or weather condition. That is far from the truth because it is more to it than that. AGT reaches out to men of all age groups to teach that clothing does not make the man, but it is the man that makes the clothes. Carrying yourself with dignity, confidence and of course style can make all the difference in how you look in another person’s eyes.

For more information on A Gentleman’s Touch check out their social media websites listed below:

Facebook: A Gentleman’s Touch

Twitter: @OfficialAGT 

Tumbler: A Gentleman’s Touch 

Instagram: @AGentlemansTouch

Pokemon Theory: Ash’s Charizard will appear in Kalos and Mega Evolve

by Jeremy Carden

Now before you jump for joy keep in mind that this is just a theory that I’ve come up with. As we all know in the new X and Y games our favorite Fire Starter Pokemon was given not one but TWO Mega Evolutions.

In the Pokemon Origins special, Red’s Charizard Mega Evolved into Mega Charizard X.

The logical counterpart to that event would of course be Ash’s Charizard Mega Evolving into Mega Charizard Y.

However, going by the attacks that Charizard had in its move set when he appeared in Unova the BEST form for him to take would be Mega Charizard X.

The Tough Claws ability boosting physical attacks would work wonders for 3 of Charizard’s moves. It was shown using Wing Attack, Slash and Dragon Tail. Flamethrower is its trademark attack like Thunderbolt is for Pikachu so it is no surprise it was still one of its attacks.

Regardless as to which form it takes on after Mega Evolving, I’d imagine that Charizard would be used in the finale of the Kalos League. Who knows perhaps Ash will have a Mega Stone for each Mega Evolution!

Based on the photo above, it would make sense for Pikachu and Charizard to have the same number of league finales.

In Kanto, Charizard’s refusal to battle was what caused Ash to lose the Indigo League. Charizard was the first to faint in the battle with Harrison’s Blaziken causing Ash to lose the Silver Conference.

Now we get to the “Pikachu trend” this is when Ash is in a league full battle with no other active Pokemon in his team but Pikachu. Tyson’s Meowth in boots just barely scrapped a victory in the Hoenn League. Despite a double K.O. with Tobias’ Latios, Ash was defeated once again since his opponent still had 4 Pokemon left while he had none. Then in the arguably the most disgraceful league that the anime has ever produced, Pikachu was defeated by Cameron’s Lucario.

As to whether or not Ash will actually win the Kalos League has yet to be determined. Though I’m sure we’ve all recognized the trend that has taken place up until this point:

1. Ash and friends arrive at the location of the Pokemon League
2. The gang meets some random trainer that they befriend
3. Turns out this friendly trainer is also competing in the SAME competition
4. Both Ash and the trainer make it through the preliminaries into the full battle round
5. They wind up facing each other and Ash is defeated
6. The rival/friend either gets defeated in the next round or goes on to win the tournament

We can only hope that the same does not happen in Kalos and Ash actually has a chance of winning this thing!

Another thing to take into consideration is that Charizard is now at Professor Oak’s lab and not in the Johto region’s Charicific Valley. This could mean easier access for Ash to just get the Pokeball transported from Oak’s lab rather than for Charizard to fly from Johto to Oak’s lab in Kanto to get sent from there.

There is no doubt in my mind that if Charizard reappears it will have some new moves because each time it shows up there is always a rotation of its 4 attacks.

Let’s just hope that Ash does not rely solely on the Pokemon he captures in Kalos instead of taking advantage of the large quantity of Pokemon at Oak’s lab.

Since the Kalos region is famous for Mega Evolution, it would not surprise me if there are some trainers in the league who will be using Mega Pokemon. I dare say that if Ash does meet some “friendly trainer” prior to entering the league and they battle, I could see the climax of their battle being down to Mega Evolved Pokemon!

Who knows perhaps it will be Mega Charizard X vs. Mega Charizard Y or Harrison returns for a Mega Evolution rematch of Charizard vs. Blaziken.

The possibilities are seemingly endless and based on what I’ve seen so far of the X and Y series this will be a major improvement over Unova!

Honestly I don’t care which Mega Evolution Ash’s Charizard would get as long as it appeared again in the series and actually did something unlike the Unova series. I’m sure everyone was willing to bet money that it would face off against the legendary Reshiram. The only real battle it took place in was against Iris’ Dragonite, but other than that it was just in Ash’s lineup until he arrived in Kanto once again.

Kalos is as good a time as any for Charizard to appear again, but this time for some REAL Pokemon battles! With multiple Mega Forms that it could use, I can only hope the writers do not let an opportunity like this slip through their fingers.  Going back to what I said before, the “friendly trainer” that Ash bumps into at the start of the league could be Red himself! I’ll just leave that thought there for you to consider…

Do you think Ash’s Charizard will return to its trainer’s side once more and if so will it Mega Evolve?

My Theme for 2014: Clarity

by Jeremy Carden

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Today is that time of year when everyone makes up a list of things that they want above all else! I’m not talking about writing up their Christmas List for Santa because that was last month…

Most people define New Years as a time of rebirth or a fresh start to set new goals for themselves. Everyone has something in their lives that they’d like to accomplish or obtain. Others use New Years to reflect on the old year and how they can make the New Year even better than the last one. If anything New Years is when people tell themselves and others (especially through social media) that this year will be a time when things are different.

One of the most common resolutions made by people is the lose weight. It makes sense due to Thanksgiving and Christmas being a time when people throw out their healthy lifestyle in favor of huge dinners and endless desserts. As usual, the gym will be packed for the first couple of weeks in January before it is once again empty.

In my case, I decided NOT to write up a list of things like I did last year. Within the first 3 weeks of January, at least 5 of the things on my list literally fell through causing me to panic. It was like I was plotting out every little detail of how I wanted my life to go and not how God was going to see me through it. That was one of the biggest wake up calls of my life. About two weeks ago, I decided to take out the list I made for 2013 and read through it. Getting towards the end of my list I realized that I didn’t accomplish any of my self-centered goals, but I did get other important things crossed off my list.

Back in May, I finally got my degrees from Liberty University. Last night, I took them out of my closet and for the first time since I got them in the mail…I just looked at them.

When I first got them I felt empty on the inside questioning what to do next. I did start graduate school in the fall and I’m going back in a couple of weeks. However, there is this dreary realization that my time is running out. The time that I have left in college is winding down, and the real world is waiting for me. 

Something that I want and need to stop doing is dwelling on the past and ignoring the things that I have already accomplished. Just because I am not where I want to be in life right now is no excuse for me not being thankful for what God has already helped me to achieve. Deep down I know that being more appreciative will help to make my life a little bit easier.

Also remaining humble is a positive trait to practice because I know the real world is a big world. I’ll be competing with people with the same degree(s) as me, and for the most part all of the accomplishments that people praise me for in college might not mean squat in the real world. From what I’ve seen during the internships that I’ve experienced, it is more about who you know and what you can do rather than what awards and degrees you have. 

Overall, the main thing that I hope to accomplish or obtain in 2014 is clarity. I’m going to try my best to have a more positive outlook on life and see what God is putting in front of me. That was one of my main issues in the past: not seeing what God has already put in front of me because I’m too distracted at what I want for myself.

I’m not looking for God to show me the blueprints of my entire life and answer a lot of the questions I’m sure you are wondering about:

1. Who am I supposed to marry?
2. When will I meet the person that I’m supposed to marry?
3. What job/career am I supposed to pursue?
4. Will I get hired by my dream job this year?
5. How will I pay off my student loans?
6. Will I be able to afford to move into my own place this year?

And the list goes on and on and on…

My goal is to do my best at whatever I decide to pursue in 2014. I’m not sure what the future will bring, but I am sure about who holds my future.

I hope that this is a message for someone out there that is uncertain about what to do over the next 364 days. Here’s to a New Year of endless possibilities and experiences!