No Inspiration

Back from camp, summer is over and I recently moved into a dorm. The move in was as exciting as watching peas sprout, but meeting my roommates and finding my way around campus was exciting. So far I'm enjoying it.

I honestly have nothing interesting to write about. Sorry. I'm sure I will get some inspiration within the next few days.

MTV playing music videos again

Yea I don't think so. They should just keep to their reality tv and leave it there. MTV lost the nack at showing videos in the early 90's.

If you're not hip with MTV then here's the low down. MTV started some media hype using The Hill's villains, Heidi and Spencer and Pete Wentz. If you don't know what The Hills is or who Heidi and Spencer are then I'm sorry I can't help you any further. If you don't know who Pete Wentz is, you seriously need to remove yourself from under the rock.

So the media was all about MTV playing videos again. I was excited, until for the past three days when I finally saw what 'playing videos' actually meant.

MTV has this new program called FNMTV where they allow viewers to video blog or write in a comment about the video they are playing. Way to twist the whole reality thing MTV. Sounds okay, the only problem is they play the same videos over and over and over again. I can't take it. I'm going crazy, if I have to listen to Flo Rida tell me to put my hands up in the 'ayer ayer ayer' again, I'm going to shoot myself. Also I don't want to know the desire of the Pussy Cat Dolls to grow up and have boobies, you already have them shut up. Snoops new sampled, god I really do hate the world sampled, STOLEN! song from Johnny Cash is entertaining, but I don't need to hear it 5 time in an hour, once a day is enough. And lastly the poor Ting Tings, stop over playing them, they are the only decent video that's being played a million times.

In conclusion I'm sticking to VH1 in the morning until 11, MTV still sucks at videos.

The Last Lecture

I hope many of you have heard of Randy Pausch and his book The Last Lecture, if you haven't I highly recommend you read it and get on youtube and view the actual last lecture.

Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. His amazing spirit and ability to cope with this unfathomable matter has inspired many people to follow their childhood dreams just as he did. I'm not going to tell you the whole story, you should find out yourself.

The book, a national bestseller, is a short 206 pages long and is full of useful information that Pausch wanted to leave behind for his children but is also insightful for anyone.

Paucsh had 6 childhood dreams:

1. Being in zero gravity
2. Playing in the NFL
3. Authoring an article in the World Book encyclopedia
4. Being Captain Kirk
5. Winning stuffed animals
6. Being a Disney Imagineer

He completed all but one and even though he is shy one childhood dream coming true he believes that he got more out of the person training him for that dream than actually making it come true. You will need to read the book or listen to the last lecture to find out which one it is.

The book has put new perspective into my life. When I recently changed my major from Biochemistry to English, I thought I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but I soon remembered after reading Pausch's novel, it was a childhood dream of mine to be a journalist.

Part V of the novel really was inspiring, Pausch offers advice on how to live your life the only way he knew how, by his own example.

Give Yourself Permission to dream
Hip is short term, earnest is a character trait that never leaves
Life is too short to fuss about the small things
Acknowledge your responsibility in case of damage
Don't Complain, Work harder
Treat the disease, not the symptom
Don't Obsess Over What People Think
Work in Groups
Look for the Best in Everybody
Watch actions, don't listen to words
Learn to love cliches
Experience
Get People's Attention
Hand write Thank You Notes
Be loyal
Pay it Forward
Everyone loves Thin Mints
Be prepared
Learn how to apologize
Tell the truth
Look at the whole crayon box
There is more than one way to measure profits and losses
No Job is Beneath you
Know Where You Are
Brick Walls are there for a reason
Be a Communitarian
Ask
Be Tigger
Understand Optimism and strive for it
Listen to What others have to say

It's a lot, but I'll never forget the examples that Paucsh used to explain these life changing messages.

Pausch talks about 'Head Fakes' in the book. A head fake is when someone is teaching you something but has the incentive that you learn something more meaningful in the end. It tricks you. The head fake of the book was that it was for his 3 very young children and not for the reader.

What's the head fake in this blog? That you'll go read the book? No, I know you'll read the book, I want you to read the book and take something from it as I did.

Cocaine Jesus, JESUS!

Two weeks ago Federal agents on the Texas/Mexican boarder seized a statue of Jesus made out of cocaine paste, dubbed Cocaine Jesus. Cocaine Jesus was being smuggled across the boarder by a Mexican national who said she was paid $80 to bring the statue into Texas and deliver it to him at a Laredo bus station. 61 year old Bernardino Garcia-Cordova has identified Cocaine Jesus to be his, and stated he was smuggling it into the country to give it to a man known only as "La Arana," or The Spider who resides in Dallas. The estimated street value of Cocaine Jesus, $30,000. The women defiantly got ripped off.

Exam Movie

Okay after a far deal of research I have created a list of 10 films (and synopsis) that we can fight over. I would really appreciate it if everyone gave me their top three in a comment to this blog.

In no particular order:

1) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Drama (1975)
Staring: Jack Nicholson

McMurphy thinks he can get out of doing work while in prison by pretending to be mad. His plan backfires when he is sent to a mental asylum. He tries to liven the place up a bit by playing card games and basketball with his fellow inmates, but the head nurse is after him at every turn.

2) The Departed, Action/Drama (2006)
Staring: Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen

Two just-graduated officers from Massachusetts State Police Academy follow opposite sides of the law: William Costigan is assigned to work undercover with the Irish mobster Frank Costello to get evidence to arrest him. His true identity is only known by his superiors Dignam and Oliver Queenan. The protégée of Costello, Colin Sullivan, is promoted in the Massachusetts State Police and is the informer of Costello. Each police officer gives his best effort trying to disclose the identity of the other "rat".

3) Forrest Gump, Drama (1994)
Staring: Tom Hanks, Sally Fields

Forrest, Forrest Gump is a simple man with little brain activity but good intentions. He struggles through childhood with his best and only friend Jenny. His 'mama' teaches him the ways of life and leaves him to choose his destiny. Forrest joins the army for service in Vietnam, finding new friends called Dan and Bubba, he wins medals, starts a table tennis craze, creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, create the smiley, write bumper stickers and songs, donating to people and meeting the president several times. However this is all irrelevant to Forrest who can only think of his childhood sweetheart Jenny. Who has messed up her life. Although in the end all he wants to prove is that anyone can love anyone.

4) No Country for Old Men, Drama/Thriller (2007)
Staring: Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Javier Bardem

In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss discovers the remains of several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart.

5) Donnie Darko, Sci-Fi/Mystery (2001)
Staring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze

A troubled teenager, Donnie Darko, escapes death when a jet-engine crashes in his bedroom, because he follows a giant bunny leading him outside. The bunny, called Frank, tells him that the world will end in 28 days. As the final date comes closer and closer Donnie is drawn into an alarming series of events that may or may not be a product of growing insanity.

6) Into the Wild, Biography/Drama (2007)
Staring: Vince Vaughn, William Hurt, Emile Hirsch

Based on a true story. After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters who shape his life.

7) Stand By Me, Adventure/Drama (1986)
Staring: Wil Wheaton, River Pheonix, Corey Feldman, Kiefer Sutherland, Jerry O'Connell

Based on Stephen King's Short story "The Body", "Stand By Me" tells the tale of Gordie Lachance, a writer who looks back on his preteen days when he and three close friends went on their own adventure to find the body of a kid their age who had gone missing and presumed dead. The stakes are upped when the bad kids in town are closely tailing - and it becomes a race to see who'll be able to recover the body first.

8) Juno, Comedy/Drama (2007)
Staring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman

A tale told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she's pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker. In the waiting room of an abortion clinic, the quirky and whip-sharp Juno decides to give birth and to place the child with an adoptive couple. She finds one in the Pennysaver personals, contacts them, tells her dad and step-mother, and carries on with school. The chosen parents, upscale yuppies (one of whom is cool and laid back, the other meticulous and uptight), meet Juno, sign papers, and the year unfolds. Will Juno's plan work, can she improvise, and what about Bleeker?

9)The Breakfast Club, Drama (1985)
Staring: Emilio Estavez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwall, Judd Nelson

It's the weekend, and five students have Saturday detention. There's a jock, a princess, a misfit, a nerd, and a lout. Not much in common, except for having to give up their day, sit in the school library, and write an essay for the principal. Being from such widely different backgrounds and having such completely different personalities, it's inevitable that some frictions and shenanigans develop. Especially when the principal leaves the room...

10) Traffic, Drama/Thriller (2000)
Staring: Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Erika Christensen, Kathrine Zeta Jones

A modern day look at America's war on drugs told through four separate stories that are connected in one way or another. A conservative politician who's just been appointed as the US drug czar learns that his daughter is a drug addict. A trophy wife struggles to save her husband's drug business, while two DEA agents protect a witness with inside knowledge of the spouse's business. In Mexico, a corrupt, yet dedicated cop struggles with his conscience when he learns that his new boss may not be the anti-drug official he made himself out to be.


*All synopsis provided by IMDB.com

Grandpa Woodstock Closure

No more siting of Grandpa Woodstock....not father Woodstock as I previously wrote. I'm pretty sure he's gone back home.

But the Bristol Press did a cover page article on him, not much of an article though. Apparently he was in Bristol visiting family, and collecting money to go back home to Woodstock, CT, where he resides during the spring in summer, in the winter he lives in Arizona. That's about all the article had, well done Bristol Press. Sense the sarcasim?

Father Woodstock Roaming Bristol

So the other day I was driving home from a night out with some of my friend and we drive past this dive bar on the west end of Bristol, CT and what to our wondering eyes should appear?? A wizard. No seriously, it was a man dressed in full wizard ensemble he had a beard and hair all the way down to his waist. I kid you not and no we weren't drunk. So we double back and get a second look, I wanted to go talk to him, but my friend is a chicken shit and wouldn't so we went home.

Then I asked one of my co-coaches at my work if she's seen him and she told me how she wrote a paper on him. He isn't a wizard he calls himself Father Woodstock, and has family in Bristol but a home near Bethal Woods aka Woodstock, NY. So now I really want to get an interview with him. She said he was mad cool and very open to talking to anyone.

All week I have been driving around Bristol aimlessly wasting my $3.55 gallons of gas looking for this dude and today I see him! I was so excited, but I had to get to the bank first to deposit a check, so I did that very quickly and drove back to the spot where he was stand to find the cops shooing him away! I was pissed!

I'm determined to get an interview with this guy before he heads back up to NY. Keep checking my posts.

* Correction, it's not Father Woodstock, It's Grandpa Woodstock, I was miss informed.

Krishna!

Okay, so I was thinking yesterday during my World Religions lecture about why Christians are the only religion to use their God and messenger as swears.

Oh I see you're thinking about it too now.

You never hear a Muslim just shout out. 'OH MUHAMMAD!' or 'ALLAH DAMN IT!', it just doesn't happen.

I've never heard a Hindu scream 'Oh for Shiva SAKES!' or a Buddhist say 'DAMN IT BUDDHA!'.


I wanted to get to the bottom of it, and I came back with nothing, just a couple of websites stating the media projected it to society and it picked up really fast, and because most of the Christian world is high tech and most of the non-christian world isn't, God and Jesus get the bitch slapped out of them daily because of it.

The South: You really do need a passport to go down there

I don't know about the rest of you but the most devious plan I plotted in my entire life was filling a mud pile with worms which I intended on pushing my mean next door neighbor into because I believed she would turn into a monkey. I was 6 and it never panned out.

If you were to peek in at an elementary school in Georgia you would expect to see kids with southern draws learning how the south won the civil war, right? Not at Center Elementary School.

At Center Elementary expect 8-10 year olds plotting your death.

A group of 9 third graders plotted to 'hurt' their teacher after she reprimanded one for standing on a chair.

Gum on the shoe? Sign on the back that says 'kick me'? Glue on her chair? No, how about knife in her back.

The students plotted and had a more elaborate plan than Bush's invasion of Iraq.

One student was in charge of duct tape and toy hand cuffs to tie the teacher up, while another student was to bring in a paper weight to knock the teacher unconscious. Someone was in charge of covering up the windows and doors so no one could peek in while they were committing a felony, and one student was in charge of bringing a knife to stab the teacher with. They even had one child acting as clean up crew. I kid you not.

It sounds like a Steven Spielberg movie mixed with Lord of the Flies and Children of the Corn, but I'm sorry people it's not.

Now teachers everywhere are scared to scold their students. Hell, I don't care what my students do in class now, sure break your neck on that balance beam, I'm not getting stabbed because I told someone 'No'.

The reason the plot didn't play out was because another student told the teacher that someone brought a weapon to school. The rat is next on the groups list of future killings.

So what's going to happen to these children, probably nothing. Georgia law states that you can't convict a child under 13, although three of the children have been arrested. The three that have been arrested are being housed in a detention center until a judge decides what to do with them.

My one question is where the hell did these kids think this up? Was it at the sandbox during recess? Where did they get the idea to STAB their teacher. As always psychologist blame video games. Can we stop blaming video games for a minute and turn the finger towards the parents or better yet maybe they are just little psychos and it's better they were caught now so that they can be locked up forever and not hurt people when they reach the four foot mark?

LA Times points finger at 'Diddy'...but did he?

1999's Pulitzer prize winner, Chuck Philips resume will be featured on monster.com soon. No seriously, it will.

Philips writes for the entertainment section of the LA Times.

Philips' six months of investigating and writing a story linking Sean 'Diddy' Combs to the murder of Tupac Shakur has become nothing more than a debauchery.

The story first appeared online at latimes.com on March 17th stating that FBI documents and interviews with unnamed sources stated that associates of Diddy and Diddy himself, planned the attack on Shakur in November of 1994.

Diddy issued a statement stating that 'The story is a lie...It is beyond ridiculous and completely false... I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story." Then The Smoking Gun caught wind of what was happening and published a story on it.

Directly after The Smoking Gun's feature Philips and his supervisor Marc Duvoisin issued apologises for not further researching their story.

So what caused the big commotion? Falsified FBI records typed on a typewriter by a 31 year old inmate with a 9th grade writing ability.

Times editor Russ Stanton stated 'We published this story with the sincere belief that the documents were genuine, but our good intentions are beside the point.'

BULLSHIT! Did they even read the records or were they just looking for a good story because Britney looks like she's heading back to a place of sanity?

James Sabatino apparently typed up these so called FBI records and stated he was issued them because he is writing up a lawsuit against Diddy because of some unpaid work.

The Smoking Gun stated that their were numerous misspellings, unusual acronyms and redaction's that should have sent up large red flags that said 'This is False.' There was also numerous black marker cross outs among these records.

The Smoking Gun also stated that the FBI ceased to use typewriters over 30 years ago.

Oh and by the way Sabatino is in a federal prison for fraud. If Philips took the time to know his confident of FBI information he would have turned up that Sabatino is nothing more than a person in a state of delusion. Sabatino has been reported exaggerating his career in the gangster rap world. He has stated he managed many of todays most popular hip hop artists. His father even stated to a federal judge that '[Sabatino is] a disturbed young man who needed attention like a drug.'

A mastermind at conning people? Or did a talented journalists fail to fully investigate leads?

Philips I hope your checkbook is ready. I hear a lawsuit coming at you.

Yesterday and Today

As a birthday present I received tickets to a show entitled 'Yesterday and Today' at the Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury, CT. The show is a tribute to The Beatles. As an avid Beatles fan I was and wasn't looking forward to the experience of watching some hasbens perform some of the best written, composed and performed pieces of music. I was looking forward for the music to be sung and performed live and I wasn't excited to listen to someone butcher the music. I went into the performance with an open mind and was blown off my feet. Not only was the performance amazing, it was also something that I never experienced before.

The friend who got my the tickets, bartends at the Theatre, so I got there a little early and was able to observe theatre people working before the show. Let me just tell you, it was intense. Not only were they changing lights that I didn't even notice where out, they were matching up the running carpets to a T and moving easels a millimeter at a time to find the perfect spot. All that tedious work paid off though because the foyer looked great.

The box office workers were nuts, not only were they bribing me for my drink (which I never received) they were dancing crazy later in the show. The wine servers were interesting to say the least. Nice ladies, but I couldn't tell if they were super Italian or wannabe Italians (Guidettes), I avoided them for most of the night, I can't be associated with Guidos.

I also had the privilege of listening to the band rehearse. I wasn't too impressed by the rehearsal, they did an awesome cover of Tom Petty's American Girl. It was pretty stellar.

After the house opened I was ushered to my seat. I was the first person in the theatre, I felt like I had a big L on my head, but I was stoked, I wanted to see the show, plus with my friend behind the bar, I looked like an outcast standing by myself hugging my coat. I became the Usher's confidant. After about 15 minutes people started strolling in, a few at first then a few more, and after every seating the usher had a few words to say about the people he ushered, one story imparticular had me in stitches; the usher seated a man directly behind a bald man, the non-bald man said to the usher, 'Can I sit somewhere else, because his shiny head is going to distract me'. The things people say when they've had one too many martinis.

The curtain was open before the show started, the set design didn't grab me, it looked like a bunch of high school kids painted it for their version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. I learned to love it later in the show with the amazing lighting.

I was seated directly behind the drummers teenage son, he was a cool kid, although he was air playing the drums the whole show which was kind of annoying.

The Show:

The show was amazing. It was just a band singing the art of the Beatles, it was an all request audience interaction show. Prior to the show there were baskets and ballots where you would fill in your name, the Beatles song you wanted to hear play, and the reason why. I requested For the Benefit or Mr. Kite, Happiness is a Warm Gun, and I Want You. Before the band would play the show they would read the names, ask you to identify yourself and then read of your reason why. Their were lots of laughs and red faces in the audience. The house lights were up for the non-singing part of the show and it made it much more intimate.

After the opening number was over the band introduced themselves and told the audience how the show would play out. Then the show really took off, the first half was pretty mellow, and the audience loved the interaction. The lead singers Billy McGuigan, Matthew McGuigan and Jeff Tuohy told the audience about their lives, their interests and love for the Beatles.

Billy and Matt were military brats, instead of going to the movies on the weekend they stayed in and their father would pull out Beatles records and guitars. They said the wouldn't thank the academy for any award they may receive they would thank government cheese. Because closed the first half of the show and the McGuigan's dedicated it to their father who died at the age of 42 to Leukemia.

Jeff Tuohy is from Southbury, and he didn't elaborate much about his background mostly because the McGuigan's joked the entire time that he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and if you're from CT you will agree.

The whole show was amazing, but a few numbers need to be talked about individually. Jeff Tuohy's rendition of I Am The Walrus, was amazing. He didn't sound like Lennon he sounds more like Bono's version of the song, sung for the 2007 movie Across the Universe.

Billy sang Oh, Darling and it sent chills up my spine. Not only did he hit all the right notes but the emotion was there as well making it that much more believable.

Matt sang A Day in a Life. At first I didn't think he would be capable of doing it, but the boy can sing people. I felt like I was at an actual Beatles show. Okay lets not go that far, but it was pretty darn close.

Right before the closing my request was played. (SCREECH!) Happiness is a Warm Gun was sung by Jeff, and he did an awesome job, he sang the hell out of the song. After the performance I got to meet Jeff and he personally thanked me for requesting it. I guess they don't get a lot of requests for it.

Come Together was the last song of the evening.

The show went over and the performers never lost energy. It was high intensity and mind blowing.

The last show is the 30th. I recommend that you go see it!

Are Women Really to Blame?

I'm not sure if everyone knows the story of how the three Abrahamic Religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) started, but I'm starting to get this feeling that maybe there was only suppose to be one religion after all.

Before I even start I want to state for the record that I'm an agnostic. I don't believe in one particular religion or God. I believe in a higher power that explains that which can't be explained in the universe. I'm not pushing religion on anyone, just expand your minds with me for a while.

How It All Started

Abraham was a Jew and lived in Mesopotamia, he was married to Sarah, who was barren. Feeling guilty of not being able to give a child to Abraham, Sarah asked her maid, Hagar to sleep with Abraham and become pregnant. (Is it getting confusing yet?) 9 months later out pops Ishmael. Three strangers visit Abraham and promise him that there will be more members of his family than their are grains of sand, and Sarah will be the mother. Sarah mysteriously gets pregnant by Abraham and out pops Issac.

Evan though Ishmael is the first born, Issac becomes the child of the covenant and is considered the first born. Sarah becomes jealous of Hagar and Ishmael (the illegitimate child) and asks them to leave, so they do. Ishmael's line will form Islam.

Issac will later marry Rebecca and have 12 sons (one of which is GO GO GO GO JOSEPH!) aka The 12 Tribes of Israel.

One Religion

So here's my thinking, If Sarah hadn't jumped the gun and asked Hagar to sleep with Ab, there would only be one religion (assuming Jesus never came around) Judaism. We would be a world of Jews. Speaking in terms of facts, if the three Arbrahamic religions believe in one God (well give Christianity a break here) and Judaism is the oldest of the three, why would that said God want to form two new religions devoted to him. I mean I know his/her/it's name is God, but no one can be that conceited.

So poor Sarah, she might as well go up there with Eve.

Silce-of-Life Profile

Background- If I have any readers out their beside my class, this blog was created because of a course I am taking currently at a college in CT. It's a New Media class, aka Blogging. So here's my blog.

A couple weeks ago the class was given a handout about 'Profiles', so I've decided to try my hand at writing one for practice, you never know I might be a Barbara Walters one day and this exercise will benefit me profusely if I am.

So what's a profile? It's an biographical essay on a person, sometimes referred to as an interview. Enough of the text book let's get to the nitty gritty.



Holly Lutters: A Profile

With the bellow of late 90's music, under a flickering light at Applewoods Diner in Bristol, CT Holly Lutters, a 20 year old college co-ed sat stirring her burnt coffee with a spoon. Lutters was at the restaurant celebrating a friend's (my) birthday so I took the opportunity to have a moment with her.

Lutters is currently attending Newbury College in Boston, MA studying Media Writing with a vast amount of minors including English and Psychology. Originally from Terryville, CT she started to develop her love and skill for writing at the local high school. Lutters says she plans on pursuing her masters in Journalism after she receives her bachelors in 2009. She stated her ideal job would be an Arts and Entertainment column in The Boston Phoenix. Very ambitious.

Okay, enough about the smart stuff, lets get down the real Holly Lutters. After taking her metabolism boosting Vitamin B-Complex she's ready to answer my hard hitting questions. I decided to conduct her interview based off a facebook or myspace profile.

As to whether she has a specific religious belief Holly stated she believes in Karma. Since I'm Holly's friend on facebook I know this is true because everyday she sends me some Buddha loving through a Karma application. I'm all zenned out. Upon asking what her life's philosophy is, we had a little tet-a-tet:

Holly: 'I would rather die than be mediocre.'

Me: 'Isn't that from a movie?'

Holly: 'Now it isn't, IS IT?!'

Me: 'Yes, American Beauty'

Holly: ' Damn it! Now I need to change it!'

With no specific role models Holly stated she's a 'trail blazer' and likes to set her own path. Apparently Holly likes to be original, which should benefit her later in her career.

Previously romantically linked to a published author, her current relationship status is: 'It's Complicated', but she wouldn't mind if Ryan Phillippe came around declaring his love for her, even if he did cheat on Reese.

Holly enjoys taking pictures with her Canon SLX5, she described the camera as her baby. I felt embarrassed when she used my Fuji to take some shots later in the night. My camera could never measure up to her ultra zoom lens and 30mega pixels. No, seriously her camera is awesome.

Some of Holly's favorites include, the television shows Friends and Sex and the City, both of which are no longer in production. Holly says she doesn't watch much T.V. Her favorite band is Foo Fighters;

Holly: 'I love Dave Grohl with all my heart.'

Me: ' You know he's married, right?'

Holly: ' Yea, but he cheats on his wife all the time. I read it somewhere.'

Me: ' With you?'

Holly: 'No! He wishes!'

Holly has a whole book devoted to pet peeves, but a few of them are, repetitive sounds (i.e. foot tapping), paper cuts, animals dressed as humans, the Weimaraner dogs, and bad continuity in films. So for the lucky men out there that get a date with Holly, be sure to avoid all that has been mentioned above.

I decided to shake up the interview a little bit by asking whether she thought Hannah Montana (or is it Miley Cyrus?) is a positive role model for young girls. Her response was, 'I don't know. I don't follow the tweens. All I know is that she performs in a wig and it's weird.' She also went on to say that the fact that you can purchase a Hannah Montana wig makes her think it's a cult.

My last question to Holly was what kind of mark do you want to leave on the world? Holly said that she doesn't expect to leave a mark on the world 'I don't want to leave mark, I don't intend to leave a mark.'

If you didn't have enough of Holly in this profile and can read her personal blog. Holly described her blog as not an emo blog, it's more of a random thoughts blog.

She's fabulous but she's evil. Damn It Barbie You Ruined My Life!

Margaret Wolfe Hungerford’s coined phrase ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, no longer holds true in today’s society, it should now be read as ‘Beauty is in the eye of the advertising company’. Thank You Barbie!

Role model or not, Barbie has ruined the image of beauty in the world. Damn her! Or him for that matter. Yes women put your minds at ease, Barbie was created by a man.

Thank you Jack Ryan the thoughtful creator of Barbie. Some things you may not know about Jack Ryan: besides having a penis which somehow gives him absolute power in knowing the true aspects of a women's body, he was also a missile designer. Oh yea, I think I see lots of yellow light bulbs flashing. Barbie does resemble a torpedo after all.

Barbie was 'redesigned', if you will, a few years back because her proportions were very inaccurate. 'Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions…found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body…her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition.” (Media Awareness Network) I know I want to look like a Barbie doll now for sure and live life on the toilet bowl! Even with the new design she's still smaller than Karen Carpenter (In my defense I love Karen Carpenter).

Barbie isn't a good role model. Yes the girl could do numerous jobs, she is styling it as vet, wearing heels as a pediatrician, the girl even worked at McDonald's and could still afford her Barbie Dream House and Barbie Convertible, but other than that she's a shiny hard toy. A child can't seek emotional happiness from Barbie, you can't even hug Barbie without her fingers poking your eye. And after a week of use, Barbie has lost both of her heels, a shirt and her hair is so frizzy and natty you can't even put your own comb through it without it breaking. Barbie sucks!

One adolescent boy argued 'I blame Barbie for the Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez craze. I also blame Barbie for the craze in implants and liposuction to become good looking. I also think that Barbie has made a demand ... for beauty salons and operations to become beautiful.' (BNet) Barbie even has men bashing her now, but she's still as popular as ever. WHY?!

40 years ago the average models weight was 8% less than the average female, today it's 23% less. Thanks Jack and your ideal female fantasy.

There's one women out there who started standing against the airbrushing Barbie effect. Give it up for Jamie Lee Curtis! In a 2002 edition of More Magazine, Curtis refused to be airbrushed and asked to pose in her skivvy's to show women of the world, she's just as flawed as everyone else. Go Jamie Go!

Kirsty Brinkley has even been reported saying that 'If I were standing next to a model of today, you’d only notice me on the page because I’d take up more room.'

Conclusion, the Barbies of the world need to go. Women who try to make themselves look like a plastic torpedo need to hit the self destruct button. Impressionable little girls need positive role models not the Victoria Secret models of the world telling them what's 'fierce'. Oh yea Tyra I went there.

"Definitely, Maybe." Rated PG-13 for sexual content including some frank dialogue, language and smoking

From the man who created Wimbledon, French Kiss, and Bridget Jones comes a new movie just as equally 'fluffy' in nature, Definitely Maybe.



Adam Brooks, we have seen better from you, but not by much.


Synopsis: Romantic comedy: Will Hayes, a 30-something Manhattan dad is in the midst of a divorce when his 10 year old daughter, Maya, starts to question him about his life before marriage. Maya wants to know absolutely everything about how her parents met and fell in love. Will's story begins in 1992, as a young, starry-eyed aspiring politician who moves to New York from Wisconsin in order to work on the Clinton campaign. For Maya, Will relives his past as a idealistic young man learning the ins and outs of big city politics, and recounts the history of his romantic relationships with three very different women. On the campaign, Will's best buddy is Russell McCormack. They not only have similar political aspirations, they share the same type of girl problems, too. Will hopelessly attempts a "PG" version of his story for his daughter ad changes the names so Maya has to guess who he finally married. Is her mother Will's college sweetheart, the dependable girl next-door Emily? Is she his longtime best friend and confidante, the apolitical April? Or is she the free-spirited but ambitious journalist,Summer? As Maya puts together the pieces of her dad's romantic puzzle, she begins to understand that love is not so simple or easy. And as Will tells her his tale, Maya helps him to understand that it's definitely never too late to go back...and maybe even possible to find a happy ending. (IMDb)


Overall I enjoyed the movie for what it was. Would I pay $9.75 to see it again or rent it on DVD for $4.50, No, but overall it fulfilled Valentine's Day (or Single Awareness Day) for me.


Warning Spoilers from here on in.


There were certain things that really irked me about the movie that made it hard to get into.


First it was released on Valentine's Day. The movie was good enough by itself that it didn't need to be paired up with a holiday invented by greeting card companies, there are plenty of adolescent teens willing to drag their boyfriends, guy friends, female friends, all kinds of friends, to see this romantic comedy. The first 10 minutes I was in stitches and the rest of the movie that followed, although typical, was not exactly original, but good.


The cast of characters were all really well picked my only complaint is with the character, Summer, the 'free spirited, ambitious journalist'. This was Will's (Ryan Reynolds) second love. After they break up he randomly bumps into her years later. She is pregnant and invites him to a party. All is good, but it's this encounter that made Summer unrealistic and very unbelievable, Summer went from a cut-throat, stab-you-in-the-back journalist to someone completely in owe of Will after minutes of friendly conversation. After Will agrees to go to her shin dig she starts walking away then turns around and shouts with enthusiastic surprise 'William Hayes!'. Alright Brooky baby, was that really necessary? What did that do for the character development? Nothing! She was a very unique individual in the beginning and by the end she's a blubbering gooey mess of pregnant female?


The movie opens with Will walking down a street to pick up his daughter at school. Apparently that day at school was the Sexual Education part of the curriculum, otherwise known as 'The Talk'. While all the other kids are demanding answers from their parents and expressing their disgust at sex, Maya (Abigail Breslin) wants to know the story of how her parents met? Seriously Brooks, come on! After that talk I couldn't look at my parents for a month, let alone want to know how they met and the sordid tales of my father's love life! Unbelievable at it's best. So after giving in to Maya's demands Will starts his story beginning with the Bill Clinton campaign for president.


Okay, this might be a little far fetched, but go with me here. Will works on the Clinton campaign and yada he wins YAY!, but Bill stays with us all the way until the end. The movie even shows clips of his impeachment because of the affairs with Monica Lewinsky. I think it's a little coincidental that this movie comes out during Hillary's campaign. Adam Brooks are you a supporter of Obama?


And my last complaint, the anti-smoking regime. I don't smoke and I don't support smoking, but since when did movies start smacking down on smoking? Didn't smoking get its start in the movies? Citizen Kane was a smoke fest, as was The Maltese Falcon, and Stagecoach. So where am I going with this. While Will is working on the Clinton campaign he goes into a shop to buy cigarettes where April is also there buying cigarettes, this is where Maya interupts the story and says; 'I can't believe you smoked!'. Then later in the movie Will bumps into April and the first thing out of his mouth is 'Did you quit smoking?' They both did. Since when did Truth have enough money to start blasting their commercials in A-List Hollywood movies?

Stop Hating on the Guido...Skank You Just Jealous

The New Wigger Plague? Maybe.

Your first question might be, what is a Guido? If you think I'm refering to your typical Italian immigrant you are wrong. I am far too non-racist to ever call an Italian a Guido, after all I'd be calling myself one as well.

The Modern Day Guido that is plaguing the New York/New Jersey Tri-state area and starting to catch wind in Connecticut, is what I will call 'The New Wigger Plague'.

Background:

In the late 90's the term 'wigger' was coined.

Definition: A male caucasion, usually born and raised in the suburbs that displays a strong desire to emulate African American Hip Hop culture and style through "bling" fashion and generally accepted "thug life" guiding principles. (Urban Dictionary)

If you need more reference take a look at this video.

How the Plague Started:

I have to give the Gotti Boys credit for this one. I'm sure the Gotti Boys took the dress, the attitude, and the ignorance from others, but they definatly coined the term and took it to an all new level of low.

The New Wigger Plague:

So what is a Guido?

Gui-do [gwee-doo]

-noun

An Italian American or any European-American claiming to be an Italian man usually residing in New York or New Jersey. He wears shirts that are too tight and unbuttoned 5 buttons too low to show off the chest that he spent hours and hours at the gym obtaining, he spends more time on his hair than his girlfriend, and continues to "hit the clubs" long into his mid to late 30's. Often attracted to the female version of himself, the guidette. (Urban Dictionary)

Many of you might be thinking; 'So what's the big deal? A group of adolecent man trying to find themselves by conforming to a reality TV show? Leave the poor lads alone!'

If that were the case there would not be such a debacle of videos, discussion boards, facebook groups, and an entire website with information surrounding the mordern guido.

The pastimes of Guidos often include, clubbing, getting their swell on at the gym, date rape (not that they ever get to go through with it, because of their love for Heniekins and jager bombs causing performance anxiety), and causing drama on public streets, they also enjoy HGH and muscle milk. Making them a nuisance to the public and also annoying.

How Can I Spot A Guido:

Guido's are usually rolling around in their supped up Hondas or BMW's. Well let's be honest, they really aren't BMW's they are probably cheap Dodge Neon's with 50 body kits and a BMW emblem. They are usually 'Name Brand Rip Off Whores', many of these brands include, Aramni Exchange, Dolci and Gabanna, and Louis Vutton. They wear large women sunglasses, the ones you frequently see on Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, they usually borrow them from their sister, more commenly termed a 'guidette'. You will never see a guido singular, they roll in packs like wolves of about 15-20 at a time, large enough to cause a ruckus and be laughed at, and large enough to scatter so they won't be caught by police for their antics. Guidos can always be found in the middle of a night clubs dance floor 'dancing' more commonly refered to as a demenstration of a sezuire. Lastly, They will always be styling their signature hair style 'The Blowout'.

How Can I Stop the Plague from Growing:

To stop the plague I think you should check out this website. They have much more knowledge and years of training in this specialist area than I do.

My only advice is for women to stop sleeping with these men. It gives them hope that they are a positive influence on women, and also gives us fear of offspring, these men aren't the brightest crayons in the box, failure to use a rubber is prominent.

Is Day Care Ruining the Children?

To daycare or not to daycare.


It's a dilemma most working parents will face.


I work at a gymnastics facility which added on a daycare many years ago. The daycare has about 75-100 children ages 0-12 years. It is my responsibility to teach the 3-6 year olds gymnastics once a week for 30 minutes. I'm starting to think this type of activity is useless to the child and more of a break for the classroom 'teachers'.


After working with these children for half a year I've started asking myself 'Is day care really right for kids?' Personally I've never had to make that critical decision because I have no children, but I think with my experience I can offer some two sense.


Day Care IS a great outlet for the working parent. Placing your child in the hands of trained care givers and with other children seems like the right thing to do. Your child will get social and will learn ahead of other children. There's no doubt in that. Children in daycares will learn more things ahead of the time. I recently observed a test screening of a four year old. She was reading at a 1st grade level, I was amazed! A good day care will put you child ahead of the gang.

But is day care really right? Personally I was always left in the care of a family member or a nanny. And after the lash of shaken babies and creepy touchy nannies many people don't want to go that route. I don't blame you. But from what I've seen I wouldn't put my child in a daycare.

Not only are the children sick constently, they are also more prone to behavioral issues lasting until 6th grade! Teaching these children has put my nerves on end. I understand all children will test their limits to an extent, but many of these children don't know what limits are because of the many different types of disciplinarians they are with daily. At home the child is disciplined one way, in the day care with one teacher another, and with another day care person another. These children don't know if 'acting up' will put them in a time out, be told that the person is going to count to three, or be totally ignored.

After reading the study I think the best advice for people considering daycare, is to find one, observe it, and make a decision based on your gut. Many people call a daycare asking if they have room and drop their kid off the next day. Don’t do that, inspect the daycare, see if you like the care givers, see if your child likes the care givers, I mean after all they are they are the ones who will be there at max 5 days a week for 40-50hours.

Remember you think your workday is long; think about your child, they are at daycare before you even get to work! Many of these kids are tired by noon; try to keep your child’s day care time at a minimum. From my experience the children who are there less than 30 hours a week have the least behavioral issues.

There are pros and cons for the daycare experience, the learning pros might outweigh the behavioral cons for many, but in the end it’s up to you. Choose wisely, it’s up to 6th grade, that’s when puberty starts!

Parson Brown

Somedays I wonder why my mind wanders.

'In the meadow we can build a snowman then pretend that he is Parson Brown'
If you answered: 'Walking In A Winter Wonderland' YOU'RE RIGHT! Unfortuanalty you don't win anything, because I'm a poor college student and there was no question.

So who IS Parson Brown?! We sing about him/her every year but does anyone REALLY, I mean REALLY know who it is?!

I ask around and no one knows. So I decided to do some hard hitting investigating. GOOGLE! I find the answer on www.urbandictionary.com (plug)

I'll copy paste the answer:

"Parson Brown" is the term used to talk about a typical angelican priest of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. "Parson Brown" is not an actual person (though he might have been at some time), but a figure of speech, like "John Doe" is an unidentified male and "Charley" is a watchman. "Parson" by itself means minister.


The classic line from Winter Wonderland:"In the meadow we can build a snowman Then pretend that he is Parson Brown He'll say 'Are you married ?', We'll say 'No man, For you can do the job when you're in town.'

Sure, it sounds like some kind of sexual reference, but its not. It's just a priest asking a couple if they are married. They reply that they are not and that they will wait for him to "do the job" of marrying them when he comes to their town.

Mystery Sloved!