I just spent hours on end reading "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels". I am in love with this story, and now addicted to thepioneerwoman.com . It is ten times better than Twilight and it's a true story! Ah, my heart is melting. I can't wait till her next entry is posted. This is the perfect drug for the void of romance in my life ha ha.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The Twilight Before Christmas
OMG I nearly pee'd my pants laughing! This is a flawless parody of the "Twilight" movie with a Christmas twist lol
Thursday, December 18, 2008
It's "final"ly over :-P
ha ha, ok the title is a little too much cheese, I know.
But yay! My last final was today at 12. I turned in my final group website for my intro to web design class. Let's just say it was a learning experience lol but we actually ended up with a decent product. I am rather optimistic and think we will get an A. It was a little rough getting there though. I got a feel good email from one of my partners thanking me for the extra time I put in meeting with our professor and fixing some details that went crazy.
Lol here is the email :)
The Jesus thing is in reference to something in the email I sent our group. I said, "Jeff, I resurrected your baby! I am Jesus lol. ok that was a little sacreligous (sp?) but come on, tell me that isn't great news."Ali I just want to thank you for everything you did. Without you meeting with Ru and fixing our entire website, we probably would of had shit. And for bringing my baby back from the dead, thank you oh mighty Jesus. haha dont worry about being sacreligios because we all say bad things sometimes haha.
Thanks again
So I'm all feeling good for being a good group member :) cause usually I'm one of the group slackers ha ha, but I feel like I was a leader on this one (woot go me!).
Well, now I get to relax haleluja. And to add to the excitement of finals being over, this weekend is going to be awesome! I'm going ice skating tonight and playing Magic: The Gathering which is always stimulating. I have a couple of weddings to attend: one on Friday and one on Saturday. I seriously love weddings - like I could be the girl on "27 Dresses" except that I'm not that involved in them, I just love them. Added bonus: there will be dancing at one of them! Yay! I love dancing at weddings! And I am also finally going Christmas shopping on Saturday and doing girly stuff with my good friend.
The stress is finally over! (Until January 7th that is...)
Monday, December 15, 2008
Just letting off some steam
Oh man, I cannot wait till finals are officially over. I am prett much done now, just have to turn in a final project on Thursday.
I had a final today that I was late for, we just had to turn in a paper but I'm afraid I may have missed out on some participation points. I was really stupid and waited till the night before to write it. I swear, never again. That was the shittiest paper I have ever written. It was terrible, too short, and an hour late. So I just had to say that I will never relive this experience! Procratination, my long time friend, we are through!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Final paper for HON 300
As our final for my Elections class, we had to write a 10 ish page paper on a topic of our choice, dealing with presidential elections. One of my professors (who I went and talked to about my subject before I wrote my paper) left a comment on my paper when he graded it that said something like "I wasn't excited when you told me about your topic but you have actually managed to do a good job." Ha ha, it made me happy. I got an 'A'. And below, for your reading pleasure, my paper:
(this is just the first paragraph, to read the whole thing, click the "read more" link)
"The Politics and Messages of Women’s Fashion in Presidential Campaigns"
What you wear can say a lot about yourself and your political campaign. Fashion conveys a story of who we are and where we are going. You are probably familiar with the phrase, ‘the clothes make the man’. Today you can find politically charged tee-shirts with bold messages emblazed across the chest or back. But clothes don’t have to have an explicit message written in a large font to give a message to the world. Politicians use fashion to express a variety of messages. This paper explores some of the messages sent via fashion that we’ve seen in past presidential elections and delves deeper into the messages we’ve received in 2008, specifically from women who took part in the campaigns.
Although fashion has not been as prominent or publicized in past elections, there are a few examples where it has played a minor, but lasting part. There are two examples that I’ll share. One from each major party: Patricia Nixon’s infamous Republican coat, and Bill Clinton donning shades to play the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. In each case, fashion was used to convey a message to the American people.
The story of the Republican coat: In 1952 Republican vice presidential running mate, Richard Nixon was accused of living in a style greatly exceeding his income. Many Republicans were outraged and urged Eisenhower to remove him from the ticket. Nixon responded to the smear in a televised speech. In this speech, which is commonly known as the “Checkers” speech, Nixon explained all his personal finances to the public. His wife, Patricia sat nearby as he proclaimed, “Pat doesn’t have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she would look good in anything” (Nixon). Nixon sent a message to America that he led a fiscally conservative and responsible life. He used this example of his wife’s simple fashion to demonstrate this idea. The speech apparently worked, no doubt the imagery of Pat’s coat playing a part in its success and the Republicans won with a large margin.
Fast forward to June of 1992, when during his presidential campaign, Bill Clinton made a surprise appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show. He wore dark sunglasses and played “Heartbreak Hotel” much to the delight of the American populous. Before his guest appearance, he was trailing in the polls. It is suggested that his performance captivated Americans and turned the race in his favor, which he won that November (usefultrivia.com). People responded not only to his artistic ability as a musician but to his fashion sense as well. These examples demonstrate that Americans respond to fashion in subtle but lasting ways.
The American focus on the appearance of our leaders is nothing new, but we have been paying more attention recently. Arianna Huffington puts it well on page 1 in her article “The Politics of Fashion” published in Harper’s Bazaar. She says:Ever since JFK took the country by storm, with Jackie and her glamorous Oleg Cassini-designed wardrobe by his side, personal style has been an important component of a candidate’s appeal. But the celebritization [sic] of politics has reached new heights.
She goes on to discuss the Clinton campaign’s early focus on Al Gore’s weight (If he starts losing it, it could be a sign he intends to run). She also cites the media’s scramble over photographs of Obama in a swim suit, Nancy Pelosi’s love affair with Armani and Tahitian pearls, and Chris Matthew’s “gushing” reviews of Mitt Romney’s good looks (Huffington 1).
Huffington fleshes out the idea that we like our leaders to have style, be well groomed, even have little sex appeal, but we don’t necessarily want to know the price they pay to get it. We want the steak, but don’t care to hear about the slaughterhouse. She cites John Edward’s $400 haircut, and mentions Condoleezza Rice’s purchase of wildly expensive Ferragamo shoes while people were still dying in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We want our leaders to look the part, but also want them to be selfless, caring, and devoted to the American well-being (Huffington 3). That is why mastery of presidential fashion (and discretion concerning the price to get it) is a must if a candidate wants to win our hearts and our votes.
Fashion is important for all politicians, but it is especially important for women involved in politics we focus more on what women wear and what their fashion reveals about them. Lilly Goren writes on the Encyclopedia Britannica Blog:Female candidates and female elected office holders have a much more complicated relationship with clothing because of society’s more complicated expectations of and demands on women in general as regards to physical presentation (Goren).
I believe her comments also apply to wives of high profile elected officials, i.e. the First Lady and first ladies-to-be. Our focus on women’s appearance and comparative disregard of men’s may seem sexist but that is another discussion. For now, it is the way of our society. Goren speculates that perhaps this is because there is not much to discuss concerning men’s sartorial choices. They wear dark suits in blue or black. The variance goes little farther than the specific cut meant to flatter the shape of the man. (One exception is Vice President Al Gore’s “makeover in hues of brown”) (Goren). The thing no one can deny is that women in politics are under more scrutiny than their male counterparts when it comes to fashion. Since the fashion spotlight is brighter on women, they have to be careful about how they dress and what message they are sending.
Presidential Election 2008 has captivated fashion buffs and filled pages in style magazines. Most likely this has to do with the increased presence of women on the campaign trail. There is always ample supply of style critiques and praise for first ladies and first ladies-to-be but as Teri Agins of the Wall Street Journal put it on NPR’s broadcast “What is She Wearing? Fashion Laws Of Politics”, “In this particular [election] year, you have all these women [at the forefront] who are really interested in fashion” (Hill). Major players in this election’s “political fashion game” included Cindy McCain, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Sarah Palin (Hill). Each woman had a unique style and a unique message to go along with it.
Also on NPR, Marjorie Margolies, a former congresswoman from Pennsylvania who now is president of Women’s Campaign International had this advice for women in politics: “Most people remember what you wear and your tone over what you say” (Hill). Maybe Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama already were keyed into this tip when they had their photo shoots for Vogue. Cindy appeared bare-foot in jeans, lounging near a beach in the June issue. Fashion critics say her look was chosen to give her a more relaxed, universal appeal and to lessen her image as the “Stepford Wife.” Robert Givhan writes, “If there is one word the picture seems to be aggressively striving to evoke, it would be ‘relaxed’”. A word in stark contrast to the images we saw on the campaign of a stiffly polished Mrs. McCain. Givhan continues, “McCain appears to be working to shatter a public image of the pretty -- but starched – accessory” (Givhan “Letting Her Hair Down”). Cindy’s photos exude relaxation and comfort, something we didn’t really see from her or her husband on the campaign trail. (Think of Cindy in a conservative two-piece and tight chignon). Her appearance in Vogue seems to be an effort to soften her image, and her husbands as well.
Michelle Obama, in contrast went for a more formal look. She donned a classic black dress and pearl earrings reminiscent of Jackie O. in the September issue. Perhaps the perceivable link to Jackie plays off the media’s correlation between John F. Kennedy and Barack. The photographs are controlled and formal. The image published here is that she is traditional and classic. Robert Givhan says of Obama’s shoot, “The implied message is unmistakable… I am Camelot with a tan” (Givhan “Letting Her Hair Down”). Michelle’s photograph says everything her husband’s campaign hoped would resonate with the American people; that Obama is not a stranger or an exotic superstar; he is American, just like you. Michelle’s fashion throughout the campaign seemed to reinforce this as style blogs and magazines online and in print raged about her ability to wear designer pieces by Oscar de la Renta as comfortably as off-the-rack bargains from J.Crew.
Both potential first ladies, as well as potential Vice President Sarah Palin appeared in Vogue. Hillary Clinton was offered a photo shoot for the top fashion magazine but declined “for fear of appearing ‘too glamorous’ and ‘too elitist’” according to Joshua Stein of Gawker (Stein). Hillary did agree, however to be the focus of a four-page spread in Us Weekly. In the article she volunteers her fashion faux pas from the past with commentary. The spread includes a range of fashion don’ts Hillary committed from a carpet like coat (her comment: “I’m a big believer in recycling – even carpets!”) to a polka dot dress that “should be arrested” (Aspan). Perhaps with the Us article she hoped to show her humorous side and improve her likeability. I wonder if she had agreed to do a Vogue shoot, what image it would have portrayed. The Us article gives little insight to her new ideal image.
Since Hillary has been in the public eye for quite some time now, we are able to take a closer look at her fashion choices and what they imply than we are able with some of the newer female political faces. Hillary’s style came under public assessment when her husband ran and was elected President of the United States. As First Lady, Hillary “wore clothes that were feminine and stately” (Givhan “Hillary Clinton’s Tentative Dip”). Her style was very conservative yet elegant. When Hillary ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in New York, she traded her high-necked and long-sleeved yet feminine wardrobe for an array of black pantsuits. Her fashion mimicked the fashion of male candidates she ran against. Lilly Goren elaborates on this change:Clinton, in effect, transformed herself from First Lady to serious Senate candidate in part by moving from a variety of clothing choices (including the ball gowns that First Ladies wear on the occasions of state dinners and other formal events) to the constancy of a conservative suit on the campaign trail. Women often have to make choices of this kind in order to project a certain image, especially when running for office. Clinton needed to consciously alter the way voters saw her, from President Bill Clinton’s wife (First Lady) to a potential senator from New York (Goren).
By altering her fashion, Clinton altered the way she was viewed by the public. She switched uniforms from that of the dutiful and refined first lady to one of a competent, efficient, qualified Senator.
When Clinton declared her presidential candidacy for 2008, we again had the opportunity to see how her fashion and message would change. She traded in black pantsuits for brightly colored ones. Some suits were even paired with a skirt instead of slacks. She moved away from the conservative cuts to more fashion forward cuts as well. While she distanced herself from the male candidates who still wore dark suits, she maintained a high level of conservativism appropriate to the office in contest (aside from the public’s obsession with the revelation of some cleavage in the Senate.) (Goren).
Clinton’s switch to color and more fashionable cuts in her choice of pantsuits could indicate a couple of things about her candidacy and the changing political atmosphere. The first is that women are gaining more freedom to express their style when running for office and operating in high profile government offices. Nancy Pelosi and Condoleezza Rice share a love of fashion and own their fair share of designer suits, shoes, and jewelry. The second is that Clinton was more willing to show her femininity while running for president than for her Senate seat in 2000. Her fashion move may have reflected a willingness to portray herself as the woman candidate and allow her sex to be a defining characteristic of her candidacy. Even if Hillary didn’t come out and say her sex was a qualification that should invite you to vote for her, I think the public may have entertained this idea, just as Barack Obama’s race may have been a factor in some of the votes he received.
On the subject of candidacy and women, who could forget Sarah Palin? When McCain surprised the nation with his VP running mate pick, we couldn’t help but notice Sarah’s unique fashion. America couldn’t take her eyes off her rimless glasses and asked where she got her hair done. Fashion blogs described how to achieve the Palin look for less. We loved her sexy red pumps that she wore with her classic black ensemble. Sarah Palin fabulously feminine in her skirts and heals. And I suspect this is just what the McCain campaign wanted you us to see. Palin was redefining feminism with her fashion and her staunch pro-life stance.
Palin’s political fashion wasn’t all rosy, however. Republican campaign contributors raised their eyebrows high when it was reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) dished out $150,000 for a Palin family makeover. Gone are the days of Nixon’s cloth Republican coat apparently. The RNC spent thousands to update not only Sarah’s wardrobe but also purchased make up and hair products and services. Some of the money also went to update the looks of her husband and children. Right wing conservatives who hold close the value of fiscal conservatism certainly were unhappy about the shopping spree but stylists and campaign managers argue that updating Sarah Palin’s image was important enough for the expenditure.
Stylists say the Palin family makeover was worth it. Image is everything. Lauren Rothman, Washington stylist reported to Politico, “She is dressing appropriately for the job she is going after” (politico.com). Colleen Abrie, an image consultant from the San Francisco Bay Area agreed, “It is a good thing she has all that Armani, she needs all the points in her favor that she can get. If you are looking the part, you are halfway there” (politico.com). Politico sums up the challenges that the RNC faced while trying to create an image for Sarah in “the early days of the McCain-Palin ticket:How do you introduce a virtual unkown – a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” – as both a down-to-earth girl-next-door and a “maverick” prepared to become the leader of the free world? (politico.com)
The stylists interviewed in this article agree that the challenge was well met. Palin, they say, does not appear to be wearing particularly expensive clothing. She has a look that most middle class American women could at least mimic but she also conveys authority and competency post-makeover (politico.com). It’s a fact that the way a person dresses changes the impression they make. Without the proper clothes and accessories, would Sarah be taken seriously on a global level? The stylists and campaign managers would most likely say no. The public in general might even criticize her lack of fashion sense if she were not dressed for the part. Her wardrobe pre-RNC spree was sufficient for her role of Governor of Alaska but didn’t fit the bill for Vice President of the United States of America.
On the other side of the argument, one might ask what happened to the cloth Republican coat. When did fashion trump Republican values? Or assert that Michelle Obama presented herself well without using Democratic campaign monies or overspending. Lilly Goren concedes in her article, “Fashion, Politics and Gender (The Real Story Behind the Palin Wardrobe Controversy)” that:There are certainly areas where this wardrobe makeover can be critiqued given the presentation that Palin is making of herself and her family in the campaign. Most middle-class mothers of five don’t regularly shop at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue (Goren).
And she has a very good point. Palin was trying to position herself as a “hockey mom.” Hockey mom’s don’t shop on Fifth Avenue or spend nearly $5,000 on hair and make up in one month. This kind of spending also draws negative attention when the McCain-Palin battle cry focused on wasteful governmental spending and much needed reform. Her fashion may have looked the part of hockey mom meets maverick governmental reformer but when we found out the cost, we got conflicting messages about McCain’s campaign.
Fashion sends a message. Women in politics especially need to be aware of what their style says about them, and the candidate they support. (In Hillary’s case that was herself.) In analyzing the final candidates, I have found that the women involved sent messages with their fashion that mimicked their respective campaigns overall.
On the Republican side of the ticket, Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin sent conflicting messages with their fashion while we were also a little unclear what exactly McCain was selling. Eventually McCain settled on the ‘maverick’ campaign but the message was a little muddled and we received a variety of messages from beginning to end. The array of messages we received from the republican ladies’ fashion was similarly confusing. Cindy McCain confused us when she stood stiff and plastic-like behind John then appeared in Vogue, relaxed and peaceful. Palin positioned herself as the maverick hockey mom but lost credibility with her infamous shopping spree.
On the other hand, throughout the campaign, the Obama message has been the same: Obama will bring change and hope. His campaign also reassured us that he was ready for the office. And that despite what some might think, he was and is like us, raised in the heartland with American values. Michelle’s style consistently supported this message. With her careful modernization of the first lady look and formal shoot in Vogue she told the public that she is forward thinking, relates to the middle class, and that she and Obama were ready for the White House.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Random girly post
Ok, I don't really know where this post came from. I was reading some feminist stuff and it just kind of lead me in this direction so here it is lol;
There are a couple things I'm loving right now: Carla Bruni's cover of "You Belong to Me," gurl.com, and menstrual cups. ha ha random I know.
As for the gurl.com, what I'm loving is this history of menstrual products which I found rather interesting.
And that brought me to the menstrual cup love. I can't believe cups didn't catch on in the 1800s. I'm so glad they are on the market today. I think every woman should at least hear about this option for dealing with her period so I'm goint to list some reasons why a menstrual cup is the bomb for periods:
- you don't have to worry about running out of products if you go somewhere
- you can leave it in for up to 12 hours
- it's more natural than a tampon
- you save money by not having to buy tampons and pads every month
- you can reuse it for several years - saving you beaucoup $ and saving the environment from tons of waste
- it is more comfortable than pads/tampons
- personally, I have felt less ashamed/embarrassed/confined by my period since using it.
And since we're on the subject, I have to say this community on live journal was a big help in my decision to get a diva cup and also through my journey in learning how to use it and all that.
Ok, off my advertising stint. I should get paid don't you think?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Scream 2008 Watchmen Trailer
This is pretty much the shiz.
And for all my ladies out there, check out webisode #8 on the Watchmen widget below. (Go Silk Spectre! You're awesome!) ha ha.
2nd theatrical Watchmen Trailer
I went to Quantum of Solace at midnight this morning in hopes of seeing this on the big screen. Unfortunately and much to my chagrin they did not play it. Thank you, Youtube.
I am sad to admit that I am not as impressed with this trailer as I was with the first. Maybe because it's a lot of the same footage and I really want to see some new stuff. But also, I don't think the music works as well.
Even though I don't like it as much as the first trailer, it still is EXTREMELY AWESOME. You get to hear everyone talk - which was very much anticipated, especially for Rorshach (sp?). And can I just say the Comedian looks AMAZING!!! Ok, pretty much all the characters look awesome!!! but especially him! AH! I cannot wait!
P.S. the SCREAM 2008 trailer was so so so cool. I need to post that one, too.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Saturday at the Joe
You can probably tell that we got a little bored at the Joe.. Well this kind of stuff happens when Crystal is your captain ha ha, I love that girl. I claim to be the genius behind this juice glass/food sculpture. For those of you acquainted with the Joe, you will recognize a bowl of honey butter, salad filling the inside and stuck to the juice glass, pumpkin pie for the trunk, and broccoli from the "Spring Chicken" meal, and of course the doily on a B&B that we used as a planter for this masterpiece, as well as the apron used as a backdrop. You can also safely assume that neither Amy or Laurel were present for the creation of this objet d'art.
What can I say? Katie, Crystal, and I unleashed our inner artistes.
(oh, and here's a blast from the past Joe experience: the portrait of me, done by another artiste at the Joe)
Ah, these are the reasons that I will miss that job. Combined with my adventures with Whitney as a nunja (think chair sashes constructed into a nun/ninja costume, or see the picture below), tray surfing, linen bag tosses, the famous Andrew chair move, playing in the fountain, apron tag, and the occasional wedding cake fights I am almost tempted to stay longer than my planned post-Christmas termination.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Happy Happenings
This week has been very uplifting. I will tell you why (warning - this post is going to be long):
Monday
This day started out badly. I was up the night before starting and finishing a couple pages like an excellent procrastinator would do. I actually was pretty unproductive for a large portion of the night. I decide I will miss my first class the next morning to finish a paper for my Business Law class. So I end up sleeping in and finishing the paper for the class I was missing just in time to email it to my professors. I put the finishing touches on my B Law paper and head out, missing my second class in the process.
My last class of the day, B Law of course, was when the good stuff happened. I got there a tad late as we were reviewing our latest test which comprised of 2 sections - a tricky set of multiple choice questions and an essay. (A large, covering multiple complex issues essay). Well, I totally aced it! I got a 98 percent which is unheard of in this class. My professor actually said my essay was the best essay he's read in all his years teaching at Westminster! My score is also the highest score of all time (Well, on that test in his class. I am getting a little carried away with my bragging rights).
As if that wasn't enough praise to inflate my head for a couple weeks, he pulls me aside on break and strongly suggests that I take the LSAT. He said I should take it w/o any practice or preparation to just see where I naturally stand among my peers to see if I really have a knack for law. I don't know if I would actually enjoy being a lawyer but why not check out the possibility?
Tuesday
Tuesday wasn't really that awesome, but I can't just skip a day. I did get out of my elections class early because it was election day of course. Obama won as you all know so hopefully he will have substance behind his rhetoric. I am hopeful. I am scared a little about the democratic majority in the legislative branch and how Obama will probably be appointing a couple justices. I am not a fan of one party control in government.
Wednesday
We had our second film in the Be the Change series. It was Beyond the Call directed by Adrian Belic. The director came to our reception before the film and stayed for a question/answer session afterwards. He was captivating. His facial hair was enough to keep you entertained. I have to say I am a fan. I also liked his long wavy hair - seriously, I like long hair on guys. Check out his picture, it's sweet. He was aproachabe (sp?), lively, and extremely interesting. I wanted to listen to his whole life story.
His movie was just as cool - that word doesn't even really work but my vocab is fairly limited. It follows three incredible men who journey to the most remote areas of the earth, beautiful, war torn places where no one else will go. They head out on these adventures armed with food, medical supplies, and loads of their own cash. Sometimes they get fake documents to help them travel through areas governed by war lords. They just go out there and help people survive. These men are facisnating (sp?) characters on their own and what they do just makes them more admirable. I plan on purchasing the extended version DVD this holiday season and plan on sharing it with all my friends. In the meantime, check out the film's website, www.beyondthecallthemovie.com.
Monday
This day started out badly. I was up the night before starting and finishing a couple pages like an excellent procrastinator would do. I actually was pretty unproductive for a large portion of the night. I decide I will miss my first class the next morning to finish a paper for my Business Law class. So I end up sleeping in and finishing the paper for the class I was missing just in time to email it to my professors. I put the finishing touches on my B Law paper and head out, missing my second class in the process.
My last class of the day, B Law of course, was when the good stuff happened. I got there a tad late as we were reviewing our latest test which comprised of 2 sections - a tricky set of multiple choice questions and an essay. (A large, covering multiple complex issues essay). Well, I totally aced it! I got a 98 percent which is unheard of in this class. My professor actually said my essay was the best essay he's read in all his years teaching at Westminster! My score is also the highest score of all time (Well, on that test in his class. I am getting a little carried away with my bragging rights).
As if that wasn't enough praise to inflate my head for a couple weeks, he pulls me aside on break and strongly suggests that I take the LSAT. He said I should take it w/o any practice or preparation to just see where I naturally stand among my peers to see if I really have a knack for law. I don't know if I would actually enjoy being a lawyer but why not check out the possibility?
Tuesday
Tuesday wasn't really that awesome, but I can't just skip a day. I did get out of my elections class early because it was election day of course. Obama won as you all know so hopefully he will have substance behind his rhetoric. I am hopeful. I am scared a little about the democratic majority in the legislative branch and how Obama will probably be appointing a couple justices. I am not a fan of one party control in government.
Wednesday
We had our second film in the Be the Change series. It was Beyond the Call directed by Adrian Belic. The director came to our reception before the film and stayed for a question/answer session afterwards. He was captivating. His facial hair was enough to keep you entertained. I have to say I am a fan. I also liked his long wavy hair - seriously, I like long hair on guys. Check out his picture, it's sweet. He was aproachabe (sp?), lively, and extremely interesting. I wanted to listen to his whole life story.
His movie was just as cool - that word doesn't even really work but my vocab is fairly limited. It follows three incredible men who journey to the most remote areas of the earth, beautiful, war torn places where no one else will go. They head out on these adventures armed with food, medical supplies, and loads of their own cash. Sometimes they get fake documents to help them travel through areas governed by war lords. They just go out there and help people survive. These men are facisnating (sp?) characters on their own and what they do just makes them more admirable. I plan on purchasing the extended version DVD this holiday season and plan on sharing it with all my friends. In the meantime, check out the film's website, www.beyondthecallthemovie.com.
Thursday
Two exciting things happened today. I finally got around to ordering some office supplies at work. It was my first time doing it because the receptionist who recently quit used to do it but the responsibility has fallen on me now. Yay for job enrichment :). I was comparing prices between Quill and OfficeMax when my boss told me he had a coupon for Staples where if your order was over $100 you got a free digital camera. He offered to give it to me and I'm like sweet. So I checked out Staples prices and it actually was cheaper than the other two and I got a free digital camera! Holla! I already have one ha ha but it's always nice to get free stuff. I was also thinking I could give it to one of my little sisters for when we draw names for Christmas. All of them would really like it I'm sure.
Exciting thing number two is that I went to a lecture on women's reproductive health and the environment. I know, you normally don't put those things together but the environment and the chemicals we put into it really affect our reproductive health as women and consequently the lives and health of our children. The speaker was very knowlegable and even funny at times. She is an ecologist and told us that her first thought after getting a positive reading on her pregnancy test was "I'm an environment" ha ha. Here is the press release on my school's website if you want to read more about it. Her presentation was eye-opening to how important the environment is to our health, in a most immediate time frame. For example, she talked a lot about how fetal development can be altered and damaged by environmental affects and levels of pesticides pregnant women are exposed to during certain weeks of their pregnancy.
I think a lot of Americans don't realize how drastically we are altering the environment and how that doesn't just affect what we call "nature" it affects us as human beings. Sandra Steingraber, the woman who presented, was hopeful and encouraged us to make our concerns about the issue heard and let our government know that these issues are important. I left with a feeling of optimism, just knowing that these issues are being addressed. One example she gave is that there are harmful chemicals in cosmetics, such as lead in lipstick! I thought lead was a thing of the past but apparently it's not. You can check out safecosmetics.org to check and see what cosmetics and beauty products are not using chemicals that we know are harmful.
I am interested in reading her book, Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood. I will have to add it to my next summers reading list. She also has a free article on a related subject - the falling age of puberty in girls in the U.S. I intend to read it; you can download this pdf if you are interested as well.
Friday
The night is just beginning - so we'll see what it holds! :)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
And She's the California Constitution
No matter where you stand on Prop 8 (I'm against it), you have to admit this vid is funny, it's a perfect mimic of the "I'm a Mac" ads ha ha.
Monday, October 20, 2008
I have a new major!
Ha ha, so I really shouldn't do this probably because I'm busy enough as it is, but when I was registering for Spring Semester, I ended up with a lot of empty space in my schedule so I thought, why not go for another major?
I looked at a few and what I would need to do to finish them and they were all too much. I'm an Arts Administration major now and was planning on getting a minor in Art by completing a few more arts classes than was required in my major. So after my first double major options were found to be impossible (in my window of time - I don't have the funds to take 5 yrs of college versus the average 4), I thought why not just get an Arts major instead of a minor?
So I checked that out, and if I take all my available May term classes and take an art class in France (I'm planning on doing a study abroad this summer) then it'll work out perfectly! So now I am an Arts and Arts Administration major lol. Basically I am an arts major with some communication and business classes. I am excited though. I will finally be able to fully develop my talents and create a strong portfolio, something that I could potentially do on my own but now I have some extra motivation and greater exposure to the arts community.
Then, I think for graduate school, I will either continue in the administration area or look into art therapy... So many decisions to be made. But I am excited; this new development has renewed my interest in higher education.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Update, and a long journal-like description of my day.
Not much has been going on. I am having trouble with my truck. It won't pass emissions (two "m's" or one?) and I possibly will have to buy a new carborator (sp?), grr. So with that out of commission, I've reverted back to public trans and hit up the frontrunner on my daily commute when I don't bum rides from my daddy.
I had a couple of fun weekends. The first weekend in October I went to a school activity at Fat Cats, Cosmic bowling with free drinks and breadsticks for five dollars. In one word - awesome. I also watched Hocus Pocus with some friends to get in the Halloween mood for October.
Last thursday, I went to a Jazz game with a friend from work. It was pretty fun, nothing too intense cause it's pre-season so it doesn't matter really but the Jazz lost, boo. Friday the tenth was my twin sister's friend's birthday so we went to a dance club with a bunch of friends to celebrate. She and her work friends go to the same club almost every week, they are really fun people. But holy cow, I almost died so many times on the ride there. The girl who drove was insane! We were going 90 to 100 mph on the freeway. She was trying to get there before 11 because we were on the guest list and could get in free before then.
Saturday night was horrible though. I worked this giant, crazy Mexican wedding. It would have been a fun wedding to attend, don't get me wrong, it just sucked working on it. People were dancing in between tables, which is an essential space for serving. As in, I need to walk there, buddy, please dance somewhere else. The music was so loud, and there were random people showing up two hours late and wanting to be served. Ugh, we were so glad when that night was over. O and, for those of you who read my blog and also have experience at the Joe, you will appreciate this; they had chiavari (another word with questionable spelling) chairs and chargers!
So, that brings me to today which was pretty good. I slept through my first class but I didn't really care. All we do is talk about how science is pretty much bull. In the future, all our current models of how the universe works will be proven false, with new false models. This cycle will continue. It is interesting sometimes but I'm getting a little sick of it. Plus, I like sleeping. Then in my web design class, I got good critiques on my personal website project. It is looking pretty good if I say so myself. When it goes live, I'll post the url here so you can all check it out. Basically it's my resume in website form. Then I had my business and employment law class. I didn't read the chapter but we didn't make it to going over our homework, sometimes luck is on my side.
Oh, and after school, I met with the SLC Film Center. We finalized plans for our next film in Be the Change. It is called Beyond the Call. I'm pretty excited for this one as well. It's about 3 doctors who just go around the world wherever they are needed most and help people. Philanthropists are awesome.. Then I had an enjoyable evening hanging out with some fellow honors program kids when we were "working on our project." That's the thing about group projects, if you get in a group you like they don't seem to be very productive, but at least you have a good time doing it eh?
Ok, it is my bedtime now. I commend you if you actually read all that. Peace.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
I am the film and lecture series chair at my college and this film - Pray the Devil Back to Hell - was our opening film in our series for this year called "Be the Change." So I thought I'd share my thoughts.
The movie was intense and eye-opening. There were graphic scenes from war torn Liberia that made you cringe and the stories that the women told were horrific. Even with all that, it was divinely uplifting, especially for women. The women of Liberia non-violently ended the civil war that was killing their children and making soldiers and rapists of their boys. It was inspiring to see how these ordinary women forced the war lords who were ripping their country apart to begin peace talks, and when those peace talks became stagnant, they forced them to come to a close and sign the peace agreement. Then, they worked to elect the first woman president in Africa who is rebuilding their country and keeping peace. These women took control of their country and changed the direction of their society, their story is incredible.
You can check out the widget above for more information. I tried putting it in this note but something in the code isn't compatible or something... very annoying.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
My ill-fated last camping trip
This story happened the last weekend of summer.
I bought a truck on Thursday for $400 from a neighbor. It's an old '89 Mazda b2200. It's really cute ha ha, I seriously fell in love with it - probably just because it's my first car and my friends were all saying "oh, you're Bella" (from the Twilight series ha ha).
That Saturday, a couple of my friends and I thought it would be fun to get one last camping trip in over labor day weekend before school started. I worked late that night but we were planning on just going up and sleeping in the back for the night. We bought some snacks, put some foam mattresses in the back and grabbed our pillows and headed out. We decided to just go up Farmington canyon and find a place to park.
Well, at the base of the Farmington canyon, of course there is a cop parked right there. He was off to the side of the road so I pulled passed him, just waiting for something to go wrong. Yep, as soon as I passed, his lights went on. Grrr. So he comes up to my window and I'm like "What's the problem?" He said the light over my license plate was out. Ok. Then he asks for my license and notices that my license is from Utah and my plates are Idahoan. I hadn't gone to the DMV to get my truck registered yet, 1. because I was stupid and thought that there was some sort of grace period and 2. because they are closed Fridays now, so I couldn't have done it anyways. So he cites me for driving with improper plates and having no insurance because I didn't have my card with me and then is "nice" for giving me a warning on the light issue.
He asks me to get out of the truck to explain the citation to me. We walk to the back of the truck and he has me sign and everything. He says he's being nice by not impounding my car. So stupid. Then he is like, "When is the last time you smoked weed?" I was like what? I told him I don't smoke. Then he's like "Who's in your car?" and I'm like "my friends." He asks me when they last smoked or if they ever smoke and then he wants to search my truck. So I was like whatever. So he searches my truck. He only searched the cab and my friend was joking, "ha ha, sucker, the weed is in the back!" (not loud enough for him to hear of course). But it was really dumb.
And so I went to traffic court and have a pre-trial conference in October. Ridic.
O and just to make things even better, I get in an accident with my dad's car later that week! It was the other guy's fault. Basically, he did a U-turn into my side. Ugh. Such is life I guess ha ha. It's totally my luck.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wyoming Trip
The 3rd weekend in August, I went to Wyoming with my family. We stayed on a ranch that my aunt's father owns with his 6 other brothers and sisters. Their family ranch is a total of 1400 acres and he owns 400 of them. It was very nice of he and his wife to let us come up and stay in their cabin and play with all their toys.
My sister and I drove up Saturday morning, well, we actually left closer to twelve. We had a few detours on the way up because we weren't sure if we were headed in the right direction but nothing too time consuming. We got to the ranch around 2 pm, just in time to join members of my extended family on a four wheel ride around the ranch, with Ron (the ranch owner) as a guide. We were in this giant procession of four wheelers lol and Ron would stop at points of interest and tell us about the history of the ranch. The first stop was an old log cabin. It was small and crooked, and looked like it was flooded with dirt because the door was so short! He showed us a pile of rocks that were used back in the day to mark the corners of an area of land. He's found 3 of the 4 that would be on his property. The last stop was an old school house he and his family had renovated. It was very cool. They had old fashioned desks and everything. Even a shelf full of encyclopedias from the 1800s.
We went back to the cabin and ate some dinner and rode the four wheelers some more while the men went out shooting and the kids went frog hunting. We went and swung on the tree swing next to the creek where the kids were catching frogs and then I tried to catch a few frogs of my own. It was really fun. I'd never done it as a kid. The tadpoles felt so weird to hold lol, like all slimey and wiggly in your hands as they tried to escape. It's crazy the transformation that they go through, from tadpoles to frogs. So weird that some creatures change so much over the course of their lifetime.
That evening, we went for a little horseback ride. Some of the horses there aren't very responsive. They tend to have minds of their own. Mine went for a gallop when I wanted to just trot lol, and my sisters was just following our horses around and wouldn't follow her lead. I lost my cell phone and couldn't find it that night but in the morning I went out and found it - yay - I was scared. Especially because it's not technically my phone.
The next day, we rode four wheelers, caught frogs again, canoed and paddle boated (lol, yes paddle boated) in the pond. It was so beautiful and relaxing. I really want a ranch when I grow up lol. Being out in nature can be so rejuvenating, it's a release from all our social cares and stresses that weigh us down day after day.
It was almost spiritual standing in the middle of the valley, mountains on either side of the vast sky and feeling so small and at the same time feeling that somehow things are all connected. Like the earth is our mother and we go to her to find peace and rest when we can't find it anywhere else.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
July Camping Trip
Here are some pictures from my camping trip with my girlfriends from high school. We go on a camping trip every year in the summer to keep in touch and catch up on everyone's lives.
We went to Deer Creek reservoir up Provo canyon. It was such a beautiful drive up. The view there was pretty, but the water was kind of gross. Basically what we do camping is just go swimming lol so that sucked, plus there wasn't really any good "beach" (I say it in quotations 'cause technically it's not a beach). So we were kind of bummed but the last day there, we found like a hidden spot right next to our campsite that was just perfect and the water was so clear. It was a little rocky but it beat the slimey seaweed area we were going to before, we wished we had found it earlier.
One thing that was pretty awesome was that me, my twin, and one of our friends climbed the peak of this really big hill/small mountain that was right in front of our campsite, across an inlet from the reservoir. It wasn't bad until about half way up and we got stuck in extremely dense foliage, like we seriously couldn't move anywhere except to go back to where we came from so we hiked horizontally for a while to get to a more open spot. All the while we are having irrational fears of bears and snakes and early death lol. But we made it to the top and there was a throne made of large rocks with a bandanna as a flag attached to the back. We of course took pictures. The hike down was a lot worse. We went down the other side of the mountain which was a huge mistake lol. It was steep and dry and at the end we had to cross the inlet after thrashing through some high, thick plants. We thought we'd cross at a narrow part but it was disgusting and I couldn't bring myself to do it. My sister had her camera and my friend had her phone so we were worried about them getting wet. My friend finally crossed at the gross narrow part. She was able to swim across with one arm in the air holding the camera and phone. My sister and I were too grossed out to go that way because 1. there was really gross seaweed and we both are like paranoid of gross seaweed, can't stand to walk in it, and 2. there was a rotting fish in the water at the other side - gross! Lol so we threw our shoes over to her and we swam across at a wider point. We hit a little of a sand bar in the middle and we freaked out when some seaweed got tangled on us *shudder* (it really is grosser to me than having a fish swim by my feet, I don't know why it just is) and then we walked to the road in our bare feet because our shoes were covered in burs, like inside and outside from the hike down. It took me almost an hour to get all the burs out once I got home.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Silk Spectre costume
So, I'm thinking about being the Silk Spectre from Watchmen for Halloween. My friend Kyle was helping me look for stuff, he found some pretty sick stuff online. This is for the movie version of the costume which is a little more covered and hard core-looking. This is the pic from the movie production shots:
Here's the leotard Kyle found for the yellow piece underneath:
For the wig, I would get something like this minus the highlights:
The boots would be the most expensive part there are some thigh highs that would work at this website he found:
But they are all so expensive and I know I wouldn't really wear them enough to make it worth it... I can't think of a good way to make my own so I am debating whether or not to just to it for the awesome costume or not.
I would just need some gloves and then I'd have to figure out to do the black outer pieces but It wouldn't be too hard I don't think... Eeee, we'll see.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I saw a Van Gogh painting in person!
I went to the exhibit "Monet to Picasso" at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts a couple weeks ago, it was amazing. Mostly the impressionist and post impressionist works imo. There was this Van Gogh of two cyprus trees, they had the picture of it in the brochure and on flyers but it doesn't even compare to seeing it in real life. The colors are a million times more vivid and the texture is incredible- the movement his brush strokes create on the canvas is genius for lack of a better word. I don't even know how to describe it, I wanted to just stare at that painting all day and come back the next day and do it again.
Looking at it, I just wanted to grab my easel, go outside and create. Art is a unique way of communicating. Good art communicates with our souls. I love the saying "Artists use lies to tell the truth" because it's so true! It is indescribable (sp?). I wish I could communicate like that. I just can't get over it lol and I wish I could explain it.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Twin Experience
I went to church with a friend today. My twin sister used to go with her, she was a member of the ward that my friend goes to, but she doesn't go much anymore. At the end of the first class, the Relief Society president got up to close the meeting and she said she wanted to welcome the visitors. She looked at me and said, Natasha, do you want to introduce your two friends sitting next to you (there where a couple girls who were visiting with my friend as well). I sat there for a minute, deciding what to do. Sometimes when people think I am my twin, I just go along with it and pretend to be her to avoid a scene and to not embarrass the people but I decided to reveal my true identity. I said, "Actually, I am Ali, Natasha's twin sister." Everyone laughed and was all shocked. Ha ha, you could hear some people say, "I didn't know she had a twin!" Lol, the girl was kind of embarrassed. It's really nothing to be embarrassed about though, we do look a lot alike. It's funny though and a rather unique experience. I don't often think of me and my twin looking that much alike but when things like that happen, it makes you realize that to a lot of the people that don't know either one of us well, we often appear to be the same person. It's kind of weird to think about.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pardon my French
On Monday, 2 of my aunts came to visit with their children. They are all staying with us for a week so my house is pretty insane, there are tons of kids just running around. Anyways, they wanted to visit Temple Square, so we all round up and get in the cars to drive down.
We stopped at Burger King on the way because everyone was getting hungry, and that was frustrating, for us and for Burger King I'm sure. They messed up our order but we just went with it because we were wanting to keep moving and it would just take forever to fix it.
When we got to the Joseph Smith building, where I work as a banquet server, I showed them where to go to watch a movie and then they wanted help getting around to different buildings on the square. We were walking towards the west end of the building when we saw some tourists come in. They looked confused and were all looking around. We tried talking to them but they like didn't respond lol, just like looked around still. I started leading the way out but my aunts overheard the tourists speaking French, so they're like, "Ali! You should help those people!" lol I was like embarassed but they kept telling me to go talk to them so I go over there and like stumble over my first sentence, lol I ended up just saying really simply that I could help them instead of asking if they needed help. They were looking for the 10th floor, which gives a great view of the city, and especially Temple Square. Anyways, it was pretty fun to actually use my French in everyday life, because when does that happen in Utah? Like hardly ever!
Then, to make the day even more French-y, I went to a movie at the city library with my friends about the evolution of African dance. It was a documentary and a lot of the dancers/choreographers/art people spoke French in the film. Of course they had subtitles, but it was fun to try and not read them, just listen to the people.
Ha ha, this day was probably not as exciting to anyone else as I think it was, but for me it was pretty sweet.
Friday, July 18, 2008
WATCHMEN MOVIE
I went to the midnight premier of The Dark Knight last night (well, technically this morning). It was incredible, disturbing, amazing, just wow. A few of the people I went with dressed up, it was pretty awesome. One of the guys dressed as Joker and looked incredible. He was on Good Day Utah this morning for a second or two doing his impersonation of the Joker laugh (they interviewed dressed up people at the premier).
I'm not gonna really talk about the movie that was just intro, now to the reason for this post: What was almost as exciting as seeing The Dark Knight was the trailer for Watchmen! You can watch it on http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/. (If I was smart I would probably know how to just put the trailer on my blog, maybe I'll try to figure something out tomorrow.) I am so pumped for this movie! I don't think I have ever been more excited for a movie, I can't wait for March!!! EEEEE! Seriously, it's like all I can think about right now. I will be at the midnight premier for sure, and probably in Silk Spectre costume.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Cliff Diving is Awesome!!
I went cliff diving for my first time on the 4th. It was so much fun. Me, my twin sister, and two of our friends went to Causey Dam, like an hour away from where we live. My first jump was so scary. I just stood on the top of the cliff and freaked myself out for like 10 minutes. The people in the water and across the dam were like, "Jump! Don't be scared! Just do it!" So finally, I had my friends count to three and I jumped off, I screamed the whole way down but it was so fun afterwards. I jumped off that cliff a few more times. It wasn't very big at all, just like 12 or 14 feet but it was still scary for the first time, you know. I finally got the nerve to actually dive off it, which was more fun than jumping. After a while, we went across and jumped off some higher cliffs, around 20 feet tall. Sage, a boy we went with who had been there many times before did this awesome swan dive off a taller cliff with a towel tied around his neck like a cape lol.
It felt liberating to jump off the cliffs and the adrenaline was awesome. I can't wait to go again and try the higher cliffs!
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