Friday Jamboree: Mermaids & Zombies

“Mermaid’s Realm

Hi everyone! This is a new segment on my blog about the Internet’s recent hoopla, bric-a-brac, hubbub, or what have you. I chose the word “jamboree” because it conveys celebration and merry-making, which is more or less what I’m doing here. Basically, every Friday I will be sharing my favorite links.

• “Isn’t it weird when you get to know enough about someone that you could blackmail them for life?” starts Almie Rose in a blog post called What We Don’t Tell. While this post may be a serious reflection on why people gossip about their relationships, it is also extremely hilarious.

• I mentioned Sarah Wilson in my last post about indecision. I’ve been following her updates for about two years, and she always has the most interesting interviews and insights. In this post, she talks about using your body to make decisions. It sounds hard! She and I both think we should know ourselves better, whether it be our mind or our body. It’s a great read, with quotes by Canetti and Maimonides interspersed throughout.

• Okay, so I don’t really want to see Snow White and the Huntsmen. But this post by Laura Kadner of Gumdrop Lane made me laugh out loud. “If [Charlize Theron] can look amazing and evil in a big bowl of yogurt, I can only imagine her in motion.” Fantastic! And a hilarious nod to Kristen Stewart trying to pull off the “pants-under-skirt look.” It never worked for you, girl!

• I love Stephen King. Really, he inspired me to write. I reread his book On Writing pretty much every year. I already sound obsessive, but this is not mentioning the collection of Stephen King books my Mom hoards downstairs, which steadily grows larger every year, because, let’s face it, Stephen King has cracked some code for writing books. Either that, or he’s on crack. EITHER WAY – this post tells you how to become a frighteningly good writer, like Stephen King.

• I think Gala Darling was the first blog I followed. Watching her change as a blogger over the past three (four?) years has been amazing. This Thursday, in her segment called TILT (Things I Love Thursday), she shares five life lessons that, in my opinion, everyone should know.

• Rohin Guha shares an ode to all the ladies in his life. It’s touching, and beautiful, and kind of a whole life story that starts and ends with gratitude. Well-written, too!

• You must must must see Isaac’s Live Lip-Dub Proposal. It’s quite hilarious, as sixty odd people dance around to Bruno Mars’ “Marry You.” Very hipster, very indie, very hilarious. No one is surprised that this took place in Portland, right?

• Have you ever wished that one of your favorite cartoon characters could be real? Was that cartoon character ever Ariel from the Little Mermaid? If that’s the case, then you’re in for a treat. According to Animal Planet, in a documentary called Mermaids: The Body Found, mermaids are real. If you don’t believe them, watch this scary video. Real live mermaids! Oh wait, Animal Planet, that was a “mockumentary”? Screw you.

• In other crazy news, some naked guy in Miami ate the face of another guy on a highway underpass. When the police tried to get him off, he growled. Some people think that a drug called “bath salts” was involved, but I think it’s zombies.

• On a lighter note, did you know that it’s National Donut Day? That’s right! Eat up!

Hope you had a fantastic week!

How to Decide: The Know Yourself Edition

By robchopphotography

Recently, Sarah Wilson wrote about indecision. Once I read the first few paragraphs, I couldn’t stop; she was me, I was her! (And we are all together!) Below is my own experience with indecision, including stories of roommates, Mom and Dad, and self-worth.

I’ve always been indecisive. I’d waffle around the house for days, wondering what movie I should see on a Friday night. I’d call my friends, asking them to choose the destination of our morning brunch. I’d even ask my mom what to do, and of course she would make the small, meaningless decisions for me. I’ve since gotten a lot better: I know where I want to go out to eat, for example, and I’ve become pretty adept at persuading my boyfriend to join me. However, when it comes to the big things, I have a problem.

Last semester, one of my friends asked me to move in with her in the middle of the school year. I was living in a single that connected to another single, where my once-close friend, Natasha, lived. Even though we lived next to each other, I didn’t see her much. I saw her on the way to the bathroom, and smiled. She heard me through the walls, practicing a song I would audition for in my a cappella group. We ate dinner with our group of 15 or so friends each week, but never alone, unless something was wrong and we needed advice (in those cases, it was always me coming to her, probably because I had more problems).

Even though we weren’t your traditional roommates, our blase friendship was all that I needed. I was happy there, in my cramped single in the wellness dorm on lower campus. I had bothered Tasha so much the year before about being roommates, that being connected singles buddies was the closest I knew we would get. However, I also remembered how lonely it got, living in a single, especially a single on lower campus miles away from my boyfriend (at least, that’s what it seemed like. The trek to upper campus only took about five minutes.)

When Carlie asked me to room with her, I said I’d think about it. It wasn’t that I couldn’t make a decision; I didn’t want to. It was over my head. I was worried that Natasha would be upset if I left. I was worried that I wouldn’t have as much alone time with my boyfriend. I was worried about making my parents help me lug my furniture and posters and books and clothes all across campus. I was worried about the room, which was in the only feminist dorm on campus. I was worried about Carlie herself, who, while being extremely fun-loving, also seemed eccentric, unpredictable. I wondered what it would be like living with her.

My mom told me to write a Pros and Cons list, and while all the cons weighed heavily on my mind, I ended up writing more Pros. The room had a bathroom in it. It was above the dining hall. It was next door to my boyfriend’s dorm. It was also the dorm in which his sister lived. I would no longer be lonely; if I wanted someone to hang out with, I wouldn’t have to bother my boyfriend (but of course, I invariably did). I could make lots of friends with strong-minded women. Still, I didn’t know what I wanted. To me, some of the cons seemed to have more weight than the pros, or some of the pros seemed to have more weight to the cons. I measured my indecision, hoping that the right percentage of yes and no would give me the answer I was looking for.

After months of brooding, it finally came to me. It wasn’t a “Eureka” moment. I just knew that I wanted to try something different, and that my decision shouldn’t be for the people around me (Natasha, Carlie, Mom and Dad, Tommy the boyfriend), but for me. I had to know myself, what I truly and desperately wanted, before jumping into a decision I might regret. I moved in with Carlie, and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were no problems, and we became much closer as friends. It was my first successful experience with a roommate (not counting Tasha; she didn’t technically live with me), and she introduced me to so many other wonderful people I probably would have never met. I’m grateful for the experience, and I’m glad that my decision didn’t let me down.

Now, I’m in the same predicament. An even larger decision circles around my head: should I study abroad, taking in the culture of London and landing an internship there, or stay at Wheaton, becoming a higher position at the newspaper and continuing to be the Music Director of my a cappella group? I haven’t yet made a Pros and Cons list, and I probably won’t. Instead, I’ll look deep into myself, and reflect: “What do I want?”

How do you deal with indecision? Do you have any tips for knowing what you want? 

Madonna: A Great Fit for the Superbowl

Courtesy of washingtonpost.com

I don’t know how to classify Madonna’s half-time show. Was it totally innovative or completely over-the-top? Even though Madonna, at 53, is older than the Superbowl itself, I think she brought as much spunk as any other half-time performer.

While Reddit and Twitter exploded with suspicions of lip-synching, I watched, amazed, as the performance unfurled. From a Troy-esque beginning in which Madonna emerged from a cocoon of feathers vaguely reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s egg, to a cheerleading segment with Nicki Minaj and MIA, to Cee Lo Green’s giant gospel choir (which to me, looked like a sea of penguins), I think the half-time show covered all its bases: amazement, fun, and intrigue.

The visual effects on the field and stage also added to the performance’s impressiveness. Madonna’s dancers back-flipped and somersaulted on an ever-changing stage. 3D images of speakers flew into the sky, and later the stage seemed to fall away into a black hole.

As always, though, there were a few slip-ups worth mentioning. NBC failed to block the image of a cheerleader who flipped off the camera. Nicki Minaj’s performance was drab at best, sadly. Madonna’s dancers completely overshadowed her; in fact, she needed their help in order to perform a decent cartwheel. And did you see the guy on the tightrope? His moves were amazing!

The show’s ending was the most surprising, however. When the lights on the stage dimmed, and the glows of phones in the stands flickered, the field lit up with two simple words: World Peace. It was random and therefore humorous, yes, but the message broadcast to everyone watching.

Madonna’s half-time show made a huge impact, and, whether for positive or  negative reasons, people will be talking about this one for a long time.

365 Days: #3 and #4

We’re just all going to pretend that I posted #3 yesterday and #4 today, okay? Okay.

Day 3: Grades Collage

Yesterday, my grades for the first semester of my sophomore year came out. Naturally, I was thrilled. Once again, I received straight As for my hard work. Taking five classes and three performance classes is not something I want to do again any time soon. I remember laboring in the periodicals level of the library for hours on end, especially near the end of the semester with finals looming closer. I’ll be taking only four classes next semester: Journalism, Digital Culture, Music Theory II, and American Political Society.

This is just a clarification, but the above picture is a collage, with my printed grades (no report cards for us Wheaton students) at the center focus of the composition. No, I didn’t put together the collage myself, but you can probably guess what kind of surface it is, especially because of the magnets. Family on the left, souvenirs on the right, and the only child’s grades in the middle. Hmmm…

Day 4: 11/22/63

I really like how this picture came out. The lighting was bad when I took it, but the shadows the flash produced made the pages seem much more ominous. For a Stephen King book, that’s exactly as they should be.

If you glance quickly at the old photograph, you might think that the dancers are still moving, twirling around each other at their school’s talent show. King’s 11/22/63 sends Jake Epping to not a where, but a when: 1958. Epping then attempts to change the past, but what he finds is that the past does not want to be changed. It’s possible, but… the past is obdurate.

I like this book so far, and it’s tough to put down, mainly because of its sheer suspense. Hopefully I’ll be reading at least 50 books this year, and the way I’m blazing through this 800-page one, I’m thinking it might not even be that hard. Maybe I’ll even review it for this blog… Or make book reviews a feature. What do you think?

Where do you showcase your grades? What are you reading? How’s 2012 treating you so far? 

365 Days: #2 Asleep

Day 2: Asleep

Nothing like a good day of relaxation with the family, who slept through their books (my dad’s reading “The Help” and my mom’s reading some James Patterson book). I meant to get a picture of Subway, because today was my first day back at work, but I completely forgot.

Hope you had a good Jan 2!

What are you reading? How was your day? 

365 Days: #1 Chips & Dip

I’ve returned the messenger of good news! I will be updating more regularly; in fact, I’ll be posting a picture and a little ditty about it every day. Something to keep me busy, to keep my creative juices running. I hope everyone had a great New Year’s!

Day 1: Chips & Dip

Lately I’ve been lounging around on a daily basis. Tonight, I curled up with my parents and watched Company Man, then a couple episodes of X-Files. Chips & dip is my favorite TV snack, so there it is. Today I went to church to see my mother sing in the choir, and then came home and tooled on the computer most of the day. Ah, such is life.

What did you do today? And how do you like to curl up in front of the TV? 

The Blend’s Murdery Mystery Jam!

Created by Amie Rosenblum

This weekend, Wheaton College’s only co-ed a capella group will be performing for your viewing and listening pleasure in the Chapel! The theme is Murder Mystery, so there will be a murder, and there will be a mystery, as promised. I play the struggling journalist willing to do anything for a good story. Exciting, right? Anyway, I really hope people try to make it. I’ve now spent a year with the Blend & have watched and felt us grow as an a capella group and (in spite of cliches) as a family. So come one, come all, for a great experience!