Slippery roads

It's about that time of year that the holidays are coming and we're all headed home from Thanksgiving/Christmas break. I love this time of year, not because of Christmas or anything like that, but because I love spending time with my family. I like the snow, the red and green and gold decorations and the smells of cinnamon candles.

I DON'T LIKE driving in the snow, though. I actually hate it. I've lived in a little rural town out in the sticks my whole life. I've had to drive on back roads in snowstorms and survived, but I've never gotten over the fear or driving on a slippery road in the dark. I have snow tires and a good winter car, yeah yeah but still, I never feel completely safe when I'm on the road with snow.

Just the other day, my friend's dad rolled their Subaru (a GREAT winter car) when he was coming down the hill by their house. He was taking their cat to the vet, and lost control on the slippery roads. Luckily both he and Skittles are okay, but terrifying nonetheless.

So, when you're all driving home or wherever you're headed over break, PLEASE be careful. Drive slow. Take the extra 30 minutes to get where you're going if that means you'll get their alive.

Black Friday blues

BLACK FRIDAY.

Or should I should I say Black Thursday? Unless you're living under a rock, you probably know about the infamous "holiday" that is Black Friday. This is the day where all the shoppers looking for a bargain head out to the stores and compete for marked down items.

Personally, I've never been interested in this shopping day. I love to shop, but I can't deal with the massive crowds. More than that though, I really dislike how people become basically brainwashed by big business in the weeks, sometimes even longer, leading up to this day.

Now, these businesses have decided to get a jump on the day and begin their sales on Thursday evenings. This irritates me because Thursday is Thanksgiving. People travel from all the over to be with their families and eat together, but now these stores have offered these "massive deals" on the day of Thanksgiving. These deals tempt those who are looking to save some money for Christmas or birthday presents. Not to mention the obvious issues that revolve around this day like forcing retail workers to work on Thanksgiving and the mad rush of sometimes angry people which can lead to injuries or death.

Basically, Black Friday sucks.

Test anxiety

As Thanksgiving is coming around the corner, finals week is right behind it. As a senior in college, I know finals week too well. I've battled and survived six semesters and six finals weeks. I know what's coming. I know that I will be stressing out, reciting definitions and terms in the shower, walking and studying index cards at the same time and wishing I began studying weeks in advance.

That routine has yet to change for me. Another thing that hasn't changed for me, is my loathing of cumulative tests. I know it's always voiced, but I truly feel that cummulative tests do not effectively measure my knowledge on a subject. I don't see the point in learning all semester and then being handed a 50 question multiple choice test.

Like many others, I have test anxiety. Even if I studied day and night for a week, I don't think I would be able to successfully answer every question right on a test. I get nervous, my palms sweat and I can feel my heartbeat racing when I sit down and flip through a six page test.

I love being handed a test that offers short answer or an essay portion. For me, being able to explain myself and explain what I'm thinking is much more effective for me. I can convey what I've learning easier than trying to deduce the answer from four given answers.

I know that multiple choice works for some students, but I also know I'm not alone in the essay department. I think that professors should offer a choice or offer both options. I'm not sure if that's even possible, but I would love to be able to walk into a test and feel confident that I can explain my train of thought rather than be drilled with questions and given four possible answers that often seem like a trick. #college

Kim attempts to break the Internet

I'm sure you all have seen Kim Kardashian's attempt at "breaking the Internet." Last week, celebrity Kim Kardashian posed for Paper magazine in her birthday suit in a revealing photo-shoot in which she was trying to shut down the Internet with people frantically searching.

Now, Kim's latest attention-grabbing move didn't come without negative criticism. It's hard for the Karadashian sister to do anything without getting comments from people who are less than approving of her lifestyle and fame.

One criticism I'm focusing on is one that isn't being talked about much. This isn't criticism for Kim, it's criticism for the fans.

Just a few months ago 'Charmed' star, Alyssa Milano posted a photo to Instagram of her breastfeeding her newborn baby. She was wearing a t-shirt –– not even showing her nipple. There was outrage amongst the Instagram community, and the photo was removed.

OK. What? How is something that is supposed to be a natural interaction between mother and baby considered "inappropriate," but Kim can bear her bare ass, and pose full frontal, naked? It's actually ridiculous that people are so uncomfortable by a woman's natural human body, but have no problem with admiring an oiled up naked posed body.

This isn't targeted toward Kim or the photographers. I disagree with the photographer's choice, based off of other cultural reasons. I'm just saying that I find it repulsive that people continue to shame women for BREASTFEEDING. I mean, come on.
 

Swift (Again)

Apparently I'm on the Taylor Swift support wagon. But this a follow-up to my post from last week, "Shake it Off -- Swift Style." In my last post I expressed my distaste of the people who despise and shame Swift for being herself... a cheery, young singer who seemingly has a heart of gold.

Just the other day pictures of Taylor Swift with a fan went viral. Swift was out running in a park in Nashville. When she was running, she ran into a fan who was getting her photo taken. Swift surprised her by crashing her photo shoot. They took goofy pictures, both smiling ear-to-ear.

The little girl took to Twitter to express her happiness and how "sweet" it was of Swift to "maker her dreams come true."
BR>

It just enforces what I said last week. People are kind. Don't hate/shame them for being kind, just because it may come across "fake" to you. Instead, why don't we hate the people who kidnap women off the streets, like the man who took a women two weeks ago in Philadelphia. (She was found and is now safe at home, btw!)

"The Perfect Body"

Victoria's Secret recently launched it's new advertisement with the tagline "the perfect body," but it soon came with criticism. The advertisement was for Victoria's Secrets new "body" bra." The tagline over the photo of perfectly tall, shiny, thin women, read "The Perfect Body."

With the positive body image movement if full swing right now, the lingerie store should have expected to receive some major backlash from shoppers and supporters of the movement. The backlash came in different forms. A petition from Change.org started a petition with over 27,000 signatures requesting that Victoria's Secret apologize and change the campaign.

A Change.org petition requesting that Victoria's Secret apologize and change the campaign had over 27,000 signatures at the time of writing. The underwear brand, Dear Kate, released their own campaign similar to Victoria's Secrets. Instead of all "perfect models" the ad featured diverse women of all colors and sizes.

The shop silently changed the advertisement online to "A Body for Every Body." There was no statement of public outreach. I find it refreshing that a major company actually listened to the outcry of it's customers. It's not often that a company releases an advertisement and then changes it when they see the customers are unhappy. It's been said a million times... but I'll say it again. There is no "perfect body" Every body is beautiful, every person is beautiful. If influential companies are encouraging this idea that one body is better than the other, then we'll never make the progress we need in order for all women to be comfortable in their own skin.

Shake it off — Swift style

"I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. I shake it off, I shake it off," These are the lyrics stuck in everyone's head the past month or so... it's Taylor Swift's mega hit "Shake it Off." Of course, Taylor's hit isn't warmly welcomed into many people's musical minds. Her hit, like most of her others, is greeted with people groaning and grunting about "how it annoying she is."

OK, it's fine to not like Taylor Swift — you can not like whomever you want. But, what bugs me is that people write her off as this blonde bimbo who dances and sings annoying songs about her ex-boyfriends. People constantly criticize her for dating a bunch of guys and then writing songs about them. What's wrong with that? She's channeling her emotions and energy into music, which happens to be her CAREER, and she makes money from that. How is that different from writers writing poems about their epic love tales and break ups?

Taylor's music can be a little too poppy for me sometimes, but it's great cruising with your windows down kind of music or dancing in the kitchen while you clean kind of music. I feel as if people forget she's a person, too. She's a young woman who dates, likes cats, loves baking and stays out of trouble — unlike many other Hollywood stars.

Love or hate Taylor Swift... it doesn't really matter, but stop criticizing the shit out of her just because she writes bubbly songs, bitching about her ex-boyfriends. I know for a fact that some of those people who are complaining that she's annoying because "that's all she does" are the ones who won't shut up about the guy or girl who they just broke up with.

Shake it off, ya'll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM

Philly stole my wallet

So, this past week I attended the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Philadelphia. I went as a member of our student-run newspaper, Cardinal Points. I was super excited to attend this year because I had an awesome time at the last convention in New Orleans. I love going to the sessions with my notepad and scribbling down all of the tips the presenters (who are successful and usually pretty cool) have to say.

I packed all of my stuff and headed to the historical city in van with 7 other Cardinal Points members and our adviser. I was ready to learn, have a few drinks (I'm 21!) and hang out with my friends. I've never been to Philly, so I was psyched to see what the city had to offer.

Now, I'm from a small town. When I say small, I mean TINY. I graduated with about 30 people. It's insanely small. But I love it there. It's quiet, surrounded by beautiful views, farms, trees and family. I love going home because I always feel safe there. I've been to large cities both in the United States and abroad. I like to think that I've moved past the basic "touristy" person who makes dumb mistakes. That is... until I went to Philly and proved myself wrong.

On our third night in the city, I found myself at an Indian restaurant with a couple other Cardinal Points members. We were the only ones in the restaurant around dinner time... a little weird, but nothing to be too concerned about. It was a bit of a "hole-in-the-wall" kind of place. We sat down, and immediately the waiter gave off creeper vibes.

We contemplated leaving, but we were so hungry that we deicded to stay. Big mistake.

The waiter grew increasingly more creepy and annoying. He kept telling stories about his girlfriend back in India, showing us pictures on his phone, asking us irrelevant questions and just lingering around the table. As we began to eat our food, we noticed a strange man sitting behind us for just a few minutes. He got up, spoke to the man in a whisper and left.

We barely noticed it.

When it was time to pay, I saw that my wallet was missing. Shit.

I didn't think about it atthe time, but everything about that experience at the restaurant led me to believe I had been scammed and robbed by these guys. I checked my bank statements, and I saw I had over $400 in charges. UGH.

I cancelled my cards and called the police. They were less than helpful.

I lost two credit cards, my student ID, my license, $25 and a number of gift cards.

I could go on forever about how upset and pissed off I was that I didn't listen to my gut when I thought I should leave, but that will get me nowhere. Lesson learned: ALWAYS listen to what you're gut is saying!

Little girls swear for feminism

I'm assuming everyone has seen the viral video going around from the Upworthy organization that features little girls cursing like sailors to prove a point. My question? What is the point they're trying to make? I can't remember because I was distracted by the fluffy pink dresses, crowns and curse words flying out of their mouths every other word.

I am not against swearing. I curse all the time. It's a bad habit that I'm trying to real in a bit, but I feel it's part of my expression. What I don't think is OK is when little girls are fed scripts that say, "Here say this, say that" and in between the message there are hundred curse words. Do they even know what they're saying a why? Probably not.

The messages they're trying to get across are something along the lines of women's rights and women's equality –– again I'm not still 100 percent sure because of the confusion I felt when I saw this sad attempt at an informational video.

I'm involved with women's rights club and I am self-proclaimed feminist. I love the fact that they're trying to educate the public about issues women are facing, such as pay inequality. I also like the fact they're encouraging young girls to express themselves and let themselves be heard, in whatever way they choose. But the way they executed this video was so terrible. It really served little purpose, expect causing controversy. Maybe that's all they want, who knows.

I do know that when I'm showing motivational, educational videos that feature woman power and women's rights to my four-year-old niece, I won't be showing this piece of shit.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ny11qBaQp0

High school shooting in Washington

Just when we thought the increase in mass shootings was behind us... Yesterday, there was a shooting at a Washington high school that killed two people, including the shooter, and injured four students.

The gunman who shot up his high school cafeteria was teenager and freshman, Jaylen Fryberg. Right now, it is still unclear what Fryberg's motives exactly were but his social media pages suggest that he was struggling with relationships problems and dealing with troubles at school.

Fryberg seemed to be a popular student among his peers. He was crowned homecoming prince, a football player, an avid hunter and a member of the Tulalip Tribe (His grandfather is the director of fish and wildlife for the tribe).

News sites say that if you were to look into Fryberg's social media pages, you would see that he clearly a very troubled young kid. His posts go on and on about his relationship issue with his girlfriend and even mentions something aggressive about his brother, both of whom were victims of his shooting spree.

With the heavy social media usage, people are often posting online hints and clues about their unhappiness and depression. It makes me wonder that if people are using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as platforms to advertise what is going on emotionally with them, maybe we should open our eyes and try to do something about it.

I think we are too use to social media that we are becoming numb to what people are posting. Nothing seems to really pop out and rarely do we think, "Maybe they need help." If we were to be a little more cautious when browsing our friends pages, we might pick up something that may end up a serious issue.

SNL pokes fun at advertisments

I love Saturday Night Live. They constantly crack me up and leave me wanting more hilarious sketches. I love that they have no mercy when it comes to calling out celebs and companies in a humorous way. Humor makes the world go round!

When SNL alum, Bill Hader returned to the show for a Saturday night, he participated in an SNL short that poked fun at the Western charities that try to collect donations for different African issues. He came up with a funny character, as usual, who would serve as the host of the donating campaign like the celebrity figureheads

His character goes on and on, speaking to the audience about how if you give just 39 cents, you can save a life. A man in the skit whispers to him, " Ask for more money. Why are you starting so low?"

Hader and the comedy group continue to address the controversial issue of these ads. A Huffington Post article said that the feedback SNL is receiving said "valid political points," that included questioning the efficacy of long-term aid in general, which critics say creates a culture of dependence and fails to address the underlying issues which create poverty in the first place."

I agree. There is a reason that poverty and illness exists in the countries of Africa and instead of guilting people into donate a small amount each month, they should be informing them on WHY it's happening and raising money to help fix that. I think they underestimate the intelligence of viewers. Those at home may want to help if they knew exactly what was going on and were given a place to start in order to help fix it.

Ben and Jerry's get hazed and confused

Ice cream company Ben and Jerry's is under fire yet again from unhappy customers. The Vermont-based company is known for both their delicious ice cream and their clever ice cream names. In the past they have come up with funny names for their specialty ice creams like, "Phish Food" and "Karmel Sutra." Usually people seem to enjoy the funny flavors, but occasionally there is uproar when they release a new flavor.

A couple years ago, Ben and Jerry's released an ice cream flavor called, "Schweddy Ball." People were furious because they thought it was "inappropraite." Now, with their most release, "Hazed and Confused," the critics are back. People are unhappy abvout this particular flavor because they think that it "condones and makes light of college Greek Life hazing."

This time Ben and Jerry's refuse to remove the ice cream flavor because they say they are in no way encouraging or condoning hazing.

I think it's funny. It's just an ice cream flavor... no one is forcing you to purchase it. It seems that people just want something to bitch about, so they target something easy, like Ben and Jerry's.

With everything going on the world, I don't really get why people make it a priority to protest an ice cream company because of a silly flavor name.

The funny names actually make me want to buy the ice cream to check it out. People need to relax and get a sense of a humor.

Marriott Hotels blocks Internet

Apparently the popular hotel, The Marriott was illegally blocking people's internet access and charging them anywhere from $250 to $1,000. That's crazy.

It sounds so trivial compared to other things happening in the news lately, but it's something that affects so many people in this technology driven world. As people growing up in this generation of constant technology swarming around us, being denied access to Internet while at a hotel that promises free Wi-fi (AKA your best friend) and then being charge a ridiculous amount of money is terrifying. It's sad, but true.

I'm mainly concerned about this article because I'll be spending 5 nights in a Marriott hotel at the end of this month for a conference. While I'm there I will be forced to do homework, send assignments and check and send emails. Let's be serious, the Marriott is a damn fancy hotel, too. I should be getting free Wi-fi without worrying they're going to be ripping me off the second they remove the funds from my checking account.

The worst part is the hotel refuses to even admit they're doing something wrong –– give me a break. You're exploiting the basic rights that we, as paying customers, are entitled too. Well at least The Federal Communications Commission is fining Marriott International 600,000 for unlawfully blocking customers' Wi-Fi access, according to the Huffington Post. Here's the article,

Teen blames televison show for murder

I read this article, today about a 16-year-old boy who killed and dismembered his girlfriend –– for fun. This article goes on to say that boy blamed his behavior on the hit-show, Dexter.

If you're not familiar with Dexter, it's a show about a man who is obsessed with killing. He is a serial killer who kills other serial killers. It's his his twisted version of getting justice.

Millions of people watch Dexter and don't commit horrible crimes –– it's not the show's fault. I know this is heavily debated topic among bloggers and popular news sites. It's in the news once and a while, too. Similar stories to this one about people who commit murder or other heinous crimes and blame it on television show or video game. Now, I do agree that violent video games can alter a child's prospective on the world, but I don't believe that a person or a defense lawyer can use that to justify killing someone.

Basically, I feel that you are responsible for your actions. I love watching The Walking Dead, and I'm not ripping people's throats out. It's just a television show created by Hollywood to make money.

Feminism for everybody

Feminism has been a hot topic the past year or so, a topic that has been heavily debated among men and women. The most recent person who has weighed in on the topic is Harry Potter star, Emma Watson.

She gave a speech at the United Nations Headquarters in New York about gender equality. She told attendees that there is a need for more feminists in our society and asked men to join the movement. During her speech she said that becoming a feminist wasn't a complicated decision, but she find its shocking that our society associates feminism with words like, "aggressive, anti-men, unattractive and too strong."

When I came to college, I learned what feminism meant. I admit that I was guilty of believing the stereotypes people put on the word. When I was introduced to what the word actually meant, I was hooked on it. I wanted to learn what it meant to be a feminist and defend to those who have a false idea of the meaning.

Now, I like to think I am strong woman because of feminism. I love when I see people in the media who are giving feminism a good name. It dissapoints me when I hear people around campus speaking ill of the movement, because they have their perception of it is so distorted.

Feminism = equality, NOT "anti-men"

Hacker release more nude photos

A few weeks ago, a number of women celebrities had their personal iPhone accounts hacked. Women like Jennifer Lawrence had nude photos released to the public without their consent. Now weeks later, another hacking has occured. Celebs like Kim Kardashian, Hayden Panettiere and Rihanna are just a few of the most recent women who were exposed.

Many people speculated that iPhone's iCloud was to blame for the hacking. It was said that the hacker was able to hack into their iCloud accounts and steal the women's photos, even ones that were deleted. iCloud is mass storage system where all of your iPhone information is backed up and stored into.

It's freaks me out that all of the photos/videos I have taken are stored into this virtual world of technology. If it was that easy to steal high-profile people's information and photos, then how easy would it be to steal the average Joe's?

It definitely makes you think twice about what you're using your technology for.

ISIS continues the violence

As I'm sure most of you have heard, the ISIS organization is releasing videos of them beheading American journalists. So far, they have released two violent videos of them beheading the men. At the end of each video the masked ISIS member shows another prisoner and promises to behead him as well.

ISIS has released another video this afternoon. This time the victim is believed to be British hostage who was for the French non-governmental organization ACTED, when he was taken and David Cawthrone Haines, who was showed in the beheading video of journalist Steven Scotloff. This video is targeted toward the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

The executor says this video is message to all allies of America.

President Obama released this statement at 8:30 p.m. tonight:
The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Haines by the terrorist group ISIL. Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. Haines and to the people of the United Kingdom. The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world.

As an aspiring journalist, these videos really get to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets chills every time I see an article on any of the news sites I frequently visit. It's terrifying that this happening to people dedicated to helping and telling the story. It doesn't scare me away from becoming the journalist I hope to be, but it does make me more cautious when thinking about the kind of reporting I would like to do and where I would like to do it.

My thoughts are with the victims and the families of this barbaric act of violence.

Apple takeover

When it comes to technology, I am definitely team Apple. I've owned two Macbook Pros and two iPhone's in my lifetime as a college student –– I would never switch to Android. I just love how their products are sleek, virus-free and work at a fast speed. But although I have extreme brand loyalty to Apple, I can't stand the hype when they release their newest item. The most recent product set free into the world, iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, have blown off the shelves after only being released for less than week.
People are calling the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, a "phablet" (half phone, half tablet). This phone is already back-ordered. if you try and purchase the phone on Apple's website it says the phone will not be shipped for "3-4 weeks". Apple lovers went nuts over Apple's new products –– as usual. In the craze of demanding the phone, they actually crashed Apple's website on Thursday night. During all this maniac behavior over rushing to buy the new phone, at a ridiculous price I might add, no one even realized that Apple quietly discontinued the iPod Classic, which has been around for 12 years. With the death of the iPod Classic, you can no longer buy an Apple product that will hold the massive about of 160 GB (40,000 songs) worth of music.

Basically, I love you Apple, but you terrify me with your ability to make the world bow down.