New Moon!

The cast of New Moon is going to be at the Fashion Place Mall on November 14th! I am so excited. I actually think this will be a pretty good movie. Much better than Twilight, I am sure. Watch this trailer, and it will convince you as well!



I am going to the midnight showing and I cannot wait!

Favorite Movies

These are movies that I honestly can watch anytime. They are complete feel-good movies, because that it what I like. I hate being scared and I like dramas in small doses. Mostly I like to laugh and watch relationships evolve.



1. Titanic: A classic. Honestly, how could anyone not be touched by this movie? Even putting aside the love story, which is heartbreaking, just thinking about the actual people on the actual ship, and what they went through, what families went through makes me so grateful for the blessings in my life.


2. Where the Heart Is: "A pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma" Obviously, a great film! But really, I love it because she builds new relationships with a man, a great girlfriend, an older lady who becomes like a mother to her, and her child, all after a failed, horrible relationship. She bounced back, and I love to watch happy endings.






3. 13 Going on 30: Jenna realizes that everything she wanted when she was 13 came true when she was 30. Except that she isn't the kind of person she wanted to be. I love this movie, I think it has really good message, and they dance to Thriller in it, which is obviously fantastic!

Everything is amazing and Nobody's Happy!

Thanks, youtube!

Greg Rutter's Definitive List of The 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Unless You're a Loser or Old or Something

(In No Particular Order)

01) Grape Stomp
02) Charlie Bit Me
03) Chocolate Rain
04) Dancing Baby
05) Post Secret
06) Charlie The Unicorn
07) Mentos and Diet Coke
08) Numa Numa
09) Peanut Butter Jelly Time
10) George Lucas In Love
11) You're The Man Now Dog
12) Yatta
13) Star Wars Kid
14) Bubb Rubb
15) The Flying Spaghetti Monster
16) Dramatic Chipmunk
17) Homestar Runner
18) GI Joe Pork Chop Sandwiches
19) Fail Blog
20) Skateboarding Dog
21) All Your Base Are Belong To Us
22) Winnebago Man
23) We Like The Moon
24) I Can Has Cheezburger
25) Barney Vs. Tupac
26) Shining
27) Cute Overload
28) Rick Roll
29) Lazy Sunday
30) David After The Dentist
31) Powerthirst
32) Christian The Lion
33) Bert and Ernie Rap
34) Lady Punch
35) Leprechaun in Alabama
36) Where The Hell Is Matt
37) Boom Goes The Dynamite
38) Breakdancing Baby
39) Drunk Jeff Goldblum
40) Scarlet Takes A Tumble
41) Susan Boyle
42) Gay Mount Everest
43) Afro Ninja
44) Cop Shoots Himself In Leg In Classroom
45) Tron Guy
46) "Leave Britney Alone"
47) Laughing Baby
48) I'm the Juggernaut Bitch
49) Exploding Whale
50) Take On Me The Literal Version
51) Bill O'Reilly Flips Out
52) Don't Tase Me Bro
53) The Landlord
54) Breakdancing Baby Kick
55) The Pet Penguin
56) Ms. South Carolina Answers A Question
57) I'm F*#king Matt Damon
58) Will It Blend
59) Spaghetti Cat
60) Tom Cruise Kills Oprah
61) Little Superstar
62) Chad Vader
63) Pretty Much Everywhere It's Going To Be Hot
64) I Like Turtles
65) Who Needs A Movie
66) Jake E. Lee Shreds
67) Hawaii Chair
68) Aussie Party
69) Hitler Plans Burning Man
70) Montgomery Flea Market
71) Look At The Horse
72) Asian Backstreet Boys
73) Leroy Jenkins
74) Pinky The Cat
75) Monkey Sniffs Finger
76) Sneezing Panda
77) Prison Inmates remake "Thriller"
78) Techno Viking
79) Ask A Ninja
80) Best Man Trips and Ruins Wedding
81) Best Wedding Toast Ever (Amy's Song)
82) Kitten Surprise (how to break up a cat fight)
83) Katana Sword Infomercial Goes Wrong
84) Matrix Ping Pong
85) La Pequena Prohibida
86) Angry German Kid (translated)
87) Evolution of Dance
88) Ok Go "Here It Goes Again"
89) Battle at Kruger (lions vs. buffalos vs. crocodiles)
90) Daft Hands
91) Human Beatbox
92) Most T-Shirts Worn At Once
93) Zero G Dog
94) Cuppy Cakes Song
95) George Washington
96) Scary Maze Prank
97) Gay Referee
98) Tranquilized Bear Hits Trampoline
99) Reporter Gets A Fly In The Mouth

Penelope

Yesterday I watched the movie Penelope. I recently got Netflix (!!!) and it was one of the movies you could watch on the website, so I decided to give it a try. It was so cute! I thought it was a wonderful example of media that has a great message and is entertaining for all ages. For those of you who have not seen it, its about a girl who is born with a pig nose and has to find "one of her own kind" to accept her before the curse will be broken and it will go away. In the end, she accepts herself (one of her "own kind") in order for the curse to be broken!
I think that is a wonderful message. I reccomend this movie as a good family and/or kids film, but I personally watched it by myself and still really enjoyed it!

The Office

DISCLAIMER: If you have not seen it, this will spoil the latest episode of The Office for you!!! :)

So, The Office.

I used to be anti-the office, and then I started secretly watching the past seasons on DVD. And I loved it so much! Its hilarious, and I feel like I can identify people I know in all of the characters. So, sixth season is the first season I have been watching as it is aired, and I actually don't think its even half as funny as the others. However, the latest episode was Jim & Pam's wedding and I was so excited! It was so cute, and I thought it was hilarious how they danced down the aisle to "Forever" just like the youtube video. The thing is, I didn't actually think that video was funny in real life, but having the media mock it was so hilarious. Weird how that works. Just how if Michael was in my real life, I would surely hate my life and absolutely never laugh when he did all of the stupid things he does. But again, when the show makes fun of the annoying habits people have, we laugh at them. A lot.
I am an RA, and we have to plan our activities around The Office. Otherwise no one will come. I just wonder how a show can have that much influence on so many people. Do we like seeing our lives made fun of? I think yes, yes we do.

Baby-Sitter's and Shopaholic's

My favorite book when I was young was the Baby-Sitter’s Club. A group of girls who are good friends but all have very different personalities, get together and form a club, which basically runs as a business. They set up opportunities for each other to baby-sit for many families in their neighborhood. Throughout the books, they experience family struggles, conflicts in their friendships and problems while baby-sitting, but in the end they always remain great friends. They are bonded because of their Baby-Sitter’s Club.

As for my favorite book now, I haven’t changed much in the fact that I can’t pick just one. My favorite is still a series, The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. You may be familiar with Confessions of a Shopaholic, which was recently made into a movie. The main character of these books is a young women who has many problems, including but not limited to, her shopping addiction. She means well, but things often do not go as planned for her. Kinsella’s character, Rebecca Bloomwood, is a very positive and upbeat person who cares a great deal about those whom she is close to, but her debt issues lead to her lying and deceiving her family and friends because she doesn’t want them to think less of her. She makes plenty of mistakes throughout the books, but you can’t help but cheer her on because she is a lovable character with a great personality.

I love books that are a series because it means I don’t have to stop getting to know the characters after just one book. I get pretty attached to the characters, and want to know as much about them as possible. In the Baby-Sitter’s Club, I enjoyed the fact that they took the initiative to have a mini-business when they were so young. I personally tried to have clubs like this plenty of times when I was in elementary and middle school, none of which worked out for very long, if at all, so I was always so impressed that they had clients and were able to handle the work. Another part of the series that got me interested was the close group of friends that were represented. All of the girls who were in the Baby-Sitter’s Club were from different backgrounds, had different interests and skills and personalities that you wouldn’t expect to get along. But, of course, they did. Even if they had their disagreements or complications, these friends remained strong and that is the main thing that I loved about the books when I was young. When I was in 5th and 6th grade, I struggled a great deal with cliques developing between my friends. It seemed like there was always a conflict and I was always very upset about it. I truly believe that the Baby-Sitter’s Club made an impact on me to find friends that would stand by me through anything.

What Harry Potter Means to Me

My blog title is a quote from Arthur Weasley, a Harry Potter character. My picture is from a game of Quidditch I played with friends and family this summer. Thats right, Quidditch. The wizarding sport. This was right before I went to go see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at Midnight the night it came out. I have read the first 4 HP books at least ten times, and the last 3 at least twice. Movies, same thing. I love Harry Potter, I love Hogwarts, I am obsessed with the wizarding world!

Harry Potter has become a part of my world. I feel like I know the characters. Lame? Maybe, but true. I can use words like Quidditch, Dementor, Muggle and Death Eater in my everyday conversations with (most) people and they know exactly what I am talking about. Is this a good thing? Maybe since its books, and reading is a good thing, this HP obsession is okay. But what about those people who have only watched the movies? Well, besides the fact that they aren't "true fans", is it okay for them to be so involved in watching and talking about and be attached to movie characters? Why is it that reading is educational but movies rarely are? And are books like HP considered educational, or just purely for entertainment?

Either way, I still really love Harry and his friends and I cannot wait for the seventh movie!!! HP for life!!

WATCH THIS!!!

Boohbah

This is probably the weirdest thing I have ever watched in my entire life. I was over at my aunt's house yesterday, and I mentioned Yo Gabba Gabba, which I had watched in class last week, and that got on the topic of Boohbah, which is even more bizarre! I didn't think that was possible. Are kids benefitting AT ALL from watching creepy weird shows like this? Sure, kids might like bright colors and weird music, but I don't see the point of this show. Baby Einstein beats this by a million miles.

From Wikipedia:
The Boohbahs are five furry, gumdrop-shaped creatures played by actors in full body costumes. Their thick, shimmery fur sparkles with tiny lights; their Kewpie doll style heads are hairless and feature big eyes with rows of lights for eyebrows. They do not speak, but instead make noises like squeaks, squeals, and clicks. The Boohbahs can retract their heads into their furry necks. Each Boohbah is a different color. They are:

Humbah (Yellow)
Zumbah (Purple)
Zing Zing Zingbah (Orange)
Jumbah (Blue)
Jingbah (Red)
The Boohbahs can fly; part of their routine is to assemble into a circle, holding hands like skydivers. Each then emits a different musical note as a flash of colored light (matching the Boohbah's color) is sent out from their heads to a central point.

Arthur

After talking about preschool programs in class, I was really set on the fact that I believe preschool and middle-age programs usually promote the develop of life skills/real world skills, whatever you want to call them :) I feel like I learned a lot in my elementary school years about simply being nice to people and making friends. One of the best examples of this that I can think of is my FAVORITE SHOW ever: Arthur. I LOVE THIS SHOW! Every episode had something in it that could apply to young kids. Every episode had a great take home message and taught me how to be a good person. PBS had a ton of other really great shows that I watched as well, like: Magic School Bus, Carmen San Diego, Zoom and Bill Nye the Science Guy. I probably watched a good 3 hours of these shows a day, and I still had plenty of time to do many other meaningful things. I always watched Arthur in the mornings with my entire family, and in the afternoons with my brother and sister. When we got done watching it, we read Arthur books and acted them out in our backyard. We weren't just staring blankly at the TV- we were engaged and encorporated a television program we loved into other aspects of our lives, in a beneficial way.

P.S. When Mr. Rogers was cartoonized and was on Arthur- BEST EPISODE EVER!

Killing Time Murders Opportunities

I have this quote pinned up behind my desk in my room in the hopes that it will remind me not to waste time. Thinking about this, I realized that 100% of "wasted time" is media use. It seems outrageous, but every single thing I do when I feel I have wasted time was something to do with the media. Movies, hulu, iTunes, facebook, magazines, etc. I realize that alot of media can be very good and worthwhile, but I feel that a lot of it out there is a waste of our time. Especially now that we can access media anytime and any place we want to, it can be a very dangerous procrastination tool. A lot of times it is mindless and pointless. I have decided to try to focus on media that is not a complete waste of time. Media that can benefit and enrich my life in some way, and not just watch or listen or read things just because they are available.

I can't be without the MEDIA!

I believe we are developing a kind of ADD in our culture. I can't live without the media. I can't just sit there and think. Even if I try to sit there, and just ponder, I always have to turn on some music, or read a book or magazine, or check my facebook, or pop in a movie. Its ridiculous! These days, we never have to be without media. When I walk to class, I listen to my iPod. Yesterday, I realized the battery was dead, and I was thinking, how I am going to manage going the entire day just me and my thoughts?!?! However, several things happened: I walked to class with another actual human being, which never happens, even though I probably see a ton of people I could walk with. They probably don't try to talk to me when they see I have my iPod in. Understandable. Also, I noticed things around me. Like trees and posters. I never see them. It was a good day. Today I had my iPod again, but when I saw someone I knew ahead of me, I turned it off and called their name to walk with them. :)

Glee

Today I watched the new show "Glee". I had heard some really good things about it- that it was unique and hilarious, and that I would love it. I did think it was hilarious, but it had quite a few sexual remarks. In part of the show, the students are trying to recruit more members to their Glee group (I can't remember exactly what they call it), and they decide the only way to get their peers' attention is to sing and dance to a song about sex. "Push It". While it may have been hilarious for the show, I think this actually brings up a true point. Is the only way we can get teens to watch or listen to something is by putting sex in it? Obviously there is sex in this show, and in so many others. Sex sells, and gets viewers, but can nothing else compete?