2.22.11

Hello!

I hope everyone is doing well in the midst of this very bipolar week. The weather has been very strange lately. Sometimes warm, albeit cloudy. Other times cold but sunny. Weird stuff.

Well, instead of posting about my movie opinions (because that's what I always do) I thought it would be fun to give you guys some random trivia/news. All of these facts/stores are true, per http://www.snopes.com/.

- A woman was arrested yesterday, February 21st for assault and battery. Why? Someone else bought the last box of Thin Mints.

- Disney produced an animated film called The Story of Menstruation.

- JELL-O brand gelatin is made from bones and hides.

- 618 children in Japan reportedly had seizures after watching a Pokemon episode from 1997. The show was subsequently suspended for a few months.

- One of the Bond girls in the film For Your Eyes Only was formerly a man.

- At age 37 Jack Nicholson discovered that the woman he thought was his sister was really his mother, and his supposed mother was actually his maternal grandmother.

- Mortality rates in teaching hospitals go up in July due to an influx of inexperienced doctors.

-Some German states have banned Red Bull's "Simply Cola" because it contained trace amounts of cocaine.

Have a great week everyone!

2.9.11

Hello again!



Lots of exciting stuff is happening on campus so far this semester. Well first, we had a grand total of 3 days off of school due to the blizzard/ice, which was fantastic. Yeah, everyone is behind in their classes now, but was it worth it? Oh yeah. So that was exciting. I went sledding officially for the first time in my life. I don't count the time I was 10 years old because I went down the hill once and then started crying because I was so cold. Not my fondest childhood memory. But this time, instead of using a sled, I wore a trash bag. I'd never heard of this before in my life, so it was interesting when I was told to just slide down the hill on my stomach. But there's a first time for everything, so I did it and it was a lot of fun :)



I guess the next thing that's exciting is all of the recruitment activity that's been going on. Sorority recruitment is done with for now, but fraternity recruitment is still in its final stages. It'll be good to usher in a new generation of fraternity and sorority members.



Valentine's Day is also coming up! I have never like the day much, though. I guess I was always one of those skeptical and cynical people who thought Valentine's Day was an excuse for already mushy couples to be extra mushy, which frankly is very annoying. I'm not looking forward to all of the cheesy love notes that will be posted on the walls of many a facebook couple. Bleh. But any excuse to get chocolate is bearable, I suppose.



Alrighty, movie review time. I believe in my last blog post I talked about the good movies I'd seen. But instead of doing regular movie reviews, I think I'll post my Oscar predictions. And here they are:

Best Picture: "The King's Speech"


Best Actress: Natalie Portman for "Black Swan"


Best Actor: Colin Firth for "The King's Speech"


Best Supporting Actress: Tie between Helena Bonham Carter for "The King's Speech" and Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit"


Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush for "The King's Speech"


Best Director: David Fincher for "The Social Network"


Those are the top nominations I can predict. I guess I'm a bit biased because I thought "The King's Speech" was phenomenal, and I can definitely see Christian Bale winning Best Supporting Actor for "The Fighter"because he won a SAG Award for the same thing. So, who knows. But I think "The King's Speech" will take the majority of the awards for this year.



Have a good week, guys!

1.28.11

Hey guys!

Hope everyone had a a great break!

My break went pretty well, I did a lot of different things. I hung out with friends mostly, saw some really good movies, which I'll talk about later on. But I came back to Kansas City for Christmas! It felt kinda weird staying here for Christmas without going to school at the same time. But anyway, I got some good gifts. I got a Breville panini maker/grill, the movie "Shaun of the Dead", a candle, lots of clothes, gift cards and some extra goodies like hand lotion and lip balm. But I'm very excited to be able to use my panini maker! I want to get a townhouse next year, so cooking will be really easy with this handy machine.



So movies. The most memorable one that I saw was Black Swan. It was an excellent movie, I must say. Darren Aronofsky is one of my favorite directors, I'm sure I've mentioned him here before. So I loved watching another movie of his. Natalie Portman's role was so refreshing, she has never played such a deep and psychologically backwards character before.

There are two movies that I have yet to see that I really want to, and those would be The King's Speech and True Grit. Black Swan got 8 Academy Award nominations, True Grit got 10 and The King's Speech got a whopping 12. We have some very good contenders for Oscars. I'll post my nominations later when I have more time to ponder.

So yeah! I hope your classes are going well, as I know mine are, and I'll be back in a week!

11.16.10

Hello!

I hope you guys had a great Halloween weekend, and now that Thanksgiving Break is rolling around I thought I'd give you guys some great, easy Thanksgiving recipes!

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar-Pecan Topping

Ingredients

For Sweet Potatoes
2 large yams, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt

For Topping
1 1/2 cups corn flakes, crushed
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; transfer potatoes to large bowl and add butter. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add egg, sugar, spice and salt; beat to blend. Transfer mixture to 8x8-inch baking dish. Bake potatoes until beginning to brown around edges and slightly puffy, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the topping by mixing all ingredients together.

Spoon topping over potatoes evenly. Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes longer.

This recipe is from http://www.epicurious.com/, and has received a perfect score out of 265 reviews. I highly recommend you try it! It's quick and easy, too!

I'm driving home for Thanksgiving, and I'm very excited to get some delicious home cooking upon arrival :) I've definitely missed eating at home.

Talk to you guys later!

11.1.10

Hey guys!

It is FREEZING outside. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not used to this weather. It feels like it's 45 degrees outside. My nose is frozen.

So something exciting..... THE RANGERS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES! Granted they're not doing too well...but this is the first time in history that the Rangers have ever made it this far. I reeeeally hope they pull through, but the way we've been playing lately isn't a good indication of a future win. The Giants are kicking their butts, more or less. Not too happy about it. I live about 20 minutes away from Arlington, TX, the home of the Rangers, so people are pretty passionate where I'm from about them winning.

Happy late Halloween! I hope you guys had a great time. I thought it was a lot of fun. I ordered a fairy costume but they didn't send wings, so I just looked weird. In honor of Halloween, I'm going to post a wide array of Halloween-themed facts/info!

Top 10 Scariest Movies:

#10: "Eraserhead" (1977)

#9: "The Exorcist" (1973)

#8: "Halloween" (1978)

#7: "Don't Look Now" (1973)

#6: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)

#5: "Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)

#4: "Suspiria" (1977)

#3: "Night of the Living Dead" (1968)

#2: "Repulsion" (1965)

#1: "Psycho" (1960)

(www.msn.com)

Have I seen any of these movies? No. Do scary movies scare the living crap out of me? Yes. But then again, I wouldn't want to watch a movie with this darling beauty looking back at me.

Top 10 Worst Halloween "Treats":

#10: Toothbrushes

#9: Raisins

#8: Candy Corn

#7: Necco Wafers

#6: Dum Dum Lollipops

#5: Apples

#4: Tootsie Rolls

#3: Random Wrapped Hard Candy (i.e. mints, butterscotch)

#2: Coins

#1: Bad Themed Candy (i.e. candy canes, easter candy, etc.)

Who gives out old Easter candy...? Or coins? Lame!

Anyway, hope you guys had a great weekend! Good luck braving the cold!

10.19.10

Today I'd like to dedicate my blog post to a girl I knew from high school. Her name was Whitney Mayer, she went to William and Mary University, and was a Sharpe Scholar. I only met her a few times, but from the impressions she gave me, I knew she was a very kind and intelligent girl. She was very cheery, had a love for the environment and kept many friends.

Last Thursday night, Whitney took her own life.

I don't think anyone will ever understand what provoked Whitney to kill herself. Such a drastic and tragic decision should never be made by anyone.

If you are having serious thoughts about killing yourself, please contact someone, anyone. It's never worth it. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. You may think that nobody will care if you take your own life, but that is completely untrue. I barely knew Whitney, but upon learning of her suicide I became extremely upset. A fellow student taking her own life is unnecessary and incredibly painful for those close to her. The devastation I've seen because of it is overwhelming.

Here are some facts about depression and suicide:

-121 million people worldwide suffer from depression. (World Health Organization)

- 18 million of these cases are happening in the United States. (The National Institute of Mental Health)

- Between 20% and 50% of children and teens struggling with depression have a family history of this struggle and the offspring of depressed parents are more than three times as likely to suffer from depression. (U.S. Surgeon General's Survey, 1999)

- Depression often co-occurs with anxiety disorders and substance abuse, with 30 percent of teens with depression also developing a substance abuse problem. (NIMH)

- 2/3 of those suffering from depression never seek treatment.

Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. (NIMH)

These facts are from To Write Love On Her Arms, or TWLOHA, an organization aimed at preventing suicide and self-injury. The stories on their website, www.twloha.com, are incredibly eye-opening.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, please call the Missouri Suicide & Crisis hotline at 1-800-811-4760. We also have great staff on campus at the Counseling Center that are ready to listen to anyone.

Rest in Peace, Whitney Mayer. You will be missed.

10.13.10

Hey guys! Hope your fall break went really well!

I went home and did 3 loads of laundry, went shooting and went to the Texas State Fair. They have the most unhealthy food there. The Texas State Fair is the largest fair in the country, and they sure like showing it by offering the most disgusting range of fried foods you could possible imagine. Here are just a few:

Fried Beer, Deep Fried S'mores Pop Tart, Deep Fried Frozen Margarita, Fried Club Salad, Fried Chocolate, Fried Lemonade, Fried Texas Caviar (black-eyed peas), Deep Fried Butter, Fried Peaches and Cream, Fried Ice Cream, Fried Peanut Butter, Jelly & Banana Sandwich, Fried Coke, Fried Latte, Fried Cookie Dough, Fried Banana Split, Chicken Fried Bacon, Fried Frito Pie, Fried Jelly Belly Beans, Fried Cheesecake, and more!

Sounds like an interesting array of foods, eh? Another thing that we Texans pride ourselves on is Big Tex, the giant talking marionette-esque Texan robot. He'll talk to you.


Overall, the Texas State Fair was a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. After that my dad and I went to the shooting range. It was a lot of fun; my dad and I are both pretty good shots. I haven't been shooting since summer and I was pretty happy I got to do it.

Well I'm off to go to a meeting, but I hope you guys had a great fall break! Talk to you next week!