switchin' teams

being a teenage girl of america (though not for much longer) i ventured out with my main group of girls to see the highly anticipated second movie of the Twilight Saga, New Moon. for those of you who did not see the first movie (Twilight), it was not exactly the highest quality film. although the characters in the opener were cast very well, the film itself was overly cheesy and poorly done. New Moon was easily an improvement. the characters of Edward (Robert Pattinson), Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the rest of the Cullens were back in full force and this time little baby Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) stole the show. sporting a brand new set of 8-pack abs and big, buff arms, Jacob is now all grown up and him and his cute, also very buff, werewolf friends made me want to switch teams from Team Edward to Team Jacob (or maybe just Team Taylor Lautner). his many shirtless and scenes and smiling face were refreshing to see next to the brooding, cold, and dramatic scenes of statuesque Edward and Bella. overall the film was fun and pretty well done (although an improvement on the first one was not hard). the effects with the werewolves and volturi were not spectacular but they did the trick. all in all i recommend you see the movie if you love the series, even if the first movie disappointed you.

Music: New Moon Soundtrack (which i need to look up because it was pretty good)

shame on you

this is a video of students protesting the tuition increases at the University of California Berkeley (commonly known as CAL). students are upset about increased tuition, student fees, teacher furloughs, and the fact that administrators have not taken pay cuts. (this article explains more)this is not the first protest, and i'm sure it is not the last. i completely understand why students and staff members are upset. our state might be broke but education is not the place to make cuts. i myself am attempting to enter the public university system in california and everyone tells me i am crazy but honestly i have no choice. my parents cannot afford to send me to another private school and they shouldn't have to. i am a resident of california which has one of the best public university systems in the country. it is a shame that things like this have to happen. also, i feel that the brutality is unnecessary on both parts of the party. i'm all for the cause but i feel that the students who were beaten were probably beaten because they were refusing to obey what the swat members were telling them to do.i would expect UC Berkeley students to be smarter than to resist, however, i do not condone the swat members' behavior. you would think they would train these men/women how to deal with crowds better. i'm willing to be that 9 times out of 10, when you hit a young male he will only get angrier and come at you, rather than give up and run away. beating the young men with their batons was an ineffective tactic. i worry for future protests. students are angry and gestures of violence like this only fuel the fire.

Music: Revolution - The Beatles

black winter

lately i've been reading a lot of fashion blogs (my faves are linked to the left) and i find it all so inspiring that i thought i'd blog about my current fashion obsessions/aspirations/thoughts. having just painted my nails a navy blue, right now i'm feeling the winter vibe and wanting to wear dark colors. i'm in a dark, gunmetal, heavy knits, and loose-fitting tunics kind of phase. i just want to buy up every pair of black skinny pants i can find and black t-shirt tunics to match. this is hard for me because previously i really wasn't a fan of buying a lot of black clothing so in turn i don't have much. i wish stores were like movie rentals where you could just get things you wanted and then gave them back. instead of going out and buying a whole new black, super studded wardrobe i've been doing what i can to incorporate my newfound love for darkness into my look. dirty, gold pyramidal studded earrings to replace my little diamonds, dark shades of nail polish (of which i've always been a fan), loads of eyeliner and mascara, a new charcoal peacoat, an old, large sweater from my mom's drawer, and black leggings have all been my best friends these past few weeks. perhaps once i get home for winter i will thrift to find some cheap pieces.

(silly photobooth time)

Music: Tristan - Patrick Wolf, Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

O Canada!

i want one of these! what is this? it is a super cute Canadian boy who makes beautiful music with other super cute Canadian boys in the band more formally known as Tokyo Police Club. I WANT TOKYO POLICE CLUB!

they are truly ridiculous. ridiculously cute/amazing! i cannot wait for the release of their new EP or for them to tour in CA!


Music: Tokyo Police Club!!!!!

glee

glee has made me realize something: almost anyone can be seen as attractive if you just put them in the role. what do i mean? i mean leading man Cory Monteith, better known as Finn. honestly ladies, he is not even that cute, but because he plays the character of Finn we all think he is the cutest, sweetest, best singing, dancing, football playing boy we have ever seen. but let's not be too much of a downer. i have to say that Glee is a good show. it is different, quirky, hilarious, and has great music. i enjoy spending hours in front of my aunt's tv whilst doing my laundry watching Glee, instead of doing my homework. the cheesy, but funny characters are so cute. my faves include Will Schuester and Sue Sylvester, of course. and also the studly (or not so studly) Puck. i actually enjoy how the actors aren't what would normally be seen on other tv shows. the plot lines aren't too ridiculous. i love how it is outrageous but also edgy. (sex is often brought up. haha.) the only complaint i have is that they are terribly, obviously lip-synching.

Music: Gold Digger - Kanye West

lions, tigers, and bears

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because it is socially acceptable to walk around in costume. i love costumes. the cool thing i've discovered about "college halloween" is that there are multiple days of opportunity to celebrate the occasion and thus multiple costumes are needed. if only knew that sooner because i would have come up with better things, but i can't wait until next year. my costume #1 was a french person. my roommate and i were both French for a little gathering in our dorm. we even made fake cigarettes. ha. on actual Halloween i was "Little Gold Riding Hood", although i wore the hood for about a good 2 minutes before it bothered me and i ditched it. but it was cool to be wearing basically all gold and lots of glittering make-up. my roommate and i headed down to my beloved Cal and went to a frat party with Spencer's roommates. drank, danced, played beer pong. it was a great time!

Types of Halloween Costumes I Love:
1) Group Costumes: when a group of people's costume go together (esp boys cause that takes effort, thought, and camaraderie). for example teenage mutant ninja turtles, the power puff girls, the beatles, etc.
2) Corresponding Costumes: differernt from group costumes because i'd say this is usually groups of 2. it is esp cute for couples to have them. for example John Lennon and Yoko Ono or a Tri Lamb and an Alpha Beta (something i actually saw two frat brothers dressed as. cute.)
3) really great celebrity/tv-movie character costumes. it has to be semi-elaborate and thoughtful like including not only clothing but also classic associated objects and accessories. examples: my roommate was GoGo Ubari from Kill Bill. Abe was Michael Jackson complete with sequined jacket and single glove, hat, (borrowed from me) aviators, and dance moves.
4) simple costumes done in an elaborate way. you can totally jazz up the simplest things like color crayons or sports players.

Tyes of Halloween Costumes i Hate:
1) store bought, poorly translated costumes. you know the ones that are like a character but portrayed really poorly. i just can't deal with their generic, terrible portrayal of things. it ruins them.
2) the common lingerie and animal ear combo. reality check: this is not a costume. you might as well loose the animal ears and be a victoria secret model. actually say you are giselle or heidi klum and i'd give you points.
3) "trend" costumes. like when one year every single person is the same thing. i'm pretty sure the joker is one of those. it is cool if you do it right but half assed jobs are unacceptable. i thought that would be michael jackson this year but i only saw one.

Music: I'm a Flirt - R. Kelly, Shots - LMFAO