Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Reading the News

Here's a few articles I thought were interesting and a bit entertaining as I browsed the internet. Reading the news and keeping up with current affairs is good for you. It's much better than staring at your Facebook page seeing what your neighbor did last weekend. Plus news is good for conversation, especially when your mom asks, "so what did you learn today?" after sleeping through your class lecture on accident.

World -
Mexico issues travel alert over new Arizona law
Scottish police once believed in Loch Ness monster
China lifts travel ban against people with HIV

Local (CA) -
Playboy's Hugh Hefner helps rescue Hollywood sign
Laguna Beach adds 300 goats to workforce
Union: Strike sends message to other districts

College & Jobs -
6 Mistakes New Grads Make in Their First Jobs
College hookups aren't as common as people think
Popping Pills a Popular Way to Boost Brain Power

Tech -
Facebook's expansion triggers political backlash
We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint
Latest MacBook Pro CPU runs so hot it can boil water

Health -
Bad habits can age you by 12 years, study suggests
Casual Sex Increasing in U.S.
More U.S. babies born with syphilis, report finds

Beauty -
Timeless Fashion and Beauty Secrets Your Mother Knew (and Should Have Shared)
How to bronze without overdoing it
The Best Bathing Suits Under $40
8 Style Secrets to Never Looking Fat Again Without Dieting

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Maturity & Internet TMI

Maturity seems to be coming up in problematic conversations, Facebook, and Tweets lately. And not just from one group of friends, but from almost everyone. There's been status update after status update, followed by countless tweets. I'm tired of it. To end this argument once and for all. Let me tell you, ALL of you what I think. So I'm going to address both the issue of maturity and all this TMI via the internet! I'm starting off with a quote, a very appropriate quote:
"Age is no guarantee of maturity"
~ Lawana Blackwell

By definition, being a certain age makes you legally responsible or "mature" enough to buy cigarettes to give yourself cancer, join the military to get shot at, and go to jail for being involved in illegal activity. Does this mean you're ready for a substantial relationship with another human being? No. Does this mean that you're ready to have another's life in your own hands? No. Does this mean you should be able to have a child? No. Your age has no weight in your maturity.
"Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension"
~Joshua L. Liebman

My own mother has told me stories of all the friends and family she's known over the years. Her brother (my uncle) refused to "grow up" until he was almost 40 years old. Sometimes people choose to act like or seek out activities to feel child-like. Ever heard of Michael Jackson? Enough said. But these days it all spills over onto the internet instead of remaining as rumor or speculation. You can literally log onto a social networking site to read anything that someone thinks, and they've posted it all themselves. So really, the poster is the one to blame for any opinions, viewpoints, or reactions from what they have posted. In other words, it's your own damn fault you posted it.
"Half of maturity consists of knowing when and how to be immature"
~ Chris Bowyer

I don't want to hear about how "Sally is a stupid two-faced bitch" or about how everyone is out to get you! I no longer want to hear about silly complaints about anyone's life. "I hate my life! FML!" Fuck YOUR life? You live in Orange County! One of the richest and safest places in California! Are you kidding me? Suck it up and be grateful that you weren't born to a poor farmer in India or Africa where you'd get to go work in a factory n die before the age of 40 from a terrible disease!

If you answer YES to any of these questions, you do not need to tweet it:

1) Do you sound like a 5 year old?
2) Are you talking trash?
3) Did you spell anything wrong?
4) Would your mother be offended?

What puts me off the most are the posts about hating people. Hate is a strong word. you can say you hate murders, but don't say you hate your brother or your parents. Family disputes can get messy and aren't easily healed. I know this from watching family squabbles between my relatives. You don't want to start that, so don't post it. Not only that but it is fundamentally disrespectful. Their house, their rules. I still live at home, and apply by all the rules because otherwise I'd be shit outta luck with nowhere to live. Tell your parents you love them and appreciate them once in awhile, it makes a huge difference in your relationship. Even a "Hey mom thanks for making dinner for me tonight, it was really good" will suffice.

Tweeting and updating your status are the equivalent to taking out a megaphone and yelling into it.
COURTNEY IS HAVING A GOOD DAY!
COURTNEY IS GOING TO WORK NOW!
COURTNEY LOVES EVAN!
COURTNEY NEEDS TO GO GET DRUNK!
COURTNEY THINKS THAT GIRL'S OUTFIT IS WEIRD!
COURTNEY LIKES GOING TO THE POOL!
COURTNEY HOPES SHE DOESN'T GET A SUNBURN!
I've been backing off of my internet usage for this reason. I don't want to annoy or even notify people of the mundane things that nobody, and I mean nobody cares about. Sure, I'll tweet a few times in a day or update my status every other day now, which is much better than before. I don't want to annoy or give out TMI via the internet anymore. It's not only stupid, but pointless. Ten bucks says half your friends looks at your status or tweet n think WTF?!
"Age is only but a number it is maturity that makes the difference"
~ BLB
So next time you're pissed, frustrated, or in a weird mood. Think about how mature your post is making you look. You're only as mature as you make yourself out to be.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Summer Blockbusters 2010

So there's some movies coming out this summer, blockbuster season (no, not the place I work) You know what that means! Big budget movies full of explosions, hot girls, and impossible story lines! I'm hoping to see at least 2 or 3 "good" ones this summer. And there's plenty of opportunity...

Despicable Me - The trailers for this one havent shown much other than a mysterious character stealing all of the world's monuments and replacing them with blow up replicas. I'll need to see more advertisements before planning on seeing it. Though I do love the minions haha.


Iron Man 2 - If you liked the first movie, then you're probably already planning on seeing this movie opening weekend. Robert Downey Jr. is joined by Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansen this time...oh and she's going to be wearing a skin-tight suit as "The Black Widow". Should be popular, order tickets ahead of time if you wanna get into the midnight showing!


The Last Airbender - Avatar, not to be confused with the James Cameron movie from last year should be pretty successful. The animated series has continued to keep up a huge following by any kid that's into anime. i've seen the animated show once or twice and it was pretty decent. I expect it to become a trilogy if this first movie makes enough cash. Plus its directed by M. Night Shama-llama-ding-dong!


Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - Honestly it pisses me off that they all have English accents and that Jake Gyllenhall isn't a Persian guy. Is it that hard to find a good-looking Persian actor? I don't think so.....therefore I will not be paying to see this one. Dick move, Disney!


Salt - Angelina Jolie is a spy? What?! Nooo! I'm kidding of course, who doesn't enjoy Jolie in an action role? She does just as good as the boys do, or better while looking good. There's rumors of this spawning a trilogy if successful, fyi. Angelina with a Russian accent, verrry nice. I guess we'll find out if she's really a Soviet sleeper agent! Hmm...


Step Up 3D - Looks like shitty 3D dancing with a predictable story like every dance movie ever made. The soundtrack will be played on KIIS fm all summer, please avoid ripping your ears off. Ten bucks says the main character and the girl fall in love.


The Expendables - Now this is a man's man's movie, no joke. Jason Statham, Jet Li, Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Randy Couture, Dolf Lundgren. Appearances by our governor, Mr. Swarzenager and Bruce Willis! All that's missing is Chuck Norris and Jesus. Looks kick ass.


Please Lord, don't let any of these new movies be as bad as Transformers 2 (Worst Movie Razzie winner of 2009 by the way). Along with a big budget comes action stars which is typical for summer....none of these will be Oscar nominees, nor are they meant to be. Unless its for special effects of course. There's a few more movies that I didn't have time to include, such as Ridley Scott's Robin Hood (I've posted the trailer in a previous blog if you're curious)

What movie or movies are you most looking forward to this summer?