AL.L. is Illuminated

My Hiatus...Extended

2012-06-28T16:47:00.001-07:00

This is a little counter-intuitive, especially after almost a year since my last post, but I apparently feel the need to announce the reason for my (continued) hiatus to my loyal thirteen followers and any new visitors who may stumble across my blog in cyberspace.

I've needed a hiatus to finish college at UW-Madison, finish my new book Forbidden Fruit (which I plan to self-publish in the fall if an agent still isn't interested), develop a marketing plan and finish designing the cover for said book, finish the website and illustrations for Forbidden Fruit, find a job after aforementioned graduation, exercise my extrovert muscles and spend time with friends and family, and finally to relax. Blogging became draining on top of that. But never fear, I have a boatload of new ideas, new places for Waldo Wednesday, and new blog series I'd like to do. Plus if you really miss me, you can find me at The Week in Review blog over at Hennens Observer. I'm excited to continue working with them.

And just because I love Bucky Badger, here are some pictures of that great day to tide you over until next time:

Remember, come visit me at The Week in Review for Movie Mondays (writer style) and more, plus stay tuned for more updates about Forbidden Fruit.

Waldo Wednesday: Valle d’Aosta, Italy-Shake off those Casino Snowbunnies

2011-10-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

With a touch of France and Italy, Valle d’Aosta, Italy is the place I want to be. Technically you can drive into the region from drive into the region from Germany, France or Switzerland. It has some of the best alpine skiiing in the world, and boasts hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, rappelling, rafting, and kayaking. Normally, I wouldn't head somewhere with snow (believe me, we get more than enough of that in Wisconsin) but I'm also not in the mood for a beach. I want scenery and ways get personally involved with my environment.

This makes me think of The Sound of Music

Apparently it's also home to killer wine if you're into that sort of thing. Plus it has castles. Lots of them. I took a virtual tour of them because I'm a castle fanatic.

And you can take thermal baths after breathing in all of that fresh, clean mountain/valley air.

I can take baths...outside...in winter? I'm in heaven!

The attractions to see are Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn if you are a self-proclaimed mountain man or mountain woman. Or if you just want to chill (no pun intended) on a mountain-top, these would be some prime mountains to be awed by. Also, a king decided to be generous and donate some land to make the another attraction, the Gran Paradiso National Park, which only makes it that much more appealing.

This specialty dish of the region just looks so tantalizing that I just might have to make it.
And this explains it all, even though I can't understand what it's saying because it's in Italian. This is that much more fantastic.

So even though it's fall and I'm currently freezing, I want to go somewhere even more cold in order to partake in a nice hot thermal bath and enjoy massages. I think this is excellent logic, don't you?

Waldo Wednesday: Kilkenny, Ireland-The Guiness Lucky Charms Edition

2011-10-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Use Well the Days-Annie Lennox (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Bonus Sountrack)

It may not be the return of the king, but the Queen has definitely returned with a Waldo Wednesday! At this point in my senior year, I find myself wanting to reconnect with my Irish roots and high-tail it to Ireland. Beautiful, green, relaxing, and refreshing, it's just what I need. I mean look at this.

Who wouldn't want to go here???

Everyone knows about Dublin, Belfast, Limmerick, and Galway. The stereotypical "brogue" and getting a pint or a Guiness in a pub somewhere. Everyone wants to kiss the Blarney stone. But this?

I know, I know. You're probably why would I go see St. Patrick if I don't want to visit the Blarney Stone. What kind of reasoning is that, you ask? But I do, I want to see it all. I want to go to Kilkenny like Dave and have a wonderful time in a beautiful city.

Especially because every queen needs her castle

Does Japan Deserve Relief or Recklessness?

2011-03-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Carmina Fortuna

Scams. We see them everywhere and unfortunately many times they are connected to wide-spread disasters or large issues. There are the scams where an individual may think that they are giving clean water to kids in Africa when they are just helping a fellow American pay off a large debt. There have been scams to help people after the mudslides and wildfires in California, Hurricane Katrina, to provide aid to factions in Libya and Egypt, and most recently the tsunamis and radiation in Japan.

We fall for it every time. The worst part is that its all in the name of doing good. Some may argue that if you believe the Google work-at-home scams and get rich quick scams that you deserve to fall prey to them, but what if one were hoodwinked while trying to help in the wake of a natural disaster? Maybe there should be a Better Business Bureau certified stamp for Internet agencies who claim to give money to disaster relief. Shifting through the sea of sites that claim to offer relief can be overwhelming especially when there is a large panic or outcry to give money and so the general public does exactly that without looking at the consequences of not investigating the source.

It is interesting that people assume that sites on the Internet are what they appear to be and take them at face value when they claim to give money to relief efforts. It is as if skepticism is thrown out of the window. Personally, I think it would be wise to investigate a little, especially if you’re sending off a check with six zeroes to Timbuktu.

I'd Better Not See Alaska From My House

2011-02-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: The Rent is Too Damn High Speech

From the drumbeats outside my lovely abode on State Street; to the tumultuous school closings both at the grade school, high school, and university level; to the thousands of protesters young and old clogging the streets; to CNN, BBC, MSNBC and countless others making the fight to “kill the bill” a national and international issue–it’s been an interesting week for Madison, WI.

I’m utterly exhausted from it. And it’s only going to get worse because Madison, Wis. is about to go from having Jesse Jackson to… Sarah Palin??? From my discourse, it should be unequivocally clear that I am a Democrat and proud of it. Frankly, I can’t stand being in the same country much less the same city as the gun-toting, brash governor of Alaska who is taking it upon herself to tell union people that unions are taking advantage of them. Some are comparing this struggle to Egypt; I wouldn’t go so far as to do that.
To try to explain the situation in non-biased manner, I think that it isn’t wrong to attempt to fix spending because WI is in debt. It’s a perfectly legitimate concern. I can even understand some of the measures proposed, except when it comes to collective bargaining. I’m sure that the 40,000 people that traveled from all over the state of Wis. are upset about that hitch in the bill as well.

To be honest, I’m getting to the point where I am unconcerned. I don’t care that this is making national news and international news, I simply want things to get back to normal so that I don’t have to fight through mountains of people to get to class, where I go to hopefully get a degree from this university, and so that I don’t have to be concerned about my future. People are becoming frantic and when this bill passes on Tuesday, it’s only going to get worse. More unrest will come, and none of the press, good or bad, will end up being good.

Oh, and if you would like to read through the 144 pg bill to understand what this post is even referring to, if you haven’t been tuned into the news lately, be my guest.

O Alexandria, Alexandria

2011-02-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: (not) the Black Eyed Peas horrendous Superbowl halftime show

My attention is riveted on my namesake this week as Egypt is ravaged with war-torn indecision. The oppressed will always find a way to overcome a system to find their freedom. However; at what cost will this Egyptian government finally right itself? Many people know the background story to this jarring tale of a country fighting against a corrupt police system and 30-year regime from President Mubarak. I'm interested in whether the United States was justified in cautiously cutting ties with Egypt for the sake of maintaining control for our own purposes or if it were simply wrong.
I'm not trying to criticize our cabinet; this is coming from a person who just fully acquainted herself with the situation. The break with Egypt was the most recent step made, and it's intriguing to think about where diplomacy will go from here. The United States could take the approach that it always does in its need to police the world and bring democracy everywhere. I appreciate democracy and enjoy democracy, but to be perfectly honest, democracy isn't for everyone. This need to bring everyone into the light of democracy possibly stems from the fact that maybe the United States is at fault for manipulating countries, and is trying to make amends because we know that we have messed up. Yes, Sec. of State Hilary, when you say that it's too fragile for Mubarak to step down because it could ruin the transition to democracy, who says that Egypt needs democracy? They don't need totalitarianism, but there is nothing set that demands that they need democracy. They probably could care less about democracy and that is what this whole issue is about in the first place. Ties with the United States did nothing for them so our country should just let them be. But of course, things are not so simple and every single event is tied to every other where the slightest shift in policy could blow up a country (literally). They just want freedom and to be left alone. This is not the time for Teddy Roosevelt's Big Stick Ideology This is time to figure out how WikiLeaks is getting all of the classified information from the higher ups and placing it out for all the world to see and to what extent the Internet block is affecting Egyptians. But only more WikiLeaks hacking and Egyptian bloggers will tell.

Waldo Wednesday: Let it Snow (Cuz I'm going to Madagascar)

2011-02-02T22:08:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: Don't Look Back-She & Him

I feel as though my song should have been this because the weather outside was frightful. Even though I don't have a delightful fire, it was still a pleasant day. Chancellor Biddy Martin gifted the university a snow day, the second one after last year's, which was the first in 20 years. My roommate and I were literally dancing around last night and listening to Christmas music. The weather was horrible and felt like this, a snowstorm which basically eclipsed ten hours or needles being shoved into my face. The whole Midwest has experienced and overflow of snow and many cities were shut down. New York was shut down for four days this past winter because of the fact that they've never gotten this much snow. The weather has decided to get really serious over the past couple of years.

That is the reason why I felt it was time for another Waldo Wednesday. Today my destination choice is Madagascar. Why is this you ask? Because if you didn't know already, I'm a penguin and penguins come from Madagascar. The cool ones anyway. It also happens to be the fourth largest island in the world, but with safaris. So technically, I could get the best of both worlds; a trip to almost Africa but with beaches and lemurs. This is a win-win situation. Maybe I'll see Zoboomafoo. I really hope not, but because of watching him when I was around 11 I still believe that having a pet lemur would be epic.Plus, I really want to go to Antananarivo because with a name like that, it's guaranteed to be fabulous.

Goway.com


expatify.com

So who's coming with me to kidnap a lemur?

Men Don't Cry in Egypt

2011-01-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: Pop-NSYNC

...I mean they don't cry in general. Alyssa Milano (Phoebe from Charmed--watch it!) tweeted this a week ago and it intrigued me. I know, I'm really late, but I wanted to post about it anyway. Oh, and disclaimer, my posts are going to become slightly more journalistic (hopefully) because I'm supposed to be staying up on current events--which I am horrible at--for my journalism class.

The post basically detailed the five situations in which guys are allowed to cry. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Technically, society stigmatizes crying in general as a sign of weakness. I've bought into it yes. If we were to examine this further, there are a couple of downfalls to crying. There are only a few people who can do it and get away with looking cute. It makes your sinuses start to run and then you can't breathe (or at least I can't right after doing it), your eyes get red, your voice gets whiny, and you sound absolutely incomprehensible while crying. However, guys can be sensitive without crying. There is a limit, but the question is, should there be a limit to the amount that men are able to cry? Interesting concept. I'm not sure. I'm in the camp where men should not be afraid to cry when necessary, but there is a line. Somewhere. It's hidden and very thin, but there somewhere.

Egypt-oh boy. I've only heard/seen snippets and pieces (sad I know, yes it's all over the internet) and I am determined to fully educate myself by tomorrow. However, it seems sad that people are revolting because their government seems Americanized to them. Go figure. And the police are joining in as well. When you have the police on your side in a revolt, it's a guaranteed foot in the door. Obviously, this is a really simplified and blase view of the whole situation, and why I seriously need to educate myself more. But to be fair, I'm most likely going to be doing something in PR and not in Journalism...

Chili in the time of Cholera ahem Colds

2011-01-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: Dream Within A Dream-Hans Zimmer (Inception Soundtrack)

It's chilly, so I made chili. In a crockpot. I could have made it in a pot or saucepan but I was feeling amazingly lazy today. Luckily, the end result was delicious. I seriously need to utilize my crockpot more and make meals that literally make themselves. I turned it on and left it and came back and it was done. I find myself needing that or needing meals that I can make in thirty minutes or less. Too often I come home exhausted and order something because cooking seems like a quest for the golden fleece. If I didn't have my roommate Claire to cook for, meaning, if I weren't consciously responsible for the life of another human being, I honestly don't know what I would be eating.

And eating is the leading cause for the detriment of my bank account. When I look at it, the money hasn't gone to clothes, things, or even necessities, it is spent on food and groceries. The sad part is that eating is so intrinsic to society that instead of finding different places to meet, people most often turn to restaurants for their outings, meetings, what-have-you. When a friend and I go out, we don't go to the lake, we don't go to the library, or the mall, we go to eat. I remember when I was in junior high and the big thing was to get permission to go hang out at the mall and basically window shop with the girlfriends. Now this is translated into let's go somewhere and eat something so that we can talk over that. In a way, eating minimizes conversation unless you really are concentrating on the other person. Maybe my perspective on this is different because I'm a college student and many of us feel perpetually broke, but I think that most of the time, people are trying the get what they need to live and then the rest, unless their view on what is necessary and what is want is completely skewed.

Faith Sans Staicase (& Snowboarding)

2011-01-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: Flora's Secret-Enya


"Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true"-Dr. King

My body has finally recuperated from snowboarding at the Tyrol Basin. It was my first time and so naturally there were about 500 million spills and excruciating pain that lasted for a week after. I now know how Sir Euric von Leichtenstein/William Thatcher felt when he was getting his arm set back into his socket and in that bedroom scene right after he finished "jousting for true love" (and if you don't know this reference from 'A Knight's Tale' SHAME, see the movie, if not for Heath Ledger alone) After mastering the art of getting up on the snowboard (and I still can't do it normally-I have to roll over onto my knees and get up backward) which managed to take almost the entire day, I finally managed to snowboard down one of the hills. It was the greatest feeling ever, even though I still have no sense of balance what-so-ever and due to my knees bleeding into the snow, I had to cease perfecting the art. Although it was fun while it lasted, I believe that winter sports are ridiculous. For me, the difference between the Winter and Summer Olympics is that normal people have a chance to do the Summer Olympics while Winter Olympics are based off of skill, and you could basically murder people. Think about it--and I'm sure that there are studies done on this--how many more people die in the Winter Olympics than Summer Olympics. You could off someone in speed staking, the toboggan could malfunction, you could die doing a trick in snowboarding. The people who do these sports are reckless, I salute them.

Today is the celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Day. It is so easy to go to the "I have a Dream Speech" as the example for what Dr. King is most known for, but I would challenge people to go investigate further. Educate yourselves. This was an extraordinary man who didn't just have DREAMS, but he was also a man of ACTION. It is very important to combine the two if you are to have any meaningful affect on our world. This man was a revolutionary in every sense of the word, but one of the most successful examples of how hate and violence don't have to be the fuel for a revolution. Understanding and love are pivotal examples of how society can work together without divisions, animosity, and past man-made horizons.

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase"- Dr. King

The 5th Year University

2011-01-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: Joy-Newsboys

I was officially accepted into the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at UW-Madison this morning. My parents read me the acceptance letter when they received it in the mail. Now all I have to do is take a 6-credit course that will completely revolutionize the way that I write/think--or so they tell me--in order to get out of the university where I have enough standing, credit-wise to graduate.

I'm definitely pleased to be accepted, but it brings to mind an issue that I'm pretty sure isn't just at UW-Madison. It's the question of false advertising. Not of the Journalism School, but of universities in general. When people say that their school is a 4-year university, that should mean that you can graduate in four years with every major, or at least that there is an opportunity to graduate in four years. Some majors in many schools or the way that the system is set simply do not provide that. Many school say that they are four year universities, but in actuality they produce fifth year seniors. Being a fifth year senior is not a bad thing and should not be looked down upon. The question needs to be asked if the rate of fifth year seniors is growing because students actually need this time to graduate or because something in the system isn't working or *ahem* corruptformonetarygain.

Either way, the upside is that I'll graduate with two degrees and hopefully everything that I learn through the J-School will prepare me for the job market and make me marketable to get a job which in any case, is all that I can ask for out of a system.

Movies are...Unoriginal Sex Plots

2011-01-06T20:23:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: Us-Regina Spektor

Soon and very soon, movie theaters are going to start showing porn. I'm almost certain about this. My mother jokes that PG-13 is the new Rated R and I used to laugh at her, however I think that she may have a point. When the movie industry comes up with a movie like Black Swan (which was amazingly fabulous by the way) and then puts the two stars of that movie, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis each in a movie where they have sex with their friends and supposedly have issues because of it, you know it's going downhill. No one seems to have original ideas anymore (except for Christopher Nolan-I'm biased-and a few others) and when you rehash books into movies and essentially ruin them as well as make an unoriginal plot for a movie that probably the only plus side to it will be that it shows gratuitous sex, it really speaks to how far you've come...or not at all. Personally, I don't think that Friends with Benefits or No Strings Attached are going to be amazing movies because I'm pretty sure 3/4 of the citizens in America have done the plot already and either did or didn't have the same issues. Or maybe people will relate to the movies because of this fact, I don't know. And apparently all we need to make a good movie is for some hot chick to take off a shirt and aggressively have sex with anyone, anything, or herself. However, an emphasis of how artistically and devastating and beautifully disturbed Black Swan is has to be reiterated. I smell mountains of awards.

I love a good action movie or the movies based off of Marvel Comic books, even though I haven't read the comic books. I look forward to seeing Stan Lee in all those cameos, it's like Where's Waldo, only it's Stan and you don't have to pick him out of a crowd of a thousand other people that you could care less about. I think he deserves that star on the Walk of Fame for all his cameo work! And from my endless babbling about it, you've probably figured out that Inception is on my list of top movies of all time, right up there with Man on Fire and The Adventures of Robin Hood. I most likely give people too much credit by assuming that they don't want to watch mindless drivel. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you need to. You've had a hard day at work, your brain is mush, and you can't focus on anything except the most trivial. That's understandable.

In other news, Queensland Australia is drowning under water. It's crazy the amount of natural disasters that have happened in the past couple of years, and the fact that the world doesn't know/is not prepared to deal with it. But that's for another post.

Goals or Resolutions?

2011-01-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

What I'm Listening To: Fireworks-Katy Perry

What is up bloggerverse? Bloggosphere? I have dearly missed you all. It is officially 1/1/11 and before I begin, I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! I have had a great and busy year. I've joined a sorority, Kappa Delta Chi. I'm so proud to be a penguin and it is seriously awesome to be a part of a sorority that does so much good for the community. You'll probably be hearing a lot about that sooner or later.

So this is usually the time when people start to make New Year's Resolutions for the year. I think that this is interesting. Resolutions are when you resolve to do something, but you can either do it or not do it which is why I think so many people end up failing in their resolutions. The definition for resolution is

- a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
-the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.

-the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

-the act or process of resolving or separating into constituent or elementary parts.

(per dictionary.com)

So people are determining a course of action, realizing that there is something that they can do something to fix their problem or predicament, but not actually developing a motive or reason for completing that plan of action. Which is why many reolutions fail.

Goals, on the other hand, are a little bit more permanent. Usually, people set goals with an intent to acheieve them because a goal is evidenced by something that is already desired by the individual, which is in fact why they make the goal. All of this is basically why I think goals are better than resolutions, but that isn't to say that resolutions are bad. It's good to have them, it's just funny to me because many people don't keep them. Solution: make a life plan and stick with it. You'll have a better time.

Miscellaneous: My sister got Inception for Christmas yesterday, and I have watched it at least twice. And Forbidden Fruit is ALMOST done, I can't wait for the day (in the near future) that I can come on here and tell you that it's finally done!

I love My Bucky

2010-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Teach Me How to Bucky-Zooniversity

DISCLAIMER: This will be a very short but biased blog post.

Amidst the mass parade of midterms and midterm papers that I have to write, I felt as though I needed to take a moment and digress from all of the Homecoming pride from this weekend (which I did not partake of because I wouldn't have seen my family from now until kingdom come). Basically, I love my college mascot. Bucky. He just reeks awesomeness, so much so that there is an entire documentary dedicated to how much effort and pride goes into being a Bucky. I've almost been at UW-Madison for three years and had been dying to get a picture with him, but our paths never crossed. Until this year.

There are multiple pictures of this love fest, but I decided to spare you from my obsession. This year, our Bucky showed his stuff in not one, but two music videos in which he dances. Very well in the short one may I add. I was also surprised at the video quality of the full length music video, but it turned out to be very good. Some people commented about the lack of diversity in the video, but technically the original version (Teach Me How to Dougie) is one sided as well so I say just enjoy it for what it is. It wasn't meant to be representative, just funny.Click here for the short version and here for the longer version, which are completely different from each other. Seriously watch at least one.

All right now that you've been bedazzled by our Bucky badger, you have to give him some brownie points. If not, well I did tell you that this was going to be a biased post. He has completely bewitched me and I am completely all right with that because it only fuels the notion that I will always have that Badger pride. On Wisconsin!

And now hopefully some of that Badger pride/energy will spill over into my midterm line-up through this week/next week...

The Day I Got a Golden Ticket & Shook President Obama's Hand

2010-09-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: A Change is Gonna Come-Sam Cooke

Today was easily the top moment of my college career. Thank you so much Bryon Eagon. You are the best alderman that has ever breathed life. Because of this amazing, five-star gentleman, I got to sit behind President Obama and touch him. Or rather, half shake his hand. Twice. President Obama came to UW-Madison to rally support for the Democratic party and he has me, and I'm sure the majority of the 30,000 people that were in the area, convinced. I'll certainly be going back to vote in November. Some memorable quotes:

"You have to put the car in 'D' to move forward and when you want to go backward you put the car in 'R'."
"Americans don't come in second, we come in first!"
"I had some friends that went to Madison and I used to come here all the time, but I won't go into detail about those times..."
"No you can't have the key! You don't even know how to drive!" (referring to "the other party")
"People like Tammy Baldwin, Tom Barrett, Russ Feingold and me got in the trenches, got our boots dirty and pushed and heaved while the Republicans just sat outside the ditch and looked down on us. Then when we finally, get somewhere, we get this tap on the shoulder asking us to hand over the keys."

As proof that I was there, about fifteen feet away from him (because I could have easily just watched CNN or read a newspaper to find any of those), here is a picture of us both (I am about 7 people in and wearing a long sleeved, red Wisconsin Badgers shirt towards the very left end of the pic)

And here's another, smiling, close-up picture where you can clearly see me holding up my "Moving America Forward" sign

I think that change is going to come if we all work for it. There are times that we as Americans tend to get disappointed, as the president was saying. This is probably because we live in a society where things are instantaneous and we need to have them immediately. We all have to remember that all good things take time. Losing sight of what is important is the worse thing that we can do as a country. The drive to be innovative as a country without leaving our fellow citizens behind in the process is a tough line to walk. But I'm hopeful that we can make it. YES WE CAN!

(courtesy of Rob DeMeuse)

Hello Mr. President!

2010-09-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Us-Regina Spektor

In the midst of karate lessons and just plain life, I finally have a brief chance to sit down and blog. President Barack Obama is coming to the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Tuesday and I'm going to get a chance to hear him speak. It's a great moment for the University, regardless of anyone's political affiliations. I am definitely psyched, although miffed about the place where they decided to have him speak. It's ridiculous. Let's have our president on campus and put him in the worst place possible. Absolutely ridiculous. The main point of interest is that he's probably going to be talking about Russ Feingold's campaign and giving him some support. I personally don't even care what he's talking about just as long as he's coming.

You all already know my views on Republicans and Democrats (if you don't see this post), but with the election primaries already having passed, the political world is in a blur. I don't even want to try and unravel everything that went on. However, when reading the New York Times the other day, I thought that there were some interesting articles about September 11th. I know it's a week later, but it's interesting to think about how much emotion and energy that day produces. There is talk about a mosque being built on or near Ground Zero and people are having a fit. I think that is ridiculous and intolerant. One article states that there was actually a prayer room in the the Twin Towers where many Muslims went to pray and worship when the towers went down. There's even some nut job pastor in Gainesville, Florida talking about having a national 'Burn a Koran day' and spreading hate (his 15 minutes of fame need to be OVER). This does nothing for our troops and even worsens the situation over there, only escalating the violence. Muslims were victims of that tragedy as well and it's time that people recognized that and focused on moving forward instead of pulling people behind and engaging in discriminatory activities.

In other news, my new website is almost done and work on the book is going really well, on schedule to be finished in December as planned. But honestly, for the rest of this week I'm going to be on a President buzz so check back for updates on that.

Stop Smokin' Baby!

2010-09-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: the Bed Intruder Song-Antoine Dodson (yep the infamous song made famous my remixers on YouTube and is now stuck in my head)

I was browsing CNN trying to get hit by lightening material for a post (whether or not CNN is a credible news source and not just for laughs or the strange is debatable) when one of the featured posts on the front page caught my eye. Apparently there is an Indonesian toddler who smokes. Not a cute candy cigarette or one of those straws or paper that kids fashion cigarettes out of, no this was a full-blown, smoke producing cigarette. By the way, this baby was a pro! He looked like he could be wearing a bowler with a sophisticated glass of gin by his side and he could be just puffing away. He reportedly smoked 40 cigarettes a day and finally broke his nicotine addiction through a 30-day drug rehabilitation program. And while this isn't necessarily politics, smoking has definitely become a social and a political issue, well here in Wisconsin it has.

As of July, a ban was put on smoking in bars in Wisconsin. Any bar. And if you do decide to smoke, you will be fined and the bar owner will be fined as well. They really put a double whammy on that piece of legislation. Oh, and the fine is about $300. Personally, I don't smoke. I have never wanted to smoke, but I don't knock the people who do. What you do is your business. I'm sure smokers hate non-smokers coming around and telling them "Hey, you know your lungs are going to get black and you're going to die soon right?" It's rude, I do realize. However, on the other hand, I have asthma so when you decide to smoke in my personal space, your habits become my business. I mean honestly, no one wants to sit there while you puff a load of smoke in their face. Be respectful! Smokers already have to adhere to a lot of regulations. They cannot smoke indoors, and for some buildings, they can't smoke within 30 ft of them. Then there is the price. If I was addicted to nicotine, or if I did have smoking as a habit, I would go to rehab ASAP. $5 or more for a pack and if you smoke a pack a day....well that's just insane. Decrease your cigarette intake people, if not for health reasons at least to keep some extra cash in your pocket.

I mean, technically, smoking is a way of life. People have been sighted smoking as early as 5000 B.C. for rituals, enlightenment, relaxation, political reasons, and recreational purposes. Smoking mostly has a bad reputation in Western society, only because we have discovered through medical research that smoking leads to all sorts of horrible things like lung cancer, heart attacks, erectile dysfunction, and birth defects. So if you want to keep it up and have beautiful babies, whether you're smoking the cannabis or the tobacco (and hopefully not the heroin or opium) or choosing the pipe, the hookah, or the bong choose your poison responsibly and be courteous folks!

Waldo Wednesday: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2010-09-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Secrets-One Republic

This is the start of a new series in which I decided to start to indulge my escapist attitude. Sometimes (well usually most of the time, I wish that I were on vacation somewhere. Sometimes the locations are exotic, but they don't have to be.They just need to be anyplace that isn't Wisconsin. Starting now, always on Wednesdays, I will post where I feel like going in any given week. This week it's Rio de Janeiro. Why Rio you ask?

Britannica Online

Why NOT?!

Rio de Janeiro is so awesome that it's going to be hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics and the final match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. How awesome is that? Popular attractions are the Pão de Açúcar or "Sugarloaf Mountain" to enjoy an awesome view of the city, Corcovado (which has an enormous statue of Christ the Redeemer on top of the peak), the amazing Theatro Municipal for opera, ballet and much more, Petropolis is where you can see the imperial palace, and also try to see the Museum of Modern Art. If you have your heart set on going to Rio, you can find in depth travel plans based on the amount of time that you are spending there here. Also, I hear that New Year's Eve celebrations there are astounding and all of the people are dressed in white, there are fireworks and light displays, and apparently a lot of chanting.

Voicemail Ettiquette vs. Voicemail Faux pas

2010-08-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Wavin' Flag-K'naan

At work I discovered a pet peeve while answering the phones. I don't know if this is irritating to other people, but it seems absolutely asinine to me when you call someone and there is an endless montage of ringing that never leads to an answering machine. I think that these people personally don't want individuals to call them because they exasperate them by taunting them to hang up the phone, which I end up doing anyway.

(istockphoto.com)

The second type is when people either have annoying voice messages or ones that are too long. I like T.I.but personally, I would not like to hear him blasting in my ear when I call to ask you about a portfolio. On top of that, do you really have to play the entire song before I can finally leave a message? I didn't not call you to be musically entertained and by the time the song stops, I don't even want to talk to you anymore. Think about it: if you were trying to reach out to someone and every time you attempted it, they blasted you with B.O. or acted as though they didn't want to be helped? That's what these annoying voice messages are like to me. I'm being slightly facetious, but seriously, I'm already annoyed that you didn't answer the phone because I obviously needed to talk to you about something, and now you just annoyed me even further. Fail.

There is a third type of answering machine protocol that isn't as annoying, but still manages to be irritating. When people have weird or long messages. My brother once had a voice message that said "Hello?....Hello? Well obviously I'm not here so leave a message." It was so stupid, and I would fall for the trap every time and start talking because I thought he was actually there. I have another friend who has a super long message in English and then one in Italian. I guess that she either had Italian family members or worked with Italian clients, so she had some sort of excuse. I like the voicemail inboxes that just state the name, or better yet, barely leave a greeting. Be conscious of your fellow man and save them some time. You'll also save yourself some time, which you could use to further educate your music tastes.

12 Games for People Under 20 (or not)

2010-08-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Glorious-Andreas Johnson (also known as the sped up end theme for The Proposal and Nutella commercials in England)

Today was the inservice for my job, mainly an event where the returning staff meets all the new hires (we are excited about our newbies). My bosses decided to taken us to a park ten minutes away from Madison and have us wear "team" colors. Mine was green. As soon as I rolled out of bed this morning, something was wrong. First of all, I was supposed to be on the bus by 9:15 and it was 9:30. Secondly, I was woken up by someone calling me on my cell phone, which happened to be one of my bosses and who happened to tell me that everyone was waiting on ME to leave. Big uh-oh. Luckily, one of my work sites where the buses happened to be leaving from is close to my new apartment so I told them I would be there in ten minutes. The day was basically filled with tons of games, and most of our staff is in their early twenties. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but in a different set of people, the energy might have turned the tide of the games another way. We played:

1. water balloon toss
2. run with an egg on a spoon
3. leap frog over your team members until got everyone to the finish line and back
4. a three-legged race
5. skits
6. designing clothes out of newspaper (they turned out really good)
7. a tag-your-it type of game and saving the dead people by carrying them (with two other people) to a hoola hoop
8. blind-fold someone and lead them around to throw balls at other people who are leading other people
9. rock paper scissors and the winner gets the loser(s) to cheer them on against other people
10. making up song lyrics based on our job to popular songs (mine happened to be Madison's "On Wisconsin" song (the amazing remixed version)
11. cat and mouse-all of us holding a parachute with one person kneeling and crawling around on top trying to pounce on the person crawling around under the parachute.
12. a game where everyone was lined up in a circle and you had to ask a question to the person on your right without hesitation until everyone went and any person who laughed or hesitated was out.

Needless to say, I there was a lot of running around and I think that some of these games shouldn't be played after age 25, but I could be wrong. My team got second place, and would have gotten first because we completely dominated, except that in the three-legged race the guys didn't tie their hankie tight enough around their ankles and it came undone.But now I have bites, scratches, bruises and non-existent sweat (because I for real showered ASAP) from the day. But it was worth it!

And this is random, but if you really like The Proposal or Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, and Sandra Bullock watch this because it's HILARIOUS.

The Packer

2010-08-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Yours To Take-Jimmy Needham

"Light at the end of the tunnel? We don't even have a tunnel; we don't even know where the tunnel is."- Lyndon B. Johnson

I've been doing a lot of moving in the past week and I've taken note of something. I do not know how to pack efficiently. Whenever I go somewhere, even if it's for a couple of days, I always end up with a suitcase full of clothes that I probably don't need or extra things that I think I need. I justify it by saying that I need options or I might not want to wear what I've packed, but in reality I probably have a phobia of packing light because I think I might be forgetting something.

My mom is a light packer. If we are in a pinch on a road trip, somehow she always manages ending up with the smallest bag or packing her things into my dad's suitcase. Dad is a careful packer. He packs a medium load, making sure that he has only what he needs and maybe one or two extra things. My sister is the forgetful packer. Usually, everyone will forget their toothbrush and toothpaste or something small, but my sister will forget this and then some so we always end up having to buy her things when we get to our destination. My brother is like me and packs a lot of things that he doesn't need but he makes up for this by those things not being clothes, just shampoo or cologne or shoes. Someday, hopefully I'll turn into a medium packer, but it's almost like a reflex to over pack because I feel like I'll need all of the things. Ah well.

Let Your Shoulder Lean to Elephants or Donkeys? (Politics)

2010-08-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Shoulder Lean by Young Dro ft. T.I.

"The longer I live, the more uninformed I feel. Only the young have an explanation for everything"- Isabel Allende

I have a confession to make: I do not really follow politics or current events. Furthermore, the fact that half the time I don't know what's going on is simply appalling (health care, what? just kidding, it's not that bad....sort of...) It's not that I'm not interested in what is going on around me, it is just the fact that if I have to add one more thing to my 7:30am-2:00am day, I would really be nocturnal and less functional than usual. I catch the major points, like if something is truly catastrophic (how about that oil spill?) or if I just happen to catch the national or local news one night.

I'm a donkey. And there are all sorts of awesome reasons why: or the difference:

1) Donkeys look better than elephants
2) In a fight, the donkey would win because the elephant would tire itself out and die
3) Donkeys are more conscious of citizen needs
4) Elephants are too uptight. That's why they get old and wrinkly so fast.
5) A donkey could be a noble steed, but if you fell off of an elephant, you might break something
6) Donkeys forgive and forget. Elephants hold grudges and remember every last single thing.
7) Elephants are expensive dates. Just imagine how many tons you'd have to feed that thing! (can we say high maintenance?)
8) Donkeys aren't clingy. Elephants are all about the babies and the mating and super territorial.
9) You wouldn't have to lie to a donkey. If an elephant asked you if it were fat, I hope you wouldn't tell it the truth unless you want to be crushed or skewered with an ivory tusk.
10) Donkeys don't have weird, creepy appendages like trunks or huge dumbo ears. They are compact and you don't have to be embarrassed to take them anywhere

In all seriousness, yes I am democratically inclined, however, if a Republican has a good idea, I'm not going to knock it just because it happens from a Republican. I tend to vote more with ideas rather than parties, although I do claim the Democrats. So essentially, on Thursdays, starting this Thursday, I'm going to blog about politics/current events. It will help me to be more involved, and hopefully crack you up at my ineptness in my forays into the political world (don't laugh too hard though). I am going to attempt to be neutral, but because of this post, you already know that my shoulder lean goes left.

I'm no Little Miss Muffet but...

2010-08-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Sanvean (I am your shadow)-Lisa Gerrard

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."-Marilyn Monroe

Breeding.

All of us have it, one way or the other, and maybe some have none, but when it comes to manners, people were raised with different concepts. Some people learned that it is not polite to call elderly people by their first names, others learned that it is never good to belch without saying "excuse me" and to say "bless you" when people sneeze. "Passed on" is better than "kicked the can," "passing gas" sounds more eloquent than "farting" and it is never cool to pick your nose where people can see it. Sometimes I think that manners are almost an umbrella term for being politically correct. However, there are some basic manners that everyone should have learned in regards to being socially acceptable, like saying please and thank you. Otherwise, people would probably have a tendency to think that you are rude.

I think it is interesting that women had to go to finishing schools to learn manners and ettiquette among other things and learn things appropriate to being a lady. I mean after all, if your mother is a lady, you should have learned some of what you are from her. Is there a set in stone way to teach manners well? Apparently it was finishing school and parents paid tons of money for their daughters to become "accomplished ladies."

Having some manners is better than no manners at all. Table manners are the absolute worst. There are so many little nuances that I think it's absolutely insane to try and teach them all to a five year old. However, as people grow, I'm sure that they pick up little things if they feel like they have the need to eat gracefully (and not like a perpetual five-year old). As Marilyn said, if I can't handle you at your worst, your best might not make up for it, especially if that entails waking the dead by smacking, gnawing on and snorting on a rib bone as I'm leaving Chili's.

Living: the House or the Car?

2010-07-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Pretty Wings-Maxwell

One indicator to definitely alert me that it is summertime is music. Particularly music that disturbs the peace. Driving around my city and suddenly hearing (and feeling) the bass in other people's cars just makes me want to run them off the road. If it's that loud outside, who knows how it sounds to them. I think that people like this should be marked too impaired to drive (because obviously they will be if they continue to torture their eardrums at this rate--seriously, where ARE the police when you need them?). I'm all for music, and it's cool to have it blaring even slightly outside your car or to hear it a little bit when the windows are down. But to hear the bass all the way down the street is just obnoxious. (I feel like I need to preface this next point: it's statistically speaking not stereotypically speaking, although it may seem as such) Also, most of the people with the base blaring out of their cars are in tricked out vehicles with the rims all huge and large stereo systems, no license plates, blacked out windows, dents in the side, plastic over their broken windows, or things like mirrors haphazardly hanging off the car (all right, not all at the same time, but you get it). Some of these people have ostentatious Escalades or other huge cars that obviously cost a lot of money. Yet if you were to go to some of their houses, it would be a duplex or they would be renting, but with a nice car.

Wouldn't you rather have a nice house than a nice car? It would probably be nice to own your own home and invite people over and not be embarrassed about the way you live. Because in the end, a nice house says more than a nice car, any day. If your car is all tricked out and you live in a dump, that really says something about where you place your priorities.

I think that many Americans have a tendency to look better than they are. What I mean by this is that people spend beyond their means all the time in an effort to prove to other people that they are well off. For me, I'd rather not go bankrupt than trying to prove something to society. All the time, people put something on layaway or charge their credit card repeatedly and then end up going into debt trying to keep up with the Joneses and then become dissatisfied.

On another scarier note, my brother got his driver's license today (on the second try) and my sister has been freakishly happy all week to get her temps. I'm going to need life insurance really soon.

If I had Pilgrim Powers...

2010-07-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: 21 by the Cranberries

Our power went out yesterday for nearly the whole day. I'm not sure if this was meant to instill a healthy respect of electricity in me, but it worked. A lot. In fact, I love electricity so much that I think I could compose a whole sonnet about it for you now. Or a haiku. Maybe even free verse, but I'll spare you from that. You are also spared from the super loud singing of "Hallelujah" that I've indulged in right now. The problem for me was that even though I had planned to take a break from typing my book, blogging, and other work to save my hands, I couldn't do anything. No TV or movie watching, no reading except by candle or flashlight, eating outside to have more light, stopping myself from the telltale reflex to flip on a light--I just felt antsy. Finally, after annoying my family, I stopped trying to read while holding a flashlight on by inserting it into the crevice of my arm or knee and just left my house and walked. And walked. But in reality I only walked over to the nearby park and utilized the swings. I hadn't been to a park in a while, much less sat in a swing and it felt nice in the cool air to swing into the night.

Honestly, I've become very comfortable, almost dependent on electricity. Much of my day (and apparently relaxation time) centers around the ability to have light or for machines to function. I seriously wonder how the Pilgrims or settlers were able to just live outside. I mean I know that they had their little candles and lanterns, but come on. Did they just feel their way around things (I stubbed my toe twice) or just become comfortable with looking like anything when they headed out for the day? I bet that is the reason why they all had bad eyesight. That's just common sense, not statistically speaking or anything. It also makes me think about the types of electricity and power that we have now and what happens when it all goes away. I guess I'd better start working on my pilgrim powers right now so that I can be ready whenever that day comes.