Someone Had To Say It

Experimenting with social networking

2009-12-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

I was required to keep this blog as well as a twitter for my online journalism class. Honestly, if it weren't for the class, I probably wouldn't have even tried either. Why? Because it's something extra to do, it's change, it's more work... all things I don't like. But I'll tell you what, I actually enjoyed doing this. It was fun to come up with things to write about and nice to see people's responses, whether they were agreeing or disagreeing with me. I appreciate all of you who read and responded to my blogs this semester.

Why am I not continuing it? Because I have way too much going on to keep up with it right now. School, work, holidays, birthdays, family, friends, internships, it's all just too much, especially at this time of year. But maybe some day I'll do it again.

Blogs and other social networking sites can be used for other things other than requirements in classes though. A friend of mine was called and interviewed my Good Morning America because of something she had posted on her twitter. MotionBox offered me free things for posting about them. And if nothing else, it's good to learn how to do something new while building communication skills.

Some people are so into blogging, they actually make a living off of it, crazy huh? It's certainly not as easy as it sounds... you don't write and then earn a certain amount for each word or post. Earnings depend on how much traffic you get on your site, which of course depends on the subject you're writing about, your writing style, and how well known you are.

I encourage all of you to try it sometime, whether for fun, or professional reasons.

Thanks again.

Gel. :)

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

2009-12-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

While I enjoy Christmas as much as the next person, as the holiday gets closer and closer and the excitement grows, I can't help but think of what heaping piles of waste associated with the joyous holiday does to the earth.

Wrapping paper is sent to landfills and trash because they can't be recycled with metallic dyes and designs, Christmas trees are cut down for the sole purpose of short term decoration, excessive amount of energy used with all the Christmas lights decorating homes, and greeting cards, which will be thrown out after delivering the simple "Merry Christmas" message to a loved one are examples. Thinking this way provoked the desire to be knowledgeable of how to recycle at Christmas time and be able to inform others of my findings to have a green Christmas.

After asking around, it seems the most common ways of recycling during the holiday season is to wrap presents in recyclable material including boxes, newspaper, or brown bags, all items that one should be able to find at a cheap or even no cost. The downside to this of course, is that the gifts don't look as nice. Solution: decorate the boxes, bags, and newspaper with markers and crayons, creating a truly original and fun craft. Recipients of the gift may even be happier this kind of gift wrap knowing they are helping the earth and the giver devoted time and effort into wrapping their present.

If you are stuck on the idea of using wrapping paper, buy the paper made from recycled content from charity groups. Open the paper slowly and carefully, insuring it's ability to be recycled.

For loved ones who are hard to shop for, eliminate wrapping paper completely. Purchase a gift certificate, place it in an envelope, punch a hole in the envelope, add colorful ribbon, and use the gift as an alternative to Christmas ornaments, insuring your tree is creative and beautiful and the recipient of the gift will find it useful.

Another alternative to wrapping paper is decorating and filling a basket with fun things, such as fruit. Wrapping paper isn't the only material that can be recycled at the holidays:

1. Lights- Holiday Leds and Christmas-light-source.com both participate in a Christmas light recycling program. Consumers are asked to send in their old and/or broken Christmas lights in a recyclable box in exchange for an emailed coupon towards any purchase made on their websites.

Putting Christmas lights up later in the year and taking them down sooner, as well as keeping them on a timer, prevents overuse and lowers energy use. LED lights use less electricity and are less of a fire hazard.

2. Christmas Trees- Real Christmas trees are renewable, recyclable resources. For every Christmas tree harvested, three seedlings are planted in it's place the following spring.

According to Earth911, There are about 500,000 acres used for Christmas tree production. Each acre provides the daily oxygen required for 18 people. Discovering where your local Christmas tree recycling center is makes oxygen more available.

3. Christmas cards- Christmas cards can be used in a variety of ways:

As gift tags, cut out the picture from the card, punch a hole, tie a ribbon, write to/from, and attach to gift.

-As bookmarks, by cutting the card into strips.

-As art, by cutting the photograph on the card and framing it to display as a decoration in your home.

For scrap booking, cut out decorative words, lettering, and photos and use them on holiday pages of your scrap book.

As coasters, cut the photos from the card in a circle and place them under drinks.

As note cards or scrap piece of paper, if the back is blank.

All of these and plenty more are wonderful alternatives to heaping piles of waste. Hopefully after sharing this information with others, we will start to see a green Christmas.

Live your life.

2009-12-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday a friend messaged me on aim and said, "omgg. i'm soo boredd." (no, i'm not making fun of the way she types. i type that way too.) Meanwhile, I have six days until the semester comes to an end (thank god, or uh, whoever an atheist is supposed to thank) and in those six days I have 3 blogs to write (2 after this one), three finals, a business card/letterhead/envelope Victoria's Secret ad, a print plus article complete with video, audio, and other extras, 3 seven page papers, a creative film response in the form of a song or dance, classes, and the bear minimum of a so called, social life. I told my friend I'd give her half my life, even if it was the fun stuff, like going out to lunch with the girls, making plans with friends for my visit home over the holidays, or even keeping my friends and family up to date with my life. She politely denied my request, yet she is bored. **Don't think I'm writing this as a way of venting behind her back, I definitely expressed myself to her as well.**

No, I'm not going to sit here and complain about how much work I have to do instead of doing it. In fact, writing this blog is part of my work, and complaining about my workload is not my purpose for this post. I'm well aware that going to a private school, taking six classes a semester with an internship on top, a seasonal job and friends and family keep you busy and can be stressful. But all of those are my choice. I put myself in these situations and I don't regret any of it. In fact I enjoy being busy and I know some day my hard work will pay off. So let me actually get to the point...

Live. Your. Life. :: sounds simple, yeah? But I'm not saying put in 8 hrs a day/40 hrs a week at your job, come home, make dinner, go to bed and get up and do the same thing the next day. Sure you're alive, but that's not what I mean by living. What I mean is make your life worthwhile. Don't be a waste of space and oxygen.

Find something that makes you happy and do it as often as possible. For me, being around people that I connect with makes me happier than anything else. When I'm out here I spend Monday and Wednesday afternoons with the girls at our favorite lunch spot. Their company and hilarious statements hurt so good. What I mean by that is, I don't mind my sides aching from laughing with good friends. When I'm home my friends and family give me the same kind of release. These people are my escape from reality. Even an hr a day, a funny text message, etc makes my day and makes me appreciate life.

For you, it may not be the same. Maybe it's physical exercise, if so, make it a point to get outside and run your heart out. There are many other examples I could use to illustrate my point, but I think you get it.

Perhaps this was more of a rant than a blog post, but since it's my blog, I can write whatever I want to. Really, I just don't understand how people can sit around watching their lives go by. The world is a big place waiting to be explored, get out there and life your life!

And thank you friends and family who make my life special. :)

do you REALLY know where your money's going? you may be surprised.

2009-12-07T14:20:00.001-08:00

A friend and I were talking the other day and she told me that RJ Reynolds owns Starbucks and also tobacco companies. My friend is a big fan of Starbucks (and coffee in general) and was disappointed to learn that by buying a cup of coffee she is giving money to the same man who promotes tobacco. I thought it may be interesting to look into what all of us as American consumers are actually spending our money on.

From RenyoldsAmerican (R.J. Reynolds' website):
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the second-largest U.S. tobacco company. The company's brands include five of the nation's 10 best-selling cigarettes.

R.J. Reynolds owns: Nabisco, Starbucks, Camel, Century, Doral, Magna, Monarch, More, Now, Salem, Vantage, and Winston.

While I am not a smoker and don't particularly want to fund Reynolds' tobacco company, I also understand that he is not the only one who owns and promotes things I don't agree with. For example: I am a very loyal fan to Coca-Cola and while I have negative thoughts towards energy drinks, (coca-cola makes many energy drinks) it doesn't keep me from drinking other Coca-cola products even though I know my money is funding the same energy drinks I don't care for.

And then there's the whole concern of American products being made in China and other countries where they don't have child labor laws like we do. There's a good possibility that the clothes we own are being sewn by seven year old (or younger) children. Do I like it? NO! But... honestly, I can't (and don't want to) boycott everything.

So let me ask you, does this change anyone's opinion on drinking Starbucks and eating Nabisco cookies?

Spend some time with my face

2009-12-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to an event called "Blogfest" that featured numerous successful bloggers sharing their experiences with blogging (what they do with it, how to get into it, advice for college students, etc)

The fact that technology makes everything so quick and easy with social networks such as twitter, email, instant messaging programs, and the addiction to texting was brought up. I've heard and read many people's (mostly older) opinions on this and a lot of them seem to believe that someday my generation and generations to follow aren't going to participate in "face time", seeing and talking to someone face-to-face, because there isn't a need to do so with all the ways to connect with a person through technology. They seem to think we're going to become robots and not remember how to carry on a conversation or behave in public.

I think this idea is ridiculous. As much as I'm addicted to texting (8,000+ a month) and like using social networking sites, I value a good heart-to-heart conversation in person. There is no technology that can compare to physically being with another where you can see their body language, experience things with them, and appreciate the time spent together. I keep in touch with friends and family back home through technology when I'm in Pittsburgh and keep in touch with friends here through technology when I'm home, however, if given the choice I would much rather see the person!

I think the older people are a bit intimidated by the fact that younger generations can do something that they can't. Especially because it's not just like, they're old and can't do things as well as they once were able to, but a whole new world that they don't understand that is becoming the future more and more every day.

The spotlight:: a celebrity's life

2009-12-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

Since Tiger Woods is getting so much attention right now and his most recent events of a car accident, affair, and wife fight are being examined and reported on by everyone and their brother, I think it's safe to say everyone is aware of these things. However, I also don't like to post something without giving the facts. So... according to the news, Tiger Woods is having an affair with a 24-year-old cocktail waitress (with sexting messages and voice mails soon to be released), was in a car accident where he struck both a tree and a fire hydrant(the car accident occurred at 2:25am, just where was Mr. Woods going?) , which some believe were caused by the influence of alcohol, and is a battle with his wife because of all this. Follow this link to read an interesting article on this whole thing. Or just type in Tiger Woods' name in google.

While it's certainly bad that this happened, the problem I have with this is Tiger's reaction. Many places site him as whining about his personal life being putting out in the open. Hellooooo Tiger, you're a celebrity! You don't have a personal life. Not a private one anyway. Did you forget you make more money in a day than most of us will probably ever see in our lifetime, so we can have our nose wedged in your butt?! On top of money and fame, Tiger has a model wife and 2 adorable young children. Why on earth would anyone in his situation do what he's doing?

Seems to me that he didn't go to great lengths to keep his affair a secret either. Apparently he was spotted with the waitress at some well-known hotel. Not exactly the best way to keep something a secret.

I have mixed feelings on this issue. Yes, I believe everyone should have the right to privacy so long as it is not affecting their career. For example, when Bill Clinton's affair was announced I didn't honestly see that much of a problem with it. Sure he's the president and it's probably not the best idea, but he did a fine job in his presidency. However, as president of the United States, he should be a positive role model. Tiger's in the same situation. He's still the world's best golfer no matter who he sleeps with, what he hits, or what ever future issues may arise, however, he too is under the public eye and therefore should set a good example.

He issued an apology, although not until the day of the National Enquirer publishing the story, which I appreciate, but I still don't feel sorry that he got busted.

Anyone else.. thoughts/opinions?

To Write Love on Her Arms

2009-11-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

I decided to write about "To Write Love on Her Arms" (TWLOHA) because I kept seeing things about it and had no idea what it meant, however, after reading about it myself, I understand why it's so important. For those of you who don't know what TWLOHA is, I'll answer some questions you may have first:

What is To Write Love on Her Arms?
A. TWLOHA is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Q: How did TWLOHA start?
A: To Write Love on Her Arms began in Orlando, FL in February 2006 as a (written) story, the true story of five days spent with a friend who was denied entry into a drug treatment center. The story was a look at those five days, and the t-shirts were printed and sold initially as a way to pay for our friend's treatment.

Q: What does TWLOHA do?
A: TWLOHA gives a portion of proceeds directly to the treatment and recovery programs of the organizations listed below. Since 2006, TWLOHA has given nearly $500k to treatment and recovery. Beyond donating to treatment and recovery, TWLOHA believes that all the work they do is uniquely important. They value prevention, awareness, and communication. They have a small staff that includes part-time help who respond to messages and emails everyday. Being able to interact with people who are hurting and provide them with encouragment is the most important to TWLOHA. "In so many cases, those are folks talking about these issues, sharing their struggles, asking for help - for the very first time. It's a privilege that we get to respond to those messages. " -from TWLOHA.com

Q: What can you do to help?
A: Donate, purchase items from the website (t-shirts and things that say TWLOHA) but more than anything be aware of suicide and depression and encourage those who are struggling.

And today is TWLOHA day. So.. be aware of these things not only today, but every day.
*more information as well as products available can be found on the twloha website.

Passing on the info

2009-11-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Lowell Dempsey of Motionbox, this is for you:

A few days ago I received an email that said this:

"Hi Gel

Motionbox just announced a new PRO service yesterday and I thought that you and the readers of Someone Had To Say It would be interested. We'll waive the pro-account setup fee for you or any of your readers who sign up - it's a $50 value. There are now 3 levels of Motionbox service - Basic, Premium, and PRO.

Motionbox PRO is a comprehensive video hosting solution and includes archival storage, web-based editing, streaming and embedding, all in up to 1080p HD quality. I would love for you to try out Motionbox for free and let your readers know what you think. I've put together this site which boils it all down - feel free to repost any or all of it:

http://motionboxnews.com

If you are able to post or tweet about Motionbox please send me the link so I can share it with everyone. I am here if you have any questions.

Thank you so much,

Lowell
--
Lowell Dempsey, Motionbox
lowell@motionboxnews.com
www.motionbox.com"

With that being said, I don't know how many of you are interested in this or would want to take advantage of this offer. Sounds like a great deal to me, however, I don't really see how it would be of use to me. I do know a few people who may be interested and I will pass it along.

Anyway, I received the email and was flattered that someone was reading this and my twitter (mainly since they're both required for class.) so I posted the information.

Friends/Readers/Mr. Dempsey:: I hope I've helped. :)

Change your (temporary) location, change your life.

2009-11-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

Although I've always had an interest in travel and learning about other cultures, I never thought it would be financially possible for me to do.

Today I present to you the opportunity of a lifetime. Here are two websites I learned about in my cross cultural psychology class that could make your dreams come true:

1- idealist.org This website provides readers with an unbelievable amount of volunteer opportunities. Check it out..choose a country and i'm sure you'll be impressed with all the exotic places to explore that could be a wonderfully unique experience.

2- livemocha.com This website is a social language tool that allows you to learn virtually any language. What makes this site different from other language teaching sites is instead of having a recorded voice, the user is matched with a resident of the chosen country, who speaks the native language. The individual will work closely (as close as possible for two people who are literaly a world apart from each other)with the user to make them fully understand the language.

I chose to share this information because I believe it is important to learn about other people and cultures. These two websites allow us to learn and experience a whole new world, whether we choose to physically take part in an opportunity in another country or learn language and culture from a native in the comfort of your computer chair. Now it's your turn:: learn, learn learn, experience experience experience!!

2009-11-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

Readers:
This is for classwork, although you may certainly take the quiz/poll if you'd like. Please read/comment the blog below

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Halloween: the holiday for children & sluts

2009-11-02T00:52:00.000-08:00

It seems Halloween has come down to two categories:

1- Children going trick-or-treating, which of course is just fine, as most of of us did this in our younger years. Although trick-or-treating has certainly changed. Now the kids come around with pillowcases as candy bags (I will admit, I used to go trick or treating with pillowcases myself) and wear jeans & a t-shirt and say, "what am I?" "Me!" Ohh, how wonderfully creative. Give me a break. What happened to the times when we had really creative costumes that were handmade? I remember my mom made me an entire bunny costume one year. That was probably the best year because of how hard she worked on it. And I was super warm. Thanks mom! What happened to the days when we actually got excited about going door-to-door to get candy from our neighbors? I feel like the increase of sex-related crimes (in our own neighborhoods... don't believe me check neighborhoodcrimemap.com ... actually, don't. You're probably better off not knowing.) and the greedy ones (who are too old to be going trick-or-treating in the first place) that get to the candy before the children the night was supposed to be for. Of course I am not saying EVERY neighborhood is this way, but from what I've seen, this is the case. If anyone knows of anywhere it is differently, feel free to comment, that's why I'm writing anyway. Besides the fact that I have to do this for class, I like the feedback.

2- Girls who parade around wearing next to nothing. On top of that they dance as though they are having sex on the dance floor. Better idea: save your money on your "costume"... I put it in quotes because I'm not sure if something so small actually constitutes as a costume. stay at home and sleep with whoever you're going to sleep with later. Don't spend your money on alcohol and trashy costumes so that you can end up pregnant and make the rest of us pay for you and your child who will more than likely end up on welfare. If you want sex, you're going to have it, but maybe if you're sober you'll make the right decision to at least use some protection and not bring a child into the world.

Sorry for the rant. Again, I'm no saying that happens in every case. I just really don't like to see girls who dress like that. Have some self respect! Not to mention, you make the rest of us look bad.

Halloween is a lot of fun, it's a great holiday. But just friendly advice: get an actual costume. One that is both creative and covers your body.

Real fans or bandwagoners?

2009-10-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last year the Steelers won the Superbowl, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup and the Pirates... well, they don't win ever. I am not from Pittsburgh originally and I believe there are an unbelievable amount of true Steelers and Penguins fans in the city of Pittsburgh however, there are also some fakes. I've heard people who claim to hate hockey or football or a specific team, but then when they win, they're sporting a Steelers'jersey and pretending to be their biggest fan.

I like to watch football, but I do not have a favorite team. But, now that baseball season is coming to an end (I'm a BIG Yankees fan) I am getting to experience the fake fans first hand. Last year so many people wanted to put the Yankees down, they wouldn't shut up about A-rod & the findings in the Mitchell Report, they kept saying that the Yankees don't know how to play ball but, now that they've made it to the world series, I hear a different tune.

I wore a Yankees shirt today because I was happy they won the pennant, but I would also wear Yankees' gear any other time. All day I heard two different responses:
1- "Boo Yankees," which came from people who liked a team who didn't even make it to the post season, like the Pirates or the Red Sox. or 2- "Yeahh Yanks, I knew they could do it! "Wait. Where are the Yankees from again?" In the first case at least the people are loyal to their preferred team, but the second severely irritates me, if you don't know anything about a subject, how can you claim to be a fan?!

And then there are those who root for a team strictly because of where they're from. I suppose their logic is well, i don't know anything about baseball, but since the Phillies are from Pa, won last year, and are in the world series again this year, i'll root for them. FYI: This does NOT make you a fan!

So it seems over the next few months there will be a combination of people wearing Steelers' jerseys, Penguins gear, and Yankees/Phillies (whichever is closer to them) hats.

I'm not saying everyone has to like baseball or any other sport, but if you claim to be a fan know what you're talking abou and stick with your team no matter what.

Introducing At&t's Cell phone/pill reminder

2009-10-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.wjla.com/news/aploader.html?js=whtm&id=666521

The U.S. is spending $290 billion to develop the new cell phone/pill reminder from At&t.

The phone is synchronized with prescriptions the phone operator is supposed to be taking. When the pill bottle is opened it sends out messages acknowledging that the person is taking their pills. If the pill bottle is not opened, the phone flashes as a reminder to take the medication. If that's not obvious enough it makes noise and will send a text as another form of a reminder. The phone can also be set up to send these notifications to someone else, so people know whether or not their loved ones are taking their medication.

My opinion: While I think it's great that something like this is being developed to help improve the biggest problem in medicine: that people aren't taking what they should be, this system seems to be too easy to take advantage of. All you have to do is open the pill bottle and the phone believes you took your medicine, so, if someone did just that, it would be believed that the operator of the phone was taking their medicine, when really they were not. Without questioning the invasion of privacy, I'm not really sure how this new phone could be certain that the person actually was taking the pills they should be.

What do you think?

How much is too much??

2009-10-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

http://blog.pennlive.com/go/2009/10/duggar_family_of_18_children_w.html

The Duggar family of 18 children is welcoming their first grandchild. With the economy as bad as it is and the cost of living increasing, I find it hard to believe that anyone near an average income is able to provide for so many children.

My opinion: BIRTH CONTROL!!!

Is it illegal to dance naked?

2009-10-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091009/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_naked_dancer

This article is about a man who sneaks into people's backyards, dances naked, and runs away. Apparently this has been happening since 2005, with the most recent incident being September 30th. Police want to catch him before he does anything worse.

My opinion: Is there anything wrong with this man dancing naked? I know, i know, being naked is against the law. But, really, there are a lot worse things the man could be doing. And as long as it doesn't escalate to anything else, I say, let him dance naked! He's been doing it for almost five years anyway.

Mr. Dancing man, if you're reading this, although I highly doubt you are, you can come dance in my backyard, as long as it's not all day long.

Anyone object to this dancing man?

Being on birth control determines what kind of man you like.

2009-10-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_pill

According to this article and British researchers women who are on birth control are less likely to choose a a man who is rugged and manly. Apparently being on the pill makes women want men who are more like themselves.

My Opinion: Personally, I've always been attracted to manly, muscular men. I am not on birth control, but at some point I probably will be. If my taste in men suddenly changes I will be surprised. I suppose I won't be bothered by it, since it is my own taste that will be changing. However, I wonder how true this actually is... I really can't stand wimpy, girl-like features in a man (and what I consider to be wimpy most probably don't) I like my man manly.

I suppose females would be the best to comment on this. Anyone on birth control who is into pretty boys or not on birth control who shares my taste in men?

Viagra, booze, and porn provided by the federal government for those less fortunate

2009-10-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

http://bit.ly/19qKOE

In Detroit, food stamp recipients would get cash from the store in exchange for swiping larger amounts off their electronic cards. The store would then be reimbursed by the U.S. Agriculture Department. In some transactions, confidential informants got more than cash. The government said the store provided Viagra, painkillers, liquor, and porn videos in exchange for swiping about $2,000 off food stamp cards.

My Opinion: This topic is something I feel very strongly about. I work in a grocery store, so I've seen people abuse their food stamp privileges first hand. I've had people purchase hundreds of dollars worth of junk food (that their children are eating too) with their food stamps and then turn around and hand me a $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes. That upsets me. It makes me feel as though our tax dollars are paying for people to be obese( with health problems to follow) and develop health problems from smoking. So you can imagine being able to buy viagra, alcohol, and porn would upset me even more. With these things being available to people with less of an income, we would have even more drunken, sexually crazy people in this world, which I can only assume would lead to more sexual and alcohol related crimes.

At least it was caught and the store was closed, but it makes you wonder, how many others are doing things like this, or worse?

Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying here. I have no problem with people who actually NEED food stamps taking advantage of the systems we have in place when they use them correctly.

Comfort in the classroom: please don't take my jeans away.

2009-10-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

http://bit.ly/BC91b

The link is to an article about a college in London that is becoming very strict on dress code. For students: scruffy trousers, jeans,(JEANS?? THE MOST COMFORTABLE PIECE OF CLOTHING, EXCEPT FOR SWEATPANTS, THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE AND WORN EVERYWHERE??), ostentatious jewelry and outrageous hair styles and colors are strictly banned. Teachers: business suit, smart jacket and coordinating trousers or skirt, smart shirt/top/blouse or smart dress. I understand the teachers looking a bit more presentable to signify that they are important and have experience and authority over students, however, we already know that. Clearly, they're older than us and wouldn't be teaching if they didn't have the experience. Really, I don't care what they wear either, they should be comfortable too.

Earrings for both students and teachers must not be excessive and are the only form of jewelry allowed in visible piercings. The policy also states that tattoos must be covered.

I find this humorous, because college students are probably the least concerned with looking presentable. I go to a private school where dance, musical theater, and journalism are the top majors. The students run around here in whatever they want and at my class at Pitt, even my teacher wears jeans! And she dyed her hair purple. Really people it's 2009! I say as long as you're body parts (the ones that need to be) are covered, you're good.

Thing about it: As college students, you sit in classrooms allll day and listen to lectures, take notes, watch movies, work on projects, and take tests. Why not be comfortable?

The school's answer: "The College is a professional and business-like organization and staff have a responsibility to uphold and promote these values in their dress and appearance."

Yes, of course I understand that how you dress alters how you feel. But I also understand that we will have to dress up every day until retirement (and maybe even after) for everything such as job interviews, internships, and the actual position we have. On top of that there are meetings, dinners, weddings, and many other occasions that require us to dress up. Can't we just relax and enjoy our college years in comfortable clothes?

Attention men: Want to be a mommy?

2009-10-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20090927/od_notw/nwx090927xml

See this picture: baby's confused too!

I won't make you read this whole article. Basically it's about a 26-year-old male college student who pumps his "breasts" at three hour intervals for 90 days to see if he as a man could lactate and have the same breastfeeding experience as a woman and a baby.

My opinion: This is weird: really, really weird! Women's breasts develop during puberty to prepare for reproduction and fill with milk when they are pregnant because that is the purpose of breasts. I realize others believe the purpose of breasts are to oogle them, but enjoyable as that may be, they serve a real purpose: to feed babies. Men are not capable of breastfeeding babies and I think it's strange that they would even want to try.

This is almost as weird as the pregnant man. What do you think? Any man WANT to breastfeed?

ugly, stupid clothing choices

2009-09-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

I am not in any way an expert of fashion nor do I care to be. However, there are basic things that just should not be worn:

1. Capes. While waiting with my friend for her bus today, I saw a girl wearing a cape and reading a book. Talk about "escaping from reality" like they say books help people do. I wish I had known what book she was reading and I wish I would have had the chance to ask her what was with the cape. Maybe she's a superhero!

2. Uggz= Ugly. I hate ugg boots. For any of you that don't know what they are, they are the ugliest looking boot usually worn by slutty girls (from what I've seen) and paired with something completely unrelated. For instance, uggz & really short shorts. Really? snow boots= winter, shorts= summer. Pick a season or just don't wear uggz at all, but if you insist, the least you could do is cover their ugliness with your pants.

3. Nice clothes/heels. While everyone likes to dress up and it is proven that if you look good you feel good, I cannot understand why people insist on wearing dressy clothes to events with a very casual setting. Example 1: girls wear stilettos to the bar. Why? Alcohol already increases your chance of falling down, why make it worse? Example 2: To class. Really? Was it necessary to wake up at 4am to put on your mask and killer shoes? Yes, you look gorgeous, but if you look your best every day, what will people think when you're supposed to look good? Plus, why would you even WANT to go to so much trouble?

2009-09-16T08:47:00.001-07:00

I went to the NFL kickoff concert at Point State Park. There was an ad for monster.com. Their slogan: “Your calling is calling.”

As both a journalism major and a human being with a brain, I find this very unappealing. (exactly the opposite of the purpose of ads) The slogan is four words….two (calling) are the same and one is “is.” Maybe next time think about the fact that advertising is supposed to be creative and come up with something a little catchier.