People From Connecticut

     Whenever I say I'm from Connecticut to people who have never been here before, typical questions that ensue include: "Is everyone there rich?" "Is your mom a soccer mom?" "Are all your high school friends preppy?" and "Do you live in a mansion?" These are all overgeneralized, but at the same time there's truth in a lot of Connecticut stereotypes. People don't just pull these notions out of thin air.
     Being home reminded me of some more stereotypes that it seems like people who aren't from Connecticut aren't really aware of. I think it's safe to say that people who live here either fit into these stereotypes or would find these stereotypes relevant.

• You go to Cape Cod on family vacations every summer: Going up even further North to go to the beach is something I don't think I'll ever understand the reasoning behind. I'm personally not a fan of swimming in ice cold water at the beach. I shouldn't even talk, because I've never even been to Cape Cod. It's supposedly very scenic. 

• You're either obsessed with your religion or you're obsessed with being against religion: This is a new trend I'm noticing in my town in particular. I'm all for people believing in what they want, but if nobody asked you for your religious views, nobody cares what you have to say, so you should just probably keep it to yourself. You would think that this is common sense.

• You suck at driving: Seems to me like people in Philadelphia know how to drive, but drive like garbage because they're in a rush, whereas, people in Connecticut seem to genuinely suck at driving. Too many times I've been stuck behind slow old people, been cut off, or just witnessed people doing stupid things that make it blatantly obvious that they don't really know how to drive/ don't have a lot of experience. Connecticut isn't the only state full of awful drivers, but I feel like Connecticut is home of a special kind of breed of awful drivers.

• You treat your 18 year old kids like they're 11: This probably isn't just a Connecticut thing, just a general trend I've noticed among most my friends' parents. It's really depressing that people are still getting grounded for little things during their winter break.

• Dressing like an androgynous blob is socially acceptable/ cool: My personal favorite. I can't even attempt to classify what is considered trendy at Temple because there are just so many different people. I find myself being inspired by what other girls are wearing or the types of outfits they put together. I am such a girl. Aside from finals, it's rare to see people wearing sweat pants. When I first got back to Connecticut, I went to Panera and literally every girl in there could have been confused for a guy. Call me what you want, but I just can't even wrap my mind around how drowning in sweatpants, a giant hoodie, wearing no makeup, with hair pulled back in a high, unflattering, sloppy ponytail, all at the same time, is socially acceptable or even cool. Taking some pride in your appearance and not dressing like you hate yourself isn't a bad thing in my eyes.

     Of course, I can't speak for all of Connecticut. I've only met a fraction of the 3,518,288 people who live here. These are simply some somewhat biased observations I've made since I've been home. 


(That picture's not mine. Got it from here.)

New Camera And Such

    I try not to make posts on here about myself because frankly, I feel like my own day-to-day life is on the boring side. The highlight of my Friday was getting a big bowl of macaroni and cheese at Panera. I'm home in Connecticut now and since my brain is turned off for winter break, it's hard to come up with ideas to write/rant about.

     Unlike what seems like the majority of my friends on Facebook, I'm actually loving the snow right now. I have nowhere to go and no plans tonight, so it's even more of an excuse to stay at home tonight. Although, my brother, his girlfriend, and I all decided it was imperative that we drive through the blizzard for chicken nuggets at McDonalds. I don't care if they're made out of pink goop, that pink goop makes my taste buds go wyld.

      I kept myself entertained after our chicken nugget feast by taking pictures of various Christmas paraphernalia around my house with my new camera. And my dog, of course. I can't wait to get back to dear old North Philadelphia where there are actual places to go take pictures of, although this camera can make common household items look like works of art. I admittedly don't know much about photography, but I'm ready to change that.

      This camera is actually the fourth one I've gotten for Christmas. The first three had to be returned. The first one came in a damaged box, and the second one was fine, but the battery didn't charge. The third one was fine, and the battery charger worked - until my dog decided to run around on a rampage around my kitchen and her loopy tail got hooked on the charger's wire. My kitchen has a tile floor. My dad was so outraged, he drove through the blizzard tonight to West Hartford to exchange it, yet again. The people working at Best Buy probably know him on a first name basis at this point, and I have perfected packing away the camera and all its parts into their appropriate boxes and packaging. Fingers are crossed that nothing goes wrong with this one!

     

An Additional Reason Why Tumblr Sucks

 

     Because it hosts this "thinspiration" nonsense. Sadly, "The Skinny City" isn't the only blog that hosts this kind of thing. It seems to be more popular on tumblr, further contributing to why tumblr sucks in my book.
     For those of you who haven't heard of "thinspiration," according to Wikipedia it is "photographs or other material intended to provide inspiration for anorexia nervosa as a lifestyle choice." So, in other words, thinspiration blogs on tumblr are where lame insecure girls who typically aren't unhealthily overweight post pictures of girls who starve themselves on a daily basis and make it their goal to look just like walking skeletons. It seems to me like the only people who are "inspired" by these blogs and that think being unrealistically skinny is worth sacrificing their health are immature girls.

      According to this informational website, "the more serious consequences of malnutrition and weight loss include weakened bones, and loss of brain tissue and muscle, including the heart muscle...decreased energy, low blood pressure, feeling dizzy and faint, feeling cold much of the time, constipation, fatigue, lack of interest in things including sex, and depression." But, you know, weighing 90 pounds is totally worth all those negative side effects and possibly dying of malnutrition.

 

      Unless they have some kind of mental disorder, I can't picture anybody my age or older actually believing that starving yourself will make boys will notice you and having people remember you - not for your intelligence, accomplishments, ability to make people laugh, etc., but for your weight - are good enough reasons to starve yourself. Last I checked, most guys like it when girls don't resemble poles. I would be really sad if I woke up one day with a flat butt.

     Basically, I think it's mind-blowing that there are girls out there that would lose sleep over not being able to fit into a pair of jeans or not having "collar bones that could poke an eye out." I'm not fat and I can't wear Hollister jeans because my hips are too big. My hip bones don't inflict harm on others when I give hugs. Maybe there are people out there that would consider me "fat" because I don't look like a skeleton. Who cares! I'm not going to sit here and preach "looks don't matter," but looks sure aren't everything. It's okay to want to lose weight if you're on the heavier side, but it's not okay to sacrifice your health to do so. Something like that seems like it would be common sense, but unfortunately to some, it's not.

Another Semi-Pointless Christmas Related Post

 

     This year my mom insisted my brother and I take a picture together for our Christmas card. I felt like such a tourist waiting in line to take a picture at Christmas Village, formerly renamed Holiday Village... but is now Christmas Village again. I still think our dog would be cuter to look at, but this works too. 

     As much as I'm in need of a break, I'm going to miss all the hobos, jaywalkers, abundance of bikes, the weird people above us who run laps around their room a lot, larger-than-life murals on every exposed concrete wall, insane drivers, free spirits, great parties,  shopping in stores other than Forever 21, old architecture, and restaurants that aren't just Panera/ Taco Bell that make my experience in Killadelphia stand out from other cities. That was a really long sentence that I could have broken up to abide by the rules of grammar that are going to govern my life if and when I get a job as some sort of journalist, but it's my blog and I can do what I want! 
     It's a shame how much bad coverage Philadelphia gets from the media. People don't realize that the media would rather focus on the negatives that happen in Philadelphia rather than the positives because it's simply easier for an audience to react to, which in turn, makes Illadelphia seem like a city filled with crime and nothing but. I quickly found out that Philadelphia isn't what the media makes it out to be. That huge sentence is still only a little slice of all the things I could say about this city.

Merry Christmahanukwanzika!

I Don't Know What I Want For Christmas

      I feel like the older you get, the harder it is to think of stuff you want for Christmas, and the less exciting Christmas is. However, I do think that this moderately overpriced bracelet would look right at home on my wrist (Hi Mom). I used to get stoked on Christmas throughout the whole month of December, but this year I've been too busy swimming, no, drowning, in work to even remember that the holidays are approaching (and to update the blog, oops).

     I could complain about how bummed out I've felt lately and about the knot that's been growing unfathomably quickly in my left shoulder for the past month or so, but if I wanted to do that I would have just made a tumblr. I feel like a lot of stuff that I want can't be bought. Basically, I just want finals to be over. I literally cannot even remember the last time I could just relax without having anything or anybody stressing me out. Once tomorrow's over, I will be able to see the light. I think.



     I'd like to add that if you're a high school student that complains about midterms/ finals, you suck and I can't wait until you get to college!

Bill Petit: His Heart-Wrenching Story And Why You Should Care

This is what happened. The New York Times can tell this story better than I can:

     "As a police officer approached the home of the Petit family in Cheshire, Conn., on the morning of July 23, 2007, two men ran from the scene as flames poured out of the house. They were quickly apprehended.

     When officers returned to the house they found Dr. William A. Petit Jr., 50; who had been severely beaten, and the bodies of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48; and their daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. The police said that the victims had been tied up in separate rooms, and that Ms. Hawke-Petit and one of the daughters were sexually assaulted before the house was set on fire."

     Yesterday, Petit appeared on Oprah, where he was interviewed about the details of this horrific incident, what he's been doing since then to cope, and what's been going through his head. I can't seem to find the episode on the internet but I'm sure somebody will put it up sooner or later if you want to see it.
     I watch stories like this all the time on Dateline and E! Investigates, but Petit's story really sticks with me. The fact that something so horrific happened to a dear friend of several family members of mine is something I never thought would happen. This all happened in such close proximity to my little house in Wethersfield, a town 99% of people don't even know exists. I always try to empathize with people but there's only so much I can fathom.
     Of course, Oprah just had to ask about God's place in this. What I'd like to know is why God would impose such an unimaginable event, which some could equate to a horror film, on an innocent, law-abiding doctor, husband, and father. However, it made me happy to hear that Petit uses spiritual guidance from God to give him a reason to live.
     It kind of makes me upset that Petit's story has gotten so much publicity, but the reality is that it satisfies every aspect of newsworthiness criteria, so it is what it is - people love to hear about this stuff and journalism is indeed a business. I'm way too sensitive to ever cover this type of thing or anything remotely crime-related for that matter.
     People my age complain about everything. It's like it's genetically programmed into us or something. I do it too, all the time. I'm currently complaining about how much people my age complain. This story was a huge slap in the face for me. Did your boyfriend just break up with you? Did someone spread a mean rumor about you? Did your mom tell you you're an asshole? Did you get a bad grade on something? Are you skinny but still insist you're fat? Cry about it and get over it. You'll survive and life will, indeed, go on. Too many times we get wrapped up in our own little agendas and don't realize that the little things in life not working out for us doesn't mean the world is going to end.
     When I googled "Petit family" several crime scene photos came up that I could have posted if I wanted to attract attention to myself and my blog due to pure impact. I didn't even consider that. I decided on the above photo because I wanted everybody to see Bill Petit happily next to his family, the way that they all deserve to be remembered.

New York Times excerpt taken from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/petit_family/index.html 

Image taken from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20016862-504083.html 

Is It Okay For Religious Texts To Be Required Reading?

     At first, I was a little weirded out when my humanities professor told us we had to read "Exodus" in the Bible. But I quickly got off my high horse when my professor explained that we were supposed to think of the Bible as a story, and to think of God as a character in the story, rather than a religious text as the Bible is traditionally taken. My professor said, if anything, reading the Bible was not going to "convert" anybody, but it would just reinforce our own personal beliefs. And that it did.

     I'm actually really glad I took the time to read "Exodus." Even though it was one of the most boring things I've ever been forced to read to this day, I would have never picked up and read a Bible out of curiosity, and I would have never had any sort of background knowledge about what goes on in the Bible. I can't remember one thing from going to CCD when I was younger. I've never really been religious, but now I feel a little bit more justified when I say I don't really believe in God.

     Reading the Bible and Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason" certainly sparred a lot of interesting discussion in class. It was brought up that National Geographic did some kind of program where they proved ways that the ten plagues could have been naturally occurring. Although a lot of them are a stretch, there's really no way to disprove that the plagues were naturally occurring. "Because the Bible says so" may be enough to convince some people, but that seems pretty irrational to me. If you really think about it, all the way back when the Bible was written, there was no science or knowledge of natural phenomena, so it makes complete sense that the only way to explain the plagues were because of some higher power. Just sayin'.

      I wish the person had specified where in the Bible this happens, but it was also brought up in class that somewhere in the Bible, God commands a sinner to be executed by, not just killing him, but cutting him up into little pieces. Really? This is the big man in the sky that everyone worships?

     Another girl in class today shared that when she was fifteen, her parents made her go to confess her sins to a priest in the Catholic church. She said she was never very religious, but she went anyways to make her parents happy. She told the priest that she had misbehaved and left it at that, and he promptly told her that she "wasn't being honest, therefore, she's going to hell." Once again... Really? If there is a hell, I hope that priest goes there for telling a fifteen year old girl, and probably many others, that she's going to hell.

     While I'm on a huge rant about religion and how telling people they're going to hell for stupid reasons is wrong, I'm going to prolong this by talking about a guest on the Tyra show. (Tyra actually got some pretty interesting guests to come on her show... Haters gonna hate) This devout Christian woman came on the show because she performed an "excorsim" on a teenage boy because he was gay, so that the "demon" inside of him that was making him gay would leave the boy's body. She then promptly told this generally good-natured, Christian boy that God doesn't love him and he was going to hell if he was still gay after the excorcism. No further comment needed.

     So to answer my own question, yes, I think it's more than okay to make religious texts required reading. The way I see it, religion causes people unnecessary stress. I'm not saying that my views are perfect, and that everybody should feel the same. I'm not saying all Christian people are nuts. I'm not declaring myself an atheist. And I'm not saying my professor is the reason that I'm not religious. I have always thought this way, reading "Exodus" and "The Age of Reason" has just given me some background knowledge so I can draw my own informed conclusions about what I believe. If there is a religion for just not caring about religion, that is what I am. Until there's solid proof, I'd rather just enjoy living my life and not worry about what created the earth or what's going to happen to me after I die.

Picture of maniacally laughing God taken from sarcasticindiefucks

Punk Rock Flea Market - "Holiday Edition"

Saturday, December 11 · 10:00am - 5:00pm

The Punk Rock Flea Market Dome
461 N. 9th Street
Philadelphia, PA

  

     "Our biggest one yet! 200+ tables of vendors selling old records, clothes, art, music, food, junk, bicycles, stereo equipment, instruments, automobiles, tools, posters, furniture, computers, skateboards and lots of other stuff ! All proceeds goto making sure that all ages shows remain a reality at the first unitarian church and other all ages venues !"

 - Taken from the event page on Facebook

     Yes, yes, yes, yes... Yes. So stoked for this. I like inexpensive things. Connecticut definitely doesn't do stuff like this, that's for sure. I will most likely be updating this post with pictures from the event. If you live in Philadelphia, go. If you don't live in Philadelphia, sucks for you.

Why Tumblr Sucks

     In the spirit of Tumblr being down for a solid 24 hours or so, I figured this was a nice opportunity to talk about why I think Tumblr sucks. Tumblr is actually down again as I'm typing this. I bet mass amounts of teenagers are suffering from withdrawal  symptoms right now.
     It's not so much that I dislike Tumblr itself. The website is extremely easy to use, the site template is very neat, and it's easy to follow other Tumblr users. What I hate is the reputation that comes along with it, one of the many reasons I decided to host this blog through Blogspot instead. Before I even visit somebody's Tumblr, I just assume it will be cluttered with:

• out-of-focus pictures
• pictures edited to look like they were shot on film
• pictures of hipster-esque, malnourished-looking girls with protruding spines, cheekbones, and collarbones that never, ever, under any circumstance, show the girl's entire face
• pictures of record players
• pictures of generic couples holding hands, kissing, and doing other generic things that generic couples do
• pictures of hip teenagers looking "badass"and/or trying to look like they just don't give a fuck
• the occasional post where the owner of the blog complains about their life in the most ambiguous, depressing way possible
• the occasional post where the owner of the blog complains about their girlfriend/boyfriend/ex/crush in the most ambiguous way possible so that nobody knows who or what they're even talking about

     Surely there's a ton of other Tumblr cliches out there but those are the ones that stick out in my mind. And yes, I've come across a handful of blogs on Tumblr that actually have some substance to them. It's a real shame that these actual good blogs are downgraded due to the mass amounts of hipster garbage posted on the website.

     Another thing that really bugs me about Tumblr - although this isn't limited to just Tumblr - is the fact that it is used as an outlet by lots of users to share what they really want to say to certain people, without saying their name. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but sometimes it's about somebody big in that person's life. What I'd like to know is since when has it been okay to broadcast your issues on your blog to hundreds of people who probably don't care, rather than to bring them up to the one person the post/tweet/facebook status is about? 

     I realize I'm being incredibly general about this one, I just don't want anybody to feel like this is a personal attack. It's not - I've seen this kind of stuff happen all over social networking sites. . I would be hurt, self-conscious, and probably a little offended if I noticed my boyfriend (hypothetical boyfriend, just to clarify) made some dumb Tumblr post clearly about me, rather than just coming to me about said hypothetical problem. I can't even recall how many times I've come across blogs where people do this or some sort of variation. This is apparently a new, yet strange and unproductive way that our generation chooses to communicate, if I can even call it communication.

     My journalism teacher reiterates to our class all the time that nowadays, anybody can be a writer or source of information, thanks to the popularity of the internet. It can be a blessing or a curse, but I see it as a blessing. You have the ability to share anything you want with the world if you really commit to getting yourself and your blog out there. So why waste it on posting generic pictures, crying about how much your life sucks, and softcore porn?

On a side note, I wish it was as easy writing papers for school as it is to write blog posts. If I could write papers this quickly I'd be a much happier person.

Pictures via Chris Priore's blog, Carousels , because he has the hippest blog out of anybody I know.

Steven Alan, I'm Into It

     Just discovered Steven Alan thanks to Gilt Groupe of course, where else? He's not the typical designer I tend to see on Gilt and usually I don't go out of my way to further look into the designers I see posted up there, but Steven Alan caught my eye. According to his website, "having started as a retailer with stores in downtown Manhattan, he garnered a following of artistic young customers searching for clothing that was original and unique."

     The screen shots above are from the Fall 2010 collection, so they're not brand new. I don't care. There's something about wearing long tops or dresses and chunky sweaters over tights that just screams fall to me. This is something that isn't going to get old within a year.

     Steven Alan's clothes remind me of clothes I'd come across in Urban Outfitters. Actually, when I googled Steven Alan, I found that he apparently collaborated with them for his clothing line called Lark & Wolff (called it). I think it's only for men's clothing. His own independent collection gives me more of a sophisticated, polished vibe, rather than the whole "trying to be hip" vibe I get from a lot of clothes in Urban Outfitters.

     All I'm saying is that I'm really into Steven Alan. His clothes remind me of something I'd find in Urban Outfitters, except they're much less predictable and more fashion forward.

Screen shots obtained from the Women's Fall 2010 Lookbook by Steven Alan

"Top Ten Tech Trends" With Amy Webb

     Last night, I went to a lecture by Amy Webb, a member of Webbmedia Group, which focuses on researching and tracking current technological trends. I went there prepared for my mind to be blown with all kinds of technology that I didn't know existed, and I was not disappointed. I couldn't believe that half the sites she mentioned existed. Some were really interesting, others were utterly pointless. But apparently they're all catching on and are expected to be/ are already very popular.

     The part that really gets me is that a lot of the sites that are gaining popularity seemed like we could live our lives just fine without their existence. On one of the sites she mentioned - Blippy - the user can create an account and link their credit card to it, so that it displays all the users recent purchases. I don't understand why anybody would care or want to know that I got tacos at Qdoba last night for dinner or that I bought a scarf at Forever 21.

     If that's not stalkerish enough for you, there's also a location-based programming website called Foursquare where you basically broadcast places that you have "checked in" at. The way I see it, it's a direct outlet for people to stalk where you are at all times. Amy spoke of it as a tool to let people know where you are if you're going out drinking. If you "check in" every two hours or some pre-meditated amount of time, then your friends/family/significant other will know you're okay. Seems like a nice concept , but a pain in the ass at the same time.

    Amy also made a comment about a new site similar to Foursquare in the works right now that will only allow you to "check in" on your mobile phone if you're in the area that you say you're in. So, in other words, there's no way a teenager could lie to their parents about where they are. Come on. Who actually listens to everything their parents say when they're in high school? I can't name any one of my friends that did, and all of them turned out to be just fine. It's a normal part of growing up and learning things on your own.

     When I have kids in 60+ years or so, I would never make them do this. My generation and all the previous generations got by just fine without this excessive technology. If you're that unsure of your parenting skills that you need to stalk your kids every time they leave your house and ultimately give them absolutely zero freedom, then shame on you. Your kids will inevitably go nuts when they get to college, or maybe even sooner.

     Not everything Amy mentioned seemed excessive to me. She mentioned Gilt and I felt completely legitimate. She also said that Gilt is able to sell things to their customers by making them feel completely legitimate. Touché. Aside from this, she mentioned Qwiki, where you can type in any topic, person, idea, place, etc. and it will create a video that narrates facts to you about whatever you searched. It only pulls facts from Wikipedia, but if you're too lazy to read an entire Wikipedia page, this is perfect.

     Although I'm somewhat bashing the presentation, I actually really liked Amy Webb. She had a charismatic personality and kept the presentation interesting. It just freaks me out to think about how much technology has evolved and how much the internet can do, even though it only became available to the public a mere 20 years ago.

An overview of Amy Webb's presentation: http://webbmediagroup.com/phiji2010.html