Florida!

If I have learned anything in the past month or so, it is this: I am a horrible blogger. But fear not, loyal readers! For I have a brand new, all-inclusive post with all the juicy details you’ve been waiting for. So read on, while I take you through the joys and heartbreaks of life in the Sunshine state!

For months I had been wanting to chop my hair off – I was getting sick of dealing with it, and I wanted a change. A real change, not just some new layers. So about a week after we got here, on my birthday, I went and cut it all off. I was really nervous at first but now I love it! It is so easy to deal with and doesn’t get all in my face like before, and I think it’s pretty dang cute! It’s not styled, but here is the before and after!

Dan also got a haircut – courtesy of me! It was my first time ever cutting someone’s hair (other than my own bangs…) so I was pretty proud of how I did.

We found another beach that we love to go to, called St. George Island. The sand is gorgeous and soft on your toes, and the water’s pretty good. We’ve gone there a couple times now because the boys just love it and it’s a great way for them to relax!

 Our new Pirate friend!

Awesome little lighthouse. Maybe one day it will be open when we come.

Beachfront condos. How awesome would it be to stay there?!

The beach is really beautiful, looks amazing at sunset!

We found sand dollars! Okay, Matt found them – right in the ocean. But I stole a couple for myself.

Dan and mine’s new beachfront home. It’s all we could afford J

I love my husband so much! We have a ton of fun together.

Last week we went to Wakulla Springs. It was this awesome place, where you take a tourboat through the spring/river thing and you get to see turtles, birds, manatees, and alligators! It was so much fun, and afterwards we got to swim, the water felt so good and was so clear.

 Do we look like tourists? Haha. So there you have it – that’s all I’m gonna show you for now! The boys are working hard, it’s hot out, and life is good.

We Made It!

Okay guys, this is gonna be a bit of a long one. But it's got lots of good stuff, so bear with me and read on! As many of you know, Dan and I have moved down south for the summer! A couple months ago, Dan, along with many co-workers from Linx, decided to switch over to Vivint. The company was much more professional, a better fit for us, and the potential for earnings was much higher. So after much consideration and prayer, we made the switch. Now we are living in Tallahassee, FL and in two months we'll relocate to Mobile, AL. It's going to be quite an adventure over the next four months!

My green card isn't in, so I can't leave the States. And my work authorization isn't in, so I can't work in the States. Sooo that's leaves me with... not a whole lot to do! Dan and the boys drive up to area in Georgia every day (about 2 hours) because their Tallahassee license isn't in yet, which means he's gone from about 11am to 11:30 pm every day! So I sleep in a lot, then I usually go to the gym. I'll go to the pool for a while, do a bit more organizing/cleaning the apartment, watch TV, and at the end of the day, make dinner! Hopefully soon I will be able to get a job, or at least find something to keep me occupied for the summer. Or else it's going to be a loooooong four months. I brought my scrapbooking stuff, so once we get some dressers and have things finally put away, I'll pull that out!

Now, you're probably all thinking: "Wow, you live in Florida?! It must be so awesome! I would love to move there, it'd be awesome and I'd never be bored." Lies. See, here is what movies and everything make it seem like life is, living in Florida:

White, Sandy Beaches

Beautiful, Resort-Style Apartments surrounded by Palm Trees

Disney World!!

Friendly, Tropical Birds

And here's a little look into what it's really like living here:

Nasty Bugs. Everywhere.

Crazy Intense, Misery-Inducing, Heat & Humidity

Ravens. Enough Said.

So there you have it folks! It's not all just fun and games down here. But really, it actually is quite beautiful here. And it's nice that you can wear a T-shirt and shorts at midnight! Our first day here, the boys thought they'd take a day off to settle in, instead of heading straight to work (after all, we pulled in about 5am!!) So we went to the beach! About an hour away, we drove to Alligator Point, right on the Gulf of Mexico. It was kinda windy and cloudy, but we didn't care! We were so excited to just be at the beach. We played in the water, buried a couple people in the sand, and found a bunch of shells. Take a look!

 Beautiful little Coast

 Dan got buried!

 Walkway to the beach. Beautiful :)

 I found a snake crossing our path. Lucky one of us saw it!

 My first (baby) garden!

And the seashells I found!

Possibly even more exciting was the fact that I just graduated from BYU! I did it - a Bachelor of Science degree in Family Life/Human Development, so basically I'm really smart now. :) It was the best weekend ever - not only because of that, but because my parents came down to visit and celebrate! I sure miss those guys. We spent the weekend catching up, going to various ceremonies, going out to eat, packing, going to the Tulip Festival, and sewing a baby quilt for my friend Nicole Maclean. It was so much fun. Here's a look into our weekend!



 Special Musical Number!

 Dr. Coyne ran away, so here's our picture together!

 Oh Daddy...

 I graduated! With some of my favorite people

With my mommy at the Tulip Festival

A Letter

As instructed, I am putting up this assignment for my blog post! I don't know if we still need to keep up our blogs, since we've done all the checks, but I figure I will for the next week.

Dear Miss Lawrence,
First off, I would like to commend you for a fantastic performance as Katniss in the Hunger Games. I loved the books and thought you did such a fabulous job in your role; I love forward to
the next film! Having said this, I am currently in a media class and have an
assignment to write someone about an issue in the media. I have seen some of
your interviews and noted how down-to-earth you are, and how you actually had a
different “plan” for your career.
As a young actress who has recently come onto the Hollywood “scene”, I feel like
you can have a great influence for the better in the media industry. I thought
you would be a great person to write, and hope you share some of my own
sentiments. I loved that you chose to do a film with very minimal profanity and
no sexual content. Too often today I believe filmmakers put this sort of material
in, simply for a shock factor or because that seems to be what the public
wants. But this sort of content does not really ever constitute an important
element of the film, or even add to the overall storyline. Not only that, but
this sort of thing is becoming ever more prevalent in movies meant for younger
and younger audiences. I think this is irresponsible of the film industry to
put such material in children’s films, as they are so impressionable and today
learn so much of what they know from the media. It is also inappropriate to be
showing crude, unnecessary profanity and sexual material to children and young
adolescents. Characters portrayed this way are poor role models for the children
who will soon be adults and making independent decisions.
I think producers, screenwriters, actors, directors – anyone in the film
industry, should make an effort to remove the excess of this material from mainstream
media. Profanity and sexual scenes do not add to the quality of a movie, and
can greatly influence the attitudes and behaviors of viewers. Over time, this
could mean an overall increase in promiscuity in society – resulting in
sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, and broken homes.
I urge you to consider the importance of this issue, and to keep it in mind when
thinking about future roles to accept. I think you have the power to make a
positive impact in our world; that your voice and your behaviors will be a good
role model for others to follow. You have the opportunity to make a big
difference, and to make choices that so many others will see. I hope you will
use this chance for good! Again, congratulations on a fantastic job in the
Hunger Games, I am a big fan.
Sincerely,

Maggie Brumwell

Overload

... and no I was not talking about media in the title of this post. Although that could very well apply too. But what I meant was a brain overload. This past week, I wrote 2 papers, gave an oral presentation, wrote 2 final exams, complete some ridiculous finance assignments that I don't understand (cause I don't have time to go to that class, or when I do I'm doing something else) and had to cook full-on meals for 5 people multiple times. Among other things. I can't remember what else. Because my brain is fried. From overload. So I have no idea what to even write about the media right now!! I think it can be addicting. My husband, his brother, and their cousin started playing League of Legends yesterday and have been at it almost constantly! So it can be good or bad, decide how you will use it! My choice of "media poison" this weekend? (Aside from Conference of course). Listening to country on Pandora radio - while scrapbooking! I'd say that's definitely a good use! :)

General Conference

Of course, it's General Conference weekend, so what else am I going to post about?! I know we ALL listened to ALL the talks this weekend, so I'm not going to talk about any of that! ;) I just want to mention a little about how awesome it is that the Church keeps up with modern technology and uses it to our advantage. It's so great that we can now have conference broadcast in church buildings, watched on TV, and even streamed online. It is available to such a wider audience - and that can mean reaching out to non-members, investigators, and members far away! Using the media like this can be so uplifting, and can really bring the Gospel to the world. When we use the power of media and technology, it can have a great influence. I especially love seeing those mormon commercials on TV - what a great use of the media!

Holi - Festival of Colors

Ah the Festival of Colors. An amazingly awesome day of the year where everyone is allowed to get super messy, and throw stuff at complete strangers, without getting in trouble. Where it's encouraged, even. Even for a shy, introverted girl like me, this is a pretty sweet event! I found out about this thing last year, when my fiance at the time insisted we go. I thought it was going to be lame and that I would just be annoyed, but it was actually way cool! I was amazed at how cool the "color throwings" were, and how the air suddenly just became filled with tons of colored chalk and in an instant, you yourself were covered. I mean, you can't breathe, and you're blowing purple snot out of your nose for the next week, but it's totally worth it for those few moments of ultimate chalk-throwing chaos.

This year, my husband and I went with his brother, his brother's wife, and his cousin. I remembered what the parking and everything was like last year, so when I saw lots of empty spots by the Spanish Fork Library, I suggested we just get out and walk from here. BAD IDEA!! It's 2.4 miles, trust me, I just consulted Google Maps. And Google Maps is always right. Luckily I'm not 400 pounds and way out of shape. Just the second part of that sentence. But still. It was totally worth it in the end! And I have no idea how this all relates back to the media part of this assigment :) Tough luck. .... Okay, they're starting to advertise it. Which is media. And charge an entrance fee. To pay for their advertising. Which is media.

The Hunger Games

Yep, I'm one of those people, and I'm going to write a post about it. I read the series in one week (last Christmas?? 2010?? Seems right..) over the break and absolutely loved it! And when I heard they were making a movie? - BEST DAY EVER!! Now I should have been wary of this news - the film industry has been known to severely screw up an awesome book. But I will say this: I was not disappointed! A buddy got his company to hook us up and booked a theater for a 7pm showing on Thursday, and it was awesome! Very well done, in my opinion.

But then yesterday, my older sister posted on facebook how disgusted she was by this story, and how it is crazy that this is what we call entertainment. And it got me thinking about all the stuff we've been learning in class about violence and being critical consumers and whatnot. And as much as I really, really enjoyed this, I must say I have to agree with her. How is it that a game of fighting to the death is what we all want to see? It's a little insane, and probably not that good for our young, impressionable children! In light of what I now know concerning media, I can definitely see her point of view.

So does that make me a bad person if I still love the film/books and cannot wait for the next one to come out?? I sure hope not. Because despite my better knowledge, I can guarantee I will be out there with the rest of the diehards on November 22 next year, when Catching Fire comes to theaters!!

How Do They Do It??

I have come to a conclusion, and it is this: advertisers are smart people. They must be, in order to get people hooked on a product in only 30 seconds! For example, my husband has been watching a lot of the games recently for March Madness. And there have been a number of commercial's for Applebee's. We LOVE Applebee's!! It is one of my favorite restaurants here, I love the 2 for $20 deal, and it's great for a little sit-down dinner that's still casual! And everytime I've seen this commercial the last few days, I have started drooling and craving Applebee's. There's been like 3 separate times, and I'm like "mmmm let's go to Applebee's sometime!" So yep, it's a quick little commercial, and doesn't even say a whole lot, but it definitely gets me to (almost) do what they want! If I was rich we'd go every time I saw it!

Sunday Talks

I hate speaking in Church - it gives me the heebie jeebies cause I'm always so nervous. But I love that technology has made it possible, through the media, to have such easy access to amazing resources. It makes writing (and therefore giving) a talk so much easier! Don't know how our parents did it, for reals. Lds.org, and mormon.org, amazing stuff!

Technology Tribute

Sometimes my life sucks. Sometimes I write a really awesome blog post, and then go to add a picture to it, and lose the whole thing. I don't know how it works, but it sucks. Soooo this is going to be a much shortened redo of what I had written. I read a post by a classmate earlier thanking technology, and I realized that the vast majority (if not all) of my posts end with a message about how bad the media can be and to be careful, blah blah blah. So I decided to write my own little thank-you!

Confession: I am a texting addict. Well, not really. I can (and have) gone days without sending/receiving a single text! But I do love texting. I am very shy, and non-confrontational, so I love being able to text people. If I need something done, or have to talk to someone (and I usually don't want to), texting is a great way for me to "confront" them in a much easier way.

Unconfession: I am definitely not saying that everyone should go out and start texting like crazy - that would be a disaster. I still believe we should be careful about our media use and, especially in our day and age, not let our cell phones take over our lives. But I really am thankful for all the advances we've made - especially the iPhone. I didn't want to get one, but my phone broke on the first day of school this semester, and my husband convinced me to get it. And it's awesome - the iMessage feature is so great. My family is all back in Canada so I can't text/call them without giving up an arm as payment. But now I can - and it's amazing! Now I get to chat with my friends and family back home all the time. And I get to see my adorable little niece, even though I'm missing her growing up.


Isn't she just the cutest?!

Read Me!

Well, I don't really know what to write about this week. I have been crazy hectic busy (I almost spelt it "buzy"... just attests to how tired I am), and haven't had a whole lot of time to think about this assignment. So I'm sitting here, trying to think of some awesome interaction with the media I've had lately, and all that keeps popping up is how freaking busy I am! There's always just 10 more things to do, isn't there? I think a lot of us are feeling that way right now (*cough cough* Princess RA's...). And you rarely see that in the media. Way more often it's like oh man I'm bored, hey what are we gonna do today, oh I'm just going shopping, I think I'm gonna make an awesome craft, etc. None of this absurd student life we're all living! So... media is a liar! And that's it. That's my spiel for today.

The Vow

Let me begin by saying that I am exhausted; I have been a little over-worked lately (and it's only going to get worse over the next month) and just been crazy busy, so if none of this makes any logical sense, I apologize in advance. That being said, for a little date night this weekend Dan and I went to see The Vow. It was soooo good! Honestly just my kind of movie, so cute, and such a perfect little break at this point in my crazy life. I thought it was so amazing, I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good chick flick. Only down side? I didn't exactly want to see Channing Tatum's bum, but I can live with that. *Sorry if I just ruined the movie, or tainted your vision of Mr. Tatum.* Anyway, I won't go into the details, but seriously - good movie. And here's my application to media's influence in our lives: I think movies like this definitely set girls up for disappointment in real life. They watch these and build up these expectations about guys, how they're supposed to be so sweet, and always know what to say, and never give up on the girl... basically be perfect. But we all know that can't happen in real life (I admit it - even my own husband isn't perfect!) Those guys have been scripted out, down to the last word and gesture, with planning and editing that you don't really get to do here. So be careful not to get your expectations too high! And for the guys - don't start to feel like a failure if you're not doing all these wonderful, amazing, perfect things for your woman (but you should still be your best!) :)

Pretty or Ugly?

My husband likes to check out the news headlines every night, and the other day he noticed something a little disturbing. It turns out little tweener girls have been posting videos to YouTube asking viewers to comment on whether they think they are pretty or not. Not gonna lie, I was more than a little disturbed by this; I was devastated actually. I cannot believe the impact media and modern society seems to be having on such young, impressionable girls! Everywhere they look, they see images of beautiful, skinny women, and are told that is not only the norm but what is necessary to be happy in life. They are so concerned about how they look they are turning to complete strangers on the internet to validate themselves! But the sad thing is, so many people on YouTube are unnecessarily harsh, crude, and just downright mean. So it seems to me like whoever puts up these videos comes to one of two conclusions: 1) they get some comments saying how gorgeous/sexy/beautiful they are, and get an overinflated sense of self-esteem based on characteristics that really do not matter and are not long-lasting; or 2) they get one really nasty comment from some jerk and that is all they can focus on, and it completely destroys them. Either way, it's a sad end to that story.

I was so upset to see how many girls are resorting to this sort of confidence boost, because they feel like whatever other talents or good qualities they have aren't good enough, or that they're not the important things to focus on. I checked out a few of the videos, and these are just such young girls that really shouldn't even be concerned about their looks like this - they should be out playing with their friends, and being involved in activities like soccer or art or piano! I hope one day every girl can see how beautiful she really is, no matter what her face or body looks like. That stuff DOES NOT matter in the end. I hope these girls can learn to love themselves for who they are, not their complexion or jean size.

Oscars: Big Deal or No Big Deal?

I have never understood all the hype about all these awards shows; my family never got together to sit down and watch, I never lost sleep over who was going to win, and I don't ogle over the gorgeous dresses (though I will admit there were some fabulous ones). All in all, I just don't get why some people get so excited about it and plan their whole schedules around watching the entire show. That being said, I went to a little Oscar "party" at a couple-friends house where we had snacks, played the bingo, and put in our votes for the winners. It was pretty fun, I will admit. I even won the prize of Martinelli's cider for guessing the most winners correctly! (And really, how can you not have fun when you win?!) I don't even know how I did it, because I didn't see or know about 90% of the films/actors there. I must be gaining powers from all the Psych I've watched. Anyway, even though we had fun, overall I think these shows are kinda slow. It's really interesting, and I like seeing who wins, but I think I'd like it a lot better if they made them a little more fast-paced. Shorten the intros, the speeches, the clips, you know. It just takes HOURS! And I dont have that kind of time or patience. So, there's my spiel. I'll get off my soapbox. What it all comes down to is.... (me thinking...) I guess they're really not that big of a deal for us small folk down here, so be careful not to let media run your life or determine your priorities!

P.S. I totally called it on The Artist winning Best Picture! :)

Seven Thirty

The media (TV shows, movies, random 1am texts..) always tell you it's cool to stay up late. After midnight is when things really start happening. Losers with no life go to bed early. And since I'm a night-owl, most of the time I agree. But here's the thing: once you get married, staying up late is waaaay less cool. (Even though the media never shows that... they lie.) For some reason we can't seem to stay up past 12. But hey, we're still cool. You don't have to listen to what those other people say. I mean get this: Last night I'm totally exhausted. I've been working my butt off all day all week (it never seems to get any smaller though...) and I just need a break! My husband has recently left for his city-league basketball game. I decide to keep working on my study guide, but a wall hits. At 7:30 I realize I am no longer functionable and text my husband - "Wake me up when you get home." Well a lot of good that did. Bless his heart, he tried - three times. Finally he made me take my contacts out and let me sleep the whole night! It was pretty awesome and you know what? I feel way cooler right now than if I stayed up till 3.

At a loss...

I'm not really sure what I should post about tonight... I've been really super busy and now it's Sunday night so I have to write something! But what? I just adjusted my glasses.... idea! (Inset small light bulb here). I've seen a TON of commercials for eyeglasses on TV lately and all the deals they've got going on. And they've made me really want to get new glasses. Because I've had the same ones since... sometime in high school. I think it might be time for a little update, plus they suck. I haven't had the prescription changed since I got them, but my eyes have definitely changed! As such, I can never actually see anything when I wear them, and it gives me a headache. Even though some random optometrist checked them last summer and said they were still good to drive with. I think he's crazy, cause I can't see nothin! Ah well, point is, all this advertising really made me want to seriously consider getting new glasses. And if I ever have time in the next 2 months... I just might do that.

Cooking Shows aren't Easy

So uhh, I'm doing a cooking class right now, and I just had to do a cooking demostration tonight, similar to what you would see on any TLC cooking show (think Rachel Ray)... Well I certainly learned one thing: and that is that it is not as easy as they all make it look! I stuttered over my words, I forgot the interesting tidbits I was gonna say, I didn't have all the ingredients set out! Heck, I even forgot one (very important) step and had to go back to it... possibly destroying the entire product. But no biggie, just laugh it off! In the end, it turned out not too bad and I'm sure I'll still pass the class!

Now I've seen my fair share of chefs on TV, and I'm pretty sure none of them need to look at their script, stumble over ingredients they forgot to place out, or even forget the steps in a simple biscuit recipe! But I bet they actually practice their demonstrations first.. and I guess they are professionals right? They actually know how to cook, unlike someone here. Sooo the moral of the story is, the media (specifically TV) can alter your perceptions. It makes hard things look easy, bad things look good, and dumb things look smart. So watch out! :) Be a smart consumer

Books make you Smart!!

I really believe that. If you're reading the right books, that is... nothing like Tweak or "Angus, Thongs & Full-Frontal Snogging" . . . I think I actually felt my brain become mush-ified reading that thing. But there are a ton of good books out there that can increase your awareness and even develop various skills.

I looooove books, they are so great. I just wish I had time to read them these days! It's so sad to me that they're becoming a bit of an ancient media, because there is just so much good to be had there! Intellectual development, stimulation of the imagination, and who knows what else?! Hopefully I can instill a love of books and reading in my children before these little things become obsolete. Class was fascinating for me today, and I never thought about it before but I think having some sort of rating or warning system would be so great for books! We use it for literally every other type of media, why not our reading material? It is so easy for anyone to go to the bookstore and just pick out any book - without knowledge about the content in it. I know having some sort of system would have saved me from experiencing from traumatizing material! Hopefully we can make the experience of reading even better for our own children!

As part of the week's assignment, I put down Harry Potter and The Hunger Games as my favorite books. I wonder if that says anything about my life or personality? But they are both great series, read them!

Who Says?

Selena Gomez may very well be one of my favorite persons ever. Celebrity persons that is. She was always very down to earth and relaxed, seemed very nice and fun. And I think she's gorgeous. Of course, she seems to be going the way of the "Disney stars" (i.e.:Lindsey Lohan, Miley Cyrus...) but I can't say I entirely blame her. But I still don't love that she is possibly turning a little bit into someone like them! I will still always love her.

After our music class, I finally remembered this song, which I became addicted to over the summer in preparation for my wedding. (I have no idea how that makes them related..) It's got a great upbeat feel, perfect for cruising or just walking along the street. Just a real feel-good song and I love it. And they lyrics are great too - all about how no one can tell you that you're not good enough, and whatever or whoever you are is just perfect! Absolutely love it, and it can always make me feel better. I love how music can do that - make you do a complete 180 and just change everything around. It's so nice to find good songs like this in today's music world.

Whether you like little singers like Selena Gomez or not, whether you're into country or techno, this is a great song. And to any of you reading this - you are beautiful and perfect. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Let the media work for you, let it make you feel great about yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzE1mX4Px0I&ob=av3e

The Saga Continues...

...and they got me hooked. Last night I went to see... *gasp* Twilight! Well, Breaking Dawn. Yeppers, me and my husband went to Twilight for date night. That's right ladies, my husband will do anything for me - even go to stupid chick flicks. And if any of you were there at the dollar theater last night - he was the one makin' cracks the whole time. I apologize.

Before you get all "Eww Twilight!" on me, give me a chance to explain!! The books started coming out what - 2005? So I'm just starting my sophmore year in high school? I'm a lovesick teenager! Plus they were just a nice, easy read you know, something to take my mind off things. Believe me, I was never a diehard "tweenie-bopper" who could rattle off every bit of trivia. But I did enjoy them, for all that's worth. Of course when the movies came out I had to watch, just to see what they did. And they were enjoyable.

Watching this last one, I realized just how cheesy a lot of the stuff is. Especially in this last installment! But it was still pretty good, we had some good laughs. When this stuff comes, you just gotta see it through to the end! I'm not really sure where I had intended to go with this now... media is a big part of our lives!

Another Thing...

So I'm sitting here on the couch eating my favorite Valentine's candy hearts, and I had another thought about something said in class. Well okay, really just a reflection on a point that was already made. So we're talking about the influence of advertising and how it can last for years and years right? (That's why we gotta be so careful with our kids). And Dr. Coyne mentioned how as a kid Lucky Charms were advertised and she loved them and even now, despite what she knows about ads and the nutritional value of the cereal, she still buys it once in a while. And I just noticed that I'm doing the exact same thing! When we were in elementary school, everyone always gave those little boxes of conversation hearts for Valentine's, right? At least in my school we did. And when you're a kid those things are awesome! Now here I am, nearing my 22nd birthday, and I'm still buying those things at this time of year. And if I think about it - it's not because they're the most fabulous treat in the world, not even close to my favorite... in fact, the pink ones are just gross. But, I grew up with them and I love having them at Valentine's. And I'll probably buy them until I don't have teeth... but maybe even then, and I'll suck on them. Just another thing to think about in the crazy world of advertising! You make an impression!

Powerful Stuff

In light of today's discussion in class, I wanted to take a moment to talk about advertising. It was actually quite interesting to find out all the stuff advertising does - and how influential it can all be! That Cadbury ad? Definitely got me craving some English chocolate - if you ever get a chance, load up, cause it will be the best thing you've ever had. No jokes there. But that just goes to show how much influence and power advertisements have in our lives these days. And no wonder - they're everywhere! I can't even walk to my car without being bombarded with fliers for some super awesome dance party on Friday. It made me stop and think about just how big of a role ads play in my life. I've definitely seen the infomercials and wanted to try out their fabulous new one-of-a-kind product, though I've never actually done it. And, I have to admit, I'm guilty when it comes to buying beauty products you see in the magazines. Money I never would have been duped into spending otherwise. But alas, those darn ads are just so good!

I guess we really do just have to be so careful about what we let into our houses, because without even realizing it, it can definitely affect us. And this is so true for in the future when we have young, impressionable, little kidlets running around! They can be sucked into the materialism and fantasy and whatnot even more than us, so it's good to just kind of reflect on that and think about what to watch for in the media. At least for me, that is.

Tonight I watched Tom Hanks' Cast Away for the first time. That's right, the very first time. I won't lie, I was not all that excited to watch it, but my husband insisted it would be awesome!, so I agreed. Started out strange, but it kept my interest and in the end, I suppose it wasn't a complete waste of my time. But one thing my husband mentioned got me thinking: how Hanks reverts back to caveman ways, and he just commented on how humans started out kind of like that and look at us now - we've got personal computers, portable phones, instant world-wide communication... you get the idea. And then I thought, "How weird would that be to be gone for 4 years and just come back and see how much technology and media has changed?" Wouldn't that be weird? Especially with all the crazy new things we're able to come up with these days. You'd be an alien in your own world, hardly able to function! Okay well maybe not that drastic, but still, it's amazing what a big part all forms of media play in our lives. And how dependent we seem to be upon the many gadgets and whatnot we have. And we seem to be in the midst of a media explosion! I'm not addicted or anything, but I sure don't want to miss out on the next four years...

Well crap. It's Friday, and I still have to do 2 blog posts for the week. My bad. And when I thought of that, I immediately thought of the Rebecca Black "Friday" song. So now it is stuck in my head, so now that is my topic. I think the internet can be a great thing - it makes all sorts of media that much more easily accessible. But that can have its downsides - that means it is super easy for just anyone to post anything out there and open it up for the world to see! And for some people, that really, really should not be allowed. Then we get people like Rebecca Black posting videos of themselves making "music" - and she isn't even the worst offender! Trust me, you go on to YouTube, you can find them all over. So then we get people hearing this and thinking it's music, and sharing it with everyone else, and then it takes over the internet. Crazy how far a little video can go. I guess it may also inspire some budding artist to put their own stuff on the internet, which may be a good thing... Meh.

A Dying Media?

Yesterday, I received some devastating news: the Daily Universe is becoming a weekly (rather than daily) publication. I couldn't believe it - the DU is my lifeline, it's what has gotten me through every day of class for nearly four years now! It kept me at least somewhat up-to-date on current world news, and let me know what was going on right here in Provo. The Police Beat kept me laughing, and the Reader's Forum gave me a few good laughs, frustrated me with people's dumb ideas, and made me think about my own opinions on important issues. Daily comics were a good pointless diversion from the hum-drum of schoolwork. And finally, the crossword and sudoku puzzles were what I looked forward to every day! If I was about to fall asleep in class - puzzles kept me awake. In those inevitable classes that nearly bore you to death each day - the puzzles saved me from insanity. Or if I just had a ton of time to waste, those puzzles were my handy sidekick.

The point is, folks, I may never have made it this far in my college career if not for that wonderful little paper. And soon it will be printed only once a week. I never realized how much I loved the DU until I saw this article breaking the news. Of course it will still be published online, but there is just something about holding real paper in my hands that I prefer to any electronic form. It's crazy to me how technology can change things - way back in the day, having access to a real live book was unthinkable! Nowadays, people are switching in their print books for kindle's, iPad's, and who knows what else. I've never wanted to admit it, but I think the print media may be in its dying stages. With all the technological advancements, the effects of media are more far-reaching than ever before. Hopefully it is used for good. And hopefully, I can survive this change in the DU for my last semester!

Let's get started!

Okay so here's the deal: I am in a class - Media, Family, & Human Development - which requires me to write bi-weekly on media related things. So the vast majority of posts over the next four months will not actually be about Dan & I - but stay with me! It's gonna be fun. For my first assigned post, I wanted to talk about my current favorite - Criminal Minds. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Unless you get queasy from images, or talk of certain murderous acts, then of course I would recommend maybe Spongebob. And if you do know what it's about - don't judge me! I'm not a sick, weird, psycho. I just happen to be very interested in why and how situations come about for these people, as well as the logic and behavioral analysis involved in catching them!

But I got to thinking - this show may not have any real negative effect on me, but it's possible it could be very detrimental to someone else! For example, helping to create the "mean world syndrome." In this show, they are catching a new killer every day! They are all over the place! It's possible someone could start to view the real world that way, and be scared to go out or trust others. Or perhaps it really could cause a violent person to kill - maybe they watch the show and use it for "new ideas" of how to go about their business. But I don't think that's very likely. And don't worry, I still think people are nice!

Unofficial first Post

Alright guys,
this may very well be the start of a new chapter in my life. I always vowed never to be one of those "blogger wives," but it seems like it may be a good idea now that the whole world is turning to technology! This blog is being started for a class, so we'll see how it all turns out!