Food for thought

I read a very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal (online) called "Many Discounts, Few Deals" (December 15, 2010). In it, there's a statement by Robert Schindler, who's a professor of marketing at Rutgers University - Camden's school of business. He said (or wrote, who knows which): "Perhaps one of the most serious socially irresponsible things marketers do is discounts. Marketers are playing on our weakness, to our detriment." In the article, it talked about how retailers are encouraging consumers to buy in bulk through BOGO deals and things like that so that the consumers feel like they're getting a great deal and buy more than the need. But what I found so interesting in the above quote is that he says that what the retailers are doing it "socially irresponsible" and manipulative, which I suppose is true but it's still interesting because it turns the table on the idea of discounts. Companies want us to believe that the discounts and mostly for our benefit, that the companies are getting less revenue so that we, the consumers, can benefit and save money. Granted, we all know that that's not the full truth because otherwise companies like Wal-Mart wouldn't be rolling in money. But I'd never thought of it as "socially irresponsible" before, but I guess it would be for a lot of people. I generally see through these tricks and think: No, I don't need to buy more. Yes, I'll save $30 if I buy $100 dollars worth of stuff, but I only need this one $30 thing and no I will not go looking for $70 dollars worth of something just to gain $30 back because I'm still $40 in the hole (so to speak)." Not everyone might do that though. I was shopping with someone recently at Macy's where all of the sweaters were @24.99 (sneaky way of saying $25. Don't fall prey to it. always round up), which was "so cheap!" so she must have bought 5 or so. I highly doubt that she would normally buy like $125 worth of sweaters unless she had absolutely no sweaters in her closet (which is doubtful), but a sale encourages you to buy even more! I try to always be conscious to these kinds of things, but I'm a shopper from way back so they get me from time to time. Anyways, it's late this season for shopping advice, but DON'T FALL PREY TO DISCOUNTS!!! At least until the Day after Christmas (which is, of course, the day that you buy all of the things that you wanted for Christmas but didn't get and use all of those Christmas gift cars & money =D ) MERRY SHOPPING!

Are we really that paranoid?

The downside of the Kindle: it's an electronic device and it therefore must be turned off before you reach cruising altitude when you're flying. So as I waited for us to reach that point, I looked at the skymall magazine and I noticed something: there are (relatively) A LOT of spyware kinds of things being sold. Here are some of them:

It's interesting, isn't it? I understand the ones that are about monitoring your house or whatever, but these ones seem more suited for someone who: 1) plans to blackmail someone with this video; 2) someone who's completely paranoid and believes that people are always talking about him/her or that his/her boss plans to do some lay-offs or something. I wonder about the ethical (and LEGAL) ramifications of this...you know, spying on a board room or on your employees or whoever without them knowing and RECORDING it. Hmm...either way, it definitely seems like we're super paranoid!

Sooooooo annoying!

Can I tell you a very annoying, frustrating tale? Thank you. I'm part of Disney Movie Rewards (and if you buy a lot of Disney movies, you should be too!), and they sent me a $10 off the Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 blu-ray & dvd combo pack, which would be great because that would bring the price down from about $30 to about $20. So I wanted to go get it yesterday, but the website was down or something because it wouldn't let me log in to get the coupon or anything. I tried logging on on a different computer and restarting my computer. No effect. I changed my password and tried to log in (therefore I was even MORE sure that my password was right), no luck. So I waited and tried again later in the day and it worked (on my parent's computer, not mine then. I'm not sure why...). SO today, I decided to go get it. First I went to Target. They had the DVD version, but not the blu-ray/dvd combo that my coupon is for. Then I went to Wal-Mart: same story. Then I went to Costco and they had it! Unfortunately, after getting to the front of the line and everything, the cashier tells me that they don't take manufacterer's coupons. Seriously. What a saga. And the bizarre thing? I have never seen this movie, know very few people who like it, and have heard that it's one of the most boring Disney movies ever. So aaaaaaaaaaaall that for Fantasia. Seriously. In the future, I'm only going through this trouble for a movie that I really want (I wanted this one because it's going to go in the vault and should I want to see it in the future, it would be difficult to get). [insert me looking frustrated]

My movie run...

So, as you know, I've seen HP7.1. Yesterday I saw Tangled and I really liked it! It was really cute; go see it if you haven't. The next movie on my "movie run" is Narnia 3 (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). I just finished re-reading the book in preparation for seeing the movie. I read the whole book around the time that the first movie came out in 2005, so it has been a while, and it's really short so it's easy & quick to read. If you haven't read Narnia, you should!!! SO good. Anyways, here are some quotes from the book that I liked and remembered to mark:

* Caspian: "Where is my other friend?"

"Oh him?" said Pug. "Oh, take him and welcome. Glad to have him off my hands. I've never seen such a drug in the market all my born days. Priced him at five crescents in the end and even so nobody'd have him. Threw him in free with other lots and still no one would have him. Wouldn't touch him. Wouldn't look at him. Tacks, bring out Sulky" (chapter 4)

*"Eustace (who had really been trying very hard to behave well, till the rain and the chess put him back) now did the first brave thing he had ever done. He was wearing a sword that Caspian had lent him. As soon as the serpent's body was near enough on the starboard side he jumped onto the bulwark and began hacking at it with all his might. It is true that he accomplished nothing beyond breaking Caspian's second-best sword into bits, but it was a fine thing for a beginner to have done" (Chapter 8)

*"Your Majesty promised," said Reepicheep, "to be a good lord to the Talking Beasts of Narnia."

"Talking beasts, yes," said Caspian. "I said nothing about beasts that never stop talking" (Chapter 16)

Now I'm super excited for the movie and I now know what the clips in the trailer go to...yesssss. Comes out on my birthday, and I'm SO going to the midnight showing (if possible, which it better be)

Oh, HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Midnight Madness...well, not really

I really want this poster. It's really cool looking. Anyways, I went to see HP7.1 yesterday (or rather, early this morning...). We got there super early, but the line wasn't really that long. I think that theater is just not that popular anymore, but I'm grateful. We got really good seats. I really liked the movie! It has a lot of surprising moments, and it was really exciting for me not only because I'm a fan, but because in all honesty I don't really remember what happens in the book (probably because I read it...in 2007!!! I feel much less bad/forgetful now. That was THREE years ago, and I read it super fast because I knew that as soon as I left my room and went on my computer I'd learn what happened and I wanted a total surprise. So I read it quickly, probably too quickly). I might re-read it so that I remember...but I totally recommend it. If you haven't read the book, though, be prepared for more death. I'd forgotten just how many people die over the course of the book. Also, keep in mind that the books (and therefore the movies) keep getting darker (not in color, although that's possibly true, but in theme and sense). They put in some cute/funny moments to break it up, but be prepared. I totally prayed before I went to bed that I wouldn't get nightmares (and I didn't! Thanks God =D ), otherwise I totally might have.

What Would You Do?

Right now I'm watching yesterday's episode of ABC's What Would You Do? I really like this show; it's super interesting. If you've never seen it, what they do is put people in hard (often morally difficult) situations. Right now, they're testing to see what people will do if a boyfriend is verbally and even sort of physically abusing his girlfriend. They'd done this experiment earlier with adults, and apparently few people get involved. This one is with teenagers, and more people get involved. Interestingly, a lot of the people who get involved comment that their young age made them less afraid to get involved. Anyways, I really like this show because it's interesting to see how people respond (or to see how people DON'T respond). I was actually REALLY surprised when people would support the person who's the "attacker." For example, once they had these two Jewish college-aged kids (actors)ask a bakery owner if they could put up an advertisement for some sort of job fair at their synagogue. The Bakery owner (also an actor) essentially criticize them and blame Jewish people for the recession or whatnot. I was SO surprised when there was a guy who actually SUPPORTED the bakery owner and was not afraid to have his face on TV (in a similar situation with a Muslim girl who I think was just ordering food, a guy supported the owner, but his face was blurred out and he didn't really comment afterwards). It's also interesting how sometimes whether the "attacker" is male or female will make a difference. Often, people get more involved when it's a woman because they're generally more afraid of men. Right now, they just switched up the above situation by putting the teenagers in more edgy clothing (vs. normal teen clothes). Wow. people are walking by even though they're hearing slapping noises. Wow. Not that I fully blame them. I'd be scared to intervene also.

It's cool that there are always those people, though, that become very passionate in their opposition to the "attacker." Some people say that it's unfair to put unsuspecting people in this rally difficult, often emotional, position, and that's totally true. I don't think I'd like to be one of those people who happens to be wherever the experiment is going on. But it's sort of providing a psychological study. Plus, in an earlier segment (on this same episode), one woman said that she watched this show and because of the show, she has determined to get involved in situations like these. She, too, was probably astounded by how many people stand by and allow discrimination, verbal abuse, bad parenting, etc.

What I also found interesting is that the ONLY time that I've ever seen EVERYONE intervene was when they experimented with dognapping. No one would allow a stranger to take someone else's dog, but they'll allow a "cougar" teacher to be all up on her student? Seriously?

The insurance companies spend $3 billion a year on lawsuits form falls in the store?!?! Seriously?!?! Right now, the segment is about people who squirt water on the floor and then "fall" in order to sue the store for some quick cash. Apparently, insurance companies pay it because unless it's obvious on the security camera, the cost of an investigation is more than the settlement. See? You should watch it...

Last Geek Moment:
My new Sims shirt =D (Although my Sims no longer live in Sunset Valley...oh well)

Also, I recently started reading crazy love by Francis Chan. I'd seen it in the stores, and I read his second book, but when some of the girls in my small group recommended it, I decided to read it, and you should too! There are also videos that go along with it. If you have some time, you should watch them (well, the two that were in chapter 1):

The Awe Factor of God (3:13) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpChZxPfa-c

Stop and Think (14:57) : http://www.youtube.com/user/DavidCCookVideos#p/u/1/S1MkY8MkxJU

On plasma juice and other things...

So, it's been a while since I've written or posted anything. Not because I forgot about you, but because I need to wait for something interesting to write about. Or I just wait a while and do an update =D So, recently I:

1- Did a Harry Potter movie marathon. Now I'm UBER excited for HP7.1 coming out a week from Friday. I bought my tickets for the midnight showing the day that fandango sent out an email saying they were available, and I have them all printed and ready to go! Yesssssss Now to find my Gryffindor shirt (that haven't seen in a looooong time, but I think I should be able to find it)

2- I got baptized on Sunday!!! I'd wanted to for a while, but I finally did it! =D

3- My sim married a vampire!!! In the Sims 2, never had a vampire or had a sim marry a vampire or anything, so I was curious (plus, he was the only non-elderly single guy that she knew. Her choices were super limited). So far, it's been an interesting experience. Why? Well, firstly, he had the worst set of characteristics that I've ever seen. He was evil, frugal (not bad, and maybe I should have kept that trait...oh well), hates the outdoors (so he didn't like to leave their apartment at all), loner, and one other trait that I can't remember. It took a while, but he got enough lifetime rewards points to buy a complete change of traits so now he's got great characteristics. Secondly, I had to deal with his looks (which I changed first, actually). I can't change his facial structure (unfortunate as he has a very creepily bony face as if he has a really bad plastic surgery done. I mean, he's a vampire, but still) or his red eyes, but I made him look much less creepy than he did before. As much as I could, anyways. They now have two kids, both of whom are vampires (apparently, the chances of a regular sim-vampire having a vampire child is 50/50, but they both are). It will be interesting...SO yeah. Notes about life with a vampire sim : *they don't eat. They just drink plasma juice (or eat plasma fruit, I guess. or they can drink form other sims, but as I'm unsure if this is harmful, I haven't made my sim do it. Apparently, you can ask a sim you're friends with if you can drink from them...); *Like in Twilight, they run super fast (at least at night. daylight stops their powers); *They learn much faster than other sims (easily 2x as fast). Anyways, nerd-fest over.

***update***

Ok, I tried it. Curiosity got the best of me. Interestingly, when a normal Sim allows the vampire (or at least one they're close to) to drink form them, they get a "weakened" moodlet, but it's POSITIVE. Weird, but ok. The sim bites the wrist of a friend but the neck of a love.

This one's for you, Jean

My friend Jean asked for some pictures of my neighborhood, and here ate two. Well, technically, they're two views from my house: One at about 11am, the other at about 6pm:

Ahhhhh, California.

Inside my geek world

I normally don't consider myself a geek, but apparently I am in one thing: the Sims. I am all about the Sims. It's really fun, and you can learn all sorts of interesting things. In the Sims 2, I was able to build a successful business (after 2 flops, I created THE place to buy pet supplies =D ). In all of them, you learn a little about a God-us relationship. You want the best for your Sims, and you can do anything for them (you can create money, buy them stuff, etc), but you always try to do what's in their best interest (ex. not giving them something they may "want" because it will distract them from their lifetime goal, which will bring them a lifetime of platinum mood (Sims 2) or a lot of lifetime rewards (Sims 3). Etc. There are actually a lot of cool things about the Sims. It's one of the few topics that can get me talking for a long time & be really excited. Anyways, this week, the new expansion pack for the Sims 3 came out: the Sims 3 Late Night.
There's the cover. Exciting right?!?! (geek moment) The new expansion pack brings miscellaneous new objects & clothing, stars, clubs/bars, bands, and vampires! The Sims 2 had vampires too, but they were much less creepy and not really a problem. So far (= since tuesday), I've run into a few vampires and this is what I've noticed: 1) they are super creepy looking (on the cover, you can see a vampire in the bottom right, see?). Even ones that don't look malicious, are still pale and seriously look un-dead. Why can't the Vampires look like Robert Pattinson? I mean, seriously. That would be SO much better. 2) They can attack (I think). In the Sims 2, the vampires didn't really bother your sims. They existed, and you could get bitten, but only if you became good friends with them and wanted to be bitten, I think. I have the feeling that they can just attack in this one because my Sims got a negative moodlet, and it's explanation was something like "bad experience with a vampire" or something, so I think that they can just attack, but I'm not sure because my Sims isn't a vampire. Anyways, I'll let you know. So, I just discovered fun with Photobooth (if you don't have a Mac, then you might not know what I'm talking about, so...too bad for you). I was originally going to take a picture of the Sims 3 disk case, but it didn't come out well, but I did have fun with the different effects. Here are my two "Fun with Photobooth" pix:

You thought I was exaggerating?

Well, I totally wasn't. The French go on strike all the time for reasons that just don't make sense to me. I mean, our history and culture are very different, so it makes perfect sense to them, but not really to me. OK, the government is increasing the retirement age from 60 to 62 (that's TWO years, and we Americans are currently at 65, so why they're complaining so much? who knows. They have issues, as I told you on my Study Abroad blog in Spring of 2009). Big whoop. Look at the pictures of the riots on BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11576711. Is a difference of TWO YEARS really worth that? In my opinion, no. And I think most Americans would agree with me. SO it must just be their culture. I found an interesting article in the New York Times called "More than the Channel divides Britain and France" by Alan Cowell (Oct 22, 2010). Here are some interesting clips from it:

"Faced with the prospect of a longer working life until a minimum retirement age of 62 (up from the current 60), a million French citizens took to the streets, as strikers closed refineries and blockaded fuel depots, leaving motorists to fume in line for gasoline and diesel."

“French people tend to like to demonstrate,” the French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, said when asked to compare French and British national reflexes.

Taking to the streets, some argue, is a rite of passage for the young and, for the older, a right at the heart of the French way of democracy since the toppling of the aristocracy in 1789.

“What’s at stake here is not the retirement age, or jobs for students, but the very nature of power in this country,” said Lucy Wadham, a British novelist and blogger living in France."

“France’s problem is that, for too long, the economy has been run as a kind of job club for French workers,” said an editorial in The Spectator, a conservative British magazine. “Britain and France believe in liberty, but have different definitions of it.”

While the British believe in “liberty from government,” the editorial said, the French “still like the big state and squeal at the prospect of being removed from its teat.”

so true. so true.

Well, it's all I do, so...

As I look for a job / try to decide what to do with my life, all I really do on a regular basis is go the gym and go to Starbucks. So, all I really experience that's noteworthy is those two places, so...yeah. My one complaint: Equipment hoggers (at the gym). Ok, there are two types of equipment hoggers: 1) the kind that stays on the equipment for a long time, but is using it the whole time, and 2) the kind that basically place holds. The first kind can be annoying if you're waiting, but I stay on the elliptical for 45 minutes, so I'm that kind, and so I don't mind them. I mean, at least we're actively using the equipment. The second kind is the one that bugs me. For example, there was a lady who got off the elliptical & left her sweatshirt on it in order to save it. Then she was completely gone for about 10 minutes. Then she came back and stretched for about 5 minutes. Then she got back on. But still, 15 minutes of equipment hogging. Some people get on & off in 15 minutes. Example 2: the men (generally. I haven't noticed women doing this) who are trying to gain muscle (I guess), and so let's say they're on the seated leg press. They add a lot of weights, and then do maybe 10 pushes, then just sit there fore 2-3 minutes before starting again, at which point they do the same thing. I mean, seriously?!?! Couldn't you get off of the machine and walk around and let other people get on it? I could seriously do my entire workout on that machine in the time they take to sit there and rest. Very annoying. If you are one of those, STOP IT!

Day at Disney...Halloween style

Yesterday, my mom & I went to Disneyland because 1) I wanted to see Disneyland "Dressed up" for Halloween and 2) I wanted to see World of Color from the front. They didn't decorate California Adventure for whatever reason, but Disneyland was super cute.

You see? super cute. They also changed the Haunted Mansion so it was a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. THe whole thing it pretty much changed, which surprised me. I thought that there would just be a few decorations added or something, but they changed the voice track as well as the decorations and everything. I liked it. They also changed Space Mountain apparently, but I didn't go on it (my mom doesn't like roller coasters). I don't think that I'd ever been to Disneyland during Halloween time, so it was really fun.

SO, we got a fast pass for World of Color this time, but we got the red section, which is apparently the worst section. I could see more of the show as I could generally sort of see the projections of movie clips on the water and a lot more of the water+light designs, but apparently you need to be in blue or yellow (I guess)to get the full effect, which is super annoying. Shame on you Disneyland for creating a show that's so ridiculously hard to see! TO those who may want to see this show, save yourself time getting the Fastpass AND waiting in line and just watch it on youTube!!! Seriously, I'm watching it now, and I can see so much more. *sigh* Disneyland...

We also saw Secretatiat at the AMC in downtown Disney, and I really enjoyed it! During the races, I was super into it (Run, Secretariat, Run!) and was nervous for the horse even though I knew he was going to win (the movie's tagline was "the impossible but true story" of the greatest race horse ever. I mean, right there you know he can't lose). Good movie.

SO, I had a really great day, but now my ankles (yes, BOTH of them) are super tired out. Today might need a nice sedentary occupation like reading at Starbucks.

A GREAT song

I just recently purchased the two worship CDs by Kutless, and on one of them (I'm not sure which. I *think* it's on the It is Well CD?) there's a song called "What Faith Can Do" and it's a great song and so I'm sharing it with you. Here's the youTube link, and below are the lyrics (from here).

What Faith Can Do Lyrics

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you're stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

Overcome the odds
You don't have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can!

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
That's what faith can do!
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise

Real Gone...

I'm on a Disney theme today I guess. Anyways, yesterday I went to a race out in Fontana (CA) with a group of people. It was a very interesting & fun experience, even though I'm not all that into racing (and the Vermont-influenced "green" part of me says that it has got to be the worst sport for the environment because they burn through who knows how much oil & gas in any given race). The race track was the model for the final race in Cars, but I don't really know how one race track is different than another (they seem really similar to me, really), but there you go. I should really re-watch the movie and see if I can see any similarities...(I can't remember if the above scene is from the first race or the last one, but I think it's the first one because the score board (or whatever they call it in racing) has more than 3 players..or rather, cars, on it). Anyways, here are some pictures of the race/ race track/ miscellaneous things:

The Incredibles...the tv show

Ok, ok. That's not technically true, but it totally reminds me of it? What show am I talking about?
It's about this family that went on vacation and their plane crashed into a lake with some sort of weird chemicals and so they all develop super powers and the show is about them coping with their new powers. It reminds me of the Incredibles because they -too- have super powers and have to pretend like they don't have powers and struggle with that. And in that movie, as well, the dad is the one who most wants to keep his power, the wife who wants to not have it, and the kids who are somewhere in the middle, I guess. For all I know, though, there was some level of crossover because ABC is Disney, so...yeah. SO far, I've only seen the pilot and part of the second episode, but I like it. It's a very interesting family dynamic and story, I think.

A simple update...

I don't really have anything interesting to write. There was something that I was going to blog about, but I didn't write it down so now I've forgotten. But it's time for an update.

*I finally have a legit copy of Beauty & the Beast (so now I have the special features and can hopefully put it in languages that are useful to me. I don't know Chinese or Thai or any of the languages offered on my old un-legit copy). And I learned that the Lion King is coming out of the vault sometime next year. Awesome. I don't even have a non-legit copy of that (my parents do, but I don't)

*At the mall, Mac is doing villain makeovers which look like fun, but always have a long line, so I didn't do them, but here's a pic in case you don't have a Mac store...

see, they give you makeover then you can put on the costume or hold the props and take a picture. so cool.

*We've had super weird weather here in SoCal recently. Last week, there were record highs (as in, ever...not just for that day or season). It was pretty crazy. According to the news, Malibu was 30degrees hotter than normal one day last week. I mean, my car said it was 94 degrees or so here, and it's pretty uncommon for the temperature to be over 80 in San Clemente. Then yesterday and the day before it rained and was borderline cold...weird, right? But anyways, the weird weather made for some pretty skies sometimes:

Fun at a sing-a-long

Yesterday, I went to a Beauty and the Beast sing-a-long and it was fun! There were surprisingly few people there, though, but I thought about it and today's kids weren't even BORN when the movie came out (1991) and maybe not even when it came out on DVD (end of middle school for me)!!! So maybe they aren't quite so attached? Plus, it wasn't advertised all that much. Anyways, before the movie there was an introduction with Jordin Sparks that talked about some interesting facts and showed parts of her music video (she recently released a version of the title song, "Beauty and the Beast"). I'll admit, I didn't really sing that much, but I only heard the family behind me singing anyways, so...yeah. It was cool to see the lyrics though because there were parts of songs that I'd never known the lyrics too. There are some really funny/witty lines! Like in the villain song, "Kill the Beast." Here are some of the lyrics:

"We don't like what we don't understand, in fact it scares us and this monster is mysterious at least"

"Here we come, we're fifty strong, and fifty Frenchmen can't be wrong"

(especially love the last one =D)

I also notices some interesting things, such as:

*I'd noticed it before, but I wonder why no once checked up on the very faulty math when making the film (unless they did notice it and kept it in as an inside joke or something?). The prince looks about 18ish when the curse is set, and he has to find love before he's 21, and they've been under the spell for 10 years when the last petal actually falls...so he was 11? Hmmm

*Belle is STRONG! She lifts the Beast not once, but TWICE! (Once after the fight with the wolves, and again when the Beast almost falls after the fight with Gaston)

*I also noticed that Belle & Phillippe (her horse) fall through the ice into the river and then keep going & fight off wolves. The water has to be freezing, so Belle is really truly resilient. Go Belle!

I finally finished the Art & Making of Beauty and the Beast, and it was nice to have finished it before re-watching the film because I appreciated it that much more and noticed things I hadn't noticed before. For example, the book talks about the progression of Gaston. In the beginning, he's conceited, but fairly normal, but by the end there's a "near insanity" about his character, and I really noticed it yesterday. By the end, his hair is somewhat unkempt and he's obsessed with winning Belle and there's a craziness in his eyes.

All this to say, Beauty & the Beast comes out on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, and you should go buy it. I know I will!

Gotta love the Redbox

I just tried the Red Box (a movie rental vending machine, in case you didn't know, but you should know unless you live under a rock), and I like it. The downside is that you have to take it back to the redbox to return it, but there's one near the Starbucks, so it works out. The nice thing is, it's super cheap. I plan on using the iTunes rentals more, but sometimes you can rent things on iTunes. Recently, I wanted to rent Prince of Persia. First, I tried to rent it from iTunes and watch it on the iPad while I was in Monterey, but you could only buy it. I remember having the same issue with Alice in Wonderland a few months ago. It might be a Disney thing. SO I rented it from the redbox and saved about $2, so, to Whoever decided not to let the movie be rented on iTunes: you just lost $2. Ha!

Secondly, I just received a catalog type thing from a Halloween store, and I noticed something:

Either the only adult women who wear costumes on Halloween are somewhat...risqué, or women can't have normal Halloween costumes. So not fair. The men's sections had super normal costumes that weren't trying to be super provocative or anything, but maybe 90% of the women's costumes were like what you see above: tight, short skirts, low cut bodices...hmph. Society.

Added question: why is Snow White the only princess they have. She's got to be my least favorite princess (because her voice is really annoying and she's just too sickly sweet. I like the princesses with a little more personality like Belle and Jasmine), so why just her? Hmph...again.

Here we go again

(yes, my blog posts are often song titles. You got a problem with that? =D )

So...remember my post on hospitality? The lack of that gene is a problem again (but this isn't a long weekend...theoretically). I'll try to keep positive and pretend like I have that gene. After all, Love is patient, Love is kind...That's all I'll say so posts don't come back to haunt me. Anyways, it's kind of weird being here during the school year because now it's like "ok. what do I watch on TV?" because 1) In the summer, Playhouse Disney changes into the regular Disney channel at like 10am, so it's on the regular channel the whole time I'm awake, really whereas now it doesn't change until 2PM 2) all of my shows (like So You Think You Can Dance and the Closer) are off. Well, most of them. There's a new season of Hell's Kitchen which just started up this week, which gearing up to be an...interesting season, to say the least. I SERIOUSLY think that two of the contestants could be certifiably, psychologically crazy. They are just too out there mentally to be normal. Most of the time, the chef-contestants are normal, although sometimes a bit delusional (as in, they think they're the greatest chefs ever but there dishes show just the opposite), but this season, two chefs are seriously out. of. their. minds. The previews for next week show ambulances arriving, and I bet that those two have something to do with it, either directly or indirectly.

I just went to the new Disney Store today. I mean, I'd been to the one in Santa Monica before, but there were SO many people that I couldn't really look around easily. This time, I went to the one in my home mall (which just opened this week), and it's so cool. It's so colorful and interactive and it has so much cool stuff in it. Of course, not much for adults, but that's to be expected. If adults want adultish Disney things, they've got to go to Disneyland (or at least Downtown Disney, where the World of Disney store has a whole section of Disney collectibles and things (like Thomas Kinkade's Disney series of paintings, the Precious Moments collectibles, nice jewelry & silverware, and really pretty shirts & bags). Or online. It'd be nice, though, if there were *a* section (even if small) of adult merchandise in the regular Disney Store...oh well. It's still a cool store. When (if) I have a daughter, she's SO going to be dressed up as every princess just because I say so. If she doesn't like girly things or Disney, she'll so be in military school. That's tough love à la Corinne.

Oh, the AWESOME-NESS! I got iWork with my new Mac instead of Microsoft Office, so to insert foreign language characters, I have to use the Character Viewer which I've decided is better because I can use it anywhere, not just in Pages (Word for Macs). So I used to go through Word in order to put accents in my blog posts, but now I can open Character Viewer and just type it directly in here. So great. I love Macs. Yea for Apple.

Tale As Old As Time

I recently got the book Tale as Old as Time: The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast by Charles Solomon, and it's so interesting. I was really excited to read it after reading Mouse Under Glass because this book will focus in just on Beauty and the Beast (my favorite Disney princess movie even though Aurora is my favorite Disney princess. Not sure why. I've always had a thing for blond hair. In kindergarten, I think I went so far as to ask my mom if I could have blond hair which, of course, failed and it's a good thing because I'd look TERRIBLE with blond hair. Plus, I'm a lot like Belle already, so Aurora is more exotic/interesting. Seriously, whenever I take the "which princess are you?" quiz, I get Belle. Probably because I read...) and get more into the process of making a film, which I'm also very interested in. I like learning about how the filmmakers and artists came up with the various aspects of the film; the process is so much more complicated and topsy turvy (a great phrase I learned from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Yea for Disney movies!) than I would have imagined. I only just started it, but I really like it so far. Here are some pix:

The bottom two pictures are of the research that goes into all aspects of the film- characters, backgrounds, etc. The lucky artists got to go on a "research trip" to France! =D Oh, the life.

Asked & Answered

So, previously I wrote about a comic that I'd read in the NY Times about MTV and music videos, and today I found (well, my mom found and told me about it) this article ("Left for dead by MTV, music videos rebound on web" by Jake Cole, on Yahoo news) talking about music videos. The article states: "MTV — which will hold its 27th annual Video Music Awards on Sunday — phased out videos in favor of reality programming and other shows that attracted better ratings. At the same time, the music industry was collapsing and slashed budgets no longer had room for elaborate clips." So...my question has been asked and answered. And now you know too (in case you wondered or cared).

Commercials

So they say that commercials are on the decline because now so many people have a DVR and tape their shows then fast forward over the commercials, and so people may see them flash on the screen, they aren't getting the full impact of the commercial, just the brand, the product and maybe the actor/actress doing the commercial. Which is totally true. My parents tape anything they might want to see (I don't tape as much because the two TVs that I generally use in the house don't have that ability; they're just regular cable) and skip over all the commercials. And it's super nice. Anyways, what got me thinking about this was that I've noticed an increase in commercials on the Disney Channel and it's just...interesting. I suppose it makes sense, kids (and 22 year-olds) just sit there watching the TV not for any particular show necessarily, but just because. So we're more likely to watch commercials? But I still think it's interesting. Especially that the commercials are sometimes geared at the parents more so. Like the Verizon commercial, or one that they just started putting on: a commercial for the Honda Odyssey! They're aiming it at dads (according to the voice over), but isn't that kinda weird? A car commercial on a channel aimed at kids aged 6-14ish? Hmmm. Interesting.

Something that bugs me about commercials is when they show the same commercial all the time. Sometimes twice in one commercial break! That's super annoying. I must have seen the Target commercial with the triplets a billion times this summer. It must come on at least once during EVERY commercial break on the other channels (like TNT) that I watch. So apparently commercials aren't dead, and don't plan on dying anytime soon...even though I totally wish they would...please...

I didn't get that gene

Hospitality: a human gift, and even a spiritual gift...just not one that I have. Ok, before I explain, understand two things: 1) It's not that I'm not a people-person. I am introverted, but I do like pretty much everyone, so it's not that I don't like guests as people; 2) This doesn't apply to places that aren't included in my "personal space" (to be explained). So don't take this as me saying "people? yuck!" because that isn't at all true and that's not where I'm going with this, and don't take this as "well, why are you thinking about the hospitality business?", because in that business you don't invite guests into your own house, but into a hotel or something. COMPLETELY different. Ok, now let's begin. I don't have that gene or spiritual gift. It's not in my nature. I have definite personal space issues. I have my arena, and I like to be left alone there, or if someone enters it, I expect them not to ruffle it but to leave it be. But does that often happen...? No. I guess that I just like things to be a certain way: organized a certain way, done a certain way...I'm just particular, and I recognize that. I have issues, it's true. Not that I say them out loud (well, maybe to my mom), because I do have some people-skills =D So, yeah...when I told her all this, she said, well, you wouldn't like people you visit to be like that/ think like that, would you? And I thought about it. Of course I wouldn't, but I'd also so much rather stay in a hotel than stay at pretty much any one's house/ apartment. I like my own space just that much. Plus, I worry about infringing on *their* space (because they might be like me). So...yeah. There's your interesting fact about me for today. (I know. Now you're thinking: "OK, I'll never visit you, and I won't invite you to visit." But don't worry, sometimes seeing the person/people is definitely worth the trouble. Especially in small numbers (aka. one at a time because I have to share my bathroom with all guests (my lucky parents have their own bathroom, so they don't feel all of my personal space invasion issues), so the fewer people, the happier I am).

Well, it's not a mystery

I just thought about something yesterday. You know how a lot of organizations need donations and maybe aren't getting as much as they can and stuff? Well, I think I've figured out one reason: Once they've got your information, they won't stop bugging you! And some people (i.e. me) find it SUPER annoying and knowing that might happen keeps them from donating later on. Some organizations are worse about this than others, though. From one organization, I really only get emails around the time of their major fundraiser. From another, I get emails somewhat frequently, but it's not too bad. But one...wow. I donated some money to the ASPCA as a part of a birthday present for my friend who's really involved in animal rights and shelters and things like that. I've gotten some sort of snail mail almost every week (maybe every other week) from them or PETA or some similar organization and it's getting SUPER annoying. Like, really. If I could rewind time, I would just get her a gift card to somewhere like the Body Shop that's environmentally responsible. Isn't that a terrible attitude? But they drove me to it! Sooo, yeah. Not a mystery why getting donations can be an issue. One time donations might just translate to a lot of pestering.

Wow, two days in a row!

Yes, I've written two days in a row. I think that's a record since I've gotten back from school. Maybe even since I got back from abroad! Well, I went to my interviews today, and I think (HOPE) they went well. I was surprisingly calm and not to nervous...once I was there. I slept horribly last night and even though I'm not much of a napping person (I really only take a nap if after a red-eye flight because I can't really sleep on airplanes), but I'm SO tempted right now. And I can't go to Starbucks again. Twice in one day is really enough, tempting though it may be to go a third time (why did I go twice? Well, as I mentioned, my interview was up in LA, so I left early enough to be sure that I got there on time, and I arrived about an hour early, so I went to Starbucks, got my morning iced tall nonfat chai, and waited until I wasn't quite so early for my appointment, and then I got out of my interviews early, and as I waited for my mom to arrive and pick me up, I got another Starbucks drink (an iced tall nonfat toffee mocha) and sat in the Starbucks that was actually IN the building in the lobby. Soooo nice. That's my kind of office! So...yeah. I enjoyed the toffee mocha, but the toffee taste was maybe a little too strong for me. 1 maybe 2 fewer pumps (well, I don't know how many pumps they put int, so I guess it's hard to say) of toffee would be better, I think.

It's a Brand New Day

(title borrowed from a song from Camp Rock 2 which is coming out on Friday and even though I've already seen it, I'm still looking forward to seeing it again =D )

SO.....I have a big interview tomorrow. Wish me luck! It would be beyond awesome if I got it. We'll see....

I don't really have much to write, really, it had just been a long time since I'd written and I sounded so depressed. I'm not really. Frustrated at worst. Hmm...what have I been up to...

*I went to San Diego last weekend, which was really nice, albeit on the cold side. Mmmmm....Ghirardelli hot fudge sundaes....yumm.

*Oh, fall drinks are back at Starbucks! This fall, they have a Toffee Mocha Frappuccino that I'm super excited to try. It kinda reminds me of the English Toffee Twist Chiller at Gloria Jean's (because of it's name, obviously, as I haven't tried it yet. I plan on getting one this weekend. I'm theoretically trying to lose weight, and part of that is limiting myself to 1 frappuccino a week), but it's Starbucks so I can get it pretty much anywhere. Love it. =D

*I'm going up to LA tomorrow for my interview, and I was just thinking, that will be my third time in LA in the past 4 weeks or so, and therefore I'll have gone up to LA more times in the past few weeks than I normally do in a year. Maybe even in 2 years. wow. But I've decided that I actually like L.A. Not the hardcore downtown area mind you, but pretty much every other part of the county. It's significantly less sketchy than I thought (except downtown, as I mentioned. I think I told this story before? when my mom & I went to a vegan cupcake place downtown the weekend we went to see Camp Rock 2? Probably. But to make a long story short: it was super sketchy and I was happy to leave the area)

*Sigh* Trying not to be discouraged...

Soooooo the job search continues. I think it would be going much better if:

1) I'd gone to a bigger school or a school more known in this area with connections here (because, apparently, being the 4th best liberal arts school in the country according to the US News & World Report means nothing if you aren't on the east coast. And apparently, MiddKids all stay on the east coast and therefore there are few alumni connections on the west coast. There might just be few alumni connections that do any good anyways. I'm just saying, the people I know who went to a school like USC have jobs, people from Midd? Some yes, some no)

2) I'd majored in something recognized as useful (not that people don't recognize that languages are super useful, they just don't recognize that as a useful major in and of itself. If I'd been an International Studies and Spanish double major, I'd be set. Or even Psychology (which I'd thought about, but had already declared my majors and would have had a hard time changing my majors & getting in all the necessary courses by the time I realized that I really liked psych) with Spanish or French. Or SOMETHING like that. As it is, my job prospects are low seeing that I don't want to be a translator...or a teacher...)

3) I really, truly, deeply knew what I wanted to do with my life. I know things that I like: I'm interested in communications, languages, cultures, psychology, entertainment, marketing, crafts, artsy things of all types...but how to combine them all?!?! On the upside, I'm now discovering things that I like and not just things I don't like. Woohoo! =D I guess the book I got (What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles) is helping?

Here are some Comics from the NY times (Sun, Aug 1) that I liked and found interesting:

Wow. Starting to feel old. Why? Because in my short 22.5 years, so much has changed in technology / media. I remember my first cell phone that I got in 8th grade and it was big and looked much like a landline phone does now, and now phones are slim & sleek and connect to the internet and all sorts of cool things. Mine called & received calls. Period. And kids in kindergarten have them. wow. I'm somewhat confused about the one about MTV, because I don't watch a lot of MTV, and I totally did not know that they don't show music videos anymore? Please confirm or deny. MTV in Europe still does...please explain. Oh, and facebook. I remember when I got on it before my freshman year in college. Wow, that was a loooooooong time ago (ok, 4 years, but it *seems* like a long time ago). Anyways, it presents an interesting thing about this generation: that people sometimes connect more over technology than in person. I like how in the Phineas & Ferb "public service commercial" (on Disney), it encourages kids to get off the computer and spend time with "real friends." So true. It seems like all teenagers do is text. (yes, I can say that because I am NOT a teen! hehehe. One's 20th birthday is so great).

L.A., L.A., Baby

So, we went up to LA this weekend (by weekend, I mean Saturday and half of Sunday). We went because there was a special preview of the upcoming DCOM, Camp Rock 2. There were a lot of people there, but I'm guessing that it didn't actually sell out because there were quite a few open seats, but that's ok. All the better for me & my mom to get great seats =D. Additional bonus of seeing the movie before everyone else? I got to go to Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, which is hard for non-Disney workers to get into. It's completely gated in (I noted that all of the major media networks/companies were, though. But NBC advertised a studio tour, so I'm assuming you don't need a special invitation, but maybe. Also, Disney might need to be more careful because around the world Mickey Mouse (aka Disney) is kind of a symbol of American consumerism, and those who are opposed to American consumerism use & target Mickey for their own purposes. So I *suppose* I can see why they're extra careful. Anyways....), but we were able to go on in order to see the movie. What I noted was that the Studios look A LOT like Disneyland. I think that I had read about that in Mouse Under Glass by David Koenig, but wow. Seriously, the signs, the colors, everything was a lot like Disneyland. Interesting, and really cool. SO, we saw the movie in a little theater (not super little, but like the small (but still stadium) theaters that movies often move into once they've been out for a while and the newer movies take up the biggest rooms in the theater), and they gave us free popcorn & water (two types of water. Regular spring water and Smart Water, which is interesting. I wonder what the reason for having two types of water is. It seems like Smart Water is becoming more prominent...everywhere, but it's still interesting. Did the Glaceau company donate it? Does Disney have a deal with Glaceau? Do people demand it? Who knows. (well, *somebody* knows, but that somebody is not me). Anyways, so it was super cool to see the film before everyone else, and it's SO good. I think I might just like it better than the first one. Seeing it in the theater was also very special because otherwise I would likely watch it on the TV in this room with has a sound issue (background noise is louder than the sound that you're supposed to hear. Example: When we watched Pride & Prejudice, we couldn't hear the dialogue at all, practically, during the scene at the "country dance" because the background noise was so loud. So with a musical movie like this one, I would have heard the beat really strongly, the rest of the music pretty well, and the rest somewhat ok) and is surrounded by very distracting things (like computers, people moving around, etc) which could keep me from focusing just on the movie, so seeing it there with fans of all ages was great (and yes, of all ages. The loudest most enthusiastic person around me was at least 40 and she'd go "woo" and things like that. She reminded me of the women at the showing of New Moon that I went to...(forgot about them? Read this blog entry). Oh, extra bonus? No commercials. Yes...Then there was a Q&A section with the director of the film, the VP (or was it the president...) of DCOMs, the director of soundtracks, and the writer of the film. I enjoyed hearing about how they put the movie together and their motivation behind certain scenes and other choices.

All this to say: 1) it was a really great experience; 2) you should watch it on Disney Channel on Friday, September 3rd; 3) I SO want to work at Disney or for D23

aaaah, just looked it up Glaceau is owned by Coca-Cola (not advertised on the website, but I figured it out). That makes sense though. Based on Disneyland, I'd say that Disney and Coke are pretty close. Now that I think about it, they totally sell Vitamin Water at Disneyland now...

PICTURE TIME!!!

Yes, I'm officially here

The check-in stand for the film

We all got these bags for free. Inside there's a Camp Rock 2 folder & magnets