Penelope aka WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!

What do you get when you get big name celebrities and a pig? I'm going to go out on a limb and say the worst movie ever! Penelope has yet to be released yet but this movie looks horrendous. Really Reese Witherspoon?! REALLY?! I wonder what they were thinking when they read the script--"Well I have nothing better to do" The movie is about gorgeous Christina Ricci and she has a pig nose and overcomes societies' beauty standards and grows to love herself. No Extreme Makeover could help Ricci in this movie. And Reese Witherspoon is the punk friend and comic relief?! I'm so confused!! If anyone makes a poor judgement call and actually sees this movie please let me know how it goes because I will not be seeing this one..

Wellness

So, I am a sophomore and in Wellness 1. It's a joke, I know, but this class is starting to feel like group therapy! People really do not censor what they say to the class. I know more about these people's lives and I don't even know their names! I feel like I'm in AA or some anonymous, court administered meeting. In the beginning I liked wellness; we talked about wellness of yourself and la di da-it was what I expected. Now when I go to class I leave feeling awful for these people in my class and question my own behavior. Today I learned that more than 5 people had alcoholics in their family and how badly is affects their life. WTF?! Downer. I know that that is bad to say but I'd rather just not know about these things about people I do not know at all. And my teacher eats it all up. He LOVES how my class is so open, just added fuel to the fire. Maybe this class is overwhelming for me because I am so non-confrontational and it irks me that some people can just chat all damn day about their cocaine-addicted brother..Yea, you sit in this class and try not to feel awkward...

I even bet La Lohan didn't have to do this shiz in Rehab!

I'm just sayin'

So we've been talking a lot about bad advertising in both of my advertising classes, creative and ethics and this commercial I want to rant about is, in my opinion, BAD! Do they have a category for just BAD? I learned today about "teenage boy humor" and "sexual inuendos" but is there a type of commercial for just disgusting. Okay, well here it is: the new Wendy's commercial for their fish sandwich. YUCK! When I see that commercial I literally gag! First, they bring the sandwich to the table, which looks like a chicken sandwich. Then she actually looks at the sandwich, which some of us really do to check for spit or stray hairs but she is remarking at how fresh and tasty the sandwich is going to be (I'm sure.) Then they pull a piece of the sandwich, it's some kind of "arctic" fish, and then they talk about how wendy's doesn't use questionable foods. If they have to defend themselves, then they probably have something to hide. Like really eating a Wendy's sandwich makes you think of glaciers and icebergs, which is what the commercial shows. Anyway, we all know fast food isn't fresh no matter how they slice it. I have come to grips with these terms about the legitimacy of fast food but this commercial reaffirms how SICK the food really is. Anyway, check it out and tell me what you think!

Brown Baggin' It

Today I brown bagged it in the meadows lobby. No, not THAT kind of brown bag you alcoholics, but the dance program that the meadows students put on each semester. This is why Brown Bag rocks : 1. It's free. 2. We got out of my advertising ethics class to support our fellow students 3. And most importantly, the dancers are incredible! The dances were unbelievable! I have some friends in the programs and it's so cool to see what their niche really is. Some students choreograph the dances and others just dance their little tootsies off! The only problem with brown bag is that it is not advertised enough! Since Temerlin is in Meadows, maybe a project for the advertising kids would be to promote Brown Bag, or any event that Meadows hosts. Also, if my teacher had not been kind enough to let us out, I would not have been able to go see the program at all. It was so cute to see a class of young kids, literally eating their brown bagged lunches and enjoy the show. My friends came up to me after the show and were so grateful that I came and supported them! Some people might say that dancing or theatre is not a real major but they work their butts off and take it very seriously!! So if anyone has free time around noon this week go to the Meadows lobby and be mesmerized!

That's Texas for ya!

I would just like to point out that I was able to lay out by the pool today -date check- February 24th! What the hell? That isn't kosher. Although I am very glad that it's not freezing and miserable BUT! and this is a huge BUT-tomorrow is probably going to be cold and overcast. Every day is different and I hate inconsistency! One day it's gorgeous and swim suit weather and the next day is literally flash flooding! It scary how Global Warming affects our environment but is global warming doing this to Dallas?!

On a side note about Texas, the primaries are coming up March 4 and Barack Obama had a crowd of 17,000 come out and support him at Reunion Arena! I learned in my Adv. Ethics class that in January alone, Barack raised more than 30 million dollars, Hillary raised 13 million and McCain raised 11 million. It will be very interesting to see who will win Texas because it is such a huge state in terms of delegates!

Intertextuality

This Superbowl ad, the E*trade baby is a commercial that I think the advertisers took a lot of "old formulas"(talking baby, gross effects, etc) and tried to make a new commercial with it. First, the talking baby-Quizno's anyone?? That was my first horizontal thought. Then I start vertically thinking and talking babies reminded me of the Kirstie Alley and John Travolta movies-Look Who's Talking then that low budget film Baby Geniuses. Then there's all the YouTube clips of laughing babies and Charlie biting fingers. Talking kids are cute; they make people laught. I think they are cuter than the talking animal commercials, those can get creepy. Intertextuality is like my mind map: one thing leads to the other and next thing I know I'm equating this commercial to The Exorcist (the spit-up at the end..ha). The commercial is cute, quick and gets the message out : E*trade is so easy, even an infant could do it. BUT it doesn't really say how to do it or what is a good trade--I don't think I would trade online but then again many people might.

These don't make sense

OKay, so I decided today that cologne/perfume advertisements are the worst attempts of trying to sell a product EVER! It always goes like this: famous celebrity, slow-mo walking sequence, contemplation of how good they look and then a cheesy, "I feel good because I smell good" smile. Plus, the celebrities probably get paid oodles of cash for just being featured in the ad--they most likely won't say a word throughout the whole spot, but i suppose the audience can get the point without words?? So confusing. The only cologne ads that are funny and sell the product are the Axe ads, but a high-end cologne is more highly coveted I suppose. Just goes to show that us common folk are obsessed with Hollywood and think they are cooler than us. Here are two different clips of Matthew McConahahy's Dolce and Gabbana ad, and Charlize Theron's Dior ad. See if you can spot the difference..trust me it's hard!!!

PS they always drop trou whenever they try to sell fragrances?? why??!

Oh to be young again...

So last night I babysat for this lovely family in Highland Park. 3 kids, ages 2-7, so stinkin' cute! We watched Snow Buddies (I remember when AirBud first came out, when I was little!!) and then we danced around until the parents came home. Kids these days know more than I think I did when I was little. They are telling ME what's cool and trendy-the latest toys, tv shows, singers. Where do they get all this stuff? I remember playing outside and hide-and-seek. Okay, so I did watch Beetlejuice when I remembered it was on TV, but it's not like I sat in front of the TV all day. Hannah Montana and Harry Potter are still ranked pretty high on the "hip" list, but Backyardigans is a hot tv show?! I miss Clarissa Explains It All or Global Guts. THAT was entertainment. Now you can't put anything on TV because it can be interpreted wrong, and my major has a lot to do with kids and what they see advertised. Thinking back on some of the movies I watched when I was little, (Clueless for example) I would NEVER let those kids watch it, but we all did when we were little and we turned out okay (I hope). Maybe kids are too protected and therefore they want to break the rules (?!?) Who really knows, all I know is that I'm not having my own children for a while; babysitting for other families and getting paid it just fine for now..

"I'm a pusher Cady"-Mean Girls

February 14th. For some people it's the most dreaded day of the year, with big "X's" marked over it's calendar spot. For me, it is my most favorite holiday of the year (besides my birthday)! Even though I haven't had a REAL valentine since, uhhh 10th grade, this day is still so exciting! I love seeing people care for each other and go out of their way to show their love for one another. The tacky boxes of chocolate, the lame balloons, EVERYTHING about V-day is wonderful to me even if I don't have someone to share it with. I swear I'm not lying either. My friends say I'm a relationship "pusher." I would say I'm a motivator. To each his own, but anyways, this day is so filled with promise because who knows, I still might have a Valentine. Like in elementary school when you have to make Valentines for each of your classmates, I always wanted a note from a secret admirer (hint hint people)! Although i just recently read that most people get kinkier when buying gifts for their partners, it's really just the thought that counts. No big gifts, no expensive floral arrangements. Just have a big heart!

She won 5 Grammys on CRACK

Well, I guess when people ask Amy Winehouse where she found inspiration for her album she can confidently say CRACK. The new Grammy winner can add the statues she won last night right next to her crack pipe in rehab. I love her album, it's actually in my car right now, but damn girl, take it from Whitney Houston: "Crack is WHACK!" You think there are embarrassing pictures of you on facebook, well how would you like a video of you admitting to taking 6 Valium and then snorting crack make you feel!? I bet Britney is jealous of Miz Winehouse.. she figured out how to do drugs and go to rehab and STILL be an award winning musician. Props to Amy-Hope you realized that you need to pull your life together and be grateful for what you have.

On a side note: I stayed at the same hotel as Amy and her hubby last summer in Cannes. This was before she was known as a crackhead. We also saw her tanning topless but still wearing her beehive weave!! Work it gurrllll!

Fergie is H-U-M-O-R-O-U-S

This high-larious clip is brought to you by Funny or Die.com which I think is run by Will Farrel? Check me on that but it's the same website that brought you the "landlady" Anyway, I don't know where celebs find time to do stuff like this but it's really funny! It's always fun when celebrities make fun of themselves! I wish spelling bees were really like this!! Enjoy!

SUPER Tuesday!

AHHH! Election time is here and I'm getting kind of nervous! All this back and forth between my own party--I just want to know who is going to be our next leader! I'm ready for CHANGE-(maybe that will give you a hint for who I'm voting for..!) My parents sent me an absentee ballot all the way from Arkansas, so I voted for the primaries but I can't wait until November! I'm watching C-Span right now and the speeches are giving me chills. The speakers are so confident and poised...I can't even imagine being in their spot! No wonder Hillary has been crying at different speeches! I'd be tired as hell too!

I'm watching the polls and who won which state but there is still no clear victor, and I can't remember how many delegates are in each state. I need them to put up a map or something! Hopefully people at SMU will get involved and vote, even though, most people at this school are (or claim to be) very conservative, which is NOT me. Shit, I'm just gonna say it: I LOVE BARACK! His speeches give me chills.. so much for trying to be mysterious.. This blog will probably turn much more political as the semester goes on and the race gets closer! Until then...

Natalee Holloway FOUND!!

Wow. Okay, so news just broke that Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who went missing in Aruba has had a breakthrough in her abduction case! Though her body has not been found, her killer admitted to dumping her body out to sea! I don't even know where to begin when thinking about all the emotions the family must be going through. She's been missing since 2005!! I wonder if they will ever find the body. Or if she was eaten. These are really scary thoughts but I can't even imagine what her parents ad friends have had to go through. Yikes, this is scary to think about the details! What's worse is that Jordan Van der Sloot, the killer, says that he "didn't lose a moment of sleep from this." He said that she died after they had sex. I don't really know if she was drugged or maybe she just drank too much but this honor student went to the beach with this sketchy guy, had sex, and then ??? Who will ever really know what happened. If Jordan Van der Sloot lied under oath, he'll probably continue to lie. If this ever happened to me my parents would literally rip his balls off!! It will be interesting to see what other evidence will come up after all this. There are some kids who go to SMU who went to school with Natalee--it will be interesting to see how they take the news...

All I wanna do is BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

So if people think that Christina Aguilera was a bad influence on young listeners, you should check out MIA's song "Paper Planes"
In this song, she sings about pretty much just selling drugs and takin' your Mon-ay. And it's damn catchy! Sorry to the parents who got offended when Xtina sang about being beautiful even if you don't fit societies' standards and showed two men kissing. Who gives a shit! Especially when MIA is singing about "flyin like paper, gettin' high like planes.."I mean, isn't that when society should freak out? Maybe it's because MIA is literally M.I.A when it comes to being on the radio.. so pretty much she's figured out how the game works. I like this song, ALOT. It's hard to listen to it and not sing it until it drives you nuts! Check it out, and try not to get it stuck in your head!