Dear Diary

As I spend my final days holed up in Fondren Library, I think about everything I've learned and done this semester. I actually have a major, who would have thought it! I also have expanded my horizons and declared an art history and cinema television minor. But where will this all really take me? Can I be the next Nancy Rice or Lee Clow? It's tough to say. Sometimes, (well really most times) I just want to stay this age forever. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to be 21, but I want to stay where I am in school and with friends. It's strange to think that we will all move away in two short years.. where we go, it's hard to say, but I'm sure it'll be fantastic. Hopefully I'll be overseas for a while, if my French still suits me well. I think advertising will take me all over the world and I'm glad to fill space on my passport. Wait, why am I thinking about this future business, I should be studying for my FIVE FINALS!! Yea, thanks SMU. Anyways, this blog, although it has been painful to complete at times, has allowed me to write down my thoughts, rather than let them pass me by. So thanks Dr. G making us do this silly things. Will I continue to blog? Probably not, but I will definitely still keep my travel journal which is a bit more private. This is it. I'm finished.Peace.

Evolution

I am a believer in evolution. I am also a believer in Global Warming. So I got to thinking, can animals that are losing their homes to Global Warming evolve and adapt to this new environment? Like the polar bears, who I am most heartbroken about losing their homes, can they adapt to their new melting environment? I mean, technically, (very, technically) apes evolved into Neanderthals and we derivative of them (sorry, its been a while since my BIO days) Maybe this is just wishful thinking for the polar bears, but if some of them survive and get used to their new climate maybe then they can pass on those traits to their offspring. I hope I'm right because if they go extinct its our fault!

What If..

I am currently reading a biography on Marilyn Monroe and was thinking the other day, "what if she was still alive today?" Although she did live a pretty tragic life, she had more perseverance and motivation than most people I know. Then I was thinking, what if JFK and Bobby Kennedy were still alive? How different our nation would be. Such great leaders with great plans for our country, and taken so suddenly away from us. It's strange to think what our lives would be like with these people still in it. Hopefully our nation will continue to breed great minds who have an even greater ambition to use them..

OMG

Tonight was the premiere of Gossip Girl aka the best day of my life!! (kidding, just) Although we discussed in class how bad and vulgar the advertising was for GG it sooooo does NOT matter. The show was amazing. I'm once again in love with Dan Humphrey and envious of Serena. Who would think that one show could control so many emotions I have! Ha! Also, I asked my friends out of curiosity what they thought of the GG advertisements and they thought they were really sexy and amazing, so there you have it! Looks like the cheap advertisement works! Either way, the show is a total hit and I can't wait to hear how high the ratings were! Do I sound like a a pre-teen or what? Time to go, you know you love me...

xoxo gossip gurl

Jesus Camp

Today I watched Jesus Camp with a friend who needs to write a paper over a documentary. WHAT THE %^&%? If any of yall have had a chance to see it.. I really don't even know what to say about it. The entire time my eyes were just bugged out and mouth open. It's incredulous that a 9 year old can talk about how Global Warming isn't real and how Evolution is a joke. I understand everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but when your only 9 your opinions are coming from your parents. These kids all talked about being saved again and would talk in tongues whenever the Holy Spirit would "speak through them." The kids were shipped off to camp in North Dakota and would just cry and pray for a week and repent for their "sins" What damage can a 9 year old God fearing child do? Apparently a lot because the children would just bawl the entire time at camp and talk about redemption and faith. Pretty big words for a kid. And I thought going to Catholic School for 9 years was brainwashing...I wish they would do a follow up on these kids once they it puberty and see if they still feel the same way about their Evangelical religion then...Check out the Trailer for the movie..
(Yes, they are pretty much training kids to be an army of God's messengers..)

ITunes Gift Cards= Greatest Gift Ever

As I try to sit down and write an 8 page paper due for Tuesday I can't help but get on my ITunes are browse for new songs. You see, I received ITune gift cards for some birthday or christmas occasion and I just activated them. This way I can download music (legally) and not feel guilty for charging 99 cents on my parents' credit card for every song! Today I downloaded Music of My Heart by NSync and Gloria Estefan. Chances are I probably would not have bought it if I weren't buying it for free. Why do some people do that? It really just leads to excess and greed. Downloading music is a gluttonous hobby yet I can't seem to break away from it. At least I'm doing it legally? Yea, too bad my parents don't really see it that way.

This is NOT Reality

Why is it that in the movies, people never break up? It's always la la la happy ending, yadda yadda, have a baby, etc. Although I am a sucker for those kinds of movies, I was thinking that that is NOT how real life works. I just saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which I blogged about, and it was an alright movie (saw it for Free in Hughs-Trigg) and they broke up, but he ends up with an even hotter new girlfriend! Technically, the only movie I can think of when they break up is The Break-Up with Jen Aniston and Vince Vaughn, but that doesn't count because that's what the movie is about...Why does Hollywood have to portray all these happy marriages and relationships? Maybe couples look to the movies to judge their relationship and when they realize their relationhip isn't movie-worthy, they break up. THIS is the demise of real-life love! Do I sound scorned? Damn. I'm just sayin' it's BS that movies don't have a more equal representation of real-life relationships.. it's always totally in love or totally in angst. Oh the drama...

Pimping out your kids

As I am enjoying a lazy sunday afternoon, watching The Soup with Joel McHale, he is playing back clips of kids being cute and singing on national TV. Cute right? WRONG! Little Bindi Irwin, daughter of legend Steve Irwin, will probably look back and cry when she reviews the tape of her singing about grizzly bears on national TV. However, it does make great TV as my friends and I are dying laughing right now. Why do parents pimp out their kids? It really is embarassing..can they not make their own money? Especially in Bindi's case, her father just died in a freak accident and then she is all over TV, the Martha Stewart show.. what's worse is the father and daughter dance show... isn't that a little incestuous?! There are a bunch of wackos out there and they love being on tv and recognized for it! Here's a clip of Bindi's rap.. try not to laugh too hard..

On a side note, how embarassing would you feel if you were one of the male dancers in her entourage?! HAHA Add that to your resumé!

So I was thinking...

I was at Central Market today picking up lunch and it got me thinking.. How in the world do they keep all of that food fresh?! There are oodles upon oodles of olives and cheeses and breads and ANYTHING you can possibly think of! Where do they put the food away at night? Especially the food that is ready to cook? Even the flowers are fresh and beautiful! Maybe they have workers in the back like the Coca-Cola commercial we watched the other day in class! Besides keeping the food so fresh and yummy, it really makes me feel guilty for how much food we have at our fingertips and other countries are literally starving themselves to death. And if they really do just throw away the food then it shows how wasteful we really are!

I can't make these kinds of things up!

Yes, believe the rumors if you have heard them. The first baby to be born from a MALE will happen this summer!!! Thomas Beatie, a legal transgendered man and his wife Nancy are expecting their first child July 3, 2008. They are legally married and if you didn't know he was transgendered, you most likely wouldn't think he was ever a female. However, when the couple decided to have a baby, Nancy, who had a hysterectomy, couldn't have children and so I'm assuming they took the next logical step- HE would have the baby!! What a role reversal! All he had to do was stop taking his testosterone injections and wham, got knocked up. Yes, it is VERY VERY strange to see a pregnant male, but wow, what if this was really possibly and men and women could pick and choose who would carry the baby? Although Beatie is a legal male, he did not change his sex organs, making the delivery possible..Yes, this story will raise eyebrows but you have to remember than an innocent baby is about to be born with no clue what kind of history she is going to make. (Yes, it's a girl). Though the couple denies thinking this situation is weird, COME ON! They must have known this would be national news when they decided this! Also, I'm assuming they used a sperm donation so I wonder what the medical office that administered this said when he walked in and asked for sperm... SO many questions, which I'm such will be answered very soon. I will be very interested to see the follow up of this family after the birth, for I'm assuming they will receive much media coverage..

I really love Sarah Marshall

Have you seen this advertisements? They are everywhere and not to mention are hilarious! When I first saw the billboard above J.D.'s Chippery, I thought, dannngg someoneone just got their heart broken. Don't know what I'm talking about? The billboard says, in huge letters, "I am SO over you Sarah Marshall!" Then, if you look in the right corner, there is a website: www.IhateSarahMarshall.com. Turns out, it's a movie promotion but I thought it was a real-life ad about a girl in this area and her ex-lover put up a huge billboard to spite her. Great advertising skills! I don't know anything about the movie or who is in it, but I am dying to know more!

Here's a YouTube of the movie, but if I didn't know any better, it's just a crazy ex-bf trying to get revenge on his ex- girlfriend. So funny!!! The website it made to look like an actual blog too! Check it out if you get a chance!

Here's a thought..

Today I went to Moody Coliseum to support one of my best friends who is on the SMU Cheerleading squad. Today was their chance to showcase their routine before they head to Nationals. Other schools also showed up to compete too. It was great to watch but I realized how critical I was of their perfomances! I mean, I WAS a cheerleader. Once. In Junior High. Does that even really count? How dare I critique these athletes, (cheerleading is a sport after all), there's no way in hell I could still do what they do. Then I started to think about other things I really have no right to critique. Movies, (I'm no producer) Clothing, (Not a fashion designer either) Choices (God can judge that). I understand that I have an opinion, but should I really exercise it that liberally? Who really wants to hear what I say.. cough, blog, cough. So from now on, I am going to watch my tongue and think before I speak. This should be interesting...

What do YOU think?!

I was reading on the Internet that Jack Kevorkian, aka Dr. Death is thinking of running for a congressional seat in Michigan. "I have never been a political person. I have only voted once in my life," he said. He is 79 and was just released from jail for "helping" a patient with Lou Gerig's disease die. He was convicted of second degree murder. Is it helping or just plain murder? What would you do if you were the patient? More importantly, if you were Kevorkian, would you think you were really helping or would you think something more satanical than that? Pretty messy stuff, but Jack got away with it because he had the patient's "permission." But if you're that ill, do you really know wahat you are signing your name to? I'm sure the jury was presented with plenty of different arguments but it sounds like they made the right decision. Now we watch and see if the people will actually vote him into the House!

What happened to just drinking water?

Very interesting comparative advertising going on recently. The new Propel vitamin water has just put up an amazing new spot comparing it to Vitamin Water. The spot shows body-conscious Vitamin Water consumers at the gym, and all of a sudden they realize that they have to do 492 sit ups to burn the calories of one bottle of Vitamin Water! THAT'S CRAZY! It's supposed to be good for you, I mean, it's water and it has vitamins, it's a win-win right? If you look closely on the back label though, you will say it is 50 calories per serving, and with 2.5 servings that's oh, the same amount as a coca-cola!! I have to admit I'm pretty sad about this finding. Vitamin Water is SO alluring. With it's funny labeling anecdotes and pretty colors, I am very attracted to their bottling, AND it tastes great. I guess this taste comes for a price though--Propel's vitamin water is the same size and is only 25 calories..makes you wonder.. I'm sure Vitamin Water's advertising agency is freaking out right now.. It's a fairly new product so it may not have that strong of a brand loyalty. Especially if people are drinking it to be "healthier" and propel offers the same thing, but better. It'll be interesting to see what Vitamin Water comes back in response to this!

Maybe people should just stick to good ole' plain water?

Sunny Side of Truth

I think these new Truth commercials about tobacco use are great. They are really pointing out how big tobacco companies have been lying to consumers for years! Also, they point out advertising to kids and how damaging it can be. These spots remind me of everything I am learning in my advertising classes, so I feel kinda smart like I know what's going on and how they are really effectively using advertising to communicate to the masses. Hope you like it! You can tell the audience in the spot sure don't know how to take it!


UPDATE: Okay, so today in my Advertising Ethics class we learned about Tobacco Advertising. It really made me think about this blog that I did. My friends who smoke really don't seem to care what smoking can do to themselves or those around them. They get that it's gross but they treat it like a dirty habit that they can't possibly break. Hello?! We are only 20 here!! The point is, I feel like the Truth campaign doesn't do much for people my age who do smoke. I suppose it is important to younger people (not that we aren't young) to see but I never hear my friends comment too much on it. Just a thought...

Do they have no shame?

Last week I spent my long awaited for Spring Break with my best friends in Mexico. It was clear of SMU folk (kind of) and full of relaxation and fruity drinks. HOWEVER, can I just give a little word from the wise : PLEASE, if you are a local, do not yell degrading things in spanish or ask if we are Barbie's sister. It won't get you anywhere nor will you get any gratitude from me. It is just plain rude and degrading. I found myself walking with my head down as I would walk through the market each day. They really have no shame. They would stare, whistle, sometimes even grab. I hope their mamas didn't teach them those manners. If I was a Mexican woman, would I find that attractive in a mate? I would hope not. I would be embarrassed if any guy I knew acted like that to complete strangers. It is very uncomfortable and I would just like to say, (for all of my readers in Mexico ;) ) STOP. Thank you for your time, but ew and NO!

Things you can learn at the library

As I am dutifully studying in the library, enjoying my green tea Enviga (advertisment) I realize that I needed to take a break and use the restroom (no , this isn't going to be one of THOSE stories people). SO anyways, I went into the restroom, in which there is a couch in the girl's restroom! (jealous guys?) Getting to the story, I read that the toilet paper dispenser said "Never-Out." That's the company or name of the paper dispenser? It's like magic! How is it never out? Is this puffery? Or a lie? How can the company substantiate this claim!? (Can you tell I'm studying for my Advertising Ethics class?) But really, someone in the toilet paper industry should counter this claim. However, maybe the company is right? I haven't seen one of those dispensers that IS out. HMM.. Interesting...I'll be on the lookout.. okay, back to the REAL reason for being at the library..

UPDATE: So I'm at Club Fondren again tonight and I went to the restroom and low and behold, there is an abundance of toilet paper! I think there is a black hole behind the dispenser that keeps on refilling it! Kudos to the cleaning staff here. They are keeping the Never-Out brand true to their word!

Definitely, Maybe or No?

The other day I went to go see the movie Definitely, Maybe with come girlfriends. I didn't realize that a major backbone of the movie was based on the Clinton campaign in 1992. With Super Tuesday happening as I speak, I was wondering how the presence of this in the movie would affect voters. Sure, it was pro-Clinton in the movie, but it also brought up the Gennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinsky scandals, and the "did he or didn't he inhale" (Good thing Barack just admitted he did, saved him some trouble.) With Hillary making appearances from Saturday Night Live to Jon Stewart, I get that she's trying to tap into mainstream media in a positive light but I think the movie didn't do her campaign any good. It will be interesting to see how the polls turn out, although some republicans are "strategizing" and voting for Hillary (thanks Rush Limbaugh, idiot) to beat out Obama time will tell my friends...

Did I mention that i LOVE this time of year? It gets my juices flowin'!

THIS is really inappropriate

So I know that no one really wants to hear my two-cents but since I have this blog I'm just gonna let 'er rip. Breast-feeding in public?! AT A RESTAURANT!!! Yes yes yes people this happened to me today at one of my beloved little eateries in Dallas. The family ordered in front of me so I got to see the little culprit with her parents. I thought she was cute, adorable fam..this is why I was so shocked to see this happen! Isn't she on a feeding schedule? Couldn't they have done this before going out in public for a nice sunday afternoon brunch? I get that this bakery is family dining but DAMN GURL some things need to be left at home. That's my two-cents and I'm stickin' to it. I understand, maybe, breastfeeding on like a park bench, central park, on a play-date but NOT a Highland Park Cafe. OR anywhere with food present at that matter. Can't she pump out her own milk? So many things could have been done to prevent this trainwreck that turned out to be my lunch.. Now I'm on the lookout for people who do this at restaurants. Okay, so there it is. Done. I said it and I hope no one thinks I'm a bad person for it.

PS: This photo is from a highly controversial United Colors of Benneton ad. We discussed it in my Advertising Ethics class.

Janet's Makin' a Comeback

Maybe talent isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I speak of Janet Jackson-you probably think about her crazy family but maybe you should reconsider. Janet has been in showbiz since a tot and regardless of her family issues, this girl's got talent. Remember Velvet Rope? Yea, you should. Despite the weight gain, and constant media scrutiny I think that this album has definitely got potential! Although, this song that I have the link to sounds like a cricket is in the background (listen closely)