Tina Fey

   If I had to think of one person who was responsible for my love and excitement for television and film, it would have to be Tina Fey. I don’t know if it’s the fact that she’s an amazing actress, a wonderful writer, or just simply reminds me of myself, but Tina Fey is a huge reason in why I want to work in show business.

    I do have to say that when I had first realized that I wanted to write scripts for a living in high school, comedy wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. In fact, it was the opposite. I wanted to write movies about depression, suicide, and sadness, something that would make people cry and question their own existence. I don’t know what the exact reason was for me changing my mind so drastically over what I wanted to write, but I feel like Tina Fey had something to do with it. One day I woke up and realized I didn’t want to make people sad or depressed, I wanted to make them laugh. 

    I’m not going to lie. The first time I had even heard of Tina Fey was when she was impersonating Sarah Palin on SNL. I had thought she was just another actor on the show and didn’t really pay all that much attention to her. A year or so later I found myself watching 30 rock. The show she not only starred in, but basically brought to life being the creator, writer, and producer. I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t watching the show because I had found it incredibly entertaining, but because it came on after The Office and I just didn’t really feel like getting off the couch. 

    Overtime, I grew a great love for 30 rock. One, some might call an obsession. It was so witty and wonderful, and being a teenager who didn’t really date ever, I found the character Liz Lemon to be an inspiration. A single 30 something woman with a kick-ass writing job in New York City? What more could a girl want? (Hint: I believe this is one of the many reasons I aspire to be a writer in NYC.)

   With my love for Liz Lemon growing, I found myself searching for what else Tina Fey had done. She just really seemed to get me, and being a teenager girl, that was almost an impossible thing to do. To my surprise she had written Mean Girls. You know, just the most quotable movie of all time. No biggie. She was also the head writer on SNL for a while. Whoops. Remember when I thought she was just another actress on there? Yeah, she had actually already left the show and was asked to come back because of her striking resemblance to Palin. 

    Tina Fey was also the author of a book entitled Bossypants. It’s a tell all of her awkward beginnings as a theatre student to her awkward encounters as a successful career woman. If I wasn’t totally in love with Tina Fey before, I most definitely was after reading her book. She is an incredible woman, filled with incredible stories and ideas. While it breaks my heart that she has no idea who I am, she is a huge part of why I am the way I am. 

Anchorman 2

   Last week I finally saw Anchorman 2. Now, let me point out that I’m not normally a huge fan of stupid humor. I do however, for some reason, very much enjoy the Anchorman movies. Or I just really love the cast. I mean, seriously, talk about a dream cast. This movie was drowning in hilarious celebrities. 

   The plot was of course, stupid and weird, but I mean, that’s kind of why you go to see this kind of movie. You go to seem something stupid and weird that will take your mind of the stressful and awful things going on in your life. That’s the point of comedy. 

   Ron Burgundy is enraged that he gets fired while his wife Veronica Corningstone get’s a promotion to be the lead anchorwoman. Of course, being the man he is, Burgundy makes his wife choose between himself and the job, so naturally, she picks the job. Being alone and no longer an anchor, Burgundy finds himself working at Sea World, in which, he gets fired from as well. 

   Freddie Schapp, an executive from GNN, the world’s first 24 hour news channel, offers Burgundy a once in a lifetime opportunity to get back on the air. After declaring the idea of a 24 hour news station, ridiculous, Burgundy decided to reunite his old team and head out to New York. Even though Champ was selling bats as fried chicken, Brick was dead, and Brian had become an established cat photographer, they left that all behind and headed up to New York with Burgundy.

   Once in New York, the team finds out that they were hired for the graveyard shift, and how essentially, no one would be watching. However, with getting into a fight with the prime time guy, Jack Lime, Burgundy makes a bet in which if the graveyard shift didn’t get more viewers then prime time, he and his team would move back to San Diego. If they won, Jack Lime would have to change his name to Jack Lame. 

   While in real life, we know this is impossible, because even if his presentation of the news was pure gold, most people would be asleep, simply unable to see his perfection. For the sake of film reasons though, Burgundy and his team win the bet and therefor get moved to the prime time slot, and Jack Lime became Jack Lame. In this success, everything starts to really well for Burgundy. The audience loves him and he starts a romance with his young and very pretty boss. So, what could go wrong?

   While ice skating for some event, Jack Lame decided to throw a cord out onto the ice, one that I’m guessing he hoped Burgundy would trip and fall over. Burgundy, however, does more than that. He falls so hard he goes blind, costing him his career, his hot young girlfriend, and his dignity. Naturally this would be the time in which he reconnect with Veronica Corningstone and his son, as well as become an excellent artist and shark owner.

   Fortunately, in today’s day in age, there was a procedure in which to fix his blindness. With his sight in tact, nothing else could hold him back from becoming the anchorman he was born to be. The question is, would his career take the place of his new found relationship with his family? They answer is yes, and Burgundy chose his family over his career, fighting all sorts of news teams on his way (best part of the movie). 

   The story has a happy ending and left me in a great mood. I would definitely recommend seeing this. 

Beautiful Darkness

   I feel like everyone between the ages of 14-25 has probably heard of Beautiful Creatures by Kim Garcia and Margaret Stohl. You know, they one that was made into a movie in 2013, that while it was good, killed the wrong person at the end of the movie, thus completely ruining it? Well, after my nearly half of year grudge over the movie, I decided to read the second book, Beautiful Darkness. 

   If there’s one thing I regret in my high school years, it’s not reading enough. While I was an avid reader in elementary school and now in college, I read maybe two or three books a year in high school. The reason I say that is, it’s extremely hard to read about a burning romance between two sixteen year olds, when you yourself, is a very single, never had a boyfriend, went to prom alone, eighteen year old. So, with that being said, I believe if the book lost a little of the “mushy-gushy, I’m only sixteen, but I know what true love is” bullshit, it would have been a lot more entertaining, as well as about one hundred pages shorter. 

   However, I must give some credit to Kami Garcia and Margaret, for making me like a Fantasy book. I’ve never really been a fan of the supernatural. It’s nothing personal. I’ve just never really found it all that entertaining. In the sixth grade I got halfway through the first Harry Potter book, before finding the whole thing with wizards and magic boring, and moving on to The Clique series by Lisi Harrison. (Sorry Harry Potter fans. Please don’t hate me. I promise to read through the series one day.) I don’t know if I like the Beautiful Creatures series because the majority of the story is told by a mortal, who’s girlfriend happens to have powers, or the fact that my mind is opening up to find more topics interesting. (See Harry Potter fans! There’s still a chance.) Whatever the reason is, the story line is good enough to keep my attention.

   Favorite character you may ask? Probably Link. Being the best friend of a guy who’s dating a light/dark caster, this guy is pretty chill. He’s up for anything, doesn’t really take anything too seriously, and is helplessly in love with Leah’s older sister Ridley, who happens to be a siren. (I’m not good at explaining characters or terms only known in certain series, so you’re just going to have to read the series in order to understand what I’m saying. I strongly suggest you read this series.) 

   I’m not going to lie. I was kind of ready for the book to be over. It’s over 500 pages, and like I said earlier, at least a hundred of them are mushy-gushy crap. So of course, by the time I hit the last paragraph, I was overjoyed. That excitement only lasted a short while though, because as it turns out, the last sentence is a cliff hanger. I now must read Beautiful Chaos. 

Sports with Carson Eckerty

This weekend was the 2nd round of the NFL playoffs. For some it was a stepping stone to the conference finals while for others it was a season ender. The first game of the weekend was between the terrifying Seattle Seahawks and the road wary New Orleans Saints. The game started with neither team being able to put together a drive but the Seahawks finished the 1st quarter with a 6-0 lead on the Saints. The Hawks came out in the second quarter with a fire, with Marshawn Lynch running in a 15 yard touchdown with just 9 seconds off the clock. The Saints on the other hand didn’t get anything going until the 4th quarter when they ran in a touchdown and had a successful 2-point conversion to cut the lead to only 8. But then Marshawn Lynch came back a few drives later and destroyed any chance of a Saints comeback with a 31 yard touchdown. The Seahawks ended up winning 23-15.

The second saturday game was between Tom Brady’s Patriots and Andrew Luck’s Colts. The first quarter was a shootout, with the Patriots LeGarrette Blount putting up 14 on two touchdowns and the Colts putting up 7 with an Andrew Luck touchdown pass to Brazill. In the second the Pats started to pull away by putting up another touchdown while only giving up a field goal and a safety to lead the Colts 21-12 at halftime. The Colts attempted a comeback in the 3rd by bringing the deficit down to only 7, but it was the Pats time to shine in the 4th. Steven Ridley and LeGarrette Blount put up a touchdown each and the defense didn’t give up a thing to the comeback Colts ending their run. The patriots won the game 43-22.

To start out the Sunday games, the 49ers were set to take on the Panthers. The 49ers struck first with 2 field goals in the first leading the Panthers 6-0 at the end of the first. But Cam Newton and the Panthers stormed back with a quick touchdown in the second   and a field goal in the middle of the quarter to jump up  to a 10-6 lead over the 49ers, but Kaepernick came in and threw a touchdown at the end of the quarter to Vernon Davis to lead at the half. The second half was much different, with the 49ers putting up 10 points without giving up a point to win the game 23-10 over the Panthers.

The final game of the weekend was between Peyton Manning’s Broncos and Philip Rivers’ Chargers. The Broncos being heavy favorites going into the game did not disappoint in the 1st half, with Manning throwing 2 touchdowns to lead the Chargers 14-0 at the half. The 3rd quarter didn’t change a thing with Broncos hitting a lone field goal to take a 17-0 lead going into the 4th. The 4th quarter was much different. Philip Rivers came out with a passion to win the game throwing 2 touchdowns and getting the Chargers a field goal, but couldn’t overcome the deficit losing 24-17.

Novelette

   If you haven’t listened to Novelette’s debut album, Everything is Happening Now, then you seriously need to be questioning what you’ve been doing with your life. It’s the ultimate singer-songwriter album, filled with fantastic lyrics and a unique voice. I’ve been following Cara Salimando, who is Novelette, since she released her first EP back in 2010, entitled Dust. She has such a poetic way of saying simple things, and I just can’t get over it. While I love Taylor Swift, I think Novelette could give her a run for her money in the lyrics category. She’s that good.

   Everything is Happening Now, holds a few of her songs from earlier releases, like “Deceive,” “Bookmark,” and “Lost Boys,” as well as holds new material like “Younger Hands” and “Stars.” The new just as good as the old. Catchy beats. Catchy lyrics. Catchy artist. It’s kind of impossible to hate her or her work, with it being as honest and beautiful as it is. 

   My favorite song on the album has to be “Bookmark,” which was one of her older songs from a previous EP. Now if you’re not going to check out Everything is Happening Now, then I feel like you have to at least check out “Bookmark.” I have no idea how this song is so hidden from the mass of the population, because this is probably one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. I even wrote an essay about it for my college English class. It’s that good, I promise. 

   Another song that I really like is “Run Away,” which is one of her newer ones. There’s a very raw and eerie essence “Run Away” gives off. The beat is steady and her voice is soft and almost spooky sounding. The lyrics are, of course, haunting and beautiful as always, contributing to the eerie essence. To be honest, it kind of sounds like a creepy lullaby, which I think is awesome. 

   This album is full of so many wonderful songs, it’s nearly a crime not to check them out. Novelette is extremely talented, and there’s no doubt that she’ll have a bright future in the music industry. Everything is Happening Now, is pure art, filled with poetic thoughts and ideas. I literally aspire to be as creative as her. 

Frances Ha

   One of my favorite films of 2013, was Frances Ha. While it was released in 2012 for film festivals it wasn’t until mid 2013 before it found its way to the public and Netflix, which is where I discovered it in early december. There were so many things that I thought were absolutely brilliant about this picture. Everything from the opening credits to the ending credits were perfect, truly capturing the essence of what it’s like to be a young adult in this world. 

   This film takes place in my favorite place in the world, New York City. It’s about a twenty-seven year old girl named Frances, played by Greta Gerwig, who is an apprentice for a dance company. While Frances does break up with her boyfriend towards the beginning of the film, the entire story is about her “break up” with her best friend Sophie, played by Mickey Sumner. 

   Both friends deal with problems of growing up. Frances’ including not having a steady income and not getting accepted into the dance company, and Sophie’s including getting into a serious relationship and having to move to another country to support her future spouse. This of course puts a great deal of stress on their relationship, but like all good stories, things end up wonderfully for both young women, and everything is all rainbows and butterflies in their friendship.

   I just can’t get over how positive this picture is. Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig wrote the perfect coming of age script. Leaving out all the crap that usually fills the pages. There’s no addictions, no hating one’s self, and no being saved by a boy. This film is really all about Frances, and her dealing with not getting the career she originally wanted, but learning to love the one she got anyway. It’s about her having to let her best friend move on without her, becoming someone else’s roommate and someone else’s right hand man. It’s about her truly growing up, in a healthy way. I absolutely loved this movie. 

The Bitch Posse

   This is one of those books that I bought solely on the name of the book. I mean, I of course read the back of the book to make sure it wasn’t something crazy, but with the simple description of three misfits and how their lives are forever bound together. So, being what I call a “misfit” myself, I had no other choice but to read The Bitch Posse by Martha O’Connor, and I’m glad I did.

   I have to say, the first quarter or so of the book made me question ever picking it up in the first place. It was extremely dark, dirty, and well, scary. Not exactly the kind of thing I was into. I didn’t really like any of the characters, nor did I find their ridiculous obsession over drugs, alcohol, and sex all that interesting. In fact, I became infuriated with the characters, wondering why they willfully put themselves into stupid situations and why they were so careless with their lives. 

   I don’t know if it was the fact that I forced myself to keep reading, or the fact that I the book actually became interesting, but by the middle of the book, I was hooked. I spent nearly every free moment I had reading, just to see how my precious three characters were. I prayed for them, worried about them, and hoped they would make good choices, just like the mother none of them really had. I became pathetically involved with this ridiculous book.

   By the end, I found myself using one hand to cover my eyes as I read their childhood memory that had bound them together forever, through the space between my fingers. My body cringing at the one last dumb mistake they made together. Wondering to myself, why did they have to go to far? Who other than a psychotic murderer would think of such thing? Why? These were three nice girls, why did they do that? 

   Overall, I’m happy that I read The Bitch Posse by Martha O’Connor. It was intense, it was sad, and it was pretty terrifying. I loved how the author made three unlovable characters lovable, and the dumb things they do, seem not so bad. O’Connor was absolutely brilliant in the way that she developed the story.

New Year, New Weight

   The New year always calls for new resolutions, and there’s always one resolution that people seem to make more than others, losing weight. Like most everyone in the world, I feel like I could be a few pounds lighter. Instead of coming up with this crazy diet plan for the new year in hopes of dropping a few pounds, I’ve decided just to make a few small lifestyle choices. I’ve started drinking more water, eating slower, and grabbing fruit in the middle of the night instead of a chocolate. Nothing huge, nothing dramatic, just something simple. To my surprise, this lifestyle change is actually working. From new years day to today I’ve lost two pounds. Which I think is pretty good, if I do say so myself. Hopefully, by sticking to this plan I’ll be able to lose fifteen pounds by the end of the semester, that actually doesn’t even start until next monday. Good vibes are appreciated. 

Beyonce

    Leave it to Beyonce to do the impossible. In 2013 Beyonce dropped a secret visual album, filled with 14 songs and 17 videos, breaking the record on iTunes for most albums sold in a debut week with an astonishing 828,773 copies. It’s no wonder why people call her the Queen. Beyonce is absolutely flawless in her videos, really showing a range of her artistry and creativity. Not only did she shoot in beautiful locations, but she also had beautiful costumes and make-up, all fitting in perfectly with each individual video. 

 Of course, being the wonderful mother and wife she is, her husband Jay-Z as well as her baby girl, got to be in a couple of videos. I personally think it’s really cool that they both made features because it makes the songs and videos that much more personal. These are two of the most important people in her life and they’re a part of her, so the fact that they were in it, shows that the album is personal. What would an album be if it didn’t reveal some kind of truth about the person releasing it? 

    One of my favorite songs and video was “Pretty Hurts.” Not only did it have wonderful and meaningful lyrics, but it also showed great emotion through the video. While I normally don’t like when people portray Beauty pageants negatively, because some people genuinely like doing them, I did think that the video was tastefully done. I liked how she showed the unglamorous side of getting beautiful, like waxing lips and obsessing over every little thing you eat. It was real, and the fact that Beyonce was the one singing about how being pretty hurts, that makes an incredible statement. Beyonce doesn’t have a thigh gap, nor does she have a models body. She looks like a woman and she owns it. That fact alone sets a great example to anyone with self image issues. 

    Another one of my favorites was “Haunted,” that literally stayed in my head for about a week after I first heard it. This is also, by far, my favorite video out of the entire album. This video is so unlike anything Beyonce’s ever put out before, and it was just wonderful. It was artsy, it was weird, and it was sexy, which happens to be my favorite combination. I would also like to know who her costume and make-up people are, because she looked kind of amazing with her 20s style hair, powdered face, blue eye shadow, red lips, and very fashionable pant suit. Her set was also quite amazing, with a haunted mansion full of very odd people experiencing very odd lives in every room. If this video doesn’t win some kind of award, I think I might possibly die. It was honestly that good.

    Another video I really liked was Flawless. It starts off with almost a personal attack on the audience, letting everyone know that she’s not just someone’s wife, she’s an independent person who, as we all know, is very successful. There’s also like this intermission in the song, in which a very intelligent sounding women talks about how women aren’t allowed to be sexual creatures as men are allowed to be, and how women are taught never to surpass their husbands in ambitions. This is followed by the definition of feminism which is of course “the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” The song then transitions into an empowering anthem in which everyone is flawless, no matter what. It’s the way you wake up, the way you are throughout the day, and the way you go to bed, flawless.

    This was by far the most innovative album of the year, surely paving the road for more visual albums in the future. I think Beyonce discovered a new found art that allows every day people to actually understand the emotions and feelings behind each and every song, instead of just one or two. It’s almost as if Beyonce is taking the world back to the time in which albums were meant to be listened to as albums, not as singles, and to be honest, I like that. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I’m going to be honest. I am not a huge fan of thriller books. For as long as I can remember I’ve been absorbed by girly chick-flick like books, filled with romance and cheesy endings. However, being a college student who would like to have a future in writing, I thought it was only fitting to start expanding my reading list. Therefor, with much worry and unease, I picked up a copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. 

I’m not joking in the slightest when I say that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is probably one of the most well written novels I’ve ever read, including required school readings. I was utterly flabbergasted at how beautifully Larsson weaved his words and sentences together to create this story full of emotions and surprising twists. I couldn’t help but wonder to myself if I’ve actually been stunting my own literature growth by sticking to only one genre, and after reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I’m certain. 

One of my favorite favorite things about Larsson is how he forms characters. By the end of the novel I felt that both Blomvist and Salander (the main characters in the novel) were my long lost friends. Blomvist being someone who seems very calm on the outside while wondering what the hell he was going to do on the inside, and Salander, being someone I would look up to with her daringness and confidence. I thought it was absolutely brilliant the way Larsson organized his chapters, intertwining both Blomvist and Salander’s lives until their lives actually became intertwined. 

While I thought the Journalism drama with the political magazine Millennium was interesting, it held no comparison to the drama of the murder mystery. I mean, I understand why it held a place in the novel, because it was the reason that Blomvist found himself with enough of time to go to some remote location and work on a murder mystery, but at the end of the novel, after the murder was solved and all was good in that category, the book still had about fifty or so pages left dedicated to finishing up the Journalism drama. It wasn’t as if the last fifty pages were completely boring, it was just that the end of the murder mystery was so interesting and intense, the last fifty pages didn’t stand a chance. 

If you’re looking for a novel to read in the new year, I would definitely recommend reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s full of adventure, surprising twists, a badass female, and well written words, that will surely all keep you on your toes. I honestly can’t wait to read the sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire.

Sports with Carson Eckerty

NFL Wild Card Weekend has come to close this sunday with no shortage of comebacks and shattered dreams. Eight teams battled for a spot in the playoffs this weekend but only four could advance. 

The first game this weekend was between the Kansas City Chiefs and the up and coming Indianapolis Colts. The game started with a Kansas City strike in the first four minutes of the game giving the Chiefs and early lead. But Andrew Luck and the Colts would not roll over, even after being down 31-10 at halftime the Colts would not give up. Despite throwing an interception in the first half, Luck came out in the second to throw three touchdowns and even run one in himself (while also throwing two more interceptions) to lead the Colts on unbelievable comeback to beat the Chiefs 45-44.

The second saturday game was fought by the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints came into the game as underdogs because of their road woes throughout the season. Phily on the other hand, was riding a hot streak coming into the game winning 7 of their last 8. Neither team was able to score in the first quarter, but the saints were the first to strike in the second with a 36 yard field goal to take a 3-0 nothing lead. At the end of the half the score didn't change much with Philadelphia leading 7-6. During half time Sean Payton, the Saints head coach must of given the Saints some major inspiration because they came out swinging in the second half scoring 2 touchdowns and 2 field goals to beat the Eagles 26-24.

The opening game on sunday was between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Neither team could get anything going in the first until the Chargers Danny Woodhead ran in a 5 yard touchdown in the last minute of the quarter. The Bengals dominated the second quarter putting a touchdown and a field goal to lead San Diego 10-7 at halftime. The second half was a completely different story with the Chargers scoring both a pair of touchdowns and a pair of field goals while holding the Bengals scoreless to win the game 27-10.

The final game of Wild Card Weekend brought the San Francisco 49ers to freezing Green Bay in one of the coldest games in NFL history. Despite the frigid temperatures the 49ers got off to a hot start hitting 2 field goals in the first quarter while Green Bay remained scoreless. But the Packers didn't let the first quarter blues get to them by coming out and scoring the first touchdown of the second quarter. The 49ers came right back and scored a touchdown of their own but it was Green Bay who had the last laugh of the half by hitting a field goal with no time remaining on the clock. In the second half neither team came out of the gates strong with no score in the third. The fourth quarter turned into a shootout with both teams scoring a touchdown and a field goal which led to a 23-20 win for the 49ers.

-Carson Eckerty

Woody Allen

Being the documentary and biography feen that I am, I couldn’t resist watching the two part Woody Allen documentary, Woody Allen, A Documentary, that’s currently on Netflix. While I’ve considered myself a Woody Allen fan for years, it turns out I know absolutely zero about him. For example, did you know he used to have awful stage fright? That he used to write jokes for a newspaper while he was in high school? That Woody Allen isn’t even his actual name? I mean, I suppose I should have known that his life had to be kind of interesting considering he has a two part documentary over him, but wow, this guy is incredible. 

Something I found especially interesting was the fact that he’s starred in a good number of his films. I guess considering I’ve only seen two of his films, both in which he didn’t star in, I had no idea that that was uncommon for a Woody Allen film. Being a writer myself, I found it incredibly inspiring that Woody Allen does it all, he writes, directs, and he acts. That would seriously be my dream job. I mean, I have yet to have a movie idea that doesn’t involve me being the main character, and until seeing this, I’ve always seen that as a bad thing. Constantly wondering how awful it would be to see someone else play out the part you had written with yourself in mind. I guess I just found the fact that he does it all so interesting because it allows me to relate to a creative genius. This guy has the same aspirations as I do. That’s so weird. 

Another thing that I found absolutely fascinating in his documentary was that he keeps a box of ideas written on anything from hotel paper to a piece of scratch paper. I love the fact that they aren’t even complete ideas, just things that he thinks might make a good movie. You cannot possibly fathom how much that inspires me. Since watching this documentary I’ve started forcing myself to turn on the lamp next to my bed in the middle of the night and write down whatever thought, line, or scene that could maybe one day be something fantastic. I mean, who knows?

Like all other vintage loving hipsters like myself, I nearly fell on the floor when I found out that he’s writes all of his scripts on a typewriter. How cool is that? Imagine, right now, Woody Allen could be at his house writing about some idea in his magical box of ideas, on his old typewriter. That just makes me so excited to be alive, I don’t really know how to explain it. I feel just so, oh I don’t know, happy? I’m so happy that this kind of person exists. 

After watching his documentary I have this uncontrollable urge to write and create. The writers block that has cursed me for almost a year and a half seems to be subsiding and I’m ready to get back into the ring. Woody Allen was once a nervous, weird teenager, like myself, and look where he is now. I can only find that encouraging. 

-Shelby Eckerty

French Journey

I’ve always looked up to people who know more than one language. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it makes a person seem that much more intelligent, which if you think about it, is very much true. Not only does it double your knowledge in languages, it gives you the opportunity to expand your experiences. It literally open up a whole new world.

Now, while I’ve always wanted to learn a language, I’ve never really had the motivation to actually learn one. (I struggle with motivation in a lot of parts of my life.) Lucky me, I’ve finally found some inspiration. In order to graduate from the RTVF program at my university, I’m required to take four semesters of a foreign language. Considering I took three years of spanish in middle school and high school, you would think I would just go ahead and continue on that path. However, I’ve decided to pursue another one, French. 

Obviously, I have several reasons on why I’ve decided to pursue French rather than Spanish. Reason one, I barely passed Spanish in high school. Reason two, I remember absolutely nothing from what I learned in the three years. Reason three, French sounds pretty. Reason four, I hope to one day visit France on not come across as an ignorant American. 

Therefor, I am taking French. Due to conflicts in my schedule, I can’t start taking any French courses until this summer, but being the intelligent go-getter that I am, I’ve decided to go ahead and get a head start. I found this podcast called “Coffee Break French” that teaches you basic French in nice little twenty-ish minute sesseions. I’ve actually only done one so far, but I’m feeling pretty confident. Who knows, maybe I’ll actually learn enough to test out of the one of the beginning classes. 

-Shelby Eckerty

The Year of Miley Cyrus

Whether you like her, hate her, despise her, adore her, or simply don’t care, you know who Miley Cyrus is. At only twenty-one, Miley has made quite a name for herself, putting out an impressive album, releasing explicit music videos, and delivering gossip worthy performances. It’s no question why people are saying that 2013 was the year of Miley Cyrus. 

You’re either deaf or a lier if you think Miley isn’t talented. While she was one of the many Disney stars who had singer careers, Miley was one of the few who could actually sing. Her new album Bangerz was musically interesting, demonstrating several different music styles and techniques. She goes from modern pop with “Wrecking Ball” to late 90s pop with “#GETITRIGHT” to a jazzy feel with “FU.” I think the reason this record is so brilliant is because it pushes so many boundaries. This is so completely different from anything she’s ever released and therefor a huge risk. I believe it was a wise choice for her to not listen to what the audience “wanted,” and go with what she actually wanted to do. You’ll never be successful when you’re only goal is to please people. 

While Miley’s album didn’t get as much attention as I thought it deserved, her music videos made up for it. “We Can’t Stop” was in essence what started off her new image in the music industry. While a good chunk of the population didn’t find her decision to have a wild and crazy video, I thought it fit pretty well with the song. The song was about being young and with friends, and that’s exactly what the video entailed. Another video that wasn’t super accepted by the population with “Wrecking Ball” which happens to be one of my favorite music videos of all times. It was raw, it was artistic, and it was a risk. If some unknown indie artist had came out with that video, they would have probably gotten an award, but since Miley was a Disney Star, people thought it was inappropriate. *Insert eye roll here* Last but not least, a good chunk of people disliked her music video for “Adore You.” While this wasn’t my favorite music video, it really irritates me about the comments left for this music video on Youtube. People called her a “slut” and a “whore,” as well as calling her video “soft porn.” Seriously? That was her vision for her song, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch it.  

The only thing getting more talk than her music videos, are her performances. Do the VMA’s ring a bell? People seem to forget that the VMA’s are a place where artist are supposed to make a statement. Madonna, Britney Spears, Rihanna...have all had their fair share of racy performances. It confuses me when people complain about these performances when if the performances were all boring and safe, they would complain about that. People need to find something to appreciate in everything, not find something to hate. If Miley wants to get half naked and dance provocatively around the stage, you should appreciate her confidence. I mean, are you confident enough to do that? If people stopped being so judgmental and hateful they might actually get to enjoy something. 

My opinion of Miley Cyrus? I like her. She’s crazy and weird, and just does what she wants. I think she’s freakishly talented and I think she’s very good at her job. She knows how to get people to talk and she knows what can get her on the cover of magazines. She’s confident in who she is and gives off a positive body image. I’ve always been confused as to why people says she’s a bad role model, because she’s simply a twenty-one year old girl who is being herself. I didn’t realize that was a crime. Your twenties are a time to discover yourself and be a little crazy. I’m also confused as to how those people who say she’s a bad role model don’t understand that they themselves are being  bad role models, by judging someone based off of who they are. Bullying is a serious thing and it’s not okay to leave hateful comments about Miley on the internet nor is it okay to talk about her disrespectfully. I think Miley is doing just fine and I can’t wait to see what’s to come from her in 2014.

-Shelby Eckerty

Happy New Year

How does one simply start a blog? This has been the question that has bothered me for the better part of 2013. There have been so many nights where I lay in bed unable to sleep, my fingertips trembling with inspiration to create. However one night of inspiration isn’t enough to create a decent blog, it’s only good enough to create a decent post.

This year I’m going to try my best not to lose inspiration and write as many wonderful posts as I can. I’m going to write about life, pop culture, and ideas, not only to better myself in writing informational articles but also expand my knowledge simply over life. Hopefully I’ll be able to stick to my plan and in a year from now I’ll be able to look back over 365 different articles, all about random things that had caught my interest. 

If there’s something you want written about or you just simply want to give feedback, my e-mail is drinkingcoffeeonthemoon@gmail.com. I would love to here what you all have to say. Thank you for reading, and wish me luck on a year of writing.

P.s. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sincerely,

Shelby Eckerty