The ShannQ

A Drug That Holds The Key to Happiness??

2012-01-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching one of the most fascinating videos I've seen in a very long time, but I want to explain a little bit about how I found it in the first place.
For the past month or so, I've formed a new obsession with learning about antiques. Maybe it's because my parent's house is full of them, and I love the concept of buying something at a yard sale that's actually worth thousands of dollars at an auction.

I started watching the BBC show Cash in the Attic, and decided to look up more information on the show's peppy and super-sweet host Alistair Appleton. His blog, "Do Buddhists Watch Telly?" had this video at the top of the page, and I laughed out loud when he opens with the line: "I'm Alistair Appleton, and I'm shitting myself."
Then, he started talking about something I never imagined in a million years that this professional TV personality would ever say: Drugs.
But not just any drug. This video is about a plant called Ayahuasca, which is found in the Brazilian rain forest. It's been used by Shamans for years in order to become one with the Universe.

The Man Who Drank the Universe from alistair Appleton on Vimeo.

I'm not even going to attempt to explain Alistair's experience. I think if you're interested enough as it is, watch the video.
It reminds me of the drug in Limitless. Apparently, it opens up your mind so that everything is clear, and you understand what you need to do in order to move forward with your life. It's supposed to be like "six years of therapy condensed into six hours".

I've never done drugs before in my life, and I barely drink alcohol. The concept of flying to Brazil to spend a week taking drugged tea seems a bit insane, but I'm left feeling wildly curious. Everyone who has come back from an ayahuasca experience seems to have changed for the better. Either way, I thought I'd share this with you all.

The Hunger Games: New Classic, or Another Teen Fad?

2012-01-21T11:39:00.000-08:00

Over Winter Break, I read the second and third books of the Hunger Games trilogy: Mockingjay, and Catching Fire. After a lot of tears and melancholy hours, I sat back and reflected on what I thought of this series as a whole. (Please note that I am NOT going to spoil anything for those of you who had not finished, or are planning on beginning this trilogy any time soon. However, I think there are enough synopsises of the plot that exist out there and the movie trailer, so I'm not going to waste time on that, either.)

At the beginning of this 1984 meets Battle Royale series, I thought of the catch-your-female-audience's attention- formula that has been used in literature since Jane Austin: A young girl has two boys in love with her at once, and she can't make a decision! The suspense! The drama! While Twilight seemed to cash in on this plot point, I believe that The Hunger Games will actually stand the test of time, even when vampires become old news.

For one- the story is actually well written. Suzanne Collins doesn't seem to care what her audience wants in a perfectly happy ending. Whether teenagers read this deeply into it or not, Suzanne Collins is out to teach the world a lesson: Acceptance of others through learning about their differences, responsibility in life, and the danger of repeating history with continuous creation of new wars.

The main character, Katniss Everdeen, isn't even that likeable of a character. Personally, I didn't like her at all, beyond the fact that she had a strong love for her family. However, she hated herself more than anyone else did. Katniss had a believable inner dialogue of insecurities that were only countered by the compliments of others, which brought a jump of surprise in my mind. It got me thinking about outside perspectives, and that age-old saying that teenagers need to remember: Not everyone is paying attention to you as much as you may think.

Unfortunately for Katniss, people are paying attention to her, because she is the famous Tribute of District 12, so she has an actual reason to freak out. I think that by comparison, young readers can see that their lives are not as bad as they think. Every character shows such growth and humanity, and there are many people who are not what they seem. (Unlike the characters of Twilight who have no personality at all!)

I think that the themes of this book will stand the test of time. I sincerely hope that The Hunger Games is taught in schools in the future. While it gets very dark by the end, I recommend young people to read this book if they are around the age of 12 and up.

Indie Artists I Love

2012-01-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Crystal and Maurice from Eyeshine

This past weekend, I went to a couple different shows for the band Eyeshine, and it got me thinking about how many independent bands exist out there that deserve attention. I'd like to highlight a few of my favorite lesser-known bands and artists that I'm currently listening to. These artists live off of the revenue made through music purchased on iTunes or by their EP sales, and they don't have the support of a big record label behind them. Even if this blog inspires one more person to listen to any of these guys, it's worth it.

1. In Ohm.
Kyle, the leader singer and guitarist of this band, was in my Creative Writing class about two years ago. He is genuinely a nice guy, and as soon as I heard his song "On Our Way", I knew that he was really talented and deserved to get his big break. His style reminds me a lot of Dave Matthews Band. They have some songs from their new EP for free on Band Camp. This video is of their song "Old Growth Forest"

2. Eyeshine
As I said, I just saw Eyeshine this past weekend, and I thought they were amazing live. It's hard to find a band that carries over their talent from the recording studio to the stage. Johnny Yong Bosch is known for being the Black Power Ranger, and he also voices a lot of popular anime characters, but even without that fact, I can sincerely say that I would enjoy their music if I had never known who he was. Every single member of the band is talented. Ji, who plays lead guitar, was ripping it like crazy. Crystal is on bass, and Maurice is on drums. I'm definitely going to be listening to a lot more of their music.

3. Luke Conard
Luke doesn't need my help getting popular. He's already a YouTube celebrity, and he won the NextUp competition last year. On average, his videos get anywhere from 100,000 to well over a million. He is half of All Caps, and part of fandom bands like The Oceanic Six and Ministry of Magic. For some reason, I'm obsessed with the song he did with Ryan Seiler, "Worth It". I also love the fact that it's an original song, not just a cover like a lot of the videos he puts up on his YouTube channel.

4. Landon Austin
Texas-born Landon Austin has one of those silky voices that you can't help but love. His style is along the lines of John Mayer and Jason Mraz in the majority of his songs, but this cover of Taylor Swift's "Sparks Fly" is pure country. He is so sweet in his vlog videos, and I hope that he eventually gets a record deal.

5. The Morning Of
For a while, I was absolutely obsessed with The Morning Of. Before I got my GPS, I heard that they were playing at University of Delaware, which is about 45 minutes away from me. I thought: How hard could it be? It's just a drive through the country! I ended up feeling like I was the main character of a horror movie (It was night time!) so I went back home. I'm still looking out for an opportunity to see them live, but I've listened to both of their albums a lot.

Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed any of these bands!

Kotoricon 2012

2012-01-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

Con-goers couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day in the beginning of January. At a balmy 60 degrees, attendees of Kotoricon 2012 could be seen picnicking outside and congregating in the spring-like weather until the sun went down. 1,000 people (Over three times the attendance from the previous year!) gathered to celebrate their love of anime.

I couldn't help but get nostalgic of my youth while I listened to excited fans pointing out cosplayers of characters they recognized. Young and old alike were bouncing with joy, chatting with their friends about autographs and pictures they planned on getting, as well as showing off their treasures from the Dealer's Room. I over-heard a woman in the Artist's Alley telling her friend; "I only get to talk to _____ during smaller cons like this. It's a chance for fans to actually spend more personal time with them. If we were at Otakon, it would be impossible."
While Kotoricon may not be the fledgeling it was last year, it manages feel like a huge event without getting over-crowded and uncomfortable.

I spent my day attending the panels of voice actors Johnny Yong Bosch and Stuart Zagnit. I also got to enjoy "Pokeholics Anonymous" by the YouTube comedy troupe Underbelly. Johnny was warm to his fans, and agreed to voice requests of his beloved characters for the audience. After all of the audience's questions were answered, he also told a story about accidentally hitting a homeless woman in the face with a bag of quarters that had me laughing so hard, I cried.

When discussing the unfortunate downfall of Bandai, I asked Johnny how the new age of the Internet piracy has personally effected him.
"It's not what it used to be. It's really hard. My band Eyeshine is still an independent group, so if someone downloads our music from a torrent, it's effecting us, not a record label. It's okay to download one, maybe two of our albums, but as long as our fans buy some of our music, I'd be happy."

Next was the Underbelly Panel, which also had me laughing almost non-stop. Underbelly is an online comedy troupe that has recently enlisted the talents of Stuart Zagnit, the original Professor Oak from Pokemon. Their videos mainly focus on geeky fandom of all kinds, and points out aspects of anime that are painfully true. Fans who asked questions were given random prizes, and they held a Pokemon costume contest judged by Mr. Zagnit and voice actor Jamie McGonnigal. Every panel that I visited was completely full, which was a great change from last year. There's nothing like a crowded room of otaku to make anyone pumped up.

Overall, it was a great convention. I don't have enough space to even describe everything that went on over the two days of Kotoricon, but it was so much fun. I have confidence that every year, the con will continue to grow, and give South Jersey a chance to shine in the world of anime conventions.
For more information about the convention, its guests, or the charities they raised money for, visit their website here.

Click here for a gallery of my Kotoricon 2012 photos!

Kotoricon 2012 VIP Variety Show

2012-01-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

Kotoricon 2012 started out with a bang as excited fans shuffled to the VIP Variety Show hosted by comedian Uncle Yo and Catherine Maiorino from Underbelly. There was a variety of performers; including standup segments by +2 Comedy, musical/dance performance by Promise, songs by Sneko, dances by IchiP, cover songs from a local band Masquite Honey, a sword fighting demonstration by Daniel and Jillian Coglan, and more.

While the crowd may have been smaller than what these performers were used to at larger conventions, everyone was excited and full of energy. A big screen projected music videos, trailers, and skits that made everyone laugh. (Or just scream at pictures of their favorite things.) People were shouting out encouragement and completely random quotes and Internet Memes that made me smile.
It reminded me of how anime conventions always have an effect on people that makes everyone feel like they're automatically friends with one another. It's okay to let loose, and Kotoricon wasn't an exception. At one point, voice actors Bill Rogers and Michele Knotz spoke to the audience about their experiences at past conventions, and it got a laugh out of everyone in the room. Even at an anime con, Uncle Yo had to make a cracks on New Jersey.

The staff wore their super awesome Ninja themed t-shirts and were always on top of things whenever I asked a question. Two of the girls, in particular, Jen and Katie, said that the experience being a Kotoricon staff member was; "Awesome!" and "I wish I could do this every day for the rest of my life!"

Finally, at the end of the night, Eyeshine performed. Their lead singer, Johnny Yong Bosch, is famous for his roles as Vash the Stampede in Trigun, Ichigo in Bleach, the Black Ranger in Power Rangers, and more. Johnny looked at the sitting crowd, and told us that we'd better stand up. Excited fangirls danced like crazy, and I tried my best to get some good shots of their amazing performance. I have listened to a lot of their music, and I can say with all honesty that they were fantastic live.

I was lucky enough to be allowed to sit in the Guest area close to the stage, directly behind Eyeshine during the entire variety show. It crossed my mind to take a picture, but that would just be incredibly creepy to take a picture of the back of Johnny's head from 4 feet away.
(Almost as creepy as my trying to take advantage of my Backstage Pass. The shots just ended up looking something like this:)

A Kotoricon 2012 moment I already know I will never forget happened while I was standing in the front of the crowd but off to the side, trying to look at my camera screen as people bob around me. I looked down for only a moment, only to look up and see Uncle Yo suddenly appear two feet away from me, dancing like crazy, and a Cat Girl began dancing feverishly with him. I died laughing, only to see Yo disappear into the crowd, never to be seen again...At least until tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories from Kotoricon!

Get Excited!

2012-01-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, there's an app for Kotoricon.

In a few short hours, I'm heading off to the Kotoricon Variety Show, which will include a performance by the rock band Eyeshine, famously know for their lead singer Johnny Yong Bosh, the voice of Vash the Stampede, the Black Ranger, and more. (Hopefully I can sit next to Stuart Zagnit, the voice of Professor Oak from Pokemon!) Stay tuned to TheShannQ for pictures, videos, and a review of the 2012 anime convention as it goes on. Their intro video even quotes my article from last year! :D (Kind of). "A Little Anime Con with a Big Heart".

Chubby, Tired, and Nearly Wasted

2011-07-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, I was walking on campus, and a woman holding a stack of colorful flyers asked me, "Would you like to see a free movie?"
Being a broke college student with nothing better to do, I said I would, and took the paper that described a pre-screening of a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

My health-conscious ballerina roommate and I joined the large audience, as well as the creator, Joe Cross. Even though everyone in the room seemed to be a calculated balance of each and every race and body type, we all gasped and laughed at the appropriate moments, and I could tell that everyone left with a sense of one thing: We could be doing so much to live a healthier lifestyle, and it's a lot easier than we think.

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is a documentary of the true story of Joe Cross, a successful Australian businessman who, at 41, found himself suffering from a rare autoimmune disease as well as the standard discomfort of being 100 pounds overweight. He decided to take control of his life by fasting on nothing but home-made juice and water, all while traveling across the US, interviewing people about their eating habits, and even helped change the life of a morbidly obese man, Phil Staples, who had nearly given up hope.

I was so happy to see that the movie premiered on Netflix last week. Ever since I first saw it in the theater two years ago, the story stuck with me, and I always thought to myself, "Some day, I'll just do a 10-day juice fast..."
I'm only 22, without any major health problems (beyond the occasional migraines caused by eating anything with MSG), but I'm still chubby, and I don't have as much energy as I did when I was 17-18. Once I get my next paycheck, I'm going to buy loads of fruits and vegetables and put my mom's new juicer to good use.

Click here to see the trailer

Natural Beauty

2011-07-05T09:33:00.001-07:00

I used to think that proper skin care and beauty treatment was something that only the rich could afford. I would save money for products, because I wanted my skin and hair to look great. But through the magic of YouTube, I've learned so many natural and CHEAP alternatives.
Think about all of the products that you see that are "made with" various fruits, vegetables, or grains. So why not just use a real thing?
One of the best parts about it is that everything I mention below can be made between $1 to $2, instead of spending possibly $100.00 on products at a store.

Avocado
Depending on the complimentary ingredients, avocado can be used as both hair and skin treatment. For the hair treatment, mash up a ripe avocado (I recommend either using a wisk or a food processor. I tried just mashing with a fork my first couple masks, and it left chunky pieces of avocado all over the floor) Mix in 2 teaspoons of honey, and a teaspoon of olive oil. If you have shorter hair, use only half of the avocado. You could possibly use the other half to mash it into just avocado by itself, and put it on your face for moisturizing, (or save it for the body scrub recipe below) while you wait 20 minutes before hopping into the shower. It always makes my hair SO soft. It works just as well as expensive store-bought hair masks.

Yogurt
Plain yogurt (Greek is fine) can be used as a moisturizing face and hair mask as well.

Oatmeal
Remember having the chicken pox as a kid and your mother soaked you in an oatmeal bath? That's because oatmeal has the ability to reduce redness, itchiness, and clear acne.
My family has always had a problem with acne, and my youngest brother, who is 14, is currently starting to break out on his forehead. He's used the store-bought products and creams without much change. But once I saw this video on oatmeal, we've both started using it on a daily basis. My skin has never looked this perfect (I am doing a combination of things, but it helps) and my brother's skin is looking better every day. Remember to moisturize afterward!

Brown Sugar
Exfoliating your skin is really important, especially before shaving or applying any type of spray-on tan for summer. I haven't used the recipe yet from the video below, but I've used store-bought sugar scrubs and I know that it does a good job getting rid of the dead skin from your body.

Cucumbers
I know it's a cliche to have cucumber slices on your eyes while getting a facial, but it really does work to soften and moisturize your skin. My friend's mother takes long, thin slices from a fresh cucumber and applies it to her face on a daily basis. I've tried it before, and I felt like my skin was hydrated and tighter. It's supposed to prevent wrinkles.

I hope these tips helped!

Blogs I Like To Read With My Coffee

2011-06-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share which blogs I personally read. I promise they are much better with keeping things updated than I am.

Yesterday Sucks by Hussein Yussuf
This is mostly a men's fashion blog, but he also updates with art and just cool things in general that he finds. I only just discovered this blog yesterday, and I'm obsessed.

THE BLARG by Justin Shady.
Justin keeps his entries short and sweet, and they're usually about current events, his own personal life, and things he just finds that are cool. He's also friends with people in the film industry, so he sometimes gets some inside-scoops. I've discovered a lot of random stuff through him.

Jenna Marbles Blog by Jenna Mourey
I want to be this girl's best friend. She became popular on YouTube through her video "How To Pretend You're Really Good Looking". She's a gogo dancer with a Master's Degree living in Boston. Her 'blog' is mostly just a plug to her videos, but she also writes actual blog entries. She's hilarious.

Elle and Blair by Elle and Blair Fowler
This blog is strictly for girls, written by sisters Elle and Blair Fowler. They put up beauty tips, random ramblings, fashion hauls...Just a lot of goodies.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
I made an entire entry devoted to this blog before, but it deserves to be mentioned again. I've laughed so hard at these comics that I couldn't breath, and tears were coming to my eyes. I guarantee that these will make you smile at the very least. I recommend the entries "The Party" and anything to do with her legally retarded dog.

Alex Evans
I almost forgot about Alex Evans! He's a fashion photographer/model from Montreal. He has these killer blue eyes and a great sense of style. Like me, he has a busy life, so he doesn't update his blog very often. But I love reading his entries and seeing his pictures. It always inspires me to get back to taking pictures myself.

Michigan Impossible: Insider's Look on the documentary "Catfish"

2011-04-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

On April 26 2011, I attended a screening of the acclaimed documentary Catfish with producer Marc Smerling and editor Zac Stuart-Pontier available for questions afterward. (We were originally supposed to meet the stars/directors Yaniv, Ariel, and Henry, but they couldn't make it).

It wasn't my first time seeing the film, but I was glad to get some 'insider' facts about the making of the movie.
Marc expressed his disappointment with Universal Studio's decision to market the film as a horror/suspense thriller with creepy music in the background of the trailer. The real ending left many people feel cheated and angry as they left the theater.
"I wish they had focused on the humanity," he said.

One audience member commented that if she knew the outcome of the movie, she would have never paid to see it with her friends when it first premiered. But I feel like her opinion was of the type of people who watch movies to be entertained, and not really get involved in a film.

Zac explained that during the process of editing the movie, he read through all of the real-life correspondence between the two main characters through over a thousand messages and hours of video of Yaniv and Megan, and how he got completely involved in the journey of their online relationship. It's hard to not feel some sort of passionate reaction towards the film once the ending credits begin to roll.

There's some debate with fans who think that the story is fictional, and the same audience member that I already mentioned had no problem hiding her vicious accusation that the entire documentary was actually staged.
What do I think?
I believe it's real. I'm not going to spoil the ending. I just suggest you go watch it.

I had only seen the movie once, by myself, on the computer. So it was great to watch it with an audience of film students, because funny moments in the movie are always made better when someone is there to laugh with you. I suggest watching it with a group of people, because it's definitely a discussion starter.

New v. Old School. Is Indie Film Dead?

2011-04-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

On February 8th, 2011, during the Film Forum at Montclair State University, cinematographer Ken Kelsch and director Abel Ferrara repeatedly compared today's media to the way film making used to be twenty years ago, and the fact that they felt that digitalization has ruined the industry for new up-and-coming film makers.They expressed that studying film in college was a waste of time, and that there is no money in the industry any longer. Making a film for art's sake, in their opinion, is a fantasy in the minds of the young. "You can be an artist when you're young, but eventually you have to grow up," Ken stated.

But even before the creation of the Internet, HD, and online pirating, Abel's first feature-length film in 1979, Driller Killer, was admittedly created with the intention to make a profit rather than spread a message or create for art's sake. Abel spoke of their inspiration to create a horror film came from the success of Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1974. This low-budget film became a cult classic practically over night, and Mr. Ferrara seemed to want to jump on the band wagon on genres that seemed to have a real niche with American audiences. He repeated this by making the cop-gone-wrong-in-New-York story of Bad Lieutenant in 1992.

These guests left the student audience with a pessimistic message of, "Independent film is dead", by Ken Kelsch. They both also expressed that they felt today's film makers were lazy, and that New York lacked the type of dynamic community of artistic creativity that it once had. While their words of experience may have left a sour taste in the mouths of the Montclair students, a much more optimistic panel spoke on March 1st, 2011. Aaron Sonnenberg, the Content Operations Manager for blip.tv, Steven Beckman of Cinetic FilmBuff, and Ingrid Kopp of Shooting People all spoke about the process of digital distribution.

Each of these guests gave their own insight into making what Ken Kelsch and Abel Ferrara saw as disadvantages actually become huge advantages in getting independent film out to the masses. With the Internet, it's possible to use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to spread the word on a film that has been recently finished, or even ask for help in raising funds through KickStarter. YouTube celebrities have even been known to make 6-figure salaries.

Aaron Sonnenberg gave examples of people who have started web series and actual careers from advertisement revenue on Blip.TV. For students interested in creating their own shows, he suggested filming several episodes in advance, including 'behind the scenes' footage, so that content can be uploaded on a regular basis. Instead of creating a series or movie that would be attractive to the masses, it's possible for film makers to make content that is attractive only to specific sub-cultures. Communities both in person and on the Internet have come together to discuss and create films dedicated to topics that they are personally passionate about; not just in New York, but all over the world.

One of the major complaints about today's digital media made by Abel Ferrara is that with the existence of movie torrents on web sites like Pirate's Bay, film makers lose revenue that would normally be made from rentals or DVD sales. A suggestion to counter the problem was made during this Digital Distribution panel. Aaron Sonnenberg said that it's often a good idea to offer a 15-minute sneak preview of a movie on web sites like Hulu or YouTube, free steaming video sites, and offer viewers to buy the remaining rental on websites like Netflix, Itunes, or On Demand. That way, a film that would previously be overlooked is now available to massive audiences all around the country. One would argue that independent film is not dead. It's still alive and kicking, just with a new face.

Internet Reality TV

2011-03-06T20:59:00.001-08:00

This is a bit out-dated, but a couple months ago I wrote an article about CTFxC and the ShayTards.

"While television may be filled with Reality TV that focuses on clearly scripted or heavily edited situations that deal with celebrities, or just random people who are receiving attention for doing stupid, irresponsible things that negatively impact our society, there are people who seem to have taken a more wholesome approach to the idea of capturing real life."

Read the rest of the article here.

Matthew O'Neill, Documentary Film Maker

2011-03-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

On February 22nd, my Film Forum class was surprised with a visit by producer/director Matthew O'Neill, who was stepping in for casting director Ilene Starger. I don't think anyone knew what to expect at first since many of us didn't have the time to research our new guest ahead of time, but I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say that we were blown away by his talent for documentary film making, and by the fact that despite his success, he has stayed incredibly down to earth.

Matthew started off as a theater major at Yale University with dreams of acting in or directing a Broadway show. But when the opportunity to work for public access television presented itself, he jumped at the chance. After gaining experience in broadcasting, he met documentary film maker Jon Alpert, and stumbled upon a tragedy that changed not only his career, but our nation.
Matthew and Jon were in New York City on September 11, 2001, only a few blocks away when terrorists crashed planes into the Twin Towers. While the rest of the nation held its breath in complete shock, Matthew and Jon filmed. Being some of the very few people to have professional camera equipment ready at a moment's notice, they immediately got to work on capturing the reactions of the people during the tragedy. The footage ended up being used in a documentary. It began his life of traveling the world, filming documentaries for PBS, Discovery, and HBO. He has been to Iraq, Venezuela, China, Egypt, and so many other countries, putting his own life in danger in order to capture history in the making.

The documentary we were lucky enough to see during our class was China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, which was nominated for an Academy award in 2010. I had to hold back my tears as we watched the raw emotion of parents who had lost their children in an earthquake because the school buildings collapsed due to construction that clearly wasn't regulated or inspected properly. This documentary brought a voice to the oppressed people living in the Totalitarian society where even after attempting a protest, never had justice served to the people responsible for the negligence that killed their children.

Matthew gave all of us advice that transcended not only film making, but for life in general. He urged us to always network and get to know people in our industry, and walk through any open doors we may see, even if they don't seem like they are exactly what we planned for ourselves, because we never know where it may lead. Through his stories of crazy antics in different countries, he urged all of us to always have a back-up plan just in case something goes wrong. If we plan on creating a documentary, try to make it as personal, with as few people on the crew as we possibly can.

And in stark contrast to one of our earlier guests, Ken Kelsh, who can be quoted saying that it's impossible to say anything in film making nowadays, that artistic aspirations are something of youth, and that "independent film is dead", Matthew seemed incredibly optimistic. Even with capturing unscripted reality, it's clear that he is able to put his own touch on the message he wanted to put across to the viewer. He explained his detachment and thought process that goes into filming a disaster, and the editing process afterward. There is a difference between standing in the middle of chaos and turning on a camera and seeking out the story and human emotion. I saw that as an art within itself. Matthew O'Neill a truly inspirational guest.

Robert Axelrod

2011-03-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

Shameless plug. Check out my article about Robert Axelrod, who appeared at KotoriCon 2011. If you don't know who he is, he was the voice of Lord Zedd on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Wizardmon from Digimon, and so much more.
I also filmed some footage. A word of caution: He's the cutest little old man you'll ever see. You've been warned.

My interview with Jamie Lynn Lano

2011-02-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to write a new entry for a while, but I'm just going to be lazy and link to my interview with Jamie Lynn Lano for Geek Girl On The Street.

Thanks to her for agreeing to answer my questions, she's really sweet.

Love Really Is Blind

2011-01-29T15:14:00.000-08:00

Since it's two weeks away from Valentines Day, I want to tell another true story from one of my past jobs.

During my freshman year in college, I worked at a jewelry counter in a department store. People often asked me, "Would you wear this?" or "Which one do you think is nicer?" when they were picking out presents.

But one day, a man came in looking to buy an engagement ring.
This happened a lot. I was used to helping men pick rings, but this one in particular seemed extremely nervous.
He wasn't the hottest guy in the world, but he wasn't the ugliest, either. He seemed very soft spoken and lacking in confidence, but I could tell that he had a kind heart. I could see the fear in his expression, thinking of the possibility of being rejected.
He asked for help in finding a ring.
Some of the most common questions I asked were; "Is she flashy, or conservative? Do you see her wearing more silver, or gold?"

In asking these questions, he started to tell me about his girlfriend. She was beautiful, smart, but not spoiled. He went on and on about how great she was, and I could see love in his eyes. By the end, I helped him pick a beautiful, but affordable ring. He smiled and thanked me. Later that night, I found myself thinking about him, wondering what sort of girl he could be proposing to, and I hoped for his sake that she would say yes.

A few days later, I saw the same man walk into the store, with his fiance. They were both beaming, obviously newly engaged.
The man was walking behind her, because...She was in a wheelchair.
She only had one leg.

They approached me, and the man explained that he told his fiance how helpful I was in finding a ring, and that she wanted to speak to me. So he pushed her over to my counter, and then walked away.
The woman first thanked me for picking the ring, and that she loved it. Then she told me that she wanted help picking out a ring for him. It was a tradition in her family for the women to propose to the men as well, and give them an engagement ring.

So we found a men's ring for him, and they left once again. She looked so happy, holding her bag with the surprise she would give him later.
I saw them a few times around town; He was pushing her wheelchair to go on walks, or waiting at the bus stop with her. Even from driving past, I could tell that they were so happy to be together.

When people say "love is blind", I think of them. From how nervous the man was, it was as if he was proposing to a super model or something. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful, amazing person in the world. There is truly someone out there for everyone.

Genuine Ken

2011-01-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Blair Fowler, I started watching this Hulu-exclusive reality show called Genuine Ken .
Whitney Port is the main hostess of the show. She's obviously gorgeous, but I keep thinking how she looks almost exactly like Leighton Meester, only blond. But I digress...

The show itself is pretty entertaining. Just like any other dating-type reality show, there are challenges and eliminations. Only, instead of winning a girl's heart, they are competing to be the Genuine Ken, like the Barbie Doll boyfriend.

I'm telling you right now that Kash, the second guy from the left, is going to win. Or the guy all the way to the right, whatever his name is. They are both the sweetest and most talented, whereas the other guys are really self-centered or too...weird to be the winner, in my opinion.

I haven't watched an elimination-type show since the first couple seasons of Project Runway, so I'm interested to see what else is going to happen

Hetalia: Axis Powers

2011-01-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

For the first time in 6 years, I went to an anime convention earlier today... KotoriCon, to be exact. I'm going to be talking about it on Geek Girl On The Street soon, so I won't get into a full review, but I just wanted to talk about a new show I discovered today.
It's been a long time since I started watching a new anime series. I think my most recent one was Ouran High School Host Club.

But I saw a lot of art and t-shirts of characters just described as "Italy" or "Germany" and while talking to one of the artists, a girl walked by and said "That's China!" pointing at a figure of Ranma Soutome. The artist explained to me that there's this anime out called Hetalia: Axis Powers that basically tells the story of what happened in World War II, only it depicts the countries as if they were people, with distinct personalities based on what their actions were at the time.

And it is actually REALLY funny.

For example, they tell the 'childhood' of the character Italy, whose grandfather, Roman Empire, taught it to draw. "I feel so...Renaissance!" Then they talk about how young Italy was growing up, went back to visit his old friends like France, and...
"How Italy Become the Victim of Bullying"

It's just so funny. I usually watch the Japanese version, but the dialogue is really fast, so I decided to stick with English. It's also easier for me to figure out which country is which, with the dramatic stereotypical accents for each country/character.

I'm only a couple episodes in, and I highly recommend it. You can watch it on YouTube for free.

Holy Crap

2011-01-10T17:09:00.001-08:00

Currently listening to: Imogen Heap- Hide and Seek

Relationship Status. Friend Count. Bull. Shite.

2011-01-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

I just saw The Social Network for the second time in theaters, and it inspired me to rant a little bit. I know I may be the minority when it comes to the way people view Facebook, but I will only add you as a friend if I communicate with you often, or hold some kind of connection with you. I just went through my friend's list the other day and deleted about 30 people because I haven't spoken with them in a long time, or maybe they were someone I went to High School with but never became close to. I do a Facebook cleanup once every few months.

Yes- I want my twitter to have as many followers as I can, regardless of if I'm close to them or not because it hypes my blog and the site I write for. But no, I don't care if I have a lot of friends on Facebook. Maybe I cared about it for a little while, but really, it doesn't equate to how many friends you actually have. In fact, some of the people I'm closest with don't even have a Facebook. I would much rather have my 260 people that I actually know and have held a conversation with than 1,000 acquaintances.

And don't get me started on the drama. And relationship status.
Romeo and Juliet didn't need a relationship status.
The Notebook didn't need "It's Complicated" to be there. It just was.
Before Facebook, people lived their love lives without feeling like they were being watched or judged by a group of people on the internet.

There was one girl I knew in High School that was my Facebook friend. We never hang out, but I would say hi to her if I ran into her at the mall or something. I was actually in plays with her, classes, and everything else. But I deleted her merely because of the fact that I was so sick of hearing about her love life, the constant breaking up and re-kindling of her relationship. I wouldn't even want to know. It would just show up on my feed, along with angry statuses or lyrics from breakup songs.

As a rule, I never talk about my relationship or anything else about my personal life on Facebook. It's no one else's business but my own, and the people who I actually see and talk to face-to-face every day. You know- the only ones who used to matter.

The World At Large

2011-01-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

I want to travel so badly. I always get cases of major fernweh. I can't stay still for too long. Sometimes I just have to drive to random places. (I should take after Tammie Dooley from Solo Roadtrip.)
I can't afford to fly anywhere, at least for a couple months. Buying myself a GPS this Christmas felt like a step in the right direction, and then I found out about Round The World plane tickets.

If you're actually interested, go to that link. But in a nutshell, it allows you to save a LOT of money if you plan on traveling to multiple places within the course of a year. Once I get some time and money set aside (Possibly when I graduate college) I'm gonna do it, no matter who or what is in my life.

Song of the moment: Modest Mouse- World at Large

RoShamBo

2011-01-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

Did you know I love skateboarding?
I mean, I can't skate to save my life, but I still love it.
My little brother Phil has gotten me to watch a lot of videos, so now I know most of the pro skaters by name at this point.
I think this is my favorite so far in the Battle of the Berrics series, at least. Watching pros play SKATE is pretty funny.

Song of the Day:
Metric- Black Sheep

Don't be a Downer, Debbie

2011-01-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to realize that no matter how amazing a social experience is, there's the chance that there is going to be the one person who decides to ruin it for everyone else.

It's kind of like when I would go to rock shows where there just had to be the one overweight-with-a-beard-why-the-hell-are-you-hanging-around-teenagers guy who decided to mosh while the rest of us were trying to dance. One time he pummeled a girl innocently standing nearby that couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds, and he didn't even stop or apologize. (No joke.)

But we have to try our best to ignore the downers, drama queens, and trouble-starters.

Anyway...2011 has been kind of boring so far. But I've been listening to this song a lot:
Animal Collective- Summertime Clothes
(Tip- If you don't like weird, psychedelic seizure-inducing music videos, open this up on a new tab, minimize, and just listen.)

Bucket List: Denied

2011-01-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

I'm kicking myself right now, because I ended up spending all of New Years Day recovering from New Years Eve. I wrote for a few hours in the morning and ended up sleeping until 5pm.
I was supposed to be here:

Chance to check "Participate in a giant snowball fight with over 300 people in Central Park" off my bucket list?
Denied.

2010 Soundtrack of My Life

2011-01-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

I just needed an excuse to put this picture on my blog. I'm kind of a romantic.

At about 5AM this morning, New Years Day, I was lying awake in my friend's spare bed, completely sobered up from the fantastic party a few hours before.
Besides running to find a spare piece of paper and jot down inspiration for my novel before I lost it in sleep, all I could think to do was listen to my Ipod and try to doze until a more sane hour. I started thinking back on the music I discovered this year, and what songs fit what I was going through in 2010.

The Morning Of- Tell Me I'm Wrong
I probably listened to this song 1,000 times within the first month that The Morning Of's new album came out. I was even going to go to one of their shows at the University of Delaware, which requires me to drive through back woods and farm country. Normally, in the daytime, that route wouldn't bother me. But I was on a narrow, foggy road in the middle of nowhere without my GPS and not positive if I was going the right way. I felt like the victim in the opening of a horror movie, so I decided it was a good idea to wait until another night.

Minus The Bear- Excuses
In general, I've been listening to Minus The Bear a lot the past few months. It's just that whenever I introduce someone to the band, I play 'Excuses' for some reason. Then I move on to 'Animal Backwards' and 'Pachuca Sunrise'. They're just a very chill. And they're one of the rare bands where I can play all of their albums straight through and never get bored.

You, Me, And Everyone We Know- Happy Birthday
For whatever reason, YMAEWK likes to sing about strippers, and I LOVE IT. I've been listening to this song since '08 or '09, but it was still almost like my anthem this year. I never get tired of listening to it. I sang it to my brother John when he turned 18 in September.

The Limousines- Internet Killed The Video Star
Thanks again to Charles Trippy for introducing me to this song. It's so catchy and true.

The Ready Set- Love Like Woe
My brother Phil would play this on my Ipod every time I drove him somewhere. I love it, but for whatever reason, I never added it to a playlist. I guess since I drive him practically everywhere, I felt no need to do it myself.

Maybe later, a song will pop in my head and I'll be kicking myself for not including it on this list. But right now, I think I should shower and try go to Central Park to meet up with some people for an epic snowball fight.

Seemingly Unrelated Things

2010-12-30T14:32:00.001-08:00

This image has nothing to do with this blog post. I just like Banksy.

Hey, Internet Land.
I don't have an actual topic for you today, but I'll ramble about... stuff...
Last week, I published a new article on Geek Girl On The Street just basically talking about daily vlogging and how it's changing reality TV. Or something. Click here to read it.

I talked to Charles Trippy on Twitter, and he actually re-tweeted my link. The article views shot up to somewhere around 1,700 in one day. He's probably never going to read this, but THANKS, dude! I don't think the site has had this much attention since my editor interviewed Kari from Mythbusters.

My internet was down for about a week. And since I have a desktop computer, I couldn't exactly pick up my laptop and go to a Starbucks. On top of that, we had a massive blizzard and got snowed in. So what did I do? Write 1,200 words of my novel in one day. Finish one book and start another. Watch a LOT of movies.
I was shocked that I wasn't bored without the internet. Maybe try it sometime.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, people!

Funniest Blog Ever

2010-12-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

I have to thank my friend Max for constantly uploading images and sending links to entries from Hyperbole and a Half, because without it popping up on my Facebook feed, I would have never discovered the funniest blog in the world.

The blog is made up of images drawn by a girl named Allie who basically just talks about every-day occurrences and memories of her childhood. Rather than explain it, just go read it. Please.

And then, he died. The end.

2010-12-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog before, but I'm working on my second attempt at writing a novel. My first book was titled Springfield, and I wrote it when I was 17. I got to around 200 pages, but never finished it because of time constraints, and I had to re-think my ending to the point that by the time I went back to re-read everything, it just felt like it was written by a very conceited teenager.

Whenever I tell that to someone, they always say- "Why not just finish it?"
But it's hard to explain. In order for me to be happy with it, I would have to go back and re-write the entire thing over again from scratch. Maybe the plot and characters are still solid, but I wouldn't be happy with it. I don't like to write with the NaNoWriMo mentality (Who cares if it's complete crap- just bust out 50,000 words!)

I never stopped writing in the years between giving up on Springfield and now, but I rarely wrote fiction aside from what I was assigned in my Creative Writing course. Then one day last year, I was inspired by the song "Casimir Pulaski Day" by Sufjan Stevens.

Scenes began playing in my head like a movie, and I sat at my computer and wrote several pages of a story I would only later place together. And for the first time ever, I know exactly how everything is going to happen. If you listen to the song, you'll get the basic plot laid out for you. In the novel, I incorporate the lines into the story itself while still creating an original story, much like what Where The Wild Things Are managed to accomplish.

Which brings me to the new fork in the road.

Normally, I don't read Chick Lit. I was scarred for life by Danielle Steel a long time ago, and I vowed to read mostly classics or at least modern novels that are relevant or will actually teach me something. But it wasn't until last month, when I read a novel by Cecelia Ahern that I realized something.

Chicks love to just kill off characters. We love to make our readers cry, because it's so touching and emotional. Sometimes, it really doesn't add or subtract any value to the actual story other than to make the reader want to bawl their eyes out.

I got to the end of one of her books where she offs the main character and had to sit back and think, "Why did he have to die?"

I had hoped the ending would be like Stranger Than Fiction, with a surprise happy ending.

Normally, death in stories doesn't bother me, if I realize it adds some meaning.

But for a character to die just to die seems pointless. And it's even more pointless to be in-your-face about what sort of "lesson" it taught your readers.

But one of my characters is destined to die. From the beginning, from the lyrics of the song, you know. She's dying. It's not really a spoiler, because half of the book surrounds itself around the fact. And some personal events in my life that got too close for comfort made me stop in my tracks. Should this be like Romeo and Juliet? Step out in front of the curtain and prepare the audience by saying, "There will be death. I'm sorry, but I have to, because the story is about so much more than that."

So...I swear, I'm not just trying to make you cry. But I hope everyone who enjoys my blog will read the novel when I'm finished.

True Love Waits In Haunted Attics

2010-12-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

The first day I met Jenna, she was hanging up a poster of Thom Yorke on the cover of Rolling Stone in the hotel room we were going to share for the next four months. The only Radiohead song I had actually listened to at the time was "Creep", which most definitely disqualified me as a fan. We exchanged a lot of music during that time, but even when we lived together, I never really got into Radiohead. Maybe it's because my boyfriend had called it "emo, depressing shit" or something along those lines. (Even though he likes Deathcab? Go figure).

It was only when I came back to visit Jenna the following semester that I discovered my appreciation for Radiohead. I couldn't afford to live there anymore, but my bed was still empty, waiting for me. It was like coming home after a long vacation. We watched a documentary on their album Ok Computer and I just...got it. Thom Yorke is so brilliant, and he's angry because he's surrounded by idiots. It made me think; Ignorance really is bliss. I tried explaining my analysis to Jenna, and she just had to say, "Exactly."

She showed me a clip from a concert of Thom Yorke playing a song that still isn't released on any of the albums, "True Love Waits."

This song reaches down into my soul. Maybe because I've gone through a lot of abandonment in one way or another. And I always wait for the ones I love, when they're worth it.

The morning after really discovering Radiohead with Jenna, I drove home in the rain, and listened to several of their albums. It took me over two hours because of the traffic and the distance from Montclair. But the music put me in a daze and made it feel like nothing. It wasn't depression. It was just like a type of euphoria.

Shann's Memory: Evil History Professor

2010-12-11T20:41:00.001-08:00

They're drowning in work...Get it?...Okay sue me.

I haven't done a "Shannon's Memory" post in a while.

I was thinking about how much better University is compared to County College in terms of what they expect from their students. I feel so much more challenged, and I love it. But not all of the County classes were easy. There was one professor in particular that I remember gave the class the most difficult exams in the world.

On the first day of the semester, there were about 30 of us sitting in a classroom, expecting a female teacher to arrive. Surprisingly, a bald white man with an African tribal shirt entered the room, and told us to analyze "Ridin' Dirty". So he played the song and left the room.
As soon as he left, a girl stood up and faced everyone.
'They tricked me! I didn't sign up for him! This guy is EVIL. If you're smart you'll drop out now. I can't believe they signed me up for him, I specifically told them not to," she desperately pleaded with us, and then left the room before he came back.
All of us were shocked, and glanced at one another. The professor seemed nice enough. She must have been over-exaggerating, right?

He was in fact a very nasty person. He talked down to us, screamed if anyone talked out of turn, and yelled at everyone to take their gum out as if we were in elementary school.
It was a History class, and he gave us open-book, take-home online exams. Sounds like cake, right?
Oh no...no no no...
First of all, the exam would cover about 4 chapters of material. Like any other textbook, that meant about 30 pages apiece. I dedicated so much time to studying for that class. I'm the type of person who can learn something and it sticks in my memory. I almost never need to study. But he never covered the material in class. So every day, I would sit for an entire hour reading, highlighting, and re-writing the important information in the chapters. I picked apart those chapters with a fine-tooth comb.
Sometimes, I would even take the book to work with me to study on my breaks. I was determined to get an A.

Then I would sit down to take the test, and there would be questions like,
"What did Prince William say to his father on his death bed?"
.....
What?
I would frantically flip through the chapters looking for the meaningless question. The exams rarely touched upon what I found to be important- like dates, names of battles, organizations, or political figures. And sometimes, if it did, the questions were worded in such a confusing way that two of the options were possibly correct.

The class size dwindled. And I soon realized that I would get between a 65 and a 70 on every exam whether I studied or not. My goal then became: Please God, let me pass.
One day, he stood in front of the now 15 students.
"It turns out that a few of you anonymously made complaints to the Dean about me...And I felt hurt, and I had to think- What am I doing wrong?
But then I remembered...This school doesn't require you to take the SAT's to be accepted. It also lets many people slide on the entrance exams. So I realize the problem isn't me. It's just that this school will accept anyone with a pulse."

I'm pretty sure every single one of us wanted to punch him in the face. He didn't know me. I had a full scholarship, earned a 1700 on the SAT's, graduated High School with a 3.9, and A's in the rest of my college classes. But that's what happens at a County College. Everyone is white-washed as "stupid".
The class size dwindled to 5.

Somehow, I ended up with a B+.
I was shocked. With my test scores, there was no possible way I should have had any more than a C-. In the end, I guess he just graded us whatever he felt like.

Cardboard Quotations

2010-12-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

My job officially ended yesterday, and I have been so happy.

I found these pieces of cardboard that I kept throughout the past few months. They were the ends of my note pads when all of the paper had been used up. I kept them because I needed cheat-sheets for codes and passwords for programs. They were also the perfect spot to jot down brilliant quotes as I read them out of the books that helped keep me sane.

"If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he's poor in hisself, there aint no million acres gonna make him feel rich."

"He had never been angry in his life. He looked in wonder at angry people, wonder and uneasiness, as normal people look at the insane."

"An' he wasn't that big- he looked so grand up there...Against the sun, with his arms stretched out. An' he looked big- as God."
-Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

"The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. What the beautiful is is another question."

"He was angry at himself for being young and prey of restless foolish impulses, angry also with the change of fortune which was reshaping the world about him into a vision of squalor and insincerity. Yet his anger lent nothing to the vision. He chronicled with patience what he saw, detaching himself from it and testing its mortifying flavor in secret."
-A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

"When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you're done, you have to step back and look at the forest."
-On Writing by Stephen King

Bigger and Better Things

2010-12-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

I'm coming on the final week at my banking job. My last day is December 8th, which leaves me about a month to relax before going back to college full-time. I've planned it this way since I first started working there back in April. And like every other new experience I've had in the past, I'm nervous, but mostly excited. There's such a big world out there, and a lot is up in the air right now.
But that's what's so exciting.

Everyone's telling me, "You're moving on to bigger and better things."
And it just reminds me of the advice my former boss and friend Dennis gave after my first few weeks of this new job. Just like me, he had to work his way through college all on his own, without support from his parents. He is now a professor and administrator.
"All throughout college, I helped run a country club. I had to do the bookkeeping, mow the golf courses, caddy, bus tables, you name it. And in order to get me through my day, I would stare at the imaginary sign above my desk that read: This Is Not The Rest Of Your Life."

His advice might have seemed like common sense to a lot of people, but it genuinely helped me a lot that day. It's so easy to get absorbed in your current job, especially when everyone around you has it as a career, and takes it extremely seriously. But this is the gift of being young, without kids, no mortgage, nothing holding me down. I can walk away. I have the opportunity to go out there and live my dream.

I guess my past few entries have been lame attempts at "wise" life advice. But it's true. If you're in a job you hate, find a way out. Have an escape plan.
Money might pay the bills, but it can't buy happiness. And trust me. A shitty job can suck all the happiness out of you. And no amount of money can make up for that.

Teenage Dream

2010-11-28T16:43:00.000-08:00

When Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" first started playing on the radio as her new single, I would have never known that the best covers would be by guys.

Boyce Avenue's re-writing of the lyrics make it so sweet and appropriate for a guy....

Where as Glee's cover is just minus the makeup lines and more leaning towards The Gays. Still amazing.

Practice Makes Perfect

2010-11-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

What makes someone perfect?

I think that every single person will give you a different answer to that question.

Like many people, I'm always thinking about self-improvement. Not just in physical appearance like most women, but over-all. I'm always questing to be just ...better.

Getting better at multiple languages, working on being a constantly-cheerful person, save more money, write more often, find a better job, nicer clothes, cleaner and more organized room, expand my music vocabulary, read more books, exercise more, better makeup techniques, get my degree done, be more worldly, and the list goes on and on. There aren't enough hours in a day for me to accomplish all of my personal goals. And I keep adding to my list all the time.

A few years ago, I learned that Benjamin Franklin did an experiment to see if it was possible for humans to become perfect.

He gave himself a chart of all of his flaws, including improvements needed in cutting back on fatty foods, studying more, making better use of his time, etc. (More info can be found here, if you're interested.)

He was trying to focus on one trait at a time. He planned to master that trait, then move on to the next one. But what he found is that when he would stop concentrating on one goal and switch to the next, he started to slack in the previous goals. But over all, he was a better person. He concluded that perfection was not possible.

I've been thinking about that word a lot lately. Perfect.

I think that when we're looking in at ourselves, we will never be perfect. Every single person, no matter how confident, has their own personal gripes about themselves, even if they keep it a secret.

But we can be perfect in someone else's eyes. What may be second-nature to you might be amazing and admirable to someone else.

As I was writing this, I randomly remembered a quote from Fruits Basket.

One of the characters makes a comparison between people and onigiri, rice balls.

If you don't know much about Japanese food, onigiri comes with several different types of fillings, ranging from meats to fruits, and one of the most popular stuffings is pickled plum, or umeboshi.

"If you think of someone's good qualities as the umeboshi in an onigiri, it's as if their qualities are stuck to their back! People around the world are like onigiri. Everyone has an umeboshi with a different shape and color and flavor. But because it's stuck on their back, they might not be able to see their umeboshi. "There's nothing special about me. I'm just white rice." [in her head] That's not true. There is an umeboshi -- on your back. [aloud] Maybe the reason people get jealous of each other, is because they can see so clearly the umeboshi on other people's backs. I can see them, too. I can see them perfectly. There's an amazing umeboshi on your back,"

At the risk of sounding incredibly corny, I think my boyfriend Mike is perfect. And I'm not just saying that for brownie points.

Here's my definition of perfect... It's knowing everything; the flaws, the accomplishments, the amazing traits. The good and the bad. It's seeing someone for who they really are, and honestly feeling as though I wouldn't change a thing. There's no "I wish he was more_____". No. He is the most amazing person in the world, at least in my eyes. And I am in his.

You may never feel perfect. I know I won't. But I actually enjoy my self-improvement. How boring would life be if I couldn't set new goals for myself? But what you need to realize, dear reader- is that someone out there will be amazed by you. They'll see the umeboshi on your back. The next person may not see it, because they're not looking closely. But you need to focus on the ones who pay attention.

Zombies Vs. Kids

2010-11-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

One of my co-workers and I had a discussion of what we would do if our office was overtaken in a zombie apocalypse... Where we planned on hiding, and what we aimed to use to defend ourselves. She insisted we hold ourselves up in a pizza shop. I can't argue with that.

This is really, really cute the way the kids decide to fight against the zombies.

Only I have to wonder- Is this empowering them, or just completely traumatizing them?

Halloween: The ONLY day where we should wear masks

2010-10-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

"I dont think that we're superficial and judge on looks. We rather judge on how the person decides to carry themselves, which talks for itself" --Alex Evans

(Photo above is also Alex Evans)

I wanted to start off with this quote because I feel that, at least for myself, this is completely true. Personally, I don't care if you have last year's style. I don't care if you're black, white, green, fat, skinny- WHATEVER.

What I do care about is how you carry yourself, and how you decide to treat other people.

During my Freshman year of college, I was friends with girls who would sit at a table with me on campus or at a mall and watch people go by, whispering judgements.

"Oh, look at her hair. Did she forget to look in the mirror this morning?"

"Look how UGLY that shirt is! What was she thinking?!"

Mind you, none of these girls were all that attractive themselves. Or they tried too hard to be. They were the type of girls to take pictures constantly of me caught-off guard, next to their perfectly smiling faces....Tagged on Facebook. Making me look like the less attractive one. (Classy, right?)

I would sit there, looking at the people they point out, and feel like I was in a twisted version of Mean Girls.

The thing was- I saw these people. And sure, they might not be wearing the best clothes, or be the most attractive person, but that's not the first thought that popped in my head.

The experience made me realize that since I was comfortable in my own skin, I didn't need to pass judgement on anyone else. I didn't need to mock other people to feel better about myself. Let people just be.

There's an incorrect stereotype out there that the rich and attractive people are the ones who are mean and look down on everyone else.

That's just NOT. TRUE.

Some of the nicest, least judgmental and happy people I ever met are the ones who are most fortunate. They're hot and rich, but they love the world.

It's because they are happy. They don't need to put others down to feel good about themselves.

The people doing all the mocking are the ones who feel bad about their extra 10 pounds, so they need to point out the fatter person.

They're the ones who aren't happy with the money they're making, so they have to make fun of the guy wearing old, dirty jeans and a shirt with a hole in it.

The point is: Worry about yourself. BE yourself. Don't wear a mask, unless it's Halloween.

Quality, Not Quantity

2010-10-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

No, nee-chan from Ichigo Mashimaru has nothing to do with this article

I'm not doing much of Quality or Quantity when it comes to writing right now.

For whatever reason; Maybe it's the fact that I've had a massive cold/allergy thing going on, time is constrained between work, personal life, and trying to get back to school, or it could just be a creative funk. But I seriously feel guilty for not writing as much as I should for Geek Girl On The Street, this blog, and my novel, Casimir Pulaski Day.

I guess I can say a few things, though:

Weezer's new album Hurley is kick-ass. And not just because Jorge is on the cover. I know they're amazing live. I've watched a lot of footage from their concerts, and the new favorite songs added since this album came out makes me want to see them even more.

The last thing I wrote for GGOTS (Now that I look at the date, it has been WAY too long) was a review for All Cap's album Bmin/E. Check it out.

Kevchino has kept my on his mailing list for writers, so I think once I'm back in the NYC area, expect me to be linking reviews of shows and albums more often.

I know. Promises, promises.

Who Needs College?! ......I Do.

2010-09-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

If you've been following my blog for a while, you might remember my rant about the fact that a college education may seem pointless with our economy being on the brink of (or 'secretly' in) a Depression. Dan Brown's video and a sudden, unplanned leave of absence from college made me want to pump myself up for diving into the life of working in an office for a great corporation.

School! Who needs them! I felt like; A piece of paper doesn't define if I'm intelligent or not! I can still be successful! Right?

Well, it may be true in some respects. A degree doesn't guarantee success. School can only teach yo so much, but it's up to the motivation and networking skills of the individual.

But the more I work full-time, the more I come to realize that I miss college with a passion. Before I left, I had finished the fall semester of my Junior year, with only an Associate's Degree.

I have been at my new job since April. At first, I was glad that I didn't spend all of the money on student loans and stressing myself out, because the majority of the people who are in the same position as me (making the same money) have Bachelor's degrees.

It's discouraging. It really is.

It made me think; What's the point in finishing school? If I'm going to graduate and only wind up with the same type of job, why bother?

But the longer I spend time here, the more I realize how important getting back to college really is to me.

And it's not even about getting a piece of cardboard that makes me "smarter" than the next guy. (It doesn't.)

In college, I have a chance to express myself.

I can wear whatever I want, without having to abide by stupidly strict dress codes.

I can choose what things I learn on a daily basis.

I'm allowed to be creative.

I can continue to grow as a person, instead of being stunted and told how to behave.

The list goes on and on. Right now, I feel like I could be in school forever if I was given the chance. During my lunch breaks, I'm studying French, Law, and Literature. I want to go back to school and learn Film, Screenwriting, and everything in-between.

Seeing these people with higher degrees walk in and out of the office every day is depressing to me sometimes. Don't they want more?

I remember when I worked at the studio, I could be going in for a 12-hour shift. Five hours later, I glanced at the clock for the first time the entire day, and I was shocked at how quickly it passed.

This is how you know you belong somewhere. Not necessarily the physical place, but the type of work. Creating. Art. Fun.

In the words of California's governor, "I'll Be Back"

Sidewalk Chalk Guy

2010-09-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

I saved this link on my bookmarks and I figured I'd share it on my blog, because it's pretty cool.
I don't feel right taking the credit for finding it, because if I remember correctly, I heard about it from a tweet via one of our interns over at Geek Girl On The Street.

Being a journalist and all, I should really research who this guy is, but since I'm not getting paid for it...Meh! Just take it. I give you Sidewalk Chalk Guy. He basically makes 2D sidewalk chalk drawings and they are SO detailed and vivid, it looks as if they're 3D. Check out the link and go see what I mean. It's amazing.

It kind of reminds me of the sidewalk chalk scene in Mary Poppins. Maybe that's just me.

Graham Crackers!

2010-09-10T11:27:00.001-07:00

I have something embarrassing to admit...

I love the Jonas Brothers. Demi Lovato is pretty amazing too.

In my defense, I used to roll my eyes when I heard about them a few years ago, until I started babysitting little girls. We would watch their music videos On Demand and I began to love them.

So please don't judge me for the fact that I watched Camp Rock 2 last night.

...Or that I took my favorite clips and mashed them together into a "Funniest Moment" montage, including some innuendoes.
(Please note that I did this at 3:30AM)

Even if you don't like The Jonas Brothers, take the time to watch this. It's less than a minute of your life. You have to admit this shit is funny.

Haters Gonna Hate

2010-09-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

Let's continue with Shannon's Stories About Her Past Jobs.

Earlier today I was thinking about my days working at a recording studio owned by Eddie Hustle. To be exact; it was a combination of music recording, a music video studio with a green screen, and a studio for photographs meant to be put on faux magazine covers and modeling portraits.

After some time of working there on and off, the staff dwindled down to Eddie's family and just me as the photographer, and our model/hostess. (I personally suck at modeling, as you can see)

There are dozens of stories I could tell about the time I spent at this job. But the one story that's surfaced to my mind were the Wangsters.

The studio was in a mall in South Jersey suburbs outside Philadelphia. We would get clients who traveled from miles away just to use our studio, but we would also get walk-ins of people who were curious to find out exactly what we were. (The loud music, spotlights, and TV's got some attention).

All of us were standing in the front room, waiting for our next appointment to show up. In walks in a group of good-looking black teenaged boys. All of them were dressed in the typical 'gangster' style with expensive name-brand clothes. They were acting pompous, like they were the shit. They laughed and talked quietly to one another, and The Leader, the cockiest of them all, said to us, "So, what is this...A studio for kids, right? Do you have auto-tune?"

Eddie replied, "This is a professional studio. We do auto-tune. We do everything."

They exchanged a few lines, and The Leader and his pose stepped up to our group.

"What do you do?" Eddie wanted to know.

"Hip Hop...Gangster rap." TL replied.

Eddie laughed in his face. "Gangster? You boys look like you're from Township. You're wangsters."

They didn't like that. Not knowing who my boss was, the boys continued to pester us.

"If you're such hot shit, sing us something," my boss demanded.

(Singing was a requirement for me to gain employment at his studio, fyi)

TL made an excuse, saying he just got his tongue pierced. He stuck out his swollen tongue, which did in fact look twice the normal size.

"It's a little hard to sing with this in. But maybe you can help me take it out," he said to me, eyeing me up in front of my boss like he wanted to devour me.

I just gave him a death stare and had my arms crossed.

"How old are you?" Eddie asked him.

"Seventeen," he replied. I was shocked. To me, he looked at least 20.

"She may not look it, but Shannon's older than you. And I'm telling you she's out of your league. And if you're going to come in here and talk so much shit and not deliver, you might as well leave."

Indignantly, TL says, "And who the fuck are you? Where are you?"

"Me? I'm everywhere. I have a Grammy." my boss said.

The boys laughed, not believing him.

Conveniently, our co-worker had a laptop ready to google his name.

The smirks were wiped right off of their faces.

It was hilarious to see how quickly they went into ass-kissing mode. You could tell by the panic in TL's eyes that he realized that he messed up bad. Their one chance to any possible career in music in the suburbs had been shot down.

Moral of the story? Don't be a wangster.

Angry Banker is Angry

2010-09-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned my job a few times on this blog, and I'm still going to keep the name of that bank anonymous, despite the fact that I think it's a great company. Maybe when I'm not working there anymore, I'll sing praises about some of their policies and customer service.

My point is- It's not the company, it's the type of job I have that sometimes makes me unhappy. It doesn't matter how well they treat me. I'm still going to dislike a vast majority of the things I need to put up with.

With that being said, let me introduce you to The Angry Banker.

The other day, one of the holy-than-thou supervisors (who isn't even my supervisor) snapped at me that I needed to put my book away. So I did.

But you don't understand. I wasn't reading to be lazy with my work. I was reading because there is nothing else to do.

I work until late at night, sitting at a desk, waiting for people to call me and ask questions about their bank accounts and investments. So if it's slow, there's nothing else to do except stare at my screen. On most nights, it's fine for me to read. It just so happened that someone felt the need to express their 'power' above me directly, and have a blind eye to everyone else.

So, with nothing else to do, I began doodling on my note pad. I then realized that I draw the same little character every. single. time. that I get angry. He looks like the Monopoly Man after getting into a fight. It occurred to me that this little character was an image of my inner self...A portrait of my angst.

Think of Scrooge McDuck.

Now think of his accountant.

This is The Angry Banker.

Fashion That Was Born To Die

2010-08-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

The key to staying sane at my job is reading in-between calls. I think everyone feels this way, and a lady who apparently sells Avon on the side decided to put her sales catalogs in the drawers of random empty desks and on the table of the women's bathroom. It gives us all something to look through, and I know it at least makes me want to give into the temptation to buy cheap beauty products.

I actually kind of like it. Sitting in a new desk is like a treasure hunt sometimes. You never know what weird things you're going to find. So the other day I found the August catalog for Mark, and everything looked pretty normal at first. Cheap makeup, clothes....And then I found this.

I'm sorry, but just because you make it gold and shiny and decide to stick it on a beautiful woman, you're still trying to sell us a fanny pack!

I'm pretty sure those died off sometime in the 90's after a handful of overweight mothers wore them to amusement parks and boardwalks. (These same people wore socks with sandals and took pictures of Lucy the Elephant)

Now, I first brushed this off as marketing from a lesser-known company. It was just the mistake of Mark, right?

Wrong.

So I was looking for a new pair of sneakers on the Adidas website earlier today and found the most pair of glorious retartedness blessed upon this Earth:

You're welcome.

Life Advise From Total Strangers

2010-08-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

At my current full-time job, I'm bombarded with people. On a daily basis, I talk to a hundred or more people on the phone about their bank accounts. They're cheerful, crying, drunk, pissed off, or just completely insane. But every once in a while, I'll get some genuinely nice people on the phone. It's always interesting to sit and have a conversation with someone and learn a little bit about their life. So here's some (and true) advice I've gotten from random strangers so far in the few months I've worked there:

"Never get married. It's the fastest way to ruin a relationship."

"When I was in my mid-twenties, I worked full time as a mail man and went to Grad School at night. No one understood why I worked myself to death every day. I mean I had a good job with benefits, and I had a good life. My friends said, 'What's wrong with being a mail man?'

There's nothing wrong with being a mail man. But I wanted to be an accountant. And now I am, and I'd do it all again if I had the chance. So don't let anyone try to tell you how to live your life."

"Can you do me a favor, miss? Out of the 365 days of the year, please take one day to yourself. Turn off your phone, call out of work... This is a day just for you. No husband or wife or kids. Spend it however you want. Go to the beach, sleep, drink, whatever. That day will be for YOU. Please try it sometime...If only once a year."

Black Midgets and Bananas

2010-08-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

As inspired by my lovely editor Kate Kotler, I think I'm going to start writing some of my favorite memories on this blog....

Let's call them memoirs! That sounds more official.

I may not have as many interesting stories as Kate does, but I think we all have those stories we re-tell to our new friends again and again, because they just become classic.

So let me start out with a couple stories from when I was 16, working my first 'real' job at the super degrading Acme supermarket. (My first actual job was a temporary acting gig at 14, which is another story of its own.)

One day I was bagging a customer's groceries, with my back facing the entrance to the store. I was expecting my friend Carmen to visit me, since I told him the hours when I was working. He's a really affectionate sort of person who loves hugs and touching. I actually anticipated him sneak-attacking me in some way instead of walking up to me like a normal person.

So when I felt two arms wrap themselves around my lower waist, I didn't immediately jump. In fact, I turned around with a smile on my face, thinking it was Carm.

Lo and behold, I turned around and had to look down, because the one who had his arms around my waist... (Only for him, it was more like a full facial view of my ass) was a homeless black midget.

My face dropped. I was so shocked, I didn't know how to react. I think I just looked at him in horror. Then his face spread in a semi-toothless, boggle-eyed grin, "If you'da slapped me I wouldna said nuthin"

I had to excuse myself from being anywhere near him for the rest of the night.

My next story comes from the same job.

This time, it was a homeless white man with several coats and a winter hat on, even though it was warm outside. He wheeled in his own personal shopping cart. I knew it wasn't one of our carts- at least not one that we had used in years. It was lined with newspapers and blankets.

Seeing this made me sad, but my sympathy didn't exactly help my gag reflex.

When he came into my line, I swear he reeked of the worst smell I ever experienced. I don't think he had a shower in years.

He was quick to be nasty and demanding to me, and barked that I needed to be extremely careful with his food. Then, as I was done ringing everything, he lifts something up from his cart...

A moldy, dirty, smelly, big, black duffle bag.

He instructed me to put his groceries in there, because he had no use for plastic bags.

So I put everything in there...A loaf of bread, tomatoes, cans of tuna fish, and he was fine with it.

Then, I got to the bananas.

"Stop! What are you DOING?!" he demanded. I stopped.

"You don't put ba-na-nas in a duffle bag!" he scolded me, and started laughing as if I was an idiot.

I mean, obviously. What was I thinking? Who puts bananas in a duffle bag? I mean that would just be stupid.

Making Our Fore-Mothers Proud

2010-08-18T17:12:00.001-07:00

"So you're one of those artsy, feminist types, right?" my friend Andy said to me once. It was more of a statement than a question. I can't find a better way to describe myself than that. I never considered myself a feminist, especially since I love chivalrous men. And I'm still very girly in the traditional sense. Even though I'm independent, I'm a far cry from the man-hating women who chop their hair off and call men 'disgusting pigs'.

But you would think that in the 21st Century, there would be less women who expect a man to take care of her. I mean, haven't we been fighting the past hundred years to be allowed to vote, make the same amount of money, and try to gain the same amount of respect? Aren't there more women with careers than ever before? I used to think that the idea of a traditional family was something of the past.

But the more women I meet, the sadder I get sometimes. Not just with feminism, but with people's old fashioned ideas in general.

For example, a little over a year ago, I was dating this guy whose family is very well off, and things were getting serious. I was visiting one of my friends who I worked with in Kmart when I was younger. She's in her 20's like me. I gave her a brief description of my then-boyfriend, and I was internally horrified at the first thing out of her mouth;

"You'll never have to work again!" as she gave me a hug, like I won the lottery or something.

I think a part of me died inside. I couldn't believe that there were still women out there who thought this way.

Maybe I'm just used to having strong female friends who are studying to be lawyers, engineers, doctors, or CEO's. I think we all have the passion and drive to make something of ourselves instead of riding the coat tails of a man. Even if that man is amazingly perfect, and even if I wanted to just give in to the Cinderella rags-to-riches dream we all have as little girls, I knew that if things had worked out with my ex, I would have still worked some sort of job.

I can't imagine myself as a housewife or "home maker". Not even an upper class socialite who organizes charity events, her tiny dog in her purse with 3 servants cleaning the house and watching the kids. It's just not me.

And yet, at the same time, I can't imagine living the rest of my life the way I have up until now...Paycheck to paycheck, worrying about bills getting paid...Not having much in a savings account...Making mortgage payments I know I'd have to keep for 20 years. Those things seem horrifying to me. That's not 'me' either.

So here's to finding success...One way or another.

More fashion rants of sorts

2010-08-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

Somehow, the end of August is creeping up on us. Like many other people my age, I have been searching through online catalogues on clothing websites to decide what I'm going to add to my wardrobe for the fall and winter months. I just wanted to point out some things I found along the way. I'm not getting paid by anyone, though I wish I was.

American Eagle created a commercial for their jeans. And while I have to admit they are really nice, I had to kind of laugh at the advertising in this commercial:

It says to me:

"We are AMERICAN. And Americans can jump REALLY HIGH! If you wear these jeans, you'll be hot. And have fun. and play DRUMS! OMG WE KICK ASS!"

To which I reply, "But....I'm already American, and I can't jump that high."

"OH BUT YOU WILL!"

Sorry, I'm kind of weird this morning.

I also wanted to mention (And I should have a long time ago) that I think the bandeau has redeemed itself. I gave Roxy a lot of shit in one of my last posts, but I started to see some examples of where a bandeau would actually come in handy. I'll post a video here so that the lovely model can show you exactly what it is. Once I saw some examples on videos and their websites, it got me thinking about certain tank tops that if worn by themselves, sometimes slip and reveal my bra, which is completely embarrassing. I usually double-layer for this reason, but I guess a bandeau would also work.

So now I'll abruptly finish this post. I'm sure there will be more later on.

The Kindness of Strangers

2010-07-23T20:35:00.001-07:00

I'm not a religious person at all. In fact, when I was younger I went through an Atheist stage, which settled back into a comfortable Agnostic non-committal that I've stuck with for a while now, and plan to for the rest of my life.

But for some reason, I love when people say,

"Have a blessed day".

Somehow, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This person doesn't want me to just have a nice day, but a blessed one.

Another thing I love is when people take the time to hold open doors for me as I'm leaving a store.

But that leads to another point I've been wanting to write about for a while:

Do people pick and choose who to be polite to?

Mind you, the majority of the people who hold open doors for me are men. I never read into it any further than:

Wow, it's nice to know there are so many polite people!

But I didn't realize until a few months ago that I must have been naive. I was seeing things through rose colored glasses, and that kindness from a stranger seems to be selective in nature.

I was a fat kid, and I grew up in a lower-middle-class family. My clothes were never in style. I was never taught how to properly take care of myself. I was harassed countless times by kids in elementary and middle school, because I was geeky, shy, and quiet. It took me years to lose weight, find hair products, and good makeup. I can't exactly rate myself on a beauty scale, but I've done some modeling. I'm finally confident and able to walk quickly and look people in the eye. It's to the point where I've been told that I'm intimidating until I smile.

I was under the false idea that as people got older, they matured and stopped picking on the weak. My personal transformation happened alongside growing up, so I guess I never had to experience being an adult who was considered "ugly" by society's standards.

But a few months ago, I heard some horror stories of harassment of students at a college I've studied and worked for a couple years. I work for the Special Needs office on and off, and we get students from all walks of life. Even students without disabilities come in, and apparently there have been tears shed from girls who were called ugly. Overweight students snickered at in the lunch room, and the list goes on and on.

This essentially shocked me, because I've found nothing but kindness from that school, and the kids who go there. So I'll say it again: Is kindness from strangers selective?

Even when I went to my University, a friend of mine commented that she noticed that I had a lot of people being polite and friendly towards me...I mean, more than average.

I always try to be nice to everyone, regardless of what they look like. But it's possible that not everyone gives people the same decency that I do.

I like to give people the benefit of a doubt, but I could just be more blessed than I thought.

If I was still a Psychology major, I think I would do a study on this. (If it hasn't been done already.) It's seriously something I've been thinking about for a long time. If you have any personal thoughts or stories, leave a comment.

Lame excuses

2010-07-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't written on this blog in a while. I plan on taking time out of my life to write more soon. For those of you who actually read it, I'm sorry. Working full-time and trying to maintain family/friend time basically consumes my life. This post isn't exactly an article, but just links to some of the articles I've written for Geek Girl On The Street.

The Magic of Harry Potter Comes To Life: Universal's Wizarding World Opens

Geek of the Week: Bethany James Leigh Shady ...Lost and Beyond!

Learn a Language on Your Lunch Break

GGoTS Movie Review: Iron Man 2

GGoTS Preview: Insomniatic Dreams by Shawna Howson

Business Logic? Maybe.

2010-06-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

My last post was a personal rant about my situation at Sears Auto, and I actually got a comment back from someone who apparently spends the time searching blogs to find people who rant about their bad experiences. I can sort of see why they would go through the trouble of doing that, but at the same time, I think it's a waste when their efforts clearly need to be focused on other things.

My goal isn't to get people in trouble. I never mentioned the location or names of the workers, and I'm not the type of person to write letters or report. I guess it's just an "Oh-Shit!" moment when an actual journalist talks about a bad experience, because it spreads to more people than a normal person complaining to a friend.

I actually used to work for Sears Corp. Kmart, to be exact. I was a jewelry associate when I was 18, and worked my ASS off to be one of the best. I got there early, stayed late, and made sure everything was done. I learned the ins and outs of all departments, kept a smile on my face, and dealt with the angry pressure put on me by both customers and management. At the end of that first year, I was given a ten cent raise.

The motto was: The customer's always right. Treat your workers like animals and don't give them any reason to want to do well.

Let me give you some advice, Sears: Treat your workers with more respect, and maybe your corporation would do better. Maybe those guys didn't feel like fixing my car the first time I asked because they don't feel appreciated. This is the reason why I left Kmart. I'm currently in a job where I deal with a LOT of stress, but my employers actually pay me well and do so much for all of us. Customers can tell when employees are happy and motivated.

The #1 complaint I hear from people about Kmart is that the employees don't do any work. They don't like shopping there because no one is there to help, or the store is trashed. Maybe if they were paid better, treated like respectable people, and given more perks or incentives to move up in the company, they would do a better job. In turn, it would make the customers happy.

And as far as I can tell, all Sears cares about is a customer. Not necessarily a bad thing. If you've never worked in retail, maybe you could care less about how the workers feel. But apparently they care so much about a customer that they hire people to search the internet to keep the business of someone who can only afford to spend $100 at a time on car repairs.

I'm sorry, but I'd rather give that money to someone running a small business. The mom-and-pop mechanics I visit always treat me with respect. (Ralf's Auto in Clayton NJ! You go!) Ralf even went on a test drive with me in the car to figure out exactly what was wrong, and despite him being an older man, never showed a shred of sexism.

The economy is fueled better by supporting small business anyhow.

I'm not trying to bash Sears, but rather Corporate America in general. Although I know Walmart and Target treat their workers better than Sears.

If you're reading this, Sears Cares Team, think about all of these improvements instead of who you're going to yell at or fire.

Female Catch 22

2010-06-10T18:34:00.001-07:00

I had a bad experience today...Sears Auto chose to do a half-assed job on a car repair that I paid $100 for, probably thinking I wouldn't notice, because I'm a girl. They even had the cheek to say "She thinks she needs an alignment done. Okay, if it's really that, we'll do it for you." Repeatedly talking down to me as if I don't know what's wrong with my own car. I should have known the first time that there was going to be trouble.

Excuse me. Just because I'm wearing a tank top carrying a Prada purse doesn't mean I don't know anything about cars. And I sure as hell am not going to stand for paying for something NOT getting fixed. Even if I was just a ditzy girl, it's still not right for a business to treat someone different because of the way they look. I've worked in customer service for years, and I make it my job to treat everyone with the same amount of respect, regardless of what they look like, age, race, sexual orientation, disability, what have you.

I had to drive all the way back a second time in order to get the work done that was supposed to be fixed in the first place. Sadly, this isn't the first time this has happened to me. For some reason, men in certain professions see me: a young, small girl walking in by herself and they think they can pull one over on me.

Lately I've been having so many thoughts and issues on appearance, and I want to address them all here eventually. Sorry that this was more of a rant than an actual article.

Dunkin Donuts Anonymous

2010-05-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Shannon, and I'm a Dunkin Donuts addict. If I didn't have a steady paycheck, I think I'd do terrible things to satisfy my cravings. It's to the point where I swiped the little coffee cup window cling to put on my car window. Now people can look at it and just know I'm a fat ass. It's a beautiful thing.

But the funny thing about my addiction to Dunkin is that I almost never buy donuts. I'm there a minimum of 3 times a week, but I'd estimate my donut intake to about twice a year.

Last summer, I was all about their mocha lattes and poppy seed bagels with cream cheese. My technique was to scoop the whipped cream, lick it off the straw, then proceed to sip the actual coffee. I stopped doing this technique soon after some wide-eyed wonder I was getting from some construction workers who happened to be watching me from across the store. But I digress.

Next came my equally strong love for the grilled cheese flatbread with iced tea (extra lemon, please.) I trick myself into thinking I'm actually eating something healthy, when I know I might as well be scarfing down KFC's Clogged Artery Sandwich, aka The Double Down.

Recently Dunkin decided to put something else on the market...The Bagel Twist.

Cheddar cheese, to be specific. I get it toasted, and it's a little piece of Heaven for just over a dollar. It's actually really filling, and I've been getting it for breakfast on my way to work. Now that I'm working night hours, I think it will replace my dinner a lot of the time.

Go out and buy something. I know I am. All the cool kids are doing it. But remember there's no DD Patch to take the edge off.

Embracing my Feminine Side

2010-05-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

I've been told by several people that I'm not like "normal" girls. Not really a tomboy, but with many masculine features in my personality and interests, which I attribute to growing up with three brothers. However, it seems like I've been embracing my girly-ness over the past few months.
I always liked fashion and cute things, but lately I think I've been taking it to the next level.

Case and point: my new obsession with JuicyStar07 and her sister AllThatGlitters21.
Honestly, when I first started watching their videos, I cringed at the sound of their voices. I thought that they were the type of shallow, looks-obsessed girls that I really don't like. But the more I started to watch them, the more I realized how sweet they actually are. And I got a LOT of great beauty tips from the both of them. I actually think their peppy attitude rubs off on me at times.

And I've been following this website for quite a while, but now with the help of the cheap prices in a store I just discovered, Rue 21, I can actually achieve the looks I love on Lookbook.nu. Slowly but surely, as my paychecks keep coming, my wardrobe will transform into what I have always wanted to look like.

Being a girl is tough. We're judged solely on our looks. No matter how open-minded and modern someone's thinking may be, we can't help but judge by appearances when we first meet someone. It's just human nature. Even me, who is an avid believer in personality FIRST, I can't deny the fact that attraction is a huge part of anyone's mindset.

But what people don't realize is that the media puts an unrealistic image of beauty into people's minds. Girls look at billboards, posters, and TV shows and feel that they need to live up to a standard that isn't possible.
I can testify to this first-hand.

I used to work as a photographer for a place called Be A Star Studios. Part of my job was making sure everyone looked beautiful. I learned how to clear up skin, whiten teeth, erase fly-away hairs, add eyelashes, digital makeup, take off 30 pounds, erase wrinkles, and adjust the lighting to make someone look like the best version of themselves.
My clients would look at their pictures in awe, and always left happy. They felt beautiful, handsome, hot, or what have you. But I just wish they could look in the mirror and still feel the same way.

Maybe you've already seen this, but I'm in love with the video that came out a while ago, Dove Evolution.

This shows EXACTLY the types of things I needed to do at my previous job.
No one is born that beautiful. No one.

If The Planets Could Sing

2010-04-22T17:06:00.001-07:00

Cross-Posted from Coolhunting

"UK-based Luke Wyman's Whitevinyl recently released Solar Beat a music box looped using the orbital frequencies of our own solar system. It's one of those simple concepts where astrophysics is translated into a pleasing ambient loop soundtrack that's more profound than your average web diversion."

Militia My Ass!

2010-04-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to see my Grandma with a gun

Hugo Chavez is the President of Venezuela, but we might as well call him what he is: A Dictator. Now, before I completely bash him to pieces, I want to give him the following kudos:

1) He grew up in a very poor family and understands how hard it is. Unlike many communist or socialist dictators of the past, he's actually helping his people...He just may not do it in the smartest ways.

2) He called George Bush a "donkey" in a televised speech. (I love when things get lost in translation. I'm pretty sure he wanted to call Bush an "asshole".)

3) Chavez spoke to his people, telling them to start working out and combat obesity, despite his rolly-polly self. After telling the people to lose weight, he took a pause, and said, "But not the women. Women never get fat. They only fill out."

I laughed out loud and despite my hate for him, had to smile at the suave nature of Venezuelan men. I'm a sucker for corny lines.

Beyond that, I hate Chavez. For the past few years, he has flooded the minds of his people with hatred towards Americans and capitalism. The amount of censorship on TV, newspapers, and public speech is frightening. He has led the people to believe that we hate them back, when in actuality, I bet that 95% of the American people couldn't even tell you where Venezuela is on a world map. It's true that there was an American-based coup back in 2002, but that doesn't mean Venezuela is anywhere near our country's prime objective in problems to solve.

On April 13th, the streets of Caracas, the nation's capitol, were flooded with armed civilians that he's calling his Militia. He told his 34,000 (and growing) group of armed followers that if he is assassinated, he wants his followers to go out and KILL all of the wealthy people in the city.

This is the part that freaks me out, because I have friends living there who fall under that category.

One of these days, I should publish an article for all of the information about what doesn't even leave the city. It's upsetting for me to know that so much is going on in a country that could possibly start another war with the US, and people are more concerned with the release of the Ipad.

Team Tastyskates Pushes Til The Finish

2010-04-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Winner Rick Nelson shows off his prize: A Green Banana deck

On Saturday April 10th, 2010, Team Tastyskates founders Doug Knudsen, Robert Jenkins, and Tyler Mahool organized a longboarding race at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. Almost a dozen skaters and their friends and family showed up to compete for the prize, a deck from Green Banana skateboarding company.

Skaters from all over congregated near the starting point and got to know each other before the race. It was really cool to watch so many people showing off their tricks and just hanging out. Rather than being overly competitive, everyone seemed chill and and friendly with one another. They were all in it for their love of longboarding.

I got to chat with the owner of Green Banana, James Giberson, and he explained to me that their boards are made with 100% recycled materials. While the rest of the world is "Going Green," the skateboarding industry should promptly follow, and Green Banana is setting the example. The decks look to be really well made, and I'd recommend checking them out.

The Projeckts owner Ben Dungy and I also talked for a while, and he explained the atmosphere of his store in Haddon Heights, NJ; Basically for skaters, by skaters. They sell just about anything skate related, even ramps, pipes, and bowls! From everything Ben told me, it seems like he's set up a really welcoming place for skaters to hang out and shop.

Another company to show up was Evil E Skateboards. I actually checked out their site before going to the race, and I love the designs they already have up for sale, but you can actually customize both skateboard and longboard decks! For the same price of buying a brand name from Zumiez, you can get any picture printed on a deck, and it includes grip tape.

Over all, it was a great day. I'll keep an eye on Team Tastyskates in the future. And if you're a skater in the area, join their Facebook group to keep up-to-date on upcoming events.

Now here's a clip of the start of the race. Ignore my asking Ben if I was in his shot at the very end.

A New Light On Self Publishing

2010-04-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

Amongst the pretentious literary community in which I sometimes have to function, there has been an unfair stigma hanging over the heads of writers for years.

“Oh, so you’re one of those…Self published authors?

In the past, it has been a stereotype that authors who chose to self publish their book must automatically suck so badly that they couldn’t find an established publisher to print their work.

Granted, there are many cases where this is true. We all try to quickly walk away from someone on the streets in the city trying to pass out copies of their life’s research on the president being an alien from another galaxy that “the government wouldn’t ever allow in print!”

However, with the growing power of the Internet and social media websites, it has become evident that if you know how to market yourself, and if you have the skills it takes to put a book together and some well-educated friends to help you edit, you can just cut out the middleman.

If you didn’t know, a publishing company takes all of the business and marketing out of the way, and the writer can be left to do just that- write. There are no up-front costs to the author, and they can sit back and wait for their money to roll in. But what ends up happening is a lack of control on editing, no choice in the cover art, bound by contracts, and no choice on locations of book tours. And after all of that, they only walk away with about 10% of the profits, whereas a crafty self-published author may walk away with about 80% and gets to make all of the decisions by themselves.

Case and point: Shawna Howson. I had the pleasure of previewing her poetry anthology Insomniatic Dreams, which she published herself. It is due to come out in May, and I highly recommend that you go out and buy it from Amazon when it becomes available. (Check out my review on Geek Girl On The Street)

If you didn’t already know, Shawna has over 80,000 subscribers on YouTube under the name “Nanalew”, and she can also be seen kicking it with “LiveLavaLive” Mitchell Davis, “Pogobat” Dan Brown, “Meekakitty” Tessa Violet, and “Catrific” Catherine Valdes on their accollectic video blog group, Vlogvetica. She already has enough fans online that will basically guarantee her success. The fruits of her labor can go directly to her, which is how I feel it really should be. But I digress.

On a personal note, I’m in the process of writing my second novel, Casimir Pulaski Day, (Yes, like the Sufjan Stevens song.) and I’m seriously considering self-publishing it for all of the reasons I just mentioned, and more.

So, literary world…Stop hating on self-published authors, because they’re probably making more money than you are, and they have 100% artistic freedom that’s not being taken by “The Man”. Peace out.

Secrets to Saving Money in College: Textbooks

2010-03-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Being the piss-poor person that I am, I've found a lot of crafty ways to save money during college.
If you're a High School senior, this will be perfect for you. The best way to be prepared is to live through other's mistakes. Normally, when I give these tips to people after the fact that they already spent hundreds or thousands of dollars, the noise they make sounds really similar to Charlie Brown's "UGH" scream.
Are you ready to save money on textbooks? Here we go.
(Let me say in advance that I'm not getting paid to promote any websites or companies I enforce on this blog. Pfft, I wish I was.)

Textbooks
The #1 tip someone will tell you to save money on textbooks is: "Buy it used!"
This is true, but that's not always the best route. Even a used edition of a textbook could still cost over $100 if you buy it in the college book store. Here are some ways that I guarentee you'll save hundreds of dollars.

Chegg.com actually lets you rent a textbook for a fraction of what it would cost to buy it. I've never done it myself. But from what I've been told, you get it in the mail (So far everyone has told me they got a NEW copy), you use it, then when you're done, you send it back.

Ask About Editions
Depending on the way your class is constructed, your professor may not care what edition of the book you buy, because information could be almost exactly the same. (Sadly, this never gets by if your professor is making a commission off of the textbook sales.)
For example:
In my Law 101 class, the textbook was only used for extra credit questions and an independent study tool. The syllabus said to buy the 5th edition, which cost $200 new, $90 used. I bought the 4th Edition used on Border's Marketplace for only $15 and still got an A in the class. (Barnes and Noble also has a used textbook section on their website.)

Ask Around
This is a little difficult to do as a freshman, but ask around for people who have had the same class/teacher before. "Does the professor actually use the textbook?" I can't tell you how many times I spent hundreds of dollars on a book I never even opened. If you don't know any upperclassmen, check out Rate My Professor.

The Buddy System
If at all possible, share you textbook with someone, especially if you have the same course but different class times. Also: try trading. This works really well if you know people within your same major. I've saved a lot of money just switching off a class I had completed and my friend hadn't, and vise versa.

The Library
Not many people know this, but many teachers leave a copy of the textbook on reserve at the campus library. Every school works a little bit differently, but in most cases, you can ask behind the desk to see if there's a list of professors.
Even if you can't find your own professor's name, try finding out through the school's website what other profs are teaching the same course and use the same textbook.
The only downside to this method is that you can't bring the book in class. The library will let you use it to study or do work, but it can't leave the building.

So there we go! I hope this helped some people out there. I'll probably be posting more college-themed blogs in the future. If you know any other tips on saving for textbooks, leave a comment and let me know.

Finally, the New Scott Pilgrim Release Date!

2010-03-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

After months of teasing his fans via LiveJournal and Flickr with single frames, bits of script, and a picture of the cover that slowly became less and less pixilated every day, Bryan Lee O'Malley finally announced the release of Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour, the 6th installment in the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. For only $11.99 on July 20th, 2010, fans can cradle the book in their arms and stop re-reading the older volumes.

For those of you who have never read Scott Pilgrim, I need to ask you to first go order all 5 volumes immediately. You'll thank me later. It's one of those series where I could sit and try to explain the plot, but it doesn't stand up to the actual experience of reading the books. All you need to know is that it's epic, and it's a proven fact that you will become 200% cooler just by reading it.

With the movie version, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, directed by Edgar Wright (Sean of the Dead) being prepped for release as we speak, Scott Pilgrim is beginning to start a buzz among both geeks and hipsters alike. Even the awkwardly adorable Michael Cera (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), the actor chosen to play Scott, was a huge fan of the series before he stepped onto the set.

Keep an ear out in the coming months to see new geeklettes gabbing about this series. Before we know it, we'll most likely see merchandise popping on shelves. But for now, you still have the chance to act like you were in the know and say "I liked it before the movie came out. Now it's so commercial!" with your wine glass in hand. I won't blow your cover.

High Fashion Vs. Being Realistic.

2010-03-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Despite my avid sarcasm towards people who take fashion too seriously, I have to admit that I love it. I'm the type of girl who cruises the catalogs of my favorite designers, picks up ideas from Lookbook.nu, and occasionally tunes in to runway shows online and on TV. My eyes pop at the styles, however ridiculous, worn by the actors on Gossip Girl, but I realize that for most people, this isn't in the scope of reality.

My problem isn't with people wanting to look good. I just have an issue with how people can even fathom spending a fortune on clothes, especially when they will only wear it once. I think the only exception to this rule would be a wedding dress. (Although I think I'd rather have open-heart surgery than wear a dress that cost over $1,000. I don't care how rich my future husband is.)

Let me give you an example right here...
Say you're going to a cocktail party or the opening of an art gallery. You want the perfect Little Black Dress. Mind you, this is New York. God forbid it's like High School prom, when you walk in and your face sinks because 3 girls have the same dress as you from Deb. (Thankfully didn't happen to me.) To a certain extent, I can understand why high society women want to buy designer dresses. If it was The Oscars, I could definitaly see that. But for a normal event, what's the big deal?

One of my best friends happens to come from The Upper East Side. "I can't believe you never heard of Saks Fifth Avenue! Every girl in New York practically lives in that place!" he told me. I replied that even if I knew of its existence, I wouldn't have been able to afford it. And I was right. I started looking at their online catalog.

Seeing these prices really reminds me of Good Morning America, when the people will start holding up "Great steals in this hard economy! Let's compare this $700 pair of heels. You can get a similar pair for only $100 here! So chic!" And I just roll my eyes.

You want to talk about real deals?
Let's get back to that little black dress.
I found this sleeveless black dress to the right from Saks, and it costs $225.00 (Which could be a bargain, considering how many of the dresses I found there cost over $1,500.)
Compare to this second dress on the left, which I found at Forever 21 for only $24.80! And I actually like it better, because it has much more detail with the pleats, but it's extremely similar in the way that it is a sleeveless cocktail dress.

Why would you pay 10 times as much money for basically the same product? The designer name won't make you hotter. It's the female version of a man driving a Hummer. You have to question if they're compensating for something else.

Can I Threaten to Move to Canada Now?

2010-03-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

If these were my doctors, I don't think I'd mind the bills so much...

I just stumbled upon a video from Barack Obama's Youtube channel, and seeing the statistics in my face fuels my motivation even more to support his ideals for the new health care reform.

I'm only 20 years old, and I live without any major health problems. Thankfully, no one in my personal life is suffering from the the health care system to the point of bankruptcy. But this topic still gets my blood boiling when people ignore the reality of the situation and write it off, calling Obama a "Socialist."

Let me give you an example from my own personal life on how effed up The System is.
1. In 2008, my father gets laid off. Our family loses health insurance

2. My family applies for Medicaid for my younger siblings, and since I'm over 18, I had to apply separately. I get denied, because...

a) At the time, I was earning an above average amount of money for a full-time college student.
So, because of the fact I took responsibility for my own bills and decided to fund my own education, it ended up hurting me.
b) I had the opportunity to apply for insurance from my current school, but I couldn't afford to hand over the $200 down payment to be added to the policy. I had bills to pay with the money I was making, and I was naive enough to think my dad would find work again soon and I'd be okay.
3. I go to the hospital. I was sick with a flu that was going around, and it got to the point when I was vomiting blood and became severely dehydrated. I was brought to the emergency room, where they took X-rays and all sorts of tests because they thought it could possibly be my appendix. I leave after a couple hours, because I was fine. The blood was from the lining of my throat, and I didn't have any major problem.
4. One month later, I get a bill in the mail totaling around $8,000. (Just a little under what I had made in 2008)
5. I go into the hospital offices to apply for Charity Care, being (as Medicaid labeled me) a responsible adult who's supposed to be able to take care of myself. The hospital told me that I'm too young to apply for independent Charity Care. I need to be 24 or living on my own. It's apparently my parent's responsibility.
6. My parents refuse to go co-sign any responsibility for my bills, in fear of it effecting all of their own problems. The hospital reduced my bills to about $4,000, but for me, that is STILL a lot of money.

Even if the problem in the health care system is fixed in the future, and even if I find a way to pay off these bills, that doesn't change the fact that it has basically ruined my credit score for the next 10 years. If I ever want to buy a house on a mortgage, I'd probably be denied. This hospital debt over something completely stupid is going to haunt me the rest of my life.

This situation ruined my financial reputation overnight. I try not to imagine what would happen if I was in a real accident...Broken bones, disease, or anything along those lines. Since I left school, I no longer have insurance, and there aren't any jobs out there that I'm qualified for that actually offer health benefits.

If you're young and uninsured, think about the consequences. If you were against the health care reform, think of Canada. To them, it's normal to realize that people get sick. It's normal to come to the realization that...Oh! You know what? People shouldn't have to go bankrupt if they get sick! If you tried to call Canadians "Socialists" I think all you would get in response is, "Eh?" Or maybe a punch in the face.

LOST Fans Fear The End

2010-03-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

Will we be crying tears of joy with Penny?

With the series finale only about 10 episodes away, LOST fans scramble to get their questions answered. For the past 6 years, people have been discovering that the title doesn't refer to being lost on an island, but rather, how the viewers feel about the storyline. Theories are debated, Dharma parties are thrown, and fans like me have spent months trying to catch up to the current episodes, and I'm feeling much like Charlie without his heroine.
Will this be a repeat of the weeks following the Obama election, when college-aged people lost purpose when they could no longer rally for the first black president?
Will we still have questions to answer when the season is finally over, or will we be left with everything falling into place?

If you're the type of person who enjoys listening to podcasts and commentaries, you should really check out Jorge Garcia (The guy who plays Hurley) and his girlfriend Beth Shady's blog/podcast called Geronimo Jack's Beard.
If the title by itself isn't enough to convince you, check out their logo. I laughed out loud when I saw it, especially since it reminds me of the Fine Brother's parodies with Jack's beard.
Anyway, from listening I discovered that even the actors have no idea what's going to happen! Oh, brother. (Right, Desmond?)

College Education in an Emo Economy

2010-03-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

Why is it emo? That's why they call it a Depression. Whether the mass media is willing to admit it or not, our economy is not in a Recession anymore. We're close to the exact same level of unemployment and pure suckage that we were in the 1920/30's. Jobs are extremely hard to come by. And even if you're lucky enough to have one, it's possible that within the next couple years, you'll join the masses of people who will be laid off.

I work at a college, and I can't tell you how many times I have heard professors and administration say, "There's no better time to be in college!" with a thumbs up and a smile. But...why?
How is it good for me to finish my BA next year and realize that there are still no jobs available? I'll only have more student loan debt and the same chance to get a job that I did before.

Dan Brown brought up a fantastic point in one of his newer rants entitled "An Open Letter to Education", stating that with the growth of The Internet, the value of knowledge is at a slow decline. And for many of us, it has become pointless to even attend college anymore.

I agree with a lot of what he's saying. However, if your life dream is to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or anything that actually requires a degree in order to have that job, you're an idiot if you think you can drop out of college and still be happy. For me, I just so happen to be one of the people whose life dream doesn't require a degree; Just hard work and luck.

But there are those of us who don't even have a choice. Even with my scholarship that covered my tuition in full, it was somewhere in between stealing toilet paper from the maid carts and hoarding food from the breakfast room while I was away at college that I realized I wasn't going to be able to afford it anymore. Maybe in the future when I don't have as many debts to pay, I can earn a degree whose value is just to look shiny on the wall. But for right now, I'm a working gal...Minus the stripping.

Holy 90's, Roxy!

2010-03-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

As a long-time Roxy fan, I have to say I'm actually disappointed in their new 2010 spring/summer collection. I just got done watching Seventeen's review, and I just sat here thinking, Are they serious?

I know that vintage is "in" right now, but there are certain things that should have died in the 90's...Grunge was cool when Kurt Cobain did it, but not so much now. Or if Pretty in Pink is what you're going for, then I guess it's alright.
But then again, I'm not exactly a fashion expert. If you don't mind having rope burn to go with your tan line, (Assuming you actually, you know...Go to a beach with your surf-label clothes), then fine by me.

To be fair, I'm looking at their catalog on Roxy.com and I'm seeing a LOT of pieces that I'm falling in love with. Their bikinis are adorable, and I'm loving their graffiti-esque and photography transpaperent screenprint tees. There's also one short-sleeved hoody I would buy if I actually had money, if only for the fact that there are vespas on it. But then again, it reminds me of The Karate Kid, and I realize I'm better off.
But the bottom line is, if you're hot, you're going to look good in anything you wear. So runway models and toned surfer girls, rejoice! You can still represent your favorite brand and look adorable doing it. Don't believe me?

Holy 90's. I think this picture speaks for itself.

A little introduction...

2010-03-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

My name is Shannon Quinn. I'm 20 years old, and I'm going to start a blog like pretty much every other person on the planet.

As an aspiring writer/photographer who's not willing to kiss too much ass, there's only so much I can do to get my work known in the public eye. So let me be thankful that The Internet exists. I'm not exactly Peter Parker; riding his bike around NYC with a camera around his neck pretending he's not actually using a tripod to get pictures of Spiderman, then sucking up to a boss who doesn't give a shit about his life. But then again, I don't have super powers. So I think I lose this one.

But I digress. So what IS this blog going to be about? Quite honestly, I have no idea. I could review a new album, travel, fashion, politics, sports, TV, movies, food, people, or whatever happens to be on my mind at the moment. Think of it like Cool Hunting...Only not as cool.