do i think that i've improved?

well, ya, i'd say that i've improved but am i necessarily liking the idea of blogging? yes, i do like it but i still can't quite get used to it. it is hard for me to sit down on the computer and type something that i think about because either i think about something and then forget about it by the time i get to a computer or it is too weird of a thought to actually put on the internet where it will forever be present. no, i've enjoyed the experience and i really have come to like reading others' blogs but i am not sure what my blogging future will look like.
i realized that a person can talk about anything on here. between being able to upload videos, pictures, music etc, one can really express their ideas, concerns, joys and experiences well over a highway such as this. but what will this consist of in the future? ya, sure, it all may be voice activated and recorded which will allow for more free-flowing thoughts to rattle off but will the time come when a person doesn't just sit down in front of a computer to type their thoughts? will they be able to record something on their watch, send it to a blog site and then speak into a pen that will create the blog all together?
sorry... i can get carried away but the future of site such as this can be a really interesting thing to think about.
so back to my individual future with blogging... i feel scared to put anything too serious up on a public site like this because i would feel violated if someone were to read it and think it was stupid. yes, i know that everyone is entitled to their own opinion about anything i say, but i wouldn't want their comment to be read by other readers who then, in turn, think that my writing/thoughts are dumb. okay, i need to build up the confidence level, but still... you must understand what i am trying to say.
my other wonder is why don't more people blog? yes, i am sure i don't know of all the people that blog but i would think that in college or high school people would really enjoy a resource such as this and i was not really exposed to something like this until this year. teachers in english departments often encourage us to write a blog but in respect of their class relativeness, i don't find my writing on a blog very applicable to my writing for an english class... yes, maybe a creative one, but not a shakespearean one or the like.
well, i know that i've taken this to a level that may be a little to extreme or unneeded but i just wanted to get my thoughts out there about blogging. i respect the idea but it is going to take a little more to get me hooked on it. i feel that a handwritten journal may be a little more soothing, especially when vamping about something private that i would feel uncomfortable putting up on the world wide web.

1905 to... 2008?!

HOLY COW. you know the saying that your grandparents say?... "my, how times have changed..."

Well, yes, they have... tremendously!
Take a look at some of these facts:

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.
With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.
The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
a dentist $2,500 per year,
a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and
a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.
Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education.
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
Pneumonia and influenza
Tuberculosis
Diarrhea
Heart disease
Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)
Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

Does that just make your jaw drop?! i find facts like this amazing. now, the population should wonder why gas prices have gone up so much... i remember when gas prices were below a whole dollar and i was only born in 1986! what did my grandfather experience when he lived through the great depression? how did it affect his life? i remember back a couple years ago before my grandparents passed away that when i would call them on sundays for our "weekly chat" it would barely even be a chat. it would consist of an exchange of words such as this: "hi grammy and poppop, how are you? ... well good to hear from you, i guess that you need to go... bye" and that was it. they still thought that they were living in the depression and that costs of using the telephone were still astronomical compared to their income level. it amazes me!

Amstetten, Austria

How disturbing can a story be? Have you heard about this? A couple of days ago I woke to my roommate's gasp as she read this story on CNN and ever since i have been amazed by the sickness of the story. In Amstetten, Austria and 73 year old man kept his daughter in a soundproof cellar below his house where he raped her and where she birthed 6 of his children... or his grandchildren. when this enslavement started and people started asking the father where his daughter had gone he claimed that she had run away to be in a religious cult and there was no way he could get into touch with her. after 24 years of being in the basement, this 42 year old woman of his is now able to see the sunlight once again. how? well, three of her children lived above ground while three lived below the ground with her. when one child who lived above ground became sick, the grandfather/father (how should i even address him?!) took him to the hospital. he was extremely ill and when the doctors asked who the mother was, the father/grandfather didn't know how to react. police were called and started questioning this man. when the horrible situation was figured out, the captives were found and released. the daughter wouldn't speak until she was guaranteed that her children and she would be safe from the father/grandfather and that they would never have to see him again. could you imagine? the wife of the 73 year old man (and the daughters mother) claimed to know nothing... seriously? get a better story than that, lady.

here is the bathroom that they four captives used:


here is one of the skinny bedrooms in the cellar:


and here is the entrance/exit to the basement:


DOES IT NOT JUST MAKE YOUR STOMACH TWIST INTO A KNOT?!?!
how could any human being be this sick?!

why obsolete?

why are polaroid cameras and pictures becoming obsolete? i can remember them from my earliest birthday in memory... i would be sitting in front of my cake at my favorite restaurant (probably pizza hut or something) and the waiter would sing happy birthday to me and then snap the picture. he would place it in a fragile, little paper frame and stand the picture right in front of me. we were told to blow on it and shake it to make it develop faster. those were the days. remember how great you thought the pictures were?! what about when you would have the birthday parties as your house and as you were swinging to hit the pinata, your mom would snap a picture of you... and that memorable sound would resound in your head. i can still here it now: snaaap... ehhhrrrr... plllltttt... and all of the sudden a picture would spit out of the front of the camera. i remember i would just rip the picture out of the old-school machine and run around and shake it. then, when it was ready, i would show it to everyone with pride.

now look at today. i was babysitting this past friday night at a party. i was supposed to keep the little kids "contained" while the mothers ate and drank happily. i started taking pictures of the youngest one... about 20 months old. i would take a picture of her and immediately she would run over to me wanting to see the digital image of her photo. it amazed me that she knew what this little machine i was holding actually did. she would then say "no... that one no good" and signal me to take another picture of her due to her limited speech abilities.



even the older girls knew how to place boarders on the digital images and how to zoom and delete. it really shows how technology infiltrates the minds of youth. so, it's not that i don't like the sophistication and ease of the new digital cameras but that i miss the old-school sound and memories that surround the polaroid camera...

www.smu.edu/classgiving

Does anyone know what the Union is on SMU's campus? Unfortunately, the answer is probably a "no". Recently I received an email from one of my friends that is on the Union and his email explained the following: SMU has approximately 13% of it's alumni give back every year. Some may think that is a lot of money but now in the large spectrum of things. Schools that SMU compares itself to, ie. Vanderbilt, Baylor, TCU, all have at least 31% of their alumni give back to the school. Yes, SMU has a substantial endowment but it is nothing compared to the Princetons and Yales.
By only giving back a small amount each year and keeping up with your pledge, SMU's number can grow and it will be us, the students, who benefit from it. Our degrees will be worth more and SMU's reputation will only rise. The high standards set by the school will be even more dignified and our athletics will become stronger.
So, please, if you can just set aside about $20, that is all we, the Union, are asking. For my class of 2009 we are asking each student to pledge $20.09 representing our graduation year. But, please, don't feel obligated to donate that much. To some $20 is a lot and to others it is a great expense so please just reflect on what SMU has done for you.
It has been tough to get these words across to my peers but I feel that if I only get one person to donate, I have made a difference.

ding fries are done

how viral can you get? i think that this video is so awesome and whether or not this was a successful campaign for burger king, it definitely has a jingle that will stay in everyone's minds for a long time. ha! i can't stop laughing! yes, this computer generation is a little old but when it is done so simplistically like this, it only allows someone to laugh at its concept. with almost 2 million views on this one video, it proves the point that this is viral. there are about 50 other versions of this same video on the internet that im sure have received about the same amount of audiences.

in my mind, i think that viral videos are soon going to take over. now that they are able to be sent to cell phones and PDAs, people are obsessed. young kids think that they're funny, young adults think that they are stupidly hilarious and adults get a kick out of them (most of the time as long as they are appropriate)

have any of you seen any other viral videos that you want to share?

Best Wedding First Dance

after reading my previous blog someone might get really freaked out that i am too into my future and that i am throwing my life away but i promise you that i am not. i was sent this video in an email from my dad asking if we could do this at MY wedding as the "father daughter dance". YES! how great! i am such a tomboy and i dont know if i could even keep it together during a dance with my father... i don't want him to "give me away"! i am his baby! i then sent the email to my mom and she loved it too but then she started talking about some of the guests might think... who cares?! she said: well so and so might think that it is really inappropriate but this person might think that its just great! blah blah... it would be my wedding if this happened... and let's meet the actual groom before we start planning the funny "father daughter dance"! but why am i even thinking about my future so much? just the other day i met with someone to talk about my resume. in class today one of my professors told me about how much i would be making in the different jobs within my profession. i was sent this email from my father about MY wedding... which is when, again? ... not any time soon!

Why am i being bombarded with future-related topics and life issues?! is it really time for me to grow up?

wait, eight more days?

so here i am typing this blog on a monday morning when i only have eight days of my junior year of college left. yes, i still have exams to follow but only eight more SCHOOL days! i can't believe it! i remember having to say goodbye to all of my friends when we were all leaving for college like it was yesterday. heck... i remember my first day of kindergarden. okay, i know that i'm not a senior but my five best friends are so i think that i have senioritis due to their lack of interest in school. what's going to be in store for me my senior year? i know where i am going to live but am i going to do well in my classes or am i going to slack off? (i would hope not too much) :) i know that i have all of my classes figured out for my next two semesters of college but what if i missed some credit hours that i have to take and i end up having to stay an extra semester? how is it going to be next year when i am a senior in my sorority? yes, now i hold a vice president position and I am on the executive council but what about when my position concludes in January? What am i going to do with myself for the whole second semester? I know that i'll still have Relay for Life stuff to work on but this is just weird to think about. what am i going to do after i graduate? will i stay in dallas or will i move? chicago? NY? who knows?! this is so intimidating to me! how often will i get to see my parents? when am i going to get married?!

ahh... i am stressing myself out. i guess that this is a good place to splurge all of my thoughts and wonders but now im freaking myself out more. i know that over the next year i am going to mature and grow even more so i feel that i am really prepared but i just need to keep my fingers crossed!

welcome to the best day ever...

right now i am exausted and paying for my long day yesterday but it was the best. yesterday i went and played beach volleyball with all of my best friends from 11-4. we went to this place called the Yucatan Beach club in Coppell, TX. It is off of beltline and as soon as we pulled up i was in shock. the bar and restaurant part of the area was in a huge warehouse and was not very aesthetically appealing. it was a little rough around the edges. between the smell of chlorine from the small pool in the back and the musty old bar smell, i couldn't believe where i was. now, don't get me wrong, i am not a prude but i appreciate my clean surroundings. so, we all walked in and immediately the four men sitting at the bar turned around and just stared at us. we stopped and got two buckets of beer and continued out to the courts. it was great! yes, being from florida i thought that it was weird that i was going to play "beach" volleyball in the center of texas, but oh well... so we started playing and the fun didn't stop. all we did was laugh and have a great time!



at about 4pm we all left Yucatan and came back to campus. we all changed quickly and then had to be at the intramural fields by 4:30. we were going to six flags with my sorority for a date dash! when we all got to the park we went on Superman's Tower of Power:



this was the tallest ride of this kind in the world! it was so scary!... i was freaking out when i went on it but why weren't all the other little kids on the ride totally freaked out, too?
next, we went on Batman The Ride:



we went up to 50 mph and over 11 stoires high! our last roller-coaster that we went on was Mr. Freeze. OH MY GOSH! this one was over 24 stories high, 70mph and the scariest thing i have ever done!



we even got a picture from the park that was taken when we were on the ride. our faces were ridiculous! We didn't leave the park until it closed at 10pm and I came home, showered and immediately went to sleep. my feel were almost black because i wore flip flops to the park (because i thought that we were going to go on the water rides but it was too cold). i wish that we could have gotten to go on more rides but because it was a saturday with beautiful weather it seemed that everyone in the world was at the park. Speaking of everyone in the world being at the park, how much PDA can someone show with their boyfriend? i couldn't believe how couples were just all over each other... even in front of their kids or someone else's kids! it was gross. some people were also so rude between the cussing and stealing things. we even saw two young girls get arrested for trying to steal a "tweety bird stuffed animal" from one of the carnival games. Yesterday was a cultural day for me... between the Yucatan and the beauties of Six Flags, I feel that I present myself quite well.

Ballet Commercial

this commercial just blows my mind! i was shown this commercial in one of my advertising classes and then i was told to critique it. this Casa Isenbeck beer ballet ad objectified women sexually. I felt that although the ad was about a man, his friends, beer and their camaraderie, woman were put into the spotlight in a ballet class inappropriately. Whether than man's face was in a woman's breast, waist or crotch, the whole idea of the ad was about a man and his obsession with the woman body. yes, i understand these commercials are funny and attract viewers, but i think that there are much better ways in which to go about attracting target markets.

SMU Relay For Life 2008

so Friday, the 11th was Relay For Life. I was Chair of the event and my board and i worked so hard to get ready for this big event. our goal this year is to raise over $120,000. Last year the event raised a little under $115,000! Our event here at SMU is the largest collegiate fundraiser for American Cancer Society in the state of Texas. The video above was done by one of my Board members. She, herself, is a cancer survivor and I respect her so much for taking the time to fight cancer. She has been so brave and courageous and I wish that all of the students at SMU could know her story. I know that almost everyone in this day-in-age has been affected by cancer in some way... whether close or far, this cause is one to be noticed and supported. so, if you believe in this fight, i hope you came out to the boulevard to support! if you didn't get the opportunity to, come out to next year's event... it is going to be fantastic! below is a link to the Daily Campus article that was published in the paper on Friday, the 11th.

http://media.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/2008/04/11/News/Relay.For.Life.To.Bring.Entertainment.To.The.Boulevard-3319076.shtml

my 2nd spring break

so, as you may or may not know, i am an only child. yes, sometimes i wonder what it would be like to have a sibling, but trust me, i have no regrets about my life... i couldn't ask for anything more! but, to take place of my non-existent siblings, i have always been very close to my friends and cousins and considered them something like brothers and sisters. my cousin, beau, who i am especially close to goes to school in santa barbara, california at UC Santa Barbara. he plays basketball out there and loves where he is. we hadn't seen each other all year so we were trying to figure out a time when he could come to dallas or when i could go to santa barbara but nothing was really settled until i realized that he could come to dallas for his spring break. dont ask me why he wouldn't have wanted to stay in beautiful california for his spring break but he traveled with four of his best friends to smu the week after our spring break. so, to say the least, i had two spring breaks... i had a ball with them when they were here! so before they came by best friend and i sat down and drew just like we did before we went to my house for new years (see earlier post). here is the drawing:



my favorite part is at the bottom of the drawing... notice how they drove, in a 15 passenger van, halfway across the country to get here. seeing that these boys were all pretty good looking, all of my friends here were pretty excited to have them come so therefore we have the "UCSB+SMU="heart"/"love" haha. the boys got here on a tuesday and left that following sunday. the reason for "pottsboro, tx" on there is because thursday, friday, saturday and sunday were spent out at my uncles lake house/ "the cabin" in pottsboro. i dont know if any of you have ever been to pottsboro, but the only thing to do there is drink, swim and have fun. ohhh... and did we have fun!

what about handwriting? what can it tell you?

taking notes while sitting in class the other day i got to thinking... why is my handwriting totally different than the class time before? i couldn't figure out why my handwriting from that monday was so different than that of Wednesday's. monday's was very small and square looking... very neat and put together. all of my bullet points were in an exact line and all of my notes were very succinct. but... wednesday's were a little different. they had a "right slant" to them and they were much more "cursive like"... they had a flow to them that didn't make them as neat as monday's even though they weren't messy at all. i don't remember having to write faster on wednesday than on monday but i might have just been in more of a relaxed mood. i might have been more tired? i did some research and here is what i found (http://www.viewzone.com/handwriting.html) "When analyzing writing style, first look at the handwriting in general, much like you would a painting. Make mental notes of the most outstanding traits and try to get a general feeling of the writer. (After 20 years of experience I can usually put the writer in a category right away.) Then, determine the emotional energy of the writer. This is the most important factor of the personality of the writer. The emotional energy has a direct impact on every other trait displayed in the handwriting. Emotional energy is determined by how much pressure the writer uses when he writes. If you examine the writing you can determine how much pressure was used by how "dark" the writing is. Also, if you turn the page over and feel the underside you can feel how much pressure was used (especially if the sample was written on a soft surface)."



the website then went on to say: "The slant is the second indicator to look for. The slant indicates the writers emotional response to external forces. A right slant (////) signals one who responds strongly to emotional situations. They are caring, warm and outgoing-- their heart rules their mind. A vertical slant (llll) writer tries to keep their emotions in check-- mind rules their heart. A left slant writer (\\\\) will conceal their emotions and is observed as cold and indifferent." I thought that all of this was really interesting because although i noticed the difference a lot, i never really did anything to figure out what caused the difference. does this ever happen to any of you?

missing home

so i was driving in my car the other day and i found myself lost in downtown dallas. i am from a small town in florida and realized that my normal way of navigation was to look at the ocean and the river and i would easily be able to figure out where east and west was. well, there was no water to be found in downtown so i tried to figure out where the "green building" was and where the ball tower/reunion tower was. even though i found those i couldn't navigate very well because of all the one way streets and busy traffic. so when i got aggravated on got on the phone and called one of my best friends from home. when daniel answered the phone by saying "hey" i immediately said this: "hi, i am stuck in downtown dallas and i can't tell where i am and where i need to go because i don't have the ocean and river to tell me where i am. this is so aggravating! what are you doing?" and when he responded my heart was saddened... haha. he said "i am at the beach with whitney and carly" (those are my two best girlfriends from high school). i couldn't believe it. not that i was homesick or didn't want to be in dallas, but i would have loved to be at the beach with them. i could just picture the warm sun and the beating waves and i could smell the salty, fresh air. before i got off the phone with him, i spoke to whitney and i was like well you guys have to draw me in the sand so i am there with you! i told them to draw me laying on a beach towel sunbathing with them. when i got off the phone i got a picture text and this is what they sent me:



this made me so happy! having grown up on the beach it was just a comfort thing i guess. now that summer is right around the corner i can't wait to get home to lay on the beach. i know as soon as i get home i will miss all of my friends here in dallas and smu but right now i think everyone just needs a break. yes, spring break was good but spring break isn't really a break. it is too full of partying and fun (which i am not complaining about) but i am in desperate need of a break... just laying there with a cold drink in my hand listening to some great music.

taking a step back from life

living in dallas and going to smu sometimes takes a toll on you. no, i am not complaining that i am in a bad situation... i am living in such a bubble. being surrounded by so much money, expensive cars, nice houses, etc, a person can get caught up in life and forget what is real. it is really interesting to walk around highland park village, galleria or northpark to see some of the outfits and jewelry some people wear. some of the women are so into themselves and i know i shouldn't be criticizing them but it's true... they pu;; up in their fancy pants car and get out dropping the keys into the valet's hand. they prance into the nearest high-class department store with a swagger that draws attention. i noticed this situation this weekend when i was shopping with my mom. this lady was standing in line behind me while i was paying for a piece of clothing that i bought and she kept shifting her weight, sighing and tapping her foot because she thought i was taking such a long time... hold you horses lady! take a chill pill! finally she asked the clerk: um, excuse me, is there any other place i can check out... these people are taking too long"... IT WAS THE CREDIT CARD MACHINE HOOK UP that was taking too long. Ohhhhhhhh it made me so mad. I wanted to say something so badly but luckily my mom and her good heart was standing right next to me. There is a quote that I thought displayed my opinion on materialism perfectly: Materialism coarsens and petrifies everything, making everything vulgar, and every truth false." -Henri Frederic Amiel

junk email... a task to handle

sometimes i feel like the world has my email address. not only do i get a billion emails (at least what feels like a billion) a day from SMU but i am now starting to receive emails from all of my mom's friends who are obsessed with the chain emails! it's worse than spam!! they send me all of these emails with funny messages attached to them either about politics or about old age and i can't figure out why i am included in the emails except for the long list of questions they ask me at the beginning of the email. How are you? What are you up to? Do you have a boyfriend? If so, what's his name? Is he cute? Where's he from? How's Tri Delta? How's Relay? When are you coming home next? Can you babysit for me? ... AHHH you're killing me smalls! (*the best movie ever) Well, to start off my real reason for blogging on this topic is because I received this wonderful attachment in an email this morning:



yes, i may have laughed out loud but i still don't need this crap filling up my inbox! incase you can't read what the conversation consists of it says:
Older lady: Morning Nancy! What are you doing there?
Young girl: *sob* My goldfish died! So I'm burying it!
Older lady: Haha, you silly girl! That hole is far too big for a goldfish!
Young girl: That's because he's inside your f***ing cat!

HAHA the thing that made me laugh was that the lady that sent me this email knew me when i was really young and told me that this girl looked a lot like me when i would play outside.. the brown/blonde curly hair. my mom's friend also mention that this was something i would have done if a cat ate my goldfish because i have never liked cats!

final four...

So, here's my prediction. I think that with UCLA, UNC, Memphis and Kansas being in the Final Four I am going to have a heart attack... three of those teams I care about tremendously! (Well, I guess that you could say i have a strong opinion about all four). College basketball these days is so much more entertaining to watch than pro because collegiate players are still playing for the joy of the game and for the true competition. when you get into the pros, all they care about are the endorsements and money... their contracts. Well, UCLA I don't have much respect for because I think that kevin love, although good, isn't the best player out there... Memphis, although it would look great on conference USA's record to have a national champion, they are just going to be moved out of our conference as soon as they win! also, UNC and KU's basketball programs (and schools in general) are just too traditional and respectful compared to Memphis. Now to UNC... my love. Roy Williams=class act. He is so wonderful and fits perfectly into the UNC aura. I know KU is bitter about losing him... but Tyler Hansbrough?! He's awesome! So talented! I don't know if I think that he deserves to win more than "the blur"... So, onto KU... I love Brandon Rush. I think that he is such a strong player and really has a strong mindset.... I am sorry if i offended anyone while writing this. I know that people have very strong opinions about these teams just as i do... but everyone also has their own right to free speech! no matter who makes it to the finals (as long as KU or UNC win), I won't mind haha... :)

Jack Sandwich

i have been seeing this commercial and it really bugs me. why does everything (mostly) have to be made sexual in advertising these days? first of all, the couple who want to "try new things" is gross. i know that this commercial is supposed to be cheasy and funny but at the end of the commercial when it says "you know you want it" is that supposed to intend that you want to try new sexual things or is it supposed to mean that we want the new sandwich...? i think we all know which one the common audience thinks of... and look, i can't even remember the name of the sandwich other than the nasty ladies quote: "ya... let's make a jack sandwich"... her boyfriend/husband distracts me enough with his nasty mullet!

Airless Tire Michelin

here is the video to follow up on my previous blog. the tweel is something that i think is going to take over the tire industry. imagine: no more flat tires, repair kits, air valves, or air compressors at gas stations!

how space age!?

i recieved an email with "new michelin tires" in the subject line. obviously it was a chain email and normally i read them only if they are from my mom or one of my close friends. i almost deleted this email, though, because why am i the one to care about tires?! my mom's side of the family are "car people". my grandfather owned a car dealership and now all three of my uncles own their own in virginia. being raised around cars and noticing their particular qualities, i didn't delete the email and opened it to see what it said. these pictures where the first things i saw:









how cool? but, how strange? the email said that the tires were going to be coming out on the market soon but I haven't found a true release date on the internet. i am also not sure if i would use them right away. as with any product, it takes time to work out all the kinks and i feel that such a big technological change could bring about some glitches. the next thing that i thought about was the advertising for this product. i feel like whoever get's this advertising campaign is going to have the easiest, yet hardest, job ever! you could be really creative with the campaign, but it is going to be difficult to get the trust of the people for this product.

clever buses...

how awesome are these ads?! they would definitely catch my attention if i were walking the streets on NY! i especially love the Dr. Best bus with the flexible tooth brush and the flexible body in between the two bus cars... i've always loved to watch those buses in the first place to see if their flexible middle actually flexed! the bus would really hold my attention for a while if i saw it drive by...

my cat is stuck...

can't you just picture this ad in reality? imagine the grandma calling the fire station in her small town because her cat is stuck on top on someone's VW on the street. the VW is too tallfor the cat to jump off of... just as her oak tree is too big, as well.
normally, as a consumer, i would think that VWs are small but this causes me the think that VW are a safer car due to their large, stable design.

look at those pearly whites!!!

would this image get the point across to you if you were a smoker?... i would hope so! i would never kiss a smoker

United Colors of Benetton

In my adv ethics class we were shown a bunch of print advertisements from United Colors of Benetton. I was very intrigued by the graphics and blatancy of their ads. i wanted to see what their tv ads would look like and i found one that i thought was interesting. this ad showed just the orange cat (reprsenting chinese?) sleeping/purring happily. then it screens down to show the white then black cat (representing other races?) sleeping as well... all three coexisting on the same couch (representing the earth?). then the other cat walks past the three sleeping cats... is that saying that all of these "races" can function on the earth without disturbing one another?

Fun with Recession: please keep advertising. Please?

In my advertising literacy class we have been talking a lot about the cutting of a company's advertising budget when the specific company is faced with trouble. i came across this segment when i was searching for basketballs on youtube... for a totally different project I am doing for another class. i really liked how this ad showed the "basketball/company" that kept their advertising segment running circles around the other "basketball/company" that had stopped with that specific budget allotment. it really does show that although it ay be smart to lower the advertising budget in a struggling company a little bit, a company should never completely wipe out their advertising budget due to a recession.

what could this mean?

what does this picture mean? is it saying that the brands pictured are just as dependent on mankind as this baby is? i think that this picture is wonderfully graphic. it reminds me of the United Colors of Benetton approach to advertising. This picture allows you to think for yourself...
I also noticed that this ad might be trying to prove that all of these labels are trying to benefit mankind and that they would never be harmful to anyone... especially a young child nursing: one of the most natural human miracles.
what do you think?

what in the world is a jayhawk... tarheel?

okay... i am the sports fan that i am because of the sports-based household i was raised in. no, sports weren't forced upon me, but every night when i would get home from school and practice, but dad would be watching some kind of game or sportscenter/espn show. my dad played basketball at Kansas... he was a jayhawk. my mom went to UNC- chapel hill and was a tarheel. i was a huge basketball fan of both of these schools but it just dawned on me the other day that i dont know that those two mascots are in real life.



the jayhawk is a mythical bird with an amazing history (i guess that i will never know what this mascot is in real life). the name combines two birds-the blue jay, a noisy, quarrelsome thing known to rob nests, and the sparrow hawk, a stealthy hunter. the message here: Do not turn your back on this bird.



the tarheel is a term that came from north carolina's abundant tar country. the tar, pitch and turpentine were all over north carolina's pine country. when in battles, north carolinians were called "tarheels" because of their tar-covered feet.
i thought that this lesson that i learned was pretty cool. for some reason i never thought about what the terms actually meant... at least my kids will know exactly what a mustang is!

Ford Edge commercial - Faster than a BMW X5

even though this commercial seems well substantiated and ethical, i dont feel that i would really pay attention to it if i saw it on tv. yes, a lot of peoples' dream car is the bmw x5 but people that are in the market for an suv probably aren't going to care that much about how fast their car is... and they might be even more turned off when the bmw x5 is brought up because they are reminded that they can't afford the more expensive car

Greatest Toyota Advertisement

this is worse than the "divorce mobile" advertisement i blogged about before! first of all, i understand the exact situation this girl is in with her father... her father sat down with her to talk about the fact that she has fallen in love... normally my father is cleaning his shotgun at that point. but, once he saw the corolla, he immediately liked the supposed guy that would be inside... little did he know it was a girl. interesting and scandalous commercial, toyota!

White Stripes Coke Commercial

I found intertextuality in this coke commercial because of Jack White's White Stripes. To someone that was a fan of his, from the 1990's on, this ad would be meaningful and cultural. the ad would create meaning. The jingle that the song sings is It’s the right thing to do, and you know it, It’s inside of you, so just show it, love is the truth.” meaning that "the coke side of life" is the right thing to do. the song was written to send the message of love out to the world. that concept is heard continuously and will continue to be... it is comforting to people

Jockey Underwear Commercial 1983

Jim Palmer! Oriols! I told you i was a sports fan! I never knew that he did jockey ads! how funny is that ad... just think back to the time when we were born (mid 1980's)... imagine what the commercials would have looked like! how cheesy! palmer seems to be so "genuine" and "truthful". Do we think the same of advertising today?

Volkswagen DSG Transmission -

my only wish... the kid on the right should have been shown laying on his back "passed out" after the commercial was over... then the ad could have said something like "this car will leave your breathless"... (okay, obviously i am new into the adv world... don't criticize my creativity haha!)
one of my favorite commercials by far! how clever!

Mustang Monday!!!

Being involved with New Student Programs (NSP) I am a big advocate for coming to SMU to visit the campus before and after you have been accepted because I will almost guarantee it that you will fall in love with the campus. When I was in high school I didn't want to go very far away from home and when my parents forced me to go to SMU's campus, my search was immediately over... I bought into the campus and the overwhelming strong presence of the school. Well, this Monday (tomorrow) is Mustang Monday where all newly accepted high school seniors are invited to come to campus and spend the night with student ambassadors in their dorm rooms. It really gives the high school senior a chance to see what life is really like here and will (hopefully) coax them into making the right decision (...SMU!).
My only concern about the event taking place tomorrow is the weather... I really hope that this freezing weather and nasty rain goes away! Please encourage all of the high school seniors you know that are debating on whether or not to come to SMU to visit the campus!

celebrate. remember. fight back!

$115,000... that's a lot of money, isn't it? yes, i think so... that is the amount of money last year's Relay For Life raised on SMU's campus for American Cancer Society. this is an organization that is really close to my heart and i have been involved with the program for the past eight years. last year i was on SMU's Relay For Life Board as the activities and entertainment co-chair. this year i am the head of the 2008 event. i am so excited for all for all of the event and i really want more participation that ever. SMU's Relay, last year, was the largest fundraising college event for ACS! it was great! i want to do it even bigger this year! This years theme for the event is CELEBRATE. REMEMBER. FIGHT BACK! and i think that it fits perfectly. i am going to fight for more and i am not going to stop until cancer is eliminated. if any of you would like to participate in this event, please go to www.smurfl.org. the date of the event is april 11th-12th. it is an overnight event resembling the idea that cancer never sleeps to neither will we when we are fighting it.
PLEASE HELP SUPPORT!

or is this what people really think of her?

...interesting picture of hillary...
if she wins, is this how she is going to be in the white house? although i am apathetic when it comes to the election, is america really ready for a woman on the hill? is she going to be speaking too much of what her husband accomplished and try to do what he didn't accomplish? ...this is another woman being skeptical of her... maybe i could be proven wrong once election time comes around... we will see!

Hillary and the Band

interesting campaign commercial, huh? i haven't ever seen anything like this and i thought that it was a strong approach to gain young adults' attention

india... what?

so, here at SMU, an opportunity was given to students to travel to India this summer to take advertising classes and to travel around the area of Ahmedabad. Because I am a junior and just getting into my advertising major, i became very interested in this opportunity because it presents me with the only summer program where i could get six hours of advertising classes accomplished. my interest was also sparked because who goes to india on a study abroad program? normally students go to london, paris, australia... but india?! really?! i don't think that i would ever go to india if it wasn't for this and one of my best friends growing up is from there so i am really excited to see what it is like and to learn about the culture! please let me know if you have ever been there or if you are interested in going on the trip! the trip is open to all students, not just advertising students and non-SMU students can attend, too!
here's the map of the area:





how different and cool? i am really excited, but nervous in anticipation at the same time! come!

reverted...

so over christmas break i think that i reverted to my childhood. i remember it like it was yesterday, sitting in my first grade classroom engulfed in a book that my favorite teacher was reading to my whole class. i remember thinking: how can she pronounce those weird words? how can she even read so well? will i ever be able to read that well? is the BFG real?
well... i reread the BFG over christmas break... sitting out by the pool and on the beach, i took a step back in time to see if i got anything more out of that reading than just a cute story about a little girl and a friendly giant. i realized that i now saw things in that book that i never picked up on before. i saw lessons of treating people with kindness and how to have an open mind to new experiences. it seems as though, at a young age, kids have so much more bravery than we do as adults or young adults. Sophie, the little girl in the book, was scared at first but she learned to trust the giant and appreciate him for who he was... i am not sure i would be able to do that today.
now, i know that i am looking at this from a ridiculous point, but think about your experiences as a child compared to today. they will probably be a little more reserved.

why can they be on there?

so the idea that parents can be on facebook bothers me... i don't know why. i just think that it is a place for young people, in college or recently graduated. when facebook opened up to high school i thought that was weird, and now those kids have taken over the entire concept.
yes, i know that i am taking this shirt literally and not for the joke behind it... (and by the way i think that those jokes are dumb) but who would even care if "i facebooked their mom"? i am friends with a lot of people on facebook that i know but not well at all... it is a networking thing. you can get into contact with people really easily and quickly. so what if i wanted to get into touch with your mom quickly? wouldn't it be nice to be able to facebook her? no insult there...

more about dogs...

THE BEST AD EVER! as you saw below, i love dogs... especially golden retrievers!!! watch this ad... it is so great and you will love it too! (hopefully)
http://www.visit4info.com/details.cfm?adid=23542&version=2

I FIGURED IT OUT!!!

so... please excuse some of my postings below... i just now figured out how to put youtube videos on my blog! now there aren't anymore links! everyone needs time to learn... i am getting better at this! does anyone know if i would be able to go back through those and post the youtube videos correctly?

memories come rolling back...

between my english class and now just having seen this advertisement in one of my adv classes, i am really learning how to read into what i am presented. in my english class we are learning about different techniques of readers response critiques. we are supposed to read poems and stories and then relate them to our lives. when i first saw this commercial memories inadvertently came rushing back to me... from my ex boyfriend. his two favorite things in the world are soccer and surfing... the only reason i know who any of the guys in this video is because of him...
i broke up with him but i just dont like to be reminded of him and his likings at all...
does this ever happen to any of you? how can you get around it?

what life is all about...

so as you can see, life is something that is very important to me. i was doodling in class today and was trying out my cursive. i ended up drawing the word "life" and i thought about the way it looked... it was very roundabout. I then thought about how life was very roundabout. you never know where you are going to go next in life... it's like a rollercoaster.
so since i had to hand in the paper which i was doodling on (but dont worry, i crossed out the doodles...) I recreated the doodling on word...
think about it. you really do not know where life is going to take you... keep on a smile on your face and warmth in your heart

dog lover

So I got the following message in an email from one of my best friends and I loved it...
Dog's Purpose, (from a 6-year-old)
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish
Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their
little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping
for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we
couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia
procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be
good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though
Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family
surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time,
that I wondered if he understood what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away..

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty
or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering
aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.'

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned
me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life
-- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The
six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they
don't have to stay as long.'

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply..
Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure
ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them
gently.
Being always grateful for each new day and for the blessing you have.
ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!
That's what dog's teach us...


Being a dog person, I totally loved this but if you really think about all of those positive thoughts a dog can "teach" us it can really make a difference. If anything, those comments will make you smile and that is what counts most! A picture of my dog is at the top. Her name is Khaki.

VB... the best place on earth

i am from this place where you can swim in the pool, go on a boat ride and see dolphins, shop, walk the dog and play beer pong all with a drink in your hand. it is paradise. it is my favorite place in the world.
the picture above explains it all. the artists of this wonderful piece are me and one of my best friends. my two closest friends came down to my house for new years this past Christmas break and instead of studying for finals, we drew this picture to ease our anticipation one night.
we got into the conversation about how much i talk about home and how much i love it. now, i know people who are from texas have this big sense of pride but i cant really figure out why. yes, the state is huge, but what else is there? please dont get me wrong, i am not trying to put down texas in any way, shape or form, but i just believe that my state is better. i think that most of the people from my state would agree with me, too.
any objections?

warm... milk?

ok, so everyone has heard the myth about drinking warm milk at night if you are unable to fall asleep...


but who actually does this?!


well, i live in a house with about 35 other girls and when i couldn't sleep last night i walked downstairs and found one of my best friends. when i told her about not being able to sleep she told me to apply the myth that i stated above...
well, long story short, about a lot of dicussion on whether or not the myth is true, i filled up a glass with milk and put it in the microwave. after about 45 seconds i took it out and i had to chug it because i didn't like it's taste.


as a result... i dont know if this milk actually HELPED me fall asleep. yes, i went back upstairs, got into bed and eventually fell asleep without much effort but i dont know whether or not i should try out this gross myth again...


has it ever worked for any of you?

seriously...?

okay, so watch the commercial below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLVa3cZyGIo
What in the world? When i first saw this commercial i double took at its concept...
This commercial was reintroduced to me in my marketing for advertising class today. my teacher handed out an article written by Seth Stevenson titled "The Divorcemobile". I didn't remember the idea of the commercial until i read the article.
This article is part of Ford's Bold Moves campaign. The article states that "...the ad is meant to be a 'celebration of family... the versatility of life itself, as well as the versatility of the Freestyle'". Excuse me?!
Coming from a very stable and supportive home I have never had to deal with anything truly tragic when it comes to my family but I can feel for the young kids that watch this commercial and are reminded of the awkward times with their mom and dad right after the divorce. The article states: "The wife invites her estranged husband along for a weekend with their kids? Won't that make the poor kids hope for a reconciliation?"
NO! I think that it would just cause confusion... the parents don't have to act like they are on a family vacation like the good ol' days...

read the article: www.slate.com/id/2148392

favorite commercial but does it catch the eye?

so this commercial was emailed to me and i know that it aired a long time ago but i love it. i laughed so hard...
but then i thought if i would really pay attention to it while watching a sporting event or something on tv. while having the super bowl in mind, i thought about the idea if anyone would really pay attention to this ad if it was a commercial during the big game. yes, i love watching the ads for everything but i wonder if someone else who isn't as interested into what is happening on the big screen when the game is not on would actually pay attention...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U-dYleBVFo&feature=related

to wave or not to wave?

so the past week, the first week of classes, i was walking to class and came up with the following predicament...
when you pass somebody, just how much enthusiasm should you put into your polite greeting? yes, we have all been told that we should say "hello" and smile as we pass somebody because it always has a positive effect on their day, but just how long do you look at them as you pass and how loud do you say it?
I feel that now it is colder it is harder to say hello to someone as you pass. i know, in my own case, i am snuggled into my scarf or jacket and don't really want to lift out my mouth to say hello and i don't want to remove my hand from its cozy pocket to wave. when i smile, the person that i am trying to acknowledge cant see my smile because of the many layers of clothing... do they think that i am rude?
Just today these awkward thoughts ran through my head, again. I went to Central Market to get some soup to keep me warm in this dreary weather. Walking past older people, whom i am more outwardly respectful to in regards to their presence, i feel that I should say hello more loudly to them. when i did that this afternoon, one lady turned and looked at me. Ageism? ya, i think so...
So, i encourage all of you to think about this as you are walking to and from classes... it will dawn on you that your walk to class isn't so mundane and repetitive. Please remember that you never know what kind of day the person is having that you are passing... a smile and a simple "hello" could change their total outlook on life...

Making my dash

Last semester I was in a class that I, at first, felt very uncomfortable in because it was very personal and I was not used to the teacher being as "into his students" as my particular teacher was. One day he made us bring something that was very meaningful to us into class... I had a hard time trying to figure out what to bring. Finally I realized that I had something that never occured to me as being very sentimental but it actually was... it was my "hurricane cross". Because I am from Florida my house has been hit by many hurricanes and these particular cross is said to protect one's house from a hurricane. It is not hanging in my room here, at school, because I thought that it was cute and never really thought of its true value.
While in the class, and listening to all of my other classmates talk, one girls poem really hit me and has become something very influential in my life. The poem goes as follows:

THE DASH

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

-

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

-

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

-

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars....the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

-

So think about this long and hard...
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left.
(You could be at "dash midrange.")

-

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

-

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

-

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

-

So, when your eulogy's being read
with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they
say about how you spend your dash?
-

Author Linda Ellis

This poem really opened my eyes to the reality of life and how I can have an affect on someone or something every moment of every day. I now have this poem framed in my room and people often come by to read it... I think that it is a wonderful poem.