wow.

So this term is almost over. I keep thinking to myself that I am almost halfway done with college. But then i remember that I want to be a doctor, so I still have like 6 years to go. It still has been a wild ride so far, though. This term seemed like it had a lot more work than usual. I don't know if it's just because summer is on the horizon or if I actually have a greater number of assignments, but it has been rough.

This summer is going to be a lot different than usual. It's the first time in years that I don't have a job. I work at a school administrative office, but they couldn't rehire me this year due to budget cuts. Damn economy. So, instead of having a job, I am volunteering at Easter Seals. If you don't know what that is, basically, it's a place for special needs children to come for classes that provide enrichment and help with basic skills.

For the last few weeks of summer and first few weeks of winter break, I work as a substitute aid for special education classes at an elementery school. I love working with kids, especially special needs kids, and more specifically kids with autism. It's really eye-opening, so I can't wait to start my volunteer work. Also, that's pretty much what I want to do with my life. I want to be a doctor to study autism and savantism. So yes, this summer should be interesting.

Alright. This blog was pointless except for the fact that I have to blog enough to get full points this week because I doubt I'll have any time to blog week 10.

Prime internet example.

People often talk about mishaps on the internet involving anonymity. Sometimes children are harassed by peers, other times children are taken advantage of by pedophiles. However, as we all know, not every online encounter ends in tragedy. Some end in awkward interpersonal conversations that could haunt you for life. This one pretty much explains itself.

Laura blogs about politics... willingly??

I came across this little political cartoon, on tumblr of course. As I've said before, I am definetely not into politics. However, that's not to say that I'm uneducated on the big topics. I feel like this image speaks a great deal of truth, and while I may not agree with every decision that Obama has made (or not made), I feel like he does recieve a lot of criticism for his policies without fair comparison.

While it may be a little too optimistic, I feel like people should have a little more faith in the government. Not to the point of being naive, and it's possible that "faith" is a poor word choice... maybe supportive is more of what I'm going for. It couldn't hurt, right? Alright. That's enough politics for today.

octobaby!?

"Lakshmi Tatma, a girl born in 2005 in Bihar, India, was born a conjoined twin, with her parasitic twin’s headless body joined to her at her pelvis, giving her the appearance of having 4 arms and 4 legs. Lakshmi (named after the many-armed Hindu goddess of wealth) has a rare condition called isciopagus, where her twin has stopped developing in the womb and the remaining fetus absorbed the underdeveloped twin’s body. Aside from 8 limbs, Lakshmi has two spines, four kidneys and two stomach and chest cavities. That is, until the toddler underwent a successful 27-hour surgery at a hospital in Bangalore to remove the extra parts."

As much as I like octopuses, I don't like babies. And as much as this is kind of like an octopus, it's also kind of like two babies in one. It really is fascinating though, how things like this can happen. Also how the medical field has advanced enough in such a relatively short time to the point that they can handle something so extreme. I wonder if she had control over the extra limbs. I mean, how many times have you said "I wish I had an extra hand"?

T-Rex First Pitch at Memphis Redbirds Game

This. Is. Awesome. I love dinosaurs. Well, who doesn't? I don't really know why a dinosaur would throw the first pitch at a baseball game, but whoever thought of it is a genious. Not to mention whoever thought up that costume. It's pretty detailed. The only weird thing is that you can see the person's legs. Still, though, an excellent idea. I wish I could have seen this in person.

nataliedee.

If you've ever been on the internet, chances are you've seen a Nataliedee picture. Her cartoons are pretty much everywhere, although rarely cited. I stumbled upon her site probably 5 or 6 years ago and I've loved it ever since.


Like I said, Natalie draws short comics, some of which pertain to her life, others that are just weird. Additionally, she makes and sells paintings as well as screen printed t-shirts of her some of her comics. Natalie also posts blogs. Sometimes she writes about her life; her pugs, her husband, or her baby, but she also posts question and answer blogs called "ask Natalie".

Speaking of Natalie's husband, he makes comics of his own on a site called Tothpastefordinner. The couple also has two collaborative sites; marriedtothesea and superpoop. Each site has a slightly different humor, but they are all awesome and I recomend all four.

On the subject of parodies and copyright...

Alright, obviously, this is a parodie that the Simpsons have done of Ke$ha's song Tik Tok. Not so obvious is that the entire video is flipped horizontally 180 degrees. As soon as the into aired on TV, many people put it on youtube for others to view. However, these videos were removed due to copyrights. However, clever little youtube users flipped the video so that it cannot be removed. Even if the video description, the user who posted this video writes "JFYI its the other way'round so it will be not deleted because of copyright infringements".

damn whipper snappers.

I can't help but notice that lately, Ive been feeling almost... out-dated. Alright, I'm not some freaky amish kid or anything, I do have an ipod and a laptop... however, I still own a tape player and a VCR. It seems like technology moves so quickly these days, and I know that I'm not the only one finding it difficult to keep up.

For example, my birthday was a few days ago. Both my grandma and my 9-year-old cousin texted me from their own cell phones. My reaction to both really suprsised me. When my gradma texted me, I was like "You go girl!" Honestly, I would say that I was impressed. However, when my little cousin did the same, I was all "Why the hell do you even have a cell phone? Who could you possibly need to call? You're in the 4th grade."

I recognize this is somewhat of an age-ist double standard. And I felt like a total old woman looking down on a younger generation for their use of technology. The speed that technology is adapting is increasing the gap between generations. It will be interesting to see what other changes this brings to society and how older generations will be forced to adapt their ways.

SVU

Law and Order Special Victims Unit is quite possbily the most addictive show on earth. I've always liked the show, but recently I've been getting sucked into the all-day marathons on USA. If you've never seen the show, you are missing out so hardcore. Admitably, each episode is extremely similar. The show mainly follows two new york deterctive partners, Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson, as they attempt to solve crimes and aid it's victims. Many episodes revolve around sexually based crimes, however, not all do.

Like the other Law and Order shows, SVU is produced by Dick Wolf and filmed in New York city. The show is on it's 11th season and so far there have been 247 episodes between 1999 and 2010. The 7th season attracted the most viewers at 13.8 million (hollywoodreporter.com).

In my personal opinion, I think that the show is so popular because of the content. It is rather contrversial at times, however, many can relate to both the situations and the characters involved. Additionally, the main protagonists are extremely likeable, even though their 'character flaws are often put to the test. Alright. That's all I have to say. I'm gunna keep watchin SVU now.

Gators gunna Gate.

Another tumblr find. I wish I was this badass. (The article was posted with the picture; I did not write it myself...)

If you thought the legend of the horse whisperer was impressive, here’s an animal tale with even more bite. Rather than trying to tame wild stallions, fearless Costa Rican fisherman Chito prefers a playful wrestle in the water with his best pal Pocho, a deadly 17ft crocodile. The 52-year-old daredevil draws gasps of amazement from onlookers by wading chest-deep into the water, then whistling for his 980lb buddy and giving him an affectionate hug. Chito says, “Pocho is my best friend. This is a very dangerous routine but we have a good relationship. He will look me in the eye and not attack me. It is too dangerous for anyone else to come in the water. It is only ever the two of us.”

Chito made friends with the crocodile after finding him with a gunshot wound on the banks of the Central American state’s Parismina river 20 years ago. He had been shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer and was close to death. “He was very skinny, weighing only around 150lb. I gave him chicken, fish, and medicine for six months to help him recover. I stayed by Pocho’s side while he was ill, sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad.” It took years before Chito felt that Pocho had bonded with him enough to get closer to the animal. “After a decade I started to work with him. Then I found out that when I called his name he would come over to me.” At one point during his recovery, Chito left the crocodile in a lake near his house. As he turned to walk away, to his amazement, Pocho got out of the water and began to follow him home.

Published October 31, 2009

I hate politics blog.

I think that it's pretty obvious why facebook and other social networking sites are effective outlets for political dissent. The most obvious reason is the ability to communicate with others. This additionally allows individuals to find others with similar views and to form an alliance. Much like we have discussed about communities, social networking sites allow those with specific interests to come into contact with each other and provide support.

Although the internet it fairly easy to monitor in general, it is extremely difficult for the government to monitor every single individual's profile. (One could argue that certain words may be flagged, however, it is even easier for a group to create codewords...) So, these sites are relatively private. Sites like these are accessible to virtually anyone who has internet, as well. Finally, the internet creates a level ground for all; each individual is equal and therefore discussion is open.

Only twitter worth reading.

I am not a fan of twitter. Usually people just complain about dumb things or say what they're doing every waking second. But this... pure gold.

New Indie Film; Freud and Jung.

I just heard about a film that is being made about psychologists Freud and Jung. Admittedly, I am way more excited than any normal person probably is, but as a psych major, I'm just nerdy like that.



The article that I read, though, described Freud and Jung as both extremely influential. However, Jung really wasn't and isn't revered much for his theories because they include notions of mythology, which obviously cannot be measured and therefore are not entirely scientific. It seemed to me like the author was attempting to make him seem like a person of great impact, when in reality, Jung has made no where near as close to a difference in psychology as Freud.

With that said, I'm still looking forward to the film, though I hope that it is more factual than the article regarding Freud and Jung.



Here is the article.

lookbook continued.

After my last blog about lookbook, I decided to put up some images illustrating some of the lookbook cliches that were on the list I found. These pictures come from lookbook's "hot" category, aka lots of people liked them. In my opinion, some of the outfits are alright. But others.. well... not so much.

Painfully skinny? check. Also, keyboard? why?

Large frame glasses? o yes. Looking scary and deranged? definetely.

Beanie and a necklace with a leotard? Why the hell not.

This one speaks for itself. Really. I have no words.