Butt vs. Breast

Scrolling through my feeds on any type of social media, I find Kim Kardashian's bare butt from her Paper magazine photo shoot.

There are people who love it. There are people who despise it. I could honestly care less.

Yes, she's a mom, but does that mean she must stop being a sexual being? If she wants to show her butt, let her. There are people will say she doesn't have any self-respect, but that's up to Kim.

My real concern is the amount of backlash Melissa Milano has gotten for posting a selfie of herself breast feeding her 3-month-old child.

Kim's gotten some negative feed back, but why is Melissa feeling more heat for doing a natural thing?

Kim is showing off her curves in a sexual and fun way. Melissa is showing nurture and beauty. And you don't even see much.

I get people don't want to see breast feeding because it's more private and intimate. I believe Melissa is receiving so much backlash because she can't be sexualized while breast feeding. This is the age where we all have become so desensitized toward nudity and sex, but we can't take a loving mother feed her child.

What do you guys think?

Catcalling: An Annoying Burden

A video made by Hollaback!, anti-street-harassment group depicted a woman being catcalled while walking through the streets of New York City. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield picks up the story and conducts interviews with comedian, Amanda Seales and author Steve Santagati. 

By looks of these face, you can tell it did not go well.

These faces are saying, "Is this guy serious?" Oh, he's serious ladies and here's what he had to say.

Santagati says women would not care if these catcalling guys were hot. I call B.S. I've been catcalled by some attractive guys and I have never found it as a self-esteem boost. It is just plain annoying!

These men may be complimenting women, but when their eyes are glued to our ass' or breasts we're not taking it as a compliment. We're taking it as a violation. (Insert male comment: Well maybe you shouldn't have worn those tight pants or that shirt.)

I live in New York City. Since I was a teenager I have been catcalled by men who are old enough to be my father, my grandfather and by guys around my age. Every time it has either made me angry, annoyed me or made me feel violated and naked.

He talks about it all depends on the type of guy, which he refers to some of the men in the video, who is catcalling because maybe it's a part of their culture or how they were brought up."The type of guys that make those comments, speak for itself."

Women always hear catcalling. It's a fact, no matter where you live. It doesn't matter if your in an overly populated area with men who have low IQ levels or men who are highly educated, it still happens. Catcalling men come in all shapes in sizes. They could have been brought up well, but the people who most impact their lives and personality are their surroundings and friends.

He also says, "this thing bordered on the boy who called wolf." Um...but the boy wasn't telling the truth until finally no one came to his rescue when he told the truth. So, are we liars now? Does he simply mean that this topic is talked about too much?

Honestly, this topic isn't talked about enough.

Also, this dude is plane rude! Every time Seales was making her point or giving her rebuttal he would interrupt. She was quiet when he spoke.

When Whitfield would state information, he would make side comments. Is this your role model men - a man who can't keep is cool? Apparently his book The Manual made the bestseller list.

I have to admit, he made ONE good point. If you don't like that a man is talking to you in an objectifying way, turn around and tell him to shut up. He is right, but then Seales made the point that in Detroit, a woman  was murdered because she told a man who was catcalling her to shut up.

This guy has a very let-it-be attitude - if you don't like it, deal with it. Women shouldn't have to deal with it. Plain and simple.

What do you guys think?

APN

For the past few weeks I have been working All Points North's (APN) website. Basically all I did was put in our new stories, added a print button and left the design the same as last issue.

Now, I want to do more with the site.

I feel like the background is too white. It feels like all of the content is just floating there. I'm thinking about lowering the opacity of the gray wood background we have, so the line isn't so hard. I want to give it the appearance it's fading into the background, so we can add a color to the background.

Thoughts?

Halloween

Halloween is the time of year when everyone dresses up and pretends to be someone they are not for a night.

Apparently Halloween is sticking around for one more day: Today, November 1.

I keep hearing about Halloween parties for tonight, as if Thursday and Friday weren't enough. Even two weeks ago I saw a bunch of people standing outside a house in costumes.

It's not that I don't like Halloween, I just feel I've seen enough naked girls and boys enough for the rest of the year.

Blogging

I don't know what to blog about today. I've been sitting at my computer for two hours trying to come up with something to write about.

I'm currently watching the series finale of Boardwalk Empire in hopes of writing about the finale itself and how much I will miss the series, but unfortunately my WiFi sucks. The show keeps freezing every two minutes, so then I tried researching. I read articles on New York Times, Life, and Rollingstone, but nothing sparked my interest. I even went to Buzzfeed to find some sort of amusement. 

I'm just in a non-stimulating funk, I guess.

Ouiji: Keep Telling Yourself It's Scary

When I watched the trailer to this movie, I immediately thought, "Oh, my god. This is going to be so funny."

The movie contains characters from ABC Family and CWTV. This immediately caught my attention because I knew the horrible acting would distract me from the scary.

Turns out I had nothing to be scared of.

Of course the film includes a character who refuses to accept that something horrible is about to happen or doesn't acknowledge their actions will have any consequences. You can't have an oblivious character without her ignorant followers - her friends.

No matter how many times her friends told to stop or that they were scared, they still followed what she said instead of smacking her and telling to her to find solace in a therapist.

Asides from that, the movie has some semi-normal looking ghosts and a half-expected villain twist.

At the end, they defeat the villain, at the consequence of losing the majority of their group, then a cliffhanger-ending that makes you think, "Maybe they didn't defeat the villain."

Don't waste  your money on this one.

After Senior Year

This entire semester the only question I've heard from professors, elders and relatives is, "What are going to do with your life?"

The question itself is so blunt, but not as blunt as the reality of not knowing what you want or fearing what you won't get to do what you do want.

Many of us will move back home and begin to look for job in career we have prepared ourselves four years for.

The lucky ones will already have jobs lined up and maybe even a down payment on an apartment.

Some of us will get stuck. Some of us will work at a dead end job, so we can save enough money to move out of our parents house.

I want go home and work at a dead end job, but save enough money for a plane ticket so I can volunteer at an elephant reserve in Thailand. I want to blog about being there and write for a traveling magazine called Verge Magazine. I might make a career out of it.

This may be difficult to accomplish, but every time I picture myself being home and working for the rest of my life makes me want to hyperventilate.

Of course my mother is against the idea, but we all need to get out of comfort zones and do something that's not benefiting only to our life, but to someone else's.

We should all want more for our lives and not settle. Settling makes things easier, but not fulfilling.

Midterms

What started off as a very slow and calm semester has decided to take a second look and throw some curve balls.

It's not even finals week and already, I feel the pressure of being a senior weigh me down.

This is the most chilled out semester I have ever had, but the work just seems to come out of nowhere at the most random times.

I finish up one assignment, which I've already gained a headache from, then I open my school email and there goes another assignment.

There are 207 days till graduation. I wonder if my headache will last that long.  

Junk Food Takes Over

Just when I thought America couldn't get anymore stereotypical, a bakery comes out with a "Flamin' Hot" Cheetos bagel.

I find this so amazing and disgusting all at once. Flamin' Hot Cheetos are so addicting, but to make them into a bagel!

Forget having a cup of coffee. This will definitely wake you up in the morning. For all I know next week I could be eat Twizzlers infused pancakes.

Thoughts? Concerns? Woes?

Read the story here: http://buffalo.com/2014/10/14/featured/cheetos-make-breadhive-bagels-glow-pride/

SNL And The Fault in Our Stars

"What's your story?" "Well, when I was first diagnosed I didn't really..." "No. Tell me your REAL story."

This is the moment where Saturday Night Live caught me, and I was about to throw up from all the cuteness and exaggerated romance. Then the sentence, "I have ebola," spilled out of Sarah Silverman's mouth.

I believe Saturday Night Live's take on ebola was executed perfectly and of course they would use every screaming teenage girl's and every grown woman's favorite heart-aching film.

On a side note: (WARNING) I did not shed a tear. Yes, I have no heart.

Enjoy the video!

American Horror Story Addict

The first time I watched American Horror Story, I stopped at the first episode. Infantata, the ghost of Dr. Charles Montgomery's mutilated baby freaked me out the first episode.

Instead of watching it, I looked up the entire series on Wikipedia. Yeah. I cheated. So?

This Sunday, my roommate and her friend began watching the first season. I thought, "why not give it another shot?"

My roommates were so confused by the show. They started asking me questions about if certain characters where ghosts or who killed who. It was so funny watching them anxiously wait for their questions to be answered. It made the experience more bearable.

This show is freaky, but I can't seem to stop myself from watching it! I watched the show from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. then I persuaded myself to do my homework and that if I didn't stop watching I might have nightmares.

I'm two episodes away from the finale, then on to season two!

Being a TA

If you've ever been a teacher's assistant it's either you've had one of the two experiences: you didn't do anything for an easy two credits or your phone is filled with the numbers of confused students.

I am the current TA for web design and at first I didn't do anything besides take down the class notes and give out the attendance. Now, we're actually digging into the material. It's like I'm taking the course all over again without the obligation of doing the projects out of fear of failing.

It was easy.

Now, my phone is filled with the numbers of confused students. Some students have even asked me how to zip a file...Lord help them.

If you've ever been a TA you'd understand the sinking feeling you feel when a student needs your help and you have no idea how to help them.

Or the moment when your grading quizes and you come across an answers that is technically right, but it's not the answer that is on the answer key. You ask yourself, "Should I mark them wrong?"

#TAlife 

'Frozen' Sued for Stealing Life Story

'Frozen' is someone's life story? Say what?

Disney has said 'Frozen' is based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, but Isabella Tanikumi claims Disney ripped off her autobiography.

Tanikumi's book, Yearnings of the Heart is about Tanikumi growing up in the Andean mountain of Peru.

Yeah, that sounds totally like Queen Elsa overcoming her fears and embracing her icy powers.

She is suing Disney for $250 million on the basis that the "characters, plots, subplots, and story line" were taken from her book. She also claims that her books cover and 'Frozen's' DVD cover are alike.

What do you guys think?

31-Year-Old Woman Poses as High School Studnet

Not looking your age has just been taken to a whole new level by Charity Johnson. For the last year, Johnson was posing as a sophomore high school student at New Life Christian school in Longview, Texas as reported by the Daily News

Tamica Lincoln, Johnson's guardian took in Johnson because Johnson claimed she had no where else to go. Johnson told Lincoln her father was abusive and passed away when her mother died.

Lincoln soon became suspicious of Johnson age for reasons that haven't been specified, and reported her to the police.

Johnson was arrested on $500 bail. All of her teachers and fellow students have claimed to be stunned.

My take on this is that anyone would believe a sob story.

The Daily News reported she gave a false birthday and used a slightly different name. She does look very young as well that probably made this scheme easier to pull off, but what kind of school is this?  Don't you need proper documentation to enroll? 

Besides posing and failing to identify herself to police, she hasn't done anything else against the law. Apparently the faculty and students were deeply burdened by this, but not in the way you might think. Lincoln said they were crying and "her best friend just couldn't believe it."

Yay or Nay to Scottish Independence

Britain and Scotland have been united since 1707 and now are deciding if Scotland should be it's own country. 

According to the New York Times, the voting results that come out Friday morning are predicted to be down the middle.

This debate has caused a huge frenzy in Scotland. People have gathered in huge crowds in Glasgow to get people in favor of the "yes" vote. Catalonia activists have arranged candles in the shapes of the Catalan flag and Scottish flag in Edinburgh. "

Almost 4.3 million people - 97 percent of the electorate - have registered to vote, including 16- and 17-year-olds," according to the New York Times.

The English have no formal say unless they have Scottish residence.

With movies like Braveheart and the new Starz show Outlander, make me feel like this call for independence is long over due. Both of these productions portray the Scottish's desperate desire for independence.

People in Scotland who are against the separation from Britain have signs that say "It's not worth the risk."

Some citizens hope that if England and Scotland become separate countries that they will still get along.

What do you think?

36 Hours of Touristy Attractions

The New York Times did an article on 36 Hours in Cartagena, Columbia. I loved the video that was provided. I feel it really displayed the popular attractions that Cartagena has to offer. The video showed off the cities beauty and culture, and it goes great with the written piece as well. They both convey the same locations. The video gives the point of view of how the owners of the shops and bars perceive Cartagena. The written piece is more of the writers perspective of his trip.

            I feel like this writer was too touristy and didn't really embrace the way of their culture. I’m not Colombian, but I am Hispanic and I feel as if in some ways she criticized their way of living. For example, in the section “hangover cure” she talked about a lot of the vendor breakfast food and how they come from a vat of hot oil. Instead of having those, she writes “for a more leisurely morning meal” go to Pasteleria Mila. Pasterleria Mila has a lot of sweet pastries and savory drinks. If I was in Columbia I would try to eat as much tradition foods as possible. Going on vacation is to experience things that you can’t experience at home. Pass the arepas de huevo (a fried circular corn masa, split open with an egg cooked inside) and keep them coming.

            Also, the writer tells us readers to go to Playa Blanca, “stretch of white sand backed by mangroves and lined with palapas.” While this sounds amazing, she later reveals local women walk around on the beach selling fruits and back massages. This doesn't sound appealing to me. It reminds of going to south beach and having people keep on asking me if I want cold water. I prefer the acting as if you’re a local vacation, and avoiding the touristy spots (excluding museums and historical sites).

Two Women and 72 years.

After 72 years, Vivian Boyack (91) and Alice Dubes (90) are finally tying the knot according to the Quad-City Times. 

Their marriage ceremony took place at First Christian Church in Davenport, Iowa. The photo of them sitting in their wheelchairs, holding hands while Rev. Linda Hunsaker recites their vows is heartwarming and adorable.

These lovely women have traveled to all 50 states, all the provinces of Canada and have been to England twice.

It's so inspiring to know that these women after so many years finally have the chance to celebrate their love because "this is a celebration of something that should have happened a very long time ago,” said Rev. Hunsaker.

I believe that these women are very brave and motivated because despite their age they still want to do new things and are ready to open a new chapter in their lives. I believe that some people at their age would feel as if they've been together for so long, what is the point in getting married?

It's all about making a stance for what you want and what you believe in. Boyack and Dubes truly know what they want and they're an inspiration.

How to Battle a Cold: Student Style

It's 7 a.m. and your alarm is ringing to wake you for your 8 a.m. class. You begin to sit up then you feel the 10 pounds you seemed to gain all in your head over night. Your nose is stuffy and your alarm starts to get annoying. The taste of cotton mouth makes you swallow, and you begin to feel the prickly and scratchy sensation in your throat.

You my friend have got a cold. The question is how to get through the day?

Step One: Get Ready

Ignore the beckoning idea to skip class because we both know you probably used up all your unexcused absences on hangovers or pure laziness. 

Step Two: Shower Time

Take a hot shower. The steam will relax you. According to webmd, steam can also moisturize your nasal passages. 

Step Three: Breakfast

Ignore the cereal, yogurt and cream cheese bagels calling your name. Dairy products cause a lot of flem buildup. You don't want to be that person in class who keeps clearing their throat and sucking back their mucus. Try some toast with jelly or fruits.

Step Four: Liquids

Take out your finals week travel coffee mug and fill it up with hot water, lemon, honey and tea. Warm liquids help relieve nasal congestion, soothe your throat and helps prevent dehydration. When you run out, which you will, hot water should be free at your local campus store or dinning hall. 

Step Five: Stock Up

Tissue and throat lozenges are your best friends. If you don't have any tissue boxes lying around, toilet paper is a good substitute. Hopefully you have two-ply toilet paper or else your nose is going to be a red mess. If your tired of sipping on tea or tired of peeing every hour, lozenges are just as good as relieving your congestion and itchy throat.

Step Six: End of the day

Locate your bed and just collapse on to it until next Tuesday.