Breaking Dawn Pt. 2

When a series of books become a series of movies, the crazies come out. As you all may or may not know, tonight was the midnight premiere of Breaking Dawn Pt. 2: the last movie of the Twilight Saga. At midnight premieres, obsessive fans take their dedication to a new extreme. With it being the last movie, I knew all actions would be taken to the next level. As expected, people were there hours early to get the best seats in the house and sporting their Twilight gear. In some theaters, fans were even leading Twilight trivia. As expected hearts were broken as the final credits rolled past the screen.  Myself, being a closeted Twilight fan, could understand the sadness of my fellow fans. What drives people to be so obsessed? Some would say it offers a fantasy world to disappear in. In this fantasy world, readers and watchers become consumed with the perfect love life of Bella. Whatever it is that pulls us in, it does it well. Such an enchanting story is bound to have an extreme effect. It makes us feel devastated that we aren’t living in a fictional world.  After leaving the theater tonight, I have a feeling of devastation and emotional vulnerability. Too much? No. Basically, I can’t stand that it is over and I love Edward. But when I wake up tomorrow morning and go to #bsupop in the morning my life with fall back with reality... until I see Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 again.

Video games: An Interview with The Gamer vs. The Observer

To discover a diverse view on video games, I interviewed my roommate (the observer) and her boyfriend (the gamer).

Why do you play video games?

1. It's competitive

2. Another way to hang out and communicate with friends

3. It’s fun

Why does he play video games?

Because it’s a convenient, easy thing to do. Why do we get on pinterest? Because it’s convenient.

Would you say our addicted to video games?

No.

Would you say he is addicted to video games?

Yes, because addiction is when you but it above other things and he does. He doesn’t do it when we are together, but right when I leave… DUN DUN DUN DUNN. When he loses, he gets so mad. Why is he mad? It’s just a game.

How many hours, on average, do you play per day?

2 hours.

How many hours, on average, does he play per day?

At least 3 when he is busy, and at least 6 when he is not.

Why are video games so popular?

They are popular because they are easy to play, everyone can do it, it's an activity to do with friends, and you can talk with people online while you play. It's not like sports where you have to be good. Everyone can play and be good at it.

Why are video games so popular?

Because I think our generation is lazy. It’s convenient. With video games you don’t even have to leave your room to interact with the world. They have their own reality within the game. 

Pinterest Enables my Food Addiction

Recently, one of my roommates and I took a walk down memory lane through our pinterest likes. It didn’t take long to notice that my board had significantly more food posts compared to hers. I would comfortably say at least 80% of my board was food. I was only embarrassed for a little bit until I realized that I only like all of the food. My defense? Because it’s photographed like an angel sent it from heaven. No matter what the food on pinterest, it’s always photographed to make it look like it would be the best meal you’d ever eaten in your life. It turns out that the appealing photos were only the start of my addiction. My roommate then began to point out my addiction to food in real life. The worst had happened. My social media food addiction had spread to everyday.  Whenever we decide to go out to eat, I spend the hour before and the time that we are there what on earth I am going to choose to order.  You would think it was a life or death decision. How I justify it? I am a poor college student who only gets to go out to eat once in a blue moon so I have to make sure what I am ordering is what I am going to love. In retrospect, I know that is only an excuse and I am in denial. I have an obsession with food. But at least I have Pinterest and Instagram to tell me I’m not alone.

Why I Refuse to Buy Anything Pink

First, you should know I am a documentary junkie.  Nearly my entire “Recently Watched” category on Netflix is documentaries. When one of my professors recommended Pink Ribbons Inc., I only let a day pass before I found my self pulled into the untold story of the pink ribbon. Pink Ribbons Inc. looks into the question: Who really benefits from the foundation; the cause or the company? Through organizations like the Susan G. Komen foundation, breast cancer has become a culture of pink. On surface level, it appears as though Susan G. Komen has created a community of women fighting for a cure. Unfortunately, there lies a monster underneath the pretty pink exterior of philanthropic foundations like these.  Many companies see the cause as a way to identify with customers who will purchase their products simply by association with the pink ribbon. 

Let’s take a look at some companies association with the ribbon. Yoplait’s campaign “Save lids. Save Lives” encourages consumers to Save the lid off of their yogurt, clean it, send it in, and Yoplait will donate ten cents. If you ate three cups of yogurt a day, for the duration of the campaign (4 months) your total donation would equal $34.00.

In 2002, American Express had a campaign that stated “In the fight against cancer, every dollar counts” The fine print says, “With every purchase you make between September and December at participating stores, the company with donate one penny per purchase.” … What? That means if you spend $2,000 dollars, a penny is donated. If you spend $5.00 a penny is donated.

The NFL used the pink ribbon to rehabilitate their image after many of their players were involved with violent disputes on and off the field.

KFC started a breast cancer campaign. Let’s raise money by selling food that is awful for you. The concept didn’t last long when tens of thousands of letters were sent to KFC, The Komen foundation, and everyone involved exposing the paradox with this campaign. At this point in time, it was clear that Komen lost the ethics behind raising money for a breast cancer cure.

Ironically, many of the companies pairing with the Komen foundation use hormones that increase the risk of cancer like General Mills, Walmart and 5 Hour Energy.

Needless to say, I was startled by the information brought to the forefront in this documentary.  What happens with these donations to Susan G. Komen from these companies who are exploiting breast cancer to make a profit? Watch the documentary and find out. Next time you buy a product laced with pink ribbons and claims to donate, THINK.

A Love Affair with Ari Gold

It all started last summer when I committed myself to watching 8 seasons of HBO’s Entourage. It was an innocent endeavor until I caught myself on multiple occasions staying up until the wee hours of the morning anxiously awaiting Ari Gold’s appearance in each episode. I was obsessed and had no shame. Ari Gold is a strong-headed business man that lets no one tell him what to do… except for his wife. The contrast between working Ari and husband Ari made me weak in the knees. When Ari’s character faced adversity, a little (or big) bit of my heart broke. No matter if Ari was in the wrong, I was always rooting for him to come out on top. 

Embarrassingly enough, I successfully finished eight seasons in less than a summer’s vacation time. In the last scene of the last episode of the last season, as the song “Going To California” by Led Zeppelin played in the background, Ari came to a fork in the road with his career and home life… and the season ended. The emptiness in my heart was at an all time high. For the next week, “Going To California” was playing on repeat to help me cope with the end of my second life with Ari Gold. Since then, I’ve let my parasocial relationship dwindle down to now only consist of occasional googling sessions of Jeremy Piven interviews, my favorite Ari Gold scenes, and replaying the last scene of entourage to be reminiscent of last summer. The only hopes I have now are the rumors of an Entourage movie coming true. For now, Goodbye Ari Gold.