Category: entertainment

Rhinestones, Studs, and Designer Bags

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Fashion.

Fashion is like a sin. It’s an art form–a method of self-expression and distinction. It can empower you, release you, bemuse you. Fashion is meant to mesmerize and provoke. It’s wonderful. But it also comes at a price.

Now by price, I mean two things.

Lets begin with the literal meaning:

Take a look at this Hermes Birkin Bag. It’s the most expensive bag in the world. It’s diamond encrusted (a whopping 2,182 shiny ones) and one of a kind. Now, does this handbag look like its worth $1.6 million?

Some might say yes.

Now, here’s fashion at a price…again:

This is not beautiful. This isn’t even human. Regardless, many models strive to be skinny and suffer a disease called anorexia. Research states that up to 40% of models may have eatings disorders.

Why do people pay the price? It’s all in the name of fashion. Fabulous, glamorous, sinful fashion taken too far.

NOW TO END ON A HAPPIER (catchier) NOTE:

The Expendables

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After a week of OVS, the weekend is a much-needed reprieve.  With multiple AP classes, being a senior and just being a teenager, life is quite exhausting.

So when that Friday ‘bell’ rings, its time to kick back and enjoy some….male gratuitous violence??

Yeah so for all the guys out there, here is a good list of things to do to get that ‘fix’

1.  Call of Duty: Black Ops.  When playing COD the best option is always zombies.  Being placed in some form of derelict environment with hundreds of brain craving undead after you and the only defense a plethora of automatic weapons.  OH YEAH that’ll do it.

2. ANY RACING GAME. Well when you have the option of crashing a 2.5 million dollar Bugati Veyron into an on-coming Aston-Martin at 250 miles an hour, seriously what could be more fun.  Or perhaps drifting a Ferrari 458 Italia around a 180 degree turn.

3.  But my personal favorite and the highlight of my weekend, was watching the Expendables movie.  Well really any movie with Sylvester Stalone or Jason Stathan is a true adrenaline pumping man’s movie.  The  Expendables movie, though, has both, plus a number of other action-super stars.  With little plot line to speak of, there is really only one thing that the movie has going for it, lots and lots and lots of gratuitous violence.

Good Evening OVS Bloggers!

sennymcfly5 Comments

Gosh it’s good to be back in the blog world and the non-alcoholic Thanksgiving after party that is Mr. Alvarez’s Journalism class. Do tell! How is it going so far? I’m sure you are all enjoying it. If I remember correctly Journalism was always like a big birthday party with desks and a big white board. Unfortunately, there was no cake.

What! No cake?

But, who needs cake when you have a teacher like Mr. A? Yeah okay, so he doesn’t have sprinkles and fire cracker candles on his head and he doesn’t walk into the classroom covered in vanilla frosting…he doesn’t right? Anyway, if he were to be covered in frosting it would be chocolate flavored, not vanilla, because everybody knows that a brown guy can’t hide beneath his frosty vanilla coating.

What's Up Vanilla Face?

Okay, okay. I’m done ragging on the teacher. (Evan Cooper, you’re next!) But take what I’m about to say to heart; I don’t know any of the new teachers at OVS, but what I do know is that Mr. A, regardless of how great they are, will always be number one in my eyes. He is absolutely one of the greatest teachers and one of the greatest people (persons?) I have ever had the pleasure to learn from. I’m not even really sure if that was proper grammar. But, thankfully he wasn’t my English teacher so you’re off the hook for any mistakes I make Mr. Alvarez. You all should know that I’m proud to have been his student and so should you. Hope you guys have an amazing year. Enjoy it and take advantage of what they teach you. And absolutely absolutely absolutely ABSOLUTELY do not take it for granted because it’s going to be the best high school experience of your lives. Be well. Have fun. Don’t be late to class.

– Maddie

Junk of the Heart.

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Waiting for an album from your favorite band to be released is always exciting. What sort of sound will they present? Will it be a disappointed? How can they possibly beat some of their old tracks? These are all questions we ask ourselves when purchasing that long-awaited album.

These are all questions that filled my head on Monday the 12th of September. As I carefully placed my headphones into my ears, scrolled down the music library, selected albums and finally sought out the chosen album I waited in anticipation as I carefully hit the play button on my iPod. Playing Junk Of The Heart (Happy) by The Kooks.

Yes, Indie band The Kooks are finally back. After a two-year break the Brighton band have finally returned with a new album, Junk of the Heart. A sequel to the hit album Konk, released in 2008, the new album has been highly anticipated by many adoring fans. Yet, it’s a little disappointing.

Ok, so I’ve only listened to it a couple of times but there are only really a few songs I like. The rusty voice of lead singer Luke Pritchard still remains but the music hasn’t got the acoustic rhythms and “Kookyness” of the past albums. Don’t get me wrong it’s a good album and I admire them for their efforts to develop their style and go outside the box but in my eyes it just doesn’t suit them.

Still, there are a few songs that the bands unique sound shines through and I’m sure as I continue to listen my opinion will change, and I will grow to love it. Despite my first opinion, one thing will always remain, I still love The Kooks.

Technology

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I have come to the realization that I have a terrible addiction. And that addiction is technology.

I am slightly ashamed to admit this, to be honest.

I am probably not helping myself much as I sit here in front of my computer screen and type this blog, simultaneously on Facebook in another window. There is an unfortunate dependence I have seemed to build for the use of technology, and as much as others may not want to admit it, I have noticed it in them as well.

The internet is out of commission around campus, and it has been for about a week. At first, everyone was bugging out because they have no access to Youtube and Facebook.

WHAT?!?!?! OH MY GOD WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!!

I freaked out for a second, but then I realized something.

I have become way to dependent on these things. When was the last time I sent a letter by mail? Or researched from a source other than the internet? When was the last time I spent a day without texting my friends constantly? It has been a long time since these things have happened. I have forgotten the value of things unrelated to technology.

A break from the internet is a good thing for us OVS students here on campus. I feel like it has given me a chance to enjoy other activities that I like but usually neglect, like playing guitar, reading a book, or even just enjoying the outdoors.

So bye for now, technology. I’m taking a break from you.

The Ride from Hell

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09a 1978 Lincoln Town Car (E)
Image by Kansas Sebastian via Flickr

Tonight I experienced the ride from hell. After having a wonderful weekend with my mom, my sister, and my friend Joanna it eventually became time for us to part ways. When we were picked up by the Executive town car service at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles CA, that is when hell came raining down. Town cars are supposed to be comfortable, relaxing, and contain fresh air, but instead we got uncomfortable, nerve-racking, and the smell had Joanna and I on the verge of gagging.

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You Are My Sweetest Downfall…

yrreskrap2 Comments

I am obsessed with the song Samson by Regina Spektor. Ask my roommate, she knows.

What I love the most about the song is not the beautiful, velvety vocals but the lyrics (to be specific, the meaning behind them).

It tells the story of Samson through the eyes of Delilah, his deceitful wife. Samson was blessed by God with incredible strength (he could even kill a lion with his bare hands). With that strength, Samson fought off wicked people and God was pleased. Samson was good. He was obedient and he loved God. So, God promised Samson his strength as long as he never cut a hair off his head.

Delilah had given into sin by accepting the bribes of the Philistines. Blinded by money, she sought to find Samson’s ultimate weakness and to bring about his downfall. Every night, he incessantly asked her husband where his shortcomings lied. But every night, Samson gave her the wrong answer. After being given the answer, Delilah called the Philistines to her house to attack her husband, just to have Samson fight them off.

Finally, one night, Delilah got to him. She had told him that if he truly loved him, he would confide in her.

and he did.

Samson lost his hair that night and Delilah sold her husband to the Philistines. Tied to a pillar in their palace, Samson watched as the Philistines celebrated with a feast. Samson, deceived, guilt welling up in his chest cavity, prayed to God for one last chance. He asked for forgiveness and he asked for his strength. And for the last time, Samson got up and used his power to break the pillar that he was tied against, killing all inside the building, including himself.

This story is particularly moving to me because it shows how easily mankind can fall into sin’s trap. Everyday, the story of Samson lives on in every one of us. We are the deceived but more often, we are the deceivers.

Once you branch off from the straight path, like a tree that has grown crooked, you can never go back and straighten in out again. The past will always remain in the past. But life’s goal is to turn back once a mistake has been made. You must live and learn. Let the present be something you will never regret.

Thao & Mirah.

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Thao & Mirah
Sometimes I find myself searching for music that is both relaxing and fun. These two words rarely are put together to describe music, but in the new album, Thao & Mirah, these words describe the sounds perfectly.

Created by San Francisco-based solo artist Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn and alternative, rock singer and star of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Thao Nguyen, the album is truly unique. Using an array of sounds and tastes every song explores a different sound ranging from classic folk, to indie rock.

Released in April 2011, the collaboration of the two individual talents works perfectly. Full of great guitar and acoustic melodies mixed with delicate and rough vocals the album is perfect album to relax to but also sing along and dance to. I would recommend it to any one.

The Not So Naked Videos

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Christina Aguilera Helps the Cause to End Worl...
Image via Wikipedia

The sad truth is music videos aren’t as good as they use to be. Remember the good old days when you could tune in MTV at home, and sit back and watch a decently choreographed appropriate music vid?

Well now it just seems to be a rap song to a booty shake sometimes guns, money, boobies and That’s IT!  The quality really has gone down since around  2004. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against women in tight outfits, but some times the people miss videos that don’t look the same as 50 cent’s Candy Shop.

Luckily there are still a few artist out there care about family values…Sort of. Here a few that I have enjoyed in the past couple of years that I would actually let my kids see ( If I was a dad).

Bruno Mars with “The Lazy Song”

Notice how there are no “Bathing Apes”

Katy Perry with “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)”

Still 80’s appropriate.

Maroon 5 with “Moves Like Jagger ft. Christina Aguilera”

I bet you don’t know who Mick Jagger is.

the endless circle the endless circle the endless…

yrreskrap1 Comment

It’s funny. I didn’t think that I’d find such depth and meaning in my summer reading.

 

A Confederacy of Dunces
Image via Wikipedia

 

I was assigned four books over this past summer, one of them being Toole’s The Confederacy of Dunces. In reading this book, it opened up my eyes of the vicious circle that has been plaguing our society since the birth of mankind and undoubtedly will do so for eternity (or, in my mind, the Rapture).

People want to be viewed by others a certain way. They portray themselves accordingly depending on who their audience is. As shown through the main character of Ignatius J. Reilly, one might strive for acknowledgment but receive nothing but judgement in return.

Prejudice is a instantaneous reaction, an almost inbred behavior. It may take your brain a few seconds to scan a stranger before you feel like you already have a grasp of the kind of a person he or she is.

People, whether conscious of the fact or no, put on a guise in order to recreate themselves. Most people describe going off to college as a time to “start with a clean slate.” This is essentially people putting on a new persona. You are given the opportunity to leave your past behind. So you used to be the girl who was too shy to approach anybody? Well now that same girl is the first to introduce herself at her new college. You are allowed to break the binding chains of the stereotypes that you had been associated with during these chance times. And in this vicious cycle, there are many opportunities to change.

We are afraid to be judged (on different levels of course) yet, we judge almost all we see. The circle feeds on insecurities, on fears, on secrets and it generates even more. Just as Van Gogh‘s potentials were never realized (at least not until after his death) and Ignatius’ motives were misinterpreted, humanity will always reject what is not the norm. And, in one way or the other, people will always strive to live up to the standards of their peers.