Look Ugly and Be Happy.

eternity1030Leave a comment

The ugly Christmas sweater has become a unique feature of the Christmas holiday season, along with the Christmas trees and shiny Christmas lights. All of these holiday elements together can give a warm atmosphere of Christmas.

Although the sweater as a garment has already existed in the U.S. since the late 19th century, “ugly” holiday versions of those sweaters only began to come up in the last several decades. Bill Cosby was a modern-day pioneer of the trend and is revered as an ugly sweater icon. Thanks to Cosby, as well as Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the sweaters they wore experienced a resurgence until their popularity faded as the ‘90s began.

Later in the last decade, the trend has picked up the fashion once again. In the book Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On,there was a noticeable mention of the ugly sweaters which the tradition had snowballed from there. There was a parody of MTV’s teen documentary series entitled “True Life: I Love Ugly Christmas Sweaters”.

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Finals and the pressure that comes with them

displacedlocalLeave a comment

Right now I am taking a break from analyzing my interview notes and filling the gaps in my history knowledge to speak about finals.

This is the first time I have felt really concerned about every. single. one. of my finals. I am on the border of A/B in all of my classes and these finals could mean the difference between going to the college I have had my eyes on, Northeastern, and losing this option forever.

This is a huge pressure on me and I am concerned with what the results might be.

History is one of my strong points and I have been studying, but there are definite gaps in my knowledge.

Journalism has been kicking my butt all year. We have one last article to write before the end of the year and the final grades. This has me very stressed about my grade.

English is something that I am not very nervous about due to my knowledge of the material being tested.

Calculus. Oh god. Calculus is going to be a nightmare. I am going to have to ace this final to oblivion to even consider an A. I have been studying a lot and am planning on going to the 2 and a half hour study session for extra review.

Physics is one of my stronger points and I am actually excited to take the final and I am prepared for it.

Finals should be… Interesting.

Now back to Writing the Journalism final that I have been dreading.

Worst Person #26-Gregg Williams

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Well, the Saints’ bounty gate case has been resolved, and each person involved has been freed from his suspension.

That doesn’t really matter now that the season is 3 games away from concluding. However, the Saints still have a slight mathematical shot to reach the playoffs. So anything is possible. Sean Payton might come back.

But there’s still one more guy that hasn’t been relieved of his suspension.

That man is Gregg Williams, the head of the entire bounty operation.

Well, the reason he’s bad this time around isn’t because he decided to pay Jonathan Vilma to break someone in half.

He decided to say that Joe Vitt was the mastermind and wouldn’t allow him to stop the bounty system.

This just sounds like another excuse he came up with to try and get back in the league.

As an athlete myself, I understand that taking benefits to break someone is unacceptable.

While I do not condone the actions taken by Gregg Williams, I also believe that this is part of the game. This isn’t just the Saints. Each team has their own type of bounty system set up. These players are glorified criminals. I love this league, but the players are maniacs. I love the league because of it.

Gregg Williams, take your blame and don’t throw the blame on someone like Vitt who had nothing to do with the continuation of the program.

Sending Off Clarence Clemons

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog about a Bruce Springsteen concert I had attended over Thanksgiving Break. Earlier this week, I wrote about a true friend, and I had finally been lucky enough to find one.

For those of you who don’t know, Clarence Clemons, otherwise know as “The Big Man” or “C”, recently passed away on June 18th, 2011, at the age of 69. The Big Man was the lead tenor saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen’s “E Street Band”, and the two were as close as brothers, at least to the eye of the public.

At “C’s” funeral, on June 21st, 2011, Bruce Springsteen released a eulogy for his best friend, which has since been released to the public, and is available here.

In his eulogy, Springsteen talks about his friend, protector, confidant, and idol, not as someone of the past, but as someone who he will see again soon, “where we will once again pick up that work, and get it done.”

In my post about friendship, I spoke about what it means to have a true friend, and what a true friend is like. Today, while passing time in my Journalism teacher’s classroom, he recommended I read Bruce Springsteen’s eulogy for Clarence Clemons, because of my previous interest in Springsteen.

I immediately took his advice and began to read, and quite on accident I found the perfect example of friendship. The relationship between Springsteen and the Big Man was one of true friendship, at least to my eyes. And I recommend that you all read it as well, and find your true meaning of friendship within their beautiful example.

Enjoy!

Quanza in Africa

frog3Leave a comment

r456

Dashing through the plains

With a zebra on my back.

Over the dirt I go

Its Quanza in Africa.

Humanitarian aid

Making spirits right.

What fun it is to hunt and ride

On my barefoot feet tonight.

O hunting bells, hunting bells

Hunting all the way.

What fun it is to hunt and ride

On my barefoot feet tonight.

Beauty On the Fingertip.

eternity1030Leave a comment

Almost every single girl had a dream of being the Queen of colorful nails.

Nail polish is something that females always want to have in their drawers. Women use nail polish to match their outfits and to enhance them. They are easily noticeable and adorable.

The nail polish we use are mainly composed of nitrocellulose compounds. This material is dissolved in ethyl acetate liquids or butyl acetate. When the chemicals are dissolved in a mixture including additives, but not limited to film that form compound, coloring agents, resins and adhesive resins are added in.

There are very thorough and strict regulations of manufacturing this kind of product. As the development of technology, nail polish can be in hundreds of different colors. The level of toxicity of the nail polish is also reduced in order to lessen the harm to nail and skin.

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Finals

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

Right now the Upper Campus is filled with students stressing out, worrying, and complaining. Why? Finals begin on Friday, and everyone is feeling the effects of their prolonged procrastination.

Teachers repeatedly remind us to study and get some sleep, all the while stacking homework on us as if playing with building blocks. Last minute tests are hurriedly being completed, and review sessions take up the majority of class time.

On Friday, every student, with the exception of maybe two or three, will cram into their assigned classroom, silent and exhausted from a full night of studying. They will spend the next two hours on their English final, and then be released to lunch.

In the afternoon, those with an art final will stick around, while those lucky enough to be done for the day take off. Whether it’s back to their dorm room or their home doesn’t make a difference.

The finals will continue on Saturday, with History, and a day off on Sunday. On Monday, the school will reconvene and knock out he last three.

And then finally, at the end of an exhausting week, we will all be released for break. For that amazing three week Christmas break everyone has been looking forward to since the start of the school year. And I can’t wait.

Friends Who Last Forever

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

There are different types of friends, as many of you probably know. Last year, I was friends with someone who I expected to be close with for years to come. This year, we have barely talked. When I confronted her about this, she said she just didn’t care to.

It was at this point that I realized that some people, even if you might be close to them, aren’t going to stick around through everything. Looking back, I can see how she would cut me down and embarrass me in public, or make me feel bad about something. That’s not a true friend.

This year, I have been lucky to find someone who I know will stick around. Every day at lunch, we have our lunch date, almost without fail. We talk about everything that comes to mind, from boys and friends to food and sports.

She boosts my self-confidence by threatening to no longer talk to me, which of course has changed my thought process tremendously since the beginning of the year finally found my best friend.

Moments

displacedlocalLeave a comment

The moments that stay with us are often peculiar

They are difficult to explain

It may be the first time we talk to a friend

Or the last

As I have grown older memories have grown fuzzier

while others keep their clarity

What decides the memory hierarchy?

Are these the moments that define us?

When we are at our greatest

or worst.

We struggle to find meaning in the moments we remember

And even if we find what we are looking for, why ruin the simplicity of the memory.

Something Happened? Guess I gotta write about it

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So I know I said that I wasn’t going to talk Eagles anymore after last week. The team has been completely deflated and it was just a waste of time to talk about these guys. Well, this week is a different story.

The Eagles actually won a game today.

Going into today’s game, the Eagles’ last win was on September 30th, which is over 2 months ago. That’s a long time in the NFL. The last 2 months have been increasingly depressing. Loss after loss, the Eagles just looked sloppier and sloppier.

Today was our day as rookie QB NICK FOLES (sorry I’m still excited), led the Eagles to a 4th quarter comeback, bringing the team to victory after suffering an 11 point deficit.

There are a lot of things to talk about after a game like today. There were a ton of highlights. Let’s talk about them.

First, I want to give the defensive player of the game to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha, who looked like the players we thought they were when they came to Philly. The two gelled very well today as the team has completely eliminated the wide 9 formation from their playbook. The only times I saw either get seriously beat was on zone coverage once again. However, on man coverage, the two were superhuman. DRC didn’t allow many catches today at all. Nnamdi allowed another touchdown pass, but he needed to make a split decision on his coverage. He made the right call, but noticed it just a bit too late. He also suffered a neck injury early in the game. He returned later on and finished up.

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