Style - Thriftshops

     So first of all I just want to recognize that Macklemore has it right...

 

      ... And second of all, I want to tell you how incredibly amazing thrift stores are and why exactly you should shop at them all the time forever and ever.

Reason 1 - Going thrifting is almost like an adventure. You walk in not knowing what you will find, where you will look, and most of the time, what you are looking for. So when you do find a treasure, you feel a sense of accomplishment that can't be found at Abercrombie, and if you didn't find that one perfect piece, at least you were able to get a good laugh at all the ridiculous clothes from past decades. 

Reason 2 - Some thrift shops are FULL of old, adorable, vintagey stuff. The pink roller blades with wooden wheels, the little hand bags your grand mother would have had in high-school, and the denim jacket with all the patches. So awesome.

Reason 3 - A lot of thrift shops donate some of their profits to various charities, and by re-wearing new clothes you're keeping all that old stuff out of a landfill, and also not supporting the companies making brand new clothes in factories fueled by orphan tears in China. YAY! 

Reason 4 - If you thrift, your wardrobe will be completely original, and you will never have to worry about your friend wearing the exact same outfit again (Simone and I have encountered this difficulty in the past). Also, an incredibly unique closet will lead to a completely unique style, and who doesn't want to feel that they are a leader of a new fashion movement? Huh? 

Reason 5 - I recently bought 5 shirts at a thrift store for $25, black, high-top converse for $10, and a little sundress for $8. My point? You will save a heck of lot of money and have lots of dough left over for that Birkin right? Um no. Because after all your amazing finds at used-clothes places, you will realize that who made your clothes is the last thing that matters. 

Reason 6 - If you have the right friends, they will be impressed/jealous/followers of your very affordable, awesome, and truly one-of-a-kind style. Trust me.

~ Adair

You Know You Want It

"If you think a woman in a tan vinyl bra and underwear, grabbing her crotch and grinding up on a dance partner is raunchy, trashy, and offensive but you don’t think her dance partner is raunchy, trashy, or offensive as he sings a song about 'blurred' lines of consent and propagating rape culture, then you may want to reevaluate your acceptance of double standards and your belief in stereotypes about how men vs. women 'should' and are 'allowed' to behave." 
-Dr. Jill McDevitt

This quote is something that has actually been really, really concerning to me.  I am very tired of talking about Miley Cyrus.  I can't make up my mind on what exactly I think about all the madness that went down on that stage, but the one thing I know for sure is that Robin Thicke hasn't really been called out on anything.  And that is infuriating.  The fact that he has been completely neglected reflects society's tendency to vilify a woman for displaying sexuality while ignoring, or worse, condoning a man's bad sexual behavior.  Yes, I know that Miley was much more in your face with all the inappropriateness - he wasn't really involved in any of the foam finger mania - but is nobody going to address all of the things that he was saying on that stage? 

"People say, 'Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?' I’m like, 'Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women.' So we just wanted to turn it over on its head and make people go, 'Women and their bodies are beautiful. Men are always gonna want to follow them around.'”   

-Robin Thicke (in an interview) 

Blurred Lines is a disturbing song that basically validates - even encourages - rapists.  To quote Lisa Huyne (fellow blogger, Feminist in L.A.), "Basically, the majority of the song (creepily named 'Blurred Lines') has the R&B singer murmuring 'I know you want it' over and over into a girl's ear.  Call me a cynic, but that phrase does not exactly encompass the notion of consent in sexual activity. Seriously, this song is disgusting." On top of that, the song refers to "domesticating" women, along with mentioning "smacking your ass and pulling your hair" and "giving you something big enough to tear your ass in two," along with a chorus that continually repeats "I hate those blurred lines."  Having this kind of message playing on the radio all of the time is harmful.  As Eric Clapp said on his site, "viewing images of objectified women gives men greater tolerance for sexual harassment and greater rape myth acceptance and helps them view women as less competent and less human.  Certainly singing about blurred lines will at the very least reinforce a culture that already trivializes the importance of consent."

Horrifying message of the song aside, their performance is bound to live in infamy.  But, it seems, only for Cyrus.  Nearly every article I've seen has only mentioned her, and comments even on sites such as the Huffington Post are all about Cyrus, calling her "slutty," saying she "messed his song up," and that it was "embarrassing."  While I agree that the performance was very hard to watch, he was being just as inappropriate as she was, even if it was less direct.  Thicke's mother, however, seems to not understand this, even saying on the Today Show: "I was not expecting her to be putting her butt that close to my son...now I can never unsee it."  Yes, I hope that you can eventually recover from the 20 year old grinding against your fully clothed son as he sings about date rape.  

"We started acting like we were two old men on a porch hollering at girls like, 'Hey, where are you going, girl? Come over here!' ... It was great."   

-Thicke (on writing the song lyrics)

At the performance Thicke got to play the part of the dirty old man with 20 year old Miley Cyrus.  While some of her poor judgement can be blamed on the fact that she's young and was a child star, the same definitely cannot be said for Thicke, who is 36 and married with a child. Thicke plays the part well, always surrounding himself with young nearly or completely naked models, while he himself stays fully clothed.

Since the VMAs, Thicke has noted disappointment in including Cyrus (according to one of his managers) because "he thought it would be fun to include Miley, but didn't realize how much she would overshadow him. This was his big night and his big performance...he wouldn't have done it knowing what it ended up like." 

Poor Robin Thicke. If it were up to me, your striped suit would be a real prison suit. 

You know you want it.




More links to read:
http://blog.pigtailpals.com/?p=4433
Some studies:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/11/objectification-suppresses-womens-desire-to-engage-in-social-activism-study-finds/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103108001005
http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/16/11/1103.short
A parody version where the genders are swapped:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tKfwCjgiodg#t=80
And other random things:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/what-miley-cyrus-was-trying-to-do-at-the-vmas-vs-what-miley
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2013/08/27/deep-thoughts-about-miley-cyruss-vma-performance/
http://whatrhymeswithhug.me/

Three Random Books, Reviewed Very Quickly

Today's post is a new feature, called Three Random Books, Reviewed Very Quickly (or TRB,RVQ for those in the know). Rather than a top ten list (because what's the fun in that?), I bring to you the three favorite books on my bedside table right now. I might write in-depth reviews of these books later, but for now I'll keep it quick. You don't have time to read reviews, anyway - you should be reading these books!

1. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
     It's set in modern Australia (where Zusak lives), and the main character, Ed Kennedy, is a complete loser ... until he is chosen by an unknown stranger to complete a number of tasks. It's almost like a treasure hunt, but it instead of looking for little presents, he must risk his own life to help other people. The tasks range from setting up Christmas lights for a family to murdering a man; but if Ed tries to refuse an assignment, he will be killed. Although Ed does try to find out who is behind it all, the focus of the book is more on how he helps people; it raises some interesting questions. If he is being forced and threatened to help these people, is he still doing a good thing?
     The same amazing writing style present in The Book Thief is found here, and though this book is darker, it's also funnier.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan 
     This is the story of two teenage boys with the same name who could not be more different. They meet in an unexpected corner of Chicago and, though they spend most of the book apart, living their own lives, they affect each other in surprising ways.
     It's written by two authors, which I usually hate because I typically like one author and hate the other, and skip the hated chapters, and then spend the rest of the book in utter confusion. I have to admit, at first I hated David Levithan's character (mostly because he used all lowercase letters and I REALLY LIKE CAPS LOCK). After a few chapters, though, I started to appreciate how the characters work off each other and how the story matters equally to both of them.

3. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
     Holden Caufield is practically a cliche by now, the stereotypical angry and angsty teenager. He wanders around New York finding fault in everyone (but who could blame him, all the phonies are depressing as hell). I think that's why I liked this book so much - Holden was hypocritical and melodramatic, and completely real.
     (Also! According to the authors of Salinger's biography, more of Salinger's works are going to be published posthumously between 2015 and 2020. He kept writing until his death in 2010. Reportedly, these books and short stories will revisit old characters, like Holden Caufield and Franny and Zooey).

~Maya

MTV Music Awards 2013

Last night, the MTV Music Awards were held and here is my recap.   Enjoy!

WINNERS:

BEST POP VIDEO

Selena Gomez "Come and Get It".  (Let's not talk about how SHE BEAT FUN., JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE AND BRUNO MARS.)

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, feat. Ray Dalton, ”Can’t Hold Us”. 

BEST DIRECTION

Justin Timberlake "Suit and Tie"

BEST FEMALE VIDEO

Taylor Swift "I Knew You Were Trouble".  (Ok, fine. I'll give this one to her.)

BEST COLLABORATION

Pink, feat. Nate Ruess, “Just Give Me A Reason”.

BEST ROCK VIDEO

30 Seconds to Mars, “Up in the Air”.

BEST ART DIRECTION

Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu, “Q.U.E.E.N”.

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Bruno Mars, “Treasure” (He choreographed it, by the way.) 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Capital Cities, “Safe and Sound”.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton, “Can’t Hold Us”.

BEST EDITING

Justin Timberlake, “Mirrors”.

BEST VIDEO WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, feat. Mary Lambert, “Same Love”. (Yay! But, yeah, we all saw it coming.) 

BEST SONG OF THE SUMMER

One Direction, "Best Song Ever" (did anyone else think Liam was wearing a kilt from the back?)

ARTIST TO WATCH

Austin Mahone "What About Love" (Justin Bieber II).  (Also...why is he talking like he's hood. He's really, really not.)

BEST MALE VIDEO

BRUNO MARS! "Locked Out of Heaven" (Yes, I actually cheered when he won.)

BEST VIDEO OF THE YEAR

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT!!! Oh, and the winner: Justin Timberlake "Mirrors".

PERFORMERS:

Lady Gaga: "Applause"- First thoughts: wow, she can actually sing.  But then she got the crazy eyes on and then it all went to hell.  Five costume changes, each as psychotic as the last. The performance was a little bit like watching an episode of Adventure Time.  Or maybe a piece of really weird, psychedelic modern art that came to life. I kind of love her at the same that she scares me.

Miley Cyrus, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar, Robin Thicke: "We Can't Stop", "Blurred Lines", "Give It 2 U" - Lady Gaga all of the sudden seems tame. Dancing with giant teddy bears wearing thongs, and very near nudity is all I have to say about this.  Miley Cyrus has lost her mind. GOD, I HATE ROBIN THICKE SO. MUCH. In fact, blog post coming soon.  To quote Will Smith and his family...

Kanye West: "Blood on the Leaves" - I just don't have time for this.

Justin Timberlake:  "All of His Hits Smashed Together" – A hint of showtunes, Michael Jackson style stuff, weird choreography, very poor vocals the three seconds he was actually singing, but all glorified with the oh-so-very J.T. dancing.  But then N'Sync performed...I don't have anything to say to that.  I think they showed Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez 400 times and each time they were dancing and screaming and basically fangirling their faces off.  

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: "Same Love" - Awesome contrast to everything else that is performed. I absolutely love that this is accepted and played on the radio.  I do have to say that I feel like this song is much more spoken word with background music than rap, but I love Macklemore and the messages he spreads.  

Drake: "Hold On, We're Going Home", "Started From the Bottom" - A bullet to the head, please.  Cheesy, stupid, bad singing, bad rapping (for the two seconds it wasn't backing track).  And that oh-so-earnest face that I wanted so badly to SLAP.  I lost quite a few brain cells as this went on.

Bruno Mars "Gorilla" - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  So ridiculously good and very Prince-esque. Plus, his whole band was playing with him and it was beautiful.  He did seemed a little bit stiff, though he got less so throughout the performance, but he posted recently on his Facebook that he was sick. As for this song being his next single...um, with those lyrics, I don't really see much radio play.

Katy Perry "Roar" - If a song from Annie was played during a boxing match in hell, this would be the result.  

Study Tips

Today's post is brought to you by Persephone, a special features correspondent.

As summer is coming to a close and the crazy school year kicks off, I've seen countless tips for a stress-free school year. My writing companion, Maya, had a unique approach to the study habits. Here are some of my tips for the crazy school year that will hopefully make your school year a little less #cray!

1: Tips for memorizing. If you can remember things easier by seeing them over, and over, AND OVER again, then make flashcards! Use some bright, flashy colors, and your nicest handwriting, and write down what you need to memorize. If you can hear a song twice and know the words, you should try recording yourself reading aloud what you need to memorize and play it back to yourself. Foolish? Maybe. But when you know the square roots up to 568204, you'll thank me. If you like to write, and what your memorizing is short (or you have alot of extra time on your hands, in which case I hate you), try to write down your memorizing assignment over and over, thus converting it to muscle memory. This is my least favorite way of trying to memorizing, as I get tired, but if it would work for you, try it!

2: Tips for reading assignments. Here comes the most awful, fattest, most boring book, and your teacher assigns it for a reading assignment. WHAT TO DO?!?! Wait! Don't reach for those Spark Notes just yet. First, see how long the book is. Then see how many days you have to read it. Then simply divide the number of pages by the number of days to read it. TA-DA! That's how many pages you have to read each day. Then do it! Maybe, the book is actually really good once you get past the first chapter or maybe not, but regardless, you read that book in the time allotted! What if you skip a couple days?? Don't break out in a cold sweat. Simply read amount for both days in one sitting. When you get the average number of pages to read a day, take account of weekends, and maybe a couple days in case you don't get a chance to read. I understand! We teens have a life that doesn't involve reading a boring book every single day!!!

3. Writing assignments. So your teacher has asked you to write whopping load of essays this year. No worries! Just be armed with a sharp pencil with a good eraser, a lot of music, and a LOT of paper. First, make an outline. Yep, an outline. It will get the creative juices flowing, get the ideas on paper so you don't forget any ideas, and it will give your pieces of writing more structure. After an outline, write! Following your outline, and the prompt or assignment, write the paper. When you're done edit it, and re-write it. Be sure to check punctuation, spelling, grammar, and that you follow and complete the necessary assignment. Then you're ready to turn it in!

4: "Um, I totally forgot about that assignment." When this happens you may instantly start to panic and try to cram in this last-minute attempt at completing the assignment. First, take some deep breaths, and calm down. You do not do good work when you're in a state of crazy panic. After you're calm, begin the assignment. Here's the trick-- work quickly, but well. Don't rush through pell mell and hand in D work when you can slow down a bit and make B work. Be time oriented. Calm down for five minutes, make a plan of attack in two minutes, and execute the plan. As long as you do the work well, no one need know you totally did the assignment in the last hour.

5: Here's a random bonus tip... MUSIC! MUSIC! MUSIC! Music can help with school work enormously. Drown out other background noise in an easy to ignore music and get in the "Zone". Music can help get the creative juices flowing. It can help calm you down when you can't think what to write next. It's relaxing, and a great homework companion in general. Besides, who doesn't love music!?

Hopefully, these tips can help make your school year a little less hectic. Of course, you can do it! It's all a matter of taking the time to do it, and doing it well!

Good luck!

~Persephone

Bruno Mars at the Frank Erwin Center

Last week, I had the incredible experience of seeing Bruno Mars perform at the Frank Erwin Center.   I had started becoming interested in him after Unorthodox Jukebox came out and when he posted on his Facebook page that he was coming to Austin, I decided I had to go.  

Before the concert, I'd thought it was going to be pretty good.  I knew that he sometimes did dance moves with his adorable band, and that he sometimes did fun stuff with the crowd.  I hoped they would do a little of that, but assumed it would probably be one or two songs only. But I could never have expected the crazy show that I saw.  

All in the one concert, he sang, danced, whether by himself or as James Brown, up on a podium, solo Prince-style, or with his backup band, Jackson 5 style.  He played guitar and drum solos and alongside all of that, his backup band performed plenty too - whether attempting to charm ladies in the crowd or to play random jazz and classical solos.  Little stage pyrotechnics were used, apart from a few fiery, glittery explosions for the finale.  While still recalling styles and elements of performers from the past, Mars retained his own style with reggae, even Hawaiian elements, and the pure fact that he was recalling old styles to his current music.  



Throughout the show, he played all of the songs off of Unorthodox Jukebox and five off of Doo-Wops and Hooligans, along with two more songs that he was featured in.  The whole concert was one long, cohesive piece - from the first song, Moonshine, to the last, Just the Way You Are, the songs either had a short interlude in which they flowed from one to the next, or a sort of skit - at one point, he called out a girl in the front row and he and his band took turns competing to charm her. The concert ended with two encores, Locked Out of Heaven and Gorilla (which he will be performing on the MTV awards this Sunday!), for a booming ending leaving everyone cheering, screaming and wishing the concert would never end.  

Summing up the performance perfectly, a quote from Rolling Stone Magazine:  "Anyone from the age of 5 to 95 can walk out of a Bruno Mars concert feeling like the show was designed just for them.  Mars walks the old-school walk (occasionally in James Brown's funky shoes) and talks the sexy talk (sometimes in Prince-like come-ons), but he also nails the hits, leads a super-energetic nine-piece soul band, and rips a mean drum solo.".

Introducing Julius!

      

       Hello world! My name is Simon, and I'm a bit better with pictures than words. However, I'll still try for an occasional poem or two, if not be me then Shel Silverstein or some other great mind. I'll do my best to post some original photos at least once a week, and maybe a book review or something else while I'm supposed to do something "more important". Also, since the nanes Simon and Simone look so much alike past, say, one in the morning onwards, I'll adopt the pseudonym of Julius to avoid confusion.

May the pastas be ever in your favor!

-Julius

In Defense of Hipsters

Hipster style
When you think of hipster style, you probably think of this. Vintage camera, giant glasses, messy hair.

Or maybe this:


It doesn't have to be like that, though, and it often isn't.  In the urban dictionary definition of the word hipster it describes "hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses".  In reality, it's more likely to see actual hipsters wearing clothes not too different from those that everyone else wears.  That's another part of this "hipster" persona so many people seem to be taking on - wearing clothes that are dramatically strange and different in the hopes of actually looking different.  To quote the fabulous Tavi Gevinson of Rookie magazine, "I don't like the term hipster - I think it's become so broad as to apply to basically everyone - but the defining quality is that a hipster thinks and cares about what their tastes say about them, instead of just liking what they like. And so there is nothing more hipster than a person who decides that the only reason another person is wearing a colorful dress is that they're concerned with what theat dress means for their image...because they're thinking that hard about it, and caring that much about what other people think."  I think there's a difference between those that really are independent and those that are trying really hard to be that way.  Though, at the same time that there are a lot of "mainstream hipsters" that everyone is trying to be right now, there is a lot of hipster hate.  I think the main things this hatred comes from are: those people that act too cool for everything, people that are jealous of those who dare to be different, and people that just don't understand why you would want to be different or stand out.  But come on, world.  It's exhausting and unnecessary to always be judging eachother.

Hipsters vs. the version of hipsters we all think of  

I hate to use the word mainstream when having a discussion about hipsters, but for the sake of ease I'm going to use it.  "Mainstream" hipsters are the trend of people, especially teenagers and young adults, that call themselves hipsters but are just following a certain personality type set by a bunch of other people.  They are entirely focused on the idea of defining what other people wear, listen to, talk like, act like, etc.  They are intent on defining what's cool and what's not, always having heard of everything while still being too cool for most things.  Buying a pair of thick glasses, an ugly sweater, and a Belle and Sebastian album and adopting a "too cool for everything" attitude makes you 0% hipster.  Oh, also, here's a huge point: if you flat-out call yourself a hipster, you are not a hipster.  Though, I don't want this article all to be slamming posers - I hate it when people do that.  Most of the time, posers are people finding their place in life and are in the period of figuring everything out.  They might pretend like they know the music/clothes/etc. of whatever group they're "posing" in when they don't, but if they decide they really fit they probably will learn.  Remember that at one point, you were probably a poser.   

But really, in the end, why are you sitting here, judging these people? I understand that it is really obnoxious when people act too cool for everything.  But when it comes to the clothes, it's their choice to wear weird or funky clothes and even if you don't like it, you're not wearing it.  Why do you need to have a reason why they would? If anything, admire those that are brave enough to wear things that are different.

~Simone

Why I Love Pinterest

1. The impossible nail tutorials

2. The DIY earring organizers

3. All the ADORABLE vintagey stuff

4. The amazing clothes you're not sure you'd actually ever wear out of the house

5. The converse

6. The incredible ideas that would be near impossible to make happen

7. The hair that you really really really wish you had

8. The seemingly simple hair tutorials
(...and then you just pull the hair through here, add some bobby pins, and you're good!)

        expectation:

        Result:

9. The awesome art

10. The awesome street art

11. The book quotes

12. The really pathetic, totally relatable, but mostly just pathetic pictures with words

13. The fooOOOOOOOoooddd! (drools)

14. The makeup you could never do yourself

15. All the random hilarious awesomeness

~Adair

Helpful Homework Hints

Recently, with the threat of new classes looming large, I've been thinking about my study habits (or lack thereof) and what I could do to improve them. In my fifteen years on this earth, I have amassed quite a few helpful tips. Not all of them have to do with studying - in fact, most are very specific, like "If you're going on a bike ride early in the morning before you're really awake and you see a scissor-tailed flycatcher on a wire and you try to get a closer look while you're turning your bike around the corner, and you're also ten years old but somehow you're still not that good at riding a bike, you'll probably fall off your bike and break your arm, so you should try not to do that." Some of them, however, might be helpful to other people too - and this blog is a great place to share them. That's why today, I give you...

8 Habits of Highly Effective Students, Brought to You By An Average Homeschooled Teenager Who Has Read Thousands of Helpful Study Advice Posts On Pinterest But Is Too Lazy to Actually Implement Most of Them In Her Real Life

1. Review your notes. This is best done directly after class, when the lesson is still fresh in your mind. However, it is more practical to wait until three weeks later, when you've changed your handwriting again and you can't remember whether that little jagged line is supposed to be a j or an a. The best way to review is to stare idly at the page for an hour or two, singing along to your music, then slam your notebook closed and declare yourself done.
2. This brings me to my next tip, music. Music is an essential part of the student's study tools. Some "experts" suggest quiet, classical music to stimulate brain activity and simultaneously expose you to great masters, but this is obviously ridiculous. I would suggest loud, angry music that will get you righteously indignant at being asked - no, demanded - to learn things that you will never use because you are above all this crap. You have better things to do with your life, like lie on your floor for seven hours listening to Paramore.
3. Other so-called experts suggest occasional exercise throughout your day, to wake yourself up and reduce boredom in between study sessions. This is unequivocally wrong. The only exercise that you should be getting during cramming season is the from the trip to and from the kitchen to get snacks.
4. Snacks are the most important resource for stressed students. Chips, cookies, and chocolate are the best food items for learning, as they make you feel tired and bloated, so you won't be convinced to leave your bedroom (a.k.a. The Study Cave) for anything. 
5. Flashcards. It is really helpful to spend several hours measuring the index cards to make sure they are all perfectly even before you write on them. Then, of course, you can't write on them until you have color-coded ink from a stationary store, and then you need to create a system with card boxes, post-it notes and illustrations to help get the point across. By the time the flash cards are finished, the school year will be over, but at least you'll have sixteen boxes of beautifully made cards with pre-calculus formulas that you will definitely use in later life.
5. It's really important to get lots of sleep during the school year, so you'll stay fresh for your intense studying. That's why I recommend going to sleep no later than 5 A.M. and try to wake up between 6 and 7 A.M. to maximize morning study time. You will be so well-rested that you might even feel tired or start to hallucinate, but it's just a trick of the mind.
6. In class, it can be tempting to let your attention wander. Do not let this happen! You must be constantly vigilant to prevent this disaster from happening. The best way to ensure your constant attention is to stop taking notes (they can distract you from the true message of the class) and draw lots of little stars on the side of your notebook.
7. It can be very helpful to get a "study buddy," a friend with whom you can compare notes and prepare for tests together. A good "study date" will go like this: put all of your textbooks and notes on the table, go into the next room for a High School Musical marathon, and pack up your books five hours later.
8. If you want to be successful in school and in life, procrastination is a big no-no. Writing blog posts, reading study tips, looking out the window, and standing up are obviously out of the question. However, when your research brings you to the Internet, it is occasionally acceptable to browse your Facebook for a short period of time, check your email for important messages, and spend upwards of six hours on YouTube.

These tips are crucial to learning how to study hard and fast. Cramming for tests is incredibly important, as it teaches you to regurgitate trivia on command, a talent without which you are a failure as a human being. Your worth depends entirely on being able to take a standardized test, which can equally and fairly determine every person's knowledge without bias. After all, the only way a person can possibly be intelligent is if they conform to an outdated system and are measured, graded, and compared to someone else.

Right??

~Maya

21 Actually Clever Jokes

     The other day I realized that I know no jokes. So I've decided to fix that. Please feel free to commit some of these to memory so that the next time you encounter an awkward lapse in conversation, you're prepared. However, if we ever meet, you'll know the punchline to everything I say.

1. What's brown and sticky?
    A stick

2. I told my friend that she drew her eyebrows on too high.
    She looked surprised.

3. What do you call a fake noodle?
    An impasta

4. What do you call a 5 foot physic that escaped from jail.
    A small medium at large

5. How did the Hipster burn his tongue?
    He drank his coffee before it was cool.

6. What did the shy pebble wish?
    That she was just a little bolder.

7. What do you call a pencil without lead?
    Pointless.

8. Did you hear they found Mozart's grave? Guess what he was doing?
    decomposing 

9. Did you hear about the new corduroy pillows?
    They're making headlines!

10. Why can't you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?
      Because the pee is silent.

11. Why can a nose never be 12 inches long?
     Because then it would be a foot.

12. Do you know why calendars won't be around much longer?
      They're days are numbered.

13. Today I changed a light-bulb, and then I crossed the road, and then I walked into a bar and realized:
      That my entire life is a JOKE.

14. What did the evil chicken lay?
      A deviled egg

15. What happens when you put explosives in a french bathroom?
      Linoleum blown-apart.

16. What's the difference between a coyote and a flea?
      One howls on the prairie, and one prowls on the hairy.

17. Why do seagulls live by the sea?
      Because if they lived by the bay they'd be bagels

18. What's brown and sounds like a bell?
       DUUUNNGGGGGG.

19. What do you call a monkey in a minefield?
     A baBOOM

20. A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
      hahaha

21. A priest, a blonde and a horse walk into a bar and the bartender says
      "What is this, some kind of joke?"

There ya' go! 21 awesome jokes. I hope I made you laugh.

~Adair

Street Art

Street art, though still somewhat frowned upon, has recently been gaining acceptance and even popularity throughout the world. This is mostly due the overwhelming success of Banksy, the elusive and influential "guerilla artist" who uses stencils, statues, and anything else available to create his masterpieces. His unique style of dark, satirical humor has been recognized from London to Los Angeles to Palestine. His true identity is still unknown - most agree that he began his career in Bristol, England, in the 1990s, but few details are certain. You can see more of his work and learn a bit about him at his website.

Banksy created this in 2006 and placed in on a street in SoHo, London.

Banksy explains why street art is not only acceptable, it's necessary. "People are taking the piss out of you every day. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you're not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you. You, however are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity. Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It's yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at you head. You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don't owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don't even start asking for theirs." 

-Banksy

In his documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy describes his work as being in a "legal gray area." Street artists are always facing the risk of being caught and punished - depending on the place they choose, they could be fined or sent to jail. So why do these artists choose to work on the street, where they are more vulnerable? Their art won't be sold in auction houses or hung on walls - they produce their images purely to share them with the world, with no expectation of any kind of reward or appreciation. Street art reaches a much wider audience than more traditional gallery art. Its message is more confrontational, and forces its viewers to notice things they might have overlooked before. The artists feel so passionately about their art that they need to share it with the world, and they are willing to ignore the risks. Most street artists will never receive recognition from anyone other than pissed off authorities.

-Banksy

Austin has its own graffiti park, where it is completely legal to leave your mark. It is located near the corner of Baylor and 12th Street (just a block behind BookPeople, an amazing indie bookstore). It began as an apartment building but when construction stopped, it became a street art gallery. The art there changes daily; every time I've been, I've seen artists spraying new tags and murals onto the walls. The great thing about street art is that artists can work off of each other, using previous images as inspiration or a background for their work.

Several other iconic street art images can be found throughout Austin.

Street art is a way to celebrate the unnoticed corners of a city, to raise awareness, and to communicate dissent. Banksy describes a place where street art is valued: "Imagine a city where graffiti wasn't illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that. Stop leaning against the wall - it's wet."

~Maya

15 Pictures That Will Cheer You Up On A Bad Day

Bad days.  We all have them.  They suck, but there are some things you can do to help yourself feel better. One of those things is to look at these 15 pictures.

1.  A shaved llama.


2. Imagine a t-rex making a bed.


3.  Ryan Gosling and Ellen wearing onesies.


4.  Speaking of Ryan Gosling, here's his baby self with Justin Timberlake.


5. Now, speaking of Justin Timberlake, this happened at some point.

You will never have to wear those clothes.

6.  Check out this dog's stache.


7. Look at this diver's face in midair.

This one is slightly more disturbing than funny.

8.  You're not a hamster stuck in your slide.


9.  Look at this hipster dog.


10.  This will never happen in your city.


11. Look at this squirrel that got his face a mask and ran around scaring a town last Halloween.


12.  You're not wearing this shirt.


13. This disturbing picture that will be on the internet forever is not of you.
 

14.  Look at this lamb's face.

15.  Give it time.
Matthew Lewis looked like this.

Megan Fox looked like this.

Jake Gyllenhaal looked like this.


And most of all, Zac Efron looked like this.



Feel better yet?