I posted a comment on New Kid on the Block's blog. He wrote about how he thought that our dining halls on campus closed too early on the weekends.  I completely agree and have the same discussion with my friends on a weekly basis.  Check it out, maybe we could start a petition to make the schedule of our dining halls change?

Trick or Treat?

Halloween’s coming up and my friends and I spent all of yesterday rummaging through Electrique Boutique looking for something to wear.  We decided on Spice Girls, something that I was when I was 10 and can’t wait to be again.  History is repeating itself in my own personal life when it comes to celebrating Halloween, which made me wonder where Halloween came from.   I had no idea that Halloween was initially celebrated in England by poor people who begged for food on the streets. People would give them “soul cakes” in exchange or prayers for family members or friends who have died.  The idea of costumes comes from European beliefs that on “Hallows Eve” the souls of the dead would wake up and come to people’s homes.  To avoid being recognized, people would wear masks to trick the ghosts into thinking they were also ghosts.

These initial rituals of this holiday have become lost in translation over the years.  These days Halloween is about gathering the most candy, wearing the flashiest candy, and making it to the most houses you can.  At least it was when I was a little kid.  The older I get the more Halloween is “an excuse for people to dress slutty” according to Mean Girls (a movie everyone’s seen that has is about high school.  This year I’m tempted to throw my short leopard mini dress and go-go boots in the closet and dress like a ghost or goblin or something to scare the lost souls away.  I think that Halloween would be much cooler if we made it into the spooky holiday it was in the past.  While scary movies and TV shows are being played on TV the reality and fear of ghosts has diminished.  I can’t help but wonder how much cooler Halloween would be if it was still about dodging ghosts and superstitions.  No one worries about crossing paths with black cats or walking under ladders anymore, but I think it’d be so cool to go out on Halloween because I was too spooked to stay in, instead of just to show off my costume or gather candy.

I commented on Goose's blog about Nick Hogan's recent release from jail.  Goose seems to think that the Hogans got divorced to keep from losing all of their money due to being sued for Nick's poor judgement and terrible driving.  But, I don' t think that's the case at all.  I think they got divorced because their relationship wasn't what it used to be. 

Share and Share Alike?

            I woke up this past Tuesday at around 6:30am.  I couldn’t help but wonder how I was awake after celebrating my 19^th birthday the night before.  So, I went to the bathroom and discovered that I had pink eye.  I went to the Health Center as soon as it opened because I remembered that it was extremely contagious and got medicine.  The doctor asked me how I thought I had gotten such a disease and I told her that my friends and I share everything. She seemed alarmed and advised me against it.  But, I soon realized that this sharing was inevitable.  Without asking I walk in on my roommate using my brush.  Because my water bottles have been free game in the past my friends were helping themselves. I never realized how annoying it was that my stuff was being used until my doctor told me not to share.  I’m the oldest of four and sharing was always something that I was supposed to do.  But, sharing didn’t include my sparkly blue eye shadow or my toothbrush.  It meant non-personal, unimportant goods.  But, as far as I know there aren’t time machines that can go back and make me request that certain things remain just mine.  So how can I limit my friends on what they use without seeming like a bitch?

Merriment or Profanity? (revised)

“HE’S AT THE 30, THE 20, THE 10, TOUCH DOWN!!” The thrill of scoring takes over the crowd and millions of fans stand up and cheer.  But, the moment of complete euphoria takes a turn for the worse, when the athlete who scored begins to celebrate. The celebration usually consists of making the sign of the cross, or even pounding the ball at the ground.  I can understand the adrenaline rush after completing a crucial pass or running half way down the field but, I can’t help but think that the post-play celebrations are a little over the top. They take the place of the perfect play that probably put the team ahead of their opponent. So, I decided to look up some of the various celebrations that players had performed over the years and how the league, and fans, reacted to these oftentimes-profane actions.

To my surprise, the celebrations were worse in the past.  I came across a news story from The Hilltop Online, Howard University’s newspaper about Randy Moss mooning the Green Bay fans after scoring a touchdown. (To read more go to http://media.www.thehilltoponline.com/media/storage/paper590/news/2005/01/18/Editorials/Nfl-Getting.Too.Tough.On.Player.Touchdown.Celebrations-834391.shtml) I was happy to see that the NFL was taking a stand against the professional athletes who weren’t acting professional.  I think that the rules are necessary and fines should be issued to those players who don’t comply. Everything seems to becoming bigger and flashier than ever these days.  Celebrities don’t drive cars; they drive Range Rovers and Bentleys.  Athletes have more bling bling than anyone should be able to afford due to their large salaries. But, flashy doesn’t have to mean trashy.  Why can’t athletes stick to the traditional “hand slap” or “chest bump” post-play celebrations? 

Is the World Wide Web too Wide?

www.juicycampus.com is the most scandalous websites I have ever come across.  On this website people take extreme advantage of the fact that you can write things about people online anonymously.  With networking websites of the past you had to make an account, log in, and take credit for the things you say.  But, juicycampus has turned online blogging into online degrading.  The worst part about it is that half of the threads and blogs are untrue, almost all of them are mean, and people read it like it’s the Bible.  I wonder who creates these websites and if their intentions were to hurt people in certain communities.  Every morning I wake up and my roommate asks me if I have checked juicycampus.  Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no, but regardless it is checked to make sure that events that occurred over the weekend haven’t made it for everyone to see.  I think that it is terrible that people write things about the way people look, who they are dating, and what they wear.  Why does everyone have to be so judgmental?  I wish that it could be turned into a positive website where people highlight good qualities in our peers here at SMU.  The Internet is a great tool, especially for social networking, but I don’t think that it should be something that can make people depressed about themselves.  We need to take a step back from our computers and put ourselves in the shoes of those who wake up and do find things written about themselves.  Would you want rumors spread about you that people think are facts?