A Change of Plans...

because we can.

Screw daily blogging! The both of us have decided that we'll only post when something significant comes up. Maybe that'll make the content better...

So long for now,
Ashley and Jillian

Pinwheels

Every year, our school has a pinwheel planting in honor of the children (quite literally-- that sign says "Today these pinwheels represent adults who provide a voice and advocate for our children). It's a nice thought, and the pinwheels are awfully pretty to look at when the wind blows by...

We Chalked the Sidewalk

I'm part of an organization called NSCS. It's just some scholar club that does community service. Anyways, we chalked the sidewalk to get our name out there on campus Monday afternoon.

... Of course it rained a day later.

Class Registration

Last Thursday was my registration enrollment date for Fall 2013! I'm glad that my final schedule worked out after a bit of emailing and constant pestering of other departments.

Something that I hate about SU's registration process is the fact that you don't always know whether or not you can take a class until you click enroll and find out on enrollment day. Granted, you can get around the roadblocks that revolve the administration after a bit of persuasion.

Fall 2013: Presentational Speaking, Reading Popular Culture, Photography in Broadcast News, and various news and media related classes?! I'm psyched!

Interpretive Dancing

This past weekend, my friends and I filmed our English final project. Afterwards, we had a funny dance session at 2am. The fact that we can do things like this sober just tells me we need to refrain from any substance use because who knows what will happen when I'm not in a sane state of mind.

News and Social Media

So I've been busy this past week doing a variety of things from midterms and papers to putting together my first news package for CitrusTV. Filming, writing, and editing in one day is hard work! Anyways, excuses aside, let's talk about the news... since, you know, I'm into that stuff as a wannabe journalist.

The bombings in Boston this past week was a tragedy for many. Why Boston? Why innocent marathon runners? While we await the details of the recent event, many people expressed their concerns whether it be contacting people they know in Boston to make sure friends and family were okay or just posting a Facebook status that expresses their sympathy for Boston's situation. All over various social media you see the words "Pray for Boston."

But there are others. There are people out there who care more about popularity in the eyes of the public than about the people. Don't know what kind of people if you dare call them that I am referring to? I'm talking about people like this...

Has the perceived use of social media stooped so low that "proving your care" in the eyes of the public is more important than sympathizing with humanity?

Verisimilitude: BOOM! Pregnant!

What can I say?  I have been waiting for this day for quite some time, and I'm so glad that I finally get to share it with all of you!

verisimilitude \ver-uh-si-MIL-i-tood, -tyood\, noun:

1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2. something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.

Verisimilitude: BOOM!  Pregnant!

Go to 2:07.

You're welcome.

Ma Rainey's dramatic lilt

lilt \lilt\, noun:

1. rhythmic swing or cadence.
2. a lilting song or tune.

verb:
1. to sing or play in a light, tripping, or rhythmic manner.

I like to believe that I have made my Interpretation of Drama class famous on this blog, and the interesting events just keep rolling in.

Yesterday we had to read (and yes, I say had to because nobody read the play, we were all too busy writing a paper for this class the night before) a play called Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, a play that I also believe no one in the class had ever heard of.  Luckily, I think there was a point in the class that m teacher realized that no one read the play.

 So what can you do in a situation like this?  Show the class video clips of the bluesy lilt for which the play is named?  By the original Ma Rainey?  YES!

That's exactly what our teacher did.  For a good seven minutes or so, instead of discussing why Ma was late and forced her band to go get her a Coca Cola, we listened to the original Black Bottom song, and then clips of people dancing to it in the 1920's.  It was pretty interesting, and I honestly wish that kind of dancing was around now, instead of the grinding that we currently have.  The black bottom is so much funnier/classier depending on who you dance it with.  Maybe I would go out just a little bit more on the weekends....

Here's what we got to sit and listen to:

Rainy ingressions

ingress \IN-gres\, noun:

1. the act of going in or entering.
2. the right to enter.
3. a means or place of entering; entryway.
4. Astronomy. immersion (def. 5).

I was able to use today's WoD in a tweet!  Since it was raining extremely hard today, I had absolutely no desire to go outside, so I decided to order delivery.  My tweet went as such:

"I don't think the ingress of Sadler is worth it right now #rain #delivery"

Sadler is the building next door with the dining hall that I had no desire to enter.  My delivery was fan-freaking-tastic by the way.

Machinating the Internet

machinate \MAK-uh-neyt\, verb:

to contrive or plot, especially artfully or with evil purpose: to machinate the overthrow of the government.

Oftentimes I machinate to do my homework early on in the day, but fail miserably.  I blame the Internet for being such an entertaining place.

Plethoric amounts of rain in Syracuse

plethoric \ple-THAWR-ik, -THOR-, PLETH-uh-rik\, adjective:

1. overfull; turgid; inflated: a plethoric, pompous speech.
2. of, pertaining to, or characterized by plethora.

I don't usually say this, actually, I've never said this, but Syracuse has a plethoric amount of rain right now.  Seriously, there's thunder and lightning and everything. 

So.  Much.  Rain.

Stranger Danger

See this piece of Hershey's Chocolate? It was taken from the arms of a stranger. Let me explain...

My friend Ali and I were walking to class when we passed by a student with a colorful sign that had the word "FREE" written in one hand and this piece of Hershey's Chocolate dangling in the other. Both my friend and I noticed this as we walked by, but neither of us wanted to take the piece of candy. After all, "stranger danger" comes to mind with such a creepy, atypical move. A few moments after passing by, we both just knew we wanted that candy, so we went back and greeted the guy and each of us received a piece of milk chocolate!

Recently, breaking the "stranger danger" rule has been a novel concept to me. It shocked me the other day when I was playing basketball at the gym with my friends and a group of guys I didn't recognize asked to play with us on the same court.

This concept of "stranger danger" has always been a rule I'd follow as a kid, but as an adult, you're forced to face strangers everyday.  It doesn't help to shy away from something you want or new people you could potentially meet. There's a point where you need to recognize that not everyone is out to get you.

It was warm today.

Today was so warm, it was 60 degrees! Jillian and I just had to get some froyo at Yogurtland, so here's a lovely picture I took today on a stereotypical park bench with my $10 worth of yogurt.

Sorry I didn't take a more meaningful picture today...

To all those demimonde engineers

demimonde \DEM-ee-mond; Fr. duh-mee-MAWND\, noun:

1. a group characterized by lack of success or status: the literary demimonde.
2. (especially during the last half of the 19th century) a class of women who have lost their standing in respectable society because of indiscreet behavior or sexual promiscuity.
3. a demimondaine.
4. prostitutes or courtesans in general.
5. a group whose activities are ethically or legally questionable: a demimonde of investigative journalists writing for the sensationalist tabloids.

Personally, I like the second definition, one can have so much fun with that if ever there was a funny social commentary.  The first, however, reminds me of my favorite show ever, The Big Bang Theory, therefore I shall write on that one because it is even funnier than social commentary.

For those of you who have not seen The Big Bang Theory, change that status, immediately!  It is a fantastic show about four nerdy guys who work at CalTech in Pasadena, CA and have a beautiful friend whom one of them likes very much and ends up dating and then there are two other girls as well for two of the other guys but there's still that random single guy who's mad about it and there's lots of Star Trek and Star Wars and Doctor Who and other comic book references and it's just great go watch it it's good for your soul.

In the show, there is a character named Howard Wolowitz, a.k.a. my second favorite character on the show.  He's different from all of the other guys because, well, he only has a master's degree.  No Ph.D.  What a loser.  It's funny because this little nip in eduction makes him a demimonde amongst his other doctorate friends.  He is (spoiler alert!) the first of his friends to get married, however.  

There, I've done it, I've used the Word of the Day.  Now I'm going to humor all of you with my favorite scenes and pictures from Big Bang.  You're welcome.

Above is a tribute to Howard Wolowitz.  Shout out to all the engineers out there.

The Whipped app.  I swear it's really funny.

Best.  Scene.  Ever.

The cast looking extremely attractive.

Spin Art

I never had the privilege of knowing about Spin Art until I came to college... but apparently most people passed by the Spin Art machine with words like, "OMG SPIN ART! I used to love that!" Maybe I lived under a rock when I was younger for not knowing about this magical toy, but Spin Art is pretty cool.

Syracuse University Relay For Life 2013

I participated in my first Relay For Life yesterday,  hence the late post. Let me tell you, it was nothing like I had expected. I didn't realize that the event was an all night soiree with performances and ballroom dance lessons and things to buy and make and play in addition to the given walking and the speech giving.

My experience is best documented by this video I threw together last night/this morning.

Roberto's idiolect concerning sports

Today's post goes out to a guy who makes up funny words in the middle of a Syracuse basketball game even though he claims to have used them in high school.

idiolect \ID-ee-uh-lekt\, noun:

a person's individual speech pattern. Compare dialect (def. 1).

We'll call this particular guy Roberto, a guy who lives on my floor, and happens to be a sports fanatic.  Roberto has a few words that he likes to use in his own little sports idiolect that I'm going to share with you below (p.s. I have to completely make up the spelling):

-Steeze: just another word for "swag" but implies athletic ability.

-Clutch: player HAS the ball.

These are the main two words that he uses, although there are more that Roberto doesn't particularly favor.

In other news, Syracuse just lost to Michigan in the Final Four round, and although it was a helluva game, I'm terribly sad about it.  :(

The codicil player

codicil \KOD-uh-suhl\, noun:

1. any supplement; appendix.
2. a supplement to a will, containing an addition, explanation, modification, etc., of something in the will.

I got to be the awkward codicil tonight.  Well, the injured awkward codicil tonight.

Sometimes, my floor likes to play late-night basketball and soccer at the gym, which is what we did earlier.  Playing basketball is really fun because if you knew how passionately involved these guys are with the sport, you'd think it's the best too.  Anyway, the time came when we had nine players, so someone had to sit out to due unfair amounts of people on one team.

We all took turns sitting out, but I had to take my turn after an unfortunate attempt to block the ball, and I landed on my knees.  Hard.  There is now discoloration and swelling in that general area, and I'm still waiting on it to heal.  

But yes, I was the codicil player while injured.  Hopefully that will not happen to anyone on SU's team tomorrow as we CRUSH Michigan in Atlanta!!

That is all.

Syracuse University's National Communications Coordinator for Residence Hall Association

Gave a 5 minute speech and suffered through a Q&A session today, but it's all worth it! I'm very excited for the next school year...

This is the apology/long post. It'll never happen again.

I would like to begin by apologizing to everyone who so loyally turns to my posts to learn enhanced English.  That's right, I have not posted in over a week.  The Earth, however, is still rotating on its axis.  What I plan on doing to make up for this unforgivable blunder is to post all of the words I've missed over the past week and a half, and write you a little story using all of those words.  I swear I'll never do this to you guys again.

tranche \trahnch, trahnsh\, noun:

1. any part, division, or installment: We've hired the first tranche of researchers.
2. Finance. a. one part or division of a larger unit, as of an asset pool or investment: The loan will be repaid in three tranches. b. a group of securities that share a certain characteristic and form part of a larger offering: The second tranche of the bond issue has a five-year maturity.

verb:
1. Finance. to divide into parts: tranched debt; A credit portfolio can be tranched into a variety of components that are then further subdivided.

pharaonic \fair-ey-ON-ik, far-\, adjective:

1. (usually lowercase) impressively or overwhelmingly large, luxurious, etc.: a construction project of pharaonic proportions.
2. (sometimes lowercase) of or like a Pharaoh: living in Pharaonic splendor.
3. (lowercase) cruelly oppressive; tyrannical: pharaonic tax laws.

swivet \SWIV-it\, noun:

a state of nervous excitement, haste, or anxiety; flutter: I was in such a swivet that I could hardly speak.

gaumless \GAWM-lis\, adjective:

lacking in vitality or intelligence; stupid, dull, or clumsy.

impawn \im-PAWN\, verb:

1. to put in pawn; pledge.
2. to put in pawn; pledge.

ha-ha \HAH-hah\, noun:

sunk fence.

splenetic \spli-NET-ik\, adjective:

1. irritable; peevish; spiteful.
2. of the spleen; splenic.
3. Obsolete. affected with, characterized by, or tending to produce melancholy.

noun:
1. a splenetic person.

aperture \AP-er-cher\, noun:

1. an opening, as a hole, slit, crack, gap, etc.
2. Also called aperture stop. Optics. an opening, usually circular, that limits the quantity of light that can enter an optical instrument.

ingratiate \in-GREY-shee-eyt\, verb:

to establish (oneself) in the favor or good graces of others, especially by deliberate effort (usually followed by with): He ingratiated himself with all the guests.

The story that I'm about to tell you is absolutely true, and it's one of the reasons why I haven't written all week.  I am currently in a class called COM117, and it's a multimedia storytelling class where all of the work I turn in is related to some kind of project.  And by project I mean video project where you're in a group and film and edit things together.

I am in a group with two other people--a guy and a girl-- and our tranche just completed a project about a man here in Syracuse who gives food to the homeless.  For those of you who have never been to Syracuse (the city not the university), it's a rather pharaoinic city, large, with a substantial homless population.  My group and I were lucky enough to find this man who does this wonderful thing, and ride in his car for a few hours, filming as he gave sandwiches he made to the less-fortunate.  It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

I was in a bit of a swivet that day, partly because I was excited to get on this project, and partly because I got to skip French class.  I considered it quite the adventure.  The three of us got to ride in his car with us as we drove around the city on his route, stopping anywhere we found someone holding a cardboard sign off the freeway or just sitting amongst a pile of junk.  Although we didn't go near a lot of the homeless people (because they were strangers to him as well, and cameras can make people on the streets nervous), I really felt like I got to know their stories. 

A real eye-opener from that day that I will never forget was when he took us to an abandoned camp site where four homeless people used to live.  It was in a patch of forestry just off the 81 freeway.  There was trash everywhere, and a well-constructed shack in the midst of it all.  Sure it was dirty and disorganized, but I realized that it was a sturdy complex.  This was not built by the lazy, gaumless, drug addicts we as a society picture most homeless people to be.  This was simply their way of life.  It was not an ideal situation for them, obviously, but it was how they got by.  It was enlightening.

It was through this experience, however, that I impawned to myself that I would never like to be homeless.  That's an obvious life goal for the great majority of us, but it runs deeper than that.  I promise that I will never let life become too much to put a roof over my head.  I promise never to become a splenetic, ungrateful person who has to live life in the aperture of the Earth, or put up a ha-ha (whatever that is) to create a home.  After my experience seeing the homeless of Syracuse, I think that we should all ingratiate with one another.  Talk to each other, see each other.  One of the first things he always says to the people he meets is, "I just want you to know that I see you, and God sees you."

I don't think it matters how religious you are.  That's a beautiful way to see somebody.

CoCoPPa App Review

In a world where iPhones are as common as cars, the iPhone case seems to be the only personalized aspect of this must-have device. But not anymore! Now the icons can also be personalized with the CoCoPPa App, a Japanese kawaii-themed app that lets the user create and set individualized icons for various apps from Facebook to Blackboard.

Despite the cuteness overload, there are some setbacks to using these icons:

1) You don't delete the original app from your phone. These icons depend on the links the original apps have, and therefore deleting the original app would only leave a useless icon. I ended up tucking all the original app icons away on the very last page of my iPhone menu so that the aesthetically pleasing ones would stay at the frontline :)

2) These icons don't show notifications! Game and social media apps typically have a little red number at the top corner of the original app icon when something new comes up. Because you still have the old icons, those notifications show up on the original rather than these replacement icons.

3) These icons only work for apps downloaded from the app store. Original apps that come with an iPhone such as Camera, Contacts, Music, etc. cannot be replaced with a styled icon, so the inconsistent use of the original icons and the personalized ones might look awkward when mixed together on a single menu page.

So is the app worth it? If you think about it, this app really is extraneous. What's the point of this app if the original icon still exists, but is only hidden away? All this extra work is only to provide some originality. Personally, I think the wow-factor of showing your friends the unique icons is worth it. Plus, the extra personalization couldn't hurt in making sure the phone you pick up off the counter is yours.

3/5 STAR RATING

It still looks amateurish.

It's taking a while, but it's getting there... slowly but surely.

How to reduce scanned file sizes (Mac).

Scanning files onto a Mac is silly when the file is much too high quality to send to anyone else via email. I give you this post because the first link I listened to taught me to reduce a quality to this:

Super Blurry Crap

We don't want super blurry crap. We want readable text that doesn't take up over 15MB. So here's what you do...

1. Scan the page (Duh).
2. DO NOT SAVE AS A PDF. SAVE AS A JPEG.
3. Open the JPEG file.
4. File -> Save As.
5. A little bar should show up letting you manually adjust the image quality.
6. Save!

Now your file doesn't take up a ton of space! You can repeat File -> Save As to save it into different file formats, but use the JPEG format to adjust the file size.

You're welcome.

Letters

What is it about handwritten letters that make it so special?

In a technological age, people tend to fancy the virtual messages, but you can't physically hold these messages in your hand. You can't touch the paper and know that some time ago, your friend also had this piece of paper.

Handwriting shows character. Maybe the person likes to write fast and forgets to dot the i's or cross the t's. Maybe the person has terrible writing all together and the words just come out as scribbles. Or maybe each word is written with such precision the words almost seem typed. Either way, the writing itself becomes part of the person's personality. It's a part of the people you can keep forever even when the memories fade away...

Anyways I write this post because last semester, my high school friends and I were very good at keeping up with the old-fashioned mail. We've been slacking recently, but now I've been reminded what makes these postcards and letters so wonderful.

Addiction

Like most teens in this awesome virtual/technological age, I easily get addicted to video games. In fact I try to limit myself to one Facebook game and one iPhone game so that I don't waste too much time trying to beat high scores. I've done this well for the most part, until a certain someone *cough* Jillian *cough* decided to download a game onto my phone for her entertainment.

I started a mad Temple Run 2 craze last week. Since then not only have I not been able to stop, I also downloaded Ruzzle and Words with Friends to challenge my friends at different games.

What I find most addicting is when games offer awards for completing challenges. Whether it be beating a new high score, or playing so many times you deserve a virtual ribbon, this sense of achievement gets to me and feeds off of my thirst for success.

Anyways, that's just my bit on why video games are addicting to me. Why do you believe they are addicting?

Happy Easter! ~

 

 As someone who isn't particularly religious, Easter has quite a superficial meaning for me. I eat the chocolate bunnies and go on the egg hunts, but I don't know much about Jesus' death on the cross nor his rising from the dead. Particularly ignorant about religion in general, I turn to my friends to explain to me the different beliefs. I know that the Jewish holiday, Passover, happened pretty recently only because the school cafeteria served matzo balls almost every day this week.

As I grow older (and hopefully wiser) I find that I am more interested in things that don't particularly involve me directly. Just because I am not affected doesn't mean I shouldn't try understanding what other people think, feel and believe.

That's all for now. Much thanks to Mrs. Davis for sending me this Chocolate Bunny for Easter :)

A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Syracuse Stage

Last Thursday night, I had the privilege to see a production of the classic A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Syracuse Stage. Although I went primarily to complete a review assignment for my Interpretation of Drama class, I was stunned by this performance. This post isn't my official review, rather these are the details I have noticed and want to write down so that I remember all these bits when I write my review... field notes per say.

The overload of the sensory aspects of the play from aesthetic uses of color and lighting and the incorporation of tone and sounds really made this play interesting to experience.
I was very glad to have the opportunity to watch a play in production rather than simply reading the script. Unlike more recent playwrights like Tennessee Williams, older plays typically don't have much stage direction and description within the script to visualize a play. This made reading A Midsummer Night's Dream much different from seeing it. When the script is dialogue on paper, it is more difficult to grasp the emotion and humor of a script.

This particular production seemed, as put in Jillian's words, "like Candyland had an orgy." The production almost seemed surreal with its lack of a particular time period for this rendition (after all, this play is timeless). The dress and setting with the four lovers reminded me much of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland with the 1800's style. Yet the players wore overalls and carried a boombox playing rock and roll music! Not to mention the fairy "woodland" scenes that reminded me of a 1980's disco with giant pom poms made of tutu material. What added to the surreal effect included the use of lighting (spotlights, dimmed lights, patterned effects during intense scenes) and the mirror background that seemed to complete the environment.

The acting was spectacular, although a bit melodramatic---after all, this kind of play was meant to be overacted. I particularly noticed the performances by the actors who played Puck and Lysander. They were absolutely hilarious and entertained the audience throughout the entire production. Something that I noticed was the background sound effects made by the actors during the production. The small sounds-- the hissing and the whimpers and the whispers-- added an extra dynamic to the senses. The play was almost turned into a musical with several musical numbers filled with song and dance. The actress who played Titania in particular sang and danced with such a sultry grace which was beautiful. The actors were limitless; many entered the scene from among the audience, running down the aisles to make their way onto the stage.

Anyways, kudos to the producer and art director of this play to conceptualize how this particular rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play redone countless times, can be a playground for creativity and innovation that sticks to the audience more than any other movie or adaptation could possibly provide.

Today is not Wednesday...

but I suppose Art Wednesday can happen at any time really. I had a picture I wanted to use yesterday, so I saved an art update for Thursday!

I started to paint the canvas yesterday.

While the teacher was walking around he commented that I tend to cover the whole page before going into the nitty gritty details. Not that there's any right or wrong answer to art, but I do think it is easier to see the big picture when you focus on the whole. What if you paint a square inch to perfection, but then it needs to be adjusted later due to the parts surrounding it being off?

And also, I have no idea what colors I want to use for the objects in my painting until I actually do it! It's just whatever feels right at the time. My color preferences are not preplanned, rather I make it up as I go along. I want to emphasize the objects I want to stand out and blend similar colors together for details that don't matter as much. In order to do so, I need at least slap color on the canvas to begin the mix and match process.

Anyways, I'd love to hear how other people go about making their artwork. Does it take planning? Do you just do what feels right?

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started." - Mark Twain

I found this quote stuck on the restroom door today. Someone had gone into the restrooms and stuck sticky notes with motivational quotes scribbled on it onto the mirrors, hand-dryers, and doors. Although I'm quite upset that my silly iPhone picture turned out blurry, I am very happy to share this with you.

I've been trying to motivate myself for quite some time. I've tried listening to upbeat music, going out more, and even socializing to more people. But then there's a point where I realize I've done nothing but sit around waiting for a sign or something crazy and impossible to happen. Anyways, I suppose it's time to pick myself up and get moving again.

Grammar Slammer Doodles

Every week we have to turn in a slip of paper with our name and clicker number written on it as proof of our attendance. I decided to liven up this weekly check-in with a bit of color and doodling.

Marmoreal skin and the streetcar

marmoreal \mahr-MAWR-ee-uhl, -MOHR-\, adjective:

of or like marble: skin of marmoreal smoothness.

Today I had the absolute pleasure of reading the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.  I had to read it for a drama class I'm taking, and let me tell you: sexual innuendos GALORE.  No joke guys, if you want a good, sexy read, you will find it in this play, and you can play "Where's the Sexual Tension?" as if it were "Where's Waldo?"

The main character of the play is called Blanche DuBois, a beautiful woman who's something of a wilting flower with marmoreal skin and a high-and-mighty attitude.  The plot is set in New Orleans in the 1940's, after WWII; and Blanche, a high school English teacher, must take time off from her work for unknown reasons, and stay with her younger sister Stella and her brutish husband Stanley Kowalski.

Basically what happens from there is Stanley goes out of his way to annoy Blanche, who is in a fragile state 24/7.  Through a series of inquiries from Stan to the men in town who know where Blanche came from, we discover (spoiler alert) that Blanche was practically run out of town because of an affair she had with an underage student.  In the end she gets put into a mental institution.  But those are just main plot points, there's more to the story, soooo much more!  It's sexy!

If you aren't really one for reading plays though, it's a famous movie with Vivien Leigh and a very young, very HOT Marlon Brando.  Here's the trailer and a picture.  You're welcome.

Some Inspirational Quotes

Easter Egg Hunt

Today was the first time I participated in an egg hunt in a very long time. For the last few years, I volunteered at the local community center during the annual Easter Egg hunts. I'd get to hide all the eggs and wait for the countdown before little kids swarmed into the park like the plague. Anyways, my school's NSCS chapter held an Egg Hunt for the general body members for "bonding" time. I found some eggs. It's nice to be the kid again.

Orange Day

Orange Day was yesterday so the university bookstore offered a discount if we took a picture with this mask things... This is my not amused face.

Davening

daven

\ DAH-vuhn \  , verb;

1. to pray.

 

This template has been sitting empty for the past few minutes, mostly because I do not know a proper, crowd-pleasing way to bring up "pray" in a sentence.  We all know what it means, and it is different to all of us.  It may not even be important to all of us.  

 

I suppose that this is dictionary.com's challenge for me.

 

Well I shan't be challenged!  There are many ways that people daven, and even more things to daven for.  

 

There is davening for world peace, for no hunger, for all kinds of happiness, for safety, for anything in the world.  

 

Dere are different davens don't deny. 

Preterition and basketball

preterition \pret-uh-RISH-uhn\, noun:

1. the act of passing by or over; omission; disregard.
2. Law. the passing over by a testator of an heir otherwise entitled to a portion.
3. Calvinistic Theology. the passing over by God of those not elected to salvation or eternal life.
4. Rhetoric. paralipsis.

In the midst of NCAA season, there are many teams who face the tragedy of a preterition.  I know that this particular definition refers to being passed over (or overlooked) in someone's will or other legal document, but let's face it, college teams getting passed up can be pretty sad too.

Luckily, that hasn't happened to Syracuse yet, we just beat UC Berkeley, and we're going to DC baby!  Whoo!  I'm hoping though, that we stay in the game as loooooooong as possible.  The last time we won the NCAA Championship was about ten years ago with Carmello Anthony, and maybe, just maybe, we can push it a little farther this year.  

Or all the way!

Serpentine Street

serpentine \SUR-puhn-teen, -tahyn\, adjective:

1. having a winding course, as a road; sinuous.
2. of, characteristic of, or resembling a serpent, as in form or movement.
3. shrewd, wily, or cunning.

noun:
1. a device on a harquebus lock for holding the match.
2. a cannon having any of various bore sizes, used from the 15th to the 17th century.
3. Skating. a school figure made by skating two figure eights that share one loop.

You know something that's really serpentine?  Lombard Street in San Francisco!

 

Graffiti on the Lockers

I'm not the only one who is amused by this method of conversation, right?

Insouciance and basketball

insouciance \in-SOO-see-uhns; Fr. an-soo-SYAHNS\, noun:

the quality of being insouciant; lack of care or concern; indifference.

The feeling of insouciance came over me tonight as I was participating in a yearly phenomenon that I did not know existed until last year: March Madness.  

I mean, of course I've never cared before, I've never lived in an environment where people cared about basketball so much.  This year is the first time I've ever made a bracket, or stayed up until 12:47 at night for a game to end.  But it was really awesome!  Insouciance is rather the antonym for my excitement though, the true feeling of indifference came from the team that Syracuse played tonight, which was Montana.

What a joke.

I wouldn't have said anything like that last year, as I had no idea which teams were good and which teams were bad, but this year I know, and I now know that Syracuse is ten times better than Montana because we beat them by almost fifty points.  Talk about insouciance.

Stranger in Philosophy Class

This post has nothing to do with my Philosophy lecture; rather the students in the class make it all the more interesting.

I couldn't help but be mesmerized by this guy's hair today. He has a heartbeat shaved into his head! This dude wins the Best Hair Award... if only such an award existed.

It's so primaveral today

primaveral \prahy-muh-VEER-uhl\, adjective:

of, in, or pertaining to the early springtime: primaveral longings to sail around the world.

Today is the first day of spring.  Have a happy, primaveral day everyone.  :)

Details Details Details

I began working on a new piece today! I haven't decided what to title it yet... but no matter.

The concept is basically a child reading from a book in a library, and the contents of the book come to life before his eyes.

I believe this is the most complicated piece I have ever attempted in my lifetime. The canvas is 18" x 20" (?), so it is pretty hefty mass-wise. I hope to add much detail into the piece too as it will give me a chance to experiment with oil paint more.

Anyways, those are my goals and the reasons behind this piece. Wish me luck!

Hypothecate people!

hypothecate \hahy-POTH-i-keyt, hi-\, verb:

1. to pledge to a creditor as security without delivering over; mortgage.
2. to put in pledge by delivery, as stocks given as security for a loan.

I've always been good at adhering to deadlines, and while I don't have a mortgage, college has been no exception.  

I always hypothecate my work, and always have, the second I entered school.  I don't think I've ever turned in a late assignment and it's a secret pledge that I make to all teachers-- my work will be in on time, all the time!  I know it sounds pathetic, but it's a message to my furure mortgager.  My bills will come in on time.  Unless I'm poor.  Or don't have a house.

My personal qualm

Sorry I'm a day late on this one people, but you know how it is with school and sleep and breathing.  We all get busy.

qualm \kwahm, kwawm\, noun:

1. an uneasy feeling or pang of conscience as to conduct; compunction: He has no qualms about lying.
2. a sudden feeling of apprehensive uneasiness; misgiving: a sudden qualm about the success of the venture.
3. a sudden sensation or onset of faintness or illness, especially of nausea.

You want to hear about qualms?  I'll tell you about qualms, specifically my qualms.  I have a qualm about my future.

That's right, but luckily it's a qualm in the best possible way.  You see, I'm not one of those people who have no options in life and can barely get by.  I am blessed enough to be pursuing my college education, and because of that, so many doors have opened for me.  The qualm that I have with this, is which door to choose.

One thing you should know about me is that I'm a joiner.  I join clubs, social groups, and volunteer projects.  So far, in my freshman year of college, I have joined one organization, and I'll likely not be able to stick with it forever, because of a major first world problem that's been on my mind.  Now that I'm in college, at a major university, I have the opportunity to study abroad.  Where?  I can double major.  In what?  I can have a minor-- don't even get me started.  

I just feel like all of these options make life after and even during college extremely overwhelming.  You can't help but feel like there is only one right path for you, and it's so easy to make the wrong decision.  What if you screw up?  What if you choose a path that was not right for you in the end?

Answer: there is always a right path for us as individuals, and any path we take has the potential to be the right path.  I just need to work on that.  Starting first thing tomorrow.

Girl Scout Cookies

Every spring, little girls flock to their friends, their teachers, their parents coworkers, and anyone else they know to sell the most delicious cookies ever invented.

I never expected to get my hands on a box of Girl Scout cookies after finishing high school. I don't even think people at the college age even have a Girl Scouts troop to participate in. But with a few connections, I obtained a box of my favorite: Samoas!

I got connections ;)

Simple Sights

I spied a man today walking across the rails. He seemed so concentrated, taking each step with perfect   balance.

From the Dead of Winter to Early Spring

I love the snow of winter and the green of spring, but there's this awkward in between when the world just seems dead without the white blanket covering the earth. Right now, everything just seems... brown.

Geek and Sundry

sundry

\ SUHN-dree \  , adjective;

1. various or diverse: sundry persons.

 

I've never really heard this term before, with one exception.  There is a certain YouTuber (who I plan on seeing this summer at VidCon) named Felicia Day who has a channel called Geek and Sundry.  I absolutely love the name, and so I thought I'd share it with you:

 

Geek and Sundry  

 

Hope you all enjoy it! 

Auntie Anne's

I had my first Auntie Anne's pretzel today, though I'm not particularly sure why I have not tried Auntie Anne's before. After all, this chain seems prominent in almost every shopping mall across the country.

I ate a Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel! It was pretty tasty even though the cinnamon bits fell off the pretzel and made a mess on the table. However, I wasn't particularly blown away by it. I guess soft pretzels are just soft pretzels like all other junk food. The only experience I could compare these pretzels to are the soft pretzels my junior high school used to sell during snacks. I'd always get the cinnamon pretzels or the cream cheese stuffed pretzels there. However, I do commend Auntie Anne's for producing some of the softest pretzels I've ever eaten! No burnt edges, all soft. Delicious!

My Favorite Airport

Is it strange to have a favorite airport? I would've thought myself funny for having such a "favorite ___" until I first stepped foot into the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. This place is like paradise... (for an airport I mean. Travel will always be stressful no matter what).

Because there is no direct flight from Syracuse to Los Angeles, my options for layovers are either in Chicago or New York City. I always choose to go to the airport in Chicago because there is just so much to see inside the terminals! The food court is jazz themed and there are often hot dog stands and popcorn stands at the sides... It's like walking downtown on a street with what seems to be gourmet food!

Anyways, that's my favorite airport. What's yours?

My prolepsis

prolepsis

\ proh-LEP-sis \  , noun;

1. Rhetoric.  the anticipation of possible objections in order to answer them in advance.

2. the assigning of a person, event, etc., to a period earlier than the actual one; the representation of something in the future as if it already existed or had occurred; prochronism.

3. the use of a descriptive word in anticipation of its becoming applicable.

4. a fundamental conception or assumption in Epicureanism or Stoicism arising spontaneously in the mind without conscious reflection; thought provoked by sense perception.

5. Pathology.  the return of an attack of a periodic disease or of a paroxysm before the expected time or at progressively shorter intervals.

 

 Dictionary.com's challenge for me today makes me think a lot about speech and debate, of which I knew several people in high school belonging to the S&D club.  

 

Picture two people in an argument, they're really going at it, and there can only be one winner, and one loser.

 

Prolepsis, I believe, is knowing the fault in your own argument.  If you can predict what kind of objection someone is going to have to your argument, there is clearly some kind of flaw in it.  For example, if I wanted to argue that the dining hall should serve chocolate cake every night for dinner, I should anticipate the prolepsis, that perhaps not everyone likes chocolate cake, or that it makes you fat, or that it's not healthy.

My arguments cease to amaze many a courtroom.

 

All furled up

furl \furl\, verb:

1. to gather into a compact roll and bind securely, as a sail against a spar or a flag against its staff.
2. to become furled.

noun:
1. the act of furling.
2. something furled, as a roll.

When it comes to this word, I can't help but think of sushi.  

I mean, to have rice and seaweed and other eclectic ingredients all wrapped up and furled together?  Here's what I'm talking about:

 

Not a madcap kind of girl

madcap \MAD-kap\, adjective:

1. wildly or heedlessly impulsive; reckless; rash: a madcap scheme.

noun:
1. a madcap person.

Let me begin by saying that this post, with this word, could be about a million different perfect examples, but I'm going to revolve it around a fantastic event that happened to me tonight.

I am not a madcap person.  I am careful, calculating, and kind of shy, but definitely not madcap.  Tonight, SULA had an event that hosted Rob Reiner talking all about comedy and his work with mediator Jeff Garlin, and it was absolutely fantastic!  I went with my dad, we had some great laughs throughout, and all I could think about at the end was how much I love the movie When Harry Met Sally and The American President (by the way if you have not heard of Rob Reiner, go google him this instant and watch his movies, pretend like there wasn't a time in your life that you didn't know about RR).

After the show, almost everyone in the theater got up and rushed to the back.  Because of this, I assumed that RR was whisked away somewhere, not to hang outside with the common folk.  But I was wrong.  After we had gotten our fill of Coke and little apple pies, my dad and I took a peek inside the theater to see a sizable crowd forming around RR.  This is where a madcap personality would come in handy.  To barge in and demand the attention of the man who wrote, "I'll have what she's having" takes real balls.

After some encouragement from my dad, I went up with that crowd, and talked to RR, and got a picture with him.  It was awesome!  Not expressed being madcap, but I'll have that picture on Facebook for forever.  :)