It's been awhile

It's been an entire summer and I forgot to write! I was like a child away at summer camp, too caught up in everything to even consider the fact that people might be curious as to what has been going on in my life! While I seriously doubt the latter, I'm bedridden right now and have some disposable time to kill. I've watched about 7 episodes of Sex and the City while keeping my leg at a 45 degree angle and I'm getting a little bored. I sprained/strained/pulled some sort of muscle in my leg, who knows which one..if I was paying attention in anatomy junior year it's not like I would remember now anyway. Writing about things I find funny, interesting, or weird should hopefully help pass the time...

LOLCats
While no stranger to seeing cat macros before, I have recently allowed them to become my newest guilty pleasure. I am constantly wondering: are these just random, awesome cat pictures coupled with a hilarious caption, or do cat owners set their cats up for the epic photos? Regardless, I usually end up finding a hilarious one whenever I come across the site icanhazcheezburger.com. Here is my favorite one of the moment, as it is a cross between two things I love: funny cat pictures and The Dark Knight...

That is a great segway into my next topic.
My Joker Obsession
My name is Alexandra Kenny. And I absolutely love the movie the Dark Knight and it's central villain, the Joker. It's actually an obsession. So obsessed in fact, that while intoxicated, I subconsciously quote the Joker, much to the horror of my friends. I have considered purchasing a realistic Joker action figure for a mere $150 but then realized that gas prices are ridiculous, my wallet is empty, and the college lifestyle leaves me generally broke. But I at least thought about it...
I am soon going to be decorating my one room studio with not one, but TWO posters of the Joker. What exactly draws me into this character? I think he is hilarious, and a bit misunderstood which makes him relatable. Basically..he's a freak....like me!

Concert showdown
I recently participated in a bit of a concert showdown. A silly little battle between Jenna about who has attended more shows. We started to spout off who we have seen in a shameless attempt to top one another. Today, as the boredom of work got the best of me, I tried to write a little list of all the concerts I've been to. I embarrassingly could only hit 30. I know there has to be more concerts that I'm forgetting about. Either way I'm sure Jenna probably has me beat due to her admirable dedication to the Backstreet Boys and the fact that NSYNC threw in the towel long before they ever will (Give it up Howie..). Jenna, if you ever want to have a real face-off perhaps we can devise some sort of point system to declare the ultimate concert champion! 1 pt per show, 1/2 pt for every reputable opening act, and another 1/2 point if within the first 10 rows of the stage. Haha I'm kidding, I'm not really that competitive (well I kind of am), but from one music fan to another I respect your dedication.

Disney
I thought I had retired my mouse ears a long time ago. Gone are the days of Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, and the classic made for tv movies like Zenon and Halloween Town. I even remember the Disney concert specials which launched the careers of my favorite teen idols- NSYNC. I thought I had matured to CNN and premium movie channels like Showtimes. But recently, I have been drawn back in. I even let myself watch Hannah Montana yesterday for 6 straight episodes. Sweet niblets! Due to the constant exposure of Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, and Demi Lovato on my favorite gossip blog, Oh No They Didn't, I have been sucked back into the land of the mouse. It started out innocently. I swore I would never like the Jonas Brothers. They looked like 3 gay guys that wore tight pants and alternated between having curly fros and flat ironed hair. Then one of my best friends in the industry, Taylor Swift, started dating Joe. I suddenly felt like I had to show support. Now I find myself admiring their fashion choices, and finding them completely adorable. What the hell is wrong with me?
As far as the other mouseketeers are concerned, Miley will always be the head bitch in charge. When I'm having a bad day all I have to do is head over to youtube and watch the Miley and Mandy show where they make fun of Selena and Demi. (YOU FIXED YOUR GAP!). It's a display of cruetly in it's purest form- teenage girl cat fights. I constantly have to convince my friends I'm not obsessed with the Disney kids, but just fascinated in a way that an anthropologist would be...I hope they believe me soon.

I will hopefully get to write about better things soon, but until then, hopefully this will fill the void.
I would like to eventually write about Sarah Palin and the election, Little J from Gossip Girl, as well as chronicle my Chicago trip. Peace!

Long over due

An update on the blog is more than long over due, especially when writing can be so therapeutic (thank God for spell check!). The content of the blog has changed over time, but like a fine wine I hope it keeps getting better for the .04 people that have this saved as their homepage and the 1.278 people that check this once a month.

Brief update on me: It's finally summer which is hopefully going to give me a chance to focus on some things I've always wanted to do. I have been practicing guitar a lot with the hopes of starting lessons soon. I also want to shoot some video footage this summer. I have had a few ideas for a while now, I just need to get some others involved to make things happen. Reading is also a high priority as I love to learn about new topics/ideas/people.

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer :)

Doubts about trust

doubt
–verb (used with object)
1. to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe.
2. to distrust.

Doubt is such a hard thing to deal with. You have to be either extremely confident or apathetic not to doubt things and people. It's hard to believe what you can't see with your own two eyes. The problem is that the one clear way to eliminate doubt is to trust somebody and trust is not something you can see or really experience with your senses. It's an idea that you can rely on someone or something not to change. It's the principle that you can put blind faith into something with the assurance that everything is going to be alright. And quite frankly, in the world we live in today it's so hard to believe that things won't turn upside down, or that people won't abandon you at the first sign of problems.

I'm talking about trust and doubt because not only do they go hand in hand, but in living the life that I do I've been able to become a frequent observer of betrayals and lies thrust upon ordinary individuals. Having a behind-the-scenes look at all of these deceptions have contributed to the worry of becoming jaded. How can we ever know who won't be the first one to leave when the going gets tough? Did Jesus know that Judas would sell him out for a couple of coins? Did Blair expect her best friend Serena to sleep with her boyfriend Nate? Deception has been around for centuries and is sprinkled across pop culture and has become a standard part of society.

I don't know if it's become too hard to ask of people to be honest. Or maybe circumstances have just made it harder. I've seen first hand what people will do and it's hard to contemplate. It definitely fuels the doubt that I have about people. If someone can do something so effortlessly, than isn't it possible that they could be doing something to you as well without you even knowing it?

Living in paranoia isn't the answer, although that last sentence probably makes it sound like I'm a bit paranoid. It just seems like lately there have been a lot of scandals and I'm not sure when it became okay to behave this way. I think the only thing you can do is surround yourself with people that don't make a living out of talking about others every chance they get. Surround yourself with people that don't need to cheat or lie to get through the tangled webs that they weave.

Things haven't been going too well lately. And I hate to complain, readers, I really do. It's not like I'm in the hospital fighting some illness, or battling the IRS so that they don't repossess the roof over my head. That's far from the case. However, right now money issues and living arrangements are rough. On top of that, I'm doubting the last couple years of my life.

I'm starting to rethink how I spent the latter years of high school. There is a song by Brad Paisley called "Letter to Me" which my friends totally thought was corny and dumb but I couldn't help but find cute. I think there is something really fascinating about being able to possibly write a letter to yourself at a younger age and tell you that things will all be okay. Sometimes I wish I could write that letter. There are so many things I think I would say. I think of certain people I choose to be around, and how that has panned out down the road...not so good. I would like to tell myself that I'm cooler than I think, and remind myself to do things to make myself happy, not others. It seems that too many times I've acted on the principle of "well what would they think if I did this" or "if I went there, instead of this place they would get so mad." It's time to be confident in my decisions, and choose what is best for me and no one else, because in all honesty I'm the only one that will be looking out for myself.

The 50th Annual Grammy's

I am pumped for the Grammy's. I really am. I love music. I love celebrities. I love performances. I love competition. What is not to love? I'm so psyched I might want to throw a huge bash* for it. I wanted to pick my favorites for a few of the category. So here goes..

*by bash I mean a get together with a few cool people, and you better be one of them beeyotch

Record of the Year

I'll go with Rihanna's Umbrella for this one since Miley Cyrus was snubbed and didn't get a nod for "See You Again" (She's just being Miley...) In all seriousness, Rihanna created a summer anthem with her popular hit Umbrella. On top of the original song sprung a bunch of remixes ("you can be my cinderella-ella-ella...") and inspired a plethora of other artists to cover the song (Mandy Moore, Taylor Swift, and youtube celebrities to name a few.)

Album of the Year

Wino takes this one because her Back to Black album is the only nominee that I have listened to from beginning to end. I like her sound and Back to Black is definitely an album I can support. It's a true shame that she won't be in the flesh to accept any of her possible 6 awards.

Song of the Year

Though Carrie Underwood is amazing and I love "Before he Cheats", Amy Winehouse takes this category too with her song Rehab. Not only was this song my ringtone for a greater portion of the year, but it was also an anthem for a greater portion of Hollywood celebrities. Can we get a role call? Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Amy herself, Kirsten Dunst, Eva Mendez, Jesse Metcalfe, the cast of Celebrity Rehab...just to name a few. This song truly is Song of the Year because it sums up the year as a whole, and it's pretty catchy.

Congratulations, you just got through this category without any "no, no, no" jokes or puns.

Best New Artist

I'm going to have to confidently say that Taylor Swift deserves this award 100%. She encompasses all characteristics that a Best New Artist should have. She is young and fresh and is gaining more and more star power every day. I can't put my personal bias aside for this one. I worry that Amy Winehouse might sweep all her categories, but Taylor would be the utmost appreciative and deserving in my opinion.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

No surprise here, Amy Winehouse's Rehab will be hard to contend with. Her competition just isn't that promising in my opinion (Candyman by Christina Aguilera, 1234 by Feist, Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie and Say it Right by Nelly Furtado).

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

Give it to John Mayer for Belief. I love him and this song. My only concern was that it really didn't get played enough for people to know about how great this song is. As I sit here typing this, I can't even remember if I knew this song was a single. Another reason why radio is terrible.



To be quite honest, I'm already sick of predicting and commenting on who I think is going to win. Is this an indication that the Grammy's might suck this year? Not really. I'm not too worried. Seeing the actual show will be entertaining, I'm sure. But I can only predict Winehouse's victory so many times before it gets old. and some of the categories are kind of boring...

Peace!

True Life: I Attend Concerts.

I recently had the great privilege of witnessing two great concerts in the same exact auditorium no less than a week a part. Who were the riveting acts that captivated me? Taylor Swift and Jack's Mannequin. While they are seemingly polar opposites (one is a teen country female sensation, while the other is a Southern Cali-based piano band), both delivered high-end entertainment.

We'll start with Taylor.
This concert was without a doubt everything one would expect a concert to be and more. It went above and beyond all expectations I could have had. With each song, Taylor displayed more and more confidence and energy on stage, leaving the audience wondering where they could get a hold of the drugs she was on. Apparently the drug Taylor abuses is 'love'. She's been getting it from everyone these days, and likewise dealing it back out to the crowd. Fans of her debut album were not disappointed as she performed almost the entire track list, as well as a couple bonus tracks and song covers from other artists (Rihanna's Umbrella and John Waite's Missing You respectively). The audience was on their feet, singing at the top of their lungs for the entire show. On top of being one of the better performers I have seen, she is also gracious to her fans. My friends and I unexpectedly found ourselves on her bus, talking to her after the show and we couldn't have found a nicer person occupying those cowboy boots.
Concert Grade: 4.0
A perfect combination of lyrical talent, energy, and band members with hot hair.

The Jack's Mannequin concert had an entirely different vibe. For one thing, I was wasted (ha). Secondly, through my hazy vision, I could tell that the audience was a bit older. Our seats were good enough for us to be able to take in the entire stage without having to squint at a 3 inch figure believed to be the lead singer. The lead singer of Jack's Mannequin, Andrew McMahon, is a bit of a rock star. Highlights from this show include him drinking out of a red party cup (that reinstated my buzz) and running up the stairs to the middle of the floor to get closer to fans with shitty seats. The band played 2 new songs, and a handful of tracks from Everything in Transit. My only gripe is that I would have loved to hear Last Straw but considering it's not on an album I didn't have much of a chance. Afterwards, being so naturally inclined to meet celebrities, we hung out at the bus. Not only did I get insider info from a roadie named Adrien ("I prefer to be called a guitar technician"), but I got my ticket stub signed by Andrew McMahon. Although he was a bit under the weather, he still stayed for 10 minutes to sign some autographs.
Concert Grade: 3.0
Not hearing Last Straw significantly hurt Jack's Mannequin's overall score.

Drunk Grade: 4.0
Although I was denied a corona and a bus tour, I still maintained a great buzz throughout the night thanks to 5 o'clock and Red Bull.

Peace, Love, and Music!
-Alex



*Jack's Mannequin photo via google.com. I am too lazy to upload my pictures right now.

Let's Never Speak of 2007 Again

Can we give two thumbs up to 2008? 20 days into the New Year and we are headed full speed and in a metaphor of Titanic-proportions, haven't hit any icebergs yet.

Britney Spears is still alive. That in itself is a reason to celebrate.
School is going well. and work is work.

Working at SBS has inspired me to comment upon a phenomenon I like to call "the uniform". Within the confounds of a public university, I have discovered a very unique dress code that is being used, despite the University not having any formal policy on clothing.

There are all different types of people at Michigan State. The hipsters, the trend-setters, the people that look put together despite having a 'couldn't care less attitude'. All of these people seem to walk around campus flawlessly as I struggle to control my hair against gusts of wind and look semi-presentable in a Jack's Mannequin concert tee. How do these people get their flare? Their knack for fashion? The aura they give off that says "I don't care what I look like, but you know I look good." I want that. Is the key accessories? Fashion magazines dictating Hollywood's influence over the masses? Or is there, deep within society, a code that is so sacred, one cannot help but follow it? After careful observation I have determined that the last statement is without a doubt true. There is a uniform. A way of life, so to speak. To upset this uniform is to stand out in such a way that you look disheveled and uproariously different. I am about to dissect the various parts and forgive me while doing so because I think that to truly understand the uniform in a way that speaking about it sounds intelligently, one must be able to pull it off (and I can't.)

North Face Fleece or Jacket

Although I have attempted twice to purchase and wear North Face fleeces I have failed miserably each time at looking "put together." My downfall is that I simply wear the North Flace fleece rather than rock it. There is a difference. This is widely misunderstood. The jacket and yourself must connect and be one with nature like a parasite becoming one with it's host animal. And the jacket is just the first part of the uniform from which all other parts build off of. Let us explore further into the code.

Leggings

It turns out pants are not so cool anymore. For some time now, leggings have been all the rage. In fact, you can pair them with just about anything. My original understanding was that your shirt should be long enough to cover your bottom. However, people have also proven me wrong on this theory. Another misconception is that black North Face must be accompanied with black leggings. Wrong-o. I've been seeing people wear black with brown now like it's commonplace. Who would have thought? The point is, leggings aren't just for exercise anymore. Although my inside sources (In Touch magazine) reported a few weeks ago that leggings are out, tights are in.

Boots with the Fur

This is a staple in the uniform. Without them, you will fall apart. My title says boots with the fur. Fur is, however, optional. I just felt like quoting a Flo Rida song. Regardless of what style boot, the brand must be Ugg. Any knock off or imitation will be frowned upon and immediately shunned. Aside from the humiliation of being deemed a 'wannabe', you will be going against the strict guidelines of the uniform policy. Uggs come in a wide variety, size and color. Don't make the mistake I did and assume that boots are only for winter either. Common sense says they are, but uniform sense says that these boots are A-ok to be paired with a summer time skirt and leggings as well.

These three are the main bullet points of the uniform policy. Additional accessories are not frowned upon and certain brands will earn you extra points with the fashion police.

After suiting up in these fine items, grab an oversized hand bag or tote to carry all that you need for the day (a sorority bag, Vera Bradley bag, or a Coach purse will do just fine.)

If you need a scarf I would suggest throwing a Burberry pattern around your neck and you will be ready to go.



And there you have it. That's the trend of the Midwest. I eagerly scope out celebrities right now to see what the trends are and patiently await for them to take the midwest by storm so I can create a new description of a new unform.

Ciao !