Have Yourself A Very Merry Christmas

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids jingle belling, and everyone telling you ‘be of good cheer,’ It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” It’s Christmas time everyone! The hustle and bustle of the season started the day after Thanksgiving with all the huge Thanksgiving Day sales. The lines were out the doors and the people were running all over the malls. This crazy attitude will continue through the holidays until a couple weeks after Christmas.
Even though the lines in stores are ridiculous, some people are rude and selfish, and you gain too much weight, it remains my absolute favorite time of the year. Nothing can replace the moods and atmosphere of Christmas time. Not only is there amazing food, people are generous, friendly faces, and great sales, but there are endless piles of presents, Christmas parties, and my favorite, family traditions. But I’ve noticed that family traditions are slowly becoming replaced with other events and unimportant distractions that take away from the personal aspect of the holiday.
I am a stickler for tradition, so it makes me sad to hear that my friends and others are losing touch with the real meanings behind Christmas. Of course, it is about celebrating the religious meaning behind the holiday, but for me, Christmas is about family and the traditions that come along with it. In my family, there is so much meaning and bonding involved in all aspects of Christmas, including picking and decorating the tree, the joy of giving others presents, the family dinner, and singing Christmas carols while drinking homemade hot chocolate. I could not imagine a Christmas without any of those events. Yet, many people replace their family traditions with distractions that take away from their traditions or personal meanings. Its sad that parents now choose to have their children entertain themselves using things such as TV’s, movies, and the computer, to keep them distracted and prevent them from getting in the way of getting ready for holiday. Instead of instilling traditions, they surpass that and take the easy way out. I think traditions, especially during Christmas time, are the most important. Traditions are one of the many things that create the irreplaceable feeling of Christmas. It’s always been and always will be my favorite time of the year and I will forever keep up my family’s holiday traditions alive.

Fall into the GAP

As I was doing my Christmas shopping the other day, I couldn’t help but stop into the GAP. The large posters displaying all the big name artists were attractive, and obviously attention grabbing. I was intrigued to come the store because of the artists that were displayed and the cause they were campaigning, also known as their RED campaign.
GAP recently started their RED collection, which supports the fight against AIDS. This campaign has been seen in numerous advertisements, among the top celebrities, and is a gaining widespread popularity. As part of their collection, the GAP is selling red and white shirts, along with all types of clothes and accessories. Each of the basic RED collection t-shirts have a word written on them. These words each end with the word “red.” The most common ones that I have seen are ADMI(RED), INSPI(RED), DISCOVE(RED), and EMPOWE(RED). The GAP shares half the profits with the HIV/AIDS foundation to fight this global catastrophe.
Among the celebrities that are involved in the campaign, some of the biggest stars include Jennifer Garner, Steven Spielberg, Penelope Cruz, Mary J. Blige, and Chris Rock, but U2’s, Bono, remains the primary supporter of this project. As well, there are numerous companies, such as Verizon wireless and Apple, that in compliance with this cause. Even Opera has become involved in the project, which helped promote the line tremendously. This project seems to be very successful and has drawn in much support. It is one of the best campaigns I have seen in a long while, and I am extremely happy to be a part of it.

Borat: Funny or Unruly...You decide

I recently watched an entertainment weekly episode and noticed many scandals revolving around the cases that developed from the move Borat. All this controversy convinced me to see the movie. As I watched the movie, I paid close attention to all the controversial issues in the media, as well as other possible controversies. The main one highlighted in the media is the scene in the movie when Borat is dining at a formal dinner with wealthier people, who try to teach him table etiquette. He is learning how to be polite and use manners, but the topics he addresses are racy and often crude. The dinner hosts saw the movie and their portrayal on screen and were offended by the remarks. They are suing the actor Sacha Baron Cohen for ¬his unruly comments ad their depiction on the big screen. Additionally, Baron Cohen is under attack for his anti-Semitic character that makes fun of the country Kazakhstan. He overexaggerate the conditions and people of the country and creates a comical setting.

Borat’s so-called racist and sexist antics have upset the people and officials of Kazakhstan. It is interesting how we use other people’s humility as our humor, but its also interesting that people take it so seriously. All the people in that movie are either made fun of or are acting differently because they are faced with an abnormal situation. Yes, it is understanding that people can feel humiliated on screen, but if they knew that they were going to be on screen, they shouldn’t have signed the contract. The situations are amplified by the movie, but it is typically an everyday occurrence that people are made fun of. I personally thought the movie was funny. I can understand how it can be demeaning, but sometimes you just have to sit back and laugh.

Not Everyone's Pirating

A few weeks ago, we discussed music piracy in class and hot it is becoming increasingly popular. It has become a popular thing among our society. We hear a song that we like, want to have a copy of it, but as good as it is, we are not willing to pay for the entire album. Why pay for the whole album, when we only like one song, and we have the sources to get that one song for free? This is the mindset of most people in our society today, which is a reason music companies and artists continue to lose sales. Yet as easy as this piracy is and how common it has become, I learned this past weekend that a few people still have enough respect to support the music industry. The Brand New album is coming out Tuesday, November 21 and has been highly anticipated. One of my friends was fortunate enough to buy a copy of the album early through some connections. As we listened to the new album, I fell in love with all the songs. It’s like nothing they’ve ever done before and a total original sound. It was amazing, so naturally, I asked my friend to burn me a copy of it. To my surprise, he said no. He appreciates their music and thought that it is so good that he wants everyone to buy the album in support. He didn’t want to make any copies because he wanted the band to succeed with their hard work. Although I was shocked with this response, because everyone these days is more than willing to burn copies, I thought it was extremely respectful. Obviously, there are still people in our society that are honest and want to support the music industry and their favorite bands. There are many ways of supporting the industry, but it is good that people are still willing to support bands in the most effective and responsive way.

Long lines for a silly game...

The lines are forming, people are bundling up for the cold nights, the excitements rising and they have their hard earned cash tucked safely away. The reason? Sony’s Playstation 3 is being released throughout the United States and Canada this Friday. It’s already been released in Japan and will provide stiff competition to Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. PS3 was disclosed to the public last May and has been highly anticipated ever since. The people I’ve seen waiting outside of the stores these next few nights prove it. They’re camped out, ready for the cold nights ahead, all for a silly video game console. Apparently, this new unit has all the newest technology and advanced features, and is also worth $499 for the basic unit. For video games?! Outrageous, I know. Yet, it seems that people are willing to pay almost any price for the “best” video game consoles and games. But as can be expected, a newer system will be hitting the stores, likely within the next year. It fathoms me why people will spend so much money on these systems, not to mention all the pricey games that can only be used on that new console as well. So why spend so much on something that is essentially useless within a year? Then again, I’m not a gamer, so I guess it’s something that I will never understand.

Is it really the REAL OC?

Once again, I found myself sitting in front of my T.V. watching my guilty pleasure, Laguna Beach. It has become a weekly ritual: every Wednesday night, a few girls and I grab some snacks and gather around the T.V. as we tune into the newest drama and gossip that surrounds the town of Laguna. We watch the reruns of last week’s episode, absorb the latest hookups of this week, and anticipate the new drama of the weeks to come.
Yet, as I watch this show, I think back to my high school days, and do not recall as much drama and backstabbing as the characters exhibit on the show. So then I began to wonder: Is this really the “real” Orange County? How much of this “reality T.V.” show is fake? The people are real and the drama is normal, but how much of that drama is over exaggerated and the situations set up by the producers of the show? Obviously, Laguna Beach has attracted millions of viewers, but the drama shown and the messages that are being relayed to the public are not as real as they seem. After watching season 1 on DVD, the behind the scene footage revealed that there were many times when the produces set up scenarios for conflict, or gave the characters topics to discuss while being filmed. It’s funny how it can be portrayed as real drama, yet in reality, a lot of it is set up. Reality T.V. can be a tricky thing. It is hard to decipher the actual reality of the show from the fake. So in the end, while watching these “reality T.V.” shows, we must take it with a grain of salt and recognize that it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

CW on gift cards?

I was eating dinner the other night and was looking at all of the pamphlets that were on the table. Most consisted of specialty drinks and delicious looking desserts, but there was one standing up that captured my attention. On each side of this three-sided stand up ad, there were pictures of all the main characters from the popular shows on the new CW network. Next to each of the pictures were pictures of the new gift cards that you can buy for the restaurant. The gift cards were being used as a promotional tool for the CW network because you could choose which character you want to appear on the gift card in order to personalize it. I thought it was a clever idea to promote the shows that were being moved to the new network from the WB and UPN on something that numerous people use. Personally, I would be more apt to buy a gift card with Chad Michael Murray’s picture on it than a plainly decorated piece of plastic. This idea not only helps sell the gift cards, but draws attention to the change of networks and the shows that are now being aired on it. It’s a good publicity stunt because it’s not only advertising for the CW network, but it also appeals directly to the consumers, which in turn, favors the restaurant. So in the end, everyone wins!