More Than a Test Score

Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back—in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you. ~Frederick Buechner

It’s later that I notice what I has been taken out of me – what I have broken. During those moments? Anger is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. Only then does freedom of speech not seem like an impossibility. There’s nothing quite like watching someone’s face crumple under your fury, nothing quite like that satisfaction. But I suppose everything is relative. (more…)

Just ahead of time I’m gonna shout out a huge ALLEGEDLY to this post to prevent lawsuits.  Thanks Kathy Griffin.

The Jonas Brothers are extremely annoying.  Which is why I’ll start with reporting their daily dose of hypocrisy!  According to AOL.com, The Jonas Brothers recently stated that their promise to stay virgins until marriage was a lie… well not in those exact words.  They claim that they use the rings merely as a ‘reminder’. Apparently they never claimed that the rings were promises to not do the dirty, but rather just to remind them stay the path.  So I guess they’re more like ‘Reminder Rings’.

Lindsay Lohan is apparently drifting back to the other side of the road, and lip lockin it with boys once again.  It’s not official, but she’s been spotted a few times with Gossip Girl star, Chace Crawford (OMG I know right?).  If Samantha Ronson isn’t jealous (of Lindsay) then that’s crazier than Lindsay making up her mind.

Heath Ledger‘s family on a serious note, really touched the Oscar audience.  If you happened to watch, I’m sure all of you were a little tangled up inside watching the heart-breaking acceptance speech.  Clips of Anne Hathaway and Angelina Jolie crying really put a hold on the festivities.  But of course the jerk who came on after had to crack a joke about Heath and really destroyed the moment.  A lot of people are saying it’s a pity award, but if you really think about it, who gave a better performance this year?  And what’s up with Heath not being in the memorial slide show?  Maybe I missed something.

Simon Cowell from American Idol announced that he wants to be cryogenically frozen… The future is sure in for a delightful Walt Disney when they wake him up.

On a final note, we’ve all heard the Rihanna and Chris Brown story, but TMZ released one of the pictures of Rihanna after the beating.  It’s pretty gruesome if I do say so myself.  But I’m still pondering over Chris’ facebook status after his conviction: “You’ll begin to see her real colors.  Believe it!”

Download This: ‘Face’ by The Black Ghosts

Nothing in the world compares to the beauty of a summer day, or the sense of enthrallment that captures you when staring at a city skyline lit up at night. I always wished, as I stared out at these views, that someone would think I was that beautiful. That someone would stare at me as I stared at the sky; and see something more than the rest of world saw. I’ve always wished that I was special. But, I’m just average. I have no interesting stories or astonishing accomplishments to share. I did nothing to be remembered for, I didn’t make an extraordinary amount of friends. If anything, I was known for being quiet and keeping myself locked inside a shell.No one is going to remember me, I told myself as I walked out the doors of my high school for the last time in December.

So I made a promise to myself: Show the world who you are, make your dreams come true. But what exactly are my dreams? I want to write a book that will change someone’s life. I want to allow someone to escape into a different world and let their imaginations roam free. I want to give someone the sense of astonishment and hope that I get whenever I read an amazing book. I also want to save animals. I want to become a vet, and someday own a veterinary hospital and an animal shelter; I want to make the world a better place for animals everywhere. But, like all dreams, mine comes with a price; the tuition of four years at university PLUS the tuition of veterinary school. I dare to dream, but still I worry. How am I going to make it through this?

I’ve lived life floundering in the lower-class. My father graduated from high school, but my mother did not. Needless to say, they did not manage to get exceptional jobs. My mom has worked on and off throughout my life, but has mostly maintained her position as a stay-at-home-mom for me and my two siblings. My dad has been working since before he graduated, going from factory to factory as layoffs continued to put pressure on our lives.  Finally, after years of struggling, my dad has found a sturdy job with excellent pay as  a supervisor. While the extra money has done wonders for us, it is still not enough to put me through college. Seeing as my parents have two other children to take care of while I’m in college, it is up to me to pay my own way through. While there are such things as student loans and FAFSA, I am afraid that it just wont be enough.

I’m sure you all know of that one person—or, more likely, several people—that asks for your “honest opinion” and is somehow insulted when you tell them that, yes, their shirt makes them look freaking massive.

The conversation always begins the same way:

Advice-seeking friend: “Listen. I’m asking you because I know I can trust you. I need you to be totally honest with me right now.”
Me: “OK…”
Advice-seeking friend: “Does this shirt make me look… fat???”
Me: “Well, I hate to say this, but I don’t think it’s the shirt. Maybe you should wear something a little… blacker.”
Advice-seeking friend, in tears: “Thanks… You could have at least been a little nicer about it. You don’t know what it’s like!”

We’ve all been there—attempting to deal with a person who can’t handle the truth and would rather hear some sugar-coated version of it instead, because reality can often be a tough pill to swallow.

The truth is that, subconsciously, our fat friend probably already recognizes the fact that their shirt doesn’t do any favors for their figure. Asking us for our honest opinion, then, is their way of reaffirming what they already know to be true.

If there’s one thing we can learn from all this, it’s that we are too reliant on the opinions of others because we are incapable of—or perhaps reluctant about—trusting our own. Thus, we constantly search for reassurance and validation from our friends and, if we’re really desperate, total strangers.

But does it matter? The reality is that we’re going to hear some things we don’t like, and if we care enough to ask for someone’s opinion on a matter, we need to be prepared to accept whatever they have to say.

So next time your friend asks if their shirt makes them look fat, tell them the truth!: “Yes, you look fat… but you already know that.”

I’ve never gotten that much of a techno vibe from Canada. They always seemed so under control; images of Mounties and open wilderness fueling my belief that Canada would never produce anything earth-shattering in the world of dance.

Well not literally, but if you ever saw him on stage, you’d understand why I make the reference. Donning a giant rodent facemask to nearly every event he plays at, Deadmau5 is changing the way people hear and groove to electronic music.

Born in Nigeria Falls, Ontario, Joel Zimmerman (a.k.a. Deadmau5) found his way to techno glory when legendary DJ/Radio host Pete Tong got ahold of his single “Faxing Berlin”, and broadcasted the track on his show, Radio 1. (more…)