(W)REC(k)

I know, I am just so clever.

But yep. I recently saw [REC]³ Génesis. It's the third in the series, as you can tell by the itsy bitsy three. It is also completely in Spanish.

First, I'll give you a bit of background. It started out in [REC] as a zombie-seeming movie. Some people in an apartment building, someone goes crazy, the government quarantines the building. Stuff goes badly for most of the people. There was actually an English version of this movie, called Quarantine. None of the others in the series got English versions though.
  
[Rec] ² continues in the same building, but adds in some religious theme stuff. It was weird.

But seeing as how they made a third, it obviously had some appeal, right?

Well.

For the third, there's a completely different setting. It starts out at a wedding, and then they move to the reception. That's where things go bad.

Going with the traditional filming style of the REC movies, they start out with the camera angle being from actual characters carrying cameras. But then they break from that theme when someone breaks the last camera. From then on, it's all professional filming. It was a little disappointing. Having the movies shot from the point of view of the characters really set it apart in the other movies. But when they switched to regular filming, it wasn't as good. Just one of my complaints.

It really wasn't bad. But it wasn't good. The characters were harder to relate to. One of the main characters, the bride, was incredibly bipolar and I couldn't figure out if she was a huge wimp or a chainsaw wielding psycho. I didn't really like her. Her husband wasn't much better. 

There were also just points in the movie where I was dumbfounded. Like at one point, hubby and one of his buddies come out wearing full knight armor they stole from a nearby church. Yeah. I don't know. Then they almost immediately ditch it all. Smart movie, homie. 

Then the religious aspect comes back in to play when a preist starts reciting bible verses and the zombie type things stop moving and just kind of have seizures. So he goes on the loudspeaker and just kinda starts reading. The thing is, I thought someone tried that in the second movie and it didn't work. I don't know, maybe this priest was just more holy. 

I also didn't like the ending. Again, the characters were stupid and all. I won't ruin it for you, in case some night you're just really bored and on Netflix and you decide to watch it. It wasn't a complete waste of time, but I certainly could have been doing better things with my life. 

But then again, when couldn't I be?
 

Omnivores have more fun

Humans need protein. It's a fact of life. Meat is protein. Animals are meat. More facts of life.

So I've never really gotten what vegetarians are all about. What's wrong with eating animals and meat? It's simply supplying one of our basic needs.

Sure, you're allowed to do whatever you want. I don't really care. But it's the vegetarians and vegans who are critical of us omnivores that bug me.

Firstly, it's none of your business. I'll eat meat if I want to, thank you very much. I'm not a spawn of Satan just because I eat the cooked muscles of animals. 

I also always wonder what vegetarians are trying to prove. It's not like the meat production industry is going to mourn the loss of a customer. There are plenty of meat eaters out there. One less vegetarian is not going to make them produce less. Sure if 10 million people all became vegetarians, then yeah, it'd have an impact. But what impact are they trying to make?

That meat is bad for you? It's not.  "I don't want to put things in my body that harm me, such as animal proteins..." How exactly are animal proteins bad for you? Your body just breaks them down into useful things for you.

That the treatment of animals is cruel? "I went vegan on March 11 2013 because I was watching videos of how they treat and slaughter animals and I just cried cause it wasn't right so I'm going vegan. It was kinda hard to find breakfast but I ate a real fruit fruit snack." Dude, they're going to be killed and eaten anyway. And don't use the word slaughter. It's just another way to say killed. You want to eat live meat? 

"I was a vegetarian after reading John Robbins 'may all be fed.' Food fed to animals causes starvation as soy, grains fed to animals so steak is available instead of feeding the starving billions." Okay, what? Yes, let's just ship grains over to Africa for free because that's how the world works you can just give tons of grain away and money who needs that no problem let's just burn it all lol. No. Yes, the situation with those who are starving is bad, but we can't simply take grain from the industry and ship it away. The government is the one who handles aid to foreign nations. They would have to buy the grain from the industry and then ship it away. And let's be honest, our government needs all the money it can get. At least that's what they think. 

Some people even become vegetarians to lose weight. That's just being lazy now. Cut out sugars and carbs, not meats. Seriously. Do you even know how your body works?  

"Animals are friends; they are NOT MEANT to be eaten." Haha what. What have these animals ever done for me? And if they aren't meant to be eaten, what are we supposed to do? Oh, you'll raise them as pets. Right. Do you have any idea how much it costs to raise a cow? And you're just going to have it grow old and die with you? Right-o. You do just that. 

If you are a vegetarian, no disrespect. Just don't preach at me why eating meat is bad. You'll make your choices and I'll make mine. Sounds good. Now get down off your high horse, the UK needs it.  


Quotes from vegetarian.about.com 

The twenty-first century, folks

It's amazing that we're already thirteen years into the twenty-first century. Y2K passed, numerous end-of-the-world predictions have passed, and practically every household has at least one computer. The future's great.

However, there have been some disappointments of the 2000's.

Firstly, Mississippi just abolished slavery. Well, kind of. Technically, they ratified the thirteenth amendment in 1995, but it wasn't until February 2013 (THIS YEAR) that the state of Mississippi submitted the documentation to ratify the thirteenth amendment. It became public after a MS citizen watched the movie Lincoln and decided to do some research on the subject. It's shocking, considering how long slavery has been illegal everywhere else in the nation. But hey, at least now that problem's fixed.

But that doesn't end the problems for the south. Good ol' Georgia is reminding us of how much further behind many Southern states really are/can be. At Wilcox County High School, black and white students aren't allowed to go to the same prom. Wait. What? Seriously? A segregated prom? I though we figured out that whole segregation/separate-but-equal stuff long ago. And the school's proms aren't funded by the school. They're funded by the students and parents. Way to show how not racist you are, by donating to your school and putting "segregated proms" in the memo. But not all southerners are bad. Many of the schools students are embarrassed by the situation, saying that "that's just kind of not right that we can't go to prom together." So students and parents have decided to start their own prom, a desegregated prom. As far as I can tell though, the "regular" proms are still going to happen. And people will attend. Many of the signs for the desegregated prom have been torn down. At least not everyone in Georgia is close-minded.

My last complaint about the 2000's is we are nowhere near to hoverboard technology. In Back to the Future Part 2, Marty McFly goes to the year 2015, and he rides on a hoverboard. That's two years, scientists! You have two years! What have you been doing for the last twenty four years? Helping Mattel invent a piece of plastic that looks like a hoverboard? I have high expectations, so there better be some secret government facility working on this. 

So in conclusion, I will present to you the famous words of Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler. "REALLY?" 
Really, Mississippi? You just abolished slavery? Really, Georgia? A segregated prom? Really, scientists? We are nowhere near hoverboard technology? 

Come on 2013.

You were supposed to be the one.   

It's finally here!

SPRING
Spring
spring
spring
spring

Or at least it is more so than the past few weeks. 

Over spring break, we had it snow. Yes, that white powdery stuff that falls to the ground when it's really cold out. Not what you usually expect for SPRING break. 

But hey, this is Iowa, right?

Recently however, it has been slightly warmer. Today, I wore a dress. With no tights or leggings. Sure I was still freezing, but I got to show off my deathly pale legs, which is the most important part. 

So what's so great about spring? 

1. It means that the end of the school year is right around the corner
2. It means that summer is right around the corner
3. It means that winter is over
4. It means that the weather will start getting warmer
5. It means that thunderstorms are going to happen
6. It means that trees are going to start growing leaves
7. It means that I get to plant flowers with my mother
8. It means that butterflies are going to be here soon
9. It means that I can drive with the windows down
10. It means no more scraping off icy windows in the morning before school
11. It means that it's light out when I get up
12. It means that it gets dark later
13. It means that some days house windows can be opened
14. It means that coats are no longer necessary
15. It means that it'll be sunny more days (hopefully)    

But there are downsides. We all know summer is the best. Spring's only second. Why's spring only second?

1. Wet ground = wet pant bottoms for short people
2. If I want to wear shorts or capris or skirts or dresses, I have to start shaving my legs more regularly
3. Thunderstorms tend to wake one up in the middle of the night
4. Finals are just around the corner
5. Icky bugs start to come out again
6. Birds come out and decide cars are the perfect targets for bathroom trips
7. In Iowa, dramatic weather changes are frequent, those shorts you wore this morning might not be enough for the afternoon
8. The nice weather is depressing if you're stuck inside all day
9. Allergies
10. Tornadoes are kinda bad
11. Rain = clouds = no sun
12. Tree seeds get everywhere

 
Other than all that though, spring is wonderful! But seriously. Summer is better.                       

     

No phones at the dinner table.

That's a rule at my house. Or was. For a while.

I'm not sure exactly when it disappeared. When I first got my phone, I was more excited than I had ever been in my thirteen year old life. I could finally call my friends on my own phone, and more importantly, I could text. Luckily, for my parents who were paying my phone bill, we had unlimited texting. 'Cause boy, did I send a lot of text messages.

And I still do. Nothing about that has changed. But I really don't get that many phone calls anymore. I get some from my work, on my birthday I'll get a few from relatives, and when a friend needs to get ahold of me right away and I'm not texting back fast enough, they'll call me then. And don't even mention the days when we had to plan our next gettogether when we actually saw each other. Sure it happens, but most of the details are decided through digital communication, like Facebook or texting.

It's not a bad thing. We have so many new ways to communicate. Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, and Instagram are now ways that you can keep up on someone's life, without even ever talking to them in any way. Some people might even consider most of what people do digital stalking.

But really, all are great forms of communication. Since so many people are constantly on these social media sites, it's practically impossible to not be able to get in touch with someone, especially when you add in cell phones.

My only disappointment is the loss of "personal-ness" this new age of technology has brought. I miss getting phone calls from friends, asking to hang out. I miss having to arrange a time so that we could just talk. It's become almost difficult to become friends with someone just by talking to them. It's so easy to forget basic social skills. Mostly, I miss getting letters.

In my elementary days, I signed up to get a pen pal through a magazine I got. I was extremely excited and sent out a letter to my pen pal, a girl in California named Olivia, if I remember correctly. It was always the best feeling ever, getting a letter from her. She would tell me about her life, and I would tell her about mine. We would send each other pictures we drew in art class and once, she even sent me a bead bracelet that I still have now. It was really fun. And now, we hardly have that option. Even if you do get a pen pal, you can look them up on Facebook, and before you know it, you'll be chatting through email and instant messaging on social media sites.

So while social media sites and texting keep us more connected than ever, it makes relationships less personal and makes us, in general more awkward people, less likely to strike up conversations with strangers or acquaintances. Is social media fun? Yes. Is it good for relationships? The jury's still out on that one.