How to Take Advantage of a Sunny Day

In Iowa, we're finally starting to come out of the cold, awful winter and into spring. The temperature has been in the sixties this week. All of us want to take advantage of that perfect warm and sunny day and here are a handful of the best ways to do it.

1.) Fly a kite

I know it sounds a little silly, but you'd be surprized how many people I saw at the park the other day flying kites. It's a great way to enjoy being outdoors and is a lot of fun. Not only that, but it's a great way to spend quality time with someone. I used to love flying kites with my sister and my dad when I was very young.

2.) Take a walk

It sounds typical, but one of the things I enjoy the most on a nice day is taking a walk. It's even better if you live near an ice-cream shop. Having a place to walk to (whether it's a grocery store or a restaurant) makes it even better. I used to love walking up to the gas station and buying a candy bar and a can of pop on a nice day. Walking is not only a great way to enjoy the day but it's a great way to get exercise.

3.) Sit outside

It sounds simple, but one of the best things you can do on a nice day is just sit outside. When I lived at my old house, I used to sit out on the patio and read a book. Sometimes I'd sit on our swing and work on my homework on my laptop. You can do a lot of things outside, even chores. You can fold laundry outside. I always enjoyed husking corn outside.

4.) Go to a strip mall

I love shopping. I love going to the mall. And there is nothing better than shopping outside when the weather is nice. I went up to Iowa City recently and walked around the shops there. Find a place like Iowa City and plan to spend a few hours there. You get to enjoy being outside and also get to visit some interesting shops. It's a lot of fun.

5.) Eat Outside

Whether you go out on a the patio of a restaurant to eat your dinner or go on a good old-fashioned picnic, eating outside is a great way to spend a nice day. Who wants to be cooped up in a crowded restaurant on a nice day? Who wants to eat inside when its beautiful outside?

I'm sure there are a hundred other ways to take advantage of a nice day, but these are some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy the nice weather!

Wanderlust Review

Recently, I went to the movie theater. I very rarely go to the movie theater but I had a little extra money, some free time and thought that this movie I'd seen previews for looked funny.

I saw the movie, "Wanderlust" starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. It was directed by David Wain. The movie follows a Manhattan couple, who lose their jobs and must leave New York to live with family. In this case, the family is George's (played by Paul Rudd) obnoxious older brother and his wife. On the way to his brothers house, the couple stumbles upon a bed and breakfast. The bed and breakfast turns out to be a rural commune called Elysium based around free love. George and his wife Linda (played by Jennifer Aniston) decide to stay there and have trouble adjusting to their new life.

Though the plot sounded funny enough, the movie was a huge let-down. It just didn't have the certain pizz-azz I was expecting it to. The movie seemed to drag on forever and the jokes were far and few between.

The other big problem I had with the movie was the nudity. It was a rated R film and I should've checked what it was rated R for before I saw the movie, in its defense. There's a scene where Elysium is having a meeting for nudist winemakers and all of the nudist winemakers go running from an out-of-control car. The scene was supposed to be funny, but was just disgusting. I didn't hear a single person in the theater laugh.

The other problem is the on-going theme of free love. Everyone who stays at Elysium must share their partner. George and Linda decide to stay and abide by this rule. Linda ends up embracing free love and has sex with one of the residents right away and George's heart is broken. This just weighed the movie down. I believe it was supposed to add some sort of drama to the movie, but it really just weighed it down.

If you're looking for a movie to watch this weekend, I don't recommend seeing Wanderlust. Overall, it was a dumb movie that dragged on and on. It's not worth your money.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655460/

Awkward Embraces Review

I recently had the pleasure of stumbling upon a charming web show on YouTube. The show, "Awkward Embraces" chronicles the adventures of Jessica, Candis, and Lyndsey. Many of the episodes focus on Jessica who is a Sci-Fi nerd and always seems to have the worst of luck with guys. Her two best friends struggle to help her through her dating misadventures.

"Awkward Embraces" is a quirky and hilarious show. It's easy to admire and even see yourself in Jessica's character. She is a strong woman with a great sense of who she is. She openly talks about her love of science fiction such as her adoration for Star Wars and enjoys playing video games. Although she hits it off with a couple different guys in the series, she still seems to remain clueless about men and often seeks her friends' help.

The actress who plays the character of Jessica's name is Jessica Mills. She not only plays the protagonist, but she also writes and produces the show under her own production company called Project A.

So far, there have been an accumulative twenty-two episodes (there have been two seasons). Each episode is between five and ten minutes long. I never cease to be amazed by how each episode has enough time to play out an edgy, hilarious scenario in that limited amount of time.

Besides being able to watch the hilarious episodes on YouTube, the show also has its' own video blog, where the actors from the series read viewer submitted comedic (some even disastrous) dating stories. This part of the channel is almost as fun to watch as the series itself, though I’m still hoping that the third season will be uploaded soon because I’m very eager to watch it. I made it through all twenty-two of the episodes the first day I stumbled upon it. I just couldn’t stop watching it.

I recommend this show for anyone over the age of sixteen considering there is a lot of mature humor in the series. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys shows like the Big Bang Theory and Sex in the City, considering the show seems to be a mix of the two. I guarantee you will love the show. It’s hilarious to see the three main characters bounce off of each other. The chemistry between the actors makes the show even more delightful for the viewer. If you look up the show and give it a chance, I’m sure you’ll be as charmed as I am by it.

http://awkwardembraces.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1833839/

"She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders" Review

I enjoy reading autobiographies and memoirs, so this book was a great fit for me. The author tells the story of her life as a female being stuck in the body of a male. She talks about her childhood, her family, even the gender reassignment surgery,

 I’ve met a handful of transgendered people in my life which I felt helped me to better understand the condition that the author, Jennifer Finney Boylan has. So the hardest part for me wasn’t relating to the main character as it may be for others. The hardest part for me was keeping track of what was going on in the story. In this book, it switches a handful of times from the present to the past and sometimes I got a little confused on what time the author was writing about.

The only book I’ve read that I can really compare She’s Not There to is Luna by Julie Anne Peters. Luna also tells the story of a transgendered male wanting to be female, although it is fiction. Luna is told from the point of view of the transgendered males sisters perspective. The sisters name is Reagan. Reagan is very protective of her transgendered brother in the book the point where she’s so busy taking care of him that she’s not even sure of her own identity.

Although the books chronicle the same condition, they are very different. Luna is seventeen in the book and at the end she leaves for her sexual reassignment surgery. Jennifer Finney Boylan is in her forties when she gets her sexual reassignment surgery. There is also the obvious difference that, She’s Not There is a first person narrative and Luna is told from the sisters point of view, although I’d love to read a nonfiction book about living with a transgendered person and watching their transformation, for example, a book from Jennifer Finney Boylan’s wife’s perspective or a book from one of his children’s perspective.  Boylan writes about his family in the book (he has a wife and two sons) but it would be interesting to really see his transition through their eyes.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it to anyone who is curious about being transgendered, any transgendered persons or anyone involved in the LGBT community. Being the president of my schools gay-straight alliance I’ve heard a lot about Transexuality and this taught me a lot more about it. I’d also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys autobiographies. It was very interesting.

The Mighty Boosh

On the IMDB website, the Mighty Boosh's genre is described with the words comedy, fantasy and musical, but it's pretty hard to explain this television show with so few words.

To start with, it's a British show that aired from 2003 - 2007. The first season of the show consisted of the two main characters, Vince Noir (played by Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (played by Julian Barratt) working as Zoo Keepers for their overly eccentric boss, Bob Fossil (played by Rich Fulcher). They have various adventures in the first season ranging from the two main characters braving the arctic tundra and encountering the infamous Black Frost, even to Howard being mistaken for an ape and taken to monkey hell. Yeah, you read that right.

In the second and third season the main characters, Howard Moon and Vince Noir live with Naboo the Enigma and Bollo (who is a gorilla). In the second season, they all live in an apartment and in the third season, they help run Naboos shop and live above it. Many crazy adventures ensue in these seasons too. In the second season, the episodes range from Howard getting kidnapped by a hermaphrodite sea monster named Old Gregg, to the Howard and Vince passing out and having a nightmare about talking coconuts. The third season doesn't disappoint either. The episodes range from Vince swallowing a piece of a record and being possessed by a Jazz spirit and to the boys being robbed by a drug addicted talking fox.

So whether you are a fan of British television or are just looking for a quirky show to watch, I find this show extremely hilarious and entertaining. I would recommend it to just about anyone. Almost every episode features a song and a funky new character. A couple of my favorites include Old Gregg (the hermaphrodite sea monster I mentioned above) and Mr. Susan who lives in the mirror world and is in the episode entitled Bollo (it’s the episode about monkey hell I also mentioned earlier.)

It is hard to write about this show and really truly do it justice. You just need to check it out. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of thirteen because a handful of the episodes do feature some mature themes, but for any teenagers or adults looking for a new show to watch, this is great. I highly recommend it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416394/

Traffic

I used to live in a neighborhood. I lived in it for a short time – maybe three years before we couldn’t afford to live in that house any longer and when I lived in that neighborhood, in that brown split foyer house with the salmon colored doors, I would walk up to the grocery store. I would have to walk down the hill, past the apartments we lived behind, and across the bridge to get to that grocery store.

On my way, I would never been able to resist the temptation to stop at the bridge and look down. I would stare at all of the cars that passed underneath me and wonder who the people were inside them. That woman in the red convertible - was she a free spirit? Where did she work? Did she have kids and a family back home? Did she have a home?

The man in the red truck – where was he going? Was he on the way to his job? Was he a hardworking man? Was he a man with a troubled past?

I'd get lost in the traffic below me. I felt different up there. I listened to the sounds of car horns honking and music blaring; I felt the vibrations of big semis going underneath the bridge. The wind whipped through my hair as I watch the small people below me in their toy cars. I wondered if God watched us like this, stationed high somewhere, just observing the people below.

I wondered if someday when I traveled beneath this bridge if someone would watch me. If someone would wonder about me. Where is she going? Is she going home? Does she have a home?

Eventually, I would have to stop wondering, I'd have to stop watching the scene below me. I would have to divert my eyes from the traffic and pull myself away from the bridge. I'd finally make my way to the grocery store, back across the bridge, past the apartments, and up the hill, back to the brown split foyer house with the salmon doors. My dad would stare at me strangely when I made my way back inside, as if wondering where I'd been for so long but he'd never ask. I wonder if he knew how I’d watched I’d been perched on top of the world and watched the people below me. I wonder if he knew how I’d spent my time playing God.

Grandma's Fridge

Cleaning my grandma's fridge is task I dread every month. Almost once every month, my grandma will call me over to help her with this. Let me tell you, it is awful. Smells emanate from containers with unknown substances inside. Some food even has mold growing on it. It's a frightening experience.

Just last night I was called upon to clean my grandmas fridge. I wanted to decline, but I love my grandma and I owe it to her. She's been like a mother to me. Even then, it's not something I look forward to.

So I sat at the floor of her white tiled kitchen and pulled things out of the fridge, working on one shelf at a time, as she sat in chair and set everything on the counter. Then, we went through each container. I cautiously opened each lid, almost afraid of what could be inside. Oh the smells I smelt yesterday!

Some of the stuff in her fridge was easy to identify, there was month old desert pizza, soup that had gone bad, but some of it was just plain terrifying! I'm almost beginning to think my grandma is taking part in strange experiments at her house. There could have been lizard brains in one of those containers! I'm not sure what a lizard brain smells like, but I know most of those containers did not smell pleasant.

It's hard for my grandmother to get around and even harder for her to reach a lot of things in her fridge (or even remember what's in her fridge) so I can't blame her for letting the food in her fridge go bad. And it's my job, as her grateful grandchild to help her with these tasks. But when I come over to her house to clean that fridge, gosh I just wish I didn't have a sense of smell.

I guess cleaning out the fridge, no matter how smelly it is, is worth the time I get to spend with my grandmother.

Years down the road, I’ll look back on this and realize I wouldn’t have traded that time in for anything, but right now, I’m dreading the next time I have to clean Grandma’s refrigerator.