Christmas Break = A Whole Bunch of Movies
While by no means an avid in-theater movie watcher, as I’m generally more of the loner DVD type, a lot of downtime this winter break has allowed me to watch a bunch of movies that I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to see – Black Christmas, Rocky Balboa, The Pursuit of Happyness, and on DVD, The Island, X-Men 3, and The Devil Wears Prada.

Now, there isn’t really much to say about Black Christmas, other than it didn’t have any Black people in it, nor did it really have anything to do with Christmas. It had a little to do with eating eyeballs and a lot to do with having really hot main characters.

While Lacey Chabert is likely the main draw for most male movie-goers, it’s Katie Cassidy, the remake’s main character that stole the show and of course, part of my celebrity-crush heart. Not only was she incredibly good looking with the best head of hair that the silver screen has seen in a minute, but she was a good “hot, but not too hot,” main character for a horror movie. While I have no idea if they’re trying to turn Black Christmas into the Saw of the holiday season, I hope they make the other movies a little better.

Rocky Balboa was called the “most polarizing sports movie ever made” by ESPN’s Bill Simmons – meaning that viewers either hated or loved the movie. Personally, I belong heavily to the side that praises the film’s ending to one of what I believe is one of the greatest series of movies ever made. If you’re a fan of Rocky, you’ll love the movie. If you’re not a fan and never were a fan, this movie is not going to convert you.

Although the first films were made before I was born, I have always been a huge fan of the Rocky films, as I own them all on DVD and have watched each film numerous times. Yes, I’ll admit that Rocky V was a wash, but it was a wash because it took Rocky away from the characteristics that made him the great character that he is. However, Balboa takes Rocky back to his roots and maintains his identity and character perfectly. The movie doesn’t try and make Rocky anything that he’s not. Surprisingly, despite having one of the best fight scenes in a Rocky film, the best part of Balboa is a dialogue between Rocky and his son.

After his son blames him for how he feels about himself and his own life, we expect the mild-mannered Balboa to apologize with his son for not being the father he should have been. Instead, Rocky snaps back at his son, telling him that no one is responsible for his position in life but that person.

He tells his son that he can’t blame anyone else or circumstances for how he turned out because “cowards do that.” It’s hard to describe how intense and honestly, how great of a performance Stallone puts on one last time as Balboa, but moments like this show that the series definitely still has some legs.

And… I’ll admit that I was fighting tears back at the film’s conclusion.

What made the movie so great is that the movie was clean, hardly any cursing, sports violence, no sex, no gratuitous nudity, it was just a well-told story that didn’t need anything else. While I cannot say that I don’t enjoy some of the films that have excessive amounts of everything, somehow, a movie like this has become a lost art in Hollywood. It’s not going to win any awards, but it was really a fantastic movie for Rocky fans.

The Pursuit of Happyness was probably the least happy movie I’ve seen in a long time. I have never sat through a movie where the main character just struggles time and again with no end in sight. If there’s anything that I took out of the movie, it’s just that I need to feel more blessed and more privileged to be at the place I’m at in life.

I’m 22 years old, will have a Master’s degree by 23, from a private university, with a car, my own room in a nice apartment, meager hourly wages, but more than enough for me to get by.
A movie like this puts things like looking at GPS units online (which is what I did last night), when we don’t necessarily have the money to buy such things, in a bit of perspective. I’m definitely not immune to materialism. I am a repeated victim to spending above my means, and sometimes we just need to be reminded that such a thing exists.

While in New York (where I saw Rose Ahn, her wonderful roommates Ryan and Janie, and Erica Lessem, hooray!), not only did I get to go ice skating at Bryant Park (something I’ve always wanted to do in New York), but we saw the hit from earlier this year, The Devil Wears Prada, on DVD. Clearly, the movie was a huge financial success and is based off of a very popular book that I hear is actually not as good as the movie. Even if the book is not as good as the movie, it would still make it a pretty good book!

What I liked best about the movie (other than Anne Hathaway) was just the theme of how work might seem like everything, but that in the end, it’s not what should consume your life. Perhaps it’s just the point that I’m at in my life, where we’re figuring out where we want to be, in terms of geography and career paths, but the movie and my trip to New York really made me step back and think about the type of person I want to be once I’m finally out of graduate school.

If unfamiliar, The Devil Wears Prada is basically Ugly Betty just with a better looking, White, Betty. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) takes on a job as an assistant to the head of a fashion magazine and starts to change to become part of the magazine’s culture.

She begins to dress, talk, and treat people differently as she shoots up the ladder of success in a strong company culture (which is totally cool, until she starts treating her friends differently). While her career life is great, her friends are left wondering what happened to the person that they knew, while Andy can’t really see that she’s even changed because she’s hustling and really into her career. Of course, she has a revelation, finds her identity in the midst of all the excitement, and chooses a life she wants to live over a job she thought she wanted to have.

It doesn’t need to be said, but I feel like if there’s something on this earth worth salvaging and maintaining, it’s our close, interpersonal relationships. There is something so invaluable and special about having close friends to talk to about whatever is on your mind, or sit there in silence with and have it not be weird.

It’s a privilege and such a great thing to have people call you and want to hang out with you. Just to have people who want to see you or wonder how you’re doing randomly, without wanting something or trying to mooch off "who you are" (if you happen to be someone who gets to get this random distinction), isn’t something that we should ever take for granted. And as so many of us are on this grind, beginning our work lives, I hope that we don’t lose sight of it in the midst of the excitement of beginning our careers.

I’m sure that many of us have seen our friends transform and be engulfed by their work to the point where their work becomes a better friend to them then they’ll allow you to be. I think it's wonderful when people love their jobs and the companies they work for, but it's sad when people who normally keep in touch lose sight of each other and eventually, stop caring. Friends stop wanting to be ignored and oftentimes, others are too busy to notice that they’re doing the ignoring, putting off, or making excuses time and again, until the excuses aren’t good enough anymore.

There comes a point in many of our relationships when we have to learn to let go – something that I definitely haven’t mastered. I know that I try to maintain the relationships that I feel like have history and something working keeping for as long as possible, despite the abuse that might come of it.

Eventually, we need to ask ourselves whether we deserve to matter more than someone’s bad day at work, or just realize that there is just one too many excuses to explain why it’s just hard to hang out. Making someone matter to us is a privilege for that other person and if it’s unappreciated, there’s a point where we just have to let go and understand that other people are going to do something with that.

It’s crazy to get all these random thoughts from something as ridiculous as The Devil Wears Prada, but the movie and my short week in New York (where Erica and Rose selflessly made time for me whenever possible, which was beyond appreciated) just made me realize that wherever I end up, whether it be this year, or next year, or just ever in life, I want to always make room for the people who make room for me.

If people take the time to make us feel like we matter to them, I want to them feel like they matter to me as well. At the same time, when people don’t respect or reciprocate what you’re giving to them, there’s a point when you have to let go.

I wouldn’t call this a New Year’s resolution, but just something I’ve been trying to do to prepare myself for wherever this next year takes me. Some people find fulfillment in financial reward and a flashy title, not that I don’t want to do something worthwhile, but ultimately, I want to find fulfillment in what I can bring to the relationships that matter to me the most. I understand work is important and can change a lot in our lives, but there should always be a balance and time for those who we want to be a part of our lives.

Before the end of the semester, this email began circulating around USC from a girl in Kappa Kappa Gamma to the rest of the girls in her sorority house. I wanted to write about it for my last column of the semester, but because some of my readers thought that I only liked Delta Gamma and loathed any other sorority house (which is not true, but I can understand why it appears that way because I attend DG events because I am generally invited to them and created a ridiculous Facebook group as a funny joke to explain why I knew so many people in the house at one time).

To clear the air, I did have a lot of friends in the Delta Gamma graduation class of May 2006, one of whom happens to be one of my best friends and possibly the best female I know, Arlene Freeman. If that's not a good reason to enjoy a group of people, then I don't really know what is. Regardless :) I thought that I couldn't write about it for the paper without getting a slew of hate mail from some readers.

So anyways, on to the email!

"Dear fellow Kappas,

With the holiday season upon us, i thought it was important to illustrate the effects that those extra slices of pie can bring. Asthe fabulous, good looking Kappas that we are, we run a share of this row because of our pretty faces and taught stomaches. some of us are on top of our consumption, some never have been, and some eataccording to their boredom and/or the number of guys we are making out with (after all, who wants to make out with a belly full of thursday Kappa cookies.) either way, whether you are an unstable dieter or not,thanksgiving can really take its toll on your abdomen and here a a few tips to keep off those extra 10 holiday pounds.

- dont eat donuts, just dont do it. i know grandma and auntie maureen always come over in the morning to help with the turkey and bring donut holes for the kids, but really, you'll be eating twiceyour weight in food come lunch time. just dont touch the donuts.

- go for a run. seriously, its summer in the middle of winter thisyear. put on your shoes, wear your KKG bum shorts and go get a tan, listen to good music, and run around your hometown (which i GUARANTEE looks far prettier than this ghetto...and has a lot less mystery fluid on the sidewalk)

- create for yourself a "holiday slideshow." the pictures attached should help you get back that Kappa pride so that we all don't look like cows before rush next year (i always knew we were better than theDGs). Please note the DG logo and its association to Applebees, along with our friend who is literally mid-hot-dog-bite. please please please don't let me come back to Kappa Kappa Krispy Kreme bid dayshirts.

To be honest, living in Kappa at least, im planning on LOSING the 10 pounds this holiday break. Without the constant supply of cereal andbagels (and now the daily basket of packaged goodies with everything from oreos to biscotti...someone's trying to fatten me up nice and good for xmas) hopefully our stomaches will actually shrink for achange. as for those of you who live out, just be thankful that your dinner choices can vary from pasta roma and bistango....what a concept.so be smart this holiday season. go home, get your bank accounts filled up, eat lots of turkey and salad, try your luck at resisting your third slice of pie, and we should all be golden. if your dietingproblems are subconscious and you catch yourself waking up at 3am and blindly eating the shortbread cookies... speak to miss bickford. she seems to have developed steps to take control of this bizarresleep-eating situation.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

PeaceLoveAndTurkeys,
(Name removed because I feel bad for the girl)
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
*******@usc.edu
(***)531-**** mobile"

Since I've been home, I've been telling people just how different Boston is from Los Angeles. The small talk is different, the people are different, the topics of conversation, how people act in public places is different, even the jokes people tell are completely different. While I didn't really notice these differences before, after living almost exclusively in LA (and loving it) for the past four years, I don't see how I didn't notice how polar opposite people can be just because they live on opposite coasts of the United States.

The knock of Los Angeles that I always hear from people is that "the people are really superficial and they're really fake." Clearly, the posted email would serve as Exhibit A when trying to make a case for how superficial the people in the City of Angels are supposed to be. My response to the claim that people in Los Angeles are "really fake," has always been that "I'll take really fake over someone being a dick."

While many of us in Los Angeles have mastered and tailored our communication to be conducive to random meetings with strangers, I think that it is done in a way that makes people generally pretty socially adept and pleasant to be around. Whether it's opening a door for others and having that person say "Thank you" audibly, or rolling down a window to tell someone that you're leaving a parking spot and they should take it, or a witty one-liner or two, I think that's a great thing. I'll go into this in a later blog, but I think it's great.

What bothers me about the way this email has been maliciously cited around the web is that this email was likely sent out as a lighthearted joke to this girl's sorority "sisters" and many people are ignoring this relationship. While the email says some not-so-nice things about Delta Gammas, is poorly written, and isn't very nice to people who might weigh a little more than others, I doubt that the girl meant to horribly offend anyone through her words. Her word choice is definitely questionable and the purpose of the email (hoping to have good looking Kappas during Rush, when sororities hope to attract the newest, hottest, most well-rounded sorority recruits) is silly, but many of those who are ripping on the girl likely have little understanding of the USC sorority community, which is filled with beyond-attractive White girls who could fill volumes of Maxim's "Hometown Hotties" annual centerfolds.

I'll admit that the email is unbelievably vain and completely ridiculous. It definitely speaks volumes to how much image has become an overwhelming significant part of our lives (especially on the West Coast, where Coach bags, SideKick III's, Chanel sunglasses, and Prada shoes become "necessities", while "My mom and dad pay for my cell phone bill" is a pretty common statement). But while people are ripping on this girl's words, they're also forgetting that this is just an undergraduate college student who had one of her sorority sisters turn on her and forward an email to someone outside of the proverbial "circle of trust." An email that was meant for only internal distribution (how many of us would be in trouble of someone else read some of the emails we write to our trusted friends?) got out and it likely made a lot of inside jokes and sarcastic humor be read out of context, by people who don't even begin to understand the Kappa community.

Since the email began circulating, the writer has set her Facebook profile to private and even removed her photo, which one can assume was done so that random people who receive the email could not write malicious things on her wall, nor see something to her on campus. College is supposed to be the "best time of our lives" and it's unfortunate that the betrayal by one person has likely damaged one student's whole appreciation for at least one year of her college experience.

Things like this remind me of how people all over the Internet were recently ripping on Natalie Nelson, one of the USC Song Girls, for raising her hands in celebration when Vince Young ran into the endzone to defeat USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl. While people took e-shots (where everyone is over 6 feet tall and 250 lbs, with a max bench press of 500 lbs) at Natalie, the Song Girls, and "dumb cheerleaders" worldwide, it was ridiculous to read the way that people were making terrible judgments about someone and her character (at 21 years of age) because of one error during a GAME.

How many of us have cheered after the team we're cheering for has just thrown an interception, thinking that our squad was about to score a touchdown? How many of us have jumped up in excitement and screamed "PICK!!!!", only to find that the opposing team has just scored a touchdown? It happens. It's a game. The difference is that Natalie was on the field, we weren't (ok, well, I was). And in her case, everyone was watching and no one cared that she was probably running on fumes after working what was likely one of the longest days of her dancing life at the time. And now, as people rip on USC Song Girl Megan Ramer (I think, it's tough to tell from the video) for cheering as UCLA scores an extra point during their upset over USC at this end of this season, it's moments like this that make me momentarily not enjoy sports.

On the WeAreSC.com message board, I recently read a post from a guy who is proud of himself for saying terrible things to Steve Breaston (Michigan Wide Receiver) at the Century City Mall because he wanted to "represent" for the USC fans. It's moments like this that make me shake my head in complete disgust. Players work harder than any typical college student and the Bowl is their reward for their hard work. If your parents threw you a graduation party and someone at a table next to your family was saying "Hey, USC SUCKS!!! You gold-digging, can't get into Stanford, spoiled, Republican, Hummer-driving, think I'm on an episode of Laguna Beach, douche!", I think you'd be pretty bummed and it would ruin your day. Just because people are on a public stage, it doesn't give other people the right to try and make their lives miserable. At the end of the day, we're all just people who enjoy our memorable moments and want to do the best at what we're passionate about.

Sadly, despite the fact that people are college students just trying to do what they enjoy or talk amongst their friends, people forget the context of the event. And on the Internet, when making fun of others or criticizing someone else's error, too often, we all suddenly become infallible and somehow, it's only others who make mistakes.

So I've heard some rumblings that people say that Saturday Night Live isn't funny anymore. While at home in Boston, my friend Robbie brought my attention to this SNL skit with Justin Timberlake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmdwBmmuaNE

I watched many times. I laughed many times. I might have the sense of humor of a 10 year old, but few clips online recently have been as random, yet funny as this. I wouldn't say that it's NSFW (not safe for work), but you definitely need speakers and you definitely need to have co-workers who aren't oversensitive to silly humor. Pretty much, I'd watch it in the comfort of your own home :)

Today, I received word from the new Editorial Director of the University of Southern California's Daily Trojan that my weekly column ("Thoughts from the Shower") will not be renewed for the Spring 2007 semester.

After enjoying the privilege of having a weekly column in the "DT" for the past two semesters, I cannot say that this news did not come as a bit of a shock to me. Writing for the Daily Trojan has truly been a passion of mine for the past couple years and leaving this part of my college life behind will be an adjustment to say the least. To my former editors, Jeremy Beecher (new Daily Trojan Editor in Chief), Sara Libby, and Katherine Kirkpatrick, I cannot thank you enough for providing me with the opportunity to see my name in print at USC for the past couple years.

While I am mildly considering being part of the Daily Trojan's new online blog, I admit that it is difficult for me to swallow my pride and say goodbye to one of the things that I enjoyed the most about my five years at USC - seeing my name in print in the Daily Trojan.

More than anything, I am disappointed that I don't have the opportunity to say goodbye in print to my readers who followed me over my semesters with the Daily Trojan. Had I known that my last article of the Fall 2006 semester was to be my last column, I would have loved to have had the opportunity to thank and say goodbye to the readers who wrote to me via Facebook, email, or letters to the Editorial Director. If any of those readers are reading now, I cannot thank you enough for your support and for making my experience writing for the Daily Trojan truly a dream come true.

Ever since coming to USC, it was always been a dream of mine to see my name in the Daily Trojan, or see my face end up in one of the newspaper's pictures. Before I knew it, I had the privilege of seeing my name in bold print on a weekly basis for my own column, with my own topics, under my own creative freedom. It was a privilege and something I took a lot of enjoyment and pride in doing.

It is with a very heavy heart and near tears in my eyes that I say goodbye to "Thoughts from the Shower." Again, thank you so much to my friends and other USC students who took the time to check out my articles every week and give me feedback, positive or negative, for whatever happened to come into my mind that week. Best of luck to the new editorial staff and I hope you guys do a great job. For whoever takes Wednesdays in Spring 2007, do it justice :)

One would think that as a full-time grad student with a full-time work schedule, that saying goodbye to another 4 hour weekly obligation would be a welcome gift for my final academic semester. Somehow, it's a bittersweet beginning to my final semester at USC.

Writing for the Daily Trojan allowed me to still feel connected to our undergraduate community and feel like I was more than just a grad student who showed up for class a couple nights a week. I met so many wonderful people because of my involvement with the Daily Trojan. I wish that I could continue to be an asset to members of the USC community through my column, but unfortunately, that's not the way things panned out.

Earlier this year, I received a heartfelt letter from a freshman student who thanked me for writing this article. She told me that it reminded her of her friends at home and that somehow, my article echoed the feelings she was feeling at the time. As a result, she posted my article in her dorm room to remind her of her friendships she had waiting at home, apart from her relationships she had formed at USC. It's moments like this that I will truly miss.

I knew that I was never the best writer on staff, nor the most insightful. However, I like to think that I was able to reach or teach just a few people every week through my column. Nothing was more flattering than receiving a message or email from a fellow student who took the time to read my article. It breaks my heart that I don't have the opportunity to say goodbye to my few, but loyal readers, but I am forever grateful for the opportunities that were provided to me.

As I come to grips with the fact that this chapter of my college career is over, I hope that this blog will be therapeutic and make up for what was lost this winter break and upcoming semester.

Otherwise, it's Christmas Eve :) Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.
-dc

While the holidays are clearly about celebrating different moments for our respective religions, they have undoubtedly become about gifts - giving and getting. While TMX (Tickle Me Elmo X) saw his 15 minutes (and eBay popularity) of fame, the biggest story this holiday season has been the console wars between XBox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

While the website is simple, I have been following the sales numbers of each console on http://nexgenwars.com/. I have no idea how they're tracking the numbers, but the numbers are believable.

After playing the Wii for the first time this week, I am not surprised to see its solid position as the #2 console in the nerd-war of the 21st century - an accomplishment that seems unbelievable when we look at the performance of the Nintendo Gamecube and even the short life of the Nintendo 64 before that.

In Times Square, parents were frantically asking Toys R Us employees if there were any Wii's in stock and the section dedicated to the Wii was filled with people staring at LCD displays of released titles, despite the fact that no demo consoles were to be found. Perhaps the moment that made me a believer in the Wii's staying power was when a teenage girl standing next to me said to her boyfriend, "That is the bomb system right there. We gotta get one." While this girl could have been a gamer herself, there was no mention of the PS3, or XBox 360, in her comments. In this girl's mind, the Wii was indeed, the "bomb system."

Today, my brother and I visited a CompUSA with 5 PS3's in stock, on Christmas Eve Eve (not a typo, the day before Christmas Eve). While hearing the sales associate say that they had the rare PS3 in stock still managed to take my breath away, I didn't experience a second of remorse walking out of the store without this season's most coveted Christmas gift in my arms. As we searched for the cables that would connect my iBook to my LCD HDTV, it was more exciting and cost effective for me to think about the joy and convenience that this could bring, not the possibilities of owning a $600 piece of consumer electronics.

Let's talk about the price point for a second. $600. For a video game system. Yikes. I still remember when my brother and I sold our original NES (in retrospect, a sale that hurts me in a nostalgic way) at a garage sale so that we could garner enough money to buy a Super Nintendo. After selling a bike, games, the system, and a few other odd items, we were able to buy our refurbished SNES with our own money. But $600?? It's already a little ridiculous that kids today are walking around with cell phones (and Blackberrys???), iPods, and other things that I would never trust my own children with, but a $600 video game system makes me wonder if our society has become so affluent that this doesn't even begin to phase us. Because that phases me... a lot.

We can talk about the Blu-Ray capabilities and how this will be the centerpiece of household entertainment for years to come, but are consumers really willing to drop $600 on an unproven medium in both the video game and home video markets? I have no doubt that Sony will garner 3rd party support and will release some great titles for the system, but the reality is that they're far behind XBox 360 and Wii already (Wii60 as referred to by those who believe in buying an XBox 360 and Wii for the cost of the PS3). It will be interesting to see if the user base of the PS3 can catch up to that of the 360 and the Wii and if there will be enough gamers willing to wait, buy another system, or scrounge up enough cash to bring PS3 the sales it needs to come back in this generation's console wars. Something about HD-DVD just seems to sound better than Blu-Ray anyways. For now, I'm pretty satisfied with my HD upconversion DVD player.

While I hope to have a Wii hooked up to my own TV in the coming months and for all I know, might have a PS3 by year's end, this is going to take a push of epic proportions for PS3 to enjoy the success that PS2 enjoyed in last generation's console wars.

This was my first article ever published in the Daily Trojan. With no guarantee that it would be published, nor any real direction on how to write for a collegiate newspaper, I gave it a shot, only to see my name in print a few days later.

My First Article