Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2010 - whoa.

Every year when the time for the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion show comes along, guys go wild and girls are either green with envy or obsessed with the idea of looking like one of the angels.

This year is no exception.

The televised fashion extravaganza is a marketing dream.

The models look amazing, the costumes are inventive, and what girl, or guy with a lady friend, wouldn't want to buy some of Vicky's undies if putting them on made girls look like those models.

It is truly a spectacle - especially with the inclusion of A-list music artist like Katy Perry and Akon.

The part about the show that I find most comical are the camera shots, which often close up on parts of the models that other fashion shows don't highlight... mainly the areas covered by the six inches of fabric on the models' bodies. I'm just sayin'... I'm sure there is no better place for a straight guy to be than behind the lens of that camera during the show.

All jokes aside, I give props to the models, designers, and coordinators of the event. Every year they put together a show that out-does the year before.

This year's highlight: the "wild" jungle animal print themed series of costumes. A+.

-By Hannah Kramer

Why choose Uggs?

The other day I was walking to Burge with a friend from my spanish class. I happened to be wearing my gray sweater Uggs with my sweatpants tucked inside.

My friend looked down at my feet and asked, "Why do so many girls wear those? What's wrong with normal shoes?"

As I tried to convince him that not only are they the easiest shoe to put on, but they are also the most comfortable and not to mention warm, I started to think about his question,"Why do so many girls wear them?"

I don't think anyone is quite positive as to when the Ugg craze started, it just kind of did. It was a new trend that everyone was participating in, and if you didn't have them you were missing out on what some might call a shoe epidemic.

Sure they are comfortable and you don't have to deal with the hassle of tying shoe laces, but now that I think about it, the Ugg boot isn't a very good looking shoe. It's actually dare I say . . . ugly.

Of course, this won't stop me from wearing them and it won't stop people from buying the latest style, but it's something to think about. Will people ever realize that Uggs are actually an ugly shoe? Will this Ugg craze ever end?

-Samantha Gentry

Carpe diem

Yesterday, I overheard a conversation between two girls sitting and talking about their upcoming week.

“God, I will be so happy once this week is over,” said one to the other.

It was a normal conversation, and a normal thought to have. Many times in my own experiences, I’ve said to myself that once I get past a certain point, I could finally be happy. It didn’t occur to me until later that what they said was actually intriguing. Happiness is something that everyone seeks, a universal goal. But someone tell me why happiness is always pushed aside by ordinary circumstances? I don’t suppose you could tell me the meaning of life while you’re at it.

- Eric Hawkinson

Just Whip, Don't Grind

Willow Smith’s song “Whip My Hair” has become an obsession all over campus. I must have heard the song playing from eight different dorm rooms this week. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s daughter has also become very popular in the entertainment industry since her single dropped. Her new single has climbed to the top of the music charts and her performance of the dance recently appeared on Ellen.
There is no wonder why “Whip My Hair” has had such sudden popularity- it’s a great song to dance to. My friends and I have definitely whipped our hair back and forth a few times to this song, occasionally getting whiplash.
The one negative thing about this craze on campus is that many people are doing more than just “whipping their hair back and forth” when they dance to this song. This is a song people grind to. And when I say grind I mean pretty much doing everything but having sex on the dance floor. People are grinding to a 10 year-old’s song. Something about this idea makes me cringe. People have the right to dance the way they want but I feel that it is inappropriate to grind to a 10 year-old’s pre-pubescent voice.
Please people, limit your dirty dancing to songs by artists who have at least graduated from grade school. But feel free to whip your hair back and forth!

Manny don't need no comforting

Music is powerful. It can move you, in more ways than one. It can change your feelings, your thoughts. It can inspire you. This song, "Right Me Up" by State Radio really shows the effect music can have.



State Radio, out of Boston, has special ties to those with handicaps, and disabilities. Lead singer, Chad Stokes, was a councilor at Camp Jaberwockee, a summer camp for the disabled in Massachusetts, when he found the inspiration for this song. He wrote it about one of his campers, Manny Furtado, who despite all his setbacks, still manages to find joy in whatever happens. It's a moving story, a beautiful video, and a great song. I definitely needed to rethink myself after watching.

Sometimes music can put things into perspective. Sometimes we just need to smile at life, like Manny would.

-Eric Hawkinson

Say Cheese

My grandmother is known for playing paparazzi. As she opens her door to greet me, I am instantly blinded by a white flash of light. I see my life unfold in front of my eyes until I realize that it is only her camera. Her mustard yellow, grocery store bought, “old-school” film camera.

For years I have nagged her to go digital. She has a cell phone, DVD player, and even satellite television, but she refuses to buy an SLR camera.
“Grandma, this Canon 7D would look wonderful in your home,” I say.
“I will just get a nice plant instead,” she replies.

I try to convince her that digital software allows individuals to alter ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds to their hearts content, yet she still ignores my pleas. This is why, when my multimedia class assignment consisted of a photo slideshow using a simple Kodak point and shoot camera, my jaw hit the floor.

I began my photo adventure with a negative outlook. Yet the more I snapped photos, my attitude drastically changed. Without technology I could really test my eye. It wasn’t a matter of adjusting camera modes but of where objects were placed. Every shot looked more candid compared to my previous shots on digital cameras. Furthermore, I was excited to get photos developed. I felt like a child waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve.

This experiment has persuaded me to not save up for the latest and greatest camera, but to use equipment that my dear granny still finds hip. I prefer not knowing what is not beneath the LCD screen, and finding out in a pleasant, or unfortunate surprise.
-Laura Willis

Journey of Music

There is one universal constant that makes the world go round specifically. That is music. No matter what is going on, whatever situation develops you can bet there is a song for it. From Patsy Cline's "Crazy" to Justin Timberlake’s "Sexy Back" music is an expression of life at its most human. It is a journey into the fleeting moment, which is how I came upon this gentleman named Kevin "B.F." Burt. These days most popularity "in the biz" as they call it is very much who is wearing what (or not wearing) is very fickle with no concern with true artistry, causing the listener to have an experience that draws you in to listen to that track again and again. My first allegiance is to rock, second to techno and the third slot I save for musical theater just because I’m partial to bursting into song.

Rhythm and Blues has never been on my radar. Listening to his rendition of “Crazy Love” I felt like I had somehow been transported back to a simpler time and place. Afterward Mr. Burt handed me his card, very simply I might add "to make my job easier." That action couldn't have been further from the truth. For me, my job was that much harder; because there is only so much one can say about music that takes you along for the ride.

~Brittany Hall