We are a World of Advertisements!

Each and every day we are exposed to ten fold the advertisements than we realize. they are everywhere around us. they are everywhere you look. As I'm sure all of you have seen time square or at least pictures of it each day a sign in Times Square receives an estimated 1.5 million impressions per day.

This form of advertising however is not always the type of advertisements we see everyday (unless you live near Time Square that is). Most of the  advertisements we don't really notice as much, but they still effectively try to persuade us to buy their product. They will introduce you to an idea or an object and make you want it. They play solely on the greediness of the world.  

Advertisements are seen every single day whether you realize it or not, everything is an advertisement for something whether it was meant to be or not. Have you ever seen kids smoking cigarettes in the street? Walking advertisement for smoking. Have you ever seen a person drinking from a coke can? Has that ever made you want one? Subtle thing such as this may seem like nothing when you look at it but in your brain  when you see that coke you're going to want it, you're going to want to have one. Here's a little video on the psychology of the advertising world out there:

Not only do advertisements try to make you want their product but if an ad can make you laugh, you are less likely to forget it as compared to a super boring one. Take this McDonald's commercial for example. We may not be able to understand what they are saying, however, you can still see just what is happening. Its about a couple that love each other and he would do anything for her, go shopping with her, dive into the ocean after a rose, and even push her broken down car to safety. But when it comes to those McDonald's fries. THATS IT!

♩♫♭Music to My Ears ♬♮♯♪

Music is my thing. I LOVE music! I have 3 iPods and I'm about to get a fourth! I have over 3,000 songs on my iTunes and thats after deleting several hundred. I am an off-the-wall odd ball when it comes to music, I listen to very diverse genres. I am a fan of Tchaikovsky. I am a fan of   Underoath. I am a fan of Nirvana, Metallica, Natalie Grant, Yiruma, Blink-182, The Vitamin String Quartet, Rascal Flats, The Almost, All Time Low, Backstreet Boys, Dario Marianelli, Five For Fighting, Foo Fighters... the list go on and on. Even within the genres I love to listen to bands not many people know about. Some may say, 'This music is no good,' but how do they define "good?" Do they refer to music as good when its one of the songs they hear on the radio every day when they get in their car? Do they think a good beat makes music good? Or is it the lyrics? 

These days music is made popular by the number of times it's been played, take our own little Rebecca Black.... she sucks. However, the thing is, she's famous and the viewers and the consumers in our world today have done that themselves. With every time she is mentioned, every time her songs are viewed or bought, she becomes more and more famous. Attention is brought about more than just by good music. If attention was only brought to "good" music... we would never hear of Rebecca Black. Lets face it bad music becomes famous solely because it is bad music. But the thing is how is music defined as good or bad?

There is really not anything that is set or determined that defines what makes music either good or bad. SOO That is why I am here, to express my opinion on the matter!

So heres my list, 'What makes good music "good"and what is just a no no!':

1. Can the singer even SING? If the answer is no... forget it, I'm not listening.
2. Forget the auto tuned crap, I.M.O its like listening to lies. 
3. Does the song have a good beat?
4. Does the song make you feel the emotions it portrays? (The beat as well as the lyrics work toward emotion)
5. Does the song keep the beat consistent throughout the song? When a song has a set and determined beat, straying from this beat just throws it off the deep end. I don't want  to listen to a song that goes from being undistinguishable because theyre singing/rapping/whatever so fast to soommmeeettthhhiiiinnngg ssooooo  drraaawwnnnn oooouutttt itt beeeecooommmeeeess obbbnnooooxxxiiooouuuss. I dont want to be taken by surprise when every other line goes from fast to slow... that just does not appeal to my taste.
6. Im not a fan of cliche.  I don't want to listen to the same sounding songs each and every time a "new" song comes out.
7. Are the lyrics something I want to listen to? I don't want to hear about how you sat around all day, sharpened your dull pencils, and clean out your purse/wallet. Just like the pencils, its DULL! Listeners want to hear something they can relate to or even aspire to become.
8. I dont want to hear how you "smack[ed] that all on the floor, smacked that [gave him] some more." This also follows the dull pencil concept. I DON'T want to hear about you or your "bubblegum"!
9. 'What?!? The song is 9 minutes long??? And those are the only lyrics?' I could easily give you a great example of thie one. GREENDAY! You are VERY guilty of this!  "Homecoming"? is it necessary that it is 9 minutes and 18 seconds? and "Jesus of Suburbia"... just over 9 minutes... 30 Seconds to Mars is also semi guilty of this, some of their songs lasting over 6 minutes. Theres a point when you are listening to a song that you just get tired of it.
10. Stick to your genre! I hate listening to  a great Alternative/Pop song and they randomly start screaming... I do like some screamo but I dont like when other genres decide to just throw in some screaming.. no, no.. stop that!
11. I love a good calming acoustic song. But when your guitar playing sucks and you're singing just isn't quite up to par... I can listen to an untouched acoustic... but there IS a point where I suggest you get yourself back in voice and guitar lessons.
12. DANCE music. I love you. I really do. I love the music that keeps me jumping and excited and just having fun. I can't dance, but that doesn't mean I don't want a good beat to dance to.
13. Consistency, consistency, consistency. I want to hear consistant lyrics. I want to hear a chorus, a few lines that stand out from the rest in repetition. I don't want to hear lyrics talking about nothing and just jumping back and forth from one random to another "Don't get it twisted Lil Mama got my paper on That means im a paper chaser I chase my paper on And I know we chasin paper that you be chasin on....I'm telling you like Jennifer Hudson I got plastic elastic in the back of the jaguar sure cause that's whats poppin... " what?!?!
14. When lyrics don't seem to go together they don't flow and the words just don't compliment each other... failure. I will not listen to music with a choppy flow and words don't compliment each other.
15. Just because its mainstream does not mean its better. Explore the music you've never heard. You might be surprised.

AdBuster

“We are a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society.” - Adbusters

With this, I say make it a revolution! A revolution of media: news, journals, TV shows, blogs, movies, newspapers, news channels, magazines, the web! Media needs a to start a rebellion against the structure its been assigned. This structure is full of bias, being swayed by corporations strong enough to keep information the way they want it to be seen. This is what Adbusters plans to stop.
Adbusters has created campaigns in order to try to make their way to a cultural revolution, with campaigns such as “Buy Nothing Christmas.” It is shocking for most of us to even hear something like that, ‘What?? Mom and Dad aren’t getting me my Louis Vouiton handbag and my iPad and that new Juicy Coture Perfume?!?.’ But this movement is not about the things, its about control, showing these companies we buy from that the consumers are the ones with the true power. As soon as consumers are no longer consuming there starts a halt in their revenue, which is every companies nightmare. Buying nothing for christmas I’m sure may sound COMPLETELY out of the question for some, so they have also taken this into consideration and have also said that for those that see this as too extreme, they suggest that you try to buy less or buy locally, those local businesses need more support than the large corporations would ever need, by doing this you can support your community as well as do that holiday shopping. “Buy Nothing Day” is also another day that they have created for the same reason of putting control back in the hands of the consumers. This day is to happen in the US on November 25, 2011 and Internationally on November 26, 2011.
Adbusters have also created another way to buy from small localized companies. Instead of buying from the converse name brand, they have a similar product called Blackspot Shoes. These shoes not only put the control back into the hands of the consumers but they also are eco-friendly, made of recycled rubber tires, hemp, vegan leather and are painted by hand. These fair trade factory Blackspots could truly pass for a normal converse shoe, so if its the converse-look that you are looking for, but you want to keep your purchase local and make it eco-friendly, Blackspots are the way to go. 

Adbuster also has a campaign for #NOSTARBUCKS, which is as simple as it sounds, no Starbucks. Stick to the locally owned coffee shop, you never know, it could be twice as good as the mass made coffee Starbucks makes, you could even look up the recipe for your favorite drinks online. 

Snooki's New look.. Lady Gagas new outfit!! (Who cares..)

Journalism has lost its touch, headlines are becoming things like "The 'Jersey Shore' Cast Dresses Like Hipsters", "Jennifer Aniston Made Justin Theroux Shave His Beard", "Michelle Rodriguez is on a boat. She‘s probably wasted too." 

The media is losing sight of what is important. In my opinion, news is something that can affect our lives, and I don't know about you, but I dont care that Justin Theroux shaved his beard.... I don't even know why that is... (thats how I prefer it!!) and i dont really care all that much about lady gagas new outfit

News should be about the world, the economy, the heros in our community, inspirational stories, etc.. today's priorities are skewed and there shouldn't be so much focus on the celebrities of the world. We don't need to know how the A listers are living their lives, I don't care is the jersey shore cast is wearing the "hipster look", and don't care about who's pregnant and maybe wasted..

Journalism needs to be taken back by those who care about whats happening in the world, not what Snookie is wearing today, that makes no difference to me. BUt whats hapening around us and internationally.. matters.

Media, Media, Everywhere...

“Companies that own large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet” also known as media conglomerates as I learned last year, are companies such as Walt Disney. 


Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney, The Walt Disney Company, as of 2010, is the largest media conglomerate in the entire world.

With 8 divisions Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, Disney Music Group, Disney-ABC Television Group, Walt Disney Theatrical, Radio Disney, Disney Interactive Media Group, Disney Consumer Products, and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts I believe it to be a very successful company. It also owns many subsidiaries: Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Entertainment, LLC, Playdom, Tapulous, ESPN (80%), ABC Inc., A&E Television Networks (42.5%) as well as numerous others.



The Walt Disney Company, I would say has done a fabulous job on the focus of its media concentration with it mainly focusing on what principles Walt Disney originally started on, which I believe to be purely entertainment for the masses. The success of their media concentration is very clearly reflected on its revenue of 38.8 billion dollars this past year!! However, this company not only focuses on entertainment through orated and visual entertainment, but it also has many branches of resorts and cruise lines such as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Euro Disney S.C.A., Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Line. From its radio to their cruiselines theres certainly more than enough to be said about its success in its growth and expertise in the field of media. 

The Future Lies Ahead: Internet in the Making

"Slowly but surely" is not the case with the internet, the internet is taking over the masses with the speed of light. Advancements are constantly being made throughout the world. This makes some wonder, where is the internet headed towards?

 It is the (more recent) past,  present, and future. 

Since its conception, the internet has gone from simple text on a solid white page to videos, movies, music, almost anything you can imagine. Internet is now in the palm of your hand with ipads and phones and itouchs, etc. 

Not only is the internet in the palm of your hand but its now in your own kitchen refrigerator and even your car! No one TRUELY knows where the intenet is going but within the next few years but it is going to go far!

When you think about it, the internet has revolutionized our decade, but it's not all it use to be in some ways. The internet is becoming more and more monetized, ads popping up everywhere, its just getting to where it's not very often to even find a page without ads, these ads are what provide revenue for web pages. The internet is so free of barriers that things such as porn are accessible to anyone with a computer, I think that in the next 10-20 years this will become such a problem, there will be or at least SHOULD BE barriers and rules to not allow things like this on the computers. The stats on the internet are truely astounding and are shocking to hear. See for yourself...

THE INTERNET WILL BECOME ITS OWN BRAIN AND ITS OWN MASTER

Technology in Journalism: Apple Computers

Check out this link, its about the Missouri School of Journalism and how its come into the technological times and is using the technology of Apple Macs (I LOVE MINE!) to get their messages across through media and journalism. To see the video and read about it, click here!

I'm Rachel Spillane, 19, I have been born and raised in the heart of Marietta, Georgia. People call me a bunch of different things like Rae, Rae Rae, Rach, Rachie, Spillane, Splane (hence the blog name), Spillaney (pronounced Spill-ah-nay) and a bunch of other random things. I completely gave up caring what people think of me and how they choose to judge me.. And I have to say I have the best friends anyone could ever have because of it! I am OBSESSED with art!!


Taking pictures...

Drawing... 

Painting...

 Making jewelry, etc... 
It is and will always be my life (especially since Im an art major)! 


I have two cats, Paisley(Dark Tortie) and Cleo(Light Tortie), a dog (Duke), and a fish named Huckleberry Finn

So.. Welcome to my Blog!

Media and its effect on children. Should parents be worried?

I am Peggy Spillane and being the mother of 4 teenage daughters, media...TV, movies, magazines, books, internet, and video games are something that we, as parents, have monitored over the course of our children's lives.  Media can either have a positive or negative effect, depending on what it is and what it portrays.  When our children were younger, we monitored what they watched and read a lot more closely than we do now that they are teenagers.  

We always had a policy that we needed to know and approve of what they were watching before they viewed it.  TV, movies, etc. can be harmless in many cases, but often, shows and movies contained violence, sexual content, or inappropriate language or behavior that we did not want our children exposed to.  I think children can often model or repeat behaviors they have been exposed to and seeing too much of these negative things seem to desensitize them and they start seeing these behaviors as "normal." We try to keep a loving, supportive atmosphere in our home and so many families portrayed on TV or in movies seem extremely dysfunctional.  When things were on TV, a movie, etc. that we considered inappropriate, we would tell our children why we saw it as inappropriate and help them understand why we did not want them viewing certain things.  

Before we went to a movie in the theater, we would check out the comments on a family friendly website to check out the reasons for the movie rating and then decide if it was something we wanted to see.  As our children have gotten older and have more freedom to make their own choices of what they see and hear, we hope we have equipped them with tools to choose wisely.   The internet is an area where children are easily exposed to things that are inappropriate.  Even an innocent web search can quickly lead to sites that no one would want their child to see.  Installing filters can be helpful, but children need to be taught to notify a parent if inappropriate sites come up.  Keeping the home computer in a public area of the house and periodically checking on what your child is viewing or playing can help avoid problems.  

A great deal of what is available on TV in informative, educational and entertaining.  However, with all types of media, I think using it in moderation is the best idea.  Setting a time limit for TV, video games and other forms of media will help insure that children have a more balanced life.  Media is causing our children to become more sedentary, so limiting the time they spend with these things will encourage more physical activity and time to seek out activities that require more thought and creativity.

ADvertising

Ads are always eluding to things even when whether it be obvious or subtle. There are many different types of ads and they differ in how they go about promoting their product.  So lets look at some ads and "decode" their message.

 "Gillette Safety Razor: Begin Early. Shave Yourself." 

In this ad, we see a baby that looks to be shaving, this visual part of the ad i would say it would be  saying a few things. such as "it's so safe even a baby could use it," also the baby is so happy you assume there is no way the baby has cut itself so its yet again alluding to the safety factor of the razor which in turn makes the point it needs to make making the consumer believe that the product is reliable.

"Non Smoking Area"

In this ad we have here, we see immediately that there is an anti-smoking ad and there is a section of grave stones that is gone with the label, "non- smoking area," with this idea in our head it is basically saying that those that aren't smokers aren't going to die as soon as the others that do smoke, so it makes you assume that the graves that are there are graves of smokers that died because of their habit.

"Heres the rest of your

 fur coat"

This ad is for Peta, so it is an ad that is trying to get people to think about animal rights and this ad specifically is to get people not to buy fur because of its cruelty factor. And this ad shows how cruel it is. It definitely uses the disturbing pictures in order to make you pity the dead, skinned fox. It makes you want to do something about it even if that just means to not buy fur.

I thought this commercial ad was very creative, it used the fact of the extreme dedication that monks have and then show that they went through years of training and they basically worship pepsi. 


All of these ads took remarkably different ways of promoting the product, but they all were successful in getting the attention of the consumer. They used unique tactics to lure in the audience, using pity, fear, and trust even. 

Aristotle's Rhetoric

"Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion."

                         

Aristotle's Rhetoric is a basic guide to argumentative/or persuasive writing. It is a guide on how to make your ideas and thoughts valid or to make them more valid than someone else's. Aristotle divided his categories of type of persuasion into three categories: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Ethos is a tactic that is used to instill respect in the audience to make yourself credible in their eyes. If we are believed to be credible, we are more likely to listen them and to believe what they are saying to be true. This is very important to be able to get your point across. If you have lost the audience in them thinking you are not credible, there is no way you will be able to communicate your point.

Pathos is a tactic used to tack a stab a the audiences hearts and make them feel the pain of a situation or on the other hand, joy or even emotions such as saddness, hate, love, etc. This can be used to enhance your argument  by grasping the emotions felt about the subject and to instill through your writing the emotions that you want to audience to feel. Things such as the volume of your voice, the tone of your voice, the speed you speak, key adverbs, as well as many other things can also portray the emotion you want to audience to feel. 

Logos is a tactic of logic as the name suggests. this was Aristotle's favorite tactic to use. it uses the means of persuading, by the use of, reasoning with your audience. It is one of the most important  type of persuasion, because if you do not have a reasonable argument your point will be immediately dismissed. Giving reasons to support your argument is the key to win, this just cannot be emphasized enough. It is what the foundation and cornerstone of your argument is, without it, it will fall to nothing. You must use this tactic in order to substantiate your thesis and give it its support.

Study Night

So finals are coming up fast and all the students of Reinhardt are working hard.... but NOT as hard as we are... see the proof for yourself!

LIVES PUT IN JEOPARDY BECAUSE OF "AVATAR" THE MOVIE!

People went crazy over the movie Avatar, talking about its beauty and magnificence. But not only did this movie awe people with its brilliance, but it has actually caused harm to people after having watched it. Leading them to depression, obsession and even suicidal tendencies. This story was covered by CNN back in January 2010. and its crazy to think about it but in this movie avatar humans were the enemies. THis thought has caused people to think that maybe if they committed suicide then they will be rebirthed in a land such as Pandora, The land of the Na'vi.

In order for you to get the whole picture of whats happening around this movie, I copied the article from CNN.com for you to take a look at, it will shock you.

CNN) -- James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

On the fan forum site "Avatar Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.

"I wasn't depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy ," Baghdassarian said. "But I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don't have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed."

A post by a user called Elequin expresses an almost obsessive relationship with the film.

"That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about 'Avatar.' I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na'vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie," Elequin posted. 

A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site "Naviblue" that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.

Video: Depressed after 'Avatar'?

"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar'"

Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality.

Cameron's movie, which has pulled in more than $1.4 billion in worldwide box office sales and could be on track to be the highest grossing film of all time, is set in the future when the Earth's resources have been pillaged by the human race. A greedy corporation is trying to mine the rare mineral unobtainium from the planet Pandora, which is inhabited by a peace-loving race of 10-foot tall, blue-skinned natives called the Na'vi.

In their race to mine for Pandora's resources, the humans clash with the Na'vi, leading to casualties on both sides. The world of Pandora is reminiscent of a prehistoric fantasyland, filled with dinosaur-like creatures mixed with the kinds of fauna you may find in the deep reaches of the ocean. Compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia.

Ivar Hill posts to the "Avatar" forum page under the name Eltu. He wrote about his post-"Avatar" depression after he first saw the film earlier this month.

"When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed ... gray. It was like my whole life, everything I've done and worked for, lost its meaning," Hill wrote on the forum. "It just seems so ... meaningless. I still don't really see any reason to keep ... doing things at all. I live in a dying world."

Reached via e-mail in Sweden where he is studying game design, Hill, 17, explained that his feelings of despair made him desperately want to escape reality.

"One can say my depression was twofold: I was depressed because I really wanted to live in Pandora, which seemed like such a perfect place, but I was also depressed and disgusted with the sight of our world, what we have done to Earth. I so much wanted to escape reality," Hill said.

Cameron's special effects masterpiece is very lifelike, and the 3-D performance capture and CGI effects essentially allow the viewer to enter the alien world of Pandora for the movie's 2½-hour running time, which only lends to the separation anxiety some individuals experience when they depart the movie theater.

"Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far," said Dr. Stephan Quentzel, psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. "It has taken the best of our technology to create this virtual world and real life will never be as utopian as it seems onscreen. It makes real life seem more imperfect."

Fans of the movie may find actor Stephen Lang, who plays the villainous Col. Miles Quaritch in the film, an enemy of the Na'vi people and their sacred ground, an unlikely sympathizer. But Lang says he can understand the connection people are feeling with the movie.

"Pandora is a pristine world and there is the synergy between all of the creatures of the planet and I think that strikes a deep chord within people that has a wishfulness and a wistfulness to it," Lang said. "James Cameron had the technical resources to go along with this incredibly fertile imagination of his and his dream is built out of the same things that other peoples' dreams are made of."

The bright side is that for Hill and others like him -- who became dissatisfied with their own lives and with our imperfect world after enjoying the fictional creation of James Cameron -- becoming a part of a community of like-minded people on an online forum has helped them emerge from the darkness.

"After discussing on the forums for a while now, my depression is beginning to fade away. Having taken a part in many discussions concerning all this has really, really helped me," Hill said. "Before, I had lost the reason to keep on living -- but now it feels like these feelings are gradually being replaced with others."

Quentzel said creating relationships with others is one of the keys to human happiness, and that even if those connections are occurring online they are better than nothing.

"Obviously there is community building in these forums," Quentzel said. "It may be technologically different from other community building, but it serves the same purpose."

Within the fan community, suggestions for battling feelings of depression after seeing the movie include things like playing "Avatar" video games or downloading the movie soundtrack, in addition to encouraging members to relate to other people outside the virtual realm and to seek out positive and constructive activities.

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This video below is what inspired me to write this blogpost. It shocks e to see that people will alienate their true selves in order to BECOME what they fantasize. 

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Piazza, Jo. "Audiences Experience 'Avatar' Blues - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html>.

Video Game Survey

Hey guys if you could help me out, I'm working on a speech for a different class. So if maybe you could take my survey I made, that would be helpful!! 

>>Survey Here<<

In the Life of Kami: My Awesome Friend

This next blog is for my best friend of 4  years, Kami, a quite avid blogger herself. You can actually find her on tumblr:

 http://utahbound.tumblr.com/

THIS is US..... the OH SO "normal".... US.

We are actually pretty good at acting normal too....

Okay... maybe not... but we still try.

She's what you would call a book worm! Its more look an addiction to her,  books are her drugs. She would, and I quote, "...live in a barnes and noble and have (her) own section devoted to her, where she has (her) own personal place to read all day." She loves books such as Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, and Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. (I had to restrict her choices because before the i restricted her to only 4.... she told me about 20 or so books.) Next year she will be attending Kennesaw State University as an english major. She hopes to one day be a editor at a publishing company, but for now she writes poems and such on her tumblr. However the following is just a little something she found, by Rosemarie Urquico,  which I loved and DEFINITELY reminds me of her. So, Enjoy! And take time to Go look at her Tumblr, its awesome!!! Heres the link again: http://utahbound.tumblr.com/

“Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”

— Rosemarie Urquico


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