mind bottled

Alexis | 19 | Humber College Radio Broadcasting | 96.9 Radio Humber | Music Enthusiast | Toronto-based

[alexisjoycelyn]

Blog #6

My favourite YouTube channel is a toss-up between RoosterTeeth and the vlogbrothers Hank and John Green. The two channels are totally different, so I'll give a little insight as to why I like each of them.

vlogbrothers - I love the vlogbrothers channels, because Hank and John post every week or so, sometimes more often, and they talk about all sorts of different stuff! It's literally either Hank or John sitting in a chair and talking to a camera/their audience about whatever is going on at the moment. They've sparked a whole following, the Nerdfighters, and their online shop and etc DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome) with all sorts of cool and nerdy stuff. John Green is also one of my favourite authors, coincidentally. The vlogs started as a sort of communication line between the brothers while they were apart, and they kept it up as they started gaining more followers. There are all sorts of topics, and actually, a lot of them are fairly educational, because they have this need to keep the public informed and smart. So that's cool.

RoosterTeeth - The RoosterTeeth community is full of complete video game nerds. They've got their videos and their podcasts, and all sorts of stuff in between. They make their image on being completely silly and ridiculous, and fun. I love binge-watching them when I've got nothing else to do, and just listening to them interact with each other (which usually involves swearing at each other and making fun of each other.) and listening to them tell stories about whatever is going on at the moment.

I don't spend as much time on the internet as I used to these days, but when I do, I like to watch those, or whatever my favourite bands are up to at the moment. I also spend a lot of time watching danisnotonfire on youtube, which greatly amuses me. He's so awkward, it makes me feel better about my own awkwardness. Pretty sure the guy is a magnet for awkward social situations. Either way, he's hilarious. Even if he did steal my nickname that I've had since the band Alexisonfire was a thing. 

[sandandglass]

[micdotcom]

Watch Jon Stewart tear Fox News’ Ferguson coverage to shreds 

(GIFs via sandandglass)

[femininefreak]

[ygsolis]

oh hey look something the media doesn’t want you to believe exists 

[revolutionarykoolaid]

BREAKING NEWS (12/3/14): They choked a man to death on video, and they still were cleared. No justice, no peace. #staywoke #farfromover

[sem-humor]

[alexisjoycelyn]

Blog #5 - Favourite Podcasts

I can't say that there are really many podcasts that I listen to, but one that I try to watch on a fairly regular basis is the RoosterTeeth podcast. 

RoosterTeeth is a gaming channel on YouTube (but of course you know that, Steve), with a bunch of really awesome stream paths. They've got a show dedicated to MineCraft, they have Michael's RageQuit series where he plays video games and freaks out over how stupid they are, they've got Achievement Hunter, their own new animated show RWBY, Immersion where they bring video games to real life, usually using Gavin and Michael as test subjects, and a couple others. Every week they also release the Achievement Hunter Weekly Update, and a podcast where they talk about stuff they've done on the show, stuff that's going on, new releases, play pranks on each other, etc. 

I think the main reason I like the podcast so much (besides being a total sucker for video games) is because the gang is super fun to watch. They're all good friends, and you can tell this job is something they all really love doing. I mean, honestly, who wouldn't love being paid to play video games all day every day?? I can't say there's any one reason in particular that makes me watch this podcast all the time, I just watched all the other segments they did, so it seemed logical. I don't always get through the whole hour-long podcasts in one sitting, but there are nights where I binge-watch them. 

[the-library-and-step-on-it]

Men always say that as the defining compliment: the Cool Girl. She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means that I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl. Men actually think this girl exists. Maybe they’re fooled because so many women are willing to pretend to be this girl. For a long time Cool Girl offended me. I used to see these men - friends, coworkers, strangers - giddy over these awful pretender women, and I’d want to sit these men down and calmly say: You are not dating a woman, you are dating a woman who has watched too many movies written by socially awkward men who’d like to believe that this kind of woman exists and might kiss them. I’d want to grab the poor guy by his lapels or messenger bag and say: The bitch doesn’t really love chili dogs that much - no one loves chili dogs that much! And the Cool Girls are even more pathetic: They’re not even pretending to be the woman they want to be, they’re pretending to be the woman a man wants them to be. Oh, and if you’re not a Cool Girl, I beg you not to believe that your man doesn’t want the Cool Girl. It may be a slightly different version - maybe he’s a vegetarian, so Cool Girl loves seitan and is great with dogs; or maybe he’s a hipster artist, so Cool Girl is a tattooed, bespectacled nerd who loves comics. There are variations to the window dressing, but believe me, he wants Cool Girl, who is basically the girl who likes every fucking thing he likes and doesn’t ever complain. (How do you know you’re not Cool Girl? Because he says things like: ‘I like strong women.’ If he says that to you, he will at some point fuck someone else. Because ‘I like strong women’ is code for ‘I hate strong women.’) I waited patiently - years - for the pendulum to swing the other way, for men to start reading Jane Austen, learn how to knit, pretend to like cosmos, organize scrapbook parties, and make out with each other while we leer. And then we’d say, Yeah, he’s a Cool Guy. But it never happened. Instead, women across the nation colluded in our degradation! Pretty soon Cool Girl became the standard girl. Men believed she existed - she wasn’t just a dreamgirl one in a million. Every girl was supposed to be this girl, and if you weren’t, then there was something wrong with you.

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn. - via the-library-and-step-on-it (via perfect)

[imanasoh]

[alexisjoycelyn]

Scar! Brother! Help me, brother!

"I killed Mufasa."

[alexisjoycelyn]

Blog Post #4: Nerding Out, Deadpool, Spiderman, Marvel, Awesome.

In light of the new Deadpool movie coming out, I have a lot of hype in my life. First of all, Deadpool is probably my absolute favourite Marvel character. He's witty, sassy, sarcastic, funny, kind of an idiot at times, and just gives no f***s. But probably one of my favourite one of his characteristics is the fact that he's not really good or bad. He just... is. His main goal is just to cause as much chaos and confusion as he possibly can, because it's fun. He works for the good guys, he works for the bad guys. He serves his own purposes, and I love it. He's like a chaotic neutral. A super-neutral. I think Marvel has been really on point with most of their movies. They're incredibly well-done from a cinematic perspective, and fairly accurate from a comic perspective. For the most part, they stick to the comics as well as they can. Personality-wise they almost always nail it. Events, for the most part, are true to their written counter-parts. But sometimes they fall short. I'm super stoked for this movie though, because I think Ryan Reynolds could not be anymore of a perfect choice to play Deadpool. He's basically one of the sassiest Canadian actors I know, so I think he'll embody Deadpool wonderfully.

Deadpool and Spiderman have some awesome moments in the comics, and I think it'd be awesome if they could incorporate a Spidey-Deadpool moment in the new movie. With Andrew Garfield, of course. There's this long-time debate on the internet about "which Spiderman was better? Toby McGuire vs Andrew Garfield." and I don't think it's totally fair. Each actor had their strengths and weaknesses in the role. However, I would have to say that Garfield made the better Spiderman while McGuire was possibly the better Peter Parker. I'm still not entirely decided, I do have a strong preference for Andrew Garfield, but Toby wasn't entirely a throwaway in the role.... Though I didn't like the second and third installments with him. I digress...

If Marvel brought together Reynolds and Garfield on the screen in some sort of Spiderman-Deadpool moment, I feel as if the universe would implode, it'd be so awesome. The two of them have this awesome dynamic individually as sassy, sarcastic, hilarious dudes, I think it would just increase tenfold if they sassed each other. It'd make for one hell of a killer scene.

So pretty much I just can't wait for the movie to come out. So far the release date is set for February 12, 2016, and I don't care what day it is, I'm going to the premiere, one way or another.

(P.S. Note to Nick Fury: Let Spidey join the Avengers.)

[hangingsrew]

[fuckyeahthankgodforbeef]

[highnicetomeetyou-blog]

If you don’t reblog this you’re fucking up

[cryptidconnoisseur]

Rant Time

The abortion debate is never-ending. People on both sides are so quick to get angry over it. “Pro-lifers” are so quick to place the blame on pregnant women, and tear them down for even thinking about abortions, while “pro-choicers” are quick to tear down “pro-lifers.” And you know what, that’s okay. I’m pro-choice. Why? Allow me to break it down for you using answers to arguments frequently used by “pro-lifers.” ***all statements bolded (not bold and italicized, just bolded) have been taken straight from internet debates via facebook or other means. I have reworded some to make them shorter and more concise, but the idea remains.***

First (and my favourite): Not your body, not your choice. See, the funny thing is, it is my body. And I should be allowed to choose whether or not I want a tiny body growing within my body. I should also be allowed to evaluate my personal circumstances and whether or not I am able to carry through with carrying a tiny body within my body.

Well if you didn’t want something in your body, you shouldn’t have had sex. Now that’s being unrealistic. It’s the 21st century, people are going to have sex. Condoms and birth control aren’t always 100% effective. They can break, they can not work how they’re supposed to, things can be missed or overlooked - all common mistakes and accidents. And that’s consensual sex. There is a staggering amount of pregnancies due to rape. No woman should ever be forced to carry her rapists’ baby.

Adoption. Put it up for adoption. Yes, because the world doesn’t have enough orphans yet. While a nice sentiment, and often a good choice for women who don’t want to go through with abortion (because yes, I believe it is also okay to not want an abortion. Very important.) children growing up in foster care can find happy loving families, or they can find the exact opposite. Many of them grow up feeling unwanted, or unlovable. Many of them do not, but there’s still the possibility. Adoption has its pros and cons. A very good alternative if you do not want an abortion, but abortion is still a choice. Many women find it hard to give up their children after giving birth, and should never be put into a situation where they cannot take care of a child, whether they are too young, too poor, etc.

Abortion is murder. Most abortions take place during the first trimester, where the fetus cannot exist independently of its mother. Fertilized eggs used for vitro fertilization that are not implanted are routinely thrown away. Is this murder? If not, how is abortion murder? It’s pretty much the same concept.

People who get abortions just do it so they don’t have to use a condom. Actually, no. Abortion is not a contraceptive method. Pregnancy can happen even to the most careful of couples.

For women who demand such control over their bodies they should have used contraception, or stayed abstinent. I repeat: contraceptives can fail. Abstinence is unrealistic. And yes, as women who demand control over our bodies we should not be forced to carry through with an unwanted pregnancy. If the government forces us to carry through, then that basically sets the women’s rights movement back 100 years.

Many tax payers are opposed to abortion, so being funded by tax dollars is morally wrong. Many tax payers are opposed to war, so using tax dollar to fund wars in the middle east, etc, is morally wrong. Being governmentally funded offers women who cannot afford to get an abortion much less pay for a child the medical opportunities awarded to women who can. Abortion is part of this.

Lots of abortions are had by minors who are too young to understand what they’re doing and will regret it later in life. Are you serious with this one? Really? So you would rather a young girl who is still a child herself to become a mother? Teenagers who have children often have grim prospects for the future. They drop out of school, they often receive inadequate prenatal care, they suffer psychologically, and often rely on public help to raise the child. 

The bible says it’s wrong. Well sorry, but your religion can’t dictate what I can and cannot do. The bible says a lot of things are wrong, yet people still do them. Besides, isn’t God’s big thing to forgive our sins? In which case, I don’t think he’d mind the choice to not follow through with a pregnancy that can’t be carried out completely and lovingly. 

Abortion is not without consequence, but neither is pregnancy. Nothing should be done without thoroughly thinking it through.

[alexisjoycelyn]

What are you most passionate about? - Post #3

The thing in the world I am most passionate about has always been music. Ever since I was a small kid, I've always had a deep love and appreciation for different types of music. My mom was (is) a top-40s kind of lady, with a little bit of rock here and there. My grandparents listened to reggae and R&B mostly, along with classical and opera from my grandma. My stepdad at the time was a huge metal fan. His parents liked country. To this day, country is the only genre I'm not all that fond of. But these early experiences shaped my listening habits. The music I enjoy and listen to. Obviously my taste has grown, changed and evolved since then, I listen to many different genres, but my roots always go back to those. 

By far, music is the absolute number one most important thing to me. It’s the one constant variable in life. No matter how much things change, and people leave, and it feels like your life is crumbling apart, music will always be the same. Once a song is released, it’s there forever. You can make remixes, and covers, but the original remains constant, unchanged. In a world of chaos and change, it’s nice to have something constant. Growing up, I moved around a lot. To date, I've moved 14 times. Because I never stayed in one place for very long, I found it hard to make friends and keep them. I had a hard time relating to other kids. Things in my life weren’t exactly stellar from the time I was really young until roughly two or three years ago. I dealt with a lot of things I didn't really understand, and feelings I couldn't name, place or understand, so I was in a dark place for a long time. I was, for the most part, very alone, or so I thought. I didn't really know anybody who could relate or help me cope with what I was going through. Music was pretty big in my life before that, because it always calmed me. But then I started to search for music to relate to how I was feeling. I found some artists and bands that sang about situations like the ones I was going through, and it helped me feel less alone and that somewhere, someone out there understood exactly how I was feeling. It gave me the strength to see through another day. And another. Until finally, it didn't feel like dragging myself along the ground anymore. It was less like simply surviving, and more like actually living. Music gave me a purpose in life, and it helped me really try to cope with my problems. I sought help from many different professionals, but none were as good as being able to come home at night and just write everything down in a song. That was my therapy. I think music has the power to change the world, starting with one fucked up kid at a time.

That's most definitely not to say that music isn't for everyone. You don't need to have problems to enjoy and appreciate music, that's just my personal experience with it. It's not something I particularly enjoy talking about, the things I went through. But they definitely gave me a deeper appreciation for the things I already had and loved. Namely, music. 

In the last six years I have taught myself four different instruments, been in three bands, wrote my own solo music, and basically just fully immersed myself in everything to do with music. Music is what first got me looking at radio as a career. Music is pretty much my whole life.

[alexisjoycelyn]

Blog Assignment #2 - Tattoos and Body Mods.

I have a strong opinion about tattoos and piercings, and that's that they're freaking awesome. I currently have one tattoo and six piercings, and I plan on getting more tattoos, but the thing I keep hearing most is "won't you regret it when you're older?" "Why would you mark up your body like that?" or my personal favourite "Ew, why?" Mostly from my family, I might add. But the truth of the matter is that times are changing. Tattoos are becoming more and more common, and eventually someone without tattoos is going to be much less common than someone with tattoos. Personally, I plan to be absolutely covered in tattoos. I think they're beautiful - it's an art form all in itself. Your body is a canvas- your canvas- to decorate and do with it as you see fit. If that means covering it in tattoos, awesome. If it means leaving it blank as the day you were born, awesome. We shouldn’t be judged by the ink (or lack thereof) in our skin.

Discrimination against tattooed individuals is actually one of my biggest pet peeves. I often hear "How do you expect to get a job all marked up like that?" The colour of one’s skin, be it natural or not, means nothing about the individual’s life, morals, value, ethics or character. Having tattoos is a way of expressing the things that mean something to you, and every tattoo has a story, even if it’s just something simple like “I saw it, liked it, put it on my body.” Someone with tattoos is no better or worse than someone without, and vice versa. They are no more skilled or talented that the other. People who see tattoos as ruining your body are wrong, because in my opinion, they’re art, and they make someone remarkable, and striking. The stigma surrounding them has been negative for far too long, and it’s not okay. And for the people that say “Oh, well what are your tattoos going to look like when you’re 80?” I say “Fucking awesome.” because when I’m 80, I won’t care about the way the faded ink in my skin looks. I’ll be more worried about my health, my family, my life quality, etc. And the tattoos will be fond memories of a time when I was young and reckless and free and full of ideas and potential.

I currently have a list of tattoos I want, and most of them have already been drawn and designed. I started this list when I was seven, almost 13 years ago, and nothing has really changed. Some of the designs have been altered slightly, but the main concept has remained the same. The list currently has 26 items on it, but Some will be combined into a sleeve, so technically there are only about 16 or 17. The only thing stopping me from being covered right now is lack of money. And my mother hates them, so I'm trying to ease her into it.

[alexisjoycelyn]

Why Radio

Music has always been a massive part of my life. It's how I recall most memories, it reflects my mood, it calms me down or pumps me up. It's literally my favourite thing in the entire world. So being a part of it, in any way I possibly can, has always been a life's goal of mine.

Originally, I took a year of the Journalism Print & Broadcast course here at Humber, but quickly realized it wasn't for me. That's not to say it isn't an absolutely fantastic program, but news and strict writing guidelines don't sit well with me. Throughout the course of my year here, I made a lot of friends who just so happened to be in the Radio Broadcasting program. Meaning I went to more of their classes than I did mine. I fell in love with the program, and the information, so I figured "hey, why not get some credits for this?" and applied. Getting accepted was crucial - I'd already withdrawn from Journalism and I didn't want to leave Humber. I was really excited. Being here has been absolutely influential to who I've become and how I've grown as a person.

I think what really draws me to radio is the amount of personality you can put into it. I'm a bright person - I've usually got something witty to say, and I almost always have an opinion. Radio is great in that, yes, you have content you must get out, but you can always insert a bit of your personality. Through the last few weeks I've become more and more drawn to the production aspect. It's a lot of hard work, and the final result just becomes that much better because you've almost poured a piece of your soul into it. It's a part of you as much as anything else now. 

Basically I'm a huge nerd and radio is awesome. There are so many different kind of stations, personalities, content, etc. It's super diverse, and there's something for everyone.

[crazierthanablogfullofcats]

Cats Being Cats