#dodd5

[prmavenstuff]

Pet Peeves

                                             Has anyone ever been in a public restroom and watched someone leave without washing their hands? Gross. That is my biggest pet peeve. I make sure that is a part of my routine as I leave the restroom *wash hands and kick open door with my foot*. Watching that lady leave the second stall at Barnes and Noble and then proceed to go look and check out books, erks my nerves. It’s disgusting. Just a little education in sanitation 101, germs spread everywhere. That book you just touched, that desk you’re sitting at…you might as well have just stuck your hands in the toilet. People unknowingly touch their face all day, some even have bad habits of putting their hands in or near their mouths.

Wash your hands! It is the simplest and cheapest way to avoid getting sick. Like preventing the common cold, MRSA, and even the swine flu! According to an article on cbsnews.com 95 percent of people are improperly washing their hand. “Men were much worse than women, the researchers observed. Fifteen percent of men didn't wash at all, compared with 7 percent of women. When they did wash, 50 percent of men used soap, compared to 79 percent of women.” Says reporter, Ryan Jaslow. Of the 3,700 people they observed using public restrooms, ten percent of them skipped the hand washing process all together. Moral of the story is to wash your hands frequently to avoid getting yourself or others sick and to stop annoying me. 

#germs #hands #dodd13 #dodd5 #washhands

[madisonholesko]

Goodbye 2013.

As the end of 2013 is fast approaching us I find myself reflecting on this year more and more. I have come along way growing not only physically but mentally as well. Being senior at the University of Central Florida now is something that I am very proud of but with real life fast approaching me it is time to look at life in a more broad spectrum.

2013 was a great year I had many ups and down that everyone goes through but it is time to reflect on the positives. I received employment from the Orlando Magic while soon after being promoted to a year round position. I also turned 21 years old over the summer, it was great to finally feel that sense of entitlement as a adult now. One of the hardest transitions for any young man or young women is how to make the transition to an adult. I believe I am well on my way and headed in the right direction.

Looking forward I plan to continue to actively pursue getting a scholarship to Seton Hall's Sports Management graduate program. I have already put in a lot of hard work to try to achieve this goal and 2014 will play a huge role on where my future is headed.

As I plan to graduate in 2014 and possibly move to New Jersey for graduate school I am very excited as well as anxious for what my future has in store for me. Thank you for all the great memories 2013!

[brookeash13y]

In honor of the holidays approaching, and Thanksgiving coming up on thursday, I thought I would share a blog about the importance of family and tradition and how wal-mart continues to be the leader in providing the means to continue it.  In my marketing class we constantly talk about Wal-mart and its enormous presence in the USA.  They are the leader in sales revenue and the leader in low prices.  They are really gaining acceptance recently with their ad match guarantee.  At my job, we are collecting canned and boxed foods for a family that is in need.  My manager went to Wall-mart, Publix ad in hand, and they matched every bogo and price that Publix was offering.  My manager spent $15 and had a trunk load of groceries for the family! How great is that?!  During the holidays, family comes in from all parts of the world and what’s more important than bringing family together during the holidays? Nothing! For my family, the holidays recently have been hard.  Three years ago we lost my grandfather three days after Christmas. It was very hard, and it still is at times.  For us, what makes the holidays easier is being together.  Before he passed family was important, but not nearly as important as it is now.  We are there for eachother, especially my grandma.  Now, every year we make sure that we are together during the holidays.  We make sure that each and every one of us has a smile on our face, because we know that my grandpa would not be happy if we weren’t. This year, we have decided to have a turkey cook-off to keep things fun and entertaining!  But sometimes, it can be expensive to make sure there is enough food and drinks in the house, especially with a family as big as mine! We always shop at Wal-mart for our thanksgiving ingredients. Without Wal-mart’s low price guarantee, some families may not be able to be together during this special time of the year.  Wal-mart is a leader in low prices and a leader in keeping families together.  This is seen in all of their commercials and even more in the stores when you’re shopping.  I hope everyone has a great holiday season!!! Don’t eat too much turkey! If you do, it’s okay! It’s considered, to me, national cheat day! Enjoy your family; you never know how long you have with them. <3 Happy Thanksgiving!

[kayscoffeecorner]

Lorde - Pure Heroine - Album Review

One of the biggest up and comers in music today is 17-year old Lorde. While she has yet to obtain the mainstream name recognition that rivals that of Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift, Lorde and her debut album, Pure Heroine, have been receiving a great deal of attention since its release in September.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlcIKh6sBtc

Pure Heroine's lead single, "Royals".

  The music meshes various forms of electronica, ranging from dark tones to upbeat rhythms. When many people look at an artist's genre and see "electronica" they are often quick to think of simple dance club songs lacking any lyrics or perhaps four words repeated over and over. However, what Lorde has accomplished reflects a growing style in the genre, and one that she clearly knows well; the ability to blend a singer-songwriter style with synthetic, electronic music and beats. The lyrics are filled with Lorde's views on the world and the teenage life, giving listeners, especially young adults, a relatable commentary on modern society and life.

  The album greatly benefits from superb track listing in that each song flows into the next. For some artists this can be a detriment and not create any distinction amongst the songs. This is not the case with Pure Heroine. This is an album to get lost in. For a 17 year old's first full-length record, it is incredible to think of the maturity and range in Lorde's voice and songwriting. There are peaks in valleys throughout the song. Some are incredibly laid back and build up into choruses and harmonies that truly grab your attention.

  One can only hope that this is the beginning of a long career filled with songs as unique and amazing as Pure Heroine, and not a one-hit wonder that succeeded on the fact that she is so young.

  Favorite tracks: Royals, Ribs, 400 Lux, A World Alone

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRfpZm7Sja8

[relgreenstuff]

I was not sure what to blog about this week, so I decided to blog about this youtube video that is going viral. It has been going viral for about a month now and it is adorable. This baby has now been on Ellen Degeneres and has appeared on a few other talk shows. It currently has 26,824,359 views and growing. Just watch it for yourself and tell me this doesn't melt your heart like it did to mine.

[mkvenezia]

Give me a break.

"Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that KitKat bar!"

Everyone has sung those lyrics over and over again. KitKat is a brand known for producing pretty amazing marketing material. Although it's be awhile since they've created something as catchy as the well known jingle their new partnership has brought something even sweeter along.

KitKat is partnering with Android to bring users the newest software, KitKat 4.4. Android has evolved a lot over the past few years and they seem to always keep their fans guessing what they'll create next. 

Anyone who looks at the lawn of the Android office can really see the theme of desserts they use to name their operating system. Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean are the KitKat predecessors.

Every Android forum you read up until the release of 4.4 would tell you that Key Lime Pie was the next name, but then Android surprised everyone by forming a partnership with KitKat.

Released on every candy companies favorite holiday, Halloween, KitKat took the Android world by storm. The new features provide users with a smoother interface and more battery life, that everyone will love.

As far as the details of this new partnership, they're very basic. KitKat promotes Android on their wrappers and Android promotes KitKat by using the brand name as their operating system. No money was exchanged in their partnership, it's simply just a promotional union.

Marketing and promotions are evolving and the Android/KitKat partnering really displays that. To think a operating system and a candy bar could be connected would have been absolutely nuts a few years back, but now it's formed something that everyone benefits from. Plus the more KitKat's you eat, the more you can enter to win Google Play credits and a Nexus 7. A win-win in my eyes!

http://on.mash.to/18oXnKm

[valentina-sofia]

Bring It On: the Musical — yay or nay?

It feels like just yesterday that Bring It On: the Musical was heading towards the Broadway stage, but it has been almost seven months since this (insert fun adjective here) musical closed. Its fanbase, while somewhat small, lives on — who can resist jamming out to “It’s All Happening” in the car? I know I can’t. We all cheered when it got nominated for two Tonys, even if it didn’t win, because even just a little bit of recognition is enough. With a book by Jeff Whity (Avenue Q), and music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), Amanda Green (Hands on a Hardbody) and Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, American Idiot), it’s the kind of musical that people will either love or hate. Most people hear about it and scoff (I know I did) and dismiss it, because who in their right minds would write a musical about cheerleaders? But there are merits to this amazing show. Bring It On is about the popular and peppy Campbell, a cheer captain who has everything going for her, right up until the gets transferred to the inner city school, Jackson High. Once there, she struggles to find her niche within a crowd set on “doing your own thing,” and even ends on the bad side of Danielle, Jackson High’s queen bee, when she calls the dance crew cheerleaders. Eventually Campbell finds out that neither one of her friends from Truman can be captain, making way for Campbell’s own protegee, Eva, who turns out to have been plotting all along to steal Campbell’s spot. Campbell, wanting revenge, convinces Danielle and the dance crew to become a squad so they can compete against Truman. Even though they lose, they all learn a lesson; what else would you expect from Broadway?! What people seem to overlook most frequently about this show is that it’s about so much more than just taking a trophy home. Bring It On is much more than a solid combination of the book and the score, it’s much more than the cheerleading stunts and the dance routines. It’s about friendship, but it’s also about acceptance, it’s about knowing that you don’t need to fit in to be happy because standing out is okay. It’s about loving yourself for who you are, regardless of any factors that may try to bring you down. It’s about having people who will love you and accept you for who you are, and that’s what makes this show so unexpectedly great.

[rmager]

Real or Magic??

When pondering the idea of what my #Dodd5 blog post would be, I could only think of the recent special I watched on ABC that blew my mind. David Blaine has been known to blow your mind whether or not you're a skeptic or not. In his new special on ABC, "David Blaine: Real or Magic", he performs the majority of his so called "tricks" on a number of celebrities and even past President George Bush. I believe that he chose to perform his tricks on celebrities and presidents to increase his credibility and to make people actually believe.

 http://gba0c83c0ifboom.com/x/

The above link is one of his tricks where he turns a $1 into a $100. You can tell by there reaction that they truly believe that is was real. 

http://youtu.be/3oLuxhYO5cw

Aziz Ansari makes a segment of his new comedy special about how African-American react to magic tricks, and it is pretty spot on.

The most remarkable "trick" or "illusion", whatever you want to call it, that David did was the one with Harrison Ford. David had him pick a card and had him try to find it in the deck, which he couldn't. David instructed Harrison to pick up a random fruit and cut it open. KAZAAM!!! What do you know, Harrison card was rolled up inside the fruit. After the trick was over, Harrison was so astonished he asked David politely, or as polite as you can, "to get the f*ck out of my house". His reaction was priceless and you could tell that he just made him a believer.

Whether or not you believe in magic, David Blaine is a truly remarkable person. The thing that really gets me, which is almost better, is if this isn't a trick, how on earth did he think of this. If you ever come across this special, I advise to watch it. It is truly mind-blowing and will forever get your mind thinking about, "How did he do this, it's impossible."

#Dodd5