Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls is a normally very over-dramatic, try-hard show. But one episode really impressed me- more one subtle line within the episode. In "Those Are Strings, Pinnochio", Rory, a super-smart teenager, has been accepted to Yale, but her single mother Lorelai can't afford it. When Rory learns this, she storms off to her room. When asked where she was going, she replied "To rage at God", to which her mother resonds, "Tell her I said hi!" HER! Yessss! I have always hated the stereotypical big old guy with the beard living upstairs. But they challenged the stereotype perfectly and subtly.

Same Love

Oh my goodness... Just as soon as my hope in America was lost (see Bow Chicka Wow Wow by Mike Posner) it was rekindled by this amazing music video. I disliked Mackelmore because of his song "Thrift Shop" but this song and video are amazing. In it, they are arguing for equal rights for ALL people- gay and straight. They feature a young man outside of the stereotypical gay man- a little, artsy, white boy. This boy is African-American and sporty. He spends his entire life feeling less than those around him until he is finally happy, marrying the man of his dreams. The lyrics to this song are fantastic and inspirational and give me hope for our country and our people.

Radio 94.7 is a Sacramento-based radio station that I really like. One of my friends turned me on to it a year ago and I haven't stopped listening since. One of the things that I love the most about the station is their connection to their listeners and what they want. Most commercial breaks are only 60 seconds long, which already makes it better than most of the stations around this region, who have 10 minute long commercial breaks after only a half hour of music. But what really puts them above all others is their texting system. If you like a song, you text them "LIKE" and they remember, playing the song more often if it gets enough likes. If you really hate a song, you text them "DISLIKE", and if they get enough, they will pull the song off the air and never play it again. And, if you really want to, you can become a Radio 94.7 "Insider" or a "VIP." Both get texts from the station about upcoming concerts and oppurtunities to go to these concerts for free or reduced rates. Also, every once in a while, they will have a "Perfect Playlist" where one person picks 5 songs that they love and get them played on the air! I was about to give up on radio until I found this station, and now I am sooooo glad that I didn't.

Candy Crush

My dad and I sat down for our weekly Top Gear showing. The first set of commercials seemed normal until- bam!- a commercial that really confused us. Candy Crush Saga is a game on Facebook that's also available as an app that both my dad and I play. So it was surprising to us when a commercial for it popped up on the tv.

I never expected to see an ad for a Facebook app on tv- I figured they would stick to their own site for marketing. But they were advertising to the perfect group- we watched Top Gear and enjoyed Candy Crush Saga, so they must've had something right in the marketing room. Sadly, the commercial seemed pretty low budget, almost faded, and just plain weird. But hey, I still like the game.

FOTC

New Zealand's 4th most popular comedy folk duo, Flight of the Conchords, are amazing. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement are two of the most comical and entertaining people I have ever seen. They are like a stand-up group, except that they do their comedy through song, making it all the more enjoyable and accessable. They can be super akward and make it totally work. They can take super serious subjects and make an entire room fall off their chairs in laughter. The world needs more comedians and artists like Bret and Jemaine, as they are some of the best ever. It is a complete travesty that their show was cancelled after only two seasons (curse you HBO!). They give off a perfect quirky vibe while they deal with day to day issues, like racist fruit stands and male prostitution. Please enjoy just this one of their many songs and it will hopefully have you hooked.

ALMOND MILK!!!

I was grocery shopping with my dad, just about to check out, when I glimpsed a product I automatically knew that I needed. I didn't know what it was, but the matte packaging with little bits of perfectly placed color and a pretty girl's face made me sure I needed it. I slammed the cart to a stop and literally ran across the aisle to check out what my new favorite drink was. "Oh... It's... Almond milk?" I was quite disappointed. I don't know what I was expecting- maybe juice,  but nothing that it could have been warranted how excited that packaging made me. But it just goes to show you what packaging can do. Bravo, Califia Farms. You got at least one sale off of your packaging alone.

P.S. The almond milk was quite sub-par. DISAPPOINTMENT!

Sparkle and Fade

My new favorite album is Sparkle and Fade by Everclear. Admittedly it isn't exactly new, as it came out two years before I was born. But the songs, especially the lyrics, are amazing. My favorite song on this album would have to be "Pale Green Stars."

This song is about divorce and its effect on children. Not only do I relate to this song because my parents got divorced when I was six and then eight years later my mom got divorced again, but also because of the name of the song- "Pale Green Stars." After my parent's divorce, I had the aforementioned pale green stars above my bed- the glow in the dark universe that accompanied me to sleep every restless night. Another one of my favorite songs on the album is "Strawberry."

While this song is about relapsing, I find it inspirational for whatever I'm doing. Whenever I feel down I just listen to "Strawberry" and realize that I can't fall down now, or else I may never get it. It really gets me back up from the ground whenever I'm feeling down.