Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Let's talk about net neutrality, guise.

I don't know a much about government, law-making, or politics, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. (I should let you know now that I hate that expression.)

Earlier today, the FCC approved new net neutrality regulations "designed to prevent large telecommunications companies from squashing competitors." My initial reaction to the headlines were "YAY NET NEUTRALITY," because the media makes it sound like a total party, man. All talking about how it's a measure for the rights of the little people posting content on the internet.

Corporations and groups of people have banded together to support net neutrality and what it represents. Everyone loves the idea of a free and open web. A medium in which one can express one's speech, creativity, talents, and nonsense. Net neutrality would mean that no ISPs are allowed to charge users to access certain websites and services, while making other lesser known websites slower or inaccessible. A lack of net neutrality would allow for a tiered internet in which one would have to pay extra to access other content (or websites), kind of like today's cable television models.

When the FCC voted for net neutrality today, it led us a step closer to the ideal model for a free and open web. But let's keep in mind this is just as much a victory as it is a loss. While I'm glad the government is making rules in regards to the equality of access to information online, the internet should stay free and open as it (sorta) is now. This law can mean more government control of online content in the future. If enough people that actually know how the internet works are making these laws and regulations, it can turn out to be a positive shift. For now, I really don't want large corporations to fuck with my internet experience. Let the trolls troll and the amateur content creators spread their work.

At this point, I don't know much about the FCC's regulations. It may have been no big deal at all. Or could have been something huge. Once I get around to it, I'll write a follow-up. Just wanted to get the topic going. What do you guys think about net neutrality?

A few days ago, before (and after) the midnight release of "Tron: Legacy"

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Earlier today, my mom told me to clean my room AND CLEAN IT WELL.

Me: lolwut. Why can't I just halfassedly clean it, like I usually do?
Mom: Your aunts and cousins from Mexico are coming over. They're sleeping in your room.
Me: But... what if they find stuff I have in my room that I don't want them to see?
Mom: Pft. Like what?
Me: My vibrator
Mom: O_O
This should have probably been posted on Tumblr. Oh well.
(Note: This all happened in Spanish. Even the "O_O" part.)

---

While we're at it, I'll post a bonus one that was all ready on Tumblr. My mom and I have wonderful talks:
Brother: 10 DAYS TO HARRY POTTER, MOM.
Me: WOOOOOOO!!
Mom: Ugh. What horror.
Me: Psh. I'm gonna start saying that every Sunday before church.
Mom: You're dumb. You need to start thinking about real things, like God. Harry Potter hasn't taught you a thing. You can't obsess over something that isn't real.
Me: But you can?
Mom: What?
Me: ...nothing.

trufax

I don't blog much.
There is a Back to the Future marathon on VH1 right now.
I may watch Tron with Joseph later tonight.
I have been using Foursquare a bit more recently.
It's only because the internet on my phone is faster.
I wonder if the AP Style Book has removed the capitalization of "Internet" yet.
This song is funny if you're into Harry Potter, wrock, and DFTBA Records artists:

I should shower soon.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Dogs + Cats > Fireflies

The world needs more as brilliant and emotive as this one.



The description reads:
i hate this song so i add dog and cat to see if it makes it better. it help a bit i think. i also playd really bad piano.
I'm glad this person decided to add dog and cat. It definitely help a bit, I think. Why can't Owl City be this amazing?

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Voting is a Pleasure

If there's anything that would give adults everywhere the incentive to vote, it's orgasm. I wish I'd climaxed during the '08 elections. (Scratch that. It would've been awkward with my parents there and all.



Anyway. This is an interesting ad by the Young Socialists of Catalonia in Spain. I'm just waiting for somebody to spoof it when Sarah Palin runs for President in 2012.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

This film held a perfect balance of action, humor, romance, and suspense. Err... Why am I writing this like a review? Here's some stuff that stood out to me:

Before the titles appeared
When Harry looked back into the cupboard under the stairs for a few moments, it felt so nostalgic and bittersweet. Maybe it was just me, but I had this creepily realistic sense of how he felt when he saw those toy knights inside the cupboard. Part of me thinks I only notice these things because I've read the books, while part of me hopes it's just outstanding film-making.

For the first time ever, we're shown Hermione's muggle household and bedroom. We see her parents in the living room, talking about Australia. She takes out her wand to erase herself from their memory, knowing that she is about to embark on what is probably the most dangerous quest of her life. This is where we realize that these kids really know what they're up against and are taking the proper precautions as to not hurt anybody else. It's also a great example of how good Hermione is at magic. I'm sure erasing oneself from somebody's memory isn't something you can just learn in charms class.

Every scene with Fred and George in it
I was so glad they kept the "holey" joke in there. Besides being hilariously cute, it served to remind us that the twins are firm believers that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. I was also glad to see they treated the twins as individuals. There was no more of this finishing-each-other's-sentences nonsense.

Ron Weasley's character
If there was anyone that stood out to me particularly, it was Rupert Grint. He stepped up his game by a lot. In the first six films Ron was always funny, silly and made dumb comments. In this one, he grew into someone who knew he had priorities in life and that didn't want to be wasting his time with friends while he had family in danger. He finally started to think about the consequences of what he was doing. However cowardly he was in having left Harry and Hermione, he naturally made up for it by... well, killing a freakin' Horcrux and saving Harry's life.

And because I'm biased, I loved watching scenes where Ron and Hermione show their true feelings for each other. Including, but not limited to: the Horcrux revealing he had worries about Harry and Hermione having feelings for each other, watching Ron be jealous of Harry and Hermione when they were together, Ron being worried when Hermione was tortured, Ron admitting that they wouldn't last two days without her . . . The list can go on.

Dobby!
I love Dobby so much. So so so much. So cute and cheesy and funny. I remember even squealing when the first trailer was released and he made an appearance. Of course, I knew what was coming and I emotionally prepared myself for it. "Such a beautiful place to be with friends." Tear.

--

If you want to hear me discuss this more from a person-who-can't-separate-the-book-from-the-movie point of view, be on the lookout for my vlog later today. In it, I discuss what I saw, what I liked, and what I would've like to have seen. (I'll add it to the end of this post once it's uploaded. Beware: It's almost ten minutes long.)

Update: The video is up!


If there's any particular scene you'd like to discuss, feel free to leave a comment and we can talk on there.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

From Tubes to Waves

Earlier today, the Sons of Admirals song "Here Comes My Baby" was featured on a UK radio station for the first time ever. It  normally isn't news to me that a song is on the radio, but I thought this particular case was special. The Sons of Admirals is composed of four YouTubers (Alex, Charlie, Tom, and Ed) who decided to bring their musical talents together and create a work of their own. It was originally supposed to be a side project, but ended up turning into something bigger as a result of their combined online following. I think it's pretty awesome that four friends/musicians/youtubers could accomplish something like this.

I've been subscribed to Alex and Charlie for a while, and found Tom and Eddplant through them. Not that they're super popular or totally mainstream, but it's been pretty awesome watching their careers grow throughout the years. Last year, Alex and Charlie took part in a project called Chart Jackers, where they were trying to raise money for Children In Need by getting an original song to hit #1 on the UK charts. While they didn't accomplish this, they did manage to raise a good amount of cash for the charity and make it to #1 on the indie charts. I hope the Admirals continue to make music together and maybe and do a similar charity project in the future. It seems that by now the guys have had enough experience to know the power of the internet and that the power can be used for good. With enough new media and music industry knowledge, they can figure out how to get to No. 1 (or at least be very close to the top) if they wanted to.

In related news... ALL CAPS, a music duo that also came from ye ole' tube, managed to take the #1 spot in electronic albums on iTunes today for their album titled "lowercase". That's pretty awesome. (It's also kind of ironic because it's an acoustic album.)  I've also been subscribed to Luke and Krsitina on YouTube for a while, and they're both pretty rad. I watched them perform at ROFLCOPTOUR and VidCon 2010,  which were just loads of fun and gobs of awesome. It's obvious they genuinely enjoy what they do and they're proud of how far they've made it, especially since they used to only make music together for fun. With the launch of their new album, they also released two music videos: one about Pokemon and one about The Hunger Games. Both clever songs and videos, though I would have preferred the Pokemon song to be electronic. It would've suited the video a lot better.. Nonetheless, still good stuff. I wish them both the best of luck on their musical endeavors. If you get the chance, go check them out at the Triple Rainbow Awesome Tour.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Another blog post about blog... posts. I need to stop doing that.

Just thought I'd drop by  for a bit and post a short blog. This is the real me. You won't be hearing from me often I'm afraid, as pen and paper are my priority at the moment*. Nobutsrsly. I wanted to make one last post before I turned 20.

I've never been a dedicated blogger, but I feel that blogging was the one thing that I've been doing consistently online through all my years as a teenager**. While every website, forum, and social network have evolved, the blog has always been here for me. I've jumped from one site to another, depending on where the crowd was. I've been a part of different communities online, but never stuck to just one. And even though I've transitioned between LiveJournal, MySpace Blogs, WordPress, and Blogger, I've made it a point to move all my old posts over to whatever new platform I choose to use. Even my embarrassing private ones. I want to make sure that wherever I go online, I'm able to access bits of my old self. I want to be able to use this as a time capsule. All my old old old posts are set to private because 1) no one wants to read about a whiny early teen and 2) I shouldn't have been revealing that much information about myself at that age to begin with. Maybe someday I'll look back at posts from today and realize that no one wants to read these either. But that will be just fine with me because every time I look back at old posts I realize "Man, I was stupid. I'm so glad I'm not like that anymore." I realize that even if I don't notice it, I have matured and I'm okay with the person I'm growing up to be. That said, if you're reading this, thanks. There really is no reason why you should be sitting down and watching me contemplate crap that probably makes no difference to you. You could've gone the rest of your life not knowing about my fangirlgasms, mishaps, and general nonsense. I really do appreciate each and every person that reads these posts. I know there aren't that many of you, but... if you took a few minutes out of your schedule to do it when you could have easily been doing anything else, that's saying something. I appreciate you.

Also, thank you blogging platforms. You've given me somewhere to vent when no one else was there, or when I was afraid to talk to actual people because I knew how harshly I could've been judged. What an odd thing to thank. Blogging platforms. As if they have feelings and shit. Haaa.What the heck am I even saying anymore? Thanks, internet. I can honestly say you made my teenage years.

Random tidbit of the [yester]day: I watched the Britney Spears episode of Glee and it was awesome.
Last coffee shop visit: The Coffee Bean in Hollywood, Ice Blended Pumpkin (Fall is an awesome month for caffeined goods)

* I'm kidding, btw. I don't even like writing all that much. Context.
** Okay, not ALL my years. I wrote my first blog post at 14.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

HELLO SEPTEMBER.

First post of September and we're already twelve days into the month! Good job, Rey. Now,
let's take a look at the Things You Might Have Missed Since My Last Post (AKA "Things I post on Facebook/Twitter" AKA "ReyNews") in reverse-chronological order. Weeeeee.

  • I got a haircut. Now I look like this:
  • I was sick for a few days. It sucked.
  • Somebody figured out what font point we'd need to use if we wanted to type out the word "helvetica" between Earth and the moon. It's really cool and really pointless. (Actually, it's not pointless at all. It's 282.6 billion points. But let's not get technical.)
  • This video was posted. It's awesome.
    • It reminded me of this video... which is also awesome.
  • Apple announced some new products, which I'm not gonna type about because I want to keep this short. I will, however, talk about their new social network for music. It's called Ping. It's somewhat of a cross between Last.fm and MySpace Music, except you can only access it through iTunes. I upgraded my iTunes and got a Ping account, just to see what it was like. Don't really like it. Not enough to navigate through. It made me feel trapped. I don't like feeling trapped. Especially with social media. Totally defeats the purpose. I'll continue to use last.fm to share music (and for it's Pandoraness) for now.
  • I posted a tweet about DFTBA artist Mike Lombardo, and he responded to it via video. Freaking awesome. This is one of the reasons I love some of these YouTube artists. I appreciate the ones that don't act like they're too cool to respond.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

ReyNews Fail + Books

There were seriously no news posts this past week that caught my attention enough for me to even link on twitter. What the heck, world? Be more exciting (to me), please.

On the updates-on-Reyna's-life front: I finally read "Mockingjay". (SPOILER WARNING.) Most people talked about how they thought the book and its ending were brilliant and left them speechless. I feel bad that I don't share these feelings. It wasn't anything I didn't expect or was surprised by. I remember predicting Prim's fate, and felt a little bad that I was right about it. I figured from the start this series wouldn't end in a happily ever after. I'm glad it didn't. I'm not gonna post an in-depth analysis until  I read it a second time around (which might not be for a long time). It released at such an awkward time of my life that the last half didn't get the emotions out of me the way it should have. The hopelessness. The grief. Shit, I wasn't even enthralled enough to have finished it in one sitting like everyone else did.

The upside about having read this book and the previous two --along with having recently bought a Kindle -- was that it got me slowly back into the habit of reading. I finished "Mockingjay" midday yesterday, and now I'm a quarter way through "Eat, Pray, Love." I've been seeing this book on display at Barnes & Noble for the past two years and figured that I might as well give it a read now that the movie's out and all. I must say, I didn't always want to read this book because the words "Pray" and "Love" is in the title. I knew they'd be symbolic, but they automatically gave me the impression that the book would focus a lot religion, which would just annoy me. But I like what I've read so far. I was never much of a religious person to the point where Jesus is answer to everything, and it makes me glad this book is much more about spirituality, having a positive mindset about life, and enjoying its simple pleasures.

My next venture will probably be "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," as it's also been on display forever and I haven't gotten a chance to read it..

I don't know how I keep up with the world sometimes. Listening to daily podcasts, catching up on my reading, watching YouTube subscriptions, reading blogs. Information overload. I guess I used my reading to make up for the fact that there was nothing newsworthy (IN THE WORLD OF REYNA) going on this week.

Random tidbit of the day: I really really want to learn French.
Last coffee shop visit: The Coffee Bean in East LA, Chai Latte.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

ReyNews Roundup

I've been meaning to use my blog to archive news posts and other media from websites that I visit frequently. I link to most of these things on Facebook, but 1) not everyone can see them because I don't add people that I don't talk to and 2) I want them to be somewhere more permanent. I'll post links to stories that caught my attention every few days. Most of these will be stuff I discover through my favourite blogs and publications. The majority of my posts will have to do with: technology, Harry Potter, TV shows I like to watch, and random weirdness.

I'll start off today by posting stuff I linked on Facebook the last two weeks, in reverse chronological order. Each will have a brief explanation. Okay? Okay.

I <3 FOXCONN
Foxconn is a manufacturing company in China responsible for making iPhones and other gadgets. Their employees have been known to commit suicide. The company has been boasting recently about how they installed safety nets for any employees that try to jump off buildings. Fuckin' safety nets to prevent their workers from dying, guys! How about... better working conditions and higher wages? ANYWAY. What I found Ridikkulus about this story was that Foxconn employees had a freaking RALLY to raise morale after the suicides. Whaaaat. Don't party, assholes. Mourn. Or at least cut back on the "I [Heart] Foxconn" shirts.

xoxo, Gossip Girl

The promo for Season 4 is out and it is awesome. I've been wanting to learn French for a while, and this made me want to do it even more. ReyFact: Helvetica Neue (Light) is probably my favourite font ever. I don't know much about typography, but it either is or is very similar to the one used on the GG logo.

Googlerizon Tablet
I doubt I'm gonna buy one because, well, I don't have the money for gadgets right now. But I'm sure it'll be awesome once the specs are released. I kinda wish tablet devices were common already. I'm tired of this iPad hype and wish netbooks would die already. Not that I don't love my netbook. It's so cute ^_^.

Harry Potter College Course
I know where I wanna transfer now. That is all.

Rammstein - El Sonidito

I could NOT stop laughing when I saw this. I think the best viral videos I've seen are the ones that I discover only because of my culture. This goes right up there with "La Caida de Edgar." Even if you aren't Mexican, this is probably funny... right? I mean, you can tell what they're supposed to sound like based on their expressions and attire. Then it pops out with the most annoying (and brilliant) song in the world. Ah, I could not ask for more.

The Big Bang 2

Charlie McDonnell is one fourth of a Time Lord rock band -- they play songs about Doctor Who -- called Chameleon Circuit that I love very much. I squealed when I saw this video in my subscription box because 1) Chameleon Circuit will probably be back with another album soon, and 2) he used the melody from the 5th series. I love it so much when they use music from the actual Doctor Who soundtrack and make it their own. That's probably why "An Awful Lot of Running" is my favourite Chameleon Circuit song. This new one is a VERY VERY VERY CLOSE second. OH MY GOD HE'S WEARING A FEZ.OH MY GOD HE'S WEARING A FEZ.OH MY GOD HE'S WEARING A FEZ.

Google & Verizon Discuss Tiered Interwebz
Since this was posted, the story has developed a lot and it may not be as bad as it sounds. This was the initial reaction I posted on Facebook, though: Google, I love you. Verizon, you're awesome. BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! >_< No no no prioritization. It's hard enough to let the internet stay a democratic medium when we already have corporations monopolizing the cloud. Don't let the co's with money dictate the speed/quality of our content. I like net neutrality :(
-----


Edit: I noticed after posting this that TWO of these stories talk about Google and Verizon together. I bet they're down for DP. ...or they want tiered internet to work on wireless internet so their tablets sell better than Apple's. Hmm. Yes, Reyna. Because the SOLE PURPOSE of doing away with net neutrality is to sell a tabled devise. Yeah.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Video Grievances

I've been meaning to update on here more often, but... Well, I guess I have no real excuse. This is the one medium where I can't really complain about how my internet speed won't let me post, as has been the case with YouTube lately.

I went to ROFLCOPTOUR a few weeks ago and have been meaning to upload those clips for a while now. My original plan was to upload short clips of the performances I got footage to my main channel of and then link those clips to the longer versions on my alternate channel. Unfortunately, my internet speed has downgraded and apparently it would take 200 minutes to upload a three-minute clip. Even if I had the patience to wait that long, I wouldn't do it, on principle. The principle being: nobody in this world deserves to have internet speeds that slow. Hahaha. Yes, I am that bitter.

I've also been considering not posting on WTVlog anymore for that same reason. I don't want to have to go to the The Coffee Bean every week just so I can upload a little video every week. As much as I love making and editing them, it's starting to feel like a chore. My computer isn't exactly the newest and fastest piece of technology, either. It takes about about two hours to render a three-minute long video in 780p. Add that to the amount of time I spend recording the video (5-10 minutes), editing the video (45 mins-1 hour), and uploading it (200 minutes now, apparently), and it just doesn't seem worth it to upload a pesky three-minute video anymore.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

An unchanging, unending midnight.

Not that I care much for The Twilight Saga, but I wish I were going to a midnight screening of Eclipse tonight.

Sometimes it bothers me how many cultural differences there are between my parents and myself. I remember wanting to watch "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" at a midnight release party and not getting the opportunity to do so because my parents didn't give me permission to go. This also happened with the midnight release parties for the books, except "Deathly Hallows". Even then, I only went because my brother took me and had to stay the whole time.

They find it really hard to grasp the concept of being part of a fandom or that there is such a thing as a responsible person with a night life. They don't understand that when I want to go to a midnight release party/screening, the movie or book aren't the only things I'm paying for. I'm also paying for the experience. In fact, those 30 minutes before the movie begins and the thirty minutes after it ends are probably the best part of the experience. Watching a movie the moment it releases after such long anticipation and excitement, in the company of people who are just as excited does not compare to watching it online at your computer desk, or even going to the movies during the day a few days after it releases. It's just a whole different atmosphere that you can't take advantage of unless you're in the right place at the right moment.

P.S. The title was from Smeyer's "Midnight Sun." The best quote I could get with the word "midnight" in it besides: "We're coming back by midnight Sunday. It's up to you if you want to leave." Go figure.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

He is like fire, burning through time.

Whether Chuck Bass is passionately kissing Nate Archibald on Gossip Girl* or Dr. Cox is quitting the hospital due to a faulty organ donor on Scrubs, I'm type to squeal and yell at my television screen (or computer monitor) when something exciting happens. Let me tell you, today's season finale of Doctor Who had me yelling all over the place. Though I've only been watching this show for half a year, it has me hooked. The subtle humor, cheesiness, and brilliant story lines really know how to grab me. I almost want to go back and watch the original series just to see if there were any allusions or jokes that I missed this time around.

I've heard it said that no one ever forgets their first Doctor. Though I watched every episode from the time of the ninth Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston), I don't feel like he's my first. And as much as I absolutely love the 10th Doctor's (David Tennant) hilarity, brilliance, and dashing good looks, he's still not the Doctor I claim to be my first. Nope, my first is Matt Smith. He's the first I actually had to, well, wait for**. As in, I actually had to wait for every episode to air on television before watching it. The series I'd seen prior to this had already released, and I was able to binge on episodes without any of that waiting crap. Matt Smith was the first one whom I had to be patient with between episodes, which made them all the more exciting and hilarious.

While many didn't think he was fit for the role at first (and my friend Luis still doesn't think he is), I thought he made an amazing Doctor. If the change actor wasn't enough for a lot of people, the character had a lot of quirks after his regeneration, which I thought were what made him hilarious and set him apart from the rest. The whole bit about not knowing how to act human in The Lodger had me rofling*** the whole time. He's just too oblivious for his own good sometimes. In contrast, he also has those moments of "You can't do shit to this planet! You know why? 'cause I'm the motherfucking Doctor. *cue theme music for series 5*" They had one of these at the end of The Eleventh Hour, and in the middle of The Pandorica Opens. Both times, his enemies agree "Oh, shit. He is the Doctor. Let's gtfo. kthxbai." It was brilliant. I absolutely loved it.

I think I've babbled enough about this man for one day. If you'd like to continue a conversation about the 11th Doctor, you can just drop a comment.

Good day, everyone.

Bowties are cool.

*Which hasn't actually happened yet. But hey, a girl can dream.
**Reyna Villa: the girl who waited. See what I did there?!
***YES. I was literally. ROLLING ON THE FLOOR. No, not really.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Formspring: FAQ

In correlation with my previous post, I also get asked a lot of simple questions repeatedly. The type of questions that would be on an FAQ page if I had one. Here are a few of them, just in case you were wondering.
Do you record your videos when you are home alone? Do you lock yourself in your room and then record? Has your mom EVER walked in on you while recording or has she ever said "Y esta loca, que chingados esta haciendo?" [Translation: "What the fuck is this crazy girl doing?"]
There's usually people home. I do lock myself in my room, haha. And YES my mom has told me similar things. At first she'd be all wtf about it. Nowadays, I think my family's used to me grabbing my camera, taking it somewhere, and talking to it. They know I frequently post videos online by now.
How do you make your backgrounds?
I use Adobe Photoshop CS3. I made a template for myself that I base all my backgrounds off of. (In case you haven't noticed, they all kinda look the same.)
Read Bran Hambric? If so, what'd you think.
Yes, I did. I thought it was a clever little story. A lot of people were saying it's like a ripoff of Harry Potter, but Kaleb Nation hasn't even read the series. I know I've referred to it before as "JK Rowling meets Lemony Snicket." It was witty in its own cute little way. I actually had a blog in which I was gonna write about it, just as Kaleb Nation did with Twilight on TwilightGuy.com (except I wasn't so G-rated.) I stopped after like, two summaries: http://jabranblog.wordpress.com. Bahaha.
Didn't you just get a mooncup? Does it work well?
I did. I might make a review on my blog or on YouTube about it after I've used it for a couple more periods. I can tell you this for now: It takes a while to figure out how to put it in. I like this form of fluid storage better than that of a tampon (I haven't used pads since high school). I still haven't really gotten the hang of removal, though. Takes me a while. I'll let you know if I'd recommend it after I've figured out the proper way to take it out.
why /this/ instead of *this*?
Because *this* is what I use when I'm actioning something. (example: *eats carrot waffles*) /This/ is used for emphasis because it tilts, like italics. It takes the place of when I would use italicized text in rich text format. When I /really/ want to emphasize something, though... I use THIS.
Do you write fanfiction?
I haven't written fanfiction since middle school. I wrote a Harry Potter one that NO ONE will read ever again. Thank goodness I used a different screen name back then.
Why did your parents name you Reyna?
They wanted to name me Cristina, but some chick my grandma didn't like was named Cristina. They settled for Reyna, after a relative of mine named Reynaldo.
Glee in general?
I like it for entertainment purposes. Really enjoy the subtle humor. Great writers. Awesome musical choice. Very talented performers. Not the best show on earth, but definitely worth watching. While many (@sims) think it's stupid and that they ruin some truly great songs by having teens worship the covers as though they are the original songs, I like it because they cover things I like. I enjoy both the Glee and original versions for different reasons.

Also, it helps that the cast is sexy.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Formspring: Good Questions

I usually go on Formspring to answer dumb questions that people ask because they're bored and feel like being assholes. Sometimes, however, I get legitimate questions that I spend more time answering (or at least thinking about) than the usual ones. I'm posting some of them here because Formspring just doesn't do them justice. [Note: I added more to my original responses on some of these.]
What do you think the youngest age someone should have sex at?
There is no right or wrong age. They're just numbers. However, I do believe there is a right time. Age has nothing to do with it. (Though, I don't really condone having sex when you're too young to even consider the consequences.) As long as one is prepared emotionally, physically, and mentally. If you know what you're doing, taking the right precautions, and you know this isn't going to emotionally hurt you, you're ready. But for the sake of this question, sixteen sounds good.
Have you ever been in love? Do you believe in love? Do you love your fans?
I have loved, but I have never been in love. As for whether I believe in love... I suppose, yeah. There are different kinds of love (such as the kind a mother feels for her child, or the general appreciation one can have for their best friend [see: Will Grayson, Will Grasyon]). Then there's also what happens when one is attracted to another in a romantic/intellectual/physical way. I don't think people have soul mates or anyone that they are /meant/ to be with. But I do believe in relationships that work out because both parties genuinely enjoy each other's company and learn to work things out because they want to, not because they think they're meant to be. I hope this makes sense. Now I feel like I'm babbling.

I wasn't aware that I had fans. I just call them followers. I love/appreciate each and every one of them for keeping up with me through all my stupid moments of "Shit, I accidentally threw my tray into the trash can at Taco Bell." :)
Have you ever pretended to be someone you aren't to get people to like you? I am considering doing it, because I have about 2 friends.
I haven't, and wouldn't suggest it. I don't have that much of a social life, but I'm happy with what I do have. Less friends = less pointless drama. You need people that like you for you, not who you pretend to be. Find somebody who genuinely enjoys your company and whose company you enjoy. Friendships are hardly ever planned. 
But what if nobody actually likes me for me? I have suffered from depression/suicidal thoughts for about 4 years (i'm 13).
[I'm assuming this one was a follow-up to the previous question.] You've got a long life ahead of you. Don't waste it on thoughts about ending it. Embrace what the world has to offer. Life is what you make of it. If you make mistakes, learn from them; don't regret them. In fact, don't even consider them "mistakes." They're merely choices. You'll eventually meet people that will want to talk to you because they like you or find you interesting. 13 was a very stupid age for me, but I eventually developed more and more as a person and people either liked it or hated it. If I changed, it was because it gradually happened or certain events in my life caused me to see things in a different light. Not because I wanted people to like me.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Girl of the 21st Century

As we were watching the Germany vs. Australia World Cup match, my dad was telling me about how he'd always thought telecommunication interesting as a kid. He told me he didn't pursue a career in it because he didn't think it would really evolve beyond telephone calls. The way he saw it, watches were the way of the future. He said "As a kid, I thought people in the future would have little television screens on their watches. Nowadays they're only worn by very rich people for show or very poor people who can't even afford cell phones."

We continued to talk about how we saw the "future," technology-wise and I once again realized how disappointed I am with our technological progress. I thought that by now everyone would communicate though screens instead of holding a phone to their ear, kinda like they did on that Disney Channel movie "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century."

The recent release of the HTC EVO and the announcement of the iPhone 4 made me realize how slow the process of implementing advanced technology into every-day society is. Because while we do now have phones with which people can visually communicate via Skype or whatever client is provided, I know this won't be something we commonly see within the next year or two. Maybe I'm just impatient, but I always thought that people would be doing that regularly by now and it bothers me that we're not. It feels like everyone in America should be required to own some sort of smartphone or not own one at all. (Ironically, I still only own a dumb messaging phone.) It also annoys me how phones with cameras on both sides are being advertised as devices that emphasize video communication as though it were some sort of crazy new idea. Like we didn't already have iChat and Skype.

Don't even get me started on universal WiFi. I know there is greater technology out there than simple touchscreen devices with internet and video messaging. I want to know what that technology is. We need to start gravitating towards what we don't already have so that what we're just about to get becomes the norm.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Putting the Sans in Comic Sans

Last year, I attempted writing a novel for NaNoWriMo. Boy, did I fail at that. My writing style is still very horrendous and very... me, and my story had no real ending. I found part of this story on my flash drive not too long ago. The more I looked at it, the more I realized how bad it was and how I was pretty much only writing it because I needed somewhere to vent my frustrations about a specific occurrence in my life at the time.*

I found this dumb little excerpt I'd written from that story. While my feelings about the stuff I had going on at the time have definitely changed, it seems my (still very uninformed) views on typography and web/graphic design seem to stay the same.
I was always more of a Facebook person myself, but I noticed how much you learn about people by looking through their MySpace profiles. See, the thing is you can tell a lot about a person simply by looking at their layout. For example, a person with a red backgound, bold green text in Comic Sans, sparkly flashing images, and unaligned tables is likely to be young, immature, and probably stupid. On the other hand, a person with a dark blue background, white tables, dark ten-point Verdana text, and images that aren’t too distracting is likely to be organized, mature, and more stable than others.
Yup. I'd still say the same today. Except, I probably wouldn't be interested in anyone who still uses MySpace to begin with. Ha.

*Translation: I was a whiny girl complaining about a stupid boy.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Twitter: Applications and Websites

(Note: I wrote this back in December and never posted it. Some of the information might be outdated.)

I've noticed a lot of people have been asking what the benefits are of using a Twitter application on your desktop instead of just twittering* on the website itself. Have no fear, reinix is here! I'll tell you from personal experience the pros and cons of using Twitter.com versus desktop applications, as well as other websites.

First off, let me explain what each of them is. Twitter.com is the original website where you can post your updates, as well as reading others. A Twitter application is one which you can install on your desktop and not have to open a browser to use (e.g. TweetDeck, Seesmic, Thwirl). I'm not sure what to name the next, but there are also other websites in which you can use Twitter instead of logging in through twitter.com (e.g. Seesmic Web, Brizzly).

Twitter.com
Pros - It's really simple to use. You just log in and then you're free to read tweets and easily post your own by typing your update in the text box at the top. On the left-hand side bar you have your basic services that twitter has to offer: @replies, direct messages, retweets, lists, trending topics, and of course the handy dandy search bar. Pretty straightforward. You just click one and it lets you see whatever it is you clicked. It's also pretty cool that if you leave the homepage window open (after you have signed in), the the tweet feed always refreshes itself when someone posts an update.
Cons - If you have a lot of followers or follow a lot of users, clicking through each thing can get annoying. Some people may gave enough followers sending them @replies and retweeting them that they can easily miss tweets from people they actually talk to. The thing about the internet today is that people want to see everything in an instant, without having to click through links.

Desktop Applications for Twitter
Pros - They only require a just a one-time install, and you can set them up to open when you turn on your computer. The bigger ones, like TweetDeck and Seesmic, pretty much have the potential to do everything you could possibly want to do on Twitter. They're organized in columns that let you see everything (your timeline, @replies, and direct messages) at once. You can even integrate your Twitter lists into separate columns so you're able to read only updates from certain groups of people. And of course, it gives you the option to send @replies, retweet posts, send direct messages, add tweets to your favorites, and the rest of the basic functions of Twitter.
Cons - Twitter has a limit in the amount of times you can request information for them. At the moment, the limit is 150 times per hour. Because of this, those who follow a lot of people or browse through the app a lot to look through profiles and whatnot often exceed their rate limit. This means that once you have reached 150 requests, you have to wait 'til the hour is over in order to receive updates on time.

Websites Integrated With Twitter
Pros - You don't have to install software, and they are accessible anywhere with an internet connection. Customizable layouts.
Cons - Just like desktop apps, there are limits to the API. Sometimes services try to avoid it by only showing you a few tweets. It gets annoying.

Smartphone Applications

Err... right now I'm stuck with a simple messaging phone on which I can only use Twitter Mobile. If/when I get a better phone, I'll do a review on my favorite apps or whatever. There's a lot to choose from, especially for iPhone users.

*When I say "twittering," I mean using Twitter in general to read and post updates (and/or lurk people you are interested in ;]). I am aware that the term for posting updates is "tweeting." I will use it when it applies.

I can expand more on all of this, but I decided to just give you guys the basics. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below :)

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Importance of Feedback

Remember April 30, when I said I'd post a blog regularly every five days? Obviously, I failed in that regard. I realized how hard it is to actually find time to blog and topics to blog about. Especially last month, since I was attempting vlogging every day, and had a bunch of exams and assignments for whatever reason. I also realized the other day that YouTube takes up a lot of my time. Despite the fact that I hardly post videos on my personal channel, I make at least two videos a week; one for WTVlog, and one for reinixtonks.

I was legitimately surprised when a few people noticed I hadn't posted a thing since April. I didn't think anyone actually came on here. The lack of comments makes me think no one does. There's something about comments that actually motivates people to put up more content. Sure, anyone can know how many hits their pages get by just looking through the statistics, but they don't really know people stuck around and read what they had to say. And even if people with websites had crazy stalker stats that told them how long others stayed on a page, they don't know what these others thought of the page.

Don't underestimate the importance of feedback, kids. (Okay, this is the first and last time I refer to my readers as "kids." It seems condescending. Also, I'm only 19 years old. Who am I to call others "kids"?) Feedback has a huge influence on how webmasters run their sites and how companies improve their products. There's no way to know people don't like their content (or products) if they don't tell them.

Getting no feedback can be good and bad. On one hand, it tells you that you don't suck enough for others to tell you that you do. On the other, it means people don't like your work enough to tell you they do. It's pretty bittersweet. And while many don't like it when others tell them what to do, the opposite goes for communities on the internet. Those involved in online communities make a lot of their projects for their audiences, not themselves. How are they supposed to know what to give the audiences if they don't tell them? I guess that's one of the things I love about New Media and Web 2.0. (Is that redundant? New Media AND Web 2.0? Nowadays, they seem to be one in the same.) They put a lot of emphasis on feedback, communication, and community building. This really does help websites and communities flourish and become successful.

So next time you visit a site you like or watch a video that makes you laugh, don't be afraid to tell the people that made it how much you enjoy their work. It encourages them to publish more and better content.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Hello, internet.

Now that I have a domain name, I feel I need to update this thing regularly. Successful bloggers have a specific audience and write regularly on one specific topic. You've got your mommy bloggers, your bookworms, your foodies, and then those who blog about whatever their current obsession is. People tend to take one aspect of their life and focus their blog/website on that. Personally, I have no idea what to sell myself as. I'm just Reyna. Just Reyna. I'm usually either at school or at home, in front of a computer screen. Not the most exciting person in the world.

Since I can't stick to just one part of me and write about it, I guess I'll be using this as a personal blog for now. Y'know, the type where I talk about... well, myself. Just as I've been doing for ages. Since my last two posts were on the 20th and the 25th, and this one is on the 30th, I figure I'll start regularly posting on here every five days. Well, not every FIVE days. But every day that is a multiple of five. Yes? No? How does that sound? Who even reads my blogs? Unless I'm bored (or close friends with a person), I tend to have a TL;DR attitude when it comes to other peoples' blog posts.

ANYWAY. ENOUGH NEGATIVE NANCYNESS.

Let me tell you about this blog/page/site/whatever-you-wanna-call-it. On the sidebar, I recently added links to other social networking sites I am part of. Feel free to follow/add/stalk me on those. Under the header, there are links to other pages that are also part of this site. One of them is "East LA Creepers" and the other is "Twitterms." There's an explanation of each on both pages, so I won't summarize them for you here. I'll add some more pages as I feel I need them. For now, that is all the navigation potential on here.

I feel I've wasted enough of your time for today. Look out for my next post on April 5th. It'll most likely be about Doctor Who because the new season will have begun one or two days prior.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

How old is Harry Potter, really?



Yes, I know there are inconsistencies in the series, but this is the generally accepted conclusion within the Harry Potter fandom as to the time frame in which the series takes place.

Background music: "Back to School" by Harry and the Potters

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Are you master of your domain?

I just had to make a Seinfeld reference.

I finally bought ReynaVilla.com! I'd been wanting to buy my own personal domain since I was about twelve years old. I remember all when I would create/edit/upload stuff to GarfieldPercussion.com and GarfieldIndependent.org, wishing I had my own little place on the internet, since I pretty much spent all my free time on it. I'm not popular AT ALL on the web, but I figured that I kinda owed this to myself.

Now that I think of it, my life since elementary school has been just a whole lot of web phases. As a kid, I felt sooo cool when I got my first hotmail address.Sometime in middle school my made my first little Harry Potter website, hosted on FreeWebs (which is now just webs.com), and spent an insane amount of time on Harry Potter fansites. It was also around ths time that I made a small site where I posted lame little graphics I made, most of which were icons/avatars. From there, I went on to LiveJournal and got a blog on there. Not much came from that, except a bunch of ranting and complaining. When my freshman year of high school arrived, I got a MySpace account. Ohh, how I'd spend heaps of time angling my photos appropriately (MySpace-appropriate; "the angles"), posting bulletins, commenting photos, and making my own layouts. Heck, I even made layouts for friends. It wasn't that hard to figure out how to alter them if you had prior knowledge of HTML and CSS. Two or three years after this, I got an account on Facebook. Oh, gosh. I would update my status on there like it was nobody's business. (Which, really... it was nobody's business. Whatever that means.)

Nowadays, my time online is spent on YouTube and Twitter. I use YouTube mostly as an alternative to blogging. If I'm not in the mood to blog, I usually just make a video and vise versa. I update my Twitter just a tad bit more than I used to update my Facebook during my late high school/early college days. There's just something about instant feedback that I absolutely love. Twitter is the perfect place for that. I consult my followers on there for almost everything. They're truly amazing. It's also fun to see everyone else's muses and rants.

That leads me to today. And I don't mean "today" as in "this era." I mean today. Literally. I bought ReynaVilla.com out of sheer online vanity. I'm hosting my blog on here for now, but who knows what I'll do with it in the future. That's what happens with most of the websites I'm on. I got my Facebook account during my junior year of high schoool, but didn't start using it for another year. Same thing with Twitter. I had the account, and didn't actually use it for a while. I get the feeling that ReynaVilla.com probably just will remain as a site where I post my blogs and link to other accounts, but I'm fine with that. I'm kinda tired of being [WebsiteName] dot com SLASH REINIX. I don't wanna be a slash. I just wanna be me. I also don't want my full name followed by dot com to be owned by anybody else. It's mine mine and only mine.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Oh, hey... I'm on yet another YouTube channel.

This one's a collab channel with three other people. It's called WTVlog. I'll be posting videos on there every Tuesday. This is my first video on there:

Friday, February 19, 2010

Oh, Alzheimer's. You're weird.

I'm only posting this so I can remember every detail of what happened just now, so I can tell my mom about it in the morning... or something like that.

I was sitting in front of my computer screen watching an episode of Doctor Who at around 12:30 am when my grandma walked in, looked at me, and asked why I was up so early. I told her that it wasn't early yet, and I hadn't gone to sleep. She walked back down the hallway and into her room, convincing me that she understood that she was awake at a different time than it really was. Understandable. It happens to everyone at one point or another.

However, she came back out from her room fully dressed five minutes after that. She sat down at the dining room table and set her purse down in front of her. I asked her why she was sitting there, and she told me she was waiting for my uncle to pick her up because he's supposed to get here at about 7:30am. I went on to tell her that there were still seven hours left 'til then and asked if she was gonna wait that long. She just looked at me, dumbfounded. I asked her if she knew what the current time was and she told me it was around seven. Once again, I told her it was past midnight. She didn't believe me. I told her to look out the window, and notice how there's not even a hint of sunlight shining through. She said nothing. I asked her what the time was. Again. She said it was around seven. Again. I asked her if she looked at the clock to check the time. She said she did, and that it was seven. Then I thought to myself Well, maybe her clock is wrong. I led her to her room so she could show me what clock she referenced for the time, and she pointed to it and said "See. It's 7." The clock actually said it was 12:50. I turned on the light so she could see it clearly and made her look at the clock closely, then she finally realized I was right. It was past midnight. It was not seven in the morning.

"Oh. In that case, I'm gonna put my purse away." This was all she said. She then went back into the dining room, picked up her purse, and took it back to her room. She hasn't been out since. (It's 1:05am right now, by the way.)

I find it so weird how that was her only reaction. If it were me, I would've laughed at the situation and said something about how it would've been embarrassing if I'd just gone on thinking it was morning. But, nope. She only said she should put her purse away. What would've happened had I not been here? Would she have sat there and waited seven hours for my uncle to pick her up? It's odd seeing her so... emotionless like that. But I guess that's just what happens when you're old and have Alzheimer's. You don't really care about anything anymore. The good, the bad, the funny, the silly, the scary. Well, maybe the scary. She still says she hears voices talking to her every now and then. For the most part, I can tell they're just her conscience. Though I do remember a particular day in which I'd asked what the voices told her, and it was some pretty malicious shit. I'm not sure what that was all about.

I hope I don't end up this way. If I do, then I hope I have a grandkid who's lame enough to stay up on a computer past midnight to tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Update: Oh! My friend Luis reminded me of this short film when he read my tweets about what happened. (Like usual, I tweeted a play-by-play as this all went down.) It's very... well, just watch it.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Mockingjay!

As you may or may not know, I'm a fan of the Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" trilogy. I never really liked to call myself a fan, but then I realized how excited I got when things like the release date for the final book (August 24th, 2010, by the way) were announced and decided that I am, in fact, a fan.

Scholastic announced the cover and title of the third (and last) installment of the "Hunger Games" trilogy today, and here it is:


I really like it. It's very different from the first two covers, which were much darker and straight-forward. They told me something along the lines of "Here is a mockingjay inside a ring, with some circles in the background. Make whatever you want of that." Book 1 showed us the famous mockingjay pin. Book 2 had an actual mockingjay, but it was just kinda there, flying at about the same angle as the mockingjay from book 1. This time, however, we're presented with a bright mockingjay spreading its wings; exposing itself to the world. Mockingjays have always represented strength, willpower, and hopefulness in this series, and you can be damn sure they'll mean more than just the final book.

Also, note that the background is light blue, and reminiscent of the sky. I get the feeling this is telling us there will be more to explore within the story, both literally and metaphorically. See, this time, Katniss won't be trapped in the Hunger Games arena for the majority of the book. She'll be out there trying to save her district and, by extent, all of Panem. Speaking of her district, I couldn't help but notice the shapes in the background and how the center circle is now broken. To me, the background shapes always represented the districts of Panem and how they're all connected. When I noticed the background of this cover, the first thing that came to my mind was the last line of Catching Fire: "there is no District Twelve." I expect chaos in this book. Lots and lots of chaos.

I can't wait for the release! I'm very excited to see what happens, and also very curious as to how this Katniss-Gale-Peeta love triangle will turn out.

What are your speculations? Are you guys as excited as I am?! :D

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

iPad, State of the Union, Zinn

Well, today was pretty damn interesting in regards to headlines. For me, anyway, since they were on topics that interest me. I don't even know why I'm drawn to certain things, as I'm not one of those hardcore Apple elitists (honestly, the only Apple product I own is an iPod Nano), nor am I very into politics, nor am I a huge history nerd.

I guess I always find new gadgets fun to learn about. I think I just like the idea of maybe owning them one day. I spent the majority of my time during my morning philosophy class keeping up with the long-awaited official announcement of the new Apple tablet, the iPad. I must say, the specs are pretty cool and I'm digging the fact that it (supposedly) has 10-hour battery life. I don't think the iPad is anything... new, since it's been talked about so much. Though, it's definitely steps up from the Amazon Kindle, and pretty much exactly what I expected to come out of Apple: an oversized iPod Touch (BTW, I hate when people refer to it as an iTouch, as there's no such thing as a fucking iTouch) with a few more capabilities. It's still pretty cool, and I wouldn't mind owning one. I wouldn't recommend getting it instead of a Macbook, though. Instead of a Kindle, definitely. Also, the name "iPad" made me picture a feminine sanitary napkin with white earphones attached to it. And once I got over that, it reminded me of pad thai, which made me a bit hungry.

Now, on to the State of the Union address. It was pretty much what I expected. I mean, the only thing that really pertained to me was Obama's announcement of an increase in Pell Grants. Though, this might mean they'll be denying other students of such grants in order to accommodate for those who could use the increase. Sucks for them. Less important things to comment on: Nancy Pelosi blinks a heck of a lot, Obama makes too many jokes about the rivalries between parties. (And by "too many," I think I meant, like "two.")

Lastly, I found out that the noted author and political activist Howard Zinn passed away today, and it actually saddened me a little. I'm not sure if I can call myself a fan of his, but I definitely respected the man. ("The man" as in "Howard Zinn," not society.) Honestly, the only things I know of his opinions come from his book, "A People's History of the United States." It's very biased and leftist, and definitely not something one should read if they want what would be the most accurate account of United States history. Nonetheless, it is a very interesting and good read. (Interesting and good? Really, Reyna? Could your adjectives be any more dull and generic?) Anyway, I didn't think his death would make me feel bad seeing as how I was never that into history and activism. Then I realized that I cared about this because of what I associate this man with. Naturally, when I think of Howard Zinn, I think of "A People's History." I remember having read a chapter or two my sophomore year of high school when I was doing research on God-knows-what. Then junior year came around, and I had to read it for A.P. US History. I found it so much more fun to read than the actual textbook we were using. At the end of my senior year of high school, I asked a few of my teachers to sign books for me. Books I'd read in their classes, that is. There was a teacher, Mr. Woessner, whom I took three classes with. I told him to sign my copy of my Zinn book. I was always fond of this teacher, especially since I was never supposed to have taken A.P. US History with him at all to begin with (but that's a story for another day). Anyway, he signed my copy of "A People's History" and wrote a very endearing note on it. I always respected Mr. Woessner. And, I guess Zinn's death saddened me because I always associated Zinn with Mr. Woessner... which made me feel like part of Mr. Woessner was gone, too.