In Defense of the Selfie Stick

Oh, lame. I just googled "In Defense of the Selfie Stick" and it turns out I'm not very original when it comes to post titles.

I've been hearing a lot of smack talk about selfie sticks recently and it makes me scared to mention how much I really really want to own one. So because I no longer want to hide my love/want for selfie sticks, here are a few reasons why they are awesome.

1. You know your photos best — Have you ever asked someone else to take a picture of you and you didn't like how it turned out? It was probably out of focus or framed weirdly, or they catch your favorite angle. Even worse, they might've shot it too wide or tall to fit into the perfect Instagram square. With selfie sticks, you are the master of your photo, your focus, and your frame.
2. No fear of losing your phone – (Or GoPro or whatever). One thing that's always made me nervous is giving others my phone/camera. What if they scroll through my photos? What if they drop it? What if as soon as I hand it to them, they run away never to be heard from again?! Nope, the selfie stick gives me peace of mind. At least if someone tried to yank it away from me, it wouldn't be because I willingly handed it to them.
3. You can actually see your surroundings – Personally, I love a good selfie for a profile photo. But when I'm visiting someplace new or experiencing something fun, I want to remember where I was and what was around me. Not just what my hair and makeup looked like. I love seeing myself in the context of my surroundings. Shit, I can't never tell where most of my non-selfie-stick selfies were taken.
4. They're so simple – Seriously. I don't know why they didn't exist before! Literally a stick. Like. What. Gone are the days of taking a bulky tripod with you on a trip to get that perfect shot of you in the mountains. IT'S A PERSONAL MONOPOD! These things are portable, lightweight, easy to use, and... Oh god, I've been writing way too many callouts at work. Help.

Sorrynotsorry, but I love being part of such a self-indulgent generation. 

2014 Goals Recap

Fandom.

I love everything about this. I love fandom and I love love.

Also bonus points for how Scott Pilgrim inspired this is. My favourite movie.

Made me realize that there's something about growing up being part of a fandom (or even growing up on the internet) that you can't get elsewhere. Even the title of this film is worth loving. Every time I've used the expression "I ship it" irl I've had to explain what it means. And people still don't get it. They just give me inquisitive looks. Shit, even the term "irl" is something I have to explain. And then people think I'm weirder than they originally thought I was because I feel the need to differentiate between things that happen online and in real life. But really, I'm just this girl that likes to read and browse and immerse herself in worlds that have expanded far beyond she'd ever imagine.

We all know and love Joey Richter because of A Very Potter Musical, and then we fell in love with Mary Kate Wiles after seeing her fun and quirky portrayal of Lydia Bennett on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. And we all love wizard rock because it's cheesy and awesome and fun to raise your wand up and dance to. And because for maybe a few minutes it takes you away from the real world and all of a sudden you're at Hogwarts, snacking on pumpkin pasties that you bought at Honeydukes last time you visited Hogsmeade... and wow, a lot of places in the Potter universe begin with H. And we make up expressions like "I ship it" and "headcanon" and "OTP." And we write fanfiction, read blogs, listen to podcasts, and watch YouTubers, and follow the creators of said blogs and podcasts throughout their careers.

I'm just having one of those nights where fandom amazes me. How I probably wouldn't be writing this blog without it. How I don't even know if I'd have a blog because one of the main reasons I became "addicted" to the internet at 12 years old was because I went on HarryPotter.com and was active in their forums. Which then led me to make a lil Harry Potter website, which led me to learn web design, which got me into graphic design, which got me the career I'm currently working towards. Like I said, fandom and the idea of it... they really amaze me. But I guess they shouldn't. I mean, that's how most religions work, right? Like, "here, read this book and live your life by it."

On a slightly related note, I found this other video because of "I Ship It" and loved it. I've been reading "Fangirl" and it just hit me in the right spot. In a cute sorta nostalgic yet glad-it-got-better sorta way. Maybe I'll save that book review for later.

You know what the meanest thing is you can say to a fat girl? You're not fat.

Louis CK is amazing. I've never seen anything on TV that struck so hard with me. Not necessarily in a positive or negative way, but just because of its honestly.

"You know what the meanest thing is you can say to a fat girl? You're not fat." This line is so fucking true. I don't know how many times I've mentioned my weight or made a comment about myself being fat, and immediately people will go "You're not fat!" or "Haha, you're so funny. But really, you're not even fat!" As if the idea of being fat is so disgusting and repulsive that they think I say it as a means of self-deprecating humor. But really, I'm just stating a fact.

In fact, the girls that tell me this are usually the type to make comments about their own looks, and call themselves fat in front of me. The type that give a shit about walking around with split ends on their hair, or not getting their eyebrows done, or complain about needing a pedicure because they can't wear sandals.

A lot of the comments on this video consist of "well, maybe she should lose weight so you won't have to complain about being fat!" Problem solved. In reality, not all fat girls' lives revolve around their hatred for being fat. Believe it or not, some women like their bodies! Shocker, right?

Body acceptance is an issue that I struggle a lot with. On one hand, I don't mind my weight. I think I look great, and I have a boyfriend who loves me just the way I am. But it's the simple things are annoying sometimes, like my thighs chaffing when I wear dresses, or the fact that I sweat more than non "fat" people.

Like most impromptu blog posts, I have no idea what I was trying to get at. I just felt like talking about living as a "fat" girl, and how much I appreciated this scene from Louie.

How I Met Your Mother - Finale Review!

(5) Seconds of Subway

Phonebloks

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them - Movie!!

Lavabit, privacy, etc.

Lavabit, the private email service Snowden reportedly used, made a decision between "becoming complicit in crimes against the American people or walking away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit". So Lavabit will be shutting down.

Shit like this pisses me off, man.

At one point in my life, I thought politicians and government officials were people I should look up to. That their job was to protect the United States and its citizens. To innovate, and help create sustainable environments, all the while keeping citizens safe, healthy, and happy while they continue to pay taxes. I thought the Bill of Rights was created specifically to give us specific liberties in case the government ever decided to do something out of hand. I thought the fourth amendment gave us a right to privacy. That no one could unreasonably search our seize any of our property without a warrant and unless there is a probable cause.

Now, I don't know a thing about politics or laws or how any of that works. But I always figured the Bill of Rights was, well... legitimate. When did we stop ignoring it? Why are people okay with this?

Religion ramblings.

This post isn't an attempt to convince anyone of anything. Just me typing things that I think about sometimes.

I only go to church because I have to. I don't identify as Catholic, despite the fact that I spend an hour at a Catholic church every week. It makes my parents happy when I go (and for my mom, disappointed when I don't) while I still live with them. I consider it my way of paying rent.

I often find myself disagreeing with a lot of what the priest says. Like, he was talking about how people have false ideas about sexuality because they watch porn. I can understand that in a sense, but then again... people in porn are having sex.  There's nothing false about it. People learn from porn if they aren't very experienced, or are looking for something new to try out. They get off on porn because they can, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm a very sex positive individual, and won't knock something just because I haven't tried it.

The other day he brought up something about how the government shouldn't spend money going to space, because there are so many problems that still need to be solved on our own planet. Although he's correct about there being a LOT of problems with the world, I couldn't help but get angry at that statement. It felt kinda close minded. Like we can't progress in other aspects of society until we fix preexisting ones.  But I think this XKCD comic pretty much sums up my view on it.

Things I Love! (Internet Edition)

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: http://www.youtube.com/lizziebennet
Questionable Content: http://questionablecontent.net/The Brain Scoop: http://www.youtube.com/thebrainscoop

Body Acceptance & Feminism - Good Trends!

Online Reality: Friendships, Relationships, Catfishing

My first video with an intro/outtro, and I already spelled "subscribe" wrong. Go me!

Creative Outlet

Felt like making a video today, but my camera battery isn't charged and my tripod is at the boyfriend's house. Which is unfortunate because I've been meaning to make more and more videos and just haven't had the time. I've even written down ideas on my little notebook and everything.

I'm not sure why I'm even writing this other than the fact that I need a creative outlet, or blank slate on which to work. I even designed a quick website for my boyfriend and organized my YouTube videos to give myself something to do.

That is all. See you guys later.

Joe Vlogs!

I let my boyfriend borrow my camera once. This was on the memory card when he gave it back to me. :)

Minuum & Other Keypads I Love

Minuum website: http://minuum.com/
Minuum Indiegoogo campaign: http://igg.me/at/minuum

Old Swype video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9bc_Gmq2Kg
Google Glass video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zRZoooPgCg

QR Codes are Ugly

But sometimes they're kinda cool.

Printables!

Hey, guys! Felt like doing something creative today, and decided to make my first ever printables! The printable labels come in sets of blue, pink, purple, and teal. They can be used as cupcake flags, bottle labels, gifts tags, and more. Let me know if you use them for anything (and send pictures!).

To save them, simply click whichever one you want. When the image appears, right click and save.

Or click here if you'd like to download a zipped file with PDFs of all the labels.

Just some thoughts on online content quality.

I want Google Glass!