The Criminal Minds Effect

by Molly

Admit it. Try as we might to get away from Criminal Minds, we just can’t seem to get enough. We always end up running back to the show, which, for most of us, was our introduction to “grown-up” television. Yes, at one time or another, everybody has become enthralled by the nerdy, flamboyant Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangsness), the sheer sex appeal of Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), or the boyish charm of Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler).

For many seasons now, Criminal Minds has appeared to be on its last leg, pulling stunts that less prominent, less successful shows would have to try in order to keep their viewership. Gone were the days, we thought, of touching back stories and witty one-liners. How wrong we were, though. This season, Criminal Minds is the best it has been since, I daresay, as far back as season three.

That’s the most frustrating part about this show. You could have one stellar season and then have three or more years of lackluster plotline before getting another good season! Somehow, though, while digging through the never-ending voids that are our DVRs, we always seem to come across Criminal Minds, and make time for it.

An outstanding core group of performers had lent itself to an even more outstanding initial plot. At first glance, it appeared NBC had hit the jackpot with this cast. Before taking the role as Aaron Hotchner, Thomas Gibson had lent his talents to the ABC sitcom, Dharma and Greg. AJ Cook starred in several movies before being cast as SSA Jennifer Jareau, one of the most prominent being The Virgin Suicides (1999). Matthew Gray Gubler had had a relatively successful career as a fashion model before being cast as Dr. Spencer Reid. As you can see, they were all relatively unknown before being cast as the characters that would define our generation.

One of the most intriguing things about this series is that the characters have very set responsibilities within the plot that are very seldom diverged from. Still, we hope for things to be different, and there is room in the plot for a small shake-up, for sure. No matter what we may say, we all yearn for an episode where, for once, Reid can be the hero and not the damsel in distress.

Among one of the most excited (and frustrating) things that occurs within this show is the shake-ups within its core cast. Obviously, switching out several main characters in the course of a season keeps the viewers on their toes, but continually pushing new people in and old ones out can confuse the viewership to a point. I realize that actors’ contracts expire and they move on to bigger and better things, but couldn’t the network spread the expiration dates out a bit so we don’t lose all of our favorites at the same time?

We all definitely have our own opinions and ideas as to why Criminal Minds continues to be as successful as it is. One thing is for sure, though. Criminal Minds has been the show we have loved to hate for nearly ten years running. And with any luck, it will be around for ten more.

Life With Jane (Top 5 Classic Novels)

by Molly

Most modern people turn their noses up at the classics. Anything that looks even remotely similar to something you might’ve read in high school is naturally something you’d try to avoid when you actually have a choice of what to read. Maybe, though, if you knew the background of these classics - that is to say, the stories which inspired them - you’d be more apt to check them out!

Here are what I think are the Top 5 most intriguing backstories:

5.) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

Yet another regency romance, Jane Eyre’s height of popularity directly paralleled that of Jane Austen’s novels. Brontë found Austen’s novels to be, for lack of a better term, raunchy, by regency era standards. Considered vastly more appropriate in comparison to its competition at the time, Brontë’s novel skyrocketed in the years preceding her death. However, now, after both of their lifetimes, Austen’s novels hugely outsell Brontë’s all over the world.

4.) The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

This story, though fictional for the most part, follows one of the greatest horror stories in the world - the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. This novel goes through all of the gritty details of everything Anne was willing to go through to bear a son of the King. She even goes as far as to enlist her own brother as a...donor...of sorts. For this, they both are convicted of high treason and sentenced to death by beheading.

3.) Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

Okay, so it isn’t exactly a classic, but it had to be on the list. I’ll give it to you. This is a book that everyone loves to hate. However, the backstory to it is one that I wasn’t familiar with until recently. Did you know that the idea of Twilight came to Meyer in a dream one night? She was actually worried about what people close to her may think, being that she is Mormon. Meyer was the beginning of a new era of vampire lore. Long gone are the days of terrifying, ghostly figures. Now it’s all about the sex appeal.

2.) Dracula - Bram Stoker

Based in ancient Romania, Dracula’s tale is one that has rendered hundreds of interpretations to date. The story of the original vampire is one that has intrigued and terrified its readers for generations.

As terrifying as the fictional character is, the real Romanian King he was based on was even more vicious. In battle, he would spear his victims alive and put them on display outside of his castle fortress for advancing armies to see. One account insists that there were so many speared soldiers on the castle’s hillside, it was nearly impossible to advance at all.

1.) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

It’s typically seen as a stiff, regency courtship between two overly-perfect characters. What you may not know, though, is that this infamous love story, initially entitled First Impressions, directly parallels Austen’s own infatuation with Thomas LeFroy. Unfortunately, unlike her heroine, Elizabeth, who found her happy ending with Fitzwilliam Darcy, Austen was not as fortunate. She never married.

So, there you have it, folks! Surely something on this list sparked your imagination. I’ve read every book on this list myself and can admit that some of them were a bear to get through, but in the end it was worth it. These are the stories that help us form our own writing styles and understandings of old cultures. Even if none of these particularly interest you, try reading something by one of these esteemed authors. All of their works are phenomenal!

American Horror Story

by Sarah   

 

Although American Horror Story has recently joined the latest craze in TV shows to watch, it differs from some of the other chart toppers such as Glee and Big Bang Theory in the way that it’s more graphic and deals with the supernatural, as opposed to witty nerds and annoyingly enthusiastic teenagers that find the need to sing Top 40 songs in every other scene.

 

This show consists of three seasons, each quite different from the last. First up is the season with the original name. It begins with a family of three moving across the country to LA and into what they learn is known as “The Murder House.” The family includes psychiatrist & father, Ben Harmon, his wife Vivien, and their teenage daughter, Violet. The real-estate agent discloses to them once they’ve moved in that the previous owners of the mansion died in a murder-suicide. They, however, seem to be unfazed by this information and instead decide to try to rekindle their marriage after two huge incidents: Vivien’s miscarriage and Ben’s affair with one of his young students in a class he was teaching at a college. Hoping to make a fresh start, they settle into their new life, unaware of how much of a change they’ll truly go through.

 

Next on the list is American Horror Story: Asylum, otherwise known as season two. This season’s location is Briarcliff, which used to be a hospital for patients with tuberculosis, but which was converted to an insane asylum run by nuns and a Catholic church. The main nun is Sister Jude Martin, who works under the orders of Monsignor Timothy Howard. A patient at the asylum is alleged serial killer Kit Walker, with the nickname Bloody Face that he was given after the murders of several young women. The season continues here within the asylum, where crazy doesn’t even scratch the surface of the events that take place.

 

Continuing on with one of the most interesting shows to run on television, in my opinion, is American Horror Story: Coven. As easily guessed, this season has to do with witches, including those with a genetic bloodline to the witches of Salem. Once main character Zoe learns that she’s one of the few left of relation, she’s shipped off to Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies in New Orleans to be with the other remaining girls where they're protected.

 

Another unique thing about the show is that they seem to recycle the actors they have. For example, Evan Peters shows up in all three seasons. First he's Tate Walker, next Kit Walker, and finally Kyle Spencer.

 

All in all, this show is full of suspense, lust, mystery, a hint of gore, and all around entertainment that makes you want to spend your entire winter break watching every episode on your laptop. It may just drive you insane enough to end up in an asylum, but it'll prove to be worth it.

Frozen

by Jessica

The latest and greatest movie by Disney is Frozen. Critics are raving, and I definitely agree with them. This is my favorite movie since Tangled (2010). I’ve already seen it twice, downloaded all my favorite songs from it (it’s only sort of a musical, just like any good Disney movie), and cannot wait to get it on Blu-Ray to watch over and over again.

Disney’s Frozen tells the story of two princesses, Elsa and Anna (pronounced Aw-nah). (I really don’t want to give away too much of this amazing story, so I’ll try not to give any spoilers.) Princess Elsa has special powers - ice powers. It’s magic, and everyone in the kingdom, Arendelle, is afraid of magic of any kind. So Elsa must be locked in the castle until Coronation Day, when she becomes queen.

But Elsa runs off into the mountains, leaving an eternal winter behind her which she set off unknowingly. Her sister, Anna, must find her, and she enlists the help of three unlikely cohorts: Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven, and a snowman Elsa created, Olaf. Can they save the kingdom in time? And is Arendelle safe in the hands of Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, or will the perennial winter doom them all? You’ll have to find out in Disney’s Frozen, in theaters now.

 

Haha, so that’s my attempt at a movie commercial. Not too bad, eh? Well, that’s the main gist of the movie, but I want to tell you what I personally loved about it. The first and best part was how side-splittingly funny it is. Everyone who’s anyone will like this movie; I don’t care who you say you are. You would. Little kids will giggle at Olaf the snowman (I have to admit - he’s my favorite) and Sven the reindeer, and adults will laugh at the witty banter between Anna and Kristoff. They’ll also laugh at Olaf and Sven. Sven the reindeer is just the cutest animal, especially as a baby. His friendship with his owner, Kristoff, is incredibly endearing as well.
 

Besides being such a comedy, there is, of course, romance throughout this movie, and it’s not as pointedly written in as it is implied. Not until the end, anyhow. But as relationships form, and the true forms of characters shine through, we all begin to realize that not everyone is who we thought they are, for better or for worse.

 

I also loved the music in this movie. It all just really reminded me of Tangled. Rapunzel demanded to be taken to see the Floating Lights by Flynn, and Anna demanded the same of Kristoff, but to be taken to the North Mountain instead. But the music. There is an incredible choral/African-esque song in the intro to the movie which I loved, as well as one called “Frozen Heart,” which is the song the men in the ice business sing as they cut the ice. There are upbeat songs that will make your heart sing (“Love Is an Open Door”) and sad songs that will make your heart, and maybe your eyes, if you’re like me, cry (“Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”). There are Broadway-type songs (“Fixer Upper”) and empowering songs (“Let It Go”).

My favorite song is probably the last one I mentioned, “Let It Go.” Idina Menzel voices Elsa, and her voice on this song is simply incredible. Breathtaking. Demi Lovato covers it in the credits, and though I don’t like that version as much as Idina’s, it’s still an awesome song. My second favorite song is “For the First Time in Forever,” which Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) sings, and it’s about all the things she could never do before Coronation Day, when the gates were closed, and she was shut out from the world (another comparison to Tangled, I think, since Rapunzel was locked up in her tower for 18 years and found even the grass enthralling when she left).

There are two other songs, which, though they aren’t my favorites, they’re funny and give life and stories to the other characters. “Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People” is sung by Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) to Sven, and he even sings Sven’s part for him. He likes to do that - talk for Sven since he’s a reindeer and can’t talk. I know, sounds weird, but it’s quite cute in the movie. The other song is “In Summer” by Olaf the snowman (voiced by Josh Gad), which is all about Olaf’s dreams of how wonderful summer would be and all the things he would do when summer came. One of my favorite lines of the movie is what Kristoff says to Anna after the song: “I’m gonna tell him.” I don’t think Olaf’s seen exactly what the hot sun does to snow in summer…

And that’s what I have to say about Frozen! I loved it so much, and everyone I know who’s seen it loved it too. Give it a shot, even if you wouldn’t normally watch a Disney movie. Trust me - you won’t regret it!

A Photograph of Teendom

by Chris

 

Summer nights at the Golden Twist, an ice cream and sandwich shop, will forever keep with me. The hum of the ice cream machines, the flashing blue and red of the open sign, the sizzles and pops of the deep fryer: all these things will come to form an album of distant and pleasant memories. Looking back, the customers served me more than I served them.

 

We live our lives retrospect, always dreaming of some earlier time when the world was new and hope was high. All of us have moments which seem to weather the passage of time itself; for me it will be the elderly customers, their faces aglow with the vivacity of a youth they once lived. I never once knew a customer personally, save those from school, yet I always found in those moments of interaction a fleeting unity between they and I. I felt as if I could see their album. Their eyes would shine as I presented them their chilli dog or banana split, and, for an instant, a genuine, human compassion would betray their otherwise feigned civility. In those moments the entirety of their earthly experiences would present themselves to me, and I could rifle through the sepia photos of one who had lived five my lifetimes. But it was fleeting; in the next instant the album would slam shut, and the present would shout, "More orders are waiting!"

Or perhaps it was Harry Wilder: septuagenarian, cancer survivor, father of two lawyers, and proud owner of the Golden Twist. Both he and his shop were known by name throughout the city. He had lived a long and colorful life, had befriended the mayor, had established himself as a respectable businessman, but every day he was at the Golden Twist working alongside everyone else. I remember Donna, the adult manager, talking of his battle with cancer and how he would drive several hours each day just to come to work. Why several hours? Because his chemotherapy treatments were in Indianapolis. No words suffice.

Above the bathroom threshold hangs a framed picture of a racecar; it is blue and gold and has the business's logo on it. That picture is older than I am. And yet it is but one of thousands which fill the pages of Harry's album. It shall fill my album also, as shall the countless summer nights I've spent at the Golden Twist. My teen years will be a series of juxtaposed pictures of banana splits, of youthful elderly customers, and of a flashing neon sign; so too shall they fill others' memories, for even today, on clammy summer nights, when the sky is clear and the air sweet, you can still hear the buzz and see the flash of the Golden Twist.

 

The future is so frightening, and our place in it so undefined:  that's why we look to the past, with its unchanging state. Looking into the eyes of Harry Wilder and all the elderly customers allowed me to feel my own humanity. Each time I did so, I felt the true vastness of time, sensed the true breadth of human continuity. In those transient moments, I thought, "Perhaps I can open the album of humanity itself and in quiet and reverent fashion, insert my own photo."

DIY Hairmasks & Beauty Tips

by Daisy

 

Now, I’m not a beauty expert. I’m probably nowhere near as experienced with makeup and hair care as 90% of the other girls in my school, or girls in general, but I’m starting to really get into all the little things like eyeliner and such. I’m also very devoted to growing out my hair too, so I thought maybe I could give a little bit of insight to my experiences and maybe give you a few tips that I’ve learned along the way.

When it comes to beauty, the number one thing that I have always been very anal about is my hair. If it doesn’t look a certain way or fall right or is too stringy or too flat or too big, I get really upset about it. My hair may not be as perfect, as long or as beautiful as other girls’, but I do try hard to make it look nice and healthy. I try not to put heat on it, but who am I kidding? Almost no one likes their natural hair; there are really few that do. So I cave and straighten it or curl it so it looks nice. Putting heat on your hair can really damage it though, so here are some tips that I can offer you and that I try to follow as well.

 

On the weekends (or weekdays), if I’m not going anywhere and am staying at home or inside all day, I don’t style it. It’s kind of like, who am I trying to impress? My family? They know me and don’t really care what I look like so I let it go natural. Also, if you can try and find ways to style your hair without using any heat or products, some simple suggestions are: putting your hair in a bun or ponytail, pulling it all to one side, braiding it, or even putting in curlers when you go to bed at night. The reason you want to stay away from heat is because it drys out your hair and causes split ends. You don’t want your hair to be a broken, brittled mess. Did you know that your split ends can split all the way to the roots? That’s crazy, so I highly recommend taking good care of your hair.

One of the things I like to do is put in DIY hair masks. I’m not gonna lie...it’s kinda gross because DIY hair masks are mainly made up of household items like food and powders and oils. I’m not a master at mixing and creating my hair masks, but it gets the job done when it comes to split ends. I usually use a spoonful or two of mayonnaise (yuck!) some olive oil, 2 eggs, and honey, with a dash of cinnamon. The cinnamon doesn’t really do anything for your hair but the mixture tends to smell really bad, so I put that in so I’m disgusted by the smell.

Go online and look up hair mask recipes that suit you and then apply it in the shower. You’re supposed to thoroughly apply it to your hair and leave it in for about 10-30

minutes. What I do is I’ll apply it and put a shower cap on and go watch an episode of American Dad on Netflix while I wait. Once time is up, go rinse out your mask and make sure that you get it all out - you don’t want any egg or mayo residue in it. Super gross. Finally, you shampoo and condition your hair as normal, and it should help with split ends. At least it did for me. I don’t want anyone to take my word for it, but this mask works for me, so it might for you.

I was never girly growing up. I was a really awkward tomboy. Recently, though, I’ve been trying to experiment more with this foreign concept. Makeup. *shudders* I seriously have no idea what I’m doing. Right now the best I can do is concealer, eyeliner sometimes, and mascara. To finish this article, a little tip that will probably help with ladies who make mistakes sometimes is that if you mess up, a little baby oil on a Q-tip does magic for makeup removal.

Justin Timberlake

by Daisy

 

I’m not going to lie...I am completely in love with Justin Timberlake! Everyone who even knows me a little bit is aware of this fact! I always joke about how we’re gonna get married and how much I love him, so that’s why this article is dedicated to my future hubby, Justin Timberlake...even though he’s already married, but there’s divorce for a reason! (I’m obviously kidding; I wish him and his wife many years of wedded bliss.)

For the same reason I love Spiderman, I love Justin Timberlake because he has been a part of my life ever since I was little, and when I say little I mean 9-10 years old. My first memory of JT was watching/listening to his music video, SexyBack. I loved everything about Timberlake, from his sweet, angelic voice to his boyish attitude and good looks. Which, by the way, his are so pleasing to the eyes. I love his face. Omg, he’s perfect. Sorry for the fangirling, but I am just head over heels for him!

JT’s music career started when he was about the same age I was when I first listened to him, at around 10 years old. He got his start with Disney on The All New Mickey Mouse Club with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. Eventually he went on to become a member of the boy band, ‘N Sync. Eventually he broke off from the band and became a pop idol.

Just recently he released his newest album, 20/20, which I strongly recommend to anyone willing to listen. I think it’s a well-crafted and unique album, although I must admit that each song seems to run on forever (they’re about 7 to 8 minutes long), containing long preludes and/or interludes. But other than that, his album is quite enjoyable, and I love listening and dancing stupidly in my room to it.