No Christmas Psych? Are they Crazy!!

So I was surfing around on the Internet yesterday morning, and I discovered something that almost killed my Christmas Spirit. The producers of USA Network decided not to have a Christmas episode of the summer series Psych. What?! This is a classic holiday tradition (ok, a four year old holiday tradition), and I can't believe they're not showing a Christmas episode! There's nothing like curling up with a mug of hot chocolate, and then almost spraying that hot chocolate everywhere when you laugh at something outlandish that Shawn or Gus said. Ah, the memories...Anyway, this almost made me mad enough to write another letter, this time to the producers at USA Network. Then I realized that if I was going waste my time that bad (on such an unimportant topic), I should take up some obscure hobby instead. I wonder where you can sign up for underwater basket weaving...

Zen Christmas Music

I think I'm more grateful for good music at this moment than I've ever been in my life! I'm so stressed out and upset right now that I can barely even talk. Not only is it the week before finals week, but I am so upset at a roommate at the moment I'm struggling with not yelling and screaming. I REALLY want to be nice and calm, so music is helping me achieve my inner zen. I don't know what I'd do right now if it weren't for some nice Christmas Carols and my own bedroom! Thank Heavens for the calming power of music.

My Family's Favorite Quotes

So this week's lecture on the family and media made me think about MY family's favorite quotes because we love to quote things to each other, too. So I polled my family members, and came up with the Whipple Family Top 5 Quotes:
#1. "Shut up, Richard!"-Tommy Boy (This is a family favorite because my Dad's name is Richard and there's a funny story that goes along with it!)
#2. "I do NOT squeal like a girl! Augh!"-Mulan
#3. "Missed it by that much!" Don't know where this one came from, but we say it all the time!
#4. "That's what she said"-Admittedly from The Office, not a movie, but still very quotable.
#5. "She turned me into a newt! I got better."(to be read with a British accent)-from Monte Python and the Search for the Holy Grail. Classic.

We really do use media to communicate and remind us of past family stories. There are just some things that can't replace a good family memory trigger!

Gossip Girl vs. Psych

I really found it interesting that out of the three shows I picked, Gossip Girl, Psych, andLeverage, Gossip Girl did not contain the worst sexual content amount. That show is pretty much based completely around sex, and yet the episodet that I watched hardly contained any. The sex in G.G. was much more explicit, and it was portrayed in a very different light than Psych or Leverage. Leverage and Psych both used their sexual content as jokes; they were things said to break up a serious situation or something similar. The thing is, though, it was still there! Crazy how much sex is actually there when you stop to pay attention!

Happy Birthday to Me!

So today (technically yesterday because it's just after midnight) was my Birthday. Yea! It was pretty awesome, even though I had to go to work. Lots of good stuff happened; I think it really was my lucky day! The reason why I'm posting about this on my blog, though, is because of something very interesting. Last year, I wasn't really on Facebook around my B-day. This year I am, and the difference was amazing. I recieved so many Birthday wishes through Facebook! (You gotta love the reminders that the website gives you at the bottom of the page!) I admit it's a little silly, but I really loved having so many of my Facebook Friends wish me a Happy Birthday. It really did make me happy to see all of those posts on my wall. So, especially on this day, Facebook wins the good vs. evil Internet/Social Networking debate. Score one for the good guys!

Nothing to Fear

This week's lecture about fear and how we learn fear reminded me of a few other things that I was afraid of as a child that still influence me today-other than a fear of showering because of Psycho, that is!
Once, when I was about 11, I was flipping through the channels at my Grandparents house, and I came across a movie I'd never seen before-in fact, to this day I still don't even know the name of this movie! Anyway, the movie was some B flick about appliances and tools coming to life and attacking the person who held them. Particularly troublesome to me was a clip of a handheld kitchen blender attacking a woman's hand. To this day, I can't put the beaters on a blender without first checking to make sure that it's unplugged! I mentioned this to one of my roommates, and she looked at me like I was crazy. However, the other day, she plugged in a blender, but it was in the on position already, and she almost had her hand cut by a blender. I felt very justified to say, "I told you so!" at that moment. :) Sometimes a little dose of fear can be healthy!

First Meeting of Mediaholics Anonymous

I just discovered possibly the coolest/worst thing about my phone. I have an LG Dare through Verizon Wireless, and I learned about a month ago that, because I have an unlimited data plan, I can log onto Verizon's V Cast videos and watch new TV shows FOR FREE from my cell phone. This has been both awesome and terrible. It's awesome because I've been spending a lot of time on campus in between classes with nothing to do (except homework, and come on-everybody's got to take a break sometime!), so I watch an episode of some show. The terrible thing is, I'm already a media junkie! I do NOT need another way to intake more media! As I said at the beginning of this class, "My name is Tonya, and I'm a mediaholic!" I'm always reading, watching, or listening to something. Sigh; I guess I just need to implement a 12 Step Program in my life...of course, I'd have to get online and read about a 12 Step program, which sort of defeats the purpose!

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Who'd've guessed about 10-15 years ago that a single malfunctioning personal computer could disrupt everyday life so much?! My computer stopped booting up, and I felt like my life was stunted. I couldn't log onto the internet, I couldn't pay my bills, I couldn't add songs to my IPod, and I couldn't type school papers at home. It was such a pain! I've finally figured out what the problem was, and I've reconnected to my electronic umbilical cord. I guess we've come a long way in technological developments, but I'm afraid we've created a technologically co-dependant society!

Responsible TV-Who'd've guessed it?!

I watched the new Bones episode on Thursday, and I have to say, I was really impressed with their responsible message about sex. They showed a 16 year old girl deciding whether or not to have sex with her boyfriend, and she tells her adopted mother, "It's just sex, right? It's all over the TV and music and stuff, so it's not a big deal, is it?" The adopted mother's response was, "Sex is ALWAYS a big deal! You shouldn't feel pressured to have sex until you're ready, and when you do, it should be with someone special. It should mean something to both of you." I was so glad when I heard this! A Television show actually proclaiming that teenagers should wait-that's awesome and unexpected. Unfortunately, the prime demographic for Bones is not teenagers, but it's still a bright spot in the mass of irresponsible TV.

House Premier

Watching the House season premier last night was definately intriguing. It was so different than any other episode of House I'd ever seen; it was almost like a movie, not a TV show. I really don't watch House that often, but I enjoyed watching how the writers dealt with Depression, medication, and healing. Interesting, very interesting...

Season Premiers

I was so happy this evening because two of my favorite shows had their Season Premiers tonight. Both Bones and The Office started this season off great! The Office was hillarious, and seemed a lot more like an episode from one of the first three seasons (which was badly needed). Bones was great because the chemistry between Booth and Brennan was better than ever, and yet it was still funny. Sad though, that I was so happy because of TV shows! Ah, well. I've adjusted to the fact that I live in an escapist mentality world. Que sera, sera...:)

Positive Media

Last night's CES Fireside with Sister Dalton was such a positive experience for me! It was so nice to sit in front of the TV and listen to a member of the General Auxiliery leadership's counsel, instead of something less uplifting. She's an amazing woman, and I loved what she had to say, "Return to Virtue!" It's exactly what we've been talking about in class. I also loved when she said, "Live a virtuous life, not a virtual life." So true!

Speaking of Hours Spent with the Media...

Last Thursday we totalled how many hours a week we take in partake of the media in our daily lives. The total was bad, even for me. This weekend, though, I blew my own total out of the water! I drove home to Southern Nevada (a 10 hour round trip drive) with my Ipod on the entire time, watched the BYU football game, listened to music at a reception for a few hours, read an entire book, watched children's programming with my niece for a few hours, and payed bills on the internet. Total hours for Saturday afternoon through Monday night: 31. Pretty sad- It adds up quick!