Sunday 30 November 2014

I'm a Burgundy kind of girl

Saturday 4 October 2014

To Tube or Not to Tube...

To tube or not to tube?  That is the question that I have been thinking about recently.  And while it may seem silly to be thinking about that, it all stems from one idea that occurred during one conversation that I had with one friend about one month ago.  Since then I’ve had the same discussion with many people.

The discussion is about internet presence and getting your voice heard.  Because Youtube is such a large video sharing platform it is constantly being used meaning, consequently, that the second you post a video more people will see it and they will find it at a faster rate.  This means that any important message I have or story that I want to share will be seen by more people.

So it sounds great and while getting your message out there is fantastic there can be drawbacks involved with youtubing.  I’m going to go through the positives and the negatives so I can decide what to do.

I’ve already gone through my first positive point.  Having a presence and getting your message out there is a positive simply because people see youtube videos faster.

The negative aspect of youtube being such a large sharing platform is that there are so many youtubers already and so many videos that it is hard to be original and completely unique.  If you want to be original maybe it’s easier to do that by blogging where people can’t compare you to someone else.

The next pro youtube argument is that by creating videos the viewers see you as a person as opposed to some words on a page.

A negative aspect of Youtube is the ability for people to send ‘hate’ comments towards someone.  On a blog the only thing the public see are your words and therefore hurtful comments wouldn’t be given, or if they were they could be easily dismissed.

On a blog you can also block the comments bar and therefore not receive these comments.  I am unsure of whether you can do that on youtube videos.

The following positive argument is that videos provide the creator with the ability to use their tone of voice to convey a point.  If I was to write in a blog:  “Oh no, It’s Halloween soon,”  you may not know how to respond.  This is because you don’t know if I am being sarcastic, genuine, pessimistic or silly.  If I was to say the same sentence in a youtube video you would know what I am talking about and you could determine my attitude.

A negative argument though would be the time and money put towards decent videos.  The main reason I don’t upload to blog very much is because of an increasing pile of school work that doesn’t go away when ignored.  So, do I really have the time that would be required to make and edit and upload youtube videos???  Perhaps not.  Also, video cameras and editing software can be expensive.  However, I feel that this wouldn’t be a problem because my family owns a basically unused video camera that I may ‘borrow’  and my school computer comes with iMovie, which would be fine to start off my editing with.

My final positive argument is what I stated at the beginning.  One thing I love about watching youtube videos is that I get to listen to people tell me their opinions and use their own voice and I would love to do that too.

So in conclusion, what’s the verdict?  The verdict is this.  I think that youtubing is something I would like to try.  I want to be able to get my message out there and to be able to connect with anyone that may share my opinion.


So why not?  I’m going to give it a go.  And you guys should all go check out my youtube channel www.youtube.com/user/beinggeorgiarose.

FOTP:  Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category.

Sunday 7 September 2014

Text Talk???

OMG, TTYL, IDK, IKR, IDC.  Personally, I hate these words.  It annoys me when they are used in a regular conversation.  If you are talking to me face to face could you at least be bothered to use real words???

I personally find it annoying to ask someone a question that could be as simple as: “What are you doing on the weekend?”  To hear the response “IDK,” is pretty rude and makes you seem like that person is not trying at all to be a part of the conversation.  Sure, you may not know what you’re doing on the weekend but could you at least respond with a “Oh, I don’t really know,” or even a, “We don’t have any plans just yet.”

Look I’m sorry if that’s too much to ask but it is more polite and a whole lot more social.

As I understand, using these “phrases” became more popular after twitter because of the 140 characters per post limit.  So, I understand why you may use them there.

However, when you are having a discussion face to face with someone, no one is monitoring how many words, letters or syllables you use.

OMG stands for Oh My God or Oh My Gosh.  You say the same number of syllables (3) whether you say OMG or Oh My God.  So, the only thing that happens when you use the abbreviation in real life is that you may com across as anti-social or uncaring.  There is no actual shortening to how much you are saying.

The same applies for IDK, (I Don’t Know) IKR, (I Know Right) and IDC (I Don’t Care).

So aside from when you are tweeting and you only have 140 characters the benefits of shortening words aren’t really there.

So Why Text Talk?

To me it just seems unnecessary and because of how short and blunt it is, it can make you seem anti-social, possibly rude, uninterested and uncaring.

Yet it seems that Text talk is becoming a staple piece of 21st Century English Language.

I have one request for anyone who reads this.

Can we keep the text talk in the text and out of conversation???



FOTP:  The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

Saturday 12 July 2014

School Uniforms

It is highly likely that if you talk to a school aged kid they will complain about their school uniform.  If it’s a pre-teen/teenage girl the odds of them complaining about their uniform are significantly increased. 

I held a mini interview with my friends and parents so I could finally try and discover what exactly people think about school uniforms.

So the Pros:
I asked my friends what they like about school uniforms and it took them a while to come up with answers but we got some interesting responses.
  • Gives you a sense of school identity and school pride
  • You don’t have to worry about what to wear in the morning
  • Warm in the winter
  • You can find people in public.  If you’re on an excursion you can find your group easily.
  • Fairly comfortable (depends on the uniform in question).
  • Won’t be judged by your peers for your clothing.
  • Free transport (this is in NSW at least)
  • You can sometimes customise your uniform a bit.

I spoke to my parents and this is what they said:
  • It’s cost effective.  While it may seem expensive from the off, you only have to buy one blazer/jacket and it can last you years.  This applies to most items and you only have to replace them once or twice in your whole high school life.
  • It removes the issue of competing with other students to look the best.
  • It removes the element of peer pressure, so people aren’t criticising each other.

And the Cons:
Opposite to what happened when I was looking for good things about school uniforms, when asking my friends what they thought were bad the answers poured out instantly, each person wanting to get their say in and trying to prove to others how bad ours (and others) uniforms are.
My dad however could only think of one thing bad before saying, “what if there isn’t anything else that I think is bad.”

So what my friends said:
  • no option for personal expression.
  • Itchy/uncomfortable.
  • They’re “ugly” and “they make you look like a square.”
  • not fashionable (behind the times)
  • The Shoes are ugly, uncomfortable and impractical (not good if you’re running for a bus.)
  • tights/stockings rip easily
  • Not designed to flatter your body shape.
  • blazers seem to have built in shoulder pads.

My parents though only said this:
  • Not practical for all activities (dependent on the uniform/school/activity in question)

So that is what it would seem others think.  

The conclusion I have drawn from this is that school uniforms are only negative in terms of short term things (such as how we look and running for a bus) but they’re good in the long run (cost wise) so it’s probably worth it and we, teenage girls, should stop complaining.

Fact of The Post: In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.

Thursday 19 June 2014

Is it Appropriate???


The thing is, as a teenager you will always be ridiculed by your friends, your peers and by people both older or younger than you, and one thing that can cause this judgement is if they think that your dress sense and style is not appropriate.

It may be that your relatives, quite understandably, don't want you going out in something so skimpy that you may as well as not be wearing clothes.  And sure, I agree, I myself have no interest in looking 10 years older then I am, or just attracting attention because I’m “not wearing anything at all.”

So then, if you were to say, wear jeans and a T-shirt, something which your family may approve of, you find that your peers could judge you because they themselves don't approve of what you're wearing, considering it to be ‘un cool’ or plain old boring.  And, a major part of teenage life is your social life and your social standing. Whether you agree with it or not, your peers will ultimately effect many of the decisions you make. 

So where does it go to far?  When should you draw the line?  Is one thing appropriate throughout summer and something else throughout winter?  Will what I wear to a particular occasion affect my social life so greatly?

I believe that I, as a teenager in the 21st century, NEED to be conscious of what I wear, how I act and the impression others have of me.

An example of the clothes we wear that could cause us to be judged by peers and relatives are the different length and styles of tops that are being sold at most mainstream clothing outlets at the moment.

These different tops can be grouped under the following categories:  Crop Tops, Bandeaus, Midriff Tops, Muscle Tanks or Normal Shirts.

Crop Top.




A crop top is usually very, very short and this means that no matter what shorts, skirts, jeans you wear them with skin, and quite a bit of it (2-3 inches at least), will always be shown.  While I own one or two “crop tops” I find that they are good to wear under something that may be slightly sheer or low-cut down the sides, but not by themselves.

Bandeau.


Bandeaus come in different lengths, but it is better, like a crop top, to wear them under a muscle tank.  The thing is, a bandeau is short, strapless and can look more like a swimsuit than anything else, so it just is not appropriate to wear with nothing over the top.


Midriff Tops & Muscle Tanks

          

Midriffs and Muscle Tanks over lap in many ways, and, I own my fair share of muscle tanks and a few midriffs too.  Generally speaking, muscle tanks and midriffs can be worn with any shorts, skirt, jeans etc. but, I personally would not wear them with something low waisted because I choose not to expose that much of my skin.  Also, Muscle Tanks have, by design, gaping armholes, and it is when I am wearing these shirts that I choose to also wear bandeaus or crop tops.

Normal Shirt


The thing is, a normal Tee, tucked into jeans, a high-waisted skirt or shorts is classy, stylish and has the bonus factor of being totally appropriate.  Not only that, but it is comfy, casual but easy to look dressed up if you want to be.



The final thing to say, with wrapping up this post, is my fashion sense is very different to anyone else's.  These are just my views based on what I’ve seen and experienced, please don’t be offended as I am not trying to be rude to anyone.



Fact of the Post:  If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.