Saturday, October 24, 2015

Halloween Party Ideas

If you're planning a Halloween party, listen up. This is the best holiday of the year so your party needs to be amazing. Sorry if that's a lot of pressure, but you better make if the best you possibly can. Think its too much for you too handle? You're probably right, but you're going to try to put on the best party that any of your friends will go to. How are you going to accomplish this? With my help of course! So start off by reading these few tips, then get to work because you only have a few days before your party!

1) Food and drinks - Don't just put out a bag of chips and say you had food. That is unacceptable. You have to have snacks, candy, drinks, and pizza. No exceptions. For snacks, get something easy, whether it is just chips, pretzels, anything really. Candy you can obviously have the ones that you buy at the store, but you also want to make some sort of dessert on your own. There are tons of recepies that you can find online for cool things, but I'm not too good with that so you're on your own. Try to have like candy apples, or something shaped like a spider, or something that looks disgusting but is really just made of candy. Drinks are important as well. Pop and water are obvious, but also try to put out some sort of punch or special drink. Something they probably haven't had or won't have again. The idea is to be something different, just like the holiday itself. Pizza, I really only say this because I love pizza, but you should have something similar to it.

2) Music - Simply put, no one wants to show up to an awkward party. Put on some music to fill the awkward silences that are bound to happen at some point during the party. You should find some stuff that is for Halloween, and then the majority should be just fun, good music everyone enjoys listening to.

3) Decorations - Some cool ideas I've had for decorations include having a theme, like a graveyard theme, or a zombie theme, just something that you can apply to lots of places in your home. Then do something cool, that people won't expect. Go over the top! It's one of the best Halloweens you're going to have because it just happened to fall on a Saturday.

So, in conclusion, please just don't put on a lame party. For the sake of yourself and for the people who are taking the time to go to it, go big! Like REALLY BIG! Have fun with it! Scare people! Have a great Halloween and good luck with your parties everyone!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Costumes for this Halloween Weekend

Halloween is coming up as you guys know so next week I'm going to dedicate most of my blogging time to talk about things that you should do this Halloween. Some people say that this holiday is just for kids, and I disagree. This is probably one of my favorite holidays so I am going to go all out in describing what to do. Just think about it, this is the one time of the year where being scary is acceptable, all the other holidays aren't like that at all. So I say, don't go as a fairy. Go as some Zombie that was a king and is missing an eye or has an ax stuck in his head and is bleeding and oozing. Make your costume exciting. If you don't put much into your costume you won't have that much come out of it! I think that there are some good store bought costumes, but ultimately the best come from you. There are hundreds of millions of you going to be dressing up, and maybe what, a thousand people coming up with costume designs for the year? Probably not even that many. There are so many more ideas that you can think of to make fun and exciting than companies can produce, or can reasonably produce on a large enough scale where they would be able to mass produce it for a store. So if you haven't already started to spend some time on your costume, I say you should stop reading right here and get to work. Seriously! There are so many cool ideas you can find online and that you can interpret your own way to make it how you want it to be. The costume is going to be your first impression on people who see you this Saturday night so make sure you make your costume scary!

Saturday, October 17, 2015

What To Do in the Car

Have you ever been stuck in a car thinking you wish you were somewhere else? Well that needs to come to an end! There are many things you can do in a car when you're bored. I am a firm believer that time spent in the car can be used productively and for fun. If you have homework like reading you can do that in the car, but also there are lots of things you can do to pass the time or even possibly entertain yourself. This obviously depends on how many people you have in your car, but here is a list of some things you can try to do.

Listen to a book on tape- Books on tape are really fun to listen to. They help you keep up to date with a book series you meant to read, they can help you remember what you just read, or even be a refresher on a previous books in a series when you're driving to go get the new one!

Listen to new music you haven't ever heard before - trying out new music can be fun sometimes because you can find something you truly enjoy listening to which is really fun to find out. I think that it is best to try this where you have internet connection and use some online radio such as Pandora or Spotify.

Listen to your favorite music - This will let you be able to sing along if you want to ( and if everyone else around you is okay with it) and can be a good thing to keep you from being tired.

Use you're phone ( if you're not driving) to play a game - There are tons of games you can play on your phone, like flappy bird, 2048, and so many that I couldn't even think of which ones I should name. The list goes on and on

Talk to each other ( probably not something you should do when you're alone) - Talking to each other helps everyone connect, helps everyone alleviate their boredom, and makes others feel important.

Count a certain object ( cars, trains, planes, fast food stores)
Watch a movie - This can be done in many different ways, whether on your phone, on a laptop, or built into your car. Pick something that both you and the driver can enjoy! They can't look but they sure can listen, so make sure it isn't something that is silent. Also depending on other situations ( people who don't want to listen), use headphones.

Being in the car can be quite boring. Trust me I would know. At least once a month I am in the car driving to my grandma's house, which is roughly 4 hours each week. Collectively I have spent thousands of hours in the car going places. The secret is to do something that you like to do.
There are many different things to do in a car. Just be creative!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Road Tripping

Piling in the car with some friends and just driving somewhere for the day is a great way to entertain yourself on a weekend. There are some things though that should be kept in mind to make it the most fun and keep it safe. People need to not distract the driver outside of normal conversation. Deep thinking questions pull the attention away from the act of driving, and can lead to crashing. Don't ask the driver to go look at something on your phone, or try to grab something from the center console. Let them do their job and keep everyone safe. When going on a trip everyone has a job, and everyone should do their job to keep the road trip moving efficiently.

The Driver - As the driver your job really is to just get people from point A to point B, in one piece preferably. You provide the car, you keep track of the necessary items for driving such as a tools to change a tire, information about the car, and when you need to get gas. Seriously though, just keep track of driving. Watch for idiots on the road, and focus on how to get around them with the least risk. You hold the lives of everyone else in the car in your hands. That should scare you if you aren't paying attention to the road. Sure you can talk to people, but when you need to, prioritize driving.

The Copilot - You might have been the person who just yelled "SHOTGUN!" first but that doesn't mean you're off the hook. You have the second most important job when on a road trip. You have to make sure everyone is happy with the temperature, the music, and most importantly, provide directions and alert the driver when there are gas or food stops coming up. Yes, that's a lot to do, and you still have more. You have to make sure the driver doesn't fall asleep, so maintain a conversation that they are interested in, and regularly check if they are doing okay if you are out driving at night. If needed, you will help delegate who drives next.

The Backseaters - You guys have it easy, you just have to maintain conversation that keeps both the driver and your copilot entertained. One of you will be the snack grabber, and regulate passing around drinks and snacks to and from the front seat. If you are the only one in the back seat, you may not fall asleep until you are sure it is okay to do so, otherwise one of the backseaters needs to stay up to maintain the job while the others sleep. Sleeping is a privilege, so do not abuse your right to sleep. The only reason you can sleep without dying is the driver is keeping you safe. You have to respect that and make sure you repay them for doing so by being courteous when in their car. You have the most free time, so try to spark interesting conversations, and ask when people want to stop/eat etc.

Now, all of you, please provide money for gas, you should always be fair and split it evenly, to make sure it is both affordable and fair to everyone. Bringing pillows and snacks and drinks in the car is recommended depending on the length of the drive. Remember, words from our wise respected role model

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb

Yes, that was Miley Cyrus.

Learning an Instrument

If you find yourself wanting something to do with your time, something you can do no matter who or where you are, something you can do when you're young until you are old, I suggest you seek an instrument you want to learn. Learning an instrument is an amazing experience that can bring you thousands of hours of entertainment. Not only do you preoccupy yourself with something to do for as long as you want, you now have the power to entertain someone wherever you are. I learned to play the piano when I was 4, and I have been playing now for twelve years. I am now able to sit down and learn a song someone wants me to play in one sitting, and the joy I see it bring to people is amazing. The ability to make others happy from just playing an instrument is mind blowing. I feel like learning to play an instrument is the best use of your free time, as it is entertaining, rewarding, and something you can do your whole life. When you learn a song you've been trying to master for days, weeks, and sometimes even months, it is the best feeling in the world, then imagine something even greater, when you share it with others. When you learn an instrument, you practically are investing your time into making yourself and others happy, and the grant yourself the ability to become an entertainer. Many people know how to play an instrument and play as a hobby, so don't feel pressured to share your ability. I know lots of people who aren't open about sharing their music, which is perfectly fine. It is yours when you create it, and you don't have to let people know. It can be your own secret time-killing, stress-relieving, art form. Don't know what instrument to pick? Try some! Go to a music store and try and find something you can see yourself spending hours with day in and day out. I recommend the piano because it can make truly gorgeous sounds, but there are so many instruments to choose from that you shouldn't limit yourself to just one. I myself play the alto saxophone, the bassoon, the piano, and the drums. I don't have much free time anymore, but it is always great when I can get back to any of my instruments and just sit in a room and play for an hour or two.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Share Your Ideas

Making your own blog can be fun. Whether it is a written blog, a video diary, or something else , you can meet like minded people who think the same way as you I have my own blog here obviously and also a Youtube channel that I update regularly because simply put, it's really fun. I have met so many people who think similarly and will be kind to you. The Internet isn't always a good place, but if you make your own place and community of people you can at least control what happens slightly more than if you become a follower of other people or blogs. So in this blog, I want to address why you should do this, no matter who you are. Your ideas are important, you are important, and you should have your own group of people who look up to you and like hearing from you. If you have something you want to be heard, the best way to do it is just to post about it. Someone, somewhere, will eventually see what you wanted to share. It may not be a huge community of people watching you at first or reading your blogs, but eventually you can find people who will become important to you even though you have never even met them. Every time I get a comment from someone either on my blog or on my Youtube channel I take time out of my day to personally reply so they also feel like they are important. Commenting on other people's blogs is a great way to give them constructive criticism and show them that you appreciate their content. I make sure to comment on new channels on Youtube and blogs to try and motivate people to continue pursuing their passion of making content for people to see. Leaving feedback is the best way for them to see this. But, you must know the line between constructive and destructive. If you are too harsh on people you must remember that these are actual people you are talking to and just try to imagine being able to say something to them personally. If you don't think you would ever say it to someone's face I strongly suggest you don't post it on the internet. People, even though they are behind a computer screen still have feelings. Please make sure you realize this, I am going to emphasize it a lot to double check you have confirmed you understand this. So, please leave feedback for people, but make sure you are not being overly critical or mean.    I have people who regularly respond to my videos and I know them by their name, I have other ways to contact them to see how they are doing, and we've actually become decent friends. Without sharing my ideas on my Youtube channel or blog I wouldn't have met these people, and they would just be some other person occupying the Earth that I had never heard of even. Blogging is a great way to bring you together with like minded people and help you genuinely feel connected to people you might not even know.

The Season Premier of The Walking Dead

WARNING
SPOILERS
INSIDE
If you don't want to see spoilers you have 5 lines to leave
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On Sunday the latest season of TWD premiered and it was a very eventful episode. Now that the group has reached their safe haven, Alexandria, they have had struggles fitting in, and much more recently they have been able to prove their right to be there, showing how experienced they are when dealing with walkers. The group, mainly Rick,  believes it might be too late for some of the people in the town if they don't face the facts and realize they have to learn to deal with walkers. None of then have had to survive. This is the main point for why some people are so faithful to Rick, and the reason  some are so scared of him. He has become very accustomed to putting survival first over being kind. So, in the latest episode they all begin to follow Rick's plan to clear a nearby quarry of thousands of walkers. They have to make them all follow a herd led by a loud noise. Everything goes to plan until the last part of the episode. A huge loud siren begins to go off in the distance. This causes the hoard of zombies to move towards the town and one this size will destroy the town in a matter of no time. The remains, who is behind this. I have my theory but I know I am really excited for the next episode. It began very intense and I'm pumped for the season.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Things to Do When You're Bored

No one likes being bored. Simply put, it's boring. Being bored sucks. So, that is why I am going to help you not be bored. There are always tons of things you can do, even if it feels like you have nothing to do. Thanks to the power of the internet, there is always something to do. These things are some of the biggest time wasters that will make you forget about your boredom in no time.

#1 YouTube
Search anything you want to on YouTube. Literally anything you could imagine, there is someone who will make videos on it. It's really fascinating to go on YouTube and just see what some of the YouTube creators like to talk about. Also, if you're able to, start your own YouTube Channel! They are fun to manage and it is really exciting if you make a hit video. Another thing that you can do on YouTube is start watching hit videos from other countries. Some of them are really freaky, and weird, but it is a great way to waste your time. I recently decided to start looking at some videos from a pop artist in South Africa. Honestly it's one of the best things to do when you're bored.

#2 Video Games
There is a huge selection of video games to play, and always a huge fan base behind all the games. Whether you're home alone one night and play a single player game, or you're hanging with friends, video games can solve your boredom, and sometimes create a new problem known as addiction. There are tons of online games you can play for free such as Agar.Io which you can waste time on, or there are games that are more time consuming such as MMO games. Also console games are great, whether they are old classics or you have a next gen console, they are all great.

#3 Netflix
Netflix is probably one of the worlds biggest time wasters. For under 10$ a month, you can watch millions of hours worth of TV shows, documentaries, Movies, anime, and everything in between. Now, not every show is on Netflix of course, but chances are you will find something you would rather watch over going to sleep or doing your homework.

#4 Twitch
Twitch is a website where people live stream themselves playing or talking about video games. There is a streamer for almost every type of game, and if you're in the market, you just might find something you want to play. Twitch streams are interactive and fun, and a great overall way to waste your time.

These are just a few great time wasters, and I hope that this will help alleviate your boredom.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

TV Shows that are Worth Your While

Every day there are thousands of shows played on TV. Which ones should you choose to watch? Well today I am here to hopefully make that decision not quite as hard. I'm going to share some of the shows I watch when I have free time and the ones I feel are worth watching live every week instead of waiting for them to come out online or on Netflix/Hulu/Etc. These will include my favorite shows and the ones that I watch every week I have the chance to.

The first show I recommend you start watching is Modern Family. Modern Family is a 30 minute show that is on Wednesday nights on ABC. It is one of the funniest TV shows I have ever seen. The show is about a common day family, including many complex relationships, and the struggles they have to put up with. It is a comedy and incorporates lots of aspects of everyday life into their jokes. I would rate this probably a ten out of ten just because I can't remember a single episode I have not enjoyed watching of this show. I watch reruns and I still laugh every time I see it.

The next show I would recommend watching would be Outdoor Man. It is a show following the Baxter family, including Mike who is co founder of an outdoor equipment store. He has 3 daughters that range from highschool aged to out of college and they follow the family around. It is a comedy that, again, never fails to make me laugh. I watch this every Friday night it is on, no matter what my plans are for that night, I make sure I have time to watch it.

The Voice is another show I love to watch. It is a competition, where singers come in and try to get on a team from the 4 coaches,Gwen Stefani, Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, or Blake Shelton. They then work with these coaches and the coaches try to have their team win the most competitions between each other, and they have a very competitive attitude with one another that makes the show fun and exciting.

My next favorite show would be The Middle. The Middle is a comedy about an average family in the Midwest. The Hecks, Mike and Frankie, have 3 children, Axel, Sue, and Brick. The show is a great heartwarming sitcom, that follows the family in their never ending struggles. The oldest, Axel, is a not-so-smart football player and a popular dude, the middle, Sue, is a sweet girl who tries to do everything but rarely succeeds, and the youngest is Brick, who is a socially awkward little kid who is infatuated with books and everything about them. Mike Heck works at a quarry and Frankie has gone from job to job. They always have a feel good ending to the show that makes you satisfied that you watched it.

My final recommendation for a great show to watch would be The Walking Dead. I, along with millions of others, absolutely love every minute of this show. It is a show that is in a scenario based off of a real life zombie apocalypse, but the idea of zombies had never been thought of before ( no Plants Vs Zombies or anything similar). This show is action packed with constant fear that someone will get eaten or attacked by a zombie. But, as the show goes on you learn that zombies aren't the only thing you have to be scared of coming up behind you... Other people are even more dangerous.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

John F. Kennedy's Fall Play 2015 "Nice People"

Kennedy High school's Drama department is putting on it's fall play this weekend, having showings Thursday, October 1st, Friday, October 2nd, and Saturday October 3rd, as well as an additional showing Thursday, October 8th. The play itself was written by a former student of Kennedy High school, named Alyosha Robertson, who wrote the play, then submitted it to The University of Iowa, which had a workshop over it, and now Kennedy is putting on the show for the first time. Robertson plans on attending. The play is about a complicated relationship between multiple people who essentially just keep cheating on each other.  The play looks like it is going to be very funny, and I plan on going if at all possible. Plays normally aren't my type of thing I enjoy to go to, but this is a special circumstance because I know many of the people in the play, and it looks so comical that I don't think I would be able to live with myself if I missed out on this one. I will maybe do an update after I go and see the play to inform you all of my opinion on the play. I expect that there will only be positive reviews from this show and I also applaud the hard work of the people who put this together.

The Fear of the Walking Dead

Many of you out there are fans, or at least have heard of, the hit show The Walking Dead( will be referred to as TWD from here on out). The show has been going on for over five seasons now and is a great success and is something that I personally look forward to every single week. Earlier this year, the show "The Fear of the Walking Dead" (TFWD) was announced to be a sort of filler show in between seasons of TWD. This show got lots of fans hyped to have some sort of action-packed zombie thriller show to watch no matter what time of the year it was. I was extremely excited when I heard the announcement for the show and was planning on watching it regularly. The first week it aired this past summer, my family and I all sat down to watch it, since all of us have enjoyed TWD. We go out and got some food and then came home to watch it, and every single one of us was more interested in our food after about the first half of the show. The opener was slow, and overly complicated. The characters had a family relationship that was hard to figure out, and it made it difficult to keep track of who was who. The show started off in a time before the apocalypse which was a nice thing to see, but made it even more slow, without the impending threat of a walker coming up and eating a character from behind. The show also didn't do a very good job of explaining the relationships between some people, but that was improved upon in the next episode. In the second episode I continued to watch, hoping that it was just a slow start, and again, I found myself disinterested and more concerned with what was going on elsewhere. I finished watching it and found myself thoroughly disappointed that all this hype behind a show was falsely placed. It actually made me slightly less excited for the next season of TWD, but I know I will still watch it just because it has been so fantastic. I will leave you readers today with this, try something first before you believe the hype surrounding it. If I would have listened to this I would not have found myself wasting two hours on my couch watching this show.