Exam Schedules!

I bet there is quite a few of you who are in the same boat as me. I was so excited because this Christmas exam period I only have 1 exam (Business law) which lands on DEC 22ND!! If you also have an exam that day then you are in my boat and it is sinking! So I have from the 22nd to the 24th to get all my Christmas shopping done which is horrible and takes the fun out of Christmas. I have three days of to quickly get into the Christmas spirit because who can concentrate on jingle bells when you are trying to determine the damages that would be rewarded to a plaintiff who is suing their doctor because of negligence. Definitely not the Christmas spirit.

I have my fingers crossed that this exams gets moved to an earlier date so I can finally help decorate my Christmas tree for the first time in 4 years!

PS. That isn't my family, just thought they were funny.

Swine Flu Takes Another Life

This is such a sad story which has really opened my eyes to how bad the swine flu really is. A 13 year old boy in Toronto who was told that they were "healthy" died on last week of swine flu. Evan Frustaglio how played minor league hockey went to the doctors complaining of a cough and sore throat and was assured everything was fine. Unfortunately, less than 24 hours later he was dead. To read the full story click here.

After hearing about this story from my concerned father I can really see the extent to which this flu is reaching and the how horrible it can be.

Google Street View

This is kind of creepy. If you live in the GTA you can go to Google and type in an address, such as your house address and click on street view. You can see your house, including which cars are in the driveway or any person who happens to be walking into/out of your house at the time. I think this is very cool but it is a bit creepy that my car is in the driveway and I was home and someone was outside my house taking pictures of it! I'm not exactly sure which areas are covered but I know London is not included. Google has made sure to blur out people's faces and license plates but it has caused a few issues for some people. Such as who is that mysterious man entering our house with the face blurred out. Google Street View: Creepy or not?

5 Random Facts

Here are 5 things you might not have known:

It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.

A cockroach will live nine days without it's head, before it starves to death.

The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene.

A male emperor moth can smell a female emperor moth up to 7 miles away.

The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.

Outfoxed!

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism

The Background Info: Outfoxed is a risky 2004 documentary film directed by Robert Greenwald.

The Scoop: Media Empire, Fox News Channel is being used to promote right-wing views and is being said that "Fox News Channel is a 24/7 commercial for the conservatives and the Republican Party." Fox is owned by Rupert Murdoch who feels that Fox is “fair” and denies these claims even though there is substantial evidence proving the contrary.

Inspiration: Greenwald created this film to “Serve as a catalyst to break the silence about Fox News," http://www.alternet.org/story/19199/

Assertions: Here are some strong points made in the film:

- It criticizes Fox News' coverage during the lead-up to, and the aftermath of, the 2003 invasion of Iraq
- It portrays Fox News management, including Murdoch and president Roger Ailes, both conservatives, as controlling the network's content, and further portrays editorial control from Murdoch on down as ensuring which stories and issues are covered and that the coverage is from a strongly conservative perspective.
- It states that it picks strong confident conservatives and weak-looking complacent liberals to appear on it.

For more information visit: Wikipedia

Why: Of course what Fox is doing is not right, but what makes it wrong according to the standards of journalism? The news is responsible for providing information to viewers. These are people who want to learn and want the facts. If the facts are only from one side than how are citizens suppose to make informed decisions if we are not getting all of the information. If they are only giving the conservatives side of the story then the reporter has responsibility to state that. One of the most important canons to journalism is truth and accuracy. Media conglomerates have so much power and it is being abused when only one side of the story is being heard.

Click here to watch the video

There Is Actually Value in the Village

It is a few weeks into October and if any of you are like me then your funds are desperately low. So low that my friend and I decided to shop at Value Village. We actually went there to look for Halloween costumes but ended up browsing the sweater section.

For $20 I bought a baggy cardigan, a winter sweater, a belt and a necklace. The best part is that they are all original and cheap. You will not walk around campus and find someone wearing the same thing as moi.

I suggest all you Western fashionistas try out your nearest value village or any vintage store. And maybe I am behind with the times and most of you know my secret but if not, give it a try. You might be surprised to what you will find and it gives you a chance to be creative and original!

Thanksgiving Recipe

In honor of Thanksgiving I will share my favourite side dish we have every year for Thanksgiving. My mom makes these amazing mashed potatoes but this year I learned how to make them myself.

Mashed Potatoes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

6 yukon gold potatoes (2 lb/1 kg)
1/2 cup (125 mL) hot milk
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) light sour cream

Preparation:

Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2-inch (1 cm) chunks. In large pot of boiling salted water, cover and cook potatoes until tender, 15 minutes.

Drain and mash with hot milk, salt and pepper. Stir in green onion, and sour cream


For my information visit Canadian Living website and look through the recipes. They have so many delicious treats for all seasons.

Happy Thanksgiving!

McCulloch's Costume Store

This is the first Halloween in two years that I did not have an exam the next morning. I was so excited about getting my costume that I Googled "costume stores in london" and discovered McCulloch's. The only other store I know of is the one beside LCBO and Winners that ALWAYS gets sold out early. This store is pretty good, a bit expensive but a lot of variety. PLUS it is beside Value Village which also has cheap cheap cheap costumes and such. I am only telling everyone about my secret costume store because I already picked mine out. Actually, it might not be a secret but it was something I discovered this weekend so I hope this information helps. Here is the link to McCulloch's

Richmond Street Is Closed !

First of all I hope everyone had a great Homecoming weekend. I have been doing some major facebook creeping and there is tons of new material to keep me busy busy busy. Don't deny it, you are probably doing the same. If you were at the bar scene this Saturday night you would have noticed (and maybe been surprised as I was) that the streets were closed off! I assume it was because there was 30,000 students walking the streets and it was practically inevitable that someone would be hit by a taxi. It was a very smart and well organized idea, except for the fact that you could only get a taxi at Oxford. Now I went to the tent part located at the London Music Hall and after a night of dancing my drunk bottom off in 3 inch heels my feet were killing me! Of course there was NO taxi available and my posse and I had to walk home from London Music Hall all the way to Oxford (See map for details) !!! I took off my heels and walked in stockings with my feet soaking wet. This situation would have left me a lot more upset if it wasn't for the fact that we walked by Cousin Vinny's Pizza and scarfed down the most delicious slice topped off with Franks Hot Sauce (highly recommended). Please be advised for next homecoming never to wear heels. Also, if you EVER have the opportunity, stop at Cousin Vinny's.

Jamie Lee Curtis...A Hermaphrodite?

It is 11:30 at night and I am watching an old school Prom Night starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Although these girls are suppose to be graduating from grade 12, Curtis looks like she is in her 20s. That is not that only thing off about Curtis, according to my resources (being my roommate and the internet) Curtis is said to be a Hermaphrodite. When I googled it, Jamie Lee Curtis Hermaphrodite was 2nd on the search engine. Most of the sources say it is a rumor BUT it seems like this rumor could possibly be true. Here is a link to a website I found with some more information.

Jamie Lee Curtis - Hermaphrodite

If anyone has heard that this is true please leave me a comment because I am very interested to know if it is real. ALSO if you are wanting to watch a classic horror film check out Prom Night