PURE Ice Nail Polish

Pure Ice nail polish is remarkable. I like to change my nail colour every other week and I recently purchased this nail polish. It's a fairly new product and I bought 2 colours, Shell Pink and Home Run. They go on easy and dry quickly without clumping when applying a second coat. They have a wide range of colours; opaque, light, dark, metallic, neon you name it. Not only is their application easy and their colour range wide but they only cost $1.97 at Walmart. They are perfect if you are a student looking for a change of colour but on a tight budget. I am very pleased with my impulsive buy and I will definitely be picking a few more of them up.

 

Wet n Wild Lipstick

I am a girl who loves her shoes and lipsticks. I read multiple reviews that were quite impressed with the Wet n Wild Megalast lipsticks. I bought 2, Think Pink and Just Peachy and I too am very pleased with how well this lipstick wears. They matched perfectly with my fair skin and it was not over the top colour. All the colours are matte and there is no shimmer or shine. You can't go wrong with this product especially with the low price of $3.77 in canadian Walmarts and even less online. One colour, Pinkerbell is a match for the M.A.C Viva Glam Nicki, with the Wet n Wild lipstick saving you at least $12. I would recommend this product for anyone who likes lipsticks but can't afford expensive makeup. 

 

Psychopathy

Generally, people think of psychopaths as selfish, seductive murdering criminals. There is a saying that goes "all psychopaths are serial killers, but most serial killers are psychopaths", meaning that yes, most serial killers are psychopathic, but there are many and more that live normally in society. A lot of these people happen to be very successful, such as CEO's of companies entrepreneurs. Most of these people are aware of their lack of remorse and empathy http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/confessions-sociopath. I think when talking about this subject it is important to remember that these people are wired this way from birth. Just as someone does not choose their race or gender, psychopaths do not choose be to such. A recent study suggests though that it may possible to help people with psychopathic traits focus their intellect and abilities to benefit others, just as much as themselves. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201305/despite-popular-opinion-psychopaths-can-show-they-care  The author's suggest that we can teach empathy to psychopaths, though my opinion is that this study does not show we can teach empathy, but instead shows that helping the group as a whole can benefit the individual indirectly is what the psychopaths might be focusing on. I believe that people who have made it to successful positions such as CEO's, are aware how helping others could benefit their position and perhaps is what helped raised them to this spot within a company. Psychopaths are one of interest to me, I believe it is clear what their intentions are, the achievement of self motivates, though much more research can be done on their behaviours and thought process.

 

 

Summer Rompers

So this summer I want to try and wear more comfortable, fun and fashion forward outfits. I mainly just shop at stores like Forever 21 and H&M because they have trendy clothes for fair prices.I really want to add a new romper to my wardrobe and I've found a few that I really like on the Forever 21 website but can't decide which one I like the most. Each one has it's pros.

Floral Chambray Romper

This romper is pretty casual, with a fun V-back cut out. I could see myself wearing this just sitting on the deck having a few drinks.

 
Colourblocked Romper

I like this one for a more classy, sophisticated look, but it is still playful because of the colourblocking.
Multicoloured Geo Print Romper

Without a doubt this is the most whimsical of the three. This romper is just plain fun. I like how appealing the colours are to the eye and how different it is.

I'm really fond of all of them and I'm having a hard time choosing, if anyone has a preference I would love to hear your opinions.

Everybody Get Up!

I don't normally listen to new/current music but I must give credit to Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I for "Blurred Lines". I can't seem to get enough of it. It's a great summer song, up-lifting and just plain old fun. The video as well suits the song perfectly. I can't stand most music videos but I watch it this one all the time, they look like they're having the time of their lives just being silly and goofy. I get a good laugh every time watching Pharrell dance, he doesn't seem to care what the others are really doing. I loathe most other girls in music vidoes as well, I don't want to be them I want to be dancing with them, enjoying the bliss of "Blurred Lines". I think this is a good song to start the summer of 2013 off right.

 

Borderlands 2

Though I have not played Borderlands, I am in love with Borderlands 2. The story so far has been intriguing and captivating. The character's have all come to Pandora for their own reasons, but they become vault hunters and try to take down a man named Handsome Jack. Each character is appealing, all having their own special features and abilities. I like how there are different ways to level your character as well, between badass tokens and your skill tree. There's a lot of humour too in this game, from the description on the case to each non-playable characters' dialogue. The co-op mode is being cool too, since you are able to play 2 player at home, but can also play with others on your list or random drop-in matches. I bought the mechromancer content, so I play as Gaige. I've really enjoy using her and her killer robot Deathtrap. This is definitely a game I would recommend to any gamer. 

Hello vault hunters and welcome to Pandora! 

Smart, Strong and Beautiful

There has been a lot of news lately covering the rescue of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, who had been kidnapped for 10 years. These women will have a long time recovery from their terrifying experience but these women are far more brave and strong than most people in this world. To be able to endure such a life for so long, being locked away from the outside world for a decade is unbelievable. They are going to experience post traumatic stress disorder and possibly more mental health problems, but with a lot of work they'll be able to reintegrate back into the world stronger and more beautiful than ever.

When such an event occurs it also brings up similar happenings from the past. Elizabeth Smart was another woman who had been kidnapped for 9 months, chained to a tree and raped daily. She's another example of an awe inspiring human being. After all that happened to her she is able to keep a smart head about her and speak out about the need to educate youth about sex, their bodies and their relationships with themselves and others. There needs to be more understanding of rape myths and let people know that they don't deserve to be raped and are not worthless because of what happened. Smart is a great advocate for this cause based on her upbringing, her experience and where she is today. http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/05/06/1967591/elizabeth-smart-abstinence-ed/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_content=tpsmart_may13&utm_campaign=healthfb&mobile=nc 

It's sad to see such websites as this http://www.mofopolitics.com/2012/02/19/that-sucks-elizabeth-smarts-husband-doesnt-get-to-have-sex-with-elizabeth-smart-in-her-prime/ trying to demean her and bring her down, but she is a beautiful human being, a prime example of the awesomeness of the human spirit. Our greatest accomplishments can come out of our lowest moments, and we can rise out of them a brilliant phoenix. That's what these women are, smart, strong and beautiful.

 

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs

I was fortunate enough to grow up in the 90's. My generation got to grow up still being kids. We'd look forward to getting a skip-it, bop-it, Barbies, Polly Pockets, Pogs, yak-baks for Christmas. We got to watch the antics of Will Smith on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", the make-ups and break-ups of Zach and Kelly on "Saved by the Bell" and the young and goofy Ryan Gosling on "Breaker High". The 90's was also when households were introduced to new technologies like personal computers. The book "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" written by Chuck Klosterman is an insightful book relating 80's and 90's pop culture to life issues. It's very clever, witty and full of humour. The book is written in short essays based on a subject and a pop culture topic that relates. This is one of my favourite books, I've read it multiple times and I'm still able to gain something new every time I do. It's a refreshing read about serious topics and has a humourous outlook on life. Though it may seem like Klosterman is taking an almost nihilist perspective on the meaning of life, I believe he's more of an absurdist. Perhaps I just believe so because I'm an absurdist and that's how I read this book. Regardless if you want a good laugh, but still want to read something with value, "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs", will provide you with both.

                                      

Perks of Being a Wallflower

I recently saw the movie "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and it's such an inspirational movie. It portrays the life of a gifted boy who is first entering high school and really just wants friends and to fit in. Stephen Chbosky did an amazing job of writing the book, which is a series of letters written by Charlie, the main character, to a person he's never actually met. The book is so emotional because Charlie is so honest and truthful, you are able to feel what he's going through. But Chbosky also wrote and directed the movie, which also did a great job of explaining Charlie and his life. Chbosky is extremely talented and I look forward to his future projects. What is interesting about Charlie is the fact that he is so smart but is confused by the world and the people in it. He spends his time trying to understand instead of just experiencing life. It makes me laugh because those who are intellectually gifted struggle with just this issue and people who are lacking smarts think they know everything. In actuality most people don't really know as much as we think and we all have things to learn. There's a lot to be learnt from this book and movie and I highly recommend both of these media. Especially if you are starting something new, whether it's a new job, new school, moving away, this book/movie helps you realize to just live. Right now in my own life, I'm about to graduate university, my best friend moved in with me a couple months ago, I've made amazing friends these past 2 years and I'm happy, I understand what it means to feel infinite. Thank you Charlie.                                                                                                           

Love always, 

TheTatteredTurtle

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659337/

After Undergrad

I am about to graduate from my undergrad degree and there are no words for my excitement, but I am also full of fear. I have so many different options open to me after I graduate how am I suppose to know what the right decision is? I could move to another country to start a whole new chapter of my life. I could start a career, gain work experience and return to grad school in a couple years. I could go to grad school now. For those of us who are aware of the many current articles out there that talk about this issue specifically are completely mixed. Some say it's a better idea to stay in school, others say it could be a mistake to continue your education in our current society. Ultimately the choice is your own and no outside source is going to make it for you. Just be aware of what you want out of life, make your decision about what will make you happy and help you become the type of person you want to be :)  

Christmas Season

The Christmas season is suppose to be a joyous time of the year, but in reality people have misconstrued almost every aspect of Christmas. We've made it about consumer products and political correctness. What we really should be focused on is caring for others, and feeling blessed for what we have. We should want to help those less fortunate and spend time with our loved ones. It may sound a little cliche, but currently in the world we live in these things are constantly put to the way side. To be honest it shouldn't be about religion either, religion seems to divide people and we should be coming together as a whole instead. These concepts should be followed in our everyday lives, all the time, but that isn't the case and if the Christmas season is the only time this is really emphasized we should talk advantage of it. I say we should abuse others with kindness not our religious integrity or consumer products. Just try and keep these simple but crucial concepts in mind this Christmas. With that being said:


MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The Meaning of Life

 Natural psychology seems more philosophical than other fields of psychology, which seems appropriate since psychology's roots are in philosophy. The article below explores the age old question "what is the meaning of life?" If you've never contemplated this question, you truly need to in order to understand your own life. The only finite things to life are your birth and death, the journey is completely up to your own volition. In my opinion I do not believe there is a simple answer to this question. Perhaps the only simple answer would be to find the things that make you happy, but even that answer is more complicated than it seems. I have never lived my life pursuing one specific purpose, because there is not one purpose that could encompass a whole person's life. I think it is more important to live life with eyes wide open, keeping your own morals and values as guidelines, but not concrete. Maybe we are just meant to live life as it comes and enjoy the journey until it's end. This includes all the ups and downs, because even the things do not seem so positive do contribute to the person we become. I think everything would be worth it's while in the end if we could be happy with the person we've become. Just because there is no definite meaning to life does not mean it is sad or pathetic, it gives us the opportunity to set our own goals and create the life we want, not follow some intended structured path. This idea is what makes life have such intrinsic meaning in my opinion. The best part of this question is that it's open-ended, so you can determine your own "meaning to life," whatever that may be.  
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rethinking-psychology/201211/why-choosing-your-life-purpose-is-so-darn-hard

Vase; A Metaphor For Love

This is how I look at relationships. A relationship is like a vase crafted by two loving people; fragile and beautiful. But when one person hurts the other, that vase falls and breaks, each person gets some of the pieces. They can choose to start trying to put the pieces back together, but if only one person is trying to put the pieces together, that vase won't be whole until the other is willing to work at it too. If that person doesn't care they will keep misplacing and losing pieces, until they've lost all their pieces or perhaps they decide to start rebuilding. If they do start trying to rebuild, the vase still won't be whole because of those already lost pieces, unless they are willing to go searching for them. The thing to remember is you will always be able to see the cracks and it will never be as strong as it previously was. That sounds like a slightly sad way to look at it, but you can also see the effort put forth by both parties to make it whole again and find beauty in the cracks.

Rape Myths

The idea that any woman wants to be raped is beyond any expression of words. No woman wants this, NONE. It's not a hard concept, if she says no than that's your first clue she doesn't want it. If she struggles it's more than obvious she doesn't want your nasty body parts anywhere near her. But somehow these stupid men committing rape don't see how that's not consent. How anyone can think a woman brings it upon herself to be raped by what she's wearing and how she's acting, needs a right smack in the head. No one brings that upon themselves and no one wants that. If you don't know or understand the meaning of "no" go back to kindergarten. Five year olds know what it means, how can thirty-five year olds not? And this whole aspect that men can't control their urges, get over yourself. We are grown people, we are the human species, the apparent superior species because we have the ability to think, SO DO IT! You have the ability to control your own behaviours, we have will power, use it! You are no more than a dumb, stupid animal if you commit rape. Don't give in to the rape myths either, they are just that, a myth. They aren't true and they are merely acting as excuses for peoples' actions, take control and responsibility of your own actions. And for anyone who believes rape myths, again use your head, get educated. If you think anyone deserves this, you're sick. 
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-love-and-war/201211/she-asked-it-the-impact-rape-myths

Glen Arthur

(The picture above is called Blood is Thicker Than Water, from The Ghost and the Banshee collection)
Glen Arthur, is one of my favourite artists. His pieces are always so well done. The titles of his pieces are clever and explain the meaning behind the piece. They seems like simple pieces but they are so complex. He uses different types of media and touches upon such serious life subjects. His artwork is so raw and I love his colour schemes, and his signature use of the hummingbirds. My favourite collection is the ghost and the banshee. The theme of daulity and the themes of each piece are hunting. I feel like we all face the idea of the image others see of us fighting against the image that we see. Also the good and evil in ourselves clashing. I can praise Arthur for all his work but it's more meaningful for you to experience for yourself.
This is a link to his website http://www.glennarthurart.com/Glenn_Arthur_Art.html
 

The Power of Laughter

Currently I am out of a job and need one desperately. I have some money troubles, who doesn't? The only thing causing me a ton of stress is the fact that I don't have a job, I'm not even finding school too stressful. But this job thing is killing me, literally. Stress is a silent killer. It increases neurotransmitters that can increase hormones like cortisol, which are harmful to the body. Cortisol decreases immune functioning, leaving you susceptible to illness and disease. A lot of recent research has been looking at the positive effects of laughter, which release hormones like endorphins (these hormones relax you). Laughter could quite possibly be considered a medication for fighting the effects of stress. Positive psychology is a fairly new area in the field, so more research needs to look at the subject of laughter. For now though I think it's safe to say whenever you feel a panic attack coming on, sit down and watch your favourite comedy.    
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/jobless-not-joyless/201210/unemployed-and-feeling-down-try-laughter-2

Awesome

The author of this article, Christopher Peterson, was a positive psychologist who recently passed away. This was the last article he wrote and somehow it is huntingly beautiful. He mentions his own death and how he hope that he leaves some kind of unique not necessarily lasting impact. His article talks about the true meaning of the word awesome, which has manifested into simply meaning good or bad (awful). In a way it's sad because it's true meaning has so much more depth. It means something is so great that it causes positive feelings but because it's so great it also causes fear. He talks about his awe inspiring memories, but also the true meaning of this moments. Most times we live our daily lives without giving much thought to the amount of people in the world and how we are all the same but also unique. One of the times I noticed this and had an awe moment was being in the Mall of America looking down from the top floor to all the levels. There were so many people and it looked like a giant ant hill. Everyone was just going about their business but I was struck in this awe inspiring moment. Sometimes these moments happen randomly, sometimes we plan them out, such as a trip to Greece, but these are the moments when we realize how amazing and beautiful life truly is. Even reading this article reminiscing about my own moments caused a bit of an awe moment in itself. Thank you Chris for giving me that.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-good-life/201210/awesome-e-pluribus-unum

DMT

This documentary is pretty eye opening. Not only does it highlight the features of DMT, an organic compound found in plants, animals and humans, but also makes you realize how ass backwards North American laws are. DMT is a natural drug and opens the mind up into a dream like state. To be honest it's extremely safe, in the idea that it doesn't harm the body because our bodies already make DMT. But apparently this drug can lead to life changing experiences. This documentary looks at a study that explored the effects of the drug, physically, but also the subjective experience. Most of the subjects are professionals, like psychologists, neuroscientists, writers and mathematicians. Even if you aren't into the whole drug experimentation, this documentary isn't merely about doing drugs, but also spirituality.  

http://thespiritmolecule.com/

Life is too short

We all of those moments when we contemplate what's important in life and what do we want to get out of our lives. A big thing we all look for is a happy, care-free existence, but in order to get to that point in life, there are a few things that we have to work towards. I agree with pretty much everything in this article. 
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pressure-proof/201210/life-is-too-short-10-things-not-worth-tolerating
It's important to keep a positive attitude, appreciate yourself and your body and to be happy with what you have. As sad as it is money does play a role in our happiness, it's important to be aware of your money problems but we shouldn't dwell on our financial shortcomings. One of the biggest things is this idea of perfect, of having the perfect life, perfect family, perfect job. There is no such thing as perfect and you will never achieve this. But there is maybe your ideal life and it may not be the same as someone else. Essentially, why should we be so concerned with other peoples lives, and what they think of ours, when we should be focused on create the best life we can in the way that we want to? Just as the article says life is too short for these types of worries. Everyone's different and so is their lives, it's because of all these differences that our world is so diverse. Not only that but it should make us thankful for having our very own lives and stories.

The Times They Are A-Changin

 Bob Dylan may be a controversial figure but his music is amazing. He is hands down one of the best lyricists in my mind and wrote about so many global and still relevant themes. When a musician can write something that is relevant and still relate-able years later that's how you know they are a true artist. Dylan was able to do that and I say that without hesitation. Though people may not like folkish music, you can't deny the power of his lyrics. You could just read his lyrics and they can come through as a poem instead of a song, that's the sign of an amazing writer. My favourite song, I think, by Dylan is "The Times They Are A-Changin". It's an extremely moving song and every generation can relate. More so now I think considering how rapidly the world has changed in the past 50 years. Our parents are so quick to judge us on so many topics like technology, school, sex, religious belief, life paths. They aren't exactly open minded and ready for the world to change. Our current generation is so much more open and ready to accept it I think. We have our own beliefs but we're open to listen to others as well. Regardless of whether or not anyone wants the world to change, it always will be, it's inevitable. Like Dylan says "you better start swimming, or you'll sink like a stone", this could not be more true. So below are the lyrics to the song and the song itself.   
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/thetimestheyareachangin.html