Three Words, Eight Letters

First word and first letter: I.

Whenever characters on Gossip Girl have a rising chemistry there comes a time when it is hard to communicate any further. There are things they want to say, that cannot be said. They ache inside because they have been drowned in a sea of butterflies galore (wait what?). Okay this scenario only happens when one of the people with budding chemistry is Blair Waldorf.

Second word and letters 2- 5: love.

Who cannot help but love Blair Waldorf?! I adore her! It all started with the first episode and a catty girl wearing a darling black dress with sheer sleeves and an oversized bow on her head! Catty? Yes. That's the word for the character I knew I would root for. You have to understand that I have OD'd from my television on numerous occasions and that I already knew that if someone displayed the characteristics the lovely BW displayed that she was being misunderstood. I think you're having a hard time following.

Brief history of the misunderstood Blair Waldorf up until the pilot: Blair's father left her mother to pursue the way that he was born (gay). Blair's mother has never played a major role in her life, in fact the maid Deroda is more motherly with her. Also, Blair's boyfriend since grade school(I'm taking your word Chuck Bass) has always had a thing for Serena. Cue Serena (Tall, outrageous, party crazed BFF). Blair has always found the need to compete with Serena, she even suffers from bulimia.

That's as much of a history as I'm going to lay out.

Third word, letters 6-8: you.

I love you! Those are the very three words, eight letters it took Chuck Bass 2 seasons to find the courage to say! Those are the same three words, eight letters that were allowing Dan Humphrey to run off with BW! Do I really have to wait another full season to hear someone else say that to her?! Please, give me my Dair! I beg of you.

This is how easy it is to say, "I love you!" I love you Blair Waldorf, I do! You're headbands, you're outfits, your education, you're starring role in the Age of Innocence opposite Dan Humphrey, your intolerance of girls that wear leggings as pants, your love of Audrey and macaroons, your taste in literature and knowledge of the world, and movies at the forum! Dan Humphrey/Gossip Girl writers, I beg of you to allow three words, eight letters to be said this season!

That is all.

Cutie Patooties of the Week

I didn't make a mistake, I do mean cuties.  You have to understand that there was just so much cuteness going on this week.  How is a little squirrel to choose just one?  They couldn't, so brace yourself for the cuties.

Seth Rogen.  "But he's chubby. But his laugh."  Seth is not the typical choice, we get it.  He's perfect to a few of us squirrels and that's all that matters.  He has the most amazing laugh in the world if you ask two of us.  What's greater than his laugh?  His ability to make us laugh so hard!  He's one of the funniest guys in Hollywood, and a sense of humor goes a long way.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  A more obvious choice, why certainly.  He's got dimples, a great sense of style, and yeah, he's sexy.  Have you heard the man's french?  More importanly have you heard him sing?  I can list the many talents of Mr. Gordon-Levitt all day, but there's some stuff you have to see for yourself.

Tell me that doesn't make you swoon!

Jonah Hill.  I'll go as far as saying he was cute pre-weight loss because he has always been a funny guy with confidence.  But homeboy has been standing next to Brad Pitt a lot lately, and all I can say is, "Who is Brad Pitt?"  He's still got the funny bone in him!  And can I just say he's cuter in person!  But what I really want to know is if you had five minutes alone with those baby blues, what would you do?  And by some bizarre chance that you're reading this Jonah, I got your back against Mathew Morrison!

That's all 3 of them folks!  You can catch Seth and Joseph in 50/50 out next week and Jonah in Moneyball, now out.

Study Time! Studying Tools to Success.

We have been lagging on posts and we apologize. But is little squirrels have been super busy with school and all the fall shows that are starting this week! Anyways with that being said, some of us are almost a month into school, which means tests are starting! So here are some study tips.

(Rory helping Jess study. I wouldn't be able to concetrate with him as my study buddy)

1. Literally memorize all the notes. That's what Little Squirrel Mariela does! We know this can be overwhelming, but organization is key. Figure out when the test is and seperate the notes into parts. Studying one hour a day is less overwhelming than six hours the day before. Use the day before as review time of everything you have memorized!

2. Flash cards! We know this is something you probably did in second grade but it really does help. You can even put pictures of some cuties on the cards, such as Ryan Gosling, or Elijah Wood, remembering their faces may help you connect a certain vocab word with the definition. It can also make studying less boring.

3. Study Buddies! Ok, this does not always work because there can be distractions. But seperate your time in intervals of 15 minutes. 15 mn of each of you guys studying the same material. 15 minutes of quizzing each other or asking each other any questions. 15 minutes of reviewing anything you missed and again 15 minutes of another quiz! then you guys can have a 30 minutes break of chit-chat, and start the process all over again!

(I would love to be that girl next to him)

4. Actually pay attention in class! There are always one or two questions that come up on tests that make me go, "Oh darn! I didn't study this but I totally remember the professor talking about this!". I know it can be hard sometimes, but if you get bored in class just try writing everything the proff. says it may actually help and keep you entertained.

That is all! If any other of you guys have any other studying tips, please share! Toodles!

-Mariela

Cutie Patootie of the Week

So it seems to have been a great year for Ryan Gosling! We little squirrels can't seem to get enough of him, and I have been crushing on him for a total of eleven years, yeah that's fours years prior to the Notebook for all you late comers. I'm sure someone has been crushing on him since his Mouseketeer days but I was only 2 when his stint ended so I call that dedication. How can anyone be crushed on for so long? Well we little squirrels present you with a short list.

1) He has mastered the craft of acting. He held his own against Anthony Hopkins in Fracture, played a self-destructive teacher in Half Nelson, an offbeat man in love with a sex doll in Lars and the Real Girl, and an astounding father in a broken marriage in Blue Valentine with such raw effort. The man is a natural!

2)This: http://youtu.be/dDAJ-QX7qns Just ignore the inaccurate subtitles.

3)The man has got some spectacular facial expressions, specifically this blinking eye thing. I couldn't find any good pictures of it, instead I invite you to Google him as often as you want or view Lars and the Real Girl, where he constantly does it.

Update:Searching for another photo, I finally found a decent one! If this is unattractive to you then you're just evil.

4)He's got a nice voice. Ryan sings and plays for Dead Man's Bones and you might remember the memorable ukelele scene from Blue Valentine.

5)He's probably the best dressed actor in Hollywood, wearing experimental variations of the tux and embracing colorful socks. 6)He loves candy. Cue an interview he did with Esquire.
"Hi-chews! Look at these! It's the candy that never quits on you. This candy is always worth the price. There used to be a candy called Bonkers, which I believe to be the greatest candy of all time."

7)He frequents the 7-11! This is my store! I love it, we drink the same iced coffee!
8)He is quite fond of his best friend.
9)Because he gets better with age.

10)Couldn't you just drown in his blue eyes?!

11)Alright, the man is pretty darn fit. You've all seen the previews to Crazy, Stupid, Love so I won't post any photos because from what I hear that stuff embarrasses him.

12)He stops fights. He may regret it now, but we honor his bravery!
http://youtu.be/BTKvhyuPlrA

You can see Ryan Gosling in Drive, now out.

Cutie Patootie of the Week

This week's cutie patootie is Anderson Cooper. It has been a newsie week, with the Obama speech and the anniversary of 9/11 coming up, so we thought this was appropriate. But this is not a political blog, so let's get to the point.

Anderson Cooper is a journalist/reporter/correspondent. He is nicknamed the "silver fox" and his blue eyes are labeled "national treasures". Now like the rest of the cutie pooties, Anderson Cooper is more than just a pretty face. He graduated from Yale where he majored in political science and international relations. He even interned with the CIA in college!

Although journalism was not his major, he decided to try to get in the journalism business because he considers himself a "news junkie".

After much persistence and hard work he was able to get in the business by selling his home-made news segments/interviews to Channel One. Mr. Cooper has been reporting on some of the biggest events in history. He has been on assignment in the Rwandan Genocide, and was recently in the Egyptian revolution, where he even got beaten by rebels. Before, he had been a TV show host for a show called "The Mole", but after the 9/11 attacks he decided that the news was where he was supposed to be.

As a Journalism major, and future journalist (Little Squirrel Mariela speaking) Anderson Cooper has gained my respect. It is amazing to not only watch these historic events on tv, but to somewhat be present, and part of it, and having the responsability to inform the public. I truly see his passion for his job when I see him reporting on location.

Now, Anderson Cooper has his show AC360 on CNN, and will also have a new show on the local FOX channels, starting September 12.

And for your enjoyment, here's a video of Anderson giggling.

NBC Comedy Night

Yesterday was a huge day for the TV on DVD community. The majority of NBC's comedies were released. As a fan, you know I made the trip. Did I not mention I'm a fan? Let me get this straight then, I am a huge fan!! NBC gets me, and I get it; that's what I call love.
As it is September and Fall TV is right around the corner, I'd like to take you on a journey. Be warned, I will only be telling you about those shows returning, so if you don't see 30 Rock it's okay it will be back for mid season.
Let's begin shall we?

1) The Office:

Say what you will, maybe it's lost its touch over the years but I'm still in for another ride even if it means Steve Carell won't be at the wheel. Season 7 had some great moments. We got an entire episode of the epic Threat Level Midnight, written by Michael "freakin'" Scott, Andy performing in Sweeney Todd, and Michael proposing to Holly, even taking big steps to follow her in troubled times. I got my wish come true of who should take over Michael's post when he left. Seniority ruled for an entire episode and Creed Bratton didn't know what was going, and I'm pretty sure he used office headquarters for one of his cults. But best of all, we fans got the sweetest send off, Michael threw away his "World's Best Boss" coffee cup that he bought at Spencer's for a trophy that he actually earned. I love the cast so much that I am fully prepared for the 8th season, good or bad.

2)Parks and Recreation:

I give Parks and Recreation a lot of respect! While most shows fall into the sophomore slump, it rose to the occasion just like the Office. Even more impressing is that its third season is its best by far! I don't know what it is, maybe that Rob Lowe was never this funny, maybe that Adam Scott is a breath of adorable, snotty fresh air as he falls for Leslie! Maybe it's Ron Swanson, maybe it's Snake Juice. I don't know, all I got to say is that Parks has a lot going on, and they make it work. The cast is great as they all have amazing chemistry together and season 4 is going to be quite exciting as it returns for its second full length season, I say second because seasons 1 and 3 were mid seasons.

3)Community:

I've said it before and I will say it again. This is my favorite show on television. Why? Several reasons, including that I am a pop culture, movie junkie and this show is a blessing for that crowd! The cast is superb, each and every one of them have the talent and comedic skill to be allowed to grace the screen with the legendary Chevy Chase, and I'm even talking about it's amazing side characters. My favorite three are the wonderful trio of Abed (Danny Pudi), Troy (Donald Glover), and Annie (Alison Brie). Abed is the coolest guy from another planet because he's seen more movies than I've ever dreamed of, and yeah he's crazy cool enough to imagine a claymation Christmas episode. Troy is the jock that you'd never thought you'd meet, he's weird enough to be BFF with Abed and is Levar Burton's biggest fan! He's also a gifted cryer, YouTube: "Donald Glover crying" and tell me that it isn't hysterical. And what's there to say about Annie besides the fact that she actually lives the life of a poor college Jewish student, she's also a brown noser and a master attacker of chloroform. The best part about this show besides its wonderful cast? It's not afraid to be over the top! It knows how to do a good theme episode, including a spectacular Zombie meets Abba Halloween, claymation Christmas, Apollo 13 , Dungeons and Dragons, Pulp Fiction meets My Dinner with Andre, action, western, and Star Wars. Until I see anything greater I will proudly state that Modern Warfare is the greatest 22 minutes of anything that I've ever seen on television, it's just that great. It even had a two part sequel, and while I might still love the first one more, I think it was just as good. And don't even get me started on Dan Harmon, the Emmy's won't give him the respect he deserves but it's fine because he's got one of the most devoted fan bases on television. This is a very long paragraph about my devotion to this show, so maybe that's convinced you enough.

I don't know where you'll be on Thursday nights this fall but mine are, at the moment, NBC sacred.

Joe Brooks

As you may or may not know, us little squirrels love us some British accents, so allow me to introduce to an independent singer-songwriter i discovered about a year in a half ago, Joe Brooks.

Joe Brooks is originally from the UK and I discovered him as he was one of the related videos Youtube recommended to me. I was bored so I decided to click, and I had a nice pleasant surprise. He is just one of those guys that sits down with his guitar and sings some wonderful tunes. This is what I first saw of him, and the only "official, professional" video he has.

This is what I thought as I saw this.

1. Whoah this guy is cute.
2. Whoah he has a nice voice.
3. Aw this song is kinda cute.
4. Aw he's drinking tea.
5. I like this I need to do more research on him

So I did do more research, and I discovered he had an album out called Costellation Me. His songs make me happy, and put me in a good mood. I like that he is literally indie. For his new EP, "A Reason to Swim", which came out just this Tuesday, he made it out of donations he received from fans and whoever donates would receive the EP before it was released on itunes. He even gave the cape, tennis shoes, and glasses, he wore on his 'Superman' video to three donators.

He posts a lot of youtube videos of him singing and keeping his fans up to date with his music. He seems super sweet, with an amazing accent and voice. He has been able to accomplish quite a bit of fame online, and has even performed at the Roxy and in Korea! But he mainly performs in very small vanues. I dream of one day paying a full $10 (which is what his tickets usually sell for) and see him live.

And this is just him performing. He's very cute.

By: Mariela!

What's Your Favorite Book?

A little birdie told this squirrel that it's National Read a Book Day. So how am I celebrating? By watching the greatest show about a book lover ever, Gilmore Girls! Literati say what? All jokes aside, I love books! I love that smell! Number 35 on my bucket list is to visit the Yale library for crying out loud. As much as I love my Kindle, I shall be opening a book tonight. But which one? Might as well be a favorite, I can't say that I have a specific favorite, but here's my list of the moment in no particular order:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll

This list will probably change in a few years and I have no objections to that because I know that it will be filled with books that I love.

So what's your list? Or do you perhaps have a favorite? Tell me in the comments.

Reason I Currently Love the H&M Website

Who doesn't love H&M?! I'm obsessed. One of my biggest pet peeves has always been that you can't shop from their website, not because I only do online shopping, but because I want to know how much money to bring to the store with me. Sadly the website had always been a preview of about three peices or looks and offered the pricing for only those. It was always a bummer, until now!

Curiosity and boredom for a piece I saw in the store the other lead me back to their site, where long behold...they had pricing for a great number of items! You still can't shop it, although they did a special two days on Thursday and Friday for they will be launching ecommerce next year! Yes this time next year if your little heart so desires you can be shopping from your living room.

But the reason I just about die over the current state of the website? The website now has an online dressing room! The link: http://www.hm.com/us/dressingroom/LADIES As in you can plan your outfits ahead and see how much mileage you will get out of that hundred dollar coat! I've been making outfits for the last half hour. I've always said that if all of my backups fail, I would like to be a stylist, and if that is your main plan in life why not try it out on the website! It's super fun!

P.S. If you're optimistic you can even dress your ideal guy. I know a squirrel or two that might like this.

Cutie Patootie of the Week

And the winner is.... Casey Affleck. Casey is the younger brother of Ben Affleck and has appeared in Chasing Amy and Good Will Hunting along side Ben. Just like his brother, Casey is very good looking (that is why he is the Cutie Patootie of the week, duh!).

The first movie I saw Casey in was Ocean's Twelve (yes, I saw Ocean's Twelve before Ocean's Eleven). His character, Virgil Malloy, doesn't have a big role though. Afterwards, I saw the other 2 Ocean's movies and kinda forgot about him. Being besides huge names like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon made me forget about his role. I do remember though that every time Casey would have a scene without Pitt, Clooney, or Damon I would always wonder who that was. Unfortunately, those movies where the movies that made me like George Clooney, so I didn't really follow up on him. Now that I look back, I am disappointed in myself because I didn't pay much attention to him and he can totally pull of a mustache and is a great actor, of course.

I recently watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and I really enjoyed the movie. Even though Brad Pitt is the main character, to me, Casey Affleck was the star of the movie. I loved every scene he was in. Casey made me like Robert Ford; made me feel sorry for him. I don't know if it was intended for the audience to feel sorry or sympathetic towards Robert Ford, but I did. This film earned Casey numeral nominations for his performance which he rightfully deserved. I am sure that everyone that watches this film will not argue that Casey Affleck did an amazing job. Watch it and tell me you think otherwise.

I will strongly advice everyone to go check out Casey Affleck because he is an incredible actor and very cute. I also like his voice; it's so... aghhh... I can't really explain it, I just like it. Another plus, he is vegan. He cares about animals and about what he puts into his body. Oh, and did I mention that he went to Columbia University and majored in physics, astronomy, and Western philosophy? I don't know about you, but I find intelligence super cute. Casey is a great actor, is incredibly cute, cares about animals, and is smart. Can you ask for more?

Back to school

So for many, school has started. This is my second year of college and second semester living on campus. There are many new people living in my building and I have gotten inspired to write a few tips on how to get along and "survive" your first year/semester living in college.

1. Try to get along with your roommate. This is a very important thing to remember. You will have to see your roommate almost everyday, and most importantly, you both share a really small room with all your shit in it. So if you piss of your roommate from the start, she might want to get a little revenge and mess/hide/destroy your stuff. Last semester I got along very well with my roommate. We talked, we hung out, we shared clothes/food, and we were honest with each other. You guys don't have to be bff's, but try to get along.

2. Get along with your suite mates/people on your floor. You are not sharing a room with these people, but you are living with them. So instead of going straight to the RA for the smallest things, just talk to them. You might be surprised to learn that they will find a solution to the problem without involving the RA and will make them have respect towards you instead of hating your guts. Don't be a bitch.

3. Leave the drama for high school. Seriously a huge problem with freshman. Nobody gives a shit about your drama! Learn to be a fuckin adult! The world does not revolve around you and we do not want to hear every little insignificant event of your day/life. Do not go around talking about others; confront them!

4. Don't go to sleep at 9pm. Almost everyone sleeps after 11, so there will be noise up until everyone sleeps. Do not get angry if you are not able to sleep cause people are still awake. We have things to do and are not going to sleep early just for you.

5. Do not party everyday. You are here to learn, not party. Sure go to a parties, but not excessively. Are you really going to throw away thousands of dollars just to party? Why not just drop out of school and party everyday? Let's see how far that'll take you.

6. Go to your classes. Again, you paying thousands of dollars for your education so you might as well go to class and learn. College is not mandatory, so if you do not want to learn then stop wasting time. In your place there could be someone who actually wants to learn.

These are all the tips I could think of. Do you have anymore tips? Do you agree? Disagree?