30 Day Clothing Challenge~Day 11: A Piece of Jewelry That a Grandparent Gave You

We're all saved!

Can I just take this moment to point out that since Romney did not win the election I won't be packing my things and moving to England?  I'm not saying Obama is the cure for everything, but hey, Bush had eight years to screw things up, so I say give Obama eight to try and fix it. Not to mention, he isn't a racist, homophobic, women-hating idiot who would have ended up offending every country known to man. I bet if Romney had won we would have been at war with Canada within the year... *facepalm*

Unfortunately, I'm surrounded by conservatives down here and they're all crying and yelling about the election results. Basically, this is my reaction to the number of people that have said to me because I don't like the current views of the Republican party (And ESPECIALLY Romney) I'm part of the American population that has doomed this country and are betraying God.

Um, have you ever heard of seperation of church and state? We are not a theocracy people. But I'm not going to go on about politics. I spammed everyone on Tumblr enough before the election and that's over and done with. Time to move on! I couldn't pick just one thing I've received from my grandparents, so here are my favorites through process of elimination. I'm not really sure if most of them are even considered "jewelry"  but whatever.

A pocket watch that I'm going to find a chain for and turn into a necklace.

I'm not sure if this counts, but it's a Russian clock(minus the wristband) from the 70s.

Do I have a shirt that requires cufflinks? Nope. But they're really old and I love them.

I have a pair with Viking ships too! I'm not sure where the other one is right now...

And of course, my ankh. Simple and goes with everything.

In other news...

1. I just read a book called Shadow and Bone. Unfortunately, like almost all YA books out there at the moment it has a love triangle, but the originality of the rest of the book makes up for that. Not to mention, the villain is amazing. So go go read it!
2. This is completely personal, but my marching band got top marks at the competition we do every year. Straight superiors! We spent all day at the citrus bowl watching the other bands. One of them did Gangham Style. (And it was HILARIOUS) There was a Back to the Future show which made me very happy and then some of the more serious bands were great. (Our show was a New Years theme if you wanted to know. People loved it.) 
3. DVD releases for the Beetlejuice cartoons are set for 2013!
4. Young Dracula Season 4 has started up. I've seen the two episodes and I'm really excited.

That's all I have for you this time. Here's the outfit of the day ^^

Makeup and Animal Testing

I want to draw attention to a serious issue that a lot of people don't think about. It's more commonly known nowadays that animals bred for food are treated inhumanely. (Hence, while I could not become a vegetarian we only buy organic meat with the assurance that the animals lived free range and were well treated.) However, what about makeup?

Every year millions of animals are killed while testing cosmetic products. Companies use painful tests to determine the irritation level of the products on skin and the tissue of the eye. Commonly used are rabbits, who are caused so much pain you can actually hear them scream. Animals are forcibly made to inhale or ingest the product to determine toxicity levels. The creatures are poisoned, blinded, burned, and killed without regard.

Animal testing is not required of cosmetic companies. So why do they continue this atrocity? Simply reluctance to change the way they've done things. It's ridiculous considering the more accurate and cheaper tests that can be done using skin cultures.

How can you make a difference? Don't use their products. There are plenty of brands that don't animal test. Refuse to use the products of the companies that still continue this barbaric act. And please tell the people you know. Oftentimes people don't change because they don't know the reality of the issue. If people have knowledge they're more likely to act against it.

If you use products that animal test try your best to switch. I know those little $3 Maybelline eyeshadow compacts are convenient and right there, but really the quality is no good anyway. I'm not trying guilt trip anyone, (well, maybe a little) but I wouldn't want to put on my makeup every morning and wonder how many bunnies died so I could look pretty.

For more info click here. There's a list of all the companies that animal test and the ones that don't on the website.

Horror Movies and Desensitization

Does anyone ever feel like horror movies don't leave the lasting impact you want them to? I honestly like to be scared. Scratch that, I like to be terrified when I see a horror movie. I'm addicted to the little thrill you get from it. A long time ago, when I first started out with things like The Ring, I jumped at shadows for weeks. The Grudge had me checking my bathroom every 5 seconds and locking my black cat out of my room. Even Jaws made me want to stay out of the ocean. Nowadays it seems I can't find anything that does more than creep me out for a few hours.

It all leads back to desensitization. It's gonna happen. You watch enough scary stuff and you start becoming accustomed to it. Which means you look for scarier and scarier stuff to satisfy your horror movie cravings. When you get to the point where nothing scares you what do you move on to? I still enjoy horror movies. They just don't have the same...kick.

After you've seen a lot of really good ones you start to notice the flaws in lesser ones. You can't help it! You start to pick at the little things and compare them how said superior movie did it. Nothing is ever good as that one movie.

Gore doesn't make things scarier to me. Period. I think you can have a very good horror movie without excessive and unnecessary blood spray. However this leads back to desensitization. Producers want to make scarier and scarier movies to keep people on the edge of their seats. They seem to think gore and torture will accomplish this. To me, it just makes it disgusting. I've seen so many movies where I've been utterly grossed out without ever feeling a bit of fear. (One reason I enjoy older horror movies.)

I mean, really?

I don't think there are enough good psychological horror movies out there. (If you know one please suggest it!) I like movies that mess with your mind and leave you going "What the hell just happened?"  There are still good movies like that being made. Eventually though, people will run out of ideas and just continue to up the blood and guts.

But think about it. Desensitization. We see horrible things on the news every day, horror movies get gorier every year, children play M rated violent games, and there are little kids running around Halloween Horror Nights. (I've seen it!). Back in the day (Before I was born) people were walking out of theaters and throwing up during The Exorcist. As amazing as that movie is, if you compare it to things today it pales in comparison in the graphic details department. What's it going to be like in another 20 years? 50? Do you think this desensitization is eventually going to have a negative effect?

Still, I'm going to continue my search for more enjoyable horror movies. There are so many out there that I still haven't seen so I have hope. Not to mention I can still appreciate a good movie even if it's not necessarily scary. Send me your recommendations!

Gay Marriage Mini-rant

Well I'm about half a month late with this but no one else had brought it up so I figured why not? North Carolina recently placed a ban on same-sex marriages, making 30 states in total that will not recognize it. I honestly consider this an outrage. I have several gay friends and if any if them wanted to get married to the person they love then why the hell not?

It bothers me how narrow minded people are as much as I've come to expect it. Love is love and gender should be of absolutely no consequence to marriage. The surprising thing about the vote was that when a poll was taken on peoples' opinions on same-sex relationships, two-thirds of them supported some sort of legal recognition for the couples. And yet, the ban passed.

This is one instance in which I really dislike organized religion. I have absolutely nothing against people's beliefs and I think religion can be a beautiful thing, but when people begin to interpret things to suit themselves it pisses me off. The bible does not have to be against gay relationships, it doesn't have to be interpreted that way. People assume that it should be, and that makes it rather unfortunate that there are so many Christians of the close-minded variety living there.

It made my day when Obama stepped up to publicly say he supports same-sex marriages. Go Mr. President! Be controversial! (I really do hope he gets re-elected. I think he's good for the country.)

Of course everything I just said is entirely my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own. I just had to get that off my chest ^^