Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Ice Cream

So. Ice Cream. I dig it. (Or rather, I scoop it.) It is a large and important part of my life. Not only does it provide a break from the many stresses of my life, it is a mood-lifter. Like a sweet and creamy Prozac.

The many flavors and combinations available make it impossible to pick an all time favorite flavor... this may also have to do with the diverse range of my pallete, but my current flavor of choice is Dreyer's Strawberry Cheesecake Chunk. Whoever originally thought of combining cheesecake and ice cream should be given an award... like a giant golden ice cream cone.




My dad is an avid ice cream lover, so you might say I have ice cream running through my veins. I also worked at Cold Stone Creamery for awhile in High School, and let me tell you folks, you haven't tasted Cold Stone until you have had it straight from the ice cream machine, soft serve. It is probably the best ice cream I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, it is not redily available to the general public, and I may have to resort to mission impossible measures to get my hands on it. Or make friends with an owner of a Cold Stone. Or steal some somehow. That may sound extreme, but this stuff is worth breaking the law for.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Music Monday: Marie Digby

I recently discovered Marie Digby thanks to Pandora.com, and I can't get her stuff out of my head. She's a sort of pop/indie singer, with a mellow voice and killer guitar and piano skills. According to her bio on Pandora, she got her big break due to the video on youtube of her acoustic cover of Rihanna's song, "Umbrella."  I like Marie's version much better than Rihanna's.




When I finally exert my energies to learning the guitar, which I'm determined to someday do, I will look to Marie for inspiration. Maybe I'll post myself singing on youtube and get a big break. But I digress. Check out the link to her video of Umbrella, posted below. A "high quality" version of this song is available on iTunes.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=589Mvlz6LWE

Also, if you dig Digby like I do, she just came out with a CD this month, "Breathing Underwater"






Sunday, September 27, 2009

TV Show Shoutout: The Dick Van Dyke Show

I love The Dick Van Dyke Show. It is by far my favorite old tv show, having knocked I Love Lucy out of number one a few years ago. The comedic timing is amazing, and I'll admit, I've had a crush on Dick Van Dyke since Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins.




Not only is this tv show great for its comedy, it is also a killer look at the culture of the 60s, which is one of my favorite fashion and hairstyle eras.




So many great episodes... like the one where Alan Brady tests that hidden camera show, or the one where Rob thinks he sees a UFO.

What's also cool is that Laura, aka Mary Tyler Moore, actually has a personality. (Compared to say, June Cleaver or Donna Reed.) And Sally... a career woman! This show is a great example of how women's status was changing in America.

Cultural significance aside, I just love to watch this show. It's hilarious.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Random Rants: TV Surgery

Could someone please explain why anyone in their right mind would want to watch a surgery on television? I mean what, do people come home from work and think, "You know, I could really go for a good carotid endarectomy right about now." The only people who could justify that, in my mind, would be doctors. But after actually seeing surgury live, why would you want to watch it on tv?

My dorms have Discovery Health channel, a fact that I often forget, and as I'm flipping channels, BAM! open heart surgery! It is disgusting.




I also wonder, do the patients volunteer for this? And if so, does the doctor approach the patient about it?
"Let's see, so you'll be under for about two hours. It is a very routine procedure. Oh, also, would you mind if we filmed it and showed it on National television?"

Why WHY would people want to watch this? There are a plethora of hospital TV shows, if you are intersted in that, and at least then there is a plot and generally some hot actors.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Corellation dos NOT imply Causation

Did you know that in Hawaii, it is a proven statistic that as the rate of ice cream sales rise, so do the rate of shark attacks? I didn't.

This is what we learn in my Psychology class. My teacher presented several causes for this statistic. Perhaps, for instance, sharks are very fond of ice cream but have trouble obtaining it. Therefore, they eat humans who have consumed ice cream recently.

I was thinking, man, now I have a great fact to pull out at parties when things get dull, or maybe an ice breaker for talking to a guy at the library, or perhaps an interesting potential research paper.

No such luck.

Turns out, as my Psych professor reiterated about five hundred times, Correlation does NOT imply Causation. Or in other words, just because two statistics go together, we can't assume one causes the other.
The simple answer to the ice cream shark attack correlation is, of course, that when it is hot more people buy ice cream, and similarly more people go swimming. Hence, a rise in ice cream sales and shark attacks.

I have to admit that despite my loss of an interesting conversation starter, this was somewhat of a relief... because I like ice cream, and as Hawaii is my current place of residence... well, I wouldn't want to take any chances.