#Also he has way to much personality to just fill the role of cold utilitarian

[madametamma]

I like The GIW’s place in the Danny phantom universe. Specifically because they’re one dimensional villains.  With the other ghost hunters that appear in the show, like Valerie or the Fentons, there exists the complex answers to the question of ‘how would they react to finding out that the creature they’ve been hunting down and have plans to torture is actually a human?’  Even worse a human that they personally care about. 

There are great stories to be made about that, but lets be honest we need at least ONE ghost hunting faction that won’t slow down upon discovering Danny’s secret.  If anything, they get more persistent at capturing him upon discovery.

The canon material mostly used them to poke fun at bureaucracy and what happens when an organization clearly doesn’t care WHO it hires so long as they tick the boxes.

But when the Phandom uses them for horror purposes, they’re really effectively scary.  We all know the evil that can come from people paid to just do a job and not think twice about the people affected by said job.

I’m glad that among the ghost hunters in the show, we’ve got something to fill that roll.

[food-and-culture-by-elze]

Coffee culture

"Coffee - the favorite drink of the civilized world." - Thomas Jefferson

History of coffee

The heritage of coffee can be traced back centuries. The Ethiopian Legend says that a goat herder saw his goats munching on red berries, which made them extremely hyper and energetic – they were bouncing around the field, playing, they did not want to sleep at night. Afterwards, he showed his findings to the monastery of the town, which started making a drink from the berries, that kept people focused while sitting through long, tiring prayers (National Coffee Association, 2020).

The popularity of coffee quickly spread all over the globe. Coffee was a bonding beverage – it was a center for exchanging information - even nowadays, people ask each other “Do you want to go grab a coffee?” when they want to catch up with a friend. As well as that, people drank it while watching performances, playing chess, listening to music.

However, coffee was not liked by everyone. Some people considered it to be the “bitter invention of Satan”, because of its taste and the effect it had on people. That lead to many attempts to ban coffee in different countries. For example, in Constantinople, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Murad IV punished everyone who was seen with a cup of coffee with a beating. If the person was seen drinking coffee again, they would get sewn into a leather bag and thrown into the river (National Coffee, 2015). Such a vicious punishment for just two cups of coffee?

The discovery of coffee. Retrieved from googleimages.com

Coffee culture

Nowadays coffee can be found anywhere. It is not considered dangerous to be seen in public, holding an americano or a latte. People have completely revolutionised the drink. Now, it can be enjoyed in plenty of different varieties. Hot or cold, with or without milk, sweeteners, sugar, syrups. There are plenty of coffeeshops on every corner, making it a very easily accessible drink.

Speaking about different varieties of coffee, Kopi Gu Yu is a coffee that is widely popular in Asia (more specifically Thailand, Singapore). Butter is added to the coffee, to enrich its taste. 

Kopi Gu Yu. Retrieved from googleimages.com

Another interesting coffee experience is the Irish Coffee. The Irish created it by mixing coffee, cream, sugar and whiskey! This drink was mainly used to warm American travellers in freezing Irish towns, but now it is a beverage that the whole public loves (Irish Central, 2020). 

Irish coffee. Retrieved from googleimages.com

Mixing coffee with alcohol is not uncommon, there are plenty of other alcoholic cocktails that include coffee. Furthermore, Karsk is a Nordic coffee cocktail, that originated in Russia. To make it, the person needs to put a coin in the cup and fill the third of the cup with coffee. Then, add moonshine (a high alcohol content drink). The aim of putting the coin is so the drinker knows when to stop adding moonshine – when the alcohol dilutes the coffee and the coin is visible through the drink (Homegrounds 2018).

Karsk. Retrieved from googleimages.com

Apart from different ways of drinking it, coffee can also be aesthetically pleasing. During the 1980s, coffee has also become a form of art. Latte art was developed in the United States by a coffee shop owner David Schomer (Holmes, 2008). He found a technique of pouring frothed milk into a cup, that made a heart shape on top of the coffee. Now, baristas are even more creative when it comes to latte art. They use sprinkled cocoa powder, milk foam, syrups creating all kind of patterns, pictures.

Coffee art. Retrieved from googleimages.com

Due to the development of coffee, its purpose has changed as well. When analysing coffee and the Triadic Approach, previously it has been utilitarian – it was drunk to keep people awake during long prayers (Charters, 2006). However, currently, the motives of drinking coffee are more experiential – people get to spend time with their friends and family while enjoying the beverage. Of course, coffee still plays an important utilitarian role in a lot of people’s mornings, helping them wake up and get to work, school.  

Coffee and health

However, the biggest debate about coffee is – is it healthy or is it deadly?

Chu (2012) states that in the process of roasting coffee beans, a lot of the harmful compounds are removed, leaving it with many antioxidants that are beneficial to human health. Abramovic and Preedy (2015) agree with the statement of Chu, adding that coffee has compounds, that can fight the inflammation of chronic diseases. As well as that, coffee is said to boost metabolism (Shubrook, 2018). There have also been several studies that that found that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s (Alzheimer’s Society, 2015)!

On the other hand, another study concluded that drinking excessive amounts of coffee can significantly change the brain and lead to developing mental health – anxiety issues (Stafford et al., 2016). Besides coffee having beneficial compounds, it also has harmful substances (García-Moraleja, Font, Manes & Ferrer, 2015).

In conclusion, coffee is generally safe to drink and can be beneficial for the health. However, it affects everyone differently – some individuals may find that drinking coffee stops them from sleeping at night or negatively influences their thinking process (Poole, Kennedy, Roderick, Fallowfield, Hayes & Parkes, 2017). Adults should not exceed the safe drinking limit of coffee which is 400mg of caffeine (which equals to about 3 to 5 cups) a day (NHS, 2017).

My perspective

I enjoy coffee a lot. I used to drink it every morning, until I found out about matcha lattes, which I prefer over coffee. However, for me, coffee is more of a social experience. Whenever I want to meet a friend, I will always suggest them to go grab a coffee together. I also always try to make a very careful decision when choosing a coffee shop. It has to be cosy, have comfortable seating, the music cannot be too loud, it must have the socialising environment.  Then, I can peacefully enjoy getting to know the person or just catching up with them. I also noticed that in such situation, I never buy any other beverage, only coffee. Something about the caffeine makes it easier to talk, as well as sets time boundaries for the conversation. If one person is done with their cup, they can consider getting another one, to continue their talk. If they did not enjoy speaking to the other person as much, it is a great way to wrap up the meeting and go separate ways.

Coffee art. Retrieved from googleimages.com

References:

Alzheimer's Society. (2015). Caffeine and dementia. Retrieved from https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/

Charters, S. (2006). Wine and Society. Retrieved from www.dawsonera-com.libaccess.hud.ac.uk

Chu, Y. (2012). Coffee: emerging health effects and disease prevention. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

García-Moraleja, A., Font, G., Manes, J., & Ferrer, E. (2015). Simultaneous determination of mycotoxin in commercial coffee. Food Control, 57(1), 282-292. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.04.031

Holmes, S. (2008). 05 - David Schomer: Higher grounds at Espresso Vivace Roasteria. In . (Ed.) Entrepreneur Power Plays : How the World's Most Dynamic Thinkers Reach the Top of Their Game. (pp. 51-57) . New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Homegrounds. (2018). 17 Strange (Yet Intriguing) Coffee Experiences That You Must Try. Retrieved from https://www.homegrounds.co/

Homegrounds. (2018). Coffee Cocktails. Retrieved from https://www.homegrounds.co/coffee-cocktails/

Irish Central. (2020). A history and recipe to celebrate National Irish Coffee Day. Retrieved from https://www.irishcentral.com

National Coffee . (2015). 5 Attempts to Ban Coffee in History. Retrieved from https://nationalcoffee.blog/

National Coffee Association. (2020). The History of Coffee. Retrieved from http://www.ncausa.org

NHS. (2017). Four cups of coffee 'not bad for health' suggests review. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk

O’Neill Stafford, C E, Newsom, R J, Stafford, J, Scott, T, Archuleta, S, Levis, S C, ...Bachtell R K (2016). Adolescent caffeine consumption increases adulthood anxiety-related behavior and modifies neuroendocrine signaling. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1(1), 40-50. . Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808446/

Poole, R., Kennedy, O. J., Roderick, P., Fallowfield, J. A., Hayes, P. C., & Parkes, J. (2017). Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ, 360(1), 194-234. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j5024

Shubrook, N (2018). Is coffee good for you?. Retrieved from https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/

[thisisatester]

Common Application (Personal Statement):

The common app I wrote for Stanford was very personal so I’m choosing not to share it… BUT, I’m going to include the common app I sent to a bunch of ivies and other schools –

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Every Sunday morning, I pull up last week’s This American Life podcast on my phone, lace up my running shoes, and begin my trek up Lone Mountain – a heap of dirt, gravel, and rock, sitting isolated amidst suburban wasteland. Reaching the top, I stare out at a lackluster view of Las Vegas’ silhouette, barely distinguishable through the dust and smog shifting with the desert breeze. I look down at the 600ft drop briefly, turn around, and begin my trip back home – only to repeat the same journey next Sunday.

There is no breathtaking view or unique wildlife to draw me to my hike: it is the piercing cold air and aggressive terrain that instead excites my core. My Sunday morning hike is a series of struggles: my lungs clambering for oxygen, heart tirelessly pumping blood, and muscles straining to keep up with my pace, but I embrace the struggle. I find my own form of truth and contentment along the uphill journey.

It’s my belief that just barely finding the will to take the next step, and then suddenly discovering yourself unable to resist taking another, is among the most unique and surreal experiences a person can have. While my body teeters at the edge of complete collapse, I feel the most alive. The feeling must be akin to what drove Amelia Earhart to new skies aboard the Friendship, or Philippe Petit to the top of the twin towers. It is the challenges – the pain, sweat, and long nights – that inspire those who push the envelope to never slow down. This love for challenges accompanied Earhart to her death, led Petit to bullfighting and carpentry in lieu of fading in his old age, and I to early morning hikes instead of sleeping in.

“Each atom of that stone,

each mineral flake of that night filled mountain,

in itself forms a world.

The struggle itself toward heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.

One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

~Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus

Like Albert Camus, I imagine Sisyphus – condemned to roll a rock up a mountain, only to have it roll back down every time he reaches the top – happy. It is the challenges, struggles, and tribulations that energize Sisyphus and my spirit, not the prospects of reaching the top of the hill.

Sisyphus found happiness and the meaning of life in pushing that rock. The meaning of life is simply living it. I live through my hikes, experiencing what life has to offer through getting up each morning and seeking out new challenges. It is where I am happiest, listening to Ira Glass tell me new stories of people I’ve never met, and their own quests for happiness, while I venture out on my own. My hikes remind me that the simple opportunity to take small steps, to look adversity in the eye and to conquer it little by little, is what I value.

I believe that life is a perpetual climb, but that does not make me feel hopeless. I am content in knowing that I am like Sisyphus, constantly climbing. In this intrinsically meaningless desert I will create and learn, continue to push this boulder of existence, of life, not because I will reach the top and be done, but because it is in living and understanding suffering in the hardest of times, in my daily struggle to comprehend just how absurd everything is, that I experience the most full and beautiful of life that our human condition can offer. The absurdity of our condition inspires me to make my own meaning of it all – to study life, history, and our place in it.

That is why I trudge on – learning, growing, and creating, focusing on the next step and never the last.

Short Takes:

Favorite books, authors, films, and/or artists

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Book) – objective beauty, a love letter to the English Language 2. Bossypants by Tina Fey (Book) – my woman crush

Seven Psychopaths (Film) – what a trip!

Quentin Tarantino (Filmmaker) – artist, genius, mastermind…

Aaron Draplin (Graphic Designer) – a passionate eccentric

Newspapers, magazines, websites

Smashing Magazine – just great

PBS Idea Channel – is it how fast he talks or …?

reddit.com – lol

Most significant challenge society faces

I’ve seen my parents crash at the end of the week from being overworked. Society encourages this. America is overwhelmingly prone to depression and exhaustion, and that’s because we’ve put work over family, friends, and happiness, which is extremely unhealthy. We need to go back to finding a balance.

Last two summers

– burnt at the beach

– learned how to skate

– experienced summer!

Historical moment or event

The time Teddy Roosevelt got shot in the chest. The whole story sounds ridiculous – almost to the point that I don’t believe it. I’d want to experience it all – the shock, panic, and confusion – and when he still delivered his speech despite the bullet hole in his suit.

What five words best describe you?

Stressed and messy but fun

Intellectual Vitality (Idea or experience important to intellectual development):

My closet could be its own exhibit, boasting pieces dating back decades even centuries. Each new addition is evidence of a vibrant past, history substantialized through WWII patriotism in utilitarian-chic padded shoulders or 70’s liberation in soft cascading fringe.

When I started to make my own clothes, I saw how fashion also bridged the gap between my analytical and creative sides. Designs in my journal played with elements of geometry. I documented the way natural-fibers fared better than synthetic-fibers in heat and used chemistry to explain why organza curled at the mercy of a flame. Despite my analytical approach I let my imagination wander, embracing spontaneity and gripping my pencil loosely as ideas flowed onto paper. Like the corpus callosum I studied in biology, fashion connected both sides of me. It’s movement, design, and architecture all in one. It shows the world who I am and what inspires me.

My family thinks I’m shallow for loving clothing, but actually, my clothes have sparked my curiosity in history, culture, and design. Fashion is what holds everything together, with its ability to communicate ideas and movements, and to carry history in its threads. Learning the meaning behind each fabric, shape, or button, is exciting to me. More importantly, creating my own clothes has given me a love for combining all of what I know to create something exciting and brand new, energizing my love for learning and showing me that my education culminates in all of my pursuits.

Roommate Essay (Note to future roommate):

I’d text but I misplaced my phone… yes, again.

I left you a breakfast sandwich straight from The CoHo – for dealing with my mom’s insistence on taking a bajillion photos with her daughter’s “roomie” when she visited. Still getting to know you so I guessed your order, but who doesn’t love breakfast sandwiches? It might still be hot!

Anyways, have you heard of Cath in College? When I first watched her videos showing all the fun she has with friends at Stanford, I fell in love, promising I’d do the same. I love making videos – and as my roommate you just landed a lead role! Before you run to Ms. Nunan’s office for a roommate change – hear me out. Everyone knows Stanford is a great school and blahblahblah, but they never see what makes it so special. They don’t hear our conversations, hike the dish, or bike across campus at midnight. They see our team on the field but don’t stand in a crowd cheering alongside us. I know our room will be the room for pizza and video games, hangouts, or movie nights – let’s share our Stanford with the world.

It’s only been a few weeks but I can tell the next year with you will be a lot of fun (I say we seek out whatever upperclassmen paired us together, personally thanking them with my homemade cookies.)

I hope you love the idea as much as I do.  (Also, if you see my phone, let me know.)

– Ty

What matters to you, and why?

It hurt that she didn’t remember me.

I could tell you every detail about my grandmother – from the peculiar way she dices mangoes to the smell of jasmine on her clothes. As her memory of me faded, my feeble attempts to reconnect fell flat. I shut her out completely: silence prevented the wound from festering.

As a young girl, my grandma turned to art when she first came to America. When I could first hold a pencil, she bought me a journal with a note on the back.

“When I couldn’t find the words, I’d draw”

Sitting in front of her, silent, I couldn’t find the words. Every page in my journal became a vessel for my most precious memories with my grandma: us walking the boardwalk or her chasing me down a park slide. When I showed her the drawings, I saw her brows furrow in recollection as she traced the graphite lines. For a moment, she was mine again. Art communicated what words couldn’t.

The choice between acrylic and oil highlights versatility, stippling graphite teaches me patience, and splashing watercolor pigment across paper makes me embrace my mistakes, but that is not why art matters to me. It matters because when I draw for my grandma, I am reminded that art can break barriers. When she whispers my name and shakes my arm, I prove that art is a language we can all speak.