WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
PAGE 4
So it's back to the multiple alarm clocks, eh?
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
I hear Marti te'o changed his Facebook status from "single" to "it's complicated."
Stop hating on Young's afro, ladies No need to be so jelly.
On FH-A, how I've missed you!
Editor's Note: You guys are slacking this semester.
What's school again?
First day back. Snow has roaches.
I did not fully realize that I was back until I picked up the Kansan and read the FFA.
That awkward moment when you walk in to the restroom and a kind old lady reminds you it's not a men's room. Even more awkward moment when that kind old lady turns out to be the professor of your next class with all of 30 students in it.
Don't ever cut your hair Kevin! Grow the fro!
Edit: Third rule when it comes to boat shoes, don't wear boat shoes.
No boat shoes in winter? Ha, GDI.
DATING
My geography teacher pretty much told us we could get hammered and just start typing for our final paper. I'm in.
Go vote for KU for student section of the year on Facebook! We can't let VCU win!
My New Year's resolution? Make out with hotties.
I just realized Guillermo del Toro's name literally means Bill of the Carp. Can I go by Nolan of the Narwhals now?
My phone has started auto-correcting some words into the "er mer gerd" language. Fail.
Apparently, switching my major to engineering was actually good for my GPA.
I got called a "virtual teenager" by a K-State fan today.
Getting on 43 Red at Snow is the Hunger Games of KU. May the odds be ever at your favor!
This KU Swing Society really needs to clarify which type of swingers they're looking for.
It's the gym not the beach, tough guy. Put your shirt on.
TV a possible relationship deterrent
I spilled coffee all down my leg. It looks like I peed. It's my first class of the semester, and it looks like I peed my pants.
With the New Year upon us, an onslaught of new shows coupled with the dawn of awards season is happening now. I've hardly ever been one for following television shows, but despite my skepticism that "The Carrie Diaries" would be too young for me, my undying love for "Sex and the City" resulted in my waiting for the beginning of the series, which premiered Jan. 14 on the CW.
In the midst of all of the new winter shows beginning, however, experts like psychologist and sexologist Serenella Salomoni have been preaching in recent years that couples who spend a significant amount of time together watching TV — namely by having one in the bedroom — tend to experience a decreased sex life, which can make for a boring, monotonous, and predictable relationship.
And when a good night in a relationship is more frequently
characterized by Doritos Locos tacos and channel surfing together between the latest "South Park" and reruns of "Say Yes to the Dress" than making some kind of strengthening connection with your significant other, months of the behavior can send a relationship into a downward spiral.
In fact, according to Men's Health Magazine, Italian researchers have proven that having a TV in the bedroom on average cuts the number of times a couple has sex in one month by a staggering half. Despite the effect on relationships that TVs can have, however, the research shows that 64 percent of couples continue to have a set in their bedrooms.
Valuing TV over sex may seem like a problem for 50-somethings plus, but the wear and tear of the day can tire us out even as students. And, as the semester slowly progresses and midterms then finals approach us, the phenomenon will
likely become more common for couples here at the University.
No matter how much emphasis couples admit that sex has in their relationships, intimacy, at least on some level, is important for all committed partners, especially for those who are in it for the long haul. This particular factor is important for even the most conservative of us.
Totally banishing our TVs from our bedrooms may not be a desirable or realistic option, especially for those of us who don't live with our significant others. Even for me, I wouldn't want to give up my
However, a feasible option for us to meet halfway with the issue is to create our own rituals when we relax with our partners at night, sleep together, or, uh, whatever. If we start our own non-TV traditions, that can help us reconnect and therefore keep our relationships personal and our sex lives afloat.
ritual of relaxing with "Sex and the City" by my lonesome after my core workout because I'm interested in keeping my relationship with my boyfriend alive.
And other couples can do the same. They should create their own traditions sans screens (perhaps with the exception of an e-reader) because of their effect on connecting partners and even rekindling a fire that could otherwise be extinguished in only a matter of time.
For example, even when we're tired, my boyfriend and I have a tradition of me reading novels to him. Watching TV is easy, but we connect better over novels like "The Great Gatsby" and "White Girl Problems." He says he likes the "white noise" of my reading, and I like sharing my passion for literature with him. It's more old-fashioned than renting from Redbox, but it works for us.
In the end, a TV seems like an unlikely downer, but it can wreak serious havoc on healthy relationships that should be both personal and unique for each partner involved.
Relationships drown in a sea of problems that plague us every day, but we can at least find solace in the fact that this particular couple killer is solved as easily as turning a TV off to turn your sex life back on.
Keith is a graduate student from Wichita in education. Follow her on Twitter @Rachel. UDeith.
MEDIA
Magazine leads teens astray
I like o think of myself as somone who keeps abreast of the latest trends, and a big part of that is reading publications that tap into the modern zeitgeist. But, because I can't find any of those in a house where about 95 percent of the incoming magazines are addressed to my kid sisters, I'm stuck getting my information on how to stay hip from the teen fashion magazine "Seventeen" instead, filtered through pages of ads for eyeliner and overpriced purses. Herewith, some of the nuggets of cultural wisdom I've gleaned from "Seventeen" over the last few weeks:
CHARITY
Apparently, it's cool to be charitable these days, or at least to think you're being charitable: there's a page labeled "Seventeen Gives Back" that urges readers to donate their used jeans at their local Aeropostale store, allegedly to "boost a home-less teen's confidence." But, as confidence doesn't mean much when you're starving to death, I'm pretty sure that most of the homeless people who get these will, out of necessity, sew them into nice little tents or cook them up in a stew instead.
Here's an idea, Aeropostale: instead of donating the old jeans, put new tags on them, sell them with the rest of your stock as "destroyed denim," and donate the proceeds to a food pantry. If you go with this plan,
nobody will be the wiser; only the homeless people will be able to tell the difference!
RELATIONSHIP ADVICE
All you guys interested in finding a girl friend, listen up: the staff of "Seventeen" has cooked up a handy chart called "Is your guy being cute or creepy?" to help ladies identify deviated perverts like yourselves. Apparently, asking a girl to play Jenga at a party is cool, but asking her to play Twister at a party ain't kosher. Clearly I've been going about this "picking up chicks" thing all wrong! Next party I go to, I'm gonna smuggle in a Jenga set under my trenchcoat and make up some hip pickup lines to match (i.e. "Hey, baby, you wanna pull on my blocks?").
The guide also says that it's okay for a guy to kiss you good-night, but when "he bites you good night," things are crossing over into iffy territory. That strikes me as weird. After all, if there's one thing I learned from watching "Twilight," it's that most teenage girls consider biting a sweet, romantic gesture.
CELEBRITIES
A two-page spread advertises "17 Kisses You Need to Try Now!" Included is a list of the favorite kissing techniques of several minor celebrities, including someone named Tyler Posey, who says, "I love it when my girlfriend gives me a light, soft bite right on the lips." Oh, so biting is okay when girls do it to guys? I see how it is, "Seventeen." I see how it is.
MEN
The cover of the magazine says you can find a "Hot Guy Poster" inside. It sounds like one of those generic brands you buy at the grocery store when you're strapped for cash—little white cans with "GREEN BEANS" hovering in blue block letters above an unflattering photo. While I normally don't feel like I'm qualified to judge guys' hotness, I feel pretty confident in saying these are store-brand dudes: the first word that comes to mind when I look at most of them is "lumpy," and there's even the little block letters that say "CHRIS" or "DAN" or "JOE." Then again, maybe these are just the guys that they're going to donate to the homeless teens who can't afford men with chiseled, rippling abdominals. I have no idea.
May is a sophomore majoring in German and journalism from Derby.
TELEVISION
'Family Guy' or The Simpsons'
There are so many animated sitcoms currently airing on television today. You can turn on Cartoon Network for some random comedy and terrible animation graphics, or you can tune into Fox on Sundays for all new episodes of "The Cleveland Show," "Family Guy," and "The Simpsons." But which animated television sitcom is better, "The Simpsons" or "Family Guy?" Each series have been around for years and, by the looks of it, don't seem to be slowing anytime soon. There are many similarities and differences between these shows, but to me "Family Guy" stands on top of "The Simpsons" for many reasons.
The two series are both about a dysfunctional family with an alcohol-addicted father who would rather drink and hang with his buddies than take care of his family.
Look at "The Simpsons," Homer is an overweight alcoholic father who has an older son and an older daughter both who tend to fight with each other. Marge is often the one taking care of the family. Then there is Lisa the baby.
It is pretty similar for Family Guy. Peter is also an overweight alcoholic father who has both an older son and daughter just like Homer. But then there is Stewie who is an evil baby, unlike Lisa.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
But now onto why "Family Guy" is the better comedy. Both sitcoms use very different types of animation. As for the Simpsons, the animation of the human characters uses yellow for skin color and is inferior to "Family Guys'" animation. The type of animation they use is called digital ink and paint. "Family Guy" uses a much better type of animation and the dialogue is simultaneous with the mouths of the characters on the screen. It is better to watch a cartoon when the animation looks life-like because it gives us a sense of reality while watching.
Also the jokes and the way they
are used in "Family Guy" is much more clever and original than "The Simpsons." For example, "Family Guy" uses cutaways or flashbacks that imitate current events, famous cultural or cultural influences. Although the humor is extremely politically incorrect, it catches the attention of the sitcom's target audience, which is clearly adult humor. Also the humorous jokes about everyday society that "Family Guy" uses is a great way to catch the attention because it makes the show more relatable and this is what we like to see when we watch TV. "The Simpsons" humor covers much of the same, but often tell jokes on the walls in the background, or newspapers and it is not easily recognizable. This is why "Family Guy" works better as a sitcom.
Even though "Family Guy" is in season 11 and "The Simpsons" is on 24, the creators of "Family Guy" have had much more successful careers. Seth McFarlane has created not only "Family Guy," but also "American Dad!" "The Cleveland Show," and the film staring the teddy bear "Ted." This is how we know that Seth McFarlane is a liked more by the public because he was able to make more hit shows while also keeping up the success of "Family Guy."
So trust me when I say this, and don't let the number of seasons fool you. "Family Guy" is the better show.
Carroll is a junior majoring in English from Salem, Conn. Follow him on Twitter @BCarroll91.
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not nearly as good looking, but you
have to claim them #lamerival
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