TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013
PAGE 4
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FREE FOR ALL
I miss Joe College.
KU's so good, they make gingers cry!
marchwaaness
Time is precious. Waste it wisely.
Can we get "Extreme Makeover" to come to Wescoe?!
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351
I'm so broke I can't even afford to thrift shop.
At this point, winter is like my drunk Uncle Greg. He looks fun at first, so you invite him in, but then you spend the next six months trying to make him
After being home for a week I went to drink the milk from my bowl and then remembered that it is not proper; it was a sad day.
Three words that will cause you to cry or jump for joy... seven more weeks!
Why don't you take the season off, Spring. It seems you have the cold.
Travis flash!!!
The underground needs more microwaves. I might starve from impatience.
Baritones? Drummers? I'd date a trumpet player, hands down.
So how was your Spring Break, editor?
Editor's note: I went to SXSW. It was awesome. You?
No shave march madness (until Kansas doesn't win), I did it last year, and look what happened then.
Anytime I write "Kentucky" in my phone, it automatically assumes the next word I will write is "NIT." Smartphone? YES!
Forget the cell phone charging stations... Where are all the napping stations?! Come on, KU! People need recharged too!
Spring has slowly rolled out of bed and fallen on its face.
College is just a never-ending sleep-
over. Editor's note: Never-ending? Are
you going to graduate?
You know, if you really think about it, strawberry-flavored things don't actually taste anything like strawberries.
Riiiiiiiiiiight. We believe that you really want to know what size SHOES Jeff Withey has...
It was really depressing reading the pre-spring break FFAs about the warm weather
People turn into gas stations when they fail midterms?
Excuse me, my midterm grades are STILL NOT POSTED!
Although I didn't fill out a bracket this year, I could truthfully say I would've picked all those teams to make it to the sweet 16.
Will the lobotomized Jayhawk in front of the student union ever be repaired?
SOCIAL MEDIA
'Subtweeting' replaces real-life confrontations
Believe it or not, there used to be a time when if you wanted to make an indirect, passive aggressive comment that you wanted someone to hear, your only choice was to actually say it. You know, like out loud — in a conversation.
I feel like I'm in a KU snowglobe.
Weird, huh?
Let me go all Grandpa Barbosa on you and remind you, as if you need it, that things are a lot different now thanks to technology. You've heard it before, the same oldatribe about how we don't truly communicate with each other or how you can't really get a message across through texts and tweets and Snapchats and so on. Some argue that emoticons and Emojis can suffice, but as you know, some people are stupid, too.
Our methods of communication have gradually evolved with technology. Texting in caps lock implies you're yelling, responding with "K." means you're peeed, etc., etc.
Now, there's a clear-cut way to
indicate your passive aggression on Twitter. It's called subliminal tweeting — or "subtweeting."
This innovation is a godsend for overly-emotional and-expressive yet-till too-scared-to-be confrontational types. At first, the protocol for subtweeting required you to end your message with the hashtag, "#subtweet," inviting everyone to immediately begin speculating as to who you're complaining about.
We're at the tail end of break-up season, and when relationships go awry, that's when you see the most subtweets. You know the scene in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" when Jason Segel's character gets a room adjacent to his ex girlfriend and he starts having really loud, fake sex with Mila Kunis to make her jealous? Yeah, that's kind of like the real-life equivalent of subtweeting.
but here's what many fail to realize: people friggin' hate sub-tweets. We're not celebrities; most of us only have 300-400 followers, and most of those are our real-life
friends and acquaintances. You personally know most of the people who show up on your time line — you know their friends, you know who they're dating, you know what they're doing in life. Most people go into some kind of shell shocked tunnel vision after their relationships fall apart and become focused on either getting under their ex's skin or hiding behind that "I'm doing fine without you" facade.
Things get especially awkward when two people break up and start subtweeting about each other, and you're friends with both of them. When two of my friends break up, I always try to avoid choosing a side because
that almost always makes things weird. Weird is bad. I'm not the one who just went through a messy break-up: I have no interest in listening to you trash talk each other or fight over who did, or didn't do, what. But, when I get home on a Saturday night and start reading your sloppy, drunken subtweets, it's as if I'm stuck in a room while you're fighting with your ex. That makes things weird, and again, weird is bad.
Even though the fundamental allure of Twitter is the ability to tell people what you're doing, there are still some things that no one cares about nor wants to hear you share. For me, oversharing is one of the things that killed my appreciation of Facebook: Too many people started posting too many things that were too personal, and frankly, too weird. If subtweetting gets more popular, there's a good chance it'll end up killing off everyone's appreciation for Twitter, too. With subtweeting, the feigned ambiguity isn't the problem — everyone knows
who you're talking about. The problem is that you're dragging your friends and followers into a weird situation that they probably want nothing to do with. When that becomes a habit, your friendships will start breaking up, too.
So please, cut it out. If not, people will get sick of you, and they'll start subtweeting. And then their friends will start subtweeting about them, and the cycle will begin forever churning on until everyone on Twitter is subtweetening, and no one wants that.
And yes, I know that this was a column complaining about certain people whom I didn't explicitly name, just like a subtweet.
But hey, people can't understand unless you speak their language.
Barbosa is a junior majoring in journalism from Leawood. For more hilarity, follow him on Twitter @AIBARBROSA
HOLLYWOOD
Actors' personalities are the real reason we tune in
As a nerd who spends a majority of her time geeking over TV shows and fictional characters, I have my fair share of favorite actors. Some, I just love to look at. Jensen Ackles, anyone? Some I just want to marry. Benedict Cumberbatch, obviously. And others I just want to cry because they are so talented. Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't get an Oscar in the next decade, something is going to burn. But others, I just want to be best friends with. Here are a few of my favorite actors, based entirely off their fantastic personalities.
MISHA COLLINS
I willingly admit to being a minion of "The Supreme Overlord," aka Misha Collins. Collins currently plays the angel Castiel on CW's "Supernatural," but he has also had recurring roles in "ER" and "24." But as talented as he is, it's his personality that makes him a special snowflake. His fast wit and bizarre (but hilarious) tweets made me fall in nerdy love.
He is, to put it simply, one of the most ridiculous human beings on this planet.
He built his house and most of the furniture inside, interned for Bill Clinton when he was in the White House, is a published writer, renewed his wedding vows in drag, calls his Twitter followers "minions" and founded the charity Random Acts, where he called upon his minions and raised $30,000 for earthquake
He really doesn't care what people think. He wears funny hats and occasionally dresses in drag. But most of all, he is humble, as his recent tweet illustrates: "I hope this question don't sound weird. When you're watching yourself on TV do u occasionally get off the sofa & make out with the screen?"
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
If you don't know this man, I have no clue why you are reading this column. He has starred - and I mean starred - most recently in "Iron Man," "The Avengers" and "Sherlock Holmes."
He is an acting beast, and somewhere (probably his bathroom mirror), there is a long list of awards and honors from his decades-old acting career. Downey doesn't hope for awards; he expects them.
The man has swag — so much so that he often forgets who he is.
Tumblr users like to joke that they can no longer tell the difference between his character, Tony Stark, and the actor.
And they both know how to wear a suit.
They both have money, confidence, and arrogance aplenty.
While he is not the most humble of men, he does have a good sense of humor. His interviews are hilarious and keep you laughing. Tony Sta—I mean Robert Downey Jr., is the guy I'd party with.
TOM HIDDLESTON
A rising star, Tom Hiddleston is known for his recent roles in "The Avengers," "War Horse," "Thor," and "Midnight in Paris."
But to me, he is the epitome of a gentleman. He oozes humility and manners, but isn't afraid to have a good laugh.
I think I fell in love with him when I watched a video of him showing up on a red carpet with a thermos of hot tomato soup for a freezing interviewer whod tweeted him a few hours before.
He is just as painstakingly polite to his fans, which has earned him an army of fangirls and guys.
In January, he traveled to Guinea for a UNICEF UK fundraising trip. He met with families and children in need and wrote a numerous blogs on UNICEF's website about his trip. His twitter account is chock-full of UNICEF information, and it warms my heart to see a celebrity so passionate about a charitable cause.
His kind smiles and chipper English accent have earned him a spot in my heart for eternity.
Brown is a freshman majoring in journalism from Overland Park
Follow us on Twitter @UUK_Opion. Tweet us your opinions, and we may just publish them.
CHIRPS BACK
What was your favorite movie as a kid?
RELATIONSHIPS
Childhood friends can last forever
Some of the best memories I have were made with my childhood friends. When I look back in my memories, the best ones were when I was much younger. I can still taste the chocolate cake with ice cream my friend's mom would make, the smell of the playground sand, the beauty of my Barbie house and the sound of the laughter I had with my friends in first grade after our teacher's wig moved to the side.
These moments, despite the years, have remained very fresh in my head. The person I have become is nowhere near the girl that made fights with Power Rangers and Barbies. Things have changed a lot. What has not changed is the feelings I have for those friends I made when I was a child. Those friends are the purest thing I have. They saw me when I was innocent and naive, and I saw them the same way.
Our discussions did not involve politics or basketball. The most debated discussions were about who the strongest Pokémon was and if indeed Santa Claus was or was not real. We did not show our friendship in Facebook wall posts or profile pictures, we showed our friendship by agreeing to share our candy or by inviting them over to our house. Things were decided on races to the park. Dares were made on tasting glue. Toys were shared and we tried our best to include everyone.
These were friends that really knew me. They saw me in my most real form. These friends came before the time we learned we had to be a certain way to please people, look a certain way to fit in. These friends saw me when I had no shame for the music I listened, no filter to the things I thought and complete confidence in who I was.
Today many of these friends are finishing college, working, some are even married. They live in different parts of the
world, and contact is mostly made by the nostalgic person that decides to post that kindergarten picture and tag everyone. Most have completely changed. Some gained weight, some became alternative and some became successful. A couple of few went on sad paths and one or two passed away.
All these friends go in different directions. With college and the maturing that comes with the years, it is difficult to keep these precious friends. Fortunately, I have managed to stay in touch with four of my childhood friends. We sometimes spend months without any contact whatsoever, but when we see each other, the friendship goes back where it was last time. Time and distance do not seem to make a difference.
It is important to keep at least a couple of these childhood friendships. These are people that saw you at your best and worst. These friends saw you go through different hair styles, fashion styles, crushes, bad and good grades, and the smile you had before you knew so much information.
- Keeping these friends is a way of keeping that piece of you. You can never really lie to these friends because they know you better than anyone, and when you forget about these moments, they are there to remind you. Even when you graduate and move on to a real adult life, do not forget about these friends or how they shaped you.
Siqueiros is a senior majoring in global and international studies from Overland Park
@JimboSlice _32
@UDK_Opinion It is sandlot, and it isn't even close. #hilingmesmalls
@dalegre
@UDK Opinion The Sorrow and the Pity
@cocoa_kitt27
@UDK_Opinion DuckTales wochoo!!
LETTER GUIDELINES
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to kananopdesk@gmail.com.
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
**Length:** 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
@myimor
@UDOK_Oginion Zenon: Girl of the 21st
Century... obviously...
Hannah Wilson, editor-in-chief
editor@kansasan.com
Sarah McCabe, managing editor
snacker@kansasan.com
Nikki Wentling, managing editor
mewtonline@kansasan.com
Dylan Lysen, opinion editor
dlysen@kanson.com
Elise Farrington, business manager elarington@amazon.com
Jacob Snider, sales manager junder@amazon.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
judith.gglanan@masa.com
Jon Schmitt, sales and marketing adviser
jschitt.gglanan@masa.com
CONTACT US
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of The Kansas Editorial Board are Hannah Wise, Sarah McBride, Nikki Wellington, Dylan Lysen, Elise Farrington and Jacob Snider.
X