Words from Alyssa

       Fresh (2009) is a documentary that looks at farmers who are trying to move towards sustainable farming. It exposes some common occurrences in the farming industry that leave a foul feeling in your stomach. One particular occurrence that made uncomfortable was when one farmer said that he was promoted to feed dead cows to other cows. Not only are cows herbivores so they are not supposed to eat meat, but it actually lead to many cows getting a disease known as mad cow disease. This disease is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system and can take between four to six years to show symptoms. The farmer in the video has since stopped feeding dead cows to his living cows, but just being aware of the fact that some farmers do that made me really think. I personally am an avid burger enjoyer and every burger I have had since watching the film has been haunted with the thought of how the cow was raised, how it was feed, did the cow have a family? Thi...

 Bob's Burgers is a beloved animated show that follows the Belchers, a struggling family of five as they try their best to make ends meet and maintain their burger restaurant. The show is entering it's 14th season and in anticipation for this season's Christmas episode, I am going to share my top 3 Christmas episodes from this show.  #3 The Gingerbread House on the Left      This episode from Season 7 features Mr. Fischoeder, the Belchers' landlord, who invites Bob to a gingerbread house building contest and asks him to lose on purpose. During the contest Mr.Fischoeder upsets Bob by insulting his gingerbread house so Bob decides he is actually going to beat Fischoeder and win the contest.  This episode is one of the funnier Christmas episodes because of the characters interactions. Mr. Fischoeder's constant bullying of his younger brother along with how upset he gets with his poorly designed gingerbread house make him a hilarious addition to the episode....

Dean Winters as Teenage Girl        "Dean Winters as Teenage Girl" is an Allstate commercial that is trying to sell insurance by using the selfish and carless stereotype of teenage girls to show that even if you are a safe driver, other people can cause damage to your things. The commercial starts off with Dean Winters in a pink SUV texting his BFF, Becky. He says that he is upset because Becky just texted him that she kissed Jonny and Dean is mad because he liked Jonny. In his rage he throws his bedazzled phone in the back seat and hits another car in the parking lot before driving off. Then the owner of the car he hit comes out and sees that her car has been hit, but was too late to see who had done it.       There is definitely a humorous part of this commercial in the overdramatic playing of a teenage girl. The commercial pokes fun at the irrelevant things many teenagers worry about, like boys. I personally enjoyed the visual details, lik...

     Avatar the Last Airbender is a popular animated show that aired on Nickelodeon between 2005- 2008. It follows Aang, a 12 year old boy who is the last remaining airbender and is also the Avatar, master of all four elements. He had been stuck in an iceberg for 100 years, during which the rest of the airbenders had been wiped out by the Fire Nation, throwing off the balance of the world. He is set free by Sokka and Katara, a brother and sister from the southern water tribe, who befriend Aang and aid him on his journey. Aang must now do his best to master the rest of the elements and defeat the Fire Lord to restore balance to the world. This show is one the best shows to have ever aired and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.        For anyone who is thinking "Well isn't it a kids show?" let me stop you right there. Yes, technically it is a kids show, but its complex story lines and well written characters make the show engaging e...

       I can hear the sound of the plastic unwrapping, the sound of foil crinkling as I unfold the small white disk that is now being held by the tips of my pointer finger and thumb. I place the small white disk on my tongue and a cooling sensation coats the inside of my mouth. There is a sharp increase of saliva and it almost feels as if my body temperature has decreased. A light tingly feeling spreads across the skin on my face and I make the detrimental mistake of inhaling too sharply. Tears start brimming at my eyes and there is an overwhelming burning sensation down my larynx. The intense contrast of the hot burning that is seeping into my lungs and the freezing cold that pierces my eyes takes me back to a time in my childhood, laying on the couch surrounded by blankets, my mom is next to me taking my temperature and she just got done rubbing Vicks Vaporub on my chest.      Then, the sweet taste in my mouth brings me back to the present. The tingl...

       Studio Ghibli is an incredibly influential animation studio based in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for its beautiful style and its appealing storylines that attract people of all ages. Studio Ghibli films are incredibly well loved all over the world and almost, if not every film has been dubbed over in english.  While I do not know to much about the cast list for the original japanese versions, the dubbed version of many of these films have an elite cast full of A-list actors and actresses.  Christian Bale as Howl        First off, and my personal favorite on the list, is Christian Bale. Known for his role as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, and as Batman from 2005 - 2012, Bale is nothing short of a celebrity amongst celebrities. He auditioned to play in the english dub for Howl's Moving Castle after he watched another Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away.  He was cast as the lead male, a wizard named Howl who travels in his movi...