Adventure Time with KC

I realized I had not blogged in three weeks. How did three weeks fly by like that? Then I contemplated about what I had done in the past three weeks, which, in this day and age, means looking through your Facebook photos from the past three weeks to refresh your memory. In short, homecoming happened, Duncan's birthday week happened, one of my best friends Melissa's birthday happened, and now it's Thanksgiving weekend. I don't know why it took me so long to come up with an idea for a new blog post, because obviously I should've known right away. Giving thanks. What better topic to reflect on during this quiet and exciting time of the year? Looking back on the past year, I have so many things to be grateful for. Here's a list of things I am thankful for: Finishing sophomore year and completing some research papers that pushed me to learn about new and difficult topics outside the hedges of Rice My Alternative Spring Break trip and group. I loved working with...

At the beginning of the school year, I was contacted by a graduate student writing the Student Spotlights for the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality's website. She briefly wrote about my trip in April to the Women in the World Summit held in NYC, and requested a photo of me. I was really flattered that my experience was being honored on the center's website, so take a look at her brief summary here  http://swg.rice.edu/ho/  and feel free to look at the essay that I wrote reflecting on this experience. The link is provided at the end of the article and also here  http://swg.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/People/Student_Spotlights/ho_wiwreport.pdf I strongly encourage any one, specifically students, interested in poverty, marginalized populations, and women to check out this summit. It is held every year and a great learning opportunity to be inspired by what's already been done. In other news relate to the Center, they have a lecture coming up on unequal c...

I'm doing homework on the Romer v. Evans 1996 Supreme Court case, a landmark decision in which the court decided that Colorado's state constitution amendment to prevent protected status based upon sexual orientation is unconstitutional and violates the 14th amendment's Equal Protection Clause. I was so excited that this case would come up in class because it brings me back to junior year of high school, when I learned about this case in my A.P. U.S. History class and if memories serve me well, I think I presented one side of the case, sitting in the front of the classroom all dressed up, facing my classmates. Mr. Davis was my teacher and he did a damn good job. He prepared us for the AP exam, but he did way more than that too. We spent a few weeks at the end of the school year doing things like murder mysteries and learning about landmark Supreme Court cases. Just in case you're wondering, the murder mysteries had to do with a murder that led to a major act or event i...

Take a look at the ad above and tell me what you think it means. Yeah, I had no idea either. Is SnoreStop a brand? How does it keep what appears to be a U.S. soldier and a Muslim woman together?  Huffington Post's Small Business section had a big article recently. The above billboard first showed up in Los Angeles, turning heads as people drove by and creating significant buzz. As it turns out, the ad is from SnoreStop sleep aids and meant to emphasize how their product can save couples. In the accompanying YouTube video from the ad campaign itself on the making of the billboard (below and also in the article), the company's spokeswoman explained that they wanted to generate publicity about saving couples by showing real-life unconventional couples.  I think it's an interesting advertising strategy, although weirdly used to promote sleeping aids. Because you know, if adversity and discrimination didn't break you and your unconventional lover apart, SNORI...