Yes, yes, I am a Twilight fan. Or, more to the point, I'm not one in the countless seas of people who follow the "I hate Twilight" trend. I'll stand up for it, partly because I don't like it when people go hater on fandoms, (as books and movies are always good, even if not in a way some of us are able to enjoy), partly because I did really enjoy it, and partly because, well, it is a good series and I believe it should be enjoyed for what it is- a cracking good saga.

The world has got it all wrong!

Here are some things in popular belief that...sorry...just aren't strictly that true.

• "Twilight is cheesy."

The broadest assault on Twilight. I'm not going to deny that there's kissing and pining away for your spouse and typical, maybe predictable main plots. This is true. It has a sincere and beautiful heart, though, that's quite the opposite, if you can look past the style and enjoy the lovey-dovey-ness. Maybe this is why most Twihards these days are either twelve year-old girls or young to middle-aged single American women- they're apparently somehow able to do this.

• "It isn't even written professionally."

Myth. This is a myth! Outrageous myth! Treason! Blasphemy! The books are written cleverly- it does a good job of you in, is interesting, and uses all the "professional" techniques, i.e. metaphors and similes. There are some brilliant symbolic little details along the way. Stephenie tells the story pretty well.

The Twilight Saga (Little, Brown) by Stephanie Meyer. Annafur

• "Kristen Stewart is the worst actor in the world."

You know, I get why a lot of people don't like K-Stew's acting. She's jerky and awkward and if she were in real life it would feel as if she had a chronic shyness disorder or something and couldn't form her words properly. Compare her with Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games" series, though, and you see the same strange, almost uncertain portrayals in places. Apparently it's the way famous protagonists are these days. Bella Swan is quite an uncertain character, and unsure of herself and whatever's going on; "Oh, and by the way, Bella, I'm a vampire. Sorry, maybe you should have been aware of that before I got you pregnant." And obviously many, including professionals, think Kristen's good- she must have been chosen for the role over thousand of other auditionees for a reason.

Still from Twilight (Summit Entertainment)

-Barista Sabita-

Images: Gaston from Beauty and the Beast LivingShadowDarkMark, The Twilight Saga (Little, Brown) by Stephanie Meyer. Annafur, Still from Twilight (Summit Entertainment)

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It's freezing outside and the last thing you want to do in the winter holidays is to go out in the snow and do stuff that will turn your lips blue. Nuh-uh. I mean, going outside will just dry up your already flaked up skin and make you sting all over. What's the fun in that? But now I'm going to let you in on my secret to winter trips. Whether it's to the beach, the amusement park, the mountain, or wherever you are going that is still winter, (We're students. We can't afford Fiji.) it doesn't matter. My tips will save you from freezing winter trips.

Cover up from head to toe 

I'm serious. I once went to the amusement park with my friends in the middle of winter. I was wearing a sweater, a parka, thick jeans... everything. BUT! My face, neck, and hands were completely exposed to the freezing wind. I was okay at first. I mean, I'm used to the cold. But then my friends and I went on a ride and all the parts of my skin that was peeking out literally died. My hands stung so much and my face was flaking like crazy. All my friends and I had to cut the trip short due to our dying skin. We were purple with white flakes and cracked skin. Not pretty. It took a while to recover from the sting of the wind. So I'm telling you: Cover the heck up unless you want to die.

Don't go alone

Even if you want to have some alone time, it's best to go with one extra person. Body heat can keep you warm and cuddling up with your friends and/or boyfriend is a really good idea. Can you imagine just standing in the middle of nowhere with nobody in sight to keep you warm? The horror. Plus, trips are all the more fun with people around. Talking and laughing with them alone can keep you warm. No cuddling required. But if you must insist on a solo trip, go somewhere that lets you to stay inside almost all the time. Well, that is, unless you enjoy the feeling of freezing to death.

Move a lot

No, I don't mean let the car or whatever you're riding on move for you. You move. Yes. With your feet. And your arms. Your butt too. Dance to the music that is playing. Jump around in excitement at whatever you're doing. Overreact! Do whatever you must to keep yourself warm with rosy cheeks.

Don't skip the deodorant

Yeah. I guess this sounds a little weird, but, um, your pits might still sweat although the rest of your body is freezing. Yeah... True story. I've *cough* experienced it myself. So just in case, don't forget the deodorant cause, well, you might stink. Shrug. Better safe than sorry.


-Barista Mia-

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I am a bit of an X Factor fanatic. I love The X Factor. And the funnier and sillier it gets, the more I find myself enjoying it. Now, I'm not usually one for celebrity gossip, but I have to admit it can be great fun, so I'm going to conduct an investigation into a conspiracy that has been aloft on the show lately- whether Sam Callahan and Tamera Foster are...awh...in loooove. (Of course in reality I'm sure they're not, but that's not the point of gossip, is it? *Insert evil cackles here.*)

• Tamera's first diary dare was to be Sam's PA for a day. Ooh, nice. Here, take a look at the video!


• At the end of one of the joint performances of all the finalists, Tamera rested her arm on Sam's shoulder- as if he was a piece of furniture in her house. This is a true sign that they belong to one another, if you ask me. No one's asking me? Oh, well.

• Caroline Flack, one of the Xtra Factor presenters, kept seeming to think Sam and Tamera were getting married. "There were rumours"... Sam denied it, blushing, but Tamera has a cheeky side (which I hugely admire her for, BTW) and made fun of it by announcing that they were getting married after the X Factor had finished. Well, now they're both out of the competition, so we'd better listen out for wedding bells!

• When Sam left, he was asked who he was backing to win, and he paused and said Nicholas- "Nicky", who's in his category, or Tamera. Sweet.

• And when Tamera left last Sunday, she said she was going to meet up with our Sammie as soon as she could.

So there's some juicy fried nuggets of gossip for you. Gosh, I sounded like a Daily Star writer... Hum. What do you think of this rumour or any others that are on the show at the moment?

-Barista Sabita-

Image: Screenshot from a video-diary video on YouTube Read more »

You have just come to the realization that you've indeed run out of makeup remover. You take one look outside and shudder at the snowy weather. There's no way in heck you're running outside in the freezing cold to get the makeup off your face. But at the same time, there's no way in heck you're sleeping with a face-full of makeup on. No way. You've run into a dilemma. But there's no need to fear. Unbeknownst to you, there are some natural makeup removers right there in your kitchen!

Olive Oil/Almond Oil

The best thing about olive oil and almond oil is not that they're cheap makeup removers that can be found in the kitchen, but it's that they are waaay softer and nicer on your skin than your average eye makeup remover.

Plain Yogurt

Yogurt can get rid of all your face makeup while moisturizing your dried up winter face. Aaaand you could even scoop up some of the extra yogurt and stuff it in your mouth. Yum.

Aloe Vera

Ah. Aloe. I love it. It isn't greasy, it smells nice, it tastes good, it's a great moisturizer, and now, it's a great eye makeup remover too!

Milk

This is a good time to reuse that almond oil (not olive oil) to remove that old makeup off your face. Just a few drops should do it. If you don't have any almond oil at home, don't worry. Plain milk works well too.

Please, PLEASE don't forget to wash your face thoroughly afterwards! Although all these products may be natural, it is absolutely NOT a good idea to keep all that on your face. Trust me.


-Barista Mia-

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Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Books/HarperCollins

Synopsis (via Goodreads):

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Review:

(spoilers ahead)

Because the movie will be released very soon, I thought it might be a good time to release my review of the book-version of Divergent. I had heard about it a lot, but I didn't have an opportunity to read it until about a month ago. It was a bit late, but I'm not sad that I was late to pick this book up. Why? It wasn't as good as everybody claimed it to be.

People around me kept telling me how awesome this book was. Well, it isn't. The entire book is a prolonged initiation process. The initiation process could have been shortened to, maybe, a third or, even better, a quarter of the book and the rest of the two books could fit in the remaining 350-400 or so pages and voila. A complete series in a single 500 page book. Yay! But no. Sigh. It was REALLY disappointing to see that this entire book revolved around this single test that doesn't seem to matter for the rest of the series. (But I could be wrong. I can't be bothered to read the rest of the series. It's just a guess.) Yikes. The only good thing about the plot is the last few chapters. The action finally picks up at the very end. Ms. Roth, don't you see how much better Divergent might have been if you had cut the initiation process by, like, A LOT and fit more actual action into the book? As the book is right now, it's depth-less and absolutely POINTLESS until the last few chapters. Sorry.

Some things in this book just didn't make any logical sense:
* I mean, what's with the train jumping? What is that supposed to prove?
* Aren't adults supposed to be leading wars and such? What are stupid teens doing leading other stupid teens?
* From my experience of encountering people, it makes more sense that EVERYONE IN THIS FREAKIN' BOOK be Divergent!
* The reason the factions came to be makes absolutely no sense. The leaders were just plain stupid. Yay for segregation, eh? Did we learn NOTHING from the Civil War?

As for the characters... I guess they were a little more bearable than the plot. One thing that bugged me is the whole overdone "I found my one true love" card. -________________- And what's more? Her one true love has a tragic, hurt past and only Tris can help him. Oh my. And Tris. Well, Tris. Hm. She was self-centered, annoying, stupid, and judgmental. Need I say any more?

*pants*

Okay. I'm done with the criticism now. On to the good parts.

It's pretty hook-y in that it kept me reading. Also, well, I hate to admit it, but it's mindless fun. So if you want to read a book that you can read without thinking much, I would suggest you pick up this book at the library.

It's FUN. Pointless, but fun.

I guess I would have given this book a 4/5 if I had read this book when I wasn't in the mood for thinking, but Divergent caught me on a wrong day, so...

2/5

Now on to trying to find a book that I actually like. (I've been having bad luck recently.) Any suggestions?


-Barista Mia-

Image: Divergent (Harper Collins) Read more »

We charge our phones overnight, waking up to a fully charged, beautiful smartphone. You go about your day with the phone in your pocket, constantly checking your friends out on Facebook, looking up words in the dictionary, and playing games when you're bored. And guess what happens. Yup! You guessed right. You get a dead phone that you can't use for the rest of the day. Sucks.

This has happened to me countless times, so I researched all over the Internet for an answer to my horrifying question: "How do I stop my phone from dying?"

Answer #1: Just stop using your phone

Sorry? What did you just say, Answer #1? No way. Nuh-uh. There is no way in heck that I'm just gonna stop using my phone even when there's absolutely no need to. I mean, I need to go on Twitter and check out my Twitter feed, don't I? I need to go on Google Chrome to obsessively check out the colleges I'm applying to, don't I? I need to go on Tumblr to check out winter fashion from time to time, don't I? And what about when I'm standing in a subway all alone with no one to talk to? I need my phone then, don't I?

That being said, if this is possible for you, DO IT! It is the most effective way to prolong your phone's life. I actually did this a couple times when saving my phone battery was super duper crucial for me to survive the day, like when I HAD to call my dad to come pick me up at, like, 1 in the morning after a concert (THANK YOU, DAD!). In those cases, I turn off my phone for a good portion of the day to keep my phone alive until the time I have to make the important call.

Answer #2: Take a charger with you at all times

This is probably the most practical of all the answers. If you carry a bag with you all the time, GREAT! Just stuff the charger inside and you don't have to worry about it until the time comes for you to use it. But there's just ONE teensy problem: not every place you go has a power plug socket. Especially when you're outside. If you're in a building, that's kind of great news. The only problem for you now is FINDING a power socket, which, I'm telling you, is puh-retty difficult.

Answer #3: Don't use the vibrate function

Yeah. Really. Don't. Either put your phone on complete mute (a BAD idea, if you ask me. Unless you want ten missed calls from angry people.) or just use your ring tone. But if you do put your phone sound on, be sure to put the volume as low as possible so the sound doesn't drain out all the battery power.

Answer #4: Turn off your bluetooth

Bluetooth is cool. You can share almost everything with your friends with it. But it will kill your battery much sooner than it is meant to. Please. Set your priorities straight and put the life of your phone's battery above the needs of your friend who desperately needs that shirtless picture of Zac Efron.

Answer #5: And speaking of, also turn off WiFi and GPS

These functions drain out your phone battery much more than you think. I get that WiFi is essential for daily life, so follow my tip: Use it only when necessary. Your friend calls you, telling you that he sent you an important email that needs to be read ASAP. Then you whip out your phone, turn on your WiFi and voila. You can check your email and accidentally do other things on the Internet that would be classified as unnecessary. Whoops. And as for GPS... who uses it anyway?

Answer #6: Put the brightness of your phone WAY low

Pretty self explanatory. The brighter your phone is, the more battery your phone uses up.

Answer #7: Avoid using animated backgrounds

Not only do they make your phone lag, they're also horrifying for your battery. I get it. It's cool having things move in the background of your phone, but don't they make you dizzy? It sure does make me feel like throwing up to be honest. Besides, like I said a couple sentences earlier: It kills your battery... so STOP IT. Use a normal one like a picture of your imaginary boyfriend or a picture of your shoes or anything.

Well, now that I've shared with y'all all the answers I received, I'm out. Peace!


-Barista Mia-

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