VAL CHANG

It's the last full week of October which means it's time to cram in as many halloween classics as you can before the spooky season is over. This is one of my favorite times of year for films so I'd love to throw some recommendations your way to get you in the mood for Halloween. 1. Hocus Pocus This movie remains to be a Halloween classic and it's friendly for the entire family! It's not a particularly scary movie, but it still has the witches, zombies and ghouls to give you that trick-or-treat feel. Over 20 years after it's release, I still count down the days every year until I can rewatch this. 2. Halloweentown Series Another Disney Channel Original Movie, Halloweentown centers on a girl named Marnie who learns she's from a family of witches and there's an entire separate dimension where witches and warlocks reside. Follow her journey of self-discovery (all four movies) and have a fun time chomping down on some candy corn while ignoring h...

I want to take a break from my usual posts to talk about something that gets me excited every October: The Rocky Horror Picture Show! It happens to be special this year because my best friend is playing the lead, Janet. Some people think that a showing is where you go watch a live presentation of the classic musical, but it's actually really different. The show will play the film, starring Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry, in the background on a screen while a silent cast will mouth along and play the parts right in front of the screen on the stage. It's a really unique experience, and first time seers are called virgins and sometimes places will put a red V on your forehead to show that. Also, it's an audience participation show, meaning that the audience will yell back certain words and will be instructed to react in certain ways. Props will be thrown, some audience members physically participate and dress up, and more! It's a wild experience, and it's frie...

These past two weeks have been hell week for me, or for a lot of other UGA students as well as the midterms began to pile up. With that in mind, I needed a place to study for the whole day and night, but I didn't want to pick up and leave to go get food, so I thought, "Where can I go to eat and study?" I'm sure I could have stayed at home, but I'm too tempted to fall asleep in my bed or put on Netflix to get anything done at home. I suppose I could have gone to campus and studied at the MLC or the main library, but parking on campus during day hours is either a hassle or expensive - at least to a college student. Then it occurred to me: I haven't been to Hi-Lo in a while. Hi-Lo is a cute pub and diner in Normaltown by Aqualinda and Normal Bar. They have tons of artisan drinks, plenty of beer on tap, and a wicked menu that ranges from fish and chips to a vegan po' boy. Not to mention, they have WiFi and a crazy good Sunday brunch which we all k...

Bumping off of last week's post about FENTY beauty, this week we're touching on Tarte cosmetics, more specifically, they're recent fiasco. Last week, Tarte released a post on their Instagram ( x ) with this meme: Users and customers responded furiously, criticizing Tarte's use of a well-known Asian slur (ching chong). This post has since been deleted, but the effects haven't disappeared. Tarte first apologized in a social media post which placed the blame on an intern, but it didn't do much to help the growing disdain for their public image and brand. Maureen Kelly, CEO & founder of Tarte, personally sent out an apology saying, " From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry and embarrassed. " Twitter blew up from the scandal, with posts such as: Some users directly put Tarte on blast for their initial half-hearted apologies. Some thought it was silly for an intern to be handling such a large account, and for there to be no ac...

So if you haven't heard yet, Rihanna released a new line of luxury makeup products under the brand name FENTY ( x ). She already had a line of shoes and clothes under the same name in a collaboration with Puma. But now she's entered the highly competitive, especially with social influencers and "beauty gurus" headlining the industry, beauty market. Her brand image is one of simplicity, diversity and empowerment. It's only been about a week or so since it's release, and she's sold out of several of her products both online and in store (Sephora is currently the only store which carries it). "FENTY Beauty was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures, and races. I wanted everyone to feel included. That's the real reason I made this line." xx Rihanna Being a woman of color herself, and known for speaking out against issues of institutionalized racism and issues in diversity, this brand com...

Last week, I talked about Hulu when comparing the various options we have for streaming content. Shortly after, students across the nation received news that Hulu was joining Spotify for student pricing. For a while now, us students have reaped the benefits of Spotify Premium for Students which costs a measly $4.99 a month. Now, we can enjoy Hulu as a part of the package, costing a total of $4.99 when before it was $9.99 for Spotify and $7.99 for Hulu ($11.99 for Ad Free). The benefits of this bundle are incredible for Hulu, and Spotify, too. Students calculate every penny they spend since usually, they're on a tight budget for the semester. This means cutting out extraneous luxuries so we can afford to eat out and attend events and just generally make those pesky utility bills. But now with this bundle, students are scrambling to get this deal to enjoy maximum entertainment. The marketing aspect of this move is incredible. It shows that Hulu wants their service to be as a...