Instagram has dramatically changed the beauty world as I know it. In fact, it’s a major piece of how I started to discover makeup. It’s so easy to find yourself lost in its depths by clicking between hashtag and user, discovering new products, brands and techniques. PatrickStarrr is the first beauty blogger that I ever followed and I was like, “woah, boys can wear makeup?” And as you can see, he wears makeup.

After that, I would frequently consult Instagram and YouTube before ever buying a cosmetic product. Bloggers often list “product details” on their Instagram accounts where the list all of the products that they used in the featured look. I always read them to see what they’ve used and this is one of the ways that products blow up on Instagram. It’s clear to see what products are used by who and how frequently. This drives the sales of brands and boosts the popularity of bloggers that are supporting a trending brand or product. The product details are also where discount codes can be found, which is just another way the sales are boosted through Instagram.

Instagram is also very trendy. Bloggers use various products and then everyone is buying them. First it was contouring, then it went to highlighting. Brands have to either stay on top of the trends or be left behind. Anastasia Beverly Hills has been on the top of the highlighting game. The first came out with single highlighting compacts and then releases “Glow Kits,” a pallet of multiple highlighters. They’re basically what everyone is wearing and are frequently sold out. Speaking of which, I need to get their new glow kit before it does sell out. But why do I need it, I already have four. And that is the power of Instagram. It’s gotten me to buy four glow kits and it’s the reason that I’m going to buy a fifth one. There’s absolutely no reason that I need to have that many highlighters, but I need them. I can’t really tell you why I need them. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of people asking me what highlighter I’m wearing and having that half a second bond with the person who asked as we internally orgasm over the ABH glow. But why? Instagram has allowed brands to create such an online reputation and everyone has accepted the fact that their products are bomb.

[SPOILER: I didn’t resist the urge to rant.]

I can’t believe the crap articles I had to sift through throughout my reading this week. Every game website seems to be jumping on the bandwagon to talk about Kingdom Hearts III this week. There was one.. that seemed to have been repeatedly plagiarized and reworded throughout video game and tech journals… that was thrown off by the amount of Disney that’s now gonna be in Kingdom Hearts????? That’s literally… that’s the… that’s what Kingdom Hearts is??? Anyway, I couldn’t find anything remotely important or intelligent so I had to move on from KHIII “updates”.

I never had a PS3. I jumped from PS2 to Wii to PS4, so I never got my hands on the remixed versions of Kingdom Hearts that conveniently put literally all the games together for me. But!!! The existence of these totally cancels out the arguments from last week’s reading about fans ~losing~ interest because they had no way to play the spinoff games!!! They’re right there!!

In a perfect world, they would have been released in the same platform to begin with, but that’s business I guess. And also they made the graphics waaaay more advanced, too, obviously, with the leap as early as 2002 to a version with 2013 graphic capabilities. If I had a PS3, or my PS4 had backwards compatibility, I would 100% buy both half titles right now. But I’m left to my fading memories for now~

Speaking of fading memories, that article about 2.8 that claimed it was a desperate release.. that Square was getting a big head and releasing “pretentious” games… uggghhhhh. Not to be biased, but no. He complains about the lack of familiarity in a franchise he left behind 11 years ago……. and then complains about the too familiar style to the one he left 11 years ago????????????? Do you want it to be the same or not? Like, buddy, you got paid to play the game in advance to review it, first of all, which makes me think you probably play enough video games to have the means to play 1.5 and 2.5, which means you didn’t have to be condescending in your review of a character you are unfamiliar with but fans will ~idk probably lmao~ be familiar with, which means shut up. I want KHIII to hurry up as much as the next fan, so to hear that the game was rushed to be released…. when it was literally delayed…. and it pushed back the KHIII date even further.. Do these video game journalists do any research at all before writing their un-nuancedly biased trash articles or do they just wing it?

I felt that this trash article was important, though, because it seems to encapsulate the mindset of a lot of casual “fans” that complain about the expanded production of the franchise. Don’t get me wrong, actual fans complain about that, too. We’re all impatient. But the condescending, ~edgy, holier-than-thou tone and his blatant uninformed information present throughout the article made hardly any substantial arguments, yet he still tried to argue. That’s a side right? He cares enough to be a dick?

This one article annoyed me so much that I never got to my next point in my readings of the week, so I guess I’ll have to push it back. I was gonna discuss how the short continuation game in 2.8 is a continuation of what is regarded to be the best game of the franchise, but that I will save for next week maybe.

This interview immediately triggers the idea of what an American actually means—not on a born in the United States or has gained citizenship matter. The fact that immediately the actress is referenced to by her ethnicity and not her nationality points to the idea that there is more it. While she was born in the country she was identified in a nominally appropriate way in the incorrect manner. This happens quite often in passing descriptions or meetings. This may seem overly politically correct, but one has to admit that this is worth noting. There may be a few people, who are truly able to not make generalizations or make conclusions of how to communicate with someone from their ethnicity. What is in question is if this is actually an acceptable tool to use when interacting or making assumptions about a person.

It may be a generalizing blanket statement, but due to appearance and background, many conclusions may be implied. To simplify this idea—if you are speaking to a coworker after work who is a Mexican woman and you are a Trump supporter, you probably do not want to engage in a conversation about politics. This may seem like a safe bet. However, you have no idea of her background to make a valid conclusion about her political ideals—perhaps she shares the same convictions, and has a copious amount of distaste for Hilary’s policies or character and genuinely likes Trump. Instantly you made a legitimate call to avoid confrontation—was this accurate? These assumptions have possibly avoided an argument. An individual can read this analogy and shake their head—however, is there an exact statistical figure that can be recalled to make this judgement call? We can remember hearing something in the news, from facebook or listening to some of the statements that the nominee made. Not an exact fact to make this generalization, which may not even be true in this circumstance. This is a simple analogy, but truthful. A more datable analogy would be the reasonability of drug testing for welfare or stop and frisk policies.

Another topic that was interesting was the idea that a country was founded around Longoria’s family’s town. When this occurred, was her town expected to assimilate to the majority culture and accept new ideals that are completely foreign? Would there be appropriation within the community’s culture to build connections or bonds? Generally speaking, following laws and ideals would be pertinent to maintain order and forward innovation. However, this area heavily populated with the same culture, so general ideals will not fit in the smaller society and possibly cause unrest. The perspective of some of both would encourage duality between the two cultures… but they generally don’t fit, or perhaps there isn’t enough integration to encourage this. This is constituted by the inventions of margaritas and Cinco Demayo. When the US is made of so many of these dissimilar pockets, how do we exact what a true American would be?

Okay, so at this point I have looked at word aversion in a really cute fun way, I have looked at it in a way that took a dark turn, but this week just kinda pissed me off. I cannot really stand the way the elections are going, especially the words they are using. Honestly, I am noticing in everyday life, that, especially my friends that are following the election are starting to speak like the candidates that they are voting for. And that makes me think, can you have an aversion to the words someone says just because its them. Because at this point, there is one candidate who can say that “they” have the cure all the worlds pain, but because of previous things said, I wont listen. Maybe that is the problem, I just don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to know what this candidate has to say and in turn is making me closed minded towards him.  Lets be real, I am not a very political person, but I have my eyes on this election. besides me, the whole world has their eyes on us right now and everyone really wants to know who are we going to elect as a nation. I have watched this election season tear friends apart, knowing that there isn’t really a better choice, but maybe a less evil one. These candidates need to be more aware of what they are saying because at this point I have a hate toward one candidates just because of the words being produced from their mouth. I think at this point language and wording are going to be their best options.

Everybody has their Superman. Some people latch onto Christopher Reeve. Others hold that George Reeves and the Superman of the Silver Age is the only Superman. With a history spanning nearly 80 years, it is easy to see why so many people have their own ideas of what Superman should look like and how he should act. Regardless of the interpretation, Superman is a character that embodies both hope and the best of what humans can be. As a fan myself, I appreciate nearly every interpretation of the character. My initial exposure to the character was through collected editions that reprinted the best comic book stories from the forties to the eighties. I watched all of the key film interpretations of the character. As a result, I have the unique quality of having no favorite portrayal of a character that is so integral to my life.

However, that does not make me blind to the flaws of different interpretations. And it’s not just Superman that I pay attention to; it’s his supporting cast. The people Superman interacts with are just as important as the Metropolis Marvel himself. Lois Lane is a hard-hitting, strong, independent investigative reporter. Lex Luthor is a brilliant, egotistical mind that views himself as the hero fighting off the alien invader. Perry White is the gruff, fatherly editor-in-chief. Jonathan and Martha Kent are a kindly, down-to-earth couple that live in a small town where values and morality are integral.

Additionally, as a member of the fanbase, I have seen the divide brought on by the release of the two most recent films starring Superman. While both films have their fans, there are many who dislike and even loathe the films’ portrayal of the character. Even reviewers and moviegoers who are not particularly well-versed in the character’s mythology, or even dislike the character, find the films to be horrible representations of the American icon.

People argue that Superman doesn’t matter anymore. There are many who say that he’s an outdated character that represents an overly-idyllic world in which good always wins and there is no moral ambiguity. But every time Superman is fundamentally changed, there is an outcry. When Action Comics #900 was released, there was an uproar over a story penned by David S. Goyer in which Superman renounced his U.S. citizenship. Upon the theatrical release of Man of Steel, moviegoers, critics, and even detractors scrutinized the film’s decision to have Superman kill General Zod, and his failure to reduce the number of civilian casualties. Many compared the film’s bleak and somber tone to the upbeat, feel-good Superman: The Movie.

It’s an interesting dichotomy: people argue that Superman is no longer relevant, but whenever his handlers misrepresent him, everyone comes to The Man of Steel’s defense.