4th year and you suck at basics!

I just can't believe how some FOURTH YEAR students at UNIVERSITY still cannot make a good class presentation. And even worse, a power point presentation.

SO basically you get 5 different kinds of boring presentations and presenters:

#1 The "You-can't-read-my-slides"
This kind of presenter tends to read everything from the slides, and by everything I mean EVERYTHING.


#2 The "I-Just-Wrote-Everything-Up"
This kind comes prepared for the presentation and came to class with only a written component in form of long notes or the summary they made, and decide to read it in front of the class. This is usually due to fear of public speech. Or not knowing what a boring presentation means.

#3 The "Quoter"
This person tries to fit eveything into a slide as much as they can with quotes because they are 'so important'


#4 The "Distractor"
This person make use of pictures in order to cover up for the bad content of the presentation.


#5 The "Monotone"
This person has the skill to keep one voice tone throughtout the whole presentation. The person does not express any sort of emotion at all. Clearly, the person was assigned with a topic they hate or was the last one to pick the topic that nobody else wanted.


This is university, you should be able to make a good class presentation by now. How are you going to be a successful public speecher if your slides suck and nobody is caring what you are saying because you are boring? even if you can't make an interesting presentation, picture yourself listening to your presentation.

Thank you. *insert applause here*

Facebook says we're friends

There is something that really bothers me and I have to let it out.

Now, during my first three years of university I began to know a lot of people and made a lot of new friends. Some of them I had a lot in common with, others no so much. Therefore, I got along with some people better than I did with others. I don't blame it, we all have different tastes and different personalities.

In my first year, it was an exciting experience, since we were all new to this 'university world' so we were all friendly to literally Everybody.

In second year, people became better friends with some people, while others have changed and decided that they like hanging out with a different group of people.

In third year you realize who your friends are and you start hanging out with them a lot. And it's just *that* group of friends. So people became more 'clique'.

I used to live in residence for three years of university and made great friends, and I had a lot of people to count on. But this fourth year, I decided to live with one of my best friends, another friend who has become a lot closer to me now, and 6 other people I really don't talk much to.

But my point with this post is that friendships are fragile. There are two kinds of friendship: real friendship and friendship by convenience. I used to have three let's say 'best friends' (but now it's cut into two because one of them has changed her path by choosing another school). I realized that friendship is something that is very vulnerable to be broken at any time, even the strongest bonds. It is sad to realize also, that even with my two remaining best friends, I don't know them entirely and we don't communicate with each other as frequent as I want it to be. Well, one of them does, but that's majorly because we live together.

It's funny that I used to be able to count on a lot of people back then. Like I used to have a best guy friend who I told everything about my life to. Ever since we don't live on the same floor in residence, like this year, we haven't spoken a word to each other. We met only once, but my other guy friend was there also, so they ended up talking to each other about 'guys stuff' like videogames.

Something broke my heart recently, well kinda recently. I used to work for the College Student Council, and we had this office where people can just come in and hang out. I used to be there all the time last year because it was part of my work and because I liked the people there. This year, I haven't been there much; partly because my classes are not around there and it is kind of a far away walk to/from my house, and partly because people I used to call friends are not much friends with me anymore.

So one day, since I had to do some errands nearby, I decided to pay a visit to my old beloved office, and probably say hi to some people there because I kinda miss seeing them. When I got in, there were three people sitting there. These three people who I used to consider them friends, especially I used to date one of them. So I walked in, all smiley, with my friendliest "heeeey, what's up guys?" And the response from them was this really really cold "hey" from them. And after that, they just stood up and walked away. There was no "hey Katie, we haven't seen you for a while, what's up", no "oh hi Katie, I'm doing well, how are you", or "oh what a surprise to see you around here!" Where did the courtesy go these days??!

Ironicly enough, when I was walking back, I bumped into a girl who I haven't talk to in a long while. I wouldn't even consider her as a friend because we don't talk much or see her often. When she saw me, she picked me up from the ground, gave me a BIIIIG hug, and twirled me around. She was apparently very enthusiastic to see me.

Wow, someone who's not a friend treated me better than someone who I used to call a friend? What has the world come to?

Let's see what we are talking about here. My best guy friend "Paul" (not real name) who I used to tell everything to, I haven't talked to him this year. But my friend "Clarissa" whom I don't really talk to says hi to me all the time. My friend "Anthony" whom I have helped in with a lot of things ignores me completely. But this "Amanda" who I don't talk to, gives me the warmest hug ever. And "Brian", a guy who I used to ignore and make fun of, treats me a lot better than my old friends.

This whole idea just makes me appreciate whoever is around me a lot more. I should really pay back to those people who have given attention to me when I didn't, and reconsider who my real friends are.

So when "Anthony" ignored me that time, and now is only talking to me because he wanted my help....well he is going to get a cold response from me (but still kinda of helping). But really, he should deserve a slap on the face. Karma is a b*tch.

Fears erased

I just found this image in my email today. Pretty symbolic to me. Where's that board now?

Of Princesses and Magical Kingdoms

From: “The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia, the Function of the Disney Princess” by Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario

Do Rozario talks in her article about the social functions of the Disney’s princesses and argues how their functions have changed over time, but yet kept some on the traditional conventions. To argue this, the author distinguishes two times of Disney: the films produced under Walt Disney himself, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) and Sleeping Beauty (1959) and the films produced under the Disney Team, like The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995).

During the Walt Disney era, at the beginning of Disney’s times, the films were seen as part of family entertainment. Disney recurred to nostalgia and innocence in order to obscure or to blur the agencies or politics behind them. For instance, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was made during the Great Depression in the 30’s, yet in the movie they show a very candy-coated world where the dwarves go to work everyday while singing and dancing. Nevertheless, the film also captures the dominant ideologies and put them in the movies. The animated films play with the social conventions of that time and the archetypes of social classes and gender roles. They paint this image of “beauty as a stereotype and good nature as submissive” (p. 34). Drawn by the princesses’ roles at the beginning of the films, where they are seen as housekeepers who wash, spin, clean, cook, and sing to animals (p.37). Females, thus, are found in a world dominated mostly by men, world where kings rule the kingdom.

However, there is a spin to that. Even though the males are the ones that dominate the kingdom, females still have power, although it is less explicit. Do Rozario also talks about the ‘femme fatale’ (p.43), which are usually the female villains of the stories. The ‘femme fatale’ is based on the mythology of a woman that uses her charms to obtain something from others. They usually victimize the princess (p.43) and use them as a tool to achieve their goals, to claim absolute power over the kingdom. Take for example Maleficent, the Evil-Queen, and Ursula. They mount obstacles in the story by interfering with the princess’ ‘true love’ and ‘happily ever after’, taking advantage of the princesses’ weaknesses in order to obtain power. The king fathers, on the other hand, are seem as powerless and unable to save their daughters from these evil women.

Princesses from later times, after being taken over by the Disney Team, learned from the ‘femme fatale’. There was a sudden change in the style and form in the stories. First of all, the animated films were no longer all family entertainment; it became part of the teen folk musical (p.47). Do Rozario quotes Bell “the latest folk heroines tease with the convention of burlesque” (p.47). Princesses start to enter the forbidden world (like how Ariel goes to the dry land, Pocahontas enter the colonizers’ area, etc.). They struggle for autonomy and independence, as they contradict the laws (p.53). Their fathers usually are the traditional, conservative ones who like to keep the nature of things, maintain order and the status quo (p.53). The princesses, on the other hand, represent change, autonomy, and openness (p.53). The image of princess is replaced by the image of the heroine. They seek to choose their own futures and husbands by challenging the world they live in and by transgressing traditions (p.56). In spite of this new movement, some conventions stay the same, such as the slim figures of the princesses, the image of the prince charming, the promise of searching for true love, and the ideal that all dreams can come true.

So in short, the Disney films have evolved from being ballet classical musicals to teen folk musical. The princesses went from being the submissive one to become the heroine of the story. She used to obey patriarchal roles and structures and now she challenges them and questions their roles in the kingdom. She changed from being vulnerable into an active female with a strong character who determines the new nature of kingdom (p.57). Needless to say, as coined by Do Rozario, “the Disney kingdom may still seem a man’s world, but it is a man’s world dependent on a princess” (p.57).


Discussion questions:
1.After seeing three generations of Disney films, are Disney animations really moving away from the traditional ideals and changing the old image of the princess, or do they still stick with the old conventions?
2.If you were to make a Disney animated movie that portrays today’s ideologies, how will you develop the story? Or what would you change from previous Disney films?

Just gimme the rose

I can't believe of what I'm gonna say next, but I am officially actually hooked on the show The Bachelor. I remember watching it a long time ago, probably the first couple seasons, but I can't remember anything really, just what the show is about. And it's incredible that the show is now on their 14th season. Who woulda thought it could last so long?! But now that the new season began to air this year, January 4th, I can say that I love watching the show.

Now, I am not very fond of these reality date shows, but I have to admit that I take pleasure watching them. It's a guilty pleasure. I ended up watching the show the night of January 4th basically because there was basically nothing else on TV. First episode was fun to watch, but I didn't imagine finding myself on the couch on the same weekday (monday)at the same time on the same channel. And after watching three episodes, I can't wait for the next episode!!!

Funny thing, there has been 14 seasons of The Bachelor, and I did a little bit of research (thank you Wikipedia!!) and none of the bachelors end up with the winners or the follow-up winners. Except for Jason Mesnick from last season who proposed the follow-up girl and she said yes. But other than him, most bachelors did not propose in the season finale, or they break up not long after the show. Lame.

So what do we learn from shows like this? Let's see: 1) true love cannot be found in a TV show. 2) love is not a fairy tale where they pay you for expensive and amazing dates, pick you up in a limo, live in a huge mansion with pool, have cocktail parties every night with dresses, and end up with a rose every night. 3) there are many things that the show leaves out, like family, jobs, friends, etc. which are crucial into such a big decision like engagement and marriage. 4) it takes lot more than just couple weeks to get to know a girl so much and to decide to marry her.

Did I also mentioned that its a TV SHOW, emphasis on the word "show". This means that there might be some underground things going on...who knows...scripts, things that were supposed to happen, things left out of the show, etc.

I don't know what you think about the Rozlyn situation, where she allegedly was having an affair with the producer of the show. Ok, that was a shocker, intense drama, big scandal. I won't lie, my jaws dropped when I saw that. It's something really big for the show, and it's ironic that she got a rose because she impressed Jake. One minute she says "I got my rose, bitches", the next minute she's kicked out of the house. However, on a second thought....was that real? did she actually have an affair with the producer? or they made that up just to increase the show ratings? hmm..gives something to think about.

So there's not much 'real' in reality TV shows. One must be critical when watching shows like this and must not believe everything they say. Trust me, I wrote an essay on this topic. But then again, TV shows are for entertainment, don't take it seriously. I personally enjoy it because, well, the bachelor is kinda good looking and I'm intrigued on who's she ending up with. It also gives me a fantasy about the prince charming and all that jazz teehee. But yeah, its just a show, so sit down and enjoy the show and the drama that comes with it. =]

On this day, the first bunny was born

I've created this blog to start out the 2010 with amazing ideas I have (or maybe not too amazing for you). I'm gonna be blogging about everything I feel like talking about: could be about movies, books, music, celebrities, lifestyle, religion, school, candies, places, job hunting, internets, current trends, family, people, or even irrelevant things like the sock sitting on the floor of my room.

You have been warned now that the tone in my writings might vary with every post. I think writing is a way of expressing your feelings and thoughts, and all you wanna do is to jot down all these ideas into a paper - or a digital form of it called blogs - So don;t be surprised if one day I write something really nice, and the next day it is just me taking down my anger about something. We all do that, right? .... right? But I do assure you that most postings are happy =]

I have been meaning to commence this blog since the New Years, but due to life distractions I haven't been able to until now.

Let's get started on why I decided to pick this name for my blog, The Gemini Bunny. Well, first of all, I'm obviously a Gemini. Now, I might not be *very* into astrology or believe everything they say about signs and all. However, I've done my research on internet and they come out with many things I relate myself with. I know, I know, it's kinda skeptical, but I do believe that certain signs have certain characteristics. I will later explore and share with you with some information about Geminis. The second part of the blog name is Bunny. At first I thought about putting rabbit because I like rabbits for several reasons. 1) I was born under the rabbit sign in the chinese horoscope - 1987. 2) Rabbit is one of the characters in Alice in Wonderland story, which is my all time favourite story. 3) I like rabbits as animals 4) I identiy my personality with those of the rabbits: happy, bouncy, soft, little, and timid sometimes.

This is one of the many blogs I have started in the past couple years. I started to blog like 6 years ago when I was still in high school and I used the internet as a form of online secret diary where no one knew about it. Couple years after that I started blogs like this one where I could write about things, and the only difference is that I can make it public. However, with the industrial amounts of school work, it led me to forget about them most of the times, and only recurring to them every now and then. But I am determined in maintaining this one. Or at least try.

For those who don't know who I am, my name is Katie Leung. I am currently a student at York University in Toronto at my fourth year in Communications Studies and French Studies. I was born and raised in Costa Rica, however both of my parents are chinese. I am usually a very laid back girl and likes to enjoy the little things in life like skipping rocks in the water. I like thinking when I feel inspired. Or watch movies when I am not inspired at all. People who know me will say that I am a cute happy person. I am usually shy around people, but once they open up to me I can be talktive and friendly. I love meeting people of all sorts, I think people are interesting and I can learn things from them. I have two great parents who love me and my sister very much and they blessed us with great education throughout our lives. Because of them I can speak four languages: English, Spanish, Cantonese, and I am working on my knowledge of French. I have love for cooking, making desserts, penguins and rabbits, photography, music, coffee, and the beach.

That's all for now, and thank you for reading my blog. Hope you follow me and we can share ideas. Or have fun getting to know me better. See you next time!