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Welcome to Issue 4 of Strange & Charmed Magazine! We have lots of fun planned Just for you!
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Table of Contents
pg. article
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Letter from the Editor
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Staff Member Hobbies
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Staff Picks: Interesting Hobbies to Try
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The Art of Caring
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Arts & Entertainment: Introducing Series
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A Practical Guide to iPhoneography
pg. article 24
Beyond the Four Leaf Clover: Lucky Charms around the world
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Horoscope Survival Guide: Lucky Charms by Star Sign
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A Girl’s Guide to Philly Microbrews
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DIY: Crochet an Infitiny Scarf
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pg. article 40
Vine
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Digital vs. Analog
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How to Start a Blog
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Mantra: Writing on the Wall
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Quirky Girl Spotlight
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Letter from the Editor
Well, well! Time certainly does fly around here, doesn’t it! I can’t believe that March is here already and spring should be just around the corner. Now that we are all starting to defrost from a cold winter, we want to spend our spring days filled with new adventures. So, to help you find something new this Spring we have put together the Hobby issue! Filled within these pages will be ideas for fun new activities you may want to consider trying out. Ever wanted to crochet but never thought you could? We have a DIY tutorial that shows how 6
easy crocheting can actually be and you may even end up with something fancy from your efforts! We have also put together a guide to one of my favorite Spring activities, photography! But this isn’t just any photography guide, its a Guide to iPhoneography! No need for expensive cameras and lens kits, we will have you up and running and feeling like a photography pro in no time with some simple accessories and apps! We have lots of great hobby ideas, so feel free to browse around and give something interesting a try! We know you won’t regret it!
XOXO
Alexis Giostra Editor in Chief
Staff Hobbies: Alexis Giostra
1. Writing & Blogging
2. Jewelery Making 3. Crocheting
Alexis Giostra is the Editor in Chief of Strange & Charmed! She is currently way to obsessed with Instagram and hopes you are too. Follow her @ MissTrenchcoat
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Staff Hobbies: Kate Marshall
1. Writing Critque Group
2.Watching “Scrubs�
3.Drinking Wine Kate Marshall is the Executive Editor around here at S&C! Follow her antics on her amazingly awesome blog, http://katesplace7.blogspot.com
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Staff Hobbies: Mike Cousineau
1. Reading
2. Gaming 3. Cooking
Mike Cousineau is the Layout Editor for the magazine! He happens to be an awesome graphic designer IRL and you can view his work on his personal site, http://mjcousineau.com
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Staff Pick’s: Interesting Hobbies to Try!
Record Collecting
Beer Making
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Ballet Dancing
Running
Furniture Restoration
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The Art of Caring
By: Alexis Giostra
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“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” - Elie Wiesel “Death: Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know, that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom.” - Terry Pratchett, Hogfather “...the opposite of love is not hate -- it’s apathy. It’s not giving a damn. If somebody hates me, they must “feel” something ... or they couldn’t possibly hate. Therefore, there’s some way in which I can get to them.” - Leo F. Buscaglia Not caring, apathy, indifference- it’s the plague of society. Isn’t it ironic that in a time where the Internet can bring you vast amounts of data and people are able to connect all across the globe, we are loosing the essence of humanity at alarming rates. Christianity, Judiasm, Islam and all the major world religions profess caring about yourself, your world and your neighbors, and yet we are missing the message. We have become professionals at avoiding real human connection, not only with others, but most importantly, ourselves. Think about it, when was the last time you gave the excuse “I’m sorry, I am too busy to...(fill in the 13
blank)?” Or started a diet or exercise plan only to buckle at the first sign of a challenge? We don’t even care enough to take care of ourselves. This is a major problem that really stems from a major malfunction in our own self value. We cannot expect to care about anything truly until we It is possible to fail at caring. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try, if anything, it is all the more reason to give something a shot!
care about ourselves first. Self esteem and self love, or the lack of it, is a major player in why we cannot seem to commit. Caring is a commitment after all. It takes time and effort to care about anything, which is why I call it the art of caring. It all starts inside, 14
within your own mind. You must silence the voice inside your head that is screaming out to you that you don’t matter. Because if you don’t think you matter, you won’t think much else matters! Indifference is bred out of fear. Fear that you will fail, fear that someone will not agree with you, fear that people are judging you for your opinions and for caring. You’re not wrong after all. When you care about things people will judge you, you may fail, and people will certainly disagree with you, but that doesn’t reflect back on you. It’s just the way the world works. You can profess that 2 + 2 = 4 but some smart ass will argue some obscure piece of mathematical theorem that says it actually equals 5. These people don’t matter, and they don’t matter because their is always a
dissenter. You’re allowed to not care about the dissenters. As for people judging you, yep, your right! When you care about something or even someone there is always judgement. Like the dissenters, these people also do not matter because someone always has an opinion and wants to share it. While I wish the world would abide by Thumpers “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” it’s actually more along the lines of “misery loves company.” Remember, other people who “don’t care” are going to be confused as to why you “do care,” and they are going to feel inadequate about your caring because they lack self esteem enough to appreciate the fact that you care about something. It’s a viscous cycle, don’t get caught up in it,
just ignore it! Finally, caring may also not work out for you. It is possible to fail at caring. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try, if anything, it is all the more reason to give something a shot! Everyday is filled with failure. Things you were supposed to do, but couldn’t get to. New meals you attempted but ruined. Appointments you were late for. All of this is failure, we live with it everyday and it propels us forward. Think about it. When you are running late for an event do you just decide not to show up? Probably not. When you don’t complete a task today, does that mean you can’t try it tomorrow? Nope. When you burn dinner, does it mean you stop cooking? Not at all! You fail all the time and you get over it! You learn from your mis15
takes and try again. So next time you decide not to do something out of fear of failing, remind yourself that you fail all the time and life still goes on! Once you have come to terms with your fear of commitment, you must begin to dismantle the barrier between yourself and the world. The biggest lie we tell ourselves to keep from participating in life is what I call “the busy trap.” You can’t do this or that because you are busy. Busy is a lie; busy is a self made delusion; busy is the ultimate shield. Busy is our way of legitimizing our disinterest and indifference. People can hardly argue with it, as it almost gives the impression of interest while simultaneously disconnecting us. Its as though your saying, “I would do this, if I had time” 16
but when someone tells you they are busy or when you use the phrase yourself, remember, what you are really saying is “this is not worth my time and I refuse to prioritize it.” When you care about something, either a person or a passion, you awaken your human spirit.
If you have friends who give you this excuse often, you may want to reevaluate whether you should remain friends with them. Consequently, if you give this excuse often, you need to confront yourself on why you refuse to participate in the world. Do you need to work on your self esteem or do you need to cut off a relationship that isn’t working? You need to be honest with yourself and others because “busy” is
a waste of time. So, now that you know that you matter and that you have nothing to be afraid of and are understanding the barriers you have in place between you and the world, lets discuss why you should start caring about things and the benefits it will bring you. To summarize, caring opens you up to new experiences and new people. It brings you a level of fulfillment and accomplishment in your life that you have never felt before. Caring can sometimes lead you to hurt and pain, but through it also clarity and personal growth. If you talk to parents, they will often use this same language to describe their experience with their children. If you speak to an artist, the same words are often used. The same goes for business owners, writers, athletes,
model train enthusiasts and so on! When you care about something, either a person or a passion, you awaken your human spirit. You may think their is a difference between a parent caring for their child and a girl who loves fashion but to each of them what they care about is important and valuable and gives their lives meaning. When you begin to care you begin to spend your time wisely, you learn to prioritize and you live your life more fully. Humans are intelligent and creative and when we engage this natural state our quality of life increases. Get into hobbies, learn new things, connect with people, care about the world, it’s intricacies and its oddities and live life. Don’t be too busy for it all. 17
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A& e m n i a t r e t B n E
Things to Read The Introducing Series
By: Alexis Giostra
makes you feel like your in a college classroom again. Well, I have found a fun and easy to understand series of graphic novels that tackle the tough subjects like Quantum Theory, Logic and even the some of the master philospher’s while making you feel like you have simply been reading a comic book! The series, Introducing by Icon Books covers a variety of subjects with pages filled with interesting graphics and serious information packed into bite size, easily digestible pieces. Check out the series online at www.introducingbooks.com or head over to Amazon to check out Have you ever wanted to learn the reviews and available topics. a new or difficult subject, but weren’t sure where to start? Perhaps you didn’t feel like reading some long drawn out text that 19
By: Alexis Giostra
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Photography has always been a popular hobby amongst the artsy and intellectual crowd, but now its even easier than ever to capture stunning images or at least capture interesting images that you will later adjust and filter into perfection. iPhoneography is its own growing segment within the field of photography. In case you haven’t guessed, iPhoneography is the art or practice of taking and processing photographs with your iPhone. With sites like Instagram and Flickr growing in popularity as a means to capture and share digital photography, we will explain everything you will need to start taking pictures like a pro, with your camera!
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1. iPhone. You will need an iPhone with a functioning camera. Although all iPhone models have a camera, we would suggest that you use an iPhone 4 or greater as the quality of the camera has changed over time and the iPhone 4 was the first model to use what is considered to be a solid level camera. The 4s and 5 of course have even better quality cameras and thats just extra gravy on the side! 2. Camera Style iPhone Case. I love the Gizmon iPhone 4/4s case pictured because it has a working shutter button and its made to look like a vintage rangefinder, but you can easily use a different camera style case. Now, you may be asking yourself “is it really necessary for me to use an iPhone case that looks like a camera in order to be an iPhoneographer?” My answer is a most certain, yes! Okay, okay! So the case doesn’t really do anything that having no case or a different case would do, but what is does have is an infinite amount of class and it sets the mood for you to take great pictures. Its almost like a skin that transforms your iPhone into a photography machine and with it, you into a legitimate iPhoneographer. Plus, it looks much better when you’re walking around in public shooting images with a phone that looks like a camera because it sends the signal to others that you are seriously taking photo’s and not just taking random quick snaps for Instagram (which you still may be doing but at least they can’t tell!).
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3. iPhone lenses. Yep, they do make lenses for your iPhone! That is another reason I prefer the Gizmon case, because it actually has a cut out for the lenses to be inserted, but do not fear, you can still use other lenses with other cases as long as the opening for the camera is large enough. You can find multi packs of lenses all over the internet, and they usually come with a wide angle, a micro, fisheye and telephoto variety. Not only will the lenses help you take better pictures but they will also add to that feeling of being an actual photographer! 4. Camera strap. If you are using a camera style case, mine as well get yourself a camera strap as well. It will obviously have its benefits when walking around shooting photo’s as it will keep your iPhone attached to you so that you can’t drop it! It will also help you look the part of professional iPhoneographer and these adorable camera straps from Bloom Theory are adorable as well as fashionable. 5. Holga iPhone Lens & Filter Wheel Case. This last item is actually optional but still a very cute and useful tool to have in your iPhoneography kit. This Holga iPhone case has a wheel attached for you to change out your lenses with a click. The wheel also has some color filter options so that you get a physical filter added to your photographs. Its obviously optional because there are many apps that you can download for your iPhone that do this same thing, but there is something special about having that real physical filter that you can adjust by hand. 23
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Beyond the Four Leaf Clover: Lucky Charms around the World By: Kathryn Marshall
So apparently, it’s St. Patrick’s Day soon or something. Whatever. Do you know how much I despise the color green, especially that bright “kelly green” color associated with St. Patrick’s Day, or the stereotype of the drunk Irish? Or drunk people in general? Anyway: fourleaf clovers and heads-up pennies are not the only indicators of luck around here. Some auspicious symbols come to us from the insect kingdom, animal world, and even numerology. Here are some examples that prove that St. Patty’s Day isn’t the only Lucky Day on the calendar, heck, its not even the only day people deliberatly get wasted! 25
1. Crickets: As Disney films like Mulan (and even Pinnochio) will tell you, crickets are a symbol of good luck and contemplation, especially in Asian cultures. They are also extremely noisy. I mean, good Lord. 2. Scarabs: Yes, the beetle-type things from Aladdin and The Mummy (can you tell I get most of my knowledge from movies and pop culture?) These chittery-little guys were a comfort in ancient Egypt-- and kind of cute in their own way. And “scarab” is also a fun word to say. 3. Acorns: Old Norse folklore. Oak trees. Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Thunder hits oak trees. Acorns come from oak trees. Put acorns on your windowsills so your house doesn’t get hit by lightning. And so on. (And by the way, isn’t Tom Hiddleston’s Loki one of the best villains ever??? And soooo cute!) 4. Goldfish: Gold and fish both have to do with prosperity. Yay!
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5. Pigs: Big in Germany, among other places. Yet another reason to be nice to our porcine friends: they’re smart, they bring luck, and they’re delicious. 6. A caul or to be “born in the caul”: A caul is a term used to describe piece of membrane that will occasionally cover a newborns face during birth. To be “born in the caul” is considered auspicious, and the caul itself, according to Charles Dickens in David Copperfield, was often auctioned as a talisman for those who did not wish to die of drowning. 7*. A pen and notebook: This is my own good luck charm because it’s part of my philosophy ‘always have pen and paper on you because you never know when you might need it.’ As Jack Dawson and Han Solo both agree, it’s best to make your own luck. *You will notice that we ended this list with the number 7. As you may already be aware, 7 is considered a lucky number in and of itself! This mostly has to do with the popularity of the number 7 in the Bible, and you know how their are 7 days in a week and what not. So there, now you have good luck just for reading this article! 27
Horoscope Survival Guide: L
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^
a
Aries Lucky Pennies
Cancer Lady Bugs
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Taurus Pigs
Leo The Color Red
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Gemini A Rabbit’s Foot
Virgo A Lucky Coin
Lucky Charms by Star Sign d
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Libra Bamboo
Capricorn Horseshoes
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h
Scorpio Wishbones
Aquarius Goldfish
f
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Sagittarius Acorns
Pisces A Dream Catcher
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A Girl’s Guide to Philly Microbrews By: Kathryn Marshall
Did you know that for reasons too maddening to go into, St. Patrick’s Day is associated with heavy drinking and cheap beer dyed green that’s best used as an emetic agent? But why drink ourselves stupid on lukewarm Natty Light when there are a wide variety of yummy micro-brewed beers to be imbibed? Here are some beers to consider this March 17, or really, any other time wine just seems like too much work. 30
Sam Adams’ Seasonal Okay, these aren’t really micro-brews but they’re still delicious! Go get a sextet of them, like right now. Recommended flavors include winter lager, alpine spring, summer ale, holiday porter, harvest pumpkin ale, and white Christmas. Yum. Manayunk Tavern Yes, you normally have to go to the restaurant to drink the beer. But it is damn good beer, they have outdoor seating, and they’re right on the Schullkyll River. Man, I miss that place. Their Schullkyll Punch raspberry ale is the best, along with the Bohemian Blonde Ale, Smokehouse Porter and Belgianstyle ales. Iron Hill Brewery Hiding all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Iron Hill Brewery features pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, steaks, and an ever-changing craft beer menu: ales, lagers, pilsners, etc. “A sextet of ale,” indeed! Beers include another Belgian Pale Ale, North Wales Pale Ale, Citra on the Horizon, Old Ale, Iron Hill Light Lager, and Ironbound Ale. Yards Brewery I’ve always wanted to get beer from here especially since they have 64-ounce “growler” glass containers. Yay! You can also ring in the season with beers like Saison, Cape of Good Hope, and BarleyWine. Regular flavors include Philadelphia Pale Ale, Extra Special Ale (hee hee), an India Pale Ale, Love Stout, and Brawler (best beer name ever). 31
DIY: Crochet an Infinity Scarf Crocheting is no longer your grandmother’s hobby. With the variety of cute accessories you can make for yourself at a fraction of the cost of buying retail, you can’t afford not to try this DIY! To start, you will need a skein of yarn that is about 300 yards and a crochet hook size 6.5!
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1. Tie a knot of yarn around your crochet hook, make sure to leave a tail of extra yarn as a marker for your progress. 2. Holding the crochet hook with your dominant hand and the yarn source with the other, wrap the yarn source (YS) around the hook wrapping clockwise. You will now have two lines wrapped on your hook. 3. Slide the two lines up the hook so that the top line is caught under the hook and the second, lower line can be pulled around the head of the hook as you pull the hook downwards. You will now have one loop created on your chain.
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4. Repeat this action until you have a total of 180 loops on your chain. 5. You will now need to join the two ends so that you can create the circle scarf. With one line on your hook (leftover from creating your chain of 180), you will take the opposite end of your chain and stick your hook through the first loop you created. You will not have two lines on your hook. 6. Next, wrap the YS around the hook again in a clockwise direction so that you have three lines on your hook. 32
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7. Pull your hook down and simultaneously pull your yarn upwards to that the first top line of yarn is secure under the hook and the second and third lines of yarn will be pulled up over the hook so that only that first line is left on your hook. You now have one loop created jetting out of your circular chain. 8. Continue this chain until you have six total loops. The result will be a T shape. 9. Working towards the left, go down to your main circular chain of 180 loops and skipping the first loop from where your extra chain of six loops is jetting out, you will stick your hook through the second loop of your chain. With your hook through this loop, wrap your YS around the hook and pull it back out through the loop you entered. This will leave you with two lines of yarn on your hook.
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10. Then, wrap your YS around the hook again in a clockwise direction and you will have three lines on your hook. Bring the top line of yarn up under the hook and this time, bring the second line of yarn only over the hook so that the first line and the third line now remain. 11. Wrap your YS again and repeat step 10 again, bringing the top line of yarn up under the hook and bringing the second line only over the hook. 12. Wrapping your YS again, you will now bring the top line of yarn up under your hook, but this time you will bring the second and third line over the hook.
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13. You will now have only one line of yarn on your hook. 14. Returning to the main circular chain of 180 loops and working towards the left, skip the first loop and bring your hook into the second loop to the left. While your hook is still through this loop, wrap your YS around the hook and bring it back out so that you have two lines of yarn on the hook.
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15. You will then wrap your YS around the hook again and continue steps 10 through 13 until you make your way all the way around the original circle. Make sure you are entering the second loop to the left each time and bringing the YS through the loop as you retract your hook from the loop. 16. Once you have made it all the way around continuing this pattern, you will have a gap that you will need to close. At this point, you will want to line up your two open ends and make sure that the scarf is straight all the way around and has no twists. If you have a twist you can simply twist the chain in the opposite direction to get it out. 17. Continuing working to the left, you can evaluate the left side of the gap and you will see that you have a bridge of three loops, a whole that is split with a line of yard and then another bridge of three loops. You will want to continue your pattern by sticking your
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hook through the left side of the hole and wrap your YS around the hook and then bring it back through as you retract the hook. 18. At this point you will have two lines of yarn again on your hook and you can now continue with steps 10 through 13 as you continue to work your way around the scarf. As you make your way around the scarf, always working towards the left and making sure to use the left side opening as you start each new set of stitches, you will track the number of times you have gone around by that extra tail you left when you started your initial chain. You will want to go around ten complete times. 19. Once you have made 10 complete layers around, you will need to end your scarf. For your last set of stiches, after you have brought the two lines of yard over the first line (step 12) you do not need to make the one additional loop. You will then go directly into the next open hole to the left and wrap your YS around the hook and then retract the hook from the loop. Next, instead of wrapping another line of yarn, you will skip this step and bring the second line of yarn through the top first line of yarn and pull the loop out.
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20. Next you will cut the yarn so that you have a little extra to help you end the scarf. 21. You will then bring the cut end through the larger loop. 22. Pull the yarn tightly so that it forms a knot.
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23. To continue securing the end of your yarn, continue down the top row of your scarf and feed your yarn through open holes, continuing to make loops and pull your end through. 24. Continue knotting the end like this, pulling tightly to secure the yarn until you can cut the remainder off. Then repeat steps 22-25 for the original tail that you left on the opposite side of the scarf. When you are done you should have a beautiful infinity scarf!
By: Alexis Giostra 35
Enjoying what you read on Strange & Charmed Magazine? Are you ready for more?
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Visit strangeandcharmed.blogspot.com for weekly updates and articles. Read extensions of our articles and get new content every week at the Strange & Charmed Blog Can’t wait to see you there!
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Vine, The best IDEAS IT’S LIKE
I ever had Instagram CAME FROM IN
Pinterest motion
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Oh, Pinterest! Although it isn’t exactly the newest social network, it has certainly become one of the hottest as of late. Literally everyone is on Pinterest, sharing ideas, inspirations, recipes and endless amounts of tips, tricks and memes. It has become a go-to for foodies, looking to both share and learn new ways to experiment with their food. It is a crafters dream inspiration board filled with endless DIY projects, techniques and patterns that are certainly one of a kind. Even men have been flocking to Pinterest, sharing internet humor, style and maybe even repinning those handy guides to home repair! Pinterest really isn’t your typical social network, mostly because it isn’t really geared towards being social as much as it is to sharing information. There are no private messaging options, comments are limited to opinions or uses for pins, and the profile space is minimal, and yet friends from across the globe can follow each others boards, gathering information from relatives to total strangers in a roulette style game of chance when you never really know what is going to pop up next! So, are you on Pinterest yet? If so, follow our S&C Pin Board on our Editor Alexis Giostra’s Pinterest account, MissTrenchcoat! 39
Vine, The best IDEAS IT’S LIKE
I ever had Instagram CAME FROM IN
Pinterest motion
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Okay, okay! It’s not really like Instagram, but if you have ever seen one of the short 6 second video’s published from this fire-cracker of an app, you know that its just as clever as Instagram, if not infinitely more entertaining. The creativity that it takes to produce a 6 second video loop is greater than you could even imagine and users have been thinking of multitudes of ways to succinctly capture their daily lives. So, what is Vine exactly? For those of you who are not familiar, Vine is a stop motion video capture application that creates a social network around video instead of pictures. Using the familiar hashtag system, users can search for videos on an endless variety of topics and follow other users whose videos will then automatically populate into your home feed. The app gives you a total of 6 seconds of recording time, and using the touchscreen of your iPhone you can start and stop the video as often as you would like or rather, as often as you can fit in the short time span. What results is a short, often choppy, video loop that you can share with the world. The nature of the app lends itself heavily to stop motion video techniques, but even continuous footage can make clever use of the automatic video loop. A fan of Vine? Leave us a video message using the hashtag #strangeandcharmedmag and we will be sure to follow you! 41
Digital vs Analog: Digital Camera vs. Analog Camera
At only .7 inches thick, this camera is the perfect on-the-go camera. Easily fits into your pocket.
Can support a MicroSDHC Card or MicroSD Card to store your photos. No worrying about bad shots or ones you don’t like. Just erase to save space!
Capture your pictures with 16 megapixals, or record video in 720p HD resolution.
Features an impressive 5x optical zoom that lets you to capture any moment up close even while far away.
Samsung ST66 16MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom - Red Available at Target for $99.99 42
Not small enough to fit in your pocket, and not something to just toss into your bag. Treat it well!
You preview your picture through a viewfinder. Lets you get up close and connected with the camera.
Uses a Conventional 120 roll film to capture and store all of the photos you take... even the bad ones.
Powered by 2 AA batteries which are included.
Holga Colorflash, 120 Medium Format Camera Starter Kit Available at www.adorama.com for $54.99 43
Digital vs Analog: GarageBand App vs. Physical Keyboard Play anything from drums to piano, guitars or conduct an orchestra.
Small interface compared to an actual instrument. Losses the essential touch sensations of playing.
GarageBand for iOS Available in the iOS App Store for $4.99
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Connect over Wi-fi or Bluetooth to play together with friends.
Lets you record and edit songs within the app.
Easily switch between playing a piano or an organ by pressing a button.
100 tones, 50 rhythms, and 5 drum pads for you to choose from. Play along to a huge variety of music to improve your skills.
Easily portable and storable, while still keeping the feel of playing a piano. Learn how to play with 10 practice tunes already included and ready to be mastered.
Casio SA76 44-Key Mini Personal Keyboard Available at www.Walmart.com for $60.80
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Digital vs Analog: Wii Sports vs. Basketball Net Play at home without any worry of having to go out in bad weather. A good way to workout without having to go to the gym or leave the living room.
Great games for anyone of all ages, young and old, to enjoy!
Wii Sports Available on Amazon for $19.99 46
One disk can hold multiple games for you to play! Go from playing one sport to the next in a matter of moments!
Enjoy this by yourself to practice your skills, or with a group of friends in a friendly game of 1 on 1, HORSE, or whatever you want!
You will work out your whole body, as you pretend to get the last second buzzer beater to win the championship!
You’ll be outside in the fresh air! With that comes the downside of not playing when it rains or is too cold.
After awhile, you may get bored of the repetitive nature of playing this one sport and want to try something else.
Lifetime 44� Pro Court Height-Adjustable Portable Basketball Hoop Available at www.Walmart.com for $109.00 47
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Nowadays, it seems like everyone and their mother has a blog, and there is a great reason for that. Blogs are a great way to share you life, passions, and interests with your friends, family, or just you! Although many blogging platforms make it easy for anyone with a computer and internet connection to claim their own piece of the blogosphere, there are still things to think about before you begin blogging. This guide is intended to help you think through and answer those questions so that you create a blog that fits you! Step 1: Choosing a topic Knowing what you want to blog about is the first step in starting a blog. Your topic may be as broad as your day to day life and interests, or it can be as specific as the mating habits of bumblebees. The important part of choosing a topic is to make sure you are choosing something you could write about frequently. A blog is nothing if it ends with the first post, so make sure to think about what you want to write about and insure it is a topic or topics that you can create content around. Step 2: Decide on your target audience Whether you are writing for yourself, people with similar interests or a specific demographic, knowing who your intended audience is will help you to create content that appeals to those readers. For example, if you want to write about your homemade meals, you can assume others interested in cooking may find your content. Making sure to provide things like recipes for the meals and step by step instructions is an important part of catering to your audience. After all, 49
if you want readers to keep com- it offers an array of features and ing back, you need to give them plug-ins to its users and its open what they came for! source system makes endless customization possible. To access Step 3: Picking a platform Wordpress, however, one must There are many sites where download the Wordpress software users can create their own blog and from their build their blog. with a unique URL (aka inter- This is different than some other net address for where your blog sites like Blogger where users log can be found) but choosing the in online from anywhere and can right platform for your needs and post to their blogs, which means skill level can be a bit confusing. you need to be a little more tech To take the guesswork out of the savvy to use this platform, but if process I have chosen some of the you do your options are nearly most popular platforms and bro- endless for what you can do with ken them down by the types of your blog. blogs they best support. Tumblr: Tumblr is a relatively Blogger aka Blogspot: Blogger new blogging platform and it cenis an all around easy to use plat- ters more around pictures and form that is great for beginners or image sharing than writing. If you those who don’t want to do much are interested in creating a blog customization to their blog. It where you share mostly pictures, gives you multiple layout choices Tumblr may be a good option for and from those you can custom- you. Like Blogger, Tumblr gives ize colors to fit your style and it you customization options, but also includes easy to use widgets not as extensively as Wordpress. to give additional functionality to your blog. Step 4: What’s in a name? You may think choosing Wordpress: Wordpress is the your blogs name is the easy part most popular blogging platform or should be done first, but actuon the web due to the fact that ally, nailing down the specifics of 50
your content and audience first will help you create the best blog name possible. When it comes to naming your blog, I have three suggestions; keep it relevant, keep it short, and make it clever! You obviously want your blog name to be relevant to the topic(s) you will be writing about. This will make it easier for people to find your blog and understand what you’re all about. Shakespeare said ‘Brevity is the soul of whit,” and he was right! The simpler your blog name is, the easier it will be for people to remember. I am not saying your name should be a four letter word, but you want to keep it simple, like two or three words and nothing too complicated to spell if you were to tell someone the name verbally. Remember, most people can’t spell “rendezvous” including me because I just looked it up to get it right, so I hope you know what I mean and keep your words simple! Finally, make sure your blog name is clever. Puns, rhymes, and alliteration all help add to the cleverness factor and
people always appreciate a fun name! Step 5: What you will need to get started Obviously, since a blog is published online, you will need a computer with internet access. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just something that can reliably connect to the internet will do fine! I also suggest having a digital camera of one sort or another and also writing software on your computer. The camera is for pictures if you choose to take them yourself, which I recommend, but it is not a do or die need. Even if your phone has a camera that you can take pictures with, something is better than nothing, unless nothing is your only option, in which case I say get creative with finding images online! I also suggest writing software on your computer so that you have a place to write your posts with editing capabilities before you publish them. Again, not a necessity per se, but Microsoft Office does offer a free version called Open Office if you don’t have any other options. There are a number of ad51
ditional items you could also use to help you blog and create great content, but I am going to focus on three major ones that can be pretty beneficial. First, I suggest having a smartphone for image or video capture on the go. Nothing is worse than being out and about with your blogging necessities at home and loosing the opportunity to create a post. They aren’t so important, but an iPhone or Android with a good quality camera can be helpful in certain situations. Next, I would suggest photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop. While it is expensive, it is a tool used by professionals to make their images stand out and it has a vast array of uses to the non-professional blogger as well. Finally, I would also suggest a Wacom Bamboo Tablet to go along with Photoshop. If you are not familiar a Wacom Bamboo is a tablet and pen input tool that connects to your computer, giving you added functionality when editing with software like photoshop. Again, it is something that professionals often use, but they 52
sell a variety of entry-level tablets for hobby interests as well. Step 6: Decide on a schedule and stick to it! Now that you have decided on your blogs topic(s), audience and name, you are ready to start blogging! Once you have set up your blog on your platform of choice, you will need to begin creating regular content. Regular is a flexible term, and if you are not aiming to be a professional blogger it is even more flexible, however, creating a plan for how often you will post will keep you organized and motivated and will also help you grow your audience and following. Readers like to know that they can come back to your blog regularly for new content, so start by setting yourself a small, easily attainable goal, like blogging once a week and work your way up. Some of the most popular blogs have new content daily, but there are plenty of them that are updated once or twice a week, so don’t pressure yourself too soon or you could burn out. Take it slow and grow your blog at a rate that is
comfortable to you! Step 7: Unleash your inner editor Just because you’re not a professional writer doesn’t mean that you can get away with posts that are laden with spelling and grammatical errors. Editing is important for a blogger because it is a key indicator of quality. You may not be writing the next great novel, but your readers will appreciate reading posts they can understand. While its okay to use internet lingo like LOL or emoticons like , writing in all slang or with poor grammar will make it hard for your audience to understand you. Unless your blog is about writing slang like Lolcatz, try to keep quality control on your posts. Simple things, like rereading a post before you publish it, or having someone else read it first to ensure your message is being communicated effectively, can go so far on the internet.
a piece of your personality shows through, so it is very important that you are enjoying what you are writing about. First and foremost, you should be writing to please yourself and then your audience. If you are not interested in your content, no one else will be, so enjoy your blog and the information you have to share because that will always shine through!
Step 8: Enjoy what you are sharing. When you write something, 53
Mantra: Writing on the Wall By: Alexis Giostra
Self love is something that many people struggle with throughout their lives. Women especially, find self acceptance to be a challenge in a world that is constantly sending them the message that they are 54
too fat or not pretty enough or not smart enough or spend too much money on shoes! Through all the noise the world throws at us, we must learn to listen to our inner voice and drown out the external crap! One excellent way to understand your positive qualities or learn to accept your not so positive qualities is through affirmations. Telling yourself everyday that you are a beautiful and unique person, or that you have an opinion that matters in this world is a very powerful tool to increase your self love and self awareness. So, this installment of Mantra is going to walk you through identifying the areas in your life that need highlighting, creating your own self love speak, and keeping up with the self love talk as a daily reminder of your awesomeness! Step 1: Identifying the Opportunity for Self Love Do you find yourself thinking negative thoughts about yourself
often? Do you get embarrassed to do things or wear things or say things because you think others will put you down for it? Well, the first step to giving yourself the love you deserve is to identify those things you are afraid to do and understand what the issue is behind it. Do you perhaps not like to wear short sleeves in public because you don’t like the way your arms look? Well, thats a body image issue, particularly pinpointed at your arms. Are you afraid to give your opinion on an issue at school or at work or with your friends, afraid that you will say something that sounds dumb? That’s a confidence issue aimed right at your intellect. Spend some time thinking about what you are afraid or hesitant to say or do and identify the root of the issue. Once you have the root or roots (because most people have more than one issue) you can move on to step two. 55
Step 2: Sweet Talking Yourself Once you have identified the sensitive issues in your life that you want to work on, write them down in a notebook or on a piece of paper and sit or stand in front of a mirror. Imagine that you didn’t have the issue and you were the positive mirror image of it. If your issue is that you have a problem with your body weight, imagine yourself at your goal weight and with the body of your dreams. Imagine that version of yourself looking back at you in the mirror. What would you say to that person? Give that person every compliment you can think of, every positive thought you wish you could give yourself if only your flaws were wiped away. Write down all those compliments in your notebook. Step 3: Read the Writing on the Wall At this point, you should have a page or pages of compliments that you gave your positive mirror image self. Reread through these compliments and find two or three that really stand out and strike a chord with you. 56
Then, take out a bright shade of lipstick or a dry erase marker and write those compliments on your mirror. Condense the wording if you need to, combine them to get them to fit, but pen those words directly in front of you on that mirror and leave them there. Everyday when you go to that mirror to put on your makeup or evaluate yourself, you will be face to face with that positive mirror image of yourself in words. Read your compliments everyday as often as you can. Read them when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed at night. Eventually, you will start to believe what you are reading!
Quirky Girl Spotlight 1) Name: Ginger Lemon 2) Internet Residence (where you can be found on the web): Recently, Coursera.org. They offer free online courses from top universities. Right now I am taking one called “The Language of Hollywood: Storytelling, Sound, and Color “ 3) Favorite Blogs & Websites: Etsy (I have a shop! domesticdebbie) The Bloggess Simplify101.com http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com Learnvest.com DonorsChoose.org
magic flat iron/curler ‘amika’100% ceramic, super hot and super awesome.
4) What traits about you would you describe as “quirky”? I have many ‘gingerisms’ (words I make up, mainly nouns turned into verbs). Most of my hobbies are only interesting to old people, antiques, roller skating, old movies/running 35 mm film, sewing. I’m a scientist and a model! I DON’T HAVE FACEBOOK! I wear vintage 50s dresses and red lipstick. I drink champagne regularly, especially while in the tub! I like catching frogs, still. My spirit animal is the 3 toed sloth.
6) What is your must have gadget? Cliche, my smartphone, but with all the many ‘hats’ I wear it becomes a necessary evil, and I love solitaire. Win-win. Also I love being able to take pictures and send them by email instantly.
5) What are your must have beauty items? Mascara, Eyeliner (both in blackest black/really liking this gel eyeliner!) and Essie nail polish (fingers clear coat, toes I go wild with color). My
9) Close your eyes and grab three items out of your bag. What did you grab? Dove milk chocolate. CVS healthy hands and nails lotion. My little portable sewing kit.
7) What is your current obsession? My new house! I finally have a real reason to look at home decorating magazines. 8) How do you take your coffee? Tea! Steeped to perfection with a touch of sugar or honey.
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