Thursday, August 27, 2009

Best Comic Book Couples

Fights are on a whole other level when you have super powers
We've all idolized comic heroes at some point in our lives. We've all secretly wished we had some kind of super power whether it was flying or the ability to scale skyscrapers. But the only thing better than being a superhero is being a superhero power couple. Take a look with us as we unveil the best superhero couples of all time. Which superhero couple do you think describes your relationship?

The love triangle-Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman



These three are probably the most iconic comic figures to date. Wonder Woman was originally a member of an all female tribe the Amazons, who were set to bring peace, love and of course, sexual equality to a world torn about by man. With her Lasso of Truth and indestructible accessories, there is nothing this woman can't do, or man for that matter, that she can't tame.
Superman on the other hand is the American dream. A good old Midwestern boy, Clark Kent was really just a specimen born on the planet Krypton with born given super powers (talk about natural talent). His buddy Batman is philanthropist Bruce Wayne by day, superhero by night.
Together, the three are often referred to as the "trinity" in DC characters and though it may seem that Wonder Woman and Superman would be oh so cute together, with their matching outfits and all, perhaps the third wheel Batman was really the catch for Wonder Woman. Check out the clip below as Wonder Woman intrudes on Superman's bromance.


Superman and Lois Lane



Comic lovers know that the real love in Superman's life (sorry Batman) was Lois Lane, reporter for The Daily Planet. If you've stayed with DC long enough, Lane has even become Superman's wife in recent issues.
This is one love story that tugs at heart strings everywhere. The idea that an average, everyday girl is swooped up by a gorgeous man with super powers is, well, every girls dream to put it bluntly.
I mean, if this guy did this for you, wouldn't you be speechless?

Elektra and Daredevil

These two are the epitome of a love/hate relationship. Elektra is one girl you don't want to mess with. A ninja assassin of Greek descent, it is her violent lifestyle that eventually divides the two.
But as they say opposites attract, and the opposite of Elektra would have to be Daredevil. He is one of the only superheroes with a disability, being that he was blinded as a kid in a radioactive accident. His accident may have taken his sight, but it gave him radar senses to everything around him. Though Elektra was just one of many love interests in his life as most guys Daredevil certainly seemed to have a type. When he wasn't interested in high danger ladies, like Elektra he went for the "ordinary" and somewhat plain girl, who often ended up killed or traumatized by being in his presence. Ouch.

The perfect couple: Spiderman and Mary Jane

We use the term "perfect" loosely when it comes to Peter Parker and Mary Jane's relationship, as no relationship where people are always after your man for dead is really ever that perfect. But these two showed an unconditional love that many other comics don't. Peter Parker was a bit of a dork, dealing with the typical cruel high school world along with loneliness and rejection. But when Mary Jane started to notice Spiderman, that was all he needed.
They were more than just in lust however, these two were best friends and in some scenarios, husband and wife. And though in some tales, Spiderman has moved on to greener pastures, such as Gwen Stacy and the Black Cat, Mary Jane is still #1 in our hearts.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Dating Outside the Box?

                                                            by. S.De balko

Everyone has a type. Mine? Generally, the tattooed, gorgeous brooding musician, or some variation on that. Pretty much everything your parents hope you never bring home. See, I love a bad boy. Maybe it's the rebel hidden somewhere in me (I've always been a goody two-shoes), or perhaps I'm just genetically hard-wired to go for the mysterious type.

Either way, I've never had very much luck chasing this type of guy. While not all tattooed guitar players fit into the bad boy stereotype (I actually know a few who are sweet, if a little misguided), I haven't come across one who has stuck around, whether it was my choice or his. This got me thinking, am I just making things harder for myself by only pursuing a certain type of guy with very specific attributes? And am I the only one who does this? Or do we all have a checklist somewhere in the back of our minds, and when someone doesn't fit the bill, we cut them loose without taking a second look?
For me, I think part of my problem is that I love a challenge. I don't want to be pursued, I want to pursue. And the less interest a guy shows in me, the more I want to make him come around. This, in and of itself, is going to get me nowhere, because if I'm constantly chasing, I'm never going to have the chance to settle down with anyone. You can't help to whom you are attracted--if you could, relationships wouldn't be so difficult. But you can stop pigeon-holing yourself. I guess my point here is that it might not be a bad idea to expand my dating horizons and meet people I wouldn't typically date. And maybe anyone who feels the same should also try looking outside the box.

I'm not saying that we should all just haphazardly start accepting every offer we get. If someone gives you a bad vibe or just doesn't seem right, trust your gut. We shouldn't live dangerously, just a little more openly. I also don't think you should try to force yourself to like someone just because they might be good for you. Trust me on this one, if you aren't attracted to someone, or if you don't get along well with them, trying to make yourself settle isn't going to work out. I have been there and done that and it is definitely not the answer.
I'm thinking more along the lines of just putting myself out there. Maybe, instead of constantly going to see bands, I should try hanging out at different places, with different groups of people. It might not hurt to just see what else is around, as far as personality types go. Judging a book by its cover is my other problem, because if I meet a guy who doesn't fit the ideal of what I think I want, I run in the other direction. Perhaps I should give it a little more time, take things slow, and get to know some new people. At the very least, I might end up with a few more friends. As far as my love of a challenge goes, I think I may just have to hope I grow out of that. In the meantime, maybe I can view this new outlook on dating as a brand-new kind of challenge.

Ultimately, do you think it is as easy as deciding to be more open-minded, or is there a better way to escape the dreaded dating rut?

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Time Tug-O- War

by: Katie M.

Balancing time between your significant other and your friends

Finding a great significant other is a wonderful part of life. Sometimes you become so caught up in a relationship that you start devoting most of your time to being with the one you love. However this dedication can start taking up too much of your time. Your friends, those who were there before your new boyfriend or girlfriend, may start to feel neglected since they no longer get to spend as much time with you as they used to. It is tempting to spend every minute of your "free time" with your significant other since you enjoy their company, but friends should not feel left out from your life. 




Time is definitely limited among the lives of young people between school, jobs, hobbies, friends, family, and significant others. There is only so much free time during a week to spend with loved ones after responsibilities are taken care of. However, when it comes to your relationship with your friends and the relationship with your significant other, balancing your time among them becomes very important. There are a few ways to create this balance so that your boyfriend or girlfriend, friends, and even you can be happy.

Create equality within your free time 

After school, work, and other obligations are met, think about how much free time you actually have. Once you know how much time you have to spend with friends or your significant other, try to split it equally. This can be done by days or even hours. With seven days a week, try to spend three days a week with your significant other and three days a week with your friends, while using the other day to catch up on time to yourself. If you cannot split your time among days, split your time within your day. You could spend the day with your friends and spend the night with your significant other or vice versa. Your time doesn't have to be split right down the middle, but when it comes to hanging out with your friends or spending time with your significant other, you want to try to give each of them a relatively fair amount of time within the week or day. Neither your significant other nor your friends should feel like they are losing you to one another.

Address the issue if it starts to become an problem

If your friends or your significant other start to say things like "You're never around anymore" or "I miss spending time with you," you may start to realize that you have been spending too much time with one or the other. When your friends or significant other says something like this, they may make it seem like a joke, but it may not be. The best thing to do in this situation is to address your friends or significant other directly. Ask them straight out about how they feel about you hanging out with the others. Try to explain to your friends that you enjoy spending time with your boyfriend or girlfriend and you still enjoy spending time with them as well. If they feel that you are spending too much time with your new love interest, try to truly listen to them and see what they might suggest. Also talk to your significant other. Explain to them that you need to spend that quality time with your buddies, even though you may like to spend most of your time with him or her. Suggest that they have a night where they spend time with their friends so that you can spend time with your own friends. If your friends and boyfriend or girlfriend care about you enough, then they should understand. Sometimes it is alright to tell someone "no" and explain that you need to devote some time to all of those that you love. They want you to be happy, and you're trying your best to keep them happy as well.

Make plans and don't break them!

Part of balancing your time between your significant other and your friends, requires a bit of planning. Your friends or your significant other may want to go somewhere in particular with you at a certain time. When making plans with either, make sure you are actually free. Don't tell someone that you will be with them when you had already had plans with someone else. Being ditched is a terrible feeling and neither your friends nor significant other should have to feel ditched by you so that you could spend time with someone else.




Multi-task your social life!

Sometimes you don't need to leave someone out. There are occasions where you can spend time with both your significant other and your friends simultaneously. Group hang outs can be a lot of fun. It is great to spend time with your significant other and his or her friends so that you can become close with them. It is also good to have your loved one hang out with you and your friends so that they can become closer as well. Every moment that you spend with your significant other does not have to feel like a date, where it is just the two of you. There should be time for alone time and also time to have a nice day or night out with all of those who are close to you. You could even arrange time where both your friends and your significant other's friends can all hang out, creating a possibility of double dates. If your significant other and your friends can get to know each other better, they may not feel jealous when you want to spend time with just your friends or just your boyfriend or girlfriend. By including your significant other and your friends in things that you do, nobody feels left out and you strengthen your social circle.

Although time is limited, when it comes to balancing the time between your significant other and your friends, it really isn't that difficult. By trying to split your time equally, communicating, making plans and keeping them, and hanging out with your significant other and your friends simultaneously, no one should feel like they are not getting enough of your time. Relationships with friends and with a boyfriend or girlfriend involve making sacrifices. Sometimes you just need a night out with your buddies, and other nights are great for being in the arms of the one you love. You just need to make sure to not neglect anyone so that everyone can be happy.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Fabulous Life of "Real Cinderella"

A true fairytale of celebrity wives.


 Imagine this:

One day you're working a simple job as a waitress in a restaurant. A handsome, wealthy man walks through the door and starts chatting you up. Next thing you know, you're being flown across the country to keep up with a whirlwind romance. Before long, you're married and living a life of luxury you could only dream of months before.

Being ripped from obscurity by a wealthy, handsome man seems like every girls fantasy, but only a few lucky girls get to live out such a fairytale in real life. Here's the story of three girls who met their Prince Charming in their own real-life Cinderella story.

She started out working hard as a bartender to make ends meet as a single mom. But then one day while Matt Damon was filming in Miami, he swept in and scooped up Luciana Barroso so that she never has to struggle again. Two years after they met, the two married in New York City Hall with Luciana's seven-year-old daughter in tow. Now, two more kids later, Luciana is living a dream with houses in Miami and New York City, vacations around the world, and a new career as an interior designer.

When they met, she was a 19-year-old Muslim waitress earning $10 a day at a hotel in Belarus where she began working only two weeks before. But when she was told to take an orange juice to the presidental suite of the hotel she was working in, she didn't know it was for Sheik Saeed bin Maktoum al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai. While he only intended to be there for a skeet shooting competition, the Prince quickly extended his stay and within two weeks, Natasha Muslimorova married into one of the richest ruling families in the world. After their hasty marriage, the two took off for Cyprus for the next stage of his shooting competition via luxury motorcade and yacht. But this isn't your typical Cinderella story, as Natasha's husband won't be the only one in competition -- she'll have his first wife to compete with for the Prince's attention.


While at the Slip Inn Bar in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics, a simple girl from Australia met a charming man that was traveling with the Danish sailing team. Commoner Mary Donaldson from Tasmania was soon part of a long-distance relationship with Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark. After three years of dating, Mary was formally presented to Frederik's mother, Queen Margrethe, who then announced her consent of their marriage to Parliment. Within a year of their engagement, the two wed and had a ceremony that even included a horse-drawn carriage through the streets of Copenhagen. Now she's in next in line to become the queen of Denmark, resides in a royal palace, and receives a $1 million-per-year allowance.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

"Boyfriend Time"


by H.Wight

How to balance time between a boyfriend and friends/family.

So, you have your first serious boyfriend and you are crazy about him. You are on the phone for hours, even when most of the time is just spent breathing. You want to spend as much time as you can with him, but it is very important to not forget about your family or friends, either.


Certain holidays should always be spent with your family. These include: Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah, Father's & Mother's Day, Easter. Fourth of July could go either way and holidays like Halloween, New Year's, and Valentine's Day could be spent with your boyfriend and friends. Do not let him talk you into going to his family's house for the major holidays. You might think it would be more fun just because it will be different. However, who knows if you will be with this guy forever and when you look back, you will regret missing holidays with your family to spend it with someone who is now an ex.

If you spend everyday after school or work with your boyfriend, you will miss out on things at home. Your parents are only going to be cooking dinner for you every night for so long. If you have siblings you will miss precious time with them. When you or they go off to college you will not be able to ever go back to how your relationship was with them before. Do not change your everyday occurrences to suit a boyfriend. If you have family game night on Thursdays, make sure you still attend it. If you want to, invite your boyfriend along, but makes sure that he knows how important it is to you.

Losing a girl friend because of a boyfriend is one of the worst mistakes a girl could make and you will always regret it. Do not ditch your friends at lunch to sit with your boyfriend and his friends every day. Switch off between the two tables, or try to have the two tables join together. Weekend time is the most important, because your friends are use to having you around for all of it. Now that you have a boyfriend, it is most likely you will spend at least one of the free days with him. Make sure to not spend the entire weekend with your boyfriend. If you do, pretty soon your friends will stop calling and asking you to hang out, because they assume you will say "no". If you do have to tell your friends "no" to weekend plans a few times, make sure you tell them why. It is best to make sure that your friends understand you are not "ditching" them, but just trying to split the time they are use to having in half. If you and your boyfriend do break up and you spent the last year ignoring your friends, guess what? They will not be there for you now, because why should they? You were not there for them, because you spent all your time with your boyfriend.

Yes, boyfriends are a lot of fun to have around. What girl does not want someone telling them how pretty they are all the time? Yet, boyfriends come and go, especially high school ones. Your friends and family are the ones that will be there for you when your heart is broken or when you have to break someone else's. Always try to remember that you can not take family and friends for granted, because of a boyfriend. In the end, they are the only ones that are sure to be there.