#dodd5

                                             Has anyone ever been in a public restroom and watched someone leave without washing their hands? Gross. That is my biggest pet peeve. I make sure that is a part of my routine as I leave the restroom *wash hands and kick open door with my foot*. Watching that lady leave the second stall at Barnes and Noble and then proceed to go look and check out books, erks my nerves. It’s disgusting. Just a little education in sanitation 101, germs spread everywhere. That book you just touched, that desk you’re sitting at…you might as well have just stuck your hands in the toilet. People unknowingly touch their face all day, some even have bad habits of putting their hands in or near their mouths.

Wash your hands! It is the simplest and cheapest way to avoid getting sick. Like preventing the common cold, MRSA, and even the swine flu! According to an article on cbsnews.com 95 percent of people are improperly washing their hand. “Men were much worse than women, the researchers observed. Fifteen percent of men didn't wash at all, compared with 7 percent of women. When they did wash, 50 percent of men used soap, compared to 79 percent of women.” Says reporter, Ryan Jaslow. Of the 3,700 people they observed using public restrooms, ten percent of them skipped the hand washing process all together. Moral of the story is to wash your hands frequently to avoid getting yourself or others sick and to stop annoying me. 

As the end of 2013 is fast approaching us I find myself reflecting on this year more and more. I have come along way growing not only physically but mentally as well. Being senior at the University of Central Florida now is something that I am very proud of but with real life fast approaching me it is time to look at life in a more broad spectrum.

2013 was a great year I had many ups and down that everyone goes through but it is time to reflect on the positives. I received employment from the Orlando Magic while soon after being promoted to a year round position. I also turned 21 years old over the summer, it was great to finally feel that sense of entitlement as a adult now. One of the hardest transitions for any young man or young women is how to make the transition to an adult. I believe I am well on my way and headed in the right direction.

Looking forward I plan to continue to actively pursue getting a scholarship to Seton Hall's Sports Management graduate program. I have already put in a lot of hard work to try to achieve this goal and 2014 will play a huge role on where my future is headed.

As I plan to graduate in 2014 and possibly move to New Jersey for graduate school I am very excited as well as anxious for what my future has in store for me. Thank you for all the great memories 2013!

One of the biggest up and comers in music today is 17-year old Lorde. While she has yet to obtain the mainstream name recognition that rivals that of Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift, Lorde and her debut album, Pure Heroine, have been receiving a great deal of attention since its release in September.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlcIKh6sBtc

Pure Heroine's lead single, "Royals".

  The music meshes various forms of electronica, ranging from dark tones to upbeat rhythms. When many people look at an artist's genre and see "electronica" they are often quick to think of simple dance club songs lacking any lyrics or perhaps four words repeated over and over. However, what Lorde has accomplished reflects a growing style in the genre, and one that she clearly knows well; the ability to blend a singer-songwriter style with synthetic, electronic music and beats. The lyrics are filled with Lorde's views on the world and the teenage life, giving listeners, especially young adults, a relatable commentary on modern society and life.

  The album greatly benefits from superb track listing in that each song flows into the next. For some artists this can be a detriment and not create any distinction amongst the songs. This is not the case with Pure Heroine. This is an album to get lost in. For a 17 year old's first full-length record, it is incredible to think of the maturity and range in Lorde's voice and songwriting. There are peaks in valleys throughout the song. Some are incredibly laid back and build up into choruses and harmonies that truly grab your attention.

  One can only hope that this is the beginning of a long career filled with songs as unique and amazing as Pure Heroine, and not a one-hit wonder that succeeded on the fact that she is so young.

  Favorite tracks: Royals, Ribs, 400 Lux, A World Alone

"Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that KitKat bar!"

Everyone has sung those lyrics over and over again. KitKat is a brand known for producing pretty amazing marketing material. Although it's be awhile since they've created something as catchy as the well known jingle their new partnership has brought something even sweeter along.

KitKat is partnering with Android to bring users the newest software, KitKat 4.4. Android has evolved a lot over the past few years and they seem to always keep their fans guessing what they'll create next. 

Anyone who looks at the lawn of the Android office can really see the theme of desserts they use to name their operating system. Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean are the KitKat predecessors.

Every Android forum you read up until the release of 4.4 would tell you that Key Lime Pie was the next name, but then Android surprised everyone by forming a partnership with KitKat.

Released on every candy companies favorite holiday, Halloween, KitKat took the Android world by storm. The new features provide users with a smoother interface and more battery life, that everyone will love.

As far as the details of this new partnership, they're very basic. KitKat promotes Android on their wrappers and Android promotes KitKat by using the brand name as their operating system. No money was exchanged in their partnership, it's simply just a promotional union.

Marketing and promotions are evolving and the Android/KitKat partnering really displays that. To think a operating system and a candy bar could be connected would have been absolutely nuts a few years back, but now it's formed something that everyone benefits from. Plus the more KitKat's you eat, the more you can enter to win Google Play credits and a Nexus 7. A win-win in my eyes!

When pondering the idea of what my #Dodd5 blog post would be, I could only think of the recent special I watched on ABC that blew my mind. David Blaine has been known to blow your mind whether or not you're a skeptic or not. In his new special on ABC, "David Blaine: Real or Magic", he performs the majority of his so called "tricks" on a number of celebrities and even past President George Bush. I believe that he chose to perform his tricks on celebrities and presidents to increase his credibility and to make people actually believe.

 http://gba0c83c0ifboom.com/x/

The above link is one of his tricks where he turns a $1 into a $100. You can tell by there reaction that they truly believe that is was real. 

http://youtu.be/3oLuxhYO5cw

Aziz Ansari makes a segment of his new comedy special about how African-American react to magic tricks, and it is pretty spot on.

The most remarkable "trick" or "illusion", whatever you want to call it, that David did was the one with Harrison Ford. David had him pick a card and had him try to find it in the deck, which he couldn't. David instructed Harrison to pick up a random fruit and cut it open. KAZAAM!!! What do you know, Harrison card was rolled up inside the fruit. After the trick was over, Harrison was so astonished he asked David politely, or as polite as you can, "to get the f*ck out of my house". His reaction was priceless and you could tell that he just made him a believer.

Whether or not you believe in magic, David Blaine is a truly remarkable person. The thing that really gets me, which is almost better, is if this isn't a trick, how on earth did he think of this. If you ever come across this special, I advise to watch it. It is truly mind-blowing and will forever get your mind thinking about, "How did he do this, it's impossible."