Menu

Connect with Melissa

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Pinterest

Latest Tweets

  • MKNodurft@MKNodurft Louisiana weddings have parades?! #InviteMe #FourWeddings - posted on 23/05/2013 20:52:58
  • MKNodurft@MKNodurft True study, it's snowing. #puremichigan - posted on 23/05/2013 12:25:08
  • MKNodurft@MKNodurft Is it wrong for me to start writing my memoirs when no one knows me, and I can't even rent a car without a huge surcharge? - posted on 22/05/2013 12:04:44

© 2012 BlogName - All rights reserved.

Firstyme WordPress Theme.
Designed by Charlie Asemota.

Apply here payday loans 100% secure

Thirteen notes on The Hunger Games, one for each district.

 March 23, 2012 - Author: Melissa Nodurft

This is my Co-RA, Mikey. While we are dressed as Katniss and Peeta, we represent District Weck.

The following are my reactions to seeing The Hunger Games at midnight lastnight/thismorning.

  1. The HG audience does not dress up like the HP audience. I’m proud of my little Weck fanatics for dressing like Capital People. You should have seen the heads whip around to watch us walk in the theatre.
  2. The cast is beautiful. The costumes are beautiful.
  3. The Tributes were surprisingly lighthearted and youthful despite being placed in an arena to kill one another.
  4. Katniss’ braids were cool enough to copy. Actually, I made a real Katniss braid today. Maybe I should start making hair tutorials on YouTube. Actually, no.
  5. The whole world is upset that the film omitted Madge and the pin story changed. I am not upset. The writers wrote the film to be a complete entity in case Catching Fire did not get picked up. This was a better story for a solo film.
  6. The romance was downplayed a lot. I appreciated this. I was worried the movie would turn into light porn. The romance piece always seems to be exaggerated in movies with a YA audience. I was pleased to see a relatively true-to-book depiction of the cave scenes.
  7. Alternatively, the political commentary was played up. That’s a major win in my book.
  8. The only complaint I have is that Katniss did not drug Peeta. I really wanted her to drug him.
  9. I LOVED the District 11, District 12, Gamemaker, President Snow/Seneca, and Ceasar/Claudius scenes. Katniss did not narrate. This was a lovely way to give clarity and show the affect the games have on people in real time. Genius!
  10. I’m really happy to say Peeta’s leg survived the movie.
  11. Speaking of Peeta, he is totally badass! Anyone who doubted Peeta and called him weak, watch the movie. This dude picked up Cato and threw him twice.
  12. I thought Seneca was led into a gas chamber at the end. Turns out it was just a room with a very specific fruit bowl. Still, death.
  13. I was secretly hoping the credits would show the riot in District 8 followed by the escape of Twill and Bonnie. It would have been easy to throw together with extras in post production. It also would rile up a lot of excitement for part II in 2013. Yo, Lionsgate, ask my opinion for things in the future.

I could not be more pleased with the movie. Well, I could. But only if Katniss drugged Peeta.

 

No Comments - Categories: books, Fun

When both intuition and memory fail you

 March 22, 2012 - Author: Melissa Nodurft

Last week was the very last Spring Break of my life. This is where everyone who knows me solely on an academic level says, “What about grad school?” Attention: I am not going to grad school.

Okay, yes, I might go eventually. I’m not enrolled for the fall semester. I’m actively searching for a career. More of that in a later post.

Now back to the story. Last week, I read the entire Hunger Games series, hung out with my dad after hand surgery, shopped with Mom, helped Grandma use her iPod, trolled job listing sites, and the list goes on. What the list lacks is homework. Knowing I had a project and two 15+ page rough drafts due the week I returned, I did not do any homework back in DeKalb. In fact, I ventured back to Decatur three days early to make up for the lack of work done over break. Sounds mature, right? Well, wait for what comes next.

I went out for dinner on the first night. It led to a thorough discussion of the actors in the Hunger Games movie. On Saturday, I visited m’dear friend Meleah in Springfield. Saturday night was far too hot to do homework. Instead, I read the Hunger Games aloud in the hallway of my residence hall. You are probably noticing a trend at this point. Sunday, people came back to school. I picked up Jimmy John’s for lunch and ate in the grass. Then I shuffled papers around my room for a little while. Then at around 3PM, I started my homework. Go me! Paper 1 was due on Monday. That’s where I started. At around 4:30, I checked my email to find that paper 2 teacher sent the requirements for the draft. News to me, it was actually an outline assignment. Celebrations ensued. Actually, I was so pleased, I spent the next half hour wandering blissfully around campus. That’s right, I found out the essay I put off was more manageable than expected and abandoned it altogether for a walk outside. If that isn’t a senior, I don’t know what is. 5 o’clock was dinner! Then I wrote the rest of my paper through the night until about 1AM. On Monday, I found out my group project was pushed back a week. Naturally, I ignored that project almost altogether. Then Wednesday at midnight, I decided to write my outline. Turns out, this assignment was more intensive than a traditional outline. I worked for two hours and was pleased with the result. The requirements included running the assignment through Turnitin.com. I logged into the database and could not find the assignment listed for upload. Then I looked back at my assignment sheet to make sure I was supposed to do this step. Well, Turnitin was definitely a step. That being said, it isn’t due until April 5. Today is not April 5. I think this is why people use planners besides iCal.

Warning: Do not start series until homework is completed.

The moral of this story is simple. Write down assignments before week-long breaks. Also, build a hatred for warmth and the outdoors. I have a feeling there is a direct correlation between seasonal allergies and high GPAs. With all of this time I now have as a result of finishing an assignment two weeks early will allow me to further research the subject. Expect answers soon.

No Comments - Categories: Fun, Millikin

What Goes Around

 March 18, 2012 - Author: Melissa Nodurft

By no means would I consider myself up on what is in style, but I like clothes. And shoes. I really like shoes. Below is an advertisement from a 1909 issue of the Decaturian, Millikin’s newspaper. The shoes are beautiful. Also, they cost between 3 and 6 dollars. The laces probably cost $8 today.  :-)

1 Comment - Categories: fashion, Millikin

Why Books Ruin Me

 March 14, 2012 - Author: Melissa Nodurft

“I read all three Hunger Games books in a weekend.”

If I could remember how many people said these words since summer, I would still lose track of the numbers.

I didn’t read them in a weekend. I just finished a little while ago. But i started Saturday around 11pm. And considering I’m home for spring break and my dad had surgery today, I’d say finishing Tuesday night isn’t bad. I don’t need to defend how long it took me to read. The fact remains the same: like everyone else I know, I’m mildly obsessed.

I wish I could tell you, dear reader, that this is a new sensation for me. Unfortunately, it isn’t.

As a child, I insisted on learning to read before kindergarten. I remember reading chapter books in first grade with the smart kids and feeling special. I also remember reading all of The Chronicles of Narnia by the time I was 8. That’s when I discovered Madeleine L’Engle. While her books peppered my book shelves throughout most of my adolescence, she admittedly wasn’t the author to turn my bookish youth into full fledged nerddom. I was 9 when I listened to my mother reading Harry Potter to my little sister. I have not been the same since.

Fad series come and go. Like an addict, I read Twilight to have my fix of midnight book release parties. But that wave luckily washed over me quickly.

I missed the Hunger Games fad when it blew up. My best friend Meleah read them all quickly over the summer. While I’d heard the title, she made it obvious I had no clue what the series entailed. As I recall, she checked the books out from the library. That gave me an excuse to not read them immediately after her. They were overdue.

Similarly overdue, I finally picked up a paperback of the first book Saturday evening. By Sunday night, I needed book two. I didn’t get it until late on Monday, but I’d managed to read a good chunk earlier in the day. Don’t ask me how. I was smart enough at that point to buy the third. I am now pensive and staring at a stack of books that look untouched. They’re only about 30 hours old, after all.

But they have been read. I loved them dearly and will read again soon. But what the hell do I do now? Thanks to Suzanne Collins, I’m wide awake and even more skeptical of the government than I was last week. Which was really skeptical. So I’m now extremely skeptical of the government and wanting to read a new book!

Alas, I am rambling. Let me leave you with this lovely thought from Katniss, Hunger Games protagonist.

“What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.”
(Mockingjay)

I know she was talking about Peeta, a living person, but I’m assuming she needs a new book.

1 Comment - Categories: books

Facebook Interests

 March 9, 2012 - Author: Melissa Nodurft

No, I don’t mean the list you made and remade on your info landing page.

Facebook rolled out Interests for the news feed this week. Like subscriptions, you can receive updates from users without friending them. Neat! But subscriptions is a little different. In a way, it’s similar to the news feature on LinkedIn’s home screen. You select topics that interest you and Facebook aggregates stories. But it isn’t news. That’s the difference. It’s more status updates. Facebook generated and users can generate lists of users that are subscribable (just wait, “subscribable” will be in the dictionary soon). If I wanted to make a list about my friend’s wedding, I could select all of the members of the wedding party and the Page for the hotel and other locations. Then I would have a compiled update in my feed with everything those users and pages posted. Neat!

The downside: these are not necessarily relevant to the interest. That means lists of Pages is probably the best route to take. Users do not dedicate 100% of their time to their area of expertise.

Also, this only worsens the already cluttered feed Facebook has given us. We can see interactions between top friends and their entire friend list. You can subscribe and like people and pages until your fingers fall off. And now you can essentially subscribe in bulk to areas you want to learn more about. This pretty much guarantees you will never see an update from any friend with whom you do not regularly interact. Sorry high school friends! I love you, but you won’t know that.

Like any Facebook update, I will give Interests a few days to make an impact before making a final decision on them. Right now, my reactions are largely negative. I can subscribe to these people if I want to hear from them. But hey, I’ll give Interests a chance…for now.

No Comments - Categories: social media

Drink Responsibly

 March 3, 2012 - Author: Melissa Nodurft

We can all hear it in our heads. The end of any alcohol commercial includes the line, “drink responsibly.” Tobacco companies have to spend as much money telling people not to smoke as they spend on actually advertising cigarettes, but alcohol companies just say, “drink responsibly.” Like it or lump it, that’s the case.

Recently, I’ve been seeing more innovative ways for alcohol companies to make their statement on responsibility. Granted, I’ve been in the legal-drinking market for a little over a year. Maybe that’s why I have only started noticing in the last few months, but it’s worth noting.

On Facebook, Smirnoff posts drink recipes. Of course, they all include a different product from their 35+ flavored vodka and malt beverage library. This is promotion, after all. And like any other form of promotion, they spend a certain amount of status and post space promoting responsible consumption.

Click image to see original post.

But what I find even more interesting is the way in which they promote responsible drinking while promoting traditional consumer sales. Bars carry Smirnoff. A good majority of Smirnoff’s Facebook fans, however, are probably pretty much well liquor drinkers. It’s cheap! Don’t name a brand, get the cheapest drink. Smirnoff isn’t the most expensive Vodka out there, but it’s also not the cheapest. Supporting bar sales is not going to necessarily impact them in a great way. But supporting drinking at home will increase sales. I give you Smirnoff’s latest picture upload.

Drink responsibly.

Click image to see original post.

This image is in Wall Photos, surrounded by the Smirnoff recipes I mentioned above. I am actually surprised this image is not linked to a $1-off coupon. This is a great program. As a supporter of both safe alcohol consumption and consumerism, this is totally my kind of promotion!

So what Smirnoff and I want to say to you is this: buy Smirnoff Whipped Cream vodka and stay off the road, ya drunk! :-)

1 Comment - Categories: Branding, social media