Salsa, the moves or the dip?

ITS THE MOVES!!! Oh Yeaaahhh! 
Salsa is NOT as hard as you may think. Give it try! i promise you’ll love it as much as I do  =)


What you could look like!!!



HISTORY OF SALSA
   While it is definitely more than just Cuban, a large part of the dance originated on the island. The French who fled from Haiti brought the Danzón or the country-dance of England/France to Cuba. This dance began to mix with the African rhumbas such as Guaguanco, Colombia and Yambú. Added to this is the Són of the Cuban people, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour (sonero) and the African drumbeats. This occurred in other places like the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Puerto Rico, albeit not at the same grand level and manner as in Cuba.
   
Before and around the time of World War II, the music traveled to Mexico City and New York. It was in New York where the term “Salsa” was created. In fact, the use of the word salsa for dance-able Latin Music was coined in 1933 when Cuban song composer Ignacio Piñerio wrote the song Échale Salsita. The word served as a type of protest against bland food. It then flourished as a popular nickname for a variety of Hispanic influenced music 


LITTLE TIPS
Salsa is a dance of passion, where you feel and dance to the music. Sure.. rhythm and timing are important, but the real part of the dance comes from within.
Here’s an easy way to tell if you know the basic dance steps: While you are dancing with your partner, can you hold a conversation and complete all of the basics steps? If so, you are ready to learn the intermediate steps.

Beginners Lesson

Dance Lessons

Edwin Pabon (Boston)
617-524-0457

<  3 Giselle


Spice up your Ramen life

The best breakfast I ever made myself was most likely the Ramen noodles I used to cook when I was the self proclaimed chief chef of the universe in sixth grade. I used to make Ramen for myself everyday before school. When I say everyday I mean everyday. I would wake up at six in the morning just so I could shower, get dressed, eat my Ramen, and catch the bus at seven. I didn’t mess around with it either. Everything was perfectly timed. I was a god for ten minutes every morning when I put those dehydrated noodles into the boiling water. I soon realized that my god stature in the Ramen universe was nothing more than an illusion. People do so much more than simply make a soup. Some people cook the noodles, drain the water, and then add the flavor packet. It became apparent that my knowledge of Ramen was dwarfed immensely compared to the rest of the world. I quickly set out to fix that. I did research and experimented. You can only say that a Ramen recipe is bad when you have added so much curry powder to your broth that it makes doing the cinnamon challenge look like child’s play. 
My failed attempts at adding curry powder to my Ramen ended a lot like this

My quest may not be over to find the best Ramen recipe but it has brought me to very interesting places in the Ramen universe that I may never venture to again. I have done unimagineable things to Ramen noodles that I am pretty sure violated the Geneva convention or the Ramen rights equivalent. 
Way #1  

So you want to make macaroni and cheese but all you have is Velveeta and Ramen noodles? No problem. While being textually interesting it is easy to make and requires little materials. All you need is half a block of Velveeta, mix it with some milk, butter, and of course the cooked noodles. All you need to do is prepare the Velveeta, milk, and butter in the microwave until it is gooey then add it to the cooked noodles. If you want you can add more cheese on top then broil it to get a browned and bubbly top to your Ramac and Cheese.
Way #2

So it is early in the morning and you want some eggs. You can’t think of what else to add to your eggs and all you have is Ramen. Fret not! You can add eggs/Ramen to your Ramen/eggs in a number of fantastic ways. 
Hard Boiled Eggs
This is probably one of the easiest methods to add eggs to your Ramen and all you need to do is add the eggs to a pot of water, boil the water, then add your noodles and cook it as you want. 
Soft Boiled Eggs
To soft boil an egg in your Ramen you bring water to a boil, add the eggs. You can cook them for 3 minutes if you want them to be soft or for 5 minutes for a fully white and semi liquid yolk.
Egg Drop
To do this method you need to lightly beat an egg, once your noodles are cooked swirl the noodles and hot broth gently around the pot. While the broth is moving slowly drizzle the beaten egg. 
Fried Egg
To add fried eggs to your Ramen you simply need to fry an egg in another pan then add the fried egg to your Ramen after you have prepared the noodles. I am rather fond of this method because I love frying eggs and eating fried eggs. 
Way #3

So you can add eggs to your Ramen now but what about vegetables or meat? The easiest type of veggies that you can add to your Ramen are frozen veggies which you should run under hot water for thirty seconds to thaw them. Quick cooking veggies such as baby spinach can be stirred into the soup right before serving because they cook so quickly in the hot broth. 
Way #4

You can add meat to your Ramen simply and easily. Thinly sliced meat can be cooked in a matter of seconds directly in the soup. Chicken breast, pork tenderloin, and flank steaks are wonderful to add to the soup. To cook you can just add the meat to the hot broth until it is cooked, you should do this while the noodles are simmering. 
Way #5

Throw it all together
Use your imagination. You have just found out about three extra ingredients to add to your Ramen. No one said that they are only able to be done by themselves. Through the sheer number of vegetables, meats, egg cooking methods, and flavors of Ramen there are over 9,000 different ways for you to prepare your Ramen. So get cooking and enjoy!
-Brady

A Tribute to my Inner Thirteen-Year-Old

So as many of you probably have heard, My Chemical Romance broke up this past Friday. They were one of my favourite bands for a long time back in that awkward angsty gothy phase most teenagers go through. I was always playing Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge on Winamp (anyone remember that?! I had a sweet customized AFI skin for it.) and later my iPod mini. I had an elaborate plan to construct the costume the woman wears in the Helena music video (embedded below) for Halloween one year; I saw them perform at the then-called Tsongas Arena back in 2005; when The Black Parade came out, I was one of “those people” who stuck to their old stuff in defiance of their new look.

The MCR I knew and loved.
The Black Parade era. wat r u doing, stahp.
I don’t even know these people anymore. Gerard always looks fierce, though.
According to Gerard Way, he had a revelation of sorts before a show last May that he compared to what “[he] can only imagine is the sixth sense one feels before their last moments alive.”
Perhaps it was their time; they had a great 12-year run, accumulated an immense fanbase, and provided much inspiration for middle school Trudy’s makeup and wardrobe (I even did that red-bar-across-the-eyes thing once..yeah I was cool.)

We will miss you, My Chemical Romance. We were all with you To The End. Whatever you dudes do now, you better Give ‘Em Hell, Kids. The Ghost of You will be with me always, and if you ask me how I feel about this..I’m Not Okay (I Promise). So dudes, although I Never Told You What I Do for a Living, You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison. Hang ‘Em High, take Helena down Cemetery Drive, because This Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You otherwise. And of course you know, It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish.
So friends, thank you. Thank You for the Venom.

Stay metal, UMass Lowell.

This may or may not be 14-year-old Trudy.


-Trudy

App of the Month: Songza

Sup everybody, not really sure what to write my blog about this week, so I thought I would share something cool I learned about back in January. It’s an app for android and apple products and on your computer. It’s called Songza. It looks like this:

The whale thing is kinda creepy in my opinion. 
Basically it’s like Pandora but way better. It makes a playlist for you based on your favorite kind of music but it also accounts for whatever time of the day it is. So if it’s a monday afternoon like today it will look like this:
Cool Stuff
So as you can see. It offers me a couple options based on what time it is. If I click “Brand New Music.” It will give me this:

And obviously because I’m about that life, I am going to click Hip Hop/Rap. Now from here it will look like this:

So this is how I found out about my favorite playlist: Worldstar HipHop’s Top Tracks. I listen to this playlist every day when I am in the shower. This app is pretty cool in how you select a playlist but also because there are no commercials. And it’s free! 
This app is a real winner and I love it. Download it and love your life. Have a bro Monday everybody.
-Tim Brown