XLIX

This year, February 1st is the day many people will be gathered around the TV either rooting for the Seattle Seahawks, the New England Patriots, the commercials, or Katy Perry. It's the game so many people have been waiting for to see who will be able to claim the football trophy this season. In the end, one team will come out victorious. Some people will be celebrating, others will be dropping their heads in disappointment. Of course, there are always possibilities of fights breaking out between fans of the football teams, leading to many injuries.

How far are people willing to go to show their team spirit or to celebrate their win? Especially with having to watch all the games to get to the Super Bowl, the loss of one's team can be a touchy subject. To add on, having a person next to you who is jumping up and down because of their victory could get annoying and sickening. With alcohol as a factor, people could get pretty irritated. As a result, viewers think that the quickest and most direct way to confront and deal with the problem is by verbal actions which lead to physical violence.

Are people on the loosing side of the game overreacting about their team's loss? Or is their defeat really that big of a deal? It is understandable that winning the big football game is something to be very proud of, but it seems a bit embarrassing to be the person who breaks out into a fight about it. It almost seems like a situation kids have. I mean, it is only a game.

This year, since both teams have already won the Super Bowl before, the hardships of loosing shouldn't be as bad than if their team had made it to the final game once only to loose. At least their favorite actually made it to the Super Bowl. Try to keep in mind that there are some teams that have never even participated in the final round.

Hopefully in the end, both teams have played a fair and entertaining game for every viewer. Some of us will be happier than others, but the Super Bowl should be a good experience for everyone. So whether you'll be checking into the game for the commercials, waiting for the halftime show, or rooting on the teams throughout the entire game, remember that this is the last game for the season so make it a good one for you and others around you. As of right now, we can't say who will be the winning football team for Super Bowl XLIX. We're just going to have to wait and see.

Super Bowl XLIX

Our Confused Brain

Tongue twisters. We've all tried them. We've all laughed at each other for trying to repeat one successfully five times fast. But why is it sometimes so hard to say?

There have been research conducted to unravel the mystery our brains hold behind our tongues getting "twisted." Apparently, instead of our friends' failed attempts, what we're really laughing at is our own brain's confusion. 

According to "Dailymail" and "Nature", our brain exercises quick control to coordinate our lips, jaw, tongue and larynx for speech. When we try to pronounce these words, the brain sends messages to these muscles that are fairly close to each other. As a result, these signals overlap and cause us to stutter.

Another way to explain this is by muscle movement. According to "Nature", data has revealed that consonants have three categories, "...front-of-the-tongue sounds (such as 'sa'), back-of-the-tongue sounds ('ga') and lip sounds ('ma')." Vowels have two groups, "...those that require rounded lips or not ('oo' versus 'aa')." In this case, articulation gets confusing because "representations in the brain generally overlap."

Studies of our brain and muscles getting "confused" help explain the phenomena inside of us. It's not often that we stop and think about why our bodies react to certain things in a certain way. The reasoning could be quite complex, while in other situations, they're pretty interesting. Together, all the research can help us understand the human race a little better. 

My Favorite "Meal" of the Day

A while ago, my mom used to tell my sisters and I to try not to eat after 8 PM, excluding the nights of late dinners. However, she gave up when we kept "accidentally" forgetting and continued eating dessert at night. As you might be able to tell, one of my favorite meals of the day is dessert. Although some people may not think of it as an actual "meal," for me, my regular night includes some delicious food, or treat, after dinner. Unfortunately, it is known to be one of, if not the most, unhealthy meal of the day. But is the dessert itself the most health-endangering? Or is it when the indulging occurs?

In my opinion, whether the actual food is the worst part, depends on many factors. The first thing is what the food actually is. Some people might have some fruit after dinner, or some people might have some ice cream. Having the fruit would mean that their dessert isn't unhealthy and probably beneficial for their health, right? So people can't just accuse others of not eating well if they don't know exactly what they're having. Secondly, the choice of delectable could be deemed "unhealthy" or "healthy" depending on a person's level of physical activity and body type. If he/she is an active person, maybe eating a cookie wouldn't be as bad as someone who sits around on the couch all day. A person's metabolism can also determine how a person's body would use up the energy from the food and store fat or not.

One of the reasons why late-night eating isn't good is that the energy our bodies take in wouldn't be used since it was during the time of little physical activity. So with extra calories that our bodies don't burn off, more fat starts to store. As I've heard before, this is one of the main arguments of health professionals of how eating dessert is harmful for ourselves.

At the end of the day (literally), whether you choose to treat yourself to something delicious or not, is the actions of you doing what you want for yourself. If you want that brownie, go for it. If you decide to wait until the next day, fine. I'm not here to tell you what to do with your eating habits. In the end, it really ends up being yourself doing what would make you happy.

http://www.altorestaurant.com/dessert.html
http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2011/06/30/diet-myths-they-dont-want-you-to-know-part-2/