Dear Ryan Gosling,

I didn’t know it was possible to be more in love with you, but after learning that you spend your free time doing ballet, my heart yearned for you more. You’re totally swoon-worthy in all ways. I’m sure I’m not the only girl vying for your love, affection and abs, so I’m writing you this letter so you know that I love you the most.

So without further ado, here’s why I love you.

Forever Yours,

Jessica Gosling Read More »

Black Swan is a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman as Nina, a perfectionist ballerina who is cast as the Swan Queen in her company’s performance of Swan Lake. Throughout the film, Nina pushes herself to overcome every obstacle that appears to be standing in the way of her and her dream performance: a new free-spirit dancer threatening her role, a director pushing her to let loose, an overbearing stage mom, an accusatory forced-to-retire veteran ballerina, and what appears to be her own unraveling. Black Swan is exactly what a thriller of this nature should be, especially due to Natalie Portman’s performance and director Darren Aronofsky’s style.

Portman is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for her role of Nina, and she is deserving of a nomination acknowledging her performance. Thanks to her second-guessing attitude and innocence, Nina is immediately recognizable as the embodiment of the “virgin White Swan” that the director describes he is casting. But, the question is whether she can find that place inside of her and let go enough to play the Black Swan. As one would expect, sexuality plays an important role in this “transformation.” And the film isn’t afraid to really go there, so to speak. It is pretty common knowledge that Mila Kunis (who plays Nina’s rival, or the incarnation of the Black Swan, Lily) and Portman have a sex scene in the film. And it’s not subtle. In fact, some of Black Swan’s hardest to watch scenes are actually of that nature, because it can be excruciatingly uncomfortable to see Nina transform from such innocence (as Mila Kunis’s dad will tell you). But that is the reason that Portman will likely get an Academy Award nod for this role – she can convincingly go through Nina’s bizarre journey. Read More »

Forty-five minutes on the elliptical, on the treadmill or in a spin class – that’s my usual cardio routine. But, like many fitness fanatics, I tend to get bored easily. There always comes a time when I crave a workout adventure to keep me motivated.

I’ve sweat through an hour and 30 minutes of  bikram yoga; I’ve trained for and run a half marathon. So when my very good friend suggested I try something called Xtend I was totally down.

I’m sure most of us have heard of the latest fitness trend that incorporates ballet and pilates. The Tracy Anderson Method, Physique 57 and Fluidity are examples of this intense stretching and strengthening program. Xtend is the one found in good ole Hoboken, NJ.

Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean, I was told to wear spandex, so I new there would be lots of bending (or maybe some sort of 80′s movie dance routine). But the class regulars explained that I would soon be very, very sore. This excited me because I absolutely love having sore muscles. You really know you’ve gotten a good workout when you can’t walk down stairs the next day. Read More »

Running on a treadmill is a great workout, but it gets boring. Kick boxing spikes your heart rate and burns major calories, but you’re sick of taking the same class….again. And if you eat one more salad (with the dressing on the side!) you are going to kill someone.

Eating healthy and staying fit don’t have to be so….monotonous. Nutrition experts are constantly coming up with new forms of exercise and new research on dieting that may be just the new thing you (and your body) need. The latest? Combinations of our favorite things to get even better results:

1: Piloxing

Joseph Pilates, meet your match. In the boxing ring, that is. There’s a new exercise contender in the draw now: Piloxing!

Here’s the blow-by-blow: LA-based fitness trainer Viveca Jensen bases the classes off of the best of both worlds, by combining the intense power moves of boxing (like the one-two punch) with the softer toning moves of pilates (like those pesky 100′s). Supposedly, it has a “Swedish twist” to it, which apparently makes it better/more efficient. (Swedish fish do taste better than regular fish, so I guess there is a truth to that.) Celebrities like Hilary Duff and Alexis Bledel have signed on to this new exercise trend, claiming it helps to attain a “sleek, sexy, and powerful” self-image. Read More »

(We’re back with another weekly installment of G.W.W.E. [Guys We Wanna Eff]. As Inauguration Week draws to a close, all we can think about is the newest effable White House employee, Rahm Emanuel.]

I’ve had the pleasure to write a handful of College Candy’s Guys We Wanna Eff, and as a red-blooded twentysomething female it’s certainly not a difficult task to write about the hottest male stars. But I have to preface the ode to this week’s man of honor by saying I would trade in a year’s worth of paychecks and possibly Spring Break for one night with Rahm Emanuel. He takes the number-one spot on my Eff List. That’s right, I said it!

While Joe Biden (who, may I say, looks A-OK for a man of 66) is technically second-in-command behind President Obama, Rahm Emanuel occupies what many call “the second most powerful job in Washington” as the White House Chief of Staff. The position labels him as the highest-ranking officer of the Executive Branch (after the President), as well as Obama’s senior advisor. Before joining the new administration, Emanuel was a Congressman representing Chicago in the House of Representatives. Now, what woman doesn’t want to eff a man in power? Read More »

Ice, Ice Baby…for that black eye I just gave you

Katie Couric signs deal with The Goodbye Show

Nobody loves Joanie

Finding off-campus housing

Why is Natalie Portman so awesome?

Paris Hilton is not my ideal BFF

Big Boi goes from billboard to ballet

Dear Jonas Brothers: will you marry me?…Any of you three will do.

How to stay a virgin at college

Does a threesome ruin a relationship?