Following weeks of protests, the president of Tunisia stepped down after a 23-year, domineering reign. The violent rioting in the African country was motivated by high unemployment and general dissatisfaction with the controlling and corrupt government. (A government, by the way, that didn’t allow access to YouTube… a whole country of people without access to endless Beyoncé music videos or clips of giggling babies. Just imagine!) As if Mark Zuckerberg’s head wasn’t already big enough, much of the credit for the change is going to Facebook, which young Tunisians used as a tool for organizing the rallies (and they call our generation apathetic?) Since the president fled on Friday (incidentally, only a day after claiming he wouldn’t give up leadership until 2014), Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi stepped in to lead until a new government is organized.

The country is still reeling over the Arizona shootings. Since the massacre took place on January 8^th, and Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old, was subsequently arrested, much more has been revealed about the shooter and the victims of the attack. Information has come out concerning Loughner’s history of mental illness, leading many to wonder whether his rampage could have been predicted and prevented. The public safety department at Pima Community College, his school, released 51 pages of documents pertaining to Loughner, many of which support the comments of one of his classmates that he was “obviously very disturbed.”

In much happier news, Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman he shot, is free from her ventilator and has been breathing on her own.

Starbucks will be offering a size even bigger than the Venti – the Trenta – for iced drinks. Yep, that’s right, it’s time to add a new word to our Starbucks vocabularies. The Trenta, which will be offered in 14 states come Tuesday and in all Starbucks locations by May 1^st, clocks in at a whopping 31 ounces (that’s only one less than 7-11’s Big Gulp). Admittedly, the size is only being offered for iced teas, coffees, and lemonades, and anyone who has ordered such drinks at the chain knows how much of those cups are filled with ice (hint: it’s a lot). But still, with Starbucks going the way of the super-size, let’s all remember what we already know – bigger is not necessarily better.

Mudslides in Brazil and flooding in Australia have killed thousands and left many homeless. Perhaps the scariest thing about these natural disasters is that they are so sudden, yet so devastating. Flash floods in Brazil led to mudslides hurtling down the mountains surrounding Rio de Janeiro, which, in a cruel twist of prophetic irony, means ‘January River’ in Portuguese. The death toll keeps rising and rising; on Thursday it was predicted to be around 361, but by Sunday it was raised to at least 626. In Australia, similarly intense amounts of rainwater have covered parts of Queensland including the big city of Brisbane, where over 30,000 homes and businesses have been flooded.

Picture of the Week:

Photo courtesy of The Daily Mail.

The people in the closest town to Mt. Etna, a volcano in Italy, got an amazing show when it erupted on Wednesday. Don’t worry though; they residents were all safely tucked 18 miles away from the lava’s reach.

Did she cheat?
Did she vandalize?
Did she hurt someone?

No, Geisy incited a mass riot among her fellow students. For showing up to school wearing a mini skirt and “heavy makeup.”

That’s right, when she arrived to school dressed up for the day her fellow students crowded her classroom door, shouting for her to come out so that they could rape her. As she was escorted out, the male students screamed “Puta!” and “whore!” while grabbing at Arruda and attempting to take cell phone pictures between her legs.

The next day Arruda was informed through an ad in the school newspaper that she was expelled, not even given the courtesy of being called and informed of this directly. Their reason for expulsion?  Her dress provoked a “collective reaction in defense of the school environment.”

And what environment is this exactly? One where the male students can do whatever they feel like?  Threaten women with violent and disgusting acts like rape? Leave class and start rioting in the hallways without even a slap on the wrist? Not only are they not being reprimanded for their outlandish behavior, but they are actually being defended by the school, all while this poor girl is made out to be a criminal. And for what? Putting on some eyeliner and wearing a cute sweater-mini to class?

The way this incident is being handled is perpetuating a belief system that places the blame of harassment and rape on women. It is taking the focus off of the men who brutalized Arruda and making her the perpetrator instead of the victim. What kind of learning environment is this where women must live in fear of the students around her? Where she can be chased from campus when the guy sitting next to her doesn’t agree with her choice of clothing?

If anyone should be expelled for disrupting the “school environment”  it is the male students who verbally abused Arruda. I’m pretty sure riots on campus are far more distracting than a skirt and a little mascara.

Beyond the obvious, “Are those things bigger than her head?” I was left with so many questions.

WHY????

Why would she even need boobs that big? How does she find clothes that fit? How does she find bras that fit? Can she even close her arms? Can she give someone a hug? How does she sleep? Can she go running, or would that be too dangerous? How does she even stand up without falling over face-first? How did her skin stretch that far? Could someone suffocate in there? Do her boobs get swollen during PMS? Is there an animal/small man trapped inside there? Does she even need to use a table anymore to eat her dinner?

It seems that Sheyla is yet another publicity whore looking for an unconventional way to get famous without actually doing anything worthwhile. She’s appeared on Fox News, The Insider, and, as her website states, “Her career is just taking off and about to soar to heights of majestic proportions.”

Pun intended? We think so.

My days often look something like this: Wake up and write as much as I can from the notes I took the previous day. (Morning is the only time my mind is fresh). Head out around noon and do some research — visit hotels, eat at restaurants, and participate in some activity that I can write about. Come back to my dorm room in the evening and jot down notes from my day. Go to bed.

Rarely do I go out, rarely do I feel like this is an authentic vacation. This is a job, just like my previous job as a high school English teacher. This is my new profession — one that doesn’t even pay for itself right now. I remain hopeful that it will one day.

Travel writing is not a glamorous job, as Thomas Kohnstamm, a Lonely Planet writer, explains in his new book, Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? Kohnstamm goes so far to detail his life as a travel writer that he admits he wasn’t paid enough (tell me about it!) to go to Colombia, so he never went and just wrote the book in California. For another assignment in Brazil, he sold drugs to supplement his income.

Unlike Kohnstamm, my moral values are in place and, though I kick myself for being a hedonistic and poor writer on the road, I wouldn’t trade this lifestyle for a minute. However, despite his immoral approach to travel writing, Kohnstamm still provides a golden nugget of truth: Travel writing is a career and individuals committed to this profession deserve greater benefits.

There is an inherent problem with the travel writing industry. Graduates fresh out of college delay their entry into the real world by snatching up jobs I want. I want travel writing to be my life, but for these youngsters it’s just a stint — something they can say they did before they settled down. And they are willing to do this same job for pennies. Travel guides like Lonely Planet keep payment low because they know someone write for their book if they can travel for free.

There is no solution to this problem. People like myself who come into the profession later in life have to start from the bottom wrung. Right now, it’s just a reality we have to live with.

Spencer Pratt, the shudder-inducing bitchy straight guy from The Hills, might be trying to sell his own sex tape!

Reportedly, Pratt has been trying to sell his tape under the radar, hoping to make it seem like it was leaked without his knowledge.

While it’s not clear who exactly is featured on the tape, it was apparently made in Brazil three years ago, before MTV brought the nauseating duo of Heidi and Spencer together on it’s scripted reality series.

Commenting on the scandal in US Weekly (and no doubt loving the attention) Pratt claimed “there is no sex tape” and maintained that even though he did go to Brazil three years ago, he “was never on camera.”

Normally, I totally love it when celebrity sex tapes come out (I mean, how stupid can you be to lose a homemade porno?), but when it comes to the possibility of Spencer Sex Tape, I hope against hope that there’s no such thing.

I mean, how many people might lose their eyesight as a result of seeing this guy naked?

Ever think to yourself, “Damn, Self, where can I go to find jeans that are not only ugly, but whorish at the same time?”

Well, someone did.

Bikini jeans, the new clothing invention by someone who worships Britney Spears, have begun their decent on fashion, fugging girls up one by one.

These blinding jeans supposedly have their origins in Japan, but after doing a little research, I found them being sold for $80 on a “Bazillion Fashion” website. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter what country is responsible, all that matters is that they cease and desist.

Underwear and jeans? Since when was this combo necessary?

I don’t know about you, but there has never been a day in my life where I’ve woken up and thought, “Ugh, I wish I didn’t have to put on my underwear AND my jeans today. Man, can’t somebody just come up with a pant that looks like my thong is sticking out without me having to go through the hassle of actually putting one on?“

Anything that considers itself “both underwear and jeans” should be ripped up and burned immediately. Nothing good can come of such a trend.

Unless you’re a hooker.