As millions flock to Washington for the inauguration, many of us prefer (or were forced) to stay at home and not be part of the mad rush of people that will surely cause all of the highways around D.C. and the surrounding states to be jam-packed with people and cars (I’ve had enough with the crowding during the Olympics to last a lifetime). But just because you’re not on the scene doesn’t mean you can’t be with the scene!

There are plenty of other people around who didn’t make the trek to D.C., so have a party! It may be last minute, but there is still plenty of time to gather your friends and a little patriotism together for a killer Proud to be An American bash.

Here are some fun ways for you to celebrate being in American – red, white, and blue style.

Decorate: Now is the perfect time to whip out your old Fourth of July gear and host the best inauguration-watching party ever! Turn your living room into an American flag: blow up balloons, hang  flags on the wall, spread a red tablecloth and set out little blue napkins.

Costumes: Aren’t costume parties the best? Encourage your guests to dress up as their favorite political figure and award to the best-dressed and best-impersonation (cigar, anyone?) with an American favorite: a 30 pack of cheap beer.

FOOD! You can take the easy route with some red, white and blue foods, like watermelon, blueberries and cottage cheese, or you can whip up something patriotic:

• Name foods after fun themes such as “Campaign Trail Mix,” “Sloppy Joe Bidens,” “Barack of Ribs,” “Chicken Right Wings,” or, my personal favorite, “Lipstick Pigs In A Blanket.”
• Make some RW&B Popsicles. Just get any type of juice in all three colors (I like using kool-aid) and some dixie cups and popsicle sticks. Pour the red juice into each cup to about 1/3 full, then freeze until it’s almost frozen but still a little slushy. Insert a popsicle stick into the middle, then pour the white juice in until it’s 2/3 full. Freeze it again, then add the blue juice. Freeze one more time, peel the cups off, and – voila! – patriotism on a stick.
• Want to be more like Obama? Make chili, one of his favorite foods!

Play Some Games: Baseball isn’t called America’s pastime for nothing. Go outside (bundled in scarves and thick jackets, I hope) and toss a few around. I’m sure you could figure out a way to turn that into a drinking game. If baseball isn’t your thing, go shoot some hoops. Instead of playing Horse, though, make it a game of Donkey. Or Obama. Or See Ya Later, Bush! Or, if it’s too cold out, just play a game of  Obama Speech Bingo. Our bet’s on the word “change” getting the most chips.

American Karaoke: Sure, karaoke is usually reserved for Meatloaf and The Outfield, but this is a God Bless America party! Break out the old American faves like Yankee Doodle and God Bless America. Beyonce may have had to perform in front of billions of people, including the president, but you just have to sing in front of your friends, so belt it out shamelessly.

Watch a Movie: Throw in an old American action flick, like The Patriot, Saving Private Ryan, or Black Hawk Down. (Because nothing says I Love America quite like Josh Hartnett. Mmmm.) Or, if you want laughter instead of tears, watch some hilarious youtube videos of past presidents. Shoes not included.

Be proud and celebrate being an American on this great day in U.S. history. You betcha I sure am.

Obama honors MLK with a national day of service.

Inaugural concert rocks D.C.

The 20 cutest celebrity kids.

Oh, that’s really embarassing, Katy Perry.

Take a little fashion dare.

No need to work out; fidgeting burns calories!

He may be talented, but Mickey Rourke is….weird.

We wish people broke out into spontaneous dance around us more often.

Show your allegiance: Gossip Girl Team T-Shirts

The Inauguration of our 44th president is on tomorrow, and frankly I can’t remember anyone ever really caring about this ceremonial aspect of an election. Until this year.

And, wow, do they care.

D.C is “poppin’ off,” as the kids say. People have been partying all week, and will continue all week. What seems like the entire world is flocking to DC and my campus is on security lock-down, since GW is only 4 blocks from the White House. A huge, free concert with everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Beyonce to Bono was held on the National Mall on yesterday to celebrate. There are legit balls, as in Cinderella balls, to honor this man. Even the Metro tickets have Obama on them. Signs, posters, and more port-o-potties than you can fathom are popping up all over the city. This is big.

It is all strangely reminiscent of the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy accidentally crushes the Wicked Witch with her house, and all the little munchkins are crazy happy. Ding, Dong, the witch is dead Bush is gone!

As much as I like partying (and Bruce Springsteen!), as much as I want to see Bush retreat to Crawford and stay there forever, this event is really about Obama. Not too long ago, only about 40 years back, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a sea of people (down the street from my dorm building!) about a dream he had, in which his children would be judged “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This was a time, as we all know, when a black person was given less rights than a white person. A black person would not be allowed to eat in certain segregated restaurants, let alone become the leader of the free world. And just one hundred years before that, that same person would not have even had freedom. I know these are heavy issues, but it is so amazing that Dr. King’s prophecy has literally fulfilled itself in the same city of his famous dream’s inception.

Whether or not you voted for Obama (or own multiple Obama tees from Urban, like me), you can appreciate that this year America did something absolutely incredible. People with a belief, a cause and a whole lot of hope, rallied behind a single man and accomplished something I honestly did not think could happen.

During this Inauguration time, I encourage you to celebrate and party hard or whatever, because this is a great time to be an American, but also take this day to seriously reflect on the nation in which you live and what it is capable of. I am proud, and I think it is safe to assume Martin Luther King Junior would agree.

It’s totally unpredictable.

Here’s what I do know:

For the first time in my life, my generation is thoroughly excited by not just a presidential candidate, but the president elect. We could all be dead wrong, but from the way things are looking, Barack Obama’s election into office will turn over new leaves for our country that haven’t been turned over in…at least eight years.

I grew up hearing stories about political union in a generation and, sure, we aren’t all in agreement about the change that Obama may or may not make. But so many of us are excited that, for once, I feel like a part of something that I am proud to be a part of.

So I’m on a bus heading to Washington DC from New York. Already, the 60-some people on board are buzzing – all revved up and ready to explode for their weekend in DC. While the inauguration itself is the event we’re all going down to experience and witness, the weekend of celebration before should be one for the books. Even the bars are allowed to stay open until 4am this weekend. (I know that means nothing to you, New Yorkers, so I say to you: imagine an event so big that New York bars were allowed to stay open until 6am.)

There are parties going down everywhere with alcohol being served at low prices in the name of patriotic glee. There’s a concert taking place on Sunday that will be the biggest concert I have ever attended (umm…everyone from Bruce Spingsteen to U2 to Beyonce are performing). Georgetown Cupcake will be serving special Inauguration cupcakes. And so much more. D.C. and all surrounding areas are going to be packed with people all there for the same reason: to celebrate an historical moment. And our new President.

Whether you’re in DC or not this weekend, I urge you to celebrate. Even if you didn’t vote for Obama and are apprehensive about the kinds of good he could do, at least celebrate that things will probably be getting better, because, let’s face it, we can only go up from here.

Man loses millions. Fakes his own death. Not very good at it.

Welcome to the world, Seraphina Garner Affleck!

Whitney Port shows a bit too much on the beach.

Even Blake Lively got teased in middle school.

Public Universities still providing jobs in crappy economy.

Colleges sink to new low to get even more of your money: snacks!

Someone in the White House is a sex offender?

If the sand and accents weren’t enough, here is another reason I’m moving to Australia.

Security is getting tight for the big Inauguration.

This past week CC asked our readers whether or not racism was still an issue in the country. You all were pretty mixed in your responses—a third of you said that it was a major issue, another third said that we’d made progress but still need to work on it, and another third said that it wasn’t an issue anymore.

Probably a lot of the confusion comes from what we perceive to be racism.

For example, a male Caucasian clerk is friendly with a Caucasian female and then rude to an African American male—now this could be a clear cut case of sexism—clerk is hitting on the female and rude to the male, or a clear-cut case of racism.

The way in which you experience that scenario is really dependent on your previous life experiences.

During my childhood in Southern California, I understood racial tension to be part of a larger issue—i.e. gang violence or immigration. For me the civil rights movement was a thing of the past. In the scenario above, I definitely would have leaned towards the sexist explanation.

Then I moved to Washington, DC.

It’s an angry city with a massive history of racial tension.

Many of the people who work in DC in fact live in either Virginia or Maryland (during the work week the city’s population swells by 71.8%!), and those who live in DC (aside from college students) are either upper class or lower class. The majority of upper class reside in Northwest DC or Capital Hill. The rest live in Northeast and Southeast. (The Capital is the center of the grid).

The tension is palpable (check out my earlier rant over the Supreme Court handgun ban ruling). DC was the site of some of the worse race riots over the years. The city has the worst public school system and the 3rd highest poverty rate in the country as well as the highest child poverty rate. Its destiny is controlled by the US Congress—a group of mostly Caucasian elites overseeing a majority African-American city.

I worked for 3 ½ years at the B. Dalton at Union Station located directly behind the Capital and consequently the place where these two worlds met.

Certain memories are imprinted upon my mind. One Saturday afternoon, four people started yelling at each other outside the store—that was fairly typical. But then I heard two loud shots. We all hit the floor. Luckily the gunman fled the building—otherwise I might have been involved in a hostage situation.

The cops caught up with the shooter and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital—and that was the last I heard of it.

Sure it made local news that evening but when I scoured the Washington Post the next morning, the incident was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t news that an African-American shot another African American. That happens all the time. The cops never questioned my coworkers and I (despite the fact that we were eyewitnesses).

It seemed clear that there was no desire to put a case together concerning what had happened—they already knew. I’ve seen more concern over a car crash than that shooting.

It was just another day in DC.

I was 6 when the Rodney King riots occurred in Los Angeles, yet before I moved to DC I probably wouldn’t have factored racism into the way the shooting was handled. Yet now I am absolutely certain of it.

Racism is ugly; an issue that all of us (who can) would just as soon pretend is nonexistent. But let’s be honest—it’s not going anywhere.

The schisms between races in our country will only begin to be healed through massive national dialogue. For such a dialogue to take place, it is essential to understand that even if you yourself aren’t affected by racism (or don’t realize you are), others are. Racism is still an issue—and it must be dealt with.

[Images courtesy of wikipedia commons and Quaker House]

The Real World is making its way to Brooklyn for its 21st season. In case you’re counting, this will be the third time the show has been in New York City. I know Brooklyn is its own distinct borough filled with unique charm, but when you take a subway or two right over to the previous Real World houses, it’s just too close. It’s time for the folks at MTV to branch out. Here are some suggestions for future destinations:

Minneapolis

It was heavily rumored that the Real World was heading to this upper Mid-western urban center for its 19th season. Sydney may have provided the castmates with sunny beaches and hot dudes with accents, but Minneapolis is pretty cool too. There’s a fantastic art scene, friendly locals, giant university, funky bars and the town is surrounded by gorgeous lakes. Plus, the the weather isn’t so bad in the summer.

Washington D.C.

Nothing goes better with historic buildings, sketchy elected officials and government offices than 20-somethings with ‘roid rage and girls in hooker boots. D.C. is vibrant, has a ton of cute neighborhoods and lots of things to do. Plus, it’s the most walk-able city in the nation, perfect for coming home drunk. Can you picture Real World folks as congressional pages? Tour guides? The options are endless.

Atlanta, GA

They don’t call it Hotlanta for nothing! Atlanta is rockin’ the southern charm, great food, and a handful of quality colleges. Plus it’s home to the epicenter of Southern rap, hell, most rap. It’s also boasts one of the best aquariums in the country. Stuck up young people cleaning out shark tanks? Yes please!

There are lots of other great places too. Have they considered Portland Oregon, Phoenix, Detroit?! The Brooklyn season of The Real World is probably going to be just fine, but I think it’s time for something new. There are too many untapped fun, charming, camera-friendly cities in this country and around the globe.

Where do you think the cameras should head next? Is your hometown aching for some drama? Sell your city in the comments!

Right about now you are probably rolling a keg back to your house and getting ready to celebrate your last last final. How exciting! Drink up, friend. Drink until the sun (or your lunch) comes up. Take shots, do keg stands, play a long and telling game of Never Have I Ever. Enjoy it.

You are going to need it. Once finals are over and you have tossed that over-priced cap into the air, the real work begins. Unless you, like everyone else, decide to take that 6 week trip to Europe, in which case the real work doesn’t begin until you’ve smuggled your Absinthe back into the country and unpack that over-sized backpack.

This work I speak of is not the job you will be getting post graduation; it is the apartment. The New York Times recently ran a story talking all about the infamous apartment hunt. The article is long and sort of eh, so I will recap it for you here:Finding an apartment in a big city is really f*cking hard.

The prices are ridiculous, the square footage is non-existent and the competition is fierce. Like, Christian Siriano fierce. If you are not ready to sign on the dotted line at that moment, you will lose your dream place. Even if you are prepared, there is no guarantee the owner will agree.

I am sure you have dreams of moving to New York/Chicago/L.A./Washington D.C./Miami/Anywhere that is not your parents’ basement and living the high life: sick apartment, raging parties on your private roof deck and a doorman that hand delivers your packages from mom. Ha.

The reality, as much as it hurts for me to tell you, looks a little more like this: you will go see dozens of apartments, you will cry, your back will start to hurt from the love-seat you are sleeping on until you find your own place, you will cry, you will find an apartment you love that isn’t way too expensive and you will find someone else signed on it before you could get to the rental office, you will weep and call your mom and then go get a brownie, you will eventually sign on a place that doesn’t even come close to what you had imagined. Oh, and you will pay a lot of money for it.

I am not telling you this to make you sad. I am telling you this because when I moved to New York, no one had told me. Sure, I knew NYC was expensive, but I didn’t realize that all I could afford in Manhattan was a room where I could touch all 4 walls at once or that it would take me months to find it.

I just want you, my friend, to be prepared for what is to come and to truly appreciate your life right now until it must come to an end.

Drink it up. And good luck.

Sincerely,

Lauren

Chicago, Illinois

Kanye West‘s hometown is clean and pretty, giving Midwestern culture a big city to call their own. This is where about eighty percent of my college friends moved after graduation.

Yea!

It’s right on the beach for summertime. You also have tons of grad schools to choose from if you don’t want to work just yet, and a great laid-back vibe. It’s a driving city, too, so you’re not obligated to give up your car. Go to Cubs or Sox games, or start supporting the ‘da Bears!

Nay?

Ever heard of lake-effect snow? The Chi can get bitterly cold in the winter. Traffic is rough, so you may want to study up on your public transportation. Also, it has the potential to feel like undergrad relocated.

Washington, DC

DC is pretty and is a great place to job-search if you’re going into politics or environmental-type work. Plus it’s the setting for Wedding Crashers and where our country is run from.

Yea!

You live so close to other cool cities that you can go on weekend jaunts by way of the Chinatown Bus. The Metro is genius, even allowing cell phone service underground. Lots of history, and of course, the weather is better as it’s south-ish.

Nay?

If you like more hustle-and-bustle, it may be a little too slow-paced. Rent tends to be pricier, and the murder and HIV rates are known to be high, so have fun but be careful. Sports teams, not fantastic…

New York, NY

When you say “the city,” there’s no questioning which one you mean. I tried very hard not to add “It’s not New York” to the “Nay” column for all the others. This is where it’s at if you’re in finance, media, or the arts.

Yea!

Whatever you want, whenever you want it, it’s here. Cultural center of the nation. Black-and-white cookies, great baseball rivalry (Yankees/Mets), Central Park, a phenomenal public transportation system, and a neighborhood for everything. Also very simple to navigate… north of the Village, anyway.

Nay?

The cost of living is ridic if you want to live in money-makin’ Manhattan. Inflation is kind of a bitch. You might get overwhelmed by all the people and the go-go-go mentality.

Los Angeles, CA

Like living in paradise with the potential for earthquakes. You’ve got the ocean, the beach, and city all relatively close to one another. And the people all seem to be really, really pretty…

Yea!

Laiiiiid-back. It’s a phenomenal climate and you’re equidistant from skiing or surfing, year-round. Great for those who love celebrity gossip, the Lakers, or want to work in movies/TV. It’ll be like The Hills!

Nay?

Also pricey, and also a tendency toward the plastic. As in plastic surgery. There are several different downtown areas which you’ve got to drive between, basically, and the traffic is horrendous, all the time.

Mostly, you want to move where you’ll be happy. Don’t decline a job offer you’d love or not go to the grad school with your specialty just because it’s not where your ideal location is. Worst-case scenario, you can always try someplace new later on, right?

Are your bff’s moving elsewhere else, or are you planning to move abroad after college? Tell us some other post-grad hotspots you’ve heard of!

Due to the fact that I was surrounded by the most politically minded people in school – who now, mind you, live and breathe Washington D.C. politics every day – I have grown up to be quite a political person myself. Yet even I only caught glimpses of last night’s State of the Union Address; mostly because of the writer’s strike and the fact that there was absolutely nothing else worth watching on TV.

Trust me; I tried.

It’s not like I wasn’t interested in what GW had to say; it is just hard to watch George Bush give a speech with bright eyes and (false) positivism when the country has been reduced to shit all around him. We have serious economic issues, war issues, health care issues, not to mention the thousands of people still displaced by Katrina. I don’t really want to spend the little free time I have watching W. sugarcoat those not-so-pleasant truths for an hour.

I am sure many people opted out of the speech in honor of something far more important (like this) or exciting (like this). So, I will give you a much abbreviated look at George Bush’s final State of the Union Address. Not because I want to bore you, but because it is a great way to see what issues will be left when he leaves so you can decide which candidate will be best suited to clean them up. Some highlights:

• Bush asked for a swift passing of his tax rebate package, more patience in Iraq and (something new, at last) $300 million for scholarships for students in low income and low functioning schools.

• Bush avoided much talk of the economy, the biggest and most pressing issue facing Americans today.

• He opted instead to discuss Iraq. Bush once again reminded us how far we have come in Iraq and how we cannot back down now.

• In an effort to look forward instead of back, Bush urged Congress to continue with his No Child Left Behind education bill, to pass new trade agreements with various countries and begged them to renew the legislation that allowed intelligence officials to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists.

• GW ended his speech discussing foreign affairs, expressing his confidence that Al Qaeda could and would be defeated.

Last night’s State of the Union was an interesting one, to say the least. It seemed less like a State of the Union and more of a pleading: Bush on his knees begging congress to finish his grand plans and the rest of America to renew their faith in him. Unfortunately, with only 51 weeks left in office and the 2008 election already on the forefront of everybody’s minds, neither seem to be realistic.