Update!

Hello Nurds,

Here's a little reminder :)

Firstly, I want to say that I will be posting on Saturdays now. Fridays are technically still during the week for me (i.e. I still have tests and assignments and things to study in advance for), yet still a day when I have some relaxation. Saturdays, I have more freedom in my assignments and studying.

I just want to mention that I haven't blogged in a few weeks (even though I've been fairly consistent this summer in terms of posting) because my summer classes at UCLA have started and I have midterms right now. I needed a study break, so I decided to post this to take my mind off things and explain what's happening and where I've been.

My summer classes are online courses, so I have yet to actually move to UCLA. You're probably thinking, If you haven't moved in yet, why haven't you been blogging if you're still in the comfort of your own home? Well, UCLA is a new world and although I have been to college before, UCLA is its own stratosphere; that's why it's also known as a baby or new ivy. As you know, ivy leagues are hard to get into and even harder to survive and graduate (alive, nah, just kidding). That said, I needed to give my classes my undivided attention, especially because we're on the quarter system that is ten weeks per quarter, when in fact, summer courses are six weeks, so I'm fitting in ten weeks of material into six weeks. Mind you, I'm taking four classes, because well, I like suffering. In all seriousness, these are courses that generally interest me and that give me credit toward my major and toward my degree in general. You can check out what classes I'm taking by reading SUMMER PLANS.

I will blog this summer. The lucky thing about my classes is that I get to watch about 65 movies in six weeks and read a lot of great plays and even some screen plays so you can check out some movie and book reviews in the near future. I will post this week though and hopefully every week thereon. I should say in advance when I will not be posting or if I will be on hiatus. After all, since I'm making blogging more permanent, I am bound to make some mistakes and learn from them.

This week in particular, I'll blog about diversity and the importance of the movie Moonlight and why I feel that we need it now. I will also prepare a post about the movie Her and include a Song of the Month for that.

Also, check out for College Talk videos that I will be starting next Saturday regarding my experience at UCLA orientation. This will be a series on my blog that I hope you will find useful and they won't only be about UCLA. I'll do study tips and things to buy as well as utilizing your campus resources talks, etc.

Oh, and I hope you love the red panda I coded and learned a thing or two about the endangered species. What other species would you want me to code? Let me know in the comments below!

14 Things You May Not Know About Red Pandas + New Logo

What's up Nurds,

It's Joss here. And I have GOOD NEWS!!! Look what I coded! Isn't she cute?! Thanks to Khan Academy, I was able to code this red panda and trust me, I know what you're thinking. It looks like a fox. But if you look below, red pandas actually do look like foxes and raccoons.

Without Khan Academy and their lessons on coding, I would not be improving as I am. I had been working on this for awhile and even more so within the past week. It was certainly not easy. It wasn't like they had an animal outline or figure that I could choose from and then choose outlines to add on top of it; it was ALL from scratch. So if you want to learn how to code--animals, happy faces, even video games--I totally recommend it, just go to the Khan Academy website and you can sign in with a Google or Facebook account and you can even earn energy points for watching educational videos and doing practice questions/quizzes, whether that be for computer programming (coding) or should you choose to explore another topic of study.

Virginia Zoo

That aside, this cute little red panda will be the logo for this blog as opposed to this blasé looking bear on the left that I attempted to code awhile back when I was first learning to code. 

Additionally, I'm taking this as an opportunity to continue coding animals, like the red panda, that are endangered to raise awareness. This isn't sponsored in any way. I love animals and feel that I can lend a hand, even by just writing about the issues that go on in this world. Hopefully, by coding all of these animals, I can create an atmosphere and environment on this blog, where we can discuss issues, not only about animals, but issues in this world in general and hopefully this jungle of animals on this blog will be a symbol of that. 

Please sign this petition on change.org to save red pandas. Here is some further information provided on the page to provide some context: 

 "We all know the fluffy, lovable Red Pandas, don't we? They face a huge problem: extinction. Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, there are less than 10,000 left in the world. This is because of deforestation, environment change, food needs, and poaching. We need to help these animals survive in any way we can. Their environment is mowed down because we want to live there, they are slaughtered because we want to wear them. We are not just taking their homes. We are taking their lives. If you care about the environment, about these sweet creatures, then sign this petition so we can start to make a change. If you want to impact these animals lives even more, donate to the Red Panda Network, where you can be sure your money is going to a great cause."

On top of that, I want to provide some facts that you just may not know about red pandas, which shouldn't be a surprise considering how little we hear about red pandas, if we even do hear about them.