By Amanda DeLuise

I really don’t know how I didn’t discover Amazon.com sooner than I did.  Especially in New York City, where people somehow get away with charging way too much money for everything.  Now it’s my best friend and you could say I’m a little obsessed with it.

I was first introduced to it, really introduced to it, when my roommate told me she ordered all of her books there and saved a few hundred dollars.  So I checked it out.  And I saved quite a few hundred dollars.  I ordered a copy of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for ONE PENNY.  Apparently Amazon does this quite often, they have certain titles on sale for just a penny.  My friend Dann, who also needed the book, was a little wary of what kind of condition it would be in and how many pages would be missing from it.  I assured him it would probably be fine and he said he would be really angry if it was in perfect condition like the one he had just paid $12.95 for at the bookstore.  Well, it came in perfect condition and Dann was angry and said he would be doing all of his book shopping there from now on.

Not only is Amazon.com good for “academic” needs, it’s perfect for things I really want to buy but would cost a ridiculous amount of money at a store in New York.

Example 1: I’ve been looking all over for a flask (…as a gift for my dad).  I found a nice, simple one of the Container Store website for only $7.95.  So I went to the Container Store and they said they didn’t sell those anymore, they never updated the website.  So I walked a lot of blocks to wind up empty handed.  I ended up finding a similar one (actually, it was bigger) for $2.99! It came in a few days in perfect condition, wrapped in plastic and everything.

Example 2: I’ve been looking into getting a fisheye lens for my digital camera for quite some time now.  I walked all the way to B&H (a pretty nice camera accessory store) and found they were selling them for $250.  I thought, well maybe I could save up my work money for a while.  Checked on Amazon.com and found a compatible fisheye lens for $29.95!!!!! Really, I almost had a heart attack.  It shipped in a few days, again in mint condition.

So instead of doing homework, I sang Amazon.com praises while taking fishy fotos.

by Karen Turner

Olympic athletes are notorious for their enormous sex drives.

I’ve been a perpetual couch potato basically my whole life, save a couple of years of obligatory soccer in middle school. However, in a recent burst of hypochondriacal anxiety about my sausage, egg and cheese sandwich diet on top of a sedentary lifestyle, I vowed to exercise regularly. My thrice-weekly cardio sessions have been painful, but I’ve discovered, to my great surprise and joy, that exercise is powerfully, almost indulgently, pleasurable.

It’s not surprising to most that working out releases enough chemicals in your brain to rival some epic mind-altering substance. Dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine are released during exercise, the same neurotransmitters targeted by anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication as well as many illegal recreational drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Exercise also releases endorphins, which are often described as the “body’s natural painkiller” and have a nearly identical chemical structure to morphine. And of course, all of these neurochemicals are released during another powerful and stimulating activity: sex.

I was talking to a friend about the satisfactions of working out and she told me that her best orgasms come from using her vibrator and doing Pilates. I don’t know if I could ever quite achieve such stimulation, but I have come very close to the “runner’s high,” the supposed culmination of the above-stated chemicals resulting in a calm, zen-like experience. And it feels awesome. The heavy breathing and racing heart beat transport me into a different, elevated mindset, and there’s also something gratifying about forcing your body into, and eventually through, intense pain.

Interestingly, the state of physical arousal during a workout also increases your sexual attraction–or revulsion–to a person. I’ve experienced this first-hand. During an elliptical session where I was situated with a perfect view of my boyfriend spinning, my head imploded with extremely focused, heated thoughts about doing terrible, terrible things with him. The intensity of my attraction had reached a new level. Not only that, but I was convinced that every girl that walked by him was plotting to steal him away from me at any moment. Normally I’m a pretty non-jealous person, but I swear I was experiencing wild, animalistic levels of rage and rivalry towards every female within my vicinity.

Studies have also shown that, on top of deeper sleep, a keener mind, and a happier mood, exercise vastly improves your sex life. Men report better erectile health and women experience heightened sex drive, and, happily, better orgasms for all. So move your booties, all of you.

Sources: “The Three E’s,” Men’s Total Fitness. “Health, Exercise and mood,” The MayoNews. “Exercise: key to good sex, good sleep,” CNN.com. Social Psychology, Charles Stangor.

Image Source: lifelounge.com

By Jared Launius

It’s more luck than anything else. Well, let me rephrase that: it’s been all luck.

That’s irrelevant, though, because the fact remains that I’ve predicted the NCAA Tournament champion three straight years, and four of the last five. The key has been never going out on the limb, considering North Carolina, Florida, Kansas, and North Carolina were all one-seeds, and you could make the argument that they were all favorites going into their respective tournaments.

Also, the fact remains that Kansas is- whichever way you look at it- the best team in the nation and should be the favorite heading into the NCAA tournament that starts in 10(!) days.

How can I be so sure? Well there’s the stats, for starters. For the sake of space, I’ll just direct you to Kansas’ StatSheet.com page where you’ll see that they’re ranked top 10 in the nation in about 20 different categories, including their 18 point average margin of victory, better than Syracuse, Kentucky, Kansas State and Duke: the four other teams currently ranked in the AP top five with them.

Then there’s the scouting part. I actually got to watch KU in person the other day when they brought their loaded act to Missouri.

They can play any style offensively. You like to play half-court basketball? Cole Aldrich and Marcus Morris make up one of the best frontcourts in the nation. Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor are both capable of running an offense and creating shots for teammates. Tyrel Reed, Xavier Henry, Collins, Taylor, Markieff Morris and Brady Morningstar can all bury the three.

Rather run? Collins, Taylor, the Morris Twins and Henry are all effective in transition, and Cole Aldrich is the best fastbreak starter since Kevin Love because of his outlet-passing abilities. They beat Missouri, a running team, by 21 in their own house Saturday, rattling off explosive runs of 16-0 and 17-2 in the process.

Defensively, Collins’ quickness meshes well with the length of Morningstar, Henry and Taylor. Aldrich keeps you off the glass, and blocks nearly four shots a game. The perimeter defenders are all fairly adept at funneling penetrating players right into Aldrich, leading to several blocked shots and turnovers.

The Jayhawks are the most balanced team in the nation, and should be the favorite to win it all. You know what that means for me.

Image Source: http://columbiatribune.com