Baby, baby, baby, oh...

I am a Belieber.

For some reason, college students at Grove City College do not seem to love Justin Bieber very much--at least not publicly. The same girls that still love to rock out to *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys scrunch up their faces when you mention darling Canadian Justin. My dear friend Emily Smicker recently had a near emotional meltdown when she saw that the Biebs was recommended for her on iTunes. I do not understand the hating.

Justin Bieber is great. I suppose I should provide a brief biography for those of you who have yet to love Justin's music. He was born March 1, 1994 in Ontario, Canada. That makes the little pop star sixteen, not twelve like everyone seems to think. When Justin was twelve, his mother began uploading videos of him singing songs on YouTube for his relatives to see. Justin gained a large following on the website.

A year later, a marketing executive discovered Justin online and brought him to Atlanta to perform for the R&B artist Usher. Usher loved Justin's performance and signed him to Island Records in 2008. Since then, both of Justin's albums have gone platinum in the United States, and he has performed for President Obama, presented at the Grammys, and sung the opening line the new "We are the World" video for Haiti. He has even been the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

No one who reads Justin Bieber's impressive list of accomplishments should doubt the legitimacy of his stardom. Justin literally causes riots where ever he goes--his fans are insanely devoted. He is popular all around the world (especially in Canada). Unlike Miley Cyrus, who I expect will follow the same death spiral as Britney and Lindsay, Justin will continue to become a bigger star and join the modern greats like Justin Timberlake in pop glory.

If you do not believe in the power of Justin Bieber, please watch this YouTube video. This three-year-old girl is in the depths of despair when she cannot spend time with Justin. When I was three, the only songs I knew were church hymns and the Barney song. Celebrities were silly people who lived far away and had no impact on my life. Jimmy Kimmel capitalized on Bieber fever and brought the adoring fan together with her idol for America to see. I think we can all agree that the little girl is out of control.

I am constantly amused by young Justin's interactions with other celebrities. His "One Time" video features Justin hosting a party at Usher's house while Usher is away. A squeaky clean rap by Ludacris is featured on the hit track "Baby," and Sean Kingston collaborates with Bieber on the song "Eenie Meenie." Justin flirts with Kim Kardashian on Twitter and hits on Chelsea Handler during his interviews. He even creates great humor chemistry with Tina Fey on SNL. Such a charmer.

For April Fool's Day, like many celebrities, Justin took to the internet to pull a prank. He created a series of hilarious videos and put them on the website, Funny or Die, renaming it Bieber or Die for the day. These videos include an explanation from Bieber saying that he bought the site to showcase his humor and several recreations of viral videos from the internet. Two of my favorites are "Dramatic Bieber" and "Bieber after the Dentist."

However, Justin Bieber's biggest challenge may be growing up. His voice is changing--he has even admitted in interviews that he cannot hit some of the high notes from "Baby" anymore. As he seeks to make a smooth transition to manhood and avoid the squeaks, Bieber needs to worry about loosing his iconic high tenor voice. His genre of music may also need to be adjusted as his main fan base grows up with him. Puberty is the biggest challenge standing in his way.

Regardless of Justin Bieber's dropping voice, I will continue to listen to my two CDs and enjoy everything he does. Like baby, baby, baby, oh.

I love this woman

I am ready to take a wife.

As someone who has been single since coming to college, I know this is a big deal. You might be thinking that the "Ring by Spring" mentality of Grove City College has finally soaked into my brain and put a permanent pair of Grover Goggles over my eyes. However, never fear! There is only one woman that I am ready to marry, and her name is Kristen Wiig.

If you have never heard or seen Kristen Wiig, there is a hole in your life. A life without Kristen can only be described as tragic. Kristen has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since 2005 and consistently makes me laugh until tears flow. She is the funniest person currently alive.

While Kristen does say hilarious things and make ridiculous sounds, her facial expressions bring the biggest laughs. The mark of a great comedian is someone who does not even need sound to make you laugh. Kristen has this ability to twist her face into the strangest expressions and reacts so strongly in the skits. I could watch her face for a lifetime.

Kristen also has an amazing ability to transform herself into the most bizarre characters. One of my favorites is Penelope, a woman who pathologically lies to top the stories of everyone else. The twist comes at the end when at least of few of Penelope's lies turn out to be true. Another of my favorite's is Sue, a woman who adores surprises but cannot keep secrets and must cause herself physical harm to keep from ruining the surprise. If you ever hear my loudly saying "Oh my Gawww!!!," that is my Sue impression.

Other original characters include the Target Lady, a bargain-obsessed "Turrget" worker, Judy Grimes, a nervous travel advisor on Weekend Update who says "just kidding" between every few words, Aunt Linda, a sarcastic movie critic with poor taste, and Dooneese, a member of a sister act that perform on the Lawrence Welk Show. Dooneese is my favorite of these four characters--her high hairline, little baby hands, and disturbing song lyrics make me die laughing every time.

Kristen also has an amazing talent for celebrity impressions. The recurring parody skit of The View may be one of the best things on SNL. Whoopi, Barbara, Joy, Sheri, and Elisabeth deserve to be parodied, especially Joy Behar. Kristen marvelously plays the sweet, conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck in a dead-on impression. So funny! Other celebrities parodied include Suze Orman, Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Lee Curtis, Katharine Hepburn, Bjork, and a Japanese version of Pam Beasley from The Office. I hope you take the time to watch all of these videos.

A final thing you need to know about is the fourth hour of the Today Show. Calm Hoda Kotb and insane Kathie Lee Gifford have a strange dynamic and Kristen showcases this brilliantly as Kathie Lee. I found a video on youtube of Hoda and Kathie Lee responding to this highly accurate impression. While Hoda seems to find it funny, Kathie Lee is upset. However, when Hoda gets made fun of in the clip, Kathie Lee begins to see the humor. If you squint your eyes a little, it becomes difficult to tell which clip is the show and which is SNL. So good.

If you do not love Kristen by now, you need professional laughter training. You are not invited to our theoretical wedding.

Snuggle up

I sleep wrapped in a snuggie every night.

It took me a while to fall under this trend's power. My family and I used to make fun of the people in the commercial. They looked so ridiculous sitting around on plush couches in backwards monk robes, reading books and being pleasant with one another. The snuggie's ridiculous appearance kept us from seeing its true wonder.

I did not know I needed a snuggie until after I bought one. On Black Friday 2009, I forced my mom and sister to get up early and go shopping in the wee hours of the morning. When we got to Menard's, a store that I have hated as long as I can remember, I spotted an off-brand snuggie called a Cuddlee. As an avid bargain shopper, I could not pass up the six dollar price tag. After all, snuggies usually retail at about fifteen dollars.

That night, as I shared a pull-out couch with my little brother, I put my arms through the holes and wrapped the snuggie around my body. I instantly felt secure and safe. Even more importantly, when I went to grab my glass of water, my arms did not get cold. Up until that moment, I had never realized how annoying cold arms can be. A marketable invention either fills an existing need or makes people think that they have a need, and the snuggie does the latter beautifully.

Since then, I have slept wrapped in my snuggie almost every night. While I used to scoff, now I embrace, and the snuggie embraces me. The snuggie has become a pop culture phenomenon and has been mocked by many comedians. It even got a mention on a hilarious SNL skit parody of the Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee. I believe that all of those comedians secretly sleep with snuggies.

The snuggie was also one of the most popular Christmas gifts this past year. The Snuggie company has diversified its product by creating snuggies for children and dogs. While I own the classic navy blue, the snug also comes in burgundy, green, pink, and animal print.

There are even more uses for the snuggie than what the commercials show. If you turn it around backwards and add a belt, it is a shepherd's costume for a Christmas nativity scene. I recently had someone stand behind me and put their hand through to create the humorous illusion of hands out of my control. That same night, I also put it on backwards and had two people under that snuggie behind me, and we raced through the house screaming and pretending it was a Chinese dragon in a Chinese New Year Parade. We have fun.

If you still are wary about the snuggie, I'll let you try on mine. Just make sure you give it back.