Need a way to spend Valentine’s Day? Valentine’s Day is about acknowledging your loved ones, and these movies are the perfect way to spend an evening with roommates, best friends and significant others.

1. The Notebook: Ryan Gosling. Ryan Gosling, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Gosling. This is the movie that made us all fall in love with Ryan Gosling. Of course there is a plot in there somewhere too… something about how some girl called Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Gosling) reunite after falling in love as teenagers. But yeah, Ryan Gosling.

2. Bridesmaids: Need a movie to watch with your friends? Celebrate the love of friendship by watching as the wonderful Kristin Wigg and a group of friends try to plan a wedding. Hilarity ensues.

3. When Harry Met Sally: If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you might have to start reevaluating your life choices and consider adding “watch classic rom-coms” to your priority list. It’s a brilliant movie that centers on question of whether two people can really ever be “just friends.” Plus Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as the main characters.

4. Crazy, Stupid, Love: This rom-com starring Ryan Gosling (surprise, surprise – can you tell we like the guy?), Emma Stone and Steve Carrell will have you ”aww-ing,” as well as laughing. Gosling helps Carrell overcome mid-life crisis and reevaluates his own life in the process.

5. 50 First Dates: When you first think Adam Sandler, Valentine’s Day movies don’t usually come to mind. But this funny movie is a tearjerker. Prepare to get the tissues out as Sandler falls in love for a girl (Drew Barrymore) who has short term memory loss.

6. Enchanted: Cheesy Disney movies are the perfect way to celebrate a day of love. Gather with friends and sing along as Giselle (Amy Adams), a princess from the fairytale world, falls in love with Robert (Patrick Dempsey) from the human world.

7. Definitely, Maybe: Ryan Reynolds (No, not Ryan Gosling!) stars as a dad who’s getting a divorce. The story begins as he tells his daughter how he met her mother. It’s a sweet and heartfelt mystery that keeps you trying to guess who the woman is that Reynolds is talking about.

8. Moulin Rouge!: Get taken back in time to the beginning of the 20^th century as Christian (Ewan McGregor) recounts his tragic love story with Satine (Nicole Kidman). This secret love affair told through song is an experience you won’t want to miss.

9. Bridget Jones Diary: The perfect comedy to watch with your friends, Renee Zellweger portrays a 30 year-old who has no luck with love. Watch as she tries to navigate the ups and down of life while keeping it all documented in her diary.

10. Titanic: Last but not least, this list would not be complete without this classic tale. The love story between Jack (Leonardo Dicaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) is unforgettable. No matter how many times you’ve seen the ship sink, it feels like a tragedy every time. And we will always wonder why Jack didn’t fit on the raft…

Did we miss any movies? Tweet us your favorites @dbmojo.

—Sarah Greenwald

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Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us here at Mojo! This week, we walked around campus collecting heart-warming Valentine’s Day shout-outs. Our blogger, Casey Bradford, donned a gorilla suit à la our Halloween video. Check out these students’ declarations of love for roommates, significant others, best friends, teams and other loved ones. Whether or not you believe in celebrating this “Hallmark holiday,” we think there’s never a wrong time to tell someone how much you care.

—Casey Bradford

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Few things say “I love you” more than a Strawberry-Nutella Pop-Tart. These gooey squares practically ooze love – they’re hugs and kisses in food form. They’re also the perfect Valentine’s Day breakfast surprise (or late night snack) to share with your roommates, best friend or other loved ones.

The recipe is incredibly easy to make (only five ingredients) and ready to eat within an hour. My roommates and I had a blast creating this treat together in the style of an assembly line. We especially loved sneaking bits of strawberries and tastes of Nutella while concocting these goodies.

Special tip: I would advise leaving about a centimeter or two of space on the rim pastry’s bottom layer. If you forget to leave space, the Nutella and strawberry will ooze out when you press the fork around the Pop-Tart’s edges (not the worst possible outcome, but it can get pretty messy!)

If you find yourself with leftover strawberries, try making strawberry calzones. They lack the aesthetic appeal of the Pop-tarts’s nutella-strawberry heart, but they’re just as tasty!

—Kate PM

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What is the Harlem Shake? It’s a YouTube phenomenon where one person in a big group begins dancing to the hit song Harlem Shake, by New York music producer “Baauer,” and then the video cuts to a shot of the whole group crazily dancing in strange costumes. Many groups have tried to claim the title of best Harlem Shake video, including UCLA’s own Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and UGA’s swim team that Harlem Shook underwater. While trying to collect Valentine’s Day shoutouts for Mojo, we stumbled upon a crowd of people in very strange costumes gathering in Bruin Plaza to record a UCLA Harlem Shake (organized and directed by third-year music student Sean Matusich). Good thing we were prepared and already had our gorilla suit on.

Check out the photos of the event featured on our sister blog, Spectrum.

—Kate PM

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Imagine you’re headed home at ten o’clock at night. You have a midterm the next day that you’ve barely started studying for, and you’re a five-minute walk away from a coffee shop. Do you go for the coffee, or choose another route?

I’ve faced this question pretty often as a UCLA student, so I was curious to find out what the experts say. To find out more about the side-effects of caffeine, I spoke to Dr. David Baron, the executive director of the Ashe Center.

Here’s a brief scientific overview of what caffeine does to the body:

Caffeine is classified as an “amine.” From a biochemical perspective, amines mimic neurotransmitters such as epinephrine and dopamine, which are the naturally occurring compounds that boost your mood and energy. It is no coincidence that each of these terms contain the suffix “-ine.” The suffix is used to classify amines, and each of these chemicals produce similar effects.

Caffeine (The good side)

Caffeine, if consumed in moderate amounts, is not bad. It is a useful stimulant to provide an increase in energy, alertness and concentration, Baron said. In small doses it can even relieve headaches. It also gives you a quick energy boost and pumps you up to be able to use all that energy efficiently, so when you do homework, you’ll be more mentally alert. Caffeine may also decrease the risk for diabetes because it interferes with some chemicals that contribute to diabetes.

Caffeine (Moderating)

Unfortunately, caffeine consumption is difficult to moderate because many people unknowingly consume caffeine in small amounts throughout the day. Common caffeine products include chocolate, tea, soda and energy drinks, and even allergy medicine and decongestants have similar effects to caffeine, Baron said. Unfortunately, since people have different tolerance thresholds, it’s hard to know when you’ve had too much caffeine. In general, however, tolerance is increased by drinking coffee or energy drinks on a regular basis. Your “limit” has probably been reached if you have trouble sleeping at night.

Caffeine (The bad side)

Caffeine can become addicting and lead to what Baron terms the “tolerance, dependence and withdrawal effect.” One of the withdrawal effects after discontinuing consistent caffeine intake is a headache (which may even turn into a migraine). Baron added that excessive caffeine consumption may cause the following symptoms:

• Irritability, anxiety, nervousness, agitation and mood changes
• Acid reflux
• Stomach ulcers
• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Insomnia
• Bladder irritation

“Caffeine is also a major contributor to sleep disorders because it disrupts the normal flow of sleep,” Baron said. It may cause you to have trouble either falling asleep or staying asleep. Coffee has been shown to disrupt REM sleep, which is needed for cognitive abilities, such as learning and memory. Lastly, caffeine also stresses your heart and blood vessels, and in extreme cases, Baron said, it can contribute to heart attacks and strokes.

Energy drinks are significantly less healthy than coffee. They contain a lot of sugar, and when consumed in large amounts, may contribute to obesity. They also contain other amines, such as taurine, that produce effects similar to those of caffeine. The combination of the sugar, caffeine and other chemicals cause some people to exhibit adverse symptoms at a quicker rate than if they were to simply just drink coffee.

Alternatives to coffee and energy drinks

• Teas, especially green tea and black tea, are great alternatives to energy drinks and coffee. Not only do teas contain less caffeine, they also have great health benefits, such as antioxidants, as well as chemicals that reduce cancer risks. Tea only contains about 20 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of coffee contains about 100.
• Hot cocoa also contains antioxidants such as gallic acid and flavonoid epicatechin.
• Getting aerobic exercise through activities such as jogging can energize you when you’re feeling a little tired. Even 5 to 10 minutes of vigorous exercise can help you focus.
• Fruits, especially apples and citrus fruits, are excellent sources of natural sugars that give you an energy boost.
• Finally, eating a hearty, complete breakfast is one of the best alternatives to caffeine. Your breakfast should contain proteins and carbohydrates to help fuel you throughout the day.

—Brian Pham

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