You may recognize the title of this column, as it relates to the ’90s horror movie I Know What You Did Last Summer, but my winter break has given me much worse nightmares, and yours has too. All UC schools shortened the break to two weeks, and all of our old friends from state schools are home for a month. So it is our job as Davis students to pack one month of laziness into half of the time. Our family takes away a few of those days for get-togethers, so in truth your days are exponentially more disgraceful than everyone else’s. If you are like me, your main objective is to clean out your parents’ fridge and clean out your Netflix watch list. This break I’ve found a way to help you get the most out of the system. Winter break is over, but this system can be applied to a day off, a weekend at home, spring break and more.

Here’s Phase 1: How to get the most of your parents’ fridge. When you come home, you have to subtly work some foods into the conversation by saying how much you’ve been cooking them at home. You can lie, it’s totally fine. This subtle conversation should transition into light complaining. This complaining angers your parents and they’ll say you can go to the store yourself if you don’t like what they bought, as if it’s a punishment. Here’s the thing — it’s actually a reward. Go to the store; it’s the only time you’ll be outside. You can fill the cart with stuff you could never truly justify buying for yourself in Davis. Make sure you’re really hungry so as to do the most impulsive buying. Get a bunch of chips and salsa for your Netflix, things that only need to be microwaved, and all of the expensive stuff you wanted but couldn’t get. The best part is when you come home, your parents will pay for it and you will have your dream fridge.

With food in the fridge, you’re now fully equipped for Phase 2: cleaning out your Netflix list. Here’s what I’d recommend for you in breaks to come and even in these upcoming weeks where you don’t go to class. There’s a method to getting the most out of your time spent on Netflix. Don’t pick “Lost,” a mistake I learned the hard way. It’s 121 hour-long episodes, and about 119 of them make absolutely no sense at all. You should find a middle ground here, with a few seasons. Hour-longs are ok (“Breaking Bad,” “Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones”).

The best are the half-hour episodes. These are key because they make Netflix binging into something you can feel productive about. Inside, it feels like a big accomplishment when you finish two seasons of a show in one day. It is much easier with these 20- to 30-minute episodes. Yes, it is sickening to think of all of the things you could have done during this time, but that’s not what you think about. You think about how much of a boss you are because you’re persistent. You started a project, and you won’t stop until you’re done. You gave this show such unwavering dedication that it belongs on your resume, at least more so than anything you’ve done at school. This winter break I started “Parks and Recreation,” a show with 112 half-hour episodes split into six seasons. It is the perfect show for feeling accomplished and not stressing your brain at all. Over break I finished about 85 of those episodes and I’m damn proud of it. I fully endorse this show for your next binge-watching project, even if you have seen it already. It is hilarious and stupid and there isn’t a single plot twist for you to worry about. Other shows of this format that I recommend are “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” “Modern Family,” “Entourage” and “The Office.”

For movies, go to the IMDB Top 250 and start working your way down the list. Watch everything Christopher Nolan has ever made because it will take three hours to watch and 100 hours to think about, so it’s a good way to spend time (my personal favorite is No. 51, The Prestige, but also Nos. 4, 13, 16, 41, 56, 108). Watch movies from Martin Scorsese, because he uses equal parts guns, money and crazy people (my personal favorite is No. 46, The Departed, but also Nos. 18, 76, 113, 133, 142, 211). Make sure to hit all of the Quentin Tarantino movies as well, unless of course you don’t like awesomeness and a little (a lot) of blood (my personal favorite is No. 100, Inglourious Basterds, but also Nos. 5, 55, 77, 172). You can use the animated movies such as Up (No. 114) and How to Train your Dragon (No. 152) in between the others to balance out your day. Crossing movies off of this list is another resume-worthy accomplishment so you can tell your parents you are a hard worker in school and out.

These phases are really important in getting the most out of your break, but they aren’t the only ones. Additionally, if you decide not to be lazy you can get free 24 Hour Fitness passes for a week under different names and emails, reconnect with your friend with a hot tub, become a wine connoisseur, write a column for The Aggie and more. Go make your future breaks better by implementing these activities in your life.

The UCD Files is your weekly in-depth look at our campus and the lifestyle that comes with it, featuring an occasional dropping of knowledge from a senior who has experienced it all.

Feel Free to send questions, comments, or anything you would like to see in future articles to ADAM MARX at almarx@ucdavis.edu.

Though our winter break seemed short this year, I don’t think I needed much more time to create a literal nest of blankets and pillows on my sofa at home. Every day I, and I bet most of the readers as well, would wake up and immediately sit down on my favorite cushion for whatever “Mythbusters” marathon or holiday special caught my attention. No matter what, that was my routine, and I would actually put off meeting with old friends in order to lounge for another hour before I showered. Due to my sheer lethargy and the proximity of my couch to the kitchen, I watched a lot of movies.

On New Year’s Day, glued in front of the TV, my mother decided it was best for all of us to watch a marathon of The Godfather (1972). It was the perfect film to watch on a cold winter day after the warmth of the holiday season was put out: lots of blood, easy to walk in and out of, and the feeling of accomplishment after watching hours of what my father calls the best cinematic accomplishment known to man. The holiday decorations were in boxes in the corner of the living room ready to be put away in the attic, and with an old candy cane in each hand, we worked our way back to 1946’s New York City.

Watching a movie with your parents is a daunting task if you think about it too much. Though my parents and I have seen the trilogy enough to remember where the blood splatters, I still feel an obligation to say “Hey! What a bad guy!” as often as possible to prove that I indeed know how to avoid mob crime. When Woltz receives a reminder of the powers of the Corleones in the form of a horse head in Part I, I gasp at the amount of blood and become saddened by an animal’s death in accordance to my mother. When Carlo beats a pregnant Connie and orchestrates Sonny’s death, I remind my parents that I would never marry someone like that. And when Michael brings Roth’s brother to his court proceedings in Part II, I agree with my father that Vito would never have done that; he never wanted this for Michael! We don’t say anything in The Godfather Part III, since it is an unnecessary addition to the flawless first two. I don’t agree with my parents to deceive them; I definitely believe these things about Mafia Dons and their cronies. But living partially on my own at the age of 19, I shouldn’t say anything that might show that I am not ready to be a real adult.

Also, let’s not forget the wonderful walk around the house or checking of email during any hint of a sex scene. Not that common in The Godfather trilogy, but I digress.

How different would my afternoon with Francis Ford Coppola be if I weren’t home for break? I could’ve been anywhere when I decided to watch seven hours of vengeful leading men; at my apartment on a torrenting website, screening it in a movie theater for the 1974 Academy Awards, even by myself on Valentine’s Day if I was feeling openly cynical. It was watching it for the first time years ago, with my parents, that helped me love the movies anyways, so watching it any way else would be a completely different experience. I for sure would spend a lot less time pointing out symbolism and foreshadowing for the fun of it than I would dully be explaining who is who (“All the names sound the same!”).

This is what I want to tackle with this column winter quarter. Movie viewing is completely subjective, depending on how you choose to watch it. It’s time for the different methods of watching a movie to be critically analyzed rather than the movie itself, as the best memories are often not what is on screen, but how it is seen. Because of my New Year’s movie marathon with my family, my experience was rich and fulfilling, not only because I literally sat down for the same amount of time as a workday, but because I spent that time with my family doing something we loved, and therefore I liked the movie so much more. The circumstances in which you watch a movie can be so much more than what is happening on screen, even when a young Robert DeNiro is saying that he’s going to make an offer someone else can’t refuse. After all, “A man (or woman) who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”

EMILIE DEFAZIO can be contacted at endefazio@ucdavis.edu.

Graphic by CA Aggie Graphic Design Team.

As our society continually falls deeper and deeper into ecological debt toward Mother Nature, humans are presented with the daunting task of restoring balance. One trend to help solve this problem that is gaining popularity by engineers and designers is the green roof. Simply put, a green roof is a specially engineered, layered rooftop that supports plant life.

The green roof is an aesthetically pleasing implementation of natural materials within the built environment. The concept of green roofs can be dated back to ancient times. The types of green roofs these people used were basically caves or shelters buried beneath land that supported plant life. The main benefits of these roofs were for protection from the elements, and increased cooling and heating capacities. This basic concept wasn’t applied to modern green roof practices until the 1970s by German scientists. The motivation of these roofs came about via the necessity for roof irrigation during the increase in roof garden popularity. Naturally, the garden roofs were transformed into the modern form of the green roof.

The burning question here is why we are not implementing this science. Although the green roof is gaining popularity, less than 1 percent of North American roofs actually exploit the substantial benefits. This number is embarrassing, especially when compared to Germans. Over 20 percent of all German roofs are “green.” The German government has even implemented taxes for certain cities that don’t have these roofs.

In addition to the introduction of natural beauty, a green roof has extremely positive environmental and ecological benefits:

One huge benefit of the green roof is that it literally has the potential to cool down cities. In larger cities, building density is very high and parks/open space limited. Due to the material nature of concrete the buildings absorb heat. Typically, large cities are approximately 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the surrounding areas. With a green roof implementation, the big city heat increase is strongly combatted.

Another huge benefit generated by the green roof is the notion of clean rainwater. Traditional roofs contaminate rainwater due to the water coming in contact with metal piping, dirt, cement, etc. This dirty water is harmfully released into the environment. A green roof however, has a fully designed layering system that filters rainwater while subsequently feeding the plants on the surface. The core notions of sustainability are presented here: A man-made building that acts as a natural filtration system, where we are doing the work of nature with no negative effects.

Additionally, green roofs are a perfect medium for allowing wildlife to be naturally integrated within the built environment. Traditional roofs are a barren deathtrap with respect to wildlife habitats; the green roof, however, is the exact opposite. The concept of wildlife attraction is coupled with the fact that green roofs improve air quality. Also, internal heating and cooling during the winter and summer months, respectively, are extremely reduced due to the insulation provided by the green roof.

The benefits of the green roof are extremely obvious and fundamentally necessary for our planet’s health. The advantageous environmental results are stunning. The worldwide implementations of green roofs are essential to the continued survival of the planet.

Green roofs are not the ultimate solution to the energy crisis, but they do act as a stepping stone in the right direction for complete sustainability. Buildings now have the potential to provide the environment with net positive impact. That’s right, structures that actually act as nature would anyways. Buildings will not be “less bad,” but actually be a positive contributor to environmental and ecological systems as a whole.

BRENT LUND can be contacted at brlund@ucdavis.edu.