5 Minutes

Stopwatch set- five minutes....GO!!!

tired. stressed. Friday. sleep. read. bike. chocolate. brush teeth. commercial. grrr. lady downstairs is weird. dogs barking. Oliver. mom. home. fresh cut grass. brother. bad. terrible. dinner. Tei an. sashimi. soba noodles. wine. Penfold's. New Zealand. boating. sun. sunburn. banana boat. Jamaica. smoking. cancer. India. travel. plane trip. long. worn-out. physical. emotionally strong. nervous. internship. future plans. dress. shopping. care. car fixed. gas. reading about human trafficking. human rights. Rwanda. summer plans. questionable. safety. security. George Bush. meet on Monday. hooray. my "idol" is jealous. laugh. smile. lost the tv show. missed. taken. that poor girl. hahaha. grades. questionable. twenty seconds and this is hard. why. wondering. Taos. painting. photography. print photos 5:07:59...done!!


How's that for a creative exercise? Well, it actually was a little challenging, but a good refresher!

The Jesus Painter

I grew up going to church three times a week and was super involved in the youth group throughout middle school and for the majority of high school. I've always been shy and reserved about my faith and often found myself having different ideas about what it meant to be religious, faithful, and spiritual. i would go to youth camps, retreats, and on mission trips. As youth ministers would say: "I was on fire for God." Although today I am not exactly where I was when I was strong in my Christianity and have taken a few different paths than I would have thought, I still look back and remember how it was....to just sing out loud, read the bible, etc. Not that I miss anything, but I do feel that when people are spiritual and religious, their attitudes, minds, and demeanor is completely different. I know a lot of people believe that religion blocks creativity and exploration, but I do think that in some ways, if done in the right environment, it can foster creativity. When I was in 7th grade we went to Texarkana on a weekend retreat. On Saturday night as everyone came together and sang we sat and watched Mike Lewis, "The Jesus Painter." I remember sitting in my pew thinking how powerful it was. I think that the majority of times the greatness in creativity stems from the powerful emotional feeling that it creates. I think that the video is a wonderful thing to watch even for some one who does not beleieve in the Christian Jesus- just mute the video if needed.

Bike Riding

I have always loved riding my bike. Ever since I was a little girl I could ride around all day. I was the kid in middle school who rode her bike to and from school when the cool thing to do was ride the bus, and yes I was even that girl who rode her bike in high school! Something about the whole experience just makes me happy and full of life. Not only is it exercise, but to feel the wind in your hair and enjoy the sights around, aw.... just pure bliss! Now don't get me wrong, I am definitely no Lance Armstrong or triathlete, but I do love a good bike ride. So, that's exactly what I did....I put a brand new seat on the bike, strapped on my helmet, and rode. I live somewhat near white rock lake, so I headed in that direction. I biked the lake and returned home. Of course I was worn out, but oh boy I had a great time. I was totally alone, the weather was AWESOME, and I got to listen to some of my favorite tunes on my Ipod! What heaven! I wish I could do it more often. I would definitely live in a place where riding my bike was my only way of transportation or a more visible option. I truly do think that riding my bike not only brings out my inner-child screaming to escape, but it totally add to my "cool factor." :-)

Yoga

Recently I got a membership to a yoga studio here in Dallas. I absolutely love it! It is a way for me to spend 60 or 90 minutes totally alone and in my own little world- of course I'm not totally alone, but having people around me that I don't know or don't care to get to know, but all the same sweating right along with me, is not only an encouragement, but a motivator as well. I enjoy the 90 minute fire class the most. For 90 minutes I sweat, stretch, and feel the burn while I can push away all my stresses and concerns. It is a way for me to escape the real world. I leave my mind at the door and push all my obligations out for the time being. After doing yoga for about a month now, I can see a total difference in the way that I feel on a day to day basis and how my body responds to the world around me. I am learning how to respect and appreciate my body more and more. I look forward to the days when I have time to go to yoga class. I think that everyone should find an activity like yoga- I really feel people in general would not only be healthier, but happier! Check out the video and see if its for you....

Tough Call

So when do we decide at what point someone can't endorse a product because of their actions? Everyone does "bad" things, but isn't there a point in which we have to realize we are acting silly? I'm not trying to justify Phelps smoking pot in anyway and think he made a very poor decision by "getting caught," but aren't there millions of people out there who do a lot worse stuff? And don't hand fulls of celebrities that we allow to act on shows we love and sing to sold out concerts partake in much worse activities? Where do we draw the line?

What is real beauty?

I think that this commercial is GREAT! Too many times we all get caught up in having the best looking physical features and forget to examine what it truly "real beauty." It is really refreshing for Dove to put out something of this nature. It is funny/ironic how the majority of the time we see the most beautiful things and desire to have or be like them, but in reality it is nothing more than fake computer images.

YAY!!!

So, I always get inspired by things like this and think: Why can't I do something like this? I don't mean just the trying to win the contest that Sierra is doing, but the actual production of the video, the things she does in the video, etc. etc.. She did all of it by herself. Her whole campaign really has inspired me to truly find what I love in life and pursue it! I know that it won't come to me overnight, but I'm here and waiting. It may take a little bit of searching on my part, but just being inspired has helped me realize that I can do crazy, outrageous, and exciting things like become a STA intern if I wanted. Thanks Sierra and good luck!!!

Now this is what I call intense!!!

Horizontal- Nike constantly uses clips and videos from sporting events to produce ads that inspire. This advertisement is simply a bunch of clips that could have been used in any one of Nike's previous ads. Connections to other Nike (or even Reebok) commercials can be made. Nike has used famous athletes, such as Michael Jordan to create other ad spots- he is also featured in this ad with his father after he the Bulls won in 1991.

Vertical- Within the clips shown in the ad, there are many of popular culture events, such as the first man on the moon, riots, championship events, and various other real life events. Without prior knowledge of the event the commercial would not have as great of an impact. There are many events that I did not recognize, but because there were some that I did I am able to connect with the commercial. The ad moves through many genres, but concentrates predominantly on sports.

Tertiary- There are many public messages that Nike is sending throughout this ad. It sends a strong overall mesaage about war/peace/and soldiers fighting. Furthermore, it evaluates popular events in history that made people stop, stare, and admire someone for something. It evaluates not only what it means to be American, but to be a world citizen as well.

ORGANS

While this may be a comical look at organ harvesting and transplantation, it is a real life problem. Who gets to decide why we can't buy or sale organs if we really need to? Who gets to decide when it becomes a human rights violation? In a class this past week, a guest speaker spoke on this very topic. It was a very interesting discussion as to how people in poor parts of the world are willing to sell off there organs in order to make a few dollars. his case study focused on a man from Bangladesh who had sold a kidney on the black-market in order to buy himself a cell phone. The repercussions of the surgery were very severe for him personally. He saw the physical body and spirit as a whole so once his kidney was removed he felt empty and violated. But wasn't the decision totally his? Yes. So what shall we do? Allow organs to be sold legally so it doesn't happen on the black-market where conditions are unsanitary and no counseling can be provided by the health care system?

Julian Beever Artwork

I am usually not big into chain letters, but when my grandmother sent me one containing the street artwork of Julian Beever I was highly impressed. I am always a sucker for cool, out of the ordinary things in not so ordinary places. Not only has Julian used his talent to create really COOL artwork, he sends messages rather they be humanitarian or adverting. With the use of some ordinary chalk he has done something very extraordinary! The pictures almost look as if they were computer generated. The 3-D effect that they have make them "stand-out" on the busy streets. I always wanted to draw and create organized, well-drawn pieces of artwork, but never could. I do think of myself as a rather creative and crafty person, but this? No way would I ever be able to be as presice and detailed as Julian. Through artwork I think a lot can be said about a person as a whole. I have never meet him, but I can only image what kind of personaltiy he has. I would love to go see it in person!....Check out some of his amazing stuff below!







(Side view of globe)

How Far?

"I refuse to accept the idea that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality...I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullet, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of man."
-Martin Luther King

So really how far have we actually come? I look around everyday and still see racism rooted deep in every activity of life. I feel pressures from others of different colors, people still get preferential treatment because of the color of their skin, and rappers are making songs like "My President is Black" when in reality that should not be his one defining characteristic (not to mention he is only half black!). Martin Luther King was quoted saying the above quotation many years ago, yet little had changed. On the surface I think people would like to believe that things have changed, but in reality many things are exactly the same if not worse. The other day at work while engaging in a conversation I referred to someone who use to work with me as "the short black gentlemen" because at the moment I could not recall his name. Another employee happened to walk by at the exact moment that the words came out of my mouth and reacted in what I thought to be a very improper manner. He threw his hands in the air, shrugged and said, "Hey African-America okay. Can't we ever get a break?" Well, I'm sorry I thought I was living in 2009 where not every black person in America is from Africa (guess he has never meet a black Jamaican or black Haitian?) and not everyone from Africa is black (and I assume then he has never meet a white South African or non-black Egyptian?). To his comment I replied, "Oh, ok- well then it's not 'oh that white girl then,' 'caucasion' ok." He apparently thought I was joking and walked away. And in reality I don't care what I'm called. If we are going to pick needles out of haystakes here then I'm Irish-German American, but when have I ever been to those places or when did I ever meet my relatives from there? NEVER, so I'm white, much like he is black- I seriously doubt he could trace his heritage back more than 2 generations! So instead of pointing fingers and bitching about symantics shouldn't we focus on bigger issues at hand such as children getting raped by there own relatives, while other children starve because they have a cracked out mother? Let's stop teaching everyone to hate and ingrain things that really count into our brains!

Who says one person can't make a difference?

Sure we are not the president of the United States, but each individual can do something that on a large scale will make a difference. So find your cause and act on it. Someone will see it. Someone will act because of you. Someone will find you inspirational. You will have an impact. Watch this video for a little inspiration!

Finding your inner creativity....

The best way to find your inner creativity is to get out of your comfort zone. To put yourself in a place you least expect it. To go somewhere you never dreamed possible. To view new cultures. To travel to far lands. Eat new foods. Take a walk down a street where you are the only person that resembles yourself. I had this exact opportunity over the past summer when I traveled to India. While there I got to explore a culture completely foreign to myself. Ride camels and elephants. Eat food with my hands. Walk through slums. Explore ancient palaces and tombs. While in India I was able to use my camera to capture the moments I will never forget and images that are ingrained in my inner person. I enjoyed looking at things from a new angle, not only with my own eyes, but through the camera lens as well.