Every time this song plays on my ipod I get suuuuper pumped. Brother and sister duo, Elliot and Natalie Bergman who make up the indie-rock band Wild Belle are full of musical talent. With Natalie's gorgeous voice, reggae vibes and a heavy jazz influence in "Keep You" I can't help but start it over and over again before I finally let my ipod move on to another song.
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2. Lady Gaga - Applause
Lady Gaga's newest hit reminds me of why I fell in love with Gaga's music in the first place. She may be quirky, controversial, and just downright odd sometimes but the lady is talented. She has such a unique perception on art and it definitely shows in her videos. And this song really does make me want to get up and dance and "put my hands up and make them touch."
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3. Early Morning Rebel - Life Boat
Early Morning Rebel has easily become one of my new favorite bands. I'm especially obsessed with Life Boat and how the song strongly expresses that exhausting feeling of trying to "save."
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4. Anberlin - Impossible
I already love Anberlin like crazy, but this song takes the cake. Straight forward and real, the lyrics lay down the challenges of a relationship gone wrong. "Not so easy to forgive, harder to forget." Good shit. And to top it off, the video's pretty rad as well.
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5. Foster the People - I Would Do Anything For You
I could listen to this song on repeat all day long. With no exception to the rest of their music, "I Would Do Anything For You" is upbeat and catchy, yet so easy going at the same time.
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So that's what has been playing on my ipod regularly this past week! What's been your recent top five favorite songs?
It's been a busy summer. Last night while playing out in the backyard with the kiddo and the dog, I finally decided to pick up my camera and snap a couple shots. Just wanted to share this picture of our pretty little Sunshine, the world's sweetest dog. :)
After seeing posts on Facebook all week about the Kony 2012 campaign, I was finally able to sit down today and watch the nearly 30 minute documentary created by the Invisible Children. I've had strong feelings on related issues for quite some time now and have been eager to put out a few of my own words, yet felt that I hadn't yet learned enough about this new widespread movement to put in my two cents. After watching the documentary and reading further into additonal articles both criticing and encouraging the campaign, as well as articles concerning Uganda, the LRA, RUF, Sierra Leonne (one article led to another, but lets not stray too far from the topic) I finally feel that I've become well enough informed to voice my opinion on the subject.
I'm going to start by saying that it baffles me that so many people act as if this turmoil on African soil is brand new big news! Come on guys! This sort of stuff has been going on for decades! And the Invisible Children's video isn't the first bit of media to touch on the subject! There were major motion pictures made (Blood Diamond staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Hotel Rwanda starring Don Cheadle) that showed extremely real portrayals of extremely recent related issues in Africa. I've read numerous books about people my own age, who, while I was building forts in my backyard, were being recruited for wars in Africa, not only by rebel armies like the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) or RUF (Revolutionary United Front) but also by the NRA (National Resistance Army - also know as the Ugandan Army that the Invisible Children's video talks about). A few years ago I actually spent a whole semester studying the subject of the wars in Sierra Leonne which greatly resemble the wars that the video talks about in Uganda. This is not new people, it's been going on for a long time, yet sadly without much attention being paid to it. However, the fact that this has been going on for so long without much recognition does lead me to commend someone for finally doing something to draw attention the the issue!
Thank you Invisible Children for opening the world's eyes and sparking a desire to help others who are greatly in need! I'm going to be honest, during the documentary I cried. Watching Jacob talk about his brother and not wanting to live broke my heart. Knowing that thousands of children in Africa probably feel the exact same way really broke my heart. I agree, as I'm sure would any other person that this brutality needs to be stopped. Kony should pay for the terrible things he's done to children, women, men and entire families in Africa. But sadly, stopping Kony does not stop the armies that support him. Kony is not the first and he will not be the last. Does that mean we give up? Not by any means. But my view on this may be very different from the next person's. My faith in this campaign may not be as high as many others, my choice whether or not to financially support this specific charity may differ from many other's choices. I personally believe it comes down to the issue of wanting to help others who are hurting and struggling, and I think that if this campaign sparks that desire in millions of people, it's amazing. But I personally feel that people need to
research more! We are a talented, intelligent and strong generation!! Don't be ignorant... watch more than one video, read more than one article or more than one book and EDUCATE yourselves on what is going on in this world! Millions of people are hurting and there are a million organizations out there that truly do want to help. I'm not here to push my opinion on you, who and what you decide to support is ultimately up to you, but don't think that just because everyone else is doing it, it's the right thing to do. Find out exactly where your money is going and if it's worth it to you! Maybe Invisible Children is the right choice for you, maybe a different charity is instead, that choice is each our own! Most of us can't go to Africa and save these children from being recruited into war and being drugged, tortured, raped or murdered. But every single one of us can look at our own community and help out the children, women and men around us who are also in need. We can dig deeper and look at the clothes, jewelry, toys, and food we buy and see exactly what it is supporting (maybe one of these days I'll find the time to touch on my very extensive views on the diamond industry). I'm not here to condemn Invisible Children's video, campaign or efforts. If it's something that's causing people to open their eyes, I think that's incredible. I am however encouraging all of you to research a lot more, educate yourselves a lot more on what you are supporting!
Here's a few articles that explore a little deeper and I suggest you checking them all out...
Also check out these books (These are a few that I have read and found extremely insightful on factual and personal levels):
-A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
-The House on Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
-Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Path of the World's Most Deadly Stone by Greg Campbell
And in case you haven't yet seen the video by Invisible Children...
Not too long ago, one of the extremely talented stylists I work with at Salon Chocolat, Sarah Zeron, and I entered the Great Lengths Hair Extension Challenge. It took Sarah an entire day to transform my hair from a shoulder length bob to a long sleek style. After every hair was in place (literally), we photographed with our photographer and coworker, Ashley Millim. While we didn't end up being picked as a finalist in the challenge, we were still happy with the results of the make over and photo shoot for each of our portfolios and I got lucky enough to get a whole new do! :)
Hair by Sarah Zeron
Make up by Sarah Zeron and myself
Photography by Ashley Millim
Photo Post Processing by Ashley Millim and myself
This post is a little overdue seeing as how this event happened back in October. However, I came across these photos and still wanted to share. I feel very blessed to work at one of Carson City's most beautiful salons, Salon Chocolat! Not only do I get to work in such a lovely place, but I get to work with absolutely amazing people. Back in October we had our first fundraiser to help support local breast cancer patients. Here are a few of those photos from that even. Enjoy!
The owners of Salon Chocolat: Jamie and A.J. Croce
A few of our guests
Sarah, Jamie and Myself...
Ashley, Aimee, and Sarah
Sarah, (Myself), and Ashley
A few of Salon Chocolat's stylist styling our guests...
A group of ladies who received mini styles from our hair stylists and guest Mary Kay makeup artists
Had a little "mystical" themed hair and make up competition in beauty school today. We had so much fun with the outcome that we of course had to capture it in some photographs. :)
After dinner with my dad the other night, I tried to talk my lovely little girl into letting me take a few pictures of her. She loves to pose for the camera but is usually so all over the place that I can hardly get a shot in before she's jumping around and playing. Still, we had fun and here are a few of the shots we took. :)
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