Abby had one of her videos as her status for a few days, so I’m passing it along. I don’t think it’s something I would normally listen to, but I really liked it!
For those too lazy to follow the link, here are some songs:
I should mention there are plenty of comments about the lead singer and her looks. My thoughts: she’s got a cool voice, and although some videos might be a little too weird for my taste, I think she looks pretty cool!
I found out about The List Project (TLP) a couple years ago while working on a research paper about immigration issues involving Iraqi citizens. My paper discussed how there were Iraqi citizens who were putting their lives on the line in order to work for the US (as translators, etc.), and who later sought asylum because their lives were being threatened by their relationship with the US.
TLP was created to address this issue, and to create a support network for those Iraqi’s who make it to the United States: to help them adjust, find a job, etc. I’m actually embarrassed to admit I have not been as involved with this organization as I would like. I hope that sometime in the near future I’ll be able to actually put some real work towards this organization. In the meantime, I hope you guys will check out their website. They need your help, not just financially, but your time, your connections, your expertise, etc. Check ‘em out!
I still can’t believe I’m going to Haiti. I’m going to be there in less than two weeks, and it still feels surreal. I think that might also be because of the fact that work has been keeping my mind pretty busy so I haven’t had time to think about it…or to get all my stuff together!
I did get my malaria pills (thank you Linda!), which only cost me/donors $205. I know, right? Insane! But at least I won’t get malaria, so that’s good. I have to start taking them a couple days before I leave, while I’m there, and for a whole week after I get back. That won’t be annoying :)
My mom also took me shopping on Sunday so we could scratch some things off my list. I got a windbreaker for $20 instead of like $60, since it’s going to be raining like crazy over there (although it’ll be hot, so who knows if I’ll actually need it). She also bought me some comfy pants to wear around our campsite. I also went and bought a locker combination lock so I can keep all my things nice and safe. It’s purple and A-MAZING. I hope I can find a good use for it after I come back.
Some stuff I still need to take care of:
Masks/Work Gloves/Hat (Home Depot, here I come!)
Trail/Work Boots (I’m still torn on this…should I just take tennis shoes, or do I need to actually invest in some crazy work boots I’m never going to wear again? Thoughts or suggestions?)
Water bottle (I want to find one that holds quite a bit of water, but doesn’t cost me $20)
Personal first aid kit
Sunscreen (duh, I need it on a daily basis)
Highly recommended:
Headlamp (I just have to find it in our garage)
umbrella/poncho (umbrella check…poncho…?)
earplugs (maybe Courtney can give me hers…)
Other than that…I just need to go through my clothes and toiletries and stuff it into the backpack that Robin is graciously letting me borrow, again. I used the same backpack when I went to South America, and I think also for my trip to Mexico. Although I like the idea of having one of my own, I feel like I would be cheating on Robin’s backpack. So I’ll stick with hers for now :)
Oh, and I get another vaccine next Friday, can’t wait!
And I’m back! Time for another Jeff’s corner! Hard to contain the excitement I know.
This time I will be talking about music. And more specifically how amazing the new Menudo album is! And you thought the comeback tour would never happen!! See you in TJ bitches! Ok well I can dream. But alas this will be about music. Or what has happened to the quality of music. I will be the first to admit that I, on occasion, watch American Idol. And I find myself saying things like: “wow she was really good,” or “that was a great performance,” or “she has a really great voice,” all of which is true, but it’s always said with an obvious asterisk after. That being, that it’s good “for what it is.” It’s good for a reality TV show. The voice is good, the song is good, the singer has a unique style and sad life story so I can feel like they deserve their shot at the big time. But it just doesn’t have the “thing.” That thing that makes me want to EVER hear it again. It’s just a little too clean and tidy. There’s no soul. And then they get to record an album and there’s even less soul. With all the pitch perfect and auto tuning it sounds great. But it ends up sounding like everything else. And people love it!
Why is that? How can so many people be excited and talk about something that’s so, well, mediocre? What has happened to our standards of music? Not saying that American Idol is the end all of music. But it is the main stream. And beyond that it doesn’t get much better. Lady Gaga. I get it. It’s poppy, catchy, and sometimes she wears a wacky hat. Great. But I can pretty much guarantee that not even a super fan of hers will be telling their kids “ you want to hear real music, listen to ‘poker face,’ thats talent!” I feel like musicians are more like commercials of themselves rather than talented artists. It’s no longer about being talented. Its about being just talented enough to be marketable. You’ve got a great voice, but can you sell a smart car to a nine year old? And speaking of nine year olds, The F@*%ING Jonas Brothers playing live with Stevie Wonder. Are you kidding me!? I understand they sell millions of records to twelve year old girls, but that was the biggest tragedy in music history. Worse than Hendrix dying, the Beatles breaking up, and Mylie Cyrus becoming more than a sheet stain combined. Stevie Wonder’s manager should be sent to Guantanamo for setting up that musical terrorist attack. You just don’t pair up a living legend with a couple kids that spend more time spritzing their mini fros than they do learning the lyrics to the amazingly famous song they are about to perform. And I refuse to post the video of it here. If you’re a glutton for punishment youtube it yourself. Sorry in advance.
I just don’t see pop music today standing the test of time. We won’t be listening to K-Earth in 50 years and Justin Bieber will come on. It’s just not gonna happen. There is a reason Rolling Stones are still touring and kids are newly getting into bands like Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd. And why I’m into music that was made 30 years before I was born. It was music made to be music. Not to be rich and famous, or the next Sony spokesperson. Just talented people making great music. Playing real instruments and actually singing at live shows. And if you weren’t good you didn’t go anywhere. End of story. You suck, move on, and get a day job. Now it’s, you suck, but you’ve got the look and you can dance so we can mold you into a pop star! These “artists” shouldn’t get gold records and grammys. They should get employee of the month plaques from their sponsors.
Well I could rant for days about this but I’ll just add this little bit. Feel free to enjoy all the crap music you want. I know I do. I actually DIDN”T change the station when that Kesha song came on the other day. “Wake up in the morning feelin like P Diddy” what does that even mean? Wake up feeling like a rich black guy? Any-who. My suggestion to maybe weed out the weak of the music industry, is to use the technology of today. PIRATE all the crap songs you want guilt free! Why should we pay for mediocrity? And purchase only the quality music you really want to own. Clearchannel keeps all the really trash music on a constant loop anyways. And for qualities sake, if you have a friend that sings, but they aren’t that good and have high hopes of being the next American Idol: It’s your job to tell them they suck! They should never be on national TV acting surprised when the rest of the world is laughing at them. Imagine if these people put that much energy into something they were actually good at! So I’ll leave you with some music that in terms of quality, soul and talent is the polar opposite of pop music today. Enjoy and thanks Alex for letting me banter for a bit!
You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound good. 1:20 into the song. come on thats singing.
Editor’s note/legal disclaimer: the owner of this site does not endorse pirating music ;) (love, Alex)
I went to church today, Easter Sunday, and expected to hear a pretty standard sermon on the resurrection of Jesus. I was pretty surprised by the angle the priest took, however.
I have never heard the words “kill” and “murder” used so many times in one speech. I was cringing at first, thinking this was way too intense for an Easter Sunday. I was looking uncomfortably at parents who had young children with them, wondering if they were going to walk out. It turned out to be a pretty interesting sermon though. The priest quoted from Nietzsche’s Mad Man parable and a few other philosophers, recounting the exact moment when God had been killed for each of these men (like receiving their first Holy Communion, and looking at the sour and unhappy faces of the people around him in Church–people who were there because they HAD to be, not because they wanted to be there). He went on to talk about how people kill God everyday, and not necessarily when you do something outlandish or crazy. He recounted how there was a gay man who told the priest how the Catholic church had been his greatest source of refuge years ago, but through the institution of the church and the people within the church, their constant criticism basically, God had been killed for him, and he couldn’t go back. He talked about the actions of priests within the Catholic church who have killed God for so many people: they no longer have faith in the church, or in God. He talked about the rules of the church, and how some of these have killed God for people.
I understood what he was saying, and I was honestly surprised to hear a Catholic priest addressing these issues before his congregation. I’ve been a Catholic my whole life, and intend on being one for the rest of my life. But I understand people that have issues with it. I understand how there are things/issues/beliefs/actions of the church, of the institution itself, that turns people away from church, instead of towards it.
It was a slightly depressing sermon, although he did bring it around, emphasizing that we each have the power to bring God back to life to those people around us, possibly by our most minor of actions.
“You can kill God, but you can’t kill Him forever.”
What killed God for you? Who killed God for you? What can bring Him back to life for you?
So we’re coming up on 3 months since the massive earthquake hit Haiti, which means we’re not hearing too much about it in the media anymore (we all know the media has the attention span of of a two year old). One piece of news I think is worth mentioning is the International Donor’s Conference that took place this week at the UN Headquarters in New York. During this conference, countries from around the world pledged to provide Haiti with over $5.3 billion dollars in aid over the next 18 months.
A few things that make this Conference unique is the goal of rebuilding a country from the foundation up: not just the infrastructure, but the government. Haiti has long been a poor nation, plagued by crime, corruption, and an ineffective government. The proposed Action Plan includes areas for economic rebuilding, social rebuilding, and institutional rebuilding (among others).
A NY Times Editorial emphasized the need these organizations recognize to include Haiti and it’s government in these reconstructions efforts. The bodies involved in the reconstruction of Haiti are trying to learn from lessons of the past: you cannot try to improve a country without involving the government that will eventually have to take over control and leadership: they must be included from the beginning.
So Jeff found this website that basically puts whatever you want on your iPhone cover. I’m sure for many of you this may not be a novel idea, but we thought it was pretty cool. Anyhow, here is what it looks like to have Jeff’s art on your iPhone:
I had a client in my office today to sign his bankruptcy petition, and his cell phone rang. I was in the process of explaining some paperwork, while I was also holding their baby so they could both sign instead of switching the baby back and forth (talk about multi-tasking!), but I had no issue with him answering his phone.
What was interesting was the short conversation he had:
“Hey, I’m with my lawyer right now, let me call you back.”
I’m someone’s lawyer. CRAZINESS I TELL YOU! I still can’t believe it.
Thank you so much to everyone for their donations: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! You all actually raised about $1,400, way over what I anticipate needing for my trip :) All leftovers will be donated towards re-building one of the schools in the area that I will be working. I will post any updates on that as soon as I get it.
Also, I got my new passport, and I got my old one back with all my stamps in it (phew).
I have another set of vaccines on the 8th of this month, and I have to beg the doctor to see me before I leave so I can get a prescription for Malaria pills. I really, really hope I can get my hands on those. I don’t want malaria.
So what’s next, you ask? Well, Abby and I have to coordinate with the project to make sure we have a shuttle waiting for us, and most importantly: I have to start working on my packing list and making sure I get all the things I need to take.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the project through pictures that various people have posted. If you’re curious to know what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be staying, check these out.
Here’s something you may not hear very often: I had the BEST blood donation last Friday! I really did. Thanks to Brooke and Robin’s suggestion, I went to CHOC instead of our usual donation place, and I can’t believe how much better of an experience it was (I had to donate before getting my vaccines done today, since you can’t donate once you get them). For one: they have you hold a bag of hot water before they prick your finger, which makes it easier to test your iron level (especially for people like me who have freezing cold hands and who usually take quite a while for them to get enough of a sample). Second: they actually give you some sort of liquid anesthesia on your arm so you don’t feel even the slightest prick! See, the whole process of donating doesn’t bother me, the only thing I can’t deal with is watching the needle go in, so at that point I have to look away. Which was great in this instance, because once I turned to look, there were definitely some spillage issues. But since I didn’t feel anything: no harm, no foul! Plus, all the people that worked there were super nice and attentive. It’s sad I found them just as I’m leaving to Haiti, which means I won’t be able to donate for a year after I get back!
AND, they have PURPLE gauze!!
And today I got to go in for some more fun and get my vaccines started! There was one vaccine where I had the option of getting an injection or taking the pill form. “The only differences are that the injection is faster, and the oral way takes longer and may cause nausea and diarrhea.” Uhhhhhh…..injection please. Then I started doing what I do when I get nervous about things like this: I start talking to the nurse so I can get my mind off of what is actually going on, plus it’s nice to learn about other people. CHOC intake lady for example: we talked for a good five minutes about plants. Plus, it seemed like the nurse was still getting things together, so I thought I’d start chatting her up (heck, I talked about American Idol, Lost, Ellen, and more with the CHOC ladies!). So there I was, mid-sentence…”my friend and I…” I mean, I literally had gotten four or five words out. And then I felt the first one…and the second…then I laughed a little at how much the second one hurt. And before I could realize this wasn’t someone I could chat with: “Turn around.” And there went the third one into my right shoulder. I definitely found all of this funny, because the second she left the office to get my paperwork I had to stop my self from laughing out loud, but preferring to laugh than to cry. My shoulders are definitely feeling sore. I can’t wait to go back for the second set.
As for fundraising, the donations keep trickling in!! A couple things I wanted to clarify: all the donations, up to the point of my goal, are going to cover my personal expenses to get to Haiti: flight, shuttle, vaccinations. HODR wants to make sure donors know where their money is going, and that this specific quantity is not going directly to the organization, but to sponsor my trip out there. However, any amount of money raised above my expenses will be donated directly to HODR to their efforts to start rebuilding schools.
Thank you again to everyone for their support, and please help me reach and surpass my goal by sending links of my sponsorship request to friends and family. THANK YOU.
Finca Cielo Azul 