Last night was a first for me: I texted in a vote to a reality TV show.
I absolutely love watching people dance, and America’s Best Dance Crew has become my new reality show of choice. The group I’m pulling for, without a doubt, it Boston’s own Status Quo. Reasons why? Well…
They all remind me of my little cousin – who somehow managed to keep hope in his eyes at all times
They’re from Boston – close to where I live in fact
They aren’t your typical music video dance group. Many of the other groups on the show, or on any T.V. show for that matter, are so “college dance team” corny it’s crazy. The truth is that the mainstream does not embrace urban street performing styles – you only ever see its brilliance outside of well-trafficked city monuments and subway stops. I think the mainstream just doesn’t understand the style at all… kinda like jazz at its beginnings. Which might be a reason why America keeps voting Status Quo into the bottom half of the teams—and every time this happens, when every member of the team’s faces fall, I cry a little inside.
So that’s why I had to cast my vote. And I encourage all you Bostonians—you who have cheered on the B-boys outside of Faneuil Hall or the bucket drummer outside of the Banknorth Garden—to do the same!
The show is on MTV at 10 p.m. on Thursdays. I’ll be texting in my vote for Status Quo again next week. Unabashedly.
Yesterday, in honor of Black History Month, Jezebel posted this great piece showcasing retro Black hairstyle photos submitted by their readers. Clicking through these pictures of little girls adorned with barrettes and beads galore really brought me back to the days of 15-hour blowdrying and hair-braiding sessions. Oh, how I dreaded those Saturdays. My mom and I would watch Baywatch or I’d play rented Nintendo games as she systematically parted, blow-dryed, hot-combed and rebraided my frighteningly think hair. In fact, the whole ordeal was so remarkably unforgettable that I recounted it in one of my college application essays.
Judging from these photos, it looks like my hair story is not unique. Also looks like a lot of moms, just like mine, spent countless hours making their babies look beautiful. So it all worked out in the end.
Can you guess which photo is mine? The hint’s in the title of this post.
The latest fad in unoriginal ad campaigns is the “story” idea: everyone
from celebs to normal, hardworkin’ folks like you and me boring us with
tidbits from their humdrum lives. Gee, Martin Scorsese wears silk
socks! Wow, Barb from Duluth collects crystal hummingbirds! Perhaps
AAPR (shameful jumbling of letters for reasons I won’t get into) should
approach recently retired Fidel Castro and go down this road.
I’m a copywriter at an ad agency here in Boston. For me, it’s always great when my words come together with kick-ass art direction to create a memorable piece of work. But it’s always hard to develop something that’s totally unique and badass, something that says everything I want it to. There are just many hurdles and loops and reviews to jump through. I’m sure this is the case with any job, really, when you’re working for a large company. I’m not bitter or anything—it’s totally understandable.
But it’s why blogging is so great. Because when it comes right down to it, bloggers can pretty much get away with anything they want. I read so many blogs, and what I love most is when a post title brings out something crazy in the paired image, or vise versa. It’s the marriage of copywriting and art direction at its raw and unadulterated best.
Here are a few examples that have had me cracking up for days.
From Jezebelabout a month ago. She just seems so proud of her footwork.
From HuffPo about a week ago. Down with hot coals!
I had the pleasure of screening the documentary Beyond Belief last Saturday night at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Director Beth Murphy followed the lives of two Bostonian women, Susan and Patti, whose husbands were victims of the September 11th attacks. Both widowed women had young children—and babies on the way.
Yet despite the obvious despair of it all, Susan and Patti decided to use their grief for good. They channeled their commonalities—mother, widower, survivor—to create Beyond the 11th, an charitable foundation focused on raising money for other widows. What makes this initiative so fundamentally different, and, in turn, so inspirational? Beyond the 11th supports widows from Afghanistan, the
training ground of Susan and Patti’s husbands’ murderers.
I’ve been thinking a lot about shared experiences lately. Now more than ever, it seems that people are sick of defining themselves by their differences. Because really, focusing on differences and pain points without taking time to recognize similarities breeds frustration. And anger. And then there you are, carrying around a big cloud of steam that’s constantly burning through your body and erupting through your words—or your fists, or your trigger finger.
Susan and Patti’s story has made me sit back and question what similarities I might share with people who are defined as my “enemy” (whatever that means…). Here are a few things I know about myself:
I love those hot summer days when clouds suddenly fill the sky and burst all over the ground for ten minutes, then give way to a crystal blue sky.
I’m horrified and overwhelmingly disturbed by the details of pregnancy (um, particularly the delivery part), and the only thing that gives me a brief moment of comfort is the thought of kissing my baby’s soft little pudgy feet.
Whenever I think about my parents getting older, even if it's only for 30 seconds, my eyes well up and my heard skips beats.
I can watch an entire movie just by listening to the soundtrack.
Sure, these are just little tidbits, but I wonder if I share them with, say, a woman from Rio? A white man from Georgia? A young professional from Tokyo? Or even a co-worker, from the next cube over?
If Susan and Patti, two women who endured such heavy blows, could flip the conversation into one focused on shared experience and common purpose, I’m confident that we can do the same here in the U.S. Or anywhere. Personally, I’m sick of being boxed in. Of not smiling at someone on the street because I assume they’re judging me. Of hearing about all the things that make Americans vastly different from every other group of people on the globe. People are people are people.
Just a few off-the-cuff notes and observations from the screening:
Director Beth Murphy, founder of Principle Pictures, has been directing, producing, and reporting for documentaries and television & radio news for 18 years. She’s also a BU alum (like me!) and has a fierce fashion sense.
Beth, Susan, Patti, cinematorgraphers Kevin Belli and Sean Flynn, and soundtrack composer Evren Celimli were all in attendance and answered a plethora of questions. Not only was it a pleasure to see Susan and Patti’s beautiful smiles in person, but it was also quite uplifting to see three men contribute so greatly to the project.
I didn’t realize that women are still wearing burqas in Afghanistan. Watching them float through crowds like ghosts made my heard sink. I also didn’t know that Afghan widows must leave behind their children if they wish to remarry. Very upsetting stuff.
Beyond Belief… the name of the film is still flipping around in my head. What does it mean? Beyond believing in anything? The situation was beyond belief? Susan and Patti took the notion of belief to a new level? Perhaps I can find out what the director had in mind… but in the meantime, what do you think?
My favorite e-card site appears to be experiencing heavy traffic - but I got on long enough to send this to a special someone (and grab a copy for my blog).
Happy Valentine's Day, my friends. Hope it's not too anticlimactic.
Seems like I’ve been talking to God a lot recently. It’s nice; feels like I’m calling up an old-time friend who moved overseas when we were both really young. We chat, we laugh, we gossip, we share our hopes for the future.
Looks like I’m not the only one addressing God like (S)He’s a normal dude(ette). These kids are on point.
I feel you, Ginny. President's Day just doesn't cut it.
Last night I stood in front of three senators, one governor, one mayor, and one Caroline Kennedy. These are people who all share a common vision for our country—a vision of unity in place of divides, inspiration in place of fear, common purpose in place of alienation.
The vision is infectious. I’ve been to three Barack Obama rallies in Boston, stood on line for hours in the cold among thousands of people to hear him speak. Yeah, my feet felt like ice blocks, but yet this warmth permeated through the crowd. I guess it’s called positive energy. It’s the same warmth I feel when I’m sporting my little Obama button—it actually radiates through me… even when I’m walking to work, Starbucks Chai Tea in hand, on a freezing Boston morning. Wearing that button makes me feel proud to believe in something. And I’ve honest to God never felt genuinely proud to be an American before.
This is our moment to reclaim our American pride. To show our friends abroad that we actually care about our country. To show ourselves that we actually care about the world.
This is our moment.
Now go out and Barack the vote!
P.S. For anyone who hasn’t watched the rally that took place in L.A. on Sunday, do yourself a favor and check it out. Michelle’s speech makes me think of my own grandparents—my grandfather in particular—who worked for the government to provide his family with a little slice of the American Dream. He didn't go past 8th grade in school, but was able to send both his girls to college, to grad school, to opportunity.
Full video (it’s long, but worth it)
Maria Shriver’s surprise endorsement of Barack Obama
And a word from Oprah, on the assumption that by supporting Obama she's “betraying her gender” and only “voting her race.”
Social Networks
Via BuzzFeed