As one of the millions (billions?) of Michael Jackson fans, I was very saddened by his passing on June 25, 2009. I grew up listening to his music and experiencing his videos. I have very vivid memories of being 6 years old and seeing the Thriller video for the first time. It scared the crap out of me but I wanted to see it. People were so excited about it, I had to know why. While it was scary, it was also awesome. Unfortunately, I woke up that night screaming for my mom because it gave me nightmares. My mom had to take down my Michael Jackson poster because I was traumatized. It's a really cool thing to think back on.
I wanted to do my own little tribute to the man that revolutionized pop music and music videos. So I'm going to post my top three favorite Michael Jackson songs.
Dirty Diana
This was a grittier side to him and I loved the song. I loved it so much, I would put on his "Bad" album right at the spot where this song began. Enjoy!
In case they disable the embedding at some point, here is the direct link:
Dirty Diana
The Way You Make Me Feel
This was another song that I could cue up on the "Bad" album. It was so cute and playful. I especially liked the video. I couldn't find this in an embedded file so click the link and enjoy the playful side of Michael Jackson.
The Way You Make Me Feel
PYT: Pretty Young Thang
I have an 80's styled sweatshirt with these words on them that I LOVED to wear as a kid. It was pink with purple writing on it and although I'm not a fan of pink, this was one exception. I didn't remember ever seeing a video for this song and I couldn't find one so my memory serves me correctly. Here is the song anyway. Enjoy and dance around!
I hope he was secretly working on an album that will be released posthumously. I would enjoy hearing how his musical ability has grown since his last album. My best wishes go out to his family. He will be missed but his music has immortalized him in the hearts and minds of millions.
June 27, 2009
March 09, 2009
The Whys of it all
Over the past weekend, I was on the go. I had the opportunity to see some improv comedy, which was VERY cool. I also helped with an event called She Remembers. It was an event held in honor of Women's History Month (March) dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness. The event consisted of a prayer vigil and panel discussion about the effect of HIV/AIDS is having on the black community.
Ever since I was in high school, I have been an advocate for educating people about HIV/AIDS. It started when I was a volunteer with the A.S.K. U.S. program at AID Atlanta. A.S.K. U.S. is the youth based education and outreach program. A.S.K. U.S. stands for Adolescents Seeking Knowledge Understanding Safer Sex. As a junior/senior in high school, I was very active in the A.S.K. U.S. program at AID Atlanta. I joined the program because a good friend of mine did it first and when she told me about it, it sounded very cool. I was (and still am) always looking for cool and different things to get involved with. Well I joined and went through the training and came out with a passion to educate as many people as possible about HIV/AIDS. Not only did I want to educate them about the disease and how to interact with people who have it but I also wanted to educate them about protecting themselves from the contracting the disease.
Over the weekend, I was asked by someone (thanks Jodine Dorce for the introspection!) why I was an advocate/volunteer for HIV/AIDS. I answered her question but later I realized that I never said why. I only explained how I became a volunteer. I have a friend that has told me the why is the most important thing to discover. Once you know the why, you'll truly understand the person. Well here is my Why.
When I was officially introduced to the severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, I wasn't very sexually active. I was in high school and trying to figure out who I was as a person and how my sexuality fit into the whole scheme of things. I was dating and having boyfriends so sex was definitely around me. Two of my oldest friends had gotten pregnant at 17 and I knew of several other girls that had babies as well. I was definitely aware of sex but as far as I knew, the biggest ramification was pregnancy. Now that was enough to make me pause because I had absolutely no intention of having any kids while I was still a kid.
Then I learned about HIV/AIDS. I was floored at how this disease that was preventable and not passed through every day contact was spreading so quickly largely because of a lack of education and a stigma. It made very little sense to me how something as simple as using a condom could greatly reduce your chances of contracting this incurable disease but people weren't using them. I was saddened to learn that kids my age were contracting this disease because no one was talking to them about it and they didn't feel comfortable going to their parents. I totally understood and wanted very much to help.
As a part of A.S.K. U.S. we went out and did presentations and educational seminars for kids our age. We would do skits, presentations, demonstrations and question and answer sessions to educate them about safe sex, STD's and HIV/AIDS. We went to churches, community centers and other gatherings of our peers. We were trained how to deal with the questions we may get and how to educate with care. It was awesome. I became much more outgoing and extremely comfortable talking about sensitive subjects like sex, STD's, condoms and everything in between. I met some really cool kids of different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. Some of the kids in the program with me were gay, lesbian and bisexual and I learned to accept everyone for their differences and embrace them in spite of them.
It was a great time in my life and I shared it with two of my closest friends and one other classmate of mine. Going through that experience helped make me the person I am today. It also helped create the passion that I have for educating people about HIV/AIDS and safe sex. When I left Atlanta and traveled to Tallahassee for college, I took a big bag full of condoms with me. I created a tin o'pleasure that I kept full of condoms for anyone to stop by my room and use. I encouraged everyone I met to let me know if they needed condoms so I could get them for them.
I also did some volunteer work with Big Bend CARES, which was the HIV/AIDS organization in the Tallahassee area. So now that I'm back in Atlanta, I'm back at AID Atlanta. I've been doing mostly health fairs but now I am seeking other ways to get more involved.
So that is one of my Whys. Why am I am advocate for HIV/AIDS education? Read above.
Ever since I was in high school, I have been an advocate for educating people about HIV/AIDS. It started when I was a volunteer with the A.S.K. U.S. program at AID Atlanta. A.S.K. U.S. is the youth based education and outreach program. A.S.K. U.S. stands for Adolescents Seeking Knowledge Understanding Safer Sex. As a junior/senior in high school, I was very active in the A.S.K. U.S. program at AID Atlanta. I joined the program because a good friend of mine did it first and when she told me about it, it sounded very cool. I was (and still am) always looking for cool and different things to get involved with. Well I joined and went through the training and came out with a passion to educate as many people as possible about HIV/AIDS. Not only did I want to educate them about the disease and how to interact with people who have it but I also wanted to educate them about protecting themselves from the contracting the disease.
Over the weekend, I was asked by someone (thanks Jodine Dorce for the introspection!) why I was an advocate/volunteer for HIV/AIDS. I answered her question but later I realized that I never said why. I only explained how I became a volunteer. I have a friend that has told me the why is the most important thing to discover. Once you know the why, you'll truly understand the person. Well here is my Why.
When I was officially introduced to the severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, I wasn't very sexually active. I was in high school and trying to figure out who I was as a person and how my sexuality fit into the whole scheme of things. I was dating and having boyfriends so sex was definitely around me. Two of my oldest friends had gotten pregnant at 17 and I knew of several other girls that had babies as well. I was definitely aware of sex but as far as I knew, the biggest ramification was pregnancy. Now that was enough to make me pause because I had absolutely no intention of having any kids while I was still a kid.
Then I learned about HIV/AIDS. I was floored at how this disease that was preventable and not passed through every day contact was spreading so quickly largely because of a lack of education and a stigma. It made very little sense to me how something as simple as using a condom could greatly reduce your chances of contracting this incurable disease but people weren't using them. I was saddened to learn that kids my age were contracting this disease because no one was talking to them about it and they didn't feel comfortable going to their parents. I totally understood and wanted very much to help.
As a part of A.S.K. U.S. we went out and did presentations and educational seminars for kids our age. We would do skits, presentations, demonstrations and question and answer sessions to educate them about safe sex, STD's and HIV/AIDS. We went to churches, community centers and other gatherings of our peers. We were trained how to deal with the questions we may get and how to educate with care. It was awesome. I became much more outgoing and extremely comfortable talking about sensitive subjects like sex, STD's, condoms and everything in between. I met some really cool kids of different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. Some of the kids in the program with me were gay, lesbian and bisexual and I learned to accept everyone for their differences and embrace them in spite of them.
It was a great time in my life and I shared it with two of my closest friends and one other classmate of mine. Going through that experience helped make me the person I am today. It also helped create the passion that I have for educating people about HIV/AIDS and safe sex. When I left Atlanta and traveled to Tallahassee for college, I took a big bag full of condoms with me. I created a tin o'pleasure that I kept full of condoms for anyone to stop by my room and use. I encouraged everyone I met to let me know if they needed condoms so I could get them for them.
I also did some volunteer work with Big Bend CARES, which was the HIV/AIDS organization in the Tallahassee area. So now that I'm back in Atlanta, I'm back at AID Atlanta. I've been doing mostly health fairs but now I am seeking other ways to get more involved.
So that is one of my Whys. Why am I am advocate for HIV/AIDS education? Read above.
February 27, 2009
My Seduction Style
So I need a brain break and one of my lovely friends emailed a test to see what your seduction style is. Here are my results:
Enjoy and take the quiz too. It's really cute and fun.
Enjoy and take the quiz too. It's really cute and fun.
February 17, 2009
Fashion Week 2009-William Rast
Well I'm in New York for Fashion Week. I am working with Ground Crew (the same company I did Victoria's Secret for) as a dresser. Last night I worked the Tony Cohen show in the tents and I had the chance to attend the William Rast show. The Tony Cohen collection was really cute. It was a collection of lightweight dresses, slim fitting pants and interestingly cut shirts. Here's a link to the review of the collection by Women's Wear Daily: Tony Cohen Ready To Wear Collection-Fashion Week 2009
I got to dress the lovely Martha who was a pleasure to work with for my first show.
After working the Tony Cohen show, we went into the Lobby to wait for the William Rast show. We crowded in to wait for the show to start and I scanned the crowd for celebrities. I spotted Anothony Anderson, Miss J of American's Next Top Model, Aisha Tyler and Aubrey formerly of the group Danity Kane pretty quickly. It got more crowded so I stopped scanning and waited for the show. From what I've seen in the past the William Rast line is a fairly casual line but the clothes have a great fit and clean lines. I was excited to see what they would be offering for the fall.
I was disappointed. From the looks of it, they were going for a retro vibe but they chose to focus on denim with sparkly jackets, rhinestones and scarves. Unfortunately to me the line looked like the kind of stuff I've seen in stores like Kmart in the 90's. I didn't like the retro look of the clothes and overall the line wasn't overly exciting. In spite of that, it was cool to be there and I look forward to working Michael Kors tomorrow and possibly attending some more shows. Check out the pics and judge for yourself:
Here's a review of the line from examiner.com: William Rast-Fashion Week 2009
Enjoy the pictures and check back for more Fashion Week coverage.
I got to dress the lovely Martha who was a pleasure to work with for my first show.
After working the Tony Cohen show, we went into the Lobby to wait for the William Rast show. We crowded in to wait for the show to start and I scanned the crowd for celebrities. I spotted Anothony Anderson, Miss J of American's Next Top Model, Aisha Tyler and Aubrey formerly of the group Danity Kane pretty quickly. It got more crowded so I stopped scanning and waited for the show. From what I've seen in the past the William Rast line is a fairly casual line but the clothes have a great fit and clean lines. I was excited to see what they would be offering for the fall.
I was disappointed. From the looks of it, they were going for a retro vibe but they chose to focus on denim with sparkly jackets, rhinestones and scarves. Unfortunately to me the line looked like the kind of stuff I've seen in stores like Kmart in the 90's. I didn't like the retro look of the clothes and overall the line wasn't overly exciting. In spite of that, it was cool to be there and I look forward to working Michael Kors tomorrow and possibly attending some more shows. Check out the pics and judge for yourself:
Here's a review of the line from examiner.com: William Rast-Fashion Week 2009
Enjoy the pictures and check back for more Fashion Week coverage.
February 10, 2009
January 30, 2009
Video Blog!
Hi there! Here's another video blog from me. I am working on stepping up my video game with a web cam so hopefully the shaky cam video will cease soon. Enjoy!
January 23, 2009
Great video by a single mom about Ann Coulter
While doing some research, I came across this great blog by a single mother. The blog is called Ms Single Mama and the website is www.mssinglemama.com. I found this blog both entertaining and informative. I was browsing through it when I came across a post that she'd written about Ann Coulter's book, Guilty. Well I'm not a follower of Ann Coulter but from what I've seen and read about her, she is very right wing in her views and she has no problem taking direct aim at specific people or groups. While I can't fault her for her beliefs, I can definitely fault her for her tactics. Ms Single Mama posted a video on CNN's website, www.ireport.com about some of the statistics that Ann Coulter is using to support her current attack on single mothers in her new book. This video was very well done and she made some great points. I wanted to share it with you. I'm not a single mother but before my mom and my stepdad got together, I was being raised by a single mother. Although that was a short time period in my life, I saw my mom do her thing with taking care of me and handling her business. I have so much respect for single mothers. Please take a moment to watch this video then visit her blog at www.mssinglemama.com.
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