FLASHING LIGHTS LIGHTS LIGHTS

Today started off like my usual Sunday's do. I slept in, made myself a nice breakfast (an egg muffin and banana juice),then checked my emails and facebook for an hour or so. What made it different was that I would be doing a photoshoot. It was for my friend, Veronica, who for her latest project, needed to take portraits of someone. The idea was that the photos needed to be "raw", whatever that means. I have seen some of her photos from her class and they are beautiful. Her assignments for her class have ranged from playing with a certain type of lighting to picking a theme for a set of photos.
When I first arrived at the shoot, I was a bit apprehensive. But nonetheless I packed a huge bag of heels, accessories, makeup,and clothes and was excited! Even though I didn't know what to expect.
I have done a couple fashion shows during my high school years and modelled for Elie Saab,but I have never done any sort of photo shoot, so it was a new and exciting process for me.


I had several realizations during my "photo shoot":
First off never realised how hard it was to be in front of a camera the whole time and think of new poses and positions while trying to look good and not be stiff in front of a huge camera. The set up was amazing all the flash equipment and her amazing camera made me feel like i was the new Heidi Klum or something but I saw some of the pictures and then felt otherwise...reality hit...(its funny how the you begin to act and feel like a diva with all the flashes going off and once all the attention is directed towards you)

Also everything feels so different behind the camera. You think its going to look one way when you are doing it and then it turns out completely different once you see how it looks on the camera. Not only does the camera seem to add 10 pounds,but it is different seeing what body parts stand out in the lighting and what looks awkward in certain positions. It helped me to understand and respect photo shop a bit more too.

Another interesting aspect during the shoot, which lasted 3 hours and where we ended up taking around 300 pics, was how you feel very stiff and aware of everything in the beginning of the shoot and then by like the last 30 min of the shoot you begin to get a flow and feel at one with the camera.
I am interested to see which ones she decides to use for her project. Either way it was a very liberating experience and one of the most memorable sundays I have had in a while.

Not a smart car!

One of my close friends in Dallas used to own a Smart car. I can understand why you would want one or consider buying one: there are the parking benefits, it's relativily fast,easy to maneuvre, and it is not too expensive.
But on average in the US, 115 people die each day from a motor vehicle crashes. That is a lot! I think there should be a ban on driving smart cars in the US. Especially in Texas, with all of these horrendous pick-up trucks cruising around. It is not wise people! Imagine the impact of a normal sized car hitting the smart car.
Or just watch this short clip ..

THIS IS FOR ALL THE TIMES I THINK ABOUT AND MISS MY PARENTS

These 2 people are the most important people in my life. They love,support, and guide me.They have made me who I am to today. This might be sappy but my parents now live in Russia and the time difference is 9 hours! Therefore we either have to skype each other early in the morning or late a night. Calling is very expensive and we sometimes get cut off. My mom and I joke but kind of believe that the reason we get off is because there is someone listening in on us and we seem to get cut off everytime we talk about something which they don't understand or are suspicious about, "they" listen to us and cut us off. We have moved a lot because of my dad's job. We have had our ups and downs but this is the furthest I have been from my parents and it makes me realize how much I appreciate them.
I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD....




....and I can't forget about the brother,who always dealt with me and devilish/ sometimes selfish ways! He is also the one, whose rebellious ways I have always had to deal with.

its just the music talking to you baby...

My Ipod recently added Playlist at the moment consists of a mixture of different songs:

I'm a Rainbow too- Fatboy Slim
No Stress- Laurent Wolf
Soldier of Love-Sade
Sweet like Chocolate-Shanks and Bigfoot
3 Words- Cheryl Cole feat. Will.i.am
Try sleeping with a Broken Heart- Alicia Keys
Heartbreaker-John Legend


Some are oldies that I just remember and some are ones I discovered recently (either through radio,Internet or friends).
Also, even if you have not read my earlier post of guilty pleasures, you will notice my favorite type of music is HOUSE. I respect almost anyone who likes to fist pump or break it down to house music,(except Jersey Shore cast and look-alikes)!
But to the point, I don't thing it is possible for our world o survive without music.
I mean think about it everyone at least owns a radio,or computer,or ipod,or boom box, or CD player, or some form of technology where they can't listen to music or an instrument with which they can create music. Even if we don't have the natural singing ability or capabaility of playing an instrument, we all can dance and appreciate a good beat here and there to destress ourselves and let go.
LIFE WOULD NOT BE THE SAME, WITHOUT MUSIC.

RELIGION

Today on CNN I was watching the devastation in Chile after a deadly earthquake hit. Then I saw the warnings for a Tsunami in Hawaii. All my thoughts, and I could say prayers, went to the families of those in these cities which were going through these devastating days and nights.
A few moments later I thought to myself, why would God (if there is such a being) allow Tsunamis,Earthquakes, and natural disasters like this to happen. I thought of what responses I would get from people who are religious, such as my mom.
Some might say it would be test your beliefs in God (if you would still believe in him after such devastating events),or to test your beliefs in yourself, while others might say it is to demonstrate that "shit happens" (pls excuse my french as my grandma would say) and we need to accept that and know not everything in life will go as planned.
But the more I thought about it the more unsure I got about my beliefs, yet I did come to a sort of conclusion. I concluded that I do believe there is a higher power of some sort, that I can't define specifically. I don't believe the Bible is a good source of evidence to believe in God. Religious books such as the Bible or the Quran have good stories about morals and consequences, but people who follow these books like their life depends on it , I can't quite grasp.
I have learnt a bit about Muslims, catholics, Jews, and Buddhists and I find certain things in each religion to be true or something that I believe in. But I can't say I am a follower of any religion, since they all hold some discrepancies in my eyes. But that is the great part you can have your own religion and no one can judge you for that.
I do not know fully what my beliefs are yet, but I know that every one's religious beliefs develop or change throughout their life and so I hope to become more in touch with that side of myself and find myself at peace with my spirituality.

THINGS ARE SO CLOSE YET SO FAR AWAY..

Tick Tock Tick Tock..is the sound I am currently hearing in my head. This is the countdown clock until SPRING BREAk! It is currently a little less than a week away until I am back home in Geneva,Switzerland and am reunited with my parents and best buds! The only problem is the amount of things I have to accomplish before then.
First of all and most importantly is my Study abroad application, that is due march 1st, but which I originally thought was due April 1st. Therefore, I have numerous sheets to get signed and classes to be approved by the Psych, Advertising, and German department. But I have successfully made appointments this coming Monday and hopefully all will go as planned and I will be on my way to London next semester!
That is only the first of many other things I have left to do. I won't go into in-depth detail of all the other things, because only the thought of them stresses me out to the max. But here is what my mental list looks like on paper:
1) 3 Midterms
2) 2 Papers
3) need to go and buy the list of things my mom wants me to bring back home (ex: mad men series, American cake mixes ...)
4)pack for Geneva
5) pay bills
6)eat healthily and work out..in the hope of losing a pound or two before going back and seeing everyone(I wish!)

MY ULTIMATE GOAL WILL BE to accomplish this list!
But with poise and confidence, such as Marilyn Monroe would, even under such stressful times.

WISH ME LUCK

handicapped?

Walking out of Central Market this afternoon, after having a scrumptious lunch, fresh California rolls and some chocolate raisins, I noticed something which disturbed me. It was a BMW that I passed on the way back to my car, which turned into the handicap spot.
A guy, who I would assume was around my age, got out of the car. He had the handicapped parking permit dangling from his mirror and it was not illegal or anything. But he did not look or seem handicapped at all, he hopped out of his car and ran into central market! I assume he did this because he was in a hurry and he did not want to waste his valuable time finding a parking spot a few spots further down.
But I have seen this before, and mostly on campus, people who are perfectly fine somehow get or borrow a handicap sign and drive around with it on their mirror.
REALLY? Are we in that much of a hurry, that we would allow ourselves to make the handicapped people's lives that much harder, just so we can get that one parking spot near the entrance of our building or destination? I find it inconsiderate, extremely lazy, and disturbing! Especially since it is usually young people who are abusing this rule.
How do they get these leaflets anyways? Do you they take it from their grandparents who don't drive anymore? I don't even want to know...

Alice in Wonderland

Other than looking forward to this friday for spring break, I am really looking forward to the new movie Alice in WOnderland to come out! It is directed by Tim Burton, I am a huge fan of his, and will be released on March 5th. I am going to make sure I am right up there in line with all the little girls, which the majority of will probably be dressed up as Alice, in their little blue dresses.
With such a great cast: Anne Hathaway (white queen), Johnny Depp(Mad Hatter), Mia Wasikowska(ALice), and Helena Bonham Carter (red queen), it should be a great movie. The movie reviews have been really good thus far and the trailer is captivating.
Only 10 more days guys!
I am sure it will be a hit at the box office! But I don't want to get my hopes up, because there are always the movies which are overrated just because of the cast. I will have to write another post on what I think of the movie after I see it.
..to be continued..
check out the trailer

4 most popular Nickelodeon Characters.

The other day, I had to analyze a kids program for a psychology paper of mine. It brought me back to the old days when I was in Germany and would the German versions of the Rugrats. It also brought me back in touch with what all the new nickelodeon cartoons were. I found some interesting facts about all the cartoons and specifically which ones were the most popular. 2 of the were "oldies" which I used to watch as a kid and the other 2 are fairly newer ones. I thought I would bring us all back to those cartoon days for a brief moment. I am curious what it would have looked like in my parents days (mickey mouse black+white cartoons maybe..) and I will be curious to see how this list changes in the future..


SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS



I shamefully have some friends at the age of 19 and 20 years old, don't judge my friends, who love this show or at least have some sort of Spongebob Squarepants merchandise. This is the longest running Nicktoon, second to the Rugrats, not only that but its the most watched show on Nicktoons. In 2007, Time magazine rated Spongebob one of the greatest shows of all time! pretty impressive for a sponge...

DORA THE EXPLORER


Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000 and since then has been a jackpot. In 2004 the show earned 1 billion dollars on sales! Dora is a rather new cartoon and so I have never watched a full episode but I know my little cousins are very fond of her and I've seen all sorts of Dora coloring books and toys.


THE RUGRATS


Who doesn't know this series? I think my generation grew up watching the Rugrats, or at least I did! I remember the minute I would get home from school I would grab my snack and run into the living room to watch the it. This was one of the first 3 nicktoons and it centers around 4 babies and their adventurous lives.

THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS



This is an animated cartoon series on Nickelodeon. It is a spin off from the Jimmy Neutron Movie, which was nominated for an Academy Award. It is the very 1st computer-animated series! Love it!

The film, Nine,is about a famous film director called Guido Contini (not the same Guido as in the Jersey Shore series), who struggles to find meaning in both his personal and professional life. He is portrayed as a smooth talker and is involved with many women, his wife(Marion Coltillard), mistress(Penelope Cruz),and muse(Nicole Kidman). Guido struggles with his next movie project, since he is a week away from production and he has no script. So the movie delves into his creative process.
Each woman shows Guido another side of life or source of inspiration. His Mistress is fun and sexy. His mom always tries to guide him and give advice. His wife is always classy and elegant.
In the beginning of the movie Guido has got it all;charming,witty,and good looking. But this all quickly takes a turn and Guido can't seem to find any inspiration. It is interesting seeing his creative process. He would lock himself on the set of his next film for nights at a time! Then would be greeted by hoards of press outside of his studio, showing the not so glamorous life of famous people.
It touches many different things we all experience in life. Infidelity,sadness, failure, relationship issues, procrastination, addiction (in Guido's case cigarettes and women) as well as when feelings of being invincible, success, big headed, loved and memories. The movie has great music,performances,actors and sense of reality. One of the best movies I have seen recently.

Green Police-->An Inconvenient Truth

After watching this commercial, which I thoroughly enjoyed, the next thought which popped in my head was I wonder what Al Gore thought about this commercial.
I can see Al Gore,during the Superbowl, watching this and really enjoying it. In 2006,he made a documentary called "An Inconvenient Truth", which was all about Global Warming and about the harmful effects our actions have on our planet. This documentary and the ad have vertical intertextuality. The ad uses humor to address the "serious" green police situation, while Al Gore used the scary facts and figures to get our attention.
Another example of vertical intertexuality that came to mind, was the old cop TV series on Comedy Central called "RENO 911". The cops in this ad make you giggle, just like the the cops on the comedy central show did,I wonder why that show ever got cancelled?!

spinach or spanish?!

This commercial reminds of everything that I that I don't care for and everything that I love about kids.
Their sweet little voices and how they can't prounounce all their vowels properly.
Their innocence.
How they think they are always right and argue about insignificant things, in our eyes, but very serious issues in their worlds.
How they make you laugh at the simplest of things.
How they make you forget about the stress and real world for a minute.
Reminds me of my brother and how we acted when we were younger* it triggers good memories of when I was young and free and careless..

PERSONALIZED M+M's

With Valentines day coming up, most of us will either be stuck trying to find the perfect and romantic gift for our loved one or we will be dreading the fact that there even such thing as Valentines days.
If you are either of these (which is everyone) I have found the solution for all...go to the m+m website link I have posted above and buy a packet of m+ms with your face on it. Its brilliant!
The process goes like this:
you can pick the color you want your m+m's to be.
you then pick a pic and/or enter a message that you want them to put on to your m+m's
ET VOILA indulge in them yourself and celebrate the fact that you are single and CAN mingle
OR send them to your lover,family members,friends and make their day.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

10 Guilty Pleasures of Mine

1. Moelleux au Chocolat(aka Chocolate Lava Cake in the States)
2. Early Morning shows(Regis+Kelly, Hoda+ Kathie Lee Today Show, etc..)
3. Big Juicy Hamburger at Village Burger Bar
4. Crackberry (aka Blackberry)+ BBM
5. Jesus Luz (Brazilian Model/DJ aka Madonna's boy toy)
6. Shopping (especially in huge American malls)
7. spa/relaxation/"ME" days
8. staying out late on days that I should not be out at all.
9. Movie-Forumz.org (everyone should join, its got movies that are not even in the cinema yet)
10.House Music (probably due to my european upbringing)

LOVE and Marriage

So I was thinking about love and marriage ( reminds me of the old Frank Sinatra song)the other day and I realised there is a trend. First one, divorce rate is the largest it has ever been before at 50%! It is almost disturbing how common divorce nowadays and how I can only think of about 5 or 6 of my friends, whose parents are happily married,(not including those whose parents have gotten remarried). Divorce is certainly not something to be taken lightly; especially with kids.
I feel, well marriage is just a contract. There are exciting parts of the deal and not so exciting parts of the deal. But ultimately, marriage is something people are just doing, its as if people left and right are getting married or engaged. And some even get engaged for months or years, what is the point of that?
Also Is if marriage is a natural thing? Are we supposed to be with the same person for the rest of our lives?So what is the point of marriage if 1 out of 2 happy couples are choosing to ruin their perfectly good relationship?
I'm guessing there is sense of financial security, you have someone who will do anything in the world for you,Children... but all of these things can happen without a contract and getting married.
To me all that really changes is your last name. Who knows though when your in love you will do anything for your partner!