Taking It Back Old School

I miss Passion Pit. Where are they? Why haven't they made me any new music? Wahhhh.

MUSIC MONDAY

Guys, I had a really fabulous weekend and really, really didn't want to come into work today. As a remedy, I thought some super peppy music would pump me up and get me ready for work. I think this'll do just fine.

Color Me Wrong

Last night, I was blinding listening to the soundtrack for The Hunger Games and this little diddy came on that fully intrigued me. I put my book down and just listened for awhile. And I thought, "This is what Maroon 5 would sound like if they were good."

SPOILER ALERT: This IS what Maroon 5 sounds like when they are good because, surprise, surprise, it's Adam Levine himself.

This song is crazy good, as is the entire soundtrack. Check it out!

Obsession of the Day

I am aware that it's early in the day to have already chosen an obsession, but this one's been a brewin for a few weeks now. Please meet my new best friend.

Dats right, it's CHEERIORS. But not just any ole cheerios, oh no. This is the PEANUT BUTTER kind. What makes it even better? They are the HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER KIND. I'm sorry for yelling, but I am just so excited about these.

Don't let the whole grain through you off and make you think they are cardboardy. Oh, no no no. Think Reese's Puffs but flattened out and with holes in the middle. Ok, ok, they aren't quite as decadent as Reese's Puffs, but they've got that 110 calories/ 16 grams of whole grains going for them, so they still win.

You may or may not just want to eat this sans milk, plus Better N Peanut Butter. It is cracktastic. Don't say I didn't warn you!

MUSIC MONDAY COMES TO A CLOSE

Today I literally saved the best for last. I am oh, so obsessed with this guy, I can't even explain. My heart hasn't felt this happy about music since I discovered Noah Gundersen a few months ago. David Ramirez hails out of Texas, but I have it on good authority that he lived in Nashville for a while. That must be where he picked up his sweet, sweet sound. Check out the below and share him with your friends- he deserves some credit!!!

Interesting

I don't think I'm mad at this. Not one bit. Get it gurl.

Currently Listening To.....

MUSIC MONDAY!

Happy Monday to all!!!! Hope you had a fabulous weekend. The sun is shining and it is certain to be a phenomenal day. Enjoy the start to your week and make it count!

Currently listening to....

This Is A New Low

The favorite part of my morning is when I log into AOL Instant Messenger and the AOL News Feed pops up. I usually start my day by clicking on a variety of stories to enjoy while I get myself pumped for the day. One in particular caught my eye this morning titled, "Racist Anti-Obama Sticker Makes the Rounds on Facebook." Curious, I clicked and was honestly astonished at what I saw.

This is not real. It can't be. This is 2012! Surely, SURELY, people have removed the N-word from their verbiage and even more surely they wouldn't be willing to associate it with our President openly on their car! Mind = blown. And this isn't even the worst of the bumper stickers that this site offers!!!!

Here's the thing. It's ok if you don't like Obama, it really is. Chances are, if you don't like him, you are a Republican and the entire world hated on George W for 8 years, so yeah, you don't have like him. That's cool.

HOWEVER

Let's keep it about what it is. You don't like his policies? That is your right. Vote for any one of the idiots that the Republican party is pushing this year [note: I do not align myself with either party and consider myself more of a Moderate, but can we all just be honest and say that the Republicans had MUCH better options for this election and everyone that is running is pretty much an dumbdumb?]. You can say things like "Obama is a socialist!" or "Obama is Muslim!" or "Obama isn't American!" and the general public will most likely just laugh it off.

But do not, do NOT, make it about his color. To do so is ignorant, morally repugnant, and flat out dangerous. This country has been fighting racism for centuries and was seemingly making progress- the election of Obama proved that. But then, suddenly, racist comments starting coming out of the wood work and are passed off as "comedic criticisms."

NO.

Comparing Obama to a monkey is not funny- it's RACIST and so are you. I love these people who make criticisms based on his color and then follow it with "but I'm not racist or anything." SPOILER ALERT: You are. And guess what, Bubba, the rest of us are not going to put up with it! I will not have my children growing up in a world where people are judged on the color of their skin.

Don't like Obama? Fine by me! Don't vote for him. But keep your pro-white thoughts, comments, and bumper stickers to yourself.

Obsession of the Day

J.Crew got me hook, line and sinker, per usual, when they sent out their quarterly rewards card. $25 really does not make a dent in most J.Crew purchases, but the thought of FREE MONEY always pulls me in. I know. I'm a sucker.

I feel like I am always in need of a great pair of ballet flats [ladies, holla if you hear me!]. I won't lie, I love heels, but I wear my flats to shreds. Literally. I have a pair now that has actual holes in the bottom.

I've been digging the CeCe ballet flats since J.Crew introduced them last fall, and finally bit the bullet with my rewards card. Since I worked there for many years, I'm no stranger to a J.Crew shoe, but this one really takes the cake. These are literally the most comfortable flats I've ever put my foot in! First of all, the leather is buttery soft and whispers softly to my feet "Do you like luxury?" The response was a unanimous "yes." Second of all, these flats have a slight hidden wedge in them so your feet are not completely even with the floor. I never knew how much I wanted this little wedge until I had it. I have a feeling going back to my other flats is going to be hard after this. Are they pricey? Compared to Target flats, yes, anything is pricey. Compared to Tory Burch, you're actually getting a deal! Like I always say, there are some things that are worth spending more money on because you can wear them for life.

I got mine in this fun green color just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

Fellas, sorry this post was so boring for you. I'll try to make up for it with the next one.

Make Kony Famous

By now, many of you have seen the Video made by Invisible Children attempting to bring to light the despicable actions of Joseph Kony. If you have not seen the video, check it out here [but be warned, it's about 30 minutes long].

If you haven't seen the video and aren't familiar with the cause, let me fill you in just a pinch. Joseph Kony is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army, which is a guerilla group in Uganda. For decades, Kony and his army have abducted small children and put guns in their hands, often forcing them to murder their own parents. Estimates on the number of children that have been abducted and made into foot soldiers go as high as over one hundred thousand. !!!!

Well, why does Kony need these child soldiers? What is the war that he is fighting? The simplest answer is that there is none! Kony wants to remain in power so he can "fight for the 10 Commandments" and in order to do that, the people need to be afraid. How can we achieve this? By abducting their children, murdering family and neighbors, and disfiguring those they've spared.

So Invisible Children made this created this video and started an Internet Campaign to "make Kony famous." The idea behind the campaign is that people, especially ignorant Americans, are not aware of this man and his despicable actions. The ultimate goal of making Kony famous is to keep the 100 members of US military in Uganda, where they are working with local forces to track Kony down and bring him to justice. In the eyes of Invisible Children, the military members will be brought home if the United States government doesn't think that this is an issue that matters to the American people.

Now that we've gotten through the simplest version of background information, I've finally arrived to my actual soapbox.

When I watched the video, I felt nothing less than completely moved. I thought it was beautifully made and that the message was solid. I felt ashamed that I didn't already know who Joseph Kony was and that our government and others hadn't already done something to stop him. That is not to say that I think we should wage a full on war with the LRA, and I don't believe that Invisible Children is advocating that either, but surely there is more that could have been done in the 20+ years that he's been in power.

I thought it was moving and almost miraculous that members of our complacent generation would get on board so quickly with a cause that does nothing to directly benefit our selfish selves. I found it unsurprising and almost maddening that, on the other side of the coin, so many people would instantly criticize the video and the campaign.

In response to posting the video on my Facebook wall, a friend of mine linked to an article on one of my favorite blogs, Jezebel, that essentially ripped the entire campaign to shreds and threw out personal insults ["Invisble Children is staffed by douchebags"]. IC is ripped for not spending their money in a way that is pleasing to the writer of the article [based on info the writer got from Charity Navigator]. I personally have not donated money to the cause and have thus far only re-posted the video, but my thoughts on that matter of money are that I have never run a non-profit organization and most likely, neither has the writer. I have no idea what is the best way for Invisible Children or the Red Cross or the Salvation Army to spend their money in order to most effectively help those in need. I have no idea, and you probably don't either.

What I do know, thanks to a buddy of mine who traveled with IC, is that they are getting the word out about these issues, and they are doing it mostly by sending groups of young people around the country and having them speak at various schools and events. I know for a fact that they made an incredible impact on Oprah and that would not have been possible without using some funds for travel, correct?

Despite my rambles, there is a point to this post. Every day we all have a choice as to how we will act and who we will be. We can be good people or bad people. We can be believers or we can be cynics. We can be informed and spread a deserving message or we can make fun of a situation. That is not to say that you should take any viral campaign at face value-question everything! But even if you don't feel the desire to donate or spread the word, think twice before cutting down a cause just because you can.

Rant over [for now].

Trashy TV: Monday-Friday

It almost hurts my heart a little bit to even put Trashy TV in the title because we are going to be discussing today isn't trashy, but fabulous! Guys, I'm talking about the new NBC series called "SMASH" (and no, it is not about drinking until you black out).

If you have somehow been living under a rock and missed the insane amounts of promo that NBC has been doing for this show then let me fill you in a bit. I like to think of "SMASH" as "Glee for Grownups". It has all of the talent of the cast of "Glee" (and then some), but oodles more story line, creativity, originality and much less kitschiness. "SMASH" is about the inception of a Broadway musical that surrounds the life of Marilyn Monroe. We are included in a process from the ground floor, and we are slowly working our way up to the top by seeing how the musical numbers are written, how Marilyn is cast, how the stars often times sleep with their directors, and so on and so forth. There is drama. There is love. There is heartache. There are bar mitzvahs. There is success (we hope)!

This show really is a Who's Who of stars. You have Angelica Huston, who plays the shows struggling producer, Debra Messing, who plays one of the writers of Marilyn (and who is still best friends with the gays!), Katherine McPhee, who you may remember from American Idol a few years ago, who plays one of the gals vying for the part of Marilyn, Megan Hilty, who is a bonafide Broadway star (think Wicked & 9 to 5), and the list goes on and on and on.

I would say if you have any interest in music, theater, or how things work behind the scenes, then I really think you will enjoy this show. It's on Monday nights after The Voice [another guilty pleasure of mine], so give it a spin!

Currently Rocking Out To.....

this!!! I've loved this band since they were actually The Format ( I think technically they broke up and the lead singer started Fun. but whatever....), but this is my first spin with this new Fun. album. Totally digging it so check-it-out!!!

Also Keeping Me Awake Today....

MUSIC MONDAY

I don't know about you guys, but this girl needs a pick me up this morning. Enjoy some Alabama Shakes, grab a cup of Joe, and have a good Monday!

MUSIC MONDAY!!

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