Art

Ahh. I can't believe it's already late July. Where does the time go? It's lost to daydreams, long days in the city, and hours navigating the treacherous waters of the online world. Suddenly, I'm a poet. :p

My mom and I visited the Met to see this year's fashion exhibit "Punk: Chaos to Couture". It was awesome. Unfortunately, they don't allow anyone to take pictures, otherwise I would have taken a million. The clothes are designed by everyone from Vivienne Westwood to Chanel to Versace. Some are purposely "destroyed" looking, others are held together by safety pins, and still others have provocative images on them. They recreated the CBGB bathroom, which actually smells like a real bathroom! haha. However, people who actually visited the bathroom in its heyday say that there are key pieces that the recreated bathroom is missing. For more on that, check this out: http://www.jadedpunk.com/post/49867756316/sorry-but-this-isnt-what-the-cbgb-bathroom-looked

Each room of the exhibition is designed differently. Some are light and have white walls. Others have walls with black brick. It is gorgeously done. There are also screens with video from that era. In one particular room, there's a clip in which someone says "There isn't anything" over and over again. It's quite powerful. In that same room, people are allowed to write on the walls. This is probably the only time you'll get to write on museum walls, so take advantage of it! The exhibition will be there until August 14.

Another cool thing that we saw was Boxer at Rest. It's a sculpture that's on loan from an Italian museum. There was a swarm of people around the sculpture when we got there. They looked like paparazzi with their cameras except there was complete silence (and of course no flash). The boxer is oblivious to it all.  He's sitting down with his head turned. His eyes are hollow. It's impossible to know what he is looking at. But to me, it seems like an angel or God himself has tapped him on the shoulder after a hard fight. There's something about this man that just calls out to you. I absolutely fell in love with this sculpture. Sigh. The detail of the beard, the scars on the face, the wrapped hands. People were super talented back in the day. We can learn a lot from them. Here are some interesting facts about the piece: http://www.vulture.com/2013/06/jerry-saltz-on-the-boxer-at-the-met.html

Unfortunately, it's no longer on display. I don't blame the Italians for wanting to take it back home.

It's all about the Met for this post. What can I say? I love museums.

S.

This week's song is about how everyone has the right to love.

Song of the Week

If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately
"Man, that’s gay" gets dropped on the daily
We become so numb to what we’re saying
A culture founded from oppression
Yet we don’t have acceptance for ‘em
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it
Gay is synonymous with the lesser
It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment
The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins
It’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference!
Live on and be yourself
When I was at church they taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service those words aren’t anointed
That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned
When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same, but that’s not important
No freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support it

And I can’t change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
I can't change
Even if I try
Even if I wanted to
My love
My love
My love
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm

~ "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert

Gravity

Hey, everyone!!

This is turning out to be a one-woman blog this summer. Last summer, I blogged only once, but I figured it would be nice to have a record of my feelings and experiences this summer. Plus, I'm sure you all are just dying to hear about my exciting life and innovative thoughts. :p 
Well, I don't know how much of an exciting life I have, but I'm trying to keep things interesting this summer. My summer class is over. I just have to hand in one more lab report. Yay!!
To celebrate, I went shopping yesterday. Looking through the racks of clothes, scrutinizing the material, the cut, and the color is both agonizing and incredibly fun. Finding a great piece that fits you perfectly and makes you feel lighter than air is worth looking through all those clothes. 
Speaking of clothes, H&M has a great program in which people can donate their old clothes. For every bag of clothes that you donate, they'll give you a 15% voucher. If the clothes are in good condition, they'll be donated to people who need them. If they are not suitable for donation, they'll be converted to other products, used as textile fibers, or used for energy. It's a great program so get the word out!

I'm sure you've all heard about how many people, especially in New York, are becoming more and more conscious about the kinds of products they're putting in their mouths and on their bodies. On a daily basis, we all consume substances that are probably not so good for us. It's easy to see this just by observing people in the city. Sure, there are many people eating fruits and veggies and drinking water. But there are still way too many people who eat too much fast food, drink soda like it's the most delicious thing in the world, and drink coffee until caffeine is permanently attached to the receptors in their brains. I know New York is a fast-paced city where people are too busy staring at their iPhones to care about their sugar consumption, but there needs to be more awareness. Our fast-paced lives are stressing us, aging us, and ultimately making us miserable. Making the effort to eat well and being aware of what chemicals are in your shampoo or moisturizer or sunscreen is something we all need to do. There are a lot of stores that sell great produce and all natural beauty products. We have to make the effort to make these specialty stores more prevalent. I'm kind of sick of walking into a giant supermarket and walking through aisles and aisles of processed food. I want to walk into a store and feel confident that the products are not going to harm my body. Why is that seem to be too much to ask? Imagine if we got rid of all the crappy products in stores and replaced them with things that made us feel good, less tired, and more healthy? We all need to live better, and we need to support the few organic markets and stores that sell good products. These products need be cheaper so that more people can have access to them. That's not going to happen unless more people stop buying all this processed food and beauty products filled with substances you can't pronounce and demand better quality products. 
On a side note, what about the amount of of plastic and paper that people throw in the garbage instead of recycling? We're all guilty of being too lazy to find a recycling bin for our empty coffee cups and plastic food containers. But we need to be more aware of what we're doing. Recycling is not hard to do. 

Ok. I'm done with my rant. =)

On a lighter note, my mom and I made an apple crumble last week. Homemade and super yummy.

One of my favorite activities is decorating my room at home. Your room is your sanctuary. It's worth the time to make it a reflection of your personality and inspirations. I cut out things from magazines, shoe containers, food containers, and scan interesting images from books and place them all over the walls in my room. My room is a representation of my present myself as well as who I hope to be. Blank walls can be the scariest and most exciting things to see. They are a huge canvas with so much potential. Just start with one image or a piece of text. Then, build on it. You can work around a particular theme for your entire room or split up the wall space based on different themes or just put things up randomly. Take your time with the process. You won't have your walls completely filled in a week. And they shouldn't be. This should be a gradual process where you slowly gather things of interest and arrange them how you see fit.

This week's featured song is not a new one, but it's one that I recently heard after hearing it on So You Think You Can Dance a few years ago. It's super powerful and emotional. Enjoy.

S.

 So You Think You Can Dance

Song of the Week

Something always brings me back to you. 
It never takes too long. 
No matter what I say or do, I still feel you here 'till the moment I'm gone. 

You hold me without touch. 
You keep me without chains. 
I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain. 

Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity. 
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be. 
But you're on to me and all over me. 

~ "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles