The Greatest Unknown

I was on the site, Jezebel (where I go for some of my pop culture information with a feminist spin), when I stumbled on a link to a video about one of the greatest street photographers ever. I've always been very interested in photography so I clicked on it. What I found was surprising and amazing too. Vivian Maier is probably one of the best photographers of the 20th century. Yet, her work wasn't discovered until a few years ago. The nanny/photographer took over 30,000 pictures, and many more images are still not developed. When I watched this video it struck a chord with me, I was amazed that this women had captured so many beautiful moments in peoples everyday lives. Even if you don't care about photography, you can't not watch this video and not be amazed by these stunning images. They were so beautiful that I actually got choked up- I've never cried over works of art before- so that's saying something! If you want to learn more about Maier check out the blog, http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/.
Jem

Cheer's To A New Year

Tere Arigo (Tumblr)

So.... Hello....2011! It seems that you snuck up on me and caught me by surprise. 2010 was a blur of exciting events and chances for personal growth. 2010 was a pretty spectacular year so you have a lot to live up too (but I'm sure you can do it). Some of my favorite moments from 2010 are memories which I will cherish forever. I will always remember 2010 as the year I went to prom and danced the night away with my school mates, graduating from high school, celebrating N and M's wedding, dancing with all my cousins and sister to "We Are Family," my trip to Disney with five of my besties, starting college, meeting some amazing people, attending my first hockey game and loving it, amongst other things. I hope that 2011 is even bigger and better then previous years. I hope that this year I am able to be more fearless, to do things I've always dreamt of, to make this the year of magical events. So 2011, are you ready? I say; BRING. IT. ON.

Jem

Taking One For The Girls!

Just a short, quickie post. UCONN girls basketball team made history today by becoming the first college b-ball team to win 89 consecutive games. If that isn't impressive I don't know what is.

I've always been a supporter of the UCONN team because my great aunt was once asked to play for them but unfortunately she turned them down since it was considered unladylike for her to play (this was in the 30's/40's). This is a shame however she still continued to root for the school's basketball team. So when it came time for me to choose a school to support it only seemed natural to carry on my great aunts love.

Anyways, back to the matter at hand.... this team was able to make history! I love that it was a girls team too. I mean we can't let the boys have all the fun can we? I have a feeling people will be talking about this game and historic moment for years to come (and eventually a movie will be made based off of the event... paging Disney as we speak! lol). This is a huge moment not only in basketball but in women's athletics in general. Maybe now people will take women's sports more seriously and their won't be anymore talk about women being inferior in athletics. Since clearly as the UCONN team proved, that is a complete and utter lie. Women are just as good as men and sometimes even better, they did break a men's basketball teams record after all. So what are your thoughts about this game? This moment in sports history?
Jem

Thoughts On Why I love Fashion....

Fashion, or should I say style, has always been their for me. I was a particular child. I mean, what normal child refuses to wear jeans/pants until the third grade? I wore dresses EVERY day. I can remember sticking to my convictions and telling my mum what I wanted to wear. Fashion taught me how to stick to my beliefs- to think that certain things ought to be a certain way. Yet, it also taught me that sometimes beliefs change and rules are meant to be broken. It also taught me that it's okay to be daring. Its okay to think to yourself, "who cares what others think. If this makes me happy then I am going to wear it!" 

One of the first things I think most people learn about me is, I truly care about fashion. A few weeks after beginning college a friend remarked to me, "you know, you always look SO good." My friends never see me in my sweats, not because I don't like them (god knows they are some of the most comfortable things in the world) but because I like to look presentable and polished. I know that I don't look presentable in sweats, so I choose just not to wear them (they might work on other people but sure not on me). 

I care about fashion for many reasons. Fashion is about how you project yourself to the world. Sometimes I think I can tell the world more about myself by what I am wearing then by what I write or say. Fashion/style says as much about a person as what they talk about. I also love that special feeling I get when I put on a new dress or a pair of glamourous flats. You feel good, as if you can take on the world. And its true, you can. You can do anything if you have confidence and a nice outfit!
Jem 

TED

I have to give thanks to my friend Forrest for introducing me to TED, a nonprofit dedicated to ideas worth spreading. Its goal is to inspire, influence, and create collaborations between all sorts of people from different walks of life. TED stands for technology, entertainment, and design. But it is oh so much more. Its encompasses other ideas too. The two videos above, are just two of the hundreds of videos available, and two of my personal favorite. TED is brilliant, it really makes you think and learn a lot from people who you normally would not be exposed too. Also, I have to commend the creators of the TED website, they have included this translation project. People translate videos into subtitles in English and other languages too. This is great for people like me, those who are hard of hearing or deaf, who other wise might not be able to enjoy the video because we wouldn't be able to comprehend what is being said. So really, hop on over to this genius organizations website, and just spend a few hours engrossed in the videos. If you don't come away learning something new, well, then we've got a problem!
Jem

Candlelight

This video has certainly taken the viral world by storm over the last few days. The moment my sister sent me the link to it, I couldn't stop replaying it. Candlelight is such a catchy parody of the song Dynamite sung by Yeshiva Universities acappella group, The Maccabeats. Its been stuck in my head these last few days. Finally we have another song to play, besides Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song! I've also been listening to Matisyahu's song, One Day. Its so beautiful and has such a powerful message, its hope is that one day we will live in a world filled with peace. Now thats a message I think everyone can get behind. So, Happy Hanukkah to my fellow Jew's and a Happy Holiday season everyone!
Jem

Taking Center Stage

Vogue. The cast of Billy Elliot posing along side a model.

Look at the gorgeous gown she's wearing! 

 Wendy's explanation of grace is exactly

how I view it. It is so much more then physical

but a mental state as well. 

Source unknown. I love the sense of poise and

whimsy captured in this photograph. 

 Ballerina Project (check out its Tumblr

and Facebook page). This is such an

amazing project- ballerina's are photographed

all around NYC. This tumblr is where I've

continuously found much of my inspiration. 

It seems that my blog has fallen to the wayside for much of these last few months. I love blogging but school work always comes first. Luckily, I have a free day today, so I figured I would get typing. I've recently become obsessed with dance. I was a dancer for twelve years, specializing in Modern Dance, and recently I've fallen in love with it once again. Searching the inter-web for photographs of girls dancing has taken over much of my free time. I am constantly searching for inspiration and I seem to find it in people dancing, especially ballet. Growing up, one of my dreams was to be a prima ballerina and dance with a company. Alas, such dreams never came to fruition but I still find so much inspiration from such dancers. Their is so much grace, humility, strength and power to be found in such photographs.
Jem