We Are Indigo

This year has been a bumpy one! But then again, the road never stays smooth for too long. While I am not a firm believer in “deciding to turn your whole life around” on New Years Day, I do look at it as an opportunity – An opportunity to let go of the past, wipe your hands, and usher in the new. To me, New Years is a reminder of the opportunity we have every day to control our destiny. So if you haven’t already this year, take some time out to reflect back on where you were last New Years, and what you may and may not have accomplished. What are you proud of? What do you regret? Now multiply your successes and minimize your mistakes.

Forgiveness is something easier talked about than actually done (this includes forgiving ourselves). There are some mistakes we are able to forgive with little difficulty, while others seem to bring an endless serving of guilt and or blame.

Life is about changes, and more of the little ones for that matter. It’s less about the changes outside us that we can’t control and more about the changes inside of us that we can.

“Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.”
-    Lewis B. Smedes

“A person who makes few mistakes makes little progress.”
-    Bryant H. McGill

“Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future.”
-    Swami Sivananda

With that said,

Happy New Beginnings in 2010!

I like this song and this video a lot. I’ve always appreciated Eminem’s serious side. This is the 3rd official single from his album Relapse. It samples “Reaching Out,” originally written by Rock Therapy (catch the video after the jump). Em began writing the track while he was in rehab and then finished it off when he was sober. This would explain the change in mood in the lyrics, from a state of depression to one of motivation.

Download Eminem – Beautiful here.

I usually like my sneakers clean and simple, but these are too unique not to comment on. Apparently, the inspiration for the design of the sneaker was found in Dr. Huxtable’s multi-patterened wool sweaters. I don’t think the white grain leather does anything for the shoe however. I love the fabric, but the thought almost seems incomplete. I wish they would have done something a little more natural like the bamboo weave. They’re not yet available in the US, but if you are interested, find them through this Korean retailer Kasina.

Link it.

Signs of American Life by Stephen Tamiesie

“Traveling across the remote American landscape – particularly the West – I have often felt a seclusion I can only attribute to the foreignness of the topography and the physical distance from other human beings.  Ironically, at times when it seemed I was quite isolated from another person or anything familiar, I did not have to look far before realizing that someone was nearby or had been where I was at one time before me.  Often these signs were of a bizarre nature, yet they produced a strange sense of comfort.  In these photographs I am reminded less of this comfort and more of the observation that the distance between what is familiar and unfamiliar is shorter than I often imagine.” -  Stephen Tamiesie

That last piece with the opening and the sky is awesome. Find more of Stephen’s work on the Behance Network here or visit his website.

An introduction to Nederhop:

Rotterdam, or Roffa in street slang, has always been the hip hop capital of the Netherlands.
When hip-hop culture first crossed the Atlantic from New York, it was in Rotterdam that it found fertile soil. Winne was 18-months-old when his parents moved from the Surinam capital of Paramaribo to the ‘Old West’ neighbourhood in Rotterdam. When he was in primary school, his dad gave him a cassette tape with music by Public Enemy and Ice-T.

To Winne it seemed natural for Rotterdam to embrace hip-hop. The city doesn’t just look like New York; it also resembles it in character, he says. “This is a fast city, where many nationalities live together.” (Link it)

Today’s Teacher: Winnie

Winston Bergwijn, better known as Winne, is a dutch rapper from Rotterdam. He is signed to the Dutch hip-hop label Top Notch. After his EP Onoverwinnelijk he dropped his debut album Winne Zonder Strijd recently (download the EP after the jump). In the summer of 2005, Winnie’s song “Top 3 MC” was released on the Internet by Kapitein Mo and Winne gained a much wider audience.

Link it.

Download Winnie’s EP – Onoverwinnelijk here.

Keep checking back for some more Nederhop talents to come.

I find this so interesting. I love my Disney movies (I mean really love them), but I must confess I never looked too deep into them when I was 5 years old. This just goes to show you how deep these things are ingrained into our society.

Now do I think Disney movies intentionally set out to promote racism? …..well, no, I don’t think Disney is entirely that corrupt. But I do think the influence of these movies on our development is immeasurable and often overlooked. Most of us probably saw our first Disney movie before we could talk. We learn through visual images before we can learn verbally. Even as we mature, we continue to learn the most through what we see.

Watching these videos reminded me of a lecture I went to see recently on Homophobia. The speaker’s main point was that we have to stop focusing on homosexuality and start addressing the problem of homophobia. During the Q&A period, a student asked, “At what stage do you think it’s appropriate to introduce homosexuality into children’s education?” …. As if to suggest that children should be eased into the knowledge that homosexuals exist. Afterall, isn’t that how prejudices begin… When one idea is introduced as the norm and another is later introduced as being different or the other? Homosexuals are deliberately excluded from mainstream representation, just as most minorities are.

Can’t we look at sexuality in a similar light as race? Since it is a known fact that different types of people exist in this world, it would only make sense to introduce all of these types of people at the earliest stage.

I love the mixed media of vibrant paint on black and white photography in these pieces. The paint brings another dimension into the works and somehow brings them to life, giving them an energy. Find out more about the Artist here or visit their website.

Nelson Mandela and The Game that Made A Nation

Clint Eastwood’s Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, focuses in on the Rugby World Cup of 1995. Shortly after Nelson Mandela emerged from 27 years in prison and became president of South Africa in 1994, he seized upon using a rugby World Cup the following year as an opportunity to rally the entire nation, blacks and whites, behind the far-fetched prospect of South Africa taking it home.

The film, which hit theaters early December, was originally titled “The Human Factor.” However, the later chosen title, “Invictus” refers to a poem that Mandela recited by William Ernest Henley. Freeman, now 72, was cast for the role of Mandela long before the script was written. During a press conference in the ’90s, the South African leader was asked who he’d like to play him in a movie version of his life. His answer: Morgan Freeman. And once you see the movie, you’ll agree, it’s as if Freeman had been born to play this role.

Gemma Mya Jewel Dress in Black

I prefer a dress that is comfortable, something I can relax in, that also looks cute. The T-Shirt dress is fun yet functional. It’s retailing for $162. Get it at Revolve Clothing here.

Kidz In The Hall – We Gone from Motion Family on Vimeo.

This track is off The Professional Leisure Tour, an EP that Kidz In The Hall dropped a few weeks back. Download the EP here.