Weekend Spotlight: Fiesta Asia

As another weekend comes to a close, all I can say is that it was a real beauty.  The temperatures outside were absolutely delightful.  You know what that means?  Outdoor activity!  Fortunately, this weekend was Fiesta Asia, a street fair and festival celebrating the diversity of Asian culture.  Awesome!  It wasn't a huge fair, which was a positive because it made navigating so much easier.  It was an all day extravaganza and I got to see belly dance from the Middle East, martial arts, and a parade of nations.  I also got to try some delicious food, as no street fair is complete without it.  I chose Thai cuisine and had Drunken Noodles, a Shrimp Roll, and some Thai Iced Tea.  Um...so delish! 

Anyway, why just describe it to you when I can show you?  Keep in mind the following:

1) This is my first video (I haven't done video editing in close to 2 years) using not very advanced editing tools. 

2) The volume during the audio portion is LOUD.  My bad, guys! But you've been warned :-)

Enjoy!

Tunes Tuesday: Smooth Flow

Hey guys!  Warm weather is here and so are the smooth flow jams.  I just wanted to spotlight three tunes that have gotten my attention:

First up is a recently released track from one of my all-time favorite artists, Michael Jackson.  MJ is one of the few who defined the word artist.  It's still hard to believe he's gone as his legacy and influence is still so dominant. Anyway, this track was recorded in 1983 before Ms. Resilient was born :-)  I love everything about it.  The classic rhythmic groove and the lyrics are just lovely.  "Love Never Felt So Good" ... Indeed, Michael, indeed! The King of Pop reigns!

Next is a new track that I've heard recently on Urban Adult Contemporary radio.  It's by a relatively new artist who goes by the name of Mali Music.  The song is called "Beautiful".  I would love to hear this song performed live.  Perfect chill (or date) song.  Enjoy!

Finally, I've already professed my love for "All of Me" by John Legend.  But honestly, I STILL love it.  I think this is one of the sweetest, most sincere professions of love I've ever heard.  Every day, I feel I'm getting closer to reaching love like this.  Yes, I'm a romantic optimist. :-)  Anyway, there are many cover versions of this song but one that I really became endeared to is by Josh Kaufman, a current contestant on NBC's show The Voice.  Josh is married and has a family and while he's pursuing his dream of being a recording artist, it's gotta be tough being away from them.  He was spot on with the sentiment of this incredible song.  Check out Josh's cover version below:

P.S.  I NEED to see John Legend live.  Like seriously!  I'd jet abroad to see his show.  He's an incredible artist.  I love his music but this song is MY SONG!  "You're my end and my beginning, even when I lose I'm winning." ...ah one day, one day.  I love LOVE in case you couldn't tell.

So if I'm vibing on a grassy lawn this season, I'm most likely listening to these tracks. 

Belle- A Movie Review

Hello!  In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I saw a really interesting and riveting movie.  That movie was Belle.  Now I will keep this brief because 1) there are many professional critic reviews and 2) I don't want to provide theme spoilers.

Belle is based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle of England. 

From Wikipedia (linking here because it gives the plot without spoilers!):

Dido Belle (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy officer, is brought to England by her father and left in the care of his uncle, Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice, at his estate of Kenwood House. Though the social mores of the time make her an outsider, Dido is raised by Mansfield as an aristocrat alongside her cousin Elizabeth. Dido's burgeoning relationship with a young lawyer, John Davinier, meets with the disapproval of Mansfield who considers the match beneath her. At the same time Mansfield is deliberating on a slavery case that will advance the cause of the Abolitionists.

What I love about this film is that it explores race and class and the part that both play in society.  The film is based on a true story, inspired a 1779 painting of Dido and Elizabeth, and is such an interesting tale. Granted this is set back in Great Britain in the 1700s, however, many of the issues are still relevant today.  Dido was brought up more fortunate than others with her skin tone at the time due to her class standing.  However, she wasn't afforded the same experiences due to prejudicial attitudes towards her race.  There is a very interesting parallel between Dido and her cousin Elizabeth's journeys as well. Though current structure is drastically different, I can relate in some ways as a middle-class woman of color in 21st century America.  Education and career would dictate one path whereas prejudices and negative assumptions based on my my skin tone might be the stumbling blocks.  However, just as in the film, there are many people who will overlook race and whatnot and accept you and are attracted to you.  Blog lesson of the day:  Color doesn't define you, character does!

This movie is everything- a historical period piece, drama, and romance all in one.  The lead actors all give great performances as well.  Side note:  They are gorgeous!  Just Google the actors playing Dido, Elizabeth and John Davinier.  Running time is about a hour and 40 minutes and every minute is captivating!  I'm also loving that the director of this film is English of Ghanian descent.  Ms. Amma Asante, you are awesome.  I sincerely hope to this movie receiving big love at the next film award season.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

Hello my friends!  Bonjour les amis!  Hola/Olá amigos!  I think I covered all of the languages I have knowledge of :-)

First, Happy Mother's Day to all of the loving and nurturing moms out there!  Even without being a mom, I know it has it's challenging moments and today (and everyday) I hope you all feel loved and appreciated.  Much love!

Second, it's been awhile since my last in-depth post but I'm happy to say that things are good with me overall.  It's Sunday and I'm already prepared for tomorrow and the work week to commence.  The weekend contained nice weather and I saw a really interesting (and good) movie, which I will write a brief review of later. Definitely was a cool conversation piece and I hope that it gets recognized during the next film award season. 

So, why the title of this post?  Well, I will shamefully admit that I've been off my game recently.  If you've read my previous posts, particularly the ones near the start of the year, I was totally on a fitness high.  I was working out very regularly and eating well, specifically avoiding fast food, processed sugars, chocolate and other food vices.  Well, fast forward to now and I'm just a little bit out of control.  I've allowed myself to eat junk food at work (the communal kitchen can be dangerous!) and worse yet I've been indulging in gelato, ice cream and homemade milkshakes (not all at once).  I've been making all fruit/spinach smoothies but in the last couple of days deviated to unhealthy ice cream arena.  Somebody stop this rollercoaster!

Wait a minute, I have the power to stop this rollercoaster.  It's easy in life to spiral off course or full blown lose control and feel like it's the end.  Nope, it doesn't have to be.  I'm not proud of my recent indulgences but I recognize that I'm human and therefore liable to make mistakes.  But that doesn't have to be the end.  I can declare that today is the day that I stop playing and pull it back together!  Maybe that means increasing my water intake or surrounding myself with fruit/veggies and and staying away from the kitchen.  Taking a walk when I'm feeling stressed.  Creating a workout schedule and committing to it full throttle.  Whenever you find yourself slipping, think about what made you successful in the first place.  What steps did you take?  What was your attitude?  It's never too late and to quote a line from one of my favorite songs by the late, great Aaliyah...

"...if at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again."

And with that, have a wonderful week.  I'm off to strategize!

On My Way

Happy Monday!  Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I woke up this morning feeling very good.  I’m just off the cusp of a good weekend filled with culture, a wedding, unexpected reunions and smoothies!  I’ll write more about the culture aspect in a post later today.  Double posting, what what!  All in all, a great weekend.

 

So today is Cinco de Mayo.  I’ll admit that I never knew the background of Cinco de Mayo.  It’s pretty interesting, here’s a brief synopsis of what I found (per Wikipedia but you can Google for more):

“It originated with Mexican-American communities in the American West as a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War,[8][9] and today the date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.”

Pretty cool, right?  I'm a supporter of embracing cultural diversity throughout the year, so today is a start but keep it going!

Anyway, when I commute to work, I like to listen to music and often I just groove along to whatever my player decides.  Today, one song really stood out to me.  It’s called “On My Way” by the very underrated (but surely appreciated), Res.  I’ve been using this song as a personal anthem for years but sometimes when you are going through transition or phases, songs can resonate more than ever.  This song is all about not comparing yourself and how you can pull through when life presents tough moments.  With hard work and perseverance, you can begin to make your aspirations come true.  See what I mean about the message being on time?  "If I fall, if I stall and if I crawl 'cause I wanna go, it's okay, I'm ON MY WAY"  YES!

Love this acoustic version.  It's the way to go!

Have a wonderful week!

Speaking Up: #BringBackOurGirls

 

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I write, there is a very disturbing and heartbreaking human rights situation taking place in Nigeria. You can Google this story and I've included a few links below. Back in late April (last month), militants stormed a boarding school and abducted over 200 school girls, many of which are still missing today.  There has been much discussion of what their fate is, all of which is devastating.  I can not even begin to imagine the fear, pain, suffering and despair that these young girls are going through and unfortunately, this story is all too common in the world.  It's so easy to turn a blind eye to this issue of trafficking and violence, particularly against women in developing nations.  In fact, when I read the news update on this story, I immediately stopped what I was doing to pray for these young girls and tweet about it. Makes me realize my "problems/stressors" are really quite minuscule.  As global citizens, our biggest power lies in our VOICE and in our ability to raise awareness and advocate for change.  While the situation looks grim, I don't believe that all hope is lost.  Just because these events occur in places thousands of miles away from us does not mean we should not care or show support.  I may not be able to do much but if we can collectively raise awareness to get strategic organizations and media to pay attention, that is power.  I will pray for these girls and for their safe return and reunion to their families.  #BringBackOurGirls



Read more here:
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/01/world/africa/nigeria-abducted-girls/
BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27256860  &  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27241941