Shake It Off

This morning I woke up with a familiar beat resonating in my head, and I have no idea where it came from. Then I realized: "Oh crap, it's a Taylor Swift song. How did that get in there??" Her song "Shake It Off" from how long ago? A few months now? I know the first few seconds of the song to recognize when it's time to change the radio station, and have never fully listened to it.

UNTIL THIS ONE FATEFUL MOMENT.

I have been stuck in an artist block/depressive slump for most of the day (cloudy skies aren't helping, either), and nothing I've been scoping on YouTube music-wise has helped get me out of this rut. The beat of "Shake It Off" began to steadily come to the forefront of my brain, and soon enough I'm typing, in disbelief, "Taylor Swift" in the search bar. Personally, I never really liked her music. I just figured her as a music star wannabe, a girl who met great fortune by meeting the right people and making the right connections to achieve fame. Her live performances on television never really struck me as spectacular, either, so I made a point of keeping her off my music radar.

Yet now that I'm listening to this song, she's made something clear: she doesn't give a flying f what other people think of her. I think that it's brave of her to actually come forward with a song dissing all the naysayers and negative media she's come across in her career. Now I have some respect for her, quite frankly because she's expressing what other people should instill in themselves. Everyone is entitled to dance to their own happy beat in order to drown out all the negative influences.

Sure, the music itself is a dramatic change from this supposed country-pop star, with the funky beat and obligatory brass section. Whether its on purpose or a change of aesthetic tastes on her behalf or production team, it certainly garnered enough attention to this song. Right now I'm listening to it and despite being in disbelief that I actually like this song, I'm feeling much better than before.

My personal problems have grounded me into a metaphorical gutter the past few months, and although I've managed to make some big steps in a positive direction, I still can't help but feel like I'm still being judged for my past decisions. Hearing this song reinforces the mantra that me, and everyone else, should refer to when they're being faced with judgment: shake it off.

And for all the people who dislike Taylor Swift for her personal life, her supposed romantic instability, her conforming music, and pop star status: she's currently shaking off your hurtful comments and (let's face it) living a happier life than all you Negative Nancy's.

Taking "Black Swan" to the next level.

What Good a Bunch of A-holes Can Do

After over a month since it's release date, I finally saw "Guardians of the Galaxy". It sacrificed some sleeping in, but it was well worth the matinee price and being out of a total of ten people in the theater. There were two young kids who were among the audience, and I wonder what the parents thought when a few adult words were thrown around here and there. That's besides the point...

What really struck me was how relevant this movie could be made towards the kind of society we live in. I'm not talking about being a bad-ass and saving the world, but our obligation as living beings of this earth, of this universe even, to do what is right for the benefit of all in the face of disaster.

*FILM SPOILERS AHEAD*

When we meet the protagonists of the film - Peter Quill (a.k.a. Star Lord), Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket, and Groot -, they all collide into each other on account of a resulting bounty for a mysterious orb. The content of the orb, an Infinity Stone, has a fraction of what will create the ultimate power in the universe. They end up being detained by the Nova Corps and, after making multiple promises of fortune and reward, escape into space, where the real problem is revealed: the Infinity Stone is being sought out by the most feared being in the galaxy, Thanos. His goal, with the aid of the Infinity Stones, is to destroy the galaxy and redesign it to his own liking, a true power-hungry maniac, for a lack of a better term.

What sets the Guardians of the Galaxy apart from other heroes is that at first the majority of the team was unwilling to go out of their way to do something universally beneficial, and were stuck up with their own selfish ambitions. Gamora is depicted as the humanitarian of the group, attempting to rally the team to look past its temporary goals of wealth and fame. The characters' inner turmoils also served as distractions to the universal problem. Once they were able to respond beyond their unresolved issues, they became the embodiment of what every person should be. Ok, if you look past the fact that they used one of the Infinity Stones to destroy Ronan and save the planet, they really did become more powerful than their selfish selves. The stone was a helpful tool...

This is what made the movie so great: we got to see these losers (as Quill clears up, losers in the sense that they all lost something) who had their own slew of personal problems grow together, fight for a common cause, kick some ass, and save the galaxy. This is what everybody needs to see nowadays because this film expresses that one needs to look beyond one's pride and selfishness in order to accomplish something great. Also, it shows the fact that no one can accomplish anything great alone, so it helps to have a few best buddies around. And a talking tree. That also helps, too. So go ahead, push your own pride aside and do something that you know will have the most beneficial impact on the world, like donating clothes, food, or money to those in need, or plant a tree to create a more beautiful world than the one our elders are predicting. You'd be helping out with Vin Diesel's "Plant A Tree For Groot" campaign! Overall, it is heroic to show that you give a damn about your world, because you're "one of the idiots who live in it".

Keep calm and be a Guardian.

Playing The Blame Game

Despite our country's efforts to come off as a progressive nation, it still harbors the kinds of people that give it a backwards impression.

An article released on CNN.com today states that a woman who was victim of a rape is now being blamed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office and is in part responsible for the crime. The victim, a typist at a state prison, was strangled and raped by an inmate who had a record of sex assault crimes back in 2013. She and her attorney filed lawsuits against the state for lax regulations on inmate access to areas in the prison facility, allowing them to move about unsupervised. The inmate had been sentenced to life in prison, and the superintendent of the prison was removed, so you could say the typist's case was justifiably resolved.

Yet, according to the attorney general's senior deputy statement, the typist was responsible for being raped, saying (as if to cover the government's ass) that "contributory negligence" is a valid defense for the state to have used in the federal lawsuit. In short, the typist knew what she was up against when working in a prison facility. Totally her fault for being raped by an inmate.

Although this is one story from Pennsylvania, who knows how many other cases are being made (or not made) against rapists, and how many of the victims are facing this form of public embarrassment from their own government. It is shameful that high-end officials cannot assume responsibility for their own flaws and misgivings; it's what they knew they would get into when they accepted their position in office. The whole reason behind our governments -- local, state, and national -- is to provide its citizens with protection against injustices and criminals. Then why the hell would the state do something as childish as blame a citizen for a crime they were a victim of?

Also, terribly sick and tired that women are in part responsible for their own rape. They're too weak, too attractive, dress too promiscuously, don't say "no". In lieu of Emma Watson's speech at the U.N., it is time for both men and women to join together to put an end to sexism. In a country where we pride ourselves over our freedoms and liberties, it is terribly ironic that the majority of us have limitations in our own nation. Where's the sense in that? It is time that we, as citizens, make sure that our safety and liberties are protected by reliable officials in government, instead of leaving it to miscreants who can't handle the burden of acknowledging their faults and claiming responsibility.

Fighting The Good Fight

A few days ago, Emma Watson addressed the U.N. in New York City with a powerful speech concerning gender inequality around the world. What was especially memorable about her speech was the fact that she recognized men as victims of gender inequality, and invited them to join the movement so that everyone can have the equal freedom to live under the same sun, and not live under social scrutiny. I don't recall a feminist being vocal for the rights of more than just women, but Emma really hit the nail on the head there when it came to a global problem. It's about time someone took the stand and announced that everyone is affected by an abstract binary scheme, and that we should use our time on this earth to stop fussing over it. A cooperative world is a better world. 

Would it be called irony now that Emma Watson has become a social advocate?

Now, of course, after such an admirable moment in this week's history, someone has to go and f*** it all up. On top of that, that particular someone (some 4chan user) has done more than proven there is a prevalent problem with gender inequality. 

One of the top headlining stories on CNN.com is "Emma Watson Faces Backlash After Gender Inequality Speech", and the backlash is some measly threat of nude pics featuring Emma Watson being displayed all over the internet. 

Why is it that when there are people attempting to do good in the world, there's always that one a**hole who has to ruin a hopeful moment for millions of people with some stupid threat? And why is it these stories of backlash and rejection make the headlines right after a monument occasion? "Because these stories sell!" Bulls***. In a different context, these news agencies are highlighting the type of scum that still manage to weasel their ways into the media with incorrigible acts. However, these news agencies are only stating facts, not opinions. They're not stating, "Hey, check out this moron who is criminally engaging a breach of privacy!", and they should be doing more to counter the problem. With the past incidences of female celebrities having their private lives violated, it can be safe to say that this is a case of civil abuse. 

I hope to live in a society that, when stories of women (or any person) having their lives hacked and publicly ridiculed, the good people will do more than complain about, partake in, or ignore acts of personal encroachment.

Or we can just hope that Harry Potter's "Expecto patronum" spell disperses all these happy-sucking dementors out of the social scope. 

What's The Buzz?

In a genius move, BuzzFeed has successfully integrated satirical videos of the real world and social components. Now, instead of scrolling through an obscure number of best couples costume ideas or how to make breakfast the right way (why does it have to stop at a certain number, anyway?), one can spend minutes to hours watching these videos about things that highlight what one thinks, feels, or realizes in social circumstances! It's like they know everything about your life!!

In all seriousness, BuzzFeed has come up with some good material, and they made one particular video having to do with a post I wrote last month (it was more or less a rant on how an article got posted online about the benefits of catcalling). The weird thing was that the upload date marked on this video was a week before the actual New York Post article was published. So it was either good timing for BuzzFeed to produce this video, or I'm not doing my research very well.

Here's the video!
BuzzFeedYellow - What Men Are Really Saying When Catcalling Women

Just want to say, kudos to the people behind this. Not only are they mocking the crap out of these types of men, but they're doing the right thing and taking a stand against this kind of disrespect. For the excuses they came up with, these guys seem to have it spot on that there are men out there who are just so insecure, frustrated, and have no idea how to converse like a normal human being. Hopefully with how many viewers BuzzFeed reels in, and with the aid of social media, this video's exposure can prompt a social change, and create a generation of civil human beings who will not resort to this kind of behavior.

All of this is powerful stuff, and we all have the power in our hands to make change. Could you imagine back in the day, you had to play the telephone game to garner support, make posters and flyers from scratch (pen and paper), and stand on a soap box to make sure your voice was heard. Now, we can do so much more with a computer, some hand-held cameras, cell phones, etc. Not to preach, but my minimal contribution to this social change movement is making sure things that I write about are more than just my opinion; I hope to at least elicit some thought from my readers, that is if anyone reads this damn blog (congrats if you made it this far!). There are so many things that need to be brought to our attention instead of passing over them like newspaper headlines. Rather than complain about the problems in the world, or making justifications that your point of view is a Godsend, we all need to do our part and talk about how to make things better. That, or come to a understanding. BuzzFeed has done that and shows they understand, through comedy, that catcalling is embarrassing for everyone involved.

Time to stand on your soapboxes, grab your cameras, and type away what you're going to do to change the way people see things. I'm sure it's been heard thousands of times already, but it's appropriate: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Start a buzz.

A Therapy Session With Mary Lambert

Ever since Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's socially-conscious single "Same Love" hit the air-waves, I became slightly obsessed with the crooning melody of the chorus. Sure, the song itself was great and had a powerful message of acceptance and love for all people regardless of race and orientation, but the voice belonging to the one and only Mary Lambert was what hooked me onto the song. Generally, I dislike the abrasive riffs of rap, but I could listen to that one song over and over again because of her.

Two years later, Mary Lambert had been nominated for two awards, released two extended plays, is now anticipating the release of  her first studio album, "Heart On My Sleeve" (October 14th), and is headlining a tour. For someone to go from providing a minimal yet emotionally-driven refrain in a song to all of these achievements is astounding. I cannot imagine the kind of roller coaster Mary has been going through, but she has certainly been kept busy, and is clearly loving every bit of it (her Facebook and Twitter posts have expressed that much).

She looks so genuinely happy about everything! It's contagious!

Mary Lambert's music and songwriting style has been compared to artists such as Tori Amos and Adele, however her artistic expression could very well become its own pop category. She has brought spoken-word poetry into the spotlight in her extended plays ("Letters Don't Talk", "Welcome To The Age Of My Body"), an art form that is reminiscent of rap yet significantly more demonstrative of the emotion behind each word or phrase, rather than spewing them out at record speeds (congrats on that world record, Eminem!). Whether Mary will continue that trend in her new album or succumb to mainstream pop tunes is something we'll have to wait and see when it is released. 

Personally, I'm hoping to hear more of her impassioned poems of self-worth and empowerment. Music has been known to be used as an outlet for therapeutic methods, and Mary Lambert's honest and unabashed lyrical stories reveal that music is her go-to method when she needs to release her inner-demons. She has already expressed so much when it comes to her early-childhood trauma and hardships growing up, and she's still going! That consistent smile on her face just goes to show how powerful music has over an individual; while she's healing herself with musical expression, she's helping fans and first-time listeners with confronting their own imperfections. One of her new singles, "Secrets", is a catchy example of Mary acknowledging quite a few of her personality traits, and throwing them out there without regard of the stigmas associated with them.

Let it out. Ugly crying is allowed.

The timing of Mary Lambert's music could not have been better. With stories of bullying, and the fluctuating paradigm of sexuality and gender rising up to the headlines, there is a need for the people affected in the above issues to find relief and acceptance. Like Lady Gaga did with her "little monsters", Mary is influencing a new generation of millennials to become more emboldened with their self-perception and to recognize the flaws of main-stream America. From the majority of the songs released so far, Mary's tunes exhibit her bipolar disorder, ranging from peppy upbeats to somber acoustic accompaniments; not to mention, she has also publicly revealed her mental disorder numerous times. Her public confessions have reached out to those who are ashamed of whatever mental or physical ailments they have. She also proven through the power of music to persons who are ignorant of such matters that there is no shame in expressing oneself: "Hey, there's an overweight, bipolar lesbian singing about her problems, and she is successful and happy despite it all!" That alone should tell everyone that despite the social norms instilled in our culture, everyone is capable of rising above their dark secrets and find solace in one another through public expression.

Overall, I'm very excited for "Heart On My Sleeve" to come out because, quite honestly, I have listened to the few singles that have been released from the album hundreds of times already and cannot get enough of it all. Mary Lambert's poetic (and at times blunt) lyrics linked with emotive musical accompaniment brings about a much-needed turn in the pop music scene, one that is more than just background noise and messages of getting your sexy on. Through her music, Mary Lambert is more than just the next rising pop star; she doubles as your inner-voice that tells you it's ok to be sad, and as your best friend who shares the same insecurities as you do.

A Hefty Subject

So, this popped up on my newsfeed:

Meghan Trainor - "All About That Bass"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCkvCPvDXk ...I will get to this video in a minute, but in case you haven't heard it by now, watch it!

Also, DAMN he's got some moves!

You know how the day winds up having a general theme, where everything seems to connect in some way? Kind of like how your iTunes seems to magically shuffle to a song you have had on repeat in your brain, or when Buzzfeed makes sure you see everything you miss from the 90's when you're feeling nostalgic. Something like that happened to me today, and it's funny because it's usually a topic I don't concern myself with because I used to have no direct link to it.

Earlier today, my youngest sister was clearing off her bookshelf, full of children's books and completed Mad Libs. She came across a journal with an entry in it from when she was fourteen-years old, and summarized most of it to me: she hated herself for being fat. As an automatic response, and also as a term of endearment (which I need to stop doing), I told her she was a dummy. I became irrationally defensive of my sister against her former mind, wanting to beat up the punk who told her she was overweight and unattractive. Obviously, I couldn't beat her up over the fact that she had low self-esteem; every kid goes through their moments of feeling worthless, and they learn to deal with it in their own ways (with healthy alternatives, hopefully). My sister and I shared an awkward moment while passing over the subject, saying a few words about her entry and me telling her that she was never fat, and still isn't.

When I was growing up, I didn't fit in with the girls in my class. I had a multitude of reasons why I was outcasted by my peers, but that's a whole different story. However, weight was never an issue. I remember one time where one of the few friends I had told me that she heard from the gossip train that a classmate of ours called me a whale. I laughed because it was so ridiculous how someone thought she was being malicious by calling me a whale.

Now, with the boom of social media, there are more ways for kids to get bullied, and it's heartbreaking to see. Kids can express their dislike or even hatred towards another person without facing the repercussions of their actions, or even physically facing their victim of choice. The language is there, clear as daylight, so the victim can read it among his/her peers, and with a statement so persistent and visible, it can only be assumed to be true. It's unfortunate that children are subjected to seeing these attacks on them in a consistent manner, especially if more than one kid joins the sick trend of abusing a child who is different than everyone else.

HOWEVER, social media has helped a whole lot. This generation now has artists who sing these kids' troubles away, telling them they don't have to worry about their image, just so long as they are comfortable in their own skin. This song, "All About That Bass" by Megan Trainor, magically appeared on my newsfeed right after the conversation I had with my sister. Apparently, it's all the rage on the internet.

Also, she isn't downplaying skinny girls, she's sympathizing with them, too! Read the lyrics, people.

Immediately after that song, Colbie Caillat's "Try" surfaced, and I found myself listening to yet another self-empowering song.

Two-facing Hollywood and social norms on beauty!

Kids growing up in this world will face a lot more harsh criticism, yes, but at the same time they are surrounded with so many people who believe that everyone deserves a chance to feel beautiful, wonderful, and worth something. It's reassuring to see that there are people attempting to reach out to one another, to spread messages of acceptance and love when hate-speech, intolerance of others, and (simply put) people who can't mind their own goddamn business about looks and weight abrasively make themselves loud and clear.

So be kind to one another, because at one point in your life, you may have been subjected to gossip and ridicule over your appearance by someone else. Would you wish that on anyone you don't know just because you can? No. Use that energy to do something good, and be kind.