Favorite Music of 2010

Now let's countdown some of my favorite songs of 2010! Enjoy!
El Guincho- "Bombay" WARNING: Video is NSFW

Memoryhouse- "Lately"

Tame Impala- "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind"

How to Dress Well- "Ready for the World"

Kanye West- "Devil in A New Dress"

Caribou- "Odessa"














The list was longer but I had to chop it down because 2011 was going to be here!

Deuces 2010!

Well, what can I say. I sort of feel like 2010 was a year of losses and gains.
Losses:
I lost my grandmother the one who practically raised me. My uncle suffered a stroke leaving him paralyzed. I lost my mind during some points of it. I have way too many parking tickets. I also just lost the ring my beaufriend gave me pictured in my last post.
Gains:
However it was also a year of gains. I gained a great better relationship with each of my closest companions and a great beau who brings me full circle. I also gained better understanding of myself. I gained a sense of compassion by working with my students. I gained inspiration by taking on an internship. I landed a great opportunity to work in Hollywood. I gained $13 from a lottery ticket!

With all these things said, I am looking towards 2011 with great anticipation of all things to come.


As I raise my glass of Sparkling Apple Cider(because I don't drink)at midnight, I will welcome in 2011 with a sound mind and spirit and the notion to "Do Better!"


My New Year's Resolution is to:

• Finish my Documentary
• Meditate
• Manage my Spending Better and Save my pennies
• Read at least 1 whole book a month
• Become more organized
• Limit my fast food to 1-2 times a week (I know it seems a lot but when I first moved to L.A. I had In-N-Out 6 times in 1 week!!!)
• get the SAG card on deck

Sidenote: I have about 15 resolutions but the rest are uh...a tad bit embarrassing.

16th day of Christmas

   Habari Ghani Ya'll! I finally got my present from the beaufriend. I can safely say he's racked major points with me on the gift giving. (Especially since this means he reads my blog!)

Also got a really sweet ring! The words are "Be Brave ♥ Love Life ♥ " I meant to take a picture of the little card that came with it that said, "Be courageous, follow your dreams and love life!

I've been itching to finish canvases but I wanted to attempt mixing mediums after seeing a few delightful pieces hanging in the offices of my internship. These new oil pastels will come in handy quickly. (sidenote I forgot to take a picture of my new acrylics because...I started using them today!)


I feel like one lucky Southern Belle...even though I got it 3 days later.

Kujichagulia

Habari Ghani! Today we celebrate the second principle of Kwanzaa- "Kujichagulia" which means self-determination. I'd like to present to ya'll one of the most inspiring artists I've met thus far. I love my self-portrait! This is one of the best gifts ever! I present to you: Modé


Modé is an artist from Nigeria.  She's spent almost half of her life away from home but still has a solid connection to her motherland. She graduated from the Academy of Art University  with a BFA in Character Animation and she's presently figuring out the next step in her life to take. 

1. You're a really gifted artist. When did you first discover your talent or passion for creating your visions on canvas?

Thank you. My talent wasn't much of a discovery, I wasn't even very good artist at first. It was something I worked on continuously then I eventually grew and became what I am today. It's still in the process and I don't believe I'm at my best yet. In terms of passion I don't remember when I didn't love art. I've always loved it.

2. Who are some of the artists that have inspired you (past or present)?

I get tons of inspiration from all sorts of art. My favourite artist is Frida Kahlo. Although my art looks nothing like hers I strive to embody the power and emotion she expresses in her paintings. I like her as a person (at least what I know of her) and her paintings speak to me. Artists I also love are, John Singer Sargent, Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Peter Paul Ruben, Manet, Courbet and Mucha. I like graffiti and impressionist art. 

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your works?

I love to paint people, any kind of person as long as their beauty intrigues me. Unfortunately though, I noticed going to art galleries and looking at paintings of all sorts there weren't enough paintings of dark-skinned people so at the moment I'm trying to fill that gap where there's a lack of ethnic art. But my ultimate goal is to be able to pull out the unique personality the individual has on canvas.

Here is the original photo she used for the painting.

Be sure to check out more of  Modé's works on her blog: http://modechronicles.blogspot.com/


I'm heading out of Texas soon back to my home in Los Angeles to ring in the new year! I wish you all a continued pleasant holiday!

One Last Wish

Is asking for an original Basquiat as a last minute Christmas gift too much? Maybe I should just add it to my Kwanzaa list.

Yuletide Wish List

1. Sterling Silver "Love Life" ring -Target  2. Nike Maharam Dunk Skinny Sneaker-Urban Outfitters  3. The Ultimate Hall & Oates CD  4. Artist's Loft 48 Piece Oil Pastels-Michaels 5. Scilia Rainbow crystal ring 6. Aldo "Curly" Wedge 7. Sephora gift card 8. Forever 21 Faux Fur coat 9."Noir" parfum gift set -Victoria's Secret 10. Kat Von D "Sinner" Parfum 11. Converse Hi-Tops in white 12. "Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell


This year, Christmas kind of just hit me! I didn't have a Christmas list made until my beaufriend pestered me about it. However, these are a few things I've spotted throughout the year and so...yah. What's on your Christmas list ya'll?


Here's a little Holiday cheer from the Muppets!
I owned this video when I was a kid and was literally scared to death over this scene!



I must admit the tune is rather catchy!

Extravaganza

I had a natural hair photo shoot this Sunday with the fabulous Felicia Leatherwood of Lovingyourhairwithnaturalcare.com! This is the fold and tuck hair style she did for me! I feel very posh! It also reminds me a little bit of the fabulous RuPaul video "Back to My Roots!"

LoL when he says, "Nah-uh Honey, I am tender-headed!"

We should really give RuPaul more credit for this video! He covers all aspects of black hair and shows folks they can be proud of their textures and style. "You better work!"

At A Glance

I've gotten a few e-mails to do tutorials on hair stuff so I'm trying to churn things out as soon as possible!

Last week was crazy busy for me so I didn't get to come back to the blog. I had auditions and work and my internship forged into one neat package. I guess the high-light would be meeting Stevie Wonder. He has an amazing personality and I really hope he writes a book soon!

Christmas/Kwanzaa is around the corner and I have to do some crazy shopping. I haven't really thought about what I wanted too much. It's crazy how much I hated the idea of receiving clothes as a Christmas gift when I was a kid but now...if you want to take a girl to TopShop, I would not mind!

Alright song of the day: "At A Glance"-Body Language(Toro Y Moi Remix)
It has a nice melodic holiday beat...Alright time for me to break out the Brian McKnight "Bethelem" Christmas CD.

Imprint After

I'm getting back into the swing of things. I miss making youtube videos and I promised I would do them more often so here I am!


I'm really excited today simply because I was put "on avail" for a commercial I auditioned for last week! It pretty much means that I've made a very short list of likeable actors and could most likely end up on set! Hopefully I get it because that means...NEW computer! It's time for me to become a MAC user already! Don't get me wrong. I love my pink Sony Vaio! In fact if they're still making them I might consider that...I just don't want to have to move my life over to another computer...AGAIN. I go through laptops like water through a faucet. Dell-Toshiba and now Sony....whew.


In actuality, I'm most likely going to clean house with bills. I bet debt-free college student living would be nice...sorta.


Ok now for song of the Day:
Saint Etienne- "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"


This song kind of reminds me of the 90s hits by Shanice and Des'ree.

What a 7-year old taught me about Natural Hair

I spoke with a 2nd grade student of mine yesterday about natural hair and her thoughts were shocking. Please watch and post your feedback. Have you had any experience with this? What are some ways we can try to remedy this and improve hair-image amongst young girls?

Les Sins

I came across this photo on the "interwebs" and thought how friggin MARVELOUS is this?! It's not often that you find vintage pin-up photos of women of color. I love this photo so much it was my desktop wallpaper for a while. I wish I knew more about this photo. The woman on the far right reminds me tremendously of my Aunt Onadelle...wonder if this could have been her?

In other news, I have the absolute busiest life ever created. I don't know if I will travel back to the South for Christmas yet but I know a couple of friends are counting on it.

Have ya'll heard the new Toro Y Moi side project- Les Sins? As you know from previous posts, I love the music of Toro Y Moi and am an avid Chillwave listener.  It's disco-perfect!

Listen: Les Sins- "Lina"

Anyway still trying to get the store up and running hopefully items will be previewed by the end of the week?

Love ya'll!