Monday Musings: Invisible Children and the KONY 2012 campaign

Unless you've been living under rock and don't use social media, you've probably heard about the KONY 2012 video by Invisible Children. It was posted last Tuesday, and instantly went viral. The 30 minute film whose primary goal is to raise awareness about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony and make him a household name, has gotten over 74 million views on YouTube. With such publicity comes speculation and questions. Don't believe everything you hear that is critiquing the non-profit. Invisible Children responded with a very well written piece on their website, I suggest reading it. 

When I first heard about the LRA and Joseph Kony I was mortified at this injustice and treatment of tens of thousands of Ugandan children. For more than two decades, Joseph Kony’s tactics of war have been brutal. Kony and the LRA have abducted more than 30,000 children in northern Uganda. He has forced children to kill their parents or siblings. He abducted girls to be sex slaves for his officers. At the height of the conflict in Uganda, children “night commuted” to avoid abduction. Every evening they would leave their homes and walk miles to the city centers. Hundreds of children would sleep in school houses, churches, or bus depots to avoid abduction by the LRA. The LRA left Uganda for good in 2006 when the Juba Peace Talks began. Since 2008, they have continued their attacks in the border regions of northeastern Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic.

Invisible Children began after a group of Southern Californian students went to Uganda in 2003 to film the conflict. What they discovered was the catalyst for forming the non-profit. Their mission as stated on their website is to stop LRA violence and support the war-affected communities in East and Central Africa. The three ways they achieve this mission are:

1) Make the world aware of the LRA. This includes making documentary films and touring them around the world so that they are seen for free by millions of people.
2) Channel energy from viewers of IC films into large-scale advocacy campaigns to stop the LRA and protect civilians.
3) Operate programs on the ground in LRA-affected areas that provide protection, rehabilitation and development assistance.

I had the great pleasure of hearing the founders of Invisible Children speak at the 2010 Classy Awards in San Diego, which honors achievements by non-profits. They won the nationwide award for Most Effect Awareness Campaign. You can read my post about the night here. I went up to one of the guys afterwards, and told them about Ruined, a play my theatre had coming up about abuse of women in the Congo. I told them that we'd love to have them attend the Opening Night. Then our fabulous marketing team got them involved as community partners for the play and one performance helped raise money for Invisible Children. I had the pleasure of meeting the Co-founder and Filmmaker Jason Russell and Chief Operations Officer Chris Carver at the Opening Night of Ruined. Since then I've been a huge fan of this non-profit and what they stand for. If you have not watched the video, GO WATCH IT NOW! It will open your eyes and definitely make them tear up. 

Jason Russell (left) and Chris Carver (right) at the Ruined Opening Night party.

Photo by Daniel Norwood Photography

Monday Musings: Time Flies

I will try to make this a regular Monday post, with my musings for the day. 

Musing: noun
1. Contemplation; meditation.
2. A product of contemplation; a thought. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about how fast time goes by. My 10 year high school reunion will be this fall. (How did that happen?) I'm helping to plan it, and it's so crazy to think I was in high school a decade ago! I've stayed close with many of my high school friends, and I am so lucky to have friends like them that have been a part of my life for so long. I've now been to many of their weddings and some have even had babies. It doesn't seem like that long ago we were gossiping about boys and picking out dresses for the Prom.

Me and my best girlfriends at Senior Prom (I'm the short one on the far left.)

I'm really excited to see my friends in October and catch up with people that I haven't seen since graduation. Being from a small town, I see a lot of childhood friends when I'm home for the holidays. But as we've gotten older and moved further away, I see less and less of them. But no matter how long it's been, we always catch up where we left off. That's the wonderful thing about old friends.

My brother Nick is graduating from Clemson, my alma mater, in a few monthes. It's very hard to believe it's been 6 years since my college graduation. I'm flying back to South Carolina in May for the big event. It will be kind of surreal to see him walk across the same stage I crossed, what doesn't seem that long ago. It's been so fun to see him have many of the same college experiences that I had - from football games, campus ministry, a Spring Break trip to Germany, to the same college bars. And now to see him graduate! I'm really lucky to have had the education and college experience that I did. And I made some lifelong friends along the way. 

And it's also hard to believe that almost two years have passed since I made the trip across country to move to San Diego. I find myself sometimes willing time to slow down. I get so caught up in the day to day, that before I know it a month has passed, then several, and then a whole year. Time is a precious thing and there's never enough of it. But it's important to be thankful for the time we do have and try to make it count as much as possible. I find that I all too often say that I'll get around to doing things. So, my resolution this year is to actually get around to them! There's no time like the present.


I find sometimes that a song, a picture or conversation can make those old times feel like they just happened. This is one of my favorite songs, I Go Back by Kenny Chesney. 

What are some of your favorite high school or college memories? 

20 Things You May Not Know About Me

Even though most of my readers know me pretty well (Hi Mom!), I thought I'd share 20 things that people may not know about me. 

1. The house I grew up in Fredericksburg, VA since I was two years old (which my parents still live in) is 120 years old. I was convinced growing up it was haunted and used to freak my friends out with ghost stories and Ouija boards when they slept over. But I don't doubt that it actually may be.

The house all lit up for Christmas.

2. I'm seriously scared of spiders.

3. I'm a perfectionist.

4. I want to write historical fiction one day. Stories that are tied to art of the Italian Renaissance and the people depicted in famous paintings.

5. Growing up I was obsessed with collecting things. I had massive collections of Pogs, stickers, Pez dispenzers and Tweety Bird collectables. My Dad and I started a major coin collection together when I was about ten. The coins are the only collection that still exists.

6. I am a pack rat. I save just about every letter, birthday card and memento given to me. I love to go back and read them from time to time. I hardly get rid of anything, except for Pogs and Pez dispensers.

7. I've been to 12 European countries and 28 US States. Mostly in college and on 3 cross-country drives. I studied music in Eastern Europe in the summer of 2004 and backpacked through Germany in 2005. 

In a German train station with my Lutheran Campus Ministry group.

8. One of my goals is to see most of the places in the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die. I'm almost to 100. I wish I could travel for a living.

9. I don't eat red meat. The last hamburger I had was when I was 8. I mostly eat things that once had wings or came from the ocean.

10. On that note I LOVE sushi. I could eat it every day. But I didn't try it until my 20th birthday.

11. My middle name is Marie after my Grandmother, Stella Marie. I miss her dearly.

12. My Grandmother Irma (my Dad's mother) was the great grand-daughter of William Henry Seward who was Secretary of State under President Lincoln. He purchased Alaska for the US in 1867. His desk stayed in our family and now I have it in my apartment.

Grandma and me sometime in the early 80's. I also miss her dearly.

13. I giggle a lot when I get nervous talking to someone.

14. I've caught two bouquets at friends' weddings but am nowhere near walking down an aisle myself. I think that I'll be one of last of my friends to get married. And I'm okay with that.

15. I've never minded going out to eat or seeing a movie by myself. I like my own company sometimes. But it's always more fun with a friend or significant other of course :)

16. It never fails that I will cry at sappy things. Especially during Extreme Home Makeover and Lifetime movies.

17. I usually read 3 or more books at a time. I like the variety.

18. I love to scrapbook, but I rarely finish an entire one.

19. My teen crushes were Jonathan Taylor Thomas (BOP posters covered my walls) and Taylor Hanson. Yes, I admit I was a HUGE Hanson fan. MMMBop was catchy.

20. When I was a child, I wanted to become an archeologist when I grew up. I've always been fascinated with history. When my parents built a patio, I dug in my backyard for fun. Fredericksburg, VA has a Civil War battlefield and soldiers marched through my backyard. I found pottery and even some Civil War bullets. We gave it all to the local historical society.

So, that's me in a nutshell. Thanks for reading!

Superbowl Commercials

I did a little facelift on the blog, hope you like it! I'm not a huge football fan (unless Clemson is playing of course!) so I really only watched the Superbowl for the commercials. And Madonna. I was happy to see the Giants win. My Dad's family are New Yorkers so I grew up cheering for them. It's always fun to see the underdog win. And to see Tom Brady cry. 

Here's a few of my favorite commercials - enjoy! 

1. E*Trade talking baby - "I'm speed dating!" I died laughing! Something is just hilarious about a baby talking like an adult.

2.  Acura NSX commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno. Lots of great references to Seinfeld like the Soup Nazi. 

3. The Voice - It premiered after the Super Bowl and I can't believe I didn't watch last season! I love this show! And the commercial with an appearance by Betty White was classic. She just had her 90th Birthday and she's still got a thriving career. I want to be her someday.  

 

4. M&Ms - I love their marketing people, the commercials are always a riot. This featured Ms. Brown M&M who the red M&M thought was naked. He then strips off his shell to "I'm sexy and I know it." 

5. Uncle Jesse aka John Stamos makes a Superbowl cameo appearance in this Dannon commercial for greek yogurt. Is just me or does he get better looking with age?!?

6. And last but last least of my favorites, the Sketchers commercial with the French bulldog racing with greyhounds - in mini Sketchers. Mainly I just like that they replaced Kim Kardashian as their spokesperson with a bulldog. 

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Madonna's halftime performance. I thought it was a big improvement from years past, but watching her flip around stage in semi-slow motion was a little awkward. And what was with Cee Lo in a sequined moo-moo during Like a Prayer? I think my favorite part was that crazy rope dancing bit. It's hard to hate on the performance too much though, because she's freaking Madonna. All and all she rocked it. 

What were your fav. commercials of the night? 

First Friday of February

It's the first Friday of February (that's a lot of alliteration) and I can't believe January is already gone. Is it just me, or the older we get, the faster time goes by? And in San Diego, where the weather doesn't vary much, it feels like one long season. Don't get me wrong, sunny and 72 degrees in the beginning of February - I'll take that over having an actual winter anytime!

Some things I'm looking foward to this month:

• A friend's 30th Birthday party at the Hard Rock Hotel tomorrow night!
• The Opening Night for La Jolla Playhouse's last show of the 2011-2012 season, American Night.
• The Oscars, and the viewing party my friends are hosting at their house on the beach. I won the Oscar poll at their party last year, so hopefully I can predict the winners well this year!
• Watching the rest of the Academy Award Best Picture nominated films. I've seen 4 1/2 of the 9 nominated films - Moneyball got boring and I turned it off halfway through. Still to see - War Horse, The Tree of Life, Hugo and The Artist.
• Getting one extra day, it's a leap year!

Golden Globes 2012 - The Red Carpet Review

It's almost two weeks post Golden Globes, but never late than never. Here is my recap of the best and worst dressed on the Red Carpet. I joined my fellow award show loving friend Mike to critique the fashion and see who would take home the golden statues this year. We ordered pizza and drank some delicious pear cocktails. The Golden Globes are always a fun awards show for fashion because the actors usually go for edgier looks than the more formal Oscars. This year didn't disappoint, and there were several "OMG I love it" dresses and many "Oh no, what was she thinking?!" ones.

I'll start with my favorites - in no particular order:

Charlize Theron- Dior Couture

I just love everything about this dress. Not everyone can pull off this light pink/champagne color, but Charlize has the right skin tone to pull it off. She's seriously one of the most beautiful women alive, so a trash bag would look great on her. The sillohuette of the dress is so elegant with the high slit and long train. And the bow to the side complements the slit really well. The deep V is hard to pull off, but it works on her. Headbands were really "in" this year and where I didn't like them on a lot of others, it works with this dress. And the messy side bun is perfect for the look. All and all, my favorite of the night. 

Jessica Alba - Gucci

Um, how did you just have a baby 5 months ago Jessica and look like this?!? She looked radiant in this lavendar Gucci gown. I LOVE the intricate beading and the flowing train. A great updo for this dress as well.

Viola Davis - Emilio Pucci

One shoulder dresses seemed to be a big trend, and Viola looked stunning in this crimson Emilio Pucci gown. It's the perfect fit for her, and she was showing off some leg! I love the small pleats and flowing fabric. Sometimes you forget how young and gorgeous Viola is because of the roles she plays. As Abilene in The Help (one of my favorite movies of the year) she was playing a women much older than herself. She gave such an excellent performance as always, and I was hoping she'd win Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. She had some tough competition though, and when Meryl Streep is in the running it's hard to win!

Sofia Vergara - Vera Wang

Fish tailed dresses were another big trend on the Red Carpet. I love how the material changes at the waist. Sophia rocked this dress (she could also rock a trash bag) and the blue color is beautiful on her. 

Evan Rachel Wood - Gucci

This is so edgy and different - I love it! I wonder how many birds went into the making of this gown. 

Sarah Michele Gellar - Monique Lhullier

At first glance I didn't like this at all. But then it grew on me. The tie-dye look strangely works with the gown. And it's adorable that she said she picked it because her 2 year daughter liked it the best. It made it on a lot of "worst-dressed lists" but I'm going to go the other way. It's bold and different, and she rocked it. The only thing I would change is the hair. The high ponytail wasn't the best choice, I would have worn it down. And PS - her new show Ringer is actually really good! Glad to have Buffy back on TV! 

Kate Winslet - Jenny Packham

I love Kate. She looks classy and sophisticated always. This dress is no exception. I love black and white dresses, and this has such great details and shape. And congrats to her on her Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a TV Mini-series!

Now for the "what were you thinking" dresses of the night. I won't go into detail on these, I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Zooey Deschanel - Prada and Van Cleef and Arpels

Lea Michele - Marchesa

Jessica Biel



Salma Hayek - Gucci

Natalie Portman - Lanvin

Julie Bowen - Reem Arca

Amanda Peet - Marc Jacobs

I can't wait for the Oscars!

What were your favorite dresses of the night? Which ones made you cringe? Sound off in the comments!

Max and Ringo, the dynamic duo

I feel like every post on my blog begins with "I'm a horrible blogger and haven't posted in forever." Well, it's my early New Year's resolution to become a more frequent presence in the blogosphere :) I went home to Fredericksburg, Virginia for Thanksgiving. It was my first time home since last Christmas. It was great to be back and spend time with family and friends. And of course eat way too much delicious cooking of my Dad's. But the highlight of the trip had to have been introducing my dog Max, now two and a half, to my parents' new puppy Ringo, almost a year old. It ended up that boarding Max would be twice as expensive as flying with him, and I was going to be gone 6 nights. So, I made the last minute decision to fly him home with me. He flew with me last Christmas, so I knew he'd do alright. Gave him some cherry flavored children's Benadryl (vet reccomended of course) and he was good to go, and slept like a baby. But he didn't like being crammed under the seat, but either would I!

As soon as I walked in the door of my parents' house (where I grew up since I was 2 years old!) Max and Ringo instantly hit it off. They ran around like crazy, wrestled non-stop and competed for who was the Alpha dog. When they finally stopped to take a rest they looked like this hanging out together on the couch. Um, couldn't get any cuter than this.

Thanksgiving was super relaxing and low-key. Watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, got some visits from friends, had a fabulous dinner and played board games. And of course a post-turkey induced coma nap. Even the dogs passed out from the scraps of turkey they managed to get. 

And it was hard to move these sweet pups when they took over my bed... 

Max and Ringo got along so famously that my parents' convinced me to leave Max with them for a month until I came home again for Christmas. I miss the little guy like crazy, but know he's having a great time and getting spoiled rotten. I'm heading back to Virginia in 12 days for Christmas - YAY! I've almost gotten all of my shopping done, only stocking stuffers left to get. I'm looking forward to a week at home and getting see my family again and lots of friends that weren't home Thanksgiving. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed holiday season! 

To get you in the holiday spirit, I leave you with She and Him's version of I'll be Home for Christmas - this is Zooey Deschenel's band. (From Elf and the show New Girl) Merry Christmas!