friday faves: 7.15.11 - a personal post

first of all, this is what i have been dealing with all week . . .

 

in case you can't tell from the picture, that is a massive tree, snapped in half, next to my house.  it's technically my neighbor's tree, and she is unfortunately dealing with the majority of the consequences, but that is not to say that we aren't as well.  the clean-up crew has yet to arrive so the tree just continues to break and fall and is now half in our yard.  debris is everywhere from the crazy storm that hit chicagoland monday, but i didn't expect it to hit so close to home.  people drive by and just stare - i smile and wave.  because really, what can we do?!  of course, we have been without cable, phone, internet, and since yesterday - now electricity of all forms.  not such a great week.  so please forgive me that this week's friday faves has to be canceled.  i just haven't had time, not just because of the power/internet outage, but also because of some HUGE changes going on in my life right now... more of that to come!

i'll leave you with my greatest "fave" of the week - a truly inspirational speech given by steve jobs at stanford in 2005 ::

 

this video was sent to me by a friend who said it truly captured what i am going through right now.  and wow was he right... without getting into great detail, a friend of mine died in a very tragic and public way last week.  although we had not been close in the past year (since i got my all-consuming job and had to move out of the city and pretty much give up my social life), it still affected me.  realizing that it could have been any of us, realizing how many dreams he had that will now never happen, realizing the pain his friends are going through... realizing a lot.  and rethinking a lot of my own personal decisions.  

then i was sent this video.  and i listened to this incredibly successful and creative man say :

"i have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'if today were the last day of my life, would i want to do what i am about to do today?' and whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, i know i need to change something.  remembering that i'll be dead soon is the most important tool i've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.  because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things all just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.  remembering that you are going to die is the best i way i know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.  you are already naked, there is no reason not to follow your heart."

i was wow-ed.  and then i took some steps towards following my heart.

like i said, more on that to come :)

i hope you all have incredible, electricity-filled, weekends, spent with those you love, doing the things you love.

etc: flashmob aweseomness

flashmob highlighting all forms of dance ~ in berlin this march.

seriously - just awesome. watch the whole thing & thank me later :)

[discovered on dancers are the athletes of god]

etc: happy ballet day!

did you know February 7th is ballet day? well, it is!  i first saw it on mimi + meg's February calendar of celebrations but thought it was too good to be true.  well lo and behold - true! check it out:

"On February 7, 1827, French ballet was introduced to the United States with a performance of "The Deserter," staged at the Bowery Theater in New York. For that reason, today is considered by some Americans as Ballet Day." [source]

 AWESOME!  in celebration, i'm going to share with you one of my fave dance videos ever.  Polina Semionova is a true ballet goddess and this music video is proof.  i'll never stop loving this video, and never stop loving her passion.  enjoy :

p.s.  it's also my parents' anniversary.  so it's an extra-special day :)

a personal post: fat talk

i don't want my little pretty blog to turn into a personal soap box, but every now & then i want to share things that are near to my heart. today that is body image. i post a lot of pictures of models - tall, thin, impeccable models. i love these images because of the artful photography, exquisite clothing, & beautiful expressions, not because i idolize their bodies or aspire to look like them. i have struggled in the past with having a poor body image and during those times such images would have served as triggers, sending me into a downward spiral of destructive behavior. now i am older, wiser, stronger, & know that there is more than one type of beautiful. i know that my short, curvy, flawed self is beautiful with the same certainty that i used to know that only supermodels were beautiful. the problem is, weight is constantly on my mind, on every woman's mind [it seems], & this obsession makes me doubt my own beauty. so let's stop it. fat talk somehow creeps into our everyday speech, convincing us that size is important & thinness equates happiness. but do we really believe that? strong, intelligent women know that no, that's not the truth, but still we repeat all the sayings... "do i look fat in this?," "i'm having a fat day," "i just need to lose 5 more lbs" ....

let's stop this "fat talk" that we seem to love so much.

watch this video:



please spread the word : no. more. fat talk.

thanks for listening [well, reading!],
kait

Dying - I lived!!

A video dedicated to Linda: To my partner, we saw the lava, we did the 10K's, everything people said was impossible, you were there, knowing the risk, seeing me spit blood and letting me do it anyway. If you weren't beside me, or waiting at the finish line, there would have been no point in finishing. For without you, a mountain is just a mountain, a forest just a forest, not a secret joy we shared. We made a pact, you and I. And because of that, I lived. I will keep living every day, because now, every day IS the finish line.

I recommend watching it on Youtube in FULL SCREEN (High Res too!) HERE. You might have to adjust your Bass a little though as they don’t seem to do the complex bass well (or I don’t!). The song is We made a Pact by Hey Rosetta! And yes, I did write them for permission to make this video with their song. Very cool Canada group. Lyrics following

Lyrics from the song We Made A Pact
You,
You and I made a pact
A deal that as we lay dying
We'd think about eachother then
And smile as we're taken in

I,
I listened like a little child
To the story of your earthbound pilot
he plummeted so violent
A parachute not opening
And rushing to oblivion
He broke into that knowing grin

And I,
I think about that a lot
Cause a lot is what i've not got
And a smile is what I least expect
In the clutches of this darkness

You,
You I was surprised to hear
Your birdsong velvet in my ear
The phone broke its silent stint
But I pulled the cord and I needed it
You billowed like a bowl of silk
And slowed me from my ruining