Musings & New Beginnings

September 21, summer officially ends. So now what? 
Time to look back at the times well spent, enjoyed, and truly missed.

Here's a look at what I've done this summer:

Went to a lecture where the guest speaker was Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes. This was the highlight of my entire summer. Listening to his words was such a blessing and a learning experience. I was honored to hear his story and the story of those he inspired. His company succeeds because of his trademarked One for One movement, not just because of uber comfy shoes.

Got a road bike! I'm still attempting to ride the streets. It's pretty scary driving downtown Atlanta, let alone trying to ride a bike through the muck of it.

The view at the top of Stone Mountain. I have the annual pass here, so I strive to go hiking at least twice a month. The 1.3 mile hike up & down the mountain really works your bum!

A pole found halfway up the mountain covered in years and years of gum. Just lovely.

 

This summer I had the opportunity to intern at an organic farm. I wrote about my experience here. Killed two birds with one stone---credit hours && free organic veggies/fruits. SCORE!

The Tutu Project

Now this is a REAL man

The Tutu Project is about raising awareness for breast cancer. After finding out his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, Bob Carey began photographing himself wearing a tutu. This project touched and inspired many because honestly, what kind of a man willingly walks around public places wearing nothing but a pink tutu? The answer is a selfless man who loves his wife so much that he feels no shame in doing something totally embarrassing for the sake of a good cause. Kudos to you bro!



(images via mymodernmet)
More information can be found here

Celebration of ROLLS!

I've been browsing Pinterest lately and I've come to realize that I have this obsession with rolls. Odd ain't it? But all are oh so fascinating!

Baby rolls

Dog rolls

 

 

Panda sushi roll

Rolling hills

Rolling umbrella!

Photos via Baby, Dog, Panda, Hills, Girl

Quirky Quartet

Lately, I've been addicted to this band. OK GO has been providing us with incredible music, but their music videos are so innovative and just plain addicting. They're quite unusual actually---in a good way! Most bands/artists incorporate themselves with either dancing or strumming a guitar. OK GO on the other hand uses an array of props which brings out their uniqueness. This one in particular is one of my favorites! 

(via Youtube)

Dear Photograph

Some of you might have heard of this neat website. People from all over find photos from their past and go to that exact location of where the photo was taken, line up the photo in the background, & they take a snapshot. Easy as pumpkin pie. It's like turning back time and looking at history once again. Neat eh? Every now and then I check out Dear Photograph and read stranger's stories who have the heart to share to the world of the times lost, spent worthwhile, forgotten, and dearly missed. I've noticed that it's especially popular during the holidays. Many send in photos from Christmas, Easter, and even photos regarding 9/11. So reading some of these can make you pretty emotional~


Now for the longest time ever I told myself I was going to do one and send it in, so I finally have(except for the sending in part)! I sifted through my mom's collection of our old photographs and saw that for the most part, I couldn't exactly recall where we took the snapshot. However, I did find a couple where they were taken at my previous home. Thus, with my camera & my photos in hand, I drove to the house I had lived in for 11 years.
& much to my dismay..... somebody was living there. I just felt so silly. I mean, duhhhh. I should have realized that there was a high possibility someone would have moved in! Since, I highly doubt the homeowners would let me (a total stranger) inside, I had opted for one photo where it was taken outside. It's a photo of me, my brother, and my mom. 

It was very difficult to take this due to my lack of camera skills. Also, because my dad took the original photograph at a weird angle. Now let me tell you about Asian parents--they are not quite up-to-date on technology and they do not know how to work a lot of devices containing English lettering. I think what my dad was thinking was "As long I can see them in through the camelahh, I can take pickchah." (I know that's pretty awful, but I love my dad for being so funny!)


Find more HERE 

North Pacific Garbage Patch

Plastic. The ideal material to conveniently case daily used consumer goods. Yet truth be told, it is undesired by habitat and animals. Many of us find that plastic can be recycled, however not all of plastic-containing items are 100% recyclable. Since recycling isn't a foolproof solution to properly disposing of plastic material, we have other ways of curtailing this problem--landfills, incineration, && have you heard of the North Pacific giant-heap-the-size-of-texas-trash?


When I first heard of this disgusting trash pile in my biology class, I just thought LUDICROUS. I mean, seriously! Why, why why? When did we come to the ocean as a means of garbage disposal?
The main thing to consider here is that this patch of trash doesn't float off all across seawaters--it just stays there within the gyre. Gyres are located within major ocean systems such as Pacific and Atlantic. Within these gyres, the water circulates in a circular motion created by winds and other complicated forces that basically create a slow-moving vortex. Thus, plastics & other wastes are placed here. As a result, marine animals are harmed by this. They cannot digest the plastic, and over time, the plastic breaks down into fragments so that animals are able to ingest the small pieces. This is very harmful in that plastics are able to absorb chemicals and pollutants which then enter into the animal. Learn More HERE


(image via GREENPEACE)

Artsy Men

First post! An ode to men focusing on displaying different works of art. I've been fascinated at how many unique artists out there are using different media nowadays. Some of these guys I researched their work online and others were shared to me by friends, so enjoy!


First up: Liu Bolin. Liu camouflages his body into the background. Most of his work is done in China where he sheds light on the problems existing in society. Preparing himself by painting to blend in the background takes several hours. Sheesh, lets Check it out!























Next on the list: Dustin Farrell. This man is one of my favorites! My brother introduced me to his work a while back. He's absolutely skilled, talented, pure genius. He produces timelapse photography of the natural outdoors--the night sky, rocky terrain, valleys, beaches, etc. His work really catches my interest because if you watch his cinematography here, y'all know what I'm talking about. The quality of the pictures are impressive & viewing it makes you feel like you're actually there, enjoying the beauty and essence of nature-- of the shooting stars and the glaring sun. The best part of the shots are watching the colors fade and change as the day draws to an end.



&& continuing with: Guy Laramee. So, his name is guy? Some of the best people share the same name such as Guy Fieri, host of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (awesome show, just sayin) and Guy Ritchie, who directed Sherlock Holmes (haven't seen it? well, you absolutely should). Now, what he does with books is unique. He basically sculpts landscapes inside books. Now, I live by a philosophy where any sort of damage (folding book cover underneath as you read the right page of a book & highlighting) to a book is called ABUSE. But I'll let this guy slide...he can get away with it because he creates something so mesmerizing to look at. I never knew books could look so cool :) They're not just used to read anymore, kids. Check it out

























& last of all: Jonathan Brilliant. He was a guest speaker at my friend's university & amazed by what she saw, she spread the word. He's a master at intertwining coffee stir sticks. He weaves the sticks using tension. NO GLUE AT ALL. What he creates are these gigantic twisted wall-encroached sculptures. Think of a wasp nest. He not only uses coffee stir sticks but anything coffee related like the lids, the cups, and the sleeves. Jonathan notes on how coffee has integrated itself into people's daily lives. It's become sort of an obsession-- you wake up and the first thing you do is get a cup of coffee; if not a home, then at the oh-so-beloved Starbucks. Anyways, enjoy.































(images via here & there & thurr)