You and Someone Else

           You may not realize that it is very likely there is or was someone in the world a lot like you. You're thinking, 'I have an evil twin then?' No. People don't look hard enough to see that they are not all too different compared to everyone else. For instance, I can compare myself to Kurt Cobain in terms of sense and action. The true person I can honestly compare myself to in all aspects of myself is Henri Bentoit Matisse, my favorite artist. Although the Galila most people see is the Kurt Cobain decoy, my closest friends and acquaintances know that the realest Galila there is, is the Henri Matisse decoy, the one whose life relies on art and independent thoughts. Another thing that me and Henri have in common is the stuff. Art. Visual minds. In more normal words: Artwork. Matisse's work is one that can never be remade or copied. It's impossible. Now, I am not trying to sound conceited or anything, but I feel that my art work has that same amount of uniqueness that cannot be recreated. I guess you could say the same about any piece of art, but look at the 'Mona Lisa' by Di Vinci , or 'Starry Night' by Van Gogh- they have been printed millions of times over and over again by other artists AND machines. There's always that little something in art though, something that makes it the artists own- that is what cannot be repeated. In Henri Matisse's work, I see me. How? You guess and conclude on your own. So I guess there is more than one thing I feel me and Matisse have in common according to me. Of course there is still Kurt Cobain and to be honest, the only thing me and him DON'T have in common is his drug use. If you look around, you may just see that the people who you think you'll never see again or the people you have seen and you will definitely never see once more, may be the ones you are obligated to learn of, you know? Step out of your comfort zone, be it another city or another group of friends, and you will find that there is, with no doubt, someone else. Someone else like you.

The Name Game

        Naming my non-profit organization is as hard as picking a name for a newborn baby. Harder than that actually. If you give an organization a bad name, it's permanent. You name your kid the worst name EVER, well, the kid could live with it, maybe make his/her own cool nick name... whatever... point is; I need some suggestions. What should my organization be named? I was thinking 'Ye Ficker Tezita' which means 'The Remembrance of Love' in Amharic, one of the Ethiopian languages which is also the one I know fluently (because it is my vernacular language, I guess). I want something creative, not straight forward... a bit clever as well perhaps...?

Anyway, hit me up if you've got some ideas- I could really use it- maybe you could inspire me. It definitely doesn't have to be in an Ethiopian language... any language would be nice. So tchao till then.

Marc Jacobs

    Just the name itself can be an adjective, meaning: (adj) amazing, creative, artistic, unique. Don't go searching through your 'Merriam-Webster'... i was kidding. So, whoever is familiar with Marc Jacobs and his work, knows how amazing he is. He is by far, the most inspirational fashion designer I know. Nothing can compare. The thing is though, when I think of him as a fashion designer, it seems wrong. I like to look and think... about him as an artist- which he really is.



    No matter how many awards he has won, or how many fashion shows he has presented, he is still that cool guy I look up to because of everything he has done and his story of success. He climbed his way up... and i feel like his story began the same way mine is starting. I know this may sound pretty corny but how else can I put it? Marc is walking inspiration. 'Nuff said. You know what's also awesome about his clothes/works? They are affordable... kind of. If you don't mind spending around $200+ for a nice romper. It's worth the price though, trust me.

All those people working for Marc Jacobs are putting huge amounts of effort into the tiniest details of his designs that you may someday wear. Here is one question I have yet to ask of   Mr. Jacobs; How do you come up with it all? Really though, his designs seem surreal, things you feel like you should see on display in the MOMA with security guards on either side, not on clothing racks in his shops and places like Neiman's or Sak's. (I actually believe I should have one of each design in my closet in every color and style just for myself). Here are some more pieces from his 2009 spring/summer collection. Let me know what you think, do you believe that the bright colors are here again and the romper is making its way into the fashion scene? Comment and write what you think about these unique style comebacks, and never forget Marc Jacobs, fashion's own Super Man (or Hero, as I would like to call him).

Red Yellow and Green

   Ahh, the famous colors used for a cornucopia of different reasons. Let me guess, you think the colors red, yellow and, green stand for Jamaica... you have the image of a dark man with dread locks smoking a joint, right? Well you should know, that is very wrong. Let me explain to you what the colors mean, jah man, I mean RASTA.

                    

      Yes, this is a picture of Bob Marley, a reggae icon. I've been listening to his music since I was around 7 years old, even before that. Of course I never cared- or knew, what he stood for, or why there was a picture of Haile Selassie on the back of his guitar, but now, I am fully aware of him and his beliefs. Bob Marley, like a small amount of other Jamaicans, was a Rastafarian. For those of you who don't know what being a Rastafarian means, I'll finally break it down for you. 'Rastas' are rare nowadays because they live in secluded areas. They believe that Haile Selassie, one of the most popular Ethiopian emperors is there Ina Carte, or a messiah. Why? Because it rained on the day Emperor Selassie arrived after a long period of drought. In other words, they believed he 'made it' rain. After that, some Jamaicans began to praise him and honor him- some even moved to Ethiopia... and now is when the colors kick in. Ethiopia's flag colors are RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN. The Jamaicans who honored Emperor Selassie became known as Rastafarians, and they were so committed to believing in Emperor Selassie as the messiah, that they... well, hoarded to Ethiopia. They believed that this was 'Exodus' (also a title of one Marley's songs) as they made their descend to Ethiopia. They live(d) in a little town where they farmed in the country side of Ethiopia, away from common civilizations. This is Shashemene:

    As is depicted in the photo above, Rastafarians take to the streets, and note that there is only one head of dreads. So not only have the Jamaican Rastafarians overused Ethiopia's flag colors, but also the symbol of Ethiopian pride, the Black Lion of Judah. Over time, some Ethiopians have become suspicious of the the Rastas as there has been an 'increase in drugs and crime'. Some believe it's prejudice, others just want the tension to melt by listening to music and 'uniting' as Marley liked to say. Maybe that's the reason for the common stereotype Rastas have been categorized with; Dreads for carelessness and drugs for relaxation- all that life should consist of, they would like to think. (Before I forget, there are some ITALIAN Rastafarians in Shashemene, showing the diversity in ethnicities not only in Ethiopia, but in Rasta communities). I found it interesting and a bit unique because, again, of the stereotypical image of Rastafarians. But, as some don't know, Ethiopia still has a tiny community of Israeli's that also live in Shashemene, believe it or not. I'm not going to get into the Israel/Ethiopia story because it's much too long and very detailed, I'll save it for another blog posting. So there you are friends, the meaning of the colors, the lifestyle, and belief. Jah man, you better remember this next time you prance around wearing red, yellow, and green! Don't smoke cannabis because it's the 'cool' thing to do, or because you feel 'Jamaican'- you have no excuses now that you know the true meaning of Rasta. 

    *Does anyone else that understands Rastafarianism or doesn't treat Reggae and Marley like a fad or trend, feel frustrated when they see someone chewing bubble gum while texting or someone who has never listened to more than one song by Bob Marley wearing a red, yellow, and green Bob Marley shirt? I find it EXTREMELY annoying. Comment [with a yes] if you agree, please!

Compare and Contrast

These images' depictions seem all to familiar... the youth back then is very similar to the youth now... except you don't see girls standing in front of bayonets with flowers in their hands very often. 

       America still eats her young. Or the young are eaten by something else. Whichever, it's still bad and war will always be inhumane. Is no one capable of sitting down to talk about their issues instead of fighting each other about it? Can't the different leaders of the world just shake hands on some sort of an agreement... ANY kind of agreement? As long as the youth grows, all is good.

To Be Continued

The Life Story

I always rant (blog) about things i like talking about... but how about writing something that will actually benefit me? The real reason for having created this blog. get ready, friends.

So, my english teacher writes for the 'Washington Post', which is like second best next to 'The New York Times' according to me and my preferences. I asked her today how one could prosper in the writing world and she said writing BLOGS and COMMENTING on other blogs would be a good start so i told her that i had already gotten that down. Then she said to get involved in the school paper (which I wasn't interested in doing because i am way too dedicated to art... and i heard it's a boring class, to be truthful). I have half. A lot of people ask me, 'Why don't you become a doctor like the others in your family?' or 'Will you or are you going to an Ivy League college like your family?' Those are the unanswerable questions, seeing as how i tend to live in the moment. Yes, it would be rather nice to be a doctor, and yes, it would be nice to go Ivy, but what happens if I don't get anything? My cousins went to Brown, Harvard, George Washington, and Oxford University, to name a few. What I would like to know is, what do you do with an ivy league education when you have no idea how to use it? You know, like if you haven't decided on a job or future after studying at a 'top college'? I feel that I will be put into such a situation unless I am 'discovered' for some kind of capability, maybe writing, or composing music... perhaps art. Who knows? I think blogging will be my answer. All my thoughts are on display and my writing is being shown to the public. Here's some writing that I hope can change the way you view a blog- it's not a happening, it's a mind's result.

         "The kids all dream of making it, whatever that means"- The Arctic Monkeys 'Teddy Picker'. The quote that describes my generation. "The youth is starting to change"- MGMT 'The Youth'. A quote that describes my generations needs. Music, books, movies and revolutions, fill the minds of the youth with subjects of matter that can easily frustrate. "The Iranian situation: Conflict in Tehran... people have been injured, many wounded... demonstrators take to the streets..."- all that my generation hears as the news channel is turned on. "Buddhist army"- WHAT THE H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS IS THAT?! Has our world really come to this? Imagine Ghandi telling us to fight in a war or take a machine gun to Gaza... is that right? Never shall we think so unless the nations have denied us peace. When I say 'us' i mean the youth, or, my generation, also called the 'youtube generation'. We find ourselves maturing at an alarming rate of speed. It's quite scary though, to be frank. I'm afraid that by the time we all 'age', the world will either blow up or deteriorate along with civilizations. What's sad is that many youngsters are anticipating their death in a reasonable fashion. Kids, teenagers, young adults- all of the youth pretty much, believe that 2012 is our last year. Some are excited. Some are sad. Some just don't understand period. "I'm happy. It just means I won't have anymore bills to pay... no more of those stupid taxes... pssh, the government don't tell us anything," Martha told me one day,"Who knows what the government is keeping from us anyway?" she continued. "There could be aliens," I added. "There could be- and we would never know," Martha finished off with. She is one of the coolest people I know. She thinks in a certain way that none else could comprehend unless you understand the subject on hand very well. Isn't it disturbing that money will drive people to thinking that life isn't worth living long? Whatever happened to living as long as you can while drinking green tea and doing yoga?

          It started in 1969, 'The Summer of Love'. Woodstock was like the center of the world to hippies, youth advocates, and [young] people who had nothing else to do. 4 Days of Peace and Music. Of course this summer of love was unfortunately followed by the summer of hate. Woodstock was then recreated in the 90's... 1996, right? Anyways, I wish I could have experienced the one and only experience- the Hendrix experience. oh yes. Sadly, much of our youth did not get the chance to experience many of the once in a lifetime happenings because... well... we are the youth! Plus, many of histories artistic icons didn't get to live to today because of unnatural causes- drugs. Drugs such as LSD and cannabis led to inspiration according to many bands and musicians of the time (even some bands now). It ultimately led to the death of many of the 'big guys' such as Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, even Janis Joplin. Now you don't have to be an icon to use 'magical' drugs. You can be the person next door, the bored kid in suburbia, or the curious teen. When our world winds down to a soon doom, so does the youth. On top of that we've got economical problems and nations making other countries targets for nuclear bomb tests. So using the magical drugs to make you feel good, relaxed, and in a different, better world, makes sense. It's not good... but makes sense. The Youtube generation should be called the 'Recurrence of the Hippie Generation'. 

To be continued...

A Greek Paradise and Ethiopian Aid

For some reason, some of the pictures i've posted are gone. Oh well- the texts are still there, that's what's most important. So anyways... what is new, what is new.... oh- j'ai un idee pour Ethiopie... oui oui. (I said that I have an idea for Ethiopia in regards to my last post). We all know Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries on Earth. It's 3rd world and is suffering from famine, poverty and, disease(s). I KNOW i want to do something to help. This summer, I'll be getting to work on that organization that's been brewing in the back of my head to aid Ethiopia and hopefully later, other developing countries as well. I'll start out little and work my way up. It's going to be a non-profit organization- every penny goes to Africa. It will be hard but SO worth it. any ideas? feel free to comment...

but besides that, I'd like to talk about something a bit more cheerful. A place. In Europe. In the Mediterranean area. An island. Towards the east. I've dropped every hint there is (besides how beautiful it is). Here is Santorini, Greece:

        

Santorini is the most beautiful place- nothing can compare. It's a paradise. Sure there are other

islands of Greece such as Mykonos, but every island has its originality that makes it different. In my preference though, Santorini is the place I want to be. The Mediterranean is what it cracks up to be and more, Santorini just makes it that much more amazing. I really hope to go there this summer- might even visit a friend there. If I don't go, well, there goes the hi-lite of my summer. (Here's a picture of Mykonos because I now feel bad that I didn't 'put its beauty on display'):