Art matters when...

It moves others to see, act, feel, or think differently than they did prior to interactiving with it.

There are few times in the history of culture where there is an opportunity to reclaim their national identity. This photo project attempts to do just that by negating the ruler with the visual language commonly associated with propaganda. This truly inspiring work from JR points to the opportunity we all have as part of a collective to represent our selves as well as our nation.

I also recommend checking out his work in Israel/Palestine and head over to insideoutproject if you want to participate in this work.  

Three Steps for balancing priorities

Balancing lady by orangebromptonIt's often easy to give into the idea that the needs of a household, relationship, or job trump all else. Only recently have I discovered how much easier life is to balance if you apply two easy principles.

Be prepared

Think out the problem, what is it that you really need and how can it be obtained? Allow me to give you a personal example, I've been putting off joining a gym recently. I've given myself the excuse that I'd do it, "as soon as I moved apartments and our offices moved."

I've been in my new apartment since mid-July and in our new office since the second week of August, currently there were are no excuses! Though I never cease to amaze myself with my keen powers of persuasion in the area of procrastination, I only put it off two weeks because the end of the month is when you get the best deals on gym memberships, right? This was the proverbial mounting of excuses that typically get me in trouble. Slowly they cloud my mind with, I'm too tired, I'm too hungry... yada, yada, yada.This is where being prepared is key, if you know what the excuses are, you're perfectly prepared to overturn the objections of your own persuasive logic.

Overturning Objections

I'm a master at convincing myself into believing things that foster laziness and procrasitnation. That's why it's good to flex my inner sales woman by practicing overturning my own objections. Your own inner dialog may sound different but the principle of motiviting yourself remains the same.

e.g. Too tired? = Exercise gives you more energy. Too hungry? = Eat a piece of fruit and get your ass to a yoga class. Don't feel like it? = You enjoy the feeling of the soft couch on your flabby bum, don't you?

The last few days, I've on a mission to get addicted to how working out makes me feel. It's sort of like when I finally figured out that wheat and gluten where making me exhausted. There was an initial boost of energy I noticed, and when I slipped up everything came apart at the seams. That's why I'm focusing my mind on removing obstacles and channeling my personal guilt for giving quality time to myself. While it feels weird to admit that I feel guilt in this area of my life, I know I'm not alone. Which leads me to...

Asking for help

Okay so this component is particularly hard, especially for those of us that like to feel pride in not thinking that they need help. In my household, I do most of the cooking and I'm often prone to giving in to other people's bio-rhythms. For example - if you're hungry, I'll eat. Hell, I'll even make you a killer sandwich! Such is my obsession with food, I approach it with a nearly religious attentiveness. Knowing this about myself, I need to do everything in my power to keep myself from choosing unhealthy habits. One of the ways I've learned to do this is to ask for prep help. There's nothing wrong with being the mastermind in terms of meal planning - it's actually a beautiful thing if you enjoy it. However, a little bit of equipment and/or the ability to ask nicely for help from a second set of hands is extremely important. 

I'm lucky enough to live with my boyfriend who works primarily from home. He's a developer and is fortunate in that he makes his own schedule. This morning, I made a quick marinade for a pork loin and popped it in the fridge on the way out the door. I later sent a chat message requesting help with the rice and pork loin and let him know approximately when I would arrive home. Given my spoor stills and giving an appropriate estimate for my time of arrival, overall it was a success. I came home to someone excited to share about what happened during their day, I worked out, felt amazing, we shared a bottle of wine and a great meal. What more can you want? If you don't have a second set of hands I'd recommend a rice maker with a timer or using quick recipes for during the week dinners.

At the end of the day, getting your priorities strait is about determining what's really important, removing obsticals for yourself, and fully comitting to asking for help when you need it. Today I'm happier for asking for help and removing a feeling of deep obligation for something I typically enjoy. It's often our own inablity to ask for help, recieve it, or give up control that perpetuates our own inablitly to prioritize the things that are most important to us. 

What allows you to maintain balance in your life? Have you ever felt guilt over putting your own needs first? Please share your experiences with me in your comments below.

Add Source Code to your Summer Watchlist

Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job of the audience's blood pumping in this action packed sci-fi thriller. I don't want to give away too much of the story line, but I will say the producters of this film did a great job of keeping me engaged with a recurrsive story line. Check it out on Netflix, Amazon, or your local movie rental store. 

A great but lesser know film, Primer 2004, should also be added to your list if you like this film. It's one of those flicks that has a tendency to stick with you, long after you've watched it. I'm still haunted by it, a must see!

RED, The Most Underrated Action Flick of 2010

If you're a fan of the old school Bruce Willis Die Hard series I urge you to give RED a shot. It stars Mary-Louise Parker, as Willis' female lead and keeps a similar pace to the other action films we know and love him for.

In my opinion this one would actually rank higher than the Expendables, which was released in the same year. I like how the plot and the characters, are more textured and multi-dimential in this than in the Expendables. While I enjoyed both I'd be more likely to rewatch this one. Give it a shot and let me know what you think, the trailer is above for your viewing pleasure.

Reminiscing for ol' school gangsta flicks

I just recently picked up the film Gun, with Val Kilmer and 50 Cent. It starts with a decent premise but is definitely best served, if you go in cold. Skip the trailer if you're planning on investing time watching it to avoid any spoilers. If you don't care and just want to see 50 Cent, bustin' slugs and running game for a bit over an hour it's not a total waste of time. What I take issue with is the pace which feels forced, the unremarkable score, and the lack of character development that leaves even the main players one dimensional. This one gets a measly 4.5 out of 10 rating, mostly because 50 Cent wasn't a terrible actor and while I enjoy most of what Kilmer stars in I didn't feel that invested in his character.

I'd say that your time may be best spent kicking it old school with films about a decade old like DMX and NAS in Belly or you can heat up your Netflicks queue with hard core Rastas in Shottas, from 2002. Newer flims like Gun let me appreciate "back in the day" when gangster rappers dropped movies with more than just their feature tracks as the score. If you haven't seen the previously mentioned Belly or Shottas make sure to put it in the queue before Gun.