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Thank you comic con for giving me this pin!! #thehungergames (Taken with instagram)
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“I met Lola Purping during our “photo-walk” at Binondo today. She was sitting quietly at the gutter right outside the San Lorenzo Ruiz Church. I couldn’t help but noticed the big lump on her face that she is trying to cover with her hair. She would throw some shy glances at me perhaps because she felt uneasy that a big guy carrying a huge camera is staring at her. I smiled at her and she timidly smiled back at me. I sat besides her and tried to strike a conversation.
Lola Purping is a street dweller from Samar. She is about 70 years old with poor eyesight and carrying a large tumor near her face. She and her grandchildren would sleep with empty stomachs on the streets where and whenever the night would catch them. I told her that she is a bit old to take care of her grandchildren. She told me that her children left her without a choice as they went to Cotobato and never returned until now.
2 days ago, she lost her few valuables, money and medicines to a pickpocket as she was going out of the church where she stays from morning till afternoon.
I asked her if I can take her photo and put her story on my blog hoping that some kind souls might be able to offer some help – any help. With tears on her eyes, she nodded.
If you happen to pass by San Lorenzo Ruiz Church in Binondo, you might see Lola Purping quietly sitting along the gutter when she is not inside the church praying. Please offer a kind smile to her.
I would appreciate if you can share this and make it viral until it reaches the heart of someone capable of and willing to help her and her grand children.”(via brandoquinto)
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so as i’m scrolling through american apparel’s site wishing everything was cheaper, i stumbled upon this! i don’t know if they forgot to edit it out or if they just don’t really edit their photos but for some reason it made me happy (in an odd way)! people seem to think you need to be obese in order to have stretch marks/cellulite, but this girl right here is average size and she has them. i know a lot of companies edit things like this out because it’s not “visually appealing” but it’s nice that they didn’t because almost every girl i know has stretch marks or cellulite! they don’t make you disgusting, fat, gross or anything else horrible! it makes you human.
I am about as average sized as you can get and I still have stretchmarks on my legs and butt, nearly every girl I know has stretchmarks somewhere
at any rate this pleases me
i’m going to save this forever. i’ve always been insecure of my stretch marks because i’ve had them since i was 12. i first developed them on my hips and legs- mind you i was EXTREMELY thin. it made no sense. and now i am average weight, maybe even a little curvier than most, but i still have a lot of stretch marks. i’m extremely self conscious of them, but i’m progressively getting better. it’s ads like this that make me feel better about myself. it reminds me that i’m normal. it reminds me i’m still beautiful.
(Source: berryhealthy, via jaycakes)
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I’m grateful for every new week that I get to spend with the woman I have loved my entire life.
I saw this man on the Metro this past Monday, and asked him who the flowers were for. They were for his wife. They’ve been married for 47 years. Every Monday, he brings her home flowers after work. My heart died at that moment.
(via lovealwayslei)
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theTOUR “Community” commercial: San Diego Edition
This video has much more meaning to it than what you see at first glance. In that night that we put this together, there was more than the 5 hours of rehearsal, the choreography we had to learn, or the character we had to portray. The meaning goes much deeper. I’m writing this blog, to share with you what it was.
Let me take you back to the Southern California dance community before the Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, or any social networking days. Where the only way to watch each other was being at the actual show, or watching it on DVD. For any dancers that was around that time, they can tell you that they have a collection of DVD’s or even VHS from several of the shows. Here was where you saw amazing teams like Culture Shock San Diego, Urban FX, Funkanometry LA, Unity, even before the Jabbawockeez were called Jabbawockeez, they were Mindtricks, and several others. All great memories for those who were a part of that era, and great history to learn about for those who are a part of this current era.
I can go on and on about this, but I’d like to dive into the San Diego dance community. To me, San Diego has been a vital life line to our dance community. Many of the styles, and creativity that you see today stem from SD’s past. I’m sure many who were a part of the past generation and the current generation can agree. As you saw in the commercial there were 2 people that walk out in the beginning. One named KJ Gonzales and the other Anna Sarao. You probably had no idea who they were or are a bit confused on what was going on.
Anna, as most of us that know her will say, is the “Yoda” of our dance community. She was artistic director for Culture Shock San Diego for a period of time and really changed the game with what she did with them. They had such an all-star group of dancers and had several Jabbawockee members as well. Today she still is very involved with our dance community, judging several of the dance competitions that you know about today. She also is the co-creator of BODY ROCK.
KJ, is a complete innovator of his time in the dance community and is a huge inspiration for some of the “new” styles that you see today. He was artistic director for Urban FX(San Diego) and they completely affected the way people performed, choreographed, dressed, what songs they danced to, etc. KJ’s energy, power, speed, and performance changed the game and it still shows in dancers’ work today. He was my first dance teacher and mentor, and many of us today have learned so much from him. Today he no longer dances, and is currently happily married(living like an old man :) ).
Several of the pieces that they created inspired me to start dancing and did so for many of the well known names that you hear about today.
Going back to the commercial you will notice they start by watching old videos of CSSD and UFX. Then it transitions into current SD teams watching newer videos of Choreo Cookies, 220, and Super Galactic Beat Manipulators. An intro to sort of pay homage to our past and how much they’ve influenced us, and a moment to be grateful for where we currently are.
Which brings me to my next point…
In our current day and age we have all the instant access you can ask for. The ability to know what ones doing, where they are(scary), and, in the dance world, what all the latest dance craze is. All this is available in the click of a mouse, trackpad, or touch of the finger. Yet there still resides studio rivalry, unhealthy competition, a huge amount of individualism and more. Some people are so focused on being the next big name, being the next big choreographer, or even the next big crew, when the word “community” is slowly drifting away. Even today when I perform at a show or event in our California dance community I barely know any of the dancers that we share the stage with, when in the past everyone knew each other and it would feel more like a reunion. Our current generation has so many resources that we have yet to tap into the best of it to benefit each other.
In this commercial the part of the San Diego community came together on a scale like this for the first time. The first time! And we’ve been around for MANY years. Even though the scale felt large for us it is still small compared to how many of us dancers are in San Diego, let alone the world. To me that night was even more special because as I looked around the room it wasn’t “big name” dancers that filled the room, or even people that have dance as a career. It was ordinary people that have school, work, families, children, and more. It showed that you don’t have to be the biggest name to make the biggest impact. There’s power in numbers. If we can come together studio by studio… team by team… city by city… then there’s no telling what can happen when we get to country by country, continent by continent, and planet by planet(haha kidding).
In all seriousness that night did something very special for us and I’d like to challenge YOU to do the same for your community so OUR community will only benefit. You don’t have to be famous or even have to have dance as something you’re pursuing. You just need each other. Whether that’s representing your city and coming to the mLtour, sessioning, or just taking class it all is effective. The SD dance community came together to make this commercial happen, imagine what can happen if yours does too!
As said in this famous Henry Ford quote;
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Let’s come together and do exactly what the word “community” says… come unite.
Thanks for taking the time to get this far into my blog. I know it’s long(I tried to make it as short as possible), but I hope you feel any type of motivation after reading this. I’m sure I’ll see you somewhere along the journey :)
Godspeed
-Keone
(via auspiciousappeal)
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