Invisible Children | Kony 2012

This week, Invisible Children launched their latest campaign: Kony 2012. Please watch the movie if you haven't already (or watch it again if you have). Ready go!

It has overjoyed and humbled me to see the popularity of this campaign. It's completely taking over my news feeds on social media unlike anything Invisible Children has done before. All that time and effort towards awareness is finally paying off, and it's amazing to be apart of it!

Nearly 6 years ago I was invited to a screening of Invisible Children: Rough Cut. At the time I never imagined what I was getting myself into, but when the lights turned up at the conclusion of the presentation that night, I knew my life was forever changed. I'm not sure I've ever been so effected by any piece of information in my life than that of the existence of Joseph Kony, the Lord's Resistance Army, and the child soldiers. I was heartbroken and angry. How was this happening? How were we letting it happen? I knew at that time, because I had gained knowledge of that indescribable horror, I was now responsible for it.

At first I felt hopeless, like I was just another bleeding heart white kid who could only wear an activist t-shirt to make themselves feel better about their privileged life. Many of my family and friends scoffed at Invisible Children's efforts, and wrote it off as a scam. Others simply didn't want to hear about another tragedy in our world. It's quite easy to rationalize and justify your apathy when it seems too big or too complex to care.

But I stayed with it, and with the help of a few close loved ones, we continued our support of the Invisible Children movement. We joined the thousands of people like us who would not tolerate the LRA's terror, and tried to spread the word whenever and where ever we could. We held screenings, gave bracelets and shirts as presents, and we even marched the streets and waited to be "rescued" by our local government as part of the Rescue Me protest in Salt Lake City.

My brother-in-law, sister, and I also got to visit the Invisible Children headquarters in Gulu on our visit to Uganda in 2009.

It was during that trip that my eyes were really opened to how truly amazing the organization is. There are charities on every corner in Africa it seems, but most of them fail because they don't support sustainable practices. Invisible Children, however, does it right. The money they spend on awareness in America truly creates sustainable change for those who really need it. They've learned that catchy slogans, amazing graphic design, and clever movies can spread awareness that facilitates a better world. Regardless if you disagree with that tactic or not, Invisible Children is making a difference that I've seen with my own eyes.

For nearly the last decade, the Invisible Children organization that we so proudly stand with, has helped end night commuting in Gulu, created worldwide awareness of the LRA, participated in peace talks, and put in place inspired programs to help create sustainable change in Uganda.

Please join me and pledge your support in the Kony 2012 movement! I've ordered my kit, have you?


peace,
k.
 

Character Crushes

I've done celebrity crushes and girl crushes, but neither quite represent what the character crush brings. Character crushes are more about who the character is, rather than the actor playing them. And because they don't really represent the reality of real people, they could possibly be the most ogled over crush of all my crushes.

The Doctor from Doctor Who

He's sexy when he's clever, and the absolute best travel companion a girl could have.

 Best Traits: Die-hard (time) traveler, compassion for human kind. 

Ned the Pie Maker from Pushing Daisies

There's not a more face-meltingly sweet character in existence. The lengths he goes
for a girl he loves is unparalleled. My heart is a'flutter just writing about him.

Best Traits: Devoted even if he can't touch his women, knows how to cook.

Cullen Bohannan from Hell on Wheels

The ultimate badass. I've never been into the rebellious types,
but he's got all sorts of something going on.

Best Traits: Could kick anyone's trash, introverted, good beard.

Matthew Crawley from Downton Abbey

1920s style + principles + an accent = yes

Best Traits: Incredible wardrobe, loyal devotion, is a FOX.

James Bond from Casino Royal
Best. Bond. Ever. (OK, I don't have the authority to state that as a fact, but he's my favorite.)

 Best Traits: The epitome of cool, really strong.  

Burt Farlander from Away We Go

Can he be the father of my children, please?

 Best Traits: Committed, funny, good fathering skills.

Alright, who are some of your character crushes?

peace,

k.

President's Day Highlights

For President's Day weekend I drove up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to visit my cousins. These are some highlights.

• Mumford and Sons, David Bowie, Temper Trap, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and This American Life made an amazing audio accompaniment on this particular road trip. Unfortunately The Historian did not.
• Umcka drops and garlic tablets kicked the crap out of my cousin's horrible cold (and prevented the rest of us from getting sick). I'm now a believer.
• I watched Breaking Dawn Some Cool Movie Without Lame Vampires, Anonymous, Contagion, Crazy Stupid Love, Tree of Life, and the finale of Downton Abby, all in one weekend, guilt-free, with snacks, without multitasking.
• Speaking of snacks, movie popcorn and hot tamales... enough said. 
• My cousin made me the best steak I've ever had in my life (complete with black truffle butter). It made me seriously reconsider my vegan weekdays.
• Ignight is far more hip than anywhere in Jackson Hole, which is a welcome relief if cowboys aren't your thing. I recommend the skirt steak flatbread.
• It's ridiculously cute when your young cousins are horrified and then enormously impressed when you make them try a green smoothie for breakfast.
• Scum should always be played with Downton Abby characters.
• I saw a million mountain goats, a gazillion elk, and 3 moose.
• These are really good.
• People weren't really impressed with chocolate mousse made from avocados, but I suspect they wouldn't have even noticed if we wouldn't have told them what was in it.
• I cannot leave Vom Fass without spending money.
• Moroccan oil makes my hair super sexy.
• "Cousin Matthew" is really important code for future reference.
• I'm really visually into snow covered fields and trees right now, though I took no pictures.
• If he pesters enough, a little girl will let her father yank out her (not quite ready) loose tooth.
• I had such an amazing weekend, I may or may not be considering a move up to ol' Wyo for the summer...

Celluloid Lovin'

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share my favorite romantic movies. These aren't just your average rom-coms, rather these are THE EPIC LOVE STORIES OF CINEMA (duh duh duuuuh)-- yes, the very films where all my unrealistic delusions of love come from! So get your hearts ready to flutter and your lungs ready to sigh!

The Village (also, the whole soundtrack in general makes me swoon)
What Dreams May Come
Big Fish
The New World
Unbreakable
Romeo + Juliet
Elizabethtown
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Tuck Everlasting (a little bit of a adolescent guilty pleasure, so kill me)

I'm not going to lie, I got a little teary eyed watching all those clips and trailers.

*sigh*

What are your favorite celluloid love stories?

(**Please note that The Notebook nor Twilight are on this list because, contrary to popular belief, they are absolutely atrocious "love" stories. Sorry, lust isn't love.)

peace,
k.

Girl Crushes

To help explain what a girl crush is, here is an excerpt from my childrens book "No, I'm Not A Lesbian: A Frumpy Straight Girl's Guide to Life"

When a girl loves another girl very very much, but in a "I wanna be your best friend" sort of way instead of "let's have sex" sort of way, we call this a GIRL CRUSH. Girl crushes are a completely normal part of life and should be embraced as long as you aren't a creeper and/or stalker.

I thoroughly explained my type regarding celebrity crushes, so I thought it would be important to show the celebrity girls some love too. Every girl has girl crushes, these are my famous ones:

My #1: Lisa Hannigan

Musician

(My post about her newest album here.)

Why: Her music is incredible, she's sweetly quirky, and

she uses phrases like "rusty custard".

What we'd do as besties: Walk around Ireland and go skydiving.

Cary Mulligan

Actress

Why: Watch "An Education" and you'll know.

Then watch "Never Let Me Go" because it's amazing.

What we'd do as besties: Travel to eastern Europe.

Amy Adams

Actress

 Why: She never sold-out to Hollywood perfection.

What we'd do as besties: Do crafts. She was raised 

Mormon so it's in her blood.

Marion Cotillard

Actress

Why: I admire her in every movie I've seen her in.

What we'd do as besties: Shopping in Paris.

New to the list: Jessica Chastain

Actress

Why: She's so incredibly beautiful in

The Tree of Life, and so incredibly silly in The Help.

What we'd do as besties: Play Bananagrams.

Honorable Mention: Emma Watson. She's just so pretty and British. Plus I see quotes I like on Pinterest that she may or may not have actually said.

Off the list this year is Zooey Deschanel. She's become too popular, and her voice is too whiny. I want to love her still, but I know if she weren't so drop-dead hot, I wouldn't be as interested. She needs to do more versatile/grittier/ugly roles or something.

Who are your girl crushes?

peace,

k.

My Shows | Fall 2011

I'm not going to be one of those people who say they never watch TV. Those people are lying. And if you chance to meet one of those few people who really never watch TV, tell them they should probably reconsider some of their priorities. Did they never see Seinfeld or Arrested Development or Gilmore Girls?! Come on. Genius stuff right there, peeps! Possibly even the answer to all the world's problems.

As great as I think TV is, I actually don't watch that much of it because there is, in fact, at this moment in time, a mammoth amount of sheer crap currently passing as good television. Plus, I don't even own a TV. But, I do own a computer which houses internet which houses Hulu. All the of shows I'm reviewing are, in fact, not crap at all but amazingly entertaining, and can be viewed there for free.

Parenthood | Tuesdays on NBC 
 Dramatic shows often lose my interest after about a season when their formulas start getting old, but, not Parenthood. Going on to it's 3rd season, this show has kept me watching (and re-watching) faithfully. In fact, this is quite possibly my most looked forward to show of the week. The story centralizes around the Braverman family from Northern California. I love and appreciate it's use of progressive themes such as interracial couples, Asperger's syndrome, alcoholism/sobriety, abandonment, and stay at home fathers, all while maintaining a fairly moral view of the family unit and promoting it as a good thing. Values like integrity, love, and loyalty to family show up in every episode, yet I don't feel like I'm being patronized by a weird Christian agenda. These characters are painfully relatable, and written in such a way where realistic problems merge with charming humor to make a freshness often lost in dramatic series. And the soundtrack! Oh man. I can't tell you how many artists I've been introduced to by Parenthood's amazing use of music.

Up All Night | Wednesdays on NBC
After only two episodes, this is my favorite new show of the season. Up All Night is about a former party couple who struggles with the normal life of having a baby. This concept is especially relevant in my life now because of the recent birth of my niece, and the struggles I watch between my sister and brother-in-law in raising her. I find Up All Night extremely clever and funny and would recommend it to anyone who remembers being a first time parent.

New Girl | Tuesdays on Fox
I was really excited when I heard about this show a couple months ago, but I wasn't sold after the first episode. I think it has a lot of promise, but it could also go down the old and tired road of cheap tricks. I laughed a fair amount (the d-bag references killed me) and Zooey Dechanel is always cute, but I'll be interested to see how the show progresses. It definitely has potential.

Modern Family | Wednesdays ABC
This is America's darling right now. People love this show and I'm no exception. It's clean, funny, and has extremely lovable characters. It relies on stereotypes for most of it's humor, which gets a little old sometimes, but overall it's consistently funny.

Community | Thursdays NBC
My favorite comedy-- yes, it's funnier than Modern Family. Community is so amazingly genius and clever, I'm amazed that it doesn't have more hype. It's as subtle as it is outrageous, and is written unlike anything you've ever seen. I don't think older folks would find it quite as funny, not because the allusions are always focused towards the younger adult crowd (ie, it referenced A Space Odyssey and Doctor Who in it's latest episode), but because there is a fair amount of wacky behavior that might seem juvenile. However, if you watch it long enough, you realize the writers are completely self aware of how things are coming across and it plays off of that which adds to it's genius. It's cruder than my usual fare, but it doesn't at all rely on cheap jokes for it's laughs. There are always a few episodes every season that are lacking in it's regular charisma, but they are always made up for by the season finale. If you haven't watch Community, I highly recommend starting from the beginning. There are just too many unique episodes you'd miss out on if you started now.

(JUST FYI: I also watch The Office and was pretty impressed with it's season premiere. But, ever since Jim and Pam got together, I felt the show lost most of it's flare and I've lost my love for it. I've continued to watch every episode, but it's not in my top shows of the season. I'm still open minded about it though. I also, after trying to watch the pilot about 20 times and thinking it was lame enough to turn off, have gotten slightly into Parks and Recreation. I don't think it's the most clever show on TV, but it's good for a few laughs. I'm still waiting for season 3 to show up on netflix, so I can't comment on how the new season is yet.)

peace,
k.

Don't Panic

So, I'm not going to, but basically I'd love to write a post that explains why I haven't blogged as faithfully lately.  In this particular blog post, I would say that I have become a zombie. I would explain that I leave at about 9am in the morning and don't get back home until 8pm at night during the week, leaving a little precious time to do homework and prepare my gospel doctrine lesson for Sunday (not to mention laundry, dinner, housework etc etc). If I have any left over time in my day, instead of kicking off my shoes and unwinding, I cram it full of photo editing for clients quite eager to see their weddings. On the weekends, Saturday and Sunday respectively, I've tried to make it a priority to spend it with the 3F's: family, friends, and football. Unfortunately editing and homework creep their time-consuming ways into my 3F days, which means, out of sanity's sake, I most definitely don't have time to blog. If you are a creative type, or know a creative type, you can understand that having such a packed schedule doesn't usually equate fullness and peace in a creative soul. Hence the zombification of RobotBanjo.

Of course, if I were to write a post that explains why I haven't blogged as faithfully lately, it would probably just come across as lame, jaded, and whiny. So I better not.

Instead, I'm going to post about one of my favorite books written by possibly my favorite author... (cue dramatic music)... ever. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and the rest of the series) by Douglas Adams is, well, amazing. I feel so sadly for you if you haven't read it and I demand, in no uncertain terms, that you rectify that situation immediately. Never have a laughed so hard, by myself, in an empty house, as I have reading this series. Genius stuff.

And don't just take my word for it. Here is the prologue I snagged from the inter webs (complete with typos). Copyright violation, what? Enjoy...

                 Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy. And so the problem remained; lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches. Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.

               And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, one girl sitting on her own in a small cafe in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no one would have to get nailed to anything. Sadly, however, before she could get to a phone to tell anyone about it, a terribly stupid catastrophe occurred, and the idea was lost forever. This is not her story. But it is the story of that terrible stupid catastrophe and some of its consequences. 

               It is also the story of a book, a book called The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - not an Earth book, never published on Earth, and until the terrible catastrophe occurred, never seen or heard of by any Earthman. Nevertheless, a wholly remarkable book. in fact it was probably the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing houses of Ursa Minor - of which no Earthman had ever heard either. Not only is it a wholly remarkable book, it is also a highly successful one - more popular than the Celestial Home Care Omnibus, better selling than Fifty More Things to do in Zero Gravity, and more controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy of philosophical blockbusters Where God Went Wrong, Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes and Who is this God Person Anyway? In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitch Hiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects. First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words Don't Panic inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover. But the story of this terrible, stupid Thursday, the story of its extraordinary consequences, and the story of how these consequences are inextricably intertwined with this remarkable book begins very simply.

             It begins with a house.

Ok. Now you know it's amazing. Now go buy it. Now. Go. Right now.


peace,
k.

Movie Review: Hanna

Directed by: Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice)
Written by: Seth Lochhead
Starring: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Cate Blanchett (Aviator, Benjamin Button), Eric Bana (Time Traveler's Wife, Munich)
Stupid Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 13+ for violence and dark themes (MPAA got it right this time). There is some sexually related material, but no sex scenes (just a brief rockin' trailer). Relatively light on language except for one F bomb.

I loved Hanna. Looooooooved it. I saw it maybe 5 or 6 times in the theater when it came out back in the beginning of April and I counted down the days until it's DVD release. However, most people I talk to have never heard of it before. If this is you, and you like good movies, go RedBox it this weekend. Trust me. 

Hanna is not your typical action film. Instead of busty bimbos you have two leading female characters that are strong, yet feminine, without the cliche sexualization you see in every action movie. Instead of vomit-inducing shaky camera work, you have interesting and calculated cinematography working with music that makes you want to stand up and dance. Instead of a boring plot you've seen a million times, you have a reinvented fairy tale and innocent coming of age story. It's not especially deep, nor is it without flaws, but it's oh so fun to watch (and you don't feel like your losing braincells while watching it). 

Hanna is a fun action movie for non-traditional-American-narrative film lovers, but is completely assessable for anyone (yes, even you normal guy not drinking tea while not wearing a scarf). Any of you film snobs that appreciate european cinema like Run, Lola, Run will appreciate this movie. And any of you non film snobs that appreciate other movies besides Transformers and The Last Song, this could possibly be your gateway drug into the wonderful world of non-Hollywoodized movies!

This movie is great fun, people. Go watch it. 

4 out of 4 stars

amazing female cast - cliche sexualization + beautiful action sequences + marvelous music + great themes + FUN = possibly my favorite movie of the year 

Desires

Today in relief society we talked about... wait for it...

MARRIAGE!

Well, the lesson wasn't actually about marriage, but because we are all 20-something-single-mormon-females it HAS to be about marriage or we'd all forget that we want to be married AND THEN WHO WOULD PROVIDE THE CASSEROLES TO WARD FUNCTIONS!?

Anyway, the lesson was really about desires (to be married). At the beginning of the class we were all asked to take out a piece of paper and write down what our desires in life are (who we want to become, what is most important to us, etc).

I did not hesitate.

And then I drew a picture.

Why yes, that IS me slaying zombies while riding my trusty elephant!

With all my problems with the whole singles-ward-marriage-prep-talk thing aside, this lesson really did get me thinking about my desires in life AND marriage. I'm a pretty focused and goal achieving person anyway (read: doesn't have a dating life), but it's always good to list things out and give them air to breathe. So, here you go...

Life Desires

Teach photography in foreign places.

Live in a few different countries.

Visit every continent.

Know at least one other language fluently.

Be an excellent cook.

Laugh everyday. Make others laugh everyday.

Take an important photograph.

Treat my body with respect.

Grow a successful garden and share all the produce with my neighbors. 

Enjoy others.

Serve unselfishly.

Bask in others' happiness.

Adopt children.

Create home.

Live a life for others using my own unique self and talents. 

Be remembered for something good.

Marriage Desires
Pretty much everything from my life desires list, but with a cool teammate who has a list of their own that they want me to be apart of.

I'd say that I'm aligning my life in the way that will help me achieve all the things on my life desires list, the only problem is that darn marriage desires list. Unfortunately I've yet to find any guy resembling that. So, if any of you see him, point me in that direction. (He's probably just been too busy slaying zombies to notice his cute help meet over here.)


peace,
k.

Dream Team

I'm sort of getting tired of blogging about myself...

...BUT since I think it's of utmost importance for any sort of creeper (aka dating prospect) of mine to easily stalk me through my blog, here is another self indulgent post. I need these creepers to feel like they are really understanding the complex inner-workings of my troubled soul, because then there is a higher chance of them going all anime Phantom of the Opera on me. So, this one's for you, ginger guy with soft hands who's nose whistles when he breaths.

I did this dream team concept once before on an old blog long since abandoned, but my tastes have changed, so here is an updated version. Bon appetit!


DREAM VACATION

Being dropped in a random populated place and having to figure out where I am. Then going from there.

DREAM CAST

A dark comedy involving Casey Affleck, Gary Oldman, Daniel Craig, Jason Schwartzman, Gerard Butler, Will Smith and James McAvoy as a band of coworkers in 1960s Boston. Phillip Seymour Hoffman would be their boss. Catherine Keener, Zooey Deschanel, Amy Adams, Emily Mortimer, Toni Collette would play the wives. Edward Norton would play the priest. Cillian Murphy would play something. With a special appearance by Heath Ledger (who obviously wouldn't be dead). Kira Knightly will not play any part because I hate her stupid acting. Directed by Wes Anderson and Joe Wright's love child. I shall name him Ebenezer Anderwright.

DREAM CONCERT LINEUP

Damien Rice, Lisa Hannigan, David Bowie, Mumford and Sons, Lauren Hill, Sigur Ros, Flight of the Conchords, Sufjan Stevens, Amos Lee and James Taylor.

DREAM LOVER

Casey Affleck meets Doctor Who meets Ned The Pie Maker... with a Scottish or New Zealander accent. 

DREAM ALTERNATIVE CAREERS

Writer of travels and/or rider of elephants.

DREAM HOME

My summer home would be vintage with a lot of natural light and textures located on the Isle of Skye. I'd have horses there. My winter home would be modern with a lot of natural light and textures located somewhere on Kauai. There I'd have camels. But most of my time I'd live in a studio apartment with a lot of natural light and textures in New York City. There I'd have one cat, or maybe some fish.

DREAM CUISINE

An english breakfast, an Italian lunch, a Ugandan dinner, and a creme brulee dessert.