Three cheers for Internet week 2011!

Welcome to the place where .com's, .org's, and internet brainiacs rule to claim their thrones.
This is no Fashion week, so take off the stilettos and take notes for the newest and coolest applications for the internet. Coming to a computer near you!
As a blogger, tweeter, and everything in between, you have got to be internet savvy!
All the more reason to go to Internet Week!
Besides, who knows the internet more than the people who help create it?

ohh yeah

I must talk a lot with my hands during interviews...

I stopped by Meebo, who's created new applications for fashion bloggers like me

Freebies may have pulled the weighed down on our shoulders, carrying it in our school bags, but it definitely didn't stop us from grabbing more t-shirts, books, and candy! 

Pretty Provocative looks better on the big screen ;)

And sounds better too! I was jamming to Oh Land!

From seminars to how-to's, there was something new to learn every second! 

It reminded me so much of fashion week, that I honestly thought to myself, Is this what tech-savvy people anticipate? Because I know during fashion week, you can never get bored!

The 1996 Mac Desktop! I can't imagine blogging on that computer... 

Me and my friends having a blast!

Internet Week buddies- UNITE!

I'm as corny as they come ;)

"Wait...just one last thing! I wonder if it..."

"It works! It works!"

Have a great weekend!

I'm a Woman In the Making!

I've never been on the radio before, so when Desi. K Robinson asked me to be on her radio show as her Women In the Making (WBAI 99.5), I was honored! Along with Shero, Ali Smith, we talked on the importance of arts education for the youth. Of course, I, a dance major at a performing arts high school has something to say about that! There is so much money being used in the most unnecessary things in the world, it frustrates me that these budget cuts are effecting what means the most to so many young people like me. Me and Ali talked about our love for photography and our personal projects.

Of course I spoke about Pretty Provocative!

This was such a great experience for me. I got an insight how all those radio reporters I was actually recovering from losing my voice a few days before the show, so my voice wasn't too bad but wasn't too great. Just like you have to look nice for TV and film, you have to have a nice voice for radio. I, for one, do not fall under that category. Desi is a pro of course! With a great voice! (She was actually a musical theatre major a couple of years ago at my school, Talent Unlimited High School) I was all nervous about my voice being weird and not being prepared to know what to say, but thankfully I did it. Once you start getting into a topic you feel strongly about, you just sort of, wing it. I'll admit, I'm not always the best in ending sentences! My brain's a bit scattered that way :)

Ali Smith, author of Laws of the Bandit Queens signs me a personal copy :)

left: Desi K. Robinson, Me (squished in the middle) and Ali Smith 

Check out Desi K. Robinson's blog and post HERE

and 

Ali Smith's website HERE

You are sensational. Undeniable. Capable.

So I found this while I was Tumblin' on my Tumblr. 

Rebloggin' and what not. And it inspired me to blog this for my Pretty Provocative readers.

Spread the love ladies!

This one goes out to my feminists out there! 

Because you are ALL fucking beautiful!

Satya Jewelry: A Secret Strength

Designer and co-founder of Satya Jewlery, Beth and I 

I'm an arts & crafts junkie. Especially when it come to making jewelry or cook knick knacks I can take home or wear. Had a great workshop this week at my weekly LESGC CL meeting, where I made my very own necklace with Satya Jewlery. 

Satya Jewelry is a "blending of spiritual symbols, healing gemstones, and sacred meanings". 

The brand's symbol, a Lotus flower, which opens during the day but closes at night (so cool!) represents "new beginnings" for the spiritual jewelry brand.

I was inspired by the meaning of the Lotus flower and chose it as my pendant of choice for my necklace. 

I thought to myself, this is a great representation of what I should remind myself to be everyday.

Why worry about yesterday when I have all of tomorrow? 

What will I benefit from fretting over my mistakes?

I should think about opening my mind to new people, experiences and places.

The past is past, and I'm happy to put it behind me.

I love that Satya Jewelry can be layered and be used for everyday use. Not just that necklace that needs to go with a "t-shirt" or LBD. Love it! 

Check out Satya Jewelery's website here.

And find your spiritual symbol!

Happy Memorial Day!

Rooftop on the Met

You know, three-day weekends in 80ish degree weather is like a sneak peek to the summer...what a tease. I took to the city this Memorial Day weekend, visiting museums and exploring more beautiful and hidden parts of the city. I'm not sure if some of you had come to this conclusion to yourself, but no matter how many times you can pass something by, there's always something new you didn't notice before. For example, I was walking through Midtown (which could very likely be the gazillionth time I've walked through Midtown) and I looked up while waiting at a red light; there were so many moments  that I found myself thinking, was that there before? Because of the fact that I have grown to become that   walk-everywhere-quickly-make-this-next-light New Yorker, I don't often look up. 

So it was great to just chill around on the rooftop on the Met and see everything from above. 

"I've reached the top guys!" 

*gasp* Fooling around at the Met

Some good reads at Bryant Park

frozen yogurt: a necessity to staying cool, sane, and satisfied in the heat...

Ah, yes. There's nothing like sitting down at the park after a long walk...

I actually rather not smell neither... allergies from the flowers and asthma from the cigarettes. I deal.

Thank God. Seriously, it sucks when you're trying to relax only to have to move because someone's just clouding up the park with their killer sticks. Isn't it enough that NYC is one of the most polluted parts of the country and the highest number of asthma affected youth? 

Yeah, I'm a part of that statistic. Go away smokers!

may not be a beach sunset, but close enough

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to the troops! 

-C

My Reel Lives Graduate Film Screening

Graduates of the Reel Lives 2010 class and educators Bridget Jordan and founder Lyle Kane

photos by Lou Dembrow

I'm reminiscing guys...I gave birth to my 9-month old *heart attack here* documentary last Friday! 

I've been working really closely with a program called Reel Lives since September of 2010, on my first documentary, Loud Silence.

Reel Lives is a not-for-profit film making program that teaches marginalized, refugee, and war-effected youth in finding their authentic voices through film making. 

I had no previous experience with documentary film making or using the Canon 7D cameras to shoot before the class. I've learned so many new techniques in film making and final cut pro that I honestly thought I would never learn. And let me tell you, documentary film making is not easy! 

(Yes, I am writing in italics and bold lettering because it seriously is not easy! :)

It takes a whole lot of patience and passion for what you're doing. There were so many moments when I was just so exasperated that I needed to do some deep breaths in between shooting. Especially when I was shooting an interview myself. Setting up the camera, sound, and reviewing questions with your subject, one interview itself can take more than one hour; only to use 10 second bites. I worked on a film for 9 months and it was 12min.11sec. So, as you can see, it takes more work than you think! Because my film was on such a sensitive topic (homosexuality), it was difficult to conduct interviews without making people say exactly what you want them to say. You just sorta have to keep asking more questions on their responses...

Read my film synopsis here:

On the red carpet in BCBG MaxAzria

Film makers (from left) George Tarr, Parbat Chapagai, Buddah Tamang, Myself, Marieme Sall, Pnyessa Rose, Renée Laster

Q&A with the film makers after the Screening 

I'm so grateful for Reel Lives and my amazing educators Lyle Kane, Bridget Jordan, and Joan LeFosse.

They are amazing in what they do and I'm happy to have been a part of their first class!

Thanks to Reel Lives, I see film through the eyes of a film maker. 

I blame Reel Lives in making me critique other film makers. Now I can't sit through any film or video without thinking, "the sound wasn't synched" or "the frame and lighting look terrible" 

Ha! Not a bad thing at all ;) I can proudly now say that I am a film maker.

It was such a great screening, the night was still young. I'm grateful for my friends who came to support me!

 I love every single one of them! 

Watch my first documentary, Loud Silence here:

LOUD SILENCE from Reel Lives on Vimeo.