"Glee" — Born This Way

I just finished watching the hour-long special episode of Glee, 'Born This Way,' and I'm so impressed by the writing.  It dealt with so many taboo topics like the trend for adolescent Jewish teens to get rhinoplasty, self-hating Asians who have no Asian sex symbols in the media to look up to so they resort to wearing blue-colored contacts to emulate their idols, and gays and lesbians staying in the closet to avoid social ostracization.

In this fun scene, the Glee cast convinces Jewish Rachel to cancel her nose job appointment by singing a number about Barbara Streisand, who famously refused to fix her deviated septum with rhinoplasty.



This scene doesn't deal with any of the aforementioned topics, but Darren Criss' voice is just so mellifluous here:



This is the closing number, where the cast performs Gaga's "Born This Way."  It's significant because you see them wearing t-shirts displaying their personal hang-ups.  (Santana wears "LEBANESE" because Brittany is slow and meant for it to read "LESBIAN.")

I'll close with Tina Cohen-Chang's words in the episode (originally said by Gandhi):
"Be the change you want to see in the world."

Moving Live Performance by The Swell Season

"Just Do You"

I hate to quote "The Jersey Shore" but it's a pretty apt phrase, I think. Someone I know has been telling me that exact phrase a lot lately too.

Neale Donald Walsch puts it more eloquently here:


"...if you're doing something for someone else's


approval, you may as well not do it at all.



There is only one reason to do anything: to announce

and declare, express and fulfill, become and

experience Who You Really Are.



Do what you do, therefore, for the sheer joy of it,

for sheer joy is who you are. Do what you choose,

not what someone else chooses for you."


I think I get caught up in seeking others' approval or praise and forget whether or not I am somehow violating my own personal sense of integrity in some shape or form. I have to constantly check myself if I'm doing something or saying something for someone else or purely for myself. It's an excellent reminder, considering some recent events in my life.

Live Performance of "The Sun" By The Naked and Famous

Inspiring Quote of the Day by Neale Donald Walsch

On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know...

...that not everything has to turn out exactly the way you

planned in order for you to call it a success.



Sometimes all God wants you to do is to "get the ball

rolling." Then, She'll take it from there. So when things

turn out other than the way you wanted them to, don't

be so quick to say, "Bummer!"



Many a Bummer is a Blessing in disguise. Consider the

possibility that life is magic...and that there's a rabbit

in that hat.

Isn't that fantastic? It just reminds us all to LET GO and Let Life. I have a personal issue with control and I get frustrated when things don't go as I envisioned but am slowly learning to go with the flow and to appreciate the beauty in all of life's "mishaps," which often enough turn out to be blessings in disguise.

Now, go out there and embrace life with all its ups and downs!

"It Gets Better": Obama & NPH

So all the celebrities have gotten on the bandwagon and made their own personal "it gets better" YouTube videos, but these two I think stand out. Obama is being an exceptionally progressive leader by speaking out against bullying and Neil Patrick Harris makes a great point about growing up. NPH says that when we are in high school we have this strong urge to blend in and be just like everyone else in order to fit in, but as we get older, the opposite tends to occur. We seek out individuality and what sets us apart and makes us stand out amongst the crowd. He said in due time we will learn to embrace and even be proud of our individual differences, rather than be ashamed of them. So, gay, straight, confused, bi, transgender. Take heed and take heart!

Obama:


NPH:

"We're A Nation of Nervous Wrecks."

The Age of Anxiety Critical Eye: Details.com

I don't normally like to post two links from the same media source back-to-back but I just happened to come across another great article from Details. I think this hits it on the head, with how Americans are living in a sh*tstorm of worry over trivial and substantial issues that are mostly imaginary and/or self-inflicted.

Men Being Men Again

This is an interesting Details article about men reclaiming their masculinity:

The Remasculated Man Critical Eye: Details.com

Chillout with Theo Katzman

Insightful Message from Neale Donald Walsch

I received this message today from Mr. Walsch and it makes perfect sense to me, especially on this day under these very circumstances but for some reason it just isn't sinking in or taking effect. I know that's up to me...maybe I'm not ready to end this self-pity party. Anyway, I won't bore you with my problems anymore. Enjoy this delightful message:

On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know...

...that you were created to create -- not to react.

Creation is the highest form of Divinity, and your

birthright. Truth is, you are creating all the time. The

central question in your life is whether you are

doing this consciously or unconsciously.

Conscious creation is what is needed now. Stop

moping. And stop thinking negative thoughts. Just

get on with it! Tomorrow awaits your choice as to

how its going to be. Call the shots! Make it happen!

You're in charge here.

Amen.
Now I just have to put this truth into practice. Sigh.

This Guy Has An Amazing Voice

I like this version of the hit Katy Perry song because of Boyce Avenue's range and tonal quality:

Cover Songs:
"Firework"


"Teenage Dream"


Original Song:
"Briane"



This is a hyperlink to their main youtube channel.

Amazing Scene from "Shameless" (US)

"Just knowing your tits are trying to kill you, that's gotta suck. I mean mine's in my balls. So they've got a reason to be pissed — tucked between two legs, wedged right under your asshole, there's no good way to sit, no underwear that's been devised to hold them effectively in place. They're a bizarre appendage; an afterthought, which is why I don't believe in intelligent design. There is no G-d, we're all gonna die."

-Frank Gallager (drunk dad on "Shameless" (US), brilliantly played by William H. Macy)

A "Shameless" Plug

I heard this closing song on season 1, episode 3 of "Shameless" (US version).

It's "November was White, December was Grey" by Say Hi.

Be True to Yourself

"The Guy in the Glass"
by Dale Winbrow

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

Dale Wimbrow 1895-1954

____________________________

You can fool the whole world but if you can't look at yourself square in the eyes in the looking glass with true integrity, then your big act to please the outside world was all for naught.

Always be true to yourself and if those around you can't accept you fully for who you truly are, then f*ck them and move on to bigger and better things.

"Grace" by Kate Havnevik

I like this song by Kate Havnevik, sung by Callie on Grey's Anatomy's musical episode ("Song Beneath the Song").

"Nothing comes easily."