Do they know that you gotta STAND UP, STAND UP? Use your voice, speak out.

Africa, my favorite continent. I have wanted to go there since I was about 10. I love everything about it. The culture, the people, the spirit and hope just shining off of the kids faces. I even made a pact with my best friend that when we got older, we would adopt from Africa. Everything about this place makes me more interested. But what I am about to discuss shows why I love Africa so much and have a need to help it.

In the 1980's a guy by the name of Joseph Kony started the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who targeted the Ugandan government for their unfair treatment of the Alcholi (it was originally the Holy Spirit Movement run by Alice Lakwena, but she got exiled, so Kony took over). Kony, who couldn't get a following, turned to abducted children and teaching them to fight. After 23 years, over 20,000 children have been abducted. Some have been lucky and have been able to escape, but some have been not so lucky with escaping, or being apart of this war, and have either been beaten or shot, or worse.

Out of those 20,000 children, there have been some lucky ones who have been able to survive and escape the dangers of Kony and the LRA. Those children are called "Night commuters." During the day, they do their normal routines but at dusk, they pack up only what they need and can carry and they walk to a "safe location" to stay the night, so in the morning they can walk home and get on with their normal routine, yet again.

Imagine being in these kids shoes... or lack there of (some of them don't have shoes). This life isn't one that any of them asked for and that a lot of them were born in to.

In 2003, 3 USC students traveled to Africa looking for a story for a film. When they left, not only did they have a story, but a new hope and a new ambtion to help.

And helping is what they are doing. From 2003 to today, over 2 million people have seen the movie they have created. That video is called Invisible Children (if you haven't, check it out). These three guys, with the help of friends and family have created something way bigger than they ever imagined. They created the non-profit Invisible Children. With the help of many in the US as well as around the world, IC has helped many of the abducted, as well as the commuters. They have even gotten the US goverment, as well as other governments from around the world, to pledge to help the Ugandan government come to terms with the LRA. But of course, things go sour.

I read this article ( click here! ) the other day and my heart broke. These people deserve better and I am willing to try and make sure of that. So with this blog, I am educating you (whoever you may be) on this subject in hopes of you spreading this information.

Now I am not asking you to go buy Toms shoes (but seriously, check those shoes out. I got myself two pairs. So comfy!) or run to the White House and make sure Obama is doing something about this (read this article [ here! ], US has already done something!), I'm just asking you to get informed and maybe, just maybe, pass along the word.

Here are some places to check out (you can just click on the name):
Invisible Children
Resolve Uganda
Free the Children

I also suggest you watch this video-- Displace Me: The Aftermath

If you are like me and love to help out, here are some companies (non-profit and profit) helping:
Tom Shoes
BeadforLife
One Mango Tree
Take the Walk

Get informed and get involved. :)

And a Britney song was on. And a Britney song was on. And a Brintey song was on.

I hardly ever listen to the radio. The main reason: I'm pretty sure the music I want to listen to isn't going to be playing on the radio anytime soon. How do I know this? I called Kiss once and asked. And yes, yes I really did that.

So I decided to listen to the radio yesterday while I did my work, for the first time in about 500 years (mainly just 3-4 years). I heard Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, We the Kings, Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, some rap song about sex and alcohol, some rap song about a birthday and saying ahh (I think?), and finally BedRock (Drake will forever be Wheelchair Jimmy to me). Within 30 minutes, Taylor Swift actually came up twice. I know that radios have a certain list of songs that they have to pick off of to play, but there was no other song besides two Swift songs to listen to?

I found it weird that it took a while for a Lady GaGa song to come on (Rah, rah, rah, ah ah!). GaGa should be played more than Swift.

But anyway...

I respect bands/singers that don't put their music up for radio play. One, their song won't get old so quickly. Two, their song won't get old so quickly. I love being able to put on my iPod and hear Bon Iver, Butch Walker, and Kate Voegele (sorry for name dropping artists I like) instead of turning on the radio and hearing Swift sing about another broken heart and some ore fairytales.

The radio annoys me... that is basically all. Sorry for a rant. ha!

Twitter Can Do More Than Annoy You

So I have to be on Twitter for a class. I hated it. I didn't want anything to do with it. I wanted the whole site to be shut down one day so I stopped hearing about it. My annoyance from it didn't stop my dad from having my mom text me from his phone, telling me what he was doing at the present time (if anyone saw those Verizon commericals, you'd know what I was talking about).

When I got the news that I had to get a Twitter, the first person I told was my mom. She laughed so hard, I thought she stopped breathing. She then went out and bought me a Twitter For Dummiers book. Yes, they really make those. So I peeked inside and learned a little about Twitter. Luckily, my professor for the class explained Twitter. So now I understand it.

But this post isn't much about how to use, more on the ways to benefit yourselfs.

That professor informed us (pretty much everyday) that Twitter will help us land a job. Employers want to see that we know how to use social media and technology.

Well, to my professor, thanks.

I have recently stumbled across a company with an amazing opportunity to further my odds on landing an internship because of Twitter. They have seen that I am on Twitter, Facebook, and that (surprise, surprise!) I have this blog, which in their eyes, is a good thing. I am excited to see where this path will lead me, hopefully an amazing successful career.

Yay for annoyances that turn into really good things! :)

Living in --- is the New Thing

If you listen to the radio (Top 40 stations) or watch those music video channels (or VH1 in the morning), you have seen or most likely heard this song (click here for song). If you didn't know it before, this song is about having a threesome, hence the name 3. It is no big deal coming from Britney's mouth, especially not after her other single "If U Seek Amy" made headlines.

Now if you watched the video (and didn't just click out of it because you found out it was Britney Spears), you noticed something peculiar about the song. The pre-chorus goes "Are you in/Living in sin is the new thing/Are you in/I am counting..." So is there anything wrong with what she just sung? Not to me, but apparently to other people (and YouTube, or Vevo) there is. She said sin. Sin! A three lettered word. A word that you probably hear at least once a day, if not, 100 times on Thursday night. To me there is no problem with it.

I'm not a big radio person, or TV watcher, but I have heard this song coming from both the radio and TV. I have only heard sin bleeped out while listening to the radio. On the TV, sin was heard. I thought this was amusing. The radio bleeped a simple little word like sin out.

So why now am I bringing this up? I just turned on some music (my iTunes is on shuffle) and this song came up. I forgot she put out a video for it and looked it up. And bam. Bleeped out sin.

What I don't understand though is they bleep out sin, yet play "If U Seek Amy" on the radio? Really?

If anyone knows anything about that song, you'd know what she is saying in the song. If you don't, well she is saying Eff. You. See. Kay. Me. (If you didn't understand that-- google it. Keep profanity off my blog, sorry!) If U Seek Amy was played morning, noon and night. And was played at my work, during the day, with little kids shopping around for expensive jeans made in Africa (don't ask).

I thought this was funny. Little girls are going around singing "All the boys and all the girls are begging to if U seek Amy" but then you hear them sing "Living in --- in the new thing." Oh okay, Eff you see kay me is so much better than sin.

People these days, makes me wonder.

[This really didn't have a point-- it just made me giggle and helped me procastinate on my Theory homework :) ]