Stamp of DISapproval on Celebrity Stamps.

        After hearing that the US Postal Service is attempting to add hip celebritiess to their stamps in order to generate new business from young people, I can only roll my eyes. I am 25 years old and will admit that this new campaign will not cause me to buy more stamps or start mailing letters instead of sending emails.  My generation wants everything now.  We are not patient and we are cheap.  We love emails because they are instant and free.  I have even started paying bills online to avoid buying stamps whenever possible.  I send out Christmas cards which is probably the biggest check the post office will ever recieve from me.  Unless they are going to put Bing Crosby on the stamps at Christmas, I will probably never buy a celebrity stamp.  Don't get me wrong, I like celebrities, but if I have a need to see one I will simply turn on my television.  I understand these are rough economical times for the post office, but they should consider if it's bad for them, how bad is it for the poor college students who can't get jobs?  In my opinion, a better improvement the post office could make would be to hire some people who possess some manners and don't look like they just rolled out of bed. I would be highly suprised if any new business would occur from these changes. 

      The post office just dismissed their rule that stamps cannot feature people who are still living.  I thought it was a good rule, almost like you had to be a living legacy to be featured on a stamp, just like the presidents on the dollar bills.  So now when we go to buy stamps will we have the option to choose Mary and baby Jesus or Justin Beiber?  It just takes the significants away from legacies like Dr. Martin Luther King, George Washington and Marylin Monroe.  My stamp of disapproval is smacked down on this new idea.

Silence is Golden

      After watching multiple interviews of Tupac, I noticed both his flaws and his talents.  While his record was not always clean, he felt deeply about his music and the positive affect he was having on others through it.  This is similar to Jimi Hendrix although Jimi did not care about fame, fortune or money; he just wanted to use his gifts and talents to do what he was called to do.   Both artists were very deep on a spiritual level and personal level.  They believe in the power of healing in what they were doing.

      I feel Tupac and his music started a trend expression among artists that trickles down to the youth.  My generation is consumed by music.  So much so that we are afraid to hear silence.  We hop in the car and turn on our radio, and wear our headphones when we’re not in the car.  Music is playing in every store we venture into and we stream it from our computers at work.  We seem so focused on distracting ourselves with other’s words that we fail to hear our own or God’s.  I believe music can feed the soul and bring us back to places in our past.  A certain lyric or verse can bring back an emotion, place or time.  It can remind us of those we have lost, great memories or even feelings we forgot we had.  I believe this is the goal for artists like Tupac and Jimi.  They sing to remember, they sing to forget.  And as we enjoy their music and music from others like them, we need to also remember to take time to turn the music off and not be afraid of silence and what we might hear.

War, Peace and September 11th

I remember September 11th like it was yesterday.  I was fifteen years old and was packing my gym bag for my competitive dance team practice.  Like every other morning, my parents had the news on.  They seemed to always be concerned with the world and what was going on, unlike me.  This was probably good since I was a teenager without a care in the world.  I tossed my bag over my shoulder and slid my feet into my jazz shoes.  As I walked into the living room the news announcers were silent and the television portrayed The World Trade Center’s burning.  

       At the time, I had no idea what these buildings even were.  I yelled at my mom to come look and she ran in the room holding my baby brother.  I remember the concerned look in her eyes, one of fear and disbelief.  She returned to my brother’s bedroom to quickly change his diaper.  I continued to watch in horror as the newscaster began crying saying they believed this was a terrorist act.  Although I knew nothing about the buildings, I remember telling my mom I thought they were going to collapse.  She then told me this was impossible. No sooner had she said this then the buildings started crumbling and sinking to the ground.  The news announcers screamed and cried in disbelief and my mother’s jaw dropped as she clutched my brother tighter. I just watched, unsure what this meant for our country and why someone would do this.  My mom grabbed the phone to call my dad who was a government worker who had been ordered to go home.  I continued to watch the screen for hours.  The building soon became engraved in my mind.  The plane sinking into it, the collapse, the panic of the usually calm people.  Did this mean war?

       10 years later I still remember it ever so clearly.  I am, by nature, a peaceful person.  But I do not think a terrorist act can go without retaliation. Although I didn’t completely understand the significance of the event in the moment it occurred, I remember knowing that life for America would never be the same. Whether this war was waged with the right people or the right way is a completely different issue, but for someone who does hope for peace, I also believe peace is not always possible.  The world is full of sin and hate, and while some people remain peaceful, not everyone does.  Without everyone being like-minded there will always be hate and always be wars.  Peace must be a two way street. War is always a tragedy.  Innocent are killed, lives forever changed.  But I am so thankful for the men and women who fight for our country to make it what it is, free and for the most part, safe.

Picnic Time

The university picnic has become not only a university tradition but a signal of the end of summer fun and the beginning of fall studies and new adventures.  Being a university employee and student gives me a bit of a different perspective- a view of both worlds of education. The picnic for me is a chance to escape from my desk and mountains of paperwork and go outside to let my brain relax.  I would guess that many other staff and faculty feel the same way as they come scurrying from their various offices, letting their pupils adjust to the sun and quickly filling their plates with barbeque.

I painfully walk with my coworkers to the tables of food as my high heels punish me for my previous endeavors across campus.  Jealously slips in as I see the various students wearing sweats and tennis shoes and I remind myself that this long day is almost over. 

The heat is pressing down on me and I am once again disappointed to see hot dogs and hamburgers.  I fill my plate halfheartedly and just hope that cookies await me at the end of this line.  I closely examine my burger and wonder what percentage of fat vs. meat it contains and if it was even cooked today. No cookies.  Bummer.  I make a quick walk around the student tables and exchange a few smiles and waves with both students and staff.  Then I return to my office to allow fellow employees and receive the same break that I received.

(Photos Copyrighted by Avila University Facebook)

Jimi

This interview of Jimi's really caught my attention by how modest he was. Unlike other celebrities, he was not concerned about fame, fortune or money. Instead he seemed to hold a deep burden, not for himself, but for the world. He was highly spiritual and when he performs he is not performing to impress others but instead it is almost a release of energy for him, a freeing of his spirit and everything that he represents, stands for and believes.

This interview shows the state of the world- it was afraid of Jimi and others like him who represented radical change and going beyond the norms of society. Jimi wished to test boundaries, to ask why and to stand out by being a unique individual.

In part of the interview Jimi refers to not "Being Awake" yet. The audience laughs as if he means he is still tired, but I believe Jimi is refering to spiritual awakeness. That getting up in the morning does not make you awake, just as living life does not make you truly alive.