Aids Awareness Campaign Ad

I know I have disappeared. It has been such a busy and stressful time, I have no excuses for you, like rescuing people from burning buildings, or creating such incredible large art pieces.. I am terrible, I know! Work has taken up so much of my time during the week, then I go to a village on the weekend to teach art, that I have such little amount of time to work on art. It doesnt mean I haven’t, because I have. I will write about that later. For now I want to share with you an ad I worked on as a makeup artist, as well as got stuck being an extra in it (if you look closely you will see me with a child), which was such incredible fun. A 12 hour day and standing on my feet  a lot of it, but it made me realize how much I miss working in the film making industry. Anyone out there listening to me, hook a girl up!

This video is in Arabic, but the gist of it is this guy (in the red shirt) has aids, and goes to a government office where the line is almost out the door and sneezes. A guy turns around, spots him, and tells the guy behind him how he saw him at the hospital and had aids. Causing a domino effect, where people are uneducated on how aids can spread, freaked out and ran off (I grabbed my child in horror!). When he gets to the counter, the government worker asks him what happened to the line and the guy says how they heard he had aids. The government worker shakes his hand and wishes him good health. The ad proceeds to explain how aids is not transmitted by sneezing and so on.

I hope you guys enjoy!

 

Empty Chair’s New Single is Out!

A while ago I created a video with the help from a friend, about Creativity in the Middle East. In the video there was a band that I talked to about the challenges they faced being creative in the Middle East and what obstacles they had to overcome to get their music out there. A few days ago Empty Chair released their very first single and I am excited to say that it is quite good! I’ve watched them live a few times, and they have always rocked the audience. Not only by how they played each song, but the interaction they had with each audience member. Always eager to please and take suggestions, be it song suggestions, or constructive criticism. They have worked very hard and it is obvious the love they have for what they do is what drives them to create music that touches peoples souls.

One thing that captures me are the lyrics. What I love about this song is how I can relate to it, and I’m sure most people can as well. It starts out with Kamal singing

“Sitting here alone
In a cold dark room
Wishing you were here
To ease the pain”

Haven’t we all felt this way at least once in our lives? And yes, I am not ashamed to admit it! The loneliness of not having someone there to ease our pain, to make us feel as if everything will be alright in time gets to each one of us.

“It hurts too much
To just sit and stare
At a scattered memory
At an empty chair”

One reason I love the lyrics above is because of the smart way they integrated the name of their band, Empty Chair, into the song, and made it make sense! I fell in love with this song because it hits home for a lot of people. So many people experience the pain they are describing in their lyrics, that it connects us all together. Makes us feel as if we are not alone. The feeling they put into playing their instruments and the way the song is sung makes you feel as though they have experienced  the heart ache, and pain of losing someone and by doing so, they connect with their audience in such a magical way. What better way is there to to relate to your audience but by singing about something you have experienced and what others can relate to.

Empty Chair definitely has a gift. Not only with the way they play their instruments, with passion and intensity, but their lead singer, Kamal Shbeir, sings from his heart, and it doesn’t help that he has a one of a kind, husky voice that captures the women in the audience! They bring something different to Amman, and now that they have released their fist single, I can say that they are stepping up and proving to everyone that they really are made to be stars.

Congratulations Empty Chair, on a single that not only makes a person experience different emotions, from sadness, to hopefulness, but for proving that with hard work, determination, and dedication, anyone can live their dream.

 

Challenges Update!

In a previous post I had written about how I was going to start 3 different challenges on March 4th. The no Social Media (excluding my blog), so no Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for 2 weeks. My friend I extended the meditation challenge from 21 days to a month, and a fruit and veggie only diet ( some beans for protein though) for a month. I am proud to say today was the end of Week 1 and I haven’t cheated once! Not to say I was planning on it, it’s just nice to know! =) I feel great, and I’m getting a lot done. So kudos to me!

A friend of mine sent me this TEDx talk by Louie Schwartzberg titled “Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.”. An award-winning cinematographer, director, and producer, Louie Schwartzberg provides imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries and commercials.

The video is stunning and the words so true. One day, I hope to be able to think that way. Enjoy.