Happy Birthday, Big Mama!

yesterday me and momo had the luckiest night of our lives. like, seriously. it was the last night of the 3 day celebration of Rome's first house of blues---Big Mama. talk about being misinformed! we were under the impression that it was a JAZZ club (as according to the lame e-mail sent by the school) so we were really shocked when the first performer strumming on the guitar started playing familiar blues tunes. but first!:

let it be known that the most difficult bus to catch in Rome in the 23. it's just HARD because it come once in a blue moon when u really need it to come. so me and momo left extra early preparing to wait at least 30 minutes to catch the stupid bus that would take us to the hallowed area of Trastevere (a charming place with restaurants and bars often overrun by obnoxious tourists). so, luck number 1? after not even 3 minutes me and momo almost died of shock when the bus came barreling our way! 

but we got lost. lol---we got off at the right stop, yeah, but Trastevere is full of winding side streets. good thing it's just as beautiful at night as it is during the day or else we woulda died of fright. empty streets didn't sway us tho---we asked for directions and everyone was pretty sweet about it. and since i now understand directions in italian it was so cool for someone to say "a fondo a Via San Marco, girare a destra!" and I would know to turn right at the end of the street. anywho---eventually we found our way to Big Mama. lucky number 2? the night was extremely warm! i had nothing on but thin jeans, tank top, and leather jacket and i was beyond comfortable! even after getting lost almost 40 minutes out of our way we were STILL early (that's how awesome it was to catch the 23 immediately!) the guy in the ticket booth was really nice (and really hot--hehehehhe) and we bought memberships to the club for 13 euro. not bad considering that we could now go to future shows for free. even tho we didn't book a table and had to stand the whole time, the show was AMAZING! i always liked blues music and old school rock and roll but hearing it all live just made it that much more wonderful. even though majority of the performers sang in english---there was one blues artist (and AMAZING guitarist) who sung in italian. it was SO beautiful! 

majority of the crowd was older but there were some italians there that were in my age range. overall it was a wonderful night! me and momo didn't leave until the very end. lucky number 3? because we're some damn lucky we caught the ever evasive N10 bus all the way to ottaviano. so because we're fatasses rather than walk home we bee-lined over to the infamous Old Bridge gelateria and got ice cream! THEN we walked home. momo is honestly so wonderful to be around. we laughed and chatted the whole time there and back and danced during the show. it was just awesome to have a carefree, stress free night. on a monday! i have one month left here. i'm so sad! i don't want to go! once again another chapter of my life is coming to a close...

for dinner tonight i finally got my hands on most of the ingredients needed to make african red stew! i wanted to cry with nostalgia---hadn't had african food in MONTHS! so i made the red stew with rice, chicken, and fried plantain. yum yum!!!!! and YES i like my plantain burnt! it wasn't an accident! i made a huge nasty mess but the result was painfully delicious. ^_^

The Blog Roll

Lemme introduce the new members of my "blog roll" which has been renamed "tyler heads" lol.

Victoria

Major: Drawing/ Painting/ Art Education

i love this girl to death. hands down one of the few people i can stand for extended periods of time. we have so much fun together and she has a lovely eye for color. "Maria!!!!"

Ashley

Major: i really don't kno...lol, remind me to ask her

sweet girl and always smiling whenever i see her. too nice! and can you believe she's spanish?! not when u see her! lol, but she speaks better spanish then victoria and victoria is the one who looks 100% puerto rican! lol

Michelle aka Michi

Major: Graphic Design/ Photography

my closest friend at school. we're both pisces and we get along together like peas in a pod...enough said

Justin aka Justin Bobby

Major: Graphic Design

not to be mixed with his HILLS counterpart at all. they're not even remotely alike i just like to call him that ^_^ love his aesthetic! he's one of my closest guy friends

ahhhh and me! well, if u read this blog then u kno me well enough ^_~

Tyler School of Art DECLARES WAR!!!!

u may not kno it, but i'm proud student of Temple University's Tyler School of Art. for a university art school, it's one of the best there is---and our new state of the art building has garnered A LOT of attention. and equipped with the proper...equipment, my classmates have decided to declare "war" on the three other major art schools in Philadelphia. i love those kids, i really do! it's all in good fun. but the retaliations the other schools have given have been pretty hilarious. some have take it WAY too seriously (*ahem* MOORE!) while the rest are giggling uncontrollably and accepting our invitation with great sport. this "war" we've started is even getting MEDIA attention! this is the first time i sincerely wish i was home...

PHILADELPHIA HAS OFFICIALLY BECOME THE NEW TROY!!!!

Tyler's Trojan Horses:

genius, ne? i give the sculpture department mad props for this stunt. they constructed and delivered these horses to each school IN ONE DAY. not to create animosity but to let them kno that Tyler is no longer in the boondocks of Elkins parks and just wanted to create some playful banter between the art schools. talking about pushing the envelope! SOME of the other schools only WISH they did something this clever. point in case 1:

Moore College of Art and Design:

*yawn* "hustle hard/ stack paper/ it's alright---ya'll haters/...u see me?/ hi haters!/ hi haters!/ hi haters!" i'm sure not ALL the members of MOORE are this lame (i have some pretty good friends there) but at least they had the balls to blast the fun and accept our invitation.

Philadelphia University of the Arts:

*applause* MUCH better. good times with UArts! and WAY more creative! i love how they bust on how ghetto north philly is compared to where the other schools are located. don't hate on our hood status! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts:

they casted a figure of helen of troy and turned our trojan horse into a chariot! they take the prize for BEST CREATIVE RESPONSE!!!!!

we have yet to here from The Art Institute of Philadelphia but peep the media attention!

WHYY and MSNBC

i wanna cry because i'm so proud! this blog is about to move into full force artist mode. just u wait and see. i have to start putting up my work now---no way i'm gonna sit back and watch even if i AM in another country!

Because it Moves Me

let me state a musical fact:

Epik High is hands down the greatest hip hop group to come out of Asia. Lyrically, compositionally, and musically speaking there isn't a single asian hip hop group that can challenge them and WIN. because epik high is the shit. point blank, the shit. you think you're cool if you can rap in english? they rhyme english and korean like they're the same language and IT MAKES sense no matter how you translate it. their lyrics challenge you to think about yourself and the world that you're living in, psychologically, politically, and just simply---to BE. THEY'RE AMAZING!!!

epik high is a three man hip hop group consisting of the english speaking lyrical genius Tablo (rapper, producer, lyricist, writer), Mithra Jin (rapper, producer, lyricist), and musical mad man DJ Tukutz (producer, turntablist, engineer). they've been pushing the envelope in the ever changing korean music industry since they debuted in 2003 with "Map of the Human Soul." while their style has certainly evolved, they never "sold out" to the kpop industry and i love them for that.

so when their record label kept pushing them to go more mainstream, and when the korean government kept censoring their words they did the free will thing and left their label. it made things a thousand times more difficult for them, but now they are releasing an album with a book (Tablo is also a best selling author) that is in english and korean---reaching out to their fans in ways no other artist seemed smart (or brave) enough to do. they cut out the middle man and the music is coming from them straight to us! MAP THE SOUL. "Remapping the Human Soul" and "Pieces, Part One" are my absolute favorite albums of theirs. I mean, I love everything they do but I especially love these two albums. SO POWERFUL!

*faints*

i want their new album, SO BAD!!!!! the book and everything looks so amazing! it will probably leak all over the internet but i really want to read the book. T_T i might have to order internationally and have it shipped home...

the only thing about the new album that makes me sad (well a few things actually) is that it's only 10 tracks! and there are no female features (Ji Sun and Horan gave the best vocals), and the chances of there being a music video for any of the songs are slim to none. but i appreciate their hard work. i would love to work for them! illustrate/ design for them. seriously i'm gonna get an account there and start showing my artwork on here more...lol--that WAS the point of this blog too....

WARNING: sometimes their MVs are NOT for the faint of heart. their videos get banned a lot because of images shown and the touchy issues that their lyrics touch up on from politics, religion, race, and suicide (which is a REALLY big issue in korea) so i admire their guts. they don't censor their lyrics for anyone.

Epik High- Fan (album: Remapping the Human Soul)

Epik High- 1 Minute 1 Second feat. Haru (mini album- Love Scream)

Epik High- Breakdown (album: Pieces, Part One)

Oh, hello there...

so i'm lazy as hell. i kno. and u kno too because i haven't updated lately. but that's ok, because i'm doing so now. SPRING BREAK RECAP!

first of all--Tunisia sits right under Italy as the greatest travel experiences of my life. i spent 7 days and traveled the whole country, beginning in the capital city of Tunis, all the way south to Sousse, into the Sahara Dessert, and back around again to end up where i began. the customs, the culture, it's amazing! 5 hotels later and i have to say i'm a total pro with arabic music. everyday was so full of amazing things that we never went anywhere afterwards. we just chilled, talked, and sat around watching arabic music videos. amazing.

one thing that came to my attention that i must mention is the genius of the tunisian ppl. even the poor are wicked pro at languages. while the native language is arabic, the vast majority are bilingual with french and even MORE speak english, spanish, italian, portuguese, and are now learning japanese thanks to a lot of investment japan is now putting over there. because my italian was kinda weak and i kno no french, more often then not i had to revert to spanish. it sucks because thanks to learning italian i've lost a lot of spanish (because the languages are SO similar!) but luckily i understood it very well.

 i could go on and on about how i was guided through the country by the amazing Maria Ponce de Leon (PONCE! for short) and Monir, how i went off roading in the sahara desert, climbed one of the three major mountains into an oasis, rode camels into the sunset, watched a young tunisian boy climb date palm trees inhumanely fast, and bartered with some of the toughest multilingual merchants in the whole world. but then u'd be dripping with envy and this post would be five years long. so in short--it was a great experience. AVOID TOURIST AREAS! they are the WORST in tunisia which has become the european version of florida.

that aside,  i do have to tell one story:

while wandering the souks (markets) of tozeur me and michelle walked into one store where they were selling a wide assortment of handmade bowls, dishes, ect. the merchant was very nice and although he wasn't as obnoxiously pushy as his neighbors he was very unwilling to bargain for lower prices. but he was still nice and didn't harass us while we walked around. in the shop there was a young man watching us shrewdly, i guess to make sure we didn't steal or break anything. he was eating a tunisian dish and he invited us to have some but we politely refused. he the most incredible hazel eyes i've ever seen in my entire life! and coupled with his dark skin and black hair his eyes seriously looked like they were glowing. but the kid could barely speak any english and unlike the many other tunisians he only knew arabic. he was also annoying me because he wouldn't meet my eyes. he kept staring then looking away, lol, it kind of made me uncomfortable. so i asked the merchant about him.

me: who is he? he helps you out here?

merchant: yes, sometimes.

me: but shouldn't he be at school? how old is he?

merchant: ah...15.

me: WHAT?! he looks 12! his eyes are beautiful!

merchant: hahaha, yes, that's how i make the money. i bring him along to make deals and everyone agrees because he's so handsome. will you understand if i say things in spanish? my english...

me: of course!

merchant (in spanish): he comes from a poor family. things are rough now and they can't afford to send him to school. so he works with me and i teach him myself. if he went to school, he would already be bilingual, but i am teaching him french now. he's very clever so it's a shame he can't get a proper education, but he is well behaved and works very hard.

me: Que lastima! (what a shame!)

merchant: but he is ok.

he then says something to the boy in arabic. and the boy nodded his head. the merchant asks him something else and the boy starts to laugh and he looks really shy. the merchant laughs and goes, "oh, i was wondering why he was so quiet and acting so shy! he likes one of you!" he asked the boy which one of us he liked and he nods at ME! ahahahahahaha! then i think he asks the boy why because the merchant goes, "he thinks you're pretty." *faints* WHAT?! way to boost my self esteem! so he was looking away because he liked me and he was shy. ohhhh....one of a thousand great memories. i love that kid, i really do! in 10 years if he still wants me i'll be his "noona" and i'll take him to america and we can get married! ahahahaha!

the people there will move your soul in ways like you've never experienced before. GO! if you ever get the chance, GO!!!!!

i also went to pisa and saw the leaning tower of pisa and then to florence to visit the infamous leather market. but we're not gonna talk about it because it wasn't as cool