Known As the Popular Loner

A few summers ago, I took this picture in a tunnel that I was walking through on the canal in my home town. Thankfully, I had the brains to upload it to my computer so that I could save it in case my phone were to break. Five phones later, the remembrance of this image popped into my head for some strange reason today and I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

At the time that I initially saw this, I can't say that I really analyzed it too much. An angst-ridden sixteen-year old, I'm sure that I saw the spray-painted phrase with white, dripping letters as "so punk rock" and not much more. I kept in in some of my digital picture folders and moved on with my life.

Almost four years later, I can't attribute this graffiti to anyone and couldn't give you a proper guess as to who might have tagged it. However, I think that I have a firmer grasp now on what they meant by this. "Known as a popular loner . . ."

My greatest opinion on these five simple words is that the artist was feeling what many might also be familiar with: being surrounded by people, yet feeling the opposite.

Let me start off with a bit of a preface. I tend to refer to myself as an extroverted introvert. I talk non-stop and adore meeting new people as often as possible. I'm a rather social person when it comes down to it.

While this might be the case, having time to myself is a must. There are times when I turn down offers to spend time with people, just because I know that I need to be alone for a bit and collect my thoughts. It's not that I'm anti-social by any means, I just prefer to be by myself sometimes.

(I could easily go into my life story as it has been so far, but that's a story that I'll just have to save for another day.)

Now back to the picture. Even years later, I feel like I have a steadier understanding on the underlying meaning to such a simple phrase. Although someone might be considered a "socialite," a room full of people can still feel empty. The person who everybody thinks of as the life of the party might only be that to those who don't care to delve deeper into their true character.

Of course, there could also be a sadder and desperate meaning that the artist wanted to convey. Perhaps there was a feeling within them that felt the need for something more out of life. It could have very well been that he just wanted anyone to get to know his life, his story, his art.


I suppose that I'll have to settle with the fact that I may never know if there was a deeper meaning behind this, or if there was a specific point that the tagger was trying to make. So, for now, I'll end with one question: what would you leave behind as a simple statement to describe your life, and how many people would really understand?

Stop Idolizing Kylie Jenner

Unless you have lived under a rock for the past year or two, there is a pretty good chance that you are familiar with the Kardashian/Jenner family. You know, the one that gets ultra glamorous with their daily make-up teams and "momager" Kris who makes sure their lives always have a hint of drama? Yeah, that family.

In case you somehow are not familiar with them, media figures Kourtney, Rob, Kim, and Khloé Kardashian are the children of Kris Jenner and the late Robert Kardashian, who was OJ Simpson's attorney during his 1995 murder trial.

Although they are divorced as of 2014, Kris Jenner and retired American track star Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) have two children together, Kendall and Kylie Jenner (try saying all of these names ten times fast). The twenty-year old and the eighteen-year old have started to outshine their older sisters with modelling contracts and, as Kylie has clearly demonstrated, plumped lips.

Truth be told, I have no real problem with the Kardashian/Jenner family. I do not care how Kim initially made her claim to fame and I have no real opinion on what they do. In fact, I was someone who kept up with their dramatic shenanigans on their popular television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians once upon a time. They are simply a family in the media who gets paid for what they do on a daily basis, and I do not have anything awful to say about them.

However, in recent months, I have become more than sick of seeing the youngest sibling, Kylie, being idolized by the media. Yes, she has botox-enhanced lips, making them much fuller than average. Yes, she is apparently dating twenty-six year old rapper Tyga. But there is absolutely no reason for everyone to go crazy over a few dramatic features and aspects of her life.

I guess the real reason that I am going on and on about all of this is because after the recent attacks in Paris, I went online to stay in touch with the bombings and find out the whole story as it was unraveling. While doing so, I went on Facebook in hopes that I might also find some posts there that would educate me further on the situation. I took a look at the side bar that Facebook offers with recent updates in the world, and found nothing about Paris. Instead, all that I saw were "urgent" (more like infuriating) posts about a dress that Kylie had worn on a date with Tyga. Seriously?!

Amidst tragedy and fear, the media was solely concerned about what an eighteen-year old had worn to some expensive date with her boyfriend. Call me crazy, but there is something seriously wrong with this picture. It seems like everyday I see another post about what another dress she wore or another statement she made on another red carpet.

The most recent stunt that the media has put on blast is Kylie's latest photo shoot for Interview Magazine, in which the teen posed in a wheelchair as a fashion statement. Many have found this to be offensive, and rightly so.  

All in all, I am just getting tired of seeing headline after headline and hearing about Kylie Jenner with everything else going on in the world. Do not get me wrong, I have nothing against Kylie as a person. I have never met her, so I cannot really say anything as to how she truly acts or responds. What I do have a problem with is how the media has been seemingly worshiping her when there are much bigger matters to worry about at hand. Of course, this is true with many celebrities, it is just that this is one figure who I have been seeing the most about lately.

Rant over.

How Iggy Pop Stands for the Youth of Today

 

Iggy Pop: iconic, influential, outrageous, and unpredictable. Even if you cannot put a face to the name, there is a good chance that you've heard it at some point.

I might be biased based on my adoration for punk rock, but that does not change the fact that Iggy Pop has created important sets of footprints for the youth of today to follow in. Known to many as "the godfather of punk rock," he has set an example for numerous alternative musicians, including Nirvana's front man the late Kurt Cobain.

As one of the greatest innovators of punk rock and front man for The Stooges, Pop has been known for a number of things as a musician. From rolling in piles of glass on stage to singing duets with Kesha, he's a man who can say that he has left a wild legacy throughout his life.

It seems like there is a new celebrity each day who decides to pull some type of dramatic stunt to get a rise out of the media as an attempt to save their careers from drowning in the infamous abyss of has-beens.

Iggy Pop, however, has the mindset of someone who could care less of what anyone says or thinks. Paying no mind to opinions, he has paved the way for the aspect of doing what makes you happy at any cost.

I tend to touch upon the topic of taking chances in my posts, and I feel that Pop is the best person to use in order to reiterate myself. Ever since he stepped foot onto the music scene in the early 1970s, he has been a part of shaping people in every generation, in both his music and his actions.

Spontaneity, as Pop has proved time and time again, often leads to success. No matter how hard you try, life does not follow any particular agenda. It just happens, and it is as simple as that. 

In one of Pop's most popular (and one of my absolute favorite) songs "The Passenger," he sings about relinquishing his control as a driver and taking a step back for a change. In essence, rather than trying to direct his own life, he lets his life guide him for a change. After doing so, he is finally able to realize the beauty instilled in everyday life.

In today's world, it seems that criticism can be almost inescapable. Situationally depending, when all eyes are on you, nerves might begin to crash in fear of messing up. Living for others begins to seem all too familiar and it can be an exhausting cycle to get wrapped up in.

This is where I think Pop comes into play. Even though he might have been a great influence for punk rock in past decades, he is an even better example for the youth of today. Turning dreams into realities and living for himself made him into an iconic character. If we cannot learn to accept our mistakes and live for ourselves, then what are we doing?

As Iggy Pop himself once said, "The embarrassment quotient has been going down for a long time, and the fond amusement has been rising."

Why Shia LaBeouf's #ALLMYMOVIES Is A Phenomenal Concept

Shia LaBeouf is at it again, and this time, he's doing something brilliant.

In the more recent past, LaBeouf has been pulling some edgy stunts in his career. No longer the goofy and carefree character of Louis Stevens in his breakout role on the hit Disney Channel show Even Stevens, his career has taken a more artistic turn that I appreciate more than anything.

Although he may have had altercations with others in his early twenties and had a somewhat confusing allegation against another woman at his 2014 art installation #IAMSORRY, he seems to be back on track with things. The actor's expressive mindset allows so much room for imagination and creativity, and he's proving that right now. 

As I write this, the unpredictable actor is sitting in a movie theater watching every film that he has ever been in in reverse chronological order, and will continue to do so for roughly three days. Since Tuesday Nov. 10, LaBeouf has been watching the movies consecutively with very limited breaks, and will continue to do so until he has watched every single one. While it is free and open to the public to those who are able to get there, it is also available to anyone who can't (unfortunately) be there on livestream here.

While many might not understand LaBeouf's antics, I for one appreciate him. He's willing to take risks that not many other actors would dare to, regardless of how the media portrays him. From wearing a paper bag over his face on the red carpet to art installations featuring solely himself, he dares to be different. He lives freely through his own artistic interpretations and expressions, which I strongly applaud him for.

So why is the fact that he's sitting in a New York City theater watching all of his movies in a row such a big deal?

Such an intimate setting allows the audience to live with LaBeouf and gaze upon his reactions to his own films as he watches himself on the screen. In a sense, I feel like he wants to be his own art piece with this. He's making it an installation of himself, because he knows that people want to watch him both on and off the screen when he's right there - so where will they look?

Shia LaBeouf is a person. Yes, he is a part of Hollywood, but he is still human nonetheless.

And that's exactly what he wants you to remember.