Music and Feelings

'Music is what feelings sound like' - Unknown

LET'S THE MUSIC PLAY, originally uploaded by Marquisa.

Music is a very important part of my life. It might sound cliché, but I seriously wouldn’t know what to do without music. I listen to it almost every day, I attend concerts almost every month, I can spend hours discovering new bands and new interesting music..

But what makes music extra special is that it can be linked to certain memories forever, linked to certain feelings. This song will always remind me of 30 March 2010, which was half a year ago today. Special song, special day, special feelings, special memories. It amazes what music can do. It’s a kind of magic!

Je t'aime!

Wordless Wednesday #42

05, originally uploaded by Gabriela Camerotti.

Cidade de Deus

Fight and you'll never survive. Run and you'll never escape.

What happens if you grow up in one of the most criminal suburbs of Rio de Janeiro? Cidade de Deus (City of God, the name of the suburb) depicts the lives of a group of children who grow up in this suburb between the end of the 60's and the beginning of the 80's. One of them wants to become a photographer, another wants to rule Cidade de Deus. The result is a shocking story about children who act like adults, deal drugs, murder people and have to fight for their lives every single day. If there is some sort of hell on earth, it must have been in this suburb. This movie is based on a true story, which makes it even more shocking.

You should definitely watch this movie. Not just because of the story, but also because it is a visual masterpiece. Split screens, speedups, slow motion, jumps forward and backwards in time; all kinds of techniques are used and then make this movie stand out. On top of all, almost all of the actors in the movie are amateurs and some of them even grew up in Cidade de Deus.

Warning: most of the trailers spoil the the movie or make it sound like a Hollywood-story. So just avoid them and go watch the movie ;)

England

This song is way too beautiful. Can't wait to see this amazing band live in November!

Wordless Wednesday #41

Landing Zone, originally uploaded by Karamello.

To be creative..

.. all you need is a lot of tape.

Blowing Bubbles

blowing bubbles, originally uploaded by philos from Athens.

I'm forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air.

They fly so high, nearly reach the sky,

Then like my dreams they fade and die.

Fortune's always hiding,

I've looked everywhere.

I'm forever blowing bubbles,

Pretty bubbles in the air.

Jaan Kenbrovi - I'm forever blowing bubbles

Viral Commercials

Today I attended a very interesting lecture about viral commercials. This is a marketing technique that companies use to try to increase brand awareness through self-replicating viral processes. This means they try to promote their brand by using the social networks of people. Somebody sees a video and sends it to their friends. Most of viral marketing is word-of-mouth delivered with help from the world wide web.

The most famous example of a viral commercial must be Dove's Evolution. Here are some other fun and interesting examples:

There are some new campaigns that may work as well, but are a little more interactive. A good example is this one. You should follow the link, it won't work when I post it here directly.

Wordless Wednesday #40

Cuba Gallery: Australia / Melbourne / urban / city / people / cinematic / street photography / natural lighting / smoke / vintage / retro / light / portrait / photography, originally uploaded by Cuba Gallery - Now on Twitter!.

Snail Mail Inspiration

As most of you know I'm a snail mail lover. Postcards, letters, I love them all. Some people are so creative with mail. Hanna Hermans is a great example of that creativeness. She makes illustrations and she creates beautiful snail mail. Here are a few examples:

, originally uploaded by Hanna Hermans.

post voor Oma, originally uploaded by Hanna Hermans.

You should definitely visit her website and her flickr. Lucky receivers of these beauties!

Found via Flow Magazine

TwentyTen: a little reminder

Image found via google on Faithful City Life

I had a feeling that TwentyTen would be my year of growth. And I have been growing and growing and growing. I feel really good right now, everything is going as it should be going. I will give you a little progress update at the end of this month, after two-thirds of the year have passed.

But today I read the lyrics of a beautiful song: 'Around Us' from Jónsi. The lyrics are a perfect match with my word of the year. It's all about growth and life and love.

I see the walls, then see them fall
You break through them all
I see you crawl, now you stand tall
Grow and grow till tall

In storm we scream against the stream, our eyes watering
Jump into lakes, the surface breaks
We swim underwater, and our mouths - In tune

We all want to grow with the seeds we will sow
We all want to go with the breeze we will blow
We all want to know when we're all meant to go
To a place you and I - Will call home

I see forest, a treasure chest full of labyrinth
I see a door, holes in the floor
We'll break seeds, we'll grow

There's songs, sounds you bring to us
You pin both the wings on us
I hear, I see you sing for us
You go tie a string around us

There's songs, sounds you bring to us
You pin both the wings on us
I hear, I see you sing for us
You go tie a string around us

We all want to grow with the seeds we will sow
We all want to go with the breeze we will blow
We all want to know when we're all meant to go
To a place you and I...

We all want to grow with the seeds we will sow
We all want to go with the breeze we will blow
We all want to know when we're all meant to go
To a place you and I...

I see you grow : I see you grow : Grow taller

Jónsi - Around Us

Maxence Cyrin

What happens when you change famous pop songs into piano music? Well, the answer is goosebumps. Especially when there are vintage video fragments involved. Maxence Cyrin is a French pianist. He has made covers of famous songs like Crazy in Love (Beyoncé), Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana), Around the World (Daft Punk) and No Cars Go (Arcade Fire). The result is amazing! The songs are completely different, but still recognizable.

Around the World by Daft Punk

Some other video's:

No Cars Go (Arcade Fire)

Crazy in Love (Beyoncé)

Where Is My Mind (The Pixies)

Wordless Wednesday #39

, originally uploaded by Jocelyn Catterson.

The Fun Theory #2

I blogged about 'The Fun Theory' once before in this post. A little reminder: this is an initiative of Volkswagen to change people's behavior. The theory is that something as easy as a little bit of fun can improve yourself, the environment or anything else.

This is one of the coolest projects I have seen to make the world a better place. It's easy, but so very effective. Here's another video from the initiative: the Fast Lane.

Wordless Wednesday #38

umbrella guy in pacific ocean, originally uploaded by gonzalo_ar.