I've always been so pumped to read the "best of the year" lists, but for some reason, I'm slightly over them this year.
That was until I saw this video. "What Brought Us All Together." In the beginning it's a little sad, I won't lie to you... but it gets happier, funnier, and straight up moving. Watch it all. You won't regret it.
It's basically all the biggest events, most watched YouTube videos, and talked about memes in one, skipping the celebrity nonsense. And it happens so quickly even someone with ADD can pay attention! Score!
I had goosebumps through the entire thing! And may or may not have nearly shed a tear. That was awesome, and I'm bookmarking that ish forever.
I've really been LOVING a capella songs lately.. I think that's pretty obvious. My Disney Channel star BFF showed me this song, "We All Need Saving," that is benefiting Japan and the recovery from the earthquake and tsunami.
It's from Hyannis Sound, a group in Cape Cod. It's absolutely. BEAUTIFUL. A must listen, seriously.
If you've been wanting to help, but didn't want to donate $5 "for nothing," you can buy this awesome song on iTunes for 99 cents and all of the proceeds go straight to the relief efforts.
The video got me, for sure. It was the perfect music to all of those clips and pictures. I can't even imagine if something like that were to happen here.
A while back I saw a bunch of pictures of the New Orleans Six Flags now that it's been abandoned for over five years and it broke my heart. Now there's a compilation of 70 of the most heartbreaking photos of New Orleans that is really more empty than most of us know.
The census results showed that it's the most "left" city in America- losing 29% of its population in the past 10 years. When I went down for Mardi Gras, it seemed okay. These pictures show a more heartbreaking side, though.
WHY CAN'T THEY JUST FIX EVERYTHING UP REAL QUICK?! I mean... I understand why they can't, but all of this stuff going to waste is really, really depressing. The schools and theme parks get me the most.
Oh man.. almost 10 years later and more footage is being released, and people are still certain that this wasn't a terrorist attack.
This video was shot from an NYPD helicopter after the towers got hit. It gets closer to the building than I've ever seen. It's not the easiest thing to watch, but the hardest thing for me to see are the comments on the YouTube page where it's posted.
People are still convinced that this was something done without planes or terrorists. I won't get into that. By now a lot of you probably know my direct connection with 9/11, and it's just terribly upsetting to read this stuff.
So, watch the video, skim through, listen to their heartbreaking commentary once they realize what's going on...
Will it ever get easier? No. Probably not. Do I think it's bizarre that these buildings collapsed even though physics experts have "proven" it's impossible? Yes. But it happened, and it's something we'll be dealing with forever.
Tweet Apparently there's a Six Flags in New Orleans that hasn't opened up since the day it shut down before Hurricane Katrina. Now they're getting ready to tear it down!
Someone got permission to go inside and make this video of the deserted place that will totally break your heart.
Maybe it's because I LOVE amusement parks, but that seriously breaks my heart. You'd think the most expensive things to fix would be the rides, and they look completely in tact! I guess the smaller damages add up and made it impossible to restore.
Someone should have collected a bunch of money to revive it! A city without an amusement park is a city without giggles. [Okay, maybe a lie... but I'd like to believe it.]
Tweet Everyone gets a little upset when they just miss the elevator or the bus, especially if it's going to take a while to get another one.
If you miss it, be angry all you want, but I don't recommend taking out your aggression on the elevator doors. It will literally be the last thing you do.
Homeboy decided to take his scooter and ram it into the elevator doors and apparently didn't think about the consequences.
WARNING: I don't recommend watching this video if you can't handle watching someone in their last seconds.
Dumb. Is it bad that it didn't even bother me to watch this? If he was doing it to commit suicide, that sucks and makes me sad. If he was doing it because he was angry and STUPID, I don't feel bad.
Tweet I've really been wanting to speak out on this bullying issue that's been going on, but I have no idea what exactly to say.
Someone who does know what to say and how to express her genuine feelings is one of my biggest idols Ellen DeGeneres. Instead of me trying to spit out awkward lines that make no sense, I'll let her do it for me.
I love you all. I'm not lying. No matter where you're from, who you love, or what you do with your time, I love ya. I don't discriminate and neither should you. Please remember to put yourself in someone else's shoes before you say something hurtful.
I'm not normally one to be a Debbie Downer, but as a celebration of sorts for International Homeless Animals Day, I gotta share these pictures of homeless dogs. If you cry by the end, I'm sorry, and don't say I didn't warn ya.
Ya know, if I was homeless, there's probably only one thing I'd want beside me and that'd be Slutty Cat, or if a dog if I had one. That'd be the most valuable thing to me, way more than money. Plus, they're the most loyal things ever created.
It's devastating to see people and animals struggle, though... So do them a favor, especially today. Buy them a bag of food or something that'll last. You'll feel better about yourself, too.
I'm looking for some blog material today because I'm a bit unmotivated after spending my day at the pool, but I found something that quickly put anger in my veins. [I always look for something that gives me an immediate reaction, and would probably do the same thing to you.]
I found this picture:
If you can't tell what it is, it's a burnt whale. Lots of news sources are saying it was because of the oil spill and was either burnt to death, or burnt to cover up the evidence of being affected by BP.
I tried really hard to stay out of this oil spill mess just because it's political, serious, etc.... but pictures get to me.
Someone please stop this thing soon. Seriously. Please. It's not funny anymore.
love, elizabethany
PS: If you ever find something on the Internet worth sharing, please share with me! Tweet me, Facebook me, you know the drill!
I've been pretty outspoken about this Chris Brown[/Rihanna] thing since the beginning. It's created quite the controversy and I can only imagine how many people I may piss off now that I'm in a conservative state.
Anyway- I don't have to explain what I thought then. You can look it up if you're interested. :)
What we shall talk about is the absolutely amazing tribute Chris did for Michael Jackson at the BET Awards last night. If you somehow missed it, watch it now-
I think it was extraordinary. [Woo! There's a new word for me!] Chris is about as close as you're going to get [minus the little 4 year old Asian boy] to dancing like Mike, and he's clearly got the passion.
A lot of people are saying they think he faked the breakdown. That's dumb. You can't fake a breakdown that serious. That's genuine. That's him feeling something and relating to MJ and mourning his death. He was actually about to sing, not lip sync, but he couldn't. It was a magical moment. You can't fake that kind of magic.
I think Chris may have felt a connection with Michael Jackson that I've noticed between the two. [Here is where people are going to get mad.]
MJ's family have been trying to get it through everyone's heads how wrong it is that the world as a whole didn't show him the kind of respect he deserved while he was alive because of the "child molester" reputation he got. He got a bad rap and people wouldn't look past it.
Rumors circulated and "proof" was given that he was doing bad things to kids, and suddenly the world turned on the King of Pop. His music stopped having the same effect on many people. They started saying his lyrics were fake. This all happened even though no one truly knows what did or didn't happen. He was even acquitted, but the image remained.
Does this sound familiar to you? Chris Brown may or may not have been 100% at fault for the Rihanna incident. We don't know what happened. Only the two of them know the full story. Either way, Chris is taking the blame, doing community service, and watching his career fade into the sunset.
Sure, Chris Brown probably won't be some legendary King of R&B or anything... And yes, the bruises prove that something happened. Either way- He's an incredible artist, dancer, entertainer, and person. He still has a lot to share with the world, but many people want him gone.
It's not fair that people judged Michael Jackson on things that might have happened and now he'll never really know how appreciated he was. I think Chris sees this. He hears the Jackson family. He feels their pain and he fears it'll happen to him.
I could be making this up, but I don't think I'm too far off. I think it's time to let go of what happened in the past and let these people make music that we all know we still love, regardless of who they are.
I kept hearing about the possibility of a picture of Gary Coleman on his deathbed, but I tried not to believe it. I succeeded in convincing myself no one would do that [even though they did it to Michael Jackson].
Sure enough, someone's a big enough B to do it.
It's obviously his ex-wife in the picture, but who knows who released it.
And what the eff... Why would they give it to The GLOBE of all magazines?! Ridiculous.
I'm mad. I could punch the wall right now... but then I'd probably get in trouble and get my office taken away from me. Hmph.
I guess the Summer of Death is still haunting magazines everywhere. They must've really freaked out as person after person died and they didn't have features prepared for them.
Why? Because they've already started preparing obituaries for Lindsay Lohan.
Everyone's been predicting that she's the next to die for a while [and the mysterious white powder on her shoes recently aren't helping], so everyone is making sure they're prepared for the tragedy.
Wow.
Can you imagine being in your early 20s knowing people think you're going to die soon, so much they've prepared your tributes? First of all, I'd want to see the tribute, then I'd probably have more of a desire to die knowing people would rather prepare such things than help me.
It's like a domino effect waiting to begin... Or maybe it already has. Either way, I feel bad for LiLo, and agree with the mags. I totally used to love her.
In hopes of the obituaries/tributes/whatever not needing to be released anytime soon, let's listen to her latest song.
Hmmm... I don't see it saving her... But still... Fingers crossed!
If you haven't heard, just about all of the great music stars are coming together to re-record Michael Jackson's "We Are The World" as another way to raise money for Haiti.
No really... It seems like everyone is in this freakin' song. Look:
Pink, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Kanye West, Jonas Brothers, LL Cool J, Robin Thicke, Celine Dion, Akon, Rob Thomas, Wyclef Jean, Barbra Streisand, Jordin Sparks, Good Charlotte’s Madden brothers, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, Snoop Dogg, Jennifer Hudson, Britney Spears, Keri Hilson, Jamie Foxx, Tyrese, Katharine McPhee, Will.i.am, Brandy, Carlos Santana, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton, Jason Mraz, Miley Cyrus, Busta Rhymes, Nicole Scherzinger, Justin Bieber, Nicole Richie, Jay-Z, Usher, Julianne Hough, Zac Brown Band, India.Arie, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Randy Jackson, Musiq Soulchild, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson, Fonzworth Bentley, Kid Cudi, Iyaz, Lady Gaga, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, Trey Songz, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Mya and Gladys Knight.
And oh yeah... Vince Vaughn is also included... and more.
They literally had all of these people in one room to record a bunch of different parts and the chorus, and apparently everyone was super friendly and happy to be there. [Why wouldn't they be?! That's one hell of a group, and I bet many of them are meeting for the first time!]
Here's a couple sneak peeks into the recording and the song from Good Morning America:
Wow. Wow, wow, wow! I have goosebumps already! I can't imagine what it'll be like to hear the full version!
As terrible as it is to have benefit songs competing against each other, I don't think "Everybody Hurts" has any chance of beating "World" for the top spot... Even though I really enjoy it.
Leona Lewis, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Cheryl Cole, Mika, Michael Buble, Joe McElderry, Miley Cyrus, James Blunt, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jon Bon Jovi, James Morrison, Susan Boyle, Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kylie Minogue, and Robbie Williams are all included in that one. Holy moly.
I love, love, love how we can all come together for other countries! Ah, it feels great to be an American right now... Even if I'm broke.
You've seen all of the messages, commercials, tweets, etc saying to text a certain number to donate money to Haiti. Some of you have done it, others probably don't want to "waste" your money.
Truth is: Haiti needs our help, and we are perfectly capable of giving it to them.
Instead of texting in and donating money and getting nothing out of it, why don't you download a song? This song, "Redemption Song," covered by Rihanna, was recorded so that all proceeds will go to Haiti.
It's beautiful. Why wouldn't you want to have it in your collection of music?! You might as well "splurge" on that $1.29 and listen to it whenever you want, and feel good about helping a lot of people in need.
Seriously... It'll make you smile, and it'll make a huge difference to someone else.
And that concludes my emotional public service announcement for the day... Carry on.
There's a stripper-mobile in Vegas, and it's bringing all the boys to the streets.
You can do it, little deer!! Escape the lions!
10 things your gyno should not be doing
What the H.. There's an HIV positive Muppet?!
This is probably going to make you cry like it did me, but for some reason I'm sharing it. This seal just got shot in the face, but it doesn't want to die.
Either this kid is a big ham, or he really likes MJ.
If these girls were a little more interesting, they might have a promising future ahead of them. They sing the Beatles beautifully.
Alright... Everyone have a FUN, but very SAFE Friday and weekend!!!
