#blackfish

I saw this documentary about Orca whales at Sea World. You must see it, it is devastating an will make you not want to ever go to Sea World and might make you an activist in the movement to set the whales free...

Rather than give you a step by step of the documentary - just know this, the whales are used to swimming in oceans not pools of water. Being stolen from your parent or having your own offspring taken away from you, being held in these pools for decades will make you psychotic. It's just wrong and people need to know about it so that they can make their own decisions.

I recently joined twitter and have been retweeting this sentiment - and posted one of my own. Sea World is starting an ad campaign to counteract the avalanche of negative publicity and part of that is claiming that all of us who post and tweet are part of a "coordinated effort" by animal activists to destroy Sea World.

I understand their issue, they are going to go out of business if they don't get a handle on this blackfish onslaught. They have families to feed and bills to pay after all. I get it. But the fact remains that these animals should never have been taken from the ocean and they should never have to live out their lives trapped in a container - it's inhumane and this should be enough.

go to http://blackfishmovie.com/
and watch the trailer. I've heard that you can also see it on netflix.

#tmi

How do you know how much to share? How do you remain authentic and real if you have to carefully word what you say so as to not say too much? Is it fear of judgment? I struggle with this. Years ago I had an anonymous blog (since deleted) that I felt free to write whatever I was thinking. I wrote about very controversial things - freely, without fear because no one could know it was me - I was anonymous and it was powerful. Now I struggle.

Fame definitely has its pitfalls for sure. I joined twitter recently and seem to be finding a voice here and there... who am I and who do I want to be? I think if I was in my 20s I might be asking myself that question - yet here I am middle aged and I still do not feel like the adult in most situations. I typically think everyone is slightly older than me - its funny.

So, I'm just going to ramble for a while and try to get some kind of groove going.

My husband and I like to spend time in the hot tub outside in the middle of winter. Nights like tonight, with the snow covering the ground and the clear dark skies twinkling with stars and the moon was especially serene and beautiful. We use the time to think creatively and we often come up with some of our best ideas there. We play off each others strengths - he being a creative big data solutions consultant with my design background - its an interesting compliment, those two seemingly disparate backgrounds.

We first met 20 years ago when we both worked for Elizabeth Arden when it was on Avenue of the Americas at 55th street. I was a Design Associate working for the Design Director for the Prestige Fragrance division of the Creative Department. He was my admin assistant (he loves this story) and I completely seduced him - lol.

It's true of course - there was something about this guy that made me want to know everything about him... its a long story for another post... but I felt like I was completely self expressed around him. I could say or do anything and it was ok - he never judged me and I think that it was the first time in my life that I felt that way. I was 28.

I left my first husband of 4 years, I got my belly button pierced - bought rollerblades - moved back to the city and lived on my own in an apartment for the first time in my life - I felt completely free and it was a beautiful thing.

Catching Fire

One of my ideas was stolen. I'm a little upset about it and it is more than likely possible that it wasn't "stolen" - that someone had the same idea that I had and ran with it first... thing is, it's a great idea.

When I was getting my bachelors degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology - back in the mid 80s when Madonna was at her peak and we used to go to clubs like Danceteria, Area and Limelight on a regular basis, one of my senior projects was to pick a Brand and come up with your own brand that competes directly with it. We would have to create a business plan, marketing plan, brand identity and merchandising.

I picked Victorias Secret. 

Fast forward 30 years (yikes!) later and this dream of creating a brand that competes with VS is still there. Think about it for a second. How many stores compete with VS directly? Why is that? It's as if they cornered the market on lingerie. I think the brand does a lot of things right but it feels dated and a mess. 

I know that the brand I created would be better. It would probably cost more too, but it would be fresh and new - and the lingerie would be special and be made with the best materials.

I am so on fire with ideas right now I am going to burst. Let's see what happens... you just have to keep taking one step forward at a time, don't you? 

I want these shoes!