Christmas Card and Frente Video

Hi Everyone!! My music video for today is a song by Frente . . .a remake of New Orders "Bizarre Love Triangle". Gosh. . .when I was in my 20s, I would listen to this song over and over, whether it was the New Order"s version or Frente's. This song brings back memories. . .when I listen to it, it gives me a weird, sort of sad feeling. Not sure why. It's just one of those things. No, I did not have a "bizarre love triangle"! LOL! The song actually brings back memories of a really fun period in my life. I miss those days. . .not that I'm not having any fun now but it was a different sort of fun. . .if you know what I mean.

Not to change the subject but I'm currently reading Obama's book "Dreams from My Father". He is currently the object of my fascination. LOL!! I have to admit, he intrigued me not because he was a politician or even the President but because he was born and raised in Hawaii. I'm interested in his life experience being born and raised in a state that is culturally diverse. I'm on chapter 5 right now of the book so my interpretations and opinions of his views may change as I read on.

Interestingly, here is what I've gathered so far. . .mind you, it's my own interpretation and not explicitly written in the book. When it came to racism, it seems that he really didn't recognize or understand that there were any until he developed a friendship with an African American who was not born or raised in Hawaii. What initially to Obama were simple rejection or indifference from people he interacted with, took on a new light when his African American friend began pointing out that they were not simple at all but instead interpreted as discrimination and prejudicism. It was interesting. . .because Obama was not exposed to the racism experienced in the mainland, therefore, didn't quite understand what it was in terms of his own childhood experiences as an African American.

Because the population in Hawaii is multi-cultured, very interracial, racism is minimal or very subtle that it's difficult to interpret it as such. If there are any, the difference is the people in Hawaii tend to overlook it and get past it. We tend to take pride in our multi-cultural diversity and inter racialism is actually encouraged and accepted. I find it quite interesting that there's a huge significance in Obama being the first black president. Does it really matter? I mean, I don't really care if he's the first black president. . .I care more that he is a very intelligent man, well educated, and will do a good job as our President. Isn't that what counts?

The part that really bothered me about the election was that people were surprised that an African American would even run for president. I find that very strange. . .I mean, why not? If he ran for president and he had no education, no political experience whatsoever. . .then I would be surprised but he is none of that so what's the big deal? I guess it's because I don't understand racism myself and have never been exposed to it or have never interpreted my social interactions as such . . .considering I'm Asian, I assume there are racism involved in my day to day life. Maybe I have blinders on because I've lived in Hawaii. . .I guess that's a good thing, huh! Without the blinders, I would probably feel oppressed and would not be a happy camper! My views of life would probably be quite different.

I do want to add, that although racism is not prominent in Hawaii, we are very ethnocentric as a whole. I'll discuss the ethnocentricity (not to be confused with racism) that exist in Hawaii in my next post.

Anyway. . .here is a card I made yesterday. I decided that I'll line the inside of my card and stamp the sentiment on the inside rather than on the front of the card which I don't typically do! Yay! Something different . . .well, for me, that is. How about doing something different today! Do something different to your card that you don't typically do. It's sort of fun!

Anyway, here is the inside of the card. As you can see I lined the inside with designer paper. It's a great way to use up your large 12x12" designer papers.

I colored the image using my Copic Markers again. I think next time, I'll use a different coloring medium. I've been using my Copic Markers for basically every card I've made in the last few weeks.

I again added SU Crystal Effects to parts of the image. To create the dots, I used the Sakura Souffle Pen. That's about it.

Card Details:

Stamps: Feathered Hope
Paper: DCWV Christmas Stack, SU Close to Cocoa, Real Red, Certainly Celery,
Inks: Close to Cocoa, Copic Markers, Sakura Souffle Gel Pen
Accessories: Marvy 2.5" punch, 3" Scallop Punch, Organdy Ribbon, Fiskar Border Punch