Crawl

So I'm listening to Chris Brown's new single 'Crawl' and I'm thinking about the idea of judgement. It's something we all do, intentionally or not. But in this case a clear case of domestic violence, is it okay? Is it fair to judge someone whether it is a friend for letting you down, a partner for hurting you or a relationship breaking down and crossing a physical barrier? Some have argued that she (Rihanna)  must have done something that was deserved for this punishment but does this suffice? If not, let's say Mr. Brown did hit her but it was a one off and he had never ever done anything like that in his entire life. Should he be forever judged based on this one action? Because if so does that not mean we should all be judging ourselves because I am sure there are more than one-off occasions that  we look back and feel like we could have dealt with in a better way.

Should we not then treat others the way we want to be treated? If we make a mistake or do something where the average person would judge us because they do not know better, then should'nt we be open-minded enough to believe in change. Personally I used to judge people too abruptly I believe because I was so wrapped up in a single action and overwhelmed in justifying my judgement through a comment, ommision or action because of this, however I have recently let go and embraced that everybody can change. I believe in the good of humanity. Unfortunately we are corrupt in nature as history has so painfully demonstrated but what makes us beautiful is that we have rationality combined with emotion so really we are capable of anything.

I propose we try our hardest to fight what seems our natural instinct of judgement. That when we find out someone hurts a loved one or indeed ourselves we....stop. And realise that there is a natural progression in life, but that this progression is along a road full of bumps, holes, wrong turns, one ways, u-turns etc...So accept that sometimes we have to go back to the beginning and.. crawl. Crawl, walk, jump, run and then fly. It is hard and I fail regularly but I try....I believe in change and I am happy that I have opened my mind enough to understand that humans by nature make mistakes. If someone does not want to change then that is a different matter entirely but if there is a strong connection between the mistake someone has made and the desire to change then I believe we should try and allow this within ourselves which in turn will allow us to judge them not as harshly, if at all.

Just a thought.

Domestic Violence Campaign - Jade Hackett Photography

Jade Hackett - Photography
Sinead Crompton - Makeup
Jazmine Cox - Model

This is the domestic violence campaign that I did for my one of my best friends Jade Hackett who is in her final year of Photography. It has been a few weeks in the making and the final pieces are ready. Please comment and forward but please include the credits.
Thank you!

All is fair in love and war?

Okay...so this is going to be one long ass blog. Here goes...

After being told about this form of yoga for a couple years I actually embarked on it at the Soho base: BIKRAM YOGA. Absolutely amazing and sooo worth the money. Calm, balance, conditioning and....SWEAT! It is a great exercise that I recomend to all. And a shout out to all the different peeps that came with me at different times throughout my 10 day trial period. I can't wait to hit the Balham venue...

It was also a great preliminary for jetting out to the middle east for a dance gig! I have recently returned from Bahrain performing with PLAGUE at the F1 which was an amazing experience. I have many opinions on the culture there but it's not that kind of blog today (maybe another time) but despite this I had a great time surrounded by great people and I engaged myself in an event that I would otherwise never give 2 counts of 8 for.I managed to meet some nice people out there who helped me out with securing a few autographs for my stepdad Peter who is a F1 fanatic. So thanks guys : ) I was also lucky to meet some great singers including Kele Le Roc, Ryan Shaw (US), Shaun Pinky and Ella Hogg. Amazing talent. Stand up UK!

University is insane at the moment. It is all GO from now on until the end of the academic year and the amount of work is RIDICULOUS! All sympathies to any 3rd year students out there! We can do it guys!

Last week I attended the launch party for Shean Williams album "Mixed not Mastered" which was a fabulous event. It was held at an intimate venue, Proud Galleries, in Camden and the turnout was good. All different types of people showed up which gave the night a versatile and comfortable edge. As usual Shean's performances were amazing and he was accompanied by 2 very talented backing vocalists whose names I did not manage to catch, MCs and musicians. The band were energetic and on point throughout the whole night and to be honest I didn't want it to end. Tracks to look out for are LDLA, New Me and my old favourites Close your Eyes and Dreamt in Colour which are sadly not on the album. There were giveaways by SupremeBeing including t-shirts and vouchers and despite over priced drinks it was a perfect setting for a perfect night. Can't wait for the next one. Watch this space!!

Lastly...I just wanted to throw something out there... to provoke some thoughts about certains things..
HYPOTHETICALLY...let's say you make a friend of the opposite sex who you click with on sooo many levels. Intelligence, humour, entertainment, wit etc.. You speak for hours, you like the same shizz, you share a love for food and don't hesitate in trying new things together....HOWEVER. There is something *** , whether it is in their control or NOT, that means you will only  ever look at them as a friend and therefore limits the amount of physical attraction. Does this mean you are stopping nature from running its course? Or are you using reason to mould and help cultivate something that may only be at its best in the realm of friendship? Unfortunately due to there being no more than platonic love between these two hypotheticals they now do not speak.

Now my question is this..
Is it not better to settle for friendship between the two, so at least they still enjoy eachother's company and personality etc, or should they simply erase that person as if they never existed in their life and endure a painful and what seems self-inflicted selfish torture?

Hmmmmmm...... (bbm just aint the same)

J

P.S OMU x

It Tastes Like Feet... HA!

 

Greetings : ) 

Just a short one! Wanted to give props to all the performers and Robin Law for organising this wonderful event. With the win by Manchester United against AC Milan  (3-2) still fresh in our minds it was the perfect ending to a Tuesday night. After missing the first half, I caught up with my homeboy Fisher (idontliketea2.blogspot.com) and some friends from uni and enjoyed an interesting mix of poetry, rap, singing and spoken word. The first artist was deluded to say the least and with an audience full of ethnic minorites he decided to bring up the infamous topic of weave vs. natural hair. But the word diplomatic did not seem to describe him and after a short performance of  "broke ass ni**as throw your money up" and "ladies go down" it was time to say A-BUB-BYE to him. The rest of the night was beautiful with many performances including a sweet brummy 21 yr old lady who had to run and catch her train straight after her performance. Her voice was light and sweet ( like Angel Delight haha!) and her flow was easy to listen to. There were other short performances by a very charismatic man from New York I believe who reminded me of Dave Chappelle somehow and a great musical combination by PiP who used their voices to produce odd but complimenting sounds to their poetry piece. The night, however, was dedicated to Kim, who seemed an entrepreneur of sorts and performed a calm and thought provoking piece which set the mood for the night.

Special shout out to Fisher for sharing the night with me and the absolutely hilarious discussions on Friends. So great to find someone who shares my passion on this subject...."Tastes like feet" was definitely the theme of the night (or at least the bus ride home) . If you know Friends, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about! HA!Heres to more Spoken Word events...

P.S I hope everyone enjoyed their pancakes. I didn't get to have mine so am about to chowdown now.

: )

Brewin' about the BBC...

...Sighh...
Imma make this short.
Tonight was the live semi final on Got To Dance on Sky 1 featuring the judges Ashley (Diversity), Kymberly (Pussycat Dolls) and Adam Garcia (Coyote Ugly, Saturday Night Fever etc.)

Now based on the semi final performances alone I can only send my condolences to Unity Youth for bringing it to the best level they could but yet being shot down. Fair enough...but who did they lose to, so to speak?

A young boy, who compared to both other groups was neither technically advance or performed on a higher level.

AND

A group of young classically trained dancers who had some amazing skills, especially the tiny toddlers but in terms of artistic direction, choreography and performance were mediocre to say the least.

Now I bet you're wondering what this has to do with the BBC?

Well the group I am in, PLAGUE competed in a competition run by BBC3 called Move Like Michael Jackson. To cut a long story short after what seemed like some dodgy circumstances the 3 remaining finalists found out that the 4th group Anamaniax were being paid to participate in the final? WTF!?

Now the way we found out is even more disrespectful.

* Jazmine calls the production office to ask why there have been rumours circulating around the fact that Anamaniax are being paid in someway whereby the other 3 groups ARE NOT.
*Woman responds with "I don't know"....
*Jazmine responds with " Well until you find out or give me the telephone number to do so all remaining groups are pulling out." Jazmine hangs up.
*TWO MINUTES LATER. The BBC Head of Finance phones back claiming she has met up with Anamaniax to tell them they would be paid £200 EACH to perform at the MJ final...BUT WAIT FOR IT.....that we ALL should have been told the same.
* Jazmine hesitates before she asks how such a huge mistake could of been made with tens of production workers liasing with all the groups everyday, ALL day and yet Anamaniax were the only group to have ever SEEN this woman.
*THIS IS THE BEST BIT.
*The BBC Head of Finance responds with "Hold on, I don't understand. You guys should be HAPPY you're being paid."


And THIS, my friends, is the reason why I do not trust televised competitions.

So congratulations to all who took part. Take the best you can out of it, stay positive and most importantly stay true to yourselves.

Jazmine x

P.S

Anamaniax won the competition : )


* DISCLAIMER*
These words are based on my opinions and my opinions only and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. This is based on my experience with BBC3 and the television program "Move Like Michael Jackson" I participated in during December 2009 and this isolated event only.

2010

So what is life about for Jazmine? Well it's hectic to say the least. I am months away from exams, final coursework deadlines and of course graduating from university, not to mention my 10,000 word dissertation. After a four year battle (with the first year being in Law) it has definitely been a journey. I have also been accepted onto the SAS course (Institute of Education) to teach Music at secondary school level which I am quite excited about. My piano lessons continue (after a 10 year gap almost!) this coming Monday and I am thinking about what steps to take after my third and final year at university. I am booking my TEFL course to teach abroad as it is most likely that I will be continuing my studies from next September as I plan to live in Trinidad for at least a month over the carnival period in February 2011. Other options include conversion courses to History or Psychology, followed by an MA in either History of Theology or Social Anthropology.

As for dance, things are looking up for my group PLAGUE. After our epic defeat on BBC3's Move like Michael Jackson we have been lucky to be sponsored by Adidas and we have a few big things in the pipelines..Fingers crossed.

Things are getting busy and difficult. Just gotta focus on being happy and whats important in life which for me is learning, travelling, friends and family. Without which I just wouldn't be me.

J