Oh So 80s | The Karate Rap

I’m big on being athletic, but I was never really into karate. I mean I always thought that martial arts movies were awesome (and they still are,) but I never thought about actually pursuing karate.

I will admit I did take a karate class with this girl at school once, and it was interesting. But I just didn’t have the patience to actually learn everything & make sure my form was correct. On top of that, the teacher was so boring! He just didn’t make the karate sound cool. I thought it was supposed to be super cool & exhilarating like in the martial arts movies (a bunch of kung fu sounds and a serious face,) but apparently it isn’t like that right off the back.

So I had to knock down my perceptions of what karate actually is. It takes time. You start off with basic moves, and over the years you get better. But I bet you if watched this vintage 80s (produced in 1986) video called “Karate Rap,” I would have stuck with karate. The video itself just makes karate look kind of cool, especially with the cheesy rapping. HAHA, it’s a timeless video, and I’m glad I ran across it on a blog I was reading.

Check it out for yourself. Imagine if your karate class was taught with a rapping teacher. Would you continue taking the class?

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

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• Get Your Kicks With The Karate Rap (neatorama.com)

National Geographic | Doomsday Preppers

***Before I start this post, let me remind you that today is the official strike against SOPA. So if you noticed a lot of you’re favorites sites are blacked out (including the wordpress homepage) it’s a strike against SOPA and they bill they are trying to pass; passing the bill will restrict some of our freedom expression on sites such as YouTube, so stand up, make noise, and pass this information along. Tweet it, Facebook it, and keep talking about it. They can’t just pass such a strict bill that eliminates our favorite websites and ways of interacting with the world. http://sopastrike.com/ ***

Okay, so now that we’ve covered the strike, lets dig into this doomsday prepping business! So basically in the fall National Geographic aired a documentary called Doomsday Preppers. The doc followed four families who had altered their lifestyle completely in order to prepare for impending disaster which is supposed to take place in the year 2012 (you know, the world is “supposedly” going to end this year…)

I understand the concept of being prepared for a disaster (at least we’ve always made sure to have canned goods, water, etc,) but I couldn’t imagine altering my lifestyle in order to be well prepared. I’d prefer to just live for the moment, and only plan ahead for my career goals and direction I’d like to take. We don’t really know if the world is going to end in 2012. Perhaps the Mayan’s did really run out of space on the stone calendar, which could explain why it stops at 2012. Or maybe the “carving the calendar” skill wasn’t passed down to an apprentice, so the guy who did all the work died before he could finish it or make another stone with the rest of the years. Who really knows what happens? The Mayans aren’t around, so guess giving them a call or writing a letter wouldn’t work…

I prefer not to over analyze it and think about the possibility of disaster in 2012; I have other issues to worry about, life itself can be tough some days. But there are avid doomsday preppers out there who take extreme measures to be ready for anything that takes place. I mean, maybe it would actually be a good idea to have a gas mask in the house just in case something toxic ever got released in the air, but I wouldn’t want to spend every waking moment of my day rehearsing for disaster. I just don’t have it in me, so I can honestly say I actually kind of respect these doomsday preppers for being so committed to the cause. It’s not for me, but hey it works for them.

The documentary only followed four families, but a quick YouTube search of “doomsday preppers” or “survivalist” quickly results in hundreds of videos across the nation & world of people (all races, this isn’t just something that is limited to one race/group of people) that are preparing for disaster. With so much disaster talk and horror/thriller films that often shed light on a major catastrophe that could take place, you can see why people would want to be prepared. I’m not going to lie, the thought of a disaster such as a viral infection spreading or some time of permanent blackout has crossed my mind, but I haven’t changed my lifestyle in order to be ready. I just know that we always have the basic essentials in the house, and in case of an emergency I would be able to survive for at least a week or two.ster

That’s good enough for me. Because if a disaster/virus/zombie attack happened that was on a major level like I Am Legend or The Walking Dead, then I wouldn’t want to be the only person left behind that is “normal.” Even if I was with a group of survivors that hadn’t been bitten/infected (The Walking Dead,) then I still wouldn’t want to survive for such a long time. IDK, it would be crazy toimagine living like that. I mean if I had to survive then I’m sure I would figure it out along the way, and learn from mistakes as each day comes. But I would never be as prepared as the doomsday preppers, I’m just not that committed. But my question is, are you committed? Would you actually change your entire lifestyle right now in order to prepare for a disaster taking place in 2012? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please chime in.

While you’re sitting their contemplating disaster or what could happen, you should watch the Doomsday Preppers documentary. I saw a series advertised for it on National Geographic the other day; new episodes following survivalists will be airing February 7th. I look forward to watching the show, and possibly taking some notes for surviving (or just eating popcorn, and enjoying the frantic preparation.) But if you can’t want till February to learn more about survivalist, then watch the documentary on YouTube. All four parts have been uploaded, so check out part one below.

Oh, and check out this hilarious disaster guideline I got from cracked.com. Pretty funny! Click on the picture below for larger view. And here is a list someone made for the 73 best disaster movies. I seen most of them, so it’s a good list!

http://www.alonelylife.com/thread-73-best-survival-movies

How to Survive a Global Disaster

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

Chelsea Settles: MTV’s New Plus-Size Reality Star

So a few days ago at the gym I happened to turn to the Wendy Williams show. Usually I don’t watch her show, but lately I’ve enjoyed watching the gossip and loving her witty personality. Now I will admit that sometimes her guests are so annoying, but other times they actually intrigue me; which is what happened the other day, one of her guests actually caught my attention. The guest I’m talking about is MTV’s new reality star Chelsea Settles.

Settles made an appearance on Monday’s episode of Wendy and discussed her new reality show. Of course her appearance on Wendy is quite different than the show because she lost a lot of weight. She looks pretty good now that she lost weight; even Wendy said she looked sexy now. But prior to losing weight, her new show basically documented her overweight journey and move from Pittsburgh to LA in hopes of making it in the fashion industry as a stylist.

I usually don’t like watching a lot of MTV’s reality shows, but this one with this Chelsea Settles girl has some potential. I could tell from watching the show that her weight has kept her back from a lot of things, including being more outgoing and perhaps dating around instead of settling for the jerk she is with. On Wendy we learned that Chelsea has only had one boyfriend for the past 5 years; that is crazy! While watching her show we learned that she stays with him because she thinks nobody else will love her. Mind you, this guy has cheated and is in the army, but she settles (haha, no pun intended) and doesn’t leave him.

I’ve never in my life had a weight problem as drastic as hers, but it’s fascinating see the emotional drama in the situation. I mean I felt so sorry for her when she couldn’t get in the club for her friend’s birthday party. The bouncer wouldn’t let her in because she was big compared to all the other hot girls. Of course Chelsea stormed off and then got ridiculed by a bunch of drunk people, which then caused her to go cry and finalize her decision to lose weight and move to LA.

The episode was pretty good and at one point I got so pissed off at her lame ass boyfriend Rory. He had the nerve to attempt to deter her from moving to LA and saying she wouldn’t fit in out there. He wanted her to just move down to the military base with him and get married, have babies, and just be happy the way she was. WTF? This guy has cheated on her and then says he wants to marry her in order for her not to move to LA. She’s 24 and deserves to go for her dreams. Like seriously what is up with her man, who does that?! I was so upset because I know so many men that just want to settle down and talk about us having a future. I’m like woah! I’m young, single, and once I graduate in Summer 2012 it’s on! No commitment, just me starting my fabulous new life and on a journey with new friends. When I’m ready to settle later in my twenties, then I’ll think about slowing down and committing. But I think everyone deserves that time in their life to find themselves, go out to clubs, travel, find their career, and just live life! So I’m so happy Chelsea didn’t listen to her boyfriend and decided to jet set off to Cali. You go girl!

I like this Chelsea Settles chick, and last night’s premiere episode was an hour long, but it’s worth checking out. Like I said, I couldn’t imagine having major body issues like that. I couldn’t believe it was her first time going to the gym; I go to the gym 5 to 7 days out the week, so it was mind blowing seeing someone not work out on the regular. But she has a lot of issues surrounding how she got overweight, so I’m sure we will see more in the next few episodes. It’s unlike MTV to have a plus-size reality star, so I’m interested in seeing how this show will play out.

Check out the show at MTV’s site. I’m telling you, this show has potential. I strongly believe everyone deserves to live their life, be young, be fabulous, and go for their dreams. Don’t just live life being complacent and especially don’t settle for some lame relationship when you want to be young and go explore the world. Get up and make life happen!

http://www.mtv.com/videos/chelsea-settles-ep-1-ive-always-had-this-dream/1672104/playlist.jhtml

Related articles

• Chelsea Settles Previews Her New MTV Docu-Series (VIDEO) (aoltv.com)
• Meet Chelsea Settles, MTV’s Plus-Size Reality Star (aoltv.com)
• TV’s New Plus-Sized Heroine (huffingtonpost.com)
• Chelsea Settles (variety.com)

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments

Even though I work out almost every single day, it doesn’t mean that I’m striving for “perfection.” I work out in order to maintain a healthy life style, to reach some personal goals, and because it’s so fun! I love getting all sweaty and feeling the adrenaline rush. If I lose weight in the process, then right on! But no body should feel pressure to strive for “perfection” in regards to standards of beauty within our society.

I’ve done a lot of essays, even speeches for school, on the unrealistic images portrayed in media. I’m a curvy woman and I’m all for woman loving their body. There is actually a site called Curve Appeal that has hundreds of real woman across the world submitting their pics and showing off their natural curves. Just your average women showing that they have curves and they don’t care about being a size 0. Check it out if you’d like @ http://curveappeal.tumblr.com/

Sites that showcase women and their real curves are a great contrast to the pro-ana sites that show off anorexic girls and gives tip on how to be anorexic. It’s sad that some many women feel pressure to reach standards in media that are often airbrushed, achieved by unhealthy tactics, or are simple just different body types. Not every woman is naturally thin, which is why I think it’s great to see filmmaker Daryl Roberts expose the reality of beauty in America.

His first film, America the Beautiful, was a documentary that followed Gerren Taylor (she was also on that horrible BET show Baldwin Hills) and her journey as a young model. Roberts used the documentary as a format to follower her career and America’s obsession with beauty. I originally watched the film On Demand and then watched it a second time on Netflix. It was interesting seeing how obsessed with beauty a lot of women and men are. Issues of beauty don’t just affect women, men deal with them as well. For more information that, read my article “Men & Body Image.”

Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I think a woman that is naturally a size 4 is just as beautiful as a size 14 woman(hey, that’s my size!) You’ve got to love what you’re working with and flaunt it! Even if you’re working out and trying to lose weight (I will admit, I am working out to least tone up and burn some pounds) you’ve got to know that no matter what size you are, you are fabulous! Don’t stress yourself out and get caught up in the American obsession with being thin and beautiful.

I know it sounds like a message that is being told over and over again, but it’s important that everyone realize they are beautiful. Don’t hate on girls that have the toned bodies and don’t make fun of girls that aren’t so toned. The goal should be to be healthy. So if that means losing weight and changing your eating pattern, then do it for health reasons or personal goals. Not because you want to be a size 0 model. If that was the case, then all of us brown skin women would have to bleach our skin in order to look like all the White models we see dominating fashion. Um, I think I’ll pass on that!

Here is the first film, America the Beautiful. You can watch the entire hour-long film on Hulu or feel free to check it out on Netflix. Part 2, America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments will be limited released in the next few weeks and then I think there will be a nationwide release. Check out the trailer below and visit the site for more information. http://americathebeautifuldoc.com/2/atb/the-thin-commandments/

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

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• Filmmaker Darryl Roberts’, “America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments” Denounces New Dieting Book Which Targets Kids, “Maggie Goes On A Diet” (prnewswire.com)

Get Up, Stomp Yo Feet, & Get Down

I’ve gotten back into a habit of hitting the gym every morning and not skipping a beat. That Fitspiration post and the Nike Make Yourself campaign have truly inspired me to be the epitome of good health. There is never a dull moment when I hate working out, evening if I’m pushing myself to the limit. No pain, no gain, right? Being fit is a challenge but it’s also a fun time to reflect on important life decisions and say goodbye to all the mean words anybody has ever said to you. Anger shouldn’t be your only motivation when running on the treadmill, but it sure is a great motivation!

Working out and being active is all about getting up, stomping yo feet, and getting down! Those actions are what getting pumped is all about, even if you’re cutting it up on the dance floor. But as usual, it’s hard to get motivated unless you’ve got those songs that make your body twitch and put you into hyper-speed. Whenever I have those moments where I’m dead tired, I’ll put on specific tracks, as if I was taking a shot of adrenaline. Music is my adrenaline, it’s my drug, and it’s essential to having an epic work out.

Check out some great dance tracks I use to get hyped, especially “Battle for Middle You.” It’s the track that inspired this post and it’s one of my favorite songs by Julio Bashmore. It has the lyrics “People get up, stomp yo feet, and get down.” That’s awesome!

Julio Bashmore – Battle For Middle You

Phonat – “Set me free” music video

Cassius – Youth Speed Trouble Cigarettes

Lady Gaga – Marry The Night (Zedd Remix)

I love the Zedd remix of this song! I saw a stripper on America’s Got Talent dance to it and fell in love with it! Okay, wait, that sounded strange. Let me just post the stripper and you’ll see, this song rocks and he was pretty talented! I would never be a stripper or anything, but hey it’s kind of like an art form. Some people are really talented.  Of course he didn’t make it to the finals, but it’s okay, I wasn’t routing for him. My hope is that Team iLuminate wins AGT talent, fingers are crossed!

Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden – Bonkers (Video)

Lets go bonkers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

Fitspiration: Make Yourself

That beautiful image above is not just an amazing photograph of some of the worlds best female athletes, but it also my desktop background and inspiration for the 2011/2012 year. This summer has basically sucked fitness wise and my life has just been in transition. One thing after another, struggling, moving, cutting off friendships, getting fed up with dating, and just a bunch of other annoying distractions. The one good thing about all the stuff that has gone on, is the fact I’m now moving to a nice quiet neighborhood and a complex that has an amazing fitness center that nobody barely ever uses.

Now that things are slowly coming together and I officially can move into our apartment on Saturday (still not moved in yet,) I can plot out a goal for Fall and Spring. My vital signs and overall health are great according to the doctor, but I have this desire to make over my body completely. I’m young, single, and have a lot going for me, so it would be a mistake not use this time to get the best body possibly and have an uber healthy lifestyle.

When I have a great fitness center or a nice neighborhood to run in, I’m a fitness junkie. But the last neighborhood I lived in was so crappy and not well planned out for a pleasant jog. There is nothing worse I hate then not being able to have a pleasant jog accompanied by a vibrant natural scenery. So since the last neighborhood lacked that and I didn’t have time to catch plans, trains, and buses to the nearest gym, I made do with the treadmill my mom bought. I maintained a decent shape, but most of the weight as usual is in my legs. I love running on the treadmill, but some days I just want to switch it up.

I missed being able to walk out the door everyday, cross the parking lot, and get on the elliptical for an hour. On days that weren’t cardio intensive, I’d do some strength training. I love being in the gym and just getting totally drenched, so I’m excited to be having a gym again literally right outside of our new building. The pounding footsteps on the treadmill are liberating, but I prefer slaving away on the elliptical and competing in an imaginary race on the stationary bike. Those are my machines of choice, but I haven’t been able to consistently have one incorporated in my lifestyle.

But the inconveniences are finally coming to an end. Once I move in on Saturday, it’s so on! I already tightened up on my eating and went back to eating my favorite meals such as whole wheat turkey wraps, salads, apples, light dishes with chicken, tuna, and multi-grain Wheat Thins. But I realized that I need to have some type of aspiration, a goal that my competitive personality can strive for. So I began doing some digging on the Web and ran across the Nike Women’s Make Yourself campaign.

The Nike Women Make Yourself campaign and the Nike Women blog are the ultimate fitspiration. I used to play volleyball and I have this passion for sports, but I don’t want to take up volleyball again. I think I’m going to get into amazing shape and start falling back in love with cycling. I like the fact that when your cycling, you are the mode of transportation. The only way to get back home or to where you started is all on you, no easy way out. That statement makes it sound like a pain in the ass, but seriously, cycling is a great way to stay in top of the line shape and also have an exhilarating adventure.

Reading the Nike Women blog and watching the inspirational stories from the Make Yourself team have really inspired me to take my love for fitness to new heights. It’s not just about trying to achieve this unrealistic image, but it’s more so the reality that you can do anything you set your mind to. I love a good challenge and the Make Yourself campaign is the right push I need to get the job done.

I didn’t need too much of a push, since I grew up playing sports and having an a zest for being active, but that photograph does inspire me to go to another level. This is my year to finally have a consistent fitness goal and be the best women I can be for myself, so I’m going to “make myself.” A lot of tough work is ahead, but now that I have a gym with tons of equipment and a beautiful lake to run around down the street, I think it will come together very nicely. A year from now I’ll be showing off my toned 6ft frame and cycling every weekend, I might even consider running a marathon!

There is an athlete inside of all of us, we just have to take the courage to make it happen and deal with the pain. So in the words of Nike, Just Do It!

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

Summer Workout Playlist

I just finished my work out and I’m still jamming to my workout playlist. I’m a huge fan of all types of music, but my favorite songs to work out to fall in the genre of electronica/dance music and hip-hop. I’ve never been able to workout to techno music due to the fast paced bpm, but most dance music has a bpm that is great for working out.

My playlist for summer has consisted of Britney Spears, Wiz Khalifa, Nicki Minaj, Nadia Ali, Trina, LMFAO, Swedish House Mafia, and so many other great artists. I’m not a big fan of Wiz Khalifa and Nicki Minaj, but there music is slowly growing on me. I only like a few of their songs and jam to them when working out. As far as my taste in Britney Spears music; she is slowly making her way back to being a music hit and her song “Till the World Ends” is definitely a great song.

Here are a few of my favorite work out songs that you may or may not have heard of. Check them out! If your looking for some great music to get pumped up to, then some of these songs below are a must for your Ipod.

Da Rockwilder| Method Man and Redman

You already know what it is! This is still one of the hottest songs that ever hit the hip-hop scene and it sucks they didn’t make it longer. It’s a great pump up song to start your run. I use it to get me pumped up and hyped to attack my workout.

C’mon (Catch Em’ By Suprise)| DJ Tiesto vs. Diplo ft. Busta Rhymes

I love the video for this song…its hot! Busta kills it on this track!

Ski Hard| Armand Van Helden

I love this song and the video is cute!

Keep This Fire Burning (Freemasons Edit)| Outsiders ft. Amanda Wilson

Simply put, this song and video is pure sexy! The video makes you want to go put on a sexy workout outfit and get lost in the disco vibe.

The last video I will post for this post will be a song from MSTRKRFT. This post wouldn’t be complete without a song from MSTRKRFT. Other songs on my playlist come from artists like Justice, David Guetta, Kaskade, Madonna, Calvin Harris, Chris Brown, and so many other artists.

Bounce| MSTRKRFT ft. Nore