My Body My Mind: What is your current opinion on your body image? Are you happy with how you look?
DJ Alex Loveridge: Right now I am very happy with myself and how my body looks, and if I were given the chance I wouldn’t change a thing about my physical self.

MBMM: Have you always felt this way? What did you like/dislike about your body and why?
DJAL: For the past year or so, I’ve been very happy with myself and the way my body looks, but I wasn’t always that way. Like most people, high school was when I really started to wish I looked a different way, especially when it came to my acne and my teeth before braces…and especially my teeth with braces. One thing about my appearance that I really wished would change was my curly hair, (even though I love it now) and all I wanted was for it to be straight. Eventually, I gained more self-confidence thanks to friends, loved ones, and the internet, and I learned to love the way I look. After living with curly hair and being a skinny dude for this long, I wouldn’t want to change any of it.

MBMM: What helped you become comfortable with your body image and how you look today?
DJAL: This is going to sound like kind of a blunt and shallow answer, but it actually really helped me out when I was at the age where I was most self-conscious of my appearance. When I was 16, my first real high school girlfriend said something to me that I still think about from time to time…she said “hey…you know you’re hot, right?” My answer was “no, not really.” Then she said “oh, well you should…because you are.” Even though it was just one compliment from one person, that person was two years older than me, and that was pretty great for 16-year old me. That compliment didn’t instantly make me love myself and the way I looked, but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

MBMM: Has your body image had an effect on your DJing?
DJAL: My body image has definitely had an impact, in ways both positive and negative, on my entire DJing career, from the very first party I played when I was 16, right up to DJing a good friend’s birthday a little over a month ago. I started DJing in 2009, and I was asked to play at a friend’s 17^th birthday party a few months later. I didn’t know much, but I knew enough to be able to keep music playing constantly. I had a lot to worry about, and because I was still self-conscious about my looks, it definitely showed. I only knew a few people at the party, so I barely talked to anyone, didn’t socialize before playing, and when I was playing, I never danced and I’m pretty sure I didn’t look relaxed at all. As I learned more, I became more comfortable, and after I met HappE, the DJ who taught me how to play, I really became more comfortable. He told me that no matter who I am or what I look like, as long as I walk up to the turntables and act like I own the place, people are going to listen…and if I have the skills to back it up, people are going to dance. Now, I remember that every time I’m about to start DJing, and since I’m finally comfortable with myself and my appearance, I’m genuinely relaxed and having a good time.

MBMM: How do you feel about yourself while you are DJing and creating music?
DJAL: Producing is a much more private process than DJing, where I can think and talk to myself and not worry about anyone or what they think. Although no one is around, the fact that I’m creating something and being able to express myself in such a way does give my self-confidence a boost. However, when I’m DJing at a show or house party, it’s a very different experience. Since I’m in front of a crowd and I’m the one that’s giving them a show…it may as well be a DJ requirement to be confident. If I got behind the decks at any venue, even a house party, and I didn’t look like I seriously believed that I was a great DJ, why would anyone else? I find that the more I look like it’s no big deal and I’m having a good time, the more people end up dancing. Also, the more I see people dancing and having fun, the more confidence I have.

MBMM: How does your personality transcend into your music?
DJAL: My personality is a huge influence on my music as both a producer and a DJ, but in different ways for each. Like I said in the question before this one, producing is a very private process, so most of my songs are done either by myself or with a very close friend that started producing with me back in 2007. Since I’m either alone or collaborating with Josh, I’m free to just make music for the sake of making music, and since there’s nobody to impress, I can make the song go along with how I’m feeling at the time, which is one of my favorite ways to relieve stress. I produce songs in lots of different genres of music, and usually my mood decides how the music will sound whenever I sit down with a new track. When I’m able to do that, the sounds that I make as stress relief end up being different than if I were writing a song specifically to put it in my next DJ set.
When I’m putting together a list of songs for a night of DJing, the feeling of those songs is very different. Instead of focusing on the mood that I’m in while I’m compiling the songs, I have to think to myself “what would Friday night Alex want to see in this playlist? Which songs would I choose to not only draw a crowd to the dance floor, but also keep them there?” Sometimes it is difficult to get into that mindset, but usually it isn’t much of a problem. Lately I’ve found that I get a much more expressive set if I just have one huge playlist to pick and choose from as the night goes on. That way, if people stop dancing I can immediately find a song that will bring them back, which wouldn’t be so easy to do with a pre-planned, extra precise set.

17 year old Alex DJ-ing at a house party

19 years of age, DJ-ing at a friend's 21st

Se desarmó El Belén

La Federación que aglutina a los fabricantes de estas bonitas figuritas, ha manifestado su malestar ante la última publicación de Benedicto XVI. 

Los fabricantes de figuras para Belenes anuncian un calendario de movilizaciones contra el “Decretazo” del Papa.

Algunos de los Belenistas más importantes del territorio nacional, como Juan, anuncian objeción de conciencia así que seguirán incluyendo en sus montajes al Burro y al Buey. Argumentan que “muchos ponen en el Belén el Caganer, esa figura tampoco aparece en los Evangelios y por eso no quiere decir que haya que quitarlos".

La patronal de ganaderos vacunos y criadores de burros han manifestado, que se unirán a los fabricantes de belenes para protestar por lo que consideran, un daño a la imagen y posicionamiento en la historia de estos maravillosos animales. El calendario de protestas incluye manifestaciones, huelga de servicios en Belenes Vivientes y paralización de actividad en los Belenes con movimiento los días 24 de Diciembre y 5 de Enero.

La productora Paramount Pictures ha confirmado su intención de hacerse con los derechos para la adaptación a la gran pantalla del conocido "Caso Micho", de cuya noticia se hicieron eco nuestros compañeros del blog Pixelatte Macchiato.

Según el departamento de prensa de la gigante estadounidense, las partes están dispuestas y asegura que las negociaciones para la producción del film, inspirado en la peculiar trama criminal cuya cúpula fue desmantelada el pasado 29 de septiembre en nuestro país, van por buen camino; afirmación que hace pública junto a un poster teaser con el título provisional "Misifú Case", en una maniobra de marketing sin antecedentes.

franrome

FREAKNEWS

"MICHO" AL CINE

El peculiar caso de los estafadores "gatunos" da el salto a la gran pantalla.

yoshimasa tsuchiya

Yoshimasa Tshuchiya /artist, Tokyo Japan

image via: nicework.co.za

Funcionarios inyectan su paga extra a sanidad

Si hace unos días de boca de la mismísima vicepresidenta anunciaba que ''España vive uno de los momentos más difíciles y traumáticos de nuestra historia reciente'' ahora los empleados públicos se han echo oír.

Como recoge algún comentario ''ahora la sanidad si funciona'' y los funcionarios han conseguido alegrar la Navidad a muchos enfermos.

In Handmaid's Tale, the environment has basically gone to shit and the women have to pay for it. How, you ask? Well, they become baby-making machines. Yes, women have always had that special talent, but this time it's against their will. In many countries, that is a woman's primary duty. In the U.S, it's a choice.We know that gender exists, but how long until it becomes a memory?

"I'm not lesbian, but i'm dating a woman." Wait, What? Yes, that's right. Jesica Tenaglia, 24, believes that she fell for her partner because of her personality, not because of her gender. "I saw past the fact that she was a female. I think a lot of people are starting to do that. Because so many lines are blurred now, I really don't know how to act differently with a male. I dont love her because she's a female, I love her because of the way she loves me. No guy has treated me like she has. I think people just want to be loved. If she were a male, I would feel the same way. People in our generation are starting to get that." If the future of our country starts to embrace this way of thinking, what exactly does that mean? Will gender all together cease to exist?

Many schools have begun to include gay/lebian couples in their story books to teach children that they have a choice of sexuality. Being so taboo only 50 years ago, there really is no telling just what changes may come with such a radical society.

Independent. It's something women love to claim they are. Women are growing in the world with higher numbers of executive and management level positions. It hasn't always been this way, and it was hardly expected to happen. Men have always been seen as the bread-winners and hard workers while women were seen as only the nurturing figure at home. Currently, many households across the United States have the higher income coming from the female in the home. As this used to be a reason for concern, it is now a badge of honor that not many women brag about.

    Because positions are endlessly attainable to women, the definition of how a woman should 'act' or 'live' has gone quite blurry and, well, astray. From models to CEO's, women are in the workforce with questionable or applause-worthy titles. Since women are able to work at their own will, roles in the home have changed.

Working is no longer exclusively for men. For women, it has become a 'second' role, depending on how you look at it. Yes, women go to work and make executive decisions, but that doesn't mean they don't still cook and clean. Matter of fact, this is still expected at home for most couples.

So have the roles really changed all that much? For women, the role has expanded. More responsibilities to take on is one way of looking at it.Taking weight off the male and sharing it with his female counterpart is another way of seeing it. Whatever way you choose to see it, a shift has taken place in gender relations, and it will probably continue to shift.

GENDER RELATIONS

The world is always in motion, especially when it comes to gender relations. But just how are roles defined and what does it mean for the future?

iSHYNE!

Do you Shyne? If so, we want to know about it!

The Shyne Awards is a premiere awards ceremony that celebrates the positive achievements made by young adults ages 13-19.  The annual event hosted in Pittsburgh celebrates and spotlights young people who are shyning examples in the region. Financial scholarships are awarded each year to select honorees. 

The Shyne Awards is Accepting Nominations NOW forThe 7th Annual Shyne Awards!

The family friendly event features a national celebrity, red carpet event, the best in entertainment, and of course, young people who shyne!

For More Information and to obtain an Official Nomination Form, we invite you to visit:

www.iSHYNE.org

1.855.55.SHYNE

ART TALK:

K I K I  V A L D E S

Friday, December 7th 

Moderated by: Michael Margulies

King and Grove Tides Hotel 1220 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139.

7:00–8:30 pm

Time:

Location: