Beyonce Does it Again!

Daria Ibn-TamasBeyonce Knowles has become something of a household name these days.  The singer has built somewhat of an empire for herself over the years and while she is a revered and respected artist, no one saw her latest stunt coming.  A recent article covers the details of Beyonce’s album that no one knew was coming out- a video album of 17 music videos.

At 12:00am on December 13, Beyonce dropped the surprise of the year, a visual album.  This is Beyonce’s fifth record and is titled, “Beyoncé.”  What a visual album means is that for each track on this 14-track album, there is a music video to accompany it.  This a massive undertaking for any singer, but if anyone could do it, we shouldn’t have expected anyone other than Queen Bey herself.  This surprise album coming out, however, now clarifies why we haven’t heard a new single from Beyonce in quite some time- something that was puzzling her masses of fans.

Beyonce’s new visual album is more than just a surprise for the people.  It lends credibility to Beyonce’s creative genius as an artist and the undeniable fact that she is growing to new heights- far beyond her musical talent, Beyonce is on her way to icon status.

The recording of this album and creating the visuals of this album supposedly began in the summer of 2012 and continued to be developed and produced over the span of about a year and a half.  This visual album is innovative on the level of Michael Jackson’s Thriller when it first came out.  Nothing like it has ever been done before, and we can only imagine what Beyonce will blow the world away with next.  It will be exciting to see what the future holds for Mrs. Carter!

Have No Fear, Batkid is Here!

Batkid blogpost by Daria Ibn-Tamas5-year-old Miles Scott recently took on some serious responsibility- saving the city of San Francisco from the diabolical plots of the villainous Penguin.  A recent article by USA Today details the day’s events.  Miles, known as Batkid, rescued a damsel in distress, arriving on the scene of the crime in the batmobile, (a lamborghini decorated to look like the original batmobile), put a stop to a bank robbery that was underway on Montgomery Street and, ultimately, faced off with the Penguin to end his crimes for good.  The little hero then was awarded the key to the city from the Mayor of San Francisco.

The city of San Francisco, along with many other people who made the journey to San Francisco for this memorable event, transformed the streets into Gotham City to make this little hero’s dream come true.  Miles, who is from Tulelake, California, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just a year and a half old.  He has been enduring treatments ever since being diagnosed.  That is, until this past June, when they were able to end treatments because Miles is now in remission.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation was behind this plan to help Miles become the superhero he has always idolized, and about 7,000 people pitched in to make this a reality for Miles.

Donning an impressive bat-suit, complete with a cape, Miles was escorted around town by a full-sized batman and of course, his trusty sidekick, Robin, played by Miles’ younger brother.  Everywhere they went, the streets were lined with spectators, cheering them on, videotaping and snapping photos of Batkid.

Batkid | Daria Ibn-Tamas postThe incredible amount of community support for Miles’ big event was nothing the Make-A-Wish Foundation had anticipated.  It started with a call from a San Francisco social marketing organization, contacting the foundation to see how they were going to raise awareness about the event.  Admittedly, the Foundation did not have arrangements in place and was grateful for the assistance of the Clever Girls Collective company in generating interest and support for the event.

The event quickly caught-on, and grew to proportions no one had imagined.  Batkid’s day of adventures was a truly inspiring sight, not only to see a deserving little boy become the hero of a city as he had always wanted, but to see how many people came together to support him.  We can only hope our society can continue to join together for events like this in the future and support those who need it the most.

A New Way to Quit Your Job

As of late, viral videos have been all the rage.  Whether they are comical, musical, or just plain odd, people have been getting significant recognition- and in some cases, even fame- from a video they post on youtube.  A recent video has generated not just attention, but a great deal of conversation and debate surrounding today’s, “entitled millennial generation.”  Maria Shifrin, age 25, posted a video on youtube of herself dancing in various locations around her office to Kanye West’s, “Gone,” at the end of which she announced that she was quitting her job at the Taiwanese video animation company.

While one’s immediate reaction may be that this is career- suicide for Shifrin, in today’s day and age, this could be the type of gutsy action needed to get this young video editor noticed and hired by a more prestigious, creative, cutting-edge company.  Experts in the field of communication have commented on Maria’s unique method of quitting, saying they can see the video being both hindering and conducive to her future career.   On one hand, companies may see her as volatile or a potential threat to their image, while on the other hand, certain companies may see her posting this video as a bold expression of self and welcome such a daring, creative and strong-minded employee.

Others have seen this video as just another self-centered act of a young-adult growing up in the millennial generation, which is generally characterized by the notion that they expect good jobs handed to them and that they should not have to work terribly hard to get these good jobs.  Shifrin’s responded that she had thought at length about the potential consequences and positives of posting this video before ultimately making it public; that it was not just an angry backlash and cry for attention.  Shifrin says the millennial generation gets, “such a bad rap,” and that, “expecting to be praised at work and expecting to be respected,” is not to much to ask for, and is not the same as being entitled.

It will be interesting to see where Shifrin goes from here and how this video may change her career path.  Similarly, it will interesting to see what types of actions from young people follow Shifrin’s bold declaration.  Will YouTube videos become the new way to tell your boss you won’t be showing up for work on Monday, or ever again?  I’m sure we will have the answer to that in the near future.