BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

29Jul/150

New Song: “Stoplight”

Together, V-Day, a global activist movement, and One Billion Rising, a call to action campaign, are leading the fight against the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. Stoplight isn’t just a song, it’s my contribution to help raise awareness about V-Day and One Billion Rising, and to join the fight to stop violence against women. A stoplight at an intersection is a signal we’ve all learned to respect and stop our vehicles for without question. Let’s also respect the wishes of everyone everywhere that signal they wish an attacker to stop. Be a stoplight and urge others to as well, so that at the end of the day, we can all find our way home safely.

Visit http://www.vday.org and http://www.onebillionrising.org to learn more.

Find more Kenny West music on Spotify (https://play.spotify.com/artist/3vtIJEjSKkQvYgFWqznl8I) and on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/kenny-west/id219598395).

The MP3 of this song can be purchased at CDBaby (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kennywest11).

Check out the song on YouTube (https://youtu.be/QBB2UNvDmBk).

 

{LYRICS}

“Stoplight”

[VERSE 1]
What if you had no voice
If you had no choice
What if you were standing there alone or scared
And they wouldn’t take no for an answer

[CHORUS 1]
You can be a stoplight
You can shine real bright
Cuz you have every right
To say no, to say no, to say no

[BREAK 1]

[VERSE 2]
Hey well we can change things
We can rearrange things
Make it so your worst fears are the stars aren’t clear
Or you stepped through a puddle in the road

[CHORUS 2]
You can be a stoplight
Take control of your life
Cuz you have every right
To walk alone, down the street at night, yeah, just to get home
Be a stoplight
You can shine real bright
Cuz you have every right
To say no, to say no

[BRIDGE 1]
Join the millions now
As they sing out loud
We’re not stepping down
Till we’re safe in every town

[BRIDGE 2]
We can say no, oh, oh
And we can just go, oh, oh
We can say no, oh, oh
We can just go, straight to our homes, safely now

[BREAK 2]

[PRE-CHORUS]
Yeah so I’m a stoplight
But you don’t know my life
And I have every right
To say no, to say no

[CHORUS 3]
We can be stoplights
Take control of our lives
We have every right
To walk alone, down the street at night, just to get home
Be a stoplight
You can shine real bright
Cuz you have every right
To say no, to say no, to say

[OUTRO 1]
No, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh
Just so you can go, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh
We can say no, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh
Just so we can go, home, safely

[OUTRO 2]
You can be a stoplight
(Oh, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh)
You can shine real bright
(Oh, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh)
Know that every night
(Oh, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh)
You can go on, home, safely

You can be a stoplight
(Oh, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh)
You can shine real bright
(Oh, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh)
Know that every night
(Oh, oh, oh–oo–whoa–oh, oh)
You can go on, home, safely

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20Jul/150

Outdoor Movie Night at Penns Woods Winery: Bridesmaids

On Saturday July 11th, I got my movie night on... Outside. It was pretty awesome. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect.

I tried to prepare as much as possible for the event:

I found an old blanket and my little Crazy Creek fold up camping chair that I use to sit in when I go to the park to read (http://www.crazycreek.com).  It reminded me that I haven't gone to the park to read in forever.  I used to do that a ton back in the day.  I should do that more often.

I bought some bug spray so that I wouldn't get eaten alive over the course of the evening.  I ended up not needing the bug spray because they had those tiki torch candle things on a stick every 10 or 15 feet through the crowd.  Then of course everyone else had gallons of bug spray on as well.  It's the new perfume/cologne for a night out at the winery apparently.

So, I ended up getting there later than anticipated.  Initially I wanted to get there at the start of the music, which was 3pm, but I wanted to get there at 4 or 5pm to catch the end of the music.  And then my plan was to hang out and write for a while, then kind of settle in for the movie.  Since I was coming from downtown visiting my mom in the hospital I didn't get actually arrive until close to 7.  It's all good though, the movie started at 8/8:30.  I had plenty of time to find a good spot, and then get to the food truck and then grab a glass of wine and my complimentary bag of popcorn.  I ended up grabbing another bag later on in the evening.  I love movie theater popcorn.  It's probably bad for you, but it's soo good.  Until you eat too much of it and feel a little sick, then it's bad.  But it's still good, in a way.

Well, I found a good spot right up front.  I actually ran into a problem because the grass was a tad bit on the wet side and my blanket started to soak some of that up.  The group sitting beside me had this REALLY cool beach/park blanket that I'd never seen before, on the top is soft blanket fabric, but on the bottom it has waterproof material.  I was like, "This is such an amazing product!  I must buy one."  So I asked where they got it... They said it was a gift (of course).  I'll have to Google search and see if I can find something like it...

Ok, I'm fairly certain it was very similar to this one: http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Windproof-Fleece-Stadium-Blanket/dp/B009NJKXXS

The design was different though.  But same concept.  Some of the reviews on that aren't so great.  I might buy it anyways though, I mean it's only 20 bucks.  Maybe there's a better quality one.  I'll have to do some online shopping/comparing and such to find the best bang for the buck.

Actually, I might go with the LL Bean one.  Their products are top quality and if there's a problem with it, I know I can just take it back to the store.  I like this one a lot: http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/57230?productId=939399&attrValue_0=Lapis%20Slate&cvosrc=cse.amazon.0GKD122000&qs=3079615_mercent&mr:trackingCode=5F35A6AE-11A0-E311-B8AB-90E2BA285E75&mr:referralID=NA

"Don't let a little wet grass ruin your picnic or breakfast at the campsite. This versatile blanket has a rugged polyurethane-coated nylon backing that keeps moisture from seeping through to the supersoft polyester fleece surface. It's a great choice for sporting events, the beach or on a boat. Or keep one in your car's safety kit. Stuff sack included. Imported. Machine wash and dry."

I'm sold.  And there are 5 different colors too!  Oh gosh, I want every color!  Hmmm... I kind of like the Deep Forest or the Bright Navy.

Sorry, kind of got off track there.  Anyways, as I was saying, I was graciously allowed to use this waterproof bottom blanket that they weren't using!  So I made a new friend in the process too.

The movie started.  The opening scene is... well... It's Bridesmaids.  If you haven't seen it, go see it.  If you have seen it.  You know what I'm talking about.

So I'm laughing my butt off and trying to eat my food truck fish tacos grub and sipping on some wine.  I started off with a glass of sangria wine, the way they make it is just pineapple, and sugar and strawberries soaked in a sweet white wine, I forget which one though.  The second glass I had was a Traminette, which I'd never heard of, but it was tasty.

Anywho, so I sat there and watched the movie and relaxed.  After the movie was over people kind of hung out and chatted for a while.  I ran into someone that I went to high school with.  It was one of those, "Oh hi!!!  What are YOU doing here.  How's life?  Where are you working these days?  Good movie isn't it?  Well, it was great seeing you!"

Then I went to Wawa after the movie to gas up and continued on my way home.  Definitely lots of fun though.  The next movie night is in August.  They are showing one of the Indiana Jones movies.  The movie selection isn't the best (It's a good movie, I've just seen it sooooo many times) but since they only seem to do two of these a summer and it would be nice to just hang out outside under the stars and sip on some wine and eat popcorn and food truck grub one more time for the year, I may just go to it anyway. Actually, I think I will go. Definitely.

Ok, well, I'll leave everyone with the Instagram photo I took while waiting for the movie to start so you can get a feel for the ambiance of what it was like actually being there in person (The vineyard is in the background behind the screen/truck, that blanket is the waterproof one I was talking about that I ended up sitting on and the tiki torch is the tiki torch I was talking about that was one of a TON they had all over the place to keep the pesky mosquitos away, also they made it easier to see things after it got dark and not trip over everyone and everything when going to get more wine/use the bathroom)...

 

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3Jul/150

Instagram Test

I'm testing out embedding Instagram photos.  Let's see how well this works.  If it works well I can use Instagram to host the photos that I post in my blog.  I think that'd be a nifty way to do it.

Here's the Instagram photos that I took while I was up in Maine...

 

Now THIS is how you do coffee. I'll be nice and awake for the drive back to camp tonight!

A photo posted by Kenny (@kennywest82) on

 

Enjoying some live music and drinks with friends in Portland, Maine. It's a beautiful night! A photo posted by Kenny (@kennywest82) on

 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

A photo posted by Kenny (@kennywest82) on

 

Staff week lip sync tonight was fantastic! Great job to everyone. So funny. #SummerCamp A photo posted by Kenny (@kennywest82) on

 

 

 

It seems to have worked.  Instagram photos galore will be all over my blog.  Look out people!  Look out!

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