That's why she gotta give it
A little bit of confidence
And just believe in
What she do

I appreciate her modesty
It's positive I know it's true
But when her modesty is talking negatively
Everybody feels negative too

That's why she gotta give it
A little bit of confidence
And just believe in
What she do

We got to try just a little bit harder
And let it shine just a little bit brighter
We got to walk just a little bit taller
‘Cause I can feel the sound and it's bringing me down

Ain't nobody want you preaching to them
So we probably shouldn't be talking this way
It’s so hard to communicate these things
I know these things are even harder to change

That's why she gotta give it
A little bit of confidence
And just believe in
What she do

We got to try just a little bit harder
And let it shine just a little bit brighter
We got to walk just a little bit taller
Cause I can feel the sound

We got to try just a little bit harder
And let it shine just a little bit brighter
We got to walk just a little bit taller
Cause I can feel the sound and it's bringing me down

I like smiling.  It's my favorite.  Won't you do it with me? :)

After my passion branding trip with Charlie and Ellie, I united with beautiful people and received many compliments from sharing my speech in front of the room with them. It felt good at the moment, and I felt that I was heading into the right direction, but still a bit fuzzy.

So, I have contemplated every moment I could, put my mind in the quite space, so hoped that I could hear more from my intuition about what direction to talk.

Since I haven’t been connected to any signs yet, the negative energy then infused its strength and increasing the frustration, and I heard my inner voice said “What the hectic is going on?” Everything around me was easily stirring my energy. My body felt exhausted from the trip, but I was practicing hard on my mind and plus had to do some other important chores. Finally around 5:30pm, I told myself that this wasn’t working, and I pushed myself too far.” Then, I decided to pack my swimming gear and went for swimming. While I was driving, I heard myself said that this action might not be a good act to take upon, I probably ended up pass out. Well, it actually was taking a different turn, the endorphins was helping me big time. I was out from YMCA’s building with a refresh, uplifting, and feeling like I could do everything and nothing can stop me (again).

This action has been one of my cheerful habits that uplifting my energy when nothing else can, using my physical motion to create the endorphins hormone to feed my energy. I have been persistence with this action and 99% it safes me.

Well, now I am connect back with my beauty within, so ok I don’t intone with my intuition yet, but the world isn’t end yet and I have tomorrow to do it, and by saying that I humbly respect the shift of the universe.

Kyau vs. Albert Feat Damae - Velvet Morning.

What a tune. Now this is a massive trance hit, something quite spectacular.
The main thing running for this tune is the vocals. Without a doubt some of the most uplifting, subtle vocals to ever grace a clubfloor. I haven't heard this one out yet but I'm sure its something that creates a lot of atmosphere, gets the crowd in unity and driving forward.

Exceptional it really it is. No matter what you like you will undoubtedly enjoy the vocals on the this track.

Last FM listing - http://www.last.fm/music/Kyau+vs.+Albert/_/Velvet+Morning

Enjoy :)
If you did, then check out there homepage as they've just released a new track.

Read the whole story here

PEACE

Well, enough crying and complaining - if I can't say anything pleasant or uplifting, I'm not going to say any more, so,

Think Thin Thoughts!

Adinear

"It is absolutely silly and unproductive to have a funeral for the word NIGGER when the actions continue. We need to have a movement to resurrect brothers and sisters, not a funeral for NIGGERS, cause NIGGERS don't die."

The quote is referencing the recent attempt of the NAACP to bury the derogatory word and ban it's use with a mock funeral. Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were both at the forefront of this movement, being the most prominent "leaders" of our people, these days, and they put a challenge forth to the record industry and the people in general to stop using the "N" word.  Just a short while after the racial slur was six feet under, Rev. Jesse "Hypocrite" Jackson resurrected the dead in the same interview where he spoke of Barack Obama saying he wanted to "cut his nuts off". He didn't call Barack the "N" word but he used it, nonetheless. Great example your setting REVEREND. 

Anyway, during the Dr. Phil show, Hill Harper, who was a guest on the show along with comedians, Sheryl Underwood, and Paul Mooney and Radio Host Michael Graham, said something that made sense to me. He said that history has shown us that African Americans have turned a lot of negatives into positives and gave the example of soul food. Hog Maws, (the stomach of a pig) Chitterlings, yes that is how you spell it (the intestine of a pig), and pig's feet are the scraps that were thrown to slaves after their owners consumed the actual meat. These items are still enjoyed today by many black families, and as we all know, food brings a lot of black families together, for many reasons. He uses this fact to suggest that blacks are trying to turn the extremely offensive word into something less toxic, but then goes on to say that there is no way to change the poisonousness of the word, which I agree with. It's hard for me to accept the whole "term of endearment" excuse because a term of endearment holds absolutely no negative connotation. The "N" word originated from hate, forced superiority, degradation and oppression among many other negative means. I don't see how anyone can see the "N" word as a loving, affectionate word.  

Within the hour of the show, Dr. Phil asked, 'is it a double standard when it comes to who can and who cannot use the word.' A white woman in the audience said, 'if I can say that word and not have any racism in my heart, it should be alright.' Uhhmmm, Not so much, lady. Regardless of how any white person may utter the word, or in what context, it will NEVER be acceptable. Personally, I don't like it when it's used by blacks either, but I have no control over neither. Oh yeah, who told certain members of the Latin community that they could throw the word around? I'm just as offended when they use it. 

All-in-all, absolutely nothing was solved by the discussion, as usual, and I don't think it brought us any closer to a solution. Nor do I believe that the controversy will ever come to an end. Few things in this world are constant and I strongly think that racism is one of them. 

PEACE...

The subgenre's earliest beginnings may arguably be traced to works like Mary Shelley's gothic horror masterpiece "Frankenstein" and H.G. Well's "The Island of Dr. Moreau." These early works both explore the consequences of human tinkering with the very fabric of life, but biopunk in its most modern guise likely has its roots in the post-cyberpunk fiction of the 1980s. While a full and complete chronology of biopunk is not the goal of this post, it could be useful to focus our attention on this latter era in order to form a more or less complete bibliography of biopunk.

With these guidelines in mind, I'd like to ask for suggestions from the fiction reading and writing community at large on works that could be included within the biopunk canon. In addition, my definition of biopunk is by no means definitive. I would welcome further refinement.

To begin this list, I'd like to suggest a few works, in no particular order. Feel free to add your own in the comments section, as well as to debate those that others have added.

"Ribofunk" by Paul Di Filippo. Di Filippo's seminal work sets the stage for future biopunk exploration. Short stories feature gene-modifying protagonists, human/animal "splices," underground virus cookers and more that we now readily identify with biopunk. Paul Di Filippo is arguably the godfather of biopunk fiction.

"Punktown" by Jeffrey Thomas. While Thomas' Punktown setting is a colony on an alien world - complete with nonhuman sentient lifeforms - the human beings regularly use biologically inspired technology and art to manipulate their environment and bodies.

"Veniss Underground" by Jeff VanderMeer. A dystopian nightmare world made worse by "bioneers" whose Boschian animal/human/other creations stalk the underworld of the city while their superficially servile meerkat/ape hybrid creations foment rebellion against the humans they pretend to serve.

"A is for Alien" by Caitlin R. Kiernan. Kiernan's first collection of science fiction stories explore all of the common elements of biopunk - flesh manipulation as art, biological self-determination, teratogenic diseases - while not abandoning the gothic disquiet that characterizes her dark fantasy work.

The "Ware" novels by Rudy Rucker. Self-aware robots overthrow the humans that created it. In turn, the robots create "meatbops," clones infused with the minds and personalities of their robot creators.

"Gun, With Occasional Music" by Jonathan Lethem. Biotech creates self-aware and substantially evolved animal sentience as well as hyper-intelligent infants called "babyheads." People keep track of their personal karma through debit accounts and neural implants temporarily freeze  people who have fallen into karmic overdraft.

"Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood. Transgenic hybrid animals, genetic pandemics and more. A veritable overflow of biopunk conceits.

Normally when I get calls from home it's not usually good news. I braced myself and answered the phone. I heard the voice of my grandmother-

"Hey, how are you? she quietly said.

"I'm good and you?" I hesitantly replied not sure what she was about to say.

"I'm good," she said, seeming to be stalling.

"What's going on?" I quickly said, something didn't feel just right.

"You're brother is home for a minute, I wanted to see if you wanted to talk to him?" I could hear a strained smile in her face. What was going on, I didn't know, but it seemed weird. "Oh, really? Let me speak to him."

I hadn't spoke to my brother in three or four months, since he did the honorable thing of checking himself into a rehabilitation center when he got to an all time low in his addiction. The last I had heard of his doings was that he was emotionally broken over the loss of Juan, a family friend, and had taken the death really badly, but still maintained a positive perspective on it. I looked forward to hearing his voice to see how great he was holding on.

"Dwayne on the phone," I heard my grandmother say as she handed the phone to him. "For real?!" I heard him excitedly say. "What's up Bro!" he screamed through the receiver.

"What's up man?! How you doing?!" I said showing him all the support I could muster up in my voice. He seemed on cloud nine, "Good Bro! Good, man, I was just thinking about you! You called and I was just thinking about you!"

I didn't have the chance to tell him that my grandmother had actually done the calling, but I was so focused on what he was thinking of in regards to me that I asked, "What were you thinking?"

"Man, it's a lot going on in my life...the kids mother is bout to take them to Ohio and I don't know what to do," he sadly said. I felt his angst through the receiver.

"For real? Why?" was the only thing that I could say, I didn't have a chance to sense how to handle this trying situation. I knew no matter what he loved his three children. "I don't know probably for some dude," he said before switching the subject--"Man, I'm so glad you called, I was just thinking about you," he repeated again, I could feel his grin of joy. "What were you thinking?" I asked again.

"I wanna get outta here like you did. I wanna come out there to visit you, I got dreams too and I know I should be living them. I'm rich bro, I got rich idea's and I've been sellin' myself out. I been sellin' the world, my kids, everybody, for not doing what I'm supposed to be doing," he added.

His words were truth to my ears. Every word that he said was exactly what I'd been hoping he'd come to terms with for quite some time. "Man, I'm so happy to hear you say that. You are so right man. You gotta do you. Go for the gold." I said with every bit of pride in him. I knew he needed a extra boost, so I added more -

"Man, I know you say that I'm your hero, but you're mine too. You keep falling but you always work hard to get back up. Anybody can fall, but only a real man can fall and keep getting back up, I respect that in you so much.  You made mistake's but you just keep getting back up."

I could hear in his silence that he was accepting my words, he knew it was true, there was no denying it. He chose strength when he decided to pull himself up after falling low in addiction for the second time, both times he fell, just when it began to get out of hand he went and checked himself into rehab, and nobody had to push him.

"I did it for my kids, and now they leaving," he lowly said.  I paused to take him in, then I spoke- "That's a noble thing, to do something for your kids bro, you owe them that, and I really respect you for it, but now how about trying to do it for you. Get you together because you owe it to you- they'll never be another you. You owe it to you, to live your truth."

He silently took in my words, then -"Man, I'm so glad you called me," he said, smile brimming through the telephone.

I knew I had to set the record straight, "I didn't actually call you, Mama called me and asked me if I wanted to talk to you. "

"She did?... you right cause I didn't hear the phone ring," he said, excitedly smiling, I could hear it.

"Yep, I guess she knew you needed me," I said with a laugh. "Yeah, I guess so," he agreed.

"All this change that's going on around you can be difficult to handle, but you gon be alright man," I seriously offered. "I know we dealt with devastating change for most of our life, but we gon' keep making it through, you can make it through, my brother."

We got off the phone and I felt as if my little brother had heard me and was already on the brink of a life revolution. I was able to see clearly, for the first time, how my challenging road to my personal greatness has not been in vane, I was serving as an example of inspiration to set my beloved brother free, and that meant more to me than rather I was currently "working" as an actor or not, I was "working" on my true purpose, being an example of possibilities.

The next day, out of curiousity, I called my grandmother to inquire why she felt as if my brother and I needed to talk; my brother had been home a few times before and she didn't call for me speak to him then.

"I just felt he needed to hear your voice, he seemed to have a lot on his mind and I knew you'd brighten his day and I saw how great he felt after he got off the phone with you, it made me so happy," she added.

I told her that he and I had an awesome conversation and that I really thought that he was heading in a new and positive direction. I said it seemed as if it was a divine conversation and that it felt like he opened up to me like never before and even I received a major life journey insight. I thank her for playing the role of an "angeI" to strip away another layer to set us two captives freer. She humbly accepted my compliment.

Our conversation then turned to her eye surgery, that was schedule for the first thing that following morning. She shared that she was a little scared and feared not only the surgery but also having to lie on her back, saying she couldn't handle having to lie on her back because she would be in a lot of uncomfortable pain, and didn't know how she was going to deal with it if she had to.

I told her that we have to focus on what we want, and what we want is for everything to go smooth as possible, that she wouldn't have to lie on her back, and that her vision would be once again made clear.

She received my words but I still could hear a strand of fear in her voice.  So I added that I sincerely believed that if she explained to the doctor that she couldn't handle lying on her back, then, he probably would try his best to work with her. She agreed and we got off the phone both feeling relieved and comforted.

The next day, at about twelve noon, I got another call. I looked at the id and it read: "Family"

I quickly answered. On other end was my grandmother who was more excited then I had heard her in a long time. "I got it done, and everything was beautiful, there was no pain whatsoever. I am elated!"

And I was too.

Change in Detroit never felt so good.

]]> http://panicmondays.wordpress.com/?p=11 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:01:32 +0000 panicmondays http://panicmondays.tl.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/not-indie-but-a-good-morning-song/ love this song... good for the opening of any scene

08-one-too-many-mornings

Chemical Brothers, One Too Many Mornings

by Dwayne Barnes

Where does your thoughts come from? Your fantasies? Your visions? Your opinions? Your judgements?

I say they all come from you.  We gather information and then we decide what we believe is real, what we think is true. We can experience something and in an instant form a quick opinion about it without having any concrete evidence about our strong assertion- that opinion/belief can affect our whole lives. Maybe someone told us something as a child, or we heard or read something on television, a movie, or a book and have taken the information as what's "real" for us.

And it is true, if that's what we want to believe. It's true- if you say it's true. It's not true if you don't believe it's true. No matter how much evidence we see to support the belief it can only become true when we allow it to be true. It's of benefit when the knowledge is healthy and of a good report, but most times that may not be the case. For example, growing up in Detroit I was the odd man out, all the time. I just never thought I fit in. I wasn't cool enough for the cool crowd, and was too cool for the uncool crowd. But I tried to do my best to make peace with both of those worlds and it proved frustrating. Once, I was hanging out with my brothers and their "cool" friends and they were trying to get the attention of some neighborhood girls. The fella's were handing the phone back and forth to each other, each one getting their chance to get a flirtatious word in. I grabbed the phone, and tried to put my mack on, and got quickly shot down. The beautiful girl on the phone made a statement, "Who is this.. Dwayne? Don't nobody like Dwayne."  My young spirit was crushed and I quickly handed the phone back to someone else and pretended not to be bothered, but I was. I carried that statement around with me like it was an American Express Card- I couldn't leave home without it.

Of course, accepting and believing such a statement about myself was not a favorable thing to do for success, peace, and happiness. I viewed every dating, social, and career opportunity from this truth that I had "chosen" to believe and carry around with me. I never shared this truth about myself with anyone because I was too embarrassed-"Dang, nobody likes Dwayne." But because I didn't share it, I didn't give myself the chance for the statement to be refuted by another sound mind.

After years and years of carrying this limiting belief, I was blessed to get to a pretty low point in my life journey where I had to do some serious soul searching, my livelihood depended on it. I searched and discovered that most of what I was getting from my life   ( which seemed to be a lot of what I didn't want, and very little of what I  did want) was based upon me accepting this thoughtless statement from a girl who I was trying to win affection. Consciousness showed up, and I knew that I had been living from a self chosen truth that could be true if I allowed it, but could be not true if I "chose" to disallow it. I accepted that there could be a group of people that could say, "Don't nobody like Dwayne." But there could also be an equally powerful group of people who could say, "We love Dwayne!" And that's the truth and the people that I would "chose" to seek out.

I disciplined myself to live from the healthier truth, and bump the rest. It was, and still is a challenge because the truth that I had cultivated so long didn't want to leave. It would still pop up and I would have to do all that I could to refute it- and pop it right back down, mainly by simply ignoring it.

I tried to resist this gnawing self-esteem robber, but realize that what you resist, persist. The more I resisted and attempted to put it away, the more the statement challenged me and showed me every situation that verified it's stance.  I had to get disciplined, simply choosing to let it be, let it say what it wanted, but to not listen to it.  And after some time this truth got quieter and quieter, and my life hasn't been the same, especially on the inside, which is most important.

I awakened to the reality that everything in my world comes from me. All of my fantasies, visions, opinions, beliefs, and judgements are all a part of the truths of my creation. I realize that a human being is comprised of numerous representations of themselves and reality as a whole. Who and what we listen to, and thus become, is of our own individual choosing. I could have chosen not to listen to that girl, and had a much more winning life sooner, but then again, I might not be able to share this revelation with you. "All things work together for the good."

Which truth are you choosing to believe about yourself? The truth that you are incomplete, not liked, fearful, weak, sad, depressed, deprived, need this job/person or you won't be able to survive?

Or, the truth that you can move mountains with faith and patience; that you are a strong King or Queen filled with unlimited potential, peace, confidence, joy, and happiness; that you are ultimately possessed with all that you need to make you complete; and that you are a unique individual here to do your unique thing in the landscape of life?

It's all your choice who inside of you you listen to..

Muhammed Ali thought and believed he was the greatest and you see where he is.

Everything you think and chose to believe- u r.

My grandmother grew up in a "separate but equal" south, and was the youngest child to an illiterate, widowed mother. She would hear her mother crying herself to sleep each night because all of her sons were in the Military, serving a country that barely cared for them. What added to her heartache, and brought great irony to her life, was the fact that the allotment checks the government sent to her for her sons service, afforded her the much needed opportunity to support her family.

My father, raised in New Jersey, expressed the same sentiments as to the perceived unlikeliness of this monumental event in our history. He recollected anecdotes as to what lead his mind to believe that something like this would never happen and a few stuck in my mind. He would visit the south each summer and stay with my aforementioned Great-Grandmother, and once, he joined her on trip to the local store. After she gathered the items she desired to purchase, she removed a handkerchief containing money from her pocket, and placed it on the counter, for the cashier to take what he pleased and return to her what he saw fit, if anything. My father witnessed this, and being educated and able to count, he snatched it back and gave the store owner the proper amount. Another story went like this, my dad, again while in the south, went to a tobacco market with my grandfather and trailed off by himself to get a little something to eat and drink. Once he arrived at the counter, he was told to "go around the back", to the "Colored" area. My father didn't realize what he had experienced until he returned to school in the fall and was going through a lesson on racism. As recent as the 70's, another trip below the Mason Dixon line brought my dad upon a sign that read, "POSITIVELY NO BLACKS!!! WHITES ONLY" as he almost entered a blatantly racist town. 

Be it the lack of education a vast majority of our ancestors possessed, the overt racism they suffered for centuries, or the progress America has made since the ending of slavery, an innumerable amount of African Americans never saw this day coming. To witness tears run down the cheeks of my grandmother, someone who has experienced outright racism, something the youth of today know ABSOLUTELY nothing of, and undoubtedly take for granted, gave me a greater sense of just how grand a black presidential nominee, not to mention a Black President is.  Or in the case of my Great-Grandmother, Grandmother and Father, just the thought of such is a awesome achievement for blacks that will indefinitely be etched into the minds and lives of ALL BLACK AMERICANS........

Kate is one of my favorite singers. Number 1, she was also on a cheesy, but teen appealing drama, One Tree Hill. Number 2, her lyrics aren't just the choruses rehashed, with accompanying beats, but real, from within and not overly sentimental.

Teens have their depressed days, their hyper days, their moody days. These mood swings affect girls (eh hem...PMS) more than boys. During this period (no pun intended), we feel exigently strong, independent. We KNOW that we can't survive without our parents and need them to lift us up, but its as if the moment they do, we throw the away from ashes to flames, back to ashes again. Pointless? Not really. We learn of the bonds between humanity, what ties us together, and even savagery and heartlessness. 

We've all felt the heartache, the burn, the pangs of jealousy and the green eyed monster. Who is it that lifts us? Who brings us out of our shell?

Maybe next time we're going to lash out at someone...think. first.

The Lyrics are Here
This road is anything but simple 
Twisted like a riddle I’ve seen high and I’ve seen low 
So loud, the voices of all my doubts 
Telling me to give up, to pack up and leave town    

Even so, I had to believe 
Impossible means nothing to me, yeah 

So can you lift me up, 
Turn the ashes into flames 
‘Cause I have overcome 
More than words will ever say 
And I’ve been given hope 
That there’s a light on up the hall 
And that a day will come 
When the fight is won 
And I think that day has just begun 

Somewhere, every body starts there 
I’m counting on a small prayer, 
Lost in a nightmare 
But I’m here, and suddenly it’s so clear 
The struggle through the long years 
It taught me to outrun my fears 

Everything worth having, oh 
Comes with trials worth withstanding 

So can you lift me up, 
Turn the ashes into flames 
‘Cause I have overcome 
More than words will ever say 
And I’ve been given hope 
That there’s a light on up the hall 
And that a day will come 
When the fight is won 
And I think that day has just begun 

Oh, lift me up 
Oh, lift me up 
Oh, lift me up 
Lift me up 
Lift me up 
Oh, Lift me up 

Down and out is overrated 
And I need to be elevated 
Looking up is not enough 
No, I would rather rise above 

So can you lift me up, 
Turn the ashes into flames 
‘Cause I have overcome 
More than words will ever say 
And I’ve been given hope 
That there’s a light on up the hall 
And that a day will come 
When the fight is won 
And I think that day has just begun 

Oh, oh, oh, just begun 
Lift me up, yeah, oh, oh, oh, yeah, now 
Oh, oh, lift me up 
Lift me up 
Lift me up

Sometimes I experience severe mental blocks when I'm trying to be creative. It's strenuous work. It's best to just give the old noggin some time off.

I suggest watching or reading something unrelated to the area that you've been trying to concentrate on. I have been watching X Factor. The above video highlights the talent that the programme showcases, which should not fail to inspire you.

Favourite part:

"I'm sorry Simon, but he a good singer."

Stumble It!

thanks to pamela houk, a facebook friend that sent this out. absolutely magnificent. thank you.

The up and coming Live and Up community event, that is set to take place on Sunday August 17th at Burgess Park,  will celebrate the London Borough of Southwark and the diversity of cultures that reside in Southwark. Not the sterotypical criminal, one dimensional demographic that the British media loves to portray on a daily basis. 

A long with the exciting and unique fusion of live music that will take centre stage on the day, this FREE event will also feature a fun fair on the grounds.

Directions to Burgess Park: Buses: 12, 35, 40, 45, 63, 68, 78, 148, 171, 172, 176, 343, 468

Tube: Elephant and Castle

Train: Elephant and Castle

Visit Live and Up