Thursday, January 21, 2010

#6 Worldboarding Memory - Dublin








Dublin, Ireland (June 2009)
One of the coolest bars I saw in Temple Bar.

Life in Canada
















Just reminiscing on Caribana last year. Canada has got such a diverse culture, and it's so rich with tradition, language, color, and people who are excited to share their stories.

See more at http://www.caribanatoronto.com/
The 2010 Caribana Festival will be celebrating its 42nd anniversary in Toronto, Canada. Known as one of the largest cultural festivals in North America and the largest Caribbean Festival, it showcases the Caribbean culture through the music, cuisine, and performing arts. The Caribana festival attracts over 1 MILLION visitors from around the word every year! Highlighting Toronto as the multicultural hub of North America.

#3 Eye Candy


Black Thought - http://www.theroots.com/

confident

richly chocolate

from philly

Overall rating (1-10): a smooth 9



Celebrity Sighting - Angela Davis


Yep, caught her "Lecture on Dissent" at the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Canada) in June 2009. It was a bit freestyle, unrehearsed, and styled along the lines of a stream of consciousness poem, but it was none-less-real and relevant.

She's headed back this way:
Tuesday, February 27:00 pm 9:00 pmBronson Centre, 211 Bronson StreetAn evening with Angela DavisThe Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) is hosting Angela Davis to kick off Black History Month activities on campus. The former professor at the University of California and political activist will be addressing the crowd on issues relating to identity and there will be a Question and Answer period. Tickets are 10$ in advance, 20$ at the door for students and 25$ for community members. Tickets are available at the SFUO office located at 85 University Street, Room 07 at the University of Ottawa. For information : vp.finance@sfuo.ca.

See you there!
ciao y'all,
a

Thank you Lord today for.....


great friends

honesty

good walking boots.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

#5 Worldboarding Memory - Dar es Salaam


Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Spring 2006

#4 Worldboarding Memory - Tenerife


Tenerife (Canary Islands), Spain
April 2008

#3 Worldboarding Memory - Barcelona


Barcelona, Spain
April 2008

#2 Worldboarding Memory - Milan

Milan, Italy
December 2007

#1 Worldboarding Memory - Novi Sad, Serbia


Novi Sad, Serbia
Spring 2008

Waiting for March 5, 2010



That's when Tim Burton's remake of Alice in Wonderland will be released in 3D. The images, colors, characters, personalities, and story.....let the countdown begin.




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Secret #1

I want to be a DJ. Voraciously.

I don't have the history. Don't have the hip-hop/jungle/house expertise. Don't have the equipment. But I have these instances where I imagine vocal samples being laid over abundant percussion. or strings.

if i could marry on the 1's and 2's what i assemble in my head, i'd be an even happier young lady.





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Arts Administrator - Joan Myers Brown


Joan Myers Brown is the founder of The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) and The Philadelphia School of Dance Arts. She serves as honorary chairperson for the International Association of Blacks in Dance, an organization she established along with the International Conference of Black Dance Companies. She is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts, which bestowed upon her an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, and is a member of the dance faculty at Howard University in Washington, DC. Most recently, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters by Ursinus College. Listed in Who's Who in America and described as an "innovator and communicator," Ms. Brown has made significant contributions to the national and international arts communities.

Regionally and nationally, Ms. Brown has served a broad range of organizations, including NEFA's National Dance Project, the United States Information Agency, Arts America, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Councils of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Nevada, and Ohio and the National Forum for Female Executives. Locally, she has been a part of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Minority Arts Resource Council, the Philadelphia Mayor's Cultural Advisory Council, the Philadelphia Dance Alliance, The Women's Heritage Society, Dance/USA and the Coalition of African American Cultural Organizations.
Ms. Brown was honored as one of the "Dance Women; Living Legends" in tribute to five African-American pioneer women who founded distinguished modern dance companies with deep roots in Black communities around the country. She was also honored by Kennedy Center for African American Choreography. Ms. Brown has served as a consultant to many national cultural organizations, and was appointed to the choreographer's panel of the Rockefeller Foundation Arts & Humanities Program; and served as vice president (and co-founder) to the Coalition of Afro-American Cultural Organizations.

Ms. Brown's efforts on behalf of dance excellence belie a much larger contribution to the arts and the community. She remains a tireless advocate and spokesperson and is a model of tenacity, hope and discipline. Ms. Brown is the proud mother of daughters Marlisa and Dannielle, who teach at the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts, and grandmother of six.

#2 Eye Candy

Daniel Sunjata: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0839326/

Dreamy eyes.
Nice lips.
Defined Nose.
Overall rating (1-10): 8.5 (not sure what that sculpted nose will look like in 15-20 years)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

#1 Eye Candy


Stern jaw.
Nice build.
Great complexion.
Overall rating (1-10): 10

Heart and Mind with Haiti









How you can help:
1) Disseminate the Disaster Appeal Toolkit created by TCFN participants in March 2007 to those interested in organizing aid.


2) Encourage responsible and transparent giving to philanthropic organizations and humanitarian agencies. Here are a few that have been thoroughly vetted:
International Medical Corps
Direct Relief International
World Vision
International Relief Teams
Yéle Haiti
American Red Cross
Operation USA CARECatholic Relief Services World Food ProgrammeWorld Concern
Save the Children
UNICEF USA
Mercy Corps
Shelterbox
Operation Blessing International
Americares
Operation USA
Doctors Without Borders
Medical Teams International
The Salvation Army
The International Committee of the Red Cross
More ways to help victims of NATURAL DISASTERS


3) Contact local organizations to stay abreast of their recommendations.

Hayr Stuff


Dear Lovely Sisters with Natural Strands,

Every morning, I have a huge side project known as my hair. For sisters considering a move to the natural side of things, here a few ideas that I found really, really, really helpful......

With natural hair, the first thing is to make sure your cut, your layers, and your length are compatible with your curl. I had cut off all my hair and let it grow in without a cut until it reached a length where cutting layers made good sense, and the lady who cut it was Dominican (they always cut naturally curly hair really, really well! - they understand angles and layers in great way :-)

Once you have a good cut, your hair will grow in beautifully at any length. For products, i condition with pantene for curls every morning (I shampoo and comb it only once a week - it frays the curl if i do it too often). Then I use pantene for curls gel, mix it with suave for curls mouse, and apply it generously throughout my hair. Use a little gel and a lot of mousse. The gel keeps the curls together, and the gel keeps it light. Usually, I let it air dry (another reason layers are important - it takes no time at all).

Now that it's cold, i use a blow-dyer with a diffuser for about 5 minutes. if it's a bit frizzy after drying, i use tresseme lotion for curls with the green cap. it's a lot of trial and error for sure, but it doesn't need to be expensive. i tried all the high end products from salons, and none of them worked.....let me know what your trying too - and post a pic - I'm feeling a cut coming on and need some inspriration!

Gettin to Haiti

Red Cross needs to deploy 100 Creole interpreters to work on the hospital ship USNS Comfort, harbored outside Port-au-Prince. Volunteers need to be fluent in Creole and English. Other skills are helpful, not required. (1) deployed for a month; (2) volunteers cant leave the ship; and (3) they will not have luxurious qua......rters. Michael Blake, White House Ofice of Intergov Affairs, 202-503-5649 (Thanks Andrea!)See More

Life in Canada

Just moved to Ottawa, Canada in April 2009 and am taking a liking to it! Here a few pics from my time here so far.....



Here's a photo from March 2009, my first Winterlude experience! The Canal in Ottawa is the world's largest ice-skating rink. Too bad I can't stand straight on skates, yet!





I took this photo on the way to work one morning. It's a 15 minute walk door to door, and the photo opps are amazing!


Monday, January 18, 2010

Life in Italy



I lived in Torino, Italy for year from 2007-08, and it was a pretty influential experience for me. Got some pics of the year in review (yeah, I've got it on my list to up my photography game, so don't laugh to hard. On second thought, laughter is good. Guffaw all you can!).




This first shot is the Mole up close. I ventured to the top and had an awesome view of Torino!









This is the Po River. Just after a night of fierce clubbing with my Polish peeps. Miss y'all!


Hip Hop and Philanthropy

Hip hop and philanthropy…an unlikely combination, but if the media dedicated as much on-air time to covering the generosity of urban moguls as they did to their lavish spending habits, we would be so much more aware of how hip hop artists are building our community in addition to creating music about it.

So what is philanthropy?
Philanthropy is the act of donating money, goods, time, or effort to support a charitable cause, usually over an extended period of time and in regard to a defined objective.

Here are some examples:
•Tithing
•Giving to the Salvation Army’s coin drives at Christmas time
•Contributing to the Red Cross in times of disaster
•Dropping off clothes at the Goodwill

I’m involved in what’s called institutional philanthropy- I work for a grant-making foundation, and that’s exactly what we do- give grants to nonprofit organizations.

Now while I love what I do, I wanted to call special attention to how leaders of urban culture are tied into these selfless acts of kindness.

A quick did- you-know list of do-gooders (from http://www.riaa.com/News/newsletter/press2001/061501.asp):

enjoy!
allyson

Ottawa re: Recovery and Relief in Haiti

Ottawa Community Meeting
Sunday February 7, 2010 at The St-Laurent Recreation Complex in the Courtyard Room
525 Coté Street
Ottawa, Ontario. from 2-4 p.m.









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