Forgiveness Trumps All Dysfunction & Ignorance!

Within the past 24 hours, I have returned home from the funeral of an American hero that had served 3 tours within the Vietnam War.  His obituary was heavily weighed of his military experience and ability to return home supposedly in one piece.  But through direct and indirect conversations and observations without judgment of anyone individual, there were battles, wars, decisions, and indecisions on multiple levels that focused on the wrong enemy altogether.

The family of the immediate household as well as the extended family of the deceased soldier consistently believed that the wife and children were mistreated harshly.  It was not until a minister who had himself served in a military capacity within a different war spoke that it began to dawn on me that the US government had placed soldiers in harm's way while not providing the resources for the soldiers' safe return to civilian life.  The number of divorces, broken homes, alcoholism, drug use, and even horrific, antisocial crimes can be attributed to wars being collectively and individually fought at the wrong time, place, and upon the wrong target.  The real tragedy is that the same logic and methods of operating have continued the downward trend versus changing course when it comes to American veterans.

There are veterans that have indeed returned to productive lifestyles, and positions of leadership, influence, and honor nationwide but for the military might that was so visibly recorded, documented, and put on display to wage war and deter other wars and conflicts from taking place, the amount of acceptable, domestic collateral damage has been far too high.  The lack of post war support simply indicates that like the victims of Hurricane Katrina, there was no governmental sense of urgency to mount a rescue for American citizens unconditionally when the moment of truth had arrived.

In spite of the lack of efforts to provide substantial support, it is going to be even more important for all veterans and their families and friends to be able to practice forgiveness at a level than ever before imaginable.  Although this can be misinterpreted as blaming the victim, the reality is that all of us within the United States and worldwide have in our possession some form of post tramatic stress syndrome to some degree or another.  Our ability or inability to forgive is the critical key to our exchanging being a victim to one of victory.

Historically within the progression of the United States' march to global and cultural sophistication, earlier generations down to the grandparents of Generation X have found it easier to pass forward their understanding of parenthood versus challenging the status quo.  The parents of Generation X appear to be first generation that may have had the sense of awareness to actually question whether they themselves were raised with love and nurturing concern to address the child's individual needs versus assuming that raising all children in the same manner was fair, equitable, and the right course of action for each specific child.

But many Baby Boomers have uniquely taken a path of parenthood that has aggressively weakened their children and future descendants in a manner that essentially is impossible for Generation X and later generations to duplicate.  These parents have swung to the extreme, opposite end of the parental spectrum to provide no restraint and degree of discipline in lavishly showering their children with almost every material possession imagined and placed on the open market for consumer consumption.

As a result, members of the Millennial Generation and children of such parents are themselves found in two extremes.  One extreme is where the child has an unlimited amount of confidence that will lead to the production of constructive changes within American society unimaginable worldwide.  Within the remaining extreme, the proverbial wings have been savagely clipped and dysfunction is spread and poured unmercilessly.  What is the recurring thread and solution within the generations mentioned and those to come?  The answer is found within the biblical concept of forgiveness.

Upon the cross, Christ Jesus is quoted within Luke 23:34 as saying "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".  In John 8:7, Christ is quoted as saying, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  The ability to forgive is the ability to avoid and heal cancer both literally and figuratively.  The capacity of forgiveness is found within the power of letting go.  We have to let go of our past and present in order to only take the good into our future.

There are situations where the good of the past can become the shackles and handcuffs of the present and future just as much as being a prisoner of someone else's war can bind one to the depths and despair without any logic and reason.  Therefore, we have to extract only the good and the essential lessons that are found within any situation and apply the necessary amount of overwhelming forgiveness and love to move forward to a positive future.

As I write this, I earlier today had to release multiple items within my wardrobe since my current weight has determined that there were idle, unworn clothes too large for me to currently wear and especially feel comfortable wearing.  Believe me, there were some items that represented a battle within my own mind in that they should have been forgiven for wearing down and out as well as possibly providing an upgrade for someone to fashionably wear.  The clothes will be donated to the nearest Goodwill store and there are items that are not able to positively represent my current weight, mindset, and belief system.  My wife will assuredly go on to say that some of these items have been out of style for decades possibly and the glory days in which they were worn shall never return:)

The point of this downsizing of wardrobe items is that we must actively, aggressively, and repeatedly release the past in order to experience a more glorious and desirable future.  Otherwise, we can only reproduce the past through intentional and unintentional means.

We know how to fight the wrong wars by continually passing on to future generations the sickness, disease, and dysfunction that serve no one comfortably although some have said directly and indirectly through their actions and inactions that they love dysfunction more than function.  The greater tragedy of these wrong wars is the compounded, dysfunctional belief or myth that these wars can and should be actually won without further detriment and endangerment of everyone involved.

Still forgiveness is the key to moving forward to a productive and satisfying future.  Forgiveness is the ability to exchange evil for good, captivity and slavery for freedom, hunger and thirst for an appetite quenched and satisfied, and loss and defeat for victory.  It takes forgiveness as well as the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to realize that the people that have produced the environments, situations, and crises of negativity and lack within our lives were simply doing THE BEST THAT THEY COULD DO.  It takes God living and moving within our lives for us to believe, see, do, and have the right things in the right way at the right time and for the right reasons.  Otherwise, we are doomed to repeat the past for failing to learn from it.

Just as the Lord's prayer petitions God for our daily bread, we must release, relieve, and remove the molded bread of the past and only use the penicillin that is present to heal and distribute health today and in our futures.

Not at any point am I indicating that forgiveness will be easy.  But through the Holy Spirit, we shall have the awareness and empowerment that only forgiveness has the capability of overcoming the decay and death that people unknowingly throw in our direction.

My New Conspiracy Theory on McCain’s VP Pick

Image via Wikipedia Everyone in the world has been stupefied today with John McCain's selection of the State of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential nominee.

Amazingly enough, there are more than a few members of the GOP that have consumed pints, gallons, and liters of Republican Kool-Aid to proudly and unashamedly justify McCain's wolfish ways in putting Palin on his ticket.

After stepping away from my computer long enough with more than enough laughs, guffaws, and tear-jerking jokes to last for the rest of the campaign season, it has dawned on me within the last hour that McCain's pick is perhaps the most shrewdest, racist, and most male chauvinist move seen in the world.

What makes this selection just as shrewd, racist, and chauvinistic as possible is that by choosing Palin, McCain has continued to seek the mass disenfranchisement of as many voters as possible.

Just as what was seen in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, McCain has taken the liberties to put a new Karl Rovian twist on his selection.

A few McCain supporters have already claimed that McCain's announcement took the oxygen out of Obama's speech that was as enlightened as any given by any American throughout our nation's history. To this attempt to remove oxygen from the final night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I now see his announcement was clearly to do as you have stated and I see the cards up your sleeve.

Here it is in a nutshell. McCain and his GOP strategists know that the number of people being registered to vote in this year's presidential primaries and fall election have the highest counts ever. They know that the passion for Senator Obama's campaign has exceeded what they have had even with their elitist and exclusionary politics in their best years. They also know that based on the new participants within the election process that they clearly do not stand a chance of winning. But since the voter identification laws to prevent and disenfranchise many from voting may have been passed too early to have an effect, the best way to win this year's election is get those who would have voted for Obama NOT TO VOTE AT ALL.

How has McCain done this? By selecting someone that would make someone think "No one in their right mind would vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. I will let someone else vote for Obama and I will stay home or find something else to do on Election Day".

As a result, McCain's pick is supremely racist since it focuses on aiming squarely at stereotypes of African-Americans that have been classified as lazy since Republican President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

McCain assumes that there will be enough black voters who will not show up to vote at all assuming that someone else will make the difference instead.

McCain also assumes that there are more than enough supporters of Senator Hilary Clinton that will take their feminism to political extremes and vote for a woman on the ballot versus along party lines with or without any sound logic behind their decision for the long term. This is the most chauvinistic, Pied Piper-playing move that he could muster. Anyone should recognize this because nothing within McCain's selection of Palin has a long term focus and benefit for the United States of America. It is just as short-term focused as the selection of Cheney in providing the experienced oversight to a weak prince that W could still only reach for in his dreams at peak performance.

So by essentially using the divide and conquer strategy as an offensive weapon, selecting Palin is the move behind the move versus an in your face type of aggressive, political move. The move may actually qualify as a grand chess master move in being several steps beyond the actual pieces in play.

The only antidote for McCain's selection is that everyone who believes that Obama will make a better President of the United States HAS TO ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTE AND SHOW UP TO VOTE!!!!!

You cannot assume that someone else will cast the deciding vote for you! You cannot assume that Palin will replace Senator Clinton in your heart's desire to see a woman occupying a political level never seen before simply because of her gender. Palin's own track record on the neighboring side of Russia has proven that she is not one of the girls.

Every attempt at placing a logical debate before the American voters has been struck down by McCain's VP selection of Palin. But just as before and as fine tuned as Karl Rove could imagine, the strategy plays into human nature on a subliminal, cellular level.

See the strategy for what it is: a move to encourage you not to vote!

The selection is like the weakened bait to attract and induce grogginess like turkey on Thanksgiving Day! Your political inactivity will make the difference if you do not vote because we already know what decision the Supreme Court will make if there are any discrepancies that cause the final decision to be placed in their hands!

As much as I can now admire McCain's shrewdness, it makes me even more passionate about Obama's campaign. I will have to donate to his campaign as well as volunteer in some manner.

I will also have to tell everyone that I meet to apply a distinct strategy if you are unable to donate yourself to Obama's campaign: TAKE THE DAY OFF TO VOTE!

If you have seen that contributing to Obama's campaign has not yet moved you to make a donation, donate through your vote and consider the actual amount of unpaid time spent in placing your vote as an implied donation at a bare minimum!

You will vote and contribute to one campaign or the other one way or another by default! There is no way around it this year or any other year!

You will vote for Obama by selecting him on the ballot or vote for McCain by staying away from the polls. You will contribute to Obama actively by sending a donation or contribute to McCain's campaign by doing nothing.

Bottom line, McCain wants your DO NOTHING VOTE!

Even by chance my conspiracy theory is way off in left field and grasping at straws, the logic behind political inactivity passes any decision tree and flow chart in the end results.

Not only is the call for all hands to be on deck, there is no excuse accepted, tolerated or to be given for the failure to vote by qualified people this coming Election Day.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH!

Go Obama!

Peace!

It's Easier To Tear Down A Real House Than A Digital Website!

Good morning!

Over the past weekend, I received an e-mail from our hosting vendor and the news was that 3 pages or files were creating a strain on their servers.

At first glance, I encountered technical problems accessing the files and could not see the usual folder directory to tell what was going on.

After a couple of back and forth rounds, I tried another method (WS-FTP and old school technology still works in many cases) and have gained access to everything.

The quick and dirty moral of the story is "Don't think because you are not creating content on a regular basis for different sites that no one is noticing because the spammers have already noticed and are filling those web houses like rats!"

Spammers worldwide were in and through one site like cockroaches and rats:(

I already had the files on an external hard drive for easy, offline editing before loading the files online, but none of this would indicate otherwise how deep and wide the problem really was on THE ACTUAL SERVER!

The real entry point were the various forms that were used to receive information from the online visitors!

The forms that leave content trails like the old school guest book forms will open a hole to your site that will be flooded by crazy advertisements if you are not consistently watching for it.

Right now, I am going through the server folder directory to delete and remove any files that have a size outside of the norm.

But I have already seen that it is easier to tear a three-dimensional building because when you have the visitors' responses that could be flipped into spam, there are a whole lot more files and folders that contain the same information in multiple places and ways.

I'm burning down the house and watching the rats and cockroaches run for cover!

Believe me, this job is just as ugly as it sounds right now:(

But I hope to save someone else from doing the digital, dirty work that I am having to do this morning.  I thank God for the appropriate tools too!

Peace!

Now I Know What They Mean!

I Have Seen The Future of Shopping and Its Name Is Ikea

By now you already know that I am an early adopter of technology especially as it relates to the internet. I will share things that many will hoard as precious family secrets or heirlooms as a result.

But this morning my wife Wyteria and I experienced a low tech introduction to a store that is immediately being placed within my top 5 places to go for a great retail experience.

My interest in visiting an Ikea store was recently spiked with an excessive amount of fuel when I learned within the past week that Ikea serves food in addition to the various products designed for the home, office, or any living quarters:)

My trip was originally going to be planned for tomorrow (a Saturday), but the idea was too good to keep to myself. My wife mentioned going when her schedule would permit and nothing else was as critical as making our way to Ikea as we did this morning.

Here in Atlanta, we knew that it was going to important not to get trapped in the daily traffic and fortunately the hours of the Ikea store is a fit hand in glove.

They serve breakfast before the store fully opens I believe and the restaurant is fairly close to the store entrance. But let me back up just a little.

The building that hosts an Ikea is much larger than one would imagine. There were at least 2 parking levels and the spaces immediately outside the doors were filled.

We parked as close to the entrance on the parking level that we entered and as the hour was quickly approaching 10 a.m. (the opening hour), there were at least 30 to 50 vehicles already there.

I had discovered via the Wikipedia entry for Ikea that the store layout is like that of a guided museum design where one is expected to follow a certain order while there are short cuts to quickly move from one area to another throughout the store.

There are maps with a checklist provided at the entrance and throughout the store for one to navigate your way through the store with ease. Other than missing a moving sidewalk, you will soon begin to recognize people around you by face since your collective commute through the store is in a series of stages.

Big yellow bags were available on the area we entered and later we saw shopping carts that even moved sideways which was very impressive. I am not sure that any other store known to most people will allow you to parallel park the cart sideways:)

We also saw huge, blue bags that were oversized to a degree that one would think that you will be forced to buy something in a Costco quantity to justify the size.

After taking one short cut within the store to get out of the snake-like progression that most shoppers were on, we found ourselves in a children's section.

My wife Wyteria quickly skipped through the baby section as if an immaculate conception was possible through product radiation:D I enjoyed the subliminal compliment but I moved just as fast to not experience a planting season myself:)

Then the delicious aroma of food was on the horizon. Now again, this was my most significant motivation for wanting to visit an Ikea location and it was on!

Wyteria ordered her breakfast in a rapid fire manner like a drill sargeant and she said that the Asian server grabbed the plate from the young sister that was going to serve us. Then I asked if the heavier lunch and dinner items were available only to find out that they are served no earlier than 11 a.m.

When I stumbled through the menu and items like someone who has never been to a McDonald's before, the same Asian lady gave my plate back to the young sister like she was thinking "In my Asian culture, we have no time for indecision. Either have or have not". This was a nonverbal lesson learned and funny at the same time.

The food was cheaper in price and had a higher quality than most well known restaurants that serve breakfast and more accessible.

The seating area was more colorful and exciting than many places as well. I will not hesitate to go back just for the food alone since the items were capable of sticking to one's ribs while being tasty at the same time.

One thought that was confirmed during our trip is that the Swedish culture must be very driven to minimize their possessions while maximizing their living quarters. There was no fat or excess on anything throughout the store. Everything is designed with an efficiency and function unlike most items seen within Wal-Mart and heavily trafficked stores founded or based within the United States.

The store is very unlike any furniture store that I have ever been to or without the hype that Home Depot, Lowe's, and even Target are known for.

I saw the products offered very straight to the point like Olympic record breakers Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. There was no drag or dead weight seen anywhere.

We ended up putting several items into our hands and later a shopping cart and realized that the Ikea commercial where the female shopper shouts "Start the car, start the car!" was as accurate as one will feel and think within an Ikea store:)

Neither one of us could believe that several items were as inexpensive as they were and the quality was highly discernible.

We did not get a shopping cart upon entering the store out of not wanting to lug around anything that might not be used. But there will be something or several items that one will easily find an usage for as well as to replace something that has lived past its usefulness.

I am a man's man while having enough metrosexual traits to not irritate beyond reason my wife and daughters. But I simply have not found a furniture store of any nature that captured and held my attention as long as Ikea did. Even the technology stores that have office furniture never held the magnetism that I experienced today.

I already had scoped out an office chair online and when we finally saw it, my expectations were not disappointed. Although we did not buy it as this initial trip was more of a scouting expedition, I will feel totally comfortable ordering it online if the shipping and handling are within reason as well as throwing in the same order some lightweight items that will balance out the overall cost in our eyes.

Bottom line, I highly recommend that you immediately visit the Ikea website, request a catalog, and whenever the opportunity is available for you to experience a store firsthand, then take full advantage of it.

I received the best advice on Twitter from only1cassie who suggested that at least 2 hours are set aside to fully experience the store.

If you visit my history of microblogging about Ikea, you will see that the presence of food pushed me over the edge from mere curiousity to action:)

Go for the food or just go to see that there is a place where men can still be men and not get bored out of our minds!

I saw men of all ages and there was only one guy who was asleep or napping within the store and this was probably just as much due to the degree of comfort he experienced on the nice chair he was sitting on:)

I am not sure whether there is a stock on the US financial markets for Ikea or not or whether one has to invest within a foreign financial market, but Ikea is one company that will have to go a long way to throwing their business strategy in a trash can to copy the excesses many other CEOs and board of directors have foolishly done.

Ikea has taught me a lot about the Swedish culture indirectly and what is indeed possible without going overboard.

Before I forget, my wife and I watched the movie "The Bucket List" last night and mention of the Swedish fruit ligonberries was confirmation that our trip was due. Although I did not have any for breakfast, I did manage to get my wife to painfully indulge me to take a picture of me in the restaurant and later tolerate a jar of ligonberry preserves being put into our shopping cart:)

I will probably need to blog about the taste of ligonberries later as well as the ligonberry juice I will need to experience on a future trip without spousal overnight or intervention:) But Ikea was all good!

Finally, I want to thank everyone online that shared something about Ik with me. Your thoughts and experienced were very much appreciated and led to my wife and I having a great morning on our visit.

Go Ikea!

Peace!

Extremely Powerful Example of Good Will: Google Document Templates

Good afternoon!

If you have never seen them before or not, the Google Document templates make a great starting point for any project.

There are templates for:

MS Word (documents), MS PowerPoint (presentations), and MS Excel (spreadsheets) styled documents just to give you an idea of where you can go from there.

I have seen some templates this afternoon that gave me a creative boost when I least expected.  Christmas in August is cool:)

High quality and free makes a great tag team!

http://docs.google.com/templates?type=presentations&start=1&sort=hottest&view=default

Please pass this information on because one would not know unless you are already a heavy user:)

Peace!

8-8-08 Expectations Are Sky High Worldwide Today!

Image by Pix Elate via FlickrToday is August 8, 2008 and is being referred to as 8-8-08.

The number 8 means new beginnings and within the Chinese culture today is believed to be a very lucky day.

Many people are getting married today in China and around the rest of the world believing that their marriages will be blessed as a result of getting married today.

But the date cannot be carried forward and only the expectations can.

As much as today is a blessed day, every day is a blessed day when you have faith to believe that everything will be fine and from the rising of the sun until the going down of the same, the Lord is to be praised.

God is indeed a good God and His mercy endures to all generations.

I cannot and will not lower my expectations on yesterday nor tomorrow and I find it a great relief and joy to know that my God is God over 8-8-08 and still will hold the future in His forevermore.

So we are blessed every day!

In my household, we celebrate this day as the birthday of Sandra P. Graham. Happy Birthday Sandra and may God bless you with many more!

Peace!

Visit to Camp Creek Barnes & Noble in SW Atlanta

Good morning!!!

I am at the Barnes & Noble on Camp Creek Parkway after making a visit to the Vitamin Shoppe nearby.

Although I have been here many times before, it is too easy to forget several things that may make this location one of my favorite go to places especially among bookstores from now on.

This B&N represents what many African-Americans have moved to Atlanta for.  The energy in the air of economic empowerment and entrepreneurial opportunities, cultural awareness, and social encounters among people of like minds can be found here instantly.  Already I have witnessed an exchange of business cards, a direct request for a business card by someone who just overheard the conversation, an interview of some unknown type, several sisters that could not have coincidently ran into each other here, and I even ran into a fraternity brother myself.

The range of magazines is far above and beyond any other B&N that I have seen and they include several magazines geared toward African-Americans that I have not even seen elsewhere. 

I am beginning to pick up that some magazines worldwide do not get beyond their first issue.  The range of topics in some cases appear to have been covered in the first and single issue (i.e., Digital Media aka The Future of Home Entertainment).  If they cover more than new models of the same technology beyond 6 issues, I will be amazed.  I do not even see an edition or month information on this magazine from the UK.

The depth of magazines also stacks up very well with Borders surprisingly.  There are niche magazines here by the tons.

Throw in the Starbucks and free wi-fi for AT&T customers like myself and many productive hours can be spent here very easily.

Just thought you should know!

Peace!

S.M.V. (Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller & Victor Wooten) - Thunder

This music project looks like a winner!

I would buy it just for the artists involved alone;)

Peace!

 

 

Sent to you by Seed Of Life via Google Reader:

 

 

S.M.V. (Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller & Victor Wooten) - Thunder

via News - Nu-Releases ~ The Urban Music Scene.com by Administration on 7/17/08

S.M.V.
STANLEY CLARKE, MARCUS MILLER AND VICTOR WOOTEN
CONJURE A STORM ON NEW HEADS UP RELEASE



Thunder includes guest artists Butterscotch, Chick Corea,
George Duke, Patches Stewart and more

In the hot days of August, a low rumbling sound off in the distant sky usually means something powerful is rolling in. This summer, when an ominous reverberation makes its way across the landscape and rocks everything in its path, be ready for a storm of a different kind.

Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten – each a powerful force of nature in his own right – have done more in recent decades to redefine the electric bass and push the limits of its potential than any other musician alive today. When these three titans – collectively known as S.M.V. – converge on the low frequencies, the results are no less than earth shaking. Thunder (HUCD 3163), their debut collaboration set for release on Heads Up International on August 12, 2008, is a high-energy phenomenon whose impact is guaranteed to resonate throughout every corner of the jazz world.

"We wanted to make a bass record with a sound that would be somewhat unexpected to the listener," says Clarke, the elder statesman of the three-man crew, all of whom share songwriting credits on the recording. "The biggest hurdle was to make a record with three basses – very low-end instruments, by definition – that would still be as musical as possible, and I think we achieved that."

The initial idea behind Thunder goes back a few years, but the final push came after the three bassists played together for the first time in October 2006 at the Bass Player Live! concert in New York City. In addition to the historic convergence of three monumental bass talents on one stage in the same night, the event also included the presentation of the Bass Player Lifetime Achievement Award to Clarke.

"Vic had this idea to do a bass thing a while back, but we really didn't know when we'd do it," Miller explains. "After we jammed at the award ceremony, it was clear that it would be pretty easy to do musically. Each one of us found a space to operate that didn't compete with the other. We fell into it pretty naturally. I saw Stanley at the airport the next day and said, 'You know we should do this soon, right?' he agreed. We knew Vic was down, because it was his idea in the first place."

Wooten was definitely down: "That performance made us realize how easy it was to play together," he says. "We knew that we had to do it again. We were able to naturally find our own space with and around each other. That's not always easy, especially when three people are all playing the same instrument."

But Thunder isn't entirely about the low end. Adding a little – and sometimes more than a little – to the top is a group of talented guest artists that include keyboardists Chick Corea and George Duke, trumpeter Michael "Patches" Stewart and vocalist/beatboxer Butterscotch (aka Antoinette Clinton).

The set opens with the intricate and layered "Maestro de las Frecuencias Bajas," written and arranged by Clarke. "This track is cool because it starts out orchestrally and really takes its time building the drama before the basses come in," says Miller. "Stanley arranged it so that Vic plays the melody line first, then Stanley comes in with the same line in harmony, then I come in to add a second harmony line. The horn section plays the same line completely harmonized. The arrangement really takes you on a trip."

The title track, though written by Miller, features a classic Stanley Clarke melody from his power rock days, with vocals by Butterscotch. "The tune has a contemporary sound to it, but you can really hear each guy's sound," says Miller. "Butterscotch introduces each player, and halfway through we all start slapping away together. This kind of thing usually doesn't work with three bass players, but it works here, and it's pretty funky."

The churning and funky "Hillbillies on a Quiet Afternoon," written by Wooten, is likely to sound familiar to fans of Clarke's earlier recordings. "Hillbillies" is based on the melody from Clarke's "Quiet Afternoon" (a track from his now-classic School Days, released in 1976).

Atmospheric and evocative, "Milano" features Clarke on upright bass, played with a bow in a register so high that the resulting sound resembles a cello more than a bass. "This is a track that stands out in my mind," says Wooten, "because I've always been a fan of Stanley's upright bass playing. The cadenza that he plays is remarkable."

"Pendulum" follows a moody, late-night groove, with astonishing vocal beatbox work courtesy of Butterscotch that defies any listener to distinguish between her and a drum machine.

The set closes with "Grits," a track by Miller which he calls "a down-home, funky thang." Clarke takes the final solo, wherein "he sounds like an old blues guitarist" says Miller.

More than just a musical collaboration, Thunder was an opportunity for all three musicians to get to know and understand each other on a newer and much deeper level. "It's not until you really work intimately with another musician that you really find out what's going on with that person," says Clarke. "One of the things about this project that was a pleasant surprise was finding out how deep these guys are, and how far they've come in their careers. We couldn't have made this record ten years ago. It just wouldn't have been the right time. Each of us has reached a certain point, and I think we're all celebrating what we've accomplished with the bass. This record is a picture of three guys moving forward, both as individuals and as a group."

With that forward motion comes a deep and powerful vibration – not just in your ears, but under your feet, all around you, and in the very air itself.

Listen to the sound of Thunder.

Heads Up International

 

 

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Obesity in Southern States and How To Correct It

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a research report that stated the southern states has the largest rates of obesity.

I find their research to be true while one-dimensional in nature as it fails to address several causes and enablers of the vicious cycle beyond the immediate reach of the CDC itself.  Addressing the obesity rates in the US requires the entire presidential cabinet and placement as a high priority for the President of the United States.

There are several factors beyond the report that I believe contribute to obesity in the south.

1.  The southern states contained more slaves and subsequent racism than the rest of the country.

Being the location of the agricultural crops and plantations that housed slavery to grow the United States, opportunities after the slavery ended did not include the economic development and recreational avenues to make weight loss and management widely available and sought.  There were more pressing issues for the ancestors of today's obese.

I theorize that there is a very strong correlation between the number of deaths and lynchings and factors of race to today's obesity rates within the nation and the same states at the top of the obesity rates once led the nation in racist deaths and murders.

Jim Crow laws that historically made swimming pools, country clubs, and other recreational venues "separate while unequal" and off-limits and unsecure did not boost the desire to move around often with the threat of going missing and becoming "strange fruit" without warning often for sport at the hands of KKK wannabes and gonna-bes. 

The threat of losing one's life at the hands of those wishing the days of slavery had not ended clearly would produce an incentive to sit on one's derriere in fear and this school of thought has been passed down through the years.

The cure in part is to provide sufficient and realistic economic development within the southern states and expand the number of swimming pools, parks, and other public recreational venues and the rates of obesity should decrease over time.  Personal security and crime rates must be taken into account still even within the southern states.

Overweight people typically watch more television due to high unemployment rates which is an economic disease and cause that produces a physical, detrimental result of obesity.  The physically disabled living within the southern states would become more fit if there were more economic incentives and rewards (whether through entrepreneurial opportunities or employment opportunities) that enticed them to travel more and get in shape as a result of traveling beyond the southern states.  Many things contributing to obesity and poverty alike feed upon themselves like multiplication and grow exponentially.

2.  The southern states have lower educational achievement rates than the rest of the country.

The social promotion, illiteracy, and drop out rates among the southern states are simply atrocious and the entire United States and its citizens should be ashamed.

It is not sufficient for a multinational company to have a manufacturing plant in a town or city where the residents believe that they have made it to the big time by working in such crab barrels.  Until the local economic development is raised to reward those who academically achieve, the entire region will continue in their attempts to walk up the sliding board while the shiny slope perpetually works against them.

When people have enough education to produce the wealth and confidence to move away from an area, the obesity rates will naturally fall as a result.  Right now, the lower educational achievement rates are contributing to the higher crime rates which either kill or incarcerate those who are physically fit enough to commit the crimes.  The remaining survivors are victims who are waiting their turn in the barber's chair to become a crime statistic or become obese during this wait!

3.  The southern states are far warmer than the rest of the country.

As a result of the warmer climate, residents of southern states are not provided with any rewards for physically moving around often through walking, jogging, or running.  In colder states, motion produces heat which keeps a person warm.  In the south, moving around produces heat which there is already an abundance of.  Not until the excess energy and activity can be directed to losing weight will residents have a constructive reason to be active especially during the summer months.

The cure in part would be to provide some governmental program or benefit just as the insurance of those living within flood plains or those whose homes are at risk of falling into the receding coast lines as in California where the southern residents will be able to work out inside of buildings that are air conditioned.

It may be said that if an air conditioned building had a recreational attraction and/or financial incentive that reduced or eliminated the need to be outdoors in the summer heat, then the obesity rates would decrease.  The country will either pay one way or another and there is no getting around it.

The numbers of indoor basketball and racquetball courts, gyms, and dance studios within the southern states on a per capita basis are clearly lower in the high obesity states.  Combine this with a lower rate of swimming pools and people who know and have demonstrated that they know how to swim, then there is a visible need to break ground in building facilities not just known as recreational centers but government (county, state, or federal) weight loss centers as in diabetes control and prevention or heart disease control and prevention centers.

4.  The amount of public transportation and infrastructure is far lower within the southern states than the rest of the country.

Anywhere that one travels within the southern states requires transportation as compared to the subways, rail, and bus systems found elsewhere nationwide.  During my own visit to Jersey City, NJ and New York in 2007, I discovered that one could travel as desired without a car and was actually penalized by having a vehicle due to the high parking lot rates.

As a result of low mass transit costs and high personal car ownership costs and very counter-intuitively, walking within the northern states generates a daily work out activity within itself as well as providing welcomed warmth within the cooler climates.  No one in the northern states looks to catch a cab, bus, or train for a distance of 10 blocks or less.  In the south, the same distance still does not bring one closer to any facilities or venues of interest:)

5.  Food simply tastes better in the south than in the rest of the country.  This may restart a civil war, but I was born in Jersey City, NJ and raised in Nichols, SC from the age of 6 years old:)

Festive occasions may take place more often in the cooler states than in the south due to the density of people, but when there is a party, celebration, or other happy event taking place within the south, the emphasis and standards of the food involved are much higher than in cooler states where the focus is likely to be placed on the alcohol served and consumed.  This is directly from my own family experiences and observations. 

In every bar within cooler states, there is a wall to wall display of what beverages may be mixed, served, and refilled.  In the south, the same wall to wall coverage and respect is only payed if the pans of food continually flow without hesitation and freshness is maintained.

As a by-product of this line of thinking,  motion burns calories and hunger combined with poverty restricts motion.  To find a restaurant serving great food in a cooler state will cause one to walk a greater distance to find the food which leads to burning the calories from the great meal.

But those in cooler states that have a cup looking for spare change are more obese than the rest of the cooler climate residents and homeless outside of the southern states.

The poor in the rural south are not going to burn calories walking around great distances looking for food.  Any distance greater than a walk to the mailbox or financial institution (whether it is FDIC insured or has multiple displays of beverage distributors) is not likely going to produce a find of food of any type.  In other words if you don't know if somebody else is cooking, then keep your broke rear end home.

The only cure for my fifth theory of southern obesity is that the cooler states will have to learn how to cook and prepare food better to compete with the southern states which will lead to higher rates of obesity within the cooler states and artificially lower the obesity rates of southern states:)

There may be more food critics, publications, and restaurants of fine dining outside of the southern states but on a per capita basis or square mileage, the south has won the war of repeat visits to the buffet bar.  It is not called southern hospitality for nothing!

6.  Black women in greater numbers do not know how to swim.

I just looked at the Associated Press article to see that black women were specifically mentioned as being highly represented as obese and came up with this theory.

Resolving this theory may possibly address a few of my earlier theories at the same time.  I believe that the best venue to address this (and many others) will be through the Black Church in America.

If more black churches had swimming pools of their own or should seek continual access to swimming pools and taught their black sisters how to swim, you would see changes within this country on so many levels that US Senator Barack Obama's presidential hopes and campaign would be an understatement.

The confidence within black women, black children, and marriage rates would skyrocket with domestic abuse falling like meteors based on fulfilling this objective alone.  Even comically aside is the fact that African-American sisters decked out in swimming suits and bikinis would give black men more incentives to stay home to provide for their families economically and avoid being separated from their families via potential criminal activity as a perpetuator or victim:)

I am not running for president or political office and can say these things truthfully and openly without fear of public retribution or restraint:)

As thought provoking and humorous as I have tried to be in proposing some thoughts and a different perspective on the obesity rates in the south, there is a lot of work to be done in changing the minds and hearts of those who hold the purse strings directly and indirectly contributing as legislators to the obesity rates as well as those who are keeping obesity rates high within themselves unnecessarily and intentionally or not.

Only through the courage of questioning and challenging the concepts of what produced the negative trends and what is keeping us here will provide the context in which the true solutions and cures for obesity will come to light.

Peace!

 

RSS Introduction & Refresher course

I just sent a friend an introduction to RSS and thought that it would make a great introduction or refresher course for some this summer:)

Here are links involving RSS and how you can benefit from using it:

When I fell in love with RSS all over again:

http://roneysmith.blogspot.com/2005/09/i-just-fell-in-love-with-rss-feeds-xml.html

Google Reader with RSS:

http://roneysmith.blogspot.com/2005/10/google-has-done-it-again-with-google.html

How to Blog very easily in general:

http://roneysmith.blogspot.com/2005/10/how-to-easily-blog-for-people-with.html

Using Google Groups & Google Reader with RSS:

http://roneysmith.blogspot.com/2005/10/rediscovering-usenet-via-google-groups.html

When Yahoo! added RSS to My Yahoo!

http://roneysmith.blogspot.com/2005/10/rss-knowledge-usage-is-currently-low.html

Widget to add RSS feeds to any other page:

http://thespringbox.com/express/getFeed

Resource to manage and track RSS feed subscriptions, usage, and overall success:

http://www.feedburner.com

Many saved links of mine about RSS:

http://del.icio.us/wysiwysell/rss

Ping.fm to write once and publish everywhere:

Beta code = thispingsforyou

On Ping.fm, you will see a list of sites that you can post to at will once you have created an account.

I need to send you the invitaton to BrightKite.com and check out Plurk.com and Twitter.com as well.

Let me know if and when you need help adding RSS to your operations.  I'm sure that you will love it as much as I do.

Peace!

What Does Two Convenient Presidential Endorsements, A Congressional Investigation, & An Earring Have In Common?

2008 is going to go down in history as one of the most pivotal years in terms of politics and Christianity I sincerely believe.

There has not been a year that has produced as much intense controversy, backpedaling, and PR spin at the air-thin heights as 2008 has although there have been some that clearly led us to where we are now.

I am now detecting that there is going to be a highly focused triangulation and clever scrutiny given to a worldwide pastor, televangelist, author, conference host, and multimedia mogul.  I have heard and viewed countless number of sermons from this preacher although somehow I have never been able to see and hear him live.  Now I know why.

I am both shocked, saddened, and realistic enough to know that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God as well as to recognize that the dots started connecting at the same time as the stars were lining up over the head and over the impeccable ministry of this recognized leader.

The first crack in the esteem that I have had for this fellow laborer of the Gospel came way back in the 2000 presidential campaigns as this pastor had the bold audacity to throw his support openly for W who has more than proven to fulfill the stereotypical role of a prince that felt entitled to become king himself.  The entire nation and world has suffered through W's presidential thievery and administrations.  Yet we still give God the glory for bringing us through this turbulent period and to continue our quest onward and higher.

At the time, the only logic that made sense of the 2000 presidential endorsement was that W and the pastor had the same state of residency and still do.  Maybe there was a state grant provided in Texas to the pastor's growing congregation, but to place such a congregation over the lives of thousands or millions that watched and supported the television ministry, seminars and conferences, and multimedia ministry still has me dumbfounded.  This had to be short term thinking at its finest in order to be willing to sacrifice for some form of 30 pieces of silver not only your own people, but essentially to silence one's voice on anything political going forward.

The 2000 presidential endorsement is only the first star or X placed over this ministry that cannot be refuted because it simply happened and the present and history has proven the result of W becoming president.

The second X to be hung in the rafters like a championship banner comes not its presence but through its absence.

I blogged earlier in 2007 that I felt the congressional investigation of several televangelists and Christian leaders by US Senator Chuck Grassley was highly political and still stand by this opinion.  But what was cemented my opinion was the absence of this same pastor when he clearly had connections to virtually every televangelist who was named in the investigation.

You see, it is not enough to look at who is named or mentioned in such an event that seeks to tarnish one's reputation.  One needs to check to see who was excluded, overlooked, not included, and/or "off that day" when the armed robbery crime takes place to see if there is a connection by disconnection.  Usually law enforcement has the presence of mind to take the confidential informant down to the precinct as well during the police raid, but maybe making a presidential endorsement of a Republican presidential candidate who was your governor and hooked you up on the state level gives one a "stay out of the highly publicized congressional investigation that is clearly not over" free pass card.

My mathematical training whispered to me that it is mathematically impossible to have been excluded from the investigation when the same person was openly named as being an indirect cause and relevant to the investigation of several mentioned.  The probability of being excluded in the court of common sense went to 0 and the percentage that the fix was in skyrocketed straight to 100%.  There was and still is no room for any middle ground within this particular congressional investigation if there is one. 

So the second X flag goes up the flag pole although upon revisiting the named Christian leaders who were named, I have not heard or read anywhere that the now slippery televangelist has preached, counseled, or offered any support to any of the named ministries being investigated.  Somehow I strongly get the feeling that it will be a frigid day in hell when he gets to preach again in their pulpits.  Or at least throw some restitution to them that was passed on to you from W:)

Press forward to today July 13, 2008.  I do not know how I stumbled on the news, but I see that people online at least are now asking questions whether photos of this pastor were "photoshopped" or doctored with by a proficient person using a computer involving a family celebration considered mildly public since the presence of cameras was to be expected.

But let me back up to now say that this same pastor has gone on the record to endorse presidential candidate and US Senator Barack Obama to become President of the United States just as I have and do.  I strongly suggest that Senator Obama keep this endorsement at arm's length and especially upon taking the oath that grants a 4 year residency at the White House because this slippery slope will clearly cost you any hopes of being re-elected in 2012.

Unlike Rev. Jesse Jackson's words, the nationwide animosity that this pastor is going to generate will surely castrate Obama (and won't stop there) worse than Ken Starr's investigation of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal which not ironically set the stage for W to become president.  Unfortunately, the Secret Service does not protect one's reputation from guilt by association.

Now let us return to the jewelry that the still conservative Black church does not find as appropriate for men especially one on the level of this international evangelist and the ministerial regard in which he is held even as the controversy is no where as high as it will become.

Personally I could never wear an earring because my personal standards are beyond current fads and fashion.  Maybe if I was shown a photo where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver, NASA Astronaut Dr. Ron McNair, Booker T. Washington, or even Barack Obama were to have their ears pierced or stylishly wear a clip-on earring maybe I would consider getting one:)  Not!!!!

Needless to say, there is going to be a round of heated debates, arguments, and potentially unfortunate church splits over the presence of some bling on this preacher's ear.

Does he have the right to wear an earring?  As far as I know, the US Constitution does not forbid him from wearing one.  But within the realm of the Black Church within these United States, a more perfect union is not the outcome reached by adorning oneself with such a fashion statement.

Since the preacher does not hold public office, there will be no barriers or possible accusations that other preachers will have violated any beliefs or laws separating church and state and/or placing the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of their churches and ministries at risk.  As a result, there is no flame retardant apparel available for this preacher to wear.

When will the feces hit the fan?  I now believe that it already has and the whispers that this emperor has no clothes has already begun to spread on some grassroots level.

Only the awful aroma will spread once the individual believers that held this man of faith come into contact with the growing undertrend that should have never taken place.  The damage of this escapade will come in the form of further threatening and expanding a generational gap within the Church where many feel that it is okay for men to wear earrings.

My ministry is now focused in the intermediate terms on preparing Christians for the difficult days ahead that are rapidly approaching and some would say are already here where faith based emotions will be shaken to the core.  Evangelism and ushering others to know Christ is still my primary mission while introducing them to the Christ that I know and worship where one can witness the darkest days unimagined and still rest assured that Christ Jesus has already overcome the world.

The world where this pastor will undoubtedly become just as infamous as W is one where one's soul, reputation, and legacy unfortunately go to the highest bidder among man:(

But Christ Jesus has already paid the price!

As much as hooping has a place in the art gallery of the Black Church, I have still yet to read a mandate for hooping especially to relieve the pains and witnessing of the once-considered fantasy to take place within the next 4 years!  This preacher was considered the absolute best in the US if not the world.  So many will be hurt deeply unfortunately.

Just remember "Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven".  Nothing considered external to this world is able to overthrow the Word of God already written and shared.

The implosion of the unnamed pastor and anything seen and unseen will never invalidate the Word of God.  So keep the faith and move in greater confidence that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.

Nothing shall separate us from the love of God.

Peace!

2 Podcasts that will give you a deeply relaxing, musical massage!

Right now I'm listening to DarrenKeith's "My Love For Music" podcast and along with Mr. Fresh's "Vibes N Scribes" podcast, one has the perfect audio tag team for your ears:)

In the web2.0 construct of things, I met and befriended both of these gentlemen only online to date via Twitter and have found that music is probably the fastest ways to determine any common ground people might have without meeting each other face to face.

Today was the first day that I distinctly will remember hearing DarrenKeith's podcast other just previously reading his Twitter and Plurk posts previously.  I already knew the Mr. Fresh podcast would lay down a sonic vibe that remind me of a musical flight on demand.

I would not suggest to anyone any attempts to work while either one is playing since you would better benefit from having them take you for a ride.  Play either one first and you will see that they are just that good at producing a musical journey.

But if you are traveling or going through an airport or driving at any time, you could not find a better way to lower your blood pressure and find relief from any tension within your body and mind.

These podcasts are so smooth that they should require a doctor's prescription:)  Such music should be played in medical waiting rooms to take away any stress!

One idea that came to this morning alone is that independent coffee houses and shops should commission such musical ears like these highly talented guys and musical tastemakers to produce MP3s, CDs and/or playlists to be heard, bought, and experienced within and outside of the businesses.

This is clearly a concept that I am borrowing from my own consulting works on ElectricSlide.com and these two podcasts absolutely prove my point very well.

This is musical soup for one and/or tea for two:)

As an artist and renaissance man, I feel that I either know or have heard of most musical artists or genres.  But these two podcasts introduced me to ear-opening artists that I have not heard before as well as reintroduced me to classics that will scratch your eardrums in your favorite spot.

Check them out, get ready to lay your burdens down, and remember that I told you so!  I will see you on the other side of musical bliss:)

Peace!

10,000 B.C. was much better than imagined

My wife and I watched the movie 10,000 B.C. last night courtesy of Netflix and I must apologize to everyone and anyone affiliated with the movie or said that it was a good flick!

With this being said, the movie was clearly marketed wrong when it was released and the appearance of appealing to the audience of 300 was either wrong or too closely behind 300 to compel me to see the movie back then.  The copycat approach clearly did not work since this movie has legs of its own with a cast not often seen in other movies.

My expectation level was so far below ground zero that it probably did not have far to go to surpass my expectations, but the movie held its own consistently throughout the film.

At more than one place in the flick, the movie could have gone into a Stargate meets Close Encounters meets anything else involving aliens or another world but wisely the movie did not.

This movie did show great professionalism in its deleted scenes and the throwaway lines and scenes were clearly eliminated.  The attempts at humor that could have undercut the movie were deleted as well.

The one twist that was quite a shocker for me was on the level of seeing Darth Vader unmasked and was rather brilliant in the scheme of things.  It will make the conspiracy theorists stand up in shock and awe to say the least:)

So I am giving 10,000 B.C. a thumbs up for the pay-per-view and DVD rental audience among us.  It was almost good enough to buy it, but I won't go that far.

I will say that the movie was a nice mashup and compacted-into-one-smooth-mix of The Lord of the Rings, 300, and The Matrix (just for the main character's acceptance of who he really was).

So definitely see the movie and judge for yourself!

Peace!

Logic Does Rex Files! W00t!

I was just able to import a Rex file (.rx2) into Logic for the first time and hear it play back successfully. The key is downloading and installing the shared library (Universal Binary) file from the Reason site at:



http://ping.fm/Ls8Np



After seeing a similar trend with another piece of software and anytime that you are having a problem with either Logic and/or your Mac, check to see if there is an Universal Binary file available.



The Universal Binary file is key to making the plugin, file, or soft synth visible within Logic.



Otherwise, you will have downloaded and installed something that is indeed there but not visible to Logic and/or GarageBand.



One other tip is to redownload the same file again and install it if the first installation does not fully work. I have gone through the experience to install a file one time only to see that a later download and installation was

much successful than the original installation.



Peace!

just learned via The Today Show that there is a lunch box museum in Columbus, GA which is a city that I have never visited.

loves the difference Ping.fm has made in my blogging count on http://ping.fm/oBTCH) W00t!

is pleasantly surprised at the number of competitors to eBay that I'm discovering this evening alone:) Ding dong, the witch is dead:)

had 0 items to install

has a Macbook that does not like to operate when running a fever! I had to shut it down before a gasket was blown:(

is using Safari more since FF3 seems a little buggy still. Safari is not bad at all so far.

had a program get down to 0 further items to install

says if p.m. plan goes according to plan, more excuses will be disintegrated like Martians on Bugs Bunny:)

ran an errand this morning & was forced to turn AC on. Drank 32 oz Powerade like it was 8 ozs. Don't let your shades fool you, it is hot!

likes Tim McGraw's chivalry:) No, I love it! I hope he plays the White House soon:) W shows domestic violence to Lady Liberty daily:(

has learned that my former employer has already closed 40% of its US call centers. Layoffs or sale approaches like Jaws! I hear music!!

says the FDA needs to ease up on the multiple vaccination approvals. Recipe for long-term disaster!

says it's funny how technology was able to see Big Brown's shoe coming off while bin Laden is supposedly cozy in Pakistan. He's dead really

learned that it is called "reverse globalization" that is returning jobs to the US per by high gas prices states ABC News.

says James Dobson put forth weak, incoherent points about an Obama speech as factual. Nothing JD states will be given easy access going fwd

says if only the political party occupying the White House at any given time could find balance within US domestic & foreign policies;(

says that I really did not know that things had gotten this bad on eBay, so check out the comments too: http://ping.fm/0AHOo

says TweetStats @ http://ping.fm/m9Bbv will really tell you how you are Twittering & when:)

suggests http://ping.fm/hODI4 & http://www.pbs.org for Summer of Love info. History repeats itself.

is recognizing that the brief era of high finance is clearly over. It's time for marketing to step back to the mic in the forefront.

Musical Vampire Candidates!

Playing musical tag has already turned out to be so much fun and reminds me of someone being bitten by a vampire to in turn become a vampire and bite others.

I am looking for candidates that may not have been bitten by others:)

So here are a few more candidates to get in on this summer meme:

The Vixy

Wayne Sutton

Zadi

Blogdiva

Baratunde

Idadi

Boom

Peace!

Got tagged to list seven summer songs & here's my list: http://ping.fm/zy36R Now moving on to bite other musical vampire candidates:)

Summer Meme: Sing Along / Seven Songs

This evening I got tagged by one of my Twitter and music friends named EJ Flavors to participate in the following musical game of tag with the following guidelines:

"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to."

Not one to back down from a musical challenge, here are my seven songs and how they made my list:

7.  Kill Joy N.E.R.D.  Not to offend anyone, but this track was the only one that sounded interesting to me besides the track "Spaz".  I can see a nice, car chase with this song as the background music.  The 80s rap style laid down a nice, percussive, retro vibe on top of the lack of bass in your face throughout the entire project.

6.  Silly Love Songs - Paul McCartney & Wings.  Somehow this song has been imprinted into my mind from a spring-summer trip to Carowinds on the NC-SC border and I have no way to remove it.  It must have been my first trip to the park at a minimum.  No romance was involved in the memory:(

5.  Don't Go - Deitrick Haddon.  From the Mary J. Blige sample in the intro to the end of the song, this is Gospel R&B at its finest.

4.  Don't Disturb This Groove - The System.  I cannot think of too many songs that create a time capsule like this song can for any moment.

3.  Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa & The SoulSonic Force.  It is illegal to think of summer without this song for its heat alone.

2.  Sunshine - Alexander O'Neal  A frat brother was supposed to sing either this song or Babyface's song by the same title at our wedding 18 years ago, but sang "You Are My Lady" by Freddie Jackson instead.  Either "Sunshine" is a winner in my book.  Buy this song via iTunes for a better price.

1.  Love Song #1 - Me'Shell N'degeochello.  I just heard the entire project a few weeks ago on Last.fm and ended up buying it right away.  The vibe is perfect for a red light in the basement (throw away the blue one for this project).  TMI, but we could add another young one to our family while being intoxicated by the entire project:)

Now here are a few of my usual suspects musically to get tagged by me as a result:)

DJ Diva

TheJennTaFur

Jordayn7

MrFresh

Anewlis

Tofu916

Thirtydaes

Now it is going to be very interesting to see what everyone else comes up with:)

Peace!

wonders why CNBC is so visually disfigured with their color scheme. No other channel or network goes so awry outside of prime time:(

just discovered that Comic Life app that came with Macbook is a full blown version versus a trial version. Another W00t for the day!

Dude didn't get the memo of HDOTY: http://ping.fm/XRd6k

believes when 85F feels like 83F, you're having a great day!

I really like the way Firefox opens a new window without taking up massive, duplicate space. Almost undetectable too:)

Do kids want to eat instinctively based upon time of day or when they are truly hungry? lol:) Summer time dilemma raised daily!

The only real challenging threat to my personal, high standard for fatherhood is the need for space when the creative vibe suddenly hits me.

Wife is searching an area that is giving up items off our radar for years:) I hope no real, cold cases are solved as a result:)

My wife Wyteria just found our 12 year old tripod that was covered with cobwebs, so W00t, W00t, W00t!!!! Camcorder's base was only broken.

Note to MGR: Using hand sanitizer after shaking hands w/your employees is best done out of their sight:)

Despair, Inc. = http://www.despair.com

Despair, Inc. is being profiled on Nightline. Company makes demotivational items:) Dysfunction is profitable!

Firefox 3 for Macs is making me feel like I'm using a bootleg version of Safari due to the color scheme or lack of one:)

The new MySpace home page has people thinking there was a terrorist attack on a building while it's a scene from the new Batman movie:(

With global economic conditions worsening, it is going to be amazing at which business functions get spotlighted again or become least fav.

The current heat index is making the temp 83F feel like 81F. I can deal with this any day of the week or year:)

Does the Celtic bench know they're up by 40? Wow!

is respecting the Celtics for the way they went the distance to win this championship even though I'm a 76ers fan or their opponent:)

Zoo Atlanta Provoked Nightmare!

I had a nightmare shortly after our Zoo Atlanta visit last week. I was watching two snake handlers having some type of drinking contest to attract a crowd.

One had African tribal paint on his face while the other one was Indian. The snake handler with the face paint made some type of counter clockwise motion with his glass around his face and pretended to be bitten in his neck by the drink.

Then it was my immediate turn to hold a rubber, water hose. Someone looked in the end of the hose that I was holding and saw that it was a King Cobra inside.

I then dropped the rubber, water hose:(

My reaction was so real that I said "Ooh" out loud or "Umph".

Immediately I had to get up and go to the bathroom:)

Needless to say, dropping the water hose with the King Cobra inside ended the nightmare before things got any worse:)

There has been nothing laughter with everyone that has heard this nightmare of mine:)

Good night All:)

believes Phil Jackson might need to consider retiring after taking such a beating in this series.

Just updated Ping.fm to not post to Twitter to avoid redundancy:)

Ping.fm is a web2.0 loaded weapon:)

Powerful Verse of the Day: Joshua 5:9 in New Living Translation (NLT)

Happy Sunday!

Marinate on this verse today from Joshua 5:9 in the New Living Translation (NLT):

9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt." So that place has been called Gilgal^[d] to this day.

Check this page for more out!

Thanks goes to Quest Community Church where I heard the verse in the specific translation today.

Peace!

Recent Sermon Uploaded: Where Is The Party? by Roney Smith

Although it appeared that I was having technical problems in uploading the sermon earlier this week, this morning I discovered that the uploading attempt was successful after all.

This is how some of our efforts will work to expand the kingdom of God, so we must not get discouraged when things do not appear to go our way on the surface.

The sermon is entitled "Where Is The Party?" and was delivered to the Team Soteria Deliverance Church on June 1, 2008 in Smyrna, GA where Apostle Terry Graham is their pastor.

I hope that the sermon and Apostle Graham's exhortations will bless and inspire you today!

Peace!

New Music: Make A Change!

Today I am finally making public a song entitled "Make A Change" that I produced earlier this year!

"Make A Change" is an instrumental track inspired by US Senator Barack Obama as he has inspired many worldwide in his quest to become President of the United States.

For one reason or another, the timing to release the song never felt quite right with my own schedule. With the Democratic nomination essentially clinched today and the need to unify the Democratic party present, there is no better time to make this song public.

I would deeply honored to see personally or hear that the song was played as Senator Obama takes the stage somewhere or even as song replaces "Hail to the Chief":)

You can hear song on either Last.fm and/or iLike and if you wish to make a purchase, just visit Electric Slide.com for a purchase and an instant download.

I hope to place the song on iTunes soon as well with other music created. You can also sign up to resell the song yourself and make a commission.

We are looking to use part of the proceeds to purchase two life saving products (malaria nets via Nothing But Nets and a dynamic, personal, water filtration system called Life Straws) as a part of my worldwide ministry.

Whether you purchase the song or not, please consider helping people worldwide with these products.

Also, feel free to share any thoughts, comments, and other forms of feedback:)

Peace and Enjoy!

No Longer Accepting What Was Previously Tolerated

The title of this blog entry came to me earlier this morning and it is still ringing within my spirit.

Time is one of the most precious resources that we have given to us by God and to see others willingly waste your time should upset you both in the moment and whenever you take the time to evaluate your relationships. Even when we waste our own time, we should not allow it to continue when we finally wake up to our own errors.

As a minister that just celebrated my 12th ministerial anniversary, I find myself listening to God this month especially for an evaluation of where I've been, what I am doing, and where I should be heading.

Too many people are saying these days "I gotta do what I gotta do" while I am hearing that "I gotta do what God tells me to".

Courage is the keyword for this month and too many Christians are vessels of fear and not faith.

Courage is the wall separating knowledge from understanding and understanding from wisdom.

To know what to do is one thing, but courage is the required ingredient in order to put the right things in motion. Stepping out in faith never occurs without courage being present.

Knowing that change is desired and needed is no longer good enough. We must demonstrate our faith in courage and not fear.

Cowardly fear will always be the gravity that separates our potential from what is actually experienced.

So we, you, and I must walk by faith and not by sight for without faith, it is impossible to please God.

To live otherwise places the blood of the souls of both the touched and unreached on our hands and we will not be able to take pride in what we have not done when we were empowered and equipped to be the critical difference in their lives.

Peace!

One of the Toughest Days of My Ministry for the Homegoing Ceremony of a Young Soldier: R.I.P. Joshua Caleb Burroughs

Earlier today (Thursday, April 24, 2008), our church where I am the youth pastor (Bethesda Baptist Church in Austell, GA) conducted a home going ceremony (funeral) for a young teen who was gunned down in broad daylight last week.

Gang involvement is being attached to the death and the lines are still blurred and the starting and ending points are still yet to be identified.

Our youth that was buried today, Joshua Caleb Burroughs, was a gentle and compassionate young man who had absolutely mesmerized our church family during a Black History play in 2007.  I was not fortunate to see the play, but every statement made about the play included how well Caleb had performed.

He was our budding playwright or actor and he was reminded of this several times since.

Caleb always had a smile on his face and his eyes always signaled that he was aware of any preaching, teaching, and biblical instruction that was taking place regardless of who the minister was and how the information was being delivered.

I could always personally tell that he was getting it and knew what needed to be done.

Now that the procession of cars and release of balloons have been done, we are depending upon God to lead us on how to not only honor our memories of Caleb, but how to move aggressively in a way to expand the kingdom of God to reach the young men and women who are drowning in lifestyles that will not sustain them.

There is no room or time for physical revenge because such thoughts and actions are simply not productive.

The necessity for our steps to be taken boldly and to demonstrate to the surrounding community and world that a better way does exist that meets your physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs.

The kingdom of God is not boring but the uninspired and laziness of mankind will cause it to appear that way.  Today, I am rededicating myself to become more bolder and creative to do whatever it takes to make a difference to reach today's youth and this present age.

My difficulty that I am now experiencing is that I was already in the process of releasing new music beginning in the month of May when this tragedy occurred.  Although the enemy wants to further accuse us all of either activity or inactivity that led to Caleb's death, we have already realized as a church family that this battle is not over yet.

So I am asking anyone that comes across these words to reexamine your relationship with Jesus Christ, allow Him to be your Savior, allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, and be inspired to be, see, do, and have the kingdom of God expanded in earth as it is in heaven.

If Christ Jesus was good enough for young Brother Caleb, then Christ Jesus is good enough for you. 

Now we will work continuously to show you how much better Christ's wine is.

R.I.P. Joshua Caleb Burroughs

Here are URLs related to the funeral conducted today: http://tinyurl.com/52z7e2 http://tinyurl.com/4oywqp http://tinyurl.com/4qg7o3

Peace!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Smiths in Mableton, GA

This morning the idea hit me to make green lemonade and my Wyteria jumped on the idea before our daughters came home from school.

Our youngest daughter Hailey kept going to the nearby bathroom to see if her tongue was turning green:)

It may become a Smith family tradition on St. Patrick's Day and was tasty too.

Somehow the mind tricked my oldest daughter Rachel and my wife's mind in that they said the Irish Lemonade tasted "minty".

Atlanta Tornado Pictures

The world is really wanting to see the damage from this past weekend's storms here in metro Atlanta.

The best footage that I've seen is located on a CNN-affiliated site named i-Report which is actually taken by residents of the affected areas.

The storms were highly unusual in that Friday's storm hit downtown the hardest and a tornado had not actually done so since 1975.

We live in Mableton, GA which is located within "tornado alley" and usually feel the brunt of any high winds year round, but the storm featured thunder and lightning and subsided very quickly Friday night.

Yesterday at church, I heard that a hail storm really poured down in Lithia Springs, GA which is probably less than 7 to 10 miles away in Douglas County, GA.  Our pastor's car had multiple dings all over from Saturday's storm which also hit the east side of metro Atlanta within Lithonia, GA very hard.

I personally only saw tiny, pellet sized hail outside of our home.

I met a photographer yesterday who took a photo of hail from Friday and Saturday's nights storms and the hail was golf ball sized and clearly might kill you if you were hit by them.

I thank God that we were spared from the damage that is having a large impact on the other areas.  To my knowledge, 2 deaths have occurred from the storms.

Peace!

Interesting Discovery While Going straight DSL versus Local Phone Service

After years of resisting an inevitable trend nationwide, I finally saw the light Thursday night and have switched our service to straight DSL and dropped local phone service altogether.

We can be more easily reached by cell anyway.

The point of no return was when I realized that we were paying over $400 annually for what essentially came down to caller ID service.  Taken together with a recent cellphone plan change, one utility bill (water) and another bill essentially becomes free each month with the new cost savings going forward. 

Our cell phones have pretty much become our cordless phones even at home, so there have been no benefits of having local in-house phone service.  We got burned this winter with several triple digit cell bills.  When the bills were mentioned to our service provider T-Mobile and the fact that we were on the wrong plan was undeniable, they provided a credit to us since we have had the service since 2000.

But the biggest discovery of this entire process is that the local phone number that we have had since November 1992 does not get thrown back on the open market after all.  The number is already permanently assigned as our DSL number anyway and can be reactivated at any other time in the future.

If this single fact had been known earlier, then the decision of dropping the local service could have been made a long time ago.

I know that keeping the number was a legacy of "old school" thinking that my parents and grandparents would have had years ago:)

Another thing that was interesting to me alone possibly is that my wife Wyteria made a comment to the effect of "I was ready months ago" when I explained my logic of the changed opinion:)  So you know how the wives are when it is said and done:)

I hope the above discoveries will help someone else if you have been thinking about it.

Peace!

ElectricSlide.com has a new design and music concept!

Check out our new music and creative concept on Electric Slide.com that you have been instinctively looking for!

Tiger Math Coach.com is back online!

A few years ago, a squatter got their hands on one of our domains entitled Tiger Math Coach.com and I was not too happy about it to say the least.

But whatever is meant for you will never be profitable within the hands of anyone else and being able to re-acquire our original concept is making me very happy on an otherwise gloomy, weather day.

Using my years of teaching math and business courses to grades 9-12, middle school students and even adults as the foundation to help more people learn better worldwide, our services and dynamic strategies formed a reinforcing circle that made the website and concept a huge success.

Now with the available technology, we will be able to reach even more people than we could during our most productive years.

One of the beautiful developments that we are offering this time around is that others will be able to resell our services.

We are going to take math education even higher in 2008!

Peace!

Link Updates for New Business Developments

Here are the links mentioned previously.

They should all work correctly now.

Free Money from Free Services: http://tinyurl.com/38n32k

Original Credit Guard: http://tinyurl.com/2fwfn4

Mac Mogul: http://tinyurl.com/25a3qd

BPSD 101: http://tinyurl.com/yt9kvy

Have a great day!

Peace!

New Business Developments

Earlier today, several new products and services have been released to the public. The best part about them all is that technology has finally provided an infrastructure strong and suitable enough to operate each one nation and world wide in most cases.

The biggest twist however is that other business professionals will be able to offer the products and services and receive commissions for sales made. There are products and services that every household is already looking for someone reputable to provide. I feel that it might as well be you and I versus anyone else:)

The list includes:

Original Credit Guard's Lifetime Credit Repair (from my very first business venture started in 1987)

Buy Pennies Sell Dollars 101

Free Money from Free Services (even when you get to a cash register to spend the money yourself, you will still have doubts like I did at first)

More products and services will be added weekly until everything is made available to the public.

I am excited since every product or service reflects industries that I am still within or have already achieved proven results.

The products and services initially only require using e-mail to make others aware of them and receive the commission. Every sale is tracked automatically for the salesperson and customer which I totally love versus manually calculating anything. Just send your friends and family a link that they can click and buy through, and receive the commissions as a result. I hope to make it even simpler if possible.

Feel free to ask any questions as well. I will make the links available within the hour hopefully and feel free to contact me directly otherwise..

Peace!

New Lighting for Creating Videos at Home

Here are a few of my thoughts on Super Tuesday 2008 and it is mostly non-political.

New energy for this blog!

I recently discovered some information that I clearly did not know attesting to the popularity and inherent profitability of this blog.

I was rather shocked since I thought that the information (and resulting royalties) would be sent to me automatically.

With the new information, I hope to create more blog entries on a regular basis as well as add video content as well.

I also found out that I was included within a prominent list of Black tech bloggers, so I must clearly blog more to uphold the recognition:)

This year is a breakout and breakthrough year, so everything included needs to reflect the new level of achievement and opportunities.

Peace!