Al green - Simply Beautiful

Al green is soul and I am loving this one!
Enjoy...Simply beautiful...

Black Soul by Martine Chartrand

For Children:
Martine  Chartrand is a Haitian-Québécois animator.
Black Soul is a short animated movie of  9 minutes and 47 seconds.
I love the poetry. The images, the swirling lights and colors  are mesmerizing. From the baobab tree to the American Snows, it is a beautiful memory narrated by a grandmother to her grandson.


Please go to:
http://www.nfb.ca/playlists/exhibition-nfb-photos-70-years-images/viewing/black_soul/

Ghana is in African Dreams

Anthnoy Annan (left) and Asamoah Gyan (right)

"We should not shorten our dreams. We have to move forward again.Everything is possible in football. If we continue fighting we will do great things. If we work together we can accomplish anything."   Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew.

 Andre Ayew is the son of Abedi Pele. He almost played for France with his dual citizenship. And midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng almost played for Germany.... It is not about football. It is about politics,life, hope,change and dreams. United we stand for our dreams.  Once again "Dreams are not negotiable." - Paulo Coelho

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/world-cup-2010/writers/jonathan_wilson/06/26/tactical.usa.ghana/#ixzz0s2OSpCgQ

Laissez nous pleurer (Let us cry) by Monsieur Nov feat Al Peco.

Even if "the world is full of trickery", Max Ehrman insisted on its beauty by “let not this blind you to the virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.” Lakota spiritual leader, Nathan Chasing Horse said that being a warrior is not about showing your strength, power, or knowledge but it is about learn how to cry. “When a Man learns how to cry, he is learning how to understand. He is learning compassion.” Let us cry a little. We are all connected. We have the same dreams and tears. Let us cry a little for our high ideals, dreams and unsung heroes. Let us cry a little to become wiser warriors in the struggle within our souls.
This song is for my sisters and my brothers.
I am missing you all...Soon...
Laissez nous pleurer (Let us cry) by Monsieur Nov feat Al Peco.

Bukut, sacred woods ritual of passage in Senegal

        According to an article from Au fait Maroc , sixteen villages in Casamance, Senegal went back to the ritual of passage-Bukut (Initiation in Diola) in the sacred hoods. In Africa, these initiations have been coming back. However this time, the young generations threatened the elders to go somewhere else for the initiation. It shows that in this new millennium, many among us have the need to go back and take the time required to grow. It shows that traditions are transmitted beyond or despite the trends.
      The youngest of the novices was five years old and the oldest was sixty years old!! Lucky all of them were already circumcised at hospitals. All the novices went to acquire the wisdom of being, loyalty, responsibility and solidarity. They went in the sacred wood guided by elders and came out as heroes. They consciously made the transition from childhood to manhood with the support of their families and communities.
       I believed that we all have memorable rites of passage. Many of mine involved planes, airports, new continents, new countries, new cities, new smells, new tastes, new languages, new music,…..and a child. Well, the Bukut ritual is here to stay. Regardless of our origins, we will go thorough “sacred woods” in the school of life. And hopefully we will gain the wisdom of being, loyalty, responsibility, and solidarity.

Supple delicate armor and anti-violence protest in France

While the anti-violence protest of the Chinese community at Belleville  took place Sunday. Yiqing Yin’s Exile collection was selected by the “ Ministère de la Culture et communication” to be exposed at the Palais Royal. Yiqing Yin was a refugee from China at the age of four. She used her clothes as an anchor: “Returning to my clothes, was like living once more within my body and my emotions; I was at home.”  She describes her garment as a second skin and a supple armor. I love it!! In my opinion, it is a metaphor about the everlasting struggle in balancing new paths and respecting our creativity and identity. That is what I love about France: the open contradiction that requires supple armor and anti-violence protest.  Congratulation to Yiqing Yin !!!!

The Orphan Unification Drummers of Burundi

A powerful tribute to Unity and Peace!!!

Seven Seconds by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N'Dour

A great Duet! Happy Saturday!
And Happy Father's day to you  all!!! Bonne Fête, Papa



Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni mane
Khamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinaw
Beugouma kouma khol oaldine yaw li neka si yaw
mo ne si man, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale
Roughneck and rudeness,
We should be using, on the ones who practice wicked charms
For the sword and the stone
Bad to the bone
Battle is not over
Even when it's won
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin is living in
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting X3
J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,
J'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperent
Beaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperent
Je veux les portes grandements ouvertes,
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie
Pour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas
Changer
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting X3
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin is living in
And there's a million voices
And there's a million voices
To tell you what she should be thinking
So you better sober up for just a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting

Fais Semblant by Teri Moïse

It came out in 1998. I loved her natural hair, her soft voice and her accent. Her poetry touched me. Hoping for more someday!

View on BP oil spill by my seven years old

He was watching a PBS program while waiting for his dinner. He was extremely focused. First he said his favorite sentence: “Maman tu sais quoi!” Then he started one of his usual long and colorful explanations.

“I think that Obama should ask all all all the scientists and the oil engineers to work together to clean up the spill. They should have think about protecccting before exxxploring the ocean long long long  time ago!And everyyybody should drive less and use buses, fast trains and ride their bikes!!. Maman we need to help planet Earth” At seven, he knows that we are not handling it as we should. I served him his dinner. And he said “maybe we should send clone troopers to clean the oil spill, Maman!”.  

Yes maybe we should! I answered.

Clone troopers to the rescue!

I love my seven years old!!

Uploaded on April 13, 2008
by adactio

Artsy Peeks of the week

From http://www.studio-international.co.uk/

Gao Xingjian. Soul Mountain, 64.2 x 46 cm, 2000. Private collection.

Claude Monet, The Regatta at Sainte-Adresse, 1867. Oil on canvas, 75.2 x 101.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of William Church Osborn, 1951 (51.30.4).

Anselm Kiefer. Shevirath Ha Kelim 2009. Terracotta, acrylic, oil and shellac on canvas

Blue Gold - World Water Wars by Sam Bozzo

More on Global Water Crisis:  Blue Gold-Water Water Wars.
Water in exchange a debt relief...

Water Pasteurization Indicator (WAPI)

Some moons ago, I was a student of Dr. Metcalf. And I did learn about WAPI (Water Pasteurization Indicator). Dr. Metcalf, one of the original founders of Solar Cookers International (SCI). Solar Cookers International (SCI) is nonprofit, non-governmental organization that spreads solar cooking awareness and skills worldwide. Dr Metcalf did work on solar water pasteurization and solar cookers in developing countries. He did demonstrated that contaminated water need only be heated to 65° C to make it safe to drink, whereas it is commonly thought that water has to be boiled for up to 20 minutes to render it safe. So heating the water with a WAPI to 65° C (149° F) will pasteurize the water and kill disease causing microbes. The WAPI (Water Pasteurization Indicator) is a reusable, affordable thermometer using a wax which melts at 68˚C. 65˚C or 149˚F is the pasteurization temperature for water or milk, at which point all disease-causing organisms (bacteria, viruses, and parasites) are killed. Solar Pasteurization kills Giardia, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, cholera, typhoid, Shigella bacteria, rotavirus, and Hepatitis A virus. His PowerPoint presentation was impressive and interesting. Thanks to Petri film, he developed a portable microbiology lab and all the component fits in one medium plastic bag!!

2010 FIFA World Cup Football/Soccer

YES, WE CAN!!

Zelie by Angelique Kidjo

Angélique Kidjo is a singer-activist from Benin . In 2006, she founded "The Batonga Foundation " is a non-profit organization that aims to provide African girls a secondary school and higher education.Her voice is powerful. She is singing a Bella Bollow's song  from Togo.I love her energy.
Enjoy!

Blue Gold from Sea water

 Summer is finally here! Along with the sunshine come the heat and the thirst that only fresh water can quench. Water is essential to life. It is the most precious commodity. Our need for water is infinite but our fresh water supply is finite. Even with his famous maxim: "Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”, Mr. Antoine Lavoisier did learn from the philosopher Anaxagoras of Presocrats Clazomènes. He wrote to the 5th century BC that: "Nothing arises nor perishes, but already things are combined and then separate again.” The concept of conservation of energy is very old but we are still wasting our water.

From Earth to Space water is all we need. In Africa, severe droughts are venomously feeding civil wars, killing crops, and pushing people into exile for survival. Last month geologists stated that global warming was endangering the Lake Tanganyika. It is one of the planet’s most ancient and deepest lakes. It also happened to be one of the richest freshwater ecosystems in the world. And people all over south central Africa depend on fishing from Lake Tanganyika. So hunger and thirst will keep on preying throughout Africa.

However let’s not forget that "Nothing arises nor perishes, but already things are combined and then separate again.” That is why I am pledging every day to follow Mandela’s dynamic of forgiveness instead of dwelling on colonialism, imperialism, and their environmental degradation consequences. Yes, yes it was, it is but we are now and we must change. It is necessary to express emotions but actions of change will benefit North, South, East, West, Earth, them and us. And like Mandela said "Time is always right to do right".

Until that day, Engineers from UCLA proposed a new class of reverse-osmosis membranes for desalination. This membrane resists the clogging that happens when seawater, brackish water and waste water are purified. They are also working on bring that technology to the real world. One day, we will have Blue Gold from Sea water to quench our thirst, to water our crops and to keep on living. I am toasting to Blue Gold for all. A votre santé!!

The End of Poverty? Think Again.Philippe Diaz - Writer/Director

The End Of Poverty? from Philippe Diaz on Vimeo.


From http://www.theendofpoverty.com/

Portfolios of the Poor by William Easterly

It was about  time that someone said that "poors" are humans. They are not passively waiting for "foreigners saviors". I like the idea of aids to help them help themselves. It is nice to have that perspective exposed for once. Well I appreciate it. Thanks Mr. William Easterly!

Music:Afro-Brazilian

Enjoy the percussion and the saxophone...It is an amazing fusion!

Common roots and Common struggle: Native American and African American.

Indivisible is a website relating the lives and experiences of people who share African American and Native American ancestry.
It briefly explains their journey “from dispossession to sovereignty, traveling theUnderground Railroad, keeping to the Good Red Road”.The website demonstrates how this story became invisible but their common native roots and struggles are indivisible.
My favorite parts are the family portraits and similarity with Native African roots. After all, African and Native tribes share similar concepts about animal spirits, the guiding presence of ancestors, oral traditions, a living world, and extended family relationships.
And in my opinion, the woven baskets and beads art crafts are very similar.At the end,we are all distant relatives.

Documentary: Lakota Today by Aaron Huey

Aaron Huey is a photographer for National geographic Adventure. With challenging and stunning images, he relates the fight for survival on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.Aaron captures the failures of the reservation system. The American dream of individual land ownership, illustrates the idea of  "the one who takes the best part of the meat." It is the same moonlight for our dreams...

Spirit - Stallion Of The Cimarron

For children:
It is a beautiful animated movie! It is the adventures of a young mustang stallion. The film was written by John Fusco and directed by Lorna Cook and Kelly Asbury. The story takes place when the army is fighting the Indian Wars and taking over the soon-to-be western United States. Spirit the young stallion is unable to control his curiosity toward humans. To his surprise, the humans are savages. Spirit end up captured. He befriends a Lakota American Indian boy named Little Creek. Little creek was also brought into the fort and held captive. Little Creek did name the Kiger mustang, Spirit for “Spirit-who-could-not-be-broken". At the end of the movie Little Creek sets spirit free.All my thanks to John Fusco for the subtitle metaphors on wilderness, journey, discovery, hope, love, crossroads and solidarity. A little dedication to all the spirits who could not be broken!
A great website:The American Indian Education Foundation. This foundation  helps real students in real communities on reservations throughout the United States.

Indian Citizenship Act of June 2, 1924

The Fourteenth Amendment provides citizenship to persons born in the U.S., but only if "subject to the jurisdiction thereof"; this final clause excludes certain indigenous peoples. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge on June 2. Mr. Coolidge had deep roots in New England and he claimed his ancestors had American Indian Blood. According to Wikipedia, Native Americans were granted citizenship rights under the 1924 Act, but did not have full citizenship and suffrage rights until 1948. And a survey by the Department of Interior did show that seven states still refused to grant Indians voting rights in 1938.  By the way the immigration act was also signed in 1924. The Act halted "undesirable" immigration by quotas. I am wondering how Native Americans were labeled! Maybe it was non-foreign-born persons, or native resident in the continental United States.

Well let’s enjoy June Moon Meditation from "Dancing Moons" by Nancy Wood. Her cycle of poems is an homage to Native American philosophy around the Twelve Great Paths of the Moon of the Pueblo Indians (New Mexico).

June, Corn Tassel Coming Out Moon: Kapnakoyapana

Meditation:

Junes's great path of the moon is listening.

There is a story inside everything: wind, rain, fire. Even in the sound corn makes when it is trying to grown in the field. Rivers have great stories, so do leaves rustling on trees. Listen to old stones for information about survival. Put a pebble to your ear and listen to the tale it has to tell. What a seashell has to say will surprise you. So, too, will words written on the wind.

Listening to silence is hardest of all. You want to fill it up with conversation. With noise. With distraction. Resist the impulse. In silence you can listen to your own heartbeat; you can take the pulse of continuity. In silence, you can dream great dreams. You can discover your own music.

Why is it harder to let go than it is to hang on? Even when a thing seems finished, a shadow remains. you ask: Did I do right? Was there a way to bury our differences? By saying nothing, did you say all?

It takes effort to make something of your life when other people are making do with less. Have courage to make a change. Indecision prevents action. Memory clouds reason. Fear paralyzes. Routine decays. Listening means hearing the voice within you. It never fails to tell you the truth, even if you don't want to hear it

By Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), known to the Native Americans he photographed as the "Shadowcatcher."