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Ms. Marvalus and Mrs. Grapevine created the Old School Friday meme. I hope that any villager with a blog will adopt this weekly meme. The theme this week is 'Remakes'.
I immediately knew my choice. One of my favorite songs from back in the day was Stephanie Mills singing, 'How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?'. Many, many years later Prince sang the same song. More recently, Alicia Keys sang the song on one of her albums. The part that I never knew until this week was that Prince Rogers Nelson was the original songwriter who gave the song to Stephanie Mills. Of course, Prince Rogers Nelson is better known by his first name ...Prince. That is one talented brother. It is no wonder that his song is involved in remakes over a 20-year period!
Stephanie Mills * Album: Merciless (1983)
Prince * Album: Girl 6 (1996)
Alicia Keys * Album: Songs In A Minor (2002)
Well, villagers ... how come u don't call anymore?
I would like to introduce all villagers to a sister-blogger that I met through The AfroSpear. Ms. Lady Deborah is the owner of From My Brown Eyed View (BBR #422). She often shares her village voice on our blog. As such, I'm glad that she is my colleague on The AfroSpear.
Anyhow, she shared some insights on her motivation for joining The AfroSpear:
"I think that the purpose of The AfroSpear is to provide Black people with a voice on the Internet. We can and should speak many different languages from out of that voice. It should reflect our culture, heritage, politics and social concerns. It is a tool that can be used to seek out wisdom or to speak out against injustice. I also view The AfroSpear as our contribution to the technology community. I discovered the world of Black blogs and information through doing research and I have been hooked ever since. I believe that I will joining others to help create an ongoing system of progress. I have learned a lot by just reading AfroSpear bloggers and visiting their sites. I want to use my time, talent and energy to help forward the Black presence in cyberspace as well as in real time."
I encourage villagers to check her blog out. In fact, you can see the full AfroSpear blogroll over in the left-hand sidebar. Let me know if you see any of your favorites over there.
I recently made decision to use Twitter. I had the account for over a year, however, I wasn't really a tweeter. I added widgets on my BDPA Foundation and Electronic Village blogs that shares my tweets with interested blog readers. Currently, I follow 50 people on Twitter and there are 56 people that follow me.
I have become much more interested in 3rd party applications as a result of my recent forays into Twitterville. Therefore, I was very intrigued by a recent post from Kim Beasley that shared a short list of great 3rd-party applications for Twitter. Kim wrote,
"If you haven’t started using Twitter yet then you are missing out on a great way to network online. I decided to try out Twitter a couple of month ago but I didn’t do much with it until with the last week. Admittance to being addicted is a mild way to explain how much I love Twitter. Let me share a few details about Twitter, keep in mind that when I say Tweet it means that you have just sent a message via Twitter. A person who uses Twitter is a Tweeter. The entire network or universe of Twitter is called Twitterville. Meeting people offline is called a TweetUp.
OK, enough about my love of Twitter and onto the 3rd-party applications (apps) that you can get that will work well with Twitter. Below is a short list but look for more details about the entire list that will be released soon.
Twhirl: offline program that will allow you to send tweets from your desktop
TweetLater: online website that will all you to automatically except followers and to schedule your tweet for future release
TweetBurner: online website that will allow you to track the activity of links that you post to Twitter
Twitterfeed: online website that will send RSS feeds to your Twitter account
Drumbeats from Adrianne inform us that the Democrats Abroad Chair and superdelegate Christine Schon Marques endorsed Barack Obama for president, citing his unique ability to unite all Americans and restore our moral standing in the world.
"As a Democrat abroad, I've seen the repercussions of the Republican Administration every day, in the diminished reputation of the United States and in the lack of real leadership both at home and abroad, from the economy to the war in Iraq," said Schon Marques. "I'm proud to be a Democrat, and proud of both our candidates. Today I pledge my support to Senator Barack Obama because I believe that he will take our country in the right direction, he will restore America's reputation, he will honor the men and women who are bravely serving our country, and he will reach out to Americans across the country and around the world. I hope that voters overseas join me in registering today at www.VoteFromAbroad.org so that all our voices are heard this November."
The super-delegates can end this thing quickly if they come out and declare their support for Obama or Clinton. What are they waiting on?
Receiving store gift cards for Christmas, birthdays or Father's Day seemed like such a good idea at the time. Of course, I'm the type of brother that lays the gift card down on my desk and never thinks about it again. Recently someone reminded me that the following stores filed for bankruptcy:
Hollywood Video
Levitz
Sharper Image
Performance Team Freight
Linens n Things
Circuit City
Bed, Bath and Beyond
I looked through the pile of junk on my desk and discovered that I have a gift card from Circuit City and Hollywood Video. I'm heading to both places this week to see if I can salvage anything on either card. However, based on recent Wall Street Journal article, I may be ish-out-of-luck.
What about you? Do you have unused gift cards laying around the house?
Villagers, please join me in welcoming a new blogger to The AfroSpear.Ylizaville (BBR #832) is a blog created by Yliza in April 2007. She describes herself as a mixed-race woman of color ... Anti-Racist ... Overeducated ... Animal lover ... Computer nerd with an addiction to MMORPGs and WoC-friendly blog spaces.
In her blogger-application, she wrote, "I would like to ... listen and learn and exchange ideas with people who understand what it's like to be a Black American. I would like to be able to freely speak about issues that pertain to our communities. There is much for me to learn, and perhaps I can be a source of learning for others." The AfroSpear is fortunate to include her voice amongst our kinfolk!
Sojourner's Place created the Sunday Inspirations meme to help get us through the week ahead. I hope that you participate and share with us your Sunday Inspirations. Your weekly contribution may very well be the inspiration that someone else may need and has been looking for. The rules are simple:
Anyone can participate
You may post a video, poem, religious verse, song, story, picture, ANYTHING that has given you inspiration and the motivation to go on. Just make sure not to offend anyone
Add your name to the meme list so others can be inspired
Be and get inspired and be sure to comment
My mother is the most spiritual person in my life. She regularly shares inspiration from the Bible and other sources with me. This is a photo of Christ that she shared with me many moons ago. Look at the lines the artist used to draw this picture of Christ and you will see scenes from Christ's life. 'I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENETH ME' - (Philippians 4:13) - My Mom once reminded me that if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank GOD. I'm doing my best. Happy Mother's Day to EAH and all the other mothers here in our electronic village!
I just took the Bush-McCain Challenge -- an online quiz to see if you can tell the difference between George W. Bush and John McCain. Click here to see if you can do better than I did!
Did you take the test? The more that we learn about McCain ... the more that we realize that the Democratic nominee (Obama or Clinton) has a wonderful chance to win the November election. Wouldn't you agree?
Today, we are pleased to announce that The True Urban Queen is the 1,200th blog added to the BBR. Sharon Rainey created this blog in January 2008. Sharon is mother of two, author, entrepreneur and (like most sisters!) a shoe addict. Sharon gave insights into her blog when she wrote, "As many of you know this is my personal diary. I may blog about a celebrity or an event going on but, for the most part it is all about me and mine."
I encourage all villagers to take a moment to visit with The True Urban Queen (BBR #516). Perhaps we can convince her to add the Electronic Village to her blogroll...
Our next President will either be Barack Obama or John McCain. Barack Obama had a horrific time dealing with the rhetoric coming from Jeremiah Wright. Hopefully, he has put the issue behind him for the duration of the campaign.
I wonder why John McCain hasn't disavowed his realtionship with Rev. John Hagee, the McCain supporter who said God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its homosexual "sins."
Another 'spiritual guide' that John McCain needs to explain to the American people is Rev. Rod Parsley. Parsley is the televangelist megachurch pastor from Ohio who hates Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a "false religion." In the past, Parsley has also railed against the separation of church and state, homosexuals, and abortion rights, comparing Planned Parenthood to Nazis.
John McCain actively sought and received Parsley's endorsement in the presidential race. Does McCain share the vicious anti-Islam views. Since the media won't question McCain about his deeply bigoted pastor, I thought it would be only right to share this information with any villagers that might drop by my blog.
How can McCain get away with aligning himself to a religious leader who's called for an all-out war on Islam, someone who draws no distinctions between Muslims and violent Islamic extremists? [SOURCE]
Have you heard of Rev. Parsley before? What do you think of this situation as it relates to McCain's presidential aspirations?
Old School Friday is a weekly meme that allows us to explore music from back in the day. The theme this week is Movie Soundtracks. My immediate thought when I learned of the theme was music from the movie, Love Jones. The two stars of the movie were Lorenz Tate and Nia Long. In fact, Nia Long has been in my Top 10 list of nubian queens ever since her role in this movie (and Lisa Nicole Carson ain't that far behind!). Here are two songs from the movie soundtrack that I thought you might enjoy. Check 'em out below...
Hopeless (Dionne Farris)
Sumthin' Sumthin' (Maxwell)
Of course, one of the most memorable moments in the movie came when Lorenz Tate broke it down in Brother to the Night! Do y'all remember this one?
I'm the blues in your left thing ... trying to become the funk in your right!
Former Michigan Rep. David Bonior, who served as John Edwards campaign manager endorsed Barack Obama for president today. Bonior is not a super-delegate, however, he is a powerful voice in the union movement. At one point, Bonior was the 2nd-highest ranked Democrat in the US House of Republicans.
I wonder if John Edwards will be next in line to endorse Obama?
Young brother from Cincinnati went down to Morehouse College to complete his college education. While at Morehouse he volunteered in a program to support troubled young people. Sometimes doing the right thing can be a mistake. William J. Mayo probably regrets working with two 19-year old boys in this volunteer program.
It turns out that the two young men committed a robbery to get some money to support their drug money. They did this while they were under the custody of William J. Mayo. Mayo had no clue that the young men were robbing a house in his neighborhood when he left them alone. As such, Mayo had no idea what was going on when the police arrested all three men later. The nightmare continued when Mayo was sentenced to a 20 years-to-life sentence after a 4-day trial. Mayo pleaded that he was innocent the entire time ... to no avail.
Mayo spent over 16 years of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit. The two co-defendants recanted their original testimony. Yet, Mayo continues to spend his life in jail. He has many supporters working to get him freed. Take a moment to watch a 5-minute movie on William J. Mayo created by several students at Morehouse College.
Villagers, many of you know that I've been using LinkedIn Network for the past year or so. It is amazing to me that there are still professionals who are not taking advantage of this online tool.
I currently have over 1,477 direct connections with access to over 6,645,500 people through my LinkedIn Network.
Anyhow, I recently listened to a podcast with Dave Millman. He is an MIT graduate and former Director of Marketing at IBM. His present role is Vice President of Marketing at CiraNova, a software company located in San Francisco’s Bay Area in California, servicing the semiconductor industry.
After watching the returns from the North Carolina and Indiana primaries Tuesday night, McGovern said Wednesday it's virtually impossible for Clinton to win the nomination. The 1972 Democratic presidential nominee said he had a call in to former President Clinton to tell him of the decision, adding that he remains close friends with the Clintons.
McGovern's announcement comes a day before Clinton was scheduled to travel to South Dakota to campaign. The state holds its primary June 3 with 15 pledged delegates at stake.
He had kind words to say about Hillary Clinton, however, McGovern acknowledged that Obama has won the nomination "by any practical test".
It's time to unite the Democratic Party, he said.
McGovern concluded, "Hillary, of course, will make the decision as to if and when she ends her campaign. But I hope that she reaches that decision soon so that we can concentrate on a unified party capable of winning the White House next November."
I watched the election results as they rolled in last night in both North Carolina and Indiana. It was a beautiful thing to behold. I think it is wonderful to know that African American voters will be the major reason for Clinton's defeat. Team Clinton dismissed African Americans as inconsequential. They simply gave up on our community much as Republicans have done in the past. As a result, she didn't get over 7% of the African American vote in either Indiana or North Carolina.
Obama's victory speech in North Carolina demonstrated that he found his voice again. I especially enjoyed the soulful manner in which he shared his love for his country. People questioned his patriotism ... and he answered in a powerful manner. If you have not seen his North Carolina victory speech ... take a moment to check it out.
Coming up on Mother's Day y'all! If there is a mother ... there is a child. My sister, Kyra Hicks, wrote an outstanding children's book focused on a child of African descent. The book is called Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria. I'm remarkably proud of my sister.
Do you recall having books read to you when you were young? Do you remember reading books to your children as they went to bed? Children's books are a phenomenal way to share the remarkable stories of real people. It makes you wonder how generations before us managed to enjoy stories exlusively through the oral tradition, without the combined talents of storytellers and artists.
Click here to hear an audio-interview of Kyra ... where she talks about magazine articles inspiring books, emphasizing the positive to move a story forward and how Kyra herself has become passionate about the subject of her book.
Share some love with Kyra either in the comments section below or by visiting her blog.
This month we are reaching out to you for eBook submissions. Your submission may include:
Relevant interview
Relevant editorial
Art (including relevant literary art)
Essay on your personal experiences
In all cases, your submission should deal with human rights abuses, including our primary focus on Darfur and Tibet. Please send your submissions by email to the Roots of Humanity eBook team.
