Quote from “The Art of Happiness…”

“You know, one thing that I think is crucial to keep in mind when talking about human values, compassion, and so on, is that these are not simply religious subjects. Compassion isn’t something sacred, nor are anger and hatred considered to be profane just from a religious perspective. These things are important not because some religious text says so, but because our very happiness depends on them. These states of mind- compassion, human affections– have clear benefits to our physical health, our mental and emotional health, all of our relationships at work or at home, and are even critical for the ultimate benefit of society. They are for our own benefit. When we cultivate compassion, the primary beneficiary is really ourselves. After all, humans are social animals, we are built to work cooperatively with others for our survival. No matter how powerful a single person may be , without other human companions, that individual person cannot survive. And certainly, without friends he or she cannot lead a happy and fulfilling life. So, at work, if you have a warm heart, human affection , your mind will be calmer and more peaceful, which will give you a certain strength and also allow your mental faculties to fucntion better, your judgment and decision-making abilities and so on. I think on a basic level we are all human beings. We all have the capacity to relate to one another with warmth, with affection, with friendship. So, if we are discussing happiness and satisfaction at work, like in all human activities, the human factor- how we relate to those around us, our co-workers, our customers, our boss- is of prime importance. And I think if we make a special effort to cultivate good relationships with people at work, get to know the other people, and bring our basic good human qualities to the workplace, that can make a tremendous difference. Then, whatever kind of work we do, it can be a source of satisfaction. Then you look forward to going to work, and you are happier there. You think, Oh, I’m going to work to see my friends today! And this is something that you can do yourself to improve your experience at work.”

– The Dalai Lama (pg 38 from The Art of Happiness At Work)

This quote embodies the spirit with which I am going forward in structuring plans for “Project i Am You”. Although the Dalai Lama focuses specifically on work in this quote, the overall message from the book The Art of Happiness At Work can really be applied to all aspects of life. More details on “Project i Am You” to come soon 🙂

Rebranding Yourself in the Work Place

So I’m working this new job. I’m two months in and no one really knows me here. I’ve invited some of my co-workers out for drinks but it’s like pulling teeth. I don’t want to be that guy who is so desperate for work-friends that I become incessant and annoying, constantly trying to break into the cool crowd. I’m in a new city and have to admit that I know very many people here so maybe that is the person I’ve become. It’s funny how things change.

Take this for example: growing up, I used to be a sickly little guy. I had a horrible diet as an infant and toddler which I think contributed to my weak immune system but I also simply had a small threshold for pain. If something scared me or was too painful, I’d faint. Just before I my seventh grade year I decided that it was time for me to take control of my life. I put together a strict diet chalked full of fruits, vegetables and proteins. On top of that, I began exercising intensely. Yes, in seventh grade I did all this. My favorite place was the library and I always read titles a bit above my head so I guess I picked up some miracle stories along the way.

I was already on the track team but wasn’t nothing you could call an athlete. I also began meditating and taking acting classes so that could gain control of my nerves, loose my fear of strangers and work on my stutter. The outcome: I became the best in the state in my main track event and a nationally ranked athlete, I became more or less fearless, all the while improving my overall health and quality of life. It sounds so simple and easy but it took me a lot of hours upon hours or training and hard work. Plus, my parents were my toughest coaches and biggest cheerleaders.

Had you known me as a child you would not have recognized me in high school. I was pretty much an over achiever with mediocre grades. I was seen as a jock since I became a captain of my track team as a sophomore, I was leader, having been named president of five major clubs, and I was a recognizable face having been an anchor and director for our school’s media program.

On the flip side, I had reverted to being relatively shy (by my standards) during my first couple years of college. I broke out of my shell during my senior year. My friends constantly pushed me to run for president of the student council or homecoming king. I didn’t have any interest in school politics or contrived ego boosts but they branded it as the ultimate trophy, stating that I would be sure to win “since no one knows more people on campus” than I did.

I didn’t see myself as the big man on campus. I wasn’t in a frat. I didn’t date the hottest girl and I didn’t have a car. At least in my mind these things mattered. But now, I am definitely not the big man on campus. I have been out of school for about 15 months and am already on my second job.

No one knows me here. I’m just the “new guy” or the “new-black-guy” or the “new-tall-guy” or the “new guy who-always-goes-to-the-gym-during-lunch”. Look, let’s get one thing straight, I’m NOT complaining. I’m just saying it’s funny how things change.

2012 is going to be “The Year of Doing” in my book and I sure as hell look forward to all of the changes that will be coming my way.

The Road Less Traveled

Robert Frost (1874–1963).  Mountain Interval.  1920.

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

Goals for 2012

Goal #1: Build stronger relationships

I plan to call everyone that I consider a friend at least once every two weeks. I want to speak to my siblings and best friends at least once a week but aim for more and I will speak with my parents at least once every day even if it’s just to call and say “I love you”.

Goal #2 Build the best body of my life

This is going to be a thorough plan consisting of everything from the frequency of gym visits to the amount of calories that I ingest.

Goal #3 Write three (3) screen plays

Goal #4 Write one novel

Goal #5 Complete my book of poetry

Goal #6 Make several key contacts in the entertainment industry

Goal #7 Tap into my spirit

Goal #8 Be more of a free spirit.

Goal #9 Be slow to anger

Goal #10 Be more patient

This also means spending less time with people that get on my nerves or that I simply don’t get along with and spending more time with loved ones. “Why would you ever waste time with people that you don’t get along with?” you ask. We make up plenty of reasons but none of them are ever good enough. 2012 is the year of “ME”. I’ve had enough of that drained feeling your left with after spending time with that person who really has a way of pushing your buttons.

By focusing on me, I mean focusing on my feelings. What is my body or my heart telling about this person or situation. If I am constantly left feeling drained after an interaction then my body is telling me that I have to change the nature of my relationship with that individual or, if that isn’t an option, then I have to somehow limit or completely discontinue my interactions with that person. There is always a solution. There is no reason why I have to be a martyr for toxic relationships.

New Year. New You.

Today marks the start of the new me. It’s January 1^st, the time of the year when everyone feels as though they get to start off as fresh and clean as a new baby in the spring but inevitably, lack of discipline and plain old lazy set in and that excitement for a new you is washed away and dingy stain of old habits smiles again.

Well I decided to make all of my New Year resolutions public. That way I feel pressure to really hold true to them. Besides, no one likes public failure. Hopefully this will give me the motivation that I need to step out of my shell and really shine as the person that I want to be and feel deep down inside that I truly am.

Now, enough with the sentiment. The truth of the matter is that I know that people who are truly happy are the ones that are strong enough to accomplish those goals which they set out to do. All too often have I been the hindrance to my own success and thus, my own happiness. Here are my goals and 2012 is the year of no compromise.

1)      Build stronger relationships with those people that mean most to me

2)      Build the best body of my life

3)      Write three (3) screen plays

4)      Write one novel

5)      Complete my book of poetry

6)      Make several key contacts in the entertainment industry

7)      Tap into my spirit

8)      Be more of a free spirit.

9)      Be slow to anger

10)  Be more patient

Book Review: Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler

Take care of what you put into your mind, not your mouth. A good looking mind vs. body. Cause in the end, it all turns to shit anyway

Parents: The Biggest Killers of Dreams.
http://ping.fm/8LZn2

THINK BIG, BE BIG: All my moves be major!

Parents: The Biggest Killer of Dreams

I was sitting in the audience at school forced to listen to some speaker I didn’t care to be bored with. I’m not quite sure what lead him to say this but at this moment, all of my adolescent frustration finally began to make a little bit of sense. He said, “Parents are the biggest killer of  dreams. They usually only want the best for us but they suffocate their children’s dreams in their pursuit to give us a safe life and a sure shot at a secure future,” often pushing them towards the familiar paths in life that they have tread themselves.

I’m older now. I’m no longer in high school. I cant afford to be jaded about my own upbringing or find people on which to place the blame of my own shortcomings. Though what this man said that day rang true, there comes a point in a person’s life when they have to break free of all of the pressure and suggestions to be anyone other than who they truly are. I would be the only one responsible if I allowed myself to just float down the stream of life half awake and simply surviving just because I was going with the flow. No one is going to know you better than you know yourself. So if you don’t know yourself very well then you have a big problem on your hands. No one has power over you unless you give them power. I learned a long time ago that my parents don’t know everything about everything. No one does but I sure as hell know a lot more about what I want out of life than they do. Don’t let anyone tell you what’s best for you. If they were so damn sure about what was best of you then their lives would be in tip top shape. So unless you’re some guru sitting in the lotus position with a damn halo floating around your head, don’t offer any unsolicited advice.

Quotes

“The success of a man can be measure by the number of things he does for the better even in light of his flux emotions.”

“Success come to those who are able to look fear in the eye and not cower.”

-Quentin

Living the Dream

There is no time for day dreaming when you are too busy living. I’ve caught myself staring into space. All of my attention absorbed by the disco spinning around in my mind. The world I envision is more than amazing- its glorious. But to all those who look upon this space cadet, they only see the glazed expression of someone oblivious to reality, overcome by self-imposed illusions. There’s no time for day dreaming when you are busy living- too busy making moves… making it happen. It’s time I stop sitting around watching the invisible reel of my future play over and over again with only minor changes. I know what I want out of this life. I gotta get up and snatch it. No excusing. No waiting. Procrastinating is for the weak and the scared. Life is for the brave. The time has come to scrape the moss and ivy off the stagnant talent called courage and get my ass in gear. Time won’t wait for me. And I’m not about to let this moment pass me by.

-Quentin

Have Real Men Gone Extinct?

I was conversing with a friend of mine other day about history when he mentioned something about how most modern men could not survive on their own if they were stranded in the wilderness, much less provide for their families. This was an interesting topic which turned into a conversation about how disappointed our ancestors of the ancient civilizations would be at us for being such weak excuses for men. No man really wants to admit that they are weak. After all, I know how to fish and shoot a bow and arrow. But there is no denying that I lack a certain amount of the spirit that inspired civilizations to the rise to greatness and small armies to overcome their oppressors. We lack a certain honor about ourselves and in this day in age it is completely acceptable.

UFO! 2012?

UFOs Over China: Alien Invasion or Economic Indicator?

By BRUCE WATSON Posted 7:22 AM 07/20/10

In the past two weeks, China has had two major UFO sightings. The first, on July 7, was basically a glowing streak in the sky near Xiaoshan airport in Hangzhou, a city outside Shanghai. In the interests of passenger safety, airport authorities shut down operations for an hour, and eighteen planes were delayed.

Eight days later, on July 15, another UFO appeared in Chongqing, a city in eastern China. Described as “four lantern-like objects forming a diamond shape,” the lights “hovered over the city’s Shaping Park for over an hour.” Whether or not China has recently become a destination spot for space travelers, its recent spate of unexplained celestial phenomena may say a great deal about its emerging place in the world — and its plans for the future.China’s Military in Space?

Several prosaic explanations quickly emerged for the sightings, including suggestions that the U.S. was testing bomber aircraft routes into China or the Russian military had deployed a new satellite. But the most common explanation was that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s military, was testing a new aircraft or missile. Admittedly, the decision to launch a weapon in range of an airport seems out of character for the secretive Chinese government, but the PLA’s public stance has become increasingly aggressive over the past year, and the public display of a new, impressive technology could be an effective way to demonstrate China’s rising military strength.

While China’s UFO sightings are exciting in their own right, they may also indicate a change in the Middle Kingdom’s status in the world. For decades, the U.S. has been the destination of choice for unidentified flying objects, with the number of sightings far outstripping those of other countries. Since1940, in fact, there have been 56 clusters of sightings in America. By comparison, China has had only four — two of which occurred within the past two weeks.

China’s Industry and UFOs

//

There are several terrestrial explanations for UFOs. Two of the main studies on unidentified flying objects — the U.S. Air Force’s project Blue Book and the work of Alan Hendry — determined that most UFO sightings were easily explained. Many alleged UFO sightings were actually man-made aircraft. Other causes included dust, windblown debris, and light pollution, all of which could be the result of industrial activity.

In 2009, China had 11% industrial growth and, according to China Online Daily, the country is working to achieve an equivalent growth rate this year. Such impressive economic development comes at a cost: China’s air quality is the worst in the world, and the lower Yangtze delta — where Hangzhou is located — is among the regions that have been specifically cited for airborne particulates. Add in the horrific dust storms that China had earlier this year, and the effect is an air pollution index that is literally off the charts. While dust in the air wouldn’t cause UFOs, it could exaggerate, blur, or refract commonly-occurring light, creating images that look like light beams and glowing spheres.

Blame China’s Space Program

Another contributing factor could be the psychological impact of a space program. It’s worth noting, for example, that UFO sightings in America spiked between 1965 and 1975, when the U.S. space program was at its height. While this could be coincidental, it seems likely that, as more and more Americans cast their eyes heavenward, many of them saw things that they couldn’t explain.

China has had a space program for decades, but it only recently kicked into overdrive. In 2003, the country launched its first manned spaceflight, a 21-hour orbit of the earth. Four years later, it successfully conducted its first unmanned orbit of the moon, and it plans to conduct a manned landing by 2022. According to some estimates, they could get there by 2017.

China isn’t the only Asian country with an aggressive space program. For the past few years, pundits around the globe have noted that India and China are facing off in what might be a replay of the U.S./USSR space race of the 1960’s. In 2008, India’s Chandrayaan-1 probe landed on the moon, and the south Asian behemoth now has its sights set on Mars.

The India connection further cements the space program/UFO link. Like its neighbor to the east, India is also experiencing a spike in unidentified space phenomena: in the past five years, it has had five major clusters of UFO sightings. In fact, if UFOs are any measure of a nation’s potential for space exploration, India has a very bright future: with 60% more sightings than China, it appears that the South Asian behemoth is far ahead in at least one aspect of the space race.

Tagged: china, India, space program, ufo, UFOs

See full article from DailyFinance: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/ufos-over-china-alien-invasion-or-economic-indicator/19559850/?icid=main|main|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2Fstory%2Fufos-over-china-alien-invasion-or-economic-indicator%2F19559850%2F&icid=sphere_copyright

Movies Make Men Cry too

A new type of tear-jerker

By Finlo Rohrer BBC News, Washington

The third in the trilogy is a comedy, but in a bittersweet way

Many men like to think themselves impervious to Hollywood’s traditional tearjerkers, but is the newly-released Toy Story 3 a sign that moviemakers are gaining new powers to make them weep?

Middle-aged men are not “supposed” to cry during movies.

In today’s Magazine

• Crying shame
• 7 days quiz
• Right on
• Ego power

But there’s a been a groundswell of admissions that Toy Story 3 is having just such an effect, and that it might be part of a growing trend of more subtle emotion inducing on the silver screen.

Hardy film critics in the US have admitted feeling weepy after watching the film and when it opens in the UK on Friday the same effect will be easily observed.

Jeff Zegas, 56, is typical of the responses to the film in the US.

“I had tears in my eyes. It was so touching about Andy, when he was saying goodbye.”

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

From a very young age, males are taught that it is inappropriate to cry”

End Quote Prof Mary Beth Oliver

The third film in the trilogy shows Andy, the owner of the toys, as a 17-year-old about to leave for university. He has to decide what to do with the toys.

Critics have identified the themes of growing-up, leaving home and loyalty. Particularly powerful is the bittersweet idea – to a parent – of a child leaving home.

Parents can be filled with nostalgia for their own youth, sadness at the distance from their offspring, but happiness that they are going out into the world, eventually to reproduce the cycle.

There have always been tearjerkers, playing on the fact that some audiences’ idea of a good time is to have a good cry.

THE CRY AND THE WHY

Continue reading the main story

• Bambi: Mother shot
• The Princess and the Frog: Firefly crushed underfoot, becomes a star
• Brokeback Mountain: Gay cowboy moved by shirt of dead lover
• Dead Poets Society: Pupils show love for sacked teacher by standing on desks
• Kes: Boy’s only source of happiness, a kestrel, is killed

Over the years misty eyes have been generated by the death of Bambi’s mother, the killing of the kestrel in Kes, the ending of Titanic, or Jenny’s death in Love Story.

And yet men, if they have felt weepy during these films, have often tried to be surreptitious about it.

That’s because there are expectations about their behaviour, says Prof Mary Beth Oliver, of Penn State University, co-author of the academic paper An Examination of Factors Related to Sex Differences In Enjoyment of Sad Films”.

“For many men, there is a great deal of pressure to avoid expression of ‘female’ emotions like sadness and fear. From a very young age, males are taught that it is inappropriate to cry, and these lessons are often accompanied by a great deal of ridicule when the lessons aren’t followed.”

For the full article click here.

New 2010 coins

Modern Day Witch Hunts

17 July 2010 Last updated at 11:34 ET //

Rise in African children accused of witchcraft

A wide range of children are at risk

An increasing number of children are being accused of witchcraft in parts of Africa, the UN children’s agency says.

Orphans, street children, albinos and the disabled are most at risk.

A new Unicef report warns that children accused of being witches – some as young as eight – have been been burned, beaten and even killed as punishment.

The belief that a child could be a witch is a relatively modern development, researchers say.

Until 10-20 years ago, it was women and the elderly who tended to be accused.

The agency says the rise in vulnerable children being abused in this way is linked to greater urbanisation in the continent and disruption caused by war.

The growing economic burden of raising children is also thought to be a factor.

The agency said there was little it could do about the belief in witchcraft itself, and that it was not trying to eradicate the practice. But it said violence against children was wrong, and that it would do everything it could to stop it.

‘Major problem’Most of those accused of witchcraft are boys aged between eight to 14 – who often end up being attacked, tortured and sometimes killed.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

The children would be forced to admit being witches and then asked to tell the accusers who passed on the witchcraft to them”

End Quote Joquim Theis Unicef officer

Also, children have had petrol poured into their eyes or ears as a way of trying to exorcise “evil spirits” that healers believe have possessed them.

It is reported that some evangelical preachers have added to the problem by charging large sums for exorcisms. One was recently arrested in Nigeria after charging more than $250 for each procedure.

There has been no comprehensive study to suggest how widespread child witchcraft allegations are.

However Unicef’s Regional Child Protection officer for West and Central Africa told the BBC more than 20,000 streetchildren had been accused of witchcraft in the DR Congo capital Kinshasa.

Joaquim Theis told the Newshour programme that such children had often been beaten and sent away from their homes.

“The children would be forced to admit being witches and then asked to tell the accusers who passed on the witchcraft to them.”

Mr Theis said reintegrating affected children remained a “major problem”.

Kids… here’s why we don’t do drugs

Funny Commercial

When I was a junior in college, I was invited to the advertising agency that creates these commercials to be a sort of critic. It was a simple job because I love these commercials. They are hilarious!

Family Living Tip #5: Children and health

Mental health is held together by reassessing and modifying our way of looking at the world as we begin each new phase of our life. I was reading one of my favorite books, The Science of Mind,  when I came across this passage.

“At first, children are happy, free, spontaneous. That is why we like them, they live instinctively. As they grow older and their emotions become more complex, and they hear people talk about death, trouble, divorce, love and marriage and everything else, good bad and indifferent, they begin to react to these emotions subjectively. Everything that opposes harmony and spontaneous unity, will prove disastrous to the child’s health, sooner or later. After a certain age, children have to be re-educated, just as do adults, that their subjective mind may not reproduce false impressions.” -Ernest Holmes in The Science of Mind

Family Living Tip #4: Know what you want

God said, “Ask and it shall be given to you. Pray knowing that you have received and it shall be given to you before your words have even formed.” This is our mission: to live life knowing that our dreams and hopes have been provided for. Do not worry. Do not stress. Be confident, love, learn and live. All is else has already been given to you. We will receive our inheritance in time.

Family Living Tip #3: Do Something to make yourself laugh

EAT LOVE PRAY

Do something to make yourself or someone else in your life laugh in the morning. Share a joke with your family or a friend. Watch a funny youTube video. Start the day with a positive attitude and good things will follow.

Family Living Tip: #2

We need energy when we wake. Thats why carbs are best absorbed in the morning. A nice serving of home fries with a protein and a glass of fruit juice or milk is a good way to start the morning. Make a large portion and save the rest for the other days of the week. Home fried potatoes tend to taste just as good after you reheat them. I recommend that you boil the potatoes for about 20-25 minutes before you put them in the skillet.

Recipe:

2.5lbs of Red potatoes

1 Green pepper

1 small yellow onion

1 teaspoon of Lawyre’s Season salt

Family

Living for Life: Tip #1

Eat Love Pray

Eat avocado! They provide essential oils and are a great source of vitamin E & C which promote clear, healthy skin and smooth, healthy hair. These vitamins also promote a strong immune system. Avocados are great in sandwiches, salads and dip (think guacamole). You can even wear it on your skin at night if you have dry skin. The natural oils will readily be adsorbed into your skin. I have oily skin so I don’t do this. Plus I’m a guy sooo… yeah.

Avocados are fatty for a veggie, packing 22 grams of fat total. But don’t worry, its the good kind of fat. One serving, approximately 150 grams, has 3 grams of protein and 25% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C which is amazing.

For more nutrition facts click here.

Growing up means more responsibility… and that sucks!

Student loans… car maintenance… insurance… these are just a few of the many downers in life that make becoming an adult really unattractive to me. I mean, I am an adult now whether I like it or not but does it really have to come with all of the negative side effects like worrying about setting aside a portion of my income to pay back paying back student loans and other debt? I mean, I am all about responsibility. It kind of just sucks, you know. I mean, its part of life, yeah. But it still sucks.

Getting Serious About Life

If there is one that thing that I have learned from college, it is that there is a real art to living a balanced life. Good friends, fulfilling relationships, strong networking and professional skills and a healthy body don’t just come knocking on your door when you are ready to grow up and be an adult. People are constantly tweeking their lifestyles to get the most out of life.

Somewhere along the line I stop being so judicious about how I spend my time. Maybe it was the whole senioritis thing kicking in… maybe I was just growing lazy. What ever the reason, I can see an enormous difference between my lifestyle now and the lifestyle that I had in high school when I was living at home, playing a sport, involved in clubs and was forced to go to church every Sunday under threat of loosing my allowance. Looking back on it I recognize that everything that I do contributes to the structure of my life and the way that I see the world. Having a more relaxed approach to religion and school has really affected the way the I lead my life. I find real value in having a more structured and grounded approach to things. No one is making go to class anymore and no one wakes me up on Sundays and forces me to drive to service. Maybe I’m a late bloomer but I think now think that these things are vitally important to my life and I’m going to put forth more effort to make sure that life is as balanced as possible.

Job Search

There are so many in’s and out’s to finding a job. I’ve heard people say that the job hunt is a full-time job and that is no joke. Going to a company website, learning about openings, filling out applications, writing a cover letter tailored to fit that position and company, attaching your resume and following up with the company to keep track of your application status is a long and tedious process. The applications these days are no breeze either. It takes be about two hours on average to fill out these lengthy online applications. Every company these days wants to know your employment history for the past 10 years! Even though I have learned to save my history into a word doc on my desktop, it is still a painstaking job inserting all of the information into the correct fields in online application and by the time I get to the end, I am usually so frustrated with the whole process that I have to take a break before writing my cover letter so that I can muster the spirit to convey how much I truly want the job that they are offering. But then again, sometimes its really just about getting a pay check and not about actually wanting the job. That’s when filling out the applications is really painful. This is just another hop that I have to job through and I know that the majoritiy of other college students have to do the same thing so I just have to suck it up and get it done.

Graduation

I find it hard to focus on school work with graduation on our heels. I personally do not have a full-time job lined up yet and am focusing heavily on seeking out the job opportunities that will best fit me. But after five years in college and all of these college courses, I can’t say that I know for sure what I want to do right after leave the world of college behind me and enter into adult life. I know that I would like doing what I am getting a degree in, marketing, but I don’t think I would grow to love it. What I love doing is acting. And for the past nine months I have reengaged myself in the study of acting through classes both inside and outside of Temple. I have a passion for the arts but the promise of finding a job right away in this industry are even slimmer than the business world job market.

It seems like there are a lot of graduating seniors who have this same anxiety about finishing school and preparing themselves to move onto the next phase without certainity of employment. A good friend of mine who graduated from Temple a year ago just found a full-time management position at Burger King last month. He was a finance major. Although Burger King wasn’t his first choice of employer, he is happy to finally get a higher paying position which he is degree has, in some way, qualified him for. My motto right now is that any job is better than no job at this point. Its time to get serious.

Dreaming

I took a nap sometime after I ate lunch and I awoke inspired. I dreamt about a play idea that could turn into a big hit if I just put the idea to paper. Sometimes I follow advice without much reason to believe that the advice is any good. I just know that their advice is an action and I’m tired of sitting around. But this feeling that I have is completely different. I am 100% confident that it is a piece of gold.

Setting Goals

Every once in a while, I ask myself, “is this career that I am pursuing a practical way to make a living?” And the answer is the same every time: “NO!” I didn’t choose this line of work for its practicalness.  I’ve chosen this line of work because its art. I am constantly tormented by the issue of practicality. I am a business student at Temple University.

My summer sessions will mark my last 4 months at this institution and the course work will consist of intense semester long group projects and tons of research. There will be no room for slack. In these next four months I will be surrounded by hard core, money-minded, cut-throat business students who sole desire is to get a salary job with a respectable company. One of my major mistakes during my college career was not surrounding myself with other creative spirits who were able to add some balance to my life. However business school has not been a total burden on me. I have learned a great deal about goal setting.

The only way that I am able to survive and avoid the complacency that threatens to take the lives of young Blacks everywhere is to set many many small goals. Like the drive from Jersey to California in the dark of night, I only know for sure the 50 ft stretch of road that lies immediately before my head lights. I don’t need to know for certain how the entire highway between the two coast looks prior to setting out for my journey. I just need to see what is immediately before and be confident that I will eventually make it to where I need to be.

Signing off

-Quentin

Work Out Plan

Workout Plan

Baby Boy loves dancing to Beyonce video

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You just got the shit smacked out of your

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Old School Joint of the Day: Ray Charles- Georgia on my Mind

Jay-z and Oprah Pt. 4

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Jay-z and Oprah Pt. 1

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Absolutely Ridiculous

I don’t see how this accomplished graduate of the University of South Carolina Law School and former CIA agent could be so captured by the moment as to allow an impassioned outburst interrupt the President’s speech without the prerequisite of a complete and utter feeling of disrespect for the president. Rep. Joe Wilson claims that he was taken by his emotions and this I don’t doubt. However, his apology that was offered after the fact was by telephone, was disingenuous and given with severe reservations. Wilson rather be reprimanded and disciplined by the House than give a public apology.

Temple News: Making the Move

Moving from Main Campus to its outskirts can come with more baggage than planned for.

Senior elementary and special education major Julianne Cavanaugh now lives above Samosa Restaurant in Center City.

Living off campus can be a beautiful introduction into city life or a painful awakening to the conditions of our North Philadelphia community and the woes of adult responsibility, and students who choose to live in the area surrounding Main Campus should be aware of the risks that may accompany their independence.

Mike Tracy, a junior finance major, came to his own understanding of those risks last fall, after making the mistake of leaving a window unlocked to his three-bedroom rental at 17th and Berks streets.
“Our place was broken into over Thanksgiving break last year,” Tracy said. “They had kicked in the bars off of the bathroom window, climbed through and then broke through the back door where apparently other people had come through.”

In addition to about $4,000 in stolen property, which included DVDs, a plasma TV, laptops and other electronics, Tracy said his landlord tried to hold the students responsible for damages to the property, citing negligence as the cause of the break in. To add to the sting, Tracy hadn’t gotten around to buying renter’s insurance.

“Our landlord said that if [we] ‘contend’ that our house was burglarized, then we need to show him a police report, even though he was present the night that we got back from break,” Tracy said.
Last year, there was a long string of burglaries in the properties being leased to students west of Main Campus, the highest concentration occurring between 19th and 16th streets, between Dauphin and Berks streets. This area is just shy of the Temple Police patrol radius, which includes the area from 16th to Ninth streets and from Susquehanna Avenue to Oxford Street.

“With the increase in students living in the areas around Main Campus, Temple Police have enlarged their patrol radius in the past,” said Ray Betzner, the vice president of communications at the university. “We may see an increase in the future, but there are obvious natural limitations considering the size of the force.”

Safety and housing quality are certainly some of the leading concerns of students who live around Temple.

“We haven’t really had any problems,” said junior criminal science major Pat Jochum about his apartment near the intersection at Broad and Diamond streets.

“We’ve been here for three years now,” said Jochum, who lives in a two-bedroom apartment owned by Temple Town. His apartment falls within the patrol area of Temple’s 124 officers.

Temple Town is one of the largest off-campus housing providers to Temple students.

“We own over 70 buildings,” said Star Boscana, a 2008 Temple graduate and leasing agent for Temple Town. “That’s approximately 200 units. We have about 600 tenants, and our tenant make-up is 99.9 percent Temple students.”

Boscana and her colleague Jill Kerrigan, the regional property manager for Temple Town, said they’ve had their share of difficulties with student tenants.

“The biggest thing that we try to enforce is really to respect your neighbors,” Kerrigan said.
Boscana said sometimes they will hear from the neighbors or Temple police about issues with their tenants.

“We get a lot of calls about Carlisle Street,” Boscana said. “Mostly [students] peeing in public, breaking neighbor’s flower pots, throwing bottles. Just drunkenness in general.”

After living on Carlisle Street and at 30th and Master streets, Stephen Twigg, a senior visual anthropology major, can attest that Temple’s surrounding community offers challenges.

“Being a Caucasian student living in a predominately black neighborhood, I basically represented gentrification to the community,” Twigg said.

“No matter how nice you try to be to people,” he said, “you always have a couple that assume the worse about you.”

Senior elementary education major Julianne Cavanaugh said she’s decided to stretch her wings beyond the immediate Temple community.

“I lived in a three-bedroom house at 19th and Ellsworth streets last year and just moved into a two-bedroom apartment on 12th and Walnut streets,” said Cavanaugh, who said she finds the youthful, energetic feel of city life to be exhilarating.

“I decided to move here because the prices were better considering the area, and everything you could ever ask for like food, bars and shopping is right there at your finger tips.”

Quentin Williams can be reached at quentin@temple.edu.

With inspiration comes this

Tired and sleeping giants
7/18/09

Like a lump of harden earth
Your tears fall
I wish
To catch them-
To put them back where they came
But I am not strong enough to carry
those huge boulders

I cannot say your name
without puncturing holes in
The dam I built to hold back the
memory of your promise;

it was a secret thrill we shared
a pattern woven between the whispers sent through the
gaps in Mr. Bush’s wooden fence
Or on the telephone lines when we
were confident that our eavesdroppers had tired
you know the truth at which I hint at

now, All rhyme has been displaced from the past I
once tried to convince myself would never come
only reason remains
splotched onto these pages of forgotten
adolescent incantations
like ink
stains from a feather pen that dares us

to use fresh sheet
unflawed and therefore unlived

is this thing we call life meant to
fetter at the edges
like a worn flag that has seen too many proud days
can one live without the sharp pains
the bind both
the weak and strong alike

oblique magic still stirs beneath the surface of
the memories of a life lived
but not yet filled
only questions exist on this level
I suppose we aren’t evolved enough to
find their answers yet
yes, but this would just be an excuse

Old School Joint of the Day: Al Green- Change is Gonna Come

President Obama to Award Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is one of our living pieces of history that I feel everyone should know about.

Presidential Medal of Freedom Honors Diversity and Dedication

August 12th, 2009

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst
Aug. 11, 2009 – President Obama will present 16 individuals with the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom Wednesday, one of the highest civilian honors given to a wide spectrum of accomplished individuals.

This years’ honorees are no exception;   those being honored included the well known Archbishop Desmond Tutu for his work as an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa along with civil rights activist and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference the Rev. James Lowery.

Two well know performers who broke barriers in the entertainment industry are also being honored.  Actor Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to be nominated and win an Oscar for best actor. He will be joined by fellow actor Chita Rivera, a two time Tony winner and the first Latino to receive the coveted Kennedy Center Honor.

Two recipients will be honored in absentia; former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp and San Francisco board of supervisors Harvey Milk.

Kemp a champion football player for Buffalo Bills, a member of Congress and Republican vice presidential candidate died in May 2009.

Milk the first openly gay elected official from a major U.S. city encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender to live their lives openly and work to achieve social equality. He died in 1978.

Two well known faces in the nation’s capitol will be among the honorees; Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) for his 46 years of service in the Senate and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Kennedy will be honored for his work in the Congress. Affectionately known as “The Lion of the Senate,” Kennedy is credited with spearheading laws reforming education, strengthening civil rights laws, and health care.

O’Connor the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court was nominated by President Reagan in 1981 and served on the court until her retirement in 2006.

Others being honored included:

Nancy Goodman Brinker is the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s leading breast cancer grass roots organization.

Dr. Pedro Jose Greer a physician and the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at the Florida International University School of Medicine; Greer is the is the founder of Camillus Health Concern, an agency that provides medical care to over 10,000 homeless patients a year in the city of Miami.

Stephen Hawking is an internationally-recognized theoretical physicist who has a severe physical disability due to motor neuron disease.

Billie Jean King a top professional tennis player in the 1960’s and 1970’s,   and the first female commissioner in profession sports when she co-founded the World Team Tennis League.

Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, is the last living Plains Indian war chief,  and  the author of seminal works in Native American history and culture.   Medicine Crow was the first member of his tribe to attend college, received his master’s degree in anthropology in 1939, and continues to lecture at universities and notable institutions like the United Nations.

Mary Robinson the first female President of Ireland (1990 – 1997) and a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997 – 2002). Since 2002, she has been President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, based in New York, which is an organization she founded to make human rights the compass which charts a course for globalization that is fair, just and benefits all.

Janet Davison Rowley, M.D., is the Blum Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology and Human Genetics at The University of Chicago. She is an American human geneticist and the first scientist to identify a chromosomal translocation as the cause of leukemia and other cancers.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a global leader in anti-poverty efforts, and pioneered the use of “micro-loans” to provide credit to poor individuals without collateral.  He also founded the Grameen Bank in 1983 in Bangladesh to provide small, low-interest loans to the poor to help better their lives and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work.

For more on the honorees go to www.whitehouse.gov.

Old School Joint of the Day: Tha Crossroads

This is a classic rap track.

Presidential Medal of Freedom Honors Diversity and Dedication

August 12th, 2009 By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst
Aug. 11, 2009 – President Obama will present 16 individuals with the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom Wednesday, one of the highest civilian honors given to a wide spectrum of accomplished individuals.

This years’ honorees are no exception;   those being honored included the well known Archbishop Desmond Tutu for his work as an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa along with civil rights activist and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference the Rev. James Lowery.

Two well know performers who broke barriers in the entertainment industry are also being honored.  Actor Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to be nominated and win an Oscar for best actor. He will be joined by fellow actor Chita Rivera, a two time Tony winner and the first Latino to receive the coveted Kennedy Center Honor.

Two recipients will be honored in absentia; former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp and San Francisco board of supervisors Harvey Milk.

Kemp a champion football player for Buffalo Bills, a member of Congress and Republican vice presidential candidate died in May 2009.

Milk the first openly gay elected official from a major U.S. city encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender to live their lives openly and work to achieve social equality. He died in 1978.

Two well known faces in the nation’s capitol will be among the honorees; Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) for his 46 years of service in the Senate and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Kennedy will be honored for his work in the Congress. Affectionately known as “The Lion of the Senate,” Kennedy is credited with spearheading laws reforming education, strengthening civil rights laws, and health care.

O’Connor the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court was nominated by President Reagan in 1981 and served on the court until her retirement in 2006.

Others being honored included:

Nancy Goodman Brinker is the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s leading breast cancer grass roots organization.

Dr. Pedro Jose Greer a physician and the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at the Florida International University School of Medicine; Greer is the is the founder of Camillus Health Concern, an agency that provides medical care to over 10,000 homeless patients a year in the city of Miami.

Stephen Hawking is an internationally-recognized theoretical physicist who has a severe physical disability due to motor neuron disease.

Billie Jean King a top professional tennis player in the 1960’s and 1970’s,   and the first female commissioner in profession sports when she co-founded the World Team Tennis League.

Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, is the last living Plains Indian war chief,  and  the author of seminal works in Native American history and culture.   Medicine Crow was the first member of his tribe to attend college, received his master’s degree in anthropology in 1939, and continues to lecture at universities and notable institutions like the United Nations.

Mary Robinson the first female President of Ireland (1990 – 1997) and a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997 – 2002). Since 2002, she has been President of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, based in New York, which is an organization she founded to make human rights the compass which charts a course for globalization that is fair, just and benefits all.

Janet Davison Rowley, M.D., is the Blum Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology and Human Genetics at The University of Chicago. She is an American human geneticist and the first scientist to identify a chromosomal translocation as the cause of leukemia and other cancers.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a global leader in anti-poverty efforts, and pioneered the use of “micro-loans” to provide credit to poor individuals without collateral.  He also founded the Grameen Bank in 1983 in Bangladesh to provide small, low-interest loans to the poor to help better their lives and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work.

For more on the honorees go to www.whitehouse.gov.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpmr8Shy_UA

Don’t Expect To Get a Rise Out of G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe was sooooo disappointing! The acting wasn’t expected to be great… not even good. But for a military movie, none of the characters were thorough enough to even be convincing even as disposable government property. This movie attempts to impress the audience early with the special effects firework show of explosives as Channing Tatum (Duke) and Marlon Wayne (Ripcord) encounter some trouble when transporting a new military special weapon. The US Military purchases a cutting edge special weapon from an exclusive dealer only to find out that the weapons manufacturer plans on having his payment without handing over the goods. Tatum’s old flame, Sienna Miller (Baroness) comes into the pictures as a soldier for the evil weapons manufacturer and will stop at nothing to regain the weapon and show off her ice cold heart.

I was really counting on the G.I. Joe to make up for their poor acting with intense action and great special effects but all the movie was able to deliver was unrealistic fighting scenes along side distracting CGI that makes you say, “those are definitely computer graphics”. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the directors weren’t planning on the same relief. It seemed like nearly half of the movie was comprised of fake people and digital helmet to help mask confused facial expressions that didn’t match the intensity of the script. These Joe’s are suppose to be saving the world but they joke all the way through- humor that wasn’t on point from the get go.

Sienna Miller on G.I. Joe movie poster

For all of you grown ass kids that have been G.I. Joe fans since your Saturday morning, cartoons-in-the-pj’s days, don’t see this movie unless you can readily embrace disappointment or can summon amnesia at will because the cast of this movie is in no way reminiscent of the macho Joe’s of old. The screenplay and story writers were probably trying very hard to make this the family oriented action flick of box office toppers but wait… I can’t really think of any family oriented box office toppers other than the Incredibles (which is so obviously a kids movie). The old cartoons didn’t have many comical scenes so I don’t know where they got that idea from. I thought this was suppose to be a movie about tough guys not sorry ass whimps hung up on failed relationships to shoot a weapon.

Looking Good

Keri Hilson:  the definition of sexy

Vibe Folds, The Print Crisis Does Not Discriminate

NEW YORK — Vibe, the popular hip-hop and urban culture magazine founded by legendary producer Quincy Jones, is shutting down.

Vibe Magazine Cover

Vibe Media Group Chief Financial Officer Angela Zucconi confirmed the closing and said most of the company’s 50 or so employees will be laid off.

The closing comes amid a historic decline in ad revenue across all media that has left many categories of magazines struggling. Among recent casualties have been Portfolio, Conde Nast’s high-end business monthly, the style and home decorating magazine Domino, and Blender, another music magazine.

Founded in 1993, Vibe had a paid circulation of roughly 800,000 during the last six months of 2008. The magazine was acquired by The Wicks Group, a New York private equity firm, in 2006.

HuffingtonPost.com

Stupid Philadelphia Cop, unaware being taped

This guy is fuckin retarded. Philly cops act like this all the time though. I can assure you that this definitely not an isolated incident. All I have left to say is, “Is that camera on?”

Location: Penn’s Landing (Philadephia, PA)

“Philadelphia Police-Beating Victims Sue…”

“August 7th, 2009

Philadelphia Police Beating Victims Sue
The three misidentified Black men who were snatched from their car, beaten a kicked by several Philadelphia Police officers are suing the city police department. Dawayne Dyches, Pete Hopkins and Brian Hall were all found innocent of charges related to the May 5, 2008 shooting that police they committed. On Thursday, a mostly Black grand jury found that the swarm of officers, who were caught by a TV news camera pummeling the three men, did not use inappropriate force. Thus, they will not be compelled to stand trial for what many observers contend was an apparent abuse of power. Immediately after the videotape was released showing the melee, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey fired four officers, saying, he had been around a long time and knew police abuse when he saw it. Robert Gamburg, who represented Dyches in the criminal case, expressed shock at the grand jury’s decision. “If it was so lawful, why were people fired and the video showed police literally running from the scene, getting in their cars and literally back away and speeding off?” But John McNesby, president of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, said he was not at all surprised by the decision. “We expected this result from the beginning. We said all along these officers did their job and that this was knee jerk reaction from the city, a fire-aim-ready approach.” The grand jury concluded in its report, which followed a 14-month investigation, that forced used by “the police was helpful rather than hurtful; the kicks and blows, in other words, were aimed not to inflict injury but to facilitate quick and safe arrests.”

Read the full article at http://blogs.bet.com/news/newsyoushouldknow/