Spring Cleaning

I haven't blogged about anything in a loooooonnnng tiiiime.  As a member of the Gen-Y society this is totally unacceptable so this post is evidence that I am getting back on the ball.  A lot has happened in the month that I've been away.  Some uncertainty about my career has been introduced.  I thought I had it all planned out for my next 1.5-2 years, but God made it clear that he had different plans.  California continues to be California (the sun shines, the birds chirp, and the people smile).  My game project is nearing completion and I'm getting prepared to start the evangelization of it in the next weeks and months.  If you've got kids that wanna hear about living playful, meaningful, inspired lives talk to me and I'll do a prezo for you.  Music life has continued to be exciting but it has been harder and harder because of the insane amounts of work that I've been doing.  Well, I'm getting pulled into something else right now (like at this very moment) so I must take off, but until next time continue to Live, Love, and Learn.

peace out for now,

Brandon

This stuff happened on my Birthday y'all

*           Today in Black History - February 18                *

 

1688 - The first formal protest against slavery by an organized white body in the English American colonies is made by Germantown,Pennsylvania Quakers and Mennonites at a monthly meeting. When some members of the Quaker community began to buy slaves, Francis Daniel Pastorius, the founder of Germantown, was outraged. On this day, Pastorius will meet with three other Germantown Quaker men to draft a denunciation of slavery. Known as "The Germantown Protest," it is regarded as the first protest against slavery by whites in the American colonies. The reasoning of the denunciation was based on the Golden Rule: since white people did not want to be slaves themselves, they had no right to enslave black African men and women. Despite the Germantown Protest, some Quaker families continued to keep slaves. Nonetheless, by the 19th century Quakers were prominent in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States.

 

1865 - Confederate Troops abandon Charleston, South Carolina. The first Union troops to enter the city include the Twenty-first U.S. Colored Troops, followed by two companies of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers.

 

1867 - The Augusta Institute is founded in Georgia. It is established as an institution of higher learning for African American students, and moves to Atlanta in 1879. In 1913, the name is changed to Morehouse College.

 

1894 - Paul Revere Williams is born in Los Angeles, California. He will become one of the most famous African American architects, designer of private residences in Los Angeles, the Hollywood YMCA, the Beverly-Wiltshire Hotel, UCLA's Botany Building and many others. Among his many awards will be the NAACP's Spingarn Medal in 1953.

 

1931 - Toni Morrison is born in Lorain, Ohio. She will become one of the most celebrated modern novelists of the 20th century, winning the National Book Critics Award in 1978 for "Song of Solomon" and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988 for "Beloved." In 1993, she will become the first African American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

 

1965 - The Gambia gains its independence from Great Britain.

 

1973 - Palmer Hayden joins the ancestors in New York City. One of the principal artists of the Harlem Renaissance who, like Henry 0. Tanner and others, studied in Paris, his most enduring work often depicted everyday scenes of African American life.

 

1979 - The miniseries "Roots: The Next Generations" premiers on ABC TV.

 

1995 - The NAACP replaces veteran chairman William Gibson with Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, after the rank-and-file declared no confidence in Gibson's leadership.

 

2006 - Shani Davis, from Chicago's South Side, becomes the first Black athlete to claim an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history, winning the 1,000-meter speedskating race in 1 min., 8.89 seconds.

Interesting Lil Tidbit

I been away a long time . . . and for good reason . . . I've been busy, but here's an interesting little tidbit of information that I read in a 20-page letter that Bill Gates wrote about his foundation's work.

One of the key things these schools have done is help their teachers be more effective in the classroom. It is amazing how big a difference a great teacher makes versus an ineffective one. Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school.

As I continue towards my career in education, I'll keep this in mind.

Live.Love.Learn.

Today in Black History . . .

* January 5 *

1804 - Ohio begins the restriction of the rights and movements of 

free African Americans by passing the first of several 

"Black laws." It is a trend that will be followed by most 

Northern states.

1869 - Matilda Sissieretta Jones is born in Portsmouth, Virginia.  

She will become a gifted singer (soprano), who will rise 

to fame as a soloist and troupe leader during the later 

part of the nineteenth century.  She will be nicknamed 

"Black Patti", after a newspaper review mentioned her as 

an African American equal to the acclaimed Italian soprano 

Adelina Patti. American racism will prevent her from 

performing with established white operatic groups. She will 

tour Europe, South and North America and the West Indies as

a soloist. In 1896, she will form her own troupe, "Black 

Patti's Troubadours," which will combine the elements of

opera and vaudeville, creating musical comedy.  She will 

join the ancestors on June 24, 1933.

1911 - Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity is founded on the campus of 

Indiana University by Elder Watson Diggs, Byron Kenneth 

Armstrong, and eight others.  It will be the first African 

American fraternity to be chartered as a national 

organization.

1929 - Wilbert Harrison is born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He 

will become a singer and will be best known for his 

recordings "Kansas City," and "Let's Work Together." In 

2001, his recording of "Kansas City" will be given a Grammy

Hall of Fame Award. He will join the ancestors in Spencer, 

North Carolina on October 26, 1994.

1931 - Alvin Ailey is born in Rogers, Texas and will move to Los 

Angeles, California at the age of twelve. There, on a 

junior high school class trip to the Ballet Russe de Monte 

Carlo, he will fall in love with concert dance. In 1958, Mr.

Ailey will found his own company, the Alvin Ailey American 

Dance Theater, which makes its debut in New York. Mr. Ailey 

will have a vision of creating a company dedicated to the 

preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance 

heritage and the uniqueness of Black cultural expression.  

In 1969, Alvin Ailey will found the Alvin Ailey American 

Dance Center, the official school of the Ailey Company, and 

he will go on to form the Repertory Ensemble, the second 

company, in 1974. His commitment to education is the 

foundation of the organization's long-standing involvement 

in arts-in-education programs, including AileyCamp. He will 

join the ancestors on December 1, 1989 in New York City.

1938 - James Ngugi is born in Kamiriithu, Kenya.  He will become a 

writer whose works will depict events in colonial and post 

colonial Kenya. He will integrate Marxist-Leninist beliefs 

into his novels, which will include "Weep Not Child," "The 

River Between," "A Grain of Wheat," "Petals of Blood," and 

"Matigari ma Mjiruumgi." He will later change his name to 

Ngugi wa Thiong'o. His writings will cause him to be 

imprisoned by the Kenyan government and he will later leave 

the country for England and the United States.

1943 - George Washington Carver joins the ancestors after succumbing 

to anemia at the age of 81.  He was a pioneering plant 

chemist and agricultural researcher noted for his work with 

the peanut and soil restoration while at Tuskegee Institute.

1943 - William H. Hastie, civilian aide to the secretary of war, 

resigns to protest segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces.

1947 - Ted Lange is born in Oakland, California.  He will become an 

actor and be best known for his role as 'Isaac' on the TV 

series, "The Love Boat."

1948 - A commemorative stamp of George Washington Carver is issued 

by the U.S. Postal Service.  The posthumous honor bestowed 

upon the famed agricultural expert and researcher is only 

one of the many awards he received, including the 1923 

Spingarn Medal and membership in the NYU Hall of Fame.

1957 - Jackie Robinson announces his retirement from professional 

baseball.

1971 - The Harlem Globetrotters lose 100-99 to the New Jersey Reds, 

ending their 2,495-game win streak. 

1975 - The Broadway premiere of "The Wiz" opens, receiving 

enthusiastic reviews. The show, a Black version of "The 

Wizard of Oz" will run for 1,672 shows at the Majestic 

Theatre. Moviegoers, however, gave a thumbs down to the 

cinema version of the play that starred Diana Ross and 

Michael Jackson years later. One memorable song from the 

show is "Ease on Down the Road." 

1987 - David Robinson becomes the first player in Naval Academy 

history to score more than 2,000 points. This was 

accomplished when the Midshipmen defeat East Carolina 

91-66.  He will go on to become a major star of the NBA.

1993 - Reggie Jackson is inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame with

94% of the votes.

Live

Love

Learn

:o)

Just For Kicks Mixtape Coming Soon

Whassup Folks,

here's a track from the latest project . . .

http://www.imeem.com/people/11BPha/music/4yR-NsGa/wedontgotthatsizemp3/

peace

BM

My Games Research

What are the benefits of playing mentally stimulating games?

These links provide some preliminary answers to my research:

S.T.E.M. (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math) Coalition

http://www.stemedcoalition.org/

Games With A Purpose

http://www.gwap.com/gwap/

Ken Perlin Homepage

http://mrl.nyu.edu/~perlin/

Microsoft Research

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/default.aspx

Puzzle Action Commentary

http://www.puzzleaction.com/anti-aging.htm

Microsoft Invests In Video Games To Teach Kids Science

http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/science_news/4286548.html

High Tech High School

http://www.hightechhigh.org/dc/index.php

more links to come . . . 

Live

Love

Learn

:o)

I'm Feeling Real Poetical Right Now . . .

Back on my rhyme grind . . . sit back and enjoy ya'self

I heard a baby had a baby last week

The granny is 29 the baby is doing fine

But the baby of the baby seems destined for trouble

Only 3 days old but born into a struggle

Born into a black hole born into a bubble

Born into a circus now see if it can juggle

Education, incarceration, lack of self knowledge, and codes for playstation,

Garbage on the streets and diamonds in the teeths

Of the music superheroes that he sees on tv,

Violence in communities, random tomfoolery

On top of any and every block that he walks on

It’s a little bit of good and a lotta bit of wrong

To discuss and analyze on the tracks that he talks on

But what can he do and what can it say

Born into a game that he never asked to play

What would you do and what would you say

If forced into a game that you never asked to play?

Have fun Living, Loving, and Learning this week

:o)

b. middleton.