Playing w/ Intua Beatmaker Again

When I'm alone in my room sometimes I stare at the wall and then I jump on my phone and make some music for y'all!!!

:)

In the Hotel, Can't Sleep

It was like 4am and I just needed something to do . . . please don't judge me, it was late.

:)

B

Brandon Plays w/ Beatmaker for iPhone

So I got done with my work a little earlier than I anticipated today and decided to throw together a video of an app that I've been enjoying for a while now, Intua's Beatmaker. I make a quick beat in this video, drop a verse, and show you another beat that I finished up on earlier. Enjoy it.

SMART Phones vs. PTSD & TBI

I've been tasked with putting together a computer basics curriculum that would benefit the American wounded warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women have served their country with honor and are looking to take on a computer trade in the service or out in the civilian world. There are a couple of challenges to pulling this curriculum together: (1) most of these soldiers have very limited knowledge about technical matters (2) most of these soldiers suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or Traumatic Brain Injury. These disorders make it difficult to focus on tasks and they also make it hard for soldiers remember things. So taking that knowledge into account, I am going about my journey of creating something that would benefit an individual in this condition.

Let's talk about what SMART phones can do to help us out here. I will use the iPhone as an example just because I have one and we have been given 30 of them (thank you Apple) to carry out this pilot with the soldiers. I am playing around with the concept of using apps for learning. I firmly believe that apps can be a nice way to introduce/demonstrate/reinforce course material. Working under the assumption that this approach isn't flawed we proceed.

In learning something new there are a couple of things that always take place: (1) the new concept is defined and explained (2) the learner's knowledge of the facts around the new concept are repetitively exercised/affirmed (3) the learner's knowledge about the new concept is tested by demonstration of procedures (exams, lab experiments, etc.). So if we take a look at the iPhone at these three stages we are able to see that there are apps out there that address the needs of new learners for each stage. Let's go stage by stage and sample some apps that would help our soldiers.

STAGE 1: A new concept is defined and explained
Almost every app out there has some sort of explanation to help guide you as you use it. I play a lot of game apps and part of my ritual before playing for the first time is checking out the tutorial. This should provide a high level explanation of the major concepts of the game and visual reinforcement for the user so that the app (in general) is understood. This stage can be likened to a professor delivering a lecture to a class of students. High level concepts are described, but much of the low-level work is left out. Some examples of apps with high-level tutorials are Tic Tac Toe Ten and Bailout Wars. Tic Tac Toe Ten has a tutorial video while Bailout Wars has a couple of slides to flip through for users to understand how to play. The main point of this stage is to introduce the learner to the concept and to provide any background knowledge about the concept that would help the learner digest it easier in the stages that follow.

STAGE 2: the learner's knowledge of the facts around the new concept are repetitively exercised/affirmed

So at this stage the learner has become familiar with the definitions of words that relate to the concept at hand. He/She should be able to recite a canned (memorized) response to very high level questions concerning the concept in question. This stage can be equated to a professor giving out homework once the lecture has been given. The learner now has to wrestle with the concept and do exercises and problems that reinforce the knowledge from the lecture. Apps like Kaplan GRE Exam and Cram fit this stage perfectly. Both apps allow the learner to drill himself/herself in a repetitive manner until the objectives are met. For the Kaplan GRE Exam app the objective is to learn words and their definitions. For the Cram app, a learner can create flashcards on any subject matter and drill themselves until they have internalized the concepts. The notion of repetition and drilling is a very key component in acquiring information and retaining that information.

STAGE 3: the learner's knowledge about the new concept is tested by demonstration/explanation of procedures

At this stage most of the heavy lifting has been done by the learner. This stage is the equivalent of a written or an oral exam. The learner's knowledge of the concept is now revealed for what it is just as long as the examination is detailed enough. An app like SAT Practice Tests (math) is a perfect example of this examination concept. In the app, the learner must answer multiple choice questions from the domain of geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. There is really no faking it (unless you happen to be an awesome guesser). For the most part, the hard work from Stage 2 (or lack thereof) will come to the surface when demonstration or explanation are required. Research shows that learners who have the best grasp of a concept are individuals who can teach others how to do the very thing that they just learned. The aim at the end of the SMART phone activities would be to get the soldiers to teach each other the very concepts that they have just internalized themselves. If we are able to get to this point then our objectives have been accomplished!!!

More to come in the future ... check out the apps above if you get a chance ... we'll see you soon

B

Playing With Aviary's Myna Software

Take Me Back.egg on Aviary.

Flash under the covers . . . Protools meets EC2 . . . Thursday awesome!!!

mr. live love learn

Tally One for Mobile Learning

So I picked up the November issue of Fast Company Magazine today and I was put up on a pretty interesting (and inspiring) method of teaching. I read about an initiative called Project K Nect, a project that helps kids learn math by infusing mobile phones (usually SMART phones) into the curriculum. You may be asking yourself, "Phones + Math . . . yeah so, what's the big deal?" I was skeptical too but here's how Qualcomm and Southwest High School (in Jacksonville, NC) boosted both student interest and proficiency in mathematics.

So Project K Nect requires each kid who is enrolled in a math class to have a cell phone. The same old dry math content that we all learned as kids is still dictated to the students. The difference is in the assignment: the kids are given the challenge of mastering the concepts and then documenting their mastery via mobile video. All mobile phones are required to have video recording capabilities in addition to the traditional voice and text capability. A free digital toy, coupled with new (more interesting) expectations seem to have done the trick for these high school students. Their proficiency scores and their interest in the subject to skyrocketed with the introduction of this new curriculum format.

This gets me to thinking, is there a link between successful mastery of an unfamiliar subject and the expectation of explanation? I thought about it and I think that if you know you will be expected to explain what you are supposed to have mastered then you will put more pressure on yourself to make sure that what you present is up to snuff. When I took math in high school, I was rarely put in a position where I had to explain myself or defend my assumed mastery of the subject. Only tests showed how good (or not good) I was for any given topic.

The video explanation component is even more pressure in this age of critiquing user generated content. But students shine under pressure when they are able to infuse their creativity on top of their mastery. This might even be more of an incentive to master a subject; kids may want to sprinkle their unique flair onto something MORE than they actually care about mastering that something. But if mastering that thing is what it takes to permit the opportunity to be creative then so be it. Just a theory but I think this is the case in these days in times where everybody wants to be witty, flashy, funny, hot, cool, on camera.

So to conclude, I would like to thank Elizabeth Svoboda for blessing me with this article. I think that this method of learn stuff --> prepare presentation --> exhibit mastery is a very powerful way to get kids to really learn and retain information. I'm gonna be playing with this for a little while and will be back with the my findings. Stay tuned.

mr. live love learn

Interesting Links From 10.08.2009

Here are some links from all over the place. Music, education, technology, etc. I had some epiphanies while checking them out, hope you do too :)

http://www.25hoursaday.com/CsharpVsJava.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/science/06uganda.html?_r=2

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010597.html

http://sportsnation.espn.go.com/fans/katalyst4sport#blogs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIhDfCwx2xU

http://www.blindiforthekids.com/2009/10/lupe-fiasco-fire/

and that is all!!!

peace

TicTacToeTen, Education, & Learning Pt. 2

I am keeping the research ball rolling on this project and this time we'll dive into real world implementations of Chess curricula. We will then see how many of these concepts might be able to be ported over to my game of Tic Tac Toe Ten.

So to start it off I used a couple more articles as reference: one from the New York Times and one from Chess For Education.

In the last post, I convinced myself (and you too hopefully) that a game like Tic Tac Toe Ten could do positive things for students if adopted by their school districts. I'm using the fact that Tic Tac Toe Ten parallels Chess in many ways and the fact that Chess has been tied to raised IQ, better concentration, improved critical thinking, and a number of other things for people who play (especially kids). So now that we're convinced that it can positively impact our audience what do we do?

Well the New York Times article pointed out how the state of Idaho implemented Chess education programming for their 2nd and 3rd graders state wide. The state's education budget for this particular year (2008) was $1.5 billion dollars. It was estimated that it would take $250,000 to deploy the program statewide to the 40,000 2nd and 3rd graders. First Move, a program provided by America's Foundation for Chess, was used to give instructional materials (chess boards and pieces, DVDs, online manuals and resources, etc.) and training to classroom teachers on how to deliver this to their students.

I imagine that a 1 or 2 day conference was delivered and that the necessary knowledge transfer happened pretty quickly. Classroom teachers need to know how the new information integrates with the existing objectives and also how to troubleshoot when roadblocks come up (e.g. language barriers) The materials were then handed off and the teachers were empowered to go out and change their classrooms. So for Tic Tac Toe Ten to be embedded into curriculum from a 2nd-8th grade level, I'd need to put together the board sets (board, pieces, clocks, instructions) an instructional DVD, an online manual, and a small support team. I'd have to get in touch with heads of state education departments to broker deals on the materials and trainings as well. After that it would be all about creating new goods and services on top of the existing platform to enhance the learning that was already going on.

With Idaho being such a small state, the dollars that could be made if this should get approved by larger states would be pretty big. The challenges ahead have to do with differentiating content across grades. Targeting products according to grade level would take a little more research, but should be doable. We could break into 3 categories for 2nd-8th grades (2-3, 4-5, 6-8) and work on special content that would be relevant to each of these categories in logic, math and vocabulary.

that's all for this episode but stay tuned for more soon,

B.M.

TicTacToeTen, Education, & Learning Pt. 1

I am beginning a quest to figure out how I can tie the principles of my game Tic Tac Toe Ten to education and learning. The end goal is two-fold: to encourage students to play Tic Tac Toe Ten and also to prove to their teachers that this game is contributing to their development as students. I believe that elements of the game introduce and reinforce concepts (memory, pattern recognition, decision making, etc.) that are necessary for a successful K-12 educational experience.

So today I start with the game of Chess and look at what it has to offer and why it can be (and should be) used as an educational tool and not just a game. I hope to take some of these truths and apply them to Tic Tac Toe Ten as I defend my hypothesis that Tic Tac Toe Ten should be used in schools (embedded into curriculum, used in refreshment exercises, etc.) as a learning tool to help students develop skills needed to have successful educational experiences.

The first article I looked at was called "Chess and Education" by John Artise. I was struck by a couple of things in this article.

First, the notion that chess conditions players to be extremely observant, analytical, and calculating. The importance of this is that these skills are necessary for success in everyday life. To have a concept (learned via a game) at your disposal to use in a challenging life situation is very valuable. It helps to shape and inform the decision making process, even outside of the domain of Chess. I found this very interesting.

Second, the notion of operant conditioning is a huge player. To quote the article, ". . . operant conditioning involves the learner actually doing, observing and responding to the stimuli presented to him." So the fact that you can be an active participant and learn (in real time) from your good moves and from your not so good moves is a big plus. Perhaps this is why children prefer video games as opposed to memorizing the fundamental theorem of calculus. The difference is that you can see and feel your impact immediately, you're learning by doing instead of being made to memorize something (without meaningful application).

So like Chess, Tic Tac Toe Ten has elements that would make it a perfect play for the school district who is trying to instill principles of memory improvement, logic, observation, analysis and operant conditioning in their students. This is very encouraging as I move forward with the research for this project. The next entry will continue looking at Chess and ask/answer questions about how to practically roll something like Tic Tac Toe Ten out for consumption.

stay tuned :)

B.M.

School Sucks (And Here's Why) by Dr. Tae

Dr. Tae — Building A New Culture Of Teaching And Learning from Dr. Tae on Vimeo.

Wow . . . I couldn't agree more. Thanks Dr. Tae!!!

Brandon x Piano = Music???

:)

B.M.

New Mali Music is here, AND IT'S HOT!!!

I been following this brotha for a while now and his new joint, "The 2econd Coming" is out now so I thought I would throw up a little playlist for my (your) reference. On your march, Get set...

Mali Music

Stay tuned and encouraged y'all . . . peace out for now.

B.M.

Playing With Flash CS4

So I spent the night tonight playing with my trial version of Adobe's Flash CS4. I am determined to learn how to master graphics and animations so that I can begin to build all of the educational software products that I have sitting in my brain. Stay tuned.

LiveLoveLearners . . . BEHOLD MY FIRST FLASH CS4 OFFERING!!!

A HOW TO OF INTEREST: Creating Social Media Protocols for Non-Profits

THIS IS PART ONE (I think):



I am taking the scientific approach on this one. My HYPOTHESIS is that if I can sample enough Social Media policies from respectable organizations, I can piece together a pretty solid document for my organization to abide by. I have been conducting a little EXPERIMENT and have been sampling the practices and experiences of some of my peers. My OBSERVATION is that without proper guidance, people will make their own rules and do their own thing. This is sometimes fine if these individuals aren't working toward a common goal. As it turns out, most organizations actually are working toward a common goal so guidance is actually needed. My CONCLUSION therefore, is this: every organization (large and small) should make making a Social Media Policies document a priority. Without one your people will make up their own rules and anarchy will ensue.

Here are some useful links on various topics around Corporate Social Media Policies . . . from some of the respectable organizations that I mentioned.

CISCO

RIGHT NOW

GOVERNMENT

WORKPLACE FAIRNESS

INTEL

The New Gig

Just started a new job a couple of days ago with the Wounded Warrior Project. I came out to HQ (in Jacksonville, FL) and am here doing what I do, mostly IT-related tasks. This non-profit services seriously injured veterans of war and provides physical, mental, and vocational programming to help them get their lives back. Transitioning back into society, finding jobs, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and a number of other challenges exist for these Wounded Warriors (see some of them here). I am super excited to be able to jump on board and help push this organization to the next level. The culture is pretty laid back and is reminiscent of my short days with the Army National Guard. Well it's time to get back to work . . . I'll check in a little later. Peace Out.

B.M.

Playing With TweetMeme Buttons

Just some links that I played around with this morning:

http://tictactoeten.com/
http://thenextweb.com/
http://mashable.com/

Oasis 2009 Promo Video

Find more videos like this on Megisté Areté Christian Fraternity, Inc.

New Robert Glasper is here!!!

please give it a listen . . .




Double Booked

:)

Teaching a mini iPhone Class on SuperCool School

This is gonna be fresh!!! Stay tuned.



:)

Official Website Unveiled: Tic Tac Toe Ten

It's finally here y'all . . . Thanks to ChiefMoney Designs for partnering with me to bring this all together. God bless y'all. Let's continue to help get Tic Tac Toe Ten on the map. Here's the link to the site if you want to check it out: http://www.tictactoeten.com/

Happy Independence Day everybody, have a blessed and restful holiday!!!

B.M.

Playing with the linkage on AppSafari.com

iPhone Apps



Can you digg it?!?! I can :)

Couple of Music Videos From Past Performances

check me out y'all . . .

more to come in the future for sure :)

stay living loving learning . . . PEACE

Tic Tac Toe Ten is here!!!

Support One Of My Bands Y'all

First, thank you for your continued love and support for Fear & Fancy! This is an exciting time for us, and we are so grateful that you are with us on this journey. 

We are asking for your help spreading the word that for a limited time, Fear & Fancy will be streaming their entire debut album, Twenty Twelve, at www.fearandfancy.com before its official release! And after they've had a listen, complete a simple survey to receive a free song from the album! 
We are hoping that you can support us in this endeavor, as it is really important to us that as many people as possible have a chance to experience the album, as well as to find out their thoughts and feelings towards what they have heard. 

 

Thanks guys and as always . . . Live Love & Learn

Happy Hump Day!!!

I'm missing home a little, so I made some music to cheer me up. Hope it cheers you up to if you're having a less than awesome day. Check me out y'all:

TheWindyCity - Brandon Timothy

As always . . .

Live Love & Learn

The time has almost come for the unveiling of what I predict will be the video Game of the Year in the mobile phone game space.  It is called Tic Tac Toe Ten and in approximately 7 days, the world will behold what I have been scheming/working/hustling toward since last September.  It has been a long journey and I'm glad that this chapter is coming to a close (and with the close of this one, a new one begins).  Go to these couple of links just for starters and tell your friends and family to get ready: fB link, myspace link, twitter link, ning link, blogger link.

I'll catch up soon . . . thanks in advance for your support.  And as always, 

Live, Love, & Learn

The Law vs. Moral Values

An interesting article by Walter E. Williams

A civilized society's first line of defense is not the law, police and courts but customs, traditions and moral values. Behavioral norms, mostly transmitted by example, word of mouth and religious teachings, represent a body of wisdom distilled over the ages through experience and trial and error. They include important thou-shalt-nots such as shalt not murder, shalt not steal, shalt not lie and cheat, but they also include all those courtesies one might call ladylike and gentlemanly conduct. The failure to fully transmit values and traditions to subsequent generations represents one of the failings of the so-called greatest generation.

Behavior accepted as the norm today would have been seen as despicable yesteryear. There are television debt relief advertisements that promise to help debtors to pay back only half of what they owe. Foul language is spoken by children in front of and sometimes to teachers and other adults. When I was a youngster, it was unthinkable to use foul language to an adult; it would have meant a smack across the face. Back then, parents and teachers didn't have child-raising "experts" to tell them that "time out" is a means of discipline. Baby showers are held for unwed mothers. Yesteryear, such an acceptance of illegitimacy would have been unthinkable.

To see men sitting whilst a woman or elderly person was standing on a crowded bus or trolley car used to be unthinkable. It was common decency for a man to give up his seat. Today, in some cities there are ordinances requiring public conveyances to set aside seats posted "Senior Citizen Seating." Laws have replaced common decency. Years ago, a young lady who allowed a guy to have his hand in her rear pocket as they strolled down the street would have been seen as a slut. Children addressing adults by first names was unacceptable.

You might be tempted to charge, "Williams, you're a prude!" I'd ask you whether high rates of illegitimacy make a positive contribution to a civilized society. If not, how would you propose that illegitimacy be controlled? In years past, it was controlled through social sanctions like disgrace and shunning. Is foul language to or in the presence of teachers conducive to an atmosphere of discipline and respect necessary for effective education? If not, how would you propose it be controlled? Years ago, simply sassing a teacher would have meant a trip to the vice principal's office for an attitude adjustment administered with a paddle. Years ago, the lowest of lowdown men would not say the kind of things often said to or in front of women today. Gentlemanly behavior protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect sexual harassment laws to restrain coarse behavior.

During the 1940s, my family lived in North Philadelphia's Richard Allen housing project. Many families didn't lock doors until late at night, if ever. No one ever thought of installing bars on their windows. Hot, humid summer nights found many people sleeping outside on balconies or lawn chairs. Starting in the '60s and '70s, doing the same in some neighborhoods would have been tantamount to committing suicide. Keep in mind that the 1940s and '50s were a time of gross racial discrimination, high black poverty and few opportunities compared to today. The fact that black neighborhoods were far more civilized at that time should give pause to the excuses of today that blames today's pathology on poverty and discrimination.
Policemen and laws can never replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Our increased reliance on laws to regulate behavior is a measure of how uncivilized we've become.

Just some food for thought . . . until next time LIVE, LOVE, & LEARN

PEACE

B.M.

I thought this was interesting, considering the fact that all of my friends are getting married these days . . .

Want to know the quickest way your kids can ruin their lives? Marrying the wrong person. You've spent two decades sacrificing so much to give your children the best. Make sure you talk to them frequently about what to look for in someone they will spend the rest of their lives with. The most important characteristic for your kids to look for? Finding someone who really means "'til death do us part" and has the commitment and character to back it up.

And the best way to judge that? Their track record. Do they have a vibrant faith? Do they keep their word? Do they believe in delayed gratification? Are they unselfish? Teach your kids what to look for in a future mate by being an inspiring example of all of these.

Let this marinate in your mind, body, and soul as you go about living loving and learning today

B.M.

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)