text:
Metro Council members and others are hoping to set aside a special day this year commemorating a Georgia congressman who once studied in Nashville and remains one of the nation's leading African-American civil rights leaders.
On Tuesday, the council will consider a resolution that would proclaim March 23, 2011, "John Lewis Day" in honor of U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who played an instrumental role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, having chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organized student activism and sit-ins in the South.
One of 15 individuals set to receive the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in February, Lewis received his education in Nashville, graduating from both American Baptist College and Fisk University.
"He's always been somebody that I looked up to in public service and community service as a whole," said Councilman Lonnell Matthews Jr., one of five council members to sponsor the resolution. "That's why it [is] really such an honor for me."
Lewis, who has served in Congress since 1987, gained his greatest prominence for helping lead a series of famous marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in March 1965 to advocate for voting rights in the state. The marches led to a bloody confrontation with Alabama state troopers, leaving Lewis with a fractured skull.
Matthews said the idea to commemorate Lewis with the special day came from American Baptist College, which would like to honor Lewis locally to coincide with the congressman's national recognition from Obama.
"That movement and that expression of compassion for all of America started here," said Emily Jenkins, director of administrative services at American Baptist College. "Lewis wasn't born here, but he had a significant impact once he arrived here [in Nashville] years ago."
The third of the three Selma marches took place between March 21 and March 25, which could make March 23 a fitting date for the Nashville tribute.
Jenkins said the date also works out logistically in hopes of having Lewis visit Nashville to speak.
Maybe Rep. Lewis can get funding for Nashville's federal courthouse... and we would name it for him. The city's current representative Jim "Stupor" Cooper certainly has not been able to get funding for the project that has been a GSA "priority" for 18 years! Of course, Nashville doesn't deserve any better than what they send to Washington. LOL


text:
Simon Community: Government needs to reappraise investment in tackling homelessness
10/07/2014 - 09:13:02Back to Ireland Home
The Simon Community is today calling on the Government to introduce a 'housing-led' approach to tackle homelessness.
The group says this involves access to permanent housing with ongoing support, appropriate to each person's needs.
The Simon Community is set to launch a new report in Waterford later this morning to help inform and assess the use of housing-led services.
National spokesperson for the group, Niamh Randall, say this research highlights that the supply of adequate, affordable housing remains the key challenge in addressing homelessness.
"The main finding really is that housing is the major block preventing us from addressing homelessness all around the country," she said.
"So a supply of adequate, affordable housing is the main challenge
"We're also looking at resources and what's key is funding commitments over key Government departments so what we really need is a reappraisal of the upfront investment required to address homelessness, which involves both the housing side and the support side."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Tax$ave News | About Tax$ave | Flexible Spending Accounts
The State Employees Tax Savings Program — Tax$ave,
is a benefit program available under Section 125 of the Federal Internal
Revenue Code that allows eligible employees to set aside before-tax
dollars to pay for certain medical, dental, and dependent care expenses,
thereby avoiding federal taxes and saving money.
Tax$ave is only available to eligible State Employees. An eligible employee
is any full-time employee of the State or a State college or university who is eligible to participate in the State
Health Benefits Program.
Tax$ave consists of three separate component
plans. An eligible employee may elect to participate in any
combination, all, or none of the plans. The three components of
Tax$ave are:
For additional information about Tax$ave,
see Fact
Sheet #44, Tax$ave Adobe
Eligible employees should also review the
Tax$ave Open
Enrollment Newsletter Adobe
PDF (73K), the Premium
Option Plan brochure Adobe
PDF (29K), and the Flexible Spending Plans Flier Adobe
PDF (857K), which are linked from this Web site.
Employees can also contact the flexible
spending account administrator, WageWorks, Inc., for more information on the Unreimbursed Medical Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account portions of Tax$ave. The WageWorks Customer Service telephone number,
mailing address, and Web link are provided below.
Tax savings on commuter mass transit
and parking expenses are available as a separate benefit
to State employees under the Commuter Tax$ave Program. Visit the Commuter Tax$ave home page and see
Fact Sheet #67, Commuter
Tax$ave Program, Adobe
PDF (35K) for more information.
WageWorks, Inc., administers the Unreimbursed Medical Flexible
Spending Accounts and Dependent Care Flexible
Spending Accounts for Tax$ave and the Division of
Pensions and Benefits.
must enroll with WageWorks each plan year
in order to participate in a Flexible Spending Account.
During the Open
Enrollment you may:
New employees must:
Contact WageWorks Customer Service toll-free at 1-855-428-0446 or visit WageWorks online at: www.wageworks.com
WageWorks Claim Forms — Tax$ave enrollees should submit all FSA plan claims to WageWorks.
Declination of POP Enrollment
in the Premium Option Plan (POP) is automatic unless
an employee submits a Declination of Premium Option
Plan form.
By declining POP you are choosing
to pay more in taxes. If you wish to decline enrollment
in this tax-savings plan, use the form for State
Employees Adobe
PDF (32K) or for State
College Employees Adobe
PDF (32K) depending on where you are employed.
Chapter 78, P.L. 2011, the Pension and Health
Benefit Reform Law, requires local government
and local education employers to offer Section
125 plans to their employees.
The Tax$ave Program is only available to eligible State employees.
Find out more about Pension and Health
Benefit Reform.
Last update: October 2, 2017


text:
Ankle Sprains and Aging Pains
My father recently took it upon himself to buy a shiny new jump rope because he read online that aerobic exercise is great for your heart and what better way to get the heart pumping then by rope jumping? However, keep in mind he has never jumped rope before in his life. And is 67. And was wearing sandals. And was on uneven concrete. And did I mention he was going on an overseas vacation in a week? So, of course, his first attempted double-under criss-cross turned into a trip, fall, sprain ankle move.


text:
I made some awesome Chunky Blondie Bars the other day. They had chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, chopped walnuts, and sweetened shredded coconut in them. They were pretty darn awesome. But they left me with half a bag of butterscotch chips without a purpose. I hardly ever bake or do anything with butterscotch chips so I knew that they would be there for an endless amount of time unless I set out to specifically use them up. It didn't take me long to remember these Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies that I had made once before.
I had actually forgotten how good these cookies were though. They are essentially just an oatmeal cookie dough without raisins or spices. Instead these cookies employ toasted chopped pecans and butterscotch chips. SO very yummy. Butterscotch chips are kind of caramelly in nature so they paired really well with the toasted, nuttiness of the pecans. Gosh, how I love toasted pecans… they are without a doubt my favorite nut. I still recall the day I first had Pecan Pie (LOVE!)… but that's another story entirely.
These Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies are easy to make- just your average drop cookie dough. They bake up with a delicious chewiness and slight crispness around the edges. I froze by cookie dough balls and baked them straight form the oven. That's why my cookies don't have much spread factor, but I don't mind- they still taste great! Plus, I think it is the most convenient thing to be able to freeze and bake cookie dough. I pretty much do it with all the cookies I make. I halved this batch, froze them, and baked some off for a few days until I had devoured the whole bunch hehe : D
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 (11 ounce) package butterscotch flavored morsels
- 1 cup chopped pecans, preferably toasted
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla, mixing until fluffy.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined. Stir in butterscotch-flavored morsels and pecans.
- Drop cookies by tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight container.


text:
* TSX rises 44.62 points, or 0.33 percent, to 13,370.66
* Eight of 10 main index sectors advance
* Loblaw, Metro fall after quarterly earnings drop
By John Tilak
TORONTO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose
on Wednesday as gains in the energy and financial sectors offset
a selloff in shares of grocers Loblaw Cos Ltd and Metro
Inc spurred by lackluster earnings reports.
Investors also speculated about the outlook for the U.S.
Federal Reserve's stimulus program, with the market looking
ahead to Thursday, when Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen is expected
to be nominated at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing to
replace Ben Bernanke at the helm of the central bank.
"People are looking at how long it will take for the Fed to
change its taper policy," said Subodh Kumar, the chief
investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates.
"Markets will be range-bound here," he added. "Markets are
moving back and forth depending on how much clarity there is (on
the Fed policy)."
Kumar, who expects the benchmark Canadian index to climbed
to 13,500 by the end of the year, sees more volatility in the
near term.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
closed up 44.62 points, or 0.33 percent, at 13,370.66.
Eight of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.
Energy shares climbed 0.9 percent as oil prices rose.
Suncor Energy Inc jumped 2 percent to C$37.23, and
Talisman Energy Inc advanced 0.2 percent to C$12.59.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, added
0.7 percent, with Royal Bank of Canada rising 1.7
percent to C$71.06 and Toronto Dominion Bank climbing
0.4 percent to C$96.69.
But the consumer staples group gave back 2.7 percent.
Loblaw shed 7.6 percent to C$44.23 after it reported a 29
percent drop in quarterly profit, hurt by a later Thanksgiving
holiday and a decline in sales at its drugstores.
Metro lost 5.7 percent to C$62 after reporting a
larger-than-expected 40 percent drop in quarterly profit as
expanding U.S. retailers provided "intense competition" in its
home market.


text:
Asian Games: Shooter Vijay Kumar to undergo spondylitis surgery
After finishing second in the team 25m centre fire pistol, Vijay can now tend to his neck
Incheon: Olympic silver medallist Vijay Kumar is a relieved man. Not just because of the silver medal he won in combination with Pemba Tamang (581) and Gurpreet Singh (580) in the men's 25m centre fire but also because he can now attend to his own body and mend it in time for the next season.
Gurpreet Singh (extreme left), Vijay Kumar and Pemba Tamang with their silver medals after finishing second in the 25m center fire. Pic/PTI.
India's last medal hopes now rest with their men's rifle team, which has Gagan Narang, in the 50m 3-position event to be held today.
The 29-year-old Kumar, who shot the day's only perfect round — a 100 in the first set of rapid shots — could ironically have turned the silver into gold with a perfect 10 in his very last shot, which was only an eight. Ultimately India finished two behind gold medallists, China, who totaled 1742 and India had 1740.
A '10' would have tied India with China and the gold would have gone India's way because of the greater number of 'inner 10s' — India had 68 to China's 58. But Vijay's third Asian Games medal — he had two bronze medals from 2006 and 2010 — also means the end of the season. With no more shooting till the National Games early next year, Vijay now plans to undergo a micro-surgery for his cervical spondylitis.
Result of overtraining
"I had undergone MRI scan and it has been found out that I have cervical spondylitis. I intend to undergo surgery after I go back. I may be out of competition for 20 days. It is the result of overtraining. "I should be back to training and competition by the National Games," he added as India's campaign in pistol events came to an end.
The silver brought Indian haul from shooting to one gold, one silver and six bronze, which is still almost half of India's 17 medals thus far at the end of the first week of the 17th Asian Games.
But only two of the eight medals were won in individual section — Jitu Rai's gold in 50m pistol and Abhinav Bindra's bronze in 10m air rifle. Individually Tamang finished eighth, while Gurpreet was ninth and Vijay Kumar was 12th.
Tamang was also relieved with the medal, saying, "I am very happy with the team silver after we as a team missed the bronze by a whisker (by virtue of shooting lesser inner tens) in the 25m standard pistol."
The Indian women's team, comprising Lajja Gauswami, veteran 44-year-old Anjali Bhagwat and Tejaswini Muley finished sixth in the 50m rifle 3 positions team finals.
8: The number of shooting medals India have won at the Incheon Asiad so far. They include one gold, one silver and six bronze


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text:
If you didn't get to see Pamela Geller engaging with a radical Muslim on Fox News' Hannity the other night, you definitely missed out.
Not only did Sean repeatedly slam Imam Anjem Choudary, but Geller had quite the comebacks for the man as well.
Of all the interesting back and forths between them, one very disturbing message may have gone unnoticed by the mainstream media.
After saying she reached out to the FBI in hopes of remaining safe from anyone who might act on taking her life, Geller says that she hasn't received word on whether or not protective detail will come to her aid.
Geller was instrumental in putting together the "draw Muhammad" contest in Garland, Texas that "came under attack by gunfire from two known jihadists." Since that event took place, "her life was threatened by the terrorist group ISIS."
From Truth Revolt:
Geller was the host for the Garland, Texas event that offered a "draw Muhammad" contest which came under attack by gunfire from two known jihadists. Since the attack Sunday, Geller was named as a specific target of ISIS as indicated in a released message: "Our aim was the khanzeer [pig] Pamela Geller and to show her that we don't care what land she hides in or what sky shields her; we will send all our Lions to achieve her slaughter."
HANNITY: This is a serious threat — basically a fatwa. A death threat has now been issued. Your reaction to that. Have you had any contact with the FBI?
GELLER: They have not contacted me. But of course, we've now increased my team. I have a team now, private security. And NYPD counterterror has been in touch with me. And so, yes, we'll all be working together.
HANNITY: Did you reach out to the FBI?
GELLER: I did.
HANNITY: And they haven't — Homeland Security hasn't gotten ahold of you? The FBI hasn't gotten ahold you?
GELLER: No, and this is interesting, because this is a terrorist threat. And the FBI — President Obama should provide security. There's just no question about it. Because he created an environment that raised the stakes on this.
Whether you feel the Muhammad cartoon contest was provocative or not, the issue of the First Amendment remains strong.
When our Founding Fathers put together the supreme law of the land, they sought freedom from oppression. As free speech goes, so do the stars and stripes.
Citizens of this great nation cannot afford to allow the radicals to dictate how we live our lives. In America, you have the right to offend and to be offended, but that doesn't mean you seek "revenge" on those with differing views.
By kowtowing to radical Islam, we are telling the world that Islamic rights are greater than our Judeo-Christian-held beliefs, and that simply doesn't hold water for red-blooded American patriots.
Once this current administration leaves office, pray that the next Commander-in-Chief will not appease enemies both home and abroad in a failed attempt to calm the world's hatred for our "transgressions."


text: I have alot of extra copies of games I just want to giveaway on my channel Forge, Borderlands2, dota 2, Torchlight 2, and Torchlight 1. So drop by my channel Like up the video and drop a comment below. I really believe you guys will like my content plus I am about to giveaway Razer Kraken headset for reaching 2500 subs. Thanks for the support ~snip~


text:
Watch movie
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2Quality:
After saving Xandar from Ronan's wrath, the Guardians are now recognized as heroes. Now the team must help their leader Star Lord (Chris Pratt) uncover the truth behind his true heritage. Along the way, old foes turn to allies and betrayal is blooming. And the Guardians find that they are up against a devastating new menace who is out to rule the galaxy.
Genre: Action , Adventure , Sci-Fi | Length: 137 minutes | Land/Year: 2017
Regie: James Gunn, Dan Abnett | Actors: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Laura Haddock, Aaron Schwartz, Hannah Gotte
Recommended movies


text:
Reno Type C Motor Homes for sale
Class C Motorhomes, occasionally associated with the mini style motor home, provides the amenities of the bigger Motorhomes RV in a reduced edition and at a more modest price. The Type C recreational vehicle (RV) is constructed on an automotive fabricated van chassis with a connected cab section. The size of a Class C Motorhome varies from nineteen to twenty-eight feet. The Class C (mini) Motorhome RV allows a lot of the luxuries and amenities of the Class A RV in a reduced and lower priced unit. It possesses sizeable living space and at-home comforts, and represents perfectly flexible accommodation for weekend escapes or extended vacations.
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North Las Vegas - North Las Vegas used motorhome for sale (Clark)
Amargosa Valley - Amargosa Valley new motor homes (Nye)
Laughlin - Laughlin RV dealers (Clark)


text:
37 Indians die in Nepal bus mishap
The overcrowded bus carrying pilgrims from India to a temple near Kathmandu veered off the road and fell into a canal; most of the victims are from UP
At least 37 Indians were among 40 people killed yesterday when an overcrowded bus carrying pilgrims from India to a temple in Nepal veered off the road and fell into a deep canal, authorities in Delhi and Kathmandu said.
The overloaded bus, reportedly overloaded, plunged into an irrigation canal on the Gandak river, close to Parasi town near the India-Nepal border.
Officials in Kathmandu and New Delhi said the bus was taking the pilgrims — mostly from Uttar Pradesh — to the pilgrimage site of Triveni, 100 km from Kathmandu.
Police said the bus was carrying about 75 passengers and many of them were riding on its roof. Police superintendent Gyan Bikram Shah said that the driver of the bus lost control on the road that was slippery because of rainfall.
Another police officer, Deepak Raya, said the bus was fully submerged in the river water after veering off the road.
A statement from the external affairs ministry in Delhi said most of the Indian victims were from Maharajganj district of UP and had gone to attend the Bolbum festival in Triveni.
Till late yesterday evening, 27 people were rescued alive. And of these, 10 were Indians. Officials feared that the death toll might go up.
India has set up an information centre up at the embassy in Kathmandu and concerned officials can be contacted at
00-977-1-4412125 and 411699 (extension 4109). A special Indian team, including a doctor, has left for the accident site to assist Nepalese authorities in the relief and rescue operations, the statement said. Nepal Army and Armed Police Force personnel are carrying out rescue works. The number of casualties could rise, the official added.


text:
Need someone to 1) check the SMIL 1.0 and SMIL 2.0 Techniques that are attached to 1.2.5 <http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Meet_Success_Criteri on_1.2.5> 2) Create SMIL technique write-ups for 1.2.1 <http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Meet_Success_Criteri on_1.2.1> 1.2.2 <http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Meet_Success_Criteri on_1.2.2> 1.2.3 <http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Meet_Success_Criteri on_1.2.3> 1.2.4 <http://trace.wisc.edu/wcag_wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Meet_Success_Criteri on_1.2.4> One easy way to do this might be to 1) go to 1.2.5 2) click edit 3) copy the technique in total 4) go to the one you want to fill-out 5) paste this at the top (most of them will be blank) 6) edit it to match the one you are working on That will give you all the titles and format.... and an idea of what to put in each section. Thanks much TTF team. PS post a note to the list if you are going to do one of these so you don't collide with another. Also post a note when you are done. thxReceived on Sunday, 22 January 2006 16:05:16 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 16 January 2018 15:33:58 UTC


text:
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is trying to take away some of the thunder from General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), now that GM is losing its "Government Motors" nickname. The more stable auto company (Ford) is doubling its common dividend for shareholders.
We expected a dividend hike, but doubling the payout is way above and beyond what we would have predicted. This is the highest payout since back in 2006 before the recession. Ford shareholders will now receive a payout of $0.10 per quarter rather than $0.05 per quarter. The company was quoted as saying, "Ford's plan is to grow its dividend, consistent with earnings and liquidity growth, to a level that is sustainable through all business cycles."
Based on the $13.47 close, Ford will now yield 2.97% rather than just under 1.5% for its holders.
Ford went on to say that it increased its liquidity position through the first three-quarters of 2012 by some $2 billion. It also now has generated 10 consecutive quarters of positive automotive operating-related cash flow.
Ford shares are winning from this move, as the stock is up 3% in premarket trade at $13.89. Be advised that if this price holds, it will mark a new 52-week high, as the 52-week trading range is $8.82 to $13.70.
If you are unsure whether the phrase "a rising tide lifts all ships," then look at GM. Its shares are also up by 0.6%. After it gets the government out of its back office, maybe shareholders can hope for a dividend from it as well. They just might have to wait longer.


text:
Click here to print the obituary below
In Memory of
Linda Lyons Baker
January 20, 1940 - May 7, 2012
Linda Baker of Machias, WA; born to Willis and Marjorie Lyons in January 1940; born-again in Christ in 1951. On May 7th, 1962 she married her only husband William Baker. She left his arms for Jesus' embrace on May 7th, 2012; their 50th anniversary. The Lord gave her a few talents, and she now returns them many-fold. He is now her rest and reward.
Linda's heritage begins with her husband William. He survives her along with their family:
Son William.
Son Daniel and daughter Jessica with their four sons.
Son Joseph and daughter Patricia with their two sons and one daughter, two grandsons and three granddaughters.
Linda made Machias her permanent home in 1980, where she enjoyed communing with God in the woods on her property, and spent many hours with her grandchildren on nature walks in the Machias area. She always had time to visit over a cup of tea, especially if chocolate was involved. Linda was a devoted mother and doting grandmother. Her grandbabies truly were her delight. She will be greatly missed by us all.
Mom loved attending C.F.O. Christian Retreats over the last 40 years with her children and grandchildren. It is fitting that memorial gifts are sent in Linda's name to: Assoc. of Camps Farthest Out, Inc., 317 S. Madison Ave, Watkins Glen, NY 14891.
Funeral Services will be held Noon, Saturday, May 12th, at Bauer Funeral Chapel, 701 1st Street, Snohomish, WA, with graveside service at Machias Community Cemetery. A reception dinner will follow at Granite Falls Bible Baptist Church, 509 S. Granite Ave, Granite Falls. The family welcomes all who loved Linda to join us in celebrating her life.
Funeral Service
Saturday, May 12, 2012 | 12:00p.m.
Bauer Funeral Chapel
701 1st st., Snohomish, Washington
Driving Directions


text:
"To open avenues to political place and power for all classes of women would cause [the] humble labors of the family and school to be still more undervalued and shunned."
Related quotes
"The power to become a great politician in life is by learning to serve for only one term,so that the people don't get tired of seeing your face."
"A man's ego is the world biggest enemy. It destroys everything. A man's ego is the cause of all wars and destruction among humans since the begenning of time. A man's ego knows no limit when it comes to proving itself. it's up to us women to take them by the horns and humble them down. no men should walk the face of the earth with out a woman or else their egos will be the shattering of mankind."
"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."


text:
So I'm going to try out this dictation thing and see what happens as I make a blog post with dictation. The most frustrating thing for me as a writer is when I read writing books about improving your productivity, writing faster, other things like this (blah blah blah) and then I get about, oh I don't know, 10 pages in, and all of a sudden, it says "and the way that I improved my writing time is dictation". And then I scream. Just a little.
But I'm going to give it the old college try and see what happens when I use dictation to write a blog post. So here we go. So far, to this point, I have already done this whole post with this dictation program. I'm using Dragon Dictation on my phone by the way.
So far it works a lot better than the dictation functions in my phone's email and text message programs. That's good because otherwise I wouldn't be able to decipher what I'm saying.
As part of this experiment, I'm also going to try (that is TRY) to track my writing process and how well this is working for me. I'm actually going to try to write my book using dictation. That may go well or very poorly. But hey, I'm willing to experiment for the heck of it and see how things go. How much worse off am I if I do it than if I don't? I'll get in words either way. Now since I'm doing this on my phone, I actually won't be able to tell my word count until I send it over to my computer and import it into a document—probably one of the biggest problems with doing this dictation. I can't see how I'm doing as far as word count until I'm done with my session. The other problem I see is that, while I know basic punctuation commands for the dictation program, I will have to go behind and format everything. I think that when I'm writing my fiction this could be difficult because I won't be able to do dialogue very effectively via the dictation. I'll have to go back and hope I don't miss any places where there should be dialogue markers. The other problem is that I haven't figured out how to get the program to go to the next paragraph. (Right after I said that I went and looked up the dictation commands and found a quick sheet for them).
So we will see how these work. I'm going to stop the dictation and check. (Hey look it worked!)
So…I think this is going to be a learning curve but something that I can learn to do.
I think that my biggest problem, once I figure out the commands, will be learning to actually dictate my book. And by "learning" I mean getting over the fact that I will be talking out loud, not being embarrassed by talking out loud and learning how to get my story from my brain to my mouth. I don't have a problem getting my story from my brain to my fingers right now, but I can't get it out fast enough.
My final problem (I feel like this post should be called "a million problems for one solution") with learning how to do the dictation like this is that occasionally, I've looked down and seen that the recorder has just randomly turned off. I think that this is just something that I'm gonna have to learn to keep an eye on out of the corner of my eye while I'm talking. So I have now been talking into my phone dictation program for 11 minutes and I am going to transfer this text over to my computer and see how I did.
* * * *
Holy crap! So I'm back to the dictation after I transferred everything over to my computer (that only took about 30 seconds) and I did/wrote 621 words in 11 minutes. So now I can see how authors who use the dictation method are writing 2500 to 4000 words per hour. It seems really incredible to me, but I think I'm actually going to try it out for a real project.
But as I said this is going to be an experiment. I'm going to try to track my results on my blog. Also over the next few weeks, I'm going to start recording what I call "Building a Book". And in that series of posts, I'm going to talk about what it takes for me write a book from start to finish.
Hopefully, this will be helpful to other authors (although it is my process and everybody's process is different), but maybe, it will also be interesting for readers to see what goes into the crafting. I've gotten out of the habit of blogging during the past few years, and it's something I've really missed. In the past, blogging has helped me to work through ideas and hammer out how I'm going to work through things in stories, and I feel that it's something I really need to start doing it again. I hope that this ongoing blog series will be interesting and informative to you.
Go ahead and leave a comment below. Let me know what you think, if you've tried out dictation, if this bores you to tears… (No, don't tell me that)
Really I'd love to hear from you—although, I'm sure not many people come to my blog anymore because I am SO out of the habit. Hopefully I will see some of you soon!
Happy Reading!


text:
By Senator Mark Udall
Read the op-ed I wrote in the Pueblo Chieftain in support of extending the wind production tax credit, whose expiration at the end of this year is already threatening the loss of thousands of American jobs, our global competitiveness and energy independence. My op-ed highlights how important congressional action is to keeping the wind PTC around.
Mark Udall: Don't pull plug on fledgling industry
Mark Udall serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He is the senior senator for Colorado.
Great states such as Colorado make things. We innovate, we manufacture and we create jobs. Great countries such as the United States make their own energy.
For Coloradans, these facts are not secrets. For years, we have led the way in creating jobs and powering our nation. From clean-burning natural gas to our abundant wind energy, Colorado is a leader in responsibly tapping our domestic resources in the pursuit of job creation and energy independence.
However, one critical facet of our all-of-the-above approach to energy security is at grave risk. Congress could pull the rug out from under our fledgling wind energy industry.
Through inaction.
The wind Production Tax Credit is set to expire at the end of this year, and abruptly halting the credit, as some have shortsightedly proposed, could hurt local economies, communities and families all across Colorado.
The wind industry already has started layoffs, anticipating that Republicans and Democrats will not be able to come together to extend this vital tax credit.
Indeed, thousands of jobs -- 6,000 in Colorado and 75,000 nationwide -- could disappear if Congress does not extend the wind Production Tax Credit.
The tax credit is the basis for good-paying manufacturing jobs -- jobs for Coloradans making wind towers, turbines and blades, and for people working up and down the supply chain. Across the country, we have more than 400 wind-related manufacturing facilities, and right here in Colorado, Pueblo has the largest wind tower manufacturing facility in the world.
A little over a week ago, I was lucky enough to tour that facility, where hundreds of workers fabricate, weld and produce towers for wind turbines. Their jobs and many more good-paying manufacturing jobs are on the line. The message from these workers could not have been clearer: Congress needs to extend the wind tax credit-- for their and their families' sakes.
As the wind industry has grown in the United States, we are making more and more of the 8,000 component parts of a wind turbine here at home. In Colorado alone, we make everything from steel brackets to carbon fiber reinforcements for wind turbine blades.
We need to keep manufacturing in America. And, equally important, we need made-in-America energy. It makes little sense for Congress to effectively outsource these jobs to China and other regions of the world while, at the same time, jeopardizing a cleaner and more secure energy future.
Some have questioned if the wind tax credit is necessary or if wind should be able to stand on its own two feet from the get-go. But this view does not take the long view of America's pursuit of energy independence. The wind tax credit is no different from the tax incentives and benefits the federal government has given to coal, oil, natural gas and other energy industries.
Here in Colorado, nearly the entire Congressional delegation, Republicans and Democrats, have united in support of the wind tax credit.
Nationally, we have seen leaders from both parties joining us in this fight, including Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Karl Rove and U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa.
If we are going to keep making and building things in America and if we are going to build a future of energy independence, we need to pass an extension of the wind tax credit now. We cannot afford to wait.
And neither can the 6,000 Coloradans and their families who are looking to us for action.
Source: http://www.markudall.senate.gov/?p=op_ed&id=2653


text:
Cranberry Salad Dressing
Does not refrigerate well so make it within an hour of when you want to serve your salad.
1 c. Cranberry juice (not the cranberry cocktail variety)
1 1/2 tbsp. mayo
1/2 tsp. brown mustard
1/4 c. olive oil
Few cranks of black pepper
In a saucepan, bring the cranberry juice to a low boil. Maintain the low boil, stirring occasionally, until the juice has reduced to half it's volume. Whisk the reduction into the mayo, brown mustard, olive oil and black pepper.


text: On Wed, 11 Aug 1999, forsdyke wrote: > sh> There is no reason whatsoever why AUTHORS should sit back and wait to > sh> self-archive until journals and their editors first see fit to plan a > > To "self archive" you need > (i) a secure archive, LANL is that; so is CogPrints. So will E-biomed be. http://xxx.lanl.gov/cgi-bin/show_monthly_submissions http://cogprints.soton.ac.uk/ > (ii) a citation key which will allow you and others to cite and > access. I don't know what this means. The citation "key" for self-archived refereed-journal papers is just the usual journal citation, and the access is the archive. For unrefereed preprints the access is the archive and the preprint citation details plus its archive code. > The first has long been in existence. The whole internet is one big > archive. If you have a document, you have long been free to "post" it > at numerous sites, which themselves form archives (e.g. > bionet.journals.note). Here it can be dated, and by sending it to > multiple archives you make it less likely that it will be deleted and > lost for all time. Yes, self-archiving has long been available, but archives often stop being maintained. That is the virtue of collective, high-profile archives like LANL and E-biomed. (Nor is a lot of the Net/Web either reliable or secure. But, more relevant, most of what is "posted" and even "archived" on the Net is nonarchival -- neither intended nor worth saving or citing, any more than throwaway conversation is.) > The problem comes when you want to cite it. Clearly you do not want to > have to cite all the sites where it is deposited (and an editor of a > paper journal would not permit it). This is a non-problem. How would you cite it in paper? Do the same; leave out the page numbers, and add the archive URL. > Furthermore, there is no unanimous agreement on how, say, > bionet.journals.note should be cited. I have suggested following the > existing way journals are cited in the paper literature. Most of what is posted on Usenet and Listserv lists is not worth citing or saving. It certainly is not the "archival literature." If it IS worth citing and saving, it should be deposited in an archival serial of some sort (whether refereed or unrefereed, established or new, paper or online). And then there is again no problem or mystery: Use the serial's citation format, plus the archive URL. But let us not conflate the fact that (a) something has been posted and "archived" somewhere on the Net (which, with a few exceptions -- easily remedied by also archiving it somewhere more formal -- is just a vanity-press, auto-promotional matter, if not a Global Graffiti Board for Trivial Pursuit), with (b) the kind of formal publication I would think this discussion was concerned with. The non-problem arises out of this conflation. For a refereed journal already has a "citation key" -- the formal, continuous, ARCHIVAL serial that it is -- and it just takes a trivial modification to adapt that "key" to the online medium. But an arbitrary posting to a list is just that! (It's rather as if we started to worry about the "citation key" for notes passed to one another during class! Not everything is "archival," even if it can now be "archived," and has an ongoing subject "thread.") > Thus: > > Harnad, S. (1999) Bionet.journal. note 0811, 1253. The forgotten > importance of editors. > > In this case, the "volume" is the month and day, and the page is the > hour and min, of the initial deposit into the site. Surely, someone > setting up newsgroup software could arrange this in the heading of > electronic contributions? (I can say what I'm about to say, because it's in the context of the putative immortalization of my own opus, above): If I had written that as a graffito on a lavatory wall, that too would have been "archived" (as long as it was not erased), with time, place, date, title, author. Is it a "problem," and do we need a "citation key," in order to inform people how to refer to that graffito, and how to locate the lavatory archiving it? If there was no lav-wall problem before, there isn't one now, for skywritten graffiti either. If my words really are immortal, they should be placed in a formal archival serial (whether paper or online -- the importance is the formal continuity, which is why they are called serials), and that should in turn be reliably archived, and cited the usual way, along with its URL. By way of example; I too own a Usenet Newsgroup: sci.psychology.journals.psycoloquy -- but that also happens to be a refereed archival journal of 10 years standing now. It has its own citation format, and it has more reliable and accessible archival sites than its Usenet (and Listserv psyc at pucc.princeton.edu) incarnations, viz: http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.html and http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy There is another way that postings worthy of citation can carve a permanent niche in collective memory: They can be preserved by individuals as "personal communications" (= letters, whether paper or online), and they can then either be kept alive by the oral (and now online) tradition, or they can find their way into yet another permanent entity, a book (whether paper or online). That more or less exhausts the conventional possibilities, nor do I really see any pressing need for new ones. It would be nice if all skywritings could readily be "grepped" back at will, but it's not such a great loss if they can't be, and only the ones worth archiving formally can (and are). So I think you have to distinguish that part of your agenda which is (ceteris paribus) formally the same as wishing to index graffiti, from the part that is concerned with establishing more archival organs online. In neither case are any fundamental problems involved; only conflating the two makes it seem as if there were a problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Stevan Harnad harnad at cogsci.soton.ac.uk Professor of Cognitive Science harnad at princeton.edu Department of Electronics and phone: +44 2380 592-582 Computer Science fax: +44 2380 592-865 University of Southampton http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/ Highfield, Southampton http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/ SO17 1BJ UNITED KINGDOM ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/


text:
Friday, August 21, 2009
Heading to the San Juans in Tsunamichaser in search of Badu a Tiki 21. I'll update our position with my spot.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
When I built my T26 my oldest brother was pretty fascinated and would ask tons of questions. One day when I called him he announced he was building a cat too. I asked him what design he was doing to which he said "oh I looked at the pictures on Wharram's site and started building." It's a bit of a mash up but then he lives in Nova Scotia where that is the way boats have been done for generations. It works well. Here's a video.
Friday, August 14, 2009
I was checking out the Wharram Tangaroa I posted about awhile ago. The owner, Andy, was onboard and we had a great chat. He told me about some buddies, Julia and Casey who left yesterday on their Tiki 21, Badu, for points unknown but possibly the Sea of Cortez. Here's the link.
I borrowed a picture from their blog to post here.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
This is the craziest version of seasteading. Kind of appealing though. One way to deal with rent in the high rent districts. Not sure the mangroves would take in Puget Sound!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 09, 2009
The paddle I built this week worked fine ....until I destructively tested it back to "broken iako!" I had nicked the carbon fiber fabric on the blade with a chisel when I was cleaning up excess resin. I filled the nick on the final coat but that is where it failed. I was paddling as hard as I could and snap the blade folded - starting from the cut fibers . Not to worry, I've removed the broken bits from the shaft and have a new and improved blade started. Beta 1 was pretty light, about 4-5 oz lighter than production CF blades of this size so on Beta 2 I've decided to add a 2 mm sheet of plywood to back up the CF as the balsa certainly doesn't provide any strength. The plywood adds about 3 oz. The other thing I'm working on is vacuum bagging. For paddle making my neglected food vacuum bagging unit may just be the ticket. I did a test run on Friday when a made a closed cell foam and CF "hockey puck" the vacuum bagging part worked great though with only one layer of CF the whole thing remains spongy.


text:
The Welsh Borderland (June 29-July 6, 2018) and Southwest England (July 7-14, 2018)
Leaders: Geologists Chris Darmon and Colin Schofield, Geosupplies, Ltd.
Our trip for next year will be two back-to-back one-week trips to two areas of England (and a bit of Wales) important to the history of geology. The first week will be in the Welsh Borderland, a classic geologic area where the lower Paleozoic rock succession was defined and originally mapped by some of the giants of British geology -- people like Murchison and Lapworth. The range of rock ages exposed is huge, from Neoproterozoic to Triassic. Because this is such an historically important area, we're scheduling a free day to tour the well-preserved medieval towns of Ludlow and/or Shrewsbury. The second week will be in Southwest England, mainly Somerset, Dorset and Devon. The age range of the rocks is narrower, from Devonian to Jurassic, but the coastal exposures are fabulous. We'll spend a lot of time on beaches, including the Jurassic Coast Geopark and Lyme Regis, where Mary Anning collected fossils.
This trip is structured so that participants may choose to come for just one of the two weeks, but preference will be given to people who come for both weeks. At this point, prices are very tentative, and will likely remain so until late winter of next year, mainly because of the uncertainty of future exchange rates. The US dollar has been very strong the past few years, and the British pound has been unusually weak post-Brexit. It's likely this balance will change in the coming year, and probably in a way that will make the trip more expensive for us, so the trip price won't be finalized until February of next year. If the current exchange rate (1 USD = 0.8 GBP) miraculously holds, a deposit of (tentatively) $800 will be due by mid-September 2017, with a balance of (even more tentatively) $2400 due in mid-March 2018, for a total of $3200 for double occupancy. There will be a limited number of single rooms available, tentatively for an additional $650. (This is for both weeks, so halve all these numbers if you choose to participate for only one week). The price will include lodging, meals, transportation during the trips via mini-bus, and transportation between the two trips for those attending both weeks. The price will NOT include transportation to/from England, or transportation within England to/from the towns we'll be staying in (Ludlow and Taunton), both readily reached by train.
The trip minimum is 13 and the maximum is 15. There will be a discount for up to 2 student members of AWG. If you're interested in attending or have questions, please contact Marcia Knadle at firstname.lastname@example.com.
England Field Trip Flyer
England Field Trip Information
Week 1 (Ludlow Trip) Brochure
Week 2 (Taunton Trip) Brochure
Registration Forms for the trip:
GeoSupplies Terms and Conditions Form
England Registration Form
England Joint Liability Release Form
Booking Form - WelshBorderland Week 1
Booking Form - Taunton Week 2
England Medical Information Form
2017 Field Trip - Central California Tectonics
September 23-29, 2017
Leaders: Tanya Atwater, with Art Sylvester for a few days. Both are UC Santa Barbara emeriti.
The field trip is now full, but if you would like to be placed on a waiting list please contact Marcia Knadle.
Field Trip Flyer
California Field Trip Information
AWG Member Field Trip Registration Form
Non AWG Member Field Trip Registration Form
Photo and Liability Release Form
Medical Information Form
2016 Field Trip - Maine/Canadian Maritime Provinces
Educational Geology Field Trip - September 5-15, 2016
2015 Field Trip - Puerto Rico
Educational Geology Field Trip - Aug 8 - 15th, 2015
2014 Field Trip - Canandian Rockies
Educational Geology Field Trip - Aug 28 - Sept 7, 2014
2013 Field Trip - CUBA!
Educational Geology Field Trip - March 10 - 20, 2013
2012 Field Trip - Grand Canyon
Rafting and Geology Trip from June 4th - 10, 2012
For more information about upcoming field trips or to volunteer to serve on the field trip committee, please contact us at AWG office.


text:
The following
Press Release
Moravian College
highlights the outstanding accomplishments of Dr. Christie Gilson, although she is relatively new in her teaching career.
Bethlehem, Pa. March 13, 2012
Christie L. Gilson, assistant professor of education at Moravian College, is about to embark on a new adventure to add to her repertoire of exciting life experiences. Gilson has been appointed to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board by President Barack Obama. She will begin her three-year term in June.
A professor at Moravian since 2008, Gilson has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in special education and disability studies. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study higher education for students with disabilities in Hong Kong in 2006. Gilson, who is blind, teaches English to blind adults in China using Voice over IP (VOIP), and has mentored youth with disabilities in Germany, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and the United States. She received a B.S.W. from Illinois State University and an M.S.W. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board was established by Congress for the purpose of supervising the Fulbright Program and certain programs authorized by the Fulbright-Hays Act and for the purpose of selecting students, scholars, teachers, trainees, and other persons to participate in the educational exchange programs.
Appointed by the President of the United States, the 12-member Board meets quarterly in Washington, D.C. The Board establishes worldwide policies and procedures for the Program and issues an annual report on the state of the Program. The Board maintains a close relationship with both the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the executive directors of all the binational Fulbright Commissions.
received a voice mail from someone who identified herself as a disability advocate, and said she was calling from the White House. After considering it was some sort of joke, Gilson spoke with this advocate who asked if she'd be interested in serving on the Fulbright Board. She spent many hours completing mountains of paperwork, background checks, personal interviews with a former FBI agent, and meeting other State Department protocols, not to mention months of excruciating secrecy.
"I was allowed to tell my family and a few close friends and advisors," says Gilson, who finally received the final, customized forms in early March. "It's been surreal, exchanging calls and emails with the White House. This has meant something so big. It's humbling," she says.
Gilson is not new to the Fulbright. She went to Hong Kong on a Fulbright scholarship in 2006 to work on her doctoral dissertation. Living in the country for 11 months, and interacting closely with locals, allowed her to immerse herself in her topic: how students with disabilities lived and learned in Hong Kong.
Gilson also has lived in Germany and has spent time in many countries where she's mentored youth with disabilities, including in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain and Taiwan, as well as here at home. Gilson also teaches English to blind adults in China using an Internet program similar to Skype.


text:
A Sacramento police officer was arrested Friday night at a local hotel on drug-related charges after a weeks-long investigation, the Sacramento Police Department announced.
The department received information October 13 that officer Isaac Richard Knutila, 45, was possibly involved in "prostitution-related activity" at a Sacramento-area hotel. After weeks of surveillance investigating, detectives issued a search warrant of Knutila and his property.
At the time of his arrest, police say Knutila was in possession of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and over an ounce of marijuana as well as his police-issued gun.
Knutila, a 16-year veteran, was booked into the Sacramento County Jail on multiple drug charges and for possession of a controlled substance while armed.
Police say Knutila is on administrative leave pending his termination from the department.


text:
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office arrested an 18-year-old man for burglaries in a neighborhood near Family Park at 10:10 p.m. last night.
A resident called the Sheriff's Office to report that he and another neighbor were holding Austin Pokornik inside a vehicle he was burglarizing. The man spotted Porkornik trying car-door handles, and breaking into unlocked vehicles, according to a news release.
The Sheriff's Office charged Pokornik, who is currently on probation, with two counts of burglary, four counts of possession of burglary tools, four counts of attempted burglary and for violating his court-order curfew.


text:
Montclair, NJ (8/19/10) – The Montclair State volleyball team was picked fourth as the New Jersey Athletic Conference released its 2010 Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday. The Red Hawks were picked behind Richard Stockton, Ramapo and Rowan, respectively.
Last season, Montclair won the NJAC regular-season championship as it went unbeaten in league play for the first time in its history (8-0). MSU knocked off William Paterson in the semifinals of the NJAC Tournament before falling to Richard Stockton in the championship match. Montclair was seeking its second conference crown in three years.
Montclair State opens up its 2010 campaign on Wednesday, September 1 as they host New Paltz at the Panzer Athletic Center beginning at 7:00 pm. The Red Hawks then travel to Cortland, NY for the Red Dragon Classic on September 3-4 before coming back home on September 10-11 to host its own tournament, the MSU Classic.
MSU's first NJAC contest will be on Friday, September 17 at Kean University.


text:
D Original: Interview With dream hampton
Brothas let me just say that dream's voice is oh so sexy. She has one of those cool, late night, sultry DJ voices flowing to the chill sounds of a summer wave crashing whisper in a Coltrane not yet frantic breeze.
But this is not about that…
dream is way more than an appetizing and objectifying sound bite. She's a woman's woman with a conscience of empowerment who is committed to the cause of eliminating any and every social injustice that has continued to mire those unfortunate in a quagmire of astounding misery. dream is matter of fact knowledge and peace disposition who sings to the beat of a soul enriched by those who fell down inside the gun smoke.
This sentiment has translated to a rap game blessed to have her pen as its camera. Access is yes, a good thing. Access gets the real flick, not the popular one. You know, the one that everyone gets six months too late thus prohibiting the advancement of thought.
No sir.
dream is the advance copy who understands the culture she nods her head to. Eyes closed but open enough just to get the peek we seek without burning the relationship bridges that mean more to her personally than journalism.
The relationships dream has cultivated over the years have allowed us all a positive view seldom seen in any genre. Yes, in this case access is love. Love is soul and soul is dream.
She's written a book on Jay-Z that was shelved for reasons she explains below. She also directed a feature a short narrative film shot by Arthur Jafa (Daughters of the Dust) entitled He is Ali (2002) about a schizophrenic who thinks they are Muhammad Ali.
When I called, she was wrapping up a crackbook facebook session and making plans to attend a big name private party in DC during President Obama's Inauguration. She sounds excited and I could feel myself getting heated I wasn't going to be in Chocolate City for a once in a lifetime event reminiscent of October 16th, 1995…
But way bigger.
dream is the preeminent Hip Hop journalist. A Black super heroine from the D whose words spell truth within the definition of revolution. In that way, she's the flip side of my ties with the NBA (relationships). I've said it over and over again this is how it should be done. She writes like it has to be done.
Do you want the real story or what?
I've included over a hundred links because dream and I had a great conversation filled with laughter, soul and power. Some links entertain or give knowledge, but most are intended to refresh your mind inside the flow and rhythm of our chat. I suggest you read the piece and then follow the links later on. Don't worry, the piece ain't going anywhere.
Thank you dream.
Michael Tillery: So dream…what's the story behind your name?
dream hampton: My father named me after the Martin Luther King speech. My hippy dippy parent. Well he wasn't hippy, he was…Detroit.
Mizzo: You're from the D right? I have a lot friends there.
dream: I'm from the D. I'm from the east side.
Mizzo: What's your favorite city in America and why?
dream: (Laughs like I just asked the dumbest question ever) Um…I have a couple of ways of answering that. I mean…my favorite city is the city I'm from. Detroit…there's no place like it. It's the blackest city in America. I say that with all respect to D.C. and Atlanta. We don't have a mid-town Piedmont Park neighborhood. We don't have a Georgetown. We don't have that pocket little White neighborhood. We are the blackest city in America. I think Gary (IN) is right up there with us, but we're bigger. Then there's the history of Detroit. It's one of the first great cities. I like that Detroit is Détroit (French pronunciation) founded by a Frenchman named Cadillac. (Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac) Of course you know that's dubious…founded after they slaughtered the Indians in the French and Indian War there. There's just no place like it. The Nation of Islam began there. There's still a U.N.I.A. branch in that joint–Garvey's organization. There's just so much progressive…and even commercial…then you look at Motown. The only thing we've never conquered is Hip Hop I guess–Eminem notwithstanding. I love Key West too.
Mizzo: Is that for obvious reasons?
dream: It just feels more tropical than any other place in America. (When there) I'm 80 miles from one of my favorite places in the planet in Cuba. Big ups to all my comrades on the island.
Mizzo: You seem to really care about people and it comes through your work–both directly and indirectly. Why do you write? What are your motives?
dream: I'm not one of those people who writes because I can't not write. I know people who wake up and they journal. I call them true writers. I feel I can write enough so people can feel that way about my work. I feel blessed to think people feel like I have a talent. I'm beginning just now after so many years in the game to embrace the idea of me as a writer. I began writing as a fluke. I was the only woman in the office of The Source. I'm a self identified feminist thanks to bell hooks, Michele Wallace, Toni Cade Bambara…all these women that came before me. I had no problem writing those first articles I wrote at The Source. First I did a record review on H.W.A…
Mizzo: You? Wow.
dream: Yeah (laughs). I kinda crammed it with everything I ever learned about Black feminism into this piece. I said they looked liked extras on a porno set. Eazy E sent me a message threatening my life. It was hilarious. The second thing I ever wrote also happened to involve N.W.A. It was an editorial on the front page of The Source calling Dr. Dre a bitch for slapping Dee Barnes. He did more than slap. He kicked and harmed her badly that night. I remember a music seminar in New York and I saw Veronica Webb–who at the time was dating Spike Lee–and she said Spike read that and the review which was really one of the first real pieces I wrote in the Voice called Niggas for Life. He sent a message through V…Veronica, who is also my homegirl from Detroit, that he had my back. I remember thinking I'm a need a little more than you to have my back Spike (laughs) if it really comes down to Dr. Dre wanting to see me behind this piece. I wrote that editorial because I always feel strongly about the safety of Black girls. I feel strongly about men who would harm women, but at the same time I was incredibly conflicted about being such a fan of Dr. Dre. I was working that out through journalism. It was a time in New York..publishing…when people like Joe Levy at the Voice and Jon Shecter of The Source were willing to give me the space to do that. Looking back, I feel really grateful to them. I don't think Jon Shecter and those guys were conflicted. They may have been like that's messed up that he did that to Dee but it didn't present this major dilemma in their listening pleasure and consumption. They gave the space. At the time I was still at NYU Film School. I'd just begun. I was writing and living in Brooklyn…but I'm not very prolific. If you take someone like Touré, my favorite blogger Byron Crawford or Jeannine Amber over at Essence–some of my peers, they write far more often than me. I have a couple of pieces out now maybe, but that's the firs time that's happened in years. The piece I have in Vibe now is my first in Vibe in like four years or something. I've been working on my documentary and all kinds of stuff. It doesn't have to be writing necessarily.
Mizzo: How did you earn your respect in such a male dominated field?
dream: I look at a brotha who I really respect…this brotha from Brooklyn named Bahr who I met when he was at Morehouse. He said to me: "To know you is to respect you". I hope that's the way my father raised me. I hope that is Detroit, my own self love and the love I have for people…my people…for Hip Hop. I don't know. As a Virgo, I do this annoying thing where I put my intelligence first in a room. You know where a woman with big titties will show her cleavage or a woman with a fat ass wears some super tight jeans or whatever. Well my thing is to come out of pocket with my mouth…with some smart stuff right away. Just so cats know. I'm trying to be less like that. I'm hoping in my thirties I have less to prove than I did when I was younger. I haven't necessarily had a respect problem. People who don't respect me are people who don't know me. When the Internet first started and there was rampant disrespect…a bunch of Internet thugs calling you hoes. Wilin' out on me. Those people don't…are never going to have respect for anything…let alone me. I've never had that mess happen to my face. I see how people get thugged out with the anonymity, but in terms of real life, I usually don't have a problem with respect.
Mizzo: That was a question from Jemele Hill. It's the reason why I wanted to link the two of you because of the animus the Internet sometimes brings regarding comments on your work. Another facebook connection huh?
dream: I'll definitely look her up. I'm overwhelmed by facebook Michael. I came on here over a year ago and saw that people can post pictures of me lookin' all fat or high. (We crack up). I closed my account and was like this sucks! Then about four weeks ago, I got back into it. You know how it is. I find myself addicted. I find myself turning down friendship requests and feeling all guilty. I'm already up to 600 friends and I don't really have 600 friends. I don't want this to become myspace but…
Mizzo: For the most part, I'm a sports writer. Before I interview someone, I have a preconceived notion of who they are from their words in other interviews. Their personality then creates a rhythm for me to ask questions. Are you similar as a Hip Hop journalist or when you are around Hip Hop?
dream: Certainly. If I'm profiling someone…well it depends…if I'm profiling someone, then I'm largely informed by their music right?
Mizzo: Damn straight.
dream: I tend…I can't believe this is true but as I sit here going through a list of the people I've profiled–and like I said to you earlier before the interview, it's not like Touré with a hundred million people–I feel like I've freakin' knew most of them. I didn't know Anita Baker…and I can probably name the people I didn't know. By the time I profiled Mary (J. Blige), because she was Puff's artist, she had been around ever since she was background singing for Father (MC). Yeah, I profiled Mary and we went to some Italian restaurant and I drank way too much wine and I went and wrote my story. Whatever information I had about her, it was largely observational. I know that's an advantage a lot of writers don't have. I got into New York in 1990. I didn't know Rakim and Dougie. Of course, I knew of them. I don't remember having read much about them. Even as a teenager I was too sophisticated to read Right On! and Word Up!. There wasn't a Source. There weren't these other places to learn about the people and stuff that I was interested in. We were kind of making it up as we went along. Of course Rakim isn't my peer. I don't know him and if I walked into a room right now he wouldn't know who the heck I was. I would be all nervous. In fact, I remember M-1 of Dead Prez took me back to his dressing room at the House of Blues and I didn't want to go in the rooooom (she laughs). I was like…no I'll stay right here! I was too nervous. But the times with my peers…like I knew Puff when he was at Uptown. All that stuff? We all kinda knew each other and it kind of grew and grew and grew. A lot of the profiles I do I end up knowing the people. I've written news stories on people like Winnie Mandela and of course you sit around and read their books. I'm a huge reader. Way more of a reader than I am a writer. So, I'll read anything I can, but back in the day I can't say I was informed by stuff I've read about them (those she interviews). I certainly am not a person who Googles people when I meet them. I've had that happen to me. I've had people Google me in my face! No that there are I Phones, you tell them your name and they Google you. I have literally walked away from people like that. At least have the decency to go home (laughs) and do that lame stuff you know?
Mizzo: The last thing I wanted to do was read a bunch of your stuff just for the sake of formulating questions. I like it to be a conversation…to see if you go where I lead you and what you will expound upon. When you are asked to write something, does it have to be something you are totally passionate about or do you have that innate skill to write thoroughly about anyone at anytime?
dream: I've been lucky to have been about to keep it to stuff I've been pretty passionate about. I can't say I've never just written for money. When I have, I've regretted it. I remember one time I was in Detroit and this was when Q-Tip and Mark Ronson used to spin at Life. I needed money to get to New York for Friday. We had this little airline that went in and out of Detroit and in cost like $150 or something. I called the Voice and I was like yo, I need to do something real quick. I sound like a crack head right?
Mizzo: Imagine that (we laugh).
dream: They pay in a week.
Mizzo: That's good to know.
dream: Yes, well Maxwell was coming out. His second album (Embrya). The music editor looked over their roster and I said I could do Maxwell. I really didn't like it. The review was called He Wants You to Want Him. I just kinda skewered him. I remember people coming up to me and saying how much they liked it. That it was real journalism. I could understand that because there is so much soft journalism and I've done my share. I love Beyonce, so my profile on her in Giant Magazine was a love letter (not seriously) you know? So this Maxwell album I didn't like and the review was way over in its vitriol. I heard how he took it and that it really messed with him. Again, this is all Brooklyn. He was a cat who was a waiter in a restaurant we all went too and lived in Brooklyn so it was not like there were a bunch of degrees that separated us. I saw him years later at Blue Ribbon at like two in the morning. He was on a date. I was there with my girlfriend and Mos Def and I sent him a note apologizing for having written that piece. He came and gave me a hug. I realized that I'm just not that hardcore journalist. At best, I'm a writer. I'm not that person out here saying I'm gonna rip you a new one and you're gonna like it. You know? That's not me. That stuff bothered me for years. There was another time where I was at Bond St. Sushi with Tip (Q) and Jarobi. They left me at the table and went over and sat with Maxwell for a minute. You know one of them "We may be friends with dream, but (expletive) that!" (We crack up) So I was sitting at the table all alone with my little opinions and criticisms. I don't need to be friends with people. It's not like me and Maxwell then went out to sushi or dinner later. It's just…I didn't need to do what I did. I made a rule after that. If I didn't like or love something, I wasn't going to write about it. Other people can do that, but that's not what I am going to do.
Mizzo: Who do you read?
dream: Well because of what is going on in Palestine, I reread Orientalism by Edward Said–who I think is just one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. Right before that I finished Toni Morrison's A Mercy. Anything she writes, I just worship at her feet. She is a real writer. That book was so heavy that I ended up reading Carl Hiaasen, you know the Miami-Herald columnist and hilarious author. The best book I read last year was Paul Beatty's Slumberland. He of course wrote White Boy Shuffle and was on the poetry scene in the 90's. This is like his third awesome novel and it was the most amazing thing I've read in ten years. When I realized that Jon Shecter and Joe Levy were going to give me work as a journalist I went back and studied the masters because I'd never taken a journalism class. I read Gay Talese's pieces on Floyd Patterson (He wrote more than 30). I read the Q&A's Alex Haley did in Playboy. It gave me a certain permission. Zora Neale Hurston. She believes in this thing called immersion journalism (an example you might be familiar with here is Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights). So did the filmmaker Maya Deren. When Maya did a documentary about voodoo in Haiti, she became initiated into voodoo culture. It's about going all in. Same with Zora Neale actually. So it didn't feel wrong of me to write about something I was also a part of.
Mizzo: That's deep…whew. I definitely have to read up on that because it's something I summarily grasp indirectly with sports.
Changing the flow a little bit but still on the serious tip. What's going on with Palestine? Could you please tell people why we all should be paying close attention to what's going on over there.
dream: Well, I've always been politically inclined. When I was 15, I used to stand in front of a Shell gas station with a sign that said Boycott Apartheid. So I care. When I got to New York in 1990, I reconnected with a sister I'd known in Atlanta–Monifa Akinwole Bandele. We co founded the Brooklyn chapter of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. We are a racial justice and human rights organization. When I first got here, we were dealing with police brutality issues because that's so big in New York. I can say that as a member of my organization, Palestine is a stage where one of the most important human rights struggles is being fought.
It's being fought with rocks!
They are not a people who will not be slaves. They've been occupied since '48, but they didn't have hundreds of years to have broken their spirits or separated from their land. They do not know how to be slaves. Their resistance is your obligation. I'm not even talking about in an Islamic sense. It's our obligation to struggle against injustice. What's going on in Palestine is Apartheid. On one hand it's land occupation.
Mizzo: History of course is written by the victors.
Since we are on a political vein…
I think we are going through a revolution in all forms and facets of our souls. What does this powerful moment mean to you personally in regards to President Obama's historic inauguration?
dream: I'm caught up. I'm in New York. I wasn't going to go to D.C. because I'm on deadline. I'm invited to Stevie Wonder's private party so I'm being magnetized by blackness (we laugh). I didn't plan to go. I was pregnant during the Million Man March. I know it was supposed to be for the boys, so I wasn't supposed to be there anyway but the fervor of it all just pulled me down to D.C. It was the best time ever. I was so glad I went. This is like the hundred million man march, you know? Every Black person in America is headed to this.
Mizzo: I'll never forget the feeling I had at the march (John Brown…if you are out there I need that picture of us. Quit holding out bruh).
As far the inauguration, I haven't decided on going. I thought my sister and I were gonna pull a rabbit out of a hat and get down there, but I don't think it's happening because of both of us working. She's a nurse who is the most dedicated person I know. She inspires me.
dream: Michael you gotta go.
Mizzo: I really wish.
dream: I say all that to say…John Edwards early on was my candidate. He was the only one talking about the poor. There is a lot of rhetoric always about the middle class but never about the poor. I think it was Martin Luther King III on Larry King. You know how they just grab every Black person they can find during election time? I didn't have the volume up, but then I turned it up and he was talking about Obama's obligation to the poor. I was like thank God someone is being sober about this. I don't think an empire like this…just like a Fortune 500 company wouldn't change its leadership every four to eight years. I don't think you have to be a Five Percenter in the 21st century to know…like people of the Trilateral Commission…who actually runs America. Michael Moore will break it down…the corporations, the businesses, the lobbyists…I have a wave of optimism washing over me because there's a lot changing on the planet right now and Obama is a part of that. He is living his destiny and that is always beautiful to see. I don't always agree with Jay or Puff or whomever in terms of how they live their lives or even their politics, but I see them as living out their particular destiny. Obama is doing that 100 times bigger obviously, but I'm not sittin' around thinking we have a Black President. I'm not a self identified American. I love that quote by Malcolm: "Just because a cat crawls into an oven to have kittens, it doesn't make them biscuits." Just because you are born into a Christian household…at least what I've heard about Christianity…doesn't make you a Christian. You have to accept Jesus into your heart. If you are Baptist, you have to be baptized. If I'm born into a Muslim household, I have to take Shahada if I'm really to be considered a Muslim. I don't have Obama fever in that way. I'm certainly not sick wit' it. I'd love to see where he's gonna come down on Palestine but I'm not hopeful.
Mizzo: This is how I see it. I don't think it's all about Obama. I think the election will force people to see Blacks differently and expose their ignorance if they don't. Do I think racism will cease? Heeeellll no! I just think slowly but surely folk who come out their mouths wrong will be marginalized. I want my kids to poke out their chests. I want them to see the total scope of the world with out the absentminded constraints of being naive and blind to the facts. This is for them and their future seeds.
We talk about these issues all the time here. In the sports world, my current focus is making sure Donovan McNabb gets his propers from the media. He has not received the respect he deserves and I will do what I can from my little spot to make sure that happens. The thoughts primitive keep his legacy in a pedestrian state compared with his counterparts who have so much more at hand.
For history's sake that is the advantage of having Obama as president. People are almost robotic in the way they view leadership and if you have a Black President of the United States constantly in your face, hopefully then will begin to change. What do you say to that Dream Hampton? I know you have something to say.
dream: I think that because of Obama people will begin to look at tall, light skinned, thin, Black men from Harvard differently. I don't think they will look at thirties babie's mothers differently. I don't think they will look at my sometime (she's joking) crack head brother in Detroit differently. So yeah, if you are six foot two, with a Harvard degree and a winning smile? Then yeah, they may be looking at you differently.
Mizzo: I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree a little. Tell it like it is though.
dream: No one started looking at me different when Vanessa Williams won Miss America and no one began looking at "Shaniqua" differently. "Shaniqua" wasn't blue eyed and beautiful. Obama? That's beauty we are looking at right there. He has swagger and intelligence. My whole thing is that I'm not a Darwinist and thinks the prettiest, strongest, most beautiful people should be entitled to have clothes and shelter.
Mizzo: Oh, we wholeheartedly agree there.
dream: I think that food, clothes and shelter is a human right. If you are lazy, fat, dumb whatever, you should have clothes and shelter. Capitalism encourages us to believe the whole myth of education. It encourages us to believe we earn human rights. All three religious books tell us that human rights are ours. That's the whole thing about divine right.
Mizzo: Did I tell you I had goosebumps? Girl, my readers are going to love you. My goodness. Only thing missing is they can't hear your voice (dream tries to chuckle silently).
Full 180…besides Hip Hop, what type of music do you like to listen to?
dream: I'm never, ever, ever not listening to Radiohead. The same with Miles Davis. I love my little White boy from Detroit, Jack White of the White Stripes. I just love music. I really hate that I'm not musically inclined. I played the clarinet in band. I was good and could do Pomp and Circumstance and all that. I can rap! If you put Illmatic on I can rhyme the whole thing top to bottom (dream has me cracking up at this point), but if you turn it off I sound crazy! I don't know…I just love music and always have.
Mizzo: I'm putting you on the spot! What is your favorite Hip Hop track of all time and who do you think is the greatest rapper?
dream: Well for me that's Biggie. You caught me on the right day. Yesterday I was listening to the radio and was like "Oh my God! Jadakiss is the best!" I've definitely taken road trips up to Martha's Vineyard from New York and back only listening to Jay. That's a hard one to answer. My favorite track of all time? I really like Streets is Watching. At the same time…I love Somebody's Gotta Die. It is like a movie.
Mizzo: When I interviewed Chuck, he said Hov was the best of all time because of his impact on the game.
dream: Chuck D said that?
Mizzo: Yes he did.
dream: I would agree with that. Jay is certainly the Obama of Hip Hop. On so many levels. With Jay, it's not fair. Jay is not fair. He's like Obama, the six foot three…he's not fair you know (dream laughs). He's definitely like Jordan in that way. You don't wanna talk about other players. Like, take Jordan out and then talk about other players…or Jimi Hendrix or whomever.
Mizzo: Do you think Hov would have been as popular and prominent without the deaths of Pac and Biggie?
dream: Oh yes. Definitely. Me and Biggie used to sit around and listen to Reasonable Doubt. Big knew that was the future. Hip Hop is not a monotheistic genre. It's never a king of this or a king of that. There's always room. Even how people lament the 90's as being far more diverse than now. That's not true. We have Andre 3000, we have Jadakiss, Wayne, Fab…It's always been what it is. I don't think there's a Hip Hop culture. I think it's a Black youth culture and Hip Hop is one of its more prominent expressions. It's like would Obama have won if Bush wasn't such a mess up? Maybe not, but probably so. Jay's swagger is on the positive side of energy. Whatever you feel about him being a former drug dealer, his energy is clearly on the plus. His stuff is not dependent on other people not being there, it's dependent on him showing up. That's the thing with Jay, he always shows up.
Mizzo: My favorites are Dead Presidents and All I Need.
dream: Beautiful. I like Friend or Foe. I like it because he was brief. I like All About the Benjamins. I don't know if I have a favorite. If you asked me what it was with a gun to my head I'd probably say A Love Supreme. Hip Hop? I'd probably die because I couldn't come up with anything.
Mizzo: (I'm cracking up) dream you just put that picture in my mind. I could see you biting your fingernails, looking around all desperate.
dream: (Laughing) Right! I'd be sitting there for twenty minutes. They'd have to go on and kill the next person. They wouldn't have time for me to sit there and figure it out.
Mizzo: Jay-Z's bio not being released. Is it bittersweet?
dream: At the time I'd been studying some twelve and thirteenth century monk stuff. Reading about Buddhism. It is about the journey and not the destination. I got paid for that. I didn't get a kill fee. Jay paid me. I got paid four times as much as other writers of Hip Hop bios would. That's important to me. Obviously you spend money, so now it's gone. Would it have been nice to have a book out? Sure. I'm honestly and for surely not mad at it. I think Jay made the right decision. Once people like the Haven started coming out with tapes throwing it on Jay, I was like he really made the right decision. Again, that's Jay, he always makes the right decision. His whole career has been a series of right decisions.
Mizzo: What was the first Hip Hop record you rocked that made you want more?
dream: The battle between the Real Roxanne and Roxanne Shante. Yeah, I was a kid. I don't think I even had my period at that point. I was playing with Barbies. I definitely was not wearing a bra. They were saying things that are way X rated. They were going back and forth with each other. Being from Detroit, it was something I was used to…people crackin' on each other and saying really violent things. I'd never heard it over beats. Like Biggie said, "I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped." I certainly had that moment with that battle.
Mizzo: Do you have an era in Hip Hop you personally identify with?
dream: Definitely the nineties. People get real specific. They are like…'88 to '92. '92 to '96 (We laugh). All I can say is the nineties. Then Dead Prez came out with Let's Get Free. They are my favorite group. I only put Outkast higher. I would put them right under Outkast. They are up their with Quest. But I would have to put them on top because of how they stand as men and their politics. Let's Get Free was 2000 right?
Mizzo: Yep, 2000.
dream: I would say take that and go back ten years. If I were to write a letter to Hip Hop, it would be from 1990-2000.
Mizzo: Why did you love the nineties?
dream: I love right now. I'm not somebody who is stuck in the nineties. You couldn't pay me a million dollars to be ten years younger if it meant I missed Brand Nubian's album release party or didn't have the these things I had with Tupac and Biggie. I wouldn't be. I wouldn't be twenty-six. I knew Wayne was going to be a superstar. I said that when he was twelve and his teeth were all messed up. We didn't know it then, but the nineties were our sixties. It was a time where commerce, art and culture all met at the crossroads and exploded. Then it became global domination. Clearly, Afrika Bambaataa took it global way before the nineties and I mean that literally because he was an Zulu organizer on top of being a visionary. You had Zulu chapters in Zimbabwe and South Africa in the late seventies and eighties. He was the first to take it global. On a capitalism level, nineties Hip Hop did it. For better or worse. My boy Matty C thinks this is the end of Hip Hop as we know it…the end of good Hip Hop. All of it had to happen.
Mizzo: I miss J Dilla every time I hear a wack beat. Do you have a J Dilla story?
dream: I went over to J Dilla's house over there 7 mile and Conant with Q-Tip. He was working on Vivrant Thing. I happened to be in the D visiting for Christmas. Me and Tip get down in his basement. It was dark and he was just being a mad scientist. My other experiences were getting to know who he was importantly…music wise…through my good friend Ahmir…the drummer from the Roots (scroll down for Kamal's interview). He has always been a huge champion of Dilla's and helped me see how important a producer her was ten years ago.
Mizzo: Who was Tupac Shakur to you?
dream: Pac was my comrade first and foremost. We belong to the same organization, MXGM. I was working for Flavor Unit whenJuice wrapped. Naughty had a song on the Juice soundtrack. As A&R for Flavor Unit, I was helping produce the music video (on the soundtrack) that Pac was in. While doing that, Pac and I were talking about posters for his stepfather Mutulu's campaign. He was up for parole at the time and Pac gave me money to get the posters and take back to the organization. We always had that connection in terms of organizing around political prisoners. Most people don't know there are political prisoners in the United States–people like his stepfather and his own Mother (Pac's) who were framed for crimes with the government using COINTELPRO. Some are still in jail and have been there practically their whole lives. Our organization does what we can to raise awareness and funds for that work. The most visible of that work being Black August. In fact, in that allhiphop.com piece, I talk about how Biggie performed at Mutulu's fundraiser at the South Oxford Tennis Club. There used to be rumors that Pac and I slept together. Pac never flirted with me. We were in the car in L.A. and he said, "You'd be cute if you did your hair." (We laugh) It just shows the corny dude he is. He had poor Kidada (Jones, Pac's fiance), who was so stylish, wearing panty hose–like black stockings or some stuff. Just corny. He's a cornball. We listened to music together. I used to play Illmatic for him. I hung out with him for 6 months because I was writing a cover story on him for the Source. I ended up going to all these different trials with him. During that time, he was shot at Quad, showed up at court the next day for the sexual assault trial and got sentenced. He read the piece I wrote, came up to me at Puffy's 25th birthday party, snuck up on me from behind and gave me a hug. He was wearing a black leather vest with a wife beater under it. Corny west coast cat. I loved Pac. I had a lot of love for Pac. I hated where he took the whole thing with B.I.G., but it wasn't a big surprise to me. Geminis stay flippin'–especially June Geminis.
Mizzo: I've been around enough of them to know exactly what you are talking about. Trust me on that. Is it crazy you've been in the middle of the rise and fall?
dream: Like Forrest Gump (She laughs)? Is that what you are calling me Michael?
Mizzo: Uh…no. Never that.
dream: I'm never in the middle of anything. I sorta just show up like Forrest Gump and…
Mizzo: See, you said it twice. If you are Forrest Gump, then where is that box of chocolates girl?
dream: (She cracks up) Anyway…this isn't my life. You know? I didn't marry Biggie. I wasn't Kidada. I'm not Afeni. I'm not Ms. Wallace. This is just in and out for me. I'm just doing what I do and I just bump into a couple of people. There are people who aren't famous who are just as important to this whole period. People like Monifa and Matty C who both were just as important in my development as Pac and Biggie were. There was a chance that B.I.G. wasn't going to be famous. I have many friends I used to hang out with–not as much as B.I.G.–like Supernatural. Everybody I knew was a MC…Djinji Brown. They didn't end up making it but they are still my friends.
Mizzo: Is it important for journalists to build relationships with those they document?
dream: It's not important, but if you have any kind of relationship or rapport, you may have more access. Not ever meeting somebody is totally valid too. I'd like to do a piece on Kanye where I never speak to him. I just want to write about him in the tradition of Ali…you know…talking a lot of smack (damn right). I wouldn't want to talk to Kanye for that article.
Mizzo: Where did you and Biggie meet and what were you doing then?
dream: We met on Fulton Street, in Brooklyn. Matty C may or may not have been there, but he was the one who told B.I.G. I would be introducing myself to him because I was writing a piece in the Crack issue. We never got that issue together. The Source later ended up doing it. We were going to do an issue on crack. I was going to talk to some dealers in my neighborhood. Then we became friends. He started coming to class with me at NYU. Smoking me out everyday. You know?
Mizzo: Everyday huh? All day…
dream: Everyday. (sounding all sultry). Unfortunately.
Mizzo: Ay, I have friends like that too.
dream: I was a very good Easy Wider girl until I met Biggie. Then I had a terrible seven year relationship with blunts–which I no longer have.
Mizzo: I really dug the allhiphop.com joint about Notorious. I really don't want to talk about it and spoil it. It's one of the reasons why I didn't want it to be the basis of this interview. What was your first thought when you left the theater?
dream: I teared up. I'm kinda soft when it comes to that. I hate that about myself. I still get sad. Like when I was watching Lumumba and I couldn't stop balling when they killed him at the end.
Mizzo: I was hot!
dream: I cried my eyes out over Benjamin Button. In that sense, I'm super soft. I had a teary moment. I hate the way Biggie's life ends so I hate the way the movie ends. It was the most unfair stuff ever. Other than that, I think it's going to be great and historic and open doors. I think George Tillman rocks. His dedication to detail and his commitment to truth. I think there is still space for other stories to be told. I don't think they got he and D Rock's (Biggie's best friend) relationship right. I think that was the single most important relationship for him in his short life besides maybe his mother.
Mizzo: Who is dream hampton?
dream: Who am I (chuckles)? I don't know. I'm somebody who eats sushi six days a week. I'm trying to break that habit and go raw vegan. I'm a Virgo who gives thanks to the ancestors. I'm a mommy. I drive way too fast. That's me.
Mizzo: When you drive are you looking all over the place or are you focused?
dream: I'm an excellent driver Michael. Dudes are always telling me I'm the best female drive they know. That's such a lie. I'm totally the best driver they know. I'm from Detroit. I've been driving since about twelve. I used to drive stolen cars for the boys on my block when I was twelve.
Mizzo: dream, thanks so much. I really wanted to introduce my readers to you. I think you are glorious.
dream: Aww thank you Michael. I checked out the site. I love what you are doing. Keep it up!
Some footage dream took of Big getting kicked out of a hotel
Something for ya mind (explicit NSFW)


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Carl Hopkins
Carl lives in Brighouse and people will know him in many guises as his marketing and business experience spans 25 years during which he has built up a tough, no-nonsense reputation.
Most recently he starred in Channel 4's 'The Secret Millionaire' where he spent ten days in the once thriving colliery town of Easington in the North East. Carl was given the task of finding and helping out groups and individuals involved in community projects. At the end of his time in Easington he ended up giving away £42,000 of his own money to worthwhile causes.
Alongside his successful media interests, Carl is known as one of the North's leading marketing and business development 'gurus'. Carl recently sold his marketing company JDA for millions and rather than 'retiring' he now runs kloog, a business 'angel' service where he shares some of the experiences garnered in his career with other businesses. Services kloog offers include business audits, business investment, personal mentoring within business (The Tor-mentor) and off-site presentations and workshops for a variety of topics such as creativity, sales, advertising, marketing, success and management (klooguru).
Carl is now busier than ever, having become involved in a number of Yorkshire businesses, speaking at various high profile business events and developing not only kloog, but his other business interests including JumbleAID.com, sporting-supplements.co.uk, Joblink-systems.com, agencybods.co.uk and partiesaroundtheworld.co.uk


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{First posted on my former blog here}
I love getting a professional pedicure just as much as the next gal but I'd rather spend my money on shoes or accessories and just do it myself.
About 15 years ago, I was planning to give my mom a gift certificate for a pedicure for Mother's Day but then I thought, "Wait, if I just buy all the supplies and try to duplicate what they do at the salon, I could spend the same amount of money and give her TWENTY pedicures!"
Thus, the at-home pedicure was born. Over time, I've discovered my favorite tools and tricks and now we do our own pedicures except for very special occasions.
So! To commemorate the start of our Spring Break, here is my tried and true "15 Steps to the Perfect Pedicure."
This is not a "change your polish and go" pedicure, ladies. Your feet will look and feel like you just left the salon.
Here's what you need to assemble before you start, or maybe a trip to the local drug store is in order. Just remember the money you're saving by doing it yourself.
1. polish remover. If your polish is extra-stubborn (which some of the more expensive brands are), get the pure acetone one.
2. cuticle sticks (a.k.a. orange sticks)
3. scissors or clippers
4. good nail file
5. nail file with a fine surface (or a buffing block)
6. pumice stone or other callous remover
7. foot bath or plastic tub (or a bath tub!)–I buy dish pans for $1 at the Dollar Tree
8. exfoliating foot scrub (it can be made by simply adding olive oil to salt or sugar)
9. foot lotion
10. nail polish (I prefer Revlon, L'oreal and OPI because they don't have the harmful ingredients)
11. toe separators, if desired
12. base coat
13. clear top coat
And here are the 15 steps. Yes, there are a lot but it makes all the difference!! Start checking out the nail section of your favorite stores–there are a lot of fun tools out there AND cute nail decals that really give you that professional touch!
1. remove old nail polish
2. push cuticles back with orange stick and gently scrape away dead skin
3. trim toenails to desired length
4. file toenails into desired shape
5. use fine file or buffer to smooth nail surface (removing small remnants of polish, dead skin and ridges)
6. use pumice or foot file around toenails to remove dead skin
7. soak feet in warm water (add salts or oils if desired)
8. when skin is soft, use pumice or foot file on calluses, paying special attention to heels, ball of feet and beneath big toe
9. apply foot scrub
10. remove and dry feet; apply lotion (you may want to leave it on overnight before continuing)
11. remove lotion from toenails with nail polish remover so the polish adheres better
12. apply toe separators
13. apply base coat and polish, allowing to dry between coats. After second coat, apply nail decals, if desired.
14. once dry, apply top coat
15. remove errant polish with a cotton swab
Enjoy your beautiful feet!! And maybe you can use the money you saved for a new pair of sandals.
Happy pedicuring, ladies! Let me know if you try it!


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Sonakshi Sinha meets her special fan at Mehboob Studio
Sonakshi Sinha, who was at Mehboob Studio recently, had to fulfill a special wish from one of her fans
Sonakshi Sinha, who was at Mehboob Studios recently, had to fulfill a special wish from one of her fans. On completion of a shoot, one of her team members informed her that a fan had been patiently waiting to meet her. When Sona met him, he insisted that she take a snapshot of him.
Sonakshi Sinha with her fan at Mehboob Studio. Pic/Sameer Markande
Usually fans take selfies with the star, but being physically challenged, he was happy if the star could take his snapshot. Sona was taken aback and instead told him they take a picture together. The actress surely made her little fan's day. She was also spotted chatting with the fan who told her a bit about his life story.
The actress was touched by his heart-warming story and told him to meet her again when she was back in the studios for a shoot at a later date. Meanwhile, Sona is prepping for the shoot of her upcoming action flick, Force 2.