for those who may not yet know it, i’m a hiphop head.  thats what i jam, thats how i do it, thats my shit.  so you can imagine how completely caught off guard i was when i arrived@screwed anthologies.  an exhibition influenced by the art of “screwed and chopped” music.  organized by ayanna jolivet.  this show was on point.  pure minimalistic action.  the concept was experimental music mixed with screw.  now straight up, i’m thinkin,  “this is going to be over the top an i probably wont be feelin it.  i love to be proven wrong.  man, my ears were introduced to sounds out of this world!  it was the truth.  david dove and lucas gorham probably aren’t aware of their musical impact.  then again, they’ve gotta know.  to take this thing called hiphop, an art form that so many people adore, and layer the music with sounds of pure creativity with the trombones and guitars…  this performance was brilliant.  i’m not completely sure, but i think d.j. screw would’ve liked this performance.  he was all about the music, and these two musicians were definately all about the music.  an experimental mix with missy elliot’s ” i cant stand the rain.”  just like that?!  dope.  i feel the need to go on and on, but it wouldnt do it justice.  i’m appreciative to have witnessed the art firsthand and opened my senses to this beautiful culture of experimental music.  hiphop gives you props sound art.

Somewhere along the way, we all loose it. Some lose it earlier than others, but for most it trickles away little by little every day, until there is none left. By late teens its normally all gone, and I do not mean virginity here, I mean mojo – the will to explore, ask silly questions, say Yes to things and just enjoy life. As kids we learn that falling over hurts, but we quickly get over it, and get back to daredevil stunts with new vigour (my speciality was loosing front teeth over my brothers knee). We were all fearless explorers once, but years of conditioning takes its toll and we learn to play it safe, say No to unfamiliar things and experiences and crave for 40-year mortgage, HD telly and holiday in south of Spain instead, I’m no exception.
I say there should be mojo refill meter (like ones for oil in the cars), that alarms you when it has reached dangerously low levels and gives you 3 options how to get your mojo up before its too late, e.g.:
1. run a half marathon;
2. punch the annoying dude (who eats chicken drumsticks on the bus and plays loud music on mobile phone’s speakers) in the face;
3. next time you want to visit expensive restaurant or shop for new shoes you don’t need, donate that money to some charity that builds schools in Kenya.
Can someone please invent the mojo meter and get it installed on all of us hopeless souls?
This blog is part of my plan, the plan of getting my mojo back. Hope it works or I’ll have to use witchcraft as a last resort. I really want my mojo back. Do you?

My dad's old stuff is actually a gold mine for retro and vintage-style, here are some tips what to look for are when you look RAID his Cabinet:

1. Classic, bulky watches – These watches always last the test of time. The battery may be dead, but that's it. Looking for a classic clock and give it new life. If the band is a bit shabby, look out for a similar or a tape the alligator to give it a touch of vintage.

2. Denim – Denim is still retrohot today. These pieces were carefully and has a real chance you will always be years of wear out of them. Look for classic brands of the period, such as Levis are looking for this together. If you can find an old denim jacket, you are really lucky. That was really the period in jeans began to take on the world of fashion and the patterns and styles are really unique.

3. Everything in Argyle – Argyle once the rage, and if you want a genuine vintage look, you shouldAt least one piece with this pattern. Vintage-Look for Argyle socks or the ever popular sweater vest.

4. Speaking of sweater vests – This is an old standard that is the epitome of retro look. They usually arrived just in classic colors like navy, but now and again you can see the clear too. So that's really the whole retro look.

5. Papa's Got a Really Old Bag – Vintage bags are fabulous finds. As a rule they were made of really good leather, so that theystill, a lot of use left in them. Whether it's an old bowling bag or a briefcase, give it a quick cleaning with leather conditioner and you'll be set.

6. Classic Wallets – There was a time when all looked the same wallet. Basically, they were square and served a purpose, do it very well. In general, they are also alligator like leather or classic pebbled leather. These too have many years use left in them.

7. Old Jewelry – Whether it is aClassic Class Ring or love beads, your father has probably run about memorabilia from his youth. Complete your retro look with this jewelry for a quick clean.

8. Old belt – you probably remember you from one of those tanned skin. Put it to good use and reuse of your father's old leather belt. The bigger the buckle – the better. If they wear a little, you get a leather shop for some repairs.

9. Old chinos – The staple of theJoe average in the 50s. Jeans were not very popular, but then almost everyone had a few classic chinos. The material may be a little rough, but why they are still around after all these years.

10. Old Bowling Gear – Most fathers to enter and used the opportunities that they had a special shirt. Looking for an old shirt that has your father's name embroidered on it or the name of his bowling league. These are the best years of the opinion that looks great no matter what time you livein.

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I visited my old roomie last weekend in good ol’ Mass! We laughed, drank, ate good food, and had a wonderful time. I enjoyed to tourist-y things in Boston and surrounding cities. I can’t wait to visit again….simply ahhhmazing.

What we did:

• Day 1: Toured Audie’s school: New England School of Law (sooo different than Salisbury University)
  • Walked thru Boston Public Gardens– gorgeous
  • Window-shopped & very tempted to buy the entire Betsey John Store on Newbury Street
  • Lunch @ Sonsie (food & cocktails were delicious)
  • Dinner @ Chili’s
• Day 2: Salem, Massachusetts
  • Lunch @ Salem Beer Works
  • “Witchy” Things
  • Dinner, Drinks, & Karoake @ the OG (Oriental Garden)
  • Some Bar that I don’t remember..hahaha
• Day 3: Newberry Port, Massachusetts
  • The Biggest Antique Store I’ve ever seen
  • Lunch @ the Black Cow
• Day 4: Boston, Massachusetts
  • Breakfast: Dunkin Donuts (BOSTONIANS ARE OBSESSED…it’s like the Starbucks of Mass)
  • Brewery Tour @ Harpoon Brewery
  • Tourist-y things
  • Faneuil Market…ate Bacon Wrapped Scallops & wanted to buy everything @ Urban Outfitters
  • Drinks @ some Italian restaurant/Bar where I heard REALLY GOOD BOSTON ACCENTS!
  • Chocolate Chip Cannoli @ Mike’s Pastries
  • Dinner @ Mother Anna’s
• Day 5: Leaving
  • Forced Breakfast: Bagel Factory (Audie was determined to make me eat a lot)
  • Goodbyes @ the Airport

Sam Adams Brewery was closed…so we went to Harpoon instead!

Financial District & amazing Architecture

Feniuel Market…I DIE…So much food!

Funnel Cake is called “Fried Dough”

Best Tortellini Alfredo I’ve ever had…

TO-DIE-FOR Cannoli’s & other desserts

Jay’s excellent photography skills..haha

Boston Public Gardens= Stunning.

Awesome Churches

Boston CHOWDAAAA (NE Clam Chowder)

Newberry Street….I would go broke here.

Where: Salem, Massachusetts When: 1692 What: Salem Witch Trials

Audie and I took the ”tourist” version of learning about the Salem Witch Trials. So crazy when you learn about something in school and then you re-live it [well kinda]. We started off with lunch @ Beer Works…which I never thought I would say this, but Blueberry Beer [lite beer w/ blueberries floating around]  is simply amazing. {Amazing is my new favorite word if you haven’t already figured that out from reading my previous blogs} Then it was off to a day filled with “witchy things” as I described what I wanted to do to the visitor center employee. Lots of walking, lots of picture-taking, awkward moments being the only 2 people on 2 different tours, avoiding high school tour groups, and lots of “spot a witch” game that I made up. The weather matched the activities for the day…overcast & gloomy. It was all so creepy & eerie.

 Seriously, I neeeeedddd to be in Salem for Halloween next year, it would be perfect. Anyone wanna go? Here are a few pics of the tons I took:

:Beer Works-Salem:

:testimony from the witch trials engraved by the “first burying point” graveyard:

:cool store front:

:the witch house- original home of a witch trial judge:

:the only 2 people in the audience for the play…awkward:

:playing dead:

:so excited to see Samantha from bewitched:

:who would pass up a photo-op as a witch…not us!:

:Salem stores:

:no lie, we saw a freakin black cat in Salem that began to follow us…what r the chances?!:

:cool parking spot:

ld architecture:

Boston pics will be posted tomorrow! Stay tuned In the meantime, check out this amazing church on Newberry Street : Boston, Massachusetts

Once in a while from out of nowhere
When you don’t expect it, and you’re unprepared
Somebody will come and lift you higher
And your burdens will be shared
Yes I do believe, if I hadn’t met you
I might still be sinking fast
I’ve had a long streak of bad luck
But I’m praying it’s gone at last

She said a good day
Ain’t got no rain
She said a bad day’s when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been

Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken, and many times confused
And I’ve often felt forsaken, and certainly misused.
But it’s all right, it’s all right, I’m just weary to my bones
Still, you don’t expect to be bright and Bon Vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home.
I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
Don’t have a friend who feels at ease
Don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
Or driven to it’s knees.
But it’s all right, all right, We’ve lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road we’re traveling on,
I wonder what went wrong, I can’t help it

I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the civil war

Trust your intuition
It’s just like goin fishin’
You cast your line and hope you get a bite
You don’t need to waste your time
Worryin’ about the market place
Trying to help the human race
Strugglin to survive it’s harshest hour

Not so fast, Internet Explorer! We know that you have great things in the works for IE 9 — including Direct2D GPU acceleration, the 2D / vector graphics API that we first laid eyes on in Windows 7. And believe us, that got our attention — as well as the attention of Mozilla programmer Bas Schouten. It seems that over the weekend, the young man successfully loaded Direct2D support into an alpha build of Firefox 3.7 — just days after you announced its inclusion in the next version of your web browser. “Things are looking very promising for Direct2D” and Firefox, said Schouten, although “older PCs with pre-D3D10 graphics cards and WDDM 1.0 drivers will not show significant improvements.” And we thought that accelerometer support was wild!

The Museum desperately needs your help! Legend has it that a Spanish ship loaded with a fortune of gold went missing somewhere in the Caribbean and was never found. This lost treasure is referred to by locals as the Caribbean Secret. Explore amazing Caribbean locations finding cleverly hidden objects and playing unique minigames to recover the riches in Amazing Adventures – The Caribbean Secret!

Caribbean atmosphere

Gorgeous scenes

Find the treasure!

System Requirements:

OS: Windows XP/Vista

CPU: 600 Mhz

RAM: 256 MB

DirectX: 7.0

Hard Drive: 54 MB

It Takes Just A second To Say Thanks,

It Takes Longer To The Work On This.

Amazing Adventures: The Carribean Secret

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: NOVEMBER 24, 2009

CONTACT: PUBLIC RELATIONS 772/221-1403

WHO: The Friends of the Blake Library in Stuart, Inc., in support of Martin County libraries

WHAT:

Best of EXPLORE: You Can’t Catch Me!

Ages 6 and older

Join in the fun with gingerbread stories, treats, and a craft! Make your own gingerbread hanging mobile.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 9, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Blake Library, Exploration Lab (2nd floor), 2351 SE Monterey Rd., Stuart

HOW: Presented at no charge. Pre-registration is required. Limited to 30 children. To register, please call (772) 221-1407. To learn more about the Martin County Library System call (772) 221-1403, pick up a Library Connection at any branch library or visit the library Web site at www.library.martin.fl.us.

END

I really enjoyed reading this weeks article by Mitchel Resnick, “All I Really Need to Know (About Creative Thinking) I Learned (By Studying How Children Learn) in Kindergarten.”  Since I taught kindergarten last year it really made me miss kindergarten and made me think of how I can use some of those same strategies in my 3rd grade classroom this year.  I also found an article, http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/succeed.html, this article was for parents called, “Helping Your Child Succeed in School.”  It basically told parents that children need to use their curiosity and imagination to learn and that as a parent you need to awaken that within their child by encouraging them.  I think this really explained it perfectly.  Parents seem to always want this big answer of what to do to get their child reading and to be ”smart.” So this article really shows that just let children explore and learn through their own creativity.  So it went right along with what the article in class talked about.  I want to continue to do this more in my own classroom to allow my 3rd graders to be more creative and explore new things across the curriculum.

Photographed by shchukin

Alps. Austria.

– License

Nestled in the base of Mexico, situated in the state of Quintana Roo and lying on the coast is the flourishing tourism city of Cancun with a population of some 600, 000. This lovely city began its tourism trade in the 1970’s and was further developed by American investors during the 1980’s. It was then developed as a tourism destination and now boasts a flourishing tourism community. Many people from North America now call Cancun home in its idealistic tropical paradise settings. Hurricane Wilma extensively devastated the region in 2005 and a great deal of restoration as occurred in the aftermath to lift the pristine shorelines to their original beauty and the beaches are now much wider as a result.

The Cancun economy relies very heavily on tourism and is the number one source of revenue for the region. You will find the hotel area as being coastal in its location and takes on the appearance of the number seven if viewed from an aerial aspect. Within this shape is Nichupte Lagoon, being supplied by freshwater and offers many fun filled water based sports activities with equipment being available by day hire to all guests. Nightlife is available to those who wish to take in the party atmosphere with a large variety of places to entertain you.

To get to the older side of Cancun take one of the two bridges available to you to get across to the city itself and explore the wonders available to you in a more cultural setting, this area is less affect by tourism so you can explore the markets and take in the more “natural” ambiance of the older part of the city. You will discover here that nothing much has altered and you will be able to experience the people and cultures first hand. Then you can get a feel for the cultural flavor of this remarkable area.

You will find traditional foods to sample at a reasonably low cost, take your pick from the available bars, restaurants and local eateries. Bull fights put on daily show for your excitement and entertainment, and you will find less expensive shopping available to you in the older part of town.

Across the Yucatan peninsula you can explore and learn firsthand information regarding the ancient Mayan civilization and culture that once thrived here so long ago. The ruins of El Ray are located within the Hotel Zone with El Meco; a much more substantial site to be found on the mainland just outside the city limits on the road to Punta Sam. While just to the north of the city a more larger and interesting site exists for exploration the lives of these amazing people. If you are interested in day tripping, the lost city of Uxmal is recommended or perhaps even Xel-Ha.

Incorporated in the natural reserves are Xel_Ha and Xcaret, these are probably the most visited sites for tourists. Here you can explore and take in the natural sites while taking advantage of the available amenities in the shape of swimming with dolphins and exploring the local marine life. These two sites also offer a wondrous and natural eco-tourism with jungles and beautifully stretching sparkling beaches and awe inspiring coastlines. Set yourself plenty of time to take in the sites of this area and you will not be disappointed.

This wonderful and diverse tourism destination will remain high on the list of must-see and as long as care is taken to preserve the natural wonders of this place, with humans working with nature it will remain a highly visited area with beautifully stretching coastlines and pristine beaches coupled with the tranquil blue waters of the Caribbean. Put this one high on your list of must go and see.