Brian Anderson, a reporter for Southbergenite.com and www.northjersey.com, wrote a story entitled, Play, written by 9 year old, scheduled to come to Lyndhurst.  The article appeared today in both print and on the web.  Mr. Anderson interviewed both Lisa and Sam to get the real scoop on how Goofball Galaxy was first created and then how it was produced to become a play. Check it out.

Journalism is changing rapidly. We all know that. A question has been raised by Mary Sanchez of the Kansas City Star whether these desperate times of journalists struggling for their jobs cause them to be unethical. I found this topic interesting, because it could very well be true. Journalists are struggling right now with the rise of online and citizen journalism. Could it get to the point where journalists actually fabricate stories to keep their jobs?
Mary Sanchez writes about ethics and journalism because “Jayson Blair, the plagiarizing, fabricate-as-you-go former New York Times reporter, was invited to speak with journalism students at Washington and Lee University on, of all things, ethics.” Jayson Blair was a journalist for the New York Times that fabricated dozens of stories as he wrote for one of the nation’s most influential newspapers. This is interesting because he talked about how he screwed up to tons of students and future journalists that want to have the job that he had.
Sanchez also makes note of CNN’s Lou Dobbs recently resigning from the news team. Lou Dobbs had built up a reputation for himself about illegal immigration. On his news show, he would put on extremists of the issue, and claim them as an expert. Dobbs would also claim false information to be fact. For example, he said that “one-third of the nation’s prison inmates are illegal immigrants, [when] in fact, less than 7 percent of inmates are noncitizens, whether here illegally or not.”
Blair and Dobbs had different forms of presenting poor judgment and bad journalism, but they were both desperate. To me, this reminds me of one of the topics that we were talking about with Lisa Williams on Thursday. Blogging is a new form of writing, but I’m curious to know if it is always journalism. The reason why I don’t think it is always journalism is because like Williams said, bloggers already know what they are going to say on a topic, and aren’t expecting to learn something new. But, when you are a journalist trying to write a story, you always learn something new in your interviews, and your story could in fact end up taking a different turn with the new information you learned from your subjects.
It’s so easy to post something online these days, and a journalist has to remember that even when posting things online, you still have to hold those same journalistic values, standards, and ethics that you would when writing for a print publication. Don’t get desperate as a writer, and stick to the truth.

Journalism has a lot of hurdles to overcome if it’s to not only survive, but thrive for the next 100 years.

Money is a big one. So is citizen journalism. And yes, the decline of audience and the death of print are pretty massive too.

But the biggest hurdle, the one we must all overcome; the one which will guarantee a great future for news, has nothing to do with ink and paper.

I’m talking about attitude. Journalism is not going anywhere because hardly anyone’s got the right attitude.

And what attitude is that, I hear you cry?

It hasn’t got a name, but we know Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page have it. And Evan Williams has it to. Jonathan Fields and Jonathan Mead definitely have it. By the looks of things journalists like David Dunkley-Gyimah, Michael Rosenblum and Jeff Jarvis possess it too.

There are some bloggers, like Lisa Williams, Hannah Waldram and Hermione Way who got some.

It’s obvious William Kamkwamba from Malawi is bursting with it.

Important people at the Times, Independent, New York Times, Telegraph, ITN, Sky and the Boston Globe don’t have it, which is why they’ll eventually fail. And across the West, in Britain, the US, Canada and Australia, not enough journalists have it. It’s why we’re getting busy going nowhere.

It can be summed up in truisms like these:

And pretty much boils down to:

It’s the attitude which gets inventors, artists…and yes, even entrepreneurs out of bed in the morning.

And it is the attitude which delivers the key to the future of journalism.

If we’re not careful the future of news, belongs to them, and not the journalists...no wait, hang on. If we ARE careful, it belongs to them. The whole point is we have to stop being careful! Take some  risks, get your hands dirty!

In tegenstelling tot de meeste mensen kijk ik bitter weinig tv. Reden daarvoor is hoofdzakelijk dat freddy en ik veel te veel verschillen van het soort programma’s waar we naar kijken en ik het de moeite niet vind om ruzie over te maken. In het ergste geval kan ik nog altijd op mijn pc kijken naar de programma’s die me interesseren. En zelfs dan zijn het er maar bitter weinig.

Uit zekerheid programmeer ik hetgeen ik dan wel nog wil zien want je zult het altijd tegenkomen dat Zoey dan juist roept in haar bedje en enkel wil dat mama tot bij haar komt. Het is dus voor mij veel veiliger om de digibox in te stellen en tussendoor te kijken wanneer ik mijn werk aan de kant heb of wanneer ik gewoon te moe ben om iets te doen. En zelfs dan duurt het soms uren voor ik een serie heb gezien en, geloof me, een film zie ik soms verspreid over weken. Eerlijk waar. Op die momenten is het wel even denken hoe de vork nu weer juist in de steel zat of om de draad weer op te pikken en soms ja, veeg je hem gewoon weer uit zonder het einde ervan te hebben gezien omdat je je niet meer juist kunt herrinneren wat er allemaal voorafging.

Hier dus even een lijstje van de programma’s waar ik wel naar kijk:

• K2 zoekt K3 (VTM): Vanavond de grote slotshow. Die zou ik natuurlijk wel liefst van al live zien want anders is het maandag voor ik er naar kan kijken en ik ben er zeker van dat ik dan al via één of ander kanaal te horen heb gekregen wie het nieuwe K’tje wordt. En na vandaag is dus dit tv-avontuur ook weer voorbij. Wie wordt het? Noa? Josje? of Madelon? Ben benieuwd.
• Komen eten (VT4): Dit is het enige tv-programma waar zowel Fr als ik naar kijken. In dit programma gaan 4 hobbykoks de strijd aan om het beste etentje te geven. Beurt om beurt zijn ze bij elkaar te gast om na afloop elkaar punten te geven op gezelligheid, sfeer, onthaal en natuurlijk .. het menu.
• All Saints (VTM): Hier wil ik echt geen aflevering van missen en volg het al vanaf de allerleerste uitzending. Heb altijd een zwak gehad voor Australische series alhoewel die serieus dramatisch uit de hoek kunnen komen. Maar, zoals gebleken. That’s life. In ieder geval, we volgen hier het wel en wee op de spoedafdeling van het All Saints Hospital. Drama, romantiek, spanningen, en heel herkenbare situaties in overvloed.
• The Strip (VITAYA): Weer een Australische reeks. Deze keer over het criminal investigation team aan de Gold Coast. Hoofdreden om te kijken: Aaron Jeffery. Yeah!
• Het Zesde Zintuig (VTM): In dit programma gaan ze op zoek naar mensen met een speciale gave, het zogenaamde zesde zintuig. Aan de hand van verschillende, volgens mij aartsmoeilijke opdrachten, gaan ze op zoek naar diegene bij wie dit zintuig het best ontwikkeld is. Over welk soort opdrachten gaat het dan? Geblinddoekt op een locatie worden gedropt waar “iets” is gebeurd en daar zoveel mogelijk details over vertellen, liefst zo exact mogelijk; in een bos worden losgelaten en binnen het kwartier een sniper zien te localiseren; zoveel mogelijk vertellen over de persoon die op de foto in de gesloten omslag staat en meer van dat soort dingen.
• Lisa Williams Life Among The Dead (VITAYA): waarin medium Lisa Williams mensen helpt in contact te komen met hun overleden dierbaren. Momenteel wel een tijdelijke stop dus afwachten tot het nieuwe seizoen begint.
• Packed To The Rafters (VTM). Zal wel terugkeren als McCleod’s daughters gedaan is veronderstel ik. Alweer, yep inderdaad, een australische reeks waarin de family Rafter wordt gevolgd in al hun dagelijkse gebeurtenissen. En waarom kijken we daar naar? ERIK THOMSON!

Tussendoor neem ik wel nog geregeld een waargebeurde film, drama of romantische film op op VijfTV, want da’s mijn absolute favoriete filmzender. Al die actie en geweld en horror is niet aan mij besteed. Ik ben een echte seut.

En noodgedwongen volg ik trouw de avonturen van Mickey Mouse clubhouse, Bumba, Nijntje en de Wawa’s. En voor ik het vergeet: Piet Piraat en kabouter Plop.

Listen: I remind myself everyday how lucky I am to have a job that allows me to find and tell stories of good work going on in Milwaukee. Sometimes those stories require a bit of hunting and clever editing, but on rare occasion, the stories come to life on their own. The stories of Meta House were those stories.

Make A Difference is a volunteer campaign. The pieces we’ve been putting together have attempted to communicate the impact volunteers can have in a community, but also the fulfillment volunteers pull away from those experiences. If you haven’t listened to the Meta House pieces yet, take a listen — Shirley, Susan, and Lisa beautifully communicate the rewards they’ve reaped.

In this first bit of extra audio, we hear another layer of Shirley’s story with Meta House. While she is certainly a success story, it took a two stints with Meta House to get her to where she is today:

Lisa gave me this particularly interesting piece of audio highlighting the volunteer experience in a way that would not immediate occur to me — she discusses how well Meta House uses their volunteers. This may seem like a simple point, but if you’re going to give your time as a volunteer, you want to know that your time will be used optimally:

Finally, Susan expresses how she was able to translate her love of yoga into something she could share with the clients at Meta House. Maybe you can use one of your passions to help make a difference:

For more information on Meta House, visit their website. Also, if you’re interested in getting involved with Meta House, this is a direct link to their volunteering page.

Produced by: Adam Carr

Lisa taking a break from preparing for a session.

Listen: Lisa Williams came to Meta House as part of a program to earn her associate’s degree. Before the internship began, she was not entirely sure what to expect from an experience working at a gender-specific rehab center, but from the minute she walked in the door, she knew Meta House was a perfect fit. Her experiences were so fulfilling, she decided to continue working as a volunteer counselor even after the internship ended.

Her passion for Meta House and the work she does there is evident in this piece. Listen to selections from an interview with Lisa, as well as audio captured during a group counseling session she conducted focusing on relapse prevention:

For more information on Meta House, visit their website. Also, if you’re interested in getting involved with Meta House, this is a direct link to their volunteering page.

Produced by: Adam Carr

It has been a while since the last post. I swear if these posts would write what I compose in my head then there would be stuff written all the time.
What is new in my life is that I went to see in person Lisa Williams. She came to Boise Idaho and gave a show. Of course, like all people there, I was fervently wishing that I would receive a reading. Alas I didn’t. However during one reading of a deceased female I did receive a couple of bits that let me know that my dad is thinking of me. The first is that the 19th is an important day. My father died on the 19th. Also the song Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Middler is important. We played that song at his funeral. She does her shows completely different then Sylvia Browne. She doesn’t talk any about how she got into the business she just immediately starts to read for the spirits that are lined up. She begins with generic information and/or descriptions and then if an audience member hears or feels that the connection might be for them, they raise their hand. She eventually gets it narrowed down.There were some interesting readings but the most compelling concerned a little boy here in Idaho who had just been found dead. It has been ruled a murder and a suspect charged. At the time of the show, the suspect had not been arrested. Lisa Williams said that because this case drew her, she would work with local law enforcement to help bring the suspect in if she could.
If I had to choose a person or style of show that I liked better, Sylvia or Lisa I would have to choose Sylvia’s style better. Lisa was awesome and I am very grateful that she came to Boise and that I got to see her on stage in person. She is a lovely person.

Picked up a few good tips at AEJMC in Boston last week from some smart folks on how to better prepare journalism students to be entrepreneurs.

This is something we in the academy are increasingly (or should be) interested in.  Journalism students should be prepared not only to launch their own enterprises, but also to have a more entrepreneurial mindset even in traditional news organizations, as my last post explained.

Web developer and founder of Placeblogger.com Lisa Williams discussed the importance of learning to pitch your idea over Indian food with some  Web-interested professors one night. If you can’t pitch your idea, not only are you unlikely to get others interested, you also may not have enough clarity yourself about your core purpose.

Your pitch must be concise, compelling, and clear.  If you can’t get them in under 30 seconds, you won’t be able to get them in an hour. Practice it over and over, get honest feedback, and keep cutting the fat.

She added more specific classroom ideas via Twitter:  One way to start – and I plan on doing this – is having students practice pitching their stories (which should have the added benefit of improving leads & nut grafs). Ask the class if the pitch is clear, and ask them to paraphrase it to test.  Then ask:  Is it compelling? Why would someone both reading/paying attention to this?

For example, here’s Williams’ pitch for her site Placeblogger:  “Placeblogger is the largest searchable index of local weblogs.”

Also, never pitch unless asked, Williams says. Nothing worse than irritating the people you need to impress.

Dan Gillmor, author of the well-known book We The Media and the director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State, also spoke at a panel on student entrepreneurship.  Gillmor co-teaches a hands-on course that guides students through the process of online media development, entrepreneurship and business. Here’s the syllabus.

Gillmor said emphatically that “I have an idea for a Web site!” is not going to fly in his course.  Instead, students must first identify a need or a void in the community they could fill. This is an important and, I think, often overlooked aspect of building a successful site or tool; researchers Esther Thorson and Margaret Duffy of the University of Missouri have developed a model for helping news organizations identify needs prior to building fancy features.

Gillmor also said that he teaches his students not to fear failure.  Their course projects are not a chin-stroking academic thought exercise – this is about “demos not memos” (not sure who to credit that phrase to, but I love it).  Not everything is going to work, and even a project that ultimately fails may be worthy of an A – the value lies in being willing to experiment. It is important to own both the process and the outcomes.

It’s also important to develop ideas quickly, launch them before you are fully satisfied, and then fix what is broken. Embrace the chaotic process, he said. It’s okay to be embarrassed when you first launch a site – you will learn from your mistakes.

Toen ik nog volledig gelukkig en zo goed als zorgenvrij was zapte ik af en toe wel eens langs op vitaya’s: Lisa Williams: Life among the dead. Ik pikte dan een fragmentje op, maar meestal deed ik het gewoon af als regelrechte bullshit of vond ik het toch een beetje te creepy om naar te kijken. Maar ik zeg het nog eens, toen was alles ook nog normaal.

Tegenwoordig zoek ik naar oplossingen om mijn verdriet te kunnen verwerken. Zoek ik een manier om het overlijden van mamie een plaats te geven en zou ik zo graag antwoorden krijgen op al mijn brandende vragen die sindsdien op mijn lever liggen.

Dus programmeerde ik afgelopen week de aflevering van Life Among The Dead. En eerlijk gezegd, ik durfde eerst niet te kijken, want volgens C komt het daardoor dat ik ’s avonds niet kan slapen en ’s nachts zo dikwijls wakker word. Want van al die opzoekingen over dolende zielen, auralifters, photoreadings en ga zo maar verder, zou je voor minder de slaap niet kunnen vatten. Maar mijn nieuwsgierigheid kreeg de bovenhand en ik duwde op play.

Voor diegene die Lisa Williams niet kennen, even een korte schets van deze wel heel indrukwekkende persoon. Lisa ontdekte als kind dat ze over een speciale gave bezit, namelijk dat ze contact kon maken met mensen die overleden zijn. Ze kon ze niet alleen zien, maar ook horen. Ze verdiepte zich erin en besloot haar gave te gebruiken om mensen te helpen. In het programma demonstreert het Medium haar paranormale talenten en probeert ze op deze manier de achtergebleven familieleden of vrienden in contact te brengen met hun overleden dierbaren.

De programmamakers beweren zwart op wit dat Lisa op geen enkele manier op voorhand contact heeft gehad met haar klanten, of op de hoogte werd gesteld van de achtergronden, de situaties of de band die haar clients hebben met de overleden persoon. De show zou op geen enkele manier in scene zijn gezet en zou dus the real thing zijn. (al stel ik mij toch de vraag, hoe graag ik ook wil geloven, TV blijft TV)

Ik keek dus naar Aflevering 6. Toeval of niet: de eerste klant die Lisa ontvangt raakt me al meteen tot in het diepste van mijn tenen. Behalve de band die zij had met de overleden persoon (zij verloor haar man) kwam er heel veel overeen met het heengaan van mamie. Haar man had een leverziekte en is op korte tijd, zonder afscheid te kunnen nemen gestorven. Dit alles kon Lisa afleiden door een persoonlijk object van de gestorven ziel vast te houden en contact met hem te zoeken. Ze stelde hem vragen en vertelde de achtergebleven weduwe de dingen die een ander normaal gezien niet kan weten. Behalve details over de ziekte, ook details over het privéleven van het koppel en de manier waarop hij was gestorven.

De dame in kwestie kon de dood niet verwerken omdat ze bleef worstelen met onopgeloste vragen – same here –  en vooral dan het feit dat ze zichzelf bleef verwijten dat ze niet genoeg had gedaan om hem in leven te houden. Toen ik dat hoorde ben ik beginnen wenen. Want is dat nu niet juist wat mij zo bezig houdt? Terwijl ik eigenlijk goed genoeg weet dat we niets hadden kunnen doen,  blijf ik mezelf die vraag stellen of mamie het ons verwijt dat we niet harder voor haar hebben gevochten.

Begrijpelijk dus dat ik mezelf hier in dit verhaal herkende. Net zoals die klant van Lisa, voel ook ik me schuldig. En zij kreeg de verlossende boodschap van haar man via Lisa dat hij haar niets verweet. Dat hij weet dat ze alles gedaan heeft wat in haar mogelijkheid lag om hem te redden. Maar dat de ziekte zo ver gevorderd was dat er totaal geen kruid tegen gewassen was. De vrouw was zo opgelucht omdat ze sinds het overlijden van haar man, zichzelf de schuld gaf. Dankzij Lisa kreeg zij dus de antwoorden waarnaar ze zocht en kon ze proberen verder te gaan met haar leven .. MET de zegen van haar man en met de belofte dat hij altijd over haar zou waken.

De rest van de aflevering was al even indrukwekkend, al was het vooral het eerste item, dat mij, voor persoonlijke redenen dan, het meeste aansprak. Bij een tweede klant ging ze precies op dezelfde manier te werk en ook deze achtergebleven vrouw kreeg de antwoorden waar ze al zo lang naar zocht. De dingen die Lisa aanhaalde waren zo specifiek dat een ander ze gewoon niet kon weten (tenzij ze haar op voorhand waren verteld natuurlijk).

Bij een huisbezoek ging ze kijken of er kwade geesten aanwezig waren, maar de enige geest die aanwezig was, was die van de overleden zoon die niet wou vertrekken omdat hij altijd graag in dat huis had gewoond. Er was geen reden om het huis te “zuiveren” omdat de ouders de aanwezigheid echt voelden en op die manier hun zoon toch nog in hun midden hadden.

Einde aflevering. De volgende staat al geprogrammeerd want ik wil zo graag hierin geloven. Ik blijf volhouden dat er iets moet zijn en als hier in België zo een straffe madam moest rondlopen zou ik geen twee keer moeten nadenken om contact met haar te zoeken zodat ook ik nog een laatste, verlossende gesprek met mamie zou kunnen voeren.

En misschien zijn hier in ons landje ook wel van die mensen, maar bij wie ga je te rade? Hoe zoek je uit wie het echt meent want je moet geen genie zijn om te weten dat er een hele boel kwakzalvers tussen zitten die misbruik maken van de radeloosheid van mensen zoals ik. Ze weten dat je kwetsbaar en beînvloedbaar bent en zullen er dan ook hun hand niet voor omdraaien om je op je zwakte te pakken en je geld uit je zakken proberen te kloppen. En wij, die zo naïef zijn en zo graag geholpen willen worden, zullen er wel met beide voeten intrappen.

Want als er morgen ene op mij afkomt en zegt dat hij mamie kan zien en horen en dat hij mij in contact met haar kan brengen, dan zal ik de eerste zijn die hem zijn gang laat gaan … Al zou ik misschien beter moeten weten.

Dus Lisa .. doe jij ook huisbezoeken in België..

I JUST WANT TO BELIEVE!

Lisa Williams knows what’s going on. C’mon journalists, its time to start thinking like an entrepreneur!

More on this from me later this month…

Is it possible to connect with the dead? This has been a grey area ever since the evolution of mankind. No matter how vehemently the scientists have denied the fact of reincarnation or rebirth, yet spiritualists, in all ages, have endorsed and affirmed the fact that a soul keeps coming back to the earth and changes bodies without changing its form. The basis of this belief finds its roots in the ‘Law of conservation of energy’ which states that ‘energy’ can neither be destroyed nor created.

READ MORE

Lisa Williams, internationally acclaimed medium and clairvoyant, will appear at the Las Vegas Hilton August 2 at 7 p.m. in the Hilton Theater in Las Vegas.

Tickets for Lisa Williams, August 2 at 7 p.m., are priced at $65, $85 and $125. Tickets can be purchased at the Las Vegas Hilton box office or by logging onto www.lvhilton.com

Lisa was discovered by Merv Griffin and has her own hit show, “Lisa Williams, Life Among the Dead,” on Lifetime Television.

Lisa Williams, internationally acclaimed medium and clairvoyant, will appear at the Las Vegas Hilton August 2 at 7 p.m. in the legendary Hilton Theater.

Lisa Williams

Lisa was discovered by Merv Griffin and has her own hit show, “Lisa Williams, Life Among the Dead,” on Lifetime Television.  As well as appearing on “Good Morning America,” “Oprah” and “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” Lisa has just completed her first book. In addition to her readings in front of large audiences, she does personal readings and is a trained Reiki and Crystal Healer.

Tickets for Lisa Williams, August 2 at 7 p.m., are priced at $65, $85 and $125. Tickets can be purchased at the Las Vegas Hilton box office or by logging onto www.lvhilton.com

I was so blessed with much forward progress this past week.  I had a really wonderful new blessing of attunement  from the angels and my Ascended Masters and I have been on a high ever sense.   It took me a couple of days, but then I realized that along with this attunement came a cleanse.  I have been releasing much and things have been popping up to address.  So I just acknowledge and move on.

I have just been in a whirl with all of the “coincidences” and blessings that have fallen into place one after the other in just 3 short days.  I am not going to go into any more details here at this time as I am sifting through it all, but I do want to say that I am SO excited for the results that I know will be manifesting in their own Divine timing

ALSO! I have finished Lisa Williams’ book, Life Among the Dead. lol Remember I bought it when I went to the Bodhi Tree for her book signing?  It was a very easy read and so fascinating how her own journey has unfolded for her up to this point. Finishing any book with my schedule has got to tell you it is good ;-P I have applied through Hay House’s Volunteer to help at an event through their site and mentioned I would be open to helping with her Santa Monica Mediumship Course in October.  We will see if I am needed.  It will all work out if I am.

So now I am sitting here typing out a quick update as I kill time until True Blood comes on. lol  I was noting to myself and the husband how quickly the weekends just fly by.  I really rested this weekend too.  Much needed.  That and it is 100 degrees here in LA! ick.  I am SO not a summer person.  Just another reason to release this extra weight. lol

I hope you all have a blessed week! I know I will and I am grateful in advance! – Lisa

today i told my dad in my daily conversation, that it was time for another feather…lol. usually when i ask for a “sign” just to reassure me as i am trudging along, i take for granted it will be a “feather” in a strange spot.  i have a collection in case you doubt me.  the weight on my shoulders at the moment, is very very scary and exciting, but it is weight none the less. (ps – i saw my website - more final than before – and its awesome!)

so, i am wrapping up some work on the computer and decided to check some websites that i frequent.  in case you didn’t know, i visit a website every now and then (which i am not supposed to – long story, don’t ask), and in fact, had gone with some gal pals awhile back to see … lisa williams.

she posts “messages.” they are very much up left up to interpretation, but in may 2009 there were two with the name “jeanie.” this one i found interesting.  she writes them as she hears them…

“Jeanie – I passed away with cancer, it’ was a hard battle and long one but I was thankful that it all ended quickly at the end, and so were my family. They should not feel guilty of this and can you let them know that it is part of life and we all go on. I am well and happy and there is nothing you can do about the house, just leave it up and it will happen. Be strong, I love you…”

so….what is up with this?  lol!  30 raymond?

     This weekend was awesome.  I filmed a segment for www.CreateYourHealth.com – I have to admit, this was my very first interview on anything and to have it filmed was daunting because I am just not happy with my weight.  But I just went for it. lol 

     Plus I was scared to my toes to demonstrate an angel card reading on such a public format.  I really do more inituitive readings now and less card readings, but he wanted an example of an angel card reading, so that is what we did.  It is an awesome site, you should check it out!  So many gifted people working with alternative health and more.  I will let you all know when my segment is put up so you can see it.

     Someone was telling me that next weekend is Memorial Day already! wow.  Then I started thinking of all of the great things I have on my plate for the summer I get excited.   I decided a few months ago I need to start having FUN again.  I was just in a rut and honestly a bit tired and depressed.  So I told myself I am going to DO things more often again and I have been.

      Next weekend I will be taking an Akashic Records Workshop here in LA with Rev. A. Patricia Bankins, owner of The Crystal Matrix.  It is something that I have been long curious about, so I feel blessed to take it from someone that has been working with the Akashic Records for so many years. 

     I will also be holding my Angelic Healing Circles at The Crystal Matrix all throughout the summer, which I love.  I love connecting in with the Angelic Realm in a group and seeing what messages they have for others and working with the Archangel Raphael for healing.

      I will be staffing Charles Virtue’s Mediumship Workshop in Laguna Beach in June.  I will be helping out, doing readings and more.  So much fun and Laguna Beach is just beautiful.  That will be a great weekend. So many wonderful people will be there that I will get to meet for the first time as well as reconnect with from the other courses I have staffed and attended:) 

     I think I am free in July and August except for the Reiki Clinics I will be participating in and my Angel Circles lol.  But I am SURE something will come up, I am staying open.   I think there is a psychic fair in there that I am working… I will have to check.

    THEN I am very excited in September to be attending the Advanced Angel Practitioner Certification Course  held by Charles Virtue in Laguna Beach.  I have been looking forward to that one. 

     Lisa Williams is holding a Mediumship Course in Santa Monica in October through Hay House…… hmmm….  That would just be fun if anything.  I love going to classes even though I already do the work.  It is fun to meet new people and learn new exercises.

     This weekend was fabulous and too short.  I get to do some great readings on the weekends and it ismy first love to do that.  Makes it really hard to go in on mondays and back to numbers (accounting) lol But I am blessed to work for a great place with great people, so it is not too bad.  

     Still learning to do the web design.  I love the ones I have done for others just by doing the basic templates for them, it will be awesome to learn more.  I want to be full swing with that by the end of summer. 

Have a great week all!  Many Blessings! – Lisa

www.YourAngelsMessage.com

    First off, I hope all the mother’s out there had a wonderful day on Sunday! I know that I did.  I am so blessed to have the kids that I do.   Saturday I got up early and said to my husband, I am going to manifest a dining room table today for $100.  He said ok, cuz he knows I am a power mainfestor, lol, and we hit the garage sales.  Nothing.  Very dissappointing, but still, I had a feeling it was happening TODAY after waiting for so long.  So we went to breakfast.

     Then I got back home and scrolled through Craigslist.  Everything was just incredibly over priced.  But just as I was about to stop, I came across a table and a hutch for $150.  Now, I know, it’s not $100.   BUT, I told my husband about 3 weeks ago I wanted to find a hutch to put all of my knick knacks and crystals in! HAHA.  So he drove out and got them both.  I love it and the hutch has a light in the top that highlights my big quartz crystal cluster! yay! Thank you universe and my angels !  You rock!

      Then on Sunday, my daughter and I headed over to the Bodhi Tree in Hollywood on Sunday for Lisa Williams’ book signing of her paperback release, “Life Among the Dead”  - I have not read it yet but have been wanting too for a while and  it looks like I have to wait, because my daughter got first dibs. lol But luckily she is like me and a fast reader.  It is another book to put in my collection of signed books by authors I like (Remember that post? lol)

     Now if you read my blog, you know I am all about sharing resources, authors, movies, products, etc.  I have been watching Lisa on TV since her first show came out, she is an amazing psychic medium.  Great to watch   She is also just as sweet in person.  She will be going on tour soon, so I highly recommend joining her site membership  

     Anyways, so as we left the house, we asked our parking angel Pablo for good parking, because it is almost non exsistent in that area!  But he always hooks us up.:)  We got there and found a spot right next to the bookstore on a side street,  but the signs were all complicated.  We found ourselves on one hand being grateful, but on the other not sure if we could park there.  lol  I asked in my head ok, help!  Just then the parking police drove by and said, “Is that your car?” We said, “Yes.”  He was so nice and said, “You can’t park there, it is permit only.” We thanked him for telling us and got in the car. 

     Grateful to our angels for giving the heads up, not the ticket. lol  Then we drove a short ways down the street and someone pulled out and we pulled into a new great spot that was CLEAR on if we could park there. lol  So it was a bit drawn out, but also I think it was a reminder that we have help.   If it all came easy, we would take it for granted, right?

     So that was my weekend.  The book signing was awesome, I had forgotten my digital camera, so no photos, but my daughter is taking a photo class, so we went old school and I will have a film photo.  Someone said I can scan it though. If so,  I will share later.

  Well, back to work!  I just wanted to share the events and check in:) Have a great week!  I have posted the new Angels Message of the Week.  Make sure to check it out and sign up on the newsletter link to cget it automatically weekly.  I feel really blessed to be able to share them with you all.

Many Blessings – Lisa

www.YourAngelsMessage.com

    I had to read my own blog to remember what I blogged about last. lol  But that got me thinking that I am a power manifestor and I have been a wanting a new laptop, so I am putting it here that I need one by summers end to my Spiritual peeps!  Thanks! lol

     SO – If you follow my Facebook and Twitter (combined) you know that I was diagnosed as very anemic (like, VERY).  I have been taking the iron pills and it has not been too bad and I am starting to feel much better.   Thank you so much for all the well wishes!

      I really thought I was just tired and busy.  Apparently most women have anemia, so get it checked!  I really just thought I was exhausted from life.  You know, that blanket of tiredness that covers you at the end of the day?  I was pushing through to 5:00 each day, then bedtime, then I would get up and say to myself, I just have to make it to 5:00 lol. 

     I was so happy to find out there is a physical reason, because I am very happy in my life.  I have goreous, sweet kids and wonderful husband.  I live in the town I love.  Yes, I have hiccups in finances, car troubles,  and other stuff, who doesn’t?  But overall, I choose happiness.  So it is good to find out that  I can fix this ailment easily enough.

     This weekend, I had fun with friends, played with the Doreen Virtue Angel Board (you gotta try it! It is awesomely fun) and then on Sunday, I went to the zoo for a bit with my kids on our membership pass and then did lots of readings at The Crystal Matrix and spoke to some dead people for their loved ones.  I love my life. 

     It is getting to be summer in LA, which means HAWT. ick.  But it must be endured.  I am SUCH a winter kinda girl. lol 

    OH!  One more thing that I am kinda jazzed about is that John Edward has this new site he is trying to start buzz about – I hope it is worth it.  lol John Edward’s Infinite Quest.  What if it is just a video game?  Doesn’t it sound like it would be one?  That would be weird.  One a quest to find a ghost?   lolololol

     If I don’t get to post this week, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!  If you are in LA, Lisa Williams is at the Bodhi Tree on that day, so tell the kids to take you there and buy her book and get it signed.  I know that’s what I am shooting for   Hope I can see you there!

Many Blessings – Lisa

www.YourAngelsMessage.com

I just got done filing my taxes; pardon me while I bury my heart in yonder godforsaken patch of stony earth,  where nothing will ever grow again. [Too much?] To quote “Raising Arizona”: “Gov’ment sure do take a bite, don’t she?” 

I would say “Bite me, government,” except that I am a lady.

I’m going to join a militia. Taxes-shmaxes. Banana-fana-fo-faxes.

MILITIA PERSONAGE: Who be you, up here in the north woods, young whippersnapper?
ME: Just call me “Treasury’s Bane”.
MILITIA PERSONAGE: Aye.

***

Did you know that you can get a tax break for “river edge re-development”?

Hot dog!

***

So! How about those pirates, huh? CBS cut in with a Special News Report during the Masters on Sunday afternoon [the Masters, which I was watching with my family, and yes: I was completely emotionally invested in the outcome of the Masters after watching for approximately five minutes]. The juxtaposition between golf and drama on the high seas was nearly too much for us to collectively handle. And can we talk about how often we all got to see the phrase high seas this past week? You could practically see newsanchorpersons smacking their lips with joy as they reported on the story:

NEWSANCHORPERSON ONE: Pirates!
NEWSANCHORPERSON TWO: Wheeeee!

That night, on the news, we watched as a Captain of some sort admiringly discussed the “three clean shots to the head” performed by the snipers. He ended his interview with: “Happy Easter!”

Oh, how we laughed!

***

I just found out that an artichoke is a flower. Holy cats! Did everybody else know this?

Is it just me, or does this look like a plant that…eats people?

I’m sorry that this blog is super short and weird.

It’s just that I’ve been really tired for about six months now.

Sheer Columns

How do we know it’s not matter that matters
but matter’s absence, elegies of matter

like air between the columns of these trees:
not lines of wood but lines of air between

the trunks’ sticks, the thin spaces that aren’t wood,
clear stalks grown up beside the sold lines,

those breezy hollows filled with non-existence?
I’ve seen what happens to a body’s absence:

grief fills up an arid space that grows
bleak, empty channels reaching for the light

then fading to a watery, sheer background
like the space between these trees night’s

flimsy winds tilt slightly. –Lines of air.
Maybe the real trees shouldn’t matter

more than their surrounding stalks of air.
Let’s see both trees and space for what they are:

a grove of roseate fading, dusky columns
showing us how wooden trunks defer

to lines of gray-pink, dimmed, dividing light
clear emptiness curves over. Who’s to say

the mingled light and shadow stalks that grow
between trees as trees waver out of view

at dusk, aren’t the best evidence of trees?
If things are always outlined by the space

around them, isn’t absence what they are?
Shouldn’t we treasure those sheer columns more?

Lisa Williams

Tish Grier looks at women who are making their marks through hyperlocal coverage.

nei egentlig ikke

Men jeg har sitter og sett på Lisa Williams  Du verden og dyktig hun er. Noe kan vel tilskrives tilfeldigheter, men det er vel mye mer mellom himmel og jord enn det en vet om. Jeg blir rett og slett imponert over henne. Hun kan umulig sitte å dikte opp alt hun vet. Og det kan vel ikke være reseach heller. Ikke når du ser hvordan “kundene” hennes reagerer. Nei det er sikkert, jeg er fasinert!

Readin’ some po’ms t’other day [okay, I'll stop], I was very much struck by a picture of a poet named Hayden Carruth.

The following are poems written by Hayden Carruth:

“Emergency Haying”

“Abandoned Ranch, Big Bend”

And best of all:

“Bears at Raspberry Time” 

[I didn't read that one, but I can't imagine that bears showing up at raspberry time could be good for anyone, could you?]

I would like very much for poets to look like Hayden Carruth. Like they went out to an emergency haying and hayed away and came home at dusk with chaff-cut hands and ate bread and drank water and they weren’t out hob-nobbing at a Man-hattan party with the borgeoiuse and things*, you know what I’m sayin’?

*I’m really really not a Communist

**Not sure about Hayden

***

I went to a party on Central Park West once. The person holding the party was a collector of modern art. When you entered the apartment, you were given a handout, which guided you through the pieces he had mounted in his home. There were hors ‘doeuvres. I was 22 and  I ate as many of them as I could because I was poor.

***

Do you have any idea how long it took me to spell “hors d’oeuvres” correctly just then?

***

 This is a picture of Elizabeth Bishop.

ELIZABETH BISHOP: I’m a really good poet

***

Bridgid got me “Words In Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop” for my birthday. In one letter to Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop writes:

“It is pouring and the sea is raging. Lota…is writing hard in one room and I in another.”

I think that sounds nice.

***

Did everyone see that beautiful “conjunction”, as they say, of the crescent moon and Venus on Friday night? O it was beautiful.

It’s too bad that the surface of Venus is covered in clouds in sulfuric acid.

Metaphor alert!

***

On Saturday afternoon I found some rolls of film–and an instant camera–that I hadn’t developed, and decided to play the game called

Let’s Drop These Puppies Off At Walgreens And See What Happens

Geometry

I made myself a circle, then a square.
I made a box too small for him to open
and then a portal which, from anywhere,
displayed the magnitude of my affection.

Once full of pliant roundnesses and curves,
his private tapestry, I made a skin
tight as a drum, impervious to pain,
and drew this on as if to stop an army,

then turned into a blossom on a plain,
rose-like and fragrant, luring him to come
and nestle in. I threw the flower at him
crumpled in a ball. It hit the floor

and there I was: plain angry red,
as foreign to his faculties as Mars.
In every way I wanted him to care.
I made myself a circle, then a square.

Lisa Williams