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Questions that change us

iam3bob — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:48:49 +0000

Ever have someone ask you a question that changed your life in ways you never expected or intended? Well, a little over four weeks ago my friend and accountability partner “The Butt” asked me a question that I believe will prove to be one of those kinds of questions! When he asked me I told him I would certainly consider what he asked, even though I had never considered the possibility before. Sure a bunch of ‘I and me’ in those last couple sentences. The point of this post is that the question exposed something that He is intending and planning for His purposes and His kingdom. When we spend the vast majority of our lives thinking about, planning, and living our lives for our comfort and pleasure we need to hear questions that can break-thru! Break-thru to the ear that hears the voice, break-thru to the eye that sees the invisible. My response won’t change the world, but it sure will impact my life and the sphere of lives that I have been given to touch. As Saundra and I move through the next several weeks, as we listen and watch, we will do so with the realization that the One who loves us and came to redeem us for Himself, is active and present even when we aren’t particularly aware of what He might be up to.

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

Get Involved Vancouver~ Animal Rights

becomethevoice — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 07:24:22 +0000

Do you want to get involved but you don’t know how? Well here is a local Vancouver advocate that wears a big heart on there sleeve. Liberation BC offers a list of get involved Vancouver. Go ahead make a difference, the animals are waiting:

Turkeys: The holiday season is a great time to talk to others about how brutal and unnatural the turkey farming business is.
Foie Gras: You can convince Vancouver shops and restaurants that this cruel product is not welcome in your city.
Pappas Furs: We will continue to be at Pappas Furs until Aberdeen Centre kicks this vile furrier out of the mall! Learn more about the campaign here!
Canadian Seal Hunt: Every March, Liberation BC joins with other animal rights groups to protest Canada’s embarrassing “hunt” of baby seals.
Walk for Farm Animals: Every year since 2007, we’ve organized the Vancouver Walk for Farm Animals. All funds raised go to Farm Sanctuary!
Rodeo: In a real sport, all participants are willing. The rodeo is nothing but animal abuse.

BCSPCA~ Tis The Season To Care

becomethevoice — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:53:00 +0000

Donate as little or as much as you can afford. $10 per month will help to save abused animals – the same amount as 2 lattes! $20 will make an amazing difference – the same amount as one lunch! Many animals will be left out in the cold throughout the bitter winter and will die.

http://asecondchance.ca/

Please do your part and support your local SPCA give an animal a chance.

December Plan Day 2: You are your own priest/priestess

janetconner — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:22:26 +0000

I stopped going to church my sophomore year in college. Nothing unusal there. Despite the fact that our parents sent us to a Catholic University so we wouldn’t lose our faith, everyone I knew stopped going to church their sophomore year.

I made a big mistake, though. The mistake wasn’t stopping going to church. That, I think, was a natural evolutionary step in my teenage struggle to differentiate myself. The mistake was tossing out the proverbial baby with the proverbial bathwater. With one giant whooosh, the whole thing flew out the window. I consciously wanted to toss out the dogma and theology and obligation and endless focus on sin, but in the same motion I threw out all the beautiful practices, all the prayer, all the mystical symbols and songs. I threw out every method I knew to connect with the divine.

It wasn’t until I woke up 40 and pregnant that I felt an urge to reconnect. I tried going back to the Catholic church, but it didn’t fit. Then, I tried Episcopalian and that went pretty well until one Sunday my 3 1/2 yr old asked as the priest completed the benediction, “Where’s God the mother?”

Good question.

That sent me searching for a feminine diety. And when I discovered that not only was God originally the Goddess, but she was served by priestesses, well, I was tickled pink. Bye-bye all-male priesthood. Bye-bye only-male altar boys. Bye-bye boys in charge. The girls are back!

But you know what? That felt great for a couple years but not for long. It was still an us/them conflict. It just had the “us” I prefered. But was it really any better that girls and only girls were in charge of dogma and theology and practice? Why did it have to be one or the other? Why did one have to exclude the other? Why couldn’t we both be emissaries to the divine?

Last week as I was having chats with my best friend, my loving wise Voice, a phrase popped onto the page: I am my own priest. I sucked in my breath when I saw it. The seven-year old “good little Catholic girl” who still resides deep under my skin was scandalized. “Whaddya mean, I am my own priest?” I wrote.

But of course, the Voice is right. I am, you are, we all are, we all have to be our own priests/priestesses/shamans/rabbis/imams. No intermediary is required. No intermediary is necessary. Maybe no intermediary is even desired.

It’s lovely, it’s true, to pray alongside someone who has a profound prayer practice. It is divine to be in the presence of someone holy. It is comforting to hear someone else’s words of prayer and hope. BUT, you can do it all by yourself. You can do it right now. In your kitchen. At the computer. Lying in bed in the dark. In the shower. Driving to work. Folding the laundry. You have direct and immediate access to Spirit. We all do. We just forgot that for a few thousand years.

I find this a relief. It’s not about finding the “right” priest or shaman. It’s not about finding the “right” religion. The “right” prayers. The “right” ceremonies. It’s about connecting. It’s about standing in the sacred space that you create, calling forward the words that come from your soul. And connecting, really deeply and truly connecting with that which is holy.

That’s what we’re doing today on day 2 of the December Plan. We are all becoming our own priests, our own priestesses, our own shamans, our own rabbis. We are all stepping into our own divine power and saying to our divine Source: here I am. How can we get closer?

How are you connecting this December?

Awareness is your duty

becomethevoice — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:00:01 +0000

After the introduction, this is a brief but very real glimpse into the experiences of animals in the various situations in which we exploit them.

The “spent” dairy cow and veal calf at the livestock auction; the fox at the fur farm; the thrashing hooked fish; the monkeys, dogs, and cats in the lab; the elephant at the circus; the pigs and turkeys at the farms; the crated veal calf; the egg-laying hens and chickens raised for flesh; the tied-up dog outside; the chickens, pigs and cows at the slaughterhouse.

Through the decisions you make every day, you’re supporting and even demanding the practices shown. Once upon a time, I didn’t want to know either; I get that. I get that it takes courage to face the truths that would be easier to ignore.

John Feldmann of Goldfinger, with a personal, informal, unedited introduction (~1 min.) features the song “Free Me.” Feldmann wrote this after encountering a truck of chickens headed for slaughter while on tour.

After watching please pause to remember the scenes, the calf (by product of the dairy industry) at the livestock auction. Remember how clearly the animals shown wanted to live.

None of this is different for the “free-range” animals. There is such a thing as compassionate living. But there is not such a thing as humane animal research or humane animal entertainment. And there is most certainly no such thing as humane animal agriculture or humane killing.

The vast majority of us have choices about what we eat, we make a conscious decision every time we sit down to a meal, do we choose compassion or can we decide that our simply liking something is worth the massive number of deaths? Is suffering required for us to continue eating in the ways we think of as convenient? Or can we educate each other and encourage an ethical and healthier way of life.

Source: STEPHANIE ERNST

Should We Eat Meat

becomethevoice — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:54:16 +0000

When I was about 6, I asked my parents where meat came from. When they told me it was from animals that had been killed, I immediately decided to stop eating meat. I mainly stuck with that resolution through my childhood and teen years, with occasional transgressions, usually involving hot dogs at ball games or cookouts. Presently, my diet is probably 99%vegetarian (though not vegan), the other 1% mainly fish and organic turkey or chicken. Yet, over the years I have gone back and forth and in circles considering the ethical and nutritional implications of being a vegetarian.

There are many ways to view this issue. One of the main arguments in favor of a carnivorous, or omnivorous diet is that hunting and meat eating are a basic part of the natural order. The opposing argument is that humans have the power to rise to a higher ethical standard. To this, the meat eater often responds that we have to kill even to eat vegetables, to which the vegetarian will usually say that plants are of a lower order and do not have the same capacity to feel pain (though some even argue this point).

The nutritional side of the debate is no less convoluted. Vegetarian activists insist that meat eaters do not live as long, and have higher incidences of diseases such as cancer and heart disease. These are highly disputed points. Some meat eaters have taken the organic route, believing that many health problems associated with meat are actually the result of the conditions found at factory farms and all the questionable additives used, such as hormones and antibiotics.

To cloud the issue even more, the vegetarian camp is deeply divided on the issue of consuming animal products such as eggs, milk and other dairy products. Vegans, taking the basic vegetarian position one step further, believe that consuming any animal products is unhealthy. Many also take an ethical stand, pointing out the conditions suffered by animals who supply humans with their milk and eggs. This, we must note, is not an argument against animal products per se, only against the mainstream model that is currently used. Organic and free range alternatives are now widely available. It is, however, often questionable whether some of these alternatives are really as benign as they would have us believe. A certain portion of vegans actually take the hard line stance that it is wrong in principle to “exploit” animals for their food products, even if they are not harmed in the process. While I sometimes waffle on the bigger questions, I can say that I do not agree with this position, so long as the animals are well cared for.

One argument that I find fairly persuasive, coming from the carnivore side, is that when we look at eating habits historically,vegetarianism is quite rare and veganism almost unknown. I am talking now about what can be verified; some hypothesize an idyllic remote past when humans were vegetarians. Many traditional cultures did not consume large quantities of meat or animal products, but it is difficult to find a strictly vegetarian society, apart from certain religious subcultures in places like India. And in these cases, animal products were not taboo. In India, the sacredness of cows is not considered an injunction against milk products.

The ethical implications of a meat vs. vegetable diet is something everyone simply (or perhaps not so simply) has to work out for themselves. To some extent, this is also true of the health aspect. In both instances, however, I think we can safely conclude that the current model of treating and eating animals is highly unsatisfactory and inhumane. There are also many questionable implications to our health in consuming animals and animal products that originate in modern mass-production facilities or factory farms. My own conclusion, from the nutritional standpoint, is that if you choose to consume animals and/or animal products, is best to stick to high quality (usually meaning organic) products and in smaller quantities than is typical for modern American or Western diets. I think this decision alone, while not resolving the more complex moral questions, is a marked improvement over the status quo of the modern diet.

Source:
Free Online Articles Directory

The December Plan: Day 1

janetconner — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:54:38 +0000

Do you remember your most magical year? I do. It was 2006. If I wanted something that year, I got it. I asked and I received. It was so easy and so fast, that “magical” is the only word that fits.

In January of that year, I called forth two life-altering miracles. First, I pulled my perfect marketing partner out of the sky. Those columns for UPI got the world’s attention and taught me how to write. That month, I also got tired of watching “Love Actually” and decided to actually have love. On Friday January 13 — my lucky day — I went to dinner with the intention of meeting my new love, walked into my favorite restaurant, and there he was. He told me later that at five o’clock he felt an urge to change his dinner plans and go there for the first time. So, what was I doing at five o’clock? Why, sitting in my chair and praying my request for the last time, knowing it would be filled — immediately. In June, Conari Press contacted me. In November, they accepted my proposal for Writing Down Your Soul.

2006 was a magical year.

Yesterday, I woke with a burning desire to have another magical year. I want so much. I want to write new books and have those books recorded. I want the perfect support and marketing team. I want to teach at renowned spiritual centers. I want prosperity to come home and roost — this time for good. And this year, I don’t want a lover; I want the love of my life.

I want.

And you do, too. I know you do. You tell me in emails and in person how much you want. You tell me over and over that you want 2010 to be different from 2009 — better, richer, more joyful, more abundant, more divine.

How do you do that? Well, I began the way I begin everything, with a chat on the page. “What made 2006 so magical?” I asked my Voice. The first idea that came up was Advent. “Advent” I wrote, “I haven’t thought about Advent for years. Why are we talking about Advent?”

Well, I learned why. Advent was a big deal in my childhood home. In December, we did not get a Christmas tree. We did not go on lavish shopping excursions. We did not decorate the house. Instead, my mother put a wreath on the dining room table with three purple candles and one pink. Before dinner, she lit one candle for each week and read a prayer. Advent, she said, was a season of preparation. If you wanted to fully receive the light on Christmas, you had to spend December getting ready.

You can imagine how thrilled we kids were about Advent. We didn’t want to pray. We wanted to make lists for Santa Claus. We didn’t want a bare living room. We wanted a sparkling tree. But there was no point whining. Mother was in charge and we were having Advent.

There was, however, one small delight. Every day one of us was invited to open a tiny door on a special Advent calendar. Behind it was a picture of a dove or an angel or a Christmas tree — some symbol of the joy to come. Those little pictures spurred our anticipation to even greater heights.

So what does my childhood experience of Advent have to do with creating a magical 2010? Well, I realize looking back that I had a spectacular 2006 because I spent the previous December getting ready. I spent long hours in divine dialogue dissecting how my life was unfolding. I wrote about the past and all its pain. I wrote about what I was learning and all the gifts I uncovered in my story. I forgave everyone I thought had harmed me. And I wrote in detail about what I wanted next in my life.

Finally, on January 1, 2006, I could write in a firm hand with total confidence: “I am ready. I am ready for my marketing partner. I am ready for my publisher. I am ready to be in a relationship. I am ready.”

The magic wasn’t just in declaring what I wanted — we’ve all done that and seen nothing happen. It was in being READY. I had given myself a rich Advent. I didn’t call it that at the time, but I had prepared my heart, my mind, and my soul to step into the next phase of my life. And because I was ready, totally and completely ready, everything I wanted came to me.

So this year, I am consciously creating a season of preparation.
Would you like to join me? Let’s spend December preparing the ground of our minds, our hearts, and our souls for a magical 2010. I ordinarily send my newsletter every two to three weeks. This December, I’ll send it every Tuesday. (Subscribe above) I’m also going to blog about it every day. Together, we will create a powerful December Plan.

By January 1, 2010 we’ll both be ready — really, really ready — to call in a magical year. I can’t wait!

Here’s the basic outline.

Dec 1-7–The process–Design your preparation rituals
Dec 8-14–The past–Uncover all the gifts of 2009
Dec 15-21–Get free–Release all your prisoners
Dec 22-28–Get focused–Create a short, clear “I want” list
Dec 29-Jan 1–Get ready–Call in your magical year

The first week is all about creating your own preparation. How do you want to honor this precious time? Here’s what I’m doing. Borrow any ideas that appeal to you or better still, make up your own.

I’m going to:

get a plastic candle wreath and fill it with holiday greens and 4 gold candles
light one candle the first week, two the second, etc, as I say a special prayer of preparation before dinner
soul write every day about preparing for my magical year
draw a little picture of something I want next year on each day of a December calendar
as I fall asleep, ask for help reaping all the benefits of the past year and let my dreams take me deeper
do a special December preparation card reading with my favorite card set to gain any new or deeper insights into 2009 and my desires for 2010
ask Brian and Lisa Berman on their live Going Deeper conversation on Wed, Dec 9 to talk about how we can listen with our spiritual ears to hear our deeper story (I think this is a particularly meaningful skill for our December healing and preparation time)

What about you? What are you going to do to create a fertile December that heals all the wounds of 2009, uncovers all the rich learning, and prepares the ground for a profusion of abundance and joy in 2010?

Tomorrow: you are your own priest/shaman/rabbi/teacher

Earthings A Life Changing Documentary

becomethevoice — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:21:09 +0000

EARTHLINGS is an award-winning documentary film about the suffering of animals for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research. Considered the most persuasive documentary ever made.

EARTHLINGS is nicknamed “the Vegan maker” for its sensitive footage shot at animal shelters, pet stores, puppy mills, factory farms, slaughterhouses, the leather and fur trades, sporting events, circuses and research labs.

The film is narrated by Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by platinum-selling recording artist Moby. Initially ignored by distributors, today EARTHLINGS is considered the definitive animal rights film by organizations around the world. “Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most,” said Phoenix. “For every one person who sees EARTHLINGS, they will tell three.”

http://www.earthlings.com/

50 BILLION animals

becomethevoice — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:59:58 +0000

It has been estimated that at least 50 BILLION animals are murdered world wide each year.

That is 1585 a second. When are we going to stop the violence?

Free Movie showing - Earthlings (Vancouver BC)

becomethevoice — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:26:27 +0000

Earthlings (a documentary)

Where: Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch

When: Saturday, January 30, 2010 , doors open at 2pm

Earthlings is a hard hitting documentary about the relationship between humans and the other sentient beings on this planet. It is an eye opening account of the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world which rely entirely on animals for profit.

For more information visit www.earthlings.com

An Archuleta concert is all about “the voice”

Huong — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:09:02 +0000

Although as one of the judges on American Idol proclaimed two seasons ago when Archuleta finished second – “David, you could sing the phone book” – his 90-minute, one encore show Sunday night at the Wells Fargo Center was anything but songs from the Yellow Pages.

Dubbed David Archuleta’s “Christmas from the Heart” tour, it was really a combination of about half pretty pure pop Archuleta and half Christmas.

At time, it was hard to fathom that you were listening to an 18-year old kid from Utah because the voice is something most singers take years to cultivate. And although he has been at this singing gig for much of his young life, the voice is still natural. They just don’t teach what Archuleta projects.

He wasn’t perfect. Someone on Idol had given him the advice to not close his eyes while he sings, but he did that often. And his connection to the audience between songs was a bit scattered.

But who came to see his eyes or listen to him speak words of wisdom?

We came to hear the voice. And, oh, my, did we.

Read full review HERE.

Jobs - Full Body & the Voice – Workshop Leaders, Yorkshire

Simon Duncan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:31:49 +0000

Full Body & the Voice is a successful, dynamic and evolving theatre company with a ten year trac

Fashion and Being a Vegetarian

becomethevoice — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:09:34 +0000

For years I have struggled with being a vegetarian and loving fashion, if you were to ask my friends they would say I am pretty fashionable. The choice between choosing fashion versus loving animals often conflicted my own personal judgment about purchasing ethical clothing. I love shoes, I love bags and I find it discouraging that every time I get my newly purchased items home I have this guilty voice in the back of my head saying you just purchased a dead cow for your feet and are you that ignorant to carry a bag made from skin!

Being a vegetarian off and on all my life it was not until about 5 years ago that I vowed to become a full vegetarian; at the time being a vegetarian meant I didn’t eat meat. I did however continue to wear leather, purchase unethical clothing and turn a blind eye to what I really knew in my heart was against every value I stood for.

Three years in as a vegetarian, it wasn’t until having dated a vegan that I realized how ignorant I was to not only my fashion choices, but the actual food I put into my body. Even though the relationship didn’t survive the awareness stuck with me in a big way. This person heightened my awareness through literature, in particular the book, “Diet For A New America” by John Robbins, through restaurants as well as bringing me to events all about the culture around ethical choices. This made me realize that I was not alone and that I needed to do my part.

In the process I have realized it’s not that people don’t want to do the ethical thing or make better and healthier and ethical food choices but that they don’t know how. As I celebrate being a vegetarian for 8 years and leaning towards being a vegan, I have not only brought awareness to my self but have dedicated my energy to educating others. I have volunteered for Farm Sanctuary, a non-profit organization http://farmsanctuary.org/ through a group called Liberation, BC http://liberationbc.org/, as well as spent many hours researching my passion to share with others.

I hope that you will follow me on my journey and somehow I will have an impact on your life as well as be able to provide you with the “how to” to not only become healthier but ethical as well.

Since I began this post with wanting to talk about fashion I feel I should end here with a few of my favorite ethical fashion links. Enjoy:

http://www.beyondskin.co.uk/

http://greenisblack.ca/

http://www.satyajewelry.com/catalog/index.php

http://www.elroyapparel.com/

Thank you for reading,

Sabrina

Buy a T-Shirt, Help Liberation BC!

becomethevoice — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:25:54 +0000

Canadian environmental shop EcoGear has just announced an exciting promotion. For every person in British Columbia who purchases one of their $15 “Not Where I Belong” t-shirts, $5 goes to Liberation BC so that we can be more effective at helping animals!

This original design is being offered at a special low price so that more people can buy one and make a strong statement against the use of animals trapped in research labs, zoos, and circuses. The shirts are environmentally-friendly (learn morehere about EcoGear’s standards) and there are women’s and men’s sizes. Check ‘em out!

Performing Animal Welfare Society -- PAWS

becomethevoice — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:59:35 +0000

Performing Animal Welfare Society — PAWS.

The Voice of Hope and Rain

Angelica — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:18:50 +0000

¶ This is The Voice. It was conceived in love and dedicated with unwavering respect and devotion to David Archuleta. For David, who makes us laugh, and cry, and wonder and sigh. We wonder how this could have happened to us. We wonder what it is about this boyish man who touches every part of who we are, and inspires us to be more than what we were. We wonder how one voice can have the power to make us feel so deeply, hope for what we never dreamed of, and sing us into being. Now we are here and now, we have voices too.

I entered this in the Christmas writing contest at Snarky Archies, in November, 2008. “The Voice,” edited and abridged, is reprinted here.

The Voice

It was cold but the air was still as I walked the path that rose steeply above the lake. Overhead the sky stretched a cloudless cerulean blue. The lake below was as clear and placid as the day. A great blue heron that was slowly and delicately stepping at the waters’ edge rose up at my approach and flew off, cawing indignantly. I pulled my thin jacket close to me and began to ponder in earnest as I walked. The problem, I finally concluded, is as complex as it is simple, much like David himself. Because David Archuleta is a paradox.

Try to pin him down and he will slip nimbly out of your grasp. He is a changeling, never the same, and yet, never-changing. He is always true to himself, but that identity is so complex, it defies definition. On the way home the light was fading fast, and the setting sun shimmered gold on the now ruffled water. The lake, like ocean, or sky, or the color of a distant mountain, changed its aspect suddenly, yet remained as much the same as it ever was. In nature this is normal and the inspiration for art. In human beings, it is not at all normal. It is a rare phenomenon. At first it inspires disbelief and when belief finally comes, awe. Then it too, becomes the inspiration for art.

I walked to the end of the road that encircled the lake and was home again. Tonight I would turn in early and in the morning, make a fresh attempt to capture some facet of the changing brilliance that is David James Archuleta. Now, at last, with my newly acquired revelation that I am dealing with a force of nature that can not be contained, my burden actually feels lighter.

≡•••≡

The sound comes to me on the wind and I feel it propel my little sail boat across the water. Faster and faster I sail on the wind that is the voice and the speed is as exhilarating as the voice is beautiful. Suddenly there is no boat, just me and the wind that is voice and I am flying through the air and then there is no me, just the wind that is voice and we are one, hurtling along into nothing else.

A winding road and in the distance a boy comes ambling toward me with an innocent grin. He is adorable and I am immediately put at ease and feel all my defenses dissolve. As he approaches the smile fades, the expression becomes serious, the awkward amble becomes a graceful, catlike stride. I am entranced by the transformation. He passes me, and I notice that his eyes are greenish-gold lasers that penetrate my deepest, secret thoughts. He instantly changes back to the boy with the disarmingly innocent grin. For some reason I feel embarrassed. He backs away making a sound like “Huh, huh, huh!” and I realize he is laughing at me. I want to be mad at him but can’t. I turn into my own worst enemy, a tall, unbending disciplinarian with no fashion sense and walk away, mad at myself instead.

Rain patters against tall windows in a room where I find myself alone and in the dark. Outside on the pavement below the boy is walking. He begins to sing, and as he sings, he suddenly ages to a fully mature man. I call out to him but the rain drowns out my voice. There is only the sound of his voice that is not drowned by the rain, because it is in the rain. It is a voice as old as rain itself, full of longing and pain and hope. I pound on the glass but it remains intact. Something somewhere inside me shatters instead, and I am changed forever. I watch him turn and look up at me still singing. His face breaks into a radiant smile and the air is suddenly filled with sunshine. It turns each drop of rain into a prism that refracts light into a thousand glittering points of color. The voice and the light are so achingly beautiful, I am moved to tears, and my tears refract light into prisms too. My tears become the rain his voice inhabits and I am falling, plunging toward him, eager to shower him with iridescent joy. He stands with his head thrown back and I bathe his face with my tears.

I wake up sobbing with his voice in my head, still singing a song of hope. Outside it is raining and his voice is in the rain, and it will be in the sun, and in the wind, and in everything that changes and remains the same.

Portrait of the Voice - Composition in Light and Rain

Madcon

pg368 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:27:36 +0000

Hip-Hop is not dead

… its just in Norway.

Madcon have been huge stars in Norway for years. One member of the hip-hop duo even won the Norwegian Dancing With The Stars. Other notable fame came when the hosted their own television show on the Nordic music channel The Voice. They have won World Music Awards, have toured all over Europe, have sold millions of singles and compilations, and for some reason have no attention in North America.

Atleast they didn’t until they’re single Beggin’ was used in a Adidas commercial featuring athletes and celebrities such as Russell Simmons, Run DMC, David Beckham, Katy Perry, Kevin Garnett… and the list goes on. Unfourtunetaly Madcon was not included in the ad.

Here are a couple of Madcon’s videos. Both amazing with great songs.

Behördenmobbing gegen Aktivisten von "the Voice"

harrygambler2009 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:53:45 +0000

Ausländer trifft Ossibraut. )

Wenn deutsche Behörden mobben, dann gründlich und mit aller asozialen Hingabe. Wenn es dann noch Ostbehörden sind, dann weht schon der kalte Wind der Stasi durch das Land. Wenn dann noch die Opfer Ausländer sind, dann stinkt und riecht es nach Hass, Stasi und Behörde.

“Der 45jährige aserbaidschanische Doktor der Rechtsmedizin”, Maqsud Agaev, erlebte oder erlebt was Mobbing heißt an der eigenen Person. “ Während der vier Jahre, die er in Deutschland lebt” und “hier Asyl sucht” hat er “sich bereits in zwei Flüchtlingswohnheimen gemeinsam mit anderen gegen die dort herrschenden unhaltbaren Zustände eingesetzt”. (1)

Und so was können Behördenmobber schon gar nicht abhaben. Ausländer und dann noch “Aufmucken”? Da kennt der “Aussi” die Ossis schlecht. “Gemeinsam mit Menschenrechtsaktivisten der »Karawane für die Rechte von Flüchtlingen und Migranten« engagiert er sich gegen rassistische Sondergesetze. Jetzt muß er sich seiner eigenen Haut erwehren”.(1) “Ein Mitarbeiter der Ausländerbehörde des Landratsamts Weimarer Land namens Klos schnüffelte” im Internet zum Beispiel, “um zynischerweise anhand eines Eintrags auf der Homepage von »The Voice« zu belegen: Agaev soll sich als Versammlungsleiter einer Demo im nur zehn Kilometer entfernten Jena aufgehalten haben – außerhalb des ihm zugewiesenen Landkreises”.(1) Und so was ist für Asylanten verboten.

Und dann verreisen diese Asylanten zu Fußballspielen zum Beispsiel auch noch, wo kommen wir denn dahin? ” Ein Affront jagt den nächsten. Vergangenes Wochenende wurde Agaev gemeinsam mit Freunden der Flüchtlingsorganisation »Karawane« aus dem Zug geholt und kurzfristig festgenommen – ausgerechnet auf der Rückfahrt vom antirassistischen Fußballturnier in Frankfurt am Main nach Apolda”.(1)

Und so was nennt man nun mal “Mobbing” auch wenn die “Opfer Asylanten” sind, denn eigentlich brauchen die mehr Schutz als andere, denn sie sind Teil unseres historischen Gewissen im Umgang mit Minderheiten. ”Agaev soll angeblich in seiner Gegenwart den Hitlergruß gezeigt, sowie einen Arzt als »Nazi« und »Dr. Goebbels« bezeichnet haben”.(1)

1)http://www.thecaravan.org/node/2148

"The Voice"

silverfox — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:40:08 +0000

The first time I called David “The Voice” was last year on September 4, 2008 to be exact, and it was about his singing voice. To me, there simply was no other singer at that point in time who deserved to be called “The Voice”. That Voice… so sublime, so exquisite, so spine-tingling. The Voice who captured my heart and soul. David, The Voice, who can cover any song and make it new and so much better. Who can make the live renditions better than the recorded versions of his own songs as well as other singer’s songs. David is the only Voice I MUST listen to on a daily basis to make my day complete. That is a fact of my life now and forever. The Voice makes me happy.

At the time I coined “The Voice” for David, there were so many questions swirling in my head, like.. Why? What was it about this 17-year-old that changed me and the direction of my life? I was changed from existing to living. How did this happen? I knew something wonderful was occurring and that my life would be forever changed from the beginning of AI. I was also confused about my feelings so I kept it to myself for a long time. Like so many other “older” fans, it was a confusing time trying to figure out this hold David had on our hearts. There was this feeling of “What Just Happened?” week after week watching David on AI, when The Voice would generate feelings of joy or tears. Then after AI, during the AI tour, we saw David on the big stage in person and I had a feeling of pure rapture.

David on AI tour

The Voice was glorious, filling arenas with the most amazing sounds I’ve ever heard. There was something almost spiritual happening at the concerts during David’s set, like something I’d never seen or experienced. It was happening over and over to thousands of David’s fans as we discovered one concert was not enough. So many of us began to schedule our work and lives around the concerts we could attend. This was to become a normal occurrence for the Jingle concerts, his first solo tour, the summer tour and now with his Christmas tour. If at all possible, we make plans to see David more than once. As I said, we schedule our lives around David. Some of us do this while keeping that fact from our loved ones who don’t quite understand our so-called obsession. “Obsession” has negative connotations, but it’s not just a typical obsession we feel. It’s something more. And only those who feel as I do know what I mean. We feel protective of David. He makes us happy and The Voice gives us what we need in our lives. Not all of us have the same need, but by some miracle, David fulfills whatever it is we need from him. I stopped trying to comprehend what or why it happened to me…this miracle of David, or why I was one of the chosen to “get” David from the beginning. Then so many others came forward in the weeks and months that followed, and we discovered there were thousands of others who were experiencing the same thing. This phenomenon, the love affair we had with The Voice, who could bring us to our knees or make us raise our hands to the heavens in pure joy and rapture. Since then, David has proven over and over to be deserving of being called The Voice. His ability to sing a capella so well at the drop of a hat, or his version of “Contigo en la Distancia”, and now with his “Christmas From The Heart”. The Voice is like no other. There are other singers, male and female, who have great voices, but none touch me or leave me breathless, or give me warm chills, or leave me wanting more. None have made me hunger to see them again and again in concert. None. Only David, The Voice, has done this. It is mind-blowing that he is only 18 years old, but so gratifying and exciting to think of what he may have in store for us in the future.

Especially since somewhere along the way, something strange, wonderful and unexpected happened. David became not only The Voice” for his superb singing ability, but The Voice we can’t wait to hear from. We want to ” hear” what The Voice has to say through interviews, mobile messages, written blogs, Twitter, and especially his vlogs. He has become a “Teacher” of sorts, and when he speaks, we listen.

David speaking at the Utah Women's Conference

We want what he has…inner peace and strength of character, so we listen and we learn. How many of us try to follow David’s example? Try to live and do as David does? The Voice resides in our hearts and in our minds. I believe as David matures and evolves more and more into an International Star, he will be known as The Voice throughout the world, not only for his singing, but for his speaking as well. He has just begun, and he has so much more to say.

David truly is The Voice, and it is only fitting that this newest fan site be lovingly named “The Voice” in his honor.

Demo: The VOICE Online: Das Isolationslager Möhlau schließen!

editor — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:54:30 +0000

Sie leben abgeschottet von der Gesellschaft in Sammellagern an Stadträndern und in menschenleeren Gebieten. Flüchtlinge. Eines dieser Sammelager ist Möhlau im Osten. Die Flüchtlingsinitiative The VOICE hatte am Wochenende zu einer Demo aufgerufen: Das Isolationslager Möhlau schließen! Mehr bei The VOICE Online:

On the brink

silverarcheress — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:34:59 +0000

I haven’t been in this position for a long time. In the flirting stage where you are on the brink of something happening. But it’s got to the point now where I’m bored. It’s been going on too long in this same state of idle interest in each others lives. The almost meeting but not having the time to. So now I’m at the point where I just want to get it over and done with. I’m not too interested in them anymore, but I’ve spent so long having the stupid crush that I think it’d be a waste to not meet them at all. All the little things that were putting me off the Voice in the first place are building up. The things that attracted me are being buried. So I’m on the brink. On the brink of moving on from a relationship I’ve never had.

The Trifecta of Emotional Eating

courageforpeace — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:55:16 +0000

So I’ve had a challenging week this week. I’ve been out of the house and into work way more than usual. I’ve had several frustrating work disappointments. I have a lot of high pressure stresses going on. It’s meant I haven’t had much time to relax, or participate in my hobbies or really get a break, and to top it off, my husband has been experiencing the same stress at work and feeling under the weather to boot.

So the Trifecta? Anxiety, disappointment and feeling sorry for myself. It doesn’t really matter what causes them. It could be all caused by work like it is this week. It could be a deadline, a burnt dinner and a dentist appointment. Each of these emotions is bad in and of itself, but put them together and they’re a triple threat.

I get moody and grumpy and lose the ability to feel solid in the plan. I feel out of control and like I’m failing in advance. I feel self-destructive and petulant and well…. all I want to do is be bad. I want to eat bad stuff that will make me feel numb. I want to stay up late and syphon the best energy away from my obligations.

Knowing might be half the battle, but it doesn’t seem to help in the moment.

Tonight I was anxious about this piece of work coming off right and about a difficult interpersonal work situation. I’ve encountered a few professional disappointments this week that I’m dwelling on even if I shouldn’t. I’m feeling sorry for myself because I have to work overtime, long into the night and my weekend will be cut very short before I start my very stressful week next week.

I wanted fish and chips. One of my favorite bad foods of all time. Full of grease and carbs and momentary comfort, dripping in vinegar and salt hold the coleslaw ifyouplease – wouldn’t want a real vegetable to get in the way of the drug. I’m salivating just typing about it. But that’s more than a thousand calories right there, boom. Half the week’s effort gone in one self-harm session and a half an hour of numb calm. And then two hours of feeling woogy and a full day of sluggish. I know all these things to be true – why the hell do I still want it?

Enough. The voice can pout like a child in the back of my head all it damn well wants. I warmed up the leftover southwest stew (chicken, blackbeans a million bell peppers), toasted a slice of monastery rye and dug in. It was delicious, but my brain had a tantrum just the same. Two hours later it’s still not happy, but the right thing got done.

I’m proud of that, even as I still feel punished and deprived.

Inspiration "The Starfish"

becomethevoice — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:05:31 +0000

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,

“Well, It made a difference to that one!”

The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.

Loren C. Eiseley

The best new band to come out of Arizona in years, the Father Figures!

tfronky — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:48:06 +0000

Hello my friends,

There have been some killer punk, alternative and post-punk bands that have come out of the desert over the years. I spent my junior high and high school years listening to punk bands such as J.F.A. and Kluged, my college years getting into The Voice and Housequake, and am still rocking out to bands such as Hillbilly Devilspeak, 40 Watt Las Vegas and the North Side Kings into my forties.

I specifically mentioned those great bands because three musicians that played in them have put together a stellar new post-punk product by the name of the Father Figures. Folks, this is the real deal, and if you live in Arizona and have not seen them yet you are seriously missing out!

A long-time friend of mine by the name of Bobby Lerma plays drums and contributes backing vocals to the band. Bobby played in Kluged, The Voice and 40 Watt, among many others. It has been a pleasure to support Bobby through all his musical endeavors over the years. Some locals might believe that since Bobby and I have known each other since the 6th grade, including playing Little League Baseball for one season, means I have liked every band he has been in, but Bobby knows that not to be the case. I am picky about the music I enjoy. He is involved in one heck of a project right now!

Rounding out this trio are two more great veterans of the Arizona music scene. Bassist/vocalist Tom Reardon played in the North Side Kings and Hillbilly Devilspeak among others, while guitarist/vocalist Michael Cornelius has played in a slew of bands, including Housequake and the kings of skate punk, Jody Fosters Army.

Rather than go into a detailed bio of this band here, please take an opportunity to read the official Father Figures biography that appears on their website. I am proud to have had the opportunity to both interview the band and put together the bio you will read, and had plenty of help from the band in creating it.

Even better, the home page of their website has a link to an interview and live in-studio set the Father Figures did for 602radio.com. I loved it and think you will as well, a great interview and introduction to the band if you have not had the pleasure of seeing them live yet. Typical Bible-Beating Hypocrite was the highlight of the EIGHT songs they played, a powerful post-punk track that simply smokes. The set also included full-vocal versions of Save it for Later and Something’s Burning, the latter track including a mind-blowing opening bass riff that sets the tone for a great song.

Read the bio, check out the 602radio.com in-studio performance at Molusk Studio, then become a fan on Facebook so you can keep up with their schedule and be at their next gig.

Old school post-punk a la Wire and Fugazi, this band is just getting started my friends. What a breath of fresh air. “DON’T MAKE THEM COME IN THERE!”

Cheers!
Frank