Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Seattle based band - The Senate
Have you ever admired something so well done that you consider it art? I love watching athletes excel in their sport, or a photograph that captures the emotion of the soul. I had the privilege of listening to a very high art form this past weekend.
The name of the performers is The Senate. The lyrics, the beat, the raw nature of their sound is so beautiful and intense to hear. This band is not a typical yell-in-the-microphone-and-hope-the-volume-drowns-out-lack-of-talent kind of group. There is no drummer, yet the rhythm catches the unsuspecting concert goer unaware. The three men who make up The Senate, all sing in amazing sync, and are extremely talented with the two acoustic guitars played by Nick and Oliver, and an upright bass used to create a one-of-a-kind feel to their sound.
Andrew, who plays the upright bass, also specializes in beatbox and adds this to The Senate's musical line. I tell you, Will Smith could take lessons from this guy. I sat right next to the speaker and when I closed my eyes I would continuously forget that the beat was not created with traditional instruments.
I had the fun of a quick photo shoot in Yakima prior to their rapid departure to Seattle (they had another concert that evening). You can see a small sample of those results in my Album aptly named "The Senate".
These guys are very approachable, humorous and though I'll never look at an alley the same way again, I highly recommend that you check them out for yourself at their myspace page: www.myspace.com/senateband or their website: www.senateband.com. They are the unexpected.
The name of the performers is The Senate. The lyrics, the beat, the raw nature of their sound is so beautiful and intense to hear. This band is not a typical yell-in-the-microphone-and-hope-the-volume-drowns-out-lack-of-talent kind of group. There is no drummer, yet the rhythm catches the unsuspecting concert goer unaware. The three men who make up The Senate, all sing in amazing sync, and are extremely talented with the two acoustic guitars played by Nick and Oliver, and an upright bass used to create a one-of-a-kind feel to their sound.
Andrew, who plays the upright bass, also specializes in beatbox and adds this to The Senate's musical line. I tell you, Will Smith could take lessons from this guy. I sat right next to the speaker and when I closed my eyes I would continuously forget that the beat was not created with traditional instruments.
I had the fun of a quick photo shoot in Yakima prior to their rapid departure to Seattle (they had another concert that evening). You can see a small sample of those results in my Album aptly named "The Senate".
These guys are very approachable, humorous and though I'll never look at an alley the same way again, I highly recommend that you check them out for yourself at their myspace page: www.myspace.com/senateband or their website: www.senateband.com. They are the unexpected.
I say AMEN to this!!
I Say AMEN to this.... forward from an email......
Thought you might enjoy this interesting
Prayer given in Kansas at
The opening session of their Senate. It seems
Prayer still upsets some
People. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open
The new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask
Your forgiveness and to seek your direction and
Guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those
Who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we
Have done.
We have lost our spiritual equi librium and reversed
Our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it
The lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it
Welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it
Choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it
Justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our
Children and called it building self esteem..
We have abused power and called it
Politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions
And called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and
Pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values
Of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts
Today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!
The response was immediate. A number of
Legislators walked out during the prayer in
Protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian
Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than
5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls
Responding negatively. The church is now receiving
International requests for copies of this prayer
From India , Africa and Korea .
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on
His radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,'and
Received a larger response to this program than any
Other he has ever aired.
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep
Over our nation and wholeheartedly become our
Desire so that we again can be called 'one nation
Under God.'
If possible, please pass this prayer on to
Your friends. 'If you don't stand for something,
You will fall for everything.'
The Traveler's Gift, by Andy Andrews
I highly recommend this to everyone. It's about 7 gifts/attributes of a successful person. This book changed my life and re-enforces my choices in life.
1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.
I am who I am today- mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially- because of the decisions I have made. My thoughts will be constructive, never destructive. I will not dwell in the problems of the past. In times of adversity, I will not have a problem to deal with, but a choice to make. Adversity is preparation for greatness. I will accept this preparation. Why me? Why NOT me?
The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.
2. I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.
I will choose my friends with care. I am who my friends are. I speak their language, and I wear their clothes. I share their opinions and their habits. From this moment forward, I will choose to associate with people whose lives and lifestyles I admire. If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights. It is my destiny to fly.
The words of a wise man are like raindrops on dry ground. They are precious and can be quickly used for immediate results. Only the blade of a grass that catches a raindrop will prosper and grow.
The person who ignores wise counsel is like the blade of grass untouched by the rain, soon to wither and die. When I counsel with just myself, I can make decisions only according to what I already know. By counseling with a wise man, I add his knowledge and experience to my own and dramatically increase my success.
I will seek wisdom.
3. I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.
I inspire others with my activity. I am a leader. A person who moves neither left nor right is destined for mediocrity. When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God. but I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me.
He has given me a healthy mind to gather and sort the information and the courage to come to a conclusion. I am not a quivering dog, indecisive and fearful. My constitution is strong and my pathway clear. Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. My decisions come quickly and they lead to victory.
I am a person of action. I am daring. I am courageous.
4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.
I am passionate about my vision for the future. I will awaken every morning with an excitement about the new day and its opportunity for growth and change. My thoughts and actions will work in a forward motion, never sliding into the dark forest of doubt or the muddy quicksand of self-pity. I will freely give my vision for the future to others, and as they see the belief in my eyes, they will follow me.
I have a dream, it is a great dream and I will never apologize for it. Neither will I let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence. A person without a dream never had a dream come true.
I will not wait, I have a decided heart.
5. Today, I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.
I will greet each day with laughter. Laughter is an outward expression of enthusiasm. I laugh throughout the day. I laugh while I'm alone, and I laugh in conversation with others. People are drawn to me because I have laughter in my heart.
My smile has become my calling card. It is, after all, the most potent weapon I possess. My smile has the strength to forge bonds, break ice, and calm storms. I will use my smile constantly. My smile is the key to my emotional makeup. When I choose to smile, I become the master of my emotions. Discouragement, despair, frustration, and fear will always wither when confronted by my smile. The power of who I am is displayed when I smile.
Today, I will choose to be happy.
6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.
Have you ever been so angry or upset with someone that all you could think of was that person and the horrible way you'd been treated? You think about him when you should be sleeping, and all the things you should have said or would like to say come to mind. When you could be enjoying an evening with your family, your children aren't foremost in your thoughts. That person who offended you is receiving all your energy.
Amazingly, many of these dastardly people who dare to occupy our minds with angry thoughts are actually wandering about in life without any knowledge of our feelings or any conviction that they have done anything wrong.
Forgiveness is not a reward that must be earned. It is a gift to be given. When I give forgiveness, I free my own spirit to release the anger and hatred harbored in my heart.
I will forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive myself.
7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.
It is a fact that great leaders -great achievers - are rarely realistic by other people's standards. Somehow, these successful people, often considered strange, pick their way through life, ignoring or not hearing negative expectations and emotions. Consequently, they accomplish one great thing after another, never having heard what cannot be done.
Circumstances are rulers of the weak. They are weapons of the wise.
A person who is depressed is spending too much time thinking about the way things are now and not enough time thinking about how he wants things to be.
Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory.
I focus on results. I am a person of great faith. I will persist without exception.
1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.
I am who I am today- mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially- because of the decisions I have made. My thoughts will be constructive, never destructive. I will not dwell in the problems of the past. In times of adversity, I will not have a problem to deal with, but a choice to make. Adversity is preparation for greatness. I will accept this preparation. Why me? Why NOT me?
The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.
2. I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.
I will choose my friends with care. I am who my friends are. I speak their language, and I wear their clothes. I share their opinions and their habits. From this moment forward, I will choose to associate with people whose lives and lifestyles I admire. If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights. It is my destiny to fly.
The words of a wise man are like raindrops on dry ground. They are precious and can be quickly used for immediate results. Only the blade of a grass that catches a raindrop will prosper and grow.
The person who ignores wise counsel is like the blade of grass untouched by the rain, soon to wither and die. When I counsel with just myself, I can make decisions only according to what I already know. By counseling with a wise man, I add his knowledge and experience to my own and dramatically increase my success.
I will seek wisdom.
3. I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.
I inspire others with my activity. I am a leader. A person who moves neither left nor right is destined for mediocrity. When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God. but I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me.
He has given me a healthy mind to gather and sort the information and the courage to come to a conclusion. I am not a quivering dog, indecisive and fearful. My constitution is strong and my pathway clear. Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. My decisions come quickly and they lead to victory.
I am a person of action. I am daring. I am courageous.
4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.
I am passionate about my vision for the future. I will awaken every morning with an excitement about the new day and its opportunity for growth and change. My thoughts and actions will work in a forward motion, never sliding into the dark forest of doubt or the muddy quicksand of self-pity. I will freely give my vision for the future to others, and as they see the belief in my eyes, they will follow me.
I have a dream, it is a great dream and I will never apologize for it. Neither will I let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence. A person without a dream never had a dream come true.
I will not wait, I have a decided heart.
5. Today, I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.
I will greet each day with laughter. Laughter is an outward expression of enthusiasm. I laugh throughout the day. I laugh while I'm alone, and I laugh in conversation with others. People are drawn to me because I have laughter in my heart.
My smile has become my calling card. It is, after all, the most potent weapon I possess. My smile has the strength to forge bonds, break ice, and calm storms. I will use my smile constantly. My smile is the key to my emotional makeup. When I choose to smile, I become the master of my emotions. Discouragement, despair, frustration, and fear will always wither when confronted by my smile. The power of who I am is displayed when I smile.
Today, I will choose to be happy.
6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.
Have you ever been so angry or upset with someone that all you could think of was that person and the horrible way you'd been treated? You think about him when you should be sleeping, and all the things you should have said or would like to say come to mind. When you could be enjoying an evening with your family, your children aren't foremost in your thoughts. That person who offended you is receiving all your energy.
Amazingly, many of these dastardly people who dare to occupy our minds with angry thoughts are actually wandering about in life without any knowledge of our feelings or any conviction that they have done anything wrong.
Forgiveness is not a reward that must be earned. It is a gift to be given. When I give forgiveness, I free my own spirit to release the anger and hatred harbored in my heart.
I will forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive myself.
7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.
It is a fact that great leaders -great achievers - are rarely realistic by other people's standards. Somehow, these successful people, often considered strange, pick their way through life, ignoring or not hearing negative expectations and emotions. Consequently, they accomplish one great thing after another, never having heard what cannot be done.
Circumstances are rulers of the weak. They are weapons of the wise.
A person who is depressed is spending too much time thinking about the way things are now and not enough time thinking about how he wants things to be.
Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory.
I focus on results. I am a person of great faith. I will persist without exception.
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Many Adventures of Veronica Cortez
This is an introduction to my funny, happy, sad, and hilarious moments of my life.
By the way, my nick-name is Underground Hazard Barbie....this might give you and idea of what is to come. I can be serious too but mostly sarcastic funny.
Cheers.
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