who'da thought

thought I would share a poem i just wrote....it has literally been a few years since i have written anything, but for some reason this evening I wrote this poem in a matter of a few minutes.

no name...just words:

Creative collect
gatherings of lustful hegemony
concatenate the growth of eternal fortitudes

retreat into regression
repeat introspection
repair the loaded chambers
reduce the inflammation of desire

design
deliver and;

comb over the prejudices of flattery
for the fad look of modesty to obtain
abstain
refrain

sustain the deliverance from solace
identify with the souls of change

manage to manage
life's cliché of amount

to mount, to ride
to experience
confide

on occasion while i sleep i hear i weep

i dance on the night with the blanket
doused in my own calamities
of viscous rendition

to enjoy my ambiguous condition

to liver is to bleed
being eaten with greed

i live liver live her
relegate; deliver
come between the scene
of crow-like macabre

to entice my world of infinite
drawing on the pragmatic enigmatic

one, two....or three
to count is to fail
as the days seem short
but my heart will prevail

overcome
be undone, overheard
and persist
beat, beat the odds

a little about this poem:
not really sure what it means...the words really just came out of my head to my fingers to this blog....
but seeing how lately i've been reflecting a lot on things in my life, mostly dealings in romance...i find it a relevant insight, but also right before i wrote the poem, i heard and really liked Frankie J's remake of "More Than Words" by Extreme, conjuring up lots of feelings in the past.

My friend Koji and I use to sing that song to his guitar in college to vent some of the pains of us having a long distance relationships....ahhh, not the most ideal type of relationship - lesson learned.

Hiatus is over!!!!

I absolutely cannot believe that I almost skipped October in my blogging!!!

Things have definitely been busy, that's for sure!

Work
The software development project (FASC-IS) has consumed a large portion of my time....but more in a re-tooling process.

Just started some computer literacy workshops in collaboration with National Student Partnerships and TOP CAT

Got a mini-grant to host a dialogue on the United Nations and the US working together via NC Campus Compact and the UN Foundation

Moved office locations and set-up all the computers with the lab.

Leading a student to do ethnographic research on volunteer impact of NCCU and the Durham community.

Beginning to write a grant with my Director utilizing technology.

Still trying to figure out the craziness called Microsoft Access!

Prepare and submit my quarterly report!

Helped organize a Service Learning workshop.

Took lots of pictures and enhanced them with photoshop for the website!

ahhh....lots more

Friends

Mark and Danyel had their baby boy, Calvin Baxter Warren
(Picture on Right)

Dane and Bobbi had their baby girl, Kelsy Onorio

Rory came back from Iraq for a brief period of time.

Leisure

Watched seasons 1-4 of smallville (quite a feat!)
Read "The Historian"
Read "Memoirs of a Geisha" again
Read "Leadership on the Line" again
Read lotsa computer books -- not that leisurely

-----

I guess thats a summary....

Today and yesterday I went to the SCALE Conference and was pleasantly suprised with all of the awesome programs in literacy education!

Some highlights:

"Poetry is not a Jukebox"
The presenter, Raina, was really great in her examples and her interactive approach.

She showed us really awesome ways to create poetry in almost a quiltlike way and also using newspaper articles and pulling words from columns to make your own poetry. THATS COOL!
We took a field trip to the art museum and wrote a little poem about a piece.

What I really like about this session was that she wasn't really trying to tell us how to do 'her' program/s, but just to have fun. It was really relaxed. She provided us working knowledge of ways to use poetry by allowing us to experience it!

"Theater of the Oppressed"

While very interactive, it wasn't forced on us to participate....more like slowly raising the temperature throughout, engaging us to 'want' to participate.

Dr. Mittman showed us through 'spect-acting', playing someone's personal unresolved issue with a small group of 4 or 5, but not talking.....posing each person to display a scene in that issue.

This example slowly progressed into each actor of the scene saying something from their scene....with everyone else trying to figure out what it was all about.

I can see far reaching application of these techniques and will see how I can infuse it somehow into my work...might be hard since I am focused on technology though.

"Volunteers as Public Advocates"

Both David Rosen and Daniella Cook provide a lot of insight and good suggestions on advocating policy, but what I really gained from this is Daniella's passionate explanation of 'Bush's' "No Child Left Behind".....which now, more than ever, pisses me off. I didn't really have a full understanding of all the players involved and the demands on the teachers....but after hearing Daniella talk, it all made sense.

"Engaging Adults in Literacy Education"

The main thing I gained from this session was "IGI" or "Individualized Group Instruction".....It is my hope that this methodology might be very useful in the newly established computer literacy workshops.

All in all this conference was wonderful.....seemed like everyone was from a different state, but collectively we were in this 'together'.

Next week I am attending NC Campus Compact's annual student conference and presenting some of my work in Academic Community Service Learning as well as providing some technology tools for students to use in organizing, reflection, and social action. I will post more when I attend next week! I hope its not too cold as I will be at Appalachian State University...in the mountains...

Shame on me for not posting in so long!

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. "
Aristotle

Define Terrorism

Marc delivers some interesting facts to consider when thinking about our government's involvement in the middle east previous to this war.

Decompression Session

Coming off a very inspirational day, I just wanted to document my thoughts and rattle out some ramblings.

Seeing thousands of people convene in one place was very empowering to me...knowing that there are people who really feel the urgency to create change and stop this war has given me more confidence in speaking out....and not worrying about how people percieve me.

People of every race, religion, class, and age....were in attendance, with kids chanting right along with with the drummers, hard-core activists, parents, former military, college students, and myself. It would have certainly took some effort to not be moved.

People are people are people are people!

Smiles, comraderie, and purpose fueled the energy for the day, culminating in a concert that channeled our emotions toward action.

North Carolina Represented well, and I truely have been honored to share this day with so many changemakers.

I caught up with Brian Russell (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!) of Audio Activism and Ruby Sinreich of Lotus Media as well as THE Andrew Pearson of NC Peace & Justice coalition, lead organizer the big anti-war rally in Fayetteville, NC...among many other things.

Not to single out one person for the difference they are making, but I wanted to dedicate this post to Lanya Shapiro who tirelessly fights for change with everything she has, everything. It seems everyone surrounding her is infected with her passion and willingness to move forward. Progress. Change. And check out Traction http:/www.gettraction.org for more in store! Thank you Lanya for awakening in me that progress, that passion.

Also...I want to thank the many friends I made on the Traction Bus ride to and from DC!

So what now?...probably more posts for sure, but for now I must go to bed!

Great Day!


Below are some audioposts from my phone. The more I 'mobcast,' the more I feel the need to invest in more quality recording equipment....these posts are hard to hear, but at least may give you a small glimpse into my day at the Anti-War Rally in Washington, DC.

Free awesome live music!!!

Man, this is what I do late/early....when I don't have anything to do!

I was looking at http://www.archive.org and found some really cool resources. Now, I've used archive.org many times, but only for their wayback machine. To think that until now I have never taken the time to look at their live recordings!!!!

I love live music and bands I haven't heard of, but sheesh, its all free, all legal...and has some pretty mainstream bands as well....

Of A Revolution
Jack Johnson
Howie Day
Jason Mraz

and many others!

i am so psyched!....need more disc space....i can see a crash coming!

Excited about my DC Trip!!

Well, its pretty late here, but I had to work the bugs out...literally! I've been pretty busy with a lot of technology work and am excited to say that I actually get to shadow my father and see how they put together their IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and framework for the Java Applications they will be making. It's so cool when you can actually go home and visit with family while being productive and doing work.

Ahh...to be productive! Today I got put on a technology committee at The Volunteer Center of Durham, so I am pretty excited to learn from the other members as well as check out their IT situation....also, I am finding out, when making a website in a large institution, there is a lot of 'red tape'....meaning I've been waiting on Public Relations to approve the look, for the head webmaster to give me suggestions, for the web committee to look at the site, for my supervisor to plan the 'rollout' party, then to make the changes, and resubmit....it is insane and I don't know if it will ever grace a browser!...just need a vent

Also today, I met up with fellow VISTA, Tabitha McEachin of Communities in Schools, former at Durham Literacy Center to talk about Katrina relief. One really big thing I learned about today was the amount of people living in hotels in Durham from the different affected states. I really want to help NCCU's organizations focus more on helping the people here, but more with finding them resources, than just giving them food and clothes. There seems to be a lot of deep-seated issues relating to the relief efforts!..something needs to be done...in a more organized way.

Anyways, the whole title of this post was just to say that I am really excited about going to Washington, DC today, so much in fact, that I really can't sleep...hence the post. But I am also nervous as I've never done anything like this before, but feel it important for me to be exposed and possibly network with activists around the country.

It's pretty silly when I tell most of my friends that I am going for those purposes because I get really mixed reactions. Either they don't say anything and move the conversation along, or they give a little laugh or chuckle....or they just kind of stop talking. Why is it such a sensitive thing when you say you are going to speak out against this war? In private or in close groups it's okay to say things, but whenever you want to publicly display your opinions....a lot of people shy away....is it extreme? they don't want to rock the boat....people need to be pushed a little to react. The most effective activists and change makers in my mind have all been people who prod people to think....and make others uncomfortable.

the more I learn about our occupation in the gulf, the more visceral I feel....ahh...to go on

My Southpark Likeness!

Really cool site! Not totally looking like me, but cool nonetheless! here is the site to create your own! http://www.planearium2.de/

Ophelia's East Coast Tour.

So now I am watching television and on the news they are standing where I was surfing this past weekend to comment on Ophelia. They are in Atlantic Beach, NC!

I truely hope no one gets hurt by this hurricane and that my family are safe!

Ophelia -- Surf is up!!

Hurricanes, obvious due to the recent tragedy of Katrina, do a lot of damage...physically, emotionally, and financially....but this weekend Ophelia has brought me good times with my friends and a more real sense of how 'real' our world is.

Not even knowing there was going to be waves this weekend, I returned home to Morehead City, NC....to find that a hurricane is developing right off the coast. I have grown up in this area my whole life and have seen many hurricanes...but I have always kept track....somehow things got really busy for me this past week and I totally did not realize! Now, growing up in this area and if you surf, you go surfing.

So first thing this morning I headed out to check things out and found a solid waist/chest high glassy rides...(above picture is a little bigger, but somewhat small compared to what grew through out the day)

As the day drew on and I kept surfing, with my friend Marc, things got bigger...the waves were breaking past the pier and becoming well overhead!

On the right is what it started to look like when I left today! I cannot really express how amazingly fun this sport is and how humbling going out in these conditions can be.

Surfing, to me, is very cleansing and gives me a real sense of who I am and where I want to be. Out there in the water, you get to reflect a lot on what matters to you...and thats exactly what I did today.

These conditions are not for the novice of heart, mind, and will, but have given me a generous dose of those very things today (things have been hard lately with my learning curve and the volumous nature of my work)....so I got to vent, got to shout...and got to finally drain some pent up energy by not sitting by a computer.

On a real positive note, I got to see some friends I haven't seen since high school. I was paddling into a really big wave and heard someone hooting at me (surfer behavior to say, 'right on, take it!')...and as I was getting up, I saw MJ Marsh...one of the local professional surfers who is just an amazing surfer and very humble. Also, I got to see my friend Matt Orbach, who I didn't realize till today is a full time volunteer in the peace corps...in the Ukraine...and also that his dad, how crazily coincidental is the director of Duke Marine Lab, Dr. Mike Orbach...who I also truely admire for his policy work and ability to mobilize people to save our oceans, wetlands, and beachs. I actually applied to work at the North Carolina Coastal Federation before moving to Charleston, SC to which he is very instrumental....

and of course I got to surf with Marc, a true friend who is soon going to be a daddy of Calvin Baxter Warren!!

I only hope tomorrow is as replenishing as today!

Peace

Introduction of Jessica of National Student Partnerships!

It is truely amazing the resources we have here in Durham, NC.

Jessica and I are collaborating on developing Computer Literacy Workshops for clients of NSP and students of NCCU. I am totally excited!

Below is a demonstration of Podcasting with a brief description of National Student Partnerships:

Emotional Overload

"And nothing about this is natural. War isn’t natural; and neither is poverty. That’s what people are dying of, not a hurricane. They are dying of war and poverty. They are consumed with rage because of war and poverty. They are paralyzed with helplessness because of war and poverty. They are twisted and driven crazy by war and poverty." -- Stan Goff on his blog, Feral Scholar regarding the US Government's response in New Orleans.

I highly suggest reading Stan Goff's post on, "The Butterfly Effect - Katrina and Occupation"

The more I read, the more I find it hard to contain my anger towards some of the inequalities and injustices in our country...I also recently read that the American Red Cross..yes, the American Red Cross was denied access to New Orleans for relief efforts...due to the US Forces evacuating the unsafe area. Understandably, precautions must be taken in a hazard zone, but, like Stan Goff so frankly elucidates, how can so many media crews and irrelevant groups visit this 'hazard area' and not one of the country's most practiced disaster relief organizations!

It also makes me wonder about gas and its rising value....the delay of response to New Orleans...leading to lack of Gulf gas...and the War in Iraq....support to establishing stable gas reserves overseas?

just some thoughts

Katrina People Finder

Per Deborah Elizabeth Finn's blog I found this link on wikipedia to help locate your loved ones affected by the devastation of Hurricane katrina.

Diversity...unexpected ingnorance

I like to believe that I have grown up in a very diverse upbringing, having a sister of same blood that also very much appears to look african american, my mother, primarily asian, but raised catholic, and a white father, whose baptist upbringing with a twist of a pentecostal black youth. My friends all have been of many races, black, hispanic, and white, but even now I still feel ignorant of the many cultures and norms.

To most, I am mongol, with an ambiguous look that can be interpreted in many ways. In Durham, I am often viewed as hispanic by both hispanics and not, usually with them attempting to speak spanish to me. I find this very compelling that people will go out of their way to communicate with me. On the beach, I am hawaiian, especially when seen with a surfboard. I usually get comments relating to some Samoan descent and how 'we' invented surfing. In Pembroke, NC, where I went to school, many locals thought I was related to someone's brother or father, claiming I was pure native american. With other asians, I am viewed as Fillipino, or Chinese which sometimes makes me wonder who I really am, or what sort of person I look like.

In many ways, being 'ambiguous' has its rewards in that I can move easily in and out of many different cultures without the pains of being lablelled someone outside of thier acceptable circle as far as race. The tribal benefit of being included has afforded me much insight into how people view each others racially, but there are also drawbacks. Sometimes I feel I do not belong to any category and upon declaration of my ethnicity, I am sometimes feel marginalized or not totally accepted. I feel this normal, but do not see it as a hindrance to learning more about others, but is also why I like to let people make assumptions of my ethnicity to see their perspective on my behaviors and attitudes. I think it's amazing when you can make a connection with someone under their premise of who they view you as, then to shatter thier perception with compassion and understanding.

Last week I totally forgot the boundaries of religion and race when I was working with a student. As the technology coordinator, I usually give explanations and tutorials on how to use our department's website. Well, upon finishing this explanation, I went to shake that student's hand, only to be withdrawn and told they cannot and it's against their religion. It sort of blew me away in a wierd way because in my upbringing a handshake is commonplace and considered a respectable way to meet someone...so when I was denied something I thought to be a humble way to show respect, I felt a little hurt. I had to think on this because the conviction in that student's voice did not hint at being cruel or non-appreciative, but just a matter of fact.

The more I thought on this, the more I understood that I have not been exposed to culture not related to Christianity and in the Muslim world, touch by the other gender is not allowed unless married or kin. I see this more now and am interested to learn more. It seems I need to learn more of other cultures so that I won't be as suprised, but understand reasons behind certain norms.

Other Blog

I was just looking at my ancient blog of yesteryear...so much has happened since then; I think its really cool how you can look at your thoughts years ago...this blog is my first attempt at 'blogging'...and most of the writings are meant as a theraputic outlet.

I felt like linking that blog on here as a continuous flow...so here it is:

http://www.xanga.com/calweb

Baby Talk = They are having a baby meeting about their next undertaking! New addition, baby Troy is the mastermind 

Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Relevant recitation on 'Strange Liberators'

This Podcast is mainly a recitation by my friend, Marc, of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.regarding his opposition to the war in Vietnam.

Be expecting more of these from him ;)

Making Music --- First ever live recording!!

A sunrise like this gets my creativity going; listen in to the music to hear what I mean!



Okay...I am having fun with this Audioblogger

In these recordings I am just playing around with some friends.

Nothing special...and very very incoherent!

Iraq -- a soldier's view part 2

This post is a follow up with focus towards his view on the occupation in Iraq.

Iraq -- a soldier's view part 1

This is what I hope to be a series of opinions on the occupation in Iraq.

The speaker of this post wishes to remain anonymous for certain policy issues regarding the recently discharged.

Being overseas for him was tough...and this post mainly is regarding his position on support for soldiers and their homecoming and NOT for Bush's decision to remain and the general undercurrents of the purpose of the war.

Please be mindful that this gentleman was a little nervous commenting as he has never done this before.