Buttafly

Pigs

2012-01-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Pigs

by T. Semakula

This is my first post of the New Year. I thought that it should be inspirational. This is as close to inspiration as I am gonna get. I decided to focus on the subject of pigs otherwise known as swine and or the pork swathed portly creatures that wallow in the mud and oink on occasion. Their snouts give them a peculiar look. Their parts are used for consumption and their hooves are parted in fours.

For the vegetarian, they are a non issue, for the Muslim, an aberration; however, for a future entrepreneur, minister, community activist, or a way maker, they very well may be the very thing that has caused a project to stall, a community to crumble, or a ministry to fall by the wayside.

You may ask, what is she talking about? I am talking about human pigs…the ones that are referred to in the good book, as it relates to who we should not pass our pearls onto. Matthew 7:6 goes on to state…Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Pigs are omnivores and are highly social and intelligent animals(i). You will usually find them wallowing around at social functions, associating themselves with folk who are usually considered influential or prominent. So, if you consider yourself a leader, a minister, or an activist, beware, a pig may be trying their best to befriend you. You may have to rely on the power of discernment, as they are highly intelligent animals who have a gift for gab and possess a certain degree of knowledge.

“Feral” pigs …are major drivers of extinction and ecosystem change… have been introduced into many parts of the world, and will damage crops and home gardens as well as potentially [spread] disease. They uproot large areas of land, eliminating native vegetation and spreading weeds(ii) . Pigs destroy the landscape and everything along their paths. They destroy homes, reputations, visions, and plans. They feed off of other folk’s ideas and dreams and can suck the life out of a ministry that was once considered viable to a group of parishioners. They leave nothing but destruction.

Pigs can harbor a range of parasites and diseases that can be transmitted to humans(iii). Watch your associations, as we often take on the character of those we hang around. If we are not careful, other folks’ actions, thoughts and beliefs may become our own. We may find ourselves developing piglike qualities, if we allow these creatures to take up space in our lives. As Victor Sweatt, a talented visual artist, stated in his recent Facebook post…If you have nine broke friends, guess what, you are the tenth one .

How can I uncover a pig? Check the landscape. Pigs often return to the mud that they love to slough in. They abhor things such as cleanliness, discipline, order, stability, and harmony. After a while they will hunger for some discord, become hostile toward peace and start to rebel or retreat, let’s face it, it’s their nature.

How much damage can a pig really do? A conservative estimate of the cost of wild pig damage to agriculture and the environment in the United States currently stands at $1.5 billion annually(iv) . Pigs come in all forms and have stifled the progress of some of our urban communities. For example, a gang leader is a pig that seduces others to assist in wrecking havoc inside a selected neighborhood. The results of gang activity include; drive by shootings, murders, drug trafficking, petty crime, lawlessness, and civil unrest. The amount of crime one gang can produce is staggering. Seven percent of youth, mostly gang members, are responsible for 70 percent of juvenile crimes(v).

I understand how important it is to start the year off with a fresh view on how the year will bring promise, hope, and life to a new project, business venture, or ministry; however it is important to proceed carefully, as one moves on to better things. So with this in mind, I say, beware of the pigs that snort about in your life. They are real, and they do exist. If you are worth your weight in gold, they will seek after you, your pearls, and your ideas. Proceed toward the New Year with hope and expectation, but proceed with caution.

Article References

iWikipedia/Pigs

iiWikipedia/Pigs

iiiWikipedia/Pigs

ivMississippi State University/Wild Info

vThe National Center For Victims of Crime

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A Week In The Life of A Community Entrepreneur (taken from an actual week in T. Semakula’s Life)

2011-11-30T08:45:00.000-08:00

Monday- Thank God not only for what you have received, but for what you have escaped..KWCosby

8:00 am- Wake up on my mama’s couch (my new bed until I finally find that house that’s perfect for me)- I am being very picky about buying a house. I am adamant about residing in a place and or community that will nourish my, body, mind, spirit, and personality. I want what I want (No comprises). It has taken me a minute to figure out how I want to live. I feel that if I am paying for it, I should have more say, right?

8:15 am- I read and meditate on the three separate devotionals I subscribe to on my Blackberry. Two come via email (Today’s Word with Joel and Victoria, Rev Run’s Wisdom) and the other is an app that I downloaded to my phone (The You Version Bible App)- it’s the only way I am able to read the Bible daily, it works for me because my Blackberry is always in my hand. I usually share these devotionals on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I feel that someone else, besides Semakula, can be inspired.

8:40 am-Loligag, check my Facebook, check and answer emails, make phone calls, watch Good Morning America (gotta see what’s going on in the world). I also like to catch up on who I call my online mentors group, this consists of reading various posts and tweets by Freelance Folder, Barbara Winters, Rev Kevin Cosby,and Sandi Krawkowski. I wrote a blog post about how in order to properly cultivate your hustle, you need to be a constant learner, no doubt.

I make a decision about how I am going to spend my day (this is done daily, as my schedule fluctuates). Today, there are no meetings-so I decide on carting Lil Mama to the public library for some needed homeschooling (Mondays are the best days to create her assignments for the week, which I send to her via Gmail), and I decide to catch up on revising a letter that I completed for the City of West Buechel’s Economic Development Commission.

10:00 am- Check the bus schedule (since I am a former New Yorker who has no drivers’ license) and wake up Lil mama so that we can get ready for our day. I decide to catch the 11:17 am bus to downtown Louisville so that Lil mama and I can cop some lunch @ Ermins Cafe before we get started with our day. I realize that I have skipped breakfast again and make a note to try harder next time.

11:00 am- Make sure we had everything before we both get on the bus- For me, this consists of my purse, bus fare, my laptop, my Blackberry and my headphones. I don’t carry much paperwork, because frankly, I don’t believe in it. I keep a lot of files in my email, or inside a document storage social network like Scribd or Docstoc. I also created a portfolio on my website, just in case I meet a new client throughout the week. When I traipse around the city, I am usually tuned into my Slacker Radio app on my phone and zone out on 90’s Hip Hop, Gospel, and Jill Scott Radio.

11:17 am-Hop on the bus with Lil Mama, lock on the headphones and zone out on my Slacker Radio until the bus gets to Fourth street. Since I didn’t eat breakfast, I am starved and Lil mama and I order the lunch special at Ermins, and sit down and grub.

12:30 pm-Finally, we walk over to the Louisville Public Library, say hello to our new friends (the library security guards, librarians, and the other regular patrons). While I sit down to finish the letter for the commission and polish off Lil Mama’s assignments for the week, she starts reading the book “Remember Me”, that she has to compose her biweekly book journal on. When I am done, she takes over the laptop and starts working on the assignments that I have sent to her Gmail. I locate the racks that house the interior design books and spend time flipping through the books, looking at how I will design my house in the future.

6:30 pm- Leave the library and head over to the Brewery Pub on Fourth Street to eat dinner. Lil Mama orders the Make Your Own Pizza Special and I settle on a bowl of chili. While we wait, we suck down some appetizers, which are some buffalo wings that I have no business eating.

8:00 pm-Check the bus schedule and decide to catch the 8:45 bus to the Nia Center, this gets us to our connecting bus, which will get us back home.

8:45 pm- As usual , the downtown bus is packed and we are able to squeeze into a seat, and I lock on my headphones, and zone out on A Tribe Called Quest.

9:10 pm- We arrive at the Nia Center and wait in the public lobby for the connecting bus.

9:30 pm-Our bus arrives and shuttles us home.

9:40 pm- Home Sweet Home- Check some more emails, Check my Facebook, Check my Twitter.

10:00-pm- Nightly prayers and off to sleep….

Tuesday- Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can…Richard Bach

8:00 am- wake up and realize that mama’s couch is more comfortable then some beds that I have slept in, go figure.

8:15 am- Review and mediate on my three devotionals.

8:40 am- Loligag, check my Facebook, check and answer emails, make phone calls, watch Good Morning America (gotta see what’s going on in the world). Will plan to do a brief mini check on my new office in West Buechel, with my business partner. Will do the usual homeschooling and plan for Lil mama’s evening VOP choir rehearsal at St. Stephens, as well as plan for an evening meeting with a new client who needs assistance creating a website for her women’s ministry.

9:00 am- Receive a call from my business partner, to verify our morning meeting at our new office. Wake up Lil mama and we prepare for the day.

10:30 am My business partner arrives and we drop off Lil mama (who is a Senior in high school) at the library and head out to West Buechel.

11:00 am- Arrive at the office and check on the progress of the office set-up and things are looking good. We make plans to return the following week. I am really excited about the new office because our new company will assist in building the capacity of small cities, which ultimately, will improve the quality of life for the residents of these communities.

1:00 pm-Get dropped off at the library and check on Lil mama’s progress. She’s been working on a play and I am excited to see her final product- I make a mental note to make sure she works on writing dialogue properly. Of course she and I both are starving at this point and we make plans to head over to Quiznos and grab a salad and a sandwich.

1:30 pm- Lunch at Quiznos-Lil mama and I like to get the two for 5.50 special and I am becoming a fan of their Mediterranean Salad with the hot peppers.

2:30 pm- Back to the library. Lil mama continues to draft up her play and I cop me some more design books to sift through.

5:30 pm- Lil mama gets picked up to head out to her VOP Choir rehearsal at St. Stephens. I call my client and tell her that she can pick me up so that we can work on her new website.

5:45 pm- It’s a pleasure to work with Cathy Crenshaw, the founder of Sisters Inspiring Sisters-KY. She is really dedicated to helping women improve their lives via her ministry. Plus, I think she is learning a new skill, website creation and design.

10:00 pm- Get dropped off at home, per my client.

10:30 pm- Nightly prayers and off to sleep.

Wednesday-Not getting all the luv, congrats & honor u need? don’t worry: Mediocrity never congratulates excellence…Rev Run

8:00 am- Wake up excited about a new day above ground.

8:15 am- Review and mediate on my three devotionals.

8:40 am- Loligag, check my Facebook, check and answer emails, make phone calls, watch Good Morning America (gotta see what’s going on in the world). Made plans for my Wednesday meeting with the Garrett Advocacy Project. We are in the middle of a grant writing campaign and it is going well. Plus, I plan to look at a house in the Clifton neighborhood and I am excited about it. Lil mama and I are also having lunch with a former client and friend, Mr. McDaniel Bluitt, the founder and director of the West Louisville Performing Arts Academy.

9:30 am- Received a text from Alma asking to reschedule today’s meeting with the Garrett Advocacy Project. I say that this is fine and that we could get the work that we need to get done, next Wednesday.

9:40 am- I check the bus schedule and decide to catch the 11:17 bus to downtown Louisville. We cut it a little close for our lunch date with Mr. Bluitt.

9:45 am- I wake up Lil mama

10:00 am- Lil mama and I prepare for our day.

11:17 am- Hop on the bus with headphones, laptop, and Blackberry in tow.

12:00 pm- Catch the connecting Fourth Street trolley to arrive at the Galt House to have lunch with Mr. Bluitt.

12:15 pm- Lunch with Mr. Bluitt at the Galt House- Lil mama picks the buffet, I settle on the salmon, and both of us eye Mr. Bluitt’s fruit plate (smile). It was a pleasure to sit and talk with him. I am glad that he is doing well and that the academy is progressing. He invited me to their annual Hope Awards Program in which sculptor Ed Hamilton, will be honored.

2:50 pm- Mr. Bluitt drops off Lil mama and I at the St Matthews Mall because I am determined to get her a coat before the winter sets in. We wander around in the mall without any luck and I decide that I would probably have more luck rummaging around in the DAV.

5:00 pm- We arrive at the house I am considering renting. I like the house, just not the paint job on the inside walls. We’ll see what happens. Plus, I am not too fond of renting at this point. However, it is in the neighborhood that I would like to live in and it’s close to the café that I like to work out of sometimes.

5:30 pm- We walk over to a nearby café and Lil mama is picked up to go to her weekly bible study class at church. She hits me up for some money to buy dinner at the church before she leaves out and I decide to stay at the cafe and polish off some work. A client has sent me a letter to revise, so I get to it and finally finish up my final draft. Plus, I critique a draft of a micro-business plan that one of my subcontractors has composed for a client that has a theater company. I send my critique via email with added suggestions and comments. I know that we will meet with this client on Friday, and I want to make sure that we had developed a sufficient draft before the meeting.

6:30 pm- I buy me a strawberry coconut Italian soda topped with whip cream and a bagel. This is my dinner. I am happy to have something in my stomach. I check the bus schedule and decide to bounce out of the café around 9:30 so that I could get an evening bus home. I continue to polish off some work until the bus arrives.

9:30 pm- On the bus with laptop, headphones, and Blackberry in tow. I keep Badu’s “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long” on repeat on my phone and make it home at 10:30.

11:00 pm- Nightly prayers and off to sleep.

Thursday-Speak with your own voice, think with your own mind, and act according to your own vision…Ralph Marston

8:00 am- Wake up fresh from a good night’s sleep

8:15 am- Review and mediate on my three devotionals.

8:30 am- Loligag, check my Facebook,Twitter, check and answer emails, make phone calls, watch Good Morning America (gotta see what’s going on in the world). Make plans for working with Cathy Crenshaw later on in the day to tie up some loose ends on her ministry website, also plan for an afternoon conference call with a local entrepreneur who wants to check up on a letter I have been shopping for him. In addition, I make sure that I put on some decent clothes today, due to a late afternoon meeting I have at City Hall.

9 am- I wake up Lil mama and Lil mama and I prepare for our day.

9:45 am- Call for a cab, can’t miss a 10:30 appt to check up on my health. Don’t have time to wait for a bus today.

10 am- Hop in the cab with headphones, laptop, and Blackberry in tow. Ohh and don’t forget, Lil Mama.

10:30 am- appt- Health is good and Lil mama is fine completing her schoolwork on the laptop in the clinic waiting room.

11 am-Lil mama and I head to the clinic cafeteria. We joke about how they must think that we are birds because there is very little food on our lunch plates. I am relieved when I get a call from Jazzy J, my oldest daughter. She reminds me that we have a lunch date today. Opps, I had forgotten. But that’sokay,I look forward to eating some more and Lil mama’s not complaining.

12:30 pm- Jazzy picks us up from the clinic and we head over to Panera Bread. All of us are starving and we file into Panera, ready and willing to sample some of their good soup, salad, and bread. It’s nice to be able to hang out with my daughters during the middle of the day. I make a note of this and vow to do it more often.

1:00 pm- Still eating, and I decide that instead of a conference call, I’ll send an email with the questions that I had for a local entrepreneur who as hired me to shop a letter for him. I place a quick call to him, he agrees, and I continue to enjoy an extended lunch with my two lovely daughters.

1:45 pm- Lunch is over and Jazzy drops me off at City Hall for my meeting with Charles Booker, Councilman David Tandy’s legislative aide. Jazzy and Lil mama head over to her house. She will drop Lil mama off at the house later on in the day.

Booker and I have been discussing a proposal that I submitted on behalf of Greenhouse Ministries and their HOPE Program. I take notes during the meeting and listen to the suggestions that he provides in regards to the proposal.

3:00 pm- Get a call from Cathy and she sweeps me up from City Hall. We head out to her house to finish up what I call my web design workshop.

6:00 pm- Get dropped off home earlier than usual. I hit the couch, check my emails again, check my Facebook and Twitter and place a call to Aquilla, one of the subcontractors who I have assisted with the development of a micro-business plan. We go over the plan and prepare for the Friday meeting with the client.

8:00 pm- Nightly prayers. Hit the bed early, yes…that happens sometimes

Friday- Today make your work your prayer. (Moving meditation) Be so engaged that u let go of the imaginary weight you carry…Uncle Rush

8:00 am- Wake up excited about going to sleep @ 8pm-I need to do that more often.

8:15 am- Review and mediate on my three devotionals.

8:40 am- Loligag, check my Facebook, check and answer emails, make phone calls, watch Good Morning America (gotta see what’s going on in the world). Made plans for Friday meeting with the Sheila Richardson, a talented playwright who runs a theater company called Louisville Entertainment Theater. I will go over a micro business plan that she hired Buttafly to compose for her. I also enjoyed providing marketing consultation for her latest play “A Satisfied Woman.” It turned out to be a success.

9:40 am- I check the bus schedule and decide to catch the 11:17 bus to downtown Louisville, again.

9:45 am- I wake up Lil mama. I receive a call from my good friend Bishop Sharon Polk. She has been ill and has been resting in a hospital room. I edited a book for her early on in the year. We have become good friends and I make a note to visit with her.

10:00 am- Lil mama and I prepare for our day.

11:17 am- Hop on the bus with headphones, laptop, and Blackberry in tow. Get off the bus and head to Ermins Café for lunch, as we have missed breakfast, yet again.

12:30 pm- Head over to the public library and Lil mama gets to her homeschooling. I do my usual doodling with my interior design books.

3:30 pm- Lil mama passes the laptop to me. She’s burnt out on homeschooling and commences to resting and flipping through magazines. I get busy with reviewing the micro business plan rough draft one more time and have settled on the questions that I need to ask during my dinner meeting with Aquilla and Sheila.

6:00 pm- Lil mama and I head to a dinner meeting at Panera Bread with Aquilla and Sheila. We go over the draft for the microbusiness plan and I make plans to complete the final draft early next week.

8:30 pm-Aquilla drops me off home and I am glad to be there. I pass out on the couch and dream about the weekend…no doubt.

Superstar...

2011-06-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

Are you a Supertstar? Are you at the top of your game? Are you shooting for the stars? Whatever sphere you find yourself in, are you on point? Buttafly expounds on those who rise to the occasion...the Supertars.

Please note that Buttafly Arts will be promoted via this blog throughout the summer, God Bless. For more info about Buttafly Arts, click here.

Superstar

by T. Semakula

(dedicated to Luis Bernard)

There is a poet who throws words up into the sky

And lets them sit there to float like stars

He spits metro psalms that fall out of his lips

There is a poet who moves the crowd with the shove of his vocabulary and his smokin list of demands

His glossary is tight with direct movement

His words give like a cheerful tither, in praise of his God, leaving room fo salvation

There is a poet who gives love with metaphor or a commanding stanza, or a toxic free verse, or an electric sonnet set to my heart’s pentameter

There is a poet who is a bad mother..um..um and he knows it. So fly and energetic, a walking breathing roaring urban poetic. Throwing challenge at form, speaking truth to power, speaking rain to flowers, speaking glow to the moon, speaking space to a narrow room. Supplying base to the boom

There is a poet who lives like a floating haiku, an aggressive rhyme, a potent shout out, a slow moving song

Ohh.. there is a poet, who , like Jill Scott said… was born and will die a poet,

Who wakes up, invisions, and sleeps a poet,

Who moans and cries a poet,

Who chisels and crafts a poet

Who inhales and breathes a poet

Who returns and leaves a poet

Who births and raises other poets

Who sets planets in order

University of Liverpool Superstars Project aims to provide you with the information and support to enable you to take your education further....

For those of you who would like to work with a Superstar one day, Buttafly offers a wonderful workshop titled "Project Cinema"

Project Cinema- (Film Component)-From film noir, to contemporary film, to documentaries...it’s all about this new genre called cinema. Students will be able to become film critics via their writing, or take time out to make a short documentary about their lives or the lives of others. Before a story or idea makes it to the screen, it has to go through a process that involves a great deal of planning and writing. So are your students up to the challenge? See yah at the movies! To schedule or inquire about this workshop click here.

Check out theses Adidas Superstars along with an article "The Top Earning Young Superstars."

An Audacious Mind

2011-04-06T15:03:00.001-07:00

An audacious mind... by t. semakula

Audacity fuels the mind with energy and develops its potential. Those who lack audacity become mediocre, functional, average, cowardly and retarded in their thinking. Jesus is a perfect example of an audacious thinker. Jesus had the audacity to claim that he was the Son of God. He had the audacity to walk the earth twelve deep, determined to deliver a message that was defined by hope and salvation. He had the audacity to be homeless, yet, all the while, knowing that in his father’s house there are many mansions.

Jesus was also an early proponent, as it relates to developing critical thinking skills. He thought it barbaric to answer a question with an open ended answer. He welcomed critical thinking with his numerous parables and made it clear that he had no tolerance for lazy minds. He approached simple folk with metaphors and challenged them to develop more strategic ways of applying the practicality of God’s word. The challenge that Jesus put forth to the people was one that required an audacity that was built around stretching the mind and strengthening its capacity.

Today, a less audacious population,waters down the word, and simplifies the message, in order to engage lazy minded people. Today our so-called leaders are afraid to challenge others, or if God forbid, for folk to have to the audacity to utilize their minds. World leaders, corporations, community organizations, and ministries are always on the lookout for folk who are excellent critical thinkers. These folk are key to solving complex issues and they are good at establishing effective networks and processes. These are the folk that have the audacity to use their minds.

I have always been a fan of the Prophet Elijah. I was always fascinated by his mind. I believe that God respects one who utilizes the true potential of his or her mind. Elijah’s audacity allowed his mind to be open to the word of God, this was integral to the progress of Israel and its leaders. 1 Kings 17-1-2 goes on to state…Now Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe in Gilead said to Ahab (The King of Isreal),“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word. Elijah had the audacity to speak truth to power. God had commanded him to stand up to a leader who eventually fell, due to his own stupidity.

How audacious is your mind? Has God trusted you with the audacity to hear his word and to follow through on what he told you to do? Did you draw back in fear? It is important for our minds to be strong, because in strength, lies power.

In Dr. Gwen Washington’s upcoming book titled Inner Healing: Wounds Superficially Cured, she goes on to state… The Greek word for power is “exousia,” {which means} delegated authority and liberty to exercise the full power of attorney in all God’s interests. Complete authority to act in God’s stead as if God Himself were here doing the work; power to act as freely of his own will as one has power to eat and drink. Be yet not double minded and stay focused on what God has told you to do. You are where you are because of what your mind has conjured.

Be mindful of the thoughts that roam about in your head. The Word of God specifies in Jeremiah 31:33-34…This is the convent I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother saying, Know the Lord, because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest….declares the Lord.

The Audacious Community

2011-03-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

The Audacious Community

By t. semakula

Where is audacity these days? Is it stuck underneath the pews like a freshly chewed piece of gum? Was it left inside an old sermon that a preacher didn’t have the courage to deliver? Was it left on the shores of the Red Sea after the last Israelite walked over the dry ocean floor? Did it chip off the stone that David used to lay down Goliath? Did it burn up in the flames that consumed the false prophets of Baal? Did it see the noozle of Sojourner’s gun, because it wanted to retreat back to the fields of the south? Did it lay waiting on the podium after King delivered his discourse on the state of black and white folk in America?

It is time for audacity to return to its rightful place. Audacity has left the church and only finds comfort outside the sanctuary. Have you ever been in the presence of an audacious child of God who possessed a righteous spirit and who was able to produce fruit that enacted change, lead folk to salvation, and impacted the world? When someone is overflowing with audacity, they are consumed with boldness, they are inspired by bravery, they are filled with courage, and they are embroiled with nerve. Within audacity lies the power to transform your community, your mind, and your faith.

A community

So, what does a community look like that is void of an

audacious population? It looks a lot like
a community that could care less about the education of its people. Louisville’s local school system is filled with many disparities. These disparities have created a poorly educated underclass who have a high school diploma, minus the marketable skills that will allow them to compete in the twenty-first century (Stark). Local change makers, movers, shakers, and leaders have acknowledged that …education is Louisville’s greatest liability (Greater Louisville Project). Please note that the word liability is associated with the word glitch, snag, obstacle, hindrance, puzzle, problematic, difficulty, predicament, quandary, trouble, crisis, conundrum, drawback, and challenge.

Proverbs 3: 13-14 goes on to state… Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding (14) For the merchandise of it is better than silver, and the gain thereof. Local ministers, laypersons, evangelists, and prophets, have found it difficult to be engaged in effective ministry due to a lack of education and skills. I have noticed that our inner city’s most effective ministry is lead by a minister who is educated and whose ministry team is staffed with learned folk. This minister has also taken over the helm of an urban bible college that was once, ready to close. He has the audacity to believe that educating the next generation of ministers is a worthy endeavor. The word of God states that we …Should study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).

So, what does a community look like that is void of an

audacious population? It looks like a
community that locks up its kings. Kentucky leads the nation, as it relates to the number of folk who have been disenfranchised, due to a previous conviction or felony. A report titled Low-Income Fathers Need To Get Connected goes on to state… Policies designed to get tough on crime have devastated low-income fathers and families over the last three decades. A disenfranchised population roams the community with no power to vote, no power to obtain housing, and no power to seek reliable employment. The local community has been quick to shackle down our men, shutting them off from society, progress, power, and their families.

What Kentucky fails to realize is that they have retarded the

growth of their own communities
because they have shackled men based on their poverty and their skin color. They have shackled leaders, thinkers, and strategists. They have shackled scientists, engineers, and ministers. They have shackled writers, journalists, and essayists. They have shackled artists, creators, and healers.

Pharaoh had to call on Joseph who was locked up in a jail,

in order to interpret a dream that
would save the country from famine. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came unto Pharaoh (Genesis 41:14).

So, what does a community look like that is void of an audacious population? It looks like a
community that praises cowards. It is interesting to know that when God lists the seven things that he abhors, the word coward comes before the word murderer. I am firm believer that God is a God of order and in this case, it may have meant from the greatest to the least. A murderer may have only taken one life, whereas a coward, due to his or her silence or compliance , caused the death of a whole city,town or nation.

It is important to note that in the community of West Louisville, there is a lack of small business
success, a lack of effective ministry, high unemployment, and slow to nil economic development. Russel Simmons, hip hop pioneer, a self proclaimed Buddhist, the founder of Rush Communications and co-founder Def Jam Records, was courageous enough to wait on the success of his subsidiary company, Phat Farm. In his autobiography titled Life and Def , we see that it took Russell almost a decade before he gained a profit from Phat Farm. It is a shame to note that so-called people of God lack the tenacity, patience, and courage that Simmons held onto as he waited for his company to make a profit. If only more ministers, more community activists, or more business owners had the audacity to see West Louisville come to fruition. If only they had waited, to see the benefit of audacity.

I remember a conversation that I had with my mother, who grew up in West Louisville. I was
telling her about how local leaders had blamed the former mayor for the issues that existed in the neighborhood. My mother said that we have no one to blame but ourselves because West Louisville is our neighborhood.

The Word of God states that...I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). With the strength of Christ, we will feel awkward living amongst a community of cowards who sit by and watch the things of God diminish.

Co-Bishop Sharon Polk was audacious enough to publish her book titled He's My Personal Friend (Jesus Still Heals). Find out how you can purchase it online.

Open publication - Free publishing - More christianity

The Food Stamp Bandit

2011-02-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

The Food Stamp Bandit
By T. Semakula

There are a record number of folk on food stamps these days and would it surprise you to know that there is also a record number of millionaires on the rise? So, which group are you in? The United States has seen a record number of citizens living on food stamps while the number of millionaires has also reached a record high. The two records have shown that the United States is further polarized in the possession of wealth[i]. I wrote this post in response to a debate I was having with a friend about the subject of food stamps. I don’t feel that I am too good for foodstamps; however I do feel that I am too good for poverty.

The tools of wealth

Be mindful when folk tell you that you ought to get on foodstamps. Sure, they are a tool as it relates to feeding your family, due to a lack of income to stock needed resources in your refrigerator. When it comes to hanging with the big boys, the tools you need have nothing to do with selecting a pin number for your EBT card. Try creating a pin number for a business visa, an American Express card, or memorizing the details of your stock option and your latest real estate deal. Food stamps are not considered an asset for the wealthy and you can’t utilize them as leverage for a bank loan.

Food stamps are a tool of poverty. Most vendors who accept foodstamps establish their stores in poor neighborhoods. Imagine if the community started to improve, most of these folk would be put out of business. These vendors depend on your poverty, in order to thrive. Most folk can’t even utilize their EBT cards outside of their neighborhoods. Try taking your EBT card to an upscale market and see how far you get. You can’t shop wherever you want with a foodstamp card, but you can with cash. If you utilize the tools of wealth, you can bet that you will be able to shop wherever your heart desires. When the powers that be tally up the number of folk who live in poverty, they include the folk who are receiving food stamps. Food stamp recipients are considered poor, not rich, and they are documented, accordingly. Food stamps are the symbol of poverty in the US. In the era of the credit crunch, a record 28 million Americans are now relying on them to survive – a sure sign the world's richest country faces economic crisis[ii]. Food stamp offices are stretching the requirements to include higher income guidelines so that people can eat. I would say that requirements are being stretched so that more folk can belong to the community of the poor.

So, how much can you eat?

When I hear folk talk about needing or wanting a food stamp card, I often wonder how well do they deal with limitation. You are only allowed a certain amount of foodstamps a month, and I am shocked that folk seem to be satisfied with it. So, do you need someone else to tell you how much food you are allowed to eat each month? That’s right. I said allowed. Now, the argument is that food stamps are making it possible for folk to eat, who otherwise may not be able to buy food at all. So, is the food stamp program really dealing with the issue of hunger? If this was the case, folk would get enough food to feed their families, and they would not run out of food before the end of the month. However, this is the case for many families who depend on food stamps. The SNAP (Food Stamp Program) computerized system reveals that most benefits are used up by the third week of the month, leaving many families to scramble for other sources of food[iii].

A life without foodstamps

Before,I go any further, there is something that I have to get straight. I have nothing against the foodstamp program. Hunger is a serious issue and should be addressed. It’s not that we don’t have enough food, it’s just that folk lack the resources to buy it. So, how can we get folk to increase their resources, so that they don’t have to depend on a food stamp card to inadequately feed their families?

The solution is all in the mind. A life without food stamps, gives one the opportunity to think about how they can increase their resources, in order to satisfy their hunger. Folk can tap into their strengths, as well as their gifts and find substantive ways to survive. There is the argument that poverty and hunger leads to a life of crime and I would say that if we teach folk how to tap into their gifts and show them how to utilize them, positively; them and the community, would be all the better. Talents and gifts bring way more rewards than a food stamp card and they won’t leave you hungry at the end of the month.

I believe that millionaires are on the rise because they choose to have a life, void of foodstamps. I translate that to living a life, void of limitations, and filled with opportunities and possibilities. A millionaire has access to resources that provide better housing, better school and community options, and yes, more food for their families.

Millionaire’s can be defined as the new upstart entrepreneurs, business folk, and socialprenuers. They are known as problem solvers, critical thinkers, and community builders. They have found ways to feed themselves, their families, and in some cases, whole communities. Rachel Zedeck is a socialprenuer that has changed the lives of many families who reside in sub-saharan Africa. Hundreds of Sub-Saharan Africans won’t go hungry this year because of a backpack and one woman. The backpack, eco-friendly and filled with sustainable farming inputs, is a result of years of Change Agent Rachel Zedeck’s sweat and tears, literally[iv].

If you had the chance to catch President Obama’s latest State of The Union Address, he talked about how, we (Americans) need to work on reinventing ourselves. This starts with a mindset bent on progress, and may I add, a mindset that will satisfy our hunger.

So, again, what group do you choose to associate yourself with? For me, I choose to be a millionaire; therefore, I know that there will always be enough food on my plate.

Article Sources

i] Record Americans live on food stamps amid record millionaires. Bao, George. (2010) 8 August 2010.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-08/08/c_13434718.htm
[ii] USA 2008/ The Great Depression. Usborne, David. (2008) 1 April 2008. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/usa-2008-the-great-depression-803095.html
[iii] Food Crisis: When the cupboard is bare. Do Something.org.(2011)http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/food-crisis-when-cupboard-bare
[iv] Socialpreneur with a backpack feeds an African community. Jennifer. Social Earth. (2010). 5 January 2010. http://www.socialearth.org/social-entrepreneur-with-a-backpack-feeds-an-african-community

You can't knock the hustle....

2010-12-29T15:31:00.001-08:00

You can’t knock the hustle

by T. Semakula

So, how is your hustle these days? Do you have one? Are you one of those folk who make excuses as to why you don’t have time to write that book, start that business, found that ministry, or follow through on the invention that you know could make life a whole lot easier? What’s holding you back? Why have you stalled or have you started and it seems like your hustle is moving slower than a snail with a broken leg. Usually, folk associate the word hustle with street hustlers who do whatever it takes to cop a dollar. However, the word hustle is associated with swift movement, abruptness, or motion. Motion takes someone or something to a selected goal, purpose, or destination. So, where is your hustle taking you?

Hustle up some faith. Folk who make excuses, lack faith. The children of Israel wandered around in the wilderness for four decades because they lacked the faith they needed to enter the Promised Land. After God parted the red sea, sent food from the sky, and guided them by a single star at night, they still weren’t convinced that they were God’s chosen people. They lacked the courage to overlook the giants that inhabited the land that was given to them by the Almighty.

So, what has the Almighty given you? Have you made excuses, complained, or flat out retreated to the humdrum life you have always had, even after God has sent you a vision that encompassed greatness? Have you lingered in poverty, settling for government subsidies and handouts, happy to just get by? Did you forget that we serve a mighty God who created the earth and composed the framework for our minds, which we have yet had the ability to completely use. Are you satisfied with your income and the state of your community, or have you moved out in search of a better horizon? Did the Almighty give you a cause, a ministry, or a business that could provide a better life for you, your family, and your community, and you lacked the faith to carry it out?

Hustle up some order. Along with dreams, visions, and ideas, comes guidelines, plans, and instructions. Folk without order are folk without success. I have sat in meetings with many wannabe socialprenuers, entrepreneurs, and community superstars. They are quick to share the vision that has filled their hearts, yet they are slow to provide a viable plan or framework that will take their vision into fruition. They are also hesitant about about investing in their visions. Investment is not just about money, but it also equates to time, energy, courage, knowledge, and passion. How can one build a house without a frame, an engine without its parts, an essay without a rough draft, a body without the skeleton?

Hustle up some focus. I have watched many well intentioned programs and visions get sidelined due to a lack of focus. What’s wrong with being criticized for having tunnel vision? What’s wrong with staying focused on a task until you reached a goal? Focus keeps us close to our goals. If we encounter a problem or obstacle on the way to our goal, our focus will help us overcome it with knowledge and diligence. Sometimes we have to say no to others in order to reach the goal that God intended for us. No means direction, not rejection, always remember that.

Hustle up some knowledge. I had a friend who told who me that she wanted to start her own business; I asked her if she liked to read books about business, or entrepreneurs. She told me that she didn’t like to read and that she didn’t like books. She has not started a business to this day. If you want to know how to be successful, wouldn’t you want to read about it? If you don’t know how to read, learn how to. Knowledge is power and the more that you know, the better off you will be. I gave myself my own personal MBA, by reading every single book I could get my hands on about business and entrepreneurship. Weekly, I read blogs and articles related to freelancing, blogging, and consulting. I will always be a student, even though I have a master’s degree. The world is growing and changing every day. New technologies are being introduced and folk are coming up with more efficient and productive ways to get things done. Successful entrepreneurs, ministers, and community folk are also avid learners.

You can’t knock the hustle. So, it’s time that you get your hustle on. Dust off that old business plan, sermon, or idea. Stop making excuses and take a break from your humdrum life. Stop living with regrets and stop waiting for the perfect time to get started. The time is now. Come out of the wilderness and get what was promised to you. I dare yah.

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The 23

2010-12-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

The 23

By t. semakula

As usual, I am waiting for the 23, it’s a quarter till eleven at night and my behind is gripping the small plastic seat that is shoved inside a plexi glass bus stop shelter. The bus stop is housed on fourth and Broadway, which sits across from Brown Bros. Cadillac. The famous lot is known for its’ shiny color pallet of blue, brown, red, and white caddies. I am amazed that the lot hasn’t fallen prey to the recession that has placed a choke hold on the once vibrant, river city. From the stop, I can see folk popping out of their cars and strolling up Fourth Street, headed toward one of the many restaurants that decorate the downtown. The pedestrians that flank the well known “Fourth Street Live” give the appearance that Louisville hasn’t succumbed to the recent economic back slap that has left a trail of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and sold out homeless shelters.

The Folk in the City of Cars

The 23 is one of those routes that many working folk depend on to get them to their usual gigs. I watch these folk as they board the bus donning grease stained McDonald uniforms, steel toe boots, or flowered covered nursing assistant scrubs. The route also houses unruly youth who try to impress their friends with four letter words and fancy touch screen cell phones, seniors with monthly bus passes that hang on a cloth chain around their necks, and teen mamas who board the bus with fat strollers, painted on skinny jeans, and short tempers.

As I view the mobile landscape, I attempt to fit myself into this urban community that is held together with paper transfers and updated bus schedules. Let’s face it; Louisville is a city of cars. Even the poor feel that riding the bus is beneath them and they do their best to scrap up change to purchase a “ride.”I have seen folk driving cars with no doors, no windows, no gas, no bumpers, no plates, outrageous dents, and dragging mufflers. To them, a car represents status and mobility.

I long to find a community of writers, thinkers, dreamers, and entrepreneurs, in Louisville, who don’t mind riding the bus. In cities such as Los Angeles and New York, this is the norm. As a budding entrepreneur, the expense of a car is not a priority, as I set my sights on a house, and an office space. I choose to invest in things that would give me a return on my hard earned change. This train of thought has made me an alien to the Louisvillians who cherish their rides, regardless of the expense. Because I ride the bus, I feel more connected to the city and the people. My view is expanded as I take in the sights of Louisville, which I feel would benefit from more enlightened and progressive straphangers.

The West

The route has become a lesson in P.R.E (Politics, Race, and Economics). Tarc, which is the company that manages Louisville’s public transportation, goes on to state that the 23 operates on Broadway from Shawnee Park through downtown Louisville, then over Baxter Avenue and Bardstown Road though the Highlands. Alternating trips operate to…Hurstborne Parkway, to Newburg. The route starts out at Shawnee Park, which sits in the city’s west end. The west end is populated with most of the city’s poor. The community is made up of grand homes that line Northwestern Parkway, single family wooden framed colonials, shot gun houses, liquor stores, community churches, dollar stores, and factories.

Phillip Morris operated a tobacco factory in the west end for half a century. Now the factory has been leveled and it will be replaced with a new retail and business park. This new development will house condos and lease space to new retail stores and businesses. This will be a far cry from the current commercial climate that resides over the west end. Currently, there is an abandoned Winn Dixie that takes up a whole city block and only two major grocery stores that serve the area. A small strip mall called Lyles Mall sits fifteen blocks from Shawnee Park. Some of its businesses include a barber school, a record store, and a beauty supply store.

A community bright spot, the Nia Center, sits inside the neighborhood and has been created as a hub for job seekers, community gatherings, the job corp., and small business resources. Currently, there are no major bookstores in a community where the youth are struggling to compete, academically. According to the Greater Louisville Project, The racial achievement gap permeates all levels. In reading and math, the majority of white and Hispanic students in the Jefferson County Public Schools score at proficient or higher levels, while the majority of black students score lower. The west end lays claim to the African American Heritage Museum, however, this new museum has suffered from ill planning, poor attendance, and low visibility.

The west end has been defined by some foodies as a food desert. This means that folk who reside in the area have little to no access to food needed to maintain a healthy diet; however the area is served by plenty of fast food restaurants. This is important to know since the current mayor has launched a healthy hometown initiative for a city where 59.6 percent of its residents are overweight or obese.

The west end of Louisville is where the great Muhammad Ali was raised. With all its grandeur and ties to a great west end Louisvillian, the Muhammad Ali Museum, a beautiful contemporary structure, was not even put in the west end. The community has received attention from local activists who are acknowledging the city’s disparities. City residents who need affordable and decent housing and communities find that they are somewhat locked into the west end. The Louisville Metropolitan Housing Coalition states that exclusionary zoning land use policies have promoted and sustained racial segregation in Louisville Metro by effectively prohibiting the construction of affordable housing.

As a teenager in the eighties, I remember the west end as being a place of possibility. New young professional black families considered it a somewhat decent place to raise their kids. The houses that outlined Shawnee Park were prominent and folk took pride in the neighborhood. Back in those days, the 23 rolled down Broadway, passing curb front businesses that sold artwork, rugs, purses, hot barbecue, and tennis shoes. There was the annual Summerfest that drew in national R&B recording artists, to another west end park called Chickasaw. The west end was the best end but now it’s just another urban neighborhood sucked up into the vortex of low wages, no jobs, and small opportunities.

Downtown

The 23 rolls through downtown Louisville passing landmarks such as the Brown Hotel, the Courier Journal, and the Heyburn Building. Down town has seen quite a few changes as the city works to create an image that is progressive and cosmopolitan. On a recent fieldtrip to the Brown Hotel, I was shocked to see that past menus that were on exhibition had offerings such as Plantation Cornbread and Mamie Fried Chicken.

Lately, I have never seen so many people flock to Louisville’s downtown. It has taken me some time to get used to folk who seem to enjoy the energy that makes up Louisville’s metropolis. I have to admit, I never thought of Louisville as much of a city. As a matter of fact, I left Louisville, because of that very reason. I spent my time in cities such as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and New York. I wanted to live in a real city, where there was real culture, and real energy. Where there was a true sense of diversity and where I could be appreciated as a new urban professional, thinker, writer, whatever. Often, when I tell folk that I have relocated from New York, they often ask me “Why did you leave?”

The heart of Louisville can be found in its downtown. As a child, I was scared of it. I felt disconnected from the buildings, the so called traffic, and the people. I can recall the festivals and fire crackers that would decorate the Belvedere. I can recall the Fourth Street strip, before there was the now famous Fourth Street Live. The strip was filled with stores such as McCorys, Dillards, and Bacons, and the now defunct downtown mall, the Galleria. All of these stores have since evaporated into thin air. Believe it or not, the strip was the only place where a man could get a pair of lime green Stacy Adams.

Louisville’s downtown has acquired a new identity and is seeking new and more qualified residents. If you walk down the strip, you will see little flag poles decorated with cloth flags that read “Possibility City.” There is a new initiative that is geared toward attracting more professionals to the Derby town. The Greater Louisville Project is a current endeavor that seeks to compose a greater Louisville in order to attract new families and outside professionals. The project believes that Louisville can become a great city via three major drivers; education, quality of place, and employment.

As Louisville seeks to improve its image, it still is hindered by old practices and issues. Some of the city’s black residents have often felt like they were never apart of the so called new image of the city. Some of the city’s black residents have complained of being harassed by police and business owners when they have ventured downtown. Good old Wikipedia goes on to state, Fourth Street Live! has attracted occasional controversy for its dress code policy enforcement. On August 4, 2006, a judge ordered two clubs to publish their dress code and apply it to “blacks and whites equally”. A federal judge eventually overturned the order to post the dress code, and found no evidence of racial discrimination.

Currently, there is a new case that has come up on the horizon, The Courier Journal states, in its article titled Makers Mark Lounge Sued, The former director of promotions and marketing for Makers Mark Bourbon House and Lounge at 4th Street Live has sued the bar claiming she was instructed by management to discriminate against African-American patrons.

The Highlands

When the 23 completes its journey down Broadway, the city opens up to the Highlands. As a writer and artist, I have always loved the way the Highlands welcomes inquisitives with its varied stores and restaurants. This is the closest I will ever get to my beloved Brooklyn, and I smile every time I enter the neighborhood. The Highlands is a mixture of young and old urban professionals, artists, and business owners. The energy here is higher than the energy that is being reinvented on Fourth Street. Places such as Ear Xtacy, the 24 hour Qudoba, and the 360, have become memorable landmarks in a neighborhood that celebrates creativity and individualism.

The Highlands is the fastest growing neighborhood in the city. Young families are comfortable nesting in this enclave of old historic homes and yuppie values. People are proud to live in the Highlands and the neighborhood boasts Cherokee Park, one of the most beautiful parks in the city. When I pass the Highlands on the 23, I have a strong desire to leap off the bus and wander in and out of the many stores, boutiques, restaurants, and galleries that choke up the block. Wikipedia goes on to state, The Highlands is an area of Louisville, Kentucky which contains a high density if nightclubs, eclectic businesses, and many upscale and fast food restaurants. It is centered along a three mile stretch of Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue.

Aptly nicknamed “Restaurant Row”, the Highlands is famous for its infamous traffic and noisy nightlife. As I pondered where I would live, I did not choose the Highlands because of the busyness. Instead I chose what I call a copycat neighborhood that resembled the Highlands without all of the fanfare, the Clifton neighborhood.

The Highlands does contain a certain level of diversity and this is witnessed via the many stores and restaurants. As people from other cultures are finding their way into the neighborhood, they are establishing businesses and melding into the landscape. Louisville’s population is growing due to an influx of new immigrant families.

The East

I consider myself to be a city girl and rarely do I like to venture out onto Hurstborne Parkway. I consider this to be “too far out.” A trip out to Hurstborne can try the nerves of the most seasoned bus rider. Rarely, have I ventured this far from the inner city. The last time I traveled this far, via 23 , was when I met someone “halfway”, who lived further out then Hurstborne. I remember getting off the bus and stepping onto some grass. There wasn’t much curb or a bus stop. I got the impression that in this part of town they didn’t welcome bus riders, and they were not trying make it comfortable for us either.

Hurstborne Parkway is a commercial thofare that contains a Super Walmart, Sprint’s corporate headquarters, hotels, a major bookstore, and upscale strip malls. It is the major shopping and business resource for residents of Louisville’s east end. The east end is associated with the middle class to slightly rich folk. I have nothing against rich folk; it’s just that, for me, the city loses some of its character due to all the new housing and developments. I am a sucker for an old house that creaks when the soles of your feet hit the hardwood.

The east end has created somewhat of a new city for itself, so that its residents don’t have to venture far, as it relates to shopping and entertainment. This new city has produced a state of the art movie theatre, posh restaurants, and its own police force. The neighborhood that surrounds the parkway is predominately Caucasian and prides itself on being exclusive. You have to have a car to live out here. I recommend it and I consider myself a staunch supporter of public transportation. The east end , as far as I know, will let you live within its boundaries, as long as you have the cash to hang with the big boys. The east end has been a subject of debate as housing activists work to penetrate the area’s tight zoning policies. The Metropolitan Housing Coalition goes on to state that in Louisville, Zip codes with 80 percent of land zoned single family had an average black population of less than 3 percent and a median household income of $59,309.

Newburg

Newburg is an outer lying suburb of Louisville. Because I am a committed city dweller, I have not had the pleasure of riding the 23 to this neighborhood. I have ventured out to Newburg as a passenger in a car, visiting friends and family. Newburg is steeped in history, as it relates to early black settlers and freed slaves. After the civil war, freed blacks bought land in the area and started farms (Wikipedia/Newburg).

My cousin lived in Newburg. Her family was part of the migration of black families that moved from the west end to a more settled and upscale way of living. Suburban sprawl reached the area by the 1960’s and it became popular with middle-class blacks leaving the city for the suburbs. The area remains predominantly black (Wikipedia/Newburg). My uncle Billy (her father), who was an R.N., lived on street called Quiet Way. I used to love to visit my cousin. She lived in a nice house, in a nice residential neighborhood. Crime was nonexistent and a sense of pride and ownership existed amongst the residents.

My aunt and uncle moved out the neighborhood in the early nineties. Things started to change in Newburg once the nineties came into full swing. Newburg became synonymous with gangs and crime and folk were fearful of visiting their own flesh and blood. Community leaders and activists have worked diligently, to improve the community’s reputation. With the help of the Library Foundation and community support, a new education and technology driven $ 1 million dollar branch library was completed and opened in August of 2009 (Wikipedia/Newburg). Many residents still celebrate the annual Newburg Day festival, which commemorates Newburg’s great history.

Transfers

To me, Louisville is a work in progress. It moves along, like the 23, steadily toward its appointed destination. Its passengers are a motley crew who are increasingly speaking in foreign tongues. Sure, there are cities that are years ahead of Louisville, the city has yet to introduce a subway, let alone a light rail system. I have a feeling though, that one day ,it will be the city of many possibilities, and I will be there to witness it, peeking out the big bus window. No doubt.

So...do you wanna know what's goin on in your city?...check out Louisville's Metropilitan Housing Coalition's special report titled 2010 Metropilitan Housing Report..click here to access it

The Tongue

2010-10-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

The Tongue

t. semakula

The tongue sits in one’s mouth like a neglected apparatus; its goal is to create. There is much to say about the power of the tongue. The tongue holds soo much prowess. Think about this tongue of ours, something so small, so loose, and soo hidden. The Bible summarizes the tongue as a spark, or a catalyst that if used correctly creates an abundant life. However if it is wielded in the wrong direction, it can compose total destruction.

The tongue is soo powerful that if we are apt to speak death over ourselves, without fail, we will find ourselves void of oxygen. So why is it that very few folk heed to this bit of wisdom that graces the pages of the greatest book ever published? We speak so we are. We speak ourselves into poverty, divorce, depression, loneliness, black holes, etc. We blame our situation on outside circumstances and forget that our tongue has spat out most of our destiny.

God was the first example, as to the power of speech. As the boom of his voice formed the word light, the earth became exposed to the glorious sun, the tint of the stars , and the huge glow of the moon. We thank God everyday for the light as there is not much that can be achieved once the sun goes down. Without the light we find that darkness creates the balance between start and stop, activity and rest.

There is power in simplicity. The tongue is a simple tool that sits inside the cavity of the mouth; it sits in between two layers of teeth and is held back by our lips. James who was Jesus’s blood brother states… Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. The tongue is the rudder that stirs one’s life, it would be mindful for us to know that the tongue carries more weight than ten thousand stones and has more power than one thousand volts of electricity.

So what’s up with all this tongue talk, aren’t you an entrepreneur? Yes I am, but as one who finds herself motivating others, I feel that entrepreneurs’, socialpreneurs, ministers and revolutionaries, need to learn how to tame the tongue. How can one achieve a vision that has not been spoken? Can we speak ourselves into a vision, a business, into success? Yes we can, however we need to start with the correct tools in order to bring things into fruition. You can compose a solid business plan, proposal, or sermon, but it will all mean zilch, if you have not spoken these things into existence.

Let your tongue be the compass that leads you to success. Let it guide you to those high places that sit just a little beyond the clouds. Speak well of yourself and others. Speak to the air and tell it your dreams. Speak success to your failures and motion to those things that have stalled. Speak life to death and speak joy to pain. Speak abundance to poverty and speak salvation to the damned. Speak fairness to injustice and speak love to hate. Go ahead, speak. What did you say?

Young, Talented, and Broke..But Not For Long

2010-09-15T11:51:00.001-07:00

Young, Gifted, and Broke ... (But not for long, the broke part that is)

By T. Semakula

(text in italics are compliments of Ms. Ariel Gore)

Ariel Gore hits the mark in her book titled How To Become A Famous Writer Before You Are Dead …You don't have time for rejection letter home improvement projects. You can't afford to sit Zazen while your cherished manuscript languishes in some nameless agent's slush pile. You got maybe a hundred years on this planet. Less if you smoke. And you want to be a lit star, man!

To be paid to write is like icing on a good knockout lemon punch cake. That's what most writers aspire to. We aspire to have money to pay our bills, to travel, to walk around New York City and not work around New York City. It's one thing when you work at McDonalds in Times Square, it's another when you are just piddling around after finishing off your novel and you just happen to have a taste for a nice Oreo Mc Flurry from the McDonalds that sits inside Times Square.

You'll need a bulletproof ego and a juicy humble core…I often think about the famous writer Zora Neale Hurston and how she used patrons to get her through her many creative pursuits. These patrons had taken an interest in her as a writer and researcher. She was able to secure an apartment here and there, a trip to Haiti to do some research on culture, and she traveled quite extensively. However Zora, who is considered one of the most brilliant and talented writers of our time, died alone in a small green house in Florida. Her unfinished and rejected manuscripts were burned along with a pile of her personal belongings in her front yard. The only thing that was left was a charred patch of grass and a woman whose bones were resting in an unmarked grave. It was apparent that the interest, that her patrons had in her, had evaporated. It took a decade and a half later after her death, for Alice Walker to pen the article in Ms. titled "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston."

When it comes to being paid for your art, some writers come from the good old school of hip hop- by any means necessary. Us folk, who were weaned on Tupac and Biggie Big, clung to the immortal words of Chuck D-Hip hop is the CNN for black folk. We formed our own networks, created our own means of communication, laid out our own cable wire via hip hop and street corner shout outs. Self –publishing, self promotion, making something out of nothing is the mantra that more writers are grabbing hold to.

Zora took the traditional route of sending out her work. She waited for folk to respond. She waited for folk to pay her in advance. She waited for folk to acknowledge her and keep her from obscurity. Sure, writers still take advantage of sending out their work blind with the SASE, but they are also learning how to promote and market their own work.

Most people would like to receive and smell the flowers that folk have brought for them while they are still alive. I am sure that Zora would have appreciated the much deserved respect and revenue that her creative ideas and pursuits have admonished. To be young, gifted, and broke is a punch in the face to any writer. It doesn't hold any ground as we enter the age of the internet, with advanced printing and media tools which are available to the emerging writer via their own personal computers and laptops. No more waiting for someone else to make it happen, sometimes you have to make it happen yourself!

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Passion!

2010-08-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from Buttafly's upcoming book titled How To Walk On Water (What It Takes To Be a Community Entreprenuer)....

Passion

You’ve heard that old lie, it takes money to make money. A lot of potential entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators have listened to this lie and have yet to compose a viable business, community organization, or venture that would have a definite impact on the community. They were told that they lacked the capital to get started. Keep in mind that they only focused on the monetary capital that may be needed to get things poppin. What about the emotional capital?

You need passion to start a business, a ministry, a nonprofit, a community organization, a movement, a cause. Wikipedia defines passion as an intense emotion, a compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something. So what is the thing that you are passionate about? What is the thing that wakes your lazy butt up in the morning and lulls you back to sleep? What is that one thing that you would do for free, regardless of the monetary rewards? What is the thing that you would work for, 23 hours a day, seven days a week? Can you think of anything? If you can, I am sure that within that thing, you will find your passion.

Passion is more powerful than money. As a matter of fact, passion produces money. That’s right. Passion produces money. Let’s say that a minister has a passion for youth ministry (however she has no money). So she devises a strategy to raise money for her youth ministry. She creates a free weekly blog (which is filled with her passionate mini-sermons and community resources) and she forwards her blog to everyone on her email list, Facebook Page, and Twitter Feed. She includes a donation button via PayPal and gives folk the opportunity to donate to her ministry via PayPal. Soon enough, donations start coming in via this blog. Wow, her passion produced the funds that were needed to get her youth ministry off the ground.

Buttafly's Services For Future Entreprenuers with PASSION....

Open publication - Free publishing - More workshops

Starlight..Starbright..In Search of Madonna

2010-07-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Starlight, Star bright (In Search of Madonna)

by T. Semakula

Looking for Madonna

Do you remember Madonna? She was the material girl that kicked it in thrift store clothes, lace hand gloves with the cut out fingers, mismatch earrings, and a fake mole. She was the one that sashayed across the stage in her lace drawers, worn out Doctor Martins, and a bullet bra. I remember Madonna, she had me hooked when she belted out Borderline and showed any respectful black girl how to wax poetic to an R&B cut. She was the New Yorker that was from upstate, an undercover Italian who was too cool for her hometown. She was soo fly that the diehard urban Nuyoricans claimed her as the queen of the city.

Looking in the Music

Can you find Madonna in the music?

Madonna has been traipsing around on a
new tour, selling out tickets, and performing in front of record crowds. There have been crumbs, to say the least, only memories of the Madge’s hey day. In order to bring her sound back to the forefront, she has partnered up with Pharrell of the Neptunes and has even returned to the street rebel R&B that put her on the map. I ain’t gonna lie, there has yet to be a hit that comes up to the standard of Holiday, and her anthem Papa Don’t Preach, would barely make a teen these days gasp with surprise.

So where is she?

It would be an insult to say that she has popped up inside the guises of Lady Gaga. Any diehard Madonna fan, would be quick to say that there is no comparison. Lady Gaga, the new Madonna? Yeah right. Madonna News states that Madonna has sued her number one competitor, Lady Gaga, for plagiarism for the song ‘Alexander’ similar to her hit’ Like a Prayer’. Lady Gaga says her intention was from the outset, to pay tribute to Madonna. Lady Gaga has been prancing around in all these ultra rebel costumes that are truly one of a kind creations. Madonna started out in dollar store scraps and made the look the desired outfit for most teenage girls during the mid –eighties. Plus, what is up with all that blood spilling out all over Gaga’s clothes during her performances, yuck!

I think I found her

Of course, Madonna has made her appearance as the somewhat laidback twice divorced mother of two. She has settled in to being an icon who has influenced many new performers who are willing to slap the word rebel on their foreheads. Sometimes I think I catch of glimpse of Madonna disguised as the confused artsy types who refused to give up their outdated army boots, crop tops, and leather spiked hand bracelets. These types consider the thrift store a new form of Macys and are committed to shoving up against the status quo. All things that Madonna stood for (freedom, expression, opportunity) seem to be available to those who are willing to seek it out. So I guess now, some of us are living Madonna. We don’t need to find her, she has found us. She is inside our hearts. She is living inside our dreams. She is there, the working class chica from upstate who made her dreams come true, once she hit the big city. She will never be lost. Never.

MADONNA Here

by MTK 6/11/2010

Came on the scene
“Like a Virgin”
For the very 1st time
Lighting up the stage

And her Fans
And the World (2X)

Was in Awe. . .

Then she became the –
“Material Girl”
Dancing to the Beat
We all fell for Her - -
Oh, So Sweetly. . .

“And the Beat goes On”. . .

As the years passes
As she grew - - Caring
For all the Children in this
World of Chaos & Confusion

Made a Home – Taking
Care of those in Need
Raising her Children with,
Joy and Loving Care. . .

Madonna, Madonna, Madonna

We Love, We Respect you always
For your spirit lighted the Path of Love
For All to Feel – To Know – To See
Nurturing the Children of this Earth. . .

Thank you

Welcome To Brooklyn!

2010-01-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome To Brooklyn !

by t. semakula

I love Brooklyn, it’s fat with culture ….from the dread headed Rastas, to the Ricans and Afriques that be poppin off in East New York. Daily, Brooklyn is housing former Manhattan refugees who got tired of the sky high rent and the turned up snozzles of the super rich. These new expatriates are happy to find a new residence in a borough whose motto states… in unity there is strength . I cannot hide my love for Brooklyn. I remember when I slushed from the Bronx to Brooklyn on the train. I took the four to the two, and was happy to shoot out of the subway to get to the library that sat across from Prospect Park.

Brookly is 2.5 million strong. It has birthed the likes of Jay Z, Spike Lee, Mos Def, and the one and only Biggie Big. It’s known for being a city that gives a new meaning to the word ethnic. When you arrive in Brooklyn, you step into a stew of folk that represent different countries around the globe.The International African Arts Festival is held annually in Brooklyn as well as The West Indian Day Parade Carnival and a host of other ethnic festivals, and parties.

Brooklyn has been able to pull off the ultimate heist, it stole the spotlight from Manhattan. Where Manhattan failed ,with its sky scraper rent and infamous lack of livable quarters, Brooklyn became the perfect compromise. Low rent, spacious housing, a good mixture of professionals and the working class, a fifteen minute subway ride into the city, and a fifteen minute subway ride right back out.

Brooklyn has not voted for a Republican in a national presidential election in the last 50 years… with its liberal values and ability to attract artists, freaks, families, and intellectuals. Brooklyn has been able to match, or in some cases, outdo Manhattan when it comes to cultural activities and resources.

But in the end…I heart Brooklyn. When I pass under the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Arch at Grand Army Plaza, or cop a beef pattie and some coco bread, I can’t help but think that I am home. Maybe it’s because I am a writer, an artist, a dreamer…and we are the folk that gravitate toward Brooklyn. We are comfortable, knowing that Manhattan is just around the corner, its borders pushing up against the bridge that took fourteen years to stretch over the East River.

Article Sources

Brooklyn.Wikipedia. (2010) 21 January 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn#Government_and_politics

What's goin on in BROOKLYN?

Uncle Luis's Brain Damage Open Mic...is poppin Off in Brooklyn!........

Who's The Cultural King Of BROOKLYN?

Learn More About Artist Danny Simmons on Global Grind

A poem by a poet that lives in Brooklyn

Metrocard

by Luis Bernard

Metrocard is a passport.

A seat between a thug Hare Krishna and a Muslim eating an egg roll.

Dark-skinned people sit in the front.

Window view partially blocked by a fruity Sunday hat.

Annoying symphony of needless cell phone conversations.

Fallen forgotten patriots extend dirty hands to beg for change.

Young lovers make plans on park benches inspired by the sunshine.

Luxury cars parked in front of the projects.

Pigeons take aim. Heh-heh-heeee.

Children begin grown portion of life by committing suicide with cigarettes.

Secret society of adults smoke addictively, huddled in alcoves on break time.

Private men bargain with public prostitutes.

Stilettos are from 9 to 5 now.

Rite-aid’s everywhere.

But babies are still pushing strollers.

Liquors stores on every corner until the streets only have 2 digits and the bodegas are extinct.

Rejected def poets stand on corners with signs that read, “Repent”.

In just six weeks life can include becoming a Paralegal,Getting a G.E.D.,Speak EspanolHabla English,And have great-looking Dr Zizmor skin.

Young boys replace penises with handguns.

The homeless get younger.

The return of the space cowboy.

Direct T.V. forest’s litter low income housing rooftops

Minstrels still beat buckets, beat box and break dance on cardboard without blackface.

People rushing to get home to sit down.

Big Ballers Shot callers with escalades carefully counting out single dollar bills for a order of wings and fries.

Ghetto kids get rich and buy symbols of status quo from those who stole their ancestors in order to show successful they are.

Suburban kids try to show how hip they are by trying to look poor.

Hollywood elite stroll down 125th with the lastest must have accessory…African orphans

Monochrome niggers who eat barbaque chicken with a knife & fork.

Abused women who do not leave because they still believe that when the sky is on fire that he can put it out with the sun.

Thugged out gangsters who be lamping & flexing rolex’s, but is of no value because it does not let them not it is time to put down their guns and pick up their babies.

Funny, always heard the roller coaster was the worlds greatest thrill.

Bored to Death’ Brooklyn Is the New Noir

Is Brooklyn the new noir...Click here to read more about it

Buttafly CAN help you write your own story about BROOKLYN...or about...Wherever it is that you live!

Are You the Next Bestselling Author? Let Buttafly help you develop that book that you have always wanted to write. Click here...to see how we can make it happen...

Buttafly Comes To The Light...

2009-10-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

Comes to the light

By T. Semakula

penda…

Will you comes to the light

kneel down …. on yo knees

Sali fo a poet who…. has no moon?

iii

teseka..only in expectation

drift..only in haste

Buttafly prays for Faith, Hope, and Charity

2009-09-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Faith
The center
We revolve around
If we...believe

Hope
That ridiculous
Notion
That it...might happen

Charity
What we
Give to others
When we...are empty

by T. Semakula

One of Buttafly's Favorite Poets/Jessica Care Moore

Read Her Bio as well as a pretty darn good poem by her
http://aalbc.com/authors/jessica.htm

The Alphabet Versus The Ghetto by Jessica Care Moore/ A good book for anyone interested in arts/hip hop education..a must read

Listen to Jessica spit some real poetry on her myspace!
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=313278101

Buttafly Communications and MTK Entertainment
presents
Sister of Da Soul Open Mic Series

Poet/Activist- Steve Bloom

LouisvilleGospel.Com is now accepting sponsors for the Gospel Slam, a Spoken Word Gospel event that was created as an alternative to Halloween. For more information please contact Tarsha Semakula, Senior Vice President of Marketing at 502-526-5780 or email at buttafly100@yahoo.com

Buttafly Says Knock Knock!

2009-07-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Door To Opportunity is always labeled PUSH...ANONYMOUS

How do you knock down the doors of opportunity? Do you use your knuckles, your intellect, your influence, your faith? What makes it happen for you?

Help Buttafly Knock Down The Doors Of Opportunity ...Become a Community Partner!!!!

(all community partners will receive ten percent of the total workshop/s proceeds)

Buttafly Is Looking For Community Partners

View more presentations from Tarsha .

Listen to the Knock Knock Music Player!

PLAYER HAS BEEN DISABLED

Come and join Buttafly for a writer's retreat on God's Acres

(only checks and money orders are accepted at this time)

Click here for more information.

Kickin It Old Skool

2009-05-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Kickin It Old Skool

by T. Semakula

The eighties. Blue Adidas with fat white laces, Gazelles, and furry white Kangols. Members Only jackets and painted on Sergio Valente. Crack was roaming the hood like a crooked cop, taking out aunties, friends, and mamas. Hip Hop gave birth to a new canon that spit out stars such as Slick Rick, Dougie Fresh, and Special K.

Nowadays, the eighties are considered Old Skool-the folk that used to rule this decade have faded like the memory of Rodney King being slapped with the police batons. Let’s face it, Micheal Jackson’s looking for a sponsor, Prince pushed past fifty, and sweet little Rudy, from the Cosby Show, kicked off her old persona, and portrayed a cracked out hooker in Tyler Perry’s latest blockbuster.

There is always beauty for ashes. The house of the eighties has burned down, but the frame has remained intact. Hip Hop found its heartbeat during the eighties, pumping out hits such as Paid In Full, Roxanne Shante, and BDP’s By Any Means Necessary. The Hip Hop elite are quick to pay homage to the pioneers that cropped up during this decade. Fat Joe claims to be LL Cool J’s number one fan. …I mean, LL Cool J is, you know, my idol in hip-hop and, you know, every time I rap, after I do songs, I be, like, 'I hope LL likes this. Back in the eighties, Mr. Ladies Love Cool James planted Def Jam on the map with hits such as I Need Love and I Can’t Live Without My Radio.

…crack, a cheaper and more potent offshoot of the drug (cocaine), turned the inner cities into war zones

Crack made the hood the new location for warfare. The battlefield resembled school playgrounds and street corners. Local dealers and gangs battled for the blocks that drew in the most revenue. The battleground was also in the living room. Children lost their fathers, mothers, and grandmothers. The hood became fat with skinny crackheads who bumped into children on their way to school. Jamaal Shabazz’s book, A Time Before Crack, chronicled via photographs, the hope and promise of black folk before crack moved in and shut us down.

This drug, that is smoked through a glass pipe or an aluminum can, caused black folk to wax reflective about their communities. It shined light on how fragile our neighborhoods were, be it economic, social, and political. It charged community groups and churches to stage marches in front of crack houses and dealers.

…My Adidas cuts the sand of a foreign land…

The eighties gave birth to a new term, urban wear. For the first time, fashion, homegrown from the streets, took over the runway. The look of Hip Hop and the inner city found its way onto the front covers of magazines. Fat laced Adidas, big hoop earrings, and blue jeans became the norm. The sneaker took over the loafer as the shoe of choice and even white boys traded in their Dockers for a white tee and a fresh pair of baggy Levis. The eighties made the look of the hood, fly, and companies such as FUBU, ROCA WEAR, and Phat Farm cleaned up on Wall Street.

The look is so potent that the corporate world screams bloody murder as they watch baggy pantsed job applicants sashay into an interview with a fresh pair of Jordans.

The eighties is no doubt the Old Skool. However, this skool opened itself up to a new global cannon called Hip Hop. The eighties taught us how to love and cherish what we hold so dear, when folk started folding under the weight of crack. The eighties gave the hood props for having its own style – just check out Kanye West, one of the new crop of Hip Hop bred ultra millionaires, kickin it on the mic, with a clean pair of Jays.

Article Sources

Fat Joe Says That LL Cool J is His Idol. Yahoo Music. (2002) 25 March 2009. <http://new.music.yahoo.com/fat-joe/news/fat-joe-says-ll-cool-j-is-his-idol--12057038>

1980’s.Wikipedia. (2009) 23 March 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eighties>

Run DMC. My Adidas. Raising Hell. Arista, 1986

MTK Entertainment 4 U and Buttafly Communications Presents
Sister of Da Soul Open Mic Series

Hosted by Marilyn Thomas-King
@ La Pregunta Arts Café
1528 Amsterdam Avenue (135th St.)
New York, NY 10031
Five dollars per person
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009/ 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Featured Poet/Writer: Cynthia Toronto

Check out Cynthia Toronto’s bio.....

CYNTHIA TORONTO, a California transplant, is a seasoned character actress who has appeared in most mediums including stage,film, television, voice-overs, radio, video, and nightclubs. She is versatile, having developed original productions and performed extensively in experimental theatre, theatre for young audiences, dance theatre, and improvisation-based-on-audience suggestion companies on both coasts, as well as stand-up, sketch comedy and as a singer/lyricist in alternative rock music bands.

Recognized as a forerunner of cutting-edge Spoken Word Performance on the West Coast, she has pioneered a form combining elements of poetry, music, theatre and media in work that portrays unique glimpses of urban life. Her poetry has been called ‘jolting, shocking, Dr. Seuss-like, relevant, profound, and often hilarious’. An award-winning poet, she has written eight books of poetry and been published in several anthologies and literary magazines, as well as being featured in three documentaries on Los Angeles poets. She has also been featured in several New York poetry venues including, Four Horsemen and Pink Pony readings at The Cornelia Cafe, The Bowery Poetry Club, Brownstone Poets, Stark, Nomad’s Choir, The Green Pavillion, Gathering of the Tribes, Time Out/Shout Out and the national Poets for Peace readings amongst others.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Theatre from New York University, and as a Teaching Artist, has created and implemented performance education programs in residencies sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts, The California Arts Council and Arts Alaska, in addition to public and private schools, and arts/community organizations in California and New York. For the past seven years she has taught at several colleges in the greater New York area, including Spoken Word Performance at New York University; and currently teaches Acting and Speech as an Adjunct Professor at City College of New York and Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York sites, as well as continuing to perform her solo shows and pursue an acting career.

To book Ms. Toronto for an event, performance, etc email her at ct347@nyu.edu.

Buttafly Is Looking For Community Partners

View more OpenOffice presentations from Tarsha .

Are You Connecting The Ten Black Dots?

2009-04-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Buttafly is Connecting The Ten Black Dots with Tracey Bond!

Mt. Hermon Baptist Church with Psalm 100/Mixed Media/Artist- Tracey Bond

"Art is literacy of the heart" ~ Elliot Eisner

I have been drawing since I was five years old…these are the words of the amazing artist, Tracey Bond, a Bronx born fellow creative soul , who has kindly given up some of her precious time to sit down and talk to Buttafly.

Buttafly- So who or what inspired you to become an artist?

Tracey- It was my mother who encouraged me to pursue my art. She pushed me to apply to a high school that was focused on developing young artists . Tracey attended Laguardia High School of the Arts which is also affectionately known as the Fame School. It was my mother who made me take my artmaking more seriously. I am glad that I listened to her, at Laguardia I was inspired by the other artists/creative folk . It was an amazing experience.

Buttafly-What mediums have you worked in, or feel most comfortable working in?

Tracey- I work with acrylics because I work in layers and the acrylic paint dries faster. I have used other mediums such as pastels and color pencils. I also dabble with computer graphics to help with the design of my personal line of greeting cards.

Buttafly- Your influences?

Tracey-The impressionists because of the technique. Vincent Van Gogh, because you can see his emotions through his paint strokes. In addition, the visual artists from the Harlem Renaissance did a good job depicting the lifestyle of African Americans.

Check out Gusteave Caillbote's Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum " Impressionists Paintings From Paris To The Sea"- March 27–July 5, 2009....

”An artist is not paid for his labour but for his vision.” --. James MacNeill Whistler

Basketball/Acrylic/Artist-Tracey Bond

Buttafly-What do you think is the greatest challenge/s that artists face today?

Tracey-Getting started…getting your feet wet…. What is the plan for an artist when they graduate from high school, art school? It's important to break the stereotype of the starving artist. With the ability to keep up your momentum mixed with self motivation and confidence , you are sure to make it as an artist. There was a well known greeting card company (who shall remain nameless) who rejected me as an artist. I decided to create my own line of greeting cards (Cards Made In Faith). Basically, if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will.

Buttafly-As an artist, what do you see yourself doing five years from now?

Tracey- Enjoying life as a fulltime artist….conducting art therapy …..using art as a way to healing.

Praise/Acrylic/Artist-Tracey Bond

"All art requires courage" ~Anne Tucker

Self Portrait/ Tracey as a Masai Princess/Oil Painting/Artist-Tracey Bond.

Check out Tracey's Blog which features more of her beautiful artwork

Check out Tracey's Online Gallery

What Can You Make With Ten Black Dots?

Tracey Bond is offering a wonderful new workshop via Buttafly titled "What Can You Make With Ten Black Dots?" The Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews serves as a catalyst for this workshop that is geared toward students who would like to explore their imagination through literacy. Students will be able to create artistic responses via their artmaking. Via this workshop, students will increase the following:

Physical Development: Utilizing their fine motor skills, cutting and pasting.
Cognitive Development: Solving problems, using numbers and counting, applying knowledge
Language Development: Expressing self, participating in conversations, asking and answering questions.

To inquire about or book this workshop email Buttafly at buttafly100@yahoo.com

Tracey's Bio

Tracey Bond is a freelance artist/ Illustrator who was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Tracey attended LaGuardia High School of the Arts as an art major. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Tracey has created an original line of greeting cards called ”Cards Made in Faith”. Her paintings have been published for “Cricket” magazine for children. Tracey is currently exhibiting at The Creole Restaurant, Music Supper Club, and The T&J Bakery Café in New York City.

MTK Entertainment 4 U and Buttafly Communications Presents
Sister of Da Soul Open Mic Series

Hosted by Marilyn Thomas-King
@ la pregunta arts café
1528 Amsterdam Avenue (135th St.)
New York, NY 10031
Every fourth Wednesday of the month
Five dollars per person
April 29 , 2009/ 7:30 p.m.-9:30p.m
Featured Poet/Writer: Robery Gibbons
Contact Info
Sister_of_the_soul@yahoo.com
347-431-7617/ 646-203-7464
Directions/Take the 2, 4, 5 to 125th, transfer to the M100 to 135th and Amsterdam/Take the 1 to 137th and College Station

The City Curriculum

2009-03-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

The City Curriculum
By
Tarsha Semakula

Instead of pouring knowledge into people’s heads, you need to help them grind a new set of eyeglasses, so they can see the world in a new way
-John Seely Brown

So, what is your curriculum? This is the question that is usually asked when I tell folk that I homeschool C. Breezy. …I create my own. I am more of an eclectic unschooler. I find ways to reach my daughter via inspiration, her interests, and the jewels that we find along the way as we canvass, the city.

The essence of intelligence is skill in extracting meaning from everyday experience
–Unknown

Sure, I checked out the state standards in regards to assisting me with the subject matter. I used the standards as a back drop to what C. Breezy and I needed to accomplish for the school year, then I moved on.

It’s off to the city. There’s our usual jaunt to Brooklyn’s Central Library. Last week, we went there to research info about creating pie charts to compare the economy of each of New York City’s five boroughs. There’s the geography lesson that compliments our jaunt. We map out our route from central Harlem to Brooklyn, survey the subway maps, and plan out our strategy. We take the one train from 137th and Broadway and transfer to the two train at 96th street. We know once we get to Brooklyn, we’re gonna cop us some beef patties and coco bread.

The library was built to resemble a huge open book. The inside is filled with three floors of texts. On the second floor there’s a room stuffed with wifi users. We usually park ourselves in there. Before we make it to the wifi room, we check out the exhibits that the library has ongoing. Currently, in the library’s grand lobby is an exhibit by artist Lucille Nurske titled “ Beautiful Brooklyn- Collages that celebrate the city.” I’m inspired and make a note to start a new art project with C. Breezy…hmm…collages about everyday life in Harlem?

We like to take fieldtrips to the Social Science library in Manhattan. C. Breezy reminds me that this library was famous for the part it played in the movie The Day After Tomorrow. Jake Gyllenhaal and his classmates were trapped inside it after New York City is taken over by global warming.

The route to this library opens itself up for a study in Art, Greek Mythology and Architecture. On our way to the library, we pass through Grand Central Station and look up to admire the beautiful blue and gold painted backward mural of the zodiac which looms over the commuters’ heads. In the library, there is a photography exhibit by Stephen Duponts titled “Afghanistan, or the Perils of Freedom.” C. Breezy is impressed because she is a photographer as well, her collection is on view at Photobucket and her My Space photo gallery. Duponts’ pictures give us a glimpse into the lives of the Iraqi people, as they live through a war that is still ongoing. I am amazed at how the photographer was able to get so many Iraqi people to sit for portraits with their guns, and farming tools.

While there, we also check out the Map Room. I requested that we look at maps of our neighborhood. We are supplied with maps that were created in 1911 (fire insurance maps) and we compare these old maps with current maps of our neighborhood. C. Breezy discovers that the public school that sits behind our apartment building was once an orphanage. However, the neighborhood is laid out with the same stone apartment buildings and even in 1911 the one train ran alongside Broadway.

On our way back home from our jaunts, we usually are witness to impromptu performances of young men dancing or getting light in the subway isles. I notice that sometimes, their laceless Adidas are spray painted gold.

No week of feildtripping is complete without a trip to the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. We step into the huge center and set our eyes on Williams and Sonoma, famous for its seasonal culinary tools, gadgets, etc that are being sold in the store’s pimped out kitchen. The second floor of Williams and Sonoma is dedicated to interior design. This floor is a study in color, art, and creativity. The second floor of the Time Warner Center houses an open art exhibit, the Cartoon Network Store (filled with cartoonists’ original drafts and sketches), and a busy bookstore. In the bookstore, C. Breezy discovered a new series of fiction geared toward urban teens called Tru. She just finished Jaded by Monica McKayhan and is now reading Hustlin by L. Devine.

The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet. -Lord Chesterfield

When there’s no fieldtrip, C. Breezy and I usually hit it over to La Pregunta, an arts café that sits around the corner from my house. It’s the closest thing that she gets to a classroom. C. Breezy sits in there with her laptop, revising her essays, researching via the net for an upcoming project or listening intently to a You Tube math tutorial.

I admit, sometimes in the café, we people watch. Let’s face it, Manhattan is famous for the cast of characters that roam about in the city. Since the café sits across the street from City College, we get to listen to impromptu student meetings, college professors gabbing about their courses, or watch patrons munch on the café’s famous revolutionary sandwiches.

I am often questioned about how C. Breezy is learning to be social. I think about the many people we encounter and converse with as we trump through the city and I let out a sigh. C.Breezy is a member of a church peer group that meets on a regular basis. Her peer group assists her with learning to socialize, network, and develop appropriate social skills. I am happy to say, via her city unschooling, that my daughter is not only confined to socializing with teens, she also networks with adults, the elderly, and folk who live in different parts of the globe. Recently, we attended an event for entrepreneurs held at Columbia University’s Low Library. The speaker for the evening was Susan Taylor, editor emerita of Essence Magazine. C. Breezy and I had a chance to meet her in person, and I am proud to say that my daughter did a wonderful job socializing with Mrs. Taylor and the other entrepreneurs who attended the event.

I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.
-Eartha Kitt

As a trained middle school language arts teacher, homeschooling, via city unschooling, has proven to be a journey dedicated to ingenuity, unlimited resources and a new perspective on what is considered educational. This new perspective has not only me but my daughter looking at and experiencing the world in a totally different way. The curriculum is not only seen as a set of books or texts with themes interspersed for comprehension, but now curriculum is seen as living breathing moving parts of a city on the move. It’s a collection of portraits in a library, a series of workshops at a museum. It’s a conversation with a tourist visiting from Canada or an ad hoc performance of break dancers kicking it on the corner of 42nd and Seventh Avenue.

Buttafly offers a wonderful workshop for those young city dwellers who love to write about their neighborhoods.

The Urban Planners Writer’s Workshop- What’s going on in your students’ neighborhoods? Have they ever written a letter their city councilman? What are some things, if any, that they would like to change about their neighborhoods? Have they ever considered composing their own neighborhood proposals? They’ll take a look at the dynamics of a neighborhood, while at the same time developing creative and critical compositions that explores the question, how can we make our neighborhoods a better place to live?

To inquire about or book this workshop please click here

Sister of Da Soul

2009-03-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Buttafly asks, are you a sister of da soul? This question applies to anyone-man, woman, or child. Are you a companion to the things that lie in our innermost regions? Are you a sister to hope, life, love, success, and dreams?

MTK Entertainment 4 U and Buttafly Communications Presents

Sister of Da Soul Open Mic Series

Hosted by Marilyn Thomas-King

@ la pregunta arts café

1528 Amsterdam Avenue (135th St.)

New York, NY 10031

Every fourth Wednesday of the month

Five dollars per person

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009/ 7:30 p.m.-9:30p.m

Featured Poet/Writer: Tarsha Semakula

Contact Info

Sister_of_the_soul@yahoo.com

347-431-7617/ 646-203-7464

Directions/Take the 2, 4, 5 to 125th, transfer to the M100 to 135th and Amsterdam/Take the 1 to 137th and College Station

MTK Entertainment 4 U

http://www.buttafly.4t.com/

There are Queens and there are Kings!

Ms. Marilyn Thomas-King- Marilyn Thomas-King is an accomplished, published poet and visual artist

who is the founder of MTK Entertainment 4U- A company that provides quality entertainment via the avenues of performance, published texts, and video/media . Ms. King has been published in the anthology titled Quilted From The Heart: Voices From Within. She is a featured poet at Starks Open Mic in downtown Manhattan and is the Co-founder and Host of Sister of Da Soul Open Mic Series. To book Ms. King for an event/workshop, or to inquire about or book MTK Entertainment 4U...email her at sister_of_the_soul@yahoo.com

Listen to the soulful sounds of Ms. India Arie

http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#india%20arie/2

Buttafly loves the wonderful poetry of this poetic soul sister.....Ms.Wanda Coleman

In That Other Fantasy Where We Live Forever

we were never caught

we partied the southwest, smoked it from L.A. to El Dorado

worked odd jobs between delusions of escape

drunk on the admonitions of parents, parsons & professors

driving faster than the road or law allowed.

our high-pitched laughter was young, heartless & disrespected authority.

we could be heard for miles in the night the Grand Canyon of a new manhood.

womanhood discovered like the first sighting of Mount Wilson

we rebelled against the southwestern wind

we got so naturally ripped,

we sprouted wings,

crashed parties on the moon, and howled at the earth

we lived off love.

It was all we had to eat

when you split you took all the wisdom

and left me the worry

Wanda Coleman

In regards to sisterhood, let's support displaying positive images that show our sisters in a good light.

Click here to find out how you can help support this cause

Superstar!!!

2009-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

Please note that Buttafly Arts will be promoted via this blog throughout the summer, God Bless. For more info about Buttafly Arts, click here.

Superstar

by T. Semakula

(dedicated to Luis Bernard)

There is a poet who throws words up into the sky

And lets them sit there to float like stars

He spits metro psalms that fall out of his lips

There is a poet who moves the crowd with the shove of his vocabulary and his smokin list of demands

His glossary is tight with direct movement

His words give like a cheerful tither, in praise of his God, leaving room fo salvation

There is a poet who gives love with metaphor or a commanding stanza, or a toxic free verse, or an electric sonnet set to my heart’s pentameter

There is a poet who lives like a floating haiku, an aggressive rhyme, a potent shout out, a slow moving song

Ohh.. there is a poet, who , like Jill Scott said… was born and will die a poet,

Who wakes up, invisions, and sleeps a poet,

Who moans and cries a poet,

Who chisels and crafts a poet

Who inhales and breathes a poet

Who returns and leaves a poet

Who births and raises other poets

Who sets planets in order

University of Liverpool Superstars Project aims to provide you with the information and support to enable you to take your education further....

For those of you who would like to work with a Superstar one day, Buttafly Arts offers a wonderful workshop titled "Project Cinema"

Check out theses Adidas Superstars along with an article "The Top Earning Young Superstars."

Life is Beautiful!

2009-01-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

Life is Beautiful !!!!!!!

Life is beautiful...from the swearing in of a new brown President.... to the hope and promise of a new year. The year has started with a new film that focuses on a hip hop artist who was known to be notorious, along with a new cadre of ideas and workshops that are being offered via Buttafly.

Buttafly is offering a beautiful workshop for teachers who are interested integrating the arts into their curriculum.

Teacherbo

These two-hour workshops are geared toward teachers and or school communities who would like to integrate the creative arts into the teaching of Language Arts. Participants will be provided with workshop materials and resources that can be integrated into the instructional curriculum. To inquire about or schedule one of these workshops please click here

Listen to India Arie's Beautiful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYFkjDu45Mo

The Miseducation of Buttafly!

2008-12-19T17:56:00.001-08:00

Lauryn Hill says…I treat this like my thesis..well written topics broken down into pieces….. Buttafly imparts it knowledge of the curriculum that truly matters, so there will never be an issue of miseducation.

School

T. Semakula

Now I'm in da Spot where I wanna be

Craig Mack spittn flows on a crude track

Mouth hoopin inside vacant bus stops

Queen Laf, the word grand dame, clockin unity fo the brothas

Street poetics, the new urban cannon

Slow/fast alphabetic grooves, pushin the genius of the coloreds

Listen to the sound of miseducation!

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Buttafly offers a workshop for those students who need to utilize a curriculum that speaks 2 da people.

The Hip Hop Project

The Hip Hop Project- (Performance Component) From the mc’s to the b-boys, students explore the hip hop culture. What are the components that make up their own personal hip hop world? How can they use hip hop to strengthen their individual or collective voices? Can they compose a critical response to the issues that the hip hop culture addresses within its’ music and various art forms? Whether your students are regular students or average everyday day hip hop heads, it’s time to make some collective noise via poetry (rhyme), a little spoken word, and on the serious tip, some serious composition (essays) that will get their minds to thinking about the issues that are facing our young people today. Word!

To schedule or inquire about this workshop please click here

Young, Gifted, and Broke…..but not for long…..the broke part that is

2008-12-12T15:04:00.001-08:00

Young, Gifted, and Broke ... (But not for long, the broke part that is)

By T. Semakula

(text in italics are compliments of Ms. Ariel Gore)

Ariel Gore hits the mark in her book titled How To Become A Famous Writer Before You Are Dead …You don't have time for rejection letter home improvement projects. You can't afford to sit Zazen while your cherished manuscript languishes in some nameless agent's slush pile. You got maybe a hundred years on this planet. Less if you smoke. And you want to be a lit star, man!

To be paid to write is like icing on a good knockout lemon punch cake. That's what most writers aspire to. We aspire to have money to pay our bills, to travel, to walk around New York City and not work around New York City. It's one thing when you work at McDonalds in Times Square, it's another when you are just piddling around after finishing off your novel and you just happen to have a taste for a nice Oreo Mc Flurry from the McDonalds that sits inside Times Square.

You'll need a bulletproof ego and a juicy humble core…I often think about the famous writer Zora Neale Hurston and how she used patrons to get her through her many creative pursuits. These patrons had taken an interest in her as a writer and researcher. She was able to secure an apartment here and there, a trip to Haiti to do some research on hoodoo, and she traveled quite extensively. However Zora, who is considered one of the most brilliant and talented writers of our time, died alone in a small green house in Florida. Her unfinished and rejected manuscripts were burned along with a pile of her personal belongings in her front yard. The only thing that was left was a charred patch of grass and a woman whose bones were resting in an unmarked grave. It was apparent that the interest, that her patrons had in her, had evaporated. It took a decade and a half later after her death, for Alice Walker to pen the article in Ms. titled "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston."

When it comes to being paid for your art, some writers come from the good old school of hip hop- by any means necessary. Us folk, who were weaned on Tupac and Biggie Big, clung to the immortal words of Chuck D-Hip hop is the CNN for black folk. We formed our own networks, created our own means of communication, laid out our own cable wire via hip hop and street corner shout outs. Self –publishing, self promotion, making something out of nothing is the mantra that more writers are grabbing hold to.

Zora took the traditional route of sending out her work. She waited for folk to respond. She waited for folk to pay her in advance. She waited for folk to acknowledge her and keep her from obscurity. Sure, writers still take advantage of sending out their work blind with the SASE, but they are also learning how to promote and market their own work.

Most people would like to receive and smell the flowers that folk have brought for them while they are still alive. I am sure that Zora would have appreciated the much deserved respect and revenue that her creative ideas and pursuits have admonished. To be young, gifted, and broke is a punch in the face to any writer. It doesn't hold any ground as we enter the age of the internet, with advanced printing and media tools which are available to the emerging writer via their own personal computers and laptops. No more waiting for someone else to make it happen, sometimes you have to make it happen yourself!

Buttafly's recommendation for those word warriors who need to get their hustle on!

Another recommendation for those who want to think and earn a living outside the box!

Buttafly offers a wonderful workshop for those who like to color outside the lines.

Tailor made Workshops (Arts Education, Professional Writing)

Buttafly offers tailor made workshops for schools, vocational institutions, community, and educational organizations. We welcome innovative and progressive ideas as we feel that the arts should always be up to the challenge when it comes to pushing the envelope. For more info, if you would like to schedule or inquire about this workshop click here

pushin...
By T. Semakula

low Southern Creole

creepin

pushin fo the hustle

Buttafly's searchin fo Peace!

2008-12-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

God and Love

God, giving instructions for the moon....
Love, a consistent concerto trudging through the metro alley

a constellation

a constellation

of metro amazons

wanderers,

womb keepers

hovering over the secret codes

embedded in

moldy slave quilts

disciple

save me lawd

from my need to give love/On Saturday mornins/to poet laden Negrops

from my need fo red knee level dresses, afro picks, and rastas

from the psalms of the metro

sees's I believes in Gawd

and black folks who wear Afros

and youths who pants sag more than their allegiance to Tupac and Biggie

and syllables rhythmically timed to word revolts

and skin blacker than Mrs. Katie's pupils

yes'm jee sus here are saints

who fell ova dead negras

who put brown suga and butta in they oats

who steer shiny blue caddies

who barbecue rib slabs behind urban shacks

oh my save yah, I wud die

fo the pain of laid out folk

fo the one's who shows them how to act

fo them peoples who try to be as they should

fo the love of you

flowspot

point mis s ing

contingent cunning

love for the thought

of being love touched

by the ultimate

I's need that spuka spark

to float on up

Mr. man e ess

cap the strength

the condition relentless

pursuing constantly

that desired privelege of choca women

The Peace Writer’s Workshop- (Exhibition Component) Have your students ever started their own Peace Campaigns? With this workshop, your students can take a stand on the issues that are affecting world peace. They’ll explore ways that they can use their writing to affect change, and hopefully, present effective solutions to some of the problems that keep peace from within their reach. So if your students are rebels, revolutionaries, or just plain old Joes, now is the time to let their voices become known. Power to the people! To schedule or inquire about this workshop click here

Buttafly's Call For Workshop Proposals Winter/Spring 2009

the temple builders

who built the temple

that held up centuries

of busted cavities

polished the altar

where women worshipped

the lies of safety

sutured the offerings

where hearts lay open

for constant intrusion

paid the tithes

that subsidized the whorehouse ministries

put jasmines in the baptismal ponds

where flowers float instead of flourish

sang the wimbos of praise

exalting the rape of bridesmaids

All poetry copywritten by Tarsha Semakula

Buttafly's Ode To Celeste.....

2008-11-24T20:12:00.000-08:00

The arts must be at the heart of every child's learning experience if…they are to have a chance to dream and to create, to have beliefs, to carry a sense of cultural identity.
---James D Wolfensohn, former chairman of The Kennedy Center

This post is dedicated to the youth who inspire arts education. We kick off this dedication with a special Ode to Celeste! Celeste, an amazing, inspirational ,creative, fourteen year old whose talents are only measured by the Hello Kitty stickers that cover up the front of her composition notebook. After Generation X, came Generation Ipod and Generation Myspace. With this generation, Celeste was raised, nourished, and guided. Celeste, who has amassed a friends arsenal of eight-hundred plus on her myspace, a collection of favorite photographs on photobucket, and a blog that expounds on the daily triumphs and grunts of a teen who sports pink Nikes with fat white and black laces.

Interview with Celeste aka Cece

Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Food: Pizza

Favorite Shoes: Jordans

Favorite Song: Stay In Love by Mariah Carey

Favorite Subject : Reading

Philosophy : Live ya life to the fullest!

Favorite saying: Shut up Doodie

Whatcha wanna be when yur grow up: A lawyer

Current Hustle- Vice President of Online Marketing, Web Page Design, and Correspondence for Buttafly Communications

Where yer like ta hang:

River Park Towers is a fun place to be. We call River Park Towers R.P.T for short. I have mad fun over there in the R.P.T neighborhood. My bestie is Vanessa. Me and Vanessa have a great friendship. We have mad fun when I’m there....We get live over there in the R.P.T Getting live means dancing. When I go over at R.P.T, I gets live . I am the livest person over at R.P.T

Getting Live in NYC !

Check out this video as Bizzy B and Smoove battle to see who is the best at getting live in NYC!

Goin home

by T. Semakula

I am goin home to no museums, cafes, bookstores, or creative outlets.

only to walls painted with tags by invisible spray paint artists

only to those who hip hop habitate

only to the sermons of the Baptist reverends, who whoop inside

swaying churches

only to the young folk who "get live" on the neighborhood sidewalks

their limbs, swaying against the tide

What's on Cece's Blackberry Pearl?

16 @ War by Karina

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjHZueHiMg

Cece's Bookshelf

Celeste the Eclectic!

Buttafly pays homage to those eclectic students who follow their own paths via a workshop we call, The Eclectic Writer's Workshop.

The Eclectic Writer’s Workshop- Get your students ideas on the page! Be it narrative... expository...creative... In this workshop, students will float through various genres, allowing the writing process to set the foundation for their compositions. In the end, they’ll have an established portfolio that they can do with as they please. To schedule or inquire about this workshop please click here.

Cece's Side Hustles

Cece's Blog

http://cecebreezy.blogspot.com/

Cece's Artwork

Title: The View Outside My Window/ Highbridge, Bronx

Medium- Pencil Sketch/Microsoft Drawing Tools

Cece's Photobucket Photogs

Opportunities

2008-11-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

Merriam Webster defines opportunity as... a good chance for advancement or progress.

Opportunity is what most folk strive for. At least that 's what I strive for. I strive for the opportunity to dream, give, and live. ...ts

Buttafly's Call For Workshop Proposals Spring/Winter 2009

http://www.buttafly.4t.com/box_widget.html

The Opportunity to Dream

Martin Luther King had a dream, and if I summarize it correctly ...it was for all of us to live together, peacefully.

Buttafly offers a wonderful workshop titled Project Martin,that allows students to create their own discourse about Civil Rights.

Project Martin- (Exhibition Component)-Students will be engaged with a modern day Civil Rights Movement. This project will allow students to develop their own speeches about civil rights utilizing Martin Luther King's policy of non-violence. Students will create a Civil Rights gallery complete with artistic and written works. (This is a good project to do during Black History Month). To inquire about or schedule this workshop click here.

The Dream Curriculum

The D.R.E.A.M. Curriculum is an educational program, that clearly lays out the road map for youth to set their own goals and take action to achieve them. It's easy to follow and easy to remember with its 5 Step/10 Lesson curriculum. D.R.E.A.M. uses a two-pronged approach, having the students set both a Community Dream as well as a Personal Dream, in order to show that the D.R.E.A.M. approach can be applied to any situation... Michael Davis & Fabian Koss Co-Founders, Reach Your Peak (The Dream Curriculum)

Learn more about the Dream Curriculum

The Opportunity To Give

The Nata Village Blog is a wonderful example of how a blog can serve as a catalyst for giving and social change.

Community Educators at work. Educating the residents of Nata Village about the issue of HIV/AIDS.

The Opportunity To Live

The Life Skills Curriculum

"National Urban Technology Center"

In our society, teens routinely witness shootings on the evening news and see their heroes and celebrities, like Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., being gunned down. They often think that violence is the only way that people can handle disputes. This module aims to stem the rising tide of aggression by providing awareness and tools to resolve conflicts non-violently.

Access the "Life Skills Curriculum"

Live Yah Life!!!!

Listen To Rihanna and T.I.'s Live Yah Life

Come check out T.Semakula at the following Open Mic

Sweetwater's Open Mic hosted by Michael Ralph and Dedee
at Sweetwater's Bar & Grill
Sunday Afternoon from 2:30PM-5:00PM 2576 Third Ave (at 139th St), Bronx

November 23

A supportive venue for developing artists of music and the spoken word. Dare to be yourself!
#6 Train to 138th & 3rd Ave
FREE DRINK TO THE FIRST 10 PERFORMERS TO SIGN UP!

Lessons

2008-11-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

“There are no mistakes or failures, only lessons.”...Dennis Waitley....American motivational Speaker and Author

Teaching, for me, has been more of a calling, then a vocation. For me, teaching represents ministry-work that deals with the soul and its push/desire for progress. Sure, as an English teacher,I had to deal with the basics like grammar, essay writing, nouns and verbs, and such. However, I started to realize that teaching was the ultimate vocation. You are in charge of others. You are in charge of what they learn, how they learn, and to a certain extent, what they do with what they learn. I could go and on and wax poetic about what makes a good teacher, however I believe that poem could never be written, as new ways of learning and being are being sought and discovered, every second. I will say this, for me, the best teachers have been those who have been able to give the best of themselves. The best of who they are and what they represent.... melds into their creative curriculum. Peace. T. Semakula

Lessons about FREEDOM

Popular "Misogyny" classroom scene in the movie Freedom Writers

Hands down, Buttafly picks the movie, Freedom Writers as on of the best movies about teaching and learning. This teacher was so brilliant. She was able to tap into her student's own personal experiences and she utilized it to catapult their potential. She allowed the curriculum to be developed via their personal struggles and triumphs. Their lives created beauty for ashes.

The book, The Freedom Writers Diary, inspired the movie. Erin Gruwell, the teacher who developed Freedom Writers has created a whole curriculum that revolves around the theme of Freedom. She has a foundation called The Freedom Writers Foundation. Check out the Freedom Writers website.

Lessons about TOLERANCE

Teaching Tolerance is a wonderful organization based in Milwaukee that is determined to influence the lives of today's youth. They have a wonderful initiative called Mix It Up that encourages youth to mingle with someone of another race, culture, etc, during their lunch hour. It's an amazing initiative that many schools are starting to become a part of. This is what Martin Luther King and others who fought for Civil Rights were trying to address. Let's come together folks.

Mix It Up!

Lessons about CHANGE

Buttafly teaches a wonderful workshop ABOUT CHANGE called Project SOS (Save Our School).

Project SOS (Save our School) - is your school challenged by gang crime, low achievement, or an environment not conducive to learning? This radical project involves the student body, school officials, and the surrounding community. Students will be engaged in utilizing their social capital to promote change within their schools. This project involves community organizing via proposals, letters to city government, and the creation of an SOS action plan. To schedule or inquire about this workshop, click here.

Buttafly's Call For Workshop Proposals Winter/Spring 2009
http://www.buttafly.4t.com/box_widget.html

Buttafly's Out and About

Come check out T. SEMAKULA at Sam's Soul Food on

November 23, 2008

HEY EVERYONE JUST A REMINDER TO COME ON DOWN TO SAM'S SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT & BAR - LOCATED ON
150/151 GRAND CONCOURSE IN THE BOOGIE DOWN BRONX FOR OPEN MIC FOR ALL POETS, SINGERS, DANCERS,
MUSICIANS WHO NEED A PLACE TO DO THEIR THING.

HOSTED BY APRIL M. JONES & MARILYN THOMAS-KING
FEATURE: THE DYNAMIC DUO HOBO BOB & OBISIDAN
FROM: 5 - 8pm

COME HOLLER @ US AND ENJOY!

SEE U THERE... MTK

Word!!

2008-11-17T05:39:00.000-08:00

Buttafly prides itself in creating a climate of power via the avenue of words, lessons, and opportunities. This post has an emphasis on words. From the hollers of the spoken word artists to the manuscript of a first grader, words have always symbolized the way in which we communicate. The better we are at words, per se, the better we are at reaching the masses, finding our way, and obtaining influence and power.

For those of you in love with word collages, there is a wonderful website called Wordle that allows you to make wonderful word collages to post to your blogs, websites, etc.

This is a wonderful curriculum for teachers who would like to teach on the power of words. As we all know, words can cut like a knife or they can soothe like a soft pillow and a warm blanket. This is a wonderful curriculum. To access it click here.

Buttafly teaches a wonderful workshop that involves text journals based on the topic of words.

*The Color Of My Words

(Lower/Middle Grades) This is a wonderful class text (fiction) that focuses on the importance of communication. Students will create text journals in response to the book that will contain info about the author, the setting, the text’s vocabulary, comprehensive activities that get at the book’s main idea, and the reader’s book review. * The classroom teacher can select an alternative text, however the text has to be purchased by the school. For more info about this workshop click here

For a review of this wonderful book by Lynn Joseph, click here

Buttafly's Call For Workshop Proposals Winter/Spring 2009

http://www.buttafly.4t.com/box_widget.html

Of course, we have to pay homage to our spoken word artists. The is a group of tireless cafe warriors, who pound the pavement , conquering open mics with their provocative use of language, lyrical machismo, and the unrelenting quality of speaking truth to power.

Wikipedia defines spoken word as... a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. Spoken-word is often done with a musical background, but emphasis is kept on the speaker.

NOVEMBER 19th
STARK!! OPEN MIKE for Poets/Musicians/Spoken Word/Wild Comics/Performance Arts/Actors
6:30 pm SIGN UP!!! PLEASE BE ON TIME!!
Located: WHERE EAGLES DARE 347 W. 36th St. - 13th Floor (between 8th & 9th Ave.)
New York City
Info: (917) 292- 2683
Featuring!!
APRIL JONES, Poet and Spoken Word Artist
DEMETRIUS DANIEL, Poet/Musician/Teacher
TARSHA SEMAKULA Poet/Singer/Writer
LYRIC, Poet and singer
RAFAEL PEREZ, Poet/Singer/Musician
JOEY SLADE, Comic/Singer
GORDON GILBERT, JR. The Romance Poet of STARK!!!
MICHAEL RALPH, Musical Director
Hosted by Viviana
Poets/Musicians/Actors Performance Artists/Comics An Open Mike for the Wild Mind!!
"If you're not close to the edge, you're taking up too much space!!
PLUS THE ZOO!! OPEN MIKE CHAOS ARE US!!!
PLUS DANCE!! to DJ VIV'S ROCK/SOUL/MOTOWN/DISCO& TECHNO/HIP HOP

Faith, Hope, and Charity

2008-11-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

Faith

The center

We revolve around

If we...believe

Hope

That ridiculous

Notion

That it...might happen

Charity

What we

Give to others

When we...are empty

by T. Semakula

One of Buttafly's Favorite Poets/Jessica Care Moore

Read Her Bio as well as a pretty damn good poem by her

http://aalbc.com/authors/jessica.htm

The Alphabet Versus The Ghetto by Jessica Care Moore/ A good book for anyone interested in arts/hip hop education..a must read

Listen to Jessica spit some real poetry on her myspace!

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=313278101

Buttafly Communications and MTK Entertainment

presents

Sister of Da Soul Open Mic Series

September 30, 2009

7:30-10:00 p.m.

Featured Poet and Activist- Steve Bloom

@ La Pregunta Arts Cafe

1528 Amsterdam Ave (135th St.)

New York, NY

(sign-up at 7:30 sharp for the open mic)

Hosted by Marilyn-Thomas King

Contact Info/347-431-7616/502-526578-

By Any Means Neccessary!

2008-11-14T05:32:00.000-08:00

Whatever it takes. As long as it gets done. I see that this blog is leaning more toward the inspirational side of things. Here is a wonderful link to an article about embracing success and how, utlimately, failure is the number one key to success. Peace and God Bless ...t.s.

http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/57/in-praise-of-failure/

New!!!! Outside/ Studio Workshops

Me Mask Essays- This is a wonderful workshop that will allow students to compose essays in response to their personal artwork. In addition, it's an opportunity for students to dabble in the arena of personal narrative via the process of art making. The masks will pose as a visual representation of each individual student's personality, beliefs, values, experiences, and culture. Ages 7 and up-Homeschooled Students

Location- Times Square Arts Center, 300 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036Rm- 401B, 5th floor

Date/Time- November 19, 2008- December 17, 2008- 2-4 p.m./ Meets every Wednesday, except November 26th.

Total Workshop Cost- 160.00 USDTrains: B, D, N, W, A to 42nd Street

Driving Directions http://www.mapquest.com/

Registration

To register for an outside/studio workshop/class- email us at buttafly100@yahoo.com and provide the following information: Full name, email address, name/date of workshop. Or you can fax the registration info to 1-866-713-1173 , Attn: Buttafly Communications or you can mail it (well in advance) to: Buttafly Communications 136 West 170th Street, Suite E1 Bronx, NY 10452.

Payment

Once you have sent your registration via email, you will be sent an invoice to your email address via PayPal. Once payment has been received, you will receive a confirmation email/invoice and you will be all set to start! If you choose not to use PayPal you may mail a check or money order to the above business address (well in advance of the workshop date).

Buttafly's call for Spring/Winter Workshop Proposals 2009
www.buttafly.4t.com/box_widget.html

Passione

2008-11-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

Passione.

During his first foray into Making The Band, Puff Daddy made a group of hip hop wannabes walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to cop him a piece of cheesecake. I thought to myself, that is stank, and if it was me who had to put my dogs to the pavement for the mogul, I would have quit right there. But years later, as I look back on the moment, I finally get the picture. How far are we willing to go to realize our dreams? After awhile, a dream has to pop into reality or otherwise it just fizzes out into the nothingsphere.

New!!!! Outside/ Studio Workshops

Me Mask Essays- This is a wonderful workshop that will allow students to compose essays in response to their personal artwork. In addition, it's an opportunity for students to dabble in the arena of personal narrative via the process of art making. The masks will pose as a visual representation of each individual student's personality, beliefs, values, experiences, and culture. Ages 7 and up-Homeschooled Students

Location- Times Square Arts Center, 300 West 43rd St. New York, NY 10036Rm- 401B, 5th floor

Date/Time- November 19, 2008- December 17, 2008- 2-4 p.m./ Meets every Wednesday, except November 26th.

Total Workshop Cost- 160.00 USDTrains: B, D, N, W, A to 42nd StreetDriving Directions http://www.mapquest.com/

Registration

To register for an outside/studio workshop/class- email us at buttafly100@yahoo.com and provide the following information: Full name, email address, name/date of workshop. Or you can fax the registration info to 1-866-713-1173, Attn: Buttafly Communications or you can mail it (well in advance) to: Buttafly Communications 136 West 170th Street, Suite E1 Bronx, NY 10452.

Payment

T. Semakula featured poet and writer at Where Eagles Dare on November the 26th

Location: WHERE EAGLES DARE, 347 W. 36th St. - 13th Floor (between 8th & 9th Ave.)

New York City

Info: (917) 292- 2683

6-8 p.m.

Buttafly's call for Spring/Winter Workshop Proposals 2009