What a fluid and melodic title for such mesmerizing and expressive music: Poetry and Languid Charm. This recording, a tantalizing masterpiece, is a compilation of taarab (poetry chanted over African and Arabic music), which was recorded in Tanzania and Kenya from the 1920s through the '50s. 
"Bring the Boys Home" has been bouncing around in my head for about a week or so. I’m hopeful that people in power will read this and heed the call. 
Yesterday one of my favorite blogs "Homeless Man Speaks," celebrated its third anniversary. The blog is the result of the relationship that a Harvard graduate developed with a homeless guy in Toronto named Tony. 
Join other single mothers to discuss your needs, hopes, and dreams for your family. Come to the startup meeting for a Support Group for Single Mothers.
I've been missin' out on the musical gold of satellite radio! I discovered a station called Backspin, featuring the pioneers of Old School rap/hip hop just a few days ago. I had forgotten how much I admired some of those rhythms and rhymes. Can you place these [...] 
I saw Michael Moore's latest addition to his opus on how America is swiftly going down the drain today and was far more affected by this film than I thought I'd be. 
I went thrift store shopping today and found this lovely "Cafe Terrace at Night" Van Gogh print that will look lovely in the dining area. As I was leaving my second thrift store for the day, I spotted the same print and had to [...] 
Here's a picture of my English as a Second Language class that met earlier today. We had a good time reading some Langston Hughes poems, including The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Dream Variations. The lesson was about the importance of using the correct rhythm and stress' [...] 
A few of the books that I read as a child have remained with me in my memory, my heart and probably in my writing. No writers made more of an impact on me as a girl than James Baldwin and Maya Angelou. Both spoke to [...] 
Gigi and I had a marvelous time over the weekend as we ventured over to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the first time. Since it's only 1 1/2 hours from Charlotte, Winston-Salem is a perfect day trip for us. 
Are you feeling overwhelmed as a single mother? Have you perhaps dreamed of sharing your childcare needs with others? What about holding a pow wow to create tutoring opportunities to help accelerate your child's progress in school?
I've just finished reading Yellow Woman and a Beauty Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today. It's an informative book of essays by Leslie Marmon Silko that explores such topics as the role of rocks and other natural elements in Native American culture. It also looks [...] 
Recently I was leafing through an old New York magazine from last Fall, looking for pictures to use for my ESL class, when I saw an announcement in the Nightlife section regarding a Terrence Howard performance with his band at Joe's Pub in Manhattan. I had [...] 
“This has got to stop.”
James 4:8 (New International Version)
Michael Jackson's passing has inspired me, along with millions of others I'm sure, to do a mental tally of my favorites by the gloved one. 
Gigi and her Grandmom and Granddad, Mary and Bobby 
If someone ever tells you that they're bored, you should respond: "You're bored because you're boring." Then smile.' [...] 
Here's Gigi at the end-of-the-school-year party and a school employee, whose chillin' in a lawn chair on the school's parking lot because she's retiring. Ah, the good life.
What a joy it is to be able to go to Youtube and search for some of my favorite songs by artists I admire and enjoy listening to. Recently my daughter and I enjoyed a song by the gifted Nina Simone that inspired me as a child [...] 
Something pulled me to the Final Call today. Perhaps it was a need to read a different perspective than that presented by the mainstream press (New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, etc.) And I'm also stimulated, education, and provoked to really think when I hear or' [...] 
Believe it or not, I sang with a live band last night and brought down the house!
"We don't see each other. We are blind to each other's humanity." 
"I want to sing like birds sing. Not worrying who hears or what they think."
I'm going to end National Poetry month with this lovely poem called "Like You" by El Salvador's Roque Dalton Garcia. I've been getting my ESL students to read English translations of poems by people from their native lands and I've had several of my El Salvadorian' [...] High Priestess
Toni Morrison gives a stimulating interview in The Nation's November issue. She talks a bit about her admiration of Barack Obama and her new novel, A Mercy. I love Toni Morrison. Like a few other female writers and performers, including Mariama Ba, Gloria Naylor and Nina Simone [...] 
This week I finished editing my first in-class project using Final Cut Pro. We used footage given to us by our instructor, along with some of Rza’s music from the Kill Bill soundtrack. The video clips featured apparent Latino gang members who are meeting up at some [...] 
Me Christian bredren, las ob all, A da tell ya, mus keep on da study bout jes dem ting wa good mo den all an wa people oughta gii praise fa. Study bout [...]
Hard times spreading just like the flu
Watch out homeboy, don't let it catch you
[...]
I convinced a man to buy my old Honda, even though it had a little smoke coming out of the hood, a bit of rust on the side, and the air conditioner was making a considerable amount of noise. [...]
