Thought of the Day

No matter how attached or how you may feel about a situation, you can't always go back. Things will work out better in the end this way.

Thought of the Day

Its a scary feeling not to be, but we weren't made to be fearful.

Thought of the Day

You were late because you say you got stuck behind the slow walker. Go around. I'm sure they'll look at you crazy, but climb over them if you have to. Excuses are overrated. Have to strategize.

Thought of the Day

In life we get consumed by our own. But any little amount of time or gesture toward a loved one in efforts to show we care, is more appreciated than you may know. That assurance is like food to the soul.

Thought of the Day

I just saw you talking to her at the bus stop, but you guys were waiting for 2 different buses. She got on, you just sat there collecting soot on your cheeks. Thinking what if I never see her again, I can't even call I didn't get her number. Best better regards to those that let life walk past them by.

Thought of the Day

Whatever success may mean to you, it has never been a sole effort to obtain it. People sometimes say it was them who got them to where they are. Who are you kidding? Everyone has to stop and ask for directions at some point.

Thought of The Day

Often the thoughts in our heads get lost in a sea of others. Self reflection is a great way to help us realize what works and what doesn't so that we can changes those things going forward. Take the time, its a great sanity saver!

Thought of the Day

I saw a program where a girl who was w/o both parents & homeless went to & graduated from Harvard. It isn't others who are to blame for us being discouraged & sitting on our butts. It is our own will. Why do we give up? Because its easier. Lifes's a tough cookie but you'll eat it anyways if you're hungry enough. Purpose over pride.

Thought of the Day

You can cross your fingers all day, but chances are nothing happens because of your fingers being crossed... Or by chance.

Thought of th Day

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. But once he does drink, it'll become routine in leading itself to the well.

Thought of the Day

If you believe in yourself, take responsibility for your goals. Your dreams won't appear out of thin air.

Thought of the Day

Strength is sacrifice. Strength is courage. Strength is beautiful.

Thought of the Day

Strentgh is sacrifice. Strength is courage. Strength is beautiful.

NEW R&B SINGLE by Ashely Laschelle

(Chicago, IL) - Abstrkat Konceptions & Limelite Music World artist Ashley Laschelle releases “Rooftop” off of upcoming album The Introduction.


Ashley is building a buzz in the Chicago area as the new voice on the R&B scene who is a professionally trained jazz vocalist. Ashley is quite familiar with showcasing her vocal talents, and is now ready to share them through her upcoming EP titled The Introduction which is set to be released winter 2010. She has been anticipating the release of “Rooftop”, produced by V. Mock (Tampa, FL) and Turrell Brown (Chicago, IL) as it will allow for a display and appreciation of classic R&B.

“I miss R&B. I want to bring some of that original R&B back.”-Ashley Laschelle
 
LISTEN TO "Rooftop" http://www.limelinx.com/files/030fc2aebb5154a16bd974d625748ba7
 
For informationa regarding upcoming shows follow Ashley on twitter @AshelyLaschelle or contact Rae Taylor 813.215.4439 or abstrakt.konceptions@gmail.com

Thought of the Day

Some of us work so long toward something it almost seems as thoug that becomes the goal instead of that which you wer originally trying to achieve.  I know its frustrating. But you'll appreciate it that much more when you get it.

Thought of the Day

Being the most careful people will still make mistakes. There's no way for you to know where each and every one of your steps will take you. Worrying yourself through situations won't guarantee a better outcome in the end.

Thought of the Day

Somehow blinders can move from our peripheral which gives us tunnel vision to the center of our immediate view of the things that are in front of us. Focus doesn't get lost, sight does. (

Thought of the Day

Rain storms clear up. Troubles only last always for those who believe they will.

Thought of the Day

If you can find yourself a select few people to surround yourself with that are positive and people that want to grow to better themselves and taking those steps to do something about it, well that's alright :-)

Thought of the Day

If your same old two step isn't working anymore, add a little boom boom kat.

Thought of the Day

Only strain and tension can support a hold on a thing that doesn't want to be held on to. So why get spiraled over something unbound?

Thought of The Day

I told a friend that I don't like gambling because I don't like to lose. They told me it wasn't that I didn't like gambling, it was that I didn't like losing. All is in order and although the course of our lives are not by chance, everything to US appears to be a gamble. Gamble, it sometimes leads to a win.

Thought of the Day

A thousand bits of paper bared the dreams of a girl. They were carried away by the wind. It will take quite some time to gather them all if ever them all be found. But the girl won't give up looking. She takes with her a roll of scotch tape everwhere she goes. Don't lose your dream to circumstance.

Thought of the Day

Seasons change and we all react differently to the changing of leaves, and weather conditions. Fall's so cold hope you got a little sweater. Our favorite time of year is soon to come back around. In the mean time know that no uncomfortable feeling lasts always. The sun will soon shine again. Rest In Peace Uncle Howard.

Thought of the Day

I often reflect on interactions I have with those around me. Emotions. Internal conflicts. And I notice trust isn't only an issue we have with others, but within ourselves. If you don't trust you, how do you expect anyone else to? Trust yourself enough to know you can make the right decisions.

Thought of the Day

A mother yells to her young son as he's running out the front door to go play outside; his friends are waiting and ready to go. She tells him not before he puts on his coat. And gloves. And scarf. And hat. You do have to do in order to do what you want to do.

Thought of the Day

We sometimes try to over compensate "doing big things" by having too much on our plate; often more than we can handle. It is far better to devote time to a select few things if that is what it takes to complete them to the very best of your ability. Quality is far greater than quantity.

Thought of the Day

I have class tonight... On opening night of the NBA regular season! How could this be. Ahh man I've been itching for some basketball! But I guess I'll go to class. You have to be scholarly even when you don't want to... People say it pays off. :-(

Thought of the Day

A person's potential can span the mass of the universe. Its disappointing to know that life can and does get hard at times. But remember, not to let life get the best of you. As long as the passion lit fire in your heart is the same, its never too late to tackle your greatness.

Thought of the Day

Positive energy is infectious and spreads like wild fire! Share a smile with someone today. The conscious gesture may make there day! :)

Thought of the Day

STRESS. We generally take the wrong approaach to it. Although there's enough to go around like those cookies that are the highlight of the annual office holiday party, we don't have to foster it into our lives. Don't stress the things you have no control over. You just might live longer.

Thought of the Day

I never understood why people can't come to a resolution or just let things go. Don't aim to conflict harm or wish misfortune upon another, because that won't be the end of it for you. In the words of Lauryn Hill, "Don't you understand universal law? What you throw out comes back to you, duh."

Thought of the Day

Never put all your marbles in one basket. As much as we may plan for something to go a certain way, life doesn't always workout accordingly. We have to prepare for the good that we anticipated but also the unexpected

Thought of the Day

‎​When you make choices that are a product of your thoughts and feelings, its like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. True happiness is achieved when you do for self.

Exploded Thought of the Day

This week I concluded that my life as a college student is more unbalanced than a checkbook. Everything overlaps, and its almost too difficult to remember what task was for what class, student organizations, work and outside activities. But as a college student, I also have to realize that I am an adult and have adult responsibilities and they're there will be times that I will be faced with tough choices. And yep, these too will require adult decisions.

Over the past couple of days, I've had to face the facts that I'm no super woman. So I've prioritized for the remainder of the semester with what will really aid in me becoming the person that I truly aim to be. Look forward to most updated including writings about art, design, community development and my personal projects.

Here's an excert from my current read, Maya Lin's Systematic Landscapes:

"Experience is compounded of feeling and thought. Human feeling is not a succession of discrete sensations; rather memory and anticipation are able to weild sensory impacts into a shifting stream of experience so that we may speak of a life of feeling as we do of a life of thought. It is a common tendency to regard feeling and thought as opposed, the one registering subjective states, the other reporting on objective reality. In fact, they lie near the two ends of an experimental continuum, and both are ways of knowing." -Yi-Fu Tuan

Thought of the Day

Thought of the Day: Focusing too much on the big picture may hinder it from reaching our grasp. We don't just make it to the big screen w/o taking the necessary steps to get there. We have to be able to tame our farsighted & focus on the process. W/o process, progress may never live.

Thought of the Day

Thought of the Day: As much as we may hate to admit, we can't wait for the present because its already here. But as real as it is, time waits for not even the royalist of kings. How long will you sleep with the light on before you realize you're only burning electricity?

Thought of the Day

Thought of the Day: You essentially lose a sense of who you are if you try to forget where you've been. How else will you know where you're going? These things about you are points on a road map guiding you to your destination. Don't scratch them in fear of how you'll be perceived.

Thought of the Day

‎​Thought of the Day: We can't expect everyone to understand what we may have had to endure to get to this point of our lives. Struggle isn't to be sympathized with, but admired anyway. All people can see is the now; what strength looks like. Maybe that is enough.

#NeoCon10 Keynote Reflection: The Design of Business...

Monday afternoon at #NeoCon10 Dean of the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, Roger Martin led a very  informative presentation with straight forward tools that are said to result in a successful design and business collaborative when implemented. The seminar is entitled "The Design Of Business: Why Design Thinking Is The Next Competitive Advantage". Jim Hackett, the President of Steelcase introduced Martin and in doing so states at some point that, "Design is a competitive weapon". I believe this to be true. Shortly there after, Mr. Martin is applauded to the podium and says, "There's thinking patterns in modern organizations that don't allow there to be as innovative as they would like". I also believe this to be true.

"Everything in life starts out as a mystery." -Roger Martin

So design is a competitive weapon, like a cannon with a bunch of ideas stuffed inside just waiting to be launched. Big corporations as Martin explains it are not so quick to jump on the bandwagon of new ideas because a new a idea does not have a proven record of being successful. Well of course big corp! Who can predict the future anyway? It is better to believe in the future with only the expectation of possibility. The deemed terms that Martin uses throughout the lecture to define these two very opposite methodologies are Analytical Thinking (the reliability factor) and Intuitive Thinking (the validity factor). The best of both worlds would be abductive logic (a creative lead of the mind and then testing the idea).

"Prove it, is the biggest destroyer of innovation, because you cant."

Because corporations believe that designers are a bit too free and designer feel sometimes that corporations can be fire breathing dragons, Roger Martin has strategized these 5 Productive Steps that are said to help the two industries of business and design come together and make magic:

DESIGNING In: Hostile Territory

1. Take design unfriendliness as a design challenge.
2. Empathize with the "design-unfriendly elements"
3. Speak the language of reliability
4. Use analogies and stories
5. Bite off as little piece as possible to generate proof

"The trick is to turn the future into the past."

Leveraging Design In Business 

1. Take inattention to reliability as a management challenge
2. Empathize with the "reliability-unfriendly elements"
3. Speak language of validity
4. Share data and reasoning not conclusions
5. Bite of as big a piece as possible to give innovation a chance

#NeoCon10 Keynote Relfection: Green The Ghetto and How Much it Won't Cost,

#NeoCon10 starts off this year's WTF with an amazing message from Majora Carter, an Environmental Activist  from the Bronx, greening one ghetto at a time. Cheryl Durst, IIDA Executive VP introduces the Keynote. She starts off by saying that Majora's presentation could set the tone for our day and possibly change our lives. Being that this was the first time I would be encountering the "force of nature" that is Majora Carter, I was all eyes and ears for the seminar "Green The Ghetto &How Much It Won't Cost". I would think the overall idea of it would be received by us awaiting #NeoCon10 attendees exactly how it sounds.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Majora's green mentality didn't actually take form until she moved back home after college. This was during a time where in the 60s and 70s, New York was heavily impacted by redlining, the method that big bank corporations used to weed out what neighborhoods they chose to  invest their time and money into building up and restoring... And the ghetto was not on the top of their lists, and probably a long shot from making it. After Zena, Majora's pooch, took her for a "jog" near the Bronx River one morning, the sight that she would see was as life changing as Cheryl Durst sought her presentation to be. What she was thrown in front of was a city dumping site that actually used the Bronx River as a final resting place. Her question was why and how had this been done to her neighborhood. My inquiring mine wondered the same, as well as, if so much energy could be given toward coming into the Bronx to dump waste, why couldn't the same amount of energy be put forth to build up the city?

A known fact: Because banks refused to loan into redlined areas in the Bronx along with very high unemployment due to exported local manufacturing jobs, led many landlords to torch their buildings to collect insurance payouts (via Majora Carter Group Communications).

And so the environmental activist was born. Majora's beliefs are that the ghettos are considered politically vulnerable locations, which has set them up for a long history of voiceless communities as a whole and a people that haven't considered the benefits of an environmentally sound...well environment. Also explaining why factories that pollute the air and manufacturers of hazardous materials are dead smack in the middle of low income housing communities.  Through the implementation of green solutions, Majora created this whole rolodex of ways to green the ghetto and at the same time educate those in the community; an educational system that is designed to help people create their own jobs.

Some of her many affiliated organizations include  Sustainable South Bronx, Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training (B.E.S.T), Majora Carter Group, LLC, American City Farms, and Uptown Girl Power.

I believe the best message of the whole seminar, and what could also be considered the platform for Majora's movement is that, "you don't have to leave where you are to live better"

Visit her Majora's official site for more info on her green journey http://www.majoracartergroup.com/

Mind Tide

Balance is foreign to me.

I take ease in an uneven paved ground.

Cracks in the sidewalk.

Pot holes in the road.

That creates a peace for me.

If at all I could keep my balance in a room where the only light was from that from a street post, slightly framing the window, and outlining the place on the hardwood that I would stand, from my heel to my big toe, 

My shadow would portray a figure of speech,

saying "Hello, I am who I am. A swaying, knee shaking, lip quivering me."

  

Inspiration: Cheryl Durst, IIDA Exec. VP & CEO

Meet Cheryl Durst, the Executive Vice President and CEO of the International Interior Design Association. She came to the Association in 1997 and has been working her way up the chains of command ever since.

 As EVP and CEO, Cheryl has successfully navigated the Association and its Board, through a serious debt crisis and 18-month financial turnaround, and has implemented policies, procedures and an operational structure that has put the Association on firm financial footing. -From the IIDA Board of Directors page

Learn more about Cheryl and her efforts and experiences as an Executive in her own words. http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/cheryl-durst

USGBC Opportunity

GreenBuild 2010 is scheduled for November 17-19th in Chicago. Registration is now open. Students and young professionals under the age of 25 have the opportunity to volunteer 8 hours of your time and receive free admission.

Register to volunteer early to better your chances! http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/volunteer

NeoCon 2010

NeoCon is right around the corner! Don't forget to register at  http://www.neocon.com/

And follow me and the rest of the Citizen Blogger team as we give up updates up until the day of and throughout the conference about products, exhibitors, meet ups and more! https://twitter.com/#/list/JusCallMeKL/neocon10-citizen-blogger

Speaker Shotgun: The Archandroid

I wish I were the speaker to this computer. It gets to hear all my favorite music before I do. Riding shotgun next to the speakers to @JanelleMonae. I haven't heard a sound like this from an artist in aHwhile. Her music, persona... This album makes me feel like Carmen San Diego... Where in the world?! I love everything about her! ArchAndroid album

Transcending the Frame

Check out a Fabrik Magazine feature of Architectural Photograhers Julius Shulman and Juergen Nogai.



Visit Fabrik's site for more info

111 Navy Chair

The 111 Navy Chair is finally here, after four years of research, and material testing. The chair available at DWR is a collaboration between Emeco and Coca-Cola. Made from 111 recycled plastic bottles, this chair is expected to keep three million PET bottles out of landfills each year.

More info search the sites below

111navychair

dwr

Passwords As A Psychic

I mark the memory of them on a login screen. Type text, in a little box. For a moment in time I could almost relive meetings of our paths. Then I press enter and on to the next screen... "J_BabyD102 is now following you on twitter!" and all is forgotten until the next login.

I'm not sure as to why I honor those from my past by creating them a custom made memory head stone. One that I visit almost everyday, several times a day even. Now I wonder is it a means of me being able to predict who comes and goes in my life? Speaking a short lived relationship, friendship or acquaint ship into existence?Initially I create the password because its easy to remember. "Easy to remember hard to forget"?... In a way. But I think I rationalize it as "easy to remember, not a challenge".

I often keep those in my life who I feel I can learn from and genuinely can like on a regular basis, lol. I mean, when they're at what is considered their best and when they're at their moodiest. A person who's flaws I can live with because I can see the good in them and one who won't try to change me because we're different people.

In my subconscious state, creating email passwords with HINTS about a person that is in present in my life at the time of setting up a new account, is a sign of a FUTUR HISORTY. No one anticipates being a memory, nothing more nothing less.Some good memories, some bad, some faint.

Interestingly enough, one thing I can say is that I don't see myself creating any new email accounts any time soon. For now everyone in my life is safe from elimination.

23

I've heard the number 23 to be in the list of lucky numbers. It was MJ's number on the Bulls...And I am in Chicago...I wonder what luck that I'll have with it. Well its been 23 days since my last post. Since then I've literally lost and regained my connection to this small big world that we live in. Since then I've lost contact with someone and regained a connection with a higher being. That makes me cool. I've made new friends. Some who I consider family... in these short long 23 days. Amazing. I've walked several familiar paths and I'm still walking...

These are a few songs that are the biography of my past 23 days:

Kid Cudi- Soundtrack to My Life
Jill Scott- Long Walk
Monica- Don't Take It Personal
Common- The Light
Ryan Leslie- Guardian Angel

At the age of 23, I'm hoping that from here, my journey continues to be enlightening, so that I may learn and from there enlighten others.

Thought of The Day

Everybody gets knocked down, how quick are you going to get up? Because that will have a lot to do with what happens next. The longer you stay down, the easier it is for you to forget that you once knew how to stand.

-KL

Thought of the Day:

We all envision things that we want, but we shouldn't rush into them because we believe in them now. If you can continue to see and believe in it, then you've really got something. We learn more from taking our time. That assures the ending result to be a good one.

-KL

Thought of The Day

Motivate a friend today. Or even a friend of a friend, because everyone doesn't have your confidence. Trust me it will mean more to them than you know.

-KL

Thought of The Day

Only time will tell the true outcome of situations, but we should expect the unexpected, and consider the unexcepted to present us with the good in light of what negative factors are at hand. Be optimistic.

-KL

Thought of The Day

The energy that some put toward complaining, could be used in finding a solution to what it is their complaining about. Be proactive not inactive.

-KL

Thought of the Day:

There is a surety and confidence that reflects when we are able to interpret what we know to others. I believe that applied knowledge is the best kind.

-KL

Daydream: Before The Ball

Eyes low, off of no green
Thoughts far out
Money trees in my daydreams
Leaping freely between canopy tops like a hippie
Landing on a could of nine make believes
Waiting to put those glass slippers on my feet
Like Cinderella before to ball lived in daydreams...
Back to reality
I look down to see my feet still dangling over this dingy carpeting...
No glass slipper, dang
Back to work then.

I Still Love H.E.R. (Atributetohiphop)

Chicagoians: Please come out to see a great production presented to you by Theori Stages, Directed by Wendell Tucker. This is truly a tribute to hip hop. Performances, and great acting, "I Still Love H.E.R." not only refreshes our memories of what hip hop use to be, buT gives a crash course on all things hip hop and reminds us that hip hop is still alive.

The show runs every Friday and Saturday for the next month (hopefully longer) at 8pm at The Chicago Center For Performing Arts. See you there.

******************************Also please support Theori Stages***********************

Help us to win a $250,000 Grant from Pepsi. Vote daily www.refresheverything.com/theorifineartscenter

Become a sponsor www.thetheori.com/donate

Leave a comment about the show www.tinyturl.com/islhreviews

Thought of The Day

Planning out every moment of our lives may sound like good intentions, but that PLAN is a complicated one. Go with the flow on some things; you are less likely to be disappointed.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

Not saying carefree living is accessible to you at the moment, but know that the weight of the world will never be on your shoulders even though they seem heavy. We all go through a storm, nothing lasts forever. This too shall pass.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

Why lie when it's much easier to remember the truth? Lies catch up with you, some sooner than others. Because there is a reaction to every action, allow your actions to speak volumes of your true character.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

The success of any relationship is working together. The success' we make independently do not further the progression of the team, but only leave one party feeling accomplished independently. Work to build something collectively.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

We want some things so badly we see around the facts. Make plans for fiction; imaginary tales of promises. But there is a truth in the midst of all this. Things are never really as they seem and of that we should remain aware and be prepared.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

There's a has to be a defined line between some friendships and business relationships. And once you realize what that line is, you find that you can't be in business with everyone you're friends with and vice versa.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

When people underestimate your abilities to do great things, because they will, don't crumble. Show them better that you can tell them.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

I sat and leaned over to rest against an arm post that wasn't there; backward to rest on a chair back that wasn't there. If we have the ability to sit up straight on a bench, why do we rely so much on the support of a chair? At some point we must all sit up straight on our own.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

I'm out of breathe and my eyes are burning. But my mind still works and my limbs have feeling in them and I have a sense of direction. So I'll keep going.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

I say, "LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!". So much negativity surrounding is is causing hate depression and stress. If reminiscing on good times is what it takes, then do that. Treat those memories like roll over minutes; if that's what it takes for you to realize that troubles don't last, then do that.

~Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

Life can be like a messenger bag that you're trying to stuff things in, but they aren't fitting. You have to rearrange some things to make it work; take them out and put them in other places. Don't be afraid to rearrange nouns in your life for the betterment of your being.

~Ms. K"L"

A Lecture With Debbie Allen

This 2nd semester has been a love/hate relationship thus far with me and my school, Columbia College Chicago... You would have thought The Dream produced it. But this week we fell in love all over again as the Department of Multi Culture Affairs brought us a lecture with Debbie Allen as apart their Black Heritage Month. The evening started with a brief documentary on her career and then a contemporary dance performed by one of Columbia's own. Lights dimmed, Dr. Allen took stage in what I considered to be a very intimate session on conversation pieces ranging from the absence of the media reporters from Haiti post earthquake, to the No Child Left Behind Act, to the Grammy's, to... Tiger Woods? Yep Tiger... She went there.

She touched on her struggles growing up in Houston and how she and her mother and sister (Felicia Rashaad) packed up their things and moved south of the border to Mexico when she was 8 during the time of segregation. She all of a sudden felt free. She describes this experience being influential to her in the arts. Seeing a little boy who couldn't have been any older than 5yrs old herding farm animals across a street, served as a metaphor for responsibility. Dr. Allen explains that you have know who you are as a artist, in order to share who you are with the world through your art. It was one of the most inspiring lectures that I've attend so far at Columbia and was enough to keep our relationship on the love side for awhile!

Thought of the Day

A mentor of mine once told me "go forth boldy & HUMBLY". Often we loss track of our goals when praise is thrusted upon our feet. Arrogance hides who we really are & fades w/time. Strive for optimism, confidence in your ability to succeed along with hard work has longevity.

-Ms. K"L"

82 Words: A Letter To Love In My Coat Pocket

I often wonder where love's place is on the road to success; If there's a way of meeting someone halfway. When we're both trying to get to the top, there's no meeting point that won't require one of us to stop or to go backward. If we attempt to do so in the process, either one of us are likely to fail. The only way that I see it possible is to see you when I get there... to the top that is.

Thought of the Day: New Mantra

"Let your own creative productivity be a positive step toward change."

-Ms. K"L"

Thought of The Day

Life meets challenges. Challenges meets doubt and fear. Doubt and fear are trampled by faith. Faith meets determination, Determination overcomes challenges and life lives happily ever after. If you can believe it, it is feasible. See beyond he road blocks.

-Ms. K"L"

Viva Las Neon

I always found it interesting the relation of neon signs to the Las Vegas strip or a cleaners or nail salon. But there is more to the history of neon signs then their glow upon Sin City.



Read the full article at http://blog.dwr.com/designnotes/2010/01/removing-stains-and-neon-signs.html

Thought of the day (From 8/21/09)

We complain about what matters the least. Stress over what can't be controlled. Cry about things that down the road, we are sure to forget... But I must say, if we must cry, make them tears of joy, a little joy never hurt anybody. Life is too short, we must do all we can to enjoy it. Make this & each day magnificent!

Ms. K"L"

Thought Of the Day (From 8/6/09)

I mourned for the dearly departed and for seasons I blamed myself, replaying the images in my head as they evaporated into thin air. It was this day that I realized I had surpassed them... I realized that I'm the dearly departed. As I did, never fault yourself for progression.

Thought of the Day

Its seems as though the sun is shining on quite a few people today. If we had more days like this one the world would be a better place. Make this and each day magnificent! :-)

Ms. K"L"

Writer Howard Zinn Passes Away

Activist, historian and author Howard Zinn passes today with a heart attack being the cause of death. Zinn will best be known by and will be remembered for his book "A Peoples History of the United States". The original book was published in 1980 and only a mere 5,000 copies were printed. The best seller, has continued to attract a wide spectrum audience and 20 yrs later has done considerably well selling over a million copies worldwide. Zinn passes at the age of 87.

For the complete story visit http://www.latimes.com/news

Thought of The Day

Don't let one frustrating moment in a day steal your joy. There's 24 hours in a day for a reason. And those other hours need some positive TLC. Make this and each day magnificent! :-)

Ms. K"L"

Thought of the day

When you feel good on the inside, it shows on the outside. Confidence looks good on everyone.

Ms. K"L"

Huffington Post's Editor Visits Columbia

bit.ly/78ceno

Mrs. Huffington Speaks at Columbia

Huffington Post's Editor Speaks at Columbia Wednesday Jan. 27th @ 5:30pm [1]bit.ly/78ceno

Thought of The Day

I found myself in a place not located on an atlas. I got lost without a compass. It took awhile to find my way, but I did. Sometimes we have to get lost to figure out where we were going in the first place.

Ms. K"L"

Thought Of The Day

As easily as we can love with our heart, we can compile thoughts of hate and act on them. Some people act on reflex, but spontaneity doesn't complement every situation. Think first.

Ms. K"L"

Thought Of The Day

No one can be you better than you can, so what's the point of trying to be someone else? There's something special about each and everyone of us. We were intended to be different. Be yourself.

Ms. K"L"

Thought Of The Day

A lot of people make claims of what they want, but get lazy in the process. The mind doesn't stop working so nor should our limbs, our mouth or our drive; take yourself our of park. Talent becomes useless if you don't do anything with it.

Ms. K"L"

Aww A Pig... Wait $800?!

Johnathan Adler is one of the hottest names on the Design circuit. He hasn't stopped his pottery which he is most know for... But now he sells animals. You can get your very own leather pig for $795. A hippo for $895, a terrier or elephant for $695 and a rhinoceros for $1,250.

They are said to serve as a footstool, seating, and of course a conversation piece.

Thought Of The Day

We build relationships originally off a series of impressions. Eventually facts must flare. Because who's to say that those impressions were a definition of who the person really is but who they led you to believe they were. Its hard to build the truth on a lie.

-Ms. K"L"

Corinne Again!

Singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae graces the cover of Billboard Magazine. After a hiatus, she is back promoting her highly anticipated sophomore project, The Sea who's January 26th release is steadily approaching.

Thought Of The Day (Recycled from 3/18/09)

As a child I spoke & acted as a child, understood & thought as a child. Becoming a woman I put away child like things. In doing so I realized that all who rise from childhood don't evolve from childlike speech, childlike acts, childlike understanding & childlike thoughts.

Ms. K"L"

SLAM BACK TUESDAY

Infatuation

I've dreamed of u I've fallen in love you, even though my meaning of you has not been fulfilled. I've grasped for you in my beautiful nightmares. We've walk side by side, hand in hand. I now know what love is. Is this what they mean when they say "I'm in love?" I never knew that feeling before u came along. In all my 23 years this is one feeling I haven't experienced.this is something new... Brand new. My passion for u makes me vulnerable. Willing to do damn near whatever it takes, create damn near whatever I can make... I am in love with you but are you in love with me? Are you good for me? You know some people can't handle it when they get their hands on you... Will you change me? Redefine my character? I've dreamed of you. I held you tight in my arms as I slept but I remained cold. Cold hearted and cold bodied. My hands drew cold pictures my voice sang cold songs What was missing? I thought love conquered all? I've dreamed of you. We wrote beautiful haikus of how we felt for each other. My haikus received negative reviews from our loved ones. They didn't see the love in you that I saw. But I longed for you because you were in my dreams. Is this what they mean when they say "I'm in love?" I've dreamed of u. A dream of what will be my reality. Hello SUCCESS! It is nice to finally meet you. By the way, I am in love with you

-RaeStar

KL's SLAM BACK!!!

As hard as I've fallen I never hit the ground
A bungee gripped my ankle, bound by the spirals in your hair.
Yet... you did not fall from the highest cliffs of ignorance, judgement, shattered moments, heartache and painstaking tears.
Even after that one night under a southern lit sky that changed a love affair with a man I thought I'd marry for three years.
It was never too much for you to take in.
Never too much to transfer from my heart through a pen
To the spiral bound confession booth of sins.
Down in the depths of my soul I felt that I had a friend with potential benefits
A Beethoven classic mixed with a 90s R&B hit.
It hits.
A homie lover friend.
And it hits every time I think about what tomorrow may bring.
Leaping up through the clouds and
Reaching an altitude of maximum, turning and twisting back down.
But I'm not scared,
I think to myself right before I hit The ground
Because regardless of the end result in my words I have been found.
And that in itself is my success.

-Ms.K"L"

Follow Rae's journey on Twitter @CEO_RaeStar. Also visit http://ceoraestar.blogspot.com

Thought Of The Day

With our eyes closed at night we can still see a picture vision, but the daylight brings blindness. We purposely leave our glasses on the nightstand & carry a tube of pepperspray to protect us from our own sight. We can't be naive as to whats going on around us. Face the facts.

Ms. K"L"

Thought Of The Day

Its not our place to scorn people. We can't fault others for a past we weren't there living for them. As no person can fault us for ours. Let us go through life mistakes free, because we all need something to learn from.

Ms.K"L"

Thought Of The Day

There's no expiration date on our dreams. People will try to convince us that there are. Those people are called haters. It may take a while for us to realize they're stale, but once we do, throw them out. That's a perfect example of something with an expiration date.

Ms.K"L"

Headache Blues

So this headache is trying to keep me down. It started last night and crept it's way into today. At this point it has me right where it wants me; in a horizontal fetal position staring into the firey honeycomb grill of the space heater... And now noticing the chair railing on the wall is a lot lower then I thought. Interesting. Random thoughts gather at the meeting point that is my temple. They scream over my central thoughts causing me to fight back. "I have to do this, this, this, and this and wow look at the snowing cover the peaks on the fence." The last 2 hours of my life have wasted away to a daggum headache that doesn't care about anything but harvesting itself in the confinement of my mental. Of course how selfishly brillant of you. Having your cake and eating it too. The next hour is crucial to making this thing go away. Mr. Headache meet Mr. Eviction notice...

Thought Of The Day

There's one thing we can't deny. Unlike a friend, or a bike that we had when we were 10, who can diminish after yrs of disappearance, family will always be family. Good relationships, bad relationships; sometime at the end of the day they're all we got.

Ms. K"L"

Thought Of The Day

There is no way to properly love what it is that you believe, a craft, or another person, when you don't love yourself. An attempt is false advertisement. When you have love for self, then you will have an abundance of genuine love to give.

Ms. K"L"

SLAM BACK TUESDAY

Heroine: A flawless mistake

Heroine saved my life
Before I knew heroine, I was a drug fiend,
Addicted to charcoal and graphite.
I would sniff through nasal passages which enhanced my deteriorating sight.
My eyes, in turn, guided my uncoordinated hands\
which held the instrument used to administer my fixation.
The narcotic was as addictive as the acceptance of violence in society.
No one likes to admit it but there’s no admission cost for negativity;
Negatives coincide with positives – It cannot be ignored. It cannot be denied
So women find this attractive.
Opposites attract – this is a common fact.
Their positives magnets the negatives in the hearts of men.
Must the nice guy always lose, for their angels become lost in demonic voids.
I have lost in the battle of love, so I turn to my narcotic - My first love.
The setting is dark and blank. My only wish is to compose my imagination.
The violent image of this instrument suppressing my tree of knowledge constantly causes me to vomit my reality.
Blood entertains the once blank environment.
I was nothing but a young soul with everything to lose and nothing to gain…
until I met her.
She was a canvas full of abstract art; simply unsolved!
Her complexity fascinated me.
Her skin was complimented w/ every signature except mine.
I was told if I sign the canvas she will be with me forever.
And so I spent dark hours absorbing graphite,
Inhaling her elegance, and transferring my affection,
all into a signature.
Our passion resulted in the birth of an error.
A fact her mother could never comprehend, for she was a canvas whom would leave to search for more imprints, as if my signature wasn’t shit.
And so, I am left with a mistake and broken promises.
In result, I sought for my narcotics.
For 3 years I constantly used the instrument to paint and destroy the foundation once known as a home.
As I pulled out the instrument, the mistake appears, and cries aloud “stop Dad”, and confines my neck with loving arms.
With that, the habit is broken. I gained understanding. What a fool I have been!
I realized the lord blessed me with a medication labeled misbegotten.
This gave me new life. It gave me inspiration. Through her I was reincarnated.
My instrument was converted into a tool for positivity.
I was saved through her angel tears. I was saved through a love I never held.
It was as if an Amazon goddess was reborn.
Her battle cry demolished and converted all evil.
She was a hero. A potent substitute for my previous narcotic.
Ironically, she is my daughter, and I labeled her a heroine.
She was my heroine, a flawless mistake.

-Twan Love

KL's SLAM BACK!!!

See years ago I gave birth,
I never told a soul...
It wasn't until my mind became too full to store the cries I've been shedding, and internal bleeding,
So full of shit that the bowels were ready to explode, that my secret has been put on public display.
My babies were 3.
And little did everyone know they had seen just as much as me.
Absorbed as much evil shit as me.
A nightmare on a corner of a street in the ghetto,
A 24 hour liquor store,
Or what people say is the only thing open after midnight, even though she said "NO Dad stop".
My mother found a puddle of tears when I was eleven and shipped them off as a message in a bottle to the baby's father.
The good for nothing son of a...
If these four could talk...
If any four walls could walk they would leave a lot of homes;
Or rather houses, like I wish me and my babies could have.
Instead we sat in the back of a 2 1/2 by 8 foot closet and listened.
And cried.
This time on the outside.
There were many Monday-Fridays like this.
Where my veins hung from my wrist and fell onto a blank page.
Life in its rawest form flowed freely,
And in this 2 1/2 by 8 foot closet I sat with my babies.
It was a place where I could just be.
I could expose everything.
Life has changed over the years but the memories come easy like Sunday morning
And my babies?
They're fine;
My pen, my pad, my heart and my mind have collectively made me the person that I am today.
A flawless mistake that I would never regret.

-KL

FOLLOW Twan's journey on twitter @tigga_love. For more of his poetry go to http://twanlove.blogspot.com/

Thought Of The Day

Fill your days with productivity and the day's end with rest, for rest and sleep are perpendicular. We sleep because its routine, but rest is that much needed reward that we rarely grant ourselves for all our hard work.

Ms. K"L"

Thought Of The Day

Everyone isn't going to see your vision, but that doesn't mean you'll stop seeing it. Someone was meant to be the designated driver. Keep your eyes on the road.

Ms. K"L"

Right Angle Thinking

Tonight I've been productive sitting up in the bed; back vertical, legs horizontal one crossed over the other, meeting in the middle to pull some thoughts together... It always seems to be daylight. There's this guilt upon me like I shouldn't be sleeping. It feels as though my gifts lie in staying awake to see things so that I might express that in my writing... My eyes are heavy from carrying the vision of success. But I don't see it as being weighed down. Let the journey continue.

Thought Of The Day

We can be strong. We can also be as weak as our lowest point allows us to be. Somewhere in between is a voice of reason monitoring our vulnerability. Even the strongest of us have wept... Its ok to show emotion.

Ms.K"L"

Fashion Forward Interior Design

Since their start in 2004 Jimmie Martin Ltd., a London based high end brand has been commissioned quite a few notable projects. In a sense the pair are the rock star furniture designers of this generation. Graphics, bright colors, goth; considerably the perfect formula for the future of something great in design.

These Andy Warhol inspired designers have been commissioned works for the likes of Kylie Minogue, Kelly Osbourne, The Surrey Hotel-NY, and Monaco Bay Hotel.


Kylie Chair


Pink Cocktail Cabinet- STYLE Magazine photo shoot


PIMP WITH VISION Design for Kara Mann - Chicago designer and agent - Image from Chicago showroom

http://www.jimmiemartin.co.uk/

Guggenheim 50th Anniversary Restaurant

After just writing a paper on the The Basque Region and the Guggenheim: Bilbao, I found it very fit to highlight Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim in New York as it turns 50 and celebrates with the opening of a new restaurant.



It was great to find the architect in classic FLW fashion, used geometry as the catalyst for this project. The straight and curvilinear lines make a space that I felt to be very reminiscent of his Buckner Library Building at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL. It is safe to say that all things Frank whether it be a project that was commissioned to him or a project dedicated to him there will always be that scene of Frank Lloyd Wright's presence.



To read the full article on the restaurant opening visit the POINTclickHOME website.
http://www.pointclickhome.com/blogs/savvy_chic/wright_restaurant_celebrates_guggenheim_s_fiftieth