There’s more, much more to Christmas
Than candle-light and cheer;
It’s the spirit of sweet friendship
That brightens all the year;
It’s thoughtfulness and kindness,
It’s hope reborn again,
For peace, for understanding
And for goodwill to men!
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP11 is being held in Le Bourget, Paris, from November 30 to December 11.
It is the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The conference objective is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all the nations of the world.
2498 academics from 75 countries signed this Open Letter calling for world leaders meeting in Paris to do what is necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Prominent signatories include Noam Chomsky, Naomi Oreskes, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Michael E. Mann, Ursula Oswald Spring, Bill McKibben, David Suzuki, and Peter Singer.
Open Letter from Academics to World Leaders ahead of the Paris Climate Conference 2015
Some issues are of such ethical magnitude that being on the correct side of history becomes a signifier of moral character for generations to come. Global warming is such an issue.
Indigenous peoples and the developing world are least responsible for climate change, least able to adapt to it, and most vulnerable to its impacts. As the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris approaches, the leaders of the industrialized world shoulder a grave responsibility for the consequences of our current and past carbon emissions.
Yet it looks unlikely that the international community will mandate even the greenhouse gas reductions necessary to give us a two thirds chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. At the moment, even if countries meet their current non-binding pledges to reduce carbon emissions, we will still be on course to reach 3 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
This is profoundly shocking, given that any sacrifice involved in making those reductions is far overshadowed by the catastrophes we are likely to face if we do not: more extinctions of species and loss of ecosystems; increasing vulnerability to storm surges; more heatwaves; more intense precipitation; more climate related deaths and disease; more climate refugees; slower poverty reduction; less food security; and more conflicts worsened by these factors.
Given such high stakes, our leaders ought to be mustering planet-wide mobilization, at all societal levels, to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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Google Images
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We undersigned concerned academics, researchers and scientists from around the world recognize the seriousness of our environmental situation and the special responsibility we owe our communities, future generations, and our fellow species.
We will strive to meet that responsibility in our educational and communicative endeavors.
We call upon our leaders to do what is necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change. With just as much urgency, we call upon our fellow citizens to hold their leaders responsible for vigorously addressing global warming.
For the full list of signatories please see below.
Around the world, people from all walks of life are standing together to demand a strong climate agreement in Paris and a healthy future for the planet. When the world speaks with one voice, our leaders have to listen.
So we’ve put together this Open Letter with one very clear message: DEAR WORLD LEADERS: TAKE CLIMATE ACTION NOW.
People from around the world are affected by climate change today – right now. And they’re calling out to world leaders to demand real action this year at the UN climate talks in Paris.
I’ve followed this family since their early days in Miami.
I know their story and how Gloria came to be the main singer of Miami Sound Machine. The band became a huge hit in the Latin community. Then Gloria “crossed over” into the American mainstream music scene.
It was all then about Gloria.
I remember their hits, I have all the CD and concert videos. I couldn’t forget the harrowing time of the bus crash, her fractured back, her rescue, her recovery, her rehab and her comeback … that blue dress singing “Coming Out of the Dark”.
And the rest is history!
In their personal lives, they had Nayib and finally a daughter, Emily. Her name honors her dad Emilio.
I’ve seen Emily dab here and there in music. She has it in her genes, her internal makeup and her talent has grown.
She has released an awesome video with an absolutely on target message.
If you ask Gloria Estefan, it feels like yesterday when her daughter Emily was a baby backstage at her sold-out concerts. Fast-forward to today and the 21-year-old college sophomore is totally grown up and ready to rock out on her own.
“I always think about it as a double-edge sword,” Emily shared on Today’s show when asked about following the same career as her mom. “I don’t even understand that saying because doesn’t a sword have one edge?”
She continued, “But the reality is they’re amazing golden footsteps to follow in so my biggest fear now is just being able to do the past justice.”
“I know that must people I know believe in me for my talent and for what I stand for but there’s always a doubt in my mind because there is no way of knowing when you are a descendant of the Conga Queen.”
As her parents focus on their Broadway musical appropriately titled “On Your Feet,” Emily is ready to prove she herself can turn the beat around. And yes, she’ll do it while wearing mama’s clothes.
“When I want to go shopping, I just go to the warehouse and grab her clothes,” Emily admitted while wearing Gloria’s retro pants and T-shirt. As they like to say, like mother, like daughter.
Singer Emily Estefan, the Miami Beach daughter of Gloria and Emilio, on Thursday released a music video in which she expresses her point of view to a ‘sterile and ominous’ world: F#ck To Be.
F#ck To Be prominently focuses on male and female gender roles and stereotypes.
On November 3, Emily Estefan released her brand new video F#ck To Be. The concept behind the video shows Emily discovering and noticing a world that it is not what she expected instead it is very sterile and ominous.
“There are two POVs in the video, it is either what I see or what the mirror sees. It is me against the mirror. The mirror being expectations that I carry of myself, or what people expect me to be. I’m combatting the mirror, “ says Estefan.
F#ck to Be will be the first single from her forthcoming full length CD, Take Whatever You Want. Emily wrote, recorded, produced and performed her full album at Fairy Light Studios (her own studio in her college apartment in Boston, MA).
“Many people think I am saying “F” everything or everything sucks, but that is not true. I go in and out of these very different looks in the video that I don’t necessarily like for myself, but that doesn’t mean that I frown upon them, it just means that it is not me” said Estefan.
Before going into the actual post, I must confess that I have totally fallen in love with Adele’s new musical project.
I have been listening to her new CD “25” and must say that I’m totally taken by it.
I know I’m not the only one because everything seems to be Adele nowadays. She was on a visit to New York City and hit all the major talk and late night shows. She appeared on Jimmy Fallon and was hilarious.
She also filmed a TV special for NBS which will air December 14 at 10 PM. One show that I will surely record and watch at my leisure.
Ellen DeGeneres made a parody of her “Hello” which was quite entertaining. Heather Rooney, an incredible illustrator, painted a colored pencil picture of Adele.
I found this video, a rendition of Adele’s “Hello” by the Southern University Marching Band and the Dancing Dolls.
Southern University Marching Band’s Outstanding Cover
By COLLEEN ANNEK
December 3, 2015
Southern University, “of Baton Rouge, not New Orleans: this distinction is incredibly important” as noted by USA Today, takes on Grambling State in the Bayou Classic every year, this year having been the 42nd face-off between the teams, according to the Bayou Classic’s website.
Southern University competed in the Bayou Classic Battle of the Bands on November 27, 2015, and they came to impress. With a stacked horns section, the band covered Adele’s chart-topping single ‘Hello’ with unparalleled power as the Dancing Dolls accompanied the band from the field.
Record-breaking ‘Hello,’ which is currently one of the most popular songs in the country (it has been at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 list for five weeks now) was the perfect card for Southern University’s marching band to play.
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While Adele’s power-ballad might not be the first thing you think of when considering marching band music, the orchestration of the original track leaves plenty of room for the song to be adapted to a full marching band arrangement. The resulting harmonies are out of this world — just make sure you don’t have the volume turned up too high, these horn players mean serious business.
Starbucks unveiled its new holiday design – a red cup with the green Starbucks logo – and sparked significant controversy due to its lack of Christmas symbols like reindeer and snowflakes.
Starbucks defended the blank holiday design as welcoming of people’s different stories.
Pink reveals her new role as a UNICEF ambassador on Good Morning America
Pink has been appointed a UNICEF ambassador.
And the proud pop star appeared on Good Morning America on Monday to share her big news.
The 36-year-old singer – who shares three-year-old daughter, Willow with husband Carey Hart – will focus on children’s health initiatives, including fighting global malnutrition, which impacts 159 million children.
In his latest video, “Man vs. Earth” spoken word artist Prince Ea opens by saying,
“Fun fact:
In “Man vs. Earth,” spoken word artist Prince Ea opens by saying, “Fun fact: Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old, mankind, about 140,000 years old. Let me put that in perspective. If you condense the Earth’s lifespan into 24 hours—that’s one full day—then we have been here for, drum roll please, three seconds.” Only by coming together, he says, can we make it to the proverbial fourth second.
Prince Ea objects to us calling ourselves homo sapiens, or “wise man” because, though we may be intelligent, we lack wisdom. “While intelligence speaks, wisdom listens,” he says. “And we willingly covered our ears to Mother Nature’s screams and closed our eyes to all of her help wanted signs.
Let me put that in perspective. If you condense the Earth’s lifespan into 24 hours – that’s one full day – then we have been here for, drum roll please, three seconds.” Only by coming together, he says, can we make it to the proverbial fourth second.”
Prince Ea objects to us calling ourselves homo sapiens, or “wise man” because, though we may be intelligent, we lack wisdom.
“While intelligence speaks, wisdom listens,” he says. “And we willingly covered our ears to Mother Nature’s screams and closed our eyes to all of her help wanted signs.
New Prince Ea video: Man vs Earth
Natalie Prolman on Nov. 24, 2015
Last Earth Day, activist and spoken word artist Prince Ea brought us the powerful and thought-provoking video Dear Future Generations:Sorry. With over 96 million views on Facebook to date, Prince Ea achieved something pretty incredible for the environmental community.
He clearly communicated the urgency of protecting our planet and inspired millions to understand the importance of mitigating climate change and taking action to stop deforestation.
He was able to reach the hearts of the generation to whom this issue matters to most: young people. And reminded us all that the power of change is in OUR hands!
I had the honor of sitting down with Prince Ea in London last week to discuss his newest video in support of the Stand For Trees campaign.
Natalie
“What was your inspiration for doing a second Stand For Trees video?”
Prince Ea
“I felt like there was more to say. The story was unfinished, I had more to get out there and in a different way. When I was brainstorming the original concept of writing a letter to future generations I came up with other dynamic ideas which I thought could be just as compelling. One of which was the 3 seconds theme, which I use in this one. This particular video is coming from an anthropological perspective (what I studied in school), looking at us as a species and the ramifications of our existence.”
Natalie
“What is the message you’re sending to the world?”
Prince Ea
“The message is: An inner revolution needs to take place. Global warming, climate change, animal agriculture, pollution, pesticides … all of these things are symptoms. They are byproducts of our inner reflection and how we see the world, how we see each other and how we see the environment. We’re very separated and divided, but that is not the truth about reality.
That is the truth about our socially constructed reality. The main message is to find the truth and see that we are connected to all beings both great and small. I always end with a message of hope, I believe that we can and will turn it all around. However, I don’t think the goal is to save the world, but to reshape it.
“Why do you think young people are such a critical audience for this message?”
Prince Ea
“I think because it’s really our future that’s at stake. We are the first generation to really see the impact of climate change and the last one who will be able to do something about it. So it’s definitely crucial that young people will become more aware. We have an opportunity to really evolve the human species into a new direction. A totally new direction from our past. One with mindfulness and love and care and understanding. No longer a business as usual approach.”
Polina Semionova (born 13 September 1984) is a Russian ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. She also has an older brother, Dmitry Semionov, who is now a principal in the Staatsballett Berlin.
Studying at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow, Russia, she won awards in the top ballet competitions; including a gold medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition 2001, First Prize at the Vaganova-Prix Ballet Competition in St Petersburg 2002, and Junior Prize at the Nagoya (Japan) International Ballet Competition 2002.
Graduating in 2002, Semionova joined the Ballet Staatsoper Berlin as a principal upon the invitation of Vladimir Malakhov, becoming the youngest principal in the company’s history at the age of 18. She toured Japan as Malakhov’s partner, the reason he had invited her to be a principal in the company. He gave her the lead roles in The Nutcracker and La Bayadère during her first season, following with the role of Tatiana in , which became her favorite role.
In 2003, at the age of 19, Semionova performed with the English National Ballet in Swan Lake, receiving approving reviews from English critics.
The following year she joined the California Ballet in their production of The Sleeping Beauty, again impressing critics despite what they termed a disappointing overall ballet.
Watch Adele, Jimmy Fallon, Roots Sing ‘Hello’ With Classroom Instruments
Tonight Show’ supergroup perform chart-topping ballad with melodica, tambourine, toy xylophone, kazoos
By Ryan Reed
Adele’s “Hello,” a chart-topping ballad from her record-breaking new LP, 25, is already one of her most intimate singles. But the singer achieves a new level of intimacy with this Tonight Show rendition of the poignant track, backed by Jimmy Fallon and the Roots on classroom instruments.
Crammed into a small space, the supergroup fleshes out Adele’s croon with melodica, tambourine, wood block, toy xylophone, bongos, a banana shaker and kazoos.
Joining in on the silliness, the singer fakes a cell phone call, channeling the long-distance melancholy of the lyrics.
The middle of a work week (Wednesday). It’s a phrase used in the context of climbing a proverbial hill to get through a tough week.
After hump day, the weekend gets closer.
Have a great day. My wish for one and all who stop here!
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
It Is What It Is 