The Crux Of It!

100 Ways to Serve Others

Stumbled onto this great list today and I dig it soo much, I had to repost it.

1. Smile
This is a great habit to develop to start each and every day and to practice whenever you have the chance. The great thing is that smiling at others is easy and takes nothing but a little effort. Nearly everyone responds to a smile and it makes you and the other person feel better immediately.

2. Hold or Get the Door for Someone
Simple things are a great way to serve others and these little things can really make a great difference. Stop and hold the door for someone whenever you get a chance you hold the door and let someone go in front of you. This sends a strong message and you can really bump it up by combining this with #1, a great smile with the door offer.

3. Help someone get where they want to be
I mean when it comes to transportation or as a physical destination. There are always friends, colleagues and family needing a ride somewhere or a pickup form a trip, vacation or event. Perhaps it’s to be a designated driver for a group of friends. Simply offer to help get there where they want to be.

Click Here to see the rest of this list.

New Music From Collective Efforts

My favorite group has just released their fourth album which is their best to date. They are warming up this socially freezing world with amazing music that is guaranteed to move you. I have been listening to it almost non stop since I got my hands on a copy and it gets better with every listen because I pick up on more things I've missed. This is sure to go down as a classic and if you don't have it yet... you need to add this to your music collection. Click here to get to the new album, t-shirts, hoodies or the last two albums.

Treasure Map to Happiness

Recycled Home...

These people have decided to create something unique, built entirely from recycled materials...

(read and see more HERE, not sure why the grammar is so bad, maybe it was translated from a foreign language...)

Avalanche

I recently rediscovered The Avalanches while bumbling around youtube. Their sound is crazy, it took me a little while to get into it. I think the videos are a real work of art and what kept me tuned in long enough to appreciate their music.

New wind power tops all other sources in 2009

I pulled this story from the Ecologist website, click the highlight below for the full story.

Ecologist

4th February, 2010
Wind and solar technology made up over half of Europe’s new electricity generating capacity in 2009, as the number of new coal and nuclear facilities fell

More wind capacity was installed in Europe during 2009 than any other electricity-generating technology, according to statistics released today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

Wind accounted for 39 per cent of increased European energy capacity, ahead of gas (26 per cent) and solar (16 per cent). In contrast, the nuclear and coal power sectors decommissioned more megawatts of capacity than they installed in 2009, with a total of 1,393 MW of nuclear and 3,200 MW of coal decommissioned.

Playing For Change

Click here for the latest release from Playing for Change, musicians across the globe who unite to bring peace through music. I have done a couple of posts on this blog about this project. This is the first piece I've heard that wasn't in english and I'm really digging it. Check out their website Playing For Change and support the movement.

Georgia Bill Would Protect Youth from Aggressive Military Recruiting

(APN) ATLANTA--On January 28, 2010, state legislators, and advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Southeast Region, and other groups held a press conference at the State Capitol to introduce a resolution to protect Georgia children from abusive military recruiting.

The legislation, HR 1219, was authored by State Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, who represents District 85 in DeKalb County. Ten co-sponsors have signed on to the House resolution, including State Reps. Alisha Thomas Morgan, Michelle Henson, Karla Drenner, Kathy Ashe, and Simone Bell.

State Sen. Nan Orrock has introduced a companion resolution, SR 955, in the State Senate. Co-sponsors include State Sens. Gloria Butler, Horacena Tate, Valencia Seay, Vincent Fort, and Ed Harbison.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act, passed by US Congress in 2001, requires schools--among other things--to disclose 11th and 12th grade students' records to military recruiters or lose their federal funding. Peace activists sometimes refer to this act as "No Child Left Un-Recruited."

"As a parent, it is necessary that school children aren't contacted by military recruiters without the parents' knowledge and consent," State Rep. Benfield told Atlanta Progressive News.

"To join the Armed Services is a major life-changing decision that requires parental involvement. Our school system needs to be more uniform and pro-active to give parents information up-front, regarding opt-out forms that prohibit schools from disclosing students' records to military recruiters," Benfield said.

Check out the rest of this great report on Atlanta Progressive News

Hero of the Day- Dillon Vaughn Maurer

Big ups to my roomie, Dillon Vaughn Maurer aka Dial on aka Dillonias, for working hard on his musical and culinary skills. Looks like all that work is starting to pay off. This year he dropped a new album "Studies in Hunger" with Paten Locke on the beats and featuring Dave West of De La Soul fam, Akrobatic, Stacy Epps, Cool Calm Pete, H2O of Mass Influence, Lady Daisey of Smile Rays, Willie Evans Jr, and a personal shout out from J Dilla's Uncle Herm and Chuck D of Public Enemy. Dillon is currently working on a live cooking show with the same name as his website, DillonAteThat for Willie Ev's site TheNerdySouth.com

Let's start with "Hot Mess"



Here he is with "Spin" featuring Atlanta legend H2O and Paten Locke on vocals



"Stay Relative"



If you don't already have "Studies in Hunger" please support this man by going to DillonMaurer.net and coping the album, that is all for now. Thank you.

Throwback Music

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings who put on one of the best live shows I've ever seen. She is a ball of energy reminiscent of James Brown and if you like any of the music on Amy Winehouse albums you can thank her backing band, The Dap Kings. These guys would be perfect for a Quintin Tarantino soundtrack. Here is their hit single "100 days."



I've been hearing about Michael Buble, picture an accent over the e, for quite some time now. I finally got around to checking him out tonight after hearing glowing reviews about his performance on SNL from my friend Sunshine. She described him as modern Sinatra, but much more fun. It's obvious this guy is having a great time performing.



And here they are together, Michael Buble, once again picture the accent.... there you go, with Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings.

Fund Established For Rebuilding Of Fire Damaged Our Way Cafe

Story pulled from The Champion Newspaper, thanks for the heads up Janis

The popular Avondale Estates eatery Our Way Café suffered substantial damage from a fire that destroyed most of the back part of the establishment.

Co-owned by Eva Marie Rosewall and Jody McFerren, Our Way was originally located in the former Towne Cinema building in downtown Avondale Estates in 1987. In 1992, the restaurant moved to the corner of Candler and East College Avenue in Decatur and in 2001 relocated to its current Avondale Estates location in the Twin Oaks Shopping Center.

The fire started around 10 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23, while the building was vacant. Rosewall said that even though the dining area appears to have suffered little obvious damage that the entire space will have to be cleaned to remove soot and the charred smell.

Rosewall said that she does not have a projected time to reopen but will be using the help of restaurant employees in the cleanup effort. She also expressed “a huge amount of gratitude to the DeKalb County fire department and Avondale Estates police department for their immediate response and to the employees of Avondale Pizza Café for their help.”

A fund to aid in the rebuilding of Our Way has been established at Decatur First Bank. Those wishing to contribute are asked to endorse checks to Our Way Café Recovery Fund and to include Attn: Ann Berg in the memo line of the check. Contributions may be dropped off at the bank or mailed to: Decatur First Bank, ATTN: Ann Berg, Our Way Recovery Fund, 1120 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030.

Written By: John Hewitt

Peru Backs Massive Amazon Protected Area

Found this great news on WWF.


Lima, Peru: The Peruvian National Protected Areas Service has decided to allocate funds to help protect a large swath of the Amazon this year, which is home to several endangered species and indigenous groups.

The Protected Areas Service pledged to allocate USD 280,000 for surveillance activities in the massive area – encompassing a region larger than El Salvador – formed by the Alto Purus National Park and the Purus Communal Reserve. The protected area was officially created in 2004 in part through the support of WWF.

The area spreads across some of the most pristine forests in the southwestern Amazon and shelters jaguars, pink dolphins, arapaimas and other endangered species. It is also home to at least eight ethnic groups, including an unknown number of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation.

For years, activities such as illegal logging – mainly for mahogany – and poaching damaged these unique forests and disturbed the indigenous communities.

“This represents a major success for all Peruvians regarding the government’s commitment to the conservation of the Peruvian Amazon and will aid to build long term conservation strategies for roughly 3 million hectares of some of the richest forests in the world,” said Biologist Jorge Herrera, Director of WWF´s Amazon Headwaters Initiative (AHI) who has been working in the area for more than five years.

“The recently announced government support will not only help sustain a team of more than 20 park guards, and the heads of the reserve and park, but will also promote capacity building strategies,” said Herrera. “This will enable WWF to focus on other complementary actions and ensure that from now on, Purus is safer than ever before.”

Since 2004, WWF Peru – with funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation -has supported control and surveillance activities carried out by the park and reserve authorities, equipping and helping them implement seven strategic control posts and form an efficient park guard team, made up of experienced technicians and local indigenous peoples with broad knowledge of the rivers and forests which they now protect