Skyeview

Sunday, December 14
4pm-7pm
Historic Sweets Ballroom
1933 Broadway
Oakland

“What God Has Joined Together: Hope for All Families”

Please Join San Francisco + Oakland + Bay Area Faith Leaders for an evening of
Healing, Affirmation & Hope
for LGBT Families & Friends
in the aftermath of the passage of Proposition 8

Come Join in an ecumenical celebration of LGBT families
Learn about resources and organizations supporting and advocating for
LGBT family needs

Spanish Translation will be available

SPONSORS:
Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder
Presiding Prelate, The Fellowship
Senior Pastor, City of Refuge United Church of Christ

Rev. Darlene Garner
Vice – Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches
Elder, Southern Conference, MCC

Rev. Dr. G. Penny Nixon
Pastor, Congregational Church of San Mateo
United Church of Christ

Bishop Tonyia M. Rawls
Prelate, Southern Jurisdiction
Unity Fellowship Church Movement

Rev. Nancy Wilson
Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches

And Marriage For All
www.andmarriage4all.org

Host: The Rhythm Sistas
Location: The Essex Clubhouse
1 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA
When: Saturday, December 6, 11:00am
Phone: 209-617-3751
Greetings & Peace Sistas!

Ain’t No Stopping Us Now! We’re On The Move… supporting and encouraging each other as we all move toward a healthier, happier way of living! We would be honored if you’d join us as we all learn more about healing foods. Come help to prepare and share a tasty meal. We also invite you to stay to learn some African and African derived dance steps – bring your healing dance energy to the Rhythm Sistas circle!

11am-1pm Healing Soul Foods – learn more about how to choose and prepare tasty heart, mind and soul healthy meals (led by Mama Pat Brown and co-created by Charlene Gumbs) You will be emailed the recipes and given an opportunity to bring an ingredient!

1pm – 5pm Dance Healing Circle – Salsa; Congolese Dance; and more… (led by Matu, Yayo, Ava and others!)

For more information:
E-mail: The Rhythm Sistas – imaniblessed@yahoo.com
URL: http://sankofaevents.com/

I cool your brow sistah…

…and do say hello to Mama Afrika

American folk music legend Odetta dies at 77
Wikipedia Entry

Sunrise at CDG aeroport

It’s only been a couple of weeks since my last trip to Paris.  How nice to return to my Mistress so soon!

On occasion I tell people who inquire about my frequent global travel that it isn’t as glamorous as it may appear.  There are times when my travel commitments feel counter intuitive to what I feel in my physical, spiritual and emotional bodies.  And, then there are moments like I experienced the other day when I returned to Paris for an overnight lay over en route to India.  I managed to spend the day running a couple of errands prior to spending a lovely evening with a dear friend.  The next morning I returned to CDG aeroport in the wee morning darkness but was able to catch this lovely sunrise prior to my India departure.

My mistress continues to seduce and delight me.

[SW 11.22.08]

The entire drama in Mumbai is being played out on the tv non-stop. The stand off between the police, the military and the gunmen has exceeded more than 12 hours. It’s weird because, unlike the states where the media and bystanders are cordoned off from the scene of an incident, folks are standing accross the street from the areas under attack. In some cases, they are directly in front of the hotels. So, I’ve been able to keep informed for hours on end. The US Consulate and Air France have not posted any travel advisories so i’m not worried about departing India.

I’m perfectly safe and far away from Mumbai. My Ahmedabad colleague invited me to stay at his house until my departure, but there really isn’t any need. It’s sad…but the reality is Indians live with this type of violence. Well, not on this scale, but violence is a reality for a lot of people in the world.

Chant peace and pray for the folks who lost their lives.

[11.27.08]

Hello everyone,

Skye is still in India but 500 miles away from Mumbai and very SAFE.

-t

I am excited about making my 8th annual trip to India. Typically I travel in the north but will add new destinations in the southern region of Gujarat State. Gujarat State is where the 2002 communal riots between Muslim and Hindus occurred. The riots displaced tens of thousands refugees whose misery continues to be compounded by the effects of globalization in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Surat all cities I plan to visit.

India remains in my top ten countries to visit-though travel in India is not for the feint of heart!

LINKS
Skye Gallery (India)
Dispatch #14 – Bombay, India
Sheba Chhachhi

Soul School is a weekly music program that airs every Sunday night on Budapest’s Radiocafe — hosted by none other than Michael Simmons. On Soul School, Michael takes listeners on a tour through the music born of the fusion between African American rhythm and blues and gospel music, known as soul music.

Tune in to Soul School every Sunday night from 10-11pm on Radiocafe 98.6 in Budapest. You can also listen to Radiocafe online anywhere in the world (but remember to account for the time difference — 10pm in Budapest is 4pm in New York.) While you’re listening, if you like what you hear, if you’d like to make a request, or, if you just want to say hello, send an SMS to the radio station at +36 20 9 986 986.

Read more about Soul School and Professor Michael Simmons on the Radiocafe website.

Radio Bilingue’s Roots Carnivall

This program mixes rhythms with African roots from Brazilian sambas to U.S. Latin jazz and rock, from reggae to calypso and blues.

Driving Music

I rediscovered this radio program in the wee mornings of a 12-hr turn around drive between Oakland and Los Angeles. It was just past the first minutes of a new day when I head the distinct baritone voice of Gil Scott Heron recite the opening lines to his poem-song “Morning Thoughts”. Open road, clear night sky, hours of solitary driving and GSH serenading me made for a pleasant drive home. The dj followed with a hot Latin jazz set and funky Latin rhythms.

Radio Bilingue’s “Roots Carnival” is broadcasting on the Internet and is carried by the Satellite network. You can tune into this show and others at http://www.radiobilingue.org and listen!

Bonus Links
Musical Dedication (Mi Paris Sistern and Old School Poets & Lovahs)

I Think I’ll Call It Morning
Gil Scott-Heron | We Almost Lost Detroit

1932–2008

My heart weeps cuz I’m gonna miss this sistah’s spirited voice here on earth. Makeba personified Black woman dignity, grace, power and creativity. Truly a role model and s-hero for me.

I kiss your feet Mama Afrika.

Links
BBC News
Soweto Blues-Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba – The Click Song 1966
Miriam Makeba – Pata Pata
(The little girl who comes on stage (at 2:00) to dance with Makeba is is
too precious. Transmitting Black female grace and beauty.)

City Arts & Lectures presents an onstage conversation with Toni Morrison.

Toni Morrison
In conversation with Michael Krasny
Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 8 pm.
Tickets: $23.

Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author, editor and professor, Toni
Morrison is best known for her richly detailed and epic novels. In her last nine novels, including Beloved, Paradise, and Song of Solomon, she has focused on the particular joys and sorrows in the lives of black American women. In 1993, Morrison became the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Morrison’s newest novel, A Mercy, revisits some of her most familiar themes, revealing what lies beneath the surface
of slavery and exploring the way that acts of mercy, like everything else,
have unforeseen consequences.

**JUST ANNOUNCED: 2009 Spring Series On Art & Politics and Social
Studies**
Limited tickets are still available for our Literary Series to Benefit the 826 Valencia College Scholarship Program, Cultural Studies Series, and Talking Music Series.

For Tickets: City Box Office, (415) 392-4400 or www.cityboxoffice.com.