What's it Worth to you?

JFK set the US on a path that took us to the Moon and back all within the 1960's. He set the goal and America delivered. It was a difficult, arduous path. With costs in the tens of billions and human lives also being lost, we were still able to dig down deep to into our creative centers. And, through some extreme "out-of-the-box" thinking, meet JFK's brave and global-changing challenge.

Today, we have a far greater challenge before us that requires as extensive a commitment upon the part of our leaders, government and centers of industry and creativity. The reinventing of our entire energy producing culture and infrastructure. This is no simple task. This is so huge a task that it may require the joint efforts of every industrialized country on the planet.

As naive as this might sound, for once we need to look beyond who will financially profit from such changes. Why must everything that is created for the benefit of humanity have to come at the expense of others? Why can it not be created and available simply because it is the right thing to do?

The creativity is available to meet this challenge, but it first requires a commitment on the part of those who have not only the political will, but the financial resources to make it happen. Then it requires a sacrifice from those same people who might want to take advantage of others just for the sake of money. We are not Ferenghi.

Capitalism, at the expense of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is the same thing as rape and murder of the innocent and thus presents a "clear and present danger" to the security and peace of the whole planet.

Remember the scenario of "RoboCop"? In order to save money, Detroit allows a private corporation to take over City's Police Department. As a result, the corporation, that has no political oversight to protect the citizens from corruption and mismanagement, goes unchecked and ordinary people are catastrophically
harmed.

Think back to Gov Arnold's movie, "Total Recall", where the head guy on Mars is actually a very evil dude, who thinks nothing of exposing innocent people to radiation and cutting their oxygen supply just to get what he wants.

Some of you might think that I am totally out in left field some where, but I truly believe that if someone can fantasize such a storyline for a movie, then a corporate exec, who has the power and the will to use it, can equally be just as spiteful and as criminal.

Has anyone watched Ted Koppel's latest, "The People's Republic of Capitalism" series? It is an eye opening series. With what is happening in China and how fast their electric and gas needs are growing, if something isn't done soon our children and grandchildren will end up living in a world that tragically polluted, power starved and hungry.

Just a thought to add some light to the day...

Baggage

There's a theme that keeps popping up, when I'm reading other ladies profiles. It's not alway overt, but most often lies just under the surface. It's called baggage.

After a very intense conversation with my brother this morning on the baggage he carries and chooses to do nothing about, it once again has hit home to me that a true test of a person's character is how they handle their own baggage. We all have baggage and unfortunately some baggage is heavier than others. We can either allow that baggage to define who we are or we can use that baggage to help us redefine and shape ourselves into who we choose to be. Unfortunately, his choices are very limiting and he continues to wallow in his own muck. I choose a different way.

I get up every morning and choose to create. I choose to take an active role in the world around me. Some days I am better at it than others, but I don't let anything stop me from trying. It's the journey that counts and not where I might end up. I am an invested stakeholder in my future. I will not allow "shoulds" and "coulds" to define who I am. Rather, I am responsible for what I choose to do. The key word here is DO. The "shoulds" and "coulds" can keep their own company, for I have not place for them. If it is not about creating and actively participating in life, then I am not interested.

Time to go start my day. I've got drums to play and children to teach.

God--Yes or No?

Today I have some questions about God, being that from Fri through Sunday is suppose to be his time according to Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

When reading the Ten Commandments, it begins with:

"And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God… "

and continues with...

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

Now, I am confused, if these are actually the words of God, how does one square such words that could be interpreted as being jealous, arrogant, and envious? According to 1 Cornthians 13:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

The line about not having carved images... what about the statues of saints and the crosses with Jesus, are they not carved images? Do people not pray to thdem as fervently as they do to God?

I think Mark Twain got it right, when he write "Letters from Earth". If you are not familiar with amazing work, I highly recommend it as a powerful testament to the possibilities of spirituality, without having to be dragged into organized religions that are not always loving and that often times appears jealous, arrogant and envious.

I believe is goodness and joy, love and respect, I believe that all people have a right to dignity, family and peace, without be forced to conform to other's belief systems. That does not mean that those who do believe in God are completely wrong, but that they are also not completely right.

Follow the Money

Some rambling thoughts today...
In Zimbabwe yesterday, an independent agency stated that the opposition candidate actually won the election. So today, the ruling party had this agency's office raided and people arrested. The pictures show soldiers enforcing the raid. Do they not know that once Mugabe is dead, those who survive are going to remember who enforced the illegal raids and who made the false arrests?

Follow the money...

With gas prices skyrocketing, I wonder if we are going to see the big oil companies posting more huge profits for their management teams and claim that they are not doing anything wrong, nor that they hold no responsibility for escalating food costs or so-called food shortages.

Follow the money...

It is now costing approximately 700 million dollars a day to run the war. Who is getting all of that money? Surely not our soldiers, who are doing all of the fighting and dying.

Follow the money...

Good, ole' King George sits on his throne in Washington DC and now says that, yes the economy is not doing as well as he'd hoped. No more is he saying things are alright. Weeks ago he proclaimed that the rebate checks, that are suppose to going out from the IRS soon, will provide a needed boost to our economy. Today he is quoted as saying that he now hopes that the rebates will help, but that he is not sure that it will be enough to make that big of a difference. Now< I know he didn't say exactly that, but between the lines that is what he means.

Follow the money...

Are therse various people so blinded by money and power not to see that if things do not change for the better soon, change will be forced upon them by powers that they will have little control of stopping unless the world de-evolves into a police state. When that happens, those who have will rule and those who don't will suffer. It's happened time and again throughout history. Ultimately though, when that happens, a time will come when the people will rise up and take back what has been stolen from them and they will follow the money and punish those who took advantage of difficult times or who were actually responsible for opening chaos' door and allowing the weak to suffer just so that they can get fat and rich off of the efforts of others.

Follow the money...

What did the Dalai Lama Do?

The Chinese government has lost face ofver the Tibet crisis. And, like the local bully, they are placing the blame on others, rather than looking at their own behavior.

Below is a statement taken from a Yahoo article...

"The Chinese government said through official media that formerly restive areas were under control and accused the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, of trying to harm China's image ahead of the summer games."

"The Dalai clique is scheming to take the Beijing Olympics hostage to force the Chinese government to make concessions to Tibet independence," said the People's Daily, the main mouthpiece of the Communist Party."

Yet, the behavior attributed to the Dalai Lama is so out of character for Tibetian Buddhists. This is not how Tibetian Buddhists really act. If, why has the Dalai Lama always professed peaceful solutions to problems. The Dalai Lama is about peace and the Chinese government is all about blame. They need to grow up and start acting like adults who are serious about solving problems, rather than just wanting to point fingers like a spoid child, who didn't get their way. It's getting old and tiresome.

Bill Clinton...Shut Up!!!

Good afternoon...

For this first time in too many years, the Democrats have the ability to take the White House and Congress. Unfortunately, like children who can not play well together in the same sandbox, the Democrats have this uncanny ability to screw things up just by opening up their mouths without taking the time to really thnk about what they are going to say.

Below, is a recent statement by former President Bill Clinton:
"I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country...And people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics."

Shut up, Bill!!! Once again, you are messing things up for the party. If the US is going to have a chance at fixing the mess that the Republicans have saddled us with then the Democrats need to clean up their message and start acting like leaders.

Perhaps a careful study of "The West Wing" might be helpful. At least there, the fictious candidates are campaigning on issues and not on crap.

Instead of criticizing opponents, why can't this year's campaign be solely on the issues and not on the back stabbing. That is how young children behave. It's time that we have real adults running for real office and let's leave the babies at home. We can get them a sitter who can change their diapers wheneven they spout out more poop.

President Clinton either stop with the BS and address the issues (that would help your wife out more) or shut up and get off the stage. This is a Presidential campaign and not a Toastmaster's club.

Just a thought

Close your eyes...
Imagine our world without colonialism. Imagine what our world would have been like if no 1st World country ever tried to create a 3rd World country in their image. What would today look like.

The human race has accomplished much. But in doing so, we have also given up much, as well.

At what price? For everything has a price. It might not be measured in dollars, euros or yen, but it still has a value.

Just a small thought to engage your imagination.

A Call for Vounteer and Other Help

Putting a call out for folks for volunteer to help during the Baltimore International Rhythm Festival, this coming Friday and Saturday, September 28 & 29.

Thursday evening, I need help decorating the main stage, inside St John’s – Clark Room.

For Friday, we need help with selling tickets and security. We might, also need help selling bottled water and other beverages.

Saturday, will also need people to sell tickets and handle basic security tasks. In addition, we will need people to help with the outdoor festival stage, assisting groups with transitioning on and off stage, supporting the MC & Host of the Street Festival stage, Stu Needel etc. Further, the World Rhythm Drum Circus will be set-up and in full swing. This is a veritable percussionist’s playground that is completely kids safe: percussion instruments from all over the world and several junk yards. We will need fellow drummers to help supervise this wonderful activity.

There you have it. This call for help covers much of what we need to make this event really work as smoothly as possible. That said, there is only one thing that I can think of that we need more than anything else, and that is for you to attend and bring all of your friends with you. With out the community, the Baltimore International Rhythm Festival would be nothing more than a nice idea, waiting for someone to show up.

Make a difference and contribute to BIRDS future. You can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Baltimore International Rhythm & Drumming Society on-line at: www.drumtogether.net or during the festival. Your financial support will help BIRDS be able to create unique drumming and educational opportunities for youth and adults. It truly does take a village.

Shalom…

Daveed Korup

The Taliban and their religious war...What a crock!!!

Please, could someone explain to me how murdering someone in cold-blood serves any divine purpose. On Yahoo, an article was posted about the Afghani's finding one of the 23 kidnapped South Korean tourists dead. below is a brief clip from that article:

"The bullet-riddled body of a South Korean hostage was found by police Wednesday in central Afghanistan after a purported Taliban spokesman said the militants had killed one of the captives....The male victim had 10 bullet holes in his head, chest and stomach..."

They will saw off the heads of innocent people whom never caused them any harm. They will riddle people with bullets, and in general terrorize the public all in the name of G-D. How dare they...How dare they...

I guess that I am just too naive. These are not people who make any sense to me. It seems that the only thing that they understand is violence and mayhem. They practice a religion of hate and lies. From my own research and from conversations with other Muslims, I have come to believe that the Taliban have perverted Islam to suit their own sick purposes. This has nothing to do with G-d. This is all about power and control. Since the world does not wish to act as they do, they have declared war on all of us. If we are not with them, then we are their enemy.

What do we do with rabid dogs? We shoot them. I hate the whole idea of absolutes. However, I only believe in two absolutes: breathing and not. Outside of those two, the rest is negotiable. To the Taliban, there is only their way and nothing else is negotiable.

Sorry for venting, but when I read such horrible stories about people who act without any regard to human dignity and decency I am left empty and angry. As as an open society, we can not allow others to dictate how we choose to live our lives. Then we will have lost all that we have gained as human beings, through centuries of unrest, racism, political corruption, religious persecution and single-minded absolutism.

Here's the Catch-22 kicker: I guess what I am trying to say is that I am absolutely against all forms of absolutism. All absolutionists should be killed and eaten, just like shoplifters. Except for me, of course. Because as an absolute hater of things absolute, I must be right, absolutely!

The WORLD Rhythm DRUM Circus is almost here

Tomorrow is the day.

I'm getting ready to load-in the new WORLD Rhythm DRUM Circus at Port Discovery Children's Museum, in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. This is going to bea fun play set-up, that doubles as the framework of a learning lab for both structured and more non-matrixed sessions.

Next week I'll be working with Pre-K through 4th grade classes. Greet them at the entrance, sort of a modern day Willy Wonka, but instead of chocolate, they get to drum. Not a bad trade. Anyway, each class gets a 40 minute session filled with free play and guided activities.

Here is a brief description of each of the WORLD Rhythm DRUM Circus' attractions. There have been some changes from an earlier blog.

· Great Gate of the Drum Circus
Giant PVC wall of single headed drum gongs and double headed barrel drums ---

The drums are made from 50-gal plastic barrels, ABS pipe (corrugated drainage pipe), PVC pipe, and washing machine drums, all ranging between 15" to 24" in diameter.

Note: All drums will be headed with recycled, outdoor billboard vinyl


· Drummer's Row

A drums from 50-gal plastic barrels, ABS and PVC pipe and swimming pool sand filters, all ranging between 12" to 30" in diameter.


· The Gong Garden

Gongs Racks

Hub Shrub – a steel shrub covered in hubcaps

Eliz'abell Tree, covered in bells, cymbals and chimes

Brook- eo-sarus (for my granddaughter, Brooke – age two) --- A stainless steel metallophone (xylophone)

Water Gongs – 5-gallon water jugs



· The Toy Box

A diverse assortment of barrel drums, frame drums, and goblet drums; along with frogs, shakers, ratchets, bells, blocks and other percussive toys from all corners of the globe.

_______________________________________
Numerous Tribe Mates have written to comment and share their energy. Thanks for the support. I am so excited about this project.

As a teaching artist, this new program opens for me a whole new atmosphere to work within. I am planning on using this set-up for a four-week summer drum camp in Baltimore's Hampden district, at the Roosevelt Park Recreation Center. I'm collaborating with the Mill Valley Cultural Arts Umbrella, who has written two grants to provide funding for the drum camp. This will allow me to run three to four, 90-minute sessions for Pre-K thru 1st, 2nd & 3rd, 4th & 5th, and a middle school session. There would be an indoor space and the Rec Center might allow the camp to build and install some outdoor percussion play stations.

More on that later. First, tomorrow and Port Discovery. I'll post pics and youtube video, as soon as they are available. I will also be getting written comments from parents and teachers. I'll be glad to share them as well with anyone who is interested.

Shalom...Daveed