Friday, February 22, 2008

a dimond is forever 2

After i wrote that last blog i found this commercial that gives facts about blood diamonds. this kind of commercial is what needs to be nationally broadcast. think about how many people watch TV!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsfwEj6yqSA&NR=1

a diamond is forever

this is the link to the DeBeers 25th anniversary commercial. The advertisement industry is very powerful it influences people on millions of issues. if commercials like this had the power to create the tradition of buying diamonds to show your love, it is incredibly possible that with the right slogan you could influence people to help reduce the purchasing of blood diamonds. At ACC this week one vendor i was talking to said, "its all about the packaging, you could sell someone a piece of crap as long as it was packaged right."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vXHm8TzLzE

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Andy back in Africa

This is an awesome blog from a young man that is actually in Sierra Leone. He is a member of NGO (non-governmental organization) that is working for development and economic planning in Freetown. He works with people that have been affected by the civil war that had plagued the country. You should check it out. Especially the free writing entry, he had some of his younger students do free writing with the topic of “I remember…”

http://andybackinafrica.blogspot.com/2008/02/religion-in-sierra-leone.html

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Creativity

Sometimes it’s really hard for me to be creative…for past projects I would search for images or just sketch until something popped out at me. Most of the time I would find myself not really thinking an idea through and just jumping in and starting, this would help me generate more ideas. This was sometimes productive, but other times not. Often I would spend so much time making things and experimenting before I committed to an idea. This is great, but not when you have a deadline and need to get the final project going.

Ideas sometimes come at me at random times, I have to write them down or I will forget them. I find myself coming up with ideas at inconvenient times such as when I’m driving or at work, both places aren’t the best for me to stop and sketch a design. I try to record all these random ideas, I keep them in a special “life” notebook.


Thus far in my artistic career I would say I don’t really have a clear worked out process of developing ideas. To change this I have been reading the creative worksheets handed out by Jan in class. One thing that I found interesting is what was said in one of the articles, it stated that you have to think and sketch the simple and basic ideas before you can find and develop the good stuff. This is so true, get rid of the clutter before other options become clear. Bob Pitman, the staid glass teacher at Towson University, once told me that beautiful things take a lot of time. This is true with everything, I find myself saying this quote to myself when I get frustrated and stressed with my work.

When I’m stressed I can’t create, I feel pressure and I am only concerned with getting the assignment done. This is a hazard for me because it means I don’t create successful work. I have been trying to develop a way to relax myself and not stress my self, into a creative block. In order to combat this blockage, I listen to music. I listen to songs that I know by heart and can sing along automatically and then at the same time be doing other things ( I am doing this now). Driving also helps me to relax, this maybe not the safest place to go through my thoughts but I always seem to arrive safely and feel better. I have also been taking advice from my mom, she’s a great lady, and have been listening to Abraham Hicks the author of The Artists Way. I have been you tubing her lectures. Thanks to technology I can get a quick pick me up in no time, changing the way I am looking at a situation. Sometimes all i need is a positive pick me up and anything is possible....

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

images related to amputation





i was drawn to this image becasue of the texture and pattern created after the hand was reattached, it also reminded me scarification.

























medical amputations are still sad but interesting, i was drawn to this step by step image.
























Words related to blood diamond... i have alot

i am trying to get inspired...

Ignorance
Deceit
Longevity
Marriage
Death
Hatred
Assigned value
Supply and demand
Rarity
Denial
Illuminating
Justice
Rights
Conscious
Faith
Family
Demographic
Poverty
Malaria
Displaced
Evil
Atrocities
sparkle
transparent
international
consumer
law
finished
illicit
human rights
forever
conflict
boarders
dripping
hope
distrustion
devistation
war
evil
weapons
money
greed
suffering
murder massacure
slay
butcher
mayham
ethical
ammunition
rebels

The Hope Diamond


the hope diamond is the larges deep blue diamond in the world. it is billions of years old and was said to be found in what now is india.

Friday, February 8, 2008

November 29, 2001 Thursday
Late Edition - Final
A NATION CHALLENGED: THE MONEY TRAIL; House Votes to Combat Sale of Diamonds for War
BYLINE: By JOSEPH KAHN
SECTION: Section B; Column 1; National Desk; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 544 words
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Nov. 28
The House voted today to give President Bush the power to impose trade-related sanctions on nations that sell diamonds to finance war or terrorism, a step that supporters say will help stem the trade of so-called blood diamonds.
The measure sailed through the House 408 to 6 after reports linked Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, Al Qaeda, to the African diamond trade, which is also thought to a major cause of civil wars in sub-Saharan Africa.
While human rights groups favored stronger steps to pressure nations to ban imports of diamonds and other gems that finance violent conflicts, the House's compromise bill has the backing of the Bush administration. The Senate has not yet taken up a similar bill.
"This is an historic step to introduce transparency to the diamond trade and take the profits away from people responsible for carnage in Africa," said Representative Tony P. Hall, an Ohio Democrat who was a sponsor of the measure.
Warlords and terrorists in Angola, Sierra Leone and Congo have fought for years for control of diamond mines, using the diamonds themselves to finance their war efforts, United Nations officials and human rights groups say. Battling militias in those countries have killed millions of people and maimed millions of others in some of the worst human rights abuses in the world, these groups say.
The United States buys nearly two-thirds of all finished diamonds, and the threat of losing access to the American market could pressure countries to cooperate with United Nations-backed efforts to police the trade in diamonds, which are easily transported and hard to trace.
Bush administration officials have opposed international efforts to impose stringent controls on the purchase and sale of diamonds at every step from producer to consumer, arguing that such measures are onerous and may run afoul of international trade rules.
But the administration softened its position after reports that Mr. bin Laden and his supporters may have made millions of dollars acquiring raw diamonds at low prices from Sierra Leone and reselling them at high market prices. The reports first appeared in The Washington Post.
"That is what put us over the edge," Mr. Hall said.
A separate effort to combat the sale of illicit diamonds is under way at an international conference in Botswana this week. Nations there are seeking to devise a system that would ban the cross-border sale of rough diamonds unless they have a passport denoting weight, value and provenance, making it harder for a country to export more diamonds than it can prove it produced legally.
Supporters of the House vote regard it as helping that United Nations-backed effort. The Bush administration, however, has sought to water down international inspection and certification measures, preferring to deal with illegal diamond sales on a case-by-case basis.
Adotei Akwei, who follows the diamond trade issue for Amnesty International, the human rights organization, said that the Bush administration had so far delivered "half a loaf" by agreeing to use presidential authority to ban imports on an ad hoc basis. But he said that much more remained to be done.
"We still have serious reservations about whether the United States will participate fully," he said.

Monday, February 4, 2008

kanya west

Diamonds From Sierra Leone (remix)

Diamonds are forever
They're all I need to please me. They can't stimulate and tease me. They won't leave in the night, Have no fear that they might desert me.

[Chorus] Diamonds are forever (forever forever) [Kanye West] Throw ya diamonds in the sky if ya feel the vibe! Diamonds are forever (forever forever) The ROC is still alive every time I rhyme. Forever ever? Forever ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever? Ever, ever?

[Verse 1] [Kanye West] Good morning, this ain't Vietnam Still people lose hands, legs, arms for real. Little was known of Sierra Leone And how they connect to the diamonds we own. And when I speak of the diamonds in this song, I ain't talk about the ones that be glowin, I'm talking about Roc-a-fella--my home. My chain, these ain?t conflict diamonds, Is they Jacob? don't lie to me man. I feel a part of me sayin keep shinin How? When I know what a blood diamonds Though it's thousands of miles away, Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today. Over here it's a drug trade, we die from drugs. Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs. The diamonds, the chains, the braces, the charmses. I thought my Jesus piece was so harmless, Til i seen a picture of a shorty armless. And here's the conflict: It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold. Spend your whole life tryin' to get that ice. Call a baller up B, 'You look so nice'. How could something so wrong make me feel so right? Right?! Before I beat myself up like Ike, You can still throw your Rocafella diamond tonight, cuz,

[Chorus]

[Verse 2] [Kanye West] People askin' me if I'm gon' give my chain back That'll be the day I give the game back You know the next question dog 'Yo, where Dame at?! This track the Indian dance to bring our reign back What's up with you and Jay, man, are y'all ok man?! [Jigga] Yup, I got it from here, K, damn. The chain, the man, the game is intact The name is mine I'll take the blame for that. The pressure is on, but guess who ain't gona crack Hahaha. Pardon me, I had to laugh at that! How could you falter, when you the rock of Gibraltar I had to get off the boat, so I could walk on water. This ain't no tall order, this is nuffn to me. Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week. I do this in my sleep. I sell kilos of coke. I'm guessin' I can sell CDs I'm not a business man, I'm a business, maan. And I handle my business, damn! Kanyezey, you got me. Freeway, then Foxy. Wykeeze, Teairra Mari, Peedi watch me. Bleek could be one hit away his whole career. As long as I'm alive, he's a millionaire. And even if I die, he's in my will somewhere. So he could just kick back and chill somewhere Oh yeah, he don't even have to write rhymes. The dynasty like my money last three lifetimes. Shirley Bassey in the wear sayin exactly what I've been saying practically my whole career. A diamond is forever and I'll be mining this forever And now the Louis Vuitton Don coming, couldn't be better. People lined up to see the Titanic sinking Instead, we rose from the ashes like a phoenix. If you waitin' for the end of this dynasty sign, It'll seem like forever is a mighty long time. [Forever...] Yo, bitches. Hahahaha. (Aaaay!) G'night!

Blood Diamonds-images







Blood Diamonds

http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Video_Clips&content_type_id=52821&display_order=3&mini_id=52826

this is a good website for quick movies.

podcast with Dave Grohl

after hearing the Podcast interviewing Dave Grohl about Kurt Cobain. i liked how Grohl was so moved by the minors that were traped, its amazing what music can do.

music and art keep people alive, they feed the spirit.

this must have been an awesome feeling for Gorhl, knowing that someone in those conditions requested his album to help him cope with what was happening.

i know Grohl talked about Cobain alot in the interview, but one point that stood out for me was, that every night Cobain would go into his room and just write for a few hours. creativity needs to be practiced, just like everything else. i am learning this, and working on my own self disiplint when it comes to my art and life in general.