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I USE THIS SITE AS A MOOD BOARD, POSTING ALL THAT INSPIRES ME AND THE PRODUCT OF THOSE INSPIRATIONS.
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PLEASE NOTE: ALL ART/ PHOTOGRAPHY IS GIVEN PROPER CREDIT UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED ON POSTING.
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Posted by @Imani_Sublime | A quote from... | Friday 27 February 2009 2:56 pm
(quote taken from www.missjackdavey.com) “i’m no longer going to apologize for who i am . either u can handle it or u can’t . i trust in myself & the universe enough to leave questions unanswered . i’ve never wanted to be uptight abt things i couldn’t explain . perhaps the best things in life are meant to be enjoyed rather than dissected . i’m not really sure of anything right now , but i’m wanting things that i never thought i’d consider . grown up things that perhaps i’m not really ready for , but when is anyone really ready for anything ? go with the flow , that’s all i can do . & be happy in the process . & be honest & as good to ppl as i want them to be to me . yeah . i’m sticking to that .” To all of those that gave me prompts for my “Inspire Me” writing experiment… thank you so much. Stay tuned for postings with these pieces starting Monday!!!
(Taken from www.deviantart.com- “Inspire me” by Bradman2008)
I want to try something with you guys, if you are down… comment this blog with ideas or words or topics…that I can write about… give me more than one if you can… next week starting Monday…I will post at least two pieces a day for five days using the inspiration you guys have given me…and I will indicate who gave me the inspiration!!!
Hopefully this will get me fully out from under my creative rock. Hope to hear from someone!!!!
Posted by @Imani_Sublime | Material Obsessions | Tuesday 24 February 2009 4:38 pm
I am constantly on the search for a versatile bag… that goes with everything and has room for all of my junk… This is absolutely getting bought. Short strap, Long strap… and dark faux leather? Divine…. If you like this…go towww.lulus.com(one of my fave shopping sites)
I have heard about Bali before, as I am sure everyone has…but after reading the book “Eat, Pray, Love”…I googled it and saw these amazing photos… so droolworthy…look at that water and the sand… how amazingly tranquil and beautiful.
I have had the extreme pleasure to not only see these amazing women perform, but I know them personally (Erica DLR, you remain one of the most amazing creative teachers I have ever had)… amazing souls combining to be one voice… Check out their website and make sure you take the chance to see them on stage…they are phenomenal!
And on their “Who We Be” section of their site….the guy playing the congas in the pic… that’s my dad!!! (smile)
“Mahina Movement is the phenomenal 3 women trio who combine poetry and song to create passionate music tied to flesh and bone, straight from the heart. Mahina Movement’s extraordinary melodies tell stories of the personal and political wrapped with courage, strength and awareness of human struggle and connection. 3 voices and one guitar blend into a powerful force, mixing folk, rock and rhymes in English, Spanish, and Tongan simmered with indigenous roots and culture. Mahina Movement’s rare sound and vision not only creates a raw, fierce artistic “movement” combining traditional and contemporary poetry, music, painting, theater, and ritual but also, is constantly generating a strong, steady “movement” for community—consisting of radical love, unstoppable activism and ruthless compassion.
Based and consistently building and creating in New York City, Mahina Movement not only lives in New York but also makes sure to contribute their multi-talents of creativity and organizing in a place they call home. Having deep roots from all over the world—Mexico, Ireland, Tonga and Africa—Mahina Movement consists of a Musician from Hollis, Queens; a Dancer from Texas and a Painter from Utah. Together, they have carved and crafted a world of musical and artistic possibilities, running outside of boxes and crossing borders and limits. They have combined their skills, cultures, ancestors, stories and languages to reach the masses and ignite inspiration in the face of resignation and cynicism.”
(“Going Under” by~Crashdowngrrl- Taken from www.deviantart.com)
Lost… I felt so lost… swirling in the whirlpools of a dead love… I fucking give up….
You said.. “This is not about you… But about me… So whatever it was that was about us… is about nothing.”
I grip onto my dignity as I pick up the pieces again… Tear-streaked smiles to show it doesn’t hurt… And yet my hand shakes to lift my pen… I let myself wallow in the salty waters of my tears… Wishing it to all disappear… to never have even existed… Answering questions and smiling despite the blood boiling beneath my skin… So I fucking give up…. On you…. On that…. On this….
Sitting on the edge… overlooking the endlessness of me… I realize all of this was always just… about what you needed… …what you desired… about all the things I had to do to keep you content….
And it hits me finally as I stare at my reflection… Even your reasons for leaving were about you.
So, I stare down into the waters like Narcissus… enamored with me again… And I see all the good I have inside of me… All thickness and hips… a heart on my sleeve and a smile in my soul… the demand for respect….. Wisdom…. and passion…and pain….
Cold hands and rough feet… Scarred from long nights of walking on fire to get to this point…. to see my face… There in the water… Tears running down my cheeks… because you don’t get to love parts of me…. without accepting the whole of me….
And you’re wrong… There’s not always sunny days… But fuck do I love to run through the rain… and know that there is always a rainbow waiting at the end…
So, I jump… back into me… Back to me… Diving deep inside to find me again…. Because this is no longer about you… And I fucking give up.
“Why do they make things so complicated?” He asked the Englishman one night. The boy had noticed that the Englishman was irritable, and missed his books.
“So that those who have the responsibility for understanding can understand,” he said. “Imagine if everyone went around transforming lead into gold. Gold would lose its value.”
Posted by @Imani_Sublime | Material Obsessions | Monday 23 February 2009 1:13 pm
According to the mark magalog, Pure is a “purely simple fragrance inspired by clean white soap with notes of citrus and sheer florals.” Since my Chanel No. 5 is a little heavy for humid summer days…I prefer a softer more refreshing scent. This reminds me of jumping out the shower, clean and sweet smelling. Yum! One of my favorites and I pray that Mark. / Avon does not discontinue this fragrance as it is one of my all-time faves….EVER!
Posted by @Imani_Sublime | Lyrics | Monday 23 February 2009 12:00 pm
[verse 2]
you still call me up from time to time and it would be so hard for me not to cross the line the words of love lie on my lips just like a curse and i knew, oh yes i knew they’d only make it worse and now you have the nerve to play along just like the mistro beats in your song you got your kicks, you get your kicks from playing me and the less you give the more i want, so foolishly.
[chorus] but i will never be your stepping stone, take it all or leave me alone, i will never be your stepping stone, im standing upright on my own.
Posted by @Imani_Sublime | A quote from... | Thursday 19 February 2009 4:03 pm
“….oftentimes we are content with being disconnected from the universe . we purposely deny good energy because we’re too selfish & egotistical to admit how much we need other ppl . we’re so afraid of our vulnerability that we’re willing to degrade those closest to us . to some , blood is no thicker than water . sometimes it is easier to be dishonorable , & no matter what binds us , be it blood or friendship , we will choose what’s comforting to our own petty impulses rather than what’s right in accordance with universal law . the power of free will can be a dangerous thing if u don’t know how to use that power.”
JLo… even though, to me, personally…sometimes is not the best representation of Puerto Rican women…and I loathe when people call me JLo simply because she is the only woman of Puerto Rican descent they know of…. I respect her style and business savvy… She is an extremely influential Latina in American pop culture…so this…is giving her the props she deserves… Besides, her shoe game be tiiiiight! LOL.
I saw Blue at an event earlier this week and he is prob one of the funniest and most sincere poets I have ever met. As he says “This is my nine to five…this is my bread and butter.”
Check him out…buy his book…$10. SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS!!!
I have always wanted to visit Italy… and seeing these beautiful pictures of Tuscany makes me want to even more…so quaint and beautiful and serene. And this is only one tiny part of it…. Crazy right? Hope you enjoy these as much as I have…..
Posted by @Imani_Sublime | A quote from... | Thursday 19 February 2009 1:36 pm
“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.”
Posted by @Imani_Sublime | One of the Greats | Tuesday 17 February 2009 3:25 pm
Salsa band
leaderJoe Cuba, dubbed the “Father of Latin Boogaloo”, died Sunday, February 15, 2009 in NYC at the age of 78.
Cuba was a key architect of Boogaloo, a bilingual sound that fused Afro-Carribean genres with the urban R&B stylings of NYC…thus being a key component of what is now called The Nuyorican Movement. He was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in April of 1999, and was the director of the Museum of La Salsa, in El Barrio, NYC (Spanish Harlem). May he rest in peace and be reassured that his legacy will remain.
Written: February 16, 2009 -(waiting for the BFF in Starbucks)
Flying away with the wind at the back of your mind… I remain your afterthought… Losing control… Tears frozen on my cheeks… The horror of losing myself in your dreams alone…
I can’t feel my fingers when you hold my hand… Closing your eyes to me… shutting out the sun. Ice cold lips pressed to the warmth of my good intentions… I grasp onto threads of what I hope my heart can change… with stubborn snowflakes piling up on a fool’s smile…
Crying and yelling at a glacier… There is no movement… No reaction to my pleading…. You caress me with icicles… your frosted walls are up… even when our heated passion attempts to take you beyond your ice blue horizons….
How can I love someone so completely hidden from me?
I shiver from your cold shoulders… Wanting to be just let in… Where I know you’re warm…I’ve felt it before…. I throw myself at you when inhibitions have been lost… only for the avalanche of your silence to overwhelm me into humiliation. Beyond words…
I beg… Look at me… Listen to me… Hear me out… Understand me…. Try to… Feel me… Touch me…. Take me….into consideration….
But excuses and brush offs and I don’t knows sting like hailstones…. I wince when uncertainties cloud over the sunshine of your truth… Knowing that I should take refuge in myself, yet I still give it all to you…. And inside of me, my own storms brew and the winds pick up…. And still I take comfort in the cold igloos of your embrace… Longing for the fires I know you’ve smothered with the ice of your scars…. I tremble….
It’s cold when you leave me outside of you….
Let me in… Let me in…. I am here if you would only let me in….
The first time I saw one of Ruben Toledo’s fashion illustrations, I was flipping through an Elle Magazine and came across his Nordstrom’s ad…I adore it…elegant and delicate and absolutely gorgeous.
