Creative Capital has announced their choices for th Professional Development weekend in January. Sadly enough, my name did not make it on that list. I think I'm the prime candidate for some professional development - young artist, teaching others...anyway, not how they saw it. Here's the letter - mom, it's one more rejection letter to pin to the wall...is it full yet?
The panel for the Creative Capital Professional Development Program, chaired by Councilor Steve Alexander, met on Tuesday, December 13th, to select the participants for the program's 2006 cycle. The competition both in terms of the number of applications and the quality of submissions was particularly strong this year. As the program is limited to 15 participants, applicants who were not selected for this cycle are encouraged to try again for 2007.
The following artists were selected:
Letty Bassart, choreographer
Franklin Einspruch, visual artist
Orlando Garcia, composer
Marjorie Klein, writer
Vivian Marthell, visual artist
Charo Oquet, visual artist
Karen Peterson, choreographer
Tall Rickards, visual artist
Juan Sanchez, playwright
George Sanchez-Calderon, visual artist
Matthew Schreiber, visual artist
Augusto Soledade, choreographer
Barry Sparkman, visual artist
Ray Sullivan, choreographer
Helena Thevenot, choreographer
The workshop will take place Friday, January 20 from 6 PM to 9:30 PM; Saturday, January 21 from 9 AM to 6 PM ; and Sunday, January 22 from 9 AM to 5 PM. It is absolutely imperative that all participants be available for the entire weekend. Please plan to be on time.
We are currently negotiating for a downtown location for the workshop, but will most likely host the program in our offices on the 6th floor of the government center. Further information regarding the logistics for the weekend will be forwarded to you directly from the Creative Capital Foundation.
I would appreciate a "reply" email from the participants as an assurance that this email was received.
Please forgive the informality of this notice. I am resorting to email as the fastest and most efficient means of communicating with you. Congratulations to all and a sincere thanks to everyone who applied.
Rem
14 December 2005
13 December 2005
more thoughts on recent murder
Take a look at Schwarzenegger's written response to the clemency request. Pay specific attention to the last page or so when he explains that it was William's book dedication which
"casts significant doubt on his personal redemption." The list includes Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, and Mumia Abu-Jamal. I hope other people are seriously questioning this written response as well. It is so flawed. Shouts racism, violence and misrepresentation. It makes me sad, mad, enraged that even a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize cannot prove a person's contribution to society.
"casts significant doubt on his personal redemption." The list includes Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, and Mumia Abu-Jamal. I hope other people are seriously questioning this written response as well. It is so flawed. Shouts racism, violence and misrepresentation. It makes me sad, mad, enraged that even a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize cannot prove a person's contribution to society.
the long goodbye . . . timeline of an execution
Tookie's Long GoodbyeTimeline of an execution, quote by quote
by Chanel LeeDecember 13th, 2005 9:36 AM
See also:
The Rules of Redemption How could 'Tookie' Williams have convinced the Governor? by Nick Sylvester
April 29, 1993—At the Hands Across Watts peace summit between members of the Bloods and the Crips, convicted murderer Stanley Tookie Williams delivers a videotaped message from San Quentin’s death row to hundreds of gang members gathered in a Los Angeles hotel ballroom. "Working together,” he tells them, “we can put an end to this cycle that creates deep pain in the hearts of our mothers, our fathers, and our people, who have lost loved ones to this senseless violence.”
April 13, 1997—Williams posts an apology for his previous gang activity on www.tookie.com, lamenting, “When I created the Crips youth gang. . . in South Central Los Angeles, I never imagined Crips membership would one day spread throughout California, would spread to much of the rest of the nation and to cities in South Africa, where Crips copycat gangs have formed. I also didn't expect the Crips to end up ruining the lives of so many young people, especially young black men who have hurt other young black men. . . . So today I apologize to you all—the children of America and South Africa—who must cope every day with dangerous street gangs. I no longer participate in the so-called gangster lifestyle, and I deeply regret that I ever did. . . . I pray that one day my apology will be accepted. I also pray that your suffering, caused by gang violence, will soon come to an end as more gang members wake up and stop hurting themselves and others. I vow to spend the rest of my life working toward solutions."
August 1997—PowerKids Press publishes Williams’ series of children’s books. Co-written with author Barbara Cottman Becnel, the books offer children alternatives to gang violence. “If you're going to teach a child, teach him properly,” Williams will say to Mother Jones in 2001. “My books, they are about instilling confidence, trying to convince youngsters that they have the potential to succeed in life, and that they don't have to succumb to the stereotypes.”
November 18, 2000—Swiss Member of Parliament and death penalty opponent Mario Fehr nominates Williams for the Nobel Peace Prize. United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan ultimately takes the prize in February 2001; Williams would receive five more Nobel nominations, including one for Literature, the latest coming on December 8. "Everybody is not loved and everybody is not hated. . . . I didn't nominate myself," Williams tells the Contra Costa Times shortly after news of the nomination breaks. "I let the merits of what I do speak for itself. My main objective is to convince kids that the gang life is a cause-less cause. I try to apprise them of the fact that there are other ways."
September 10, 2002—The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejects the appeal of his death sentence, but suggests Williams apply for clemency from Gray Davis, then governor of California. "Although Williams' good works and accomplishments since incarceration may make him a worthy candidate for the exercise of gubernatorial discretion, they are not matters that we in the federal judiciary are at liberty to take into consideration," Judge Preston Hug writes in the majority opinion.
October 11, 2005—The United States Supreme Court denies Williams’s appeal without comment, setting his execution for 12:01 a.m., December 13.
November 30, 2005—Williams speaks to WBAI’s Amy Goodman from prison in one of his final interviews. “I continue to live my life day by day, or shall I say, minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day, as I have been doing since my redemption,” he tells Goodman on Democracy Now! “It has nothing to do with a cavalier attitude. It has nothing to do with machismo or manhood or some pseudo code of the streets, which I formerly used. It has to do with my faith in God and my redemption. . . .I don't fear this type of stuff. I'm at peace. And when you maintain this sense of peace and you live by truth, by integrity, these things don't bother me. It doesn't.”
December 11, 2005—The California State Supreme Court denies a plea to grant a stay of execution and reopen Williams’s case, asserting in its ruling that he “has not made a prima facia showing that his claims, whether viewed individually or in aggregate, could meet the statutory requirements of both due diligence and clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence."
December 12, 2005—Seven months after it rejected Williams’s final appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denies a request to issue a stay of the execution—but again suggests that Williams seek clemency.
December 12, 2005—Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denies clemency hours later, saying, "After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency. The facts do not justify overturning the jury's verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case. The possible irregularities in Williams' trial have been thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts, and there is no reason to disturb the judicial decisions that uphold the jury's decisions that he is guilty. . . and should pay with his life."
December 12, 2005—Attorneys for Williams file a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to win a stay of his execution. The high court rejects the appeal without comment.
December 13, 2005—Stanley Tookie Williams dies in California’s San Quentin Prison after receiving a lethal injection. He was 51 years old. According to the Los Angeles Times, he told friends he wasn't afraid of death. Witnesses to the killing told the paper it took 10 minutes to locate a vein, and that among his last words were these: "Still can't find it?"
by Chanel LeeDecember 13th, 2005 9:36 AM
See also:
The Rules of Redemption How could 'Tookie' Williams have convinced the Governor? by Nick Sylvester
April 29, 1993—At the Hands Across Watts peace summit between members of the Bloods and the Crips, convicted murderer Stanley Tookie Williams delivers a videotaped message from San Quentin’s death row to hundreds of gang members gathered in a Los Angeles hotel ballroom. "Working together,” he tells them, “we can put an end to this cycle that creates deep pain in the hearts of our mothers, our fathers, and our people, who have lost loved ones to this senseless violence.”
April 13, 1997—Williams posts an apology for his previous gang activity on www.tookie.com, lamenting, “When I created the Crips youth gang. . . in South Central Los Angeles, I never imagined Crips membership would one day spread throughout California, would spread to much of the rest of the nation and to cities in South Africa, where Crips copycat gangs have formed. I also didn't expect the Crips to end up ruining the lives of so many young people, especially young black men who have hurt other young black men. . . . So today I apologize to you all—the children of America and South Africa—who must cope every day with dangerous street gangs. I no longer participate in the so-called gangster lifestyle, and I deeply regret that I ever did. . . . I pray that one day my apology will be accepted. I also pray that your suffering, caused by gang violence, will soon come to an end as more gang members wake up and stop hurting themselves and others. I vow to spend the rest of my life working toward solutions."
August 1997—PowerKids Press publishes Williams’ series of children’s books. Co-written with author Barbara Cottman Becnel, the books offer children alternatives to gang violence. “If you're going to teach a child, teach him properly,” Williams will say to Mother Jones in 2001. “My books, they are about instilling confidence, trying to convince youngsters that they have the potential to succeed in life, and that they don't have to succumb to the stereotypes.”
November 18, 2000—Swiss Member of Parliament and death penalty opponent Mario Fehr nominates Williams for the Nobel Peace Prize. United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan ultimately takes the prize in February 2001; Williams would receive five more Nobel nominations, including one for Literature, the latest coming on December 8. "Everybody is not loved and everybody is not hated. . . . I didn't nominate myself," Williams tells the Contra Costa Times shortly after news of the nomination breaks. "I let the merits of what I do speak for itself. My main objective is to convince kids that the gang life is a cause-less cause. I try to apprise them of the fact that there are other ways."
September 10, 2002—The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejects the appeal of his death sentence, but suggests Williams apply for clemency from Gray Davis, then governor of California. "Although Williams' good works and accomplishments since incarceration may make him a worthy candidate for the exercise of gubernatorial discretion, they are not matters that we in the federal judiciary are at liberty to take into consideration," Judge Preston Hug writes in the majority opinion.
October 11, 2005—The United States Supreme Court denies Williams’s appeal without comment, setting his execution for 12:01 a.m., December 13.
November 30, 2005—Williams speaks to WBAI’s Amy Goodman from prison in one of his final interviews. “I continue to live my life day by day, or shall I say, minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day, as I have been doing since my redemption,” he tells Goodman on Democracy Now! “It has nothing to do with a cavalier attitude. It has nothing to do with machismo or manhood or some pseudo code of the streets, which I formerly used. It has to do with my faith in God and my redemption. . . .I don't fear this type of stuff. I'm at peace. And when you maintain this sense of peace and you live by truth, by integrity, these things don't bother me. It doesn't.”
December 11, 2005—The California State Supreme Court denies a plea to grant a stay of execution and reopen Williams’s case, asserting in its ruling that he “has not made a prima facia showing that his claims, whether viewed individually or in aggregate, could meet the statutory requirements of both due diligence and clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence."
December 12, 2005—Seven months after it rejected Williams’s final appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denies a request to issue a stay of the execution—but again suggests that Williams seek clemency.
December 12, 2005—Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denies clemency hours later, saying, "After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency. The facts do not justify overturning the jury's verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case. The possible irregularities in Williams' trial have been thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts, and there is no reason to disturb the judicial decisions that uphold the jury's decisions that he is guilty. . . and should pay with his life."
December 12, 2005—Attorneys for Williams file a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to win a stay of his execution. The high court rejects the appeal without comment.
December 13, 2005—Stanley Tookie Williams dies in California’s San Quentin Prison after receiving a lethal injection. He was 51 years old. According to the Los Angeles Times, he told friends he wasn't afraid of death. Witnesses to the killing told the paper it took 10 minutes to locate a vein, and that among his last words were these: "Still can't find it?"
stanley "tookie" williams and the soul of the country
Crips Co-Founder Williams Put to Death
Stanley Tookie Williams was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times while in prison for murder. California Department of Corrections
NPR.org, December 13, 2005 · SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) -- Convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang co-founder whose case stirred a national debate about capital punishment and the possibility of redemption, was executed Tuesday morning.
Williams, 51, died around 12:35 a.m. after receiving a lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, officials said.
The case became the state's highest-profile execution in decades. Hollywood stars and capital punishment foes argued that Williams' sentence should be commuted to life in prison because he had made amends by writing children's books about the dangers of gangs and violence.
In the days leading up to the execution, state and federal courts refused to reopen his case. Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied Williams' request for clemency, suggesting that his supposed change of heart was not genuine because he had not shown any real remorse for the countless killings committed by the Crips.
"Is Williams' redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise?" Schwarzenegger wrote. "Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption."
Williams was condemned in 1981 for gunning down convenience store clerk Albert Owens, 26, at a 7-Eleven in Whittier and killing Yen-I Yang, 76, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, 63, and the couple's daughter Yu-Chin Yang Lin, 43, at the Los Angeles motel they owned. Williams claimed he was innocent.
Witnesses at the trial said Williams boasted about the killings, stating "You should have heard the way he sounded when I shot him." Williams then made a growling noise and laughed for five to six minutes, according to the transcript that the governor referenced in his denial of clemency.
Williams was the 12th person executed in California since lawmakers reinstated the death penalty in 1977.
About 1,000 death penalty supporters and opponents gathered outside the prison to await the execution. Singer Joan Baez, actor Mike Farrell and the Rev. Jesse Jackson were among the celebrities who protested the execution.
"Tonight is planned, efficient, calculated, antiseptic, cold-blooded murder and I think everyone who is here is here to try to enlist the morality and soul of this country," said Baez who sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" on a small plywood stage set up just outside the gates.
A contingent of 40 people who had walked the approximately 25 miles from San Francisco held signs calling for an end to "state-sponsored murder." Others said they wanted to honor the memory of Williams' victims.
Among the celebrities who took up Williams' cause were Jamie Foxx, who played the gang leader in a cable movie about Williams; rapper Snoop Dogg, himself a former Crip; Sister Helen Prejean, the nun depicted in "Dead Man Walking"; and Bianca Jagger. During Williams' 24 years on death row, a Swiss legislator, college professors and others nominated him for the Nobel Prizes in peace and literature.
"There is no part of me that existed then that exists now," Williams said recently during an interview with The Associated Press.
"I haven't had a lot of joy in my life. But in here," he says, pointing to his heart, "I'm happy. I am peaceful in here. I am joyful in here."
Stanley Tookie Williams was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times while in prison for murder. California Department of Corrections
NPR.org, December 13, 2005 · SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) -- Convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang co-founder whose case stirred a national debate about capital punishment and the possibility of redemption, was executed Tuesday morning.
Williams, 51, died around 12:35 a.m. after receiving a lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, officials said.
The case became the state's highest-profile execution in decades. Hollywood stars and capital punishment foes argued that Williams' sentence should be commuted to life in prison because he had made amends by writing children's books about the dangers of gangs and violence.
In the days leading up to the execution, state and federal courts refused to reopen his case. Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied Williams' request for clemency, suggesting that his supposed change of heart was not genuine because he had not shown any real remorse for the countless killings committed by the Crips.
"Is Williams' redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise?" Schwarzenegger wrote. "Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption."
Williams was condemned in 1981 for gunning down convenience store clerk Albert Owens, 26, at a 7-Eleven in Whittier and killing Yen-I Yang, 76, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, 63, and the couple's daughter Yu-Chin Yang Lin, 43, at the Los Angeles motel they owned. Williams claimed he was innocent.
Witnesses at the trial said Williams boasted about the killings, stating "You should have heard the way he sounded when I shot him." Williams then made a growling noise and laughed for five to six minutes, according to the transcript that the governor referenced in his denial of clemency.
Williams was the 12th person executed in California since lawmakers reinstated the death penalty in 1977.
About 1,000 death penalty supporters and opponents gathered outside the prison to await the execution. Singer Joan Baez, actor Mike Farrell and the Rev. Jesse Jackson were among the celebrities who protested the execution.
"Tonight is planned, efficient, calculated, antiseptic, cold-blooded murder and I think everyone who is here is here to try to enlist the morality and soul of this country," said Baez who sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" on a small plywood stage set up just outside the gates.
A contingent of 40 people who had walked the approximately 25 miles from San Francisco held signs calling for an end to "state-sponsored murder." Others said they wanted to honor the memory of Williams' victims.
Among the celebrities who took up Williams' cause were Jamie Foxx, who played the gang leader in a cable movie about Williams; rapper Snoop Dogg, himself a former Crip; Sister Helen Prejean, the nun depicted in "Dead Man Walking"; and Bianca Jagger. During Williams' 24 years on death row, a Swiss legislator, college professors and others nominated him for the Nobel Prizes in peace and literature.
"There is no part of me that existed then that exists now," Williams said recently during an interview with The Associated Press.
"I haven't had a lot of joy in my life. But in here," he says, pointing to his heart, "I'm happy. I am peaceful in here. I am joyful in here."
09 December 2005
yogini props
While I've been doing some holiday shopping I've come across some great yoga stuff, and I wanted to pass the info along.
Intent is an online shop that one of my yoga teachers, Paul turned me on to. They have these great utility type yoga bags that are just great for the "active yogi/ini."
And, Slainte is a very cool woman run gig out of San Fransisco. They have beautiful bags, like the one I got for myself which is pictured here. Jill, the proprietor has all kinds of great fabric that she uses to make these bags. Each one is unique, depending on what's available. It looks so nice, I can't wait to get it and finally have a place to put my yoga bag while it rolls around in my car!
today show annoyance
I was watching the Today Show a couple of days ago as I usually do in the morning, and the most annoying thing ever happened. Christie Brinkley and Cheryl Tiegs were being interviewed by Katie Couric on how 5o is the new 30. Ok, I could work with that title. I think that 50 is definitely still young, and I know lots of 5o somethings that are great. But, these two women just went and screwed the whole thing up. They proceeded to say how it was ok to turn 50 nowadays because there are great skin products out there which can help take away wrinkles. Plus, there are lots of other non-invasive procedures currently which save women from having to "go under the knife." Well, thank god there are face creams out there and botox so I don't have to look my age! What's wrong with women who are 50, and so what if they look like they are 50?! These two women are no role models for me. Smiles, skin and hair from bottles and jars. No thank you.
There was one hilarious thing that happened . . . as the models were talking, Katie Couric interrupted, and said, Wait, aren't we supposed to be encouraging women to look great at their age, not despite of it. And the models continued that technology was so advanced that we didn't have to worry about looking old anymore. Well, I've got news for them - they did look old. And they looked like were trying too damned hard to fight time.
Now, I know that coming from a 25 year old, all this rambling may not mean much, but I hope that somewhere out there women can stop fighting and start living. When will we get it through our minds that looking good has so many variations?
There was one hilarious thing that happened . . . as the models were talking, Katie Couric interrupted, and said, Wait, aren't we supposed to be encouraging women to look great at their age, not despite of it. And the models continued that technology was so advanced that we didn't have to worry about looking old anymore. Well, I've got news for them - they did look old. And they looked like were trying too damned hard to fight time.
Now, I know that coming from a 25 year old, all this rambling may not mean much, but I hope that somewhere out there women can stop fighting and start living. When will we get it through our minds that looking good has so many variations?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)