Myisha Cherry

Happy New Year Everyone!! I hope your holidays was a blast and you are ready to start a new year and new decade with optimism and focus.  Well I am focused and my number one line of business for the new year is to make sure that I am spiritually focused. The creative and intellectual stuff comes after that.

For some of you (I wish all of you), I hope that is your priority too; to take your spirituality to the next level, to put God first, and to challenge yourself to make God proud each day of your life. I am unashamedly Christian, so today I give you some Christian resources to help you start your year off the right way.

They come by way of three guys I truly respect and whom I think is both profound and very very creative in their ministries. They hail from Texas, Chicago, and Florida. Take a listen and don’t forget to make your first line of business this decade: your spirit, your God!!!

ED YOUNG
Message: Ineed2change.com

CHARLES JENKINS
Video Blog: Ready To Be Recycled

TROY GRAMLING
Message: Priorities

Here is my pick for books you must have in your library if you want to be creative and inspired in 2010. They range from design, poetry, fashion, & Music. The books are filled with visual pictures and ingenious content and some of the authors you maybe familiar with but a few are newbies.

The SELBY 2010: TODD SELBY
Some Video
Buy

The SATORIALIST: SCOTT SCHUMAN
Some Video
Buy

My NAME IS JASON, MINE TOO: JASON REYNOLDS and JASON GRIFFIN
Some Video
Buy

GLOW IN THE DARK TOUR BOOK: KANYE WEST
Some Video
Buy

So the New Year is slowly approaching and so many people are starting to do what we call “get themselves together”. I am one of them. I desire to enter into another year of my life more examined, moral, in tune to God, nature, and others. I pray my acts line with the wish.

While surfing the internets today, I came across an awesome website called BigThink.com. There are a whole bunch of intellectual treasures on the site; scholars, comedians, philosophers sharing their responses about human topics. Since I am striving to be more spiritual, happier, and laugh more in the years to come, I quickly dove into 3 videos that give a wonderful perspective about all three. Hope you enjoy them as well.

They are short ones from religion historian Karen Armstong, Princeton Psychology lecturer Tal Ben Shahar, and The New Yorker Cartoonist Robert Mankoff.

KAREN ARMSTRONG: The human Quest For The Divine

TAL BEN SHAHAR:Five Ways to Become Happier Today

ROBERT MANKOFF: The Science of Laughing

2009 was a heck of the year. So much has happened in just 300 and something days(i forget exactly the days with leap years count and what not). Anywhoo, JibJab decided to take us back, more like “through” these last 12 months that were full of surprises, epidemics, achievements, celebrity drama and plan out craziness with hilarious yet true animation. Its called “Never been a Year like 09′”.People thats not just a title, that is the truth!!! And JibJab always seem to make us laugh through it all with ingenious and hilarious creativity. Check out the behind the scenes pics below and also the full 2 minute video and go back.

1. Get to a well talked about film more than 10 minutes before viewing or you WILL NOT have a seat!!!!!

2. 3D is sooo freaking awesome!

3. Zoe Saldana is an awesome actress and the 2 other african american actors (CC Pounder &  Laz Alonso) are too.

4. I would like to vacation at an interesting place/planet like pandora. It better exist in real life.

5. It is sad that indigenous people are always portrayed as loving the oppressor more than themselves. I don’t think this is accurate at all.

6. It is sad that conquerors impede on the lives of “others” for gain and can live with it.

7. We should all try to get connected to the natural world around us because we are more naturally apart of it than we think.

8. Human’ minds are getting more creative everyday. The making of the movie is simply ingenious and proves this point. Here’s how.

9. As I learned from my mom, being handicap does not make you weak!!!

10. “Paganism” has as much merit as the three major monotheistic religion.

I am starting a new blog right here. What is it exactly? Well I’m glad you asked. Its a chronicle of my day to day teaching experience as a college professor and educator to formerly incarcerated youth and adults. I felt that Ive let years go by without fully reflecting and living through the experience: the constant contact with students, the lessons learned, the struggles, etc. This blog is to help me do just that. Its coming soon in the new year so stay tuned!!

I’ve never been a fan of Bape. For one its just too expensive and for two their line designs just seem to busy, trendy, and youthful for me. However their new spring 2010 lookbook has Kanye West profiling and it has me having second thoughts.  They would have to still lower the price for me to join the bandwagon, but I must say I like what I see.

Sam Ilbey is an illustrator based out of London. His work is quite vivid and I love the way he depicts pop culture icons and characters. His illustrations have appeared in numerous publications, both on and offline all over the globe, from magazines such as Computer Arts and Official Playstation Magazine, to several books, exhibitions, comics, and also on television and in a movie test shoot. Take a glance at a few.

I love people: normal, extraordinary, plain, and eccentric people. I believe all of our lives are uniquely different and I am intrigued and inspired by people from all walks of life. (Remember this post). So when I came upon THESELBY.COM, I became hooked!!!! Simply the site features photographs, paintings and videos by Todd Selby of interesting people and their creative spaces. He goes into the work space and/or homes of people in London, NYC, LA, Paris, Mexico, Syndey, Philly, and Tokyo and takes pics of them. He then ends the post with a creative drawing of their interview together which is simply tooo cute!!!

My favorites interviews are of marvin jarrett (he has an awesome magazine) paola kudacki and james penfold (their apt is awesome), and William Eaton (I think he’s pretty awesome).

Heres another one from the 7 day challenge. I was playing around with some finger picking. Its raw, rough, and short but that’s ok too.

DaDa
12/20/09

Well this past weekend it snowed. While my previous home of DC/Baltimore got a blizzard and up to 13 inches of snow, new york tried to catch up. I heard that those areas are shut down today, schools are out and even the federal govt is relaxing.

Well in NYC, snow is like any other thing so new yorkers keep going. Its that part of their preservance that I wished NYC lacked. It would be nice to have off from work today! But I’m glad I have pictures to remind me of just how sweet it was to walk and play in snow without any obligation to be anywhere but in it. Thanks Kia Chenelle for the Pics!

New York City is filled with people: artists, famous cats, interesting souls, and my favorite: ordinary people. NY Times is doing a tribute to those ordinary people called One in 8 Million. Its a chronicle in audio and pictures of the ordinary people that make up New York City: from a sneaker collector to a 14 year old only child. The Flash chronicles, narrated by the people themselves, are intriguing and interesting. New people are added each week. Take a look for yourself.

The series is produced by Sarah Kramer and Alexis Mainland. Photographs are by Todd Heisler and Interactive development is by Tom Jackson. My favorite stories are about a uncertain gang member,  the sneaker connoisseur , and The Believer.

Today is day 4. I call this guitar track, “practice”, simply because it sounds like a band practicing. Its drums and some electric guitars. Blah blah blah and listen….. please.

Practice
12/17/2009

I think I’ll rather not say anything, but let you enjoy this awesome video.

Here is day 3 of the 7 day instrumental challenge. An acoustic guitar track I’ll like to simply call “D”. Go ahead and comment and let me know what you think or what they make you think of or how they make you feel. Keep me company for the next 4 days why don’t you.

D
12/15/2009

So I went to see jazz vocalist and bassist and prodigy and awesome lady, Esperanza Spalding, Perform in DC recently. She was awesome!! Just listening to her is not only musically pleasing, but she reminds me what passion and practice sounds like. If you are unfamiliar, Get familiar. Check out the Videos below to help you do just that.

Great Interview/EPK

Great Jazz Cover of Lauryn Hill

I issued a challenged to myself the other day. More like a artistic habit: record a guitar sample everyday for 7 days. Below is what took place for the last 2 days. I believe that its easy to get distracted and leave our creativity at the door. But Im also realizing, not matter whats going on in my world, art makes my life go around/and that includes me participating in it.

So this is for me with you as my viewing audience. Its a release. A tithe at the end of my day to creativity. Thanks for listening. See you on day 3.

Long Time
12/13/09

Smooth Folk
12/14/09

Artists comes in so many different shapes and sizes. Young Beijing based artist, Liu Bolin, is a unique one. Instead of painting the art, he paints himself as the art with an emphasis on blended in with his environment. This is artistic camouflage to the highest degree. This is not trick photography, Liu is just that awesome!

Tonight, 12/10/09 at 7:00pm, my favorite writer Malcolm Gladwell will be doing a reading/discussion at the barnes and noble in Union Square. His new book “what the dog saw” is a collection of his new yorker articles now available in stores. It is bound to be awesome. Get there early because the seats fill quick.