"Das Wichtigste für mich ist: locker bleiben"

Vor einigen Tagen habe ich hier von einer Lesung Markus Heitz’ berichtet.

“Kommen Sie, staunen Sie und erkunden Sie den Kern einer jeden Wirtschaftskrise und treffen Sie die Meister der Manipulation: Drachen! Ihre Gefolgsleute sitzen überall und lieferten sich schon in der Geschichte der Menschheit harte Kämpfe…”

Das sagt Markus Heitz in einem Interview, das kürzlich Stefan Cernohuby auf “Janetts Meinung” mit ihm geführt hat, über seinen aktuellen Roman “Drachenkaiser”.

Das ganze Interview mit dem Bestsellerautor findet ihr hier.

 

Markus Heitz: Drachenkaiser

 

"Both Families Have Wanted It"

ZackTaylor.ca can exclusively confirm that Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas are officially dating aka we finally have JEMI!!

Demi and Joe have been filming Camp Rock 2 in Toronto for the past couple months and that is when their friendship took a new turn… ZackTaylor.ca spoke with one of Demi’s friends earlier today who says,

“They are taking it slow. They grew-up together and don’t want to ruin anything.”

As well, a family member confirms to ZackTaylor.ca,

“I can confirm to you Zack that Joe DID NOT have a sleepover with Demi. That was obviously a lie to generate more drama / photo sales. However, they’re seeing each other. They’re meant to be and both families have wanted it / knew it would happen one day.”

Demi quickly broke things off with Dirk Mai as soon as she got back to L.A. after getting closer to Joe in Toronto!!

UPDATE: An insider also confirms to ZackTaylor.ca that Demi will be recording some vocals on Nick Jonas’ upcoming solo project along with a couple other big named stars!!

Do you thing Zack Taylor is actually telling the truth this time?

Philip Roth and the importance of reading.

You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there’s been some scandal, but people are scandalized all the time; it’s a way of life for them. It doesn’t mean a thing. If you ask if I want my fiction to change anything in te culture, the answer is still no. What I want is to possess my readers while they are reading my book – if I can, to possess them in ways that other writers don’t. Then let them return, just as they were, to a world where everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt, and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise, to have set loose in them the consciousness that’s otherwise conditioned and hemmed in by all that isn’t fiction. This is something that every child, smitten by books, understands immediately, though it’s not at all a childish idea about the importance of reading.

– Philip Roth, from The Paris Review Interviews, Volume IV

Interview - Boonaa Mohammed

Boonaa Mohammed

Yo,  recently I had a performance at University of Toronto at an event titled “Night of Xpression” as part of the festivities for Xpression against Oppression.  A great evening it was which performers showcasing pieces  that addressed oppression through their artistic narratives. Closer of the night was the talented Boonaa Mohammed who was super duper late.  In my time as a Spoken Word Artist there’s not much people who can impress me more than Boonaa. I remember when I started my friend told me about Boonaa and I see him in a old flyer for When Brother’s Speak 2008 show, a photo that made him seem like he was a 30-something year old, 6′3 brute of a poet. I later was in on the bill as him at show titled OutSpoken and got to meet him— a no more than 5′7 skinny kid East-African kid who was crazy funny. Damn, Boonaa commanded the stage with appealing presence and powerful poetry.  It was almost like deja vu to see him do it again. He captured the good with two pieces, one dedicated to his Oromo heritage and another one showcasing his love for is Islam faith.

So I got up with Boonaa, ask if to an interview, cuz I guess I’m trying to broaden my blog. I got out my delicious Voice Notes application for my BlackBerry and we chopped it about his growth as an artist, Travis Blackman, changing underwear and other stuff.

Scardy Cat – Hilarious Piece

Tell em’ who you are.

My name is Boonaa Mohammed, people know me as a storyteller

You refer to yourself as a storyteller?

Yea definitely, I think storytelling falls into many different categories that you can understand. For instance,  I’m also a film student, I’m also in the process of writing a play  and I’m also a teacher. I’m someone who tell stories in many different ways. For example,  if  you say are a spoken word artist that means something different to so many different people. If you say you are a poet, that means something different to so many different people.  If you say you are a storyteller, it means nothing. It means nothing and everything. Photographers and Painters are storytellers. So I put myself in that broad classification

You’ve grown alot as an individual likewise as an artist. Can you comment on that?

I think you as a person and you as a artist should be the same thing.  So when you changed the person, the artist change theoretically as well.  To say that I change, yeah, change is running on time.  We are always changing. I never met somebody who was the same as a year ago. That would be weird.  A lot of ways I feel like I changed in life, I changed friends, I changed underwear. I changed alot of things. We are always changing, I know for me, I put out an album three years ago. I cannot listen to that cd today. If you play it I will run away.

What has been the key to your maturation?

Very good question. I don’t know *chuckles* I don’t think I’m qualified for that answer.

If you look back at the person you are, the changes and all, has there been a catalyst to help you progress? Or is it just life?

Honestly there might be many different things on the surface that many people might think like religion or whatever, but you really you just change. I got older…

Do you remember you first poem you wrote?

… Yea, I do and I don’t. My first poem, I didn’t know was a poem until somebody told me it was a poem. Actually I used to rap back in the day–who didn’t? So I was serious about it, this was in high school and I was working with this producer, he was kinda big and I wanted to show him a verse and I did it not much much and he was like “Yo, yo, that was some tight spoken word piece” I was like “For real? What’s that?

Would you still perform that first piece today?

Hell no! Are you kidding me? No.I would burn it if somebody even handed it to me. I think that a healthy thing to say, yea it was a phase in my life but as a artist you always want to do better. Even when I’m looking at my journal at thing I scribble down, I be like “No! NO! NO! Are you stupid? You’re so ugly”… Maybe it’s not that healthy but it works

First Spoken Word piece you heard? Inspiration?

You Travis Blackman? Yea that dude is an Ol’ G.  He was like my inspiration growing up. He had a site that was under contruction and it had a poem playing in the background—it was funny, witty and rhymed. I was like “what the heck is this?”… Even til today I think my style flow resemble his. Maybe I would’ve different it was someone else

Green Card – Great Message

You love it when the crowd….

Pays

You hate it when the crown….

Doesn’t pay

I want my words to be….

Paid

I don’t want my word to be….

Jacked…. You know what, do whatever you want with my words.

Say Word!

Coming back to Toronto [From 4months trip in Egypt and Ethiopia] living the ‘third-world’, going there with a foreign perspective…Going there and being like “Yo, you guys live kinda backwards”… caming back to Toronto and be like “Damn we live EXTRA backwards” Say word, we were really behind like that. These people have nothing and they are happy. We [Toronto] have have everything and we’re miserable.

Say Peace!

…Islam phobia, the whole war against Islam…

Upcoming Projects.

Release of second cd, live album recording titled “Stranger In This World”.

Also,  I’m working on a play with Weyni Mengesha, using alot of poetry and dialogue about a friend of mine who died in 2007. He actually started writing it, sent it to me and then died. So yeah, I gotta finished that.

For more Boonaa. Check out www.boonaa.com

Priorities – Moving piece about Faith

'Trots op het feit dat ik bij Elle werk'

Ze heeft een baan waar menig vrouw van droomt. Stefanie Bottelier (39) werkt als beauty- en lifestyleredacteur bij Elle.

We hebben afgesproken op de redactie van Elle in hartje Amsterdam. Stefanie ziet er modieus uit in een korte pantalon met bijpassende trui, panty en schoenen. Ze oogt jonger dan ze is. Wat wil je ook als verzorgingsproducten bij je baan horen. “Ik test niet alle samples zelf, hoor.”

Stefanie weet dat ik dit interview in het kader van mijn studie doe. “Ik weet zelf nog hoe het is om te studeren en dat je soms hulp nodig hebt, dus waarom zou ik niet helpen? ”

Fossielen of fashion

Stefanie studeerde Culturele Studies en Archeologie aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam. Beide studies heeft ze keurig afgerond. Wanneer Stefanie stukken voor haar studie schreef, merkte ze dat ze telkens weer bij het onderwerp lifestyle uitkwam. Hoewel de beautygoeroe schrijven erg leuk vond, dacht ze niet gelijk aan een journalistieke opleiding.

Carrière maken

Via andere banen, zoals in de PR, kwam ze terecht bij Elle. In eerste instantie als freelancer. Toen de beautyredacteur vertrok, besloot ze de stap te wagen.

Haar eerste opdracht bestond uit het maken van een pagina met het laatste modenieuws, waarop korte berichten stonden. In eerste instantie schreef ze over mode, daarna werd dit uitgebreid met beauty en lifestyle.

Ze beseft dat ze een superbaan heeft. “Ik heb niet echt een prestatie waarop ik heel trots ben. Ik ben gewoon al trots op het feit dat ik bij Elle werk. Dat zou iedereen wel willen!” Het ging allemaal best snel voor Stefanie, ineens werkte ze bij Elle.

De redactrice maakte de carrièreswitch van PR naar de gerenommeerde glossy pas op haar 35e . Modebladen zijn voor Stefanie bekend terrein. Zo schreef ze eerder al voor een andere uitgave van Hachette (de uitgever van Elle), maar jammer genoeg werd dit blad niet goed verkocht. Nu heeft ze liever een stabielere basis, zoals een vaste baan. Het freelancen maakt je financieel afhankelijk, vindt ze. Bovendien is het werken op een redactie veel gezelliger. Als pluspunt van freelancen noemt ze de vrijheid die je hebt.

Ze rolde vanzelf in het wereldje van presentaties van grote merken en shows. Het leggen van contacten ervaart Stefanie als vanzelfsprekend. “ Je netwerkt daar al door je aanwezigheid, daar ontkom je niet aan.”

Een werkdag bij Elle

Stefanie is geen ochtendmens, zegt ze zelf. Haar werkdag begint om half tien. Ze loopt bovendien niet om stipt vijf uur het pand uit. “Het is: gewoon blijven zitten tot het werk af is. Ik denk dat ik vier dagen per week werk, officieel dan. Stiekem zijn dat wel meer uren.”

Als je beautyredacteur of journalist wilt zijn, moet je vooral geïnteresseerd zijn in het onderwerp. Daar is voor haar niks ingewikkelds aan, het is vooral leuk. Het is belangrijk om de markt goed in de gaten te houden en dat je dingen doet die aansluiten bij je opleiding. Maar sommige dingen zijn niet aan te leren. “Liefde voor mode heb je of heb je niet En je moet natuurlijk van tijdschriften houden.” Tegelijkertijd vindt ze dat er geen goede of foute weg is in het werkveld, maar dat je vooral moet weten waar je interesses liggen.

Volgens Stefanie is een goede beautyredacteur vooral iemand die communicatief vaardig is en goed met mensen om kan gaan. Dat zijn de twee belangrijkste eigenschappen.

De persoon achter de beautyredacteur

“Ik vind veel dingen interessant, ik houd van veel lezen en ik hou ervan om veel dingen te doen. Daarnaast ben ik geïnteresseerd in kunst. Natuurlijk houd ik ook van alledaagse dingen, zoals televisie kijken.”

Naast beautyredacteur is ze moeder van twee dochters van 9 en 7 jaar. “Ik leg ze uit wat voor werk ik doe. Ze zien hoe leuk mijn werk is en ze zijn het gewend dat ik er nou eenmaal niet altijd kan zijn. Maar het ligt ook aan het karakter van je kinderen en hoe ze met de situatie omgaan.” Werk en privé kan ze goed combineren, want, zo zegt ze zelf: ”Ik heb een goede vriendenkring en goede achterban.”

Mason's Question

  I look forward to every Saturday — even though Saturday is not a day off for me. Our missions ministry mobilizes the people of Kingsland to get involved in local service initiatives almost every Saturday of the year. Over the past four years more than 8,500 volunteers from our church have rolled up their sleeves and gotten their hands dirty by serving others on Saturdays. Today was no exception. Jon Davis, our Missions Ministry Associate, and I had the joy of serving with the New Ground and Outfitters Adult Bible Fellowship groups. Almost fifty parents and kids met at the Katy Christian Ministry campus ready to work. One of the most enjoyable things about our Saturday initiatives is getting to spend time with parents and their kids.

  Today, some of our men built a beautiful pergola in the center of the garden we planted at Katy Christian Ministries earlier this year. This pergola will serve as a place where the staff and guests of Katy Christian Ministries can pray, meditate, or just enjoy a Texas sunset. Dads and sons worked together to hoist lumber, weed vegetable beds, complete work on some of the raised planting beds, and more. I love the sounds of power tools and laughter and good conversation. These sounds remind me that we do more than build things on Saturday, we also build people. And, when we work our muscles, God is always faithful to work in our hearts.

  Our missions ministry is also committed to assisting area food pantries. Jon purchased several hundred pounds of beans and rice. A group of parents and kids repackaged these items in small zip lock bags. The Katy Christian Ministries Food Pantry will distribute these and other food items to families in need throughout the coming week. One of our youngest participants was Claire, the two and a half year old daughter of Michael and Aimee Evans. With a plastic cup in her hand, she had an enjoyable time filling zip lock bags with rice. I asked Michael a few questions about serving with his daughter.

Omar | Michael, you and Aimee have participated in our weekend initiatives since the days before you were parents. How old are your children and why is it important to you to model service for your kids?
 
Michael | Aimee and I want our 2 1/2 year old Claire and 9 month old Sarah to always see service as a part of every day life. It is one of the ways we are working to equip the generations in our home. 

Omar | There are all kinds of fun things for parents to do with their kids on the weekend. It was obvious to me that you and your daughter had fun serving together today. What did you tell Claire about the contribution she made today?
 
Michael | Claire is young, but she understands what helping means. I explained that she was helping give people without food something to eat. Whether the full impact of the lesson is understood, she is both hearing and seeing God work through people for people.
 
Omar | What do you hope to see happen in your kids lives in the years to come as you continue to make memories of serving together?
 
Michael | We intend to make service a natural part of our entire family’s life. I pray that our girls’ hearts will be softened to the needs of others. I hope they look back on their lives and focus not on the presents we gave them, but on the memories we make, especially the ones that show them our faith through action.
 
Omar | What advice or encouragement would you give to other parents about the value of modeling servanthood and involving their kids in service initiatives?
 
Michael | We are certainly more efficient serving when kids aren’t underfoot. However you miss a great opportunity to teach them through example if you don’t bring them along. As all parents know, kids learn more from what they see than from what they hear. Don’t underestimate your kids. They may not be experts, but they can learn how to help in small ways. Don’t forget, each of us is asked to give what we can. Even if it is just a two-year old pouring rice into a plastic bag, God is glorified.

  I appreciate Michael and Aimee and all of the parents and kids who served today. At the conclusion of today’s projects, four year-old Mason Hereford looked up at his father, Carlton, and said, “This was fun, Daddy. When are we going to help somebody else?” Wow! That’s a great word from a four year-old. The concept of serving others is already a part of Mason’s vocabulary and thinking. That’s no accident. When parents lead their kids to serve others, good things happen in a child’s heart and mind. They begin to understand that life is not just about them, but about others. Hopefully, as they continue to serve others, they will grow up a little less selfish, a little more compassionate and considerate of others, and feeling less like the world owes them everything they want. I like Mason’s question. Let’s raise our kids to heed the words of Paul to the Philippian Church, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4).

an interview of zen lemonade availabe & Super cozi news

Lovely news ,  Super Cozi and Gus Till gave an interview at musicmall.com web magazine concerning their future plans , talking about  life ,  music and the new record label/studio. Last year some friends from Athens got totally impressed by Super cozi’s live performance and dj set when She appeared on stage after a live P.A  of Juno reactor one of the most well known trance projects in the world. Super cozi is a progressive techno , deep and acid electro beats dj and with excellent live act performing skills from Tokyo. Tracks and albums have  released in various compilations in the past years such as the legendary Dragonfly records from the UK (in 2002 together with Gus Till under the name Zen lemonade , release an album which have recieved critical acclaim , at least acording her info page on myspace).

In 2005 , Super cozi now lives in Bali , she started her very own label named Espresso records. You can read the interview from musicmall magazine here as well as you can find updates and news at her myspace page or by visiting  super cozi’s  website

The work of Zen lemonade and Super cozi has attract  my music interests the past two years therefore I will post again more news whenever I got some updates.