Imena

For the past year and a half, I have been fighting with my self wether or not to go out state to a University. So many questions, and yet so little time. If I leave Nevada will I regret it, or if I do not leave will I never have the chance to leave again? So yesterday I talked this over to my best friend Caitlin, and we both agreed that it would be a good idea to stay with my original plan to leave Nevada once this school year is up. I belive that change is always good to have in your life, if you never leave your comfort how will you ever really live? Better said in the words of Douglas Macarthur , “There is no security on Earth, only oppurtunity.”

“The greatest risk you can take is not to risk at all,
Even if it’s a prudent risk, to become highly critical
And say, “It’ll never work, why should I try?”
Yet, by avoiding even prudent risks, life will pass by. ”

Ramadan will be over in a couple of days and I can honestly say it has been a great experience. Another great experience is choosing a University for next school year. I was at first thinking to go to University of Mono’a, or Hawaii Pacific University since they have such a great marine biology program not to mention the best marine archaeological structures. My friend who is stationed in Hawaii told me it is not what it seems, she said that Hawaii is a beautiful place to visit, but not a place to live. A lot of earth quakes, things are very expensive, and that once you live there you are pretty much stuck there untill you can buy a plane ticket for around five hundred dollars and up. So I think Im going to apply to Washington University in Missouri, or a University in the St. Louis area. I have a lot of kin in Missouri, and in Indiana so it would be nice. One of the minor disadvantages of living in Nevada is that there is no seasons here, it’s either hot or cold. Last year when I went to St. Louis I always liked the changing of leaves, and winter time. What ever University excepts me, I will be happy to move just to have a change. Also please exscuse my lack of posting, having college and work can be time consuming.

I came home from school yesterday, and I happend to watch the Oprah show. I generally dont watch the television too much, except when it pertains to the news. Oprah, and the “Global Fund” are suppourting a new campaign called “Red”, also called “Product Red”. “Product Red” is made by Apple(Ipod Nano), Motorola, Converse, and the Gap. The money from buying these special “Product Red” items go to help women and children suffering from AIDS in Africa. Also other major supporters of this campaign are Alicia Keys, and Bono. Sometimes I wish that some of those so called famous rappers would do something like this for Africa, but it seems to me a good portion of their money goes in suppourting their image, and ego. Although I do know Jay-Z did a concert a couple days back in South Africa. It is a beautiful thing to see that the world is taking time in Africa.

The week has been going by so fast, but of course its only tuesday. The weather has been so crazy, raining in the morning, and hot in the afternoon. It rained for three days straight, its very beautiful when it rains, but people can’t drive. Too many accidents to count on my way to work, by the way I got a new job working at the New York and Company store in the mall , much easier then my last job. I came home yeterday and figured out the sticker off my new liscence plate was gone, another trip to the DMV . I also went and help my mom with her kindergarden class again yesterday. I dont know how she does it, to say the least those kids are a handful. I let my friend Keisha talk me into seeing “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2″, it was so funny to me. People running away from guy with a masked face, one good leg, and a chainsaw. I guess everyone else thought it was scary, including Keisha, not to mention this lady who kept telling me to be quiet. LOL Perhaps I should just wait till some movies go on DVD. Also been keeping busy with BSU (Black Student Unioun), its so fun, we have been fundraising for the up coming anual Asthma Walk. Im hoping we can do the Aids Walk this year since we did not get a chance to last year, my friend Tia just recently came out and told me she has aids. I could not believe it at first, she is so pretty, and healthy. Tia said she was born with the disease, and that when she was two her mother gave her up for adoption. She lived with a foster family all through high school, I felt so sorry, but Tia said she keeps her disease under control by taking medication. I know that Allah has blessed her to stay so strong all these years. You never know what goes on during a persons everyday life, some people smile when there is so much pain. Thanks for reading my brothers and sisters.

The doctor John concert was great, I got to meet him back stage, he was really nice. I also got his autograph, but I didnt get a chance to get a picture with him because he was tired, and plus there was alot of people there. Oh well, my cousin and I got to talk to David the base player in his band , and then my cousin and Iwent down stairs after the show dinner. Here is also a litle Biography about Dr. John:

Biography by Richie Unterberger
Although he didn’t become widely known until the 1970s, Dr. John had been active in the music industry since the late ’50s, when the teenager was still known as Mac Rebennack. A formidable boogie and blues pianist with a lovable growl of a voice, his most enduring achievements have fused New Orleans R&B, rock, and Mardi Gras craziness to come up with his own brand of “voodoo” music. He’s also quite accomplished and enjoyable when sticking to purely traditional forms of blues and R&B. On record, he veers between the two approaches, making for an inconsistent and frequently frustrating legacy that often makes the listener feel as if the “Night Tripper” (as he’s nicknamed himself) has been underachieving.

In the late ’50s, Rebennack gained prominence in the New Orleans R&B scene as a session keyboardist and guitarist, contributing to records by Professor Longhair, Frankie Ford, and Joe Tex. He also did some overlooked singles of his own, and by the 1960s had expanded into production and arranging. After a gun accident damaged his hand in the early ’60s, he gave up the guitar to concentrate on keyboards exclusively. Skirting trouble with the law and drugs, he left the increasingly unwelcome environs of New Orleans in the mid-’60s for Los Angeles, where he found session work with the help of fellow New Orleans expatriate Harold Battiste. Rebennack renamed himself Dr. John, the Night Tripper when he recorded his first album, Gris-Gris. According to legend, this was hurriedly cut with leftover studio time from a Sonny & Cher session, but it never sounded hastily conceived. In fact, its mix of New Orleans R&B with voodoo sounds and a tinge of psychedelia was downright enthralling, and may have resulted in his greatest album.

He began building an underground following with both his music and his eccentric stage presence, which found him conducting ceremonial-type events in full Mardi Gras costume. Dr. John was nothing if not eclectic, and his next few albums were granted mixed critical receptions because of their unevenness and occasional excess. They certainly had their share of admirable moments, though, and Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger helped out on The Sun, Moon & Herbs in 1971. The following year’s Gumbo, produced by Jerry Wexler, proved Dr. John was a master of traditional New Orleans R&B styles, in the mold of one of his heroes, Professor Longhair. In 1973, he got his sole big hit, “In the Right Place,” which was produced by Allen Toussaint, with backing by the Meters. In the same year, he also recorded with Mike Bloomfield and John Hammond, Jr., for the Triumvirate album.

The rest of the decade, unfortunately, was pretty much a waste musically. Dr. John could always count on returning to traditional styles for a good critical reception, and he did so constantly in the 1980s. There were solo piano albums, sessions with Chris Barber and Jimmy Witherspoon, and In a Sentimental Mood (1989), a record of pop standards. These didn’t sell all that well, though. A more important problem was that he’s capable of much more than recastings of old styles and material. In fact, by this time he was usually bringing in the money not through his own music, but via vocals for numerous commercial jingles. It continued pretty much in the same vein throughout the 1990s: New Orleans supersessions for the Bluesiana albums, another outing with Chris Barber, an album of New Orleans standards, and another album of pop standards.

In 1994, Television did at least offer some original material. At this point he began to rely more upon cover versions for the bulk of his recorded work, though his interpretive skills will always ensure that these are more interesting than most such efforts. His autobiography, Under a Hoodoo Moon, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 1994, and in 1998 he resurfaced with Anutha Zone, which featured collaborations with latter-day performers including Spiritualized, Paul Weller, Supergrass, and Ocean Colour Scene. Duke Elegant followed in early 2000. Additional albums for Blue Note followed in 2001 (Creole Moon) and 2004 (N’Awlinz: Dis Dat or d’Udda). Sippiana Hericane, a four-song EP celebrating his beloved hometown of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, arrived in November of 2005. Mercenary, an album of covers of songs made famous by Johnny Mercer, appeared on Blue Note in 2006.

Sorry for the absence of not posting, I have had so many test to study for, not to mention working almost everyday. I feel so exausted, but I guess that is the life of a student. It has not been all work and no play, Im going to see Doctor John today. He is a older singer that sings Cre’ole music, he also has won two grammys. One of my favorite artists, Im hoping I can get a picture with him since my cousin knows the base player from his band, she met him when she had went to Jazz fest in New Orleans. She’ll be going too. Im not going to lie Ramadan has been hard for me, ecspecially since my friends tease me while they eat. I remember the second day of Ramadan I had went to my friend Caitlin’s house, and just so happen she wanted to finish eating the rest of her artichoke. I’am a vegetarian, and she knows artichokes are one of my favorite foods. Oh well, all of my friends are not like that. Keep having a beautiful, and blessed Ramadan everyone.

“Imam Jafer al Sadiq (AS) used to tell his children, that when the month of Ramadan comes one should become assiduous (in worship) for it is during this month that provisions for livelihood are distributed (by Allah) that fates of men are determined and a goodly company(from among the righteous) will be determined (to show up before) the lord and in it is a night good works wherein are better then those in a thousand months.”

Imam Ja’far al Sadiq (AS)