The word of the month is SELF CONTROL. It is defined as the ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts and behaviors. It is that thing that determines if we eat one oreo cookie, or the whole bag.
For most of us self control does not come without putting some work into it. So lets focus.
Some things we can control, while others we cannot. We can’t stop time, or seasons. What we can do is enjoy them for reminding us our time is fleeting.
My cousin Alice is really my daddy’s first cousin. This older African American woman is truly a delight to me. She is in her 90s, and I’m not giving her exact age cause she may not like that. At her age she is still living her life to the fullest. We have to “catch up” with her.
We are raising money to pay for some repairs to her home. I am auctioning five canvas prints to the highest bidders. You can pick which one you want to bid on and put a number in the comments. OR you can email me at uppcreative@yahoo.com with your bid. The bid starts at $65.
On the last day, October 25, the person with the highest bid gets their chosen artwork. And I hopefully will have enough to buy sheet rock and paint for cousin Alice’s home.
If you have any questions please let me know.
Sherlocked
Season 3 is about the genre the Sistas love the most. Murder and Mayhem. This season they will take on all of the aspects of the Murder Mystery and how it has been told.
In Episode 1, the Sistas examine the ones who have portrayed the greatest detective of them all: Sherlock Holmes.
From Victorian England to New York City, crimes are solved, criminals are nabbed, with Watson riding shot gun it is all elementary. The Sistas try to determine who is the greatest Holmes of all.
Check out the various interpretations of the world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes
Born and raised in Chicago, Charles White Jr created art work that captured moments in African American history. Some of Charles White Jr’s work is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, where White was once a student. His artwork spans four decades revealing his life experiences and how they changed over time.
White went to work as a full-time artist for the Illinois Art Project as part of the Work Progress Administration as an easel painter. One of his accomplishments was painting the Kitchenette Debutantes which invited the world into living conditions of the south side of Chicago.
If you haven’t seen the new Fantasy Island, give it a try. Roselyn Sanchez takes on the role as the operator of the island, as Ms Roarke. Like the old show, there is an array of guest stars which make it fun to watch. It also gives some back story to how Elena came to take over for her great uncle. They also give Elena Roarke a story of her own , complete with love interest. This show is on Fox.
Brown. Brilliant. Brawn. They lead movements. They strengthen people. They protect families. They make us smile with a look from their eyes or a smirk on their lips.
This month we are reminding you to be kind. To yourself. To others. To the environment. Let’s be friendly, generous and considerate of everyone and everything.
Remember being kind always involves someone else. Help someone today.
Order Kindness
If Kindness Were A Person, I think this is what it would look like. I saw a Facebook post where someone listed the accomplishments of Josiah Henson. It spoke to me.
For those who do not know this face, this is the man who inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Henson was born into slavery in Maryland. His father was sold off when Henson was a child. The young boy’s memory of his father was the day he was beaten with a whip and had his ear cut off. The rest of his siblings were sold off, and he fortunately was able to go with his mother.
As Henson worked as a slave, he became a preacher and good businessman who was trusted by his owner. Isaac Riley, the slave owner abused the young boy physically and treated him harshly.
Despite the hardship Henson learned all he could about business and God’s word. This enabled him to travel around and preach while handling business matters for his owner. Henson tried to buy his freedom with money he had earned preaching, but Riley swindled him and tried to sell him down south.
Circumstances smiled on Henson, as the young man who was to take him to sell came down with malaria. A kindhearted Henson cared for the young man so he wouldn’t die.
In 1830 Henson escaped to Canada with his wife and two youngest children. He started a freedman settlement called the British American Institute. It became one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad. Henson guided 118 slaves to freedom.
With the help of Samuel Atkins Eliot, Henson wrote the story of his life, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself, which was published in 1849.
On one of Henson’s trips to America he was invited to visit an American woman who wanted to hear about his life in slavery. There he met Harriett Beecher Stowe and told of some of the things he had experienced.
Over the next couple of years, she wrote a story of her own. It first ran as stories in the National Era on June 5, 1851. Later it was published as a book, in two volumes. It became a hot topic selling more than 300,000 copies (And Stowe did not share any of her profits with Henson.)
After the Civil War Henson toured the US on a 100-city tour. He also met with Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle and years later met with President Rutherford B Hayes at the White House.
He died in 1883.
(This information came from The Smithsonian Magazine and Wikipedia)
UPP Creative Media 