Friends, music luminaries and fans from around the world and around the web reacted to the news of Michael Jackson's death on June 25 with thoughts on his life and legacy.
"I can't stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless." --Madonna
Michael Jackson 1958-2009
“I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the 80’s. To this day, the music we created together on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and dedication.He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.” --Quincy Jones
"May God cover you Michael. We all lift your name up in prayer. I pray for the entire JACKSON family particularly Michael’s mother, children and all his fans that loved him so much. I would not be the artist, performer, and philanthropist I am today without the influence of Michael. I have great admiration and respect for Him and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to meet and perform with such a great entertainer, who in so many ways, transcended the culture. He broke barriers, he changed radio formats! With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world. His legacy is unparalleled. Michael Jackson will never be forgotten." --Usher
"The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music. He was magic. He was what we all strive to be. He will always be the King of Pop! Life is not about how many breaths you take, but about how many moments in life that take your breath away. For anyone who has ever seen, felt, or heard his art, we are all honored to have been alive in this generation to experience the magic of Michael Jackson. I love you Michael." --Beyonce
"Yesterday was a day I will never forget, or want to remember. Michael was both weak and strong, clever and kind, talented beyond belief and equally insecure. He was a doting father, respectful son, loving brother, and caring uncle. He was my friend. I take great solace in the pride and confidence he exhibited during production rehearsals on Wednesday night. That is the memory I will cherish for the rest of my life." --Randy Phillips, President & CEO of AEG Live, producers of "This Is It.
Michael Jackson's personal crescendo of amazing power as an entertainer was clear and unmistakable -- and has never slowed to this very day! His passing will be grieved far beyond that of any other singer, composer, producer, dancer and choreographer, in the history of the world. Indeed, in my very firmest, personal, belief there will never, ever be another Michael Jackson! --Don Cornelius, Soul Train
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Financial Management - A Key Life Skill
Money makes the world go around, and while there have been people who have said that "money does not bring happiness", the reality is that those who do not master the financial game will live a life full of uncertainty, poverty, and worst of all: an inability to truly reach their potential as human beings.
The cold hard truth is that we all want to be rich, but statistics and economics show that only a handful of us will ever reach it; the majority will simply always be out of reach.
One reason for this is an inability to properly manage one's financial resources. Generally college does not teach its students, the ability to handle their money.
It is true that a student majoring in finance, business, accounting, or economics will learn more about this subject than most, but only a percentage of college students are majoring in these areas, and this leaves out the rest of those who are not.
People often tell that money does not mean anything to them, but in reality money means something whether you think it is important to you or not. Without money, you cannot buy food, cannot travel, cannot enjoy cutting edge technologies, cannot pay for medical costs, and so on.
Those who do not have money tend to be wanting, while those who have money tend to be masters of their finances.
Having said that, the first step in learning financial management is to learn budgeting. You need to know how much you are spending on any given item on a regular basis.
Once you are able to discover how much you are spending on food, electricity, water, and other things, you will be able to develop a budget which will allow you to control your spending, which will further allow you to save money. It is also important to understand the importance of saving money as opposed to borrowing it.
Unfortunately, we live in a society today which is debt based, and people are encouraged to borrow as opposed to saving. Borrowing money will lead to a lifetime of debt and more debt.
Most people today, especially those living in the U.S. or Europe, are in debt bondage. They live in houses they do not own, drive cars that do not belong to them, and use money (called credit), to buy everyday goods.
This money or credit does not actually belong to them, but is loaned to them by banks, which then turn around and charge them compounding interest to use it.
Many people end up taking on so much debt that a huge portion of their income must go back to repaying it. these individuals become dependent on a bank or loan company to fund their lifestyle.
In contrast, an individual who is debt free and thrifty is a person who is a master of his finance. Such individuals owe nothing to no one, and they can pay for everything they need in cash.
The money that they save is a superior form of capital when compared to credit, and this capital can be used to make investments which can lead to in an increase in one's income, which can be used for saving and more investments.
This is the basic formula towards becoming wealthy. While there is a large amount of financial advice available out there, some of which is highly complicated, the simple way to wealth is to save a lot, stay out of debt, and invest.
Studying economics can actually be quite valuable If you have the time or inclination, it would not hurt to read some books on economics.
Understanding basic economics does not require one to be a rocket scientist, and you will find yourself becoming even better with finance as a result.
Once you understand how economies function, you will be capable of making prudent investment decisions which can allow you to master the finance game.
The cold hard truth is that we all want to be rich, but statistics and economics show that only a handful of us will ever reach it; the majority will simply always be out of reach.
One reason for this is an inability to properly manage one's financial resources. Generally college does not teach its students, the ability to handle their money.
It is true that a student majoring in finance, business, accounting, or economics will learn more about this subject than most, but only a percentage of college students are majoring in these areas, and this leaves out the rest of those who are not.
People often tell that money does not mean anything to them, but in reality money means something whether you think it is important to you or not. Without money, you cannot buy food, cannot travel, cannot enjoy cutting edge technologies, cannot pay for medical costs, and so on.
Those who do not have money tend to be wanting, while those who have money tend to be masters of their finances.
Having said that, the first step in learning financial management is to learn budgeting. You need to know how much you are spending on any given item on a regular basis.
Once you are able to discover how much you are spending on food, electricity, water, and other things, you will be able to develop a budget which will allow you to control your spending, which will further allow you to save money. It is also important to understand the importance of saving money as opposed to borrowing it.
Unfortunately, we live in a society today which is debt based, and people are encouraged to borrow as opposed to saving. Borrowing money will lead to a lifetime of debt and more debt.
Most people today, especially those living in the U.S. or Europe, are in debt bondage. They live in houses they do not own, drive cars that do not belong to them, and use money (called credit), to buy everyday goods.
This money or credit does not actually belong to them, but is loaned to them by banks, which then turn around and charge them compounding interest to use it.
Many people end up taking on so much debt that a huge portion of their income must go back to repaying it. these individuals become dependent on a bank or loan company to fund their lifestyle.
In contrast, an individual who is debt free and thrifty is a person who is a master of his finance. Such individuals owe nothing to no one, and they can pay for everything they need in cash.
The money that they save is a superior form of capital when compared to credit, and this capital can be used to make investments which can lead to in an increase in one's income, which can be used for saving and more investments.
This is the basic formula towards becoming wealthy. While there is a large amount of financial advice available out there, some of which is highly complicated, the simple way to wealth is to save a lot, stay out of debt, and invest.
Studying economics can actually be quite valuable If you have the time or inclination, it would not hurt to read some books on economics.
Understanding basic economics does not require one to be a rocket scientist, and you will find yourself becoming even better with finance as a result.
Once you understand how economies function, you will be capable of making prudent investment decisions which can allow you to master the finance game.
The Power of Your Thought Process
One of the most important life skills that you can have is the ability to control your thoughts. While this may see relatively simple, it is much harder than what meets the eye. We live in a day and age where our minds are constantly being bombarded with information.
From television ads to billboards, radios, and the internet, we are constantly being fed a stream of information, and much of this information is absolutely worthless. The average man is so caught up in the daily affairs of their lives that they seldom take the time to think critically about the world in which they live. To be successful in life, you must keep control of your thoughts at all times.
One type of behavior that you will want to become familiar with is adaptive behavior. These types of behaviors give humans the ability to perform activities successfully during the course of our lives. Adaptive behavior can also be thought of as a manner in which you will be flexible when it comes to changing and adapting with the times.
When you are an adaptive person, you will be able to deal with unexpected situations in a manner which is not only creative, but constructive as well. The adaptive individual is someone who can focus their mind in a fresh direction, and can make a decision based on outcomes which are desirable.
To succeed, you must be open to change, since being able to adapt to important changes is a factor which will allow you to become successful. As you go throughout life, always take the time to think about and analyze situations so that misinterpretations can be avoided.
One key mistake that many people make is an inability to give themselves enough time to analyze given situations. When you are dealing with others, you should always take the time to ask questions so that you can gather any data which may not be present, and so that you can avoid making mistakes which are quite costly. It is also absolutely critical to think for the long term.
The Power of Thinking Ahead
Most people are hopelessly caught up in the present moment. Most people today probably do not take the time to look even a few months ahead, led alone years. Successful people tend to be those who work in the present for a goal that they intend to achieve tomorrow.
As the Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla said: the present belongs to them, but the future belongs to me. A wise an prudent person is an individual that always thinks ahead, and will take the time to look out for potential problems that may be coming on the horizon. When you are making any decision, it is always wise to ask yourself what impact it will have on your future, or those who are dependent on you.
The best way to adapt to change is to continue always learning. The process of learning does not stop once you graduate from college, it is life long process that never stops. Technology, fashion, and skills will continue to change as we move further into the future, but the person who is always learning new things has absolutely no reason to fear these changes, and will in fact be able to embrace them.
Another important factor in being able to control your thought process is to always look beyond the surface. Instead of running from challenges, you should always be ready to embrace them.
When you are faced with any challenge, you are faced with an opportunity which will allow you to grow as a person. Embracing challenges will not only allow you to become wiser, but they will also allow you to harness your skills as well.
When you encounter situations which are painful, they will often contain the seed which may have a blessing, and if you are able to find this blessing, you will be able to grow further as an individual. It is also important to have a good idea of the things you value in life, because the values of one person may differ dramatically from those of another.
Conclusion
The ability to control your thought process is a critical life skill which is indispensable. By controlling your own thoughts, you will be less prone to being manipulated by others, and you will be able to see situations in a different life. The power of the human mind is one which is difficult to fathom, and many people don't use their mental capacities in a manner which can allow them to get the things they want in life
From television ads to billboards, radios, and the internet, we are constantly being fed a stream of information, and much of this information is absolutely worthless. The average man is so caught up in the daily affairs of their lives that they seldom take the time to think critically about the world in which they live. To be successful in life, you must keep control of your thoughts at all times.
One type of behavior that you will want to become familiar with is adaptive behavior. These types of behaviors give humans the ability to perform activities successfully during the course of our lives. Adaptive behavior can also be thought of as a manner in which you will be flexible when it comes to changing and adapting with the times.
When you are an adaptive person, you will be able to deal with unexpected situations in a manner which is not only creative, but constructive as well. The adaptive individual is someone who can focus their mind in a fresh direction, and can make a decision based on outcomes which are desirable.
To succeed, you must be open to change, since being able to adapt to important changes is a factor which will allow you to become successful. As you go throughout life, always take the time to think about and analyze situations so that misinterpretations can be avoided.
One key mistake that many people make is an inability to give themselves enough time to analyze given situations. When you are dealing with others, you should always take the time to ask questions so that you can gather any data which may not be present, and so that you can avoid making mistakes which are quite costly. It is also absolutely critical to think for the long term.
The Power of Thinking Ahead
Most people are hopelessly caught up in the present moment. Most people today probably do not take the time to look even a few months ahead, led alone years. Successful people tend to be those who work in the present for a goal that they intend to achieve tomorrow.
As the Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla said: the present belongs to them, but the future belongs to me. A wise an prudent person is an individual that always thinks ahead, and will take the time to look out for potential problems that may be coming on the horizon. When you are making any decision, it is always wise to ask yourself what impact it will have on your future, or those who are dependent on you.
The best way to adapt to change is to continue always learning. The process of learning does not stop once you graduate from college, it is life long process that never stops. Technology, fashion, and skills will continue to change as we move further into the future, but the person who is always learning new things has absolutely no reason to fear these changes, and will in fact be able to embrace them.
Another important factor in being able to control your thought process is to always look beyond the surface. Instead of running from challenges, you should always be ready to embrace them.
When you are faced with any challenge, you are faced with an opportunity which will allow you to grow as a person. Embracing challenges will not only allow you to become wiser, but they will also allow you to harness your skills as well.
When you encounter situations which are painful, they will often contain the seed which may have a blessing, and if you are able to find this blessing, you will be able to grow further as an individual. It is also important to have a good idea of the things you value in life, because the values of one person may differ dramatically from those of another.
Conclusion
The ability to control your thought process is a critical life skill which is indispensable. By controlling your own thoughts, you will be less prone to being manipulated by others, and you will be able to see situations in a different life. The power of the human mind is one which is difficult to fathom, and many people don't use their mental capacities in a manner which can allow them to get the things they want in life
Importance of Adjusting to Changes
The legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee is famous for speaking about the flexibility of water, and how everyone should strive to be like it. After all, water does not have any set shape, and it conforms to whatever container it is placed in.
Not only is this statement applicable to the martial arts, but it is also connected to one essential life skill: the ability to adapt to change. Being able to adapt to the changing times is one of the most essential skills that a person can have.
Those who are not able to adapt, are very likely to get extinct sooner then those who are able to adapt. From warfare to science, technology, and politics, history has shown that those who are too tied to the past are bound to be left in the past.
One key factor that allowed Napoleon to crush his enemies was his ability to break away from the past; Napoleon developed military strategies which were revolutionary for the time, and his enemies, who were stuck in the "old fashioned" way of doing things, quickly succumbed to his forces when faced with their high speed movements.
Today, technology is changing at such a rapid pace that many traditional colleges and universities, which in the past were considered to be on the cutting edge of education, are being left in the dust. If you are able to adapt to the times and change when it is time to change, there is no limit to the power and success that you can achieve.
Being able to adapt is difficult for most humans, and the reason for this is because humans are creatures of habit; having to change our patterns and behaviours is frustrating and annoying. To illustrate this, most of us get annoyed with our bosses when we suddenly have to change the way we have been working.
We would really simply prefer to keep doing things the old way, since this allows us to stay in our comfort zone. Very few are able to cope without distress after being forced out of their comfort zone, However, it is important to know when to adapt, and when not to.
Adapting to the changing times is not always the wisest course of action. While the need to adapt to change is good in most cases, it should be done with a level of caution.
There are times when adapting to changes can bring more harm than good. To give an example, have you ever been in a situation where everything was fine, but you decided to change it for whatever reason, and your attempts to change it ended up making it worse?
As the old saying goes: if it are not broke, do not fix it. Change is only effective when it is absolutely necessary. Trying to fix a system that is not broken is a total waste of time. To understand this, think of technology.
Many people today are obsessed with the latest technological gadgets and gizmos. They run out and spend literally thousands of dollars on gadgets that are cool to have, but are not really needed.
While there are some fundamental tools that one does not want to be without today (such as a computer for instance), many of the gadgets and gizmos which people buy are a complete waste of money. For instance, there is no "real" difference between a $400 cell phone and a $20 one, both are designed to do the same basic thing, which is to make phone calls!
The people who waste money on these gadgets think that they are "adapting to the times," but in reality, they are making changes which are unnecessary. The only time that you should upgrade your technology is when the current technology is simply not efficient enough to help you accomplish your goals.
Just because a gadget company makes a change does not mean that the change is good for you. When those around your are adapting to the times, you must logically decide whether or not you should do the same. However, no matter what you do, never adapt to the changing times just because others around you are doing so.
Adapting to change should be done based on logic, not emotion. Many people refuse to change with the times because of an emotional attachment to the past. This is dangerous, since the past is the past, it is always prudent to look at present and also ahead on the future.
The past is something that cannot be changed, and those who are stuck in it are often doomed. As you become older, it becomes even more important for you to avoid being tied to the past, as this problem is more pronounced in older people than it is in the younger generation.
Not only is this statement applicable to the martial arts, but it is also connected to one essential life skill: the ability to adapt to change. Being able to adapt to the changing times is one of the most essential skills that a person can have.
Those who are not able to adapt, are very likely to get extinct sooner then those who are able to adapt. From warfare to science, technology, and politics, history has shown that those who are too tied to the past are bound to be left in the past.
One key factor that allowed Napoleon to crush his enemies was his ability to break away from the past; Napoleon developed military strategies which were revolutionary for the time, and his enemies, who were stuck in the "old fashioned" way of doing things, quickly succumbed to his forces when faced with their high speed movements.
Today, technology is changing at such a rapid pace that many traditional colleges and universities, which in the past were considered to be on the cutting edge of education, are being left in the dust. If you are able to adapt to the times and change when it is time to change, there is no limit to the power and success that you can achieve.
Being able to adapt is difficult for most humans, and the reason for this is because humans are creatures of habit; having to change our patterns and behaviours is frustrating and annoying. To illustrate this, most of us get annoyed with our bosses when we suddenly have to change the way we have been working.
We would really simply prefer to keep doing things the old way, since this allows us to stay in our comfort zone. Very few are able to cope without distress after being forced out of their comfort zone, However, it is important to know when to adapt, and when not to.
Adapting to the changing times is not always the wisest course of action. While the need to adapt to change is good in most cases, it should be done with a level of caution.
There are times when adapting to changes can bring more harm than good. To give an example, have you ever been in a situation where everything was fine, but you decided to change it for whatever reason, and your attempts to change it ended up making it worse?
As the old saying goes: if it are not broke, do not fix it. Change is only effective when it is absolutely necessary. Trying to fix a system that is not broken is a total waste of time. To understand this, think of technology.
Many people today are obsessed with the latest technological gadgets and gizmos. They run out and spend literally thousands of dollars on gadgets that are cool to have, but are not really needed.
While there are some fundamental tools that one does not want to be without today (such as a computer for instance), many of the gadgets and gizmos which people buy are a complete waste of money. For instance, there is no "real" difference between a $400 cell phone and a $20 one, both are designed to do the same basic thing, which is to make phone calls!
The people who waste money on these gadgets think that they are "adapting to the times," but in reality, they are making changes which are unnecessary. The only time that you should upgrade your technology is when the current technology is simply not efficient enough to help you accomplish your goals.
Just because a gadget company makes a change does not mean that the change is good for you. When those around your are adapting to the times, you must logically decide whether or not you should do the same. However, no matter what you do, never adapt to the changing times just because others around you are doing so.
Adapting to change should be done based on logic, not emotion. Many people refuse to change with the times because of an emotional attachment to the past. This is dangerous, since the past is the past, it is always prudent to look at present and also ahead on the future.
The past is something that cannot be changed, and those who are stuck in it are often doomed. As you become older, it becomes even more important for you to avoid being tied to the past, as this problem is more pronounced in older people than it is in the younger generation.
How to Work with People
To be successful in life, you are required to work with people. While college courses sometimes give students projects that must be completed within groups, in reality you are required to do more than simply be capable of working in a team.
Not only must you be able to work in a group, but you must also be capable of dealing with people, including those who are difficult.
Unfortunately, there are certain types of people in our world today who like to take advantage of others. When meeting you, they will instantly size you up to determine whether or not a person is weak or not, and if they detect an individual who is timid, they will attempt to take advantage of him in a number of ways.
There is little you can do to avoid these types, however you can be cautious and guard yourself against such persons. An additional thing to keep in mind is that it may not be immediately obvious that you are dealing with this type.
The best way to deal with such individuals is to be assertive. Be clear about what you want, and never waver on anything.
You should always be willing to walk away from any project or deal if the other party is unwilling to treat you with respect. No matter what you do when dealing with this type of individual, you should never let your temper get the best of you.
When you get angry, your options may fail. Often in life people will give you a hard time about every little thing, they make you angry but you must never allow them to see your anger or argue with them.
While you always have the option of walking away, these people may be valuable due to their money or business connections, so winning them over is more valuable over the long term.
There are also people in this world who confuse kindness and patience of weakness. They assume that because you are soft spoken, or you do not mind waiting, they can walk all over you. Again, you must show these people, without becoming visibly upset with them, that you will not allow this type of treatment.
It is better to show them as opposed to telling them; remember, your actions always speak louder than your words. If you do business with a lot of people, it will also be necessary for you to sign contracts and agreements. We live in a very litigious society and it is recommended to always do business with a contract.
It does not matter whether it is friends or family, or if you like the person you are dealing with. Always sign a contract which is clear and concise, so if something goes wrong, you can hold it up in a court of law, showing the judge that the other party agreed to the terms of the document.
Without a contract, it is always your word versus theirs, and no judge really wants to hear this. They want to see evidence, and having the right evidence is what will allow you to win cases. To be successful in this world, you must gain the respect of others.
The problem is, becoming angry and allowing your temper to get the best of you can always destroy bridges built with trust and respect between people and lead to other problems.
The essence of dealing with others is to control your emotions. On your path to money and success, you will run into difficult people. You can always avoid them, but doing so may kill valuable business relationships which can allow you to make it to the next level.
Therefore, when you become upset with someone who you feel does not respect you, take the time to figure out how to handle the situation in a logical manner.
Not only must you be able to work in a group, but you must also be capable of dealing with people, including those who are difficult.
Unfortunately, there are certain types of people in our world today who like to take advantage of others. When meeting you, they will instantly size you up to determine whether or not a person is weak or not, and if they detect an individual who is timid, they will attempt to take advantage of him in a number of ways.
There is little you can do to avoid these types, however you can be cautious and guard yourself against such persons. An additional thing to keep in mind is that it may not be immediately obvious that you are dealing with this type.
The best way to deal with such individuals is to be assertive. Be clear about what you want, and never waver on anything.
You should always be willing to walk away from any project or deal if the other party is unwilling to treat you with respect. No matter what you do when dealing with this type of individual, you should never let your temper get the best of you.
When you get angry, your options may fail. Often in life people will give you a hard time about every little thing, they make you angry but you must never allow them to see your anger or argue with them.
While you always have the option of walking away, these people may be valuable due to their money or business connections, so winning them over is more valuable over the long term.
There are also people in this world who confuse kindness and patience of weakness. They assume that because you are soft spoken, or you do not mind waiting, they can walk all over you. Again, you must show these people, without becoming visibly upset with them, that you will not allow this type of treatment.
It is better to show them as opposed to telling them; remember, your actions always speak louder than your words. If you do business with a lot of people, it will also be necessary for you to sign contracts and agreements. We live in a very litigious society and it is recommended to always do business with a contract.
It does not matter whether it is friends or family, or if you like the person you are dealing with. Always sign a contract which is clear and concise, so if something goes wrong, you can hold it up in a court of law, showing the judge that the other party agreed to the terms of the document.
Without a contract, it is always your word versus theirs, and no judge really wants to hear this. They want to see evidence, and having the right evidence is what will allow you to win cases. To be successful in this world, you must gain the respect of others.
The problem is, becoming angry and allowing your temper to get the best of you can always destroy bridges built with trust and respect between people and lead to other problems.
The essence of dealing with others is to control your emotions. On your path to money and success, you will run into difficult people. You can always avoid them, but doing so may kill valuable business relationships which can allow you to make it to the next level.
Therefore, when you become upset with someone who you feel does not respect you, take the time to figure out how to handle the situation in a logical manner.
The Power of Leadership
Leadership is one of those skills that is often hard for everyone to learn in school; many believe that you either have it or you do not. While there may be some truth to this, it is possible for any individual to become an effective leader, so long as they cultivate the many traits and views that successful leaders have.
While there are many definitions which are used to describe leadership, it is "the ability to persuade a group of people in a manner which allows a specific goal to be reached." While there are many different types of leaders, this definition clearly describes the primary outcome that they all share.
If you are capable of influencing others around you in a manner that allows you to achieve your goals, then it can be said that you have leadership skill. There is no set formula that one follows to become a leader, and the skills which are required for leadership cannot easily be taught in a classroom.
The greatest leaders tend to be those that have a natural gift; many leaders are highly charismatic. There are many styles of leadership, some of the fundamental traits that all leaders share, which you can apply in your own life are outlined here below.
Power of Discipline
Leaders have extensive amount of discipline. No one can lead others if they cannot first lead themselves. If you are the type of person who has to be told what to do all the time, then you are not a leader, but a follower.
If a leader knows that they need to wake up at a certain time in order to get an important task completed, then they will do so. If they know that they need to be working on a specific project at a certain time, no one has to tell them to do so; they just automatically know to do it. The first traits common among leaders is that they tend to be full of both discipline and the ability to lead themselves.
Strength and Wisdom
Two other traits which are common among leaders is both strength and wisdom. When one studies history, this becomes obvious: those who were promoted to the rank of general in most societies throughout history have been men who were brave, strong, and battle tested. No one wanted a general who was weak and inexperienced. In addition to this, no soldier wishes to fight under a general who was unwise.
A wise person is often promoted to leadership positions since they often make wise decisions which benefit themselves and those under them. This is also why many societies throughout history selected older men to be elders of the tribe, since they had lived many years and had knowledge, wisdom, and experience with regard to many matters.
Being a strong leader does not necessarily mean that you need to be physically strong, or have a powerful physical presence; it could simply mean having a strong mind, being resolute in your thought process. While having physical strength can be helpful, it is only one factor which is effective in strong leaders.
Wisdom is equally, if not more important than physical strength, since a wise general can keep his men alive, and a wise CEO can keep his company and employees profitable and employed.
People often rally under a wise leader because the leader can give them a sense of security; In a harsh world where hardly anything is certain, and where people aspire to improve their lot in life, the man or woman who displays strength and wisdom will be followed, so that their followers can reap the benefits of their wisdom.
However, a key thing that one must always keep in mind is that while leaders may enjoy many privileges, including fame and wealth, their position also comes with a great deal of responsibility, as well as risk.
Leadership Dangers
While leaders enjoy many privileges, their power comes along with huge responsibility; they are obliged to serve those who put them into power. If a leader makes bad decisions which hurts those beneath him, he is subject to being overthrown and replaced by a leader who is more effective.
If the leader becomes abusive, or uses his power in a corrupt way, again, sooner or later he will be crushed and overthrown. While a leader often gets the praise and benefit from any achievement his group accomplishes, when things go wrong, and the group is not successful, the leader is the person who will often be primarily blamed, and may be most likely to fall.
While there are many definitions which are used to describe leadership, it is "the ability to persuade a group of people in a manner which allows a specific goal to be reached." While there are many different types of leaders, this definition clearly describes the primary outcome that they all share.
If you are capable of influencing others around you in a manner that allows you to achieve your goals, then it can be said that you have leadership skill. There is no set formula that one follows to become a leader, and the skills which are required for leadership cannot easily be taught in a classroom.
The greatest leaders tend to be those that have a natural gift; many leaders are highly charismatic. There are many styles of leadership, some of the fundamental traits that all leaders share, which you can apply in your own life are outlined here below.
Power of Discipline
Leaders have extensive amount of discipline. No one can lead others if they cannot first lead themselves. If you are the type of person who has to be told what to do all the time, then you are not a leader, but a follower.
If a leader knows that they need to wake up at a certain time in order to get an important task completed, then they will do so. If they know that they need to be working on a specific project at a certain time, no one has to tell them to do so; they just automatically know to do it. The first traits common among leaders is that they tend to be full of both discipline and the ability to lead themselves.
Strength and Wisdom
Two other traits which are common among leaders is both strength and wisdom. When one studies history, this becomes obvious: those who were promoted to the rank of general in most societies throughout history have been men who were brave, strong, and battle tested. No one wanted a general who was weak and inexperienced. In addition to this, no soldier wishes to fight under a general who was unwise.
A wise person is often promoted to leadership positions since they often make wise decisions which benefit themselves and those under them. This is also why many societies throughout history selected older men to be elders of the tribe, since they had lived many years and had knowledge, wisdom, and experience with regard to many matters.
Being a strong leader does not necessarily mean that you need to be physically strong, or have a powerful physical presence; it could simply mean having a strong mind, being resolute in your thought process. While having physical strength can be helpful, it is only one factor which is effective in strong leaders.
Wisdom is equally, if not more important than physical strength, since a wise general can keep his men alive, and a wise CEO can keep his company and employees profitable and employed.
People often rally under a wise leader because the leader can give them a sense of security; In a harsh world where hardly anything is certain, and where people aspire to improve their lot in life, the man or woman who displays strength and wisdom will be followed, so that their followers can reap the benefits of their wisdom.
However, a key thing that one must always keep in mind is that while leaders may enjoy many privileges, including fame and wealth, their position also comes with a great deal of responsibility, as well as risk.
Leadership Dangers
While leaders enjoy many privileges, their power comes along with huge responsibility; they are obliged to serve those who put them into power. If a leader makes bad decisions which hurts those beneath him, he is subject to being overthrown and replaced by a leader who is more effective.
If the leader becomes abusive, or uses his power in a corrupt way, again, sooner or later he will be crushed and overthrown. While a leader often gets the praise and benefit from any achievement his group accomplishes, when things go wrong, and the group is not successful, the leader is the person who will often be primarily blamed, and may be most likely to fall.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Essential Life Skills
Life skills are some of the most important skills you can have. One thing which separates life skills from the skills that we learn in school is that life skills tend to be things which are hard to teach in a classroom, skills that will most often be learned through experience alone.
Handling Work
One such skill is learning how to handle work. In real life scenario, anytime that you think that you have got to a point in a project where you think it is fully completed, there will always be more work that can be done, extra effort that can be put in-order to take it a class above the rest. Contrary to this, in college, students are given projects that must be definitively completed at a specific time.
While project deadlines also exist in the real world, the work is never quite finished. There will always be more that you can complete, and you should think of life in terms of ever increasing experiences which allow you to learn more about the world you live in.
Handling People
An important life skill is learning how to handle people. When it comes to handling people you must always keep in mind is that people are non-altruistic, and will do things primarily for their own self interest.
One thing that is found to be interesting is that many people, particularly those who are unsuccessful, go throughout life making decisions based on emotions, as opposed to logic. Many people look out for their own self interest, not yours.
While emotions are inevitable, they also make humans weak. A computer or machine does not factor in emotion into its decision making process; its decision on whether or not to carry out a function is based on cold hard logic.
You must keep in mind when doing business in this world is that people are looking out for themselves; if they need to rip you off in order to get something they want, many of them have no problem doing so. Therefore, you must always protect yourself and try to make critical decisions based on logic and never emotion.
Never think that people care about you because you are a nice person, or because they just like associating with you. While it is true that you attract more people when you are sociable, people in most cases will only deal with you if there is something they can get out of it. If they cannot get anything out of it, then they may not deal with you.
When dealing with people, never deal with them in terms of emotion. The people you deal with should be useful to you; if they are not, then you have no business dealing with them.
Friendship
Friendships should be handled with caution; friends tend to become jealous and patronizing, and because they know you as a person, they can sometimes be more dangerous than your enemies.
Always watch friends carefully, and be prepared to discard of them if they become problematic. Never continue dealing with a friend simply because of any emotional attachment you have to them, think logically.
Good Grades
Having good grades will not make you successful, but it will get you a job
In college, many students are obsessed with having a high GPA. They thought that by maintaining a high grade point average, they would have more job opportunities. They are right, they will have more job opportunities, to work as an employee for someone else.
Having a college degree will not guarantee that you will become the CEO of a company; the fact of the matter is that most of these students end up becoming employees who work under a person who never even graduated from college.
Having good grades only shows that you are good at following directions, at memorizing facts and concepts.
The problem with getting good grades is that it does not teach you how to take risks, or how to become a leader. This is something that can only be learned out in the real world, you can only learn how to lead or deal with risk by having experience, it is something that you acquire as you progress.
Because high GPA students seldom learn how to lead or face risks, they are often the least likely to establish their own companies, since it is easier and less risky to simply go work for someone else.
Handling Work
One such skill is learning how to handle work. In real life scenario, anytime that you think that you have got to a point in a project where you think it is fully completed, there will always be more work that can be done, extra effort that can be put in-order to take it a class above the rest. Contrary to this, in college, students are given projects that must be definitively completed at a specific time.
While project deadlines also exist in the real world, the work is never quite finished. There will always be more that you can complete, and you should think of life in terms of ever increasing experiences which allow you to learn more about the world you live in.
Handling People
An important life skill is learning how to handle people. When it comes to handling people you must always keep in mind is that people are non-altruistic, and will do things primarily for their own self interest.
One thing that is found to be interesting is that many people, particularly those who are unsuccessful, go throughout life making decisions based on emotions, as opposed to logic. Many people look out for their own self interest, not yours.
While emotions are inevitable, they also make humans weak. A computer or machine does not factor in emotion into its decision making process; its decision on whether or not to carry out a function is based on cold hard logic.
You must keep in mind when doing business in this world is that people are looking out for themselves; if they need to rip you off in order to get something they want, many of them have no problem doing so. Therefore, you must always protect yourself and try to make critical decisions based on logic and never emotion.
Never think that people care about you because you are a nice person, or because they just like associating with you. While it is true that you attract more people when you are sociable, people in most cases will only deal with you if there is something they can get out of it. If they cannot get anything out of it, then they may not deal with you.
When dealing with people, never deal with them in terms of emotion. The people you deal with should be useful to you; if they are not, then you have no business dealing with them.
Friendship
Friendships should be handled with caution; friends tend to become jealous and patronizing, and because they know you as a person, they can sometimes be more dangerous than your enemies.
Always watch friends carefully, and be prepared to discard of them if they become problematic. Never continue dealing with a friend simply because of any emotional attachment you have to them, think logically.
Good Grades
Having good grades will not make you successful, but it will get you a job
In college, many students are obsessed with having a high GPA. They thought that by maintaining a high grade point average, they would have more job opportunities. They are right, they will have more job opportunities, to work as an employee for someone else.
Having a college degree will not guarantee that you will become the CEO of a company; the fact of the matter is that most of these students end up becoming employees who work under a person who never even graduated from college.
Having good grades only shows that you are good at following directions, at memorizing facts and concepts.
The problem with getting good grades is that it does not teach you how to take risks, or how to become a leader. This is something that can only be learned out in the real world, you can only learn how to lead or deal with risk by having experience, it is something that you acquire as you progress.
Because high GPA students seldom learn how to lead or face risks, they are often the least likely to establish their own companies, since it is easier and less risky to simply go work for someone else.
Life Skills For Success
There are a number of skills that you will need to develop in life if you wish to be successful with anything, and the bad news is that most of these skills are not taught in colleges and universities. One skill that is extremely valuable is public speaking.
If you have the ability to speak in a persuasive manner, and convey your ideas to an audience, then you have the potential to achieve an enormous amount of success.
Those who are good with public speaking tend to be those that have confidence in themselves, and they tend to be people who are a delight to be around.
If you are good at speaking, this means that you are a skilled salesperson, and are capable of selling practically anything, whether it be products or ideas.
Public speaking is also a powerful way to market yourself because you never know who is sitting in your audience.
If you are giving a speech about an investment idea you have which needs capital in order to take off, for all you know, the wealthy investor may be sitting in the audience, and if you speak well, you may meet them after you're done speaking.
Another skill, one which is closely related to public speaking, is the ability to write. When you are a good writer, you can easily sell products and ideas, and you will convey your thoughts much more effectively than someone who writes poorly. However, being a good writer requires you to do more than just learn grammar.
Being a truly good writer requires you to be masterful at controlling your thoughts. When you're able to organize your thoughts in a manner which will allow you to communicate ideas to your audience in an effective way, then this is a sign that you're an effective writer.
The ability to write and communicate with the written word is a timeless skill that is just as valid today as it always has been, and if you are able to write persuasive books, papers, and articles, you will find yourself developing a following within a short period of time.
In addition to public speaking and writing, the ability to manage yourself is absolutely critical.
The ability to manage yourself
Many people are failures in life simply because of an inability to manage themselves. The hallmark of self management is to have lots of self discipline.
If you have a problem waking up on time, or doing what you know you need to be doing when you should be doing it, then your success in life is doubtful.
Another life skill which is indispensable is an ability to work with and recognize authority. No matter how high you rise in life, there will always be someone you answer to. If you're the type of person who has a problem with authority, you're not going to go very far.
As I always like to say: someone is going to tell you what to do, one way or another. It could be your boss or client, or it could be a prison guard, but someone is going to tell you what to do.
Individuals who are argumentative, or who always think their way is the right way, are people who won't go far, because they will make so many enemies and burn so many bridges that no one will want to deal with them.
Even when your client or boss is wrong, and you know they are, it is better to let them find out for themselves as opposed to arguing with them about it. Arguing with others is never a sign of power, and is in fact a sign of weakness.
As the old saying does, "the truth is seen, rarely heard." Talk is cheap, people talk about doing things all the time. To become successful in life, you have to be a man or woman or action, not words. In the long run, actions are the only things that really count.
The Power of Networking
Networking is one of the most powerful tools that you can have at your disposal. No matter how smart or talented you are, if you're incapable of networking with others, you will not go very far. The most successful people in the world are those who know how to build a network. The purpose of building a network is to use the energy and resources of others as opposed to using your own.
Your energy and resources are very finite, it is easy to exhaust and wipe yourself out. However, by working together with a team, you suddenly partition your work load and can complete various tasks within a short period of time.
If you have the ability to speak in a persuasive manner, and convey your ideas to an audience, then you have the potential to achieve an enormous amount of success.
Those who are good with public speaking tend to be those that have confidence in themselves, and they tend to be people who are a delight to be around.
If you are good at speaking, this means that you are a skilled salesperson, and are capable of selling practically anything, whether it be products or ideas.
Public speaking is also a powerful way to market yourself because you never know who is sitting in your audience.
If you are giving a speech about an investment idea you have which needs capital in order to take off, for all you know, the wealthy investor may be sitting in the audience, and if you speak well, you may meet them after you're done speaking.
Another skill, one which is closely related to public speaking, is the ability to write. When you are a good writer, you can easily sell products and ideas, and you will convey your thoughts much more effectively than someone who writes poorly. However, being a good writer requires you to do more than just learn grammar.
Being a truly good writer requires you to be masterful at controlling your thoughts. When you're able to organize your thoughts in a manner which will allow you to communicate ideas to your audience in an effective way, then this is a sign that you're an effective writer.
The ability to write and communicate with the written word is a timeless skill that is just as valid today as it always has been, and if you are able to write persuasive books, papers, and articles, you will find yourself developing a following within a short period of time.
In addition to public speaking and writing, the ability to manage yourself is absolutely critical.
The ability to manage yourself
Many people are failures in life simply because of an inability to manage themselves. The hallmark of self management is to have lots of self discipline.
If you have a problem waking up on time, or doing what you know you need to be doing when you should be doing it, then your success in life is doubtful.
Another life skill which is indispensable is an ability to work with and recognize authority. No matter how high you rise in life, there will always be someone you answer to. If you're the type of person who has a problem with authority, you're not going to go very far.
As I always like to say: someone is going to tell you what to do, one way or another. It could be your boss or client, or it could be a prison guard, but someone is going to tell you what to do.
Individuals who are argumentative, or who always think their way is the right way, are people who won't go far, because they will make so many enemies and burn so many bridges that no one will want to deal with them.
Even when your client or boss is wrong, and you know they are, it is better to let them find out for themselves as opposed to arguing with them about it. Arguing with others is never a sign of power, and is in fact a sign of weakness.
As the old saying does, "the truth is seen, rarely heard." Talk is cheap, people talk about doing things all the time. To become successful in life, you have to be a man or woman or action, not words. In the long run, actions are the only things that really count.
The Power of Networking
Networking is one of the most powerful tools that you can have at your disposal. No matter how smart or talented you are, if you're incapable of networking with others, you will not go very far. The most successful people in the world are those who know how to build a network. The purpose of building a network is to use the energy and resources of others as opposed to using your own.
Your energy and resources are very finite, it is easy to exhaust and wipe yourself out. However, by working together with a team, you suddenly partition your work load and can complete various tasks within a short period of time.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The History of Gospel Music
Though gospel music can be an extremely broad term, CCM focuses its attention on the music that sprung from the early African-American church and inspired a host of modern day choirs and contemporary gospel/R&B sounds.
by Phil Petrie
From the smooth sounds of Sam Cooke to the dancing, acrobatic vocals of Kirk Franklin, gospel music does more than just sound sweet--it literally moves its listeners. Whether it's swaying with the choirs or tappin' along with the quartets or simply raising hands to the rhythm of soul-stirring crooners, gospel is one genre of music that needs to be both seen and heard. Once narrowly defined as religious, gospel has transcended those limits to become a profound force in American music and popular culture.
Fueled by major recording companies, it has leaped over its traditional religious walls and is now more than just church music. Last year's phenomenon of Kirk Franklin's Why We Sing (it went platinum) and the current success of William Becton's Be Encouraged (a mainstay on Billboard's gospel chart for 28 weeks and counting at press time) attest to gospel's growing popularity. According to materials received from Gospel Today magazine, within the last five years, seven major recording companies have created and staffed gospel divisions; independent gospel labels increased 50 percent, and total revenues for gospel music have nearly tripled in the past decade-from $180 million in 1980 to $500 million in 1990.
Info about the image-default "Gospel music is coming to the mainstream," says gospel diva Yolanda Adams. "Singers are coming out of the church and introducing the gospel style to a mainstream audience."
Adams herself expanded gospel's exposure when she appeared twice on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Meanwhile, television producer Bobby Jones reaches four and a half million viewers each week with his BET program "Gospel Explosion" and believes that while the gospel audience is expanding, "We must honor our pioneers and at the same time greet the best of the new with praise."
The "our" in this instance translates as black singers. To Jones, "gospel music is black music." To others, it is merely a term that encompasses various kinds of religious music--traditional, contemporary Christian, urban contemporary, Southern, hip-hop. Like soldiers waving banners to show their regimental colors, modern-day gospel singers march boldly and beautifully toward Zion and an ever expanding marketplace, hoisting their divisional (take this literally) colors.
As the music moves beyond its incubator--the church--it is imperative to understand where it is, where it has been, and where it is going. As Christians we must hope that the music is building bridges, not walls.
The Beginnings
Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993, composer of such standards as "There Will Be Peace in the Valley"), is considered by many gospel devotees to be the "Father of Gospel Music." The son of a minister, Dorsey was a consummate musician and as a young man accompanied some of the most famous blues singers of all time-specifically, Bessie Smith (1894-1937) and Ma Rainey (1886-1939). He also arranged and composed blues tunes. His penchant for bouncy tunes and bawdy lyrics did not keep him from attending the annual meetings of the National Baptist Convention, though. and it was at one of these meetings in Philadelphia that Dorsey first heard the compositions of Charles A. Tindley (1851-1933, composer of "We'll Understand It Better By and By" and "Leave It There" among others).
In his essay, "Rock, Church, Rock," Arna Bontemps says that it was then that Dorsey began to write religious music, abandoning his brash lyrics but not the jazz rhythms and blues flavor and rhythmic style so akin to Tindley's own. Naturally, the "old guard" conservatives considered this blending of the sacred (spirituals and hymns) and the secular (blues and jazz) as "the devil's music" and shunned it. By its actions, the church declared Dorsey's brand of gospel music unworthy of a hearing within the sanctuaries of the day, a story quite similarly echoed by churches responding to the rock 'n' roll Jesus Movement that swept the country in the early '70s. In both instances, the traditional church failed to see the positive influence contemporary music could have, blessing its listeners and encouraging them to draw near God. It is this intense spiritual quality in gospel music that lifts it up beyond its mere form, a quality that most preachers in Dorsey's day failed to understand.
A 1994 Score magazine article titled "The Father of Gospel Music" quoted Dorsey as saying, "When I realized how hard some folks were fighting the gospel idea, I was determined to carry the banner."
Carry it he did. "I borrowed five dollars and sent out 500 copies of my song, 'If You See My Savior,' to churches throughout the country.... It was three years before I got a single order. I felt like going back to the blues."
He didn't. With pioneer singers such as Sallie Martin (1896-1988) and Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith (1904-94) propagating his music, he stayed the course long enough to write over 800 songs and hear his music ascend from the first row pews to the choir stand, where it previously had been banned.
Other composers, such as Lucy Campbell ("Something Within") and Dr. Herbert Brewster ("Surely God is Able"), picked up the torch and the way was lit for another generation to take control. To insure this, Dorsey founded The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1932, an organization still in existence today.
The Legendary Divas and Dons
Dorsey was a planter. The fruits of that harvest were the exceptional singers who spread gospel around the country and indeed the world in the years that followed--Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward and James Cleveland are but a few.
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) had been, in the language of today's youth, "all that" in gospel long before she signed a lucrative contract with Columbia Records in the 1950s. Her star continued to rise, landing her on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and providing the opportunity for her to sing just before Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech (Interestingly enough, she sang Dorsey's "Take My Hand, Precious Lord at King's funeral in 1968). Her rich alto voice affected all those who heard it and several of today's singers either wanted to sing like her or with her.
Clara Ward (1924-1973) and the Ward Singers, on the other hand, took the opportunity, in Clara's words "to take God's words to His people wherever they were--even in night clubs." This, of course had been done by Sister Rosetta Tharpe decades earlier when she had performed with Lucky Millender and his band. Ward was one of those rare people who had both flash and substance. Opal L. Nation, in writing copy for a reissue of Ward's recording, says that Surely God is Able was "the first ever million-seller post-war gospel record." (If true, this is astounding. Only a handful of gospel recordings ever reach the status of gold, 500,000 copies sold. In 1968, Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, was the first to do so since RIAA began keeping statistics.) Ward had a direct effect on the career of gospel great Marion Williams [Williams sang with the Ward Singers] and influenced both Little Richard and Aretha Franklin, who noted Ward as her idol.
James Cleveland (1931-1991) was considered by many gospel enthusiasts to be "The King of Gospel," receiving four Grammys, the last awarded posthumously for the album Having Church. Cleveland was a charismatic singer who, to use a cliche, held the audience in the palm of his hand. This is ironic since his voice, rough and raspy, could not be considered one of great quality. Nonetheless, he mesmerized his audience and brought a standard of excellence to gospel music in general through his organization in 1968 of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, the largest gospel convention in the world.
Legendary singers of the '50s and '60s included Edna Gallmon Cooke and Brother Joe May. Although not quite fitting the category of pioneers, the following contemporary singers are sure to reside in the realm of legendary divas and dons as well: Daryl Coley, Andrae Crouch and the late Thomas Whitfield.
The Quartets
The quartets limelight ran in tandem with those golden gospel voices-from the late 1920s through the 1940s, the gospel quartet reigned supreme in gospel music. In fact, it was these vocal groups that most affected American pop culture.
One of the mainstays of the quartets was The Swan Silvertones led by Claude Jeter. Jeter's innovative style of using falsetto became the industry standard. Not to be outdone, The Sensational Nightingales' Rev. Julius Cheeks delved into flamboyance. He left the stage, walked the floor and "worked" the audience, keeping its spirit high. Had he been on the secular side, one suspects he would have been considered a sex symbol.
Other popular groups included The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Mighty Clouds of Joy ('60s and '70s) and The Fairfield Four, the latter of which still enjoys immense popularity today as much for its members timeless sense of humor as the vocal prowess they have amazingly retained.
Though most of the gospel quartets were male, The Davis Sisters, Harmonettes and that most enduring of groups, the Caravans, provide examples of excellent, and popular, women groups. The Caravans at one time or another included such luminaries as Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, Cassietta George, Bessie Griffin, Inez Andrews, Shirley Caesar and Delores Washington--a stellar line-up on anybody's program.
But perhaps the most popular quartet of all was the Soul Stirrers, led by the great Rebert H. Harris. According to George W. Stewart of The American Quartet Gospel Convention, it was Harris who first developed that vocal ad lib using repetitious sounds that Sam Cooke made so famous rather than words.
"Before that innovation, it was just straight quartet style, a variation of the barbershop quartet," Stewart offered. "Harris started training Cooke when [Cooke] was 10 years old. When he was in his late teens, Cooke joined the group and became the closest thing gospel had to a matinee idol."
When he left the group and Harris' tutelage for the rewards offered by secular music--larger audiences and more money--Cooke became an icon in American popular music. He was the first gospel notable to successfully cross over into the mainstream and become a "star." Gospel singers following his move were both legion and legend. Aretha Franklin, Della Reese and Lou Rawls are prime examples. (Ray Charles, with such hits in the 1950s as "Drown in My Own Tears" and "Hallelujah, I Just Love Her So," both with recognizable gospel influence, appropriated the style without ever having been a "professional" gospel singer. Contrary to rumor, Charles was not one of the Five Blind Boys, a gospel quartet.)
The gospel quartets' influence wasn't confined to just those names either as many of the rhythm and blues musicians of the '60s and '70s first had their imaginations sparked by the quartets. This short list of singers with their gospel affiliation in parentheses prove the point: Ashford and Simpson (The Followers), Chuck Jackson (Raspberry Singers), Wilson Pickett (Violinares), Johnny Taylor (The Highway QCs). Even the current pop/R&B group Jodeci was once a gospel group called Little Cedric Haley and the Haley Singers!
The Choirs
In gospel music the mass choirs and choruses replaced the quartets in terms of overall popularity. Interestingly enough, however, the most popular choir in the '90s was founded and directed by a quartet member-Franklin Williams, commonly called Frank (1947-1993). Williams was part of a family quartet (The Southern Gospel Singers, later called The Williams Brothers) before joining the Jackson Southernaires. In 1979, he joined Malaco Records as executive producer and director of gospel promotions. and he organized and was lead singer for, the Mississippi Mass Choir in 1988. The group's first recording, Mississippi Mass Choir Live, was an immediate success with Billboard and Score magazines naming it the number one spiritual album of the year. The choir is still recording and still setting sales records.
Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Choir in the '80s and later John P. Kee and the New Life Community Choir established and continue to demonstrate standards of excellence for choirs; and other choirs of the '90s show that there remains a continuing variety of styles in these larger groups. Leaders are Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir, O'landa Draper and the Associates, and Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers. But it's unfair to give even this abbreviated list of contemporary choirs because there exist far too many of excellence--the Dallas-Fort Worth, Wilmington-Chester, Florida and New Jersey Mass Choirs are only a few of the ones that come to mind.
From its early roots through many legends along the route to the modern sounds finding a renewed popularity all their own today, it seems evident that gospel music is here to stay. The test for gospel reflects one that all Christian musicians must wrestle with: Can it continue to increase its fortune in the mainstream marketplace while still maintaining its spiritual base? Modern music lovers, especially the younger audiences, require more "bounce and groove" it seems, and many of them are moved by urban contemporary sounds as supplied by BeBe and CeCe Winans and Take 6; some others, meanwhile, stomp to hip-hop.
Shirley Caesar reminds that these are all merely vessels. "God uses any kind of vehicle He chooses to draw men unto Him," Caesar said. "What has kept me going is that I try to sing about current events: drugs, black on black crime, a lot of hurting women who have been abused, young girls who have had children out of wedlock. I want to let them know about Jesus so that they might just get up and straighten out their lives."
Since Thomas Dorsey first stretched the boundaries to create gospel music, choirs, quartets and powerful vocalists have been singing this same song, albeit in different styles and places. As gospel music continues to grow beyond even Dorsey's expectations, one can only hope that it will be embraced, regardless of how it is labeled, by everyone who needs to be reminded of the Good News it represents.
PHIL PETRIE is the managing editor of Gospel Today magazine.
by Phil Petrie
From the smooth sounds of Sam Cooke to the dancing, acrobatic vocals of Kirk Franklin, gospel music does more than just sound sweet--it literally moves its listeners. Whether it's swaying with the choirs or tappin' along with the quartets or simply raising hands to the rhythm of soul-stirring crooners, gospel is one genre of music that needs to be both seen and heard. Once narrowly defined as religious, gospel has transcended those limits to become a profound force in American music and popular culture.
Fueled by major recording companies, it has leaped over its traditional religious walls and is now more than just church music. Last year's phenomenon of Kirk Franklin's Why We Sing (it went platinum) and the current success of William Becton's Be Encouraged (a mainstay on Billboard's gospel chart for 28 weeks and counting at press time) attest to gospel's growing popularity. According to materials received from Gospel Today magazine, within the last five years, seven major recording companies have created and staffed gospel divisions; independent gospel labels increased 50 percent, and total revenues for gospel music have nearly tripled in the past decade-from $180 million in 1980 to $500 million in 1990.
Info about the image-default "Gospel music is coming to the mainstream," says gospel diva Yolanda Adams. "Singers are coming out of the church and introducing the gospel style to a mainstream audience."
Adams herself expanded gospel's exposure when she appeared twice on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Meanwhile, television producer Bobby Jones reaches four and a half million viewers each week with his BET program "Gospel Explosion" and believes that while the gospel audience is expanding, "We must honor our pioneers and at the same time greet the best of the new with praise."
The "our" in this instance translates as black singers. To Jones, "gospel music is black music." To others, it is merely a term that encompasses various kinds of religious music--traditional, contemporary Christian, urban contemporary, Southern, hip-hop. Like soldiers waving banners to show their regimental colors, modern-day gospel singers march boldly and beautifully toward Zion and an ever expanding marketplace, hoisting their divisional (take this literally) colors.
As the music moves beyond its incubator--the church--it is imperative to understand where it is, where it has been, and where it is going. As Christians we must hope that the music is building bridges, not walls.
The Beginnings
Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993, composer of such standards as "There Will Be Peace in the Valley"), is considered by many gospel devotees to be the "Father of Gospel Music." The son of a minister, Dorsey was a consummate musician and as a young man accompanied some of the most famous blues singers of all time-specifically, Bessie Smith (1894-1937) and Ma Rainey (1886-1939). He also arranged and composed blues tunes. His penchant for bouncy tunes and bawdy lyrics did not keep him from attending the annual meetings of the National Baptist Convention, though. and it was at one of these meetings in Philadelphia that Dorsey first heard the compositions of Charles A. Tindley (1851-1933, composer of "We'll Understand It Better By and By" and "Leave It There" among others).
In his essay, "Rock, Church, Rock," Arna Bontemps says that it was then that Dorsey began to write religious music, abandoning his brash lyrics but not the jazz rhythms and blues flavor and rhythmic style so akin to Tindley's own. Naturally, the "old guard" conservatives considered this blending of the sacred (spirituals and hymns) and the secular (blues and jazz) as "the devil's music" and shunned it. By its actions, the church declared Dorsey's brand of gospel music unworthy of a hearing within the sanctuaries of the day, a story quite similarly echoed by churches responding to the rock 'n' roll Jesus Movement that swept the country in the early '70s. In both instances, the traditional church failed to see the positive influence contemporary music could have, blessing its listeners and encouraging them to draw near God. It is this intense spiritual quality in gospel music that lifts it up beyond its mere form, a quality that most preachers in Dorsey's day failed to understand.
A 1994 Score magazine article titled "The Father of Gospel Music" quoted Dorsey as saying, "When I realized how hard some folks were fighting the gospel idea, I was determined to carry the banner."
Carry it he did. "I borrowed five dollars and sent out 500 copies of my song, 'If You See My Savior,' to churches throughout the country.... It was three years before I got a single order. I felt like going back to the blues."
He didn't. With pioneer singers such as Sallie Martin (1896-1988) and Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith (1904-94) propagating his music, he stayed the course long enough to write over 800 songs and hear his music ascend from the first row pews to the choir stand, where it previously had been banned.
Other composers, such as Lucy Campbell ("Something Within") and Dr. Herbert Brewster ("Surely God is Able"), picked up the torch and the way was lit for another generation to take control. To insure this, Dorsey founded The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1932, an organization still in existence today.
The Legendary Divas and Dons
Dorsey was a planter. The fruits of that harvest were the exceptional singers who spread gospel around the country and indeed the world in the years that followed--Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward and James Cleveland are but a few.
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) had been, in the language of today's youth, "all that" in gospel long before she signed a lucrative contract with Columbia Records in the 1950s. Her star continued to rise, landing her on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and providing the opportunity for her to sing just before Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech (Interestingly enough, she sang Dorsey's "Take My Hand, Precious Lord at King's funeral in 1968). Her rich alto voice affected all those who heard it and several of today's singers either wanted to sing like her or with her.
Clara Ward (1924-1973) and the Ward Singers, on the other hand, took the opportunity, in Clara's words "to take God's words to His people wherever they were--even in night clubs." This, of course had been done by Sister Rosetta Tharpe decades earlier when she had performed with Lucky Millender and his band. Ward was one of those rare people who had both flash and substance. Opal L. Nation, in writing copy for a reissue of Ward's recording, says that Surely God is Able was "the first ever million-seller post-war gospel record." (If true, this is astounding. Only a handful of gospel recordings ever reach the status of gold, 500,000 copies sold. In 1968, Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, was the first to do so since RIAA began keeping statistics.) Ward had a direct effect on the career of gospel great Marion Williams [Williams sang with the Ward Singers] and influenced both Little Richard and Aretha Franklin, who noted Ward as her idol.
James Cleveland (1931-1991) was considered by many gospel enthusiasts to be "The King of Gospel," receiving four Grammys, the last awarded posthumously for the album Having Church. Cleveland was a charismatic singer who, to use a cliche, held the audience in the palm of his hand. This is ironic since his voice, rough and raspy, could not be considered one of great quality. Nonetheless, he mesmerized his audience and brought a standard of excellence to gospel music in general through his organization in 1968 of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, the largest gospel convention in the world.
Legendary singers of the '50s and '60s included Edna Gallmon Cooke and Brother Joe May. Although not quite fitting the category of pioneers, the following contemporary singers are sure to reside in the realm of legendary divas and dons as well: Daryl Coley, Andrae Crouch and the late Thomas Whitfield.
The Quartets
The quartets limelight ran in tandem with those golden gospel voices-from the late 1920s through the 1940s, the gospel quartet reigned supreme in gospel music. In fact, it was these vocal groups that most affected American pop culture.
One of the mainstays of the quartets was The Swan Silvertones led by Claude Jeter. Jeter's innovative style of using falsetto became the industry standard. Not to be outdone, The Sensational Nightingales' Rev. Julius Cheeks delved into flamboyance. He left the stage, walked the floor and "worked" the audience, keeping its spirit high. Had he been on the secular side, one suspects he would have been considered a sex symbol.
Other popular groups included The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Mighty Clouds of Joy ('60s and '70s) and The Fairfield Four, the latter of which still enjoys immense popularity today as much for its members timeless sense of humor as the vocal prowess they have amazingly retained.
Though most of the gospel quartets were male, The Davis Sisters, Harmonettes and that most enduring of groups, the Caravans, provide examples of excellent, and popular, women groups. The Caravans at one time or another included such luminaries as Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, Cassietta George, Bessie Griffin, Inez Andrews, Shirley Caesar and Delores Washington--a stellar line-up on anybody's program.
But perhaps the most popular quartet of all was the Soul Stirrers, led by the great Rebert H. Harris. According to George W. Stewart of The American Quartet Gospel Convention, it was Harris who first developed that vocal ad lib using repetitious sounds that Sam Cooke made so famous rather than words.
"Before that innovation, it was just straight quartet style, a variation of the barbershop quartet," Stewart offered. "Harris started training Cooke when [Cooke] was 10 years old. When he was in his late teens, Cooke joined the group and became the closest thing gospel had to a matinee idol."
When he left the group and Harris' tutelage for the rewards offered by secular music--larger audiences and more money--Cooke became an icon in American popular music. He was the first gospel notable to successfully cross over into the mainstream and become a "star." Gospel singers following his move were both legion and legend. Aretha Franklin, Della Reese and Lou Rawls are prime examples. (Ray Charles, with such hits in the 1950s as "Drown in My Own Tears" and "Hallelujah, I Just Love Her So," both with recognizable gospel influence, appropriated the style without ever having been a "professional" gospel singer. Contrary to rumor, Charles was not one of the Five Blind Boys, a gospel quartet.)
The gospel quartets' influence wasn't confined to just those names either as many of the rhythm and blues musicians of the '60s and '70s first had their imaginations sparked by the quartets. This short list of singers with their gospel affiliation in parentheses prove the point: Ashford and Simpson (The Followers), Chuck Jackson (Raspberry Singers), Wilson Pickett (Violinares), Johnny Taylor (The Highway QCs). Even the current pop/R&B group Jodeci was once a gospel group called Little Cedric Haley and the Haley Singers!
The Choirs
In gospel music the mass choirs and choruses replaced the quartets in terms of overall popularity. Interestingly enough, however, the most popular choir in the '90s was founded and directed by a quartet member-Franklin Williams, commonly called Frank (1947-1993). Williams was part of a family quartet (The Southern Gospel Singers, later called The Williams Brothers) before joining the Jackson Southernaires. In 1979, he joined Malaco Records as executive producer and director of gospel promotions. and he organized and was lead singer for, the Mississippi Mass Choir in 1988. The group's first recording, Mississippi Mass Choir Live, was an immediate success with Billboard and Score magazines naming it the number one spiritual album of the year. The choir is still recording and still setting sales records.
Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Choir in the '80s and later John P. Kee and the New Life Community Choir established and continue to demonstrate standards of excellence for choirs; and other choirs of the '90s show that there remains a continuing variety of styles in these larger groups. Leaders are Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir, O'landa Draper and the Associates, and Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers. But it's unfair to give even this abbreviated list of contemporary choirs because there exist far too many of excellence--the Dallas-Fort Worth, Wilmington-Chester, Florida and New Jersey Mass Choirs are only a few of the ones that come to mind.
From its early roots through many legends along the route to the modern sounds finding a renewed popularity all their own today, it seems evident that gospel music is here to stay. The test for gospel reflects one that all Christian musicians must wrestle with: Can it continue to increase its fortune in the mainstream marketplace while still maintaining its spiritual base? Modern music lovers, especially the younger audiences, require more "bounce and groove" it seems, and many of them are moved by urban contemporary sounds as supplied by BeBe and CeCe Winans and Take 6; some others, meanwhile, stomp to hip-hop.
Shirley Caesar reminds that these are all merely vessels. "God uses any kind of vehicle He chooses to draw men unto Him," Caesar said. "What has kept me going is that I try to sing about current events: drugs, black on black crime, a lot of hurting women who have been abused, young girls who have had children out of wedlock. I want to let them know about Jesus so that they might just get up and straighten out their lives."
Since Thomas Dorsey first stretched the boundaries to create gospel music, choirs, quartets and powerful vocalists have been singing this same song, albeit in different styles and places. As gospel music continues to grow beyond even Dorsey's expectations, one can only hope that it will be embraced, regardless of how it is labeled, by everyone who needs to be reminded of the Good News it represents.
PHIL PETRIE is the managing editor of Gospel Today magazine.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Malaco Records Signs Exclusive Distribution Deal with BeBe and CeCe Winans for the Launch of B & C R
Malaco Music Group announced the signing of Gospel/R&B music superstars BeBe and CeCe Winans to an exclusive distribution deal for B & C Records, their first joint record label venture. With Malaco Records, a legendary southern R&B and Gospel label as their new distribution partner, the brother and sister music duo has launched their new label with the release of the single, “Close to You,” currently at radio. “Close to You” is the first from BeBe and CeCe’s upcoming CD, due in stores late September.
“As a true fan of their music for many years, this is one of the most exciting signings that I have made in recent years,” said Tommy Couch, President of Malaco Music Group. “I am very honored to bring these two stellar and respected artists to the Malaco Music Group family, and see nothing but a bright and prosperous future ahead. This new partnership represents for us the first of many steps toward building the Malaco Music Group into a major independent leader in the urban music world.”
Lionel Ridenour, Head of Malaco’s Urban Music Department, added: “We are more than excited about our partnership with BeBe and CeCe Winans, we are overjoyed. BeBe and CeCe Winans are international music superstars. They are pioneers of both traditional and contemporary gospel, as well as multi-platinum award-winning R&B music stars. We are very proud that BeBe and CeCe have chosen Malaco Music Group as the home for their new venture B & C Records.”
“With the rich heritage of so many great gospel legends, such as the Reverend James Cleveland, The Caravans, The Major Mass Choirs from Savoy and Malaco, we are elated to continue the tradition with superstar artists BeBe and CeCe Winans,” added D. A. Johnson, Malaco Music Group’s Director of Gospel Music Division.
BeBe and CeCe’s 20 year career in music includes multiple platinum and gold albums in both the Gospel and R&B music genres, 5 Grammys, 8 Doves, more than 12 Stellar Awards, 2 NAACP Awards, 12+ charting R&B singles, and countless #1 Christian and Gospel radio singles.
“As a true fan of their music for many years, this is one of the most exciting signings that I have made in recent years,” said Tommy Couch, President of Malaco Music Group. “I am very honored to bring these two stellar and respected artists to the Malaco Music Group family, and see nothing but a bright and prosperous future ahead. This new partnership represents for us the first of many steps toward building the Malaco Music Group into a major independent leader in the urban music world.”
Lionel Ridenour, Head of Malaco’s Urban Music Department, added: “We are more than excited about our partnership with BeBe and CeCe Winans, we are overjoyed. BeBe and CeCe Winans are international music superstars. They are pioneers of both traditional and contemporary gospel, as well as multi-platinum award-winning R&B music stars. We are very proud that BeBe and CeCe have chosen Malaco Music Group as the home for their new venture B & C Records.”
“With the rich heritage of so many great gospel legends, such as the Reverend James Cleveland, The Caravans, The Major Mass Choirs from Savoy and Malaco, we are elated to continue the tradition with superstar artists BeBe and CeCe Winans,” added D. A. Johnson, Malaco Music Group’s Director of Gospel Music Division.
BeBe and CeCe’s 20 year career in music includes multiple platinum and gold albums in both the Gospel and R&B music genres, 5 Grammys, 8 Doves, more than 12 Stellar Awards, 2 NAACP Awards, 12+ charting R&B singles, and countless #1 Christian and Gospel radio singles.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Obama calls for new beginning between US, Muslims
By MARK S. SMITH, Associated Press Writer Mark S. Smith, Associated Press Writer
CAIRO: Quoting from the Quran for emphasis, President Barack Obama called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims" Thursday and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East.
"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," Obama said in a widely anticipated speech in one of the world's largest Muslim countries, an address designed to reframe relations after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The White House said Obama's speech contained no new policy proposals on the Middle East. He said American ties with Israel are unbreakable, yet issued a firm, evenhanded call to the Jewish state and Palestinians alike to live up to their international obligations.
In a gesture to the Islamic world, Obama conceded at the beginning of his remarks that tension "has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations."
"And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," said the president, who recalled hearing prayer calls of "azaan" at dawn and dusk while living in Indonesia as a boy.
At the same time, he said the same principle must apply in reverse. "Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire."
Obama spoke at Cairo University after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the second stop of a four-nation trip to the Middle East and Europe.
The speech was the centerpiece of his journey, and while its tone was striking, the president also covered the Middle East peace process, Iran, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the violent struggle waged by al-Qaida.
Obama arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday, greeted by a new and threatening message from al-Qaida's leader, Osama bin Laden. In an audio recording, the terrorist leader said the president inflamed the Muslim world by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in the Swat Valley and block Islamic law there.
But Obama said the actions of violent extremist Muslims are "irreconcilable with the rights of human beings," and quoted the Quran to make his point: "be conscious of God and always speak the truth ..."
"Islam is not part of the problem in combatting violent extremism; it is an important part of promoting peace," he said.
"Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist," he said of the organization the United States deems as terrorists.
"The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people," Obama said.
"At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements" on the West Bank and outskirts of Jerusalem, he said. "It is time for these settlements to stop."
As for Jerusalem itself, he said it should be a "secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims ..."
Obama also said the Arab nations should no longer use the conflict with Israel to distract their own people from other problems.
He treaded lightly on one issue that President George W. Bush had made a centerpiece of his second term the spread of democracy.
Obama said he has a commitment to governments "that reflect the will of the people." And yet, he said, "No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other."
At times, there was an echo of Obama's campaign mantra of change in his remarks, and he said many are afraid it cannot occur.
"There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward," he said.
The president's brief stay in Cairo included a visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque, a 600-year-old center of Islamic worship and study. A tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza was also on his itinerary.
The build-up to the speech was enormous, stoked by the White House although Obama seemed at pains to minimize hopes for immediate consequences.
"One speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East," he told a French interviewer. "Expectations should be somewhat modest."
Eager to spread the president's message as widely as possible, the tech-savvy White House orchestrated a live Webcast of the speech on the White House site; remarks translated into 13 languages; a special State Department site where users could sign up for speech highlights; and distribution of excerpts to social networking giants MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.
Though the speech was co-sponsored by al-Azhar University, which has taught science and Quranic scripture here for nearly a millennium, the actual venue was the more modern and secular Cairo University.
Red draperies formed a backdrop for the speech, blocking view of a portrait of Mubarak, an aging autocrat who's ruled Egypt since 1981.
"Egypt's democrats cannot help being concerned," wrote Dina Guirguis, executive director of Voices for a Democratic Egypt.
The university's alumni are among the Arab world's most famous and notorious. They include the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfuz. Saddam Hussein studied law in the '60s but did not graduate. And al-Qaida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri earned a medical degree.
___
On the Net:
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
State Department's speech text-messaging site: http://www.america.gov/sms.html
CAIRO: Quoting from the Quran for emphasis, President Barack Obama called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims" Thursday and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East.
"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end," Obama said in a widely anticipated speech in one of the world's largest Muslim countries, an address designed to reframe relations after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The White House said Obama's speech contained no new policy proposals on the Middle East. He said American ties with Israel are unbreakable, yet issued a firm, evenhanded call to the Jewish state and Palestinians alike to live up to their international obligations.
In a gesture to the Islamic world, Obama conceded at the beginning of his remarks that tension "has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations."
"And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear," said the president, who recalled hearing prayer calls of "azaan" at dawn and dusk while living in Indonesia as a boy.
At the same time, he said the same principle must apply in reverse. "Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire."
Obama spoke at Cairo University after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the second stop of a four-nation trip to the Middle East and Europe.
The speech was the centerpiece of his journey, and while its tone was striking, the president also covered the Middle East peace process, Iran, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the violent struggle waged by al-Qaida.
Obama arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday, greeted by a new and threatening message from al-Qaida's leader, Osama bin Laden. In an audio recording, the terrorist leader said the president inflamed the Muslim world by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in the Swat Valley and block Islamic law there.
But Obama said the actions of violent extremist Muslims are "irreconcilable with the rights of human beings," and quoted the Quran to make his point: "be conscious of God and always speak the truth ..."
"Islam is not part of the problem in combatting violent extremism; it is an important part of promoting peace," he said.
"Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist," he said of the organization the United States deems as terrorists.
"The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people," Obama said.
"At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements" on the West Bank and outskirts of Jerusalem, he said. "It is time for these settlements to stop."
As for Jerusalem itself, he said it should be a "secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims ..."
Obama also said the Arab nations should no longer use the conflict with Israel to distract their own people from other problems.
He treaded lightly on one issue that President George W. Bush had made a centerpiece of his second term the spread of democracy.
Obama said he has a commitment to governments "that reflect the will of the people." And yet, he said, "No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other."
At times, there was an echo of Obama's campaign mantra of change in his remarks, and he said many are afraid it cannot occur.
"There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward," he said.
The president's brief stay in Cairo included a visit to the Sultan Hassan mosque, a 600-year-old center of Islamic worship and study. A tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza was also on his itinerary.
The build-up to the speech was enormous, stoked by the White House although Obama seemed at pains to minimize hopes for immediate consequences.
"One speech is not going to solve all the problems in the Middle East," he told a French interviewer. "Expectations should be somewhat modest."
Eager to spread the president's message as widely as possible, the tech-savvy White House orchestrated a live Webcast of the speech on the White House site; remarks translated into 13 languages; a special State Department site where users could sign up for speech highlights; and distribution of excerpts to social networking giants MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.
Though the speech was co-sponsored by al-Azhar University, which has taught science and Quranic scripture here for nearly a millennium, the actual venue was the more modern and secular Cairo University.
Red draperies formed a backdrop for the speech, blocking view of a portrait of Mubarak, an aging autocrat who's ruled Egypt since 1981.
"Egypt's democrats cannot help being concerned," wrote Dina Guirguis, executive director of Voices for a Democratic Egypt.
The university's alumni are among the Arab world's most famous and notorious. They include the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfuz. Saddam Hussein studied law in the '60s but did not graduate. And al-Qaida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri earned a medical degree.
___
On the Net:
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
State Department's speech text-messaging site: http://www.america.gov/sms.html
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
What are the Different Types of Malware Protection?
Malware is malicious software that can infect a computer or network causing problems that range from sluggishness and reboots, to loss of data and identity theft. In some cases the only way to rid a computer of certain types of malware is to wipe the drive, reformat it, and reload the operating system and programs. The best remedy is prevention, so let's consider the different types of malware protection.
The first rule of thumb in malware protection is to avoid engaging in risky online behaviors that virtually invite trouble. Delete email that arrives from unknown sources without opening it, and do not open or forward chain-email, even if it arrives from a friend. These are emails or attachments that circulate the Internet and might be funny, animated clips or little games. They can appear benign but often harbor a Trojan horse, virus or worm. By viewing the item you can infect your computer without realizing it.
If you use an email client rather than a Web-based email service, do not enable HTML in the client. HTML-enabled mail opens your system up to a host of threats that cannot reach you through a text-based interface.
Equally important, only download software that has been reviewed or recommended by trusted sources, and is hosted on a reputable website. According to a 2008 statement by a Symantec® spokesman, the amount of software available online that carries malware rivals legitimate software and might even be exceeding it.
Assuming your behaviors are not inviting infection, what kinds of software can you employ to provide malware protection? Let’s take a quick look at the different types of programs available.
Anti-virus software looks for signatures of known viruses, Trojans, backdoors, scripts, bots and worms. If it finds malware, it can delete it in most cases. A good anti-virus program will update its database several times a day to stay current with known threats in the wild. These programs also incorporate heuristic algorithms, or the ability to detect unknown viruses by their behaviors. Like any other software, some anti-virus programs are better at their job than others. Look for independent lab results to find a good program. Only install and use one anti-virus program at a time.
Anti-Adware and Anti-Spyware software usually comes bundled as a single package. These programs detect adware, spyware and their telltale signs, such as increased popup advertisements and browser hijacking. The latter occurs when you attempt to visit one sight but get redirected to another, often a pornographic site or a site pushing a hard sell. Adware and spyware can log browsing habits, interfere with surfing, hog system resources and slow your computer to a crawl. Guarding against spyware and adware is a basic part of any malware protection plan.
Keyloggers are small programs that record keystrokes to a log for later review by a third party. Network administrators use keyloggers for legitimate purposes, but they are also used in the wild to steal passwords, bank account numbers and other sensitive information from infected computers. Keyloggers are passed to remote machines surreptitiously using any Internet connection, then logs are regularly retrieved the same way. Keyloggers pose a real threat because they bypass encrypted technologies by recording information before the encryption can take place. Top anti-spyware programs incorporate keylogger detection, reducing risks of identity theft.
Rootkits are perhaps the worst type of infection because of their mercurial nature. There are several types of rootkits but in essence they are small routines that write themselves into the basic functions (or roots) of the operating system. From here they perform all kinds of tasks from installing keyloggers to opening backdoors for spybots. Like a lizard losing its tail, if you manage to detect and remove a rootkit, there might be hidden routines left on the system that will simply rebuild or grow a new tail. While there are rootkit detectors, should you find a rootkit, the only way to be sure the rootkit and all of its peripheral infections are gone is to wipe the system, reformat the drive, and rebuild.
Software designed for malware protection can come in suites or as stand-alone programs. A suite should include several programs or a single multi-layered program that includes all forms of malware protection. Stand-alone programs focus on one of the areas above, and might incorporate one or two tangential types of protection.
If you have never used malware protection, the first job upon installing the software will be to scan and clean the system. Once done, leave malware protection programs running in the background to reduce the risk of future infections. A firewall is also a basic part of system protection. Though it does not detect malware, it can prevent hackers from infiltrating your computer or network.
The first rule of thumb in malware protection is to avoid engaging in risky online behaviors that virtually invite trouble. Delete email that arrives from unknown sources without opening it, and do not open or forward chain-email, even if it arrives from a friend. These are emails or attachments that circulate the Internet and might be funny, animated clips or little games. They can appear benign but often harbor a Trojan horse, virus or worm. By viewing the item you can infect your computer without realizing it.
If you use an email client rather than a Web-based email service, do not enable HTML in the client. HTML-enabled mail opens your system up to a host of threats that cannot reach you through a text-based interface.
Equally important, only download software that has been reviewed or recommended by trusted sources, and is hosted on a reputable website. According to a 2008 statement by a Symantec® spokesman, the amount of software available online that carries malware rivals legitimate software and might even be exceeding it.
Assuming your behaviors are not inviting infection, what kinds of software can you employ to provide malware protection? Let’s take a quick look at the different types of programs available.
Anti-virus software looks for signatures of known viruses, Trojans, backdoors, scripts, bots and worms. If it finds malware, it can delete it in most cases. A good anti-virus program will update its database several times a day to stay current with known threats in the wild. These programs also incorporate heuristic algorithms, or the ability to detect unknown viruses by their behaviors. Like any other software, some anti-virus programs are better at their job than others. Look for independent lab results to find a good program. Only install and use one anti-virus program at a time.
Anti-Adware and Anti-Spyware software usually comes bundled as a single package. These programs detect adware, spyware and their telltale signs, such as increased popup advertisements and browser hijacking. The latter occurs when you attempt to visit one sight but get redirected to another, often a pornographic site or a site pushing a hard sell. Adware and spyware can log browsing habits, interfere with surfing, hog system resources and slow your computer to a crawl. Guarding against spyware and adware is a basic part of any malware protection plan.
Keyloggers are small programs that record keystrokes to a log for later review by a third party. Network administrators use keyloggers for legitimate purposes, but they are also used in the wild to steal passwords, bank account numbers and other sensitive information from infected computers. Keyloggers are passed to remote machines surreptitiously using any Internet connection, then logs are regularly retrieved the same way. Keyloggers pose a real threat because they bypass encrypted technologies by recording information before the encryption can take place. Top anti-spyware programs incorporate keylogger detection, reducing risks of identity theft.
Rootkits are perhaps the worst type of infection because of their mercurial nature. There are several types of rootkits but in essence they are small routines that write themselves into the basic functions (or roots) of the operating system. From here they perform all kinds of tasks from installing keyloggers to opening backdoors for spybots. Like a lizard losing its tail, if you manage to detect and remove a rootkit, there might be hidden routines left on the system that will simply rebuild or grow a new tail. While there are rootkit detectors, should you find a rootkit, the only way to be sure the rootkit and all of its peripheral infections are gone is to wipe the system, reformat the drive, and rebuild.
Software designed for malware protection can come in suites or as stand-alone programs. A suite should include several programs or a single multi-layered program that includes all forms of malware protection. Stand-alone programs focus on one of the areas above, and might incorporate one or two tangential types of protection.
If you have never used malware protection, the first job upon installing the software will be to scan and clean the system. Once done, leave malware protection programs running in the background to reduce the risk of future infections. A firewall is also a basic part of system protection. Though it does not detect malware, it can prevent hackers from infiltrating your computer or network.
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