FaceBook Exodus

After disappearing from here for 6 years and living my life digital life on Twitter and Facebook it appears I will be coming back to blogging to give society updates on my life.  Facebook has been deceptive about the hidden costs of privacy for patronizing it's services seemingly for free...  Now in the era when the masks are coming off I no longer feel comfortable using their public relations platform... I was hesitant to use them at first, but eventually caved into peer pressure as it was becoming a defacto proof of identity in order to establish business relations... now I see my intuition was right... Facebook is a platform of social engineering not social networking.

World Spring...

The time has come....

2012

Hi World

Yes I'm still alive; I'm continuing with my classes during the winter and thus have not been too productive in the art department recently. I find the art of teaching to be absolutely fascinating and I have dedicated a lot of my brain power to research and writing papers as if I'm pursuing a Doctorate. During the spring of 2012 I have been learning about different Early Childhood Education models like Montessori, Waldorf, High Scope, Head Start and my adopted model of Reggio Emilia.

Here's one bit of art I was able to do in coordination with my final project for one of my classes. This is an illustrated view of how part of my dream school would look.

I have still got a long way to go toward getting my Associates. That would bring me up to two Associates and one Bachelors... So where does the whole tangible action and affecting of lives come in? What is my purpose in this journey? Is this the path I was meant to follow, or just another hobby to make it through the boredom of daily survival in disconnected North Virginia?

It's not lost on me that all the classes I take advocate for child raising practices that are never followed here. We are taught to promote Equity and Harmony; to help every child develop their own character, culture and to find their place in this world.

Our local school system advocates the opposite. They promote competition and struggle of the most intelligent to gain the highest status. Children here are pushed to do precalculus by the age of 13, going on 12. Yet can they build a fire? Can they find love in the opposite sex? can they make a shelter or produce food? can they make it through a week without power?

Will there be a time they will have to face this kind of test?

Do the Standards of Learning prepare you for the standards of survival?

At this rate, you better wish they do cause the weather is changing all over the world and our youngest will likely face challenges that our generation in this country has never had to face, yet.

Jah love guide and protect us all.

PEACE
LOVE
BLESSINGS

-Raj JAH-

i-erry Yule blessings

JAH Bless,

Tis the Season for Blog Lag Time....

It's that time of year again... between the turkey day haze, gift grabbing fog and the blur of final projects, tis' once again the season of hasty updates.

Since my last post, I established a Twitter account in order to give updates on my life and statements of solidarity to "Occupiers" I support.

Let me digress a second on the Occupy topic... I support Occupations that follow the same 2 rules that I do in my own self-Occupation.

1. No Violence
2. No Destruction of Property

OK, back to my life... Below are some draft pictures for my final project for a class in "Teaching Math, Science and Social Studies concepts in Early Childhood Education"

The book is designed to help children understand the concept of how our environment has changed over time and how our actions can impact the future.

It's based on a story from my life when my childhood friend and myself were going to our favorite spot in the creek near our neighborhood only to run into the final phase of the construction of the Herndon Parkway by surprise.

I use progressive imagery in the book to show how the North Virginia landscape has changed over a thousand years (the following are some highlights from that segment of the draft book)

Unless "Change" rolls through again, this will probably be my next big personal project.

Otherwise... I have been continuing my tutoring activities in Herndon (despite not living there anymore)

Here is a photo I took of my portable Rock and Mineral collection in use during one of my enrichment activities.

I've also brought in my Moog Little Phatty and attached it to a Oscilloscope to let the kids have some creative free play with sound waves.

The Jams still continue on Thursday... The walks in the woods have not been as annual as I'd like, but as my schoolwork and weekend contract jobs wrap up, I hope to get back into more woodland Shamanry.

I have two new illustrations in the works that should be posted here sometime after the Holiday Break.

Until then..

Peace, Love and Blessings to 100% of all human beings... I hope your 2012 transformations will go smoothly this time next year.

-r

Sun Dancing At LEAF

SOoOo I just floated back from LEAF a couple days ago...

LEAF stands for the Lake Eden Arts Festival which is held in the Spring and Fall of each year.

By far, LEAF is my most favorite festival series (just one above Floydfest)

I brought the iPad and got some media...
Here was my humble abode for the four days I stayed there...

Here is my medicine bundle with my flutes and the Shaman singing bowl (rumored to be made of clay from a near by sacred valley)



Here is a clip of community family encampment nestled among the golden trees in the sacred valley...



Here are some brave youth preforming the initial sacrificial descent into the frozen waters of the holy lake in order to call blessings upon the festival (it was 32 degrees the night before)...



Here is another shot of the holy placid lake as seen from Eden Hall...



And here's a short clip of me giving thanks for being alive, healthy and partaking in the most beautiful festival I have ever attended...

Find out more about LEAF here.

Peace, Love and Blessings

-R

Moving On...

So 26 years in my old house in Herndon was getting a bit stifling so I decided to move on out and get a place of my own.

My own Kitchen...

My own art studio...

My own living room...

My own cottage in the woods...

"...My own life is all I can hope to control
So let my life
Be lived for the good of my soul...

and let it bring peace...

sweet peace...

peace will come...

and let it begin with me..."

(exerpt) Peace Will Come -Tom Paxton