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Always Christmas in My Heart

I sent an e-card this year from bluemountain.com that pretty much sums up the way I feel about Christmas. I really dislike the commercialization of the Holy Christmas season, though I am a capitalist, social entrepreneur and small business evangelist.

One thing I love about this season is the opportunity to say hello and send love and blessings to people I love, miss, appreciate and/or care about. Usually that is just a phone call, email, e-card or visit, but it gives me the perfect reason to say hello, thank you or I love you.

The free card was sponsored by Wal-Mart and it says: "If there were more days like Christmas, our world would be filled with the joy of song... ...the spirit of goodness, the colors of happiness, and the hope of believers everywhere. May it always be Christmas in your heart." Then I found a wonderful heart ornament on designerornaments.com and put the image together using the wording & ornament. I won't be surprised if I send this same card and ornaments next year.

Is Hip Hop Dead?

Amore' Rayne Is hip hop dead? Is R&B taking over?... I feel there is a shortage on quality music with lyrical substance! I just had a conversation about this exact subject a couple of days ago. My fear is who do we have to carry on the torch for the next generation as far as R&B goes? Hopefully my music will be among those who keep the torch lit. But we don't have many Whitney Houstons, Aretha ... See more Franklin's or Chaka Khan's in this industry anymore. Who ... See More will this generation have to look back on when they get older? There are far more studio generated singers than they are actual real gifted singers. What happened to the time where it really didn't matter what you looked like, what mattered was the quality of your vocals. And don't get me started on the lyrical content.. This is a subject that I am so very passionate about. Because you see the decline of the expectation of good music from the consumers. It's almost to the point where they are so use to listening to nonsense that they just listen to a beat and they lyrics just don't matter at this point. Me personally I'm tired of hearing about getting wasted, rims, kicks, clothes and droppin it like it's hot. I'm tired of seeing artist feel like they have to get half naked or straight up naked to sell records. I'm tired of seeing rappers talk about a life style that they actually never had. I understand the game. I know that at the end of the day it's about an image and a product but can we just get back to "Quality" regardless of the genre of music? It turns my stomach to see that being pretty trumps being talented. And if your willing to show as much as possible your definitely star bound. When will consumers demand more? If you can't find quality on a major scale, there are a lot of independent artist such as myself that does get it. I can't give anything less than quality. Music is who I am. It's the transcript of my life.

Who is Amore' Rayne? ...a multi-award winning independent singer/songwriter. Her recently released sophomore album titled "Girl Like Me'' is taking the R&B/Pop industry by storm.

Lorrinda Hip Hop and R&B is evolving as people and music always have and always will. GM filing bankruptcy felt like a horse & buggy company going under in our time... it is just not what is in demand. And truly that is economics in its most simple form... supply and demand. Evolve or die.

My ears tune in for powerful lyrics, clever melodies and passionate vocals no matter what the genre. Listeners decide what they want to hear. I think artists should create and perform what moves them personally... if it's only the money without regard to talent, then garbage-in-garbage-out. Perhaps we don't call it "soul" music so much anymore for a reason. Like Thelonious Monk was accredited at developing the bebop style of jazz, Amore may need a whole new genre to describe her talent... or be credited with keeping a genre alive in our current times. In short, do what moves you and it will move others in groups large or small.

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NC State Surplus Offers Online Bidding

Any bidder who registered with the system could submit an offer on the likes of a car, a laboratory pump, a sink, a lathe, or on any of 150,000 other items that passed through the online marketplace. Right now you can't see the dollar amounts of competing bids.

www.ncstatesurplus.com Big-ticket or high-end items such as an airplane, for instance, might be auctioned on eBay. Low price items, those worth less than $150 such as school desks, refrigerators and the like are sold in outlets located on the campuses of a half-dozen state university campuses. It's the items between that range - 65 percent of them being cars, vans and the like - that are now sold online in two weekly auctions.

You must register, but the biddding is open to the public. (Lee Weisbecker, TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/04/09).

Self-Managing Outside My Door

While attending the Living Arts College at the School of Communication Arts I developed a habit of carrying a unruled, pocket reporter moleskine for ideas, sketches, notes and receipts. Mostly I work remotely, but I have an office about a half hour away where I meet new clients and hold small meetings. Mom visits every couple of weeks or so to give us both a break from our normal routines. We have so much fun together!

Today, she saw the pile of receipts I’d collected and she instinctively started going through them. Mom blurts, “Girl! You go all these places when I’m not here!” I shot back, “I go all those places when I’m not HERE!” If I am at home working (or playing) I can’t go “all those places” and spend money, so I try to go out only when it is absolutely necessary. When I do go out, the moleskine or my blackberry holds my plan of attack for making the most of the time by getting errands and on-site customer deliverables done. I have been known to stay home 7-10 days and hardly even go out to the mailbox.

In a Harvard Business Review article by Peter Drucker called “Managing Oneself.” It discusses the challenges and importance of self-management. Ultimately, it is my responsibility to know myself; my strengths, weaknesses and values so that I can “place myself” where I can be most efficient and effective.

Self-discovery is probably one of the toughest things I’ve had to do. It takes careful feedback and trial-and-error precision, but it is well worth it. When I make impulse buying decisions or forget to write down business or personal expenses, it is nobody’s fault but mine. Likewise, it is only “my doing” that affords me to live my whole life without finding my passions and my destined place of effectiveness in the world outside my door.

How A Stupid Facebook Game Makes Zynga Millions

"How is it possible that Facebook gamesmaker Zynga will turn in 2009 revenues approaching a reported $250 million -- making 90% of its money selling gamers nothing but virtual goods? The object of FishVille is to build a magnificent virtual aquarium, full of spectacular fish and designer decorations. The way you do it is spending fake money to buy small fish for one price, and then, after tending to them for a few hours or days, selling them for more fake money then you paid. Then you use that money to buy more fish. If you want to speed your progress, you buy fake money with real money. We'd explain more, but it's really just easier to show you how it works..." Read more...

US DOL $55 million in Green Jobs Training Grants

US Department of Labor Announces Nearly $55 million in Green Jobs Training Grants through Recovery Act. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced nearly $55 million in green jobs grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants will support job training and labor market information programs to help workers, many in underserved communities, find jobs in expanding green industries and related occupations. To view the press release, click here