Thanks for visiting! On this site, I blog about new things I've learned, thoughts about my work, and life. This blog tends to have a strong focus on infrastructure, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the developing world.
A friend of mine from Uganda sent me this. I thought I should share it... I agree. DO take a listen...
There was a popular Ugandan muscian called Philly Lutaaya. He went to exile in Sweden in 1979 and returned to Uganda in 1988 to a hero's welcome. Unfortunately he soon discovered he had AIDS. This was a time when most people across the world were still ignorant about the disease. To create awareness, he asked for his last days to be filmed and a wonderful 2 hour documentary of him was shot by the Swedish Red Cross. It was shown in many countries to create Aids awareness.
Philly was an incredible musician, one of my favourite songs that he did before passing on in 1989 was titled "voices are crying". This song is about the suffering of Africa's peoples at the hands of their leaders.
In case you are the only person who hasn't heard, Michael Jackson died unexpectedly yesterday afternoon. I was close to the epi-center at that point, near UCLA Medical Center where Jackson's body lay and a large crowd was collecting. I was in line at an ATM when I overheard the lady behind me telling her friend what happened. Like everyone else, I was shocked.
Since then, Jackson's death has been reported on almost continuously around the world. Vigils have been planned in every kind of setting imaginable, and the internet has crashed several times trying to keep with the news.
But looking at all this caused in me a great level of sadness. Jackson spent his entire life trying desperately to be accepted, even loved by the people around him. After the molestation charges took away his peace (I don't know the truth, so I can't comment) and the fan base he so desperately held close started to back away, he began to deteriorate in every way. Yesterday, he died alone in a cold hospital room in great financial debt. Until 2pm yesterday, if you had asked anyone what they thought of Michael Jackson, they would say "child molester," "wierdo," "freak", and maybe "musician." But today, the sentiment is so much more forgiving, even loving...
I wonder that if he had known while he was still alive that he was this greatly and genuinely loved and appreciated, how differently he might have lived his life; how much more music and creativity he would have given to the world; and maybe how differently he would have died.
His death was a reminder about the fickleness of fame; but more importantly, the importance of telling the ones we love and appreciate everyday how much they mean to us because it can make all the difference. That death has a strange way of only bringing the most important things to light, and an air of forgiveness. Today, as Jackson is mourned, he is most remembered for the joy he represented and brought to our lives.
Almost all my links today are TED related. This is not always the case, but there was too much good stuff:
1. Naturally 7, a group that could do an entire symphony using only voice, had us all rocking and jumping on our feet. You've GOT to check them out!
2. In the past few months, Nandan Nilekani (often referred to as the "Bill Gates of India") has been getting a bit overexposed; but his TED talk was actually quite good.
I've been thinking for a long time about why we don't hire more people to just rap some sensible stuff (like how to do math and tables, and science concepts and stuff) rather than all the crap that seems to infiltrate everywhere - about degrading women and children and themselves; and about the greatness of drugs and alcohol.
No where was this idea more evident than when I was in Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world. People couldn't speak a word of English or read or write properly in Portuguese, but they could rap some version of 50 Cent particularly complete with every English cuss word you can think of. Now what if 50 ended up rapping about something intelligent - about hygiene, and going to school, or even just rapped in good English?? I think that would go a long way...don't you??
Prepare a list of your songs (artist and title) OR a digital mix tape of your favorite “Bold Songs.” Your mix should contain eight to ten tracks that motivate you to make the world a better place. We recommend that you make your mix using either of the following free services:
8Tracks.com – Upload your songs in mp3 format or browse their network to stream your mix tape. We love this new site - we hope you check it out. If you use 8Tracks.com, please start the title of your mix with the words "Bold Songs." Here's a great screencast to get you started.
I’ve prepared a sample entry in the comments below. We can’t wait to listen to what you come up with!
The rules:
Submit your mix by September 12nd at 5pm EST by leaving a comment on this blog post (below) with a link to your digital mix tape OR simply leave a comment containing a list of your songs (artist and title). Your comment must also contain a short statement about why you chose these songs. Additionally, entries with profanity or hate speech will be disqualified. All entries that meet these criteria will be entered into a contest for a 4GB iPod nano. Entries will be judged on their creativity and theme by a panel of Echoing Green staffers. The winner will be announced on September 15th at 5pm EST. The winner will have thirty days to claim their iPod prize. The contest is open to anyone except for Echoing Green staff and our beloved family members (and former staff/interns and their family members, etc). Questions? Email me at anthony@echoinggreen.org.
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