Peace

Drew

And I don’t know if I really do.  Her stage name is Lady Gaga I tried not to read a single thing about artist before I listen to their music. I have no skill as an entertainment writer which makes me perfect. Anyway so i’m pretty late to the party. I started hearing her name tossed around as a terrible influence on our young people. She could very well be a bad influence. In fact I think she is only in that her true talent her voice and writing my get over shadowed by her shall we say lack of clothing and sometime provocative lyrics.  We all know who she reminds us of. Yes Madonna. Madonna is now a grandmother and seeing her next to each on Saturday night live was something to see. But….She can sing. Unlike some we know *cough* Britney.  Look its true I cant write and you can’t sing. Admitting it is part of the healing.  Well can’t is a strong word. But when you put her up against Beyonce “you go girl” and Lady Gaga “you freaky” how can you compare. I’ve gotten off topic. So I’m really late to the party. Real late.

Yes, I admit “I want to ride on you disco stick” Is probably not the right message. But I dont go to the likes of Lady Gaga for my moral compass.  But that voice reminds me of those huge pop hits of the 80′s. I’m talking about Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battle Field. I still turn that up or We built this city by Starship. They don’t make hits like that any more.  So yeah I’m breaking all the rules of decency. I’m sure there are people that say this is going to be the down fall of civilization. Well Madonna is still 60 and we are still here so I guess we survived.  here is what people say about lady Gaga. These were all taken from the comments of mtv viewers.

this song, freaky how she killed her BF but we all sumtimes want to.LOL

gaga allway makes the videos nasty and she is a B**** but i still got love 4 her

love this video. It’s funny. Anyway, Lady Gaga is hawt!!!

absolutely love Lady Gaga! She’s so different and Unique! She’s not afraid to be herself and make whatever weird videos she wants. This video is kinda weird though…

a real big fan of this song i like a couple of her other ones as for her style not a big fan but i do like the fact that she dont give a f… about what people think about her

Gaga is unique n all, but I really do think she tries too hard! Sick body though!

Spears “move over” you can’t top this Lady!!

Well so there you have it . Am I a huge fan. I wouldn’t say huge. Do I think she needs the extras.  You know what I mean. Don’t know. Would you have paid her any mind if you knew she could sing. I don’t have a philosophical church thing here. No I just know that “We are young heartache to heartache we stand no promises no demands no one can tell us we are wrong” Aint that the truth. Can’t recommend her at the end of this. I can though ask what you think. So what do you think? Oh and love is a battle field.

]]> http://drewfrancis.com/not-supposed-to-like-her-the-gaga/feed/ 2 http://drewfrancis.com/new-music-friday/ http://drewfrancis.com/new-music-friday/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:01:56 +0000 drew http://drewfrancis.com/?p=1637 Read The Rest →]]>

So every once in a while un cool drew finds a little new music. White Rabbits. While floating around the blog world I came across this video.  Well you’ll see it below.  And strangely enough I liked them.  I liked their sound. On reading about them they have two drummers. I’ll have to figure out how that works. Maybe its a kind of percussion thing.  Any way I gave it a listen and I liked them.  I’ll have to do some more investigating to find out more. Until then you should enjoy. Oh and if you know anything about them please fill me in. Well enjoy the video. Oh and buy the album.  Oh wait one more thing. Eric my buddy said something I was reminded about today. We now just buy music by the song and never listen to how an artist has put together an album. I do that.  I will buy the whole album.OK  and now the video. I write like a juvenile. Just noticed that.

EULOGY – MRS GLORIA JANE ALLEN

Rev. Thomas, Dr. Prendergast, Pastor Burnett, Aunt Preshous, Uncle Vaughn, My Mother Thelma, Family and Friends, please indulge me to offer this eulogy for our beloved, Mrs. Allen, Mama, Mother, Miss Gloria, Sister Allen, Grandma, Grandmother, Aunt Gloria, Mother G – a remarkable and Godly woman, whose life/death we celebrate today.

Grandma was a Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Sister, Aunt, neighbor, friend the one who brought a smile in the face of hardship, encouragement in the face of life battles, soft, tender, forgiving, kindhearted, a Peacemaker and passionate about living a life pleasing to God her Savior and always conscious and careful to note that this life on earth is not the end but we look forward to a heavenly home, a greater resurrection, imperfections, yes, but she carried the hope and faith daily that she enters heaven not on what she has done but the work of Christ on the cross.

Grandma was born December 1915, to Ophelia Graham and Uriah Graham. She is the youngest of five children- Louise, Gertrude, Clifford, Hilda all now deceased. Mass Urie as great Grandfather was affectionately called, loved to farm and Great Grandmother, Miss Phelie was a stay at home Mother tending to the garden and taking care of her 5 children. Miss Phelie and Mass Urie were strong Baptists and sang in the Choir at the Brown’s Baptist Church for several years and instilled Christian principles in her children.

Grandma was fortunate to attend school as few in her time did. She excelled at school but had a bit of a problem with Math – “sums” as she referred to it but that did not deter her from excellent financial management during her life. Grandma knew the art of stretching a dollar to two. Grandma however had a very creative mind and later in life enjoyed that. We often told her that she could have become a famous artist or musician (you may recall the impromptu song she rendered in this church called “Jesus is excellent”)

Grandma loved to live and was full of ambition so as a young woman she left home to “seek her fortune” (as seeking a career was called back in the day) in Kingston to locate employment…something that was not common in the day for young women. The independent spirit that Grandma had surfaced….she learned dressmaking and many a garment was made by her hands for her children and without a sewing machine..too poor to buy one. Sometimes it was remake from her own clothes when she could not afford to buy new cloth. Her dressmaking skill explains why she was so well dressed, coordinated and everything matching. Aunt Preshous recalls coming home from “Infant” school to find a beautiful rag doll that Grandma had made for her and how it delighted her so much she has never forgotten, only wished she had kept it, that was the skill and tender kindness of heart she had.

On one of Grandma’s home visits from Kingston, Grandma was walking along in Brown’s Town, going about her business when “a tall brown man” started to approach her. She brushed him off as of course she was now a “Kingston Girl” and had no interest in a country boy and a very poor country boy at that! However, Grandpa Joseph Allen pursued her relentlessly and even before she could say “yes” to any forthcoming proposal, Grandpa purchased a wedding band and was ready for a marriage and the next thing you would know on March 26, 1946 they were married here by Dr. DeCateret, much to the chagrin of Mass Urie but blessed somewhat by Miss Phelie as when grandpa visited the home he would take with him the biggest bible and so Miss Phelie thought “tall good looking brown man with a bible..poor but not bad as the large bible indicated a large man of God! The young couple briefly lived in Retirement as Grandma decided that was not for her and moved back to Wilberforce hotly pursued by Grandpa. She never left Wilberforce to the day she died except for a stay in the United States.

From that union, three children were born – Gloria (so named because at the birth registration, Great Grandma Albertha Allen forgot the name given “Angela” and just figure that Gloria was just as good as any. As she was the firstborn she was called Precious. Son Vaughn was next and Thelma (called Curly because her hair was so very curly at birth)

Grandma was always fired by ambition and she worked hard to instill that in her three children. As she would often say “I can’t stand someone without ambition….might as well ‘dem dead” and she lived what she preached. With three children and very poor she was burned with ambition to make sure that they attended school and become “somebody”. She worked diligently and hard at it. She kept cows until one pulled her down and she decided that she would not lose her life from a cow and that was the end of the cow. We eat beef for months! She kept pigs, chickens, rabbits, and planted vegetables for the dinner table. Poor but there was not a day that food was not on the table..many times by a miracle. She made sure that we had food so that we would learn at school. Oh that hot cornmeal porridge made with the fresh cow’s milk that Grandpa had just milked and hardough bread for breakfast. Walking 2 miles or so to school was not a problem, all the children were fed.

She made sure that all the children had clothes. Well, new ones for Church and when those were short and tight they became “yard clothes”. She did not have the patience for sloppiness and clothes had to be starched ironed and shoes shining clean. No matter that it was only one set of church clothes, one set of uniform, one pair of church shoes and one school shoes. She made sure everyone, Grandpa, and all the children were always well “put together” as she would say before they leave the house. And as you know she was a good dresser herself….even to this day.

As I mentioned before education was very important to her and school was a given, Preshous went on to York Castle High, Durham College of Commerce, Thelma to Business school in Kingston becoming one of the fastest Stenographers on graduation, and Vaughn to mechanic training.

Not only was education important but a Christian upbringing was paramount for her. She attended the Catholic Church briefly as a young woman and when she had children and they were ready for church around 2 years old she started them out at the Catholic Church. That did not work after 2 visits because Grandpa had been saved under the fiery preaching of Dr. Johnson and would have none of it. So they were sent off to the Brown’s Town Tabernacle and under the ministry of Dr. Kennedy, Grandma accepted Christ and never looked back. As she said on the day of her baptism, there is no turning back. All three children also accepted Christ under Dr. Kennedy’s ministry. There was no compromise. It was to Church every Sunday.rain or shine sustaining what God had begun. Night services were not included as “night have no governor” so no one was allowed to go out of the house at night.

Grandma was a business woman at heart also. She could not sit still and when things were not looking to her “suit” she began to travel to Kingston and purchase bales of cloth at Princess Street and hire a seamstress to make all kinds of clothing and she would sell at the market for a profit. However, frequently, she would always take out the best cloth to make dresses for the two girls and shirt and pants for the boy. She did this business for a long time and she did it well.

Then in her mid 50’s Grandma decided she would travel overseas.. always wanted the experience. The earlier England migration was not appealing to her as she loved her children so much she would not leave them. They were grown now and so off she went to the United States. A tremendous risk but she is a brave woman at heart and fearlessly she worked there for 15 years and returned home and lived a great life. Don’t be fooled, her life was one of humility. Grandma disliked intensely a haughty and “show off” lifestyle. She was very kind, always giving to someone in need and offering a helping hand but quietly without a word…”because yu no haffe mek people know wha yu a do”. She never hesitated to share some food or clothes with the ones in need. She considered it a sin to have 2 shoes when someone had none. She was so kindhearted; she did not like to have too much for herself. She did not like to have too much for herself so she was always giving away clothes, shoes, food to those who did not have. We recall a lady who was sick and everyday Grandma would take her some soup for a long time and there are many who received her kindness but she did not talk ..you had to only observe it.

She was totally devoted to her husband and children were the apple of her eyes and would wisely let us know that she does not love one more than the other so there was not the rivalry that happens sometimes with siblings. As she would often say, when the hair on the head of one of her children hurt, she hurts. She was a lot of fun and when the children were small there are fond memories they recall of them all playing in her big bed while waiting for Papa to come home from work. When one of her Daughters became ill as a result of untreated Post Partum complications, she did not hesitate to standby by her 110%. She taught us during that time to the day she died how to love unconditionally. As she would often say, there is nothing like the love of a Mother for her child. She was quick to forgive, never held a grudge or a spirit of un-forgiveness. She was always a peacemaker and hated to hear bickering, quarrels and discord. She wept openly when such a thing happened and prayed the more for anyone involved. She was always conscious of not doing anything wrong to upset Jesus. And was constantly praying and asking Jesus to forgive her if she has done anything wrong that she is not aware of. As she always says, “we have to forgive as Jesus did for us”

She lived an authentic life not seeking to impress or to be pretentious. Her life was the truth. She was adamant about the truth…when the children would be naughty or stepped out of line she would cup the face in her hand and say as sternly as she can “Tell me the Truth because I can’t stand a dam liar”. Once she had the truth she would work on fixing the trouble of course with a reprimand.

Mother did her own thinking and did not leave it up to others, whether it is politics or church to do the thinking for her. She spent long period of times talking with God and insights would come to mind as to how god would lead her. She worked out her own salvation. So Godly! She was way ahead in her understanding of God and we think that is because she spent so much time praying to God and cultivating a daily relationship with.

Then the time came, sad time for all, about 5 -8 years ago, her memory started to fade. She had difficulty remembering and was confused. We all thought it was just the usual aging process but she knew something was wrong and she let everyone who would listen know, mostly trying to see if she could fix it. Some people would just dismiss or just rudely turn away, but she knew in her heart that something was not right. You see that was the beginning of altsztimer. A severe form of dementia for which there is no cure. Grandma had the best medical care that is available but thru it all, her one desire was to go home to Jesus. For a long time Grandma just wanted to go home to Jesus. Sometimes she would express her disappointment waking up on earth on not haven. She is the most prepared person we know who with such deep longing and confidence just wanted to be with Jesus.

Jesus answered this remarkable woman of faith wish, desire and prayer on September 6, 2009.

The show is the Cleaner. I think I’ve written about it before. I didnt really say why though. The Cleaner is about a guy who is an ex-addict who goes around taking on  clients who have no where to turn when their loved ones are on drugs.  He gets them into rehab and off drugs. Dont worry I dont have a drug or alcohol story about my self. Trust me though I have stories of my family but that’s a little too deep.  Mom if you happen by not us. Anyway I had a friend or maybe a friend of a friend that I grew up with. She drank her self almost to death… was in the hospital and the first thing she did when she got out was get another drink. I still remember visiting her in the hospital…twice…I dont know what happened to her.

I dont believe in throw away people.  Maybe that’s why I have a heart (I think that’s the super  chrish thing to say) But at the time I didn’t really do anything (I dont do anything)  maybe it’s guilt for that. Maybe by watching this I can make some kind of sense to that.  Addiction pretty much sucks.  Oh and in this story (tv show) the father who is our hero is slowly losing his family.  By the end of the season he has moved out. How about that hitting home.

So I watch the cleaner and now the song.  Oh first the scene. The father makes it home just in time for dinner. He has been out all day saving the world while he loses his family. Enjoy The song is called is there a ghost. Now enjoy.

So I was turned on to these guys a couple days ago by the great Steven Bush activist, father, musician, lover fighter…ive now worn it out. There is a particular song that causes me to pause.  Poison and Wine. Maybe one day I’ll figure out why.

I had an interesting conversation this week about blogs. Whether they are diaries or not.  Its a good conversation. It came to mind this week when I started watching 2/8 life. Interesting online show. It starts out with a girl wanting to chronicle her life through a video blog. Now these kids were in middle school while I was in highschool but I dont think we are too different.  We all were raised by parents that believed that a nice home a good job and a beautiful mate is who and what we were meant to have.  I think some of us have disappointed. Some of us are right on track.  So how does the conversation on blogs or this show fit. Well I don’t know if it does. Here is what I think.  There are a few of us that have realized that, that dream isn’t what we had in mind. We sit up at night and contemplate the meaning of life through our blogs or website or whatever you call it. (there is some debate on what a blog is).  Maybe its because we are wired that way or we are trying to channel what our parent’s once dreamed of until their parents snapped them back into reality.  Now with our single families we see that that 50′s family is broken and some of us cling to our faith while other just blow in the wind. Moving from one cause to no cause to nothing. Maybe its a little bit too late.  And this album may be getting a little sad. I may need to put on some Black eyed peas before too long.  Lets have some fun. Tomorrow I’m going to try something.  I’m going to think of just what I will do for the next hour. Baby steps.  Well check out those links. You wont be disappointed.

Oh and sometimes we write here because its better than doing and saying nothing. Too bad we have to be grown ups some times. I’m listening to a new album right now but i’ll let you know about that later.

drew

edit:

What happened to symbolism? I think we forget sometimes that we follow this Jewish guy who lived by certain stuff. I dont have this part all figured out yet so I’ll get back with you.  The connection to Rwanda is also another story I need some find out about. So I did the church thing.

Then went down to samford trail to do the run thing. It was great running in the rain.  Right now I’m working on the floors in the house and then on to laundry. Oh I did find some new music.

Adele and Artic Monkeys and Kings of Leon (that was care of taylor) Going to wait until pay day then buy a couple albums.

Oh I have a story about my mother but I will need to tell you about that later.  Spelling sucks

Peace,

Drew

I have to admit something.  Its very personal but I think I should share it with the world. I love the Sound of Music. I’m not talking about listening I’m talking about the Nazi saga about a family of singers that meet up with a nanny who falls in love with an Austrian captain. I like listening to the music I love watching the story unfold even though I know what’s going to happened. I love the sound of music.  I was going to call it a guilty pleasure but there is no guilt in it. I’m a black man who loves to watch Julie Andrews dance across the screen. I get teary when they sing that good night song. Why? Why is that? Maybe because its my earliest memory of watching movies is with the family. (that took a turn) or Maybe its because I just love it. It is luv. There I said it Erin. It is so luv.  I feel a bit of my masculinity fade away but I must share this with someone. If anyone out there would like to take just a few hours out of you day and watch this with me it would bring me joy to bring you joy.  I now present to you drum roll then soft trumpet C…the sound of music …

The Fish Company Newsletter

Why a newsletter?

A couple of weeks ago I was approached to take on the task of revitalizing the newsletters for The Fish Company. These newsletters will go out to Youth Ministers and adults who are involved with The Fish Company in some way. The first question I asked was what’s the age group of our audience? I knew the groups we were sending the newsletters to, but I needed to know the age of the typical reader. They then asked me what age group I would like to target.

I thought about it a bit and answered, “Mine.”

What does that mean you ask? It means this: I can pretty much write—and direct others to write—for people 20-35 years old. Any older than that and I start to get out of my area of expertise. They agreed, so here we are.

So why this newsletter? Simple. The Fish company would like to communicate with the leaders they serve. I believe there is an age group of ministers, both male and female, that have many of the same struggles and joys that we here at The Fish Company have. But, honestly, we don’t talk about this enough with each other. I believe that ministers my age are looking to connect more and more with each other and with the world around them. My hope for this newsletter is not just to show you the new things going on at The Fish Company, but for it to be a place where you can be challenged and educated about the world around you.

What’s in it?

I want this to be more than a newsletter. Whereas normal newsletters let you know the happenings of an organization, this newsletter will show the heart of an organization. Many of the articles you’ll read will either be written by people at The Fish Company, or people I have met in the blog world. My hope is that as this continues to grow we can solicit people outside of my circle. The first few issues will rely heavily on story ideas from the Fish Company staff. As the newsletter evolves, the goal is for readers to contribute to stories, expressing their collective desire to communicate with this generation of youth workers.

I want this newsletter to be informative and entertaining without being too heavy. My thought is that a person should be able to read every article in one sitting. That’s why the length of the articles will only range from 400-600 words. But the newsletter won’t just be writing. Here is what we are planning in terms of structure.

There are four distinct sections that we will always have in each issue.

Media— The media section will cover all things media, from how to use it correctly to what it accomplishes. During our events we get a lot of ministers that ask how we did a certain video or set, and what type of equipment to they need to do it. In the media section we will give users a little peek under the hood, and also give a little advice how to meaningfully use media.

World— We believe the world is our community. We can no longer only consider things that happen in the US as the end of the story. In the world section we want ministers outside of the country to have a place to be heard. We want the newsletter to be a place where we highlight the work they are doing. We want to encourage ministers to guide their students towards lives of servanthood. The world section will be used to expand minters’ and students’ worldviews.

Message— The message section is in tended to be the voice of the twenty-to-thirtysomething youth worker. After all, we are part of a unique place in history. We grew up watching technology make incredible strides. We watched as computers became integrated into our daily lives. We saw the start of the worship movement. And in our professional lives, we are transitioning from being managed to being mangers. In the message section our hope is to deal with issues that effect our students . . . and us.

Truth— It seems over the past few years there has been a resurgence of the Bible not just being what we open to teach our students, but a book central to our daily lives. During the truth section, we will always come back to what the Bible says about a particular issue. I believe we sometimes forget how truly practical the Bible is. We assume that “teaching and rebuking” is only meant for our students. In the truth section we will tackle big issues and work through them together.

Marketing— The name says it all, right?

Waste of Time— The waste of time section is just that. From Youtube clips, to podcasts, to interesting websites, to flash video games . . . you’ll find it here. Listen, we know you are busy. Everyone needs a few moments of down time to unwind. You’ll find plenty of options for doing just that in the waste of time section.

Extra— The extra section will be a sort of bonus section for us. We want to keep you in the loop of the cool books we’re reading, blogs that have affected us, music we are listening to, and so on.

So there it is.

So Im watching this movie right now. I kinda hate it when stories effect me. This one is doing a umber on me. Its getting me on two fronts. One…what music does to you. The feelings and memories it makes you have. Two…When we search for home, acceptance. I’m the not a player of music but do allow it to change me. Its kind of a goonies…peter pan…rent…Mr Hollands’ Opus…kinda thing. Ok back to it. I’ll be back. So how does a story do that to you how does it do that to me. I wonder if I see stories like someone sees music. From as long as I could remember I have had a tv in my room. The first vcr movie we ever rented was South Pacific we had to rent the vcr to. That was back in the day. We had cable ever since I could remember. The earliest tv shows that I remember are the Jefferson’s and Sanford and son. Trust me there is nothing like it in the world. I guess that’s why I dont see my self doing anything else. When I was teacher I ended up telling stories to them. I left the teaching to others I think. I’m alwasy thinking scenarios in my head Im not a very good writer I always need others to do that for me. I wonder sometimes if I live my life as if it were a movie or a play. Visuals are always something that get me in trouble because they linger way past when the should. Oh and I dont really care what you say you have to suspend your belief. That sometimes our stories can have a happy ending and sometimes just sometimes when you least expect it a story can talk to you more in 5 mins than your entire year. That when you least expect it for just that brief moment you forget about the list of responsibilities that plague you all year long. That you realize the power of picture is amazing the sensation that sound gives you the rush of the creator and creation. That art is more than just a passing fad. That such a creation is more…its more than life. That we has humans do poses the ability. You can live in your world cynicism that art is a thing for someone else who has the time to waste. I’ll tell you this I cant live in that world. Its hard enough to live in this one.

Ok so I ended watching the movie and dont really want to go back to it.  I had thought that i coudl live at that time that this movie was made. I think I woudl have like to watch I think.   I have realized something about myself. This isnt a recent thing.  I dont really write too well and not really good at math.  The stuff that Im good at. I think about that sometimes. What are those things that im good at. I Think that many times we assume that the things that come easy are the things we are good at I dont know i’ll have to think about that.  Many of the songs that were in this movie were song that i like and its sad to say that I didnt know that there were beatle songs.  Eric a friend of my is a great lover of the beatles.  I never really thought about it. I actually bought the album because of this movie.  I wouldnt say it was a good movie but it was a good sound track.  So Im working on a project for my church right now.   I dont know if its something Im good at.  So I enjoyed the movie. I really enjoyed it I did the old vod really made it easy.  I return to work this week.  It will be a good time I think.  In fact this week will be a good week. I havent spoken with some friends for a bit so I will try to reconnect with them.  The porch is still a great place for me. You dont buy a house for a porch right.

Well I guess oprah will have to wait.

Today’s Play list

Never Let Go

Never Ending

Ater tehmusic stops

Jesus Muzik

Low

Remember the name

Slip out the back

Apologize

Toxic

Since U been Gone

All the same

Money maker

Stronger

Touch it

Jesus Walks