Beloved by many, TLC has transcended pop culture and music. The group has poured out there heart and soul with many number one hits, including “No Scrub”, “Creep”, “Waterfalls” and “Unpretty”. The group has been scarred with so much tragedy. With the sudden death of Lisa “Lefteye” Lopez, bankruptcy, and questionable management. However, Tionne Watkins, the T in TLC, has unlocked what it’s like for her living with Sickle Cell Disease as well as what it has been like for her as a member of TLC. She takes us on a roller coaster ride of ups, downs, twists, and turns like never before in her memoir, “A Sick Life: TLC ‘n Me: Stories from On and Off the Stage”.
Watkins is real and uncensored as she shows us her true feelings. Never before have I laughed and cried at the same time. She is so open and honest about her struggles and flaws, thus the creation of the TLC hit “Unpretty”. The book details fights with groupies, bouts with the pain from needles and her coming to term with her veins giving out. Watkins has endured so much. Reading the untold stories of her pain, strength and survival solidifies her wonder woman clout.
One of the most important valuable things that I appreciated about this book was the real and authentic cantor on sickle cell disease. Tionne addressed what sickle cell disease is (because a lot of people don’t know about this) disease, the effect it has on a person’s body and the person’s family and how to cope. It has been one of the most informative book I’ve learned that didn’t make me feel like I wasted time. To read some of the behind the scene stories and get the first person view of T-Boz life is beyond priceless. Also, if you are wondering if Lefteye and Chilli are mentioned, they are, but only as pertaining to the group. I think it was imperative to Watkins to speak about her personal story and not give us a “tell-all” on TLC. So, if you are looking for an amazing read that will leave you more informed and laughing then give TBOZ a try.
Purchase Your Book HERE


Susana de Noronha: Anthropologist and Researcher at the Center for Social Studies (CES) - Science, Economy and Society Research Group (Neces), with a PhD summa cum laude in sociology of culture, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Conducting a research series about women, cancer narratives, art and material culture, her working field since 2005.
Author of the award-winning book A Tinta, a Mariposa e a Metástase: a arte como experiência, conhecimento e acção sobre o cancro de mama [Paint, Mariposas and Metastasis: art as experience, knowledge and action on breast cancer] published in 2009 by Afrontamento. Her second book, Objetos Feitos de Cancro: mulheres, cultura material e doença nas estórias da arte [Objects Made of Cancer: material culture and illness on women's art stories] was published by Almedina in 2015.
Winner ex aequo of the "CES Award For Young Social Scientists From Countries Having Portuguese as the Official Language 2007" and of the "Bernardino Machado Award 2003" for the student with the highest final grade in Anthropology.
She is also a lyricist, with work published in three albums, one EP and four compilations: 09 Roads (out in 2018), À Sombra de Deus Vol. IV (2012), Lock Full Version (2010), 3 Pistas Vol. 2 (2009), Lock (2009), Novos Talentos FNAC (2009), Undergod/Underdog (2009) and Acorda! Primeira Compilação de Nova Música Portuguesa em mp3 (2006). Read CV
Click on photos | TV Interviews: "Consultório" [Porto Canal] | "Praça da Alegria" [RTP1] | "Mais Mulher" [SIC Mulher]
"18/20" [RTP3] | "Olá Maria!" [Porto Canal] | "Faz Sentido" [SIC Mulher]
My publications [lyrics] in music: albums, EPs, singles and compilations


THE MAGIC OF THE
How to learn to penetrate other people’s conscience and protect oneself from “mental hackers”? What do you have to pay for such skills? Is it true that the richest people of the planet hire mentalists to take fateful decisions?
It turns out that reading thoughts is not a gift, it’s an ordinary skill which is of great use, in high demand and extremely well-paid. You don’t have to learn to read thoughts to find out who mentalists are; you can simply watch “The Magic of the Thought”. Its producers interviewed the best-known modern mentalists including George Kreskin, Havener Torsten and Lior Suchard (Bill Gates’s and Warren Buffett’s personal mentalist).
“The Magic of the Thought” gives answers to the main questions about mentalists and their mysterious profession.


Reading is something we love doing with Hayden, and he loves it too! We have had it as part of his bed time routine since he started babbling away to us and we try to vary his books but we also always include his favourite books every night which he now knows the words to himself!
His VERY favourite is Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson!
It is about a witch on her travels who keeps losing her belongings but gets the help of different animals she meets on the way who find them for her! They then join her on the broom but it eventually snaps from their weight and she gets into trouble with a dragon! Her new friends are there to save her!
The book is written in rhyme and has lots of repetition which helps Hayden remember the words and repeat them with us! His favourite quote from the book which he says even when we are not reading are "I am a dragon, as mean as can be, I'm planning on having Witch and Chips for my tea!" - its so funny as he says it in the deep dragon voice we put on when reading to him!
We have also found a video of the book which he would watch over and over if we let him! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5rE75FT1bQ
The next book we always read is Peace at Last by Jill Murphy.
This book is great fun! It is about a bear who is trying to go to sleep but there are so many noises which are keeping him awake! He moves to different rooms in the house, the garden and even the car yet everywhere he goes there are noises which are keeping him up.
Hayden loves this book as every time the bear hears a noise he says "oh noooo, I can't stand this" - when Mr.Bear says this I always pat my hand on my forehead and shake my head which Hayden now copies along with the words!
The book also describes the noises which are keeping Mr.Bear awake such as the "DRIP DRIP" of the tap, the "TWEET TWEET" of the birds, the "BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" of the alarm clock which Hayden also now repeats with me!
This book is a classic read, my mum said I loved it when I was a child, and Hayden is following suit!!
The last book we always read is Walking Through the Jungle by Debbie Harter
This book is actually a song which we sing together every night! Its not as bad as it sounds, its a very easy song and very repetitive! You can find the song of the book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plvY0quSyJg
We read the first line, which is then repeated again so we let Hayden sing that bit! He loves it! We also like to just sit and go through the really colourful illustrated pages naming the animals on each page! The song includes the animal noises its very educational. He knows a Polar Bear (and growls) and a wolf (and howls!) all from this book! I highly recommend it!
As I am pregnant at the moment, we also have a few new baby books which we chop and change so Hayden start to learn about the changes we will be having in the house with his new brother! The three we currently use are (click on image to get link)


Our Foundation is providing quality education through financial assistance from kind-hearted individuals, philanthropic organizations and socially responsible businesses.
In today's fast moving world, technology is a vital need. Help youngsters gain access by sponsoring a Computer Lab.
Spreading the light of education is the best kind of charity. Support us in establishing a school for the underprivileged in our beloved country.
You can help the needy get access to a vast array of knowledge by sponsoring a library today! All donations go directly to making a difference for our cause.
Education is badly hampered due to continuous electricity break down issues. Some of the communities we serve, don’t have electricity facilities. Assist us in installing Solar Panels in our schools will be a great act of kindness.
Providing the light of knowledge and technology is our ambition but with your kind support!
We have libraries in our schools but not in all. If you would like to help the deserving, get access to a vast array of knowledge sponsor a library today!


The Doobie Brothers - Let the Music Play [Blu-ray]
Eagle Rock Entertainment
The Doobie Brothers were one of the most successful bands of the 1970’s. They wrote good time, feel good music and were at the top of their game when songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Tom Johnston left the band. Out of the ashes the band reformed with songwriter/vocalist/keyboardist Michael McDonald and morphed into one of the top pop bands of the day.
Now, Let the Music Play, the Authorized Story of the Doobie Brothers documents the band from their earliest beginnings as a biker band through their massive popularity, breakup and reformation.
The film features in-depth interviews with the band members, as well as producer Ted Templeman and manager Bruce Cohn. Together, with the current band and former band mates, the tale is told with openness and honesty. Every high point, as well as the lows, is uncovered in this portrayal of one of America’s most unique bands.
This is a documentary that one cannot stop watching, as the story that unfolds is fascinating. There are bonus live performances of many Doobie classics including “Without You,” “Listen to the Music,” “Black Water,” “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “Rockin’ Down the Highway,” “Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove.”
The band and their management and friends opened up their history for their fans. The dedication to the authenticity of this documentary and the honest appraisal of the band’s life makes this one of the best historical documentaries of a band ever made.
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24 Dec 2012
The story of Lost makes no sense.
Neither did the story of the story of Lost. I had always known that it was improbable that it ever got made, but I didn’t know just quite how improbable. Alan has carefully worked through the “important” series’ of recent television history – Lost being one of them – and explained why and how they changed the medium. If his explorations of Battlestar Galactica and Breaking Bad are anywhere near as good as this, the book is going to be well worth picking up.


TRỊNH CÔNG SƠN (1939 – 2001)
The lyrics of Trịnh Công Sơn music reads like poems. On this page you will find Trinh Cong Son as a poet, as a writer, his discussion on the source of inspiration for his music and his life philosophy . You can also read more about Trinh Cong Son’s life as remembered by his friends.
: : HOME PAGE : : NHẠC TRỊNH CÔNG SƠN : : TRANH TRỊNH CÔNG SƠN : :


Host a Shipping Container Party!
Ask your friends and family to bring items to be donated to our new Container Project. Items we need most are medical supplies (such as Tylenol, Polysporin, Aspirin, etc), new or gently used clothing for children up to age 15, and a variety of non-electronic tools (including gardening tools).
Jane from Vernon recently hosted a Medical Party for her 60th birthday (for guests to donate medicine) and even invited her guests to wear their best (or silliest) hats to be judged in a Best Hat Contest!
Thanks Jane and Greg for your wonderful donations!
The ladies of the Peace Portal Alliance Church have been busy sewing and knitting items for Susan to take to Zimbabwe. They’ve also provided step-by-step instructions and patterns to teach to the micro-business projects we support in Zimbabwe, so widows can create their own source of income by creating quality handmade items and selling them.
The amount of time, energy and creativity these volunteers have put into this project is truly impressive, and Susan remarked she had a wonderful time sharing stories with the ladies while they taught her how to sew some of the basic patterns, and felt truly blessed by their generous hearts.
Thanks to all who participated! It’s gestures like this that truly make a difference in the lives of those suffering in Zimbabwe.
And we need your help to fill it full of desperately-needed supplies!
We need to collect enough items to fill a 40-foot shipping container by mid-September, so that it can be sent to Zimbabwe in January 2014. If you’ve been waiting to do your Spring Cleaning or love getting great deals at Garage Sales, please consider donating to our cause!
All the items we collect will be benefitting the various programs we support in Zimbabwe, from building schools to teaching farming methods, and the container will be converted into a Community Library where locals can have a quiet place to read and children can do their homework.
We first introduced you to Clara and Minashe in January, and told you the story of how a $1000 donation turned into a $100 000 donation of treatment for the girls. The following is a more detailed account of the girls’ story, and includes an update on how Clara and Minashe are doing and the treatment they have received so far.


The World of Computer Science and Information Technology Journal (WSCIT), is an international, monthly, peer reviewed, open access journal that publishes articles which contribute new results and theoretical ideas in all areas of Computer Science & Information Technology.
The journal focuses on all technical and practical aspects of Computer Science & Information Technology. The goal of this journal is to bring together researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to focus on advanced networking concepts and establishing new collaborations in these areas.
Authors are solicited to contribute to this journal by submitting articles that illustrate research results, projects, surveying works and industrial experiences that describe significant advances in the Computer Science & Information Technology.
•ISSN : 2221- 0741.
•Publication Frequency : Monthly.
•Scope: Computer Science.
•Abstracted Indexed in: Open Academic Journals Index, Cite Factor, Global Impact Factor, EBSCO Publishing, Ulrich Periodicals, DOAJ, GoogleScholar, DBLP (under process), GetCited, Scribd, CiteULike, Openj-Gate, World Cat, And many more.
•Started Publishing: 2011.
•Publishing Mode: Online, Print (optional).
•Computer Networking and Communication
•Numerical and Symbolic Computation
Any other Computer Science related fields.
WCSIT is Indexed in
Most Cited Articles:
The Use of Social Networking in Education: Challenges and Opportunities.
Ashraf Jalal Yousef Zaidieh
ICT, collage of information and communication technology, IIUM, Malaysia.
Data Mining: A Prediction for Performance Improvement of Engineering Students using Classification
Surjeet Kumar Yadav, Research Scholar, Shri Venkateshwara University, J.P. Nagar, India.
Saurabh Pa, Head, Dept. Of MCA, VBS Purvanchal University, Jaunpur, India.
A Review on Speech Recognition Challenges and Approaches
Department of Computer Science Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education and Women Coimbatore, India.


When James Fenimore Coooper penned “The Last of the Mohicans”, he said this:
“…there was no recess of the woods so dark, nor any secret place so lovely, that it might claim exemption from the inroads of those who had pledged their blood…to uphold the cold and selfish policy of the distant monarchs of Europe..”
While he was writing of the exploit by Europeans of north american Indians, his words could equally apply to the history of the Kalinago Indians of Dominica. They are the last surviving descendants of the native peoples that made their way from South American up the island chain of the Caribbean, settling in islands as far north as the Bahamas. In our travels throughout the islands over the years, we heard time and time again about these original inhabitants, typically referred to as the Caribs. Until we got to Dominica, we assumed they were a long extinct sect. We were wrong.
Christopher Columbus and his 17 ships made his 1494 second voyage to the new world, and he and his crews were the first whites to lay eyes on Dominica. They never touched its soil due to the rocky bottom of the shoreline. Later Spanish expeditions did, however, and immediately laid waste to the population they encountered. Those they did not kill with flu and small pox, they killed for their refusal to allow exploitation.
These "Caribs" were in fact the Kalinago, and they did not go easily into the night. They were warfaring and territorial and while some assimilated, most refused and rebelled violently. Spain decided that obliteration was appropriate. They massacred hundreds on a site whose town is to this day known as Massacre.
|A mural on a building in the town of Massacre ,depicting the event|
The Spanish and later French invaders could not eliminate the Kalinago, however, because the remaining Kalinago had retreated to the verdant rain forested mountains where their would-be exploiters dared not venture and where they continued to perpetuate their unique culture.
|Inside the Kalinago territory|
Finally, in 1904, England, who by then had control of Dominica, gave to the Kalinago their own territory, consisting of 3700 acres on the west coast. Today, it is home to the last 3000 of these native peoples, who continue to foster their heritage, including building boats of remarkable workmanship. We had the good fortune of accompanying our guide, Charlie, into the heartland of the Kalinago, where we learned of their history and shared a taste of their rich bounty.
|The Kalinago infuse their rum with...everything around them|


I know that its been a year since I did a book review, and it is not because I have completely given up on books, I just hadn’t found the time to review one for you guys. I know that the last time we “spoke” I was supposed to give a review of The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, but to be honest I did not like that at all and I hate to put negative things into the atmosphere (ha-ha), so I had to dead the entire idea of it. Anyway, that’s what happened…moving forward.
December was all about Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz. This novel took me through the 5 stages of grief like none other. This isn’t to be mistaken for a sad story (it is not) but it did cause me tons of grief and yet, I still could not stop reading it.
First thing you need to know is that this book is a behemoth, its rather large and has short chapters. Something about it, I’m not sure what yet (even after reading the entire book), kept me flipping the pages. Ashley Bell certainly stretches your imagination and gets right in there and finds the crazy that is embedded deep within all of us. It takes you on this journey where the entire time you’re thinking “no way” but by then you’re pretty invested and you start believing “hey it could happen”
or I’m just gullible. Nonetheless, I don’t think it was an entire waste of time. I actually found myself enjoying it and overall it was a good read. Something that I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection. At the very least you should check it out from your local library.
My plan is to read either My Voice by Angie Martinez or dive into Issa Rae’s “Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl” not going to lie the latter seems more appealing right at this moment. As always, give me a shout below if you’ve read this book or have one that you can suggest for me. Thanks so much!!!
Dream. Love. Inspire.