Pepsi is giving away 1.3 million dollars a month with its new Pepsi Refresh Project. Yes, this is fa real! Underground Tree Projects found out about this right in time. Submissions started Jan. 13th and we were able to get our plan in on the 17th, the day I found out, literally. So FYI, submissions open on the 1st of every month starting this February, which is only 4 days away. They close submissions once they have received 1000 submissions. So you better hurry, especially since more people know about Pepsi's Refresh project now! 

Learn more about our project!

By voting for our project you show that you care about the future of our youth. Programs like ours want to exist all across the nation but without the accurate funding they do no good. They are only visions that can't become reality. Please do us a favor and care about your future generation! 


Four days until voting starts! 

Dawn J. 
Thanks for your help in spreading the art form! 

After thousands of families are torn apart in Haiti, "rich" countries are in this hurried mess to go and snatch up their missing children.  People are walking into schools and nurseries, gathering them up, and shuffling them around like paperwork.

With a history of trafficing, adoption agencies waited until the first couple of hundred children were shipped out to their fair skinned parents to raise that question.  Where are the children going?  And how will they be cared for after they're gone.  I was glad to read an article by a Scottish reporter showing concern for the potential mental trauma inflicted on the children after the devastating earthquake and now being rushed into a new culture.  We can passify them with "french language" requirements for parents, but is that really enough?  Will they be reminded of their heritage, rich of self devoted and motivated ancestors that freed themselves from bondage?  Will they be reminded of their comforting fried malanga or tomato stewed chicken with their Denver, Colorado, families? 

What about the mothers and fathers searching through rubble still, waiting for "the government" to reunite them with their babies and provide them help?  There's evidence, because of a rushed response, of a "messy" adoption proceedure.  When we are still finding missing people and identifying the injured, who's to say Julianne and Roberto of France have rights to their new child?  It's like the rich are collecting charity cases to say they helped in the best way.  If you ask me, nobody asked the children.  I think they know better than many of us.  They aren't thinking about money, paper work, government, or policies.  I personally wouldn't be surprised that in 10 years, we are reminded of this tragedy through the relization of a young haitian adult taken away from their family in the mist of chaos.

To all the broken families and orphaned children today, our hearts and our prayers are for you.
Sincerely, Mel. O. D.

My art has a home now! Met up with Josh at Dekka this morning with our wonderful intern Jabril and we made it happen! View at your leisure. 

Now let's see who buys my beautiful art! If you'd like to check it out in person stop by the store off of 14th and U, Smack dab in downtown DC. 

Thanks to Jabril we had good pictures to show you this time!


Dawn J. 
Trying to expose my roots!

So the catch is that you need to help the community around you. That's a big catch huh? :) Well UTP didn't think it was and we submitted our info on the 17th after accidently stumbling upon it from one of the links on my link page. So come Feb. 1st if our application is approved you, the people, can vote for our project.

We'll keep you posted on when you can vote for our project! 

Learn more: Pepsi Toolkit So next month you can apply!


Dawn J. 
Life is an art form, express yourself! 

Words are more powerful than a picture, right? Yea I know that was a stretch, especially in our current technology, ADHD infested world. So I wish I had pictures but I don't. Martin Luther King Jr. Day for Melody and I didn't really consist of us getting physically dirty and painting a mural or mentoring youth. That definitely would have been nice though. We fellowshipped with the women of Women in the Life Association at Sisterspace and books. Definitely a good find. I mean where else can you go and feel you have entered another world, full of so much beauty, wisdom and strength? Umm off the top of my head no where, until I die supposedly. So the "brunch" we attended focused on what we can do in DC this upcoming year for the black LGBT community. Surprisingly only about 12 people filled the room (considering it's DC), but great ideas spawned from those minds. So I'm eager to make my skills and presence readily available. 

Sisterspace and Books had been rooted in the community since 1997, opening it's doors to those who appreciate African American literature. It had pumped out numerous book signings and book sells until 2004 when the owner Faye Williams was forced to shut it's doors and forfeit the property. Now close to 6 years later Sisterspace has fought to reopened it's doors to the community! Let's support it so it doesn't disappear again. We need African American literature to empower ourselves! 

Location: 3717 Georgia Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20010


Dawn J. 
On a mission to be rooted! 

And then calamity hits Haiti, the place everyone deems as so poor, impoverished and yes brown, black. True facts, yes. So why do I see all these non black folks on the tube with opinions about everything? Take Pat Robertson of the 700 club for instance. Spealed a good minute about how Haiti made a pact with the devil in order to be free of French rule. What? So Mr. Robertson you believe that? And then proceed to spread your illiterate view of history to those impressionable to intake. I'm not mad just a little curious on how this can go being said in front of an African American woman as she just sits and nods her head. I guess that's what we and they assume we're going to do. Lame if you ask me. But who am I?Just an upset citizen. But to further my point, why wouldn't the French be cursed because of what they did to oppress Haiti?  "I'm going to pray for them," is what he says. Not I'm going to take a donation, nope.  So YELE, Wyclef Jeans foundation is getting minimal play on the tube compared to George Cloony and Angelina and Brad,  the duo, saving the day. Again no hard feelings. I'm thankful someone can reach in their pocket and donate a million dollars but what about Wyclef and what he's been doing for Haiti since forever; he has to compete for a cut off shot of him beside Angelina on TV. So maybe I'm looking at the wrong channel or something, that's what I think so I turn to CNN. whew. I'm saddened by the fact that some newspaper feels it appropriate enough to show some ones limb hanging out from under debris on the front cover. I can't help but question did that happen during 9/11, did we ever see dead bodies on the front cover of a newspaper? Do they have less value? Do we have more value? Do certain people have more value? Hum, all questions I think I know the answers to. But can I truly? 


So I'm just upset I'm not in the position to take the brave journey over there and help them. I'm at a lose and do appreciate those who do have the means. But I question why aren't more of "us" in a position to do so? It is a tragedy. A tragedy that needs to be fixed. Starting by blogging about things that matter before they go down in calamity. "The world is coming to an end," I heard a woman yell on the television as she was being filmed in Haiti. I mean, is it? Are these signs that we need to help, that we need to get our acts together. Come out of our meetings on health care, drop that phone you're texting on and DO SOMETHING! 


Dawn J. 
Can I tell my truth, or are you going to be offended?
Life is an art form, expose your roots! 

Today I just needed to blow up some photos I needed to do some stencil/quilting/ it doesn't make sense so I probably shouldn't explain it. But rather show you. Nevertheless I walked in 'A touch of Heaven printing and graphics' and for a second I thought geez, a few men standing around talking about football, girls and stuff. Made me want to leave but Mario introduced himself and eagerly assisted me. 


Now being a girl, sometimes, I feel like I don't get the respect I deserve up front. Being an unconventional dominant girl, in touch with my feminine side sometimes gets awkward responses. Any who the point is, we finally broke the 'I'm not ish' barrier and got to business. He soon opened up about the current state of our community and three key things that Obama addressed when he was first inaugurated: To support the community, educate your community and create jobs for your community. Now to tell you the truth, I hadn't remembered those three urges from the President. I actually felt quite embarrassed. 

We talked for 3 hours total. Yup! He enlightened me on Universal Life Insurance, maybe you should look into it. I know I need to. A life insurance plan that works for you, while you are alive even. So the way he explained it, people like Donald Trump, Bill Gates-all those wealthy folk, are placing their tax money, money in general, in this Universal Life Insurance. So instead of placing a million in the bank they pay it straight to their life insurance. It's the smart thing to do considering banks usually don't insure over $150 thousand dollars. He also educated me on some money I can obtain from urban development government funds. It helps to open your mouth!

Ok my rant is kinda over but today was a very interesting, fact accumulating, connections day!


He's also a christian artist and poet, he will be featured soon! 

Dawn J. 
Live life like you want!

So I hit the streets of downtown DC this morning in search of artists, interesting people and yea a place to house the art I am pumping out of my insides. I hit U st. I felt that would be a good bet. And it was. The first place I walked into, headed to the second floor and thought wow, this art on the wall looks hand made from local, you guessed it, artists. So I inquired and I got answers. I can nail my pieces to the wall asap. Joshua, the store owner, was nice too. I can dig it. 

Next up. I hit up Pinz-n-Needlez ink. I needed another septum ring actually but the piercing girl was taking a little while to get there so I waited around and talked to the owner, Chris. He's been tattooing for 13 years and is a nice realist tattooer. So I sparked up convo and yes they are newly seeking artists to host in their shop. And... there was talk of possibly doing instructional videos as well. We'll see. 

Check their site: www.inkwiz.biz

Nappy TJ. 


Ps. I still need a septum ring. yup. she neva showed. 

The New Year's season brings an air of self determination in the form of new resolutions, revelations, and attitudes.  Depending on individual discipline, that endurance can last a week, a month, or more rarely, the entire year.  Let's be real; the holiday is partically celebrated by making empty promises to yourself.  Then we get right back into the cycle of disappointing ourselves and allowing others around us to take the blame.  Don't blame the innocent chocolate cake or the talented baker for your inability to stick to your written out diet!  I've been encouraged to approach my personal changes from a new angle.  


Something that should change in the promises that we make ourselves is the intention.  The dieting so "I can find a man" or not smoking "because my wife wants me to" isn't the right energy to use.  It won't take us to our final goal of completion, or satisfaction.  It becomes a year long chore because the motivation comes from outside of us.  The fire behind the goal you want reach is as reliable as a match in fall.  Vain, mainstream, or impersonal motivations come and go just as easy as it sounds.  We have stopped relying on ourselves, and essentially, trained our minds to accept failure as something we're going to do.


I came across the story of this man and his family.  It wasn't about their new year's resolutions.  However, their peace in remembering what matters.

Personally, it's something so simple to know but can be difficult to maintain.  It's extremely easy to make excuses for my fleshy wants and desires and to put important things, like family, on the second rung.  This family knew what mattered and allowed that to be their motivation to make it through everyday. (Read the article written by Kassie Bracken here.)


Here on to day 6 of "Melody of 2010", I don't feel the weight of a chore.  The things I want to accomplish, I know, should come from inside me.  Don't let someone else tell you where you should be, because once you get there, they still might leave you lonely.

Mel. o. D. *smile*