For my Buddhist Buds, with love…
***
You are getting sleepy awakened…
It’s okay to not get guidance
Or to listen to
but choose not to follow
a suggestion
Inside you
exists all the wisdom you need
Just as you are
you are capable of making wise decisions
Chant
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Study
Nichiren’s writings
Muster courage
fear kills dreams
fear feeds “impossible”
fear sucks
No One
knows better than you
what is best for you
Trust in your Buddhahood
You are the
Gohonzon
the Gohonzon is you
You are
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is you
You are everything
everything is you
(Can you hear the Stylistics?
I can)
So do it
do
something
do something
else
Because
you are a
Buddha
Always have been
Always will be
No kidding
See?
See
You are awakened
“You are Everything”–The Stylistics, 1971
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2008
Time: 7-8pm ET
Be at the following webpage on that date and at that time to post your questions for Dr. Linda Bradley, coauthor of TEEN SISTERS’ HEALTH–A Body, Mind, & Spirit Wellness Guide for Girls of Color with M. LaVora Perry:
http://community.livejournal.com/teensisters/3729.html
Click the link for more information.
Pass the word…
M. LaVora Perry
Taneesha Never Disparaging, Wisdom Publications, September 2008
Teen Sisters Health–A Body, Mind, & Spirit Wellness Guide for Girls of Color
Website:
mlavoraperry.com
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2008
Time: 7-8pm ET
Be at the following webpage on that date and at that time to post your questions for Dr. Linda Bradley, coauthor of TEEN SISTERS’ HEALTH–A Body, Mind, & Spirit Wellness Guide for Girls of Color with M. LaVora Perry:
http://community.livejournal.com/teensisters/3729.html
Click the link for more information.
Pass the word…
M. LaVora Perry
Taneesha Never Disparaging (Wisdom Publications, September 200 
Teen Sisters Health–A Body, Mind, & Spirit Wellness Guide for Girls of Color
Website: mlavoraperry.com
Has anyone else read this book? I finished it today. It was a quick read. I couldn’t help thinking that it was like witnessing the beginning of a sea change. Kind of like what the Blues, and later, Rock and Roll, and still later, Hip Hop, did to music. Created a genre that had never quite existed before–one that will now be with us forever.
For me, apparently unlike all the other readers on Amazon, Hugo Cabret wasn’t an earth-moving read. But it did succeed in making me read and turn the page. I wanted to know where it was going. And, really, as an author, if your reader does more than that—for instance, if he or she is deeply moved as a result of your work—that’s just so much frosting. Wonderfully delicious frosting, maybe. But frosting nonetheless.
I recommend this one. You’ll be glad you read it. It’s a feel good book. With hidden messages, intrigue, and detailed, artistic illustrations. It’s also the first novel to win the Caldecott—An American Library Association (ALA) honor for illustrations. Caldecott’s have, until now, been awarded only to picture books.
I’ve attended a Highlights conference once. It was the 2006 annual Workshop at Chautauqua. I got one-on-one tips from and schmoozed with Donna Jo Napoli, Jerry Spinelli, Carolyn Coman, Rich Wallace and many others. This Whole Novel workshop is a different animal than what I attended because here you take a completed draft of a novel through an intense week, October 11–18, 2008 for $2,665.Here’s what the workshop offers:
serious, committed, emerging writers with a complete—or nearly complete—draft of a middle-grade or young-adult novel,
MFA graduates,
published writers at work on a new project,
writers who have been working alone and are in need of feedback and guidance, and
unpublished writers who are close to submitting work to agents or publishers.
Details here.
Jenica with her copy of Taneesha Never Disparaging
Dear, M. LaVora Perry,
I loved your book! What I really loved about it was that you describe everything so well and left out no details. So I was able to paint a perfect picture in my mind.
I…never want[ed] to put the book down because it’s exciting and you never know what’s going to happen next. This book has inspired me because Taneesha stands up for her friend and herself and doesn’t let [a] bully stop her.
I also loved the ending. How [Taneesha] finds out what caused the bully to be in such bad moods. You can see cause and effect in action…
I hope this book gets a lot of people’s attention because it will inspire them…plus it’s a great book.
Thank you so much.
Jenica, age 12
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For more reviews of Taneesha Never Disparaging, click here.
Obama nailed the nomination.
The biggest challenge is ahead.
We’ve got lots of work to do here.
Yes we do.
Can we do it?
Yes we can.
Will we do it?
Yes, we must.
Not all people who call themselves feminists go here. If daughter Rebecca’s views are accurate, her mother, Alice Walker, just got it very wrong—as we all do sometimes, although the “it” we get wrong varies.
Hopefully these two—mother and daughter—will repair their relationship before death intervenes and strips them of the opportunity to do so in this lifetime.
by Rebecca Walker
Mail Online
Interviewer Tessa Cunningham says…She’s
revered as a trail-blazing feminist and author Alice Walker touched the lives of a generation of women. A champion of women’s rights, she has always argued that motherhood is a form of servitude. But one woman didn’t buy in to Alice’s beliefs—her daughter, Rebecca, 38.
Here the writer describes what it was like to grow up as the daughter of a
cultural icon, and why she feels so blessed to be the sort of woman
64-year-old Alice despises—a mother.
Rebecca Walker says…The other day I was vacuuming when my son came bounding into the room. ‘Mummy, Mummy, let me help,’ he cried. His little hands were grabbing me around the knees and his huge brown eyes were looking up at me. I was overwhelmed by a huge surge of happiness.
Read Walker’s full article here
Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence by Rebecca Walker, Souvenir Press, May 8, 2008.
This is posted on FortuneChildBooks.com–the Buddhist website I publish. Here’s a snippet.
A Buddhist Dialogue with Science
By Timothy Harada
Unlike some religions, Buddhism and science are not at odds with one another. Instead, Buddhism and science compliment one another. The goals of science and the goals of Buddhism are in some respects similar and in other ways opposite, but complimentary. With an understanding of Buddhism, it is possible to gain a greater appreciation for science. The reverse is also true; with an understanding of science, one can gain a greater appreciation for Buddhism. Though neither science nor Buddhism at this point in time offers proof of the other’s validity, they both allow a dialogue that is not only interesting, but may prove to be fruitful to both science and Buddhism in the future.
Read the full article here.
Northern Ohio SCBWI (Society of Childrens Books Writers and Illustrators) will hold our annual conference on Friday and Saturday, September 5-6, 2008 at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport Sheraton. The theme is The Sky’s the Limit–Take Your Writing and Illustrating to New Heights.I’m happy to say that I will be one of the presenters this time (my first time!). I will also be critiquing manuscripts for participants. My presentation is tentatively titled:
Promote It!–Keep Your Book in Print.
I’ve heard numerous children’s writers say that the Northern Ohio SCBWI conference is one of the best in the country. I know the secret–the volunteer staff is comprised of the most sincerely dedicated folks I know–people striving to develop their craft and help others do the same. For details about the upcoming conference go to: NOSCBWI.org.
LaVora
Maybe moms are afraid that if preteen and teen daughter get the HPV shot, they will be more at risk for having early sex. The truth is, however, that NOT getting this shot puts young women at increased risk for developing cervical cancer—a form of cancer that is highly preventable. Read about Moms, girls, and the HPV vaccine here:
ttp://www.womenshealth.gov/news/english/615131.htm
10,000 Years, & More…M. LaVora Perry’s Blog
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program online at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids
