OBVIOUS Magazine | Because Life Isn't | THE GRATITUDE ISSUE

Saturday

10Oct2009

Blogging,

Celebrities,

The Mad Blog

HATER by Maya Angelou

A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall.

They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever good enough!
When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters...

That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't handle seeing you blessed...

It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God wanted you to be like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they have...
The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story...
If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!

We've all got some haters among us!

Some people envy you because you can:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man / woman to hit the curb (if he / she isn't about the right thing)
e) Raise your children without both parents being in the home

Haters can't stand to see you happy.
Haters will never want to see you succeed.
Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side.
How do you handle your undercover haters?

You can handle these haters by:
1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are *(VERY IMPORTANT!!)

2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be. Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.

3. By remembering what you have is by divine prerogative and not human manipulation.

Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live...when its your time to leave this earth, you 'want' to be able to say, 'I've lived my life and fulfilled 'my' dreams,... Now I'm ready to go HOME!

When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, 'Don't look at me...Look at Who is in charge of me...'

tagged

Arthor,

Hater,

Maya Angelou |

SEE THE LIGHT: LIGHTING CLASSES

Are you a photographer who wants to revamp your shooting style? Looking to become a fashion photographer? Or, are you a novice photographer looking for something different? These courses are for you.

The lighting and technical classes I am providing will help inspire you professionally and teach you to see your vision through photography. I'm not trying to get you to shoot like me, I want you to leave this courses with an understanding that you can do it. This is about what you see mentally and making it a reality through fashion and/or commercial photography.

Each student will be asked to fill out a questionnaire before taking course(s). This will give me a better understanding of your direction and vision. You will receive questionnaire after deposit is made.

My sites:
www.jerrismadison.com (partly down for revamp)
www.myspace.com/jerrismadison
www.modelmayhem.com/jerrismadison

Testimonials from former students:

"I attended Jerris lighting classes not knowing anything about lighting. With his patience, understanding and knowledge he helped me with the many questions i needed answered. I learned everything from shooting inside a studio with a light meter to shooting outside with a strobe light. Since then i have grew from taking his lighting class and it has been one of the keys to my success as a successful fashion/advertising photographer."
-Laretta Houston www.larettahouston.com

I'm one of the few that has had the chance to work with Jerris as a model and also him coaching me as a photographer. When I decided to try my hand with photography Jerris was right there when I called with questions open and willing to share idea's. Most photographer's would never share there idea's or secrets to great lighting but Jerris was different and I thank him for that. I remember one day, I called Jerris and introduced him to Laretta Houston (another photographer that had questions) and Jerris said I tell you what, I'm going to setup a two day lighting workshop for you guys so I can teach you studio lighting and location lighting. We both attended and the rest is history. Thanks for being a great coach and even more important, a great friend for life. Thanks Jerris!
-Corey Reese www.coreyreesephotography.com

Cites for Classes: UPDATED

NEW YORK CITY November 20th, 21th, 22th
ATLANTA December 4th, 5th, 6th

BEST OFFER!
3-DAY WEEKEND COURSE: $495

1-DAY INDIVIDUAL COURSE: $175 per day

DAY 1 - Location Shooting. 3 Hours

Back Lighting
Filling Shadows
Dapple Lighting (Mixing subject for light and shadows)
Shooting with Motion
Light Meter
Gray Cards
High Fashion
Commercial Fashion
Reflectors/Fill Cards
Using One Light

DAY 2 - Studio Shooting. 3 hours

Rembrandt Lighting
Using Fans
Light Meter
Gray Cards
High Fashion
Commercial Fashion
Correct Use of Light
Reflectors/Fill Cards
Using One Light

DAY 3 - Retouching/Modeling Releases. 3.5 Hours (Add $75 if you are only taking this as a 1-Day course)

The importance of retouching
Proper modeling release form. Why every model/client must sign it.
Basic Photoshop
Liquify Tool in Photoshop
Highlights and Shadows
Raw Files vs Jpeg Files

Based on first come, first serve. Classes are filling FAST. Deposit are due 14 days before course date.

Deposit: 3 Day $250 (Non-Refundable) paid via PayPal or Postal Money Order. No E-Check Please. Balance due day of course via PayPal or CASH.

Deposit: 1 Day $100 per day reserved (Non-Refundable) paid via PayPal or Postal Money Order. No E-Check Please. Balance due day of course via PayPal or CASH.

Deposit guarantees you a spot in the class. Space is very limited. I only have space for up to 10 people.

Serious Inquiries Only.

**Note**: Location and times will be provide via email. This will prevent tag alongs to our locations and keep things private.

For more information:
Jerris Madison
Contact: [email protected]

PAY DEPOSIT HERE:

tagged

Jerris,

Photography,

Photography Classes,

Shooting,

jerris madison |

Controlling Your Life

Written By: Charde

Asking myself who is in control of my life? Is it the person that cut me off on the freeway? Is it the person who made a mistake on my phone bill? Is it the person that pissed me off today?? Is it my boss at work? Is it a host of everything that worries me?

In every instance, we have a choice in our reaction. God gave us that gift called freewill. The only way to truly have more control over your life is to practice the use of this gift. No one else can control how you react, just as you are powerless when it comes to controlling others. The only real power we have is in the decisions we make. I wish more people would take control of their own lives by stepping up and taking more responsibility for their decisions, however I can't control them, the only thing I can do is take more responsibility in my life for my actions. I am where I am, because that's really where I chose to be, whether I admit that or not.

Pointing the finger is a lot easier than looking at yourself, and figuring out what you can do to grasp the steering wheel of your own life. Making excuses, creating scapegoats, and taking frustrations out on someone else are methods of reacting to your environment. Allowing situations to push you around is like being on autopilot...and guess who the pilot is? Well, it isn't you...and it probably isn't God.

People today are being dominated by stress, loneliness, emptiness, and unhappiness. These mad fronts on FB and Twitter and in person??? You will be surprised by who is really happy and who is going with the flow of life. Emptiness is caused by seeking fulfillment in material things to validate happiness for show. Loneliness is caused by relying on other people to validate happiness. Stress is caused by letting situations validate your happiness. And..unhappiness comes in any combination of the three (emptiness, loneliness, and stress).

Conquering the things that cause overall fear, doubt, worry, or needs for validation...is something God, the bible, and philosophers have been trying to relay to us. We need to know that virtually no problem is a new problem. The answers to most issues are in a book, in a quote, or in your elders' memories. Seeking out what you need to know, praying with sincerity, and opening your mind to knowledge is the only way to begin removing some of the perceptions about what ails you.

Most of the time, we blame others for everything. However, stopping to realize maybe you placed yourself in a situation, you ignored warnings & instincts, or you did something wrong might actually be the true remedy. Allowing rotten people or bad situations to persist in your presence makes you just as guilty especially when you see it coming. How to think properly is a lost art...evaluations need to be constantly done so that life is never stagnant, but is always elevating. No one can elevate you, except you.

The first step to any recovery is admitting the problem. Admitting that you lack control in an area of your life can cause you to see where improvement can be made so that failure is not permanent. You may still have a second chance, or a third, a forth or more.

tagged

Charde |

25 Things You MUST Do EVERYDAY...

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock for your door, if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________.

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king or queen, lunch like a prince or princess and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask and believe.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are in need. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

Source: http://klothezminded.blogspot.com

tagged

Blogspot,

Inspiration,

Life |

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Sunday

23Aug2009

Poetry,

The Jay Mad Show,

The Mad Blog

"Extinguished"

Great poem from Taylor Mickal. He read this on my show today. You can listen to it LIVE on archive: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/TheJayMadShow/2009/08/23/RELEASING-AND-LETTING-GO

"Extinguished"

If anger were a flame,
Then I would be a forest fire.
And it wouldn't be enough,
I'd want my rage to rise higher.

I'd still hunger for the oxygen beyond our atmosphere, beyond our galaxy, into some other planet's ozone, just to quench my thirst.
I would wash away the dead's low temperature, spark them to life, raise them to be,
And then hit them with my very worst.

Because I am the epitome and physical entity of infuriation.
I am the runaway slave that came back to set fire against the plantation,
I am the rebel rising with Molotov cocktails against the nation,
I am iron, melted into a spear aimed so perfectly that it strikes everyone in sight,
Defying physics, power, and setting such fear in the sun that I bring night.
I am the fists of justice, outside of the jury and judge.
I am the black hole of hate inhaling any doubt to the reason I hold my grudge.
I am the never ending, ever defending, definition of what is a righteous kill,
With such an evoked power that even the gods, in awe, stand still.

And when I run out of places to burn,
I start to burn souls.
You see, the taste of their fuel exceeds oxygen,
So I burn harder; watching my rage take the toll.
And as their tears evaporate,
From the burning hate I invigorate within.
"Disgust" is the last thought that stays with them to the very end;
Disgust with their peers, with their elders, and their young.
Disgust with the world, with it's slowness to act, but it's ease to the tongue.

And I feel it.

And I wonder how they could have lived in such despair,
Always screaming and shouting how life isn't fair.
And I wonder how it felt to end in such a state,
To be so angry, so enraged, so irate.

And I weep.

I weep for the lost times that love could have had,
I weep for their belief that good was outweighed by the bad.
I weep for the daughters who's last time with her father was a fight,
I weep for the sons who never said "I love you" after "Good night"
For the leaps that fear took away,
For the adults who said not to play,
For the sun so in fear of my spear that it did not think to fight and stay.
I wept until the raging color of white fire sifted into blue,
I wept until the red and orange took over the hue,
I wept until the fire simmered, and smoke was all that remained.
I wept because life is far too beautiful, to be spent in misery and pain.

Taylor Mickal

"True knowledge is knowing that you know absolutely nothing"
-Socrates