Written in 1883 to help raise money for the construction Statue of Liberty‘s pedestal. The monument was dedicated on October 28, 1886. The poem was added in 1903, 16 years after Lazarus died.
Statue of Liberty. Photo: National Park Service.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
MOTHER OF EXILES. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Back in February, I favorited this track in my Hype Machine account. The video for the song came out recently and it is mesmerizing, a little Nordic DIY gem.
Syd is on some neo-futuristic-soul-la-di-da-skateboard-punk-hip-hop-laid-back vibe/ish with this first solo album Fin. Perfect for an insomniac session of daydreaming in the wee hours or coming down from hard day’s work. When you listen for the first time and then the album finishes, you have to go back and play it again because it feels like addictive ephemera that you must try and capture again, leaving you feeling like a dazed space oddity.
The album conjures whiffs of Janet, the Pharcyde “Passin’ Me By” period, Aaliyah/Timbaland, Bahamadia, Kelis and 80s Ready for the World ballads…not bad company for the Southern Cali young’un. After listening to Fin twice, I had the urge to listen to Meshell Ndegeocello’s Comfort Woman. Hmm.
My listening habits are not fully reflected in the Last.fm yearly summary. I listened to a lot of music that was not scrobbled* such as tracks I heard via SiriusXM, YouTube, the Spotify PlayStation App, actual vinyl records on a turntable (records ain’t dead!) and mobile device apps that do not play well with Last.fm scrobbling.
Top Tracks Scrobbled by Last.fm
*Scrobble: When Last.fm records the music you play via compatible music players (e.g. foobar2000, iTunes, Winamp) or Last.fm apps. The data is sent to your Last.fm account to give you details about your listening habits.
If you work for a non-profit social activism organization, make sure that visitors to your website can easily finds ways to volunteer outside of donating money. I’ve looked at many websites in the past weeks and only a few offer concrete steps and information on how people can volunteer on the ground.
“How You Can Help,” “Join Us,” and other euphemisms for giving money don’t help those who are hungry to do something but don’t know where to begin and are strapped for cash. Give people concrete steps. Calling congresspeople and writing letters is fine as well but many want to actually do some grassroots work outside of their homes.
If it were not for this woman, I would not be who I am today. She raised me until I was five and then took my younger sister and I in when our mother passed. Rest in peace Grandma.
Mrs. Arnetta Lundy Jackson, a pillar in the Gainesville community, passed from this life on Sunday morning, October 30, 2016 surrounded in love by her children and family after 95 years on this earth.
Born on February 19, 1921 in Jacksonville, Florida, she was the daughter of the late James Lundy and Cassie Hutcherson Outlaw.
She attended Risley High School in Brunswick, Georgia and graduated with honors in the Adult Program from the historic Lincoln High School in Gainesville. Mrs. Jackson continued her education at the Santa Fe Community College. She was inducted into the Lincoln High School Hall of Fame in 2014.
Mrs. Jackson was a passionate advocate of early childhood education in underserved communities and became the first director of the Northeast Day Care Center serving 1968 to 1986, and helped usher in one the first Head Start programs in the area. Upon retirement she volunteered as a foster grandparent in the pre-kindergarten classes at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Elementary School from 1993 to 2007. She was active in politics for nearly 60 years and honored by the Alachua County Democratic Party for her many decades of service.
Having joined the church at an early age, Mrs. Jackson remained an active servant throughout her life. She was the clerk for the Emanuel Missionary Baptist Church for over 30 years and served for many years as chairman of the Trustee Board. She was also the financial secretary for the Jerusalem Women’s Convention of the Florida General Baptist Convention.
She was also a founding member of the Amicae chapter of Delta Sigma Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., of Gainesville.
The loving mother of six children, Mrs. Jackson is survived by her three daughters and a son. She was blessed by grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grand children. Her son, Walter Glenn Stewart and daughters, Evelyn Delores Jackson and Antoinette Martinia Jenkins, predeceased her.
Funeral services for Mrs. Arnetta Jackson will be held 3 p.m., November 5, 2016 at Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Association, 8810 NE Waldo Road, Fairbanks. Rev.Anthony Thomas will officiate. Burial will follow in Forest Meadows East, 3700 SE Hawthorne Road, Gainesville. Arrangements entrusted to Chestnut Funeral Home, Inc., 18 NW 8th Avenue, Gainesville. Mrs. Jackson will repose in the Chestnut Memorial Chapel on Friday, November 4 from 2-7 p.m.
I love Grace Jones, New Order and Angelique Kidjo, their music and their videos. The following videos remind me of each other. There are some fleeting visuals that tie the three. I’ve never analyzed deeply why they come to my mind in a triad, I just enjoy the eye candy.
Grace Jones – “I’m Not Perfect I’m Not Perfect ( But I’m Perfect For You)” – 1986
According to my last.fm stats, I listened to the following artists and albums the most during the first half of 2016. Last.fm only records the music I listened to that was scrobbled via Spotify, Google Play Music, Foobar and the music player on my phone. I listened to a LOT more Prince than what the last.fm image indicates, mostly on actual CDs. Prince’s death did prompt me to rip the CDs to MP3s and add them to my Google Play Music library so I could listen to his music on the go.
