A Culture of Change | Memorial Day Weekend May 24 – 25, 2009 

Los Angeles, CA – As Memorial Day Weekend approaches, anticipation and excitement is rapidly mounting for The 23rd Annual Jazz Reggae Festival at UCLA presented by SCION. The student run festival, which has attracted an average of 30,000 attendees annually over the past 6 years, features the most prominent and critically acclaimed artists from around the world, along with an international food, arts, and crafts fair. As we enter a new era, this year’s festival has been carefully programmed as “A Culture of Change” with all artists, vendors, sponsors and messages cohesive in support of social and environmental change. With this in mind, the festival’s production team is proud to present this year’s line-up for both days: click here.

In addition to booking this elite line up and maintaining the art production value with a huge LED screen, the production team has continued efforts to make the festival environmentally progressive. Our specified Sustainability Team is working alongside many non-profit organizations to ensure that all aspects of the show are eco-friendly through means such as waste-separation and direct recycling, along with strong encouragement to our vendors to use biodegradable materials. A sustainability tent will provide attendees with information on fair-trade products, energy and water conservation, and the benefits of using locally grown products. There will also be a tent for children that will provide educational activities that emphasize environmental issues.

Tickets Available Now: 

Advanced Tickets $25, Day of Event Tickets $35, Two-day passes $45, Deluxe Two-day passes $115. Ticketmaster and the UCLA Central Ticket Office. Online presale tickets available until May 24, 2009. (click here for Ticketmaster)

One of the most telling things about this journey called life is The Playoffs. In this part of the season/life, it is what separates those who are serious from those who are just playing / those who are talking from those who are walking / the ideas from the execution.

In life, we must aim high and truly value The Playoffs. Fear itself prevents majority of us from participating in The Playoffs. For all of us, The Playoffs can be different challenges and milestones in life, but all in all we must embrace The Playoffs.

The Playoffs define you, it gives you perspective as to your hard work, your plan, and your execution. I truly live for The Playoffs. I continue to push myself to DO MORE, push the limits, no fear of trying new things and overperforming: it builds character. Although your story will be reflective of your journey, your name will be most determined by how you performed in The Playoffs…were you able to overcome adversity? did you get over the hump? were you able to gel with your teammates (read: co-workers, business partners, husband/wife, etc)? 

I challenge everyone [including myself] to embrace The Playoffs, let’s all aim for the top and continue to raise the bar. I heard a wise man once say, your dreams should exceed your potential.

Moral of the story: Go Lakers!

On Saturday, March 21st, I shall embark on a journey of self-assessment and finding purpose. For starters, I will participate in a day-long workshop engineered by a good friend and business colleague of mine (introduced by JaMaar Everett), Mr. Jullien Gordon: the purpose finder. Jullien has identified his purpose as “helping as many people in the world find their purpose”. (that’s the WHAT) // The HOW? He has developed a new venture and workshop series traveling around the country administering the Driving School for Life: www.drivingschoolforlife.com | Jullien Gordon’s 2009 License To Live Tour

Driving School for Life is a one-day motivational experience designed for anyone who wants to leave their mark on the world, especially career transitioners, students, and entrepreneurs.

The day consists of thought-provoking group activities, discussions, and writing exercises to develop your passions and align them with your life purpose and profession. Participants gain insight about themselves and develop a personal vision and strategy to realize their dreams.

With that said, I’m beyond excited to sit amongst thought-leaders, progressive-thinkers, creatives, and young leaders as we share experiences and help one another in this journey called LIFE. The main thing I am considering is “what do I want to get out of this workshop?”…after drawn out thought, I think the main thing(s) I want to get out of the workshop is identifying the HOW. I’m almost certain about my purpose (connecting the progressive + serving the at-risk community), so I’m more interested/focused on the HOW: how to grow influence in the community? how to encourage potential funders? how to connect all of the dots (leveraging capitals)? etc.

All in all, this shall be an interesting experience and again, I’m anxious to take part in it. Stay tuned…

In the notion of being raised in a “village”, a neighborhood “where everybody knows your name”, I wanted to acknowledge and pay tribute to the 7-11 that has been a part of me for my entire life. Located in Inglewood, at the corner of Centinela & Eucalyptus, this establishment has been the locale for many many many many stories (good and bad).

As a sidenote, upon moving to the neighborhood in the late 70’s, my parents were strongly interested in making the investment of purchasing this same store…went through the necessary steps/process and all, but opted out nonetheless.

But back to 7-11. Till this day, there a few gentlemen that frequent the store every single morning: older men, retired I assume, majority of whom were coaches up at the infamous Ladera Little League (Coach Harper if you want names). Every visit, there are words of wisdom exchanged, current events discussed, and good ole dialogue that you can’t find anywhere else, but a neighborhood store. The centerpiece is the coffee/tea station.  What normally takes all of 2mins to make a fresh cup of your favorite, tends to take roughly 10-15mins, depending on who’s in attendance.

However, the most important element is the assumed part-time employee, Mama: an elderly, retired, african-american woman, that keeps the establishment on point, gives hugs and a kiss on the cheek on-demand, and is always filled with a warm spirit and genuine smile.

Today (Jan 6th), she took her time to breakdown my stubborness and convinced me to try a cup of Green Tea (new addition to the drink station) instead of the regular cup of coffee. I was convinced not by a health tutorial, but more so the knowledge and wisdom she conveyed to me…she had me at “Boy, you need to…”.

So when time permits, if you’re ever in the area on a weekday morning, take a stop by my very own/favorite 7-11 establishment. Where I’m greeted as Trey (childhood nickname; I’m the 3rd, hence Kenneth Billups III), not Ken Billups.

Live. Love. Life.

A study of the relationships of nearly 5,000 people tracked for decades in the Framingham Heart Study shows that good cheer spreads through social networks of nearby family, friends and neighbors.

By Karen Kaplan (LA Times)

They say misery loves company, but the same may be even more true of happiness. 

In a study published online today by the British Medical Journal, scientists from Harvard University and UC San Diego showed that happiness spreads readily through social networks of family members, friends and neighbors. 

Knowing someone who is happy makes you 15.3% more likely to be happy yourself, the study found. A happy friend of a friend increases your odds of happiness by 9.8%, and even your neighbor’s sister’s friend can give you a 5.6% boost. 

Continue Reading »

by j.a.c.

All this Ms. Independent stuff seems wonderful doesn’t it? Ne-Yo has single-handedly revolutionized who the independent woman is and what it means to be one. Men and women alike seem to love the concept. My homeboy wrote once, “But Ne-Yo neatly describes the type of woman that turns me on and impresses me. Of course he doesn’t cover everything though. And yes it is something about a woman that has her stuff together and doesn’t need you but chooses to spend time with you because she genuinely enjoys you and sees as much in you as you do in her. To each his own - I know some of you fools like a trophy wife or a chick you can manipulate/control all the time - but give me Miss Independent.” Woman all around me are either stepping up their game to be the “independent woman” that Lauren London and Gabby Union portray in that stunning video, or pumping their feminist fists in the air and rolling their necks as their theme song blairs through the speakers.

Well ladies. Let me warn you. While it is great to have your own, be careful how far you take that mess. I sent a text message to a friend that said, “I’m taking your lead.” He replied back in shock, “And you follow a man’s lead?” Huh?! I’m confused. Is that surprising? If so, why? Isn’t that what woman are supposed to do - follow a man’s lead? Ladies ladies ladies. Why do we have men out here feeling like we want to handle/lead/control everything? I’m sure I don’t have to remind you but when we were created, we were created as help mates. That’s not to say that we’re weak or less qualified. Notice that Adam WOULD NOTCOULD NOT survive without Eve. Men need us! They need help. Haven’t you notice how your man can’t even pick out an outfit without asking you for advice (which is so sweet and endearing, isn’t it?)! However, it is ESSENTIAL that you let…a man…be…a man. Yes, it’s true that we pretty much run things, but because you know this (and in most cases they know this too), you have to at least let them take the lead. Let me give you an example of how this works. If you are in the car together and you suggest he takes route A which is free of traffic or cuts the travel time down by 10 minutes, yet he thinks route B is best, let him go his way. When he runs into traffic or ends up lost, don’t trip and certainly don’t say that you told him so. Let him be the man that he is and find his way out. Although it may burn you up inside and eat at your soul, simply sit back and let him have the control. Not only will it allow him to feel like he wasn’t nagged into doing something he didn’t want to do, but he’ll respect your advice (which is usually 90% correct), AND take it next time! Lol. Imagine how nice it will be next time to hear, “Babe. Which way do you think we should go?” It’s really not that hard. At least not after you get past the first burning hurdle and learn to shut your mouth! =)

The most rewarding part of it all though is that following a man’s lead who has your best interest at heart is relaxing! Talk about a load off! As an independent woman who takes care of herself and makes decisions every single day, I would find it very refreshing to come home to a man who’s got me. To be able to sit back and have someone else make all the decisions for once will be like a slice of heaven right on time. Enjoy the “headship arrangement” and the advantages of being a woman ladies. And remember, two people can’t drive one car. If you try, there will be an accident.

by j.a.c.

Do you believe in soul mates?

I googled the term to get an appropriate definition and wikipedia spit this out: a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, friendship, love, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality and/or compatibility. Well then, according to wiki, I have about 3 or 4 of those! One of my soul mates is my ex-boyfriend. Our relationship was more than just a boyfriend, girlfriend thing. I want to say that we were best friends but I don’t even think ‘best friends’ accurately describes how we interacted. That term seems too pathetic. We were connected in a way that was beyond rational. To this day and 2 boyfriends later, I still refer to him as my soul mate. And then there’s my girl Nikki. We have almost nothing in common except for our spirituality. We can go a year without speaking, but as soon as we do, the conversations we have about God nearly draw us to tears. Our friendship/sisterhood is precious to me. And finally, have you ever met someone who’s a stranger one minute and your new favorite person the next? I can talk to the homie Chris ALL DAY LONG. When we speak, our conversations are dead on and the silences are perfect. We both discerned that I’m a female version of him. He’s the only person I can’t get sick of. 

But when most people are asked to define ’soul mate’, you’ll hear some version of a soul mate being the one person in the universe that is truly meant for you. Well in that case, I don’t believe in soul mates. This version is too limiting. It would be depressing to believe that there was one person for me in the entire world. What if my ’soul mate’ lived in Thailand? If I never traveled there, does that mean I’ll never meet him? Does it mean that i’m doomed and will never have true love? This world’s too big of a place to believe that there’s only one out there for you. You make and break your own relationships. If you put in the work, your souls can connect. If you don’t… well. Good luck to you. Make your own destiny! Don’t wait on the world to bring it to you.

What about you? Do you believe in Soul Mates? Hit us with a comment.

It’s quite intriguing as to how much we all put forth so much time, effort, and energy into “being successful” — chasing money. With that said, per the many convos with various peers and mentors, it’s always a delight to step away from the everyday grind and enjoy some of the simple things in life.

This morning, I had the pleasure of enjoying a nice [holiday] cup of Starbucks Coffee on my very own porch all the while witnessing the beauty of nature (especially after the sunshine follows a rainy night). Maybe it was the caffeine kicking in, maybe it was the super glow of the trees and whatnot, I’m not sure. What I do know is that after finally getting up and walking away, I noticed how relaxing and nice it is to simply enjoy a nice cup of coffee outside for all of 30+ mins.

I think I’ll try that more often. Back to the grind.

Just curious, please submit your answer below.