New Film Shows The Power of Music on the Elderly…(a heartwarming story)

Hello World,

I haven’t written about the Trayvon Martin case on this blog because I have been trying to stay positive at least on one public domain, but this case has certainly “awaken a sleeping giant” when it comes to race relations in this country…And it saddens me so…But that’s all I will say about it here on this blog…

So on to more encouraging and uplifting news…

Through one of my Facebook friends, I watched a YouTube video about this elderly black man “Henry” who had been in a nursing home for 10 years. While he had been a vibrant man in his younger days and often spontaneously broke out in song according to his daughter, he was almost lifeless now. In fact, he mostly sat with his hands folded and face pointed down. He only responded to questions with “yes” or “no.” But his entire countenance changes when he listens to his favorite music from his youth on an iPod, and he is even able to engage in conversation. It is truly inspiring…See for yourself…

 

This story is a part of a new film “Alive Inside” which demonstates the therapeutic benefits of music on the elderly…

From The Huffington Post

“The film, a project by social worker Dan Cohen and neurologist Oliver Sacks, author of “Musicophilia,” captures the transformation that takes place when nursing home patients are handed iPods loaded with music from their youth.”

Here is a quote from Henry when asked about the music’s effect on him: “It gives me the feeling of love, of romance. I figure right now the world needs to come into music, singing. You’ve got beautiful music here,” Henry says, before breaking into a version of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by an artist he says is one of his favorite — Cab Calloway.

Cohen’s Music & Memory organization is soliciting donations of used and new iPods to put music in the hands of nursing home patients across the country. His documentary “Alive Inside” is slated to premiere on April 18 at the Rubin Museum in New York.

 Any thoughts?

 

Sidebar: Can you imagine about 60 or 70 years from now, some elderly people getting crunk to music from 50 Cent, Jeezy or Trey Songz?…Hmmmm….somehow, I don’t see that happening….

Sidebar: Speaking of Cab Calloway…Remember when he makes a cameo appearance in Janet Jackson’s video for “Alright?” In fact, the whole video, which was like a mini-movie, was an homage to the heyday of Cab Calloway…That song would get me moving in a nursing home years from now 🙂

 

 

HOSANNA FOREVER!!! – Easter Day 2012…

Hello World,

This Eastern morn, nothing captures my jubilation more than Kirk Franklin’s rocking praise song “Hosanna.” Below is a video of him and his choir tearing this song up! He is definitely one of the greatest performers in today’s gospel music! And if you want to sing along, the lyrics are below! Tell somebody today what the Lord has done for you!!! He is my savior, best friend, healer, provider and my everything….

 

 

The angels bow down at the thought of You
The darkness gives way to the light for You
The price that you paid gives us life brand New
Hosanna forever we worship You
Hosanna forever we worship You [2x]

For you are the joy that my soul longs for
The lamb that was slain for my sins and the One I adore
King of kings, Ruler of everything
Hosanna forever we worship You
Hosanna forever we worship You [2x]

For your patience and kindness
And favor and mercy
And honor and glory
Because you are worthy
We can’t live without You
We can’t breathe without You
We can’t sing without You
Hosanna Hosanna

No greater love in this world but You
No one can compare to the things You do
Wherever You go I will follow You
Hosanna forever we worship You
Hosanna forever we worship You

Someday every tongue shall confess Your name
This house made of clay soon shall pass away
Whatever the test You will bring us through

Hosanna forever we worship You [4x]

Hosanna forever
Hosanna forever and ever and ever
Hosanna
We praise You
Hosanna forever and ever and ever

Hosanna forever
Hosanna forever and ever and ever
Hosanna forever
Hosanna forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever
Hosanna forever

Any thoughts?

 

OWNing Your Mistakes (with apologies to my 21-year-old self)

Hello World,

What I love about Oprah and have always loved about Oprah is her ability to keep it real although she is in the public eye and admit her mistakes – from her decision to use a dangerous quick weight loss regime to lose the pounds years ago to the launching of her OWN network last year. In an interview with her bestie Gayle King on “CBS This Morning,” Oprah revealed her top mistakes in launching her network. Launching too early was her top mistake, she said.

“Launching when we really weren’t ready to launch,” she said. “And doing that because you’ve announced you’re going to do it. It’s like having the wedding when you know you are not ready and you are walking down the aisle, and you are saying, ‘I don’t know if we should be walking down the aisle… maybe we should have postponed this.’”

 Check out the video below if you want to see the interview…

Oprah isn’t shy about admitting mistakes she made before she was Oprah the media mogul either. In the May issue of “O Magazine,” Oprah writes a letter to her younger self when although she was a college student at Tennessee State University, she was already a reporter at Nashville’s WLAC-TV! She was actually the youngest and the first black news reporter for the station. And although she was already on the cusp of success, she was preoccupied with dating a boy named Bubba. One day, she brought him to the station to let him see where she worked. Instead of being proud of her, he was intimidated by her success…An excerpt of her letter is below…

“On this day you’ve brought him to the station to see where you work, hoping he’ll be proud, too. He seems less than impressed. The truth is, he’s intimidated. You don’t know this, though, because you can see yourself only through his eyes. A lesson you will have to learn again and again: to see yourself with your own eyes, to love yourself from your own heart.

Read the entire letter here….

When I look at my life when I was about 21 years old or so, I, too, regret some of the choices I made in love…choosing the guys that were ambivalent about me instead of the ones that really held me down…my mother warned me about mistreating one former really nice boyfriend in particular…all things have worked together for my good (Romans 8:28) but if I could go back, I would have done it differently for sure…

I don’t live in regrets but what would you do differently at 21 or so if you could go back and right wrongs?

Any thoughts?