As always, YOUR BLACK META is bringing MAXIMUM AWESOME! Music, Meta, and Mindful; local news and upcoming events; opportunities for engaging with and supporting local communities!
 |
| Art by Will Lyle, of Thorneater. |
This week is YOUR META's final show of 2019! We're having a good, ol' fireside with musician, composer, and philanthropist, PETER BUFFETT! The AWESOME guest who opened The Black Meta's second year on the air is closing it, and what a year it's been--the Year of Dreams! We thank all our listeners and fans for tuning in and helping TBM keep its humble dream and platform come continuously true! And thanks for keeping us honest (if not humble, in the case of some bugs who shall remain unnamed).
Today's show is ESPECIALLY DEEP WATERS with great music, random funny, and wide-ranging philosophical meanderings and explorations! There's even theoretical talk about magnets? (How do they work?!)
THANK YOU ALL for giving us another great year. Allow us the honor to hopefully give you another great one, too. Have a happy NYEve, and see you on the OTHER SIDE OF TIIIIIIIMMMMEEEEEE. . . !
--Your Black Meta!
TheBlackMetaWKNY@Gmail.com
Support Our Community AND BE INFORMED
Community organizations to connect, to listen, and to be heard:
- https://citizenactionny.org/about
- https://citizenactionny.org/events/venues/7-grand-st-kingston-ny-12401-usa
- https://kingstontenantsunion.org/
- https://kingstontenantsunion.org/events/
- https://kingstontenantsunion.org/news/
- https://riseupkingston.org/
- https://riseupkingston.org/blog
HASTAGS WORTH HASHING-OUT
- #FreeNewYork
- #DemandJustice
Upcoming Local Events & Demonstrations
Your Meta will keep you updated regarding local events and demonstrations as we hear about them!
THE INTERVIEW
 |
| From left to right: beetle, Peter Buffett, FreedomWalker. Photo by Nate Brogan. Happy New Year! |
PETER BUFFETT | Musician, Composer, Philanthropist | Peterbuffett.com
Recommendations
1987: I began my professional musical career in the early 1980s in San Francisco, recording and producing albums for local talent and composing for commercials. In 1987, I released my first album, The Waiting with Narada Productions. Over the next several years, I released three more records with Narada. During this period, I also scored the Fire Dance scene in the film Dances With Wolves.
1993: After my few minutes of contribution to Dances With Wolves, I scored the CBS 8 hour mini-series, 500 Nations. This work led to albums on Epic and Hollywood Records. In 2004, my theatrical show, Spirit- The Seventh Fire premiered on the National Mall as part of the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.
2010: In 2010, Life Is What You Make It was published and I took my Concert and Conversation show on the road to support the book. With cellist Michael Kott, I found myself in small town Nebraska and the Forbidden City in Beijing. The book was translated into 15 languages and quoted on a packet of sugar in South Africa!--Peterbuffett.com
Recommendations
Multimedia
- "Peter Buffett: Big Philanthropy and Philanthro-Feudalism." Laura Flanders, Youtube. November 26, 2013. [13:38] Laura Flanders' interviews stream at GRITtv.org. This week, Peter Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren on the conflict between capitalism and humanism. Says Buffett:"You can't have both" Watch in full, at GRITtv.org Distributed by OneLoad.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAPbAzZQ1M8
- "The Laura Flanders Show." The Laura Flanders Show, Youtube. December 30, 2014. [26:12] The son of billionaire Warren Buffett has been one of the most critical voices against what's called the nonprofit industrial complex - the problem of wealthy people, through foundations, exercising control over charities and nonprofits. We also feature an in-depth look at a nationwide project of the African American Policy Forum, who hosted a series of public hearings on the status of women and girls of color, with the goal of building a gender inclusive racial justice vision. Finally, we look at highlights from the year's programming, from interviews with Arundhati Roy and Naomi Klein to exclusive coverage of protests in Ferguson and native communities in North Dakota. https://youtu.be/RwS3WVPminM
Articles, Bibliographies, Resources & Websites
- "The Charitable-Industrial Complex." Peter Buffett, Nytimes.com. July 26, 2013. "I HAD spent much of my life writing music for commercials, film and television and knew little about the world of philanthropy as practiced by the very wealthy until what I call the big bang happened in 2006. That year, my father, Warren Buffett, made good on his commitment to give nearly all of his accumulated wealth back to society. In addition to making several large donations, he added generously to the three foundations that my parents had created years earlier, one for each of their children to run. Early on in our philanthropic journey, my wife and I became aware of something I started to call Philanthropic Colonialism. I noticed that a donor had the urge to “save the day” in some fashion. People (including me) who had very little knowledge of a particular place would think that they could solve a local problem. Whether it involved farming methods, education practices, job training or business development, over and over I would hear people discuss transplanting what worked in one setting directly into another with little regard for culture, geography or societal norms." https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/opinion/the-charitable-industrial-complex.html?
- Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships—relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person. This number was first proposed in the 1990s by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, who found a correlation between primate brain size and average social group size. By using the average human brain size and extrapolating from the results of primates, he proposed that humans can comfortably maintain 150 stable relationships. Dunbar explained it informally as "the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar". Proponents assert that numbers larger than this generally require more restrictive rules, laws, and enforced norms to maintain a stable, cohesive group. It has been proposed to lie between 100 and 250, with a commonly used value of 150. Dunbar's number states the number of people one knows and keeps social contact with, and it does not include the number of people known personally with a ceased social relationship, nor people just generally known with a lack of persistent social relationship, a number which might be much higher and likely depends on long-term memory size. Dunbar theorised that "this limit is a direct function of relative neocortex size, and that this in turn limits group size [...] the limit imposed by neocortical processing capacity is simply on the number of individuals with whom a stable inter-personal relationship can be maintained". On the periphery, the number also includes past colleagues, such as high school friends, with whom a person would want to reacquaint himself or herself if they met again. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number
Life Is What You Make It: Find Your Own Path to Fulfillment
- Product details
- Paperback
- Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA) 05-03-2011 (2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1420799193
- ISBN-13: 978-1420799194
- ASIN: B00J50MEGY
From composer, musician, and philanthropist Peter Buffett comes a warm, wise, and inspirational book that asks, Which will you choose: the path of least resistance or the path of potentially greatest satisfaction?
You may think that with a last name like his, Buffett has enjoyed a life of endless privilege. But the son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett says that the only real inheritance handed down from his parents was a philosophy: Forge your own path in life. It is a creed that has allowed him to follow his own passions, establish his own identity, and reap his own successes.
In Life Is What You Make It, Buffett expounds on the strong set of values given to him by his trusting and broadminded mother, his industrious and talented father, and the many life teachers he has met along the way.
Today’s society, Buffett posits, has begun to replace a work ethic, relishing what you do, with a wealth ethic, honoring the payoff instead of the process. We confuse privilege with material accumulation, character with external validation.
Yet, by focusing more on substance and less on reward, we can open doors of opportunity and strive toward a greater sense of fulfillment. In clear and concise terms, Buffett reveals a great truth: Life is random, neither fair nor unfair.
From there it becomes easy to recognize the equal dignity and value of every human life—our circumstances may vary but our essences do not. We see that our journey in life rarely follows a straight line but is often met with false starts, crises, and blunders. How we push through and persevere in these challenging moments is where we begin to create the life of our dreams—from discovering our vocations to living out our bliss to giving back to others.
Personal and revealing, instructive and intuitive, Life Is What You Make It is about transcending your circumstances, taking up the reins of your destiny, and living your life to the fullest. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J50MEGY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Peterbuffet.com
- https://www.peterbuffett.com/library-of-work
- https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/peter-buffett/id497741
- https://open.spotify.com/artist/5OYsEzWYxTyO2pKSQxywcb
- https://www.facebook.com/PeterBuffettOfficial
- https://www.instagram.com/peterbuffett/
- https://twitter.com/peterbuffett
- https://www.youtube.com/user/isound1
UPCOMING and ONGOING
A CONCERT & CONVERSATION WITH PETER BUFFETT
Compassion, connection and community can lead us toward a world where all feel welcome and respected
Honest reflections on the past... disarmingly present... and challenging us all to reimagine the future. “Concert & Conversation” - a performance with me on piano with the one and only Michael Kott on cello. We've performed the show at colleges and community foundations around the world for the better part of a decade. "Conversation" is in the title because I take questions from the audience throughout the show. That keeps the show continuously relevant as the times we're in continue to change.
We all have the opportunity for meaningful, caring impact in this world and i hope to help inspire your path by sharing parts of my own. Some topics that i explore in trying to do this include:
- Concepts of privilege and that real wealth is found in a loving and nurturing family and community.
- The complexity of finding one's path in life.
- Insightful lessons learned from both of my parents.
- What oppressive systems and structures are in place that are rooted in a complex national narrative?
- Philanthropy means "the love of people" - love must be at the center philanthropy.
MILESTONES
SPIRIT - THE 7TH FIRE
Spirit - The Seventh Fire celebrates and honors the rich culture of this Nation's first people through Native American music, dance, regalia and song. Employing universal motifs and themes, Spirit - The Seventh Fire's story is told through live concert, contemporary and traditional music, epic film including National Geographic Imax footage, spectacular Native dance and traditional heart-pumping Native drum group performances. The Omaha World-Herald has proclaimed Spirit " ... poignant, sad, uplifting, thrilling and powerful."
Spirit - The Seventh Fire tells the dramatic story of one man's journey to find a balance between the culture in which he exists, driven by the "American Dream," and his roots, rich in heritage, tradition and connected to the natural world. It is a journey of self-discovery that renews within him the mystery, beauty and spirit of his ancestors and brings him to a magical place where his past meets his present.
The story begins by surrounding the audience in a pre-contact world. It is early dawn and a village of teepees appear with fires flickering inside. The sound of crickets and other early morning noises encircle the audience. Pow-wow singers begin off in the distance.
Suddenly, the Urban Overture begins. A film tells the story of a century of "progress". From analog invention to digital consumerism, the audience is taken on a ride. It is a glimpse into the disconnection of our collective cultures from their respective roots.
As the MAN becomes increasingly agitated and the projections become ever more frenetic, he pulls a file folder from his desk in a frantic search for an overdue report. Instead, he finds a white feather—an immediate reminder of everything he left behind—his homeland, his people, his heritage—his reason for being alive.
His journey begins as a personal search for meaning and becomes the journey of his people's search for redemption. He is not alone on this journey. He is both protected from and thrust into a world that requires him to ultimately find where his own strength lies.
He learns to confront his fears with the help of a WARRIOR PROTECTOR, his desires with support from his SPIRIT GUIDE and the difficult expectations of society with continual prodding from the TRICKSTER.
These same three forces are at work on the physical plane. The CHILD reminds him of the playful nature of things—helping to overcome societal expectations. The GRANDFATHER reminds him of the wisdom of his people and the folly of succumbing to immediate desires. And the WOMAN is his connection to the strength within himself—to remind him that he has the power to overcome any fear.
In the first half of the story, MAN is on his personal quest to strip down to the essence of his being. As he meets these guiding forces they help him return to his ancestors and stand face to face with the people who lived and died so that he could be born.
As he rejoices in the celebration of meeting his ancestors, he is immediately reminded that he is still human and that the vision he has been given comes with a responsibility. This is no longer his journey, it is his people's journey. He must go through the painful process of returning to his life, taking with him all that he has seen and experiencing what his ancestors have experienced. The temptation is there to simply return to his old life—but he chooses not to. Instead, he chooses to rise to the task of overcoming the fears, desires and norms of daily life to become the voice of his people.
In the final chapter—back in his suit—he is met by the GUIDES who have helped him along the way. The CHILD joins him as a fancy dancer, so the next generation will not forget where they came from or where they are going. www.spirit7thfire.com/story.html
- http://www.spirit7thfire.com/
- http://www.spirit7thfire.com/index.html
- http://www.spirit7thfire.com/location-photos.html
- http://www.spirit7thfire.com/news.html
- http://www.spirit7thfire.com/production-photos.html
- http://www.spirit7thfire.com/videos.html
NoVo Foundation | Novofoundation.org/ | info@novofoundation.org | 212.808.5400
Our mission is to foster a transformation from a world of domination and exploitation to one of collaboration and partnership.
NoVo Foundation is dedicated to catalyzing a transformation in global society, moving from a culture of domination to one of equality and partnership. We support the development of capacities in people—individually and collectively—to help create a caring and balanced world. We envision a world that operates on the principles of mutual respect, collaboration, and civic participation, thereby reversing the old paradigm predicated on hierarchy, violence, and the subordination of girls and women. https://novofoundation.org/about-us/
How We Work | We place a high priority on a compassionate view of the world and on the highest definition of philanthropy — in the roots of the words anthro and philo — “for the love of human beings.” NoVo sees itself as a learning organization and we believe we can be most impactful by being aware of the interconnectedness of all things. We structure our grantmaking around initiatives, rather than by program areas. These initiatives are varied in form, but all reflect our commitment to building authentic partnerships with grantees and other funders, and to taking calculated risks.
We avoid top-down models for the improvement of societies, but devote ourselves instead to an earnest search for fresh ideas that show unusual promise for significant impact.
We are willing to venture where others are reluctant to go; we remain patient in developing sustainable solutions; and we wish to convene diverse stakeholders to address common challenges. We seek out these ideas from both traditional and non-traditional sources, including academic research and conversations with grassroots organizers.
RADICAL HOPE
The NoVo Foundation’s mission is to foster transformation from a world of domination and exploitation to one of collaboration and partnership. We remain steadfast in our approach of supporting the development of capacities in people—individually and collectively—to help create a more caring and balanced world. As one of our core values, we believe in Radical Hope: we are deeply optimistic that we can contribute to systemic progress that addresses the root causes of injustice. Grounded in that optimism, we remain focused on long-term solutions and join our voices with those who proudly advocate for fundamental social change.
Last year, we announced a commitment in Radical Hope Fund grants to organizations driving systemic social change in communities around the world. We are thrilled to partner with 19 organizations selected among 1,000 applicants who are doing bold and transformative social justice work in the United States and across the globe.
A time for transformation
NoVo launched the Radical Hope Fund in July 2017 with a global call for projects grounded in new partnerships, bold experimentation, and a deep commitment to social justice. We asked what might be possible, if movement leaders had the support they needed not only to defend against daily attacks, but also to dream of new possibilities, experiment with new collaborations, and guide us to new solutions?
As we noted last year, the work of transforming our broken systems is more urgent than ever. In the United States, we are experiencing a continued breakdown of the fundamental pillars of democracy including independently functioning branches of government, rule of law, and a free press. There is an escalating assault on human rights, and the impact reverberates globally, with the deepest impact on girls and women, communities facing racial and ethnic discrimination, LGBTQI people, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, and other marginalized people and communities around the world. In the face of extreme greed, violence, and inequality, we are experiencing barriers and divisions that threaten the strength of our movements and achievement of our deeply held visions. Yet the social justice community often still operates in hierarchies, we lean on habits and structures that do not serve us, and show up to do the work of social change as parts of ourselves rather than as whole people.
This is why we must develop new strategies to overcome the structural failures that are undermining our communities, including racism, misogyny, xenophobia, transphobia, and other forms of structurally reinforced hate, bigotry, and exclusion.
Responding to this moment with collaboration, creativity and courage
This moment calls for creativity and innovation, grounded in the wisdom of those both past and present who have resisted, subverted, and transcended oppressive conditions and policies. We must nurture community-based solutions, safeguard human rights, and strengthen key sectors and institutions that ensure a society oriented around compassion and justice. We are called to dig deeper for different ways of being, rooted in love of humanity and the Earth. We must trust in the experience, vision and leadership of the communities bearing the brunt of regressive policies and violence, including girls and women, communities facing racial and ethnic discrimination, LGBTQI people, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, and other marginalized people and communities around the world.
Deepening our collective ability to build a more just and balanced world
The fund will support new partnerships and efforts that make it possible for organizations to go deeper and farther with connection, collaboration, and courage. It is grounded in hope that a time of great challenge can also spur a moment of unprecedented collaboration and imagination, deepening our collective ability to build a more just and balanced world.
Learn more about our grantee partners and their projects by visiting our Radical Hope Grantee Partners page. For questions about the Radical Hope Fund, please email radicalhope@novofoundation.org.https://novofoundation.org/radicalhope/
- https://novofoundation.org/
- https://novofoundation.org/pressreleases/novo-foundation-announces-grantees-of-34-million-radical-hope-fund/
- https://www.facebook.com/NoVoFoundation
- https://twitter.com/novofoundation
- https://vimeo.com/novofoundation
- info@novofoundation.org
The Radical Hope Grant provides much needed resources for the Network to build a women’s rights movement from the local to the global, in our collective efforts to end violence against women and girls, using an intersectional and holistic approach. It is an amazing opportunity to think and act outside the box, free ourselves from patriarchy’s power and control regime that is profoundly exercised over women and girls worldwide, and to work uncompromisingly against the root causes of violence against women and girls, locally, regionally and globally. Change is the only option. Our radical hope for INEVAWG (INTERNATIONAL NETWORK TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS) is that it lays the foundation for changing the gender status quo.
INTERNATIONAL NETWORK TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
A Global Initiative to Recentre and Repoliticize the Discourse around Violence Against Women
The International Network to End Violence Against Women and Girls is a global initiative bringing together activist organisations from around the globe active in the field of violence against women to discuss common challenges, devise mutual strategies and repoliticize the discourse around gender-based violence (GBV). The network was conceptualised during a panel discussion at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2015. https://www.masimanyane.org.za/inevaw-about-us
OUR VISION: A a world where all women and girls live without violence and enjoy equality, autonomy, freedom and justice.
Founding principles:
- Much of the work being done around violence against women is not grounded in human rights of women, and does not acknowledged that Violence Against Women is a tremendous violation of the human rights of women.
- There is a global tendency to depolitize Violence Against Women activism, with a concurrent shift towards gender neutrality, where in fact this neutrality is not neutral at all, but rather ingrained in the dominant power of patriarchy.
- Due to the hierarchizing of various forms of Violence Against Women, and an ‘othering’ of this violence (it is not our problem, but the problem of other communities), there is a need to re-politize the discourse, understandings and actions around violence against women activism.
- While much positive work has been done and many excellent reports generated, governments around the world have been slow to take up core responsibilities in response to the recommendations in these reports. For this reason, Violence Against Women needs to be put back on the front burner and women mobilized to make women’s human rights an urgent political issue.
- There is an urgent need to gather and work on national statistics to understand patterns and to work on identifying what’s happening, including rural Africa.
- https://www.masimanyane.org.za/
- https://www.masimanyane.org.za/inevaw-contact-us
- https://www.masimanyane.org.za/inevaw
RECOMMENDATIONS
Multimedia
- "NoVo Foundation." NoVo Foundation, Vimeo. 2013. [4:14] Jennifer Buffett introduces NoVo Foundation and our goals for change. https://vimeo.com/49281266
- "NoVo Foundation: Core Values." NoVo Foundation, Vimeo. 2016. [2:17] While the NoVo Foundation’s work is pursued across a range of initiatives, a set of deeply shared values guides everything we do. Our program associates Tynesha, Ramatu and Jesenia share their perspectives on what these values mean to them and how it impacts their work at the foundation. https://vimeo.com/191678974
FreedomWalker's Sources, Citations, Credits, and Links
COFFEE & GREEN TEA COMBO
- History.com - History Channel
- "A Christmas Carol" - www.marketwatch.com -
- "Four in 10 Americans breathe unsafe air- - lung.com
MUSIC NOTES
The album Mind Games was released on October 29th, 1973. This was John Lennon's fourth studio album. Mind Games was Lennon's first self produced recording without help from Spector.
THE SPRUCE
- Thespruce.com
K-TOWN NEWS
- Almanac Weekly
MINDFUL MUSEUM
- No sources for this segment
beetle's Sources, Citations, Credits, and Links
Multimedia
- Peterbuffett.com
- Wikipedia.com
- GritTv.org
- "Peter Buffett: Big Philanthropy and Philanthro-Feudalism." Laura Flanders, Youtube. November 26, 2013. [13:38] Laura Flanders' interviews stream at GRITtv.org. This week, Peter Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren on the conflict between capitalism and humanism. Says Buffett:"You can't have both" Watch in full, at GRITtv.org Distributed by OneLoad.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAPbAzZQ1M8
- "The Laura Flanders Show." The Laura Flanders Show, Youtube. December 30, 2014. [26:12] The son of billionaire Warren Buffett has been one of the most critical voices against what's called the nonprofit industrial complex - the problem of wealthy people, through foundations, exercising control over charities and nonprofits. We also feature an in-depth look at a nationwide project of the African American Policy Forum, who hosted a series of public hearings on the status of women and girls of color, with the goal of building a gender inclusive racial justice vision. Finally, we look at highlights from the year's programming, from interviews with Arundhati Roy and Naomi Klein to exclusive coverage of protests in Ferguson and native communities in North Dakota. https://youtu.be/RwS3WVPminM
- "NoVo Foundation." NoVo Foundation, Vimeo. 2013. [4:14] Jennifer Buffett introduces NoVo Foundation and our goals for change. https://vimeo.com/49281266
- "NoVo Foundation: Core Values." NoVo Foundation, Vimeo. 2016. [2:17] While the NoVo Foundation’s work is pursued across a range of initiatives, a set of deeply shared values guides everything we do. Our program associates Tynesha, Ramatu and Jesenia share their perspectives on what these values mean to them and how it impacts their work at the foundation. https://vimeo.com/191678974
Music Playlists
First Hour Music and Playlists:
- John Lennon: "Mind Games"
- Brett Dennen: "Already Gone"
Second Hour Music and Playlists:
- Peter Buffett: "Empire Building"
- Peter Buffett: "Coming Around Again"
The Black Meta!
Tuesdays, 1-3 p.m.
Live and streaming at Radiokingston.org
and on 107.FM and 1490AM!
 |
| The Black Meta, in their natural habitat |
No comments:
Post a Comment