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Creative Thinkers International

Embracing the world with positive creativity.

CTI SPOTLIGHT ARTIST ROBERT M


Robert M

Hometown: Thunder Bay

Relationship Status: Single

Some of Robert’s Interests:
Art, Education, Music, Reading, Spirituality, Writing

Robert in his own words: “I am interested in many fields of endeavor now. My 4 passions are: writing, reading, astronomy, and music, in no particular order. Presently, I'm in my drumming phase, music wise, and I am rocketing out of a dry spell I had, writing wise, for 4 years. I have over 100 pages of poetry from that period. Reading wise, presently, I am reading primarily philosophy, and while I used to read almost nothing but fiction, I have switched predominantly to non fiction for a long time.

Reading wise, I love gothic literature, and quality sci fi...I LOVE watching b grade horror/sci fi flicks though!”

Website: http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/RobertM

Favorite Music:
Ghost in the Stand alone Complex OST's, Flamenco Arabe, various anime soundtracks such as Haibaine Renmei

Favorite TV Shows:
Law &Order, MXC, Eureka, Babylon 5, Star Trek Voyager

The goal of Creative Thinkers International, also known as The CTI Initiative, is to help inspire creative responses to the challenges and joys of 21st-century life through writing, art, music, social science, spirituality, and philosophy.

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Creative Reviews on Amazon

Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly DVD ~ Mathieu Amalric
 
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspired Wonder Called "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly",


After reading the former French Elle Magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, when it was first published in 1997, I couldn't help wondering if it would be possible for anyone to make a decent movie out of it. After watching the film directed by Julian Schnabel, with a screenplay by Ronald Howard, I was awestruck to acknowledge that not only had they made a decent film, but a gorgeous and phenomenal one.

It makes sense that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly should shine on the big screen like the huge glowing miracle that it is because the fact that Bauby even "wrote" his book at all was itself nothing less than a king-sized miracle. A major stroke in his brain stem left him paralyzed with locked-in syndrome, a condition in which he was fully conscious but unable to move any part of his body except his left eye.

Whereas the shock of finding oneself in such a torturous state might have caused many to shut down completely, Bauby rose to the occasion within himself by the sheer power of will, spirit, and the loving compassion of others. His body, he noted, may have become like a heavy diving suit that weighed him down, but his mind became freedom personified, like a butterfly that floats at will through realms of intellect, memory, and imagination. Harnessing the resources at hand, he learned to dictate by indicating individual letters with the blink of an eye and managed to compose a small masterpiece

Actor and director Mathieu Amalric plays Bauby with deeply attractive humanity. Viewers first meet him from inside his head, so to speak, as he begins to regain consciousness and doctors gather to explain what has happened. Once the unsettling fact of his paralysis is painfully established, we move with the stream of Bauby's consciousness back and forth through scenes of high-energy photo shoots at Elle Magazine, memories of shaving his father, the complications of a love affair, and fantasies of intimate encounters with his lovely female therapists.

A particularly powerful element within this movie is the portrayal of Bauby's existential stubbornness. Ironically enough, prior to his stroke, he becomes angry with his lover when she insists they visit Lourdes, a place where divine healings reportedly often takes place. Still later, when in a wheelchair, a priest offers him communion and he signals to his therapist with a blink of his eye that he does not want it. Comically, his therapist ignores this and tells the priest he does. It is this determination to guard his sense of individual humanity that makes Bauby beautifully heroic, even though he would not describe himself as such.

Actress Emmanuelle Seigner plays Bauby's estranged wife Celine with subtle intensity and one marvels at the quiet dignity she brings to the part. Equally engaging in their supporting roles are Max von Sydow as Bauby's father; Marie-Josée Croze as the therapist who teaches him to communicate with blinks of a single eye; and Isaach De Bankole as his visiting friend Laurent.

Both as a book and as a film, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is largely about the perspectives that we choose to apply to our lives. Though he suffered one of the worse fates imaginable, Bauby chose to believe his life was still a meaningful one and worked to produce a celebrated book that was published just 10 days before he died. Julian Schnabel's film is a work of cinematic poetry that honors both the man and the work through the very means that Bauby employed to live his final days: penetrating intelligence, inspired compassion, and luminous imagination.

by Author-Poet Aberjhani
author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)



Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Beloved Prophet

Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:

Beloved Prophet:the Love Letters of Kahlil Gibran and Mary Haskell, and Her Private Journal by Kahlil Gibran
 
5.0 out of 5 stars The Real-World Paranormal Romance of "Beloved Prophet" Kahlil Gibran,


The world's abundant treasury of art and literature would likely be a lot less abundant if not for those famed, or sometimes secret, patrons of the arts who assisted many of our most celebrated creative artists at crucial points in their lives--and sometimes throughout their lives. For visual artist Pablo Picasso, author and patron Gertrude Stein played a major role helping to launch his unparalleled career in twentieth century art. For the Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes, the mysterious heiress Charlotte Osgood Mason supported him (as well as others associated with the Harlem Renaissance) in great style at the start of his literary career.

In the case of the Lebanese poet and artist Kahlil Gibran, the crucial lifeline came from American schoolmistress Mary Haskell. Just how essential, passionate, and sacred that lifeline was comes through with deep intensity in the pages of BELOVED PROPHET. Editor Virginia Hilu worked her way though more than 600 letters and decades of journal entries to carefully compose a book that goes far beyond amusing or impressive anecdotes to give readers the softly thundering heart and soul of a man whose works continue to inspire millions and the woman who helped make that work possible.

Before the world came to know him as the famed author of such titles as The Prophet and Jesus the Son of Man, Mary Haskell met Gibran at his first art exhibit in 1904 when he was 21 and she was 30. Four years later, she sponsored his trip to Paris, where he studied art for two years and began a correspondence with Haskell that would last the rest his life. Upon his return from Paris to New York City, he both wrote and visited Haskell, whose school was in Boston. Gibran's understandably deep attachment to the woman who would come to mean so much to his life and career is evident even in those early letters, such as when he wrote this in 1908: "When I am unhappy, dear Mary, I read your letters... They remind me of my true self. They make me overlook all that is not high and beautiful in life." More than a decade later, in 1922, he tells her, "We have become one, Mary. You have entered my being--and you can't cut off either of us without destroying the other."

If Beloved Prophet was comprised of nothing more than letters, it would be a less powerful or significant book. However, the entries from Mary Haskell's journal provide a wealth of insights both into her relationship with the artist-poet and into her own passionate being. Through those entries we receive accounts of Gibran's family relationships, how such events as the early deaths of his mother, a brother, and a sister impacted his life. We also learn quite a bit about his creative processes and the role Haskell often played in it. While helping Gibran organize initial drafts for The Prophet, she noted, "How absolutely the Prophet is Kahlil, although Kahlil has several times said, `This is not I, but the Prophet.'" Upon receiving one of the first published copies of it, she predicted, "This book will be held as one of the treasures of English literature. And in our darkness we will open it to find ourselves again and the heaven and the earth within ourselves."

Addressing one another as "Beloved," and with references to their "greater selves" and life-transforming connection, Beloved Prophet sometimes reads like an extraordinary paranormal romance made much more profound by its concrete reality. The degrees of intimacy between Gibran and Haskell varied over the years but the general integrity of their relationship remained intact. It survived Haskell's move to Savannah, Georgia, in 1924 and her marriage to Florance Minis in 1926.

After Gibran's death in 1931, his biographer Barbara Young discovered the letters while Haskell was present and suggested they destroy them to avoid any misinterpretation of their contents. Haskell eventually rejected that suggestion, seemingly out of belief that the letters might help future readers more greatly appreciate the rarity of Gibran's spiritual genius and the noble beauty of his very real humanity.

by Author-Poet Aberjhani
author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)

Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition)

Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:

Stomp the Yard (Widescreen Edition) DVD ~ Columbus Short
 
5.0 out of 5 stars "Stomp the Yard" A Film of Life-Affirming Power and Beauty,

Director Sylvain White's STOMP THE YARD may not strike many as an ideal movie for the family to gather around and watch during holidays or other special occasions but it actually is because holidays are about reaping the benefits of tradition and this movie is about that too. It's not so clear at the film's beginning whether we're watching a violent video game or a demonstration of directorial genius. The distinction, however, soon becomes obvious and the genius apparent.

The mesmerizing opening dance scenes come across a lot like video gladiator battle sequences. These give way to the urban realism of a more brutal --and fatal-- L.A. gang clash after the not-so-lethal dance battle. DJ, played pitch perfectly by Columbus Short, loses his brother Duron (singer Chris Brown does an impressive job in this role) to a bullet in the clash and life as DJ knows it then comes to a screeching halt.

After a brief time in jail, he leaves the West Coast for Georgia, where he moves in with his aunt and uncle, then enrolls in college. It seems like the perfect strategy for rebuilding your life but DJ has problems with the idea that he's living his brother's dream of going to college and that his own is not all that definite. Perhaps among the most under-appreciated gifted actors of his generation, Harry Lennix gives one of the strongest performances of his career as the no-nonsense-taking uncle who pulls DJ out of his self-pitying funk. Their relationship proves to be one of tough-love and mutual respect. It also provides a rare glimpse into how black male relatives often function as surrogate fathers to youth whose biological fathers for whatever reason are nowhere to be seen.

The move from West Coast to Georgia might appear coincidental but in fact it is crucial to this film because DJ's move takes him out of a region of the country where historically black institutions like Clark University and Tuskegee Institute do not exist, and into one where their presence and legacy remains strong. The move to Georgia turns into an inner journey to his ancestral beginnings where ultimately he discovers the strength and integrity needed to cope with the grief over his brother's death and move forward with a vision for his own life.

Once he becomes a student at Truth University, DJ initially demonstrates the same kind of arrogance and self-absorption that got him into conflicts back in L.A. But he also discovers the world of stepping, both a new form of dance for him and a cultural tradition going back to the establishment of the first black Greek Letter fraternities and sororities in the early 1900s during the Harlem Renaissance. He becomes determined to help his chosen fraternity, Theta Nu Theta, end a seven-year long losing streak against their rivals Mu Gamma Xi, and to win the heart of co-ed April Palmer (played beautifully by Megan Good). His efforts take him through an inspiring rites of passage during which he learns a great deal about his ancestral legacies and the advantages of sometimes working as part of a team rather than thinking only of himself.

The culminating dance competitions in Stomp the Yard have to be seen to be believed and rank among the best in cinema history. Ultimately, this film is one that stands alongside "You've Been Served," "Drumline," and others that accentuate the life-affirming power and beauty of many African-American college traditions. In the process, it confirms and celebrates that same potential in all human beings.

by Author-Poet Aberjhani
author of The Bridge of Silver Wings (Songs of the Angelic Gaze)
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)

Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 5 stars to: All About Love

Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:

All About Love: Favorite Selections from In The Spirit on Living Fearlessly by Susan L. Taylor
 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Taylor's "All About Love" Provides Harvest of Empowering Inspiration ,
When the NAACP in 2006 presented author and social activist Susan L. Taylor with its President's Award, the organization publicly acknowledged what readers of Essence® Magazine had been experiencing for nearly four decades. Namely, that Ms. Taylor is among the most effective, dynamic, and beloved human resources on the planet. In "All About Love"(Urban Books) a rich of harvest of writings from Taylor's "In the Spirit" column, it's easy to see why.

A collection of more than 80 empowering editorials and three bonus dialogues, "All About Love" is all about life as we know, live, dread, treasure, and live it. Unlike too many book collections of short essays or creative nonfiction, this is not one aimed at demonstrating the intellectual profundity or virtuosity of the author. These are the observations, emotions, realizations and affirmations by which generations of women--and sometimes men--have mapped out the course of their daily lives and established purpose for their existence. They address such down-to-earth considerations as "Family Affairs" and "Living Abundantly," but also tackle more elevated yet essential meditations on subjects like "Being Peace," and "Self-love and Social Action."

Ever a fearless witness to her life and times, Taylor notes in the introduction, "A Bridge of Light," that, "Human beings have made every corner of the planet a disaster zone, and human beings have the power and responsibility to clear and clean it up, set the Earth back on its axis. We are not small or powerless. We have the ability to transform our world. Our personal and collective pain, the disorder all around us, are calls to get up and get moving!!!"

Especially noteworthy in "All About Love" are the three "conversations" that comprise its closing epilogue. One is Taylor in dialogue with Oscar-nominated actress Ruby Dee; another with educator and activist Cornel West; and the third with the late master musician and spiritual instructor Alice Coltrane. Each subject combines the articulated light of her or his illuminated spirit with that of Taylor's to produce flashes of useful insight that expand into waves of applicable principles and awareness. Take, for example, Cornel West's response to Taylor when she asks him about the need for men to become more emotionally honest, intimate, and self-loving: "Most would rather languish in conformity, complacency and even cowardice. But what is life for but to learn to love and be free and courageous?"

At the end of February 2008, Taylor left her almost four-decade position as the creative passion behind Essence® Magazine to head the National Cares Mentoring Movement, an organization she founded as Essence Cares to help at-risk youth. As she journeyed from 1970 to 2008 toward that noble crossroad of change in her illustrious career, she became in 1999 the first African-American woman to receive the Magazine Publishers of America's Henry Johnson Fisher Award. In 2002, she won induction into the American Society of Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame.

In many ways, "All About Love" is another kind of award, an eloquent summation of a triumphant career in one of the most demanding professions around. In another possibly more significant way, it is an open letter of uninhibited love and intentional compassion addressed to the denizens of the world from the heart and soul of one of the great women of our new millennial times.

by Author-Poet Aberjhani
author of The American Poet Who Went Home Again
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)

Author-Poet Aberjhani gave 4 stars to: Gabriel

Author-Poet Aberjhani reviewed:

Gabriel DVD ~ Andy Whitfield
 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Astounding Angels of the Wingless Kind,

Are there any who fall, when they fall, quite so hard as angels do? Going by the scenario in Australian director Shane Abbess' extraordinary noir metaphysical drama, GABRIEL, the answer would have to be a loud "No!" As they battle in human form for control over the middle earth region of Purgatory, where human souls dwell in limbo before descending to hell or ascending to heaven, these angels use the f-word in more ways than one, revel in rebellion and debauchery by the ton, and fire blazing automatics with more deadly intent than a. S.W.A.T. team or gang bangers looped on crack.

And yet the independent filmmaker's skillful balance between Purgatory mayhem and heavenly transcendence is a finely rendered one. As he drops dreamlike from heaven to non-heaven, the archangel Gabriel ponders the fact that he is on his way to do battle in a spiritual war zone where six fellow archangels have already dared to tread but apparently failed. He is a last chance, hoping to succeed where even the mighty angel-warrior Michael has not.

Newcomer Andy Whitfield does a more than competent job as Gabriel and makes it easy to empathize with his divine anguish as he adjusts to his mortal form, seeks out his wounded angelic comrades, and launches full force into martial arts and handgun combat. Dwayne Stevenson as the manically rebellious Sammael, and one-time mentor of Gabriel, provides a powerful villainous contrast. The film progresses between scenes of healing and reunion, to those of explosive one-on-one clashes reminiscent of the most enthralling gangster-film gun battle sequences. The ending is not only unpredictable in regard to a painful choice that Gabriel makes--it is also for some viewers disturbing and controversial.

Considering the obstacles that Shane Abbess and company had to overcome to make this amazing independent film, you have to give the production team and cast credit for getting it done at all. When looking, however, at the small miracle they achieved while working with so little, it becomes difficult not to imagine how much they might have accomplished working with more.

by Author-Poet Aberjhani
author of "The Bridge of Silver Wings"
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)
 

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THE Wonderful World of the Weekly Widget



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Flow and tide

When the flow of my river ended at the stillness of you, I asked myself, where did you find that tranquility, that stillness that imbues you, with the quality that I want, my river to flow. When the current of my tide ended at stillness in your heart, I thought to myself, where did you find that peace, that quiet solitude that beats silently, like the beat of a drum under a drummer that is a asleep. ...and I saw that it was the flow, the tide, that you revealed to me yourself, when you made me… Continue

Posted by Robert M on May 16th, 2008 at 11:21pm — No Comments (Add)

Sky

When my wondrous sky called down to me, it announced your name, my friend. Called down to me, drove down to me, when it announced your sacred spirit, friend. Two skies merge wondrously, when no superior effort is claimed. When two skies simply drift by, they gust two refreshing winds, my friend Mixing to create trade winds, of beauteous beginnings and ends, forever to be mixing forever to blowing, friend. So call down to my wondrous sky, and refresh my winds again; with the breath of renewe… Continue

Posted by Robert M on May 16th, 2008 at 1:56am — 1 Comment (Add)

The Cleaning Lady At The Budget Inn

The Cleaning Lady At The Budget Inn There is something mysterious about the cleaning lady here at the Budget Inn in Statesboro. I have watched her all week as I sip my coffee beside the small pool while my wife attends classes. She flits all morning from door to door speaking to everyone she meets. Without fail she stops to speak to the pigeons that line the low motel roof. Tilting forward they listen intently, then fly round the flag at the post office sending away her message with feathered s… Continue

Posted by David C. Hightower on May 16th, 2008 at 12:32am — 1 Comment (Add)

The Wonderful Musical Weekly Widget May 15, 2008

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Posted by Aberjhani on May 15th, 2008 at 6:27pm — No Comments (Add)

This is Love

This is love that lays beside me I lay my head on its chest to see what rhythm its heart beats for me It plays my favorite song Love wraps its arms around me and pulls me closer We lock lips and my body tingles This is love that lays beside me and kisses me The feeling is so genuine That hours seem to pass like minutes when we are together And minutes like hours when we are apart This is love that lays beside me It tickles me and makes me laugh Then it smiles at me And we become lost in one anot… Continue

Posted by Tasha Coleman on May 15th, 2008 at 1:40pm — No Comments (Add)

A Virgin's Fantasy

I might be talking be Cause I don't know the ropes But I want you in a way that has us both butt-naked And partially dry out of the shower It begins with you caressing me then me caressing you Progressing to you tasting me Then gentle penetration The air starts filling with penned up frustration My moaning speeds up your momentum I lose my concentration Got me feeling like I am in touch with my body for the very first time On the verge of an out of body experience Got me thinking Oh my God, swee… Continue

Posted by Tasha Coleman on May 15th, 2008 at 1:40pm — No Comments (Add)

Not so unforgettable

It's not so unforgettable, when you drape me in your silken love, no...I simply cannot forget the velvet touch of your desires heat. It's not so unforgettable, when my eyes take in your magnanimous queenly gaze, mmmmmmmmmmmmm..........I've been taken in my your intense cat like eyes, I wander about in daze and a in a faze. I don't want you to be unforgettable! Please remind me every day! Of why I can't take my eyes off your eyes, why my hips quiver when you draw near, why you elicit in me an… Continue

Posted by Robert M on May 14th, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments (Add)

I am You and you are Me!

Like rain falling from the sky we become one as each drop meets celebrating life bathing in the sun as the shore welcomes the sea I am you and you are me we are one in this for eternity We were put here to share peace. We live to love, appreciate all we see and shed light in darkness. Together we will create a better world for you and for me. I am you and you are me! We are one in this for eternity! Never giving up for hope knows no end. I'll be the shoulder you lean on when times are rough.… Continue

Posted by BlackBirdHyperDrive on May 14th, 2008 at 6:38am — 2 Comments (Add)

Letting Go

In love our hearts divided. Familiar or a new? A choice not yet decided. In turmoil, what to do? Completely I have given. Incompletely you returned. The past rethought, forgiven. I unison we yearned. Committed to another, My heart is always yours. But, I am just your lover. His bond you can't ignore. In time, you say, I'll love again. But, this heart known too well. And for none shall love begin. My heart given, I did tell. Releasing is to lose you. Your heart wants to go home. So in selfles… Continue

Posted by Romantic Poet on May 13th, 2008 at 10:49pm — No Comments (Add)

You are my raga

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Posted by Robert M on May 13th, 2008 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment (Add)

Loves First Tears

Predestined that I love you, desires yearned are due. Stray not my eyes, my heart, my soul, my one true love is you. Wipe not the joyous melding tears, that fall with words we share. For with these tears our souls adhere, expunging past despair. Entwined, our tears between us seep, loves aspirations swell. Exchanged our hearts with pleasures weep, devotions gift we tell. Holding close with trembling hands, embraced in primal lust. with whispered words forbidden, in passion bodies… Continue

Posted by Romantic Poet on May 13th, 2008 at 8:15am — No Comments (Add)

keep your eyes on me

Darling...will you keep your eyes on me? If I keep my eyes on you? Will you look my soul up and down, if I take in your loveliness up and down too? Darling...keep your eyes upon me, I will always keep my eyes upon you. I will always keep you in my frame of vision, if you will just frame me in your love forever more. Keep me in your eyes, my love, and my loves gaze will be on you forever, if you just keep your eyes upon me, and I return my loving gaze on you

Posted by Robert M on May 12th, 2008 at 6:30pm — 2 Comments (Add)

Oh Little Bird

Sing to me oh little bird Tell me your story Sing to me oh little bird Free me from my worry Sing to me oh little bird Of all the things you’ve seen Sing to me oh little bird Of all the places you’ve been Sing to me oh little bird Share with me your travels Sing to me oh little bird… Continue

Posted by Jessica on May 12th, 2008 at 6:20pm — 2 Comments (Add)

Piano

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Posted by Robert M on May 12th, 2008 at 4:30pm — 4 Comments (Add)

Radical Dreamer

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Posted by Robert M on May 12th, 2008 at 4:30pm — No Comments (Add)

Slide

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Slide, slide, slide. Like a lap steel guitar, to the sliding tides of life. Slide to the rhythm, and scintillate to the sway, of life without worry, when you slide your worries away. When you slide your worries away, with the passion of ca… Continue

Posted by Robert M on May 12th, 2008 at 12:50am — No Comments (Add)

Beauty

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Posted by Robert M on May 11th, 2008 at 11:26pm — No Comments (Add)

Sun

The sun rises upon on newborn day, with new babes born, new loves adorned, New loves replacing loves lost, What's it all about, what is this for? It's all about what you make it, my dear. Its for whatever you make it be. The sun rises and sets, everyday, my love, remember to make it worth your while, to make your day worth the grandest smile. Take the sun! Take to heart, and never let it depart. Take the sun! and let it shine forth, to every corner of the earth, to your hearts vessel, it's e… Continue

Posted by Robert M on May 11th, 2008 at 11:15pm — No Comments (Add)

Reclaim the Sky (for Elisabeth Fritzl)

… Continue

Posted by Sara Louise on May 11th, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments (Add)

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time there was a g i r l. With face as pale as lilies white, eyes as blue as the seas. Hair that shined red in the sun, a g i r l who only wanted to please. Her dreams at night were filled with things that to others did not exist. Fairies, dragons, big black wolves, mystical creatures and ancient woods. She dreamed she was an angel who could bring the to life. She rarely felt important, she felt guilty for feeling so; to make it up she imagined she was a princess who could make sno… Continue

Posted by Hannah on May 10th, 2008 at 6:28pm — No Comments (Add)

Forum

CTI Spotlight Artist Robert M, May 16-31, 2008
1 Reply

Versatility is a quality we have come to associate with many of our members and Robert M, our new CTI Spotlight Artist, is one of the most versatile among us. The fortunate visitor to Robert’s ... Continue

Tagged: thinkers, international, writing, aruthorss, robert

Started by Aberjhani. Last reply by Robert M 8 hours ago.

What in the World is a Widget?
7 Replies

I'm still trying to figure it out but in the meantime this is what one of mine looks like: Continue

Tagged: thinkers, international, books, e., museum

Started by Luther E. Vann. Last reply by Robert T.S. Mickles Sr. 1 day ago.

Celebrating National Poetry Month 2008 Internationally at CTI
7 Replies

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Tagged: thinkers, international, american, poets, of

Started by Aberjhani. Last reply by Marne L. Kilates May 14.

An Open Letter: The Wonderful World of Weekly Widgets
1 Reply

Hello CTI Friends, Family, and Fellow Innovators— As CTI continues to grow, we are exploring ways to improve the site and thank those of you who have sent in suggestions. In an effort to make it b... Continue

Tagged: thinkers, social, writing, books, amazon.com

Started by Aberjhani. Last reply by Aberjhani May 12.

THE CTI Amazon Gift Shop
3 Replies

Creative Thinkers International is currently working with Amazon to determine the most effective ways for the site to link with Amazon and give visitors more immediate access to the books, cds, dow... Continue

Tagged: thinkers, dvds, books, music, internaitonal

Started by Author-Poet Aberjhani. Last reply by Aberjhani May 12.

O My Eternal Spring of Inspiration
2 Replies

O my eternal spring of inspiration and wildest hopes One see tears as brokenness, another see it as nearness O my sea and my waves, do you got angry against time ? Do the passing stranger leave his... Continue

Tagged: my_sea_waves, zhulixin, edita, inspiration, spring

Started by zhuli. Last reply by zhuli May 12.

Hello

My name is Hannah and I just wanted to say hello. Aberjhani invited me to this site, and I decided to check it out. It looks really cool. I just have one question-where do I post my poems and stori... Continue

Started by Hannah May 10

Read All About it in the Savannah Morning News
4 Replies

Photograph of me courtesy of Trevor Jenkins at 98 Productions My attitude is all about gratitude after waking up Friday morning, March 7, 2008, and discovering my novel, Blood Kin, A Savannah S... Continue

Tagged: story, selling, tourism, writing, robert

Started by Robert T.S. Mickles Sr.. Last reply by Saru M May 8.

Five Points (Denver, Colorado) Jazz Mecca
4 Replies

The American West is not only historical in its cowboy roots, ( wagons, saddles, spurs, six-shooters, and cactus) but also as equally important in its jazz roots, ( trombones, trumpets, piano, an... Continue

Tagged: points, thinkers, denver, international, american

Started by Sage Sweetwater. Last reply by Author-Poet Aberjhani May 8.

"Poetry" by Pablo Neruda
3 Replies

And it was at that age ... Poetry arrived in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where it came from, from winter or a river. I don't know how or when, no they were not voices, they were not... Continue

Tagged: poetry, pablo, national, month, neruda

Started by Passion of the Poets. Last reply by zhuli May 2.

One CTI Artist and His Ever Evolving World



 
 

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1. Membership at CTI is free and open to all those interested in either the production or appreciation of the creative arts, to include literature, visual art, dance, music, film, spiritual theory, the social sciences, philosophy, general humanities, scientific inquiry, education in general, and other disciplines intended to enhance the quality of life for all humanity.

2. Materials posted by Members of CTI are their sole responsibility and not that of CTI management or any other member of the CTI site.

3. While recognizing that the work of creative artists is often controversial by its very nature, CTI prohibits and discourages the posting of any overtly obscene and intentionally inflammatory material. These include overt pornography, racist diatribes, religious slander, and any postings promoting discrimination against or the oppression of other human beings.

4. In the interest of stimulating creative growth, we encourage dialogue and even debate. However, Members should avoid leaving intentionally offensive or antagonistic remarks on the pages of Fellow Members. We can disagree and still remain a harmonious community.

5. Explore, grow, share, and enjoy your creative success.

Please remember, these guidelines are likely to evolve as the site itself continues to evolve and develop. We welcome and encourage your input. After all, yours are some of the best minds on the planet so we would be very foolish not to listen to what you have to say.

The CTI Admin Team

Videos

CTI SPOTLIGHT ARTISTS

CTI Spotlight Artist Robert M, May 16-31, 2008

Versatility is a quality we have come to associate with many of our members and Robert M, our new CTI Spotlight Artist, is one of the most versatile among us. The fortunate visitor to Robert’s profile page gains entry into a world of eclectic musical compositions ranging from classical European melodies and Indian ragas to jazz, rock, and blues. Moreover, as various commentators have noted, enough of his precision-crafted poems adorn the site to fill two or three volumes. We could go on quite a bit about his tailored background images, video choices, and the fact that he has established several groups at CTI. But rather than doing that, we invite you to explore for yourself his created wonders at http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/RobertM

CTI Spotlight Artist Vickie L. McColley, May 1-15, 2008

Vickie L. McColley "The Romantic Poetess" As everybody knows, diversity is one of our primary strengths at CTI and the members of our community represent cultures from all over the world. They also represent individuals at different stages of their creative careers and development. One of those members is Victoria L. McColley, known to some as the Romantic Poetess, to others as Groovy Charmer, and to some simply as Vickie. It is our pleasure to present her at this time as the CTI Spotlight Artist for May 1-15, 2008. A long-time member at CTI, Ms. McColley has proven particularly adept at utilizing the site’s many features to enhance and present to the world her own unique vision of creative artistry. In addition to being a member of the CTI community, she also has more than 100 titles on AuthorsDen with more than 1,000 reviews of her writings there. The working title of her forthcoming first poetry collection is “Love Love Love: Poetry from the Heart, Soul & Voice of Love.” For more on the Vickie’s work and world, please visit her profile at http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/RomanticPoetessVickieMcColley

CTI Spotlight Artist Poetry Life & Times April 16-30, 2008

Our friends at Poetry Life and Times have featured a number of CTI’s members in their e-zine and, on top of that, have now been one of the great champions of modern poetry for some ten years. They actually have the archives to prove it! Their current issue not only honors one of poetry’s nobler traditions with its dedication to our very challenged "brothers and sisters in Tibet, Burma and Darfur,” but remains true to its mission by providing a platform for some of the most vibrant contemporary poetic voices on the planet. It is truly our honor at CTI to present Poetry Life and Times as our Spotlight Artist for April 16-30, 2008. The image of the monk featured as their main page profile image is borrowed from their current issue. To learn more about Poetry Life and Times and how you may submit your own work for publication consideration, please visit them at http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/PoetryLifeandTimes .

CTI Spotlight Artist Luther E. Vann April 1-15, 2008

(photo of Luther E. Vann by John Schmidt) Often described as a poet who utilizes visual art to write his poems, Luther E. Vann is an acclaimed artist who was fortunate enough to receive some of his first art instructions from recognized masters of the Harlem Renaissance. Like all artists of note, he shaped what he learned into a style of his own that fuses deeply spiritual imagery, metaphysical philosophy, and strong social realism. After a lifetime of dedication to his craft, his work will go on exhibit at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, Georgia, from April 16-August 17, 2008, and his first book, ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love, is scheduled for publication in May. We’re honored for the opportunity to present Vann as the CTI Spotlight Artist for April 1-15 and invite you to visit his profile to learn more about him at http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/Weallare111 Your Friendly CTI Admin Support Team

CTI Spotlight on Daughters of Destiny March 16-31, 2008

Miriam K. Center, Founder of MKC Daughters of Destiny (photo by John Zeuli) As most of you know, March is Women’s History Month on our side of the world. Considering that women make up slightly more than half the planet’s population, it seemed appropriate to step outside the box of our normal way of thinking when it comes to the bi-weekly Spotlight Artist for March 16-31, 2008, and this time acknowledge the work of MKC Daughters of Destiny. While there are a number of Daughters of Destiny organizations around the globe, it just so happens that Miriam K. Center is one of our very own members whose creativity includes her leadership within the organization, her work as a poet, journalist, and author of a somewhat notorious novel. We are honored to invite you to learn more about Daughters of Destiny and Ms. Center at: http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/ADaughterofDestiny

CTI Spotlight Artist Cheryl Kaye Tardif March 1-15, 2008

Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif has won the attention and admiration of readers worldwide with her uniquely compelling suspense novels, including the celebrated “Whale Song,” “Divine Intervention,” and “The River.” Those who have noted her blogs at Creative Thinkers International and elsewhere know the author is not one to simply rest on her five-star literary laurels, but often shares quality communication with her readers and lends humanitarian support to the causes and issues that concern her. We are honored to present Ms. Tardif as the CTI Spotlight Artist for March 1-15, 2008, and invite you learn more about this gifted Canadian author at http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/CherylKayeTardif .

CTI Spotlight Artist Art Sun Hernandez Feb 16-29, 2008

We’re very fortunate at Creative Thinkers International to enjoy the online company of many talented, innovative, and generally dynamic individuals. One of them, Art Sun Hernandez, is the CTI Spotlight Artist for February 16–29, 2008. Through his strongly metaphysical poetry enriched by spiritual insight, political consciousness, and social responsiveness, along with the many thought-provoking images and encouraging comments he has shared with fellow CTI members, Art has become a familiar and celebrated presence at CTI. To discover more about our newest CTI Spotlight Artist, please visit his profile at http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/ArtSunHernandez

CTI Spotlight Artist Mitzi K. Jackson Feb 1-15, 2008

Writers who effectively blend folk dialect with classic literary traditions and the music of their individual voice to accomplish contemporary literary art of substance are generally rare. However, at CTI, we’re fortunate to have in our midst just such a writer in the form of Mitzi K. Jackson, the CTI Spotlight Artist for February 1-15, 2008. Whereas many of us at CTI have gotten to know Ms. Jackson through her superb poetry and supportive comments on the profile pages of fellow members, she is also highly regarded in various creative circles as an author of fiction that fuses emotional drama, powerful artistic symbolism, and unapologetic urban realism. To learn more about this exceptional artist, please visit the profile for Passion of the Poets or that of Ms. Jackson herself at http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/Mizkaja

CTI Spotlight Artist Michael A. Guy Jan 16-31, 2008

There are a number of ways that members of CTI might be familiar with Michael A. Guy, the new CTI Spotlight Artist for January 16-31, 2008. Possibly he was among the first to welcome you to CTI when you joined, or it could be that you’ve spent time on his profile page relaxing to his superb style of new age jazz. You might even have spent an evening or two reading his acclaimed novel, “The Last Renaissance Man.” If, by some chance, you are not already familiar with Michael, we invite you to take this opportunity to visit his profile page and discover a uniquely talented “renaissance man” at this link: http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/MichaelGuy CTI Admin Support Team

CTI Spotlight Artist Kimmy Van Kooten Jan 1-15, 2008

It is our honor at Creative Thinkers International to announce that the first CTI Spotlight Artist for the New Year 2008 is Kimmy Van Kooten. A player of the congas, writer of stories and poetry, and visual artist with a style very much her own, Kimmy is as versatile as she is prolific. We invite you to learn more about her by visiting the main page and/or her profile page at: http://creativethinkersintl.ning.com/profile/KimmyVanKooten . CTI Support Admin

News from the United Nations

UN sustainable development forum ends with call for more investment in research

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) wrapped up its annual session today by emphasizing the need for ramping up investment in research and development in innovative and sustainable agricultural technologies and infrastructure in poor countries.

Growing violence in eastern Chad alarms UN refugee agency

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is voicing deep concern about the escalating violence inside eastern Chad, where two gendarmes guarding a refugee camp were shot dead earlier this week and an increasing number of vehicles have been hijacked by bandits.

Top UN envoy in Sudan welcomes deal to end deadly clashes in disputed town

The top United Nations official in Sudan today welcomed the agreement to end the deadly fighting between Government forces and the former southern rebels in the disputed Abyei area, which has forced thousands of civil