LitLine Online Newsletter

October 2001 Issue

Page 2

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Guest Columnist: Brandon Massey

Article by Lee E. Meadows

Poet's Place

Tech Tips

Poet's Place

America

America has known hard times.
She rose from the gutter
From nothing.
America has seen the blood
Of her children
Fertilize the soil of other nations.
America still bears the scars
Of internal differences
Every man, woman, and child

                Black,
                White,
                Red,
                And brown

Has felt America’s pain.
She kept her head high
Just as we have
And clawed her way
From nothing to something.
God bless America !
We are America!

Clayton Powell, a self-described “urban poet”, is a Petty Officer in the United States Navy. His work has been accepted in such underground publications as the Native Tongue Newsletter and Soul Fountain and will appear in the April 2001 issue of Left Curve. He has also has authored one chapbook, entitled “Dead On Arrival”. He hopes his writing will help to create an artistic revolution in African American communities in the coming years in which brothers and sisters will use their raw talent to escape the shackles of everyday life.

Give it
By Linda Watkins

In order to know where the ending will be
we must first know of the beginning.
To speculate how the world should adjust
is lacking in values and meaning.
Children must see that the world that has formed
will accomodate their very being.
And allow them to grow with infinite wisdom
and principles forever clinging.
Deep in their hearts there has to be hope
that tomorrow will always be shining.
Giving them light to follow the footsteps
we lost for a moment through blinding.
Encourage their souls with the riches of past,
show them the motive for thinking.
Throw them the life-line to pull it together,
teach them to keep them from sinking.

Linda Watkins, a Cincinnati native, moved to Indianapolis with her husband, Levi, and their miniature pincher, China. In 1994, she self-published, Black Owned Reviews, a small book of poetry. Since then, she has revised and multiplied the amount of poems, renaming the book, "Let me Shake Your Leaves." In November of this year her first novella "Thru the Door" will be released. She is a member of the Black Writers Alliance and the National Association of Colored Women. She is also an Ex-servicewoman, having served in the United States Army and National Guard. She is a homebody and loves to travel. She loves writing, reading and living and hopes to continue to live life to the fullest writing words.

Tech Tips
Lisa R. Cross

Password Security

Below is information that I shared with the users at my workplace. The information can be applied both at work or for passwords you uses at home or on the Internet.

So, it's time to change your password and you can't think of one that you could readily remember? To make it easy on yourself, you enter the name of your best friend or your dog, Gingus. You will remember his name with ease because you have a picture of Gingus in a custom picture frame with his name on you desk next to your computer. Great!

Not so great. This is indeed a security red flag for IT departments! A person has three (3) attempts to access an account before the account becomes locked out. If someone wanted to access the above user's computer

account, the culprit might look at the picture of Gingus and wonder if that might be the password. First attempt Gingus is typed, and the culprit is in the user's account illegally! More...

Poetry News

The International Library of Poetry has a wonderful online site for poets. If you’re looking for a quick mechanism to get your poetry published online, check out their Web site at www.poetry.com

CD OF THE MONTH

It is unclear why jazz format radio stations have not been giving Touch the play it deserves. It is a different sound and certainly doesn’t fit into the formulaic musical trends that so many artists fall into. David Mann is one of the contemporary jazz heavy hitters, but for whatever reason he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. The CD features other jazz legends such as Bob James, Wayman Tisdale, Chris Botti, Chieli Minucci and Chuck Loeb. Stone Groove is one of the best tracks, but the entire CD is a force to reckon with. For contemporary jazz fans looking for something new and different, check out David Mann’s Touch. David Mann exemplifies the depth of his saxophone prowess, rating along side Boney James, David Sanborn, Kenny G, Kim Waters, Dave Koz, Warren Hill, and Richard Elliott, to name a few. Touch is a guaranteed “must have” and will make a great Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa gift for all the contemporary jazz music lovers on your gift list.
-W. Moorman

Our Sponsors
Infinity Publishing
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Book of the Month
Church Folks

CD of the Month
David Mann

Web Information
Links

Question of the Month

What five-letter word, no matter how you pronounce it is always pronounced wrong?

Book Reviews: Beginning next month, LitLine will begin a new feature for book reviews. We will feature individual book reviews by our readers. If you would like to submit a book review to LitLine, please submit your review to the publisher/editor at wem777@worldnet.att.net by the 15th day of each month. The book review for next month is "What You Owe Me" by Bebe Moore Campbell.