Haiti’s Earthquake Foreseen…
I Saw Haiti’s Earthquake Coming. I realized this truth only a few days ago… Coincidence or Premonition? You be the judge!
The last four weeks I have been listening to two specific songs, non-stop. For no reason whatosever. If one could browse the logs at Youtube.com, he would see that I had accessed the corresponding pages over thirty times! Each time, I would listen to these songs more than ten times in one sitting, while shedding some serious tears!
Indeed, I cried my butt off, while listening to these songs; every time! (This is also a little secret of mine that very few of my friends know about: I cannot help sobbing when I listen to certain types of music. But that is another story…)
The first number is ‘San Vicente‘ sung by Milton Nascimento; the second, ‘Calice‘ is a duet by Milton Nascimento and Chico Buarque. I do love the music and lyrics of Milton Nascimento’s recordings, but the same two songs, every day? It had to be something else. Only a few days ago, it dawned on me that the images ’suggested’ correspond perfectly to what I saw in the videos I watched on the devastating earthquake.
As you listen to the songs, scroll down and follow the lyrics. For those of you who understand Portuguese or Spanish, the meaning will be quite clear. If you cannot understand the original text, Google Translate may help a tiny bit.
The song ‘Calice’ is so deep. It deserves to be understood… well, deeply! Most important, while listening, try to replace the original video with one of those earthquake videos, in your mind. It is a trip and a half. Some will get it, some will not. El que sabe, sabe…
San Vicente
Coração americano
acordei de um sonho estranho (I awoke from a strange dream)
Um gosto de vidro e corte (A Taste of glass and flesh wound)
Um sabor de chocolate (A taste of chocolate)
No corpo e na cidade (In the body and in the city)
Um sabor de vida e morte (A taste of life and death)
Coração americano
Com sabor de vidro e corte
A espera na fila imensa (the wait in the huge line)
E o corpo negro se esqueçeu
Estava em San Vicente
A cidade e suas luzes
Estava em San Vicente
As mulheres e os homens
Coração americano
Com sabor de vidro e corte
As horas não se contavam (Time practically stopped)
E o que era negro anoiteceu
Enquanto se esperava
Eu estava em San Vicente
Enquanto acontecia
Eu estava em San Vicente
Coração americano…
Calice
Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice (Father, take away from me this chalice)
Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice (Father, take away from me this chalice)
Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice (Father, take away from me this chalice)
De vinho tinto de sangue (of bloody red wine)
Como beber dessa bebida amarga (How can I drink this bitter drink)
Tragar a dor, engolir a labuta (swallow the pain, swallow the hardship)
Mesmo calada a boca, resta o peito ()
Silêncio na cidade não se escuta (The silence in the city cannot be heard)
De que me vale ser filho da santa (What good is to be the son of the holy)
Melhor seria ser filho da outra (Better to be the son of another)
Outra realidade menos morta (Another reality less dead)
Tanta mentira, tanta força bruta (So many lies, so much brute force)
Como é difícil acordar calado (How difficult it is to keep quiet on waking up )
Se na calada da noite eu me dano (If I the silence of the night is bringing me pain)
Quero lançar um grito desumano (An inhuman yell, I want to throw in the air)
Que é uma maneira de ser escutado (So I can be heard)
Ese silêncio todo me atordoa (This silence is making me lose consciousness)
Atordoado eu permaneço atento (Even in this state of unconsciousness, I am still aware)
Na arquibancada pra a qualquer momento (in this setting where, at any moment)
Ver emergir o monstro da lagoa (I will see the monster rise from the laguna)
De muito gorda a porca já não anda (The pig hardly walks from so much fat)
De muito usada a faca já não corta (The knife hardly cuts from so much use)
Como é difícil, pai, abrir a porta (How difficult it is, father, to open the door?)
Essa palavra presa na garganta (The word is choking me)
Esse pileque homérico no mundo (this homeric mix we have to drink)
De que adianta ter boa vontade (What good it is to have goodwill)
Mesmo calado o peito, resta a cuca ()
Dos bêbados do centro da cidade ()
Talvez o mundo não seja pequeno (Perhaps the world is not small)
Nem seja a vida um fato consumado (Nor is life a fait accompli)
Quero inventar o meu próprio pecado (I want to invent my own sin)
Quero morrer do meu próprio veneno (I want to die of my own poison)
Quero perder de vez tua cabeça (I want to lose my head once and for all)
Minha cabeça perder teu juízo (Let my head lose all common sense)
Quero cheirar fumaça de óleo diesel (I want to inhale some diesel fumes)
Me embriagar até que alguém me esqueça (And get drunk until they forget about me.)
Please, drop us a line if you find any dead links, mistakes, mispelled words, etc. If you like this blog as a whole, or just this article, kindly share it with your friends, would you?
Blog post by Tatán
Please, don’t forget to visit Lakay Graphics where you can browse through our Haitian Designs and Products.
Please, drop us a line if you find any dead links, mistakes, mispelled words, etc. If you like this blog as a whole, or just this article, kindly share it with your friends, would you?
Blog post by Tatán
Please, don’t forget to visit Lakay Graphics where you can browse through our Haitian Designs and Products.
Haiti Earthquake Relief
CafePress is helping raise money for Haiti’s Earthquake Relief efforts. CafePress designers/sellers get involved by donating designs to their Haiti Relief Effort Shop. Proceeds from the shop will go directly to UNICEF to aid families from Tuesday’s devastating earthquake. Sellers will not receive any commissions.
UNICEF is targeting these funds to provide safe water, temporary shelters, medical supplies and other essentials to displaced children. The money will also be used to help orphaned children reunite with
families.
The design below is Lakay Graphics’ contribution to this endeavour. Support CafePress’ fundraising efforts by going to the Haiti Relief Effort Shop. Thank you for your help.
Please, drop us a line if you find any dead links, mistakes, mispelled words, etc. If you like this blog as a whole, or just this article, kindly share it with your friends, would you?
Blog post by Tatán
Please, don’t forget to visit Lakay Graphics where you can browse through our Haitian Designs and Products.
Lè m kanpe on kote, m tande jenn timoun k ap pale, pa gen anyen ki sot nan bouch yo ki etone m. Sa m di nou la a, kwè m si n vle, se pawòl esperyans. Jenn tifi ak jenn tigason, kit yo te wè gen granmoun la, kit yo te antre yo menm, yo pale tout bagay, san rezèv: afè pèsonèl yo, kou afè lòt moun, mele ak on ekip gwo mo sal, on batle gwo betiz rèk. Ou ta di, m fin abitye, zòrèy mwen pa tande yo ankò! Non, gen on bagay ki pran kontwòl bonnanj mwen, on defo m genyen: yo rele sa defòmasyon pwofesyonèl. Kidonk se pa fòt mwen si m pa ka tande vwa moun k ap pale pou zòrèy mwen pa anrejistre son yo.
— “Ou bay manti twòp, machè! Sa ou di a, se pa vre! Ou manti kou chen!” — “Bon pawòl m ba ou, se pa manti. M ka fè nenpòt sèman ba ou.” — “Ou pa bezwen pèdi tan ou. M pa p janm kwè ou, paske sèman konnen ou, ou menm!”
M pantan lè m tande konvèsasyon sa a. M pa t atann mwen m t apral tande jan de koze konsa nan bouch jenn timoun. ‘Sèman konnen ou!’ se pa ti pawoli òdinè. Siman ti medam sa yo, yo toujou anba bouch, paske pa gen lòt fason pou yo ta aprann jan de koze sa yo.
M gen nan tèt mwen souvni on pawoli ki sanble tèt koupe ak pawoli sa a. M chonje lè yo te konn ap pale de on moun ki chache kont, on moun ki tilandeng, osnon de yon moun ki move zafè, on moun ki fè aksyon ki ka fè yo arete l, yon konn di “Entèl se on brave danje, reskonsab malè. Prizon konnen l.”
On moun prizon konnen, se on moun ki abitye al nan prizon, ki pa pè prizon. Konsekans al nan prizon pa fè l anyen. N a remake yo pa di ‘moun lan konn prizon’—ki ta vle di moun sa a konn jan prizon di, l ap pran prekosyon l pou l pa al twouve l nan prizon ankò. Si se prizon an ki konn moun lan, sa vle di se prizon an li menm ki abitye ak moun lan, menm jan ak on chen abitye ak on moun ki konn vin lakay mèt li: prizon an pa p fè moun lan anyen li pa atann. Lè pawòl la deplase tonbe sou ‘sèman ki konnen on moun’, se ta menm prensip la tou: sèman an pa p fè moun lan anyen… Antouka se sa nou konprann nan koze a, men fò n pran on ti tan pou n mezire fòs konparezon sa a toutbon vre.
Prizon se on kote, se on espas ki sou kontwòl otorite ki gen pouvwa pou yo voye moun yo deklare ki fè sa k pa sa al reflechi pou on dire tan. On moun ka evite pou ou pa al nan prizon, men gen moun yo konn voye vin pile pye ou espre pou ou ka fè on aksyon. Se sa k fè menm yo di “Prizon pa janm manke moun!” Epitou, ki moun ki pa chonje pawòl Gwo Moso a: “Prizon pa fèt pou chen. Se pou pechè d latè de bra balanse l fèt!?”
Sèman li menm, se pawòl. Pa pawòl konsa konsa, pawòl vaykevay. Non, sèman se on pawòl fòs, on pawòl aksyon, ki lanse avèk volonte pou konvenk moun tèl deklarasyon, tèl pwomès se laverite. Lè on moun fè on sèman, se chwa li: pyès moun pa kò fòse pyès lòt moun fè sèman. Epitou, pou on moun fè sèman, fò ou konn sèmante, fò ou konn sa pou ou di nan sèman an. Sèman gen gramè li ak tout kadans li. Lè moun ki pale Angle ap sèmante, yo ka di ‘I swear’; moun ki pale Franse a ka di ‘Je te jure’. Men, nou menm ki pale Kreyòl, lè n ap sèmante, nou pa sèvi ak mo ‘sèman’ osnon ‘sèmante’ a anndan sèman an.
Timoun piti pa t gen dwa sèmante devan granmoun, sòf si se te an jwèt. Tankou lè n te konn ap jwe ‘Ti Sourit’: — “Ti sourit!?” — “Plètil!” — “Sa ou ap manje?” — “Grenn pwa!” — “Ban m ti kal!” — “Jamè!” — “Fè sèman!” — “Vyèj pete kourèl mwen, zoupendoup!”
Nou te chante ak tout fòs nou, tout konviksyon nou. Sèman sa a pa t deranje pyès moun. Pi devan, nou t apral aprann on pakèt lòt modèl sèman. Tankou sèman an jwèt: youn ladan yo, se te ‘M mande Bondye de rat charye m, de mabouya fè lantèman m!’; on lòt se te: ‘Tonnè kraze chen!’ osnon ‘Tonnè krisboulout!’ Konsa tou, nou t apral rive nan sèman pou toutbon: ‘M mande Bondye m pa leve demen maten!’; ‘M mande Bondye m fou!’; ‘De je m pete!’ Lè sa pi rèd menm, lè y ap chache kote laverite kache, gen moun ki konn al pi lwen: ‘M mande Bondye de pitit mwen yo…!’
Se konsa nou t aprann sèmante. Gen nan nou ki pi bon ladan pase lòt. Nan ‘Tant Mezi’ (Moris Siksto), nou wè enpòtans sèman nan leve-jwenn nou. Tant Mezi t ap esplike Siksto kouman li fè on kòmè l ki pale tankou pètpèt mayi fè piblikasyon pou li: li lage on nouvèl nan bouch li, epi li mande l pou l pa repete sa. Kidonk, manmzèl oblije sèmante: “Kòm mwen mande l pou l pa repete, li fè sèman li pa p repete, men lè l ap fè sèman an, m ap voye je gade li, m wè l ap peze gwo zotèy li atè, donk ou pa mande si se on moun ki pral simen koze a nan tout lari a. Wè! Men, Moris pitit, se on bagay m konnen depi lontan, Bondye fè fanm kado sèman.”
Kidonk dapre Tant Mezi, ‘sèman konn fanm’. Men se pa sèlman on kesyon de ‘sèman konnen on moun’, men fòk moun lan konn sekrè a tou—sekrè peze gwo zòtèy pous la atè a! Antouka, sekrè pa sekrè, on moun ki renmen sèmante, moun ki toujou nan ‘Tonnè kraze!’, depi loray ap gwonde, se retire kò nou bò kote li!
Pawòl sèmante sa a gen rès dèyè li…
Si ou renmen koze sa a, gaye li tribòbabò.
Atik sa a, se Roro ki te ekri l.
Tanpri, pa bliye fè on ti koutpye nan Lakay Graphics kote n ap jwenn on pakèt desen ak anpil lòt bagay sou Ayiti.
Ki moun
Text Treatments as Design Clichés
When the average Graphic Artist or Graphic Design Student hear the phrase ‘Design Clichés’, they immediately think of ‘Symbols‘. But every symbol is not necessarily a cliché, neither is every Design Cliché unacceptable. Continue reading “How to Avoid Design Clichés” »
My Art Saga
My name is Antoine Pierre-Paul I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a few decades ago and now reside in the United States (New York area). I am a Draftsman and Layout Artist actively learning about Creative Graphic Design.
My art saga started, as with most people, when I was in my early teens. As a child, I loved to draw and doodle. Probably a bit more than the average kid. Most of my drawings were of male bodybuilders showing their muscles, or cowboys and indians shooting at each other. (The popular movies of that time were either about gladiators, Hercules and other titans, or bank robbers and gunfighters in America’s old West).
As far as a I can remember, Signs always fascinated me. In these early drawings, there was always some kind of message, title or caption written in all caps. Go figure! In my strolls around town with either my father or my mother, I went absolutely gaga over the blinking neon signs.
My first drawing workbooks were also a fond memory. They had a model on one page, and on the facing page there was a connect-the-dots version of the same drawing you were supposed to reproduce. As you advance through the pages, the dots would move farther and farther apart until they disappear completely.
The paper would be all torn up from the constant rubbing with that tongue-wetted eraser. We believed that the moisture would wipe the mistakes clean and the result would be neater! The smears, the mess, the joy! Oh, how I long to go back!
Then came real art class. We had a teacher who also worked as a graphic artist. Every session, we would draw either a classic shape or some kind of Still Life he would put together with things found in the room. He would pace around and, in his soft voice, explain the principles of Drawing and the fine points of Art HIstory. Every once in a while he would stop behind one of us to offer tips and pointers. That was the whole class.
But that was where I really got my foundation. This is how I met Degas, Ingres, Raphael and the other drawing and painting masters. I learned about linear perspective and complementary colors. He was also the first one who showed me how to render any shape by first drawing a cube in perspective and putting the object inside.
After this came Technical Drafting. One of the main advantages of this training is the resulting ability to “see” through things. One learns to visualize how certain objects would look behind or under certain planes or objects. This level of “clairvoyance” is invaluable when you work with “layers“. The other advantage is the use of various drafting and design implements, pens, rulers, blades and other gadgets.
Next was the Screen Printing and Banner Making era, when I learned the real meaning of deadlines and fussy customers. I did everything from camera work to layout, paste up, film touch up, screen making, signs, banners, etc. Then, someone introduced me to CorelDraw!
I fell in love with the program. I was astonished by the level of control and power over all elements and aspects of the design. It was the time when PageMaker ruled. WYSIWYG was the thing! I have never used Illustrator or Photoshop, but I don’t miss them since I can do just about everything with CorelDraw and Photopaint (or Inkscape and Gimp for that matter). One thing I wish I could do, is learn Ray Tracing and 3D Drawing & Rendering, as in Autocad, Blender, Google Sketchup, etc. A lot of these programs are free, but one has to find the time to study them, and the learning curve is very steep.
When I have a bit of time, I try to learn and master one more feature of the programs I use regularly. For now, I just sit at home and work on rather simple Text Designs to sell online, either on Zazzle or other Print on Demand companies. Above is a picture of my design station: PC running Ubuntu Linux 9.04 and Windows Vista, two 19″ monitors (when you turn multiple, you don’t go back), Wacom tablet, Jug of water or juice, and mug of tea. I drink a lot of tea when I am working. On the left monitor I have those eighty new T-shirts designs I still have to upload.
What I really would like to do is finish those Pen & Ink drawings I started 15 years ago (like this one of a house in Norton, MA), and print a few sets of Limited Edition Serigraphs of the Drawings. But I wonder if this time would ever come…
Please, drop us a line if you find any dead links, mistakes, mispelled words, etc. If you like this blog as a whole, or just this article, kindly share it with your friends, would you?
Blog post by Tatán
Please, don’t forget to visit Lakay Graphics where you can browse through our Haitian Designs and Products.
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