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dbell4@gl.umbc.edu
and best viewed with:
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The Menu Bars. Easy. Like a Mac.
If you've read it all already...
Welcome to III Central
on
Homepage.mac.com!
This is the educational rebirth of The Cool Anthology. This page is full of information for our high-tech information age. Links to social awareness, anti-whatever, and generally cool things.
There are way too many sites on the internet that aren't about much of anything. I decided to make my site about alot of things, some of them actually Important.
*gasp!*
You can access all the free info here at Central anyway you want. You've got the side bar to your left, the links below, and the scroll bar to your right. Like a certain computer, it couldn't be easier.
Just Think
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Japan's Fuji-San
Oh, by the way. The page concept, design, maintenance, and opinions are all thanks to me:
David A. Bell III
(I guess the whole "III" thing makes a little bit more sense now)
[The Cause][Mind, Body and Soul][Music][My People][My History]A Definition of Cool
Webster's dictionary gives about eight different definitions of cool. From the moderately cold and calm to disrespectful and showing dislike!
Disrespectful?
Cool is a state of being. Cool people are open-minded and realize that they don't have to like everything and don't feel the need to condemn a person for having an alternate life style or opinion to their own. Cool people don't discriminate.
Someone in the cool mentality believes in certain things and will stick by those things with a sense of pride that can not be dispelled. Anything from an organization to a way of life, the cool person will be that way no matter what someone else thinks.
Another essential trait of the cool person is the ability to deal with a situation calmly. Some people in that state of cool may seem indifferent to a situation, but that's only on the outside. The cool person has a lot of heart. The cool person cares.
Most importantly, the cool person loves life. Whether they are self contained and thoughtful or a party-person to the end, the cool person does what they enjoy and try their best to make their lives as positive and enjoyable as possible.
Disrespectful?
This tells me Webster and friends weren't cool themselves and were very jealous of their cool friends. }:^)
But, everyone has their own definition of cool. And being cool myself, I'm open to suggestions.
"Just because I'm cool doesn't mean I'm right."
}:^)
[The Cause][Mind, Body and Soul][Music][My People][My History]
The Cause
VIOLENCE
People are no longer dying for causes. They're dying for stupidity, ignorance and greed, and rarely their own. I don't have a link for this. If you live long enough, you'll be touched by senseless violence. I can't tell anyone exactly what to do about it. If you think hard enough, you'll think of something to make a difference. Stop and think. For just a full minute.
Anti-Nike. Did you know Nike uses sweat shop labor? True. The Anti-Nike site goes in depth and militant into the matter, with no feelings spared. I'll give it to you in a nutshell. When you buy goods not made in America, companies don't pay taxes on labor, which means the consumer pays more taxes to make up for that, causing people that can't pay debts, people that can't pay taxes, and increasing social security payments. Just the general breakdown of coolness. Money and economics aside, supporting Nike is indirectly supporting sweatshop labor. Children working long hours to make over-priced shoes and earn barely enough for a meal. NIKE's not the only company doing this. Check your tags and shop consciously. Difficult. YES! Impossible. No.
Anti-Drug. I never understood why anybody would want to allow a substance to control their lives. Freedom is cool. You start with a drug, you lend yourself to slavery to that drug. Think about it.
Anti-Alcohol. Why drink? A person that can be outgoing and happy, without drinking is very cool. Down sides to drinking: driving, finding a ride, blacking out, alcoholism, vomiting on other people's things, liver damage, violence, hangovers, money, underage drinking, not knowing what you're saying or who you're going home with, not knowing what you're doing. Downsides to NOT drinking: marginally less social. See where I'm coming from?
AIDS Awareness. AIDS is a problem for everyone. If you're careful you can avoid getting it. Safe sex(of all forms) or abstinence(currently my choice), no drugs and clean needles. For more information Go Here.
No smoking. If you smoke, I hope you're able to quit if you want to. If you don't, I suggest not starting. It's unattractive, addictive and harmful to your body. It's possible to be cool and smoke, but you're never cool because you smoke. If you don't smoke, you have more money and you don't have to spend maybe a few years worth of time in your entire life smoking.
Abortion. I am personally PRO-LIFE, but also PRO-CHOICE. I would urge anyone I know to allow the birth to go on in many situations, however I don't feel its right to not allow someone to legally go through the process of abortion. A note about making anything legal or illegal: If people want it enough, they¹ll find away to get it.
The US Constitution. Its not perfect, but its what we've got. Its a good deal.
Straight-Edge. No drugs, no smoking, no drinking. That's the straight edge philosophy. I happen to live my life this way, not simply because of rules, but from an understanding of the dangers.
Safe sex. It's a good thing. Works wonders for preventing unplanned pregnancy, avoiding various Sexually Transmitted Diseases(STDs), and reducing the risk of AIDS. There's more to it than just condoms and pills. If you're gonna get down, you've gotta be down.
Homosexuality. Natural occurrence? A personal choice? A sin? I don't know. What I do know is that some people prefer sex with people of the same gender. despite how odd this is, they are people. There's no reason to treat them as inhuman. This site states some interesting views on homosexuality.
Free Tibet. People in Tibet and all over the world are being denied basic human rights. Freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of life. This is wrong. Something must be done.
"Alot of people have to die in a very short period of time before anything becomes a national concern to America"
[The Cause][Mind, Body and Soul][Music][My People][My History]
Mind, Body and Soul
Everyone should take time to meditate every once in a while. Meditate and sleep to dream. Its good maintenance for the brain, and ultimately the soul. It's also good to attempt to believe in something. Anything. Whether you believe in a particular one high creator/overseer, multiple creators/caretakers or the omnipotence of the human spirit, belief and trust in something can make you a better person. Choose or create a path and walk. But never be afraid to turn your head and see the other paths.
Interesting non-traditional Biology: Acupressure and Bio-rhythms. Ever heard of acupuncture, the Chinese therapy involving sticking pins into your body at special pressure points? Well, acupressure's the same thing, except there are no pins involved. I'd call it focused massaging. Bio-rhythms are the physical, emotional and mental cycles that everyone runs on. I don't know how valid the cycles are, but they make a little sense. You can get an online biorhythm chart done here.
"Be Cool to Yourself."
[The Cause][Mind, Body and Soul][Music][My People][My History]
Music
Music is my life! It's one of the most powerful "things" in the world. Its difficult to explain what it does to a person. Most musicians know what I'm talking about. When I play, I feel something. When I go to a concert, any type of concert, I see people act a certain way, all because of the music. Embrace the music, empower your soul.
Links to Music:
- Tuba- my instrument. This page gives you the basics
- Deftones- hardcore rock band.
- Val and Dave Site- my radio show at UMBC
- The Spit Brothers- a phenominal undiscovered rock band (friends of mine)
- Radiohead- inventive rock band
- The Bach MIDI Collection- Hundreds of MIDI files of Bach, one of the greatest classical composers
- Busta Rhymes- fired up rap/hip-hop artist
- My music- my own compositions in MIDI format. please enjoy, and feel free to comment
- The MIDIfarm- a great place for anything dealing with MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). What it is, where its at, where its going, and how to get with it.
"Music, if allowed, can touch every part of your being."
[The Cause][Mind, Body and Soul][Music][My People][My History]
People in my life with webpages
The Fenderson Family Club
Monique Lawrence- a sweet and beautiful person that I'm very lucky to know. Stress on lucky. Cool on a different level...
Margaret- Margaret A. Green passed away in September of '97, from an aesthma attack. She is remembered here, and is forever in the hearts of everyone who knew her.
Joanna Smith- a good friend. She's a fun person to know and all around weird kid. Curiously cool.
Rob Carlson- Ya never know what to think about Rob. He's all about radio. Is he good or is he evil? A most interesting character...Cool.
Kelly O'Bryant- my current tuba instructor and all around cool person.
Krista Flanagan- This girl followed me from elementary school to high school. She'll tell you I followed her, but don't believe that. Continuous cool.
Philip Moore- A former Oxon Hill High School classmate. He's cool.
"Behind every great person is a great set of friends."
[The Cause][Mind, Body and Soul][Music][My People][My History]
My History
I'm Black. Descended from Africa. African-American. I'm a shade of brown, but nobody splits hairs about details these days...
My roots go back to Africa in the long story (Go here for various resources on Africa, her culture, and other topics) and back to North Carolina in the short story. In the short short story, I was born in Washington DC and I have lived in Maryland of all my life, happily. I would suggest Maryland to anyone seeking cultural diversity in their environment. I attended Oxon Hill High School, with pride, and I'm currently attending the University of Maryland: Baltimore County, majoring in music. That's the basics. If you want to know more, the truth is out there. Random details: I was a cute baby, I grew up with Apple Computers, and I have a small, dark, black dot on the outside of my left hand, about an inch below my thumb joint.
"I may not always know where I am, but as long as I know where I came from, I can always find my way home."
[The Cause][Mind, Body and Soul][Music][My People][My History]
Yep, that's the end of it all. No more knowledge down here. Not a drop. Well... OK. Maybe this one. But no more. No more cool links here. Yes, we have no more links here. We have no more links here today. Well, except for this one. Thumbs up and rock on. bye-bye now