Without music life would be a mistake.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

The MacArthur Foundation Awards, commonly known as the "genius" grants --given by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation-- are presented to men and women in the arts, sciences and academia on an annual basis. The award winners receive an annual check of $100,000 for five years, to be used however they want. One of this year's recipients is George Lewis, a composer, performer, teacher, theorist and historian who has focused on experimental music. He has published numerous articles on music and cultural studies and is the author of an upcoming book on the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.


Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom.
If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.
They teach you there's a boundary line to music.
But, man, there's no boundary line to art.
- Charlie Parker


I am inspired by the thoughts on the Dare2BU website. Below is info taken from the website:

"There are numerous examples of people throughout the world who have overcome handicaps to achieve great success. One thing separates these winners from those who fail: they disregard any and all obstacles. These people-and all winners-possess the will to win. It's a will that starts with a belief in our ability to achieve the goals we dream of accomplishing.

Unfortunately, the world does not provide much inspiration on a daily basis. From the reporting of mostly negative news, to a "20% chance of rain" mentality, to music that tells us that love must be a painful experience, most people have few daily reminders that they can obtain personal and professional greatness without having to win the lottery.

Music is by far the most wonderful method we have to remind us each day of the power of personal accomplishment. And now -finally- the music industry has a new type of record company, one that is intensely dedicated to producing songs that inspire us all to accomplish great things."