WITNESS is a charity started by Peter Gabriel about ten years ago.  Witness' mission statement is based on human rights activism through new technology.

One of my projects of my graduate internship with WITNESS is the establishment of a brand new music archive for future documentaries produced by WITNESS.  It is my hope that the archive will serve as a outlet for the artist's art as well as their compassion to the cause.   I hope to continue to do much more with WITNESS and for as long as they will have me.  If you are a musician and would like to donate a piece of your own please send me your disc or send me an email and we can discuss the details.  Please take a look at the site by clicking on the icon above or visit the site at www.witness.org.  Send your disc to me: 

Jacqueline Christina Noguera

C/O Witness

The Music Archive

353 Broadway

New York, NY 10013

When you send your disk, please include the following information for archiving purposes.

1. Your complete contact information

2. Name of piece

3. Brief description of the piece

4. Length of the piece or pieces that you are contributing

5. Do you want to be acknowledged for your contribution or would you rather remain anonymous

6. Any other background information that you would like to include

EMAIL ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS AT:  

jacqueline@jcnoguera.com

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I'm looking for gainful employ again so I'm going to make the request that  if anybody hears of anything that might suit me, please let me know or you may direct the interested party  to my CV  Everyone I'm talking to has asked me what I want to do.  Well, I've also addressed that on the WORK page so free to take a look.  The short answer is somewhere I can use my talents for organization with a group of people that I can believe in and that believe in me.  That's pretty simple.  All other ideas are welcome.

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I started to write this essay several weeks ago.  Originally, it was an quasi-self-help piece on overcoming conflict within relationships.  It was good too.  I mean, it was really good.  See, I had it all worked out due to my overt tendency to micro analyze things on a sub atomic level.  I've found, however,  this only enhances my understanding but not necessarily any of my practical coping skills.  And it had bullet points too, which naturally means to me that it's good writing because in this instant gratification society that we live in, you had better be able to executive summarize the supreme unanswered questions of human existence, i.e. how to not kill your partner, how to love and be loved, who invented liquid soap and why etc. otherwise, you're in for a world of hurt.  And goshdarnit they were awesome bullet points too like:

• Agree to disagree

• Really listen and you will be heard

• Define, Discuss and then Dispose (This was brilliance incarnate, I was in rare form)

And then the kill...

• Give  a little - learning to compromise

• If it's not WIN/WIN you both lose.

Pure brilliance.  I needed a moment for myself.  Really, I stepped away from the desk, listening to the applause in my head believing that I had cracked it.  I truly thought that I had and quickly saved the document to file and toddled off to bed secure in the belief that I now knew the key to good relationships.  It made perfect sense, it was logical and clear.  And with a heavy sigh of self-satisfaction like when Galileo discovered that the moon was not made of cheese but the papacy was, I flew off to dreamland in bulkhead seating and well deserved.

Two days later, I read it again and for some reason, it just read all wrong. Well, it read all wrong because it was idealistic cognitive behavioristic crap.  Though I do have a flair for the obvious, as the ideas that I was going to present were and still are very practical, the ideas honestly just didn't fit into the inane flavor-tude of reality these days.  It felt hypocritical.  An essay on conflict resolution in relationships in the middle of a war?  Was I fucking kidding?  Well, I wasn't kidding because over the past month since the war started, I've had the most quizzical experiences of arguing with people that I loved or being around arguing people who never before ever raised their voices to each other.  It was odd.  

I was sitting in a restaurant with friends and within an hour or so there was a woman standing over me, screaming at me about the war.  Well, I couldn't really believe it.  I just sat there like Alice down the cosmic bunny hole just sitting there with my eyes in my head.  This was a dear friend of mine who was now screaming at me. ' Well this was odd.'  I thought  slightly bemused and nonplussed. And in the moment I thought, 'Why am I so calm? What the hell am I drinking? Didn't I have an opinion?'  Well I had plowed half way through a pint of Guinness which made my intoxication level equivalent to having eaten half a potato with hops-induced foam.  No, that wasn't it. 

What is it about people in our culture who are on a mission from God trying to convince others that their way is the best way.  I mean, I'm open to discussion about nearly everything but my flannel pillow and woobie but the real lesson, I've found, is that the world divides up into two types of people. The pots... and the kettles! Or, if you prefer, the hypocritical and the inconsistent. We are all as bad as each other. We all look suitably horrified and outraged when we discover other people’s glaring contradictions. And we all manage to turn a convenient blind eye to our own, equally bad, double standards. The grass may be always greener on the other side of the fence but the snow always tends to be whiter, purer and more driven on our own side of it.  Don't you just love cognitive dissonance.  

We always push ourselves harder than anyone else would ever dream of.  I think we tend to expect the ideal in every instance and when it doesn't happen we reevaluate and realign.  Sometimes when we don't reevaluate and attempt to realign that's when we feel conflict.  It just doesn't make sense.    

• How hypocracy affected your next few days

• How we use other people

• Expectations and friends

• How do you ask, who do you ask.

• how do you resolve conflict with yourself

• you look back

• What would you tell yourself if you could send a message to who you were 20 years ago.

• How to write the backwards essay -- you didn't write it -- it wrote you.

It's the circle of life, Simba.  Foghorn leg iron. And me on the verge of the Angina monologues.  fiddling for some sweet noogatine material in my pack.  About time for those therapeutic Jell-O shots.  Though I would surely wish to prescribe Ridilin to the United Nations  Double click the refresh icon.

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Man, oh man, have I had a great month working on the site.  Nearly everything has been updated and it took hours and hours but I'm so pleased to have had the time to just vomit this stuff out of my system.  I got hit with the creative bug earlier this month, turned off the 'Shock And Awe' Show and just stuck my headphones on a went away.  Better than the Bahamas...well, at least as fulfilling.  At any rate, I'm really pleased to have had the time to not micro analyze every molecule and just do it.  I've tried to rescale everything to a short screen but some of the pieces including the monthly update are just too long.  The PROJECT page has been updated.  In fact the whole bleedin' site has been updated.  

I'm looking for gainful employ again so if anybody hears anything please let me know or you may direct them to my CV   However, the PROJECT page is an overview of what I've been working on and it is chiefly being used for employers but I've tried to make it accessible and entertaining. 

THE PANOPTICON is in it's first draft but ready to read and timely I hope.  Enjoy and thank God for the Floyd.  All finished essays are listed on the MUSE page. The photo page has also been updated.  You can see them at COLOR. 

Some of you have asked for lyrics to the songs on the pages because I've tried to pick them to fit the subject.  Thanks to you all for your interest.  Yes, in the future, I will add all the lyrics on the title pages off to the one side.  If you have a website of your own, please forward the link and I would be happy to add it to my SUPPORTERS page.

WAY BEYOND THE BLUE

This is down time for me this month on this project.  I'm in the process of kicking up a couple of other projects including getting the website squared away that I'm just going to let my ideas now just ferment a bit more and invoke the muse again when she doesn't have to freeze her tail off to get to me.  My friends know me in this mode, and they refer to it as 'assimilation' mode.  Ahh to be in England now that the Borg's are here...

THE CADETS OF NEW YORK CITY

I've been met with quizzical looks and open arms as I start this project.  I think they might be wondering why I want to do this kind of work.  They need the help and I'm only happy to work with a bunch of musicians keen to do it.  These kids are really talented and the need for music in children's lives only enhances their learning ability as well as spiritual lives.  For me, this means loads of trepidation for me as I'll have to work extra hard to get my drum chops back in shape as well as my lip.  You will definitely hear much more about the Cadets from me as the year goes on as I'm sure that it will take up a significant part of my time.  This work serves the bidding of two masters, the Cadets and my casting of Way Beyond The Blue.  Oop. Be careful of what you wish for...for you will surely get it.  Aces.  How cool is that?  I can't wait!

HARD CORPS

I'm so happy that David Malver made this film.  I've asked if I can host the  trailer on the site as well as link it back to his main page and he has agreed.  So now it's just a process of transferring data and honing the presentation.  The film centers on the Cadets so you will definitely hear more about this later in the month. If you'd like to see the trailer right now, you can hit David's site here!  Crank it up!

ON THE BANDSTAND

I had the great opportunity to sing back-up this past weekend with legendary blues man, Sam Taylor.  I sat in for a few songs, all favorite Cajun tunes that I amazingly remembered all the lyrics to even after a killer martini.  Sam was incredibly generous and an absolutely awesome musician.  I've asked Sam if he might come and share his knowledge with some of the Cadets and he promised that he would.  So look for more information on Sam and the Cadets coming very soon!  Thanks and hugs to Sam for remembering to send the elevator back down!

DATA

My work with DATA is in a holding pattern at the moment.  I am waiting to hear on where I can be most useful and they are still ramping up offices in Washington DC and New York City.  Most of the work is done by individuals establishing communities of involvement where they live and not out of the main offices.  So they are still in the process of organization.  Groovy.  I'm superb at that.  So more to follow on this project in the months to follow.

THE MOTH

My first event with The Moth came last month at the yearly slam at Nell's.  I did not perform but met some really nice folks.  I'll go ahead and keep this on my update.  I think that I will eventually have more to tell you about this in the future.

ROCKY'S RESTAURANT
45 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 274-9756

Emma Caserta runs Rocky's which is my all time favorite Italian restaurant in the city.  I'm going to build a site for her in the weeks to come and will keep you all updated on the progress.  In the meantime, if you are in Manhattan and fancy some homestyle Italian food -- get on down to Little Italy and let Emma cook for you!  The restaurant is at the corner of Mulberry and Spring.

I joined the ATO Records (According To Our Records) Street Team several years ago.  ATO Records is owned by Dave Matthews of The Dave Matthews Band.  The Street Team concept is based on the bands own concept of marketing through grass roots.  I was able to work on the USA leg of David Gray's tour this year interviewing audience members and contributing exclusive photographs for the website via ATO's marketing partner, Colony Marketing in South Carolina.  I've enjoyed my affiliation with ATO and hope to work more closely with them in the future.

The David Gray tour continues now overseas.   I thought that the show at Madison Square Garden went extremely well and I was completely charmed by David's genuine appreciation when people applauded.  Playing the Garden has been a dream of his all his and I think he actually enjoyed the whole performance more than we did -- if possible.  

QUICKTIME MOVIE

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• I would like to send my thanks out to all of the musicians who have contributed and continue to contribute to the web site.  Much thanks!  Special thanks to Tim Story for "Silver Swan"

• Thanks to my urban family, Cate Agnew for busting her tail sending my resume around --to Amanda Maud, Tamika Phillips for each having a working set of ears whether you liked it or not.  It's much appreciated.

• To Spencer Goroff for taking the photo for the new logo.

• To Tony Calleja at Queensland University in Australia.  Tony has added my HENRY V  monograph to the Literature Reading List for undergraduates studying Shakespeare.  Right on!

• To Po Bronson and his assistant Anne Ferguson.  Your words of encouragement came on the right day and just at the right time.  I'm very grateful.  [What should I do with my life by Po Bronson]

• Scott Newstrom at Amherst College, continued thanks.

• To Schuyler, at Kula Yoga Project for her generous support to the WITNESS staff.

• To Christine Bergius for her generous support to the WITNESS staff.

 Wishing you all the best,

Jacqueline Christina Noguera

COMING JUNE 2003

The Travel Page

The Family History Page