Dai·ly Rum·mag·ings

This song will be replaying over and over again as I am White...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:38:04 -0400

This song will be replaying over and over again as I am White House Bound. It is one of those songs for me that is so pure and joyful that it literally picks you up. The lyrics make me feel as though I can do anything and will do everything. Thank you for everyone for everything that you have ever done to make me a better man. It has been the journey. This represents that journey to me. Being a survivor and now foot solider I owe everything to you all. If I can get into the White House ANYONE can. Just follow your heart, I mean that. Lastly, live and LOVE out loud every single day of your life.

Hello all, Starting today, I will be a leader at a conference on sustainable food at George Mason...

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:01:44 -0400

Hello all,

Starting today, I will be a leader at a conference on sustainable food at George Mason University. I leave you with a poem of sorts. It is great. It will challenge you to see where your priorities are and leave you with a desire to adventure.

“Leave your windows and go out, people of the world, go into the streets, go into the fields, go into the woods and along the streams.

Go together, go alone.

Say no to the Lords of War which is Money which is Fire.

Say no by saying yes to the air, to the earth, to the trees, yes to the grasses, to the rivers, to the birds and the animals and every living thing, yes to the small houses, yes to the children. Yes.”

-Wendell Berry

Three years ago someone challenged me to do a benefit show for...

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:45:11 -0400

Three years ago someone challenged me to do a benefit show for Invisible Children. I had no knowledge of how to put together a community event and started with reaching out to my loved ones. It was a moment of just jump first, fear later. We started small and grew once we felt the need to. It has been an incredible journey filled with many memorable moments. There is nothing more powerful then seeing your loved ones taking time out of their schedules to support a cause you care about. I am grateful to have helped to build a community of active citizens on the issue of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa.

We have grown so much and it is all because of every single individual that decides to spend their time with us. Know that I am eternally grateful for every person that shows up, listens to music, talks with me and leaves happy because you are helping to build a life that is worth living for others with every cause we represent.

This is Koji and he is coming on Saturday for our 3-year anniversary show. If you like what you hear you should come out. But expect to have a really good time.

Tickets for this incredible show are just $5.00 in advance, available now at http://colormake.bigcartel.com/

First, this tumblr account is going through some...

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:04:54 -0400

First, this tumblr account is going through some transitions.

This will be used as documentation of art, words, music, stories, and ideas that continue to inspire my work and work of my friends. It will be a space that will share all good things and hope to inspire us all in our daily lives.

I will try my best to document the weekly (for sure not daily) inspirations in order to keep myself on track with my work but also to share the love.

Today, is for sure a sadder video but it is by far one of my favorites of all time. Simple, yet powerful message. Know that you are loved. Embrace love and compassion in all that you do. The current Dalai Lama once said “love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” We need these things to thrive and survive. Now go spread it.

Just wait to see what we have for you this summer. But first we...

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:22:27 -0400

A Drop In The Ocean & Our Congressman

Just wait to see what we have for you this summer.

But first we need your help!

If you want to get involved email Charles Coats @ clcoats10@gmail.com

We are looking for a cause to represent this summer. Have some ideas or connections? Let us know. We want to get the community involved :)

With Peace & Love,
Charles Coats

Video

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:31:14 -0400

I felt free.

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:25:48 -0400

I felt free.

Journey.

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:19:40 -0400

it is about who we are, what we value, what kind of world we want to live in, and how we want to be remembered.

Be ready for some fun!

AHH.

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:02:28 -0400

So the month of June is coming to an end. I find it incredible that I managed to take a road trip to California, stay there for a bit, travel back to the East Coast, go beach camping in Virginia Beach, and be with my family in the great Outer Banks region all in one month. Now life is slowed down and I am starting to get uncomfortable with being comfortable. This will soon be over considering that I am off to the Grand Canyon in 12 days for a week. Lately, I just have been spending time at the lake reading and playing guitar. Here are a few of my books that I am reading. I highly encourage them to you.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

The World As I See It By Albert Einstein

Lets catch up soon! And I hope to throw more stuff on this soon!

With Peace & Love,
Charles Coats

Unity!

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:37:07 -0400

Unity!

On the move.

Thu, 27 May 2010 12:47:06 -0400

It has been awhile sense I have updated this site so I thought I would give a quick run through of the crazy week that was the last week. After Chicago, we landed in Minnesota with my Aunt and Uncle in their beautiful home near Fergus Falls, Minnesota. We ate home cooked meals and explored their 80 acres. It was a great day off. Then we got news that we needed to hurry back to California and re-routed our trip. We then drove through the series of unfortunate states (South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska). After that long drive we stayed in Wyoming with my buddies long lost cousins and once again found ourselves surrounded with nothing to do. Then came the great state of Colorad to see my grandparents. Such a great visit. I love them with all my heart even though my grandma beat me in Scrabble by 5 points. What a punk. Then we drove through most of the South West part of this country (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada) until we hit Las Vegas. I loved driving through the desert and zipping through dunes and mountains all around. Las Vegas, I came to find, has nothing for me and I first enjoyed it then soon realized that it is just filth. So much going on. Then came CALIFORNIA!!!! Bakersfield was fun but I needed to explore this great state so I hopped on a bus to Irvine. I explored Venice, Irvine, Newport Beach, L.A., Anaheim, and Disney with friends and now I am in San Fran for a few days. I found a place to stay in San Fran called the Adelaide Hostel and I am in love. So many people from all over. More coming soon!

With Peace & Love,
Charles Coats

Virginia->Chicago

Sun, 16 May 2010 22:29:17 -0400

Hello all,

We made it to Chicago and found a hotel to stay in! We drove 12 long hours and plan on another 12 tomorrow. Look out for a video soon!

Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.

With Peace & Love,
Charles Coats

Countdown One Day.

Fri, 14 May 2010 23:59:25 -0400

Countdown One Day.

The Road Trip Across America to Donate Hair Clippings

Wed, 05 May 2010 23:54:14 -0400

Hello Friends,

Big things are happening. My first year of college is a week away from being over with and summer 2010 is right around the corner. You may or may not know that I am going to be road tripping to California with my friend Kirk Born who lives in Bakersville, California. On this road trip, we are planning to stop in Chicago, Minneapolis/Fargo, Minnesota, Missoula, Montana, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and many other cities along the way. We are grateful to have a place to stay in each city along the way. With that, this will surely be an adventure of a lifetime.

As most of you know, I am constantly acting upon issues that I care about and with this opportunity I was thinking what could I do on the road to help a certain cause along the way and today I figured out a brilliant plan. In light of the utmost urgency of the impacts of the Gulf of Mexico BP oil, I plan to do my part by finding a hair salon or a pet groomer in every city we stop to collect hair donations to help assess the impacts this terrible spill.

A few months ago, my friend Cameron told me about donating hair clippings to help clean up oil spills. Naturally, being an environmentalist I check out this organization (http://www.matteroftrust.org/) and soon feel in love. This organization is doing incredible work right now on the grounds of the coastal regions near the Gulf of Mexico and needs hair clippings. They use recycled hair clippings into hair “blooms” which are sausage shaped. The hair is stuffed into the recycled nylons and then these booms are used then to tied together and used to encircle and contain oil spills to keep oil from spreading. Once the hair soaks up the oil the organization properly disposes of the oil.

As of today (05/05/2010), the organization has collected over 400,000 pounds of hair to addresses along the Gulf Coast for boom making and they still need more.

SO…Kirk and I are driving in his sweet 96’ Geo Prism. For those people who do not know cars too well know this is not a large car but we plan on packing this baby to the brim with hair clippings to help protect fragile coves and habitats as well as business and tourism in this region.

This blog will now act as an update for the trip and pictures and videos will be on the way. Trust me this will be incredible.

Though this spill is immense. We can all do something about it. We all are capable of acting upon issues that we are passionate about. This oil spill, if not acted upon, will destroy our marine wildlife in the coast and along the coast, as well as business and tourism in this region. We must do what we can to help clean up and contain its impacts.

Things you can do!
1) Know of any hair salons along our route? Tell us! We will go. Also, get your community involved in this effort!
2) Donate money to organizations that are dealing with the oil spill first hand. Matter of Trust (http://www.matteroftrust.org/) or Gulf Restoration Network (http://www.healthygulf.org/)

With Peace & Love,
Charles Coats

Video

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:01:04 -0400

Today was THE Day

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:33:25 -0400

Just got home from seeing Passion Pit, Joss Stone, Robert Randolph, The Roots, Bob Weir, Booker t and the MG’s, John Legend and Sting in DC. FOR FREE IN DC. With beautiful weather and people. I wish every weekend including this much singing and dancing.

FRIDAY! YES PLEASE!

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:57:23 -0400

FRIDAY! YES PLEASE!

El futuro es tuyo, si quien lo quiera!

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:53:59 -0400

El futuro es tuyo, si quien lo quiera!

Feeling.

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:43:23 -0400

From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-rifkin/empathic-civilization-is_b_469546.html

“The new sensibilities of the younger generation are beginning to usher in a different idea about human nature and the dream that accompanies it. Today’s youth find little value in the Enlightenment caricature of human nature as rational, calculating, detached, and utilitarian. They prefer to think of human nature as empathic, mindful, engaged, and driven by the intrinsic value and interconnectedness of life.”

Are you livin’ the life that you dreamed for now? Or are...

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:27:53 -0400

Are you livin’ the life that you dreamed for now?
Or are you workin’ workin’ workin’ just to survive?
There’s a war that is waged
in the mind (it’s forced inside)
Between desire and the roles with to comply
I met a woman
she told me her secrets (she said)
Do what you love
cause in the end we only die…
And though the body may be imprisoned
Nothing can stop the bird of hope from taking flight

The someday syndrome epidemic screams
Confines our dreamscapes
in screens and picture frames

It’s a virus
Of silence