Greetings! United Divas is an organization that empowers women to become artistic leaders, professionals, innovators, and role models for both aspiring and practicing artists.You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for the newsletter through our website, you are friends or acquaintances with one of the members of United Divas, or you met one of us at a social or business gathering of some sort.

Meg Cranston (December Diva of the Month 2002)
Meg's exhibition "Recent Works" at Happy Lion has ended. If you were unable to see the show, you may view photos here: http://www.uniteddivas.com/megrecentworks.html
Meg returns to Otis College of Art & Design for the Spring semester, where she will be teaching "Theory as Practice," and "Advanced New Genres". Both of these courses are lecture based Fine Art classes covering the history and theory of Post Modern Art.

::AN INTEREST IN LIFE:: Feb. 5-March 8, 2003
Opening will take place at apexart curatorial and residency program,
291 church Street, New York City 212-431-5270
Wednesday, February 5th, 6-8 pm
***Meg will be co-curating a show with John Baldessari, called "An Interest in Life" featuring works by Jennifer Nelson, DOEtte Nogel, Erin Cosgrove, Jen Liu, and Brienne Arrington. The exhibition title, "An Interest in Life", originates from a short story by Grace Paley of the same name, in which it is stated, "All that is really necessary for survival of the fittest, it seems, is an interest in life, good, bad, or peculiar, " Here we find art that is hopeful with an energetIc sense of the absurd. Several women artist encourage understanding through their plain spoken nature.

::FUTURE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS::
***Meg's work will be traveling to Galerie Michael Janssen, in Koln, Germany for the month of September.

Mahina Yuki Terauchi (November Diva 2002)
Mahina will be playing the following show dates:
@ Di Piazza's (Long Beach, CA) - Jan. 19th!
W/ Orkest, Omenus + more…
@ Brick by Brick (San Diego, CA) - -Jan. 24th!
w/ Thought Experiment, Melachi Crunch, 18 Bones + more…
For more info: http://www.ohmhome.com/shows/tourd.html

::NEWS ON THE WEB::
*Check out the 1st official O.h.m. forum now fully functional
*http://140.99.26.53/messageboard/forumdisplay.php?fid=5
O.h.m. is a featured artist at Xact | Radio, which features the best of indie metal, rock, & hardcore: http://www.xactrecords.com/
**Also check out the heated debate at Not Rated Magazine online
http://notrated.com/php-bin/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22&sid=2c311f136aa59874883014a665ccacb6

::OTHER NEWS::
::Look for O.h.m. in the latest issue of Not Rated Magazine as well as
the Not Rated Compilation CD! http://notrated.com
::Tune into your local college radio station for the Mountain Dew “Amp Energy Drink 6-Pack” radio broadcast of O.h.m. (with music and commentary by the band) It will air on college radio nation wide in February.
::You can now purchase the O.H.M. EP “TUBODA” with a credit card on the newly re-designed CD PALACE web site or leave a review and let others know what your thoughts are on the CD!
http://www.cdpalace.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=28

Tyler Stone aka Ms T (September Diva 2002)
Be sure to check San Francisco Bay area listings for performances from Tyler's new band Sutro. Visit http://www.wanderlustmusic.com for weekly listings where you can catch Tyler singing or djaying.

Darcey Kearney aka DRC (August Diva 2002)
Next Level Promotions DJ competition: The audio file for DRC's mix is up! Check it out. Vote for your favorite DJ DRC. It will only take a few minutes. The contest has just been extended until March 2003, but the competition is fierce, so don't wait to get your vote in! http://www.nlpro.net/drc We thank you for your time and support.
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***UDM 001 "SEEKER" to be re-released this Spring
*** "UNDEFINED" the mixed Album by DRC in the works!
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FOR BOOKINGS CONTACT: stephanie.l@theagencygroup.com
Undefined Musik inc.
328 W. 11th st. 1C New York, NY 10014
info@undefinedmusik.net
http://www.undefinedmusik.net/

Kathy Lajvardi (Co-founder)
Kathy will be adding new photographs from her trip to New York soon. You can view Kathy's photographs here: www://uniteddivas.com/kathyphoto.html

Sara Cembalisty (Co-founder)
Sara has updated the video section of her gallery to include recordings of her live VJ sets.
*** View videos here: http://www.uniteddivas.com/saravideo.html
Sara has recently joined forces with Linda Burnham working as a part time studio assistant. She will be working with critic Terry Myers on the Overby estate. Sara has also been freelancing in production, and post production. If you are interested in contacting Sara for her freelance services, please send her an email at: saravc@uniteddivas.com.
*** To view her resume please visit: http://www.uniteddivas.com/sara.html

Jan Tompkins aka Lady Jay (Founder)
Jan has updated her motion graphics demo reel. Her latest addition is a set of titles for a corporate video, used in a presentation which pitched a new line of hip-hop clothing.
***View her motion design here: http://www.uniteddivas.com/janmotion.html
She is currently working on the redesign of the United Divas website, as well as the launch of the Index Design House website. Index Design House is a small furniture/architectural design, consulting, and artist representation company. If you are interested in contacting Jan for freelance design work, please send her an email at: ladyjay@uniteddivas.com.
*** To view her resume, please click the link below:
http://www.uniteddivas.com/janresume.html

We are always searching to find our next diva of the month. Each month we recognize a multi-disciplined female artist as diva of the month.
If you are chosen to be a diva, you will get:

- Your own "gallery" in our artists' section
- Mention on the home page of our website
- An interview that will be archived in your gallery section
- To participate in our annual event that showcases the multiple talents of our divas. Proceeds from this annual event will be used to start a scholarship fund for single mothers and mothers from low-income households to further their education in the arts.

ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO EXCELS IN YOUR ARTISTIC PROFESSION? DO YOU UTILIZE MANY TYPES OF SKILLS TO CREATE YOUR WORK? SEND US LINKS TO YOUR WORK, OR EMAIL US AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO!

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS SUPER-TALENTED? SEND US LINKS TO THEIR WORK, OR EMAIL US AND TELL US ABOUT WHAT THEY DO AND HOW WE CAN EXPERIENCE SOME OF THEIR CREATIONS!

Tell us about a diva! referrals@uniteddivas.com

With the approaching presidential election in 2004, Democrats & smaller political parties know they're facing a popular president in wartime who will have a big financial advantage. Facing the looming nuclear threats from North Korea, the still missing Osama Bin Laden, the ongoing Israeli Crisis, and building tensions with the UN inspections in Iraq, there are many critical decisions being made for the US citizens that may affect the way they live their everyday lives. There are debates being made about reinstating the draft, such as whether military drafts should include both men and women, and what qualifies someone to be elgible for the draft (eg. Is someone with a criminal record elgible for the draft)? In addition to the upcoming presidential election, there are many retiring supreme court justices. Heated debates about the nominees include issues such as Bush's decision to resubmit two questionable nominees who were blocked by judiciary committees and the changes to laws regarding civil rights, reproductive freedoms, workers' rights and consumers' rights.

If you are not already up to date, registered to vote, or even if you are already an activist, we thought we would pass along a few helpful links. These sites are useful resources for general politics, registering to vote, opportunities for activism, and finding addresses to write your local representatives, senators, and congress members.

The Bush White House has an "opinion" line for you to call. So call and give your opinion of the proposed war in Iraq. (9am-5pm EST., Monday thru Friday) Just call the White House at 202-456-1111. A machine will detain you for only a moment and then a pleasant live operator will thank you for saying "I oppose" or "I approve."  It will only take minutes. The president has said that he wants to know what the American people are thinking. State your view soon, because time is running out. 1 PHONE CALL EQUALS 10-20, OR EVEN MORE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T CALL.

Visit news websites to stay up to date with the presidential canidates and campaigning for 2004, as well as other world issues.
http://www.zmag.org - articles & editorials on all types of subjects, extensively on politics
http://www.cnn.com - CNN Worldwide News
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/10/democrats.2004.ap/index.html - recent article
http://www.wage-slave.org/scorecard.html - Keep track of the changes Bush has made while in office.
http://www.truthout.org - News & Commentaries
http://www.thememoryhole.org - News and lesser reported subjects
http://adbusters.org - Advertising that busts the advertisers
http://www.axisofjustice.org - News & Commentaries
http://www.msn.slate.com - News & Commentaries

Register to vote at your local post office or library. You can also register online. Visit this site, which has links to each state's registration site, as well as many election resources. http://www.registervote.com

Once you are registered, exercise your rights by showing up to the polls on election day, well informed of each canidate. You can also take action by writing your local congress person or senator. If you are really lazy and don't want to take time to mail a letter, use non-profit websites to send emails to to the appropriate representatives. Many of them pre-compose the letters, yet allow you to personalize and modify them if you should feel the need to do so. It is more effective to mail a letter through the post office than through the internet. Many representatives of the government will only accept email that is sent directly through their own website, and even then, most will not respond to an email, or they reply with an automatic response that a program generates for them. When you send a letter, you are more likely to have someone read it and, in some cases, you might even get a personal response. Very few citizens take the time out to contact a government official with a written letter, so consider that your voice represents a statistical section of the population that shares your views.
http://www.actforchange.com - Obtain addresses for senators/congress members or send a pre-formatted email to the appropiate representative.
http://www.moveon.org - Democracy in action
http://www.moveon.org/technicaldifficulties/ - Watch this short animation created to build membership.
http://www.unitedforpeople.org - Stop the War on Iraq
http://www.aclu.org - American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.notinourname.net - War without end, not in our name
http://www.pax.protest.net - Global Calendar of pro-peace and anti-racism protests, meetings, benefits, and conferences
http://www.earthfirst.org - Keep up with current environmental issues

Here are a few links to documentaries and literature relating to various political issues:
http://www.hiddenwars.com - Desert Storm Documentary
http://www.michaelmoore.com - Activist/Writer/Filmmaker
http://www.silenttheft.com - Book about the private plunder of common wealth

These links are also available in our links section. http://www.uniteddivas.com/links.html
Is there a link you don't see here that should be on our list? Tell us about it, and we will add it to our links section if we feel it is a legitimate resource.
info@uniteddivas.com

Located in the store formerly known as Global Grooves, Green Sector has expanded, opening a Santa Monica Store. Not only did they expand their vinyl selection to include all types of house, breaks, IDM, downtempo, hip-hop, drum-n-bass, progressive, & psychedelic trance, but they also have expanded their merchandise selection by offering CD's, skateboards, clothing for men & women, needles & cartridges, as well as headphones. As if that's not enough, they also carry United Divas T-Shirts. Stop by on Saturdays to visit Tree or Lady Jay. They specialize in breaks of all forms.

Location: 2400 Main St., just north of Ocean Park
Store Hours: Tue 12-8pm / Wed 12-9pm / Thur-Sat: 12-8pm /
Sun. 12-7pm

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison
(Courtesy of Lih Russell of Los Angeles)