Emeli Sande': Lincoln Motor Co. profiles inspiring pianist

British singer and songwriter Emeli Sande' take a break from the piano for a playful moment during the filming of the Lincoln Journey series. (Photo courtesy of The Lincoln Motor Company)

The Lincoln Motor Company is more than about manufacturing fine automobiles. Here of late, the luxury brand of Ford Motor Company has been showcasing inspiring African-Americans who have big dreams of being successful.

Through their "The Journey" campaign, Lincoln seeks out entrepreneurs, artists and others who have followed their dreams in the African-American community.

One such person is Emeli Sande', a British award-winning singer and songwriter who loves creating music on the piano as she shared her "Journey of Unconditional Love" while being featured as the first artist in the program.

Sande' does not see her music as being commercial; she draws inspiration from the people around her and finds the experience incredible and humbling.

"When my fingers tough the keys, I can speak 10 more languages," said Sande'. "I hope the music will last longer than my life will."

The campaign will consist of seven videos and also include award-winning filmmaker Nelson George; award-winning director Kenny Leon; award-winning artist Danny Simmons; artist Afua Richardson; photographer Terrence A. Reese; and acclaimed couture designer Bobby Joseph.

Their stories will be chronicled on the "Lincoln Now" storytelling platform, which will also take an insiders look at artisans and craftspeople in the fields of art, design, fashion, cuisine, engineering and more.

The series will also be available on Lincoln's social median channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Lupita Nyong'o: Oscar winner is the face of gratitude

I mostly dozed through the 86th Academy Awards in my favorite easy chair, but I'm glad I was awake for that special moment when Lupita Nyong'o won her Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in the film "12 Years A Slave," which also won the best picture award.

The naps came as the film "Gravity" gathered Oscar after Oscar for best film editing, visual effects, cinematography, original score and several others. I think the film deserved them all, as it is one great piece of work, especially for someone who likes technology. But when it was time for best actress, it was time to wake up. If you haven't seen "12 Years a Slave," it's worth the effort to get to the nearest theater or movie rental kiosk. The dramatic film by Director Steve McQueen, with screenwriting by John Ridley, deals with a part of slavery not widely known to most people – the fact that a free African-American living the good life in New York during that time period could be thrust into slavery and treated like an animal. It happened to Solomon Northup in 1841, where he spent 12 years on a cotton plantation in Louisiana.

That where Nyong'o, the star of the 2014 Oscars in my book, comes into play with powerful acting and humbling emotions for "just a piece of soap" in one of the many scenes that couldn't be ignored be the Academy judges. The Mexico-born actress, who was raised in Nairobi, Kenya, seemed to have used every ounce of her Yale University drama acting skills to bring the story of Patsey, a slave who was said to have picked 500 pounds of cotton a day.

There were a lot of stars taking the walk to the stage to receive their Oscar that night – Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto for "Dallas Buyers Club," Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmine" – but none did it as graceful as Nyong'o. With her flowing "Nairobi Blue" dress clutched in each hand, Nyong'o took to the stage in a way that left few dry eyes in audience. It was the most gratifying acceptance of an Oscar that I had ever witnessed. During her speech Nyong'o spoke from the heart in a poetic way that left me teary-eyed.

I'm sure we have not seen the last of Nyong'o. I think her future is bright and in her own words, her "dreams are valid."

The world has discovered Lupita Nyong'o.

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Russia gets parliamentary approval to use troops in Ukraine

The Russian Parliament has given Russian President Vladimir Putin the approval to use military force in the Crimea peninsula territory of the Ukraine.

Ukraine is the largest country in Eastern Europe that borders Russia and several other countries, with crucial grain exports, natural gas and other manufacturing sectors. The capital city of Kiev is the largest city and the country maintains the second-largest military fleet in Europe.

Russia's interest in the region include a lease agreement to keep Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Sevastapol, with operations also in other parts of the region, such as Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

U.S. President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that an invasion of Ukraine by Russia would be a clear violation of Russia's commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of Ukraine and of International laws. Obama has said "there will be costs."

The latest news reports says the Russian Parliament wants the U.S. Russian Ambassador recalled as a further test of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia.

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FEC weighs in on political advertising for mobile devices

The future of political advertising on mobile devices is being threatened by a recent ruling of the Federal Election Commission, or FEC, that says mobile phones cannot incorporate shorter disclaimer messages.

Revolution Messaging, a Washington, DC, mobile strategy firm, is challenging the FEC on their decision and says the action will cost campaigns money, while also limiting the use of mobile ads on handheld devices.

"The Democratic FEC commissioners have no sense of technology available to today's political campaigns," said Keegan Goudiss, Revolution Messaging's partner and head of digital advertising. "They are employing 20th century logic to 21st century campaigns."

According to Revolution Messaging, they were misled by the FEC commissioners after an initial hearing, where they (FEC) said there would be a compromise with a shorter disclaimer. While Republican commissioners felt there was not a need for a disclaimer and would settle on an alternative, the company said Democratic commissioners changed their minds and rejected that approach.

The exemptions from disclaimers offered by the FEC, which included bumper stickers, buttons, pens, water towers, skywriting and other objects, also caused the Revolution Messaging officials to be surprised that handheld devices were viewed differently. In addition, company officials believe the FEC has struggled with issues related to digital technology.

But Revolution Messaging was deemed critical in the FEC's decision to allow donations via SMS and also challenged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)  to define text message regulations in order to halt political test message spam.

Because of the FEC's ruling, Revolution Messaging officials believe the ruling does nothing to deter bad players in the political arena and will only penalize the good players with higher costs in getting their message across.

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