For over 25 years, Rex has taught with one simple theme; you matter to God. Somehow we have missed that. The unconditional mercy and grace that flow from the heart of God draws us to Him. Nothing we will ever do, good or bad, would ever cause the heart of God to love us any more or less than he does right now. When that truth soaks in, you and I will be able to live the life that God has called us to live. The smallest of things we do and say, matter deeply to God and to those around us. Grace, extended to others, has a ripple effect. When we step out of our comfort zone and touch the world around us, something happens. Broken-hearted people start to mend. They begin to connect the dots to God. That is a good thing, a very good thing. It can cause a butterfly effect of grace.

Speaker and New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews shares a compelling and powerful story about a decision one man made over a hundred years ago, and the ripple effect it's had on us individually, and nationwide, today. It's a story that will inspire courage and wisdom in the decisions we make, as well as affect the way we treat others through our lifetime. Andrews speaks over 100 times a year, and The Butterfly Effect is his #1 most requested story.

A fascinating, entertaining dive into the long-standing relationship between humans and insects, revealing the surprising ways we depend on these tiny, six-legged creatures. Insects might make us shudder in disgust, but they are also responsible for many of the things we take for granted in our daily lives. When we bite into a shiny apple, listen to the resonant notes of a violin, get dressed, receive a dental implant, or get a manicure, we are the beneficiaries of a vast army of insects. Try as we might to replicate their raw material (silk, shellac, and cochineal, for instance), our artificial substitutes have proven subpar at best, and at worst toxic, ensuring our interdependence with the insect world for the foreseeable future. Drawing on research in laboratory science, agriculture, fashion, and international cuisine, Edward D. Melillo weaves a vibrant world history that illustrates the inextricable and fascinating bonds between humans and insects. Across time, we have not only coexisted with these creatures but have relied on them for, among other things, the key discoveries of modern medical science and the future of the world's food supply. Without insects, entire sectors of global industry would grind to a halt and essential features of modern life would disappear. Here is a beguiling appreciation of the ways in which these creatures have altered--and continue to shape--the very framework of our existence.

This “smart, confident, and necessary” (Shea Serrano, New York Times bestselling author) first cultural biography of rap superstar and “master of storytelling” (The New Yorker) Kendrick Lamar explores his meteoric rise to fame and his profound impact on a racially fraught America­—perfect for fans of Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s Empire State of Mind. Kendrick Lamar is at the top of his game. The thirteen-time Grammy Award­-winning rapper is just in his early thirties, but he’s already won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, produced and curated the soundtrack of the megahit film Black Panther, and has been named one of Time’s 100 Influential People. But what’s even more striking about the Compton-born lyricist and performer is how he’s established himself as a formidable adversary of oppression and force for change. Through his confessional poetics, his politically charged anthems, and his radical performances, Lamar has become a beacon of light for countless people. Written by veteran journalist and music critic Marcus J. Moore, this is much more than the first biography of Kendrick Lamar. “It’s an analytical deep dive into the life of that good kid whose m.A.A.d city raised him, and how it sparked a fire within Kendrick Lamar to change history” (Kathy Iandoli, author of Baby Girl) for the better.

'The Aestheticization of History and the Butterfly Effect: Visual Arts Series' introduces the audience to philosophical concepts that broach the beginning of the history of Western thought in Plato and Aristotle to that of more modern thought in the theoretician Jacques Rancière in which the main conceptual framework of this anthology is predicated. The introduction is mainly concerned with Rancière’s concept of the distribution of the sensible, which is the arrangement of things accessible to our senses, what we experience in real-time and space— compartmentalization and categorization of all things. These things do not just involve tangible items, but audible speech, written language, and visibilities. Rancière’s theory of the regimes of art is undertaken as the unfolding of the distribution. Such is evoked in the various genres of visual art forms, from two-dimensional paintings to three-dimensional sculptures and architectures. Understanding the aesthetic regime of art is crucial for grasping how art performs time travel. One way of understanding this phenomenon is in terms of embodied philosophy imbued vis-à-vis art forms, which are subsequently challenged by contemporary artists. The contributing essays examine these reiterations, reevaluations—performances. Aesthetics is a term deriving from the 18th-century European Enlightenment. It is here that aesthetics as the study of beauty is probed for its political potential after the failure of the French Revolution. Many major thinkers during this period signed on to the aesthetic moment, recognizing that Reason in its present state failed to develop humankind beyond barbarism. J.E.B. Stuart's statue is part of an equestrian theme that approximates the Western canon of power and class in the pursuit of domination. But such power and domination will be dethroned in the restaging of history and the redistribution of said canon. This reimagining of the form not only alters perception but constitutes a new narrative.

The Butterfly Effect: Flutters of Wisdom and Kindness accentuates the compelling need for random acts of kindness. Each reader of this book can remember someone from his or her past who has made an indelible influence on his or her life. A random act of kindness can resonate with goodness for each person who participates in favor. Unfortunately, other types of acts can have an opposite effect. This work contains hundreds of “flutters” of wisdom and kindness from an eclectic composition of sources from Aristotle to Emile Zola, from Plato to Rudyard Kipling, from Booker T. Washington to Leo Tolstoy, Karl Marx to Janis Joplin. This work attempts to synthesize different thought and observations from people, past and present, from different cultures of east and west that will indicate that we all share an impetus to a common goal . . . if we help each other. Though this may be deemed a work of scholarship, it is presented in non-scholarship terms. Though the subject matters (philosophy, sex, religion, and politics) are matters of gravitas, the answers can be quite simple, if we permit them to be. This is not a “how to” book. Each person has the sovereign right to determine his or her destiny. Nevertheless, interesting and controversial points are covered so that each person may make a more informed choice about how to determine well-being. If the reader pledges to help another, thousands of others will be pledging to help the reader. A Zen Buddhist koan asks, “How does the drop of water know it is part of a wave?” A drop always has a ripple. A flutter of kindness or wisdom can shake the world.

Blank Voices is a platform where you can get stories to share beyond any biases, stories of unsung heroes, stories without a voice, stories that inspire and transform. In the age of information, if stories are losing their meaning in generalization, in statistics, in summaries, and in the status quo, Blank Voices wishes to offer a safe place where speakers feel heard and understood. We welcome the participation of diverse people with diverse and dynamic perspectives through diverse media; be it poetry, paintings, sketches, installation art, live art, audio-visual, photography, and whatnot! The Butterfly Effect is planned to be an annual anthology of liberal arts, initiating from September 2022 as its baby step. The title refers to the tiniest significance of a motion that can turn out to be the mightiest force to create a cosmic revolution like the Big Bang! To share the voices from multiple disciplines of liberal arts, the book and the website (blankvoices.com) are designed with certain aesthetics. Therefore, this anthology is divided into four chapters: Verses, Voices, Visions, and Visuals. The first chapter, ‘Verses’, is the art of poetry where poets take the floor to provide readers a vibrant and vivid poesie ride! The second chapter, ‘Voices’, includes any sort of proses like short stories, interviews, letters, reflections, memoirs, anecdotes, travelogues, and so on. The third section, ‘Visions’, covers experimental media of artwork, painting, installation, crafting, and so on. The final chapter, ‘Visuals’, exhibits the audiovisual documented stories (in the website) and photo-stories (in this book) of life and love, of toils and joy! The idea of such an anthology publication came up during the first phase of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. Farzana Ahmed Julie, Co-Founder and Advisory Editor of Blank Voices, pitched the concept of its birth. Since then, the process has been on the sail, and here comes its first flight! Also, I’m grateful to the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures (CSLC), University of Notre Dame, USA, and its inspiring team, my mentors, and colleagues where I literally experienced the beauty of cultural diversity that I attempted to reflect in designing the book. To give feedback on what kind of ‘voices’ to be shared or to be a contributor in the next anthology, I, Ahmed Tahsin Shams, Editor of this September 2022, welcome our readers and well-wishers to be connected throughout the journey: [email protected], [email protected]