Sunday, April 25, 2004
The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq reviewed (finally!)
Image courtesy: Seven Stories Press
Well I've been sitting on the book The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq for literally months after having received it from the publisher Seven Stories Press way back at the end of last year and then not completing reading it until early February. Frankly, the prospect of writing a book review reminded me too much of school work (as long ago as that was). Besides, by that point, any major news around the war seemed to have already happened and the book no longer felt relevant enough to still review. However, with the rise of the insurgency and the Coalition seeming to lose their grip on both control of Iraq (did they ever have control?) and members within the coalition, the debacle of the Iraq war is in fact still ongoing and seeming to only get worse by the day even as the date for the "power transfer" back to the Iraqis rapidly approaches. Because of this, it seemed apropos to make good on my promise and finally give some shine to a book that looks at how Team Bush manipulated their way into this mess in the first place.
The Five Biggest Lies book is based on a widely-read and circulated article, first published on the progressive news website AlterNet, called "Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq." The book is a quick and easy read (despite how long it took me to finish) that takes the original ten lies and counterpoint facts rebutting them and refashions them into a five-part thesis of the major misrepresentations used by the Bush administration to justify the war. Obviously, the book is written from a perspective of believing the war was neither necessary nor justified but, throughout, book authors Christopher Scheer, Robert Scheer and Lakshmi Chaudhry lay out a balanced, precise and detailed case supporting their hypothesis. The Five Biggest Lies is probably the best read for people who, in the run-up to the war, didn't delve into the op-ed section of the newspapers and weekly news magazines and, instead, got their information from the mostly jingosistic TV news coverage served up in the US during that period.
Readers for whom this description applies learn in greater detail why it was obvious before the start of the war that there were no ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda ("Lie number one"); about how regime change in Iraq was part of a long-standing foreign policy goal for the neo-cons in the Bush administration whose dreams of a Pax Americana included establishing a greater (and more permanent) presence in the Middle East; and, with respect to the WMD issue (lies number two: "Iraq had chemical and biological weapons"; and three: "Iraq had nuclear weapons"), about how purported discrepancies between known quantities of Iraqi nerve agents and what was verified as destroyed after the last Gulf War was irrelevant as any remaining agents would have already been rendered useless through degradation or having long passed their expiration date.
They'll also be reminded, if they were paying even just marginal attention to the news, of the fact that the efforts of the UN inspectors were working when they were ordered out of Iraq so the US could invade and that most of the intelligence used to justify the invasion was known to be weak, wrong or, at best, circumstantial long before Bush and Powell et al. admitted as much earlier this year.
But for those who have been closely following the news about the Iraq, whether the yes-man, rah rah propaganda on Fox News or the passive, unquestioning gruel delivered by CNN et al., Five Biggest Lies might still be worth a read though. It serves as a handy primer or reference guide to talking points and evidence to use when you debate the last of your idiot conservative friends who still refuse to admit that, just maybe, the war was a bad idea or, at least, badly planned and excuted.
If there's one major criticism about the book, it's the same one you can make about any book attempting to cover current events: when you try to write history on the fly and rush release a book like this (Five Biggest Lies was first published in October 2003, a scant five months after Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq last year), they tend to suffer from the lack of perspective that more time would allow. Often, as is the case here with the events still unfolding, arguments used will eventually either resonate more deeply in the future or end up becoming completely irrelevant. Seven Stories have attempted to address this issue by printing an updated edition of the book in January with a more in-depth exploration of issues and revelations that have arisen in the post-war period.
If you already bought this book and don't want to buy it twice to get the updated material, you can read excerpts of it here in the article "'Five Lies' Lives On." Even after this update though, the story of how we ended up at war in Iraq continues to have chapters added with no end in sight. Other books like Clarke's All Enemies and Woodward's Plan of Attack have thrown new evidence into the debate and probably do a better job of painting the big picture about all the forces that led to the war. You can be sure that third and fourth editons of Five Biggest Lies could easily come out this year and probably still be out of date by December with all the developments that continue to unfold on a near-daily basis.
The scary thing to consider is that, depsite most of the evidence used in the book being easily corroborated via basic research or issues that got an airing in at least one mainstream media source somewhere, Bush was allowed to hoodwink the public and the US Congress into giving him their support for this faulty foreign policy action without the media calling him on the less-than-compelling evidence for its necessity and an overwhelming lack of international support. Hopefully, the media will start asking those hard questions now. The public deserves answers so they can form a more complete picture and have a real basis from which to make an informed judgement in November as to how successful Bush has been as commander-in-chief. After all, just over one year on from the "end of major combat operations", do you feel safer and do you think terrorist activity has increased or decreased based on the US action in Iraq, Bush's execution of his oft-mentioned "war on terror" or his management of security of the US homeland with tools like the Patriot Act?
The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq can be purchased online at Seven Stories press here or at Amazon.com here.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Monday jumpoff's | Where You're At reviewed | F-ck George Lucas
Posting on Sunday since I'll probably be out of commission for most of Monday:
You can RSVP for the Mos Def/Ali Shaheed (ATCQ) album listening party tomorrow tonight at Table 50 in NYC here.
Also, every Monday my peoples at Room Service present:
I skimmed through Diplo of Hollertronix's Florida album real quick at Halcyon last week. It wasn't really killin' me but the track "Diplo Rhythm" feat. Sandra Melody, Vybz Cartel & Pantera Os Danadinhos is crazy. They really need to drop a 12" on that joint if they haven't already. (mp3 snippet via TTLab.com)
I've already said I think the Kweli album is aight (the obvious attempts at songs and collabs for x-overs sales, notwithstanding) but others are sh1tting on it (see #4) pretty heavy.
And besides continually f-cking with his classic trilogy and making it worse every time he does, here's another reason to say "F-ck George Lucas" Me? I'll stick with the bootleg Asian DVD's, probably mastered from the laserdiscs 'cos they look pretty good (?), that I got three years ago, thanks. Frankly most younger kids think the LOTR trilogy is better anyway and you know what, even though I grew up with Star Wars, I think they might be right. (Caffeine Low)
And finally, I'm not trying to turn this site into a porno blog but, fellas, I had to put you up on this (reg' may be req'd to access this link).
Tweet
You can RSVP for the Mos Def/Ali Shaheed (ATCQ) album listening party tomorrow tonight at Table 50 in NYC here.
Also, every Monday my peoples at Room Service present:
I skimmed through Diplo of Hollertronix's Florida album real quick at Halcyon last week. It wasn't really killin' me but the track "Diplo Rhythm" feat. Sandra Melody, Vybz Cartel & Pantera Os Danadinhos is crazy. They really need to drop a 12" on that joint if they haven't already. (mp3 snippet via TTLab.com)
I've already said I think the Kweli album is aight (the obvious attempts at songs and collabs for x-overs sales, notwithstanding) but others are sh1tting on it (see #4) pretty heavy.
And besides continually f-cking with his classic trilogy and making it worse every time he does, here's another reason to say "F-ck George Lucas" Me? I'll stick with the bootleg Asian DVD's, probably mastered from the laserdiscs 'cos they look pretty good (?), that I got three years ago, thanks. Frankly most younger kids think the LOTR trilogy is better anyway and you know what, even though I grew up with Star Wars, I think they might be right. (Caffeine Low)
_______________________________________________________________________________Speaking of books, is Jon Stewart's book America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction as good as his TV show?
WHERE YOU'RE AT - BOOK REVIEW
I've been reading a copy of UK music journalist's Patrick Neate recently published book Where You're At: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip-Hop Planet. Part travelogue, part academic social history screed, Where You're At is the end result of Neate's tour around the world in an effort to find the essence of hip-hop in a world where this music and culture have unquestionably gone mainstream.
I haven't finshed the book yet (I'm about a third of the way through) but at the rate I read books I figured I'd better post about it now before it became irrelevant. At times Neate is on point and makes great observations. At other points though he betrays his outsider status despite being a long-time fan and participant in the culture. Neate is at least astute enough to be open about his own shortcomings from the get and admits the book is guaranteed to "vex" readers at some point while they read. Even so seeing him describe giving someone a pound greeting as "touch[ing] knuckles", misusing the term coochies instead of hoochies and using the incorrect (and dated) term 24/7/52 were all still pretty cringeworthy.
On the other hand, after finishing the book last night and today while traveling, his chapters on South African and Brazilian hip hop are incredible. In both Neate paints a vivid portrait of how these two countries have taken hip hop and adapted and fused it with their own social and cultural traditions. The latter chapter will resonate strongly with anyone who saw the movie City of God (which obviously came out after he visited and wrote about Brazil since the film is never mentioned and the neighborhood is only mentioned directly once) when reading his discussion of the relationship between the Funk Balls and Favelas (amongst other elements) and hip hop in Brazil.
One of Neate's overall themes is wondering out loud whether the worldwide growth in hip hop needs to be coupled to a worlwide networking of it's participants to learn from others' efforts at using hip hop for social change and perhaps to unite these indivdual efforts into a single worldwide one that can become, in a paradigm he borrows from Alvin Toffler's Powershift book, a "global gladiator" of expression for the unexpressed.
It's a little pie in the sky when you step back from the book and think about it but, on a smaller scale, here are some side questions to consider: what role might hip hop bloggers from around the world have in such a movement and is it odd to consider that almost all, if not all, of hip hop oriented blogs that this site is linked to and that are linked to each other are American? Do international bloggers not want to communicate with their North American counterparts or vice versa? I for one don't know about many, if any, non-American/Canadian hip hop blogs but, given the intrinsically stateless and networked nature of the blog format, does this mean Neate's argument for a unified worldwide hip hop social movement is a non-starter out the gate if it doesn't even work in the "blogosphere"?
Getting back to the book though, at once both personal, often coming off feeling like a blog, and universal and erudite (but don't let the faux academic footnotes scare you off) Neate's take on modern hip hop culture as it continues to become even more global, corporate and mainstream is still worth a read for those who have witnessed this amazing evolution from it's early stages and for the purists and traditonalists who probably could do with seeing one their own getting his preconcpetions skewered.
You can buy Where You're At online here. | Fore more info, click the official book website here.
_______________________________________________________________________________
And finally, I'm not trying to turn this site into a porno blog but, fellas, I had to put you up on this (reg' may be req'd to access this link).
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
CONTEST: Win a Copy of Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon
On the occasion of what would have been hip hop icon Tupac Shakur's 39th birthday, The Kitchen and Perseus Books' Da Capo Press offer you an opportunity to win a copy of the 'Pac biography, Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon written by Tayannah Lee McQuillar & Fred L. Johnson III (PhD.).
Its a solid book overall and a very quick read that definitely put me up on some background and life story and career details about 'Pac that I wasn't aware of. The book kind of fell short in a couple major areas IMHO though: first, it was lacking any real first person research interviews or deep investigative reporting on the part of the authors, drawing heavily on secondary sources & interviews instead. Second, the analysis of Pac's music came across as really stiff and academic and not by a true hip hop aficionado which I could have let slide if it wasn't coupled with a few really poor rookie-status factual errors mark throughout the book. That being said, the book paints a pretty complete portrait of all the factors that led to the magnificent but contradictory mess that was the artist, Tupac Shakur and is worth your time still....
Here's the official plug:
"In 1996 Tupac Shakur, one of the most talented artists of his time, was murdered by an unknown gunman. Fred L. Johnson and Tayannah Lee McQuillar examine the theories surrounding his death and the story of Tupac’s lost legacy in this definitive biography.
For millions, Shakur gave voice to their stories, but there was also another side to him, revealed as his life spun out of control, as the whispered warnings from friends went unheeded and the denunciations of critics grew louder. Disturbingly, he sang and wrote about his impending death. When it came, it brought the music industry to its knees and ended an era when American rappers were leaders in using their art to speak the truth to corporate, government, and judicial power."
CONTEST DETAILS:
I'll keep it simple to win the book this time around: email me (subject line: '2Pac Book Contest') and tell me your favorite Pac album. Get me your email by midnight EST Thursday night/Friday morning and I'll announce a winner sometime on Friday.
If you aren't lucky enough to win the book, you can always BUY it via Amazon.com HERE
.
Labels: 2pac, Tupac Shakur
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
New books to read & Bush's Iraq Delusions
The American plan is to get Iraqis to impose order and protect civilians. But insurgents are slaughtering Iraqi police, and attempts to quickly boost police numbers mean the force now has thousands of bad apples. Some are known criminals. Others may be spies and saboteurs. Full story "Cops, Killers & Moles" from Newsweek.
Senior military and national security officials in the Bush administration were repeatedly warned by subordinates in 2002 and 2003 that prisoners in military custody were being abused, according to Sy Hersh's new book Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib. (The New York Times)
And in today's media and election climate, I'm sure Kitty Kelly's book will have no effect even though it's getting some play in the press (though it's mostly negative).
1115.org interviews five-time Emmy-winning investigative journalist Peter Lance about his new book Cover Up: What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror. In his reporting for this book, Lance has uncovered truly shocking evidence of cover ups, incompetence and worse at the highest levels of law enforcement and the 9-11 Commission. (Because Lance is so critical of the Department of Justice, the FBI, the 9-11 Commission and the Bush Administration, he is meeting with significant resistance in the mainstream media. Even shows that booked him to appear for his last book, 1000 Years for Revenge: International Terrorism and the FBI--the Untold Story have declined to cover him this time around.) Click here to read the interview.
I could be off on this but I think Iyad Allawi is deluded. (Telegraph)
And while Bush is saying this about Iraq: " But all the world can be certain: America and our allies will keep our commitments to the Afghan and Iraqi people...." (September 18 Presidential Radio Address)
This is what's really happening: Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq - The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month despite the deteriorating security situation in much of the country. (full story at The Observer)
While Paul Krugman's Op-Ed "The Last Deception" today in The New York Times looks at how President Bush is hoping to keep the Iraq disaster under wraps for a few more weeks.
So isn't it about time that Bush Come Clean About This War? (The Washington Post)
And what is Bush hiding about his National Guard service? (I mean I know, but E.J. Dionne Jr. is asking over at The Washington Post)
On the campaign trail, President Bush is busy telling voters that he wants to keep making government "smaller and more efficient" and that his opponent, John Kerry, wants a return to the days of big government. But in fact the Bush tax cuts will do nothing of the kind. Counterintuitive though it may seem, they will inevitably end up increasing the size of government. (Full Op-Ed "How Tax Cuts Feed the Beast" in The New York Times)
And to end: The World's Shortest Blog has just one simple question for Bush. (via Patrick T)
Monday, September 06, 2010
Book Preview: Bad Seeds: The True Story of Toronto's Galloway Boys Street Gang by Betsy Powell
This one's for my peoples who like to keep up with street sh-t as (sadly) perpetrated by real street cats and not studio gangsters.
FYI: for those of you not in the T.dot or who are here but not well-versed in what's poppin' on the streets (er... kind of like me, truth be told!), The Galloway Boys run the blocks near where I get my hair cut. Yes, they keeps it real here in Toronto too! For the uninitiated, preview this book about them G-way Boys in the PDF embed above but read the synopsis below first:
"This book tells the story of the Galloway Boys, who as young teens banded together in an urban-blighted area of Toronto's east end to sell drugs and run guns. They were led by Tyshan Riley, born into one of the toughest neighborhoods in Canada and raised by an often absent and erratic mother. He learned his lessons on the streets-how to sell drugs, how to steal--and used violence to get the money, sex and respect that he lived for.
The area known as Galloway is home to 186 hectares of public housing. Crossing bridges is the only route into the area. It created a sense of isolation and for those who lived there a sense of mistrust of anyone from the outside. The area was a fertile ground for the growth of gangs--and as well for the drug dealers, prostitutes and crackheads who survived along a major east-west thoroughfare leading in and out of Toronto's downtown core. And while the Galloway Boys lay claim to their turf, farther to the north the Malvern Crew was laying claim to theirs. The war was inevitable and it would claim ten casualties, including the innocent.
For three Galloway Boys - Tyshan Riley, Philip Atkins and Jason Wisdom - their days in the street were numbered. With the cold-blooded murder of Brenton Charlton and the near fatal shooting of his friend Leonard Bell at a busy Toronto intersection on March 3, 2004, the police investigation would lead to the arrest of Riley, Atkins and Wisdom, and with the testimony of a former Galloway Boys gang member, Roland Ellis, the three would be convicted of the first-degree murder of a man who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Through the testimony of Ellis and that of other witnesses, the wiretap evidence, Crown attorney and defense arguments, a portrait of a gang emerges, one that lives on our streets yet is hidden to our eyes. Bad Seeds compels us to take our blinders off and face a reality of modern urban life that no one professes to care about very much. There is peril in willing blindness."
Read more excerpts from the book, Bad Seeds... at the Toronto Star HERE.
BUY Bad Seeds: The True Story of Toronto's Galloway Boys Street Gang by Betsy Powell on Amazon HERE.
[via]
Labels: Books, Its a T.dot Thing
Thursday, August 12, 2010
TONIGHT in Toronto: Maestro – Stick To Your Vision Book Launch
I LOVE that Maestro has written this book. Peep game:
The Drake Hotel and The Manifesto Festival Present:
Wes “Maestro” Williams Encourages Readers to “Stick To Your Vision”
Iconic Canadian Rapper/Actor Releases Motivational Book for Readers of All Ages
Having experienced the highs and lows that come with being a performer, Wes “Maestro” Williams, “The Godfather of Canadian Hip Hop,” has passed many hurdles in his life. Knowing that others out there face the same challenges, Wes, along with co-writer Tamara Hendricks-Williams, present Stick Your Vision. Sharing the same title as one of his hit singles, Wes provides practical and empowering strategies to help readers define their vision, determine how they’re going to achieve it, and what to do once it’s been achieved.
The Official Toronto Book Release Celebration!
DATE: August 12, 2010
TIME: Media Launch @ 8pm, Doors open to public @ 9pm
MUSIC: Dj Mel Boogie & Starting From Scratch
VENUE: The Drake Underground
PRICE: FREE!
[via City On My Back]
Labels: Books, Its a T.dot Thing, Parties and Events
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
New Book: Game Over by Azie Faison
Don't just watch the film
(or should that be the film
?), read the book Game Over by the real AZ, Azie Faison who along with Rich Porter and Alberto "Alpo" Martinez ran the Harlem drug trade in the late 80's. The Game Over book is in stores tomorrow (August 8).Online: Game Over website | BUY Game Over here
Labels: Alberto "Alpo" Martinez, Azie Faison, Rich Porter
Friday, November 06, 2009
Video: The Black Caesar Animated Series Teaser Clip
"The Black Caesar is a 5 part animated series featuring Rampage of the legendary Flipmode Squad as the main character. the story takes place in "Tehk City""
Also check The Black Caesar digital come book by series director, Tommy Ruffin HERE. [note: Once you're on the page, go to the upper right hand corner of the book and click the page to open. You can also "drag" the upper right page to the left to open the comic book.]
Online:
Rampage - twitter | myspace
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Hip Hop: Still Shinin'....
So stop trying to fight it even if others are exploiting it in the worse way. But since we're on the topic, peep the new book from my dudes Reggie and Gabe:
"What can you say about bling? It’s loud, it’s flashy, it’s expensive—but most of all, bling has to be seen to be believed. And so connoisseurs Reggie Osse and Gabriel Tolliver bring you Bling: The Hip Hop Jewelry Book, a stunning collection of the wildest and the brightest in outlandish jewels. Bling is the decisive showcase of all things bling, a lavishly illustrated look at this hugely influential cultural phenomenon. From $100,000 gold and diamond covered pistols to platinum teeth to jewel-encrusted goblets (aka “pimp cups”), if it’s out there, it’s in here." (click here to read more)More: Bling: The Hip Hop Jewelry Book - website | MySpace | Buy
Also:
The Pack "I'm Shinin'" - the new generation gets bling-y. From the Skateboards 2 Scrapers
EP in-stores 12/19 (although coppable on itunes now - video coming soon! (audio via the scattermish bloooog)While the elder statesman of the bling nation moves on to a higher calling (as he should). Leave the battles alone, son.
But more on the grimey, street tip spotted via MySpace:
Fat Joe's (unreleased?) "No Drama (Clap & Revolve)" video. (via my duns Dirty Harry and Alley Cat at Encore DVD mag)
ASIS magazine: Artists | Street | Info | Style
Gino Green clothing: as seen on Papoose and every young boy in Harlem & the hip hop industry recently. I swear to God though, I thought those were 9's not g's....
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Special "F-ck the Grammys" edition
Pro basketball doesn't have a drug problem or a thug problem. It has a basketball problem.
Spotted at Kim's Video & Music where I went to cop a new (Region-Free) DVD player this afternoon after checking out The Gates installation in Central Park:
- Import DVD copies (from Taiwan, I believe) of the fly-looking sci-fi movie Casshern that Catchdubs mentioned last week for sale at $32 even though I think it's about to be theatrically released in the US soon. This one might be best viewed in a movie theater first though unless you've got a 50+ inch LCD flat screen or hollywood film exec-style home theater in your crib.
- M.I.A./Diplo Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtapes for $8.99. They had tons of them front-racked like it was the new U2 album or something.
The Torontoist site is a go (since when?) but my folkers up there, how on point is it?
The Onion interview with Arrested Development creator Mitchell Hurwitz. I'm hearing that the show might be on the verge of being cancelled (although Fox is denying it) which would be a damn shame as it's one of the funnier shows on TV right now. HBO, are you paying attention?
I saw The Wu-Tang Manual mentioned on
But, while I would give the book a passing grade, it really only scratches the surface of what it promises particularly falling short in the exploration of RZA's production philosphy and technique and the lyrical styles of the Wu crew which is particularly disappointing given his personal input on the book. I await a better and more in-depth treatment by someone like Jon, O-deezy, Jeff or Cheo in the future.
Grammy night is the the time when the mainstream music industry takes the time to pat itself on the back with awards for all the generic sounds they've managed to shove down our collective throats during the previous year but f-ck joining in on the circle jerk. The rest of today's post is all about supporting independent music (even if it looks like the major labels have already killed any shot of indie labels and artists being able, as was the hope of many, to compete on a level playing field with them in the still-nascent digital music marketplace):
Wordsmiths - Hashim's hip hop group. Still active, fam?
Shout to my man Carlos Mena (formerly of Bay Area jazz-rap act 10 Bass T) whose solo album hip-hop meditations, a sweet blend of mellow, jazzy hip hop and coffee-house spoken word & poetry, is on sale now from Bomb Hip Hop records (this has to be run by dude who did the classic early 90's Bay area hip hop 'zine of the same name, right?). Featuring Speech from Arrested Development, this might be a little too heavy on the dorm room, bong hits 'n' bongos vibe for some but is recommended for any folks into the "Umi Says" side of Mos Def or those monologues that homeboy, whose name I forget, from Society of Soul used to to do on the early Outkast and Goodie Mob albums.
And while you're mellowing out, throw on the Necks Move album by the Deep Thinkers on Datura Records when that drops early next month (the 8th I believe). Jazzy hip hop in a mid-90's, post-Native Tongues mold (think the hip hop on the Seven Heads label) that can also be compared to current hip hop and electronica acts like Dead Prez, Zion I, Shadow Huntaz, Anti Pop Consortium, Prefuse 73, Amon Tobin, Diplo and, Dabrye with it's use of drum n bass-style production, the breaks and samples instrumental track "Kiss the Sky" was one of my favorites on the album. Worth investigating.
I've started seeing ads for major label releases using the technology recently but producer Josh One's Narrow Path album was one of the first independent albums released (last December) in the DualDisc format where one side is a traditional CD and the other side is a DVD-Audio disc complete with 5.1 surround sound mixes of the entire album along with other multimedia content.
You can also put the disc in your computer's DVD-ROM drive and, using the DVDLauncher (accessible at DVDLauncher.com), access even more bonus features including portable music files of the entire album in surround sound that you can upload to your iPod or other mp3 players as well as other renewable bonus content like photos, bonus tracks, lyrics, web links, artist & album info and new release schedules, all of which will apparently be continuously updated. The album itself is a nice mix of dubby and soulful downtempo type tracks with some hip hop thrown in the mix including a collab with Mikah 9 (of Freestyle Fellowship).
Listen to tracks from Narrow Path:
- "Miss Me" real | windows
- "Midnight Samba" real | windows
- "Endless" real | windows
Buy Narrow Path
itunes users (of which I am not one since I don't own an iPod or have a new enough OS on my PC to support the software), cop the first four volumes of the Another Cup compilation series from my man Greg Z's Stickman Records electronica music label.
Heavyelectromagneticsoularpoeticjunglehop is not only the name of Jennifer John's album but a reasonably apt description of its contents without stretching the title to a two line long one-word title to acknowledge all the styles she incorporates into her music. Homegirl's been compared to Jill Scott and Goapele but she's got her own flavor although, if I was her, I would have stayed away from trying to cover Sade's "Cherish the Day" rather than include the tepid remake she has on the album. For more details though, click here and also download the exclusive promo-only track "Ghetto Stories" (flippin' the East Flatbush Project's classic "Tried By 12" beat to good effect) for a preview of her steez. She should have put that one on the album instead of the Sade cover though.
And finally, please don't forget my man Bathgate whose single is out and on sale now (BTW: thanks, EJ).
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Why I want to be a DJ....
My man Carlos Watson (from CNBC's The Edge With Carlos Watson) has just begun writing a weekly column offering a fresh take on the world of politics (as he puts it) to appear every Wednesday on cnn.com.
"How Blogs Are Ruining My Life" by Whitney Pastorek. How real is a lot of what she talks about in that article? (Village Voice)
For Andrew M. and all my other Canadain readers: transplanted New York writer Sarah Lazarovic looks at Canada's hot new magazines. (Mediabistro.com)
This looks like an incredible exhibition: Latin American and Caribbean Art from the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art. (El Museo)
More on the Illmatic reissue: Nas Looks Back To Illmatic With Reissue, DVD (Billboard). Anyone else thinks it's bad call on Sony/Columbia's part to not include the Large Pro remix of "It Ain't Hard to Tell" and Q-tip's remix of "The World is Yours"? (The Groove Merchantz "One L" remix of "One Love" feat. Sadat X, Def Jeff & Meech Wells's "Arsenal" remix of "Life's A Bitch" and the LG Experience's remix of "One Love" ain't so bad either and may as well be included in the name of being as comprehesive as possible for a premium-package reissue of a classic and important album like this, right?) (mp3 links courtesy: Sandbox | hiphopsite.com)
Read excepts from Cheo Hodari Coker's book on Biggie in the March issue of Vibe magazine.
Why I'm trying to be a DJ: Shannyn Sossamon loves boys who scratch. (spotted on the Pop Life comments via Marc "Hella Hip Hop" Marcello)
So Shannon's convinced you that you need a turntable but you don't really want to be a DJ: the Denon DP-500M
Or you want to scratch but you're not gonna go out and buy a room full of wax when you've been buying CD's for the past decade or so: the Numark CDX.
But Shannon's words are too alluring so you wanna do it right and get the wax including all the old school school ish: Freddy Fresh presents the Rap Records, a book with info on every single Hip-Hop 12" created between 1979 and 1988 (or so Fresh claims). (NB: this book sold out in 2 days when they brought it in at Turntable Lab so if you see it somewhere, don't think: just cop it.)
And when you're ready to go, register your .dj domain today for only $ 5.75 / month at dj-domains.us
And from, Eclipse, a real DJ:
THE HALFTIME SHOW 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEDNESDAY MARCH 3RD!!!
Tonight I'm celebrating my 6 year anniversary on 89.1 WNYU Radio.
Myself and DJ Skizz will kick back and relax while DJ Premier of Gang Starr
handles the tables for the whole night. Also expect various members of the
GangStarr Foundation to come through.
The Halftime Show airs every Wednesday night from 10:30 pm - 1:00 am
and can be heard live on the net at www.wnyu.org
_________________________________________________________
NON PHIXION LIVE AT SOUTHPAW, THURSDAY MARCH 4TH!!!
Non Phixion will be headlining at Southpaw on Thursday March 4, 2004
for the kickoff of the new monthly event called "GoodWord². Also performing
is E-Dot, Diabolic, Nuclear Family & Block McCloud from Brooklyn Academy.
P.F. Cuttin on the wheels.
Doors at 8:30 pm
$12 in advance $15 day of show
16 & over
Southpaw is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn at 125 Fifth Avenue
between Sterling Pl. and St. John's Pl.
718-230-0236
SUBWAY
Q Train to 7th Ave.
M/N/Q/R/W/4/5 to Atlantic-Pacific
M/N/R to Union Street
2/3 to Bergen St.
F to 4th Ave.
Love Dizzee Rascal? Try his former Roll Deep Crew affiliate, Wiley, who (from the two tracks I've heard) sounds exactly like him.
Spotted on the feet of a hipster type at the Broadway-Lafayette subway last night, Geen on white with a black swoosh and red star: the Nike Heineken Dunk SB.
For dance music heads:
- The Miami Herald's highlight picks from the Winter Music Conference beginning this weekend.
- trax2burn: another, along with beatport, legit dance music download service.
And finally, from a good friend of mine:
Tweet
"How Blogs Are Ruining My Life" by Whitney Pastorek. How real is a lot of what she talks about in that article? (Village Voice)
For Andrew M. and all my other Canadain readers: transplanted New York writer Sarah Lazarovic looks at Canada's hot new magazines. (Mediabistro.com)
This looks like an incredible exhibition: Latin American and Caribbean Art from the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art. (El Museo)
More on the Illmatic reissue: Nas Looks Back To Illmatic With Reissue, DVD (Billboard). Anyone else thinks it's bad call on Sony/Columbia's part to not include the Large Pro remix of "It Ain't Hard to Tell" and Q-tip's remix of "The World is Yours"? (The Groove Merchantz "One L" remix of "One Love" feat. Sadat X, Def Jeff & Meech Wells's "Arsenal" remix of "Life's A Bitch" and the LG Experience's remix of "One Love" ain't so bad either and may as well be included in the name of being as comprehesive as possible for a premium-package reissue of a classic and important album like this, right?) (mp3 links courtesy: Sandbox | hiphopsite.com)
Read excepts from Cheo Hodari Coker's book on Biggie in the March issue of Vibe magazine.
Why I'm trying to be a DJ: Shannyn Sossamon loves boys who scratch. (spotted on the Pop Life comments via Marc "Hella Hip Hop" Marcello)
So Shannon's convinced you that you need a turntable but you don't really want to be a DJ: the Denon DP-500M
Or you want to scratch but you're not gonna go out and buy a room full of wax when you've been buying CD's for the past decade or so: the Numark CDX.
But Shannon's words are too alluring so you wanna do it right and get the wax including all the old school school ish: Freddy Fresh presents the Rap Records, a book with info on every single Hip-Hop 12" created between 1979 and 1988 (or so Fresh claims). (NB: this book sold out in 2 days when they brought it in at Turntable Lab so if you see it somewhere, don't think: just cop it.)
And when you're ready to go, register your .dj domain today for only $ 5.75 / month at dj-domains.us
And from, Eclipse, a real DJ:
THE HALFTIME SHOW 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEDNESDAY MARCH 3RD!!!
Tonight I'm celebrating my 6 year anniversary on 89.1 WNYU Radio.
Myself and DJ Skizz will kick back and relax while DJ Premier of Gang Starr
handles the tables for the whole night. Also expect various members of the
GangStarr Foundation to come through.
The Halftime Show airs every Wednesday night from 10:30 pm - 1:00 am
and can be heard live on the net at www.wnyu.org
_________________________________________________________
NON PHIXION LIVE AT SOUTHPAW, THURSDAY MARCH 4TH!!!
Non Phixion will be headlining at Southpaw on Thursday March 4, 2004
for the kickoff of the new monthly event called "GoodWord². Also performing
is E-Dot, Diabolic, Nuclear Family & Block McCloud from Brooklyn Academy.
P.F. Cuttin on the wheels.
Doors at 8:30 pm
$12 in advance $15 day of show
16 & over
Southpaw is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn at 125 Fifth Avenue
between Sterling Pl. and St. John's Pl.
718-230-0236
SUBWAY
Q Train to 7th Ave.
M/N/Q/R/W/4/5 to Atlantic-Pacific
M/N/R to Union Street
2/3 to Bergen St.
F to 4th Ave.
Love Dizzee Rascal? Try his former Roll Deep Crew affiliate, Wiley, who (from the two tracks I've heard) sounds exactly like him.
Spotted on the feet of a hipster type at the Broadway-Lafayette subway last night, Geen on white with a black swoosh and red star: the Nike Heineken Dunk SB.
For dance music heads:
- The Miami Herald's highlight picks from the Winter Music Conference beginning this weekend.
- trax2burn: another, along with beatport, legit dance music download service.
And finally, from a good friend of mine:
Friends,Do good and suport this organization.
As you may know I have been heavily involved in a program called East Harlem Tutorial Program. Over the past year I have been serving double duty as a Board of Trustee member and as a co-chair to a newly formed Junior Board (I guess I should be happy that I can still be associated with something with the word "Junior" in it). The Junior Board of EHTP is hosting an event on March 5th and it should be a really good time. I hope you can make it. Details are below and in the attached invite. Give me a call if you have any questions.
Regards,
-- K. Don Cornwell, Co-Chair
***The Junior Board of the East Harlem Tutorial Program Is Pleased to Invite You to Our First Annual Spring Gala***
Friday, March 5, 2004
8:30 pm – 11:30 pm
Doubles, a Private Club
783 Fifth Avenue
New York City
Open bar, buffet dinner, dancing
Jacket & Tie Required
Minimum ticket price of $100 (NB: All but $50 is tax-deductible.)
To purchase online, please click here (alternatively, visit www.ticketweb.com and search “EHTP”).
To order by phone or to get details on where to send a check, call Jackie de Dios at EHTP – 212.831.0650
We Hope To See You There.
East Harlem Tutorial Program (EHTP) is an award winning after school program that is making a difference in the lives of hundreds of young people and families in East Harlem. Founded in 1958, EHTP began in the East Harlem apartment of Helen Webber, where she read books to neighborhood children after school. As news of this informal reading group spread, parents and volunteers alike flocked to Helen’s door.
More than 45 years later, EHTP continues to thrive by providing 16 different programs and services including one-to-one tutoring, youth development, college and career counseling, media/technology education, arts-in-education and a summer day camp. The mission of EHTP is to enhance the knowledge, skills and interests of children and youth by fostering their love of learning. EHTP is also highly recognized on the national level as a model in the field of after school education.
Friday, October 03, 2003
Can the 2% solution save the US? The future of DJ-ing and more Rush, Gavin and Iraq...
William Holstein writes a review of Clinton administration advisor Matthew Miller's new book The 2% Solution in The New York Times. The book talks about how extreme partisanship prevents government from finding solutions to some of the US's more persistent socioeconomic problems. However, the most intriguing part of the review discusses Miller's argument that the US's most pressing problems could be solved by spending just 2 percent more than the government does now as follows :
I should have had more faith. Rush Limbaugh pushed his luck a step too far and was forced to "quit" yesterday for his ridicuclous remarks about Eagles QB Donovan MCNabb on Sunday (ubelievably Slate tries to make a case for Rush being in the right. Bananas!). On top of that now it's being alleged he's also a drug fiend hooked on Oxycontin and other drugs and is facing an investigation. I should have known so should he, karma's a muthaf---er. Smile of the day by far.
From the file labeled "What the F--k?" what the hell was this marching band thinking? Maybe they go to the same high school as the kid in this article as free speech is real free based on these stories (thanks to Shuggie Gray for the t-shirt story lead and Nadine for the marching band story lead).
Or maybe not, as many feared when the Patriot Act was enacted, the government is now using the invasive powers the act granted them in many investigations that are in no way terror-related. As was anticipated by the few real patriots who stood up and tried to stop this flawed piece of legislation from being railroaded through, this act used the 9/11 attacks and the resulting terror hysteria as a smokescreen to slowly chip away at out civil liberties and privacy rights. Why is no-one else scared about this? At least this was front page news in the NY Times on September 28.
More updates on the "Hipublican" pheonomenon as I've now learned conservative hipsters have been labeled. There's been much discussion in hipster circles (of which I am not a part unless you count those who stand on the periphery as impartial, outside observers as part of the "hipsterati"). So it turns out Gavin McInnes is just a provocateur in general which gives me to a whole new lens through which to read Vice magazine now. I just picked up the newest issue today and I guess I'll never take articles like "Cum vs. Moisturizer" (Vice settles the score as which is better for clearing up zits) seriously again. I guess he's been catching a bad one on the NY Times article I mentioned yesterday and has offered several others explanations/apologies for his comments here on Gawker and, as discussed on the antic muse blog, here and here. I think I'm over this topic now but you know where to go now for further updates....
I DJ for fun in my very cool music room (although it's cool to get paid to spin too) and I've collected vinyl for years. I love my collection (2500+ pieces I think though I've never really counted) that has taken me over 20 years to amass but now that I actually do a little DJ-ing at clubs and lounges (email me if you want to hire me by the way), I realize what a huge pain the ass it is to lug 4 or 5 heavy crates of vinyl around esp. by yourself (I guess record boys are for more famous DJ's than me, no homo). Plus I don't even have my own car and have to borrow my good friend Shuggie's old Toyota Celica "Buddy" to get me to my gigs.
It would be great if more spots started to use CD turntables like the Pioneer CDJ-1000's which work just like vinyl turntables and made me look forward to the day when every DJ booth has them so I can stop buying wax and carry a couple small (and light) booklets of CD's instead of my flight cases. (Yeah, I'm not that emotionally attached to the concept of having to support and use wax like some DJ's. Especially after having used the CDJ's.) I've been coveting my own CD turntables since first using the Pioneer jumpoffs but have to say that, when that day comes, I may have to put the CDJ option on pause and consider buying the upcoming Technics pictured here which I just heard about. I have to say I almost came on myself when I saw them. I don't even know how well they work but they look so hot, they have to be blazing! By the way, I'm listening to Cutmaster C's "Keep Talkin" mixtape. This sh!t is ridiculous top to bottom. I guess whatever petty beef he has going with DJ Big Mike has put a real fire in his belly 'cos this is the best mixtape I've heard in a long time (although I have a few other new ones I picked up today to check out so that title may be short-lived). Murder Inc's "G-Unit Killaz" and Busta and Spliff's "Top Billin' 2003" (I'll add links if I can find some) are just two of the many hot jumpoff's on this tape. As they say in the TV ads: "Go cop that, son!"
Oh yeah, the situation only gets worse in Iraq as discussed here on the MSNBC/Newsweek site. I bash Bush pretty much daily now though, believe me, I take no solace in these attacks and loss of life. I only wish, Bush would drop his bloody-minded, divisive, unilateral stance, admit his strategy has been flawed from the jump and bring in the UN or real international coalition to help stabilize the situation there. And by the way, they still haven't found any WMD's....
Tweet
Here's the breakout: $80 billion a year to finance health care for those who can't afford it, $30 billion to make teaching in poor schools an attractive career choice, $85 billion to establish a living wage of about $9 an hour; $2 billion for well-financed school vouchers and $3 billion annually to create the campaign finance system, including $500 million for administrative expenses. Mr. Miller then plunks down $10 billion to make preschool universal and $10 billion to repair deteriorated schools. That adds up to $220 billion, or 2 percent of the gross domestic product of roughly $11 trillion for 2004.Holstein discusses Miller follow-on argument that this increase in spending could be offset by spending cuts and tax increases. It's an interesting idea although tax increases are like kryptonite to US taxpayers (As Bush has observed and nimbly exploited with disasterously spectacular results so far in his administration) and his proposal of a 60 cent on the gallon tax on gasoline to reduce our dependence on foreign (read Mid. East) oil is pretty much a non-starter in the US. That being said, the book is well-reviewed and might be put on my "To Read" list if I can ever get through the two year backlog of books on my night stand now.
"For 2 cents on the national dollar, we have a country where everyone has basic health coverage; every full-time worker earns at least $9 an hour; poor children have great teachers in fixed-up schools where they show up ready to learn; and we've created a way for politicians to run for office (if they want to) without special-interest cash," the author says
I should have had more faith. Rush Limbaugh pushed his luck a step too far and was forced to "quit" yesterday for his ridicuclous remarks about Eagles QB Donovan MCNabb on Sunday (ubelievably Slate tries to make a case for Rush being in the right. Bananas!). On top of that now it's being alleged he's also a drug fiend hooked on Oxycontin and other drugs and is facing an investigation. I should have known so should he, karma's a muthaf---er. Smile of the day by far.
From the file labeled "What the F--k?" what the hell was this marching band thinking? Maybe they go to the same high school as the kid in this article as free speech is real free based on these stories (thanks to Shuggie Gray for the t-shirt story lead and Nadine for the marching band story lead).
Or maybe not, as many feared when the Patriot Act was enacted, the government is now using the invasive powers the act granted them in many investigations that are in no way terror-related. As was anticipated by the few real patriots who stood up and tried to stop this flawed piece of legislation from being railroaded through, this act used the 9/11 attacks and the resulting terror hysteria as a smokescreen to slowly chip away at out civil liberties and privacy rights. Why is no-one else scared about this? At least this was front page news in the NY Times on September 28.
More updates on the "Hipublican" pheonomenon as I've now learned conservative hipsters have been labeled. There's been much discussion in hipster circles (of which I am not a part unless you count those who stand on the periphery as impartial, outside observers as part of the "hipsterati"). So it turns out Gavin McInnes is just a provocateur in general which gives me to a whole new lens through which to read Vice magazine now. I just picked up the newest issue today and I guess I'll never take articles like "Cum vs. Moisturizer" (Vice settles the score as which is better for clearing up zits) seriously again. I guess he's been catching a bad one on the NY Times article I mentioned yesterday and has offered several others explanations/apologies for his comments here on Gawker and, as discussed on the antic muse blog, here and here. I think I'm over this topic now but you know where to go now for further updates....
I DJ for fun in my very cool music room (although it's cool to get paid to spin too) and I've collected vinyl for years. I love my collection (2500+ pieces I think though I've never really counted) that has taken me over 20 years to amass but now that I actually do a little DJ-ing at clubs and lounges (email me if you want to hire me by the way), I realize what a huge pain the ass it is to lug 4 or 5 heavy crates of vinyl around esp. by yourself (I guess record boys are for more famous DJ's than me, no homo). Plus I don't even have my own car and have to borrow my good friend Shuggie's old Toyota Celica "Buddy" to get me to my gigs.
It would be great if more spots started to use CD turntables like the Pioneer CDJ-1000's which work just like vinyl turntables and made me look forward to the day when every DJ booth has them so I can stop buying wax and carry a couple small (and light) booklets of CD's instead of my flight cases. (Yeah, I'm not that emotionally attached to the concept of having to support and use wax like some DJ's. Especially after having used the CDJ's.) I've been coveting my own CD turntables since first using the Pioneer jumpoffs but have to say that, when that day comes, I may have to put the CDJ option on pause and consider buying the upcoming Technics pictured here which I just heard about. I have to say I almost came on myself when I saw them. I don't even know how well they work but they look so hot, they have to be blazing! By the way, I'm listening to Cutmaster C's "Keep Talkin" mixtape. This sh!t is ridiculous top to bottom. I guess whatever petty beef he has going with DJ Big Mike has put a real fire in his belly 'cos this is the best mixtape I've heard in a long time (although I have a few other new ones I picked up today to check out so that title may be short-lived). Murder Inc's "G-Unit Killaz" and Busta and Spliff's "Top Billin' 2003" (I'll add links if I can find some) are just two of the many hot jumpoff's on this tape. As they say in the TV ads: "Go cop that, son!"
Oh yeah, the situation only gets worse in Iraq as discussed here on the MSNBC/Newsweek site. I bash Bush pretty much daily now though, believe me, I take no solace in these attacks and loss of life. I only wish, Bush would drop his bloody-minded, divisive, unilateral stance, admit his strategy has been flawed from the jump and bring in the UN or real international coalition to help stabilize the situation there. And by the way, they still haven't found any WMD's....
Sunday, September 28, 2003
More props for Bobbito!
More props for Bobbito and his new Sneaker book in the NY Times this weekend. This isn't really news since I talked about this back on 9/11 but just wanted to give Bob some more support and reiterate that I'm glad his book is getting some coverage and love. Great book release party last week too.
Tweet
Friday, September 19, 2003
More good music for you to check out. Stephanie Mckay professionally known by just her last name releases, arguably the best (or at least, most interesting) track from her self-titled album McKay. "Take Me Over" (Go Beat UK) is a beautiful slice of left-field soul sampling the old school reggae track "Double Barrel" by Dave & Alton Collins (I think). McKay is a Brooklyn-based singer but her album is notable for having been co-produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead. This track still sounds great from when I first heard it as a demo over two years ago and is a breath of fresh air from the, now getting stale, neo-soul sound.
Unbelievably, Bush is seemingly getting yet another pass from the mass news media with its near invisible coverage of his belated admission that there is no evidence of a connection between the 9/11 attacks and Saddam Hussein. This should be one of the biggest stories this week IMO but it's being buried by most major news outlets. I just don't get it. Slightly more on the conspiracy theory tip is the September 18th "Stop the Preses" column "9/11/01: Where was George?" in The Nation by Eric Alterman. Exploring the inconsistencies in Bush comments about what he did the morning of the 9/11 attacks, the greater issue according to Alterman though is why no media outlet is chasing down the truth behind this story.
Two excellent articles in this week's Newsweek looking at the Iraq situation. Fareed Zakaria, one of the few conservatives who I can read and listen to without wanting to roll my eyes and punch them, discusses why pushing for an early power hand-off to the Iraqis as an exit strategy is a bad idea in "Don't Rush to Disaster." Remarkably, even before reading his well-laid out arguments on this issue, this is actually one area in which I have to side with Bush policy with respect to Iraq. Pulling out now would be a disaster and lead to more instability. France's arguments that power be handed over to the Iraqi Governing Council and a new constitution be drafted before the end of the year should sound way premature to any reasonable person. Of course I'm coming form the larger p.o.v. that this mess should never have been created in the first place.
On the other hand Rod Norland's "The Lebanon Scenario" paints a scary picture as to how this war may develop drawing parallels to Israel's involvement in Lebanon during the 1980's if the, until now, chaotic, poorly-planned post war rebuilding strategy is not overhauled and executed better.
In corporate malfeasance news, AOL Time Warner indirectly admits to the colossal mistake of their misguided merger by dropping the AOL part of their name and reverting back to being just Time Warner. Any moron with or without an MBA could have seen that this union was a huge mistake and I am sure (or I am hoping) that this name change is just the first step towards reversing it and finally getting rid of the millstone that is AOL. This is one company that I have never gotten. Yeah maybe 7-8 years ago when no-one really understood what the hell email and the internet were, their service served as training wheels for people taking their first steps onto the web. But in high speed, broadband 2003, who needs 'em? It's no wonder they've been losing subscribers in droves for the past few years. Trust me, it ain't gonna stop. For those of you who have seen or used AOL's service, you know what I'm talking about, it's terrible. For those who are still using it, why? Please email me and tell me why? Seriously, I want to know because, just in case you didn't know, AIM is free to anyone whether they're an AOL subscriber or not so feel free to drop their crappy service and trade up to a (far superior) high speed service. As for my decimated 401K plan, that's a whole 'nother story. Gerld Levin better not see me walking down the street one night (unless he has job offer for me--LOL).
Sad to see the WUSA go under after just three years. This editorial makes an eloquent argument for why the league was more important than being solely a bottom-line dollar and cents proposition but lose (supposedly) $100 million in three years and what do you expect will happen? It's especially sad to see the league fold just as the first world cup since the one that helped popularize women's soccer and provide the momentum for the launch of the WUSA in the first place was about to begin. Hopefully some sponsors and investors will come to the league's rescue but it sounds unlikely.
New Yorkers in town for the weekend looking for stuff to do here's a couple of options:
Paradigm's Night of Hip Hop
Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Bowery Poetry Project
308 Bowery, lower Manhattan
(F train to 2nd Ave. or 6 train to Bleecker)
Featuring performances from
- Exile & Lokey
- Rabbi Darkside
- Willpower
- Farbeon
Special DJ set from Kimani (Roosevelt Franklin/Third Earth)
Stand-up comedy from Sauce
Hosted by Hired Gun
Doors open at 10 p.m.
and also
Party Peoples, in the place to be...
"Where'd You Get Those? NYC's Sneaker Culture 1960-1987" Official Book Release Jam presented by Testify Books
Saturday, September 20-Martinez Gallery (37 Greenpoint Ave off West St., Greenpoint, BK. 718 706 0606)
Book Signing 6-8pm, Party 8pm-midnite. Free!
featuring DJ Cucumberslice, DJ Rich Medina and DJ Spinna for the first time spinning together ever, rocking music from 1960-1987 (just like the book, grandpa)!
Sponsors: Bounce . . . From The Playground Magazine, Fader Magazine, Red Stripe, Bobbito's Basics to Boogie basketball instructional DVD series, Project Playground Basketball
info: martinezgallery.com or blanca@martinezgallery.com
Tweet
Unbelievably, Bush is seemingly getting yet another pass from the mass news media with its near invisible coverage of his belated admission that there is no evidence of a connection between the 9/11 attacks and Saddam Hussein. This should be one of the biggest stories this week IMO but it's being buried by most major news outlets. I just don't get it. Slightly more on the conspiracy theory tip is the September 18th "Stop the Preses" column "9/11/01: Where was George?" in The Nation by Eric Alterman. Exploring the inconsistencies in Bush comments about what he did the morning of the 9/11 attacks, the greater issue according to Alterman though is why no media outlet is chasing down the truth behind this story.
Two excellent articles in this week's Newsweek looking at the Iraq situation. Fareed Zakaria, one of the few conservatives who I can read and listen to without wanting to roll my eyes and punch them, discusses why pushing for an early power hand-off to the Iraqis as an exit strategy is a bad idea in "Don't Rush to Disaster." Remarkably, even before reading his well-laid out arguments on this issue, this is actually one area in which I have to side with Bush policy with respect to Iraq. Pulling out now would be a disaster and lead to more instability. France's arguments that power be handed over to the Iraqi Governing Council and a new constitution be drafted before the end of the year should sound way premature to any reasonable person. Of course I'm coming form the larger p.o.v. that this mess should never have been created in the first place.
On the other hand Rod Norland's "The Lebanon Scenario" paints a scary picture as to how this war may develop drawing parallels to Israel's involvement in Lebanon during the 1980's if the, until now, chaotic, poorly-planned post war rebuilding strategy is not overhauled and executed better.
In corporate malfeasance news, AOL Time Warner indirectly admits to the colossal mistake of their misguided merger by dropping the AOL part of their name and reverting back to being just Time Warner. Any moron with or without an MBA could have seen that this union was a huge mistake and I am sure (or I am hoping) that this name change is just the first step towards reversing it and finally getting rid of the millstone that is AOL. This is one company that I have never gotten. Yeah maybe 7-8 years ago when no-one really understood what the hell email and the internet were, their service served as training wheels for people taking their first steps onto the web. But in high speed, broadband 2003, who needs 'em? It's no wonder they've been losing subscribers in droves for the past few years. Trust me, it ain't gonna stop. For those of you who have seen or used AOL's service, you know what I'm talking about, it's terrible. For those who are still using it, why? Please email me and tell me why? Seriously, I want to know because, just in case you didn't know, AIM is free to anyone whether they're an AOL subscriber or not so feel free to drop their crappy service and trade up to a (far superior) high speed service. As for my decimated 401K plan, that's a whole 'nother story. Gerld Levin better not see me walking down the street one night (unless he has job offer for me--LOL).
Sad to see the WUSA go under after just three years. This editorial makes an eloquent argument for why the league was more important than being solely a bottom-line dollar and cents proposition but lose (supposedly) $100 million in three years and what do you expect will happen? It's especially sad to see the league fold just as the first world cup since the one that helped popularize women's soccer and provide the momentum for the launch of the WUSA in the first place was about to begin. Hopefully some sponsors and investors will come to the league's rescue but it sounds unlikely.
New Yorkers in town for the weekend looking for stuff to do here's a couple of options:
Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Bowery Poetry Project
308 Bowery, lower Manhattan
(F train to 2nd Ave. or 6 train to Bleecker)
Featuring performances from
- Exile & Lokey
- Rabbi Darkside
- Willpower
- Farbeon
Special DJ set from Kimani (Roosevelt Franklin/Third Earth)
Stand-up comedy from Sauce
Hosted by Hired Gun
Doors open at 10 p.m.
and also
"Where'd You Get Those? NYC's Sneaker Culture 1960-1987" Official Book Release Jam presented by Testify Books
Saturday, September 20-Martinez Gallery (37 Greenpoint Ave off West St., Greenpoint, BK. 718 706 0606)
Book Signing 6-8pm, Party 8pm-midnite. Free!
featuring DJ Cucumberslice, DJ Rich Medina and DJ Spinna for the first time spinning together ever, rocking music from 1960-1987 (just like the book, grandpa)!
Sponsors: Bounce . . . From The Playground Magazine, Fader Magazine, Red Stripe, Bobbito's Basics to Boogie basketball instructional DVD series, Project Playground Basketball
info: martinezgallery.com or blanca@martinezgallery.com
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
TODAY: Valerie Plame book signing in NYC
Meet Valerie Plame at the Union Square Barnes & Noble today and cop her new book
Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House to get the read deal on the GOP f-ckery during the 'Plamegate' affair. I ain't gonna front, I'm so jealous of Joe Wilson! [Click here for more details.]Labels: GOP corruption, Plamegate, Valerie Plame
Monday, August 30, 2010
New Music: Hell Razah – Return Of The Renaissance feat. Ra The Rugged Man
F-cking FIYA TRACK from Hell Razah's Heaven Razah album dropping September 28th featuring the illest white boy not from Detroit, R.A. The Rugged Man. No joke, R.A. is one of the top 5 most underrated MC's in my book.
Hell Razah – Return Of The Renaissance feat. Ra The Rugged Man [direct mp3 download link - right click and save as]
Track listing for Heaven Razah:
01. The Arrival (Intro)
02. Negro Angelitos
03. Book of Heaven Razah
04. Medical Kush
05. Raised in Hell
06. Fear of God
07. Return of the Renaissance(ft. R.A. The Rugged Man)
08. Cinematic
09. Kids In The Street
10. A Brooklyn Tale (feat. Shabazz the Disciple)
11. Selah
12. Dear Lord
13. My Testimony (feat. Darnell McClain)
14. Heaven on Earth (feat. Timbo King & Darnell McClain)
15. Armageddon
[mp3 courtesy Devin at Nature Sounds]
Labels: Hell Razah, R.A. the Rugged Man
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Grandmaster Flash Book Signing in the Bronx TOMORROW!
For his new book, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats that comes out today. Click here for event details. More on Flash at the NY Daily News here.
Labels: DJ Grandmaster Flash
Friday, October 30, 2009
Kanye West - Glow In The Dark Tour Book Promo Video
Produced by book photographer, Nabil Elderkin. Buy it via Amazon.com HERE.
[via RapRadar - sorry, Elliott/Bdot, but I'm gonna be swiping wild links from you today!]
Labels: Kanye West
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The $3 Trillion War!
From a Vanity Fair article by Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes:
"On March 19, 2008, the U.S. will have been in Iraq for five years. The Bush administration was wrong about the need for the Iraq war and about the benefits the war would bring to Iraq, to the region, and to America. It has also been wrong about the full cost of the war, and it continues to take steps to conceal that cost.
After wildly lowballing the cost of the Iraq conflict at a mere $50 to $60 billion, the Bush administration has been concealing the full economic toll. The spending on military operations is merely the tip of a vast fiscal iceberg. In an excerpt from their new book, the authors calculate the grim bottom line."
Click here for more.
Related:
amNewYork looks at it another way: "Studies: Iraq Costs US $12B Per Month"
Online:
BUY Stiglitz and Bilmes' The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict book here
.Labels: GOP incompetence, Iraq war
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Exclusive music: I-Wayne - "Rastafari Liveth (demo version)"
Off the hip hop beat for a second we're gonna check out some roots reggae right now, something I wish I had more time to get into in general on this site. This is from I-Wayne, a cat who had an unlikely hit on Hot 97 here in NYC back in 2005 with his single, "Can't Satisfy Her":
I-Wayne - "Rastafari Liveth (demo version)" [YSI mp3 link]
This track was actually done prior to the release of I-Wayne’s debut LP Lava Ground but was eventually also voiced by Neil “Diamond” Edwards. His new album Book of Life (cover above) just dropped this past Tuesday but don't ask me why his label wouldn't want to give away a promo mp3 from that album here instead! That would be too obvious, right? The music industry sometimes (*smh*), sigh....
Online:
MySpace | Listen to the album at Giant Step | Watch 'The making of Book of Life' Video here.
Labels: I-Wayne, Neil “Diamond” Edwards, Reggae
