Saturday, November 19, 2011
Music - Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Darkest Light
Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Darkest Light. Some funk for your soul. Play it loud, now go be bold. Loosening up your stool, making your insides cool. Pa da da da daaam....uhm, ta da da da daaaaam.
Music - Liam Bailey - When Will They Learn - TRUTH & SOUL RECORDS
Liam Bailey "When Will They Learn" - TRUTH & SOUL RECORDS. Brit soul man Liam Bailey. Something about LB brings to mind a young Bob (Marley, that is); the lullaby voice, the genuine human-connect vibe, the feeling of universality and authenticity.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Occupy Wall Street Two Month Anniversary: Protesters March To NYC Financial District, Plan Day Of Events
Occupy Wall Street Two Month Anniversary: Protesters March To NYC Financial District, Plan Day Of Events. Could it be, that from the cries of dozens has come a movement of thousands? Time will tell, but the whole world is in motion. People are tired even when they don't know they're tired. They may not be organized in their wants, they may not a list of demands or a formal agenda, but they know that something is grievously wrong with the way their lives are going, something is missing when they can no longer find work after months or years of trying. Something is wrong when wages have not only stagnated but the value of their dollars have declined, while the cost of living continues to rise. They may not know what they want -- YET - but they know something is wrong. And when the consciousness of a mass of people begins to coalesce around a singular idea or desire, that is the start of a movement.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Music - GAGE - "Pardonne-moi" - So sweet and sexy
GAGE - "Pardonne-moi". French-Canadian artist Gage, aka Pierre Gage, of dual island heritage: Jamaican and Haitian, and reflecting the cocky confidence of those two fiercest of fierce Caribbean nations. Flashes of D'Angelo swim to the surface in this video, but vocally Gage inhabits the terrain of Heidi's banana-hammock wearing hubby, a French-speaking Seal. The song is lovely and the video ends with a sizzle. Ck it out.
Music - French singer Imany - I've gotta go
Imany I've gotta go. Splashes of Chapman (Tracy) and sumthin' else. Good snuff.
French singer and former model Imany (Nadia Mladjao).
French singer and former model Imany (Nadia Mladjao).
Music - Angolan singer Cabo Snoop - Prakatatumba
Cabo Snoop - Prakatatumba. I like this for all sorts of reasons, not least of all the artist and his dance.
Funny or Die - Thanks, Bank of America! for not completely effing us over
Thanks, Bank of America! from Funny Or Die. Not drop dead funny, but slow realization 'That's the banking blanking truth funny.' Give it a watch.
Props to Julio Artuz, 15-Year-Old Student Who Records Teacher Verbally Abusing Him, Calling Him 'Special'
Julio Artuz, 15-Year-Old Special Needs Student, Records Teacher Verbally Abusing Him (VIDEO). Irony of ironies, the headlines labeling Julio Artuz 'special.' What don't the journalists writing the story get? Julio was p.o.ed in the video because the teacher did just that: called him special. RUDE and missing the damn point! Anyhoo.... SMDH. (Just look at the pain in the child's face.)
Moving on to the bigger story: Fist bump to this kid for having the balls and the smarts to film this teacher cursing and humiliating him.... Who guesses that there are too many other teachers who engage in the same type of bullying. (Not saying all, or even the majority. There are many excellent teachers. It's the losers like this DOUCHE who ruin it for them.) Julio just wants to be recognized as a 'regular' kid, not as someone with 'special,' needs. The fact is that Julio may just be a 'normal,' kid, per say. Unfortunately low-income kids, particularly low-income black and Latino boys, are disproportionately tracked into special education classes. This tracking often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading to high drop-out rates and a correlation with incarceration. So, I can understand Julio's desire not to be labeled as 'special,' and likewise I would not be surprised if he is yet another instance of a young boy who may need greater academic supports, because of any number of reasons -- a poor academic foundation or little hands-on support -- and who may have been tracked into special ed because it was the easy thing to do. (Read the excerpt below and click on the link, also below, to read the entire article, and to learn how this applies to Latinos and whites.)
According to an article in the Sociology of Education: 'Disproportionate Representation in Special Education': 'Certain groups of students are routinely found to be overrepresented (compared to their share in the school-aged population) in special education classrooms. For example, Dunn (1968) estimated that 60 percent to 80 percent of students identified as disabled were from low socioeconomic status (SES) or ethnic minority households. Most of these investigations have examined the extent to which children of racial/ethnic minority heritage are disproportionately represented (e.g., Donovan and Cross 2002; Dunn 1968; Hosp and Reschly 2003; Mercer 1973; Oswald et al. 1999). Oswald et al. (1999) reported that African American children were about 2.4 times more likely to be identified as mentally retarded (MR) and about 1.5 times more likely to be identified as emotionally/behaviorally disturbed (EBD) than their non–African American peers.
Disproportionate representation may be especially likely to occur for those types of disabilities that rely more on a teacher’s judgment and contextual factors (e.g., LD, EBD) than those types that rely on relatively more objective criteria (e.g., MR, visual impairment; Coulter 1996; Donovan and Cross 2002).
....Class and race effects (either at the individual or school levels) on special education placement are further complicated by the greater exposure of lower income, African American, and Hispanic children to those factors that themselves contribute to disability identification. Such factors include biological trauma (e.g., low birth weight, poor nutrition and child health) and increased exposure to environmental toxins. They also include “social trauma” such as being raised in poverty or by a single or teenage parent. Additional risk factors include parents who are high school dropouts or second-language learners, depressed, disorganized, unemployed, or incarcerated and who reside in high-risk neighborhoods. These factors may result in the lower cognitive and behavioral performance displayed by low-income minority students when they begin kindergarten (Blair and Scott 2002; Carey 1999; Downey, von Hippel, and Broh 2004; Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, and Klebanov 1994; Duncan and Magnuson 2005; Farkas and Beron 2004; Farkas and Hibel 2007; Fryer and Levitt 2004; Guo 1998; Guo and Harris 2000; Phillips et al. 1998; Smith, Brooks-Gunn, and Klebanov 1997; Tach and Farkas 2006). The lower academic performance of low SES and ethnic minority children elevates their likelihood of special education placement.' Click on the link below to read the article.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Music Video - Linet a.k.a. Size 8 - Shamba Boy
Linet a.k.a. Size 8 - Shamba Boy (Official Video). Time we in the West knew more about Size 8. She's a charmer. Just learned about her myself, and am glad for the introduction. She's the complete package: voice, personality, stage presence, and the X-factor: charisma. Ck her out and peep two other tracks by her below.
Guns Across America- Handguns at Happy Hour | Mother Jones
Guns Across America Mother Jones. Excerpt: 'Thanks to aggressive tactics by gun-rights activists, more states are allowing people to pack heat in bars, parks, and even on college campuses.' Click on the link to read Rick Schmitt's Mother Jones article.
Music - Buddy Guy & Ric Jaz - I Just Want To Make Love To You
Buddy Guy & Ric Jaz - I Just Want To Make Love To You. Buddy Guy performs at B.B. King Blues Club &Grill in New York tonight, Nov. 15th, 2011.
Music - Gary Clark Jr. - When My Train Pulls In
Gary Clark Jr. - When My Train Pulls In. Search Gary Clark Jr at the to of the page to hear other music by this artist. Gary performs at NY's Mercury Lounge on Dec. 13th.
http://www.garyclarkjr.com/.
New Track - Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again (audio)
Michael Kiwanuka - 'Home Again' (audio). Something special. From Michael Kiwanuka's new EP Home Again; due out January 1st, 2012. Home Again is the Brit artist's third release. Michael Kiwanuka plays at Joe's Pub in NYC on Dec. 8th.
To learn more visit:
www.facebook.com/michaelkiwanuka
www.twitter.com/michaelkiwanuka
http://www.michaelkiwanuka.com/
To learn more visit:
www.facebook.com/michaelkiwanuka
www.twitter.com/michaelkiwanuka
http://www.michaelkiwanuka.com/
City Reopens Park After Protesters Are Evicted - NYTimes.com
Police Oust Occupy Wall Street Protesters at Zuccotti Park - NYTimes.com. Hundreds of cops and seven hours later, a judge rules that the protesters have a right to protest in the park, but cannot occupy it. On day 59, this attempt, part of an orchestrated multi-city effort to break the protest, has not only failed, it has probably amounted to a B-12 shot in the arm of a movement that was about to be weakened by cold and snow.
Article excerpt: 'Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended the decision to clear the park, saying “health and safety conditions became intolerable” in the park.
He also told a City Hall news conference that in approving the police operation, he had had to balance concerns about free speech against concerns about what had been happening in the park.
“New York City is the city where you can come and express yourself,” the mayor said. “What was happening in Zuccotti Park was not that.” He said the protesters had taken over the park, “making it unavailable to anyone else.”
Q: Isn't Bloomie a child of the 60s? Ain't this a paradox? To know that someone who is a product of that revolutionary time, and who has presented himself as a fairly liberal liberal, will be forever linked with a city of riot-gear dressed cops and a repressive action anti-free speech action against its citizens? And all this coming right before Thanksgiving? Guess he can kiss those presidential ambitions goodbye.
How they did it: In secret, in the dead of night: Police Clear Zuccotti Park With Show of Force, Bright Lights and Loudspeakers - NYTimes.com
Police Clear Zuccotti Park With Show of Force, Bright Lights and Loudspeakers - NYTimes.com. So this is how they did it? To paraphrase the words of Jake Booth, the 3-year old toddler in the Jimmy Kimmel halloween prank: You sneaky mayor!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Music - Kanye West with Fergie - All Of The Lights 'live' - SWU Festival. SMDH? Genius or Clown joker? Kanye pumping nonblack crowd to chant 'Our n---a dead!'
Kanye West with Fergie - All Of The Lights [live] - SWU Festival. Hard to figure Mr. West out. Is he light speed traveling past society's age-old beliefs, taking his audience with him to other levels, whether they are prepared to or not (though from the looks of things they sign up readily enuf). Transforming use of the ol' world catch phrase nigg- into a new framework? Or is Ye on his way to imploding Dave Chappelle style; where the artist starts out tongue in cheek chastising his viewers about racist or rigid beliefs, then seems to be adopting the beliefs and participating in the ism he'd accused his viewers of? Is West genius or madman? Now so caught up in trying to win back approval one plus year post Swiftgate that he bends over backwards to show how much such distinctions no longer matter? I'm your friend really; we on the same page; that shit with Taylor, that was just in the moment; I'm bigger than that, bigger than race; neither race or gender can contain Ye. Really now. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how part 15 of Kanyisms plays out.
Music - this is EGO - My Victory
this is EGO - My Victory. This is from a new Hip Hop artist out of Newcastle (UK). Ego Trip. Give it a listen. I've heard one or two tracks, kind of haunting and poignantly melancholic. One track, So Far, So So.......has the artist actually questioning his ability and lack of success? No helium swag, overinflated b.s. Just a real convo with real emotions behind it. Think most can relate to that. I like the beats and feel Ego has something to say. In future, though he may come harder, or need to, for right now, he's definitely on his way.
http://www.thisisego.com/
www.twitter.com/thisisego
www.facebook.com/thisisego
Music - Wretch 32 ft Etta Bond - 'Forgiveness' - BC Radio 2 Live Performance
Wretch 32 ft Etta Bond - 'Forgiveness' - BBC Radio 2 Live Performance. I quite like this; the lyrics, melody, whole bit, a bit of sad, sweet and sour all mixed in.
New Music - The City That Sleeps | ReneeDion - Fave of faves - Do yourself a favor & listen
The City That Sleeps ReneeDion. Too funktified for regular folks, re-imagine this, re-consider this: the art of the cool. ReneeDion is on some true artz-ified shish, taking it further, way further, taking music, taking art ahead. Just sooo damn smooth! Look back in hindsight twenty years from now and see her as that artist whose impact was such that she led/created a nu school of music. Underground or overground she rules. That chick! svuL ti. Just Luvs IT. Download The City That Sleeps: http://reneedion.bandcamp.com/.
Your Chance to Win a Flyaway to See B.o.B Perform in NYC - Facebook contest
Your Chance to Win a Flyaway to See B.o.B Perform in NYC on Nov. 29th. Click on the link to learn more. I can't vouch for this. I got the e-mail and figured I'd pass it on, check it out for yourself.
Friday, November 11, 2011
HuffPost: UCLA Operation Mend Reconstructs Severely Burned Military Faces (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
UCLA Operation Mend Reconstructs Severely Burned Military Faces (PHOTOS, VIDEO). Click on the link above to view nineteen images of soliders who've been badly burned and received transformative plastic surgeries. As we close out Veterans Day and prepare to return to our lives, let's take a look at what some of them experience. Young men and women who will forever have their lives transformed. We don't have to agree with war, to acknowledge that the price they've paid so that the rest of us could have clear consciences -- complain, protest, abhor -- has been too high. Take some time to advocate on behalf of veterans. Write, call or e-mail your senator or congressional rep and urge them to increase medical coverage for veterans, to provide them with the mental and health care they need to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, to get employment and, or return to school; to receive aid to help them in the transitioning. All of us are culpable, but only they carry the weight.
Sending good will their way and hoping that they have the strength to triumph over the challenges and that they get the support they need from their friends, loved ones, and the nation. Kudos to Ron Katz , Operation Mend and the team at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center who have given these soldiers a second shot at a life.
Sooo Random - Notorious B.I.G. calms down crying baby
Notorious B.I.G. calms down crying baby. Pretty darn funny. It's obvious the dad is a Hip Hop head. Ck his rhythm; totally on point. LOL. Wonder if this little girl is going to find this funny when she gets older, or if she'll even like Rap. Sha-dite, Rap may not even be around by then. Crazier words have been spoke.
Detroit Free Press: Penn State's Mike McQueary might be protected as whistle-blower | Not good enuf, McQueary must go. Fire him now
Penn State's Mike McQueary might be protected as whistle-blower as scandal fallout continues Detroit Free Press. Read the Detroit Press article on why McQueary may remain at Penn State. This explanation does not work. Mike McQueary alerted his superiors to a crime against a small boy. That was a good thing, but where he failed abysmally was in not ripping that boy out of predator Sandusky's clutches and stomping a mudhole in his ass. That would have been step one.
Step two would have been to alert the police immediately and to have had Sandusky carted away to prison. This would have saved the boys who were victimized in the years to come. Even had McQueary chosen to tell his superiors first, after saving the child, had they then not taken action by alerting the police, he could and should have done so.
We recognize that he told someone in authority and that was a good step, but it wasn't good enough, not by far. This is why he must go too, along with the gang of collaborators. It's not enuf that Paterno was released, and the university president and the others. The man who saw the crime and did NOTHING -- nothing in the moment and nothing in the months and days after in terms of telling the cops -- cannot be allowed to continue in that job. To do so is to disrespect and continue to devalue the children who were assaulted and victimized. It is to diminish and devalue all children. And it will also aid in further undermining and diminishing Penn State.
In order to begin to regain their good name and self-respect, and that will be a long process, Penn State must fire McQueary now.
Music - Rihanna - You Da One
The second single from Rihanna's Talk That Talk, due out Nov. 21st. Another catchy infectious track from the Princess of Pop. RiRi keeps steady churning out the hits. Click on the link below to hear.
Veterans Occupy Wall Street | The Nation + A Shoutout to the Vets
Veterans Occupy Wall Street The Nation. Click on the link to read The Nation article on why Veterans occupying Wall Street is a natural marriage.
Comment: On this Veterans' Day, we send a shoutout to the veterans who have sacrificed life, limb and peace of mind for this country. Though we don't support war, we recognize that many of them don't either, but that often many believe they are simply supporting their country and protecting its freedoms and interests.
Veterans die and are maimed so that we can continue our way of life, and even when we call ourselves pacifists, or opponents of the Iraq or Afghanistan Wars, by virtue of living where we do we have virtually co-signed our government's decision to go to war and to stay there. Veterans take the heat so that we can continue to live comfortably outside of the kitchen.
They often come back to unemployment, broken families, maimed bodies and minds, drug addiction, poor medical care, and little support from the government that sent them overseas. So on this Veterans' Day, we send a shoutout to the Vets, we call on the government to do more to provide them with medical and mental health services upon their return, to provide them with jobs, education and the other supports that they need to enable them to reintegrate into their families and society as successfully as possible.
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