Jel, is one of those rare rappers, nowadays, who cares about his craft. The Anticon Label that supports him, has many more such artists under their wing. Check every one of the artists out!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Lucinda Williams.
Another great artist, that I enjoy, is Lucinda Williams.
This is someone's video backdrop for the song Blue...amazing song!!
This is someone's video backdrop for the song Blue...amazing song!!
Gaza, Isreal & Food Aid.
"JERUSALEM - For more than seven weeks, the international aid group Mercy Corps has been trying to send 90 tons of macaroni to the isolated Gaza Strip as part of a global campaign to help the 1.4 million Palestinians there rebuild their lives after Israel's recent devastating 22-day military operation.Israel, which controls most of what goes into and out of Gaza, has said no repeatedly.
At first, Israeli officials said that they wanted to make sure that the macaroni wasn't destined for a Hamas charity. Then they said macaroni was banned because they didn't consider it an essential food item.
On Wednesday, days after American lawmakers raised pointed questions about the macaroni ban, Israeli authorities said that they were preparing to give the pasta a green light.
For the international aid community, the dispute is emblematic of the red tape and political maneuvering that have stymied efforts to rebuild Gaza."
Food is a basic human right and should NOT be used for any political maneuvering. I hope we all keep an eye on this situation in the Middle East and contact our government representatives as needed.
If you are in NYC and interested in hearing someone's thoughts on PEACE in the Middle East, please see one of my earlier posts about Mona Eltahawy, who is giving a lecture tonight at 7:30 pm.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Bustling Fruit & Vegetable Stand.
Sorry the pictures aren't that great, but I took them from my camera phone.
Anyways, we went to our local fruit & vegetable market here in the Bronx and, as always, it was packed! The fruit/vegetables are great and the prices are cheap. 4 Large Grapefruit for $1 !!
However, wouldn't it be great if the majority of the produce was grown right in the Bronx? With the eggs coming from local chicken flocks and the honey from local beehives. This is my vision and I hope one day it becomes a reality!
Thanks for reading, I will post some more interesting concepts tonight.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
GMO's have got to go!
Wow, I just read another article on the effects of GMO's on the environment. To summarize an organization, named Navdanya, in India did some research for 3 years on soil planted with Bt (GMO) Cotton and soil planted with non-GMO cotton. The soil planted with Bt (GMO) Cotton is dying!! Thanks Monsanto for your wonderful gift of GMO's for the world!
Of course, I'm being sarcastic about Monsanto, they suck! Anyways, I was interested to learn about the organization that did the research. Navdanya, was founded by Vandana Shiva, she is the author of a great book titled Biopiracy: The plunder of Nature and Knowledge.
In the book, Dr. Vandana Shiva argues that genetic engineering and the cloning of organisms, far from being socially useful are "the ultimate expression of the commercialization of science and the commodification of nature."
"In the era of genetic engineering and patents, life itself is being colonized," says Shiva.
Wow! 'Nuff said.
Of course, I'm being sarcastic about Monsanto, they suck! Anyways, I was interested to learn about the organization that did the research. Navdanya, was founded by Vandana Shiva, she is the author of a great book titled Biopiracy: The plunder of Nature and Knowledge.
In the book, Dr. Vandana Shiva argues that genetic engineering and the cloning of organisms, far from being socially useful are "the ultimate expression of the commercialization of science and the commodification of nature."
"In the era of genetic engineering and patents, life itself is being colonized," says Shiva.
Wow! 'Nuff said.
Agricultural Law: Biotech Companies "Thwart Scientific Research"
Agricultural Law: Biotech Companies "Thwart Scientific Research" The biotech companies are getting out of control and it is time for farmers, citizens and consumers to stand up for what's right. Please read this article and spread the word! Thank you!
If you do nothing else today then watch this video, you're good.
My whole life thus far has been full of up's and down's, backward and forward's. I recently had a crazy past couple of weeks and found a lot of inspiration in this song. To anyone that knows me "I'm blessed to say the old me is dead and gone." Not to say, my individuality has changed, on the contrary my full self is blossoming into its own. Check this shit out:
M.I.A. is the shiznit.
M.I.A. recently had one of her songs featured in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, which I haven't seen yet. I fell in love with her music a few years ago, but her newest album is off the hook! Check out this video:
Barter?
Times are tough for a lot of people, with the current economic crisis. I've always been interested in alternatives to capitalism. I just ran across this post and was intrigued by this quote:
"So I looked around for what I needed, I saw right away that I needed some yard work done (I am highly alergic to grass.) I posted a small ad and the next day I had a landscaper call me, he needed his wifes computer to be fixed and the best quote he received was $150. So he is going to come here in the morning and do 2-3 hours of yard work for me to remove some adware and install a few programs on his wife’s computer. Good deal for me. Trade 2 hours of my time doing something I like to do for 3 hours of something I hate to do, it is also a winning situation for Chris, the landscape guy, he just does 3 hours of work and saves himself $150."
Take a look at the rest of the post for other ways in which this individual successfully bartered.
Does anyone reading this, barter? I'm going to start today.
"So I looked around for what I needed, I saw right away that I needed some yard work done (I am highly alergic to grass.) I posted a small ad and the next day I had a landscaper call me, he needed his wifes computer to be fixed and the best quote he received was $150. So he is going to come here in the morning and do 2-3 hours of yard work for me to remove some adware and install a few programs on his wife’s computer. Good deal for me. Trade 2 hours of my time doing something I like to do for 3 hours of something I hate to do, it is also a winning situation for Chris, the landscape guy, he just does 3 hours of work and saves himself $150."
Take a look at the rest of the post for other ways in which this individual successfully bartered.
Does anyone reading this, barter? I'm going to start today.
Thank you for your continued support!
So far there are a limited number of people reading this blog, but I thank you so much for your support in this endeavor. I wish to make this a successful blog that can actually effect change and touch people's lives.
So please subscribe and tell your friends about this blog, comment on posts, give suggestions/enouragement/advice, but I need your help! Also, I don't just put up random blogs to follow, please look at my sidebar for other great bloggers with great ideas and support them as well!
Also, for people that aren't too familiar, the blue highlighted text is a direct link to another informative webpage. If you have any questions let me know and let's rock this era to its core!!! I encourage you to start your own blog and then tell me about it, so we can support each other.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!!!
So please subscribe and tell your friends about this blog, comment on posts, give suggestions/enouragement/advice, but I need your help! Also, I don't just put up random blogs to follow, please look at my sidebar for other great bloggers with great ideas and support them as well!
Also, for people that aren't too familiar, the blue highlighted text is a direct link to another informative webpage. If you have any questions let me know and let's rock this era to its core!!! I encourage you to start your own blog and then tell me about it, so we can support each other.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!!!
An End to Farm Subsidies???
Change we can believe in! I don't know how many of you caught President Obama's speech last night, I actually missed it, but I did read this article.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Independent Musicians.
For artists like Mo Vibe, there are alternative business models out there for sharing your music and supporting yourself. The great blogger, Shlok Vaidya, has a post on this. Check it out and also subscribe to this guys blog as he has excellent ideas/posts.
World Premier Release of Mo Vibe's Video "Ghetto Fabulous"
Mo Vibe, the up and coming artist of our time has just released a video for her song "Ghetto Fabulous." Please watch both videos and help support her endeavor, maybe she will grant us an exclusive interview that I will post at a later time! Good luck to all you aspiring artists out there!!!
The artist in her own words:
The artist in her own words:
Check out this exciting news!!!
A lot of people in the agricultural community, initially, doubted the appointment of Vilsack to head the USDA. It seems the times are changing, history is being written before our eyes. Thank god WE voted for President Barack Obama!!!
(AP)
Vilsack Adviser Predicts Vegetable Garden On
White House Lawn By Summer
Posted by Christine Lagorio
On the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth earlier this month, the
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and his staff at the department’s
Washington headquarters broke out its shovels and “broke
pavement” on a garden.
Dubbed The People’s Garden, the project seems slated to simply
replace a lot of unnecessary pavement with grass. But it is
nonetheless a symbolic nod to the eat-local movement, which
encourages community gardens in urban areas.
Will the Obamas be following suit? Vilsack adviser Neil Hamilton, the chair and director of the
Agricultural Law Center at Drake University Law School in Iowa, says yes.
“I believe that by this summer there will be a garden – another garden, a vegetable garden – on the
White House lawn,” Hamilton said at a weekend legal seminar at Yale University.
The last time the 18-plus acre White House lawn was used for vegetable gardening was the ‘40s,
when Eleanor Roosevelt started a home-gardening movement that helped feed the nation in wartime.
“Victory Gardens” popped up across the country – and even the residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
could eat what their plot produced.
The Roosevelts weren't the first to garden on the grounds. John Adams, the first president who
inhabited the White House, is said to have used a garden there to feed his family. And during World
War I, Woodrow Wilson not only planted veggies, but grazed sheep on the lawn's lush grass.
Advocates say sowing the seeds of a new Victory Garden movement would be good for the
environment, and also for families’ budgets – the cost of food has risen 45 percent worldwide in the
past two years. It could even play a role in public health at a time when the CDC says more than 60
percent of Americans are overweight or obese.
Alice Waters, the Berkeley, Calif.,-based chef who’s a champion of locally grown, organic food, has
been trying for more than a decade to get first families to set an example for others by gardening.
She wrote several letters to the Clintons imploring them to cultivate a garden, including one in 1995
that read in part: "Help us nourish our children by bringing them back to the table, where we can pass
on our most humane values. Help us create a demand for sustainable agriculture, for it is at the core
of sustaining everyone's life.”
The Clintons never bit on the garden idea, but supporters were encouraged when Waters held a
campaign fundraiser last fall for Mr. Obama. Recently, at the USDA, Michelle Obama told employees:
"I'm a big believer in community gardens, both because of their beauty and for their access to
providing fresh fruits and vegetables to so many communities across this nation and the world.”
But would the Obamas really dig up the South Lawn?
“I believe the Obamas are committed to that. It’s a big idea, and its gonna happen,” Hamilton said.
“During the campaign, going around shaking peoples’ hands, he never got sick once. He was eating
well, and it could have to do with having an organic chef with him. This is someone who 'gets'
nutrition.”
(AP)
Vilsack Adviser Predicts Vegetable Garden On
White House Lawn By Summer
Posted by Christine Lagorio
On the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth earlier this month, the
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and his staff at the department’s
Washington headquarters broke out its shovels and “broke
pavement” on a garden.
Dubbed The People’s Garden, the project seems slated to simply
replace a lot of unnecessary pavement with grass. But it is
nonetheless a symbolic nod to the eat-local movement, which
encourages community gardens in urban areas.
Will the Obamas be following suit? Vilsack adviser Neil Hamilton, the chair and director of the
Agricultural Law Center at Drake University Law School in Iowa, says yes.
“I believe that by this summer there will be a garden – another garden, a vegetable garden – on the
White House lawn,” Hamilton said at a weekend legal seminar at Yale University.
The last time the 18-plus acre White House lawn was used for vegetable gardening was the ‘40s,
when Eleanor Roosevelt started a home-gardening movement that helped feed the nation in wartime.
“Victory Gardens” popped up across the country – and even the residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
could eat what their plot produced.
The Roosevelts weren't the first to garden on the grounds. John Adams, the first president who
inhabited the White House, is said to have used a garden there to feed his family. And during World
War I, Woodrow Wilson not only planted veggies, but grazed sheep on the lawn's lush grass.
Advocates say sowing the seeds of a new Victory Garden movement would be good for the
environment, and also for families’ budgets – the cost of food has risen 45 percent worldwide in the
past two years. It could even play a role in public health at a time when the CDC says more than 60
percent of Americans are overweight or obese.
Alice Waters, the Berkeley, Calif.,-based chef who’s a champion of locally grown, organic food, has
been trying for more than a decade to get first families to set an example for others by gardening.
She wrote several letters to the Clintons imploring them to cultivate a garden, including one in 1995
that read in part: "Help us nourish our children by bringing them back to the table, where we can pass
on our most humane values. Help us create a demand for sustainable agriculture, for it is at the core
of sustaining everyone's life.”
The Clintons never bit on the garden idea, but supporters were encouraged when Waters held a
campaign fundraiser last fall for Mr. Obama. Recently, at the USDA, Michelle Obama told employees:
"I'm a big believer in community gardens, both because of their beauty and for their access to
providing fresh fruits and vegetables to so many communities across this nation and the world.”
But would the Obamas really dig up the South Lawn?
“I believe the Obamas are committed to that. It’s a big idea, and its gonna happen,” Hamilton said.
“During the campaign, going around shaking peoples’ hands, he never got sick once. He was eating
well, and it could have to do with having an organic chef with him. This is someone who 'gets'
nutrition.”
Calexico.
This band is from my adopted hometown of Tucson, AZ. They are really good and this video/song really has me missing the great state of Arizona and all of its beauty!
Calexico: http://www.casadecalexico.com/index.php
They are going to be in NYC in March, anybody want to come with me?? Christina??
Calexico: http://www.casadecalexico.com/index.php
They are going to be in NYC in March, anybody want to come with me?? Christina??
Mondragon Cooperative and Distributism concept. Part one (of many more to come)
So I was recently reading about the Mondragon Cooperative in Spain and came across this cool video. I hope to write more on these topics soon and when I have some more time! There are so many cool ideas out there, I don't even know where to begin!
Mona Eltahawy. Culture of Peace Lecture.
At our SGI Culture Center in Manhattan, about once a month we have a distinguished guest that gives a lecture on some aspect of peace. This Friday, February 27th at 7pm, Mona Eltahawy will be that guest. In this case, Mona will be "Speaking from the Heart to Bridge the Divide in the Middle East." I can't wait and I hope to see a lot of friends there!Mona Eltahawy: http://www.monaeltahawy.com/
Monday, February 23, 2009
--TO MY FRIENDS--
Don't wait for the "right" time.
Create it yourself.
One individual can completely
transform the atmosphere by
discarding vanity and affectations and
striving in earnest.
Barber. Support your local businesses.
So, I just got back from getting a much needed haircut. I have gone through a lot of barbers throughout the years and have finally found an almost perfect barber.
His name is Altin Ostreni and is the owner of Ostreni Barber Shop, located just a few blocks from where I live on 735 Lydig Ave, Bronx, NY.
This guy truly enjoys his craft and gives excellent haircuts for a cost of $10!! Please visit him, if you are ever in the area.
This business is located within walking distance of our house, like so many other businesses in the area.
Good music.
I recently found this good record label, who has Bishop Allen as one of their artists. And more recently, they signed John Vanderslice! The label is Dead Oceans and the website is http://www.deadoceans.com/
Bishop Allen: http://www.deadoceans.com/artist.php?name=bishopallen
John Vanderslice:
John is coming to NYC on
Fri Mar 27, 2009
at the Society For Ethical Culture
w/ The Mountain Goats
I still have to figure out how to get tickets! Let me know if you would like to come with me, this guy's music is amazing and I have never seen him in concert, but I'm sure he is good in concert as well!
The beginning
So, this is my first blog/first blog post and I'm very excited! I've always wanted to do this, so here I am! I'll be posting whatever interests me on this blog, so check it out, comment, send donations, whatever! Let's all have fun!
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