How Scott Brown Convinced Me To Vote for Martha Coakley

Yesterday morning my phone rang. It turned out to be one of those automated phone messages from the Scott Brown Campaign. As the voice rapid-fired through some urgent sounding commentary, it turned to a comment made by Coakley regarding the Red Sox and the Yankees. The recording ended with, "I don't know about you, but I'm a Red Sox fan, so I'm voting for Scott Brown, U.S. Senate."


I sat there, staring at my phone for a few minutes, thinking about this phone call on a bunch of levels. First, you have the fact that the call was rapid fire and urgent sounding to the point of possibly being frightening to a child or elderly person answering the phone. Next, what the hell does being a Red sox or Yankees fan have to do with the U.S. Senate? All of the social and financial issues plaguing the people of Massachusetts and the nation as a whole and it all boils down to your choice in ball teams? Wow!

In 1999, I officially withdrew from the Democratic Party and changed my voter registration to read "No Political Preference" as, in my opinion, none of the organized parties were particularly impressive. Let's face it; Ms. Coakley is in example as to why I left. However, as I read more and more about Scott Brown, his stance on taxes, Wall Street, healthcare, and a bunch of other Bush-Cheneyesque activities and policies that are remarkably out-dated, I realize that yet again, the ballot box is not going to be a place to vote for the better candidate as much as it will be a place to vote for the lesser of two evils. Coakley is no prize but Brown out and out sucks.

To top it off, his campaign is calling people to warn them against Coakley because of her lack enthusiasm about baseball and the Red Sox. I'm thinking back to last summer when some young idiot beat up a tourist for having New York plates on his car. Unfortunately the tourist never came back for the trial so the moron who beat him is out and roaming Cape Cod, not to mention eligible to vote. As a student at Boston University, I lived off of Kenmore Square and I remember the condition Red Sox fans would leave the area in after a game, especially if the Red Sox lost. We are definitely not talking about people from the deeper end of the gene pool. The only thing that would prove to be more unfortunate then Brown's complete and obvious lack of respect for the intellect of Massachusetts voters in using such a platform is if this stupidity actually works.

To paraphrase the recordings closing: I don't know about you, but I really don't care what your favorite ball team is, Scott Brown's an idiot and I'm voting for Coakley... who's a little less of an idiot. JANUARY 19, 2010 IS AN ELECTION DAY IN MASSACHUSETTS... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

HAITIAN RELIEF ALERT

Manhattan, NY Locations FOR HAITIAN CLOTHING DRIVE:

Operation Hope Center
2511 Fredrick Douglas Blvd NY, NY
drop-off 9am-5pm
Attn:Donna Lynn Burton or Leonard Arzu.

L'Exquisitus Cafe
153 Manhattan Ave (Central Park West & Columbus corner of 107th St)
M-F 8am-8pm S-S 8am-6pm 212.280.1145 (3)

THIS... SATURDAY @ Gospel Uptown
2110 7th Ave
Sat from 12 TO 3pm

Brooklyn: St. Paul’s Community Baptist Church
859 Hendrix Street BK, NY 11207 Attn:Beast

Latin Fridays @ District Lounge to the Haiti relief fund in honor of MLK weekend! ''
The WBOP will also have a donation box @ the door for guest to give... We would appreciate any support and help with spreading the word about our efforts! Our prayers go out to the Families and Friends who lost loved ones in the Earthquake that hit Haiti.

It is the least we can do to help the Families and People of Haiti during these hard times. We hope all our friends and everyone living in the U.S were able to contact their families and loved ones. We are praying for you all.

LATIN FRIDAYS @ DISTRICT LOUNGE
180 Lincoln St Boston, MA 02111
10p-2A. $10 on Guestlist. $15 at the door.

Music By: J.R Vega & Weekly Special Guest DJ's Playing The Best Merengue, Salsa, Reggaeton, Bachata, Top 40, House

Hosted By: VidaLoca Promotions (JR Vega)//Vanessa Mendizabal//Ruben Acosta (6ONE7)//Omar Cabrera//Victor Zimmerman-Felix (WBOP Networking)

*** Please be aware that this is a good time for scams to start asking for monetary donations! BE CAREFUL WHO YOU DONATE YOUR MONEY TO!

Somerville, MA — The Haitian Coalition of Somerville will hold a community meeting on Friday to talk about ways to help victims of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Arthur D. Healey School, 5 Meacham St.

Being About Bi'ness

Okay, a few minutes ago (The current time is 10:40pm EST, 1/12/10) I received a request from a young brother trying to get a review on his CD. He sent me his bio, a picture and link as to where I could purchase his new CD.

I hit him back with an e-mail advising him as to where he could either send me a link to download the music files or send me a physical CD. His response was that the CD was on sale at 9the site in the original e-mail).

I tried to explain to him that reviewers don't buy CDs, artists and labels give us copies of their work and we listen to it, write a review and hopefully influence other folks to buy it/ listen to it.

He quickly replied that he's in business to sell his CDs not give the away and that I was the third reviewer that he approached who tried to get a free CD, and that's it's wrong for reviewers like me to try to take advantage of struggling cats trying to make it in the business. My reply was that I understood his situation and that he should try to get somebody who already bought the CD to review it.

I realize that I've been bumping around in the music business for close to 26 years, starting in high school when I would go annoy the folks at the recording studios and small indie labels all over New York and ask all kinds of questions about record production, promotion, marketing, distribution and so forth. I'm thankful for the patience of folks like Bobby Taylor (Taylor-Boy Entertainment), Bill Adler (Initially of Rush Management), Tony Marshall (Passion/ York Records), and the folks working at Powwow Records, Strong City Records, Profile, and Tommy-Boy. One thing that they all told me: The value of the promo-copy/ give-away. Giving copies of CDs and materials to DJs, reviewers, and folks in influential positions is part of the business/ budget.

Okay, let' say for a minute that maybe he didn't have access to these people, and somehow managed to by-pass the myriad of websites on the music business and marketing/peddling your own recordings, let's try common sense!!! Waaay back, when singles were still on vinyl and studio and pressing costs made indie record production to inaccessible for many people, you had to distribute hundreds - thousands of promo copies to record pools, radio, reviewers, etc., it would only stand to reason that now, in the digital age, where CDs are recorded and produced on laptops and the market is saturated, the give-away is even more essential.

One thing that I remain tired of is folks blaming their ignorance on "being about business." Business is not short-sighted, rude or unprofessional. Also, for those looking to break into the business as indie artists, if you can't afford to give away copies of your product, you can't afford to be in business. Plain and simple!

NEXT TOPIC: Business Phone Etiquette.

That Word

I remember

way back in the day

the MTA in NYC needed to demonstrate

movements towards efficiency and improvements

in bus services.

A change

So they changed all of the route numbers

The Bx 15 became the Bx 28

and the 17 became the 26

still ran the same route

kept the same schedule

but it was

A Change

It's been a little over two years

Since the word was made illegal in some places

and so many have battled against it

Replacing it with a reference

Yes the word is gone,

but

the

feelings

behind

the

word

stay.

N-word

What do I mean?

Check this scene:

Yo, Whassup, my N-word?

Check this out

The other day I went to pay for something with my credit card

and the woman at the  counter asked me for ID

But check this

The three white folks ahead of me used credit cards

and showed her

nothing

but

smiles

I asked for the manager

I guess that made me an

Uppity N-word

or maybe just another

N-word With an Attitude

One cop says to the other,

Hey, get a load of those N-words on the corner

An elderly man on the phone in the suburbs

saw some N-words driving through his neighborhood really slow

Or what about my man

made 400 grand in one month

went out and bought a Navigator

Which is just and expedition with a Cadillac emblem

costing and extra 40-grand

but I guess things like that don't matter

when you're N-word rich

 Speaking of which

An eastern Native American tribe got Federal Recognition

As they celebrated

a few of the most jubulent

chanted loudly

At Last! We’re Not N-words!!!

Can you borrow a dollar?

N-word please!

I need a new TV

The wire keep coming loose

and I had to N-word rig the plugs

Riddle:

What do you call a Black man with a PhD

Dr N-word, of course!

I know this cat

he’s passing for white

but you know how we can tell

He definitely has an N-word in the wood pile

I know this cat who bought a house in the suburbs

he came home one day and found

N-word Move Out!!!

Spray painted all across his house

House N-words

Field N-words

N-words of the world unite

But you know that won't happen

'cause that's how N-words are

The only time they can get together

it's to party

an even then

a fight usually breaks out

'cause that's how N-words are.

Great

we have a new term

N-word

now when do we get rid of the

self

fulfilling

prophesy

Then

let's erase it from history

and literature of the past

make this an N-word free world

Then what?

would we have an N-word-word???

Oh, here I go again

on another one of my N-word rants

Well you know how us N-word poets can get

Gee,

you know

this is much better

Well, I guess I’ll talk to you N-words later

COPYRIGHT 2010, Mwalim (MJ Peters)

Talking About Tiger Woods Amiri Baraka Style

Poor Tiger Woods
All he's doing is what he was taught to do.
Golf is his whole life;
his whole life is golf.
All of his life, he was told:
the object of the game are to sink 'em in one shot
in every hole on the field.
Then go rest in the country club
also called the 19th hole

Oh well, bro
Get out there and swing those clubs
you got bills to pay
what was more costly?
Your house?
Your Cars?
Your reputation?
or
You're up and coming alimony bill?
Pay for play brother
Pay for play.

I guess when it comes down to it
Cablasian is just another word for nigger.

COPYRIGHT 2009 MJ Peters

A Silent Genocide: A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn born performance poet/artist Tantra-zawadi, announced the released of a short documentary titled “A Silent Genocide:  A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS” today.  Ms. Zawadi created this project in conjunction with Stony Brook University’s World AIDS Day banquet.

A Silent Genocide:  A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS, shot on location in New York City and Los Angeles, features a commentary by Betty Makoni, the founder of Girl Child Network Worldwide and a Top 10 finalist for CNN’s 2009 Heroes Award, offers insights into the personal experience of those living with HIV/AIDS.  Through art and activism, A Silent Genocide shows viewers how these individuals are striving to decrease the staggering numbers of new infections.

A Silent Genocide is directed by Ms. Zawadi and Oliver Covrett of XYAYX Multimedia who also edited and produced the film.  Musical contributions for the project include Tut Burks and Xavier Kemp with artwork by Shanna Melton.


This is Tantra-zawadi’s third project to raise awareness regarding HIV/AIDS.  Her video “Scarlet Waters” was featured on the Product (RED) video wall as well as a PSA for Mark Herbert Productions/Betah and Associates. 


Tantra-zawadi is an internationally known performance poet/recording artist and the author of “alifepoeminprogress.”  She has performed her soul stirring life-poems to standing room audiences at venues all over the world; most recently at the Badilisha Poetry X-Change Festival in Cape Town, South Africa.    Her latest projects include:  “Girl – A Choreospective”, and collaborations such as The Love Planet EP by Collective Spirits, EARTHOLOGY by Floyd Boykin, Jr., and THE LIBERATION SESSIONS by Mwalim.  

A Silent Genocide:  A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS

A Documentary by Tantra-zawadi

Filmed and Produced by Oliver Covrett, XYAYX Multimedia

Now on YouTube.com

www.youtube.com/tantrazawadi

Amazing Cousin Tricks