Still hard to believe...
Check out this piece I wrote on the man just days after he passed.
We miss you JAY!
One week ago today, Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske (aka the Drug Czar) issued a statement declaring the issue of marijuana legalization a "non-starter" not even worthy of discussion in the Obama Administration.
The Drug Czar's statement also highlighted the extraordinary social and health care costs associated with widespread alcohol use, suggesting that similar problems would occur if marijuana were to be regulated and treated like alcohol. Yet every objective study on marijuana has concluded that it is far less harmful than alcohol both for the user and for society.
In response to the Drug Czar's statement, SAFER has launched an on-line petition, calling on the drug czar to either start basing our nation's drug policies on reason and evidence instead of mythology and ideology, or start explaining why he'd prefer adults use alcohol instead of a far safer substance -- marijuana.
Please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj32wxb or click on the button to the right to sign the petition today. Then forward word of it to anyone who might be interested in siging on before we present it to the drug czar.
Three years in the making, this cinéma-vérité feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother’s
Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet. The inside story of the infamous “Amazon
Chernobyl” case, Crude is a real-life high stakes legal drama, set against a backdrop of the environmental
movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate
power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures. Presenting a complex situation from multiple
viewpoints, the film subverts the conventions of advocacy filmmaking, exploring a complicated situation from all angles while bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus.
Seriously. Directed by my man OG at Luxury Mindz. These dudes is serious and I love this song.
I say click it twice so you can see it in full form, not all squished up on this here blog.
I'm working on this whole Fun Fun Fun Fest Preview Post and plan to have it up by tomorrow, in addition to a ticket giveaway and such, but I just decided that Melt Banana deserve their own post.
This is a photo, or series of photos I took at Walter's On Washington a few years back in Houston.
Melt Banana are a band from Japan, they were championed by John Peel who once declared them his favorite band. Whether or not that has anything to do with me declaring them my favorite band of all time is irrelevant, cuz they are and it's very real. If I am in love with a band in this world, it is Melt Banana, and I will forever stay faithful.
With early voting in full swing and the election day less than a week away… people are still up in the air as to who they should vote for when it comes to Mayor of Houston. Who ever sits in that chair will be yielding a lot of power and will set a tone for one of the nation’s most exciting and rapidly growing cities. Houston is on the move and it needs a mayor who will set the pace. It needs a mayor who can make an increasingly young population feel like they are in touch - a mayor who understands the pressing issues impacting young adults. They range from job opportunities to education to affordable housing. Houston needs a mayor that will make a city that has large African-American, Latino, Asian and Gay & Lesbian population feel like their respective needs are being met. Below you will find some links to articles and videos that can hopefully lend some insight...
Classes were back in session at Richmond High School in San Francisco’s East Bay Tuesday, with counselors available for students to talk about Saturday night’s horrific crime – the gang rape on campus of a 15-year-old student who had just left the homecoming dance… What makes this crime so shocking is that police say at least 20 people were involved in the rape or stood and watched the crime without going for help.
Young Girl Gang raped for 2 Hours Outside High School Dance Give National Attention to End Violence Against Women
by Tachelle Shamash Wilkes
When I heard about the brutal rape of this high school girl, I was deeply saddened to the core that something like this could go on. “The Code of the Street” was meant to protect our women. However, somewhere down the line it was misconstrued to fit the agenda of men to cover up an array of sins. For these twenty-plus young onlookers to sit there and say or do nothing says a lot about the plight of this world. What if it were your sister who laid on that ground? As a matter of fact, what if she was your mother? Blood runs through this young girl’s veins just as yours. Her reflection is yours.
Because it's never too soon to plan for next month (even though maybe you already should have) - here's some updated info on the Austin Asian American Film Festival:
Austin, TX – The 6th annual Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF) is slated to run November 12th through November 15th at the Alamo, South Lamar. The 2009 movie line-up includes 40 outstanding feature films and shorts selections from over 300 submissions from around the world. In addition, we have a wide variety of special events and film-festival related parties to pick from. Click here for a complete listing of movies and events for this year.
The 2009 Film Festival kicks off Thursday, November 12th with a 7:00pm screening of local filmmaker Ed Radtke’s award-winning drama, Speed of Life, followed by a one of a kind opening night party at KTV Silhouette Lounge featuring DJ Chris Klassen spinning Cambodian girl rock and other feet tapping tracks from around the globe.
Naomi Klein, author of the book Shock Doctrine, came to last night (October 27th) UC Berkeley at the Mario Salvio Annual Free Speech Movement. Event and spoke to an overflow crowd of 1200 people. 500 were turned away. Her message was on point and sobering as she laid out all the steps and triggers that have led up to the current economic tailspin many of us are feeling.
Today (Oct 28th 2009) Houston City Council will sit and consider a controversial bill that will deputize Houston police officers to essentially act as ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents. The program is known as 287(g). This measure has come under fire for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it was rejected a while back and both current Mayor Bill White and Houston’s police chief Harold L. Hurtt came out against it. They understand, as do so many community members, that having the police act as ICE agents can lead to an increase in unneccessary tension between police and the community.
