well…cool…

was looking about on okayplayer.com and found this gem. should be kewl can’t wait to gander.

“This past Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah a film debuted at the X Dance action sports film festival called Whitewash, directed by Ted Woods. Although you may not have heard of it yet, Whitewash, the documentary, is a film exploring the complexity of race in America through the struggle and triumph of the history of black surfers. It is narrated by Ben Harper and Black Thought, and tells the story through the eyes of black surfers and historians from Hawaii, Jamaica, Florida, and California. The film is being scored by The Roots, with music from Erykah Badu as well. Let’s hope it hits the big theaters soon so we can all catch a glimpse of this historic exploration of race, identity, and surfing culture.”

source: http://www.okayplayer.com/news/Whitewash-World-Premiere-Music-By-The-Roots-E-Badu-.html

i heart writing but…

it’s saturday. the saturday after my most favorite holiday, july 4. the mid-morning air is crisp and moving lightly in underneath the bottom of my open window. my ‘wanna be’ cool dark wood shades for world market allow a nice view of the street…my neighbor’s home across the way, the occasional jogger and the tree in my yard. my music is soft and i’ve just updated some writing of mine that i am really really excited and scared about.

i have been aware for a long time now…that writing is what i am supposed to do. it cleanses me and it moves me…it captivates me and reassures me. it is what is and what has always gotten me by. it is my best friend and my love. it is my answer and it holds all my questions. it is my beginning and no doubt, my end.

and even though it has proven from time to time to be mine…my power and my weakness. the thing that catches all my quirks…all my weirdness it still evades me as to what i want to do with it to earn a living…to be my lifestyle. i’ve always had to two-time it…cheat on it by having a 9-5. not because this is what i want.

i love writing so much that i enrolled in it as an undergrad…graduated in it as a master’s…and yet am still stuck as to how to get in. even, how to pave my way in this field. yet somehow i guess i’m thankful because the frustration has pushed me to write. i guess i’ll always need that wicked mix…but i’d prefer to do it…and get paid. stay true to my creativity…still.

i guess i’m bitter too. going to college, i had some scholarships but loans also. hence debt. and that debt the chain…linking me to the slavery of being financially indebted to the system, not free enough to roam about and be that bohemian writergirl i’ve always dreamed about. it’s tough smiling for the man, sitting in his cubicle while he forces me to tussle with his paper work for a small payment, bad health benefits and little incentive. especially compared to what he makes.

according to the center for american progress:
“The New York Times recently reported that the average CEO made nearly $10 million last year. That’s the average salary for CEOs at 179 large companies. The average worker, on the other hand, earns just under $30,000 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means that CEOs now take home upwards of 250 times the average worker’s wage.”

contemplative. angry. and stuck.
living as a debt slave in this society…debt to major corporations and living in an economic environment that is outsourcing jobs and just not growing right now thanks to 8 years of the very unapologetic bush and cheney regime.

being financially stuck makes one stilted. you can’t travel, you can’t learn other countries, you can’t eat as healthy, you have to suffice with less effective medications, you have to live less safe, you have to work through despite every inch of your body telling you that you need to rest. it’s a vicious way of living with no easy out…except winning the lottery…and we all know those odds.

all this and my life could be worse…i do watch the evening news with my hand over my eyes. but i suggest that we…those who make less than say the average workers $47,000 a year…if WE banded together to change the price of gasoline, to demand banking corporations be less predatory, to demand equal rights, better health care…if we could forget about our racial divide and focus on what really matters…our survival in the world, and having a substantial financial mound to grow from…to allow our kids a better future…then…what are we waiting for? the amount of us making under $47,000 are…we are the majority.

for more insight…read paul krugman’s article, “the great wealth transfer.”

along these lines…here’s ‘guarantees’ by atmosphere who is a rapper who’s been in the game for a minute now. he’s freeekin’ genius…

what are we waiting for? we are actually sitting on power. untapped power to change the … our horizon.

the beat may drop but not like all the others

i sorta got into it today with a work pal. it started when i spoke to her about my friend and his girl being turned away from a local bar here in columbus, ohio because he had on timberlands.

her theory was that bar owners have a right to turn back anyone because of dress. and i said something about the people in the bar wearing flip flops. her answer was that flip flops were okay…with long pants. my initial problem is that these rules are culturally bias. it’s okay to say that the owners don’t want jeans, or tennis shoes or hats. but to specifically say no timberlands but yes to flip flops. yes to ball caps but only ones with the bills curved and not flat. no chains. no baggy jeans. tank tops but no team jerseys. to me…that’s where i see a cultural bias. and the person i was talking to supported it because she believes that behavior fits the dress…assuming she means that people who wear baggy jeans, timberlands and flat bills act a certain way. bullsh*t!!! that’s racist.

so…our conversation evolved somehow onto kanye west. she can’t stand kanye because she says he whines and complains. she said he should make better records if he’s upset he doesn’t win an award. i don’t care what the hell kanye west complains about…my feeling is that kanye west has released such a magnificent artistic body of work that he can say and do whatever he wants. as long as he sounds good to me…i will continue to buy his albums. there are a few artists whose albums i’ll buy only because i know a new one is out…i don’t have to hear any cuts off of it…kanye is one…john mayer, another….lauryn hill, especially if she ever releases anything else. erykah badu…red hot chili peppers…john legend.

then she goes into saying that kanye should do something and stop complaining. help people and stop complaining. so i asked her if her dude, kenny chesney did anything. i told her that kanye has a charity, an outreach program. and i suggested we challenge each oher.

so here’s the challenge: we both had to pick and submit to each other a list of 5 artists/groups. her genre strictly country/top 40. my group hip hop/rap/r&b. we must research their charity work and submit it to each other by lunch tomorrow. the winner has to buy the other…a t-shirt. i’m thinking i could buy her a college dropout tee. ohhhh, we shall see.