Video Spotlight: Barbie & Ken 101

Let's round out the month with a shout out to spoken word with a side dish of feminism.

I think Rafael Casal is the shit. His flow is sick, and his message critical. (And there I go again cross-breeding two language sets that are too often kept in separate corners.) Rafael's a talented young voice that gives thoughtful, heart-felt attention to very real issues through the fresh eyes of a generation seeking their (our) way in a mixed up world. He just came out with a hip-hop/rap LP – "As Good As Your Word" – at the end of January. And if you want to read "Barbie & Ken 101" in its final form (the piece was only about a week old in the vid) go here.



UPDATE: I recently read a short chapter written by Rafael entitled "Teaching Poetry Workshop" in Handbook of Social Justice in Education (2008) edited by Bill Ayers, Therese Quinn, and David Stovall. Good read. -- 8/2009

the end of an era: say farwell to tortilla chips...

Okay, so I'm supposed to be finishing my last final of the quarter. (Thank God, but I'm not done yet, so cross your fingers.) But, I need a momentary pause to go on a tirade.

It's a little after midnight and I just opened a brand new bag of my favorite, locally manufactured tortilla chips. Yummy, yummy, right? Well, I am an obsessive nutrition facts label reader. (It's sick, I know.) But, my favorite thing about these chips, besides their oh-so-yummy taste, is that they are made with only three simple ingredients: corn, lime, and corn oil. Woohoo for simplicity! So, tonight I'm munching away and habitually start to read (uh... reread) the label and to my surprise, there is a new ingredient I've never seen before: "tHBQ as an oil additive." What on earth?!?! So, I hop on the internet and do a little research, only for my dismay, disdain, and general sadness to grow in sickly measures.

tBHQ, or tertiary butylhydroquinone, is a petroleum-based food additive being used to replace partially hydrogenated this, that, and the others which are known for their contribution to high trans fat numbers (also yucky). The glorious thing about tBHQ is that numerous studies have linked it to bladder and kidney cancers and it’s been used to predictably induce tumors in test animals. And, just as an added bonus, it's a member of the same family as BHA and BHT, both of which have been banned in England, because they have been proven to be carcinogenic. I am totally lucking out here. And the FDA lets them put this shit in my food!

Plus:

According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, "tBHQ is a form of butane (i.e. lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food... which is probably just as well, considering that ingesting a single gram of tBHQ can cause 'nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse.' Ingesting five grams of tBHQ can kill."

(from An Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan)

So, my delightful tortilla chips, once prized so highly for their natural ingredients, could now contribute to my getting cancer and/or tumors. So excited about that.

And thus, I must now bid farewell to my favorite tortilla chips (seriously the best I've had in my whole life), write a nasty letter to the company (El Ranchero Food Products/2547 S. Kedzie Ave./Chicago, IL 60623), and seek simpler times, when a girl could count on corn, lime, and corn oil to be all she needed. I am so disappointed...

Video Spotlight: Roe v. Wade 35th Anniversary

March is Women's History Month, so as a little shout-out to my fellow sisters, I wanted to post up a video tied to a relevant women's issue (so many to choose between). (And, really, women's issues are everybody's issues. Just as a reminder.) So, I'm posting a video that just came out in January celebrating the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which was decided in January of 1973 (NOT all that long ago, really). With all the political talk intent on overturning Roe v. Wade today, it should be apparent the controversy and relevance this issue still holds. Put together by Naral Pro-Choice America this video speaks to the complexity of real women's lives. Women's decisions concerning choice are anything but simple and emotionless, and the video does a nice job of placing that complicated reality in the social, historical context of our world. As a woman, I want to know that my actions, my body, and my reproductive rights are MY choice, not the decision of lawmakers who know nothing about my life, my journey, or my needs. It is my responsibility to protect that right for myself, my friends, and my loved ones.

(And if you're interested in Faith Pennick's film, which is mentioned in the video, go here.)

Video Spotlight: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Yesterday I went to the UMMA (United Muslims Moving Ahead) & IMAN (Inter-City Muslim Activist Networks)'s "CommUNITY Cafe" show in honor of Black History Month. It was off the chain. (Can a goofy white girl like me even say that and not sound stupid?) They had Amir Sulaiman (a Chi-town, 2 time Def Poet), Three Generations (with Maimounna & Nataska Youssef -- Maimounna was featured in "Don't Feel Right" on The Roots' last album), a whole crew of local Hip-Hop DJs, MCs, beat boys, and music makers, and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, a Chi-town born and raised group of street jazz musicians who crash through boundaries of genre definitions grafting this crazy soul, funk, hip-hop, marching band, classical infused jazz music that you can't help by move to. (And they just got off tour with Mos Def. Yeah...) They're good. So, I've gotta show some Chi-town love. Check it.

And if you want a little more history/context for the group, you can watch the short vid The New York Times did on 'em in 2006.

Yes We Can!

if you know anything about me, you know that music is a deep passion in my life. it's a part of my every day going-ons and brings a depth to my existence that is rarely paralleled by other pursuits. i am especially drawn to the music that you start to feel in your blood and your bones -- the kind that you breath in, as deeply as it can go, because to let it just fill the air isn't nearly good enough. and when you find music that truly speaks to you in that way, the inspiration of it can be truly powerful.

a friend sent me a music video today that kinda gets at me like that. it's will.i.am's Yes We Can Song -- a labor of love brought to fruition in the 48 hours of January 30th and 31st, 2008. featuring the voices and presence of many, including Common, John Legend, Scarlett Johansson, Tatyana Ali, Herbie Hancock, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Nicole Scherzinger, among many others, will.i.am grafted the words of Barack Obama's Yes We Can speak (which you can see in its entirety here) into an anthem of voices speaking up for change. under the direction of Jesse Dylan, the video speaks to the power of the American people to seek hope and to seek change.



if you would like to read the elegant, heartfelt words with which will.i.am describes the project, go here. and if you would like to see an interview with will and jesse dylan on abc news, you can go here.

and most importantly, if you live in one of the 24 states holding primaries or caucuses this tuesday, february 5th, 2008, i encourage you to get out and vote. i don't care who you vote for. i just care that you make your voice heard.

and if you're not registered to vote, take this opportunity to get registered. it only takes a few minutes and instructions and applications should be available through your local or state elections board. (most folks have all the info online, so you don't even have to leave your house.)

and, "yes we can" make a difference!

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

your voice carries a weight that no one else can fill. use it.