Archive for September, 2008

Semi-retarded Mickey D’s Ad of the Week #1

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Don’t we all just love new features? Fortunately for ya’ll, this video speaks for itself.AA Apparently this was one of their first TV spots ever - and what better place to start than the beginning?

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Posted: September 7th, 2008
at 11:21am by Black Ock


Categories: youtube,srmdaotw

Comments: 7 comments


Quote of the Day

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Jesus was a community organizer - Pontius Pilate was a governor! - an alternative (to ours) viewpoint

The following excerpt was written by Jim Wallis

Wednesday morning, I got an e-mail from a former member of our Sojourners Community. His name is Perry Perkins and he is now a community organizer in Louisiana with affiliates of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). a€oePerk,a€A as we used to call him, reported on the enormous consequences of 2 million people being evacuated because of Hurricane Gustav, much of the state now being without power, how hard cities like Baton Rouge were hit, the tens of thousands of people in shelters and churches, and the continuing problems caused by heavy rains and flooding. Then he talked about how their community organizers were responding to it all of this; responding to hundreds of service calls, assisting local officials in evacuation plans, aiding evacuees without transportation, coordinating shelters and opening new ones, providing food, essential services, and financial aid to those in most need. Since Katrina, Perrya€™s Louisiana Interfaith organizations have played a lead role in securing millions of dollars to help thousands of families return to New Orleans and rebuild their homes and their lives.

Then Wednesday night, I heard Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, say that her experience as a€oea small town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.a€A The convention crowd in St. Paul thought that was very funny. But it wasna€™t. It was actually quite insulting to the army of community organizers who work in the most challenging places across the country and have such a tremendous impact on the every day lives of millions of people. I guess Sarah Palin and her fellow Republican delegates dona€™t know much about that. The a€oeactual responsibilitiesa€A of community organizers literally provide the practical support, collective strength, and hope for a better future that low-income families need to survive,

Community organizers are now most focused in the faith community, working with tens of thousands of pastors and laypeople in thousands of congregations around the country. Faith-based organizing is the critical factor in many low-income communities in the countrya€™s poorest urban and rural areas, and church leaders are often the biggest supporters of community organizers. And many of them felt deeply offended by Sarah Palin. Here are a few of their responses:

.::Read the responses at -> Huffington Post

This situation is a great example of the right proclaiming a position that is blatantly ignorant and then trying to explain it away through saying so-called "liberals" are outraged for no reason. It’s obvious to me that the talking point for the night’s speeches, "community organizer," was similar in its application to "flip flopper" as describing John Kerry. The only problem is that in this case it doesn’t work because it’s blatantly stupid. There are community organizers on both sides, including those ones that boycott soldiers’ funerals (cough evanrepubligelicals) and abortion clinics - to name a few in a narrow scope - and now they’re all offended.

If the Republicans really want to win this election they have a long way to go now in convincing people that they aren’t the party of the rich and that they have some limited grasp on reality. My friend from The Murder, Roach, told me that increasingly the Democrats are becoming (or have become) the party of the rich. I told him that 80 million some odd evangelicals in the Republican party was sincerely helping the cause (there are roughly as many voting evangelicals in the country as there are black people, man woman and child). Anyway, send her back to the ice. Alaska?? That doesn’t even TOUCH the rest of the US. That’s basically Canada.

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Posted: September 6th, 2008
at 11:16am by Black Ock


Categories: quote of the day

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Mikey Murka Interview (part 1)

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In the mid eighties, Tottenhama€™s Unity sound was at the top of their game. Only a handful of competitors could approach their status as one of Londona€™s most venerated sound systems. With a versatile and deep roster of deejays and singers, the set brought out crowds in droves. Mikey Murka was one of the many talented artists to earn his stripes with the legendary North London sound, performing at dances and parties around the city. Eventually Unitya€™s in-house production team of Ruddy and Red Eye decided to bring the young singer into the studio, yielding a handful of digital-era masterpieces like a€oeRide the Rhythma€A, a€oeWe Trya€A and a€oeControl the Dancehalla€A on the seta€™s Unity Sounds label. As the nineties dawned, Londona€™s sound systems quieted down as conditions and musical tastes turned away from their favor. Mikey Murka was one of many artists who left the spotlight during this period. Fortunatelya€"like many of his counterpartsa€"he is back on the scene and has a new album out on the Reality Shock label. I caught up with Mikey in Kinga€™s Cross, London a few months back and the following discussion ensued.

Tell me a little bit about how you first got your start in music.

Well you know its while I was growing up in Jamaica as a little youth going school. In my area in Jamaica we used to sing on a lot of sound systems and a lot of area dances used to keep in my areaa€"this is in Clarendon, this is in Jamaica, you know, and thata€™s where I grown up. Anyway from there thata€™s how it really started. And eventually coming to England in my teenager years, at first I went to Manchester, UK, and I was with a band called Fourth Generation. Now, Fourth Generation consist of Twelve Tribes members, you knowa€"at the time everybody was Rasta, I myself was Rasta I had locks on my shoulder. Man is still Rasta in the heart, but at the time where it was on the shoulders, now ita€™s just in the heart. But yea so thata€™s where it all started out still, you know, it started in Manchester in the early eightiesa€"I would say eighty-one, and I was singing with the band called Fourth Generation, and another group used to sing with the band called the Hearticals, you know, Rootsman, and many more to mention still.

So how did you end up getting involved with Unity sound in London?

Well, how I get involved with Unity sound now, just a couple of years later I came to London now, and thata€™s where I been ever since. So while I came to London I was first in a sound called JahRevalation sound, which is the Twelve Tribes sound of UK, London. And then I moved to East London and thata€™s where I met Unity sound.

Around what year was that?

I would say that was around 1983-84.

As far as your personal style were you influenced by what was going on in the UK or more by the Jamaican style that you grew up with?

To be honest bredrin ita€™s straight Jamaican, you know what I mean? My influence is strictly from Yard. At that time, a lotta people used to define the UK artists at that era, they used to like to compare with the UK artists of Jamaica. Because of that a lot of English UK artists was looked upon like, a€oh, just home-grown talenta€™. But you know, I myself and one and two other UK artists at that time was likea€"man would say a€yea Mikey Murkaa€™ or for example a€Tippa Irie is a UK artist but dem man deh sound proper Yard stylea€™. At the time thata€™s how it was, you know. There was a next artist, a man called Errol Bellot, Gideon Zinger, Richie Davis, you know, dem man deh did kinda sound authentic Yard style from long time still. So thata€™s where it start, you know?

So when you were here in England did you keep up with Jamaican sounds on cassette?

Yea, back in them days man we used to listen bare cassettes man have, you know? Of all the big sounds thema€"wicked Stur Gav with Charlie Chaplin, Josey Walesa€"whole heap of sounds man, so many sounds to mention, you know what I mean. Killamanjaro, Black Harmaony Hi Power, Jah Love, too many sounds to mention.

During your time with Unity who were the sounda€™s biggest rivals?

Wella€¦ yea, that is a wicked question man. [laughs] Back in those days Unity had many rivals. As you know back in them daysa€"to be honest the three talked about sounds in the eighties era in London, UK would be Unity, Saxon and Coxsone, so you know, the biggest rivals in a way were Saxon and Coxsone. But at the same time, because they were on the same levela€"near enougha€"there was still a lot of respect. But then there was a lot of other sounds that are not in the same rank who would try to test, you know? [laughs]. Test the veteran sound Unity.

How did you make the transition from singing on a sound to recording and putting out records?

Well, at the time there was so many artists singing live in the dances, cause the dances was the place where it was at, you know what Ia€™m saying. It was an art at the time and there was nuff sound clashesa€"sounds clashing another sound, artists dropping words on another sound and deejays vice-versa. Most of the artists in that timea€"myself like other artists were getting so hot in the dancehall. The girls and the fans, you know, were starting to saya€"the dancehall was getting so hot that there was no other option than people like Ribs, and Fathead from Saxon and certain man, you know, Blacka Dread from Coxsone, have to say a€you know what these artists we have to put them in the studio.a€™ And thata€™s where my first voicing came along. My first voicing came alonga€"a guy called Ruddy Rankin from Unity, he had Ruddy and Red Eye, and Ruddy Rankin had brought me to Unity, you know, and hea€™s the first one who brought me to voice for Unity.

:::::Part 2 Coming Soon:::::text by: Tristram Keefe
photo courtesy of Mikey Murka

.::Check out -> MusicMNP

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Posted: September 5th, 2008
at 9:06am by Black Ock


Categories: music

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What You Know You What?

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.::Via -> globalvoicesonline.org

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Posted: September 5th, 2008
at 5:29am by Koookiecrumbles


Categories: life,weaponry,"ninja"

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Blogger beware!

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Whata€™s the easiest way you can think of the get sued for 25 Million dollars? If you happen to live in Miami, Florida the correct answer is to irritate a Real Estate developer.

Sound absurd? Let me paint the picture.

Lucas Lechuga is a Real Estate Agent who formerly worked for the firm EWM. I say formerly because his firm let him go as soon as the law suit became public (they are also being sued over this same matter). On top of being a Real Estate Agent, Mr. Lechuga is a blogger.

.::more at a€"> howtosplitanatom.com

[further case studies of blogger libel can be found at citimedialaw.org

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Posted: September 5th, 2008
at 5:06am by Koookiecrumbles


Categories: myninjaplease,web,fo' real?,development

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Nike shoe hamburger

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.::Via -> Hemmendorff

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Posted: September 5th, 2008
at 5:02am by Koookiecrumbles


Categories: gear,grub,design

Comments: 1 comment


one-minute vacation

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Surely you can spare a minute to clean your ears? Take a one-minute vacation from the life you are living.

One-minute vacations are unedited recordings of somewhere, somewhen. Sixty seconds of something else. Sixty seconds to be someone else.

A new one-minute vacation will be added each week on Monday if I can manage it (so far, there are 327 vacations).

AA.::Listen here -> via unstoppablerobotninja.com

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Posted: September 5th, 2008
at 4:03am by Koookiecrumbles


Categories: music,travel

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Lagos Baby 1963-69

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Fela-Ransome Kuti a€" Lagos Baby 1963-69

It’s taken me a while to get around to writing up this compilation for two reasonsa€"two relevant ones anywaya€"the first is that I am not really all that informed about Highlife music, or Afro-Beat, and I didna€™t really want to fall into the clichA© of saying that you love this sort of music but in reality only having a handful of Fela CDs. The seconda€"and maybe slightly more relevanta€"reason is that I cana€™t find anything that I dona€™t like about the release. With that said, here are my thoughts after several listens to this double disc: Like most people around the world, I associate the name Fela Kuti with the larger than life character of the Fela-Anikulapo Kuti days, who formed his own republic and spearheaded the Afro-Beat genre with his band Africa a€™70. As a result I was surprised to find that Lagos Baby focuses on exactly the period of his career that people are least familiar witha€"its beginnings when he was still Fela-Ransome Kuti. From his first recordings in 1963/64 after completing a degree in trumpet and music theory at Trinity College of Music in London, to his welding together of Soul, Highlife and Jazz with the Koola Lobitos band, Felaa€™s early career is showcased with an illustrative selection of recordings. Listening to both discs in order really provides a glimpse at his musical progression and the development of what would later become Afro-Beat. I especially like the tracks that are recorded live at Felaa€™s club the Afro Spot in the Idi-Oro section of Lagos (wherea€"according to the liner notesa€"they used to have sound clashes with visiting bands from Ghanaa€¦ now that would be the cassette to get your hands on). I also really like the four songs that were arranged by Isaac Olashugba (even though Fela may not have played on any of them). Lagos Baby is a well- researched, high quality release that pretty much any one could get into. And for the vinyl-lovers out there the 3LP contains a 10a€A version of the original Afro Beat On Stage, recorded Live at the Afro Spot album from 1966. You can buy it here on 2 CD or 3LP.
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.::From -> MusicMNPAA

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Posted: September 4th, 2008
at 10:57pm by Black Ock


Categories: music

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turbo charged

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The late, great Glen Augustus Holness-better known as Nitty Gritty-is perhaps best remembered for his work with King Jammys during the mid-eighties at the height of the producer’s dominance. Turbo Charged would be the first of six full length releases from the singer along with a slew of seven-inches and Disco45s that made him one of Dancehall’s most beloved entertainers until his tragic death in June of 1991. After a long running series of solid reissue-efforts Greensleeves has updated the Turbo Charged album with all ten original LP cuts plus four bonus tracks from past Greensleeves 12″s (bonus tracks are "Man in a House", "False Alarm, "Run Down the World" and "Gimme Some of Your Something". You can pick up the Turbo Charged reissue here or here.

was this drop really just an excuse to put up my Nitty Gritty drawing? we may never find out… but let me know what you think of it either way - trizlam

.::From -> MusicMNP

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Posted: September 4th, 2008
at 2:56pm by Black Ock


Categories: music,art

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