Ride or Die. Give Me A Commercial Break!

I've been checking out these two programs about young Latino culture on TV. Latino TV and Latination come on ever Sunday here in CT. For the most part the shows are pretty well produced and cover a wide range of the diversity found in the Latino community and culture. Check them out if you get a chance.

The one troubling aspect of these shows is that the commercials played in between the segments are either about cars, beer or the military. In fact Latination is brought to you by marines.com.

I emailed the station that air these shows. I suggested they give some PSA time to organizations like National Council of La Raza, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, ASPIRA and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

I feel these shows are great at highlighting the accomplishments and influences of Latino culture. Why not shine some light on the organizations that work hard to empower and uplift the Latino community. We need a counterbalance to all this air time given to sponsors that offer the option to ride or die.

Oh La La

This is fun. It's new and different, yet I'm seeing elements of hip hop, voguing and freestyle. Shake your ass to it. Enjoy.

Same Old Story...Just Better Weapons

I've been immersed in this Western Civilization course I'm taking at school. So far, this is the story of Western Civilization.

Rich, poor, war, war, and more war. New rich, opress new poor, more war, war and war. Some culture, vases, paintings, but then destroyed by war. So you get the picture. Interesting fact, the most humane of the war seeking ancient civilizations were the Persians, which is modern day Iran. Something to think about.

Fantasy Art

While I have an appreciation for the works of artists such as Tamayo, Picasso, Van Gogh and Kahlo, I also value the imagination in fantasy art. Here are some dreamlike images from the creative genius of Chris Moore. Enjoy! To see more, click here. Thank you Blogger "V" for the link. FYI - Click on each image to view a larger version.

Yay! Kim Won!

It couldn't happen to a nicer person. Is nicer a word? Anyhoo. Kim won HGTV's Design Star show. I'm excited for her. She's from my hometown Brooklyn, and is funky fresh. I'm looking forward to seeing her show.

Expressions I Want To Try and Make Happen

Okay, taking a break from school work and I need to act out. Here are some expressions I will start incorporating in conversations, and hopefully will become part of a temporary colloquial kiki to enjoy among friends and family.

Boo Boo Kitty: - Refers to being comforted a la the doll Shirley, of Laverne & Shirley, turned to whenever she needed to feel consoled. Usage: I call Miss Izzy whenever I feel down. She is my Boo Boo Kitty.

Spear-a-ling: Refers to the downward spiral a la Britney Spears. Usage: Gurl, that queen on Tina is Spear-a-ling out of control.

Very Lotto: Refers to the lottery and the odds not being in your favor. Usage: Mama the chances of Georgie being impeached are Very Lotto.

Gunning It: Inspired by Tim Gunn's new makeover show and an exhibit of a heighten sense of fashion. Usage: Mamita, you look hot, those shoes with that dress are Gunning It.

Wonder Twins Powers Activate Mode: Refers to the battle cry the alien twins on Superfriends used whenever they had to take action. Usage: Gurl, when Marcos and I saw the mess in the kitchen we looked at each other and went into Wonder Twins Powers Activate Mode.

Mocus(mow-cuss): Combines moody and out of focus. Usage: Honey after that horrible commute, I showed up at work feeling Mocus. (Umm, I borrowed this one from friends I knew in AA.)

Leasing the Lie: To buy into a myth, or lie that is supporting a delusional thought, but will soon burst because the truth is looming. Usage: Uggh, nena that appointed president is leasing the lie about Iraq.

Well good people, please be creative and share some plays with language with me.

Love and kisses, your face, my eyes misses.

Peace,
Allan

The Kids Need You! NCLB Sucks!

Okay good people, the children of America need you now more than ever. No Child Left Behind is up for reauthorization. Those of you who are in the field of education know NCLB is sooo not working. For those of you not in that field you should know that teachers are basically teaching students to pass a test.

The magic of becoming educated is being sap dry. America's youth is being robbed of an educational experience that provides them exploration, creativity, and considers them as individuals.

Please take two minutes to send a note to those in power to let them know we need a better plan to educate our young people. Go HERE to sign the online petition.

We need to let Georgie, the Senate and Congress know that what students, parents and educators really need is for elected officials in D.C. to:

* Use more than test scores to measure student learning and school performance.

* Reduce class size to help students learn.

* Provide financial incentives to teachers who work in hard-to-staff schools.

* Call teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards "highly qualified."

* Support for teachers of multiple subjects, including special education and rural educators.

I know in my heart that all who sign the petition will receive major positive karma points.

Thank you!

Ja Rule Hating!

Ja Rule had this to say recently in an interview for Complex.com:

"...lets talk about all these fucking shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can't watch this shit. Dating shows that's showing two guys or two girls in mid afternoon. Let's talk about shit like that! If that's not fucking up America, I don't know what is."

I won't even go into the irony of someone like him making this sorta statement. I mean he's part of an industry that exploits poverty, crime and women for the all mighty dollar. As someone that has experienced prejudice and discrimnation you would think he would know better than to engage in it himself. But, alas many people don't work at thinking deep and connecting the dots.

What I will address is the notion that homo-love is bad for society. First of all homo-love has been around for hundreds of thousands of years. It aint going anywhere people. What is different now is that once again GLBT people are choosing to live out in the light and not in the shadows of the closet; unless you are a GOP Senator. But, I digress. Hallelujah and praise Jesus, that someone who is different can start to feel like they deserve their place in the world and should not be kicked to the side. That's the whole fucking point to life. We're suppose to be free to be who we really are and not feel shame!

Ja Rule if you are really concern about what the state of society, then work at eliminating hatred and bigotry. Don't add to the bullshit by creating more bullshit. And, if you are concerned about your kids and the influence TV might have on them, then take the TV out and put a book in front of them. Hey, maybe you should pick up some books yourself and shed some of that ignorance.

Six Years Later

As a native New Yorker, that was living in NYC on 9/11, I reflected back to the surreal and horrifying events of that day.

I remember the thousands of posters taped to walls and bus shelters by the families of the victims. I too was hopeful that they would, through some miracle, obtain information regarding the whereabouts of their loved one.

I remember candles and flowers sprawled out in front of every firehouse and police station, and being so moved at their personal sacrifice. To think of them going towards the danger still gives me chills.

I also remember how at the time I worked for Time Warner and we had provided computers and volunteered, at the facility set up to provide services to the family members of the victims in the towers. For a week I assisted wives, husbands, children, and the parents that came in to give DNA samples in order to identify the thousands of bodies found.

A few days after, many New Yorkers came out to the city streets and held a candle vigil for all of those lives lost. And, during the one I attended above us we can see and hear fighter jets circling the city.

I walked around a lot days after 9/11 and often had my eyes filled with tears. For sometime I felt everyone around me was emotionally and spiritually connected. In my heart we were all in mourning.

I pray that one day all of the hidden TRUTHS of that day will come out into the light. I think there are thousand of restless souls waiting for ALL that are responsible for this tragedy to pay their karmic debt.

I am Soooo Voting for Kim

Okay, Kim is just awesome. She has wonderful energy. She possesses a true passion for interior design. Most importantly she got to the final two without being a bitch or pandering to the audience. She worked her ass off! She is getting my vote for HGTV's next DESIGN STAR!

Help Kim out and vote for her, by clicking here. Todd is cool and I hope HGTV finds a place for him on their network. But, it is Kim that I think will truly connect and inspire the home viewer to work their own magic.

Sunday Night TV Viewing

I've stopped watching MTV a few years ago, and it wasn't because of the music, for the most part I do dig a lot of what they play. The fact is they RARELY play music any more on MTV.

Out of curiosity I decided to stop by and see what was going on. Here's my take on what I saw until I lost interest and turng to HGTV to see the final challenge on Design Star.

- Lil' Momma thought she was being original with that baby outfit and pacifier. She needs to check out some old Parliament Funkadelic videos and see the original grown-up baby serving it.

- What the hell is John Norris doing back at MTV. Hasn't he reached that age where he should get kicked off. You know, how they use to do to the members of Menudo.

- Nelly Furtado was on something. She was having a lovely time all by her little self. I likey her.

- Wow, that commercial for the Army looked like being in the military would be one fun video game come-to-life experience. Not one explosion or amputee in sight. Curious!

- Britney was a hot mess. Poor thang. Get it right in the head and heart and then attempt another go at the madness call celebrity. I also wonder if she will ever actually sing LIVE and not lip sync an entire performance.

- Sarah Silverman is a dangerous bitch. I love her! She made those celebrities sweat during her opening monologue. Go get them! The sycophantic celeb worshipping crowd could not deal with her "emperor has no clothes" approach.

Okay the rest of my post will be based on snippets I catch inbetween the commercial breaks from a Design Star on HGTV. Mmmm, last season's winner, David, showed up. He's so fucking hot.

- LOL Fallout Boy trashes the room they play in. What a rock-n-roll cliche! I can see them during the rehersal saying "dude, how about at the end we trash the hotel room we're playing in!"

- I can't believe The Real World is still part of their programming. Talk about resting on your laurels. Is that the best they can do? Rehash a tired formula. The Real World is no longer a TRUE story.

- Overall I'm NOT feeling today's hip-hop. Give me Eric B. & Rakim, MC Lyte, RUN DMC, L.L. Cool J, Queen Latifah, and Public Enemy. I really believe this art form was sabotage by the music industry when it focused on the lowest common denominators among emerging artists.

- American mainstream culture is Black. The hip-hop urban african-american influence is everywhere. Just ask Justin Timberfake.

- Okay I'm done with this. Let me watch Vern Yip on HGTV do something that is really worth watching.

LOL! Lord is my age showing.