October 30th Jaleel Shaw Trio

I've watched this kid grow up with me in philly. I remember when his alto saxophone was roughly the same size as he was. Jaleel Shaw currently is on tour with the imcomparable Roy Haynes but he takes a break tomorrow night to let us hear him performing with his trio. Louis 649 is an intimate east village bar that specializes in live jazz every night. It's a regular hang out for students and purists.


Tues. October, 30 2007
the Jaleel Shaw Trio @ Louis 649
649 E 9th st , New York, New York
Cost : Free (limited seating)

Darfur Now

Actors Don Cheadle and George Clooney have been trying to raise awareness to the attrocities in the Sudan for a few years now. I was surprised by how many Americans have no clue as to what is happening in Darfur. Recently a young lady asked me if the refugee crisis in Rwanda(1994) was carrying over to the Sudan. the question baffled me. But, I know African affairs don't really occupy much space in the mainstream American conscience. Nevermind the genocides happened 13 years apart, I was happy she knew about either incident. Hollywood is responsible for bringing to light the Rwandan genocide in the Movie Hotel Rwanda. Hopefully, Darfur Now, also starring Cheadle, will raise awareness. We as humanity should not stand idle as genocides occur...not in the 21st century.

to learn more and to find out what you can do, visit:
http://www.savedarfur.org

Darfur Now
Release Date: 11/02/2007

Starring: Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Adam Sterling, Hejewa Adam, more cast
Directed By: Ted Braun

Bring Blackwater Home! and the troops too

In case you don't know, the Blackwater group is a private security firm made up of ex-military men and mercenaries. The U.S. government and contracted corporations employ their services to protect executives and high level officials when in unstable environments.

The uproar surrounding the Blackwater Group is more than understandable, however it may be just a little bit late. Since 2005 the Blackwater group has been responsible for 195 incidents of escalated violence... Think about that for a second.
One such incident involved Blackwater contractor, Andrew Moonen, who after leaving a Christmas eve party, made a wrong turn on his way home. According to Time's Brian Bennett, an Iraqi guard posted at vice president Adel Abdul Mahdi's compound, was fatally shot three times. Witnesses described Moonen as the shooter. The next day he was fired and sent home. The corporation covered it's backside once again. An act it has had to do many times. The fact that they are not subject to any rule of law allows the blackwater group to adopt a shoot first attitude.

Not until this latest incident in which a Blackwater convoy opened fire in a crowded intersection, killing 17 Iraquis and promptng the Iraqi president to demand they leave at once, has there been any real talk in Washington or in the media about investigating the group.
Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, brought Blackwater to light shortly after Hurricane Katrina. In the storms wake, Blackwater was deployed if you will, to New Orleans. If you can remember, there were reports of a shooting on an overpass near the 9th ward. The details have been very vague to say the least. the only public statements concerning this incident came from a security contractor who was riding along with the Blackwater men. Michael Montgomery says they came under fire from "Black Gangsters". They then "returned fire, heard moaning and screaming and the shooting stopped". Montgomery says the army guys confronted them but then left. No investigation local, state or federal was ever launched. Funny how they could get mercenaries to protect certain interests instantly but not water to U.S. citizens in distress.

Maybe now It will become clear that these private militias are hurting the troops efforts in Iraq more than they are helping. Their Protractors will argue that, with our military stretched so thin, we need the likes of Blackwater to guard diplomats and important sites. But with their above the law attitude, The common Iraqi doesn't know the difference between a U.S. marine and a white mercenary. All they know is America killed my daddy and now i'm gonna become Martyr!
This week, our favorite problem solver Condi Rice called for an investigation...lets see what happens...

summer on the Mediterranean

black sheep

After reading the following article posted today by the AP. I found myself wondering if this is a GOP ploy to weaken Obama by linking him to a widely unpopular vice-president...

Cheney, Obama 'distant cousins'
-Associated Press

Mr Obama and Mr Cheney share a French ancestor
They may be polar opposites politically but US Vice-President Dick Cheney and Democratic candidate Barack Obama are related, Mr Cheney's wife says.
Lynne Cheney said she had discovered while doing family research for a new book that her husband and the Illinois senator were eighth cousins.

She said she traced a common ancestor of the two men to be a 17th century immigrant from France.

She described the connection as "amazing".

"This is such an amazing American story that one ancestor... could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths."

According to Mrs Cheney's spokeswoman, Mr Obama is distantly related to Mareen Duvall, whose son Samuel married the granddaughter of Mr Cheney's ancestor, also called Richard Cheney.

Mr Obama's spokesman, Bill Burton, responded to the news by saying: "Every family has a black sheep."

Mr Cheney, the brooding neo-conservative closely associated with the decision to invade Iraq, has little else in common with Mr Obama.

Mr Obama, the son of a Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas, has earned epithets like "rock star" because of his popularity among young Democrats, and a reputation as a liberal because of his voting record in the Senate.

Back from iraq?

I saw a movie the other night that has had my wheels turning. In the Valley of Elah, Tommy Lee Jones plays an ex-miltitary police officer who has lost one son in the first gulf war and his youngest son has gone missing just a few weeks after returning from the current war in Iraq. The direction of the plot is predictable, however the film is more a commentary on Post Traumatic Stress disorder, an illness that a lot of our young soldiers are returning from war zones with. You feel Jones' character change from a proud Army dad to a dejected soul who seems to have changed his views on what war is and what it does to our brave young men. Your heart goes out to these soldiers and the psychological ailments they endure in Iraq and you hope that there is enough being done to help them upon return. But somehow especially after the Walter Reed incident it seems doubtful

Update: 82,700 troops have returned seriously wounded, amputees or mentaly ill

WWW.EXPLORAWORKS.COM

My Favorite T-Shirt hanging out in Barcelona.
low profile tee by exploraworks.com pays homage to a party Qool DJ Marv spun every Monday in Manhattan's lower east side @ Ludlow Bar.
Explora is a music, travel and adventure inspired brand.
www.exploraworks.com

watch yourself...

Recently I've developed this affinity for watches and have become a self proclaimed collector...i've only collected 2 so far...but hey, its a start! i discovered this small Italian watch designer named U-Boat. The name may at first come off a little unsettling given its history and what it evokes. After the initial shock you begin to realize the brilliance of the designs. Inspired by WWII submarines, these military styled pieced blend perfectly a sense of style and a feel of ruggedness. i imagine they go well with a Brooksbrother's suit, or your favorite jeans and a worn-in tee. The only problem is there are only two authorized dealers in North America. lol see below for info... oh and they'll only set you back a coupla grand...


EXPOIMPO RB SA CV
Address: Masaryk 506
Zip code: DF 11560
City: Polanco
Province: México
Phone: (55) 52814175
Fax: (55) 56837433 ext 111
E-mail: luislara@ral.com.mx
-----
INFINITY TIME GROUP
Address: 4330 NE 2nd Avenue
Zip code: 33137
City: MIAMI FLORIDA
Province: --
Phone: 1 305 573 4476
Fax: 1 305 573 4479
E-mail: info@infinitytimegroup.com

Other Cool Watch/Chronograph sites:
www.chopard.com
www.ulysse-nardin.com
www.oriswatches.com
www.baume-and-mercier.com

New McCoy Tyner Music

Jazz Pianist McCoy Tyner, the famous former Coltrane sideman's latest release entitled "Quartet" is his first release since 2004.
The live CD features the omniprestent Christian Mcbride on bass and also Joe Lovano and Jeff "Tain" Watts. This is a must have for you Straight Ahead Jazz lovers.

you can't imagine how we feel...

I was born in Philly...As a tot; I moved to South Florida but returned every summer to rugged North Philly. I played lil' league baseball in Florida on pristine, manicured fields of Bermuda grass. In North Philly, we played on a patchy dusty field with half a fence, desperately trying to avoid landing in dog crap.

"Dog Crap"! Now that can describe baseball in Philadelphia over the last 126 years. The Philadelphia A's won 5 World Series championships before leaving the city and eventually ending up in Oakland, But nobody cares about that now. Especially since that last championship was won in 1930 during the great depression (how fitting). Who could think about baseball during a time like that, specifically in an industrial, working class city like Philly? And as far as us Philadelphians are concerned when the A's left, they took their championships with them. Hell, I wasn't born yet anyway...
It would take another 50 years before Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose and Lefty Carlton would bring a measure of respectability back to the city. In 1980 the Phillies won their 1st and only world series after only playing for 99 years!!!
I remember it like it was yesterday! I had followed the team all summer and my grandfather had signed me up for a pee-wee league for 8-12 year olds(I was 7 and the smallest kid in the league). In the fall before the Phillies won their only World Series, I returned to Ft Lauderdale to start 1st grade. I still followed my Phils through the playoffs, but cried when I couldn't return to Philly for the victory parade. My cousin Derrick and I would cry again in 1983 as we watched Cal Ripken and the Baltimore Orioles defeat the Phillies 4-2 to win the Fall Classic. That's when I decided to guard my heart, like a scorned girlfriend/boyfriend...Never quite fully trusting again. I followed in 1993 when they made the Series again but never quite believed. I was assimilated into the psyche of all Philly fans. I could feel the collective "I told you so".

It’s been 126 years and only 1 World Series and in the process the Phillies became the most losing sports franchise in the history of sports on the planet earth...maybe even the universe! They lost more Games than the Washington Generals and Rocky King, the guy from pro-wrestling who seemed to always be pitted against Rick Flair, Dusty Rhodes or the Macho Man only to be dismantled in 23 seconds. This Season the Phillies lost their 10,000th game, a dubious distinction not common to any other sports franchise ever!! I remember the day...and that day it really sucked being from Philly.

But then came yesterday. Before yesterday, the Phillies were the benchmark for collapses. In 1964 they lost their last 10 in a row to squander a 6 1/2 game lead and lose the division.
But then came yesterday. For the first time in a long time the baseball gods smiled on Philly.
The Mets historic collapse helped cleanse a multitude of iniquity from our baseball souls. No longer are we the biggest chokers in baseball history. The tale of two games on the same day in different cities has totally put us on the other side of history. Now, as irony has it, our team has just accomplished the biggest comeback in Baseball history and we are the 2007 champions of the NL East.
Funny ain’t it?