REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT’S SPEECH ON CNN

I watched his speech to the Detroit Chapter of the NAACP last night and I must say that it was explosive! He brought up a lot of issues on a academic level. The theme of his speech was “Different doesn’t mean deficient”, which is actually a recent theme of the NAACP and he tailored his speech to that theme. He supported his speech with empirical evidence about the differences between black and white people in playing music, learning, speech patterns, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed his speech!

I see how he gets a rousing response when he’s in a pulpit in a church because he gets a rousing response from a dais in a conference room. I think he speaks tons of truth and can also see how people see him as divisive, but I agree that he’s simply being descriptive. I’m not so sure that I would want to hear that particular agenda in church though. His sermons are probably more about god and belief and the church, but if his sermons are anything like his speech to the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, I would say that they would be too political for what i would like from a sermon.

I am 100% down for the discourse Rev. Wright began with his speech, but in an open forum without the guise of religion! It’s the political nature of his sermon that put Obama on the hot seat because as a politician, his pastor was talking about (in my opinion) so much that had nothing to directly do with God, religion and the church; though his content and delivery isn’t uncommon for the modern black church. A by-product of America’s historically abhorrent treatment of black people has been the dependence on the black church, by a disenfranchised population, to address more than just god. The Black church, traditionally, had to also feed the need of its congregation to address their issues, stories and survival in the face of corrupt and inhumane behavior by white people. The contemporary manifestation of addressing those needs is the political black church.

The American black church is the source of pride, the standard bearer for the fight against injustice for black people. The truth in the saying that “Sunday morning from 9am-10am is the most segregated hour in America” was initially because of law, is now so because of choice but will always be a time of black people clearing their throat and talking about things that “white folks are doing wrong”. It’s logically mixed with fire and brimstone since the condemnation of the injustice and evil actions of white people towards black people (and indians). since the beginning of America, is a primarily a condemnation of ungodliness.

It’s good to put the word of god in a political perspective and hence, make it more relevant for people, but I personally tend to like my sermons more about faith, belief and a good hymm! Even though I NEVER actually go to church, I went yesterday and had a good experience. It’s so funny that his speech came on Sunday night after I went to church for the first time in years (Actually, i did drop in on NYE 2007).

Here’s a link to clips from Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s speech that was aired live on CNN. It’s 4 parts and you can see them all at redlasso.com, the site where the link will take you to:

Rev. Jeremiah Wright on CNN

WHENEVER YOU SAY IT’S GONNA BE An EARLY NITE…….

You end up Mansion on 28th street, dancing around like a fool!

I started off the night by going to Saviour El Mundo’s art exhibition at the Agora Gallery on 27th Street. His work had emotion and good use of color and I was happy to see it. Of course, Chelsea is the art start to a night on Thursdays, with so many galleries having exhibitions with wine and champagne. It was a bunch of people that I knew there who came for Saviour’s show, like Richie Romero, Charles Semanas and Daud from Coup d’etat Brooklyn (check out their clothes:Coup d’etat)

I also ran into Richie Adomako and a group of his friends at Agora Gallery and after a few more minutes at Agora, we cabbed it down to Cooper 35 in Cooper Square, where we drank multiple, cheap drinks and ate fried appertizers. I had rum punch. $3 rum punch. The othe drinks were $4. They were all cool people and after a few drinks, we were getting along famously. The girls broke out and the four guys left walked over to DBA on 1st Ave, where my boy Ryno works behind the bar. That’s my dude. I was sorry to hear that Deek Jenkins is breaking up. Ryno plays geetar in the band. It probably won’t be long though, bands are notorious for breaking up and getting back together.

Then it was down to Me, Richie and Stefan, who was visiting from Germany. I wanted to show them Boucarou and since we was right around the corner, we popped in. Since I do BREAD & BUTTER at Boucarou on Tuesday, I figured to show Richie the place so he knows where I’m inviting him to next week. Richie really liked Boucarou. He’s actually thinking about having the next event for Starchefs at Boucarou, which I think would be great. I would love to help plan it with them. Thats how Richie and I met actually, when i me and Sekou brokered the venue for the wrap party for Starchefs International Chef Congress/Rising Stars. We booked it at Katra and I DJ-ed downstairs for a raucous audience of foodies. It was lots of fun. So never say its gonna be a early night if you really want to make it an early night!

Sean Bell Case

It’s a true travesty of justice that the cops who killed Sean Bell and wounded his friends, on the night before his wedding day, were exonerated-though it’s not an unexpected verdict. The defense lawyers chose to go with a Judge instead of a jury, which probably saved the detectives from going to jail. A jury of 12 people, regardless of race, would have found them guilty of SOMETHING!

I’m sure the judge was aware that sending back a guilty verdict would have a ripple effect in how police do their job and would have lowered the threshold for proving criminality in police actions that kill or injure innocent people in the line of duty. Had the judge returned a guilty verdict, his decision may have set some sort of precedent and been referenced in future cases. Being the judge whose decision sets a precedent that sends cops to jail for performing their duty is not an easy cross to bear for a judge.

A jury would not have gave a shit about a precedent and would have found the cops guilty of SOMETHING!

DIGITAL OR DIE

If you’re still using rabbit ears to grab analog TV reception out of the air, not only do you need to get a late pass, but you will soon need to rummage through your couch for $100 worth of small change!

Starting February 17th of 2009
(Digital Signal Explanation) the federal government’s mandate that all TV signals convert to digital takes place. The cost for a set top box to convert the digital signal for your Analog television is going to cost about $100 or maybe less. The federal government has also instituted a coupon program, where each qualifying household can get up to two $40 coupons to be used for the purchase of a digital converter box.

The electronics stores are worried that they won’t have enough set top digital converters for the hillbillies (Old Jeds a millionaire) and technology drop-outs. Folks still tuning into their favorite broadcast TV shows with rabbit ears (technology drop-outs) are worried they’ll miss Dancing With The Stars in 2009, which at her current trajectory, will feature Britney Spears getting a low score for her Rhumba.

I’m just wondering what the black market price will be for those coupons. If America is nothing else, it is the land of opportunity and I see a real opportunity for some lmajor money if anyone came up on a batch of those coupons.

If people purchasing jewelry and paying for gubernatorial “type” services (think client 9) with FEMA emergency money after Hurricane Katrina, its no telling where a missing shipment of Digital Converter Box coupons might show up.

I can see them sold in NYC. Laid out on a Canal Street table, next to a rack of knockoff Murakami Louis Vuitton bags and bootleg J-Lo perfume that smells like Cyndi Lauper.

(Pictures of the Faux Canal Street at the Takashi Marakami Exhibition with Luis Vuitton at Brooklyn Museum)

I can see them popped into the gift bags for some innocuous launch of some service website, knowing that if it ain’t clothes, a gadget or sunglasses, most people chuck the gift bag away halfway down the block.

Personally, I would leave them as a tip when i go out to eat or drink. If some harried and overworked waitress can’t appreciate the generosity of getting a $40 coupon in lieu of a $15 tip, she needs to seriously rethink her existence. They’re going to give out 1.5 Billion dollars worth of $40 coupons and since my American education clearly deters me from figuring out exactly how many Digital Converter Box coupons that would amount to, I can only gander that it will surely be more than a few.

The change to a digital signal was announced in 2005 or early 2006 and its been ticking down like the ramp up to the new millennium in the year 2000. Its getting more attention now, but wait til Valentine’s day 2009, which is three days before the switch and it will be more people in Circuit City than Victoria’s Secrets. Cause nothing says love like giving the ability to never miss American Idol!

Dot.Tunes HookUp

So the beta testing of Dot Tunes (www.dottunes.net) newest version (version 5) called HookUp has begun and I’m very excited. If you have been using Dot Tunes version 4, then HookUp is going to bust your snot box wiiiideeee open. If you haven’t been using Dot Tunes and you are a music fan, then you’re totally missing out. The HookUp (Version 5) has more functionality, a crazy simple interface and there’s no need to be “net tech” to get it rocking on your computer. It works straight out the box and delivers, delivers, delivers.

You’ll see!

OBAMA BRUSHES THE DIRT OFF

Oh me oh my, Obama so fresh, so clean, so fly!

RELENTLESS AMBITION

I know of nothing that’s even half as crazy as the current democratic race for the presidency! It’s a conversion of the pariah papparazzo (PP) culture, combined with the media appetite that the PP culture has created amongst its citizenry and those two dynamics are then mashed into the one quality that all presidential contenders have: AMBITION

(Photo courtesy of www.detlefjumpertz.com/…/archives/2005/05/)

YING-YANG OF AMBITION

Ambition embodies true duality as it’s both a seedy and base characteristic and also an iconic American virtue. The Latin root meaning for ambition is ambitio, which means “to go around for votes” so its very etymology is political in nature, though it’s modern application is routinely outside of the political sphere. With that in mind, doesn’t the Democratic primary have two candidates that embody that very duality of Ambition.

YOUR VEGAS IS SHOWING

In the same way that the commercial for Vegas Tourism has a tagline “your Vegas is showing”, I think that Mrs. Clinton’s ambition has been showing for some time now. It’s just so obvious that she would stop at nothing to become president. She was hit with the carpetbagger label as she ran for the Senate from New York City and her viability as a national candidate was underscored by simply winning the election. Who else can move to a state like New York and just as soon as their bags are unpacked, declare that they can best represent that state in the Senate? It’s like she threw a dart at a map, while blindfolded, and whatever state that the dart landed is where she was gonna run for political office.

Every time she misspeaks, over emphasizes her input on some past policy or has her camp muck-up the campaign, her ambition is preening like a peacock or the buttocks of a baboon. She wants to be the president so bad it is questionable to what lengths she will go. Thats not good. It’s what gives politics a bad name and validates the idea that the only goal of a politician running for office is to get elected and the only goal once elected is to get reelected.

HONEST ABE (Or at least the closest thing thats running for the Dems)

Obama on the other hand, is taking a route that not only imbues his ambition with virtue, but it almost makes him the anti-Hilary. He doesn’t appear to be overly ambitious or regard the presidency as his birthright. In fact, he’s in a sweet spot. He’s the guy that nobody thought could do it and now he’s doing it like nobody thought he could. As circular as that sounds, it’s telling that the potholes lining his route to at least the nomination, if not the White House, have not “slowed his roll”. If he pulls it out and wins the democratic nomination, it wouldn’t be for a lack of crisis in the campaign. Every week its something new that the press has made an issue about over Obama.

If Obama wins the nomination he will be the Teflon candidate, mainly because all of the grenades launched in his direction were inconsequential in the reality of what the next president could and should do for America. The press must think Obama a weak minded, cult member waiting to happen. Ready to be indoctrinated and drink the Kool-Aid of any person whose hand he has shaken. He’s constantly being linked to an acquaintance or colleague or pastor who has done or said something controversial in the last forty years, as if those people can potentially impact his decisions about foreign policy or health care or legalizing prostitution (oops, wrong blog). Perhaps i should make it my business to meet Obama, because I would like a say in how this country gets run when he reaches office.

The debate last night was good TV, even if the moderators asked such nonsense. They did ask questions that research probably showed the people wanted to hear the candidates answer, but it was certainly not enough meat and potatoes while too much stuffing!

DALMAR JAMES’ B-day Get Down

Dalmar James is that fly music producer, bass player, technology smart-alick that is the the total dude to know. I met him while i was working at August Bishop and he was working on Volume.com, which was an early HBO web portal. This was back in 2000 or 2001 i think. Volume.com never blew up, even though you would have thought that HBO would hit a homerun, but me and Dalmar remained friends.

Well actually, i ran back into him a few years ago. I’ve booked bands that he plays in when I was doing a live music night at Sputnik in Brooklyn. He was playing with Demax & The N9’s and also Three Bean Stew. He’s a definite renaissance dude, so if that’s your dude, come wish him a happy one!

NITE STEPPING

Me (Rich Burroughs) my iphone camera & NYC at night…..That’s this post. For the most part, that’s gonna be this whole blog, but i started off with night pictures because they have such atmosphere and a particular mood.

DEEK JENKINS…….Live at Fontana’s!

THEY WERE ROCKING OUT AS USUAL AND THEN IT GOT FUN

AND JUST LIKE THAT, HE BOUNCED!

These flics were at the club LOVE for a Spank Rock performance (I think…..I think it was Fader Magazine also). I love the lighting!

You know how a taxi stops at a light just long enough to get your phone out of your pocket, punch in the passcode, hit the camera icon, let it pop up and then press the button…..well these two were it

LEILA LONDON REPPING……..WELL, LONDON!

HOLD UP, CIGARETTE BREAK

OK, SMOKE BREAK IS OVER

AND JUST IN TIME FOR SOME SEXY SIDEWALK WRASTLING (not wrestling)

These were taken at the Star Chefs event down at 4 World Trade Center…..It was my first time in a building down there since 9/11 and it was a bit weird. Great event though, the food and gourmet cocktails were amazing. Big shout to Mec for hooking that up! The pictures look like people are floating.

This was at David Foote’s “New Girl Exhibition, at the L Gallery & Studio, which was really excellent. David’s work was really intricate/delicate and beautiful. One of his pieces is in the pictures. It’s funny because it takes a minute for people to realize that I’m taking their picture with my phone. You can see the awareness happen in the series of images.

I met the girl with the camera around her neck that night. I think her name is Shilpa.

THEN THE MONEY SHOT

This was a great exhibition. It was at that gallery catty-corner to La Esquina on Broome St. I wandered in on a humble and had a few beers. I like how that place has the panels/walls that swing open to the street.

THIS BIKE HAS BEEN DEVOURED!

The Sun was coming up

SO I’M OUT OF THIS POST