Monthly Archive for August, 2006

India Arie’s “Testimony: Vol. 1 Life & Relationship”

August 31, 2006 1 Comment Tags: .

India Arie

Because this album took me out of the musical drought I was having, I was writing a personal review to post here. Anything else wouldn’t suffice. “Testimony: Vol. 1 Life & Relationship” covers every emotion: sadness & mourning, reflection, wisdom, fun, pride, inspiration. My review was coming along quite nicely in fact… Then Firefox decided to lock up after I tried looking up a specific line of lyrics. Kind of pissed me off if you want to know the truth. I wish Wordpress had an auto-save feature like Gmail so I would’ve had some of it saved at least.

I’m too tired and frustrated to write it all out again, so for now I’m just gonna post a review I found on Out in Columbus. It’s a pretty short review for such a great album, but enough to get you interested I think. And I have to second the rave opinion of song #3, Heart of the Matter, a cover of a Don Henley song. This one has been on repeat all week, amazing.

India.Arie Puts Spirit Back in Soul Music

By Chris Narloch

The lack of soul — both spiritual and musical soul — in most current rap and hip-hop product has been a depressing development for those of us who love African-American music. I grew up listening to Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder when I was a kid, and I’m sorry, but Beyoncé and Usher just can’t compare.

So I was thrilled to hear this CD from India.Arie, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, her first new album in four years and one of the most positive, spirit-filled pop discs released on the Motown label since Marvin Gaye gave us What’s Goin’ On.

India must have been inspired by a recent trip to South Africa because this CD feels even more personal than her two previous studio efforts — Acoustic Soul (2001) and Voyage To India (2002).

The singer wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the disc, and if her melodic skills occasionally fail her, the empowering lyrics more than make up for it. Songs such as “I Choose” and “There’s Hope” look at the problems in the world at large (and in the singer’s own world) and repeatedly come to the conclusion that faith must trump despair.

Two stellar tracks in the middle of the CD form the heart of the singer’s message: “India Song” and “Wings Of Forgiveness” address slavery and racial injustice with a historical and spiritual context that is incredibly positive. And in the irresistibly catchy “Better People” India implores young people to listen to the wisdom of their elders.

My favorite track on the disc, however, is a cover of another songwriter’s lyric — Don Henley’s great “The Heart of the Matter.” With an exquisitely delicate vocal and an interesting arrangement that successfully transforms Henley’s original into a soul song, India.Arie makes the tune her own.

Animal rights protest against Bexley restaurant tomorrow @ 5:45p

August 31, 2006 0 Comments Tags: , .

Tomorrow, Friday, September 1st, from 5:45-7 p.m. in front of Bexley Monk (2232 E. Main St., Bexley, Ohio 43209).

Last week, Bexley Monk, regarded as one of Columbus finest dining establishments, added foie gras to its menu in protest of a newly enacted ban on the product in Chicago.

What is foie gras?

force-feeding ducks to make fois gras
It’s the over-sized, diseased liver from which pate is made. Workers force a long, metal tube down ducks and geese’s necks directly into their stomachs where they pump large amounts of food – so much food that sometimes their stomachs explode, or the rod punctures through their neck.

Delicious delicacy, or complete cruelty?

Please join me and other local activists with Mercy for Animals and PETA in speaking up against the forced feeding torture that both ducks and geese suffer through. Show the Bexley Monk customers what they’re really eating!!

For more information please visit PETA’s website on foie gras or contact Mercy for Animals at info@mercyforanimals.org.

Also, please call and write the restaurant to voice your disapproval:
phone: 614-239-6665, e-mail (Bob Monica): Bob@BexleysMonk.com.

Update 09/03/06:

Mercy For Animals’ Executive Director Nathan Runkle had his editorial letter about the foie gras issue published in Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch, check it out. Props to the Dispatch for publishing this!!

McDonald’s Salads, is Your Heart Lovin’ It?

August 30, 2006 0 Comments Tags: .

An interesting report has been produced by the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine. The report rates 34 examples of fast food’s latest craze: salads.

“Fast food salad”, you said? Yeah. Makes about as much sense as the fitness DVD’s McDonald’s was selling. But it’s true: McDonald’s, Wendy’s, they’re all pushing hip and trendy salads in a feeble attempt to make you think you can actually eat something healthy at a fast food joint. There are a few green leafy things in the bowl, yes, but once you drop a couple pounds of fatty meat on it, how healthy are these salads really?

McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad, 51 grams of fat, 660 calories

McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad [with dressing] has 51 grams of fat and 660 calories!

For some comparison, a Big Mac has 34 grams of fat and 590 calories. So you’d actually be better eating the Big Mac.

My favorite part of this report:

“Real salads with plenty of fresh veggies and chickpeas or beans for protein are best for heart health and slimming.”

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but covering some wilted and pale lettuce with chicken and bacon doesn’t make a salad healthy. It makes your arteries very sad and congested. The chickens and pigs don’t like it either.

Indeed, a vegetarian/vegan salad is the best way to go. Okay so I probably can’t make you go vegetarian just by saying that. But how ’bout this– if you’re going to get fast food, at least get something really greasy and indulging. Don’t kid yourself with the salad.

Freedom of speech?

August 30, 2006 0 Comments Tags: , .

…apparently not if it’s in Arabic. Ignorant passengers in an NYC airport equated well-known blogger and political activist Raed Jarrar’s t-shirt with Arabic (and English) writing as meaning he must be a terrorist. So airport security made him change into a happy little gift-shop-purchased shirt before he got on his Jet Blue flight. The t-shirt said “We will not be silent.” made by the Artists Against the War campaign.

Us ‘merikans sure is smart and worldly sometimes! I’m not proud of it, but sometimes I think certain people deserve to live their life in fear, it’s their own fault for being so close-minded and racist. Don’t they understand there are other countries and languages out there? Hard to believe I know, but people speak languages other than English and that doesn’t make them EVIL! I know a lot more evil people who speak English, not Arabic… ::cough cough:: George Bush. Well– he tries to speak English anyway.

Should I be worried that some scared and stupid Americans are going to complain about the bumper stickers on my car and officials are going to tell me to remove them? Is that what our freedom has come down to now? Just some more tearing away at the fabric of our freedom… one thread here, another there… soon we’ll all be naked… yikes.

Raed Jarrar, who dared to wear a non-English shirt

An architect of Iraqi descent has said he was forced to remove a T-shirt that bore the words “We will not be silent” before boarding a flight at New York.

Raed Jarrar said security officials warned him his clothing was offensive after he checked in for a JetBlue flight to California on 12 August.

Mr Jarrar said he was shocked such an action could be taken in the US.

US transport officials are conducting an inquiry after a complaint from the US Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

JetBlue said it was also investigating the incident but a spokeswoman said: “We’re not clear exactly what happened.”

Mr Jarrar’s black cotton T-shirt bore the slogan in both Arabic and English.

He said he had cleared security at John F Kennedy airport for a flight back to his home in California when he was approached by two men who wanted to check his ID and boarding pass.

Mr Jarrar said he was told a number of passengers had complained about his T-shirt – apparently concerned at what the Arabic phrase meant – and asked him to remove it.

He refused, arguing that the slogan was not offensive and citing his constitutional rights to free expression.

Mr Jarrar later told a New York radio station: “I grew up and spent all my life living under authoritarian regimes and I know that these things happen.

“But I’m shocked that they happened to me here, in the US.”

After a difficult exchange with airline staff, Mr Jarrar was persuaded to wear another T-shirt bought for him at the airport shop.

“We Will Not Be Silent” is a slogan adopted by opponents of the war in Iraq and other conflicts in the Middle East.

It is said to derive from the White Rose dissident group which opposed Nazi rule in Germany.

From BBC News.

Also, check out Democracy Now’s interview with Raed Jarrar.

Katrina’s first birthday

August 28, 2006 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The 1-year anniversary of Katrina has crept up on us. The largest natural disaster in U.S. history blatantly illustrated the life-and-death difference between the middle and upper classes– who were able to hop in their cars and drive away safely– and the poor and working classes– who financially and mobility-wise had no choice but to stay where they were. Economic disparity and that little word called “poverty” were cast into direct light. And the level of priority the US Government gave to those living in poverty and the Gulf Coast was made very clear– no priority at all.

After the relentless replaying of news footage and the illusion that we’ve survived the storm, if nothing else is gained, I hope people will realize that one year later it’s not time for Mardi Gras and whitewashing. There are still countless families living in tiny trailers, unsafe from future storms, financially and bureaucratically unable to rebuild their homes. Insurance companies are playing word games with their policy holders, grabbing on to every technicality they can to avoid actually fulfilling the trust that was placed in their hands. The government is looking in every other direction in order to avoid taking responsibility for its own people. The most powerful country in the world cannot take care of its own people, not then and not now.

The good news is we live in a country where we can act on our own, fueled by our own aching hearts and compassion. Through corporate, non-profit, college, and faith-based organizations, and sometimes just small independent groups, hundreds of thousands of people have given their time, energy, love, and money towards rebuilding the Gulf Coast. This illustrates that a government does not make a country. People make a country. And for our work together after the Hurricane, we should be proud. And we should keep going.

A look back at my previous Katrina-related posts:

For a reminder of the reality that is the Gulf Coast today:

Take a look at pictures on flickr from my trip to the Lower 9th Ward this past May. Better yet, explore flickr even further, look at all the photos tagged “Lower Ninth Ward“, “Katrina“, “Biloxi“, “Waveland“, “Pass Christian“…

a home on Tupelo St. in the Lower 9th Ward, as it stood in May 2006

Here are some recent and not-so recent articles worth reading:

My first experience using a cell phone camera to capture real-time news

August 25, 2006 0 Comments Tags: .

I just switched my phone service over to Revol yesterday. I caved in and got a camera phone, first one I’ve ever had. I figured it would end up just like text messaging– a feature I’ve lived my whole life without and still could live without but will inevitably become a new addiction.

Turns out the camera comes in handy after all. I was driving home from work tonight at about 5:30. No sooner had I gotten on I-70E from 270S than I saw TONS of dark smoke floating over downtown. It looked like downtown Columbus was on fire. I immediately grabbed by phone and got the camera ready for when I got closer.

I managed to capture about 3 good shots of the smoke, along with one last shot as I drove past the wreckage and fire trucks. It must have just happened because the smoke was very dark as I approached, and became lighter as I drove past, like the fire-fighters had just extinguished it.

highway firehighway fire
highway firehighway fire

Turns out it was quite the accident, two semis crashed and one caught fire and became engulfed in flames, killing one of the drivers. That explained all the smoke… I can’t imagine the poor truck driver who was caught in the fire.

There may be no point to this post, other than my fascination with civilian (or other non-traditional) footage of news events. Like when they showed the security camera footage of the London train bombers last year? It’s just weird. And somehow it seems more real if it comes from an ordinary citizen rather than a news desk.

WCBE 90.5 Music Benefit Tonight!

August 25, 2006 0 Comments Tags: , .

WCBE Presents: The Strip II & Beyond

WCBE Presents: The Strip II90.5 WCBE, Central Ohio’s NPR station, invites you to the second annual “The Strip II & Beyond” tonight, August 25th. It’s a night featuring some of the best local music Columbus has to offer with entertainment by 29 local bands at 12 different venues. All proceeds benefit Columbus’ local NPR station, 90.5 WCBE!

Individual venue admission is $5, or you can go to the Surly Girl Saloon from 7-11p and purchase an all-access wristband for $20, getting you admission into all venues and a complimentary CD! For more info call (614)365-5555.

Participating Venues & Bands

  • LITTLE BROTHER’S – The Squares, Chris McCoy & The Gospel, The Razers // 1100 North High St. (Short North)
  • SURLY GIRL SALOON – Billy Zen & The Ringers, Molly With Grace, Hal Hixson, Hope Vitellas // 1126 North High St. (Short North)
  • HIGH FIVE – Magia Tropical // 1227 North High St. (Short North)
  • RAVARI ROOM – The Midnighters, The Bygones // 2657 North High St. (Clintonville/Campus)
  • OLDFIELD’S ON HIGH – Doctah X, Ill-Atmospherics, The Vague // 2950 North High St. (Clintonville/Campus)
  • DICK’S DEN – Postal, The Jen Miller Band // 2417 North High St. (Clintonville/Campus)
  • BLUES STATION – Matt Derrick & Company, Kevin Mohl & The Burning Sensation, One Under, The Top Heavies // 147 Vine St. (Arena District)
  • PARK ST. TAVERN – Pat McLaughlin Band, The Red Eye Jive Pilots // 501 North Park St. (Arena District)
  • THIRSTY EAR – New Basics Brass Band, The Andy Shaw Band // 1200 West 3rd Ave. (Grandview)
  • HIGH BECK – Terry Davidson & The Gears, The Rooftop Smokers, Ray Fuller // 564 South High St. (Brewery District)
  • BYRNE’S PUB – Homeland, Death By Banjo // 1248 West 3rd Ave. (Grandview)
  • RUBY’S – Local Color, The Floorwalkers, The Jason Quicksal Band // 1978 Summit St. (OSU Campus)