The second Saturday in August, the Laurel Business District in Oakland hosts a street party called the World Music Festival.
Arches at each end of the six blocks of MacArthur Boulevard known as the Laurel define its boundaries and give a sense that you're entering a special space.
Over the past couple of years, the local businesses have been able to secure funding from the Oakland City Council to put in other improvements, such as this distinctive streetware.
Oakland is one of the edgiest cities in the States in terms of urban
art and music, and one of its most recent ventures is a news website
called Novo Metro, (now Oakbook), which has borrowed some of Downtown Oakland's iconic
architecture for the graphic in this poster.
The business with my favorite name of all in the Laurel is Scissor Haynz. Eddie, Dwight, Chaney and an unknown gentleman standing in the doorway strike their best pose.
The source of Chaney's corn is this rotisserie set up just outside the barbershop in the festival area.
Victory Outreach church is housed in what used to a be a cinema, but may soon need to move to a new home as the building is for sale. Across from the church is 1st Class Boutique, and the owners' two daughters Kashawna and Kentisha Williams are minding the tent they've set up to catch some of the festival-goers.
There are several churches just in the six blocks of MacArthur
Boulevard that comprises the Laurel District, so Tammy's Bible Book
Store does pretty substantial business. Here the store's franchise owner,
Virginia Chestnut, poses with her son Gary Reynolds, who was handing
out fliers to the passers-by.
Doug MacNeil, of Recover Your Thoughts, holds the journal I'd just
bought. His journals are made from the covers of books that libraries
throw out, and recycled paper. When I said that perhaps more people
would come over if they realized he wasn't just selling old, old books,
he said, No, he preferred to talk to people about them.
A children's area had been set up in the parking lot of a local video store, and one of the attractions was the pony ride. In the background, someone practises yoga. Funny what you don't notice until after you've taken the photo!
Typical of Oakland, where 96 languages are spoken, the mix of folks who
live near The Laurel is reflected in this photo of people seated on the
sidewalk listening to one of the bands that played, CV1.
Listen to CV1 play Sleek Rhythm, an original composition:
"Only in the lonely confines of voting booths will Americans, with no looking on, be able to climb our Great Wall and make history sooner rather than later."
Chauncey Bailey, Jinn magazine, 1998
On November 5, 1998, Bay Area journalist Chauncey Bailey wrote a column entitled "Message to Black Voters--Time for the Barriers to Fall" in the Pacific News Service magazine, Jinn. A summary at the top of the column said:
"The African American vote has long been considered the exclusive property of the Democratic Party. But PNS commentator Chauncey Bailey -- who voted for a Republican for the first time on November 3 -- thinks it may be time to start crossing some of the lines that divide us."
In the column, Bailey explained why he voted for an Asian American Republican, Matt Fong, who stood against Barbara Boxer for the U.S. Senate. "If the Democrats want to walk the walk, when will they put up a person of color as a candidate for a major office in a state that is moving toward being a majority minority state?" (California has indeed become a majority minority state, the percentage of the largest demographic group--white non-Hispanic--having dropped below 50.)
Last Wednesday, Bailey was shot dead on the street in Downtown Oakland--once in the back and once in the head, according to news reports--during the busy morning commute time. The scariest detail of the shooting was the report from an anonymous bus-rider that earlier in the morning someone standing at a bus stop, head covered with a ski mask, pointed a shotgun through one of the rear doors of the bus at the back of one of the passengers.
"I had no idea he was after Chauncey," the passenger told The Chronicle. "There were five or six people on the bus. I thought, 'Son of a bitch. That guy is trying to kill somebody.' When I found out Chauncey was shot I felt so bad." The passenger said he gave the information to police later Thursday. "It was so brazen," the passenger said. "This guy was out in broad daylight with a double barrel shotgun. He wasn't afraid of anything."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/03/BAGVJRCCPR7.DTL&tsp=1
Perhaps the best article I've read about Chauncey Bailey is one that doesn't get into speculation of who might have killed him but describes what the man was like to work with on the weekly freeby paper Bailey edited, The Oakland Post. The website this article is posted on expressly concentrate on the good things about Oakland, which are seriously under-reported.
In the article, Kwan Booth writes:
http://novometro.com/news_details.php?news_id=2289“Chauncey had a great feel for what people wanted, and was a big fan of short, tightly written stories. He liked to tease the reader and make them come back for more next week. He regularly chided contributing writers for their verbosity: ‘I wrote about the entire state of black people in California in 300 words, why do you need 800 for a record review?’”
Was just alerted to a wonderful interactive music website.
It is so beautifully designed.
Peter Haythornthwaite of creativelab in New Zealand has won a Gold Award in the 2007 IDEA awards, which are sponsored by BusinessWeek and the Industrial Designers Society of America.
The light-operated mouse and keyboard system he designed, marketed by LOMAK International (NZ), enables people to work or play on a PC without using their arms. Its usefulness runs the gamut from those with carpal tunnel syndrome to those who have more severe physical impairments such as cerebral palsy or quadriplegia.
In his article "Niche Design for Global Markets" in the Spring 2007 edition of Innovation, Haythornthwaite wrote:
And my, is it ever a thing of beauty!Following the product’s 2005 launch, Mark Bagshaw, chair of the Ability Australia Foundation, chair of the Australian Federal Government Employers Roundtable and manager for the IBM Australia/New Zealand Accessibility Centre, made this comment, “You probably don’t understand how significant LOMAK is. You have designed a product that makes disabled people feel normal. It has given them freedom [to think and communicate via computer].”
Peter Haythornthwaite studied design at the University of Auckland and the University of Illinois at Champaign–Urbana. Besides being the principal of his Auckland design company, he is an adjunct professor of design at Victoria University, Wellington. Recognized as "a pillar of New Zealand design", Haythornthwaite has won many awards both locally and internationally.
So. Anna Paquin has been nominated as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie this year. For some reason, I feel compelled to write about it. Not that I've seen the HBO movie, read the book, bought the bonnet, or can even remember the lyrics to the Buffy Sainte-Marie song of the same name.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee has long been part of my understanding of the US, largely because, in the 1970s, the country I grew up in underwent what was termed a renaissance for the indigenous population there. The renaissance was centered on the university I misrepresented my home circumstances to get into in 1971 so that I could learn the Māori language and become a teacher. Back then, it was the only university in the nation to offer those courses, despite Māori being one of NZ's two official languages.
::Some potted Kiwi history::
At a time roughly contemporaneous with the Western expansion in the US that saw make-and-break treaties, if not outright genocide, as a way to obtain land for settlement, the Māori in Aotearoa/New Zealand were becoming somewhat p'ed off by the lawless bunch of whalers and escaped Australian convicts who were making the islands home. Māori leaders decided that a parallel system of laws enforceable on the newcomers would be a useful thing, so they asked Queen Victoria to appoint a governor. (Or so the story goes.)
The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi was an attempt to have two legal systems--and the people of the cultures that abided by them--exist as a partnership, with no loss of indigenous land or other rights or customs. As the online encyclopedia of New Zealand succinctly puts it: "In later years, differences of interpretation between the English and Māori texts [of the treaty] complicated efforts to redress breaches of the treaty."
::And the s**t goes on::
It was astonishing to me, when I moved to the States in 1999, to realize how invisible the native populations are here in the US. Not only are they a statistically small part of the national population, but their contributions to the culture and understanding of this part of the American continent are consistently treated as a footnote even to daily life, let alone history.
In a sense it's because they're nations within the borders of a bigger nation, a concept that was also foreign to me. But the kinds of struggles they experience in having their culture respected are instantly recognizable. An example is the current court battle surrounding use of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, AZ, which are sacred to 13 tribes.
The peaks are part of the Coconino National Forest, and have been the source of land-use conflicts since the late 1800s. A recent Ninth Circuit US District Court decision blocking further expansion of the Snowbowl ski resort there is being appealed by the Forest Service. Snowbowl wants to use wastewater from Flagstaff in the creation of artificial snow. That would be comparable to a tanker truck driving up to your local place of worship and spraying it with sewage. The case against expansion relies in part on the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978.
::Back to the movie::
Which brings me back to the effect Dee Brown's book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (subtitled, An Indian History of the American West) had on US culture and institutions in the 1970s. Eyes were opened. Laws were changed or newly made. Today, that's all ho-hum as this NYT review of the Emmy-nominated movie attests:
This project was doomed to overreach and to sermonize. To begin with, it’s about American Indians, who ever since Sacheen Littlefeather declined Marlon Brando’s Oscar in 1973 have scared the chutzpah out of Hollywood, forcing the showoffs who invented westerns into defensive crouches and sorry offerings that look more like cut-and-paste Sunday school atonement projects than filmmaking.
Second, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” is a television movie. The red carpet premiere and credible stars (Aidan Quinn, Anna Paquin) that HBO supplied can’t conceal that this is a movie of the week — a form as eternal, indigenous and sacrosanct as the Black Hills of South Dakota. Simple-minded, blocky, smug, uplifting, always in a major key. Easy to sing along with.
Which makes it sound like Paquin has been nominated for her role in something that might be called The Pianola.
::Potted Paquin::
Born in Canada but raised in New Zealand, Anna Paquin was 11 years old when she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in The Piano, filmed in New Zealand and directed by Jane Campion. She remained in New Zealand to finish some of her schooling, but then moved to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents divorced.
Her studies at Columbia University are on hold while she continues a movie career that has included the role of Rogue in the X-Men series. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and won a Theatre World Award for her performance in The Glory of Living at the MCC Theatre in New York in 2001. That year, she also became a New Zealand citizen.
::Mr President::
One very overlooked phrase from last week’s White House press briefing on the Iraqi war was the President of the United States saying: “You know, I guess I'm like any other political figure -- everybody wants to be loved.” Since I was listening to the press conference on the bus on my way to work, I was able to quickly quiz folks as to any advice they might have for the President on how to be loved. Summed up in one word, it was: Resign! (But not before Cheney has been impeached.)
::Madam Speaker::
Ahh, how I love it when a lowly pawn challenges a queen! The threat posed to Speaker Pelosi’s 2008 re-election chances by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan is not so much that Sheehan will defeat Pelosi, but that she’ll draw off enough of the votes to allow a strong Republican challenger to win.
If you want to feel the love, dear Speaker, support state legislation to use instant runoff voting for the election of California’s Congressional delegation. That way, your notoriously progressive constituents in San Francisco can cast a protest vote for Sheehan and a back-up vote for you. You’ll still win, AND you’ll find out (from the only poll that counts—the election) just how much support the anti-war movement does or doesn’t have.
::Senator McCain::
With his supporters having written him a Dear John letter, the sweet senator from Arizona is seemingly in need of much fresh advice. Allow me. First: Make sure you get invited to the world premiere of The Simpsons movie in Springfield, Vermont. It’s only a hop, skip and a skateboard across the abyss to New Hampshire from there. Second, put the soundtrack of The Simpsons movie on your iPod.
When People magazine said the tunes you had on yours were Hail to the Chief and Battle Hymn of the Republic it brought out a sympathetic offer from local morning show radio hosts to help you with your choices. I’m sure those tunes play well in a certain segment, but adding some Homerishness will widen your appeal while not losing that core group of supporters. In other words, when you have become the Homer Simpson of presidential candidates, embrace it!
::Nick Gillespie::
My advice: Run, Nick, run!! Not actually a politician, the editor-in-chief of Reason magazine is so doggarned handsome, articulate, and funny that he’s a shoe-in for President, even if—or especially because, in this day and age—he’s a Libertarian. http://www.reason.com/staff/show/129.html
The only people who won’t vote for him are the fashion police if this blog comment about what Gillespie wore on an influential 2005 talk show is anything to go by:
Does Nick Gillespie think he's Bono from U2? Who wears a leather jacket to a taping of "One on One"?
Advice for the lovelorn can be obtained in strict confidence by phoning the 1-900 number now on your screens or emailing
--PEACE--
I’ve been trying to remember all the Independence Days I’ve spent in the US—this is my eighth—and the only one I really remember is the first, when I went to the Alameda County Fair. Back in 2000, the 4th of July seemed to be all about picnics and having fun. This year, it’s overwhelmingly, depressingly martial if the TV news broadcasts are anything to go by.
So, allow me to show you what I went in search of this year on the 4th of July. I’d seen a local TV news story earlier in the week about a group of Iranians who are spending this summer bicycling across Europe and the United States, promoting better understanding about their country.
In each city they stop at, the riders present the mayor with a handcrafted sculpture of the group’s logo, which is both a dove of peace and an outstretched hand.
The spokesman I was introduced to was Ali Nasri, who has studied in France, lives in Canada, and sees the two cultures of West and East as complimentary, according to an interview he gave in London back in May, published at payvand.com.
Those supporters also help with directions and advice, as in this photo of one the cyclists preparing to set off for Los Angeles.
After their time in LA, the group will fly to Baltimore, and then cycle to Washington DC.
Read about and support their mission here:
http://www.milesforpeace.org/home.php
--PEACE--
With the Apple uNowot being released on Friday, I thought I'd give you a squizz inside Rosalea's gizmological universe, where no bank robberies, contracts or monthly subscriptions are required.
Just $3 gets you the AudioSolutions scanner radio. It comes preloaded with thousands of Radio Worker Beings who are only too happy to program your listening choices without any effort required on your part. Just click the big silver scanner button when you get bored and it moves you to another station. Also a clock (with an optional hourly chime), stopwatch, alarm, and calendar. Excellent sound quality, and because of the AudioScanner I'm now a totally committed fan of KCSM Jazz Radio. No better soundtrack for my morning and evening commutes!
For a mere $5 you can be the proud owner of the link*it audio broadcaster, which allows you to transmit the crappy digital audio from your LCD monitor--on account of you couldn't afford matching external speakers--to yer olde stereo system, which produces immensely superior analog sound with a kickin' bass courtesy of its homemade woofer.
Still spending only single digits ($8), sleep with the wonders of science right next to your pillow--a travel alarm that synchronizes itself to the radio time signal generated by NIST's atomic clock in Colorado! Besides displaying the time in big numbers (that light up in the night if you just hit the snooze button on the top of the clock), the Ravinia's face also shows which time zone it's giving you the time for, the temperature, and the day and date. You can set two alarms. It is a model of function simplicity and style, destined for a design museum some day or my name's not Helvetica.
Last but far from least, my beloved Sony Mylo Communicator, which I've had for nearly a year now. It costs $350 and allows you to glom onto WiFi networks to surf the web, read your email, and make VOIP phone calls. (Many, many places of business, public libraries, and some metropolitan areas have free WiFi now--BART and AC Transit are even providing it on some train and bus services in the Bay Area.)
You can also set up a Mylo to Mylo local network so you can share files with friends. It stores photos, MP3s, and MPEG4 videos. But best of all, for me, it allows the creation of text files, so you can store your shopping list or write a novel on your lengthy way to and from work. The soft keypad is a delight to use, even when standing on a train holding on to the back of a seat to stay steady with one hand and just using one hand to text.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes that is a VCR and it still works, but I also have a DVD player/recorder attached to the TV.
So, there you have it. How to have fun without putting a hose into your wallet so some corporate giant can suck everything out of it once a month.
