A Name to Call: Bo Diddley

As you may already know, the amazing wonder who invented one of the only names that rightfully suits a bluesman and a rib shack and who handcrafted each of his magic making guitars himself, Bo Diddley, has passed.  He suffered from heart failure only months after having a stroke.

“I opened the door for a lot of people, and they just ran through and left me holding the knob,” he told The New York Times in 2003.

Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley (born December 30, 1928)

Bo Diddley broke new ground in rock and roll’s formative years with his unique guitar work, indelible African rhythms, inventive songwriting, and larger-than-life persona. He will forever be known for popularizing one of the foundational rhythms of rock and roll: the Bo Diddley beat. He employed it in his namesake song, “Bo Diddley,” as well as other primal rockers like “Mona.” This African-based 4/4 rhythm pattern (which goes bomp-bomp-bomp bomp-bomp) was picked up from Diddley by other artists and has been a distinctive and recurring element in rock and roll through the decades. It can be heard on Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” (later covered by the Rolling Stones), Johnny Otis’s “Willie and the Hand Jive,” the Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy,” the Who’s “Magic Bus” and Bruce Springsteen’s “She’s the One,” to name just several songs.

For the Conspiracy Theorist in You: Alicia Keys on ‘Gangsta Rap’

“If Malcolm or Huey had the outlets our musicians have today, it’d be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself” – Alicia Keys 

America’s favorite bright skinned darling has people buzzing with her apparent closeted radicalism.  In the latest issue of Blender magazine, Alicia Keys, openly shares her opinion of a coordinated conspiracy to promote black-on-black violence through the media created genre ‘gangsta music’.  She says:

“‘Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other,” she says, putting down the sandwich. “‘Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.”

Come again? A ploy by whom?

She looks at us like it’s the dumbest question in the world. “The government.”

Add another line to her résumé. Alicia Keys: piano stroker, budding actress… and conspiracy theorist? This is the side of her that doesn’t square with the media-trained pro—the side your mom probably doesn’t know about when she hums “No One” on the way to Walgreens. This Alicia pores over Black Panther autobiographies (“I’ve read Huey Newton’s, Assata Shakur’s, David Hilliard’s …”). This Alicia says Tupac and Biggie were essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked “by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing.” This Alicia wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck, “to symbolize strength, power and killing ’em dead.” (“She wears what?” her mom asks Blender. “That doesn’t sound like Alicia.”)

*Shaking My Head*

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about the latest interaction between Aretha Franklin and PETA.  Not too long ago, information was released about Aretha Franklin’s tax troubles.  Lady Franklin has been the target of numerous PETA crusades in recent years due to her fur flashiness and even her weight.

Now, PETA has thrown down the gauntlet and offered to buy Ms. Retha out of her financial troubles by offering to cut her a check for her the $19,000 in back taxes in exchange for her giving up the furs for good.  If she were to accept the offer yes, I realize that’s as likely as R. Kelly seeing jail time) they would have her donate all of her furs to PETA (a la Mariah Carey).  Here’s an excerpt of the letter:

Dear Ms. Franklin,

I am writing regarding the pending foreclosure of your home.  We would like to help you out by paying the approximately $19,000 in back taxes that you owe-if you’ll agree to save animals from hideous suffering and death by promising never to wear fur again and donating your old furs to PETA.

Click to see the original letter.

Hunger Strike – the full *banned* Boondocks episode

The episode of the “Hunger Strike” the episode banned from ever showing has finally been posted in its entirety at WorldStarHipHop.  Click here to watch it.

food watch: does pepsi own your organic…

The US organic market remains on track for strong growth over the next five years…report by Mintel, which claims that the increased availability of organic foods through mainstream channels is set to change the playing field…the report values the organic food market at an estimated $3.6bn in 2006, more than double the $1.5bn market of 2001. And between 2006-2011, …the sector will see a 44 percent increase in constant prices, headed by strong demand for organic fruits and vegetables and prepared foods.(read more)

so the integrity of the term “organic” is slowly being eroded by big business. in the movement to capitalize off a growing consumer health and eco-consciousness, food corporations are investing, lobbying and shopping in the “organic” market. the “organic industry food structure” chart to the left –created by public health advocate and msu professor, phil howard -shows which food biz giants are buying out your favorite organic food makers, on the low. big food corporations acquire “organic food” companies and no one’s the wiser. i was wondering why the appearance of the rice dream carton and the color and consistency of the milk had been changed so many times in the past year and a half! i thought they were just making more money and stepping up their marketing game. that wasn’t all: they got bought out! (<–press release) food giants encourage the use of synthetic pesticides

nite*vision guest starring on blactivegan

hey family-

it was bound to happen: blactivegan and nite*vision have linked up! blactivegan’s been on my blogroll and on my radar for a minute (see red hot post & mlk reference). his blog is a refreshing narrative exploration of physical activity, healthy eating, and black culture.

  

(nite*vision & blactivegan)

soooo, i’ve done a couple of guest posts over on blactivegan:

food watch: dropping like cows
dropping science on the massive beef recalls of 2007-08 (so far)

battling obesity one corner at a time
bringing news about nyc’s newest secret weapon against obesity

check out blactivegan. check me out on blactivegan’s blog. expect more!

cheaters

cheaters, cheaters, cheaters.  don’t judge me for watching hours of the kitschy melodramatic show cheaters today.  sometimes there’s not much else to do during convalescence. according to my sister, who knows her stuff(!), this is a really old one.  how do you go back to hosting a show like this after getting jigged like this.  joey greco is my hero.

all i want to know is why the culprits always have the nerve to get indignant about being caught!  on one episode, the cheating guy immediately gave his girlfriend the ultimatum of either forgiving right then or just calling the relationship quits.  how rude?!

1 in 100

10% of Mexico’s population lives in the Untied States.

10% of the U.S. population will experience a seizure in his or her lifetime.

Immigrants make up just over 10% of the U.S. population.

In 10% of U.S. counties, people of color are the majority of the population.

Incarceration is at an all time high – over 10% of the adult U.S. population is locked up.

The NY Times reported on the Pew Center on the States’ latest report:

Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it to almost 1.6 million. Another 723,000 people are in local jails. The number of American adults is about 230 million, meaning that one in every 99.1 adults is behind bars.

latest postsecret

it’s been a minute., but i just checked out the latest round of postcards over at postscret.  of note:

if you have a secret on a postcard you want featured, you should visit the website.

check out the latest postsecret book

Urine in Your Stew: Fear Factor – Afrikaan Edition

This is a pretty disgusting – on a couple of levels -bit of news I received in my inbox. It seems a group of white boys (Afrikaans) thought it would be cute and subversive to stage a fake “Fear Factor” with the South African dorm staff as contestants. This included a contest of eating stew laced with urine!

I’ve seen this posted on another blog already tonight and one of the commenters thought the whole scene was just a funny prank and that the women just shouldn’t have eaten it. It’s mighty sick how bullies, racists, and other sickos think it’s lighthearted and funny to literally endanger someone’s life…not to mention that the end of the video actually confirms their white supremacist intentions. Read on…

Watch clips from the video on CNN

Whites tricked blacks into consuming urine, university says

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) — White students at a South African university tricked black residence hall workers into eating stew containing urine, prompting a march Wednesday in which five people were arrested, university officials said.

Students protest against a racist video on the campus of Free State University in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

The white students made a video of the incident, which they staged in reaction to the university’s efforts to integrate its residences, according to a statement from the University of the Free State.

The protesters on Wednesday included black and white students who later marched to the residence where the video was made and demanded that it be shut down, witnesses said.

The video surfaced on Tuesday but was made in September, the university said.