This is a short entry that I feel compelled to comment on. This is one of the most surreal videos in political history. Dirty-lyric Reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee showed up to support republican presidential candidate John McCain at an Central Arizona High School. Does McCain really know what the lyrics to the song “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee are really about? OK.. how can anyone not laugh their ass off, or at least sit there in disbelief as Daddy Yankee goes around kissing all the high school girls while McCain sits there probably having one of the most awkward white man moments in history. It is ridiculous that McCain is really trying to win votes by having Daddy Yankee support him. Latin mothers who do understand his lyrics should be upset. Oh, and not to mention Daddy Yankee claims that McCain has always “fought for immigrant rights”? Daddy Yankee, please do your research first. I pose the question, who are these people anyway?
Saturday night 5/3/2008, I was pulled out to Oakland to see Dj Harvey instead of my usual round to the monthly Kontrol party. I can not be more glad at the turn of events. I witnessed the best underground Disco set I have ever seen in my life and I have seen great ones from Andre Hachett and Maurice Fulton. Although I like Disco for its wide spectrum of funky styles I usually get a little tired of it after a half hour - the vocals drive me a little nuts. This night however changed my opinion of Disco but it’s also because Harvey has a rare deep and underground vintage disco track arsenal that only him and a few dj’s on the planet own.
I saw Harvey once before in 2000 but I didn’t like it. On this night however, the stars were aligned and he came down with the phenomenal disco force that only a well strapped dj veteran like him can. Let’s have a reality check here. Dj Harvey is old school - I don’t know his true age but you can read his Wikipedia entry and get an idea of how far his dj career goes - He is no spring chicken - he is more like the wise owl - check out his greying beard. As a dj for 14 years myself, I was impressed by every selection he made. I recognized 2 songs all night - 4 hours.
Description: Funk-Rock with a Disco kiss on it. A deep blend of washed out guitars, funky-tribally drums rhythms, wet high hats, psychedelic drone strings, far away sounds, dance friendly rock and just the right amount of Vocals. It is one of the most eclectic sounds I have ever heard yet, under the umbrella of Disco.
The show was small, it was one of those events that drew true disco music lovers - only those who knew were there, about 100 strong which Harvey kept dancing for 5 hours straight. I myself got lucky and met a great dancer on that dance floor. We danced till sweaty - two and a half hours straight before we finally took a water break What a lucky guy her boyfriend must be - he was not there. Too bad for him, on that night Harvey made her and I connect body moves to the underground Disco Beat Check out his site and learn more about Harvey: http://www.harveysarcasticdisco.com/
When I made this movie in September 2006 I had different goals in mind. I wanted to work at Current TV, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt’s maven viewer created content TV network. I wanted to work at Current so much that I decided to make a movie and show them I had what it took. I had no idea that two years later this movie would inspire a journalism education program at an Oakland high school. Check out the original version in case you haven’t seen it yet.
With only 30 days left until the deadline of a contest that Current TV was running called, Seeds of Tolerance, I embarked on this project. The prize was 100,000 dollars - I was in for the ride of my life.
I picked this topic because I myself am an immigrant to the good ole U.S.A. and I felt it was my duty to explore this topic closely. I am so happy that I did.
I quit my job (I got it back when I returned), borrowed the equipment, secured the funding, and flew off to New Orleans with only two contacts upon arrival, a friends friend who lent me his floor to sleep on and Christian Roselund who ran Indymedia in the area and whom I met through email correspondence.
Blood, Sweat and Tears is the best way that I can explain these 30 days. Sourcing, shooting, directing, and editing. I was a one man show. I went up to scared immigrant strangers on the street, this is how I met all the subjects in my movie. My time in New Orleans was very short so every minute on the field was worth gold. I met heroes and downtrodden people. Then entire experience felt somewhat apocalyptic. Certain people will always stick out in my mind.
9 hours of footage later, I had to teach myself how to edit video. This took about 2 hours thanks to my audio editing skills. I’m not kidding. I am a natural at this. I boiled all the content down to 11 minutes to meet the contest requirements. I can easily make a 40 minute movie with the footage.
I did not win the $100,000 but out of approximately 380 entries, 8 movies were picked, 6 finalists, and 2 for television. This movie was picked for television - I got paid. Not much money, but the reward today is bigger than anything I could have possibly imagined back then.
Tomorrow, I will be giving a speech after the screening of my movie at Unity High School in Oakland, California. This website has all the details: http://www.unityhigh.org/gulfcoasttrip08
The aim of the fundraiser is to send a group of students to New Orleans and make 2 documentaries about this topic. You are all of course welcome to help out.
This is a much deeper story because it involves everything from the Detroit techno music label Underground Resistance and an old school Dj friend from back in the Ann Arbor days. However, you will have to ask me in person about this if you really want to find out more.
Credits and thank you’s:
Eddie & Johnny & Larry for letting me crash in your places, and Kieran Walsh for hooking that up.
Alex Outhred for funding
Gregory Kellet and Ian Kellet for the Camera and the tips - good juju!
Elsa Wenzel for support and research help
“CESAR” for putting up with me in his editing suite.
Christian Roselund, Ed Holub, Eva San Martin, Luz Molina, Jorge Lopez, Damion, Claire Didier, Lamar LeBlanc, Albert at Common Ground, and the immigrants themselves who put themselves at risk to help me make this film.
Thanks to Cornelius Harris for passing it on and thanks to Daniel Zarazua for inspiring the youth to take further action.
Yup, you heard that us humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes and all that. 23andme.com is offering a personal genetic analysis. You pay a cool $999,00 and you get a personalized kit with instructions on how to “spit” in plastic cup and send it back to them for analysis. What can they tell you? How about what diseases you are prone to, what traits you got from which relative, or will you be fat by 40?. Sound crazy? This guy feels great about it enough to write a play by play on his experience using this service. I must admit I feel tempted to try it.
“Li Ka-shing is the richest man in Asia and the ninth richest person in the world, and owner of an appropriate rich guy last name. His wealth is valued at $23 billion” and he recently decided to drop 60 million for a piece of Facebook. What a cheap ass! I also read that he dresses “modestly”. When you run out of money next time, just say his name three times. Watch the money pour in. Can anyone get this guy to introduce China to greener technologies? I noticed his portfolio pretty much pollutes the earth.
What a lucky guy her boyfriend must be - he was not there. Too bad for him, on that night Harvey made her and I connect body moves to the underground Disco Beat 
Yup, you heard that us humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes and all that. 
