above image courtesy of northland poster collective . check it out.
*organizing* for justice. i heart my community/neighborhood, grassroots progressive politics, great books (currently "jihad vs. mcworld"), good local music, making good, simple vegan food, parks, travel
I'd like to meet:
storytellers, organizers and the fierce of heart.
see you at the triple rock.
Music:
diverse. no emo, new country or soft rock. "adult contemporary" is eeeeeevil! my fave (yep, i really said "fave") are all those folks who think they're badasses listening to corporate disney TC area radio like 93x, 105, etc... gah.
alright... most recently, like a kajillion TC area folks, i've been listening to a lot of stuff from Rhymesayers Collective , Doomtree and (laugh, it's okay) Minor Threat demo tape (mmmmm, '80s dc hardcore... :) ). Also love jazz vocal and instrumental. My weakness: tenor or bari sax solos. especially love love LOVE local, independent music. i make a six-hour round car trip with a fair degree of consistency, so am unnecessarily fond of mix cds/tapes (most of what's in my car these days).
favorite radio: Radio K (770 AM, Univ of MN radio station). BEST MORNING SHOW AROUND. Great mix of local, indy, underground and even occasionally commercial music without the pretentious, snooty djs, like on the Current (oops, did I say that out loud?).
KFAI , Minneapolis St. Paul community radio (sp 106.7/mpls 90.3 fm). KFAI has, without a doubt, the absolute best community news coverage in the Twin Cities. KFAI Evening News @ 6p M-F. If you want to know what's going on, skip the network broadcast news and listen to KFAI. Especially fond of KFAI's RSE Radio (hosted by Rhymesayers), Sat nights 9-11p; and Radio Riot (hardcore and punk), Monday 12-2a, but many other excellent programs. Check out KFAI's archives page for the last two of any of KFAI's shows if you weren't able to catch them the first time around.
SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL RADIO STATIONS ALL. get involved and support community-based stations, or be fed whatever the corporate folks hand you. Radio K sells "watts" for $10 a pop, and you get a nifty watt-buyers card with discounts at local businesses. Donate at least $25 with KFAI's "RSE Radio" show and you'll get Rhymesayers premiums on top of the KFAI ones. 'NUFF SAID.
Movies:
Recently? Water (third part of Deepa Mehta's elemental trilogy, and highly recommended.) "Awesome, I F'ng Shot That" (2004 Beastie Boys Concert); "Little Miss Sunshine," "Yesterday," "Akeelah and the Bee," and "Tsotsi." Minnesota Film Arts brings independent films to the Bell Museum and the Oak Street Cinema in Minneapolis, as well as several film festivals. Worth checking out if you're in the TC area.
Movie scene that can make me laugh every time: "Head of State" with Chris Rock, who is a DC alderman running for president... when exit polls across the country on election day indicate Rock's character may win the election, hordes of white Californian suburbanites rushing into the streets to vote.
"Shaun of the Dead," "Ghost World;" "A Day without Mexicans," "Shaolin Soccer" (or pretty much anything Stephen Chow); "Hotel Rwanda" (made me cry); "Pi", "Dude, Where's My Car." Dylan's "Masked and Anonymous" was godawful but had a great soundtrack. I can watch "Blues Brothers" over and over again. Many others, just can't think of them.
Television:
New favorite--"Scrubs." (Yes, Tony, you were right.) "West Wing," "Simpsons," "Murphy Brown" reruns, and "The Daily Show." Guilty pleasures: "Celebrity Deathmatch" and "Golden Girls."
Books:
Now... "Jihad vs McWorld." Start Making Sense (published by Alternet.org; an analysis of the 2004 elections, and where progressives go from there.) Also "A History of God." Haven't read yet but intrested to see: The 9/11 Report," a graphic novel (like "Maus").
Other faves: "Last Standing Woman," Winona LaDuke (who knew she did fiction?). Paul Wellstone's "Powerline: The First Battle of America's Energy War" (written with Barry Casper.) Hauntingly poetic: "Killers of the Dream," Lillian Smith. Where I draw strength: "This Bridge Called My Back," ed. by Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua. Finished "The Toughest Indian in the World," Sherman Alexie.
Heroes:
I am humbled and draw strength from stories of everyday people who came before us to fight for justice and for their community, for space to live, breathe, and simply be, and for those who continue the struggle today.
"If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."--Lill Watson, Aboriginal activist
Congressman John Conyers of Michigan. Were all Congressman as couragous advocates for justice and speaking truth as he is consistently.
Paul Wellstone. Progressive leader who reignited many lefties' interest/faith in the electoral system (including yours truly) as a means of building power and fighting for justice, and breathed life into the concept of a citizens politics to counter the money politics--"main street" vs. "Wall Street."
"Politics is what we create by what we do, what we hope for, and what we dare to imagine." --Paul Wellstone.
State Senator Becky Lourey, who ran MN Governor. Builds power from the grassroots, leader in creating MNCare, Minnesota's state healthcare system, successful businesswoman, most legislative experience and experience beating incumbents of any DFLer running for governor, and common-sense progressive leader. We need more leaders like her.
my mom, dad and siblings amaze me daily. i am blessed to have friends who live, as Paul Wellstone put it, "very honest lives" in terms of how they connect to their loved ones and fight for justice in their community. too many personal heroes to list here :)
