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July 24, 2004
Central Avenue Jazz Festival
Dear Friend, join us for a fun day of culture on Saturday, July 31!
Start the day by coming to the Southern California Library (6120 S.
Vermont, Los Angeles, between Slauson and Gage) on Saturday, July 31,
at 11 a.m. for a panel discussion on the art and culture of South L.A.
with local visual artists, a filmmaker, and an award-winning mystery
writer. Afterwards you can go on to the fabulous Central Avenue Jazz
Festival, featuring ethnic food, booths, and L.A.'s finest jazz and
blues.
The event is part of our community history project, "From Generation to
Generation: Making a Life in South Los Angeles, 1940-2005." The panel
will join with community members to talk about music, art, film,
fashion, and other cultural expressions that have made a powerful
difference in community life in South L.A. Panelists include filmmaker
Marlem Landa, mystery writer and community activist Gary Phillips,
graffiti artist and muralist Alex Rodriguez, and public artist Robin
Strayhorn. Multicultural arts specialist Sydney Kamlager will be the
moderator. More information is available on the web at
http://www.socallib.org/generations/events/artculture704/index.html .
Invite your friends for a fun summer day you won't want to miss! It's
all free, and you'll enjoy it.
See you!
Michele
Michele Welsing
Communications Director
Southern California Library
mwelsing@socallib.org
323-759-6063 (ph)
www.socallib.org
Using History to Advance Social Justice
MORE ABOUT THE CENTRAL AVENUE JAZZ FESTIVAL
-----------------------------------------------------
The 9th Annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival takes place July 31-August
1, on Central Avenue at 42nd Place. This year features a Latin flavor
with the Justo Almario Quartet; Susie Hansen Latin Jazz Band; and the
Donald Vega Latin Jazz Project. Other performers include Reggie
Andrews¹ Los Angeles Multi-School Band; Dwight Trible Band; Barbara
Morrison Band; Nate Morgan Band; CJS Quintet; Ernie Andrews Band; Isaac
Smith Expressions; and the Gerald Wilson Orchestra. The Central Avenue
Jazz Festival is free and open to the public. For more information:
323/234-7882.
Posted by mbowen at 05:58 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2004
Memory Stick
SON: Daddy, how was I born?
DAD: Ah, very well, my son, one day you need to find out anyway!
Mom and Dad got together in a chat room on MSN. Dad set up a date via
e-mail with your Mom and we met at a CyberSAFE. We snuck into a
secluded room, and then your mother downloaded from dad's memory stick.
As soon as dad was ready for an upload, it was discovered that neither
one of us had used a firewall Since it was too late to hit the delete
button, nine months later the blessed virus appeared. And that's the
story.
Posted by mbowen at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
Tough Choices
See Excerpt from Article Below:
As a Financial Professional, the subject of how we choose to use (and ultimately leverage) our massive spending power is one of the rare topics that inspires me to share a forwarded email with others.
This is such a powerful call to action for us within our own contact spheres of family, friends and associates. Please give strong consideration to adding a goal to personally improve and/or to help someone else improve in this area by the end of 2004.
Tough choices for tough times (USA Today) By Yolanda Young
These are tough economic times, especially for African-Americans, for whom the unemployment rate is more than 10%. Alarmingly, rather than belt-tightening, the response has been to spend more. In many poor neighborhoods, one is likely to notice satellite dishes and expensive new cars. According to Target Market, a company that tracks black consumer spending, blacks spend a significant amount of their income on depreciable products. In 2002, the year the economy nose-dived, we spent $22.9 billion on clothes, $3.2 billion on electronics and $11.6 billion on furniture to put into homes that, in many cases, were rented. Among our favorite purchases are cars and liquor.
Blacks makeup only 12% of the U.S. population, yet account for 30% of the country's Scotch consumption. Detroit, which is 80% black, is the world's No. 1 market for Cognac. So impressed was Lincoln with the $46.7 billion that blacks spent on cars that the automaker commissioned Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, the entertainment and fashion mogul, to design a limited-edition Navigator replete with six plasma screens, three DVD players and a Sony PlayStation 2.
The only area where blacks seem to be cutting back on spending is books; total purchases have gone from a high of $356 million in 2000 to $303 million in 2002. This shortsighted behavior, motivated by a desire for instant gratification and social acceptance, comes at the expense of our future. The National Urban League's "State of Black America 2004" report found that fewer than 50% of black families owned their homes compared with more than 70% of whites.
According to published reports, the Ariel Mutual Funds/Charles Schwab 2003 Black Investor Survey found that when comparing households where blacks and whites had roughly the same household incomes, whites saved nearly 20% more each month for retirement, and 30% of African-Americans earning $100,000 a year had less than $5,000 in retirement savings.
While 79% of whites invest in the stock market, only 61% of African-Americans do. Certainly, higher rates of unemployment, income disparity and credit discrimination are financial impediments to the economic vitality of blacks, but so are our consumer tastes. By finding the courage to change our spending habits, we might be surprised at how far the $631 billion we now earn might take us. Yolanda Young's next book is SPADE: A Critical Look at BlackAmerica.
We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too often suppressed in school and the workplace.
Best Regards,
Albert B. Sullivan, CPA Principal ADValue Financial (707)451-2380 (office) (707)471-6536 (fax) (925)997-3043 (mobile) [ mailto:3sullivan@msn.com ]3sullivan@msn.com
Providing CFO Advisory, Financial Turnaround and Funding Assistance, Accounting, IT and Tax Solutions.
The "finest compliment" I can ever receive from you is a Referral - Thank You
Posted by mbowen at 05:54 PM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2004
Whitney Trail
Crew,
Well, the Antioch folks have fallen by the wayside. So it looks like it’ll just be the 4 of us. The timeframe remains the same. I am hoping we can get on the road no later than 6:00am, Sunday morning.
Here’s the tentative schedule: Leaving at 6, we should get to Lone Pine by 10am. First stop is Mojave, about 95 miles from L.A. There’s an Arco station and a number of eateries. I usually gas up here, just to be on the safe side although it was crowded last time and I went straight on to the Portal. The 2nd stop is a Caltrans rest stop at about the 140 mile mark. Just a number of picnic tables, a dog run and restrooms. Lone Pine, another 60 or so miles, has a super market, restaurants and whatever has been forgotten can be purchased here. The distance from the town’s centre to the Portal parking lot is 13 miles.
The weather should be good. Perhaps 90 degrees in Lone Pine and about 72 at the Portal. (You can always check this out on line.)
What to bring: Warm weather means hiking in shorts! An extra tee shirt makes sense because of sweating on the trail itself. Some folks bring walking sticks. Backpack with whatever you plan to eat along the trail or at the lake. Camera and extra film. Good walking/hiking boots. Sneakers not advised. Waterproofing of boots not necessary. Cap with bill for sun. Do rag without concern over urban colors! Insect repellent. At least 3 bottles of water. There are no bathrooms once on the trail. But since no females will be in our B Men party, you can piss where you find a waiting tree or large boulder and no folks coming down the trail. Greeze: Sandwiches, fruit, nuts, cheese, candy, cookies, soda (in cans, not bottles), crackers, trail mix (ugh!) make good for good mountain snacks. I’ll have ice in the cooler so whatever you bring can be chilled. To be on the safe side, you may wanna bring your own cooler. There will be plenty of room in the Avalanche bed.
If you have a favourite cd, that be fine as well. There is a spot where radio signals all but disappear.
That should ‘bout do it. You know how to reach me if you need to before Sunday morning.
Later,
Mr B
Posted by mbowen at 05:51 PM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2004
John Nava
WITNESS THE FASCINATING CREATION
OF A HISTORIC WORK OF ART
in a new documentary
written, produced & directed by David Tlapek
narrated by Edward James Olmos
Explore artist John Nava's innovative creation of tapestries for the newly
constructed Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, in downtown LA.
Consisting of 37 individual tapestries that range in height from 15 to 45
feet, Nava's work hangs on the interior walls of the new cathedral. To
render these massive tapestries, Nava integrated twenty-first century
technology with centuries-old artistic tradition. What he created is a
beautiful work of art that enhances the new cathedral's themes of
spiritual unity and ethnic diversity.
Divining the Human: The Cathedral Tapestries of John Nava is a visually
stunning insight into the connections between art, religion and the human
community.
For more information:
[ http://www.diviningthehuman.com ]www.diviningthehuman.com
OPEN INVITATION:
This is a community event on Weds. July 21st at 7PM! Screening, dessert
reception and Q && A with the filmmaker in Room A1000.Please bring guests
and encourage others who may be interested in attending!
Posted by mbowen at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2004
Cost of War
Truly, truly frightening . . .
http://costofwar.com
"The salvation of the world lies in the maladjusted." - Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.
"When it shall be said in any country in the world, my poor are happy,
neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are
empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want; the
taxes are not oppressive . . . when these things can be said, then may
that country boast its constitution and its government." - Thomas Paine
"A single feat of daring can alter the whole conception of what is
possible." - Graham Greene
Posted by mbowen at 05:49 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2004
Michael Moore
FLASH!!
Michael Moore is a fat, unkempt slob. He is opinionated and seemingly driven. He eats and talks too much. AND……..
He has made a fantastic film. It is uneven, schmaltzy in parts and poorly edited in others. Often disjointed and making unintended points of view. AND it is a must see!
If ever I was convinced that George Bush is a TOTALLY inappropriate and (perhaps worse than that) INEPT person, here is the living breathing cinematic proof positive. One can even dodge the Moore Syndrome and commentary and still remain able to see that the man in the White House is a shifty-eyed, not even close to being smart asshole. I have used the expression on other occasions. The term renders me as guilty as Moore in harboring my bias; but if the orifice fits, wear it!!
I came away from the movie infinitely more convinced than before that George Bush was a tragic political mistake for this country. But it’s more than simple political differences. (Republicans have no more of a monopoly on “evil” than the Democrats have cornered the “righteous” corner of life.) Other examples of his unfitness (?) could have sufficed but looking at the (best part of the flick) Iraq footage and associated interviews really caps it. What a terrible mistake and waste of human life and lifestyles. Total American-initiated chaos. Without cause, mind you. Weapons of….ahhhh bullshit!!! And irony of ironies: at this very minute Bush and Sadaam are very much alike: both are equally unrepentant! What does that say?
If you haven’t seen the movie, do so. But flick or no flick…VOTE THAT FOOL OUT OF OFFICE!!! Yes it is that serious. Pontificating from the sidelines pre- or post-November is absolutely unforgiving at this clearly unique historical juncture.
By the way, the theater was FULL and there was a line waiting for the next screening. Haven’t known that to happen since Gibson’s “Passion.”
Two points: 1) I will write to Colin Powell (again) before the week is out. Perhaps Condi as well. And, 2) Iraq has the 2nd largest oil reserve in the world.
Final thought: For a graduate management class I am reading Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline. He talks about reverse cycles, just as a way of getting us to think about life processes from other than a traditional Westernized, linear perspective. So, I am crazily wondering:
How would we feel about 9/11 if the invasion of Iraq had occurred first? (Maybe in the near future, I’ll share another dimension of this question.)
Cheers..And then, peace!
Posted by mbowen at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)