HERE YA GO.

You call it Thanksgiving? We call it…

Oh, Thanksgiving. The hallmark holiday where America asserts itself in all of its cultural hypocrisy— gluttony, Black Friday, some make-believe narrative about Pilgrims and Indians coming together in harmony—yet is still an institutional call for gratitude, family, humility, appreciation, and, if you’re Sabzi, Iranian breakdancing.

Keeping historical accuracy (remember people, it was genocide!) at the forefront of today’s festivities, here’s a couple recommendations of ways to keep up while slathering gravy all over everything.

1. Read Up & Talk About the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act, which has been kicking it in Congress since 2001, would allow undocumented young people who immigrated to the U.S. as minors the opportunity to apply as permanent residents provided they either enroll in higher education or enlist in the military. Couched under the National Defense Authorization Act for a minute, it seems that Senator Harry Reid of Nevada is planning to bring the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill to be passed before the Democratic majority disappears in the House… as early as next week. Learn more about why the DREAM Act is important to the security and livelihood of hundreds of thousands of first-generation Americans from ImmigrationPolicy.org and from this article in The Economist. And if you’re sitting around with a lot of registered voters this evening, you might want to bring up how the DREAM Act is small potatoes compared to the amount of undocumented immigrants whose arrival we celebrate every year for Thanksgiving.

2. Dispel the Hunky-Dory Thanksgiving Narrative by watching this video, an accessible narrative for people of all ages.

3. If you’re local, go ‘head and Kick It at Hidmo for Thingstaken Tonight. Featuring music by Seattle’s own prolific producer/DJ OC Notes, the event promises “freedom.”

Free and all ages.

epthemc:

Blue Scholars - Coffee & Snow 2 PREVIEW

zia! you are truly amazing… im so stoked right now.  Always comes through on the videos

Oh shit, somebody found the test shot LOL. The rest is coming real soon, folks. Stay warm.

News: Eyes, Ears and Tweets on Seattle Police

2010 has been an especially alarming year for police brutality in Seattle. From the blatantly unjustified murder of John T. Williams, a Native woodcarver, in August to the innocent man who was kicked in the head and body while a police officer told him he’d “beat the fucking Mexican piss out of you, homie,” to the 17-year-old girl who was punched in the face, we’ve bore witness to some bizarre and troubling events that show the fissures in our supposedly safe and tolerant town, especially against young people of color.

Last week, we found out about the latest incident to surface: a 17-year-old, clearly unarmed, taken down and kicked in the groin and face in a downtown convenience store on October 18th. (It’s his face in the picture above.) And according to this recount by The Stranger, the SPD withheld the video with no intent to investigate until it leaked to the press.

On Friday, Geo tweeted: “Dear @mayormcginn: as your favorite Seattle MC (your words), I implore you to do whatever you can to hold SPD accountable for their actions.” Shoutout to Above Ground Magazine, who used Geo’s tweet to write a thorough article on what’s been going down in Seattle for those who haven’t been following. (Read the article here.)

We only find out about these incidents because of coincidence: a passer-by capturing footage on his or her phone, or a store owner releasing film from security cameras. For every story we hear about, how many more are untold? It’s on us to stand up, use our senses, question and hold those accountable who are paid (by us) to protect and serve.

-taro:

Church (featuring Geologic) - Macklemore.

A song from 2007, produced by Budo, off Macklemore’s The Unplanned Mixtape, featuring Geo.

etmm:

Prometheus Brown | Mall Rap

Geo in Hawaii This Week

I’m back in Hawaii. No Blue Scholars shows this trip, but I’ll be in Honolulu for a week performing and speaking at the University of Hawaii and Farrington High School with fellow Filipino emcees Bambu and Kiwi. Might hit up a studio session or two. Closing out the week, we’ll all be hitting the stage Friday night (11/12) at Fresh Cafe for Pnoy Apparel’s Shirt The Kids benefit concert. There, Bam will make good on losing a bet to me, for the second year in a row, on the USC vs. Washington football game. Check this video for the backstory:

[read more at bluescholars.com]

CINEMETROPOLIS: Studio Session 2010-11-01

Fall touring schedule is in the books, time to get back to making music. This past week, we went back to work on this Cinemetropolis record in cold, rainy-ass mid-autumn Seattle. Perfect weather for daylong crib-studio sessions with the minimal set-up, occasional internet breaks, and movies playing muted on the big screen. Rapping while watching movies. Who does that?

We do. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954), Chunking Express (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994), The Debut (Gene Cajayon, 2000) and Week End (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967) played silently through the sessions. They had nothing to do with the songs recorded. Except maybe for Week End, which played as we recorded the closing song of the album. Four songs, four films. Guess that means we’re about 3 more films away from completing this album.

So as we enter the home stretch, we need your suggestions: what films should we consider as the visual backdrop for the last few sessions? And, in three words, why?

PHOTOS: Eugene, Oregon (10/21-10/22)

Aside from this show over the summer, it had been six months since we hit Eugene when we returned to WOW Hall a couple weeks ago. The venue holds historical significance as the home of the first of many stagedives. Cats be crowdsurfing during the interludes. Nobody’s to cool to not sweat. Lots of trees in the air. This past two-night run with Grieves & Budo was no different.

[read more and see more photos at bluescholars.com]

Seattle 100: Portrait of a City by Chase Jarvis

When Chase Jarvis approached us to be a part of his Seattle 100: Portrait of a City photo book, we knew that the shoot would be a blast, the photos would turn out great, and that it was an honor to be included with alot of townfolk whose work we love and admire. What we didn’t know was that we’d be the first ones listed in the book. Not that it matters. Ah, who am I kidding? It’s flattering, a good look, and means my relatives won’t be all like “what page are you on?” when they get this book as a gift.

[read more at bluescholars.com]

Greg Nissen: The Blue Scholars Paramount Concert Pictures →

gregoryniss:

Wish you had gone to the Blue Scholars, Macklemore + Ryan Lewis, Brother Ali, Fresh Espresso, and Mash Hall concert last Wednesday at The Paramount last Wednesday? You probably should have, even though it was a school/work night, but for those of you who couldn’t make it for legitimate reasons,…

Check the homie Greg Nissen’s analog-digital photojournal of the City Arts Festival show at The Paramount last week!

show at the Hawthorne in PDX // April, 2010