“A day in ‘the life’…”
Annise Parker for Houston Mayor
::UPDATE:: Annise Parker Named Houston Mayor!!
I’m so excited that Annise Parker is currently leading in the run-off for Houston (my hometown) mayor by 49 percent to 36 percent against former city attorney Gene Locke.
(via Bilerico):
Late last week I talked to Annise Parker, the out lesbian and Houston City Controller who is running for Mayor of Houston. Annise is in a run-off, and the election is this Saturday. If elected against her opponent- a lobbyist who just sought and accepted the endorsement of a prominent anti-LGBT activist- Houston would become the largest city in the country to elect an openly LGBT candidate as Mayor. Additionally, the Houston mayoralty is a strong-mayor system, where except in very rare circumstances, nothing in the city council goes to a vote without the Mayor’s authorization, and the Mayor always votes and votes first. She can get a lot done.
Adam: Do you have any message for the progressive blogosphere?
Annise: I think people misunderstand Texas, and I think people misunderstand Houston as well. Houston is an amazing, international city. We are ethnically and racially the most diverse city in the United States, closely paired to New York City. If you look at what drives the economy, we are the world’s largest medical center, largest port in the United States, huge high-tech NASA and aerospace presence, all four sectors are tied into the world. If you go anywhere in the world and say Houston, people have an image of a modern, progressive, bustling city. If you go to the east or west coast, somehow the image is very different. The fact that I am the front-running candidate for Mayor of Houston, and view myself as an activist, Houston is a place where you look at what you can do and bring to the table more than who you are. I’ve been successful with a direct style of speaking to the voters of dealing with issues. Houston would surprise people. We are not a redneck wasteland. We are a modern progressive city with a very independent streak. I love my hometown and I absolutely believe in the people of Houston and their willingness to embrace change and tackle problems together.
—
The election is on Saturday (today).
Femme of Color Symposium
via creativexicana
Please Re Post!
Please distribute widely our call for submissions. We know FOCS2010 is going to be an amazing experience and we hope you will join us!
___________________________________________________________
Call for Workshops, Papers, Performance, and Art*
Femme of Color Symposium (FOCS) 2010: Celebrations and Reflections
March 27-28, 2009
Astor Crowne Plaza
739 Canal Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
www.focs2010.comFOCS2010: Celebrations and Reflections, the inaugural symposium by and for self-identified FEMMES of COLOR, will create the opportunity—through workshops, community building/social activities, presentations, panels, and/or performances—to uncover and discover our similarities, our differences, our needs and how to build the bridges that will allow us to support each other in all of who we are. It will serve as a launch point for a real-time and virtual nation-wide network of diverse individuals, prompt dialogue, and empower us to cultivate, sustain, and celebrate the vibrant connections we have made and will make among femmes of color.
We invite femmes of color from all over the map—community members, artists, academics, homemakers, activists, etc.—to participate in FOCS2010 as presenters and participants.
Submissions of all kinds are welcome. In particular, we hope that the intersections of femme with race, region, class, faith, access, ability, privilege, and marginalization will be talked about, given space, meditated upon, constructed, and deconstructed.
We hope to draw participants from across disciplinary, medium, and social boundaries. We encourage submissions from anyone interested, regardless of sexual identity. We do ask that you read our mission statement before submitting. Though we would not be able to live, love and/or laugh without our many allies, this conference is for self-identified femmes of color only.
We are soliciting contributions from any woman who is interested, including (but not limited to):
> workshops
> performances
> research presentations
> skill shares
> activist & organizational topics
> visual art
> video or filmSubmission deadline is December 7, 2009.
To submit a proposal, please submit the following to us at
http://www.focs2010.com/index.php/the-program
*For research presentations, send a 300 word abstract
*For workshop and skillshare proposals, send a 300 word description of your workshop or skillshare ideas
*Visual artists should send samples of work and a 300 word description of their artistic vision
*Performers, filmmakers and other creative artists should contact us for more informationTo learn more about us, our mission and to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns, please find us at our website:
http://www.focs2010.com
*reference Femme2006 Call for Submissions
“The Matrix” and “Terminator” Writer Finally Credited
via ClutchMag
After a six year dispute, prolific writer and profound spiritualist, Sophia Stewart has received justice for copyright infringement and racketeering and will finally recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. Yes, you heard that correctly – the entire Matrix & Terminator franchises, and her suspected pay off is expected to be the highest in history – an estimated 2.5 billion.
Her case is a true landmark, and far too uncommon as countless creatives are exploited by the snake-like dealings of the movie industry. Here’s a recap of her triumphant journey by way of George2.0:
“Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she felt had been based on her manuscript, ‘The Third Eye,’ copyrighted in 1981. In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers, requesting new sci-fi works.
According to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original film, in an attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement. The investigation also stated that ‘credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers.’ These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart’s original work and that it had been ‘often used during preparation of the motion pictures.’ The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have Stewart’s case dismissed, without success.
Stewart has confronted skepticism on all sides, much of which comes from Matrix fans, who are strangely loyal to the Wachowski Brothers. One on-line forum, entitled Matrix Explained has an entire section devoted to Stewart. Some who have researched her history and writings are open to her story.”
Although it’s long overdue, and buried in large part by the media machine, Stewart has finally received official credit (and hopefully financial settlement by 2009) for her prodigious contributions to both Hollywood, and the world for her ground breaking sagas, both the Matrix & Terminator franchises. Let us hope that this landmark ruling provides a measure of hope for other ripped off screenwriters seeking justice even if only by way of public recognition.
To echo her 2004 victorious press release:
‘The Matrix & Terminator movie franchises have made world history and have ultimately changed the way people view movies and how Hollywood does business, yet the real truth about the creator and creation of these films continue to elude the masses because the hidden secret of the matter is that these films were created and written by a Black woman…a Black woman named Sophia Stewart. But Hollywood does not want you to know this fact simply because it would change history. Also it would encourage our Black children to realize a dream and that is…nothing is impossible for them to achieve!’
So Where Was I…
I came out to my best friend since childhood yesterday! Yay me! (Do I get points deducted if it was through texting?) Anywhoo, I told her I was bi Valentines Day of ‘08, which at the time I thought to be true. However since then I hadn’t gotten around to updating her…She goes to a different college in a different city and I haven’t seen her in person all this year. I think the last time i saw her was last Xmas or something like that. As I get older I’m beginning to realize that you can’t just let the friendships you’ve had for years and years (we’ve known each other for almost 10 years now) just “fall off” as she said. Does it get harder to make friendships like that as you get older? Much less keep them together? The friends she had in high school (we didn’t go to the same high school either) have all but ‘evaporated’ now. I think the fact that we haven’t seen each other on the regular since junior high (tho in high school we talked on the phone almost everyday) has oddly enough kept us from losing touch completely. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Though over the years we’ve had less and less to talk about…
So there you have it. I’ve told the only friend I really care to tell at the moment (my social circle is minuscule to begin with keep that in mind…haha).
The Noughties: Music
2000s: “the Noughties” the term is a portmanteau of naught, meaning “nothing” or “zero”
With this decade drawing to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the state of music in the last 10 years. In the era of file sharing like Limewire (2000), iPods (2001), and Youtube (2005), a good album has almost all but become irrelevant in favor of the one-hit-wonder single hyped and discarded (or downloaded for free).
As much as I complain about the state of R&B (my fav!) these days, I don’t put much effort into seeking out the gems within the mass. I just bought (Amazon.com Downloads) Ginuwine – A Man’s Thoughts and realized I’d been sleeping on Jamie Foxx and Jon B’s 2008 albums (Did anybody know that Jon B HAD an album last year?!). That’s just my point however, one shouldn’t have to “seek” out established artists. Someone let me know, did you have to “seek” out good stuff pre-2000s? Back then you had the radio, live club performances, and the music store, the end. Was hunting through racks of records the “seeking” instead of surfing through Myspace Music?
XM Satellite: The Future (or no?)
This brings me to mainstream music and media–I haven’t listened to the radio on the regular since early this decade; it’s been downhill from 2000. These days I refuse to listen to it. Why would I, when I can get ANY song on demand, no commercials? I really wonder about the future of FM radio in the coming decade. Will it go the way of the portable CD player or simply morph to fit the times?The Great and Powerful YouTube
I really feel TRL was put off the air by Youtube. Who waits a whole 24 hours for a 30-second clip when you have video on demand sitting in front of you? My theory for 106 & Park still being on-air is that 1) it’s their “flagship” show (what the hell else comes on BET?) 2) the “target audience”, and I use that term loosely now, is less likely than the general population to have a home computer (see: the technology gap & minorities). Those are random guesses by the way, feel free to debate.MySpace, IMEEM, etc.
On the flip side, technology has made it easier than ever for artists (or aspiring artists…) to get their music out there and heard whether they are washed up and/or under hyped artists from major labels or independent. I think it’s great. Everybody can trash MySpace (in favor of Facebook) if they want to, but really it helped otherwise ignored folks.
Recent Comments