Chilean Miners Rescue Brings World Together

Florencio Avalos first Chilean Miner up

The amazing story of the Chilean Miners Rescue is bringing the World together. The plan called Operation San Lorenzo is going very well, and three of the 33 Chilean Miners have been brought to the surface without mishap.

It's the first time in the World's history that a group of people have been rescued from so far beneath the Earth after stating down there for so long - between 38 and 39 days depending on how you measure it.

The first miner, 31-year old Florencio Avalos, came up because he was the healthiest of the group of 33. Mr. Avalos hugged and shook hands with the President of Chile and then was reunited with his family before going into a kind of debriefing process.

The second miner, Mario Sepulveda, came up, hugged his wife, then hugged the President of Chile at least three times, then the other staff around him, and in a frenzy of emotion, then went out to hug the drill workers who helped on the Operation San Lorenzo project. It seemed like he hugged everyone there.

The third miner, Juan IIlanes Palmas, is about to be raised in a capsule that's 28-inches in diameter as this is written. Now, there are 30 miners and at the rate this is going, all should be rescued by Wednesday morning in the United States.

Twitter Impact Not Dramatic, Yet

As of now at 9:56 PDT, "BET Hip Hop Awards" is the top trending topic on Twitter, with "Miner" at the bottom. That perhaps reflects the younger demographic that's less in tune with World Events, but also the fact that not every television network is covering this. In fact, it looks like CNN's the only one to do so. That means this is a ratings coup for CNN, which with its CNN International Division, can cover the Chilean Miners Rescue well into the next day.

Stay tuned and catch the CNN Live Stream with a click here.

CNN Live Stream: Chilean Miners Rescue Live - Florencio Avalos First Up

UPDATE: 8 of 33 Miners Rescued

Florencio Avalos First Miner Up

(Click here for CNN Live Stream of Chilean Miners Rescue where Florencio Avalos was the first miner up.)

CNN does live events well. The Chilean Miners Rescue live show on as this is written is proof that CNN's focus should be on live events and not on copying Fox News. Constant ratings returns prove that when there's a live event: a disaster, court case, or news conference, CNN does consistently well both in ratings and in event production for television.

In the case of The Chilean Miners Rescue, CNN dispatched it's big guns - Larry King, John King and Anderson Cooper - to focus on this event. Moreover, CNN had experts giving us reports on what the miners would have to deal with when they surfaced.

Florencio Avalos Makes History

When the first miner, 31-year-old Florencio Avalos surfaced, you could see and feel the collective sigh of a country, Chile, and the World. There was so much that could have gone wrong, and still can over the next day or so that it takes to get out all of the 33 miners.

Florencio Avalos becomes the first person to be rescued from a 68-day entrapment in a mine over 2,000 feet below the surface of the Earth. The decision was to have Avalos brought up first because he's the healthiest one of the group. According to CNN, the idea is the other weaker miners will be more encouraged to make the trip up, which takes about 15 minutes.

You can monitor the event via the CNN live blog with a click here as well.

Eric Stoltz Could Have Been Marty McFly Before Michael J. Fox

A shocker of a news item in pop culture: Eric Stoltz was set to play the role of "Marty McFly" in 1985's Back To The Future until Director Robert Zemeckis realized that the crew wasn't getting the laughs from his performance they sought.   (You can see a segment from the footage in the video above.)

According to EW's Popwatch, Zemeckis and staff trashed the five weeks of filming done with Eric Stoltz, got Michael J. Fox to play the role, redid the entire five weeks of shooting, and the rest is cinema history.

Fox was then the star of the situation comedy called Family Ties, where Fox played the conservative Alex P. Keaton. While he and Family Ties was popular, Fox's version of Marty McFly gave him a permanent place in popular culture due to the success of the Back to the Future Trilogy.

All of this is in the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy collection due October 26. But the unanswered question is would Back To The Future have been as successful with Eric Stoltz, even with his comedy timing problems? Apparently it's safe to note that if Eric Stoltz had remained as Marty McFly, there would not have been a Back to the Future II or Back to the Future III.

But in fairness to Stolz, it just wasn't his role; he went on to critical acclaim in The Mask.

Back To The Future A California Story

For this blogger, Back To The Future is really a story of Mill Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. The town of "Hill Valley" was really Mill Valley, complete with the town square. In fact, Hill Valley was designed as a fictional California town in the movie. The film, as a result, has what was intended: the feel of a small California town and culture.

Jeff Chang: The Influence Street Gangs On Evolution of Hip Hop

Author Jeff Chang (photo)

Straight from the Davey D Archives, we pull out an interview we did with author Jeff Chang back in August of 2008 at the National Political Hip Hop Convention about his book ‘Can’t Stop Won’t Stop‘. Here we sit down and talk about his perspective on street gangs and how they influenced Hip Hop culture.

Chang talks to us about the culture of abandonment in the late 60s and early 70s when many whites fled the Bronx in what we call ‘white flight’. This left many of the areas impoverished with its decreased tax base. This in turn led to what Chang described as chaos which led to the explosions of gangs who attempted to create and enforce some sort of order.

The gangs grew in size and began to war against one another until it reached a critical point where folks reached a fork in the road. Should they make peace and transform the neighborhoods or continue down a path of destruction. In 1971 the gangs of the Bronx got together and forged a Peace Treaty. The cult movie Warriors was inspired by this Peace Treaty.

Chang noted the 71 peace Treaty paved the way for Hip Hop as it allowed folks from all over to go in various neighborhoods and artistically express themselves via dance, emceeing and deejaying. The birth of Park Jam came about. You can peep our interview below…Chang is currently working on a book about race and multi-culturlism as a follow-up to his excellent book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0lINPtCb0

In our interview I made reference to the 40th anniversary of the Notorious Black Spades who was the largest gang in new York during those early days. The Spades eventually morphed into the Organization and later the Mighty Zulu Nation under the leadership of Afrika Bambaataa who at the time was a key warlord.

Karate Charlie of the Ghetto Brothers and Bam Bam of the Black Spades

We decided to include the videos to that gathering so you can get a richer understanding about the influence.. Included in these clips are members of the Ghetto Brothers who Chang writes extensively about in his book. We also see Black Spade leader Bam Bam. He was the one who gave Afrika Bambaataa permission to use the name.. In these clips you see Bam address younger gangsters in the most intense ways..

We also hear from Hip Hop legend Popmaster Fabel of Rocksteady Crew and Zulu Nation who is working on a documentary about the early gangs called The Apache Line. In fact he was filming that day. We also hear from original B-Boy and Zulu nation member Charlie Rock who talks about the White Gangs called Greasers who roamed the Bronx and were mortal enemies to the large Black and Puerto Rican gangs. he explains how Hip Hop emerged from the chaos underscoring Chang’s earlier points..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nwsdYU4yKM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGYTeRUWK5k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ufPt8g617I&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycREFrL6-RA&feature=channel

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Famed Hip Hop Duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth Reunite In Oakland

Pete Rock & CL Smooth Re-United and threw down in Oakland.

We caught up w/ legendary Hip Hop figures Pete Rock and CL Smooth who have recently re-united and are currently on tour.

It’s been 8 years since we’ve seen the pair together here in the Bay Area, although both have been here numerous times separately. They came to support the Green For Allactivities that were taking place at Laney College in Oakland.

CL came on stage and gave a 15 minute speech about the importance of healthy living and going Green. Later on him and Pete came on stage and got busy for a good half hour. They rocked classics like Straighten Out and TROY. Later that night they performed at the Mezzanine in SF where they ran through all their hits.

During our interview Pete talked to us about his producing outlook. He told us who he’s feeling, what he’s learned from others as well as what he feels he contributed to the game… He talked about the Bomb Squad and what he learned from working with them.. He also talked about who would be on his all star team of producers and rappers if he had to put together the ultimate album

CL talked about how he maintains his healthy outlook and spirit. He also talked about what its taken for him and Pete to come back together and work together. He says its like a marriage that requires one to pay close attention and care everyday…CL also talked about how he stays relevant with this new crop of emcees.

Here’s our interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIzdAllsXIk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqsMrRec9zw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiOcVWQY2bc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQxBuFgxhFM

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Oakland Mayor's Race: Oakland Parking Behind Grand Lake Endorsements

Oakland Mayor's Race Candidate Joe Tuman just got the best ad sign he didn't have to pay for when Allan Michaan, the owner of the Reinassance Rialto Theater Chain and the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland put the recommendation to vote for Tuman on a marque generally reserved for anti-war blasts.  The sign can be seen for a considerable distance on the main two streets in front of it, Grand Avenue and Lake Park Avenue.

Upset About Oakland Parking

When asked why he decided to back Joe Tuman over any of the other nine candidates for Oakland Mayor, the always outspoken Michaan didn't waste his voice: "Because Quan and Kaplan are the worst for Oakland business," he said. "Since they passed this draconian parking law, my business has went down 55 percent."  Allan's referring to Oakland City Councilmembers Jean Quan (District Four - Montclair, Oakland Hills) and Rebecca Kaplan (At-Large), and their backing of the "Oakland Parking Law" that has enraged so many in Oakland.

The "Oakland Parking Law" Allan's referring to is the City of Oakland's City Council backed decision to aggressively enforce parking street laws, charging a base fine of $55 that doubles if the payment is late by two weeks. Get just five tickets, and your car becomes eligible to be towed off the street anywhere in Oakland, except the hills areas, or so it seems.

Plus, the City of Oakland has purchased special vans with scanners that will read your license plate from a distance. They drive around Oakland looking for cars that are eligible to be towed. If you're parked car comes up on the monitor inside the van, they will stop and place a boot on your car. If you don't have the money to pay and have the boot removed, your car will be towed.

That happened to one woman on Grand Avenue in February. As she was shopping with her two small children, she returned to her car to find that the van mentioned placed a boot on it. She had no way to take her kids home and screamed for help. That incident was the talk of the neighborhood for some time and still is.

The Oakland Parking law is still in place, and the City Council shows no desire to take it away. That's why Allan wants a clean sweep and says "no one on the Oakland City Council should be allowed to hold public office again."

Why Not Perata?

Given that Former California State Senator Don Perata's an outsider to the Oakland process, the question of why no endorsement for him was raised "Perata's a career politician," Allan said. "Joe Tuman has said he will take a leave of absence from his job as a professor to do the job of mayor, then return to that job."  As for the other candidates for Mayor, Michaan said "I want someone who actually has a chance to win."  

Allan sounds like he's an enthusiast for Tuman, but if Joe gets elected and doesn't solve the parking issue, you can bet Allan will be on him in a second.

Also Supports Jennifer Pae In District Two Race

Not surprsingly given the Oakland Parking issue, Michaan also supports political new-commer Jennifer Pae in her race against incumbent Councilmember Pat Kernighan.   Allan says Pae's name will be "up there very soon."

Stay tuned.

Oakland News: Mayor's Race - Sue Piper's Confusing Email On Jean Quan

Last week this blogger expressed displeasure with the appearance of Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan's very good newsletter, because it's confusing to know if Quan's in her duties as councilmember or if she's in her mode of running for Mayor of Oakland.

 Now, Sue Piper, who represents Jean in campaign activities, responded for Quan via email. Unfortunately, the response was more confusing than expected. She wrote:

The weekly newsletter is a private enterprise funded by jean quan and not funded by the city.

Sue piper

Here's the problem.

As Oakland Councilmember, Jean Quan's paid by Oakland taxpayers. That means the tax dollars go to the production of the newsletter, which means the city is involved in the newsletter.

It just doesn't look good.

It's not that Jean's being sinister, just frankly a little careless. In a hotly contested Oakland Mayor's Race, taking on practices like this one just doesn't send the best message. Moreover, Sue really should have thought through that email before sending it. Very surprised she did that, but she did.

Courtney Cox Split From David Arquette, For Now

Courtney Cox Split From David Arquette: credit TMZ.com for the sad news that Cougar Town and Scream star Courtney Cox separated from the man she met on the set of Scream, David Arquette.

But folks, it's just a separation, not a divorce. They've been together for 11 years. Apparently, this separation has been in the works for months and only now is the press learning about it.

But while some pubs have escalated this news into a divorce, it's not that, which explains why Cox is still wearing her wedding ring.

But, hey, David Arquette's not wearing his ring. What's up with that? TMZ has a photo of David without the ring on. That's awful.

Well, the couple has one daughter that, hopefully, is not seeing any difference in her home life. Separations and divorces are hard on little kids. They don't get why Mom and Dad aren't together and will take sides.

This blogger knows from experience.

Meanwile, Courtney Cox split From David Arquette, but let's hope they get back together. Maybe they need to just spice up their sex life.

Minka Kelly Picts: NOT The Sexiest Woman Alive, It's Kim Kardashian

Minka Kelly 

Sorry, but Minka Kelly picts reveal the Friday Night Lights star and girlfriend of NY Yankees star Derek Jeter (and linked with John Mayer) is not the sexiest woman alive. Whoever paid Esquire Magazine to come up with that got their money's worth.

But the truth is Minka Kelly, while looking nice, doesn't have the curves and legs of Kim Kardashian. Given the way she fills out a Herve Leger mini dress, Kim Kardashian's the sexiest woman alive.

After all, Kim Kardashian's on the cover of W Magazine, naked. Let's see Minka pull that off!

Minka Kelly?  How About Hatchet II's Danielle Harris?

All of this back and forth is nothing but good for Minka Kelly. Frankly, this blogger's not much of a consumer of Friday Night Lights, even though it's a good show, so Minka's not in my headlights. But she's a steady player on a good show and dating Jeter and John Mayer can't help but increase her celebrity "Q" rating.

But "the sexiest woman alive." No. That's going too far over the top. Way too far.  If someone's going to put Minka out there, how about Kim and also Hatchet II Star Danielle Harris, who should be one of FHM Magazine's Top 100 Sexiest Women.  Not seen her.  Check out this video from Comic Con 2010:



Rather that one woman, it's better to have a large list. In this day and age of the Internet and mobile, it's too easy to come up with a better choice for the title. Nothing against Minka, but Kim and Danielle are up there too.

Kim Kardashian W Magazine: Paris Hilton Set Tone For Kim

Minka Kelly is not the sexiest woman alive. It's Kim.

Kim Kardashian, fresh off her New York City bar fight, is now called The Queen Of Reality TV, poses for W Magazine naked for the cover of the W Mag November issue.

The promo points out that Kardashian can't sing or act or dance, but that she's a celebrity in the art of being herself. What W should have added was that Kardashian can get attention, and that's where her celebrity comes in. Moreover, it's television aided.

Kim Kardashian W Magazine buzz is the result of a trend that was really started by Paris Hilton. Paris created the way to get noticed. So much so that this blogger listed the formula at the Sports Business Simulations website of the company that's the other part of this life.

Paris Hilton Set The Tone For Kim K

Here's the formula:

1. Get invited to a lot of parties
2. Make sure your photo is taken all the time
3. Meet celebrities but no autographs
4. Have a business card
5. Collect business cards
6. Make sure you're on all of the social networks
7. Take pictures and video of people
8. Gossip
9.  Have a website
10. Have a blog and use it
11. Do something scandalous
12. Make a sex tape
13. Set up a company
14. Make a reality TV show on YouTube

In some way Paris Hilton has done all of that, and before Kim K.  It's just that Kim's much better at using Twitter than Paris Hilton is.  Kim's got over 5 million followers now.  And also, like Paris, Kim's hot.  The only way you know that you can do this and be good at it is if other people tell you you're hot.

Period.

RIP Roger Clayton of Uncle Jamms Army: LA Loses a Hip Hop Pioneer

RIP Roger Clayton

Just got word this morning that yesterday one of the key architects and pillars for West Coast Hip Hop passed away.. We’re talking about Roger Claytonaka Mr Prinze of the pioneering legendary crew Uncle Jamms Army. This is the 4th pioneering figure the West Coast has lost in the past few years. It was just last week folks buried Danny ‘Fut’ James who ran the influential Impact Record pool dating back to 1982.

We lost Michael Mixxing Moore and Skeeter Rabbit within a month of each other 2 years ago. We also lost Mixmaster Spade. Here in the Bay we just lost Mr Fantastic aka Melvin to a heart attack. It’s a shame that these important figures were never honored before their passing outside of LA.

Losing Clayton is major. It like losing one of NY’s main architects for this culture. It would be like NY losing Afrika Bambaataa.. Not only did Clayton and Uncle Jamms Army bring a unique West Coast sound and style to the game, because they were also party promoters who did those legendary dances at the LA Sports Arena, they were also responsible for turning LA folks onto the emerging rap from NY..They used to also bring out acts like Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and LL Cool J to name a few..

One of the things I think has never truly been appreciated and acknowledged about West Coast Hip Hop was the Mobile DJ Culture that was its cornerstone.. Many like to think that folks out here picked up the game from New York. Such is not the case. Cats were hustling and doing jams with massive sound systems all throughout the 70s.  From LA to the Bay it was not usual to see DJ crews with comic book cartoon like names. In the case of Uncle Jamms Army they were inspired by Parliament andGeorge Clinton.

Their roots were funk music and the crew included legendary folks like Bobcat, Egyptian Lover, DJ Pooh. Battle Cat, Joe Coooly, Chris the Glove, Alonzo Williams and the groups only female member Silky D. Before Uncle Jamms Army there was an earlier crew formed in 1978 called Unique Dreams Entertainmentwhich included Clayton and childhood friend Gid Martin.

These cats early one were known for rocking 4 turntables at a time and mixing records flawlessly while executing what eventually became known as LA’s fast scratch. Uncle Jamms army proceeded the Beat Junkies, KDAY Mixmasters and other better known West Coast DJ Crews.. These were the architects.

As Clayton’s partner Egyptian Lover once explained to me, they had been listening toPrince, Kraftwerk and Parliament and that’s what got them off and running.. Later on they came upon what was cracking in New York and naturally incorporated it and upheld it..The fact that Uncle Jamms Army was able to pull off these massive parties from all over a gang infested city and keep the peace needs to be celebrated the same way we look at the early Kool Herc and Bambaataa parties as being able to do the same thing..

The fact that Clayton and Fut died within a month of each other should not be lost of folks.. Fut with his record pool was main reason folks in LA introduced to music from all over.. Fut was the supplier, Clayton was the presenter.They will be missed..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kLY747G1pQ




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y3rUl7KAjc

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Why We Should All Reconsider Celebrating Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus the Killer

Tomorrow many folks throughout this country will take the day off to pay tribute to a man who set the stage for genocide and the slave trade here in the United States. Yes we’re talking about the man they call Christopher Columbus who is still being taught to us in schools as the guy who ‘discovered’ America. Folks need to seriously reconsider.

It’s interesting to note that while many far right tea Party types are hard at work rewriting text books and removing from its curriculum discussion about slavery and iconic figures like Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall and United Farm Worker leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, they are hell-bent on keeping the myth of Columbus going. There’s no mention of any of heinous crimes or the fact that he was an inept explorer who got lost and wound up on this country he supposedly discovered..

The only thing worse then perpetuating the benign myth of Columbus is not talking about how our founding fathers were slave owners.. Thomas Jefferson’s mistress Sally Hemmings was a slave. When the Declaration of Independence was signed with the edicts ‘All men are Created Equal’ those who were enslaved were seen as 3/5th human. Yes we must reconsider Columbus Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il5hwpdJMcg

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