Back at UCSD, the FOBBDeep trio [1] would hold Hip-Hop workshops for various high school conferences: KP, SIORC, APSA, BSU, etc.  In those days, we would brainstormed on how fresh and how live it would be to expand beyond an hour workshop and to hold a full high school conference focused strictly on Hip-Hop.

Fast forward 5 years later, while yours truly is living in the Bay Area, when lo and behold, there I find out that there is a Hip-Hop conference geared towards middle and high school students: Rock the School Bells at Skyline College!!!

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Because this is too good for Twitter*

click picture for the trailer

Finally, after hearing stories about controversy regarding the making of one my favorite childhood books, the trailer has finally been released for the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are.

Director Spike Jonze wanted to make sure that the film was made true to the story originally written by Maurice Sendak.  Just like many movies, it fell prey to film studio politics.  Jonze’s project was said to be too dark, but then again, Sendak’s book was also said to have been too dark for children as well.  I remember being a snot-nosed kid getting shook reading about Max’s journey with the wild things.

For those who were not able to experience the same joy many of us received from this book as a youth, read the book, or better yet, there’s always YouTube.

*Actually, I digress.  This statement would then minimize some important things I twittered about but didn’t get around to create a full post, such as signing this petition to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement in the Philippines.

-Ninoy Brown

This is 10 year Solveig.  Solveig is a graffiti phenom from Brighton, Englad.  She started doing pieces when she was 8 years old.  Skills are what she possesses.

Did I mention that she does tats too!

More pictures of hers can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/supersolveig/

-Ninoy Brown

Pictures of the riots that popped off in Oakland last night could have been posted, but if you’ve been watching the news or reading it online, then you’ve already been bombarded with the way the media has sensationalized the events of yesterday.  Looping footage of the burning car and folks stomping on the hood of cop cars.  What was barely shown was how organized most of the rally was.  The NY Times had a piece that distorted what went on and failed to quote any of the community folks in attendance.  Also, what’s with the lack of footage showing police shooting rubber bullets and tear gas?

Fortunately there are some good sources out there, such as Indy Media’s breakdown of the events as they occurred.

At the Fruitvale BART station, which was successfully shut down, passion and emotion filled the crowd of what was estimated to be around 700.  People that were down to say their piece were allowed to as a mic was set up for them to do so.  I sensed the elements of a powder keg in the air, but thats what happens when folks have their backs against the wall.  In Greece, the people rioted because of the spark that was set from the police murder of a 14 year old kid.  Just like in Greece, what happened in Oakland was a culmination of many things.  The people have been neglected by the institution, and where attention has been given, it is through police presence.  This is also a build up of Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, and all others who have been victims and targets of this police state against communities of color and the youth.

-Ninoy Brown

Over at WireTap, a piece on a youth led movement that had the innanets goin’ nuts:

“Free Wheels: The Scraper Bike Movement Rolls On”

As the self-proclaimed Scraper Bike King, Stevenson coined the name “scraper bikes” because they were modeled after “scrapers” — late-’80s model sedans tricked out with oversized rims, custom paint jobs and sound systems that came to fame during the rise of the Bay Area “hyphy” music movement. The bikes were a less expensive, do-it-yourself alternative that didn’t require a driver’s license.

But the “scraper bike movement” — as it’s called among riders and admirers — isn’t just a colorful way to get noticed. Stevenson describes it as a deliberate effort to meld artistry and entrepreneurship to develop skills and opportunities for young people in Oakland.

Read entire article

What was probably taken by many cynical YouTube viewers as a gimmick has deeper substance behind it.

Props to Jamilah on the piece.

-Ninoy Brown

While most people are caught up in the election hype surrounding the race to the Presidency, it’s important to remember that there’s a hell of a lot of other things on the ballot to research.  There are the congressional elections that are taking place for each person’s respective district, 12 state propositions, and whatever other propositions and local offices exist in one’s district.

To reitirate, there are 12 propositions on the state ballot.  For the Presidential undecided voters, who confuse me more than Republicans, this means you need to figure out that part of the ballot yesterday and start researching the other important things that in many aspects affect you even more.

Ideally, I would l would like to drop some knowledge on each of these propositions, but I’m busy as hell with classes and have to select the ones that I feel an urgency to speak.  In this case, it’s regarding Proposition 6 aka the Runner’s Initiative: Police and Law Enforcement Funding. Criminal Penalties and Laws. Initiative Statute.

In a state where the institution criminalizes the youth and tracks them to become products of the prison industrial complex, such an initiative further perpetuates the cycle of injustice.  Prop 6 essentially mandates nearly $1 billion each year towards a failing criminal justice system.  This would in turn cut funds in education, healthcare, and other vital social programs that work at the roots.  Instead of pumping more money to place even more folks behind prisons, what is needed is community-based solutions to curb the crime and violence.

What is ironic about the initiative is that the biggest contributor towards Prop 6’s passage, Henry T. Nicholas, has his own justice problem as he has been accused of securites fraud and multiple drug crimes.

Don’t let the name “Safe Neighborhood’s Act” fool ya’.  It’s just going to make the problems that exist even worse.  The anti-gang talk just further promotes the war on the youth, allowing more 14 year old to be tried as adults.

Learn more:

No on Prop 6

Ella Baker Center:  Books not Bars

-Ninoy Brown