Racing While Black
How an African-American Stock Car Team Made Its Mark on NASCAR
Leonard T. Miller, Andrew Simon
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As I began to read the book, I remembered in my mid-teens I had been to a drag race in Albuquerque in the mid-1970s that featured "Hell On Wheels": the car had a tank-styled theme. And, my first stepfather had an audio album recording of drag racing sounds. That's right, and album of nothing but drag racing...
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The book chronicles the experiences of a father and son who love racing and choose to own a team with the goal of participating in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). For all of their successes, there are many instances of overwhelming...and surprising examples of...lack of support from various types of people, white and black. Frustration is a constant theme within the book, as well as a love and passion for racing.
The negative responses from some Caucasians was not surprising. The described instances of unfulfilled agreements, and reneged commitments, greatly disturbed me. Those who said they were going to be helpful and abandoned Miller remind me of the phrase, "shooting oneself in the foot": they shot themselves in theirs (and shot Miller in his at the same time). There were potential sponsors that gave the impression they would participate, and never did. And major business organizations, and individuals, made commitments and did not honor them...but did attempt to take some credit for any glory and success that may have occurred.
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(Half-way through the book I thought this will make a great mini-series, or movie...and then I find...)
Leonard T. Miller is the screenwriter of the upcoming movie "Silent Thunder" which is based on the book by his father, Leonard W. Miller who is the first black owner of an American car racing team. HighRoad Entertainment has optioned the rights...
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Power 1490, KJYK-Tucson, Reunion
Power 1490 Reunion
at Pearl Nightclub
Location:
445 Wetmore Rd (at Oracle) Tucson, AZ 85705
Saturday, May 22, 2010
begins at 9:00pm (to 2:00am)
15 years ago, Tucson's groundbreaking, underground Hip-Hop station, Power 1490 was turned off--with no notice, no goodbyes, no explanations.
The Power 1490 DJs have stayed in touch over the years, and for the first time in over a decade, are all getting together for The Power 1490 Reunion party at Pearl Nightclub.
Come meet and party with all your favorite Power 1490 DJs you used to listen to in high school! From Killer Keith, to Bruce St. James, M.C. Boogie D, Slick, Gary The Sandman, Brett The Man, Fat Head, R Dub, Kid Loco and many many more--they'll all be there! Plus Power 1490's DJ Blade will me in the mix with your favorite jams from the 90's!
This is a once-in-a-lifetime event and the only time all the Power 1490 DJs will be together at one event, so come join us and re-live the old school, when we used to cruise South 6th Avenue, buy tapes at Loco's Music, and of course listen to Hip-Hop on the AM dial...
Power 1490 Jams!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
the suicide tourist (FRONTLINE - PBS)
the suicide tourist (FRONTLINE - PBS) - Slick Show's MySpace Blog |
— Five months after being diagnosed with ALS, Craig Ewert arrived in Switzerland for his scheduled suicide. A story about struggling to live ... and deciding when to die.
It caused me to think about Andrew Koenig, Michael Blosil...my friend, Judi McHenry...and the father of Keith Olbermann.
— Five months after being diagnosed with ALS, Craig Ewert arrived in Switzerland for his scheduled suicide. A story about struggling to live ... and deciding when to die.
It caused me to think about Andrew Koenig, Michael Blosil...my friend, Judi McHenry...and the father of Keith Olbermann.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Welcome to Macintosh
If you like computers...any kind of computers...you might like the documentary "Welcome to Macintosh".
I found I like to put it on like background music...like a screensaver...hell, you could play it in a lobby or waiting room (for the same reason you would leave magazines).
There are additional interviews of those in the documentary...you can put them on and just relax, and do other things while they're on. (I did.)
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In the Extras section:
"Making" contains one teaser, and three trailers...
"Photos" has pictures of old models, circuit boards, early drawings and sketches of what could have been. I wish each picture had a descriptive note so I knew what I was looking at...
and "Symbiosis" is more video of various models of Macintoshes.
The only thing I found strange was some "bleeping" of words that occurred. I wish there had not been that type of censoring.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Russel Honore has a book about disaster survival
I watched Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (United States Army, now retired) on CNN commenting on the events of the earthquake in Haiti. I had taken great notice of his effectiveness during Hurricane Katrina; while I was watching the activities in Haiti that did, and did not, take place to help those suffering...I wondered why Honore was not put in charge of solving any problems THEY had.
As I looked around on the internet for information about his work in New Orleans, I found his website (http://generalhonore.com) and found that he has written "SURVIVAL: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save Youand Your Family From Disasters"...he was kind enough to have a copy sent to me.
==============================
In the prologue he states: "...Louisiana disaster response was the province of Lieutenant General Robert Clark, commander of U.S. Fifth Army in San Antonio, Texas...I was...not as familiar with the state or the city..."
As thankful as I am that Honore was sent, I now have questions for his superiors: why was Clark not sent?
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In the first chapter, he recounts his entry into to aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. And, sets the foundation to understanding the limits of his authority in this manner.
This book needs to be read to try to understand why someone...anyone...did not come into New Orleans, kick-ass, and get the job done: overall, it's not "legal" to do so. Residents of Louisiana (and other states) need to understand laws that relate to them, and the relationship betweeen the federal government and the states: "There is a National Response Framework...There is no National Preparedness Plan for disasters."
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At the beginning of Chapter 7, he states:
"...The myth about federal government failing to prepare for Katrina just does not pass muster.
"...not Bush or FEMA officials or me or the First Army staff--fully realized the destructive power contained in that huge mass of swirling winds...
"...we had to wait for the governor to make the request of FEMA, which then had to send the request to the Department of Defense...
"...the lead agencies for those sorts of things...come from the affected states..."
If you take a very close look at why certain types of assistance to Haiti was not provided as fast as some expected, it's for the same reason: Haiti has a government that must authorize the actions of others. Beaurocracies have their benefits...and their disadvantages.
The PBS program NewsHour considered the military's roles in disasters...
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In chapter 8, it struck me as funny (though not REALLY funny) that the Transportation Security Adminstration wanted to be able to screen people before they were allowed on planes to be evacuated from New Orleans...it appears that, in general, people were being screened as they were being evacuated from the area (and I suspect that some may have been taken into custody).
In the book, Honore states that when he wanted to speak with FEMA director Mike Brown, Honore was told that Brown was out to dinner and unavailable. (Go ahead...throw something. Preferably at "Brownie"...)
As I read this chapter I am reminded of my belief that we need more amateur radio operators. I have always wanted to be one but, due to time lack of money, never been able to get the license.
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He discusses expectations of what could, and should, have been done. And which agencies (local/state/federal) could, and should, have done it. And which agency can, and cannot, by law. And is, and is not, trained for certain services. Many (including me) expected the federal government to step in and "save everyone". Had they done that, it could have cause the federal government to become completely and totally responsible for that action, and any issues (good and bad) caused by doing so.
Everyone (local/state/federal) has a part to play, and needs to play their position. It was the responsibility of the state of Lousiana to oversee and handle the Katrina situation...and if they could not, then ask for assistance from the federal government. So, at times, I guess being angry with the federal government can be too easy to do: I/we expect them to perform miracles...and therefore sometimes they can be the large, visible target.
And Honore reminds us that we are our own responsibility: don't expect the government...ANY government...to provide for us, and to protect us. If we do, we get what we get. If we get anything at all...
Page 196: "...being proactive can be an expensive proposition and state and local governments generally will not spend the money necessary to do it..."
In addition, throughout the book he reminds us that there are a lot of services that are not under the direct control of the agencies that is responsible to provide them: emergency drinking water is not stocked by government agencies, but contracted from companies...communications services are provided by companies to government, AND MILITARY, departments (if they have been paid for)...businesses that provide services to transport supplies may not be "open" when they are needed...
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At the end of each chapter there is a list of "Lessons Learned" (they don't appear to be related to what has been presented in the chapter).
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Buy this book for: your state/county/local representatives...state/local police...I believe anyone could benefit from the information in this book.
It is available as an ebook (http://books.simonandschuster.com/Survival/Lt-Gen-Russel-Honore-(U-S-Army-ret)/9781416599005).
Thursday, January 21, 2010
'Hope For Haiti' Telethon
Friday, January 22, at 8 p.m. ET
"Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon...
All donations will directly benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF and Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation. Additionally, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and United Nations World Food Programme have joined the list of relief organizations that will benefit from the show, with proceeds to be split evenly among each organization's individual Haiti relief funds.
The show will be broadcast from New York, London, Los Angeles and Haiti...
The two-hour program will air commercial-free across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT on Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The special will also air on PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment Network, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, Centric, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, Epix, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health and Planet Green, as well as Canada's CTV, CBC Television, Global Television and MuchMusic.
It will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic and MTV Networks International...
(..."Hope for Haiti" will be the first U.S.-based telethon airing on MTV in China.)
"Hope For Haiti Now" will include live streaming globally on sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, MTV.com, and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and FloTV.
Facebook and Twitter are the official social media partners who will help to drive donations and tune-in to the telethon. Facebook and MySpace have signed on as official social-media partners to help steer viewers to the telethon and drive donations.
All of the night's performances will be available for download on iTunes for 99 cents the next day.
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For those in the Tucson metropolitan area, local television schedules show:
7:00-9:00pm on KVOA, KGUN, KMSB, KOLD, and KWBA...
8:00-10:00pm on KUAT...
Saturday, on KUAT from 1:00-3:00am...
and Sunday, on KUAT from 12:30-2:30am.
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Saturday, January 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Ron Paul wants to "End the Fed"
I received a copy of "End the Fed". It's written by Ron Paul, a member of the House of Representatives from Texas.
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chapter 1
"In the United States, the central bank is the Federal Reserve, the instrument by which our money and credit are constantly manipulated..."
"I've written this book to explain why I think the system of Fed domination must come to an end..."
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In chapter 2 he begins to explain the origins of the Fed.
As I am reading, I'm keeping in mind that his opinion is that the Fed has faults.
He states that the gold standard does not allow for credit without limits.
After going through the chapter, I realize that I didn't learn why the Fed exists "in plain English". Maybe it's because I haven't thoroughly studied finance. Early into this book, I'm ready to strongly suggest you take your time reading it so you can try to understand what is being presented and put it into perspective for yourself.
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He recollects some of the financial history during the 1900s of the United States of America. Included is his perspective on money during his life. No matter how you feel about his postions, agree or disagree, to know the events and history of what helped to shape his feelings is interesting.
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In chapter 4 he recalls the creation of the Gold Commission. Which I was not able to find a lot of information about on the internet...and that seemed very weird to me. Maybe when I get over to my branch of the local library...
Paul believes that "If...we had returned to our senses in 1981, the problems and grave dangers we now face could have been averted."
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Chapter chapter 5, Conversations with Greenspan, is nice and meaty...he starts swinging hard:
"...Greenspan...visited the House Committee on Oversight and Reform...
"Most of his testimony was designed as an attempt to protect his reputation and to explain away his shortcomings a Federal Reserve Board chairman. His testimony was pathetic. He made the point that the computer programs that they were using to anticipate...problems were not well designed...
"History will show that Greenspan, during his years as Fed chairman...planted all the seeds of the finanacial calamity that erupted..."
==============================
As I went through the book, it caused me to have a lot of questions about finances and how the government perceives what is in our best interest. I will need time for study to try to answer all of the questions I now have about it all. There more I read, the more I want to pause and learn about...
This book is not difficult to understand. But unless you are involved in financial markets daily, you will need to take your time to understand what Paul is presenting.
I also intend to seek out other opinions of this book: they will be interesting, and might help me to formulate my own opinion that I can explain and fully support.
===================================
"End the Fed" is published by Grand Central Publishing. It's available in hardcover, paperback (large print available), Adobe ebook, CD audio, and downloadable audio.
A podcast, and an excerpt, are available at http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780446549196.htm
His MySpace page is at http://www.myspace.com/ronpaul
Sunday, December 27, 2009
we are a "Blended Nation"
Mike Tauber was kind to send to me a copy of his book, "Blended Nation: Portraits and Interviews of Mixed-Race America".
He took the photographs and conducted the interviews.
It is co-produced by Pamela Singh who holds (a Master's in International Finance & Economics from Columbia University and) a BA in social psychology from Connecticut College.
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"Through a series of soulful photographs, personal vignettes, and poignant essays, Blended Nation...explores the experience of being mixed-race in twenty-first century America. As much a work of art as a piece of literature, this book profiles the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States, encouraging both contributors and readers to consider the place, practice, and experience of race in modern society...
"...Through portraits and interviews with mixed-race children, adults, and families, Mike Tauber and Pamela Singh literally invite their subjects to lend their faces and voices to a discussion of race in America. By allowing contributors to offer their own, and often differing perspectives, the authors create an immensely rich collection of thoughts, opinions, and unanswered questions such as: What happens to the identity of those individuals who are a quarter this, a half that, etc. who don’t visually correspond to any particular group when it comes to race, ethnicity and ancestry? Where do they fit? What box do they check? Most importantly, why is this even considered an issue?...
"...several contributors confess how they always felt ‘too black to be white and to white to be black’..."
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It's a great "coffee table book": 11 x 11 inches, 140 pages...
As I began to read the book, initially I felt hesitant to review it "too much": I immediately felt that the story of each individual would be unique. As mine is...
The pictures are gripping. I find myself closely studying the features of each person. I am intrigued. Then, I see the picture of someone whose facial features, in my opinion, look exactly as mine. And, I see that they are a member of the Blackfoot tribe...like I believe I am! I'm not sure what to do or think about that...
I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was when I read the statement from an African-American male who married a white woman...that his family had disowned him. I guess I can still be amazed that some could/would do that. (There are more of those incidents recounted in the book.) I was raised by my great-grandparents until I was nine years old. I don't remember if, when I was a child, I ever knew if there were any people who did not want me around. I suspect my great-grandparents, a White woman and Black man, did all they could to shield me from that. From my teenage years on, I remember incidents of others not wanting me around...
One woman profiled in the book stated that she has identified her heritage as "hybrid" on forms. I wish I had thought of that...I hope I can remember it.
During my formative years the difinitive and accepted term for the times was "Black". And that's what I became. I have nothing against the term African-American, other than it doesn't describe me: I am of African decent, but an American citizen. I can live with "American-African"...
Depending on who has said it, and how they meant it, I have accepted "Negro" as well as "Colored":
(In an episode of Barney Miller, a character refers to Harris as "Colored". Yamana says: "I'm colored. He's black..." That was he first time I've ever heard someone Asian described that way. He's not wrong; until then, I never knew he was right.)
I proudly proclaim to be a "mutt". I can imagine it causes some distress for some of my family members, but it's the term that I am VERY comfortable with for myself. Sometimes my nose is cold and wet, I might bite, and when music makes me happy I will "wag my tail".
Like their daddy, I like to describe my kids as "a mess": they are Black, White, Italian, Jewish, Chinese, Philipino, Mexican, Native...and those are the ones I know of! (Including the kids...)
Sometimes I feel I need to have a doctorate to know what really is the absolute correct word to use in discussions like this. I shall always demand that the answer to the question of race be "human". After that, I need access to a dictionary, and a thesaurus...as well as an anthropologist.
As I look at the photographs in the book all I can think of is how beautiful these people are. Well...that and I'm trying to figure-out which of the women are single. (As if it might matter to me...)
I was thinking about who I wanted to share this book with, and inform about it. One thing I thought of that is kinda funny to me is that I'm beginning to feel a little sorry for some people in my life: "Oh...you poor thing...you're ONLY white...what a shame..."
I don't know enough about my lineage. I've never met my father, and I'm not absolutely sure about all of the different types of ancestors that I have evolved from. That situation will contiue to grow for humans in general: only with meticulous record keeping will some...and I expect it to be very few...be able to trace and detail from which their family came.
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