A Stroll Through The Tenderloin

ten·der·loin (tender-loin)
n.

1. The tenderest part of a loin of beef, pork, or similar cut of meat.

2. A city district notorious for vice and graft.

Holiest of Things

photo by David Gilkey/NPR

I commissioned this poem in 2004 for a video I did about children in Palestine. A friend of mine who I had been blessed to meet named Samer Tamimi is an amazing poet who is originally Palestinian. His poem is what remains from the project.

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The RZA and Hip Hop Spirituality

I had become a fan of the Wu-Tang Clan when I was fairly young, hearing "Protect Ya Neck" on the radio in the early/mid 90s after the release of their first album. A few Wu-Tang songs circulated on the homemade mix tapes my older brother made from the radio that I listened to, years before I even purchased a Wu Tang album. By 97 and the arrival of the second Wu-Tang album, "Forever" I was all ears. Since getting my dad to drive me to a Sam Goody after school was way out of the question, a friend of mine bought the CD for me the day it came out. I listened to the album in one session and it left me rapping the lyrics for years to come in addition to asking a lot of questions about the world.

When I heard the opening verse from "Impossible" it left me searching for more..

Fusion of the five elements, to search for the higher intelligence
Women walk around celibate, livin irrelevant
The most benevolent king, communicatin through your dreams
Mental pictures been painted, Allah's heard and seen
everywhere, throughout your surroundin atmosphere
Troposphere, thermosphere, stratosphere
Can you imagine from one single idea, everything appeared here
Understanding makes my truth, crystal clear...

The RZA's lyrical career is by no means one that is squeeky clean nor void of hypocrisies and contradictions. In fact, RZA's use 5 Percenter teachings generally tunes me out of his philosophy. However, his verses have generally served as encouragement for his community and his listeners to seek knowledge, read, expand their vocabulary and to calculate actions, seeing life as a chessboard.

RZA's new book looks like an interesting read but more importantly, books authored within the hip hop community, though rare, reach an audience that may have never picked up a book. The desire for knowledge is shared by all people, but without credibility in the culture of the audience, words will fail to stick.

RZA's humility in the above video is commendable for a rap artist and he has definitely sparked my attention as he did before in 97. I look forward to reading The Tao of Wu.

Open Indie May Bring Bucks Back To Filmmakers

Indie filmmakers who choose to distribute their work on their own (like myself) are at a serious disadvantage relative to films with high end distribution. On the other hand, audience opportunity to interact with filmmakers and artists as well as hold screenings of indie movies are much better than films distributed by a third party.

OpenIndie.com is an opportunity for indie film audiences to find movies they want to see and/or screen, and be informed about showings in their area, all while the filmmaker has a chance to benefit financially from each viewer.

As much as the internet has democratized cinema, image makers are still searching for ways to monetize their content in a way that stays accessible to the internet audience. Open Indie may be part of the answer... we'll see.

Maz Jobrani's Message About Warring Factions

If you want to support an independent film like Warring Factions you
can do a few things.

1. Spread the word. Write a blog, make a phone call, send an email,
tweet, text message, and/or carrier pigeon to your friends about the
movie. Additionally, I have started a Facebook event publicizing the
release here [Link]

2. Buy the DVD. Downloading the film is great but having the DVD is
much better for sharing and holding screenings for communities and
friends. The DVD also includes features which are not included when
you download the film. When you buy the DVD be sure to donate at
least another $10 to help with future projects.

3. Donate. Films are expensive to produce but documentaries that have
a message should be made to inspire change and not to make profits..
To make future films I rely on the people to support my efforts
financially. Just as mainstream movies are financed by large
conglomerated companies, my films are made with the support of many
people who want to do their part in voicing for change.

Remember Election Day?

So on my way leaving the polling place for the Iranian presidential elections I saw this fun little bunch protesting outside. This particular lady cursed at me and called me an "akhoond" (another word for a mullah) so I took a picture of her. I guess my beard was longer that day : /


Funny thing is, I still see these people standing on the corner Veteran and Wilshire wasting their time holding "Where is my vote?" signs. Irony.

Dear crazy people on both sides,
Please stay at home watching Persian satellite, the rest of us are going to try to move forward from this election and learn from what happened. In the meantime let's stop locking up and getting locked up, it will be good for everyone.

Images Talk

By Sepideh Raeesi

and this one says?