Get Gal VanIZed

“There is another America”. That’s a line from the song that tells the story of Anne Braden. The “other America” knows that oppression and predjudice are wrong. We know it’s all about power and control and we know that power violations grow in the dark. This “song” is as much a spoken word piece as it is hip hop. Flobots entertain and mesmerize us as they shed light on the story of a white Civil Rights activist who protested the lynching and slavery of blacks in the South.

Their album, Fight with Tools is a rousing piece of lyrical art woven from bits of rock and roll, hip hop and alternative rock. A violin floats in and out drawing memories of American Heritage stories. I hear influences ranging from Rage Against the Machine to Black Eyed Peas to Bauhaus. The lyrics are hauntingly familiar. These are the words that appear in classic books and great songs in every genre since music began.

The sound is edgy enough to be cool and Pop enough to be accessible. I can imagine a seven-year-old and her mother rockin’ this in an SUV or a 60-year-old hippie smoking a joint and saying “this is the way it used to be.” One of their songs might end up being played at halftime during the Super Bowl some day. Even though I’m only posting Anne Braden here, I highly encourage you to go to their MySpace or their website and listen to more. You can read the lyrics on-line if you click on this link.

Even though this isn’t really a video, you can click play button below to hear the song.

If that doesn’t work, try clicking play here. Then, turn up the speakers and enjoy.

Buy Flobots on iTunes

Rinkrat is the former owner of Southern California punk rock icon, Zed Records in Long Beach. He currently manages a hockey fan message board at www.letsgokings.com with thousands of subscribers. He takes photos for the LAist and the LA Derby Dolls. Each week he will contribute a song with a theme, a message and a beat. Enjoy and stay tuned.

<>

In sales trainings and motivational presentations, we often hear about the importance of teamwork and how athletics help to shape leaders.

Movies like Coach Carter tell a story of how strong leadership can change the course of a young person’s life. But it seems that girls and women are rarely encouraged to participate in competitive sports.

In my opinion, the video below is a good demonstration of the lessons learned in roller derby. San Diego Derby Doll, Bonnie D. Stoir, breaks down the mechanics of a powerslide in clear, concise terms. She assumes the attitude that anyone who repeatedly practices the steps of a successful powerslide will eventually master it. This empowering message is a good demonstration of how we create our results based on our actions and how skills are acquired one step at a time. It also reinforces how our attitude determines our outcome.

Learning lessons of persistence, patience and dedication in a sporty, fun and physical way is abundantly more interesting to me than sitting on an exercise bike or zoning out to T.V. on a treadmill. Sometimes I respond better to physically assaultive forms of communication like punk rock and roller derby.

If you know a spunky, rambunctious, vivacious young girl who you want to help develop individuality and leadership skills, you might want to send her to Jr. Derby camp. This camp teaches teamwork and empowerment for girls 9-17 through the use of roller derby training and is hosted by the Los Angeles Derby Dolls. Camp is in session July 21-25th at the Doll Factory: 1910 W. Temple St. Los Angeles, CA 90026

For details about the Jr. Derby Camp, visit the Derby Dolls on the web at: http://derbydolls.com/la/derbydollcamp/

When something is galvanized, it is reinforced and powerful. The following songs made it easy for me to get in the zone. Easy to crouch down low and thrust my legs out to each side of me while my arms pumped back and forth in the opposite direction.

I wound down from my skating workout listening to Get a Shot of the Refrigerator by Stereolab off of Fab Four Suture. My cool down consisted of the “drunken sailor” drill all the way down First Street and up Orizaba to Broadway. Drunken sailor is when you cross one leg over the other and try to keep moving forward without falling down.

Prior to cool down I skated and danced my little heart out on the Long Beach Boardwalk listening to the following tunes: (all links go to iTunes)

Banquet by Bloc Party off of Promo Only Canada Modern Rock Radio
Tuning In by Groove Armada off of Love Box [UK]
Home of the Brave by Naked Raygun off of All Rise
Halfway Home (feat. Blackalicious) by DJ Shadow off In Tune and On Time
Potential Rapist by Naked Raygun off Basement Screams
Looking Down the Barrell of a Gun by The Beastie Boys of of Paul’s Boutique
Yeah by the Heavy Off the Richter compilation
The Girls Say by Groove Armada off Soundboy Rock

This show explores and explodes food myths and diet mentality and helps you to own your own power in regards to food and eating. Learn to pay attention to your body and break free from food rules and diet mentality.

Show Sponsor:
Girl Friday Now

Books Mentioned on the Podcast: (links to Amazon.com)
Donate Your Weight by Sheri Zampelli

Resources Mentioned
Upcoming Donate Your Weight membership plans

Points Covered:
Pay attention to your body
You were programmed to be overweight
You learned food rules
You were born naturally thin
Diets create diet mentality and make some foods good and some foods bad
You can own your power when making food choices

Songs Played: (links to iTunes)
Inner Child at Play by The Flavor Foundation
Go For It
Mind, Body and Soul
Illumination by The Flavor Foundation

Listen to the show by clicking the play button on the player above.

To make sure you don’t miss any of the future shows, subscribe to this blog or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes today.

Support the show by visiting our sponsors or, become a sponsor yourself. For information on our sponsorship packages, contact us at podcast [at] donateyourweight.com today.

Missing Russian Tortoise signs plastered on phone poles is one thing but a streaming video that can be played worldwide is quite another.

Did you know I’m running for president? Well, neither did I. It turns out someone nominated me and I’m winning the Internet vote by a landslide. Watch the video for details.

I’ll have to admit. The potential for misunderstanding here really reminds me of War of the Worlds. In this digital world where everything can be remastered it is more important than ever to remember the old maxim, “don’t believe everything you see”.

Neneh Cherry’s Buffalo Stance is a dance tune with a great beat. It mixes new wave and hip hop musical elements with powerful words and effective delivery. Watching the video will really enhance your overall experience. Here are some sample lyrics to contemplate: “No money man can win my love, it’s sweetness that I’m thinking of” and “looking good is a state of mind”.

Rinkrat points out a couple of nuances of the song: the distinct New Order influence and the singer’s choice to emphasize the term “Knowotimean”? He said that by using that term she earned street credibility because it was common slang in England at the time this song was recorded.

I can’t help but notice the Buffalo Girls sample that repeats itself continuously throughout the song. The producer of this track utilized an broad cross-section of some of the coolest elements of 80’s “new wave” music. Specific origins and timelines elude me but clearly Michael Jackson, Boy George, and Salt N’ Peppa come to mind when I hear this tune.

Because I cannot identify all the pieces of this song, I’m drawn to listen to it over and over again until I figure it all out. In my opinion, the choice to intergrate samples from numerous genres weaves a story of unity that is missing in much of the popular music today.

Another interesting tidbit: Neneh Cherry’s grandfather is Don Cherry (AKA Donald Eugene Cherry), a jazz musician born in 1938 and raised in Los Angeles. Cherry died from hepatitis.

Click play, turn up the speakers and enjoy. I recommend that you listen to this song a minumum of 3 times so you can catch some of the subtleties that make this a great tune. One of the things I love about Hip Hop is how it weaves several layers of one story into a 3-5 minute song. True Hip Hop artists take you on a journey and that’s what this song does if you pay very close attention and understand the connections.

Listen…or, watch the video:

Buy Neneh Cherry on iTunes

Rinkrat is the former owner of Southern California punk rock icon, Zed Records in Long Beach. He currently manages a hockey fan message board at www.letsgokings.com with thousands of subscribers. He takes photos for the LAist and the LA Derby Dolls. Each week he will contribute a song with a theme, a message and a beat. Enjoy and stay tuned.

I was the table topics master at my Agape Toastmasters meeting this week. Which means it was my responsibility to come up with a series of short topics to present to members. Each member that I presented a topic to then came up and gave an impromtu speech on the subject matter I provided.

Once I volunteered to be table topics master, it didn’t take long for me to think of a theme I wanted to cover. You see, I have been interested in the power of the media and grass roots marketing for most of my life. My step-dad was a sound editor, my grandpa was a producer and I have an uncle who’s a big wig at Pixar/Disney. I was a part of the punk movement in the 80’s and 90’s and I studied the media in college. I also studied psychology, hypnosis and counseling. I am intrigued by what influences people and why.

The missing tortoise signs plastered all over Long Beach by New-Agers from Morningland Urban Monastery gave me a perfect opportunity to talk about this topic and present it in a way that is somewhat entertaining.

I started my table topics presentation with a little “show and tell” of the missing tortoise signs I heisted off local telephone poles. I explained how signs like these are plastered on poles all over Long Beach, spanning a 5-mile radius. I told everyone about how I dreamed of finding the tortoise, how I saw my hand delivering the lost tortoise to its grateful owner for a reward. Then, I showed them the front page of The District; a local paper that’s distributed free to coffee houses, restaurants and retail outlets all across Long Beach, California. The missing tortoise signs caught the attention of publishers and resulted in a full cover picture and an article spanning 4 pages complete with informative and entertaining sidebars and a full-page inset photo.

A quote from Al Stone, ex-Morninglander, subsumes is that the missing tortoise signs are a way for Morningland to get publicity. And it worked. But, that’s not exactly what we talked about in Toastmasters. We talked about the power of repetitive words and images we’re exposed to and how they influence behavior.

Here are the questions I posed to my fellow Toastmasters. I invite you to answer one or more of the questions down in the comments section.

1. Some people believe that he who controls the words/media controls the world. Do you agree or disagree and why?

2. If you could control the media for one day and choose the programming what would you choose and why?

3. Tell us about a song or TV show that had a major impact on you.

4. What is your all-time favorite commercial?

5. Tell us about one item you own that you purchased solely because of advertising.

6. Tell us about a conversation that influenced your life.

7. As you think about every item attached to your body right now (clothes, accessories, wallet) tell us about one item that you own because of someone else’s influence.

8. Name one rule that you learned early in life that has made you the person you are today.

9. Talk about a time when you had a song stuck in your head and couldn’t get it out.

To find out more about joining Agape Toastmasters in Culver City, visit them on the web at: http://agape.freetoasthost.info. Toastmasters meetings are open to the public and you can visit for free. Toastmasters is an organization dedicated to helping members improve their communication and public speaking skills.

This Wednesday Rinkrat and I had date day. We started the morning with breakfast at 212 Bistro at 2708 E. 4th Street in Long Beach where we took our seats on the back patio and sat next to a lovely water fountain surrounded by flowers. I am soothed by the sound of running water.

I ordered the Chilaquilles, a breakfast tortilla casserole. It’s an exotic mix of corn tortillas, scrambled eggs, sauteed onion, garlic, oregano and house salsa topped with crumbled queso fresco and cilantro with a side of refried beans. The plate was beautiful, colorful and artistic with cilantro sprinkled around the edge. My husband had The Bistro: chorizo, potatoes, onions, and garlic, topped with cheese, house salsa, sour cream and avocado. I had a bite. The chorizo was to.die.for.

The coffee was rich and robust, the ice water had a slight cucumber taste and was so refreshing. We chatted with co-owners Angel Maldonado and Irene Saldana before leaving. Irene is also the Executive Chef. Angel and Irene are both very down-to-earth, friendly and dedicated people. I had an overall vibe of being in a trendy San Francisco restaurant.

After breakfast, we headed over to Marina Pacifica to catch the 11:30 viewing of Hancock. This movie was very endearing and had a touching, prophetic storyline with many subtle messages about individuality, humanity and spirituality. I don’t like to give away specific details because I think you should go into this movie with a fresh mind. I’ll just say that the writers effectively weaved Universal concepts into the story so that many people on many levels could mentally adapt and relate to it.

These Universal concepts are presented in a cool, super-hero, comic book context, not the usual cheezy, predictable methods used by Hollywood decision makers. The movie presents some surprises and uses innuendos and a creative storyline to give alert viewers food for thought in regards to issues of humanity.

I couldn’t leave the theater without first trading my dollar for four game tokens all of which I used to feed the Galaga machine. I have been a Galaga fiend for 25 years. When I hear the Galaga sounds I am drawn to the machine like a gambler to a slot machine. For those of you who are Galaga freaks and know what it means, I went to level 11.

If you want to find out more about 212 degree Bistro, call 562-439-8822.

Dr. Alimantado’s Born for a Purpose off the Best Dressed Chicken LP has a story behind it. The story of a man who nearly lost his life and then came to value it more than ever.

A bus driver went out of his way to run over Dr. Alimantado for “daring to wear dreads in his hair”. His story is fascinating. You can read it at www.reggae-vibes.com. This is a song with a rhythmic beat and inspiring words that will make you a better person for listening to it.

Click play, turn up the speakers, read the story and enjoy.

Buy Dr. Alimantado on iTunes

Rinkrat is the former owner of Southern California punk rock icon, Zed Records in Long Beach. He currently manages a hockey fan message board at www.letsgokings.com with thousands of subscribers and takes photos for the LAist and the LA Derby Dolls. Each week he will contribute a song with a theme, a message and a beat. Enjoy and stay tuned.

If you have an energetic, independent, fiesty daughter, cousin, grandaughter or niece between the ages of 9 and 17, you’ll be doing them a big favor by sending them to Roller Derby camp. Roller Derby camp with the L.A. Derby Dolls is all about empowering girls and teaching teamwork. I can tell you from first hand experience that roller derby is a great place to overcome fears and push past self-imposed limitations.

The goal of L.A. Derby Doll Roller Derby Camp is to create a positive and safe environment for girls to develop athletic abilities, build self-confidence, leadership skills, teamwork and improve overall fitness while playing the sport of roller derby.

Roller derby camp is in session July 21-25 at The Doll Factory 1910 W. Temple St., Los Angeles CA 90026 in the Echo Park/Historic Philipino Town area of Los Angeles. For more info, send an e-mail to jrderbydolls {at} derbydolls.com or visit www.derbydolls.com.