The Audacity of Dope

I was just talking about planning my next adventure abroad, and how I need to hit Asia & Australia to complete my continent bingo card, and now I’m going to have to put that on hold.  I’ll wait until this is finished, cause it sounds like the coolest place ever.

‘Jackie Chan Museum’ Shows His Glory

Jackie Chan’s legendary career will be archived in a new museum for which the star laid the foundation Tuesday in Shanghai.

Chan handpicked the location for the museum, which will be named after him, in the Changfeng Ecology Commercial District in Shanghai’s Putuo District, Sina.com.cn says.

The museum will largely be renovated from old factory buildings. When completed on October 1 next year, it will take up about 3,100 square meters.

Visitors will be able to retrace Chan’s footsteps from Hong Kong to Hollywood, and navigate through detailed showpieces of Chan from being a Chinese icon, a kung-fu megastar to a charity devotee, Sina says.

Also on display will be some of Chan’s film awards, as well as costumes and props he has used.

Besides the museum, more side projects have been put on the actor’s agenda. According to Chan’s Web site, he recently signed a contract in Yunnan Province for a Jackie Chan Peace Garden, which he will cooperate with the local government to promote “Environment, Friendship, and Charity.” An earlier report also quoted Chan as saying that he was planning to build a kung-fu school. (Source)

Jackie’s always been one of my favorite people in the entertainment industry, so this museum sounds like a great experience.  Shout to my man Jason from back in the day who used to smuggle bootleg Jackie movies from Hong Kong for all of us to enjoy.  We even met dude at the U-Village Barnes & Noble one year for his book signing.  That was legit.

What’s your favorite Jackie Chan movie?  I’m rolling with Thunderbolt.  Come on man…kung-fu + racing Skylines & Eclipses?  It’s a wrap.  The pachinko parlor scene is legendary.

Yesterday, Barack and Hillary finally made their first campaign appearance together to help unite the party.  In the aptly named town of Unity, New Hampshire, they talked about the importance of coming together to make sure that Barack gets in the White House.  This election is simply too important to let any petty differences get between us.  It’s good to see that Clinton’s supporters are rallying behind Obama, and with everyone on the same page, we’re going to dominate come November.

Today is the day for those “Unite For Change” house parties I told y’all about last week.  Hopefully you’re attending one in your area (last minute Seattle people can email me to find one ASAP), but if not, you can still get involved.  We have about 4 months left and every little bit you can do helps immensely.  Even if that’s just talking to your friends and family to make sure everyone is informed and registered to vote, that’s great.  Let’s do this.

Damn, right after Tim Russert passes, we lose another great figure in the media world.  One of the greatest comedians of all time, George Carlin, died on Sunday night due to heart failure.  He was an inspiration to virtually every contemporary comedian we have today and the world just got a lot less funny after his passing.  Here’s one of my favorite bits of his, the classic “baseball vs. football” routine:

Greatness. Back in college, I was lucky enough to take a course called “History of Laughter,” taught by the illustrious Barry Sanders (no, not that one…this one).  He focused a lot of the class around his experiences growing up and idolizing one of Carlin’s heroes, Lenny Bruce.  Anyone who understands the importance of laughter to the human condition knows how impactful Bruce and Carlin were to both comedy and popular culture.  True geniuses.  RIP George.

Told y’all these were coming. They’re gonna be dope…real relaxed and fun. I recommend checking one out in your area, and if you’re ballin’ and want to open up your house to host one yourself, definitely do so. It’s real easy and you’ll have a ton of help making it happen. Seattle people can holler at me directly if you’re interested in getting involved. For everyone else, you can find all the info here.

Yeah, just like the Fest post, a little late…but this is important so it goes on TAOD. Plus, Barack’s my new boss. Holler @ me if you or your friends need to register or need anything from the campaign here in Seattle. We’ll make that happen with the quickness. “Unite For Change” house parties are coming up on the 28th! Save the date.

Can’t wait for this dude to be President.

Shocking and heartbreaking news…NBC’s Tim Russert, one of the foremost journalists in American politics, passed away from a heart attack in his office today. You can read more here. He was 58.

I didn’t agree with all his statements over the years, but as a media studies major, I always admired his work. Truly an incredible journalist, in every sense of the word. MSNBC has become my favorite news network these days, and I’ll miss hearing his analysis on there each day.

Tell your loved ones how you feel about them. “Tomorrow’s not promised today.” R.I.P. Tim Russert.

Saw this in the NY Times today and I thought it was equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating. I generally prefer to keep sports and politics separate, but I really hope that the world uses the upcoming Olympics to put pressure on China’s government. Between their human rights issues and the intense censorship of the press and their own people, something has to change. Sheer economic numbers won’t make China the super power it wants to be. At some point, its ethics need to catch up with the times.

When the final numbers are in, this earthquake will have killed over 100K people. We always think less of these tragedies when they happen abroad, but just imagine if we lost that many people here. To put it in perspective, Hurricane Katrina killed less than 2K. It’s insane.

Also, the audacity of the Chinese government to “have begged parents to quiet down and accept financial compensation for the loss of their children” is unbelievable. They don’t want money. They want their children back. And since you can’t provide that, you damn sure better give them some answers.

Chinese Stifle Grieving Parents’ Protest of Shoddy School Construction

DUJIANGYAN, China — Police officers here on Tuesday surrounded more than 100 parents protesting shoddy school construction and mourning the deaths of thousands of children during the recent earthquake.

The police dragged away several crying mothers and removed some journalists trying to report on the event, according to witnesses and photographs of the protest.

The attempt to snuff out the protest was the strongest sign so far of the government’s growing impatience with public airing of grievances over unsafe school construction.

A standoff between the parents, many carrying framed photos of their dead children, and the police officers, dressed in black uniforms, lasted for several hours. In the end, the parents walked away.

Read the full article describing the protest in detail and all the censorship these people are facing here.