Voice of Nola (MIH 32)

Told y'all it was coming.

Rupa and the April Fishes

This is our holiday treat for y’all, produced by our friend Nicolette Bethea. Now you might be saying, this piece has nothing to do with the holiday’s… and you might be exactly right. So just think about it as our musical gift to you since we won’t be posting for a few days... it’s Christmas after all. We think this pod is sweet and heartwarming just like Rupa herself, and we hope it gets you through the Christmas madness.

However, giving props to our friend Niko isn't the only reason we're posting this pod. Jeremey actually helped out with the shoot. He shot the interviews and the practice stuff, and he also helped out a lot with drinking whiskey at the show. So this pod is sort of like second cousin to a TeamJaded Production. We hope you like it, and if you do, then head here and leave a comment for Nicolette, she did a rad job with it.

If you want to know more about Rupa and the April Fishes go here. They have free downloads, cd's to buy, and all kids of other cool stuff on their website. We recommend hearing them live, their French gypsy thing is pretty enthralling. And Rupa… well she’s like some kind of musical doctor/ saint... definitely worth checking out.

In other Current TV news, their new website is all pimped out Web 2.0 steez, so we went over there and tagged all Jeremey’s old pods and the two TeamJaded pods “TeamJaded.” Now if you search for TeamJaded on Current.com all our stuff comes up. Go over there and leave us some comments.

Sisterz of the Underground

I confess. I don’t know jack about Hip Hop. I’d love to hit you up with tons of facts about rappers or throw down some statistics on Bboys. And although I received first place for my “Hip Hop and the Media” audio entry at 2004’s Broadcast Education Association Festival, I admit that does not certify my knowledge of the subject.

So, when we decided to do a story on Sisterz of the Underground, I felt a bit timid approaching these Hip Hop gurus. Now, I’ve listened to my fare share of underground Hip Hop (or more accurately, I think is underground… probably isn’t). I’ve taken Hip Hop dance classes. I’ve dabbled in spinning. But when I witnessed the talent that came out of the SOTU Six-Year Anniversary party, I knew we were in for a killer story.

These women are amazing. They hit it all- Bgirls, MC’s, DJ’s, Graf Artists, Singers, Entrepreneurs, women of all talents, skills, and trades… the list goes on. And it doesn’t stop there.

The San Francisco based all-female Hip Hop collective is empowering youth, young adults and women across the nation to get involved and make a positive difference in their culture. With different programs and events throughout the Bay Area (and beyond), SOTU is teaching a generation about the positive laurels and constructive activism that Hip Hop culture was founded upon.

A full-length documentary needs to be done on SOTU… but we only had six minutes. So we decided to explore their story through a day in the life of Crykit, SOTU’s DefEd Program Director. We also sat down with SOTU’s Founder Sarah Smalls, and Head Organizer TraciP, and learned how this collective is shaking up a culture, and challenging the Hip Hop norm.

It was an awesome experience working with and learning from these women. They have a fantastic program that’s truly influencing a generation.

We gotta thank everyone from Sisterz of the Underground for giving TeamJaded the opportunity to share such a rad story. Also, Leticia, Celine, and the awesome students at Kipp Bay Academy, everyone at Cellspace, and 111 Minna Gallery, thank you.

Stuff On My Cat, My Cat On Stuff

Stuff On My Cat

Updated 7/20/2007: Thank you so much to Mario at Stuff On My Cat for posting our video and linking to our blog! Thank you to everyone who commented and enjoyed Maggie's 'stackage'. You're all amazing.

Although we at TeamJaded are dedicated to interesting news, people, and the occasional politics, we do enjoy our fare share of fun websites. I for one, am a huge fan of Stuff on My Cat. Everyday it makes me smile. So when we purchased a new camera (Canon XH-A1), I decided to shoot my cat while figuring out the settings. What happened was something I never expected. A video where I put stuff… on my cat. Yes, you read that right. It’s slightly amusing, as Maggie (my cat), acts as if nothing is happening.

A while back I wrote about Maggie. I thought I’d share it with you now that you know how deceivingly cute she can be.

This was written August 12, 2006, 9 days after I moved from NYC to SF.

I have a foster cat. Her name is Maggie.

Last week Maggie went on the most exciting adventure up to this point in her 2-year-old life. However, I presume the trip from east coast to west coast may have been more exciting for the passengers on Jet Blue Flight 97.

Upon boarding the plane, it was realized that the cage she was traveling in was approximately 'yay' centimeter too big to fit under the seat in front of me. Maggie, cage, and I proceeded to the rear of the plane hoping for a smooth transfer into the airline-supplied cage.

All goes smoothly, and Maggie pops her little head out of the top of the gated cage. Then she pops her front paws out. Then she wiggles a bit. I'm trying desperately to push her resisting body back into the cage, only to realize her harness (yes, she's wearing a harness) is caught on the wires. She looks frantic. She's wriggling with all her might. The passengers are now crowding around the scene like lookie-loos in an accident. Maggie is caught halfway in and halfway out of the plastic-bottom, wire-top box. Finally the man in front of me picks her and the cage up, takes her to the back and finesses her out. We lock the hole with a twisty tie. Maggie, all tuckered out from her exhausting and embarrassing endeavor, sleeps the entire 6-hour flight.

Please allow me to delve in all that is Maggie the Cat.

When I decided to house this cat for "a six week trial period", I must admit, I wasn't what one would call "smart" about this decision. In fact, I fully take responsibility for my somewhat ill-advised act of altruistic feline charity.

My hopes of having a companion of independent temperament, who required little to no attention was to be found in a small little ball of fur with unclipped claws.

Cute? She was. Friendly? She was not.

Twiggy was her shelter moniker. Sadly, the stick-like underfed cat that she was fit the ridiculous name. A fierce growl, squinted eyes, and turned down ears was how she welcomed my hand as I tried to pet her calico fur. No such luck. She retreated to the corner of her newspaper-lined cell, foot stepping into her water bowl.

"I'll take her," I say. It was as though all my intelligent senses had taken a coffee break; and while my brain cells were dipping biscotti in espresso, I accepted this miniature life into my studio apartment. For better or for worse, in sickness & in health, 'till "six weeks later" do we part.

Eight months and 2582 miles later, Maggie Francois Scratcher, is still my foster cat. No official adoption has been made, as the shelter never called to check on their precious little demon.

Maggie has successfully wrecked a linen closet, demolished 2 large cardboard boxes, ruined the armrests of a corporate housing suede couch, and, among other things, peed on a suitcase.

She runs laps around the apartment at 5 in the morning. She will attack ankles if not fed at a proper time. She growls with a haunting, low snarl in the middle of the night, hair on end, eyes fixated on emptiness. She tries to escape every time the front door is opened... or the window on a 26-floor apartment.

Now, these things aside, Maggie has learned to be quite the friendly cat. She enjoys a nice bout of catnip therapy, a good tummy rub and a playful jaunt with a menacing ball of trash.

For those who are wondering why her name was changed, please refer to the following songs.

There's actually a song called 'Maggie the Cat' by The Bangs. I have yet to hear it.

Rod Stewart: Maggie May
Oh Maggie I wish I'd never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me
But I'm as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart but I love you anyway
Maggie I wish I'd never seen your face
I'll get on back home one of these days

Beatles: Maggie Mae
Oh dirty Maggie Mae they have taken her away
And she never walk down Lime Street any more
Oh the judge he guilty found her
For robbing a homeward bounder
That dirty no good robbin' Maggie Mae

Displace Us.

TeamJaded was fortunate to participate in Displace Me in San Francisco. Above is short documentary about the event and our experience.

Some may say this generation is apathetic. Often it is believed the privileged youth hibernate in their comfort; carefully sheltered by cell phones, wireless Internet, and Starbucks. However, on April 28th, 2007 that theory was shattered.

Local News networks may have briefly covered a glimpse of what happened that night. But the stories, the experiences and the aftermath of the evening still penetrate deep in the hearts and minds of those who raised their voices for Invisible Children.

About 2 months ago, over 68,000 people across the US attended “Displace Me,” an event to change Northern Uganda. Why Northern Uganda? And why did tens of thousands of youth and young adults care enough to leave the comfort of their homes and sleep on the ground?

Simple. They are not apathetic. They care about people they’ve never met. They rally to end a war they’ve never experienced. They raise money to create schools, they speak to congressmen to raise awareness, they contribute to a cause they desperately believe in: To end a war that’s ravaged a nation for over 21 years. It’s a war the US media and the US government have thrown aside ignorantly unable to establish a rationale to become involved. A war that has gone on longer than most who participated in Displace Me, have been alive.

For over two decades citizens of Northern Ugandan have been subject to war. The nature of what one UN official calls “the world's worst neglected humanitarian crisis,” is complex. According to the Uganda Conflict Action Network:

The war is essentially two conflicts in one: first the fighting of the LRA [the Lord’s Resistance Army], which is waging war against the Ugandan government and terror against civilian population in the north, and second, the real grievances of Ugandans in the north against the existing government.

The statistics are appalling:
-1.7 million civilians have been displaced
-1,000 people die every week due to inhumane living conditions
-30,000 children have been abducted by the LRA and forced to join its army
-Tens of thousands of people have be maimed or killed since the war started

Invisible Children, Inc. was formed after three young filmmakers set out in search of a story. In 2003, they found a tragedy that “not only disgusted but inspired them.” Four years later, a movie, a mission, and a movement have led a nation of youth to end a war. Through compelling podcasts, national events, short documentaries, fundraising campaigns, video diaries, house parties, cross-country road trip screenings, and a mind-blowing multimedia, interactive website, Invisible Children is a non-profit that’s changing the world- literally (physically, emotionally, and mentally).

The evidence is plastered all over their site. From the detailed homepage to a microsite dedicated solely to Displace Me. There you will find everything and anything from the historic event- pictures from across the nation, attendee’s YouTube Videos, movies from the evening… the list goes on.

And it didn’t stop after April 28th. The leaders of Invisible Children, Inc. have met with Senators and Congressmen. They’ve delivered to our countries leaders the thousands upon thousands of letters written from the Displace Me attendees. They are doing everything in their power to encourage our nation and our President to become involved in the Juba peace talks.

Displace Me: The Aftermath

Add to My Profile | More Videos

The hope? To end the war. Invisible Children will not give up. The thousands of people who support their vision will not give up. They will persist until it is over. They know that every war has an end.

For more info, please visit:
www.invisiblechildren.com
www.ugandacan.org

Bonna ruined

Editors Note (5/06/08): It is insane how many hits this post gets compared to our other blogs and it has nothing to do with TeamJaed, just that photo. It's funny to me, because I obsessively check our blog stats after we post anything so that I can see how many people have read the post. It's a sickness, I admit it. So when I do that what I see is hit after hit from google images for this post, not our new posts. It's been fun, but all good things must come to an end. I don't want this post to be the first TeamJaded content most people see... but I also want to keep it up, so I'm taking out the name of the festival. Let's hope that works.

Editors Note (2/16/08): This post gets a ton of hits from Google Image search because of this photo. Since this particular post was written in the early days of TeamJaded when like, we and our Mom's were the only people who knew we had a blog, we just borrowed this image from Mr. Internet, ie some other persons obscure blog. To make a long story short, this picture is from B-roo 2006, not 2007. We have no idea who took it originally, and we don't remember the url of the site we borrowed it from. Unfortunately Google Image search is staying tight lipped on this one and won't even respond to waterboarding. So thanks to whoever originally posted this image. And now back to your regularly scheduled and sprawling Bonna ruined post.

I’m not sure if you know what B-roo is. I didn’t until a few weeks before I was on a plane to Tennessee as part of the Current TV A-Team that was going to do “some sort of live coverage.” That’s all I knew because I only work for Current part-time. So beyond the fact that Mr. Mark Rinehart one of the masterminds behind Current @ Bonna roo wanted me on his team in some capacity, "probably shooting and editing” I didn't know much. Upon deeper inspection I found out that B-roo was some sort of southern Coachella, with kids in the middle of nowhere frying on mushrooms and listening to jam bands, you know that sort of thing.

Well that’s what I thought, but B-roo has developed over the years and now it would be more dryly defined as a four day music festival near Nashville, Tennessee that draws about a hundred thousand people and features a spectrum of music acts from DJ Shadow to the Flaming Lips, and has a crap load of art, and comedy, and theater, and is really quite a spectacle… (read a people in the middle of nowhere frying on mushrooms sort of thing.) So if you’re like me, and I doubt you are, then big music festivals full of dirty hippies frying on mushrooms is probably about the last place you’d want to be… and as rad as the 2 AM set that DJ Shadow put on was… and it was rad ...what's the big deal about B-roo really?

To answer that, I’ve gotta share my insane experience. I’m talking 5 days sleeping on a tour bus, working for 16 hours a day cutting pods in a trailer with no air conditioning where the temperatures peaked at about a hundred and ten in the afternoon… and it was awesome. We turned around 20 minutes of doc style programming fed via satellite to Current TV every day, and all twenty minutes of that played on the jumbo-trons at the main stage in blocks. The coverage was sick. Our crew was entrenched, on top of their shit, and just blowing the minds of each other, everyone back at the office, and really the entire TV industry.

The best part was that we got free catered food, VIP passes, and the port-o-potties where cleaned twice daily. We had showers in trailers where I came up on mad sketchy soap left behind by god knows who. Yeah I forgot to bring soap, or a towel, or anything like that. Lucky for me, Current supplied us with these yellow crew t-shirts that were great for drying off with. I didn’t make it out to the fest much, but the couple of nights I did, I rolled with Current Crew on golf carts, got the VIP treatment backstage, and had a blast (i.e. had lots of free booze). You can check out the coverage here:

Current@Bonnaroo

Since I’ve been back in the SFC the world hasn’t been so amazing, especially with things like this going down:

“A Proclamation

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, pursuant to my powers under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, do hereby commute the prison terms imposed by the sentence upon the said Lewis Libby to expire immediately, leaving intact and in effect the two-year term of supervised release, with all its conditions, and all other components of the sentence.

GEORGE W. BUSH”

If you don’t know the story then let me supply you with cliff notes:

Joe Wilson was a U.S. diplomat who dealt with African nations and Iraq. One of the premises for going to war with Iraq was that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy “yellow cake” from Niger which would have allowed him to make nuclear weapons and thus somehow attack the United States, even though his entire military had been destroyed in the first Gulf War and his country had been under sanctions and bomb attacks from the U.S. military ever since, leaving them virtually in ruins and defenseless, but I digress.

Joe Wilson went to Niger to find out about this mysterious “yellow cake” and what he found was nothing at all. Iraq wasn’t buying anything from Niger least of all “yellow cake.” So ole’ Joe decided for the benefit of the country that he would write an article professing as much and rightly accusing the Bush administration of exaggerating the threat of Iraq against the United States.

Well the Bushies didn’t like that too much so they went to war with Joe. His weak spot was that his wife, Valerie Plame happened to be an active CIA operative, a spy, yes an undercover agent specializing in… weapons of mass destruction… an expert on the topic that Bush was pushing as a reason for war. From the Bushies stand point Joe and his wife the undercover agent were fair game in their political war, so they outed Plame with the hope that it would cast doubt on Joe’s findings… I don’t really get that either she was an expert on the subject of weapons of mass destruction and would probably know more about weapons proliferation than the Bush White House.

Now where things get real ugly is that it turns out, revealing the identity of an undercover agent, especially in a time of war is illegal. In fact it’s treason because it threatens national security… so whoever was responsible for leaking Plames identity to the press had to pay. I mean we’re involved in a war, a war on terror, you can’t be outing CIA agents. That’s just not cool. Well as prosecutors climbed the ladder, first throwing reporters in jail to get them to talk (which stirred up a first amendment hornets nest) they eventually found their way to the White House and the office of Vice President Dick Cheney. The first White House staff member to go down was Mr. Scooter Libby, Chief of Staff to the Vice President. Libby was convicted of felony charges and sentenced to 30 months in jail for obstructing justice. However the investigation was not over…

…Until now. I mean the investigation will go on, but in name only. By commuting Scooter Libby’s sentence, Bush effectively set a precedent that his White House is untouchable. Anyone on his staff can freely break the law, even to the detriment of our national security and it doesn’t matter. So the prosecutors can indict more members of the White House staff, a jury can convict them, and a judge can sentence them to prison, but as long as King George is in power they will never face any real consequences. Say goodbye to everything you were ever taught about freedom and justice in America.

Perhaps the best words on this latest development were spoken by Keith Olbermann of MSNBC…



Also check out the Daily Kos article.

In other news an Arkansas kid was choked by a cop for skating on the sidewalk, and the cop got off.

See it for yourself:

The Crime:


The Verdict:
Check it out at the S.F. Gate

What is this country coming to? Cops and politicians don’t have to obey they law, but kids can get choked out for skating on the sidewalk. I’m so proud to be an American.

In effort to stand up for skaters rights Emerica sponsors an annual event called Wild in the Streets where thousands of skaters descend on one lucky metropolis and skate through the streets in solidarity with other skaters around the world. This year Wild in the Streets was in San Fran at the end of the Emerica Wild Ride Harley tour. Peep the website to read all about that adventure: Emerica Wild Ride

Team Jaded homie Shrewgs was on the tour and we caught up with him at the Phoenix Hotel in the tenderloin on the night of July 3rd. We drank beers with Shrewgy, and some of the other guys, and even Johnny Roughneck showed up. We had so much fun that we pretty much missed the entire Wild in the Streets event because we slept so late, but we did eventually make our way to Third and Yo for the very end of the barbeque. Luckily Youtube came correct for all the stuff we missed:



..but it was no Roughneck BART Tour:



And speaking of Roughneck their 55-day tour, Decade of Aggression starts Saturday in Mill Valley. Catch the crew somewhere across America in the next few months.





They’ll be in my home state in August… Maybe they’ll run into this dude:



Love you Vial.

I’m out.
Jeremey Lavoi

If anything, it started a discussion.

Whatever your opinion on the war in Iraq is (or as Jon Stewart would say, the “Mess O’ Potamia”), one thing is certain: TeamJaded’s “San Francisco Die In” will be on Current TV. There’s no telling when this event will actually occur, but viewers around the world will someday be able to watch on TV hundreds of protestors lying dead in the middle of downtown San Francisco.

Sound exciting? We thought so. Which was why, on a whim, TeamJaded decided to shoot the spectacle. What came of it was the following video:




Uploaded to Current’s website (as a straight up network purchase was shied away from- Al Gore’s network doesn’t want to look too lefty) the video slowly but surely made it’s way to the top of the leaderboard. And thanks to the votes of friends, family, and random people from the Current Community, “SF Die In” won the #1 spot on June 11th.

It was nice to see so many people voicing their opinion after watching the pod. It started a discussion (or texting feud), and even though we shot this with no motive, it was cool to see the emotion it provoked. Thanks to everyone who voted for this pod!

It's All Happening.

So it’s crazy to think that in our mid-twenties we’ve started our own company. Now, this might not seem too crazy for anyone who knows Jeremey. He’s been Jaded for years. A skateboarder, DIY-er, “I made my own ‘zine” guy, it’s not too hard to imagine him going full-force with an independent venture. I, however, have been a corporate glom-on since I left college. Yes, I wasn’t going to ‘sell-out’ after I left college radio, but guess what? I worked for the Number 5 Fortune 500 Entertainment Industry company, Viacom… right next to Number 6: Clear Channel. And thanks to my University’s Writing Dept, anyone who has ever googled my name know’s I’ll never get a job there.

But even though the views from the 48th floor in Times Square were beautiful, there was something missing. Maybe it was a few of my brain cells, but I knew that I needed something more. I guess “more” meant flying across the country to go work for Al Gore… More appropriately, Current TV. It was here in San Francisco that I learned the world is changing; and not just because of Global Warming (thank you Inconvenient Truth). But the world in which we consume media is changing. From Cable to On Demand, from YouTube, AppleTV, and Milan… it’s all happening. Almost anyone can own an HD Camera (albeit you definitely need some funding), and Final Cut Pro is basically available to the masses.

TV production is no longer for the elite. It no longer is in the hands of the few. Those with the money may have the connections, but they don’t control the content and the distribution anymore. Things are changing and Jaded Multimedia will be apart of it.

In his blog “Video on the Net” on BuzzMachine.com, Jeff Jarvis says it best:
“The first and more important lesson: We now have the tools to control not just the consumption but the creation of media.”

So as we start this new adventure, we’ll continue to work with innovative TV companies (like Current TV), and foster new relationships with amazing IPTV stations (see the links!). Our hope is that we can create meaningful content, that’s fun to watch, and has a positive impact in the world.

Now I’m done being cheesy. It’s time to get crazy.

We’ll be updating this blog daily. Random stuff. We’ll discuss anything. From wack stats, to rad artists, and random news, we’ll be throwin it down. And we’d be pretty psyched if ya’ll joined in the conversation. Stay tuned.