Taking out you suckers and you don't know how I did it.

I did some interesting work with brilliant DC Public School teachers this afternoon using Dav Pilkey's excellent The Paperboy.

It took me back to my own paper delivery days when I worked for the North Hills Tribune and then the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. I have this vivid memory of listening to the Call Me D-Nice LP over and over and over and over again without getting sick of it.



Turns out D-Nice still performs and also takes photos and produces film. He has a fantastic blog that features the stellar True Hip Hop Stories series profiling artists from the golden age of Hip Hop, the likes of Black Sheep's Dres and YZ.



MP3 D-Nice - My Name Is D-Nice
MP3 D-Nice - The TR-808 Is Coming

Dear Friends,

Here's a safe bet: the two major political parties will nominate Presidential candidates from the corporate wings of their parties.
What will that leave us in this election year?
Corporate control as usual.
If this happens, we have two choices - throw in the towel.
Or fight back.If we choose to fight back, here's a good option:
Join with a person whose life is one of dedicated service to the public interest.
To help him organize a political campaign in every state against corporate control over our lives.
Luckily, that person - Ralph Nader - is considering such a campaign.
But he will need active and informed citizens in every Congressional district in the country.
He will need volunteers.
He will need funds.
He will need dedication.
That's why I've signed on at Nader's exploratory web site: http://www.naderexplore08.org
Check it out.
And spread the word.
In 2008, it's either sit back and watch the drift.
Or get off the couch and fight back.
Hope you will join me.
Thank you.

MP3 John Lennon - Working Class Hero
MP3 Sean Lennon - Wait For Me

The American Dream Is A Nightmare

MP3 Fleas & Lice - The American Dream
MP3 Violent Children - Live Free Or Die
MP3 Eco Guerrillas - Napalm The Rainforest


Be All That You Can Be
by KLAYTON ELLIOT KENDALL
NothingBeyond.com
January 25, 2008

Today I realized that the United States of America isn't really a country. It's a European colony, just like Africa a few decades ago. Rich Europeans came, conquered the native peoples, exploited the land for financial gain, and will one day pack up and leave everything in complete chaos. America is quickly on its way to becoming a third-world sewer.

Just when I was contemplating our decline, I heard this on All Things Considered:

A new study by NPP, a research group that looks at military trends, has concluded that last year, barely 70 percent of new Army recruits had high school diplomas. [. . .] The study also found that about 40 percent of new recruits scored in the upper half of the military's general standards tests.

That means that 30% of recruits -- nearly one out of every three -- don't have a high school diploma, and that 60% -- three out of five -- scored in the lower half of the standards test, a test so basic that I'd be embarrassed to miss a single question on it.

Of course, this is just one symptom of an incurable disease. The fact is that America got too fat too quick . . . and now it's sick to the core.

247 lb. Vegan

The NFL star Tony Gonzalez is out to answer a question: Can a football player live entirely on plants?
By REED ALBERGOTTI
January 25, 2008; Page W1

The protein-rich bounty of the football training table is supposed to grow the biggest and strongest athletes in professional sports. Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony Gonzalez was afraid it was going to kill him. "It's the Catch-22," says Mr. Gonzalez, 31. "Am I going to be unhealthy and play football? Or be healthy and get out of the league?"

So last year, on the eve of the biggest season of his career, Mr. Gonzalez embarked on a diet resolution that smacked head-on with gridiron gospel as old as the leather helmet. He decided to try going vegan.

Living solely on plant food, a combination of nuts, fruits, vegetables, grains and the like, has long been the fringe diet of young rebels and aging nonconformists. Even the government recommends regular helpings of meat, fish and dairy. Vegans of late have gotten more hip with such best sellers as the brash "Skinny Bitch," and its more scholarly cousin, "The China Study." Both books argue vegans can live longer.

But could an all-star National Football League player, all 6-foot, 5-inches and 247 pounds of him, live on a vegan diet and still excel in one of the most punishing jobs in sports?

For Mr. Gonzalez, the stakes were high. He'd just signed a five-year contract, making him the game's highest-paid tight-end. Entering the 2007 season, his 11th in the NFL, he had a shot at breaking all-time NFL records for career receptions and touchdowns at his position. To do that, he needed top performances in every game. Mr. Gonzalez knew he was out on a limb. "I was like, 'I'm going to look like a fool if this doesn't work out,'" he says.

Mr. Gonzalez joined a handful of elite athletes who have put the vegan diet to the test, either for their health or because they oppose using animals as food. But he was the first pro-football superstar to try. And the first to fail.

There's no evidence a vegan diet can improve an athlete's performance, says David Nieman, a professor of health and exercise at Appalachian State University. His 1988 study of vegetarian runners found they ran as well as their meat-eating rivals but no better. Although the vegetarian athletes in his study also ate eggs and dairy foods, he says, "there is scientific evidence that veganism, when done right, won't hurt performance." But, he adds, there is only anecdotal evidence that it can help.

Professional athletes, especially NFL players, need thousands of calories a day. Many enjoy a high-protein, high-fat smorgasbord of steaks, chops, burgers, pizza, ice cream and beer. Mr. Gonzalez's tight-end job requires him to push around monstrously sized opponents. Occasionally, he gets to catch a pass. Mr. Gonzalez is famous for combining the brute power of an offensive lineman with the acrobatic skills of a nimble receiver. "My biggest thing is strength," he says. "If you lose that strength you get your butt kicked."

Experts say athletes in training need as much as twice the protein of an average person to rebuild muscle. Their bodies also require a big dose of minerals and vitamins, as well as the amino acids, iron and creatine packed into fish, meat and dairy foods. It's fine to be a vegan, says sports nutritionist and dietician Nancy Clark, if you're willing to work at it. "It's harder to get calcium, harder to get protein, harder to get Vitamin D, harder to get iron," she says. "You have to be committed."

"Skinny Bitch" co-author Kim Barnouin is working on another book called "Skinny Bastard." "We want men to know that you're not going to be some scrawny little wimp if you follow this diet," she says. The book trashes meat, milk, eggs, cheese and sodas, saying men and women feel better and look better without them. "The more athletes who come forward and say, 'I'm doing this for my health,' the better," she says.

Mr. Gonzalez had never heard of the vegan diet when he boarded a flight from New York to Los Angeles last spring, about a month before preseason training. His seatmate turned down most of the food offered in first class, and Mr. Gonzalez finally asked why. The man told Mr. Gonzalez about "The China Study," a 2006 book by Cornell professor and nutrition researcher T. Colin Campbell that claims people who eat mostly plants have fewer deadly diseases than those who eat mostly animals. The evidence was drawn from diet surveys and blood samples of 6,500 men and women from across China.

Mr. Gonzalez was intrigued. Earlier in the year, a bout with Bell's Palsy, a temporary facial paralysis, had focused his attention on health. He bought the book, and after reading the first 40 pages, he says, was convinced animal foods led to chronic illness. He was an unlikely convert. Mr. Gonzalez, who grew up in Southern California, says cheeseburgers were his favorite food. But he quit them, substituting fruits, nuts and vegetables. At restaurants, he ordered pasta with tomato sauce.

Three weeks later, he walked into the weight room at the Chiefs' training facility and got a shock. The 100-pound dumbbells he used to easily throw around felt like lead weights. "I was scared out of my mind," he says. Standing on the scale, he learned he'd lost 10 pounds.

Mr. Gonzalez considered scrapping the diet altogether and returning to the Chiefs' standard gut-busting menu. First, though, he called Mr. Campbell, who put him in touch with Jon Hinds, himself a vegan and the former strength coach for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. Mr. Hinds suggested plant foods with more protein.

The Chiefs' team nutritionist, Mitzi Dulan, a former vegetarian athlete, did not believe that was enough. With the team's prospects and Mr. Gonzalez's legacy at stake, she persuaded the tight-end to incorporate small amounts of meat into his plant diet. Just no beef, pork or shellfish, he said; only a few servings of fish and chicken a week.

Teammates nicknamed him China Study and razzed Mr. Gonzalez if he missed a block. But he wasn't ready to give up his new diet completely. After a preseason practice, he accompanied Mr. Hinds to learn a skill he believed as important as blocking techniques: how to shop for groceries. Mr. Hinds showed him nutritious fish oils and how to pick out breads dense with whole grains, nuts and seeds. "The best bread for you," says Mr. Hinds, "is if I hit you with it, it hurts." Mr. Gonzalez also learned how to make the fruit and vegetable shake he drinks each morning. He stocked his pantry with tubs of soy protein powder and boxes of organic oatmeal; soy milk and Brazilian acai juice crowded the fridge. His favorite dessert became banana bread topped with soy whipped cream from the vegan cafe near his home in Orange County's Huntington Beach.

Mr. Gonzalez soon recovered his lost pounds and strength, but prospects for a record-breaking season were still in doubt. The team lost its starting quarterback, Trent Green, in a trade, and the Chiefs' star running back was tied up in a contract dispute.

As the season progressed, the team lost more games than it won. But Mr. Gonzalez managed to stick to his diet and hold onto the football. He broke the touchdown record before midseason and was within reach of the career reception record. "I was like, 'OK, this is working,'" he says. "I have so much more energy when I'm out there." His wife, October Gonzalez, was astonished her husband could play the season without ordering a single cheeseburger. "I thought he'd cave," she says.

Mr. Gonzalez entered the final game against the New York Jets needing four catches to surpass the record held by former tight-end Shannon Sharpe. The contest turned into a sluggish defensive struggle with the Chiefs trailing the Jets 7 to 3. Still, Mr. Gonzalez made three receptions. With 2 minutes and 29 seconds left in the third quarter, Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle was fleeing defenders when he threw a 9-yard pass to Mr. Gonzalez, who scampered for a first down and a spot in the NFL record book.

Expose Yourshelf

Expose Yourshelf is the first truly great blog I've found since I started looking. I love it, and every person who visits here ought to be a part of this project.

MP3 The Smiths - Shakespeare's Sister
MP3 The Smiths - I Won't Share You

The Greatest Band of the 90s?

MP3 Guided by Voices - I Am A Scientist
MP3 Guided by Voices - Of Mites And Men
MP3 Guided by Voices - Big School
MP3 Guided by Voices - Weed King
MP3 Guided by Voices - Everywhere with Helicopter

Beat on the Brat

100 Years of Trash has always been about celebrating small things in life; particularly, celebrating small things that others might discard as garbage. After researching an influx of activity here at the virtual Fairmont Street, I discovered that we are the number one hit when one searches "snotty nosed little brat" on google. Please celebrate this dubious accomplishment along with us.




MP3 The Ramones - Beat on the Brat
MP3 Sonic Youth - Beat on the Brat

"snotty nosed little brats"

Va. Student's Snow-Day Plea Triggers an Online Storm
By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 23, 2008; Page A01

On his lunch break, Lake Braddock senior Devraj "Dave" S. Kori, 17, used a listed home phone number to call Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for the county system, to ask why he had not closed the schools. Kori left his name and phone number and got a message later in the day from Tistadt's wife.

"How dare you call us at home! If you have a problem with going to school, you do not call somebody's house and complain about it," Candy Tistadt's minute-long message began. At one point, she uttered the phrase "snotty-nosed little brats," and near the end, she said, "Get over it, kid, and go to school!"

Candy Tistadt did not return phone messages, but Dean Tistadt credited Kori for having the "courage of his convictions to stand up and be identified." He also credited him for causing the high volume of crank calls, not to mention considerable grief and embarrassment for his wife.

"This has been horrible for her," he said, adding that he and his wife both learned a hard lesson about the long reach of the Internet.

CANDY'S VOICEMAIL:


MP3 Matt Pond P.A. - Snow Day
MP3 Leaders of the New School - International Zone Coaster
MP3 Leaders of the New School - Teachers, Don't Teach Us Nonsense

I Believe in Clutchy Hopkins

The greatest hip hop producer since Prince Paul lives in a cave in the Mojave dessert. Clutchy Hopkins uses no samples, but an array of common and exotic, collected and homemade instruments to make the best beats not on the market. Check out The Life of Clutchy Hopkins and MF Doom Meets Clutchy Hopkins.



MP3 Clutchy Hopkins & MF Doom - Track 1

Vampire Weekend

Blah, blah, blah...Columbia...Brooklyn...blah, blah, blah...preppy...khakis...Polo...blah, blah, blah...African rhythms...Paul Simon's Graceland...blah, blah, blah...

Eponymous album drops 1/29, and I'm buying the vinyl, so...

Walcott
A-Punk
Mansard Roof
Ladies of Cambridge aka Boston
The Kids Don't Stand A Chance
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Oxford Comma
M79
Exit Music(for a Film)
Bryn

3RD BASS

I saw this highly underrated group perform live in '91 at Pittsburgh's Graffiti night club shortly after the release of their sophomore album Derelicts of Dialect, and my 14th birthday. Derelicts of Dialect, along with 1989's The Cactus Album, stands the test of time; both records remain true Hip Hop classics. The excellent Third Bass site ThirdBass.net has a sick download section and reports that the Prime Minister Pete Nice is currently the owner of a baseball memorabilia store in Cooperstown, New York and has authored two books on early baseball history. Until recently MC Search was a popular wake up DJ in Detroit, Michigan.

MP3 Third Bass - Portrait of the Artist as a Hood(remix)

April Showers Bring May Flowers

From ProjectKB.com:
It rained today. It's the first time I've seen rain during the day in Africa. I was teaching a class at ENA. 30+ students crammed into a room with no electricity and no screens on the windows. A chalk board propped up against the wall sitting atop a desk. Then it got dark. Very dark. And it's not supposed to rain until Feb/March. But it did. AND IT POURED. And the lightening bolts were so big you thought you could touch them. And rain started shooting through the windows attacking my students.

"Uh. What... uh... what is the normal procedure..?"
"Teacha'. We don't understand you. Slower please."
"Uh. What do African teachers do when this happens?"

Stares.

"Ok." Too dark to see. Thunder too loud to hear. Wet students pushing desks around the room searching for shelter. "Uh. Class is over. You can stay - or you can go."

Everyone laughs. "But, Teacha' - it is raining."
"Fair enough."

So we sat in the dark, huddled together, and sang Bob Marley songs to the beat of the raindrops on our tin roof and waited for the storm to pass. In the flooded and muddy streets of Lome, cabs stalled, motos searched for higher ground and barefoot women wearing brightly colored fabric carried buckets of pineapple on their heads.

MP3 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Positive Vibration(August 5, 1973, Miami, Florida)

The Return...

of hip hop, and the cool kid.

MP3 COOL KIDS - Black Mags

"This one goes out to Bertha in Mularky."

I believe The Replacements to be the most underrated rock and roll band of all time. Paul Westerberg's chops as a songwriter of anthemic rock and roll are rivaled perhaps only by Robert Pollard and Pete Townsend, and Westerberg has only Alex Chilton as a peer in writing the greatest pop songs never to be played on radio. Here are The Replacements rough, raw, and wasted playing CBGB's on October 12, 1984, complete with a T Rex cover. If you're not already a fan, start with Color Me Impressed, and I Will Dare and go from there. If you are already down, unzip, unleash, and indulge.

MP3 Gary's Got a Boner
MP3 Run It
MP3 Color Me Impressed
MP3 White and Lazy
MP3 Takin' a Ride
MP3 I Will Dare
MP3 Unsatisfied
MP3 Johnny's Gonna Die
MP3 Favorite Thing
MP3 20th Century Boy
MP3 Go
MP3 I'll Be There
MP3 Kids Don't Follow
MP3 Black Diamond
MP3 Kansas City Star

whole show zipped

Hey. Take it easy, man.

"Strange Bedfellows?" asks Big Head DC.

Not really; but, Mr. Obama better get a handle on that fame's fourteenth minute madman.

SwiftKids for Truth

Please listen to the voices of these young patriots:

Welcome Winter Sojourner

MP3 Stars-Window Bird

Now I don't have quite the wildlife to watch as that of my expatriated bredren; but, this woodpecker gave me a minute from the mundane and miserable this afternoon. Let the weekend arrive.

MP3 Heartless Bastards - New Resolution