May 17, 2013

we’ve made circles before

We’ve Made Circles Before

i get it now.. all superintendents do is float around this country from school system to school system racking up severance packages like it’s nothing. Meanwhile your child sits in a classroom often lacking the “materials” and skilled teachers needed for them to learn. 
Don’t get me wrong.. there are great teachers in the classroom and Wonderful administrators who mean well and do the best they can under the circumstances.. but the system is what fails them as teachers, and your children our students. Will it ever change? 
Blacks continue to fight for equality in education. Education is based on class and if you’re poor so is your education. Sounds separate and unequal still right? Well in many cities it is. In many cities the schools change by the color and class. Especially in this one. And still teachers manage to do what they can. I really feel so bad for teachers because they are the ones who really need the training, the resources, the computers, the books, but every year the dollar for public education shrinks and shrinks. 

I might add that it’s now a federal crime to say “hey the United States of America is wrong for.. a. b. c.” When did it become a crime to challenge the laws made in this country? Why do I need a permit to protest on public property that I pay taxes for? If I have to ask permission then it really isn’t freedom.. right? 
Honestly though I’m tired of the protesting. It’s so numbing to those in power. It’s like .. “oh they protesting again”.. Where is the strategy for power?
Are people afraid of strategy because now.. strategy is now considered a “federal offense”. “How dare you think of strategy to change the status quo. You “terrorist”, you traitor” anti-patriot”.. CRAZY right? But these are the laws being passed. And these LAWS are wrong and un-civilized, and totally out of order!

The strategy is to: educate your children to maintain the status quo- so that they keep the “order”, and learn to NOT critically think. To only learn what is taught, and color “within the the lines” So that when they and YOU grow the fuck up yall will FALL IN LINE. 
LINE.. prison line.. chain gang line, make a gang line,.. 8:00a.m. traffic line.. starbucks line, Macy’s Line, basketball game lines, “new sneaker lines”. 

But never the FrontLINE where you stand up for yourself, your ancestors, your children. ..

Maybe it’s time a CIRCLE is formed.

I still encourage the ones born with voices to continue yelling kicking and screaming. 

Maybe a whole new shape needs to be made.. 

We’ve made CIRCLES before. 
This is my rant for this evening.. 
~Gira Dahnee

May 17, 2013

Will be there in a couple of weeks. Would def love to jam!

May 17, 2013 • 3 notes • ayanacontreras
ayanacontreras: This Sunday, a film screening called Black Radical Imagination will happen at the Black Cinema House in Chicago’s Woodlawn community. Black Radical Imagination stemmed from a series of discussions around the boundaries and limitations that are historically given to people of color. Specifically, in the film industry these restrictions are often digested and kept to propel a vicious cycle of negative identification. Black Radical Imagination invokes a futurist aesthetic where artists identify themselves and reclaim their own unique stories. Black Radical Imagination is curated by Erin Christovale and Amir George. Sunday, May 19 at 6pmBlack Cinema House6901 S. Dorchester Ave.Seating is limited, so please RSVP by emailing blackcinemahouse@rebuild-foundation.org to reserve your seats. Reclaimed Soul host Ayana Contreras interviewed one of the filmmakers, Christina De Middel (De Middel also took the stunning photo above). In 1964, still living the dream of their recently gained independence, Zambia started a space program that would put the first African on the moon, catching up with the USA and the Soviet Union in the space race. That was the true story that inspired De Middel’s short film and photography series, both titled “Afronauts”. We will hear their discussion on tonight’s show, plus a pulsating rhythmic gumbo of futuristic African music from the 1970s & 1980s, and plenty of good old fashioned soul (all spun on wax). Catch fresh installments of Reclaimed Soul Thursdays at 8pm (CST) on vocalo.org89.5fm (NW Indy) and 90.7fm (CHI) Who wants to join me Saturday?

ayanacontreras:

This Sunday, a film screening called Black Radical Imagination will happen at the Black Cinema House in Chicago’s Woodlawn community. Black Radical Imagination stemmed from a series of discussions around the boundaries and limitations that are historically given to people of color. Specifically, in the film industry these restrictions are often digested and kept to propel a vicious cycle of negative identification. Black Radical Imagination invokes a futurist aesthetic where artists identify themselves and reclaim their own unique stories. Black Radical Imagination is curated by Erin Christovale and Amir George.

Sunday, May 19 at 6pm
Black Cinema House
6901 S. Dorchester Ave.
Seating is limited, so please RSVP by emailing blackcinemahouse@rebuild-foundation.org to reserve your seats.

Reclaimed Soul host Ayana Contreras interviewed one of the filmmakers, Christina De Middel (De Middel also took the stunning photo above).

In 1964, still living the dream of their recently gained independence, Zambia started a space program that would put the first African on the moon, catching up with the USA and the Soviet Union in the space race. That was the true story that inspired De Middel’s short film and photography series, both titled “Afronauts”.

We will hear their discussion on tonight’s show, plus a pulsating rhythmic gumbo of futuristic African music from the 1970s & 1980s, and plenty of good old fashioned soul (all spun on wax).

Catch fresh installments of Reclaimed Soul Thursdays at 8pm (CST) on vocalo.org89.5fm (NW Indy) and 90.7fm (CHI)

Who wants to join me Saturday?

May 15, 2013 • 2 notes • thelunchroom

BIG THINGS: On-Demand Streams Now Count Toward RIAA Gold & Platinum

thelunchroom:

In an uncommon move to tinker with the formula used to certify Gold and Platinum awards, the Recording Industry Association of America on Thursday announced it has started to incorporate on-demand streams towards its calculations for certifying the prestigious awards.

The change, only the fifth major alteration in the methodology since the inception of the program in 1958, is meant to recognize how important digital distribution has become and how technology has permanently altered the way people access music. 

The last time the RIAA altered its methodology was in 2006, when it added master ringtones. Two years before that, the organization began counting digital downloads. And prior to that, CDs and cassette tapes were added to the mix. Otherwise, the formula for Gold and Platinum certifications remained largely untouched — 500,000 unit sales for Gold, 1 million for Platinum and 10 million for Diamond.

Among the on-demand streaming services the RIAA will accept are MOG, Muve Music, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify, Xbox Music and others. In addition, video streams from MTV.com, VEVO, Yahoo! Music and YouTube will also count.

May 14, 2013

Is this true of all independent labels? Or just the righteous ones?

May 14, 2013

Wow!!! Nice perspective

May 13, 2013 • SoundCloud / Gira Dahnee

Rock Ballad- feature hint of jazz tones
Written by Gira Dahnee
Piano by-Gira Dahnee
Produced by Gira Dahnee and Jonathan Woods
Recorded and Mixed at Fullerton Recording Chicago, IL

May 13, 2013 • 583 notes • ferrarisheppard
ferrarisheppard: Move 91985, Philadelphia city police dropped a bomb on Osage Avenue and let it burn. Five children and six adults, members of a small radical collective called MOVE, were killed; 61 homes in a middle-class neighborhood were destroyed. As the nation watched, Philadelphia became the city that bombed its ‘own people’.Firefighters were stopped from putting out the fires based on allegations that they were being shot at, a claim that was contested by the lone adult survivor Ramona Africa, who says that the firefighters had earlier battered the house with two deluge pumps when there was no fire. Police shot at those trying to escape the house and acknowledge firing over 10,000 rounds. (photo: Hip-Hop Photo Museum)  

ferrarisheppard:

Move 9

1985, Philadelphia city police dropped a bomb on Osage Avenue and let it burn. Five children and six adults, members of a small radical collective called MOVE, were killed; 61 homes in a middle-class neighborhood were destroyed. As the nation watched, Philadelphia became the city that bombed its ‘own people’.

Firefighters were stopped from putting out the fires based on allegations that they were being shot at, a claim that was contested by the lone adult survivor Ramona Africa, who says that the firefighters had earlier battered the house with two deluge pumps when there was no fire. Police shot at those trying to escape the house and acknowledge firing over 10,000 rounds.

(photo: Hip-Hop Photo Museum)

 

May 12, 2013

Painted waltz1

198 plays and counting..

just finished a new tune today that i  cant wait to post!
Rock Ballad- feature hint of jazz tones Written by Gira Dahnee Piano by-Gira Dahnee Produced by Gira Dahnee and Jonathan Woods Recorded and M…
May 12, 2013
Red Bike & Green Ride- Chicago May 2013

Red Bike & Green Ride- Chicago May 2013