Our friends at Masslive have just opened a whole new section of their site and it's dedicated to weblogs!

They even put up a weblog forum!

Pretty snazzy if you ask me.

Hopefully this will help put more of us Western Massachusetts area webloggers in contact with each other.

The Urban Alternative Show strikes back, tonight from 12 midnight to 3 a.m. EST on 90.7 FM WTCC! Tune in, or listen online.

Join now in registering for a Virtual March on Washington for February 26th. "Marchers" will be asking Congress to stop the Bush administration's rush to war, and to let the inspections work. Time is running out.

With your help, on February 26th, every Senate office will receive a call EVERY MINUTE from a constituent, as they receive a simultaneous crush of faxes and email. In New York and Washington D.C., "antiwar rooms" will highlight the progress of the day for national media. Local media will visit the "antiwar room" online, to monitor this constituent march throughout the day.

We want every Senate office switchboard to be lit up all day with antiwar messages. This will be a powerful reminder of the breadth and depth of opposition to a war in Iraq.

Just go to http://www.moveon.org/winwithoutwar to sign up.

Okay, so Ramos was right on in his reponse to my last blog entry.

A Valley Advocate article from earlier this weekdoes indeed place Andrew Scibelli's name on a shortlist of people who have expressed an interest in running for Mayor.

Could Carvalho's forwarding of this library info have something to do with a possible Scibelli mayoral run?

Maybe yes, but maybe no. Either way though it further cements "what exactly is the nature of these gentlemen's relationship?" as a question that needs answering in my mind.

So, I e-mailed the webmaster of the Springfield Library & Museums Association website the other day and today I recieved a response from SLMA President Joe Carvalho. I had asked a series of tough questions regarding exactly who and what the SLMA was, how and under what statutes they operate, and what their interests are in the library facilities, the land those facilities are built on and the services those facilities provide. Though he didn't answer all my questions he did answer a few directly and a few more indirectly. The message behind his answers seems to forbode bad news for the people of Springfield. He's alleged that the SLMA is essentially a privately run non-profit organization and that it does indeed own many of the Springfield area library facilities. It was only through an agreement made with the city government many years ago that the SLMA began providing library services to the general public. This means that the city of Springfield doesn't really have much in the way of publicly run libraries. Though this doesn't signal doom, nor the end of library services as we know them in the city it does indicate that we as citizens need to put some pressure on the SLMA, but more importantly on our local government to make some hard choices and take some dramatic action to ensure that these essential services are provided to the populace regardless of the actions of the SLMA.

You see, at the end of the day these are public services whose existance should be ensured by our elected officials and not entrusted to what ammounts to a private club who once decided to play nice guy long ago and give the public a break. The local, state and federal money for library facilities and services does not have to go to the SLMA if they are unable to act in a manner that will see that money used in a way that will benefit the populace. Sure, in the past they agreed to act as a surrogate for the city and provide these services in exchange for that money, but if they can't provide the services any more it's time to put that money in the hands of somebody who will. The access to education and enlightnement that public libraries provide is just too important a service to lose.

But umm, the one thing that bothers me about Mr. Carvalho's e-mail is the fact that he cc'd a copy to a couple other people, one of whom happens to be Springfield Technical Community College President Andrew Scibelli. Why? What does STCC or Scibelli have to do with some simple questions regarding library services in the city I live in? What web connects these two organizations and what about my inquiry was so important that it had to be shared between them? Hmmm. Funny things abound in the corridors of power in the city of Springfield I guess. If I find that strange doings are afoot I'll let you know.

Once again we're bringing you those sounds from the underground diaspora as I, The Original M.I.C. and The Empress will be delivering another installment of The Urban Alternative Show to the listening public tonight from 12 midnight to 3 a.m. EST on 90.7 FM WTCC.

Tune in, or listen online via Real Audio and Windows Media.

There will be a citywide meeting regarding the Library closings in Forest Park, Liberty Heights and East Springfield Thursday, February 20th at 4:45 p.m. in the City Council Chamber of the City Hall building in downtown Springfield.

If you're a local head and are outraged over the way the Springfield Libraries & Museums Association is denying fundamental access to learning materials to our city's citizenry then please go and voice your opinion on Thursday.

Two time Scribble Jam champ Mac Lethal e-mailed out a brand new track yesterday with instructions to pass it around. It's a message to George W. Bush regarding his seemingly unstoppable war on Iraq and it's called "Pass The Ammo." The message is definitely on point and the song itself is hot. Click the title or right click and "save as" to check it out in MP3.

The Urban Alternative Show is on, tonight from 12 midnight to 3 a.m. EST on 90.7 FM WTCC! Tune in, or listen on-line via live streaming Real Audio and Windows Media.

Was an 'American Idol' contestant bounced for masturbating on film?

I guess so.

And it's a shame really because she was one of only a handful of this season's potential "idols" who was actually talented. I hope she finds a break through some other means.

Now where can we see these pics again?

'THE SATANIC VERSES'

AUTHOR: Salman Rushdie

PUBLISHER: Viking

Being a child of Hip-Hop, I'm also a child of the 1980's. That's right, I came up during that accursed time of rampant Reaganomics, proliferating crack rocks, the looming specter of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and most pertinent to this book review, the media-bred boogieman of Islamic fundamentalism. If, like me, you were also alive during the latter half of the 80's you should no-doubt remember the media circus surrounding the release of Salman Rushdie's novel 'The Satanic Verses' and the fire-storm it elicited from fundamentalist Muslim clerics the world over, not the least of which being the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini who went so far as to put up a reward for the assassination of the author. If, like me, you were also about 9 or 10 years old at the time you probably never got around to actually reading the book since such sure-to-be boring literary fare and the socio-religious politics of its critics were far less interesting to you than the animated adventures of He-Man and The Transformers.

Well, who would've known we were all going to grow up to be twentysomething Hip-Hop heads infatuated not only with books but with politics and world religions? Surely not I! And surely none of us would've thought—even in our worst nightmares—that the idiot son of the then-vice president would one day perpetrate a bloodless coup in order to install himself as dictator-cum-President of these United States, only to resurrect that same boogieman of Islamic fundamentalism again in the form of one Osama bin Laden! Or would we? Well, regardless of what you, I, or anyone else thought, one fact remains; Salman Rushdie's once-maligned novel is damn good, even if it can have the tendency to be as literarily convoluted as the introduction I've just written for this review.

At the core of 'The Satanic Verses' are the characters Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha; both actors of Indian descent, both named after legendary personages of the Islamic world. Both characters are haunted by demons of the deeply embedded religious and cultural traditions of India, though in quite different ways. Whereas Gibreel embraces, however speciously, the hodgepodge of religions and mythologies present in the subcontinent by becoming a star of Indian "theological" movies, Saladin shuns all things Indian and moves to England, only to be typecast and looked over for work due to his not-so-popular "ethnic" appearance in a lily-white Anglo Saxon society. Despite appearances though, neither of them truly deal with their personal issues relating to their connection—or disconnection as it were—with their native culture and society. It is this which in the end proves disastrous for them in more ways than one, as they are lead down paths of confusion, desire, loneliness, anger and despair into a series of most unlikely circumstances where the primordial powers of good and evil battle for their very minds, bodies and souls.

Moving from incredible sadness to utter hilarity, sublime cultural commentary to asinine pop-culture references, Rushdie takes his characters, and readers, on quite a roller-coaster ride, where the psychological, emotional, spiritual and even supernatural combine in a vast array of pretzel-like twists and turns. Indeed, some readers may be confused by the plot, which is told in a piecemeal fashion with flashbacks, forward leaps and side-tracks aplenty, as well as the storyteller's penchant for heavily stylized dialogue, incorporating big doses of slanguage, purposeful misspellings and other nonsensical gibberish that took some getting used to even for me. With such an unusual story, and method of telling it, the book definitely requires your attention, but you will be rewarded handsomely for it as the tale is quite satisfying in both the style and substance departments.

Though often bizarre, 'The Satanic Verses' works on so many levels and should be enjoyable for anyone willing to take a more magical look at our modern world where ancient cultures and pop-iconography blend and sometimes clash in a truly unique, but completely true-to-life meeting of the sacred and profane.

We all knew Warp Records released some great electronica, but who knew they did political satire too?

Click the link and make sure your speakers are on. Just let the audio play. It's classic I tells ya.

...and asking you to do the same February 15th in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the world.

This is shaping up to be a massive mobilazation against the proposed war with Iraq. For national information visit the United For Peace & Justice website. For info on Western Massachusetts involevement click here.

I'll see what other local info I can dig up on this in the next couple of days.

Man, those Australian chicks sure know how to protest the rigth way.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you ... Patriot Act Pt. 2!

So last night The Empress, The Original M.I.C. and myself went to see Moonraker at The Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton. They were fantastic. Since you probably don't know anything about 'em they blend traditionally electronic styles like drum'n'bass, downtempo and trip-hop with jazz and rock flavored instrumentation, all played by live musicians and topped off with the sexy vocals of Kelli Scarr. The band is incredible and Kelli can not only sing her ass off but is quite the cutie as well. She's a sweetie too as I learned when I chatted with her for a minute after the show.

The band is currently touring around the country with a whole gaggle of shows coming up here in the Northeast and even some out west. They have dates coming up in New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts this month with more to follow. Visit the band site and check for upcoming shows in your area, then when they come to town buy tickets for you and your friends. Yes, the band is that good. I want to hear that they played to packed houses from here on out. While you're at their show make sure you cop their debut album 'Nada Brahma,' their new live album or their self titled EP. Buy copies for your friends too.

US poster companies, in an apparent move to boost their cache with anti-smoking groups, have decided to airbrush a cigarette out of Beatle Paul McCartney's hand on posters bearing the image of The Beatles 'Abbey Road' album cover despite the fact that they didn't ask Apple Records or Paul McCartney for permission and don't actually own the rights to the image themselves.

What's next, not allowing pictures of Bob Marley lifting a spliff?

Speaking of Robert Nesta Marley, yesterday was the reggae legend's birthday. In honor why don't you go put on a copy of 'Soul Revolution' and lively up yourself?

So it looks like our old friend North Korea has learned well from the Bush administration and is plotting to pre-emptively blow our imperialist asses off the face of the earth before we have a chance to do the same to Iraq.

I mean look, we have weapons of mass destruction, ties to terrorists & other undesirables and a history of invading and or generally fucking around with the business of other sovereign nations. We might as well declare oursevles to be part of the "axis of evil" and get it all over with. I'm suprised we haven't blown ourselves up on general principal yet.

In other Asian news, the Japanese have learned how to make themselves invisible. Well, not so much invisible, but they're pretty close. Check the link for a pic.

I have learned three things from the incessant media coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia "disaster."

1. Anyone who is blown up automatically becomes a hero for some reason.

2.There is a place in Texas called "Mack-a-docious."

3. The guy who headed up the Challenger investigation for the White House during the 80's was named Bohn. Thus it was a "bone-headed White House Investigation."

Thank you, you've been a wonderful audience, good night!

...but things have finally gotten so out of hand that '1984' author George Orwell is addressing modern Americans from beyond the grave!

The Original M.I.C. has been coming through with the fresh linkage. Want evidence? Peep this late entry to my in-box...



Her name is Via Paxton people. And yes, that booty and those titties are heavenly. She's a "plus sized" model from the midwest and thanks to our man M.I.C. and his web-surfing accumen you can now find out more about, and see more of, this luscious creature by following this link to Lardbiscuit.com, the finest purveyor of tig ol' bitties I've seen in a while.