New posts up in the Otherbox

Recent tumblings available for your anti-cog pleasure
at the Candy Anomaly Otherbox satellite for Purple Mag <3

ConsciousInk: Jake Ekiss, Joe Quesada, and Ben Passmore

Enjoy the good word on a few underrepresented Modern Mythic gem-extenders, courtesy of Ghettomanga and Kaos Blac (click the images to visit).





Jake Ekiss of Spacegun studios speaks with
Ghettomanga's Samax Amen about his new
black Sci-fi series Solomon Azua.





Joe Quesada's all-hispanic team of superheroes,
The Santerians, can be found in a new museum exhibit.








Kaos Blac takes a moment to kick it
with artist Ben Passmore about his
politically themed transmissions.

Day of Blogging for Justice: Ban Taser Torture

(See Updates below)

Over 50 taser murders have been documented this year. 21 of them were African-American men (despite being only 6% of the population, as Villager points out). Some may not see the power that a blog entry, or even a number of blog entries dedicated to raising awareness on behalf of public safety, may have in the end, but many of us know we would not enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted today had belief in change not been championed by those who came before us. Even something as informal as a blog can turn the light on where it's needed most; the collective mind. With enough voices blogging, vlogging and the like, word can spread, and in that sharing, the needed momentum can spark.

What is it that causes an officer who has taken an oath to uphold the law, to murder an innocent in cold blood? Is it the mismanagement of frustration that ends in anger-displacement? Is it the result of a long standing psychological issue such an officer has battled in secret, or most unacceptably, well in the awareness of their superiors?
Most importantly, how can we as citizens continue to allow psychologically unstable public servants to walk our streets wielding deadly weapons for use, in what seems to be many cases, in satiating a plainly-visible desire for power (possibly based in their own experiences as victims that were never properly healed within themselves)?

Can we afford the luxury of apathy, when we direly need to rise in a flood of voices demanding exact controls against this kind of injustice?
Can we really pretend away the terrorism taking place on our own streets within our own legal system, or will we perservere in demanding and successfully seeing the discontinuance of the use of tasers: lethal torture devices that have been used on pregnant women, elderly women, hearing impaired individuals, and individuals with epilepsy-wearing-their-medical-bracelets to name only a few very real horrific cases?

Sooner or later we have to face the facts regarding the abuses of our basic rights at the hands of those we're supposed to be able to trust, and in facing this fact we have to act to ensure they do not continue.

Please join the growing amount of voices calling for Congressional hearings on Taser Abuse.


Update:

From the Comments (share your thoughts. We don't have to agree. Dialogue is progress).

Gunfighter said...

Last I heard, we make up approx. 13percent of the population... that changes the demographics a bit.

Truthfully, I have to object to your use of the term "Murder" to describe the unbintended deaths that sometimes happen when someone is TASED.

Last I heard, we make up approx. 13percent of the population... that changes the demographics a bit.

Truthfully, I have to object to your use of the term "Murder" to describe the unbintended deaths that sometimes happen when someone is TASED.

December 13, 2009 5:48 AM

PurpleZoe said...

Peace Gunfighter

I respect your right to object, brother. Freespeech is one of the most beautiful birthrights we have when it's not suppressed. I've personally witnessed power abuses by renegade officers however (one of them directed at a hispanic child under ten--- the officer tried to intimidate me when I spoke up against it).
I'm not being colorful with my writing when I say it's murder. In some (few) cases it may be an accident. I don't discount that it's not an easy job to protect and serve (with frustrations I can't even fathom), but the use of 'Force Continuum' is a regulation that hasn't been followed, on too many occasions.
I mean come on. Tasing elderly women, pregnant women, disabled men that obviously serve no threat? Cuff 'em and take them in. Why tase them? Why murder them? These are all true stories that I won't ignore or file under 'oops', except when there is indisputable proof an accident or tool malfunction has taken place.

Tasers need to be banned period and murder charges need to be filed when renegade officers abuse citizens they've been put in place to serve. Do all officers behave that way? Of course not. But let's not protect the ones that do. That's what I'm saying.
Let's not protect power-abusers that murder innocents and say oops.
Eventually we'll get to a place of true justice, but only when there's no special treatment for people placed in 'higher positions' when it comes to punishment, in my humble opinion.

Shine on and thx again for stopping through
-PZ

Audiovisual Splendor- Souls of Mischief, Shafiq Husayn, The Outabodies, Res

Enjoy a few especially shiny meta gems extended for your audiovisual pleasure.




Souls of Mishief- Proper AIM







Shafiq Husayn feat. Fatima- Lil Girl






Outabodies- Orbital EP




Download



Res- Black girls Rock EP

"This is seriously the indie-artist anthem. I feel this track to the heart, 'specially with the frustration of the constant cog-stravaganza the machine stays cranking out. Tii'ed of it.
We need more artists like Res, Brig Feltus, Tamar Kali... the list goes on and on. Plenty of choices available to the thinking public <3>



Download

Mos & Kweli- 'History' Live Performance (frm the game-changing album #TheEcstatic)

<3

Know Thyself Video game- Become Heru 'Life is about choices'

Incredibly fly. Props all day.
Looking for purchase info. Will update <3

Update:
Available on mediabreeze.com



Deep thanks to Sir Edward Uzzle for the intel.

Am I Not Human: Conflict Minerals

While some of us are aware of Western culture's hand in stripping the Congo's coltan for use in our wireless devices, a large host of others have no clue that the majority of resources Western culture depends upon have been stolen, and/or barely paid any of their worth as they're taken from the dark continent. So it lights my heart to see the mainstream attention 60 minutes is giving the issue of conflict minerals this Sunday.
The more we become aware of how we come by our luxuries, the sooner we can take action to ensure their is no theft and horror attached to them at the root of acquisition, moving forward. While many are celebrating a holiday that was founded on the genocide of Indigenous Americans (in our home, as a matter of conscience, we had to flip it, make it vegan, and global-culture celebrating for a week rather than focus on the designated day or it's rituals), the majority of the world is paying in blood for yet more frivolity by the privileged few who even in uncomfortable financial times are truly more privileged than imagined.

Be thankful for the information age, and the lightning fast speed of the truth. It will set us all free, eventually.

View the bill seeking to improve transparency and reduce the trade of conflict minerals H.R.4128

Click to read the information page Enough project has put together.


On behalf of our human siblings in the Congo who have been robbed, made to engage in life-threatening labor, and suffer Western-culture orchestrated internal-war horrors I ask:

URB ALT Jimi Hendrix tribute feat Muthawit and Leila Adu 11/27

Click the image for details.

Props to BoldasLove for the intel.


Related Intel:
Review of Leila Adu's 'Dark Joan' (Frizz Records)
New Massive Attack drops in February

Audiovisual Splendor- Dave I.D, FlyGypsy, N.A.S.A, KRS & Buckshot

Dave I.D- I like the sound of
them without me






Props to Sir Blac for the intel.


Flygypsy- You






N.A.S.A.- Spacious Thoughts
feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith







KRS & Buckshot- Survival Skills





Honorable Mention:

Ski Taxi video snippet (couldn't find a
non-vimeo version. Vimeo embeds don't \
display correctly in the UU browser)

Wyclef Jean- Born a Shotta


Danny! update:

Clueless fans leaked the album...

More Copper Angels/Afrikan Steampunk to come in Purple Mag issues

Click to enlarge the Issue 8 Bonus page (appears in the Magcloud version-forthcoming).

Download Issue 8 gratis or purchase print for the Copper Angels Flash Novelette 'The Creaking Hand'.

note:
There are some quality issues with the print version of issue 8 (we chose too small an issue size and later learned we could have chosen the regular size. I know... So long of a wait, and now this? Our print karma has been quite the bummer. Digital's been easeful to deliver because we don't have to depend on anyone else. Takes time to find the right fit, I guess.
It will take some time and cash to repair (there's a re-listing fee with one of the printers we're using), but the Magcloud issue forthcoming should be in better shape (this should truly be available by 12/1). Check the purplemag.com page for links around that time).

Rob Shaw's 'The Machine'

.

Props to Paperforest for the intel.


Check the video concept clip Sir
Shaw is working on for a Roots video.

Blacksheep returns with ' From the Pool of Black Genius'

Native Tongues veteran, Dres of Blacksheep has graciously announced the release of 'From The Pool Of Black Genius'.
Realizing the pain a wait for the Spring 2010 release will cause, he's decided to grace us with a 5 song EP titled 'The Pool of Black Genius; The Prelude', set to drop on December 1.

Still golden-era caliber, Dres shares '"I once heard a poet say that 'hip hop backward is 'pih poh (people)'- the way I see it, many artists are a lot more hip-hop than they ever realized. I would dare to say that any artist over time, regardless of genre, that makes music for the 'pih poh'... is hip-hop."
He adds, ' "'Black Pool' doesn’t refer to black people. It refers to the color black's unique ability to absorb light. This deep, vast pool of soul, of artistic insight; although it's not always understood, the light it reflects back to the 'pih-poh' is necessary."

Word.

No news yet ,on whether or not Mr. Lawnge lends his magik to this effort. Either way, it's good to have Dres stepping to the front line again. The force has been weak without him.

Enjoy the new album teaser vid:





Visit them on digital terra
Here

Props to Michelle for the intel.


Related Intel:

<3 Georgia