Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for February, 2009

 

We are so excited to announce that PLAYING FOR

CHANGE is going on Tour!!! 

 

If you live in the U.S. cities of AustinLos Angeles,

San Francisco, Seattle, or New York then we are

coming to you NEXT MONTH!!!

 

Joining us for the first ever ‘Playing For Change:

Songs Around the World Tour‘ are some of your

favorite musicians; Grandpa Elliott, Clarence Bekker,

Tula, , Louis Mhlanga, Mohammed Alidu,

Reggie McBride, Peter Bunetta, and Mermans

Kenkosenki and Jason Tamba of Afro Fiesta!

 

If you don’t live in one of these cities- but know

someone who does- please forward this info on to

them.  

 

We hope to see you at one of our shows! 

 

One Love,

 Mark and Whitney

 

 

 Playing For Change:  Songs Around the World Tour

 

All of our Shows, except for the Austin SXSW Concerts, have tickets available NOW!!  See below schedule for ticket details!

General Admission - $20.00 
Around The World Experience -  $100.00 (one ticket to the show, aftershow meet and greet, receive an autographed poster signed by the whole band)


Here’s Our Lineup!!: 

 

Austin:  SXSW (festival badges only)
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Momo’s
618 W. 6th St.
Austin, TX  78701
 
Friday, March 20, 2009
Opal Divine’s Freehouse
700 W. 6th St.
Austin, TX  78701 
 
Los Angeles:  Monday, March 23, 2009
The Knitting Factory
7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA.  90028
323-463-0204

www.knittingfactory.com
Concert starts @ 9PM
Doors open @ 8PM

 Tickets: http://store.playingforchange.com/
 
San Francisco:  Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Slim’s
333 11th St.
San Francisco, CA.  94103
415-255-0333

www.slims-sf.com
Concert starts @ 9PM
Doors open @ 7PM
Tickets:
 http://store.playingforchange.com/

 
Seattle:  Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Showbox at the Market
1426 1st Ave
Seattle, WA.  98101

www.showboxonline.com
Concert starts @ 9PM
Doors open @ 7PM

Tickets: http://store.playingforchange.com/

 
New York City:  Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Highline Ballroom
431 W. 16th St.
New York, New York  10011
212-414-5994

www.highlineballroom.com
Concert starts @ 9PM
Doors open @ 7PM

Tickets: http://www.highlineballroom.com/bio.php?id=887

 

Read Full Post »

brandon_royMeet Brandon Roy, hands-down my favorite NBA player. Since the Seattle Sonics skipped town for Oklahoma City, I haven’t paid much attention to the NBA.  However, when the Portland Trailblazers are on television, I’ll watch Roy do his magic.  

For me, Roy’s style of “calm” bball is exciting.  Always under control, he still finds lanes to drive and high-percentage shots.  He gained my loyalty and respect while he was playing for the Huskies. And he’s impressed me with his character since joining the NBA.

Today, I read Steve Kelley’s (Seattle Times) column “Brandon Roy is just What Portland Needed”. Following the piece was a very interesting comment by a former UW student.  I’ve included below because everyone should know what kind of person Brandon Roy is:

I went to UW when Brandon was there. I remember a particular episode (during my senior year) in the Husky Union Building (HUB) when I was looking for a place to sit an eat. As an older student (early-30′s), I usually ate alone or tried to sit with other older students, where I thought I would fit in better. 

Brandon and the athletes had a section they liked to sit in, with all of the other athletes, the girls that flock to them ,and other people who just like to be around the popular students. 

On this day, the lunchroom was especially full. I was near his section scanning for a place to sit, when this super tall guy walks over to me, introduces himself to me (as if he really needed to do that) and offers me a seat at his table. While I sat there, he told me he recognized me from around campus and that I looked “smart”. 

He basically interviewed ME, and he was ginuinely interested. I watched him do this over and over with other people that day, constantly extending himself to them. I quickly felt like I was 20 years old again because he made me comfortable. I was sitting there with Brandon and his friends and teammates (and some amazingly beautiful girls), laughing, and telling stories about classes and professors. 

That’s guy has that “IT” factor. People love him…he’s Barack Obama without the law degree. I predict big things for B-Roy on the court, and a Magic Johnson like retirement and post-NBA career. 

Brandon’s a true “star” and a gentleman who deserves to be successful. I just want to meet his parents and tell them “Thank you for raising such a fine young man.”

-blackprince206 (Snohomish, WA)

Read Full Post »

Meet Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco in 1873 to Chinese immigrant parents.  After a visit to China in 1895, he sailed back to San Francisco only to be detained by Collector of Customs on the grounds that the Chinese Exclusion Act forbid entry for Chinese immigrants.  Ark insisted he was an American citizen by virtue of  his birth in America.  The California government argued that he wasn’t because he was born from two Chinese immigrants and therefore was a subject of the emperor of China.

Some have asserted that this was the first time that the legal term “Yellow” came up to distinguish “White rights” from those of people from Chinese descent.  In the general media of the time, however, the term, “Yellow Peril”, had already been commonly used to inflame the general public’s paraonia about Chinese laborers taking over jobs at lower pay.

The Chinese Consulate in San Francisco along with some Chinese business groups filed a writ habeas corpus on Ark’s behalf in federal court and gained his release.  The government appealed to the US Supreme Court and the case hinged on the first clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which states “… all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”  In a 6-2 decision, the court ruled that a child born of two Chinese Nationals legally present on American soil was an American citizen and thus entitled to all the rights and privileges.

The case allowed three of his four sons to be recognized as US citizens as well and were allowed to come to America.  The fourth, the eldest, was denied on US officials claim that there were discrepancies in the testimony of his hearing, and insignificant proof that he was actually Ark’s son.  

Wong Kim Ark’s case has been since referred to in various immigration cases.  Even today, this landmark case causes debate within the context of the modern immigration debate.  

I learned about this case at the Korean American Bar Association (KABA) dinner in Seattle, where the organization gave away scholarships to deserving Korean-American law students.  The growth of the Asian American attorney community ensures better representation across the American courts.  Hopefully, we will take our growing representation to ensure the same opportunity for new immigrants regardless of race.

To me, Wong Kim Ark is an American hero, and an important piece of the history that has shaped today’s America.  And all of us Asian-Americans cannot forget his story.

Read Full Post »

Meet Seth Godin,  one of my favorite marketing authors and bloggers.  In a recent blog post, Seth explained the difference between process and content.  He challenged people to know what they are good at realtive to process skills and content knowledge when looking for a new gig.

He explained that your process skills (emotional intelligence skills you have about managing projects, visualizing success, persuading other people of your point of view, dealing with multiple priorities, etc.) is much more valuable than your content knowledge ( Domain knowledge.  People you know or skills you’ve developed. Playing the piano or writing copy about furniture sales. A rolodex of movers in a given industry, or your ability to compute stress ratios in your head).

Seth said one of the reasons that super-talented people become entrepreneurs is that they can put their process expertise to work in a world that often undervalues it.  He makes a compelling argument.  A good read.

Here’s a link to his post.

Read Full Post »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 39 other followers