We Are Kenny Lazo (1983-2008)

Kenny was brutally murdered by five racist Suffolk County cops nearly two years ago. Tomorrow, Kenny's family and supporters will be demanding justice outside the 3rd precinct where he was killed. The following is a post by the mother of his son, Jennifer Gonzalez:

Murdered BY FIVE 3rd PRECINCT OFFICERS!

Please help us Fight for Justice and Put an End to Police Brutality!
1650 5th Ave, Bay Shore ( Long Island )
Wednesday, December 30th, 6-7:30pm.

The Murder of Kenny Lazo: Details of the Case

Kenny Lazo, 1983-2008, beaten to death while in police custody

On the night of April 12, 2008 Kenny Lazo fell victim to a ruthless and malicious crime. Kenny’s life was taken by those who are sworn to protect and serve: the Suffolk County 3rd Precinct Police Dept.
Kenny Lazo was pulled over by 3rd precinct officers, John Newton, James Scimone, William Judge, Christopher Talt and Joseph Link. Police have failed to explain why Kenny was pulled over.
While the cops claim that Kenny tried to elbow one of the cops and, more unbelievably, that he tried to get a gun, what we know for sure is that Kenny was handcuffed, forced down on the ground, beaten and choked with flashlights. He suffered from blunt impact to the head, face, torso, arms, with multiple abrasions, contusions and lacerations of the face and scalp. He went into cardiac arrest. He was then brought to the 3rd precinct with NO medical attention.
As Kenny was taking his last breath lying on the precinct floor, an eyewitness heard the officers involved in beating him joking and proudly demonstrating in the front lobby how they did it. An hour after being brought to the 3rd precinct, police decided to finally call for an EMT. Emergency assistance found Kenny lying DEAD on the floor wearing nothing but his underwear.
The Suffolk County coroner ruled Kenny’s death as a HOMICIDE as a result of his injuries at the hands of our own police department.
Kenny was a loving father to his beautiful son, a good son to his parents, a loving and supporting partner to his girlfriend, a hard and committed worker and a solid contributor to our community.
Though the FIVE OFFICERS were left off the hook, our fight for justice will not stop. We must come together as a community and put an end to this criminal behavior by the Suffolk police.
In the name of justice and what is right, we must unite as a community and demand that the DA take this case seriously and that charges be brought against the five police officers. Police brutality hurts all of us! You never know if you or your family member could be next!

Protest at the 3rd Precinct! Demand the D.A. charge the killer cops with murder!

Links: http://www.mylitv.com/view_video.php?viewkey=34362ac261db280128c2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIuQgemjWk0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAtFdjTdbdk

Tomorrow Marks the 1st Year Anniversary of the Gaza Massacre

A boy and his father gather with others at a Brooklyn for Peace Vigil for the Gaza Massacre last January.

Passionate activists gather in Times Square last year right after the Gaza Massacre.

A young boy delivers his conscious message at a NYC protest for Gaza last year.

Organizers hand out leaflets to raise awareness of what is happening in Gaza.

When you're Palestinian, this is a way of life. Brotherhood has a whole different meaning.

Palestinian Activist friends Mahmoud Mishal and Moayad Toom show solidarity at a Gaza protest last year in NYC.

Activist youths show their signs of solidarity, love, and resistance to occupation.

Tomorrow marks the 1st year Anniversary of the 22-day bombardment on Gaza by Israel that resulted in nearly 1500 Palestinian deaths, 60% of which were women and children. I was in Ottawa visiting my Godfather wishing so much to be standing by my Palestinian friends who have grown up watching their parents mourn in front of the television over the continuous seige of their homeland.

As I write, "over 500 people from 20 countries, in 250 vehicles loaded with Humanitarian Aid, are left stranded in Aqaba, Jordan, having been refused permission to enter Egypt," reports John Hurson, an Irish Activist on the Viva Palestina Tour led by British MP George Galloway.

As international sources such as BBC, AlJazeera, and World Bulletin all report the convoy's latest status, national media outlets like Fox News and CNN steer clear of such mentions and focus on the latest Hollywood gossip and the daily witch hunt for domestic terrorists.

The following is a note from John Hurson, speaking on the convoy's current situation in Jordan, and what steps you can take to help out. Thank you to Barbara Columbus and Maryam Zohny for their additional contacts:

Well folks, as you awake today from your Christmas hangover, over 500 people from 20 countries, in 250 vehicles loaded with Humanitarian Aid, are left stranded in Aqaba, Jordan, having been refused permission to enter Egypt.

The Egyptians have placed 3 conditions on the convoy if it wants to enter Egypt.

1. We hand all our vehicles and aid over to UNRA.

2. We drive 500 miles abck to Syria, and take a 24 hour ferry through the Suez Canal.

3. We have to ask Israel for permission to cross from Egypt to Gaza.

All 3 conditions have been flatly rejected by everyone on the convoy, as we want to cross into Gaza and hand our aid over to the Palestinians ourselves.

Would you phone Canada to ask permission to enter the US? Would you ask France for permission to go to Germany? For the 1st time, Egypt have now openly admitted that they are under control of Israel/US.

This has been the lead story on Al Jazeera for the past 24 hours, and there are media teams from all over the Arab world here in Aqaba following this story. Needless to say, everyone watching is totally outraged by Egypt's complicity with Israel/US in denying this convoy of aid to reach Gaza.

Yesterday, Christmas Day, I dressed up as Santa to lighten the mood, and everyones sprirts lifted.
Al Jazeera interviewed Santa, who explained that the children in Gaza were the only ones in the whole world who didn't recieve any presents. Santa explained that while flying through the air on his sleigh with the reindeers, he was stopped and refused entry. Santa was upset as this was the only place in the world he could not visit. I will post the clip whenever I get it from Al Jazeera.

Tomorrow marks the 1 anniversary of the start of the 22 day massacre of over 1,400 people. In solidarity, we are all going to embark on a fast. We will all fast for as long as it takes for us to get into Gaza with our aid.
We are calling on people all over the world to fast with us, and with the Palestinians, who fast every day due to the illegal siege imposed upon them by Israel/US/Egypt.

It's time to take a stand and say "Enough Is Enough". This siege has got to stop, for the sake of humanity.

I am calling on ALL the members of the "Ireland To Gaza" Group to call the Egyptian Embassy and demand that we be allowed to enter Gaza, and deliver our aid.

The contact details for the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin are: +353-1-6606718 / +353-1-6606566 / consular@embegyptireland.ie

The contact details for the Egyptian Embassy in London are: 0044-20-7499-3304 / eg.emb_london@mfa.gov.eg”

Please contact them, and express your outrage at their refusal to allow Humanitarian Aid into Gaza, and to let them know that you will never travel to Egypt again, as long as they are the lap dogs for Israel/US.

Please forward this message on to everyone you know, and invite them to join this group. Plus, please leave a message of support for everyone who is stranded here in Aqaba, and for the Palestinians who need our support now, more than ever.

John Hurson

Stranded in Aqaba, Jordan

Here's a list of other Egyptian Embassies contact information around the world, please email or phone them:1. Egyptian Embassy in Athens, Greece
Phone: 210 36 18 612  13
Fax: 210 36 03 538... See More
Email: emb.egypt@yahoo.gr, eg.emb_athens@mfa.gov.eg

2. Egyptian Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0) 70-354 20 00, +31 (0) 70-354 45 35
Fax: +31 (0) 70-354 33 04

3. Egyptian Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: (46 8) 662 9687 or 662 9603 or 660 3145
Fax: (46 8) 661 2664

4. Egyptian Embassy in Bern, Switzerland
Phone: 031 352 80 12 / 13
Fax: 031 352 06 25

5. Egyptian Embassy in London, United Kingdom
Phone: 020 7499 3304
Fax: 020 7491 1542
Email: eg.emb_london@mfa.gov.eg

6. Egyptian Embassy in Washington D.C., United States
Phone: (+1) (202) 8955400
Fax: (+1) (202) 2444319
Email: embassy@egyptembdc.org

7. Egyptian Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela
Phone: 0058212  9926259
Fax: 0058212  9931555
Email: egyptianembassy@cantv.com.ve

8. Egyptian Embassy in Berlin, Germany
Phone: 030 477 54 70
Fax: 030 477 10 49
Web Site: http://www.egyptian-embassy.de/
Email: Embassy@egyptian-embassy.de

9. Egyptian Embassy in Paris, France
Phone: (+33) 1 53678830-32
Fax: (+33) 1 47230643
Email: Paris_Con@mfa.gov.eg

10. Egyptian Embassy in Beijing, China
Phone: (8610) 6532 1825
Fax: (8610) 6532 5365
Email: eg_emb_bj@yahoo.com

11. Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa, Canada
Phone: (613)234-4931, (613)234-4935
Fax: (613)234-4398
Email: egyptemb@sympatico.ca

12. Egyptian Embassy in Canberra, Australia
Phone: (00612) 6273 4437 - 6273 4438
Fax: (00612) 6273 4279
Email: egyembassy@bigpond.com

13. Egyptian Embassy in Amman, Jordan
Phone: 5605175 / 5605176 / 5605202 /5605203
Fax: 5604082
Email: egypt@tedata.net.jo, embegypt@tedata.net.jo

In the U.S., contact the Egyptian Embassy, 202-895-5400 and ask for Omar Youssef or email omaryoussef@hotmail.com

Also contact Ahmed Azzam at the Palestine Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo, tel +202-25749682 Email: ahmed.azzam@mfa.gov.eg

____________________________________

This just in from NYC Activist Delayne DeMorgandie who is a part of the Gaza Freedom March currently stranded in Egypt:

As we are poised to commemorate the December 27 invasion of Gaza, our delegates from around the world are gathering in Cairo. As you can imagine, the situation is changing moment by moment and there are lots of rumors. Tonight, the Ma’am News Agency put out a release saying, “Despite earlier announcements that the crossing would be closed until January, Egyptian officials will open the Rafah crossing for four days next week, three for general traffic and a fourth for Egyptian citizens. Head of the Administration of crossings in the de facto government Ghazi Hamad announced Saturday that the crossings would be open starting Tuesday 29 December. On Friday Egyptian nationals only will be permitted to cross. Each day 10-12 buses loaded with 60-70 passengers each will leave Gaza.”

The Foreign Ministry, however, has told us they knew nothing about this and that our situation, i.e. being denied entry, had not changed. For us, however, this represents a major change because it means there might be an opening since the government can no longer say that the border is too unsafe.... See More

We're trying tomorrow anyway to get to Al-Arish and then hopefully Gaza.
_________________________________
For those of you in major cities, please try to partake in a Gaza demonstration to commemorate the anniversary of the massacre tomorrow. In NYC, protesters will be meeting at 1:00PM on 42nd Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square.

My Pictoral Goodbye.

Roses on his coffin.

A page in our scrapbook where we glued pictures of him and ourselves, wrote our last words to him, and buried with him.

My cousins and I working on our speeches and scrapbook for the funeral. I did not take this picture (I'm in it :) ).

One thing our Grandfather taught us was to always eat together as a family.

So my grandfather passed at the end of last month. I took maybe 600 photos during my weeklong stay in Toronto - what I refer to as a weeklong funeral. Honestly they've been too painful to look at, and I ended up shooting almost everyday this month, probably just to bury the memory of the melancholic event.

Tonight I got to take a closer look to see what kind of photos I took, and I was overwhelmed with the messages of love and continuity that people so subconsciously desire in their intimate relationships, whether within families or friendships. There were many images of my family gathering, breaking bread together, sharing relics that remind them of my grandfather and his lessons of love and family, supporting each other in the darkest of times, and even making light of heavy moments with a silly joke or warm gesture.

I had scruples over documenting the funeral, but was also faced with the desire to be responsible and be the eye for those who couldn't be present (my sister for example, who could not come because she was 9 months pregnant). As a photographer, often times I feel my way of avoiding reality is by turning difficult events into artistic ventures. I'm not not taking things seriously; moreso, I'm avoiding my own pain by putting my emotions aside and focusing on what is happening outside of me. It is this switch that I make that allows me to transition from a feeling person to a fly on the wall and simply be an eye for the absent.

There were times throughout the funeral that I would feel guilt for attempting to get that perfect shot, seemingly ignoring the fact that it was indeed a funeral, and in fact, my beloved grandfather's funeral, with my family members' pained faces and weakened postures. I would have to remind myself of those who could not be there but so wished to be with us during such an epochal time in our family's history, and that would keep my mind on the original task. In a sense, I was also absent myself, like them, behind a camera, not truly being engulfed 100% by what was happening - perhaps this was my way of avoiding my own feelings, the most common behavior of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Nonetheless, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make in order to present to the absent what was occurring those very important moments.

As I sift through the photos now, seeing the crying faces of my family members, I am brought to tears, reminded of their pain, and what the loss of my grandfather means to me. On the contrary, within the same set, I am uplifted from seeing the resilience that so easily shines in my family, a legacy that George Yun Kee Koo left behind. The day he was buried was so bright and beautiful, it was almost surreal, considering the weather forecasts leading up to that day had warned of heavy clouds and continuous rain.

Since the funeral, I've been sharing Grandfather's stories with my students, and they've since built a connection with him, considering him a hero and a role model. For a man who raised 18 children, 11 not his own, while he was alive, and to still continue teaching the youth now that he is gone.....What greater legacy is there? Because of this I have decided to share this post, and to share a few of the photos with you.

See the rest of the set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157623047031402/

Lyrical Revolt XIII

Lady Che on the mic.

Eddie of ANSWER telling us about the Liberation Newspaper.

Hasan Salaam & Rugged N Raw.

Hipnotic and Anthony Polanco on stage at ANSWER's 13th Lyrical Revolt, November 14th, 2009.

I've been bogged down with....everything, and have been a bit behind my editing schedule. With that said, here is complete set of Lyrical Revolt 13 photos posted on my FlickR account. Enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157623009683370/

Just Another School Closing: RIP William H. Maxwell

"Will you close our school too? Where will we go?"





This note was posted by GEM (Grassroots Education Movement)'s Seung Ok whose group raises awareness of the damage Mayoral Control has over the NYDOE. Public schools can be shut down for a many number of reasons (up to 200 reasons), and the school report card/progress report is often what determines the closings. What is the determining factor on a school progress report? Student test scores. What is the deal with these test scores? They test special needs children (beginnning at the 3rd grade) and also English Language Learners (aka people of COLOR), who both obviously cannot perform well on the tests (majority of both students cannot read the exam - how are you going to score well on an exam you cannot read?). The schools that end up being shut down are schools that have the highest percentages of ELLs and Special Needs students. The system sets these children up for failure, and these schools for failure. This is the institutionalized racism and discrimination that I try to raise awareness about.

William H. Maxwell is now just another statistic, added onto the list of school closings. Read the rest of this note to investigate further:

A school that has served countless students since 1951 is on the chopping block, as the mayor’s newest round of school closures descends upon New York City. William H. Maxwell V.H.S. – a career and technical school - that houses majors in medical careers, cosmetology, fashion, and graphic design is the latest casualty. It is a school that requires more credits from its students than the average city high school, due to the additional credit hours involved in the majors.



Although successfully overcoming the state’s SURR list status in the past – almost immediately – it was filled beyond capacity, to 2000 students – in a building that was listed to serve 900. The influx of students came from other closed schools, such as Jefferson High School, in the first round of closures that the mayor instituted. It is in this context that the school received an F rating by the mayor’s progress report in 2006. The percentage of special-ed students is currently double that of other high schools at 22%. The school also services ELL students, which comprise 5% of the enrollment.



In the following year, the staff and newly appointed principal managed to obtain a D with a rating just shy of 31 (the cutoff score to obtain a C). Small learning communities were instituted, teachers voted for advisory classes, instituted retesting, and increased tutoring hours. This year, a double digit gain was seen as the school amassed a rating of 43.2. However, the DOE increased the cut off score to 44. Therefore, it was categorized as a D school for the second year in a row. If the scale had not been abruptly changed, the school would have been just shy of getting a B on last year’s scale.



The school had been in the headlines as recently as this summer. In an article about credit recovery in the NY times, teachers in Maxwell exposed the pressure by the mayor’s DOE to offer kids dozens of credits – seemingly for doing holiday packets of worksheets – with no certified teacher in that field present. Although recovery credits are legal according to Bloomberg’s DOE with hardly any guidelines or restrictions, teachers took exception, and many refused to go along in signing off on these packets – contending that it was the mayor’s version of social promotion and a watering down of education for political gains. In addition, many of the hard working students who attended daily, vocalized the unfairness of these credit “give-aways” to those who had not made the same effort.



The recent announcement of proposed closure by Superintendent Cumberbatch to the staff left many sitting in the auditorium confused and angry. Adding to the confusion was the fact that the DOE awarded performance bonuses to the staff for recent academic gains (* see charts below). Questions were asked about the seeming randomness of the increased cut off point. Teachers angrily pointed out that the school had recent graduates enrolled in Cornell, NYU, SUNY colleges such as Binghamton and Stony Brook, and a multitude of CUNY colleges. In addition, numerous students currently work in the very fields they majored in while attending Maxwell.



Many of the teachers voiced a feeling of betrayal, after years of instituting every suggested change and initiative brought down by DOE representatives - portfolios, individual goals, diagnostic testing, differentiated learning, and a weekly array of meetings to conference on struggling students – often times ignoring the union guidelines of working through lunch periods and after school hours. This hard work produced a Proficient rating from the New York State Education Department’s quality review.



This anger has transformed into determination, as the staff, students, parents, and past graduates now mobilize to demand that the mayor lay his hands off this proud school. It’s evident that the mayor does not want this round of closures to stir up a backlash of community uproar. Several times during the announcement, the superintendent kept reminding the staff that the open forums were merely a formality that existed because of the new governance laws – that the decision is a foregone conclusion. These warnings, however, seemed to have failed to pacify the school community. As one teacher noted, maybe it’s a relief to finally know where we stand and know who we are fighting. And even after years of stress, being on the brink of closure, the staff feels reaffirmed that the school and its successes are worth this struggle. At the public forum on Tuesday, Jan. 12th,at 6pm in Maxwell’s auditorium, the school promises to show the mayor what happens when the talents of many voices come together – to contrast the decisions of just one single man.



- The Community of W.H. Maxwell Vocational HS.



* Maxwell’s statistics: (shows improvement in nearly every category)
(see photos)

Two Protesters in Times Square, Arrested for Simple Protest

Protesters from various groups (some directly off the streets) gathered in Union Square and march to Times Square yesterday at 6PM. When they reached Times Square, two protesters were arrested for simply protesting the escalating war in Afghanistan. Neither of the two attempted to provoke police officers or were doing anything illegal. They were literally grabbed off the street by NYPD and arrested. There are reports of NYPD mishandling them (nothing new), but I want to get the official word before I put that out.

Although not very sizable, the protesters were passionate about protesting the occupation of Afghanistan, making sure bystanders heard their words, "While you're shopping, bombs are dropping!," "1, 2, 3, 4, We don't your fxxkin' war. 5, 6, 7, 8, Turn the war against the state!" "Resistance is Justified, Afghanistan is Occupied!" were a few of the chants shouted. Protesters included World Can't Wait's Debra Sweet and Elaine Brower, Elaine who was a part of a sit-in at West Point two days ago where Obama announced sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. I was happy and proud to stand and chant beside them.

More to come from this set, stay tuned.

Rejuvenated.

I'm back in the city after a week long in Toronto with my family, and although I'm sleep-deprived and everything is seemingly out of order in my personal and work life, I feel rejuvenated and am enthused about being in NYC for the month of December before the holidays come around.

The week in Toronto was like a week-long funeral/family reunion, and despite the awful circumstances of losing my beloved grandfather, spending quality family time with my relatives from all over the place and my parents was much much needed, and I have only strong messages of love, family, community, and respect to carry with me.

I took these photos the day I found out my grandfather was on his deathbed. Nice images of people of color that I'm adding to my NYC transit set:

"I'm an immigrant to Heaven." - George Koo.

A little video I made on Animoto featuring this boy's dance that I photographed minutes after learning that my grandfather was dying. RIP, George Koo, we will meet again.

Thank you, Eddie Pages...

Eddie Pages & I representing "Workers" at our joint Birthday party last Friday.

My friendship with the Talented Eddie Pages began when I met him on the ANSWER bus to a GAZA protest in DC. Soon, we discovered that we were 5 days apart, born the same year, and both shared a common love for the visual arts, him with film and me with photography....And, lemme tell ya, when us Scorpio Metal Monkeys get together, you can expect all kinds of creative collaboration happening!

Our first collaboration was March 21st, when ANSWER organized their annual national March on the Pentagon against the occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan & Palestine. We dropped off mock coffins at war profiteers parking lots while laughing at the robocops who surrounded the front doors with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle outfits. The experience was militant, dramatic, loud, and visually stunning. I went down super early to organize and take photographs, and Eddie compiled my photos and made a video out of them to an MIA song. So here it is below....and thank you Eddie, you made my photos come out alive!!!

March 21st March on the Pentagon from Eddie Pages on Vimeo.

Today he sent me a link of my performance at last Saturday's Lyrical Revolt 13, and it was edited so beautifully. It's kinda weird seeing myself on video, but heh....here it is:

Vanissa W. Chan from Eddie Pages on Vimeo.

Thank you, Eddie. You're the BEST!!! One Love.

Me...On Stage!

Me performing my poem for the first time ever at the ANSWER Coalition's 13th Lyrical Revolt at the Rebel Arts Collective in the South Bronx. My buddy, the talented Eddie Pages, is next to me recording my performance.

Ever since my very first spoken word event at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a few years ago when I was very new to NYC, I desired to be on stage. I never thought I'd ever muster up the courage to do it, but things change :). I wrote a lot of poetry when I was in high school and throughout college, but never had the idea of reading it outloud..the concept was just foreign to me. Where I grew up, a poetry reading was very...hmm, bookish and bit boring! But here in the city, where a multitude of cultures collide and ways of expression intertwine,....a spoken word event is quite an event (ok, that was the understatement of the year...it's POWERFUL and ....awe-inspiring!!)!

When I asked my friend Jinnette (kickass activist/poet/superwoman) to go over my first poem with me, she encouraged me to perform at the 13th Lyrical Revolt...at first I was like, "HELL NO.." but the idea grew on me and I practiced for a few weeks. I was the second performer on stage, which I think worked out well because I had to take photos, and I would have been freaking out the whole time if I was going later. The experience was magical and indescribable. It felt liberating and it was so well received by the warm crowd which I really appreciate because the content of the poem was very personal and difficult for me to share.

Thank you to my friends for their genuine love, support, advice, feedback....and presence. I couldn't have done it without you! I'm grateful. X.

Thank you to Libor Koznar for the photos!
http://artandstruggle.com/

LYRICAL REVOLT 13...Success!!!!!

Baron of Red Clay.....tellin' it!!!!

Hasan Salaam & Rugged N Raw on stage.

The Lyrical Revolt 13 was amazing! I'm not yet finished with editing, so bear with me,...a week..a week and a half...but, I wanted to blog because I was soooo thrilled to get up on stage and recite my first poem in like ten years of not writing in prose, and the response, the love and support that I received afterwards was soooo perfect, I'm so grateful to have such wonderful friends. So..that's the reason for this post...just a big THANK YOU to my friends who helped me practice, encouraged me to go on stage, and convinced me to believe in myself - helped me not to shit in my pants, THANKS!!!!!

XO.

Not Just A Pretty Face...

I've recently been obsessing over beautiful, intelligent women who know their power, and have been fortunate enough in the last few years to really get to know some very respectable ladies :). My close friend, Christina Empress, is one of them. I met Christina through my friend Trevz, who publishes The New Pop, which is one of the dopest online magazines covering NYC artists (go check it out!!!!), who a few years ago, recruited Christina and I to be in a music video featuring NYC artists. The event brought many artists together, and when Christina and I met, it was love at first sight, lol. On the surface, you can see why - she's totally freaking gorgeous - but skin deep, she's even more awe-inspiring.

Christina has been DJing internationally for several years, and is currently working on the finalities of her solo album featuring her as the singer/songwriter, titled, "Disconnect" which will soon be released. I have been fortunate enough to hear a few songs and....my mind is blown. This girl is TALEN-TED!!!! She's going to go Platinum, I have no doubt. You can hear samples and get updates of this beautiful, intelligent, musical vixen at her website: http://www.christinaempress.com. She's in the middle of scheduling her tour dates and album release date, so stay tuned because her show is going to be off the hook!

Earlier this fall, I had the privilege of photographing her in a very intimate setting - her apartment! I enjoy shooting people in their environment because it reveals so much about their life, personality, and what inspires them. Enjoy the photos and check out her links...you don't want to be missin' out!

Become a fan of her's on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Empress
Check out her new website: www.christinaempress.com
Listen to older songs: www.soundcloud.com/empress
Link to her old website: www.djempress.com

Lyrical Revolt XIII

Rebel Diaz performing at the Lyrical Revolt X.

Denice MsMisconception Frohman performing at Lyrical Revolt XII.

Abraham Velazquez of The Peace Poets, at the Lyrical Revolt X.



So it's that time again....The ANSWER Coalition's popular spoken word/hip hop event, the Lyrical Revolt (number 13) will be happening again this Saturday, at the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective located in the South Bronx. ANSWER stands for Act Now to Stop War & End Racism, and is a coalition of fantastic, compassionate, driven community activists. The event is a fundraiser for ANSWER which organizes these insanely huge and powerful national marches against war and racism, so if you come out, you'll be coming out for a very important cause. I'm super excited about this event..this will be my 4th Lyrical Revolt, and the 4th one I've photographed! Also, if I don't chicken out ..I'll be performing my first poem on stage EVER.....I'm a bit jittery when I think of it now, but I know a miracle will happen when I get up there and I won't be nervous at all! :)

Doors open at 8:00PM, show begins at 9:00PM...seriously, be there or be missin' out!!!

Location, location, location:

478 Austin Place, 2nd Flr.
South Bronx, NY 10455
by 149th and Bruckner
6 train to E. 149th St.
BX19 to 149th and Southern

Review the old Lyrical Revolts through my Flickr site:
LR X: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157613501426095/
LR XI: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157619288867194/
LR XII: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157622026506911/

The Lid Popped Off....

..At work and I've decided to play hookie tomorrow. My first time this year.

I'm sick with some kind of bug, and I have too many fun, important plans to allow some kind of nasty bug to get in the way...so, I'm relaxing and working on a few photos.

I was able to work on a few concert photos of VERITAS, my friend Thai's band, that I photographed (and had a blast with) a few weeks ago. They're still doing their nationwide tour, so be sure to try and catch them in your area. You can check out their stuff at http://www.myspace.com/veritasband

Please see the added photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanissa/sets/72157622543085625/

My favorite shots are shots like this of them in the convenient stores:

Which I realized when I was with them that they must walk into so many convenient stores per day just to get their munchies fix and restroom breaks. They could do some sort of sociological study on their convenient store encounters. Somebody should tell them......They could start a convenient store blog. Or maybe I just need to go on tour with a band and document their adventures..aahhhh...did I ever mention that one of my favorite movies is Almost Famous?? :D

Happy entrails.

Yankees in the Streets.

On the night of November 5th, the Yankees won the World Series. On my block in Bay Ridge, things got a little exciting. Kids ran out of the bars and trashed the streets with rolls of toilet paper. The neighborhood came out of their living rooms and celebrated with the people in the streets. This was for sure a one of a kind, New York experience.

As a mobs of people exited the bars, people began filling the streets and blocking traffic. Not long after, several NYPD cruisers showed up. Cops began approaching the mob of people slowly, with their sticks out. As they walked slowly towards the crowd, the mobs on both sides of the streets and in the middle began calling out, "AAAAAASSSHOOOOOLLLLEEE, AAAAAASSSHOOOOOOLLLLEEE!!"

The Scene on the corner of 86th Street and 3rd Avenue.

I think there may have only been one arrest that night, but I'm not sure. I got a bit of the one I saw that happened right in front of me, but it was too dark to get it all.

Plain clothes cop in the Yankees shirt on the left picks a fight with a man (you can see his friend holding him back).

The plain clothes cop in motion, grabs the man, wrestles him to the ground and arrests him for no apparent reason.

Traffic gets more and more congested as cars slow down to see the crowd on 86th and 3rd, some encouraged to stand out of their cars to share their joy with the people on the streets.

Some low rider action to add to the festivities. :)

Last Year til 30.

On my birthday, I went around and photographed places and people I saw. Here are a things I found...



Visiting the delicious Christina Empress at Rebel, here with lighting guy, Scott.

Fishmarket, Chinatown.

Many street vendors, like this one, are family-run. This one is located on Canal and Mulberry, and sells yummy Chinese cakes that are a popular snack these days.

Ruby helping her father with the Chinese cakes business.

Chinatown, Manhattan.

This wonderful lady works at the street vendor right outside the Canal/Centre Street train station. They sell amazing fishball kebobs, chicken kebobs, flavorful fried chicken, noodles, and fried rice. $2.00 can get you a long way.

I had to stop this guy and take a picture of his shirt. Hehe.

Maggie, mother of Shawn, Shanna, and Symone, on ACE to Crown Heights.

A boy sleeps on his mother's warm lap.

! What?!

Jamilla El-Shafei, an amazing community activist, chose my photo of her to be her profile picture on Michael Moore's blog!

*sigh*

Maybe one day I'll get to meet him, he's very easily one of my biggest heroes.

Cheater (Re: Bloomberg.)

I took the union workers' Bloomberg flyers and threw them in the trash next to a pretty Naked juice bottle. And while in the grand scheme of things, I probably didn't do much, I was still able to demonstrate to the union workers that it doesn't take much to disobey orders and make a political statement at the same time.

Also, I was able to take this pretty picture of Bloomberg being in the trash. Immature, obnoxious, annoying? Yeah, maybe. But definitely conscious, which I think above all, is more important.



The image above demonstrate Bloomberg's sneaky tactics to hoard more votes (much like Obama's "working families" and Democrat options). When you have billions of dollars, you can do stuff like that. Thompson and Bloomberg's two name listings were to the farthest left, which, in this country, we read beginning at the left side, while socialist candidates were all to the far right. Perhaps this is the order of voting booths, to stick Democrats and Republicans first, but really? How fair is that? And of course, if you read my earlier post, Frances' name didn't even appear at some voting booths. Please, don't try to convince me that it was just an accident. They wouldn't have made that same mistake with Thompson or Bloomberg.

My vote for Frances!

Frances Villar came in with over 3,500 votes, which is the most any socialist mayoral candidate has gotten since the early 1980s. The work, outreach, political message was well worth it. The working class will awaken and when we become conscious, our movement will be unstoppable, because we are the nuts and bolts of this country. There's just too many of us, and too little of them.

Our bank accounts may have smaller numbers, but our shit doesn't stink any less than Bloomberg's (and with the way he is aging, I'm sure we eat more beautiful-er than him :) ). Our passion for life and living could never be outshined by dollar signs.

Congratulations to the PSL for a job well done, and I am honored to have been a volunteer in your movement.