The Nu Mutants

Fire Starter

(Self Released, 2004)

It’s hard to dislike a group that so obviously has their heart in the right place. The Nu Mutants – which may or may not be a covert nod to the X-Men -  seems to be a collective made up of friends and associates from the Toledo area that are rather critical of the current climate of hip hop. To call this particular EP reflexive would be an understatement. Its first track, featuring the rant by Natural, takes the form of a press conference on aptly named “The State of Hip Hop” and utilizes the idea that if hip-hop were a state, this man “would govern that shit.” Chyna Black is featured on the following track, which also exhibits some very poor mixing and leaves the vocals sounding ridiculously high when contrasted with the beat, which itself is somewhat cheese related. Spoken word can get tedious, as this album exhibits again and again, but at least Jesus Bayano makes some poignant statements like comparing religion to gangs. That, however, isn’t quite as rich as the contrast between law enforcement and criminals, which should have cropped up of the course of the album somewhere. A bit further on, Imani Lateef, while having the most ethnic sounding name, has the least interesting sounding track and leads into the much welcomed “Outro” consisting of a group of people warbling over a simple and pretty boring beat. Only in dreams can I comment positively upon this slab, which is unfortunate due to the effort that no doubt was poured into it. But, maybe I just have bad taste. Maybe I’m not in tune with whatever the hip hop nation is. Who knows?

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In a refreshing reversal from more hetero-normative and terrified school districts, Hudson New York High School seniors Charlie Ferrusi and Timmy Howard were voted prom Queen and King in a land-slide event at last Saturday's Prom. The two friends started thinking about running a month or so ago, and when they ran the idea past the high school principal Steven Spicer and advisors, were given an ok to go ahead. The two won by such a large margin that the school didn't even bother with runners-up.

It's particularly heartening to read stories like this one. In 2008 another Hudson high senior ran for Prom Queen, and won, but school officials denied him the crown. This Ferrusi and Howard said that one of the hardest parts of their experience "was deciding who would be king and who would be queen."

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Bernard Madoff: OutlawBernard (Bernie) Madoff is sending his love to his victims by way of a New York Magazine piece? Bernie or should I called him, Mr. Madoff, sent a message to his victims: "F-you!"

Big Bernie, serving long time, one hundred and fifty years, for swindling billions in a Ponzi scheme, reportedly told a fellow inmate, "F--- my victims. I carried them for 20 years, and now I'm doing 150 years."

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Two Muslin groups in New York want to build a mosque near ground zero, the location where the World Trade Center fell, and three thousand plus Americans were killed on 9-11. Some of the families of the survivors, and according to the Associated Press, some tea party activists want to block the construction. They want no mosque near ground zero. The construction plans have received the city approval, but maybe blocked, if a decades old proposal to give landmark status to the building the mosque is planned to replace. is granted.


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Item from the Associated Press,  May 08, 2010  — "A Staten Island ferry with a history of accidents malfunctioned as it approached its terminal Saturday and smashed into a pier with a jolt that tossed passengers to the deck and hurt as many as 37 people." See the video.

The New York Times reports that Jim Long, a New York City Fire Department spokesman, said "that 17 people had been taken to area hospitals, with the most serious case involving a woman who had experienced chest pains ... 'The other 20 will be evaluated, treated and they could be transported to hospitals,'  Officials said that the crash appeared to have been caused by mechanical failure."

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There is a mosque planned near ground zero in New York City, near the World Trade Center, the site of the 9/11 terror attack against the United States. Some 9/11 families think it's okay. Some are protesting. The $100 million project has already won the approval of the city community board.  See the Video.

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Eric HolderEarly this morning, US Attorney-General Eric Holder announced that last night agents from the Department of Home Land Security's Customs and Border Protection made an arrest in the case of Saturday's failed car bombing in New York's Times Square. A Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, Mr. Faisal Shahzad, with apparent connections to international terrorism, is being held and questioned. Mr. Shahzad was arrested at Kennedy Airport while trying to flee the country on board a flight to Dubai. Attorney-General Eric Holder reminded us that, "Americans should remain vigilant. It’s clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans.”

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I saw this NY Post video on this cafe in Brooklyn that is charging is $12 for a cup of coffee made from so-called "rare beans." Rare beans? See video below. The narrator  in the vid asks the question: Would New Yorkers pay $12 for a cup of coffee? Well, what did P. T. Barnum say about suckers? Well, somebody could slap a fancy tag on a bottle of ordinary air, say it's a special blend, and charge through the nose and some smug idiot would  pay, just to breathe fancy priced air.

Well, if I owed a coffee shop like that,  and some sport came in who looked liked like he could afford to throw his money away. The sport would have to be a Goldman Sachs type, where 12 dollars is like 12 cents, then I would take his money. I wouldn't take $12 for a cup of coffee from anyone else. No cup of coffee is worth twelve dollars.

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Yes, boo! Concerning yesterday's incident in Times Square,  the smoking car bomb and the evacuation of the one of  New York's most famous tourist spots  --  Somebody is telling us "boo!' Shouting at us to be afraid. Whether this car bomb was somebody's idea of a prank, or a bomb gone bad, or a devilish way to drive us all crazy, is not known for certain at the moment. What is for certain is the need for everyone to become and  to remain self aware of what is happening around us, and to develop a sharper eye and a sharper mind, and to be on the lookout for bombs, for people who plant bombs, and  for people whom cause people to plant bombs.

Whether this incident, with a  failed bomb, is  somebody's sick joke or a half failed opening campaign to begin a reign of fear, is to be determined.

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NY Sen. Eric AdamsAs part of an initiative  to start a conversation about positive self  images  in the community among young people, and to remind young people of the importance of combating negative stereotypes,  New York State Senator  Eric Adams of  Brooklyn,  has posted a video on YouTube called, "Stop the Sag."

State Sen. Eric Adams will also be launching a billboard campaign in Brooklyn, as part of a larger effort  "targeting the pants-sagging trend popular with many young men," with the message,  "we are better than this." The billboards,will feature "two young men wearing low-hanging pants above the phrase, 'Raise your pants, raise your image.' "  Senator Adams  reminds young people, "that the sagging trend originated from prison culture."

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