the machine is us/ing us

I still have a hard time explaining the concept of Web 2.0 to folks. Which is why I really dig this video by Dr. Michael Wesch of Kansas State University’s Digital Ethnography project.

Take a look:

cheers,

k

question: what’s your favorite atlanta thrift store?

You’re a dime store diva, a bargain hound, a clearance bin shop-a-holic. Let me know what your absolute favorite Atlanta-area thrift store is for finding your favorite deals on clothes, accessories, home goods, food stuff or whatever tickles your fancy.

photo credit: pixeljones

atlanta travel: getting steamy all night long at jeju sauna (as seen on trazzler)

The communal bath house is a relaxing tradition that’s found in many cultures, but most Americans would raise an eyebrow at the notion of visiting a 24-hour Korean spa. Rest assured, it’s not that kind of affair, even though the hot-pink neon signage out front might make you think otherwise.

$25 gets you a locker and unlimited access to the facilities at Jeju, plus a standard-issue, one-size-fits-all short set that evokes images of Logan’s Run. If lounging au naturale is your thing, the gender-separate locker rooms have showers, steam rooms, and soaking pools, and for an extra fee, you can have one of the older lady masseuses smack you up, flip you, and rub you down.

You might opt to literally spend the night in the large common area, which boasts 7 different therapeutic saunas – like the Jade room and the Charcoal Room, a large swimming pool, and a quick-serve Korean snack bar. Just a few hours at Jeju makes for a happy ending you don’t have to be ashamed of.

cheers,

k

Jeju Sauna
3555 Gwinnett Place Drive
Duluth, GA 30096
www.jejusauna.net

of snakes, slaves, and shamrocks – fact and fiction surrounding st. patrick’s day

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those really random holidays that lots of Americans celebrate mainly because it gives us an excuse to get drunk, wear green, and pinch total strangers. But few know the real story about the man who originally inspired the celebration, and even less about the images associated with the annual bacchanalian festival.
So I thought I’d share and dispel some of the most common myths and misconceptions associated with St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick was Irish.
Nope. St. Patrick, whose original name was Maewyn Succat (Can you imagine celebrating St. Maewyn’s day? Lame.), was British born. At 16, his family was attacked by Irish raiders and he was shuttled off to slavery. He spent 6 years as an enslaved sheep herder until a vision from God inspired him to escape. After that, he entered the priesthood, where he assumed the name Patrick.

St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland.
Um, not really, since Ireland doesn’t have any snakes. What St. Paddy did do, however, was return to Ireland after his escape from slavery and begin spreading Christianity to the largely pagan Irish folk. Thus the notion that he drove ‘snakes’ from Ireland is probably more of a figurative idea. The pagan Celts of ancient Ireland also used the symbol of the snake in many of their rituals, so that also plays a part in the erroneous snake-ridding legend.

St. Patrick’s Day is always celebrated on March 17.
It is! Except… occasionally, it isn’t. St. Patrick’s Day always occurs during Lent. The Catholic church has a policy against celebrating saint feast days when they fall on a solemnity. For brevity’s sake, we’ll just say a solemnity is a reeeeally important event on the Catholic calendar (for instance, Good Friday is a solemnity). On the rare times that March 17 falls on a solemnity, dear old St. Paddy gets shifted to another spot on the calendar. The last time St. Patrick’s Day was moved was in 2008, when it was shifted to March 15. The next time will be 2160. So, I doubt you’ll have to mark your calendar for that one.

The shamrock is a symbol of good luck.
Well, kinda. Back in the day when St. Paddy was trying to convince those pagans to switch to Christianity, Powerpoint slides and Venn diagrams hadn’t been invented yet. So, trying to explain a complicated concept like The Holy Trinity was a bit of a hassle. Luckily, there were all these little three-leaf clovers growing about that he could pluck and use as a visual aid. And that’s how the shamrock became linked to St. Patrick.

The color green is the traditional hue associated with St. Patrick.
As this clip from the History Channel reveals, the original color associated with St. Patrick was blue. The color green came into play when Irish Catholics would wear a shamrock on the feast day of St. Patrick. Eventually, the Irish adopted more widespread use of the color as a political and patriotic statement during the Society of United Irishmen’s rebellion against British rule in the 1790s.
So now you know the truth about St. Patrick’s Day. In case you’re wondering what you should do with these valuable new brain wrinkles, I recommend the following: go to your local pub, and bet a drink to anyone who thinks they know more than you do about St. Patrick’s Day. Because in the end, it is all about getting sloshed, isn’t it?

Here are some choice St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Atlanta where you can flaunt your newfound Irish knowledge:

2010 Atlanta St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival (March 13)
Peachtree Street, Downtown. Noon. Coach Vince Dooley is this year’s Grand Marshal. Visit http://www.stpatsparadeatlanta.com/ for parade route and details.

The Junior League of Atlanta’s ShamRock N Roll Road Race (March 14)
Highlights of the race held at Atlantic Station include entertainment at the start and finish, a pre-race warm up by Operation Boot Camp and bands like Consoultant and Stratogeezer along the course. Kilt wearers are welcome! 5k race starts at 8am; 10k at 8:30. All entrants will receive a free running shirt. For more info, visit: http://www.jlatlanta.org/?nd=shamrock_n_roll

St. Patrick’s Day Party at AltoRex Rooftop Lounge (March 17)
The open-air lounge, situated atop nationally acclaimed restaurant Pacci Ristorante, will serve up green beer and drink specials including their signature Lemintcello, made of housemade Limoncello, Midori and fresh mint, as well as Irish food specials. Win raffle prizes and take pictures with a real leprechaun! For more information, call: 678-412-2402 or visit: www.altorexlounge.com .

St. Paddy’s Day at Stats, (March 17)
Celebrate with $2 pints from 2 p.m.-2 a.m., live music by Whiskey and Stout, and giveaways from Baileys, Bushmills, Guiness and more. Call 404-885-1472 for more details.

St. Patrick’s Day at Fado Irish Pub (March 17)
Pub opens at 6 a.m. Bagpipers and Irish dancers start at 12:30 p.m. After that there will be an outdoor festival with live music all day and a DJ at night. $15 cover charge for adults after noon. Kids enter free. You must be 21 or over to be in the event area after 4 pm. Tickets available at: http://www.fadoirishpub.com/atlanta/

cheers,

k

photo credit: Loci Lenar

dj rich medina on current tv

experiencing the flavor at the songwriter’s soul kitchen

 In September 2008, I got to experience one of the most magically memorable events of my adult life. Part of the reason I haven’t written about it here yet, is because it’s always proven hard for me to put everything about that experience into words. But I figured it’d be better to do a bad job of recapping the moment, than not to share it at all. So here goes….

I just got back in town late last night from a week of hectic travel for work. And here I am back on the road again, braving Friday afternoon Labor Day weekend traffic on a 2.5 hour drive to McRae.

“What the hell is Mac-ray?” Asked one friend who I’d informed of my trip earlier that week.

“It’s McRae,” I corrected, “and it’s a city in south Georgia”

“And you’re going there for Labor Day weekend?”

A few months ago, I probably would have been as incredulous as my friend if someone had told me I’d be spending valuable off-work time in some small town in the middle of nowhere. But a few months ago, I’d never heard of the Songwriter’s Soul Kitchen. A few months ago, I’d never even heard of Vinx.

Trying to classify Vinx would be futile at best and likely, inaccurate. The most apt description is this: Vinx is music. He’s a multitalented, singer, songwriter, musician, and teacher that Stevie Wonder has been quoted as calling, “the gift you give to someone that you really care about”. A good friend of mine who’d lived in Europe (where the artist has a huge following) had given me the gift of Vinx’s music only a few weeks before I got a chance to see him perform at Smith’s Olde Bar. That night’s performance was one of the purest examples of musicianship I’d ever seen. No flashy sets or on-stage gimmicks. Just this larger-than-life bandannaed and bespectacled man who crooned with the velvety timbre of a Luther Vandross, and easily employed the vocal gymnastics of a Bobby McFerrin. That night, I watched transfixed, as Vinx deftly switched from drums, to keys, to using some on-stage recording device that allowed him to provide his own backup vocals right on the spot. Each tune was like a pit stop on an expressive journey of unvarnished emotion – humor, lust, romance, and joie de vivre. By the time he left the stage, I was so moved, that when the announcer reminded the audience of our last chance to enter a drawing, I didn’t even care what the drawing was for, I just knew that I wanted my name in the hat. As it turned out, what was being raffled off was a complimentary trip to the Songwriter’s Soul Kitchen – a multi-day retreat where singers, musicians, and songwriters gather to hone their crafts at Vinx’s house in – you guessed it – McRae.

The Soul Kitchen Magic

d Black! | MySpace Video

So it happened that a series of fortunate events (I actually won the drawing) was how I came to be standing on the wide porch of Vinx’s home – an antebellum mansion turned artist’s residence and recording studio in the heart of McRae’s historic district. The door opens, and I’m greeted warmly and familiarly by Katherine, an auntie who bears an uncanny resemblance to Whoopi Goldberg. She takes the bottle of wine I’ve brought as a gift, directs me where to set my bags, and introduces me to the 8 or so other people seated at Vinx’s dining room table, before offering to take me on the nickel tour of the house.

On the tour, I realize just how multifaceted Vinx is as an artist and a human being. Originally from Kansas City, Vinx – who started life as Vincent D’jon Parette – is a military brat, and a former Olympic-qualifying track and field athlete, who got started with music in college as a part-time DJ and a member of Kansas State University’s marching band. After several years touring and recording with the likes of Sting, Stevie Wonder, Branford Marsalis, and Cassandra Wilson, Vinx eventually added visual artist and educator to his resume. He’s now a professor at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston. In addition to his busy music touring schedule, he’s also planning a gallery show where he’ll take small groups of people through a guided tour of his art, performing songs at each installment, creating a one-of-a-kind experience that merges the emotion of the visual piece with that of the musical one.

“It really says something about a person who would open up their home like this.” I overhear someone say this as I re-enter the dining room. Vinx – who’s still seated at the table – informs me that we’re all preparing to introduce ourselves musically to each other. In my mind, I think it’s about to be some scheduled event with a lineup of who will perform when. But from what I can tell it sounds like it’s already happening spontaneously in a room at the rear of the house. Vinx and I chat familiarly for a while, but even though I’m trying my best to concentrate, I’m only about 60% present. The rest of me is wondering who’s riffing* so damned hard on the guitar!? He senses my restlessness, and graciously releases me to go and mingle with the others.

My default question for everyone is, “So how’d you come to be here?” Each response is as deep and reverent as what you’d hear from a devotee on a pilgrimage. There’s Purple Haze, a spitifire sista from Newark who’s got the gift of gab and knows how to use it. Her genre is hip hop, and once I hear her freestyle, I’m convinced that she’s the undiscovered heir to the throne once inhabited by Lauryn Hill and Bahamadia. She shares with me that she gave her 2 week notice before coming down this weekend. Her job? Performing testing and consultations in an HIV clinic.

Ritse is a somewhat timid, open-faced Nigerian-born girl from D.C. who’s obviously a strong vocal talent, but is just starting to come out of her shell musically. She’s travelled here to help spur along her confidence and engage with other artists that are more experienced.

The baby-faced Vince – who over dinner gets dubbed ‘Little Vinx’ mainly because he sports ths same bandana doo-rag that his namesake often does – is here on ‘scholarship’, and hails from Arkansas. From listening to him on the keys*, and how he prods and encourages some of his peers, and digs into cleaning up the dinner dishes, you can tell he also has the same down-to-earth mettle as his counterpart.

Keith – a kinda quiet, kinda lanky white guy from Nashville – is a self-confessed techno geek who’s also a beast on keys and music production in general.

And there’s Ya-Ya – who hails from Philadelphia by way of San Francisco. She’s a novice guitarist who also helps with the administrative work of the Soul Kitchen and makes a mean quesadilla.

Over the next couple of days, Vinx plays the role of papa bear to us, his cubs. He walks us through how and why to register with each of the performer’s rights organizations – BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC, has us break out into different groups to create songs, making sure that the writers, musicians, and vocalists among us all get a chance to express our unique perspective, while learning how to work with unfamiliar genres and challenging subjects. Each musical work that we create in our groups is actually recorded and produced in one of 2 studios at Vinx’s house. One of the group songs I worked on, which had to include the words ‘black belt’ and ‘popcorn’, becomes an absolute work of art after DJ Vando and Jessie – the Soul Kitchen’s resident producers – put their magic on it.

Throughout the weekend, other members of the Soul Kitchen family appear as if from nowhere. One night, Atlanta-based folk singer Doria Roberts shows up to make everyone dinner and dessert crepes. Others like Tubby Love, Gray Mation, B@man, and Ben aka ‘The Big Dipper’, breeze in and out – but no one is a stranger, no one is a star. Everyone is on equal footing and here for only one thing – the love of the music.

During my 3 day stay at the Soul Kitchen, I laugh much, learn more, and sleep little. On more than one occasion I get the feeling that I’m at a grown-up summer camp, or on a reality TV show with the subtitle, “What happens when a bunch of people get together to live in a house and starting getting real…with music?” Having never performed any of my written pieces before an audience, I’m more than a little nervous when the musical introduction that was supposed to happen on the night I arrived, occurs. But as I start to recite one of my poems, I hear The Big Dipper step up to the conga drums and accompany my words, imparting a rhythm I’d never imagined they could have. I instinctively adjust my pace to match his. The other members of the Soul Kitchen family listen, grunt their approval, smile and nod at the satisfactory flavor of my particular lyrical dish. There’s a touch of bitter realness in the words that I share, but when I’m done the only thing that lingers is a sweet smile of accomplishment, and a warm fullness that can only be found in this kitchen.

If you’re interested in cooking up something in the Songwriter’s Soul Kitchen, join Vinx for a special edition of the Soul Kitchen – ‘Vol. 20… The Performance Week’ March 15 – 21. Or, check out the Songwriter’s Soul Kitchen website for future Soul Kitchen dates.