Newsletter 6-02-08

Hey Everyone,

I've been doing a lot of work on BlowUpRadio.com's website in the last week, but most of it is behind the scenes and you shouldn't notice any drastic difference (since I added the Live365 player 2 weeks ago). If you experience any problems or notice anything weird, please let me know.

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A couple of new local music news stories are up at BlowUpRadio.com. 1 good news, 1 sad news.

First the sad news. Cory Baker, the bassist for High Speed Chase, and former bassist for Slushpuppy, died over Memorial Day weekend. Some nice words from High Speed Chase frontman Chris "Gibby" Gibson are on our site, as well as links to a few other people who remember Cory. While I've seen both bands many times over the years, I never personally got to know Cory very well. It's something I now lament.

On a happier news note, the schedule for the Wave Gathering is now up at www.wavegathering.com. The Wave Gathering happens June 20th-22nd throughout Asbury Park. BlowUpRadio.com is proud to be a sponsor once again of this great festival of live music.

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The next BlowUpRadio.com Free Concert at Buddie's Tavern will be on Saturday June 28th and will feature sets by Agency, Keith Monacchio (from The Commons), and Matt Colligan.

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If you're a fan of Lazlo's Den, check out the new Lazlo's Den Fan Club on ThePenguinRocks.com
http://thepenguinrocks.ning.com/group/lazlosdenfanclub

As you know, ThePenguinRocks.com is the other internet station that runs Lazlo's Den (besides BlowUpRadio.com) and is run by my good friend Gary Wien. He spent a lot of time updating his site and webcast, so take a moment to check it out.
http://www.ThePenguinRocks.com

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New reviews on BlowUpRadio.com this week of CDs from The Heshers, Valient Thorr, Kaiser Cartel, J.J. Appleton, The Orb, and Logs In The Mainstream.

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Concert Picks of the Week

Lazlo (BlowUpRadio.com)
Ah...a nice June evening, sitting outdoors, enjoying some live rock & roll from two great local bands. What could be better? You want the show to be free? That's just what Keyport is doing for you this Saturday as they have a free show at 7pm at their Gazebo on Front Street. The show features The Commons, and The Brixton Riot.


Jim Testa (Jersey Beat)
Friday, June 6
DONITA SPARKS, Shira Girl, Sex Pod - Maxwells, 1039 Washington St. Hoboken - 9 pm, $15, 18+

Grrl power! It's a night of all-female rock bands at Maxwells: Donita Sparks, formerly of the 90's girl-grunge band L7, headlines this show, which includes Warped Tour alumni Shira Girl, and a reunion of the seminal Hoboken-based funk-punk trio Sexpod.


Jared Migden (WRSU)
On Wednesday night, Meet Me in Montauk returns to the Harvest Moon in New Brunswick. Joining MMIM and their songs for a chill afternoon out on the porch in New Brunswick will be Only Living Boy, featuring ex-members of Rabid Roy.

BTW, I am playing in this year's Asbury Rock Stars Charity Softball Tournament. I am on the Behind the Scenes team and we're raising money for the Foodbank of Monmouth County. The tournament goes down on 6/14 from 10a-6p...Go to www.asburyrockstarscharity.org to make donations on my behalf. Thanks!

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And now it's time for this week's Pissed Off!


Apologies to those who have already heard me discuss this topic on last Thursday's Lazlo's Den, but it's several days later and I'm still pissed off about this.

Last week Dunkin Donuts pulled an on-line ad campaign showing Rachel Ray drinking an iced coffee and wearing a scarf.

I can't think of any time Rachel Ray has ever made any sort of political statement. In a time when 70% of the country has a negative view of president Bush, I don't think she has ever said anything negative about him (a simple web search shows she even had the first lady on as a guest on her talk show where they did not once discuss politics).

So why was this seemingly innocent ad campaign killed?

Because apparently by wearing a scarf, Rachel Ray is showing support for Middle-Eastern terrorists. At least that is what one very ignorant blogger claims, and this blogger's claim has directly led to Dunkin Donuts pulling the ad campaign.

From CNN.com:
Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin complained that the scarf wrapped around (Rachel Ray) looked like a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress. ''The kaffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,'' Malkin wrote in her syndicated column.

"Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons," she said.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/29/news/companies/dunkin_donuts.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

This is preposterous. First off, to paraphrase Freud, "sometimes a scarf is just a scarf". To try to read into the scarf as being anything other then a fashion accoutrement, is such a stretch of the imagination that one wonders how anyone could take it seriously.

And yet Dunkin Donuts has caved into to one person's ludicrous views and pulled the "offensive" ad.

Maybe we should start a campaign to get rid of cream filled donuts at Dunkin Donuts. After all, one could argue that they have a vagina shaped hole that a phallus shaped pastry bag is inserted into so they can inseminate the donut with the cream filling. Don't you see, the cream filled donut is subliminally telling kids to have unprotected sex?!?

Of course the last paragraph is utterly ridiculous (and my wife now says she'll never have another cream filled donut ever), but it is no more ridiculous then Ms. Malkin's assertion that Rachel Ray's scarf is a sign of support for terrorists.

More importantly though, is that even if Ray's scarf was a kaffiyeh as Malkin believes, it is entirely racist to say that the kaffiyeh is something only a terrorist wears.

From the same CNN.com article:
Amahl Bishara, an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago who specializes in media matters relating to the Middle East, said complaints about the scarf's use in the ad demonstrate misunderstandings of Arab culture and the multiple meanings that symbols can take on depending on someone's perspective.

"I think that a right-wing blogger making an association between a kaffiyeh and terrorism is just an example of how so much of the complexity of Arab culture has been reduced to a very narrow vision of the Arab world on the part of some people in the U.S.," Bishara said in a phone interview. "Kaffiyehs are worn every day on the street by Palestinians and other people in the Middle East - by people going to work, going to school, taking care of their families, and just trying to keep warm."

While some extremists and terrorists may wear kaffiyehs, "To reduce their meaning to support for terrorism has a tacit racist tone to it," Bishara said.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/29/news/companies/dunkin_donuts.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

Additionally, a Newsweek article on the flap points out, "the kaffiyeh is worn by millions, including Middle Eastern men, arty college students, tourists, Kanye West and even U.S. troops, who use it to keep the sand and dust at bay"
http://www.newsweek.com/id/139334

So when Ms. Malkin sees photos of US troops wearing a kaffiyeh in Iraq or Afghanistan, does she think them traitors? Does she want them court marshaled? The very people that are protecting her freedom to spout her hate filled fiction, are the same people she wants to vilify.

It is people like Ms. Malkin that cause the Middle East to have a negative view of America. When all they see and hear are from ignorant, racist people who don't know what they are talking about.

And in fear of ignorance breeding a backlash towards them, Dunkin Donuts pulled the ad campaign.

I think as intelligent human beings we should be offended by Dunkin Donuts doing this, and start our own backlash against this ignorance and racist campaign. I for one have already voiced my opinion to Dunkin Donuts through their feedback hotline, 800-859-5339. I urge you all to call (and pass this info along to everyone you know to call), and politely tell Dunkin Donuts that pulling the ad campaign is offensive. I told them I would not be going back to Dunkin Donuts until they apologized for their rash decision to pull the ad, and brought the ad back. I further explained to them that by pulling the ad they are showing the world that they are racist, which is just unacceptable.

Again, I urge everyone to contact Dunkin Donuts at 800-859-5339 and politely voice your anger at the pulling of the ad campaign. Remember that the key word is POLITELY. The people you'll be talking to on the hotline are not the people who made the decision, they may even agree with our cause.

Together we can let Dunkin Donuts and the world know that we are not all ignorant and racist like Ms. Malkin.

For the record, this does mean I am a big fan of Rachel Ray. While my wife has gotten me into watching a lot of Food Network, I'm not particularly fond of her programs.

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That's all for this week folks.

Peace,
Lazlo
www.BlowUpRadio.com