The Ghost in the Machine

Some of the traditional sounds you remember as a kid might be the popping of popcorn in Hills Department Store. Some might recall the whistle of the trains rolling across the 19th St. tracks. As Erie goes through the many transitions over the years we see companies like Zurn and Lord Corporations turn into that same ghost that Hammermill Paper has become in these parts. Our only newspaper just recently gave in to the syndicated conglomerates after being owned by the Mead family for over a hundred years.

I remember the hot food section in Super Duper that my grandma loved to take me to get that hot fish wrapped in the tin foil. And I also remember when the last stores closed in that Hills Plaza which included Beer and Pop, Festival Foods, Ames and the Chinese Restaurant (if you remember the name let me know your paying attention by leaving a comment) As these stores all closed there was a period of time it was empty before it became Walmart. They had for lease signs that I remember because I inquired about the old Festival Foods building they wanted 1.7 million for that building. The point I'm getting to is the spending power we have along with local entrepreneurs had the opportunity to make that Plaza anything you wanted it to be. Same story with the Central Mall , another blown opportunity. If there is nothing here people will continue to take their dollars up to Summit Township, Millcreek and even out of town. The population will continue to decrease to numbers way below one hundred thousand. Who would have imagined the All American City to reach population lows that we haven't seen since the depression of the 1920's ? As we sit back and not pool our resources the sound of the Ghost in the Machine will get louder and louder until it actually becomes a Ghost Town. 

WAKE UP AND STOP THE HATE 

~DAJOURNALIST~

If you didn't know now u know

And knowing is half the battle

Teen Summit 10/17/15

The  atmosphere of this Saturday afternoon was full of expectations on the adult side and the youth. The meeting of the minds of actually several generations. The ages ranged from almost 70 all the way down to the babies that attended. The event was called "Teen Summit" and the jewels dropped by the youth almost left no room for the adults to add their two cents. I had no idea how much is being said by the youth in our schools that is going right over the adults heads. In our generation the bullies were the have nots that were jealous of the ones that had extras. If a child could not afford a hair cut or even five outfits to wear consecutively, he was the bully who took from the clean cut student. Nowadays these kids are saying if you can't keep up with the Jones' you are the one subject to be bullied.
I had a discussion with a friend that told a story of how after fifteen minutes standing outside of Wilson Middle School the language and attitudes of these students was so repulsive they wanted to go upside atleast three of these students heads. I mentioned that my kids attended the school and had to really sit back and think this was twelve years ago and in real time to me it was more like twenty years. You never know what the issues could be with these kids until you sit down and find a common denominator. The idea Sonya Arrington had when she brought these students and adults together was to bridge the communication gap not only between our youth and adults but also pool resources between the cities of Cleveland and Erie.

From the mouths of these young adults came statements like it starts in the home and the fact that if the adults want respect from the kids they have to live respectfully. Very deep and on point were the words of the commentator Marcus Atkinson.I didn't realize two of the Erie youth panelist I knew them since they were born but just had not been around them since they were babies. This gave me an even broader perspective to gauge the atmosphere and bridge the gap mentally. The issues of poverty and violence always go hand in hand along with the recidivism rate which actually has been lower over the last few years. Erie traditionally held its spot at number three in the state in population has slid down below one hundred thousand for the first time since the 1920's. So with this effort of reaching out along with finding out what petitions need to be put together and who to talk to as our district representatives to change the unbalanced laws we can all make a difference. Im looking forward to more of these panel discussions but as adults let's be more open for conversation and understanding the many changing issues of our youth. If you didn't know now you know
DAJOURNALIST  

ALL EYES ON CNN

Despite a 22% drop in enthusiasm for President Obama , the stage is still set for a very competitive race. The commentators are Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper. This evenings day two for the democrats stage is set like the NFL playoffs. Im not sure if the average person would make that comparison, but a journalist as myself could not help but compare Blitzer and Cooper to Berman and Al Michaels football play by play. Actually the CNN duo will be going head to head with an opening day kickoff game between the Cowboys and recent Superbowl Champion NY Giants. With a swirl of numbers being thrown at us like 16 trillion dollar US deficit and 8 million jobs lost over 8 yrs, both parties are pointing the finger at each other. Meanwhile the sworm of journalist from CNN gather stats from the floor of the convention and present the finale when all is said and done. As the 27 million football fans can't be competed with,  millions of those fans will be hitting the recall button on the remote in efforts to hear Bill Clinton and his headlining speach as all eyes will be on CNN.

 

If you didn't know, now you know

~DAJOURNALIST~

tuesday OBAMA BRINGS HOME TROOPS

President Obama Bringing Troops Home By Thanksgiving

4,400 American soldiers lost there lives, over 9 years and 1 trillion dollars later President Obama has promised to bring the soldiers home by Thanksgiving. Mr. President, despite opposition and ratings falling from supporters that believed in his Change campaign, is going to end the year with a power move promising the last troops will be home no later than Dec. 31st. Americans that believed the war was started in false pretenses will all be breathing a sigh of relief. I have to say this move should all but guarantee a 2012 re-election when you start to look at the accomplishments of the last few months. Its going to be interesting to revisit the blog at the beginning of 2012 with the ratings after all the troops are returned and the president gets to say "I told you I was going to bring them home", "What more can I say?"


Whats Your Opinion of The Move By President Obama???

STEVE JOBS WARNS PRESIDENT OBAMA OF ONE TERM PRESIDENCY

Steve Jobs Warned Obama of 1 Term Presidency

In the fall of 2010 Steve Jobs met with President Obama at the San Francisco airport. The meeting almost did not happen because Jobs was waiting for an invitation. This was revealed in the biography written by Walter Isaacson that was released Oct. 24th. His intentions were to actually help  President Obama on his re-election in 2012 by designing ads. Jobs had an idea that the president should meet with CEO's to create  more business friendly policies. When the list became too long in Jobs opinion he decided not to show. Its obvious that because regulations and cost of US companies building factories here they are making moves to China and abroad. He also was opinionated about our education system stating that the teacher's union were partially to be blamed for low performing schools and educators. Jobs insisted on longer school days and school years that last 11 months.

The numbers for sales will not be available for a few more days but here is a display setting from a bookstore in China. The October released book is number #1 on kindle, ibookstore and amazon.com. Though released late in the year its still predicted to finish at #1 for the year. Sony Films has already purchased the books rights.


Whats Your Opinion of Jobs Better America???

OLD SCHOOL NEW SCHOOL YOU KNOW THE RULES PT.3

Old School New School You Know The Rules

Swizz Beatz



 

DJ. MANTRONIK



This day and age most entertainers go the extra mile and create a brand with their message or a product. The comparison between Kurtis Mantronik and Swizz Beatz is evident physically and musically. Both of these producers made a major contribution to hip hop and changed the game for everyone. Kurtis Mantronik born in Jamaica to a Syrian father and Jamaican mother. His given name Kurtis el Khaleel and he worked for Sleeping Bag Records as an A&R, producer and artist. Swizz Beatz was born as Kasseem Dean in the Bronx and was imported to Atlanta for too many fights in high school. Being introduced to hip hop as a teen in the South Bronx his father purchased equiptment for him to dj. By the age of 17 Swizz sold his first beat which was "Ruff Ryders Anthem" for DMX. His uncles owning Ruff Ryder Records was instrumental in his success and eventual 2009 Urban Music Award for Producer of The Year. Here is a hit list of songs and artist Swizz produced:

•  DMX ("Party Up")
• Beyonce ("Check On It")
• T.I. ("Bring Em Out")
• Styles P ("Good Times")
• Cassidy ("Hotel","Im A Hustla")
• Busta Rhymes ("Touch It")
• Ludacris ("Nasty Girl")
• Jadakiss ('Who's Real?")
• Maino ("Million Bucks")
• Chris Brown ("I Can Transform Ya")

The next level of marketing is to create a brand. Swizz currently has a line of sneakers out with Reebok that are selling off the shelves, resident producer at NYU, designer at Lotus cars and collects paintings along with selling paintings of his own. Earnings from the paintings go to the Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation.

The career of Kurtis Mantronik with the group Mantronix lasted from 1984-91. Besides being one of the main producers for Sleeping Bag Records he produced 5 of his own albums.The second album "In Full Effect" was the first album done on DAT(Digital Audio Tape introduced by Sony in 1987) instead of reel to reel. As an A&R for Sleeping Bag he was responsible for signing E.P.M.D. to sister label Fresh Records. Mantronik also produced Just-Ice who was one of the first east coast hardcore emcees and one of the first to embrace the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths. The sound that Mantronik created he called electro-funk. He considered himself the King of the Beat for his time in the 80's. Producing and creating music from the age of 17 however took a toll on Mantronik where the 3 days at a time studio sessions burned him out. He took a break from 1991-98 and resurfaced in Britain. The techno and house style of music he produced was always bigger in Europe. His contribution to music as an editing and remix pioneer is still felt around the industry.Personally in my collection of vinyl the first remixes I remember and strong edits were from Mantronik and The Latin Rascals who did production together from time to time in the early 80's. As a matter of fact the album cover above for "Needle To The Groove" was a statement artistically that actually gave you a peek at the party in Mantroniks head. Back then the mentality overall was doing it for the love of the music. By looking at this album cover I see endorsements from either Technics, Adidas, Cazal, Cerwin Vega or Kangol should have been in the works. Even though we don't hear alot about Mantronik he has done major production and remixes in Europe on pop, house music and techno artist tracks. Also produced tracks on Dance Dance Revolution and TrickStyle video game series. So old school personas can take advantage of the new school rules.


                                      If you didn't know, now you know Peace and blessings
                                                              ~DAJOURNALIST~

OLD SCHOOL NEW SCHOOL....U KNOw THE RULES PT.2

OLD SCHOOL NEW SCHOOL....YOU KNOW THE RULES

The year is still 1985 and trend setting teenager James Todd Smith released one of the first formatted hip hop LP's, meaning previous rap records had not been set the way pop albums were with patterned verses. This album "Radio" did turn out to be a winning formula  because it went platinum and the first single "I Need A Beat" was the song that launched Def Jam Records. James aka LL Cool J also got an early taste of the acting bug with a cameo in Krush Groove. The movie was actually based on the life of Russell Simmons one of the moguls that created Def Jam. So even though he had only a cameo in the movie its safe to say he still played a major role. LL also played a behind the scenes role in hip hop sportswear company TROOP. So who would be surprised 26 years later, 9 Grammy nominations, 12 successful albums, a clothing line, and 4 novels, several movies LL would deem himself the GOAT. Greatest Of All Time



DJ Mantronik



SWIZZ Beatz



                                                   Also in 1985 Sleeping Bag Recording artist and A&R rep Kurtis el Kaleel, aka Kurtis Mantronik along with rapper MC Tee aka Crime Master Tee released the single "Fresh Is The Word" on the album Mantronix: The Album. The duo met in the Manhattan store where Mantronik worked as the in house DJ at Downtown Records. After two years with Sleeping Bag Records the group left Sleeping Bag and signed the first 7 figure deal for a hip hop group with Capitol Records. The album "In Full Effect" was the first to be mastered on DAT (Digital Audio Tape) instead of  standard reel to reel. Before leaving Sleeping Bag DJ Mantronik helped produce Just-Ice, T La Rock and Joyce Sims. Just-Ice and his career is another interesting topic. The exit of DJ Mantronik from Sleeping Bag left Just-Ice with production done by KRS ONE in back to back albums. This change was not the formula Just-Ice needed from the techno electric beats of Mantronik's to a more raw and urban sound. The British fans and hip hop New Yorkers didn't embrace the new sound at all. You would think because Just-Ice was one of the first east coast rappers to record hard core rap, that the combination of raw beats would be fitting. If you listen to the Red Man single "It's Like That" featuring K-Solo you will get a taste of one of those Mantronik beats although reworked its clearly the Just-Ice track "Cold Get Dumb". The rapper did take part in "Self Destruction" the 1989 Stop The Violence movement and later collaborated with Mantronik again in 93 with "Gun Talk". And even more recently did a series of 12-inch singles with super producer DJ Premier. So even though most of our last images of Just-Ice are from Stop The Violence in 89 the hip hop pioneer has an ever increasing catalog of music. As for Mantronix and the music style they created and maintained as a group from 1984-91 we are gonna need a third article to tie in the comparison to Swizz Beatz to pay the proper homage to the pioneer of music DJ Mantronik

If you didn't know, know you know

~DAJOURNALIST~