I linked up with DJ Musa and DJ Hamadi aka DJ Empty Nest to discuss the philosophy, culture and music direction of their Blvck Ice dance party which took place on Friday, Febuary 13 at Ace of Cups.

  The origin of my intrigue stemmed from a New Years Eve party I attended that Musa and Hamadi deejayed.

  People were having fun but eventually the party got shut down by the police who maced  celebrators and arrested some residents.

  At some point I watched someone burn an American flag while black humans explained their opposition with the abrupt ending of the evening to the police.

  Hamadi recounted his vantage point from behind the turntables, “We dropped acid that night. We were on acid playing the largest house party I had every seen. I remember being on acid feeling the floor shake.”

  Musa explained that the house party ended when police came knocking, “One of the residents got pulled out of their house and they pepper-sprayed everyone that tried to help her back into the house.”

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bobby Keen, Lyle Lovett’s college friend at Texas A&M and author of that most inadvertent of sad songs, “Feelin’ Good Again.” Notwithstanding the success of 1989’s “The Road Goes On Forever,” Keen never got big enough to forget how to write songs, and although his recent albums have been spotty they have still contained gems like 2009’s “Goodbye Cleveland.”

“I want to help them. They are in such a bad place. I want to make it all better.”

“I live for my partner. They are my entire world. I couldn't live without them.”
“If I do what they want, they will love me.”
  Are you or have you uttered this phrase during a relationship?

Would you identify as co-dependent?

Brio in Easton Town Center is one of my favorite places to go when I want some comforting fried red potatoes with garlic and rosemary (sans accompanying cheese sauce), a refreshing and light, varietal greens salad with fresh tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers and pine nuts and their house made-from-scratch balsamic dressing (which is one of my all-time favorites- though it is made with oil, so it is also high fat content), or to cool-off with a delightful indulgence of their peach Bellini. They will veganize a conventional appetizer, salad, pasta dish or pizza, and have even prepared special, custom entrees upon request. If you like portabella mushrooms, if they have them, they will grill one up for either an appetizer or as a main course. While they are currently lagging in their clearly marked vegan menu options, they have conveniently listed their gluten-free selections for those who require them. Their dining rooms are some of the most romantic in the area, and if you want a decadent vegan dessert, you will have to go somewhere else, like Portia’s, Loving Hut, Pattycake or Till Dynamic Fare.

What are GMOs

For those who don’t know, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory which causes unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature. There are two types of GMOs: pest producers which kill insects by taking a gene from a bacterium and injecting it into the DNA of a seed, which produces a toxin lethal to insects (ie, Monsanto’s BT corn); and an herbicide resister which after altering a plant’s gene makes it immune to weed killers (ie Roundup-ready soy).

Are GMOs safe?