I caught this story on Engadget today: The Mexican government is trading computers and Xboxes for weapons in the Mexico City neighborhood of Tepito.

City police chief Joel Ortega said anyone who turns in a high-caliber weapon, like a machine gun, will get a computer, while people turning in smaller artillery, like a pistol, will receive an Xbox console.

According to Reuters, "Organizers say they have 100 computers ready for the first wave of the program, each worth 8,500 pesos ($769) and equipped with software donated by Microsoft. On the first day, the city received 17 guns, including 12 from Tepito."

This is awesome. You can buy a gun, kill someone, go down to Mexico and trade it for an Xbox, and then pretend to kill people playing Gears of War while getting loaded on tequila. I'm for it!

This was created by a few of my coworkers for an in-office film festival competition.

I work with some seriously disturbed people.

Democrats are definitely in the House.

According to the NY Times, the House voted 218-212 today to set a timetable for bringing American troops home from Iraq by September 2008.

“Central to our victory today was the unanimous support of our new members of Congress,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, in a news conference after the vote. “They brought to the Congress, fresh from the country, the concerns of the American people. They had a serious impact.”

Republicans said the measure amounted to micromanaging the war. According to the NY Times, "President Bush angrily denounced the bill, accusing Democrats of engaging in 'an act of political theater' by passing a measure that would undermine American progress in Iraq. 'I will veto it if it comes to my desk... It is clear that my veto would be sustained.' ” (There are 233 Democrats in the House, far short of the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto.)

The message from the left is clear: Democrats are on a mission to reverse the W. administration's agenda for the war and define their position approaching the '08 elections.

This week The Stranger published a skeptical editorial about the Blue Scholars signing to Rawkus Records, which I reported last week.

In the editorial, author Andrew Matson paints a cynical picture of the hometown hero Scholars secularizing themselves by aligning with an East Coast record label and disconnecting from the otherwise vibrant Seattle hiphop scene:

Amid the confusion, what's certain is that Seattle, overwhelmingly white and educated, has an inferiority complex over its hiphop scene. We've long had a tendency to intellectualize the music, assuming "real" hiphop lives in NYC or elsewhere. That the Emerald City celebrates the Scholars and the Mass Line record label while largely ignoring its own vibrant gangsta scene, for instance, shows a prejudice toward the East Coast, true-school sound. Innovation and originality—developing a real "Seattle sound"—are therefore a lower priority to local artists. From KRS-One's endorsement of Common Market to the Scholars' Rawkus signing, Seattle's dependence on outside validation has hurt its homegrown scene.

The Stranger actually has a history of writing overtly supportive articles about the Scholars' rise to local fame. I'm not sure if this article was published to create an aura of subjectivity, so as not to make The Stranger look like a bedfellow with the Scholars, like it is with KEXP, or if the conglomeration of local hiphop artists to the Mass Line label (and the label's agreement with NY-based Rawkus Records) is too commercial for The Stranger to openly support.

Either way, this editorial is off point. Realistically, the Blue Scholars can't acheive the national platform they seek by remaining entirely dependent on the local hiphop community. Common Market wouldn't have achieved its success so quickly without the endorsement of KRS-One. Hip hop originated in New York, and all hip hop roads lead back home.

I suggest Matson read Friedman's book. The world is flat, and utilizing resources outside a local economy is no longer just wise, but necessary for any business, including artistic ventures. The resources for hiphop artists aren't here, nor will they ever be. Matson is silly to suggest that the Scholars, or any music group, can continue to be a creative, productive force without capital. These guys can only go so long working second jobs to pay the bills, especially when trying to drive the fledgling Mass Line record label, which I'm sure is not offering benefits or retirement plans right now.

All that said, all press is good press, and this editorial should further drive the buzz about the upcoming release of the Scholars' Bayani album, which will be available at their CD release shows at the Showbox May 11 and 12 and in stores nationwide June 12.

1. Baha'i Healing Prayer (intro)
2. Second Chapter
3. Opening Salvo
4. North by Northwest
5. Ordinary Guy
6. Still Got Love
7. Bayani
8. Loyalty
9. Fire for the People
10. Xenophobia (interlude)
11. The Distance
12. Back Home
13. 50 Thousand Deep
14. Morning of America
15. Joe Metro

I know what you're thinking: "Paolo's birthday is one week away!"

Thank you to all of those who have inquired about my birthday list. To all curious parties, I would just like people to

1. Try and attend the birthday festivities listed in the sidebar.
2. Attend one of the focuspoint shows listed in the sidebar.

If you're under 21, just buy me a pack of Hot Tamales.

Thanks,

Paolo