Skip to main content

Posts

THE LATEST

The evolution of music packaging and the Clark Sisters history

  Packaging, Streaming, and the Staying Power of The Clark Sisters Used bookstores hold the history of collectible music. In 1983, compact discs reached American consumers, and a smaller medium set off a revolution in audio recording. Through every change in packaging since, the sound of The Clark Sisters has endured. This is a Slice tribute to their staying power and a look at how the presentation and consumption of music have changed over four decades. Essay by Mona Austin The music industry has evolved to the point that physical media is becoming a thing of the past. I write this essay to reminisce over the music relics we once knew and what they meant to the way we lived. The Clark Sisters immediately come to mind. One of their seminal albums sits squarely at the intersection of an era change in music packaging and distribution. What album covers come to mind for you?  Is it Michael Jackson's Thriller?  Prince's Purple Rain?  Or Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Ke...
Recent posts

President Trump praises First Steps Act at Summit and celebration

Ex-offenders meet Pres. Donald J. Trump on April 1 in celebration of the First Steps Act By Mona Austin (Washington, D.C): Kushner is being lauded by his father-in-law for his work on a recidivism reduction bill that has set the captives free. Under the prison reform bill, The First Steps Act, Pres. Dnald Trump said over 500 people have re-entered socity since January on Monday at a celenratopn of the Act in the Wast Room of the White House.  Faith and community leaers joined 6 recently released inmates largely impacts African AMeicans disproportionately imprisonedthat Pres Trump passed last December was celebrated at the White House on Monday.  Led by Jared Kushner There was harmony among Democats and Republicans at the White House at the celebration of the Frist Steps Act. Ben Carson, HUD Secretary and AG William Barr attened teh event along with a host of faith leaders including pastors Jetsen Franklin and Jack Graham Kim Kardashina West approached the president ...

LEST WE FORGET: The Black church has a historical role in securing voting rights that must not be abused

  As of the time of this writing,the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Act is in the There are two main paths to gaining freedom and equality  in America -- the ballot box and the battlefield.  African Americans have actively engaged in both to have the same freedom afforded to others in America,  For African American Christians voting is a dear right that was directly pursued through Black churches, making the chruch one of the most powerful instruments for change in America.  We saw the power of the faith-based voter most rencetly take affect in the last presidential election.  Whie evangelicals becane a distinct constituency for republicans.   When then candidate Joe Biden was drifting downward in the presidential primaries in 2020, he leaned on the support of Jim Clyburn, a veteran Democrat from South Carolina.  A part of the Bible Belt, Black South Carolina voters  were the life line that saved Biden. Clyburn hosted a community event ...

Lethal Injection in TN Fails

  Tennessee’s attempt to execute Christa Pike on Tuesday night ended in a stunning failure after two attempts. Pike, now 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital during a lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. She would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years . Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville — a case that drew national attention for its brutality. Pike has never denied her role, while supporters point to her age at the time, her mental illness, and allegations of severe sexual abuse. The execution proceeded only after a legal battle. A federal appeals court issued a stay, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it , clearing the way for the lethal injection. Pike had requested a firing squad, but that request was denied. Witnesses say the execution team struggled for nearly an hour to establish an IV line. One of Pike’s attorneys counted at lea...

SEN. TIM SCOTT TALKS EXPANTION OF FILM INDUSTRY VIA TAX CREDITS

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is promoting a film tax credit bill for film production in the US that is designed to keep jobs at home. The Motion Picture, Television and Entertainment Revitalization Act was introduced on Sept. 24. Now Scott is selling it.  He said the bipartisan  proposal will protect the blue collar jobs in the film industry.   It offers tax credits as an incentive to film in the US.  The be eligible for the tax credit 75% of the film must be done in the U.S. the Motion Picture, Television and Entertainment Revitalization Act on Sept. 24. Scott is the co-author of the bill.  He is a film and theater enthusiast and said his favorite film is "The Notebook" with "Forest Gump" coming in second. "We also get to export American values in films...That is why I celebrate the diversity of multiple locations," he stated. The bill is not limited to one state.  The goals is to help the film industry flourish in all of the locations in the c...

Secretary Hegseth Announces Six Major Initiatives at Quantico Speech

  Over the last two years under Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's leadership, the Department has been relentlessly reshaped to focus on lethality, the warfighters, and rapid modernization. Today, the Secretary continues that momentum by unveiling six major strategic initiatives that will govern the Department's direction for years to come.  Speaking directly to active-duty E-6s and O-3s at Marine Corps Base Quantico, the Secretary bypassed traditional Pentagon bureaucracy to brief the tactical-level officers and non-commissioned officers who will execute these reforms at the ground level. The Secretary's framework establishes the Autonomous Warfare Command, creates a new Corps of Cadets, launches the "FORTRESS" (Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability) readiness program, initiates the Next Great American Base project, stands up the Office of Religious Affairs, and kicks off Project Meridian, signaling a bold new era of w...

Adobe, Amazon, Intel, Starlink, Google, and Zoom partner with First Lady Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future Together

  First Lady Melania Trump secured six new private-sector technology partnerships for Fostering the Future Together, including Adobe, Amazon, Intel, Starlink, Google, and Zoom. “When I established Fostering the Future Together, the mission was clear: empower children through technology and education. Delivering on that mission demands alliances between best-in-class innovators and global leaders, especially as super intelligence transforms how the next generation learns,” said First Lady Melania Trump. Combined, the new technology partners committed more than $23 million towards education, tools, and expertise, for children across the globe. Google committed $4 million to expand its SI Educator Series globally through its new Fostering the Future Together partnership. “Google is proud to support First Lady Melania Trump’s vital effort,” said Google’s Maggie Johnson. “This investment demonstrates our belief in keeping educators in the lead.” Intel will deploy its technology across t...