Some Noise

“Brother, you don’t eat pork do you?” -Man with wine About:  New York. St. Cloud. Orlando. San Bernardino. Chattanooga. Garland. Boston. Fort Hood. Brussels. Paris. Nice. Kabul. Baghdad. Quetta. Lahore. Istanbul. It’s difficult to remember what life was like before any of these recent attacks, when there was no YouTube or Twitter and when the Twin Towers were still part of New York City’s skyline. There wasn’t too much cause for concern about being named Muhammad, wearing a hijab or simply practicing the faith. But times change. Now, two months away from Election Day, a presidential candidate who supports the racial profiling of Muslims and banning their entry into the country is in real contention to be the next Commander-In-Chief. But before any of that, the vitriol and hate, the radicalization and endless news cycles, the color-coded threat levels and social media jihad, there was a simpler version of Islam in America. In this episode, we dive into what life was like for Muslims around a northern Virginia

"You just go again tomorrow." -Stuart Vorpahl Stuart Vorpahl is a lifelong commercial fisherman who took pride in providing the fresh produce of the sea. Stuart liked his job. He liked it so much that when regulation and politics threatened it, he ignored the old sayings and squared up against town hall. On the surface, it might seem as if Stuart was just really passionate about fishing, and he was. But his fight was about something bigger. We continue the second part of Stuart Vorpahl’s story—how a commercial fisherman in the Hamptons took on the New York State over his right to fish with a 17th century document from the King of England. Show Notes: [00:58] “Szaree” by Blue Dot Sessions [02:28] Part I here on the backstory of Stuart Vorpahl, East Hampton and the Bonnack way of life [04:25] “Thread Caramb” by Blue Dot Sessions [07:25] The book Men’s Lives by Peter Matthiessen dives much deeper into this fishing community’s way of life [08:25] “Stilt” by Blue Dot Sessions [08:55] “The Scroll that Defined The

"Timeout. If you see a hole, you mend it. You don’t go say I’ll go back and fix it. It don’t work." --Stuart Vorpahl The story of Stuart Vorpahl involves fishing, the Hamptons and the King of England. Amidst a town where Hollywood's A-list comes to summer, how did a commercial fisherman earn the notoriety of first-name recognition amidst locals, town officials and the conservation police? Show Notes: [00:40] "An Accumulation" by Blue Dot Sessions [05:15] Some light reading on East Hampton (Wikipedia) [07:10] "Bright and Blank" by Blue Dot Sessions [07:15] A "Lavish and Luminous" guide to the different Hampton towns (The New York Times) Also a recommended read about ghost tours King gives (Narratively, 2013) [07:20] The museum where Hugh King works  [10:50] More on Russell Drumm, who has passed away in January 2016. (The East Hampton Star, 2016) [13:45] "Scraper" by Blue Dot Sessions [19:40] "Balti" by Blue Dot Sessions [20:20] An article by Russell Drumm on pound-trapping. (The East Hampton Star, 200

"It's just status." -Buddy About: In pockets of America, like those in Oakland and throughout the East Bay of Northern California, the status quo of driving a vehicle is proudly rejected. Take a look at some of the rides out here and you’ll immediately get the sense that a car is more than just a car. Who are these people and what caused them to decorate Detroit-produced relics with candy-like paint, oversized rims and a sound-system that can probably be heard from Space? Show Notes: [00:45] “Keep It on the Real” by 3X Krazy [01:05] The 1985 Chevrolet Caprice Classic [02:40] ”_Jamlet” by Coolzey [04:30] ”Cirrus Transit” by Blue Dot Sessions [04:40] A 1960s era Cougar and Mustang [04:55] And scrapers [05:00] A donk, box and bubble Here’s a Jalopnik article he wrote about the culture [05:55] Raphael Orlove (@RaphaelOrlove) [06:50] Slabs on swangas (The Houston Chronicle, 2013) [08:20] A little backstory on Burley’s  (Oakland North, 2008) [08:40] The Ford Falcon and its relevance to Oakland (SF Gate,

“Thy will be done. Thy will be done. I don’t know. Please, I don’t know.” -Jessica Ripper   Jessica Ripper is a white American with blonde hair, blue eyes and a home in Northern California. Yet, to many in Pakistan, she’s an Islamic-gospel musician who plays the tabla. In the 700-year-old sufi-singing tradition of Qawwali, she’s a female trailblazer shattering century-old glass ceilings from sufi shrine to sufi shrine. And everywhere else, she’s a statistical anomaly, a bizarre outlier. Did fate direct Ripper to her path as one of the world’s only white female western qawwali players? Or was it chance and opportunity? You be the judge. Show Notes: [00:10] “Villager” by Blue Dot Sessions [02:25] “Villa” by Blue Dot Sessions [04:40] “Allah Hu” by the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Party [06:35] Shahzad Bashir [06:40] “Snowmelt” by Blue Dot Sessions [08:35] Fanna-Fi-Allah Side note: They’re working on a documentary project about qawwali music. See here. [08:40] On Ripper’s conversion to Islam. [09:00] “Allah Hu” by

"“People want to see good overcome evil, even though that’s not always the way it plays out, that’s what they’re coming out to see.” --Shane Hanson   Who should you be and what should you do? Escape all the worries of life with a quick trip to Hoodslam, a wrestling outfit based in Oakland, Calif. It’s an adult wrestling show where other people make that decision for you. At least, you submit yourself to believing in everything around you, like someone getting hit in the face with a chair, seeing the ghost of Charlie Chaplin jump off the turnbuckle or a drug-addicted bunny snort lines off a championship trophy. You don’t mind that what is fake is actually real and you begin to ask, “If I was a wrestler, who would I be?” (Answer: Super Self-Aware Man, a sure-to-be fan favorite) This is the story of an alternative wrestling show that boasts slogans like “Fuck the Fans” and “Don’t Bring Your Kids.” Why did it start, who goes to its shows and who are its wrestlers? More at thisissomenoise.com/ep-07. Show Notes: [

“It ain’t that I don’t care, it’s that I don’t really care.” -Bishop Glen A. Staples About: We live in a strange time, at least that’s what the story of the praise break reminds us. It’s the tale of an ecstatic dance rooted deep in race, religion and American history. It traveled centuries of oppression and made its way to present times where it’s been rejected by today’s social elites. Maybe because it looks crazy? Or maybe it’s dismissed because it unearths some dark reality that we’re not comfortable dealing with? You be the judge.   Show Notes: [03:03] “Clap Hands” by Tom Waits [03:20] “Temple of Praise ~ Praise Break” [04:45] The Temple of Praise [05:10] @bishopstaples [08:20] “Parade Shoes” by Blue Dot Sessions [09:40] “Slow Strutt” by Blue Dot Sessions [14:00] @cornelwest [14:02] More on the late Marion Barry (Washington Post, 2014) [14:04] @tdjakes [14:06] Pastor Sherman Watkins [17:10] “When We Set Out” by Blue Dot Sessions [20:35] Dr. Harold Dean Trulear [21:10] The Triangular Trade [21:25] “T

“To really answer the question, what is a question, is a very good question.” -Dr. Zeray Alemseged   What we can do? That question confronts, inquires, investigates and challenges. And it, by no means, is simple to define. For this episode of Some Noise, we try and get to the bottom of questions and ask a bunch of different people, from a linguistics professor, an experienced LSD taker to a futurist: “What is a question?”   Show Notes: [00:05] “Hypnosister” by LUMP [02:30] Zeray Alemseged (TED Talk, 2007) [02:40] On the Discovery of Selam (CNN, 2013) [03:55] “Vibrant Canopy” by Blue Dot Sessions [06:25] “Insatiable Toad” by Blue Dot Sessions [08:10] Bio for Eve Clark A short film with the same score [13:15] “Denmark” by Portland Cello Project [19:20] More on The Stanford Prison Experiment (Los Angeles Times, 2004) [22:20] “An Introduction to Beatles” by Blue Dot Sessions [28:00] Howard Rheingold (@hrheingold) [28:25] KLIF Dallas Radio Broadcast of President John F. Kennedy’s Assassination [29:55] Virt

“I mean I don't see a halo on you, even though I see a couple of horns. See that little angel and that little devil on the side? Yeah. You're you.” -Serafin Jose Saavedra This story, the Story of Me, probably won’t have a proper ending, like the kind that is comforting and reminds you that all is well in the world. It shouldn’t. Because that’s false and I’m not dead yet.   More than a month ago, the first part of this prologue aired with the intent of framing up this larger podcast project: a show about stories and the foolish pursuit of life, clarity and context. Family members, peers, friends and foes, from high school days to those that I work with were all interviewed. Rather, this prologue wraps up with the outside perspective. What do strangers think of me? If you’re six-years-old and reading this, don’t try this at home. You shouldn’t be talking to strangers. And then, the context. Was this project, a selfie in podcast form (possible Upworthy headline?), insightful? Did it provide any context about wh

“That’s just part of your mask—we all have a mask...” -Josh Quittner   About: Your work experience ultimately comes down to one thing—how you sell yourself. Which, is a lie (or like a half-truth). Achievements and accomplishments are important, but what about everything else? For part three of this prologue—the Story of Me—I’ve reached out to co-workers, old and new and asked them for a performance review. Leave your feedback by endorsing me on LinkedIn, seriously, be creative.   Show Notes: [00:37] “Thank You” by Nujabes feat. Apani B [The Japan Times, 2015] [01:38] Flipboard [01:52] Where I bussed tables for a few weeks. [The New Yorker, 2014] [03:30] “Sound of Da Beast” by KRS-One [04:50] “Ye Ishq Ishq Hai” by Roshanlal Nagrath [11:11] Newsday [13:15] Horses are measured in hands. [Cowboyway.com] [13:40] “Goin’ Back to Indiana” by Jackson 5 [14:20] The Indianapolis Star [15:10] “Can’t Get Indiana Off My Mind” performed by Kate Smith [The New York Times, 1986] [16:55] “Deaf Protesters Fear For Future

Quote: “I felt like there was a dark piece of you that was under there.” -Rachel Crowe About: For Part II of this four-part podcast prologue, we return to the school years. It’s a life experience most people can relate to—good or bad—in large part because of the amount of time spent.   If you’re in your mid-20s and graduated from a four-year college or university, there’s a fair chance that you’ve spent almost one-third of your life waiting for some sort of bell to ring. (You can do the math—[(# of semesters attended *~70 days per college semester)+(# of years spent in primary education*~180 days per primary school year) / [(# of years on Earth * 365 days of the year)]])* So for this episode, I went back to school. I’ve interviewed long-time friends and folks that I haven’t spoken to in a long-time. I reached out to professors, classmates and foes. And a high-school coach who once taught Ralph Macchio—the Karate Kid. How much have I changed? What did people think of me? Do people even remember who I am? *P

About: Who do you think you are?  It’s not an easy question to answer. It shouldn’t be. But I’ve tried to get the bottom of it by starting at the top. To introduce this podcast project—Some Noise—the foolish pursuit of life, clarity and context—I’ve decided to report on the story of me.  But why? If this is going to be a show about other people, their lives and purpose, then I think it’s only fair it start with, well, me. Who am I? Where do I come from? What are my values? And where do they come from?  I’ve interviewed family, friends, foes and strangers over the past year and asked them the very basic question—”Who am I?” It’s a four part series about me, according to others, broken up into family, the school years, work life and the outside perspective. Show Notes: 1. [00:45] “This Too Shall Pass” by Andre Paola Juan 2. [01:35] Bryan Hasho (@bryanhasho) 3. [03:10] Plato’s Allegory of the Cave explained 4. [04:25] Ethan Watters (@ethanwatters1) 5. [04:40] Urban Tribes 6. [10:00] “Valley” performed by Quraish