ENDORSEMENT Fridays - Pre Thanksgiving Edition

Let's get in to it...Turkey and things to get too ya dig!!!









JERI endorses the Comedy Central show, Chocolate News!

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia - In October 2008, Grier began hosting a new Comedy Central show called Chocolate News which focuses on how Grier "thinks" African Americans view the world. It is a spoof on TV news magazines, and, in a parodying way, how blacks would produce news and offer commentary.
Look, this show ROCKS!!! It's a mix of The Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Chappelle Show...it's witty, critical, humorous, and at times thought provoking; and I'm phuking excited to have some good programming featuring a man of color besides all the news reporting on Barack Obama blah blah blah (no I'm not hating, just stating). David Allen Grier has been putting in quality work for a long time on radio, film, and TV and I'm proud to see Hollywood and the "powers that be" green light a true talent in the game. I love it, so you should love it :-) Check Chocolate News out on Comedy Central on Wednesdays @ 10:30pm. Owww owww!!!

ENDORSEMENT Fridays - I'm Back!!!

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you... I have a lot of things to update on my blog since Burning Man but of course, when I came back to the lovely District of Columbia and tried to get on my Dell Laptop; I found a major Windows system error. WELL, the Geek Squad has just called me to tell me they've "fixed" the problems. Keep your fingers crossed for me :-) Well let's get into it. JERI endorses "Acts of Personal Cleansing."
During this period many people participate in the observations of Yom Kippur and Ramadan. There are other fasting exercises that take place now as well as throughout the year, but that is for another blogger, scholar, etc to detail. I've been on a cleanse myself for the past one week. YES, it's true. Sir John E. Rock Its did not drink alcohol for 1 WEEK!!! For many of you that know me, you re probably going through a cycle of feelings, thoughts, questions, and emotions about that like "(insert expletive here) stop lying!" But it's true, I did it! My lovely lady Angie Futurama proposed the exercise and like the great partner that I am read: madman, lunatic, fool for love :-) LOL I said "Yes, let's do it." I will write a separate entry about how it went but let the record show, it was one of the greatest things I've experienced in awhile. I feel good physically, spiritually, socially, and mentally. For me, this feeling is on a different level than anything because it was challenging. Gut check, when was the last time you actually did something truly challenging that rocked or countered a core behavior or trait of yours; in the case for me, drinking. I'm not talking about drunkenness and getting trashed, etc...I'm talking about a glass of wine @ dinner, a rum and coke @ happy hour, a beer while watching the football game...not as easy as you may think! Try it out. Much respect to my religious faith following brethren and people of personal discipline, who time to time invest in cleaning out themselves; which I believe lets them make a more meaningful impact on the world. SALUTE. I'm Back!!!

ENDORSEMENT Fridays - take 3

YES!!! Take-3, 1st time on time...still getting better and better. John E. Rock Its endorses responsible agriculture and eating.
I'm talking about organic, free-range, sustainable, locally sourced, bio-dynamic(you knew vino had to be included right), eco-friendly, "green", grass fed, seasonal (tomatoes and squash are jamming now!), farm-to-table, hand picked goodies to be consumed by your personal temple aka YOUR BODY. Yes, I realize there is a capitalistic element to how these products are produced, marketed, and sold, but that's not the point! Do your due diligence and learn about what these terms mean and how they benefit you. Visit the farmers markets in your area and ASK QUESTIONS. Buy fresh produce from a grocery store chain, the same from Whole Foods, and SEE, SMELL, TASTE, & FEEL the difference. I used to be a silent critic and non-believer; but I'm now converted ya'll! I'm not an expert on this (surprise,surprise right!), but I can tell you where I sometimes get my "healthy" on IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD - Timor Bodega, http://www.timordc.com/.
While I'm at it, shout outs to Everlasting Life and Soul Vegetarian on Georgia Avenue, the Bloomingdale Farmers Market (summertime Sundays till early fall), Whole Foods (for packaging the movement and educating people while giving so many options), to the Slow Foods movement, and all the earth and humanity conscious cooks (professional and not) in the WORLD.
Here's a little Australian vid about chickens & eggs - It's 9 minutos (not violent) and very informative about the process. Shout out to "Dudes on Food"
iT ALL STARTS WITH AN EGG

ENDORSEMENT Fridays - take 2

A little late, but here I go!!!John E. Rock Its endorses The Restaurant & Hospitality industry.
This may seem like a no brainer to some being that I work in the biz...but it's more than that. Many people work in industry's that they don't like; for me that's not the case. Matter of fact, I LOVE IT.
Check it. When is the last time you were in a room with an ex-convict, a former drug dealer, a former drug addict, a MBA graduate, a culinary school graduate, a former attorney and real estate investor, a spoiled rich kid, and a 2nd generation Nigerian...taking shots of whiskey and beer after working an 8 hour shift? For most people, NEVER. See the "restaurant and hospitality OR service industry," call it what you want, is as close to equal opportunity as possible. It's where people of completely different backgrounds, interests, education levels, races, genders, and religions can get together and truly collaborate to crate something AWESOME. It's not perfect, but it is as pure and raw, as it is muddled and processed. It's balanced. It takes you back to the basics and is the ultimate show and tell. Remember when you presented something on front of a class, not to compete but because you felt you had a point-of-view that would be interesting to someone else, and you couldn't wait for them to see? That's what this is baby! I got a bomb cocktail that I want to share, so here it goes. I have a lasagna recipe from my time in the pen that is gonna make you feel like you're in Italy! I have created a combination of flavors that encompasses my all my ethnic backgrounds that will have you eager for more and salivating, even as you are puzzled. This is where you put up or shut up, because in the end; the good survive and the GREAT flourish. PERIOD. I tip my hat off to my colleagues who everyday jump in head first and constantly strive to get better and better while delivering something tasty, outrageous, educational, simple, complex, savory, delightful, and refreshing; in efforts to see you coming back for more. Imagine that, an industry that thrives on human interaction; technology can't replace that. An industry encompassing the good, bad, ugly and everything in between (as well as everything outside the boundaries). Thank you show and tell, and thank you restaurant industry!

SALUD!
Jeri
Get Some!
http://www.ramw.org/
http://www.discus.org/

ENDORSEMENT Fridays - 1st take

I have a fairly laid back demeanor. However, most of you who know me or have heard me speak, know that at times I have quite strong convictions about certain things. These convictions cover a wide range of topics, and are presented to to the audience in different levels of force depending on the time of day, amount of sleep experienced, music I've listened too, and number of gin drinks imbibed; just to name a few possible factors :-)
Well, I'm going to make an attempt at standardization here, for YOU (and only you!). Every Friday I'm going to make an endorsement about "something(s)" I feel strongly about (see, I'm back to conviction again...it all blends perfectly). This will be fun and introspective for me and will give YOU a light experience about how it is to have a convo with me or see where my head is at, even if you are not with me at 4 am in Chinatown waiting on a G&T and beef in oyster sauce to go. So without further ado:

John E. Rockits aka JERI endorses 1)J* Davey and 2)Muhsinah


I took the opportunity to check them out at Liv this past Thursday and WOW...it was awesome. Simply put, they make DAMN GOOD MUSIC! I am not a music reviewer, nor do I want to become one so I will spare you my "expert" description, and I won't try and put their music in a category or box. Here's the deal, good musicianship (both performed with bands), excellent vocals, great energy and crowd interaction, fly looks, and SOUL.
Please take the time out to look them up online, whether washingtonpost.com, myspace, google, whatever and support their music...They rock!

Peace,
JERI

OK OK - fine, here's some clip-age (It's older stuff):

mUSINAH - cONSTRUCTION

Construction from Rxlngr on Vimeo.

j*dAVEY - mR. mISTER
J*DaVeY | Mr. Mister