Thinking about Fast Food?

Think again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGtDPG4UfI

Google via text message AND more..

Yesterday, my man Khalil made Knowledge Born that you can Google via text message.
Google text definitely gets the Purple Yamster seal of approval for usefulness.

Try it out.

Text a search inquiry to 46645 and see what happens.

Check this out as well:

can ya ear me?

Peace,

So the Purple Yamster had to go to the otologist this past friday because the left ear was just stank and shit, i hardly could hear - all clogged up, that's what exactly it was. talking to the otologist, he asked me if i used q tips and i told him yes. he made knowledge born that the same manufacturer of q tips also makes liquid for ear infections. not that you can't use cotton swabs - you can use them - just for the outer portion of the ear and just in case y'all didn't know the ear naturally cleans itself - say what?! yeah, peep this joint: FindArticles - Now ear this
Vegetarian Times, Sept, 1998, by Martha Schindler

during my brief appointment with the doc, he basically vacuumed my ear and had a tool like this: http://flickr.com/photos/67964595@N00/103582814/ (arkworld also breaks down her experience with the tool in her asian household) scraping all the gold nuggets stuck inside my ear mine. i was mad disappointed because i felt like i could have had that same treatment at home minus the vaccum and the $100 payment. anyways, after my visit, my ole dad was speaking about how in vietnam (yes, there is a chinese presence in vietnam) at the barbers shop, the barbers would, for an extra fee would clean out ya ears.

when i got back to the rest, i had to investigate; i made some observations and came to the conclusion that even the manufacturer of cotton swabs ain't really tootin' its horn for ear waxage control, but for the many the other uses ...everything but ears...see for yourself below:








on a more positive note, the yamster needs to collab with these folks: http://purpleyamcafe.com/ - which came first the purple yamster or the purple yam cafe? the world will never know, it's like the amount of licks it takes to get to the center of the tootsie pop. :)

Purple Yamster Recipe # 1: Three Phase Process with Eggplants, Tomatoes, and Grains

Purple Yamster Recipe # 1

Part of my whole get down as a Purple Yamster means I’m mad thrifty and creative with what I got – I utilized the resources I have to the best of my ability into bringing a new world of flavors into existence. Seeing that there was an eggplant more wrinkly than my grandma laying around the house, I decided to rock Phase One: an eggplant dish AND Phase Two: a tomatoey dish adding that with some brown rice on top of a tortilla to create Phase Three: Taste Time.

What You Need:

Minced Garlic

Peanut Oil

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Curry Powder

1 Eggplant

2 Red/ Orange Bell Peppers

Brown Rice

Tortilla

2 Tomatoes

A Squirt of Sriracha Hot Sauce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha)

Spoonful Peanut Butter

Basil

Phase One: Simple Eggplant with Bell Peppers

Ingredients

1 Eggplant

Minced Garlic

Peanut Oil

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Curry Powder

Soy Sauce

Red/ Orange Bell Peppers

1. Wash and chop up eggplant and bell peppers. Throw some rice in the rice cooker.

2. Place in bowl – Marinate with olive oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Make sure you fold the eggplants around making sure they cover every square inch. Soak for 15 minutes or so. (Purple Yamster Insight: The reasoning behind that eggplants take a minute to soak up flavors and plus, I ain’t want to dry ass eggplants)

3. Warm up the pan, add peanut oil and minced garlic for brief second – let it brown a bit.

4. Add eggplant and grab a top and place it on top of the pan to speed the cooking process and soften up the eggplant. Let sit on low flame for 15 minutes or until you’ve reached the tenderness you desired.

5. Once you’re almost satisfied with eggplant’s tenderness, add bell peppers, let them sit for a few more minutes. (PY Insight: I purposely leave the

6. Turn off stove and let it sit to cook. Also, add curry on top and fold in. (PY Insight: Part of the reason, I fold it in is because I understand that curry burns very easily)

7. Clean that dirty pan off and get ready for Phase Two of this dish.

Phase Two: Tomato Mild Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

Tomatoes

Peanut Oil

Minced Garlic

Sriracha Hot Sauce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha)

Peanut Butter

Basil

1. Chop up tomatoes, garlic.
2. Warm up pan, pour a tiny bit of peanut oil and garlic, let it simmer and brown the garlic just a bit.
3. Place tomatoes in the pan and let it make that shhhhh sound on a low flame.
4. Add Sriracha Sauce and stir it up like Bob Marley a bit mixing up the tomotoes with the Sriracha Sauce. (PY Insight: I know the sauce has got some preservatives, y’know the way the Purple Yamster gets down is to use and utilize (use it well) what I got)
5. Let it simmer for a bit more.
6. Add peanut butter and fold it in. (PY Insight: I usually utilize miso and nutritional yeast, but I want to remix things up and throw in the peanut butter)
7. Pour into bowl and add finely chopped basil into the tomatoey heaven.

Phase Three: Serving Instructions

1. Grab a bowl add phase one and two as well as brown rice together.
2. Add more or less of the Phase Two depending on the consistency you desire. Personally, the consistency of a pasty like texture – not too saucy is the way I serve it.
3. Heat them tortillas of choice (on a pan, over a flame, etc. – just heat ‘em)
4. Add Phase One + Phase Two to make Phase Three onto the tortilla.
5. Enjoy AND Get your munch on.

Let me know if y’all got some suggestions for names or better ingredients/cooking methods for the recipe as I’m always open to ideas. Shoutouts to my roommate, G, who works at People's Grocery for hookin’ it up with the produce for making this dish possible. If you don’t know about PG, check them out here: http://www.peoplesgrocery.org/

In case you didn't know - Love Your People Day is...

More Than Just Fiyawata

More than Just Fiyawata

Written by Brother Sincere Justice 

“We’re entrepreneurs because we work closer and closer to having our own industries to flourish and we like to teach that.” – Ambessa 

Fiyawata is a unique blend of Hip Hop, residing in Oakland, California consists of Ambessa the Articulate and Zakiya Harris. Fiyawata, coined by Ambessa means a “balance of extremes” whose main message behind their music is “spiritual elevation and justice in every sense of the word.” Ambessa, originally from Brooklyn, New York and Zakiya, originally from East Oakland, met each other in the East Coast of the United States, only to move back to Oakland, CA in 2000. Recently, they released a mixtape entitled, “This is a Journey Into Sound, Vol.1,” which featured the likes of Kirby Dominant and DJ True Justice. In August 2008, they will be droppin’ a full length album named, “This is a Journey Into Sound.” To call them Hip Hop would be limit them, yet Hip Hop is the foundation in which they create their music in, although, their sound is clearly influenced by soul, rock, dub, ambient and other eclectic influences. 

Fiyawata is a labor of love in every sense of the word. They’ve been on the grind for 8 years, going on 9 years now and part of their secret of their recipe is that they’ve got love for the music like no other. Zakiya explains, “At the end of the day, it really is the love for the music that keeps us together” and Ambessa further explains that his love for the music is the simply fuel of “a dope beat and satisfaction.” It sounds simple, huh, but the plot thickens. Actually, Zakiya was attending law school and dropped to pursue her dreams as a musician. Zakiya says this all the time making it known plainly that “I didn’t choose music, music chose me” as she had carried various 9-5s, yet always found herself gravitating back towards music. In fact, the love really does keep their music together, as Ambessa and Zakiya are raising the young queen, Alissade together. 

Like many musicians in the Bay Area community, Ambessa and Zakiya found themselves working within various arts education programs in the non profit world, even explaining how Oakland is home to an overabundance of Hip Hop Non Profit Organizations. Zakiya critically explains how many of these same non profit agencies like many youth-oriented record labels are there to help youth make music and entrepreneurs, yet actually perpetuate the same kind of illusions of making it in the music industry by “keep[ing] the game twisted for young folks.” Many of these labels hold their hands by taking and “hooking them up” with distribution, guest appearances by well known artists, rather than having the youth really learn the process of being successful in the music industry. As Zakiya realistically states that, “no one will do it for you”  as an independent artist and youth have to hustle for success.     

In the Summer of 2006, Zakiya helped organize Grind and Glory, which was a basically a Bay Area American Idol emcee competition that garnered much success and recognition. Tired of working with non profit organizations and recognizing that they were the talent behind the many non profit organizations they worked for in addition to having the entrepreneurial passion necessary to try something different, they decided they had to take a different path. Stepping it up further, Ambessa and Zakiya wrote their first grant to the city of San Francisco and received $100,000 under Destined Nation Media, their events marketing and record label agency to create Grind For the Green, a four part eco music festival for youth and produced by Bay Area youth. Basically, G4G is a youth oriented music festival that works to hone and further develop the skills of youth via networking opportunities, musical performance, beat production, entrepreneurial skills and possibly even be  selected to get their chance to perform in the 1st Bay Area Solar Powered Music Concert alongside a nationally known musical artist.  Recently, at San Francisco State University, during their music conference segment of G4G, they featured Hip Hop emcee, Talib Kweli as their keynote speaker.
 
When Original Thought Magazine, asked Fiyawata about their definition and vision of community, Ambessa replied “self sustainability.” Ambessa and Zakiya are living examples of success raised in the hood, yet rose above their conditions and circumstances through countless hours of hard work and dedication. As Zakiya expresses the frustration of having your music, business and personal life collide, sometimes, “it’s so much about business and there is not enough [time] for intimacy” for themselves and their young daughter, 2 year old Alissade. Their daughter represents the a microcosm of the communities they work with as clearly explain, “it’s not about so much what you say, but your actions as all eyes are focusd on you.” Zakiya further remarks that “I can’t teach royalty, if I’m not royalty,” which is important to raising her daughter and raising their community up. In their vision of the community, Ambessa remarked how “ultimately what we fight for and struggle for in these neighborhoods is self governance because this is the Hood, this is where resources don’t come, because these are the redline districts where governments don’t send money to; this is the talent, the labor force – the critical mass that makes it around the world, [making] industries successful.” The movement has only begun. In the coming years, Ambessa and Zakiya hope to take their movement globally by reaching out to “humanitarian struggles” all over the world, especially Africa. Clearly, there is no doubt that Destined Nation Media, Fiyawata, and Grind for the Green are all about taking care of their family, their community and ultimately the world.  

For more information on Fiyawata, Grind for the Green they can be reached at destinednationmedia@gmail.com  or myspace.com/fiyawatacrew.

 grindandglorythemovie.com
grindforthegreen.com
fiyawataonline.com

Originally from OriginalThoughtMag.com July 2008 - register NOW to peep more articles like this! 

Acrylamide and the 10 Worst Foods

Peace,

Growing up in a Chinese household, my Old Earth (Mom) would always tell me to avoid fried food, but of course, I’d always ignore her and eat it anyways because salt, sugar, fat translated to yummy AND also would mean I’d have to drink some type of herbal tea to balance on the “fire” element within my body. Within the science of Chinese medicine/health, there is five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. In fact, the five elements are a good part of Chinese culture, even my Chinese name had to be drawn up, thought about and see if it fit the balance of the five elements. Sounds mathematical? That’s because it is.

Here’s an excerpt taken from The Taoist Secrets of Long Life and Good Health: A Complete Programme to Rejuvenate Mind, Body and Spirit By Charles Chan

Fried Food

In Spring 2002, Swedish Scientists discovered acrylamide, a carcinogenic substance, which made headlines. Several other European countries also corroborated Sweden’s discovery. Acrylamide forms from raw ingredients during traditional cooking methods such as frying or baking, the longer the cooking at high temperatures, the more acrylamide will be formed. Acrylamide causes cancer in test animals, which strongly suggests that acrylamide can also cause cancer in humans. Eating fried food is a double jeopardy to your health. It is wise to avoid eating high-fat food anyways and now you have got yet another compelling reason to pass on the fatty potato chips and other ‘goodies’.

More info on Acrylamide here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamide

Oh yeah, check out this White Girl talking about the 10 Wrong, I mean WORST Foods to eat:

(Thanks, Freedom.)