Wednesday, February 27, 2013

What! When! Where! Who!: HEAL PRESENTS~WAJEEDAH HAMEED!

What! When! Where! Who!: HEAL PRESENTS~WAJEEDAH HAMEED!: HEAL Event Productions 916-607-5985 joi@healeventproductions.com Wajeedah Hameed - Unplugged Redefined 7pm Saturday March 2, 2013 ...

HEAL PRESENTS~WAJEEDAH HAMEED!


HEAL Event Productions
916-607-5985
joi@healeventproductions.com

Wajeedah Hameed - Unplugged Redefined
7pm
Saturday March 2, 2013

After a long hiatus, Wajeedah Hameed is returning to the performing stage.
All that know her, and have enjoyed her singing and felt her performances, will
again be delighted that she is back. Her unique vocal style will deliver the stories
 to you in such a way that deeply touches your spirit and you will definitely leave
 feeling hopeful and inspired.

Join us for an amazing evening - another H.E.A.L Event Production!

Piedmont Piano
1728 San Pablo Ave
Oakland, CA 94612
Tickets-$25.00  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/323232

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Hors d'Oeuvres ~Miniatures~From Turkey

From wiki--
A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album.The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums. 


Miniature painting became a significant Persian genre in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Monguls and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions.Persian art under Islam had never completely forbidden the human figure, and in the miniature tradition the depiction of figures, often in large numbers, is central. This was partly because the miniature is a private form, kept in a book or album and only shown to those the owner chooses. It was therefore possible to be more free than in wall paintings or other works seen by a wider audience.


The Koran and other purely religious works are not known to have been illustrated in this way, though histories and other works of literature may include religiously related scenes, including those showing the Prophet after 1500 usually without showing his face. As well as the figurative scenes in miniatures, which this article concentrates on, there was a parallel style of non-figurative ornamental decoration which was found in borders and panels in miniature pages, and spaces at the start or end of a work or section, and often in whole pages acting as frontispieces. In Islamic art this is referred to as "illumination", and manuscripts of the Qu'ran and other religious books often included considerable number of illuminated pages. 


The designs reflected contemporary work in other media, in later periods being especially close to book-covers and carpets, and it is thought that many carpet designs were created by court artists and sent to the workshops in the provinces.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wiki itibaren -
Bir İran minyatür bir kitap illüstrasyon ya da sanat eseri ayrı bir album.The teknikleri tutulması Amaçlanan elyazmalarının içinde minyatürler Batı ve Bizans geleneklerine geniş karşılaştırılabilir olsun, kağıt üzerinde küçük bir resimdir. Duvar boyama eşit derecede köklü Pers geleneği olmasına rağmen, minyatür Koruma sağkalım oranı ve devlet iyidir ve minyatürler çok iyi bilinen Batı'da Farsça resim biçimi ve en önemli örneklerinden çoktur Batı ya da Türk, müzelerde bulunmaktadır.
Önemli Farsça Minyatür biz 15. ve 16. yüzyıllarda olduğu elde Geleneğinde yüksek nokta için Monguls sonra Çin Etkisi alan, 13. yüzyıldan kalma bir tarz becames. Gelenek Bundan sonra, bazı Batı Etkisinde, Devam ve birçok modern üsler var. Fars minyatürü tamamen insan figürü yasak asla İslam'ın altındaki diğer traditions.Persian İslam minyatür sanatının etkisi baskın oldu ve tasvir rakamlar minyatür geleneği, ÇOĞU çok sayıda, merkezi bir konumdur. Bu kısmen çünkü minyatür bir kitap ya da albüm tutulur ve sadece bu seç sahibine gösterilen özel bir şeklidir. Bu nedenle, bu duvar resimleri veya WIDER izleyici tarafından görülen diğer eserlerinde daha özgür olmak için mümkün oldu.
Kur'an ve diğer salt dini eserler geçmişleri ve diğer edebi eserler yüzünü ju göstermeden 1500'den sonra Peygamber gösteren olanlar dahil din ile ilgili sahneler içerebilir rağmen, bu şekilde gösterilmiş olduğu bilinmemektedir. Yanı sıra minyatürlerinde figüratif sahneler olarak, bu makalede, bir çalışma veya bölümün başında veya sonunda minyatür sayfaları ve alanlarda sınırları ve paneller bulundu non-figüratif süs dekorasyon paralel bir tarzı vardı Hangi konsantreleri ve SIK frontispieces gibi davranan tüm sayfalarda. İslam sanatının bu "aydınlatma" olarak adlandırılan ve Kuran ve diğer dini kitaplar yazmaları SIK ışıklı sayfa considerabl sayısına dahildir.
Tasarım özellikle yakın kitap kapakları ve halı olmanın sonraki zaman dilimlerinde diğer medya çağdaş çalışma, Yansıyan ve birçok halı tasarımları mahkeme sanatçılar tarafından oluşturulan ve illerde atölyeler gönderildi O düşünülmektedir.

the big painting show-layers of abstraction by 8 bay area painters


the big painting show-layers of abstraction by 8 bay area painters

Exhibition Dates: March 8 – May 10
Artists’ reception: 2nd Friday, March 8, 6 – 9 pm
Weekend events will include wine tastings and artist talks. Check our website for updates.
2nd Friday reception: April 12, 6 – 9 pm
Closing reception: 2nd Friday, May 10, 6 – 9 pm
Gallery Hours:  Saturdays, 1:00 to 5:00 pm, Sundays by appointment
Location: Gray Loft Gallery, 2889 Ford Street, 3rd floor, Oakland, CA 94601
http://www.grayloftgallery.blogspot.com/

The Gray Loft Gallery is pleased to announce the big painting show, with works by eight established Bay Area artists.
Artists-
Rick Arnitz,Mark Ashworth,Suzy Barnard,Jamie Brunson,
Betty Jo Costanzo,Carol Lefkowitz,Simone Simon,June Yokell


The Gray Loft Gallery celebrates the achievements of emerging and established artists, with an emphasis on those who live and work in the Bay Area, in a non-traditional art space. 

The mission of the gallery is to provide exhibition opportunities for artists in a setting that is an alternative to the traditional gallery model. 

The Gray Loft Gallery is a unique venue located on the 3rd floor of one of Oakland’s oldest artists’ work/live warehouses in Jingletown, a vibrant arts district.




Jan Watten, founder
Gray Loft Gallery
2889 Ford Street, 3rd Floor, Oakland, CA 94601
GrayLoftGallery@gmail.com
www.grayloftgallery.blogspot.com
http://www.grayloftgallery.blogspot.com/
www.grayloftgallery.com
510-499-3445



Monday, February 25, 2013

Waring's Pennsylvanians-I've Got Some Lovin' To Do-To Accompany Julia Park Tracey's The Doris Diaries

I've Got Some Lovin' to Do - The Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen 1925-1926- Vol. 1 edited by Julia Park Tracey


Grab an ice cold coke. Kick off your shoes and settle in to read the breezy coming and goings of Doris Louise Bailey, a 17 year old who feels the tug of life and love--and we feel
her angst and her joys with her.
 One day she loves one guy, and the next day she hates him and on it goes.


 I don't know if Doris ever saw the movie Auntie Mame, but she could agree that ''Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death". Doris was cramming the early years of her life chock full
of crazy adventures,with horses, boys, married men, car wrecks, dances and just hanging out. Of course she hated school, but managed to survive with a good education she put to use in her later years.


I cannot wait until the next volumes when Doris puts all her energies into the labor movement.
 Julia Park Tracey did a wonderful job editing her great-aunt's diary, not an easy task. 

 Julia Park Tracey 

 
In my family everyone kept a diary.  I met Jeff Beck in England. My grandfather found a 'spot' on his private parts and got mercury treatment. All written in diaries. It must be difficult to work on a diary written by a relative and Julia did it perfectly--and more volumes to come. Meanwhile I will sink into Doris' teen years and appreciate her strong lust for love and life.

Amazon Ordering-http://www.amazon.com/Ive-Got-Some-Lovin-1925-1926/dp/1475939841/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361851745&sr=1-1&keywords=julia+park+tracey


Have a listen to Fred Waring's recording from 1923. It is hilarious!



TWILIGHT EN CALIFORNIE





TWILIGHT EN CALIFORNIE
par Proxima
 
Peach lumière dorée aux teintes s'attarde dans le coin de la cour

Les oiseaux descendent à la recherche de graines pour oiseaux

Rampant lentement dans la nuit. Induge dans la beauté de l'instant.

Le train de marchandises 5:30 souffle son sifflet.
Calme couvertures à nouveau notre petite ville.

Watercolors by Famous Artist Heidi Wycoff


Art By Heidi Wycoff
http://www.heidiwyckoff.com/

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Peale me a Grape-The Story of an American Artist Family

The Peale Family has usually been characterized as a talented family of artists. Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) painted more than one thousand portraits of the elite figures in colonial America and the early republic, in many cases providing us with our only likenesses of these individuals. Two of his seven sons were artists: Raphaelle (1774-1825) and Rembrandt (1778-1860). His brother, James (1749-1831), was a noted miniature painter in Philadelphia. Two of James's daughters, Anna Claypoole (1791-1878) and Sarah Miriam (1800-1885), were among the earliest professional women painters in America. However, labelling the Peales just as artists obscures as much as it reveals about them. Charles Willson Peale, the patriarch of the family, was not only an artist, but a multifaceted man of the American Enlightenment who engaged in society and culture in a wide variety of ways. His papers, as well as his children's, contain materials of a highly diverse nature, reflecting the varied interests and pursuits of the family. Completely edited and published, the material in the Peale Family Papers will add a rich vein to American cultural and social history.

The papers of Charles Willson Peale form the core of the collection. Born in Maryland, the son of a convicted felon who was transported to Britain's North American colonies, Peale was apprenticed at age thirteen to a saddle-maker, a situation he described as "abject servitude." Not successful in this trade, Peale tried his hand at other skills, such as upholstery, metalwork, clock and watch repair, and, almost by chance, portrait painting. Peale displayed initial aptitude as a painter, and in 1767 several wealthy and generous Maryland planters sent him to London to study with Benjamin West. He returned to Maryland in 1769 and rapidly established himself as the pre-eminent painter of the middle colonies. In June 1776 Peale moved his family to Philadelphia, right into the maelstrom of the Revolutionary crisis. Both Charles Willson and his brother James became active Whigs and fought in the American Revolution. Charles Willson became a soldier in the Philadelphia militia, was present during part of the fighting in Trenton, and at the Battle of Princeton; his diary as a militiaman is published in volume 1 of the Selected Papers. James fought in several battles with the Continental Army. Charles Willson also became active in Philadelphia's radical republican organizations and was drawn into Philadelphia's tumultuous Revolutionary politics. After the British army's withdrawal from Philadelphia, he served as an agent for the confiscation of estates and, in 1779, as a representative in the Pennsylvania Assembly. All of Peale's Revolutionary activities are fully documented in volume I of the Selected Papers.

After the Revolution, Peale was never able to regain pre-eminence as an artist. Perhaps it was his insatiable curiosity, his many interests or "hobby horses," as he referred to them, that precluded his focusing in any single area, including portrait painting. However, what was lost for Peale as an artist was more than compensated for in his many other accomplishments and achievements. For the historical editor or biographer, the diversified patterns and rhythms of Peale's life prove to be far more interesting than any single activity.Peale would follow many careers: naturalist and museologist, inventor, agricultural reformer, and even a dentist at the end of his long life. At first, his other activities coexisted with his vocation as an artist, but by the second volume of the Selected Papers, entitled, The Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810, art no longer dominates his papers.

In the mid-1780s Peale established his Philadelphia museum of natural history and art, which in little more than a decade became the most successful institution of its type in early America. In 1794, with his museum absorbing most of his time and energy, Peale formally retired as a professional artist, painting portraits only for relatives, friends, and his museum. In 1801, Peale, with the assistance of the American Philosophical Society and his friend, President Thomas Jefferson, organized an expedition to upstate New York to exhume the bones of an American mastodon, an important event in the history of American science. Assisted by his son Rembrandt, Peale mounted the skeleton in his museum. It was an immediate sensation and became a huge popular attraction and a scientific achievement recognized by both American and European scientists. The mastodon exhibit was a spectacular example of what Peale accomplished with his museum: a synthesis of serious science, popular appeal, and democratic access within the context of a private proprietary institution. By the second decade of the nineteenth century, Peale had increased the museum's collections to more than 100,000 objects, including 269 paintings, 1,894 birds, 250 quadrupeds, 650 fishes, more than 1,000 shells, and 313 books in the library. During these creative years- when Peale was in his forties, fifties and sixties--besides expending his major efforts on his museum, Peale devoted himself to another of his favorite "hobby horses," mechanics and invention. He obtained patents for an innovative bridge design, fireplace improvements, and a portable vapor bath. Peale also coinvented a writing machine called the polygraph, which made copies of letters and documents. While not commercially successful, the polygraph was a remarkably precise instrument and responsible for preserving three important collections. Peale used it to copy all of his letters, and made similar models for two of his friends, the architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had previously used a letterpress to make barely legible copies of his correspondence. He purchased one of Peale's polygraphs while serving his first term as President, and used it until his death in 1826, providing grateful historians and editors with clear, identical copies of his letters.

 Latrobe also used the polygraph for his correspondence, with similarly beneficial results for the editors of the Latrobe Papers. The Peale family collections are also rich in their quantity and quality of material on the inner workings of the American family. Soon after his father's early death, Charles Willson Peale assumed the role of family patriarch with great earnestness and determination. His letters and diaries explicitly touch on issues of parenting, gender relations, family structure, and kinship.
Material of this richness and variety has been published in the first four volumes of the Selected Papers, which are largely devoted to Charles Willson Peale. A fifth volume in press will contain Charles Willson Peale's autobiography. Almost one thousand pages in manuscript, when published, Peale's work will compare favorably with Benjamin Franklin's as one of the most important early autobiographies in American letters. The final two volumes of the Selected Papers will be devoted to Peale's children. Rembrandt Peale's papers not only document his work as a portrait painter, but also contain material on his quest for government patronage, his European travels, and his attempt to market a book on penmanship in America's newly established public high schools.
 Rubens Peale's documents are filled with material about his own art and science museums in Baltimore and New York. Titian Ramsay Peale's collection includes his participation in one of the major voyages of exploration and science in nineteenth-century America, the Wilkes expedition. Benjamin Franklin Peale's papers focus on the new tools and machinery of nineteenth-century America and his position as chief coiner of the United States Mint. The letters of Charles Willson Peale's daughter, Sophonisba, valuable both for their information on the Peales and as documents of family life in nineteenth-century America, will also be included. These volumes will not only add a great deal to our knowledge of American art history, but because of their unique cross-disciplinary character, will be extremely valuable to scholars and researchers in cultural and social history.



Charles Willson Peale: An Autobiography





Above left:
The Peale Family (detail)/ Charles Willson Peale/ Oil on canvas, c.1770-1773/ Image courtesy New-York Historical Society, NYC Above:
The Peale Family / Charles Willson Peale/ Oil on canvas, c.1770-1773/ Image courtesy New-York Historical Society, NYC
Anne Catherine Hoof Green/ Charles Willson Peale/ Oil on canvas, c. 1769/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Horatio Gates/ James Peale after the c. 1782 oil by Charles Willson Peale/ Oil on canvas c. 1782 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Richard Henry Lee / Charles Willson Peale/ Oil on canvas, replica after 1784 original, c 1795/1805/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington/ Rembrandt Peale/ Oil on canvas, porthole, probably 1853/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
George Washington/ Rembrandt Peale/ Oil on canvas, porthole, probably 1853/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
John Adams / Attributed to Raphaelle Peale/ Silhouette on paper c. 1804/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Abigail Smith Adams/ Attributed to Raphaelle Peale/ Silhouette on paper c. 1804/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Rubens Peale/ Rembrandt Peale/ Oil on canvas c. 1807/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Titian Ramsay Peale II/ Self-portrait/ Photograph, albumen silver print c. 1875/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Filibuster? Blame it on Aaron Burr-- My Relatives' BFF!

Unlike most Americans, I am a big fan of Aaron Burr. 


                                                                      Aaron Burr

As the Senate, the media, and the rest of political intelligentsia hums about the filibuster over the confirmation, I am smiling and shaking my head. 

From AP wire Feb 14, 2013:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., slammed Republicans today for attempting to filibuster the confirmation of former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as defense secretary, suggesting the Pentagon could be left without a leader if Hagel's confirmation is blocked. Reid announced this afternoon that the Senate will hold a cloture vote at 4:15 p.m. ET, requiring 60 votes to move on to a final confirmation vote tomorrow for Hagel.  If the vote today receives 60 votes, then the final vote on his confirmation tomorrow only requires a simple 51-vote majority. If today's cloture vote fails to receive 60 votes - in essence, a filibuster - then, Democratic leaders say they will attempt to end the filibuster when lawmakers return on February 24 after a week off.

Aaron Burr is one of America's colorful characters from the past who affected the tide of history in many ways other than his infamous duel with his political rival, Andrew Hamilton.
 
And--Aaron Burr is the reason behind filibusters.

 In 1789, the first U.S. Senate adopted rules allowing the Senate "to move the previous question", ending debate and proceeding to a vote.Aaron Burr argued that the motion regarding the previous question was redundant, had only been exercised once in the preceding four years, and should be eliminated.In 1806, the Senate agreed, recodifying its rules, and thus the potential for a filibuster sprang into being Because the Senate created no alternative mechanism for terminating debate, the filibuster became an option for delay and blocking of floor votes. {source Wikipedia}

To make a tangled tale short involving my family and Burr I will just say briefly that Burr was practically a brother to my ancestors Aaron and Matthias Ogden. Burr had moved in with the Ogden family after his parents died and the three boys became life long friends.

                                                    Aaron Ogden, Aaron Burr, Dayton

See the charming, flowery letter written to my relative Matthias Ogden by Burr:

Princeton 1777

Dear Matt,
I this evening received your letter of yesterday's date, by Stockton. I knew not how to direct to you, nor where to send for the horse, or should have done it sooner. I do not perfectly recollect the one you mention, but should be glad of any on your recommendation. Both boots and a saddle I want much, and shall be obliged to you to procure them for me;--good leather would suit me as well as boots ready made. I have not had a pair worth sixpence since those I had at Elizabethtown {New Jersey,USA).
As to expectations of promotion, I have not the least, either in the line or the staff. You need not express any surprise at it, as I have never made any application, and, as you know me, you know I never shall. I should have been fond of a berth in a regiment, as we proposed when I last saw you. But, as I am at present happy in the esteem and entire confidence of my good old general, I shall be piqued at no neglect, unless particularly pointed, or where silence would be want of spirit. 'Tis true, indeed, my former equals, and even inferiors in rank, have left me. Assurances from those in power I have had unasked, and in abundance; but of these I shall never remind them. We are not to judge of our own merit, and I am content to contribute my mite in any station.
I shall probably be at Morris within ten days, on public business. Write me whether I may expect you there. With sincere love to Mrs. Ogden,
Yours,
A.Burr

This letter is very revealing about Aaron Burr's personality. He has a tone I just can't describe in one word. Is it bold pushy, whiny, insincere, petulant, funny? All can apply I feel.  But I still love devil-may-care Burr even if he did some really bad things. He  did some great ones too and am very glad he was so close to the Ogden family. Filibusters or not!





If you want to read more about the wild adventures and escapades of Burr, the Ogdens and another friend from New Jersey, there is a fascinating article from the Smithsonian referenced below:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Burr-Ogden-and-Dayton-The-Original-Jersey-Boys.html 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Voodoo 'R' Us


Voodoo from A to Z is alive and well in pockets of many countries. Usually viewed 
as an unholy step-sister to established religions, voodoo can pop up as a marketing tool for movies, records, city tours, and even beer.
 But this 'other' religion is important to many cultures.


Oakland, California has an active underground voodoo culture.  While living there, 
I went to a couple of worn out looking stores where supplies and potions can be purchased cheaply. Every now and then there is a headline in Bay Area news that goat skulls or freshly killed chickens smeared with blood have been found. A lot of speculation and worry is spread focusing on theories that perhaps a serial killer is on the loose-- until voodoo, or its 
cousin, santeria, is discovered to be the source of the unholy remains.



Of course we cannot leave out New Orleans--and Louisiana--in our post. Delicious N.O. is a 
hotbed (so to speak) of voodoo and has many shops selling scary-looking items throughout the French Quarter.  The old graveyards are fun to visit and a couple of ten years ago my family went to one while on a "Voodoo Tour" and put little flowers on Marie Laveau's grave. 


 Voodoo can latch onto our primal instincts where fears can germinate. It can also help 
us express deep rooted passions such as love and hate. Nothing is better than the feeling 
of sticking a needle into a doll while pretending the doll is a lover who spurned you 
or the employer who turned down your raise--or vacation!

 
Mixed with Catholicism, Voodoo can be a magic cocktail indeed. Lent begins
 tomorrow and is the start of Christian holy days ending with Easter. These
events also coincide with pre-Christian festivals announcing that it is time to 
commence planting while celebrating spring's fecundity.


Today is Mardi Gras. It's carnival season too. Birds are mating, tree buds 
cautiously peaking out at the sun and life is good. The circle is unbroken.


 So let's chant, dance, imbibe, eat like 
there is no tomorrow. Fears and chilly winter days are 
gone for the moment, the Voodoo gods are appeased.

Let the good times roll.






Saturday, February 02, 2013

"Seize The Time; The Eighth Defendant ~ Bobby Seale's Movie about the history of the Black Panther Party









Bobby Seale is producing a feature length motion picture dramatization that chronicles his legendary life as Chairman, co-founder and national organizer of the Black Panther Party. According to Bobby, "the narrative will follow the history of the Black Panther Party including the involvement of its leading membership."

In a recent interview with Mr. Seale,  he stressed that "The real heroes in my Black Panther Party were all the thousands of sisters and brothers who made the many programs work. What makes me feel proud of being a part of the history and legacy of the Panthers is the courageous and creative young brothers and sisters who helped organize it. Our feature film, “SEIZE THE TIME: The Eighth defendant.”will tell our American sixties protest movement history and the true history of the Black Panther Party that every human being on earth must know from the silver screen. I am hoping that everyone who can afford will support my film project."

Bobby undertook the task of producing his own cinematic life story because of his frustration with movie companies who produce films about him without his involvement. "They usually contact me after they have made their film and often times expect me to endorse it. I feel obliged to do this until I see the final product."

Since the late 1970s, Bobby Seale has spoken to millions of people on college campuses, TV programs and radio stations worldwide. Audiences have been mesmerized by his charismatic speeches as he relates his personal experiences of a historical period that helped shape today’s politics. Now these experiences will be integrated into a feature film.

Most cinematic depictions of the Black Panther Party leave out the FBI's efforts to terrorize the Panthers through its counter intelligence program. This led to Panther members being assassinated and legally framed based on the false testimony of FBI informants.

The image of Bobby Seale chained, gagged, and bound to a chair in a Chicago courtroom is one that lives in America’s national consciousness. This film tells the story of how he got there, and how he survived. It comes from Bobby Seale’s memories, with his approval and in his voice.  It offers dramatic and essential insights into United States history and the conflicts and contradictions that reverberate to this day.

"There is an entire generation of young people who know nothing about how viciously the FBI attacked us and why. Even people of my generation don't know that J. Edgar Hoover said the Black Panthers Breakfast for Children program represents the greatest threat to America's national security.”

“Seize The Time; The Eighth Defendant " will give its audience a glimpse into the life of Bobby Seale. It will also narrate the tumultuous 1960s and 70s, an era which the Panthers helped shape. A cast of actors will play the part of the people who were Panther members and show the social movement they created. The film will highlight how the Panthers prevailed.

Bobby explains, “ Most people don't know that we won 95 % of our courtroom cases. " This happened in a period of time where their lives and those of their comrades and families were constantly threatened and undermined.


To find out more about Bobby's journey to produce "Seize the Time, The Eighth Defendant." watch the promotional video on the film's Indiegogo funding page.  Bobby Seale has also written a book, “SEIZE THE TIME". If you would like to purchase an autographed copy of “SEIZE THE TIME", you can find one at his Indiegogo Funding page. The purchase of the book will support and be part of getting his important independent feature film produced: 

In the Spotlight

Son & Father : The Two Edgar Kaufmanns

Grace Stoops Kaufmann, wife of the famous owner of Fallingwater, Bear Run, second wife to Edgar Kaufmann, Sr. Far from dying at the Kaufmann...