8 posts tagged “usa”

Lisa --

I am proud to announce my nominee for the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

This decision affects us all -- and so it must involve us all. I've recorded a special message to personally introduce Judge Sotomayor and explain why I'm so confident she will make an excellent Justice.

Please watch the video, and then pass this note on to friends and family to include them in this historic moment.

Judge Sotomayor has lived the America Dream. Born and raised in a South Bronx housing project, she distinguished herself in academia and then as a hard-charging New York District Attorney.

Judge Sotomayor has gone on to earn bipartisan acclaim as one of America's finest legal minds. As a Supreme Court Justice, she would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Justice in 100 years. Judge Sotomayor would show fidelity to our Constitution and draw on a common-sense understanding of how the law affects our day-to-day lives.

A nomination for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is one of the most important decisions a President can make. And the discussions that follow will be among the most important we have as a nation. You can begin the conversation today by watching this special message and then passing it on:

http://my.barackobama.com/SupremeCourt

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Bloggers Note: I like that there is a typo in this email from the President of the United States to me. It shows that the White House, just like the rest of us on earth, is not perfect either.

Hillary Clinton let me know today (see her letter below) that this Saturday she is going to step aside and let the Democrats get on with the tough election they face this year, conceding the race to Barack Obama.

Thanks Hillary! Yes, it's time, and you are very needed in helping the Democrats win back the White House this year.

Many congrats to Barack Obama for running what has been, and continues to be a campaign that inspires hope among voters. He has really fired up the USA Democrats, and seems to be achieving a remarkable appeal, crossing over party lines and making mince of traditional voting patterns. This blog will be enthusiastically supporting Barack Obama in the run-up to the November '08 Presidential elections, as he did completely win me over earlier this year. I'd been on the fence for the early days of this race, and had wanted to see both candidates stop the primary campaign earlier, set aside their differences, and pal up on the Democratic party ticket to make a powerful partnership. Who knows, maybe that will still happen?

This is an exciting race, and I'll be watching it, from across the pond.

A Letter from Hillary to Me

Dear Lisa,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

 

 

Well last Friday night my performance art group helped a great bunch of folks kick-off a new club night here in London called Little Bit Country Little Bit Rock n Roll, an evening presented by artist and musician Cheyne Pride, who, if you remember the 80s, had a hit dance track called Call Me Mr. Telephone.

As part of my hillbilly comedy cabaret art, I wrote new material to present an evening performance featuring my Hee Haw! House.

The audience laughed out loud over the show, featuring a cast of characters who went at it SMACK-down style in cabaret wrestling! I loved the mash-up style of the evening that mixed country rock lovers with British punk rock lovers and a lot of other pop cultural influences inbetween. We teamed up with Cheer-A-Go-Go to energize the audience for the evening, and get them ready for the fantastic headliner band JC & The Disciples, formed by a couple of legends from the original London punk rock scene.

Check out a few of my favourite photos from the night, here:

Folks liked it so much that we've been invited back for more, and are now invovled with helping the organizers get ready for a big bash here in London celebrating the Fourth of July! If you are in London, please mark your calendar and I hope ya'll can come on out and join us at Inn On the Green in Ladbroke Grove on Friday, July 4th!

Ya’ll will have another chance to check out my Hee Haw! House comedy cabaret act, this coming Friday night, as we are performing as part of a new club night A Little Bit Country and a Little Bit Rock N Roll. The night promises to be an Americana-style celebration offering up country western, blues and good old fashioned rock-n-roll music, along with dancing and performance and DJs, and great big grins at the Inn On The Green .

Yes, smiles will be a plenty among this crowd, a gathering being organized by the talented

country western, and rock ‘n roll, singer Cheyne Pride. She’s brought together talent for the first of her new regular club nights with an Americana theme that will leave Londoners feeling warm and fuzzy about the good ‘ol stars and stripes and the fantastic music, art and cultural talent that has brewed from the USA.

Headlining the night is the band National Debt, a country blues rock band based in London, founded by Ronnie Smith  and Michael Messer, with backing vocals by Cheyne Pride, sound engineer Chris Clarke, and Ed Genis contributing on guitar. The band’s debut album ‘From the Horse’s Mouth’ was released last spring, earning attention from music press in the UK, including airplay on BBC Radio 2, when Mark Lamarr took a liking to the band's tune ‘Oozlin’ Daddy Blues’.

This band will get you slapping your thighs, lifting your cowboy hats in tribute and tapping your feet along with the beat. Added bonus of the night is JC & the Disciples  and dancing cheerleaders from Cheer-A-Go-Go, along with my very own Hee Haw! Whore House comedy. As The Madam of the Hee Haw! Whore House, I’ll be presenting new comedy material SMACK-down style with cabaret wrestling!

Well I hope ya’ll can come on down this Friday, and if you can’t make it this week, do mark your calendar for July 4^th to enjoy an American-style celebration of the national holiday, right in the heart of Londontown at Inn On The Green.

Here are the details for Friday:

Cheyne Pride Presents:

 

 

 

I’ll be debuting my new comedy cabaret show with the Finger in the Pie cabaret festival at Madam JoJos in the heart of London’s Soho this weekend. Come on down for my:

                   Doors open at 7 PM

                   Tickets £8

You can expect to have a hee haw! of a good time if you come down, where there will be plenty of a hooting ‘n a hollering in hillbilly style.

We’ve got a fantastic little cast of Londoners including:

    Simon Harris, who is the head of the Hand of Glory record label and a co-organizer of fantastic random clubbing nights with events like The Human Zoo, inviting people to get in touch with their inner beasts, and the Nativity Hoedown. This spring he debuts a new CD from artist Mary Epworth and the Jublilee Band. Connect with Simon over at myspace.com/handofglory7.

James Whatley, who studied drama and spent a few years working in television before finding his niche in the mobile technology industry where he is fondly known by his colleagues as Whatelydude. Connect with James at whatleydude.vox.com

Tiara Diamond, who is studying drama at Thames Valley University, is a graduate of BWI’s Ultimate Burlesque Workshop and performs burlesque under her stage name Tiara Diamond. Her play ‘Breakers’ featured at the cornerHouse festival. You can find her on The BurlyQ Blog at tiaradiamond.wordpress.com

Our stage hand for the Hee Haw! Whore House is my husband Dr. John Fraser Laird Devaney (he’s smart

Rehersing to Hee Haw! At the Finger in the Pie Cabaret Festival www.fingerinthepie.com

because he has a PhD in physics, and is figuring out some crafty set challenges we’ve had). We’ve also got our own stylist and costume maker Diana Munauru who sews bespoke costumes and clothing for theatre performers, fancy dress and gowns for charity and society functions. You can book Diana by emailing her at Diana.langa@hotmail.co.uk

And me! When it comes to entertainment experience I don’t have any real formal training, except having studied improvisational comedy with the fantastic Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City, a group that can claim a number of comedy stars, and having absorbed knowledge from being around show business since childhood, with my father, who was a Julliard-trained Broadway musician. I’ve also performed a one-woman show, having turned myself into an online/offline cartoon girl of the New New York who took to the stage and became known as (((Futuregirl))), or the FutureG among some. With that adventure I pulled my friends into my art project (those who were willing and surprisingly no one declined to be turned into a cartoon) by giving them cartoon ‘treatments’ and having them come out for a party dressed in their self-created cartoon selves. It looks like I'm up to similar tricks here in London, and I'm really looking forward to being on stage with others this time.

No sparkly star studded cast and crew is complete without fans, so we’ve even got an entourage coming along, with the fabulous Miss Risk (Kate Risker) planning to attend, and others.

I’ve produced this Americana slapstick-style comedy, with a bit of old fashioned British pantomime influence that I hope will entertain London audiences. With this show, I’ve also unofficially anointed myself as being:

America’s Alternative Cultural Ambassador!

Having witnessed British people really adore a bit of down-home American-style music and entertainment, when I
was part of the Nativity Hoedown, I’ve decided to carry on with this theme, presenting a bit of hilarity with my new cabaret act.

Made with inpsiration from: The Original Hee Haw! Television Show. View clips here:

Hee Haw - Pfft You Were Gone

Hank Williams Jr on Hee-Haw

HEE HAW

For those of you who remember American sitcoms in the 1970s, you may recognized this performance is inspired (not at all copied as an fyi to any copyright cops reading this blog) by that popular show Hee Haw! that I watched often, while growing up with my family in America. Having lived here nearly  four years now, at a time when my country is terribly unpopular,  I'm inspired by the inevitable upcoming political change that will happen in November, and  I'd like to be a  little bit more courageous in  offering up  examples of the more positive things about America  that I feel have been extremely overshadowed by  these year's under an unacceptable presidential leadership in my country. So hee haw! for my America and hip hip hurray for whoever takes George  Bush's place in November.

A bunch of London hillbilly's rehearse for Finger in the Pie cabaret festival. 6th April 2008. www.f

1 comment

If the Hee Haw! Whore House is well-received with this performance, expect to see more hee hawing here in London in the future.

Practicing my hee haws for Sunday night,

-Lisa

Hai Media Group Logo by Dan Boultwood

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There it was, dressed in shiny patent leather and resting peacefully on a display shelf in the middle of Shepherd's Bush Market in London, off of Goldhawk Road. I spotted a

Bathing Ape 'Bape Sta' in the window, and found out that the store showcasing the rare breed of Japanese trainers (American translation = sneakers) is one of only two places in London that sells the brand. Plenty of Bathing Ape lovers have been visiting Global Sports US to check out, and buy, the coveted kicks from Japan, most being hip-hop fans. The shop's owner Ismail Khan, recognizing his customer's taste for music and fashion, has set up turntables in the store for your listening pleasure and even brings in local DJs on the weekends. His store's collection includes trainers covered in Swarovski crystals, hard-to-find issues of Nike, Adidas, and urban street wear with a USA style focus.

The Bathing Ape clothing line, also known as 'BAPE', got its start in 1993 in Tokyo, by Tomoaki Nagao, a young fashion editor turned designer who is better known as Nigo. Nigo's direct influence for the line comes from the 1968 classic movie Planet of The Apes. With his heroes also being Run DMC and other East Coast USA hip-hop greats, he seems to have followed a Russell Simmons business model, having sold limited edition t-shirts to launch the brand, and got artists to wear his clothing while performing. All being similar tactics used to launch the Phat empire. Nigo's Bape Sta design captures a lot of the retro flair of old skool hip-hop attire and is highly valued among trainer afficinados.

Purposefully elusive, Nigo produces limited edition one-of-a-kind merchandise that has increased its street value because it is hard to find. The brand has also branched out to include hair salons, cafés and rumour has it a Bape hotel will be opening soon. A-listers maintain loyalty to the brand, knowing that their fans won't be able to easily rush out and copy their wardrobe because Bathing Apes original products are nearly extinct once they hit the shelves.

I love the Wonder Woman pair, and will be saving my pennies to buy these someday, as at Global Sports US the retail

price is £160. The other location in London for Bathing Ape is at the official store found at 4 Upper James Street, Soho London, W1F 9DG, a posh address. I'd suggest visiting Global Sports US first to check out Bathing Apes, and make an afternoon of discovering the Shepherd's Bush market, where, after shopping, you can stop for a middle eastern lunch at one of the many international food stalls. 

 

Saving up for a pair of Bape Stas,

 

-Lisa

 

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based

in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. For a reference key to this blog, visit this post. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

Today I've officially hung up an OPEN for business sign in my virtual shop window.

I've started telling the whole wide world about the Hai Media Group, my London-based agency offering traditional public relations and multimedia communications services to a variety of clients. Find out all about HMG here:

View HMG's launch press release here.

Why hai?

Hai is Japanese for yes. Yes, to me, in any language, is an extremely positive affirmational statement and a simple word I apply to much of my life and the attitude I take to working with clients. Yes opens doors. No shuts doors. The power of the word yes first became pivotal in my life, when I studied improvisational comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City. My teacher Ari Voukydis explained that whenever you enter an improv situation on stage with a comedy partner, your response to whatever they do should always be yes!

Yes! keeps the show going. Yes! lets the amusing script emerge and yes is a word that overcomes stage fright, welcomes others into your show, and is the absolute key to opening your mind to creative possibilities. For me, I began using the word yes much more often, beyond the stage. The impact was transformational. It was the word YES that got me here to London, when I said yes to my husband Dr. John Fraser Laird Devaney's proposal of marriage. Oh, by the way, the .com URL for calling my company the Yes Media Group was taken. I like hai better anyways. :-)

So, woo hoo! Hip, hip, hurray! And a big fat American-style cheer for the launch today of the Hai Media Group

I'm sipping a bit of champagne right now and giving myself a hard earned huge pat on the back for this committment. I've been working really hard since late August 2007, to get everything I need in place for this moment. I'm now at a point in time where I feel confident enough with HMG to let everyone, even my Mom, know about this entrepreneurial venture. I've been operating as an independent PR consultant since 2002, but my business has grown to include collaborating with other professionals in a variety of exicting fields, and I felt strongly that it was time to hang a brand on what I've been doing. Setting up this business has meant that I've had to spend a lot of quality time with my computer, often on weekends and late into the night over the last six months. In addition to creating the HMG brand and business plan of action, I've been keeping up existing work and personal life responsibilities - and blogging here on Vox.com! I've heard it a million times from independent business people about how working for yourself is a 24-hour job, and I certainly now know exactly what they are talking about. It's like I'm pretty much working all the time! The good part is that pushing yourself to be entrepreneurial and self-sufficient can also be extremely self-motivating.

HMG is allowing me to do a lot of very positive things and has opened up really exciting potential opportunities. While I am the founder and director of this young company, I do not work alone! I've teamed up with some really great media partners, all who I've worked with in some capacity during my career both in the USA and here in the UK. So, here is my big thanks to the following very supportive people who have been encouraging in helping me with the steps I've needed to take with this business:

• Sarah Platt and Ben Styles with Kinura.com
• Barbara Anglisz and Nick Cordua, who run Adept Technologies. Barb, who is among my BFF crew, has been a long term pal who I met waaaay back in my Silicon Alley days, a client, and a very skilled business person I emulate and respect.
• Dr. Richard Barbrook, political science lecturer at the University of Westminster, and author of Imaginary Futures, who early in our friendship and professional association working with Cybersalon and its festival Cybersonica, spotted that I had a blazing creative and entrepreneurial spirit and helped me culture this to better fit the London community. He also figured out that I'm an artist and performer, in addition to my PR profession, and has enjoyed, and encouraged, my occassional impromtu showcases of odd spoken word poetry, improv ballad singing and comedy performance art.
  
• Kate Risker, who, in my opinion, and experience of working nearly 15 years in promotions, is London's absolute most amazing event organizer. She's a delight to be associated with here in London, and in a lot of ways reminds me of myself -- about, well, a long time ago. Her enthusiasm and passion for the event's industry is infectious. She keeps a blog on Vox at www.missrisk.vox.com
• Vijay Chattha who heads the high-tech public relations firm VSC Consulting in San Francisco, and who I've worked with as a virtual 'ambassador' for his company here in London for a few years now. What I most like about Vijay is that he is not at all just a PR guy, he has fantastic intelligence, a big multicultural heart, and entrepreneurial skills and experience that very few PRs possess. Vijay also DJs, and sings, with a fantastic Punjabi-hip hop jazz funk band called Black Mahal, who bring bhangra beats to the masses, and he supports the beautiful charity Project Ahimsa. Did I mention he is a really nice guy as well?
  
• Gerry Griffin, the founder and CEO of Skill-Pill, who truly delivers a very important leadership characteristic of being a person who 'shows' rather than 'tells' as he is freely sharing knowledge with people, and in this way is someone I am learning a great deal from about the business world.
  
• Helen Keegan, who is a mobile marketing expert and writes the popular mobile industry blog Technokitten.com and who I give a heck of a lot of credit to for how I developed the name and branding of the Hai Media Group, as, tough critic though she can be in business, totally steered me in the absolute right direction with what I've been up to in my professional life over the last few years, and continues to be a navigator through what is inevitably the rough, rough, seas in the oceans of start-up business and self-employment
  
• Dan Boultwood, a rising comic book star in Britain, who helped me develop a logo and branding for HMG. I've been his fan since meeting him in my early days of living in London. And got very enthusiastic about his work, as I am a lifelong fan of comic book-style art in all its forms. Look for his comic series Hope Falls, which he produces with the writer Tony Lee, and view his mind-blowing portfolio at: www.shedmanor.co.uk
  
• Steve Double who is a total A-lister portrait photographer. Wow! - check out his photographs at www.double-whammy.com
• Heather Luttrell who is the founder and president of IndieClick.com, based in LA, an amazing digital visionary, who also happens to be a long term BFF (yes, you can have lots of BFFs and I have a few) from back in my Alley days, and a business mentor who has helped me learn a lot about the digital world in the last decade +
  
• My adored friends in New York City: DJ Mark Flynn and my beloved BFF soul sister Karin Louise Mahoney who I am now allowed to tell the whole wide world this news --- Mark and Karin are GETTING MARRIED!
  
• My husband Dr. John Fraser Laird Devaney (a PhD in physics that is!) who is my absolute secret weapon especially in swat team problem-solving IT needs and emotional support for this scary adventure
  
• & many, many, many more people on earth!

I also want to offer a huge thanks to Vox.com for developing a fantastic user-friendly blogging platform that has helped me so much over the last couple years that I've been blogging here. Hip, hip, hurray for Vox.com!

I may try to list all the other people I value (who don't mind being exposed online) in a separate big praising, big love post - all who have offered both really good business counsel and ongoing friendly, trustworthy support. Some of these people even go back to my childhood days growing up in the New York City metro area! HMG is a testament to the kinds of service and creative work I have delivered over the years, but more importantly - it is a beginning for what I aim to bring to the world moving forward.

My simple mission with HMG is to offer sensible service to my clients that makes full use of my two decades of communications experience in traditional PR, while keeping a very alive eye toward the future of how best to reach out to target audiences in ways that hopefully do not feel intrusive, or piss them off. With HMG I'll be folding in new technology marketing approaches where possible with client campaigns, which is why I'm defining my service offerings as being multimedia communications. In my opinion, the best approach to delivering messages is through multimedia that mixes up a variety of tools and tactics. I'll write more about what multimedia communications means to me professionally, but it is basically what ever single one of us live with, use and for the most part enjoy, every single day. Multimedia might mean being struck by an awe-inspiring still photograph, a hilarious YouTube video or an SMS text message that you get on your mobile phone. Multimedia is everywhere and everything around us and is changing every single day.

I'm a participant and creator in the emerging multimedia media landscape -- and so are you.

Welcome to my multimedia garden and I'm looking forward to adventures with my Hai Media Group.

Grow With HMG

You may also notice the plant theme going on here with the Hai Media Group. Nature and plants and the symbol for growth that they represent are central to what I am all about. Green also happens to be my favourite colour. I may live in the big bad city, but in an urban environment it is the green growing plants that mean so much to me -- even if it is just one struggling weed growing up between the cracks in the pavement. That struggling weed is representative of who I am, and what this business is all about. Plants also symbolize so much of my own artistic endeavours over the years, as well as the works of so many of my artistic friends. HMG is here to support the struggling weeds that show amazing potential. We will never STOMP on the growing creative energy that struggles to force its way up through the cracks in the pavement, because to do so is to kill spirit and energy that might emerge to fantastic potential and benefit everyone. HMG is a a watering can, a stake to hold up your business, nutrients for growth and supportive wall you can lean on when the fruits of your labor get a little to heavy to bear.

 

Back from the USA, I'm reflecting on my country, and the circle of creative friends and family I keep close. Here in the

UK, having lived here three years, it has been unpopular to be an American - and I often hide my nationality in unfamiliar company. In one instance, I asked a rude tube rider to lower their voice, and was attacked verbally with the comment - "shut-up you damn Yank!" - an early introduction to the fact that my USA origin was not welcome by many. In another interaction, an older woman I met at a tea shop suggested that it might be better to tell everyone I'm Canadian while living in Britain. Her advice spoke true to the mood I've faced since relocating here in 2004, but I'm not good at lying at such unavoidable truths - and after a warm and joyous visit to the USA, I'm more inclined to defend what I adore about my country. Top things being:

• The sense of humour my fellow New Yorkers display in all interactions, laughs are a plenty among strangers -- with cab drivers, hot dog vendors, cashiers, bartenders and shop stall managers, willing to share a chuckle during an exchange. For lunch one day I decided to have a knish with mustard and a hot dog and let the vendor know that I was having a quintessential New York City lunch, because I miss my city and all its iconic quirks. He smiled and laughed at my selection and agreed my choices were staples in his city. 
  

• Friendly warmth abounds in my country of the USA - whether it was in Ohio, traveling through West Virginia or elsewhere I ventured in the Northeast, it was easy to strike up a chat and share sometimes surprising personal details with another person. Unlike the reserved approach I've had to adjust to in the UK, interacting with American's means you might find yourself talking about your cat, your grandparents, your children or other aspects of your life that strangers don't usually engage over. The small talk is just that, and hardly means you've made a new best friend, but that initial barrier between people is easily overcome in most situations, making for a warmer human experience than I encounter here in the UK. I like it, I miss it.

• Positivity prevails throughout the USA. Everyone faces struggles in day-to-day existence, but Americans have a way of transforming the most unfortunate situations into 'blessings' or 'learning experiences' or something that 'was meant to be for a reason'. I heard these phrases from many during my travels, in response to learning about a tough situation someone may be having. Rather than gloom and doom, people seemed to rise above anything that was thrown to them and look ahead toward the future with optimism and hope. An old landlord of mine informed me that she was clean and sober and transforming herself through 12-stepping with AA, and filling her newly found freetime with learning how to perform in amateur musicals and acting classes. She feared that she may be too old to enter the entertainment world, but I told her that her enjoyment of the experience and positive approach would prevail -- and that wrinkles only add depth to her character and personna. She agreed, and, like so many Americans I know, naturally possesses a can-do attitude that will make things happen for her.

It is humour, friendliness and positivity that I'm thinking about today and will be offering to my new British friends -- and these are three things that make me feel patriotic and proud of my country. I consider myself to be an alternative patriot, as I'm not interested in rallying round the flag and pushing so-called Democratic freedom upon my global neighbors. The saying goes - show don't tell and lead by example, not force. In New York City, I met a talent agent who represents an artist who is drawing crowds to see his alternative patriotic performances. Liam Burns introduced me to the work of Michael Israel, who performs art in concert, painting his patriotic passion -- visually sharing his own feelings about the USA, with audiences who end up cheering, and even crying when his show overwelms them with emotion for their country. View one of his perfomances here:

Just how far am I willing to go in expressing my own alternative patriotism?

Well...you can find out this Saturday night in London!

Hee Haw & Ho Ho Ho!  It is Merry Christmas Time - Americana Style this Saturday!

I've got a showcase opportunity this week to demonstrate my alternative patriotism and deliver kitchy goodwill Americana-style.  I've written a pantomime-style script portraying the classic nativity story in a comedic 'White Trash Christmas' scene.  On stage, I'll be expressing my alternative patriotic views with party guests and don't mind if they mock some of the silly culture that was born in the USA. Think Dukes of Hazzard meets Oklahoma for this party, and below is the invite and details if you feel like coming along for a hoot 'n a holler of a good time this weekend:

That’s right we all know the story... however, what you may not know is that The Wise Men not only brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, but actually thought it’d be a good idea to bring some wash boards, a fuck load of gingham and a big pouch of chewy tobacco. They were attending a special function in a barn after all. The Shepherds brought the moonshine and much makin’ like a hog was made.

We are planning a Nativity Hoe Down on Saturday, the 8th December 8pm-4am, the idea being that Jesus was born in a barn so there must have been some barndancing going down at some point. With a fist full of wacky entertainment and nativity-come-country rednecks fancy dress we hope to recreate the heady highs of that joyous night.

On the bill we have high octane folksters Victor Menace, D-66- a dirty blues one manband, circus ska wonders Danny Fontaine and the Horns of Fury, gypsy & reggae sets from DJ Symmetric, DJ Bomber & I love Watt? Lisa Devaney's skit poet’s ‘White Trash Christmas’, cabaret performers and other interactive entertainment.

£5 entrance- all profits going to the Malawi Education Project. The party is at a quirky East London venue that you will all love- Passing Clouds:

440 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London E8- Corner of Kingsland Road and Richmond Road Behind Uncle Sam's pub

***NAMES NEED TO BE RSVP'ed
Please RSVP to Kate Risker - aka Miss Risk via Facebook, or directly to missrisk@gmail.com

You can also find and contact Miss Risk on Vox @ www.missrisk.vox.com

Fancy dress encouraged!

Feel free to invite friends to come along and join in the hoedown, and:

Click here if you are lacking inspiration for what to wear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3bSzCuZcIw

Click here if you want to rehearse some special dance moves (te he!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GgkTXzXme

Charity, bands & contributers:

http://www.malawieducationproject.com/
http://www.myspace.com/d66isd77
http://www.standnotamazed.com/
http://www.wishingtree.org.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/dannyfontaineandthehornsoffury