‘MILLION HOODIES’ MARCH HELD IN NYC SUPPORTING JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON MARTIN

Outraged over the lack of an arrest in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, hundreds even thousands rallied in Union Square in A Million Hoodies March for Trayvon Martin NYC, including his parents.

“My heart is in pain, but to see the support of all of you really makes a difference,” Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, told the crowd. “Our son is your son. This is not a black and white thing; this is a right and wrong thing,” she said. Trayvon’s father, Tracy Martin, added, “We’re not going to stop until we get justice. My son did not deserve to die.”

The march comes after a media (particularly social) firestorm elevated Trayvon Martin’s death to the masses with 1 million+ signatures calling for self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman to be arrested and who described Trayvon as suspicious and wearing a dark hoodie or hooded sweatshirt. Many marchers wore hoodies and carried bags of Skittles in honor of Trayvon, who police discovered with a bag of the candy along with an iced tea after he was shot and killed. Zimmerman has yet to be charged, and numerous protests are scheduled to occur around the country.

Check out photos taken by CL founder/editor Angel Laws at the rally. Stay linked to our blog and also our twitter account #soulexlive for continuing news.

An alumni of KICKSTARTER, the eco-design firm Triangle Tree unveiled the prototype to its newest project, the iBamboo Urban. Though an exact replica of its iBamboo speaker for Apple iPhone & iPod, one which received multiple media mentions last year, the new iBamboo Urban is somewhat different in construct. Where as the iBamboo was made from a finished segment of a real bamboo, the iBamboo Urban is made entirely out of recycled plastic, shaped in bamboo form. The idea came about when eco-concisous fans of the original iBamboo asked Triangle Tree to create some in recycled plastic. To come with a simple carrying case, Triangle Tree is currently looking for appropriate manufacturers with hope to launch the iBamboo Urban sometime this year. Doubtful on how effective a low-tech bamboo could be in sound quality? See the video demonstration after the jump.

The biggest surprise to come out of Apple iPad launch this morning was the fact that the new iPad is just that, The New iPad. No more sequential nomenclature, just a new straight to the point. And in many way, the name mirrors the gadget itself. Much of the form factors stayed the same, but engineers at Apple swap out much of the innards.

As predicted, Apple’s new iPad has a Retina Display with a resolution of 2048 x 1538, four times more than the iPad 2 and 1 million pixels more than your standard HD display. To complement the new display, Apple added the new A5X processor. With only dual-core, it wasn’t the purported A6 yet the quad-core graphic chipset more than compensate the new device’s speed. There is a brand new iSight camera (the rear facing one) too. Similar to the 5-megapixel sensor found on the iPhone 4S with auto-exposure, auto-focus, and you can now record HD video in 1080p format.

Another prediction realized is the addition of 4G LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+. This means there are more ways for the new iPad to connect wirelessly than any mobile devices out in the market today. New Garage Band, updated iMovie, and iPhoto rivals many of the professional imaging software out there, Apple’ New iPad is ready to revolutionize the very product category it created. And Tim Cook, Apple CEO, proclaimed “Across the year, you’re going to see a lot more of this kind of innovation. We are just getting started.”

A release date is set for Friday, March 16th, through Apple Store locations in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan, the New iPad from Apple is also available for pre-order now at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB.

•Dual-Core Apple A5X with Quad-Core Graphic Chip

•2048 x 1536 9.7-inch Retina Display with Multi-Touch Feature and IPS technology

•5-Megapixel iSight Camera with 1080p HD Video Capture

•Supports 4G LTE and 42Mbps HSPA+ Cellular Connectivity

Release Date: March 16th, 2012 (Friday) – US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan

Queen Latifah is clearly trying to take over the television production game. With Let’s Stay Together and Single Ladies under her executive production belt, the rapper turned actress has decided to add a music talent competition to the pile.

According to Deadline.com, the show may eventually be named The Star Next Door and will give local undiscovered artists a chance to break in to the music business with the guidance of mentors and vocal coaches:

The CW is looking to make a splash this summer with a music competition series from Queen Latifah and The Biggest Loser creator/executive producer Dave Broome. The project, tentatively titled The Star Next Door, has pop diva Gloria Estefan and country star John Rich set as mentors. The series, which has received a 10-episode order, is expected to tap a couple more mentors in the coming weeks. Like other shows, The Star Next Door will go on a nationwide search for undiscovered artists, but in doing so it is taking the opposite approach to most other singing competition series, where auditions are held throughout the country and those that are selected are brought in to Hollywood. In The Star Next Door, the mentors, including Estefan and Rich, will travel to where the talent is and immerse themselves in the lives and towns of these local performers while preparing them for the chance to represent their home city live on national TV.

The series will be executive produced in partnership with CBS’ Raquel Productions, 25/7 Productions and Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment



March 10th marks the National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. A slew of celebrities joined together for a public service announcement for the AID/HIV awareness organization, Greater Than AIDS. Vanessa Williams, Naturi Naughton, Essence Atkins, Shaun Robinson, Nadine Ellis, MC Lyte and more stress the importance of African-American women getting tested AIDS/HIV and knowing their status when it comes to the global epidemic.


According to the official Youtube channel, “The Greater Than AIDS movement responds to the AIDS crisis in the United States, in particular the severe and disproportionate epidemic among Black Americans. Through a national media campaign and community outreach, Greater Than AIDS aims to elevate the public’s knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS and confront the stigma surrounding the disease. Although national in scope, the effort is targeted to communities heavily affected by HIV/AIDS.”

To learn more about how you can get involved, http://www.greaterthan.org/

One of hip-hop’s finest, Jay-Z gave a live performance at the American Express Sync Show, which served as the headlining/opening concert for the South by Southwest (SXSW) 2012 music festival (March 12). The rapper performed many of his hits like “What More Can I Say,” “Big Pimpin’” and “99 Problems” in front of an at-compacity crowd of hip hop fans/festival attendees at the Austin City Limits Live at Moody Theater.

After performing his Blue Ivy-inspired track, “Glory,” the happy father shouted out, “All the parents in the house make some noise one time! … That might be a first parent shout-out at a rap show.”

Check out his show in the embedded videos below. If you missed the live-streamed concert, you’ll be able to watch it on March 13 – March 19 via American Express’ http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanExpress