RezaRitesRi.com

Photos from the ‘2009 New England Dustoff’
A car show featuring Volkswagens, Audi’s and BMW’s

by Reza Corinne Clifton

SEEKONK, MA - With a panorama offering a range of crusty and dusty to waxed and stacked, and a day in April offering mid-July weather, the 2009 New England Dustoff came and went. This annual car show - my first - held at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts, was held this year on the 26th of April. Attracting people from all ethnic backgrounds, any age, and of each gender, this event offered visual stimulation as well as a haven for new philosophies: rusty can be just as valuable as shiny; Heidi Klum isn’t the German model being referred to; the do-it-yourself ethos doesn’t refer to knitting circles; and what’s beautiful may be outside, but it’s what’s inside that most flock to first.

To see more photos and captions from the event, click here.

For more information on the annual car show, the New England Dustoff, visit www.nedustoff.com. To see other RezaRitesRi photos click here.

by Reza Corinne Clifton

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originally posted on www.VenusSings.com

‘Go Global or Go Home’ was the theme that drove my Voices of Women radio set on April 25, but was it a political statement or economic slogan as some interpreted?

KINGSTON, RI - It was a long, cold voyage, but my partner and I finally picked up cable several months ago after at least 4 years without it. Now, before you judge and deem me as a pure consumer-capitalist, let me explain it, briefly: I was sick of going to journalism conferences not necessarily aware of each minute aspect of every major news item of the day or recent past (oh no!!!). Now of course that’s not the worst area in which to have a deficiency…unless you’re trying to make it out here calling yourself a journalist.

On the other hand, and to open up the flood gates of finger-pointing, typecasting, and ridicule, one of my nonnegotiables if we were going to finally agree to cable was that we had to include movie channels. But how would the content of HBO or Showtime help me with the conference issue the way programming on BBC or CNN would? I’ll clear it up right away: That wasn’t the point; I just wanted some fun. More than that, though, I’ve received inspiration for my Venus Sings slots on Voices of Women, a show that airs weekly on WRIU (90.3 FM in and around RI or at www.wriu.org) from 9-11 AM (EST) on Saturdays.

With respect to what it is inspiring me, I have to give credit to HBO in particular, for they’ve got me hooked like stolen fish on not one, but two series: ‘The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency’ and ‘Alice.’ Both shows are set outside of the U.S., with Detective Agency (we’ll call it for short) based on characters, storylines, and the cultural nuances of Botswana - a small country in the Southern region of Africa - while Alice is based on the adventures of a woman who has recently moved to Sao Paolo, Brazil. Alice, by the way, mainly airs on HBO Latinoamerica.

Besides playing into the part of me that holds a fondness for studying and analyzing different cultures and people, I’m drawn into the two programs by the independent, adventurous, multifaceted protagonists in each show - women who take chances, listen internally, and embrace and walk the uneven road of change.

And perhaps it is because of the intersection that currently joins my career and sense of self - or maybe it’s just good programming - but watching, I often end up feeling that their experiments are my experiments; their mishaps are my mishaps; their small successes are my small successes…And their music is my music.

So no, Go Global or Go Home was not a political statement or slogan, at least not this time. It was a shout-out to my two new favorite shows, and to everyone who feels connected to the world - through music.

Sunshine and Laughter,
Reza Rites

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