JustiFi Your Soul

the hip hop funk groove that is JustiFi has been getting it done of late, grabbing some legit marquee time at some of the headiest of venues.

first, our heroes were jammin' with the sinners up in reno...

and then, these cats were strolling with the holy rock & rollers in the house of the lord...

get off on your bad selves, Livermore!

next up for the crew is a date at Blake's in Berkeley on saturday, june 4th. go check 'em out if you can.

All Hail the Mighty Maverick

the Kingdom of Bojon was stoked to catch word that cousin mikey maverick helped lead his fort lauderdale high school volleyball team (Cardinal Gibbons) to the Florida state title this past weekend.

this young gun has the Bojon in his blood and is well on his way to being a card-carrying conniver.

check out the shot that ran in the Miami Herald of our boy being carried off the court after his team secured the title...

and then to top it off, agent maverick brought home the MVP trophy from the league all-star game. read all about it.

nice work, brotherman. keep up the stellar work!

Bay to Break(dance)ers

"It's not how fast you run that counts –
it's how much fun you have en route to the finish line."

true that.

san francisco's bay to breakers captures all that's grand about the city, from diabolical ingenuity to extreme tolerance, from systematic tomfoolery to extreme nakedness.

that's why 65,000+ people participate in this 7.5 mile bojaunt across town, and that's why the kenyans who win the "race" in about 34 minutes are a mere footnote to the keg-filled floats that cover the distance in about 3 hours and 34 minutes.

topical creativity is always at its finest during this parade, and this year was no exeception. plenty of run away brides with cold feet and popes taking a break from their papal regimen to drink budweiser.

however, this year's best of show had to go to Michael Jackson and his Neverland Child Care Center. this float consisted of a rolling bed with a spooky King of Pop sporting a white surgical mask and brandishing a black parasol. and, of course, plenty of Jesus Juice to go around.

and no bay to breakers would be complete without the tricked out tiki float, complete with a full bar and rockin' sound system. check out the footage of this perennial favorite:

- tiki float [VIDEO]

here are a bunch of other shots from the festivities:

a few of us actually ran the race this year...

before doubling back to roll in a keg and set up shop...

the spectating was grand...

as was the spectacle...

and the kiddies got their kicks...

and Lady Bojon was pleased...

until the 5-0 finally shut it down...

and we packed our toys away until next year...

Muffy's Run Charity Event

friends of Bojon have a charitable organization called Muffy's Fund, and Muffy's Run is the charity's flagship event to raise money to help elementary and middle school educators working with children in traditionally underserved communities in the Bay Area.

Muffy's Run also honors the memory of Alexandra "Muffy" Husband, a bubbly and enthusiastic third-grader who used to run like the wind until her life was cut short by a car accident in 1981.

Muffy's Run is a 5K race/fun run (open to all) that will be held in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Thursday evening, May 19th.

proceeds from this year's run will go to the KIPP Bayview Academy, a college prep middle school in Bayview Hunters Point. The mission of KIPP Bayview Academy is to develop in the students of Southeastern San Francisco the knowledge, critical thinking skills and character traits needed to succeed in top quality high schools and colleges, and to lead deliberate and productive lives.

if you can find the time, please consider getting in on this great cause. here is all the info:

WHERE
Race starts at the south tunnel of the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park

WHEN
Thursday, May 19. 2005, starting at 6:30pm.

HOW
Online registration is at Active.com. $30 gets you a great t-shirt, free beer and pizza at the post-race party at the Sports Basement in the Presidio, and the thrill of having a hundred-plus appreciative KIPP students cheering you to the finish! You can also register the day of the event at the starting line ($35).

MORE INFORMATION
please visit MuffysRun.org for more information about the race and to find out more about the Muffy Fund and to read about Muffy herself.

hope to see you out there on race day!

Jazz Fest '05 Day 3 - The Size of a Dutchman's Pants

having a strong wingman for jazz fest set-up is KEY.

and so i was flummoxed when i charged jah rasta's room saturday morning only to have him peer up from his pillow and rasp: "just go ahead without me."

what?

did robin ever say to batman: bro, you're on your own for this one...

did bert ever say to ernie: not today, compadre, i'm sleepin' in...

did tonto ever say to the lone ranger: kemo sabe, go on without me...

but alas, jah was up and ready to roll before i spun any deeper into this existential quandry.

and a good thing too 'cause it was raining. hard. monsoon-style.

agent kevlar and the artiste joined us at the fairground gates. and we braved the elements.

the gates finally opened and we scored our spot.

but the rain kept coming.

until suddenly, on the horizon, we noticed a small break in the clouds.

and as the saying goes: if you can see a patch of blue sky the size of a dutchman's pants, it's going to clear.

and it did... game on!

and in the center of it all... the infamous mookie dulles, who is off to sweden this summer to tie the knot and give up the mantle. we charged with our boy as a tribute to the havoc that he wreaked as a single man.

excellent throwin' down with a bunch of his college mates...

and the music. yes, the music. back-to-back-to-back treats.

johnny sketch and the dirty notes...

galactic...

and finally, the dave matthews band...

we had to scoot before the sunday shows, and so there you have it. beer, wine, tequilla... this jazz fest had it all!

good for the soul, my friends.

yes, good for the soul...

Jazz Fest '05 Day 2 - How Ya Gonna Clap

oh yeah, by now the groove was steady, and we were deep into the schiznit...

the two hours of actual shut eye wasn't much. but it was key.

friday morning was pristine as we stalked the fairgrounds bright and early. the half hour before the gates open is surely the quietest part of the day.

on this day, jah rasta and mookie chilled with me before the mayhem ensued. we were particularly amused by a certain vendor who was pushing fest koozies.

"how ya gonna clap?" the vendor belted out every few minutes.

shit bro, perhaps put our beers down for a second.

blasphemy!

ok, 3 koozies then.

but alas, the gates opened, and we were off.

some minor tweaks in our positioning, and we were styled for the day.

and again, a treat to catch with the crew.

and nice to have some hot mamas with us.

and comforting to see some of our old favorites on the grounds.

by the time widespread took the stage for their double set, everything was as it should be.

and then widespread let it fly, and jah was pleased.

the highlight of the set could well have been the cover of traffic's low spark of high heeled boys.

or it could have been any other tune because the whole show ripped.

evening festivities took us back to bourbon street where we settled in at a shanty called the Red Rhino.

the night was a blur as a fresh wave of cohorts rolled in to stir the pot.

and fortunately we had more hot mamas along to cover our backs.

and well, curious and the hatter, best friends that they are, had a blast...

Jazz Fest 'O5 Day 1 - Release The Hounds

oh so nice to get back to the bayou for this year's jazz fest. after last year's wash out, there was a lot of pent up demand for this go 'round, and the fest delivered in spades.

our advance crew struck down wednesday night with the loose plan of grabbing a mellow dinner and catching a full night's sleep.

and, well, we got neither.

pure sheYAMigans got the better of us as we hit the Garage show at tipitina's and let her rip.

after some late night krystal burgers and a few twitchy winks, thursday was on us in no time.

but no matter, the enthusiasm of being back at the fest was all we needed.

we hit the fairgrounds early and set up camp in traditional fashion.

and once some of the usual suspects rolled in, it was on!

the line-up at the acura stage on thursday was especially tight. the middle part of the day was carried by the benjy davis project, donovan frankenreiter, and the subdudes.

nickel creek and jack johnson then closed out the session in fine form.

reports from the field had papa grows funk and BB King crushing the sprint stage as well.

and with a few compadres arriving fresh off the boat that evening, we hit bourbon street with a vengenance.

late night kept us in the quarter as we took in karl denson at the house of blues for the 3am show.

around 5:20 they shut the place down, and as we filtered out of the joint i turned to the guy next to me and muttered something about the punk asses closing the place early.

nah man, the dude explained, the PA system broke about 20 mintues ago, and so the band couldn't play any longer.

ah ha, good point, we conceded. and so back to the krystal we went...