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Pacha’s Pajamas to record CHEECH MARIN as the MUSHROOM character!

January 30, 2012 By 2 Comments

It was 5:50am on Thanksgiving Day, 2011.  We were on our way to Alcatraz Island, San Francisco,  to honor the indigenous occupation 30 years before and offer our collective prayers that we may honor the earth once again. To pass the time while waiting for the boat, we discussed who could be the ideal actor for the Mushroom character in Pacha’s Pajamas. We had wanted a male Latino actor with a distinctive voice, a goofy personality and yet, someone who could carry the deep wisdom of the Mushroom personality in a children’s story. After all, the Mushroom is the catalyst for the greatest concert that ever happened on the planet, for and by Nature. He is the world changer, a cultural force and the voice of transformation in hopeless times! Who could play this crazy character?

Anyway, as we waited in the rainy line for the ferry to Alcatraz, our elder friend and poet Raphael Gonzalez provided counsel. I rattled some ideas: “Benjamin Bratt? Too handsome. Andy Garcia? Too intelligent.  Benicio Del Toro? Too sexy. Javier Bardem? Too intense. Wait! I know…How about, Cheech Marin?!” We all laughed and discussed the challenge in working with someone who had kind of represented, shall we say, alternative culture in the Cheech & Chong series. Raphael, however, chimed in quickly, “It’s a wise decision, he’s loved by children and adults alike! And it was Chong who was the more radical of the two anyway… Hollywood still loves Cheech!” We all chuckled and proceeded into the ritual of the day.

A week or so later, we went through his bio, and learned that Cheech is one of the most sought after children’s entertainers including prominent roles in animated feature films like Lion King (one of the Hyenas with Whoopie Goldberg) and Cars (as Ramone)! We decided to take a shot at contacting his management. Within 10 days, we got a response, “Thank you, but Cheech respectfully declines.” Undeterred, Dave replied “How do we make this happen?” After a couple more back and forths, Cheech Marin said “Yes!” And with that, we finally have our Mushroom character! Get ready ya’ll,  Mushroom’s lines are for this time of great change:

“TO CHANGE WE MUST LIVE INTO THE STORIES WE WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD!”

~ Aaron Ableman is a founder of BALANCE Edutainment and the author of Pacha’s Pajamas.

 

 

 

 

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Melia to Selena: Get with Pacha’s Pajamas

January 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

(Jan 21, 2011 Selenation) Following the advice of our spokesperson Melia, Balance Edutainment has launched a campaign to recruit singer, actress and philanthropist Selena Gomez to participate in Pacha’s Pajamas.  Pacha is a little girl who becomes a Superhero for Nature through her dreams.  We want Selena to be a voice on the album and the edutainment app, Nature Superhero.

We are reaching out to @SelenaGomez and her fans on Twitter. Please follow @RecruitSelena to join our campaign. After just 24 hours, we have over 200 followers. (A shout out to all our followers – thank you so much for your support!)

Melia’s Brainchild

It all started eight days ago when Melia asked her papa to video tape her.  Papa had no idea what she was going to say.  Below is what came out.

Pacha’s Pajamas is the story of young person who discovers her voice and uses it for good. The story teaches young people that they can become superheroes in their communities. We need more superheroes.

At a time when animals and plants are going extinct at the fastest rate in 65 million years, Pacha’s story also teaches kids about our interdependence with nature, cooperation and collective liberation.  We see Pacha’s Pajamas inspiring millions of children to take a stand for issues they feel passionate about. (Our Kidstarter initiative will support youth in building an audience and crowdfunding selected projects.)

Who’s Already Onboard?

High profile conscious artists such as Mos Def and Talib Kweli are bringing their vocal and musical talents to our musical EP, forthcoming album and app. Our music also features talented child musicians and emcees from our nationwide auditions.

Why Selena?

As the youngest UNICEF ambassador, Selena has consistently demonstrated her commitment to furthering the education, development and leadership of youth throughout the world. She has given back to local and global communities in need. In 2009, Selena traveled to Ghana to meet children who lack access to clean water, nourishment, education and health care. In 2011, she helped raise funds for clean water and sanitation programs. Just two nights ago, she performed at the 2012 Charity Concert at the House of Blues. She is an inspiration and a wonderful role model for children around the world.

Selena has been a pioneer in employing technology to not only communicate with her fans but also to practice and publicize eco-friendly alternatives. She has championed the use of technology for eco-friendly causes, such as the app, Postcard on the Run, which encourages people to produce and personalize their own postcards on recycled paper. Her fashion line, Dream Out Loud, consists of recycled or eco-friendly materials.

Like Selena’s collaborative single, “Send it On” (Disney’s Friends For Change), Pacha’s Pajamas uses music to reach and inspire young people to take a stand, in this case for the natural world. A portion of the proceeds from Pacha’s Pajamas will go towards the environmental education of youth and protecting the environment.

We envision Selena voicing the part of Hummingbird — a messenger that disseminates healing, joy, and sweetness among different worlds — or if she is really excited about the story, Pacha.

How You Can Help

Please follow @RecruitSelena to join our campaign.  Retweet our tweets and tweet @selenagomez letting her know that you’d love to see her in @PachasPajamas.

If You Know Selena 

Let her know what time it is.

Filed Under: Edutainment, Events, Shoutouts, Transformational Entertainment, YouthTube Trends Tagged With: , , , ,

Speak the Speech: The Spoken Word

January 17, 2012 By 5 Comments

Standing in front of a church, Jefferson Bethke utilizes Spoken Word poetry to powerfully critique religion. He opens with a controversial suggestion: “What if I told you that Jesus came to abolish religion?” Drawing upon biblical passages and his personal observations, Bethke seeks to illustrate that organized religion and even Christian individuals do not necessarily follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The title card flashes “Jesus > Religion.” One might ask, why should we view them on the opposite sides of the spectrum? Bethke argues that “religion is man centered, and Jesus is God-centered.”

First uploaded on January 10, this video has gathered 13,179,175 hits, with 233,818 likes and 32,850 dislikes. This has made it the hottest video among 13-17 year olds. This video is most popular among 13-17 year old girls and 45-54 year old men and women.

Bethke asks a series of intriguing questions that highlight the disparity between Christian vision and reality: “Why does it build huge churches but fail to feed the poor?” Such failures exemplify the self-righteousness and self-justification that have plagued some churches, according to Bethke. Furthermore, the video is just so well produced, featuring Bethke’s passionate recital from various angles, switching between color and black & white, and reinforcing key phrases with impressive, eye-grabbing captions. Female vocalization and string music beautifully complement one another to create a very somber and spiritual aura, mirroring this poem’s confessional and passionate nature.

For example, this blogger also utilizes Spoken Word, even incorporating Bethke’s opening anaphoras of “What if I told you,” to refute the original poet’s contentions. So far, 292,744 people have viewed it.

With over 13 million hits in four days, the video has reached people of all ages and backgrounds. Bethke’s poem has inspired numerous responses of criticism and support. The modes of response have widely varied, ranging from Spoken Word poetry to self-composed songs to video blogging. This one video has inspired at least twelve response videos–clearly, it has fueled an enthusiastic open forum on this topic. While a lot of people expressed opposition to criticizing organized religion, many others praise the powerful message. One woman even stated that Bethke’s poem inspired her to attend church again.

Some of the popular response videos include:
594,214 views I Hate Religion, And Jesus Too – [The blogger critiques the original video line by line.]
136,781 views Re: Why I hate Religion, But Love Jesus II Spoken Word – [She sings a song and speaks in opposition to the original video.]
86,750 views Re: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus – [This is a video response to the original poem.]
43,921 views Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word (My Response)- [This is a video response explaining that Christianity is not just a religion but also a relationship with God.]
27,289 views Hallelujah, Hallelujah (Re: Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus, Spoken Word) -[The blogger sings a self-composed song and rap in response to the poem.]
26,732 views In defense of — Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word
 – [This is a video response that addresses both sides of the debate.]
12,153 views Why I Love Religion, and Jesus. A spoken word response. -[Spoken Word poem attempting to reconcile both religion and Jesus' principles]
11,915 views Reaction to Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus II Spoken Word – [A video response in support of the original poem]
4,675 hits Video response to “why I hate religion, but love Jesus” – [Video response in support of the original poem.]

Combining these two vehicles of expression – spoken word and video-sharing – have created a powerful soapbox, fostering a productive exchange of emotions and ideas. Because Spoken Word poetry enables one to aesthetically convey personal stories and observations, it empowers people of all ages – including youth – to creatively form and express social commentary in a way that has the potential to reach millions.

Filed Under: Edutainment, Stories, YouthTube Trends Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Giving Thanks this Holiday Season: New Music Available feat. Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Talib Kweli and Talented Youth Selected from National Auditions (Photos)

November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Aaron Ableman, author of new children’s book and music, Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature, and Dave Room, co-founder of BALANCE Edutainment have been hard at work in the studio with Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominated artist and actor, Mos Def (also known as Yasiin Bey), popular lyricist and artist, Talib Kweli and talented youth from around the United States. New songs are now available from the upcoming Pacha’s Pajamas album!

“Now is a critical time in Oakland, New York and around the world. If we want to deeply engage youth, and all people, perhaps the most important space to occupy is pop culture, as expressed in music. At BALANCE Edutainment, we believe music, in its various forms including audio, performance and video is the most viral communication platform. In the last century, music played a pivotal role in many of the world’s most important social movements.” says Room.

“It’s important to impart the message not just to children, but to all human beings, that we have a responsibility to our own humanity and to the one who has created all, to treat this creation with care and respect,” says Def.

The idea that you have to be mindful of the environment, or pay attention to the environment, is something people should grow up with. It’s not something that you should have to convince an adult of,” adds Kweli.

Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature, a musical story about a little girl named Pacha who saves the environment with the help of the world’s plants and animals, is both a children’s book and hip-hop / pop musical album, designed to bring music and storytelling together to share important messages about the environment and inspire positive action.

Def narrates the fictional story of Pacha, a girl who dreams of uniting the planet via a music festival. Kweli performs an original song he wrote for the album from the perspective of a butterfly.

Def and Kweli have received acclaim for using their artistry, talents and notoriety to raise public awareness about myriad social issues. They are also currently touring nationally as Black Star, and their forthcoming collaborative album is Prisoner of Consciousness.

In addition to Def and Kweli’s participation with Pacha’s Pajamas, the BALANCE team of musicians and social entrepreneurs are in the studio with other soon-to-be-announced musical artists completing the album. They are also performing the story and songs throughout the United States. You can support their crowd-funding campaign, to help complete the Pacha’s Pajamas album and tour. The full album is due out Earth Day, April 22, 2012.

Occupy Pop Culture this holiday season by supporting media with positive messages. The Pacha’s Pajamas book and free new song downloads are available now at www.pachaspajamas.com.

To book an event performance or reading, find out more information or invest in the project, please contact us at info@pachaspajamas.com. Also, connect on Twitter and Facebook.

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Rap Stars Mos Def And Talib Kweli Bring Their Voices To Environmental Hip Hop Album, EP Released

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mos Def and Author Aaron Ableman

Rap stars singing about butterflies and saving the environment isn’t something we hear about everyday.

And that’s precisely what BALANCE Edutainment, LLC had in mind when they approached rap stars Mos Def and Talib Kweli to participate in their upcoming children’s hip hop album about the environment, Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature.  The EP, which features Def, Kweli, and others, is available as a free digital download for a limited period starting today at http://www.pachaspajamas.com/music. The full album is due out Spring 2012.

The Pacha’s Pajamas CD features Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe nominated hip hop artist and actor, Def (also known as Yasiin Bey), who narrates the fictional story of Pacha, a girl who dreams of uniting the planet via a music festival starring a host of singing plants and break dancing animals.  Kweli, a popular

lyricist and hip-hop artist wrote and performs an original song on the album from the perspective of a butterfly.  The duo, who previously collaborated on the late ‘90s album Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, have received acclaim for using their artistry, talents and notoriety to raise public awareness about myriad social issues.

“We’re extremely grateful for Mos and Talib’s involvement and truly believe we can influence social, economic, and environmental change in a compelling way through the telling of powerful stories, by creating music people are inspired to listen to and with the help of the world’s children,” said Aaron Ableman, accomplished musician, social entrepreneur and co-founder of BALANCE Edutainment.

“It’s important to impart the message not just to children but to all human beings, that we have a
responsibility to our own humanity and to the one who has created all, to treat this creation with
care and respect,” said actor and hip hop artist, Mos Def.

“The idea that you have to be mindful of the environment, or pay attention to the environment, is
something people should grow up with.  It’s not something that you should have to convince an
adult of,”  added hip hop artist, Talib Kweli.

“The story of Pacha’s Pajamas is spreading the information early (to kids), so it becomes like a
cornerstone or a foundation.”

In addition to Def and Kweli’s participation, the BALANCE team of musicians and social
entrepreneurs are in the studio with other soon-to-be-announced musical artists completing the
album.  The BALANCE Edutainment team will also be making live appearances to perform the
story and songs from Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature throughout the United States
this Fall and in Spring 2012.

For more information, please visit www.pachaspajamas.com.

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BALANCE Edutainment Performs on Main Stage at Los Angeles Green Festival

October 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The live storytelling and musical youth workshop and performance led by Pacha’s Pajamas creators BALANCE Edutainment and an up-and-coming local youth star takes place on the Main Stage on Sunday, October 30 at 3:45 pm after “Celebrities for Social Change in Action” with Ed Begley Jr., Rachelle Carson and Esai Morales, and before Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. of the Hip Hop Caucus.

Pacha’s Pajamas performance and workshop will also take place in the Green Festival Green Kids’ Zone on Saturday, October 29 at 1:00 pm. Additional Green Kids’ Zone activities include crafts, Halloween adventures, stories, music and much more throughout the weekend.

Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature, a hip-hop musical story abouta little girl named Pacha who saves the environment with the help of the world’s plants and animals is both a children’s book (www.amazon.com and www.pachaspajamas.com) and an upcoming hip-hop musical album, designed to bring music and storytellingtogether to share important messages about the environment and inspire positive action. The new album features well-known, soon-to-be-announced celebrity musical artistsand talented youth.

Joining BALANCE Edutainment on stage at Los Angeles Green Festival is local youth, Miles Ananda McAliley. Miles was born in Los Angeles in May of 1998 to Raye Dowell and Ira McAliley.  Always having a bright personality, Miles started modeling and acting at the age of 3, booking jobs for Tommy Hilfigger, and Disney.  After appearing in the Will Smith Black Suits Comin’ video, for the movie Men in Black II, Miles decide to retire to pursue his life a kid.  For several years, Miles explored soccer, baseball, tap dance, and martial arts, before falling in love with drawing and basketball. During this time he also developed a love for music, with a particular passion for Rap Music.  At the age of 10, Miles wrote his first lyrics for his math class.  The positive response inspired him to spend the next couple years continuing to develop his skills as a writer and performer.  Miles has performed with the Lil’ Big Ups, a free youth arts project and musical variety show, The Pico Youth and Family Center All-Stars, a Santa Monica non-profit that promotes Peace, Unity, and Social Justice, and Gerald C. Rivers, an LA artist with a show that features the works of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Miles was also recently chosen as a finalist in California State Assemblyman Mike Davis’ 28th district talent search. Miles balances his life by focusing on being a good student at New Los Angeles Charter Middle School, and training for and playing basketball.  His is also a loving older brother and son, who looks forward to going to college and making a positive contribution to society. Watch Mile’s audition video now:

 

“We believe that catalyzing change can happen in a fun way through socially-conscious music, stories about interdependence and by amplifying the voices of children,” says Aaron Ableman, musician, educator and co-founder of BALANCE Edutainment, the creator of Pacha’s Pajamas.

“Human Rights and Nature’s Rights are key issues that Pacha’s Pajamas aims topopularize through the project, a tale of a little girl with big dreams for unity on planet earth. We are thrilled to share Pacha’s message with the GreenFestival, and with all global movements calling for peace, health and justice in the world!”

Green Festival is an eco-friendly marketplace with over 300 exhibitors, live music and spoken word, yoga and movement classes and cutting edge film screenings. Ten stages and pavilions host more than 125 enthusiastic speakers and teachers offering in-depth presentations and short talks on the issues and practices for adults and children of all ages.

Green Festival takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall G.

In addition to the Green Festival performance, the BALANCE Edutainment team will be making live appearances to perform the story and songs from the Pacha’s Pajamas ebook andalbum throughout the United States this fall and through 2012.  For more information, please visit www.pachaspajamas.com.

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