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Watch out for These Guys

by Fat Hand

Fort Lauderdale can you feel it? Can you feel the buzz, the excitement, the impending madness? That feeling is just the realization that these three guys are about to spend the next week or so harrassing the hell out of us.

Each of these guys came out on top in one of the first three Republican primaries (Ok, Iowa’s was actually a caucus but that is beyond the scope of this blog), and the Republican party seems as undecided as ever. So prepare for an onslaught of negative tv ads, robocalls, campaign rallies, debates (there’s one tonight) and the occassional live broadcast from an entirely disclosed location on an MSNBC or CNN morning show (Mika Brzezinski, let the FTLC know if you need a place to crash).

Although we are not registered Republicans and therefore cannot vote in the upcoming closed primary, I must admit that some of us are excited these guys are coming to town. A lot of people could care less, but we love this shit. Our only regret is that Ron Paul is not really going to be campaigning in Florida. Florida is big and expensive and the primary is winner take all (so no chance scoring a few delegates) and therefore it is not a good investment of Ron Paul’s money and time. I guess we do have another regret: that Herm Cain dropped out of the race a long time ago, and so probably won’t be trying to pick up chicks at Blue Martini.

So anyway, we promise not to keep you abreast of all the comings and goings of these guys, we are sure they will do that themselves. But over the next week or so, if you get asked for money outside 7-11, just realize that it might be Rick Santorum doing the begging.

By Strawberry Jam

Last night’s Invisible Children film screening was, at the least, another eye-opening reminder of the many hardships most of the world experiences day in and day out. With so much to do and see, it is easy to get lost in time in this great city of Ft Lauderdale, but it’s important to keep in mind that cheesy saying that goes, “to the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” Invisible Children’s Tony documents the beginning of the foundation, how it has grown, and the story of one of the many youth effected by child soldiering; closing with a lengthy narrative on how you can help. While donating money is convenient and helpful if you don’t have time or resources to do more (click here if you were absent last night) there are plenty of other things you can do to heal the world, make it a better place, for you and me, and the entire human race (sorry, had to).

Read
Whether it’s world news or literature, reading is one of the best ways to stay informed with what’s going on in the world, help keep things prioritized and in perspective, and educate others. Keeping in line with the child soldier theme, A Long Way Gone is one of my favorite books in general, not to mention in the topic of social issues. Though it may be a quick read, it is nonetheless a powerful account of the complexity and tragedy of war and the psychological impact it leaves on child soldiers. Another personal recommendation I can make is Banker to the Poor. Admittedly a bit dry, but the numbers and facts behind micro-enterprising and micro-lending in the poor communities so vividly outlined in this book are fascinating and somewhat unbelievable that self-sufficiency is still made so hard to maintain in poor countries.

Travel
Not everyone may have the ability or funds to do so, but if it’s possible, by all means see the rest of the world. If you’re interested in traveling but feel like you don’t have the money, try cutting back on a drink or cooking at home, etc., and you might be surprised to see how far you get. If you do make it abroad, keep in mind as last night’s film pointed out, as nice as bearing gifts sounds, it is not ideal or safe in many instances. Instead, try to seek out another way to help. There are numerous NGOs that are happy to take on volunteers for any number of days, in which you might leave a much more meaningful and direct impact on people.

Think Locally
While much of the world is indeed in worse shape than us, we have our fair share of hungry and/or homeless as well. Try to contribute locally. Ignoring or hiding a problem does not make it go away.

By Strawberry Jam

Coral Springs North Pole from sunsentinel.com

When I was young, just a couple years ago, one of the biggest highlights of my Christmases was to drive around and scope out all the awesomely decorated houses and Christmas lights.  Anyone remember the entire BLOCK of houses near the turnpike overpass and Taft Street in Hollywood in the 80′s or 90′s?  Every single house on this street would get together to create one elaborate Christmas display- they even had postcards!  Sadly, it seems each year it becomes harder and harder to find such holiday enthusiasm.  Thankfully, Sun-Sentinel put together this little gem which maps out all the houses in your area for your viewing pleasure.  It even includes pics and descriptions.  Here are a few addresses to get you started.  Happy hunting and Merry Christmas.

• Davie- 9904 W Tree Tops Court- Thousands of lights, Santas, Frostys, trains, elves
• Ft Lauderdale- 1131 SW 9th Ave- 200,000 lights, helicopter on roof
• Hollywood- 5200 Thomas St- A show every half hour, lights synchronized to music
• Hollywood- 5424 Cleveland St- 25,000 lights, 35 hand-made, hand-painted displays
• Plantation- 11480 NW 26th St- 250,000 LED lights synchronized to music, 85 inflatable displays

Sun-Sentinel Holiday Lights:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/holiday/decorations/

We hope you have an awesome day!
Con Amor,

The Staff at FTL Collective

The beauty of guerilla marketing is that not only is it budget friendly, but it’seasily noticeable. Love him or hate him, Broward County rapper Lyrikilldotcom, best known for sabotaging local news telecasts to advertise his website, is a mastermind at generating interest via guerilla marketing tactics. When he’s not annoying news anchors, Lyrikill is parading around town with his oversized, tacky neon necklace, announcing his area code 754 phone number, or falsely titling YouTube videos with names like Rihannas Picture to generate views. Besides his insanely catchy jam I Love My Hooptie, I am not crazy about his music. Can’t say I haven’t watched all his shenanigans on the internet though.

Driving down US1 the other day, I noticed a sign posted high up on a telephone pole in Dania advertising a website Hungrerapper.com . It’s a simple guerilla marketing strategy — pick up some posterboard at the Dollar Tree, write your website on it with a thick Sharpie, and post it out of reach of the old timers who might try and rip it down. Not as flashy as Lyrikill, but still an admirable and cheap form of guerilla marketing. Unfortunately for Hungre Rapper, it appears his site is down at the moment; however, with a little internet sleuthing, I was able to find an alternative URL (and much more logical web address), http://HungryRapper.com . Here’s the quick rundown about this local entrepreneur/hip hop artist:

Hungre Rapper, real name John Hungre, is sick of the roofing industry, so he’s decided to focus solely on becoming Mr. 954. He has a new album titled Hungre Life that’s only $5 on his website. The most notable song on his website is a song about the 3 Kings that has ingenius lyrics such as “Vince Carter, you old farter”, “Dwight Howard is as soft as a flower”, and “Amare Stoudamire, it’s time to retire, you’ll never get a trophy out there you dumbass”. This jack of all trades is also asking for investors for his proposed TV series called Hungry Roofers, a show about hurricane chasers who “help/save” victims of tropical storms. Sounds cool, but he’ll need about 250,000 Abraham Lincolns from investors to buy an amphibious armored truck and other required items for proper storm chasing.

My advice to John Hungre to further promote himself, start some beef with another rapper like Lyrikilldotcom. I’ve already got a creative title for my FTLC post when you do, Guerilla Marketing Warfare. As a fellow dreamer, good luck.

Here’s Hungre Rapper’s  song about the Miami Heat winning the next 5 championships:

- Mig