Folks, this is a super massive NewsPhlash with awesome updates. I'm not sure what the biggest news actually is, so read it all.

First off, I have a bangin new website. You know my motto. Get hits or die tryin. So definitely, definitely check out the newness. There are still some places to round out with more info, but things should be much more accessible now.

http://www.baratunde.com

Me & Obama

The Yearly Kos convention was a blast. I got to perform, opening up for Howard Dean. I also met and challenged Barack Obama on his support for coal, and was quoted in the Sunday New York Times. Seriously. Check it out in my latest Dig column. Excerpt here:

After the debate, each candidate held a Q&A session in a small room. I chose Obama. People ran to his room to get a seat. Ran. After witnessing firsthand the misplaced devotion of thousands who camped out for the iPhone, I was genuinely proud of my fellow Americans for caring enough to exert themselves in the name of democracy.

Afterward, Obama said to me, "Apparently, you're somebody I need to know." Not bad for the press kit.

August 22, I'll be on NPR and performing in NYC

I'm on National Public Radio next week. August 22nd. The show is News & Notes, hosted by Farai Chideya, and I'll be part of a black blogger roundtable discussing news and views of the day. It is broadcast live at 1pm ET. It's a really great show, so tune in.

Same day, I'm performing standup at Laughing Liberally Lab
The Tank in Tribeca
279 Church St b/w Franklin & White (all Canal Street stops are close)

Oh yeah: I now live in New York City. I'll still be spending a lot of time in Boston though, so cry not my Beaners (actually, that's Carlos Mencia's show), Beantowners. I've started a New York Life category on my blog to chronicle the experience. Very excited. I'm here to hustle. Goal is for me to blow up before the city does. Ouchie doo doo. Too real? Possibly. Next!

Video Interviews from Yearly Kos


While at Yearly Kos, I had a chance to interview some cool folks:

• I already shared my interview with activist Mike Stark. Here is the video he promised


• James Rucker, from ColorOfChange.org is now up discussing the situation in Jena, LA


• Bruce Dixon of Black Agenda Report has been posted in a three-part series on diversity, immigration and more

Other coolnesses

• Someone put me in Wikipedia


• A friend has designed some Baratunde for President shirts. His idea. Not mine, but support em if you like em. I think they're cool


• I taped a small part in a sketch to be aired on a new Comedy Central show called The Watchlist made by homeys Dean Obeidallah and Negin Farsad


• Friend and comic Myq Kaplan won the wildcard Internet voting round in the Comedy Central Open Mic Fights. Thanks for voting him in

Momentary Jokes

• Chinese manufacturers have shipped nearly 19 million lead-tainted toys to America's children. Thus begins the invasion.


• An NYPD study on homegrown terrorism concluded that "average citizens who band together and adopt radical ways pose a growing threat to American security." Forget al Qaeda. It's the Amish we gotta watch.


• A US soldier paid $500 for someone to shoot him in the leg so he would not have to return to Iraq. Too bad the Iraqi people don't have that option.


• According to USA Today, many American seniors are retiring to Mexico due to its improved climate and lower cost of living. Seems like a fair trade to me. America gets the young laborers and Mexico gets our tired, our poor and our huddled masses. Nice.


• Rudy Giuliani's daughter supports Obama for president. What they didn't tell you is that she also supports Obama for "Dad."