Monday, December 25, 2006

Godfather of Soul

Possibly the most entertaining performer. I can't think of someone who I listen to who he hasn't influenced.

If you were up on James Brown, find something of his and play it repetitively.

Recommendations:

This Is A Man's World
Payback


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BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Soul star James Brown dies at 73

'Feel free to have other Flying Spaghetti Monsters before me. I don't mind.'

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Missed opportunities...

I like to think of myself as apart from the "necessities" of society. I can live without an iPod and don't need PS3. I can go without TV, internet, and most electronics for periods (hopefully short periods) at a time; especially if I can work on music in the meanwhile.

Today however I left my phone at my girl's place. 'No biggie, I'll just find someother way to contact her when I am on my way there', I thought to myself this morning. Seeing that this eventful night I was waiting for was tomorrow I was good. Cut my hair today, went in to work on one of my off-days. (Overtime pay, and making my work-week a little easier by spreading out the load). I was good. Chillin in fact. Jammin' D'Angelo's Voodoo album all-day, also my boss brought his copy of Jay-Z's Blueprint to bump in the workroom. Coolest old Jewish dude I know.

Anyway, I get home and find out that the event was switched to tonight. Of course I missed it cus I was at work. Even though I could have left work at ANY time. Dah well, I'm sure I'll get to mingle with movie stars and other folks in their network another day; cus u know that happens all the time for me. Grrrr... phone.


Peace.
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Beatles, Elvis, Jay-Z or Rolling Stones.... where's Michael?

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

What is this, cop F-up week?



"Forget the police!"

Also, how u supposed to fight crime when two of y'all can't handle a 92yr-old?
Peace.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Big Ole Words...

So I know i've been keen on Cee-Lo since the Goodie Mob days... and I thought he originally proved why i singled him out on a track called "Big Ole Words" from his Perfect Imperfections LP...

Yeah... my boy Lasu threw this my way...



Gone let that marinate...
...think about what u think you know versus what u know you don't know!

Peace.
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C'mon. Even 10 bullets each from 5 cops would be excessive, Bloomberg...

Friday, November 10, 2006

One nation under a blue...

Mwa ha ha ha ha. Dems have the House & the Senate. And Mass just elected a Black man as Govenor. My district in Texas is still represented by a congressman who i feel understands me better than most. And I'm still Employee of the Month. Ok, the last part was irrelavent, but I just felt I needed one more good thing.
I'm busy i'm out!
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BBC NEWS | South Asia | India eunuchs turn tax collectors

Monday, November 06, 2006

Busy duckin' the Po-Pos...

Sike... Though it is not entirely untrue, I just don't mean to glorify it. See last week the band and I wrecked shop at this party at Tufts University, so then we set out to do the same at M.I.T. It was crunk for all of 5mins before the cops got Maxwell on us and came knockin. We didn't want to get nobody innocent in trouble so we turned it down a bit. Nope, came knockin' again... needless to say we didn't really oblige like we should have cus there wasn't going to be any pleasin' them. I look it as a testament to the liveness of our show. You ain't jammin' if you don't get the cops called on you at least once. However this would be twice in our case. We just finished last time though, HAHA WHAT?!...

We are doing a gig on Nov. 14th at Harper's Ferry, and the proceeds are supposed to go to the Big Brothers / Big Sisters organization, so turn up if you can.

Rutgers University - be forewarned, we coming for ya on Nov. 18th. Let 'em know. Tired of the false protection and serving. That is it... I'm out.

Peace
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YouTube - D' Angelo - Live @ Chris Rock

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Make a whip with a dollar...

The following was sent to me by a friend:

We Still Wear The Mask, by Jelani Cobb
Posted by TayariJones on July 4, 2006 03:59 PM

You all might remember my moking response to Ice Cube and other hip-hop stars' critque of Oprah Winfrey. Ice Cube, et al, accuse Ms. Winfrey of having a "problem" with hip-hop and demand that she invite them onto her show. Jelani Cobb , professor of history at Spelman College (my alma mater), intense culture-critic, and all-around righteous brother, has written a more serious and thought-provoking response. Meet Jelani, and read his essay.

***

These days, camouflage is the new black. Hip hop now operates on a single hope: that if the world mistakes kindness for weakness it can also be led to confuse meanness with strength.

We could have known that it would come to this way back in 1896. That was the year that Paul Lawrence Dunbar dropped a jewel for the ages, telling the world that “we wear the mask that grins and lies.” The poet’s point was that beneath the camouflage of subservient smiles, black folks of the Jim Crow era were hiding a powder keg of other emotions, waiting patiently for the chance to detonate. The thing is, Dunbar never got the chance to spit bars with 50 Cent or throw in a guest collabo on a Mobb Deep album. If he had, then he would’ve known that grins and lies were only half the story.

These days, camouflage is the new black. Hip hop now operates on a single hope: that if the world mistakes kindness for weakness it can also be led to confuse meanness with strength. That principle explains why there is a permanent reverence for the thug within the music; it is why there is a murderer’s grit and a jailhouse tat peering back at you from the cover of damn near any CD you picked up in the last five years. But what hip hop can’t tell you, the secret that it would just as soon take to its deathbed is that it this urban bravado is a guise, a mask, a head-fake to shake the reality of fear and powerlessness in America. Hip hop will never admit that our assorted thugs and gangstas are not the unbowed symbol of resistance to marginalization, but the most complacent and passive products of it.

We wear the mask that scowls and lies.

You could see which way the wind was blowing way back in the early 90s when Dr. Dre was being ripped off by white Ruthless Records CEO Jerry Heller, and nonetheless got his street cred up by punching and kicking Dee Barnes , a black woman journalist, down a flight of stairs. In this light, hip hop’s obsessive misogyny makes a whole lot more sense. It is literally the logic of domestic violence. A man is abused by a larger society, but there are consequences to striking back at the source of his problems. So he transfers his anger to an acceptable outlet – the women and children in his own household, and by extension, all the black people who constitute his own community.

Nothing better illustrates that point than the recent Oprah Debacle. Prior to last month, if you’d heard that a group of rappers had teamed up to attack a billionaire media mogul you would think that hip hop had finally produced a moment of collective pride on par with the black power fists of the 1968 Olympics. But nay, just more blackface.

In the past two months, artists as diverse as Ludacris, 50 Cent and Ice Cube have attacked Oprah Winfrey for her alleged disdain for hip hop. It’s is a sad but entirely predictable irony that the one instance in which hip hop’s reigning alpha males summon the testicular fortitude to challenge someone more powerful and wealthy than they are, they choose to go after a black woman.

The whole set up was an echo of some bad history. Two centuries ago, professional boxing got its start in America with white slaveholders who pitted their largest slaves against those from competing plantations. Tom Molineaux , the first black heavyweight champion, came up through the ranks breaking the bones of other slaves and making white men rich. After he’d broken enough of them, he was given his freedom. The underlying ethic was clear: an attack on the system that enslaved you will cost you your life, but an attack on another black person might just be the road to emancipation.

The basis for this latest bout of black-on-black pugilism was Oprah’s purported stiff-arming of Ludacris during an appearance on her show with the cast of the film Crash. Ludacris later complained that the host had made an issue of lyrics she saw as misogynistic. Cube jumped into the act whining that Oprah has had all manner of racist flotsam on her show but has never invited him to appear – proof, in his mind, that she has an irrational contempt for hip hop. Then 50 threw in his two cents with a claim that Oprah’s criticism of hip hop was an attempt to win points with her largely white, middle class audience. All told, she was charged with that most heinous of hip hop’s felonies: hateration.

But before we press charges, isn’t 50 the same character who openly expressed his love for GW Bush as a fellow “gangsta” and demanded that the black community stop criticizing how he handled Hurricane Katrina? Compare that to the multiple millions that Oprah has disseminated to our communities (including building homes for the Katrina families, financing HIV prevention in South Africa and that $5 million she dropped on Morehouse College alone) and the idea of an ex-crack dealer challenging her commitment to black folk becomes even more surreal.

In spite of – or, actually, as a result of -- his impeccable gangsta credentials, 50 basically curtsied before a President who stayed on vacation for three days while black bodies floated down the New Orleans streets. No wonder it took a middle-class preppie with an African name and no criminal record to man-up and tell the whole world that “George Bush don’t care about black folks.” No wonder David Banner – a rapper who is just a few credits short of a Master’s Degree in social work -- spearheaded hip hop’s Katrina relief concerts, not any of his thug counterparts who are eternally shouting out the hoods they allegedly love.

The 50 Cent, whose music is a panoramic vision on black-on-black homicide, and who went after cross-town rival Ja Rule with the vengeance of a dictator killing off a hated ethnic minority did everything but tap dance when Reebok told him to dismantle his porn production company or lose his lucrative sneaker endorsement deal.

But why single out 50? Hip hop at-large was conspicuously silent when Bush press secretary Tony Snow (a rapper’s alias if ever there was one) assaulted hip hop in terms way more inflammatory than Oprah’s mild request:

“Take a look at the idiotic culture of hip-hop and whaddya have? You have people glorifying failure. You have a bunch of gold-toothed hot dogs become millionaires by running around and telling everybody else that they oughtta be miserable failures and if they’re really lucky maybe they can get gunned down in a diner sometime, like Eminem’s old running mate.”


(We're still awaiting an outraged response from the thug community for that one.) Rush Limbaugh has blamed hip hop for everything short of the Avian flu but I can’t recall a single hip hop artist who has gone after him lyrically, publicly or physically. Are we seeing a theme yet?

It’s worth noting that Ludacris did not devote as much energy to Bill O'Reilly -- who attacked his music on his show regularly and caused him to lose a multi-million dollar Pepsi endorsement – as he did to criticizing Oprah who simply stated that she was tired of hip hop’s misogyny. Luda was content to diss O'Reilly on his next record and go about his business. Anyone who heard the interview that Oprah gave on Power 105.1 in New York knew she was speaking for a whole generation of hip hop heads when she said that she loved the music, but she wanted the artists to exercise some responsibility. But this response is not really about Oprah, or ultimately about hip hop, either. It is about black men once again choosing a black woman as the safest target for their aggression and even one with a billion dollars is still fair game.

Of all their claims, the charge that Oprah sold out to win points with her white audience is the most tragically laughable. The truth is that her audience’s white middle-class kids exert waaay more influence over 50 and Cube than their parents do over Oprah. I long ago tired of Cube, a thirty-something successful director, entrepreneur and married father of three children making records about his aged recollections of a thug’s life. The gangsta theme went cliché eons ago, but Cube, 50 and a whole array of their musical peers lack either the freedom or the vision to talk about any broader element of our lives. The reality is that the major labels and their majority white fan base will not accept anything else from them.

And there we have it again: more masks, more lies.
It is not coincidental that hip hop has made "Nigga" the most common noun in popular music but you have almost never heard any certified thug utter the word cracker, ofay, honky, peckerwood, wop, dago, guinea, kike or any other white-oriented epithet. The reason for that is simple: Massa ain’t havin' it. The word "fag", once a commonplace derisive in the music has all but disappeared from hip hop’s vocabulary. (Yes, these thugs fear the backlash from white gays too.) And "bitch" is still allowed with the common understanding that the term is referring to black women. The point is this: debasement of black communities is entirely acceptable – required even – by hip hop’s predominantly white consumer base.

We have lived enough history to know better by now – to know that gangsta is Sonny Liston threatening to kill Cassius Clay but completely impotent when it came to demanding that his white handlers stop stealing his money. Gangsta is the black men at the Parchman Farm prison in Mississippi who beat the civil rights workers Fannie Lou Hamer and Annell Ponder into bloody unconsciousness because their white wardens told them to. Gangsta is Michael Ervin, NFL bad boy remaining conspicuously mute on Monday Night Football while Limbaugh dissed Donovan McNabb as an Affirmative Action athlete. Gangsta is Bigger Thomas with dilated pupils and every other sweaty-palmed black boy who saw method acting and an attitude as his ticket out of the ghetto.

Surely our ancestors’ struggles were about more than creating millionaires who could care less about us and then tolerating their violent disrespect out of a hunger for black success stories. Surely we are not so desperate for heroes that we uphold cardboard icons because they throw good glare. There’s more required than that. The weight of history demands more than simply this. Surely we understand that these men are acting out an age-old script. Taking the Tom Molineaux route. Spitting in the wind and breaking black bones. Hoping to become free.

Or, at least a well-paid slave.

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Sunday, October 08, 2006

Fits of October

Greetings. If you have been outside (in MA) recently you might have noticed it getting COLD for no reason. Fortunately I've been inside, trying to write verses. "My degree keeps me warm at night!" ~ College Dropout
Other than that I've been chilling w/ the band. Last we watched a medley of Chappelle films. Anyway, one of them was Block Party. I shared this with the guys who mostly agreed and I share this with you know. Alot of what makes some people successful is their voice. I'm not just talking about singers, i'm talking about rappers, emcees, actors and comedians; entertainers in general if you will. For instance, Mos Def can say just about anything and it will be more amplified than most cats (i.e.> more funny, deeper, more insulting). "I don't know, Dave." Speaking of which, Dave Chappelle can say just about anything it will be amusing. I'm sure this has it's draw backs, but when ur a comedian the cons probably fall short of the pros. Snoop Dogg. Ice Cube. Notorious BIG. Bilal. Jill Scott. D'Angelo. Erykah Badu. James Earl Jones. Denzel Washington. Jaguar Wright. Black Thought. Louis Armstrong. Billie Holiday. There are many more but you get the point.
Yeah, I get complimented on my voice alot now, but I definitely want to continue to cultivate my gift 'til I like it. (As I get nicer I just set new goals.) That's how it should be though, right?

Peace.
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Jazzmine Sullivan... your guess is mine. I guess she's British. All I know is she be singin'!

Bilal on Leno will forever be one of my fave of his performances. Not for the vocals, cus he does WAY better, but for wildin' OUT on NBC. Thank you!! If they can't dig it... f*** 'em!!

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Monday, September 25, 2006

Southern Presidentiality...

Excluding other supporting details in their bios... we'll begin with this:
George W. Bush (doesn't keep it real) = fake southerner.
William J. Clinton (keeps it real) = southerner.

[If you want to understand how much Clinton sons Wallace in this interview, insert "Bitch,..." in front of every answer Clinton gives.]

Clinton - September 2006 - Fox News Interview

[Unfortunately Fox has conveniently yanked this from most areas. So watch it while you can. If I got my ass handed to me on national television I'd pull that too.]

Here’s some transcript of the Wallace/Clinton interview not in that clip:


CW: I know we’re over, but can I ask you two political questions? Let’s talk
some politics. In that same New Yorker article, you say you’re tired of Karl
Rove’s BS. I’m cleaning up what you said.

WJC: I also say I’m not tired of Karl Rove. I don’t blame Karl Rove. If you’ve got a deal that works, you just keep on doing it.

CW: So what is the BS?

WJC: Well, every even number year–right before an election–they come up with some security issue. In 2000, right before the election. In 2002, our party supported them in undertaking weapon inspections in Iraq and were 100% behind them in Afghanistan and they didn’t have any way to make us look like we didn’t care about terror. And so they decided they would [push] the Homeland Security bill that they opposed and they put some pill in it that we wouldn’t pass–like taking the job rights away from 170,000 people–and then [they could] say that we were weak on terror if we weren’t for it. This year I think they wanted to make the question of prisoner treatment and intercepted communications the same sort of issue until John Warner came and Lindsey Graham got in there and it turns out there were some Republicans who believe in the Constitution and their convictions…some ideas about how best to fight terror.

As long as the American people believe that we take this seriously and we may have our differences over Iraq, but I think we’ll do fine this election.

Even if they agree with us about the Iraq war, we could be hurt by Karl Rove’s new foray if we don’t make it clear that we care about the security of this country. We want to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations, which they haven’t [done] in four years. We want to [..] Afghanistan against Bin Laden. We want to make America more energy-independent. If they want to talk about Iraq, say what they really want about Iraq.

But Rove is good and [that is] why I honor him. I’ve always been amused by how good he is. But on the other hand, this is perfectly predictable. We’re going to win a lot of seats if the American people aren’t afraid. If they’re afraid and we get divided again, then we’ll only win a few seats.

CW: Do you think the White House and the Republicans want to make the American people afraid?

WJC: Of course they do. They want another Homeland Security bill and they want to make it not about Iraq but some other security issue, where if we disagree with them, we are by definition endangering the security of the country. And it’s a big load of hooey. We’ve got nine Iraq war veterans running for House seats. President Reagan’s Secretary of the Navy is the Democratic candidate for Senate in Virginia. A three-star admiral who was on my NSC staff - who also fought terror, by the way - is running for the seat of Curt Weldon in Pennsylvania. We’ve got a huge military presence in this campaign and you can’t let them have some rhetorical device that puts us in a box that we don’t belong in.

That’s their job. Their job is to beat us. But our job is to not let them get away with it and if we don’t, we’ll be fine.

CW: Mr. President, thank you for one of the more unusual interviews.

WJC: I promise you, I was not trying to [..].
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Op... I found Part II!!!
Olbermann adds the "Yeah!" to the Clinton interview!
Shout out to CrooksAndLiars.com for the interview and transcript!
The Bush bone's connected to the Laden bone...

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The little things...

One of my pet peeves is when able-bodied people press the auto-door-open buttons for phsyically challenged people. I was mentioning this loud enough for my girl's coworker to hear and she started feebly attempting to defend these folks. It seemed she was one of them. But after dropping the word "spoiled" and "privileged" she resigned to take the L.
Really the point of bringing this up is to mark how little things say a LOT about a person. Now some folks will argue that you can't judge a book by it's cover. Maybe not... But it takes a certain type of person to cross certain lines without thinking about them. Like you gotta be either a lazy-ass or spoiled-ass person to press that auto-open button, cus that's not for you. Especially cus alot of the one's I've seen look like they only have so many uses in them before they breakdown. You gone open the door for somebody when it breaks? Of course not! How do I know?! Cuz you don't even open the door for yourself!

Let it marinate.
Peace.
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Okayplayer.com - Jay-Z is holding up Saigon's debut album

Thursday, September 21, 2006

B, that's yo friend...

Aight, if some random (homeless) brotha comes up to you claiming to be my friend... don't believe him. I don't know that mayn! I know his face, and apparently he knows mine. Let's back up though, cus it seems today was the day!! I don't know what category the day goes into, nor am I sure if I can even say "good day/bad day" it's just an astoundingly extra day.
I opened this morning. Meaning I was out at 6AM jammin' some Erykah Badu, Ab and Glenn Lewis. I surprisingly made it into work on time (cus I was starting to support a punctuality stereotype) and went to my zone. The first person I assist today is an elderly European male. Correction, I assumed he was European because he got real close to me when he spoke. I guess I made him feel very comfortable in the 54secs. "You are a very handsome young man. Has anyone told you that lately? Well, you probably hear it all the time," he said. I began to sheepishly nod. "But not today," he closed. To which I replied "Thank you," and departed stage right.
Then there was lunch. If you had told me there was a sign on my forehead "Up for it!" I would have been more comfortable. I'm thinking, surely I have a boog. A massive boog is breakdancing in my nose while Dave Chappelle plays rhymes "Spaghetti" behind me. Surely that would explain the man who sat down right across from me at lunch and proceeded to stare me down through his shades. IF YOU'RE GOING TO STARE SOMEONE DOWN, GET DARK SHADES. I SEE YOU. I will assume the person he was on the phone with was female though. Just to make it more as if I was trippin'. You know how you just kind of stare when ur on the phone but aren't conscious of where your eyes trespass. I could have given him that, until he hung up the phone. HE KEPT STARING. You ever figure that you'll just look someone dead in the eye til they look away, but they don't for a long time, so y'all are just locked looking at one another. That was my lunch.
But wait... there's more.
I'm happy cus I'm going home. Take the train back to my stop, and I'm coming out of the station and I see this homeless cat that I seen around town a good number of times. Usually I wave at him, cus I'm from Texas and he acts like I didn't. Today, I didn't even see him til I was almost out the door and he says "Hey don't I know your face from some where?" I'm thinking, 'you know my face from everywhere dude, I see you ALL-THE-TIME.' He's goes on into his act, "yeah, where do I know you from?" I pop off like three places waiting for him to ask me for a few dollars, which I actually had today, and was ready to give him. He asks me if I stay around here I say, "yeah". He says "Where?" [Creepy]. I give him a vague answer. He says "Yeah, what street?" [Creepier]. I give him the name of the main street I live off, trying not to lie. "What street number?" [Fuck it, I'm lying.] I don't remember. "You don't remember your street number?" he asks, not trying to hide the condescending inflection in his voice; as if I'm a dumb-ass. "When are you home?" [I shift my weight subtly into fighting stance.] "I can't really say, I changes a lot." Which is true. Though I'm thinking, ok, so he's trying to figure out when I'm not there so he can go rob me. He asks if I'm home on Mondays. "Again it changes a lot, so sometimes I am sometimes I'm not." The correlation from the previous answer seemed to escape him. "Do you have a phone there?" Nah. "Do you go to church?" he asked. 'Whew. Ok, you're a religious-crazy-person. I don't mind y'all,' I thought. I tell him how I somewhat go. He asks "Where?" [Pseudo-creepy]. I reply that "It's online." "Ohhhh..." he almost caught on. "What's your phone number?" I gave him my number. I think he miswrote it but oh well. "Do you practice abstinence?" he blurts out. 'Muphucka I don't know you,' I think, but tell him the answer. Why? I figure I don't know him so what does it matter. "You watch porn?" Ha ha ha. He's not ready for that answer. I fudge it to make me seem 'normal'. "What kinda of porn do you watch?" Truthfully, I let him know that I were I to watch I'd watch Black porn. His sixty-nine questions ain't up. He asks if I masturbate, JUST as this cute woman passes. Neither are ready for the real answer, so I fudge it. "Do you have a girl," he asked in an almost endearing-creepy way. WTF? Is he trying to set me up w/ someone now? Is this the Crackhead Love Connection? And why were his fingers greasy?! [Creeptacular.] I answered truthfully. He asked if we knock it down, I giggled out a modest version answer. Ain't nobody ready for that one. In fact, unread that. Now. Nower!! So then went back to the "tell me where u live?" and me responding vaguely trade-offs. Then he asked where I worked, I told him truthfully. Why should I care, we got security guards. Plus by now I got the impression that he was going to forget all of this in the next 10mins anyway. Seeing that he had already forgotten all of my original half-truths. This bell-curve of extra came down to me excusing myself for some business that didn't exist. He promised he would call though. You could say I looked back longingly at him as I left or was making sure I was the ass-whooping was cocked and ready.
Romeo oh Romeo, I would beat yo ass but you might like it Romeo.

Anyway, it seems I transcend class and genders now. Superstar!!
Peas in the middle.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Soul Edition...

So, tonight some acquaintances and I were talking and we chanced upon the subject of 'Where are they now?' the soul edition better known as "What the hell happened to 'whats-his-name?!'". Ponder these as we did and if u know the answer, feel free to share. What ever happened to:


Maxwell

Glenn Lewis

Deborah Cox

(the rest slip my mind - and will be added later)


Peace.
_____________________________

Thursday, September 07, 2006

I'm working...

Just finished my first week at my new job. Points of note:

They have a section regarding blogging in the employment agreement.

One high-profile Red Sox player is a regular.

People are serious about each minute of their lunch break.

I get a full hour for my lunch break, which is about 37mins more than I need.

My degree and hobbies actually apply to my work now.

I have way more social skills than I remember having or using.

I don't hate people anymore, I pity them - except the ones I loathe.

At the very least I still enjoy that this is a blue state.

Peace.
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BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | I will quit within a year - Blair

Diddy finally realized how much money he has, that's the real reason he dances.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

You are where you eat...


Now, aside from the title being a pun, it of course ties into the following. I was in my girl's dorm and I went to the Men's room. In the stall I was a neatly placed menu to a restaurant. Now, surely I want to believe they didn't actually place them here among the plethora of advertising litter they dispersed, but you never know. My thing is if they did, it illuminates why they are failing compared to the other restaurants in the area. They've essentially associated their product with sh*t. Which could be pulled off if they were saying "We're the sh*t," but they weren't.
As a consumer, I like a certain amount of thought to be put into the advertising. I will buy from a company i can intellectually respect even if they are just honest in their lack of individuality in the market. What pulls me away is of course then the opposite. I don't think it's just me eithr. Then again as a consumer I could easily represent a few thousand like-minded consumers. For instance, though the character itself was popular, I don't think it was wise for Taco Bell to choose a Chihuahua as their mascot when their meat already tasted funny and looked like dog food. I would have gone in a direction a bit sooner than they did. Granted i'm sure they probably got a lot of business based on the popular association. However, it's not like Burger King using a King. A no-brainer AND funny. Hence, why they are still pimpin'.
Strangely enough, I rarely think about the YKK on my zipper when i'm using it.
Tragedy.

Peace.
_____________________________________________
YKK on yo' zipper...

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Keep in Touch...

Ok, so apparently I need to contact my family more. Alot more... I'm talking with my mom now who is apparently in her hometown. Supposedly my cousin (near my age) got married, is in Germany, and may live in Utah. My grandma just got over acute arthritis. I mean, yeah she is fine, but I almost didn't find out. Crazy! Ha ha ha.
Really I blog about this cus I am just overwhelmed by what else I could not know about my family. Not strangers, my family. Blood. Though my cousin trips me out cus it's like man... is it getting that time already. I feel like I haven't even been here (in existence) that long. I should really get cracking on the rest of these goals then. My time shall be extended. Bloggito, done.

peace....
___________________

Arthritis is not a game. Grandma is a soldier though. Preacher's wife.

Donnie is a sadly overlooked vocalist.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Is TV negative? Depends on what you watch.

However the example of the Reality TV show where the family that was moved to Montana and stripped of technology seemed to miss the single cause for their new bond which was spending time together as a family. In addition to the truth of "cultivating relationships" they tacked on things that were inconsequential.

You can't blame TV (or the media) for what you lack as a parent. (If this article is meant to ensue the "It's the media's fault" stance then it is hypocritical since the writer admits that he/she brings articles to the table to talk about and provides ample reason for it.) Families are quick to find scapegoats for their shortcomings. 'My kids are too large, let's sue McDonalds.' 'My kids demand to have every new thing, let's blame advertisers.' 'My family does not spend enough time together, must be our technology, let's go live in 19th century Montana.' 'My kids are out of control, someone made them wild.' 'My family is not what I want it to be, this can not be my fault. Something is literally stopping me from cultivating the relationships with my family.'

If you feel you don't connect with your kids, try meeting them in their environment. If you don't like that environment, you are their parent - you could change it if you wish. Don't be afraid to be the "bad guy" if you disagree with them on what is best for them. However before you ignite their resentment, make sure you are making sense. Simple example: Taking away their TV = bad idea. Watching TV with them and then talking about it afterwards = good idea. Think of it like the article that was brought to the dinner table. Your kids will have a much harder time making good sense if they don't see you as a good example.

The irony being that this arguement is being held through technological devices. As well, that they used a Reality TV show to get their point across. Let that marinate.

Sincerely,
A former kid.

_____________________________________________

The Daily Show - were it still on by then I would greatly persuade my kids to watch it.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

TV comment time...

Come peoples as I comment on what I'm watching his Saturday morning. (Mainly cartoons, cus they are way better than reality TV and much of the other programming.)

Loonatics United... If you haven't seen it, it's like Looney Toones as wisecracking superheroes in the future. Interesting. Not sure I would have traded them for old school Looney Tunes, but got to keep it fresh eh?!

TMNT... Yes I'm still going to see the movie. For now, I caught the show and now it's set in the future. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fast Forward'

Chelo... I stopped cus he looks likes Justin Timberlakes Latino cousin. Like for real.. then u watch his video for "Cha Cha" and he has many of the same mannerisms. Dah well, wish him the best.

Also, music videos are so funny on mute... OR in the case of Pachanga Latina when they (the videos) are noticeably off from the audio. Ay, no me gusta. However, I do like that they have a lot of 'R&B' in their programming.

::Kept watching TV::

Lastly, the Doodlebops scare me. Though they had a Black character as a special guest called 'Jumpin Judy' so at least they are incorporating other skintones into the orange, purple, and blue Doodlebop lives of the main characters. Though if u peep the credits, they are supposedly Canadian so maybe that explains it all.

WTF?! Sammie is back?! When did this happen?! And he brought Lloyd with him! Um ok.

Maybe this is why adults start sleeping in as they get older. I don't know, dah well. I'm out.

Peace.
_______________________________
What will always amuse me is that from now own these guys will be referred to as Academy Award Winners Three 6 Mafia. What song did they win for? "Hard Out Here for a Pimp" of course. ROFL. I love it. Congrats.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Bah Humbug...

Actually, I am joking. It is almost a time for celebration. I did not get the life-changing job. Which believe it or not is simply marvelous. Why? Because I don't want my life to change in the direction that job would change it. I am on a very very good path toward music and I know the stress and demands of that job would pull me away from it. Most likely, I would have quit the job sometime in 2007 just to get back to my original life destination. Also i didn't really need the money. I am curious as to why I was not hired though. I mean, no, I wasn't actually trying, but did they see that? I am just curious. I was surprised they called me for a second interview. The only thing I will envy about the job is that I would have only had to walk about 2 blocks to work. Why? Snow. Hmmmmm, snow. Bah Humbug!!

Peace.
______________________________

Such sights and sounds are not reassuring as you plod through the sun, wishing that boy on a motor-scooter would pass more quickly in case whoever is watching is not in a good mood.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Interim...

Greetings. I have been away this time for a good reason. Mainly that I don't like to talk about mess until it's final. So... the two jobs that I interviewed for... I'll let u know what happens when I get them. Which I'm told is the second week in August, so any day now. My prayers have been answered and I will be happy to share the news with y'all.

Also, I officially moved. As in, my boy and I took my stuff out of my old apartment and into the basement of my new apartment. So really i'm in housing limbo (which i call my girlfriend's sublet). Who's awkwardness so far peaked not at the brief heated debate we had tonight but rather when the handyman (i forget the PC term people use now) showed up to plug some mice holes. Although, i thought he was the landlord so I was kinda stand-offish thinking 'I hope he don't tell me to get the f*ck out, cus we gone have some words.' Other than that it was a 'hey buddy' situation.

My bestfriend is dating one of my close friends which makes me happy, cus I don't have to size anyone up. Now usually this is one of those social taboos (the kind of which I have no fear of obliterating) and the friends avoid what they know is possible cus they believe they can't be friends if it doesn't work out. That BS annoys me and best exemplifies how socially/intellectually limited you (and most likely your friend) are but even beyond that, the relationship makes almost TOO much sense from what I know of each so let's sit back and watch where that goes.

Lastly, I am good at video games. In my time in limbo i've been playing them alot (particularly Spiderman 2 - Gamecube). Granted they are nearly the perfect example to my post-absurdist feelings on approaching things in life. See, I know good-and-well that I will not win any sort of prize or substantial compensation for playing/beating this game. My final victory or crux of resolution will not be soundtracked by John Williams nor garner me recognition beyond my girlfriend's potential* and near-patronizing "That's good, baby." As well, I realize the marginal entertainment value versus what productive things I could be doing yet I acquiesce to its purpose in my life because my enjoyment outweighs the regret I will harvest over my lost time.

:: IM a friend ::

Well, I've forgotten where I was meaning to go, thus I will end things here.
Peace.

_____________________________
He created the music that we have soldered into our culture. From his mind to our society, that's pimp. It's a gift.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Hip Hopcracy...

It's no World Cup, but the 135th British Open Championship is in progress. I believe they just call it "The Open Championship" because it is one of the first championships and it is played on the worlds oldest golf course. The commentators are doing that soft spoken voice they love to use as if paying honor to the reign of this course whilst describing it. "California... knows how to party..." breaks the vibe as the camera changes scenes. Oh no... it's not some technical error. Indeed they are playing "California Love" by Dr. Dre ft. Tupac during the coverage of the 135th British Open. Wow! I'm not mad. I'm just amazed. Allow me to explain.

Dr. Dre was a founding member of NWA, one of the groups credited with the emergence of 'gangsta rap'. The group's Sraight Outta Compton album was one of the reasons we have the 'parental advisory' sticker on music products today. The amazement is that somehow rap has become so accepted, so innocuous that one of the arguably most recognizable rap songs is played during coverage of what is possibly the most esteemed tournament in golf. GOLF!! Not tennis... you know what out-of-place song tennis gets during the RCA Championship coverage... the theme to 'The Price is Right'. HARMLESS!! Light-hearted, humorous even. If they EVER play 'dead prez' on golf, THEN i will be amazed. Heck, if they play 'dead prez' on mainstream urban radio, i'll be impressed.

Peace.
___________________________
In case you don't know about N.W.A.

Feel free to educate yourself on dead prez
When ur roommate moves...

Only when your roommate moves do you realize how much was his. Couch is gone. True. Knew that. Room next to that is completely empty. Also true. I really didn't feel like it affected me until I went to heat up some pizza and... no microwave. True.
So now I type to you while I wait for my pizza to cook again... in the oven. Patience. What i've also learned = Gas stoves seem dangerous. I'm trusting this thing to regulate a minor explosion when it fills a portion of the oven with gas then ignites it. I don't know the history of this stove. I wasn't there the time it possibly broke down. Hell, I SURELY don't want to be here the next time it does. Anyway, the latest addition to my roommates belongings include the internet modem. When he takes that... I shall not be so happy.

Peace.
__________________________

BBC NEWS | Middle East | 'More scary than the Gulf War'

Friday, July 21, 2006

Whatever you say...

Honestly, every now and then I don't hear what people say to me. This crucial prerequisite doesn't stop me from responding though. I usually give them some non-descript affirmation or question. Like... "Why?" When clearly "How have you been?" doesn't prompt that response. If taken incorrectly that could have been fighting words. Ok, well the person would have to be on some serious Napoleon ish, but still.

I wonder if this happens in more crucial arenas. Politics? The Pentagon? How messed up would it be if someone misunderstood someone on that level. "Wait... you don't want me to press the button?!" "No!" "'No, you do' or 'No, i don't want you to press the button'". I've always thought that was interesting. The 'no' of agreement. People could be more eloquent. They won't be though, until they are. Kidding, i just love ridiculously obvious declarations. Carry on 'bout ya business.

Peace.
________________________

How the ear works... just in case.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Follow up...

Recently Carla needed a watch, so we went shopping for one. Eventually visiting my old job because they have the best inexpensive watches. I don't know about you but anything over $15 is too much for a watch for me right now.
Anyway, while there my boss updated me on all the changes that occured after I left. I won't go into details but essentially I left at the perfect time. Well, for my benefit that is... them, not so much. Jobs were lost. Jobs were shredded. Jobs were pleaded for again. It happens, but the lesson is never look back except to learn a lesson or help somebody do the same.

Bloggito peace.

________________________

Why is Israel trying to be like the U.S. ?

Why didn't I know that Erykah Badu got a booty? She from TX though, so it makes sense. TX stand UP!

Friday, July 14, 2006

The Professor...

[The following was deleted from a comment on Lasu's MySpace blog. I wanted to keep the comment short, but still wanted to expound on the idea.
The topic was "What if people were simpler?" cognitively. 'They would have fewer problems...' and so forth. However there was a dual acknowledgement that we must also appreciated how far we've come. A few people agreed. I responded "What if people were smarter? We would have fewer problems." I explained how I defined "smarter" as exercising the ability to acknowledge futility, especially when setting goals for contentment. The simplicity of this is usually hindered by yourself and your relationship to society...]

Pride is a very dangerous thing. Apparently, it is one of the seven deadly sins. Too much pride can get you into trouble. Too little pride may not get you anywhere. Unfortunately, one person slightly deficient in pride often jabs at another person as a twisted form of therapy (sometimes consciously). Even worse, our society easily allows for people to feel worthless. Doesn't have to be this way, but it creates a pecking order that makes some people feel better. It is similar to the adage "Life is simple; it's the people that complicate it". If people were 'smarter' more of us would acknowledge the absurdity of the 'pecking order'. We each could feel more content about the lives we carve out for our selves because it would play out on our own scale, as opposed to the scale we interpret from society.

The best thing Lasu said [in my opinion, of course] is "it's unfortunate that humans have to live in a society driven by economy and monetary profit." It was the line that kicked off his blog and it is the first step (I believe) in making people smarter; which is to think outside of society - to step out and look at our absurdities as a whole. The line acknowledges the inevitability of an economy, whether it meant to or not, but suggests a longing for more than the monetary measuring stick. Meaning Lasu can then move in society with a new perspective.

Now I just wonder the futility of my response. Hopefully it came off less existentialist than it could have, because I have yet to hear what I mean properly conveyed in philosophic text. However, I don't really look to them to shape my view, but that is because I can never really get past the first chapter without feeling there is something more productive I could be doing with my time. (For everyone who questions how long I spent writing this blog, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!)

Meh, essentially what I want to express is that ALOT more of your contentment rests on you claiming it that it does in your possessions, relationships, career, or beliefs. Evaluate your goals with the question that I used, "then what?" You have set all these goals for yourself, but "then what?" If you found contentment in all the aforementioned popular quantifiers (job, possessions, relationships, etc) where would you go from there? Does the lack of those really stop you from being content? What if you never reach them? Can you be content with having lived at all? Do you feel like you are "living"? Why/Why not? Do remember that someone will always have it worse than you, and you didn't have to exist, so...

peace!
==============================
A rough idea to help grasp the point as not to misinterpret the message.

He's smarter than he lets on. Which is why he hasn't been assassinated! Making it sound like a joke helps too (i.e.> 'The Reparations Sketch' or 'Black Bush').

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Created or Destoyed...

The amalgamation of letters you see before you is the seed of my procastination. Seed in the 'offspring' sence not 'farming' sense, though the potential for a double entendre is not lost on any of us I hope. Speaking of hope, I call upon it as a crutch in the creative battle within which I am currently caught.
It is a fascinating thing 'to create'. There are many portions of this to marvel at but allow me to clarify. Not the process, or the art of it, but i mean the actual point in which you go from attempt to success in creation. Especially if it wasn't something that came to you, but when you actually worked for the idea. Well, that is what i'm trying to do now.

[Insert 3 hours of being distracted learning to play "Stairway to Heaven"]

The hardest thing to do is to stay focused and actually build upon the idea before it morphs into whatever else you come up with. Because ideas don't come solo. Oh no, they flow in like a flood. Then you have all these ideas that you have to ignore. Before you were literally at your wit's end, now you want you wit to shut up and give you a minute. Y'know, so you can actually develop the first idea. I should go do that now.

Peace.
===============================

Links coming soon... soon as i remember them.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

How many words does it take you to get to the center of a Footballer?...

I've been away the last few days, meeting with roommates for the new apartment and chillin' with Carla. (Sidenote: My new roommates keep adding the qualifer "so if you decide to take the place" into their speech. Which would be fine were we not talking about things like HOW I'M DEFINITELY SIGNING THE LEASE and WHEN I'M DEFINITELY MOVING MY STUFF IN I and how I told them from jump that "I AM DEFINITELY MOVING INTO THIS PLACE." Indeed my precise words. Anyway...)

On Sunday, we caught the 2006 World Cup Final, even missed a movie for it (hadn't bought tix yet, so it was all good). It was a good game, and also funny. Especially when Zinedine Zidane waylayed Marco Materazzi. Catching one of those blows that makes you wince in sympathetic pain, Materazzi proved why you DON'T insult a three-time World Player of the Year. "Three-time!" means he wasn't just a lucky pick. It denotes that dude ain't no punk (as proven by informally introducing his head to your sternum).

As is the world, i'm curious what you have to say to make a dude ram his head into your ribs hurling you to the ground. I say hurling, cus Materazzi indeed went from standing to slamming into the ground vertebrae first on impact. Surely Materazzi's should be put into that rule book of shit you just don't say period.

Peace.
=======================
Izza my fava renedizzion of the Zidane Headbutt. (I feel no remorse for my bad italian impression. If you don't know why turn on MTV!)

Why you don't insult talent...

Best way to insult = with 2400 word vocabulary (the average vocab = 800 words).
Change 'Thou' to 'Yo momma' and it's a wrap!
Oh, and a crowd going "oooooooooo"!

An interview between Saul Williams and Henry Rollins, two cats that could easily verbally shit on you...

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Like a rolling stone...

Oh my my my... So yeah, remember how I told you I got a new job and a new place then i quit the new job. Well, yeah... now my new place is going bye bye as well. See my roommate is a teacher, but on the side (and really just the summers) he does real estate. Well, he just got the chance to buy his first complex and for a chance actually be landlord and get paid rent, rather than paying rent. Which, if you know anything about the cost of living in Boston, is HUGE. So of course, I was like do your thing.
Now what this means is that cus he is moving out I could either, find a new roommate or peace-out. Sure enough my landlord calls me with this same ultimatum. Now he's probably thinking, I'd just scrounge up the money rather than be homeless. If i stayed but didn't find a new roommate I'd be responsible for not only my rent, but the non-roommate's share AND the security deposit. Hahaha... silly man. I laughed and said "So your asking me for $2,100... haha, I can not do that!!" I put him on hold and called the roommate and made sure this wasn't just some scam he was trying to run on me. Then I called him back and said "Is there any other option?" Essentially meaning is there a way I could pay part and stay til Sept 1st. He declined to which I replied "Okay, then I'm out!" Let him know that this was my last month and that i'm out.
What he does not know is that earlier that day I found my new place. Which is actually closer to where I wanna be. Much nicer than his place. AND, far cheaper as well. Additionally, I asked both my girl and my new place if i could store my stuff with them til I move (I was not surprised that he called thus I was prepared). So yeah, I was straight. Now I just saved money. I love my life. "Ha, the Lord is GOOD!"

Peace.
=================================
He helped Gilligan-n-n get off the Island, ha!!

How I find everthing!!

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

The O'Jays - A Family Reunion

Battle was Saturday. Sunday morning I was off to Connecticut. It was a last minute decision but I didn't want my girl to weather the barrage of inquiries into her life solo. We took a bus down, which meant 4+ hours of reading this one news paper i like. We intermittently debated about Superman Returns but for the most part I was just stuck reading this article on fusion-voting. The odd thing was that I basically could not finish the article. I suddenly felt like I was in school again. No matter how I tried to just read on through it, the words just bounced off me. I was left with little grasp of the content and thus resolving to re-read. Very annoying and time consuming.

While in Connecticut, family didn't seem to understand that I-i-i didn't give a flying [edit] about how things were going to work out. Where we slept, when we ate, where we spent our days before the actual cookout: no importa. What amused me the most was the penchant family has for repeating itself. Captured best in this moment i recant for you now:

My girl, her pops, and I sit outside her brother's apartment. Yes, her sister lives in a seperate joint on the third floor but we were waiting on her brother to return. Our eyes are fixed on the flowers in front of us, not for their attempt at urban beautification but for the possible exit of yellow-jackets. We shoot the breeze, nothing important at all, in fact we actually come around to talking about the weather. The most cliché topic of all time but we progress with it rather than delving into deeper topics. (I mention this because the conversation originally kicked off with Pops observing that my girl's thighs had grown thicker...oops, haha. I am not sure he wanted to commit himself to deducing the cause - as she and I sat nearly holding hands.) Now talking about rain, I mention my fascination with it's near-precision. Especially how it can be raining across the street from you and you never feel a drop. Also the way rain seems to commence and cease within a few seconds at times. You can go from dry to downpour in almost an instant and vice-versa. It really is fascinating. Carla seconded the observations and just then her pops offered his own. "Yeah, you know, boy, you could be sitting on one side of the street watching it rain over there and you never even feel a drop. Man, I'll tell you, that is something, isn't it?!" To which I replied, "Yes, sir!" to this completely new observation on the subject. Fin.


Now multiply that by however many subjects people can fit into three days of pseudo-catching up and you have the trip. Overall it was still fun. The "Most Fun People to Chill With" awards go to Carla's 15yr-old cousin from South Carolina (whom we are trying to kidnap and put into a good school in a big city), her brothers (both are cool and funny) and her sister's girlfriend (as in romantic insterest - who probably understands how I feel though her broken record collection probably consists of "I just don't understand" and "The bible says"). At times, i just wanted to be like "dang, mayn, you must be tired" but i'm sure she gathered my views when it was mentioned that I fundraised for the HRC (Human Rights Campaign). Also she listens to 'Little Brother' so she MUST be cool on some level.

Anyway, amid attempts to escape to video games and suffering through folks watching 'they stories' (their soap operas) on the biggest screen i've seen in a minute, the cookout was cool. Especially the music (when they were playing EVERY old-school favorite of mine) before it eventually rained. Oh, and of course they tried to overfeed me cus i'm "skinty". But hey, free food, is free food. Also, my southern accent made a triumphant but laid-back return, cus they all are originally from South Carolina. Lastly, (as stereotypical as it is) GOOD KOOL-AID IS THE JAM!!!

Peace.
=============================
The Human Rights Campaign, let it be known that I fundraised the most at PRIDE; making me not just an eco-hustler, but an all-round non-profit paper-chaser.

Maybe it's just me, but fusion-voting makes so much sense that I doubt people are ready.

Little Brother on MySpace. I also recommend visiting 9th Wonder's page, he makes the tracks.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Redefining First Place...

So my band (in which I feel ownership as being a part of it) was in the regional finals of this international Battle of the Bands contest this past weekend. I originally felt like the thing was a pyramid scheme (which it is to a degree) but I still let us participate anyway.
Why?
Because we would get to play the top venues in the city if we won. Well, as mentioned before we made it to the regional finals. Meaning we essentially bested hundreds of other bands (cus there were multiple rounds with multiple nights of contest with multiple bands that competed) to finally arrive at the finals we were in Saturday night.
How did you guys do?
We placed 3rd overall, as so voted by the judges. Their decision was final. However in a seperate vote we were picked #1 by the other competing bands, which we feel is a major compliment. Plus I think we will be quite fine in the long run with our 3rd place. Thus the experience was everything we thought it would be and more.
We went farther than we thought we would. We were heard by more people than we thought we would be. And, we gained the respect of the musical community (artists and enthusiasts alike). Thus we came out on top, ask the bands! :-)
And sincere thanks to anyone who came to any of the rounds and voted us on. THANK YOU!!

Peace.
=====================
How did Melodesiac do? The answer is a few clicks away.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Super, man...

On this rainy day, I will see "Superman Returns". Which I'll probably write about tomorrow. Though for now I can tell you what I do know. I will be watching this movie in a packed theater. (I spell it "theater" when talking about movies and "theatre" when speaking on stage performances.)

The reason I bring this up is because I actually loathe watching movies when other people are around (excluding friends - not to exceed five in quantity, else it's the same problem). People talk. Why?! I don't know. Movies don't ask you to say anything. In fact, they explicitly ask you NOT to say anything.
Sidenote: "Inconsiderate cell-phone man" was SO great, bravo, encore.

But yeah, I like having a theatre nearly to myself (and maybe 20 strangers). I go see movies at like 2-3pm in the afternoon for this purpose. I guess because I feel I REALLY respect the art of film and to talk through it is unfair to you who subjected yourself to the experience as well as the crews who toiled over the project. That's just me though. So to avoid the ingrates I go to movies at odd times.

See you anywhere but the movies!
Peace.

====================
Ace reporter Valerin has discovered this story citing the inanity of the news: CNN.com - Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes - Jun 27, 2006

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Them dang ole spiders, mayn...

Dear Spiders,

I officially announce my beef with you. Not ALL spiders, just stupid spiders. Never have I ever ... (never have i ever?) walked through spiderwebs on a consistent basis. It has become a battle. First assumptions were that the webs only existed over the sidewalks between hedges and street signs. So naturally i figured walking in the middle of the street equals a solution. BLASTED SPIDERS got me still. Really though?! What warped spiders are trying to catch food on a street?! They can't be eating that much cus PEOPLE TEAR SPIDERWEBS. Like really though?! I want you all to eat. For the most part, I like spiders. Just not on me. You know I have a 1-foot rule. (If your within 1-foot of me, you relinquish your right to live.) Remember when it was 3-feet. I'm trying to help y'all out.

Also let's look at this from your point of view (POV). You're a spider, you just spent a long amount of (whatever concept spiders have of) time building your food trap and rip-rip-rip ya whole masterpeice gone. Surely you're not going to build a web in tear-down territory again, right? Oh no, you're hard-headed little spiders. You just keep on building. I mean you think Darwinism would take care of this. No web, no food, lesson learned. I don't know though, I KEEP walking through the spiderwebs. It always catches me off guard. You basically ruin my whole vibe. I go from happy/clean to sticky/webbed. I don't know where you're web has been. Nor do I think I want to know. I also REALLY don't want believe that you are now ON me with your web, cus I'll kill ya!! I completely understand the malice villians and thugs must feel toward Spiderman. Webbing folks in the face is NOT cool. Shame on you spiders. I usually wish the best for most creatures, but I'm kinda indifferent about you right now. Just the stupid spiders, not you good fly-killing spiders. Keep on doing what you do.

Sincerely,

All-in-your-web!


===========================
The World Cup is evil for pitting Brazil vs. Ghana so early knowing that i'm rooting for both of them.

Monday, June 26, 2006

No line, just unemployed...

I've been unemployed for a week now. I think of it like a taste of what writing full time will be like. So far, the only thing missing is performing on the weekends. But next weekend we're playing the regional finals of the Emergenza Battle of the Bands. So that will be tight.
For now, I spend most of my days coming up w/ music and lyrics if not finishing whatever I came up with in the days past. I'm already into a third song (of the new batch - I have others).

Outside of music, my girl bought Resident Evil. I played it, beat it. Which is bad, cus I really try not to play THAT many games now, cus I know I won't put it down til it's finished. And when I finish them I'm always like... now what?! What will I do now that my sole purpose for breathing has fallen into the limbo that is my past?! Ok, not that dramatic, but you get the point.

Anyway as not to sound completely slothful I shall inform you that I checked up on the job I want and they said they will probably have an opening in a week or two. Til then I'm all about the World Cup. I mean it isn't my fault that I resigned just as the World Cup began. :-) (I know that is completely false but play along.) Brazil is my fave, but I really want Ghana to do well. Anyway, i'm going to get back to writing/watching. I really meant to blog about my beef w/ spiders right now, but tangents rule.

Cosine, bizl!!
Peace.

================
?uestlove's Blog has become a must read for me now. I like knowing there are more of 'us' out there. If you know who 'us' is go read and enjoy.

Jay-Z makes one small step for Hip-Hop... (Pun aversion program.)

Thursday, June 22, 2006

The rebirth of a meantime...

Alright, so if you've noticed, i haven't been blogging alot recently. Usually like three times a month. The reason is that everytime I want to blog it feels like such a task; expounding massive amounts of mental energy to deliver a lengthy blog on brief topics.
For example, topics like my departure from the "Eco-thugs", or why Spiderman is the only spider-related entity i can stand right now can henceforth fall into much shorter blogs (bloggitos, if you will - which you shouldn't). I'll explain about the spiders in subsequent posts (probably later on today since I don't have a job now.)

In other news I've started another blog on the MySpace page for my music. Basically just to chronicle the journey i've enbarked on. Nothing particularly special, though it will get more interesting from here. Also, i'll probably start throwing in links to stuff below my posts like Jes does. In fact let's end this here.

Peace.

=================
Prison is the continuation of slavery!

When I think of feminism, Wonder Woman is the last figure to come to mind... maybe i'm off.

I met Ryan Leslie way back when he was focusing on himself as an artist cus Zach Raynor dragged me to a club performance, but so far my favorite thing from him is his video blog. It gives me jollies.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Ch-Ch-Changes...

Time to face the change. LoOk to the left and behold the startling new addition to the 'Blogs I Read'. His name is "Saj". He was cool to know and now is cool to read. One of the many hidden treasures on my buddy list. Enjoy.

I ran into a friend of my ex today. Which was funny cus I actually didn't remember why I knew this person until after I stopped her and was ankle-deep in the brief catch-up. None-the-less it was cool to see that she is currently doing big things with the organization that employs her. Y'know...you always wish the best of people you know. (On the two 'know's in that last sentence: It was either end with a preposition or be repetitive...i believe I chose the lesser of two evils.)

Anyways, I have to go. They (the powers that be) are sending me out into the boonies tomorrow. Though I would love to run into a Huey Freeman, i'll probably cross paths with a less like-minded type. C'est la vie. (I wish i knew more French.)

Peace.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Do over...

Okay! So remember how last time there were a whole bunch of new things going on. Yeah... that all happened. Only i want to try again. Well the new apartment is perfect so that part is straight. However the new job... tsk tsk tsk. I thought I was signing up to be the person that sits in the office while the eco-thugs hit the streets. And then gives them pep-talks when they come back. Oh not so...
Never has there been a more despised being than a black eco-thug. (Eco-thugs are the people you see on the street soliciting the public for "help saving the environment". I call them thugs because they are aggressive, wear colors and move in small packs.) That being is thus me. Allow me to list off which groups abhor each of the characteristics that make me such an abomination (and thus why i so desperately seek new/better employment):

The Racists - i'm black
The Employed - i ask for their money
The Unemployed - my job is to ask them for the money they ain't got
Minorities - essentially i'm like Carlton (Fresh Prince)
Conservatives - see us as hippies
Hippies - see us as bureaucratic scam artists
1x Givers - feel guilty for not "contributing" enough (cus there's never enough)
Members - incessantly hassled by us to be involved
Everyone - tired of explaining why they do not stop
Myself - know all of the above yet won't quit til i have another job lined up

So in the end I actually wish I had not quit my last job until I found a job better than what I thought I was signing up for. Have I learned that lesson? I dunno, i'm trying hard not to take the first job that comes up.

Save me jebus.
Peace.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

The Springingest...

Alright, so remember I told you we (Melodesiac) won the Battle of the Bands to open the Tufts Spring Fling. Well, that (Spring Fling) was today. I was simply happy to experience another Spring Fling. Well... until I did. After we played and then chilled with friends & associates for a bit then it just became a waiting game.
Waiting for... entertainment. This had to be the most relaxed Spring Fling ever. Relaxed is the wrong word. More like just damn lazy. Folks were just sitting around. Everything was at best describable as "aight".

How were the acts? "Aight"
How was the crowd? "Aight"
How was the food? "Aight"
How were the booths? "Aight"
How was the weather? "Aight"
Wanna attend again? "Aight"

Cus that's exactly what this was... the Spring Fling to re-establish Spring Fling. Not the "damn, that was off the hook" one, but the "sure... we should do that again" one. The one where nothing really went wrong cus we didn't aim that high. Which is probably exactly what it should have been. Another flop could have ended Spring Fling all-together. We found out that the torrential down pour that usually abolishes Spring Fling was held off this time until May 9; a bitter-sweet convenience of global warming.

Dah well...so be it!
Peace.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Brand New Brand New Brand New...

In the near future.

New apartment.
New job.

New birthday.

Brand new...
peace.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Mr. Robber's Neighborhood...

So I tried to take a diff bus home from a different (but closer) subway station and wound up walking home. Why?! Because apparently the bus stops running at 7pm on Saturday nights... HOW GERIATRIC IS THAT?!
Anyway, on the walk home I found out some things that helped me better understand where I live:

1.> People keep their cable dishes inside their home down the streets. Take time to let the "why" of that action marinate...

2.> There is a trailer park a couple streets away from me. Slightly disturbing to a Black man; especially having to walk past it at night. Imagine the scene. I was praying that no one notices that there is a new "colored" in the vicinity.

3.> True to form not even 2 miles away from the trailers are the upper-middle class homes (and city hall). I hesitate to call them fancy cus i've seen some NICE joints in my day, but I would say they are among the best I've seen in the surrounding cities.

Yeah... I am about the only Black person I see around the area. Seen some dark Dominicans though, and there are alot of Latinos in general... so I'm not worried about someones pent up rage over the advancements of 1964.
However supposedly someone did try to break in downstairs.

Peace & prosperity.

Sidenote:
Duke University Equestrian Team Hoping To Avoid Investigation Into Their Sex Scandal [view more]

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Let the church say 'Amen'...

(You may be seated. Turn with me in the bible of ur minds to 2nd brothers conversing about 1st sisters pictures for an ad campaign.)

BadAssBradley (10:38:23 PM): the problem w/ the african attire
Berendth (10:38:24 PM): [joke from previous part... would take too long to include]
BadAssBradley (10:38:37 PM): is that if an african sees it, they will ask "WHAT THE HELL IS ON HER HEAD!"
BadAssBradley (10:38:41 PM): right away
BadAssBradley (10:38:47 PM): right away
Berendth (10:38:49 PM): rofl
BadAssBradley (10:39:00 PM): i mean i knew that just looking at it but
BadAssBradley (10:39:07 PM): i showed my mom the pictures, and she commented on it
BadAssBradley (10:39:11 PM): and couldn't stop talking about it
Berendth (10:39:23 PM): the hair?
BadAssBradley (10:39:28 PM): like the picture showing ended there and she kept asking like "who the hell did that?"
BadAssBradley (10:39:33 PM): no the headtie
Berendth (10:39:37 PM): oh
ScrotaWhola (10:39:38 PM): a white lady did it
Berendth (10:39:44 PM): lol
BadAssBradley (10:39:44 PM): and it's just soooooooooo wrong
BadAssBradley (10:39:50 PM): that shit makes or breaks and outfit
BadAssBradley (10:40:05 PM): like u know how old black ladies are w/ thier church hats
Berendth (10:40:12 PM): TRUE
BadAssBradley (10:40:15 PM): yeh, multiply that by Africa
Berendth (10:40:20 PM): lol
BadAssBradley (10:40:27 PM): it's that serious

Yep.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

My friends are naturally great...

(We pick up this conversation clip talking about a performance we did when we were captains of the stepteam 'BlackOut' and I had to call out a step and misspoke, but stuck to my guns...and then we change subjects so i guess there was no point in catching u up...)

BadAssBradley (12:29:05 AM): u said the letter b
BadAssBradley (12:29:07 AM): the letter 6
Berendth (12:29:51 AM): the letter 6...... >:o...damnit!
BadAssBradley (12:31:10 AM): i am drinking beer cuz there is no water in the house
BadAssBradley (12:31:15 AM): and i was too lazy to go get some
BadAssBradley (12:31:20 AM): but I'm not anymore
BadAssBradley (12:31:21 AM): but i can't
BadAssBradley (12:31:25 AM): cuz i was drinkin beer
BadAssBradley (12:31:26 AM): lol
Berendth (12:31:45 AM): ROFL!
Berendth (12:31:57 AM): HAHAH!!!


WAIT... There was more...

BadAssBradley (12:33:15 AM): i didn't realize that that was funny till i wrote it
BadAssBradley (12:33:18 AM): and read it back to myself
Berendth (12:33:42 AM): haha
BadAssBradley (12:33:43 AM): my excuse: I was reeeeally thirsty
BadAssBradley (12:34:08 AM): i mean it works temporarily, but beer dehydrates you
BadAssBradley (12:34:23 AM): so this is soooo counterproductive
BadAssBradley (12:34:35 AM): unless....
BadAssBradley (12:34:53 AM): I keep drinking beer! lol
Berendth (12:35:49 AM): lol
BadAssBradley (12:36:05 AM): tha's some shit homer would say

YEP!

Friday, March 24, 2006

Despacio...

Yeah, so I'm going to really ask time to slow down. I've been at work everyday for the past week cus one my co-workers "resigned" leaving the boss and I. Guess who's getting overtime; well, barely cus I had 10hrs buffer before overtime, but I crossed that threshold. Oh yeah... thus leaving me tired.

Did a show on Tuesday night (3/21) at Harper's Ferry. Not really "my" show, but more-so a substitute show for what would otherwise be a missed gig for the band. I don't think there was one song I did where I didn't flip the words somehow. Only one/two people actually noticed though. In fact it was actually REALLY fun. Maybe the most fun I've had at a show in a long time.

I have resolved also that I need to make a point to warm-up before each show. I thought I had a sore-throat from quickly and quietly practicing just before arriving at the venue. But it turns out that what I think is 'straining my voice' before a show is actually 'my voice warming up'. For instance, this show I didn't actually warm up... thus my voice didn't really start to open up until the last song (Mos Def - Umi Says). It's not good to show that you can sing circles around yourself, LoL. it begs the question... "what does that say about you?"

The pay off though was a huge compliment. At the end of the headlining band's set they launched into a freestyle. Not like hip-hop but just a tune they made up there and the vocalist just sang whatever came to mind. Within that, she spent a good 32 bars (musically a long time) on how much she loves my voice and what it 'does to her'. I mean that is cool were anyone to say it, but definitely cool coming from another singer. It's respect from someone who is passionate about the same thing you do. It's the true value behind a Grammy. So that made my night (as well as performing cus i love performing). I hereby encourage all you to spend some time on your passion right now.

That's my word.
Peace.

In case you were wondering. The band.


I hope that I will be able to save the moment I have to respond to ignorance and that I enjoy my response as much as I enjoyed this one:
"If You Have Big Nose, You Shouldn't Call People Niggers"

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Awwwwww BT wooooooo


I thought that was them. When I first seent it, I told my housemate "man, they have the same uniforms and everything." Interesting...

Courtesy of Th'Abad: "Washington Students "Touch The Sky" with Recording Artist Kanye West"

P.S.> Jes' blog is the sh*t right now. Please read it.
And visit this link that I stole from her:
Librarians are okay with you being gay...

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Bill Napoli hates America

Bill is the kind of person who yearns for the good-ole days. The days when entire neighborhoods came together to do what was right. That being said... Bill is exactly the kind of person who scares me. Bill is the reason most nations hate us and why Bush is STILL president. (Insert a rant about how one administration can have two of the greatest disasters in the nation's history and still go out with a high approval rating.)
Anyway, the reason Billy scares me is because the good-ole days which he so loved were probably the 50s. I don't know if you paid attention in your history class, but the 50s weren't exactly among the better decades of my people. In fact, I can't say we've been doing so hot in the last half of a millenium. But if ole Billy gets his way... to the back of the bus we go. (Clearly that wasn't the worst it ever was, but I'm sure Bill wouldn't mind that.) It probably eats at his core to have to participate in a society that nominates movies like Crash and Brokeback Mountain for prestigious entertainment awards. He probably can't stand that his offspring can recognize 50 Cent faster than Buddy Holly. Honestly, can't say that I'm too keen on that one myself, but it doesn't really phase me to the extent it does him.
Where in "conservation" is there anything about "regression"? Aren't these right-wing fundamentalists supposed to be keeping things as they are rather than as they were? You can't "conserve" something as it "was"!! That makes no sense and in that case neither does Bill Napoli. Let's keep this bus we call a nation moving forward. Leaders have to move in front, patna!

Courtesy of Jes: Bill Napoli Video

Peace.
Actually... let's amend that to "Peace & Understanding"!

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Time for another: Moment from the Daily Show...

"Evil democrat empire?! I got news for you. If we're going to do the whole 'star wars analogy' thing, the democrats are at best Ewoks. At best. Believe me, you'd be pumping up their egos to call them Jawas. Why can't the republicans just admit it? You're in charge. You control the white house, both houses of congress, the supreme court...you're not a bunch of ragtag rebels fighting the empire; you're the empire." ~Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
(via cocacolafreak07)

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Today's Best Away Message


"Mommy: it hurts baby I know but it gets better... toughen up!
Me: I know it gets better, I just wanna know when.
Mommy: B*tch I don't know, do I look like Jesus or Dionne Warwick to you? jeez!

... ahhh my momma, always good for a kick in the ass and a good laugh, lol, also the only idiot who group together Jesus and Dionne Warwick, lol." ~ Honey86627

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Run Train, Patna!!

It's a warm evening. Super suprising for East Boston (as well as the region). I got out of work early enough that I had time to grab a snack before going to wait for the shuttle. I ate my snack, and it seemed a little more delicious tonight. Then I gathered my things and went to wait on the shuttle. Soon after I get there it shows. Tonight is going marvellously well. I mean I have the day off tomorrow, everything could take as long as it wants to, but no it's being super-nice to me tonight. Thank you. So as I get on the shuttle I see a couple people eyeing me, but it's no biggie, I'm singing in my head. Smile on my face. THEN the moment of truth. Will the train come in a timely fashion so that i don't have to wai...
OH SNAP!! There it is... No!! No!! To early, run... I can make it. I can make it. I'm in the station door as it stops. People are leaving the train as I pass through the gate. Warning bell of door closing as I sprint and make a world-series slide right into a closed door. THUD!! As I bounce off the train I watch it pull away without me, lol. "NO SOUP FOR YOU!!" Now all the people behind me file in. They know. And they know I know that they know.
Imagine "Grant Hill drinks sprite?!" times two.

Egg.

Peace.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Today's Best Away Message

"The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence." --Rummy from Boondocks
posted by: Lilishortyrox23

The Boondocks

Monday, February 13, 2006

Today's Best Away Message
(First time, hope it keeps up.)

"SENIORITIS--We'd fight for a cure, but we're too lazy..." ~ dayseedo

Saturday, February 11, 2006

The Re-pimping

If you have noticed, I have been rather absent on the blog as of late. Heck, from the internets (plural, lol) period. But no more, why, because I have Microsoft 2000 (Professional) again. See, I engaged in a war with my computer. It then proceeded to basically b*tch me. Whatever it did, I had to put up with. Then I got a bootleg copy of windows. Which wasn't that bootleg, but it was not as useful as my re-installation disk. So then I was winning, except for this "Please Activate Windows" but each time i went to do so... it said "Already Activated". I paid the countdown no attention. "21 Days Left to activate". Uh huh... "12 Days Left to Activate". Started to be like a countdown to New Years. Then the big day came. And that's when I realized that i had been re-enb*tched. Yep. Couldn't log in without activation, and you couldn't activated cus it said "Already Activated". Then logged you out. Yep. So i conceded that battle and ordered a new 2000 disk from Amazon.com. I used Knoppix 2.0 in the mean time, which was cool-ish minus that it would kill my computer whenever u stopped using it. As in turn the power on and nothing happens. Except a small acknowledgement that ur comp has power.
The 2000 CD, however, arrived a day early; pimp. Installed it real easy; pimp. Had all the important old files, program installation files, internet favorites, and important pictures burned on a ReWriteable; pimp. And now I've cleaned all the BS from my college days that was still lingering around in here without fighting the little bit of pack rat in me; pimp. All hail the reinstallation disk. Mwa ha ha ha ha.
Peace.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Filler...

I'm not even going to lie... I have no idea what this blog will be about until it's done. So let's just begin.

Tonight I spent most of it writing a letter to my half-brother who was recently let out of jail. Not that they 'gave us us free'; he's in a "transitional center". (Think possible ankle bracelet, but maybe that's just for house arrest.) Anyway, in the middle of writing the letter my girlfriend IM's me that Coretta Scott King has passed on. It is like someone cocking back and punching me in the chest.
Take a moment (of silence if you wish) and think about WHO she is. Dr. King didn't want to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This means at some point she was probably talking him into being who he was. It's like they say "Behind every great man there is a great woman." She was not only 'behind' though (in both senses of the word) but she was also beside.
Definitely have to be strong when Klan members know where your live, want you dead, and your stance is non-violent protest. ... Yep.

So then I come back to my brother and wonder what his life would have been like if he had different people influencing his life. He was the smarter, stronger, more handsome brother. It makes you think about what your own life could have been like.

Anyway, I feel like we've (as a people) have literally lost a little bit of our strength with Mrs. King's passing. The media doesn't help and i see people following our image there religiously so where are we headed. It's like we should get a do-over right after Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "The Message". Or maybe the Panthers. I dunno.

Let it marinate.
Peace.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Jobba the Hutt
(Backlog pt. I)

THE SETTING
So as of January 5th I started my new job at a retail store in the airport. Yes, I could have gotten a better job, but I didn't want to have to think or have something to do when I left. I wanted to clock in, do some BS, then clock out and get paid. That's what i found. Not only that, i'm overpaid in my opinion. Who ever heard of $9/hr for retail? But i'm happy there. That's all that matters.

THE BOSSES
Now, this company is run like a company i owned would probably function. On the surface it appears precize to the T (plug). But beneath that, it is very formless. Kind of a 'whoever sees something that needs to be done should get it done or tell someone who can get it done' atmosphere. Which works... so long as people do things. Of course not everyone does, but you tolerate them for a few strikes and then their out. Leaving hopefully the people who are on the ball.
Let's start with my boss. We'll call her 'C-Murder', just cus it's fun that way. Now I can roll with C-Meezy cus she doesn't BS around. Like if the technique worked with customers i'd swear she'd ask them straight up when they walked in, "You gone buy something or you just pussyfootin' around." I can roll with that, cus it saves time. Also she's a Steelers fan to such a degree that you actually get interested in the game too. Oh, and she's one of those people who can't have a "Hi, Bye" phone call... meaning she has to at least say a couple of paragraphs then peace-out. Which is commendable but not necessary with me.
The 2nd tier bosses (her bosses) are fun. Now I don't know everyone's role, but there is a merchandiser, a tech guy, an operations dude, and a bookkeeper (but i never met her). They are all fun, they kinda play hot potato with the tasks that need to be done, but eventually mess gets done. Maybe not on time, but eventually. And usually they have a good excuse, except the tech dude, he's just MIA all the time (maybe we'll find out why one day).
The 1st tier boss is the coolest mofo in the game. We'll call him Nas, cus he seems "hood" (for an Israeli immigrant) but can easily drop some knowledge on you. Also, dude is funny as hell, but smart funny. You have to know stuff or at least be quick to get his jokes, but they'll have you rollin'. AND dude is ballin' so he pays for everything. We went to lunch ... it was on him. We went to dinner... it was on him. Next day same thing. I had to go buy some extra supplies last minute (cus someone below him f-ed up and didn't order it in the 4 months that they knew they were opening the Boston store) and he whips out the cash like, "What do you need? Pick yo president. I didn't know I had bills this small. What are they doing here? Take them away."

THE JOB
So I'm a "key holder" which seems basically their way of saying "manager in training" which I can roll with. It also explains the pay. The first day was spent unpacking the merchandise and putting it up on the fixtures. As well as assembling a few of the fixtures. I know I spent a few hours folding the pashminas. I feel personally responsible for how pimp they look. The next day was more of the same. Of course after that was the whole learn our means of operations. By Saturday at 4PM we were opening the gate for the first time. Then came the crash course, how to open, how to ring sales, assist customers, how to close. Which meant working 14hr days for the first 3 days (if not more) but we pulled in 38hrs in 3 days. "Genarate money. Ch-ching."

So... yeah... two careers, one income.
"She gives me money, when I'm in need..." ~ Ray Charles ("I've Got A Woman")