Saturday, July 19, 2008

you know what i hate #1

obligatory return compliments!!

you know what i'm talking about.  when you tell someone, hey nice shoes, watch, parfume, shirt, haircut blah blah blah, and you can just tell they're surveying you for an appropriate return compliment.  'cause it's like, you can see it in their eyes they're thinkin somethin like:

nah im not gonna say nice kicks, cause the niceness of the kicks surpasses the niceness of the item i got complemented on...but if i say nice shirt, they'll know its bullshit cause that shirt is wack.

and all the while you're standing there waiting for some kinda response and thinkin...yo just say thanks and keep it movin.

yea i hate that shit

or maybe we should wake up...



tonight at 8 pm e.s.t (calculate it for your various time zones), i suggest you all to turn into cnn for their program "reclaiming the dream."  it's a discussion in partnership with essence magazine to discuss issues facing african americans today like marriage, education, hiv/aids, incarceration and others.  for the discussion, "influential" blacks like cornel west, juliane malveaux, t.d. jakes, hill harper and others have been chosen to weigh in on the various topics.

as always i think that these discussions are fun to watch, but often times the speakers end up preaching to the choir.  the people who will watch it, are the people who are already aware of these issues.

one thing about this discussion that i do find very progressive is an opportunity provided by www.ireport.com.  the site is allowing viewers to ask a question pertaining to one of these issues on video and they will play the video questions throughout the discussion.  you know im cynical though, so i'm sure they're going to filter through the questions for those that fit into "direction" that they're heading with the show, but i still might submit the following questions

this show is called "reclaiming the dream" but what is the dream? and why does it need to be reclaimed?  is it perhaps time to reformulate the dream, or how we conceptualize it? 

i assume it is a reference to the famous speech by the late dr. martin luther king jr. but i think that over time it has lost its way and that this concept of this "dream" might be holding us back and be one source of the division among black people because after all it is...a dream, and a dream that we don't all share.   it is a dream established by those in the civil rights movement so anyone who doesn't aspire to this "dream" runs the risk of being accused of not being about the business of improving life for blacks.  i think that holding on to a specific idea of what is right and wrong for all blacks is very dangerous and shows a false sense of superiority associated with those who believe to be carrying on the legacy of dr. king.  

as i was watching excerpts from the show, one of the speakers discussed the mentality of blacks towards the issue of teenage pregnancy and pregnancy out of wedlock, condemning the mentality of those today and favoring the methods during his time when young mothers were "sent down south if they got pregnant, to save their parents from embarrassment."  i'm sure the speaker meant well but he is obviously romanticizing the way things were done in his time and condemning the way they're done now not recognizing that times have changed so methods have changed and the most productive thing to do is try to deal with conditions as they exist instead of comparing them to the way they were.

as always im interested to see how many people of my generation are even allowed "at the table" to speak on these issues, or if we are still sitting at the "kiddy table," not yet respected enough to join the adult discourse.  at this point, i'll have the tivo cued up as to fast  forward the bullshit.

honestly, dreaming is cool but i'm with the boy Dap on this one...waaaaaaaaake uuuuuuuup


word of the day

philomath (fil-uh-math)
noun

a lover of learning; a scholar

song of the day


beautiful day - u-n-i

since cali hip hop is kinda killin the game right now, i feel it my responsibility to introduce you all to some of these artists.  this is u-n-i, and this is feel good cali hip hop

Friday, July 18, 2008

happy birthday mandela



today is nelson mandela's 90th birthday.  this is amazing because revolutionaries normally don't get to live that long.  mandela began fighting apartheid when it was first enacted in 1948 and actually lived to see it end in 1994 and after spending nearly 27 years in prison, he became the country's first elected president

i don't feel like giving all the background about mandela because we all have access to the same resources to learn about him, but i encourage those of you who don't know this man's legacy to learn it.  

even at 90 he is still doing work to fight poverty and the hiv/aids epidemic with his organization 46664 (named after mandela's prison number).  for his birthday wish he said that he'd like to see the rich share their riches with those not so fortunate so poverty can be conquered and many more people can live to be 90 years old
 
mandela, happy birthday, you life continues to be an inspiration to all of us fighting to change this world for the better

word of the day

cupidity (kyoo-pid-uh-tee)
noun
eager or excessive desire, especially for wealth; greed; avarice

song of the day

Born & Raised
for the love - joy denalane

i could've picked so many joy songs, but this one asks a question that i ask everyone involved in this hip hop shit.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

its been a long time...

i apologize to the readers for not posting for the past few days, but life in the real world has been hectic lately so i've been neglecting the blogsphere; deadlines for my thesis, other articles, work, family, working on this album, being a friend blah blah blah you know how life goes.  but being back in my own crib has helped me to regain my balance which is good because i can get back to blogging.  im currently putting together a format for this blog to keep it in a category that no other blogs can be in...

thanks for the support

solidarity





word of the day

nefarious (nuh-fair-ee-uhs)
adjective

wicked in the extreme; iniquitous

song of the day

Black Star
respiration - mos def & talib kweli

"so much on my mind i just can't recline/ blastin holes in the night 'til she bled sunshine"

im currently working on my thesis but took a break to put together something to submit for this publication highlighting the 10 year anniversary of the blackstar album.  i should be finished with the brainstorming for my submission today.  i'm sure there are going to be amazing submissions but i'm going to work on it tirelessly until the deadline because i'd really like to be a part of this opportunity, wish me well yall

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

word of the day

apocryphal (uh-pok-ruh-fuhl)
adjective

1. (bible) pertaining to the apocrypha 
2.  not canonical. hence: of doubtful authority or authenticity; equivocal; fictitious; spurious; false


song of the day

Brown Sugar
when we get by - d'angelo

just something for the lovers to vibe out to; and when i say lovers, i mean those loving life, loving, themselves, loving love and all its beauty.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

word of the day

neoteric (nee-uh-ter-ik)
adjective

recent in origin; modern; new

song of the day

Below the Heavens
show me the good life - blu & exile

today is the official end of my chicago vacation, definitely a blessing to be in a position to just jump on a plane from time to time.  i could've used kanye's song good life, but im sure less people have heard of blu, so hopefully i'll be able to give him some new fans


Monday, July 14, 2008

word of the day

lacuna (luh-kyoo-nuh)
noun

1. a blank space; a missing part; a gap
2.  (in biology) a small opening, depression or cavity in an an anatomical structure

song of the day

In Search of
provider - n*e*r*d

the opening line...thats today, gotta love it!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

word of the day

myrmidon (mur-muh-don)
noun

a loyal follower, especially one who executes orders without question, protest or pity

song of the day


block party - jean grae

since i'm going to leader's 1354 block party, the song fits.  if you haven't heard jean grae, she gets my vote for best female emcee (ya know besides myself) hahaha...no but really