for cheryl

ok here's my thoughts the past couple days, i'll start with some simple algebra

art = play
everything else = work

life = art + everthing else

we live in a structured society, which while disgusting to some, can provide many benefits. the most most basic of which is means. means to eat, sleep, and satisfy ever human need. but society aint really that generous. it'll give you what you need but it needs you to provide your services to keep it going. This is where the work comes in. we all have talents or skills, learned or natural. these are the services that we can provide to help maintain the stability of the society. this is what we can provide that we will be compensated for. the means. its a relationship between yourself and the rest of the world that can be symbiotic. allowing the world to determine what you are, what you become, is allowing that relationship to become parasitic. and no one likes a parasite. it will drain everything you have inside you and ask for more. and its reward will be rendered hollow and empty. life is an exchange, which you have the ability to moderate.

i'm using art here as a very general way of describing abstract thought. art is applied to every other facet of life so dont think i'm saying work and play are mutually exclusive. they're not. some of the most successful, thriving, and innovative businesses employ a corporate environment based on play ..google and apple, for example - what would it be like to work in a CORPORATE environment like this?:

Play is the experimentation in life. It's the kid inside of us that asks quesions just because its curious, that likes to play with dirt, and play-doh, and sand, just to see what it can create. its the intrinsic motivation in us thats existence is its reward.

not to say play cannot be rewarded, it can and is. but it takes work. art alone, creativity alone, means alot to society, but society doesnt want to admit. society has to be convinced that it needs it. you have to make it okay for society to relax a bit, to think a little bit freer, to wander, and drift, and play.

this is where work+play can become powerful, inspirational, life changing, world changing.

be aware: work cannot be play, play cannot be work. they must coexist but never be confused.
its all about finding that balance between work and play that allows you to fulfill your desires.

don't worry about being passionate about your craft. about your art. and you certainly shouldnt focus on being passionate about work.

the thirst has to be for life, the spirit and vigor that explodes outward when you wake up turns into excitement and curiosity, the eagerness to work and be productive.. that passion for life will be dispersed through its components and manifest itself in everything you do, multiplying the fuck outta the whole equation.

life(passion) = art(passion) + everything else(passion)

positive vibrations for 2010 everyone

Thought of the Day

Some people got it figured out
But if ever you feel like everyone else has it figured out except for you
I assure you thats not the case

happy holidays

Steve Jobs - Stanford Commencement Address

just the artwork..... sigh.... scheduled for march...

here's to you

two posts in one! it must be the holidays!

ok so first off check this video, don't read anything else






this was done by a director named Fede Alvarez, who created this on a $300 budget. He did pretty much all the effects in it, which is pretty impressive. I mean its by no means impossible but still pretty cool, usually there are whole studios of cats dedicated to stuff like that

he posted to YouTube on a Thursday, and by the following Monday, Sam Raimi's studio (dude who did Spider-Man) called homeboy up to offer him a $30 million dollar contract to produce it. thats like five more zeros.

in other news that song playing in the background is dope - its from 28 days later, which if you haven't seen it is really really good if you like that kind of shit . but the music is soooo good its like that last bit of heart and effort after you realize that its hopeless... its really amazing what you can do and what emotion you can evoke with just 4 notes, and people have done more with less...blah blah anyway heres two versions of the song in its entirety.

Thought of the Day

I was just sitting here drinking some hot tea and Hennessey (try it) and listening to College Dropout and something came to my head that i wanted to share.

Mr. Greenbaum was one of my high school math teachers. I always thought he was a decent enough teacher/person, didn't mind him as much as I did some other teachers. cough cough Dr. GOLDBERG but thats a story for another day.

I've always been decent enough at math, but math classes are difficult for someone impatient as myself. Here's the story of every class I've ever taken: Two weeks in I'm busting straight A's. Then all of a sudden I no longer care about anything. I've tried to be aware of this and fix it, its hopeless. Then, all of a sudden, after I fail midterms, I start hustling to get my grade back up to a C or B.

Thing about math is - it's cumulative. So I can't just pick up and learn everything I have to. I have to go back and learn the whole quarter/semester's material. Needless to say I'm not often very successful beyond a C. Case in point: Mr. Greenbaum's math class. I use to doodle alot in class. Listen to music, joke around, but most of all drew alot. It was my escape from the boring drone at the front flipping transparencies writing numbers (for some reason i HATED transperancies, always have always will if it werent for powerpoint wouldnt have made it through college). I got in trouble fairly consistently.

So this fucker catches my mom at the grocery store one day, and you wouldn't believe what he has the TESTICULAR FORTITUDE to say to her. He said, and I'm quoting this to the best of my recollection, "judging from his actions in my class he is not going to amount to anything."

He said that, he actually SAID that, and I wondered for years and years and years WHY he felt compelled to say that to my mom. I mean I was no saint but I was far from the biggest fuck-up in the class. I wasn't hurt or anything, I just wanted to know why, its so random.

Anyway, recently I heard something interesting about him. Mr. Greenbaum - before he was one of Eleanor Roosevelt's Sub-Par Math teachers - was actually an ART student.

Huh.

Now, I may be jumping to conclusions, but this sounds to me like someone giving up on his dream. Because I haven't met many people who either wanted to be a great musician OR a high school math teacher. Standards were lowered.

This still begs the question of why he would criticize me so harshly. I mean those words sound downright resentful. What could he be resentful about?

Again, I may be reaching a bit, but this makes perfect sense in my head. Maybe something about myself reminded him of himself when he was young and full of hope. My attitudes, actions, peronality, whatever it was. His dream deferred shriveled up and rotted over, and anyone that appeared to have a similar dream was clearly a fool that would amount to nothing. Unless being a high school math teacher is something to you.

I'm a little salty about what he said (especially that he said it to my MOM and not to my fucking face - rgh), and that probably comes across, but the moral of the story is that HATE is usually borne of some conflict within yourself.

Often in the past I have seen all kinds of things and thought to myself: Man, thats crap I could do so much better. But I hadn't been doing anything, let alone anything better. I was sitting there critiquing things that I didnt like instead of creating things I DID like. When I realized what I had been doing, I had to change, quickly.

This had two effects: 1 - I was focusing my positive energy instead of negative. I just felt better about art and life in general. I appreciated things about works that I once would have dismissed as not "good enough."

2 - I felt better about my own shit, considering I had these ridiculous standards for everything I saw, I held the same thoughts about my own stuff. And that type of thinking doesn't go well with art. So I felt freer about what I put on paper. The fun of it came back and I became alot more productive.

So watch the hate. It's a creeper, a silent killer. Keep an eye out for it you might be surprised how much it comes out. Maybe not out loud but in your head, you gotta monitor your thoughts too. And trust me it does much more damage than good. I may have an exaggerated concept of how many people do this to themselves, which might make you say "wow youre an asshole." possibly true but if you're thinking that..... stop hating

hehe
Cheerss

... Hennessey and Tea dog for real don't sleep

edit: HenneTEA haha yesss..

if you have 20 minutes... i believe this will be worth your time

Thought of the Day

Suck it up and be yourself , stop listening to opinions
or spend the rest of your life diagnosing symptoms
and meeting a bunch who people who will never know you

Hm.. Quote of the Day

"Happiness... is a decision. So decide to be happy."
- Kelis

since you're probably wasting time at home anyway, you might as well just check this out. short& sweet talk on metaphors

Quote of the Day

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living”

-Nelson Mandela

The Chinese character for "thinking," "thought," "love," "virtue," and "intending to listen" all contain the ideogram for the heart. They get it.

snatched from the ClockwiseClothing blog: The Carter Documentary

{{ d ._. b }} <-- me with headphones

IF you watch any of the Videos in this gauntlet of videos, PLEASE let it be this one

good morning

the dissemination and expression of art evolving and spreading to new avenues such as fashion gives the artist of the millennium hope that there will be a place for them in the future

Us Versus Them X Crooks & Castles ~ Rise Up from DIGITAL X on Vimeo.

ok i know this is music overload so i will include some thoughts with this

1) not lupe's best work
2) possibly because he needed it to fit the "twilight" theme
3) i dont think i have ever hated something that i know nothing about more in my life - than "twilight"
4) regardless still a pretty awesome song, really grungy feel to it and i hope lu takes that japanese cartoon thing to the next level, lupe+rock music works pretty well

without further ado:

Lupe Fiasco - Solar Midnite

ian would not let me sleep on this dude

J. Cole - Simba

so fresh - i'll pay you to find me the studio version of this

The New Royales - The One



here's the Slaughterhouse one (already posted but why not a refresher)

whoa

Quotes of the Day

"Truth is, everybody's going to hurt you. You just gotta find the ones who are worth suffering for."
-Bob Marley

"Style is when they're running you out of town and you make it look like you're leading a parade."
-William Battie

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best - night and day - to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting."
-E.E. Cummings.


BANG!

Quote of the Day

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; its about learning to dance in the rain"

haha ian showed me this... definetely need one

"Struggle to ever get anywhere on time? Always end up getting stressed as you look at the clock and discover you’re falling further and further behind? The Whatever I’m Late Anyways Clock from Target definitely need to find it’s way onto your wall.
A whole lot more chilled out than your average clock, this one knows how hard it is to stay on time, and so instead of worrying you with every look has taken the stress away by dumping all the numbers in the bottom right hand corner and featuring the words “whatever, I’m late anyways” to the bottom left hand size.
Made from brown cork and powered by a battery, everything about this clock is chilled out, and it can be chilling out in your very own house for $99.99 from Target."

Quote of the Day + "The Muslim Problem" Article.

"Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels."
- Samuel Johnson, 1775

The “Muslim” Problem:
Clarity in the age of the Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex
By Preacher Moss a.k.a “Undercover Muslim”

A while ago, a good friend, and fellow thinker, Sakiya Sandifer, asked me to compose and article on the recent and tragic shootings at Fort Hood military base. As I watched the news, the words “killer,” “Muslim,” “terrorist,” and “Islamic” seemed to role across the screen as it made its way in the context of conversation being offered by the journalist. It appeared, in a continuing trend, that the media was looking to take the actions of alleged “Muslim” gunman’s act of terror, and immediately try to connect his actions to a fundamentalist, violent, radical, but extremely profitable and marketable form of Islam. I affectionately call this making doe on the “Muslim Problem.” For those who are new to this…Welcome to the world of the Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex (AMI Complex) my friends…or maybe not.

If you want to know what the “Muslim Problem” is I would submit to you as Example A, an interview conducted by CNN morning host, John Roberts in the time following the shooting. Roberts interviewed someone who worked with alleged shooter, Nidal Hassan. What was puzzling about the interview was the interviewee, hadn’t seen, nor spoken to Hassan in nearly five years. Roberts, oblivious to the fact the interviewee really had not contact matter, made the situation worse by asking the interviewer if he had noticed the shooter exhibiting radical Islamic characteristics or behavior. The invited guest simply answered the question by informing Roberts that he had no contact with Hassan in five years, and wouldn’t know what he was up to. I’m glad this guy got it because Roberts was caught up in the AMI Complex. The problem here extends well beyond the Roberts’ desperation to make this a terror plot of radical Islamists, and attaching Islam as the culprit in this situation. It’s more important than that. This attitude illuminates the present strategy in place that makes it not only acceptable to do this, but sadly mainstream in its nature. It is indicative of the Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex, AMI Complex for short.

Now, if you want to know what this term means, you have to invest in the history of business, and the business of profiling for profit. Stop here if you can’t think beyond the mid 70’s, because you’ll learn as great as America is, and it’s citizens are, on the extreme that’s how dysfunctional, and sinister they can be as well. Scratch that. It’s all the dynamic of human existence. The AMI Complex is easy to understand if you can reason that any Industrial complex, despite what you put in front of it, uses innovation to create profitability for the market, and its shareholders. The Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex is no different except that the geniuses of this market have innovated on fear, intolerance, intimidation, and distortion of information to grow their market. They then maintain there market by presenting their “systemic solutions” to deal with the problems. They are a culture of experts on the problems they produce. Let’s face it hating on the Muslim image has become big business, just as terrorists have found the can make money, and expand their opportunities by attacking the U.S. Government. These terrorists would include Al-Qaeda, the KKK, militias, and those who religious folks that actively pray for President Obama’s assassination, and the uninformed chants for the uninsured, “I don’t want healthcare reform, because I don’t want government interfering with my Medicare.” I give it up to the Healthcare Industrial Complex, that’s a classic. The hits just keep coming.

For a minute, let’s examine Nidal Hasssan. There are those who would say that his religion made him commit these horrible acts. Here’s a question. What ever happened to the idea of “crazy?” It’s still happens you know. Check this out. Nidal Hassan chose a career in mental heath industry. Anyone knows that the Mental Un-Health Industrial Complex has a market, and mission that make mental illness profitable. Prozac anyone? Could it be possible that Hassan made the short walk from physician to client? I say, “yep.”

Would anyone be surprised, or care, if a drug dealer somehow wound up hooked on drugs? How about a doctor that prescribes medication, Oh My God!, getting hooked on prescription drugs. Did you ever hear about the white kids that hung with black kids, and wound up calling themselves niggers? Let’s stop choking the “proverbial chicken” here and fess up.

The level of defense contracts, celebrity punditry, profiling, and other actionable negatives against the Muslim Image, and the concept of Islam as a religion of terrorist, as opposed to submission to God, is PROFITABLE for everyone…that’s not Muslim. IF Muslims every find a way to get in on the AMI Complex, and make money off their negative image, we’d be able to build more mosques than there are McDonalds. Seriously, the AMI Complex is profitable. Its comparable in a way that the industries that produce hair products for black people is profitable…for everyone who isn’t black, and doesn’t have black hair.

Let’s get back to facts and reason. The recently executed John Allen Muhammad never got full value in the AMI Complex, because he wasn’t the right kind of Muslim. He was Muslim but by all accounts wanted to kill his wife, not attack the United States. He was of no value to the Anti-Muslim Industrial Complex. According to market segmentation, he was a just a crazy nigger that wound up going into the “Prison Industrial Complex.”

And now for my dismount…

As far as Nidal Hassan’s situation, he was a troubled individual. His peers in the military knew it, documented it, but didn’t fully address it as a mental health issue. Being real, isn’t mental health their business? I mean psychiatrist have to have psychiatrist to keep each other in check; so I’m not sure what went astray in this situation. The cost of looking the other way, or possibly just the Muslim way, cost the lives and well beings of innocent people, and their families.

I’m Muslim, but I ain’t crazy. If I were crazy, wouldn’t it make sense to address my mental state verses my religious beliefs? Oops forgot. I’m not the right kind of Muslim (Black) so I don’t have significant value to the AMI Complex Folks either.

This idea of a profitable market for treating Muslims, and Islam in a negative way should not be new to anyone that understands, and has a faint grasp of historical context. The tendencies of any selfish, and non-humane Industrial Complex, regardless of the noun you put out in front of it, are dangerous. Let me refresh your memory.

1. Drug laws of the mid-eighties gave rise to mass arrests and mandatory sentencing to insure deliverance of inmates for the “Prison Industrial Complex.

2. Manipulators of education initiatives conspired to give guarantee a poorly trained workforce feeding the “Cheap Labor Industrial Complex.”

3. The constant, and healthy doses of fear of invasion, and more terrorist acts helped fuel the billions of dollars to feed the “Military Industrial Complex.”

4. The devaluing of Africans as objects rather than human beings, or creations of God gave the permissible oppression to grow the “Slavery Industrial Complex.”

In closing, I grieve at the senseless loss of life, and health attributed to Hassan’s actions. After due process, if he’s guilty he should be punished, and will be. The one thing we can’t lose is our sensibility to look comprehensively at the situations in front of us. To do this we would acquiesce that inside all of we to harbor a/an (place your type of complex here) Industrial Complex.

The truth my brothers and sisters, when you really think about it…It’s not that COMPLEX at all. Oh and hey, if you every think I’m losing my mind, you’re free to join me.

P.S.- I wonder what new complex will claim Tiger Woods’ latest situation. Let’s just wait and see hmmm.



props: article taken directly from TheThinkMovement

magnetic the flows is athletic

Mos Def - "Casa Bey" from Downtown Music on Vimeo.

Amazing Quote

"You must always have a secret plan.

Everything depends on this: it is the only question. So as not to be conquered by the conquered territory in which you lead your life, so as not to feel the horrible weight of inertia wrecking your will and bending you to that ground, you must make secret plans without respite. Plan for adventure, plan for pleasure, plan for pandemonium, as you wish; but plan, lay plans constantly.

And when you come to, on the steps of the presidential palace, in the green grass beside the highway, in your cell's gloomy solitude, your secret plan finished or foiled, ask your comrades, ask your cellmates, ask the wind, the waves, the stars, the sea, ask everything that ponders, everything that wanders, everything that sings, everything that stings--ask them what time it is; and your comrades, your cellmates, the wind, the waves, the stars, the sea all will answer:

"It is time for a new secret plan."

So not to be the martyred slaves of routine, plan adventure, plan pleasure, plan pandemonium, as you wish; but plan, plan secretly and without respite."

remember this?? ahh... good stuff

i dare you not to smile

Quote from Think, Think, Think, and Think Again by J. Sakiya Sandifer

some great ideas in this lil book
also see: Thank and You're Welcome by same author + Kanye West

"Q: What comes out of a sponge* when you apply pressure?

A: Whatever you put in it.

Think about it, can you squeeze juice from a sponge* that was only used to wipe up water? Be very very very careful of what you allow to soak into your sponge*. For when life puts its pressure on your sponge* (and it will), it will only squeeze out what you put into it.

*sponge=brain"

a poem i found from a while back

if i remember correctly this was like a free-association type thing, put a pen to paper and this is what came out:

creation is an art thats locked in the heart
wrapped in chains with security codes, guards
watch towers, bars
a direct line to God but the world interferes
the signal isnt clear
distorted with static so listening is managed through practice alone
the pressure should be gone
relationship pure like friends,
no obligations
then you can tune out Hot 99.5 and KYS FM
and listen to the shit that actually makes sense
cuz you got more in you than the whole radio
you could write every song, and then some
its just a matter of finding the key to unlock the padlock
sneak past the guard dogs
and guards are all lard anyway
so freedom is just a sprint away
but once you get it and its safe
gotta make sure no one takes it away
cultivate and grow it, tend every moment
the moment you have it and own it you know it
seed made of hope and the pollen is potent
so water with focus
creation is basic the artist is made of these sole components

Phil, I changed my mind

Edit - extra bonus! Lupe Fiasco - Enemy of the State Mixtape

I was debating between Lupe Fiasco and Eminem as the best lyricist (Important: NOT based on content, but on purely wordsmithing)

i have always considered eminem the best at rhyming but i have come to change that. Listening to Lu create trains of thought which have incredibly complex rhyme structures is awe inspiring. I dont think I ever totally appreciated it, but with this realization i decided to jump to the next logical conclusion:

Lupe fiasco is a genius. easily the best rapper out, as far as i have heard he is unparalled. its amazing how his verses are consistently challenging and demand so much of the listener - but never because of laziness on the part of the artist - .. WHILE maintaining a POSITIVE message? and not never being corny about it? whew

the funny thing is, even if you're a lazy listener and half the shit he says goes over your head, he's got enough flow, production value, rhyming ability, and mainstream appeal to keep your attention

he's a story-teller, a poet, packs punchlines, and a crafty lyricist. i mean dude has shades of all the greats . though I've heard some people who are better freestyle RHYMERS even his freestyles are legit.

[for the record, until someone changes my mind, eminem is still the best freestyler battler i've heard]

definetely a TOP tier rapper, possibly the most complete package i've heard, and however popular as he is, VERY underrated.

thats my final answer, regis.

and here's your reward for reading this:

Quote of the Day

“Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.”
- Abraham Joshua Heschel

hocus pocus <-- check them out

Quote of the Day

"Every day is a battle for you. If you fight with anger, you're the problem. If you fight with joy, you're the solution."
- Carlos Santana

i dont stand a chance with this one

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Heaven Can Wait from Charlotte Gainsbourg on Vimeo.

me you and your friends, its a win win win

click here

Recipe for Life

Quote of the Day - a point with a punchline

“What luck for the rulers that men do not think.”
- Adolf Hitler

AMAZING

The Eyewriter from Evan Roth on Vimeo.

open for interpretation.. Santogold - LES Artistes

In case you didn't see it - "We Were Once a Fairy Tale"

Santogold + Casablancas + N.E.R.D. - My Drive Thru

Saw this song on a Converse commercial discovered santogold got inspired started exploring a whole new subgenre of music. and i sweat chucks.. this was a while ago but i'm assuming it was a good day

Thought of the Day - it's been a while since i've had a thought

you give your problems more power the more you think/talk about them - after recognition, anything besides action is stagnancy , and stagnancy breeds diseases

but saying not to think about something is kind of stupid so instead of focusing on the "not thinking" part, focus on the "action" part

cheers to everyone who figured that out before me

Raheem DeVaughn feat. Ludacris - Bulletproof

Check it out

This in no way is meant to criticize or challenge, but i definitely considered personally e-mailing this to a couple people who have criticized me. Please don't get offended, if you do the point was lost.

World's Quickest Personality Test

Try it!

BlakRoc feat. Mos Def + Jimmy Jones - Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)

Blakroc: Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo) Ft. Mos Def and Jim Jones from Jonah Schwartz on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman

DJ SEGA Interview

Working on this gave me new appreciation for Baltimore Club Music - This dude is nasty

edit: just to be clear he's from philly which has its own musical identity but it is born out of bmore club; but you'll get that from watching the video.....

Dj Sega from Ian Crawford on Vimeo.

Lazerbitch - Coquette

doesnt this video make baltimore look alot cooler?

Quote of the Day

"I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I am all out of bubble gum."

Wale feat. K'naan - TV in the Radio

K'naan - T.I.A.

Kind of a coked out video but its cool - peep the Made in Africa shirt by D.C.-based Bernos(who also makes the Addis Abeba Coca Cola print shirt)

http://www.nabilelderkin.com/TIA.mov

Like how i tried to sice my blog?

clearly it didnt work out exactly how i wanted it too.. it was alot doper in my head but whatever it looks cool enough until i wake up tomorrow probably lol

DURKL Interview

"Durkl is a cultural magnet that institutes diversity among the city's best. So check out this exclusive interview with the creative minds behind one of the freshest lines Out of D.C."

Durkl Interview from Ian Crawford on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day

“Whenever a warrior decides to do something, he must go all the way, but he must take responsibility for what he does. No matter what he does, he must know first why he is doing it, and then he must proceed with his actions without having doubts or remorse about them.”

-Carlos Castaneda

cool video (fixed link)

Common feat. Cee-Lo - Make My Day

gratuitous sexuality of the day.. lol

Untitled from Victor Del Toro on Vimeo.

hmm... Question? of the day

Ok... If you could choose your

Era

and

Region

of birth... where and when would you choose?

Quote of the Day

“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture.”
- Norman Vincent Peale

Quote of the Day

"Doing so is better than saying so. And if you're saying so, be brief."
- Drake

Travis Barker Remixes

brother ali - take me home

depressingly awesome

"We Were Once A Fairytale" - Kanye West Dir: Spike Jonze from Yooj‽ on Vimeo.

MO FIYA MO FIYA

http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=241557_-1__0_~0_-1_5_2008_0_0&em3161=&em3281=

too funny ... jamie foxx is wrong

Quote of the Day

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
-Shawshank Redemption

Making of Blueprint 3 Cover

Daybreakers - looks so sick

i know i already posted this but i really like it

The FRAY - Heartless from IE HAGY on Vimeo.

ha

fresh

Interview with Lady Glock

Things I'll never stop loving

Cheetos

Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches

Cocoa Pebbles - much better than Coco Crispies

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Bacon/Pepperoni Pizza

Caesar Salad

Cream Soda

{{All Killer No Filler}} Event - this was a blast, I'll let you know when the next joint is

by the great Ian Crawford




Bonus - Interview with Ra the MC - this girl is NASTY





(directorial, editorial debut on the first vid - a little bit, at least)

fuck the bullshit

you either do it or you don't

M.I.A.

So, I haven't been posting much of my thoughts lately. And I've been feeling like I didn't have any TO post. But upon further analysis, I have found that to be untrue. Basically, on this quest for growth that I have undertaken, I realized at a certain point that I was doing a whole lot more talking than changing. I am very much and "learn by doing" type of guy so I decided to abandon the chatter and put my thoughts into action. It's been an uncomfortable couple of weeks but I'm starting to feel better. Now - before, I was constantly self-analyzing, constantly acting after meditation. It was confusing. Not all situations call for that. And it was misleading. Because not all situations allow for that.

There's a certain level of "who you are" that is strictly defined by instinctual gut reactions and analyses. Only by allowing this side to surface can you begin to improve upon it. It's a much deeper rooted set of programs, and its much more connected to your soul than all that "self-help" book subject matter. I've been attempting to reflect on this side of myself. I have found it to be a very cool, smart, witty, sharp, skilled, fun, side of myself. But at times a dark side, too. And a side that has many flaws of thought and action. Addressing the issues of this side of me is much more difficult, at times scary. Daunting, to say the least. But it must be dealt with. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other.

Unfortunately, many of these flaws are deep in me. And though I may seem very up front with who I am in this blog, I'm very much still a reserved person. I have never been one to communicate very openly - I think I'm pretty good at pretending to be though. I find it damn near impossible to bear my soul like that to an INDIVIDUAL, let alone in a forum like this. I'm not sure why, but this is one of the things I'm talking about, one of the things that I have to address and fix, one of the things that I've realized affects every relationship I've had or will have, one of the things I have no idea how to change. Scaarrrryy.

That's why I haven't been posting much of my thoughts lately.

SICK

CCTV Ink TV Commercial - Directed by Niko Tziopanos from Troublemakers.tv on Vimeo.

do not adjust your mind

CHOP CUP from :weareom: on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day

“Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly.”
-Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus

little fucking geniuses...

SLAUGHTERHOUSE... this record is MEAANNN

i need to be at parties like these

never met an eritrean named thomas....anyway BIG UPPPP

LA TIMES - THOMAS KELATI

going crazy on youtube! music evolving!

sampled in "As We Enter".. I posted the snippet already, do the knowledge if you dont know what i'm talking about

i feel like i should be offended by the video

for anyone that needs a fix.....my ipod is watering at the mouth... listen to the song at the end... what are these guys concocting???

hangovers are horrible...this song isn't

whatever you want

Whatever U Want by Consequence f Kanye West & John Legend

aww... cmon man..

Thought of the Day

I just got lectured by some lady telling me that my hairstyle was a "'wall' to success" and that i am "sending the establishment a message" that i stand against them. Apparently she "read it in a book." (LOL)

the whole time i just wanted to say "That's the point."

reflecting on: what success is to you may not be success to me, how someone who tells you to conform to the "establishment" is in fact part of what makes the "establishment" so "established." Stop referring to yourself in 3rd person and just say "I don't like it."

Thought of the Day

Anyone will help you once, but after that, you have to convince them that you're worth it.

Quote of the Day

"A successful life is one that’s lived through understanding & pursuing one’s own path, not chasing after the dreams of others."
- J. Sakiya Sandifer

You sure, J?

all my quotes from facebook

since i've been slumming so hard (completely uninspired right now) i thought i would post this, my quotes from facebook, all of which i thoroughly love. I feel like these quotes have been amassed as I have developed myself as a person, and they kind of document the changes, each quote signifies a point where i shifted direction in terms of how my perspectives and thought processes grow and change... i live by the first one, it's the one that keeps me going when i feel like shit. blah blah blah... read and enjoy

"Some observers have been led to comment on a 'childlike' or 'primative' quality in a creative individual. He is childlike and primative in the sense that he has not been trapped by the learned rigidities that immobilize the rest of us."

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
-Jimi Hendrix

"The only way to fight the inevitability of death is to stay young through daily challenges, both physical and mental."
-philosophy of Arakawa and Madeline Gins

"Yes, I know my enemies:
They're the teachers that taught me to fight me;
Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission, ignorance, hypocricy, brutality, the elite...
ALL OF WHICH ARE AMERICAN DREAMS."
- Rage

"Now you may look around and see two groups here: white collar, blue collar.
But i don't see it that way.
You know why not?
Because I am collar blind."
-Steve Carell from the Office

"Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither."
-Interpretation of Benjamin Franklin

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."
-Albie Einstein

"Most people think
great God will come from the sky
Take away everything
and make everybody feel high
But if you know what life is worth
you will look for yours on earth
And now you see the light
to stand up for your rights."
-The late great Robert Nesta Marley (Get Up Stand Up)

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but looking outward together in the same direction..."
- Antoine de Sainte d'Exupery, The Little Saint

"Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music."
-George Carlin

"It is not your environment, it is you - the quality of your soul, and the determination of your will - that will decide your future and shape your life."
-Benjamin Elijah Mays

"Be who you are and say what you feel,
because those who mind don’t matter
and those who matter don’t mind."
-Dr. Seuss

"The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to teachings...Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity."
-Eldest seer in the oasis in the Alchemist

"...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"Real artists do what the fuck they want!!"
- Kanye West

If we ascribe wholly to any one man's philosophies, we are indeed fools.

You can lie to anyone on earth, but you can't lie to yourself.

Reset

Today was my last day of work.
Interestingly enough, today was also the last day of summer.

Opportunities abound, I will have to make it through a cold winter to truly enjoy the sunlight again.

I dunno what I'm going to feel like tomorrow morning when I wake up. But I can do whatever the hell I want to. I suppose I should make something of it.

no reason really

Bonus Quote of the Day

"Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be."
-Kahlil Gibran

Quote of the Day

“It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste time.”
-Henry Ford

for all my iphone users

Iphone Paper Dock / Stand from Dessine moi un objet on Vimeo.

Click here for PDF file

whoa

“The Most Shocking Film In The History of The Cannes Film Festival.”

DOPE ass commercial

I'm back

And I come bearing gifts:

"...The Kafa Beanz is a group of solo artists who share a passion for Africa and a desire to expose their music to the world. Four of the five members are of Ethiopian origin, and the exotic sounds of East Africa are evident in their music..."

Follow link for the new hotness, funky rhythms, and the return of the female rapper!
Kafa Beanz Music

I just shared a laugh with a friend about someone's metaphysical existential philosophizing and it got me thinking (what's new).

It wasn't the philosophizing about that made me laugh, it was that I've seen the same type of shit for a while now. And you can't be on that same tip forever man. I mean its good to contemplate the big picture, but temper it with the medium and little pictures, those are a little important too.

That existential shit will give you breakthroughs that are deceptively satisfying but don't ever do nearly the job that living life does. And its dangerous, because you can get stuck at a particular level of thinking, its like an addiction I think.

What I've realized is that I have the tendency to do that. I don't do it all the time, but I have, and still do reach a certain point of thinking, instead of trying to stretch my horizons and think on a whole nother plane.

I guess its like, I have exhausted what's around me. I need a refreshment. I need to get somewhere where my perspective is different, because I've been staring at the same thing for so long, it's starting to look like nothing's there.

So, my decision:

As much as I love thinking about random shit, finding inspirational shit,and sharing my thoughts, it's not really doing me much good. I've been trying to psyche myself into taking action, but I've been failing. So it's come to this -

No blog posts, no facebook, until I accomplish 3 things to progress my life.

Whoo. Hopefully talk to y'all soon. Wish me luck!

sicknastywicked scratch everything i just said THIS is love

Thought of the Day

I really don't have any profound revelation or interesting thoughts to share today, so feel free to skip this post.

I just have a curious feeling that I've been experiencing. With music. And I just wanted to try and capture what I'm feeling in words... hopefully I can get a better understanding of it.

So I love music, thats given. But lately I've been playing the guitar more. Playing the piano. Listening to interesting tunes. SCOURING youtube. Researching great guitarists. I was at a drum circle on Sunday and felt completely stoned. I was just watching a documentary on Jimi Hendrix. Always have music on in the car. I got my iPod on at work. And a definitely have the headphones hooked up at home. The past couple days especially: I've been swimming in music. And I loved it. I wanted nothing more.

One day last week I left work early because I heard a cool tune. And I HAD to play it. It was overwhelming. I couldn't focus on anything else. I HAD to go home IMMEDIATELY and learn it. Which I did and it felt really good.

Ever since someone taught me to drum on tables when I was in middle school, I've had to stop myself from annoying everyone around me with it. I've been caught playing air guitar several times, and apparently I should be embarrassed about that. Never really cared tho. Poetry has always made more sense to me than regular speech.

I've always said that I wanted to play music. I wanted a drum set, then later a clarinet, when I was a kid but it was too expensive. I've been writing lyrics off and on since I was in 9th grade (I still have some of my shit, its hilarious).

Am I fooling myself or am I really this in love with music? It confuses me because all that fire never comes out right when I want it to. When other people are around I mess up. I don't feel like, connected. I can't write when I want to, I can only write when it comes to me. I wonder if it's just some type of panic related thing, like I'm worried that I won't good enough for others, or maybe it's a perfectionist thing, like I'm not good enough for myself yet, so I don't even want to bother with others. Or maybe I'm just really not that in touch with music and I don't want to be exposed.

Either way, lately my headphones have been transporting me to a different planet.

And I dunno... I think I might like that planet better than this one.

Quote of the Day

"Problems at hand are lighter than at heart."
- Jack White, "Little Acorns"

Quote of the Day

"You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments. Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you've lost them forever."
-Wayne Dyer

You can't think your way out of a slump.

Desert Flower Trailer - starring Liya Kebede

boondock saints 2? original cast, writer and director? is this a dream??!

ahh this is going to be EPIC

NAS & DAMIAN "JR GONG" MARLEY DISTANT RELATIVES preview from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day

"A fifth of Jager should come with bail money."
- my good friend Thomas Henley

Quote of the Day

"If you end up with a boring, miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it."

- Frank Zappa

dope commercial

more hip hop

Mos Def + Kanye West freestyling



Links to the rest of it:
Part 2

There was a part 3 but I can't find it on YouTube so I'll give you this instead:
Mos Def Freestyling

hip hop

Ghostface Killah + Raekwon perform Criminology

REAL EYES
REALIZE
REAL LIES

hakuna matata

Jack White + Alicia Keys - Another Way to Die

wow I really fuck with this song on another level

one miracle

What if
everyone went through life
with one miracle stashed in their back pocket
and thats all thats alotted
and the rest is up to them
it just depends how much they want it
most people would use it
far before they ought have
and be angry they only got one
and some would draw solace
from knowing that theres a plot drawn in their favor
with a miracle in your back pocket
tread with confidence
down the path you choose
and die knowing you didnt need it at all


this sucks but i like the idea of it

Brother Ali

wrong movie

Quote of the Day

“Think not of yourself as the architect of your career but as the sculptor. Expect to have to do a lot of hard hammering and chiseling and scraping and polishing.”
- BC Forbes

Fear and Loathing in P.G. County

I had heard about that movie... seemed like somewhat of a cult thing, but I hadn't actually talked to anyone about it. I dunno what possessed me to pick this film to watch on NetFlix (particularly after just having watched Enter the Dragon.. odd transition), but I thank that mystical force that laughs when we call things "random" and "coincidence."

Full of sin, debauchery, and drugs, it was a pretty dark movie. Usually I enjoy dark movies that make me feel a little depressed.. I consider that good filmmaking. But this movie somehow made me feel good. Couldn't figure out why.. but I realized. The actions of the characters, the acting of the actors... it was so HUMAN. Just because they were high off their asses, it didn't possess them by an evil force. Their judgement was so far hindered to cause them so do or think or perceive unreasonable things, but the movie was honest in that - sober- these were regular guys. I've never been on an acid trip before, but I imagine I would act similar to Johnny and Benicio.

Johnny Depp's character experienced the "Fear and Loathing," which seemed to be associated with the feeling that he was in a place he didn't belong, doing what he shouldn't be doing, outcast and criminalized by the people he encountered. The two were vexed, for the most part by the same bullshit that bothers me, their intoxicated brains just took the sensory input and distorted it based on their feelings towards it. I related to them.

Choose your drug: alcohol, cigarettes, television, internet, social constructs based on flawed, lazy thinking. But its the same thing. It's always an escape. It always alters your perception. It makes it so you can do things you wouldn't normally do, things that would and should be looked down upon but aren't. Because everyone's so HIGH that their actions are excusable. It's like how people act at a club or a bar. It's like, they know damn well what they should or shouldn't do. But they get drunk and do it anyway because.. their judgement is compromised? Sounds fucking stupid, especially if you go in expecting your judgement to be compromised. (BTW: I'm talking about myself too, don't worry about calling me a hypocrite) Being drugged up makes things easier because you're not in the right state of mind. You're not sober, so you're not responsible for your actions.

Check this out: it's never about what you use. It's about how you use it. It's about what it does to you, aside from stated side effects. Its about the rewiring that occurs from the misuse of your drug of choice. I smoked cigarettes because they calmed me down. No, no wait. I'm lying. I smoked cigarettes because for 5 minutes I could pretend I was calm and I had no problems (sounds a little extreme but its true). I was misusing them, not because I was smoking, but because I was creating an affect of the cigarettes as a point of focus so I could ignore the real affect, or vice versa.. i'm not sure really but you get what i'm trying to say.

The two gentlemen in the movie were drugged up the whole time, but they were still living. They did their damnedest to make the best of whatever situation they were in. They just lived life. However, they allowed themselves to be limited by the drugs, ignoring that they potentially could have experienced and enjoyed so much more. Ignoring, or not knowing.

Either way, I see so many mirrors right now that my metaphor is starting to look like a funhouse.

All the drugs that we ingest - by choice or by accident - are limiting ourselves, limiting our experiences. Ignoring it makes us no better than the drug addicts in the movie. We can't just continue to accept the altered state of mind as a norm. We can't keep going through life in a foggy haze. We can't continue to allow ourselves to be surrounded by fear and loathing - what kind of way is that to live?

But admitting we have a problem is scary. Not because it's hard to break the habit or anything; heavens, no.

It's hard because when you're sober, you're responsible for your actions.

Marinade on that.

Quote of the Day - Illest quote I've heard in a while

"Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of a great opportunity."
-Michael Johnson

yaD ehT fO thguohT

I had a thought today that completely made me turn everything upside down.

If you haven't noticed I'm very anti-boxes. I hate having predefined ways of looking at things. The way I look at it is that it's impossible to have a set standard reaction for every situation. It doesn't make sense, your brain can't hold a database like that. So I hate boxes.

The problem is, I'm full of shit.

Because I like to make sense of everything around me. Another thing you may have noticed in this blog, if you've looked at enough posts, is that I like to organize what I observe. And file everything away. In boxes.

I was driving when I realized this, and I almost crashed.

So what the fuck? Okay, I hate boxes, but I feel compelled to make sense of my world, and create this little guide for myself. This is a big ass philosophical contradiction. Where the hell am I supposed to go from here?

Maybe it's neither. Maybe this is where being idealistic gets you. It makes no sense to look at everything in life with virgin eyes, every day would be pretty fucking taxing. But you can't define something thats undefinable. Or you can't simply accept someone else's definition of something.

It's funny, as much as I hate people classifying me as anything, in my head I actually try to define who I am. Instead of just being it. And it will come off as forced every time. If I'm an artist I should just be an artist right? Not tell myself I'm an artist and force what I think should come from that... haha I'm a lil fucked up in the head

Life is about balance, and jumping from one end of the see-saw to the other is as productive as masturbation. I'm not sure where that balance is. It's gonna take a while to figure it out, but at least I'm not bullshitting myself.

You know, whenever I realized something like this, where I feel like I've been hiding something from myself or not being totally honest with myself, I wonder how many other lil traps I've set. I guess figuring this shit out and fixing is part of the growth process in life.

I think I'm rambling at this point. I'm just going to go back to watching Lost. Good night folks.

today is the first day of the rest of your life

today is the first day of the rest of your life

today is the first day of the rest of your life

Thought of the Day

Doesn't the phrase "Curiosity killed the cat" subliminally teach us not to ask questions and stay in our safe place where smarter people will just make sure we're ok? Or did I just carry that way too far?

cool lil gadget

click here if you like creating music, or wish you could

In the last 10 days I [went to Disney World, saw the oldest city In America, ate frozen grapes at a hotel pool I couldn't afford, never slept in the same place more than twice, drove 11 hours straight, went to South Beach and Miami Beach, learned something new about myself, met an artist, started believing astrology, played the drums, the guitar, wrote lyrics, and drew in the same day, learned that redbull and jaegermeister are from Austria while drinking jaegerbombs and dancing with a girl from Austria who was studying animation, listened to music constantly, got drunk on the beach at night, ate Cuban food, Columbian food, and Brazilian food, realized people in the south a really nice, laughed alot, learned about cadence and syncopation and rhythm, hung out with two friends I haven't seen in years and felt like no time had passed, experienced nightlife in Orlando, Miami, and Charleston, listened to M.I.A., Eminem, Bob Marley, and Mindless Self Indulgence in the same day, took lots of pictures, disconnected from the Internet and connected with people, grew up a little bit by acting like a kid, drove south with no AC, learned that you have to understand something to change it, and that you comfort zone will eventually become your prison, probably won't complain about driving to Virginia anymore, almost got struck by lightening, decided I'm going to Morocco next year, and that Moroccan woman look really really good, lived like a king while poor as a peasant, and charged my iPod more than my cell phone] went to Miami.