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."