Creativity

Fresh and novel creativity in the form of a poem, straight out of my man M.Eazy's memoirs. Take a read and enjoy.

A Dream,

that’s all it seems,

A wish dancing in the wind,

never to be fulfilled,

or believed.

If eyes are truly the windows to the soul

when you look into mine

would you see the love you desperately yearn to find?

Or would u see a person not worth your time?

I wonder.

I wonder if I can share my secrets with you

and pronounce you the queen of my world

And assure to you you’re my one and only girl

I imagine.

I imagine us taking things slow, never fast

Eternalizing each moment with you

making it last

I imagine myself being there for you,

when you feel alone and when you cry.

And erasing the emptiness you feel inside.

When I imagine you smiling at me,

I can’t help but blush.

A storm rages inside me of love and lust.

Even the thought of you is jus too much.

I need you in my life.

Your absence has had me empty for so long.

I cry at the feelings of loneliness whenever I hear love songs.

So whisper in my ear sweet nothings,

and reveal to me how you feel.

Share with me this one secret that you keep inside.

I promise I’ll tell no one ‘til the day I die.

Cling to me now,

so we can explore this thing together.

I can show you a love that can be so gentle,

so tender.

And to this life

To this love

To you

I will surrender.

Such a Long way to Go

On June 24th the BET Awards were held in Los Angeles, CA. Standard procedure was followed for the ethnic award show, several musical performances with a few awards sprinkled in between. Among all the gripes i could make about the show i will save the remaining 34 and just vocalize the one which i feel is one of the most indicative of suppressed issues.

For the male hip hop award, my man Lupe Fiasco was not nominated. For a gentlemen who has contributed some incredible, innovative, and prolific pieces to a musical genre that is devoid of such attributes it excavates my heart to see him overlooked. For as much concept and musical structure as he puts into his music it is funny (or not) how he can win a grammy but he cant get a BET Award! Not as if he needs a BET statue would validate him, although i feel it would dignify their awards, it just shows our lack of direction. As a side note i should mention that the audience wasn't really clapping when they were listing the nominees and they said Missy Elliot but the people went crazy when they mentioned Trina. Missy puts exponentially more work into her music than Trina and it shows, however i digress.

People have the liberty to create whatever they would like, and that is fine by me. The more appalling fact is what the people support. When you have a song and you can say "that song is just like song x" then it really isn't that creative. Take the hip hop condition at the moment for example, one person makes something that's hot and then you have 10 replicas behind it, yeah the songs may sound catchy at the time because that's just like the other song that was hot. But are you really that talented if your song is just like many others on the radio. At that point you haven't created anything, you have just issued your version of it. On the contrary when you have something innovative and pioneering that's put together then thats what should be rewarded. That is pushing the envelope and showing true musical talent. So back to my man Lupe, his music is novel, articulate, and musically authentic as a song and not just a track. If you haven't noticed it really isn't about Lupe exclusively, the roots to this soliloquy run deeper than that.

Music is meant to do a lot of things such as evoke fun, tears, reflections, and many other feelings. Most of us like to have a good time and i am no different, but my deepest rift lies in the fact that we consistently like our music dumbed down. It doesn't appear that as a culture we enjoy our simple, fun, and exuberant tracks as well as the tracks that supply the content, we are always stuck on the same gear. As I state all the time, when people feel connected to the music thats when its potency is highest, and as fictitious as some of these tracks are it amazes me that people are able to label them as "real talk" and people don't realize how uncool and serious some of that talk is until it jumps off the paper into real life.

I will slow it down and finish with these few paragraphs. We are stuck in a bad gear and driving nowhere fast, at some point you have to take the hip hop car out of park and drive around the block and see whats really happening. Oh, and reward the people who are really putting their creativity and concept into their music, that's probably why Kanye was always so upset about awards, i would be too if people were winning awards for music i could put out in my sleep and i put intricate amount of details into my pieces and the awards are being handed to the other guys. It just highlights the idea that you can't give a kid filet mignon and a burger and expect him to pick the filet, he just doesn't know any better. Im gone!

Just had to get that off my chest...

Imus, I missed it

Don Imus is back in the news and once again he is sliding down the racial slope. A co-host was speaking about Adam "Pacman" Jones (who we have put on the sofa before) and remarking about how many times Jones has been arrested, Imus inquired " what color is he?", the gentlemen responded and told him he was black. Imus remarked "Well, there you go, now we know".

Later Imus explained his statements and claimed his assertion was that black men are targeted and are more frequently pestered. He also said that he definitely knew the guy was black, and the idea was to make a sarcastic point. This is a stance that is a bit dicey, however being the optimist that i am i say maybe he was. Given Imus' track record it does not sound logical that he is indeed logical, however after crawling out of the Rutgers oven, why would you go stand next to that heat again? Sometimes life is just about decisions and by making good ones you keep yourself in control and don't even allow people to take it that far without a substantial stretch, but maybe he doesn't mind.

Sit still, because i am about to give you reasonable cause to disregard Imus' logic. He stated "What people should be outraged about is they arrest blacks for no reason," he said. "There's no reason to arrest this kid six times, maybe he did something once, but I mean everybody does something once." If he had any reasonable knowledge of Jones, he would know that this man has been arrested legitimately each time. Racial profiling doesn't happen at four in the morning outside of a strip club, post shooting. Also racial profiling doesn't happen riding around in a ridiculous colored Lamborghini with no tags and nor does it happen after a woman alleges you struck her at a different strip club than mentioned before (see As it Continues to Rain...). Therefore with this evidence it appears Imus doesn't even have his rebuttal straight because he's not being profiled, he was just being ignorant. All I have to say is Imus needs to be handed the notes on whatever he talks about because clearly he hasn't read up. And by the way, his B.O.D. is gone, benefit of the doubt that is.

But he is a shock jock and they dish out this kind of fodder all over the nation, so before people pile up on Imus we need to realize that he is not alone in his efforts. People on radio frequently talk out the side of their neck and in essence, that's just what they do. Maybe people should be more accountable in general and these happenings would diminish. So chalk Imus up as a clown along with the other Howard Sterns of the world.

Out of the Office...

This is an engaging topic: At what point does checking email constitute working overtime? This spawned from a dialogue over at ABC concerning writers and the broadcast behemoth. The company apparently issues blackberrys to many of its writers or employees, however with three of its newer writers a waiver was presented stating that the employees would not receive compensation for checking their emails and essentially conducting business after regular work hours. Later (undisclosed amount of time) the company took back the blackberrys from the three workers, however i think some shade of an agreement was reached later.

The eminent issue is not the exclusive fact of checking an email, the problem that really stirs the pot is when people are setting up guest appearances or writing material. In this digital age we all realize that there is now a 24-hour news cycle, however technically writers do not work 24-hours. Most news outlets aim to be the most credible and most aware institution therefore submitting the information before everyone else does giving the illusion that they have the best and most proficient news teams. So now when something happens at 8 o'clock pm is ABC really going to wait until the next day to report it, very dubious. However as a writer you have completed your regular business hours, should you then virtually and digitally clock back in and get to writing your piece or conducting business. I don't know.

From a news corporations standpoint i see where they need to abreast of every happening which is what their existence thrives upon, if every time they reported something we already knew all about it then they would be useless, so it behooves them to get the information out first. From that perspective, if something happens the writers need to get on it.

Now let me opine as a writer and a person, you cannot be accountable for every story. Perhaps the organization needs to have other writers who handle all of the late hours stuff. Being a writer myself at some point you just write because you enjoy doing it, so writing off the clock becomes blurry and ambiguous. Lets add another spin, if something huge is coming down the pipe and you are already off you realistically can't just ignore it, you have to put your foot in the game to keep your credibility as well as the outlet you work for. I don't want to say the outlet has you right where they want you but that's what im going to say.

This is pure dialogue, i just thought this was an interesting pillow to throw on the sofa.

The weight of the Tour

So the man is having surgery, again, i know that this has been fizzling for about a week but i just got to the computer. At this point Tiger Woods is to the PGA Tour what Jesus is to Christmas, you can remove him from the equation but then you have nothing. Woods had surgery on his knee weeks before the U.S. Open, which took place last weekend. Also generally overlooked was the occurrence of a double stress fracture that bothered him leading up to the championship. So with all of the knee issues its amazing that he was able to win the Open especially after his doctor told him he should not participate. But some have asked what does a knee have to do with a golf swing, so im here to address it.

Formerly a golfer myself, although it was brief, i can help you with your inquiries. When taking a golf swing the legs are just as important as the arms and the torso. First, your feet must be planted and the line that can be drawn from big toe to big toe is usually where the ball is going to go, so it is important to aim your feet properly. So your whole body is going to slightly twist and that includes the knees, therefore with some structural or ligament damage in the knee you could affect your swing dramatically. Believe it or not stability in your swing is important.

With Tiger out for the year we shall see how the PGA Tour fares, many commentators have voiced their opinions about the Tour being in trouble. I have to disagree, after all my favorite golfer is still playing- Zach Johnson

Technology Dependence

This is an article that i found pretty interesting. The article talks about the development of children from the time they are born through their ascension in age and their compatibility with technology. In the digital realm that we have created where children use cell phones and technology holds a special place in their heart, it is imperative that this society understands how children develop in an attempt to keep them stimulated and not stymie their development so that when they become individuals on their own they are not mentally inept.

So it was from the New York Times and the link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/technology/personaltech/12basics.html

Visa, accepted everywhere?

A basketball player named Bol Kong who plays for Douglas College in British Columbia is making waves across the NCAA landscape, recently dominating in exhibition games against moderately respected universities such as Marquette and Boise State. As a result of his success he has drawn interest from multiple universities, but more importantly he has received a scholarship from Gonzaga. There is one more step that needs to be finalized, a step that could prevent his opportunity from materializing. Bol Kong is considered the top basketball prospect in Canada.

Kong is a citizen of Sudan, which is categorized by the United States as a sponsor of terrorism. Kong has actually lived in Canada since he was seven due to the relocation of his family, however he does not hold citizenship there. His father emigrated to Canada in the early 1990's due to a tumultuous civil war in Sudan, he then sent for his wife and children. As a result of his scarce knowledge of the Canadian bureaucracy he neglected to file for citizenship for his children. Kong has obtained landed-immigrant citizenship which affords him many of the Canadian rights but technically he retains his citizenship in Sudan. He has been denied a visa to study in the U.S. three times and the foreseeable future does not look promising.

One of the more troubling issues is that the embassy will not tell Kong what documents he needs in regards to getting his visa. Kong was baffled when he attempted, stating "I thought it was simple...I figured I'd go to the embassy, tell them the decision and boom, here's the visa. They just said, 'you don't have the right documents.' They didn't tell me exactly what they are".

Several officials have commented on the situation but none have offered insight, saying that his nationality was not the cause of his denial but offering little explanation for the denial. According to the article the list of documents is long but it can vary on by the circumstances. Although one official did say his guilt by association is hard to overcome and unless there is some intervention nothing will change.

There are no reasons to obliterate the laws and start over but someone needs to help this guy along. There is a saying that goes something like this, "where there is a lack of knowledge the people perish". Unfortunately this maybe one of those situations, Kong may be done in by a small variance that has nothing to do with him whether it be his country affiliation or his father's obliviousness to procedures, either way it could be the difference between helping generations to come or living the "just to get by" life. There are other ways but for someone that looks so promising it is pretty demoralizing to see such a quagmire instead.

Nonetheless i found this interesting and perhaps i will follow this and keep the 'Sofa updated.

Besides, Dude's Fakin!

I got a quarrel with Celtics forward Paul Pierce, in game 1 of the NBA Finals my man was hit in the leg by his own teammate and layed on the ground for at least a good five minutes. The ordeal ended rather suspect. Pierce had to be carried by about four Celtics until they could put him in a wheelchair, staff members then rolled him back to the locker room.

About ten minutes later Pierce is jogging out of the locker room and bouncing up and down at the scorer's table. This whole NBA Finals is going to be staged, im looking for former referee and convicted gambling accomplist Tim Donaghy at the next game in the stands. I have played and been around basketball my whole life and rarely, I repeat, rarely do you see a man get CARRIED off the court. Only if the injury is extremely severe, maybe even career threatening. From the 1960's on up guys have been limping off the court and this guy can't limp it out but he can play 10 minutes later, IM NOT BUYING WHATEVER HE IS SELLING! And if you believed that mess then i also have a bridge i want to sell you in Brooklyn. Thats not all, the kicker is that he comes back in the game and hits two three pointers. The NBA is looking for drama huh? Well i don't want to watch this fabrication of the finals.

P.S. Pierce is a strong go for game 2

Full Sprint

This is an interesting debate. Sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been cleared to run in the 08 Olympics if he qualifies, although it looks like he is in good position to possibly qualify. You may say what is the big deal or maybe you didn't because you saw the picture.

There has been some debate as to whether he should be able to participate in the Olympics because he runs with engineered legs. Now they say the legs are weighted just like real legs would be. However, even with technology it is not the same as having original human legs. For instance he cannot pull a calf muscle because he has no calf. And it is not as if he was a world class sprinter before and lost his legs, to my understanding he has been without the lower portions of his legs since he was a young guy.

Now i will say that with all the controversy surrounding China and the Olympics it is good to have something to smile about and someone to be happy for. But you have to consider all of the other athletes, the playing field needs to be even for everyone and with his condition you have to consider if the playing field is even or not. It looks as if the committee has deemed it even so the debate is over. But it will be interesting to see if he indeed does end up in the Olympics how the crowd will react and what story lines will ensue. Keep an eye out for this guy he could be on your tube in August.

Reality Blows...

Reality TV has spirtaled into a frenzy and needs to be corraled. I believe this show called Celebracadabra is coming on VH1, now lets use our connotative skills and figure out what that word translates into- you guessed it, celebrities doing magic.

The show is supposed to partner celebs with magicians to perform some fashion of magic tricks and such. To be honest i didn't even read the whole description but it sounds hocus bogus to me from what i read. The part of this script that they are dragging on the ground and through the mud is the reality that they are using what i would call C-list celebrities. Matter of fact i don't even know if C-list celebs exist cause that would put them on the same level as your favorite salesperson at your local Target (no disrespect to those who work at Target, they're not really on your level). Some of the people are Jonathan Levit, Jeff McBride, and Lisa Ann Walter.

What is this fascination the nation has with celebrities, ancient and current? I don't want to see you dance, cook, live in a house together, do magic, race a car, or run a boardroom- unless that is what you do! The only thing that keeps me sane is the fact that "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" reruns still come on Nick at Nite. Even though i really don't even watch them, it just gives me hope.