Wednesday, December 22, 2010

To Those Who Believe:


It's no secret to anyone who frequents this blog that music is a critical part of who i am and when i find something with layers and depth that really speaks to me, I must share. I just purchased the jazz album of an incredible young man from a lineage you may be familiar with, his name on and off stage is Kenneth Whalum III. The album is entitled To Those Who Believe.

For my generation--somewhere below 35 and above 18-- Jazz has become antiquated and we no longer spend time with this inspirational and culture-building art form. Most of our distance is created by lack of accessibility and connectivity. A healthy portion of the jazz artist we knew/know are at least 15 years our senior so we never found a connection with them, although a lot of that music was just as incredible. A young man like Kenneth Whalum who was bred musically by one of jazz's elite (and I'm sure there's more to his story that i don't know) has the proper foundation and the right placement to really be a torch bearer for the resurgence of a genre. He is authentic enough for traditional jazz aficionados who are usually more roped off in their own music VIP section, but he walks amongst the crowd of the socially aware, those who talk and interact with more people on a day-to-day basis than our parents, as a lot of our friendships and acquaintences are still closer to fresh than they are old; these people disseminate information like highly contagious viruses. Therefore I think this young man has the credibility and appeal to get people to listen to jazz once again. Here's a brief caesura, my dad would be proud of me right now.

Despite that last paragraph please don't make the mistake of thinking this was about his "hip" factor. The music is stellar, and this i know as i've sat in my dads car listening to jazz for hours upon hours through my upbringing, i've been to the record store with dad many times and also sat on the back porch with he and his jazz. This is character building material--and i mean that--, something i would recommend to every human i know. I will probably play this for my grandad and send a copy to my dad, I have already smothered my friends with this album (they were appreciative though). If you can give this a listen, i am most confident you won't return to me unhappy.



Click HERE to view the album.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Mapping America: Every City, Every Block



I was doing my NY Times perusing and I discovered a fascinating feature, for knowledge's sake. This is census information compiled from 2005-2009. You have the ability to put in your zip code and see the population distribution along with smaller radius'. If you just had the thought, "Eh that's cool but I'll keep going", do both of us a favor and just take a peek at it and you'll be intrigued by something. For instance I looked at the disparity between the opposite sides of hollowed 8Mile Road:
Screen shot 2010-12-15 at 11.11.31 AM

NY TIMES: MAPPING AMERICA

8Mile is the horizontal line that separates the coagulated blue dots from the liberated green dots, with a few other colors finding space amidst the open suburban range. I'm sure every region has its own idiosynchrisies, check your own out.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

New Munny®™

I showed everyone my blank Munny™, but since I have completed him. Here are a couple of pictured that more than likely show the fun I had. I'll have you know it was such a relaxing thing to do, I'm sure I'll paint more of them.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Paul Labonte



A gentleman by the name of Paul Labonte created a book entitled "Photographs Inspired by the Rap Music That Once Inspired Me", which instinctively caught my attention. Although i do not have the book, what was unveiled to me felt a little shy of what i thought it would be. I actually felt like he could have crafted a little further. However check the video for his personal audio.