I don't know if you guys know, but I'm a PHE (peer health educator) at Georgia State, and have been one for a couple years or so.
Well, we got a new addition to the team earlier this month, and he's turned out to be a pretty cool guy. Kinda quirky (reminds me a bit of myself in a way...but then again, who doesn't these days?), but yea. He's cool. Check him out.
The Carter Factor. "Positive values for you b*tches."
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
History in the making?
Boy, I don't know how many of you guys saw the speech yesterday. It was all I saw of the DNC, but when I tell you that place was electric! For almost 5 minutes all Obama could say was thank you, because the crowd wouldn't stop cheering. Denver Broncos stadium was packed beyond normal capacity and people were waiting outside to get in. Even Clinton supporters went to hear Obama one last time to see if they would change their minds and support him. It was historic, without a doubt. I almost wonder why I asked that question in the title. The speech was given (it's common knowledge) on the 45th anniversary of MLK Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Heck, even McCain had some incredibly vague words of congratulations for Obama (you may have to scroll down to see the video).
"How perfect that your nomination would come on such a historic day!"
And then he spoke. And my did he speak. In the words of a really good friend of mine, "he ripped the republicans a new one."
He called out John McCain as an elitist, suggesting that McCain considered "Middle Class" to be anyone who makes $5M a year. "It's not that John McCain doesn't care. It's that John McCain doesn't get it," said Obama.
What really got me though was the stuff he said about himself. He made some bold statements and promises: Raising teachers' wages, investing in energy saving practices, cutting dependence on foreign oil in 10 years...and I need to stop there for a minute.
For Obama to cut foreign oil dependence in 10 years--and I don't even know how he intends to do it--his plan would have to be so fricking awesome that two years after the absolute max of his terms, whoever came afterwards would have to have been so enamored with this plan that they'd pick it up for the next two years.
Much of Obama's planning has to do with rallying the country to step up. He called out Americans, saying that the ones who deserves taxbreaks were the hard workers, and the real hardworking folks in America was being punished for their hard work. He praised workers, family, and other easy traditional American values.
He even took some stances on gay marriage, even though it was kinda shaky...and you could tell in his voice that he was thinking "I'm taking a huge risk with this one." He basically said that gay marriage may not pass in the next 4 years, but the LGBTQIQ Community (which he just called Gay and Lesbians) should be allowed to visit their significant others in the hospital at least.
My sum up: Obama pissed some people off. I know it. He was direct and powerful, and he has the ability to rally the people. I feel like if America votes him in as president, he'd have their support. So I'm really not even worried about his assassination, because I know it would only come from a grassroots, closed-minded, archaic attempt at throwing the country in a frenzy at the worst possible time out of extreme selfishness. I just really noticed that Obama has a very strong people-oriented government plan, and I don't know if after 8 years of saying "how is Bush going to protect us," the people are going to be ready to do some work. Nobody likes change but a wet baby, and I don't know if many of the people realize that the government is not just going to change around them; everybody has to change.
I think the changes are good. And hopefully, with Obama's ability to rally people, the changes will come full-force. But the campaigning won't be over after this election, and it probably won't even take a break.
(By the way, in terms of picture sources, most of my pictures come from online sources. To find the source itself, click on the picture. It will open in another window (or tab; your choosing) and the location will be in the Navigation bar. Or you could just right-click the picture and say "copy location" and paste it somewhere else, but why would you want to do a thing like that?)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Obama Chooses Biden
So if you haven't heard by now (first of all, shame on you), Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.
from the Chicago Tribune
So first glance...
Huge differences. Most obvious? The racial issue.
Second on the docket? Age. Biden is 65.
He's been in the senate since the late 1970's, and some columnists from CNN have said that Biden's experience will make up for Obama's lack thereof.
The question also arose though: if Obama is trying to enact "change," why bring in an attack dog like Biden who's been in the game so long he's probably used to the status quo? The optimistic side says it is first necessary to learn the rules before you can properly break them, and Biden will be Obama's teacher in terms of old laws.
Also, Obama can have faith that Biden will know who's in charge when it is time to break the rules.
So it seems. We'll let it play out, shall we?
from the Chicago Tribune
So first glance...
Huge differences. Most obvious? The racial issue.
Second on the docket? Age. Biden is 65.
He's been in the senate since the late 1970's, and some columnists from CNN have said that Biden's experience will make up for Obama's lack thereof.
The question also arose though: if Obama is trying to enact "change," why bring in an attack dog like Biden who's been in the game so long he's probably used to the status quo? The optimistic side says it is first necessary to learn the rules before you can properly break them, and Biden will be Obama's teacher in terms of old laws.
Also, Obama can have faith that Biden will know who's in charge when it is time to break the rules.
So it seems. We'll let it play out, shall we?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
I'm back in school!
Alright, folks, so here's the deal.
My entries have been a little sloppy and short lately...and partly it's because I've been trying to guard from rambling and such...I have a tendency to do that.
But now it's also gonna be because my time is limited...I'm now a full time student (and I MEAN full time...18 credit hours), so I'm ALREADY feeling the effects.
Anyway, what I may end up doing is posting some relevant material from my classes on the site, provided I don't get accused of plagiarizing from this site...which would suck.
Anyway, yea. Expect a bit less, but a bit more at the same time.
Chew on it. Swallow. You like it, don't you?
Heck yea you do.
My entries have been a little sloppy and short lately...and partly it's because I've been trying to guard from rambling and such...I have a tendency to do that.
But now it's also gonna be because my time is limited...I'm now a full time student (and I MEAN full time...18 credit hours), so I'm ALREADY feeling the effects.
Anyway, what I may end up doing is posting some relevant material from my classes on the site, provided I don't get accused of plagiarizing from this site...which would suck.
Anyway, yea. Expect a bit less, but a bit more at the same time.
Chew on it. Swallow. You like it, don't you?
Heck yea you do.
This was funny...
Phelps is weird looking.
Now that we've established that, I have a few questions:
1) Why she had to be the black one?
2) Launching personal attacks...kinda crappy, don't you think?
3) Saying "ew" to making out with your little brother is kinda customary, no?
How silly.
Friday, August 15, 2008
More Ton3x news
It's officially an anachronism to call Anthony Williams II by the name "Tonex" since the release of the Naked Truth Mixtape--or probably even before that, with the release of the song Naked Truth on his myspace page.
The name is now TON3X. Same pronunciation. But "Tonex" is dead, according to an interview by VesselVibe magazine, a magazine I never even heard of until I noticed that Ton3x had it plastered all over his page.
Anyway, the interview is solid. And it's part of the reason Ton3x intrigues me so much...his power, skill, and style as a musician, performer, preacher, etc is something I as a musician can shoot for...for now anyway.
I haven't got my money yet, but when I do, I'm still trying to go buy the Bapostogic mixtape.
Also on the soon to be acquired list:
"Nigger," Nas
"Metropolis: The Chase," Janelle Monae
The name is now TON3X. Same pronunciation. But "Tonex" is dead, according to an interview by VesselVibe magazine, a magazine I never even heard of until I noticed that Ton3x had it plastered all over his page.
Anyway, the interview is solid. And it's part of the reason Ton3x intrigues me so much...his power, skill, and style as a musician, performer, preacher, etc is something I as a musician can shoot for...for now anyway.
I haven't got my money yet, but when I do, I'm still trying to go buy the Bapostogic mixtape.
Also on the soon to be acquired list:
"Nigger," Nas
"Metropolis: The Chase," Janelle Monae
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Happy Birthday Chase!
This cat here is something else. He's one of my closest friends--we have a strange friendship/relationship/marriage lol. (Again, let's all gasp together...ready? Ok. GASP!!!!) But we've grown closer over the years, and his is one of the few friendships that I'm particularly secure about.
He's also the reason I started blogging here, and the reason I even have a blog (he designed it).
He makes a lot of people smile with his sharp wit and his extravagant stunts and shows, and he's an avid thinker who at times inspires me to think beyond. In short, because I could ramble on and on and none of this would end up making any sense, he's just freaking awesome.
Therefore,
(Yea I made it in paint. So what?!)
He makes a lot of people smile with his sharp wit and his extravagant stunts and shows, and he's an avid thinker who at times inspires me to think beyond. In short, because I could ramble on and on and none of this would end up making any sense, he's just freaking awesome.
Therefore,
(Yea I made it in paint. So what?!)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
GoodPhellaz
Indeed, they are phellaz.
Good?
Hardly. I'll explain tomorrow. Just know it's pretty negative. To me anyway.
Pitch Black
So I was perusing Guitar Center's website when I caught a glimpse of these little beauties...
The look is hot to me. The sound?
Well, you'll have to decide for yourself.
Just the Crash Ride goes for about $170 at Guitar Center, and according to musicradar.com, a complete set (7 cymbals, even though the picture above has 8) goes for about $1803, even though music radar's Crash Ride quote is significantly higher.
Apparently they're designed for rock, and designed to be loud. We'll see though. I'm gonna wait for more reviews--or my own chance to mess around with them (yea right) before I jump on the band wagon.
The look is hot to me. The sound?
Well, you'll have to decide for yourself.
Just the Crash Ride goes for about $170 at Guitar Center, and according to musicradar.com, a complete set (7 cymbals, even though the picture above has 8) goes for about $1803, even though music radar's Crash Ride quote is significantly higher.
Apparently they're designed for rock, and designed to be loud. We'll see though. I'm gonna wait for more reviews--or my own chance to mess around with them (yea right) before I jump on the band wagon.
Um...no
Hmmm...Nelly, Akon, Ashanti.
I thought I'd give these three a chance to work together. But the awkward Nelly yelling doesn't really do it for me.
Neither does some of that "singing."
Neither does that line from "Touch my Body" by Ashanti.
I like everything but Country
The more I hear that, the more I wonder.
It just seems like the cool thing for black folks to say. "I like everything..."(which means you're educated past hip/hop and R&B) "except country" (but you still can't make me white.)
Silly? I think so. I think it's silly that country is such an out of reach genre for people that this crap is the hottest collab for country and hip hop. And honestly, I have very little against this song, but it's incredibly simplistic. It was a start. And people are looking at it's the finish, and the best that will come from a country/hip-hop collab.
I honestly feel like if people gave country music a chance, beyond the heavy alcoholic references, redneck culture, and in some places, a die-hard devotion to the Confederacy, Country as a music genre can be pretty good. In terms of instrumentation and arrangement, country music can be really good.
That said, you find a few songs that escape CMT and make its way onto VH1, and escape 94.1 the Bull (exclusively country I think) and make it on to 99.7 (Hits). For example, Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." No matter who you are, that song was hot.
Recently, though, another song has escaped from CMT and made appearances in the pop mainstream: "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock.
It's alright. Either the key signature is kinda hard to follow, or when the guitar solo comes in, he's in a completely different (and by different, I mean wrong) key. They might argue they did it on purpose...I'm not buying it.
The song's alright though. Does it necessarily count as country? I don't know...CMT doesn't typically play much outside of country though, and I caught it there this morning. Anyway, here. Some country flavor for you.
It just seems like the cool thing for black folks to say. "I like everything..."(which means you're educated past hip/hop and R&B) "except country" (but you still can't make me white.)
Silly? I think so. I think it's silly that country is such an out of reach genre for people that this crap is the hottest collab for country and hip hop. And honestly, I have very little against this song, but it's incredibly simplistic. It was a start. And people are looking at it's the finish, and the best that will come from a country/hip-hop collab.
I honestly feel like if people gave country music a chance, beyond the heavy alcoholic references, redneck culture, and in some places, a die-hard devotion to the Confederacy, Country as a music genre can be pretty good. In terms of instrumentation and arrangement, country music can be really good.
That said, you find a few songs that escape CMT and make its way onto VH1, and escape 94.1 the Bull (exclusively country I think) and make it on to 99.7 (Hits). For example, Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." No matter who you are, that song was hot.
Recently, though, another song has escaped from CMT and made appearances in the pop mainstream: "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock.
It's alright. Either the key signature is kinda hard to follow, or when the guitar solo comes in, he's in a completely different (and by different, I mean wrong) key. They might argue they did it on purpose...I'm not buying it.
The song's alright though. Does it necessarily count as country? I don't know...CMT doesn't typically play much outside of country though, and I caught it there this morning. Anyway, here. Some country flavor for you.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Reel music.
You know what touches me most about this song?
Listen close to what the lead is singing about.
"Cigarrette in my right hand"
"Coulda been a junkie"
"Sittin in the gutter,"
"with a needle in my arm, trying to find a vein"
"The weed I used to smoke
Coulda been laced with angeldust, so I woulda had a fit."
This ain't your momma's "I once was sick and couldn't get well" testimony.
And I remember how the president of a choir that I used to direct tried to come to them with a testimony about how his marriage was falling apart, and instead of helping him and praying for him, everyone was pissed off because they knew his wife, and one woman was his mother-in-law. So the hell what? God knows everybody anyway.
It makes my blood boil every time I think about how that choir screwed that guy over. But he's at peace now, he tells me. And they'll be straightened up soon enough.
But this right here is a REAL testimony, and for y'all cookie-cutter Christians who can't handle the truth of the real FECES-filled, stagnant quagmire of a septic cesspool that God brought some of us out of, you might need to check your walk.
Industry loses greats
I'll go in order of death...
After a little over a week in the hospital, Bernard McCollough, better known as Bernie Mac, died in Northwestern Memorial Hospital from complications stemming from pneumonia. There are talks that it was linked to sarcoidosis, but the disease had apparently gone into remission from 2005. Either way, it sucks. And what sucks even more is that for like a week, there were rumors circulating that the dude had already died, so I was kinda routing for him to come out of the hospital and be like "I told y'all I wasn't ready to go." But...he's gone. At 50.
Also,
Isaac Hayes, best known for the theme song for the 1971 movie, "Shaft," was "found dead" according to AOL.com yesterday. When his relatives found him, he was unconscious, and his treadmill was still going.
He also was the voice of Chef from the hit animated fiasco "South Park," but left after the show mocked Scientology, which Hayes has professed.
It's crazy...these are icons of our time...for a lot of people, Heath Ledger counts in this category too, but he died of an overdose. Mac died of illness, and Hayes died either of heart-failure (that's my personal guess...the way the story is reported, he was running on the treadmill and passed out...
I don't want to sound selfish here, but it's like coming to terms with your own mortality to watch icons that you thought had at least a couple more years in them just dying. Bernie Mac just finished doing a few jokes at an Obama get together that Obama had to denounce because they were divisive and offensive. And then he's gone. Just like that.
Crazy stuff yo. Pray for the families.
Again, I'm not great with death, so I don't know what to say besides pray for the families.
After a little over a week in the hospital, Bernard McCollough, better known as Bernie Mac, died in Northwestern Memorial Hospital from complications stemming from pneumonia. There are talks that it was linked to sarcoidosis, but the disease had apparently gone into remission from 2005. Either way, it sucks. And what sucks even more is that for like a week, there were rumors circulating that the dude had already died, so I was kinda routing for him to come out of the hospital and be like "I told y'all I wasn't ready to go." But...he's gone. At 50.
Also,
Isaac Hayes, best known for the theme song for the 1971 movie, "Shaft," was "found dead" according to AOL.com yesterday. When his relatives found him, he was unconscious, and his treadmill was still going.
He also was the voice of Chef from the hit animated fiasco "South Park," but left after the show mocked Scientology, which Hayes has professed.
It's crazy...these are icons of our time...for a lot of people, Heath Ledger counts in this category too, but he died of an overdose. Mac died of illness, and Hayes died either of heart-failure (that's my personal guess...the way the story is reported, he was running on the treadmill and passed out...
I don't want to sound selfish here, but it's like coming to terms with your own mortality to watch icons that you thought had at least a couple more years in them just dying. Bernie Mac just finished doing a few jokes at an Obama get together that Obama had to denounce because they were divisive and offensive. And then he's gone. Just like that.
Crazy stuff yo. Pray for the families.
Again, I'm not great with death, so I don't know what to say besides pray for the families.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Shout outs
Ok, I know I haven't been around for this week. I've just been busy with training for PHE (Peer Health Education) from 9-5 all day, and those are my main access hours for blogging. Anyway, finally took a minute to steal away and share a couple of things that were on my mind.
First of all, shout out to the choir. You know who you are.
Let me just say that I'm tired of the bullshit. Straight up. Talking to the director, interacting with members of the choir, watching members of the choir interact, watching behavioral patterns, listening to how they sound on a Sunday morning, listening to how they sound during choir rehearsal...
All in all, it is incredibly fucked up. Back-biting, cracking rude jokes, disrespecting leadership, not standing up for yourself, being fake, being too weak to be strong and too strong to let God be strong, is ruining this choir.
I'm about ready to put y'all on Front Street, because you don't seem to understand how shitty this entire organization is right now. And I'm "cursing" and being real so I don't take any credibility for myself. I wouldn't and shouldn't have had to say anything for you to realize that this isn't right. And I hope you do see it so something will change, though I'm sure nothing will because you've been faking it for the past 4 plus years.
Yea. I said it.
Shout out to David Banner...I guess...
First let me say that there is method to my hateration. Certain songs don't make mention on this blog because they aren't even good enough for me to hate on. For example, this crap.
But anyway, the song was a good idea, and it was a good spin on relationships...granted it had its little commercial "then she sucked my dick" aspect to it, but all in all, it was a good try.
Sample from Weezy's "Lollipop." Good idea. Really. It just didn't work, because first of all, the sample was off pitch from the beat. Secondly, David Banner was on pitch with the beat, so yea...it was weird.
I also think he rode the hook too much, and beyond the first verse, the hook mainly made the song. That is to say, it was riding the success of Lollipop...good idea, probably, but whatever.
You can do better, dawg. And you're smart too.
First of all, shout out to the choir. You know who you are.
Let me just say that I'm tired of the bullshit. Straight up. Talking to the director, interacting with members of the choir, watching members of the choir interact, watching behavioral patterns, listening to how they sound on a Sunday morning, listening to how they sound during choir rehearsal...
All in all, it is incredibly fucked up. Back-biting, cracking rude jokes, disrespecting leadership, not standing up for yourself, being fake, being too weak to be strong and too strong to let God be strong, is ruining this choir.
I'm about ready to put y'all on Front Street, because you don't seem to understand how shitty this entire organization is right now. And I'm "cursing" and being real so I don't take any credibility for myself. I wouldn't and shouldn't have had to say anything for you to realize that this isn't right. And I hope you do see it so something will change, though I'm sure nothing will because you've been faking it for the past 4 plus years.
Yea. I said it.
Shout out to David Banner...I guess...
First let me say that there is method to my hateration. Certain songs don't make mention on this blog because they aren't even good enough for me to hate on. For example, this crap.
But anyway, the song was a good idea, and it was a good spin on relationships...granted it had its little commercial "then she sucked my dick" aspect to it, but all in all, it was a good try.
Sample from Weezy's "Lollipop." Good idea. Really. It just didn't work, because first of all, the sample was off pitch from the beat. Secondly, David Banner was on pitch with the beat, so yea...it was weird.
I also think he rode the hook too much, and beyond the first verse, the hook mainly made the song. That is to say, it was riding the success of Lollipop...good idea, probably, but whatever.
You can do better, dawg. And you're smart too.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Soapbox Derby: Gospel Music
A little something to chew on for the weekend. I wrote this maybe a year ago as my "about me" on youtube, and I figured it'd be interesting for you to look at.
"...I selected "Gospel" because it's my driving force. Gospel is how I seriously learned music, and it's one of the reasons I am where I am today. It's where I get a lot of my riffs and chords and what not. I don't, however, like the direction that the Gospel music industry is headed in, and I hate the notion that all "gospel" music is inherently good, because it's all made and grouped by flawed humans. Who are we to even say what kind of music God likes? Know what I mean?
The entire nomenclature of Gospel Music is tricky. The Gospel literally is good news, and is traditionally associated with the overall good news of Christianity: that Jesus is our Savior, died on a cross, was resurrected, and is coming back soon to take His people with him. By that definition, though, a lot of preachers don't preach the gospel very much anymore. Granted, they preach the Bible, and the overarching theme of the Bible is this Gospel story that I described. Yet, preaching verse by verse is not necessarily good news based, especially if someone takes a wrath verse from the Bible and describes God's *bad* news. Know what I mean? And not every gospel song mentions Jesus, but that doesn't mean it loses its ability to minister His name to people.
I just don't think that the genre of Gospel is as untouchable as many people want to make it. Plus, I believe that people can be ministered to through all sorts of other man-made genres of music, because God is not a respecter of person, so He'll work through what He chooses.
In terms of my original tracks (that you probably haven't heard if you haven't been to my myspace page; /revkris) my main goal is to not put the same stuff out that's been out forever, and my influences are any artists who try to be different for a purpose. It's not enough just to be different, because being different just for the sake of being different is about as mindless as falling into the fads, except for the fact that you're now stupid and lonely. :)
But anyway, I'm not just Gospel. And I have no problem saying that. I'm a musician. That's all. But in every note I play, every chord I form, and every song I bang out, God gets the glory. That's what's most important to me."
"...I selected "Gospel" because it's my driving force. Gospel is how I seriously learned music, and it's one of the reasons I am where I am today. It's where I get a lot of my riffs and chords and what not. I don't, however, like the direction that the Gospel music industry is headed in, and I hate the notion that all "gospel" music is inherently good, because it's all made and grouped by flawed humans. Who are we to even say what kind of music God likes? Know what I mean?
The entire nomenclature of Gospel Music is tricky. The Gospel literally is good news, and is traditionally associated with the overall good news of Christianity: that Jesus is our Savior, died on a cross, was resurrected, and is coming back soon to take His people with him. By that definition, though, a lot of preachers don't preach the gospel very much anymore. Granted, they preach the Bible, and the overarching theme of the Bible is this Gospel story that I described. Yet, preaching verse by verse is not necessarily good news based, especially if someone takes a wrath verse from the Bible and describes God's *bad* news. Know what I mean? And not every gospel song mentions Jesus, but that doesn't mean it loses its ability to minister His name to people.
I just don't think that the genre of Gospel is as untouchable as many people want to make it. Plus, I believe that people can be ministered to through all sorts of other man-made genres of music, because God is not a respecter of person, so He'll work through what He chooses.
In terms of my original tracks (that you probably haven't heard if you haven't been to my myspace page; /revkris) my main goal is to not put the same stuff out that's been out forever, and my influences are any artists who try to be different for a purpose. It's not enough just to be different, because being different just for the sake of being different is about as mindless as falling into the fads, except for the fact that you're now stupid and lonely. :)
But anyway, I'm not just Gospel. And I have no problem saying that. I'm a musician. That's all. But in every note I play, every chord I form, and every song I bang out, God gets the glory. That's what's most important to me."
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