Check out this lame editorial by rapper Joe Budden
I am sick of dudes like Joe Budden whose full-time job is rap (MCs, producers, radio DJs, journalists, etc)
1 who say Hip Hop is Dead, radio sucks etc
without saying
2 there is dope artists & albums in the underground, that speak on a variety of perspectives & subject matters, including "positive lyrics".
Either dudes like Joe Budden
a don't even pay attention to the underground, which is hypocritical & lame. How are you going to blast others for sleeping on your underground mixtape or whatever, while OTOH ignoring other underground artists?
-or-
b are aware of dope underground artists, but don't want to mention it, out of insecurity that a few of those unknown underground cats are better than themselves, & don't want their small piece of the pie/rap industry to be sliced further, as if it's a 0-sum game
In 2007 with tons of rap preview blogspots or sites like rapgodfathers.com, it's so easy to discover & preview underground albums. There are also sites like rateyourmusic.com & metacritic.com where you can see album reviews, to select which albums one would preview.
So far just in 2007, there have been very good "studio albums" from "regular, real-rap" artists such as
Blue Scholars 2007 Bayani
Hell Razah 2007 Renaissance Child
Brother Ali 2007 The Undisputed Truth
Calle 13 2007 Residente O Visitante
El-P 2007 I'll Sleep When You're Dead
There are probably many others, but I'm just a fan who has a few hours sporadically to check out new albums, so there's no way I can keep up with it thoroughly.
For dudes like Joe Budden, RAP IS A JOB. How is it that someone like Budden knows less about new 2007 quality rap albums than I do?
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Hotel Coupons
Here in GA & the surrounding SouthEastSide, at rest areas they have coupon magazines for hotels, listed by Interstate exits. There usually is a "surcharge" for Fri or Sat. Basically one can get a room for like $40 with the coupon, that otherwise might charge $60+
It turns out 1 of these coupon magazines also has their info online:
theoig.com
Forward to folks that are gonna be driving through the SouthEastSide
It turns out 1 of these coupon magazines also has their info online:
theoig.com
Forward to folks that are gonna be driving through the SouthEastSide
Friday, May 25, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
opinion - Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race
Jared Diamond opinion article saying that agriculture may have been a mistake, in terms of the work hours & nutrition of our hunter/gatherer ancient ancestors was better! I'm kind of "not buying it, doubt it" since the lifespan was like 30- back then, but it's an interesting point.
It also made be consider about food. I don't think much about nutrition, but realized that the for the majority of human history, most people's majority of work hours were focused on obtaining food.
It also made be consider about food. I don't think much about nutrition, but realized that the for the majority of human history, most people's majority of work hours were focused on obtaining food.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Fux News > Fox News
We all know that Fox News is bogus propaganda, a crass 4th generation WC of the Gee Dubbz crew.
OTOH, Fux News is some the illest reporting on the internets. Fux tracks down some interesting news, entertainment, beautiful woman pics, & ridic youtube videos on Fux News. Fux >>>>> Rupert Murdoch + Bill O'Reilly + Sean Hannity + Brit Hume + Neil Cavuto + Gretchen Carlson + Steve Doocy. "We Report, You Decide" just took an "L".
Fux is a reference client of my Elgringocolombiano Free Consulting TM recommendation, in this case to brand his news roundup series as Fux News. Don't sleep on my Free Consulting, no extreme arrogance.
OTOH, Fux News is some the illest reporting on the internets. Fux tracks down some interesting news, entertainment, beautiful woman pics, & ridic youtube videos on Fux News. Fux >>>>> Rupert Murdoch + Bill O'Reilly + Sean Hannity + Brit Hume + Neil Cavuto + Gretchen Carlson + Steve Doocy. "We Report, You Decide" just took an "L".
Fux is a reference client of my Elgringocolombiano Free Consulting TM recommendation, in this case to brand his news roundup series as Fux News. Don't sleep on my Free Consulting, no extreme arrogance.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Blue Scholars
Bayani">The Blue Scholars is a Seattle rap duo. I just listened to their album Bayani, it's among the best of 2007 thus far, check my RYM review for more details.
For more info, here's the Blue Scholars' website, myspace, wikipedia, RYM
Props to Rap Dungeon, who mentioned this group & has a preview link. Like always, it's only for preview, buy the album if you like it, etc.
Hugo Chavez Crew
Check the photo of these Latin American Presidents
El Salvador Handal
Venezuela Chavez
Cuba Castro
Bolivia Morales
As an aside, one thing that bugs me is how all US Presidents have been WASP men, with the exception of Kennedy, & big deal he was Catholic, not that much difference. All these other countries, whose democracies supposedly suck compared to the US, have minorities in their own country as presidents. Handal is a Palestinian ethnically, Chavez is a mestizo Amerindian/Black/Spanish ala Big Pun (eg the majority group in Venezuela), & Morales is an indigenous Bolivian. No "a-rab" or Native American has had any chance to be Pres in the "greatest democracy" USA yet.
Anyways, Chavez is trying to do regional economic cooperation outside of the USA control, with ALBA & Axis of Good (comedy name!).
This reminds me of that Jay-Z lyric:
"haters haters (Gee Dubbz, American MNCs aka Corporate Welfare Queens) no like
but they gotta eff with it (Chavez) cause the flow (Venezuelan oil) is so tight"
I know Chavez isn't perfect. But OTOH, I can't say Chavez' actions in Latin America could be possibly worse than Gee Dubbz, in terms of incompetence or bad intentions.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Federer v. Nadal, Vol 11
Update: Good Steve Tignor recap of the match
-------
UPDATE Thankfully my prediction was wrong on the winner, although I was correct that it went 3 sets. Fed won his 1st match against Nadal on clay in 6 times, 26 62 60. By losing today, Nadal ends his record clay court streak at a ridic 81 wins. That record might stand for decades.
Fed's win sets up a fascinating Roland Garros, as now Fed v Nad Vol 12 seems inevitable as the RG Final, with either player capable of winning. Fed's win helps him justify his decision last week to fire his Coach Roche, as he got his first Clay Masters title since 2005 without any coach.
The RG Final will have historical importance:
For Federer
1 winning will probably enable Fed to achieve GOAT status, as it will be GS#11, only 3 behind Sampras' 14 GS, which is "tainted" due to Sampras never winning RG. It is assumed that Fed will easily win 4 more non-RG GS to pass Sampras.
2 winning will give Fed an non-calendar year Grand Slam (06-Wimbledon, 06-US, 07-AusO, 07-RG). No player has won a Grand Slam, calendar or non-calendar, since Rod Laver in 1969!
3 winning will give Fed an excellent shot at a 07 calendar year Grand Slam, as he would've have won on his 2 worst surfaces, with his 2 best surface (Wimby & US) remaining.
For Nadal
4 winning will give Nadal a 3rd consecutive RG at age 21, and put him in a great position to challenge Borg's open era record of 4 consecutive RGs & 6 total RGs. Note - the Fed implications have been covered well by the media, but apparently I am "breaking this story", ala Cenk from The Young Turks, about Nadal.
Another great thing is that TC is teaming up with DESPOT (aka ESPN) to cover RG, so there will be massive coverage available.
SteveG has some commentary on the match in this week's rankings.
The next few weeks will be a very exciting time for tennis!
-----
Federer & Nadal will play for the 11th time, this Sun morning at 8a ET (5a PT/WestSide time) on Tennis Channel (Dish channel #400), in the Masters Hamburg, GER final.
I saw the semifinal match where Fed beat Carlos Moya in 3 sets. Fed was struggling, hitting too many errors, especially on the backhand side. The South African commentator Robbie Koenig made the great observation that Fed was making too many approach shots to Moya's forehand side. Well I guess if Fed just keeps hitting approach shots to the left side of the court today, that will be fine, since Rafa is a lefty.
I feel that for Fed to have a good chance at winning Roland Garros, he needs to beat Rafa here at Hamburg. Fed will have the crowd behind him, with many Swiss fans in Hamburg in the stands. Of course, Rafa has a historical & ridic 81-match win streak on clay, going back to 2005. Peter Bodo basically says the same thing here.
I'm rooting for Fed, but I predict Rafa will win in 3 sets. Rafa might be playing the GOATest anyone has ever played on a clay court, & Fed is struggling. Having said that, Go Fed!
-------
UPDATE Thankfully my prediction was wrong on the winner, although I was correct that it went 3 sets. Fed won his 1st match against Nadal on clay in 6 times, 26 62 60. By losing today, Nadal ends his record clay court streak at a ridic 81 wins. That record might stand for decades.Fed's win sets up a fascinating Roland Garros, as now Fed v Nad Vol 12 seems inevitable as the RG Final, with either player capable of winning. Fed's win helps him justify his decision last week to fire his Coach Roche, as he got his first Clay Masters title since 2005 without any coach.
The RG Final will have historical importance:
For Federer
1 winning will probably enable Fed to achieve GOAT status, as it will be GS#11, only 3 behind Sampras' 14 GS, which is "tainted" due to Sampras never winning RG. It is assumed that Fed will easily win 4 more non-RG GS to pass Sampras.
2 winning will give Fed an non-calendar year Grand Slam (06-Wimbledon, 06-US, 07-AusO, 07-RG). No player has won a Grand Slam, calendar or non-calendar, since Rod Laver in 1969!
3 winning will give Fed an excellent shot at a 07 calendar year Grand Slam, as he would've have won on his 2 worst surfaces, with his 2 best surface (Wimby & US) remaining.
For Nadal
4 winning will give Nadal a 3rd consecutive RG at age 21, and put him in a great position to challenge Borg's open era record of 4 consecutive RGs & 6 total RGs. Note - the Fed implications have been covered well by the media, but apparently I am "breaking this story", ala Cenk from The Young Turks, about Nadal.
Another great thing is that TC is teaming up with DESPOT (aka ESPN) to cover RG, so there will be massive coverage available.
SteveG has some commentary on the match in this week's rankings.
The next few weeks will be a very exciting time for tennis!
-----
Federer & Nadal will play for the 11th time, this Sun morning at 8a ET (5a PT/WestSide time) on Tennis Channel (Dish channel #400), in the Masters Hamburg, GER final.
I saw the semifinal match where Fed beat Carlos Moya in 3 sets. Fed was struggling, hitting too many errors, especially on the backhand side. The South African commentator Robbie Koenig made the great observation that Fed was making too many approach shots to Moya's forehand side. Well I guess if Fed just keeps hitting approach shots to the left side of the court today, that will be fine, since Rafa is a lefty.
I feel that for Fed to have a good chance at winning Roland Garros, he needs to beat Rafa here at Hamburg. Fed will have the crowd behind him, with many Swiss fans in Hamburg in the stands. Of course, Rafa has a historical & ridic 81-match win streak on clay, going back to 2005. Peter Bodo basically says the same thing here.
I'm rooting for Fed, but I predict Rafa will win in 3 sets. Rafa might be playing the GOATest anyone has ever played on a clay court, & Fed is struggling. Having said that, Go Fed!
Illegal Employer Problem
Thom Hartmann has a great opinion article "It's an Illegal Employer problem" about the illegal immigration issue.
My own opinion is very similar. It's amazing about how illegal employers are so open about their practice. A friend of mine told me that her father fired the American workers from his small business & hired illegal workers from Brazil, noting that they work harder & for less money/benefits. WTF! No one would randomly admit their father sells narcotics on the side, but it's cool I suppose to break the law by employing illegal immigrants.
The current debate on illegal immigration, the focus is on the immigrant, who are characterized as either felons or victims.
In my view, in most all matters in economics, demand drives supply. This is a given in Supply Chain Management that no one questions. In my view, it's the same with illegal employers (demand) that drive the migration illegal workers (supply).
If I were President, I would try to make illegal employment a felony offense for the CEO & hiring managers of a company, with a 3rd offense being real hard-core prison where violence (or rape, nh) would be a real possibility. This would scare employers from adhering to the law. Illegal immigrants would start going back, or at least new ones would stop coming, as their employment opportunity vanished. To those of you that say "Americans won't do certain jobs", I reference to you states like Idaho or Maine whose economies function without illegal immigrants.
My 2nd thrust, which is my own theory not covered in the Hartmann article, would be to remove most favored nation trade status (MFN) with China, and reward it to countries from the Americas, on condition of adhering to a certain minimum human rights, labor, & environmental standards. It's incredible to me how most Americans seem to not care about regional economic development of Mexico & other Americas countries. It's not only altruistic, it's economic common sense, since if Americas' economies improves, they're more likely to buy from USA companies than Europe or Asia. This will even be more true if transportation costs increase due to oil becoming more expensive. They will also be less illegal immigrants as those economies improve. My understanding is that the European Union has validated this theory, with the rich Euros like the UK & Germany trading heavily with the ex-communist East Euros like Romania & Latvia. Why don't we learn from the EU and develop the Americas region?
Anyways, next time you hear someone complain about illegal immigration, challenge them by telling them it's an illegal employer problem.
Truth Hunter also has an opinion today on this issue.
My own opinion is very similar. It's amazing about how illegal employers are so open about their practice. A friend of mine told me that her father fired the American workers from his small business & hired illegal workers from Brazil, noting that they work harder & for less money/benefits. WTF! No one would randomly admit their father sells narcotics on the side, but it's cool I suppose to break the law by employing illegal immigrants.
The current debate on illegal immigration, the focus is on the immigrant, who are characterized as either felons or victims.
In my view, in most all matters in economics, demand drives supply. This is a given in Supply Chain Management that no one questions. In my view, it's the same with illegal employers (demand) that drive the migration illegal workers (supply).
If I were President, I would try to make illegal employment a felony offense for the CEO & hiring managers of a company, with a 3rd offense being real hard-core prison where violence (or rape, nh) would be a real possibility. This would scare employers from adhering to the law. Illegal immigrants would start going back, or at least new ones would stop coming, as their employment opportunity vanished. To those of you that say "Americans won't do certain jobs", I reference to you states like Idaho or Maine whose economies function without illegal immigrants.
My 2nd thrust, which is my own theory not covered in the Hartmann article, would be to remove most favored nation trade status (MFN) with China, and reward it to countries from the Americas, on condition of adhering to a certain minimum human rights, labor, & environmental standards. It's incredible to me how most Americans seem to not care about regional economic development of Mexico & other Americas countries. It's not only altruistic, it's economic common sense, since if Americas' economies improves, they're more likely to buy from USA companies than Europe or Asia. This will even be more true if transportation costs increase due to oil becoming more expensive. They will also be less illegal immigrants as those economies improve. My understanding is that the European Union has validated this theory, with the rich Euros like the UK & Germany trading heavily with the ex-communist East Euros like Romania & Latvia. Why don't we learn from the EU and develop the Americas region?
Anyways, next time you hear someone complain about illegal immigration, challenge them by telling them it's an illegal employer problem.
Truth Hunter also has an opinion today on this issue.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
DJ Crazy Chris mashup: U2 & Big Punisher
Update May-21, Rattle & Pun is solid, here's my review. Give it a listen.
Here's a back album cover, which has the tracklisting. Note on the back cover that DJCC is working on blend albums for The Who/Wu-Tang Clan & Elton John/Method Man! Great & WTF!
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I'm not very knowledgable of the blend (aka mashup) genre, but DJ Crazy Chris (DJCC) is the blend GOAT, IMHO.
I randomly noticed that DJCC is at it again, mashing up U2 & Big Punisher, in Rattle & Pun (dl). I guess the album title is play on words on the U2 album Rattle & Hum.
I haven't listened to it yet, but definitely will do so, since I'm a Big Pun & DJCC stan.
Note that DJCC releases all his stuff as legally free albums.
I first heard of DJCC last year when he released the excellent Phillmatic (dl), a mashup of Phil Collins & Nas. I'm a huge stan of Phil's No Jacket Required & Nas' Illmatic, so I really loved this Phillmatic album. DJCC mixed stuff from both the Phil & Nas complete oeuvres to make Phillmatic. I figured Phillmatic would've blown up on the internets, but most folks slept on it. If you've slept so far, you need to awaken from your Schiavo-like coma & listen to Phillmatic.
A Tribe Called Quest Playlist
Here's my ATCQ Playlist. This group made my favorite album of all time. Anyone who likes rap or jazz should definitely give Tribe a chance, & listen to at least 1 of their albums. Hopefully Tribe will make that reunion album we've been waiting for. Their solo albums are decent, but not the same. They need to "move on through, not separate together" (nh).
Here's some of Tribe's videos from youtube (thx to Fux for the tip on resizing youtube windows)
A Tribe Called Quest 1990 People's Instinctive Travels & Paths
Bonita Applebum
Can I Kick It
I Left My Wallet In El Segundo
A Tribe Called Quest 1991 The Low End Theory
Check The Rhime
Jazz (We've Got) & Buggin Out
Scenario
A Tribe Called Quest 1993 Midnight Marauders
Award Tour
Electric Relaxation
Oh My God
A Tribe Called Quest 1996 Beats Rhymes & Life
Stressed Out
1nce Again
A Tribe Called Quest 1998 The Love Movement
Find A Way
Time Album, Movie, & Non-fiction Book Top100 lists
Time magazine has made some Top100 list
Music albums (glancing it, seems bogus in that they include Greatest Hits compilation albums with regular studio albums)
Movies
Non-fiction books
Music albums (glancing it, seems bogus in that they include Greatest Hits compilation albums with regular studio albums)
Movies
Non-fiction books
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