Hip Hop

Courtesy of my good friend Pop, I recieved 4 mp3 CDs worth of the best from hip hop in '07 and it has changed my life. Ok not literally, but its reinvigorated me in a way that only music can. From the beat of Misunderstood on Common's new album, to the striking lyrics of Brother Ali on Uncle Sam Goddamn.

Hip hop has some serious flaws. The notions that hip hop is dead, stems from greater arguments about the over abundance of misogyny, materialism and other negative images being proliferated, especially in commercial or mainstream hip hop. But you don't need to look far to find great music. As Guru said on an interview with my boi DJ Hyphen, there is a lot of artists doing great things with hip hop, that is both creative and conscious. The notion that music is ever stagnant or dead is a complete fallacy. In fact saying its dead would be ignoring the negative things hip hop does, rather it needs to be examined as a medium that both reflects the norms of our society as well as shapes them.

The nature of the music industry as a whole is undergoing a huge transformation. With the use of internet spreading music like wildfire, people no longer seek music through the traditional channels of record stores. Rather most people access music electronically, often without compensating the artists in return which causes problems of how can music continue to provide the investment necessary to reproduce itself. As a true capitalist, even though there are lots of problematic aspects of capitalism that I recognize, I believe in this system to solve itself. There's a need to find a better or more efficient manner to deliver the type of variety in music people crave and it will be achieved if it is not being done so already. I know as a person who loves music I rely on my personal connections of people who have dedicated their lives to music to pass me the best of what they listen to. I listen to Sunday Night Sound Sessions that streams online live and is available for download on line to keep me up on some the up and coming artists and great music coming out.

The music is out there people just need to not be so reliant on clear channel and/or express themselves to clear channel demanding the type of content they want. The truth is clear channel decides what is played based on what they think they can sell or market. 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, all are marketable images and have proven track records of selling records, don't knock them for selling, just recognize that other stuff doesn't sell for various reasons. I don't pretend to know the answers, I just know there are alternatives, seek them out. For those who read this blog that know more about music please feel free to comment and express your views.

ONE LOVe

Democracy???

The next couple months of my life will be dedicated to the idea of Democracy, more specifically what role decomcracy promotion should play in foreign policy, if any? My thesis will be examining the current Fiji situation that has seen a military coup step in, as it purports to be eliminating corruption from the government in hopes of returning the country to democracy at a later date, while facing international pressure to return to a democracy. Basic ethical questions emerge, such as do the ends justify the means? Or are precedents of coups something that riddle a state, as could be argued in Fiji as they have had 4 in the past 20 years.

A couple of reservations I have headed into this study follow below.

• Is it the role of an outsider, paternal, government to push for democracy in another state?
• Is democracy the best form of government? Often overlooked when thinking about democracy is how much work must go into it for it to be functional. Its like any relationship, when a state decides to wed democracy it doesn't mean that wedding signals the beginning of a long loving relationship, but rather just the signalling of a commitment that will be tried and tested by the events of the future and even the events of the past.

General questions I have to answer.

• What role does democracy play in the securing of basic Human Rights?
• What role does democracy play for greater international security?

As an American I am biased that I do have some faith in Democracy, but as a skeptical American I recognize the shortcomings of our political process. The truth is when there is no clear right or wrong decisions, no matter how those decisions are made, democratically or by virtue of a single decision maker, those decisions are not necessarily correct. In fact much of what is popular is not correct, just look at patriarcy.

HOLLA

Jena Six

Group of Six Black students facing charges for the beating of a white student after three nooses were hung from a tree in Jena, Louisianna.

To read the situation view the following links, then feel free to engage in discussion.

To see the news story read.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413220

To hear an interview conducted with the parents read.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/10/1413228

get at me

Washed Up

Ok, so today i played in an open gym run, talent level was mediocre as it is in New Zealand, however I can't say anything because I'm pretty sure in a combined 5 games to 7 I was 10 for 92. It got so bad that I started takin shots with my eyes closed, like mikemaines looking elsewhere when he shoots. Luckily my team helped me pull out a few wins, but I am officially a bum on the court and I'm ready to hear it from the peanut gallery.

Making things worse is I've actually worked myself into decent shape, not like basketball shape, but I can run open down the court now, so I can't blame it on conditioning. I can't blame it on not playing because I've been getting up at 6 a.m. twice a week to play. I think I'm going to get a Bruce Bowen jersey because thats pretty much my game at this point. I basically look forward to D-ing up the other teams best player. Holla at me and let me hear it, cuz I'm going to be a hooper again one day, it just may be when I finally have a kid and he begins to get close to getting a win against his pops.

HOLLA

Barry Bonds

Just to go on record as the great Barry Bonds is about to, yes great, the man is better than the handful of others we have chosen to celebrate during his career, I WANT BARRY TO BREAK THE RECORD.

Barry is better than McGwire, better than Ripken Jr., better than Griffey, these players we have taken time to herald as great. The difference between Barry and them is Barry doesn't care about what people think of him off the field, that is not to say he doesn't carry himself professionally, becuase he absolutely does, but that his image isn't for sale. Barry just wants to be a baseball player, not a pop icon, not a legend and most of all not poster boy for hamburgers.

During the 2002 World Series I had the privilege to watch Barry hit what was at the time a meaningless home run during Game 6 that pushed the lead to, if I recall correctly 5. Before that at bat as every other one of his at bats during the game I made sure I was in position to watch. I sat there with suspense, as if all the home runs he had hit prior to that didn't real mean that much because I had not seen him do it myself. However, he quickly showed me just what everyone of those home runs meant, especially that one, as I had just witnessed a man crush a ball at will during the most important time in his career. Now the Angels rally monkeyed past the Giants in that game and the series to win, but it is safe to say Barry performed phenomenally on the biggest stage. He hit balls so hard they disappeared from sight during the games in Anaheim.

As Barry turns to break the home run record, I'm left with that same suspense that filled me during the world series, is he going to do it? The only difference is from experience I now know the answer, of course he's going to do it and it is going to be amazing.

Don't be Jelly

Yo bois going to be in Samoa- Don't be jealous- HOLLA at me

Itinerary

Depart: Auckland 19 JUN- 1630
Arrive: Apia 18 JUN- 2310

Depart: Apia 29 JUN- 1030
Arrive: Pago Pago - 1105

Depart: Pago Pago 6 JUL- 1405
Arrive: Apia - 1450

Depart: Apia 6 JUL- 2225
Arrive: Auckland 8 JUL- 140

Homesick and Sick of Home

Several things have come to my attention while being abroad. First, despite my easygoing nature, it is extremely difficult being away from home for an extended period of time. I used to wonder why people would get depressed or home sick, but now I realize just how easy it is for you to go up and down. I'm not writing this during a downpoint now, but I have seen my mood and demeanor switch as quickly as chone figgins stealing second. Shot out to Vlad's walk off home run against the Orioles today. I actually caught it on ESPN game cast, so I didn't see it, but saw a live update of the game as he homered, which was exciting for me since I have only been able to read stories following the games rather than getting to watch them for myself.

Second, why is it when I go abroad the Lakers want to implode? When I left in 2004 for South Africa the Lakers traded Shaq, I walked around for a week with my head down as I had a pit in my stomach like finding out my girlfriend was seeing another guy. Now Kobe is expressing the same frusturations all of us have felt as Laker fans in watching them fail to put together a contender around Kobe. I admit I was opposed to moving Bynum during the season, because I think he will be a legitimate center down the road. I realize though at the same time that getting another legit player to help us out is essential. I mean we are blessed nightly to be able to watch Kobe go nuts every night. He is by far and away the best player in the game. Big up to Lebron, but you're not KOBE, we'll see what goes down in San Antonio. Beyond the Lakers being in shambles, hopefully it being exposed will force it to be corrected, it just adds to the homesick/sickofhome feelings that I have to deal with on a daily basis. I recognize that these feelings also make everyday great so I'm not completely being negative, just sayin you got to work with those feelings whether good or bad and continue to take steps forward. Holla