For what it's worth...

my style has been developed in the core of the earth.
- J-Live

What is that? Did you say you want to see grainy camera pictures from the concert?


J-Live

Rabbi Darkside and Hired Gun

Far Beyond *[Farbeon]

Oddy

J-L-I-VE at Mercury

Just left the J-Live show. There were some real MCs with flow and technique that most "mainstream" rap can't comprehend. 3rd party started things off, real hot, as it should be. "*[Farbeon]," one of the members of 3rd party told stories of everyday life without dropping a beat. Speaking of beats, "Rabbi Darkside" handled beat boxing, mixing and rhyming like he was the father of hip-hop. Not to be outdone "Hired Gun" had the type of energy and control to switch tempos at a moment's notice. (He also broke it down with some dancing)

Oddy came out as the second act and got the crowd even louder. The Mercury Lounge stage never got so much love, till 3rd party came back with some even stronger tracks that they laid down in Brazil; it was then time for the live one.

J-Live came on stage with a huge roar from the crowd, I was right up front, he commanded the MIC, the crowd and the turn-tables from that point. The stage was set with verses from his current album, but soon we were all on a journey mapping out his 14 years as an MC.

Even though it's 2am and I have work in 3 hours I still feel that energy. A good show doesn't just make you go deaf for a few hours, it invigorates you. I know that I’ve been dealing with a lot, most of it on the inside, but I was free for a few hours. Those few hours are why art is so valuable especially in these tough times. I know 5am will come too soon but right now it feels like 9000 miles.

Next

This may sound a little bit unbelievable, but I watched "Next" yesterday and it got me thinking. Does the 2 minute rule preserve the continuity of time? Does it break the rules? By the end I started to think about destiny and freedom of choice. It inspired the following...

the possibilities are endless
lives touch and cross through the ages
me, you, her and him
we each progress in our own time
false choices and pitfalls
path littered with mistakes
people we take for granted
the mistake is not taking a chance
in you, me, her and him
the possibilities are endless
but we all have one destiny
and i'd like to make you mine

Smoke and Mirrors

The past weekend was all kinds of awesome. Started off with an excellent late lunch at Caracas Arepa and was followed up by good times at Manchester Pub. Manchester Pub is a little place with great beer and even better food, I'm not just saying it cause it's owned by two of my High School friends.

So you want pictures?Chan posing at the Owner's party in his "G" cap

Lbo and Hudson, other Owner of Pub, having a good laugh.

This is what I called being drank under a table. Obviously outmatched in chugging contest; Joe made it look so easy, it was like he was only downing a teaspoon of water.

My Mind is Playing Tricks on Me

Insane in the Membrane

I've had a weird week, for the first time in a while I haven't been able to sleep soundly through the night. The odd thing is that the only dreams I can recall are ones of whimsy. For instance, I woke with the feeling of absolute dread but could only recall a dream about "Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium. There is nothing scary, perhaps trippy, about Natalie Portman; actually i am quite fond of her.

Several people I know have been dealing with loss recently. I too have lost someone recently and as usual had a tough time dealing with it. I have never done well coping with losing someone I know. I close up completely and circle the wagons; I don't do/deal with death well. I tend to close up so much that I don't show any emotion. This time I was actually able to let some of the deep feelings I have for someone who has passed away to the surface. The following is a piece I wrote at that time.

Right here

They say you don't know what you've got till it's gone. So often we
miss the special things right before us. The people who touch our
lives with words that make a difference. Words that pick you up while
you are down. The ones that keep you moving when you no longer have
strength. Your boisterous hearty laugh will be missed but you are
forever in our hearts. You still makes us smile a.d we keep moving
because of you.

Overall I have been in my head trying to put how I think and feel on paper (computer).

Ideals and Ideas

You are the ideal, an idea I have held onto for as long as I can
remember. You are an idea an ideal that that can never be attained.
Idolized and exalted above all others. The real you can never reach
the heights the idea of you has gotten to but you hold that special
space that the ethereal ideal of you can never be. To be in love with
an idea of the ideal one is a fools game; I am a fool.

Yet another from the depths...

And you

I have known you for so long and you are still a mystery to me.
Crossed paths a thousand times in a million ways and you are more real
to me now that we are apart. We will cross paths again and you will
never consider me any more than a stranger. Stranger yet, I now
consider me and you.

Ol' Blue Eyes

There was a blurb in the paper today, about two lines dedicated to a weird story from China. It was a weird medical case about a kid with glowing eyes. This is the kinda stuff from tv shows like Eleventh Hour, the good one with Patrick Stewart , or the pseudoscience seen on Fringe. I mean this individual can see perfectly in pitch black.

I barely know where to start with this one. I guess the loose environmental regulations have yet another benefit. Now the Chinese don't only have an edge in terms of the cost of labor and components but now their special brand of polluting has led to mutation.

I can see the programs that will spring from this starting with trials on the prison population. Before we know it there will be a red army of mutants who can see in the dark. At this point Chinese production will go through the roof as their child labor will no longer even need light to perform their tasks.

Generation ill

It is cold out and I think I have the sniffles.
Cold medicine here I come.

There I just twittered. I know it seems ridiculous but micro-blogging is all the rage. If I micro blogged my previous post I would be about a year's worth. Hey twitter, micro-blogs are useless if I want to write a short blog I will.

Things that happen and others that didn't...

Holy weekend Batman. Anne came to town this weekend, long planned follow-up from the fun and frivolity from last month. I attempted a world wind tour of the NYC. I skipped my favorite borough of Brooklyn but made it through a third of Manhattan.

NYC, from my eyes, is friendly and easy to just walk and enjoy. There is an ebb and flow from one neighborhood to the next as you go cross town or make you way North.

The views from the top of 30 rock give a good idea of the city's size and density, Central Park is the exception that proves the rule; I find the view towards the north with Central Park is absolutely breathtaking especially when things aren't gray.

The highlights...
Touring the statue brought me back to my teen years when I visited lady liberty twice a summer for many a summer. Much of the fun of visiting the monument is halted by security checks. Long gone are the days of spiraling through lady liberty now it is down to a sanitized view through the looking glass. No souls are allowed to brave it up to her crown, the yellow lines mark you best view of the path other trekked.

For my money's worth we made it to two of my favorite spots for pizza: John's and Totono's. John's was solid as usual and Totono's was all kinds of delicious. You don't know someone till you've ordered pizza with them. I'm a topping minimalist and found myself at odds with the number suggested pizza additives. I love sausage. Garlic is always good. Mushrooms are fantastic. You get the joke., but, no more than two of these should be combined on you pizza. As a matter of fact two toppings should only considered for your second pie.

Liberals are Losers

Progressive, Liberal, and dare I say socialist ideas are the platform that brought the Democrats into power this time around. People voted on putting an end to the Iraq debacle. They voted for government supported health care. People voted for higher taxes on the super-rich in order to spread the wealth.

The conservative, Dems abd Repubs alike, have handed this administration and the 111th Congress a hot mess. I know that wasn't exactly a technical term but is probably the best description. Conservative supply-side policies have ruled the day since Reagan stumbled into town.

We have had a chance to test their free trade business/rich first trickle-down policies. The Jury is in after 30 years of deliberations and without a doubt it can be said that bubble economies and a decimated middle class makes the verdict self evident.

So why are the Democrats giving in to conservative voices pushing tax cuts and denigrating spending on social programs. Why is it that over 40% of the stimulus devoted to tax cuts? Obama did promise middle-class tax cuts but that should not be in the stimulus bill.

The bill should be strictly money for infrastructure and aid to states. Infrastructure "shovel ready" and long term projects such as expanding broadband access and improving the power grid are no-brainers. Reinforcing unemployment, welfare and helping states meet their shortfalls should also be obvious must-dos. States need this aid as fewer people and businesses are spending and employing. People need the extra help in tough times.

I understand why having bipartisan support important to some; its politics 101, people want cover in case things get worse. It is time to grow a spine and make good on the promises made. It is the time to stand firm on your beliefs and put Liberal policies in place. Doing it half-way will only lead to failure and the party in power will be blamed anyway.

Liberals aren't losers but they will be in 2010 if they keep this up.

Netflix:Round 2: Charlie Wilson's War

This kind movie is right up my alley. With strong performances by Tom Hanks and that other guy; the character played by the other guy was especially interesting. Charlie Wilson as played by Tom Hanks was a colorful congressman from Texas who had accepted his station in life.

He was not ashamed of being a mainly regarded for his flaws. This movie had everything from women, scantily clad women, espionage, politics and historical significance. Its a story that is not often told and a lesson we have not learned as a society as yet. I can now officially accept Mr Hanks apology for that island movie.

*********************

On a slightly different note... While cooking breakfast I thought to check out Dare Devil. FX always has some movie on but for once it was not X-Men 3. I had some good will stored up for the Afflecks after his brother's performance in Jesse James; big brother Ben officially used it all up in 15 minutes.

I took in a couple minutes of my day and it felt like I lost a lifetime. Jennifer Gardner didn't help either. How did they think Electra was a good idea after this steamy load?

Trial size

Since the reemergence of liquid bombs the trial/travel size lobby has been hard at work to fill their once minute coffers. These modern day Robber Barons hold the flying public hostage at every turn. These unregulated corporate behemoths are so closely aligned with shady TSA deals that they have created a trial seal of approval to flaunt their connections.

The Trial Size World Dominate Institute (TSWDI), founded in 1993 after the first bombing, has been hard at wok behind the scenes since then. Its your job and mine to rage against the machine before we are under their rule forever. Its not too late to bring to light the actions of this powerful group.

"We seek to replace all known products with their trial version. It is not till we have proliferated the market with our tiny goods will we be able to complete our plans for world domination." the President of TSWDI recently said to the nytimes blog. "Oh. Did I let that slip?"

Say no to trial sizes, say no to unrivaled control of the products we buy.

A Few Good Movies

...and probably a lot of bad ones.

I recently acquired a subscription to Netflix; it was something I needed. I dread the moments when someone asks: "have you seen?" This usually prompts a response such as "I have seen parts" or "Nope"

So Netflix is now manna from heaven. I will sup on the greatest movies of our age. I will likely be able to cycle through a week. Without further ado.

Netflix Round 1 part 1: Traitor

Maybe I should have read the jacket or paid closer to the previews but I was not at all prepared for this movie. I assumed that I was in for an action thriller but instead Traitor proved to be drama considering the grays. Where does duty to country ones country, religion or self lead you to?

Don Cheadle showed his acting chops by playing this figure who lived between two worlds. Torn by duty and belief he was allowed to give both sides their just due. While I liked this struggle, I was a bit disappointed in the resolution. The bus driver did nothing to deserve such a violent and untimely death.

*************************************

Netflix Round 1 part 2: The Assassination of Jesse James by that Coward Robert Ford

The movie is twice as long as the title but doesn't feel like it. For me the movie was a study of a mythical being at the end of his life slowly descending into madness as all great figures do near the end. (See Biggie and Tupac) Definitely enjoyable but don't watch if you don't have time to devote to it or if you are feeling particularly paranoid.

************************************

Netflix Round 1 part 3: Burn After Reading

Burn before seeing. This movie was like the Seinfeld of movies; it's a movie about nothing. It's great if you like that sort of thing but just "eh" if you don't. Things happened and I laughed; other things happened and I found them interesting. I did find myself focusing on Brad Pitt as I had just watched him as Jesse James for about 3 hours. It was a relief to see him up and about and having fun after the previous image of him laying on ice. I can't say "Burn After Reading" was a bad movie it just didn't go anywhere.

Aussie Day 2009

Pics from Aussie day 2009: Canal Room

I think this is some band that did '80s covers in a country and western style.


The Aussie Crowd


The Claw and HD, Aussies for the day.

It's a New Day

This should have been posted January 1, 2009 but is going up now.

This is not supposed to be a journal but I feel a need to get this out. The New Year has brought in many a fanciful sight and interesting happens around me.

On New Year ’s Day I continued the tradition that started three years ago. There is nothing like spending the New Year with close friends and family. We were fewer in number this time but it meant just as much to me.

The special times are made more so when love is made evident by deeds. It meant so much to be with those who braved the cold to be part of the get together.

I discovered the formula for drunkenness that night: (available alcohol * russian with vodka)/(people you invited/temperature outside). I suppose that is really just one way to derive drunkenness, the other could be defined as too much alcohol/person(s). The point is a few people got drunk; it happens.

Super Bowl of Crap

Super Bowl of Crap

Never before has a more useless quarterback gotten undeserved glory than Ben Worthlessberger. Eli Manning, Peyton's younger challenged brother, is the closest one to Pittsburgh's overly praised pride and joy.

Why so much contempt for a quarterback who goes out there and "wins" games? My anger is probably a bit misplaced, its really the two-faced announcers that I should save my name calling for. I am tired of hearing these guys called a one footed chuck a "great" pass because a quarterback is bailed out by a receiver.

I hope the Eagle player who got the really cheap hit on Kurt Warner after a play he essentially had no part of is heavily fined. I hate the rules set aside to baby quarterbacks but the hit was pointless. I've seen guys get fined for far less.

At times the nfl seems to require that guys exhibit superpowers just to avoid hitting a quarterback who released the ball seconds after the D's launch to the air. It is preposterous to tag these guys with fines and their teams with penalties when worse happens.

Conventional Wisdom: Government Sucks

The next bit that is accepted as matter of fact is government is inefficient and corrupt. Government run programs and agencies are seen as pariah in the eyes of most of the public. This is confirmed by the actions of people who are wrapped up in their own welfare rather than the public's: Blago that means you.


There is also another piece of conventional wisdom that goes hand in hand with the previous: business does things more efficiently and cheaper than governments. This is echoed in conversations about healthcare most of all but can be found elsewhere. When I was recently in Chicago I found out that they turned over their parking meters to private business.


Once again this conventional wisdom is bogus. Nowhere is more evident than our national security and armed forces. We have a glut of private contractors in Iraq tasked to protect convoys, rebuild and feed our troops.


Countless money is dropped on contractors over our enlisted. Billions are unaccounted for in no-bid and cost-plus contracts. There are far too many cases of troops hurt by faulty work: electrocutions, poisoned by non-potable water, Iraqi cities with limited or no running water and electricity. The worst part is that there is no accountability.


I am not a communist. I do not want the government making my kicks or my jeans. I do want the government supplying my healthcare. I do want a government bureaucrat appointed by an elected official to decide what options are available for my care. I do not want my healthcare decided in some boardroom that I have no access to petition and no vote on.


Government can do plenty of things better than industry. Sure there are corrupt officials but government does not have a monopoly on that. For every Blago you present I will supply you with a Maddoff. An informed populous with an intact fourth estate will keep officials in check.


Do you really want to think about whether you paid your fire dues when your smoke detector goes off?

Conventional Wisdom: Economics

As mentioned in my previous posting I’ve been hearing some clamoring about taxes of late. In terms of tax policy there seems to be one golden rule: lower taxes will lead to greater prosperity. That is the conventional wisdom and is usually the end of the conversation.


Back to convention one, taxes. The business cycle when run by the widely accepted model runs in booms and busts. This is the reality (expected state) and outcomes of unregulated capitalism.

Greed is good was the motto in the bad old eighties; this is no longer said, but the outcomes are the same. Low taxes on businesses and the rich increase the reward of hoarding.


Hoarding leads to a bubble as money floods the market to bet on performance of projections rather than actual increases in productivity or products.


One example would be "company A" who makes letter 'A' stamps. Rich guy 1 believes that he could see good returns since Barack Obama will soon be president. "Company A" stock gets purchased at a higher price from current investors. Rich guy 2 sees this bet on "Company A" and decides to get in on the ground floor. This could be repeated many times over.


We are now up to Rich Guy 20. Rich Guy 1 sees that the stock is at a point that his huge number of shares will post a big return and cashes out. He has nothing to deter him as his capital gains are negligible. His bet has paid off with no proof of business model (staff, supply, quality) by company 'A'. Rich guy 1’s profits are potentially divorced from actual performance of the company.


After one quarter Obama is impeached and Joe Biden is president, the need for the letter a sees a dramatic drop. Everyone (Rich guy 2 -20 as well as Mr 401k) who is still invested has lost their money.

Stimulate This...

Stimulus is being asked for by everyone: from the porn industry to the hoes on the street, wall street. It seems though that everyone is still missing the reason we are in this pickle. People are quick to point out that trickle-down principles have largely failed but still they refuse to take the next logical step; power to the people.

So called bad mortgages were targeted as the reason for the beginnings of Wall Street’s problems. They have been labeled as toxic and home owners as stupid. These all only true when you ignore the monetary policy touted by banks and championed by conservatives.

For the last 30+ year’s free money has been sold to the public in the form of credit cards, falling interest rates and pay day loans. At the same time incomes, liquid assets (real hard money), has been stagnant. In lieu of cash we have turned to various products to make ends meet.

Economies are driven by demand.

We need to drive up demand. Poor schmoes like me tend to spend all the cash we have as seen by the recent years of negative savings. Some claim it's not a big deal but they are wrong. In short, people need for: food, mortgages, leisure, gas and home bills to name a few. Perhaps we would all throw some more in our 401ks and Roth IRAs with some money left in our pockets.

The point is that disposable income in the hands of many will do the economy good. The Bush administration and the 110th Congress tried to do just that with stimulus checks. This has largely been seen as a failure as people squirreled away the one-time giveaway. It is human nature to pay off the most overdue bill first if given a bit of an extra cash injection but if we could expect an extra bit on a regular basis we would be better off.

This is not to say that there should be bi-weekly or monthly stimulus checks; that would be insanity. Americans need to be paid more and also weened off credit and overspending. How is that done?

Funny enough (At least in light of "conventional wisdom," but we see where conventional wisdom has brought us.), some say that the best way to go about it is raising taxes on big businesses and forcing them to keep the money in the company rather than cashing out. An incentive to take smaller quarterly bonuses but investing in the longevity and productivity of the company instead of the huge payoff. I am not so concerned with how it gets done but it needs to get done for us to truly get out of the mess we are in.

Pirates of Somalia

Pirates are misunderstood by most people. Sure everyone loves a good "argh", but, few understand the camaraderie and the honor of a pirate. See they had a very strong code of ethics and operated their ships as democracies. This model was very different from what was in use on the imperialist fleets that "owned" the waters.

In this new age the imperialists are corporatist and pirates are back again; what was old is new. Much like the pirates of old it is easy to assume the worst and send them to the gallows. I believe we should first ask: why have these men have chosen this path.

Most of the incidents of piracy can be seen as border protection, a coast guard stand-in. It seems that some see the broken Somali government as an opportunity to infringe on Somali waters.

Accusations of everything from illegal fishing to dumping have been made. These pirates are usually arm with small arms and fishing boats up against tankers. For the most part the worst that has come out these encounters is delayed ships and loss of money. Like any others ventures there are of course some bad apples who are not “nice guys” but such things are expected.

These pirates do not have the look and the lingo we are used to but they are nonetheless doing the good works for their countrymen. They are certainly upholding the spirit of the pirate code of ethics.

High Crime and Misdemeanors Part 2

It seems like Paul Krugman and I were thinking the same exact thing. Great minds... Alright, I can't really put myself in the same class as a Nobel prize winning economist, but we do agree. I bet Mr.(Nobel Prize Winner) Krugman rocks his bling everywhere he goes. Nothing here from me but check out the article on the NY Times website.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/opinion/19krugman.html?_r=1&hp