Folks who continually bellyache about the lack of originality in hip hop really irritate me. No, the proliferation of Yung's, Lil's, Big's, and Mane's of the cRap music wouldn't know a fresh idea if it punched them in the grill, but plenty of cats are still pushing the creative envelope in 09', just sans radio airplay. One such rapper would be LoJ.
I'll admit, I don't know the first thing about this dude, and generally speaking Corporate tie-ins to music make me sick to my stomach. Still, I would strongly suggest that anyone who thinks hip hop is creatively dead give a listen to LoJ X Vitamin Water Presents: Theme Music v.1. The "sample TV and movie theme songs" idea has been done before (I think Cam'ron made a whole career off this in the pre-Dipset 90's), but never this cleverly. LoJ's not necessarily Rakim with the mic, but the creative sampling of such familiar theme songs as Livin' Single, Sex And The City, Fresh Prince of Bel Air and, wait for it... the "Soul Glow" jingle from Coming To America is worth the listen to this well paced 11 song mixtape alone. With vocal cuts from each show interspersed, and sponsor shoutouts kept to a minimum, this one definitely qualifies as "different" to say the least. I liked it, you prolly will too.
So before you knock the lack of originality and creativity in modern day cRap music again, give this one a download. As usual, the price (Free 99) is right, so what do you have to lose?
While history will likely remember Steve "Air" McNair as a scrambler who could never win the big one, I prefer to remember him as a trailblazer. He's the only guy in the modern era picked high (#3 pick by the Oilers) from an HBCU (Alcorn State) to actually play QB, which it pretty amazing considering how NFL coaches (used to?) like turning black QB's into WR's or DB's. McNair's career is a testament to hard work and gritty character. As impressive as his win/loss record was, it's sad to think what might have been had he played in a big media market for an owner that wasn't a tightwad. The franchise succeeded in spite of itself, running McNair and Eddie George into the ground, while never surrounding them the the level of complimentary players necessary to go all the way. Still, McNair left an indelible mark on the game, and he will be missed.
Ramblin' - Uhmm, was that the most erratic speech evar, or is it just me? She starts off with a basketball analogy, essentially saying that stepping down is "passing the ball". Uhhhmmm, wouldn't this be more like begging the coach to take you out? Then she somehow goes on a tangent about "calling an audible", which when I last checked, was a football term. For a 3-4 minute stretch, she was talking so fast and unintelligibly, I swore she was about to offer me a VCR for $20. Epic Fail!
No Sympathy - I'm sorry, but it's very, very difficult for me to have any sympathy for Palin, simply because she didn't give any definitive reason for stepping down. Had she simply said "I'm sick of all this, and just want to focus on my family", I doubt anyone would begrudge her decision. Only a heartless bastard would have an issue with this. But by rambling on and on about "wasteful spending", "lame ducks", and "the Constitution", she leaves the perception that this might be a politically movitated move. If she suddenly announces a Fox News deal, a daytime talk show, or yet another book deal, then we'll know what's up. Either way, there is no way whatsoever to otherwise justify quitting halfthrough the job that thousands of Alaaaaaskans entrusted you with. Period. No way.
Quitter - Seriously, how can someone be forgiven for bailing early on a job without giving a valid decision? She only served 2 1/2 years of her first term as Governor, and nearly a year of that was spent running for Veep or positioning herself for 2012. What sort of experience does that amount to? Could you possibly pass yourself off 3 years from now as a qualified candidate with such an incomplete resume? The cloud of ethics complaints, red ink, and denied stimulus funds she leaves behind is hardly the stuff of champions. And the timing (Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend) is pretty dubious too.
Liberal Media Attacks. Huh? - I've long posited that much of Palin's appeal is predicated on an "Us vs Them" style of victimhood.[1] The problem with this is that much of the media scrutiny that she complains about is generated from those in her party, and a lot of it is stuff she's more or less brought on herself. The much maligned recent Vanity Fair piece is full of quotes attributed to McCain campaign staffers, not "anonymous sources" as many have posited, which shows they didn't bother reading the whole 11 pages. If she does resurface and run in 2012, there's no way (I repeat, no way) she makes it beyond the Republican nomination. Those guys (Romney, Huckabee, and Newt especially) will seize everything I've written on this site, and then some, and use it to rip her to shreds. Obama wouldn't have to lift a finger.
The GOP's Future - Uhhh, what future? Palin has no future after such a flaky, erratic, poorly explained resignation. The party's other "stars" have fallen one by one in recent weeks. The only guy without a spot on his resume is Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a guy to dour and boring, he makes Mike Huckabee look like Diddy by comparison. Again, score one for Obama.
Question: What's really going on here? Is Palin stepping down to "spend more time with her family", "improve life for Alaskans outside political office", or should we expect a press release about her upcoming Fox News show any moment?
[1] And for the record, I could probably take her far more seriously if she'd kill this whole "victimhood" angle and just kick the facts. It's hard to hear any valid credentials through all the whining. Is this a reverse-sexist double standard of some sort? I think so. I doubt a man could pull this off without being called a wimp.
[Editor's Note: I'm not too crazy about the prospect of CNN's Black In America too, either, but more on that later. My homegirl Ebonie just had to get this off her chest.]
I don’t know what’s going on with CNN lately, but for the following two stories alone, the network gets a big fail, boo, and Do Better.
First, we have an update with Michael Jackson’s former chimp, Bubbles on Anderson Cooper’s AC360 show.
Yes, this was a real “news” story on AC360. Boo CNN. So this is what ya’ll are coming up with to keep talking about Michael Jackson when you don’t have anything news to report? How did this get onto the news station? Hollywood Access or Entertainment Tonight might have even taken a pass on this one. Do Better CNN.
Next, we have a story that’s part of the upcoming Black in America Series Pt. 2. One of my journalism friends forwarded this one along. It’s about black women choosing to adopt because hey, black women have no choice but to be alone or find some ne’er-do-well to shack up with and have a whole bunch of babies by. Why not just avoid all that and adopt? Yes, that’s pretty much a wrap up of the story. Here are a few priceless gems:
Kaydra Fleming, a 37-year-old social worker in Arlington, Texas, is the mother of Zoey, an adopted eight-month-old girl whose biological mother was young and poor.
“Zoey was going to be born to a single black mother anyway,” Fleming says. “At least she’s being raised by a single black parent who was ready financially and emotionally to take care of her.”
Aww lawd. And this.
Becoming a single mother means a “complete lifestyle change,” Caldwell says. “You might have to give up getting your nails done."
Yet there are some single African-American women who are not emotionally ready to adopt an African-American child who is too dark, some adoption agency officials say.
Fair-skinned or biracial children stand a better chance of being adopted by single black women than darker-skinned children, some adoption officials say.
“They’ll say, ‘I want a baby to look like a Snickers bar, not dark chocolate,’ ” Caldwell, founder of Lifetime Adoption, says about some prospective parents.
“I had a family who turned a baby down because it was too dark,” she says. “They said the baby wouldn’t look good in family photographs.”
NOT emotionally ready to have a dark child?!! Sooo rearing a child with a darker skin tone takes more of an emotional toll? Shaking my head at this story on that alone. But then I read the Snickers bar comment. Aww lawd again. Who approved this story?
Because of course, other black women considering adopting need to know that their nail salon days might be over if they choose to adopt. That could be the real deal breaker. Forget that child! I need my nails done!
And the conclusion to the story doesn’t get any better:
Duren says she still wants to be married. But in the meantime, she can barely wait to get home to see Madison.
Her life is now shaped by purpose, not regret.
“I have someone to hang out with. I can never say I’m lonely,” Duren says. “She lies across my stomach every night, and I just stare at her.”
Sooo, what we’re supposed to get out of this is that black women are adopting because they are no black men for them and they don’t want to be lonely? But as a warning to those thinking about it, be warned that your nail salon visits may have to stop?
I can’t wait to see the second part of this Black in America series later this month. No telling what’s coming after this story – and last year’s part one.
Do Better CNN.
Question: Just how silly is this black women adoption story?
Has there ever been a more pompous, less qualified, and generally annoying guy inexplicably given a high profile position than White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs?[1] You know things are getting bad when some guy named Chip, and 104 year old Helen Thomas start gettin' gully on you.
I've said it repeatedly here, this guy is a huge part of Obama's messaging problem. Each and every day, he holds court with the sort of misdirected swag and callousness of a drunken bar fighter. He does a terrible job of keeping his cool, seems to hold grudges against certain members of the media, and always makes snarky off the cuff remarks that are hardly befitting of a man in his elevated position. Fairly or unfairly, since he speaks on behalf of the President more than the President speaks for himself, for all intents and purposes, he is the President if you think about it.
[Editor's Question - Can a white guy be called a buffoon? I'm not too hip on the historical origins of this term, and I usually see it attributed to Negroes. Please let me know if it's technically correct for me to start calling this guy a buffoon. Cause that's what I feel like he is. He's like a Flavor Flav with fewer kids, less melanin, and a reality show that never gets cancelled.]
I was never too crazy about Bush's press secretaries, but even they (especially Ari Fleisher, whom I actually sorta liked) carried themselves as if they understood the importance of the position. Sure, they lied through their teeth 90% of the time, but you seldom got them impression that they were getting off on some odd power trip each time they took the podium. I can't say the same for Gibbs, but for the in the interest of wanting to see the guy I voted for succeed, I hope this numbskull's trip to Monster.com comes sooner rather than later.
Obama shoulda just hired Jamal Simmons in the first place.
Question: Is Robert Gibbs getting on your last nerve too?
[1] Isaiah Thomas coaching the Knicks might be somewhere in the Top 20. Got any others?
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