N.A.S.A. --Gifted ft. Kanye West, Santogold, Lykke Li

"I am the mutha f'cka that won't be hated..."-Kanye

 

"I want to find someone 

who feels as much as I do. 

That's the only way 

I'll know 

 we're feeling each other..." 

- @BooMBuSSiT

VICTORY

Picture Courtesy of Vic Bam

I saw God in the sky one day in July,

laid back in my car

in a lot

getting high. 

The clouds made a shield

that protected my eyes, 

And the light was a pleasant 

present 

unwrapping a worthy, 

Holy,

prize. 

What a solar surprise 

to recognize

the Heaven's disguise!

A pried open secret that the night would deny  

but the day couldn't keep it.

Even nature was peakin', 

at brilliance seeping 

and speaking:

"God will provide!"

The sight was enough

to make a grown man cry.

2010 MTV VMAs: FLAMING Hot Ritual

Note that every show has a theme. Well, there's no doubt about it...The 2010 VMAs was a show for the POLITICALLY INCORRECT, and perhaps one of the most homosexually charged award shows MTV has ever hosted. In some way or another, EVERY performance elaborated on the metaphor of "Lighting up the stage" (some more FLAMING than others). And Lady Gaga was clearly the queen of the night, cleaning up the show with an outlandish 8 moon men! The world has clearly gone GAGA and I LOVE IT! Chelsea Handler, the "politically incorrect" talk show host was the perfect choice to host this year's show, as she ushered in the ceremonies with a dramatic exit (ON THE LAP OF RAPPER RICK ROSS). Let's take a look at the performances, shall we...?

The show opens with a performance by Eminem and Rihannah, where they literally "light the stage on FIRE." Hot. Eminem opens in a pit of darkness, with nothing but a subtle green light to show the way as he comes on stage. The song, "Not Afraid" addresses his attempts to overcome drug abuse; a serious epidemic facing Americans. The performance is concluded by a surprise appearance from Rihannah to sing the song "Love The Way You Lie," about domestic abuse. Merely performing these songs highlights an incorrectness in American popular culture, with music that calls attention to drug use and supports "women beaters." How else do we address these issues without it coming off as "gay"? We perpetuate the images with beats that hit hard and a dope performances. Interesting.

Next up is teen (burning) sensation, JUSTIN BIEBER. By now, everyone is familiar with the coined phrase, BIEBER "FEVER", even KIM KARDASHIAN... who introduced him in such a way that condoned pedophilia. Popular Culutre's crush on Justin Beiber is just down right "politically incorrect." The boy is not legal yet, and still we have the industry whoring him out like a baby prostitute to "USHER" the teens of America into club/techno music before they are even of age. I was especially taken aback when REALLY young children took the stage (some as young as elementary school students), because I then found myself questioning what the cut off age was for "too young" to be thinking about finding love. Clever business tactic, but not very respectable. But what can we do? Justin Beiber is ADORABLE, ANDROGYNOUS with so much swag. AND he plays the drums...that's SICK. And so are we.

Then there was Usher, whose dance moves lit up the dance floor and the stage with a techno light cage. It's funny, because his latest single "DJ Got Us Fallin In Love" reminds me of the matrix effect of techno/club music. Music can actually release serotonin and make you FEEL like you're falling in love (Wait, so you mean to tell me that love is made up?! That ain't right! Exactly). It's taken one step further with his next song OMG, where he's just worshiping women by his admiration of their body parts. It makes him feel like a god-body. In this day and age, no one sees anything wrong with that. It's just a normal part of entertainment. Regardless, it's still politically incorrect and fits in with the theme. Notice how Will.I.Am performed with Nicki Minaj but not Usher? Wonder what that was about. Suspect.

The next performance, Dog Days Are Over by the Florence and the Machine, is up for a more queer theory interpretation. The performance was definitely about Moon Worship, as the "Moon Light" cast a glow on the stage. The manner of the dancing even suggest some occult worship to Luna the moon goddess and dancing under a spell. The title of the song even suggests that it's time for the cats to awaken in the night. Either way, moon worship and pagan rituals are certainly politically incorrect, continuing the theme.

And then there was TAYLOR SWIFT, who had no choice but to acknowledge last year's performance because of the mere anxiety that the media created for this year's performance created. Her song "innocent" was a perfect way to light up the stage, as she emerges from the gloom of last year's embarrassment and still finds a way to shine through it...being "still an innocent." Now, some might say, "That's gay." Well, so was Kanye's drunken "politically incorrect" interruption last year... no matter how true his statement was. The sunrise illuminates the stage at the end of her performance, suggesting that the star rises again. The guitar she used in this performance, gives her a fairy vibe.

Next up, Drizzy Drake featuring Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz. In this performance, Drake's name is in FLASHING LIGHTS, lighting up the stage as he descends down the stairs of illumination. Now, I'm going to make a bold statement (since neither Drake or Swizz is with this song), but....I think Heartbreak Drake is gay. How many guys do you know that can list the different tools a woman uses to get "fancy" for events? He says it himself, "you don't do it for the man, men never notice..." Not to mention, his gesticulations suggest a subtle gay flare, but who cares? Not me. Keeping along with the politically incorrect theme (g'head...), the gender-bender question, "oh, you fancy, huh?" promotes effeminate behavior. It's questionable.

Then there was Bruno Mars, B.o.B, and Hayley Williams (my soul mate), with a medley of "Nothin on You"/"Airplanes"/"ONLY EXCEPTION". The stage was first illuminated by a cluster of shooting stars, symbolic of where these performers are in their careers. All with a flamboyant flair, Hayley with her hair, Bruno with his metro-sexuality, and B.o.B. with his exuberant energy. Again, we see the continuation of the politically incorrect theme. Haley concludes their performance with her HIT single "Only Exception," the stage is lit up, or better illuminated, by close network of lantern light bulbs. Hailey's anti-romantic emo music is politically incorrect, on its own.

Next was Lincoln Park with their song "The Catalyst". Their performance took place at an OBSERVATORY, as they sang about the wrongs that can't be undone. This is obviously a worship song (something politically incorrect for an event such as the VMAs) but a worship song for the celestial bodies. Needless to say, a new found glory...a new found religion was lighting up the audience with excitement. Very interesting.

And LAST but not LEAST, KANYE WEST'S PERFORMANCE of his new single RUNAWAY. He opens up his performance with a BRILLIANT WHITE LIGHT...as he plays his own beat. Truly original, and the song is yet to begin. But then his song begins, and the content reveals something else... the song is addressed to one (or all) of the females he's been talking to. He says:

I always find somethin' wrong/
You been puttin' up wit' my shit just way too long/
I'm so gifted at findin' what I don't like the most/
So I think it's time for us to have a toast...

I don't know what it is with females/
But I'm not too good with that, shit/
See, I could have me a good girl/
And still be addicted to them hoodrats/ (notice how "hoodrats" is a good cover up, could be men)
And I just blame everything on you/
At least you know that's what I'm good at...

Let's have a toast for the douchebags,/
Let's have a toast for the assholes,/
Let's have a toast for the scumbags,/
Every one of them that I KNOW/
Let's have a toast to the jerkoffs/
That'll never take work off/
Baby, I got a plan/
Run away fast as you can...

HUH? HE'S GAY!!! And the pretty ballerina's...it's all a PLAY!!! But his suit fit well.

So, in conclusion, from the Glee Cast to the Gay soldiers, to Lady Gaga sweeping up and to Kanye cheering up, this was truly a night to remember. I have a strong feeling this was a ritual in light of queer theory (notice that everyone was wearing white, black, or red again this year) and that we will certainly see some of the themes I discussed shining through in popular culture.

Notable Reads: White House Diary by Jimmy Carter

Former President and Nobel Laurette, Jimmy Carter, has released a new book, White House Diary,  that is sure to be a best seller. This isn't just any book. This is his own personal DIARY from his term in the Oval office! Originally 5000 pages long at the end of his presidency in 1981, President Carter chose what he felt were the best entries and compiled them into a book.

President Carter was on the Larry King Live show and stated that the book touches upon some illuminating beats to his Presidency, including forceful advocacy for nuclear containment, sustainable energy, human rights, and peace in the Middle East (not to mention, some not-so-nice remarks about the late Senator Ted Kennedy). He also includes some retrospective commentary in annotation form for a comprehensive "then and now" look at the state of American politics. This is sure to be an AMAZING read!

Quality Time

It was way past seven

in a champagne heaven

and now they're just wishing for stars.

Arms outstretched,

they had a song on next,

from an ipod deck

while they rolled on the grass in the park.

A car drove by

like a long-term high

as they admired the expanse of the green.

She read KEATS

and he made beats

so they made out neat

when they spoke about the rage of machines.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer(s)

Can't. Wait.

Art: Jason Bryant and his exhibit "Trilogy"

From Juxtapoz.com:

"Trilogy is a continuation and further exploration of Jason Bryant's fascination with film, skateboarding culture and the presentation of the self. This show, opening Thursday, is composed of eight large-scale paintings, showcases his signature photorealistic style through aggressive compositional cropping and the uniform editing out of a subject's eyes with technical refinement."

Check out these pics from this exhibit: 

(This one is my favorite)

To read more about the exhibit and the artist click here. 

9/11...We Remember

"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children."
- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

Umbra by Malcom Southerland

Umbra (HD - 2010) from Malcolm Sutherland on Vimeo.

BRAIN TEASER. Oh boy, enjoy.

Lessons from Walt Disney : 3 Steps to Improve Self-Worth

What would we do without television and syndication? When I saw Aladdin was on TV tonight, I was besides myself like a child zealot.

I stand firm behind my beliefs that the Disney Fairytales ingrained a mythology about gender codes, racism, and fantasy into the minds of Generation X. But the reality is, we bought, we saw and we treasured those fairytales and the life lessons they subliminally taught us.

Back to Aladdin, I just wanted to highlight what I saw as "the point, behind the point," of  the three wishes.

First, let's remember the importance of the number 3. In numerology, as well as Children's literature, the number 3 represents the trilogy; specifically, the triangular components to spirituality. Interestingly enough, we are introduced to Abu, Aladdin's faithful companion (his monkey...smh, racist, but whatever) from the onset of the film. Then, we are introduced to the magic carpet... a representation of Aladdin's upward mobility. The trilogy is completed upon discovery of the genie in the lamp, who "illuminates" Aladdin to the possibilities of his life. This triumvirate is exactly what Aladdin needs to transform himself into a candidate for royal courtship.

His wishes, however, are what improve his worth...in particular, his "self-worth." Here's my breakdown of the metaphor behind the wishes of improving self-worth:

Wish/Step One: Getting Fit For Royalty

-The first step towards improving self-worth, especially in the matters of LOVE, is playing the part. From the onset of the movie, Aladdin knew, if given the opportunity, he would be able to show the world there was "so much more" to him than his exterior. The funny thing about the world we live in is that people need to respect the exterior before they even inquire about the interior (The Philosophy of Aesthetics). Dressing the part of the prince is fitting for acquiring the hand of Princess Jasmine, who knew wealth before she even met him and saw it in him despite his state of impoverishment. It's necessary to eventually rid yourself of rags for the one who treasured you when you were a peasant. Jasmine was worthy of his efforts.

Wish/Step Two: Rebirth For A New Life

- The second step for improving self-worth is the death of the old self for the rebirth of the new self. In literature and doctrines of societies that value enlightenment as a key to success, "the near death experience" is always partnered with a subsequent perspective change on the value of life. When Aladdin sinks to the bottom of the ocean, it prepares him for focusing on what is important for the next stage in life...whether that be marriage or a prospective Sultan.

Wish/Step Three: Adopting A Royal Ethic Code 
-The third and final step to improving self worth is having a strong ethical code that you stand by in times of great conflict and decision making. After Aladdin and the royal family are subjugated to abject humilation, the only way to defeat the a deceitful villain is by chaining him to his own obsession for power. After Jafar is defeated and the old order is restored, Aladdin chooses to keep his promise and free the genie instead of turning himself back into a prince. In doing so, he becomes a KING! To be truly worthy of the title royalty, you should realize you are no one's master. A good king wishes for the freedom of all his subjects. Especially the ones that helped make him into a King.

GREENSTREET UPDATE

Check out my favorite boys GREENSTREET doing their THING @ Church of Boston!! And they're going on tour next month stay tuned for more info on ticket sales...but MAC MILLER is in the building with them...CURREN$Y is in the buidling. Get excited!

A Chance of A Dance By the Lake

S U MM E R N I G H TS

have a certain rhythm to them,

like flapping wings.

Bonfires inspire,

musing soft things

to pull on strings.

Sing

a love song to ME

under the SPOTLIGHT

of the MOONLIGHT.

I might...

despite my spite for late romance.

You could... 

change the fact that I don't like to dance.

M U S I C

is not played by chance.

We both have noted circumstance

under the stars.

Our feet are dipped in silent, shallow waters;

hearts E C H O E D out to mars.

There's No Getting Over You...

This song is so TRUE. 'Nuff said. It's sooooo sick how this is a mashup and an original. LISTEN.

A Beautiful Mess

You're a beautiful mess

the way you stress the fact that you have flaws.

I'm in awe of how bad the world wants to look like you.

It brings out your inner critic who

never gives you enough credit.

Don't regret it.

Let it be.

I swear, you'll see!

LIFE is a joke and we're ALL clowns

and most days you just have to LAUGH

and guess the punchline before it's told.

We can cry about our flaws when we get old.

Japanese Staircase House

Standing two stories high, this house is fly and a staircase to the sky. It has an intimate interior for the Japanese family of four that owns it, but the enitre exterior is one massive staircase overlooking the Sea of Japan! Take a look!

To read more about this state of the art home...check out inhabitat .com

All pictures courtesy of Inhabitat.com

Black Swan: Will This Be Natalie Portman's First Oscar?

This is dark. This is deeply metaphorical. This is OSCAR worthy, I can just tell. Natalie Portman is one of my favorites and I think this film might gain her the accolades she deserves. Check it out!

Wise Words Wednesday with Serrano Legrand

Recently, I had a debate with Dr. Carl J Schramm, President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation (Valued at Nearly 5 BILLION dollars) about Social Entrepreneurship. The reality: I STILL want to CHANGE the World THROUGH Business and believe in the POWER of it...

"Find something you believe in. Once you find this, challenge the best. When you challenge the best and align it  with your own fortitude and analysis of outside discoveries, you are able to articulate your own discovery. Upon self-discovery, YOU WILL BE THE BEST. You will be GREAT." -Serrano Legrand

In short, GREATness inspires GREATness. If you can't inspire others to want to be GREAT, then your reality is off. Your search for self-discovery will remain the very thing you started off with: a search.

For more inspiration on a day-to-day basis follow Serrano on Twitter: @SerranoLegrand

Pretty Lights: NRL of 2LiveBoys Drops His Mixtape

So I know these guys... and they're 2 LIVE!! This is a track off of NRL's mixtape Living A Dream ... LISTEN! And if you like download the whole mixtape HERE! Enjoy!

What's Next? A Brief History of Generation X

Where did we come from? Where are we going? Where are we now? These questions have plagued mankind for many generations, and yet, it seems, questions of time and place have never been more relevant than this day and age. Ironically, existential questions are now intrinsically intertwined with those of the collective consciousness (i.e. how did "I" become "we"?). How did we, the generation of great change, arrive at this point in history? Let's site the temperment of this point in Time. We are living through what feels like the craziest times EVER. The word "conflict" is a universally understood term and many people are conflicted. Many things are at odds. But history is a chain of events and the present does not exist without the past. Our generation is a RESULT of the choices and circumstances made by those who made decisions for our parents. Every generation is a solution to the previous generation's limitations.

The Baby Boomers were limited in their scope of vision for the future. Their lack of vision foresaw the invention of madness. The Vietnam War, the Housewife, the Ghetto, the MAN, the Hippie, the Cold War, the advertising, the toys, the sex symbols were all resulting factors of their generation and contributing factors of madness. They severed the very essence of togetherness that  many policy makers had worked so hard to uphold. The "Golden Age of Television" played a destructive game of show and tell with the American people, who, again, found themselves conflicted. Are we the democratic robocops of the world or the intrusive judgmental eye on differing ways of life? Is a soldier a hero or a villain? Is perspective everything? The Baby Boomers were torn apart by the dangerous double edges of such rhetorical questions, but CONTINUED to digress from REAL resolution. 


They had seen too much. Their bubbles had been "POP"-ed by the mainstream. "Popular culture," as it became known, took a note from "the hippies" they once ostracized.The youth started dancing their stresses and pain away with the arrival of the MTV Network and the advent of the music video. Of course, once an independent lifestyle becomes mainstream, it becomes detrimental. The glorification of the vices of "Miami life" confused the first wave of the "MTV generation." They began abusing drugs and desensitcizing relationships by romanticizing romance wiith larger than life stars and surreal movie scenes. It seems that after the war, everyone went "fucking" nuts! The G.I. Joe Act from decades before had created a schism between suburbia and the inner city ghetto, and the affects of popular culture on low-income "hoods" created several subcultures to perpetuate the vicious cycle of capitalism. They overpopulated the already over-crowded inner city and masked the problem by distorting hip hop culture, BLACK culture into something gaudy and materialistic. Meanwhile, the upper class increased their wealth. Big Businesses were on the rise again after an industrial collapse. And together, the classes, with their varying institutions of thought, continued to increase the birth rate...

And birthed GENERATION X. The most CONFUSED generation to date...

We may have discovered AOL and advanced technology, but the Baby Boomers saw TRUE LOVE. For that, they forever have one up on us. Generation X, the "Second Wave" of the MTV generation, is also the ADD generation. We can't focus on any one thing for too long because we have too many options. The Vietnam War, the first televised war, made the parents of Generation X insane. Women were fighting to get out of the kitchen and into the work force. Pedophiles moved into the neighborhoods. Veterans were drinking in cardboard boxes on street corners, raving mad about a system that had forgotten about them. Overworked fathers, still clinging onto the American Dream, became alcoholics. Psychology and Sigmund Freud began diagnosing after the fact. The time span of wars became highly concentrated and people lived in fear of the Soviets, of Communism, of Atomic Energy. Generation X was birthed into a world that worked on fear. Kids were kept indoors and in front of a TV, being programmed to obsess about "things" they didn't need to boost the suffering economy.

The parents of Generation X were being swindled by prospering "Mad Men." The TV became a baby sitter. The baby sitter became a gossip, attentive in all the wrong ways. And the advent of Home Entertainment became a new psychological addiction. Video games, Teen Dramas, Wrestling, Commercials, Hollywood...The Industry! Big TVs, big stereos, COMPUTERS! The Patriarchy, once upheld by the nuclear family, was now upheld by a new type of "digitized" Matrix! Sound waves and high frequencies from all directions blocked people from thinking on their own. Subliminal messages were everywhere and inescapable and the media, with it's negative overcast, pretended to be confused about Columbine, JonBonet Ramsey, Anorexia, armed robbery and unabombers when they perpetuated the insane images to begin with!

And so, Generation X, a generation born into fear, clung onto the fairy tales that the "Disney World" provided them. But cartoons "stopped being polite, and started getting REAL." Then violent. The "anti-hero" was placed on a pedestal as a protagonist, while supermarkets profited. Cartoons were used to advertise foods lacking nutrients and kids were more concerned with the toy in the happy meal than they were with the fat saturated burger. GENERATION X became obsessed with bringing to life a fantasy that wasn't real to begin with. We started making barbies and robots out of ourselves, without even realizing what we were doing! Divorce rates sky rocketed. It seemed the parents of the era of the first wave were late in concluding that fairytales don't exist. They were stubborn and couldn't give up on their American dream. They fooled themselves into believing they were making progress, despite the fact that their minds and their spirits were conflicted.


With depleting resources and down sizing, the Middle Class and their youth became the topic of debate. Politics became entertainment as Liberals and Conservatives took the stage, playing two sides of the same coin. And here we are, the second wave of the final current. A generation with so much potential for change, but no direction. We have no definitive stand points but progression at any cost. Knowledge, science, numbers, are the only universal truths. Religion is not the crazy glue for most families and communities that it once was. 

Today's youth barely pray and are desperately searching for their spirituality, often turning to basic Astrology as means for knowledge of self. So NOW... our generation faces our own set of double-edged questions. Do we progress in an unhealthy direction or regress to aid those suffering at the hands of neglect? Do we continue to seek enlightenment, perhaps to the defeat of morality, or do we remain ignorant behind the veil of comforting fairy tales?

We don't know. We don't give a fizzuck. "SHOTS,SHOTS, SHOTS!!!"

So, we smoke more potent marijuana then the hippies did. So much so, its legalization has become politically debated as a solution to yet another recessing economy.  We self-medicate worse than the first wave so we can escape the fact we're feeling pressured by the uncertainty of the future. And because its fun. Middle school students are drinking. High school students are fainting from intoxication. College students are dying, for the relationships they wished they had or that their parents had. We party to the beat of hypersexuality. Contraception is wide spread and necessary. It's also unhealthy and unnatural. And scientists are claiming that the end of the human being is close, with the nearing of the next stage of our evolution...Homo Evolutus. The World is over populated. China instituted the "one-child rule." Other countries let people STARVE. Water will soon be an expensive commodity and, if we are not careful, the endangerment of the middle class will be REAL. Socialism is coming to America and it's not coincidence that music videos have begun portraying the militia-state.


Learn from your past. We are NOT exempt from drastic change. We are change.... A beat poet was handed a lobotomy for dishing out the truth about the Vietnam War and politics. Now, the beat poets are heroes...and vegetables... Or dead. People should have heeded the warning of the concerned for the unaware.

Unfortunately, it's about time for a civil war.It's about time for a renaissance. It's about time for a reconstruction of the system. It's about time for self-awareness. In 50 years, we will be history. What will they be saying about us? They'll say we lived through terrorism, lived through cloning, lived to see the first Black president. What's next for Generation X? Z...the end, because no one can figure out why.

Coming full circle, how did "I" become "we"? Group think. Help yourself and afford yourself a life. Social entrepreneurs will see the future. They handed you a dream but remember you have your own. Resist brainwashing.