PERCEPTION

“Something to think about….

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.

How many other things are we missing?”

via bitsofwisdom & killeveryvirusinneverland

 

IT’S AMERICA’S BIRTHDAY…

…but for some it’s just another routine check.

Red white and blue lights blaze the sky like it’s the 4th Day of July, but it’s not the 4th Day of July, it’s a Friday night in the Winter! F*ck firecrackers – these crackers fire at n*ggas!

Also,

Happy Indepedence Day America

SHADES OF GRAY

“It’s a beautiful thing that, in a country once divided by the concept of black and white, we now have a black – and white president.”
– Kanye West

PIECE HOMEDAWG

“if we can’t make love, we can always make peace, can’t we?” -shing02

In the context of Counterstrike:

Counterstrike for Kids

via gojira

THE FACE OF A BOY HEARING FOR THE FIRST TIME

“This photo was taken by photographer Jack Bradley and depicts the exact moment this boy, Harold Whittles, hears for the very first time ever. The doctor treating him has just placed an earpiece in his left ear.  Date unknown.”

Source: Arbroath

DROPIN’ THE ‘KANYE BOMB’

Graphic via publicen3my

This entry is a response to a comment made by one of my friends on Kanye West (and rappers in general) dropping the ‘N bomb’ in their songs:

“I was also listening to Kanye’s remix album Sky High. One thing about that guy really bugs me, well it’s all african american muscicans that use the “N” word. First, [why] would you use that word in the first place? And then, I read this article while looking up stuff about him, and Kanye goes and talks about it being “so totally beautiful that we have a black/white president in a country that was once divided by black/white”, are you kidding me? … You make a big deal out of a half black guy becoming president, and think it’s such a huge step towards a less racist country (it is, I agree with that), but then you use the N word? … Really bothers me. I think the song I was using it to kept describing the song itself as “black nigger music”, repeating that phrase like a hundred times, or something of the sort. I skipped past it. Unless it sounds different in context …, I lost respect of him for that.”

I’m personally not gonna speak too much on the issue, but here is an excerpt from a cover story on Kanye West from Time that will hopefully shed some light:

Like most people who’ve ever stared into a camera lens or picked up a microphone, West is better at integrating his flaws into his art than into his personality. As he says on the new song Touch the Sky, “I’m trying to right my wrongs/ But it’s funny the same wrongs help me write this song.” Still, his behavior during awards season was reminiscent of the video-set collision between church architecture and large breasts.  It seemed a little forced. “He’s trying to change this genre, and in order to do that he’s got to get people to listen to his music,” says a fervent McDaniels. “They’ve gotten so used to hardness, to stupidity, that if he has to engage in a little of that to be relevant, so be it.”

"'He's trying to change this genre, and in order to do that he's got to get people to listen to his music,' says a fervent McDaniels. 'They've gotten so used to hardness, to stupidity, that if he has to engage in a little of that to be relevant, so be it.'" Image via zingboom

West won’t cop to exaggerating his petulance. “I was just trying to create some entertainment,” he says, adding that his act will probably tone down in the future because “people mature” and “I have a lot more to lose.” In another context he admits to a contradiction truly worthy of him: in his attempt to shatter the rapper stereotype, he’s sometimes willing to behave stereotypically. “Take the word nigga,” West says. “I don’t like the word, and I made an attempt to change it on this new song Crack Music”–an indictment of drug abuse. “I tried saying, ‘This is crack music, homey,’ but it just didn’t have the same impact. My mom’s a teacher, and I’m kind of a teacher too. But the hood, the suburbs, MTV and BET are my classrooms, and I know how to talk to my class.” The word nigga appears multiple times on the album.

…

The College Dropout was 76 minutes of someone cramming every thought he’d ever had about himself into rhyme. It was immaculately produced, but what made it compelling was the contradictions. The song Jesus Walks mixed spirituality with skepticism and rap with gospel. All Falls Down slammed the “single black female addicted to retail” but concluded with West admitting, “I wanna act ballerific, like it’s all terrific/ I got a couple past due bills, I won’t get specific/ I got a problem with spending before I get it/ We all self-conscious, I’m just the first to admit it.” Throughout, West careered between the Protestant ethic and street fantasies, revealing himself to be wise and stupid, arrogant and insecure, often in the same breath. But by baring his flaws and being self-critical–and daring listeners to do the same–he created a fresh portrait of African-American middle-class angst, and you could dance to it.

Source: Time

(Tyrangiel, Josh. ”Why You Can’t Ignore Kanye: More GQ than gangsta, Kanye West is challenging the way rap thinks about race and class–and striking a chord with fans of all stripes.” Time 166.9 [August 29, 2005])

On another note, I wanted to feature the work of zingboom, the artist behind the illustrations of Kanye’s lyrics.

THE MORE YOU KNOW & BESTDOGBRO

“It took us a couple days because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak.”

— President Obama, on when asked by a CNN representative why he waited two days to make a statement about the AIG bonuses.

From today’s Presidential Address.

–

On another note, this is the flyest dog you will ever see:

BestDogBro from nerdvin

Journey’s, Dumb N****rs, “N*GGA PLEASE? NAW NINJA, PRESIDENT PLEASE,” and You

According to Journey’s, if you return things, you are a dumb n*gger.

“On Oct 17, 2008, a young man went to “Journey’s” show store in Kansas City, MO (some accounts of this story say it happened in Kansas City KS…Oak Park Mall). He bought a pair of shoes and then saw an identical pair at a different store for less.? As such, he bought the identical shoes from the cheaper store and took back the original more pricey pair to Journey’s. Later on that night, as he was reviewing the receipt, he noticed that the reason for the return was “Dumb N*gger”. When he took the receipt back to the store, they didn’t even apologize but did admit that the “reason” was in the system.”
– Source: Hello Negro

CSI Miami on Journey’s… I couldn’t resist.

–> Watch the news report from KMBC-TV here.

“This store is a retail chain for whom you may be a regular customer. There is power in the almighty dollar. Just something to consider. Please pass it along…”
– Hello Negro

In more cheerful news…

Presidents in New York are replacing the “N-word” with “President.” President please? Yes my prez.

The President Please mission statement:

“President Please is a non-profit organization dedicated to the abolition of “the N-Word” and it’s replacement with the word “President”.

We’ve been deeply inspired by Barack Obama, whose led the entire country down a new road to freedom and self-empowerment. Since we finally have an African American in the Oval Office, there is no better time for the black community to embrace a new optimism. We hope that this website will inspire hope, change, and a renewed positive attitude which we can carry into the future. Our dream is that every child born after January 20, 2009 won’t ever hear the N-Word.

Who’s with us? Where my Presidents at?”
– Source: PresidentPlease.com

William Sykes and Elton Montgomery, co-founders of the organization President Please, have already gained the attention of local news media.

How successful will they be?

You decide.

Journey’s Story Links:
- Story on Hello Negro
- KMBC-TV News Report

President Please Links
- PresidentPlease.com
- YouTube Channel

Journey’s story via Carrie
President Please via David Zheng

Immortal Technique tells it how it is

NSFW. Immortal Technique’s music isn’t always in my taste, but I’ve always respected the brotha. Tech brings up some good points in this new, scarcely watched video from the “Hands Off Gaza” event.

Eighteen Guidelines for Living

An except from Life’s Little Instruction Book

“1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
I guess in other words, you get out what you put in.

2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Ha ha, I sure enough took the time to analyze what went wrong after losing the campaign…

3. Follow the three Rs:
- Respect for self
- Respect for others
- Responsibility for all your actions
Simple concept…

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Like when I lost my campaign for class vice presidency but got offered something better!

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Ninja ;D