Thank You
Forever grateful to the ones who fought, praying for the safe return of the ones still fighting. But for real, let's dead the wars...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Single Guy: Cleanliness In Next To Godliness
In all of the madness of the elections last week, I completely forgot to do the weekly syndication of Kev Clark's blog "The Single Guy" over @ Hello Beautiful. This week he ponders the message his ever-present facial scruff is sending to potential targets, er, dates:
Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness
By Kevin L. Clark November 10, 2008 12:33 pm
That phrase seemingly hasn’t hurt my dating life as much as I thought it would by living in trendy New York. Surrounded by tastemakers and fashionistas, it wasn’t until a wholesome Christian girl knocked some hellfire and brimstone from my arse that I learned how close to God I could’ve been.
Plus, the scruff factor serves as a truth teller amongst women. I know you guys have the up-and-down glance made into a science - with a checklist in your head just to keep things you like in order. But with me, you get to see my personality shine through the good, the bad, the ugly and jacked-up hair days.
Amid all this college kid angst enters Kennedy, a 23-year-old grad student who attended Columbia as a Psych major. She could honestly have any man she wanted with her bubbly personality, sexy lips, 1000-watt mile and poofy hair that’d make Maxwell jealous. I tried to earn this girl’s attention every Thursday when we’d both be at Cody’s Grill for lunch.
I was attracted, yet she had no clue who I was. Contrary to my homie Carl’s belief, I don’t chase girls - I jog. And as fate would have it, she had just come back from a run and wanted a drink. I, with two lunchtime Coronas in my hand, sensed the urgency and inquired if she wanted one. She gave me the “look” and her face slightly turned smug.
My smile was my shield from judgment and, reluctantly, she took the beer and invited me to sit down. Eventually, we discussed how familiar it was to see each other here every Thursday, talked about the places we partied at and how much a Columbia education costs. When we touched on the subject of dating and being single, she blurts out, “You’ve probably been single for a couple of years now, huh?”
“Four, actually,” I replied and her beautiful eyes lit up. “You know why, right?” she asks. I shake my head no and she answers with, “…all the scruff and gruff - the girls probably don’t like it.” I rebuttal with, “You keep smiling,” and she says, “Only to keep from laughing!” Ouch. Base! My feelings were tinged, but not burnt. But she turned up the heat when she managed to clown my hairline, my Old Navy hoodie and my Bo Jackson sneakers all in a 15-minute time span.
In all that she finally broke it down to me:
“A lady doesn’t really care if you have the washboard abs and the silver tongue to make all the girls come. But when you make absolute NO attempt at trying to get her attention, then you’re failing yourself. Simply put, cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
And with that said…
Ladies… Can a man with personality and wit outshine the dude who wears Dolce & Gabbana with a NY fitted hat and some Timbs? Or are we slaves to personal preferences? Speak on it!
Check out last week's entry, "I'm Through With Dating Black Girls" here.Saturday, November 8, 2008
WTFuckery: Blood On The Sand
Back during the summer when I first started this blog, I asked my dear friend Kevin J from over at 410 Scrolls to grace Write For Freedom's presence with a guest post, because he's an awesome writer and stoopid funny. It took him a while, but he's finally come around with his latest stroke of literary genius: an overview of the clusterfuck that is the video game 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.
Enjoy:
"THQ Inc. today announced the acquisition of the publishing rights for 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. The highly anticipated sequel to the multi-million unit selling title 50 Cent: Bulletproof, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand will put gamers in the role of world famous hip hop artist 50 Cent as he, and members of G-Unit, battle their way across two war-torn countries on a mission to collect payment from a crime cartel boss. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is currently scheduled for worldwide release in early 2009, featuring run and gun shooter game play, brawler style combat, online co-op and eighteen exclusive new 50 Cent tracks." [THQ Announces Acquisition of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand]
Essentially, what the preceding the paragraph dictates is that Fiddy is coming back for one more round in the videogame realm after the commercially successfully, but god-awful, mind-numbing, eyes-bleeding experience that was his previous game title, "50 Cent: Bulletproof" (an epic that detailed his hunt for hitmen that attempted to end him). I'm never one to knock the hustle. I do try not to, often and with discretion. I wonder though – how does someone transcend making music to stopping terrorism to regaining some bling that he lost. And yes, that's the story.
"When 50 was onsite at Vivendi with Tony Yayo, one of the things they challenged us to do was introduce new elements of gameplay in the game," Blean said. "Instead of having them always running and gunning, they wanted something that would break the pace of that." So "Blood on the Sand" will include vehicle missions such as a driver-and-turret-gunner Humvee road chase and a helicopter-borne shootout, in which 50 and his ally "rain death from above" onto enemies in a city." [50 Cent Video Game Exclusive: 'Blood On The Sand' Details, First Images Revealed]
The first game was essentially a G-Unit album wrapped with the marketing appearance of a videogame and multimedia tie-ins. But it was bad. So, so very bad. And you never want to down someone else's hard work, and I'm sure the staff on the game worked hard – but it was bad. Just. Bad. Blood on the Sand doesn't seem like it will fare that much better. For the more technical among you, the game runs on the Unreal 3 engine, a game engine that powers some extremely high-profile and great looking games. Do I really want to watch Fiddy drink Vitamin Water while shooting terrorists to get back his bling? If you answered yes, then welcome to the target demographic. Curtis greets you with open arms.
Maybe I am approaching this all wrong. Maybe this will be a journey rich with subtext and philosophical themes, changing the way we envision what conflict resolution on a worldwide scale could be. Maybe Fiddy is the future. Let's examine some of his body of work. From the work that transcends time, "Gunz Come Out":
"I'll come through and touch ya, walk out then cut ya
In case your dumbass wanna tussle
AR-15, co-exist to make the shell case muffle
Scope, infrared, run you're still dead
Hit your calf, hit your ass, hit ya back, then your head
Contract killa, murder for the scrilla
Search, find a nigga, run up behind a nigga
Shoot car windows out to flatline a nigga"
If we can't depend on Fiddy to "shoot car windows out to flatline a nigga" and take that same vibrancy and leadership overseas – then who can we depend on? If celebrities can't insert themselves into scenarios they never would directly participate in, and thus make a great deal of money on it that will never find its way to the families of those who do make a difference every day placing their life on the line, then what's the point of even getting out of bed in the morning?
We Love You Too, Fiddy. Go Get 'Em.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Obamapalooza Videos
I'm on Vimeo now :) If anyone has an account with them, feel free to add me. That being said, check out me and my +1 on the ticket/partner-in-crime Alex in my wobbly Flip Video Ultra clips from the Election Night rally in Grant Park:
Inside Grant Park: http://www.vimeo.com/2177804
Finally @ The Rally: http://www.vimeo.com/2177848
The Beach Ball: http://www.vimeo.com/2177848
Yes We Can! Yes We Did!: http://www.vimeo.com/2178040
I got footage of his speech, but it surpasses the upload limit for the week so I'll have to do it next Thursday when it resets. That night was so surreal - all of this is. Definitely one of the best nights of my life.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
"Obamapalooza" in Grant Park
FINALLY! Here are my personal photos from the now infamous Election Night rally at Grant Park in Downtown Chicago dubbed by many as "Obamapalooza." They start off showing the crowds that were gathering in the early afternoon around 2 PM and ends with the deluge of people leaving the gathering around 11:30 PM:
YES. WE. DID.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Yes. We. Did
This is a time for celebration and rejoice, without a doubt...but we have a long road ahead of us. My friend Paul put it like this:
"Now the real work begins.
Holding Washington accountable and making sure that President Obama (man, I love the sound of that) lives up to the promise of candidate Obama.
Obama is not the messiah, he's still a politician. As much as I believe that we'll be on a much better course as a nation, power does things to people.
Obama is not impervious.
Let's all make a promise to each other that we wont let our government squander this incredible opportunity we've given it.
No free passes.
No blind eyes.
Don't sleep y'all. "
Word.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thriller: Indian Style
I saw this about 2 years ago initially, but it is one of the greatest things you will ever watch. I figure since the MJ version of "Thriller" gets just a *tad* overdone this time of year but you can't have Halloween without it, I decided to switch it up and go Indian-style:
Yet another indication that I am WAY too easily amused >_<
Happy Halloween! Go easy on the witches brew or potion or whatever it is that you end up imbibing tonight. Last time I checked, puke shouldn't ever be a part of your costume ;)
The Single Guy @ Hello, Beautiful
Breaking News...
Starting today Write For Freedom will be syndicating a weekly blog via Hello, Beautiful. It's a bit of a departure from the usual content that I generate here, but when Kevin Clark asked me to cross post his writing I figured it'd be good to break up the monotony of all the music-related randomness that's kind of my thing in this here blog o' mine. Under the label "The Single Guy" he writes about his experiences as he navigates the dating scene in NYC, a far cry from his small-town upbringing in Kent, OH. Kevin and his way with words are a hot mess sometimes (in a good way of course), so his stories are pretty hilarious. It's worth a read - there's something everyone can relate to @ some point. So, without any further ado...
Black Magic Woman
By Kevin L. Clark October 27, 2008 4:51 pm
By Kevin L. Clark October 27, 2008 4:51 pm
I believe that one of the most precious things on this Earth is a black woman. The way y’all walk, talk and even sass can light this Scorpio’s passionate flame and I can’t get enough of it. But, if I knew what type of spell this “black magic woman” would cast on me, then I would’ve never have went to Lotus that night…
Her name was Denay and she had to be the finest girl in the club that night. I called her “friend,” but everyone else had some more clever connotations for the Harlem dimepiece. “Ay, aye, aye, aaaayyyeee!” was cool for starters. “Shawty with the phat ass,” was another one. She never would answer to comments like that and on this particular night, she looked like she got dressed in sin with a dress that hugged her curves so right that I wanted to call her mama.
The fates must’ve been in the air because as they would have it, Denay thought that I looked pretty official myself. She stalked me through the crowd to ask about my shirt. I replied to let her know that it was just something to wear. She smiled… I did too… and a whole lot of drinks were consumed! We enjoyed the next few hours on the dance floor, navigating in our own personal world. But I must say, in trying not to offend any born-and-bred New Yawkers, this: “Y’all can’t dance…”
See. Told you he was a hot mess.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Manic Music Monday @ GangstarrGirl.com
The picture above pretty much sums up how I feel today for a number of reasons, but I digress. Luckily I was able to channel some of that irritation into creative fuel to put together a damn entertaining edition of Manic Music Monday for this week. Check it out here. Yezzur! © Pharrell
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