I hope our nation realizes that electing a new president was only the beginning of this new way of thinking we need to embrace. With a fierce battle waging between capitalism, socialism , Marxism, racism, terrorism, nationalism – let’s do more than just cross our fingers that the prevailing philosophy will be volunteerism.

Over at the Smoking Gun, they have reported on an MTV interview with Barack Obama about the new ordinance in Riviera Beach, FL banning the “sagging” of pants, a style popular amongst the youth, the skate/surf crowd, and of course, the cause of all of the world’s problems: the hip hop culture.

The big questions for me: is the law against wearing your pants/shorts below what the government determines is your waist, or is the law against the exposure of underwear? If it’s all about the waist, who gets to decide where a 2008 American waistline should be? What if you were wearing gym shorts under your underwear, and just the shorts were seen or exposed? Are underwear really that offensive? Are seeing exposed, multi-colored boxers any different than seeing someone at the beach in board shorts? Don’t we see advertisements with people in their underwear on tv, magazines, billboards, newspapers, and in the mail everyday?

What if you were wearing shorts with extra big and long pockets that could be worn at the waist but are baggy enough they appear you are wearing them 3 inches below the waist? Is seeing underwear worse than seeing someone without a shirt on? What if you were trying to be a good citizen and your belt broke, and you were on your way to the store to purchase a new one? Would you get leniency? I’m not sure of their motives, but I’ve seen women’s attire be far more borderline indecent; I’ve seen people wearing bandanas look far more menacing; and I’ve seen t-shirts with words and sentiments are far more obscene. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t I allowed to wear a shirt that says “F*ck You”?

I’m curious how the statute reads. As a rule, all vague laws should be deemed unconstitutional. As a part of our due process in this country derived from the 5th and 14th Amendments:

If a person of ordinary intelligence cannot determine what persons are regulated, what conduct is prohibited, or what punishment may be imposed under a particular law, then the law will be deemed unconstitutionally vague. The U.S. Supreme Court has said that no one may be required at peril of life, liberty, or property to speculate as to the meaning of a penal law. Everyone is entitled to know what the government commands or forbids.

It’s fairly easy to pinpoint laws created to attack particular groups of people whether it’s the youth or black people. I feel everyone has the right to be comfortable in how they dress and choose their own appearance, as long as it isn’t causing harm to another citizen, or violates rules of private businesses or certain places because of the distracting nature (i.e. school, church, etc.) I remember when I was in high school, our administration actually voted and placed a ban on any t-shirts soliciting any association, promotion, or related imagery with Marilyn Manson. At the time, I remember thinking how ridiculous and insane that seemed to me, even as a 16-year old kid who knew very little about life and discrimination – but not caring because it wasn’t an injustice directed towards me. This was also around the same time when my mind started developing realizations that adults were not superheroes – they were just older versions of myself, capable of making the same stupid mistakes, having the same poor judgment, but clouded by preconceived perceptions, outside influences, and how their “neighbors” thought about them.

It’s not the president’s responsibility though to enter in and intervene in municipal politics. That’s what local politicians are for. Those people who oppose such gross misuses of power and government resources should be using their local voice to influence local politicians. Politicians that want to stay in office, do what the people nag them for – and if they know that the spectrum of people who decide if they get re-elected has ballooned, and more people are a part of the political process, then they will be more likely to cater to those groups. I hope people of all color and age, take their involvement in getting Barack Obama elected as a sign that we need to be more involved with politics on every level of government across the whole country.

Hopefully, people will see that for the most part, the things they did to support the presidential election and candidate, were not all that complicated or time-consuming. I’m glad that this election motivated and inspired people to register and join the political process, no matter what they’re reasons for doing so. More voices = more opinions = more chances of finding solutions. If you feel that strongly about it, the great thing about our country is that you can travel down to Riviera Beach, FL and do something about it.

Mike Tyson & Bobby Brown sing the “Monster Mash” on The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

The “how many” on Halloween 2008 won’t be in regards to the amount of candy, but the amount of Obama/McCain/Palin/Joe the Plumber costumes I will have to come across. Happy Halloween, everyone.

Just some lesser known gems from around the music spectrum.

Notorious B.I.G. – “4 The Macs & Dons”

Nas – “Jungle” feat. Olu Dara

John Lennon & Ringo Starr – “I’m the Greatest”

Bonus:

MGMT – “Electric Feel”

Focus – “Hocus Pocus”

John McCain caught me off-guard with one statement he made tonite:

It’s time to change the American culture.

Should the president, who is only one man in a nation of millions, have the right to shape American culture how he sees fit? Isn’t he there to serve the people? Shouldn’t Americans shape American culture? The president is merely supposed to be the figurehead guide for the political process. If the American people decide as an overwhelming collective that we want to celebrate and integrate into our American culture that October 16th will be “National Wear-Your-Underwear-on-Your-Head Day” – doesn’t the president have a duty to serve our interests and not his opinion of our interests?

Related Links: Find out which presidential candidate represents your beliefs the best.

Posted in new Tagged: civil rights, culture, election 2008, government, politics ]]> http://moonwort.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/american-culture-vs-john-mccain/feed/ 1 moonwort http://moonwort.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/the-definition-of-poverty/ http://moonwort.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/the-definition-of-poverty/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:15:20 +0000 moonwort http://moonwort.wordpress.com/?p=262 ]]>

In support of Blog Action Day, we should all take an opportunity to reflect on the reality of poverty. I definitely think there are two types of people when it comes to the issue of poverty: those who acknowledge it and have seen proof of it’s existence (and in some sense can probably relate), and those who exile the idea from their minds and simply sweep it under the rug. The basic idea of poverty is that you are unable to afford necessities. The homeless vagrants standing out front of 7-11 asking for change certainly exhibit traits of being poor. But, the reality is – people who have jobs, have cars, rent houses, have children, and vote – are also poor.

Every year the federal government is nice enough to tell us who is poor and who is not. For 2007, the imaginary poverty line for a single person under the age of 65 was set at $10,787 – and at $21,027 for a family of four. By this logic, someone who makes an astounding $15,000/year is actually fairly well off.  But, with the average rent/mortgage payment in the U.S. hovering near $700 each month – how can someone making 11K per year not be poor, when devoting nearly 75% of their income just to the basic principle of shelter? I can remember being in this income bracket, with nothing but a 5 lb box of rice to tide me over – everything else was a luxury.  How can someone muster up the gas money, application fee, and cost of books to go to college when a gallon of gas is equivalent to what they make in 60 minutes of work?

It’s time that the ‘powers that be realistically’ address the definition of poverty.

In the meantime, read George Clason’s “The Richest Man in Babylon” (pdf).

Find out what you can do to take a stand against poverty in your community.

And of course, whether rich or poor, don’t forget to vote November 4th.

Posted in new Tagged: books, capitalism, consumerism, culture, economy, finances, government, mind power, poverty ]]> http://moonwort.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/the-definition-of-poverty/feed/ 1 moonwort http://moonwort.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/is-it-opposite-day-in-sarah-palins-world/ http://moonwort.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/is-it-opposite-day-in-sarah-palins-world/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:58:22 +0000 moonwort http://moonwort.wordpress.com/?p=253 ]]>

For those of you who have been in a decontamination center: Sarah Palin apparently got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. With the swell of information regarding the 2008 elections, Obama being a “terrorist”, John McCain hating “gooks”, and the economy vaporizing – someone easily could have missed the scandal that the McCain-Palin ticket has worked hard to bury.

Basically, Sarah Palin’s sister married the wrong guy and her governor sister came to her aid when things seemed to spiral beyond her sister’s control. Being the arrogant maverick that she is – she fought back, and basically wanted to show her brother-in-law, who was a State Trooper, who had the most swagger in the state of Alaska. Palin attempted to impose “impermissible pressure…on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda” and used her role as governor to cast unethical influence on others to push for the termination of the in-law, and ultimately to fire the subordinates who resisted. And she got caught, and has proceeded to intervene and disrupt the investigation in any way possible – often referring to the legitimate investigation into her as a “circus.

So what is Sarah Palin’s response to the investigation’s findings which showed she was unethical and abused her powers?

“Sometimes the most important thing you need to know about a politician is the frequency and enthusiasm and skill with which they lie to you.” [Note: It's no longer if they lie, it's how well they do it.]

The easiest way to verbalize what Mrs. Palin showed us in her responses – is to say – she thinks it is “Opposite Day.” Remember that great childhood game when if you wanted someone to do something, you asked them not to – and if you wanted them to not do something, you begged them for it. What if the politicians involved in Watergate simply said “Finally, the investigation shows we are innocent!”? I’m not sure of the actual power the investigating committee has, but it seems from Palin’s comments that she is playing semantics. Her emphasis in both comments of being cleared of any legal wrongdoing is probably how she justifies with herself that it is in fact NOT lying – but merely pointing out the lack of authority of the committee, who cannot find her legally guilty of anything.

In honor of this great display of undeniable support for the spirit of “Opposite Day” – Sarah Palin, we love you.

Related article: Son of Troopergate, Sarah Palin files an ethics complaint against herself?

Courtesy of Oh Word.

1. 100 Great Obscure Rap Songs, 2. Large Professor Discusses Main Source, Nas, New Album (Video), 3. The Sample From Nas’s “Life Is Like A Dice Game” Revealed, 4. Junior Mafia “Player’s Anthem” Beat Deconstructed, 5. A Buyer’s Guide For Out Of Print Rap Albums, 6. Pete Rock Discusses Sampling Techniques (Video), 7. The Entire Fondle ‘Em Discography Available For Download, 8. A Guide To Assessing Vinyl Rarity, 9. Seven Volumes Of KRS-One Songs Not Included On His Albums, 10. RZA Breaks Down The Science of “Bong Bong” (Video), 11. 4 Hours Of Biggie Songs Mixed By Mr. Cee, 12. DJ Clark Kent Discusses Crate Digging, Sneakers, Jay-Z, 13. Large Professor Interviews @ Cocaine Blunts, 14. Latin Party Starters Selected By O-Dub, 15. Cypress Hill Temples Of Boom Reviewed Track By Track, 16. An Audio History of NYC Hip Hop Radio, 17. DJ Evil Dee “Pure Dope Mixtape” (Podcast), 18. Illmatic Promo (Video), 19. Rosenberg Radio – De La Soul mix & Interview, Large Pro Interview, 20. Source March 1995 Issue w/ Slick Rick (downloadable .pdf)

For the record, I just don’t get this:

Two weeks ago over 5,000 of you posted your numbers here for texting secrets – and last week over 10,000 of you did. By telling your friends about this experiment of “anonymous intimacy” we are growing it into a movement!

Keep spreading the word! (Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg etc.)

1. Email your secrets to the most recently added numbers in the comments section below.
2. List your number in the comments section. (To get more secrets post it again.)
3. Invite your friends to share their secrets and list their numbers too.

Does this mean I am getting old if I can’t grasp the appeal or concept? How is this anything different than something that could be achieved via an instant messenging service, email, chatrooms, message boards (relating to your “secret”), or even a journal. What if the man who shot the guy for wearing a Barack Obama shirt text messages his secret to someone? In the new age of web 2.0 and the dominance of social media, where does the duty to snitch fall – especially without any “therapist/patient privilege” blanket to hide in?

To me, the real irony is: half of those MySpace users who posted their phone numbers for the public to have and use had their MySpace profiles marked as ‘private’ to prevent “non-Friends” from seeing and viewing their page. Completely logical, yeah?

The new series on FX, Sons of Anarchy, is a fitting project to take up the reigns when Vic Mackey and “The Shield” get two to the back of the head after this season. I’m not sure if some of the revered talent formerly at other masterpiece-script shows wandered over after the writing strike, but each episode plays out like a mini-movie (something I applaud FX for) with another disaster diverted in the name of the “the club.” I think a simple theme of what I’ve seen so far is that: problems beget problems, lies require more lies, chaos brings chaos. In just a few episodes, the show already has already put on an immense display of characterization, as the backdrops to the stories of the main figures began to unravel each moments plays more and more notes of the soundtrack to their lives.

I think if people took a devoted look at the lead character, Jax (played by Charlie Hunnan) they’d see bits and pieces of themselves, scattered all through out – similar to most great, conflicted lead characters. He comes off as humble, smart, charming (coincidentally, also the name of the town the drama is set in) – and just so happens to co-lead a historic bike gang he embraced due to nepotism (Source: See dead father, mother, and current club president/stepfather) that pre-determined his fate. Do bad things, but be conflicted about the price you’re willing to pay to achieve goals – and then return to charming, but misguided youth the next day. Some might call that a psychopath. I just call it depth. And reality.

The other characters (Peggy from ‘Married with Childen, Hellboy, and the white guy who gets paralyzed in Remember The Titans) make up what seems to be an FX theme….large, stellar casts of semi-forgotten/semi-successful actors or maybe just those due for a comeback. But, the tug o’ war between the open-road warrior and the open-minded explorer is the real eye of the storm. Struggling for identity, struggling for the grasp of his father’s true aspirations and inner ideals, struggling to fill shoes, struggling to keep blood off his hands – and off his heart (and away from the hands of karma). I think we can all relate to that struggle between good and bad – and can all relate to the ability to justify any bad when you’ve yet to truly open your mind, and accept change.

Thankfully in 2008, the minds of Americans are beginning to waken up somewhat – and it’s not that unconventional to suggest that the majority of what we think when growing up is pre-programmed from outside sources. What is dictated by the school, what is dictated by the television, what is dictated by our parents with their own beliefs based on their pre-conditioning, images in music, commercials, the consumer market – you name it. Growing up, as a kid, what were you taught about anarchy? They hated the government, they draw bloody red, overextended A’s, and they could quite possibly be murderers, violent lunatics, and drugged-up outkasts from society turned revolutionists? Isn’t that along the same scope as Hitler teaching young Germans that the Nazi way of life was the only way of life?

When I first saw advertisements for the show, I thought – oh my, will there be any backlash? After watching the first several episodes, other than the words SONS OF ANARCHY embossed on their black leather jackets, as well as tattooed on their entire backs – I was wondering when the show would began touching on anarchy.

During the close of one episode, his father speaks to Jax through his unpublished memoirs: “The quote was painted on a wall…in red. When I saw those words, it was like someone ripped them from the inside of my head:

Anarchism, stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from the shackles and the restraint of government. It stands for a social order based on the free grouping of individuals…” (from Emma Goldman)

This sort of makes me think of those Windows commercials where they passed off Windows Vista as a product called “Mojave” to test subject to combat their perceived “bad representation” of their product before people had even experienced it. What if someone expressed these ideas as a central theme in their new approach to life that they called, soularchy*? What if the societal indoctrination was removed and someone looked at the ideology and not the negative connotation of the umbrella term under which the ideas and people are cast? What if the Black Panthers were called the Rights Restoration Committee? Would more people have supported their cause just because they were branded differently?

It’s all semantics. None of the above commentary was meant to expound my beliefs on the ideas of anarchy and the Black Panther party, although I respect their rights to have their chosen set of beliefs. I just hope that everyone realizes they consciously love/hate, judge/overlook, & accept/reject ideas based on their own opinions, formed under their own due diligence with an open and honest mind. I do know, however, that if I wanted to affect an entire country’s future generation of youth, I would start with their textbooks.

The Real News Network reported on October 4th about the most recent landmark spending budget passed by Congress that nearly rivals the $700 billion bail-out proposal, but comes no where near as close in regards to media coverage:

While debate over the Paulson bailout package dominated the headlines, the US Congress quietly passed a landmark $615 billion defense spending bill.  One of the few people to comment on the measure was Chalmers Johnson, in his article “We have the money.”  Chalmers explains to Real News Network’s Senior Editor Paul Jay how the military-industrial complex is a driving force behind the current financial crisis and a determinant of much of what happens in Washington.  He also criticizes the omission of the military-industrial complex from the political discourse determined by the two major parties and the media.

It’s clear that the US media has absolutely no respect for their profession and what it is supposed to represent in society.  With the uprising of information and ideas shared across the world wide web, it’s time we drown out those giant media conglomerates on the internet.  Let them have the TV and radio, and let’s all tune out.

Related article: America’s next president will inherit more than a financial catastrophe when he assumes office.

Update: AIG execs spend $500K at luxury spa weekend after receiving government bail out sums of $85 billion

I wonder how strategic (if at all) it is for him to create that aura that he would never worry about being labeled a sell-out or ostracized for pointing out stereotypes of every race, and even pinpointing faults with his own sub-culture of our country’s culture.  He “gets it” when so many don’t. He gets to be himself, but at the same time look at himself from an outside perspective.  From that of the media, from that of the fans.  He gets to unwittingly have insight into perception. and instead of taking advantage – he mocks it, plays it down, and humbles every person listening to him in the room, whether intentionally or not.

On hard work via a monologue for his version of his childhood self: “Many people believe that you can succeed against all odds. And i believe that. I believe that the odds are, if you don’t prepare, you won’t succeed.”

Social commentary on gangster epidemic on the black community: “Why spend the next 20 years in jail…”

On the current road to the White House: “Now in real life, Giuliani is like a pitbull…he’s great when you have a burglar, but if you don’t – he just might eat your kids.”

Chatting with Jon Stewart: “There’s this weird McCarthy-ism going on right now.”

When Keeping It Real Goes Right

I also applaud Chris Rock for not falling trap to the #1 problem that so many celebrities, entertainers, famous people do…focusing on themselves, talking about themselves, shameless promotion of…themselves, to the point where it’s ridiculous really.  He keeps it real.  Can Dave Chappelle give him a “When Keeping It Real Goes Right” award or something?  This is why we should value our comedians. It’s rarely about them. It’s about us. What we do. Why we do it.  How funny it sounds that we do what we do.  I think Chris gets a bad rap when listeners say that he brings too much attention to race in America.

On police propensity to racially profile: “But this is what the cop heard…and he was black, and black black black black black black blackity black-black, and he walked with a black, and black black black…”

On overreactions of white-dominated media: “I always say there’s nothing that comes quicker than white praise or white scorn…and they’re both overreactions.”

Talking About Racism Creates Racism?

I’m glad someone does still reflect on racism in America, rather than everyone floating around on their 2008 high-horse like it wasn’t just a little over 50 years ago that America learned the name, Rosa Parks.  Let’s not act like some of the people who perpetrated grave racial injustices are not still alive.  Let’s not act like all his been diluted and it’s water under the bridge in just a short time frame stretching just from my grandparent’s generation to my own.  Don’t tell me we are an imaginary version of the Wiggles or The Teletubbies where it’s all “I Love You” and “you Love Me.”  I’ve watched with my own eyes the glaring reality when my middle-aged mother married her best friend of 20 years who happened to be black.  I’ve seen, my grandmother, with just one generation between us, who I would describe as the most devout “Christian” (as far as practicing, I suppose?)  I know, go from completely baffled to angry to resentment to uneducated to fearful to distant to intrigued to accepting to once again baffled, but this time about how she could have felt her earlier feelings about someone she has come to love.  Thank you, Chris Rock, for being one of my favorite Americans and saying what everyone else is thinking.

Tonite Chris Rock goes back to what made him so popular, his HBO specials.  Here’s a preview of where Chris’s mind is at in 2008 in our current world climate.  Consider yourself warned:

Download the US Government Economic Bail-Out Proprosal (pdf)

With reports that George W. Bush and Ron Paulson’s initial plan was only 3 pages in length, I suppose this 451 page monstrosity is a bit of an upgrade, or maybe just a bunch of legal jargon meant to hide the hidden gems.

Either way, SOMEONE (other than just our congressman’s least favorite assistant) has to read it…I’m not saying it’s going to be me. I say we get 451 people together and each read a page, then we discuss it amongst ourselves.

I call dibs on page 227.

“When you tell a joke and everybody laughs, it’s not cause they disagree with what your saying. They get it.” -Chris Rock

Laughter is something triggered in our subconscious minds as a way of bonding and connecting with other people. It’s almost a universal “I get you” – and who hasn’t chuckled themselves through an embarrassing situation, brow sweating until it was over?

Chris Rock is one of my favorite Americans. As someone who values rebellious voices, Chris Rock is not only one of the loudest, he is one of the most concise and straightforward. No innuendoes, just honest observation. I can imagine him sitting back and marveling at how he has built a career on just “telling it like it is.” Of all the comedians and actors in showbiz, I think Chris Rock would be the most honest in a self-parody of themselves.

Speaking on Politics & Social Issues

On political parties and left and right wing extremists: “No normal decent person is one thing.”

On whatever happened to people just being crazy?: “The trenchcoat mafia…no one would play with us, we had no friends, we’re trenchcoat mafia. Hey, I saw the yearbookpicture, there was six of them. I didn’t have six friends in high school. I don’t have six friends now.”

On Obama: “Is America ready for a regular black guy to be president? Hell [expletive] no. But, is America ready for this extraordinary genius, charismatic guy…”

On the state of race relations between black people and the police in 1988: “So I hate life. Want to know why I hate life? Because I was born a suspect.”

We Can’t Be Just One Thing

I think, even if it’s subconsciously, Chris Rock sets a good example for other Hollywood stars. The reality of fame in our society is that people get famous because their personality exhibits something different. What happens though is that they end up becoming the cartoon version of that trait. There’s no balance – only the presumption that to maintain their status, they must give more of the same, only bigger and badder. I think an underlying theme of Chris Rock’s comedy has been people cannot be just one thing. I appreciate how he handles himself away from the stage, the “real Chris”, as well as how he transforms into his alter ego during routines.

I can see why so many other entertainers admire him. I feel as if he is the “one” that is idolized in the entertainment world by his peers. Certain tappers are always talking about themselves being a “rapper’s rapper” – the one whom those that share their craft are checking for. I think Chris is the comedian’s comedian – the entertainer’s entertainer, the celebrity’s celebrity. They all envy how he can thrive in an industry, with his own brand, and still speak his mind and say what they wish they could see, but don’t – for whatever reason, the fear of losing endorsements, fear of losing fans, fear of losing revenue, fear of losing stock in the celebrity world.

Chris Rock is the middle finger to the preppy, popular kid in school. The coolest is the one’s who don’t need to say their cool. The one’s who don’t even need to entertain the notion, because they know it’s irrelevant.

Satirical miracle? Or…Chris Rock, what’s wrong with his head, Doc?

Raunchy in the nth degree, perhaps just another example in his lifelong statement that he gets it, and he’s going to do his best to tell you about it. For your own good. I love how he deals with the media. I love the satirical tone. Too many people claim sarcasm nowadays, not knowing while satire and sarcasm are both mocking something, only one’s goal is to improve the situation brought up. Chris Rock can be borderline self deprecating, and in fact – it’s almost societal deprecation. But, he includes himself in that grab bag, too. it’s not an elitist commenting, passing judgment, criticizing, patronizing, celebrating societal woes, pointing the finger. He is more like a next door neighbor, talking about his week in our country, on what’s in the headlines, on things that piss him off, and things that make him laugh, just talking about it with his neighbor, standing by their property lines, cold beer in hand, almost reminiscent of the guys from King of the Hill. And he just might happen to say it like you’re running the lawnmower right next to him.

On rap music degrading women: “Women that like rap don’t care what they saying, if the beats all right, she will dance all night.”

On the difference between rich and wealthy: “Rich is something you can lose with a crazy summer and a drug habit.”

Unafraid to host the Oscars and tell the truth: “See at least they make movies for white people to enjoy, real movies with plots, with actors, not rappers. With real names…like, say “Catch Me If You Can”, “Saving Private Ryan”. Black movies don’t have real names. We get names like “Barbershop.” That’s not a name, that’s just a location. “Barbershop”, “The Cookout”, “The Carwash”…they been making the same movie for 40 years.”

On government backing of the pharmaceuticals industry: “They don’t want you to use your drugs, they want you to use their drugs.”

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

See Part 2.

You can’t have a bad system and think..oh, we’re gonna have brilliant regulators and prevent all of the bad things. -Ron Paul

Update: I just came across Ron Paul’s written statement and additional conversation with a very bored-looking Ben Bernanke at a newly discovered blog, Cultural Capitalism.

Update #2: Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D)-Ohio shows us at least that we can all discuss it openly, in terms that the people can all understand.  My biggest complaint would be that the administration is acting as if not only can Congress and all of our state’s politicians not understand the issues and fixes, but neither can the people. Someone needs to compile some footage of average Americans discussing it all so the government can see – we are just as smart as you are, and we probably read more.

What could one of hip hop’s greatest rappers of all time and America’s least favorite president possibly have in common? Well, for starters, they both have the ability to stir up people using just their words.

“My shit is deep, deeper than my grave G/ I’m ready to die and nobody can save me/ Fuck the world, fuck my moms and my girl/ My life is played out like a jheri curl, I’m ready to die ” -Notorious B.I.G. “Ready to Die”

“I stand by all the misstatements that I’ve made.” -Governor George W. Bush to Sam Donaldson, 8/17/93

And they both have biographical movies coming to theaters soon.

W. (2008)

Director: Oliver Stone

Writer: Stanley Weiser

Starring: Josh Brolin as George W. Bush

Notorious (2009)

Director: George TIllman, Jr.

Writer: Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker

Starring: Jamal Woolard aka Gravy as Christoper Wallace aka Notorious B.I.G. [who, by the way, is not Guerilla Black]

Both, also have the opportunity to paint a picture on the duality of man.

Language is the blood of the soul, into which thoughts run and out of which they grow. -Oliver Wendell Holmes

But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. -George Orwell

Lunacy – insanity; intermittent madness; foolish acts.

Lunary – of, and relating to the moon; a name for an herb also known as honesty; it is said because gravity has linked the earth and moon together, they share a divine honesty with one another; the moon is the basis for modern time-keeping, and we accept what it tells us without hesitation [now, that's trust].

Languages and their internal links to one another never cease to amaze me. The ways the slightest change in letters, positioning, emphasis, etc. can alter meanings and mix messages. One can only marvel at the genius behind the evolution of language from one culture to the next throughout time.

In the case of the above example, their letter-by-letter spelling is almost identical – yet, one brings about thoughts of derangement, while the other is linked to honesty and the connection of our moon. The only difference, just from looks, seems to be the C and the R. The c and the r. The see and the are. See and are.

So, it could be said: the only difference between insanity and honesty, is embracing what you see and what you are. If you accept what you C, lunacy. If you accept what you really r, lunary.

This is the sound of my voice.

And with this, begins my journey into our world’s digital community.  I’ve been fairly intuitive at recognizing new trends, music, and crazes before they hit the mainstream – but I missed all 365 days of the boat cruise with blogging.  The internet and I have always had a fairly enthusiastic relationship. If our experiences were a movie, maybe the internet would be Mel Gibson from “The Man Without A Face”.  But, keep in mind – the internet is not that fancy, little, cursive E that sits on your computer’s desktop.

The internet is actually what we make it.  That’s the concept anyways.  The inter-networking structure comprised of our thoughts, news, emotions, questions, stories, art, commerce – all coming from a variety of sources, with no one part of the network being the sole owner of the massive entity (for now).

Yes, I know – the dreaded network.  That thing you curse when your computer freezes and the tops of your windows become blurred images of their former selves from your rampant clicking, exiting attempts, and ctr+alt+del-ing.  That mythical creature protected by those guys who talk so condescendingly to you when all you want to do is just figure out why tmz.com won’t load – because, dammit, it’s causing you to see Kanye West’s videotaped LAX papparazzi backlash thirty minutes later than everyone else in the world.

The so-called “nerds” of the world built the infrastructure and made it as easy as possible for the laymen to join in on all the excitement.  But, what good is brain with no soul?  The technical components keep it alive (just existing), but the people make it live.  A network.  An association.  Made up of individuals having common interests.  Existing to provide mutual assistance and helpful information.

Never has there been a time when the human mind has been exposed to so much information. Instantaneous news alerts, opinions by the bushel, unlimited access to unheard-of books.  Amazingly, we are only 20 or so years into this grandiose project of ours.  Although the conspiracy-loving, authority-hating side of me says that this just gives “big brother” a better means to keep track of the hens – I think the ability to connect with the rest of the chicken coop and lay our own golden eggs outweighs any downside.

This begins my Choose Your Own Adventure -style journey into the world of internet contribution.  Thanks to those who pioneered the frontier and taught us the game is to be told (and emailed, facebooked, and digged) and not to be sold – well, except for Google Ads, of course.

He’s inside my brain, his full time job is making me insane. Serving up self-sabotage, like my self confidence is a big mirage…” -Jay Smooth

Our fears and insecurities over “the haters” (formerly known in the 90’s as “people who pray & prey on my downfall”) seems to by skyrocketing as a culture.   One swift view of any YouTube video and you’ll surely see profanity-laced comments that make you scratch your head and just wonder – why? But, don’t worry about the folks on that branch of the hater tree, they’re human after all (and the easiest kind to deal with). The real hater you should be focused on battling is the little hater inside.