I love to laugh. I mean who doesn’t except the Grinch. But I also love creativity and I get inspired and energized by it when I witness it. I came across comedian Demetri Martin about 2 years ago. Of course he was funny, but I was blown away more with how he mixed his rare creativity to his act. With the use of consistent motifs, illustrations, charts, piano and guitar playing, Demetri is becoming one of my favorite comedians and is showing the world that comedy is just as artistic and creative as the other arts.
You can check out Demetri’s Clearification Episodes here. If you have time you should really see him in action in his standup as he makes an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Oh, he has a new show out on comedy central entitled Important Things with Demetri Martin which appears every Thursday at 10PM. Make yourself laugh by clicking on one of the links above. It will make your day at work feel better on a Monday afternoon. Trust Me.
I love New York City as strong as the next man. Neue Magazine showed love to my awesome city this month by getting Graphic Artists to submit typography work inspired by the city that never sleeps. Below are some examples.
Recently Pharrell Williams attended MIDEM 2010 conference, a music business conference held in France, and gave a Keynote speech and Q & A moderated by Rob Stone. In the interview, Pharrell offers some pretty informative and inspirational thoughts on creativity, business, teamwork, giving your best, and implementing ideas.
I dont know much about my family history. I never met any of my grandparents. My mother was a foster child and so going back and researching is quite difficult. But there is still apart of me that wishes I knew where I came from and who were my ancestors. Perhaps this is why Professor Louis Gates new series is intriguing to me. When I saw the above images in the subway the other day, I got excited.
Professor Louis Gates will be taking a look at 12 Talented people and tracing their ancenstry. They include the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, Steve Colbert, Eva Longoria, Meryl Streep, and many more. He will reveal some interesting information too. View the preview below and check out the series which premieres every Wednesday beginning February 10 until March 3, from 8-9pm on PBS. After seeing this preview, I need Louis Gates at my kitchen Table. And I mean ASAP!
I watched the Apple Keynote yesterday and Yes I am getting an Ipad this Spring. But as innovative as Apple is, I must admit Mad TV came up with the idea first lol. Check it out below.
My latest music review is on a Nigerian/German artist by the name of Nneka. I just reviewed her latest compilation album called “Concrete Jungle”. To See what I have to say about it Read the Review Here.
Her album comes out Feb. 2nd, followed by a live performance on David Letterman on Feb. 3. Oh and to hear some of her music and to get to know her, check out her music video “Africans” and a German interview here.
If you have been reading this blog for a while, then the dude above is not a stranger. If you have not, then let me introduce you. Terrence Cunningham is a musician/singer/songwriter located in Washington, DC. He’s a combination of soul and alternative and a genius on the keys. This past weekend he performed an acoustic set on 88.9 FM in DC/MD. I wanted to share it with you so that you can see the awesomeness. The live recorded album will be released this summer. Also if you are in DC, you can check him out at his artist residency at Metropolitan Muse Concert Series at Layla Lounge.
For the last few weeks as I walked to work down Stuyvesant Ave. to the A TRain, I’ve also been walking through an early morning movie shoot. Its not bad at all. My house is not on the block where they are filming. But what is bad is seeing all the free food and not being bold enough to poise as a crew member and get some free breakfast. Oh and they are there when I get home too, tempting me with dinner.
Our area of Bedstuy (particular between decatur and hancock) is known for filming flicks. Since I’ve moved here, a few epidoses of NBC’s Black Donnellys, Queen Latifah’s Life Support and a few others were filmed in my neighborhood.
Well the latest cinematic presentation to take over Bedstuy is a New HBO series called Boardwalk Empire. According to BlackBook, “the Series is set at the dawn of Prohibition. Boardwalk Empire follows Atlantic City’s birth and the gangsters, bootleggers, and rum-runners who spawned it.” Oh and Martin Scorsese directed the pilot and Soprano’s Terence Winter is the producer. Lets just see if they will be as successful as both of them have been. What I do know is that when it debuts, all I’m gonna think about is the free food I never was bold enough to grab. Bummer!
So sadly tommorow(Friday), Conan OBrian will be exiting the Tonight Show and if you’ve been following these Late Night War stories you know why. I must admit, Im not happy about it. I always liked Conan. My TV turned to NBC not after the news, but after Leno. I just always liked Conan’s uniqueness and felt like I could relate to his awkard comedy. Agreements and payouts have been made, but the most valable lesson Ive learned from the whole ordeal will live and that is:
If you are not appreciated, Roll out. Period!
Thanks CoCo for the reminder. We will see you back on the air and even better than ever, because beyond NBC, you see and know your value.
Its hard to go on after someone you love passes. Its been 3 years now since my mother passed away and I’m still trying to master the art of living with grief, moving on, and fulfilling my dreams without her being in the audience. Some time back, new star Corrine Bailey Rae lost her husband after the appearance of her debut album. We haven’t seen her in a while, but shes back and like me and a host of others, striving to master the art of living despite losing love.
The New York Times has an very interesting article on her and I thought it was worth sharing and reading. She is back with a new album called “Sea” to debut next week. So Check it out here written by Melissa Maerz. Until you do, below is a little excerpt.
Over dinner at a Lower East Side restaurant, wearing another sophisticated jumpsuit, she noted that fans have been especially vocal about their support lately, though she wasn’t sure if they were even aware that she’d lost her husband. “For a while I was afraid that everyone would know and ask me about it,” she admitted in a thick Leeds accent that’s barely noticeable when she sings. “But then it was weird whenever nobody knew about it and nobody asked. It’s shocking when people treat you like everything’s normal when everything’s changed.”
“Dear Pat Robertson, I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen ‘Crossroads’? Or ‘Damn Yankees’? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it — I’m just saying: Not how I roll. You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best, Satan.”
In a letter to the editor of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, reader Lily Coyle writes an answer on behalf of Satan.
Happy MLK Day! As we focus on freedom, equality, and the great man who strove to push this nation to give us both, check out this awesome speed up portrait painting of MLK Jr. Much credit to Jordan Tarrant who created this Graffiti inspired portraiture. Check him out on HIS WEBSITE here and get more information about MLK HERE.
One word the World needs to hear today and that is DONATE. Oh and had another one COMPASSION. Its so easy to do both, just grab your cell phones and get to texting. And you dont’ have to be a millionaire, here are your options:
To give 5 bucks, text: YELE to 501501
(Wyclef Jean Foundation)
To give 10 bucks, text: HAITI to 20222
(Bill Clinton Foundation)
To give 10 bucks, text: Haiti to the number 90999
(Red Cross)
Check out the throwback videos below of my favorite group the Fugees live in Haiti. And while you do, Go Here to donate to the Haiti earthquake relief fund lead by member Wyclef Jean or you can simply text YELE to 501501 to donate only 5$.
While we pray and bring aid to a country that needed both from us years ago, I thought I’ll post some pics of Haiti and its beauty so we can remember they are people too.
The above art was done by Hort for Nike’s Zoom Lebron VII campaign. The art is pretty cool and Hort brings a quite unique approach to the work. It is strange that I come across it because all this weekend Ive been dissecting Lebron James Interviews. I don’t know how to describe it, but Ive been learning a lot of life lessons by watching lots of Basketball video clips and Mr. Lebron James has contributed to that wisdom journal.
When I played organized basketball for over 10 years of my life I learned so much, not just about the game, but about life itself. I’m being reminded of those lessons this first month of a new decade by looking at sports related videos and interviews. I’ll love to share some of it with you. So here they are, 10 lessons that I received from watching this Lebron James 60 Minutes video clip.
LIFE LESSONS (from the video below):
1. Think Team First
2. Give Credit to where credit is due
3. There is always space for improvement
4. Use your job/gift as a vehicle to get to where you want to go
5. Make yourself a business empire
6. You cant be afraid to fail, thats the only way you are going to succeed
7. Accept failure to get better
8. Control your own image
9.Trust Yourself
10. If you recognize your giftS, dont be afraid to make them come to life
This blog comes courtesy of LemonSugarWater. She who is out in Oakland, recently shared with me a good time she had at a comedy club with the guy above, W.Kamau Bell. I think black comedy has its mundaneness, so I’m intrigued anytime a person just decides to be their self and get us laughing at different yet relate-able content.
W.Kamau Bell, a bay area resident and awesome comedian talks about race and politics in his act. And of course I love his use of technology to convey the point. His whole set just reminds me of the importance of being yourself, being creative, and talking about the uncomfortable things. Check out his EPK from his set The Bell Curve below.
HEALTH: 1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees & plants & eat less food that is manufactured in factories.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
PERSONALITY:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past/ past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree…
SOCIETY: 25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
LIFE: 32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
A few years ago a good friend of mine, Allison Brown, visited NYC and we decided to go and see the movie “the devil wears Prada”. It was through that film that I finally realized that music, writing, and paintings were not the only arts: fashion was indeed one too. I soon got a respect for it and for those involved in the industry.
Since then Ive been following the fellow above, Scott Schuman. He is the blogger and founder of The Satorialist. A former fashion industry guy, he decided to give it a rest and become a stay at home dad. But the one thing that intrigues me about him is what he thought was a retirement and a hobby, ended up becoming a second career. Thus we have The Satorialist. I love these types of occurrences!!
Check out his interview from the BigThink below to hear him talk about fashion and much more.
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So sadly tommorow(Friday), 
