Dear Jayceon

As a rapper, it's a given that you don't allow another rapper to talk greasey about you and yours without some lyrical (hopefully not physical) retribution. In fact, your swagger (ugh) should be so flawless that no rapper can even come at you funny on wax. And if he does, that rapper should be shut down. However, I think you're taking this a little too far Jayceon. Every other day we're subjected to a new headline essentially saying the same thing : The Game Disses Jay-Z in __________. It's like you're playing 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?' with rap beefs, dog. I dislike Jay. I'll admit that. But what the man said about you was not only not that serious, but also was warranted. If you put somebody's verse on your track, it's a given that they'll feel some type of way about it. So why then, Jayceon, are you going all Buggin Out from 'Do the Right Thing' on us; starting shit for no reason? Maybe G-Unit is right, you are bi-polar. No one switches their shit up in the game (irony) more than you. I don't know any other rappers that oscillate between being the most hated in the game one day to banging with everyone on the next. Seriously, take a page out of Craig from Degrassi's book and seek help, my dude. Nothing's worse than a rapper with an identity crisis. Just ask Ma$e...

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/6)

Turn the flash down a bit, will you??

Hiroshima, 64 years ago

6 Places You Should Never Twitter From

How Often Should Couples Have Sex?

Behind The Smile: The Horrible Truth about Bob from Enzyte

Structure of HIV genome 'decoded'

100 Celebrities that Tweet

Kanye Before His Ego Took Over

The 50 Most Badass Moments In Sports History

Dear Tweeter-Haters

via CNBC:

If someone were to value Twitter for its sports application alone, yesterday was the single most damaging day for the brand.

It started with more teams banning players from tweeting during team business hours, continued with a more stringent policy by ESPN on its reporters conduct on the site and eventually ended with the news that 10 NFL teams were not allowing reporters to tweet from open, public practices.

I guess McCarthyism is alive and well. ESPN as well as the NFL and the Marines has banned the use of Twitter for anything but professional uses. In a landmark decision, the Worldwide Leader in Sports and Bullshit issued a statement to all of its employees saying that personal and non-professional tweets would be considered a breach of their employment. In the NFL, Pro Bowl cornerback Antonio Cromartie was fined $2500 for tweeting about the food at the Chargers practice facility. And in the Marines, Twitter along with Myspace (who really still uses it) and Facebook were banned citing that social media sites "are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure."

My question to all of these authorities is this: when do your powers as an employer end? Is it really that serious that a player criticized the food? Chances are that if he tweeted it, that it's probably true. If you guys are scared that all of this unadulterated press, then maybe you should fix the things that are making people tweet all that negative shit. To me it just seems like you guys have the non-digital age stick-up-the-ass syndrome. You fear what you can't understand and thus ban it. What's funny is that somehow the truth will find its way out. Whether it's a new social media site (that probably will get banned too), or humans develop telekinesis soon, the newfound free speech of media and sports figures will find its way to the light. Hopefully you guys don't go all Adolf on us....

Curren$y x Wiz Khalifa - How Fly

It seems like these two have just gone up in smoke (pun) for the summer. Since Curren$y dropped "This Ain't No Mixtape" and Wiz has been touring, we haven't heard much from the two lye-smoking lyricists. They finally hit us some news on when their collab "How Fly" is supposed to drop, with Curren$y going hard on an unknown beat. According to Wiz's Twitter, "How Fly" is slated to drop this week. Check the cover, clearly made to appeal to the astronauts out there...

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/5)

It's not delivery, it's a ShamWOW! and some Mr. Fantastik...

100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About

5 Futuristic Interfaces

More Proof that CSI is Bullshit

Best (Worst) Fight Scene Ever

6 G.I. Joe Characters Who Could Pass For Village People

50 Eye-Popping Examples of Concept Art

What New York Looks Like Underground

What Exactly do Standardized Tests Measure?

R-R-RAAAAAAAANDY

Late night television is the best. Usually insomnia-induced, late nights give way to comedy that nobody hears about until it gets 500,000 hits on Youtube. Regardless, one late night I stumbled upon a special previewing the movie "Funny People". The movie boasts a very real look at the comedian's world and introduces us to Aziz Ansari, who plays Randy. The rest you just have to see for yourself. Hopefully you laugh your dicks off, just I like I am right now...

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/4)

Recession-aside, I'd say that's a pretty shitty way to start your day...

5 Things They Say Give You Cancer (And Why They're Wrong)

The Many Faces of Women

New Anti-Obama 'Joker' Poster

Barack Obama faces 30 death threats a day, stretching US Secret Service

The 9 Worst Roommates You Will Ever Have

How Americans Spend Their Day

Sex offender builds real estate empire

The 8 Worst Bosses To Work For

Dear NBA

via USA Today:

Beginning this season the NBA will let teams sell ads on their practice jerseys, says deputy commissioner Adam Silver, who adds the league is continuing to explore the issue of ads on game jerseys.

"We are operating a diverse business all around the world," Silver says. "(The sponsored game jersey) is a well-established practice in other countries. Ultimately, I think our fans will come to accept it."

I really hope that you guys know what you're doing. Clearly, the recession is hitting and teams are searching for cash harder than fiends search for rock. In all honesty, I think it's stupid to do this now considering the recession is starting to turn around and that most of these companies you'd advertise would be failing. Think about it. The only reason that advertising on football (soccer, you Yanks) shirts is so successful is because advertising is on a completely different echelon in Europe than it is in America. Viral marketing is now old news on the other side of the pond, whereas we're just starting to understand it. I know the ads would only be on practice jerseys, too. Nobody, or nobody that would be buying a Gillete razor or a T-Mobile phone, watches NBA practices. So, what's the point, really? I guess David Stern has a few more "debtors" he has to pay off after the Finals played out sans-LeBron...

Chris Rock - Good Hair

If there is one thing that differentiates black people from every other race, it is our hair. Whether napped out, braided, curly and bouncy, wavy, relaxed, or whatever niggas are doing in 30 years, black hair is linked with our own self-identity. Our ability to change it as we see fit, or as the situation needs, is part of who we are. I'm excited to see what comedian Chris Rock has in store for our follicles, especially when it comes to ladies and their weaves. Good hair, bad hair or no hair, this shit should be hilarious...

Soulja Boy is Way too Rich

:sigh: Niggas :sigh:... In all honesty, can you blame the young man for spending his hard-earned money on ridiculous frivolities? I know if I was that rich, I'd buy some stupid stuff. I'm not really sure what that stuff would be, but I guess when you're that rich your imagination can be as big as your wallet...

Neighborhood Newsletter (8/3)

Google is making Yahoo look (Micro)soft...

6 Reasons Why You Need to Drink More Coffee

Definitive List of The 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Unless You're a Loser or Old or Something

The Top 100 Web Sites of 2009

Top 10 Tasteless Ads

The Anatomy of a Black Hole

Find Any Sound You've Ever Wanted on the Web

NBA Plans to Allow Ads on Practice Jersey’s This Season

This is a Mouse's Brain on Drugs

The Mailing List: August 2009 (#5)

5. Air Jordan True Blue III



I've posted these since May and they're finally coming out this month. Honestly, not much more can be said about the True Blue 3's. One of the hottest releases ever gets (hopefully) its last run. Just go cop em. Hopefully you'll get around the international release and don't get dumped on for the price...

Dear RIAA

via PC World:

A Boston student has been ordered to pay US$675,000 to the recording industry for illegal file-sharing, according to reports Friday.

Joel Tenenbaum had admitted to downloading and sharing digital music. Judge Nancy Gertner of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts found him guilty of infringement and left the jury to decide damages.

They were instructed to charge him between $750 and $30,000 for each song he downloaded and distributed. On Friday, the jury decided he should pay $22,500 per song, according to Ars Technica.

I had no idea that something that costs 99 cents on iTunes could ever appreciate over 750%. Seriously, RIAA, don't you think you're taking this whole music royalty and file-sharing crackdown thing a little too far? Now, I'm not going to say I'm innocent of doing some illegal downloading myself. In fact that's far from the truth (I try to promote legal music, but everyone slips up, don't they?) But with the literal ease of downloading music, how do you not expect people to eschew going to the Virgin Megastore to fork over $17 when they can click a link and get the music they want? Why is the markup for downloading music so high? You mean to tell me that Joel Tenanbaum downloaded $675,000 of music?? If so, Metallica must be making classic albums these days (sarcasm). But in all honesty, what is the music industry gaining from these lawsuits? Let's just get real. CD's are a thing of the past and so is the time when file-sharing wasn't as ubiquitous as lines at the DMV. Why then, do you guys feel inclined to impose such steep penalties for something that damn near everyone under 30 has done? I guess the recession is hitting some of these artists harder than we thought. So much for it being just about the music...

AnmlHse Summer 2009 Collection

I love finding out about new brands; especially fun, funky brands that don't follow the same conventions as most 'streetwear' today. Instead of stoic looks, boring locations and unnatural poses, I want brands that promote the quirky persona that streetwear is based off of. Today, trying to be cool seems to be the cool thing to do. That's why I love brands like AnmlHse (Animal House) that put aside their pretentious, fashionista ways to just have fun. I got introduced to them on Twitter of all places, and after looking at their Summer 2009 collection, I hope to see a lot more of them. Check some of the highlights from the "Season of the Mighty Anmls"...

Freestyle Friday (7/31)

Yeah, I couldn't go into the weekend without hitting you guys with a freestyle for your Friday listening pleasure. This one is from Cory Gunz, who finally seems to be hitting the promo trail like he should have been last year. Let me tell you, this cypher needs at least 3-4 spins before all of the lines can even be deciphered. Cory Gunz is NICE. He reminds me of the Incredible Hulk when Bruce Banner finally learns how to harness his strength; a MONSTER. Do yourself a favor and check out the next to blow from the Bronx. I guarantee you'll be kicking yourself in six months when he's the only thing playing on Hot 97...

Neighborhood Newsletter (7/31)

Do dog years count, or do I just need a fake?

The Eleven Best Hipster Bathroom Graffiti Moments

How big is the internet?

Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes

Pepsi vs. Coke Logo Changes

High School Student Suing Amazon After They Deleted Homework From His Kindle

The Best And Worst Movie Viral Campaigns

20 Predictions of the Future (We’re Still Waiting For)

Are Science Fiction Franchises As Popular As Religion?

Dear Eminem

Gee golly wilikers... you really, really, really ODed. Marshall, I'm not gonna mince words. Relapse was trash. And I'm not referring to the trash you can still listen to because it's catchy. It was the type of trash that leaves a sour taste in your mouth and makes you not even like the artist anymore. However, they say diss records tend to bring the best out in rappers, and this is a prime example. Whatever sing-songy insults Mariah flinged at you are now at the whims of about 40 bars of premium Marshall Mathers lyricism. It's funny that you even joked on yourself, but simultaneously made Mariah look even worse. And lets not even remark on Nick Cannon, because in all honesty, he hasn't mattered in any light since his Nickelodeon days (and Kenan and Kel were even shitting on him then). All that aside, kudos Em. It was nice hearing you like we should have been for the past three years. Even if this squabble doesn't escalate to catastrophic proportions, your diss might still go down as one of the ugliest EVER...

Note to Nick Cannon: You've officially lost your manhood. Please turn in your balls, and any remaining testosterone or respect that Mariah, your Wild'n Out guests, Nickelodeon or the Southpole clothing company haven't already taken away from you...

Dear Barack Obama's Critics (Part 2)

This one just blows my mind. Why do detractors think that Obama's health care initiative is such a bad idea. Since when has the health of a country's people NOT been a forefront concern of that country? Why do all of these conservatives have such a staunch dislike for publicizing something that should be part of a country's responsibilities in the first place?

So you think that taxing healthcare benefits are a big deal? Look at all of the things we tax now, that essentially have no use whatsoever. The last time I checked Social Security was failing, our Defense budget is outlandish, and our school system still isn't up to the par that it should be. Why is it then that they have such an aversion to putting tax money to the most important issue of all: health care. Also, to say that ALL Americans are 'satisfied' with their health care choices is preposterous. No one, and I repeat, NO ONE is happily forking over their money to an insurance company for health care, especially when they get slapped in the face with bureaucracy and service refusal.

It's like American citizens are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do they want to be reamed in the wallet by insurance companies, or do they just want to be uninsured, praying that they don't have any accidents? And in all of this, all some of these conservatives and critics can do is say that Obama's reforms are too drastic and expensive, looking past the big picture. If hospitals, private medicine and insurance companies all bought into Obama's system instead of fighting it because it would mean a smaller profit for a few years, America would be healthy. Obama's plan isn't an overhaul of the current system, but an eradication of the ills that kept it from fulfilling its supposed goal: to keep Americans healthy. But in the end, all these cats can see is dollars. To them, if everyone prospers, they don't prosper as much. Such is the American Dream...

Neighborhood Newsletter (7/30)

Technology, ironically has made quality a thing of the past...

Marijuana’s Impact On Brain Function “Minimal,” New Study Says

The World's 18 Strangest Buildings

What You Think Your Username Says About You

Hit The Sack! Mattress Dominos World Record

NexGen AI -A Threat to Human Civilization?

New ion engine could reach Mars in 39 days

7 Innocent Gestures That Can Get You Killed Overseas

5 Things Movie Trailers Need to Stop Doing

Ninja Assassin

Ummm, yeah... When's the last time you guys have seen DOPE martial arts movie? The last one I can think of wasn't even technically a martial arts movie, as much as it was a take on the Western. The Kill Bill series made me rethink martial arts, and it's looking like Ninja Assassin, slated to come out on November 25th. I haven't seen effects like this in a while. The trailer looks crazy, and I can only hope that the actual movie doesn't disappoint. Then again, that seems to be the case a lot nowadays, with hype ultimately outshining the actual product...