The Rubik's Cube is one of the only feats that I've actually worked on that I still haven't vanquished yet. When I see art like this the frustration in my mind is unmatched because this stuff is so creative, but its basis is one of my personal nemeses. Whatever the case, they use that God-awful creation for some great art. Check the rest of Invader's "Low Fidelity" exhibition...
Now, when the news of Michael Vick coming to the Philadelphia Eagles first broke, I immediately was calling for your head. But after this news conference, I'm struck with more questions than answers. Donovan, how in the hell will Vick fit in with you, a quarterback who needs at least 20 throws a game along with your mandatory 5 rushes? While I can dig the whole argument of camaraderie and giving second chances, I can't help but think that you're constantly going to be looking over your shoulder. Don't look now Rockwell, but somebody's watching you.
No seriously, I'm not one to take warnings from cars, but objects in your mirror are closer than they appear. Not to say Vick is gonna step onto the field and get back into his 2006 form, but still nobody knows what this man's condition is looking like. For all you know, he could have been training "The Longest Yard"-style while in jail and be just as good as ever. Can you say quarterback controversy? You can, but not until Week 6, when Vick has the chance to be reinstated. That means that if by the Eagles 5th game, you've gone on one of your chronic fuck-up seasons, Vick might be shaking off the rust. Donovan, you might not have enough Campbell's Chunky Soup to give you the strength to hold off the most electrifying player to step on a football field. Even if Vick doesn't touch the field, let's hope we don't see more tomfoolery like this from the Eagles:
"The device, which I've held mock ups of, is going to have a 10 inch screen, and when I saw it looked just like a giant iPhone, with a black back— although that design could change at any time" they said, "with the same black resin back, and the familiar home button." That's obvious.
That's right. Apple is working on prototypes for a Mac-powered tablet computer / netbook, which may be set to release this holiday season. While the visual here certainly is mouth-watering, I tend to be wary of new ventures. Apple always seems to be able to put out a quality product, albeit it being 10 times more expensive than every other device to precede it. Call me what you will, but I'm starting to see Apple as an evil empire, especially with all of the flack they're getting from frustrated iPhone users for being the phone Nazis. Will that stop me from getting a new Macbook? Probably not. Will it make for a host of really dope products and hours wasted in the Apple store? Without a doubt. Apple is starting to look more and more like an Umbrella Corporation / Skynet clone by the day...
Is this really what its come to? American citizens fighting and arguing and screaming and getting their knickers in a twist because we want to revamp something that should have been done over years ago? So many people are against the health plan, but so far, no solid reasons for why it shouldn't be allowed have come up. Detractors say that overhauling the health care system would cause the nation to undertake a massive debt. Ummm, newsflash: We are already in a SHITLOAD of debt. Doing things in the same way would only reinforce the problem. The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Why then, would anything but switching up the health care system be an option? I guess some people like getting their insurance declined, or really don't mind paying ridiculous amounts just to get an arthritis prescription.
People also say the new health plan would usher us into a socialist era. Since when is a healthy, un-diseased nation socialist? I'd like to think the UK and Canada have something going for them, when they're spending much less on health care, yet have healthier people. I suppose if reformed health care is socialist, then I will be as Red as Mao. Then again, spending money on anything but war is plain old un-American. It just seems like people are against universal health care until something goes wrong with them. I guess a stroke or malignant tumors are the only true stimulus for change in America these days...
It's funny, but I always assumed that space looked like this all those lightyears away; that at an infinite reach there were an infinite amount of galaxies that we could never fathom. From those galaxies, you can probably see hundreds more. Even from ours, we haven't exhausted every space of the 360 degrees extending from earth. With these images surfacing, the possibility of life, even intelligent life, outside of Earth seems all the more feasible. Now, I won't say outright that there is life, because we honestly don't know what any of those galaxies holds. But isn't it a thrilling prospect to think of? That somewhere in that giant matrix of extra-stellar masses, there may be a sentient life-form? Of course there could also be nothing out there but gas and vacancy, but it's always great to dream...
Yes yes, yall. It's about this time that summer is looking like it's coming to a close. The curtains are falling on the time that most people equate with universal happiness and overall pleasantry. Yet, to some, the summer hasn't been so kind. Whether they've been stuck in an office, have been cash-strapped with no job, or just have had a drab summer, this is the time to take advantage of the last weeks of intended hedonism we have left. No, I'm not telling you guys to go out and start smoking PCP or to audition for the next Girls Gone wild. But when I look at most of my peers, I see them taking LSAT classes, going abroad, doing research fellowships, interning, working more than one job, taking classes or grinding in some way. Just know that all grinding makes for some worn out gears. Relax for a bit. Take a chill pill and then a walk. I guarantee that will clear your mind more than an evening's worth of prime time television cuddled up with some ice cream.
Remember these?? Maybe you should take a trip, just for old time's sake...
Gone are the days when you used to explore. Gone are the days when summer was an adventure waiting to happen. Gone are the days when the only rush was to the ice cream truck and getting up early meant catching cartoons, not running for a bus. While we like to predicate our success on the accolades we achieve in academic and other 'honorable' endeavors, our inner children are dying. We don our monkey suits and drink Starbucks and read newspapers when some basketball shorts, Kool-Aid and a trip to the park would do the trick. We put down childish things only to wonder where the flair in our spirits is going. Don't let that happen. What I'm trying to get at is don't lose your soul in the road to riches. Don't let the ins and outs of everyday life grind you down to an amalgam of your former self. Don't let your inner Urkel be watered down to Stephon. Always let your curiosity and your search for novelty be a guiding light when the world just seems drab. And never forget those summer evenings, when the sun was still out and your mother let you stay out. Enjoy the rest of the summer, people...
The best football game to ever grace this earth is finally back for a new decade of full days spent on the couch and arguing with online enemies about what team they choose. I'll admit, I haven't been too big on Madden in the past four years, just because I thought EA was simply rehashing the game with updated rosters. I thought that the game was getting too predictable and that there were a lot of inconsistencies in it as well. Whatever the case, I think I might take the dive this year. Online might be a go, but only if they have rankings so that I know when I'm playing a guru and might as well quit. Check the trailer and the top new features included in this year's edition of Madden, which drops on August 14th...
PS: To all you Madden junkies out there, I urge you to get your ass up this year and perhaps take a break?? Seriously, the whole Madden Nation craze on ESPN has made this game a career for some of you less-than-ambitious niggas out there. Please don't forget that you should have a life outside of this shit, and that victory at Madden can never and will NEVER replace affection from the fairer sex. Church...
This is really irking me. How is it that rappers with little to no actual lyrical or musical talent get opportunity because of their gimmicks, but gifted lyricists such as Illecism still aren't signed yet. I'm not saying that somebody should just hand the man a contract, or that there aren't talented MC's out there, but where are the standards for hip-hop? Illecism is DOPE!! If you don't see the mastery in this man's lyrics, please listen again. If you don't get it the second time, listen again, because this man's gift for wordplay is at the upper echelon of hip-hop, and yet, he is still unsigned. I don't understand it. Please check out Illecism, as well as the rest of the Fly High crew, because I can't be the only person that thinks hip-hop is more than nursery rhymes and odious chains...
D-Block (or the L.O.X. as I like to call them) are the most underrated group in rap history. There, I said it. Not only do they have a catalog of group work, all three of the Yonkers MC's have gone on with successful solo careers (not everyone in Wu-Tang can claim that). What makes them so special is the fact that they stay so humble and grounded, but drop pure bombs on wax. Check the new leak from The L.O.X. as they prepare to release "New L.O.X. Order" later this year...
As you can see, I haven't been putting up too many mixtapes or albums as of late, for the simple reason that I haven't heard anything exemplary in the past few weeks. What's good about a drought like this is the anticipation for a new piece of work to sink your teeth into. That mixtape is How Fly, featuring Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa as a dynamic duo to be reckoned with. Their wordplay is truly crafty and it shines on every track, even if the content is somewhat limited. The two pose completely different presences on the microphone and seem come hardest (pause) as one's verse ends and the other begins. It's like they were both trying to outdo each other, but meshed effortlessly. I can't even stress how much of a statement this mixtape is. Curren$y and Wiz are here to stay, especially if they continue with collabs like this. Check the d/l link above, my picks, the back cover and goodies below, as usual people...
San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree is prepared to sit out this season and re-enter the NFL draft in 2010, David Wells, Crabtree's cousin and adviser, said Thursday.
"We are prepared to do it," Wells said. "Michael just wants fair market value. They took him with the 10th pick and you have Darrius Heyward-Bey [the seventh overall pick by the Oakland Raiders] getting $38 million? This week is crucial. Michael was one of the best players in the draft and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players. This week is very crucial."
"With the 7th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select Darius Heyward-Bey??"
Those words, to you Mr. Crabtree, are worth millions, literally. After being passed on by the Raiders, and essentially told by your draft positioning that you were not the de facto best wide receiver in the draft, you decide to hold out. Really, Mike? In all honesty, you haven't played a down of professional football yet. Making demands as to your salary and threatening to re-enter the draft seems a bit much doesn't it? Think about it. How many of these top-tier picks actually work out? You're skinny ass might not even do well if signed, much less if you get signed to the contract you're looking for. What's worse is that you seem convinced that you should have this money. You feel entitled. In my knowledge of sports, entitlement usually leads to different titles than one thought themselves worthy of. Do primadonna, selfish, team cancer or black list come to mind? I hope so. Because your ass isn't even signed yet. I know you saw what your coach Mike Singletary did to your hopeful teammate Vernon Davis. Just imagine what will happen to you. Hell, you might not even get drafted next year if the bad press continues. Then again, what do I know that your 'adviser' doesn't? Hopefully you don't end up finishing this season where you started it: on your couch...
Nike continues to impress me with their ad campaigns as of late. First it was the LeBron and Kobe puppets and now it's the retro-inspired Hyperizers commercial, with Mo Williams taking up the most hilarious advertisement persona I've seen in years. Please check out the Gumby hairstyle on Rashard Lewis and Mo Williams' "Coming to America"-style jheri curl in "The Hyperizers"...
What's up people? I hope you got headphones wherever you're at because you're going to need them today. This Freestyle Friday has two heavy-hitters as well as a newcomer to the scene. The first one on Tony Toca's show is Nickelus F, the Toronto MC who you might know from his collabs with Drake. The second one features Roc Nation signee J. Cole and newcomer XV (check the review). Both of these ciphers have subliminal lines, so listen carefully...
