The Good Ship Serenity

A Changing World

2011-12-09T12:18:00.001-08:00

Rick Perry’s homophobic campaign ad has more dislikes than Rebecca Black’s “Friday” (embiggen), making it the most hated video in YouTube history. (Source: The Daily What)

This is great news. Of course, it hasn’t had nearly the amount of voting samples as Rebecca Black, but I am just hoping this trend continues for the video as more people see it. This simple fact confirms something important for me. I thought that my Facebook feed was a matter of the company I keep in terms of Gay rights. That is: every time something even minorly LGBT-related happened, I would see pro-LGBT comments show up in my social media circles.

I started to think to myself: does this mean that the world’s view on LGBT issues have truly begun to change, or is this just because the people I choose to associate with are mostly progressive? It’s true, you know, only 5 years ago I wouldn’t have seen a world as vocal about these issues as it is today.

The number of dislikes on this Youtube video begins to confirm for me that the rest of the world outside of my social circles are in support to support of the LGBT issue. A lot of these Dislike voters may not be of voting age just yet, but they’re coming up. It may not be as fast as I would have liked, but change is gonna come (word to Sam Cooke).

When I saw that Generation We video last week, this is one of things that my mind immediately went to. It’s amazing that my generation is going to be the largest voting generation ever. We are the ones who will be making the decisions, as long as we turn up and vote.

This youtube vote may not seem like much to you, but to me I feel it’s a sign of the times, and a confirmation that maybe our world will be a better place for me and my future kids.

J. Cole "Lost Ones"

2011-10-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

J. Cole is one of those guys that I've really been following since Jay-Z signed him to Roc Nation. He's one of those guys that really harkens back to early 90s and early 00s where lyricism and meaty content ruled the airwaves. He doesn't have some flashy catchy flow like Kanye or Lil Wayne, but he still has deft technical cadence to his raps. He's got his own set of punchlines, but his biggest strength is that he writes about things that matter. He raps smart. And he raps from the heart.

His album, Cole World, is a mostly fresh album with a few missteps (most notably the one with mentor, Hova). J. Cole is best when he is honest, and he goes with some no frills music.

I picked this song because the subject of abortion has been an issue that has wracked my brains all the back through high school. I've written about it multiple times myself, each time trying to reconcile the ideas of life's beginnings with the realities of the world, and rights of the people having the children. In "Lost Ones", J. Cole goes for the meat of the issue by describing the feelings people go through when it comes to unplanned pregnancies.

Lyrics

[Verse 1 - J Cole]
Baby girl, I can't imagine what it's like for you
I got you pregnant, now inside there is a life in you
I know you wonder if this is gon' make me think
About wifing you..
Like if you have my first child, would I
Spend my whole life with you?
Now I ain't trying to pick a fight with you
I'm trying to talk. Now I ain't trying to spend the night
With you, I'm kinda lost, see
I've been giving it some thought lately, and
Frankly I feel like we ain't ready and this..
Hold up now, let me finish!
Think about it baby, me and you still kids ourselves
How we gonna raise a kid by outself, handle biz by ourself?
A nigga barely over 20, where the hell we gonna live?
Where am I gonna get that money?
I refuse to bring my boy and my girl in this world
When I ain't got shit to give em
And I'm not with them niggas who be knocking girls up
And skate out, so girl you gotta think about your options
Weigh it out, what's the weigh-out?

[Hook - J Cole]
And I ain't too proud to say that I cried sometimes
Cried sometimes, about it
And girl I know it hurts, but
If this world was perfect, we can make it work

[Verse 2 - J Cole]
She say "you got some nerve
To come up to me talking about abortion
This my body nigga, so don't think you finna
Force shit! See I knew that this is how you act
So typical, said you love me but now
You flipping like reciprocals, figures though
Should've known that you was just another nigga
No different from them other niggas who be
Claiming that they love you just to get up in
Them drawers. Knowing all the right things to say
I let you hit it raw, muthafucka!
Now I'm pregnant, you don't wanna get involved muthafucka?
Trying to take away a life, is you God muthafucka?
I don't think so, this a new life up in my stomach
Regardless if I'm your wife, this new life here
I'mma love it, I ain't budging
I just do this by my muthafucking self
See, my mama raised me with no muthafucking help
From a man, but I still don't understand how you
Could say that; did you forget all those conversations
That we had way back about your father? And you told me
That you hate that nigga, talking about he a coward
And you so happy that you ain't that nigga, cause he
Left your mama when she had you and he ain't shit
Now here you go doing the same shit..
You ain't shit nigga!"

[Hook - J Cole]
And I ain't too proud to say that I cried sometimes
Cried sometimes, about it
And girl I know it hurts, but
If this world was perfect, we can make it work

[Verse 3 - J Cole]
They say everything happens for a reason
And people change like the seasons, they grow
Apart, she wanted him to show his
Heart and say he loved her, he spoke them
Magic words and on the same day he fucked her
Now she wide open, she put a ring up on his finger
If she could, but he loved her cause the pussy good
But she ain't no wife though, uh oh!
She telling him she missed her period like typos
He panicking, froze up like a mannequin
A life grows inside, now he asking "is it even mine?"
What if this bitch ain't even pregnant dog
Could she be lying? And she be crying cause he acting
Distant, like "ever since I told you this, nigga
You acting different". And all his niggas saying
These hoes be trapping niggas. Playing with niggas'
Emotions like they some action figures
Where they get pregnant for collateral
It's like extortion, man
If that bitch really pregnant tell her to get
An abortion.. but what about your seed nigga?

The Romanticism of Realized Crushes Onscreen

2011-09-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

I was watching Felicity tonight, and in it she pines after a guy she watched from afar back in high school, and makes the mistake of following him to a college across the country. It's a pretty interesting set up, and one that makes for a great show.

But there's one thing that is beginning to irritate me 5 episodes in: Felicity's infatuation with Ben is starting to get old for me. My biggest problem with it so far is that Ben has been mostly aloof from her, shown interest in others, and broody. The only thing that I see which can account for Felicity's amorous feelings towards him are her romanticized ideas of what it must like to be with him, rather than actually having some sort of chemistry with him. In fact, in this episode, she says that they hardly have any conversations, and when they talk, she can hardly call that talking. It sounds hardly like they have much to offer each other. Yet, she wants this relationship to "go to the next level" despite his lack of feelings towards her. And that bothers me.

Why? Because it's pretty much everything I've seen myself and so many of my friends go through, and that scenario in real life as well. I get that it reflects real life, and I'm fine with that aspect, but don't expect me to be interested in it. I guess it would play better to me when I was younger and thinking that I could get with who ever was my crush of the moment.

And I'm not just picking on Felicity, because this TV/Movie Trope irks me on every show I've seen. What makes them worse for me is that it's inevitable that the crush will be realized at some point in the show; many times, it turns into a full blown mutual relationship. This happens in real life about 5% of the time. I know, I know, this is not real life. But still! As a kid with an impressionable mind, I think that this romanticized view on how crushes are supposed to go really affected the way I thought relationships would go. It affected me much more than Doom did when I was kid, I think, because romantic stuff felt more real.

Now, maybe it's just the cynic in me. After all, shouldn't we be all for love no matter what the cost? It is ideal, that's for sure. But when it comes to one-sided relationships, I just don't have the stomach for it.

Note: It would be ignorant for me to talk about the failures of wooing the difficult object of one's affections without saying that it does indeed happen once in awhile. After all, I've always called Christopher Chua the hero of heroes, as he was the one guy to really go at it after being rebuffed several times, and finally sticking the landing.

The Follow Up

2011-09-09T23:40:00.001-07:00

ASAP Rocky's other side:
Bittersweet Symphony Part 2

Based Music: I still don't understand Lil B

2011-09-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Get More: The Vice Guide to Everything, MTV Shows

I read a whole blog post from Lupe about Lil B and his #basedmusic movement, and I still don't get it.

Maybe it's because I'm getting old. I don't know. I mean, I still listen to new rappers coming out. And I even listen to other guys who are considered "Cloud Rap", which is this undefinable genre that is practically this era's version of ignant rap.

But Lil B, I don't get. Him and Souljah Boy. They are basically saying absolutely nothing and not doing it with much flair, for my taste. Others might argue, but I've given Lil B several honest shots and I still don't get it.

Why I think the current gen likes Lil B

His music is the equivalent of Facebook/Twitter Microblogging. One needs a very small attention span to memorize his songs song. There's hardly any lyrics or musical complexity to it. He just kind of talks... stuff.

And the current generation was practically raised on Twitter and Facebook, so this speaks to them. I was with Twitter and Facebook from its inception and I'm mostly an avid user, but I think that this generation is just more in tune with it.

I don't feel bad for missing out on this though.

This right here is my jam though.

The Lonely Travels of a Sports Fan Journeyman, part 2: The Homecoming Manifesto

2010-10-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

A couple nights ago, I was distraught over how Giants fever had me feeling like an outsider. It was seriously depressing, and the next day I had bit of trouble getting it in my head. But suddenly, last night while riding BART, it dawned on me that I've stressed over nothing. And so, I jotted down in my iPod the reasons why the Giants, Sharks, and Warriors are indeed my teams.

The Sports Manifesto of a Bay Area Transplant

Or 5 reasons why this is the year I became a Bay Area Sports homer.

1. The Bay Area is my home

For the first time, I realized that I have lived here longer than I have anywhere else. For 9 years, I've been in NorCal. The second longest I've ever lived was San Diego (8 years), and I don't even remember half of that.
Moving to the Bay Area is the only living decision I've ever made on my own accord.
While a good number of years was in non-Bay Area UC Davis, I was exposed to primarily Bay Area locals.
- This theory is supported by the overwhelming amount of UC Davis Bay Area connections I have on my Facebook. Besides, even Sactown people are a bunch of Bay Area band wagoners.
I've loved this place since I've moved here and I feel I've really made a connection and earned my place here
- Which is a whole 'nother blog post I wrote a year back but never published. I may do so at a later time. My 10 year anniversary in NorCal is next September!
This is where all of my closest friends live (with a few exceptions)
And this is where I plan to stay and raise a family, destiny-willing.

2. "It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at" - Rakim "I Know You Got Soul"

I've spent so much time repping where I'm from and who I was, that I forgot where I'm at and who I am now.
In fact, besides the teams, there are very few holdovers in the previous places I lived. Both my friends and the locales have all moved/changed since I lived there. I hardly recognize them anymore.

3. I do not have to be a fan of only one team.

I created a rule and stuck to it for no reason other than I made this rule up. It's stupid.
My father, who taught me everything I knew about sports loyalty, held on to his Redskins loyalty while picking up the Chargers when he moved to SD. Why can't I do the same?
This is akin to my Filipino friends and I cheering for Manny Pacquiao and Philippine Olympic hopefuls despite the fact that we are far removed from that country.
There is no reason why I cannot to be a fan of the Warriors and still cheer for the Suns. Same for the Giants and Padres (maybe the A's if they impress me, but probably not anymore. Wrong timing, fellas.). Hell, I still have a thing for the Arizona Wildcats, and I'm an Aggie.
Note: I will never forgive the Raiders and Niners. Screw those guys. I harbor grudges.

4. Screw the fear of being labeled a band wagoner.

Fact: I started out as a bandwagon Phoenix Suns fan ('92-'93 Finals), and now I'm a full fledged fan after years of undying dedication.
Unless we were born and conditioned by our parents to love a team, there is a jumping on point for everyone. It may have been a single close game, it may have been a championship run, or it may have been hearing all your classmates cheering for a team. But there is a point for everyone. We are mostly bandies.
Sports teams don't mind this, they want more fans, but true fandom is proven when the team is no longer on top. Do you continue cheering your team? Or do you forget them?
My anti-bandwagon sprung forth from those fickle Arizona fans who latched onto the Bulls and Cowboys while the Suns and Cardinals floundered.
I think what annoys me more are fairweather fans. The ones who only show up during the winning seasons, and only when they make it into the playoffs.
I vow not to be fickle and stay a fan even through the hard times. And to pay attention all season long.

5. I am the only one who should dictate what I like.

I let my concerns about people making fun of me on FB and Twitter for picking up a new team cloud my judgment. This is stupid.
- Although I should say to my brother - my only partner-in-crime with whom I share the same odd sports allegiances - that I promise that I am not leaving you, I am only growing in taste.
In the old days, making such a switch would be easier, but because our allegiances are so public through social networking, it's become harder. I reject that notion.
I foolishly declared in my earlier post that the Giants didn't play for me. This was stupid. They don't know who I am. The team does not adopt the fan, the fan adopts the team.
These are my decisions alone, and as long as I feel okay with them, then there is nothing else that matters. I feel no regret, no shame in this decision.

By adhering to these tenets and adopting these teams as my own, I can finally stop stressing about how much happier everyone else is, and celebrate along with them instead. I will also build camaraderie through suffering together with them. This is what being a homer is all about. Besides that, I will finally be able to enjoy the local games that air in my city, and go to games at the local stadiums/arenas cheer along with the crowd. I declare these my teams, and I feel good about it. I have arrived home.

The Journeyman Interlude

Journeyman Interlude

2010-10-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

I've spent a lot of time pondering, and I have had a change of heart. In a moment of clarity while riding BART - which, not coincidentally, was the same place only a year ago in which I realized that the Bay Area was truly my home - I realized there's no reason I shouldn't be a Giants fan. They do play for me, because this is my home. I will explain in a much longer post later. But in the meantime:

Fear the Beard

(This one is Alan Moore's, which is probably the most fear-inducing beard I know.)

2010-10-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Kepka / The Chronicle

Tonight the San Francisco Giants are close to winning the NLCS Championship and are surely headed to the World Series. They also reminded me that I’m not from around here.

I don’t hate the Giants. In fact, I kinda like them. They’ve brought the entire region together. Everyone across the Bay is following the game during work hours, at every bar, in every home, and keeping each other up-to-date on the score. They do mini-celebrations wherever they’re at as soon as a game is won. It’s kind of hard not to get swept up in the love. And since I’ve never harbored any grudges against the team like I do the 49ers and the Raiders, I feel safe cheering on the San Francisco team. So, go Giants!

And then there’s that empty feeling I get. Because I’m not really from around here. Almost everyone in this area, and 75% of my Facebook/Twitter Feed, is Bay Area born and raised, so they’ve got that hometown love. The Giants play for them, not me. The Suns play for me. The Chargers play for me. And the Padres play for me. I’ve spent decades championship-less, but always in support of my teams, hoping that one day my support will be rewarded. And on that day I can rejoice with my fellow… wait. I live in the Bay Area. Oh.... yeah.

On the nights that the Giants have played in the playoffs, I’ve experienced from a distance what it’s like to be around people when the home team plays. Watching your favorite team from the couch in your home and cheering through exclamation points with the few fellow fans on Facebook is nothing compared to being right there in the flesh with dozens of newly made friends at the bar who erupt at every great play. Tonight, I saw my girlfriend scream for joy over the webcam as the Giants clinched another win over the Phillies. It’s something I rarely see her do.

There once was a time I tried making her a Suns fan so that I didn’t feel so alone. I tried keeping her up to date on the scores, almost giving her complete play-by-plays. I even brought her to a Suns-Warriors game, which was a nail biter. Of course, when your team is the Away Team at the game, it’s hard to really get into it. Even though she enjoyed the game, I could tell she wasn’t a convert. My enthusiasm alone isn’t enough to sweep anyone up in the hype. It takes a city to make you a fan.

What brought me to write this in the first place is that tonight I realized that even if one of my hometown teams ever do win the Big One, I would be the only one around me celebrating. I wouldn’t be in the streets with all my fellow fans, and there wouldn’t ticker tape or seas of fans singing “We Are The Champions”. For those caught up in hometown hype right now, you almost know what that feels like. It makes me jealous, I admit.

Moments like these are when I’m most homesick, even if there’s no longer a home there for me to visit. I’m currently debating if I should post this because I don’t want to be a Kill Joy in the middle of all this Giants celebration. Not that I’m suggesting that people stop celebrating. I just realize I’m being a Debbie Downer.

I’ve tried to make up for it recently by picking up the San Jose Sharks as my hockey team. I even went to a game recently to really get into it. Even though we lost, it was fun, and it was nice to cheer along with the home team. Of course, hockey isn’t as popular as baseball, so I doubt I’ll ever see the entire Bay Area cheering along with me even if we went to the Stanley Cup Finals. And a Stanley Cup with this squad wouldn’t be nearly as vindicating for me as would a Suns or Chargers championship would. Still, it would be cool.

Jen’s bud Tiffany, called me a poser pre-game and almost rightfully so. I yelled at every mistake and genuinely celebrated every slick pass, making my voice coarse over the course of the game. After that display of support, she accepted me as a true fan. It’s a nice feeling to know you’re a part of something.

Still, as lonely as I might feel and as jealous as I may get, it's nice to see a whole community together for a Giants game. And it's kinda nice to get caught up in it all, even if I am the outsider. And for that, I wish the SF luck in winning the World Series, even if it means a few people here and there being braggy and annoying for the next decade.

Review: Step Up 3D

2010-08-07T23:11:00.000-07:00

Hoooo boy. Most people think Dance movie, and it's automatically a "Yeah right... like I'm gonna watch that piece of sh*t" response from the general non-teenybopper audience. Step Up 3D elicits a similar reaction from folks who don't watch So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew, and the fact that this movie has the 3D stamp attached to it doesn't help matters. Ever since Avatar, Hollywood's been ramming 3D down moviegoers throats as a blatant cashgrab. While Step Up 3D rides that current trend, it's certainly one of the few that really should be seen in 3D to fully appreciate what director Jon M. Chu has done here.

First things first though: if you don't appreciate hip hop dance in the first place, you probably won't have the patience for this movie. But if you do, this movie is a dance lovers' dream.

I write long so I'm splitting my review up into pieces. That way you can just navigate to what you care about.

The Story

Let's get the crap out of the way. The story is just a vehicle to get dancing happening. A lot of it is unbelievable, and the main character's love story is about as cliche as it gets.

It starts off with "Moose" (Adam Sevani), the sidekick from Step Up 2, on his first day at NYU, and enrolled in Engineering. He's, of course, given up dance for a more reasonable life. And, of course, on his first day he stumbles into a battle against the hottest dancer in New York, which leads him to meet our real protagonist: Luke, played by Rick Malambri. I'd just like to point out how likable and talented Adam Sevani is, and how he should have been the real focus of the movie, rather than our ridiculously good looking leading man, who actually is quite douchey* at times and isn't even as good a dancer as evidenced by his being in the back of most pieces.

*Seriously, there are several times that Moose has something important that he has to do, and douchebag Luke is all "Hey Moose, drop everything right now because my sh*t is much more important than whatever plans you have for the future! I don't give a f*ck if you might flunk out of college!"

Anyway, Moose gets into trouble with the rival crew: Samurai, who tries to battle him in random spots, so he aligns himself with the Pirates, Luke's crew. Luke's long-dead parents set up this whole dance studio for practice, and to give a place for homeless dancers to live in. It's all paid for by a club they also set up downstairs, but it's not bringing in any money. They need the money... blah blah blah, and so on and so forth. And there's also a girl Luke is supposed to fall in love with named Natalie, played by Sharni Vinson, who is also ridiculously good looking. So I guess the love story is good in that you get to see really hot people kiss.

Some good parts though:

Moose has his own love story subplot that is far more endearing and believable than the main story line. The love interest, Camille, is adorable and fits so well with him. Also the actress who plays her is named Alyson STONER.
The dialogue is mostly corny, but there a few laugh out loud moments. My favorite of which comes from Mari Koda, in a cameo role.
Luke has aspirations to be a filmmaker, not a dancer. While the way this all happens is predictable (I swear I saw the same thing in other movies), it seems to be a wink from director Chu. Something of a love letter to dance, as he himself found his calling with the Step Up movies and the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.

The Use of 3D or WHY THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME

Most movies don't benefit much, if at all, from watching them in 3D. Although they had 3D in mind, Movies like Alice in Wonderland and Beowulf suffer from 3D because they use the usual gimmick of throwing crap at you at best. At worst, the director uses weird angles just so that there's an object super close to you, when a wider shot with a different angle would have been better. In other words, 3D gets in the way of story telling. Even with Pixar, Toy Story 3 and Up don't benefit much because they avoid making you notice so much that you forget you're watching in 3D. This gets even worse with movies that were made 3D in post-production just for cash grabs.

However, Step Up 3D was shot with 3D technology, and it is the definitive way to see this movie. See, it works in this movie because no storytelling is required during dance battles. The only point of 3D is to make things look cool, so "looking cool" is exactly what Chu goes for. Formations look amazing as dancers fan out and the lead person is doing a Tut routine (hand focused dance style) right in your face. Aggressive jumps and landings have a bigger impact. When a person glides or robot ticks from behind the crew and straight at you, you're just enthralled by being able to see the depth.

Props are also used with 3D in mind. The smoke screens, the water, the bubbles, everything is used during dance sequences, and never keep you bored. And the light sequence? Oh... don't even get me started. I don't know if that was the choreographer's idea, or Chu's, but that was amazing. I feel Chu did realize that 3D glasses dim the vision of the audience naturally (they're sunglasses, dude), so he turned the bright colors aaaaall the way up, which works wonderfully for the mood of the movie. This was not a coincidence: Chumight be a genius visually. I noticed the complete opposite when they battled the Red Hook dance crew, whose vicious dance moves were complimented by the muted colors they wore. It felt visceral in comparison.

The Dancing

Ironically, this is the shortest part of the review. There's not much to say about the dancing that you probably wouldn't already know going into this. It's the same as all the other Step Up movies you've seen. Except that this time there's very little wait time in between dancing, which makes it so much better. There's so many dance sequences in this movie, you'd think you were watching a musical.

The choreographers (one of whom is Dave Scott! Hell yeah!) must have worked closely with Chu to take advantage of the 3D tech. For those who have a keen eye for dance, the styles are so diverse that there's a lot of eye candy and technicality thrown in for good measure. And fans of TV Dancing will be pleased to know that Twitch is in this, as well as a cameo from Legacy and a certain Glee star.

Besides the Red Hook Battle and Neon Light set, there was a particularly sweet set danced on the street which I really loved. To avoid spoilers, I'll not say any more than that, but you'll probably know once you see it.

The Verdict

Step Up 3D is an amazing visual experience geared toward the dance fanatics. Skip it if you're not one of those. But if you are, then watch this in 3D, and 3D only. You will not regret it.

Bonus

If you recognize Alyson Stoner (aka Camille, Moose's BFF) from somewhere. It's probably because she was the cute little white girl in Missy Elliot's "Work It" and "Gossip Folks" videos

Recording my Dreams..

2010-07-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last night I dreamt that me and a Spanish kid were recruited for some Ninja Warrior-type obstacle course. We climbed hundreds of feet about concrete and had to leap to grab the handles of some zipline thing, but he didn't make it and broke his leg (JUST ONE!?).

Subsequently, the Commission sent me to Spain (which, in my dream, looked like a television version of a ghettoed neighborhood in New York) to inform the kid's trainers. The trainers all wore orange with the number 13 on them. They accused the Commission of stealing the kid without their permission, and I realized I was being sacrificed.

From there, my dream turned into thriller chase scene through the mean streets of Spain. And ended up in a shanty town, where my blonde, white, sociopathic brother came after me. In my dream, there was no doubt that this brother existed. (As a side note: I find it interesting how easily we can fabricate our pasts and believe it so completely). It was real creepy and scary. And yet, after it was all done, he just kinda laid his head on my shoulder as we walked back toward the airplane I arrived on, as if nothing had happened between us.

Random Thoughts on Drake

2010-07-14T21:14:00.001-07:00

Drake walks this really weird line with me. Sometimes he annoys me, and sometimes I really like his music. I think it has to do with his popularity, his musical ability, and separately his ability to rap. As it all comes together, it just puts me in this weird position where I feel uncomfortable one way or another.

When I first heard Drake, I had no idea he was Wheelchair Jimmy from Degrassi, which was good because I didn't have any preconceived notions when I heard him on "Unstoppable". He had great cadence, delivery, and punchlines on that song and it immediately gave me hopes for the kid.

Then his radio singles hit, and I had to admit they weren't so bad. Well... until I heard them for the bajillionth time, and he became this megastar. He was simply getting played out. That was strike one.

Then his album drops and I give it a listen. What I like about Drake is the honesty of his lyrics. He's not afraid to have insightful and (super emo) introspective songs, which is a no-no to The Smoking Section type fans who crave "the real" (i.e. hard-ass manly man raps.). The consistent production makes his album cohesive than most albums which employ a different producer per song. And Drake's crooning is serviceable, and he makes good chorus.
His rapping? Not as good as "Unstoppable" promised. While he has some variation in his delivery, his flow stays pretty much in this same slow talky cadence which makes his quotable lyrics easy to hear for the mainstream audience. It's kind of boring really. Another way to put his delivery is that he sounds like a kid who wants you to think everything they say is important. He doesn't ride the beat at all, he just hangs onto it. Compare that to J. Cole or Royce da 5'9, who deftly navigate the beat and really go strong at every song. It's very evident when listening to the overdramatic "Over" beat that requires a carnal animalistic delivery and comparing his version to Em's or Royce's.

I guess that's why when everyone on my Tumblr and Facebook are raving about his album like it's the greatest thing this year, it annoys me. So much quoting and referencing as if everything he says it's the truth. I try not to be a mainstream snob, but I'm definitely a contrarian. It was the reason I held off on the Harry Potter books. I avoid the popular not because I think above it, but because I feel like the mainstream obsession with one thing tends to obscure some really good, less popular, sometimes better, things in the genre. So I prefer to support the "other". It's... odd. I'm a complicated person, jeez!

Don't misunderstand me. I know it's wrong of me to think that way: that nobody else's opinion should influence my own. But it kinda just happens, and I'm trying to change that. In my humble opinion, Drake is a great pop artist, with a knack for choosing great background music, infectious hooks, and clever quotable lyrics, but he is definitely not in the cream of the crop in terms of pure rap skill. And I can say the same of his album. Great pop album, average rap album. And I guess I could easily accept that if others and himself didn't think he was the Second Coming.

Putting up some wallpaper

2010-06-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

1440 x 900

1220 x 700

ATTENTION ALL THREE FOLLOWERS!

2010-04-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

I have a tumblr. Follow it please.

I will stop by here from time to time because Tumblr does not allow you to post large animated gifs like these:

So in some ways, Blogger is still Scott Pilgrim to Tumblr's Matthew Patel.

On Filipino American History Month

2009-10-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

This October marks the first official Filipino American History Month as deemed by the California State Government. It's a joyous occasion as we finally get a month to learn about the Filipinos who have come before us: the sacrifices they made, the adventures the they had, and the art they created as they arrived in their new home in America. Much like critics of Black History Month, we also stop to wonder why Filipino American History can't be taught year round, but we at least celebrate at least this much.

However, as this month comes around, I'm also reminded of a entry that my friend, Kedd, posted once, regarding Black History Month as a Black individual himself. It had to do with the fact that he was tired of being told this and that about Black history because his mother had already taught him many of those facts as he grew up, and that he was not the target audience for Black History Month, although clearly many people felt it was.

By and large, this is the case for most ethnocentric history months. Black folks get taught Black History (for the most part), and this month Filipinos will inform Filipinos of their history. In other words, the history is only taught within a small confine of the general population; it is kept only to its people.*

But I wonder how closed we are to the rest of the public about this exciting new venture into history. As a collective, we both Filipino and non-Filipino, might want to take the time and educate everyone. Because that's what this month is supposed to be about, right? We should be spreading the awareness of Filipino-American history amongst the all the people, regardless of their ethnic background, so we can see a fuller representation of what built this country.

* Of course, what distinguishes the Filipino-American history from Black history is that we really truly were never even given even an inkling of what our forefathers accomplished. Unless you went out of your way to find it, or attended an Asian American Studies course, even as a Filipino you probably have never heard of the Louisiana Manilamen, Philip Vera Cruz (of the United Farm Workers), or author Carlos Bulosan. So it is certainly important that this month allows for a time to teach other Filipino-Americans the history of our people in the United States.

Anime Wolverine Trailer

2009-07-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

This is the anime Wolverine trailer. He doesn't look anything like good ol' James Howlett, though:

So how do you feel about it? Okay, now what if I told you that it was being written by Warren Ellis?

This is the test animation for the WOLVERINE anime series I’m writing, produced for the south east Asian market. Note test animation: it’s intended to show off the style of the piece only. Nothing in here reflects the actual content, just the design and the aesthetic and the animation. The story itself will be loosely based on the WOLVERINE miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller from the early 1980s.

- Warren Ellis, from his blog

Animated In Bed.

2009-07-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

What else is there to say about this except wow? (via standing8)

The Art v. The Artist

2009-06-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, I read on Twitter about this conspiracy that Jay-Z helped in a ban against Chris Brown from performing during the BET Awards. In retaliation, a Chris Brown fan girl began a petition to ban Jay-Z from VMAs. I, of course, thought this was ridiculous. Chris Brown beat up Rihanna pretty badly (not just a slap, mind you), and yet his fans vehemently defend him. Why would anyone take so much offense to his banning when this altercation is still rather fresh in our minds? In fact, the article I was first thinking of writing was if this defense for Chris Brown is the very first case of mass battered woman syndrome. Because I've never seen so many people defend an undeniably guilty woman beater. Nobody liked Ike Turner.

Admittedly, I was more annoyed with 1) people's anti-Jay-Z stance [I'm a Jay-Z fan] and 2) people's obsession with Chris Brown, than I was with girls not understanding domestic violence (but trust me, it affected my opinion of the defenders) in this whole banning Chris Brown situation. So I began doing a supertweet session on it. Finally, in response to another person's tweet, I was about to write "It's not like Chris Brown holds a candle to Michael anyway." when it hit me, this Chris Brown situation is like my torrid relationship with Michael and his music.

Why?

1) Chris Brown beat Rihanna. MJ most likely molested children. Let's not split hairs with the "alleged" stuff. I know you wouldn't have wanted your kids hangin' at Neverland.

2) Chris Brown has a huge fanbase because of his music and dancing. Michael Jackson has an infinitely huge fan base because of his music and dancing.

3) Each has a fan base that is willing to overlook these misdeeds because of their celebrity and art.

And so I thought to myself, what really makes MJ so different from Chris Brown that makes it so I'm okay with listening to MJ's music and watching him perform, but I pass judgement on Brown? Just because MJ is that much more legendary and his music is that much better that he gets a pass? I mean, I thought about the "giving MJ a pass" thing already soon after his death, but it was really appropriate that this Chris Brown situation occurred so that I could frame it from this new perspective. I was really distraught with myself for being a hypocrite.

What helped me through this was this article from Racialicious discussing Michael Jackson's death from the perspective of a child abuse survivor who happened to also be an MJ fan. I fully recommend it. In it, the writer discusses the complexities of a person and being able to enjoy the music that shaped his childhood, while never forgetting the atrocities done. Regarding separation of music and art, it basically says that just because you enjoy the music doesn't mean you approve of their personal actions. I don't try to defend Michael's actions just because of his music, even if I love the music. I still reject him as a person.

I'll also admit that I still sing Chris Brown's "With You" on my Lips karaoke video game. And I can't help but dance to T-Pain & Chris Brown's "Freeze". I still have Chris Brown's music deleted and I don't listen to his music on purpose much. But not the same with Michael's. I still have those. I believe that it's because Michael's music means more to me than Chris Brown's ever did.

But going back to these Chris Brown defenders, I have to say it still bothers me. And it's because I know that this isn't the same situation. These big Chris Brown fans aren't separating the music from the person. Check some samples of the tweets:

jay z is a bitch, he should of let chris brown perform cause jay z cant dance like chriss!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can say that again Andre. BET = Sucked. Epic fail.Breezy should have opened the show. He's too good for ghetto BET awards. (Editor's Note: This one was from the actual writer of the online Ban Jay-Z petition)

I FEEL SO SORRY 4 CHRIS BROWN, WHY IS EVERY1 HATING ON HIM! FUCK JAY-Z

CHRIS BROWN IS THE MAN. NO MATTER WAT THAT UGLY BASTARD JAY-Z SAYS!!

Well, none of these are exactly proof positive that they aren't separating music and man, but I know deep down that he as a person and his livelihood matter as much as just the music itself. There's a reason they care whether he performed or not. You know they feel that way too. Don't lie to yourself.

Anyway, the lesson here? In situations like these: Learn to enjoy the music while rejecting the artist. It's not really as simple as that, but it's how I deal.

Post Script Note: Getting back onto the Chris Brown hater wagon: It's not like Chris Brown had to be on that show to give MJ a proper tribute. If Chris Brown is the closest thing we got to MJ, then Pop music is in trouble. People are acting like (and actually saying that) MJ himself would've been pissed off that Chris Brown didn't performed. They must be on the crack.

Nobody Cares About the Last Airbender

2009-06-23T17:42:00.001-07:00

The M. Night Shyamalan teaser premiered the other night on MTV. *middle finger*

You can find a plethora of information here on racebending.com. This entry by Derek Kirk Kim is probably my favorite argument for how the casting of the live action Avatar movie is RACIST.

If you've read any of my Avatar-related twitter comments, or, I dunno read what I just wrote in the past two sentences, you'll know where I stand on the casting of the live action movie. If you don't see the racism in it, you're fooling yourself. Plain and simple. I've heard all the arguments for this so-called "multiracial" casting, but they barely have legs to stand on, and all of those people have become just apologists for the cause. So this will not be an argument on whether the casting is racist or not. Rather, I want to analyze why the hell people aren't up in arms about this whole damn thing. Come on people!! This shit is as racist as it gets.

If the cartoon was about a mystical African world which starred a black character in the lead role, and we casted some really really dark FILIPINO GUY for the movie (because trust me, I've seen some Filipino guys darker than black dudes I know), people would go APE SHIT! There'd be riots in the streets. Not only would black folks be up in arms, but every other racial group wouldn't stand for it either. And furthermore, the execs in charge would be ashamed as hell to release it. No no no, this isn't wouldn't just be Soul Man, or Bamboozled we're talking here. Those barely made a blip in the American conscious because they didn't have this huge fanbase. Imagine that this fictional mystical African show was as popular with both children and adults as Avatar, which was so money that they already planned a trilogy for the damn thing. It'd be like Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia/Lord of the Rings. So yeah, a miscast of a Filipino dude into a Black dude's role would matter a lot to a ton of people. Like I said: EVERYBODY WOULD GO APE SHIT. It'd probably even get to CNN. Even Fox News would be calling it out just to prove they weren't racists. And yet, this did not happen when Avatar's casting was announced. Why? Oh, I dunno... probably because the people getting fucked over right with this casting are ASIANS.

It's true. So very, sadly true. America seems to give a pass to racism against Asians more than any other ethnic minority. What I mean is nobody seems to care when it's us. Sadly, not even us Asians, as a whole, care. Maybe it's that old sterotype that nobody wants to rock the boat, so we just keep to ourselves. I don't know. Oh, sure, there are people out there protesting during the filming, but clearly not enough to make the studio change their mind about anything.

Some of my friends just don't care. They worry more that the story won't be told right. But let's say it is awesome. That it is successful. Kids won't inherently notice the difference that a white actor is in the lead role. No, because that's the norm. And that's the problem. Avatar was a chance to make it the norm. Media is just a small part in the racist culture in America, but believe me when I say that it does matter. I can still list off tons of cartoons and movies that influenced me as a child. Avatar could be oe of those movies for this generation. People just don't care.

How apathetic have we been? This isn't the first time a white person stole a major role from an Asian and passed themself off in Yellowface. There's that one White dude who famously stole Bruce Lee's role and ended up making a career out of Yellowface. Yeah, I went there. David Carradine. I don't have anything against the dude himself, so no disrespect to his death or anything. But it still doesn't change the fact that his career was totally bogus. What's even sadder is that while I find it okay that people hoped that he rested in peace, that they honored his lifelong career of Yellowface. People reminiscing on how great he was as Cain. Saying that he will walk the West forever with his Kung FU. Man, fuck that. If the dude made a career out of (and I'm sorry to use this again, but it's effective) blackface, it would be shameful. Say a white dude played Shaft, nobody'd be all "Awwww, the white dude acting as a black guy passed away. Forever live Shaft."

Fast forward to this generation, and we still haven't gotten it right. The trailer is out (hell no, I won't link it to you), and the shooting is in process as we speak. It's much too late to fix that problem. The best we can do now is spread the word and not go to the theaters in protest. I've gotten a lot off my chest now, but I can't guarantee I'll stop here. I'll probably be back when the full trailer, and the full movie come out.

PS, And think about it. What would Mako, the voice of Iroh, say if he were alive to see this? He is the man who helped found East West Players so that Asian Americans had a place to perform. It's just funny that the producers, knowing the show was later dedicated to him, would do the things he worked hard to combat.

Reflection Eternal - Back Again

2009-06-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

I'm one of the very few who like Kweli over Mos. I know he doesn't have as good a rhythmic flow as his partner, but Talib has refined that more. And besides that, the chorus is always stuck in my head.

Talib Kweli + Hi Tek-Reflection Eternal -Back Again-Vid Premiere

Best Burger in the Bay: Joe's at Westlake

2009-06-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

As a way to spend my time this summer, and as a fun project, I decided that I would search for the Best Burger in the Bay Area. Yeah, you've probably seen a million threads on Yelp and Chowhound about it, but I decided that I would do my own search for my for friends, my 2 blog followers, and for my own amusement.

Interestingly enough, this whole thing started because I was determined to prove Bud's Burgers is not, in fact, as good as my Vallejo friends claim. They never said it was the best, but the way someone says "Bud's Burrrrrrrrrgerrrrrrs" makes you think Jesus Christ made it from kobe beef racks. Afterwards, I had a conversation with friends about making burgers and wanting a great burger recipe, which prompted to me to head out into the Bay and search for the Holy Ground. Anyway, since my hater period, I've decided to go through this whole thing unbiased. I assure you that there is no malicious intent, as I love my Vallejo peoples, and I want to be as fair as humanly possible. Who knows? Maybe they're right.

Please be advised that this whole thing is completely subjective and all in fun; I do not claim to be a burger or food expert, and moreover, my sense of smell is f*cked up. Since my brain injury several years ago, my lost sense of smell has been coming back, but not in the right way (kinda like how raising someone back from the dead in Buffy always ended up wrong).

Some rules I've set that I might break
- This whole series will judge only the burgers. Not the fries. Not the service. Not the drinks. Not the restaurant. The burger and only the burger. But just in case you're wondering, I'll also mention the other stuff, but it will not be included in the score.
- The burger must be made of ground meat. This means no sliced steak or any fancy shmancy crap. Stuff that goes through the grinder. Note that I said "meat", which means I can include Turkey, Buffalo, Ostrich, Graboids, Boca, or anything else they can come up with.
- Any type of burger, special or not, counts. Regular Cheeseburger, 13 Dollar Guacamole Burger, Kobe Beef Burgers, Burgerstuffed Burgers with Burger as a Bun Bound in Bacon.
- Any place will do. Diners, Drives, PF Chang's, Fancy Shmancy's, Jack In The Box, Pierre's Hella Expensive We Only Drink The Best Wine Restaurant*. Don't matter. If it's a burger, it'll count. In fact, if you think you can make a better burger than that, and you're willing to make me the best burger, then I will come over to your house and eat it.

And with that out of the way, let's get to our first contender:

The "Cheeseburger" at Joe's of Westlake (Daly City, CA)

That, right there, is the "Cheeseburger" from Joe's. Nope, there is no special name to that little sucka right there. There was no description either. It just read:

Cheeseburger ............................$10.95

Neither did I ask for anything special. Just ordered it medium rare. And what came to me was a charbroiled burger on a (French? Italian?) roll with what I think was melted Monterey Jack cheese. Nothing else on it. As you can see, it came pretty red, but I was okay with that, since I do like my burgers pretty rare. So how'd it do?

Well, at first bite, that burger was really freakin juicy. It had a lot of flavor to it, and with the melted cheese to soften the strength of the juices, I think it really tasted quite good. The texture of the burger itself was really where it was at. Even though the meat wasn't falling apart, it didn't feel like one meshed up patty at all. It all just separated as I bit and chew, and I really loved that. I swear the cow that went into this beef probably strolled right into the restaurant and practically begged to take a dip in the grinder, it seemed that fresh. I enjoyed those first few bites.

Then came the hard truth: the bun sucked. Midway through eating the burger, I asked Jen what she thought, and she had the same complaint I did: The roll, as interesting and tasty as it looked, was tough to bite through. I literally had to bite and rip the bread off with my teeth like a T-Rex gnawing on an M1 Abrams tank. It really kept me from enjoying the meat. No bun should be distracting you from the main attraction of the sandwich, and it really did. That dropped it some points.

Now toward the end, as I was getting fuller, I started to notice only the burnt taste of the burger. I understand that this is an effect of the charbroiling. And besides that, I was also not as hungry as I was at the beginning of dinner. Not to mention that as I remember having colds with no smell, lightly burned things tasted a lot more burnt than I thought it would. So considering those things, maybe a normal person wouldn't notice or care, but to me it made those last bites really unappealing. Since I couldn't be sure about it, I took only half a point from the burger.

So the final verdict?

6.5 out of 10

If it wasn't for the bun and the overwhelmingly burnt taste, it could've scored anywhere from an 8 to a 9. I definitely don't think this was the best burger. I give it a minor recommendation, if you're in the area, but not just for the burger. Check in my notes to see why.

Notes

- Lots and lots of old people there. I'm not entirely convinced the place isn't right next to a retirement home. Plus or minus? Well, there're no hipster kids there doin the jerk or gettin all rambunctioned (yeah, I made that up), so I'll give that a plus.

- It's an old time Italian spot, and the architecture looks like a place my grandma used to live at in San Diego. It also means the maitre'd and waiters were all dudes in tuxes. Very cool. I didn't get the dudes in the goomba-ass Italian suits though. Because they might ice me.

- Jen's Chicken Parmigiana was much better than mine. And it was freakin HUUUGE! She didn't enjoy the wine sauce as much as I did, but she hella loved the spaghetti. As did I. I was pretty jealous that she got that damn spaghetti.

- And finally, we did not ask for water.

- Shame on you, Joe. Shame.

* Only if I can afford. This means within 10% of my 2 week paycheck.

Jay-Z "Death of Autotune"

2009-06-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

If you follow Hip Hop on the Internet at all, you've probably heard of Jay-Z's "Death of Autotune" by now. Jay-Z's reasoning? "...to draw a line in the sand. This is what I do."

I've read other blogs mention how this is Jay-Z showing his marketing prowess and building controversy hype for his own album a la 50 Cent. I've no doubt this is part of the reason. But I think this also has shown how much Hova has matured these years.

Ever since Kingdom Come, Jay-Z's been showing his age in a good way. With songs like "30 Something" and "Minority Report", Jay touched on growing older and actually waxed on the Katrina problem. And further back, on the Black Album, he's wished to be "lyrically like Talib Kweli". In fact, that was probably the first time that Jay-Z showed us he was more than just a clever flossy gangsta rapper. It showed he really cared about the state of hip hop, and the words that he chooses.

Since then, I've noticed his behavior and collaboration choices in the industry point toward a more conscious, more "pure", more lyrical, hip hop. He executive produced Lupe Fiasco's first album, signed Jadakiss to Roc-a-Fella, rapped alongside Stic.Man and M1 of Dead Prez, and way back when he showed some conscious rap on Kweli's "Get By Remix". For sure, Jay-Z's become the elder statesman of hip hop, and lucky for us, he's still got the skill.

Which brings us to his anti-autotune war cry. Here we see where Jay's heart lies with all the autotuning nonsense. It's gotten out of hand and prevented hip hop from growing lyrically. Everyone's busy trying to be R&B singers and forgetting what the music is all about. While other people have called this out already, President Carter is the only guy with enough clout to make waves like this. But with Autotune still popular, can one song really squash a fad?

P.S. I'm not saying Autotune should be killed. I believe T-Pain, for all his inability to sing minus a machine, still makes some damn good catchy songs that are relatable to the everyman. You can't deny his melodic skills and fun demeanor. It's all the other guys abusing this crap that annoy me. I mean, Mary J autotuned her beautiful voice just to get on. That's how crappy things have gotten.

Joe Quesada: Marvel Head Honcho

2009-06-05T10:59:00.001-07:00

Okay okay, so my suggestion to him was about penises. But, you know, he called me a genius. Just sayin…

Feet in the ground, sittin low, plantin that rice.

2009-03-05T23:38:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted anything, written anything really. A few months ago I had high hopes for getting an artist for my book. It didn't pan out, and that really knocked me down a few good notches. You can't understand the excitement of finishing that first good script til it's done. And it is. But there's no biting.

Since then I've just been hanging back, very discouraged. I was thinking, maybe it's not for me. But then I go to Wondercon and Matt Fraction has me thinking things all over again. My friend Kedd's got a small story out, and Joey's thinking of getting it all started again too. Not to mention that some of the free books I picked up from small press and whatnot (not including Conjoined Comics and Kedd/Randy's), seemed pretty weak. No disrespect, but I really do feel like my book was a lot better written.

It's hard not to come off as arrogant, and I swear I'm not, but I've felt like this a couple of times: I write things like music, poetry, or these new comics and I feel like I'm on top of the world. Then, at some point, I just find myself doubting and thinking I'm just not good enough. I'm mediocre. But then, I see some of the things around me, other artists, who have come further than I have, and I realize I have the ability to write things just as good as, if not better than, them.

So I'm at that point again, where I think I can make a go of it. I'm working harder this time. My goal is at least two, hopefully three, issues of my current comic project, a pitch to Marvel, a secret project, two new songs, and maybe just maybe a few ideas for a musical all by June. It's a hefty load, but I think if I just set my deadlines and stick to them, I can do it.

Music Attention Deficit Disorder

2008-12-12T16:02:00.001-08:00

"Music just isn't what it used to be." I hear this term plenty. I've got friends who listen to only Motown, or only '90s R&B, because apparently the music today just isn't good enough. Again and again, you'll hear the moans of those who miss yesteryear, aching for a time when groups like Temptations, Aretha, or Boyz II Men ruled the airwaves. I'll admit it, I miss those days too. And lucky for us, we can still listen to this music through our iPods and they'll never go away as long as we continuing buying it.

And I'm not going to argue about the musical prowess of T-Pain (who, I actually would, argue in favor of, believe it or not), or compare Polow da Don's production skills to that of DJ Premier's, but I do believe there's a whole lot more going on than the depreciation of music quality. Yes, tastes are changing. And yes, MTV and the rest of the entertainment media spoon-feeds teenagers the "next big thing". That's always been a given. But what I haven't heard much about is the way that the Internet has changed a lot of what we hear today. More importantly, it's changed how we hear music.

The new generation of listeners have been listening to music from a much different source than we do today. Yeah, when they're on the go, they're listening to Lil Wayne in their iPods, but at home they're listening to the music on their computer speakers. And what sources are they using? WebRadio? Maybe. I'm not sure what listenership is to FM radio anymore, but I can guarantee you that they're only a smidgen of the sources that introduce them to the hottest shit.

We've got music blogs telling us what the latest music is now. Media sites like LastFM and iMeem are promoting artists on their home page and giving us free listens to entire albums. And with the ability to easily record music on a Mac or PC, and the millions of venues there are to release your music, there are a ton of artists out there today. And with that comes oversaturation.

In one instance, oversaturation occurs because of the sheer amount of releases. Every site you browse, every station you listen to, every music channel you watch is feeding you all this music from all these artists. And this music is being released not just as their official singles or albums come out, but as leaks almost directly from the studio. Then we got tons of bonus tracks or those that got placed on the floor. Then, especially in hip hop, we got mixtapes that need little production to release. We get immediate releases of anything anytime. I haven't gone a day where there isn't several songs by a well known artist that are new to my ears. The market is so full of music that it's impossible to wade through.

My friends and I have talked about the longetivity of an artist's catalogue to determine whether that music is truly "better". And it makes sense: if their music's good, you're going to listen to it for a long time. Today's artists are making music that, some might say, are easily forgettable. Of course, as an older individual who isn't growing up with this music like I did with Boyz II Men or Bone Thugs n Harmony, my opinion about today's generation of artist will differ. But there's also the fact of the aforementioned oversaturation of the market. I might get several new albums in one month that I can only listen to once because I've got to listen to that other new one. We're so used to having so much music that we've grown accustomed to jumping from song to song without taking time to dwell and appreciate. We've built a Music Attention Deficit Disorder.

I still remember the first CDs I bought for myself with my own money: Usher's "My Way", Brandy's "Never Say Never", Monica's "Boy Is Mine". At the time, I just moved from the U.S. to Japan. My family stayed in a military hotel for a while, and without friends or knowledge of what there was to do around Japan, all I had to keep me entertained was my portable CD Player. I listened to those three CDs a billion times. And to me, they are now bonafide classics. Flash forward to today. I barely have time to listen Joe Budden's mixtape once before a Lupe dropped, or Al Green's album took over. Sure, I'll find my favorites here and there, but there's just so much out that I'll never be able to feel satisfied that I've listened to my entire library. And with the ability to buy tracks separately on iTunes and Amazon, the music world has become almost totally focused on singles rather than full albums.

The thing is, there are good albums out there. We just have to wade through the sea of music just to find them. And once we've done that, we've got to spend time listening to the music so we can learn to appreciate them.

So yeah, blame MTV for giving us formulaic pop music. Blame the radio for playing Lil Wayne music 6 times an hour. Blame this generation of listeners for supporting the crap. Blame Hyphy and Crunk for the lack of lyricism in hip hop. But don't tell me that there isn't good music out there, because there is. You just gotta take the time to listen.

Hope you voted!

2008-11-04T09:00:00.001-08:00

...cuz Spidey did.

The Great White Iron Fist

2008-10-24T16:48:00.001-07:00

Before I say anything, let me preface this with the fact that I enjoyed the hell out of Iron Fist: The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. Matt Fraction is a genius, and Iron Fist is a total bad ass. The action knocked my socks off, and I loved all the homage whoring to old time Martial Arts Fantasy Flicks.

But here's my problem: Why is every hero in this damn book white? Seriously? Or at least, why are none of the big-timers Asian? Especially in a Martial Arts book in a mostly Asian setting? (And while Heroes for Hire gets a bit of Kudos for more diversity, it's still outsiders saving the poor Asians).

I get it, Daniel Rand is an outsider. His dad is an outsider. They are white guys facing adversity to prove themselves. Their race plays into their problems.

But look. Daniel is the main character in this thing and he'll eventually save the world. His predecessor happens to also be White, and though he doesn't become a savior, he comes off as this bad ass old timer rebel (who happens to bang a couple of Asian hotties in Chinese dresses). His Wendell Rand outdoes everyone in his class and almost attains Iron Fist. And looky here! We have a blue-eyed revolutionary who's going to change Asian Heaven forever! At first, her hair looks brunette-ish, which seems to show she's half-asian. But by the time her mask comes off, you see she is blonde haired (like the other aforementioned 3 heroes).

But wait! All the other Immortal Weapons are Asian! And the most bad ass of them: The God of Orphans, is untouchable. Surely, he shall be so cool and trump all the white people. Oops, nevermind, his name? John Aman. Albeit, his name means something in Hebrew. But nowadays, Hebrew tends to be associated a lot more with western values than Eastern. So... we lose one there too.

Seriously, there are some decently skilled Asians, such as Iron Fist's mentor, and the other Immortal Weapons. But they're all really just side characters caught in the tidal wave of White Characters coming to save Fantasy Asia.

Storywise, I guess I get it. It allows every crucial character to be connected.

But it feels like The Last Samurai. Or the white guy sensei love interest in Samurai Girl tv miniseries(he was Asian in the book). It felt like a way for White folks to connect, like they couldn't have gotten the same feeling if the characters were of Asian descent.

It irked me the whole time I read through this book. Maybe I'm just being too racially sensitive. I dunno. I just had to get that out there.

BET The Cypher '08

2008-10-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

Not sure if any of this is off the top of the head, but Ace Hood comes HAAAARD with it. Jada and Fab's nice on the track. Juelz actually sounds like he's stylefreein, but then again, he's usually offbeat in the first place.

Second one sounds a whole lot less rehearsed. Hurricane Chris is horrible! But Bun B and Q-Tip really saved that track. K'Naan sounded fresh too. Hey, Tip, where were you back on Amplified?!

Corey Gunz was on a killing spree. Willy Northpole was aight. Blaq Poet was nice. But Hime? I'm sorry, just cuz she's skinny and cute and Asian doesn't make her flow nice. I enjoyed her lyrics about fighting stereotypes, but that flow was atrocious.

Universal Mind Control

2008-10-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

Common does it again. I'm loving the graphics that Hype Williams employs on this video. And the Pharrell robot is a nice sneaky way of putting him into the video without having to get him to come to the video shoot. Ha. I think there should be a Hip Hop-wide ban on Video Honeys for a little bit so we can see what else rappers can do with a video. Maybe we'll get more videos like this worth watching.

M.O.P. Status

2008-10-12T12:26:00.001-07:00

Remember the Brownsville Bullies? I've loved M.O.P. since I heard them on that robbery anthem "Ante Up". MOP's high energy delivery and over-the-top gun talk was so ridiculous it got me hype and kept me hanging on every lyric. Then they started rolling with Jay-Z and my hopes for M.O.P.'s on Just Blase beats seemed like they would be fulfilled. Unfortunately, when Jay-Z is in charge, it seems other artists get put on the backburner much too long. As much as he'd like you to think he's a businessman (or business, man), he doesn't really show prowess to promote his artists.

Here's a few tracks from M.O.P. that I still love:

Ante Up

Ante Up - MOP

How About Some Hardcore

How About Some Hardcore - M.O.P

Cold as Ice
Cold As Ice - M.O.P.

For Dolo

2008-09-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

I had a couple things lined up that I wanted to talk about, but I'm taking a break now because I've gotta focus on some writing. I've got a friend editing a comic I'm writing and he might have actually found me an artist. Nothing's confirmed yet, but I'm really to know that there might be an actual book coming out of something I created myself. I'm putting my heart into this, so I hope it turns out as well as I see it in my head.

This is an Announcement

2008-09-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late posting the Common video, but I'm still feeling this track and wanted to comment on it myself. Ever since Kanye reinvigorated his career with Be, Common has been a force in the community again. I'm feeling the minimalist vibe on this Neptunes track, and Common is as consistent as ever lyrically.

There's a good contingent of people out there that "hipster" rappers like Lupe, Common, Kanye, Pharrell, and The Cool Kids have brought back good music and lyricism to Hip Hop. I'm one of those people. But one thing I haven't heard much about is that their music videos tend to be more creative than your average women in skimpy clothes shaking booties and random glossy sets. And for that, I applaud them. You know how hard it is to defend Hip Hop music videos to the rock crowd?

I Guess That Makes Me A Hero

2008-09-19T18:13:00.001-07:00

Now I myself am not much of a Guitar Hero player, nor a Rock Band player. For a guy that's very into music, and does a bit of producing/writing/performing on the side, you'd think a rhythm game would come natural, but it doesn't. So, this news isn't a big deal to me, but others might be excited to hear that Freestyle Games is developing a sequel to Guitar Hero called DJ Hero.

According to Kotaku, the controller is going to be shaped like - what else? - a turntable, and it's going to be compatible with the guitar controller as well. Know what that means? The songs are going to mostly be mash-ups. And that's pretty much it. Of course, this isn't a new concept. People have heard of Beatmania right? So what makes this different? Well, if it's anything like Guitar Hero, it'll be using lots of popular songs. So get ready for some Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, X-ecutioners stuff. Personally, I'm hoping jams from Primo get in there.

Of course, you have to wonder how much this will actually catch on. As a big a Hip Hop fan as I am, DeeJaying isn't really my favorite part, and you've gotta admit that it's a niche preference. No average person could really tell you the difference between good and bad scratching. Notes aren't played exactly. And from that point of view, it seems infinitely limited compared to guitar solos.

But I've got no reason to criticize until the game actually comes out. Here's hoping that DJs Babu and Q-Bert make the cut (pun intended).

Operation Airlift

2008-09-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

G. Willow Wilson came up with a great idea called Operation: Airlift to introduce comics to new readers and promote her new book "Air" in the process. By the way, you should really check the book out. Everyone from Jason Aaron to Neil Gaiman has given the book high praises, and - two issues in - the book is getting more and more interesting.

Anyway, Check out Operation: Airlift

G. Willow Wilson writes on http://www.standardattrition.com/
You may remember the loooong thread in Azz’s forum about new ways to keep monthlies viable and get more people into reading comics. I thought a lot about what people observed and suggested, particularly in regard to mainstream bookstore/media exposure. I thought about getting my first monthly out of the gate in a crashing economy. And I hatched a scheme.

I call it Operation AIRlift. And just like Uncle Sam and Smokey Bear, I need YOU.

Here’s how it works:

1. Buy a copy of AIR #1 from your local comics retailer.

2. Read it.

3. When you’re done with it, get a no-bleed pen or marker. Turn to the first page. (The one with the title and the picture of Blythe and Zayn falling to their presumable deaths.) In some of that empty sky, write something clever, like “Curious? Buy the issue at:” followed by the NAME and ADDRESS of your local comics retailer.

4. Feel free to get creative about where you leave your copy. (Planes, trains, automobiles?). [Editor's Note: This used to say leave it in a book store like Borders or Barnes & Noble in the fantasy, travel, whatever section, but Wilson got a wrist-slap from the higher ups and could no longer suggest it]

5. Snap a picture of your guerilla handiwork. Send the pic to info [at] gwillowwilson [dot] com, along with your mailing address. I will send you a SIGNED copy of AIR #1 to replace the one you’ve left to posterity. I’ll also post your pic here at StatAt.

Good luck, comrades. Let’s see if we can’t get more book-reading butts into comic shops.

Secret Invasion #6

2008-09-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

The Positive? The cover looks badass.

What happened in this issue to move anything forward? Well... not much. I don't think I'm spoiling much by recounting the plot so here we go:
1. The opening is a review of what's been happening in the tie-ins. By doing this, Bendis makes me painfully aware that those books have much more going on than this main book.
2. Halfway through the book, the Savage Land Avengers finally arrive in New York to find... oh yeah... Skrulls are invading.
3. Nick Fury is leading what's left of the Initiative against the Skrulls. The Hood and his gang of baddies join.

Mildly interesting new bit: Some human students are already "embracing change" and welcoming the Skrulls. It's a bit expected. Plus, this already happened when people welcomed the Hulk during World War Hulk. And again in the Ultimate U when Silver Surfer came along in Ultimate Nightmare/Galactus.

More interesting plot device: Skrull changer. Ohhh, so after ALL of the pains the Skrulls took to hide their identities from every technology, magic, and super sense, we just get Nick Fury saying "I figured them out" and hits them with a big blast that reveals the Skrulls. Nice. Thanks. That was it? A big gun? And no real explanation to why this works and the others don't?

After four disappointing issues, Issue 5 brought me back into the fold with the reveal that the Skrulls were actually on Earth to help out the humans. It brought a totally new angle to the story. Never expected it. And now we're back to a bunch of quipping and punching. The concept of a Secret Invasion seeded for a couple years was awesome. The new concept of an invading alien race as saviors equally good. Bendis' execution? Not so much. Just a bunch of filler between potentially monumental ideas.

Fringe Series Premiere

2008-09-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

First of all, what was with the location insets presented as 3D objects actually placed within the scene. It seemed more gimmicky than anything and reminds me of the HBO Television Commercials that play before you get to the Main Menu of The Wire DVDs.

When I heard about Fringe, I was pretty excited because J.J. Abrams name was attached to it. He's brought us Lost and the acclaimed Alias. Admittedly, I've never seen Alias, but I'm a huuuuuuuge fan of Lost. You've probably read elsewhere all the accusations of its premise aping off of the X-Files. And yeah, it's definitely reminiscent of that show. But if it succeeds in execution, then I don't care. So how does it fair?

Well, the first episode didn't grab me. What compelled me to continue watching Lost in its first season -- and forgive me for comparisons, but that show is the reason I gave this one a chance -- is that the stories of its characters and their interactions were really top-notch. I'm not very impressed with he main character Agent Dunham (Anna Torv). Her character is bland right now. She just happens to be the partner of an FBI Agent who was affected by some Fringe Science chemical, and so she goes to ridiculous lengths to save him. So her boss is impressed by that and offers her a job in a Top Secret department. Really? That's all you gotta do get that job? Spend extraneous amounts of money and resources in a personal quest to save someone you love? At least Mulder's personal quest turned into an obsession. Liaison just happened to find herself in the middle of a strange situation and broke a bunch of rules.

Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) is a bit more interesting. He's a genius, but a f*ck up, which makes for a lot of potential. His dysfunctional relationship with his father should prove entertaining in the future, but this episode just involved a lot of him interjecting with his objections after every one of his father's ridiculous scientific whoozawhatzit suggestions. It was supposed to show us his disbelief and annoyance with his father, but it ended up annoying me too. Cool, you don't like your father, so now show us what you know.

Walter Bishop (John Noble) intrigues me the most. His past, filled with wonky scientific experiments and involvement with a multibillionaire CEO, is rife with mystery. And he's slightly crazy. That's all I really need to know.

I think this episode's plot was decent. The inevitable reveal of a betrayal toward the end didn't really hit me as hard as it would have if I had been more invested in the character. While there were some good effects throughout, and some chase scenes, I never once felt any tension. Lost brought me tons of those moments, so I'm hoping they bring me some of that.

There are some good points that I hope they capitalize on. After all, with an X-Files-like premise, they have an infinite amount of story to tell. They can come up with self-contained case after case, and also build toward a bigger conspiracy which points toward Massive Dynamics. The fictiony part of the science was probably the best part of the show. This episode brought us and genetically modified animals, a chemical attack that causes translucent skin, and an interview with a comatose patient through LSD. Now that was cool. That is what's going to bring me back for at least several more episodes.

Black Panther Vol. 1 TPB by Reginald Hudlin

2008-09-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

Black Panther Vol. 1: Who Is The Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
I love the concept of Blank Panther. He's the bad ass king of an African nation so advanced they've found the cure to cancer. He's so adept at fighting, he could take Captain America, he's a genius military strategist, benevolent leader, and he's intelligent. He's an awesome character if you're looking for a positive Black role model in comics.

So why didn't I like the book? One name: Reginald Hudlin. The writer of "classics" such as House Party and Boomerang. While I appreciate those movies from my childhood, it's really not an impressive resume for writing comics.

Hudlin's dialogue is less than mediocre. There is no wit there. It just feels juvenile, clunky. I groaned at the opening scene, worried about what was to come:
"Stay cool, stay cool"
"Hold your ground, running will only make it worse."
"Oh, it's getting worse--" (Thousands of spears flying in the air)
"Kiss my butt, Wakan--"

"Stay cool"? "Kiss my butt"? Did I forget to mention that this dialogue was from 5th century African tribesmen? At first, I tried to rationalize it as just rough translations of what had been said in native language. I wouldn't even accept this if it was said in English.

Even worse, Black Panther really doesn't come off as a bad ass in this book. Read Jason Aaron's current mini "See Wakanda and Die" and you'll see just how earthshatteringly monumental this king can be. Hudlin's book tends to tell us through exposition that Black Panther can do this, and he can do that. He can do everything. It's like he's just telling us how awesome he thinks BP is, but he can't show it to us. We need some bad ass lines. We need him to stand up against the unbeatable odds and triumph! Ugh.

And don't get me started on Hudlin's take on racial issues. Black Panther is defined in this book solely by his blackness. And that's what gets to me. We get it, Hudlin, BP is Black. And he's awesome. He's an awesome Black guy. But stop hitting us over the head with it. In doing so, you're tokenizing him. BP is so much more than that. He's also defined by his royalty, his stoic nature, his cool under pressure, his humility, and his leadership. Show us he's a great CHARACTER regardless of his ethnicity. Then we'll see, without being told explicitly, that he's one of the greatest superheroes the Marvel U has seen, Black, White, Asian, Latino, Kree, or Skrull.

What saddens me more is that this is going to be the basis of BET's book. By the way, the animation is pretty crappy. I was really hoping for fresh material. From what I hear, Christopher Priest's run was much better, and I look forward to picking those up. I'm hoping Jason Aaron gets a full-time gig on the book now too. I originally gave this book two stars, but I think I was just being kind because I like BP as a character. Sorry Hudlin, but I can't like this book.

View all my reviews.

Amazing Spiderman #570

2008-09-06T13:34:00.001-07:00

You know, Dan Slott is no Grant Morrison, Brian K. Vaughn, or Mark Millar. He's not out to reinvent Spider-Man or bring us some high concept book. But when it comes to telling a traditional damn good comic book story, he is perfect.

"New Ways To Die" finally brings us a bit of everything everyone's been looking for in Spidey. Far as I know, people have been clamoring for some of the rogues we're familiar with instead of these exciting, new villains forced down our throats. So he brings us Mac Gargon's Venom and Norman Osborn. Ahhhh, but Slott still wants to give us some new shit, so we get ANTI-VENOM, who was introduced to us last issue.

And I'll tell you, I really really like this new character. His character's already been developed since we've known Eddie for a while, and here we see the classic monster just trying to live a good life. He begins by trying to heal Venom. His views of Spidey changes midway through when he finally sees our Friendly Neighborhood Superhero in a heroic light. And yet, poor ol' Pete is still going to lose out on this somehow.

The short scene with Menace attacking Hollister also brought a "Hmmmm" moment with me. Seems like there's more going on than to it than I thought.

The ending is interesting, though not much of a nailbiter. In fact, I was waiting for this to happen at some point. Still, the narrative is good, and I really can't wait to finish this entire arc.

Bow Wow Gets Owned By TSS

2008-09-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

By now, every rapper in the world has spit a verse on Wayne's "A Milli" track. Wouldn't be too long before Bow Wow got a hold of it.

The Smoking Section does a hilarious breakdown of the song. It goes without saying that Bow Wow can't write his own lyrics worth a damn, but this article made me laugh out loud so much that I had to post this. Read Being Bow Wow. Check it out:

“Money in my pocket and my Sox like Chicago.”

This one is tricky. Maybe it’s over my head like the sky (get it?), but this seems to make no fucking sense. I mean, I know Chicago has the White Sox. Obviously there’s some depth I’m failing to reach because the ad-lib screams “Damn!” Bow Wow’s overdubs are obviously enjoying this way more than I am.

That thing was funny like clowns (OHHHH!!!!)

The Teacher and the Student:

2008-09-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

So KRS-One had an On-Air conversation with Souljah Boy. Hmmm... Just in case you didn't know, there have been lots of old-school rappers from GZA to Ice T who have been calling SB the Death of of Hip Hop. KRS, though, has decided to welcome the guy. This is why I liked this whole set-up:

KRS is the first guy to actually reach out and speak to SB, rather than talk shit about him. Dialogue is necessary if we're to solve the problem people have.
KRS lays it down for all of us how he sees Hip Hop's evolution. "It's the Generation Gap," he explains. Yeah, I can dig that, the kids today haven't listened to ATCQ. Are they obligated to? I wouldn't think so. It'd be nice to check it out, but that's how life goes.
Souljah Boy, in response to KRS's kindness, actually responds to the old school with respect. He lays to rest how he feels about the Ice-T situation, and he explains what his own views of Hip Hop is ("Letting loose and not thinking about the consequences." That's some bad representation... but at least we know where he comes from). It's not just a bunch of fire thrown at the fire here.
Along with the Generation Gap, KRS explains that Hip Hop can be interpreted differently by different people. Finally something I can respect. I've had lots of arguments with folks about how Hip Hop is only the four elements. Please, Hip Hop has been through a lot since the 80's. It has evolved, and it has been reinterpreted. For better and for worse.

So how do I feel? Souljah Boy isn't really the problem here. It's the media that presents to us our music, and the consumers who choose to listen to him. Let's face it, mindless dance rap is extremely popular. I remember seeing a 7 year old white girl practicing The Souljah Boy while in line at Best Buy. And I can't front, if I heard a MIMS joint on in the club, I'd be on the dance floor. Ain't nobody gonna stop that from happening. But we need a balanced diet in our hip hop. Just like you can't live strictly off just mac and cheese, you can't have a decent plate of hip hop on just Pop Rap. The radio and MTV needs to promote a more diverse group of artists. The listeners need to open their ears and understand the beauty of lyricism and complexity in their music.

That being said, Souljah Boy is still wack as a rapper. That "freestyle" was definitely not a off the top of the head, by the way. He's only got one hit song, and he's got no business claiming #1. Regardless, I respect him for coming out the way he did. Maybe he'll change the way he does his music from now on.

Philippine All-Stars 2008 on America's Best Dance Crew

2008-08-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

Apparently, this year's World Champions got to do a guest spot on America's Best Dance Crew when the cameras stopped rolling. I know there's been a lot of talk about Filipino crews biting from of American hip hop dance crews, but time and again there is a lot of original shit coming out of the islands.

For a front-side, non-shaky camera view, here's a video of them doing it at the Championship themselves. The transitions, tricks, and precision are just refreakindiculouso.

Daniel Dae Kim on Voting

2008-08-31T21:23:00.000-07:00

Thought that my first post would be about a television show or a comic book. But alas, it's about the election. Not that Daniel Dae Kim is an expert or the one person we should be looking to during such a pivotal time in politics, but I'm a fan and it was refreshing to hear something intelligent said by familiar Asian-American face in Hollywood.

"You know, so many young Asian Americans are media saavy and within that demographic everyone talks about representation. This — getting involved in the political process — is representation at its most basic and literal level. And I think that when we try and serve the cause of Asian Americans we really need to get involved in this process, whether it's you yourself getting out to vote or being an advocate on behalf of a candidate to your family or your friends. I think it's just important to know what's going on in the country at a grassroots level and at a national level. And I think it's better to be the advocate for change than the beneficiary of change."
- Daniel Dae Kim to Angryasianman.com