Whose world is this?

The Magnificent.

2009-10-06T03:35:00.000-07:00

Lullatone - Wake Up, Wake Up - Little Songs About Raindrops

Obviously I haven't updated in just about forever! I've been keeping a more loyal habit of blogging on my sister blog, instant vintage, as well as on my group blog Certified Fresh. Follow us with your Tumblr account & tell your friends to, too!

It's been over 9 months since I've last blogged here; & my do I have a lot to talk about! Although I'm gonna attempt re-cap the past year to date, i'll definitely come back to add more things that I've left out.

Highlights over the past 9 months:
-Sneakers Require w/ Lu @ the Buena Vista Center for the Arts
-All the amazing Listening Lounges by Reignforest Collective @ 111 Minna

-PCC18 @ UC Santa Cruz
-Bay-2-Breakers 12Km. Run @ SF
-finally seeing Dave Choe's "Dirty Hands" documentary @ the Asian Film Festival
-bumping Stephen Yan's "(Your) Favorite Mixtape" Mix
-Janelle Monae & Raphael Saadiq with Justine & Mattie G.
-French Art Auction @ 111 Minna & Grad Celebrations @ Poleng right after
-Ryan Leslie @ Yoshi's SF
-Certified Fresh volunteering @ Stern Grove Music Festivals
-M.J.'s Passing
-My first BLOW UP SF!

-Change The Beat 3-Year Anniversary @ Paradise Lounge (G.L.K.!)
-FeelGood 1-Year Anniversary @ Blush Ultralounge
-Composing mind-blowing music with Mark (coming soon!)

-Allison Torneros' "Face Value" Show on Opening Night
-More BLOW UP SF!!
-PERFORMING IN SF for my VERY 1ST TIME! @ Azul Lounge, SF for the Legendary show
-Santa Cruz w/ Mark & Farrah
-12ft. Dwende's ALL TOO FRESH Interview Posts!
-Foreign Exchange @ Yoshi's SF
-Mayer Hawthorne @ Rickshaw Stop
-BLOW UP SF!!!!!

As you may have noticed, i LOVE going to the Blow Up SF! I know I've missed a number of things I did & music that came out but these Facebook highlights struck me the most... damn that's hella stuff! haha. I'll add more pictures & media as time goes.

Working with Mark on our music for the past few months has been really, really invigoratingly refreshing; I came to realize that being happy is all that I really want most out of my life, and I thank Mark for helping me see that. Of course I want to be successful, too, career wise and everything.. but with the music we've been making, if this can blossom into a career, then that's fine; and if not, well I'm just glad I've realized how much I love doing this and love how good it feels. DAMN. Like, nothing feels better!

Anyway, Life Is Good (Word to M. Def) & the possibilities are equally as endless if not more endless in possibility for every day that I WAKE UP, WAKE UP. (GOD I'm awesome for connecting that Lullatone song with this closing salutation! Or not.)

P.S., I'll try to post more often, as Ana Vi(ctorious) has limitlessly inspired me to just live my life better. & my fault I didn't make it to your farewell dinner, I caught a tough flu that very weekend :(

"Drifing away like a feather in air,
Letting my words take me away from the hurt & despair.."

You've Gotta Squint Like You've Got The Mothaf!cking Sun In Your Eyes.

2008-12-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

Talib Kweli ft. Res - Too Late - Train Of Thought

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! Peace to L-Boogie & You + Yours!

^Like our tree? Long's Drugs mini trees what it do!!

PS, damn I miss that tie ^up there, got ruined in the washer =[ oh well, new ties will get rocked then!

I've given until I break,
The ground beneath us quakes;
How can we grow when we've only begun?
Forsake beneath the sun.."

I Crossed An Ocean Of Words & Found You.

2008-12-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

Nobuo Uematsu - Tifa's Theme - Final Fantasy VII Piano Collection

Lost In Translation is one of my most favorite movies, ever! The sleepy, dreamy aesthetic of this film (recorded on film and not digital video), paced with the consciously detached sensation that you're all alone would push the impatient audiencee to blink 40 winks, or perhaps dismiss the movie as "pointless" or "plotless," but they'd be completely missing the most profound element of this movie: It's about getting lost in many things--lost in loneliness, lost in a fast-paced world--but it's ultimately about being lost in love. And lost in an ocean of words.

Talib Kweli ft. Les Nubians - Love Language - Train Of Thought

^Listen to the chorus of this song:

"L'amour n'a pas de, frontiere (Love has no boundaries)
Restes car je t'aime comme tu es (Stay because I love you as you are)
J'ai traverse l'ocean du verbe (I crossed an ocean of words)
Et je t'ai trouve (And I found you)

Falling in love in a different country.. Imagine falling in love in a different language! As the Def Poetry poet Shihan put it, from his "Love-Like" piece:

"..I even be fantasize about walking out on a green light just dying to get hit by a car just so I could lose my memory,
get transported to some third world country just to get treated and somehow meet up again with you so I could
fall in love with you in a different language and see if it still feels the same type love."

This is type of love is that miracle-type love, that every single one of us has a chance of happening to. John Green of the novel Paper Towns put it so well, as it goes along the lines of this: If you think about it, everyone gets their miracle: if you consider all the unlikely things put together (i.e., getting struck by lightning, getting terminal ear cancer, spontaneous combustion, getting eaten by a whale, etc.), at least one of them will probably happen to each of us. but my miracle was this: Out of all houses, of all the subdivisions of all the cities in Florida, I lived next-door to Margot Roth Spiegelman."

^You will definitely have to read the book to understand how SO SWEET & DOPE this part of the prologue is!

Anyway, my honest intention of this post was to post the ending of Lost In Translation because I recently discovered (through watching Attack Of The Show, I believe!!) the silenced whisper exchanged between Murray & Johannsen.

If you can't appreciate the art behind this decision by Sofia Coppola to blind the audio, then don't watch this video, and stay puzzled in heartache, imagining what was actually spoken!

Or, if you are full of suck and are a curious cat, proceed + continue to push "play":

Bill Murray & Scarlett Johannsen - Ending - Lost In Translation

*Sigh* I want my miracle, too..

"The things I say & do
May not come quite through,
My words may not convey just what I'm feeling.."

Just A Bunch Of Jibberish.

2008-12-07T14:40:00.000-08:00

Binary Star - Reality Check - Masters of the Universe

..And then Macy asked me,"Are you happy?" And I couldn't answer immediately at first--I moved my lips and opened my mouth and blinked a second too long, meaning to decide where my answer would fall in this Yes/No/Maybe realm of almost seemingly-innocent conversation..

I said "Yes, I am," but my eyes lied and a teardrop backstabbed my false intention, to agree to disagree with myself, and when I closed my eyes I saw myself staring out into blank void of what would lie ahead in my post-graduate life (for that time.. things changed for the better now!).

PCC17 "Bayan" had just wrapped its closing night, and the whole run crew, stage crew, cast and close friends were partying like it was New Year's, on a cold, dark but unarguably celebratory night in a Western street house, with a lovely basement (whose residency included Will, handsome boyfriend to the Elle front-page, drop-dead divine Tammie D., lead star of the play) to escape the dreaded party-ordinance enforcers known as the Cops.

I had just made a run to the 7-11 near my house to cop a modest 32 oz. of the High Life for myself, but something was missing. Why was I standing here alone, getting a sole-bottle of something that really wouldn't do anything to me unless I downed two of these bottles whole? Why hadn't I asked anyone if they wanted something on the way, too? why was i frustrating myself with silly questions when I could be doing a Soco-Sake-shotgun, or a keg stand, or playing Beer Pong against Luisa in the party basement? WHY COULDN'T I JUST STOP THINKING!

Macy's eyes snapped mine back onto Earth from the Jupiter space they had momentarily rocketed out too, and knew my answer was an honest lie. I didn't even realize that one could lie honestly, only until it was themselves they were lying with. "Carlo, it's important to be honest to you, even though it may take a while to find where your happiness lies.. No matter what, do what pleases you, do what makes you happy. It's taken me a while, but I'm finally happy."

Macy is one of the realest, flyest girls I've ever known. Always given me direction and wisdom words, I owe her the oceans and stars and all the intergalactic space between.

Thanks for always lookin out, Macy!

"Lady all I need,
Darkness she's all I see.."

Your Arms Are Too Short To Hotbox With God.

2008-12-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

Keyshia Cole - Let It Go Trackademicks Remix - Trackademicks Presents The ReMixtape Vol. 2

Pacquiao OWNED De La Hoya!!!!!!! No contest whatsoever!!! De La Hoya's quitting now?!!! What a night to be a Filipino! Peace to J.R. of Rogue Status, sure wish I got to see the fight live! & peace to mi familia, Goldilocks cake was on HIT!

He gave us this day!

"I ain't got nothin' but love girl,
Eight days a week.."

Got A Complex About Being Too Complex.

2008-12-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

Mighty Joe - Dream - Mighty Fine Mixtape

My wish list for Santa Clause to realize in present-form:
01. Red Visvim Backpack

02. AdidasxFTC Superstar Lows

03. Fuchsia Basic Long Sleeve (to go w/ my fuchsia G-Shock!), peace to Vanaly!

04. Nike Dunk Low Pro Nightshades (I'll never get these.. but if I could have my wish, why not!)

05. Apple Macbook 2008

I need the laptop most of all, my Vaio is finally showing signs of giving in!

BIRTHDAY PARTY UPDATE!

Apparently, this was the last Style/Plus Sign Vibes event @ Agave Ultra Lounge; although the attendance was more timid, all the better to have all that space with all my good folks!!

"..You know you saved me from myself,
You knew that I needed help.."

Happy Birthday, Lisa. (& Me!)

2008-12-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

Michael Jackson ft. Bart Simpson - Happy Birthday, Lisa - The Simpsons: Stark Raving Dad

Since my 20th birthday, December 4th hasn't been as crackin as it once was: When I became 21, I had to study for a Calculus final and an Intermediate Macroeconomics final, both to be taken on the same day... WEAK! And on my 22nd? I had to go on campus to a REVIEW SESSION, that time for an Intermediate Accounting final and a Fraud Examination one..

Basically, I've had to study when I should have been going hella dumb, ghost riding my Maxima on Westcliff or some other outrageously dangerous Santa Cruz road with zero-pavement, binging on High Lifes, banging my head on sushi tables before bellowing "Kampei!" to the alcoholic I Love Sushi restaurant owner while being with good folks.. but nooooooooo! Anyway, I always felt that college robbed me of a decent birthday with my classmates, but nonetheless, it's time to celebrate (tomorrow that is)!

"It's not a wrong thing
to be addicted to the microphone like a heroine fiend,
i'll tell you 1 thing: you will never catch me fronting..."

Formulas For The Perfect Mixture.

2008-12-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Lisa Shaw - Grown Apart - Cherry

I wish Multivariable Calculus formulas were just as easy to understand as these ones.. And these formulas aren't the type that describe something boring like why hyperbolic paraboloids have saddle-seat shape, no siree--these formulas describe facts of LIFE!!

"Without you, life has no meaning or rhyme,
Like the notes to a song without time.."

I Want Those Flashing Lights.

2008-12-02T01:10:00.000-08:00

Colin Munroe ft. Wale & Dallas Austin - Will I Stay Remix - Is The Unsung Hero

This post is basically a fanboy-esque dedication to Colin Munroe's "Is The Unsung Hero" mixtape.

Thoughts before the first listening: This is the same guy that sung over the entire Flashing Lights/Kanye instrumental, and had that blurry video with people treating him like garbage and the cool light effects right?
1st Impression: "_______" <---- SPEECHLESS!
2nd thoughts: still "_______"
3rd Impression: "I LOVE THIS MIXTAPE.

The way Munroe flipped Fever and Will I Stay are OUTOFTHISWORLDLY. Yes I'm making up words (similar to a Will-Ferrel-impersonating-Liption-and-procuring-new-word-goodness moment!) but strictly because this listening experience left me trying to find new blends of vocal vocabulary I never knew I had or was ever privy to. Bottom line was that I had fun listening to this musical mixture and give it my highest reccomendation!

Colin Munroe - Is The Unsung Hero

"..We don't know what we've got
'til it's gone.."

Guilty & Magnificent.

2008-12-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

Kissey Asplund - Caos - Plethora

Christmas Time Is Here, word to Vince Guiraldi! After Thanksgiving dinner @ my cousins' spot, I drove by the Vacaville Premium Outlets just to see if people were silly enough to be in line as early as the 10pm time it was... and I was aghast! People were lined up around the Coach outlet, a 20-deep line was already in place @ Banana.. I decided to skip out on all the stores that I'd probably float around and fine nothing I'd particularly fall in love with, so I decided to go ahead with the classic s^%@ and went to the Polo Ralph Lauren outlet.

Just my luck! They were letting people 2 HOURS EARLY as part of their 'Early Bird Special' sale, and I was able to cop $350+ worth of Polo outerwear for $150 (due to Black Friday-only mark downs and a nifty 20% off total purchases over $150.. not bad at all!

Included in my coppage was this very fly, black and toasty-warm pea coat, originally $225 but copped for that low-low.

this is basically the same RL pea coat; unlike those hella weak Old Navy peas that just fall apart and aren't warm.. this one'll stay in my closet for good!

"Be disciplined in your life
So you can be violent & original in your art."

And I Want You.

2008-11-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

Flying Lotus ft. Dolly - Roberta Flack - Los Angeles

This is dedicated to someone I used to really dig.

First time I met you my heart skipped twice,
Struggled to find you despite these dim kitchen lights,
First time I saw you, distantly behind a curtain,
Finding you disappear in curtain flutters had me hurting,
for that first meet, to learn your name, learn your whispers,
Eyes closed on those stairs I swear i could see your light flicker,
not the light in plain sight that reassures you there's life,
but the hidden light, invisible--your love light shone bright..
took you to the cafe, at the movies held your hand,
like a bite of 100 grand when i kissed you my mind went DAMNN
you were everything, still don't know what happened,
just want you to know you were the freshest, ain't no blastin'
all the late calls, smiles with no asking?
tuned me to the fact that love's better than i imagined,
better than letting go of a peeve long despised;
all i want is you, back then you were a beautiful surprise.

L + Lg.

"I never knew a love like this,
gotta be somethin' for me to write this,
queen i ain't seen you in a minute,
wrote this letter & finally decided to send it..."

Fight Just A Little Bit/Love Just A Little Bit More.

2008-11-29T02:56:00.000-08:00

Lo Key Quintet - Adore You - LKQ Summer Sessions 2006

Going back in time... over 2 years ago to be exact.. a little crew known as the Lo Key Quintet (Antho Chetta/Mark Marcelo/Chris Flow Santos/Nia/Me) were rockin' it, rockin' it! This is an original joint we made and eventually recorded together, a feel good joint titled "Commin' Home" (sans Nia).

LKQ - Commin' Home - Sycamore Sessions 2006

Loved this joint to death! New ^%$# in the works, peace to Nia on her upcoming son, Isaiah!

"Honest And Perfection,
Pleasure Yearly.."

..As You Inhale Like A Breath Of Fresh Air.

2008-11-27T00:59:00.000-08:00

DJ Hi-Tek - Come Get It (Tekstrumentals) - Hi-Teknology 3

My first job was being a Holiday Inn restaurant bus boy, waiter and room service specialist. The tips were great, but waking up at 6am and then working an 8-hour shift was hella weak! anyway, from my first check, i vividly remember walking into Footaction and copping these sexy beasts:

Hands down these are my favorite Nikes ever: the Nike "Paul Brown" Blazer Mids. I don't know why but I bought an 11.5 the first time, thinking that they fit perfectly; shortly thereafter i realized that there is such a think as sliding in your own shoes! however, bigger was better in this case due to the narrow nature of the Nike Blazer model!

Although black Supreme Blazer highs and Pinstripe Blazers hold a special spot in my heart, these kicks transferred me into the shoe-game full-throttle, and i would later find myself many a sleepless night, seemingly sleeping amidst anonymous sneaker-fiend strangers, waiting in line for a new pair of Nike SBs or other great release!

I may not be as manic as I once was about sneakers, but I still love them. A great pair of shoes can absolutely immensely enhance an everynormal day.

"..I would gladly hit the road if I knew,
that someday it would lead me back to you.."

Pre-Turkey Day Pandemonium.

2008-11-26T04:46:00.000-08:00

Ali Shaheed Muhammad ft. Kay & Sy Smith - Family - Shaheedullah & Stereotypes

Today I spent an early Thanksgiving Eve with my Fairfield H.S. homies, some I hadn't seen in months, others in a year, still others in four years!! (Okay, maybe just Mylene.. but all the same, no excuses for a 4-year hiatus!) The reunion/potluck dinner/drunkfest/jam session/photoshoot was a couple of different adjectives:
01. overdue
02. delicious (mmmm, yummy crab casserole, Aireen!)
03. loud? (Selectors DD, RD, Santos + Boogie-Down Donovan held it down!)
04. nostalgically invigorating
05. love-filled

I've still gotta upload the photos from my Sony N50 (which is currently being borrowed) so Mylene's shots will have to do!

(Darin has a kinky 'fingers up my nose' fetish. eek!)

(two lovebirds. sadly, i knew it all along, chris, 'twas only a few cups of liquid courage to reveal your true colors. jp)

"This thing called 'rhyming' no different from 'coal mining'
We both on assignment to unearth the diamond.."

Here's My Only 1 Request: Don't Ever Stop Giving Me Your Best.

2008-11-25T02:17:00.000-08:00

Skillz - For Real - The Million Dollar Backpack

in case you were sleeping on Certified Fresh's updates, i posted this gem by DJ Uncle Q! if not in your collection, make the choice to cop this NOW!

for all the Raphael Saadiq lovers out there, give this a listen because you simply WON’T be disappointed. don’t let the name fool you, DJ Uncle Q DELIVERS.

(nowhere nearly enough do i hear mixtapes these days that stay consistently on beat and don’t give in to those all-too-easy alarm/explosion fade outs, or the abrupt mix-in of a completely different tempo!!.. yuck.)

This mixtape effortlessly juxtaposes Saadiq’s own music as Tony! Toni! Tone!, Lucy Pearl & himself, with his production & guest appearances, and the result is simply sensational. I even took the time to make a lovely mixtape cover & figure out the tracklist although DJ Uncle Q decided to do neither, that’s how much i love you!

tracklist:
01. raphael saadiq - i love her
02. bilal - soul sister
03. raphael saadiq - it never rains (live @ the house of blues)
04. tony! toni! tone! - whatever you want
05. anthony hamilton - ain’t nobody worryin
06. lucy pearl - everyday
07. raphael saadiq - still ray
08. lucy pearl - trippin’
09. raphael saadiq - ask of you (live @ the house of blues)
10. tony! toni! tone! - anniversary
11. d’angelo - lady
12. erykah badu - love of my life
13. lucy pearl - they can’t
14. joss stone & lauryn hill - music
15. raphael saadiq - rifle love
16. kelis - glow
17. mary j. blige - so lady
18. lucy pearl - la la
19. raphael saadiq - you’re the one that i like
20. raphael saadiq & d’angelo - be here
21. joss stone - bad habit
22. kelis - marathon
23. raphael saadiq - body parts
24. joss stone - proper nice
25. raphael saadiq - excuse me
26. joss stone - soulfood love
27. raphael saadiq - tick tock
28. lucy pearl - dance tonight
29. raphael saadiq - this one
30. raphael saadiq, dj quick & tony! toni! tone! - let’s get down
31. kelis - attention
32. raphael saadiq & teedra moses - chic
33. lucy pearl - don’t mess with my man
34. tony! toni! tone! - feels good

DJ Uncle Q - The Best Of Raphael Saadiq Mixtape

"good love will make you cry
good love will last until you die.."

Leave It All Behind.

2008-11-24T01:14:00.000-08:00

Nolan Burke - Behind Me - Behind Me 12"

^(Double D in deep concentration, rummaging Jawbreaker's extensive vinyl library circa 2005.)

instead of telling everyone around to 'smile for the birdie', what would happen if i asked folks to take a picture without smiling? i wonder..

^Munchie almost couldn't hold it haha!

couldn't get Dee to do it, he kept smiling no matter what i said to him!

okay, enough of the serious looks; let's smile altogether now!

"Feel the bass inside your soul,
Rockin' it, shockin' it, yes we are.."

Rules Of Paradise Are Never Nice.

2008-11-23T00:24:00.000-08:00

Julie Plug - Listening to Astrud - Starmaker

Here's a list of some great Black Friday deals that you should check out!

TRUE SOLE's got kicks on sale on friday, featuring 20-70% off for the first 2 hours of store opening only! It's camping out for shoes all over again...but this time, at a great price nobody can really blow a fuse about!

The Hundreds is also scheming things up with a 5 a.m. sale where all the new Fall/Winter gear is 50% off, but every hour the savings drop 10%!!! Must be pretty fun to wait in line for this sale, knowing that you have to beat the clock to keep the discount! (after 10am, everything's full price again, so don't even bother if you wake up too late!

You can always stay on top of the best of the best bargains by subscribing to the RSS feed at Slick Deals, which is updated daily on numerous, precious cash-saving deals on stuff you'd actually buy online!

Finally, on channel G4's Attack of the Show, Olivia Munn breaks done thee-best deals out there on tech, movies and more!

Now that you're all set to shop & save this coming Black Friday, don't hesitate to eat that extra slice of turkey, down some Hennessey, and sleep in.. on figuring out the best Black Friday deals, that is! (You can choose to sleep in after Thanksgiving dinner, too, but what's so fun about that??)

"Shed a little light, now you're blooming like a flower
With the power of the evident
Voices + drums, original instruments.."

Life Is Spectacular.

2008-11-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

Oh! - L.o.v.e. (ft. Paris Runway) - Spectacular Ever After

This EP is soooooo fresh. Support + take a listen! (click the cover to download!)

tracklist:
1. The End (Intro)
2. Sand Monster
3. Venus (Ft. Paris Runway)
4. Chattin With Babes
5. So Many Windows (Ft. ESSO & Nero)
6. More To Me
7. Say [Remix] (Ft. John Mayer)
8 L.O.V.E. (Ft. Paris Runway)
9. Amnesia
10. Footprints
11. Mercury Skies [Bonus]

(Via Certified Fresh.)

"Just another wasted one/
Like a fallen star in Babylon.."

Sweet, Suite Jesus.

2008-11-21T21:12:00.000-08:00

Q-Tip ft. Raphael Saadiq - We Fight/We Love - The Renaissance

Going down TONIGHT @ 111 Minna Street, San Francisco!

When: Nov 21, 2008 10:00 am (Friday)
Where: 111 Minna Gallery 111 Minna at 2nd (map)
San Francisco, CA
37.775 -122.418
Who: DJ Rootz + kap10 harris
What: Suite Jesus November Friday November 21st Featuring music by Winstrong, DJ Rootz & Kap10, Rebs, Henroc, Miss Watkins & 4AM. Showing art by Andrew Gonzalez, Kris D, Luke Brown, Andre.

UPDATE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANA VI!

"Suitable to be part of the cosmos/
With my eyes closed I see you clearly/
Combined lifetimes with like minds.."

Reese's Thesis.

2008-11-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

Coldplay + Jay-Z - Miss Trouble (Trouble/Excuse Me Miss) - Viva La Hova

Fresh Kid: Reesie D.! "Stay H & H: Hungry & Humble." Words to live by!

Peace to Reesie!

"And I lost my head,
The thought of all the stupid things I'd said.."

[Brown] On Both Sides.

2008-11-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

Mos Def - May-December - Black On Both Sides

Freewrite05.
Beautiful/Wonderful/Colorful/
Like sun-setting skies, even when the colors dull/
We rise to be the brightest highest stars in the ceiling/
Then we crash and burn, stumbling to find new meaning/
Don't blind what u believe in/take time to keep on dreaming/
Hearts speak what minds disguise/realize the goal you're seeking..

writing again!!

"Not no parkay, not no margarine,
Strickly butter baby, strictly butter.."

Clever.

2008-11-18T00:24:00.000-08:00

Erykah Badu - Cleva - Mama's Gun

Thinking about the timing it took to get this video down.. so dope!

"There is a way..
..No matter what they say.."

Going Back To The Start Again*

2008-11-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

30 Rock is made up of awesome. This is so far my favorite episode of Season 3: The cohesiveness and trademark Tina Fey touch of comedic class made me re-view this one a handful of times.. from start to finish this episode is ON POINT. please enjoy responsibly!

"We're always behind this metal and glass.
I think we miss that touch so much,
that we crash into each other,
just so we can feel something..."

2008-11-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

I wish I wasn't so broke.. I'd be all over this sale!

An Abundance of Katherines - Review.

2008-11-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

The Mighty Underdogs - Want You Back - Droppin Science Fiction

I just finished a book by John Green, An Abundance of Katherines, and YO!!! Honestly one of the FRESHEST books I've ever read!

I know this doesn't play with the anagram theme from the book, and does lend itself more to the Paper Towns motif of numbering things (I read Paper Towns--another John Green book--second, fyi), but I'm just gonna number things I liked anyway.

01. amazing anagrams. at sparksflyup.com, there a great link page on learning how to anagram on point-ly.
02. this book is super funny, super sweet, super nerdy, but ultimately super super.
03. Hassan. lol! that guy is i swear, nearly every piece of his dialogue had me breaking the silence at the bookstore.
04. usage of math formulas: (spoiler alert!) I kinda saw what Lindsey contributed to the dumper/dumpee theorem coming a while ago.. but maybe it's because i took statistics and econometrics before and saw the whole "missing variables" a while ago.
05. dragging on: it did feel like it did sometimes, but the story self-propelled so nicely that I didn't give those old-people talks too much hesitance.

I'll reviewPaper Towns later, and more detailed than this one since I read it more recently.. until then,

Best Wishes!

Books are the ultimate Dumpees:
put them down and they'll wait for you forever;
pay attention to them and they always love you back.

5 Things To Eat Together.

2008-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

DJ Flow - Foundation

Here's five food pairings that you should consider to enhance the chemical absorption of nutrients in your body.

01. potatoes + spinach: lets you absorb iron faster + better
02. oatmeal + strawberries: prevents likelihood of stroke & heart attacks
03. rosemary + beef: the rosemary actually kills off any cancer-causing beef traces in your body that may linger and lead to organ failure
04. red peppers + feta cheese/dressing: eating peppers and salads with cheese or any dressing accelerates the bloodstream absorption time and makes digestion easier.. ranch dressing please!
05. fish + broccoli + tomato: weird combination right? but this prevents heart cancer

(via Runner's World magazine.)

"Everyone gets a miracle."

Flow Day.

2008-11-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

Foreign Exchange - If This Is Love - Leave It All Behind

Wish I made it out to this event, DJ Phatrick has been working his turntable magic with mastery as of late, would have loved to hear what mash-ups and remixes he came up with for his Jill Scott/Badu-filled evening! also, the flyer is really damned fresh! impressive!

This video makes me feel like i'm standing still and the world is accelerating all aronud me at all different speeds.. exhilerating.

4KHZ - Irregular FLow

Don't forget to cop DJ Flow's new Commencement mixtape for Dahlak, just enter your e-mail and it's yours HERE!

"Out of touch,wasting time..
Is this love?.."

Weary Wednesday.

2008-11-12T23:37:00.000-08:00

Jazzyfatnastees - The Wound - The Once & Future

One thing I dislike about the BART train? When I get out of a club/bar from SF and board the train, the loud, chalk-board-screech-eliciting turbulence just escalates minor head throbbing to amplified headaches, and it becomes almost too easy to miss your stop!

I sometimes wish I lived in Japan 1nce again, where necessity is the mother of invention, as demonstrated in their subway system:

G4 TV's Attack of the Show did a whole episode exploring Tokyo, pretty dope stuff. you can watch them all HERE. I'd like to see a doc of the hip hop world in Japan sometime..

"...You worry about the wrong things, the wrong things..
..Anyway, they don't know you
Like I do, they'll never know you.."

Tuesday Throwback + Mixtape Marvelousness.

2008-11-11T01:51:00.000-08:00

Blackalicious - Make You Feel That Way (DJ Flow's Foundation Mix)

Remember Take Back TV in 2005? Seeing Mos, Ill-Lit, Goapele, Crown City Rockers, Kweli + countless others support CurrentTV's launch was surreal.. BIG UPS to G-kroosh + Chelsea for letting me experience a SF-only engagement like no other to come nor follow.. truly fresh.

DJ LeftOoO of BBC Worldwide Radio 1 has some excellent selection, and i'm beginning to feel his mixes more than good 'ol Giles' (sorry Mr. Peterson, LeftOoO has great sequencing sensibility). The selection on part 2 of his October 30th mix left me repeatedly referencing the track listing + there was none of that excessive name-drop transitional plugs, the like which make me forget a mixtape more than remember (it seems counter-intuitive for some, but for me, hearing the DJ's name a million times on a tape numbs out their name completely from my brain, whereas a well-conceived tape sans the 'D-d-d-d-DJ Echo-o-o-o' bombs will allow me to more securely cement the DJ's name into my brain). DOWNLOAD THE TAPE and peep the technique, you could learn a thing or two and inherit some great gems to your Serato library!

5ive Times The Fun.

2008-11-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

today's entry is brought to you by the number 5 (five).

1. Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five

Bringin' '61 back! That saxophone melody, the quintuple time and the somewhat haunting piano that pushes the rhythm section are a few reasons why this song became a jazz standard. Did you know that this song hit the Billboard Hot 100? If you've never known the title before, chances are you've already heard the song, even though it may be before your time.

2. Staple Design Commercial

I love jeffstaple's BLOG, I've got nothing but the highest love for someone that has people making fake commercial for them, for free! + you've got Jeru the Damaja's 'Wrath of the Math' bumpin in the b/g, what more can you possibly ask for? (this was the 5th youtube vid on my favorite list).

3. FruitionLV - Neon Leopard Jean Pants (5th item on FRTNLV's Shop Blog)

Fruition is a crazy store. Vintage streetwear from the 80's and 90's, revived and curated to make your shopper's dreams come true. I've bought a few Fruition pieces (like the nice Fruition x Stussy shirt pictured above) because, as their mantra states, "We Are The Future." These neon-yellow pants emit the same youthful, vibrant flavor that Fruition is acclaimed for, and I wouldn't mind rocking a men's pair (not too tight though!).

4. The Hundreds - 5th Anniversary Artist Design Series

The Hundreds is an LA-based clothing brand that entered their 5th anniversary this year and continues to bring out really nice basics and outerwear. I'm really picky about their stuff and usually go for the simpler, quieter designs, but they do flesh out the technicolor colors. Anyway, this is the fifth shirt of the series, done by Ususgrow. NICE.

5. Charles Cohen - Buchla Music Easel (the 5th (and probably freshest) Vimeo feature video i saw today)

I REALLY want to own this. via wikipedia: "First built in 1963, this synthesizer was composed of several "modules" that generated or modified a music event. Each box served a specific function: oscillator, filter, sample and hold, etc. This would have an effect on the pitch, timbre, amplitude and spacial location of the sound. The idea was to allow musicians and composers to create sounds suited to their own specifications."

I know this may seem like a nuisance to control + master, but the Charles Cohen video just makes my mouth water..i want to play it!

"Self Knowledge is never ending..
Music is my life."

Whose World Is This?

2008-11-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

Nas - The World Is Yours

Damn... Common & Pharrell were pretty hard @ the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards! I rarely watch anything on BET but their performance (& the cypher semi-circles that i blogged about on my OTHER BLOG) was worth more than the time i lost boycotting on BET, haha.

Bonus: Common & Pharrell - Announcement

"Beginning to let go,
Maintaining all that I know,
Continuing to inspire..."

YO! Sushi @ A Glance.

2008-11-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

M-Flo - Hands - Planet Shining

When it comes to satisfying that sushi fiend, YO's the best place (in Fairfield at least.)

I first started going here in '04 & i mos definitely like it better than Ohkura's near Travis AFB, plus the sushi is way better than Fuji's in Davis; it's quality>quantity in this case, and considering the price you pay for the average roll--say i.e. soft shell crab rolls for $13.00 at most other spots that go for about $6.50 here!--as well as the 5 minute distance this spot is from my crib, YO's can't be beat!

I reccomend Lion King rolls because they are bomb, and you can't go wrong with the spicy CA rolls; the lunch special is crackin' especially if you're low on ends, but otherwise, with nice, great staff, clean and cool restaurant space, lots of sushi to choose from & great prices, YO's is the way to GO!

DOMO ARI!

PS, the next best place that i prefer sushi is from a nice little nook in Santa Cruz.. can you guess which sushi spot i'm thinking of?!

"I've been waiting for so long
Toki to tomo ni kiete yuku no.."

Train Of Thought.

2008-11-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

Towa Tei - Free (MJ Cole Remix)

I really want the Blackberry Bold! Blackberry Storm + No Wifi = No Thank you =[

Today i ran 2.5 miles, updated my new ipod (!), got an oil change for my car, got a haircut, knocked out for 4 hours, woke up, started backing up my hard-drive, & right now i'm downloading some DJ Horseshoe mixes and learning some new French vocab.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

"How much can 1 learn from love?
Can one explanation derail the situation?.."

Something To Behold.

2008-11-06T23:57:00.000-08:00

Horace Silver - Song For My Father - Song For My Father 12" VLS

As I was jogging today, something came over me.

Maybe it was the endorphines kicking in, but the natural high that doped me up has definitely sparked a drive in me, to get as much as i can done today.

It may have had much to do with my father's conversation resonating from earlier in the morning, when he--and my puppy, Bella--grew too tired to walk from a good 2 miles from home! when asked what motivated my dad to walk that far away, my dad replied, "I'm doing all I can--working extra, optional hours for double pay at work, excercising at work, going on this walk with Bella--because very soon, I won't be able to do this, son. And I know that if I don't take advantage of this opportunity, to get Bella + myself some excercise, I might regret it very soon.. I'm not getting any younger, you know."

I wish my father had inherited Benjamin Button's disease (or cure, depending on how you look at it)--in fact, at a certain age in my life, i hope we all do--so that he could drink his own fountain of youth and relive his personal glory days. <3 you dad.

Anyway, I managed to accomplish quite a large load of things more than I have been doing so in recent memory.. hopefully, tonight I can get some major beat work done!

"Those flashing L-E-D Lights keep standing behind me/
Reminding me I'm still alive..."

'08AMA.

2008-11-05T19:47:00.001-08:00

YES WE DID.

Congratulations to BARACK OBAMA, the 44th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!!

(Obama portrait by Chris Milk).

The Random Blog.

2008-10-31T05:52:00.000-07:00

Unconsciously, I save about 30+ photos a day, just from skimming blogs and random search queues..It may have come from this fear in the back of my mind, that one day the internet will cease to exist and I'll never get to re-fresh my browser to freshen my unphotographic mind.. it could be that i wanted to make a non-random blog and figured saving these pictures just in case would prove most wise; or maybe it's b/c i'm just a helpless pack-rat that loves to pack 5+ bags of so-called 'essentials' for a weekend, and thinks 'weekend' & 'tote' bags or just impossibly small. (or not.)

At any rate, an update is in order.

it's been:
-6 months since the last entry (damnn).
-4 months since i've graduated college (yee!).
-2 months since I gambled for the first time ever (and came up! $20+!)

you can find me:
-playing with Bella, my pom puppy, at least 3 hours day.
-record digging constantly
-watching "Weeds"
-missing SC folks like no other

in the next couple of years, i want to:
-be working, doing what i love to do.
-have a solid library of beats, clothing & mixtapes out
-still blogging w/ the CertifiedFRESH! crew (CF ALL DAY!)
-happy with the government (A change is gonna, word to Cooke..)

Overall, to be completely real, I hate my life right now. I wish it was 3 months, 7, months, even a whole year in the past, where i was at least still around so many different people (in the flesh) on my level, to inspire and become inspired by, to drop my books and embark on a dangerously exhilerating excursion with at any moment.. i don't feel at home here.

it may have to do with the actions of certain people close to me, partly with the parentals.. but after grade school, there literally is nothing left that this town has to offer me.

Whoa. I meant to just post a bunch of pictures and caption them out with awe-inducing anecdotes (sorry, denno why the sudden asphyxia over alliteration...ok, i suck), but this blog kinda took a u-turn.

Okay, picture time!

recently, I've just been bumping Waajeed like a mad scientist. i mean mad man. anywhoozers (word to that SNL girl in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, haha), his "Remixes & Re-Edits" mixtape is DOPE. get @ me and I'll share it with you!

I saw these dunks on Niketalk, dubbed the "Channel Zero" dunks. Damn they are fly; no one seemed to like them on NT, but I'm certain it's that 'reverse-psychology' move on shoe forums these days, to fake out other wanna-be-fresh kick newbies into looking the other way from something too ill..

what draws me is the play on the paneling pallete with the pastelles (ugh, sorry); if these were a low-top dunk i'd get a pair!

Saadiq is the man. His 'Best Of Raphael Saadiq' mixtape by DJ Uncle Q (search through Certifiedfresh.tumblr.com for it!) was dope, his cameo on Q-Tip's "The Renaissance" was butter, and his fashion freshness is fla--beyond compare.

<--- this interview was really good, he goes on at length about the album inspiration, the significance of his final pre-How I See It performance at Oakland's Historic Sweets Ballroom, and so much more.
enough said. & the artist that did this owns. VOTE!!!!!

but honestly... eff mccain AND obama.. YEAH I SAID IT!!! why?!??

?UESTO FOR PREZ, CUZ!!!

2icky's favorite shoe collection photo made me drool and die a little inside... I WANT THESE!

this girl (via lookbook.nu)'s wall is so much like mine, with the records on there and all (i only do records if i have triples), and the record sleeve theme too; fresh girl!

Yeezy... from GQ's Sartorialist blog; simply timeless freshness just exudes from him. i love it!

I've been watching the Stylista on the CW channel, where a dozen or so contestants vie for the Junion Editor spot @ Elle magazine, plus a condo for their job duration, %100k AND a year's-worth wardrobe from H&M. DAMN. Anyway, I've been feeling DeyShaun's style(pictured above)out of all the other guys, particularly is frames flavor. Ashlie's my favorite so far, but we'll see as the series unfolds..

These new SBTG x (other high-end designer) collabo dunks were my favorite of the 3-shoe pack: Selvedge denim, zippers and other beautiful touches make this pair of heat glisten. Retail, unfortunately was $600 (!!). I would love to own a pair that utlizied the selvedge motif all around the shoe, that'd be sweet!

i need Mickey shoes.

this in4mation watch is really nice!

finally, just had to make one last plug:

this is the whole Certified Fresh family minus me! these people all contribute the flyest, nicest, and of course FRESHEST that our t3-paced world has to offer; be sure to drop by, indulge, leave a message + spread the word!

I was kidding about the whole ?uestlove presidential plug, btw...

the choice is yours. (make the right choice and click the banner ^above to visit Certified Fresh!)

peace.

You've Gotta Have [[Quantic]] Soul.

2008-04-09T02:55:00.000-07:00

This is probably my last quarter @ UCSC, depending on if i pass all my classes this quarter or not. I'm not really excited about classes & just like everyone else, i'm so over my school!

-advanced accounting: boring. why the f is there so much homework?
-east&southeast asian economy: pretty fun, thanks to my funny professor fung. i lost my Velzy In4mation glasses in the media theatre lecture hall though, ugh!!!
-info syst.s management 50: hellla boring. WHY is my professor whack? maybe it's because she can't SPEAK ENGLISH PROPERLY. who reads off their lectures and can't break down a simple math equation? damn, in this class, patience is a virtue but i'm sick of waitin, word to common. (i know i misquoted on purpose.)

so i'm still @ officemax, and i must say i've grown an affinity with my co-workers. they are the SH%T, yo. my boss is still pretty loopy sometimes, but i'm happy that he respects me now. and i wish employee discounts were greater. recently, i bought this snazzy Case Logic laptop cover in Tiffany blue to compliment my gi-normous Sony Vaio, which i need to replace because this joint is NOISY + BIG + AN ENERGY HOG.

"so Carlo, i thought you used to collect shoes like mad crazy, are you still into kicks or what?" HELL YES i am. guess who copped two fresh pairs of fresh poo-poo from the Agassi ATC Gods??? YUPPPPPPPPPPPPP.

i'm hella happy with those.. i've been wanting them for SOOOOOOOO LONG. they will be loved--rocked i mean.

besides work + classes, i'm doing People Power (UCSC's Pilipino acting troupe) + Tech Crew for PCC, which is pretty fun. the whole crew initiation rituals are a little scary though.

oooh, and i think i might do Toastmasters too, since I'm not allowed to take any classes as P/NP because my GPA's too low. ugh. oh well, at least i can jock Charmaigne in that class. HAHA shhhhhhhh.

Things to do this week:
-People Power practice
-Advanced Accounting homework, get the readers for ISM-50 + S+SE Econ
-help out w/ Tech Crew
-pay the billz
-go to MINNA GALLERY on Friday 2 see Nicolay + Kay
-call payroll to resend my W2 form (i know, hecka last minute, they haven't sent it yet!)
-re-order my left contact (#"@$ing !%^@!!!!!! those things are TOO expensive.)
-sell back my ISM-50 book after i makes copies of it (muah ha ha!)
-sell those nike blazer lows (not happy with them..)
-STUDY.

i'm hungry. the end.

"we are the FUTURE."

*Always Stay Inspired

2007-10-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

School is a funny thing. You might hate it and revolt at the thought of it your first three years, and the fourth year you'll find yourself wishing it would never end!!! Although I probably won't be taking my 5th year in UCSC, no matter where I go, i'm going to always love this place... and spoil the hell out of the 1st years! haha i guess it's a tradition to do that.

I finally have a new j-o-b! Office max has been coo as hell, everyone is pretty dope and down to earth; it's only a part time paycheck and otherwise it's pretty chill + laid back in that joint!

also... I MADE POET'S CORNER!!!!! P.C. is the engine if you will of the UCSC Rainbow Theatre, probably thee most diverse student-organized theatre group on campus! last year's crew was dope and Mattie G. was in it, an' the year before the Human Genome a.k.a. Gabriel was in it too! guess i had to rep for Progeny in that beezie!!

i've been reading blogs and posting in other forums, particularly

www.verbalacupuncture.net +
blarneystablet.blogspot.com ,

both blogs are dope and worth peeping; one is related to current events, stories, ideas and jokes, the latter strictly on poetry, art and lyrics.

i love the new Kanye. but i'm been loving my other music more, too. things are changing. and i can't WAIT for my two new hats that i bought, they are the BIZNESS.

you should visit the Capitol Garage in Sac if you're ever in those parts, i went during a Neighborhood Watch show and it was that sh$t.

gotta go study. i love my mom and dad. and my sisters. and you!

"lost in a maze, i can't find my back/
but i'm trippin' i love how u do me like that"

Face 2 Face With Your Adversity..

2007-08-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

Long time, no personal blogging; I guess it must be because I've let a lot of things consume me deep inside, I've felt a little sad, angry, lost, but mostly just confused and behind on things, although I've been keeping up with school, I guess money has been my main problem; it's been difficult finding a job, paying off my credit cards by selling my shoes away, and I know it's bad to be a little materialistic sometimes, but yeah, I know that this is just another low point that will pass over me, and the term 'starving college student' has never hit closer to home!

enough vent-whining, it's best to keep things on a positive incline!

damn, youtube has changed from the way it was a year ago! though there's dozens of videos i could post about that I'm feelin rite now, i'll just post two cool ones that I love.

first off, you've probably seen this one but I haven't since I wasn't much of a t.v. viewer in the past months; this is a favorite of mine.

Corinne Bailey Rae - Like A Star (3rd Version)

she's super fly! and THIS version of 'Sweet Escape' has come to my liking!

Josh Verdes Trio (Josh, Jana + Jordan Verdes) - 'Sweet Escape Acoustic'

I really need a guitar, Justin Rimando, you need to fix Ligaya's guitar string that you broke off!

okay, enough of that. time to inspire myself!

'good love + protection/

make me your selection'

Shine Your Light For The World 2 See.

2007-04-02T00:04:00.000-07:00

The Deadly Twins - 'Runaway' - Something New soundtrack

*it took me ALL SPRING BREAK TO TRACK THIS SONG DOWN. it NEVER felt SO GOOD finding a song you couldn't find on a soundtrack listing, online okayplayer forum...anywhere!

I feel good about this upcoming quarter of class... spring quarter is always good to me =)

'..well people believe this saying is true/
whatever will be will forever do..'

The Present Is A Gift (+ I Just Want 2 Be.)

2007-03-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Lo Key Quintet - 'Brazil' (instrumental) - LKQ Summer Selections.

*Something i produced with DJ Flow over last summer, may it bring relaxtion to a stressful climate.

I grinded on a piece that I was about to do with Joshua Cruz for S.Y.C. (Show Your Color), unfortunately both of us were too late for the event; he was going to rock Common's 'Be' and I was going to spit this:

';Be Free.'

I wanna be free like my ancestors that passed away/
Free from closed doors, fear, oppression + hate/
Through actions we speak out/ hope for those that breathe doubt/
Through trials and tribulations, be light when it's bleak out/
But we tend to freak out, no, we forget to speak out/
We feed doubt when we should feed our needs/
Spend cash on alcohol, tobacco, ecstacy + weed/
All this freeloading overloading, that we forgot to feed the seed/
Things are so crazy/skies are getting so hazy/
My mom was 30 yesterday, now she's an old lady/
She's got lots to give/she kept me positive/
On top of it, despite my weak will she kept me from the opposite/
I've got to give-it up to her exactly/
She was the glue to bond the unity of my family/
Can't forget my father/sometimes he wouldn't bother/
To help me out/misunderstandings meant me getting slaughtered/
But still he fathered me/showed me how to be free/
Told me education equals freedom, through this university/
Those are my parents/i'm ever proud never embaressed/
They gave me freedom so that I wouldn't be so careless/
My goal is to free others so they can see their wrongs/
And right every one of them, and to pass this freedom on/
We have to know life backwards before we go forward to see/
Life isn't meant behind bars, it was meant to be free.

'..i'm not impressed/more or else/
by them girls in the t.v. and magazines/
'cuz honestly, i believe, that/
your beauty is way more than skin deep..'

Your Love Is Timeless.

2007-03-05T01:42:00.000-08:00

Righteous Movement - 'Natural' - While You Wait...

*I saw + met the Righteous Movement crew at a downtown Davis bar/coffee shop, some fresh folks with fly music. opening for KRS-One next weekend, pretty dope!

Something random: A question I answered for Kimp's research paper on Cyphers:

8) Pretend you are a cypher session propagandist, what
would you tell people to get them to participate in a
cypher? Why should people who do not participate in
cyphers contribute to the art?

Cyphering is fun. Cyphering is a lyrical workout from the emcee frame of reference, and it will open you to a new world of improvisation, wordplay, ferocity, jokes, and most importantly, inspiration. Not everyone can make a rhyme up, so if you know how to do it, then join the cypher because it's a gift, and once you're able to freestyle effortlessly, who knows? One day you may end up freestyling next to Kanye West and impress him so much with your flyness that he'll sign you to his G.O.O.D. (Getting Out Our Dreams) music label! Or maybe you're writing a song one day and you get songwriter's block and you elect to freestyle your way, and come up with a song so catchy that you have Youtubes and MySpaces going nuts all over the internet! If you're absolutely whack at freestyling, or have never attempted it, don't be discouraged because the art is a result of happy accidentals, of trial-and-error not without it's share of successes: Once you know where your error lies in rhyming and succeed in correcting it out, it's all a matter of doing it often and making it your own. Participation in cyphers requires the audience's communal involvement to make it work and flow, and makes everyone more lively and feeling good, which is the whole point of hip hop in general!: To make you feel good, with positive messages and non-stop creative flow.

this poem is timeless... still my favorite.

'..so it's only logical/
that we do what's natural..'

Something Keeps Bringing Me Back.

2007-03-02T01:29:00.000-08:00

Nicolay ft Kay + Sy Smith - 'My Story' - Here

What surprised me was when I took THIS photograph:
'Footprints..(Leading 2 a New Path)'

My man Vincent wrote a rap to it! We photograph-battle rap each other on our Flickrs! Here's Vince's Flickr.

And here's what he wrote!:

"footprints on concrete sitting in sun, evaporation takes over, one blink and they're gone

follow the steps of the ones that inspire you, ones you admire, fiery passion to pursue the things that you do

don't let discourage prevail, damage your heart that is frail, continue your life and don't stray from the educational trail

with a fork in the road, wondering to stay or to go, wishing you can click your red heels and in a flash you are home

the long road will be slow but all worth in the end, just remember the people that love you: family, friends.

You've got the spirits above, pure as the white on a dove, if someone says "Who Cares?" don't even consider a shrug

Those who question your thoughts, are the ones who are fraud, just always know they can't last even one round with God

only He knows you best, the rest, only a test, just do what you do, only your style is fresh

impress everyone in a glance, from here, to New York and France, enclose all in a trance, induce monumental mind blocks and cramps
"

Inspiration found in the most unexpected of places.

'..make your heart be the bling
you wear around your chest..'

Get Your Facts Right.

2007-02-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

i'm going to campus/
no you can't have this/
immaculate way of attackin it, i'm more global than an atlas/
so international and inner-national, you can't match this/
i strike chords so fierce they light bright like some matches/
i'm oh so in the know that i've got my facts, kid/
stop kiddin yourself with fiction, all you are is factless/
when the fact-is, you're whack if you decide 2 act big/
think twice before you get spiked by these progeny rap kids//
O.C. - 'The Chosen One Instrumental'

on my way to campus before an extended study session.. psyching myself up!

'throw caution to the wind,
take my hand, + just give in..'

(A Brighter Day) Came My Way.

2007-02-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

Xariusound came over this morning and we conversed about Rainforest. I was engrossed in how he connected the rainforest with people connecting to music under the umbrella of Rainforest, to 'build tents' and 'watch how their redwoods grow' in a few years in this forest, which makes perfect sense to me; I especially loved how he put the way rainforests irrigate water in connection with their idiom: The roots of a rainforest network so far away from just convention of its radius that around 50 miles away, roots can reach out to water penetrating the soil and nurturing the trees all the way back. 'Rainforest' is meant to mean 'Reign For Us', but I'd like it even more for it to mean 'Rain For Us' so that they bring the storm that everyone's been waiting for. haha i love it! 'and I champion them and hope they make a difference in our social media-driven world today!

i'm certain that i'm not leaving the campus until about 12:00am tonight,
and i do believe it's going to rain indefinitely. this song puts that picture in my head, of walking by city lights, on and on, watching rain drift down as i make my way to where i want to be, in shelter.

Brea - 'So Long to Streetlights' - The Immense Design of Things

'you ain't gonna make it unless
you give a little sacrifice
sometimes b4 u smile u got 2 cry
u need a heart that's filled with music
if you use it, u can fly
if u want 2 be high..'

Save For a Rainy Day...

2007-02-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

Rain, Rain, you've come to stay/
you've made my day so wet and grey/
I want to play out by the bay/
But I should reconsider and study anyway/
And it's okay i'm curtain/bestow your invisible curtains/
from my shell i'm fine as hell but my guts are what's hurtin/
And i'm sure I could complain/but what i want is change/
Nothing different nor to distant in my words, nothin' strange/
like the fruit project, i've got shooting stars in my pocket/
for you to wish upon when hope has gone like you lost it/

'Save For a Rainy Day..'

'That HipHop Thing' vol. remix
Friday @ Oakes OLC/Havajava Cafe
it's been a while.

i think that next quarter i should be taking
-econometrics113
-cost accounting110
-the beatles music80V (haha hella love them!)

note to self:
-drop off some resume tomorrow
-enrollment tomorrow @1pm
-go 2 all MSI's for math22
-math22 MT#2, Friday @ 1230pm (4x6 notes allowed)
-MultiCulturalConference, 3/3/07
-selling auctions ends sunday

i feel like this entry is beginning to end up like one of those long 'boredom' surveys that you fill out when you're bored! studying instead i shall.

'if there's lessons
then i'm knowin to put my pride 2 the side;
if there's a story
then i'm telling, take my life in stride'

Say 'That's Love'.

2007-02-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

I'm SICK AND TIRED of seeing kids throw their families away. LOVE YOUR FAMILY because when everything else is gone, they're ALL you'll have left. Please.

Ali Shaheed Muhammad - "Family" - Ali Shaheed and Stereotypes

'why are you still upset when you could just,
let it go..'

This 1's For You.

2007-02-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

Jay Dee - 'This One's For You' - Thank You Dilla, Act Too

Yesterday, I decided to apply at some stores I haven't been to in a while and got a good word in! That made my day infinitely brighter despite the light showers.

I decided to write a poem when I was rudely awakened by the wind. Instead of throwing a "hissy" fit (lol who made up that silly word!), i decided to channel that creative energy and share with you my tribute to Linka's element from Captain Planet!

"Worldwide Win(d)ner"

'i'm not
going where the wind blows..

i'm

floating where the wind rarely resides,
the wind prefers to prance among autumn leaves and oak trees
but i'm keeping my hat on and staying warm inside

i think the wind
likes to sin.

it likes to play tricks on me,
haunting me with eerie sounds that astound my anxiety and
blasting apartment walls with pseudo ghost-calls of related -type trickery,
the wind,
in confliction with a vulnerable notebook of my calculus-3 lectures and
post-its and bouts with my umbrella where shouts of
frustration can usually be heard,
the wind,
wins.

but wind, why do you persist to be a friend?

wind,
you push the sails despite frail attempts of the deep blue sea's waters to
plunge and drown me into non-human friendly territory far below,
you restore my cool head and prevent me from
passing out, dead on a charring summertime afternoon with
a voluptuously steady breeze that doesn't send chills to my knees but,
sets my entire skeleton at ease.
wind,
you're my kin, chillin like when i've departed from
a long, steamy day at work and
my only perk was to march out the office doors to
finally agree in accord with something that makes sense
but may not make a dime let alone a few cents.

wind,

you make life beautiful.

would van Gogh still have his legacy
if his starry night lacked stars shimmering bright by gusts of air rolling the clouds, your prime specialty?
would sky diving be the same
or would it possibly feel lame,
just free fall sans adrenaline, without streams of atmosphere
passing through my entire soul while i see birds not in the sky,
but far below, drained of any desire of flight and
the random delight of 'going wherever the wind takes me'
how else would my girl shine divine
without you projecting the
timelessly captured and endlessly raptured image of
a beautiful model with air flowing through her hair that
cosmopolitan, Vidal Sasoon and a limitless number of beauty campaigns of falsified beauty that, in its most natural state, with you, is its most breathtaking?
how would i find significance in the intimate,
would cinema scenes of long gazes in windy climates still retain that sacred, private moment?

wind, you're the best,
not just
some 'slow hot wind' as Sergio Mendes puts it,
but more like a swift, cool zephyr that i would never think about replacing.
wind,
in a time where many things get thrown out the window,
i'd have to say you're in.'

Alfred,
listenin to loops
on the Loop

"..if you believe there's some1 who walks thru life w/ u,
you'll never be alone.."

(She) Give(s) Me Good Vibes...

2007-02-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Lately, my dreams have been super vivid! Last night I dreamt that me, my father and younger sister all had super powers, like in Heroes! It picked up where we were rushing out of my dad's secret laboratory and turning on the floor security sensors... and then I suddenly morph into a Polar Bear! I'm finding myself just chillin out (sorry) with some other bears, and were trying to do something, perhaps it was to foil the evil plans of this flying, little kid that i felt was the 'Cylar' of this whole dream.

And then, after i briefly wake up and realize it's Saturday (i love waking up and realizing i have more time to sleep!), I find myself in this movie theatre/auditorium, watching a mediocre movie that has a terrible ending, it just ends and a very static "the end" fades into the screen in a sea of black. So as i get up, i realize i had watched this movie with Alex!! and a whole deja vu effect takes place when i saw 'The Island' with her but i don't let it take over and we start to walk out this auditorium.

Anyways, Alex took off her shoes before we started watching the movie so i go back with her to our seats because she forgot them, and then we finally start talking, catching up, the whole 9. As we're walking out, i find out, WTH! I'm in Fairfield High School!!! So apparently the producers of my Dream thought it was fitting that FHS gets its deserved movie theatre franchise in the front of my school, thereby losing all credibility it has of an educational institution. Anyways, what's funny is that as we're walking out, i see lots of students, mainly Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors rehearsing for their Homecoming Skits! and why in the world do i see Kenneth Parker, who's my year in college, doing the Harlem Shake and prepping for the skit too! LOL!

So as we're walking off campus, we talk about our class schedule, and although I believe Alex is still in High School, in my Dream she's already in college, going to Sac State (I know she's going to a way better school than that but it was a Dream!), and i was an astute Aggie (haha I don't know what i'd be like going to UCDavis) and we were making plans for me to catch her in class to meet one of her professors that she was telling me about that was hella down and good. And I felt really happy again.

We drove separately, so as I was about to say goodnight, she leaned in for a hug, maybe it was a kiss.

And then i woke up.

I'm glad that i took that chance with her, in the past.. something as little as that dream that made me feel so good for just one moment is irreplacable, no matter how sad or depressing i feel sometimes.

i guess this song sums up that fleeting moment.
Kyla - 'Cupid' - Beautiful Days

*but you won't know unless you give it a try"..thanks for giving me a try!

what's on my agenda for tonight? perhaps... THIS!

we'll see....

momma, where would i be?
without you, always coming through..

"I've Been Holding In//Not Holding On..."

2007-02-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

sometimes when you're no longer w/ some1 and you bump into them... there's
'Nothing Left To Say' - Late Night Alumni Empty Streets

*listen w/ some Behringer, Pioneer or what have you stereo headphones..
*i listened to this at about 7:00pm upon a crystal clear Santa Cruz evening with stars gushing and flickring everywhere! captivating.
*i love the Late Night Alumni, i/m me for their album!

yesterday was valentine's day... i spent it delivering some valentine's cards before the night's end, including one card to a 'special someone' as the Hallmark subject categorized it as.. haha!

anyway, one thing i loved about living in Japan were the music videos and commercials. And although Santa Cruz has hit somewhat of a dry spell, there's no doubt the rain shall invite itself upon us 1nce again, a mode of depressive weariness resetting in + unspoken pleas to be free from cloudy days.

but it's never a good idea to keep things in like that.

i love music videos in the rain or in airports... this MV just so happens to have both! haha.

K. featuring Verbal + DJ Taku - 'After The Silence'

-(if you don't know japanese, you probably won't understand 95% of this song, but it doesn't matter, you may like the music and beat, Taku of M-Flo has never disappointed me!)
-(trivia: what Micheal Jackson song is sampled in the chorus? answer in the next blog!)

w.s.m.w.t.t.t.!. (wearily slugging my way to the top!)

'i stayed up all night
so i could get this thing right.'

happy 1st post.

2007-02-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

hey, i had to escape from www.xanga.com/streetsoul_lounge, it was getting too depressing for me to keep up with that universe. start fresh and stay fresh. freshness to go around!

justin resuello made me fall in love with lomographs and i've become a flickrwhore and an imeem one as well!

a few of my favorite, guilty pleasure as of late: checking out a girl's...RAINBOOTS (you dirty minded sonofa!), stuff with plaid (although houndstooth joints have become the craze! don't be late!), photography like it's a plague if i don't snap another photo... studying so diligently my mom gets worried!, this girl in my Calculus3 sections that i can't get enough of (!), and not expecting anything anyone for valentine's day... damn man, my calculus professor broke down how crucial it was to study this weekend!:

"okay you guys... i know it's raining so hard outside that you'll all be depressed and worrying 'when will this depressing rain go away?', or 'will i be somebody's valentine??', and this that and the third... so i know that all of you will have nothing better to do, except to study your calculus!"

other guilty pleasures: nice pants, selling my shoes away, the music center at past midnight, candid metro bus snapshots, and some girl at my school, initials d.a.

anyways, i hate talking too much about myself. well i like watching good videos now and then, and i know, MAJOR LATE PASS, but i can't deny something fresh when i haven't seen it before. loving this video definitely.

and another one.
-c.a.r.l.o.