Gutter Rainbows - Talib Kweli

If skills sold, truth be told/ I probably lyrically Talib Kweli- Jay-Z

Talib Kweli has offered up his new album Gutter Rainbows.

Cheon-won and du rags

 HEAD DRESS OR WAVE CAP?

 The other day I was talking to my dad on skype when he realized that I had never shown him Korean money. Upon seeing the money he instantly remarks, "is that n!&&@ wearing a du-rag?" I laughed so hard that my neighbor was pounding on the wall.  I couldn't stop laughing(you know rotflmao). For my friends who have never seen Korean Money, Yi Hwang, the man on the Korean equivalence of a dollar(cheon-won), seems to be wearing a du rag (wave cap). I can't believe my dad said that bullshit! I'm currently at work typing while my boss is wondering why I'm laughing. Should I tell her I'm making a mockery of a historical figure...

Yi Hwang getting his 360 on



Jamal creator of Korean Confucianism



Dear White People a wave cap is worn for fashion and/or to get these:



these are called 360 waves because they encircle the entire head



ZEITGEIST 3: Moving Forward Full Version 2011

The Moral Landscape

The Moral Landscape

Becoming White

 When I was a kid I had dreams and aspiration of being a blonde haired blue eyed white woman, with long flowing hair (although later I realized it was better to be a white man). My dreams as a young kid to somehow become a white woman sounds absurd right? Especially when a kid lives his entire life among people of his own ethnicity. If we were to take into account the images we see through the media and the reinforced stereotypes within our communities, we can easily see how such aspirations can become part of a black boys goals.

  Korean people (Korean Nationals not Korean Americans) are subtly becoming white through globalization. Before the American arrival during WWII, colorism (light skinned vs dark skinned to simply put it) was well vested into the culture. Colorism is an ongoing trend within non white or Southern European communities. But what we cannot deny is the role the American (or European) standard of beauty plays directly or by proxy in sovereign nations.

   Since white culture is the dominate culture, it is rather difficult to assert whether a POC (person of color) wants to be white but I do know the signs of Euro centric ideas of beauty. For example, Korean people have eyelid surgery done in order to have a double eyelid. They get nose surgery to have a pointier nose and have reconstructive surgery on their jaw line so that it is less pronounced. To be fair cosmetic surgery is done on a grand scale in the U.S. and around the globe. We must also understand people of European decent have fallen victim to the the Eurocentric notion of beauty. Because of globalization or colonization (which ever you prefer, though some would prefer the more positive connotation), people want to look and or act like the dominate group. Even those of us who are on the fringes of the dominate group find ourselves assimilating.

Without taking into account population size or economy

  Since the onset of civilization, acquiring the behavior and physical appearance of the dominate group is our ongoing zeitgeist.  It has never changed and probably never will. But to what degree does a non white country allow American ideals to seep into its culture making its own culture unrecognizable or a hybrid of the two (which may prove favorable)? Here is a video from Korea. 

Now look at a Hyundai Commercial from America



  In the latter video we see the Korean car being marketed to Americans but who are they marketing to in the former video. White people in Korea? The U.S. doesn't advertise its products using another country's Nationals unless the national in question is famous. Maybe I'm being sensitive but there is no way in hell a white dude should be in a commercial driving a Korean car when the commercial is for a specific market. Let us not forget print media which features white people handsomely.

  I have had a few heated conversations about Koreans buying into the American beauty standards.  Few of them want to call it what it really is.  Americans has and will continue to successfully project its culture into the world and more specifically Korea.  One could argue that, in its quest to become an open society, the Korean government is slowly (with the help of the media) helping nationals to embrace multiculturalism. The Korean government has successfully done that by promoting one ethnicity above all others.  

Just Do Some Hoe Shit

Might be his girl or she's doing some hoe shit

  Last week AK 47 and I were watching Basketball Wives. I was confused by the title of the show because only one of them is married. Plus the one that's married is about to get divorced (I don't know..I have a strange suspicion that we are behind on the seasons). For some reason I thought about hoes and I asked AK, what constitutes a hoe?
  She explained it as it relates to women. There are hoes and then there are hoe like activities. According to AK 47 some women partake in hoe like activities for a season. Like when they are young but some are full fledged hoes. I then wondered  well hell aren't both men and women both hoes. Men are probably the bigger hoes any way except our promiscuous is called being a player and women are called hoes. Besides nature proves that we are the bigger hoes by letting us release a trillion sperm cells every time we have sex.
  Double standards exist glaringly as it relates to the sexes. I wonder how after thousands of year that men still control everything. After all the brain is needed more than physical strength. Women during early stages of civilization had a keen understanding of their role. Fast Forward to our current day and you realize much has changed but the old rules of engagement linger on. Maybe it's genetics or cultural or religious but for whatever reason the remnants of yesteryear remains partly intact.
  In the case of sexuality women are galvanized about their choice to have sex with multiple partners. If she reveals that she has fucked "everybody" (an impossible feat for even the seasoned hoe) she will never ever be taken seriously but if a man were to engage in the same activities he will not be socially reprimanded. I for one don't mind a woman that does a little hoe shit. As long as there is an understanding of what the hoe shit is (that's another blog..I'm not saying my girl can be a hoe nor am I advocating not taking her seriously prior to her hoe like activities).

  What is disheartening is that men have labeled women something abhorrent simply because said women are not operating properly under the male dominated system. Similar to other oppressed people some women have shunned those hoes simply because they, the good women, want to please their oppressor. Hoes also want to please their oppressor as well as themselves. I for one would like for everybody to get over yourselves and just do some HOE SHIT!

 

Get Off Facebook?

   I remember standing outside with Rose Gardiner waiting to go on and do my standup routine. A few minutes before I went on Ross walks up with a cigarette in his mouth and a bag full of poster boards. He was a little on edge. In his thick Scottish(?) accent he said to me "Reggie, this shit better work!" Having seen him perform the week before, he had nothing to worry about.
   After I finished my routine he went up and did the bit in the video and the audience went wild. The audience knew that it was sly shot at Facebook but it was simply a joke. I loled so hard and then became a little jealous because I hadn't come up with the idea. This morning I got a video on facebook saying "you need to get off facebook." I was thinking, is the government tracking me or some shit? I wonder if they somehow I stole a Source Magazine. I was kinda nervous.
   I was pleased to see Ross' face on the video and his bit about facebook. It went up on YouTube a month ago and has over six hundred thousand hits. The video produced by Sonny Side Films has 8, 400 likes and only 344 dislikes (facebook needs a dislike button). Yet some of the comments were a bit disturbing and people seem to forget it was all in the name of comedy. One user said:

"Anyone who actually follows this and deletes their account on facebook is a sheep who's just following others like a lost child, if you don't want to follow the norm, then sure! delete your account. But your just falling into another norm of people trying not to follow the norm... You're fucked if you do, and you're fucked if you don't. Express yourself in a way that actually matters. Not on trivial things like deleting your facebook account.
Do me a favor and like this if you agree."

   Another person wrote in favor of the video:

"I definitely agree with what he's saying in this video. dude makes a hell of a lot of good points, even while leaving out that facebook shares your information, photos, and profiles with people all over the world without your consent. However, I have found facebook to also be a valuable tool for networking. I've found new musical venues, bands, and bars through it. It helps me keep track of local concerts and events that interest me."

The strange thing about producing a project for the world to see is that it becomes something it was never intended to be. I don't believe Ross was looking to tell people how evil Facebook is and why they should leave the social networking site (just kidding facebook, don't band/taser me). It was all for shits and giggles but once you put a product into the public arena it is free to be interpreted as the public sees fit.

Cyhi Da Prynce

Ladies and gentlemen Cyhi Da Prynce!

and the video sideways! Thanks Zach!

My last Cigarette...

One second thought maybe he should punch me

 The other day I was reading Freakonomics. In a chapter about parenting, parents were asked whether they felt safer if their child were at a friends house whose parents had a gun under lock and key compared to a friends house with a swimming pool. A resounding amount of parents said swimming pool even though statistics show that a child is at greater risk from drowning than from an accidental gunshot wound. According to social scientist/economist, people are hardwired to take into account the immediate danger.
  Which brings me to my last cigarette. Right now my body is craving my last cigarette and I imagine that the last cigarette craving will never go away. According to my grandfather, who quit smoking in his 20s, you will always have the taste for one in your mouth. Besides the obvious fact that I'm addicted to them, cigarettes posed no immediate dangers. I've smoked cigarettes for 4 years now and I never once thought about the dangers seriously. My mom thought that I would stop because I'm normally pretty good at avoiding detrimental activities all together but cigarettes are different. To be honest I don't know why I started in the first place.
  My good friend Pinnacle told me that every time I have a cig craving he would punch me in the face.Initially it sounded like an amazing idea. How could he be so kind! I might have been a little tipsy but I retracted because...it would hurt like hell! Secondly, I'm not a very attractive guy so a few punches to the face would not look good on the physical attractiveness scale. So here is a toast to my last cigarette (but not my last Black and Mild). I leave my once fellow smokers with this documentary.

Viva La Hova Mixtape

If you guys like mash ups, Mike Boogie and Terry Urban created a little diddy for you. The Viva La Hova mixtape came out two years ago but as of September 2010 the Remastered version has hit the net. Leave it to me to be late in getting it to you. Enjoy! Viva La Hova-The Mixtape. PEACE

The NBA. Where no homo happens!

Where bringing the D happens

  The other day I was playing NBA 2K11 and the color commentator said and I quote, "Jordan put the D in his face!"  I didn't notice the double entendre at all. The very next play I screamed to my Advance Intelligence basketball player,"watch out for the backdoor pass!" AK 47 was in the room (only because it's a one bedroom apartment) and was appalled by the sexual undertones that went unnoticed by me.
  Then I begin to think about the NBA and how overtly sexual it is. For one every time a player makes a good play another guy slaps him on the ass. This guys shower together so they always see each others junk. I don't know about you but I don't want to talk to a guy when my junk is out and he is in the same room with me without a barrier/divider between us. Not to mention that they kiss each other after winning an NBA championship.
  I, for one, think that NBA players should indeed say no homo before and after every game/practice. During the playoffs and the NBA Finals if they are so lucky to win, they should say no homo during the entire game. During the playoffs if you haven't noticed, is when players become mad homo because the stakes are higher if a team loses. Now that I've thought about it, all sports players should probably say no homo. Why is that?

I'm a man! Argh!

  Let's look at the phrase no homo. The phrase was obviously coined by a homophobic man of faith. Homo phobics and religious have always been synonymous. Why must men who are obviously not gay repeat the phrase during an entire conversation with friends? Maybe the answer lies within Western culture where the images of men are ultra masculine, gat packing, douche bags that all the ladies love. It's the same culture that won't allow men to be sensitive save for a catostrophic event.
  There is something really hurtful that must be addressed in the phrase no homo. When one says the phrase it is as if something is wrong both implicitly and explicitly, with being homosexual. Once during a casual conversation a guy said that another guy was acting like a white nigger. Obviously I took offense to it because the history of the word in America has always carried a negative connotation when used by white americans (and some black americans but that is another blog). The same can be said about no homo.

Leviticus 18:22 - "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (NIV)

   Faith is the single opposing force against homosexuality.  According to the bible, God speaks specifically about homosexuality, deeming it detestable. He also establishes the union of marriage as being between a man and woman. If an individual uses a holy book as a moral compass then the above statements are believed as the infallible word of the Almighty. But what if you don't? Indeed it is a moral issue but is it the single most important issue that faces our country/world? I'm sure God doesn't want people to starve, be without shelter and proper clothing either. Yet somehow those issues have become the norm.  Besides if one believes as God does let Him judge, it's his world, right?

   If the U.S. allowed homosexuals to marry what would be the worst thing that could happen. A better question is, what would happen if the government decided not to offer universal health care ie the right for another human being to live? Oh wait I know...nothing. Enjoy the video.

  

The Council hates.....entry 1

Dear Minions,

Thou Shall Not See The Council's Face and live

I have become aware of my alter ego Reginald Robinson's recent post's. Well...I'm BACK! The Council will not be lenient with what he was to say. The Council would like to recognize a few Minions, Jesus Jones for his comment on his father's penis. Sha for allowing Reggie to show her his penis when needed and AK 47 for going on a Cosby show marathon and eating hoagies. She also gained 20 pounds in two days after reading the Cliff Huxtable blog.
  Enough of this praising of mere Minions. I have not come here to massage egos. I've (after all the blog does entitle my name) come to wreak havoc on those who ask questions about you even though you are in their mist. Is it not enough for one to simply ask you those questions. If we speak the same language don't you dare use a third party to communicate!  For example on XBOX Live, members like to ask The Council's brother if I am his real brother or what's my name. First of all, none of us are real friends so why the hell must you know my name! A gamer tag/handle/user name is sufficient.
  It is not cool to talk about people, especially when they are in the room:
  So is he/she good in bed?

The Elderly can get it too

  If you don't have enough tact to wait until they are gone or in another room then your significant other should take it upon themselves to slap their friend in the mouth.  Not the eye or the nose because those body parts didn't commit the offense. The elderly can also receive a slap in the mouth. I also recommend a punch to the brain.  Be careful to reserve judgement in case the person in question garners a positive response. There is no need if he/she is in fact good in bed. In which case you may proceed to answer the question.
   THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN!

Cliff Huxtable



Is this the stfu face or can J-E-LL-O get you high?

   The longer I teach in Korea the more I feel like I'm turning into Bill Cosby's character Cliff Huxtable. Hell, I've got the sweaters to match or will have them soon. Cliff Huxtable as a dad is cool but Cliff Huxtable as a teaching style makes me feel like that dancing frog on the WB.

   If you are teaching students under the age of 6, a Cliff Huxtable approach is best. This style of teaching, once summoned, is hard to shake. If you so happen to go there, be warned you will be forever stranded in bizarro world. The style doesn't crossover into the realm of elementary education let alone the world of normal functioning adults. Imagine the laughter ensued by 4 year old students after you've made the "jello pudding pop" face to explain the words awesome and great. The non verbal language is also teaching them how to effectively ignore that guy who just won't shut the fuck up!

   Using the Huxtable teaching style to teach ESL students can be fun initially. Crossing your eyes and tucking your lips while your students practice counting to a mere three is simply hysterical in the mind of a 5 year old. Until they begin to recognize your role as the school's jester. Imposing your will from the onset is impossible because you're a foreigner and English should be "exciting!"


Colonization goes by globalization in some cases.



   I'm sorry but there was a reason Cliff Huxtable was on t.v. He was a blend of all things good with dads. Still that dad could not exist in a world where analogies don't sufficed for children as young as Rudy, circa 1980. If parents of ESL students wonder why their sons and daughters don't speak English very well, you should blame it on not being openly colonized. By the Americans of course! Instead you should realize we are forced to be Cliff Huxtables rather than actual teachers.

 

I have a strange theory on why we must summon our inner Huxtables. Like to hear it here it go! The reason may sound more like a conspiracy but the reason is simply to spread globalization as thoroughly as possible. The best way to spread it is through language and/or images. What better image than a Cliff Huxtable like figure? The perfect time to integrate a new system of control if you will, is during our current recession. Fresh graduates are unknowingly the perfect agent to spread American ideals because they are filled with optimism. WTF anyway enough of my theory enjoy your hoagie and start at 2:24 or watch the entire clip.

Regular, Supersized or hold up!

There is a song by Pinnacle and the Antidote claiming "she wants tha D.I." But how does she want it? I mean should it be regular, super sized or "so where you gonna put that?" Men over the ages (ages being 10 years ago when I started to have sex) have wanted to know the answer to this question. The better question would be what's the state of our fragile egos once the knowledge has been revealed to us?
  I never ask a woman if I have a big penis because as far as I'm concerned I would rather know other things. For example, a how do you like it question is always appropriate. If you've got the goods she will simply let you know about it either by being frank or continuing to have sex with you. That way it relieves you of living up to porn standards (we shall delve into pornography later).

 Years ago I made the mistake of probing. The conversation kinda went like this:
HER (obviously): I really like the size of your dick. It's pretty big.
ME: (fuck you mean pretty): What do you mean by that?
Her: It's nice and thick...
ME: Oh ok. So is it the biggest dick you ever had?

Then I got the answer that I didn't want to hear. I could have just been silent and let her marvel in the glory known as "my penis." Instead I questioned further. A man's ego begins and ends with his cock. It's all he has in this world and it's more important in than his word. Or so I thought.

THE CURSE KNOWN AS PORN
  According to health for men, the average penis size is between 6 and 6.5 inches in length. Given that some men self measured, we can safely assume that the measurements are fabricated. I can hear men now, "fuck science you ain't touching my dick!" For those men that allowed doctors to touch their junk saying the term"no homo" repeatedly, definitely occurred. So if the studies are accurate, give or take an inch, where do our ideas permeate from. I would suggest pornography.

  Unless you have a girlfriend or a casual sexual partner, most guys are in front of their computers wack, wack, wacking away. During our few fleeting moments of ecstasy (and I do mean few) we internalize visual and audible sexual cues. Every guy we see has a humongous cock and the women love it! So we undoubtedly believe that guy to be the norm. But if we would listen to the recipients of cocks we could hear the pain a god penis inflicts. Imagine being that guy who has a difficult time climaxing because he's bringing more pain than pleasure. I may be going out on a limb but few women are in the business of a constant cervix beat down. Except in the case that she does like it or she's a porn star or both.
  Guys just be pleasantly surprised that your girlfriend or sexual partner has made a conscience effort to continue having sex with you. That should be a perfect indication you're doing something right. Oh and ladies continue to avoid the question because contrary to popular belief we have fragile egos.
Oh fuck it, ANSWER THE QUESTION! REGULAR, SUPER SIZED OR "HOLD THE FUCK UP!"
No homo Pinnacle for including your picture in this post.

Novelty: Rockstar or Alien

In the elevator on my way to work I was greeted by a group of 5th grade students on their way to yet another hag won (a school that specializes in a subject..math, English, art). As usual they were all standing with their face on the elevator door. Once the elevator door opens they all kinda fall inside. One girl in particular  looked at me with a stare that I've seen a million times before since I've been in Korea....Rock star or Alien and the phrase:

"WHOOAAAA!"

It doesn't bother me when a kid is amazed or surprised about me being black. Kids around the world respond the same way when they live in a homogeneous environment. I use the term environment here because countries like America and Britain are not homogeneous but do have whole neighborhoods that are involuntarily homogeneous.

When I was four years old our neighbor was a family from South Korea. As a child I classified everyone into one of three ethnicity's, black, Mexican (not Latino) and white. You can guess that our neighbors fell into the Mexican category. While we lived there my best friend was the eldest daughter who was about my age. I was in platonic love with her because she played like a boy and baked excellent mud pies with worms on the side.

As a child in the U.S. I had the luxury of putting people in a category albeit not the proper one. Until the age of 6 I couldn't differentiate one Mexican from the other. That same year I befriended a  Mexican kid who wasn't even Mexican. From then on, people became Latino and all Mexicans didn't look alike. I remembered my father had a very peculiar look on his face when I told him of my discovery. As if he were saying "get your shit together kid".

  South Korean school children don't have that luxury. Either they see black people through the spotted lens of the media or not at all. If the kid is into black culture and its art form then we are akin to rock stars. There is also a more frightening side. The look of horror in there eyes when they can't categorize you. Until you entered their world in passing on an elevator, they were completely and utterly Korean.

  Children are allowed to hold these ideas in their minds because hell, they're children. Adults pose a major dilemma. For one, we live in a heavily globalized world and you should have seen a black person somewhere. Honestly it's not the staring that frustrates me, it's the look of disgust and the thoughts that inevitably come with it. You begin to wonder what atrocities has been attributed to you because of your ethnicity.

  It would be unfair if I failed to mention that these types of attitudes exist within Western societies but one can easily disassociate himself from those types of people. In America one can easily come to understand people as individuals. Yet, in Korea one must deal with the burden of language and its inability to communicate properly the attitudes of an individual. Plus we have to remember that a homogeneous society lacks the proper cultural training needed to embrace multiculturalism. Still I wonder is that a reason for someone to stare at me so long that they crash their bicycle?

The Ideology of taking a nap

 The other day I was out with AK47 and we were having semi philosophical discussion over chicken. Wait, that sentence is a bit akward. We were eating chicken while discussing high brow philosophy. As a side note, if you have never been to this place and you love chicken...yeah I think you get the picture.

 Somewhere between sharing our sexual experiences (with one another and other people) and string theory, we arrived at words of wisdom from our parents.

  The thoughts of Reginald Earl, my dad, went back to a time when he would say wild shit that never made sense until later in life. When I was 13 years old he told me to "keep a helmet on my head." I thought to myself, "hell I don't even like football," I'm a fair weather Cowboys fan at best. Now of course we all know what he meant. When AK 47 shared with me her father's dieing words they were profound.

"When you feel like you are about to fuck up, take a nap."

Nothing can come between me and chicken.Yet this ideology was better than chicken.  If it was possible Chicken and I would be wed in matrimony. Well, kinda, I mean I couldn't just marry ONE chicken because I would have that chicken for dinner. Talk about spousal abuse plus I would totally get away with it. Still my love for chicken can only be broken by a woman or my nicotine addiction.

TAKE A NAP

While digesting the meaning of the words all things became clear. These words of wisdom can be taken literally as in the case of Saturday night and wanting to save your money.

My Brain: I have to save money for college but I wanna party with the Space Boys.

I can see me doing one or two things.  I could crawl into my bed while cozing up to Freakonomics or I would instantly fall to the ground possibly injuring myself but with fatter pockets. Imagine a guy on his way to rob a bank falling asleep at the wheel. Well, ok, don't because that may imply he is on a highway when he decides he's about to fuck up.

  Applying the take a nap ideology to practically every substantial life decision is absolutely perfect. Withouth realizing it, I had applied this ideology countless times. When I was 16 years old I had to decide whether to join all the hopeless black teens in the drug trade.  We were fucking desperate and literally hungry. Everyone I knew sold drugs at one time or another. What was I suppose to do? I wasn't doing crime for the sake of doing crime? So, again I ask you what was I suppose to do?

 Take a nap!

 This was the  most crucial point in my life and had I not taken a nap, you would be possibly counting me among the young black bodies that filled the prison cells or back to whence one came. A simple ideology saved my fucking life!

 "Taking a nap" should be part of humanities psyche because it inches us closer to understanding ourselves and how we relate to one another. Maybe it is part of it but along the way we forgot it. If we could take a nap we could find a better way to tell our significant others that the dress they're wearing makes them look like a stack of tires. Or if our leaders would take a nap, we could possible become more diplomatic and postponed or stop wars all together.