We kiss like the night...

Peep the video of the young bull B. Yung goin in on one of his newer poems. One of the illest performances I've seen in a minute. The way the woman in the background reacts to the first line is classic. I'm about to step my game up!

They used to sell records in the Salvation Army for a quarter.

I'm rarely if ever one to swagger-jack, as it were, but after peeping this particular video on "The Smoking Section" I really had no choice to but to re-post. Golly gee, I love history. See what happens when you dig in the crates? You find that the some of the most indispensable moments in your specific, ontological narrative (e.g. "Hard Knock Life" for myself and the rest of the hip-hop generation) come from the most unexpected sources. Sit back and enjoy.

I love how awkward Jay-Z is toward the end of the video, too. Most human I've ever seen him. Very refreshing.

Oh look! Diamonds!

Not posting this for any particular reason. Bored, in Maine, and just happen to think that this is quite possibly the funniest commercial I have ever seen. I'm sincerely hoping there is some amount of theater training that can allow me to accurately mimic this man's voice. Utter hilarity.

For her.

I'm good, g. Moving forward. Robert Glasper and Bilal have been on repeat in the crib as I do my best to disentangle the sailor's knots in my chest. What is love, indeed.

In response to, well, myself I guess...

After outright calling John Mayer a "racist pig"(which was problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that I completely overlooked a more nuanced critique of his blatant sexism and constant re-inscription of his own White male privilege) on my Facebook status, one of my good friends, Kyle, sent me a link to this video. To say the least, it was both thoroughly entertaining and incredible informative. Take it to heart, this young man is dropping knowledge.

Its hard to say...

Heard some of my homies crush this track the other night and figured I had to share it with you guys. Thought I'd include both the Az Yet and Chicago version, just for those eclectic folks out there who can thoroughly appreciate both. I quite literally just wasted two snow days and did next to no work, so I'm about to grind crazy these next couple days. Please pray for my work ethic/productivity. Gotta get better @ closing out!

Stay encouraged, everyone. Weekend is here!

The small things.

In the midst of a brutal two-day snowstorm, I have found tremendous comfort in the Word. While hanging out with two of my best friends and brothers in Christ, (we'll call them James and Eric, for no particular reason since I'm sure they wouldn't mind me dropping their names, but back to what I was saying) I came across this video of the young bull Frankie Lymon in his prime. To say that this boosted mine is a serious understatement. The kid's poise, dancing skill, and sheer lyrical genius to be able to pen such a timeless track at an age where most of us were still scavenger hunting for hearts to call our own, to figure out what this "love" thing was that everyone kept talking about. Lymon created a simple record with a powerful message, one containing a question that we must continue to ask ourselves today. A question I must continue to ask myself:

Why do you fools fall in love (that doesn't last) ?

Question of the millenia.

On Waiting.

Ok, so I legit feel like I'm going crazy right now. Between recent heartbreak and waiting to hear back from graduate school programs, it's a moment where my patience is being tested like no other time in my life. I've had to fundamentally come to grips with the notion that my life is not my own, that I can't decide what my future is in all the ways I would like. I will be where I am supposed to be, of this I am sure. The difficulty lies in the slaying of the restless mind, in giving everything up to God, knowing that he knows your heart but also knows what is best for you. It's painful sometimes...waiting for the future.

I've wanted to post this video for a while, mostly just because of how shocked I was that William Shatner's spoken word is actually pretty ill. Shouts to all my Trekkies out there. Apparently, Kirk gets busy on the microphone. Who knew?!

WHO DAT?!?!

Hands down, best Super Bowl I've ever seen. Well-deserved shout out to both the city of New Orleans, as well as the notion of playing for something bigger than yourself on the world's biggest stages. In a game where the "smart" money was on the masterful hands of Peyton Manning and the seemingly unbeatable Colts, the Saints roared from behind and shocked the world. Well done.

Also, outside of the game itself, the most powerful moment for me came when I watched Drew Brees begin to cry as he held his son after the game. It was the type of vulnerability I have rarely seen on television, and certainly one of those few moments in professional sports (at least the contests I have been most frequently privy to) where love seemed to take center stage, where the most important thing in the world to Brees at that moment was his family, not the trophy. I hope to have that same sort of feeling one day, to hold my child in a triumphant moment and feel that undeniable surge of wholeness.

One day. For right now, back to the grind. Be blessed ya'll, enjoy the week. I know times may seem rough right now, but God's got us all. Whatever you're going through, just leave it in the Lord's hands.

For Levi.

As some of you may know, my younger brother Levi has autism. He was diagnosed around age 3, and since then I've always had this fear of what he would be able to accomplish academically and professionally. Whether or not he would ever play sports, go to prom, or touch a performance stage. More out of ignorance than anything else, I let fear and doubt govern the way I viewed and treated my brother for much of my young life.

It's funny how God works.

Levi is 11 years old now. He's has a mischievous sense of humor, is a budding snowball fight champion, and can recite entire monologues at length from is favorite movies and shows. He also hasn't gotten less than %100 on a spelling test in about 4 years. I walked into my living room this morning and there he was, railing off words for today's spelling quiz at his tempered, methodical pace with my ever-present mother watching from a few feet away, beaming with pride at her brilliant son.

The past two weeks have been quite tumultuous for me. It was a blessing to see Levi this morning and be reminded of what beauty is all around us when we just take the time to look.

This post is dedicated to him, to the brilliant mind so many people have tried to limit with labels and statistics. My younger brother is a genius the world just doesn't know how to appreciate yet. But they will. Truth always comes to light.

Who knows? We may see him on the national stage one day yet.

Gotta keep pushing. In patience, and love.

This may be the first time Derrida and Corinthians have been quoted in the same passage...

Link:

Tell em, Jacques.

Looking for that real love nowadays. The kind that's bought with a price, that costs you something. Keep the pretty words, give me the sweat. Love is sacrifice, it's work. The most beautiful labor this world has to offer.

Better yet, just peep these verses from Corinthians. They say far more eloquently in a few passages what it would take me tomes to convey:

1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Sounds wonderful. Time to start striving for it. Also, I think I may start posting new pieces up here, haikus at least. It's been a truly inspirational couple of weeks.

On the run

On my way out of the door to go crush this gig at SUNY Plattsburgh. For some reason, this song is on replay non-stop in my head as I think about her, about what the best route is to take in this situation. Keep me in prayer, ya'll. It's a beautiful, hectic time right now and I'm trying to follow the Lord's will at all costs. It's so easy to mistake the heart for the Spirit though, ya know? To tell the difference between desire and love.

I looked out onto Lake Champlain this evening and saw a group of folks ice-fishing. My driver told me that sometimes people actually drive trucks out onto the frozen expanse of water in an effort to reach their destination quicker. I though to myself for a while about what kind of faith it takes to do something like that, about how often I'm content to bind myself with logic or fear. I've been on a lot of planes these past few days. It's time to go home. I'm ready now.

First post-show post

I friggin love Moulin Rouge. I also love love. Enjoy.

Two of my favorite thinkers on the same stage

Cornel West is undeniably my favorite rhetorician of the moment. Between the sheer brilliance of what he actually says, and his nuanced understanding of how to make his intended message hit home through facial expression and hand gesture, there's not many others in the game who have so perfectly set the stage for exactly what it is I set out to do in the next decade. This clip is a shorty but a goody.

Also, peep the best author to ever live just looking all serene listening to Dr. West speak. Great to see brilliant minds in conversation.

Oh, ya'll thought I was lying yesterday?! Two in two days, son!

Though it would seem that I'm walking more away from infatuation masquerading as love than any kind of substantive love in and of itself,I nevertheless thought it apropos to post these two clips. Both Ruffin and McLean capture the spirit of something wonderful in these tracks, and until recently I had never heard the original or the cover. So, for those of you out there who love someone enough to walk away from them for the right reasons, this is for you.

The Beatles once asked where all the lonely people come from. After 4 years in this place, Penn seems like a great answer. Pardon the sad energy ya'll, gimme a day or two.
Psalms 30:5. We good.