People

A while back i was having a very abstract conversation with my manager at work and he brought up his faith and religious beliefs. He proceeded to tell me that he practices an eastern religion by the name of Baha'i (he is a white dude so i was immediately interested due to the irony).  Baha'i is a religion that was created in 19th century Persia, and it has now spread to many corners of the globe. It emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind. He directed me to an actual Baha'i text online that stated the following: 

“How its light is now dawning upon the world’s darkened horizon. The first candle is unity in the political realm, the early glimmerings of which can now be discerned. The second candle is unity of thought in world undertakings, the consummation of which will erelong be witnessed. The third candle is unity in freedom which will surely come to pass. The fourth candle is unity in religion which is the cornerstone of the foundation itself, and which, by the power of God, will be revealed in all its splendor. The fifth candle is the unity of nations—a unity which, in this century, will be securely established, causing all the peoples of the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland. The sixth candle is unity of races, making of all that dwell on earth peoples and kindreds of one race. The seventh candle is unity of language, i.e., the choice of a universal tongue in which all peoples will be instructed and converse. Each and every one of these will inevitably come to pass, inasmuch as the power of the Kingdom of God will aid and assist in their realization.”

I was truly astonished when I read this. I feel that having a truly open mind is one of the hardest things to achieve in the modern world, but it is a sign of true evolution. More people need to think like this. Mutual cooperation and understanding is always better than destruction. 

Read more if you'd like: http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/PDC/pdc-33.html

Keep your crew around.

Be careful bout who you see
Keep your crew around
Cause they never let you down
They never let you down

Buffalo Man EP is so on point. Definitely one of my favorite releases of 2012.

Culture is always subjective. One is never better than another, just different.

Certain individual’s views on society and different cultures can be quite perplexing and ethnocentric at times. It is often that a person will think their way of life is vastly superior to others, without truly thinking about these assumptions. A prime example of this is the colonial people during their period of great conquests through out the world.  This leads me directly into a brilliant series I watched the other day. It was a documentary series titled First Australians.  It was a seven part series that chronicled the birth of the nation that we now call Australia and how its indigenous population was forever impacted by the arrival of the British colonists. The British arrived in Australia as explorers seeking new land, and wound up intruding on the Aborigines ancient culture that had been in place for thousand of years. They stole their land, killed many through disease and war, and made them second-class citizens in their own country. This is a scene that has played out countless times through out human history, and is one based in ignorance and ethnocentrism. A professor who was interviewed in the series made an incredible point when he noted that while Europeans were dwelling in caves, the Aborigines had developed an advanced system of beliefs and customs that governed their lives. Mind you, this was thousands of years before Christianity or any of the other organized religions that currently dominate the globe. In spite of this Aborigines were regarded as savages and undeveloped humans who would eventually die off. This train of thought is absolutely ridiculous and one based out of sheer ignorance. The Aborigines are one of the oldest civilizations in human history and they would have lived on with, or without the intrusion of the British colonists. I could go on and on about this, but I might as well just get to the point. The point is that ones culture, no matter what it looks like, cannot be judged through a subjective lens and everyone outside of said culture is subjective. You can never say that another societies culture is better or worse then yours because you will never be able to rid yourself of biases and simultaneously immerse yourself fully in this other culture. In the most basic sense of this argument, if a culture allows for the continuation of its people then it serves its purpose and you as an outsider have no grounds to judge it. For every benefit you think your culture provides you with, there is a criticism that can be leveled upon it from another culture. EVERYTHING is relative. So in one persons mind Aborigines may be savages and sub-human, while in another persons mind they are a vibrant and storied people. Humans will always be different, but differences cannot always simply be judged as better or worse. All in all, just always remember to keep an open mind and don’t be an asshole. Try to think outside of your culture when observing others. 

Check out my buddies blog, he's a brilliant writer:

roguearistocrat.blogspot.com

Just gotta chill out some times.

Sit back and relax
It's gonna be alright

Art work

So big shout out to Bullett Tattoo in Mt. Airy, MD. This is officially my new spot for all my work. They did a great tattoo for me, check it out:

Word.

This weekend i had the pleasure of seeing David Dallas perform live at the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD. All i can say is that his performance was everything i expected and more. Wished it went on for longer haha. The performance was great though. It was extremely polished, had excellent vocals and kept the crowd engaged through out. This guy is an excellent hip hop artist, and i truly hope success on these shore comes sooner, rather then later for him. His music is first class, and is what hip hop is all about. He combines real life issues with great lyrics and production (big shout out to Fire & Ice) to create his wonderful brand of hip hop. After his set he even spent some time conversing with fans, and i had the pleasure of speaking with him for a while. I can honestly say David Dallas is truly one of my favorite artists now, and i'm a supporter of his music and him as a person. Big ups to David Dallas and definitely get Buffalo Man when it drops on 9/26/12.  This will be the first album i'll actually purchase in a long time.

Manchester United vs. Liverpool

So the Man U vs. Liverpool game from earlier was quite a dramatic affair. Liverpool took an early lead through none other then Mr. Liverpool, Steven Gerrard. Everything looked to be going well until Man U equalized through a great left footed shot from Rafael. Things got even worse for Liverpool, when Shelvey was sent off with a straight red card for a two footed challenge. Replays showed that the straight red was kind of harsh in my opinion.

 The picture clearly shows the Man U player, Evans, leading with studs up and two feet, a red card offense itself. Things went from bad to worse when the ref awarded a PK for a very soft challenge on Antonio Valencia by Glen Johnson. Bullshit call just like the red card in my opinion. This game was decided by the ref today, not the players.

Olimpico

If anyone forgot, Thierry Henry still has PLENTY of quality in those feet. 

TALENT AND DEDICATION

Much like the greatest sport on earth, soccer, Hip Hop is dominated very much so by a few different cities and one country in particular which is the United States. In terms of soccer, the worlds game is currently in a vice grip by the Iberian nation of Spain. They have won two consecutive European Championships and one World Cup. Their dominance has no sight in end, and even extends to the club game in the form of Real Madrid and specifically Barcelona. When you look at the Hip Hop scene it is dominated by the US, with the major markets of California and New York providing large bodies of work for the masses. Every now and then though, in music and sport alike, a small minnow pops up and shocks the world. In 2004 it was Greece at the Euro's and currently in the Hip Hop world, i feel that title goes to David Dallas. He's a rapper that hails from New Zealand... yes NZ, but he spits like a b-boy from Brooklyn. His style is so original and would surprise the most devout Hip Hop head. I plan on attending his show tonight in Towson, MD and i just want to remind people that talent has no boundaries. Even if you hail from an unfashionable location where your trade is not heavily plied, never give up. The cream always rises to the top.

Enjoy my friends... and now back to the soccer :)

DeRo

So unfortunately DC United Captain Dwayne DeRosario is out for the rest of the regular season. Huge blow to a DC United team looking to show up strong during the stretch run and earn a spot in the playoffs. Hopefully some of the other big time players on the team can step their game up, and help the team get some good results. I'm sure Chris Pontius will continue to be a player the team heavily relies on, and lets hope Maicon Santos can come back into the team with some of that early season form that had him looking like a game changer. The following weeks shall be interesting.

Vamos United!

Whoa

So to whoever in the world actually reads this, i haven't used/updated this blog in what seems like eons. I randomly stumbled upon it this evening and felt the need to share one piece of advice:

Don't listen to ain't shit nigga's and do whatever truly makes you happy.

In the next few weeks and months i will continue to update this blog with random info and thoughtful conversation. Enjoy.