Can I Get A Hot Tub Remix

So I know you've seen the Hot Tub State Farm commercial. My favorite commercial ever!

Saw this remix during the VMAs last night:



Awesome.

Hurricane Irene

So Hurricane Irene came and left.

Really wasn't as big a deal as they made it out to be, at least not here in New York. There was some flooding, loss of power and fallen trees out here in Staten but nothing too deadly. 

I'm good (clearly), as is most of my neighborhood.

There was this though:

Uprooted tree across the street from my crib lol.

Hurricane Irene

Throwback Thursday: Aaliyah

Taken too soon.

I write this post with sadness. Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the death of Aaliyah. It was tragic and depressing. She was so beautiful and was Brooklyn's finest (though raised in Detroit lol).

I remember the first time I heard "Are You That Somebody." I was at summer camp and these girls did a step routine with that beat (one of the toughest beats of all-time). I was like what is that and someone played the song to me. When I got home that joint was rocking all over the radio, it was crazy.

Aaliyah had so many cuts yo. She ruled #the90s man. It was tough to see here go when she did in the early 2000s ('01). I honestly feel like she was about to change the game for real. Unfortunately we won't know what could of been. Luckily we know what we had: Greatness. We love you and miss you baby girl.

Back And Forth


At Your Best (I prefer the slower version)


Age Ain't Nothing But A Number


Down With The Clique


The Thing I Like


If Your Girl Only Knew


Got To Give It Up


One In A Million


4 Page Letter


Hot Like Fire


The One I Give My Heart To


Journey To The Past


Are You That Somebody (Probably her most famous song/video)


I Don't Wanna (Not a video but my favorite Aaliyah song)


Try Again


Come Back In One Piece


We Need A Resolution


Rock The Boat (The final video shoot)


More Than A Woman


Miss You (I cry every time yo)

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

When I first visited Washington D.C. I went as part of a history/government trip and I was certainly (still am) a history geek. We had tours of all the major memorials and monuments, I was pretty amped. My favorite monument/memorial was the FDR Memorial, he was my favorite president (this guy has over taken him). My second favorite memorial was the Lincoln and not why you may have thought. I stood on the spot that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the "I Have a Dream Speech." (I def wrote about this before lol). It was a powerful moment for me. I realized that the engraving on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was not enough for Dr. King...he deserved his own monument/memorial.

When I got to Morehouse this feeling intensified as I walked the campus, his campus. (Talked about this also in that previous post lol). While there I found out that a memorial was in the works. For the past month or so I've been getting emails daily counting down to the opening of the memorial and the "Official" unveiling and dedication. The unveiling and dedication isn't until this weekend, but the memorial opened today. 

It's beautiful. 

The next time I'm in DC I'll go to it, take a picture, cry, reflect, give thanks and come away with a new favorite monument.

#Respect to the King

Great Engagement

Ya know how I feel about rings and engagements so this is straight comedy:



This would be me at a Mets game tho.

Happy Birthday Mom

Skipping Throwback Thursday this week. Only one post on this day and it goes out to my mom on her birthday:

Valerie Lynn-Logue.

I love this woman. She is the world to me. Wouldn't be where I am without her. She's gonna love here gift...

The Black Presidents Obama Should Thank

We all know that Barack Obama was elected as this country's first Black President but he really isn't the first Throughout the media there have been many black presidents, some of whom I think he should thank for his election as much as he thanked voters.

President David Palmer.

I've been re-watching 24 via Netflix. Its an awesome show no doubt but the main reason I started watching wasn't because of Jack Bauer's kickassness. It was because of the black man who was running for president in season one and was president in later seasons. Palmer was a very honest and caring man which made him a great president. He handled a lot of controversies well throughout the series, dealt with ridiculous amounts of assassination attempts and terrorist attacks and did it all with class and grace. I think his time as president on TV was the first time that people really believed a black man could become president. Now he's helping people get insurance too, well him and this guy lol. 

Obama thank him.

President candidate turned Elect Mays Gilliam.

Yes I'm serious lol. Head of State was a "good" bad movie lol. Chris Rock, Bernie Mac as his running mate, Tamala Jones as the #snookup love interest and Nate Dogg rest his soul:

Need I say more lol?

Seriously though the reason why I picked Mays was that he was a black man on the campaign trail surprisingly rallying people...who does that sound like?

Obama thank him.

President Tom Beck.

This is simply off the strength of Morgan Freeman. What's Freeman's most remembered role? Without the shadow of a doubt Lean on Me. He was such a powerful leader in that movie that whenever we see him we think about that. Even though he wasn't nearly as powerful in Deep Impact he was in the ultimate position of power. All we saw was the leader from Lean on Me playing the President of the United States. That held weight. 

Obama thank him.

Dave Chappelle as Black Bush

I miss Chappelle's Show so much. Chappelle had a skit in which he played the aforementioned Tim Beck but his greatest assist to Obama came as Black Bush. That portrayal, while funny, was true: Bush cared about avenging his father and getting oil. Chappelle was able to highlight those truths in a comedic way, making it easier for people to realize it and realize we don't want another republican in office. Who am I kidding? That joint was funny as hell lol: 

Either way, Obama thank him.

A Wake Up Call

On Friday I ended a month stint as a day camp counselor at The Boys Club of New York, Abbe Clubhouse out in Queens. It was a very interesting and mostly fun experience. There were however some trying moments. Nonetheless, I learned a lot of things.

I really love counseling. It's extremely fun and it provides an opportunity to make an impact on the lives of children. I've counseled at various summer camps and after school programs here in New York (City and State) and Atlanta, GA. As my time wound down at my former job I was looking for a counseling position to have some fun as a final hooray before school starts in September. I was able to land the spot out in Queens, thanks to what some may call nepotism but what I call connections lol.

As I mentioned, it was a fun summer. I was assigned to the Mega Trips department where we went on trips daily. Pretty awesome. The main issue that I had was that I felt that while I was ensuring the kids safety and fun (my job), I wasn't making an impact emotionally and contributing to the improvement of their lives (my responsibility) the way that I was used to. The boys didn't really respect me, look up to me, draw inspiration from me or even listen to me like I was used to.

In previous positions I was able to build bonds with kids and help improve their lives. This is something I take pride in and love doing. I didn't feel that at this camp, and it was truly a shock and a wake up call. When I thought about why it was this way I was even more shocked.

I have been told by many people that my greatest talent is the way I can connect with children, all children, but "At Risk" children in particular. You know the black/minority, from the hood, chip on their shoulder, fitting for survival, products of non-ideal parenting situations, etc. type of children.

*Sidenote I've always hated that term "At Risk." At risk of what? Being great? Nah. Being a problem, criminal, dumb, dying, etc. Ugh I hate it.*

I digress. People always ask me and wonder why am I so good at connect with these types of children. I never have a great answer for them. It's really just that I am one of them. Plain and simple. This was my calling card, one that I thought would never fail and I was wrong.

For the most part the boys at the camp and clubhouse in general face some of those attributes (disadvantages) that I mentioned earlier and that I share with them. So I was shocked that I couldn't connect with them. It was really the first time this has happened to me.

I realized that while I may have shared similar life stories to those boys, I wasn't one of them. The Boys Club is indeed that a club. Almost every male in that building had been a member of the club as a child themselves. If not, they had been working there for as long as the boys could remember. I was just an outsider, just a random person. I had a lot to offer but I couldn't make a mark.

(Granted I was only there for a month, so maybe I'm over thinking the whole thing lol).

On an aside, yesterday morning I also thought about how I wasn't the only black man or one of the few black men around. The club is full of positive black male role models. I've always been used to being one of few/or the only black role model. When that's the case it's easy for me to make an impact. This got me thinking about other situations where positive black models are the norm (Morehouse immediately comes to mind) and how one makes an impact in a situation like that. (See how my mind works? lol) I'll have to call my mentor and ask him since he is at Morehouse.

Anyway, the point that I took from it all was that we all need more preparation. No matter how good we are at something and how much we can hang our hats on it, it will not always work. We must be able to use other tools when our best one/go to one doesn't work. Even though I'm getting ready to start school anyway, I'm happy I had this wake up call because it totally reaffirms my decision. I hope that we all can realize, sooner rather than later, that we aren't there yet and that we always need to seek improvement.

I also hope that I was able to make some impact at the camp.

Throwback Thursday: Deion Sanders

In honor of Deion Sanders getting enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame last weekend, and celebrating his birthday this week, I dedicate this week's Throwback Thursday to him.

What can I say about Primetime that hasn't been said? Here are some articles/countdowns of his best moments: Complex, SB Nation, Youtube. (Hit ever related video)

As for me, I'll say that he is one of the best players we've ever seen play. He was the most exciting and dangerous player on the field. Threat to score anytime he touched the ball. He brought so much swag (#Primetime) to the football field but he backed it up with stellar play. The man would shut down a whole half of the field. He is the reason why so many people of my generation are (C)owboys fans and the reason why so many of us wanted to play Cornerback *raises hand*.

Oh, he played baseball too:



And we can forget the high step:

#Primetime #Respect

Watch The Throne

I've been listening to Watch The Throne just about nonstop since it dropped. Everyone's been giving their opinion. My turn: It's pretty damn good, maybe even great.

The beats are the best part of the album...each one rocks out and they're all pretty unique. The rhyming isn't the greatest (what we've come to expect)...but it's good and there are some great lines and verses. Everyone talking bout how Jay seems like an extra on the album, and that it's really a "Kanye" album featuring Jay, but I have Jay outrapping 'Ye, partly because he actually raps more.

My Scorecard:
1) Ye
2) None
3) Jay
4) Even
5) Ye
6) Jay
7) Ye
8) Jay (by default)
9) Jay
10) Ye 
11) Jay
12) Jay (by default)

Might be the Hov Stan in me scoring...who knows.

No one gets points for "Lift Off."The rapping is so subpar. That beat might be my favorite tho. With that hook it had potential. They botched it if you ask me. Cudi shoulda been on it.

"What You Need" shoulda been longer.

I wish they rapped like rapped on every track like they did on that and "Otis"

"New Day" gives me a chill.

Swizzy always makes me laugh "God Dammit" lol

I like the way the album closed out...tracks 10-12 are all excellent.

"Murder to Excellence" is powerful.

If anyone doesn't know/fuck with Frank Ocean they will now. He may be the biggest winner with his two choruses. Made It In America is one of the best choruses I've heard in a long time.

When Hov and 'Ye said #OOO at the end of "Why I Love You" so did I. #Respect

It's a pretty damn good album. Does it match the hype? Yes and no. Yes because Stans will bump it and say it's dope. No because Stans expected a whole lot and won't admit that it's good despite not reaching their expectations.

Which Stan are you?

I shouldn't condone this but you can download it here.

Reactions to the amNewYork (News) 8/9/11

Read through the amNewYork this morning and had some reactions to the news.

How many times has "Between Barack and a hard spot" been used as a headline?

The economy is pretty bad man.

Are the Republicans purposely at odds with Obama just because he's a Democrat or because he's black or both?

Could Obama had spent more time handling the crisis instead of tackling his initial agenda? Maybe.

Hilary supportes saying she woulda been better. Word?

The old MTA chief up and left for a new gig in China. Someone had dirt on him...serious dirt. Really why he left.

I wanted to be in the Triathlon. Maybe next year.

They're raging in London.

Another Texas Governor is set to run for Pres. Remember the last one? Oh aight.

Watch The Throne is pretty damn good (Next post). amNew York's fave Jay and 'Ye features are pretty dope ones.

Bernie Williams is one of my favorite Yankees (players) ever.

Jets botched the Ellis thing. He really stuck it to them going to the Pats.

Mets game didn't make the edition bc the game ended to late. We got the walk off win though.

Not addressing Reyes on the DL.

#respect to the 1st Latino owner. Is his name Manuelo?

DeSean ended the holdout. Now I can take Eagles seriously.

Real Madrid signed a 7 year old. Another reason to hate them.

Let me get this Crossword...hopefully its easier than yesterday's.

It Was

Bastards Of The Party

Earlier today I re-watched this documentary entitled "Bastards Of The Party." It's a history of the Bloods and the Crips in Los Angeles. I highly recommend it. One of the key parts of the documentary discusses how the gangs were created after the demise of the Black Panther Party and how they were the bastard children of the Party, hence the title.

It's a pretty dope documentary directed and narrated by a former Blood who wanted to research the history of the gangs after a stint in prison. He spoke a lot about his time banging, and interviewed many people from former (and sometimes current) Bloods, Crips, historians, FBI agents, policemen, Black Panther Party Members and US Organization members to help give a detailed account on the creation and evolution of the gangs from the early 60's through the early 2000's.

If you every have some time you should watch it and you can here.

Enjoy.

Throwback Thursday: NFL GameDay 99

Last week at work I pulled my hamstring while running some relays with my campers. It immediately reminded me of this game:

It was a damn good game (check the gameplay) the best ever at the time. The reason I thought of it immediately was that every so often players would blow out their hamstrings but still be able to run full speed towards the endzone. It was hilarious. Hopefully you remember it because I wasn't able to find some video footage but it looks like this just with much worse graphics lol:

Black + Puerto Rican Spiderman

That's right there is a Black + Puerto Rican Spiderman, well Ultimate Spiderman. In an alternate universe Peter Parker is killed by the Green Goblin and a new teenager takes up the costume as Ultimate Spiderman: Miles Morales. Miles is half Black (father) and half Puerto Rican (mother). 

This is pretty damn awesome!

I caught the story via  USA Today which also had another story talking about one of the inspirations. Turns out Donald Glover, from Community (awesome show btw) auditioned to for Spiderman in the upcoming "The Amazing Spiderman" but didn't get the part. As a joke he wore a pair of Spidey pjs on an episode which reaffirmed Ultimate Spiderman writer Brian Michael Bendis to continue with his Black/Latino Spidey. 

Once again, this is pretty damn awesome!

I'm gonna have to support this comic from here on out. Now if this ever gets picked up for a movie I'll be auditioning for Ultimate Spidey since I'm Puerto Rican and Black and a spidey fan to the death of me.

Nickelodeon is back...kinda.

You might have noticed that I'm a little fond of my childhood television, especially Nickelodeon. I was a huge Doug fan as you can see from a few pics on my sidebar and loved the gameshows I grew up with. I really miss those days and wish they could return. I'm not the only one either, I'll go so far to say that all of my contemporaries are too.

Exhibit A:

@illDYE4mYhAiRMi amore vole fe yah

I've been saying for years that Nickelodeon needs a channel specifically dedicated to 90's programming... Like TV Land for 20-somethings...

25 Jul via web

Well we're in luck because the true Nickelodeon is set to return, kinda. As reported by the New York Times and blogged by @TheUNjealous, Teen Nick will air episodes of some classic shows "All That," "Clarissa Explains It All," "Kenan and Kel," and of course "Doug" as part of a late night block showing between midnight and 4am. Set your DVRs. The beauty of modern technology and classic television.

It started on the 25th, so I've missed a week. Best believe that I have my DVR set to record every episode of Doug from here on out though lol.

Enjoy.

#Shoutout to @iLLDYE4mYhAiR and @TheUNjealous.

Music Fix

The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place - Explosions In The Sky. 

Every Day. Multiple Times.

Do it.