My President is Black

Don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of Hip-Hop since Slick Rick's "Great Adventures of Slick Rick" (1988). I've followed every variation of the genre: gangsta rap (Tupac, NWA), party anthems (Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z), R&B hooks (Ja Rule), the bling bling movement (Ca$h Money Millionaires), and today's swaggerfest (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, T.I.). Hip Hop has seen its share of ups (mid-90's pinnacle: Mobb Depp, Wu Tang Clan, etc.) and downs (Soulja Boy, Sean Kingston, DJ Khaled, Ron Browz), but I have never been more disappoointed than with Young Jeezy's "My President Is Black". Can a song get anymore ignorant? Here's the chorus:

"My president is black, my Lambo's blue

And I'll be goddamned if my rims ain't too
My momma ain't at home, and daddy's still in jail
Tryna make a plate, anybody seen the scale?
My president is black, my Lambo's blue
And I'll be goddamned if my rims ain't too
My money's light green and my Jordans light grey
And they love to see white, now how much you tryna pay?"

WTF kind of non-sense is this? Why would you tarnish Barack Obama's historical accomplishment by rapping about rims, cocaine, and Jordans? I'm the first person to hate on Will.I.Am (he's a talentless Wyclef Jean who rode on Fergie's coattails, the same way Wyclef "rode" Lauren Hill), but at least he made an inspiration song in "It's A New Day". The worst part of Jeezy's song is the end when he shouts out Booker T Washington, Jackie Robinson, and Sidney Poitier, and has the nerve to put himself on the same pedestal. (*shaking my head*)

Jumping The Shark

"Jumping the shark" is a term used to describe a TV show that has hit its demise (typically with a ridiculous plot twist or out of the ordinary characterizations). Its origins come from a Happy Days episode where Fonzie jumps over a shark while on waterskis. It happens to shows that stay on too long and are literally running out of gas. Here are a few of my "favorite shows" that are sputtering out of control (*spoiler alert*):

Lost:I'm not quite sure where I officially got lost, but I'm sure it was around season 3. I enjoyed the show when everything was a big mystery, but it became a chore with the complex interwoven plotlines. All of a sudden Jack and Claire are brother and sister, time travel exists, and everyone seems like a double agent.

Grey's Anatomy:This season has been brutally painful to watch. My top "highlights" are Dr. Yang slipping and getting inpaled by an icicle, Dr. Stevens making love and talking to her dead lover (more than one show!), all of the lesbian plotlines (I guess the women are running out of people to have sex with), and my personal favorite: the wife who needed a stool implant from her husband (yup, stool as in shit).

24:I stopped watching the show at the start of season 4. It seems like every episode has the same formula: Jack Bauer screams at at least 2 people, he tortures someone for answers (and they always die before giving him an answer), he eventually gets captured, escapes, and repeat for another 23 hours.

Nip/Tuck:This was a great superficial show for the first two seasons. Then it got ridiculous with serial killers, a sex addicted HIV woman who has a baby named Wilbur, Christian's ex who becomes a porn star and then dates his biological son, Julia's amnesia (due to being shot by her lesbian lover's daughter who was also trying to poison her), Christian getting breast cancer, and I can keep going....

And the Winner is....

After weeks of research on netbooks (small lightweight laptops with no CD/DVD drives), I finally narrowed down my search between two models: the Acer Aspire Oneand MSI Wind.I have a Dell Latitude D630 from work, buts its too heavy to travel with (5.1lbs) and its battery power is mediocre (I'll be lucky to get through a whole movie on one charge). Both the Acer and MSI are similar in a lot of regards: 1.6Ghz Intel Atom, 160GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM, 1.3 MP webcam, and a 6 cell battery good for 5-6 hours of battery life. The Acer is lighter at 2.2lbs with a 8.9" screen, but the MSI won me over with a bigger screen (10"), being bluetooth enabled (I could plug things in without occupying USB ports), and being able to support 802.11n. Now I have no reason not to blog more often....

New Years Resolutions

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes back to 153 B.C. when Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors/entrances, was placed at the head of the Roman calendar (January comes from Janus). He is depicted as having two faces: one to look forward to the future and the other to look back on the past. He became a symbol for resolutions and looking for forgiveness from enemies and exchanging gifts before the beginning of each year.

But enough with history lessons - its that time of year to make resolutions and stick to them. Knowing from experience, you have to write down goals to achieve them (and nothing puts the pressure on like putting it in a public forum). Here are a few New Years resolutions - some are hard and easy, but I want to achieve all of them:

1) Read one book per month (on my list: Outliers, Team of Rivals, etc)
2) Learn one new skill per month (on my list: cooking a pork shoulder)
3) Making 20% more money
4) Lose 24 pounds (2lbs per month through the Wii Fit diet)
5) Take two nice vacations (on my list: Costa Rica, Oktoberfest, etc)
6) Being in the office less (16 day max per month)
7) Coming up with a business idea