“Time is neutral. It can be used either constructively or destructively.”

“The Other America”
Speech at Stanford University, April 17, 1967 – Martin Luther King, Jr.

I was assigned to watch this movie as part of a psychology class I am currently taking. We are presently studying discrimination. This movie shows an exercise performed by a third grade teacher with her students several decades ago. Her intent was to show her students that discrimination based on one’s differences was unjust. I found her methods to be very clever and the whole movie very interesting. I encourage everybody to check it out as well. There are five parts to this video. To watch the other four parts go here.

Continue reading

Hip-hop doesn’t always receive the most flattering picture in mainstream America. Between its perceived purveyance of violence, drugs, and any number of other potential detriments to society it is a musical genre that is either loved or hated, depending on to whom you are speaking. While some of that criticism is warranted, there is positive hip-hop. It isn’t all bad or dangerous as some would like others to believe. Here is a prime example. A few of my favorite artists, Common and Lupe Fiasco, team up with Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson for an inspirational track. Kanye West’s mentor, No I.D., provides the production for this Chicago-centric track that was created as part of Gatorade’s REPLAYtheSeries, Season 3. Also appearing in the video are NBA stars Dwayne Wade, Carlos Boozer, and Dwight Howard. Check it out.

Continue reading

Last week I had the opportunity to listen to a panel discussion here on campus. The event was put on by the College of Business and sponsored by State Farm. One of the panelists was their Chairman and CEO, Ed Rust Jr. Executives from British Petroleum(BP) and Coventry were also part of the discussion. I found the event very interesting. All the executives gave valuable insight to the business community’s perspectives on the government’s intervention into the private business arena. I continue to contend that one of the best parts of college are the speakers you have the ability to go and see. The great minds of today are more than willing to enrich the minds of tomorrow. It is our job to be receptive and attentive to their knowledge.

Continue reading

One of my favorite musical acts are The Roots. I love their approach to music. It has a raw authenticity to the craft and they are never afraid to collaborate or experiment with their own sound or with other performers. This weekend I was listening to one of their albums, Phrenology when I was reminded of the track, Something In The Way Of Things(In Town). I have heard the track before as I have listened to the album many times, but not recently. As I was listening to the track I found the social commentary chilling accompanied by the hollow Roots instrumentation and had to check into who was speaking. The speaker was Amiri Baraka. As it turns out in one of my classes right now we are reading Blues People by LeRoi Jones, now known as Amiri Baraka. I thought it was cool I stumbled upon a connection in my personal time to someone I was learning from in the classroom. So enjoy this excellent video done by a young filmmaker in 2007 and listen.

Continue reading

Initially I saw myself getting an iPad2 when it came out in 2011. Then Research In Motion tablet rumors started bubbling. Soon enough the BlackBerry Playbook was announced to considerable hype and good feedback. However, one of the main concerns was how does the device actually worked, aside from the computer simulated preview trailer everybody was shown. RIM’s Co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis answered some of those questions at the AdobeMax Event when he showed off the PlayBook on stage. I must say, I’m impressed with what I have seen so far. After seeing the demonstration I am presently leaning towards the PlayBook over the iPad2. Check out the video.

Continue reading

I have a list of artists that I want to see perform live. Janelle Monáe was right at the top of the list. Luckily I got to see her last night. I must say that she is as good as I expected. She has incredible stage presence and a great voice. Seeing her live truly is an event, an experience. As performers go I believe she is right next to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga for best live shows by a solo female artist. If you have the chance to see her do it! Don’t believe me? Spin recently ranked her tour with Of Montreal #4 for the Fall. So check her out and be amazed. Check out her performance on the Late Show with Dave Letterman after the jump.

Continue reading

Last Sunday I happened to catch the interview by Soledad O’Brien with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. I try to catch Larry King Live when possible. I think he is a fascinating interviewer. It will be weird when his show ends. Anyway I had no intention of catching this Sunday show, but it was 2am and I was on my way to sleep and he happened to be on. It goes without saying I lucked out on catching the show because Soledad O’Brien conducted an excellent interview.

Continue reading

The above video was taken at the BlackBerry Red Carpet Event for the Launch of the BlackBerry Torch 9800(which I will be getting in less than 10 days!). The star power on the red carpet was strong and for BlackBerry users, just the tip of the iceberg. Celebrity displays like this have me scratching my head as to why Research in Motion(NASDAQ: RIMM) can’t parlay the status of their customers into a good marketing campaign. The most powerful, influential, and trendy people in the world swear by their BlackBerry and the only way anybody knows it is to go onto a blog dedicated to the device, far out of the way of mainstream consumers. Why?

Continue reading

Money never sleeps – Gordon Gekko(Wall Street)