The advent of communication technology has drastically, and negatively, altered the manner in which we socially interact.
Truth be told, there is a way for us to be digitally connected without losing, what I believe to be, the importance of social interaction. Unfortunately, we haven't reached the place where we are able to do so.
There's a great deal of information that is available today in ways that were simply impossible 20 years ago. The upside is that mankind has proven to be incredibly productive. Sadly, this productivity has come at the expense of regressing social traditions and common courtesy.
Think, for a second, about how natural the phrase "running late" has become. I can't even front, because I myself have pulled this card on a number of occasions in the past. The problem lies in trying to be at too many places at once; trying to accomplish more than possible in 24 hours.
Communicating on blackberries or texting on phones at dinner and/or clubs (a pet peeve of mine) make it impossible to live in the moment. I've always contended that cell phones killed the party scene in college. Prior to cell phones every party had potential. After cell phones, if a party was bad and that information became available through the wire, it was a straight wrap. Mull that one over if you happened to be in the purple bubble circa 2002.
We risk losing, in the hustle and bustle of trying to be more productive, our sense of respect for one another, which I would argue is important in a world where human interaction is becoming increasingly unnecessary.
The game plan this summer and beyond is put the phone away and arrive on time, never fashionably late. For the sake of maintaining the sanctity of humanity, I encourage you to do the same.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Eulogy for the King of Pop
It is important for me to say a few words by way of praise, about Michael Jackson, a shining star whose brilliance can never be extinguished.
I was in a meeting last night when someone interrupted us to announce his death. Admittedly, I was incredulous. When the reality of the truth set in, I was overcome with an immense sadness. I thought of the millions of people, who like me, loved this man. Although I was in this small meeting, outside there was a collective experience of people coming to grips with this death; and knowing that I was a part of that amplified the sense of loss.
As a former DJ, I can tell you that one of my bread and butter tracks was Billy Jean. People went crazy for that track, or any Michael track for that matter. I don't know of many songs that have that type of universal appeal 20+ years after their release. Michael's autobiography indicates that he wanted to have a big family. I believe he accomplished this by giving birth to so many classic songs that have managed to forever capture his energy and life.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing personalities of our generation, Michael embodied cool and yet managed to have such a great love for his fans.
I leave you with some lyrics that capture my own sense of loss quite accurately:
I was in a meeting last night when someone interrupted us to announce his death. Admittedly, I was incredulous. When the reality of the truth set in, I was overcome with an immense sadness. I thought of the millions of people, who like me, loved this man. Although I was in this small meeting, outside there was a collective experience of people coming to grips with this death; and knowing that I was a part of that amplified the sense of loss.
As a former DJ, I can tell you that one of my bread and butter tracks was Billy Jean. People went crazy for that track, or any Michael track for that matter. I don't know of many songs that have that type of universal appeal 20+ years after their release. Michael's autobiography indicates that he wanted to have a big family. I believe he accomplished this by giving birth to so many classic songs that have managed to forever capture his energy and life.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing personalities of our generation, Michael embodied cool and yet managed to have such a great love for his fans.
I leave you with some lyrics that capture my own sense of loss quite accurately:
Got some bad news this morning
Which in turn made my day
When this someone spoke I listened
All of a sudden has less and less to say
Oh how could this be
All this time I've lived vicariously
Who's gonna save my soul now
Who's gonna save my soul now
How will my story ever be told now
How will my story be told now
Made me feel like somebody
Who's gonna save my soul now?
Like somebody else
Although he was imitated often
It felt like I was being myself
Is it a shame that someone else's song
Was totally and completely depended on
Who's gonna save my soul now?
I wonder if I'll live to grow old now
Getting high cause I feel so low down
And maybe it's a little selfish
All I have is the memory
Yet I never stopped to wonder
Was it possible you were hurtin' worse than me
Still my hunger turns to greed
Cause what about what I need
Who's gonna save my soul now
Who's gonna save my soul now
How will my story ever be told now
How will my story be told now
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Weighing in on Mark Sanford
In light of the disclosure of Governor Mark Sanford's personal e-mails and a press conference in which he asked for forgiveness from his family and constituents, I am compelled to write about the falsehood that a married and religious person makes a good politician.
For starters, and in the interest of full disclosure, save for men before the Clinton scandal, I always feel a sense of sympathy for men of authority who have fallen to temptations of the flesh in this day and age. It is the mythical and tragic fall from grace that both astonishes and saddens me. The hero, or for our purposes, the politician, has it all and yet seems to do the most unimaginable thing. What's worse, his sins are paraded for the entire world to see and condemned on the late night news cycle; his accomplishments forever overshadowed by a scandal that, we are lead to believe, is of epic proportions.
I wonder a great deal aloud and in the company of good friends about the institution of marriage. Though I firmly believe that there is no better arrangement that facilitates the effective rearing of a child and structuring of society, I find marriage to be a terrible standard by which to measure an individual. And that's what in fact it has become. Perhaps I am still too youthful to fully comprehend it, but I believe it to be a social game of sorts. God forbid you find yourself not playing, i.e. unmarried, the implication is that there is something wrong with you.
The same is the case for religion. "Saturday sinners at the feet of the father" Sunday morning give us a sense of comfort and trust that is, ultimately, unwarranted.
In the end it is the impossible expectations that we assign to individuals, and that those individuals in turn assume and fail to fulfill, that makes this fall from grace so utterly sad. Cynicism abounds and we become skeptical of the trustworthiness of men or politicians when we really should really be looking at whether our expectations were based on faulty standards of ethics and morality from the get. Indeed, when all is said and done, the truth is that we may have, in fact, duped ourselves.
For starters, and in the interest of full disclosure, save for men before the Clinton scandal, I always feel a sense of sympathy for men of authority who have fallen to temptations of the flesh in this day and age. It is the mythical and tragic fall from grace that both astonishes and saddens me. The hero, or for our purposes, the politician, has it all and yet seems to do the most unimaginable thing. What's worse, his sins are paraded for the entire world to see and condemned on the late night news cycle; his accomplishments forever overshadowed by a scandal that, we are lead to believe, is of epic proportions.
I wonder a great deal aloud and in the company of good friends about the institution of marriage. Though I firmly believe that there is no better arrangement that facilitates the effective rearing of a child and structuring of society, I find marriage to be a terrible standard by which to measure an individual. And that's what in fact it has become. Perhaps I am still too youthful to fully comprehend it, but I believe it to be a social game of sorts. God forbid you find yourself not playing, i.e. unmarried, the implication is that there is something wrong with you.
The same is the case for religion. "Saturday sinners at the feet of the father" Sunday morning give us a sense of comfort and trust that is, ultimately, unwarranted.
In the end it is the impossible expectations that we assign to individuals, and that those individuals in turn assume and fail to fulfill, that makes this fall from grace so utterly sad. Cynicism abounds and we become skeptical of the trustworthiness of men or politicians when we really should really be looking at whether our expectations were based on faulty standards of ethics and morality from the get. Indeed, when all is said and done, the truth is that we may have, in fact, duped ourselves.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Are Hip-Hop and Republicans Mutually Exclusive?
The notion that one can be, at once, Hip-Hop and Republican is laughable and contradictory.
"Voted for Barack/McCain was my tax bracket"
Why one half of the Clipse would vote against their economic interest is a question worth exploring. Granted, Obama is young and black and I won't for a second deny that this had a overwhelming effect on his ability to galvanize the Hip-Hop vote.
But there are more and more Hip-Hop heads, like the Clipse, leaving a tax bracket traditionally synonymous with Hip-Hop culture, i.e. the poor. Yet, the majority of them have voted for a Democratic president in the most recent election. I am lead to believe that save for the cry for lower taxes and the adherence to the "Up From Slavery" mentality, most true Hip-Hop heads don't ascribe to the conservative ideologies of the Republican party.
I wonder how Hip-Hop Republicans feel about graffiti art, a component of Hip-Hop that many bureaucrats seem to oppose. Hip-Hop has always been anti-establishment, revolutionary, and liberal whereas Repubicans tend to be conservative and uncompromisingly indifferent to the plight of the poor and the existence of institutionalized racism.
I wonder about whether Hip-Hop Republicans feel that Hip-Hop artists should have the freedom of speech to express what they experience (or in some cases don't experience). Again, political parties as a whole, not just Republicans, seem to be overwhelmingly opposed to most of this. Hip-Hop, it would seem, is antithetical to politics.
I'm all for the complexity of different cultures but there are underlying traditional values that are intrinsic to both the Hip-Hop and Republican cultures. Those traditions are mutually exclusive.
"Voted for Barack/McCain was my tax bracket"
Why one half of the Clipse would vote against their economic interest is a question worth exploring. Granted, Obama is young and black and I won't for a second deny that this had a overwhelming effect on his ability to galvanize the Hip-Hop vote.
But there are more and more Hip-Hop heads, like the Clipse, leaving a tax bracket traditionally synonymous with Hip-Hop culture, i.e. the poor. Yet, the majority of them have voted for a Democratic president in the most recent election. I am lead to believe that save for the cry for lower taxes and the adherence to the "Up From Slavery" mentality, most true Hip-Hop heads don't ascribe to the conservative ideologies of the Republican party.
I wonder how Hip-Hop Republicans feel about graffiti art, a component of Hip-Hop that many bureaucrats seem to oppose. Hip-Hop has always been anti-establishment, revolutionary, and liberal whereas Repubicans tend to be conservative and uncompromisingly indifferent to the plight of the poor and the existence of institutionalized racism.
I wonder about whether Hip-Hop Republicans feel that Hip-Hop artists should have the freedom of speech to express what they experience (or in some cases don't experience). Again, political parties as a whole, not just Republicans, seem to be overwhelmingly opposed to most of this. Hip-Hop, it would seem, is antithetical to politics.
I'm all for the complexity of different cultures but there are underlying traditional values that are intrinsic to both the Hip-Hop and Republican cultures. Those traditions are mutually exclusive.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Broccoli Mics and Blood Clots
The video for Who's Gonna Save My Soul is truly a remarkable concept.
Kudos to Gnarls Barkley for providing the screenwriter with the artistic freedom to interpret the lyrics (if that is, in fact, what happened). How a song inspired by the death of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, has added meaning as an ode about unrequited love is a testament to the poetry of musical lyrics.
The original meaning of the lyrics aside, I was entertained by the candid perspective of the breakup. The dialogue was as real as it gets, but more importantly, unconventionally bearable. By that I mean, you didn't feel bad for the guy being dumped (which is typically not the case) because he didn't exhibit the typical emotions of anger or despondence.
I was certainly caught off-guard by the singing heart with the broccoli microphone and clotting blood trail, but I imagine that's to be expected from a group as eclectic as Gnarls Barkley. All in all, a really amazing video for an even more amazing song.
I encourage you to cop the Odd Couple album if you haven't already.
Kudos to Gnarls Barkley for providing the screenwriter with the artistic freedom to interpret the lyrics (if that is, in fact, what happened). How a song inspired by the death of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, has added meaning as an ode about unrequited love is a testament to the poetry of musical lyrics.
The original meaning of the lyrics aside, I was entertained by the candid perspective of the breakup. The dialogue was as real as it gets, but more importantly, unconventionally bearable. By that I mean, you didn't feel bad for the guy being dumped (which is typically not the case) because he didn't exhibit the typical emotions of anger or despondence.
I was certainly caught off-guard by the singing heart with the broccoli microphone and clotting blood trail, but I imagine that's to be expected from a group as eclectic as Gnarls Barkley. All in all, a really amazing video for an even more amazing song.
I encourage you to cop the Odd Couple album if you haven't already.
Monday, June 22, 2009
"I'm Back Before You Had a Chance to Miss Me"
There are several factors that have contributed to the dearth of writing on our blog that I will articulate below.
I should say from the outset that I speak only for myself; I do, however, firmly believe that my brothers will agree with at least some of the reasons for not posting.
First, the insights we may have once made available to the public are now confined to an internal thread. Yet even on these internal threads our commentary is few and far between. I can only speak for myself, but I have reason to believe that while the articles are always interesting, my own comments don't always add substance. So rather than say something pointless, I don't say anything at all. This is quite ironic given the next reason.
Second, the time and thought it takes to put together a post does not have a significant pay-off. In the past we used to have 5-15 responses to a post of substantial length. As our readership has dwindled, so too have the comments and the incentive to post. One could argue that the love of writing alone should be incentive enough, but that's simply unrealistic. Which brings me to my next reason...
Third, we have lives that have become ever more demanding on our leisure time. Most bloggers with successful blogs are either doing it for a living or doing it at work on someone else's dollar. We don't have that luxury and/or audacity, respectively.
Fourth, I think our posts were too lengthy. A good rule of thumb is that if it isn't going into print, you shouldn't have to click a next page link.
Finally, I think our substance was lacking. In a world with low attention spans and accessible information at our finger tips, the allure of pictures and you-tube videos has made journalism increasing difficult. Now, I don't pretend for a second that we are journalist, but the fact of the matter is that at a certain point we did a lot less writing and a lot more posting.
I should say from the outset that I speak only for myself; I do, however, firmly believe that my brothers will agree with at least some of the reasons for not posting.
First, the insights we may have once made available to the public are now confined to an internal thread. Yet even on these internal threads our commentary is few and far between. I can only speak for myself, but I have reason to believe that while the articles are always interesting, my own comments don't always add substance. So rather than say something pointless, I don't say anything at all. This is quite ironic given the next reason.
Second, the time and thought it takes to put together a post does not have a significant pay-off. In the past we used to have 5-15 responses to a post of substantial length. As our readership has dwindled, so too have the comments and the incentive to post. One could argue that the love of writing alone should be incentive enough, but that's simply unrealistic. Which brings me to my next reason...
Third, we have lives that have become ever more demanding on our leisure time. Most bloggers with successful blogs are either doing it for a living or doing it at work on someone else's dollar. We don't have that luxury and/or audacity, respectively.
Fourth, I think our posts were too lengthy. A good rule of thumb is that if it isn't going into print, you shouldn't have to click a next page link.
Finally, I think our substance was lacking. In a world with low attention spans and accessible information at our finger tips, the allure of pictures and you-tube videos has made journalism increasing difficult. Now, I don't pretend for a second that we are journalist, but the fact of the matter is that at a certain point we did a lot less writing and a lot more posting.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
