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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Check out Torae and Marco Polo

Check out Torae (rhyming) & Marco Polo (on the beats). They've got a joint project, "Double Barrel", dropping June 2, 2009. Marco Polo, the Canadian producer and Torae, the Brooklyn emcee, join forces to create what they call a "homage to the genre of rap that influenced the duo..." according to their MySpace page. Their ultimate goal is to ultimately further their art.

"More than superior rhymes and dynamic beats, Double Barrel is a testament to the ever-important creative relationship between rapper and beat maker," their MySpace page goes on to state. And you truly get a sense for that listening to some of their tracks. Check it out!

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Inside Look at their Project (Click to View Video)
Bonus: Switch (Click to View Video)

For More Info Visit:

http://www.myspace.com/doublebarrel08

http://www.myspace.com/dayoungvet

http://www.myspace.com/marcopolobeats

http://www.duckdown.com

Yo, Yo, Hook Me Up

Thought this Lindsay Lohan eHarmony spoof was pretty funny. Great stuff. I guess you have to be willing to poke fun at yourself when times are hard. Who knows, she might just make one of those Robert Downey Jr. type comebacks.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Eh, Too Much?

On his Sirius Satellite Radio Show, The Foxxhole (click to hear), Sunday, Jamie Foxx, 41, lashed out at the 16-year-old Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus. Foxx is getting a lot of heat, mostly from Cyrus fans and parents (see some comments below). Remember that Foxx is a comedian and sure some of the comments were harsh, but sometimes comedy is what it is. One thing I don't want to see is Foxx come out with one of those hasty apologies. I hate when celebrities apologize for things just because of public opinion. How do you feel?

"Jamie Foxx is a dumbass. Miley Cyrus has done more in 3 years than he has in his lifetime."

"Celebrities need to remember that it is the fans that got them where they are in their careers. Jamie, your shrewed comments about Miley Cyrus will not be taken lightly. When you loose your fans, you will loose big! Saying these things to a child (a very popular child with lots of fans) will not be forgotten. Bad move on your part, shame on you."

"WAS I NOT THE ONLY ONE READING THIS.... FIRST OFF BIG UPS TO JAMIE FOXX.. I HONESTLY THINK IT NEEDED TO BE SAID ABOUT HER ITS ALRIGHT FOR HER TO TALK **** AND PUT RADIIOHEAD DOWN AND TRY TO RUIN A CAREER BUT ITS NOT FAIR TO FIRE BACK AT HER SHE WANNA GET IN GROWN PEOPLE CONVERSATIONS LET HER BUT SHE HAS TO REALIZE WHAT SHE'S GETTING HERSELF INTO...."

"Damn why is Jamie being so mean to a little girl? Somebody is jealous...he is still trying to get his music career off the ground..stop hating on Miley."

TELL 'EM WHY YOU MAD: A Useless Item

First of all, I hate Bluetooth earpieces. Well, let me clarify, I hate them when both your hands are free and you aren’t driving a car. Basically, I hate them when they aren’t used for their intended purpose. Well, intended purpose as I see it I suppose. I once sat next to a woman on the bus who talked on the phone via her Bluetooth earpiece like she didn’t have both hands perfectly free. I hate when people do that. I don’t know why, I just do. I hate when folks walk through the mall or sit at home on their couch chatting it up on their Bluetooth earpiece. A hands free device is intended for when your hands need to be free and not when they actually are free and you’re just being lazy.

Well, even more ridiculous than using a Bluetooth earpiece when you don’t need to, is this “Loud ‘n Clear” device. I know you’ve seen the infomercials with the device that looks like a Bluetooth earpiece but essentially what it is is a low-grade hearing aid. The infomercial calls it a "sound amplifier". The Loud 'n Clear makes you wonder what you've been doing all of these years without it. You get to eavesdrop on people and you’ll never miss another word at a lecture, in church or on television. The device just looks stupid and doesn’t make much sense. I also love how the commercial reaches out to a younger audience with one of the commercials having a woman walking down the beach and two other women saying “oh, she looks so good.” Oh, I got to get one of those now for sure!

So, what happens if you have a Bluetooth earpiece for your phone and the Loud ‘n Clear? Do you wear both? What’s the protocol?

I need to invent something silly that people feel they desperately need yet is totally useless but if I sell two for $19.95, it will surely be a winner. Perhaps a blanket with sleeves. Oh, damn, someone has already done that.

Join the Movement

Join The Mad Bloggers on Facebook! We're not the only one joining the popular social network site. Apparently Facebook is fast growing among woman 55 and older. Click to check out the story.

THE BRIEFING: Be Like Mike

Came across these two random taxes and thought I would share. Both the "jock tax" and "crack tax" are very comical. Well, perhaps the crack tax is a bit funnier.

From CNN.com

The jock tax...

You can thank Michael Jordan for this one. After Jordan's Chicago Bulls put the hurt on the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA finals, the state of California began to enforce a nonresident income tax on visiting performers, especially athletes.

Basically, the tax applies to any income earned while competing or performing in California, and it allowed California's Franchise Tax Board to reach into the pockets of Jordan, Pippen, et. al. to extract some revenge for the hard-court beatdown.

Not to be outdone, Illinois, and eventually 18 other states, instituted a jock tax, making a patchwork quilt of tax laws that basketball, baseball, and other sports figures have to consider. Thanks to these regulations, it's more difficult to file a professional athlete's tax return than to map the human genome on a Commodore 64.

The crack tax...

In 1983, Arizona became the first state to implement a "Cannabis & Controlled Substances Tax" in order to boost state revenues and further punish those found guilty of possession.

It works like this: if you are in possession of an illegal drug or illegally produced liquor (aka moonshine), you need to go down to the state tax collection agency and pay the tax on your illegal substances. You are then given tax stamps to affix on your illegal goods.

Sounds insane, right?

Well, part of the code now on the books in more than 30 states says that the tax collection agency is not allowed to rat you out to the local law enforcement agency.

This should put every drug dealer's mind at ease, yet so few of them pay their required taxes. The truth is, many of these taxes are levied in arrears after the local constabulary has caught the criminal dealer. It's really an additional fine for dealing that gets paid straight to the state coffers.

And what of those few people that pay the tax? Records show that the vast majority of them are stamp collectors.

THE BRIEFING: Business as Usual

Just two days after US Naval forces saved a captured American captain, Pirates continue to seize ships on their coast. On Monday Somali pirates vowed to retaliate for the deaths of three of the four pirates who were holding the American captain.

"Every country will be treated the way it treats us," said one of the pirates to the Associated Press. "In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying. We will retaliate for the killings of our men."

From CNN.com

(CNN) -- Pirates off the coast of Somalia hijacked a second freighter Tuesday, a NATO spokesman said.

Pirates on four skiffs seized the 5,000-ton MV Sea Horse, a Lebanese-owned and Togo-flagged vessel, Cmdr. Chris Davies said from NATO's Maritime Component Command Headquarters in Northwood, England.

Earlier Tuesday, pirates hijacked the MV Irene EM, a 35,000-ton, Greek-owned bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden, Davies and the European Union's Maritime Security Center said.

The crew of the Greek carrier was thought to be unhurt, and ships have been warned to stay clear of the area for fear of further attack, the security center said.

NATO has an ongoing anti-piracy mission off Somalia called Operation Allied Protector. The mission involves four ships covering more than 1 million square miles, Davies said.

A U.S.-led international naval task force, Combined Task Force-151, also is patrolling in the region.

For a different perspective, check K'naan speaking out.

THE BRIEFING: A Different Point of View

Musician K'naan, who is a Somalia native, provided a different perspective to the Somalian Pirate issue (click to view interview). I thought the interview was very interesting and provided another side to the story. And as he mentions in the interview, a side often not covered by national media. Check it out.

What's Up with the Sketchy Lady?

Is it just me or is that new series of Ikea commercials creepy and weird. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention initially to the commercials. But then I noticed that the older black woman was apparently intended to be a figment of imagination. You know, she appears and is really soft spoken and semi sketchy, while offering advice and observations. Wait, what?! Some older black woman is the reason why we subconsciously do things?

I don't understand the concept. Is this woman suppose to be Della Reese's character from "Touch by An Angel" or Hattie McDaniel from "Gone with the Wind". What's Ikea thinking? Are they going with the "older black woman appears when you need motherly guidance" hustle to sell kitchens?

I'm just really confused by their concept and the creepy nature of the campaign.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy Birthday Peabo Bryson!

Peabo Bryson (born Robert Peabo Bryson on April 13, 1951) is a two-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer, born in Greenville, South Carolina. He is well known for singing soft-rock ballads, often as a duo with female singers, and his contribution to several Disney animated feature soundtracks. Happy birthday and thanks for all the great music throughout the years. Definitely respected, admired and loved.

So many classics that have been sampled over the years...

Click here for classic Peabo Bryson songs.