Roses Really Smell Like...

Boo Boo ooh ooh...
I took these shots of my mother's roses while waiting for the dealership to call and tell me my car is fixed. Find more on my Flickr page.

A Brief History of the World (in Legos)

This is hypeness.

Weltraffer from Jesus Diaz on Vimeo.

FRESH NEW MUSIC!

I downloaded this mixtape a couple hours ago (thanks to The Exactly) and I've been bumping it without pause. It's a GREAT mix of some super hype joints that up and coming artists (and some of your favorite vets) have put out this year. There's a super strong roster on this one that includes Wale, Johnson & Johnson, Jay-Z, 88 Keys, Talib Kweli, The Cool Kids, Outkast, Kid Cudi, Murs, 9th Wonder, Dead Prez, N.E.R.D., Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Q-Tip, Alchemist, and more.
Can you believe that?!
That's hype.
Here's the link.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Dude... That was Racist.

While browsing on IllDoctrine.com, I came across this gem.

Maturity and Common Sense in Hip Hop?

Saw this on Just Blaze's blog, themegatrondon2.com
Word.

It's Almost Here

Double Up's Nature Boy is dropping his demo. Check out his myspace for a preview. http://www.myspace.com/naturebmusic

Double Up @ Classick

Peep the link for some shots of Double Up's Nature Boy and Golden Child at Classick Studios taken by yours truly.
PHOTOS of Double Up @ Classick Studios

More Shots with the D40

I got my Nikon D40 last week and I'm starting to get the hang of it. They say the best way to learn how to use a new camera is to go out and take as many pictures as possible. Here are some shots I've taken so far and uploaded to my Flickr account.

Could Kirk Survive?

If you haven't seen the trailer for the new Star Trek movie, then check it out here.
There's a part where James T. Kirk jumps from a car and then stops himself from sliding off the edge of a cliff as the car goes flying off the edge. Apparently someone at Popular Science (one of my favorite magazines) went ahead and calculated whether or not it was possible for Kirk to do this. The nice folks on Gizmodo put together a pretty great video about all this. Pretty interesting.

Nerd Chic

Casio is releasing the classic 80's calculator watches I thought were so cool way back in the day. They actually look pretty hype in these colors.

New Marsha Ambrosious Mixtape

I downloaded this mixtape last week and it's pretty good. It's Marsha Ambrosious' music as compiled by Don Cannon. So if you don't mind hearing Cannon talk sh-- between songs, you should give it a go. It's pretty good.
Marsha Ambrosious - Yours Truly [MIXTAPE] (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine !!!

Yes!!! This movie looks amazing. I've loved all of the X-Men movies. I feel like they were the first of the new wave of comic movies we've seen in the past few years that are finally being done right thanks to great special effects, writing, acting, and directing. Oh yea... Gambit hits the big screen in all his card chucking glory in this movie.X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Christmas Remixes

My wife and I recently had a conversation about why there are no new Christmas carols. Our generation is kind of slacking. We've made lots of decent remakes of new Christmas songs, but not much in the way of original music. That's really neither here nor there with regard to this post.
Format Magazine, a super-hype online fasion/hip-hop/art magazine has made available a free download of newly (re)mixed Christmas beats. Good stuff. Check out the link below and look toward the bottom of the page for the download.
I.N.T. presents Welcome To Christmas Wonderland
You're welcome.

My Newest Gadget is Here

Yup. It finally came last week. I bought a Nikon D40 on Amazon.com and had it delivered to my mom's house in Wheeling. It got there on Tuesday, but a snow storm prevented me from driving out there to get it until a couple days later.
I LOVE it. Of course, I'm still learning the ins and outs of it. I found a great online guide and started reading it before I even got it. Here are some of my first sample shots.

Just Blaze TV Live

LogMeIn App Beta

 

Guess who is an official beta tester for the upcoming LogMeIn App for iPhone and (in my case) iPod Touch...

This guy. That's who.

Kanye Conference Call to Def Jam

I heard a large percentage of Kanye's album yesterday. My impression of what I heard was that he's moving away from the sound he's developed and fostered over the years. His new sound is heavily influenced by a classic rock sound. It's a Phil Collins type of vibe that isn't hip hop in spite of the autotune/delay/distortion that has (although not native to hip hop) saturated the hip hop world. Again, I say that sound is not hip hop. Yes, Kanye West is a rapper and hip hop producer, but much of the new sound is not in a hip hop style. Of course, he's still Kanye, so he hasn't completely flipped the script.
I'm also not saying that I dislike most of what I heard. Overall it wasn't bad. I just think it's ridiculous that hip hop fans who hated on the smooth rock sound of years past will be all over this album and talk about how revolutionary it is and how dope the new sound is. If I did half the beats Ye did on this new album and sent them to a hip hop label, they'd laugh me out the door. But we can be sure he'll receive acclaim from many in the biz. That's the way it goes. Love to Kanye. I still think he made a humongous impact in the world of hip hop. His albums are new classics. He had every would-be producer trying to duplicate his soul sampled sound. His Glow In the Dark tour was phenomenal. So props to him.
Click here to hear Kanye's conference call to Def Jam. It's an interesting behind the scenes look. Props to the Exactly for the link.

THIS is HIP HOP

SEMTEX TV: DELA SOUL, MOS DEF, NAS, WILL I AM, KANYE WEST, DAMON ALBARN ROC THE MIC @ THE G.O.O.D. MUSIC AFTER PARTY, LONDON, UK from DJ SEMTEX on Vimeo.
DeLaSoul, the mighty Mos Def, Will.I.Am, Nas on one stage at the Glow in the Dark Tour Afterparty in the UK.
So Hype.

A Bite Out of Spam (Gizmodo repost)

An office tower in downtown San Jose, California has long served as home to McColo—a hosting company whose servers in turn have quietly served as a conduit to a huge majority of the world's spam email, scam prescription drug markets and child porn sites. After investigations by the Washington Post's Security Fix blog identified McColo as supreme baddies and shut them down, web security firms saw spam volumes drop almost instantly by up to 75%.

The chart here was sent to the Post by a German hosting facility manager, showing spam's immediate decline after McColo's shutdown (Security Fix has several more charts from security organizations and individuals showing the same thing). It's fun to consider the trickle down effects here—just think of the saved CPU cycles on webmail hosts worldwide who suddenly had 70% less U.S. spam to crunch on, and the energy savings resulting?

Last time this happened, when a similar northern California spam ISP called the "Atrivo" network was busted, it only took spammers a few days to get back to their old ways on another network. So, be sure to revel fully in a world free of Viagra deals, Kenyan wire transfer offers and content sharing proposals from personal lubrication sites (Mark's claim to wealth) while you can. [Washington Post, Security Fix]

Matt Miller Video Review of the Blackberry Bold

Matthew Miller contributes to one of my favorite mobile tech blogs, jkOnTheRun. He reviewed the new Blackberry Bold. Apparently it's pretty fresh, especially the keyboard. I've never really been into the Blackberry scene, but I have to say this phone looks pretty sexy.

New Voice and Video Chat in Gmail!

I swear Google makes the best stuff ever. They've done it again by further improving on Gmail Chat by adding the ability to video chat from inside your Gmail chat dialogue box. Hype. Check the video...

iPhone/Touch Style Multi-Touch without the Touch

This is so fresh.
I've played with HP's TouchSmart PC and it was pretty hype. However, I feel like this capability would ad the benefits we enjoy on a touch screen interface like that of the iPhone in a full scale computing experience. Also, I always wondered if I'd get annoyed by the smudges and finger prints that would undoubtedly accumulate on a touch screen PC.

Basic Computer and Tech Tips

It's amazing how many shortcuts the "average" computer user doesn't take advantage of. This article by David Pogue of the New York Times has a lot of useful shortcuts, some of which I didn't know about.
Enjoy.
Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User

What if The Matrix Ran on Windows?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

HILARIOUS Collegehumor.com spoof of The Matrix. I haven't been to Collegehumor in years, but the nice folks at Gizmodo had this up. It's really really well done. Impressive graphics and all. It even stars very close representations of the original actors except for a slightly more Napoleon Dynamite version of Keanu.
Hype.

Ron Browz feat. Busta- Barack Campaign

This is hype.

Best Play of the Game

Big Kevin Boss (TE) jumps clear over an Eagles safety. This is impressive. No contact whatsoever. The defender explodes through the tackle only to find that the tight end has jumped right over him.

It's a Start

The beginning of something good. A DJ Mellow D original.

Click here to listen.

Back to the Beats

Getting back to doing what I do. More to come...

He Did It

 

2nd Grade on Election Day

KICKING!!!

So.... this morning Darlene, my wife, was still in bed as I was getting ready for work. I was in the living room and she said, "HEY! Come here!"
She had started feeling the baby's first kicks last week and they've been coming more frequently as time progresses. Anyway... when I got to the bed room, she had me put her hand on her stomach. I was absolutely speechless when I felt my daughter kick for the very first time. It was the first interaction I've had with her. She kicked my hand! I felt it!
Here's a pic of my daughter. It's a couple weeks old.

Go Steelers! Here's Why...

As I check email and half watch Monday Night Football on ESPN, I heard them say something interesting. The Washington Redskins are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight. It seems the Redskins final home game before an election has "predicted" the outcome of an election in 17 of the last 17 instances.

When the Redskins WIN, the party that won the popular vote in the previous election has won the White House.
When the Redskins LOSE, the Party that LOST the popular vote in the previous election has won the White House.

Plainly, a Redskins win is good for McCain, a Redskins loss is good for Obama.

Hmm... Redskins halfback Clinton Portis is on my fantasy football team this season, but as frivilous and unscientific as this "prediction" business is, I'm going to have to cheer for the Steelers tonight.

Both candidates are also supposed to be on at halftime. Should be an interesting game.

R.I.P. to Obama's Grandmother

It's such a shame. She lived to see her grandson, whom she helped raise, become the Democratic nominee for the presidency. It's so sad that she won't be here to see him become the first black president of the U.S.

LogMeIn App on the Horizon for iPhone

According to a recent post on jkOnTheRun, there's a LogMeIn app in the works for iPhones, which of course means it'll be available for the iPod Touch users among us.
If you're not in the know, LogMeIn is a pretty dope service that lets you access a computer remotely. For example, I can log into my personal laptop from a friend's computer or any computer that happens to be available.
The folks over at technologyevangelist.com have already posted a roundabout hack that makes LogMeIn accessible via the iPhone. However, it's a bit of a hassle for the average user and it's also a sluggish experience. I've applied for a chance to preview a beta version of the app, so we'll see if I get it. I'll post a review if I do. You too can apply here to be a beta tester. If it gets green-lighted by Apple, it should be in the App Store by the end of the year.

I got my hands on the G1!

I've mentioned on here that I'm a big... big... huge fan of Google. I use Gmail (fully customized with Google Labs features), Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Reader, Google Analytics (to track my blog stats), Google Maps, Picasa (a Google product), of course Google.com to search. I also subscribe (using google reader) to the Official Google blog as well as the Google Mobile Blog. Starting to get the picture?
This being the case, I had been watching the development of Android, Google's mobile operating system very closely. If you're a little confused, an operating system is the software that dictates how you interact with hardware. Windows, for example is a very well known operating system.
Google set out to make an operating system that works the way other Google products do, simply, efficiently, and intuitively. The new operating system, called Android, was released on it's first handset, the G1, a few weeks ago. I've been drooling over it ever since. The G1 is a dressed up version of the HTC Dream. It's got a capacitive touch screen (similar to the iPhone) and a qwerty keyboard that's hidden under a sliding screen.
I finally got to play with it yesterday at the T-Mobile store, which was sweetness. The G1 is smaller in my hands than I had thought from pictures and videos I've seen online. It's also really easy and fun to operate. Having played with my iPod Touch and my wife's iPhone, I think the touch screen on the G1 is very similar. The icons are big enough to be easy to hit even if you have relatively large grown up fingers. That's one thing early touch screen developers got wrong. Small icons require you to waste time pulling out a stylus or take careful aim rather than naturally using your fingers.
Of course, one of the really cool things about a phone with an operating system made by Google is that it sync "in the cloud" with all my Google information. For example, once I sign in to the phone, all my contacts from GMail are stored on my phone automatically. When I add a contact on the phone, it's stored online immediately. Calendar, mail, and other things work the same way. Pretty cool. What might be even cooler is that I don't have to plug it in for it to sync. It syncs to the servers wirelessly and automatically. Beautiful.
Of course, the G1 is only the first phone to hit the market with the Android operating system. That means, as the appeal and gadget lust spreads, more handset manufacturers will start turning out new phones running Android. Not sure if I'll be an early adopter and get the G1 or wait and see what else comes down the pipeline.

Ghostface Killah - Computer Love

Wow. He really spit over the computer love instrumental.
I'm only feeling it because it's Ghost and because the original is a classic. Nice old school feel.

Ne-Yo How I Do Remix ft. Loso

...In case you didn't know so.
They did it again. Pretty hype.
Click here to listen/download.

Q-Tip Invited Busta Bus for the Get Up Remix

Peep it. Pretty hype.

Click to listen/download.

The Pope Gropes Wonderwoman

Yes, that's Diddy as the pope with his hand on the rear of Wonderwoman, also known as Golden Child's (former?) wifey.

Jay-Z Speaks to Virginia voters

hype.

If Mos Def Were President...

Hilarious.

Too busy to blog...

Hello all.

If you've come around here in the past couple weeks, you may have noticed that I haven't been posting for a long time. I've just been busy... really busy. I have a million phone calls to return and emails to reply to this weekend. I'm going to at least try to get around to most of that this weekend. In the meantime, you can check out the blogs on my blog list to the right or the shared items I've shared as I come across them.

New Beta of Firefox 3.1 Available

The nice folks over at Mozilla just made a beta version of Firefox Version 3.1 available for download. It's pretty neat. Not too much different from the previous version other than some innards that make improvements to the browser's ability to handle some audio and video as well as some java enhancements.
The freshest thing, and the thing most useful to most users, is the ability to press Ctrl+Tab to bring up a preview of your open tabs. This is the same button combination that used to let you toggle between open windows. It's very similar to the windows shortcut of pressing Alt+Tab to flip between open programs.

New music from Slim feat. Fabolous

Slim - Good Lovin feat. Fabolous
Pretty dope.

New Noreaga... I mean N.O.R.E.

Someone once said NORE is like that drunk uncle everybody has. Nobody has any idea what he's going on and on about, but you love him anyway for some reason. He's the shizzy. This new joint with Pharrell is pretty hype. I might be rockin this for a minute.
N.O.R.E. - Watch Me Now feat. Pharrell

Beyonce Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) Video

She has legs for days... I'm in awe.

G1 Numbers

T-Mobile has been taking pre-sale orders for the new HTC G1 phone which is the first phone to run Google's new Android operating system. It's a pretty neat phone and I'd order one myself if I had the opportunity. I even advised my mother to take T-Mobile up on their pre-sale offer. It seems I'm not the only one who is drooling over this thing. T-Mobile has sold 1.5 MILLION of these handsets. That total is all pre-sales. That means none of those people have even held one in their hands. They expect 2 Million phones to be shipped and sold in brick and mortar stores pretty soon. Those are big numbers. Huge numbers. iPhone numbers.

This is hype....

(Yeah. I've decided to bring back the word "Hype")If you've ever seen me walking down the hallway at work, drumming on my chest, then you can understand why I'd want this. Christmas is not that far away.

I want this...

Saw this on Gizmodo and it's a must have whenever I get that mansion I've been wanting.

Barack & Curtis: Manhood, Power, & Respect (M. Teezy Repost)

My guy posted this on his blog (m-teezy.blogspot.com), and I had to repost it.

FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4!!!

Yessir!
Fight Night4

Just saw this on Just Blaze's blog. I played Fight Night Round 3 on PS2 and on XBOX 360. It's a great game and a favorite of Just Blaze for good reason.

... for Barack Obama

Lick a Shot for Barack Obama (click to listen)
Whether you're a Jay-Z fan or an Obama supporter or none of the above. It's not a song, it's a portion of an interview in which Jay-Z speaks on why he supports the Obama campaign and the push to get his people to go out and vote. Apparently this is going to be on the Green Lantern Yes We Can Mixtape. That's Hype.

FRESH new music... Been a while, right?

It's most definitely been a long time since I've heard new music that made me say "Well damn... I'm glad I played that." or "Damn... It's good to be a hip hop fan... a fan of music." What makes the discovery of new music even better is when you hear something incredible from someone you've never heard of. It's too easy to say "Oh shit.. that new Lupe joint is dope." You know you love Lupe, and you know whatever he makes is going to be dope." Alternately, it's extremely vexing to hear news of a new Jay-Z jammie or perhaps a recording of a live performance by the Roots, only to play it and be utterly disappointed.

But anyway... Thanks to theExactly.net, I've come upon three songs that I could nod to and had me googling their respective artists immediately.
The first is a song called Escape Earth by Derrick "Drop" Braxton. He was the dude who produced Gold Watch and The Coolest on Lupe's The Cool. So I guess I was already a fan and didn't know it. The drums on this song sound exactly like those on a Lupe joint from a few years ago that featured Mike Shinoda and Ghostface. I think it was called Spray Paint, but I'm not sure.
The second song is a nice smooth joint by Jessica Tonder called Art of War. It's the shizzy. That's all I can say. She's got an album coming out that will be produced by Derrick Braxton called The Little Girl and the Robot. Starting to see a pattern here? haha.
The other joint is by U-N-I. It's the Beautiful Day Remix featuring a gang of folks you've probably never heard of unless you're an underground hip hop blog fiend. In case you are... Thurz & Y-O (UNI) decided to reach out to Big Pooh(of Little Brother), Evidence, Fashawn, Theo, Aloe Blacc, Mickey Factz and Kes Kaos.

Work at "Home"

It's report card time at a little school in Chicago that shall remain unnamed. Shout out to the other Super Scholar Teachers that might be reading this.
We were allowed to work on report cards from home today. Our kids are off this week, so they're not missing any instruction. I got a $10 Starbucks card and figured I'd walk a few blocks to my neighborhood Sbux for a change of pace. I had heard that if you register a starbucks card, you get two hours of free wifi. Free and Wi-Fi are two of my favorite things. Add coffee to the mix and it's a no-brainer. After getting my wireless connection set up and getting some caffeine, I was well on my way to having a very productive work session. This Starbucks location is right by Loyola University, so there were college kids coming in and out, with the occasional student plopping down and cracking a book to study. Overall, I was impressed with my Starbucks office space.