Cornel West!

Cornel West: professor turned rapper
Christian Century, Jan 2, 2002 by G. Jeffrey MacDonald
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In his trademark glasses, three-piece suits and French cuff links, Harvard philosophy professor Cornel West doesn't exactly fit the baggy-pants-wearing image of a rap musician. But that hasn't stopped this best-selling author and nationally touring speaker from using rhythm and rhyme to connect with a younger black generation.

Last fall's release of West's first compact disc, Sketches of My Culture, from Artemis Records, marks his furthest departure yet from the norms of academia in a career-long quest to lift the mentality and spirit of black America.

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Lightning + Lollapalooza = lots of fun
"He is observing and thinking on a different level that he needs to be able to translate to the streets in order for his writings tohave an impact," said Kwasi Thornell, canon vicar of Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, where West will give a lecture in April. "A lot of young people don't read anymore, but they do listen to rap music. He knows they're not going to read his books, but they might listen to his CD."

West, 48, has a track record of connecting with minds and hearts far beyond the ivory tower. His 1993 book Race Matters earned a spot on the New York Times bestseller list in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Now his goal includes reaching those who were just preteens when the nation watched police officers beat a non-resistant Rodney King, preteens who have come of age without "situating ourselves in a story bigger than us."

IBAF head has plans for World Cup, Olympics

IBAF head has plans for World Cup, Olympics

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The Bar Scene

I have found an interesting trend when I go out to bars/clubs in the city. There is a growing trend between the music being played and the atmosphere within the club and the connection between that and the cultures inside enjoying the nightlife.

This is really not applicable to the local bars in your town or a chain restaurant, but more to the trendy nightclubs in the city. While in Las Vegas, you can see the connection pretty strongly.

Check out this link, pretty interesting: http://dspace.udel.edu:8080/dspace/handle/19716/4400

Random

While listening to a lecture in my nonverbal communication class, the topic of eye contact was brought up and I found it very interesting.

The professor told us how she has friends that are working with international clients. When they go on business trips to meet these clients they didn't seem to figure out why they weren't making deals with them. She stated that eye contact is depicted differently from all different cultures. In some cultures (particularly the ones her friend was visiting) it's a sign of disrespect to look someone directly in the eye, especially someone of power.

In our country it is a sign of disrespect if you are not looking at someone while they are speaking to you! Now that is something that probably and almost assuredly didn't cross the minds of those going on the business trips and it probably cost them a lot of money in business deals that were left on the table.

OTL investigation: MLB scouts skimming Dominican

OTL investigation: MLB scouts skimming Dominican

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Getting Yank'd!

After saying sorry for 'Jewish' joke, Irish tenor Ronan Tynan to sing at Anti-Defamation League
BY Corky Siemaszko
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Wednesday, October 28th 2009, 4:16 PM
Updated: Wednesday, October 28th 2009, 10:10 PM

McIsaac/GettyRonan Tynan sings 'God Bless America' at a recent Yankee game. Take our PollLet Tynan sing?
After his 'Jewish' joke, should Ronan Tynan be allowed to sing at the Yankees World Series home games?

Yes, he's made a sincere a apology and it's tradition.
No, his joke was offensive - and the Yanks have been winning without him.
I'm not sure.

Related NewsArticlesRonan Tynan's tongue causes trouble as Yankees sack Irish tenor's appearanceIrish tenor Ronan Tynan, who got booted from performing at Yankee Stadium after an anti-Semitic remark, has landed a new gig - singing for the Anti-Defamation League.

Tynan will perform his trademark rendition of "God Bless America" at the Jewish watchdog group's meeting Thursday night.

Calling him a "good man," ADL honcho Abraham Foxman said Tynan has made a "sincere apology" and should not be ostracized because he "slips up on one occasion."

For his part, Tynan told the ADL he was grateful for the chance to perform again in public and that he understands the "insensitivity of my remarks."

Tynan got in trouble earlier this month when he began bantering with a real estate broker showing a property in his Manhattan building.

"Don't worry, they are not Red Sox fans," the broker joked. Tynan replied, "I don't care about that, as long as they are not Jewish."

The woman who was apartment shopping was offended and reported the remark to the Yankees.

Confronted by the team, Tynan owned up to remark. He apologized to the woman and also made a public apology on television.

"I would never want to hurt anybody's feelings," he said. "It was stupid of me to be so callous."

Tynan was barred from performing at Game 1 of the ALCS between the Yankees and Angels - and has not been heard at the Stadium since.

Asian culture

I am at Foxwoods about 3 times every two weeks, and it seems as though the entire Asian population of New England hides out here.

As amazing at how many Asians there are in Massachusetts alone, an even more amazing thing is that most know really nothing about their culture.

Do you know why they gamble as much as they do??

I do, and I know because I want to understand them instead of them doing all of the work.

They gamble because it is ingrained in their culture. They are testing their luck because through tradition they are born either lucky, or not lucky. How else are they supposed to find out?

Now you know something you didn't know yesterday.

comm careers panel

this week I went to the panel of recent comm major grads, they were discussing careers once you graduate. One of the panelists spoke about how he works in Best Buy in a diverse area. He is a manager and realized that there was a language and culture barrier between some of the asian cultures and they were having trouble with helping them.

he told us that they went out and specifically hired asian employees and went from 0-17 in a matter of a few months. this is amazing to me. sure, they have a better way to commumnicate with asian customers, but what about all the other people that came in to apply that were not asian? they were probably turned away because they were going after a specific market of employee.

this is commonplace in business, and I am aware of that, but still disturbing.

Disney

In terms of race and our ability to define different races and cultures, Disney has had a big part. Most of it gets learned while we innocently enjoy a good children's film.

http://www.cracked.com/article_15677_9-most-racist-disney-characters.html

interesting vid

Oh boy.. here we go

I just saw on the news that Obama is traveling to try and persuade the Olympics on coming to Chicago. Obama is a Chicago guy. Obama has friends in Chicago who would probably gain notariety and more importantly MONEY, LOTS OF MONEY from this happening.

I wonder what the fallout from this will be in terms of the views of different races and classes.

UNDERRATED FACE TOPIC

The caps were for a reason. It won't get much attention right now because the man I am speaking of has been in the media for his horrible attitude many times before. Where is the hate for the Cubs suspending Milton Bradley for the rest of the season? When he first was a big time prospect/budding MLB star there was rumblings of racial tension. Now everything is different in one of the media world centers. Does everybody just accept the fact that he is a crappy person or are they giving up on him as a hot topic because the Cubs are horrible this year? I would bet heavy on the fact that if the Cubs were in the playoff race Milton Bradley would not only be playing, but he would be the center of attention in the media.

The guy makes $10 million per year and he's not receiving half the flack he should be for what he did, but thanks to the team underperforming and the fact that he has been like this in the past we just forget about it.

Let's go with some TV this time..

Has anybody ever watched the show on HBO called Entourage? Aside from the show being one of my favorites have you ever thought about a lot of the concepts talked about in this class applying to it?

There are so many hidden themes. Most of it is an over-exaggeration of the LA/limelight scene. BUT there are a lot of things said, mostly by Ari Gold, that remind me of how people are looked upon. You have to act a certain way, dress a certain way, LOOK A CERTAIN WAY!.

I guess that's the way it is in showbusiness, or is it? Is it telling us more about how we view celebrities and in turn... how we then view ourselves and the expectations of ourselves and others.

When looking for inspiration you can always count on music..

One of my favorite underground hip-hop artists just released a song that will be on his upcoming album. He always has powerful and meaningful things to say on his albums and this song doesn't stop short. It is by a rapper named Akrobatik who is from Dorchester, MA. I'll leave the lyrics to you, and if you want you can look up the song on his myspace profile. www.myspace.com/akrobatik the song is "turn ya swag off"

That corny shit is dead
turn your swag off
take a look in the mirror stupid fuck
yeah save your money

first of all this isn't directed at soulja boy
he's just a little kid im talkin about all you older boys
lookin and actin like you never had home trainin
pants around your knees nigga stop shit stainin

cant believe half you niggas are damn parents
shades all day and night cause your souls transparent
beyond help when you're not around your guys
but your knees dont shake cuz your belts around your thighs

now thats some real soft shit yo
now adays rap shows resemble strip shows
niggas dance around on their tip toes
y'all should back up christina milian and dip it low
that ride you got does not impress Akro
cuz when you step out that shit you're still a asshole

im sick of rappers talkin bout swag yo
even homosexuals are offended by your fag flow
teenie boppers idolize, then you sodomize
dumb down music makes me wanna get lobotomized
you look so wreckless with that necklace,
bring that shit to Dorchester they will leave you neck-less

skinny ass niggas need to stop skippin breakfast
knock you out with one shot from my freakin left fist

y'all copy Jay-Z and try to rhyme like you breath-less
but end up soundin sweet cuz your voice lacks emphasis
how can y'all niggas claim you got a sport
when your whole entire audience is 106 import

and all y'all brag about is fuckin
when all your audience is children that should really tell y'all somethin!
im down with the whole death to auto tune
but what about death to swagger? that would leave a lotta room

take them shades off, stop hidin
stop bitin off the next mans style and dick ridin
to figure out swag is not difficult
a bunch of rappers scared of bein individuals

true to form they all show up in the uniform
you want a real brotha show up to the store AKRO

that corny shit is dead
turn ya swag off
take a look in the mirror stupid fuck
yeah save your money!

Just a walk in the park..

If you live on the campus of Bridgewater State College you notice it, and even if you're a commuter you notice it too. This campus is VERY heavily populated to the white upper middle class. You really have to sit outside for a while and look for someone outside of this category.. not something to be proud of if you ask me!

Welcome!

This blog is from the mind of someone just like you. I plan on saying exactly what I am thinking. You may agree, you may not. You may be offended, and you may be called to action. Take it for what it is.

More to come soon...