looks like the recession is taking a shot at hip hop

uh oh

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/29/hiphop.bling.recession/

should i feel bad that lil jon isn't going to make $80k a track?

in review

what went wrong at the grammys:

kid rock is now relevant and political? and a rock and roll jesus? bertram was so pained he left the room.

jonas brothers do not know the words to stevie wonder's song. it is not nice to creep up behind a blind man.

u2 was unbearably painful. it could have been the awful screen behind them. but i kept hearing people ask, "how old is bono?"

what went right at the grammys:

swagga like us

radiohead

honorable mention:

dave grohl and paul mccartney

that girl that shredded in carrie underwood's band

faith

"faith is an ascent to truth, rooted in deep knowledge."

my pastor used this as his definition of faith on sunday. he told a story of a lunch he had with a lawyer who adamantly blurted out, "you cannot prove that god exists".

scott replied, "no i cannot prove that god exists. i also cannot prove to you that quantum mechanics exist either. i cannot understand how what i observe is actually quite different from the fundamental reality. but maybe with enough careful and dilligent investigation, i may uncover the reality of quantum mechanics. i have found belief in god functions in the same manner. with enough dilligent investigation, i have discovered truth."

i was intrigued by his story and definition of faith. is this how we accept our belief in god? in the story of the gospel? i'm not so sure. i may have butchered his story due to my lack of understanding of quantum mechanics, but i think i conveyed the idea. 

tomorrow will be such a brighter day

i was reading an article in the economist about the past eight years of president bush's administration when i was suddenly reminded that in less then twenty four hours, he will no longer be making any presidential decisions. i smiled a bit. tomorrow will be such a brighter day.

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12931660

riley

riley turned seven on december 27. as you can see he is still very lionlike, but he still refuses to kiss me. 

doesn't get old no matter how many times he sings it

small view

about two years ago after a long weekend of camping, a few friends and i loaded into my car and drove down to east la to hear a rising politician speak. i had seen barack obama speak on tv a few times. there was decent chatter about the senator for illinois, but i myself did not know too much about him beyond what i had read in his book. i was told the rally was in east la to see if obama could truly appeal to a larger audience. we all packed into the outfield of a high school baseball field and waited in anticipation. i stood next to a small, rounder older lady. she was wearing jeans,  jean jacket and had mardi gras beads strung around her neck. she wore dark black sunglasses and her dreaded hair was tucked into her oversized hat. in her hands, she held two barack obama books. she exuded joy and excitement, barely able to stand still and telling everyone around her who they were about to see. when barack did come onto the stage, she fumbled her tiny camera into my hands.

"take a picture, son! please! i can't see barack now, but i want to see him later. for now, i will just listen."

at 6' 3, i can usually see stages without a problem. today was no different and i snapped several pictures of barack, speaking in his signature look: white collared shirt, tie and sleeves rolled past his elbow. he announced that he would run for president in november 2008. i listened to his words and thought how far away november 2008 seemed. could this actually happen? for a good part of the primaries, i was living in differents parts of the world and saw some very different opinions on mr. obama. alaskans were not too excited about him. argentines thought clinton would win. chileans thought clinton would win. everyone was tuned in. i read articles throughout traveling on the election and how each candidate would affect the greater world beyond the united states. towards the end of my trip, i sat on a boat on a lake in peru with my good friends and travel companions, emily and layne. we were being lashed into by a group of argentine, mexican and french travelers about american politics over the past few years. it was rather humbling and humiliating to find such malcontent for the united states. somewhat dejected, i struck up a conversation with a swiss man at the back of the boat. he wanted to continue to talk about politics. i told him how hard it can be abroad and find yourself constantly on the defensive about your country, finding ways to acknowledge the wrongs done and the good we have provided as well.

"you should never be ashamed of where you are from", he replied. "especially you, because you have the power to change the world. so for those of us who can only watch, please vote and make a difference in the world". 

and here we are, december 17, 2008 and we are about a month away from barack obama being inaguarated as the fourty fourth president of the united states. a monumental accomplishment for our nation and a reminder at how limited my imagination can be.