Self-Destruction, Ya Headed For Self-Destruction!

Any purveyor of my blog knows that I sometimes refer to myself as a "Hip-Hop purist". For anybody that doesn't know what a Hip-Hop purist is, I'll give a short definition and some examples. A Hip-Hop purist is a listener or producer of rap music that feels that Hip-Hop has been tainted by corporations. They feel that the lyrics have become a less important part of rap music. Now I'll give you some examples to see if you are a Hip-Hop purist. If you ever referred to Raekwons "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." as "the purple tape", you may be a Hip-Hop purist. If you sit in front of your computer and wait for the next Ghostface Killah joint, you may be a Hip-Hop purist. If you call rappers by their given names, in a condescending manner, you may be a Hip-Hop purist. If you refer to listeners that have a serious favorite rapper, that they constantly listen to or try to imitate, as a "Stan", you are, without a doubt, a Hip-Hop purist. If you refer to 1988 through 1995 as the "Golden Age" of rap music, and 1996 through 2000 as the "Jiggy Era" or the "Bling Era", you may be a Hip-Hop purist. If you still have debates with your friends on whether "Illmatic" was better than "Ready To Die"(no arguments, but "Illmatic" was better), you and your friends may be Hip-Hop purists. If you ever referred to the kids that rock 80's gear as "pseudo-backpackers", you may be a Hip-Hop purist. If you had the same feeling as Nas when he dropped "Hip Hop is Dead", you may be a Hip-Hop purist. If you've ever said that over 50% of the rap music played on radio or television is not the "real", you are definitely right, but you may also be a Hip-Hop purist.

Now that you know that you are a Hip-Hop purist, know that you are one of the reasons that Hip-Hop is tainted. I know that the Hip-Hop purists, such as myself, have blame corporations and record companies for the current state of Hip-Hop. Now, lets be a little realistic, corporations and record labels base their preferences on the listeners preferences. When more people want to hear Soulja Boy than Aesop Rock, the record executives are going to promote Soulja Boy more. I know that you're asking, "how is this my fault?", well you're not helping the "real" Hip-Hop get it's recognition. Instead of buying these emcee's albums(I applaud the support for Talib Kweli, Common and Kanye West), you'd rather post their songs on YouTube or your Hip-Hop purist blog. Why would somebody buy these emcee's albums when they can just download it off of one of those Internet share sites. I know that I'm a perpetrator of this crime just is much as anybody else, but I've at least came to realize that I am at fault. I visit the web for my "real" Hip-Hop before I ever go to Fat Beats, I'd download off LimeWire before I ever step inside A-1 Records. But unlike most Hip-Hop purists, I don't think I'm better than the Diplomat Stan or a Lil Wayne Stan, I just have a different preference. I never brush off a rapper because he makes music to sell records(it is the recording business). Maybe the Hip-Hop purists should get down off their gold laden thrown, they assume they inherited from Rakim, and point fingers at themselves. When that new Little Brother drops(I know you already got the leaked version), maybe you should hit up BestBuy and cop it. Instead of all the Hip-Hop purists writing blogs(I sound so contradictory right now) or making podcasts, lets get out there and make it known that we are disgusted. Lets start making things happen, instead of sitting around throwing a tantrum.

Peace, I mean WAR!

Queens niggas run you niggas, ask Russell Simmons!

With Hip-Hop Honors coming on VH1, this Monday and the BET Hip-Hop Awards coming on October 17th, I figured an entry celebrating my hometown of Queens, New York and its contribution to Hip-Hop music. All Hip-Hop heads know all about Cedar and Sedgewick, Grandmaster Caz, and the Cold Crush and that The Bronx was the birthplace of Hip-Hop. I just want to let all the misinformed know that Queens made Hip-Hop the great art form that it is(I mean was). Lets go back(back into time), everybody in the rap world was doing that "bomb-diddy-bomb" shit, then a dude named Russell Simmons, from Queens, co-founded Def Jam Records with Rick Rubin, and introduced the world to Run-DMC. Unlike everyone else during the early eighties, notably Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC strayed away from the "dah-ha-dee-ha-ha" rap that was the norm. After the introduction of a higher quality rap product, the listeners demanded more from their emcees. A year after the entry of Run-DMC into the rap arena, another young man from Queens, by the name of James Todd Smith, began a career as a rapper. Smith, better known as LL Cool J, was the first artist to release a record on the newly started Def Jam Records, a label that would be the premiere Hip-Hop label. Two years later, in 1986, another Queens bred rapper would start the mafioso rap sub-genre, that would become popular in the mid-90's. Kool G Rap, is considered by most Hip-Hop heads to be the founder of the mafioso, Scarface and Goodfellas inspired rap(and that dude that made Superhead into Superhead). Kool G Rap's multi syllabic delivery was adopted by Big Daddy Kane, Nas, Fabolous, Big Pun, and many others. In 1988, a group from Queens named A Tribe Called Quest introduced the world to the bohemian, Afrocentric sounds of the Native Tongues Posse(I know some smart ass is going to say that the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul came out a first, the JB's were too "House" for me and De La had died before "De La Soul is Dead"). Rap drove along at the same pace for the late eighties, until 1992, when Dr. Dre dropped "The Chronic". This was the introduction of Snoop Doggy Dogg, The G Funk Era, The Dogg Pound, and Death Row Records, the West coast took over Hip-Hop music. The East coast needed to bring it back to the foundation, even though many would say the return of the East coast was Notorious B.I.G.'s doing(and some would say it was "Enter The Wu-Tang(36 Chambers)"), I say it was the amazing verse on Main Source's "Live at the BBQ". A young man from the Queensbridge Housing projects in Queens, by the name of Nas spit

"Verbal assassin, my architect pleases. / When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus! / Nasty Nas is a rebel to America, / Police murderer, I'm causing hysteria. / My troops roll up with a strange force, / I was trapped in a cage and let out by the "Main Source". / Swimming in women like a lifeguard. / Put on a bulletproof nigga, I strike hard. / Kidnap the President's wife without a plan, / and hanging niggas like the Ku Klux Klan!..."

Even though Wu-Tang Clan's debut album was released a year before Nas', the fanfare for Nas, after the verse on Main Source's album and the song "Halftime" from the Zebrahead soundtrack, had grown drastically. Nas' debut was, and by many, still is, considered a masterpiece and the catalyst for the return of the East coast.

Since the 90's pretty much sucked for rap music(with it being the whole Jiggy Era), I'll take this time to name a few notable Queens rappers who changed the rap atmosphere. Let's start with Akinyele, famous for "Put It In Your Mouth" and "Love Me For Free"(classics). Then there is Mic Geronimo, who made "Masta I.C.", also Cormega, who's famous for hating Nas. Queens is the foundation for some of the greatest rap groups ever(and the greatest, there is no debating against Run-DMC), Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, Lost Boyz, 3rd Bass, Onyx, Organized Konfusion(not really a great group, just Pharoahe Monch), and the great Salt-n-Pepa. Queens is also known for it's emcees willing to battle, from Roxanne Shante murdering UTFO, MC Shan battling KRS-One(and losing, but getting honored for catapulting KRS to stardom), Nas "ethering" Jay-Z, LL Cool J annihilating any contender(leading 50 Cent to coin the phrase "LL your career"), and lastly, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. 50 Cent entered the rap game with the hood anthem "How To Rob", then he got himself shot. 50 returned and did something not seen before in the New York rap scene, he flooded the underground with mixtapes. Mixtapes were a regular occurrence for artist in the south and DJ's around America, but for an artist in New York's corporate market, it was unprecedented. 50 Cent, along with his G-Unit family began to gain a following and this led to a billion dollar bank account for Mr. Jackson(and every nigga in the hood making mixtapes to get some shine). So, my whole point in this entry is that, with rap music being so shitty right now, we need a Queens emcee to save us. When rappers were using mediocre rhyme schemes, a Queens rap group saved the day. When women needed somebody to rap to them, a Queens rapper saved the day. When somebodies career had to be murdered, a Queens rapper saved the day. When rappers were partying and bullshitting, a queens rapper brought in some gangster shit. You get my point, we need a new Queens rapper(and nobody from Far Rockaway, remember Father MC, remember MC Serch, R.I.P. Stack Bundles).

Peace, I mean WAR!

My Fuck Tomorrow Motto!

Been watching the BET special, "Hip Hop vs. America"(shouldn't it be the other way around, since Hip Hop is on trial), and I actually enjoyed it. Now, I'm against the entire BET infrastructure most of the time(word to Adrianne Curry), because of it's hypocrisy. One minute, they'll have a special on "Rap City" with Jeff Johnson and in the next minute, buffoonery on "106 & Park". But back to the special, it was pretty decent, especially my favorite comment from the "KING", T.I., "We gonna be out of business, pretty much, if we put a bunch of school teachers in suit jackets and long skirts in our videos. And BET say, what is this, we can't play this. Then what we gonna do?". My second favorite professor(Cornel West is my favorite), Michael Eric Dyson did his thing; that man has a way with words, describing Melyssa Ford as "ebony ecstasy in furled in coffee flesh". Nelly, even though he isn't the most intelligent or well-spoken person, did make some excellent points about a woman's choice to show off her butt in a music video. He said that people make choices and sacrifice to meet success. I have a greater respect for Nelly, because he stood his ground against those that consider themselves intellectuals, such as Stanley Crouch. My man, Jeff Johnson aka Cousin Jeff made an excellent point on societies views on women, such as the Christian church and the Civil Rights Movement. The thing I disliked the most about the special was Toure(I hate that guys whole aura), he is totally unnecessary to Hip Hop culture. Another thing I found strange about this special was it's timing, it talked about the misogyny, violence and vileness of Hip Hop music, yet the top selling Hip Hop albums this year have been Common, Talib Kweli, and Kanye West. Throughout the whole thing, Nelly kept bringing up the word "choice", which I have always said is the answer to any socially charged question. Author, Nelson George said, "Crime is as American as apple pie", which I agree with, since America stole this land(and apple pie too). Crime is a major part of Hip Hop culture, since Hip Hop culture was started in the crime laden South Bronx. So to actually understand the pathology of Gangster Rap, you have to understand the pathology of America, which was supposedly discovered by a criminal, Christopher Columbus. The only part that I didn't like about the whole special, was the segment about White people's view of Hip Hop culture. I could give a fuck about how White people see me(no offense to my cuzo, Jay), I could give a fuck about how anybody sees me. I feel that I, just like Hip Hop, am who I am, deal with me or don't, view me how you will, but I will not change. But during that segment, Rev. Al Sharpton made an excellent statement about Hip Hop and famous black people emulating White America. I don't really want to write about the entire special, so just watch it and enjoy my boy T.I..

On a personal note, I used the words nigga, bitch, hoe, etc. Your actions determine your label, we all judge, no matter how much we protest that we don't, we all judge. It's human nature to be prejudice, we all use terms towards other persons. If a woman is very promiscuous, we call her a slut. If a man is very unintelligent, we call him stupid. I use these terms, but I don't discriminate with my judgements. If a woman or a man has a bitchy attitude, she or he is a bitch. If a man or woman is promiscuous, he or she is a hoe. I think that the world is overly sensitive, call me what you want, at the end of the day, I'm still superior to you!

Peace, I mean WAR!

Oh, and fuck Superhead aka Karrine Steffans!

Oh my GOD, Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, Jah, Vishnu, Buddha, G-D, Ahura Mazda, etc.!!!!

Alright, I guess it's time for another one of my anti-religion rants. I know I've been given Christianity a hard time, but it's necessary because they annoy me the most. But almost all religions are preposterous to me, the fantasy writings that are believed by the destitute, indigents, and scorn persons. I'll always skip Judaism, because it is essentially the same thing as Christianity(hence the term Judeo-Christian), minus the New Testament, Jesus' magic show, and with an additional 400 or so Commandments. Even though I like some of the doctrines of Buddhism, it is still a bastardized version of Hinduism(one of the oldest religions, before Christians precious Bible was even dreamed up). My problem with Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism(a bastardize version of Hinduism and Islamic Sufism), and other religions from the India region of Asia, is that they are all basically derivatives of old Aryan beliefs. The Aryans invade Northern India circa 1500 BC, and with them they brought their religion(sort of how Blacks in America maintain the slave-masters Christian religion). These religions, depending on the sect, believe in polytheism, or a form of monotheism, one GOD with multiple avatars. The difference between these religions and most Western religions(Christianity, Judaism, Islam), is that these religions focus more on personal growth and inner piece, rather than submitting and worshiping their GOD. Another one of my problems with these religions are that they all follow the tradition of saying that their religion was given to them by GOD, when it is clear to see that their beliefs are heterogeneous. I'm going to skip the other Asian religions, because my main focus is on the top five religious beliefs, in decreasing order, Christianity, Islam, secular/agnostic/atheist/deist(how dare I, as a deist, be put in the same category as an atheist), Chinese folk religions(who I'm not going to mess with, for now), and Buddhism. I'm going to skip right over to Islam now, since it is a major topic in this whole terrorism war. Islam is an Abrahamic religion, meaning, like Christianity, it is an offshoot of Judaic beliefs. Even though Islam is considered by Muslims as the last testament of Abrahamic religions, they believe that Christians and Jews have a distorted message from GOD. Supposedly, Muhammad, the "co-author" of the Quran, couldn't read or write, so he recited the words from GOD to his companions. While on a missionary journey through the Middle East, Muhammad and his army, raided markets in Mecca, was defeated by the Byzantine Empire, took over and lost Mecca, and controlled most of the Arabian peninsula. The Muslims believe that the Tawrat(Jewish Holy Torah aka The Old Testament) and the Injil(The Holy Gospel aka The New Testament), have been tampered with over time(which is true, thanks to the Roman Catholic Church), and that the Quran is perfect. I've read the Bible and the Quran, and the Quran is basically a carbon copy of the Bible, so how much of the Bible was changed. My problem with Islam, besides the decapitating infidels and Muhammad's flying white horse, is that it's the same unrealistic fantasy as Christianity. The same "man in a whale" story, the same creation story, the same flood, etc.. Even though some(Mos Def on "RealTime with Bill Maher"), Islam is a religion based on violence(like most religions), throughout the Quran, violent acts are committed in the name of Allah. The idea of Jihad, or "struggle", is that a Muslim's duty is to convert non-Muslims. A non-Muslim must convert, pay a tax, or perish at the hands of a Muslim. I used to align my ideologies with the Islamic ideologies, from an American sect called the Nation of Islam(which is not actually Islam), to The Five Percenter's Nation(whose science and mathematics are a little off), to Sunni Islam(I can't grow one of those Freeway beards), but my sensibilities overcame it. My problem with Islam is basically the same as my problem with Christianity, the magic and the fairy tales. I also have a problem with the concept of Salaat, why do I have to pray five times a day, did Allah not hear me the first time? Then there's Zakat, or Tithes to Christians, to which I ask, why Allah needs my money, if Allah is omnipotent? Are there Starbucks in Jannah/Heaven? (I'm going to stop talking about Islam, before some Muslims blow me up.) Since, I'm not too verse on Chinese folk religions, I'm going to let them slide for now. I will touch on the third largest religious group, a collection of groups actually. It consists of Atheist; who reject the belief in GOD or Gods, Agnostics; who believe that religious beliefs and the existence of GOD or Gods is unknown, Anti theist; who are opposed to religious beliefs, Rationalist; who depend on knowledge, justification, intellect, and basically reasoning to define their beliefs(like Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras, and me), Deists; who use reasoning to assert that their is a creator, that does not interfere with human life and dismiss the religious books and the prophecies and miracles within them(I could be considered a Deist too, I do believe there was a creator), as well as Pantheist, Humanist and others. My question to Atheists is, if no GOD or Gods existed, how did anything come to be? And the Big Bang is not an explanation, because it doesn't account for energy appearing out of a void. Just like any story, there must be a beginning. I have no problem with Agnostics, because they have a valid point. Without any valid historical, anthropological or archaeological proof that the events of religious texts ever occurred, it's easy to doubt the truth behind them. Now anti theists, which I was, are opposed to religion as an organization. I too, like Anti theists, am opposed to organized religion and find it harmful, but unlike Anti theists, I believe in a creator. I am a Rationalist, if I see a problem, i use reasoning and deduction to come up with a solution. So when I read religious text, I see certain hypocrisies, certain missing pieces, certain fantastical events, and other things that lead me to not accepting these scriptures. When I look at everyday life and the events that we, as humans, experience, I question the interaction between a GOD and humans. I've went over it again and again, and I've thought about evolution(which is a fact and not a theory), the Big Bang, and other non-creationist ideas, and I've reasoned that there must have been something in the beginning, some type of creator. I've read the Bible, the Young Earth creationists, and other creationist theories, in which the Earth is only about 6000 years old. Geologists, astronomers, planetologists, physicists, and biologists have determined that the Earth is older than 4 billion years old(that's a huge range, 6000 to 4 billion; whats more accurate, radiometric age test or a book about magic). My rational opposition to religion and my belief in a creator, leads me to labeling myself a Deist. Religious people always talk of wisdom, which means good judgement, but following a book about fantastic miracles is not good judgement. You all can work off of wisdom, I'll continue to focus on obtaining and utilizing knowledge. I didn't really touch on my least favorite religion, Christianity, but I will in my next entry, as well as the harm of religious ideology, the slave mentality of Christians, and some other things concerning Christianity.

Peace, I mean WAR!

Why do I keep doing this to myself?

So the other day at work, I became enthralled in a conversation about religious beliefs and the Bible's authorship. I've been in this same dialogue before, a religious person would say that the Bible is written by GOD. I'd ask, why if GOD is infallible, does his written work have contradictions. The religious person would then say, because it was written by "men", to which I'd say, that was my point. To that, they'd say that GOD gave the multiple authors the words to right, which leads back to my opening question. Or I'd get the whole, the Bible is less literal and more metaphorical. Then I'd say, why is Jesus so important if he was a metaphor and not real. I'd receive the answer that, Jesus is real and is the son of God. The only answer I'd have for that is "the metaphorical son or literal son". My brother once told me that arguments in beliefs like religion or politics never end, because each side is going to stay on there side(or something like that). And it's true, because beliefs are based on hoping, not knowing, like science. In science, a set of theories are put down for questioning, the theories are then tested, if proven, the theory becomes a law. Theories are ideas based on actual things. With belief, a set of ideas are set down, the ideas are not tested or proven, they are just taken as true or false based on peoples appeal towards it. As a fan of actual facts, I sometimes try to dispute belief, with science. I try to use the "chain rule" a lot. For example, if GOD is infallible, and the Bible has contradictions, then GOD is in fact, imperfect, making the Bible fictitious[because it says that GOD is perfect], making GOD apocryphal. Or, if GOD is the supreme being, and is control of everything in existence, why does he let men commit so much malfeasance, why does GOD not stop man? They'd respond with, Jesus died for our sins or Judgement Day is coming. There's so many reasons to not believe in the divine authorship of the Bible, like dinosaurs, the age of the planet Earth, the chronology of Biblical stories, and the contradictory laws and stories in the Bible. I've read the Bible, as well as mythological stories from Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, Sumeria and Scandinavia. The Bible, which was published around the 5th century, B.C.E., was just plagiarized pieces of other mythological stories. The Sumerians have a flood story, a human creation story(the same clay one), and a rebel God(just change to angel, and you've got Satan). In Ancient Egyptian mythology, they have the God-child of the chief God(Osiris / Jesus), and his evil counterpart(Set / Satan), Osiris sacrifices his life for the other Gods, and will be king in the afterlife(sound familiar?). Roman, Greek and Norse myths all have the "extraordinary son of God" story, from the Greek Perseus, the Roman Hercules, and the Norse Thor. These are just some of the minor things that question the authorship of the Bible. I have no problem with people believing in the Bible, just believe in it fully. Don't take it literal for one subject(not cursing), and then allegorical for another(stoning your disobedient child). Like I've said before, the Bible is just as much fantasy as Harry Potter. And the Quran, with Muhammad's flying horse(Pegasus), and basically every story from the Bible, is also plagiarism too.

Now for some videos:

10 Questions an educated Christian must answer.
The best optical illusion in the world!
GOD : The Grandest Of Delusions!

Peace, I mean WAR!

Hey, and check out these sites, why wont God heal amputees?, God is imaginary!, Bible Contradictions

Down Goes "F"razier, down goes "F"razier!

It' s been a couple of days since the much anticipated, 50 Cent / Kanye West battle. And my wish, that Kenny Chesney would defeat them both, was not granted. First, late on September 11th, Best Buy gave their sales, with Kanye in a large lead. Then late on September 12th, Billboard gave early numbers, also with Kanye leading drastically. This is a snippet of the press release from Billboard;

West's "Graduation" sold an estimated 437,000 copies during its first day of release Tuesday, ahead of 310,000 for 50 Cent's "Curtis" and 107,000 for country star Kenny Chesney's "Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates," according to a new "Building Chart" devised by tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan.

So, all the tough talk from 50 Cent(very entertaining) didn't help him outsell Kanye. Maybe people were tired of 50 Cent's tough talk, or did they want Kanye's mellow(kind of boring) brand(or did Def Jam do another Dynasty and buy it themselves). Myself, I purchased both albums and have listened to both deeply and compared the quality of the music. Being from Queens(one love to my dunns), I wanted to like 50 Cent more than Kanye West, and I do. Kanye West's Graduation is very laid-back, mellow, and slow. This is a gift and a curse, though the production and lyrics are solid, after a few tracks, you kind of get bored(like a Jay-Z concert). Also, though Kanye's "spit-game" has improved, most of his metaphors, similes, and double entendres are loose(meaning - too simple, overused, or vague). The collaborations are put together well, from T-Pain(who I can't stand), to Lil Wayne(who I can stand a little more than T-Pain), to Chris Martin, John Meyer, and Mos Def(who actually sung back-up). I can actually listen to the entire album without skipping any songs(if I don't fall asleep), except Big Brother(his ode to Jay-Z, in 50's words "He really adores him!"). Now, 50 Cent's Curtis is a different beast, with numerous producers, every song is different(some not so good). From when I first inserted the disc, I fell in love with the Queens ignorance. The first two songs, My Gun Go Off and Man Down(the retitled and censored Officer Down) are instant hood tracks. The next song, I'll Still Kill featuring Akon(who i despise just as much as T-Pain), is a good hood anthem. There's a couple songs that "get no play in my ride", and those are Amusement Park, Fire featuring Young Buck and Nicole Scherzinger, and All of Me featuring Mary J. Blige(even though I find it ironic she makes a reference to feeling like a crack fiend). Other than those I can listen to the rest of the album. The breakout hit, in my opinion, is the Tony Yayo assisted Touch The Sky, the last track on the album, which features one of Yayo's best verses. So, I know you're asking, "why do you like Curtis better than Graduation?", the answer is, I'm from Queens. Even though musically, Kanye made a better album, 50 is from Queens, and his hardest track elevates him beyond Kanye. When I'm rolling through Far Rockaway, South Jamaica, or even Brownsville, I like to bump something hard. Kanye's album is a great "chilling in the crib, cooking or cleaning, album", not a "nod your head in the whip album". But as a semi-backpacker and Hip-Hop purist, I respect Kanye for keeping the "backpacker making #1 on the charts" trend going, from Talib Kweli, to Common, to Kanye(get your incense, postal stickers and markers out, we're back!). You should go out and get the albums and decide for yourself. But I'm going to leave you with something from my boy "Speak & Spell"(who should have made MTV's Top Ten Emcees List, the wordplay is so slick).

Peace, I mean WAR!

And look out for a new 50 Cent album, whenever any Def Jam artist drops an album.

My Jam is Def, I can't hear you niggas!

I was checking my E-mail earlier today, and I had like twenty friend requests on MySpace.com. About eight of them were the fake broads, with the "to see my totally nude pics, click here" banner. The other twelve were aspiring rappers, you know "please listen to my music, nigga". The whole time I've been on MySpace.com, I've only listened to about five rappers that sent me their profile, and I've only liked a total of zero. I have nothing against anyone trying to be a rapper("do you", like Russell Simmons), I'm tired of anyone that can't rap trying to be a rapper. Everybody and their mother is a rapper now(Cam'ron and his mother; see "Confessions of Fire"), when will they realize that the rap game is full. It's like drug dealing, if you have all these people on this one corner, then nobodies moving any of their product. Alright, you have all these dudes that are just copies of other dudes, and when you have one 50 Cent, you don't need two. Anybody that knows rap, knows that everything comes from a few "fore-fathers", Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Biz Markie, and KRS-One(LL Cool J kind of counts too). Rakim is the inspiration for all the backpacker rappers, the Nas's, the "scientific" rappers. Big Daddy Kane is the mold for all the slick talkers, the smooth rappers, the Jay-Z's. Kool G Rap is the blueprint for all that mafioso, drug cartel, gangster rap, the N.O.R.E.'s. Biz Markie is the foundation of the joking, clown rappers, the Redman's and Methodman's. KRS-One is the father of the underground rappers, the "I die for this rap shit", lyrical rappers, the "Hip-Hop is breathing" rappers. And basically LL Cool J is the ladies man, which can be compared to a Nelly. All rappers stem from these rappers, no ideas original. For example, Lil Wayne(a confused dude, if you've been rapping since 13, when were you a drug kingpin?) is an amalgamation of Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, and most recently, KRS-One. He raps about the drugs and hustling, the smooth talk, the ladies, and according to him, most recently, he raps for the "love of Hip-Hop". Let's examine T.I., he's a mixture of Kane, LL and G Rap, and formerly, Rakim. T.I. raps about his hustling career, his way with the ladies, and he used to more lyrical("dumb down for my audience to double my dollars" : Jay-Z). Then there's 50 Cent, whose a mix of G Rap, Kane, and LL, or Kanye West, whose a mixture of Rakim, Kane, and KRS-One. Most of these new rappers don't understand the past, so they don't know that people my age and older have heard it all before, like Sunshine Anderson. So whenever these kids come up to me and start spitting a rhyme, I start thinking about the people he got his technique from. Whenever a kid comes up to me and starts saying "yo, yo, yo" or "I said, I said" or "uh, uh, uh", I automatically stop listening. It's only so many times you can hear the same rhyme, no matter how the words are arranged. There's too many rappers in the world today, pick a new trade. Please, don't come up to me on 42nd Street and try to sell me your homemade CD. Don't send me a friend request on MySpace and don't ask me to listen to your latest rhyme. Most likely, you sound like your favorite rapper, who sounds like his favorite rapper, who sounds like his favorite rapper, and so on, so why listen to you when I can listen to the person that made you. Hey, give up on the rap dream(I did), 106 & Park is a revolving door, ask the Chingy's, the Huey's, the Jibb's, etc.. Unless you have something that is out of this world amazing or sort of different, like Outkast or Kanye, you may only make it to the door, and be pushed right back out. Skip the rap thing and go straight to a liquor brand or a clothing label, they are more lucrative businesses. Why would anybody want to be in an industry that is losing more and more money on a weekly basis(thanks to downloading)? And if you do get a record contract, you'll probably sit on a label waiting for your turn. It may never come, ask Joe Budden, he'll tell you his Jam is Def, but I still can't hear him!

Peace, I mean WAR!

Funeral Music aka Hi Mr. Toilet, I'm the shit!

And today, when I reached home from work, I checked the hip-hop blogs for the latest news. Can you imagine the joy I felt when I learned that BET will be showing a meeting between 50 Cent and Jim Jones on Monday. For all the people reading this that are not avid followers of Hip-Hop music, 50 Cent has(had) beef with Cam'ron, who is(was) the head of the Diplomats, also know as Dip Set, a group which Jim Jones is a member of. Let me replay the story for you. 50 Cent was at New York's Hot 97, doing an interview, where he called Koch a graveyard. Cam'ron and Koch's owner Michael Koch called the radio station to dispute 50 Cent's graveyard comment. 50 Cent, nee Curtis Jackson, maintained his composure, while Cam'ron, nee Cameron Giles, began to unravel and start to yell Curtisss, over and over. 50 didn't respond to Cam's immature acts at that moment, but instead went to the studio and created a diss track and video entitled "Funeral Music". The next day, Cam responded with a song and video entitled "Cuurtis", then later "Cuurtis Part 2". Then 50 Cent responded with Young Buck's "Hold On". From there the beef sort of died down, with 50 Cent sending a few jabs towards Cam on some G Unit mixtapes, and Cam surprisingly quiet. Everybody seemed to forget about the whole beef, until Cam'ron resurfaced(after getting punched in the eye by Tru-Life), doing an interview on 60 Minutes defending the "Stop Snitching Movement" and with a new video warning 50 Cent of his coming demise. 50 Cent gave his response to Hot 97's Miss Info(I'll show Minya Oh my "oh face"!). After that, Cam practically fell off of the map. But 50 took time out of his busy schedule to comment on Cam's video, again, on G Unit's "We On Some Shit", saying "Other nigga sending tapes, talking bout he gonna be back in June. It's gonna be a hot summer, nigga it's almost August!"(and a nice jab at Fat Joe / shout out to Remy Ma). Oh, and did I forget the whole "Jim Jones kicking Cam out of Dip Set Rumor". Jim Jones and Cam'ron had a little falling out back in April / May. So, anyway, let me tell everyone why I'm so happy about the 50 Cent and Jim Jones meeting. This meeting is a sign that Cam'ron's career has came to an end(thank God!). The popular saying goes, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", but what happens when the friend of your enemy is your friend? That's the predicament that Cam'ron is currently in. I think that he would've been fine if he would've never fucked with Jay-Z. I know, you ask, what does Jay-Z have to do with this beef? Well, if you check 50 Cent's beef record and compare it to Jay-Z's, you find 50 just went after Jay's enemies. 50's first beef was with Ja Rule, who Jay had a falling out with. Curtis had beef with Nas, who had a famous rivalry with Shawn Carter too. These artist include Fat Joe, who beefed with Jay-Z through Big Pun, The Game, who said "fuck Jay-Z" on stage and had to be disciplined by 50, and Jadakiss, who had beef(fake beef) with Beanie Sigel. 50 Cent once said that he blamed Jay-Z for all his beef because Jay-Z let these "little niggas get out of their zone", and I agree. So just like 50 ended Ja Rule's career("Uh-Oh" played for two weeks and only cause Lil Wayne was on it), Fat Joe's career(not really, he never had one), and The Game's career(yeah, 50 wrote the first album), he has ended Cam'ron's career. Now, I mentioned Lil Wayne earlier, 50 Cent took a couple jabs at Weezy F. Baby(what does the F stand for anyway?) on a track entitled "Part-Time Lover", where he says "You make me wanna kiss you, like Baby do Wayne. And make you call me daddy, like Baby do Wayne.", which came after 50 called Lil Wayne a "rap whore" during an interview. As I think back, Lil Wayne tooks a jab at Jay-Z before, saying that Jay was old and needed to step aside for him. So, I'm hoping that Lil Wayne comes out his face sideways at Curtis, so 50 can destroy Dwayne Carter's 12 year career(12 years, and he's just now getting good at rapping? Remember "wobbly, wobbly"?) On a side note, since it's close to september 11th, the day 50 Cent and Kanye West face off(and Kenny Chesney outsells them both!), I just want everybody to say "fuck the big names" and support my cuz, Spider Loc.

Peace, I mean WAR!

The Countdown, Finale!

1. Batman aka Bruce Wayne - And in my #1 spot, Batman aka Bruce Wayne, the orphaned billionaire that becomes a costumed hero. Well, Batman is actually considered an anti-hero, just like Wolverine(and the best at what he does, like Wolverine). As a child, young Bruce witnessed the murder of his parents. This event leads Bruce to train himself to physical and mental perfection. He decides to don a costume designed to look like a bat, a childhood fear of his, and patrol Gotham City at night. As the Batman, Bruce uses his billions to build an arsenal of weapons and vehicles(all with the prefix Bat), that enable him to fight crime. Unlike other superheroes, Batman has no super-powers, so he relies on his intelligence and ingenious devices. Throughout the years, Batman has gone through various incarnations, from a campy detective to the vicious "Dark Knight", but he always remained an impressive hero. The modern "Dark Knight" Batman is a loner among the rest of the superhero community, a vigilante, and a overly aggressive crime-fighter. Even when he is paralyzed by Bane and replaced by a more violent and intense, Azreal, a semi-healed Bruce returns to defeat Azreal and re assume his mantle. Batman is also a co-founder of the Justice League, and the self appointed watcher of the other heroes. He grew distrustful of the rest of the superhero community when Zatanna edited Batman's memories to hide a secret between a few Justice League members. He then creates a satellite surveillance system, call Brother I, to watch over the superheroes that watch over mankind. When Brother I, renamed Brother Eye, goes renegade, at the orders of Maxwell Lord(who is killed by Wonder Woman), Batman leads the rest of the superheroes up against Brother Eye and its master, Alexander Luther Jr.. Currently, Batman is rebuilding the Justice League and his "family". Unlike most other heroes, Batman has created his own "family" of heroes(most without super-powers). Batman has trained four different versions of Robin, four different versions of Batgirl, and helped to reform Cat-Woman. Batman is responsible for orchestrating most of the heroic efforts throughout the DC universe(even though Superman gets more credit). Batman is my #1 hero because, even without super-powers, he is one of the greatest fighters in comic books, one of the smartest persons in comics, and the wealthiest ladies-man in comics(Tony Stark has nothing on him). Bruce Wayne works in the grimiest, darkest city in the entire DC universe, Gotham City. While Superman is in his clean Metropolis, fighting white-collar criminal, Lex Luthor, Batman is in the grime, defeating the craziest villains in comics. Batman leaves his mansion every night, to fight escapees from Arkham Asylum, a mental institution. Captain America was enhanced by the government to fight crime, Iron Man uses his armor to fight against threats to his way of life(aka his money), Green Lantern fights to keep balance in the universe, the Hulk fights to protect himself, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman and Spider-man, all fight to protect their respective homes(and Flash for fame), Wolverine fights to defend himself and mutantkind, but Batman fights for a better reason. Bruce Wayne isn't protecting his wealth, he's not government sanctioned, he's not keeping balance, he doesn't want fame, nor is he just protecting his home, Bruce has an obsession with fighting criminals. Bruce puts his life on the line because he has an obsession with ridding the world of criminals, by any means necessary. Batman has had many movies, from the Micheal Keaton Batman, to the sub par Val Kilmer and George Clooney versions, to the Christian Bale restart. Hopefully, the sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, will be excellent. Batman is, in my opinion, the greatest superhero of all time.

Reading is fun to the mental!

Coming soon, the Top Ten Comic Book Villians.

Step Into A World, Where There's No One Left!

So I was watching "Tyra"(I'm sorry, world), and it was a special entitled "Focus on Race". Tyra had Saphhyri, from Flavor of Love 2, trying to understand the plight of Muslim Americans in this post-9/11 world. She then had women debating the size of butts depending on race. She had an Aryan family, a Black man that hated being Black, and a Black girl that couldn't relate with other Black people. This had me thinking about my feelings about Black people, well, not really just Black people. Let me break this down further for people not familiar with the dynamics of the Black race, the whole "brown bag" ideology, and the divisions in the Black race. See, like most other races, there are different types within that specific race. Like in the Caucasian race, they have "White Trash" separated from other White people, Latinos' have "Spics" and "Wetbacks" as their version of "White Trash", and so on. But Black people are more divisive, within the Black race, there are African Americans, Blacks, Colored Folk, and my favorite Niggas(or Niggers). African Americans are considered Black people that are focused on the American Dream, those trying to assimilate themselves into the common ideas of American life. African Americans are referred to as "sell-outs" by Niggas. An example of an African American would be Oprah Winfrey. Blacks are those Black people that try to assimilate themselves into the common American Way, but at the same time trying hard to maintain that they aren't "selling-out" by searching for the American Dream. Most Black actors, actresses and politicians are considered Blacks. Colored Folks or Coloreds, as the old people call them, are the Black people that think that they are inferior to Caucasians. Usually referred to as an "Uncle Tom", Colored Folk tend to dislike other Black people, especially Niggas. Colored Folks are referred to as "sell-outs" by Niggas and Blacks alike. An example of a Colored is Alan Keyes or Uncle Ruckus from the Boondocks. The last type of Black people are the often seen(and heard from rather loudly) Niggas. Niggas are Black people that are only interested in partying and "chilling", they occasionally search for one part of the American Dream, the money(usually with a half-cocked scheme). Niggas are usually seen embarrassing the entire Black race and setting the Civil Rights Movement back a year or two. Niggas will do anything to be seen and heard, from wearing too much jewelry, to putting over sized rims on their cars, or playing their music way too loud. Niggas are usually seen doing something they shouldn't be doing and using the word "nigga" as a term of endearment (WARNING: Do not call a Nigga a "nigga" unless you are indeed a Nigga.). Niggas are usually referred to as "niggers" by African Americans, Blacks, Coloreds, and just about everybody else. Some examples of Niggas are most rappers, most professional athletes, aspiring rappers/drug dealers, most residents of Housing Projects. The thing that separates Niggas from other types of Black people is the fact that Niggas don't have to be Black. Niggas are usually self destructive and they embody the "crabs in a barrel" notion applied to them. While African Americans and Blacks will aid another Black person in their quest for the American Dream, a Nigga will only help another Black person when it directly benefits them in someway. Within the Black community, even when I was a kid, there have always been arguments about a Black person's "Blackness"(I don't know what scale that's measured on). Like in elementary school, the Black child that over-achieved and excelled, was usually said to be "trying to be White"(most likely by a Nigga). A Black person that enjoys events and commodities that are usually attached to a high social standing, is said to be "saditty" or "bourgie"(which is a shortened version of "bourgeois", which actually means a person whose attitudes and behavior are marked by conformity to the standards and conventions of the middle class). I've been exploring the complexity of the entire Black race, and I've realized that the amount of African Americans are depleting, as well as the Colored Folks(thank God), but the numbers of Niggas are multiplying like cockroaches, thus forcing us into a state of Niggerdom. Niggerdom is defined as "the actions and beliefs pertaining to a Nigger". You have non-Niggas acting very "niggeresque" or "niggerish", depending on your region. The "Niggerosity" has became so overwhelmingly vast, that in 2002, Cambridge University did a study in "Niggerology"(actually a linguistic study in the African American variation on English). While I wrote this I analyzed my friends and their levels of "Niggerosity", I realized that most of my friends are considered Blacks(some of my White friends are considered Niggers). See, most of my friends are searching for that American Dream, but don't want to distance themselves from that Niggerdom that we are so familiar with. I have a few Nigga friends that are Black, for example, I am from a "Niggeropolis"(a town full of Niggas), and all I grew up around was Niggas, all that I knew was "Niggerology", I studied "Niggernomics"(dumb Nigga schemes to make money, that usually fail), but I eventually realized that no Nigga has ever became a successful Nigga by maintaining his high "Niggerosity". Some may say that I am condoning "selling-out" whenever I say that I don't like Niggas and their(or my) "niggerish" actions. Hey, check out these Niggas, or these Niggas, or this Nigga(I could go on forever). I just wanted to get it out there, so you can identify the Nigga and keep African Americans and Blacks from going extinct.

Enjoy this letter by the author Mark Twain(kind-of racist bastard). And then check out the "Nigger owner's manual". And this Consequence video is about his Nigga uncle is pertaining to the subject, I know some of you may relate.

Peace, I mean WAR!

The Countdown, Part 2!

6. Flash aka Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen / Bartholomew "Bart" Allen II - I know this is two superheroes again, but hey, they share a name and they're family. I rank the elder Barry Allen over the replacement Bart Allen(and Wally West sucked). A lightning bolt hits a cabinet of chemicals, that spill all over, police scientist, Barry Allen, endowing him with super-speed. Being a scientist, Barry Allen creates a ring that uses gas to house his superhero uniform. He also invents a "cosmic treadmill", a device that allows him to time travel. Barry Allen married his life-long girlfriend, Iris, and she is killed by one of his villians, Professor Zoom, a reverse flash, with the same powers as Barry Allen. Iris' spirit is actually transported into a new body in the 30th century, where she meets Bart Allen, her grandson. Bart Allen has a disease that rapidly ages him, so he is sent back to our time to be healed by his cousin, Wally West; who is the third Flash, after his uncle Barry Allen, who followed Jay Garrick. Bart Allen remains in the 20th century, where he becomes a child hero, named Impulse by Batman, later renamed Kid Flash, and finally he takes his grandfathers name as the Flash. Barry Allen dies saving the world, but his spirit is believed to live on in the "Speed Force", the force that grants speedsters their power. The "Speed Force" is stripped from Bart Allen, leaving him powerless, and he is murdered by the rouge gallery of villians. Barry Allen is a founding member of the Justice League and Bart Allen is a founding member of Young Justice. I had to include the Flash in my top ten because he is "The Fastest Man Alive". The Barry Allen Flash is a DC Comics' character, and is even faster than the speedsters in Marvel Comics', beating Marvel speedsters such as Quicksilver, Runner, and Northstar. I love the Flash's witty responses to questions, his corny punchlines, and his smart-ass remarks. The Flash character was turned into a television show, using Barry Allen's name, but Wally West's actual personality and life(and it didn't suck too much).

5. Wonder Woman aka Princess Diana of Themyscira, Diana Prince - Diana of Themyscira(a land of lesbians) aka Wonder Woman, is an Amazon warrior. She possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, and hearing, animal empathy, resistance to magic, flight, regeneration, and an immunity to illusions and mind control, all granted by the Gods of Olympus. Diana is a skilled hand-to-hand and armed combatant, and she wields a Golden Lasso of Truth, Bracers of the Aegis(like Ghostface Killah), and an invisible airplane. Wonder Woman became an ambassador for Themyscira and a voice between the Amazonian women and the "Man's World". Basically, Wonder Woman is one of the most powerful superheroes in the DC universe, alongside Superman, Captain Marvel and Black Adam. Wonder Woman had a television series, starring Lynda Carter, that aired in the 1970's. A motion picture is currently in pre-production. I had to put Wonder Woman in my top 5 because she can kick damn near anybodies ass in the DC universe. But she had to be low on the list because she's a woman, and emotions drive her to irrational actions, such as killing Maxwell Lord or going to war with "Man's World".

4. Superman aka Kal-El, Clark Joseph/Jerome Kent - Some may feel that Superman aka Kal-El is the greatest superhero of all time, I don't. Superman was an infant when his home of Krypton was destroyed and he was sent to Earth. Found in a Kansas field and adopted by the Kent family, he became known as Clark J. Kent. On Krypton, with it's red sun, Kal-El would be a normal Kryptonian, possessing above human intelligence and strength. On Earth, with it's yellow sun, Superman's abilities are amplified, given him various powers such as superhuman strength, speed, stamina, invulnerability, freezing breath, super hearing, multiple extrasensory and vision powers, longevity, flight, intelligence, and regeneration. Superman had a few Fotresses of Solitude, one in the Artic, one in the Antarctic, another in the Andes, and one in the Amazon rainforest. In my opinion, Superman has too many super-powers, he's too soft on villians, and to be as strong as he is, he's always getting his butt kicked by some villian. It's hard to hate Superman, because he is the "Man of Steel", probably the strongest superhero in the whole comic book universe. But I still can't help but not like him for being soft. The CW has an excellent show based on Clark Kent, called "Smallville". He was brought to life by Christopher Reeves in Richard Donner's 1978 film, Superman, which was followed by three sequels that were decreasing in quality (especially 1983's Superman 3 with Richard Pryor and 1987's Superman 4 with the Nuclear Man). There was another television show called "Lois & Clark", which wasn't actually that bad. In 2006, Superman Returns was released as a replacement for Superman 3(thank God), and it was actually good. Hey, why wouldn't I include Superman on my list of top ten superheroes, he is the poster boy for superheroes, just too soft to be above #4.

3. Wolverine aka Logan, James Howlett, Weapon X, etc. -Even though he is a Canadian, I still love Wolverine as a superhero. Born to wealthy parents in 19th century Canada, James Howlett is sick and frail. When his parents former groundskeeper murders his father, James uses his claws to kill the groundskeeper and his son. He then runs off with a young girl and takes the alias Logan. When the young girl is killed, Logan retreats to the woods, goes mad and becomes feral like a wolverine. Logan becomes a commander in the Canadian armed Forces during World War 1 and World War 2. He joins the American CIA's Black Ops section, called Team X. Logan gets his skeleton bonded with Adamantium steel by the Weapon X Project, ran by Canada's Department H. After fighting against the corrupt Canadian government(never thought you'd hear that), he moves to America and joins the X-Men. Besides Adamantium-laced skeletal structure with retractable claws, Wolverine also possesses powers such as a regenerative healing factor, superhuman senses, strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes and a resistance to telepathy. I like Wolverine because throughout history he has been a ladies man and a warrior. He first ran off with a named Rose, who he fights over with and kills Dog for. He then moves onto Silver Fox, who is killed by Wolverines arch-nemesis, Sabretooth. Logan fights with his commanding officer, Cyber, over a woman named Janet. During this fight, Logan loses an eye and begans wearing an eyepatch, the origin of his moniker Patch. During WW1, Logan begins a relationship with Natasha Romanova aka Black Widow, who is almost assasinated by The Hand, but saved by Logan. He also spends some time with Storm, Jean Grey, Yukio, and some others, having two sons and two adopted daughters. Wolverine is actually considered an anti-hero, being that he is a vigilante and doesn't conduct himself in the conventional ways that other superheroes would. Logan is probably one of the most skilled superheroes, being a spy for several decades, a trained samarai, a trained assassin, a military tactician, and an expert in nearly every form of martial arts. He is also verse in almost every language in the world. Wolverine is probably the most famous member of the X-Men. Wolverine was the main character in the X-Men movies(to Halle Berry's disappointment). A Wolverine motion picture is currently in pre-production. I love Wolverine as a superhero because his past is shrouded in mysterious and he never gives up during fights. Wolverine is harder than Superman, but not as entertaining as Spider-man.

2. Spider-Man aka Peter Benjamin Parker - Peter Parker was a science whiz kid from the Forest Hills saction of Queens, NY, who gets bitten by a radioactive spider during a science demonstration at a museum. The spider bite endows him with special powers that include Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and durability, the ability to stick to solid surfaces, a clairvoyant "spider-sense", night vision, an accelerated healing factor, and the ability to produce both organic and synthetic spider-webbing. He first attempts to become a wrestling star. He fails to stop a thief, and weeks later the same criminal kills his Uncle Ben. Learning that with great power comes great responsibility, Spider-Man becomes a vigilante. After his uncle's death, he and his aunt become desperate for money, so he gets a job as a photographer at the Daily Bugle, selling photos to J. Jonah Jameson, who vilifies his alter ego in the paper. Enemies constantly endanger his loved ones, with the Green Goblin managing to kill his girlfriend Gwen Stacy. Though haunted by her death, he eventually marries Mary Jane Watson, and much later reveals his civilian identity to the world, furthering his already numerous problems. Spider-man was on iron Man's side at first during the events of "Civil War", but later defected to the anti-hero registration side of the fray. Spider-man is a young hero, so he is still very much immature, shown in his wise-crack remarks toward J. Jonah Jameson and his villians. I love Spider-man because, even though he is young, he became a great superhero rather quickly. Peter is the epitomy of a scrawny geek coming into his own, which he's done pretty well. Some may think that Captain America should be Marvel Comics' hallmark superhero, like Superman to DC, but Spider-man has gained that title. Since readers can identify with the character of Spider-man, it has led to a series of impressive films. I had to put Spider-man as my #2 superhero because he's beaten practically every other hero in the Marvel universe. He's always seemed to beat every villian that he has come up against. Though he is not as strong as Superman, he seems to be able to fight better than him. Though not as skilled as Wolverine, he was able to defeat Wolverine on numerous occasions. As a child genius, Peter Parker is probably one of the smartest heroes on my list.I also put him at #2 for a very simple reason, he's from the greatest borough in New York City, Queens.

Reading is fun to the mental!

Stay tuned for my #1 superhero, who is probably richer than Tony Stark, as smart, or smarter than the Hulk and Spider-man, as skilled, or more skilled in combat than Wolverine, Wonder Woman and Captain America, harder than Superman and the Green Latern, and a better police scientist than the Flash. And he doesn't even have super-powers!

The Countdown, Part 1!

Basically, this is part one of my countdown of the top ten superheroes, in my opinion. I listed mostly popular superheroes because the popular ones are the best. For all the comic book readers, I'm sorry I didn't reach into all the other comic book companies such as Image, Dark Horse, Devil's Due, etc.. But to please some, I will began my list with honorable mentions. I know my brother is going to disagree with a couple of my choices(but nobody should disagree with my top two).

Honorable Mentions:

Spawn aka Al Simmons - Murdered man makes pact with demon to see his wife again. The movie was surprisingly good.

Punisher aka Francis Castiglione, Frank Castle - After his family is murdered by the mob, Castle becomes a vigilante, fighting against the underworld. Recipient of two horrible movies, one in 1989, one in 2004.

Ghost Rider aka Jonathan "Johnny" Blaze - To save the life of his mentor, Johnny Blaze makes a pact with a demon and becomes the "Spirit of Vengeance". Daniel Ketch sucked, Method Man uses the name as an alias, and the film was surprisingly good.

Jean Grey-Summers - As probably the most powerful mutant in the Marvel universe, Jean Grey has the ability to destroy and create worlds as the Phoenix. Not a reflection on the character, but the three X-Men movies were great(decreasingly).

Captain Marvel aka William Joseph "Billy" Batson - A teenage says "SHAZAM!" and turns into an adult with vast super-strength, speed and stamina, physical and magical invulnerability, flight, fearlessness, vast wisdom and enhanced mental perception, control over and emission of magic lightning and vast untapped magical powers. Captain Marvel is just as strong, or stronger than Superman, with magical powers, one of Superman's weaknesses. He just didn't make my list because the whole "SHAZAM!" thing, the elderly wizard named Shazam, and the "Rock of Eternity", make for a campy storyline.

Now, for the top ten through seven:

10. Captain America aka Steven "Steve" Rogers - Captain America aka Steve Rogers was a sickly young man who was given enhanced strength and reflexes by an experimental serum to aid in the United States war effort against the Nazis. This serum gave him above average human strength, he was a martial arts expert, a field commander, and he had a Vibranium-steel Alloy shield. Captain America fell from a war plane and was frozen in a block of ice and preserved in suspended animation. Captain America became the leader of the Avengers and a symbol of American patriotism. During the uproar of Marvel Comics' superhero registration crisis "Civil War", Captain America, who for the first time opposes the government, is assassinated. I put Captain America on my list because he is an icon in the comic book community. His shield hangs on the wall of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report"(after it was stolen from the funeral home in the comic book, supposedly by Stephen Colbert), he was a symbol for patriotism during World War II, and he led the anti-registration campaign during "Civil War". I never really got into Captain America(not being that patriotic), but I respect the role he played in the Marvel Comics' universe, so he's my #10 superhero. I guess this is a pity selection, Cap being dead and given a crappy film back in 1991.

9. Iron Man aka Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark - Iron Man aka Tony Stark inherited his fathers corporation, Stark Industries, at the age of 21. On a visit to Vietnam or the Gulf War(depending on the story arc), he takes a piece of shrapnel in his heart. To keep himself alive after surgery, he builds a suit of armor. Possessing a genius-level intelligence, he is able to keep himself alive and grant himself super powers. His suit endowed him with Super-strength, the ability to fly and the power to shoot energy blasts from his hands. During the "Civil War" story arc, he is a supporter of the government's superhero-registration act, having revealed his identity years ago(and being rich enough to not give a fuck). I put Iron Man on my list because he's a genius, he built a war machine, and had a black right-hand man(James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes aka War Machine, Terrence Howard in the film). I put him as #9 because I'm very anti-establishment, and Mr. Stark became a weapon for the government during "Civil War". But I have to say that one of my main reason for putting him on my list is because Ghostface Killah uses the same alias(Theodore!!!!!!!!!!!). On a side note, I can't wait to see the Hip-Hop purist's go-to emcee, Ghostface, in the film, next year.

8. Green Lantern aka Guy Gardner / John Stewart - I know this really counts as two superheroes, but fuck it, they share the same superhero name. Before I get into these heroes, let it be known, I rank Guy Gardner above John Stewart. Guy Gardner was a juvenile delinquent, then became a football star at the University of Michigan. He became a social worker and then a teacher. When the Green Lantern of Earth's region was mortally wounded, the ring found Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner as a back-up Lantern. The Green Lantern ring gives it's bearer the ability of flight and limited invulnerability, each ring also gives it's bearer the power to create objects with their will power. Guy Gardner assisted Jordan on several adventures, he went mad, became a renegade Green Lantern, possessed a yellow ring, and helped rebuild the Lantern Corps. I like Guy Gardner because he is an arrogant, violent, unstable, and childish(and an awesome douche bag). Guy Gardner was the greatest Green Lantern because he listened to the Guardians, but did whatever he wanted anyway. I love the way he broke the rules but still got the job done. He wanted a position of power in the Green Lantern Corps, and after various assholish adventures, he gained that position as leader of the Corps on Oa. Now, John Stewart was an architect, selected as a stand-in for Guy Gardner, when Gardner went mad. From the start, John Stewart was the token black Green Lantern. He grew to be a great hero and a popular character. I like John Stewart because he came from being a back-up to a back-up, to being, excuse the term, "the Head Nigga In Charge". He became so popular that he jumped to Earth's Green Lantern, over Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner. I also picked him because he didn't like authority, a trait that I can identify with.

7. Hulk aka Dr. Robert Bruce Banner - If you read comic books then you know the story. Dr. Robert Bruce Banner accidentally gets blasted with Gamma radiation, giving him a few super-powers. The radiation gave him Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability, a regenerative healing factor, the ability to see astral forms, radiation absorption, and a resistance to mind control. Those abilities, added to his superior intellect, makes the Hulk one of the most powerful heroes in comics. In the beginning, Dr. Banner would transform into an unintelligent grey beast, then a stupid green beast, next a well dressed gambling grey giant, and after a psychic blending of all these, a green giant with super intelligence. I love the Hulk because he went to war with the United States Army, fucked up every superhero in the Marvel universe, and recently destroyed Stark Industries searching for the Illuminati. The Hulk is the ultimate anti-hero, next to Wolverine, and he constantly damages major cities, making him my #7 superhero. Yet another recipient of a sub par film, hope the new one will be as good as the Bill Bixby / Lou Ferrigno television series.

Reading is fun to the mental!

Numbers 6-2 coming in a few hours!

?uestlove, "Game Theory" & "Things Fall Apart"!

I know a few of my fellow Hip-Hop heads saw ?uestlove and the titles of two albums by The Roots and asssumed this entry would pertain to music, sorry, your mistaken. This entry is more or less about the relationship between men and women(the quest for love, get it!), the courting rituals in modern society("Game Theory"), and the desolution of relationships("Things Fall Apart"). Let me take the time out to say that I couldv'e used Black Thought, "Do You Want More?!!!??!", "Rising Down", "Tipping Point" and even "Phrenology"(I love the idea that the shape of a head can determine characteristics), but I couldn't find anyway to use "Illadelph Halflife", "Organix", or Malik B. Anyway, lets get back to our previously scheduled blog post. First, lets start with "Game Theory", or as my Country Killer Cousin, Ricardo, would say, "that G Force". See, every dude with an ounce of confidence believes that he has this mystical energy known as "game". Throughout history, men have always tried to use some sort of ploy or tactic to impress the fairer sex. In Biblical times, the man with the most sheep or cattle could batter his way into a womans life. In the times of Neanderthals, the man that killed the best and was the strongest, won over the women. Even in the animal kingdom, animals such as lions, show off their mane, peacocks show off thier tails, and so on. But as man became more "civilized", he began to shape his "game". It moved away from the best cattle or the most skilled hunter, and "game" became defined as a mans conversation skills, his understanding of feminine needs, his style, and to some extent, his social status. Even though some may say that I am wrong, I believe that men do most of the things they do to impress women, and upgrade their "game". Men go to gyms and upgrade their physique, buy cars to upgrade their social standing, wear expensive clothing to upgrade their style, and face multiple rejections to upgrade their conversation skills. And its understood that it is the mans job to "pick-up" the woman, and men need "game" to outdo the other men vying for female companionship. So, lets say you go to the club, you notice that hot Puerto Rican female at the bar, you walk over and commence to courting. You make eye contact, you open with anice joke, she laughs, you move into introductions, and then conversation from there. After a while of "Jedi Mindtricks", you leave the bar with a new phone number of a potential significant other or "jump-skeezy". From there, you began to date this Boriqua, investing time(and money, of course, money), and eventually "falling" for her. "Love" has been defined many different ways, from "the rush of endorfins", "the psychological link between two persons", and many other things. But in our scenerio, you have "falling" for this female and succumbed to "love". You two become inseperable, as one, a "couple". But, in time the "love" begans to fade, and just like the title of The Roots' album "Things Fall Apart". I wrote this whole blog, not as an essay, but as a question. What is this love-quest that everybody is on? Why must I extend myself and upgrade myself just to find this undefinable thing called "love"? Why call it "game" and then take the end result of "love" so serious? I don't know, maybe I was just bored tonight and been watching "The Pick Up Artist" on VH1, but I just wanted to write down some things I was thinking.

And ladies, "The force is strong in this one!".

Peace, I mean WAR!

Imagine All The People!

I just got done watching "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" on VH1, and something intriguing occurred to me. Where have all the talented musicians gone, let me rephrase that, where have the revolutionary musicians gone. I can't say talented musicians because we still have a few, from Alicia Keys(I love you, baby) to John Mayer, Kanye West, John Legend, Billie Joe Armstrong, etc.. These few artist may mirror the revolutionary artist of the past, but they are overshadowed by the basura that is played on radio and television. John Lennon made introspective and extrospective music that was relevant to the "Working Class Hero", he made people "Imagine", he asked the entire world to "Give Peace a Chance". Lennon voiced his opinion to the masses that felt just like him, which also angered the political system. Jimi Hendrix performed "Machine Gun" with his Band of Gypsys. Bob Marley wrote a song about "War", he told people to "Get Up, Stand Up", and then he made his "Redemption song". The Temptations ask "War, what is it good for?", Lennon and U2 both made "Sunday, Bloody Sunday". Its not just that these people all made anti-war songs, but they all put their hearts into their words. They didn't just make music, they made movements (and not the same way as Dip Set). Maybe most of the messages were stronger because of the devastating impact of the Vietnam War, or The Troubles in Northern Ireland, or the social injustices and civil rights battles worldwide. Maybe artist, as well as listeners, have become too anesthetized by this violent world, or maybe too complacent with making meaningless music. Music affected the world so deeply that a revolutionary statement on song warranted an FBI investigation. Questioning of the political machine in that time was seen as a threat because of how strong art was. But in these days, a statement like "George Bush doesn't care about Black people" only gets you YouTube hits and a skit on Saturday Night Live. Seriously, serious music is brushed off as "alternative", "underground", "conscious", "political", or "indie". The music became more important than the message, the back story became more important than the real story, the fruits from the labor became more important than the truth in the art, and this is when we lost our true musical movements. When the money is more important than the meaning, what part of the person does the music really move? Why are more people paying attention to 50 Cent's new dis song than to Live Earth (look who's talking)? How many people will actually participate in "World Peace One", this October? The movement inside the music is in shambles when MTV says "Rock The Vote" and then "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It", or when BET tries to put messages in between young black people participating in buffoonery (aka 106 & Park). At the time I am writing this, people are dying in Iraq, children are sitting in prison in Jena, LA, a genocide is happening in the Sudan, the United Nations is null and void, and the United States government is full of liars, but your favorite musician just made a song called "Love Like Honey". While I was writing that last sentence, I realized that the biggest difference between music then and now is the listeners. The listeners don't care about the objects in their blind spots, they only care about the things that directly affect them. So if your listeners ask for music that is not extrospective, as an artist, you're going to supply that demand.

So, I'll end this with some John Lennon lyrics from "Gimme Some Truth" :

I'm sick and tired of hearing things from
Uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded, hypocritics
all I want is the truth, just give me some truth

I've had enough of watching scenes from
schizophrenic, ego-centric, peranoic, primadonnas
all I want is the truth, just give me some truth

Peace, I mean WAR!

He's Either In(sane) or Out (of his mind)!

For a long time (almost eight years), I've been under the impression that President George W. Bush is an idiot. But I've been watching "The Batman" hard and reading back issues of "Batman", and I've decided that President Bush may well be a diabolical madman. See, in the "Batman Universe", the character of the Joker is a "violent sociopath who murders people for his own amusement". The Joker first appeared as a "court-jester" type of villian, a corny criminal that failed at numerous attempts to commit acts of evil. This parallels President Bush, in the way that the President was a failure in college and a horrible excuse for a soldier in the Texas National Guard. But as time went on and the Joker got revamped, to become a central figure in the "Batman Universe", he becomes more of a diabolical sociopath. The Joker begans to put more thought in his schemes while still being seen as a "side-show clown". The gags and jokes become a little more adult, and while still maintaining his facade as a prankster. Yet again, this parallels George W. Bush as a businessman and governor of Texas. He still fails at his dealings and policies in his current positions, yet he still seems to have matured into a child of prestige, a son of royalty, and represents his family ties without too much embarassment. Just like the fictional Joker, Governor George W. Bush is a clown prince, a stratigical dummy, the only difference is their respective sides of the law (even though, in my opinion, both are criminals). In the world of DC Comics, the Joker loses his mind, and becomes a complete lunatic, at this time he is at his most cunning. He decieves the entire world into believing he has lost every marble in his bag or that he has completely fell off his metaphorical rocker. The Joker goes on a rampage, he tries to kill, the then president, Lex Luthor, he tricks the rest of the super villian community into doing his bidding, and he steals Mister Mxyzptlk's reality altering powers and changes the world into a crazy caricature of reality. During this whole time, the Joker is believed to be an insane idiot, but eventually it is revealed that the Joker isn't as crazy or dumb as he appears to be. It is later shown that in actuallity, the Joker is a case of a previously unprecedented form of "super-sanity," a form of ultra-sensory perception. In the world that we exist in, George W. Bush, an self-proclaimed "under-acheiver", wins an election that most would say, he didn't actually win. After being given the key to the kingdom, he starts on a path that makes almost everybody in the world see him as an incompetant idiot. Similar to the Joker, he alters reality to fit his need. The actual reasoning for the war in Iraq, the Fight on Terror, have not been found yet. But, President Bush has given numerous reasons, all that have been some sort of distortion on the actual reality. At every press conference or State of the Union, the President has came off as a illiterate, uneducated, near-insane, idiot. But if you actually delve deeper into his two terms as president, he managed to kill an enemy (sort of) of his father, he managed to make billions of dollars for his friends' businesses, give his coherts positions of power, and aid in the destruction of a major city (in the words of Kanye West "George Bush doesn't like black people). For an incoherent, discordant, ignoramus, he has accomplished a numerous amount of deeds for him and his syndicate. Just like the Joker was found out to be a cunning genious in the guise of a psychotic clown, President Bush may well be a cunning genious in the guise of a moronic clown. President George W. Bush may actually be the most diabolical super-villian outside of a comic book, think about.

When I think of our current Commander and Chief, I am reminded of "Enter the Dragon". Remember when Jim Kelly faces Mr. Han on the island, the words still echo in my head, "Man, you come right out of a comic book".

Peace, I mean WAR!

A Modern Day Lynching(Another reason for black people to hate Lousiana!)

I wanted to write a blog entry, but I couldn't find a topic. So today as usual, I was going through the Hip-Hop blogs. I went to AllHipHop.com to check out the rumors of the day. I came across a video about the "Jena Six". I've heard the story breifly on CNN before, but like probably most of America outside of Jena, LA, I wasn't too familiar with the full story. So I decided to dedicate my reentry into blogging with an entry about the "Jena Six". So read the backstory, check out the videos, and if you care, sign the petition, write a letter, call a congressperson. This is 2007, and we still have to deal with things like this. After FEMA's response to the struggling African American's in New Orleans, LA in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana solidifies it's hatred for Black people.

In September 2006, a group of African American highschool students in Jena, LA, asked the schoolfor permission to sit beneath a "whites only" shadetree. There was an unwritten rule that blacks couldn'tsit beneath the tree. The school said they didn't carewhere students sat. The next day, students arrived atschool to see three nooses (in school colors) hangingfrom the tree. (Please note, the tree above is not thetree, but a tree at Jena High School.)

click the link below for the rest of the story:
http://www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml

This is probably the only nationally televised newsreport on the "Jena Six".CNN coverage

Here's a petition for the review of the events of the"Jena Six".
http://www.petitiononline.com/aZ51CqmR/petition.html

Peace, I mean WAR!(and I really mean that now!)

You Cant Tell Me Nothing!

So, this morning I'm checking out nahright.com, to stay in tune with the "Hip-Hop Culture", and there is an article about Francois Girbaud. Apparently, Monsieur Girbaud, owner of a popular clothing brand in some "hoods" (made famous by Cash Money Records), doesn't like the direction that his clothing company was moving in or its Hip-Hop following. This made me think back to the other Caucasian businessmen that didn't appreciate the African American business they were receiving. I thought of Tommy Hilfiger, the Swartz family at Timberland (even though they change their mind after the quarterly reports came in), Cristal, and others. See, normally, I would be angered by Monsieur Girbaud, but I am not. I am more angered by the "Hip-Hop" people that get offended by these businesses. What made these "ghetto youths" think that these brands were marketed to them? Has Cristal ever put an advertisement in the Source, XXL, or the Vibe? Does Tommy Hilfiger sell his wears in Jimmy Jazz or V.I.M.? How many of you Negroes have ever picked up the Robb Report? Understand, luxury brands are marketed to those living luxurious lives, not those trying to be hood rich! People like Jay-Z and Diddy, who vacation in Nice, Saint-Tropez, Monaco, and the rest of the Côte d'Azur (if you don't know where it is, you're not "ballin"), have been working hard to live their luxurious lives. You on the other hand, have been making payments on a Lexus IS or ES, vacationing on Virginia Beach, wearing Red Monkeys and Evisus. These Caucasian businessmen (unlike their Asian counterparts who raise the price in America, because they know niggas are stupid), are selling their products to other Caucasian businessmen. The "Hip-Hop community" is full of fantastic dreamers, living in outer space. I'm not putting down anybody that enjoys the finer things in life; I'm putting down those that have a false sense of reality. Just because you put on a pair of Yves Saint-Laurent sunglasses or a Christian Dior belt, you're not on the same level as a Kanye West or a 50 Cent. Until you move from South Jamaica, Queens or Brownsville, Brooklyn to a mansion in Lake Tahoe or Martha's Vineyard, you're not really "ballin". It's hilarious to me, because I live in New York, between Manhattan and Long Island (famed for the Hampton's), and I see these young dudes so-called "ballin", and they're really not. These are dudes that are associated with "Hip-Hop", a misogynistic, homophobic, racist and violent culture. And it's these same dudes that are outraged when a Caucasian businessman doesn't want to be aligned with this culture. Why would anybody trying to maintain a respectable name associate with such ignorant material? I have to admit, I'm guilty of the whole "ballin" thing, and the only difference is I know my limits. I know where I go, I know what I have and I know what I do. When I say "I'm chilling at the beach on the weekend", I'm not talking about Orchid Beach or Coney Island, when I say "I've packed for the weekend", best believe the bag is an authentic Louis Vuitton, and if I say "grab a bottle", I'm not talking about cognac or vodka. I may be trapped in the poisoned mind state that the rest of "Hip-Hop culture" is trapped in, but at least, I know what's real and what's not. What makes it even sadder, is that most of these "Hip-Hop" dudes are in their thirties, maybe thirty isn't the new twenty, and maybe thirty is a little more immature.

Peace, I mean WAR!

My Philosophy!

So, my sister is in town, and she's a "born-again Christian" (kind of), so me being the anti-religious person that I am, I tried to stay away from debating with her about the fallacies' of Christianity. I mention a couple things about the contradictions in the Bible, and how an infallible God could change his mind or make mistakes (which would make him, indeed, fallible). I don't hate religion, as I've stated before (everyone is entitled to believe what that must), I just feel that if a topic is brought up, I must respond with my take. I've called religious persons "children with imaginary friends" before, I've stated that "God comes off as an asshole in the Bible" before, I've even said that "religious people could be compared to crazy people that believe in magic" (my favorite description). From this point on, I'll say this entry is just me backing up some of my claims with evidence and research. I want, excuse me, I strive to understand "Intelligent Design", and what makes it difference from traditional "Creationism" (besides the absence of the name, God). To say that everything on the planet was intelligently designed to fit some specific goal is asinine and moronic; I dare a believer of this theory to explain the Dodo, the Platypus, why Rabbits eat their own feces, and other idiotic creations and biological mechanisms on this planet. If small evolutions in certain organisms have taken place in the short time that man has resided on this planet, how can evolution as a whole be denied. I recently watched a very insightful documentary entitled "Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus", it was about the debate to introduce "Intelligent Design" into classrooms (to make American students dumber than they currently are). It didn't really delve that deep into Darwinism, the Mendelian Inheritance, Genetic Drift, Adaptation, and other related components of the entire "Evolution Theory" (or should I say "Evolution Fact"), it was interesting to see the unintelligent arguments for "Intelligent Design". The proponents for this theory used man made structures such as Mount Rushmore to support their belief, stating that you can tell intelligence went into the design of Mount Rushmore (no duh, idiot). They compared that to the system of DNA structure in organisms, not taking into consideration that DNA structures in certain organisms changed over periods of time (which is the definition of evolution). Let's take it back for a second to the founding belief, "Creationism"; a loving, perfect God creates each and every organism on the planet. If this is true and God's designs, or God, himself is perfect, how does that explain birth defects, Down Syndrome, and other genetic "mutations" (I know the normal Christian answer, "God works in mysterious ways", and I call bullshit). I know some people are asking, how can I question somebody else's religious beliefs? The answer is simply that throughout my short 25 years on this planet, I have managed to read the Bible, the Torah, the Quran, some of other religious doctrines, history books, biology texts, anthropological studies, and other relevant writings on the study of mythology (or to some, religion). I have read about Ancient Egyptian deities (where most of western religion adopted its stories), I have recently started reading about Ancient Sumerian deities (which also has been bastardized for Christianity as well as that insane Scientology). I have been reading up on Mormonism, to further understand Joseph Smith's doctrine. I am a follower of science, and theology and mythology is the science that interests me. I beg any Christian out there to explain to me how a perfect, infallible God could have contradictions in his book (don't say because it's written by men, because then I'll ask, why you hold a series of books written by men as God's work, and why do you lie to others as well as yourself about its divine creation). Can somebody tell me which God is indeed the true God, and if so why? Why would a jealous God (words straight out of your Bible) allow people to worship other Gods? Why is the Old Testament God in direct opposition to the New Testament God? I welcome anybody to converse with me about their religious beliefs, or lack thereof, and answer my questions or ask me questions. I know it's against Christian law to question God (quoted from your book), but if you follow something blindly, ultimately you will fall.

Peace, I mean WAR!

Just To Get By!

Its time for another installment in my ever going series "The Pussification of Modern Society". My last installment was about the "Cry-babies" for equal rights, the one before that was about modern mans obsession with beauty, before that was the weakness of today's youth, and prior to that was my views on hate and prejudices, and the first one was my main point of the pussification of modern society. So I've commented on the feminine ways of today's "Esquire" man (a category that I, myself fall into), I've talked about how parents coddle their children to the point of weakening their children's spirits as well as their bodies. I want to touch on the so-called patriots and how they have turned most of America into pussies. From politicians to news anchors to journalist, everyone is afraid to comment on the state of America. The only people brave enough to speak against the government are comedians (because nobody takes them serious anyway), activist (because nobody is listening to them anyway) and conspiracy theorist (because everybody thinks they're crazy). People are afraid to question the system, people are afraid to ask the right question, because they fear being called unpatriotic. America went from bra-burnings, protests, marches for civil rights, and civil disobedience to unwavering blind faith in incompetence. It's sort of like we live in a "1984" dystopian society, only difference is we, as a people and not fully the government, have made ourselves docile sheep following the dumb herd dog off of the cliff. Americans seem to forget that America was formed by people that questioned the government (because they wanted to get freaky without the British government being in the bedroom). It is the "American Way" to question the government. People used to fight for what they believed in, it seems like people are afraid to stand up for their beliefs today. With so much information in our hands, with the internet, television, books (I know that's something a lot of people don't use), etc, we should be smarter than we are. With all the information, the resources, the spas and the gyms, why are Americans the most obese in the world? Why are there so many recalls on products, and special safety regulations? My answer is that the world is being "pussified" more and more each and everyday. Once we all stop crying about discrimination, worrying about trends, coddling the children, and we start fighting for our future, we can put the power back in the hands of the people. Because if the pussification continues, we'll all be living in a society that resembles the movie "Idiocracy".

Peace, I mean WAR!

But something must've got in us, cause all of us turn to sinners!

DISCLAIMER: Before you read this, know that I don't hate religion, religious persons, or the idea of spirituality. My critiques of religion and mythology (the term I use for most religion), is a general statement on ignorance as a whole, and not just the ignorance of "religious" persons. I don't fault people for not actually knowing what they believe in, I fault people for believing in that which they don't know. So I wrote this not as a slam against "religious" persons, I wrote this so that so-called "religious" people would examine their beliefs and obtain a better understanding.

To start this blog entry, I will set up a few scenarios and ask all of the "faithful out there a few questions.

Here's the first scenario, it's a sunny Sunday afternoon (you skipped out of church this weekend because you spent all night getting "right" at the club), you're on your way to the local Wal-Mart Super center (to get some Advil for that hangover). As you're walking towards the Wal-Mart, you pass a homeless man. This homeless man seems to be talking to a person that is not there. You walk closer to the vagabond, out of curiosity, and you overhear him call his imaginary friend "God". My question is what is your opinion of the homeless man?

Second scenario goes like this; you're watching a talk show on a cloudy Tuesday morning. A panelist on the show tells a tale of how he disappeared for a number of weeks to a mysterious world. He tells the audience that these beings, which he refers to as "extra-terrestrial", gave him warnings of impending doom and destruction. He states that the beings sent him visions and sent him back here to warn the rest of humanity of the coming annihilation. My question is what do you think of this guest on the talk show?

Okay, for the last scenario, a news broadcast interrupts this Wednesday's "American Idol"; they talk about a man that refers to himself as a prophet. He claims that his deity appointed him as a messenger. He gains the trust of a numerous amount of followers; they look at him as their messiah. What is your view of this self proclaimed prophet?

Now before I get to the heavy stuff, I've got one more question. To quote a line from my favorite McDonald's commercials, do you believe in magic? Now I know most people are reading that question and saying "hell to the nah!". Now really think about magic and the definition of that word, "the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature". According to most religions, western as well as eastern, control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature, plays a major role in their doctrine. I'll now delve into what I presume would be most people's answers to the fore mentioned scenario's. For the first scenario, I know most people (including myself) would say that the homeless man is insane or just a little bit imbalanced. But let's think about this from a religious aspect, throughout the book of Christianity, the Bible, throughout the Jewish Torah, and throughout the Quran, men talk to a voice that isn't talking to anybody else. These men heard things that no other man heard, yet they are divine while this homeless man is insane. Could God not have picked the meekest of men to convey his message to, could it be he is receiving divine guidance? What if he's homeless because he followed your Jesus Christ and gave up his worldly possessions, and this was conveyed to him by God, himself (or herself, or itself, or themselves)? How is he different from a man that lived in a magical whale? And who are you talking to when you kneel on the edge of your bed at night? Now, for the second scenario, I know a lot of religious people don't believe in aliens because in the Bible God doesn't create them (he also doesn't create dinosaurs, explain that). So is the second man as crazy as the first, did he see imaginary beings from out of space? Now according to the Bible and the Quran, people had visits from mysterious beings from the "Heavens" (which is somewhere out in space, even though the Hubble couldn't find it), they referred to as angels, or the host of heaven, or the Elohim. These beings had mysterious powers and abilities that mere men didn't have, they cast of a glow that mortals wouldn't. All the characteristics besides the wings (unless you factor in the people that saw Mothmen) and the weird shaped heads of aliens, are very similar. So what if this man was visited by your angels, even better, what if your prophets were visited by aliens? I mean wasn't John the Baptist whisked away to Patmos and given visions by one of Gods angels (it's called Revelations, if you didn't know)? People claim to have the same experiences as John the Baptist, yet he is a messenger and they are nuts. Okay, the last scenario revisits the whole Waco and Branch Davidians, a man claims to have a message from God and proceeds to spread it, the world views him as an insane man and kills him. Now, most religious people view him as insane because his name wasn't written in a scroll in a cave somewhere. But it makes me think of Christianity and Islam, both religions are based on men telling people that they were sent by God with a book (they just happened to last longer than David Koresh). Lets take Christianity for example, after Jesus' death, rebirth and then death (and you don't believe in magic), a man named Paul runs around talking about his dead friend and his dead friends illegitimate father. Paul runs and tells the Romans (the people that supposedly killed his friend) about his dead friend, and they decide to take and mold a new religion out of Judaism. The Roman scholars sat in a dark basement and pieced together various stories, throwing away the ones they deemed unnecessary, and created a new book to add on to the Hebrew Torah. Word spread around and people converted (mainly because if you didn't do what the church said, they'd kill you). As for Islam, it was spearheaded by an Arab named Muhammad who went around the Middle East and recited lines from his book that he wrote with the aid of his invisible friend, Allah. He and his cousin / son-in-law went around killing those Arabs that didn't follow his doctrine, they referred to it as "slicing off the heads of devils" (the slaughter of infidels in the name of Allah continues). So if Jesus' so-called friend can sell his story to his enemies and make a religion out of it, or if a military general can persuade people to follow his religion; why can't a man in modern times be given the divine task of leading people to a divine being? Now I want you to pick up whatever holy book you believe in (that you only read a passage or two from when you're in your in you church, mosque, synagogue, temple or shrine) and read it thoroughly. After you've read the entire book and analyzed all the wonderful stories, pick up a Harry Potter book and read that. After you've done all that reading (and wasting time), ask yourself, do you believe in magic? Of course you do!

Peace, I mean WAR!