Purple Sector…

I been gone a while, but i’m back and I got stuff to show you.
I know everyone must be sick and tired of the election and politics, but this makes it pretty entertaining and is aesthetically pleasing to my eye. Myspace comics has posted a comic-style graphic novel of the campaign. Complete with all the political puns that made it legendary. peep this

illustrations are dope.
you can see the rest here.

I was looking at my blog in a public place when someone came up to me and told me they read it o a semi-regular basis. I said thanks, it was great to know someone I had never met liked my thoughts enough to patronize my little slice of the web. They then proceeded to tell me how wrong I was about mandatory minumums, saying some very hateful, insensitive things in the process. Instead of getting upset, I thanked them for their viewpoint, and left the spot in which I was sitting. But, it got me to thinkin’.

Mandatory minimums are a great idea! They’re just being used for the wrong crimes, being carried out by the wrong people. 5 Grams of crack cocaine, which is less than three sugar packets you may find in the container at IHOP (mmmm) gets a sentence of 5 years in some states, more in others. In New Orleans, a homeless man robbed a bank, and, when given a stack of hundred-dollar bills, kept only one, apologized, and later turned himself in, explaining he only needed it to stay at the Detox clinic, and that his mother never raised him that way, and was given 15 years in prison. Why? Mandatory Minimums, silly goose. Those ae both nonsense, and, in large part, MMs are  making us a much harsher country, a borderline rogue state. Years ago our criminal justice system was idolized, foreign ruling parties sent delegations over here to study our criminal justice practices. Now, though accounting for only 6% of the world’s people, the US accounts for more than 1/4 of the world’s prison population, due in very large part to mandatory minimums. So how are they a good idea, Jordan?! Glad you asked. They’re a good idea when applied to the right crimes and criminals. Martha Stewart robbed shareholders of millions, Bush and Cheney are war criminals by definition, and we’ve all heard the stories of rogue, power mad CEOs and higher-ups doing whatever they please on a sinking comapny’s dollar. These are the people who need a mandatory minimum sentence! I don’t care if Martha Stewart robbed holders of millions, and Joe Blow at BlowCorp robbed them of just over $10, give them both 15 years! I don’t care if Cheney and Bush did what they did in the name of defending our country (which they did while running roughshod over our freedoms),  and Abu Ghraib guards did what they did just to be A-holes to “jihadist, terrorist scum”, they should all get  LIFE. Mandatory minimums would be a harder deturrent for high level corruption than any earnings cap, or stern warning from Washington. They would prove to keep our government and guards in line more than public opinion or little blogs like my own. How? The same way they keep a crack dealer on his toes about getting caught with his little five grams, the same way it’s going to keep that homeless man in jail for the forseeable future.

Hey Ya’ll. Thought I was Bullishin’ when I said I was back?!

I live a pretty exciting, fun-filled daily life. Beyond the party and club scenes I often delve into come Thursday through Saturday, I work an exciting albeit unpredictable 9-5, have a family that could be described as just the same, and a very engaging, beautiful bag of tricks called my girlfriend. So, needless to say, I get to meet a bunch of new people, get their thoughts and opinions on a bunch of topics, and watch them interact with one another. I enjoy people watching like my dad enjoys watching the world cup. Once it’s on, there’s nothing else going on in my head or life.

Anyone who knows me knows I have very far from a saintly lexicon of words used everyday. I’ve been known to curse in even the most embarassing and damning of circumstances like church, job interviews, funerals, weddings, giving speeches, and so on. But there is one word I feel should never be used by males who consider themselves educated and mature, prodective members of society. Bitch. I always knew the dictionary definition, but to look up the slang definition in that same copy of Webster’s on my bookshelf was pretty eye-opening. Now, there are most certainly a multitude of lewd females masquerading as real women, and many more malicious, malifluous, unpleasant, two-timing people with female genitalia. But, bitch is not a catch-all word. She’s not a bitch because she works harder than you and gets ahead, she’s studious. She isn’t a bitch because she tells you no even though you paid for dinner and drinks, she’s got more virtue in her than most of these females ever have or will. She’s not a bitch because she doesn’t hold her tongue, no matter how high and might your opinion of yourself may actually be, she’s real, and damned if we couldn’t use more real people here on this planet. I’m not preaching, as I said, I’ve got a mouth that can run amok when it wants to. I’ve also been guilty of using the word, and sadly, for at least one of the reasons mentioned above.  The bottom line is that every woman is someone’s older or younger sister, daughter, mother, wife, etc. I have an older sister and two younger sisters, and I have been fortunate enough to have never heard anyone call them that word. Why have I been fortunate? Because I’d kill somebody if I ever did, confess to it, and tell the cops in all honesty that I would do worse if I had the chance to go back in time. Some women may be terrible women in a myriad of ways, but Bitch has got to go. A-Hole? Asshat? Jerk? Ninny? Great! let em’ flow like a mighty stream. But Bitch? Please (not).

So, I’ve been, for a number of important reasons, AWOL for nearly a month. But that’s done. PSDN is back, full time, bigger, badder, blacker, deffer than ever. With that comes a flurry of ish that’s been on my mind like stink of a cowpie. In no specific order, here we go:

White people look at you crazy when you say MLK’s dream isn’t anywhere near realized just because Obama is Prez. Seriously, they look at you like you have a swastika on your forehead. One guy, no matter how awesome and black he may be, is not the completion of the entirety of the dream. Yes, he’s a completion of a large part of it, this much can’t be denied. However, until black children get the same education caliber in our neighborhoods as white kids to in theirs, until the police stop shooting unarmed brothers in the back, or, at the very least, are tried like the MURDERERS they are when they do so, until predatory lenders are tried criminally for intentionally targeting minorities, until Martha Stewart gets more time for CHEATING HOLDERS OUT OF MILLIONS that a dude from the hood gets for selling a gram for the first time due to mandatory minimums, then my answer to whether or not the dream has been realized is an emphatic HELL FUCKIN’ NO.

Conservative radio/media as a whole is one big parade of ignorance. I had to listen to Jay Severin, the well of intelligence that that prick is, say the impeachment process of Barack should begin due to his GITMO situation, because now that it’s to be closed, terrorists have no reason to fear being taken prisoner, and that torture was completely fine with him. Then, he had the nerve to liken torture to Dershowitz’s theory of a child trapped in a box with an hour to live. Basically, it goes like this:

Your child has been buried alive in a box with an hour’s worth of air, and the authorities have the man they KNOW is responsible. They come to you, explain to you the situation outlined above, and ask you what you do NOT want them to do to the SOB to extract the whereabouts of your dying child. He likened the two situations to one another. GTFOH. Here’s why. His theory involves one man or group acting alone. The authorities are certain this is the culprit, the child is yours, and is helpless in his own power. Terrorists in GITMO and other CIA black cites, nine times out of ten, do not act alone. In fact, they are, 9/10 of the time, NOT the brains of the operation(s) in question. We, America, Are not helpless beyond the ability of the guards to torture these guys. We’ve got the best trained military in HISTORY, and more missles than you can shake a stick at. We are NOT trapped in a box, dependent solely upon the terrible, inhumane ways in which guards can torture information out of these scum, no matter how scummy they may in fact be. Beyond that, we are not, in most cases, CERTAIN of anything in regards to the people we have detained in sites like GITMO. So why don’t we try them by the UCMJ? No, No. We aren’t doing that at this point in time, and Jay likes it way. You see, Jay, who goes out of his way to remind you of their religious affiliation every time he mentions them, doesn’t believe international rules apply to them. It only applies to humans in his mind, and, since they are out to get us, this makes them sub-human. These and many other vapid, tribalistic, bloodthirsty, fear mongering ideals can be found on a conservative station nearest you!

We have got to, GOT TO, stop showing our asses in public, ya’ll.  Blacks, hispanics, all of us. We feel you when we’re alone. We feel you in public. But other people DO NOT. Just be aware. Lower your voice, pull up your pants, pronounce your whole words, curse less, and be more self-aware. We’re cool, always will be, but other heads just don’t see it like we do.  Chiiiiill.

If you’re under the age of 15, and you don’t work and make your own money, what the HELL are you doing in line for a sneaker drop? God forbid you’re big for your age and wear my size. I’m telling you right now, if I find out that’s the case, I’m either whoopin’ you, or making you cry and run away embarassed to make sure I get my pair(s). I just can’t have that. I’m sorry.

I liked the inaugural poem. It was plain, meandering, mundane, in the same ways that life is all of those things. There was no flare to it, it served its purpose. It was very much, in my opinion, a representation of damn near all the factions of everyday American life.

Hey All!

I had a death in the fam, a mini relationship crisis, a pay cut, and two minor car accidents, but none of that’s gonna stop us here anymore. Armed with my new flask and my same as always Nikon D-40, my pen, pad, and beats by LEE BEARD himself, Starting next Monday, we’ll be rolling out a fresher, bigger, better, more far reaching PSDN. YOU GOT IT HERE FIRST, YOU BAHSTIDS! More Details to come tomorrow, You’re gonna love it, Cuz I know I will!

Word. I haven’t been on for a minute, family issues, ya’ll.

But Barrack got me thinking on some legitimate black pride stuff, what don’t we do best? I’m fully concinved at this point in my life that we are the best at everything and anything essential to human life and livelihood. Name it, we do it top flight. Music? Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop, R&B, Spirituals. Athletics? I won’t get carpal tunnel listing our unmitigated dominance.  Poetry, Literature, Intelligence in general? Langston, W.E.B., Cornell, Michael Eric, Sister Souljah. Hell, even Jesus Christ was a man of color. We did it ya’ll. There’s no long ass spiel about this, but I just wanted to make that known, and I dare anyone to test me on this.

It’s a new year, and with that undoubtedly comes new year’s resolutions. Since I have a (glorious) blog here, and (sexy) people who read it on a semi-daily basis (you won’t believe how many “I think I read your blog, it’s sick” comments I get around the city), I figured I’d post my resolutions for all to see. Cuz, after all, sez me, the bar is only set if you make it plain to others.  I’m not even giving myself a year to do this half. That’s right, I’m only putting out half of my NYRs. with the other half to commence July 1st. Here is my 1/2 year list of resolutions:

Get a Wii: I’ve been clamoring for one since the day it came out. I need to play the new(est) Zelda and Smash Bros. It’s no longer a desire, it is officially a need. Plus, I just can’t stay faithful to one system, and since I got rid of my 360 and kept my PS3, I need a system on the side.

Lose 20 pounds: Anyone who knows me and is honest with me knows that I kind of let myself go in 2008. I was always a stocky kinda fellow, but I was never pudgy. And, in truth, I’m not now. I am, however, as close as I’ve ever been, and that’s scary. Pudge makes less room in these expensive, exclusive tees and jeans I so love, and we can’t have that, now can we? Besides, I actually enjoy working out and being physically fit, so, unlike for many others, the gym is a cool place for me to be.

Get a New Bike: It doesn’t have to be brand new, it only has to be new to me. Why? Because even though it’s dropped in price, gas is still a luxury, and it would certainly help me keep some loot and lose some pudge to complete this goal. I love biking, I have ever since June 23rd 1996, the day I learned to ride my bike (I was 8, late right? I was deathly afraid of falling off.) and I hate letting summers go by without biking around my neighborhood or to the beach or anywhere, really.

Drop 5 Mixtapes OR 40 songs: I’ve been more hype this year than last about music thus far, and Lee is cooking up heat, fa’-sho. Now it’s up to yours truly to get off  his blessed assurance and get in the studio, drop some heat, and put it up for the world to worship at the feet of…..or just enjoy. I’m a bit nervous, but I’m also excited to get feedback, and hell, just to say I did it. Long Weekend is the movement.

Teach Myself CS3 &4: I’m tired of going to other heads when I want something designed, it’s time consuming, and no one ever knows how it looks in my head. So why do all that and pay them when I could learn to do it myself, keep my money, and get it closer to the way it looks when I dreamed it up in the first place? Sounds like a win/win to me, doesn’t it? If this works out, some other goals may just pop up!

See More Movies: I don’t see movies, simple and plain. Dark Knight, Ironman, Hulk, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Changeling, Role Models,  Hellboy 2, Step Brothers, Harold and Kumar 2? Missed them ALL. Didn’t see a single one in theaters. I saw Wanted, but it wasn’t that great, and I was more into the person I saw it with at the time than the movie itself. Not this year. Che is coming out, and mad other good flicks, and I am seeing them in theaters. However, do NOT,waste your money on The Unborn, unless everything scares you a la my lilly-livered girlfriend.

I love pricks. Jay-Z, KanYe West, all of them. Pricks make the world go ’round. So, if you see a prick, shake their hand before you stifle the urge to kick them in the balls.

Pricks are a ballsy breed nowadays. With the public’s craving, nay, addiction to peices of the lives of individuals who are more famous than us Jor Six-Packs, any wrong move can spell the end of any celeb’s place in the sun. How do they remain so true to their pricky selves? Why does A-Rod turn down kids in wheelchairs seeking autographs, when he knows a camera phone could catch it all on tape? Why does 50 Cent continue to run his mouth, knowing his album will flop like grandma’s mammories? Cuz that’s who they are. They’re born asshats, these people are.I have a pofound respect for jerks and pricks in the public eye. Why? In this world of celebrityism, any wrong turn can get the tide of public opinion turned on you like women at a shoe sale. I’ve met a great deal of stars in my life: Jay-Z, Manny, Papi, A-Rod, Jeter, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Yeezy, Mike Jones, Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers, Ray Allen, Tommy Lee, and on and on. Most of those guys? Jerks.Yes, you heard right. But they seem so nice in the public eye? Why? They need their status. it makes them who they are in their eyes. What is Alex Rodriguez without $25 mil a year and hella dingers? What’s PP without the number 34? Their average joes playing rec league ball, at the bar buying $3 vodka and cranberry drinks. What is Jay without rap? He’s a cocky, camelfaced guy who bags the baddest broad in the venue and wakes up early to get to his job at UPS. You get the feeling he could say “F this, I’m outta here.” and move to Dubai at any wrong public turn. Same for Ye. Why? They know who they are, apart from their skill in their field. I’m not talking arrogant, mean pricks, I’m talking exuberantly confident, prolific, top-of-their-field pricks. MJ was a prick, but who could stop him? He was the best when he stepped on the floor. Babe Ruth was a prick, but he changed an entire sport more than any one man in any other sport. They earned their prickdom, because no one was good enough to knock them down a few pegs. Nobody. So shine on, you crazy pricks, because until your star is eclipsed or burns out, we can’t take it from ya…… you bahstids.

I own the best Blu-Ray player there is, a PS3, and I’ve already watched Akira about 40 times, not at all exaggerating. However, I’ve never been more excited for any single movie to release for home use than this pack right now. it releases In Japan and the US on February 24th of this year, and it’s going to be about $45 USD. Preliminary pics are below. OMG! This will most certainly hold me over for a year, when the live action version is rumored to release.

It’s my first opinion piece of the new year, and I figured I would tackle the one thing that people hate talking about. Not politics, religion, or child-rearing, but dreams.

Yes, Dreams.

Think about it, we all have some wild or unorthodox dream we’ve only shared with a select few, if anyone at all. Why only a few? Why are we so ashamed of the lofty goal our brain and heart collaborated to create? And what does popular opinion have to do with our dreams? Are they any less valid if they’re any less common? No, of course they aren’t, we all know and have been taught as much throughout our lives, young and old alike. So then, why do we clam up when it comes to talk of our ideal selves and life situation? My opinion is this: if you don’t let people know what you’re trying to do, they’ll never be able to tell if you failed. If I told you I was trying to make $1 Billion this year, and came up $990,989,429 short, I’d be a bigger flop than Nelly’s last album. However, if I simply told you I wanted to make money, $10 mil is not a bad haul, and by no means a failure at the goal i outlined in our talks. The bar, no matter how high we may want to set for ourselves, is only truly set that high when we place it out for others to see. Humans and their nature are complex. We strive for independence, yet remain heavily dependent on the thoughts and opinions of others to sustain our thoughts and opinions of and about ourselves. Though we yearn to carve out our own path, leave an individual mark, and be remembered as one-of-a-kind, it’s nearly impossible to do without recognition. What would have Clint Eastwood have accomplished if no one saw his movies or nominated him for awards? If Michael Jordan dominated teams with no crowd or television audience, with no sneaker contract, who would he be? Surely their actual accomplishments would have been no less amazing, had they done the same things they’re known for. However, who could tell you? who could show you or describe? Who would sing their praises, harp on their flaws, propel them to legendary status in their respective fields? Nobody, almost nullifying the accomplishments altogether. Dreams work in the same way. No one dreams a dream that does not include some sort of recognition. Missionaries are recognized by God and the ones they help, athletes by fans, doctors by patients, veterinarians by pet families, trashmen by their neighborhoods. If the recognizers are removed from these, one does not exist, and the others at worst unnecessary, and at best trivial. Dreams are founded on recognition, without this, there are no dreams.

So, now that we’ve covered dreams, why are we so afraid of failing to realize them? Dreams are intangible, until accomplished, they exist only in our minds and hearts. So, by failing at them we lose only something we never actually gained, because it never existed in the first place. After losing it, all we are left with is the opportunity to craft a new dream in its place, or take another stab at an old one. So, what’s the loss? Do we attach our dreams to our own self-worth? Are we measuring ourselves against the grandeur and feasibility of our dreams? Is failing at our dreams failing at being a good person, a better person, or simply at being us, in our minds? And what then of success? Does it validate our place here, giving us a reason to take up space and hog up air? I’m not asking because I have somewhere I want to go after this, I’m asking because I’m genuinely unsure.