words pressed?

I can’t stand the “hat tip” phrase the kids are using these days. So I’ll just thank Jackson for pointing me to the free Word Press hosts. I’ve already sets up a site to see how it looks. I love having categories but I don’t like the themes all that much. There’s no ads (not like I’m actually making money from this), they have their own stats meter, I think it will be interesting, though, to see how little traffic my blog gets without having any links to it, heheheh.

Another baby pic

flash game

Take a short break. Play Ninjaman!

Who is the dork? What is dorknation?

Heels continue to finish strong in tight games with players stepping up when another falls off. And think, we’re doing this without a serious point guard. Frasor? Come on. Wack. I did post a couple of record reviews this last night/this AM, however, I really went into the weekend thinking I’d have several new movie reviews up. Technical difficulties, as they say. It is frustrating, however, I guess not only for me. Brings me to what “dork nation” was supposed to be about, and the vision I had of the blog. I’d hoped to do Word Press with a hosted server, a site with categories, and would focus (as you can see from reading a few posts) on politics, foreign film, hip-hop, sports, and whatever else I could shoe horn in. I’d even thought of doing video/computer game reviews, but I guess that’s somewhat of a pipe dream, like I have the time for any of that. And, an “about” page would be nice, I guess. The short bits you can get in the right sidebar are adequate, yet don’t tell the entire story, like, not only am I a Carolina alum, I was an athlete there, which kinda gives me a little knowledge about college sports, or that I worked in politics for a several years after law school, so I have a bit of a perspective on that game from the inside. How I got to be a music reviewer/film reviewer for an alt-weekly is an ass backwards story for a later date. Let’s just say I’m a not-as-yet failed screenwriter, too, and leave it thus for now. I guess I felt obligated to give my bona fides, though, as most of us know, few people who blog on most subjects have any idea what they’re talking about. It’s a beauty contest of ideas, and bloggers are judged on the power of their link sidebar, not the content of their posts (Hey, it is Black History Month, y’all). Why “dorknation?” Because, well, I’m a dork. That’s all I have to say about that.

Fun

Try listening to MF Doom’s Special Herbs instrumentals while checking out Margaret Cho’s My Space page. Good times. Also, peep Cho’s list of Emails she got from some conservatives after some comments she made about President Bush. Michelle Malkin, you got some ‘splain’in to do. Is Malkin really sure she wants to have a contest on which side is more racist?

review: Roots Manuva - Alternately Deep

Roger Smith aka Roots Manuva has one of the most distinctive flows in hip-hop. Though being a West Indie Brit has something to do with it, he does have a staccato rapid fire vowel swallowing chant that makes him stand out among his MC peers. He often flows over minimalist beats, that if perhaps not the most listenable music, perfectly compliments his style. If his records are not always so accessible t’s because his music is on the cutting edge of rap beats, though that hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of my favorites in the game. The latest LP, Alternately Deep has Manuva returning more to his original style. After last year’s release saw him going off on some very interesting personal rants about his three year absence from the UK charts ( a Dave Chappell style disappearing act ) backed by less interesting two-step mixes. Though he’s always had a few cuts that paid due respect to London’s flourishing club scene (that manages to mix better with rap than does the American club music) an entire album of that was just annoying. A Manuva LP will likely always be an adventure. He explores all genres here, too, like “Nobody’s Dancing,” which recalls the mid-80’s heyday of Brit dance pop ( reemphasizing the influence of Caribbean sounds on pop music in those days). The dub influence is back in full force (“Seat Yourself,” “Check It,” “Colossal Insight”) and the trippy trip-hop styles (“Pep My Game,” “Grown Man,” “Mean St.”). This is a record for purists and those who miss Tricky. Nothing as good as “Soul Decay,” but what is, really?

review: Dilated Peoples 20/20

New Dilated Peoples LP, 20/20, drops this week. Babu keeps inching the crew’s sound toward more commercial, less “underground,” though not so much as to alienate their core audience. Evidence and Rokka are on the usual suspects, Bush, weed, globe trotting, how nice he is on the mic. There’s no stand out track, no obvious guest producer (like Kanye’s joint on the last record, that for some reason didn’t get as much play as the very similar “The Corner,” then again Common’s much more the matinee idol (). That isn’t to say that the CD isn’t worth copping, there are no weak cuts, just nothing scintillating. There are a couple of bangers, like “You Can’t Hide, You Can’t Run,” “20/20,” “Alarm Clock Music,” punctuated my Babu’s horn and vocal samples. Their music hasn’t had the same impact on me since the first record, I suppose that’s because there’s so much like them out there now. Anyway, I suppose in terms of chart success their exposure to Kanye was valuable, this is probably their most accessible release so far.

On second thought

"For Amnesty International to suggest that somehow the United States is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don't take them seriously, . . . ”                                    Vice-President Dick Cheney Okay, perhaps he did bring it on himself.

Throw ya guns in the air, and wave em like you aren't really concerned with the outcome!

As I was preparing for my lunch time work out, I caught a glance at a CNN story about how the Dick Cheney shooting incident is being played for laughs on the Internet and TV. I was struck by a moment of sympathy for both men. How would I feel if I accidentally shot my best friend in the face? Like shooting myself in the face, that’s how. I thought, kids, we’ve had our fun and games, now lets pack up our Elmer Fudd caps and go home. Leave the old dudes to their anguish, and let the Vice President get back to running the country before Bush really gets us in trouble. Besides, why would anyone want to fuck wit a nigga who shot his great friend in the grill? That’s hard core gangsta. He could send his boys to our homes, tap our telephones, and . . . oh . . . yeah. Later, I saw this. Check it out and look at the replies. Whiny Republicans complaining about the media! The media is blowing it out of proportion! The media shot Harry Whittington! The media ate my children! The “media” is reporting a story with the kind of breathless histrionics you lot have come to demand, the same kind of piranha like fervor with which it covers White House controversies ALL THE TIME. Moreover, the White House invited the kind of scrutiny it’s receiving over the issue by withholding key information about the incident. They weren’t waiting for relatives to be notified, they were huddled together, trying to figure out how it would play, setting up the Faux News exclusive, handling the issue just as they would any other POLITICAL controversy. Cheney may not have brought the jokes on himself. He made a horrible mistake. However, part of the blame for the media frenzy lies within the White House, and probably the VP himself.

Heels 82 Georgia Tech 75

I’m up working on an article. I might as well drop some thoughts on last night’s game. When I got back from the office the Heels were down by 20. Once again, Hansborough put the team on his narrow yet durable shoulders and carried the team to victory. Tech didn’t have an answer for him, it was a great performance by the youngster. What I missed in the first half was Tech’s amazing 9 for 9 shooting for 3 pointers. Their studs went ice cold, they couldn’t hit even when left all alone. So, JJ “Fad” Reddick, the frosh finished with 40, one point shy of your year high total, and he did it without the benefit of the three pointer. So suck on it. Btw, I found a blog that cracks me up, feels the same way about the Tarheels that I feel about Dook. Engaged to a Tarhole.

Merry Valentine's Day!

I get all political and stuff today over at Pith in the Wind. Now I’m gonna get all romantic and stuff. Love ya babe!

Swim over to Graffiti Bridge

MTV Overdrive has a nice collection of classic Prince videos online. Reminisce about your old pair of lace gloves while eating your tuna sub.

Right Still Wrong

Michelle Malkin rightly condemns the recent comments of Lithium poster girl Ann Coulter. At a recent hard right fundraiser, Coulter referred to Muslims as “Ragheads.” Malkin could have gone to bed straining herself patting herself on the back for her righteousness. However, she had to take an opportunity to blast liberals, hollowing the sincerity of her admonishments. Apparently, liberals have some house cleaning of their own to do, she claims the left is no better than Coulter. Apparently Malkin’s got hundreds of Emails from so called liberals hurling odious racial epithets at her, and then points out how liberals hate conservatives of color by pointing to cartoon parodies of Secretary Rice, Secretary Powell, and Lt Governor Steele. In light of the ascendance of Lynn Swann, NFL Hall of Famer as the GOP’s version of Obama, it would seem that conservatives are winning games played with the race card*. After all, aren’t the Republicans placing people of color in cabinet/high ranking senate positions at a faster rate than the Democrats? Are the Republicans finally making inroads into the stranglehold the Democrats have on African-American voters? No, not really. For every one Swanny you’ve got 1,000 not so rich and famous African-Americans who wouldn’t come near voting Republican even if Oprah decided to go GOP. The pervading view of the party has, and likely always will be, is that the GOP is the party of “them” and not “us.” Bottom line is that, like Che’ said, you can’t start a revolution from the top down (If only Bush II had listened). Placing a few coloureds at the top of your pyramid scheme isn’t going to convince anyone of your sincerity. Making an easy call and condemning a dimwit like Coulter is what one expects of you, of anyone. Malkin lists all the GOP commentators that have gone online or in print to admonish Coulter. What’s most glaring to me is that the list is so short. *I completely abhor the phrase “playing the race card.” It’s meaningless shorthand that never manages to address issues, only dismiss them.

Justin Timberlake is much harder than Scott Hamilton

Here’s one for ya Tuesday Haters on a Sunday morning. Linked through Angry Asian Man via Hanzi Smatter, Justin Timberlake loves ice skating. Don’t we all? (

Japanese horror: dead and alive

Kurosawa Kiyoshi participates in the film that celebrates the career of horror manga artist Umezu Kazuo. His Mushi tachi no ie (House of Bugs) seems to be the most interesting segment. Catch the trailer here. It is certainly the most adult (read: critically accessible) part, as the others include cannibalism and giant snakes. However, apparently no vengeful female ghosts. The set will be released on DVD in the US in early summer of this year. There have been several manga based horror anthologies released in the states on DVD. The one I’ve seen was pretty poor. It was a made for TV affair, and though that doesn’t always signify wackness, (after all, the much lauded yet overrated JUON was initially a TV movie), it did in this case. The J-horror boom of the late 90’s is pretty much dead creatively, and even if some critics are tired of the genre and it’s seemingly requisite tropes, fans aren’t, and the movies continue to be successful. Nicholas Rucka argues that the popularity of the genre has killed it, that as Hollywood sops up the rights to remake the classics from the era, studios and filmmakers make the same product over and over in a desperate attempt to attract some of that Hollywoof attention. That’s valid, though repetition and a desire to make a buck has wrested the creativity out of most genre films. I’ll admit to being somewhat tired of J-horror, and I haven’t seen much lately, though only because of lack of time and opportunity. Still, I’m willing to give something that looks interesting a shot. Mushi tachi no ie certainly does, and the rest of the trailers reveal shorts with a certain camp quality like that of the vastly underrated Uzumaki. PS to Mr Rucka and others; you miss the obvious reason for differences between J-horror and American films. Cremation. It’s why Japanese zombie flicks are often played for laughs. The idea of a dead body walking around is kinda funny when everyone is ashes.

Onitsuka's reclaimation: The Hipster's Bounty

I love Onitsuka Tiger shoes. I rock two pairs of the retro Ultimate 81. It will be the hipster shoe of choice for the future. ASICS/Onitsuka, seeing this, seeing Lost in Translation and the many websites dedicated to "Engrish", has decided to, in the vein of recent reclaimations of terms like "nigga" and "bitch" and "queer" to use Engrish as a marketing strategy for their new retro shoes. Click below to get a taste. Hipsters from Williamsburg to Sylvan Park will eat this up. The ad will probably kill in the UK. Outside of those spots, it will fail. Fine with me, cuz it keeps my kicks exclusive. At any rate, as a public service to hipsters and Japanophiles, I pass the love on to you.

Duke 87 UNC 83: The Aftermath

Well, the young bucks made a valiant effort last night, I’ll admit. Still, one has to be disappointed in the end. Despite shooting like pee-wee leaguers in the first 5 minutes of the game (missing untold numbers of lay-ups and five footers) the Heels kept the game close, thanks to some pretty good defense on this years Duke poster boy JJ (“fad”) Reddick. I’d written us off at halftime, however. I figured Duke would make a run and pull away. And they did, sort of. The Goo Devils increased their lead to 17 points. Then, showing why he should be coach of the year and not Bruce Pearl, Roy Williams benched the starting five and excoriated them as the scrubs closed to within single digits of Duke. When Hansborough and the lads returned, Carolina managed to take a lead . . . only to revert to the kind of playing that characterized the first five minutes of the game, blown lay-ups and weak defense. Still, even though Duke’s stars managed some timely shots, they still gave us opportunities. At the end, our boys sphincters clinched tighter than a Klan member naked at a gay bar. With a few seconds to play and three points behind, suddenly they became scared to shoot the ball. Our problems remain youth and weak play at the point guard spot. I’m still not sure how we managed to stay in the game without much of a perimeter game. I suppose we stuck close because of the emergence of Rayshawn Terry, a junior, who decided it was time for him to step it up. Hansborough, again played pretty solid in the middle. He’s got to bulk up, attack the rim with force, and develop some post moves. Noel, outside of a clutch 3 pointer, did little.

my monkey brain

Oddly enough, the Duke UNC game was not in the forefront of my brain today. I had more pressing matters. Now, to those who know me, that admission would have them on their back. However, those who really know me know why. To those others, I may well clue them in later. Cuz it’s almost GAME TIME BABAAAAAYYYYY

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pics

pics

ready for his album cover

Apathy of Demigodz, JC Smooth

Briefly, listening to Apathy’s debut, Eastern Philosphy. It’s nice. Hype should build for this cat slowly. If he gets compared to Eminem and Aesop Rock, it’s partially because he’s white, partially because some critics don’t have any other reference points, and maybe just a little of it is his own fault. The record is probably too “underground” to become a big hit, however I imagine a lot of back packers and what not will be picking this up. Will probably edit this later to add more. Also reviewing a local R&B singer for print, with the unfortunate name of JC Smooth. That sounds like a corny 80’s rapper in a polyester two button double breasted suit and no shirt (or socks, and Bally shoes of course). The kid is not bad, though, at least as good as say Bobby Valentino. Thing is, the world needs another Bobby Valentino like I need a hole in the head. Or something.

review: Public Enemy - Rebirth of a Nation

PE returns with Rebirth of a Nation, a self referential tribute to their seminal rap record, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Today the only thing holding PE back is their new producer Paris. Terminator X is back, however Hank Shocklee’s “Wall of Sound” is not. Chuck still has his revolutionary fury, refusing to be silenced by the din of the shufflin’ bucks that call themselves rappers these days. Yet, without the crushing beats from the old stuff, the music just doesn’t have that same impact. Flava Flav takes time out from his self-promotional jaunts on TV/decent into madness to play the jester role once again, even he fails to elicit a chuckle. His personality is so big however, anything he raps over makes ya smile. “Go to Jones Beach/Get on the back of a shark,” he says in “They Call Me Flava.” Huh? PE has the same old enemies, the CIA, bringing in drugs to the black community, complacency, wack rappers, and a Republican President. The new villain is Western beauty standards (“Plastic Nation”). I suppose when old artists make a comeback, you want them to try something new, however this record had me wishing for something old.

Stupor Bowl

I got naught to say about the Super Bowl. I had no rooting interest in the teams . . . actually, considering that I’m a life long Cowboys fan, I would have loved nothing better than to see the Steelers suffer a humiliating defeat. Well, there was none of that. It was a miserable game to watch, really, fumbles and stumbles, dropped passes . . . not like it was a defensive struggle, unless you count that the defenses struggled to do anything well. Oh, and another boring Stones concert at halftime, and even more boring a stupid commercials. YAWN. This is why I love college sports.

Meanwhile, back at the raunch

I’ve started contributing to the Nashville Scene’s blog,.Pth in the Wind My first post was kinda weak, however I hope to improve. Meanwhile, I need to improve my own blog. Unfortunately, mother in law hangs out on the couch in our computer room. Tokyo has fallen off. They’ve moved out of the top spot as the most expensive city in the world, bested by Oslo, Norway. I’ve never been to Oslo. I have no current desire to go. However, if that place is more expensive than Tokyo, woe be unto you Osloians.