It Ain't Where You're From, It's Where You're At

Cali Born.
Golden State Warrior.
Houston Bred.Eighty's Made.
Louisiana Nurtured.
"Yeah, I know that I'm not from the hood, but then again, I don't live in Friendswood. I know I'm not doing as good as I should, but I've got dreams as big as my foot." -Dbo-Austin Grown.
Clutch City Resident.

We've all got to have some place that we come from.
This place that we come from is called home.
We set out on our travels.
We do the best we can.
We travel this big earth as we roam.

We've all got to have some place that we come from.
I said, this place that we come from is called home.
Even though we may love this place that's on the map,
I said, "It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at."

Mos Def - Habitat

City Of Syrup

Pandering to the locals.

Marketing sells. Houston knows it's demographic. Even the local Walgreens' promotional materials advertise Promethazine. Are you surprised? Spotted July 29, 2009 at the Walgreens in Midtown.

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Bonus prize with picture click.

H-Town Sneaker Summit 09

In lieu of the upcoming H-Town Sneaker Summit Summer 2009 edition, it is only right I reflect on the summits' of past. The last few seemed very well received and honestly, in my opinion anyway, they get better each time. The venues get bigger and the talent gets better. As far as OG’s go, it doesn’t get too much better than Bun B the Ombudsman. He’s a Houston rap staple since the times of yore and our resident oldhead sneakerhead (if you have to classify these things. No shots). I won’t get into my thoughts on what makes a sneakerhead these days, because I surely don’t know anymore. Then again you can’t see the qwerty keys through my jeans, so that probably has something to do with it. But, to each his own. Do you. I just like sneakers anyway. All the labels and whatnot fall by the wayside.

Bun hosted part of the Winter Summit with a raffle giveaway of a pair of his 1 of 1 “RIP Pimp C” Nike Dunk ID’s. He’d already had an in-store at Premium Goods the day before for his t-shirt release in conjunction with The Hundreds.

Screwed Up records and Tapes. Up the street from Active Athlete.

You can see more pics of the event over at The Hundreds. (Editor’s note: Chris from San Antonio in the video below actually probably had the best weekend ever)

All breeds of sneaker enthusiast were in attendance so it made for good people watching. I was with my partner Cabby of Sneaker Lab and 3Kings fame, so as expected, a good time was had by all. The DJ’s played to the home crowd and it felt like 99’ all over again. I had a chance to run into my boy Thomas from The Tipping Point and Bun B the Ambassador himself. As you can see in the video, Bun is very comfortable in the city as he calls out “lames”, berates an onlooker and disses the State’s/America’s dream team, the Dallas Cowboys, all while receiving cheers from the crowd.

Let’s hope this Sunday’s Summit is even better. I’m a Dom Kennedy fan, as you already know, so I’m even more amped to see the performance. In addition, on Friday night, Pac Div, B.o.B aka Bobby Ray, Kid Cudi and Asher Roth are performing at the House of Blues. You already know we’ll be in attendance, so it looks like a grand time to be had for all. I personally think Kid Cudi is meh, but I won't stop the show over one monkey. B.o.B. gets great acclaim and, though I haven’t given his music much burn, people compare him to 3000 and 3000 is top 5. I’ve seen Asher and his live show is bananas. For whatever flak he may get about his music, I respect the energy. Pac Div. Well I can’t say enough about them, so I won’t. Why they’re opening instead of headlining is beyond me, but I’ll be at the venue bright and early to catch they’re performance. Tennis shoes, great performances and surrounded by good people. I can’t really ask for too much more out of a weekend in clutch city. Expect an update post Summit.

Bonus: Push the pictures, receive a treat.

Props to Dub CNN

Reference: Sharing Is Caring

Straight Street Hoops Volume 3

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Continuing with our Mike and Mike theme, I just thought I'd drop this gem off. Now this is streetball. F[orget] what you heard.

Via BBC

On September 15, Nike Created a Revolutionary New Basketball Shoe

NBA Hoot

Church League Champions

What it is one time, It's Pac Div.

Church League Champions is here.

One Shoe Can Change Your Life

While sitting at my workstation a few weeks ago my boss handed me a stack of papers he had printed out from his email. Sometimes he shares HR case studies or other career oriented literature. Other times it’s the typical pictures of Barack Obama from around the world/inauguration celebrations. In more recent memory, there was MJ’s Memorial program. You know, the usual stuff. So, while de-cluttering my desk today I ran across a list he had given me in passing and really gave it a thorough look over. It was an email forward claiming to originate from Regina Brett of “The Plain Dealer” fame in Cleveland, Ohio. After a simple Google search, the origins proved to be valid. I was expecting Snopes to shoot it down, but hey, who knew some email forwards weren’t riddled (used loosely here) with lies and exaggerations. Anyway, she had a lot of good points and I’ve taken the liberty to extract some of them here and paraphrase others. You can check out her full unadulterated list here.

Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
When in doubt, just take the next small step.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
If a relationship has to be secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
Whatever don’t kill you really does make you stronger.
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
Today is special.
Over prepare, then go with the flow.
Be eccentric now.
No one is in charge of your happiness, but you.
Always choose life.
Forgive everyone everything.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
Believe in miracles.
Get outside everyday. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
The best is yet to come. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

Here’s an extra morsel for your pallet if you’ve made it this far. You can apply it as you see fit.

One shoe can change your life.
-Cinderella-

Spotted on the receptionist’s paperweight. Take it for what it’s worth.

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Dear Old People That Run the World...

No Slugs.

Dear Old People That Run The World,

My generation would like to break up with you.(1)

Everyday, I see a widening gap in how you and we understand the world — and what we want from it. I think we have irreconcilable differences.

Pray do tell.

You wanted financial fundamentalism. We want an economics that makes sense for people — not just banks.

What else?

You didn't care which communities were capsized, or which lives were sunk. We want a rising tide that lifts all boats.

You wanted to biggie size life: McMansions, Hummers, and McFood. We want to humanize life.

Furthermore...

You wanted more money, credit and leverage — to consume ravenously. We want to be great at doing stuff that matters.

Read the whole article and follow the links. It should spark some life into you or awareness at the least. In talks with a friend, we've discussed that their has to be more, there's got to be more. what that "more" is for you, well I don't know. I'm not even sure what it is for me, but I'm certainly on a quest for it.

In the same light, another buddy of mineput me on to Playing For Change. While it's hard to quantify the actual difference any of these "We Are The World" medleys ever make, I must say it's honorable. I like music. I like movements. I like peace. See how that works together?

Watch the introductory video "Stand By Me" here:



Watch the rest of their project in motion here. Oh and they performed on The Tonight Show last night too.

Article spotted via Peter W Knox(1)

What Time Is It? Party Time

MJ Passes. The whole world dances in sorrow/celebration.

Sometimes the passing of a great hearkens us to revel in the the glory days. It does for me anyway. Being on hand for Houston's Michael Jackson Dance Party Tribute has certainly made my mind race back to a time when things were simpler. (Aside: Click that link. If you look close you can catch Vanessa, Enchantee, and Holly around the :15 mark in the first video.)


T-Pain - Time Machine

I'm going on a trip. I'll be back, homeboy, I'll see you later.
Going back to a time when I know everything was straighter.
And everything's great now, but back then it was greater.

One day you're going to recognize T-Pain is on some higher level thinking, but I'll save that lesson for another session.

To the point, the good ole days were just that; good. I firmly believe many suffer from the fear induced by nostalgia (which I swear is going to be in a future post) , but some things are as romantic as you remember them. Remember when you could not only get by "raising the roof", but you were actually on the up and up.

Check. Those. Cameos. In the labels to be specific.

Back when Stuart Scott was hip. For real, for real. (Did you notice that first guy sounded awfully like Trick Daddy? Or was that just me?) When you were out there searching for a "roni", riding the train was wholesome (?)** and your idea of dirty dancing was doing "da dip."



You've got to respect that. While we're on the subject...

Rome - "I belong To You" was my joint. I'll never ever call another song my joint, but you've gotta feel me.





Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking into the future.

**Upon further inspection, not so much. Youthful innocence and naivety FTW.

Sometimes I Write Fast, Sometimes I Write Slow

Evrenye Fighter :), originally uploaded by Hodolomax™.

But I shine like I got a Bruce Leroy glow. You know.

It Was All Good Just A Week Ago

Whose World Is This?

Every time I take a gander into the complexities of my existence I muddle the lines of ideology and reality. What am I talking about? Well in theory I/we live to be like Christ. In reality I/we live in the world around us. I was thinking about an article I read on the 13th Floor (yes, I frequent that blog. Full disclosure: We're close) and it made me think. Without delving too deep into the psychological realm, some may find it weird the different spheres in which one person can relate. I suggest you read that first article referenced and then continue over here.

I'll wait.

Ready?

Take for instance some of my personal favorites, music wise.

Mary Mary - God In Me



The words are literally moving if you take the time to listen (c) Khaled. Pay Close Attention (c) Clinton Sparks. I've been meaning to post this song for about 6 months now. I must admit the first time I heard it I asked myself was it T-Pain singing gospel, but hey, sometimes you have to play the game.(Aside: T Pain is A GENIUS. I'll save that one for another day)

And then there's Blu.



Stan status, no doubt about it. No gas folks, dude is the truth off the project roof (c) Hura.

Yo, I'm trying to get this place that my grandpa told me bout as a child
Told me only few can make it and the faithless ain't allowed
Be a star out your gang & aim above the clouds
And if you miss, you'll at least be amongst your own crowd
I smile cause now I see what he meant
I see it in the eyes of mothers when they uncover their sins and repent
Getting closer to Jehovah on they're old knees bent
Praying our mind frames switch and these times change quick
But I hate to say it brother, but the youth is too stubborn
Too stuck on themselves to ever think about others
They must uncover the scales on their eyes called lies
Leading the deaf dumb and blind
To a place my mom told me about (hell)
Where your sins get cleansed cause they bathe in flames
And the only route out, is to shout out His name
I was trained to be a soldier for God
But as soon as I used my own thoughts
I kinda got lost in a smog called reality
Where hell is a fallacy
And heaven is a fantasy created by man
So don't believe in it
You came here with nothing
And you leaving with nothing
So retreat from this world of deceitfulness
My people it's time to rise
Realize it's a heaven whether you think it's inside
Or in the sky,
Reach for it before it's gone internally
And you're stuck here below the heavens for eternity

Whose world is this?
Whose world is this?
Whose world is this?
Whose world is this?

Somebody once told me that I'm already in hell
Freedoms a state of mind and just the heart of me's in hell
I freed my slave mind so a part of me's in hell
So even when it's hard to breathe, a part of me inhales
So pardon me
You gotta' try hard to be yourself
'Cause you can't get to heaven being anybody else
And I was raised by a reverend yet the lessons didn't help
I had to get 'em for myself
I was told hell is hot, But had to feel it for myself
So I left home, as a young child smiling as I stepped on
Facing the world butt naked, without my weapon
I lost my smile and in exchange, I put a vest on
Now that my premature stress is gone
I got problems to face as a man
I was told you either stand or you fall
As long as you know when you walk you holdin' hands with a god
That alone can turn the dark to a walk in the park
I only talk from my heart
So open yours when you listening
Every man has his own heaven the difference is the way that he envisions it
So if you make your heaven pictureless
By the time you die
You'll be driftin' in an imageless field
So build your heaven full of blessed thoughts
That's real, you can stress it or just let it walk
I got a question if a man can make his own heaven
Can he make his path to get to it too?
I only spit fluent truth
And I spit it for the listeners
So I'm spittin' to you
You say it's hell
I say it's bulls' we getting through
Just think about it every man has his own heaven
But s' you gotta' go through hell to be a man first
And understand first
Hell is what you choose to call the present
That's why you're going through it
I just choose to call it stressing
To tell you fools the truth
I don't feel that why I'm destined
So you can call it hell but bro
I'll just say I'm below the heavens

Soak that in for a minute people. Put it on repeat. Let it marinate (c) Cabby

And then there's this.



Which I watch frequently. Why? What's the greater message? How is this empowering?

What ties the 3 together? Nothing. I guess it goes to show the state of duplicity we live in. No conclusion folks, just thoughts, just opinions (c) Justin.