WORK

...because monday was "labour day" & because the studio sessions have such a genuine quality to them & because the capitalist wheel never stops spinning & because i've never thought about music in such specific terms

Duty and Unity: On the Form and Function of Labour in Bob Marley’s “Work”

As a pioneer in the development of the reggae aesthetic, Bob Marley is often credited with injecting the fresh cultural and nationalist product of the newly independent Jamaican state into the worldwide mainstream. However this has created a cult-like consumption of the music even penetrating the academia, as reflected in the sparse scholarship dealing with his musical canon as serious works of lyrical, poetic, and pedagogical value. There exists a large body of literature dealing with Rastafarianism generally and Marley’s engagement with this anomalistic spirituality, but with the exception of some of his better-known songs such as “One Love”, “No Woman No Cry”, and “Redemption Song”, there is a lack of critical writing addressing most of his poetry. For this reason I will be exploring in more depth the song “Work” from Uprising (1980), the last album released by Bob Marley and The Wailers before Marley’s death in 1981, a song which is relatively obscure and who’s structure is “simple” in contrast to much of Bob Marley’s work. By approaching this song as both a reggae-infused version of the labouror/ prisoner’s chant, and a musical spiritual-sermon of sorts, I hope to engage in a conversation dealing with the complex shift of tone in Marley’s aesthetic, particularly at this climactic time for him personally and for Jamaican culture at large. In working within the limits of this paper’s length, I will therefore focus on the repetitive value and deceptive simplicity of the song’s lyrics in regards to their poetic appeal. As this is a performed piece of literature (i.e. a song), I will also briefly link these ideas to some of the sonic features, including the rhythm, tempo, and vocals. By doing this analysis I hope to gain some more insight into the piece’s overall tone as a dismal commentary on the futility of the “work” (required of “Jah’s people”), and the prospective reward offered by this endeavor—a commentary, contradictory as it were, of a lower-class musician turned spiritual leader made acutely aware of his own lingering mortality.

By the time Uprising had been released, reggae music had come to develop as a globally recognized musical genre deeply associated with pioneering figures like Bob Marley—its Rastafarian influence and association with liberationist movements built on principles of self-reliance and self-confidence worked to create a cultural niche for a society whose ancestors’ own cultures were purposefully omitted and obscured. This sense of communal independence and the utilitarian work ethic required to sustain it is evident in the song’s opening lines, “We Jah people can make it work/ Come together and make it work, yeah!” Marley calls out to the listener—immediately compelling a tone of unity and duty. The singer then repeats “We can make it work” (x2), a sense of agency cast in urgency (the lyrics themselves as well as their repetition) made immediately comprehensible in the first bars. The idea of agency relates to the song’s subjectivity and begs the question of who the “We” being invoked are, a topic which requires its own discussion and therefore cannot be paid the attention it is due in this paper. I will comment, however, that in implicating himself—a best-selling, world-famous, infamously mixed-race artist—with this “We”, Bob Marley relocates the song from a place of worker’s anthem to a transcendent position whose meaning may not be so visceral—this “We” has more in common than just lifestyle and class or social status.

The musical background coincided with the political scene in Jamaica at the time, one centred on the region’s Socialist craze of the mid-20^th century and reflected in the names of leading political parties such as the JLP, or Jamaican Labour Party. This sort of context is amplified by the reality of Jamaica’s historical development as a slave colony, a dismal narrative that is invoked by the spirit of labour ringing through the economically-unstable island nation, predominantly composed of wage-laborours (Hodges, 2005). Bob Marley notoriously referred to his music as ‘the people’s noise’, or some variation of this, and it therefore follows that much of his music would reflect the day-to-day routine of much of the island’s population. This sense of the circuitousness of history, paired with the strong ethos of labour in modern Jamaica, is reflected in the stanza that follows. By counting down days, Marley invokes the tradition of the worker (or prisoner’s) chant, which plays into the piece’s thematic significance of the futility of the labour needed to ‘keep the wheels spinning’.

By universalizing this, Marley reminds the reader that such a task is ongoing and exhaustive—a function that parallels the mood of desperation created by the repetition from the preceding bars. The dignity of the work bestowed on “Jah people” from the first line seems to be negated or at least undermined by the “countdown bars”; despite the level of collaborative effort that may be required, it all seems futile, Sisyphean in the sense that it will always be “for the next day” and the next and the next and so on. This is highlighted by the final line of the stanza, for even when there is but “one day to go”, the work is far from over, as: “Every day is work—work—work—work—work!”. By singing the “work” notes specifically to the down-beat of the tempo, the music emphasizes the dismal mood captured by the repetition of that word. In watching a live in-studio performance of the song, one can sense the shifts in the grain Marley’s voice as he sings the countdown—notably missing from this portion of the song are the colourful ad libs (the “woy-ah-ya-ya”s and “ooh”s which play a crucial role in Marley’s sound specifically and in reggae’s reliance on what Kamau Brathwaite calls “national language” (Brathwaite, 1984). When one considers the fatigue of constant touring and recording and Marley’s declining health due to cancer, this sonic shift takes on more personal meaning.

In fact, the song’s turning point can be located after this initial countdown segment. Rather than entirely give way to the despair of unending labour, the doubling or mirror effect of the “We can make it work” imbues Marley with the same sense of insistence it did earlier, but is now made more functional because it follows the chant-like anthem of the worker’s countdown. In other words, the sense of over-simplfication and futility acts as a reminder of how imperative the task at hand is, and Marley convinces the listener that all of the efforts will mean that we can make it work (repeated again, in case some are still non-believers). The simplicity and uniformity of the song’s basic rhythm is then challenged with the guitar solo that follows, a break from the slow, down-beat rhythm heavily concentrated in the bass and drum instrumentals of the music. Once again the “We” that is being invoked is emphasized both vocally and rhythmically with a longer beat count.

The temporal and spatial distance provided by the countdown in between—which itself acts as a device of paradox, for what is the “it” being made to “work” if the process is perpetual and circuitous—also adds another layer of meaning and tone to this doubling. As with the song’s opening Marley calls on the listener to involve him or herself into the active process through a sense of duty, but now he must also confront the task of convincing the ‘workers’ that their efforts are not only worthwhile, but necessary to the functioning of a sovereign and autonomous socio-political entity on one hand, and an infinite spiritual salvation for the individual on the other. This sense of mission and spiritual duty vested in unity of “Jah people” is very much in tune with the body of music created by Bob Marley and The Wailers, especially in these later periods. However, “Work” is different from some of these songs not only in its relative lack of complex poetical and rhetorical devices, but because of less incendiary lyrics and tone.

It is then understandable why the stanza that follows is yet another repetition of the first stanza, contributing to the song’s overall deceptively simple structure and reflecting the tone of urgency, calling-on, and reassurance. After providing a somewhat clearer understanding of all that rests on this critical duty, Marley reverts back to the countdown form for the song’s final stanza. This time, the sense of repetition and doubling helps remind the ‘worker’ (i.e. the audience, who is implicated in the ‘process of labour’ as both listener of the music and recipient of spiritual and pedagogical sermon) also works to reinforce the urgency. As reflected in Bob Marley’s personal (and by now, fleeting) life, it is precisely because of how important the metaphorical “next day” is that all of this labour must be performed. This layer of meaning is also represented in the texture of the final verse, like when the melody begins to stray and display an improvisation as he sings, “Say we got, one day to go now/”. In a further instance of ‘impromtu’ musical variation, here we are reintroduced to Marley’s well-known vocal “ad-libbing” techniques, the “oooh-ooh-ooh” found near the end and the ‘wotcha”, etc., which convey a wide meter of feelings which range from fatigue, overworkedness, and anguish to commandeering, elation, and euphoria–elusive emotion impossible to capture with such vivacity in the lyrics and instrumentals themselves.

The final lyric of the song provides its own wealth of insight, as Marley ends the song with “If you aint got nothing to do/…./We got some work for you”—retaining his position as both labour and spiritual leader, as one who has the authority to assign “work” to the idle. It is worth noting here the importance of the background context in fully comprehending the discourse of mission in Marley’s music. A quick scan through the lyrics reveals that the nature of the “work” Marley alludes to is never explicitly stated in the lyrics. The “work” that he seems to refer to is found throughout the messages in his musical canon, as well as the personal example he provided through his own practices. In recalling the far more circulated “Redemption Song” from the same album, the tasks that are required of “Jah people” are not like the material tasks challenging the labouror, for “redemption is not simply destiny. It is work—redemption works—that is the product of dispersed networks of belonging that bind us as people.” (Hill, 2010). In fact, the “work” seems to be intentionally obscured and therefore open to interpretation, such as in the final stanza when the countdown has reached “one day to go”, and just as the singer begins “working for—“, he is cut short and the listener is forced to do his or her own work to fully engage in the song and it’s meaning. 

WORKS CITED

Brathwaite, Kamau. History of the Voice: The Development of Nation Language in Anglophone Caribbean Poetry. London: New Beacon, 1984.

Hill, Robert A. "Redemption Works: From “African Redemption” to “Redemption Song”." Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas 43.2 (2010): 200-07.

Hodges, H. "Walk Good: West Indian Oratorical Traditions in Bob Marley's Uprising." The Journal of Commonwealth Literature 40.2 (2005): 43-63.

Marley, Bob. "Work." Uprising. Bob Marley & The Wailers. Tuff Gong/Island Records, 1980. Recording.

(ORIGINALLY SUBMITTED IN 2014)

Guaranteed Basic Income

Free Lunch Sociey trailer


I watched this engaging documentary on my return flight and I've been thinking about its contents ever since. Free Lunch Society explores the idea of a guaranteed basic income: a payment made to individuals that ensures a minimum income level, regardless of employment status. It features discussions among economists, political scientists, sociologists, and other -ists about its advantages  and disadvantages. Interspersed in the debates is a collection of archival footage, including Martin Luther's resistance struggle against President L.B.J's "war on poverty".

 The film provides a good introduction and presents the idea as a realistic possibility—highlighting different communities that have already experimented with the concept—rather than a romantic radical fantasy. In fact, the Ontario government just finished the first phase of a basic income pilot project in Hamilton, with plans to launch in Brantford, Brant County, Lindsay and Thunder Bay.

The Airplane Boys: Born to Be VISUALS

BORN TO BE

The Airplane Boys

Director, Editor and D.O.P: Warren Credo

Produced by Stampede Management

Styling and Still Photography: Justin Create

Production Assistance: Justin Li, Kyle Credo, Kenny Enrera, Brian Nagallo, Jamie Fernandes and Chris Drakes

I was actually awed by the sheer art of this film. Amazing video for a great song off of The Airplane Boys' "Where Have You Been" tape.
Enjoy!

Download it at:
http://www.theairplaneboys.com/

The hero-villain dichotomy

The idea of the hero is one that seems to preoccupy Western culture, forming the basis for much of the literature, film, philosophy, and other popular-culture mediums that compose it. Our willingness to decorate soldiers and firefighters, play cops and robbers, obsessively consume old Western cowboy films or ancient mythology, and immortalize comic-book super-heroes all point to our eagerness to ascribe “hero” and “villain” roles. However, as one often comes to conclude, we must take a more discretional approach when examining who is a hero, and conversely, who is a villain. In fact, the issue is far more complex than a mere categorization of individuals or groups under either of these titles—most of the time, things are not always so black and white. Recently I devoured a book that reawakened these exact sentiments in me:

In her collection of poems under the title Ghettostocracy, Canadian author, poet, and spoken-word artist extraordinaire Oni the Hatian Sensation reawakens the “Black” community with a strong message: in order to understand the community’s needs and work to rebuild it, we must first work from within. An important step in this process is to reexamine the important figures that we collectively hold to be heroes. Oni invites readers to reassess our widely-accepted, if not imposed, understanding of what it means to be a hero or a villain in a number of ways. One important approach Oni takes is to present alternate perceptions of the hero and villain archetypes in our society by referencing specific individuals and general archetypes.
One of the most obvious themes in the Ghettostocracy poems is epitomized in her presentations of characters such as cops, politicians, church leaders, etc.—all who share the common denominator of being categorized as archetypal heroes in modern society. In fact, what Oni’s work suggests is that such figures are more often the “villains” than they are the “heroes”. Conversely, in her presentation of the “hood-hero” (inner-city neighbourhood “hero”), Oni shows that what mainstream society has deemed villainous may actually be held as valiant by certain members of society.

One of these perceived hero-types is characterized by “Reverend Seymour Cash”. This self-proclaimed “man of God” (who was at onetime a pimp) is still nothing more than a corrupt, greedy, evil man who exploits the community he pretends to uplift. Rev. Seymour, as Oni explains in the poem “Ghettostocracy” has “just raped the ghetto to escape into the upper class.” When he is presented again in the poem “Church” Seymour Cash is still the “sinistah ministah” he was in “Ghettostocracy”, this time explicitly partaking in deviant sexual activity with members of his clergy; one of the most revered community leaders, often looked to for moral guidance and leadership, is reduced to nothing short of a villain.

Other such embodiments of this concept are the cops and politicians found throughout Ghettostocracy. Unlike the courageous, caring, public-service-providing figures mainstream society idealizes such characters as, Oni’s references present them as detrimental, dishonest, and doing less to help the community than to exploit it. For example, she challenges the heroic legitimacy of our elected officials and politicians in “Elocution”, suggesting that the only way these people attain such sight-after positions is through a combination of sexual deviance and manipulation:

“Illiterate children in high school  

Sucking teacher’s dick to get through

Shortly, they are on their way to college-acknowledged.

Some get raped and graduate,

Then become head of state…” 

Such lines also draw attention to the tragic cycle, suggesting that had these “children” been properly guided and educated, rather than exploited by their teachers, they may have acted as positive agents within the community instead.

 Even the United Nations is not spared from this criticism. Rather than actually function effectively, if at all, Oni renders the U.N crippled, helpless, and compliant in their silence in the poem “Why Keep Score”:

“United Nations, who are we?

Invisible witnesses to world catastrophes.” 

But perhaps the most-visited hero archetypes in Ghettostocracy are the cops. We live in a society that largely idealizes the role of the cop in the personal lives of community members. But, the cop characters in the Ghettostocracy poems are instead portrayed as brutal, unjust, and racist, effectively blurring the line between cop and criminal. We are first introduced to this motif of villainous police in “New York Streets”:

“Police, cops, walking the beat,

On their feet, in the streets,

Are beating big Black boys, with their toys…” 

This scathing criticism is revisited in “I Am Not Ashamed To Say That I Am in Pain”, as she comments on what she perceives to be a lack of “morality” from our police heroes:

“Morality?

Hah! Most police aint got none:

Pulling triggers on a gun,

Aiming at the young (cause they think its fun),

Having brothers on the run until their lives are done…” 

Ghettostocracy is rife with references to popular cultural “hero-villain” figures- two of the more notable references being, first to Al Capone, then to Michael Jackson. In “What Happened to Michael Jackson?”, Oni attacks the race message she insists Michael Jackson makes through his orientation to typically “white” norms. When asked by her son whether he too will “be white when I grow up?” Oni replies that rather than naturally progressing to this, Micheal Jackon’s bleached skin and “political perm” are nothing more than sad attempts to surrender his “blackness”, playing into “hollyweird’s” obsession with trying to “make black colours nonexistent”. Oni’s critique of Michael Jackson reaches its climax when she suggests that Micheal Jackson is aware of this black demonization, but continues to sustain it: “Me thinks that Michael Jackson really knows this…”.

In “Gangster Alliance”, Oni speaks about the rampant gang violence within inner-city communities, particularly the streak of violence in South Central L.A in 2002. Oni’s allusion to Al Capone is particularly interesting in that she seems to absolve him from wrongdoing in this specific instance, a blame that has been imposed on the notorious mobster explicitly and implicitly by those in power. Al Capone is on one hand often characterized as a ruthless, manipulative, violent man of crime, and his legacy is often that of giving birth to organized crime in America. Whether this is wholly or in part true is of little concern to Oni, and as she suggests, should not be to us. The “inner city war zones” she speaks of in “Gangster Alliance” are “not caused by Al Capone”. On the other hand, Al Capone’s services to his community cannot altogether be ignored by his participation in criminal activity, as exemplified by his common characterization as a Robin Hood in popular culture. Oni asserts this dichotomy in “Iambic Pain”:

“Moors are not bandits

Some are misunderstood.

Robin Hood was cool-

Trotting on minions rule…” 

Oni’s reference to Al Capone implies this idea of dual-identity—what some may view as hero, others view as villain, but who is right? Perhaps, as the character in “Making Scents” exclaims “And to think I once thought you were a winner!” what the community would benefit much more from is a reassessment of those people they deem “winner”- or heroes...

Canadian author, poet, and spoken-word artist extraordinaire Oni the Hatian Sensation

I came across these AWESOME Simpsonsesque images done by digital artist Meowza Katz. Each of the Simpsons-inspired images is a rendition of some of the most recognized, famous pieces done by well known artists.

Check it out:

Here is a version of Edvard Munch's The Scream , originally done in variations between 1893-1910:

And of course, a version of Andy Warhol's 1960s-era Marilyn Monroe piece:

One of the most recognized and parodied pieces done by Grant Woods in 1930, American Gothic:

And no set of renditions would be complete without a Vincent van Gogh piece, this one is his Self Portrait done in 1889:

                                                                            

"Hip Hop is Bigger Than the Occupation"

Existence is Resistance Presents: Hip Hop is Bigger Than the Occupation

"A Film By Existence is Resistance and Nana Dankwa about a musical tour to Palestine teaching resistance through the arts. Featuring M1 of Dead Prez, Lowkey, Shadia Mansour, Marcel Cartier, Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose, DJ Vega Benetton, SWYC, University of Hip Hop, Jody McIntyre and many more.... for more information on upcoming tours and about the organization please click here"

Gonna try my best to find out about when and where this film is released...

Floresta Amazônica

As a kid, we all that one thing we were tooootally interested in, for our own silly reasons.
But while my friends (and yours too, probably) collected Pokemon cards, built dinosaur models, or exchanged Barbie shoes, I was into rainforests.
Like, my obsession was bordering on hysteria. I would collect facts, browse through pictures in books, and try to convince my mom to "adopt" acres of the Amazon.
So today I decided to reignite that old childhood flame and came across these amazing pictures...

Waka does PETA

I'm not quite sure I know how to feel about this...

The CHRONICles: Can we get much higher?

The visuals for one of my favourite 2011 (or is it technically 2010?) songs: Kanye West- All of The Lights

Besides an appearance made by both Rihanna and Kid Cudi, you can also expect (or at least have a very good chance of expecting) a seizure!
When you see the lights, you'll know what I mean. Think Simpsons episode when they watch that seizure-inducing cartoon in Japan meets Hype Williams (who directed this joint).
Btw, the video comes complete with a warning that it may cause severe seizures.
Enjoy!




MY FAVOURITE SCENES??
By far:

The CHRONICles: I'm Bi-winning

LOL.

Possibly the quote that will define 2011?

Jay Z: "These lyrics are a cry for help" (video)

Jay Z explains how his style went from being centred around technique (flow, etc.) to being more lyrically-focused after gaining "more life experiences":

"For people, don't just judge us as ignorant kids, or drug dealers...Its much more than that... Its layers of complex things thats going in our house, in our homes, in our hallways...

Just imagine your kid growing up in the middle of Marcy Projects when it was fiends in the hallway and shootouts  on Sundays at 12 noon... or seeing someone get killed for the first time at 9 years old.

Imagine that.

So, here's why these things are happening and heres what we're going through... and why... so understand, and 

help.

A lot of these lyrics are strong in nature because they're defiant... but at in the end of it, its all a cry for help..."

Israeli Apartheid Week: Toronto

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an annual international series of events held in cities and campuses across the globe. The aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) and last year IAW took place in over 40 countries. Events include lectures, films, and actions that will draw attention to the many continuous injustices that  are crucial in the battle to end Israeli Apartheid.

From website:

"The aim of IAW is to contribute to this chorus of international opposition to Israeli apartheid and to bolster support for the BDS campaign in accordance with the demands outlined in the July 2005 Statement: full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, an end to the occupation and colonization of all Arab lands – including the Golan Heights, the Occupied West Bank with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – and dismantling the Wall, and the protection of Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in U.N. resolution 194. In previous years IAW has played an important role in raising awareness and disseminating information about Zionism, the Palestinian liberation struggle and its similarities with the indigenous sovereignty struggle in North America and the South African anti-apartheid movement. Join us in making this a year of struggle against apartheid and for justice, equality, and peace."

Now here's a little schedule of all the events taking place in Toronto. For more information or to check out some of the events in other cities, CLICK HERE.


Interrogating Apartheid: Campus as a Site of Resistance
Monday March 7th , 7 PM
University of Toronto: Fitzgerald Building, Room 103
Speakers: Judy Rebick, Abbie Bakan, and SAIA (Students Against Israeli Apartheid)


Film Screening: Jaffa the Oranges Clockwork 
Tuesday March 8th
Ryerson University
Film by: Eyal Sivan


The Cultural and Academic Boycott
Wednesday March 9th, 7 PM
University of Toronto, Bahen Auditorium, Room 1160
Speaker: Judith Butler


York's Complicity in Apartheid: Art, Culture and Resistance
Thursday March 10th
 York University
Speakers: Paul Kellogg, John Greyson and SAIA


State of the Siege, State of the Struggle: The case for Boycott Divestment, Sanctions
Friday March 11th, 7 PM
University of Toronto, OISE Auditorium, G162 (First Floor)
Speakers: Riham Barghouti and Ali Abunimah

Models in hamster balls...

K I haven't seen this show since like the 3rd or 4th cycle, but boy was I glad to tune into the latest episode of the newest season this week to see this...



LOOOOL!
The 4th time around, and this is STILL hilarious! They look like hamsters in those little plastic roaming balls...haha..
Oh yeah, and the "I'm bout to leave this bitch with a bang" line is priceless...

I Need a Doctor

FINALLY! Some visuals for one of my favourite songs to emerge from 2011 so far: I NEED A DOCTOR.

Obviously I love Eminem (as any hiphop fan will most likely have to admit), but I think Skylar Grey's voice is dope on this beat and super believable.

Oh hey, did I mention DRE IS ALIVE??? LOL. Not only is he alive, he seem's to be alive an healthily sporting a more muscularly defined physique. 

Not really a fan of all that futuristic, test tube, robot shit (ugh, anyone remember the video for "In Da Club"?), but I am sooo amped to see various clips from all our favourite Eminem-Dre moments. Who else walked down memory lane when all those N.W.A clips played? sigh... just a friendly reminder of where this generation's hiphop helped derive from...

ENJOY!

Ramzo:I Need a Doctor "Remix"?

For some reason, I actually don't hate it.
I love Skylar Grey's vocals on the original track- they're just so desperate and believable, even a little soothing in their gentle scratchiness.
The verses are alrightm incomparable to Eminem obviously but not terrible for someone who doesn't claim to be a rapper.
Overall, I like the reworking of the beat, Ramzo's own spin on the hook, and the choice of track.

"Against the Wall": William Parry & the Art of Resistance

"It’s a means of communicating about injustice. It’s one means of getting a message across. The more people who learn about Israel’s crimes, the more who challenge the West’s blind backing of Israel – the quicker Israel’s incredibly sophisticated military machine will be undermined. The spray can is part of the spectrum of other creative, non-violent ways being undertaken by civil society to raise awareness, challenge historical narratives and overcome injustice..."

- William Parry 

Is the spray can mightier than the sword?

British photojournalist William Parry thinks so. He's the author of Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine. Parry travelled extensively throughout the West Bank & Occupied Territories collecting photos of the artwork that covers the wall dividing the region from Israel.  Being careful to include a thought-provoking variety of images and graffiti, he contrasts each image with a vignette of a Palestinian community that lives with the daily reality of the ugly "security" wall and all that it represents.

The book features artwork from Banksy, Ron English, Blu and Palestinian artists and activists.

Here are some of the images from the wall, which has been recently called "the largest protest banner in the world":

Here's William Parry in a BBC interview from a few years back speaking on the book and some of the artwork on the wall (as pictured above)...




William Parry will be in Canada next month for a serious of lectures called Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine.
go to www.cjpme.org/ for more info.

Die Hard: Lego Style

If you're like me and have the fortune of having Reading Week (a.k.a those 5 days your university gives you in February to "catch up on workload" and "study") this week, then you might be sitting at home spending unhealthy amounts of time in front of your computer/TV screen. Actually, thats exactly what I've been doing for the most part.
Anyway, I've got the perfect way to spend 3 minutes or more of your time.

Check out this video,
"Die Hard: Lego Style"
by Arash Khoshnazar

Before you watch this, keep in mind that the entire video was shot using a technique called stop-motion (or stop-action). Basically, the little Lego dudes were manipulated into poses for individual photo frames, and then the frames were edited into a sequence to make it look like fluid movement...
That's right, every movement you see is a series of frames positioned that way.



Dope, huh?
 Well the short was submitted to Edward Jameson's "Done in 60 Seconds" Competition. The film is one of 20 that made it, with over hundreds of hopefuls submitting their work.

If you thought that was as cool as I did, PLEASE VOTE BY CLICKING HERE and checking "Die Hard". You can vote as much as you want, but it ends in 2 days!!

Dr. Norman Finkelstein: Radical Intellectual

He's been pegged as not just an "anti-Semite", but a "self-hating Jew". Some have even gone so far as to call him "an enabler of terrorism". But one person I've looked up to and respected greatly, and informed myself about at lengths is Dr. Norman Finkelstein.

This is a man whose parent's have been directly affected by the horrors of the Holocaust- both being the only to escape slaughter from each of their families- but who continues to maintain one of the loudest anti-Zionist voices in America and abroad. His distinctly strong views, rooted in a well-researched academic past, have gained notoriety among respected intellectuals, like Nom Chomsky. But hearing interview responses and speeches he's done, Dr. Finkelstein continues to assert he is not at all deserving of "being put on a pedestal"- anybody in his position should and would be doing the same. He's published a lot of work, including his controversial books The Holocaust Industry, and ‘This Time We Went Too Far’ – Truth & Consequences of the Gaza Invasion.

Although his resume boasts of impressive positions at top Ivy League schools, critics have claimed "he's not a teacher, he's a propagandist". People continue to harass him on a daily basis, going so far as to vandalize his property and relentlessly call for his eviction from his New York home. He's been banned from travelling to Israel for 10 years, infamously made a slew of different remarks in defense of Hezbollah, and travelled throughout Lebanon and the Occupied Territories on a speaking tour (any Jew reading this will understand the gravity of that gesture).

Next Wednesday, February 16, Dr. Norman Finkelstein will be making an appearance in Toronto at York University in an event called "Israel, Palestine and the Muslim World: Where are we headed?" You can click
right here to check out more info on this event, and some similar ones in other areas of the country.

Anyways, I continue to observe this fascinating man with a vigilence. His opposing sides are highlighted very well in the documentary "American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein".

HERE, is perhaps one of my favourite clips because I think its such an accurate portrayal of who this brilliant man is:

"Cabs are Hea" and other reasons why I LOVE Jersey Shore

I was talking to a couple of friends today and the conversation randomly turned to Jersey Shore. Apparently, out of all those present during this conversation, I was the only person who'd watched more than 20 minutes of Jersey Shore. And believe me, I've watched A LOT MORE than 20 minutes of this (I think) hilariously entertaining show. But when push came to shove, I really cannot explain my fascination with guidos and guidettes of the Shore.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not really a "TV person" anymore (I get in a like 5 hours a week), and I don't even really watch that "genre" (can you call it that?). As a matter of fact, there's only a small handful of shows I actually follow. Most all of those are documentary type shows (Discovery Channel, anyone?)

Yet something draws me to these over-tanned, overly-dramatic, publicity whores.
I mean I get it. I'm sure "Snooki" doesn't go home to her adoptive parents' home dressed like an overweight cougar, chugging on a bottle of Patron. Just like I'm sure (or at least, I sure hope) Mike isn't actually the douchebag he appears to be every week.

But there's something that's appealing, hey even satisfying, about watching these over-exaggerated characters on TV. They make me laugh, they're in-your-face, they drink like fish and party like, well, guidos- AND, they're harmless. They may get drunk on every episode, sing catchy cab-themed songs, fight and bang each other, but the worst crime they commit (aside from their innumerable fashion faux pas) is to churn out annoying catch-phrase after annoying catch-phrase.
Plus, that accent is just so damn catchy. It's like a never-ending "Goodfellas" (minus the incredible cinematography, classic roles, grade A acting, and well, mob-themed content). But the big hair-dos, chit-chatty gossip, Italian references, and charming Jersey-style goofing around are all there.


The Jersey Shore is the 21st century equivalent of pulp fiction. 

So maybe I don't have the best reasons, but whatever the case, you can say that Jersey Shore is a guilty pleasure of mine ! And the next time you find yourself fist-pumping in the club, I remind you that there's a little tanned, hair-gel-abusing drunk in all of us...


I leave you all with this HILARIOUS interview, done by MTV Canada's Paul the Intern and Jersey Shore castmate Ronnie.

30 Day Challenge: DAY 13: My favourite artist

Day 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist.

"Nas is like..

Sex to a nympho, but nothin sweet
I'm like beef, bustin heat through your windows
I'm like a street sweeper, greenleaf reaper
Like Greeks in Egypt, learnin somethin deep from they teachers
I'm like crime, like your nine, your man you would die for
Always got you, I'm like Pac, dude you would cry for
I'm like a whole lot of loot, I'm like crisp money
Corporate accounts from a rich company
I'm like ecstasy for ladies, I'm like all races
combined in one man; like the '99 summer jam
Bulletproof Hummer man
I'm like being locked down around new faces, and none of em fam'
I'm the feelin of a millionaire spendin a hundred grand
I'm a poor man's dream, a thug poet
Live it, and I write down and I watch it blow up
Y'all know what I'm like, y'all play it your system every night

"Nas is like life or death.. I'm a rebel.. "
"My poetry's deep, I never fell.."
"Nas is like.. half man half amazing.."
"No doubt.."

- NAS