So... its raining outside and consequently I'm feeling moderately melancholy. I love rainy days because it's my favorite pastime, however, I've delved into thoughts yet again and this is one of the times when it's not a good thing. I'm having a love/hate relationship with my dreams. Just try to understand me.
It's funny because everything in Kanye's "I Wonder" holds veritable for me and its boiling over inside of me. I want my dreams to come true so bad that I get lost in my head pleading with time to speed up so that everything I want comes to fruition. But that just isn't the case. I have to understand that the journey to my destiny will be at least as enjoyable as when I get to my plateau. I definitely understand that, but it's really hard. I have so many ideas bursting out of my medulla oblongata and I'm losing control. Kanye is right. These dreams do keep me up at night. I may be losing sleep, but the insomnia is affording me a lot of ideas about what I want to do in the future.
I want to be a catalyst of change so bad but my objective in life at times seems futile. I've been told that the things I think about regularly are way to serious. I've even questioned who I've become. Reading all these books is great and everything but I can equate my internalization of what I read to the way marginalized black folk in "da hood" imbibe gangsta rap.
Sigh.....
I'm definitely a different person than I used to be. And that's cool. But sometimes I don't like it. I don't have too many friends with the same type of cognition that I have about the world and that makes me lonely sometimes. The truth is the truth and that truth is that, socially, you will gravitate towards people who look like you when you're cast into a new environment. Being in college, I've tried finding black males who think the way I think, or who are at least open minded enough to make a friendship between us, and possibly others, endure serious growth. It hasn't worked thus far. Maybe my standards are too high. Maybe the consciousness of people is too low. Who knows. I still have a good pool of friends that I depend on..... but I want more. A friend of mine said that I'm too consumed with aiming for and expecting idealism and I have to realize that reality will set afoot no matter what. She has one hell of a point. (Thanks Bekah)
Sometimes, I just wish I could run away. And make every film I dream of making. Go to Cannes and get those hand claps, sighs, shocks and stares that I anticipate receiving. Time man...time.
Enough with the sadness already. I'm really excited for the summer. I have a good chance of traveling the country while helping groom other young people like myself strengthen themselves as people. That's really cool. I think I'll grow a lot this summer.
The fact that baseball is still popular in this country amazes me. It seems like everyone is infatuated with the 21st century negro's body, ability, and talent. There are hardly any black dudes in baseball and that sport isn't really that athletic. Though, people hit the ball park in droves. Weird. Oh, the Red Sox will repeat this year. All other fans can put their hopes down.
UNC is in the final four! Too exciting. I think I'm going to prepare for the parade in Chapel Hill early. Haha. If this didn't take you 7 minutes to read, I apologize.
Parting Thoughts:
Sometimes, I seriously wonder if my school's dining hall is FDA approved.
I will never figure out the nuances of women.
Bumping umbrellas is annoying.
Jazz is Black people's music. I dare you say otherwise.
I don't like wearing socks to bed. At all.
Eff Jay-Z, when will Black Thought's Kingdom Come?
Over and Out.
Oh yeah, (The) Ghetto Rock(s). Mos Def....initely.
Monday, March 31, 2008
They're really Concerned about this....
Alright so, you don’t have to be a NFL fan to understand this blog, trust me. Apparently, the NFL is in pursuit of issuing a new rule that stipulates while on the field (during the game), you cannot have your hair flowing out of your helmet. Thus you will have to cut it or find some way to keep it from being visible. In other words, if you’re a Negro with dreadlocks, you’re SOL. I mean really? This is straight bullsh*t.
The NFL’s reasoning behind the new rule is that they don’t want anything that isn’t "uniform" or NFL licensed on the field for marketing purposes. It’s just like MLB’s (Major League Baseball for those not privy to sports) rule that says players can’t wear paraphernalia from any other sport during a press conference because they only want MLB licensed material to be seen.
The NFL has also said that they don’t want players being pulled down by their hair while being tackled. It’s dangerous and could lead to serious injury. This is coming from the same league who has over 60 players lobbying for permanent health insurance from the NFL because of an innumerable amount of injuries they incurred while playing. And the NFL won’t subsidize their medical bills. <-----Heartless.
First of all, if you don’t want players being tackled by their hair, make it an effin penalty. And as far as the marketing ploys go, that’s straight bullsh*t. If that’s the case, you mind as well tell players to wear sleeves, gloves, and ski masks so that only NFL stuff will show while they’re on the field.
Bottom line is this, males with dreadlocks in the NFL are being targeted. And that’s grimey. I don’t appreciate the NFL flexing its muscles so it can engage in another paradigm that will marginalize black people. Dreadlocks for these guys is culture and almost religion. It’s like the NFL is trying to put a moratorium on individuality. Mike McKenzie (player for the New Orleans Saints), who has dreadlocks was on First Take (an ESPN morning show) the other day and said that if the NFL employs the rule, he’s willing to go full throttle and pay the fines. I hear you man. He also made a great point which validates why I’m angry. He said that the amount of players in the NFL who have dreadlocks is less than 6% and he feels that group is being targeted.
So the NFL has a problem with long hair? White guys have had long hair in the NFL since the 60’s. Ever hear any complaints sports fans? Nope! Hmmm…. Can you smell racial tension?
This is just like when the NFL employed the other rule that said players can’t celebrate in the endzone. And who was doing that the most? BLACK people. They brought creativity to the game. Those celebrations were off the hook. And I’m pretty sure white people were tuning in on Monday Night Football to see Chad Johnson propose to a cheerleader or see Steve Smith changing the diaper on the football after both scored a touchdown. <--------Hotness. Talk about being animated. Look, if I were a player in the NFL with locks, I wouldn’t play a game until that rule was knocked off the books. Ain’t nobody gone tell me what to do with my hair/culture, that’s right, culture. So let’s go a little abstract here. Let’s say I’m the Black man, and you’re the white man. Let’s talk. So, Mr. White Man, I make you all the money in the world with my athleticism, creativity and charisma.... and you won’t let me have my hair. FU*K YOU!
Look, I love the NFL, and shoutout to the Green Bay Packers, but NFL officials are acting like a bunch of jack in the boxes right now.
Message From Murs: "It’s Rastafari, and we ain’t all high, Just tryna’ uplift, before we all die, its nothin to hide, you wear em’ with pride, if you got em’ then you gotta swing em’ side to side."
Parting Thoughts....
Hall style dormitory bathrooms are disgusting.
Malcolm X was more gangsta than any "thug" you know.
My roommate snores like he’s in the world Olympics of snoring.
I need to stop eating cheeseburgers.
Bowflex commercials make me sick.
My better is better than the world’s better. Ha!
Over and Out.
Oh yeah, Murs Rules The World
Freshman Year.....
Academics:
Ok, so first semester was crummy. Lesson Learned: Never take another 8 o’clock class again. Its not healthy nor does it suit me. For the most part, I did ok though. What I don’t understand though, is why do people take difficult classes without actually researching the course. It seems like everyone comes into college saying to themselves, "I’m gonna take poly-sci and economics". I’m not knocking those classes, but if you’re going to take them, take them because you’re genuiniely interested in the course (or if you need it) and not because its a popular subject you commonly hear in conversation when talking about college academics. Its like when a teenager is being asked what they aspire to be and most times they say a lawyer or a doctor because those two occupations are extremely popular. The truth is, those jobs are fairly uncommon and going back to the course thing; a lot of people were in hell being in those courses after about 3 weeks. So before you click ’Register’, think about it. Make sure you actually like your major too. Wasting time sucks...
What I do like about UNC is that some courses encourage thought, at least in the courses I took. I’m just glad its not super conservative.
People:
Sigh..... This was a dissapointment. I know that they aren’t too many people in the world who think the way I think. But I was thoroughly depressed with the social atmosphere on campus. It suprises me because coming in, I thought there would be a lot of conscious/educated people in college. Thats totally not the case. There are more people here just for career advancement opportunities than people who are actually seeking real knowledge or growth. No wonder most of the forums that actually engage in interesting, potentially life changing, discussions are always near empty. The apathy that exists on this campus saddens me. Though, all I need is a few friends who don’t have myopic minds so we can watch The Boondocks, listen to Coltrane and talk about Che and Angela.
Black People:
Yeah, this definitely deserves to be separated from the "People" category. Don’t get upset. Its not like this is the first time Black people weren’t considered actual people. Check the history.
Ignorance pervades the black community at UNC just like it does anywhere else. But its the level of ignorance thats glaring. I knew it would be a different culture and all emigrating to the South, but some of this (or most of it) is ridiculous. The club scene is crazy. I went once and that was the last time for me.
Quick Story: I met a girl a week before school started and she seemed pretty cool. The next week, I went to the club and she was on stage with just a bra and a sweated out perm. Yeah, she’s a freshman. Tell me about it.
Black females are cool for the most part but the dudes on this campus fustrate me. I don’t understand how you can be at the college level, and still wear your pants off your ass and have chains (of no particular significance) dangling from your melanin filled neck. They’re in an evironment where you would think they would be diverted from internalizing ignorant ideas, yet, they still walk around looking as if they’re chasing affluence. Ridiculous. And if another dude acknowledges me by saying nigga, I’m gonna go off. You would think after at least taking one Afri/Afro-American Studies class that you would cease using that word. I guess not. I love how everyone walks around claiming black pride but almost everyone degrades each other. And here’s the kicker: They don’t see a problem with it!
Also, and mabye this is an extension of southern culture, everyone is super religious. If you hit up most of these facebook pages, all you see is "I couldn’t be anything without Him", "I love the Lord". Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don’t think God is into degradation and nigg(a)er is degrading no matter how you use it.
"Yo what’s up nigga." "What’s good nigga, where you headed?". "I’m out to church my nigga. It’s easter ya digg". "Aiight my nigga, I’ll hit you up later".
^Thats not a problem? Right.
Sports:
Sports are huge on this campus and I have to admit that it consumes me pretty often. I went to most of the football games and the experience was going really well until the end of the game......when we lost.....most of the time. B-Ball games can be corny if there’s a blowout. You almost have to hope someone comes into the Dean Dome and challenges the team just so you don’t get trapped into acting sullen with the person next you because they keeping trying to initiate conversation amid the boredom. Actually, my favorite sporting event this year was at a soccer game against Duke. It was intense and we won in overtime. As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, me and some friends ran into Duke’s student section and raised hell. That was definitely fun.
Housing:
Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, ignorant people exist. I’m moving to another part of campus next year. Will I escape them? Probably not. But just like being a part of "da struggle", there’s hope.
Parting thoughts....
B.E.T. is still whack.
Baisden After Dark<--------Huge Dissapointment
Hip Hop is suffering.
I need to learn how to cook.
Sometimes, putting a book down is a good thing.
The B-Ball team is taking it this year.
I want a new friend.
Over and Out
Oh yeah, Free Chilly.
Ok, so first semester was crummy. Lesson Learned: Never take another 8 o’clock class again. Its not healthy nor does it suit me. For the most part, I did ok though. What I don’t understand though, is why do people take difficult classes without actually researching the course. It seems like everyone comes into college saying to themselves, "I’m gonna take poly-sci and economics". I’m not knocking those classes, but if you’re going to take them, take them because you’re genuiniely interested in the course (or if you need it) and not because its a popular subject you commonly hear in conversation when talking about college academics. Its like when a teenager is being asked what they aspire to be and most times they say a lawyer or a doctor because those two occupations are extremely popular. The truth is, those jobs are fairly uncommon and going back to the course thing; a lot of people were in hell being in those courses after about 3 weeks. So before you click ’Register’, think about it. Make sure you actually like your major too. Wasting time sucks...
What I do like about UNC is that some courses encourage thought, at least in the courses I took. I’m just glad its not super conservative.
People:
Sigh..... This was a dissapointment. I know that they aren’t too many people in the world who think the way I think. But I was thoroughly depressed with the social atmosphere on campus. It suprises me because coming in, I thought there would be a lot of conscious/educated people in college. Thats totally not the case. There are more people here just for career advancement opportunities than people who are actually seeking real knowledge or growth. No wonder most of the forums that actually engage in interesting, potentially life changing, discussions are always near empty. The apathy that exists on this campus saddens me. Though, all I need is a few friends who don’t have myopic minds so we can watch The Boondocks, listen to Coltrane and talk about Che and Angela.
Black People:
Yeah, this definitely deserves to be separated from the "People" category. Don’t get upset. Its not like this is the first time Black people weren’t considered actual people. Check the history.
Ignorance pervades the black community at UNC just like it does anywhere else. But its the level of ignorance thats glaring. I knew it would be a different culture and all emigrating to the South, but some of this (or most of it) is ridiculous. The club scene is crazy. I went once and that was the last time for me.
Quick Story: I met a girl a week before school started and she seemed pretty cool. The next week, I went to the club and she was on stage with just a bra and a sweated out perm. Yeah, she’s a freshman. Tell me about it.
Black females are cool for the most part but the dudes on this campus fustrate me. I don’t understand how you can be at the college level, and still wear your pants off your ass and have chains (of no particular significance) dangling from your melanin filled neck. They’re in an evironment where you would think they would be diverted from internalizing ignorant ideas, yet, they still walk around looking as if they’re chasing affluence. Ridiculous. And if another dude acknowledges me by saying nigga, I’m gonna go off. You would think after at least taking one Afri/Afro-American Studies class that you would cease using that word. I guess not. I love how everyone walks around claiming black pride but almost everyone degrades each other. And here’s the kicker: They don’t see a problem with it!
Also, and mabye this is an extension of southern culture, everyone is super religious. If you hit up most of these facebook pages, all you see is "I couldn’t be anything without Him", "I love the Lord". Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don’t think God is into degradation and nigg(a)er is degrading no matter how you use it.
"Yo what’s up nigga." "What’s good nigga, where you headed?". "I’m out to church my nigga. It’s easter ya digg". "Aiight my nigga, I’ll hit you up later".
^Thats not a problem? Right.
Sports:
Sports are huge on this campus and I have to admit that it consumes me pretty often. I went to most of the football games and the experience was going really well until the end of the game......when we lost.....most of the time. B-Ball games can be corny if there’s a blowout. You almost have to hope someone comes into the Dean Dome and challenges the team just so you don’t get trapped into acting sullen with the person next you because they keeping trying to initiate conversation amid the boredom. Actually, my favorite sporting event this year was at a soccer game against Duke. It was intense and we won in overtime. As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, me and some friends ran into Duke’s student section and raised hell. That was definitely fun.
Housing:
Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, ignorant people exist. I’m moving to another part of campus next year. Will I escape them? Probably not. But just like being a part of "da struggle", there’s hope.
Parting thoughts....
B.E.T. is still whack.
Baisden After Dark<--------Huge Dissapointment
Hip Hop is suffering.
I need to learn how to cook.
Sometimes, putting a book down is a good thing.
The B-Ball team is taking it this year.
I want a new friend.
Over and Out
Oh yeah, Free Chilly.
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