Even Bigger Words

Art Form: Writing
Genre/Type: Poetry






Vocabulous verve by Kuamel Stewart

I have an affection for words, but my affinity for these words has been deemed by my peers as an affliction,
I have become the target of a verbal firing squad exclaiming sounds of disappointment for my use in diction,
The logophile in me was not born in the imagination of my mind to exude an intellectual ability that is built upon fiction,
So do not call it complicated,
I have reiterated,
That the sight and sound of infinite syllables connecting together to form clauses as one of the many viable options of transferring the conjuring of thought and vagrancy into inscription comprises what I call “expression formulated",
Do not reject my prose,
But rather reach back within the depths of your mind and discover the will to learn and interpret that which you do not understand and thus upon the extension of your purview you will attain more depth in your soul,
My words are not a farce,
I do not seek to impress just so that I can cajole the weak-minded into believing that I am a unique purveyor of written art,
The imperfections of this socio-political and economic society has inspired me to use the pen, pencil, and keyboard as a tool to fight against the rise of stupidity, apathy, ignorance and every ill-mannered intention of those who have not embraced the beauty of solidarity, sanctum, equality and the essence of love
And this, is my love,
I am but the continuation of yet another human vessel utilizing the art to inform, subsequent to the concretization of the works of the Angelous, Wrights, Emersons, Woodsons, Baldwins, Hurstons, Williams’, Whitmans’, Fitzgeralds’ and the long line of scribes who realize that the beauty of humanity to think and reason should be supplemented by the action of sharing thought through the use of ink, scrolls, hieroglyphics, books, journals, diaries, graffiti and now blogs,
This is my passion,
I hope that they will ration,
And understand,
That when my fingers feverishly tap the keys I am liberated from the bounds of the fear of mortality,
These words are the signature of my expression and they give the imprint of my thought on the world long after my exit from this life vitality,
So no, I will not reason
Every medium that I can use to inject these thoughts into the veins of this society, shall for that moment, become my season,
My world.
I implore the pundits to remember the possibility that the great writers who scribed before us were once heckled for their obsession of scrambling the letters of the alphabet into stories that we now revere, extol and seek to emulate,
So before you gauge,
And exact upon my written products your feeble-minded rage spawned by the very misunderstandings in your mind that I have sought to alleviate with my very writing that you have before you,
Know that no matter your critique that the very fact that I have left my imprint on this world with words just like so many others means more than the intricacy of that that I have written,
So yes, to the ability and commitment to create these phrases I am smitten,
And it is only when I have mediated the ideas that have fermented in my mind onto the page and screen that the light of my soul has glistened,
And like any other great sincere artist, I will bestow upon myself the glory,
Not for my eloquence, pensiveness, or rhetoric, but rather for my ability and privilege to access something that allows me to tell my own story.
And until I am stripped of this inspiration and objective by forces both divine and tangible to remove the cataracts off of every third eye on every face,
The damned consciousness of this world is not safe.
Peace.

President Elect(ed): Barack Obama

Preamble:
I'm back to my blogging ways and in order for me to attain the kind of cathartic feeling I get from scribing my ideas onto this canvas I have to start writing with regularity again. I'm recommitting myself to the Without Any Further Shenanigans. I want to apologize to my blog and to those who care for my entries for leaving it bare for a few months as I was immersed in moiling over academic responsibilities which I'm relieved to say will not be a priority for an entire month. Enough of my conciliatory thoughts towards my blog and on to my first entry in a long time. Albeit the celebration of Barack Obama's victory in the presidential race took place over a month ago, I felt that I would be remiss had I not recorded something in my blog that details my thoughts and feelings about his triumph in the most historic race ever to surface in America.

November 4th, 2008........... I never thought the race would conclude as decisive as it did with Obama prevailing over McCain in a rout. Seeing historically Red states turn blue over the course of that evening was shocking and very telling. When all of the news affiliates had announced that Obama won Pennsylvania and that it was corroborated that he would be the 44th President of these United States, I sat there aghast. I absolutely did not know what to do. I was overcome with so much emotion that ironically, if someone had seen me they would've described me as emotionless. I just sat there in front of the television and raptly listened to Barack rhapsodize once more at Grant Park in front of an innumerable amount of people and give one of his touted ornately constructed and eloquent oratories that seemed to inspire me every single time that he delivered a speech. I thought that Barack Obama's victory speech was the best orated rhetoric that I had ever heard in my life. And I think for the generation that I am apart of that it was comparable to that of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech; though not in nature, objective or reason, but rather in the historical implications and its ability to galvanize and inspire many with verats about the potential, journey, ability, potency, freedoms, privileges, and imploring of America and its citizens. I will never, ever, forget it. And let me say that my favorite part of his speech was when Obama professed that Malia and Natasha (who's moniker is Sasha) will be receiving a new puppy subsequent to the family's emigration to the White House. Who cares about the 14th century hand-woven tapestries that are overlain on the White House floors? It's time to bring the first dog (excuse the pun) into the White House and if the carpet gets messed up, then I'm sure Malia and Sasha will learn new values of responsibility and chores. After watching his victory speech, I ran to Franklin street in Chapel Hill and met about two thousand other people who throngged the street and there was bedlam all night.

Why did Barack Obama win? I think the nature of the presidential election and recent history of America had more to do with McCain's lost than his gregarious opponent in Barack Obama. It would not be presumptuous to say that the democratic constituencies were undoubtedly going to vote for Barack. But why did American citizens who voted historically Republican vote for Barack Obama? And how did Obama swing centrists? The facts that this country's economic stature was driven into the mire, the country insufferably endured through two wars in spite of widespread national apprehension at embracing both wars, an education system that was gradually descending into the nadir of failure, gas prices that went from relatively frugal to unbelievably high pricing (and still going up), and a health care system that leaves America naked and showered with shame when compared to that of other countries who provide free health care for all its citizens, all occurred on the watch of a House and Senate that was laden with Republicans. It also did not help that the current President, while Republican, was the most asinine and incapable leader this country has ever witnessed. Obama's ploy within his campaign to paint John McCain as the second coming of Bush was a potent tactic, and while it may not have resonated with those who are politically versed because in many ways John McCain differs from George W. Bush, it did enough to convince those who are not as informed via commercials and ads. More importantly, I think many saw Barack Obama as the antithesis of George W. Bush and found an incredible profound hope in Barack Obama that was invoked by the morbid position this country is in.

I hate to undermine the American people, but I contend that while the issues of the economy, war, education, and health care were vital and prudent to the voting of the American people, I think the character of both candidates played more of an important role in the minds of voters. There are many people in this country who don't canvass the ideas of the politicians, or watch every political debate, or spend a sufficient amount of time evaluating the plans and potential policies of both candidates in an effort to discern which one of the two was more qualified to lead this country out of the socio-economic turmoil it finds itself in. From my vantage point, I saw a figure in John McCain who was uncouth in appearance and who's age did very little to aid his campaign. I think many voters created a nexus between his age and his policies in that they both were old and of the political ilk and socio-economic ideologies of yesteryear. Opposite John McCain you had Barack Obama, a handsome man who looked physically fit and nimble, and whose dexterity was epitomized with his exercise and leisurely physically engaging activity regiments including jogging and playing basketball. Outside of appearance and health, Barack Obama's rhetoric was like music to an idealist’s ear in that it attended to and resonated with typified ideas of hope and progressive ideas that many have thought that an American politician would never embrace because it was deemed political suicide. Barack Obama seemed extremely pensive, educated, driven, and probably most importantly, eloquently articulate. Not only was his oratorical ability unique and energized people, but it was rife with ideas that consistently remained prudent to the task at the potential 44th President's and America's hand, and also touched the minds and hearts of people on a level that was uncanny and unfathomable. Subsequent to the deliverance of his speeches, every news affiliate that I watched spent hours discussing his ability to speak, while in awe.

John McCain's choice to appoint Sarah Palin as his potential Vice President was the poorest choice he could have possibly made. It was blatantly clear that he only selected her to vie for Hillary Clinton votes and that was a political ploy that probably left many of his base to balk at continuing to support him. That tactic was deceitful and it epitomized political ploys of the past that many American people were tired of witnessing. She was clearly unqualified for the position and the McCain campaign team's hyper-surveillance of her only conveyed to voters that she was being controlled for the sake of the campaign and that stymied the duration of McCain's campaign.

You cannot underscore the effectiveness of Barack Obama's campaign, which was probably the most seminal political campaign America has ever seen. He spawned the best Grass Roots campaign in America's political history. The Obama team planted seeds in an innumerable amount of local communities and college campuses. Those seeds began to germinate and spread their Obama-advocacy stems into their respective communities which led to the historic amount of subsidies ever raised to aid a campaign. McCain's team put themselves at an extreme disadvantage with their scant use of technology opposed to Obama's team which utilized technology to disseminate information about Obama and gradually began to pervade the computers of people and even video games. Barack Obama purchased ads that would be shown in video games. How shrewd is that? Lastly, I think the generation that I am apart of is what catapulted Barack Obama into the White House. Because of the subject matter collegiate students and graduate students are learning regarding political and socio-economic ideologies in academic milieus, it is fair to say that this new generation is prohibitively progressive and that the idealist rhetoric of Obama easily energized the hope in young people that lay dormant because it was difficult to believe that this country could move in such a direction.

I had never immersed myself in the tidings of the history of this country as it pertained to race, class and gender until I got to college. I began to feverishly read and engage in discussion about race, class, and gender after only learning and understanding very few things about socio-economic history in America as my study of the subject was nascent. However, after engaging in so much critical thought and perusing through book after journal after article, my understanding of race relations led to me to believe that the hegemonic institutions of race, class and gender left an indelible mark on this country and the day that we would see an attempt to remove the stain was hundreds of years ahead of us. However, the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama inspired me to have new faith and hope in the ability of America to progress. I have had a few debates about how Obama's victory would and should affect the socio-economic mobility of people of color. I've been told that in no way should we be disillusioned and believe that just because the White House will house its first African American president that the hegemonic societal institutions through race, class, and gender that subjugate people of color and women will not cease to exist and that we should remain cognizant of those issues and preserve our perspective of them. I completely agree with that. However, I do believe that we should take that same amount of hope that we so feverishly invested in Obama and pour it into believing that we should no longer be socially and economically stymied by them. While there are societal institutions that may impede our social mobility, we should remain inspired and encouraged by Obama's victory to persevere and give our most valiant efforts to be successful in spite of those hindrances and not rely on excuses to justify our discontinuation of trying to achieve. Barack Obama's victory was a monumental victory for people of color and especially for African Americans and that shall forever be a muse for many. So instead of socially conscious parents raising their children and solely warning them about what may be unfair on their journey, we should supplement those implores with ideas of hope and encouragement while using Barack Obama as the quintessential example.

So now that he has won, we will all be looking forward to what Chuck D so aptly coined as, "Day 2". This country is in a pathetic position considering its wealth and intrinsic freedoms and privileges its decrees provide. Barack Obama will now have the hardest job in America and he has earned it. I am hoping the amount of participation that was so palpable during his campaign remains alive during his presidency, especially with things such as petitioning for an energy independent country where the masses of people will turn in their gas guzzling vehicles in favor of electric cars and we will consciously cease to use environmentally damaging products. Barack Obama should not be given the weight of the world because the quandaries that this country is facing cannot be fixed with the kind of expediency that many are hoping for. I hope that people are patient. According to this article, Obama is constructing his constituency with primarily centrist to right-winged politicians which has, needless to say, left democrats and leftists confused and irate. I'm indifferent towards his selection and that's because I have faith that Obama is seeking the best minds to address the needs of this country and will assemble a team that will weave a new fabric into the flag of America.

Parting Thoughts:

1. Since I'm on break, I can finally get back into reading. I'm beginning with Walter Mosley's, "The Man in My Basement". I hope its good. The abstract made it seemed interesting.

2. I'm dissapointed with 808's & Heartbreaks. I don't really care that the he used auto-tune throughout the entire album. What upsets me is that this album does not give you the vintage Kanye. In past albums, we are used to hearing Kanye cleverly address different topics through his lyrics and in 808's & Heatbreak, there is only one subject he raps (or sings if you want to be technical) about: heartbreak. The album is cool but I think its unfair to the fans for us to have waited over a year for a new Kanye album and he gives us a 12 track auto-tuned indignant album about a woman. It's understandable that the man is hurt, but an entire album inspired by her just gives her more energy and exposure in my opinion. But if this album is helping him alleviate the pain, then fine.

3. Why is that everytime I turn to TLC, they are showing water births? And why is the woman who is birthing the child always obese? I turn to the channel and some woman is in some disgusting tub looking orgasmic while two other women are sitting there with their hands waiting for something to pop out. Get some new content TLC!

4. Barack Obama wins, and B.E.T. gets worse. Why am I not surprised?

5. Aaron McGruder's new online comedy series is funny as hell. My respect for AM has reached new heights.

6. Make the music with your mouth, Bizzzz

Oh yeah,

Black Prez.

Back............but with indignation.......

Preámbulo:
Yes, I am back to my blogging ways. I almost felt pressured, from myself and others, to return back to blogging. Do not be mistaken. I did not decide to permanently stop blogging. I just chose to take a break from writing for a while. I had actually intended to take the month of September off and commence October 1st with a new blog entry. A friend jovially said to me that my blog was actively acknowledging Ramadan, the Muslim piety. She said that my abstaining from blogging is analogous to the intricacy of Ramadan. Since I wasn't blogging for the month of September, I wasn't "feeding" my blog with words or thoughts so it was "fasting". What's interesting is that, on one of my older blogs, I stated that writing/blogging is very cathartic for me and its therapeutic for my mind and my soul. That is still very true. Though, I haven't felt too bad about not writing/blogging, but I definitely felt that not writing for such a long time was becoming unhealthy. So, I am attempting to recover my routine indulgence in my verve-like prose. I've always maintained that I like to write at length when I blog, so if I don't find or experience anything that moves me enough to write in depth about it, I'll decide against blogging. Though, I would have liked to make my return to my blog with a happier subject, unfortunately what spawned my yearning to write was a horrid experience. I archived this blog entry in the "I'm Mad as Hell and I'm Not Gonna Take It Anymore" (apropos of the film "Network). I'm not mad at all right now, but, at the time I was incensed so I thought this entry best fit in that section. And I haven't an entry in this section in a long time. That's a good thing, right?

El Cuento
A few days ago, I happened to be walking along one of our campus quads and I saw a fairly middle-aged looking Caucasian couple sitting on one of the limestone enclosed flower beds. They were looking at the campus map and seemed really confused. I was walking with my iPod (whose cacophonies that emanate from the headphones can be easily heard by anyone) blasting and I sauntered past them. But as I continued to inch away from them, I thought to myself that I should ask if they need any help because I know the grandeur of UNC's campus on paper can be confusing for anyone, especially for a first time visitor/(s). So I stopped, did an about-face, walked up to them, and asked them if they needed any help navigating the campus. They retorted yes and inquired about what venues they should visit since this was there first visit to Chapel Hill. I suggested that they visit the three libraries on campus, the soccer field, gyms, Dean E. Smith Center, the basketball museum and the nexus of campus which is called "The Pit". "The Pit" happens to be surrounded by our Student Union, one dining hall and Student Stores which has UNC paraphernalia ( I totally sound like a student tour guide). They motioned as if they were glad that I was providing them with such instruction. But before I could make my exit from the conversation, they posed a few more queries to me and asked what year I was, where I was from and how I was enjoying my Carolina experience. I gave them a detailed answer and responded as genuinely as I could. Subsequent to the inquisition the man, who I assume to be the husband, asked what was my major of study. I told him I was a Communications major and he facetiously responded, "Ohhhhhhh. So that's why you speak so well".

He actually stuck his tongue out when he said as if he presumed that what he said was going to be just as dryly funny to me as it was to him. I could've easily showed my indignation, but I didn't. I've gone through a lot of these experiences before so I was used to it. And I responded to the situation the same that I've responded to it in the past. And that was showing off, as best I could, my ability to articulate, my strong sense of self, and dabbling into expressing my passion for film. So I lengthened the conversation and told them about my aspirations; though concisely. They asked me what programs that I was thinking about applying to for film school and I told them USC, UCLA, NYU, and Columbia. They hastily expressed to me that those are extremely difficult programs to be admitted to, almost in an effort to discourage me. But I took it in stride, and expressed to them that I have the diligence and passion to make it into one of those programs. They responded with "ok's", wished me well and continued their venture throughout the campus.

While it wasn't the first time it has happened to me, it was still one of the most unpleasant experiences I've ever incurred. It was a verbal slap in the face. And what really makes it worse was that it was such a 'back-handed' comment. I could've called him on it, and it would've been easy. But I don't think that taking that route would've done me or them any good. And besides, I think that they were surprised enough by my speech, decorum and thoughts. So I feel like that was my return-fire. But, it's saddening that these indoctrinated cultural ideas still pervade this particular society. Maybe I was showing a bit of niavete in believing that this country had made some significant strides in race-relations because of examples like Barack Obama's journey to the political apex of this country.

But I almost feel like those such as Barack Obama, Cornel West, Jocelyn Elders, Terence Blanchard or any reputable and revered black person only garners that profound sense of respect from their white-counterparts because they have moiled over constantly impressing them. It's sad that a person of color is readily perceived as ignorant or less potent. For some reason, when I worked at the College Board in Manhattan during my senior year of high school, I felt like I needed to perform all the time for the workers there so I could prove to them that I was a unique, intelligent, intuitive, witty and goal-oriented young man. I prepared myself to do that and voluntarily placed that burden on myself each day that I had to work. And I find myself still doing it today. But it's fine. I think adding that dimension to my journey to becoming the kind of filmmaker I want to be will only make the content of my films more informed and add more layers to my personhood. And it's always good to persevere through things, show strength and character and ultimately grow.

Parting Pensamientos:
1. I participated in my first film project. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to direct which is what I was hoping to do, but I landed an acting role. I played the killer, Edward Martin, in a short film entitled "The Return of Edward Martin". The film entailed a man who killed his wife 100 years ago and his granddaughter incidentally returns to his grave site and drops her bequeath necklace that Edward Martin's wife once wore on his burial ground. The necklace revives his ghost and attempts to kill his granddaughter while believing she was actually his wife's revived spirit. The movie actually ends with a twist, entailing Edward Martin killing his granddaughter while thinking she was actually his wife; but after he kills the granddaughter via strangulation on an elevator, his wife reappears wearing his signature gloves that he dons throughout the short film. Subsequent to the first screening, we won Best Shot, which was a dolly shot suggested by me to the director. For any cinephile reading this blog, you would know that the dolly shot is a staple of Spike Lee films where he captures an actor/(s) walking, but because of the shot, it seems as if they are floating through a particular milieu. We also won best story line. Over all, the project went well. I learned a lot of things about the process including shooting, acting and editing. I'm excited for my filming future.

2. George Tillman Jr, director of "Soul Food", is a making a film detailing the legendary ascension of the late-great Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace into the pantheon of Rap elites. The film is entitled 'Notorious'. I hope this thing isn't a disappointment. His legacy is well preserved and if this film is bad, there will be bedlam within the Hip-Hop community.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1206386969/

3. I'm anticipating Kanye's "808's & Heartbreaks" which is set to be released in mid-December. The single, Love Lockdown, kind of grew on me, but it didn't wow me like the singles off of his older albums. I just hope that Kanye provides us with that incredible production that he has blessed us with on his past albums.

4. So, I'm in a relationship now and it has gone on for about two months. Having a long distance relationship is unbelievably hard, but the promixity makes you appreciate one another on so many different levels. And that's what I feel like we have done. Our bond puts so much emphasis on growth and honesty and that's undoubtedly, my favorite part about the relationship. We've literally "spilled the beans" about everything including our past experiences, family history, struggles, beliefs, and significant decisions that we've made in life. I think its incredible that we've been able to share those things. And when those kinds of conversations first started, it was definitely tough hearing and sharing certain things, but now we're at a point where our communication is by far the strongest part of our bond. We're brutally honest with another, no matter how grand or minute the subject is, we make it our business to discuss for the sake of growth within the bond. Also, we're so incredibly different, though we have many things in common, and it makes for great compliments to both of our personalities. We originate from different places, live in different places and have had contrastively different journeys but we've learned so many different values just by sharing what we've gone through. She's definitely my biggest support system right now and I hope I am to her. I'm really excited about the relationship's potential and I hope it flourishes into a bond that no one can understand but us. Because that's when I believe, it is truly unique.

Oh yeah,
I felt the need to give a shout out to Brooklyn.

Making It Right

Art Form: Television
Genre/Type: Talk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uigclQryYa0

Art Form: Architecture
Genre/Type: Residential



Yesterday was the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. So I guess there's a little serendipity with this blog since I've found myself blogging about the calamity that was Hurricane Katrina for the first time; which makes this blog incredibly timely. From my observations of the media, it seems as though we have become incredibly remiss about the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina now, which is a mentality that has pervaded the U.S. since a month after the actual occurrence. I myself am guilty as well. I haven't really thought much about Katrina or its lasting affects on the city of New Orleans. But honestly, that isn't something someone would want to constantly moil over because the nature of the situation is entirely too depressing. But I found myself revisiting the topic while trying to catch up on an episode of Charlie Rose. Charlie was interviewing famed actor Brad Pitt about his new movie, but more importantly, they discussed at great length his new project, Make It Right.

Charlie commenced the discussion by asking Brad what seemed to be the million dollar question post-Katrina. Why didn't the people in the lower ninth-ward receive the sufficient amount of help, care, resources and attention that they should have gotten? There was some solidarity between the both of them as they began discussing the idea of the government conspiring to 'eliminate an underclass in America'. Now I consider myself a, 'A moderate revolutionary', so I would love to dabble into ideas that accuses the government of colluding to put a moratorium on the nadir of America's socio-economic hierarchy. I'm sure the Black panthers would've leaped at the opportunity to profess to the masses that the breaching of the levees was just a paradigm devised by the government to rid our society of blacks and the destitute. But I won't do that. I really don't think that's the case. However, I do believe that the maintenance of the levees was considerably neglected because of the demographics in the area of New Orleans that fell victim to severe flooding. Our government should definitely be ashamed of its cavalier attitude towards the flooding of that area.

I'm taking a geology class this semester. And on the first day of class the professor attempted, in all his passion, to explain why science was so incredibly pertinent. He used the example of Hurricane Katrina and what ensued was a sensitive attentiveness of the class to his example , which probably would not have happened had the professor began to ramble about the profound nuances and the intrinsic value of the application of science to the world. Anywho, what really got my attention was when the prof. exclaimed that about 95% of our political moguls and arbiters know less about the general areas of science than the average college freshman. That's a mind-bottling and scary statistic if its veritable. Maybe we need more scientists in positions of power in the government. But I digress. Two quotes that stuck out to me that the professor showed via PowerPoint were these:

"A major hurricane could swamp New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands..... only massive re-engineering of the levees can save the city".
- Mark Fischetti, October 2001-Scientific American

"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees".
-George W. Bush, August 2005

.....I'm sure the people of New Orleans would readily forgive Mr. Bush if given the opportunity.....Right. I think at this point, no matter how conciliatory W. would act, the people of New Orleans will forever preserve a level of animosity for him that everyone outside of New Orleans would never be able to understand or develop. So, moving away from placing the blame, the events have left people in New Orleans despondent and decadent still 'til this day. But there is hope, and it begins with Make It Right.

Make It Right is a.........well, here's a truncated version that I devised and extracted from the 'vision' section of the project's official website. "In December 2006, Brad Pitt convened a group of experts in New Orleans to brainstorm about building green affordable housing on a large scale to help victims of Hurricane Katrina....the group determined that a large-scale redevelopment project focused on green affordable housing and incorporating innovative design was indeed possible..... To demonstrate replicability, Pitt determined to locate the project in the Lower 9th Ward, one of the most devastated areas of New Orleans, proving that safe homes could and should be rebuilt. Pitt hopes that this project would be a catalyst for recovery and redevelopment throughout the Lower 9th Ward and across the city of New Orleans. Having listened to one former resident's plea to help "make this right," Pitt was inspired to name the project "Make It Right" (MIR).

I commend Pitt's efforts. I think what he's doing is incredible. Aside from the plan itself, the idea and commitment alone is something that needs to be lauded. With the innumerable amount of affluent people that live in this country, especially those who are inherently socio-economically hegemonic, it was left to an actor to take the initiative to spawn a project that would help restore the ability to live and the quality of life in the lower-ninth ward of New Orleans. And it all started with Pitt's sincere love for the city's wealth of culture. The project itself is extremely artistic and environmentally conscious. The houses are going to be built to be eco-conscious and for sustainability (in lieu of Hurricane Katrina). But what really makes the Make It Right project great is that the development and upkeep of these homes for the developers and the inhabitants are going to be relatively frugal. The plan is, as Brad explains to Charlie, is that there will be people who first adopt the homes (paying for them) and then giving the home back to the people who had a home on the particular land space on which their home used to be. So a Katrina victim will come back home, see a brand new house on their land and it will be theirs for the taking. And the houses are built so that the bills and expenses will remain low. Beautiful idea.

Being a conessuire and potential purveyor of art, I'd have to extol the architecture of the homes the most. The models that Brad shows on the show look incredible. If I had to take a guess, I'd say all of these homes are going to be products of post-modern construction; which leaves me a little envious of the Katrina victims. Here are some samples.
















You can see the rest of the designs here.
http://www.makeitrightnola.org/mir_SUB.php?section=mir&page=designs&mySub=main
They're all extremely beautiful. Once again, I commend Brad, his fellow sponsors and all the donors who have supported this project. Brad said in the interview that he and his team have incurred some struggles trying to find adequate support from those who have the resources to really expedite the project, but he's maintained a panglossian attitude. Though the project is fairly nascent, I'm excited about its future. I hope it flourishes. I think that the architecture of these homes will only add to the incredible surplus of culture, custom and tradition that distinguishes New Orleans. Hopefully, 'Make It Right', will catapult New Orleans past its previous cultural stature, and into a cultural utopia for its inhabitants and visitors alike.

Parting Thoughts:
The beginning of school is going really well for me and I can see the newest version of Kuamel manifesting itself already.
Barack Obama's choice for a running mate remains an anomaly to me and I'm actually undecided about who I'll vote for.
I'm officially down with Wale and The Best Kept Secret. See: Nike Boots by Wale
I have a new moniker: Smarty Jones.
The best thing I heard from a professor on the first day of classes was this:

"Being literate is not an English class thing".

Oh yeah,
In lieu of the blog entry, I thought I'd leave you with a lasting image and a song that I think will typify the resurgence of New Orleans from the worst calamity that this country has ever seen. I got the image from a New York Times article I was reading about a documentary called "Trouble The Water", another film that will be portraying the effects of Hurricane Katrina. And the song is actually from the album, "A Tale of God's Will", which was made by Terence Blanchard (who is in the picture) as a requiem for Hurricane Katrina victims. I love jazz.

Press Start.......................................Game Over.

Prelude: I just wanted to commence this blog by saying I'm glad to be back writing again. I felt like I had abandoned my writing even though it was no fault of my own. I had been moiling over the program I've been working for trying to endure vampire hours. My attrition just didn't afford me the energy and mental capability to write as in depth and at length as I usually do. But I've finished working for the program for the summer which means I'm back to my blogging ways; which I must say is not only therapeutic for my mind, but also cathartic for my soul because I invest so much into what I write and it is also vital to my personal development. So I'm glad to be back on my blog and on to my new entry for the first time in a long time. Just to add a little more preamble and to make this prelude more superfluous than it needs to be, I want to express how much working for College Summit this summer has done for me. This summer has been extremely transformative for me. I've learned the value of struggle, growth, restraint, humility, and listening. I made myself vulnerable to critical discussions about myself with others and while some things I shunned, most of it I internalized because I understood that it would be pivotal in helping me build my character. I almost feel revitalized and my excitement about other parts of life aside from my dreams, passions and thoughts has been restored. I definitely think I'm a better Kuamel than I was three months ago and I'm ready to move forward with not only the new knowledge that I have attained, but also with the profound growth that I have incurred which is accredited to all those I interacted within the College Summit cohort.

The highlight of my summer would definitely be having talked to my little brother for the first time in 6-7 years. I consider myself an only-child because he is my half brother and was raised by my biological father and his mother. Our relationship was strained because of familial problems that had transpired over the years. Severing relationships pervaded my family and my father's conscious choice to favor my brother over me because of the poor relationship he had with my mom discouraged me from creating a relationship with my brother. But that is all over now. I called my lil' bro for the first time about a week ago and it lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders. I felt guilty because for so long, I was consciously making a choice to not be in my brother's life which is exactly what my father did to me. But after having a few conversations with some close friends of mine, I gathered up the courage to call him. While the conversation was relatively brief, it meant a lot. It's unfortunate that he lives in Atlanta now which means I won't be able to see him as much as I would like. But I'm definitely excited for his future. He's going into high school in the fall and these are going to be the most important four years of his life and I'm excited and anxious to be apart of that process. We talked about a few things and one thing I got from him is that he's really into video games and sports, just like I am. I'm totally going to breed as him as a tar heel fan. That plan should definitely work since I'm his big brother and I go to UNC. Maybe he'll want to emulate my journey and Carolina will be his dream school in three years. Hopefully. At the conversation's end, he told me he loved me......and I returned the statement.

So as my man Mos Def would say, "without any further shaninigans", here is my first entry for the first time in a long time.

This entry is written in reference to an article that I read some time ago on yahoo.com about New York State preparing to enforce new regulations on video games, gaming companies, and consoles. Before you read my opinion, it would be beneficial to read the article first. If you don't click on that hyperlink because malaise has consumed you mentally so much so that you don't want to read a rather synthesized article, then that's sad. My laisse-faire attitude doesn't coincide with these new plans or stipulations at all. I'll retort the article's title by saying, yes, the law(s) is unconstitutional. The law definitely violates civil liberties, however,I do understand why the federal government wants to become austere about themes that are produced by the gaming industry.

"We have the obligation to be constantly vigilant about amending our laws to protect the residents of New York State. Many of these bills will do just that by closing loopholes or creating new laws to enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers," said Governor Paterson in a Tuesday press release.

The gaming industry is not the primary catalyst of violence and crime in New York State, or the world. The article also mentions that there will be, "an advisory council to conduct a study on the connection between interactive media and real-life violence in minors exposed to such media." I'll support the idea of the research, but I won't be a proponent of the study if the intention is to seek scientific, psychological, and empirical data that corroborates the belief that video games influence gamers to become bellicose, rapists, drug dealers, or death-craved vigilantes. It's not just games that instill self-destructive themes into the minds of people that lead them into becoming criminals or violent human beings. Aside from the study, I just don't think the government should have the right to regulate art.

There are plenty films, pieces of music, photographs, clothing, plays, and some other leisurely activities such as contact sports that entail violent themes. There should be a collective study on all art forms and interactive activities to see how they affect people and their thoughts. I think the government is isolating the gaming industry because its become a cash crop. Unfortunately, the gaming industry remains vulnerable to the government because of the nature of its distribution and thus government officials can arbitrate on whether to stipulate decrees that will ultimately subjugate the gaming industry. The government is just looking for a scapegoat and that idea is affirmed with the reasoning behind this concerted effort to regulate video games and how and who they are distributed to.

Violence and crime rates have been ascending for years and instead of attacking what we know are the verities of the problem, they attack the gaming industry. Conducting an exhaustive study on all the nuances of society with the objective being to understand what facets of our world evoke violent behavior out of people who potentially become assailants is great. But how about we just accept the notion that there are just bad people on this planet. I recall one of my College Summit constituents telling our students that human beings are "perfectly imperfect", which is incredibly true. We have to accept the intricacy of our nature and the fact is there are going to be people who want to kill, steal, rape, and abuse others. Trying to forge a coalition against the gaming industry and ultimately pummeling them into submission with laws is not going to remedy the societal domestic problems that law enforcement officials and political officials have to deal with everyday.

"New Yorkers do not need the state judging which video games are appropriate and which aren't," she sad. "Parents, not government committees, should be responsible for making those judgments. If the legislature wants to reduce youth violence, it should fund educational programs to teach students conflict resolution skills."

At least someone is using critical thought.

Parting Thoughts:
I want to hand out a few superlatives since the summer is coming to a close. This will be an exhaustive analytical verve list as I'll be stating my favorite artistic entities thus far in my life. While it may seem trivial and almost juvenile, it's pretty significant to me. I'm only using it as a measuring tool to examine what were my favorite art pieces up until a certain time. This is just going to serve as a marker so when I look back on this, maybe a year from now, I can compare my favorites artists and artistic products from this point and that point and see how my interests have developed or changed.

Best Rap Albums
Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) –Digable Planets
Jazzmatazz -Guru
Late Registration –Kanye West
The Tipping Point –The Roots
Finding Forever -Common

Best Lyricists
Ishmael ‘Butterfly’ Butler a.k.a Cherrywine
Black Thought (The Roots)
Common
Guru
Boots (The Coup)

Best Albums
Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) (Digable Planets)
A Copland Celebration, Vol. 1 (Aaron Copland and Orchestra)
Visions of A New World (Lonnie Liston Smith)
The Five Heartbeats Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (The Five Heartbeats)

Best ‘World’ (genre) Artists/Groups
Taio Cruz
Hugh Masakela
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Loreena McKennitt
Machito

Best Jazz Musicians
Branford Marsalis
Lonnie Liston Smith
Terrence Blanchard
Donald Byrd
Dizzy Gillespie

Best Harmonized Songs
Ain’t No Sunshine (Soul For Real)
In The Still of the Night (Boyz II Men)
Mbube (Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
It’s So Hard [Acapella Version] (Boyz II Men)

Best Jazz Songs
In Time of Need (From Terence Blanchard’s Tale of God’s Will: A Requiem For Katrina)
Yes and No (From Branford Marsalis’ Random Abstract)
Hey Pachucho (From Royal Crown Revue’s Mugzy’s Move)
Cool Yule (From Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World Christmas)
Desert Nights (From Lonnie Liston Smith’s Expansions)
Pop Top 40 (From Branford Marsalis Quartet and Terence Blanchard’s Mo’ Better Blues Soundtrack)

Best Comedic Songs
Basketball Jones (Chris Rock & Barry White)
Because I Got High (Afroman)
No Sex (Chris Rock)
No Pigeons (Sporty Thieves)
It's The Hard Knock Life [remix] (Dr. Evil)
Wrote This Song A Long Time Ago (Dave Chapelle)

Best New Comedians
Corey Holcomb
Deon Cole
Deray Davis
Rodman
Lavell Crawford

Best Comedic Performances
Jamie Foxx’s Straight from the Foxx Hole
Bernie Mac’s Performance on The Original Kings of Comedy
Eddie Griffith’s Dysfunctional Family
Sarah Silverman’s Jesus is Magic

Best Songs to Sleep To.
Baby (The Roots' Game Theory)
Addiction (Kanye West's Late Registration)
Summer Madness (Kool & The Gang's Light Of The Worlds)
Quiet Storm (Smokey Robinson's A Quiet Storm)
They Reminisce Over You (Pete Rock & CL Smooth's Mecca and The Soul Brother)
In Time of Need (Terence Blanchard's A Tale of God's Will [A Reqium For Katrina])

Best Love Songs
I’ll Make Love To You (Boyz II Men)
You [DarkChild Remix] (Jesse Powell)
I Care About You (Milestone)
Made To Love Ya (Gerald Levert)
This Woman’s Work (Maxwell)

Best Electric Songs
Clear (Cybotron)
Tapped (Skream)
Into The Sun (Diplo)
Hip Hop Bee Bop (Man Parrish)
Al-Naafiysh (Hashim)

Best Musical Intercourse (title of my playlist) Song
Storm (Jamie Foxx)
Anywhere (112)
Freak Me (Silk)
All The Things (Joe)
Turn Off The Lights (Teddy Pendergrass)

Best Party Songs
I Wanna Rock (Luke)
Da Butt (E.U.)
Cha Cha Slide (Some DJ)
Now Drop (Timbaland and Magoo)
Def Jam 200 (Fat Man Scoop)

Best Old School Rap Artists/Groups
Arrested Development
Boogie Down Productions
Eric B. & Rakim
LL Cool J
The Sugar Hill Gang

Best Directors
Spike Lee
Quentin Tarantino
The Hughes Brothers
Keenan Ivory Wayans
Hype Williams

Best Actors
Denzel Washington
Will Smith
Angelina Jolie
Wesley Snipes
Ossie Davis

Best Films
Malcolm X
The Five Heartbeats
Titanic
Network
The Last Supper

Best Plays
Plantanos & Collard Greens
Auction Block on Hip Hop
Julius Caesar
No Child
Rent

Best Screenwriter
Seth McFarland
Spike Lee
Aaron McGruder
Keenan Ivory Wayans
Robert Townsend

Best TV Shows
The Cosby Show (Nick at Nite/TBS/USA/Fox)
Boston Public (TV One)
The Boondocks (Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim)
Charlie Rose (PBS)
Pardon The Interruption (ESPN)

Best Documentaries
The O Tapes
Hurricane Katrina: A Requiem in Four Acts
Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card
Joe Louis: America’s Hero…..Betrayed.
The Boys of Baraka

Best Comedies
Bad Santa
Slither
Don’t Be A Menace In South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood
Harlem Nights
I’m Gonna Get You Sucka

Best Drama Series
Flava of Love (Season 2)
B.E.T.’s Hip Hop vs. _______
I Love New York (Season 1)
Degrassi
The Democratic Nomination Race

Best Mystery/Suspense Films
Mind Hunters
The Saw Trilogy
Paycheck
Clue

Best Game Shows
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (ABC)
Family Feud (Fox)
Double Dare (Nickelodeon)
Wheel of Fortune (ABC)
Jeopardy (ABC)

Best Cartoons
Rugrats
Rocko’s Modern Life
Hey Arnold
Doug
Little Bear

Oh yeah,
Look out for Miracle at St. Anna. And continue to, as my man Doodlebug would say, "Brew funk inside your soul kitchen".