Letters From Zion

What's up, True Believers and True Deceivers? I hope you guys are enjoying this blog series, because I'm only 3 chapters in, so if this is a bust, I'm kind of committed at this point. Ah, who am I kidding? I like it myself, and since I've committed to it, I'm going to finish it regardless. I'm obviously not going to be able to cover everything in my blog, but I'm hoping that what I do tell you will inspire someone else to pick this book up, read it, and apply his principles. He's already proven that he knows what he's talking about, at least to me... Law Number Three: Get Your Mind Right I can't and won't say I loved every word of this book. I don't think Russell intended it to be as such. He was doing him, and being honest, so he had to tell the reader the truth as he sees it, and he submitted that we might disagree on some points. This chapter was an overwhelmingly spiritual chapter, and whenever we are talking spirituality (at least i...

Republican Woman-Stay Away From Me.. � Davey D's Hip Hop Corner-(The Blog)

What's good True Believers and True Deceivers? I'm back with Part 2 to my 12-part Blog covering the 12 Laws Of Russell Simmons. I appreciate any and all feedback I get on this, and if you like what you see here, I urge you to go out and get a copy of Do You: 12 Laws To Access The Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success (Damn, Rush.... couldn't get them to edit that title down a bit???) Anyway, it's $6 if you follow my link to Amazon.com. Trust me, this will be a book you read more than once, and I'd love to see more of my friends adopt some of the principles therein. So anyway, let's get down to business: LAW NUMBER TWO: Always Do You " It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are. " - E.E. Cummings " Never change for the mainstream - stay in your lane, and if you're talented and resilient enough the mainstream will come to you. " -Russell Simmons Here's a very interesting anecdote (at least I hope it is) f...

What's up True Believers and True Deceivers? It's your favorite digital scribe trying to breathe life back into these pages. It's been awhile since I been consistently blogging, and that's due to me working on a book of my own, and when I'm not doing that I'm reading everything I can get my hands on, but I do miss this, and I need to be more consistent. I've been yelling at one of my blog-mates El The Roller Derby Chick about her blogs, then looked at my last posting and realized just how hypocritical I've been. She's a good 3 postings ahead of me.... thanks for making me look bad, El. So there's this blog I've been wanting to do for some time now, but I didn't feel as though I could really do it justice. Something like 2-3 years ago, I had the chance to read Do You!: 12 Laws to Access The Power In You To Achieve Happiness And Success by Russell Simmons. From time to time I've touched on some of the principles he outlined in the...

I had a great conversation with my friend DJ (his initials, not his profession) who's actually had a life this summer so he missed out on the news that “Heroes” had been canceled. I relayed to him my conversation with DH Lawrence XVII, the actor who played Eric Doyle the Puppetmaster (and chronicled here in my blog) and how he gave me some insight from a professional stand-point. I totally understood David H's diplomacy (don't go blasting potential bosses on the Internet), but as a fan, I can voice my disapproval of NBC and the depths of their contempt for us as fans. They are beholden to those who own stock, but profitability and good television are not synonymous (the music industry is a prime example), so they will give you what they think you want and expect that we are not intelligent enough to know the difference. So I've been subjected to their promotion of two new shows: “The Event”, the recipient of “Heroes” 9pm timeslot (which I will boycott on default), and...

In the interest of disclosure, and making sure credit is given when due, Brother Roland S. Martin's blog started this stream of consciousness. Here is his podcast from the Tom Joyner Morning Show: http://www.rolandsmartin.com/blog/index.php/2010/08/30/roland-tjms-08-30-10-roland-s-martintom-joyner-morning-show-roland-martin-discusses-glenn-beck-and-the-restoring-honor-rally/ Not since 2008 have I really ventured much into the political landscape, to be honest it became quite exhausting, an endless debate with people who's appeal to xenophobia and ignorance would allow them to dismiss the simplest of fact. Polarized bi-partisan politics have no logic... Last night Jon Stewart and The Daily Show won an Emmy. I take a fair amount of satisfaction that even in the self-congratulatory industry of Hollywood, “The Daily Show” is recognized for it's voice of reason when there are outlets that thrive on misinformation, and stoke the fires of hatred and discord. Don't make...

I know the cool thing to do is to counter the culture, buck the system, that's a lot of what HipHop was about, and a lot of what's happened to it. I've been alive just about the same amount of time that HipHop has, I've grown with it, and I've seen all the cycles. Anti-disestablishmentarianism at it's best. (Yes, that is a word...) Musicians in the ghetto couldn't afford instruments, so the turntable became our instrument. We took technology that wasn't really meant for us (TR808, SP1200, they were not designed with us in mind the way the MPC was), and carved out a space in history, all the while they labeled us a fad. HipHop is approaching it's 40 th Anniversary. Success breeds discord, and it's all-too-often I hear musicians decry “HipHop sucks.” They say it's not music. Say what you will... we ain't going nowhere. Everybody 'hates' Twilight right now. There's a spoof movie coming out called "Vampires Suck". “R...

I miss Def Poetry. I don't have HBO anymore, I might go back and get these on DVD. Black Ice so eloquently poses the question of what life could be like on a level playing field. I wonder how some conservatives can hear the obvious skill and intelligence presented when posing this question and still somehow believe that anyone can be born with a 'losing' hand? Maybe the soulless can't identify with soul? Anyway, check out the video... and if you are so inclined, listen to some of Black Ice's other work. The guy is a genius. -ere'bodee's favorite mega, blogninja

This is the blog that has taken almost 2 days to even sit down and prepare to write. Some may feel that I'm being melodramatic, but I'm only trying to accurately convey my feelings on the subject. I can recall reading the advance reviews of Heroes in TV Guide and other media calling it "interesting". I already knew two paragraphs in that this was going to be an unadulterated hit, at least in my world. One of the criticisms about the show was its similarity to X-Men, and I thought that was rather stupid. Not everybody read the X-Men, and it wasn't exactly the same thing. Anytime you talk about mutation, people are going to throw Marvel's merry mutants at you. So what? Regardless, the idea of mutation allows for rich storytelling. People fear what they don't understand. I couldn't wait until the 1st episode, and the first season did not disappoint. Save The Cheerleader, Save The World. Then comes the Writer's Strike. I understood the mechanics of it ...

It's really important that you know exactly who and what you are... because until you do, every single thing you do is never going to measure up. That's 100% IIWII, people (It Is What It Is). If you refuse to accept this very simple life fact, you are going to fight externally what you can only fix internally. I came up with this little gem on my own while watching the new version of Carson Daly's show, Last Call. For the longest time, NBC had him as the 3rd string late-night host on a last-place network, but he maintained a small core audience. Carson has slowly cooled (in popularity) since his days of the now-defunct TRL (I guess TRL needed him more than he needed them...) but there was something missing from his late-night rhythm. He was trying to come up with original bits, spoofs, but nothing stuck. The show was very much a take-it-or-leave-it-type experience. Now, I don't know what prompted the change, I just remember when it happened. I just happened to catch his...

That's how long it's been since I have posted anything, and I do apologize for that. I apologize to you, and to myself. I'm not referring to the months that I wasn't online, I mean since I've returned, I haven't posted once... Hi, my name is Tango... and I have writer's block. It's not complete writer's block. If that were the case, I wouldn't have the couple-thousand words or so of my book. It's a very specific type of block. I can't get a blog out to save my life. It's like everything is going on, and nothing is going on. I see certain things that have me busting at the seams (the Birther Bill, Arizona as the Retard Racist's Capital Of the United States) but these people are so insipid that it diminishes me to argue against and give time to them/it. I've read a ton of books ( Stephen King's "On Writing" , 6 of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels books, The first two Twilight Books, and I'm halfway through Kim ...