This piece is full of so much soul and feeling. You can't help but be moved... even if you don't understand a word of what they're saying. It's also such a well referenced piece in pop culture and you shouldn't be surprised if you've heard it before. I've included another video below that shows some of these references.
According to Wikipedia: Vesti la Giubba (Put on the costume) is a famous tenor aria performed as part of the opera Pagliacci, written and composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, and first performed in 1892. Vesti la Giubba is the conclusion of the first act, when Canio (Pagliaccio) discovers his wife's infidelity, but must prepare for performance as the 'show must go on'. It is often incorrectly referred to as "Ridi, Pagliaccio", the first words of the chorus, which is the most famous part of the aria.
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Clown Opera
Saturday, February 9, 2008
In Honor of Black History Month...
http://www.uky.edu/StudentOrgs/AWARE/archives/lynch.html
Today at work, we had a series of presentations for Black History Month. There were various presentations ranging from the birth of the black sorority and fraternity, to talks about African culture and African games. The presentation my coworker and I (but mostly him...actually completely him) gave was on the infamous Willie Lynch speech of 1712. Above is a link to the speech, and some quick background can be found on Wikipedia, but I encourage you to read the speech before continuing, as you will not get the full impact of what I am talking about otherwise.
There is much debate as to whether the story is contrived or real, but regardless it still sends a powerful message to generations past and present. As the speech goes, Lynch devised a plan on how to control slaves more effectively than with hangings. He told the slave owners to cause division among slaves based on age, "'Color' or shade, intelligence, size, sex, size of plantations, status on plantation, attitude of owners, whether the slave live in the valley, on hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair, coarse hair, or is tall or short." He asserts that distrust and envy will be greater among the slaves than admiration and trust, and that the slaves must love and trust only the owners. Finally, he claims that if this method is used rigorously, it will create a cycle for generations.
And he was right. You could go through each category he listed and find correlations in today's black community. For instance, some of you may have heard arguments about whether lighter skinned black people are more stuck up, or better looking, than darker skinned black people. Some of the mentality can be attributed to the fact that the fair skinned black people were given house jobs as opposed to field jobs, as well as better clothes and over all treatment. Another correlation you see is between where a person lives. Today's communities as a whole claim West Coast, East Coast, "Dirty South", and "Killadelphia", just to name a few. And even within those, several more microcosms will form till neighborhoods are split into "territories". Finally, fine hair versus coarse hair, or as you may have heard, good hair versus bad hair. There is no such thing as good hair or bad hair, however these are just a few of the mentalities and stereotypes that are perpetuated in our society.
Of course, this is not completely due to the actions taken by slave owners, but the remnants of the mentality instilled in slaves remains. To shed more light on this, consider this theoretical experiment. Five gorillas (and if you do not believe gorillas would act this way, substitute the animal at your leisure) are placed in a room with a banana on the ceiling and a ladder leading to it. Every time one of the gorillas reaches for the banana, they are all sprayed with ice cold water. Eventually the gorillas start to restrain one another if any gorilla tries to go after the banana so soon no gorillas go after it. When this happens, one gorilla is replaced by a new gorilla and when this gorilla tries to go after the banana, it is restrained by the others. Eventually, it learns not to go after the banana, and when this happens a new gorilla is substituted for an older one, till there is a total of five new gorillas. However, none of them go after the banana, even though they do not know why. It has become a characteristic passed on from one generation to the next to not reach for the banana, even though the new generation doesn't know why.
To bring this to a close, it is important for not only the black community, but all minority communities to understand their history and the attitudes and mentalities upon which our society was formed. In all communities, there is division based on shade, sex, and where you live among other things. Furthermore, even if you do not identify with your historical motherland, it is important to know where you come from. Knowing where you came from helps you decide where you are going and it is still part of your history. Understanding the stereotypes and mentalities that have made us who we are as a people today is the first step to breaking them and succeeding.
Black History is not something long past to be forgiven and forgotten. Black History is struggle that we must remember, embrace, and use as an impetus to change.
Black History is Our History. Black History is Our Story.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Godwin's Law
Hey all. I do not have a serious post just yet. (Those are reserved for thursday nights/friday afternoons) but just to whet your palate, here's something I found amusing and interesting.
Godwin's Law, also known as Godwin's Rule as Nazi analogies, states:
"As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."
Anyway, this came about by Godwin's study of memetics; more specifically, the study of internet forums as the conversations became older. He found that there was a correlation (humorous, but true) between how old a topic was and how frequently Hitler or a Nazi analogy was introduced into the discussion.
So next time you are in a rather long winded conversation, talk about Hitler...everyone does it!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Boogie Bandits Trailer
Boogie Bandits is a small bboy crew that started the day of Rhythmic Damage on November 18, 2006. The three members are myself, Ironik (boog), and Foxx. Ronny made the trailer in high quality youtube format. I recommend you watch it.
Monday, January 28, 2008
There is No Box - Cradle to Cradle
Please Please PLEASE watch this video! This is for anyone who does not think that they can make a difference in this world. All the people who have given up and accepted the seemingly doomed state of the planet. We CAN make a difference and we can do this in so many ways. We can think and rethink projects, design and develop mind blowing ideas, and, most importantly, stay active by showing our support for those who have taken those first major leaps for mankind.
My next stop is to buy the Cradle to Cradle book to learn more about this. Just... amazing.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Ping Pong Perseverence
This video has to be the craziest most intense round of table tennis ever. But it's not what I wanted to talk about. This post is about commitment.
We may look at this video and say things like "oh that man is amazing" or applaud his intense perseverence. But some of us may call him silly and ask why he just doesn't relax a little bit. He may lose one point but at least he won't risk hurting himself.
And that's exactly what I want to talk about. He is committed. Yes, sure, to us it's just a ping pong game. But to him it doesn't matter what we think. He is 100% there. And ultimately this is what gives him the upper hand in the game. And commitment is a life attribute; it shouldn't just be applied to ping pong. You should be committed in your school work, your job, your relationship, your life. When you reach that level, it will show.
But that doesn't mean you should take life so seriously that you don't have fun. I love ping pong but I won't break my neck returning a fast serve hehe.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Thirst for Knowledge
This was an incredibly brilliant, inspirational, and lively story. Ben Dunlap inspired me to spread his story to whoever reads this blog and to say a few words on it.
I cannot say that humans are born fundamentally good but I can say that every human does have equal potential to be fundamentally good. Environment and experience shape us into who we are. I wish I had more to say on this but I am a person of few words. Which I guess makes me concise but ineloquent.
Another part of Dunlap's story rings heavily on my ear. He declares that we should strive for knowledge no matter where it may be or how hard it may be to get there. Knowledge is divinely ordained on us. Our history tells us this. Even the Adam and Eve story can be seen as humankind's "good" fall. They were not punished for seeking wisdom. It was their mission. Thank God for that snake, that tempter, for helping us along to it. To me there is no greater passion than discovery and learning. This is why I have enthralled myself in ted.com as it has exactly that.
Writing this, I could not help but think of a verse in the 20th chapter of the Quran: "O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge". It does not say "give me knowledge" because we get that everyday. It is an invocation for more, a cry to quench the unquenchable thirst. This is sapien's goal in life.
What more can I say? This entire blog has this goal in mind. I hope you have learned something new from reading each entry. I know for a fact that it has helped me play my part in the struggle for more.
Monday, January 21, 2008
God Hates Jobs
I am a huge fan of religious doubt as I feel that the more you doubt, the more you question, and the more you question the closer you will be to the truth. Now that I've gotten the semiserious and pseudodeep intermingling thoughts hidden in the far recesses of my mind out into the open, I would like to present to you a video my professor recently emailed to the class.
The course is entitled "The Devil's Pact in Literature, Music and Film".
Friday, January 18, 2008
Africa open for Business! (Mkeka Redux)
*If you do not see a video above, please go to this link to watch it(updated 1/19/2008):
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/127
I listened recently to a talk from Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a renowned Nigerian woman, who was talking about ways to help Africa as a whole. Her major topics in the talk (if you do not have the time to listen to the whole thing) were corruption and foreign investment. She started with a story of how a Nigerian man who worked for an oil company and as a politician was recently caught and jailed in London for embezzling eight million dollars worth of stolen funds into his personal accounts. However, he escaped from London (dressed as a woman), and made it back to Nigeria. Since in Nigeria politicians have immunity from certain laws, he could not be tried. However, his state legislature was so enraged that they managed to impeach then arrest him. Justice was served, and yet this is not the Africa you hear about everyday. But there is an air of change in the way that many African countries are run, and Ngozi is at the forefront of these changes.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweali is the former vice president of the World Bank, and Nigeria's first female Finance and Foreign Minister. She has dedicated her life to fighting corruption in Nigeria so that more success stories like these can become a reality. She has begun her fight against both internal corruption and a large part of corruption which comes from overseas. Many people and companies outside of Africa will make deals with corrupt Nigerian businessmen in order to gain a higher profit. To this, she says, "Is that not corruption? In this country (the united States), if you receive stolen goods, are you not prosecuted?". However, with help from a willing President, Nigeria is now putting programs in place to reclaim the money being siphoned out of the economy by corrupt dealings. Her other major argument is that Nigerians are grateful, but tired, of receiving aid. To draw on Ngozi's sentiments, the best way to help Africans, and in fact any persons from any underdeveloped country, is to help them stand on their own two feet. She calls for investment, not hand outs, in African countries that are beginning to start the long process of stabilization.
I feel that Ngozi really hits the nail on the head with this speech. For so long, Africa has been stigmatized by the "Neighborhood effect", as she calls it. This is where the conflicts and problems of one or two countries effects how the global community views the continent as a whole. In reality, many African countries are beginning the long process of rooting out corruption and stabilizing themselves. So maybe she is right and the best way to help is simply to do business with them. Invest in and buy goods from companies that invest in African countries so as new African businesses form, their expansion is not stifled by a lack of interest in their services. Not only would this bring honest and hard earned money into the economy, but it will also help the common man since more jobs would be created.
These jobs could positively impact the attitudes and practices of African peoples and governments. And if you are wondering how investing could actually do all this, well maybe the key is in Ngozi's words:
"There is no issue with fighting malaria and putting money in that and saving children's lives. That's not what I am saying, that is fine. But imagine the impact on a family if the parents can be employed, and make sure their children go to school, that they can buy the drugs to fight the disease themselves... isn't that a wonderful opportunity? Isn't that the way to go?"
It is, as with all things, not the cure all. But it is a very good start.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Why Blogging Sucks
Ok this is going to be a little different. No research. No cute pictures. No reviewing. Just straight rant.
When I started this Arcade blog I did not really know what I was getting myself into. I just wanted to write the first thoughts that came to my head and have people talk about them. I thought it would be easy. And I thought it would be extremely easy with my friends on board. But the reality of the matter is that blogging sucks!
First off there's the biggest issue of getting a decent entry out at least every two days. You can't afford to slack off, otherwise, the blog will die and you would have failed your faithful readers. Well there are four authors on this team so two entries a week should be easy to manage.
Wrong. It is hard writing good reads. I admit I put up some crappy entries but I hope the ones I spent time working on really shine through.
Second of all, you have no idea how much Java and CSS and code I had to sift through to get the blog looking the way it does. I would not have been able to do any of this without the help of other blogs out there dedicated to helping out people like me. A plug in for hackosphere, tips for bloggers, and beta blogger for dummies (that's me). Thank you so much for having these sites, they are essential to the blogging community.
Well these are two of many reasons why blogging is hard work, but... blogging really doesn't suck. I've learned and absorbed an incredible amount in these last two weeks. I've learned about writing, about science and violence, about commenting effectively, about women (hehe), about feedburning and about how the internet works in general. I can do so much more now than ever before! I urge you to start your own blogs, or at the very least to become an active voice in a blog you find interesting. Don't just read the writing. Talk about it. Be heard.
Final verdict? Blogging is tough... but way more than worth it.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
No Numbers
Good friend and roommate Ronny Gallegos, aka bboy ironik, started a clothing line called No Numbers with two of his friends, Mike and Ryan. Their first drop was fresher than I don't know what. I'm getting a puppeteer shirt in a couple of days from him once he comes back from California but until then I wanted everyone to know about this. Show your support! Join their facebook group and add them on myspace.
If you wanna buy a shirt contact Ronik. Rumor has it that their online store will open soon.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Enta the Cypha Philly
Being a bboy you'd think I'd write more about breaking (BREAKDANCING for all those not into the bboy scene). This event - Enta the Cypha Philly - will be a special one...
Tomorrow (Saturday) from 5-10pm at MarBar (40th and walnut, Philly, 19104). $10 cover.
Ok so now that I've told you the logistics, I'll explain why I'm looking forward to this event. First some vocab. A "cypher" is an open circle where dancers jump in and just dance to the music. There is no competition, just raw dancing. And Philly is the BEST at this. Hands Down. Philly has a long history of loving music and dancing to it. The DJ always keeps the record spinning so no feeling is lost. A week or two ago I went to House Dance Conference in NYC and the DJ kept turning the music off every 2 minutes. It was the most annoying thing ever. Here in Philly, turntable masters like Skeme and Illvibe Collective will keep the breakers in the circles nonstop.
I love the Philly dance scene! Watch out for me tomorrow at MarBar.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Mommy Started Her Own School
Here's a picture of my mom holding an award she got at the Sudanese Independence Day celebration this past Saturday.
Ahlam (el nombre de mi madre) started a Sudanese Saturday school for the community with her best friend Muna. The school meets Saturdays for three hours and focuses on teaching Arabic and Sudanese culture to the young kids of the community.
I actually help out by taking pictures and also teaching. In the past month, the student population has more than doubled and the school, unlike its 1001 predecessors, has not failed yet. I am personally taking charge to see that it continues to succeed by communicating with the students to find ways of (hehe) "keepin' 'em coming". So far the kids just want to have fun. Some of them understandabley hate going to school 6 days a week so I have been trying to figure out ways of making the school seem less "school-like". Kids love games and candy right?
Any other ideas, feedback, support, comments, questions: anything is welcomed!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
How to be Legend
Last night Will Smith interviewed with Tavis Smiley. They talked about plenty, with topics ranging from Philly gun violence to Will's latest movie "I Am Legend". During the interview Tavis asked Will what seperated him from other people and Will's response was that he is "not afraid to die on a treadmill". After some explanation, Will emphasized that he will not be "overworked"; he will work his hardest no matter what and he attributes his success to this hustle-and-you'll-make-it philosophy.
This is the American Boot Strap Dream. But what about those that do hustle and work hard, and still remain poor and underprivileged? I personally don't believe that success can solely be attributed to hard work. Why? Well just as there are those that don't succeed even after breaking their backs, there are those who are successful by doing nothing less than knowing the right people. I will exclude those who are born wealthy from this discussion because there is a fine distinction between being successful and being rich. I used to always think that if I work really really hard and did my best I would have no problems in life. And so far that has fortuneately rung true for me. But I also need to know people. This society runs on connections! Who you know is important! Just watch "The Pursuit of Happyness" and you'll see what I mean.
That being said, maybe you shouldn't have to die on the treadmill but instead... do something like a Breast Cancer Walk and talk to fellow walkers. Get to know people while you work.
Network and hustle.
