Random.

busy bizzy busy with this homework. College...is...a mess! But hey, I found this quote from Chrisette Michele enjoy.

“I was tired of black sista’s feeling subject to having their hair pressed and straightened, and damaged, with relaxers, and heat. So I wanted to make short and nappy hair fashionable, and let the industry know that there is nothing wrong with the texture that we have been born with. So I plan to grow it out to the big beautiful nappy hair that I have.”

Coffee Beans.

Today, I decided to watch this documentary called "Black Gold". I am a fiend for documentaries, and if you don't know, now ya know....But it is about the export of coffee from Ethiopia. Very interesting and touching. What really got me is how the effect of cheap coffee trade is a cause of famine in Ethiopia. The film shows the families that depend on coffee trade as their primary source of income. Since they are only receiving about 11 cents per kilo of coffee they can't feed their children. You can find out more about the movie and what you can do as an individual to help here.. http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/

Oh, and for all my Wilson College homies, its available for checkout in the library...well as soon as I take it back.

Baduisms

On another note, I always watched my girl Erykah Badu's video for "Window Seat" off of her upcoming album entitled New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War
set to release MARCH 30TH!!! Not too far away...and if you are like me, always wanting to be ahead of the game, you can pre-order it iTunes.

But aside from all that promotional stuff that I do not get paid for, I wanna talk about the video. Set in Dallas, TX with no set, no crew, NO WARNING...lol..(once you see it, you'll know what I mean) I love it. Erykah really pushed the envelope with this one. At the end of the video she speaks a few words about GROUPTHINK. A topic that she has been speaking about on Twitter for awhile now. The idea is based on group thinking which hinders the individual to think their own thoughts based on cohesiveness, something we all too often look over. What is most important are the consequences of "groupthink".

I found some useful information here...

http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink



The idea of groupthink is a term created by social psychologist Irving Janis and "occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment."


Well....what the hell are you waiting for?? lol. Watch it!!!

DRM and the fight for media rights.

Friday!! Yes. I have many things to share with you today! First things first. As my introduction to mass communications class has exposed me to a new term, DRM. It stands for digital rights music and it has to do with controlling the content that is downloaded via the internet. As all who know me know I LOVE music, I was particularly interested in this subject.

Apparently, what DRM means for you and I is that anything that is downloaded from a particular website that allows you to access it can only be used in accordance with that website. In other words, you download something from iTunes and it can only be played via iTunes or systems in accordance with iTunes products such as the iPod even if you have purchased them. Itunes was a major component in this DRM battle, and the inventor of the iPod, Steve Jobbs was against the entire idea. While I haven't been able to find any DRM controlled media on iTunes I began to think what would it be like if all media was controlled in this manor and what does this mean for you and I?

As we all know, the fight for copyright infringement has become more prevalent in this decade. Warnings are often shown on the back of cd's and in the previews of movies that warn about the illegality of copying a movie of CD for sell or any other use other than personal usage. However, there is a way around everything. For example, mixtapes which can be downloaded for FREE on websites such as DATPIFF.com and mixtapetorrent.com have become very popular. Websites that show bootleg or illegally copied movies such as movie25.com and movies-links.tv. Is it really fair for the people who intend to get paid off the work that they produce? Whole albums can even be downloaded before the release date at albumhunt.com.

Although these types of websites are great for the thrifty individual who can think of a million and one ways to spend their money than "wasting" it on media or the person who is looking for a quick buck who copies these types of media for a profit but I still believe in going out in buying an album or a movie anyway. I have to question what this means for musical artists in the future and how sales will be affected. The last question that I have to end with is what do you think this means about how media will be protected in the future? Will laws become strict and will more media corporations look to DRM in the future to protect their product? Is there a way that both sides of this argument can come to a realistic solution. Just something to think about. I am out of time for the moment, but it is Friday and I will be back kickin some more knowledge. Peace.

What is an Ankh?

So...in my search for new ideas for tattoo's I came across the Egyptian symbol, Ankh. I remember on an older Erykah Badu live album she was talking about an Ankh but I really don't remember what she was saying. So I decided to a bit of research. I know I might be a little late, but hey...I'm on a path to self-discovery. This is what I have found.

The origin of the symbol remains a mystery to Egyptologists, and no single hypothesis has been widely accepted. One of the earliest suggestions is that of Thomas Inman, first published in 1869

[It] is by Egyptologists called the symbol of life. It is also called the 'handled cross,' or crux ansata. It represents the male triad and the female unit, under a decent form. There are few symbols more commonly met with in Egyptian art. In some remarkable sculptures, where the sun's rays are represented as terminating in hands, the offerings which these bring are many a crux ansata, emblematic of the truth that a fruitful union is a gift from the deity

Opening Statements.

Somewhat frustrated with social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook and inspired by the many African American and Hip-Hop blogs that I have been coming across lately, I have decided to start my own. Really new to this whole idea, but hey its a learning experience. Grow with me. I will be using this blog to express my thoughts and as I acquire knowledge, I intend to share it =). How exciting.