
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year!!

Monday, December 13, 2010
The Final Stretch Part II
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Quotes

Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Final Stretch: Coming to the End of the Semester
Friday, December 3, 2010
Opinionated and Ignorant
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Sex Doesn't Make You a Slut
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Check It Out, Wrap It Up
♥ HIV stands for 'human immunodeficiency virus' and AIDS stands for 'acquired immunodeficiency syndrome'.
♥ HIV isn't only contracted by having sex, although it is probably the most common way to transfer the disease.
♥ Most people with HIV don't even know that they have it, because they don't feel ill right when they get it. However, some people develop some sort of a fever-like illness with fever, rash, joint pains, and enlarged lymph nodes.
♥ Regardless of if they feel sick or not, people infected with HIV are highly infectious during the first six weeks of them being infected.
♥ THE ONLY WAY TO DETERMINE WHETHER HIV IS PRESENT IN A PERSON'S BODY IS BY TESTING FOR HIV ANTIBODIES OR FOR HIV ITSELF.
♥ There are different stages of HIV based on certain signs, symptoms, infections, and cancers. People at the third stage of HIV most likely have AIDS, and people at the fourth definitely do.
♥ AIDS is defined by the occurrence of any of more than 20 infections or cancers associated with the deficiency of the immune system that stem from HIV infection.
♥ AIDS is also defined in the basis of a CD4 positive T cell count of less than 200 per cubed mm of blood. But that's fancy stuff.
♥ The majority of people infected with HIV, if not treated, develop signs of HIV-related illness within 5-10 years. The time between getting infected with HIV and being diagnosed with AIDS can be 10-15 years, if not longer.
♥ There's no cure just yet, but there is treatment that can slow the disease down and make it take longer to develop into AIDS.
♥ You can find more info here:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention [www.cdc.gov]
Epigee [www.epigee.org]
UNAIDS [www.unaids.org]
P.S.
Here's a cool little thing some celebrities are doing.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
And as we come to a close...
Friday, November 19, 2010
I'm Coming Home Again :D
Thursday, November 18, 2010
What Ever Happened... [Updatage!] (ONE MORE DAY)





Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sexiest Men Alive? (2)








Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Roommate Rules. (3)
- Keep it clean. Literally.
- Keep it clean. In other ways...
- Be courteous and polite.

- Do favors every once in a while.
- Just be nice.
- If you're not getting along...
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Luff. In Real Life... (5)
Friday, November 12, 2010
All along... [My current favorite people.] (7)











Thursday, November 11, 2010
"Why, what's up?" (8)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010
MotM2: My Personal Analysis (9)
So. As the world must know, I obtained my copy of Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager yesterday, the day it came out. As the world also must know, I love the shit out of Kid Cudi. That is one cool ass guy. And he's talented as shit. He's one of the only artists I respect enough to actually purchase an album. I'm just a little disappointed I wasn't home when this man decided he wanted to visit Chicago. But it's all good, because I still got the album :DThis, right here, is my in-depth, track by track analysis of what I think about this here piece of magic. And that's exactly what it is. Magic.
Track 1
Scott Mescudi vs. The World
feat. Cee-Lo Green
This track is a nice little introduction to the album. It starts with this soft, slight, cosmic commotion of sorts which leads to four notes taken from the intro track from the last album. If you're familiar with that album/track, it's the "you're in my dreams" part. I like how he did that; in a way, he's letting you know that the Moon Man is back at it. I read somewhere that the track was originally recorded with Cudi singing the chorus, and they sent it to Cee-Lo later, and he added his own harmony and fancy stuff to it. I think it was an extremely nice touch. Basically, it works as a first track, because I feel like it's a nice prelude to the deepness of the rest of the album.
Track 2
REVOFEV
This was one of the tracks I listened to before I got the album. I enjoyed it now, but I thought it would change up a little by the time I heard it on the album. I was expecting it to wind up like Sky Might Fall from MotM1, which I heard before the album was released and sounded slightly different when I heard the album cut. I preferred the ending on the leaked track than the album version. However, REVOFEV didn't follow this trend. Cudi did add some extra strings at the end of this one, but it was very subtle and it worked. The track wasn't much different from the first version of it that I heard. This was also a good one to put at the beginning of the album. For one thing, it just flows nicely after Scott vs the World. Also, it's a nice prelude of sorts that gets us ready before we plunge deeper into the story. This is one of the songs that I, personally, could see him performing. I don't know why... It just creates a visual of him on stage, in a leather jacket and shades, reaching out to the fans, like "Where will you be for the revolution," and trying to get as much hype and feedback as possible, like he's really talking to us in this one.
Track 3
Don't Play This Song
feat. Mary J. Blige
Alright. The message a lot of people got from this song was "don't listen to this song if you're sober." I personally think it's a little deeper than that.. I think he's saying that his thoughts get so deep when HE'S not sober himself, that, if you don't think you can handle it, you shouldn't listen to it, because he's about to get deep into those thoughts and tell us about all about it. I like it. It's like a warning. Like, this is just the beginning, if you can't handle this, you're not ready for the rest of the deep shit. One of the first lines I caught was something along the lines of him not giving a fuck about a scantron. Which made me chuckle. Just thought I'd share that. I feel that Mary J.'s appearance is kinda random. Like, she doesn't really match everything that Cudi's trying to do with this album, and she's in two songs. I feel like, in this song, sometimes she's just there, like she doesn't add anything to the track, and other times, she just sticks out with that soulful voice of hers. Like, I love Mary, just not really for this song. I think without that extra voice on this track, it would have sounded kinda boring, or like it was missing something; I just don't think Mary was what was missing.
Track 4
We Aight (Wake Your Mind Up)
This here really isn't much of a song. Lol it's like a little interlude, almost. It's just this trippy beat and Cudi saying "we aight, wake your mind up, we aight." It's actually not as annoying as one would assume, because the trippy beat is cool, and the crowd screaming faintly in the background kinda adds to the story aspect of it. Like, once again, it's another beginning of the album/before the serious stuff thing, and I feel like with this one, he's saying, at the end of the day, this is what's happening in my life and my mind. I don't know how to explain that further...lol. But I kinda get the feel of a roller coaster. Like, this is the part of the ride when you're getting to the very top of the first drop, and it's like, get ready, here we go. This track is right before the drop.
Track 5
Marijuana
This song makes me think of Wiz Khalifa. For more reasons than one...lol. But it's not so much about how much of it he smokes, it's about its effect on him. And, listening to it now, I just realized there's a big chunk of instrumentals going on, where he doesn't say much of anything except for the occasional "ohhh marijuana." I dunno. I don't have too much to say about this one. It's not one of my favorites. It's not bad, but I don't think it's the best one. People were giving this one a lot of attention on iTunes, but I don't think it's as magically fantastic as people are making it out to be.
Track 6
Mojo So Dope
This is where I think the album starts to take a bit of a turn. Only slightly, though. Like, everything from here not only gets deeper into his mind and life and the story he's trying to tell, but it gets better. I like the sample that was used for this song. I think this was well put-together. There are some parts that are a little in your face ("give a fuck about a motherfuckin' lifestyle.") From my understanding, this is where he's just saying, this is me and my life, and that's that. Basically. There's not much to say about it. It pretty much just sounds nice. It's kinda mellow but kinda rough at the same time. And the sample is just dope. It's a nice turn-around from Marijuana. Like, after he smokes some weed, these are the thoughts that come from his high.
Track 7
Ashin' Kusher
Another pothead anthem...lol. I like this one better than Marijuana, and that's probably because it's more upbeat and fun and all-around enjoyable. It's like, the only fuck bitches, smoke weed kind of song on here, but it's not all kinds of rude and ignorant. It's just like, this is what I do. And it also just sounds nice. And he emphasizes random words, like JUDY, which really threw me off when I first paid attention to that. Basically, it's just a fun song to just bump when you're high on life. Or weed. Whatever you prefer.
Track 8
Erase Me
feat. Kanye West
The single. When I first heard this, I didn't really know what to think about it. I didn't dislike it, I just didn't know how to absorb it, if you will. It was basically a nice little rock ditty with a verse from Ye, and I had no idea if he was putting it on the album, because it was so different. This was the first indication that Cudi was doing some new shit, that was not straight hip hop. This man learned how to play guitar a few months ago. And it's not like he learned it and did a random riff on some real nigga song *coughLilWaynecoughLollipopcoughcough* Cudi is going in a direction that a lot of hip hop artists are afraid to go in, and that's one reason why I respect him so much as an artist. Also, this song is just catchy as hell. And Ye did a decent job on his verse. Also a fun song. I like it.
Track 9
Wild'n Cuz I'm Young
So. The beat for this song is like, super basic, as is the hook. It's not a hugely exciting track, but it goes kinda hard. I could hear this at like a cool ass party or at a fancy bar or something. With lots of strobe lights and such. Or maybe a bomb ass strip club. I don't know. It's just a mellowed out song saying fuck the bullshit, i like to party. The last 30 seconds or so give a feel of how fucked up he is after such partying. His words are played backwards, and there's this kind of melancholy, not quite tragic, lonely ass piano. That one part might be the first hint at how serious he gets on this album. Shit gets real, btw.
Track 10
The Mood
This is actually one of my favorites on the album. It's another kind of trance-y, mellowed, trippy song about the party scene and what he does when he's not so sober. I think It's like a part two to Wild'n Cuz I'm Young, because it kinda tells the same story. I just think it sounds doper. There's a slight echo and this really eerie laugh in the background that kinda makes me think of how he talks about demons he confronts and stuff.
Track 11
MANIAC
feat. Cage & St. Vincent
This. Right here. Is musical madness. This is another one of my favorites, if not my most favorite. Face it, this man is messed up. Lol, he goes through some things, and he has some scary ass thoughts. I'm not saying he's a legit maniac. I think he just feels that way sometimes. Like, this song is an example of the dark times he experiences in his life. We all have 'em, but can we all say we're as dark and twisted as Kudi and his thoughts? Not so much. The addition of Cage was kinda dope. Cage is pretty dope himself. He's kinda on the same dark page as Cudi, so I think he works for this song. I also think the St. Vincent sample takes this song even further, because her voice is kinda eerie, and she just repeats "make this black whole blacker." It really taps into the darkness aspect of the song. It. Is. Dope. [SN: There is talk of a video (AKA short film) being directed by Shia LaBeouf for this song? Are you excited? I'm excited. I ♥ Shia. And I love me some Cudi even more. So that should be tons of awesome.]
Track 12
Mr. Rager
This song is what this album is all about: Mr. Rager and his travels and adventures. It's lighter than the previous few tracks, like, it's a lot more upbeat. He's asking Mr. Rager where he's headed and can he tell us some of his stories, to which Mr. Rager says he's off on an adventure, "I'm on my way to heaven," which kinda makes me think "pursuit of happiness?"And when he asks about the telling of the stories of his travels, it's like, this is what this album is about. I honestly feel like this track should have been placed earlier in the album, but I guess it's a nice relief from the heavy tracks before it.
Track 13
These Worries
feat. Mary J. Blige
This track is kinda heavy. I know they said Kudi confronted his cocaine addiction on the album, and I'm wondering if this is where he does it. Because this song is heavy, man..lol. Also, before he starts every verse, there's this slight lull, and then a big ignorant sniff. So. *shrugs* I actually kinda like Mary on this track. Kinda. Like I still don't feel like she was necessary for this album, but I prefer her on this track to Don't Play This Song. When neither Cudi or Mary are singing, the background noise is, once again, sort of eerie. For lack of a better word, I think it's an interesting song. Like, you actually have to listen to every part of it to get a real feel for it.
Track 14
The End
feat. GLC, Chip the Ripper and Nicole Wray
I like this song for so many reasons. This song is the most hip-hop-y, if you will. Like, you almost forget this man raps until this song. And he's decent. And it's so chill. And I'm also fans of GLC and Chip. So this song is just a win for me. Except the Nicole Wray girl kinda annoys me... But overall, this is a nice one. [Just a heads up, Cudi's verse is last, so, it'll be a while before you remember he raps...lol]
Track 15
All Along
Just like the first three tracks introducing the album effectively, the last three tracks are nice endings to MotM2. This song is a bit of a self-analysis. The emotion is evident all up and through this song. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. You just have to hear it. It's the strings and the mellowness of his voice that give it that emotion. I dunno. Just listen.
Track 16
GHOST!
This is also up there on my list of favorites. This was another one I heard before I got the album, and we all know how people on youtube like to screw things up a bit. So the first version I listened to was in a higher pitch and was a little faster. And I fell in love with it. Then I got the album, and it was lower and slower, and I lost a little bit of love for it. It wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as it was initially, but it's growing on me. It's still a decent song. At first, I thought this was the song where he confronted the cocaine, and so, for a while, I had dubbed it the coke song. Now, I have no clue what it's about. But it's heavy and eerie and full of emotion. Like, it's the last big bang of dark, eerie emotion before the last track, which is kinda light like All Along. More about that later. The first few notes of this song are insanely creepy. Like, I don't know if the title of the song has anything to do with it, but it gives me a bit of a chill. It's just such a crackin' song. The end of it is kinda random though. Again, random ass piano, some extra vocals. Cold song. It's quotable, deep, eerie, and just nice.
Track 17
Trapped in my Mind
This is the real track that says "the end :D hope you enjoyed the show!" It's certainly not as heavy as some of the others. But, like he says, he's trapped in his mind. Like, he went deep in there to give us this magical piece of artistry, lol, and he says "it's a gift and a curse," like, he gets some real, creative shit from that scary place, but it's still a scary place. He can't get away from it, but he's learning to make the best of it. When the song starts, it kinda sounds like one of those songs you hear thinking it's a new, complete song but when you listen to it, it's like a live version of something he just started working on. Like, it's not bad, it just has this raw, unfinished sound to it. But it's catchy. I like the twinkly bits. They make me feel good.
DAMN that took a long time to write.
But, yeah. Overall, I think it's an awesome album. He got real creative with it, and did some things that threw people off, but I think it's more about accepting the off-ness of it, and learning to like something different. That's what I think he was going for with this, a bunch of different things that you have to feel instead of just hear. I like that you could really feel the emotion throughout most of the album, and he wasn't talking about one thing. He gave an interesting view of his life and the way he's living it, and it's not just the glamorous parts. He's giving us the more personal, dark side that you really have to be ready for. You can't go in expecting it to be like MotM1. It's not the same at all. I think both albums are great for different reasons. But I think this one is an acquired taste. I was not disappointed. Kudos, Cudi. Can't wait for the third one. :)
♥
Friday, November 5, 2010
Where Am I Going? (14)
Alright, so lately, I've been contemplating my future. I'm not 100% sure about this journalism thing. Maybe about 95%, since I'm equipped with enough of the stuff I need to go anywhere with a journalism career. But I've actually contemplated becoming a teacher... Either an English teacher, a math teacher, or a music teacher. I personally don't like math enough to become a math teacher, but, for some reason, people think I'm a math genius of some sort.. And I like explaining what I do know to people. But I don't like kids that much. So I don't really know. I figured that, since one of my long term life goals is to have a positive influence on people, being a teacher would assist in that. I hate seeing something wrong and not being able to do anything about it, and one of those things is lack of decent education and kids being ignorant as all get out and thinking it's ok.

On some real, "I believe the children are our future" type shit, our generation has gone to poop, and I don't want to see the next generation do worse. So, I feel like I could be a teacher. I just don't know how much I'd enjoy it. Because, like I said, I don't like kids. After a certain age, they get mean as hell. And teenagers are just disrespectful. I think it's early enough in my college career to be changing my mind. I don't know, I'll figure it out. Those of you who know me well enough, what do you guys think? Am I teacher material?
:P
♥
P.S. ONLY FOUR DAYS UNTIL MAN ON THE MOON II!!!
Here's another track that, apparently, Shia LaBeouf will be directing a video for. Excitement, much? Yes. Very much.
Click that shit! >> that. shit. << Seriously, though, click it. It's awesome.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Making Up/Best City in the Whole Wide, Wide World (15)

So, I finally took a plunge, and now things make more sense. That doesn't mean I feel any better about the lack of presence in my life.. Basically, I fussed about how we haven't had a decent conversation in the longest time, and that I felt ignored. And he broke it down, but I wasn't having it, so I gave alternate solutions, and things were cool. Then I called him funk butt. Which I think might be new nickname material...
All in all, this night was pretty awesome. And I don't know if it had anything to do with the conversation, but, if it did, it all goes back to what I was saying about me missing himand not talking to him and that bringing me down, blah blah blah. But I really did feel a lot better. Today was just a decent day all around. Especially this entire evening from about 5 to...now. [currently 1:25 in the AM] Now I'm debating on going to sleep now or busying myself with something.
Also, I have decided that, for the month of November, I will end each post with something that I am grateful for.Today...: I really miss home.Chicago is like, one of the greatest places on earth.
And I'm extremely grateful to have been born and raised in such an insanely amazing place. I can't wait to go back. My whole life is in Chicago: my family, friends, home, everything I know. And on top of that, the place is BEAUTIFUL. Only 15 days until I go back! Yay!
And, aw yeah. The Legend of Mr Rager in 5 DAYS. :D I'm geeked. Yes I am.
♥
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Anticipating Man on the Moon II (16)
♥ ♥ ♥Right now, I'm gonna talk about my favoritest guy right now, and his new album, coming out in LESS THAN ONE WEEK! :D
Scott Mescudi, one of the greatest artists out right now (in my opinion at least) will be releasing his album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager on November 9, 2010, and, if someone didn't offer to get me the CD, I would have been first in line at Target or Walmart to pick that up, y'dig.
Now let's talk about this here album. This here album has already been leaked to the world. [whoops] Whoever is responsible for that has, number one, ruined the element of surprise for people that want to get the album and wanted to wait to own the album before hearing it in its entirety. However, they are doing a little bit of promo by letting the album slip. I've gotta be completely honest, I went and listened to as much as the album as I would allow myself to listen to, and, I gotta say, some of the tracks I heard made me want the album even more than I already did. Didn't think it was possible. But I feel like a crack fiend. I gotta have that shit! But seriously, it's a very well crafted album and I can't wait to have it in my possession.
Now, a lot of people are fretting about the leaks. Cudi himself said that he was cool with the leaks, and that, if it was up to him, he would give his tracks away for free. He says he doesn't make much money off of record sales anyway, and that he gets most of his money from doing shows. So why are people tripping more than he is himself? Calm yourselves, children. I feel as if we are true Cudi fans [which, the world knows good and well, that I am :)] we'd support him and go out and buy the album anyway, regardless of the leaks.
I actually saw a comment on one of the songs that made its way to youtube, and the person that made the comment said that they felt that his real fans wouldn't buy the album because he said he would give the music away for free if he could. I thought that was the dumbest thing I ever heard. Let's be real...he gets SOME money from record sales. Probably not a whole lot, but he gets something, the producers get something, everyone that made the album possible gets something for that. They didn't work for nothing. So, whether he wants to share his gift with the world for free or not, I feel as if true fans would go out and buy that shit anyway, to show just how much we support what he does.
I'm not saying that if you don't get the album, you're not a true fan. True fan-ness is subjective. I just feel as if it doesn't make you any less of a fan for going to buy something Cudi says he wants to give out for free.
I guess that's all. Enjoy this other track I dug up. Click the hearts by the pic at the top of this post. [P.S. Check my last post for another song, GHOST! which I have dubbed my personal fave from the album:) Skip the dramatics, and go straight to the bottom of that post.]
♥