"The Will of Wal Mart"

Im not overly political but it doesnt take a rocket scientist to understand the implications of what happened this week in the Supreme Court.. In one fail swoop the "will of the people" was turned into nothing more than an idea. Corporations can now actively get involved in political campaigns by promoting their own agenda and attacking anything that gets in the way of profits. Its like some sort of bad futuristic movie where people literally are sheep, being manipulated and played.. (Brings to mind "A Brave New World.") Of course these corporations will sit in back rooms and hire "experts" on how to trick the people by wrapping an American flag around their message. For a large part of society stuck in emotional baggage this works every single time. What Obama spent on his campaign set a record in politics and was because of an uprising of that same emotion on the other side. Problem is what he spent is lunch money for oil and pharmaceutical companies. For them to persuade the public by manipulation quite frankly isn't that difficult. Playing to peoples emotions is an art form and is being played out as we speak with the "tea party" movement. Why this scares me is that I have a 2 year old daughter and if this holds our country will look much different in her lifetime. The environment and its natural resources will be trumped by the all important profit. The "grass roots" movements that have driven this country since its inception will most likely live only in history books. And greed just might become our new national pastime. Dramatic? Maybe.. but with whats happening now in our country it wouldn't surprise me at all.. (Im sure Fox News is salivating)

Remember when there was NOTHING hotter?!

Lebron can spit...

Steve Stoute speaks the truth for Target

EXCLUSIVE: Steve Stoute's "Dare.Dream.Do" Target Commercial! from the.LIFE Files on Vimeo.

No matter what you think about Steve Stoute you cant deny his talent. He didnt get where he is now by mistake. And his above take on "gut instinct" vs. "risk" is spot on..

Dear Abercrombie and Fitch

this was taken from shanepowers.com and is absolutely hilariously true..

I dig some of your cargo pants. I'm a casual guy. I enjoy tshirts and sneaks and the like. And I would buy more of your stuff.The problem is goin into your store is the worst imaginable thing ever. If it isn't the weird flirty shirtless dudes at the door, it's the OVERPOWERING house music that is blaring on volume 99. I have actually tried to fight through all that a year ago, grabbed some pants, while a shirtless 16 yr old danced around me.
The FORTY MINUTE wait in line with the music, and the shirtless dude put me over the top. I actually thought he was gonna try and slip a hit of X under my tongue for Christ sake. I'm tryin to buy clothes man. I don't wanna be attending a foam party in Ibeza with a ripped kid who isn't sure if he's straight or gay.

Corporate Hand Job... Not Good

Supreme Court eases restrictions on corporate campaign spending..
Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has given big business, unions and nonprofits more power to spend freely in federal elections, a major turnaround that threatens a century of government efforts to regulate the power of corporations to bankroll American politics.
A 5-4 conservative majority crafted a narrow overhaul of federal campaign spending Thursday that could have an immediate effect on this year's congressional midterm elections. The justices eased long-standing restrictions on "independent spending" by corporations and unions in political campaigns.

This means that oil, health, pharmaceutical, etc companies will bombard media with their agenda during elections.. it will all be wrapped in a "disney movie" style package with the truth so far hidden that no one will know the difference..they will all too willingly jump in to steer the public away from anything that gets in the way of profit. Im sure drug companies are salivating. To put in perspective, Obama broke all records by raising 750 million dollars in 2007 and 2008. Exxon Mobil generated profits of $45 billion in 2008 alone. 2% of these profits could of been used to outspend the Obama campaign and fundamentally change the dynamic of the 08 election (LA Times.) Drill, Baby, Drill!!

Outta left field

Cindy McCain shoots an ad promoting Gay Marraige rights... must make for awkward dinner conversation with her hubby.. Ballsy (no pun intended)

Record Labels and remixes... spot on..

Nikki & Rich @ The Roxy

Last night was a big night for Nikki & Rich and they knocked it out of the park. It was only their 3rd show and you couldnt fit another body inside the Roxy. They absolutely killed it and I couldn't be prouder.... New York Highline Ballroom next on Feb 9.. Europe in March.. Don't Sleep.

Pot Luck.

Eight in 10 Americans -- 81% overall -- support allowing doctors to prescribe cannabis, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll.

The fact that this is still even a debate falls into the ridiculous category in my book although its obvious the tides are changing and common sense is taking hold. Its baffling to me that its completely accepted for doctors to prescribe boatloads of addictive painkillers but not pot. Then theres the "experts" who claim it doesnt in fact help pain. For better or worse, let me speak as someone who has smoked a lot in my lifetime. (In fact, according to Malcolm Gladwell, Im an Outlier): It does. Period. End of story. Now Im not advocating marijuana use, in fact I've had my own issues but lets even take it a step further. The fact the alcohol is celebrated and marijuana demonized also falls into the ridiculous category. Obviously ignorance is required to demonize pot. To compare the complications with alcohol to the complications of marijuana would be one of the most lopsided comparisons in history. One comes with mountains of emotional outbursts, domestic violence, DUI's, liver damage, frat boy bear hugs and black eyes.. The other comes with potato chips and a remote control.

Sure theres more to the argument but can we at least wrap the conversation with common sense and actual reality. Its time.

p.s. I dont even smoke anymore.. (well most of the time)

Yoga...

Im 2 months into my commitment of 2 hours of Yoga/Meditation Monday through Friday to start the day. It hasn't been easy to peel out of bed every day and its definitely not for those who only lean towards instant gratification. Its a process, and one that I'm in the middle of.. Spending that amount of time focusing on being aware as opposed to listening to the madman in the brain is a constant struggle. The difference between what we "think" is important and what actually "is" important couldn't be greater and its much easier to fall into the "chase." I realized awhile back that it wasnt about being "happy" it was about being at peace. Happiness has become an exercise in marketing, always elusive and just out of reach. The irony is its ultimately all a choice. We dont "become" happy, we always only can "be" happy. Most of the lessons in Yoga are extremely simple and quite frankly our brains tend to dismiss them because "it must be more complicated than that." Im slowly learning it isn't at all, and for that Im extremely grateful.

Anderson Cooper is the REAL DEAL

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper stepped out of his role as reporter Monday and rescued a Haitian boy caught in the middle of a looting that turned violent.

Why Haiti Matters: Barack Obama: Newsweek

READ ARTICLE HERE

My 50th Law: You Get What You Give..

Say what you will about this guy but the thing I will always remember is his work ethic. No one Ive ever worked with has even come close to him at the beginning of his career. People nowadays throw around the word "grind" as more of a marketing cliche than reality. If your interperatation of grinding simply means that you twitter about it then your not getting it. 50 had the world in his hand before "Get Rich" came out and he probably could of pulled back and simply allowed the momentum to take over. Instead he worked harder than anyone Ive ever seen, taking every interview, radio visit, handshake and show like his entire career depended on it. Always on time with a smile on his face. It didnt matter whether it was Jimmy Iovine or the guy in the mailroom, he was present for everyone. I remember a few times when he had radio interviews at 7 am and no one being able to find him in his room. Turns out he had already hit the gym for an hour and was sitting outside station waiting for everyone else. They were late, not him. It was inspiring for me knowing the hunger he had to make his shot happen. Everyone around him fed off of that. Passion and drive begets passion and drive. It infected everyone and we all know how it turned out. Sure since then theres been ups and downs.. The mix of ego and money typically get in the way. Less heart more brain and shit starts to break down. Ive seen both sides of this. Artists I wont name, who had everything lined up simply got lazy and let entitlement smother the fire. To win you gotta be hungry no matter what is front of you. The journey is the best part and every one around you will match what you give.. The lesson I learned from 50 is that passion is contagious and Ive used it every since..

NIke Air Pegasus

Clean athletic steez.. yes please

Interesting twist to doing your taxes

uhhh...

Multiple Minds: Seth Godin

Multiple minds

Most people grow up with one and only one voice in our heads. It's the one that talks when we talk to ourselves. (If you have more than one voice, time to check in with a doctor). It's easy, then, to assume that this is the mind, that we have just one, one brain, one voice, one thing going on at a time.

We can demonstrate that this isn't actually true. There's the mind that gets nostalgic or excited at a photo or a smell or a sound. There's the mind that keeps us breathing. There's the mind that suddenly announces, "I'm hungry" after seeing a TV commercial. And most important to marketers and those that would change the status quo, there's the lizard brain, the mind that worries, particularly about survival, reproduction and rage.

When the plane lurches in turbulence, it's not your constantly running verbal mind that freaks out. It's the amygdala, the prehistoric brain stem (and the surrounding parts of the brain) that kick in. That kick leads the verbal mind to start a frightening monologue, but it was your brain stem that started it.

Marketing to just the rational mind makes no sense, because the rational mind almost never decides anything by itself. And managing your career or your day based on your irrational fears makes even less sense. Which part of your mind makes decisions about credit cards, personal security, relationships, job prospects and creativity?

As our jobs (and lives) get more cerebral and less physical, our misunderstandings about the mind (and the self-defeating miscalculations each of us make every day) become ever more important. Watch yourself for a day and start keeping store of 'who' is doing the talking and whether that part of the brain is working in your best interests or not.

(thanks Bwash)

Nikki & Rich: New music on Itunes and Roxy show this week

Cat and Mouse, Next Best Thing now available on Itunes.. Roxy show this coming Tues at 8pm sharp.. Gonna be incredible.

REPOST FROM 10/08: Hip Hop on the brink. The Wayne effect. IT STILL APPLIES

(reposting after numerous convos years after Waynes huge success with artists that simply arent Wayne..)
From 10/08.. it still applies today
as the record industry scrambles to understand, and in return copy the success of lil wayne, I got to thinking.. will anyone study it with depth as opposed to skimming the surface.. I can see executives rearranging their marketing plans to flood the market with mixtapes, guest features and internet webisodes all the while missing the entire point.. their artist isn't lil wayne. I also imagine that most of these executives wont even listen to waynes album to gain any insight beyond the surface.. what is it about wayne as an artist that connects. They will all point to the success of "lollipop" which without question was an integral part of breaking the glass ceiling of a million albums sold. But if theres one thing we have learned over the past year is that singles alone don't guarantee soundscan bliss.. will flo rida even get a second album? We also learned that superstars with massive singles don't always translate.. Snoop who had one of the biggest songs of the year and a highly rated tv show .. listening to waynes album is the simplest way to peek into what makes him stick. Outside of the monster hits, theres depth, theres pain in his voice, better yet theres an actual voice.. hip hop has lost that undeniable voice.. the hunger on 50 cents get rich or die trying, the open book genius of Em's Marshall Mathers LP, the sound of NY in Rakim/Jay/BIG and of LA in Dres Chronic.. emotion, pain, struggle, and artistic freedom to express themselves in a way that defines who they are and where they've come from. Authentic.. we have lost the understanding of the power of authenticity. This will come as a shock to some but I attribute soulja boys success to authenticity.. sure it might not be everyones cup of tea or idea of what is "real" but soulja boy is exactly who he is and he connected with a younger audience that believed him because he wasn't faking it, he was simply being a teenager and made music his way.. sure enough there were 25 artists who tried to copy what he did and failed..
Hip hop has become a product. Like everything else that makes people money the market was flooded with knock offs and the shift to artists and music that "sounds" like hits as opposed to "feel" like hits. Hair metal all over again. Pointing fingers is futile because everyone has played a part- from the labels to the artists to the management to the public..
It's the emotional connection that matters.. otherwise the music just lives in the mind. Yes songs that sound like hits can work.. but what does work mean? Most often the publishing companies are who win. Radio plays the thin songs over and over and kids buy the single and ringtone, with no interest of finding out anything more about the artist because there was no emotional or authentic connection. Its candy. The public simply understands that these songs are solely a quick fix, a way for record labels to high five each other over being most added or in the top 10 on various charts.. yippeeeee!!! Now there is a business here and I dont wanna diminish that in any way. Its called pop music and it has thrived for as long as ive been paying attention. From The Pussycat Dolls to Hanna Montana there is millions upon millions of dollars to be made, but I’m referring to music outside of the mainstream.. the music that reminds us we are alive, music with a voice.. Bob Dylan, Rage Against the Machine, Eminem and now lil wayne remind us that there is also a lane for music outside the pop world. Yes some of these artists can walk in both lanes but they wouldn't sell what they do if they didn't keep a foot in both. They are smart enough to know that and have too much to say to simply become a "product." We are a country of stuffed emotions and music has always been an outlet for that energy... I remember being a very angry teenager and listening to Metallica was like listening to a friend who related to the pain that I was experiencing but had no idea how to deal with.. it never added to it, in fact, it let a little air out of the ball inside of me each time I listened.
Back to lil wayne.. lil wayne hasn't lost his voice.. his pain and ability to express himself in his OWN unique way resonates behind the passing landscape of radio play. He is a rock star, he is a drug addict, he is conflicted and you can sense his struggle, his voice carries that energy with it as it pumps out you speaker.. and he taps into peoples emotions in a way that feels real.. feels authentic.. feels like freedom for a short while until life on lifes terms returns to smack us all in the face.. So I would suggest to those who have already pressed up 25000 mixtapes to flood the streets with an artist that is as thin as paper.. stop.. save your money and maybe even go the pop route… if you want to tap into the true reason why wayne sold a million units find an authentic talented artist which something to say.. with persistence people WILL listen.. they might even sell a million albums one day