Get Out and Vote – Midterm Elections
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, General, Our Rights, Politics, Society & Culture
I just thought I’d post a little reminder for everyone to get out and vote. The midterm elections are just as important as the the presidential elections. As Americans it’s our civil duty to vote in who we believe should run our government. But as a black person, I feel it’s a show of respect to those who placed their lives in harm’s way for me to vote and have the many civil liberties I take for granted. We haven’t had these rights for a long time, so let’s make sure we take care of business.
Early voting in Texas is open. For more information on voting in Texas, go to http://www.votexas.org.
Can Hip Hop Be A Driver of Social Change?
This was the answer I posed as I began to learn more about social change and how it occurs. There are roughly about 8 theories on what drives change in society. The main ones we usually assume are that society progressively improves with the times. Our society today is better than yesterday because we’re smarter than previous societies and our culture is more refined. Another big theory is that technology drives change in society. Our global society is very different because of the contributions of from the PC and the Internet. But what about culture? In many ways our technology is shaped by cultural drivers that include a mostly free economic market and the need for better, faster, easier-to-use technology that streamlines our life experiences. From that vantage point, even Moore’s law is shaped by cultural influences. But what about hip hop? Certainly, it doesn’t shape the world we live in with eye-level influence like technology or economic markets, but I believe it has helped shape the world we live in. While doing so, it has contributed true change to society and can continue to do so in the future.
Merriam-Webster’s Online dictionary defines “rap” music as a rhythmic chanting often in unison of usually rhymed couplets to a musical accompaniment. While that definition is true Wikipedia further defines hip-hop music as a musical genre that developed as part of hip hop culture, and is defined by four key stylistics elements: rapping, DJing/scratching, sampling, and beatboxing. For the sake of this paper, I will focus primarily on the rapping element of hip hop and use the term hip hop primarily since it denotes the much larger aspect of the culture than the term rap is able to accomplish.
Hip hop was first created in the South Bronx neighborhoods of New York City during the late 1970s. Hip Hop arose during a time when block parties became popular. A DJ would sample words, phrases, and beats from popular funk, soul, and R&B albums using a recording mixer and two records to excite the crowd during extended periods of play. The DJ would also often incorporate an emcee (MC) who would further thrill the crowd with comedic stories. Beatboxing, using one’s voice to simulate drum and beat patterns, was further incorporated along with stories about life, social injustice, and hardship. As hip hop became more popular and began to spread, a common language and clothing style were adopted by fans to signify their allegiance to the music.
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President Obama’s Weekly Address – 10/16/10
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Obama, Personal Finance
The President lays out his agenda to foster investment here at home. He vows to close the tax loopholes for sending jobs and profits overseas that Congressional Republicans have tried to protect.
Angry Birds for Android Free
If you’ve ever played Rovio’s Angry Birds game, then I’m sure you know why this is a big deal. For the longest time, it was available for the iPhone/iPod only, so us Android guys were out of luck. When the Android beta version came out, I downloaded it and for the first time understood the reason people were so addicted to it. I made the mistake of letting my six year old play it and he instantly fell in love with it also. Now I have to watch where I put my phone because he’ll start playing if he sees it lying around.
Earlier today, I received a text from AppBrain saying the full version of Angry Birds was available for free. I immediately downloaded it and was pleased to find out it was true. The full version is ad-supported, but the ads don’t get in the way of playing. I’m sure my son will be happy to play the new levels and I of course will enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to unlock them for him. It’s amazing how the little things can brighten your day.
For my real Angry Bird fans, I came across this article at Wired Science titled “The Physics of Angry Birds”. Yeah I know it’s kind of geeky, but I do have some readers who would be interested in science behind the game. The article had some comments, so I guess there are some people interested in figuring the game out.
Join the Conversation on Race and America’s Future
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Entertainment & Sports, Family, General, Relationships, Society & Culture
Always open to new experiences and the search for good discussions, I wanted to share this email I received from, Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and CEO, PolicyLink.
We are launching the Race and America’s Future Virtual Book Club – a six-week project we hope will promote an open, honest, and constructive conversation on the challenges and opportunities facing our changing nation.
As I have told you in earlier emails, the book club will be based around Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future, a new book I had the pleasure of writing with Stewart Kwoh and Manuel Pastor.
This week’s inaugural installment asks the question, “Are We Post-Racial Yet?” And, really, is “post-racial” something America should strive to be?
Sign up for PolicyLink emails here to keep up with the latest on race and equity in America!
We hope you’ll join us today and every Wednesday through Election Day at www.UncommonCommonGround.org to chart a positive direction for race in America.
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