Blacks and Whites Version 2.0

Some new additions! Most of my photos will have their own little folder on facebook, but I'm promising to add a few random ones that didn't quite make the "public" section (I'm aware that this is a public blog).

Motown Mayhem

Is there anything that Claude Kanoun can't do? He is the most complete businessman in the field today, he has an assassin's mentality, there is no one more "Hollywood" than Claude Kanoun... or is there? Past attempts at uncovering the secret life of C-Kay, the R&B artist from Modesto, CA, was left in shambles when an undercover reporter was discovered during an event some few years ago (the Commisioner of the ABC refused to comment on this issue), but today news has surfaced of the former R&B great.

Claude Kanoun has made his home, cooked his meals and slept in his bed. In Modesto, CA this man now resides as the true Emperor of his small boarderless country. In this recent amateur photo that was taken by accident as an un-named camera-woman "bonked" C-Kay across the face, taking this snap shot in the process. He still exists, ladies and gentlemen.

This is Claude.

Kanoun.

Brain Freeze. Coming Soon. Summer 2005.

Sightings of Sosa

It has been nearly two months since the last Sosa sighting, here in Pinole, CA - home of Joey Sosa himself. Word has not yet spread on the where-abouts of this famous, if not infamous, writer who once sought refuge in the somber streets of Pinole. His new screenplay, "Pinole - The Movie" was rumored to have been completed when the mysterious disappearance of this Pinolian came to pass. One neighbor described it as such, "one day he was here, then he was gone". "One day he was here," indeed, Mr. Neighbor, indeed. But where has "he" gone to we ask?

There is a wives tale, a whisper in the wind, a bonfire bonanza of riot that Joey Sosa has traveled to a deserted island where he is working on his next blockbuster thriller. This reporter cannot comment on such topics, but stay tuned...the hunt for Joey Sosa continues.

The Blueprint to The Blueprint

Alright, so I couldn't find a way to stay away forever. Busy month, yadda yadda yadda.

Straight to the point with this one, The Blueprint 3 has officially hit stores (though it did get leaked weeks before release) and, to put it in simple terms, my forehead has hit my steering wheel multiple times after hearing some of the lines coming from this man's mouth. You don't need to be a true Jay-Z fan to appreciate this album because I'm sure everyone on this planet has or has at one time owned a Jay-Z LP or single. It's unfair to say that "Empire State of Mind" or "Run This Town" are the biggest hits on this album; Swizz Beats dropped "On To The Next One" and its been bumpin' in the ride all day. One thing I will definitely say, I'm loving the fact that there's no "Featuring Lil Wayne" on a single song, though we do have some Kanye bars and Drake lines coming in strong.

This album is definitely "the shit" so in preparation for the Blueprint 3 I've been reliving the Blueprint and The Gift and The Curse: "Girls, Girls, Girls"; "Renegade"; "A Dream"; "Excuse me Miss"; "Song Cry"... WOW talk about bringing back memories and living moments long forgotten. I think I've officially added Jay-Z to the list of famous people who's should shake my hand. So here's a track from each of the Blueprint albums, each paving the road of music to come.

Blacks and Whites Volume. 1

Well I was able to find a stand in monitor to fill in the time until Samsung sends mine back! But in lieu of this I can throw some of my black and white photos that have been piling up. Enjoy a couple as I figure out a way to properly title and explain some of these pictures.

Pinole Shores

In the Furnace

The Greatest Race

When we think of the term "race", it is often followed by a trivial concern over whether we're discussing a left-turn circuit meet or a categorization of our fellow human. The topic of race is one that I greatly take to the heart, as I often speak aloud on various topics of racism. In current news, we've experienced a racial scenario that parallels to ridiculous; the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. is my topic of today.

While returning from a trip in China, a neighbor in Gates' Cambridge neighborhood phoned in police of a reported break-in. When Gates was confronted by Sgt. Crowley it wasn't a laughing matter. Gates was asked what he was doing on the grounds and was repeatedly harassed into showing identification - Gates promptly responded by demanding the officer's name and badge number, which was not given lightly. Gates was then arrested for disorderly conduct, on the porch of his own home because he refused to accept the profiling of a racially enraged neighbor and police officer.

Race isn't just an issue that is affecting African-Americans in this country; with the events of September 11th - and since then - Arab-Americans have become the new "fad" in racial profiling. It is often a frenzy to hear a friend describe any middle-easterner as a terrorist, when just a generation before our most feared "terrorists" were Russians.

We have reached an apex of human appreciation and our control over future conditions will define whether or not we spiral out of control or exit successfully. The time to sit down and discuss matters of race are long over due, especially since we've elected our first African-American President in the history of this country. Whether we can get over the stigma of racial supremacy or segregation will be a challenge for this generation, a feat for the future.

Surrender to Samsung

Blogs have been down for a few days, simply due to Samsung's LCD deciding it didn't want to function anymore. I'm working on a new project called "Blacks and Whites", using black and white pictures produced on the digital SLR. Simple work for now, until the new lens gets purchased - 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens - which will make a sexy addition to the camera world in my closet.

First wave of pictures should get updated soon as I'm in Santa Cruz with a majority of tourists, I'm not sure if things will get done this weekend.

On A Scale Of 1:1

Maybe of us can remember our grade school and high school days, most of us were following a new American phenomenon of the Japanese Anime scene floating around; especially all the line-ups on Cartoon Networks Toonami block. One stands out amongst all, for me anyways, and that was Mobile Suit Gundam and the Gundam Wing Series. Long story extremely short, think mechanical, man-powered space suits the size of downtown buildings with ridiculously large canons and monstrous melee weaponry...now take all that and put it in a bonanza of animated episodes and you've got a following for the masses.

Well on July 11th in Shiokaze Park in Japan a full scale, yes 1:1, Mobile Suit Gundam replica was completed, standing a whopping 59 Feet tall - that's just under six stories. This homage to anime lovers is a blessing in disguise as such a thing could only happen in Japan. These are some pictures borrowed from toysrevil so a big thanks to the imagery. If you're unfamiliar with the show itself its worth a toss on your netflix top picks, even the Gundam Wing movie is a nice few hours of mobile-suit action.

Sanctuary

The last couple of days have been nice. Finally a room to call my own, such a comforting feeling to know you have a refuge all to yourself. I've began a few upcoming projects, three main ones actually. First and foremost is to find a car, and honestly I'm highly considering importing a Japanese Civic (right hand drive!) and just cruising around haha... so we'll see how that goes, but as of now I'm heading towards the EK hatchback for a new Type R project. It will resemble my first car in almost all fashion, nice and clean with a whole lot of JDMness dripping everywhere.

My second project, and by far my new favorite one, is the decoration of my wall. I'm in this whole black and white photo mode and I want to capture the essence of my life as it is in this current, drab, prison-like state before it moves onto something different. I believe that no emotion is a bad emotion and this state that I'm currently in definitely produces a wide array of emotions or emotional settings; capturing all that is the project. Maybe it will be a new hobby, who knows!

Third is moving out of Pinole and moving a little bit closer to the City. That's a long term investment and I'm hoping that by January I'll have a nice place to call my own. With this housing market still a bit in the shit, I'm looking forward to finding a nice studio to live in for the next decade or so.

Cheers!

Midsummer

Well, its July and the ever-shrinking city of Pinole still doesn't feel like its summer yet. Maybe its the wind. I've been deeply troubled by the Air France flight that crashed last month, as I've been keeping up with the news and the conspiracy theories. The search for the black box still continues through the severely mountainous region of the Atlantic Ocean. Only 61 of 228 passengers were found and around 600 structural pieces of the plane itself. The big question, that I have, is regarding the luggage. Reports say that various pieces of luggage were found, but there was no clothing found at all.

A flight departing from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, supporting just under 230 passengers, mysteriously has luggage with no clothing? I'm not going to jump out and say terrorist attack, because that would be too cliche and, quite frankly, I'm blaming this on aliens. Yup, UFOs. Why not? Three other flights reported loss of contact with air traffic and were diverted upwards of 62 miles off course to ride around the "unidentified" storm that "resulted" in the crash. Not sure how I can explain the involvement of extra terrestrials without sounding completely psycho so I'll save it for another day. Just use some imagination, maybe they were shopping...who knows.

Hell In A Handbasket

News is news, this is my blog and I'm tired of finding new and inventive ways of entertaining the world. Its the end of June and the only thing this month has given me is another reason to wish time travel existed. It seems that I'm finding a new reason day in and day out to say "I should have done this" or "I could have done that, if"...

Life is too long, that's my take on the subject. Walking forward is becoming harder as every minute passes and the slap in the face that nothing comes overnight isn't comforting, especially since I've been trying for years to make everyone around me happier than I make myself. Enough with the bullshit, enough with the joke, I'm giving up on humanity and doing anything and everything for ME. No more will I chase friends from the past, no more will I go out of the way to see family, nothing matters anymore than my well being and if that ruins relationships then so be it.

I no longer work for free, I work for me and me is not cheap.

Inspire Me

Music is one of my inspirations in this world and if you know me, talk to me and live with me you'll know that I always have music in my head. Today I'd simply love to share a couple videos I found browsing the Tube of You that really made me smile and stop to think about what life would be like out of this country...just a thought

C-Murder, Sees Murder

I figured straying away from politics would help ease the mid week hangover, but that just wasn't the case. C-Murder, brother of Silkk the Shocker and Master P (been a long time, hasn't it) is facing 10 years in prison for the attempted murder of 16-year-old Steve Thomas. C-Murder (Corey Miller) unloaded on a club in 2002, when he was denied entrance. That's the Cliff Note's version.

Honestly, I'm more concerned with the psychological imparity of people in these current times. C-Murder chose his name because he "sees murder everywhere", as if this title entitles action... and to be given 10 years in prison (I say given because it was a gift) when video footage clearly shows him aiming a small gun (looks like a .32 special) at a crowd of people. High priced attorneys are doing amazing things in this day and age, if we could only get this crowd to work on empowering our youth's education, redefining the constitutional rights of other or directing new innovation in the energy sector... I guess we can't have our cake and eat it too.

Homo-Genius Proposition

"Historically, domestic partners of Foreign Service members have not been provided the same training, benefits, allowances and protections that other family members receive," the notice says. "These inequities are unfair and must end."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is preparing a notice to all diplomatic personnel about the inequalities affecting U.S. diplomats and their partners. This notice is to alleviate the discrimination of same-sex relationships within the U.S. State Department, allowing for same-sex partners the eligibility of participating in special early-round applications for jobs at embassies, health-care and other benefits. The State Department withheld these benefits, citing the Defense of Marriage Law that protects federal law from allowing same-sex marriage (and the goods/bads that come along).

There is no definite time as to when this notice will be officially released, as the correspondent responsible for releasing this information to CNN is to remain nameless and is not available for comment; but the movement towards gay/lesbian rights is slowing growing.

This is the right thing to do.

I Left My Heart In San Diego

Ladies and gentlemen, its been fun. San Diego has been the home to some of my most memorable moments (love the alliteration) and in truth, I will miss it here. The job market isn't what it used to be, as we all may know, and I'm over the search. I've decided that packing up and moving back isn't giving up, its taking a break.

My months of May and June will be my last times spent here in San Diego (ironically I'll be in the Bay Area for more of that time) so I would love to see and hang out with as many of my friends as I can before its all over.

Like I always say, "it's not goodbye, it's I'll see you later".

Peace and much love.

Chester French Revolution

Chester French is giving away free music.

D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey met at Harvard, but found music to be their true calling and producer/artist Pharrell Williams thought the same as he signed this almost perfectly sculpted group (named after the famous sculptor Daniel Chester French) to his StarTrak/Interscope label. The idea to give away free music is slowly growing popular as we’ve witnessed other artists (such as Nine Inch Nails) also giving away their albums for free or for far below market value, all for the sake of getting their names heard. “She Loves Everybody”, a Chester French hit single, scored some love on HBO’s Entourage and can be found on their new album that just hit stores last month, “Love the Future”.

Refund or Reform?

Growing healthcare issues are among the concerns for modern day Americans, but President Obama will announce on Monday that he has secured the commitments of several industry groups to control the growth in the cost of health care. This private sector pledge could reduce $2 trillion in health care costs over the next 10 years; there are six trade associations representing unions, hospitals, insurers and the drug industry on this commitment. Unfortunately the “How” is unclear as there are questions of where the ‘cost savings’ can be implemented, but the main difference is the contrast in health treatment: going for “better” care, as opposed to “more” care.

Better budgeting is the position that the Obama Administration is taking, as it should (in time) free up resources for other incentives; such as education. As of now, American families can look forward to an average annual savings of $2500. This is the first step to a modern healthcare system that can now accommodate more of the population.

The Obama administration is positioning health care reform as critical for getting the deficit under control; for freeing up resources for other initiatives, such as education; and for reducing the burden on American families.

"Reducing the skyrocketing cost of health care is the only way to create a health care system that works for all Americans; after all, what good is access to a system that we can't afford?" said the spokesman, AARP Director of Public Policy John Rother.

Basking In The Sun

Reading the news daily often brings about random stories, most of which are uninteresting or redundant. One, however, caught my eye just a day ago, about basking sharks and their migration patterns. Eco-babble, maybe, but when I was a kid I wanted to be a marine biologist, and this story was just down-right interesting! A little history, sharks have been creatures that have been widely studied over the course of written history as they are mother nature’s perfect killing machines; but what has been recently discovered, can change the spectrum of how we look at these creatures and how to assess their behavior.

It took researchers roughly one year of data gathering to decipher the directions, depths and even the preferred temperature of the basking shark; as they swim from their northern home in New England and travel across the equator to South America. What I knew about sharks growing up in the San Francisco bay area (lots of great whites) is that sharks generally took to colder waters (skipping the tropical sharks like the Maco or the Bull shark) and this was the case for the basking shark until this data was collected. I’m still baffled at how young our information stream is, where every day turns the new corner to an ever encompassing road of knowledge.
Thank the Discovery Channel for Shark Week, and Chris Gotschalk for the picture.

Nas and Kelis, Over

"You can hate me now..." the music trails off in my head as I think of all the Nas albums I've owned and religiously listened to over the years, and the thought of my favorite hip hop couple dwindling seemed to strike like a bolt of lightning. Kelis and Nas have been a married couple for five years and nine months and will be celebrating the birth of their first child (Nas’ second) in just a couple months. A pregnant Kelis was reported commenting on her husband’s infidelity and cheating ways, she said to VIBE, as she officially filed for divorce this last Thursday.

Nas didn’t comment to MTV, last month, during an interview on his Grammy Nomination for “Untitled” which released last year and has already hit Gold standing on record sales. Nas even stated that he wanted to let the fans decide the name of his child, “I've been thinking about kinda putting something online: ‘Choose his name,'" Nas told MTV with a smile. "You get a couple stacks for that. We take care of you for that. You win something real. But we're thinking now."

It’s always a mess when there is a celebrity divorce, especially when there are kids involved; hopefully this one is settled with little media interference (like that’s going to happen).

Electro Hip Hop...

Me gusta.

Hip Hop/Electro. Sounds like an interesting collaboration of music, don’t you think? Well two kids from San Jose, CA thought this when we were still drooling over Justice’s D.A.N.C.E. Based in the Bay Area, Sean Richards and Dominic Lopez rock some of the hippest productions to hip hops mainstream chart toppers, with Mr. Me Too (Pharrell/Clipse) standing out amongst all the gems in the playlist. Check out their tracks on REMIXTAPE Vol. 1 and 2, as these kids will be bringing this new sound to the industry in due time. Electro has been an every-growing popularity amongst the 14-25 crowd as its heart stopping loops and drum and bass beats generally keep the crowd moving for hours, sounds of DEADMAU5, Crookers, Justice, Simian Mobile Disco, just to name a few, can be heard on the airs and in college dorm rooms in higher frequency. Stay tuned-in.

Stop. Drop. Roll.

It’s hard to figure out how to classify break dancing. Is it an art form, with all the twists and turns and perfectly coordinated stunts? Should it be called a sport because of its intense necessity for muscular perfection and flexibility? Maybe it’s an interpretation of music, as bread dancing always finds a way to change to the beat. The Red Bull BC One is a tournament which takes competitors from all around the world to showcase their talents, abilities and particular styles of break, with a bracket system and five panel judges to call the winning contender to move on to the finals.

I have been following the BC One since 2005 when I was randomly browsing through videos online and came across one of the most talented break dancers I’ve ever seen: Lilou. Competing for France, Lilou was born in Algiers and represents his Palestinian heritage and pompous attitude hard on the dance floor, being the first Champion of the BC One tournament in 2005. Throughout the years the competition has grown more advanced and prestigious with a new Champion selected every year, as the elite of the elite nations contended vigorously. The BC One of 2009 will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 22^nd of September. Check out this trailer and some footage from the finals in 2005, France’s Lilou versus Korea’s Hong 10.

Reach For The Stars

Well, I said I'd be talking about things I like, so, I shall. There is always argument about Blizzard games, because they have yet to release a sub-par piece. Starcraft, Warcraft and Diablo are the three most well known series' in the Blizzard Entertainment arsenal, and are always up for discussion as to which was the greatest of all time. Many of my friends will argue that Diablo II was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I'm a Starcraft man myself, and I, for one, CAN'T WAIT for the release of Starcraft II later this year.

The Starcraft Beta was released earlier this year (January 19th or soemthing like that) and has received nothing but praise from fans all around - I even bought a new computer in anticipation. Gamer nerdary aside, I'm here to discuss Blizzard's genius sales platform for the game itself. Since there are three different races to play (Terran, Zerg, Protoss), each game will be released seperately. Most fans already know this and, as I can imagine, aren't to happy with this three-game campaign. I'm assuming game cost is the primary concern, which, simply put and remedied is due to the company that is releasing an amazingly epic game and story line. It's not like Sega is releasing a new Sonic the Hedgehog and is making us pay for each character... this is on a new level of legendary.

So anyways, Terrans are coming out first (which I expected) and, of course, the Zerg are the second campaign with the Protoss following in as third. This is the one I can't wait to see. The protoss have always been my favorite race, it's going to be a pleasure to replay and enter a nostalgic state as I remember all the StarCraft I days. Oh Blizzard, we thank you. There is always new content coming out. I'd say check out the main site, but it seems to be down every other day. O.o

Dead and Gone?

Well, its not often that I get to brag and boast about how much I love the Honda brand, but today GM announced a cut of 21,000 jobs (distressing, isn't it) and the phasing out the Pontiac brand. GM has been a "trusted" name in the auto-industry for 80 something years and is the backbone of the U.S. bailout for American Car Manufacturers. Long story short, come this June 2009 we'll find out if GM will be a subsidiary of the U.S. Government; GM will be offering 225 shares of stock for every $1000 owed to the government and by the end of this summer the number will roughly be a staggering $27 Billion in debt.

So, what are we to think when our government makes a decision treading the waters of communism. Is it worth the tax toll to let the our government play economist with our domestic market, artificially stimulating supply and demand to control the auto industry? Or maybe Uncle Sam has a trick up his sleeve and his true intentions are to slowly phase out the dying U.S. Auto Market by only leaving a handful of key players (see the Honda/Toyota model) for the long haul. We'll find out soon enough, I just hope for the latter.

It Just Flu By

Well, the Jewish community has always argued that swine was a filthy creature and now, in some ironic way, its come to pass at being true. There have been recent cases, and news for that matter, of a growing concern over a national pandemic-in-the-making called "the swine flu"... Really, well here's my two cents on the subject, since the only reported cases outside of Mexico were in Texas and California. The WHO (World Health Organization) have commented that this could be a reason to (once again) stop transportation with countries affected with the strain (over 90 dead have been declared victims in Mexico) and, if necessary, close boarders amongst countries.

If any of us can remember the cases in the early 2000's with "Mad Cow Disease" and the sweet Indian girl who was the (only known) affected with the disease in its latest stages. Its a heart-wrenching video, but it removes from the question of whether or not we should be concerned over this being the new "national pandemic". What will wipe out the human race? And for that matter who's winning the race? It seems that every time a new disease or plague or virus is found and cured a new one sprouts up within a short period of time. Who's winning, us or the little tinie tinies that will one day reclaim the planet and start our cycle again?

Debauchery.

Clubbed to Death

Interesting day. While I was browsing through youtube videos, I came across one that had rob doughan's clubbed to death playing in the background; which, in turn, made me go watch the actual music video. An interesting appearance of this song is in The Matrix when Neo runs into "the woman in the red dress", who turns out to be an agent. Blah blah blah. Well in this music video (which I'd recommend anyone watching) you have said character, lets call him Roy, who's running backward in time, yet moving forward.

Have I lost you yet? I'm sure I haven't but it's worth a watch. On a more important note, Jenny Penny has made her way back to San Diego and I just found this out moments ago... oh Sprint, how I love thee. Back to subject at hand, gotta love ADD, Rob Doughan has had numerous blockbuster hits like I'm Not Driving Anymore, The Origin, and Furious Angels (not a personal favorite). My favorite one is by far Clubbed to Death, its a modern day orchestra.

The Ocarina of Rhyme

Wow! If you're a Zelda fan, and come on if you're born in the 80's+ you should be, you'll get a kick out of this album. "The Ocarina of Rhyme" is a set of productions based on Legend of Zelda themes, like The Great Fairy Fountain Theme and Lost Woods Theme. Listen, I know you're thinking I'm nuts for going nuts over this but trust me its worth a listen. I had to call my cousins after hearing Clipse's Virginia to the Lost Woods Theme, I literally ran circles around my room.

See its the simple things in life that put a smile on your face and music is one of those. My room mate, Jason, has been playing a lot of Zelda lately and I've been missing it. Finding these tracks really asserted that longing that I have for the game, which got me to thinking... Hey Nintendo, when should be expect a new Zelda game to drop? I'm sure we'll see one for the DSi before the Wii, but, hey, it's better than nothing. Alright back to grinding.

Turtle kisses!

New

Speaking my mind is not something new to me. Publishing it on the internet at will, is... but only to a degree. I have a lot to say, and its usually a daily thing and consistently about what I'm absolutely in love with and what my friends are into and what the world around us should know about.

So, I'm Sargon. I love music and I'm always listening to one form or another. I love politics, and religion for that matter; but I love both as subjects for discussion. I love fashion, I feel that most of the people in the continental United States should not walk outside of their homes in the things they wear. And most of all I love myself, I feel that everyone should have a shot at loving me so this is why I created this blogspot.

Ta ta for now.