August 2007

The Archives

08.26.07

DYKC?™ Up Close — 08.2007 DYKC?™ Up Close | (5)

Up Close

After reading Khoi Vinh’s post on Mail Bonding, I have been scheming on a monthly digest type of post for my own site. When I run into cats that I haven’t seen for some time and they ask me what I’ve been up to, I usually like to break them off with “Read my blog.” What I am really laying down for them (when you read between the lines), is that too much has transpired since the last time we spoke and I don’t have a solid canned response to throw into the mix. Anyone who would actually scan my posts would find themselves discouraged due to the low frequency of updates on the site. So, the Up Close flavor of these digests will satisfy your curiousity.

Listen to the Chillcast/DYKC?™ Special

I recently had an opportunity to be a guest on Anji Bee’s podcast. We had been playing tag over email trying to mesh our schedules and were able to pull it together after two long months. Did I mention Anji is the lead singer for the Lovespirals? She is soulful with an infectious vibe, and has one of the sexiest voices I have heard in a long time. When we recorded the Chillcast/DYKC?™ Special, the result was an entertaining and smooth collaboration. Anji’s game is strong and she creates more content than anyone alive, including several audio shows and a video cast. On top of that, The Lovespirals are dropping a new album this October, called Long Way From Home.

My Podcast is On Hiatus

Until recently, my show was hosted by Hipcast. After a year of using the service, I had to let it slide. I gave them a solid run and was not impressed with their level of service and support and the mental stretch didn’t justify the expenditure (despite it being very affordable). All eleven shows are available on iTunes. If you’re new to the site, this is a solid opportunity for you to get down with some science about me through the DYKC?™ podcast. UPDATE: The audio for the podcast is unable to be d/l through iTunes at this time. I am working on a local fix for the site that hopefully will go live in the near future.

A Blog Redesign Is Coming

I expect to parlay the current design of my site as the foundation for a new Wordpress template. There is a learning curve which involves PHP, CSS, and a comfortable relationship with Wordpress. Relationships require a lot of effort, but the result will be decidedly on-point compared to the default template.

On Heavy Rotation

The Friday Favecast is a weekly show that is meant not only to entertain, but to uplift as well. The producer, Fave Nitemare, has a distinctive approach and brings a new type of edge to podcasting. The show is a finalist for the Black Weblog Awards 2007, and I believe the Friday Favecast has a solid shot at the title for Best Podcast.

Fade to Black

What did you think about this edition of Up Close?
08.18.07

Think Piece Ego Trippin | (2)

I’ve been thinking about my writing and how I’d like to take it to the next-level. Creating stories and getting articles published online and in magazines that represent my current interests would be a solid blessing. I’ve been inspired by cats like Baratunde who now writes for The Huffington Post, and Humanity Critic who blogs for Vibe.What appeals to me is having your own words potentially impacting people who you may never be able to reach via any other means. To be able to make people think, to entertain them, the possibility of inspiring them — that is powerful. I know, because I’ve been impacted by writers like Toure’, who can lay down words like an MC over a hot track. For him, the genre doesn’t matter. He can stretch your horizons with fiction, or make you pause with a think piece that mines deep into the nature of the Reverend Al Sharpton.TRUTH? There is no one truth. Publishing creative think pieces that inform, challenge, entertain, and inspire — for me, that would be right on time.
08.09.07

DYKC?™ / Chillcast Collabo DYKC?™ Up Close | (5)

It took a hot minute to pull the collabo together, but, I was finally able to get down with my girl Anji Bee, of Lovespirals, on her podcast — Chillcast. What happens when you tag-team one of the hottest voices on the net with a brutha who says what you’re too scared to say?
08.01.07

Maximum Wage Cap Politicin' | (14)

TRUTH? It’s likely that I’m a fan of capitalism. I relieve myself of hard-earned dividends to obtain Comics, kicks, gadgets, and other symbols of mass consumerism.

It is a choice that I strategically make and take into consideration factors such as actual necessities like food and shelter, paying bills on time, etc. I’ve been caught up in excess and when I realized it, I actually masterminded the Throwaway Liberation to balance out personal mass consumption.

All of that said, I live within my means — respectable, but, not stellar. Every dime spent is logically weighed (as much as I can get down with logic of spending). What about those cats out there, in particular entertainers, sports athletes, etc who live with excess and don’t have to weigh the costs? Their financial grip on reality is non-existent. The means at their disposal ensures that they can and will pay any price — driving the overall price of everything up.

Think one monkey can’t stop the show? Let this marinate — If I am an entertainer or athelete who is able and willing to get down with a pair of leopard skin briefs for $1500, what is stopping retailers from charging that as the normal price? The impact for cats like me (no, I don’t want leopard skinned briefs — but, if you buy me some….), and you, is that we have to deal with the inflated price.

One way to address this problem is droppin’ a financial glass ceiling on cats who make too much — a maximum wage cap. Did I blow your mind? Are you still with me? Or is your brain bucklin’ under the pressure of that concussion bomb I just hit you upside the head with? Do entertainers and atheletes really need to make that much more than we do? $250k a year seems like a solid cap to me. I know that if I’m pullin’ in that much, I can raise two youngbloods, send them through college, own a home, car, pay bills, buy food, and still get down with a couple of trips during the year while living comfortably in general. Imagine if everyone could get down like that.

I target athletes and entertainers because, in general, quite a few of them are likely not putting that excess towards something worthwhile. If Kobe can make up with his wife that he cheated on with a 4-million-dollar bling, uh, ring, then that lets me know what frequency his mentals operate on. TRUTH? Every once and awhile, you have to bust some caps — why not bust a maximum wage cap on this sphere of consumers?