Jeezy is back! His second album is in my grubby paws, and I'm impressed, again. His sophomore album, and follow-up to 2005's "Thug Motivation 101: Let's Get It," stays with the exact same style of huge, dark productions and gritty cocaine-raps.

Definitely not bad at all. Something like this could easily fit into a best of the year list, though it loses some of it's luster simply because it's the second album. He's done this sort of thing before. That said, it's damn good and I'll b e listening to it all weekend when I'm in KC.

brett at 08:50 AM on November 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

This was dinner last night. Tofu Mac & Cheese. First go round I sort of messed it up, but my second batch was phenomenal.

There's all kinds of weird stuff in this, but the strangest ingredient must be the 2 teaspoons of mustard. Mustard in mac & cheese? Why? Who knows. It tastes good so, whatever. Also, a few new photos over at Flickr.

brett at 12:24 PM on November 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)

I just can't seem to beat my dad at anything involving sports betting. Witness the results of our College Pick 'Em Pool on ESPN (click the image to enlarge):

My father crushed everyone in the pool, including the Mike Golic, the professional analyst. He finished in the top 2 percent of people on ESPN who participated, and nearly the top 1 percent. He was 20 points off the overall winner. Jeez. He also beat my friends and me in the World Cup Pool, which was particularly humiliating.

That's OK. I'm going to cut my losses and start preparing for Spring--I'm not going to surrender the March Madness crown.

brett at 11:11 AM on November 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Where were you the day hip-hop died? Is it to early to mourn? Is it to late to ride?

brett at 11:10 AM on November 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

This goes out to everyone who wonders why things like 9/11 happen, to everyone who says, "Why do they hate our freedom?"

It's a shame. Just all around, a shame.

brett at 11:50 AM on November 22, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Re-up gang is in the building!

What a great day today is. People are talking about the temperature making it all the way up to 60, I have a half-day of work, and--what else??--the Clipse album Hell Hath No Fury has finally made it's way into my hands. This is so good.

I can now, with no trepidation, say that the album of the year has been put out by the Virginia duo of Pusha-T and Malice. There's nothing out in 2006 that touches this gem production wise, and really, very little that has come out in the past 5 years that is even close lyrically.

After their two major mixtapes, We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1 & 2, the major question was whether or not the Clipse would be able to come just as hard on a full length, major label album--because, as we all know, when an artist puts out a great mixtape it's a lot harder to come with an impressive album, because the standards are just that much higher. Dropping that bangin' mixtape puts demand for an album way up, and fans want the same caliber of lyricism on any new release.

The Clipse did it.

One of the most fascinating things about this whole affair is that somehow Pharrell managed to produce an album that sounds grimy from beginning to end (minus one track). What makes this amazing, is that only a few months ago, Pharrell was busy touting his first completely solo release, "In My Mind," an album that turned out to be more than just a piece of garbage, it was a laughable effort that made real rap fans around the country taste vomit in the back of their throats by the end of the first song. Every track on the thing was trash. Yet, somehow, he's back by the end of the year, and with the help of Chad Hugo, has laid down the best possible sonic landscape for the Clipse to spit their hardcore, street-level rhymes over. Pharrell also contributes to Hell Hath No Fury in the form of restraint: he barely raps over anything on the album, and for that I extend a huge thank you. My hat is off to Skateboard P, even if his Ice Cream Sneakers and obsession with Bape do somewhat grate on me.

Really, the only downside of this release is that it's a very short 12 songs long (48 minutes total). Let's just hope that the duo can put out another album within a year or two, instead of keeping us waiting for half a decade again.

Go buy this on Tuesday.

brett at 08:23 AM on November 22, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well. It's almost Thanksgiving, which means that we are entering the home stretch. There's only 5 and a half short weeks left, and a lot of music is going to be coming down the pipe.

We're going to be seeing a second Ghostface album this year with "More Fish," along with Lil Jon's much-awaited "Crunk Rock" and Young Jeezy's second album "The Inspiration." Each of these albums has the potential to be phenomenal, but also (except in the case of Ghostface) to flop completely. I don't really expect them to flop, based on the strength of the singles, but you never know.

I'm particularly looking forward to the Jeezy album, considering how stellar his first release was, but the Lil Jon album has me interested because he's using an all-black heavy metal group to provide a lot of the sound. The group is called "Whole Wheat Bread," and may be the first African-American heavy metal group to put down music on a major label album since Ice-T and Body Count.

The bigger news, though, is that the Clipse album will be in stores exactly one week from today. Which means if I don't have a promo by the end of the workday today, I'm going to be pissed. Any moment now, guys.

Update: I just noticed that "Crunk Rock" has been pushed back till January 9th of 2007. Bummer. I'm still excited though.

brett at 10:56 AM on November 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

It matters little to me what anyone thinks, so I'll just come out and say it: I'm having an R. Kelly renaissance, of sorts. That is, I can't stop listening to his eponymous 1995 album, "R. Kelly," along with "TP-2.com" and "R." In fact, his entire catalog of work has consumed me lately.

The thing is, I know that this is a guilty pleasure, but the more I listen to R. Kelly, the more I enjoy his work, and the more I'm asking myself, "Well, is this actually good music, then?" Somehow I feel like I've fallen into a trap that will end with me finally giving credence to Robert Sylvester Kelly's musical talent.

brett at 10:38 AM on November 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry if this post takes on a tone of indignation, but my blood is boiling right now.

This is absolutely horrifying. One of the worst, most chilling cases of police brutality that I have ever witnessed, and on the UCLA campus in California, no less.

A student who didn't have his ID in the library was asked to leave. When he complied, he ran into a group of police officers entering the building and got into an altercation with them that ultimately resulted in him being tased over and over again in front of a crowd of stunned onlookers. Nevermind that the guy was a student. Nevermind that being tased can kill someone. They repeatedly tased this guy, and told onlookers who asked for their badge numbers that they would be tased, too.

From the DailyBruin article on the incident:

At around 11:30 p.m., CSOs asked a male student using a computer in the back of the room to leave when he was unable to produce a BruinCard during a random check. The student did not exit the building immediately.

The CSOs left, returning minutes later, and police officers arrived to escort the student out. By this time the student had begun to walk toward the door with his backpack when an officer approached him and grabbed his arm, at which point the student told the officer to let him go. A second officer then approached the student as well.

The student began to yell "get off me," repeating himself several times.

It was at this point that the officers shot the student with a Taser for the first time, causing him to fall to the floor and cry out in pain. The student also told the officers he had a medical condition.

...

"It was the most disgusting and vile act I had ever seen in my life," said David Remesnitsky, a 2006 UCLA alumnus who witnessed the incident.

As the student and the officers were struggling, bystanders repeatedly asked the police officers to stop, and at one point officers told the gathered crowd to stand back and threatened to use a Taser on anyone who got too close.

Laila Gordy, a fourth-year economics student who was present in the library during the incident, said police officers threatened to shoot her with a Taser when she asked an officer for his name and his badge number.

This description, though, does little to truly convey what happened. It's shocking, horrifying, and easily one of the most gross displays of police abusing their power that I've seen on video. See for yourself, click play below and listen to this guy screaming for his life.

Unbelievable.

Keep in mind he didn't do anything illegal. UCLA is a public university, and even were he not a student, he still would have had a legal right to their library. Regardless, because he forgot his BruinCard at home, he was asked to leave, which he tried to, until the real police arrived and decided to take a little tasing practice on him.

This is appalling and even more chilling for me as a former university student. Could you imagine leaving your ID at home and getting tased? This guy was tortured. Watch the video. This is simply unreal.

I wavered back and forth about posting something on my blog about this, as it is hardly Nebraska related news, but I simply can't NOT say something. I will never have respect for the police, ever. This is absolutely ridiculous and I hope they all get the shit sued out of them. Rot in jail.

Update: Just as an afterthought... this kind of thing happens on a DAILY basis in ghettos around America, but there just don't happen to be video cameras there. It's only when police become brazen enough to invade the richer parts of America that we get to see a light cast on these fucking cockroaches.

brett at 03:04 PM on November 16, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4)

So I rented this last night, directed by the same dude who did the amazing Microcosmos. Not quite as cool, but still pretty neat to watch.

Definitely gives you the sensation of flying, and is one of those nature movies that makes you very happy you don't eat meat nor hunt. Good thing I watched it with a fellow vegetarian.

brett at 09:47 AM on November 16, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's a few distinct footpaths in Japan that hold a place in my mind as particularly lucid memories. They come back not only as simple recollections, but as a these directional vectors, moving pieces of the past that let me virtually walk through history. The paths of my past are almost more important than the memories themselves, because they are the link between what would otherwise amount to a series of disconnected events and feelings; the paths serve as a way for me to cobble together a series of more tangible emotions, each footfall leading somewhere different, each emotion leading to another, and into another, until I've forgotten where the memory even began.

It's particularly profound when I manage to combine these mental walks with a piece of music that has yet to lose it's historic luster--that is, when it is played a feeling from the past is instantly transmitted. Of course, these kinds of feelings eventually dull as the music takes on new meaning and the walks of one year ago become two and then three; soon it's just a stumble in the dark.

For now, though, these are the threads I grasp at when I look at my past. Unraveling slowly, and yet as they disappear there is so much gained.

It's strange how that works.

Walking home from the bars one night, a block to my apartment, one drunken step after another, up some stairs, into a room, I find myself in front of a screen, music in my ears and my feet pounding cement in some distant country. Then there's a voice on the screen, and it's someone from my past, and for a moment, I'm lost in something that will never again exist. A fleeting feeling, gone, except for these short, precious moments when it all becomes so clear; nothing left behind, and yet everything is gone.

brett at 03:11 PM on November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sometimes you start to forget what's going on around you. Recently I've been engrossed in the book The Corner which deals with poverty, drug addiction and hunger in West Baltimore. It sort of made me forget that Lincoln has many of the same problems on a much smaller scale, but that we hide our poor and hungry very successfully.

Well, not today. From the Lincoln Journal Star, Food Distribution Draws Hundreds:

An estimated 200 people were lined up at the F Street Recreation Center early Tuesday morning before the doors opened for a Thanksgiving food distribution.

...

Beatty Brasch, executive director of Lincoln’s Center for People In Need, was among those helping coordinate the Tuesday event. Brasch said at least 100 people were in line an hour before the distribution began.

“What it really shows you is how hungry people are,” she said.

Those are all the relevant paragraphs from the short article. Hopefully by tomorrow the LJS will print something a bit longer on this.

brett at 02:58 PM on November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just got an e-mail from my good buddy and fellow Japan traveler Lis Reinkordt:

This month, I'm honored to have been selected as the featured artist on the artsite OneBeta

My film Man's Last Great Invention is available for viewing on the site right now, and while you're there, you should look at some of the incredible work that has been featured in previous months. Thanks to Nic Bartlett for putting this together!

Also, on the horizon, the ThoughtFarmers installation group will be putting together the Multiplex in the near future, so keep your eyes ready for gallery-wall-smashing video art...

Love, Elisabeth

So this means you all should probably go check it out. Here's the link, enjoy.

brett at 01:57 PM on November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Only because then I could ask for this wonderful toy for Christmas: The OhMiBod iPod Vibrator.

That's right. A vibrator that plugs into your iPod and works with the music. What will they think of next?

brett at 01:29 PM on November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last night while nosing around the video store I live above, this documentary nearly jumped off the shelf at me. Typically I spend 20 or 30 minutes poking through the aisles at Spindle trying to decide what to rent, and yet The N Word was a quick and easy rental to make.

"Divided We Stand," reads the subtitle, which accurately sums up the opinions offered in the film. The directors interview many contemporary black academics, actors and musicians to get their take on just what the word has come to mean, what should be done about it, and what the implications are for society as a whole. The film features Samuel L. Jackson, Talib Kweli, Michael Rappaport, Geroge Carlin, and more.

There's also some exceptional poetry performances interspersed throughout the interviews, the best of which is Saul Williams performing energetically and encouragingly toward the end of the film. His piece stretches on for nearly 4 or 5 minutes, and it's fantastic. Some of the other poems included are by the likes of Carl Sandburg and Langston Hughes--great stuff here.

But this isn't a movie about poetry. No, it's about the word nigger.

Perhaps the most interesting thing, for me, is when the directors get to interviews with younger, high-school aged kids. White high-school kids. They all, with no trace of apprehension, use the word and defend it's usage among non-blacks, something which is fascinating to me because it is completely foreign, yet reflects an almost complete paradigm shift in the way we see the word itself.

I've been called "Nigga" before by black friends, yet despite the endearing tone it's something that's hard for me to grapple with, simply because the weight of racism and slavery behind it. Yet it comes completely natural for many of the younger generation to spit out as if it were, "What's up man. What's up pimp. Whatup player," and so on.

It's odd to think that I am only a few years removed from that kind of usage--had I been born in 1988 or 1990 I would probably be tossing it around to my friends: "Hey nigga, what's up?" Or maybe I wouldn't. But it seems like a lot of kids today are comfortable with that usage, due to the ubiquity of hip-hop music and culture.

For me, however, the word still carries a sting to it. Simply hearing it said can cause me to blanch, regardless of whether it is said in a friendly way or not. This is particularly troubling for me, as I'm someone who uses words on a daily basis to make a living, and who truly feels that words are, as George Carlin says, "Just words! It's all about context." What I'm saying is that I shouldn't be so uptight. It's not the word, but the meaning behind it that matters, right?

Right. But I think I'll stick to my current usage pattern which is to omit it from any type of speech except that in which I am singing aloud to rap music.

And even then maybe I should drop it.

Ah well.

Another interesting thought offered by some of the academics interviewed is that the euphemism "The N Word" is actually worse than the use of the word "nigger," precisely because it is explicitly covering up the past in what amounts to a cute, simple phrase. As one older man interviewed says, "How soon until the word 'lynch' becomes 'The L Word.'"

Lots to think about here.

The documentary certainly provides plenty of food for thought, but importantly leaves the viewer to decide for herself how they will apply the word in their life, how they will let it affect them, and just what it means when someone says it. Go pick it up.

brett at 12:38 PM on November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jay-Z's album leaked, and I've given it a pretty good spin in the CD player. I'm not going to renege on my original prediction--that HOV would come with a weak album, a borderline flop--but it is better than expected, due in no small part to some excellent production.

Kingdom Come doesn't even begin to compare to the Black Album, and yet it's not awful. The standout track is the titular "Kingdom Come" produced by Just Blaze, a single that relies heavily on a sample from the ubiquitous "Super Freak." This is good and bad: the track has a great melody, and yet, I can't help but hearing a 1990s MC Hammer whispering "U Can't Touch This" in my ear when Jay isn't rapping. The good with the bad, I guess.

On the track "Beach Chair," we have a Jay-Z who sounds so much like Slug from Atmosphere that the aging New Yorker must have certainly taken a page from the RhymeSayers' notebook. This isn't good. Considering that Slug ain't exactly the best rapper in the country, biting his style doesn't seem like something the great Hov would be in to; and yet it makes sense when you think of how big both of their egos are. Absolutely massive.

Just Blaze comes up with another stellar track, "Oh My God," that really displays his prowess behind the boards and reminds that he has been doing some of the best work in rap this year. The horn loop and chorus of "Oh My God" are just masterfully pieced together. I have to give it up for this song.

But then you get tracks like "Minority Report," a weak little ditty about Katrina, put together by Dr. Dre and featuring Ne-Yo. A guaranteed smash success, right? Wrong. This track is weak. Jay-Z releases this thing 14 months after Katrina, only spits one meaningful verse, and generally sounds defeated and flat. Does he expect this ballad to have meaning for New Orleans natives? It's not going to. It just seems like pandering. Dre's production isn't sounding so good, either. If you're looking for a post-Katrina track by someone from New Orleans who actually cares about the situation, see Juvenile's incendiary "Get Ya Hustle On," released just weeks after Katrina and displaying one of the Magnolia Projects' own at his angriest.

Probably the worst track of the album is "Anything," produced by the Neptunes and featuring Pharrell and Usher. Enough said, right? This thing is garbo. If Jay-Z wants to use Neptunes' production he needs to stick with "Hey Papi" or "I Just Want To Love U." Both hits, and both made back before Pharrell lost his fucking mind.

The rest of the album is a smattering of mediocrity with little flashes of brilliance here and there. It's obvious, though, that Jay is tired.

Best beat on the album: "Trouble," produced by Dr. Dre. Too bad that the flow Jay-Z put down on the track is mostly weak. Oh well. Judging by the four Dr. Dre tracks on the album, I'm actually somewhat happy that he didn't show up on Game's Doctor's Advocate. His production just doesn't really have the same West Coast feel to it anymore, a feel that Game certainly wanted throughout his album. Then again, Dre could have just been flipping his style a bit to suit Jay-Z.

He should have probably stayed "retired," but I'll bump this album at least for a week or two. Not really best of the year material, though.

Update: In the words of one co-worker after his first listen this morning, "Album is terrible. Guy shoulda stayed retired." Hmm, maybe I'm just giving him the benefit of the doubt then? I just reread my original predictions about this album, and I think I was right: this is definitely his worst album to date.

brett at 09:13 AM on November 13, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Came across this today, The T.O. Survival Guide courtesy of ESPN. Provides Bill Parcells with a plan of action for multiple scenarios in which T.O. may be acting up. Not bad.

brett at 01:41 PM on November 10, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, the sampler for the Clipse new album Hell Hath No Fury came out, which adds about 3 new tracks to the 4 or 5 I've already heard off the album.

This is going to be so damn good.

This album will be the best thing to come out in 2006 unless somehow the remaining 5 or 6 tracks turn out to be complete garbage. Even then, simply based on what I've heard, this thing is a top 5. The Clipse just have the best flow in rap right now, period.

"This album is the one right here. Definitely the return of the boom bap. No monkey business. Except for that Bape, of course."

Update: Don't ever say I didn't do anything for you. Here's the sampler, in mp3 format, compressed as a .rar. Download it and enjoy. I am particularly feeling the track "Momma I'm So Sorry."

[Clipse-Hell_Hath_No_Fury-(Album_Sampler)-2006-RAGEMP3.rar]

Enjoy this--but also keep in mind two of the better tracks I've heard (Chinese New Year and New World) aren't even on this sampler.

Update 2: I just read that XXL Magazine is giving the album a rating of "XXL," only the 7th album in the magazine's history to get such a rating.

brett at 10:43 AM on November 10, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Check it out. The New York Times happens to be feelin' the Doctor's Advocate about as much as I am. Their review is particularly on point:

In hip-hop flawed protagonists rule; no one wants to hear a (purely) good guy rap. But the Game has an unusual flaw: his problem is that he really wants to be a hip-hop star, wants it so badly he can’t disguise it. He probably knows it’s a bad idea to call himself the “West Coast Rakim,” or to boast, “I’m B.I.G., I’m Cube, I’m Nas, I’m ’Pac,” or to obsequiously praise Snoop Dogg in nearly every song. He probably knows that thinly veiled criticisms of other rappers won’t earn him the respect he wants. (At one point he raps, “I don’t need no ‘Encore,’ no claps, no cheers,” alluding to the Jay-Z song.) He probably knows it’s embarrassing to release a whole CD about a guy who doesn’t seem to be returning his calls. But he is doing it anyway.

You don’t have to admire the Game’s approach to love this album. Even the Game’s many detractors may find themselves falling for these trunk-rattling tracks, whether they admit it or not. But the more you listen to these rhymes, the less unfathomable they seem. If the Game sounds too insecure, too greedy for admiration, too worried about how he’s perceived, well, maybe he’s not the only one. In other words, you might never grow to love that scowling poseur on the cover. But you just might recognize him.

Good stuff. This review really captures the way in which Game presents his personality on record, and makes it clear that once you understand him, it's hard to hate him.

brett at 10:12 AM on November 09, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now this is a remix. The remix for "It's OK (One Blood)" off the Game's album Doctor's Advocate keeps the same great production, but adds a few MCs to the mix. Twenty-four of them, to be exact.

The remix is official, and all of the raps put down are original to the song. It features--as I said--24 different hip-hop artists: Jim Jones, Snoop Dogg, Nas, T.I., Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, N.O.R.E., Jadakiss, Styles P., Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross, Twista, Kurupt, Daz, WC, E-40, Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Young Dro, Pusha & Malice of The Clipse and Ja Rule (In order of appearance).

[ONE BLOOD REMIX.mp3]

Enjoy this, if not for its nearly 12 minute length, then for its ability to cram so many personalities on to one track. Also, I think Chamillionaire must have phoned his verse in because it sure doesn't sound like he put it down in a recording studio.

brett at 09:05 AM on November 08, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ahh, what a fine, fine morning. I always love waking up to a demoralized Pete Ricketts. I also love juxtapositions. So check this out, from the Journal Star election results page:

Gotta love the Pete Ricketts campaign ad directly below the results displaying his punishing beating. Gotta love it.

brett at 08:09 AM on November 08, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh wow. How time flies. About a year ago I asked myself a series of questions and posted them in my blog. Sort of an assessment of the past year. That was in September 2005. The questions were inspired by something I had read on a message board, basically they are a set of things one should reflect upon at least once a year.

Well, it's November 2006, so I'm a few months late, but I suppose I'll do it again and look back on the previous year for a moment. Same set of questions.

What did you regret this year?
I think I had relatively few regrets. One would be the way I treated Ellen; the other the way I treated Annie and Spadt when I still lived with Ben, though hindsight is always 20/20 and I don't know if I could have changed my behavior. That doesn't really change the fact that I regret it. Smaller regrets would be: not getting Emily's phone number in Chicago on New Years Eve, and perhaps not following through with a few of my minor plans.

What did you celebrate?
College graduation. Freedom from the grief of a breakup.

Who was the most interesting new person you met?
Samantha Woog.

Who do you wish you spent more time with?
My time was very well utilized, and I managed to spend a lot of it with the people who matter to me, especially my family. If I could spend more time with anyone, it would probably be my sister, Dana. The only other people I can think of that I would enjoy seeing are various professors from my past.

What new quality or trait did you develop (or improve upon)?
Biting my tongue. Directness. Empathy. Understanding. I caused a lot fewer problems for myself and others this year, due to my increased ability at keeping quiet. That's not to pretend, however, that I didn't say some incredibly stupid shit resulting in quite a bit of drama. One example of a positive change would be the way this blog has morphed into a much more impersonal survey of my opinions, rather than emotions. Also: my ability to cook.

What was the best use of your time? What do you wish you'd spent less time on?
During the Spring semester I had a nearly flawless balance of working, exercising, studying and drinking. I had probably some of the best time management of my life going on during that short period. Time management, however, doesn't mean that I was using the time to the best of my ability, and in reality I wish I had spent more time studying Japanese than what I currently do: conversation practice that amounts to about one hour a week.

How did your views on major issues (politics? morals? religion?) change or shift?
I think I'm more apathetic on most issues, but I am definitely becoming a stronger vegetarian.

When you review your journals in another year, how would you like to feel about what you've learned, how you've invested your time, the kind of person you've been?
I would like to look back and feel that I've become a more caring, loving person, to everyone around me, and that I have continued with my academic endeavors. I'd also like to become a better worker.

Am I treating myself how I deserve to be treated?
Yes. Things are much more balanced. I'm being honest with myself. I have relaxed my standards. I'm not as self-depreciating.

What three things would I like to be able to write in my entry for next year that I am not in a place to do this year?
"I'm in Japan." "I've surrendered my heart to somebody." "I ran the Lincoln Marathon for a second time in May 2007."

List five things you're sure of.
My mom. My dad. The past. My dreams. Darkness.

What foods have your forced yourself to eat?
Dangerous spinach at Club 33 in Disney Land.

Who have you apologized to? Why?
Jessica. Because I was out of line.

What excuses are you making?
I'm pretending that I don't have to take initiative in relationships because things will simply happen to me. I'm not taking risks. I'm not putting myself out there. I'm passing up the best opportunity of my life, simply because I'm scared and rationalizing it by waiting for something to happen, rather than making it happen.

What would you like to steal?
Nothing.

What risks have you taken?
Barely any, this year. But I have one planned. Perhaps the greatest risk of the past year was remaining friends with a certain individual. It's proven to be OK so far.

What did you chicken out of doing?
Talking to her.

What gifts have you given?
Wedding gifts to Zach and Melissa Garfield.

What have you done without taking credit?
I suppose I take credit for it, but the best I can think of is allowing my apartment to be a safe haven/party den for my drunk friends after the bars. I love it, though.

Did anything make you cry this year? What was it?
Nothing since Sara broke up with me.

What made you angry?
My inability to deal with Spadt and Annie's relationship. The way I behaved was reprehensible.

What are you scared of?
I'm scared that things will work out exactly as planned, and that next September I'm going to be leaving someone behind again.

What things, activities, etc. do you most enjoy?
There have been quite a bit of things I've enjoyed this year, so the following is not an exhaustive list by any means: reading, cooking, football games, (football games with my father), plants, shopping for groceries, visiting my parents, drinking at O'Rourkes, darts with Spadt and Ryan, my apartment, riding my bike, drinking coffee, walking around downtown, jogging, gazing out windows, music, writing, travel, The Wire, Arturo's, walking to work, soccer, Sam's apartment, Sam, Los Angeles, cleaning, sweatpants, baths.

Are you happy?
Yes.

Do you like yourself? Do you think you would like someone else who was you?
Yes.

What is important?
My parents. Empathy. Laughter.

So there it is. Another year and another list. Somewhat refreshing, though I think this list was more interesting to go through when I was a bit more depressed and still reeling from being dumped. Let me know if you go through a list like this.

Update: I made this list without referring to my original 2005 list.

brett at 01:49 PM on November 07, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Is anyone else having trouble believing this weather?

I'm not complaining, but I just took a walk during lunch it felt like it was September outside. Or maybe like it was April or May. It's absolutely beautiful. Go do yourself a favor and take a walk, play some basketball, whatever. I'm planning on it.

brett at 01:40 PM on November 07, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's that day again. Time to go exercise your fundamental right as an American citizen.

So anyway. I encourage you to go vote as well. I would specifically encourage you to vote Hahn for governor, and Nelson for senate. Have fun.

brett at 01:26 PM on November 07, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well. This is ridiculous. The Daily Nebraskan has endorsed the incumbent Dave Heineman for governor over David Hahn, which is ridiculous in and of itself, however, the way they came to endorse him is even more ludicrous:

This year's gubernatorial race has been particularly unimpressive. No candidate has established himself as the leader who will be best for Nebraska. And so our editorial board throws its weight behind the incumbent by a dismal vote of 1-0 with six abstentions.

I hope the DN never, ever, ever again writes an article about ASUN voter apathy, or voter apathy in general.

Never.

Ever.

The editorial board wasn't even informed enough to cast more than one vote for governor? I refuse to believe that. I know many of the board members and they are highly aware of the political climate in Nebraska, which makes the fact that they have abstained from voting some of the best hypocrisy to come out of that paper in years. Every time there is an ASUN election, the DN harps on the fact that the student body generally remains apathetic, choosing not to participate in the election--yet the editorial board can't even cast two votes for governor. You must be fucking kidding.

Well, DN editorial board, maybe the student body is following your lead when it comes to participation in a functioning democracy? Bravo for leading by example.

Billy DeFrain, a friend of mine, former DN staff member, Hahn Campaign Communications Director and UNL alumni had this to say in his letter to the Daily Nebraskan, which pretty well sums up my thoughts as well:

Two things shocked me this morning as I read the Daily Nebraskan's e endorsement, if it could be called that, of Governor Dave Heineman for tomorrow's gubernatorial election.

First, that the DN endorsed a candidate that segregated OPS and has coasted for the past three years as wages remain stagnate, literally thousands of family farms and ranches are lost each year, and the cost of everything from health care to property taxes continues to rise. Dave Heineman is a candidate wholly without substance who has nothing to offer Nebraskans but his bland inoffensiveness and slick politicking.

But the truly shocking aspect of your endorsement came just later, where the DN writes just how many people on your editorial board didn't endorse Dave Heineman.

Six of the seven editorial board members "…didn't feel that one candidate would do better for the state than the others." Does that mean these six ed board members will cast no vote at all in the gubernatorial election on Tuesday?

The Daily Nebraskan also wrote that Hahn "… appears to be out of touch with the things Nebraskans care about most."

A simple trip to Hahn's campaign website, www.hahnfornebraska.org, reveals Hahn's written plans to cut property taxes, fix the OPS segregation debacle, and create a new renewable energy industry that will bring thousands of high-paying jobs to Nebraska. And Nebraskans don't care about these things? And how many of the ed board members looked at the Hahn website even once?

The DN wrote that Hahn "… lacks the political experience we look for in a candidate," but that didn't stop the editorial board from endorsing Scott Kleeb, a newcomer with absolutely no political experience running against a 10-year state senator.

Hahn's campaign was never contacted for an interview with the Daily Nebraskan's editorial board. This is standard practice—Hahn has had ed board interviews with numerous newspapers including the Lincoln Journal Star, the Omaha World-Herald and the Grand Island Independent.

Six of the Daily Nebraskan's ed board members cared so little about the governor's race that they didn't even vote for an endorsement. Six of the Daily Nebraskan ed board members endorsed not voting in the election by refusing to endorse any of the four candidates.

I am very disappointed in the Daily Nebraskan. As a source of information for everyone on campus and the downtown area in general, the DN should take more time to study the issues instead of literally voting for nothing. The DN's apathy reflects the sad state of our democracy at large, in which voters are too lazy, uninformed, or cynical to exercise their most fundamental right.

Billy DeFrain
Communications Director, —David Hahn for Governor
UNL grad/Former DNer

This letter may very well appear in tomorrow's DN. Be on the look out.

brett at 11:20 AM on November 06, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think I'm going to head over the Ross and see Factotum tonight. If anyone wants to join me just give me a call. I'll probably go to the 7 or 9 show. Not sure about it yet.

I probably should read the book before seeing the movie, but unless I can finish Factotum before tonight then I'll be heading in to this one blind. We'll see how it is.

brett at 10:03 AM on November 06, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow. This album completely slipped under my radar, which is surprising because it is some of the best production and lyricism I've heard all year. AZ's album The Format drops tomorrow (Nov. 7th) and is all New York.

AZ's sound takes me back to the 90s when Wu-Tang and Gang Starr reigned in New York, where the sound was characterized by Notorious B.I.G.'s slow flow, Premiere's sparse, grimy beats and Big L's high-pitched, clever raps. AZ's The Format reminds me that the original New York sound is dead. The sound of Nas, M.O.P. and Mobb Deep is long gone, replaced by Jay-Z, 50 Cent, etc.

It's too bad.

When you put on The Format, even knowing nothing about AZ, it takes approximately 2 seconds to feel the New York vibe coming through. The feeling of the city and life there is transported through his rhymes and the beats, which AZ has obviously deliberately picked because they reflect that New York state of mind. His flow, too, transports the listener back to the golden era of New York hip-hop.

And though that style is a decade old, AZ resurrects it well, makes it sound fresh, and helps to remind of a time when it wasn't all about southern crunk and snap music (though I do love the dirty).

This is good music.

It reminds me of some better albums that came out in the 90s, and that really, none of the albums on my shortlist for best of this year could come close to touching--those classic albums from 1994 - 1999 where every verse is a part of your consciousness; the music you can recite forward and backward in your sleep that will keep your head nodding for hours (See Busta Rhymes' The Coming).

brett at 09:17 AM on November 06, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I was talking with my friend Matt about job applications today:

(11:29:01) DE it ER 76: I applied at Salvation Army, but they aren't going to hire me unless I fill out another application.
(11:30:46) DE it ER 76: They didn't like that mine said 'penis' on it.
(11:35:39) imsooooooooodead: why did it say penis
(11:36:01) DE it ER 76: My reason for leaving Old Chicago was because it made me want to slam my penis in a car door.
(11:36:23) imsooooooooodead: so what did the salvation army say about that?
(11:36:33) DE it ER 76: I guess they didn't like it, I dunno.

I mean, he was honest, right? That has to count for something. I guess he's going to apply again.

brett at 11:41 PM on November 03, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

This weekend I'm having another dinner party, after last week's relative success--though this Sunday I'm going to be trying something a bit more challenging. Indian food.

I'm already hungry just thinking about it.

brett at 09:58 PM on November 03, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Added some more art to my apartment. If only it was actually real, and not just a print!

I've often been in arguments with people about what "art" is, how anyone can create "art," and that kind of thing. It's pointless putting together a cogent argument when talking to someone in this way--someone who would criticize a Picasso as not being art--so I usually end up repeating something I read a few years ago, "Those who can't create art of their own will never understand art."

That's not too pretentious is it?

I find that I enjoy art for many reasons, and yet for no reasons at all. Talking about what constitutes art, what art is, etc., just seems to dilute it.

I find that some creations resonate with me, and some don't.

brett at 10:50 AM on November 02, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Lady Sovereign's album was kinda weak. It's not that her music was bad, by any means, just that over 80 percent of the stuff on her album Public Warning! was already released on her two prior EPs. Too bad she couldn't come with something fresh.

brett at 08:47 AM on November 02, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)