Glad some one said it again. Just watch

Got this off of Ta-Nehisi Coates site.

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Nas and Damian Marley's videos

I was a little suspect when I heard Nas and Damian Marley were making an album together but I have to admit i really enjoyed the album. My number one song is Tribal War featuring K'naan. It's fire. Unfortunately they haven't shot a video for it yet. I did come across videos of two songs that I enjoyed off of the album. I especially like how they finished shooting one video and moved right into the next video. Take a look.

New Blog Post: New Video from Bilal

As I was perusing through Okayplayer, I came across the latest Bilal video. Check it out. I've always been a fan.



VIDEO PREMIERE // Bilal "Little One" from Centric TV on Vimeo.

Did I Do That---C'mon Man

I know you've seen that guy out many times. He's there in the spot to be for the night, kicking it with or w/o his peeps. He's probably dressed stylishly for the occasion. He may be in a two or three-piece suit that he's worn to work earlier that day or maybe he's had a chance to swing by the crib to switch into one of his more casual urban attires. What ever the case is, he's feeling like he's gotten it right tonight. Women may or may not be digging his "SWAG" (I hope this word gets retired soon). But what I want to know, is when did the Urkel big frame glasses become so stylish. I mean, if you don't need them to see, then why are you rocking them. Why have these spectacles become the latest cliche urban male accessory. How and when did this happen? 

I understand everyone needs some way to express themselves. Some use the arts while others use fashion. I also understand that everyone has their own sense of fashion. Some I may agree with and some I do not. I'm okay with that. But I think that some people just try way way way too hard to be, how can I best put it, COOL. When you walk into a room, your presence is either felt right away or its not. You either have that "it" factor that pulls every ones attention to you as you emerge through the door or you don't. You can't by style in a store and put it on. To quote the Dragon, your either a Bad Ass or your not. Nuff Said

If this trend doesn't stop soon, this is the future for the urban male:

This blog was inspired by a post by the Dragon: http://halloftheblackdragon.com/reel/1206/quit-being-cute-and-man-the-f-ck-up.html

Odd Future East Coast Tour Dates

For all who are interested and curios, the Odd Future are coming to the East coast.

http://oddfuture.tumblr.com/eastcoast

More Barcleona Pics: The W

If you ever get a chance to visit Barcelona, make sure that you go to the the W. It is by far the best W lounge I've ever been to. Here are a couple of pics. It was so nice that I fell asleep in the lounge (due to drinking 6 glasses of Sangria earlier).

Hip Hop: ATCQ Doumentary "Beat, Rhymes & Fights"

If you haven't heard yet,  Michael Rapaport (aka Remi from a Higher Learning) has been working with the members of  A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) on a documentary of one of the greatest, if not the greatest groups of all time in Hip Hop . The documentary is titled Beats, Rhymes, & Fights. Now if you are a Tribe fan, you've been awaiting a story like this to be told for years with excitement as well as with a little bit of anxiety due to the fact of the known friction between the group members, specifically between Phife and Qtip. The film is now making its way through the film festival circuit, but it wouldn't be Hip Hop if there wasn't some controversy surrounding the film, hence my anxiety. So I decided to share with you all a the Trailer for the film as well as an interview with Qtip, Ali, and Jarobi on the phone (yes he's still part of the group). Unfortunately Phife wasn't present (sigh & sad face).  I sigh with the sad face because this is my favorite Hip Hop group and I've unfrotunately never seen them live as a group, due to our schedules not in synch when they were on tour (Sigh & sad face again). I've seen phife by himself and Qtip by himself but not together as a group. Hopefully there is a reconciliation between the group members some time in the near future. Hey Phonte and 9th did it.



A Tribe Called Quest Documentary (Trailer) by PayeTaChatte

MTV Shows

You can view the rest of the MTV interview by clicking on the following link:

 http://www.mtv.com/videos/news/632317/a-tribe-called-quest-clear-up-documentary-controversy.jhtml#id=1659979

MOS DEF-inately one of the greatest MC's out of BKLYN. At least in my book.

Mos Def. Nuff said. I'm such a fan. Here are a couple of songs that are in the iPod rotation.

Some Pics from Barcelona

Sagrada Familia

Taking a walk

I forget what this is.

Nice view from the hotel

 Taking a walk.

There's a story behind this one. LOL

Another nice Nice view. This was from one of towers of Sagrada Familia.

America I Am, The African American Imprint: Exhibit

I checked this exhibit out over the weekend. I recommend everyone to check it out before it ends.

http://www.americaiam.org/Pages/CurrentStop.aspx

DC Restaurant Review: 1905

If you live in the nations capitol, then you probably know that the U-Street Corridor is littered with a variety of small boutique restaurants. These restaurants are very unique in that they their decor as well as their menus are not usually duplicated anywhere through out the city.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to to dine a the restaurant 1905. 1905 is one of the many small boutique type restaurants that calls the U Street Corridor home. It is actually located on the edge of the eastern part of the U Street Corridor. The address of the restaurant is 1905 9th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001(I've embedded a Google Map for your convenience).

View Larger Map

Anyway, now that you have the location, its time to get down to the main course or better yet the main point of this blog entry, the FOOD. To start off, I ordered the Main Lobster Meatballs. Yes I said it, Main Lobster Meatballs. I've never had a meatball made out of lobster before, but I figured what the hell. The actual appetizer I ordered was the Maine Lobster Meatballs in an aged sherry, tomato, and cream sauce. When I say HEAVEN, I really mean it. I have never had a meatball so tasty in my life.

As shown is the picture, the dish came with three huge meatballs made of nothing but lobster and not like some restaurants that serve you a crab cake that is mostly made of cake and less crab. This chef did it the right way. The entire meatball was lobster. On top of that, the aged sherry, tomato, and cream sauce was AMAZING. When I say AMAZING, I really mean AMAZING.

After my appetizer, I figured it was going to be all down hill after that, but then my entree arrived. For my entree, I ordered the Pan Seared Duck Breast with squash ragout, rosemary-rye bread pudding, and lingonberry-Côte du Rhône Cumberland sauce. If you have not had duck before, I recommend giving it a try. Duck has slight different taste than chicken and usually has more fat, but when prepared correctly, it leaves a nice savory taste that lights your mouth up with joy. The dish I ordered did what I expected it to do to my taste buds, even though the Lobster Meatballs had already got the party popping earlier. My only negative comment about the main entree, was the bread pudding became a little soggy due to the duck being served on top of it. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the entree.

To wrap this review up, I recommend to stop in to 1905. Word from the wise, make a resevation, because when I say boutique, I really mean boutique, as in limited space.

Another thing I found out while I was there, was that 1905 has different events during the week. They have a late night happy hour that starts at 11:00 pm, YES I SAID IT, 11:00 pm to close and it doesn't close until 2am Tue-Thurs and 3am, Fri-Sat. The restaurant also has Taco Tuesdays,  Burger Wednesdays, and Live Jazz on Thursdays. I'm planning on hitting 1905 up on Taco Tuesdays and the live jazz on Wednesdays in the future.  You should too.

Atlanta's Hip Hop Scene: The Good Die Mostly Over Bull Shiiiiiiiiii.......

GOODIE MOB. I don't think I have to say any more. One of the  most influential groups out of Atlanta. I still have their first album, Soul Food, in heavy rotation on the iPod. I remember when I first  heard cell therapy. I was like this is an instant classic.

Out of all of the members, I always was a big fan of Big Gipp and Cee-Lo because they seemed to push the edge lyrically. Don't get me wrong, I also enjoyed listening T-Mo and Khujo on the mic, but the Cee-Lo and Big Gipp were usually on fire on all of their songs.

I decided to post a couple of songs that I still enjoy listening to this day. So sit back and reminisce.

Documentary Review: War Don Don

Last month I saw an independent film called War Don Don at the West End Cinema in Washington, DC. I was fortunate to be able to be present as the director/producer, Rebecca Richman Cohen was available for a question and answer session after the viewing of the film.

War Don Don is a film that delves into the effectiveness of the United Nations (UNs) Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The UNs SCSL was set up as a partnership between the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations as way to bring to justice the individuals who were responsible for the for the violations of Sierra Leone's and International Community's Humanitarian laws. What was so interesting about this documentary is the fact that it questioned the effectiveness of these special courts. Is justice really being served by prosecuting a few individuals? Are these individuals the only ones that should shoulder the blame for these violations that took place during a horrific civil war?

This specific documentary covers the trial of Issa Sesay, a formal battle field Commander of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The film takes a look from both sides, the prosecution and the defense. The prosecution is charged with proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Issa Sesay, one of the key figures in the peace negotiations that ended a long bloody civil war, should bear the responsibility for the atrocious acts against the citizens of Sierra Leone. Such atrocities included the recruitment of child soldiers, amputating the limbs of many citizens of the country, as well as the rape and mass killings of the it's citizens. The defense, while not trying to dispute the fact that Issa Sessay was a battlefield commander of the RUF, must try to prove that Issa Sessay cannot be held responsible for all of the atrocities that occurred during the civil war. They must prove that he in no way authorized or condoned such treatment of the people he was fighting to set free from a corrupt and oppressed government.

The documentary also looked at the peculiar relationship the court has with the every day citizens of Sierra Leone that lived through this civil war. They do want and would like to see justice but at what cost. They see the outside nations pouring millions of dollars into the SCSL to prosecute a few individuals while poverty and joblessness runs rampant in the country.

If you have a chance, I recommend seeing the film. It has been running on HBO for the last month. You can also purchase the DVD online from the following Website: http://www.wardondonfilm.com/film.

I hope you enjoy the film as much as I did.

Health tip: Transition from Fruits to Vegetables

I really enjoy food. I would have to say that food is an obsession of mine. My obsession with food is not to the point that I can't control myself around it, but it is one of the great pleasures of my life. Not only do I enjoy going out to restaurants to sample different cuisines, but I also like to dibble and dabble a bit in and around the kitchen. I by no means consider myself a chef, well maybe somewhat of a fly by night chef, hence my moniker the Midnight Chef. I also use this nickname because I tend to start preparing meals at the wee hours of the night.

My love of food has also opened my eyes to the fact that I also enjoy looking at cookware and watching cooking shows on the Food Network (Chopped is by far my favorite) and the Cooking Channel. I also purchase and use cookbooks to help inspire me to create in times when I need inspiration. Sometimes I forgo the cookbooks and just freestyle it (that means to go off the top of my head for anyone who missed the meaning).

I have also found that my love and fondness for cooking has provided me another form of entertainment and venue to relieve stress. I've come to realize that we all need these types of venues to help us deal with the everyday pressures that we experience as we navigate this vast complex set of intricate twists and turns of tunnels and open spaces we call life.

Okay, so I know I have completely gotten of topic with this blog, but like the title says this blog is dedicated to a set of "Random thoughts that go through my head". So I hope you will be patient with me as I lead you on this journey to a specific place and point.

Since I am such a lover of food and cooking, I know that I must engage in some type of physical activity (this means more than walking around the block once in your 10 year old kicks that looks brand new because of their lack of usage) in order to keep myself from blowing up like a house. You can't eat as much as I do, while being sedentary most of the day, and not expect to pack on the pounds over the years. I mean I am getting older and I don't think (well I actually know) my metabolism is planning on increasing as time progresses.

One thing that I have learned over the years is that nutrition is key to keeping your self physically fit as well as an exercise routine that incorporates interval cardiovascular and strength training (Yes women strength training is also good for you too, and no you wont start looking to masculine unless you already had that problem LOL). If you have given up the candy and the cakes and you still find yourself having a hard time trying to attain a certain goal, try transitioning some of those in between snacks from fruits to vegetables. I'm not trying to say that fruits aren't healthy, but they still contain sugar, natural sugar, but still sugar. The transition of some of these in between snack from fruits to vegetables should reduce your overall sugar intake, which might give the extra lift needed to get rid of those extra five (5) pounds.

Anyway, give it try and see how it works.