His Name is Cain...

And he knows black people.

Goldman: Before you announced your campaign, you said that the liberal establishment is scared that “a real black man might run against Barack Obama.” Are you suggesting Obama isn’t really black?

Cain: A real black man is not timid about making the right decisions, that’s what I meant. Look, I’m not getting into this whole thing about President Obama. It is documented that his mother was white and his father was from Africa. If he wants to call himself black, fine. If he wants to call himself African-American, fine. I’m not going down this color road.

Goldman: But you’re saying he’s not really a black man.

Cain: Not in terms of a strong black man that I’m identifying with. I identify with a strong black man like Martin Luther King Jr., or my dad, Luther Cain Jr., who didn’t have a lot of formal education, but he had a Ph.D. in common sense.

For more, look here.

First of all, Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. got B.A. in sociology from Morehouse College (the Alma mater of both Herman Cain and myself) and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston University. So the comparison to his dad seems incredibly awkward and misplaced. I'm not quite sure if he understands the difference between a Doctorate in Philosophy and whatever he's claiming of his father. It's just weird.

But that's not what I want to talk about.

I have a reasonably close member of my extended family who is conservative. It makes Thankgiving dinners quite interesting. Every time the conversation turns to politics (which seldom happens for obvious reasons) there is absolutely nothing on which we can agree. He's against women's rights, against gay rights, against Medicare for all, pro-corporation, anti-regulation, and against affirmative action (Which, I guarantee you, is the only reason he got his last job.). He has spent a lifetime promoting at the top of his lungs beliefs that I spend my life opposing at the top of mine. And he's 20 years older than me, so he's got a head start.

However, with all that, he's my family. He's a decent person who makes mistakes(!) and is trying to figure out this world just like the rest of us. He and his wife maintain a wonderful home and raise their children as well as they know how. He's a very loyal, charming, thoughtful, and assertive individual. I wouldn't categorize him as anything less that a upstanding and respectable guy. And no matter how energetic the political discussion may grow, I would never employ such a personal attack as what Herman Cain unleashed today.

Cain has political differences with Barack Obama. But Obama has grown up with a single parent, earned an unparalleled education, help build a gorgeous family, and inspired millions of people around the world with his historic accomplishments. By anyone's definition, at least anyone with some **** sense, would consider Obama to be a strong black man.

You better stick with the issues Cain. Obama's manhood is way out of your league.

peace.

The Rhymes of Our Lives (Morning Edition)

I fell asleep. Sue me.



This track came out when I was in the middle of the sixth grade, and it was absolutely everywhere. During these years in my town, it was fashionable for kids my age to learn the words to all the latest music to prove we were in the know, especially in regards to impressing the ladies (Really? What what were we thinking!?). With this particular tune I was determined to know every line inside and out. So began learning Ice Cube's lyrics diligently.

The only problem was that my parents weren't into buying hip hop tapes for me at the time. The lyrics coming from the west coast were simply too vulgar and abrasive. And to be honest, I wasn't too interested in much of it either for the same reason. So I had to learn this track by chance encounters on the radio and television.

I got pretty good, too. By the time the track had been around for a two weeks or so I had about 85% of the lyrics down and could, more or less, fake it the rest of the way. So I was eager to flaunt my proficiency for all the beautiful women! However, there was one lovely lady that stood above the rest, Courtney Daniels: my first crush. Ask anyone attending A.G. Cox Middle School during 1993 and they would tell you Courtney was FOINE! I don't know too many cats who wouldn't give their left eye to receive a coveted mid-lunch love letter from Ms. Daniels.

So I was keen to show off my knowledge of "It Was A Good Day" for her as soon as I could. I had to get the jump on the rest of the guys! So as soon as I had a chance and Courtney was within earshot, I went in. The first verse went swimmingly, and I could tell the circle of listeners was impressed. But when I started into the second verse, my most difficult section, there was some improvisation that had to be done; I figured no one would know the difference.

I was abruptly corrected, and subsequently trumped in my lyrical recitation by Courtney Daniels herself. She knew the song like the back of her hand; way better than me. She proceeded to finish what I had started, leaving me silently dumbfounded at her excellence of lyrical recall. All I could do was listen in shock as she rattled off the entire track then whisked away down the sixth grade hallway. She completely stole my thunder.

One of these days, there will be a rematch. :)

peace.

The Latest from Reverend Tyson

Why did they hook him up with the erudite set? What's with the fake fauna in the window?

It's been a while since I've checked up on my main man Dr. Tyson. So tonight I cranked out a youtube search, filtered the results by upload date, and this was the first interesting clip that popped up.

A few days ago I was talking with someone about the Drake Equation (See here.) in a conversation involving the search for extraterrestrial life. In that same discussion, we also covered the possibility of living organisms under the ice surface of Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. We even got around to speculating the possible intellectual capacity of galactic travelers that may have swung by Earth. In each of this bits of the discussion, the information I've learned while listening to Dr. Tyson proved to be a welcome addition to our talk.

I'm quite excited I've found this set of lectures from Dr. Tyson. When he speaks during his guest appearances around the country, he doesn't really have time to elaborate on much of the information he presents. The nerd in me looks forward to Dr. Tyson expanding upon many of the topics I've heard him highlight over the years.

You know, I keep a growing list of astrophysics questions on my iPod just in case I bump into him.

Yup. I'm a big dweeb.

peace.

"I Am A Child."

Funny. I've just posted the link to this video on the facebook wall of my friend Gary. Fourty-five minutes later, I was charged with potentially ruining a child with fanciful flights of speed and horsepower. I'm now smiling from ear to ear.

Enjoy. This is a really good one, too.

peace.

Classic Moments

This simple video is a record of what can only be described as a classic hip hop moment.

The Roots w/ "Weird" Al Yankovic cover "Accordion" by Madvillain

Last week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon "Weird" Al Yankovic sat in as a guest of The Roots, Jimmy's house band. However, what never airs are the many jam sessions The Roots enjoy with their various guess artists. Fortunately for us, Questlove (The Roots drummer and unofficial mouthpiece) is an extremely generous cat who doesn't mind giving us the behind-the-cameras moments that are so extraordinary.

The lovely thing about this track is that it raises so many more questions for me.

Is "Weird" Al a fan of MF Doom and Madlib?

Did Quest give him the chords to play or did he just start into it?

Was Black Thought there, writing perhaps?

And if he was, why wasn't he rhyming!?

Does this mean we're gonna get a "Weird" Al/Roots/Madvillain performance on the show?

Is Al going to be on the next Roots album?

Are The Roots going to be on the next "Weird" Al album?

Is Al going to do a MF Doom parody?

To be honest, the purpose of these jam sessions is for the musicians to have fun messing around with harmonies and melodies for the sake of practice and fellowship. So many of my questions probably won't be answered; or at least answered the way I want. Nevertheless, this track is simply marvelous and I'm thrilled they put it out here for us.

And Quest's responses are priceless!

peace

Emcee of the Month: Gil Scott-Heron

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron

I'll hang back. I think Mr. Scott-Heron said plenty.

Thanks, Gil.

peace.

Samples Before Bedtime

So it's bedtime for me. My 45-minute ride home from rehearsal took two hours tonight due to maintenance on the bridge I took back to town. The traffic when from four lanes to ONE lane, so you can imagine the bottleneck that ensued.

So, to keep me company I spun my iPod up to DJ House Shoes and his album called King James Version Chapter 1: Verse I-V. Essentially, it's a collection of samples used by J-Dilla, all strung together to give the listener a fascinating and unique musical landscape through which to explore Mr. Yancey's body of work. Have a listen to Verse I.



This album is available for purchase on Amazon.com. If you're a fan of J-Dilla and/or interested in having a bit more understanding as to how hip hop producers turn old records into new ones (in which case you'd have to also buy some Dilla records), pick up this album. It's brilliance is quite underrated.



peace.