Waxing Poetically: News and Lifestyle with a Twist of Poetry

Digital Photo manipulation of a stock photo by me

For this week’s addition of Articles of Faith, I kept it simple with a list of recommended reading and viewing. Next week, I will finally be reviewing the movie the Message as I promised two weeks ago. Please comment if anything strikes you in particular. Enjoy and keep waxing!

Siddhartha (the life of the Buddha)

This is a book about the life and legend of the Buddha.

The Power of Myth Video Series

This is Joseph Campbell’s collection of interviews with Bill Moyers in 1987 shortly before Campbell’s death exploring the spiritual traditions of multiple cultures throughout time. Campbell did not believe in literal interpretations of these myths but fully held their meanings to be absolutely true.

Marcus Borg Parallel Sayings books

This is a poignant comparative study of various religious figures and what we can learn from them.

Teach Yourself Zen by Christmas Humphreys

I don’t necessarily agree with the author on all points but this a good starting point for those of you who want to learn Zen meditation

The Tao Te Ching (Taoism)

It’s really short you’ll finish it within an hour. Plug in God or Jesus every time the text refers to “the Way or the Tao” and you see a remarkable universal element. Also, there’s a weird concept in it saying that if we give evil nothing to oppose, it ceases to exist. This is fuzzy to me but I guess you can’t fight someone who won’t fight.

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapter 6

You’ll find a basic understanding of Christian morality hear. These teachings are why I follow Christ myself.

The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

This is Payne critical argument against the authority of the bible and arguing that the true deity is in Creation itself. I don’t necessarily agree with everything said here about Bible’s contradictions, but the part about religion being man made is valid and the point people take the Old Testament too literally is pretty interesting.

The Bhagavad Gita

This is the Hindu text in which Krishna (the Hindu physical manifestation of God) teaches the warrior Arjuna the way to communion with God.

Note: This work is from a previous response I made last year to a post on Helium.com. It has been altered slightly in order to remain current.

What do you think a when you think of the phrase “modern society?” It could be that you think of electricity, cars, telephones, video games, computers and e-mail. You might think of the latest and greatest or most up to date gadget, device, software, and so forth. Merriam-Webster defines the word “modern” as 1 a: of, relating to, or characteristic of the present or the immediate past : contemporary b: of, relating to, or characteristic of a period extending from a relevant remote past to the present time
2: involving recent techniques, methods, or ideas : up-to-date
3: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the present or most recent period of development of a language (http://m-w.com/dictionary/modern).

So now that we have defined the term, let’s elaborate shall we? Furthermore, how does this affect our entertainment choices? In recent times, let us say the last 30 years, we in the US have seen great transition. In 1977 for example, we saw devices like 8-track music players, Colecovision and Atari video game systems, block lettering on network television and the earliest incarnations of HBO that likely only was viewed by a select group of customers. After all, Americans had only recently gotten used to color television, and now had the added attraction of cable to entice them and George Lucas’s Star Wars to prophesize what was yet to come. By 1981, MTV hit the airwaves with a bunch of crazy haired Brits and synthesized music and we called it modern and “new wave.” By 1983, we were mesmerized by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, and we called it amazing. By 1984, we were introduced to the new Apple computer via a Super Bowl commercial in which we were told that we would find out why 1984 would not be like George Orwell’s version of 1984. People bought into the hype and bought the computers. They replaced their records with CDs and their dial-based watches with digital ones. This fervor fueled the fire of sci-fi films such as 1982’s Tron and 1985’s Back to the Future, films in which we were told that technology would take us to places we’d never been before while exploring themes such as computer-based warfare and car-based time travel, and why not? Americans after all, had always prided themselves on being dreamers, innovators and inventors.

By the late 80s, We had explored phone technology, and come up with such remarkable things as cordless phones, and Nintendo. By the 90s, these two would morph themselves into cellular telephones, and Nintendo’s cooler older brother, Super Nintendo. Home video renters and closed-circuit TV patrons now had the option of pay-per-view and watching such epic cultural events as Wrestlemania from the comfort of their own home. Basic cable now offered us 50 plus channels and the early Apple word processors had been taken over by Bill Gates’ Windows software. Later came the advent of America Online, chat rooms and instant messaging. Now anyone in the world could send a message to anyone else in the world with a few strokes of the keyboard in their bedroom. 1999 saw the creation of the Napster file sharing program that allowed any person anywhere to share music over the Internet for free without the need of CDs or record stores, or money for that matter. Our cell phones that were once the size of bananas were now smaller than our credit cards and were not only capable of completing our phone calls, but also could easily snap pictures or store video games.

In 2008, 30-plus years from our starting point, we stand at the brink of dominating media throughout the world. What once were were afterthoughts after a bad sci-fi movie have now become real. 30 years ago, most people only had five channels to choose from on TV. In demand entertainment meant that a little boy could ride his bike whenever he wanted on a Saturday, given his chores were done. Instant messaging consisted of telling the person next to us what we wanted to say in the same instant we wanted to say it. If we wanted to have a friend in another country, we had to actually take the trouble to mail a letter and write it with our own pencil-gripping hands. We now live in times where if our computer is two seconds slow, we complain. we moan because we can’t watch You Tube. God forbid there be a power outage! Our cell phones would only work if they were charged… No Tetris for more than an hour… jeez! Our e-mails would be delayed, thereby delaying our packages of DVDs, messages, and favorite songs and again, no You Tube. There’d be no John Madden Football to play on Xbox. Alas, we may have to play, actual football actually outside! It’s gotten to the point where the average kid watches so much television that Nickelodeon actually had to devote a day to asking kids to play outside!

So in closing, we have indeed become too obsessed by media driven entertainment. I’m guilty of it too. So maybe we should practice talking in public, instead of online, play actual sports, instead of EA Sports, stop watching reality TV and start living reality. These might be novel ideas, but hey, one never knows when or if they’ll catch on.

Until next time… go wax your star cruisers poetically!

In these tough economic, political, and four dollar and rising gas price inducing times, I leave you with the words of my former Media Economics professor James Smith. He has since retired, but his words ring ever truer with each passing day of my life. Enjoy, and of course… keep those minds waxing poetically!

SMITH’S 26 RULES OF MEDIA, MONEY, AND LIFE

PEOPLE

1. Networking is the single most important skill you’ll ever develop.

2. Dump your “loser” friends they are a waste of time and energy. You will be known, whether you like it or not, by the company you keep.

3. Treat everybody the way you want to be treated.

4. Don’t ignore the “little people.” Often the vice president’s secretary knows
more than the vice president.

5. Hire people smarter than you are. Its more important to be successful than
to be right or in control.

6. Keep your mouth shut. You learn more by listening and it is not always
necessary for people to know what you are thinking.

7. Don’t be afraid to sell! Selling is building personal relationships…solving somebody’s problems or meeting their needs.

PERSONAL VALUES

8. Stay focused. Be passionate. Work hard and provide value. Don’t waste time.

9. Integrity. Don’t cheat anybody. Be honest.

10. Be flexible, adapt. Darwin was right.

11. Resist the urge to enhance your personal life until you have started to achieve
your professional goals.

12. Max-Min. In all endeavors, maximize the upside potential and minimize the downside risk.

13. Relationships, life, and business are cyclical. Learn to recognize the cycles and how to deal with them.

MONEY

14. Buy low, sell high, and know when to leave the table.

15. Use OPM (other people’s money) but retain ownership. But, borrow when interest rates are low, pay back when they are high.

16. Ask for more than you need but don’t be ridiculous. When you get the money, follow the budget and keep some in reserve.

17. Think “investment” not “spending” when handling money. A corollary;
If you out-think them, you don’t have to out-spend them.

18. Work for yourself, always own a business, even when you work in a corporate environment. It also makes good tax sense.

19. Divorce and business have much in common. Be sure to leave relationships
with more than you brought to them. And you will be leaving!

MEDIA RULES Mike’s note: Apply these to your own person. Think of your personality as your selling point!

20. Think software, not hardware. Content is king. Don’t focus on technology or delivery systems they quickly become commodity businesses.

21. There’s always somebody with more gear or more money than you have.

22. Define and know your target audiences. They will make you money
if you let them.

23. Do your homework. Research everything, including the failures. Profit from the successes and learn from the failures of others.

24. Pay your dues. Learn the business from the ground-up. In the beginning, you’ll have to work long hours for little pay but know, in the end, it’s worth it.

25. Egos. Never lose sight of the fact that the media business is full of people with large egos. Accept it and learn to deal with them. Turn their ego into your “employee.”

26. Know the basics of contract law and accounting.

Regarding millionaires, did you know? Of those who didn’t inherit their money, less than 40% got rich by working for a corporation.

When somebody asks “What’s your sign?” Tell them © and ®.

Remember Alan Alda’s famous quote: It isn’t necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It’s only necessary to be rich. Mike’s note: Be aware that money is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. Your money must work for you, not you for it!

Last night, while exploring the joys of Stumble Upon, I came across MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann’s searing remarks in response to Hillary’s Clinton reference this past Friday to the Robert F. Kennedy assassination when discussing her campaign running through the month of June. Below are those remarks by way of the New York Times‘ Larry Rohter.

“You know, my husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.” (Clinton on May 23, 2008)

But Keith O’s near disembowelment of Clinton doesn’t just come after these few remarks. It took its shape quite a bit earlier in quite a few other statements such as this one during an interview with Time in March 6 issue:

TIME: Can you envision a point at which–if the race stays this close–Democratic Party elders would step in and say, “This is now hurting the party and whoever will be the nominee in the fall?”

CLINTON: No, I really can’t. I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn’t wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual.

Still, Olbernann points out that every time she even breathes in reference to the month of June, Mrs. Clinton seems to bring up the assassination in a time when just the mere running of a black man and a woman evoke the specter of the thought… and to my thinking, he’s absolutely right! I mean, really! He even points out that she has had the prudence to avoid this subject in other press and has done so. So why the lapse now? Further to this point is the simple fact that with all her prior statements, she has never realized her error! Olbermann’s eloquence is far more than I should be able to convey with my own words. I have posted the video below. When watching, notice the references to many other “oversights” including Bill Clinton’s since vilified Jesse Jackson remark and Hillary’s noting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “relative importance.”

It all makes me wonder if Mrs. Clinton is even aware of even a faint pulse among her supporters. WTF to you, Senator, WTF!

See you back here… next waxed time, same waxed Channel!

For some time now in the past two years, mainstream science has had arguably no bigger a monkey on its back (no pun intended) than that of the the Intelligent Design movement. According to the F.A.Q. section of Beliefnet.com, Intelligent Design is the theory that living things show signs of having been designed. ID supporters argue that living creatures and their biological systems are too complex to be accounted for by the Darwinian theory of evolution, and that a designer or a higher intelligence may be responsible for their complexity.This is the premise of the new Ben Stein documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed This is not to be conflated fully however with Creationism which maintains a belief that all life that has ever existed was created fully formed having no place for any transitional stages or evolution.

I decided to pursue this topic after reading an excerpt from a recent book published last 2006 entitled, Intelligent Thought: Science Versus the Intelligent Design Movement. The book is a compilation of essays written by scientists, philosophers and professionals who each give their take on the subject. General scientific consensus maintains as always that proof of Evolution is clearly visible by examining various patterns and traits in nature throughout time. Advocates such as evolutionary biologist and very often acerbic atheist Richard Dawkins liken opposing views as silly mythology no better than that of the Tooth Fairy or Santa Clause. Conversely, opponents to Evolution in the conservative religious right seethe at the thought that this is anything more than Godlessness propagated by a liberal media out to destroy the moral compass of America.

Still, I propose there is something missing… something between these two theories. What if the first reasoning beings were primates? Oh wait… according to science they are! In all seriousness, are human beings worse off than if we were humans created in the very beginning of time? Furthermore, if a devout Christian can believe that the stories he or she grew up knowing from the Bible were capable of occurring in real life, if they believe for instance that Noah in the Book of Genesis did in fact and without fail, walk every species of creature two by two onto a really, really, big boat, then why are pre- homosapien apes, carbon dating, and black holes dismissed so coldly? To me, these works seem just as wondrous and awe inspiring as anything else on Earth. This sense of wonder in regard to the complexity of life is not only the basis for Intelligent Design theory, but also the rock solid foundation for my own faith. It maintains that science itself is a reason to believe there maybe a guiding force after all. It is this theory that does not deter my faith in my life’s purpose.

To the same extent, I feel that although science can explain most of the hows of life, it can never, with certain exceptions, explain the whys. Consciousness is a great example of this fact. Scientists maintain that for all their study, they find no need for us as humans to be conscious of ourselves or our purpose. Whereas, the ability to reason is a clear survival trait when a person must, for example, avoid being eaten by a bear, it makes absolutely no logical sense to ponder the meaning of life before being eaten. Yet indubitably, all of us at some point in our existence question that existence. Thoughts about why nature had to evolve the way it did and where the first cells came from come to my mind. But again, these serve no integral purpose toward the survival of the human being as a species.

Questions such as these and my view that science and spirit can and to my full belief, do in fact coexist are part of my reason for choosing to study this topic. Still, my greatest impetus for my study is the fact that I feel the mainstream media has pigeonholed Evolution versus Intelligent Design into an either/or debate when there could easily be a third viewpoint, my viewpoint that science and ideas about God, thought and consciousness when put together create a sense of wonder and appreciation without which I feel both sides of the debate totally miss the point. That point is that existence is fascinating… regardless of what may or may not have caused it to exist.

Until next time, Kiddies… Keep waxin’!

My digital photo manipulation “Atomic Holiday Self-portrait”

“The Evolution of Intelligent Design in Rhyme with Reason (The Vow)”

Today, I make a vow to speak my words into action without retraction, with full satisfaction and full interaction with all that is real, all that I feel and all that I am. I make this vow with the knowledge that words matter, because they are matter. Words are matter of the heart beating and pumping through rhythm, reverberating through mountains and reflecting in rivers. Why do you think they call rapping flowing? It is because a true emcee moves as water, formless and colorless. His or her raps take the form of thought in time, space, moment and momentum like a flowing river that never knows its next move, but rather feels its next move, meandering over the beaten path of rocks and the rocking path of beats forming symmetry through motion, divinity through oceans of spatial and physical intelligence. In this way, I vow no longer to speak in the trivial sense but in recompense for past trivial nonsense. I now speak with full sense and meaning pinpointing palpable paragraphs as pairs of graphs diagramming reality.

You see, words, create reality. By speaking, we are graphing, symbolizing, diagramming and blueprinting Creation. Thus my words, your words, our words are our DNA, genetically and phonetically mapping our existence so that others may study and learn from it. I have realized for instance, even as a piece of literature that the book of Genesis was just that– a book of “genesis–”. Creation was diagrammed, symbolized and graphed with words. God said, and then there was.

Today I write and sketch my own blueprint, so blue, so blue I see the sky and I want to write in it. I can no longer write down but only up! I look toward the heavens and see my Archangel namesake, Michael look upon me with blissfully stoic eyes and so I henceforth abandon my pen in favor of an angel winged quill so that my words might fly into new dimensions of the Electromagnetic Telekinetic Multiversal spectrum of Infinity. I peel back its layers like pages and begin to read aloud within the clouds.

Alpha to omega, Playstation to Sega, I open up Bill’s gates to apply new vistas to my ever expanding Big Bang in my third eye. My Zen is all relative to Einstein E= MC Shan crossing the bridge between Heaven and Earth known as lifetime.” I then see the two bodies rotating in time with one another. They guide my pen. And its axis too is bold as Love spinning verse through the air down through the woods and the winds like woodwinds playing Jimi’s guitar riffs in autumn. They play ceaselessly ’til winter comes with crying strings as leaves call for their creator like children in requiem for their mother. They die from the outside inward. Their arid flesh becomes spirit as their cores decompose to recompose a new luxuriant fertility: A new tree: the hiding place of the chimpanzee. Such are my words, gaining wisdom while sitting between the Buddha and the Christ in the very same moment, under the very same tree. The two quote parallel scriptures. “No good tree bares bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bare good fruit for each tree is known by its own fruit,” says Jesus. “Yes!” affirms the Buddha, “Each bares some fruit whether good or bad.” I vow to both that I will sow a seed worthy of the tears of angels but for now I remain mortally wounded by my humanity.

I then wake from my sleep to realize it was all a dream. Still, I cannot let it end just yet. I am ever striving to attain mastery of word and deed. For I hold the blessing and the curse in the same vocabulary. I cradle Birth and Death inside the Tree of Life. Therefore, I cannot waste one word. For if I do it is all a farce and I have ceased t be a poet and have become nothing but Death itself. So let me proclaim now with unwavering conviction: I am alive!

My painting “Electric Faith”

Hi, Folks! This week I’m continuing my Articles of Faith series with my own story of how I came to study spirituality:

This whole project may have started when my lady Abby over a year ago when she gave me a book called Jesus and Buddha: the Parallel Sayings by Marcus Borg. As its title implies, the book gives both a historical as well as a textual account in scriptural parallels and in the striking similarities in both men’s births, lives, teachings, deaths and their tremendous legacies left behind for the world to study.

Yet, as far as I truly can recall, my journey started much earlier than one gift could imply. As a young boy raised in the Roman Catholic faith, I have always had a general idea about who I thought Jesus Christ to be. Jesus was to me, a teacher of good. He respected all as equal among each other. He gave children new rights to be both seen and heard and recognized the sinful tendencies within all people, teaching followers to “judge not” and to love one another as we love ourselves. These teachings among others are why I still to this day, consider myself a follower of Christ.

By the same token, I am a person who grew up in a multi-ethnic neighborhood where cultures mixed now and again, from the Indian family two houses to the left of mine to the Jewish family across the street. In this way, my upbringing gave way to an open-mindedness that is still with me today. I still remember when I was five years old, my mother telling me that our Jewish neighbors, the Falks, did not celebrate Christmas. I then asked politely, “They don’t believe in God?” to which my mother replied, “No, they believe in God but they don’t celebrate Christmas.” At the time, it was an innocent question but the answer was something that would shape my diverse worldview for the rest of my life. It is this same ability to see beyond the confines of one perspective or another that sparked my curiosities toward other cultures, whether they leaned toward the rave culture of the UK or toward the Kabuki theatre of Japan.

Obviously, such a wide perspective lends itself to exploration where religion is concerned and my parents and especially my mother would have it no other way. Growing up, I was never told that any cultural group, race, religion or ethnicity was necessarily wrong in any way. So one day it hit me like a virus. I was curious about other religions. It began in the tenth grade when I read Enlightenment pieces by Thomas Paine, John Locke and Martin Luther. I then told my mother that I didn’t believe in the need for all the Catholic sacraments and in the need for the priesthood. My subsequent search for meaning lead me toward many faiths and I explored them each a bit just for curiosity’s sake.

Then in the fall of 2001 in my sophomore year in community college, I discovered two remarkable things: The Bible as a work of literature (in both the actual book and other works such as The Inferno and Dr. Faustus) and Zen stories about being more aware, less materialistic and more conscious beings that were provided by a cynical but brilliant English professor who shall go unnamed. The two experiences were profound. I saw the same sins, redemptions, messages of love and warnings about the dangers of wickedness and the journey to a higher Self. In the weeks that followed, I began to read a book about Zen Buddhism given to me by a friend. While I read the book, I began agreeing with the philosophy more and more to the point I might have converted myself to it. However, since I had never been a believer in a particular religion (or even a political party for that matter) being “the one,” my conversion fell short of its mark. I was intrigued nevertheless.

My exploration stretched even further after the World Trade Center attacks of that year, which taught me to cherish my moments alive and forced to wonder about my own purpose in being alive. I graduated that Spring with a liberal arts Associate’s degree and planned a one year hiatus from college (which unintentionally turned into a two-year layover). I read, wrote poems and freelanced as a DJ, all the while still exploring my personal faith. My search lead me to the Gnostic texts which reminded me more of Hinduism and Buddhism but with Jesus mixed in the recipe, and Unitarianism which believes in the acceptance of all faiths. I’ve since gotten my Bachelor’s degree and become a freelance writer…. This project is the culmination of my search to this point in time. It references the diversity of world religions and cultures while maintaining a common link between all people.

Last night, former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura told Larry King that our current brand of politics is something he’ll never endorse. Ventura contends that we have a government that is caught up in re-paying favors and spending all the money they can to get elected. He also stated he would consider a run for the Senate in July.

Watch Video:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/05/21/lkl.jesse.ventura.cnn/

Ventura may have something of a point in the fact that he has never been a career politician, has never asked for favors and has never claimed allegiance to any party. I also, like that he’s an ex wrestler, so he knows tough guy, blowhard bravado when he hears it.

I now leave you with a quotation from George Washington from his 1796 farewell address and an excerpt from a previous blog I wrote last year entitled “Party Crashing: Why Neither Party Seems To Be Working Out Too Well For Us”

Washington states as follows:

All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They [political parties] serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

Link: http://www.laughtergenealogy.com/bin/history/politics.html

Excerpt:

In lay terms, if a government’s intentions and allegiances are to a party and not the republic for which it stands, that government becomes devoid of character and principle. When a party serves to out-govern its opposition rather than serve its people by finding common ground, that party becomes unjust.

I fear this has happened to our country. Our leaders have lost site of their purpose. From the extreme perspectives, Conservatives think Liberals are the scourge of societal well being who want to run recklessly through the world being gay and raising taxes while Liberals in turn argue that the current administration has ignored the voice of its people and call President Bush evil. These extremes may exist where some of us live but what if a person is a Christian Democrat? What if he or she is personally pro-life but does not feel abortion can be abolished without dealing with the aftermath of unplanned pregnancy? What are gay Republicans to do? Where do they fit in the political spectrum?

Personally, I feel it’s time we the people start voting just as people. People should never let a party, even if they do agree with its stance, be their sole reason for voting. To paraphrase a certain Dr. King, whether red state or blue state our United States must not vote simply by the color of a party but rather by the content of the character of each candidate within those parties. It’s ironic that in a country in which we refer to our parties as either “right” or “left” wings, we should fail to realize that in order to fly the plane that is the United States of America, we need both wings!

Am I the only one who likes this Ventura guy? Leave comments and stay waxing poetically as always!

To read the original article from which the above excerpts are taken go to

http://www.talentdatabase.com/channels/20/profiles/276901/portfolios/276601/portfolio_items/6522301

While I get my new posts ready, I thought I’d give you a treat from my portfolio. In the Summer of 2007, I Interviewed Brian “B. Nice” Birkeland for a my portfolio and since then, I’ve had it laying around cyberspace. I thought I should use it before it becomes a relic of the past. Please Enjoy.

It’s Okay to B. Nice in Hip Hop

By Michael LaPenna

In an industry where he says bling, weed smoke and gangsta mentality are seen as the truest measures of success, Brian “B. Nice” Birkeland approaches his craft as a means to educate and spark minds without a lighter. I sat down with the emcee to discuss his views on his music, his graduate degree, his views on hip hop culture, and why he doesn’t want to be signed to a major label anytime in the foreseeable future.

LaPenna: Well first, tell [the readers] where you’re from and in general, the gist of who you are.

B. Nice: Wow! That’s tough to answer but I’ll give you an attempt. I can at least tell you where I’m from. I’m originally from Bellport, Long Island, the longest island in the world (Joking). I grew up there, went to high school out there. I graduated in 2000 and moved to the Hudson Valley. I came to [State University of New York at New Paltz] and got my Bachelors’ Degree in Black Studies, I graduated there in 2004. I’m currently working on a Master’s Degree in Humanistic Multi-cultural Education. So, ya know I’ve been representin’ Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Where ever I am, that’s where I’m at!

LaPenna: Fair enough. I want to follow up with a little bit of a Devil’s advocate question. You and I are both Caucasian young men. What inspired you to pursue Black Studies and Multi-cultural Education? Was there a specific influence?

B. Nice: I don’t think it was one specific influence, just a lot of influences coming together for me. I’m a person that seeks truth and seeks to learn. I think we as human beings by nature have a thirst to do that, ya know? Some of us try to hide it and some of us try to pursue it more. I wanted to know everything that happened before me. Who doesn’t want to know that? I just felt that I wasn’t getting the proper perspective with what my teachers (growing up) told me. Other factors…. Being that my sister is [developmentally disabled] I watched the way people treated her and how the school system kinda brushed her to the side and didn’t help her and didn’t treat her like a person. It kinda focused my whole attention toward civil rights… not just color differences, gender differences, ability differences, any kind of “ism” you can name.

LaPenna: All in all, quite interesting but obviously I’m interviewing you as a hip hop artist. When did that all begin?

B. Nice: I mean that’s always been there from me just bein’ a young man at a time when hip hop was at its best. Just being a young male at that time, regardless of me being white or from Long Island, if you were a young man at that time you had to recognize hip hop. There was just something so real about and definitely masculine about it. Ya know, I always hung around older kids… they had tape players before I had tape players… I would listen to what they were listenin’ to ya know, Grand Puba, Slick Rick. I thought it was the coolest thing ever! It was all about self expression. I felt I could be myself. Obviously there were people who looked at me like I was crazy… including my family.

LaPenna: When did you start writing raps of your own?

B. Nice: I’ve always written poems and stories but I the day I said, “I’m a rapper today.” was in I’d say eleventh grade.

LaPenna: Why then?

B. Nice: I was tired of hearing the rap I was hearing on the radio. I wanted to hear myself, so I just started writing everyday, dedicating myself to writing, however I can find inspiration. I haven’t stopped since.

LaPenna: You’re definitely a throwback. A lot of your lyrics seem to be of the era of A Tribe Called Quest, Slick Rick, LL Cool J. With that said, who in the game is your greatest influence?

B. Nice: No one on the radio now, definitely. I would say definitely Nas, Jay-Z to a certain extent, Rakim, Mos Def, Talib Kweli Black Thought (of The Roots).

LaPenna: Do you have a particular method when you write songs?

B. Nice: Whatever the beat tells me or if I have a real life situation to write about, that helps.

LaPenna: Your lyrics seem to take on an existential vibe, life lessons etcetera. In one of your songs, “Do 4 U” you say “I ain’t really the religious sorta preachin’ type/But I got a’ ear should you ever seek advice.” What impact has spirituality or your equivalent of it had on you?

B. Nice: I feel like so much of American culture is lacking that type of substance and I don’t mean religion. I’m talkin’ about a connection to where we are and a connection to our past. I feel like American culture in general just lacking a lot of that. There are just so many people, and I’m a victim of it too, who are controlled by different things. Whether it be the media, technology… we’re becoming less and less human and more and more machine-like with people on their cell phones, or on Myspace communicating through machines rather than communicating with each other. So, I feel it’s important, as human beings; we’re such a unique species. We need to understand that we’re very lucky to have that ability to think outside of ourselves and understand there’s more to life than just day to day. Some people don’t believe that, I do. Some people feel like we’re on the earth to get money and that’s how you prosper in this world. That’s not necessarily what I believe. I just feel like it’s important to remember that human side of all of us ‘cause we’re all in this together.

LaPenna: Do you have a religious background?

B. Nice: I was raised and Roman Catholic. I was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church. I no longer affiliate myself with the Church just for personal reasons but I think religion can be a good. I think religion can do a lot of good for a lot of people. I just didn’t see it doing as much good for me as me just being on my own spiritual path as of right now. I understand people have religious views and that fine as long it’s helping them progress and feel better then I think it’s a good thing but when religion starts to make you feel guilty over things you think are right, then you need to figure out where you stand… the Church gave me a sense of discipline but right now it’s not something I choose to follow.

LaPenna: With all your spirituality and good intent, where do you want to take your music?

B. Nice: Honestly I don’t really have a goal. I think that hurts me in my art. I notice people around me who are doing well with music, they have goals. They want to get signed or such and such amounts of spins on Myspace. I’m more of the approach that if people like it I want to get it to them. I don’t wanna get signed to a major label. I don’t wanna get famous off of music. Honestly, I don’t really think I’m that good but people who like my stuff keep me going.

LaPenna: What are your plans for the future?

B.Nice: I’m trying to put a tour together, dropping a bunch of albums with Cans, H. Brooks and Rich Bills. We have The Peter Perfect Project 25 track, double disc produced by Peter Perfect coming out soon. Look for a new B. Nice tour in Late ’07. Shout to Filthy Family. I’m trying to find inspiration for my next album. That’s one of the hardest things right now. I’m just trying to get inspired… I’ve been so busy.(Author’s Note: For more recent touring and show information visit www.myspace.com/bniceakaniceb)

LaPenna: Where do you see hip hop going in the next five to ten years?

B.Nice: That word, “hip hop” is so ambiguous right now. My definition of hip hop may not necessarily be what yours is or what corporate radio thinks. My definition of hip hop is not really existent on the radio or in the mainstream outlets like MTV, BET. It’s is not really visible in those outlets. But I think hip hop is gonna change and evolve and continue to grow and then go back to its roots. But for now, it needs to go other places. Like, for me, a lot of down south… T.I. is hip hop, he raps, but “Walk It Out” is dance music. That’s good for what it is but that shouldn’t be confused with hip hop that came from the South Bronx: hip hop that stood for unifying the community. Instead of fighting with guns and knives you were fighting with lyrics and breakdancin’ and records.

LaPenna: Any final words of wisdom?

B.Nice: Be Nice to people. Be nice to the earth. Be nice at what you do. Just be nice!

LaPenna: Thanks, Man!

B.Nice: No Problem!

Check out samples of B. Nice’s songs and purchase his album, “Do the Nice Thing” at www.myspace.com/bniceakaniceb

I hope you enjoyed my little flashback. Until next time, stay alert and keep waxing poetically!

For more of my portfolio visit www.thedb.com/lapennaprolifica

Recently, while surfing the net for blog ideas, I came across something of a cool thing on CNN.com. Apparently the maverick webmasters at at CNN have come up with a new concept for a stock trading game called Political Market in which commodities and companies are replaced by political opinions.

Very simply, players are given 5000 imaginary dollars to buy and sell stocks and then asked a multiple choice question such as, “Who do you think has the best chance of getting Iran to comply with international weapons sanctions?” The various choices are names shown as multiple choice answers with their dollar amounts determined by the percentage of people in the game who gave that answer i.e. 25%= $25.00. However, if the actual value of an item is being debated, let’s say a barrel of oil is $90.00. Then the price is not a percentage of people in favor, but a literal value. But in each case, the player must buy or sell according to what he or she foresees as the most likely outcome.

Simple, right? Well, yes. This game of buying and selling works much the same way as a real stock trade. But this type of trading is much more volatile as it is not determined by just the sales success and profit of an item or business, but more so on public opinion which of course, can be as fickle as a toddler in the vegetable isle in Wally’s Grocery Shack in Beeswax, Ohio. Think of your high school rumor mill. Now think of that same chaotic deluge except now with Barack, Hil-Rod and Kim Jong-il thrown into the hat! Throw in the fact that the initial public offering is determined by silly gossip among the people and you’ve got fuuuun crap!

To make a profit all you do is subtract your price from $100.00. The difference is your profit. It’s that simple! The profit is obviously greater if your choice was in the minority and lower if in the majority. So, there isn’t a whole lot of leeway there… but who really cares? it’s fake money!

Anyway, in this blogger’s view, it’s the perfect way to waste time while actually getting to see to how the socio-political circus operates without having to run a campaign, balance the budget, or dodge your reverend! Amen!

Until we meet again, Friends…. I hope that this new game keeps your minds waxing poetically!

To play Political Market go to http://politicalmarket.cnn.com/