Blog is a Mix Tape

4-hour Work Week: Next Steps

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:11:45 -0700

One of the reasons I was a miserable failure at the 101/1001 was because it immediately felt equal parts daunting and not urgent. I had 101 things (many of which I no longer wanted as soon as I finished the list) and too long to do them in. Things you truly want to do should feel like a constant emergency. I work best on tight deadlines because I am required to focus and skip all the bullshit. Lights gonna get turned off tomorrow? I figure out how to pay the bill. 10 page paper due at 9am? I write 14 pages through the night. Site needs to launch? I navigate the bureaucracy and solve.

So, in the Four Hour Work Week model, I'm only focusing on four goals. The thing is to put them on 6 month to 12 month plans and begin work on them immediately. The first step is figuring out the costs and if there aren't costs, get started on the doing.

Goal #1: Have Hip Hop Abs
Cost: 3 easy payments of $19.99
Next Step: Order the plan (which turned it into about $100 because of extras) - completed
Next Step: Since it will take 5-7 days to arrive, run every morning till it arrives to build up cardio.

Goal #2: Be A Club DJ
Cost: Unknown
Next Step: Contact my favorite DJs about the rig they would recommend for a wannabe spin king - in process
Next Step: Seek instruction from a local already spin king or queen I admire.

Goal #3: Live in San Francisco
Cost: Unknown but probably similar to my current living expenses unless I decide to upgrade the experience
Next Step: Contact my friends & colleagues in the area whose values and lifestyle are similar to my own and get neighborhood advice - completed
Next Step: Visit neighborhoods when I'm back in SF in 3 weeks.

Goal #4: Write the Saunders Family History
Cost: mini-cassette tapes and possibly transcription service (>$500)
Next Step: Schedule an interview with my mom and sister - in process
Next Step: Come up with the key "first question" for every interview I will conduct.

And just like that, I'm in action on four things I've been wanting to do that I think really matter for whatever reasons. All four feel very uncomfortable right now as they require incredible life changes, many of which seem completely implausible and unreleastic, but that's the point.

This post's playlist:

Ring of Fire by This Kid Named Miles
Am I The Man by Jackie Wilson
Mad World by Gary Jules
Please Baby Don't by Sergio Mendes
Push It by Salt-N-Pepa

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Stil Shot Soundtrack: Joell Ortiz Says...

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:25:55 -0700

Alison with the banned glasses, originally uploaded by maubrowncow.

White-rimmed Sunglasses Ain't Hip Hop. (full disclosure - I really want to say that it is Fat Joe doing the intro on this track but it may, in fact, be Joell himself. This post was once called "Fat Joe Says..." but I changed it in case I'm wrong)

Hip Hop (RMX f_ Jadakiss and Saigon)

Joell Ortiz

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VOTD: Pate Filo

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 08:10:24 -0700

Malajube "Pate Filo"

In a burgeoning Montreal music scene, the pop-rock band Malajube has made a name for itself in part by sticking to its roots. Spurning English, the five French-Canadian friends belt out upbeat tunes in their native tongue, but have won over fans in the U.S. in spite of the language barrier. In 2004, they released their first album (Le Compte complet), which was a success in Quebec, but their rise to international success accelerated upon the release of 2006's Trompe l'Oeil.

- Malajube: Indie-Rock for Francophiles, NPR: World Cafe, 04.23.07

Good Morning!

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4-Hour Work Week: System Reset

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:51:04 -0700

So, on the first night of SXSW this year, I met and took a picture of this random guy at the blogher meetup. He was touting his yet to be published book called "The 4 Hour Work Week." I didn't think much of it. In fact, I may have actively poo-pooed the concept arguing that, of course Tim could do the 4-hour work week, he'd already made his millions.

Last weekend in San Francisco, I ran into Tim again. He was giving away copies of the book at Element Lounge during MJ's Web 2.0 Birthday party and I picked up one still being a non-believer. But, you know, Tim's an interesting guy and we had a brief but intriguing conversation so, in one of the few quiet moments of the weekend, I cracked it open.

I'm a believer now and, today, I'm dreamlining.

4 Things I want to have:

*Hip Hop Abs
The BMW 2007 M6 Convertible
Weekly Cleaning & Laundry Service
Complete DJ rig

5 Things I want to be:

A Chess Tournament Champion
*A Club DJ
A Great(er) Lover
Fluent in Spanish
Fluent in Tagalog

5 Things I want to do:

Visit Greece
*Write the Saunders Family History
*Live in San Francisco
See Bjork live in concert
Make a Documentary

Now, you may remember that I got on the 101/1001 train a few years ago (and failed miserably at it) so this whole list thing makes me a little nervous but I'll explain why this is way more effective and useful in the next post.

Next up: Next steps

This post's playlist:

La Raza by Kid Frost
Party and Bullshit (ratatat remix) by The Notorious B.I.G.
Laff At 'Em (Give It To Me RMX f/ Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z) by Timbaland
I'm Throwed by Paul Wall
Rehab (Desert Eagle Remix) by Amy Winehouse
Revolt (Le Tigre mix) by Lesbians on Ecstasy
Spit It Clearly by Dilated Peoples
Hip Hop (RMX f/ Jadakiss and Saigon) by Joell Ortiz
Don't You Have A Man (f/ Dwele and Little Brother) by Drake
The Lucky One by Au Revoir Simone

*represents the "4 dreams that would change it all"

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Song of the Week: International Players Anthem

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:16:51 -0700

International Players Anthem (f/ Outkast)

UGK

This is my favorite song right now by far.

This is my penance:
--------
AUTHOR: Jason Toney
TITLE: Bitches Ain't Shit but Hoes and Tricks: Sexism, Feminism and Denial in hip hop
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 1
CONVERT BREAKS: __default__
ALLOW PINGS: 1
CATEGORY: pop diatribe

DATE: 03/21/2004 02:38:16 PM
-----
BODY:
'Never lettin' ya leave, never lettin' ya go' - Amerie, Can't Let Go (All I Have)

Early in Chris Rock's Black Ambition Tour set, he jokes about his uncomfortable relationship with hip hop. Especially now that he has a daughter, he thinks more about the words. He notes, however, that women are always the people that seem to get the most amped when those misogynistic songs blare through the speakers. The lyrics could be

Stick it in her ass
Stick it in her ass
Hoes always love it
When you stick it in they ass

and what is seemingly every woman in the club saying as they grind up on their man or dance with their girls? 'That nigga ain't talkin' about me. Shiiiit. Holla!î

In LA, it's pretty much standard that you must rock something from the Snoop Dogg/Dr. Dre Chronic era in your old school set at the hip hop club. Probably the most misogynistic song on either the Doggystyle or Chronic albums is Ain't No Fun (If My Homies Can't Have None). Nate Dogg sings the smoothed out chorus over a silky 70s style soul loop on a song about passing a woman around like she was a joint.

The girls go wild. Every damn time. They laugh. They joke. They high five. 'That nigga ain't talkin' about me. Shiiiit. Wesst Side bitches. What?!î

The key women in hip hop seem to only broach the subject of this rampant sexism by suggesting their own sexual dominance. Missy Elliot's most recent hits all deal with her demands of men in the bedroom. On Ghostface Killah's Tush she says,

I really like you baby
Do you know how to wife this lady?
Give me what I want don't talk don't touch
Unless you got a bank account to make my face blush

Now shush
Eat my bush
And I can give you what you want
Make a wush

The implication being that she's as sexually aggressive as the men and, unless you've got the money to back up your bravado, you better do what she asks. That's great and all and I love a strong, sexually aware person but shouldn't women be demanding that same respect outside the bedroom? Li'l Kim and Foxy Brown have never gotten past the sex as a weapon ideology either. According to them, the only power women have is in the pussy.

Jean Grae and Ms. Dynamite aside, is the most accessible feminist voice in hip hop a man? Talib Kweli regularly broaches the subjects on his records. He consistently looks at the plight of black women in the world, if not in hip hop specifically, and rarely, if ever, makes sweeping generalizations about women in his word choice and metaphor. Is there anyone else out there challenging hip hop, challenging young black minds to consider women as something other than hoes, tricks, chickenheads, your baby's mamma, or big mamma?

Maybe it's Erykah Badu whose Worldwide Underground album might be the preamble to the future of hip hop anyway. From the outset, she has been a soul singer intricately tied to her love of hip hop. She challenges the hip hop generation to always re-evaluate what is accepted as true. On the single from Worldwide Underground, Danger, she looks at a common archetype in hip hop, the drug dealer, and showcases what the woman at home is doing while he's away or on lockdown. No hoes or tricks here just a strong woman taking similar risks as her partner whether she gets acknowledged for what she does or not.

But, perhaps, the truest commentary on where women in hip hop are takes place later on her album on the Love of My Life Worldwide remix. The guests on the track are Bahamadia, Queen Latifah, and Angie Stone - 3 powerful female MCs who haven't put out relevant commercial hip hop releases in 5, 10, and 20 years respectively.

But the ladies in the club are dancing and cheering. 'That nigga ain't talkin' 'bout me.'

Who is that nigga talking about then?

'Excuse me, miss. What's your name?'
-----
EXTENDED BODY:
Related:
hiphopmusic.com: Hip Hop Blogs - Blind to Gender Issues?
diesel nation: Hip Hop Hates Women
a day in a life: Black Females are Valued by No One
-----
EXCERPT:
That nigga ain't talkin' 'bout me. Holla!
-----

Bonus: Samhita sez

Double Bonus: The entirety of Beyond Beats and Rhymes on Google Video

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@away: Costume or Awesome?

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 19:17:41 -0700

Felicia and I sat on the BART heading towards SFO and as the doors of the train closed someone's cell phone began playing a TruTones version of Bittersweet Symphony. I saw our getaway film fade to black and the credits roll up right then.

There was a post-script, sure, a bonus scene of she and I sitting in an airport bar drinking doubles of Ketel & soda and turning a not-so-innocuous comment about how we didn't want the life of the family of 4 a few tables away from us into a deeper conversation about the relationships we've had with our own parents but this weekend was more about doing than reflecting.

The last 24 hours seemed less intense but in that time I'd brunched with a lady, hung out in Washington Square Park, eaten Dim Sum, seen live action Sailor Moon at the Cherry Blossom festival, geishas on stilts, and a Japanese drum circle and created a new game for all ages - "Costume or Awesome?" or it's alternate rule, "Costume or Crazy?"

I enjoyed life that didn't require a car. I liked being close to humanity. I liked feeling connected to not just the city but to the community.

And whether costumed or crazy, I judged those people and found them all very much awesome.

I'll be back in about a month, my lovelies. Rest up. Get familiar.

This post's playlist
1. Nobody Like Me by Little Brother
2. Elevator Music by Beck
3. Keep it Playa by Pharell
4. As Long As It's You by Incognito

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@away: Feels Like Home

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 11:42:43 -0700

Date Stamp: 04.21.07

A light rain covers San Francisco. It's 6:33 pm. I'm sitting in the mezzanine at the Hotel Metropolis trying to angle appropriately for the complimentary wifi that seems to elude me. Felicia and Melissa are napping in our kryptonite colored room. I've just coordinated dinner plans with some of my very favorite people like Mita and Mr. West and I trust that our evening will only begin with tapas.

I'm very happy.

I've twittered about random things like leg cramps and Dixie bands and cannoli while I've been here and they are all true. I'm still battling the muscle tightness that cropped up last night at the Element Lounge. MJ's web 2.0 birthday party featured some ridiculous pop confection - at least 4 songs featuring Fergie and the Timbaland/Nelly Furtado/Justin Timberlake hit twice - along with the requisite megamixes and reggaeton and after trying to play it cool and take it easy, I was overcome. We danced it out. We walked it out. We got George to break it down. And then, because I'm old, the back of my right leg seized up. It hasn't quite relinquished it's hold.

This should be a problem because we spent the day walking the city. Breakfast at Cafe Mason was followed by a cable car ride to The Buena Vista and many an irish coffee, many a joke, and one camera lesson on the wonder of the macro feature and food shots. We then trekked through North Beach and found the "WashBaG crawdad feed" that featured the most excellent Dixie Band covering some of your 80s favorites including Rockwell, Phil Collins and the Eurythmics. We didn't stop there.

Can't Stop. Won't Stop.

So we continued on through the Italian rooted enclave until we found Mara's Italian Eatery and had the finest of pastries, gelatos and coffees before walking back to Union Square and then on to the hotel.

In betwixt all that, I've seen Smokler and Tim Ferriss and Jaschu. I've danced with strange women and been drunkenly encouraged by strange men. I've discussed local politics and web industry gossip and eaten my face off.

I've felt both special and normal at the same time. I've felt at home.

Huh.

So, if this feels like home what does LA feel like to me right now?

A question for another day, methinks.

This post's playlist:

1. To Dry Up (feat. Charlotte Savary) by Hope & Sorrow
2. Don't Sit on the Pickets by Racetrack
3. Morning Child by 4Hero
4. Interlude by Jay Dee aka J Dilla
5. You Broke My Heart by Cavalry of Light
6. Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp by Gameboy/Gamegirl

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Grandma's House: The Fridge

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:54:26 -0700

Grandma's House: The Fridge, originally uploaded by misterjt.

Pics from Easter finally up on Flickr.

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QotD: Fine Living

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:56:18 -0700

What does it mean to live well?
Submitted by Dean.

This probably deserves a longer post but, in simple terms, to live without regret. I want to, on my dying day, be at peace with whatever I have done with my life. To want to live more moments because life is good but to not have to live more moments because of unfinished business.

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QotD: Also Known As

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:54:15 -0700

What's in a screen/user name? Tell us how you found yours.
Submitted by Bill.

misterjt has been my monikor of choice for a few years. I can't decide if I'm ashamed to say that it probably is a result of Justin Timberlake's first solo album. That said, I'm thinking about retiring my AIM username - mrjtmobile - and launching a new one. I tend to think of AIM names as more disposable than my other name-types online.

I've also been jtfunkytown and jtoney (although I've never loved the standard jtoney. It reads ugly to me) and geedub97 was my very first IM name. I still use that on yahoo.

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