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America Fatherhood Life Opinion

Fireworks Suck

Why are you recording this?

“Remember the last new firework you saw? I’ll save you some time — you’ve never seen a new firework. Same show every year, and every year you all act impressed.”

—Danny Jolles

I fucking hate fireworks. 

I don’t hate them because of the environmental cost or how they scare animals and people with PTSD or how they celebrate things that don’t always deserved to be celebrated. 

I hate them because they’re completely overrated. I hate them because they’re dumb and pointless and redundant. Most of all, though, I hate them because of everything that is involved in experiencing the supposed magic of colorful explosions. 

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Books Longreads Rankings Reading Reviews

Chuck Klosterman’s Best Books

Photo by Christopher Pierznik

“I think anyone who’s not as good a writer as me is absolutely a hack, and I think anybody who’s a slightly better writer than me is brilliant.”

– Chuck Klosterman

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that Chuck Klosterman influenced a generation of writers and unconsciously blazed a path for how online critique and analysis would be presented in the first two decades of the 21st Century.

He came to the realization that “people want to think critically about the art that informs their life,” and has created a successful, impactful career as a result. 

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Hip-Hop Lists Rankings Rap

What Does Rolling Stone Know About Hip-Hop?

I don’t know what’s worse – the rankings or the omissions

“Fuck The Source, I’m on the cover of Rolling Stone!”

– 50 Cent

Lists and rankings are easy ways to create attention and chatter, especially in the internet era.

We all know this. There are countless terrible rap lists floating around online and I’ve been as guilty as anyone (my first book, The Hip-Hop 10 is always available for purchase!), but there are levels to this.

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Films In Appreciation of TV

In Appreciation Of: Adam Pally

A 21st Century Renaissance Man

via GQ

Some comic actors are just people that do funny things on TV and in films. Then there are comic actors that are so much more.

They blur lines, take risks, embrace challenges, are not afraid of being misunderstood or even unliked, and most of all are not defined by any one thing that they do.

Adam Pally is one of those.

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Hip-Hop Rap Wu-Tang Clan

“Wu-Tang Forever” at 25

While not as gritty as its predecessor, it is much more cinematic and its title has become a mantra to a new generation

Photo Credit: Loud/RCA/Certified

I wrote a 3,300 word piece back in 2017 celebrating the 20th anniversary of Wu-Tang Forever, so this will be much shorter, but I couldn’t let the silver anniversary of my favorite album pass in silence. 

It’s easy to forget now, considering how long ago it was and how much things have changed (both for the group and the industry), but the release of Wu-Tang Forever was an event.

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Life

The Power of Perspective

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”

— Socrates

I take a long walk nearly every single day.

It is one of the many reasons I was able to lose 40(ish) pounds, but I don’t do it only for the health benefits. I also do it for my mind. The walk allows me to get away from the spreadsheets and Zoom meetings, work on solving problems that seem unsolvable, and helps me generate ideas and breakthroughs, for both my personal and professional life. It helps my mental state as much as — if not more — than it helps my physical state. 

Of course, there are side effects to everything and my daily stroll is no different. 

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Business Career Learning Life Work

The Worst Boss I Ever Had

“Having a bad boss isn’t your fault. Staying with one is.” 

– Nora Denzel

There are three people I think about virtually every single day:

  1. My late mother
  2. My late best friend
  3. My former boss
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Books Hip-Hop Rap Reviews

Biggie Smalls Was the Illest – “It Was All a Dream” Book Review

There are different kinds of biographies.

Some attempt to tell the subject’s story objectively, recounting what happened and placing it in context, but without editorializing or offering opinion. Others are planned as hit pieces, hatchet jobs with a clear intent to damage the person. Still others come from a place of admiration, presenting the individual in a glowing light at every turn.

It’s difficult to tell what It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World that Made Him by Justin Tinsley was originally aiming to be, but the final product certainly falls into that last category.

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Books NBA Reviews

The Science of the NBA — “The Midrange Theory” Reviewed

To sports columnists and talking heads of a certain age, the word “analytics” has become a pejorative, a shorthand for nerds that are so engrossed in their algorithms that they can’t see the actual game being played on the court.

The truth, as always, is far more complex.

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Hip-Hop Music Rap Wu-Tang Clan

The Disappointment of RZA’s Solo Career

The sad truth is that he doesn’t have an undisputed classic in his own— or Bobby Digital’s — name

Definition of alter ego:

1: a second self or different version of oneself: such as

  • a: a trusted friend
  • b: the opposite side of a personality [Clark Kent and his alter ego Superman]
  • c: a fictional character that is the author’s alter ego

— via Merriam-Webster.com

What is RZA’s best solo album?

Actually, back up a moment. Can you even name every RZA solo album?

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