Author: Christopher Pierznik

Christopher Pierznik is the author of 9 books and has contributed to numerous websites on a variety of topics including music, sports, movies, TV, personal finance, and life. He works in corporate finance and lives in northern New Jersey with his family. His dream is to one day be a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.

The Top 20 Wu-Tang Albums

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date November 9, 2018
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Below is a list I created in November, 2013, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). It was published on Medium and then republished by Hip Hop Golden Age. In honor of today – November 9, 2018 – being the 25th anniversary of the release of that album, I chose to post it here. Please keep in mind that this list hasn’t been changed, amended or updated in five years. Any projects that came out since then were obviously not considered. Reading back through the list, there are minor changes I might like to make – I think Cuban Linx…Pt. II is a bit too low – but it’s been out there for a half-decade so I’ll leave the list as it is. Please tell me how wrong I got it in the comments below.

Wu-Tang Forever!

-CP 11/9/18

Tags Classics, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Ghostface Killah, GZA, Hip-Hop, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Method Man, ODB, Raekwon, Rankings, Rap, RZA, U-God, Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang Clan

Books Business Career Knowledge Learning Lessons

10 Books That Are as Valuable as an MBA

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date November 7, 2018
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You can’t learn everything in school.

In fact, many of the greatest lessons are found outside of the classroom. As someone that went to graduate school (twice) and did get an MBA, I will not diminish it by saying that reading some books is the equivalent of completing a postgraduate degree. It’s not. I learned a great deal from reading case studies, listening to lectures, and engaging with my fellow students.

However, there there were some gaps that business school did not address.

To fill in those gaps, I turned to books.

Tags Books, Business, Business School, Career, Learning, MBA, Notes, Reading

Hip-Hop Rap

Drake Made Me Realize I Was Old

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date November 1, 2018
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I can remember the exact moment when I realized that mainstream hip-hop had passed me by.

It was when I heard Drake’s So Far Gone.

Tags Adulthood, Drake, Hip-Hop, Rap

Children Fatherhood

Our IVF Journey

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”
Robert Louis Stevenson

I.

My second time visiting an operating room as an expectant father was different from the first in a variety of ways.

It was in a different hospital in a different city with different doctors.

Most of all, though, it was planned.

The baby was so big that a Cesarean section (C-section) was scheduled on the morning of her due date. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 a.m., my wife was being prepped at 7:30, and she was taken into the OR at 8:30.

At 9:07 a.m., we had a big, healthy baby girl.

For the second time.

When our brand new daughter was first given to us, my wife looked at her and said, “It took so long for you to get here.”

Tags Children, Fatherhood, Health, IVF, Parenthood, Parenting, Pregnancy

I Was There

I Was There: A Taping of “Last Week Tonight”

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date October 1, 2018
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The email came while I was nearing the end of my weekly trip to the supermarket, standing in the organic dairy section deciding what kind of yogurt to buy the kid:

If you are in NYC TODAY or can be, we had some seats become available to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver for Today/Sunday’s show — Sunday, September 30th.

Tags HBO, John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, Late Night TV, News, Politics, TV

Books Writing

Goodbye, CreateSpace

There are only a few things that have really changed my life. My children, certainly. My wife, of course. There are maybe one or two others that could be included — business school, for example — but one thing that I would include in that category without hesitation is the website CreateSpace.

Tags Amazon, Author, Books, CreateSpace, Kindle, Self-Publishing, Writing

Career Work

Workaholism Is Overrated

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“My old man worked hard. All they did was give him more work.”

— Larry Wilson, Weekend at Bernie’s

There are people that take pride in being the last one at work, their car always in the parking lot, their light the only one on in an otherwise pitch-black office. Their career is their life. They’re still at their desk while the cleaning crew vacuums around them.

Tags Career, Life, Success, Work, Work Life Balance, Workaholism

Books Reviews

A Colorful Career Retrospective: “A Kevin Smith Scrapbook” Reviewed

Post author By Christopher Pierznik
Post date September 17, 2018
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The best thing about the digital revolution is that there are almost no rules. Like independent films in the early ’90s, creators are using available technology to push boundaries and reinvent the way things are done. Thus, the rise of the e-book and the availability of self-publishing now allows a superfan to create their own digital scrapbook of their favorite writer/director/podcaster/author.

Tags Book Reviews, Books, Clerks, Films, Kevin Smith