All posts by d dot b

Logic

All Reflection, Internal

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Hindsight is always 20/20; the day when we can load that app that allows us to jump a few months to the future – to take a glance of what will happen, and then return back to the present with the future knowledge – then, and only then when life will truly be ‘simple’. But things that operate that way, life is successive ‘if’ statements – with each decision yielding a different result.

I work with a lot of people, in various capacities – helping to complete projects. Maybe due to my insecurity, low or no self-esteem, I was always a contributor that felt on some level that my affect was minimal. Meaning that my influence on a collaborative project or on team members was minimal. I know this sounds like faulty thinking, and it is, and it is even sadder that as someone that studied Psychology, I should know better. Slowly I am realizing that self-confidence is a real artform: or a good acting performance. Working as a TV Director and Producer, it amazes me at how on-air talent are sometimes very insecure and nervous, and I would suggest that most people think that hosts are the most talented. Lol, but I can’t tell you how many times I’d have to re-shoot takes and go over lines with hosts. I guess even the most seasoned still need a bit of salt for flavor (yes, I created that just now).

It wasn’t till a few weeks ago with a conversation with a past co-worker over Beer & Pizza; a bit more beer than pizza, I realized that one of the problems all along – with the failed projects & collaborative efforts that I have been a part of, that the problem may have been that I didn’t take a stronger leader or parcipitory role; as I know/knew, but should of realized a bit more, even in group settings, people are a bit more concerned about themselves than the overall group – I know that may sound a bit shocking in the highly narcissistic individualized culture of the West. And this dynamic, which isn’t necessarily bad, does not bode well for the super hypervigilant creative person; because one of the problems with creativity is that you keep on creating – and you create in any field; including systems & people. So when the team is not making decisions for the betterment of the group, then its time to pivot or explode the group’s dynamics & structures. Which I am proud to say, I am starting to do, while also realizing and/or ‘wearing the blame’ that a lot of the reasons to why failed projects may of not ‘popped off’ was because of me. Because I didn’t do more to steer the ship away from the iceberg in the Atlantic. I don’t think I gave ‘All of Me’, didn’t work harder, and didn’t do more. Consider this as somewhat as a ‘middle step’ in a ‘step program’ of ‘Mid-mid life crisis’ – as the stench of frustration, anxiety, anger, and regret are manifesting into a manifesto and new outlook.

So I guess here is for me ‘scratching my itch’ – or at least understanding why I’m itching.

Aside: the title of this post is from Joe Budden’s classic joint from ‘Mood Muzik 2’ or ‘Mood Muzik 1’ (I can’t remember now) called ‘All of Me’ – which was a very self-reflective track, one of the most honest pieces of music that I have ever heard.

Cre8ives

2011: Tergiversate & the Protester

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Don’t be afraid, to look up @ the Sky

The Year that was …

From the Arab Spring across the Middle East to the Global civil activism of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, the year of 2011 was essentially the year of the Protester – the one rising up against a system as they raise their heads, eyes, and voices towards the sky for change. So fittingly, the audio excerpt is from Pharrell’s song ‘You Can do it too’ (The Yessirs edition), and the pictures are from the tumultuous year of 2011 as ‘Time’ magazine called it the year of the Protester, and Dictionary.com defined the word of the year as ‘Tergiversate’:
1. to change repeatedly one’s attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.
2. to turn renegade.

 

Images in Video: The Boston Globe ‘Big Picture’
Audio: Pharrell ‘You Can Do It Too’ (Yessirs Edition)
Video Editing: Desmond B – @lifeinbmajor

.:: LiBM::.

Social

Social DNA

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Social DNA

Similar, Complimentary, Opposite.

According to the folks at Energy Diamond, these are the keys, well in terms of balancing them, to achieve positive/optimal social DNA. I think they may be onto something because having your social network full of one set of people does not really do much in giving you a balance viewpoint on things. I know many people that only want to surround their world with similar thinking people – I think this is an attempt to lessen arguments & protect their sense of self (the overly religious do this a lot).   I truly think that if people adopted a more balance viewpoint by allowing themselves to be open to various inputs of ideology and reasoning, then we would have more tolerance, and ultimately more peace. But Utopia is a couple of generations away …. (I hope that I’m wrong though).
For more info check out www.energydiamond.com/socialdna/
Hip-Hop

The Samples used by Kanye

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The Samples of Kanye

Interesting video of popular Kanye West produced songs that he has sampled from. Now, sampling is a part of hip-hop, and I’ve always known that he has sampled songs from the past, but this montage of his samples show how necessary it is to have money & good lawyers to be able to get the clearances – because some of his samples come from artists such as Elton John, Luther Vandross, Bette Midler, and many others.

As with all industries, nobody really ‘invents’, they just innovate on existing products, platforms, or in this case – music. And in all, nothing is really wrong with that, just as long the source is credited.

.:: LiBM ::.

Entertainment

Sam Frank “Simple Life that I’m dreaming of”

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Sam Frank “Simple Life”

Just that simple life that we all are striving for …

This song may be Dubstep or post Dubstep, either way this is a big song getting play over in the UK. This type of music, which I like to call a ‘Post Funk Dubstep Hip-Hop’ is in my opinion the ‘next’. Yes it has that electronic sound of the autotune, but the composition and instrumentation used is that ‘next level ish’ that can actually make autotune almost soulful. And maybe I’m ranting a bit much, and maybe these type of songs/beats have been popping for awhile now, and I’m just now either exposed to it, but regardless check it out.

.:: LiBM ::.

Logic, Relationships, Social

Tangentical

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All About the Tangents Baby!

Getting things off your chest in random sequences … nah, I ain’t crazy

If you have been following this blog, then you must know that I like to go off on ‘tangents’ – which are somewhat long commentaries, complaints, stories, about particular topic(s). And in my day-to-day life I realised I do this too, like just pick any topic, and at will, I can just go off, bring up stats, complimentary issues, segway into sub-issues, etc. Some of my friends and co-workers find this annoying – but this post isn’t about their reaction, and I don’t want to go off on a tangent about that. But I recently met someone whom is almost identical in the ‘tangent nature’ and she referred to herself as ‘tangentical’ – and this is like explaining the whole experience of studying psychology: Attaching technical terms to feelings that you have always felt. If I can re-define this word that has not been defined, ‘tangentical’ to me suggests a disposition to use tangents through all facets of life and interactions with others, and to evoke emotions. You can argue with my definition, but will most likely lose to Supreme Court of Moi.

One frequent response of being Tangentical is that most people will say ‘I don’t get you’ or ‘I don’t understand, you talk to much’, which may all be some valid points. But being Tangentical is much more than just being able to ‘go off’ on a rhetoric diatribe, its about attempting to cover each and every possible trite question that the listener may have; so as to avoid the mundane questions.

Example: when talking to someone about why you don’t like Baseball, explain when your displeasure started, any personal experiences of playing baseball, and attempts to try and modify your dislike of Baseball.

So essentially being Tangentical embodies identifying etiology, subjective experiences, attitude/behavior modification, and logical rhetoric.

Now, if only I can learn the technical term for discovering technical terms to stuff we already experience … That would make my day/week/month/year/decade even more.

.:: LiBM ::.

Cre8ive Abstract, Logic

Just …..

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Just __________

Finding the motivation to keep on keeping on


It is such a simple utterance, yet we complex its meaning by uprooting real & mental obstacles. If you’re passionate about something – the thing that brings a smile to your face, the thing that gives you a tingly feeling throughout your body, the worst thing you can do is just stop following your passion. And we stop for many reasons, or find excuses to stop. Sometimes we become deterred, find ourselves uninspired, or get consumed with other life issues. Being in the entrepreneurial creative digital field, I run into people all the time that said that they stopped their passion for reason A through Z, but wish they had continued, even in a limited scope – and they all feel some sort of remorse or regret. And I usually see myself in them (pause), as I am guilty of it too, when I get frustrated, I deter and avoid the passion activity; and I think afterwards, “damn, why didn’t I just continue?”. Part of the reason why we just ‘stop’ is because we feel some friction or we are not seeing any financial reward, and let’s face it, the financial reward can be a huge source of motivation, but there exists a weird relationship between ‘passion’ and ‘money’. Like yes, following your passion in order to receive financial rewards is cool, but the money shouldn’t be the ultimate motivation – because it would confound your passion and art. As we all know, once you get money involved, you get other filters and variables involved, making your art and passion diluted with money.

Excuse the little money/motivation/passion rant, and let’s get back to the initial intent of this post, which I think it was to ‘just’ continue your passion. Don’t mind the haters, the nay-sayers: if you are getting some sense of fulfillment from your passion, continue it (**Disclaimer: lawful passions in your geographical jurisdictions).

So consider this post as self-medication for me to help me ‘just continue writing’, and the fruits of my labor will be realised in time – and if the fruit turns rotten, I still had a blast farming …. Ya digg?

.:: LiBM ::.

Technology

Developing Developer’s Immunity

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Overcoming Web Dev Insecurity

Deprogramming Insecurity

This one is for all my Developer’s out there, I’m sure you’ll relate. Its that feeling you have that is a mixed feeling of both being scared and optimistic about that web development project you got on your mind. Part optimism because you feel that you have a solid idea, but part scared because past negative experiences of scrolling lines and lines of code has caused you anxiety and heartache. You then say, “let me just jack a script”, and all the scripts you jack are good in some sense, but eventually you find out that it doesn’t meet your needs, so then you spend copious amounts of time trying to learn the script, testing, debugging, eventually leading to further frustrations.

I’ve been all through the whole development process of trying to take the shortcut, modifying existing scripts, and so on. And it has taught me that you really need to develop patience and a sense of immunity to tolerate your own insecurities and reluctance to a project. I don’t claim to have really figured it out, my immunity is definitely not the most resilient, but at least being self-aware about is the first step I guess. And the only way to overcome your fears and insecurities is to accept that you have them, and try to work towards a ‘better you’. A ‘better you’ that truly believes the adage that anything can be done with a little bit of hard work & perseverance.

P.S. This may sound like an inspirational piece for you, but is moreso for me, but if you’re inspired, hey, more power to you.

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ambienteye/2340600079/
Social

Contractors Hyperbole

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The Language of Contractors

I find the Home Improvement Industry to be a very challenging field, its either ‘Do-It Yourself’ or hire a Contractor. This post will focus on the latter, and their interesting rhetoric. Recently had to ‘monitor’ (be present) at my Mother’s house while several contractors vied for a chance to complete a floor tiling project; and I have noticed several ‘Talking Points’ that ALL Contractors seem to have. So here are some Talking Points that I have observed, and my interpretation of what they really mean:

“I know a guy that can do that for you”
– means that he can’t do it himself, so he worked out a deal with someone that he knows, and will take a percentage

“His work is very very good, amazing”
– this claim will hardly never be validated, who is really going to take the time to view strangers houses?

“Its not going to cost you, its going to cost me”
– it will still cost YOU, but probably in the long run

“I’m giving you the best possible price – I’m not making any money”
– even at the baseline cost, I’m still making money, sucka!

“These things happen from time to time”
– I f#cked up, and since you don’t know shit about this industry, I will blame it on ‘natural circumstance’

“Unlike other contractors who would just tell you anything, I’m being honest with you”
– I’m saying this to gain your confidence, but I am more like the contractors that I have tarnished

—

In all, I have to give it up to the Contractors, they have realized how they are viewed amongst the general public as sleezy, corrupt, ex-con, dirtbags; thus, there probably was some ‘Contractor Meeting’ a few years ago where they adopted some psychological rhetoric as they try to get into their customers heads and try to distance themselves from the perception of their own industry.

Kinda clever.

 

<<< Wish this was how all Contractors looked like, then, I wouldn’t really have that much of a problem with ’em.

.:: LiBM ::.

Media, sports

NFL Films: All About the Score

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All About the Score

Of all the major sports leagues, the best league in my opinion that has handled the delivery of media and timeless content is the NFL. The NFL Films branch of the NFL produces not only amazing behind the scenes documentaries of life on the gridiron, but the music score to the films is quite amazing. NFL Films was developed as an offshoot of the NFL in 1962, and has since then been heralded as producing astounding content – here are some of the great scores that have come out of NFL Films.

Main composer: David Robidoux

Old NFL Films theme music

Composer: Tom Hedden

Composer: Sam Spence – The Equalizer

Who would of thought that adding classical orchestra music to scenes of Football players running and smashing into each other would come off so well …

Also, thank god that Football is back, Baseball is hella boring #Fact

.:: LiBM ::.

Logic, politics

Tragedy Fatigue

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(Brendan Bannon/Polaris Images)

Tragic News All Around

Tragedy Fatigue is a concept that suggests repeated exposure to catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, war, and other events where there is a loss of life, can wear down the spirit and psyche of a society. This past year or so has been especially rough on the collective psyche; Earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, threat of a nuclear meltdown in Japan, violence with the ‘Arab Spring’ revolts in the Middle East, wars in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes. Thus, watching the news constantly of these tragic events can easily affect anyone – such is why, I suggest, that stories of infidelity and cheating may not be all that bad for society’s psyche. For awhile I thought that the major news networks were covering too much ‘sensationlism’ news; stories about affairs, scandals, escorts and such, but there may be some good that comes about with these stories – giving people a mental break from the tragic occurrences that happen frequently. As a society we have become to desensitized to the tragedies of the world that bring pain and death; and as humans, I hope we feel a bit of empathy and sympathy for those experiencing such pain. And in contrast, on the pain scale, an infidelity scandal is something that we can identify with, but not be as affected as violent tragedies.

So the next time you see CNN dedicating too much time on the latest celebrity cheating on their spouse, still condemn them, but maybe realize that they are giving a much needed break from reporting real problems in the world to reduce your fatigue.

.:: LiBM ::.