1.08.2008
8 Days Later
Here's our yearly wrap-up of 2007.

8 days later.



Jay-Z, American Gangster

ALASKA: More like Boring McBoringson

KALEL: My favorite album of his since Blueprint. But then again I'm a sucker for strings and guitars.

VANDERSLICE: Old Dog with Old Tricks.. wack beats, wack raps, Jigga man should've called upon Just Blaze.

REGGIE: I think it's great that Hova was inspired by a movie to return to his glory years of rapping about drug dealing.

PIFF: I watched the story tellers. it was aiight, but i didnt check out the album cos the 9 hour movie took up all my time and interest.

PHILAFLAVA: Album came and went. Much better than Kingdom Come but after the leaks hit this album had very little replay. "Fallin," Say Hello" and "Ignorant Shit" are all some of my favorite songs of '07..

Radiohead's "Free or Outrageously Expensive" album release

KALEL: Great idea, but I don't like the ideas it spawned.

ALASKA: Freelicious

PIFF: It would be free for me either way. Donations is just another way to say "free."

VANDERSLICE: I've never listened to Radiohead, but I like the idea. I wonder how much money they made.

PHILAFLAVA: One of the best albums of the year. And a revolutionary change for music.

REGGIE: I understand that one must purchase this album to become an Omega-Level Scientologist.



Kanye West vs. 50 Cent

ALASKA: About as exciting as Rocky Balboa.

REGGIE: Kanye should have Just Blaze pass 50 Cent a note in homeroom. It's obvious that they "like" like each other.

KALEL: My favorite artist of 2007. "Stronger" still knocks the shit out of "I Get Money"

VANDERSLICE: I wish it would have had a 2Pac & Biggie effect where they both died.

PHILAFLAVA: Who cares? Both their albums were extremely underwhelming, but I suppose Kanye won the battle, although I'm sure he could care less after losing the biggest asset in his life.

DJ Khaled: Really the beeeeessssst?

KALEL: Reminds me of the kid at the lunch table that wasn't really cool, he just lived next door to the cool kids so he was "cool by geographical association".

ALASKA: Isnt he an Arab? How has Homeland Security allowed this to happen.

VANDERSLICE: Not even second best, or third best.. or good period.

PHILAFLAVA: I can't wait for his stomach to explode like Stay Puft and all of South Beach will be covered in marshmallows.

REGGIE: DJ Khaled is like an inexperienced chef that puts too many ingredients in his soup. Or, more literally, orders a soup from a restaurant that has too many ingredients in it. Then he adds motor oil.

PIFF: I don't know how many dicks this dude had to suck to get to where he is at, but he must have done a great job to be able to yell over ginormous posse cuts that sound like all the rappers do is watch old episodes of Miami Vice. I mean really good, cock and balls into the mouth at once.



Lil Wayne: Greatest Rapper Alive(?)

PIFF: No.

ALASKA: Had his moment, then of course that moment ended and the hilarity began.

KALEL: He stinks. If this was 1994 he'd be boo'ed out the game for biting someone elses style.

VANDERSLICE: I'd rather be deaf than listen to Lil Wayne.

REGGIE: I started to get into his music once I realized that he is severely mentally retarded.

PHILAFLAVA: He's top 5 current, but he isn't even close to be labeled the greatest anything. In fact, when he retires I'd be surprised if anyone had this dude on their top 25 list. He's schtick is entertaining, kinda like Noreaga back in in the late 90's, but just because you keep up with pop culture and constantly make reference to 80's throwbacks despite being born in 1982, doesn't make you the greatest anything except hype.

The UGK album everyone hyped up pre-release and subsequently stopped talking about the minute it dropped

VANDERSLICE: UGK.. one down.. one to go..

ALASKA: I met Bun B in Houston, he was hella cool.

REGGIE: RIP Pimp C.

KALEL: I'm a big fan of UGK, and I don't even think Houston was excited about the album until Pimp C died. Sad state.

PIFF: RIP Pimp C, I ain't heard it yet. I'm still listenin to "Ridin Dirty".

PHILAFLAVA: I blame this on the leaked material. It was a double album and more than half was leaked months (even a year for some) before it dropped. It is still one of the best LP's of '07, if not the best,.

Transformers: The Movie

ALASKA: I hate cars and robots.

PIFF: I knew which Transformer was the black one as soon as I saw him.

KALEL: Check on the rep, yep, second to none. Dope movie.

PHILAFLAVA: Didn't see. But I adore Fox so I plan on it

VANDERSLICE: No soundwave, no Vanderslice. Fuck that new wave shit

REGGIE: I'm glad they distinguished the theatrical release as The Movie, as opposed to Transformers: The Overhyped Marketing Campaign or Transformers: The Toy Brand Desperately Clung To By Hapless Thirty-somethings.

The Simpsons Movie

ALASKA: I fell asleep three different times.

KALEL: Eighty minutes of pink frosted covered goodness. Could've been more, but good enough for me.

VANDERSLICE: Skipped it. The Simpsons haven't been dope in 10 years.

REGGIE: The first third was pretty funny, then it fell off. A microcosm for the entire series.

PIFF: I bought the DVD but still havent watched it. If the movie cant top the "Treehouse of Horrors" with the vomiting frog, I will be disappointed.

PHILAFLAVA: This was equivalent to Kanye's Graduation album.

Live Free or Die Hard

PIFF: Die Hard is right, it took forever for people to die in this clusterfuck of a movie. Live Gay or Die Gay should be this movie's name.

ALASKA: Has that dude in it.

VANDERSLICE: Skipped it, Die Hard with a Vengeance was the absolute rooftop for the series.

REGGIE: Well of course Bruce Willis can live free, he gets Social Security and Medicare. I would live free too if I had a nurse to feed me prunes and wipe my bottom.

PHILAFLAVA: Didn't see because I hate that Apple commercial dude.

300

PHILAFLAVA: Good, but overhyped by net nerds and virgins.

ALASKA: Only thing gayer than Will and Grace.

KALEL: Biggest dissapointment for me. Really looked forward to it, Heard great things about it. Then I saw it.... It was like watching a really cool music video, but that's about it.

PIFF: All historical/social gripes aside, this is a man's movie. I was almost moved to tears at the end. No homo.

VANDERSLICE: Stupid romans.. I never seen this, nor will I ever.

REGGIE: I thought the title was a description of the movie's length in minutes, so I passed on it.

TMNT

ALASKA: Is that anything like YOTMB??

KALEL: Loved it!

VANDERSLICE: I didn't see this either.. Casey Jones was that dude.. was he in it?

REGGIE: I'm glad that someone finally went and did a more realistic movie about mutant turtles that do kung-fu under the guidance of a wizened rat.

Are We Done Yet?

PIFF: Ice Cube is still trying to release gangsta albums afer making these movies. Historical status aside in rap, nigga, are you done making garbage ass movies yet?

ALASKA: Sadly, Ice Cube fell off and now he is dragging Katt Williams and Tracy Morgan down with him.

VANDERSLICE: Ice Cube went from the wrong nigga to fuck wit' to the house nigga to hang out wit'. I don't know how he looks in the mirror, even with those huge bags of cash it's abominable.

REGGIE: I can't wait to sit my child down and explain that the same person guest-starring on Sesame Street ain't the one to get played like a pooh-butt.

PHILAFLAVA: I don't have kids and I don't care to see Ice Cube act, so no.

Spider-Man 3

PHILAFLAVA: Didn't see this either. The teeth on Dunst bother me so much that I have avoided most of the Spider man movies.

VANDERSLICE: I didn't like this movie at all. The Sandman? In a real live action movie... Stupid idea, even sand packed and wet isn't doin' shit.. just get a vacuum.. real stupid movie.

ALASKA: Watched it in Boise on IMAX. It sucked about as much as anything has ever sucked, it actually might have sucked more than everything that has ever sucked combined. Oh and Kirsten Dunst on a forty-foot HD screen is terrifying.

KALEL: I thought the dancing scene was hilarious personally, but it wasn't my favorite of the 3. Some of you nerds need to get a hold of yourselves and stop letting little shit ruin movies for you.

REGGIE: It was clever to pit the superhero against a spider's natural enemy: sand.

PIFF: Movie was garbage. I could kick this Spider-Man's ass. He used to be my favorite super hero, and now he is a flaming homo doing the tango in a bar. Also, im glad to see Topher Grace playing venom the same way he played Eric Foreman. Judging from that, I could kick Venom's ass too.

Knocked Up

REGGIE: I thought this was a boxing movie.

ALASKA: Saw it mad times.

VANDERSLICE: I never saw it for one reason or another, I just remember hearing the lead role bitch in a movie called Knocked Up doesn't get naked.. so I passed for lack of realism.

PHILAFLAVA: I thought it was great when it first came out, then I went back to it and realize it wasn't as great, but still really good.

Superbad

PHILAFLAVA: Great movie. This is like the American Pie of the new generation. I can see people going back to this a lot. A lot of memorable stuff.

ALASKA: Michael Cera is gold.

KALEL: Sooooooo glad the "McLovin" fad has died down. Wonderful movie though.

VANDERSLICE: The best movie to come out in 2007 EASILY.

REGGIE: Honestly, I wasn't so impressed by this movie. I thought the McLovin stuff with the cops was great, but otherwise the story seemed awkward and unformed. The jokes were so transparent that you got them before the set-up was done, and then they drove them into the ground. It is a good movie, just not as funny as it was hyped to be.

PIFF: Great flick, not as funny as Knocked Up to me, but still solid as shit. I want to stick my face in Katherin Keigl's buttcheeks and fall asleep.

Iraq

ALASKA: We are about a quarter of the way through this war.

KALEL: Even with the war and protests against it, we still aren't seeing demonstrations akin to those seen in the 60's and 70's. Iraq has exposed more about the American people than the American government.

VANDERSLICE: The Iraqi people have been at war forever, democracy isn't going to stop it.

REGGIE: The first thing we need to do is stop them from using the letter Q inappropriately. Everything else will fall into place.

PIFF: Call of Duty 4

PHILAFLAVA: "It's the bomb baby, the bomb baby…"



Looming war in Iran

ALASKA: Not as good as the original.

KALEL: Not looking forward to it. Can't all of these disputes be settled in the Olympics like the good ol' days?

VANDERSLICE: Rocky 7 fights in the Sudan.. cause If I can change.. WE can change.. EVERYBODY CAN CHANGEEEE

REGGIE: Come back Ayatolla Khomeni! All is forgiven!

PIFF: Call of Duty 5

Lisa Marie Nowak, the astronaut that drove to Florida wearing Pampers in an attempt to kidnap her lover

ALASKA: I mean who hasnt done this

PHILAFLAVA: I think Galvatron should turn this bitch out.

KALEL: Houston represent!

VANDERSLICE: Asians in Times Square did the same thing just to see the ball drop. I admire the dedication.

REGGIE: I like how the general reaction was like, "Oh, this lady drove across three states to kidnap her former lover and use sexual torture devices on him in her makeshift dungeon…but she wore DIAPERS? That bitch is CRAZY!"

PIFF: White people.

Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) becomes Speaker of the House

PHILAFLAVA: I have such a hard-on for this broad. She is truly a piece of ass.

ALASKA: I think her last name means 'ball' in Spanish

KALEL: Who?

VANDERSLICE: I wonder if she bakes cookies for congressional meetings.

REGGIE: I think she's a great person to represent the ineffectualness of the Democratic party.

PIFF: Democrats and Republicans are the same. This is not news.



Bob Barker leaves The Price Is Right

KALEL: The most electrifying man in game show history. And he fucks mad bitches.

ALASKA: The Grey Trapezoid's biggest victory to date.

PHILAFLAVA: Last time I saw Bob Barker on TV was when Adam Sandler beat him with a golf club.

PIFF: I mean, the nigga fought in the Civil War with Dick Clark, they both should get to retire and take a break.

VANDERSLICE: Drew Carey is addicted to hookers and gambling, what better place to be than The Price is Right?

Tony Blair resigns

ALASKA: Now he can dedicate more time to his witch project.

KALEL: ...and cleans his nose from GW's manhole.

REGGIE: I could never trust a man whose surname is a woman's first name.

VANDERSLICE: Who gives a crap.. stupid British accent.. go suck on a fag and drop dead.

PHILAFLAVA: Sell-out.

PIFF: No more gay sex for Bush when he goes overseas.

The final Harry Potter novel

VANDERSLICE: Books are for queers.

PIFF: Call me when Harmoine turns eighteen.

KALEL: Everyone I've talked to loved it. I never got into them, but I hope they make a movie out of them one day.

REGGIE: I wanted to read this, then I remember that wizards and sorcery are for nerds and gay men.

ALASKA: Was great

PHILAFLAVA: I am not a homosexual, therefore I don't read these homoerotic novels.



Barry Bonds

ALASKA: I think Congress should put all the issues of the day on the back burner and deal with this, because its important, like really important. Thank god for 24 hour sports news.

KALEL: He doesn't have a neck.

PIFF: I hate baseball and Barry Bonds is an asshole. I don't care what they do to him.

VANDERSLICE: I think they should let players use steroids and the people who don't use steroids should be allowed to use aluminum bats. Stupid Bonds is gonna end up like Lyle Alzado wearin bad headwraps and speaking in a soft HIV-like monotone voice.

PHILAFLAVA: Barry Bonds is practically O.J. without having killed anyone.

REGGIE: I think MLB should set up a separate facility for the Chemically-Enhanced Hall of Fame. Then Keith Hernandez could get in as the best player to use cocaine and Rogaine in a season.

posted by Kalel @ Tuesday, January 08, 2008   0 comments
11.26.2007
Same Damn 'Lo Sweater
I just got back from seeing Ghostface and The Rhythm Roots All Stars perform live at Warehouse Live. Show was great and it goes without saying that if you get a chance to see Toney Starks perform live you should get on that, but I'll say it anyway. One highlight of the show was when Ghost asked the crowd "Whacha'll wanna hear now? We got songs for days." And I yelled out "APOLLO KIDS!" because thats my favorite shit, and they went into it. Was it luck? Was it a good look? Or was it just the next song in the setlist? Who knows, but it still was a sweet moment for me. Definitely going to grab that Big Doe Rehab when it drops too.

On to the real topic of this post ... The holidays are amongst us and every year it seems to go the same way for me:

Family or family friend: So, what do you want for Christmas?

Me: An upscaling home theater system with HDMI and 5.1 surround sound. Or a 3.0 GHz Core 2 Duo PC with XP Media Center 2 gigs of memory and AT LEAST 400 GB hard drive. Yeah, that would help a lot with the graphic and video editing. A WACOM tablet would be nice too ....

Family or family friend:
Oh ... *blank stare*


Me:
Yeah ...


In the end I usually end up getting a 32MB flash drive or some sort of heavy winter sweater that I can't wear in Houston. (see how the title has a double meaning?) I don't ever expect to get anything for Christmas anyway, so I'm always glad that someone even thinks of me, but a guy can dream can't he?

So I'm going to put together a list of 5 holiday gifts any geek will appreciate and anyone who's not so tech savvy will be able to find. Here we go.

Microsoft Zune 2
$199 - $249



The Zune is underrated. The Zune is unfairly hated. The Zune is a good media player and does some things cooler than the iPod. They all have Wi-Fi and can connect through Wi-Fi to a PC for updating. Sometimes I forget to plug my iPod into my computer and I miss the latest download of Diggnation. Without having to do that I'll be sure to leave the house with all the latest music and podcasts in my library. The Zune can also connect to the Xbox 360 for video and music syncing.

Shure SE210 In Ear Headphones

$149



Just to clarify, ear canal headphones are not the same as ear buds. Ear canal headphones fit snugly into your ears and cancel outside noise for a clearer sound without requiring a high volume level. You might actually see some DJs use these in night clubs rather than the over the ear headphones because they won't blow their eardrums out trying to hear over the PA system. In any case, Shure makes some of the best headphones out there and they aren't all expensive. Chances are the lower priced Shure headphones will be a lot better than the expensive headphones you'll find at Best Buy.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
$15



We aren't reading enough anymore. We can't only rely on blogs and message boards to feed our literal hunger (except for this one, read this one). Alan Weisman looks into a world without humans and how it would affect everything we've created. A good buy for anyone really.

Pimp P2 Pusher Watch
$140




The coolest wristwatch ever. Designed by Tokyo Flash the P2 has 72 LED lights displaying one light per hour on the left side and one light per minute on the right. Not really for the mathematically inclined, but I think the watch is so cool that you don't need to know the math to know the time.

HP Pavillion Media Center m8100y
$750 - $2200



I've had my heart set on one of these for a while. Once I get my wallet swollen again I'll be snagging one of these along with a aluminum iMac to complete my cipher. The Pavillion m8100 comes with just about every input you could want in a media center machine and includes a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray burner. If you get one of these for the geek in your life expect free tech support from that person. For life.

There ya go, guys. Have at it.
posted by Kalel @ Monday, November 26, 2007   0 comments
11.04.2007
The Most Horrifying Story Ever Told
WARNING: The following story is true. All events, places, and people are real. Names have been changed to protect reputations, all except for mine which doesn't matter anyway. The following story contains graphic visualizations and not suitable for children, pregnant women, and those with weak stomachs. Read at your own discretion.

A while back I went out with some friends of mine for the weekend. At the time I was newly single and ready to get out there have fun the way a single guy only could. I never wanted to pick up a girl in a club, in my mind it's an overall bad idea. I mean it's dark, there's probably already been countless other dudes going after the same girl, people are sucking down booze ... just not my ideal environment. So going in I had the mindset that I was going to party with my buddies, listen to music and dance with girls I had no intention on ever seeing again. However, the events of that night would be the first on a long string of moments that lead to the most diabolical day in my life.

Her name was Allison. She was short and she had on a black dress with heels that screamed "Fuck me, you idiot"! From what I could tell she was good looking underneath the club lights, lasers and smoke. But I think what really enthralled me was that she approached me and started dancing with me. And boy could she dance. We danced all night until it was time to leave, and thats when I started to get a little nervous. Did she think I was going to go home with her? Was she expecting to exchange numbers? Have I been dancing with a sea donkey this whole time? Keep in mind I had no intentions on talking to this girl after the night was over so I was unprepared. Allison knew exactly what she was doing though. After we go outside I happy to see that she wasn't bad looking under normal light and didn't feel so awkward exchanging numbers after she asked if we should go out again. I saved her number, got back into the car with my compadres and heard about it for the rest of the ride home.

Over the next few weeks Allison and I hung out quite a bit. We talked on the phone a lot and we really clicked. I was happy that I had gotten back into the game and gotten a big hit at my first at bat since coming off the DL. All was right in the world ... or at least it was until that fateful night in May.

We scheduled to go out to dinner that night. Nothing too fancy, just an excuse to spend time together. I picked her up in my brand new car (I'm not mentioning this to be pretentious, it's information that will come up later) and head out to the restaurant. I don't remember exactly what she was wearing but I know for a fact she was wearing jeans and some sort of tube top/over shirt combination thing. In any case, she looked good.

After dinner, during the drive back, we were both feeling pretty randy so I zipped quickly back to her side of town so we could do the dew. Fortunately for both of us she was very impatient and started early in the car. I'm not one to preach, but I hate when people multi-task while driving so naturally I had to pull over and focus on one duty (or booty if you feel me dog, hahaha) at a time. So we're in a hotel parking lot, in the dark, going at it like two teenagers. Dry humping, grinding, dirty talk ... all of that shit that people enjoy but seem to hurry through to get to the final payoff. Not me homie; I take my sweet fucking time. During said time I proceed to make my way around to third base. And she's loving every second of it. Begging me to go harder and faster, literally giving me carpal tunnel that instant. I oblige and after she seemed to climax I pull my hand back and make a motion like I'm going to lick the sweet nectar from my fingers. As my hand gets closer to my mouth I notice that its ... dark. It's ... it's ...

Blood. Period blood. On my hands. 1/2 a centimeter from my mouth.

I yelled. No, I shrieked at the top of my lungs and completely spazzed out. I have never in my life been woozy of blood or gore but at that moment I felt like passing out. I try to open the car door in a spastic manner while Allison is frantically yelling for me to calm down. CALM DOWN!? BITCH, YOU BLED ON ME! DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! FUCK YOU, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. Outside of the car I look around to see if theres anyone around to witness this. The parking lot is empty so I run towards to entrance of the hotel like a seven year old who just saw mommy kissing "Uncle" Bill. There's so much blood on both of my hands it looks like I committed a murder. Seriously. People are at the front desk talking about something and I as run in I don't make eye contact with any of them but I can tell they're looking at me. A Black man with blood on his hands runs madly into a hotel at 11:00 at night? Nah, doesn't look suspicious at all.

In the bathroom I turn on the water as hot as it will go and nearly empty the soap dispenser. I scrub, and scrub, and scrub. Under the fingernails, all the way up to my elbows. You'd swear I was going into surgery. I was in that bathroom for 20 minutes trying to get clean and calm down. Needless to say, I didn't get very far to Calm Town. I opened up the door and she was standing there looking like she lost her puppy. I didn't have any energy to tell her off like I wanted to ... so I just walked back to my car and she followed. On the ride back to her house she mentioned that she was a few days removed from her period and didn't think she was still on. Oh really? Thanks that makes it all better. The silver lining in all of this was that there wasn't any stains in my new car, but there was blood on the door handles. I cleaned my car like never before the next day.

Since then I haven't talked to Allison and nor do I have any desire to.
posted by Kalel @ Sunday, November 04, 2007   3 comments
10.28.2007
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Halloween is my favorite holiday. The free candy, scaring the shit out of your friends, the weather is perfect, and girls are allowed to dress like complete sluts and get away with it. You can't get all of this with any other holiday, and yet some people don't even recognize and celebrate it. Luckily, I don't know anybody like that ... anymore.

Last weekend I was invited to a Halloween party by a friend of mine. I won't bore you with any details so I'll sum it up quickly: It was lame. Let's move on.

Last night my friend Denitra, Ericka and I went to a few Halloween parties. All of which were dope. A lot of cool people that weren't uptight if we never met them before and an abundance of fly honeys. One in particular, a sexy Lil Red Riding Hood, caught my attention from the jump and when I saw her picking at the snacks I made my way over to make small talk. I forgot her name but I do remember that she is French. She taught me how to say "This chicken is delicious" in French and she said she liked my makeup. At the end of the night I left without her contact info but that's alright ...

Man, my allergies are destroying me. I can barely keep focused with all this sinus pressure in my head. You guys are gonna have to excuse another lame update this week. I'm still kinda busy building the official website of The Braves with my buddy Lou.

I'll try to do better next time, America.
posted by Kalel @ Sunday, October 28, 2007   0 comments
10.21.2007
No Sleep Till Upload
Hey guys, no update this week. Well, at least not this weekend. I got a influx of jobs during the week and have some deadlines to make. I'll be sure to tell you all about my Halloween party stories next week though.

Until then: Courage.
posted by Kalel @ Sunday, October 21, 2007   0 comments
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