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MUSIC VIDEOS THAT TURN 20 in 2025

thundergrace

Holy shit! We had that HEAT in the early aughts!

goddamnshinyrock

I had a new "oh, my family were the weird ones" moment recently: it seems no one else's family celebrated Frog Night (the first warm rainy night of spring) by going down to the local vernal pool after dark to help the amphibians safely across the road and listening to the spring peepers. (We'd then go back in daytime later on to observe the egg masses, of course.)

Apparently "Frog Night" as a holiday is a thing my mother invented and not a widely-accepted idea, which is a shame because I've been referring to it as if it was for the past 30 years.

grayseaskies

I met this old guy named Tim on a greyhound yesterday and he talked about his visit to a friends farm where he learned the best way to know when the last maple syrup boil could happen was to listen for the peepers. Apparently, once they started going it was a sign it wasn’t good for the trees to keep drawing syrup. Anyway so his friend sent him out to peepers check and he was walking through the woods listening for peepers and ran into ANOTHER old dude in the woods who just looked at him knowingly and was like, no peepers yet. There’s no like calendar date, or math equation, or other controlled way to know when to stop drawing maple syrup. just a bunch of guys in the woods listening for frogs.

prole-log

murderessdominatrix

via @quasi-normalcy

decemberwinter

what do you mean elon musk did a nazi salute on live tv at the united states presidential inauguration twice and is now erasing the evidence off the internet by replacing the footage with the crowd cheering instead?

would be a shame if people reblogged this, wouldn’t it?

whitepeopletwitter

jackash01

And im still working to part my bills. This is a very fitting metaphor

Appropriate Energy is Key

Remaining present and productive in the face of all the random irreverance life can throw at you is a true skill. Its more than perseverance; it shows levels of focus and intellect that are not always present in others.

People often have things they are juggling between school, work, relationships (romantic, familial, and platonic), etc.

But ones ability to recognize the appropriate energy and effort required to surmount the challeneges in each area is what makes the difference. It isn’t too hard to comprehend ‘go hard,’ but it isn’t always necessary or appropriate to just go hard in every area. Somethings require a finesse approach and planning, whereas others only require your dogged effort.

But the ability to recognize this and then delegate energy accordingly is a skill that many do not possess.

Cultivate it, build it, and hone it.

sizvideos

Deadpool’s instructive video may save your testicles

mrs-prism-deactivated20180422

This is both entertaining and really important.

accidentallypatriotic-deactivat

Yo if you’ll reblog the boob campaign, you can damn well reblog Deadpool discussing bollocks.

republicansareahategroup

This doesn’t mention it but this is easiest to do after a shower.

haiku-robot

this doesn’t mention it but this is easiest to do after a shower

I’m not old at all; and really ‘old’ is a state of mind with modern medical advancements.

But my birthday passing this past week and the tribulations that coincided with it gave me an interesting mix of emotions during this period of celebrated aging.

For instance, I was lucky enough to get to go to the Detroit Auto Show for my job and we got full media passes Monday/Tuesday. I had prepared appropriately over the weekend since I was told that we’d be writing articles, going to press conferences, and possibly doing inspections Monday. I left home fully prepared to battle the forecasted snow and below-freezing temperatures.

At about 6:55am I am nearly alone on I-75 and I go to leave the middle lane to take the Lafayette exit in Downtown Detroit. I could see what appeared to be a small piece of ice.....maybe a medium piece....ok maybe not ice at all! Things happen fast at 70mph in the dark on the interstate - especially things that have no business happening in the first place. Like abandoned ladders.

I swerved but it was too late; my front left tire was gashed and losing air faster than I could leave the freeway. I didn’t know at the time the full extent of the damage - a full corner chunk of my front left bumper broken off, and a scratch on the rear rocker of the same side. I was more worried about my wheel since I noticed the ladder was metallic at the last moment. But most of all I just thought: “Damn, word?”

I’m the only young black male in my office, I’m the only new person in the office, and, at that point, I was the only person not arriving at Cobo Hall yet for the first events. I felt sort of...irritated, really. Usually I’d get mad and start to feel bad, making things worse than they have to be ultimately. In this case I was able to leave my car pulled over to the side of a street off the freeway; even got to leave it for free because Monday was MLK Jr day and the meters weren’t running. Then I grabbed my bag, bundled up, and struck out into the cold for the one and a half mile jaunt to Cobo in my Kenneth Cole dress shoes. Walking through ice and sleet in leather soled dress shoes is not fun. My legs are still sore almost a full week later.

Fast forward to the rest of the show and I had a blast! It was a new experience and something that could have overwhelmed me given the circumstances I was in when I was arriving somewhere expected to carry out work for the next 6-8 hours on my feet. I felt anxious under the surface; the day had already been so shitty, what if I just keep fucking up today? But I didn’t dwell, I just carried on the best I could and before long everything was flowing smoothly. The problems came upon the show ending.

Triple-A was having a very busy day with pot-hole blowouts - because Michigan roads take souls instead of tolls - and the operator claimed the conditions that day would put my estimated wait time around 2 hours. This scheduled me for a 5:20pm pick up. Long story-short: I was sitting in my car from 3:30 to 7:45pm. The only silver lining was that I had a joint to smoke for the first few hours. So, of course all the service departments and garages in the area were closed and I had to tow my car home. The next day I still had another day of media coverage to attend, so my Mom let me use her car, thankfully. I got back home as soon as possible and was able to get my tire off to go get another mounted and put the wheel back on myself. I finally felt a slight relief since I got through my extraneous job duties and handled my own car issues, too. Everything was going smoothly and my birthday was coming in two days, so I just tried to give in to positivity and have a happy week from there. And it worked!....up until my actual birthday.

I was leaving a bar around 9:30pm in Eastern Market after an otherwise pleasant birthday, and I walk out to a car missing one window. Four years of ownership and this was the first time my car had been burglarized. Needless to say I was no longer in a celebratory mood. I checked and only noticed a book bag had been taken and nothing else. I liked the bag, but considering what else they could have taken I am not too concerned with it. Mainly, I was and still am irritated at the money the window cost me.

The next day I let my supervisors know what had happened to my car and that I would not be able to make it in because I had to get it repaired. They understood, and logically inquired if I had disturbed any ancient burial grounds that may have had spirits pursuing me over the past week. I not-so-jokingly replied “I must have.”

The broken window was a reason to get out of work (even though I don’t hate it). Then, I got to spend the beginning of my weekend with the love of my life because she brilliantly planned time for us to be together. And now I am able to reflect on this week and realize: All that bad stuff happened, but I only still feel the good.

I think a lot of ‘life experience’ is just our minds learning to always look forward in times of hardship or distress. Because, dwelling on the matter won’t make it any better; and if one believes there will be ‘better’ then what is the point in dwelling on the bad anyway? Learn what you can from your trials and march on with energy and confidence knowing that you have weathered the worst and have yet to experience the greatest ahead. As well, don’t search for reasons for ‘why’ something out of your control occurred. If it’s out of your hands, then it’s out of your hands. It’s happened; now what?! That’s where you focus your energy: “Now what?”

I’m getting to old to cry and asked why the milk spilled. I’d rather just pour another glass.

#positivity

Repurposing

I think I will repurpose this blog. I’ve been slacking for too long anyway. I’ve been busy but I don’t think I’m going to be less busy anytime soon, so fuck it.

This blog will serve as my platform to express myself concerning music, society/politics, and photos if I can ever focus enough to build a respectable portfolio. My goal will be to make at least one substantive post a week.

I need to do this in order to keep my creative mind active.

pr1nceshawn

How Food Looks Before It’s Harvested.

Sesame Seeds

Cranberry

Pineapple

Peanut

Cashew

Pistachio

Brussel Sprouts

Cacao

Vanilla

Saffron

Kiwi

Pomegranate

Dear 2017

This year has been ridiculous. There are rare times when the craziness of ones life matches up perfectly with the craziness taking place in the larger world around them.

I don’t know exactly what came over me towards the end of the year, but I checked out of all social media. I had no energy for it. I have been trying to figure out how to get a house, how to maintain 2 jobs with a comfortable social life (and how to be happy when a strong social life isn’t what I need), and somehow figure out how I was going to get back in school (and for what?!). I am still working on these tasks. It’s just been a very busy time for me and I have been dealing as best I can.

Winter is always a harder time for me, but it’s easier when I am actually taking care of myself. Working out, cooking and eating right, staying on top of my responsibilities, working to express myself healthily and consistently, etc. Real self-care earlier in the year goes a long way during the darkest parts of winter.

My energy has been spread so thin that I basically filled the void of ‘self-care’ with weed and sex. It’s not like me, honestly. It actually has made me worry about my mental stability and rigor. I know that heredity can leave one susceptible to a mind primed for addiction and low self-control/impulse-control. My father has been a functioning alcoholic for the last 40+ years of his life; knowing this is what makes me worry when I go through period of self neglect and procrastination. I worry that I will end up out of control of my impulses and mental state. It is motivation to continue learning about myself and to re-discipline myself regarding all substances.

I don’t even use ‘substances’, though. I like cannabis. That is all. It is a fascinating plant and I thoroughly enjoy its effects. I discovered the benefits of utilizing cannabis when I began trying to combat my anxiety with it. Mainly social anxiety, but I’ve dealt with anxiety in my past professional settings, too. Honestly, it helps a lot. Cannabis allows one to remain present and conscious, but not overwhelmed or overstimulated by their environment. At least for regular users it does. I just think that if I allow myself to over-use it instead of moderate my attention for it, I will always reach a point where my mental status will feel shaky. I attribute this to a few physiological/biochemical factors, but mentally I just think it is a hard transition for any mind to be artificially lifted or pacified for extended periods of time (everyday for months) and then essentially dropped back into reality - an ever-changing landscape of challenges and emotions. There is no way to avoid reality, instead I’ve always believed one should figure out the most effective and mentally healthy way to stay engaged with their reality, only ‘breaking’ for short periods to recharge the mind/body.

Essentially, I have broken my own rule. Neglecting myself and deferring to a substance to calm my mind and worries. I know this is unacceptable. Using cannabis to alter my perspective and still handle my business is what I started out trying to accomplish. I still believe this is possible and could be very advantageous for me. But without moderation or appropriate dosing I know it won’t work. So, I will begin working on that and further learning my own balance(s).

....I have been enjoying my fathers conversation writing this far actually. He walked in whilst I was typing and I have to say I’m glad he did. We had a better interaction than normal. If anyone has read this far, love your family and friends as hard as you can at all times. It takes energy and time, but it’s one of the best uses of your time. Oftentimes it’ll leave you feeling better than before. (I LOVE YOU, RHYANNA! lol)

I do not believe weed, sex, or even alcohol are dangerous by themselves. I do believe, however, that they have great potential for abuse and that without moderation any of them can/will hurt me. I see that now. I just want to work towards my consistent health and well-being. Because I know I have people who love me, and I owe it to them to exhibit more love for myself; as opposed to being lazy and acting as if my happiness and mental health are not my responsibility, while everyone else’s is somehow. Moreover, my happiness and mental health are completely within my control; just as any and all substances, actions, and coping mechanisms I may employ are within my control. As a grown man I am steadily learning that my internal responsibilities are just as numerous as the external ones. More even. But, I accept them all. I will handle mine.

#justthoughts #whatayear #Itdontstop