Real Recognize Real.

After watching this interview, I have even more of a respect for Cudi. The dude is real and he makes music that he believes in. He isn't directed by the "Champagne Poppin" artists out there who's music are strictly commercial driven.


Hustler Watch: Kid Cudi from Eighty81 on Vimeo.

Kings County's Jaz-O "The Originator"

Marcy Projects representer Jaz-O is holding his own against the multi-billion dollar steam roller that is modern Rap industry. Some might say that youtube disses and expose videos are cheap fame moves, and we tend to agree but when you are up against a giant, sometimes you have to do David steps...


Brooklyn's The Jaz is known to many as "the Mentor of Jay-Z", but there is much more to him than that, he came to the publics attention in the late 80's as a concious rapper in a period when the scene was dominated by Queens borough MCs. So whether he was talking about Police brutality in "Its Your Nature"; or in the Originators video wearing the crown and regalia of Dr. Malachi Z. York-El's Nuwaubian Nation of Moors organization, you know he was on some serious knowledge.


Jaz-O - The Originators Feat. Jay-Z


"Are you men living in God realities or Gods with man mentalities?" Jaz-O Love Has Gone

Texas born DJ Premier who has made Brooklyn his home, has done production for many Brooklyn old
Schoolers Just-Ice, Big Daddy Kane (pictured), and in 2002 produced Jaz-O and the Immobilaire underground banger Love Is Gone.

Since the not so subtle Love is Gone record about Jay-Z, where Jaz-O laments the break up of their longtime friendship, there have been many back and forths between Jaz-O and Jay-Z that you may have heard. Jaz-O going at the whole of Rocafella when they were at their most Tonka on Nore's "Nothin'", Jay-Z and Rocafella all at him in return. Jay-Z mentions the fact that Jaz-O was 40 years old at that time but that would come back to haunt him when he fell out with Camron and Dipset though...


Jaz-O explains his side of the story

It seemed to have ended a while back with this freestyle , but recently with the Dame Dash & Jaz-O "Happy Birthday" video, Jay-Z has dissed him again on Ludacris's recent song I Do It For Hip Hop co-starring Nas and JAY-Z. And so on and so on and so on....


Happy Birthday to you?

Jaz-O's myspace page

TUESDAY'S TURNING BACK TIME VOL. 5

a chick walks by you wish you could sex her, but you're standing on the wall like you was point dexter...lmfao! one of the most CLASSIC lines spit in hip hop, this shit is the fucking BOMB DIGGITY you have to appreciate this so CHECK IT

The Holy Scriptures....

In a recent conversation with Bishop Andrew I was outlining my concern about the disposable nature of reproducing the Holy Scriptures on Sunday Mass Sheets. For some time now I have been rather concerned that in so doing we are permitting our folk to "throw away" Holy Scripture.

Bishop Andrew went on to outline his view that in many ways we have regressed in our knowledge of Scripture and of how to find our way around the Bible. He opined that whereas the Roman Catholics had moved from hearing the Scriptures in Latin to being able to read them in English in the Sunday Missal our folk have regressed from knowing their way around a Bible to having disposable sheets provided for them.

The issue was: how do we remedy this situation and at the same time have a good translation for our folk to read from. The NIV (Nearly Inspired Version) and the NRSV (Not the RSV) which have come into use in many CofE parishes are not acceptable. The latter is so bad as to have been rebelled against here within two weeks of us using it - so we started using the 1966 Jerusalem even though we have to put up the "Happitudes" and Temple "Police" and the like.

As many now know Bishop Andrew has taken to giving hardback copies of the RSV 2nd Catholic Edition to those he Confirms and this has been widely appreciated. It is a really good translation and is, mercifully, free of the PC language of the NRSV. The Bishop has an arrangement through Family Publications so that he can order these in bulk at £10 each (a saving of around £12.50 on the publishers RRP). Through his good offices we had the opportunity to purchase additional copies at the same price, but the Bishop wondered if we could afford to go further and provide copies for everyone at Mass. Isn't this rather Protest-ant - some of you may be thinking? Hardly, as the Bible does belong to THE CHURCH and not just the movements that have emerged since the Reformation.

We discussed this at the PCC Meeting and it was decided that as we have an Educational Fund which receives a significant benefaction each year we could afford to do this. Furthermore we could also buy copies of the large print Lectionary Edition of the same version for use by our Lectors at Mass, as they are at Pusey House and a few other places. Both the Bibles and the Lectionary Editions are handsomely bound as can be seen above.

So as from the 1st January AD 2009 St Mary and St Giles will be using a very good translation of the Scriptures and, in Bishop Andrew's words, "be an experimental Parish" in seeking to improve the Scriptural knowledge of our people.

We have also encouraged or folk to buy their own copies for use at home and will be giving copies each year to all children in their final year at our CofE Aided Junior School. In cases of hardship the PCC wishes to reduce the cost even further and one person was so taken with this idea that a donation has been made to help the PCC so do.

The Bishop is also encouraging us to look at a range of liturgical music as well and with the appointment of our new Organist and Choirmaster this is something I am keen to do.

Manchester's Proposals....

Well, as the Church in England observed St Thomas Becket the Manchester Group's Proposals were published. When all in stillness lay this was issued and yet what a row there already is if the blogosphere is anything to go by.

I have printed off the papers, as reading on the screen takes ages. Even from the cursory glance I have had it is very clear that the Manchester Group have had a good stab at an impossible task. Neither side will be happy with this and I can envisage months of wrangling and even fulminating from Ms Rees, who basically won't be happy until she gets her own way by trampling on those who disagree with her - rather like Violet Elizabeth Bott!

The language of inclusion is there in the proposals for traditionalists with talk of no one being denied ordination and preferment - but can that be delivered? Will traditionalist Diocesans, Deans and Archdeacons still be appointed?

The proposed Code of Practice cannot square the circle even despite the best attempts, as we traditionalists have always pointed out. It is very difficult to see how a "Complementary Bishop" (a dreadful title if ever there was one!) can act on behalf of a female bishop with any Theological, Sacramental and Ecclesial integrity.

There are some interesting developments for such "Complementary Bishops" with regard to fostering vocations and presentations to Livings - though whether such proposals would see the light of day remains to be seen.

I note that hidden away and not really commented on much (so far) is a proposal that the Petitions 1 and 2 would not be acted upon by the Diocesan Bishop if the PCC had not consulted the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. As the PCC is the legal body in making decisions about what resolutions to pass it should surely be up to it to decide who or what it wished to consult. This proposal seems to me to be about divide and rule and, if memory serves me correctly, was proposed to be a decision of the APCM in the TEA proposals rather than a consultation exercise; that is of course until the Canon Lawyers pointed out that the PCC is the body that makes legal decisions. But, like the ownership of Vicarages, certain parties are not going to let go of an idea to take all things to themselves.

Also interesting are the proposals to allow clergy in non-petitioning parishes to have Sacramental and Pastoral Care of a "Complementary Bishop". Though by "interesting" you shouldn't assume I am thus converted to this Proposed Code. The talk of a Diocesan Bishop having to have "cogent reasons" for refusing to act in accord with the Code of Practice on one level seems encouraging until you read the stuff backing up this proposal from the House of Lord's judgement on Code's of Practices which still ends up stating that a Code of Practice is not legally binding.

There certainly does seem to be some stronger language than the current Code of Practice, AKA the Act of Synod - which, it should be noted, has been flouted in some places quite flagrantly. Stories of the bullying of parishes, candidates for ordination being grilled about "the issue", and preferment being denied to Anglo-Catholics and Conservative Evanglicals (the latter as confirmed by the "Pilling Report") abound. This in some ways is understandable, from a human behavioural point of view. After all, if you only have to have regard to something it doesn't mean you have to do it, and very few people, it seems, are courageous enough to allow someone with whom they disagree or who is more talented themselves to be part of their team. It has long been argued that the weakness in Episcopal appointments is that Diocesans get to choose their Suffragans. Naturally, few wish to appoint those with whom they disagree or who are stronger than themselves, and this system perpetuates itself as suffragans become diocesans and get to choose their suffragans. Whether this is a fair assessment is, of course, open to argument, but it is often remarked upon.

How then are we going to cope with women "bishops" whom significant numbers of clergy and lay people will not believe to be bishops, nor believe that those men ordained by them are priests? It's all very well talking about having to accept that all have to recognise and agree that they are legally entitled to their Office, but this is about Theology, Sacramental Assurance and Ecclesiology not Law. It thus seems to me that it is OK for one party to have recourse to legal protection for their status, meaning that all have to recognise the legal validity of women bishops and priests Offices, but why are traditionalists then denied a legally binding structure which would allow us to flourish?

Stay Sailing: The Future of Pirate Radio Documentary

In an age when Digital Radio the advent of the easy access to Internet Radio and Podcasting is there a place for Pirate Analogue Radio?

In the UK, media outlets and access to creative expression has always been very tightly regulated, and to combat this the various music scenes created their own "Community Stations". These stations are known to the media as "Pirate Stations", this was due to the UK's first unregulated Radio station Radio Caroline. Caroline broadcast from a Fishing Trawler just outside of British Territorial waters, and so was free from Broadcasting Regulations.



In the late 80's and early 90's, saw an explosion of Pirate stations all over the UK from Glasgow to Brighton. In particular South London conscious Black music stations like Genesis FM, Vibes FM, Lightning FM and and others filled a void in the community, broadcasting music and culture that represented a whole listening audience that was totally uncatered for by the mainstream media.

By supporting homegrown UK music, Pirate Radio provides a platform for unsigned local artists, DJ's, Record labels, event promoters, local business and all of the trappings of an independent scene. Pirate Radio free from program directors, "Payola" corruption and constrictive play lists, Pirate Radio truly makes and breaks the future hits!

Wilderness Pictures and Director Michel Chandler has created a fascinating new documentary investigating the future of underground Pirate Radio scene in London, by interviewing a wide variety of DJs from Reggae to Grime, Hip-Hop to Drum&Bass.

Here is a sneak preview of the forth coming film exploring the people who risk heavy fines and possible prison sentences to bring their music to the people:


"Stay Sailing: The Future of Pirate Radio" Wilderness Pictures

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEx_DQqTXSk
www.wildernesspictures.co.uk


Here is a classic Documentary about Hackney Rave station Rush FM from 1994/95

List of some London Pirates in the past/present
Midlands Pirate Archive
The "Man's" perspective

HOT

heard this song the other day and remembered just how HOT this woman was. There's NOTHING more beautiful than a nice light skin woman...my GOSH she's fine, now if we could just find out whatever happened to Mya also?...Oh and her name is Tamia btw for those who forgot although I don't know how you could?...you have eyes right? lol ENJOY.

Christmass in Stony Stratford & Calverton

No photo's, I'm afraid, but a joyous celebration of the Nativity of the Lord.

Christmass Eve saw me taking the Blessed Sacrament to the Sick & Housebound after the morning Mass of the day. A brief break for lunch and then out again to St Giles House Nursing Home for Scripture Readings, Prayers and Carols. At 4:30pm we celebrated our Christingle Service which is not that appalling version in Comic Worship. Here we make it far more meaningful with simply the images of Mary & Joseph in the Crib - the shepherds are placed elsewhere in the Parish Church and the Magi are on top of the organ console in the western gallery. The children and young people read from the Scriptures and then, following the singing of a carol with the church lights put out, lead prayers at the crib. Record numbers participated this year: 350. The entire collection will be added to our Advent Appeal for the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa as will money from our people's Advent Boxes and the Carol Singing around the parish.

Midnight Mass and Blessing of the Crib is always at All Saints, Calverton due to the large number of hostelries in Stony Stratford and the accompanying problems of drunks and vomit. A very good turnout and Calverton Village's chance for a really big do! I always find the stillness at this Mass quite wonderful as everywhere else I have been the volume of noise has been most distracting.

Christmass Morning at Stony Stratford for the Parish Mass and Blessing of the Crib (two parishes - two cribs to bless) was wonderful this year. Good numbers present, splendid music with descants and our Brass Ensemble accompanying the Organist in appropriate parts of the Mass Setting and in the carols: Adeste Fideles and Hark the Herald Angels sing. A visitor from Bradford said that the music and singing was as good as anything at the Forward in Faith National Assembly Mass which was a very nice tribute to our new Organist and Choirmaster: Andrew Storer.

So far beginning with the School Carol Service and Nativity Play we have seen over 1400 people at worship over the past few days. I just wish they would come more regularly!

Holiday Greetings from Danny Cardenas: SHPE-NYC President

Greetings,

As the holidays draw near and we bring the year to a close, we recognize 2008 will undoubtedly be one for the history books. This year we lived through extreme market volatility, radical market swings, including the first ever 1000 point swing in a single trading session. We have all witnessed and participated in this year's historical election, one which has produced our Nations first African American president.

These are also historic times for SHPE-NYC, and as the year comes to a close, it is traditional that we reflect on our past achievements and look forward to the New Year's opportunities. Our professional chapter earned the highest recognition by SHPE National this calendar year, special thank you to Johny Lopez and the 2007-2008 executive board for their dedication to SHPE. We were proudly recognized with the following awards.

National Large Professional Chapter of the Year

Region 4 Professional Chapter of the Year

National Most Improved Chapter of the Year

This fiscal year (July '08 – June '09) we are capitalizing on these successes and have increased the quality of SHPE-NYC to better serve its members and corporate partners. We are proud to say our professional chapter continues to be one of the largest, fastest growing, and most active chapters in the nation, a fact we should all celebrate.

We can also be proud of these accomplishments:

• We continue to experience record growth in our chapter and are delighted to share we have 100 members on file, the largest ever 6 months into a fiscal year. We are well on our way to 200 by June 2009
• We increased the quality and number of our events to ensure our members continue to see SHPE-NYC as a valuable resource. We are proud to state we had weekly activities from October 14^th to December 19^th.
• We held the largest event in SHPE-NYC history, our annual Holiday Dinner and Toy Drive were we had over 170 RSVPs and collected 160 toys. We were honored to have Nick Donofrio, Retired Executive Vice President of IBM address our attendees
• We hosted our first cultural oriented event in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month were we also kicked off our Executive Relations initiate to engage Latino Executives. We were also privileged to have Alberto Montufar, Managing Director as keynote of the event.
• The kick off of our Speaker Series where Carlos Dominguez, one of the top 50 Hispanic Executives in the United States and Senior Vice President of Cisco Systems addressed our members on how technology is changing our lives.
• Additionally, we also kicked off of our Technology Series with a presentation of Cisco Systems Telepresence technology, and how it has changed the way we can effectively communicate and collaborate.

Please join me in thanking the executive board members of SHPE-NYC for their hard work and dedication, their tireless work brings you events that allow us to learn and grow together as the premier Hispanic Engineering Organization in New York City.

As we look forward into 2009 I am energized and committed to working with the executive board and corporate partners to continue bringing you quality events, which you have come to expect from SHPE-NYC.

My best wishes to you and your families for a joyful holiday season and a happy and healthy new year.

Les deseo una Feliz Navidad y un Prospero Año nuevo 2009!

Danny Cardenas

SHPE-NYC President

www.shpe-nyc.org

Best Rapper Alive!

Weezy claims to be the best rapper alive, but this dude seriously give him a run for his money.



another clip of this legend...

Today was a good day...

...

Ankle Insurance.

This is for the launch of the Zoom Kobe IV on NIKEiD.com, Nike put together a comedic commercial featuring DJ AM, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and actor/comedian Mike Epps.


Nike Zoom Kobe IV iD - Mike Epps + DJ AM from Freshnessmag.com on Vimeo.

WEDNESDAY'S WAYBACK PLAYBACK VOL. 3 (I'M THE SCATMAN!)

lol staying on that club beat tip, here's a tribute to Scatman John (R.I.P btw)...on a lighter note I fucking love this song lol this guy was SICK haha, remember this one Jay ? =P

Work That

Japan's own Teriyaki Boys collaborate with Pharrell for this one. Their actually speaking English for the most part too.

Time after Time

NBA's new ad campaign is pretty creative and is hella funny. They use a mini tour bus to follow around the behind the scenes of all star players.

she was a go-go dancer

pretty catchy tune, kinda getting tired of Akon singing on ALL the songs nowadays though...whatever happened to nate dogg? joe, mario winans, ginuwine, maybe even kells could've worked for this song but anyway. this song will get your head bobbing so check it out.

some of that electric circus flow

alright so the other day I heard these tunes and I literally LOL-ed because I was just thinking back to the days when I was little we used to have this show called ELECTRIC CIRCUS, they'd go live to air from queen street (T-Dot baby!) and it was in a club type thing on the channel citytv. They played nuff club and house beats which back then I didn't really like but I'm loving that ish now...but anyways get nostalgic my people EC FOREVER! lol enjoy.

call it elephant kush

Jigga's tune is already tuff but this track is TUFF, I don't know I think both went equally hard on this one, but Crooked I sounded HUNGRY I like that aggressive flow my dude good looking out.

ain't he somethin?

this tune is sick man I could sit back chill and listen to hip hop like this all day, I like that guitar in the background too with the power cords and ish that's mad creative, anyways listen up.

don't sweat the technique!

this dude spits some ILL shit man, his flow is mad fluid and just overall DOPE. check out this hot track!

California dreaming

Damn it's pretty hard to NOT hear a good track from this dude lately, he's been on point in pretty much every track and I can't wait until his next album drops! FIRE!!!

The Meaning of the Twelve Days of Christmass....

Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829 were prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private. It was illegal to be Catholic until Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England in 1829.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith. In short, it was a coded-message, a memory aid. Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics could sing the song without fear of imprisonment. The authorities would not know that it was a religious song.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is in a sense an allegory. Each of the items in the song represents something significant to the teachings of the Catholic faith. The hidden meaning of each gift was designed to help Catholic children learn their faith. The better acquainted one is with the Bible, the more these interpretations have significance, and of course they can also help catechise all faithful Christians.

The song goes, "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…" The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn’t refer to an earthly suitor, but it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. i.e. the Church.

1st Day:
The partridge in a pear tree is Christ Jesus upon the Cross. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge because she would feign injury to decoy a predator away from her nestlings. She was even willing to die for them. The tree is the symbol of the fall of the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve. It is also the symbol of its redemption by Jesus Christ on the tree of the Cross.

2nd Day:
The "two turtle doves" refers to the Old and New Testaments.

3rd Day:
The "three French hens" stand for faith, hope and love—the three gifts of the Spirit that abide (1 Corinthians 13).

4th Day:
The "four calling birds" refers to the four evangelists who wrote the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ.

5th Day:
The "five golden rings" represents the first five books of the Bible, also called the Jewish Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

6th Day:
The "six geese a-laying" is the six days of creation.

7th Day:
The "seven swans a-swimming" refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. (N.B. I am reminded, hence this update, that this is also a reference to the Seven Sacraments - I should have checked this more thoroughly before posting)

8th Day:
The "eight maids a milking " reminded children of the eight beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount.

9th Day:
The "nine ladies dancing" were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

10th Day:
The "ten lords a-leaping" represents the Ten Commandments

11th Day:
The "eleven pipers piping" refers to the eleven faithful apostles.

12th Day:
The ‘twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of belief expressed in the Apostles’ Creed: belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, made man, crucified, died and arose on the third day, that he sits at the right hand of the father and will come again, the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting.

Christmass is coming........

Over the last few weeks life has been somewhat hectic in the parishes hence the decline in the number of blogs. There is much activity going on what with the Advent Programme and preparations for the Nativity of the Lord.

As well as this the exterior lighting is finally progressing. Would you believe that the recession has meant that delivery of the lamp-posts was delayed for weeks as the couriers would not deliver until they had a full lorry-load for this area? However today they arrived and we hope that tomorrow the electrical connections will be finished. Hopefully, I shall find time to upload some photo's tomorrow.

The programme of works for the Restoration / Reordering has now arrived and beginning on the 5th January the interior of St Mary & St Giles will see workmen arrive to complete the installation of stone and woodwork that is being prepared off-site at the moment. Also, at All Saints, we are about to install lighting into the church car park as well - so plenty of liaising with people over major projects has also been a feature of the last few weeks too.

Lots of illness in the parish at the moment has been keeping me extra busy what with large numbers of folk receiving the Blessed Sacrament at home or in hospital.

Over the last four days we have seen over 750 people at worship in St Mary & St Giles. It all started on Friday morning when our Church Aided School came to St Mary & St Giles for their Carol Service and Nativity Play. My homily included a bar of Fruit and Nut, a copy of the TV Times, a Ten Pound Note, and my Lightsaber (yes you did read that correctly) and finally an empty box covered in gold foil - but I'm not giving away the punch-line just yet!

On Friday afternoon one of the local Funeral Directors held its annual Memorial Service in St Mary & St Giles. This really does fulfil a need and it draws people in from all over the area. The Order for the Service was drawn up by myself some years ago and includes a section where all those who have died are prayed for by name and candles are lit for each of the months in which they die. One of the features of this Rite each year is the large number of infants that have died - in part this is due to Milton Keynes having the youngest population in Europe and consequently a high proportion of neo-natal deaths. We had the largest number of people attend this Rite this year including many parents of still-born babies or infants, nearly all of whom afterwards were lighting candles at Our Lady's Shrine even though I had not mentioned that opportunity. I have always thought that there is something quite instinctive about this for English People, and the image of Our Lady is significant too.

Sunday morning saw an increase in numbers at Mass, although unfortunately one of our Churchwardens had a fall and has suffered a hairline fracture in his hip which has got to heal itself. Mercifully, he was discharged from hospital today, and is determined to get to Mass on Christmass Day.

Sunday afternoon saw our annual Nativity Play with Carols (no Hark the Herald or Adeste fideles in these parishes until Christmass itself). This year as many of our teenagers are at University and there is a gap in the young teenage range we allowed a few older children to take part! See for yourself from the pictures below and thanks must also go to our own "St Mary & St Giles Church Band" for providing the music.

Today has seen the final round of Carol Singing around the Parish raising money for our Advent Appeal: the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa through the charity "Ethiopiaid". Carollers were invited back to the Vicarage for refreshments including Fr Ross' homemade mulled-wine (with an added kick: Cointreau!).

Smooth Operator

Gentleman, stay smooth.

JESUS SHUTTLESWORTH

I haven't really done a movie recognition in a little bit. Another big movie I used to love when I was younger was He Got Game directed by Spike Lee. Basically, Ray Allen plays Jesus Shuttlesworth, an aspiring and promising baller from Coney Island. Denzel plays his father, who is incarcerated for accidentally murdering his wife. Watch the movie to understand the "accidentally" lol. The movie outlines the pressures of a rising professional athlete to super stardom. From girl troubles to the unwanted pressure of the media, everyday is a struggle. On a side note, y'all need to go out and check out Seven Pounds.

SHPE-NYC: Subscription to Job Postings Notification Emails

Hello SHPE-NYC Members,

As stated at our Holiday Banquet and Toy Drive, SHPE-NYC will continue to provide its members with as many resources as possible to succeed during these tough financial, employment, and economic times. We will be revamping our online job bank shortly to provide a better job search experience, and additionally, we would like to offer our members a chance to join our "Job Notification" email distribution. We have several job postings we are looking to send out, so subscribe today!

If you would like to receive periodic email notifications about new job postings (full job details/attachments/docs will be included) please send a blank email to:  shpe-nyc-jobs-subscribe@googlegroups.com 

The system will send you an email to confirm your subscription. To confirm, you can simply 'reply' to the generated email, or follow the link that is provided. You do NOT need a Gmail account to subscribe, any email address will do.

Please continue to check www.shpe-nyc.org for additional updates.

 

If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to contact us info@shpe-nyc.org

Have a happy and safe holiday season,

 SHPE-NYC

www.shpe-nyc.org

"2008 SHPE  National Chapter of the Year"

A little more for massinformation....

Now this just goes to show what can be achieved. The above is typical of the brutal approach of much "modern" church ordering. The same building after reordering, or should I say restoration is below:

If I...

Another JT and T.I Collabo.

A little something for massinformation........

Just for our friends at massinformation.......

From this example of Spanish exurberance:

to this example of reordering in Mexico City:

More on Our Lady and St Joseph's travels.....

As the images of Our Lady and St Joseph continue their travels around the parish on their way to the crib in church familes are writing in with their experiences......

"I would like to comment on being host to Our Lady and St.Joseph. Not expecting anything, other than to put two statues in my house, I was overwhelmed by the emotion. Putting candles and rose petals at their feet was very humbling. Praying can sometimes be hard, as we all know. My home is Blessed, praying, somehow, got easier. Thank You."

and...

"Just a quick note to say that, in our house, we greatly enjoyed having Our Lady and St Joseph to stay with us. The presence we felt was uplifting and peaceful; deepening our sense of the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. In our confused and secular world, where for the majority, Christmas provides only for physical rest and pleasures, a simple devotion of this kind, which requires no academic qualities or book reading, can only help us in our quest to really put Christ back into his own birthday festival."

This evening Our Lady and St Joseph are residing in a house in the High Street - sat on an illuminated first floor windowsill for all to see as they pass by.

48 hours........????

So the EEC Parliament has voted to end the opt out on maximum working hours. While I have no problem with this for the majority of the workforce I wonder how it will be possible with what were once considered vocational occupations?

Will the CofE require its clergy to work no more than four days a week? Given that most clergy work between 8 and 12 hours a day will it be a case of us all needing answerphone messages that say "Sorry if you are ill, need to make your confession or have a loved one who is dying or has died. I will not be available for three days. Please call back." ?

Mind you, some of the conversations I have with lay-folk lead me to think that this may as well apply now in some areas. With the drive to "time-management" and a secular model of operating it seems to me that true pastoral care of the Faithful will become (or is perhaps already becoming) a thing of the past. This will only be exacerbated by the waning influence of Anglo-Catholics.

I well remember a conversation with a fellow ordinand about the sacrificial cost of being a priest. He opined that he had never thought of priesthood in those terms. I believe he is now sunning himself in a chaplaincy in the mediterranean! But the consequences of such attitudes is something that the laity experience far more than is acceptable.

Bounce Official Video.

This party anthem by MSTRKRFT and Nore finally has an official video. Clubs, Ex, Girls, Murder. All of the ingredients for a dope video. Check it out!

MSTRKRFT - Bounce feat. N.O.R.E & Isis

TUESDAY'S TURNING BACK TIME VOL. 4 (talk about good times)

couldn't find a fucking youtube vid of it...all of them had embedding disabled =@ but anyways. BIG FUCKING TUNE man this joint was the shit back in the day and STILL is...I dedicate this one to all my HERBologists out there ;) lmao and just like Ali G says "BIG UP YOSELF!" hahaha

N.E.R.D - Sooner Or Later

Skateboard P, Chad and Shay come with this new video for the track Sooner or Later. An appearance from my dude Rob Dyrdek. Do Work Son.

This is my shit

Wale Feat. Daniel Merriweather (Prod. Mark Ronson) - Pot Of Gold

aNYthing.

One of many ill tracks by Mobb Deep.

Captain America #48 Cover

(click image to enlarge)
Yes, it's that time again: when Marvel leaks out some previews of upcoming books, in this case for March 2009, featuring Captain America #48. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #48
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by STEVE EPTING
The New Captain America faces the crimes of his past as the Winter Soldier as the Sub-Mariner and the Black Widow struggle to stop a new foe from unleashing a deadly attack on the world! By the best-selling Eisner, Harvey and Eagle award-winning team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

This cover presented a new challenge in that I haven't ever really tried to paint fire before (at least not this close up). All in all, I don't think it's quite as successful as another recent painting challenge I had with splashing water, but it's always fun to try something new. Anyway, the focus of the image is the Invaders, and that's always a good thing.

Filibama.

This shit is just too funny for words. The Filipino Obama, and my dude looks exactly like Barack. Even though their totally different races, the resemblance is damn near impeccable.





A bonus for you...The Caucasian Kobe Bryant!

Charles Hamilton: Brooklyn Girls

Andy Milofuckinakis

Andy Milonakis is jokes and that dude.

Homily for Advent 3....

Thee above image is of St Nicholas - why I include it in this post will, I hope, become clear.

Make a straight way for the Lord

St John the Baptist was not exactly known for living in a respectable area – he “appeared in the wilderness”; nor was he known for his sartorial elegance – “Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather belt around his waist.” And nor was he known for dining in high society – he “ate locusts and wild honey” - brings to mind a nice crispy exterior with a soft gooey inside! He must have looked at the very least a formidable sight, but his words were possibly even less attractive. He said to the Pharisees and Sadducee's, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come.”

And yet despite all this John is venerated in Judaism, Christianity and Islam as someone who was totally faithful to God and to what God asked him to say. He might be what is deemed “a fiery preacher” – someone who’s message is one of repentance and who constantly calls people back to the Living God. But this is what he was sent to do, and of course we Christians show him devotion because he pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He showed us that Christ must increase while he must decrease. In John the Baptist we see one who was not concerned with his own status or power, but who simply sought to do as God told him and who even to the end was concerned that he had done what God had asked of him and pointed out the true Messiah.

Fidelity to God, for John the Baptist, eventually meant martyrdom and many, many Christians over the last two thousand years have faced martyrdom as they have sought to be faithful to Christ. The first Saints of the Christian Church were all martyrs – among them most of the apostles. The Roman Canon, which was the Eucharistic Prayer used in this land for a millennia up to the Reformation and allowed once again when in 1988 the Bishops of the CofE said that any once canonically authorised Eucharistic Prayer may still be used, contains two lists of saints nearly all of which are martyrs:

the apostles and martyrs Peter and Paul, Andrew, (James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude; we honor Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian)
For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, (Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia) and all the saints.

St Lucy, we observed yesterday and it is customary to include the names of the saints for the week ahead in any Eucharistic Prayer on Sunday. In the early Church the list of saints was known as the Martyrology. Martyrdom is not something that is sought, unlike the practices of certain poeople who falsely use the term today while immolating themselves and killing countless other people along with themselves. Out of the overwhelming numbers of Christians a minority have experienced martyrdom and yet their numbers continue to increase and in the 20th Century there were more martyrs than in any other. Invariably these men and women refuse to go along with what wicked people, often in positions of power want. We can think of Charles Lwanga and his companions (both RC’s and Anglican) who refused to engage in same sex practices with the King of Uganda, we can think of St Maximillian Kolbe who died in place of a Jewish man in Auschwitz, or we can think of St Stephen being stoned for believing in and preaching in the name of Jesus.

Fidelity to Christ brings opposition, but it also brings affirmation from God. Unfortunately, we sometimes are not fully aware of the importance of fidelity to Christ and His Gospel. Sometimes examples of it can be found in the most unexpected of places. For example, after this homily, as we do every week we shall all stand to say the Nicene Creed and yet this very statement of the Faith was the product of much persecution by heretics who were seeking to overtake the church, but who eventually withdrew and went off into the desert where they were to emerge and adapt into a 6th century force that conquered many Christian lands and introduced their own religion.

At the Council of Nicea there was a heretical bishop called Arius who denied that Jesus was God. On the other side was St Athanasius who was a staunch defender of the orthodox position that Jesus was God. St Athanasius was persecuted terribly by Arius and his followers. Yet he wasn’t the only one.

On the 6th of December each year we observe the Feast of St Nicholas, who we know as Santa Claus (the figure that the secular Coco-Cola company renamed as Fr Christmas so as to do away with the overtly Christian connotations - and make lots of profit too). St Nicholas was known for his great acts of kindness and his leaving of gifts.

In one of his most well-known acts of selflessness as a young priest, Fr Nicholas reacted to the intention of a wealthy businessman of Patara who had fallen on hard times and lost his fortune. Desperate, the man had determined to sell the bodies of his three daughters in order to raise funds for the family. Hearing of the plan (it seems through a divine revelation), Fr Nicholas went to the businessman’s home in secret during the night and threw an offering of three hundred gold coins wrapped in a handkerchief through the man's window. Convinced of the goodness of the gesture, though unaware of the identity of his benefactor, the man used the funds to arrange for his eldest daughter to be married honourably to a nobleman. Later the man arose to find the act had been repeated; and eventually, a third time. In each instance, the priest made his offering secretly, attempting to conceal his works of charity. And the stories of these acts of gift-giving are many, as is the story that he left coal for those who were bad.

However, there was another side to this kindly priest for he subsequently became a bishop and was called to participate in the Council of Nicea. St Nicholas is particularly remembered for his zeal against Arius. Having openly combated him with words, Bishop Nicholas, in a fit of fervour (some accounts indicate he was as displeased with Arius' monopolisation of the meeting by his 'constant arguing' as he was with his heretical statements), went so far as to cross the floor of the Council and box the ears of Arius. Shocked by this behaviour, especially given that the canons forbid clergy from striking any one at all, yet uncertain of how to react to such actions by a bishop they knew and respected, the fathers of the council determined to deprive Nicholas of his Episcopal emblems (traditionally his vesture and the Gospel book), and placed him under guard. However, a short time later, several of the assembled fathers reported having a common vision: the Lord and His Mother returning to Nicholas his Episcopal items, instructing that he was not to be punished, for he had acted 'not out of passion, but extreme love and piety'. This was taken as a sign that the extreme behaviour of Nicholas was none-the-less pleasing to God, who was thus restored to the fullness of his Episcopal office.

Santa Claus boxes the ears of a heretic! Well, he would have a field day in the General Synod! Zeal for the Lord and his Gospel drove Santa Claus to extreme measures – he and Athanasius along with others were not going to give in to heresy and allow the Church to taken over by those who advocated it.

At the end of the day we have to understand something very important – the Gospel is Christ’s not ours – and certainly not ours to change. There are many damaging issues facing the whole Church at this time and not a few affecting the CofE, but despite these difficult times our Heavenly Father is calling us to be faithful to his Son and the Gospel. There are those who in the name of seeking to be credible and relevant seem determined to impose a secular world-view on the Church – if they get their way the Church will continue to wither for it will have abandoned theological rigour and even reason.

John the Baptist, Stephen, Lucy, St Nicholas and many others fought the good fight and ran the race that was set before them – seeking to make a straight way for the Lord. Our calling is no less – we must defend The Faith and stand up to heresy. I don’t advocate boxing someone’s ears, but I do advocate fidelity to Christ and his Gospel even when certain modern day examples of Arius, are seeking to impose their own version of faith on us. Fidelity to Christ and his Gospel demands we make a straight way – may he grant us the grace of the Holy Spirit to do so.

Gifted...

N.A.S.A featuring Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li. Nuff said.

Da art of story tellin.

Payin homage to where my home is. Everybody has their own path, and it's songs like this that paved the way for me. I feel sorry for today's youth who have to resort to Soulja Boy for music.

I get on the TTC.

This is mad corny but deserves props for creativity. These dudes had some time on their hands and made this parody. Shout outs to all that "Ride The Rocket" and fuck the Scarborough Rapid Transit, that shit gets packed. I always just go to Kennedy lol. I've ran into all types of stuff on this shit, from seriously unclean people to insane people yelling in my face. I knew something was wrong when I walked into the train and everybody but this one dude was sitting on the opposite side.

Have you ever pulled a Pharrell?

You ever walk through the mall and get booked hardcore for staring a bit too hard. I'm not going to lie, I've been caught in the act before when some Victoria Secret model type girls walked by, but honestly, what is the most nonchalant way of "looking"? lol. I used to joke with my dude Glenny because I swear he was the LEAST nonchalant dude when window shopping. His replies were mostly "I don't give a fuck, I know she's interested" and so on. I think girls are more ashamed of getting caught staring because it's outside the norm. The ladies are probably just way more advanced in the art and never let a guy know they're looking. Sorry to say, but if I look over at you to check you out and you are already staring in my direction, it's obvious you were looking girl. One of my girls let me know that, in her opinion, if you turn you're head at less than 60 degrees, it's not making it that badly obvious you're looking, but if you're head is at 90 degrees, you're staring hard. Lastly, if you're head turns more than 90 degrees when looking back, you're straight up hounding.

EXTRA GOOOOOD

Can't wait for the MP3 CDQ of this song. Sounds crazy.

Can't Stop The Crooks.

I'm on my beanie tips real hard in this cold ass mothafuckin winter. If you're ballin, by all means, splurge and buy that Gucci beanie or Louis Vuitton Damier shit. For the average man, Crooks and Castles comes with some clean cut pieces to keep you're shit warm on those frigid days.

Super Boo.

That dude Cudi with another hype track. If you didn't listen to all of A Kid Named Cudi, you're sleeping right now and need to wake up.

Sketchbook 013

(click image to enlarge)
More of the same. I broke out the old crowquill pen for the three smaller faces on the right side.

These pages are all starting to look the same to me, but you can never get enough practice drawing faces. On the other hand, the same thing applies to figures, so I think I'll try to do more of that on future pages.

TUESDAY'S TURNING BACK TIME VOL. 3

and oldie but a goodie, this is that GROWN FOLK MUSIC that really hits home. Now see kids being a 90's baby (best time to grow up imo) I took it upon myself to listen to a lot of the music from that time, and you know what? This was a time when music MEANT SOMETHING...not just beats, and synthesizers, etc. but anyways...just reminiscing a little here, if you don't already know this song do yourself a favour...crawl under a rock somewhere and die =). Enjoy (Y)

This is my art.

If you didn't know. I cut hair and barbering is a big part of my lifestyle. The elite barbers look at cutting as more of an art than a simple haircut. Toronto has a big amount of ill barbers out there. I just been cutting since I was young as more of a hobby.

Get Nostalgic Y'all.

"You don't need a Yellow Pages, just call me on the phone, I'll be your smooth operator, never have to spend the night alone"

y'all can ask escobar, all I need is one mic

damn you gotta APPRECIATE Cassidy's punchlines man lol they're mad clever and I pretty much chuckle whenever I hear them haha listen up!

game recognize game

here's a hot track from the game, I'm liking his new ish that's he putting out now still, he's a lot more lyrical from when he first started. It's good to actually see a hip-hop artist GROW AND DEVELOP into a better mc...not these fucking WACK soulja boy motherfuckers...anyways listen up because this is a joint to just bob your head and chill.

I jack, I rob, I sin...aww man I'm Jackie Robinson

HOT TRACK from none other than HOV himself, this track will on the soundtrack for the LONG OVERDUE movie on Notorious B.I.G....easy on the patwa there though jigga because me dun know seh you nah nuh island yute seen...still FIRE though check it out!