There Were Always Renegades...

...People willing to do something different,

Moving against the dominant culture.

"Since the Prehistoric Ages.

And the days of Ancient Greece.

Right down through the Middle Ages.

Planet Earth kept going through changes.

Then the Renaissance came.

And times continued to change.

Nothing stayed the same,

But there were always Renegades.

Like Chief Sitting Bull.

Tom Paine,

Dr. Martin Luther King,

Malcolm X,

They were Renegades

Of this Time and Age.

The Mighty Renegades."

A lot of people don't realize that this song was written by Afrika Bambaataa,

The Godfather of Hip Hop, 

Former Black Spades gang member, 

and founder of the Universal Zulu Nation.

It was made popular more recently by Rage Against the Machine.

Of course, bboys usually dance to the RATM version.

but WHO ARE the Renegades?

"Renegades are the people.

With their own philosophy.

They change the course of history.

Everyday people like you and me."

And the Renegades of FUNK? Who are they?

Of course, the generation born out of Funk,

Which is the HIP HOP Generation.

HIP HOP HEADS.

The Renegades of TODAY's Time and Age.

Half of yall don't realize your own significance.

Hip Hoppers are the Renegades of Funk.

They changed the course of history.

It would be incorrect to discuss the Origins of Hip Hop without mentioning Funk.

And it would be incomplete to talk about the origins of Funk without mention of the Civil Rights movement, and Blues music before that. It's all part of a larger struggle.

Are you taking part in changing the world for the better?

If you love Hip Hop culture, then you very well may be!

You heard it here: Hip Hop is a sustainable culture for the future.

The culture is tied to Knowledge, which invariably ties it to Education.

Ever heard the phrase "Each one, Teach one"?

If you have a light, you can light 1000 candles.

Know what I mean?

Because of that, Hip Hop is here to stay.

Still only 40 years young.

Still going strong.

What lays ahead?

Consider the famous first words of the song...

"No matter how hard you try, you can't stop us now."

Viciously, I Make History Instantly

GURU Rest in Peace!

He's Above the Clouds.

From my perspective, I will address hip hop figures as historical figures. 

These artists, educators, revolutionaries, and entrepreneurs have made an impact on the world. 

Economically and Socially.

Often, they are not given the credit they deserve. 

The world hasn't fully realized it yet, but the history they've made is profound.

Society tends to downplay the accomplishments of certain groups. 

More on that later.

Hip Hop is still a young culture,

But it has produced some historical figures in the past 50 years.

I will explain that further in future updates also.

This is one of many Gangstarr songs that changed my life. 2007-2009.

"Work" - off the Moment of Truth album:

Albums are meant to be played as a whole, not as single songs.

You wouldn't read just a chapter from a book. 

Read the whole book.

That's how quality albums are designed.

With single lines enough to blow minds.

If you put in work, you can watch your status escalate.

"I'm doing my thing now to lamp later on."

Great words from the G.U.R.U.

Moment of Truth album....peep the title track.

Other G.U.R.U. lines that stuck with me:

"It's often easier for one to give advice,

Than it is for person to run one's own life."

"I can visit any city, get respect in the streets /

While you alone in your room, shook to death of the streets."

Keith Elam aka GURU - Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal.

I will end with the legend bringing realness to the studio, in Europe.

In My Shoes, A Walking Sleep

All this "End is nigh" talk is making me sick of all the "end is nigh" talk. Shit was cool back in like... 2004. But now it's 2012. We should be speculating about the 2020 disasters now. Catch up.

Or peep this:

BLACK HOLE SUN lyrics:

In my eyes, 
Indisposed, 
In disguise 
As no one knows. 

Hides the face, 
Lies the snake, 
And the sun 
In my disgrace. 

^Cool way to start a song.
Poetically written.
Cool song back in the day. 
Sound Garden. Not to be confused with "Savage Garden," a rather disturbing name for a group, now that I'm a little older and realize what a "savage garden" could possibly mean to a sexually ambiguous pop rock duo.

But BLACK HOLE SUN. If it's cool once, to one person, it can be cool again, to another person. Circumstance, permitting. 

The world won't end any sooner than humanity does. But if humanity ends on Friday, I'd be impressed. Will the world change as we know it? It kinda changes every day, as we know it. But Friday's a good inflection point. 2012 has gone by faster than any year. But 2013 will probably be faster... that is, if it even happens after my Roman calendar ends! We're at a cool place in history though.

Some people are approaching 12/21/2012 with no plan of what to do afterward. I wouldn't advise it. I'd actually do the opposite (and plan) because it's all about life AFTER 2012. ya knowww ;)

We should all know the sun is on a cycle of 11-12 years, and is currently at what they call a "solar maximum" where there is an increase in sunspot activity and solar weather picks up... I guess that increases the chances of solar flares, prominences, coronal mass ejections... some of those solar phenomena are more frequent than others, but they happen. Not too weird. But very cool.

Sun activity can mess up satellites and people will lose their wifi connection and shit, maybe stop some street lights... maybe cause earthquakes and volcanos. Who knows. Life can change, all it takes is 1 day. Doesn't mean the world will end on 12/21/12. Many people already experience a rough life. Many experience a great life. Some people just fuck it all up. Be on the good side of the era shift.

Don't follow sheep all asleep, know what I mean?

You can find the rest of the lyrics Here: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/soundgarden/black+hole+sun_20128204.html

That's where I got em.

"Fill Each Hour to the Brim"

The 1953 Version of YOLO

Look at this poem I came across in SF, written in Venice... Italy. 1953:

The author is this amazing 88 year old woman named Sami Sunchild. 

She's a beat/post-hippie/entrepreneur who runs a charming establishment.

I met her in SF. She owns the Red Victorian Peace Center/Bed & Breakfast

Haight-Ashbury type dish.

She's got a good mind for an old lady. 

The stuff she wrote when she was younger,

Her quotes on social entrepreneurialism, life,

World interconnectedness, and peace, are...

...guess you just gotta be there. Go stay at the Red Vic.

One of the toilet bowls has fish in the tank.

Every room (and every bathroom) is individually themed.

And they gave me Nutella on Toast topped with berries, for breakfast.

Best line in this poem, to me, is "Living now, What Might Be." Do it!

End-of-the-world-type thoughts

I was faced this question on chat:

Colleen:

12-12-12

what's your take on the significance?

 

Tom:

what a fun question to be posed with

lol

i think the amount of people who attribute its significance, is significant in itself

and that definitely says something about the collective consciousness of the society as a whole

to that date, and the 12-21-12 date

which, through thought alone, people have attributed considerable significance

does that make sense?

it makes sense to me, but does it make sense to you? lol

but that's just a start, cuz the astrology/cosmology alignments are pretty spectacular too

consistently beautiful if you take the time to look up at night

they're stellar

that would be the word for it

thank you for posing this question to me, you prompted that thought

-end snippet-

The conversation went on, but in summation, the world's not ending. Yay party time!

But if you party too much, you're world will come crashing to an end anyway!

So... building time!

There actually is some significance to this year, as there is every year. More to follow on that later.