Free Write: Marijuana

          Why are so many opposed to Marijuana? Why do a lot of people label it a drug? Why are there so many laws against it? Why has it gained such a bad reputation?

          As you may know, marijuana is an illegal plant (not drug) that has been outlwed by the country. I really do not understand why though. I believe marijuana is not a drug, but a plant. How can you make something that just grows illegal? That is like making fruit illegal because it is not helping with the obesity problem in the United States.

          I know many people who love marijuana, whether they are smoking it or not. It is completely natural. It has been proven by many studies to treat various illnesses and diseases. It has helped people deal with stress, loss of apetite, cancer, aids, chronic pain, lack of sleep, and many other other illnesses. Did I mention that the plant is all natural?

          Many people however, are opposed to the drug because it is bad for you. They claim that the marijuana plant is not good for your memory or your motivation in the long run. And in addition to that, many people have said that marijuana does not help and is not a good medinice for people to use. How can they say that when there have been studies by credible institues and researchers. I don’t understand why people have so much against it.

          Everyday you hear of people overdosing on other drugs, like alcohol and prescription medicine. Too much of anything will hurt, and I hate to say, the same goes for marijuana. But hear this. Many people have died of an overdose of alcohol, which is man made and legal. You have also heard of may people who have died of overdoses of prescription medicine, which is also man made and illegal. But not once have you heard or anybody overdosing on marijuana have you? It is pretty ironic. Why make illegal the one thing natural enough to save and treeat lives?

          Maybe it is because America is not uready for such a huge step forward. Or maybe it is because America cant stand to see real people be really happy. America really needs to think about this one. Just like alcohol in the prohibition, it is going to keep coming. Youre not going to stop the flow of it. Why? Because people want it and love it. Just because America is not making any money from it does not mean it should keep it illegal.

New 9/11 aerial photos

          About 10 years ago, America was stunned and shocked to wake up and see the World Trade Center being attacked and burning. Many people sttood in shock, many ran, and many stayed behind and close to take photos and footage. A couple of days later, many photographs of the attacks and aftermath were released for the entire world to see. If you noticed, you would see that all the photos were taken on ground or very far away as well. There was not one photo that was taken in the air to see the extent of the damage.

          Now, ABC has obtained thousdands of photographs taken from the air. The aerial photographs of the attacks were taken by the only police helicopter given the ok to be in airspace at the time. The OK was given for thesole purpose of finding possible survivors in the roofs of the burning buildings.  These photographs give the people a “rare and chilling view from the heavens of the burning twin towers and the apocalyptic shroud of smoke and dust that settled over the city.”

          There are a couple of people who were infuriated by the late release of these photographs because they believed it would be important to the investigation of the attacks. However, it is too late for that now. these photographs just reinforce what people already know. It does, however, give the people a new point of view of the extent of the damage done by the attacks. Now, these photographs can serve as a record of a terrible but historic moment of the United States.

          Specifically, 2,997 photos were taken by the helicopter. 245 digital shots were also taken. Greg Semendinger and his pilot were the only two people who saw the attacks occur from the air. They mustr have been stunned and schocked at what they were viewing. They were, of course, seeing the same thing that people on the ground were watching, just at different angles and perspectives.

          The photographs that were taken are one of a kind. And now, the September 11 Museum wishes to obtain the collection of photographs.

You can view a couple of the images here.

Villaraigosa Cuts Jobs!

          On Thursday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave the ok for officials to eliminate 1,000 city jobs as well as to begin planning future employee layoffs. This stunned many Angelenos, especially since just the day before members of the city council promised not to cut jobs for the next 30 days. What were Villaraigosa’s words? “I don’t do this because I want to. I do this because I must”. Right now, the city is running out of options to fill the $212 million shortfall that Los Angeles is facing. So as a result, layoffs were one of the first choices. If no sudden actions are taken, the state as well as the city will continue to become short of funds at an even faster rate.

          The state and city are continously falling behind in funds. As a response, they decide to lay off workers. Honestly, I think firing people is in no way going to improve the state and city’s economy. Why? Because the state is laying off people, which means they will have no way to bring home money. This will then lead to these layed off workers not spending money. Then, less and less money will be cycled throughout the state and city, and wil llead to an even larger deficit. So I dont really see how firing people will help improve the state’s economy. If anything, the proper choice that needs to be taken is to create jobs, no matter what it is. This will, in the long run, help people earn money, spend money and will cause more money to be cycled through the economy.

          However, Im no financial expert nor experienced enough to know whats good for the city or state. It is just an idea that Im sure other people may have. Creating jobs was what helped the US get out of the great depression. And if pulled off properly, it would help the state and city get out of their deficit too.

American Kidnappers in Haiti

          Recently, 10 americans have been accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children and trying to sneak them out to the Domincan Republic. The stunning part of this story is that these 10 americans are Baptist Missionaries who claim that their intentions were to “provide the children with shelter and care.” They were stopped on January 29th at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Shortly after, the missionaries failed to show the officials papers that proved legal custody of the children and on top of that, the officials also discovered that some of the children were not orphans at all.

          The Haitian press, after discovering what happened, began portraying these missionaries as human traffickers and criminals. However, some of parents of the 33 children admitted to AP that they “willingly handed over their children to the Americans because they felt they were unable to care for them.” Right now, these missionaries are most likely to be tried in Haiti and it will most likely be up to Haitian authorities to judge them. However, it is also likely that their name will be cleared because of their roles as baptist missionaries.This is an international case though. So I doubt that anyone could really predict what the Haitians authorities’ decision would be.

          I believe this case has the potential to become controversial if given enough attention from the mass media. On one hand you have American Baptist Missionaries who claim that their intentions were to look after the children and their well being. Any person would be able to see that these missionaries werent trying to kidnap the children. Why would they? I dont think they have a valid reason to kidnap them. However, they do have all the reason provide shelter and care for the children, and I’m sure that is what they were trying to do. On the other hand, you have Haitian authorities who think that these Missionaries were trying to kidnap the Haitian children. Personally, I think the Haitians have blwon the whole case out of proportion. I think they have misunderstood the missionaries intentions. If Haitian authorities decide to prosecute them to the full extent of their law, each kidnapping count would carry a sentence of 5 to 15 years. On that note, I believe that the Haitian authorities should slow down and take another look at all the facts before prosecutuing the Missionaries

Hop Off Toyota’s Case

          Evrywhere I look and every channel I turn to, it seems that eveybody is hopping on Toyota’s case about their deffective cars. Not only that, but everyday there is always someone new hopping on the wagon and adds to the number of people attacking toyota and giving them bad publicity and tainting their name.  It seems to be the top story for every  news channel because it is one of the first stories that the news opens with. I will bet you anything that even today and tomorrow is going to be something else about to toyota. As a matter of fact, I gurantee it.

          About a month ago is when I saw an article about the defects of the toyota cars in the Los Angeles Times. When I read it i thought “oh this is very serious.” However, it was not that big of an issue yet all over the media. A couple of weeks later, the toyota defects were all over the news. And everyday it is something new addded. Just a couplemof days ago, the news excposed to the nation that the Prius Hybrid might have defective brakes too. As if toyoyta did not have enough to handle already. And just yesterday, I saw a news story about a woman who had fallen victim of a defective toyota. This one is going to come towards toyota with a strong fist. Imagine it was you and your company being targeted by the media. Not just one news channel, but the majority of them as well. Dont forget to count the newspapers as well. They are a large part of the media too.

          Im pretty sure toyota has acknowledged the fact that they distributed defective vehicles and I dont doubt that they are doing everything possible to fix them as quickly as possible. But with the bad publicity coming at them at every possible direction, it is possible that that is one more thing to take care of along with fixing the cars. I just realized i just used the word possible a lot. Anyway, there have also been rumors going around that it is only certain toyotas that came out defective, not all of them. But thanks to the media, everyone now believes every toyota they listed is defective. Whether or not these rumors are true, the media has to be thanked greatly for putting a bad name to toyota with such swiftness.

The Beat Swapmeet

          As we all know the vinyl record is gradually dying out in the US and very few are being pressed now a days. I know I am young, but I know for a fact that records were one of the biggest source of new music for people all over the country, especially DJ’s. Back then, when new music was released, people would not look for it on Itunes, on a cd, but they would look for them on old fashioned records and LPS’s. However, with the speed that technology is evolving, it seems that the record is being overtaken by digital downloads and mp3′s. I have nothing against those things personally seeing as how I use mp3′s and such. There are people though that would hate to have the record become an extinct form of providing music and its rarities, especially the DJ that prefers records over serato anyday.

          In Southern California, The Beat Swapmeet has been formed to keep the record alive and striving as much as possible. What it really is is self-explanatory. It is basically a swapmeet that only carries records. It is not a store that you would find down Venice Boulevard either. It is a closed venue where vendors gather and sell or trade  their records that they have collected over the years in an attempt to prolong the life of the old fashioned record. You necessarily dont have to buy records if you attend one of these swapmeets. You can just show up to check out some records, meet new people that have a passion for them as you possibly might, and make new friends and just relax. As of today, the Beat Swapmeet has been able to hold at least 5 or 6 events where people come and dig for some records.

          Personally, I have been to a couple of these swapmeets and have had a great time there. Time just flies by in there and you dont notice until you come out and the sun is gone. As a turntablist, Ive gone in there empty handed and came out with at least a box of records everytime. Why? I love records. I think people have a tendency to have a passion or liking for all things original and scarce, records being on of those things. And thanks to this swapmeet, these record lovers dont have to worry so much about it going extinct, expecially the DJ’s who appreciate records. There are a lot of swapmeets in Los Angeles, but this has to be a one of a kind swapmeet. Another thing to add, this swapmeet doesnt just attract one certain group of people. When I have gone, I have a lot of people and all of them coming from different backgrounds and cultures. Young and old, male and female, record lovers and tourists, and children have gone. It is really a place for anyone.

Check them out at www.beatswapmeet.com

Free Write:Hip Hop vs. Rap

       Where to start. Well, let’s get this train of thought cracking. Over the years, I’ve heard of and witnessed a lot of people confuse rap with hip hop. A lot of people say rap and hip hop are the same thing. There is no difference between the two. Both of them are music about nothing but sex, money, hoes, and clothes. And that is what they believe because that is what they are shown when being exposed to the media, whether it be the tv, the radio, commercials, movies, etc. So as a result, hip hop, REAL HIP HOP, has now become tainted and labeled rap to the majority of the people. And all you hip hop lovers can thank the media and all of these whack, one hit wonder, rappers for this. But you see, I believe the difference between the two still exists. KRS-One said it best when he said “rap is something you do, hip hop is something you live.”

          Hip hop started off as a subculture that included 4 elements: Breakin’, MC’ing, DJ’ing, and Graffiti. And a quick note, rap today includes none of these elements. Peopleccame out to block parties in Brooklyn where DJ’s juggle breaks from soul and funk records to make beats the people could dance too. Then, people began dancing and breaking to this music, which became known as breakdancing and the dancers were labeled b-boys and b-girls. While the Dj was doing his thing, an MC emerged and began adding clever rhymes to the beats, which is how MC’ing over popularized DJ’ing in the hip hop culture. Graffiti also became a part of the hip hop culture, but many people argue it has nothing to do with hip hop. I think graffiti has everything to do with hip hop. Over the years since it started, it became a music artform that captured a lot of people’s attention. People loved hip hop because of the stories told, the impressive rhyming styles MC’s had, and the creative/unique beats that were made. Eventually, people began refering to hip hop as a lifestyle, something that people lived not just did. Artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan,Nas, The Notorious BIG, De La Soul, and many, many many more to list all contributed to the rise of this lifestyle and culture. During these times, the media was broadcasting this hip hop all over the nation. It is no wonder why so much of the nation fell in love and became a part of the hip hop nation. During these times, hip hop was pure and fulfilling to the people.

          Eventually, hip hop rose to fame all over the nation and business people and whack record labels noticed. So what happened then? Whack rappers began appearing all over the place. These whack rappers began coming out with watered down hip hop that I like to call rap. Everything these rappers did was nonsense, pretty funny and stupid. Just like real hip hop, it rose to fame thanks to media because it was being broadcasted everywhere and young ones were being exposed to it. So it became the cool thing to do. This was rap, not hip hop. I dont even consider it a subculture of hip hop. Now, it has none of the 4 elements of hip hop. There is nothing being rhymed about worth while. I understand that people like it and all, but why do they have to call it hip hop? Why oh why?

          Take a minute or two to watch these two videos. One hip hop, one rap. How could you possibly confuse the two?

Souls of Mischief- 93 til Inifity

   

Money to Blow