Words of Wisdom from the ODB

Hip Hop Questionaire

2005-09-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

In your opinion…

1) Who is the best emcee of all time AND presently?

All Time: Dre of Outkast (listen to the first 3 'Kast albums)

Presently: Common

2) Who is the best group of all time AND presently?

All Time: Outkast

Presently: The Roots

3) Who is the best pure lyricist of all time AND presently?

All Time: Rakim

Presently: GZA

4) Who is the best DJ of all time AND presently?

All Time: Jam Master Jay

Presently: Babu

5) Who is the best live emcee/group of all time AND presently?

All Time: The Roots

Presently: Tha Alkaholiks

6) Who is the best hype man of all time?

Flava Flav (is there any other real hype men)

7) Who is the best producer of all time AND presently?

All Time: DJ Premier

Presently: Hi-Tek

8) Who has been the most influential person/group to the culture of hip hop?

Run DMC

9) Who is the most underrated AND overrated emcee/group out right now?

Underrated: Tie: Brother Ali, GZA, AZ, Wildchild

Overrated: 50 cent

10) Who in the underground scene do you think is the next to make it big?

SKILLZ

11) Which is the best label?

GOOD Music (Kanye)

12) What is the best documentary/film of hip hop ever made?

Beat Street - my first introduction to the culture of hiphop

13) What is the best hip hop video of all time?

BOB - Outkast

14) Pt. 1 – If you could have any emcees/groups (dead or alive) collaborate, who would it be; Pt. 2 – What would be the funniest collaboration (dead or alive) of any emcee/group?

Pt. 1 – JayZ and NAS

Pt. 2 – ODB and Eminem

15) What is the best element of hip hop?

DJ

16) What is the best concert venue you’ve been to, to see a hip hop show?

Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA

17) What do you hate the most about present-day hip hop?

4 out of 5 rappers with deals suck.

18) Rank the top 5 songs in hip hop history.

1 – TROY - Pete Rock and CL Smooth

2 – Award Tour - Tribe

3 – Peter Piper - Run DMC

4 – Mic Fiend - Eric B. and Rakim

5 – Da mystery of chessboxin' - Wu-tang

19) Rank the top 5 albums in hip hop history.

1 – Aquemini, Outkast

2 – Train of Thought, Reflection Eternal

3 – Soundbombing 2, Rawkus Records

4 – 2001, Dr. Dre

5 – The Platform, Dilated Peoples

20) In 1 word, what is hip hop?

Expressive

Its tha Liks, baby!

2005-09-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight at the Belly Up Tavern, The Alkaholiks are performing. They are sick live and I am looking forward to being faded. I already took a vacation day off tomorrow from work cuz I would not be able to wake up by 6am.

Last weekend was one of the best weekends in a few months. Friday night, Mills and I went to a Cocktail party. Oooh-Weee. The ladies were bangin. So many honies. It was guy heaven. I didnt know SD had all these hotties. Why didnt they go to UCSD. And since it was a cocktail party, all of them were dressed in their finest outfits. That would be short skimpy dresses. Anyway, I met some of Mills' classmates and hung out with them and met some other people. It was a good time. Definitely a good start to branch off into different things.

Saturday night, we headed downtown to celebrate Pacey's birthday. We started off at Yard House for some half-yards, then to the Field for some carbombs and good Irish beer. The night progressed to Dick's where the same band that was playing when we went a year ago for my bday was playing again. And they remembered Mills when he was playing the cowbell and they made him stop because he was throwing off the drummer. That was pretty fun. Pacey was drunk because he was dancing and even he said he never dances. It was awesome having Emily, Laura, and Jenny come out and hang out with us and celebrate. It was a very pleasant surprise.

All I hear from people now is that we have to throw more parties at our house. So, we are prolly going to oblige and throw one in the next month or so. We are gonna give the people what they want.

I went home on Sunday for a family bday celebration not only for mine, but my two cousins who also have birthdays in September. It is very hard to get all of us in the same city on the same day. And now we were still missing one. My cousin Arin just moved away to go to UC Irvine and he wasnt able to make it back. Good for him. He needs to have fun in college and go home occassionaly. It seems like all my family will ever discuss is my sister's wedding. I am happy and excited about it, but the way it constantly dictates everything we talk about and do, it can get a little too much. But, that just means that it will be planned really well and be perfect. I cant imagine it now going well, because the prep and set up has been planned for a long time.

Hanging out with old friends

2005-09-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I went over to Dennis' to hang out with Jeff (former roommate in college) who was in town for a week or so from Tahoe. It had been at least a year or so since I saw him. There wasnt anything major going on at Dennis' so it was nice to sit around and chat/reminisce. Jeff lived with me, Jay and Long at the Warren appts. sophomore year. That was probably my favorite year of college for many reasons, one being the people I lived with. Im glad to hear that he has been travelling and doing cool things since graduation. I wish I would have kept in touch better and with more of our college peepz that decided to not stay in san diego after graduation. I wonder how all the girls on our floor freshman year are doing. Is Ericka still in Alaska? How's married life/med school for Tristan? Dennis is really good at keeping it touch with people. I definitely wish I had his skills in that. I need to get out and meet different people. I was hoping that once I got a good job, I would be able to use it as a new avenue/network, but unfortunately it reall isnt. The majority of my co-workers are females who have settled down/married/kids and dont really fit. They are all realy cool and nice and I like working with them, but definitely do not have network possibilities. I think Dennis is the best way to go. I am always meeting new people around him. It seems that we hang out with the same people majority of the time. And when you hang out with the same people, you end up doing the same things every time. Peter is pretty good at branching out himself. Especially since hes got so much stuff going on with lifeguarding, grad school, and former college buddies living in the area. I am gonna make a concerted effort to "branch out" myself and see where it leads me. Who knows?

Songs I'm currently bumpin:
Kanye - Touch the Sky
Usher - Nice and Slow/U make me wanna (see earlier post)
AZ - The Come Up
Melle Mel - Beat Street Breakdown

Two blogs in one day!

2005-09-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Im back at it again. As you can tell, it's been a busy day at work. Signed up for Costco at the vendor booth onsite, talked to a couple claimants, signed some checks. All in all it was a good day.

I spent a lot of time today reading up on Armenian and Persian stuff. I have been meaning to start learning farsi again so if I find a hot persian lady like I am hoping, I can sweet talk her with my language. I think I might order a cd-rom/book on how to speak farsi. I have most of the pronounciation down because of hearing my parents and so many people speak it for so long. I just need to learn what means what and to put sentences together. If for some reason I do not end up being with/marrying an armenian girl, it would be because I was with a persian girl. I really think that persians are the most beautiful women of any race. Not just concerning boobs, butt, legs but the complete package. I think the skin color/facial complexion is what really does it for me. Everything else just falls into place as well. The number one reason why I considered moving back to LA after school and during my unemployment days was because that is where I would meet with a lot of Armenian/Perisans. And even now, I think about it as well. I dont really see myself finding someone down here. I have been here 6 years now, and I havent found anyone that I would want to be with. Maybe I am picky. Not to say that I dont look for females who arent Armenian/Persian here because I do, but they really have to wow me. It hasnt happened yet. I guess in a way that is wrong. But its something thats definitely been instilled in me since I was growing up that I would marry an Armenian. My family expects it. I expect it. I think that my family would be receptive to a Persian because we are so familiar with the culture and the area. But that would be the extent of it. Now dont get me wrong. My parents are not going to disown me or not show up to the wedding if i do decide to marry another race, but they would not be thrilled. Especially now that my sister is getting married and the wedding is such a big deal for my family. There's a lot of thoughts/ideas going through me that I have to think about. I guess thats what happens when you grow up. You have to deal with shit instead of pushing them to the side for a later date. Fuck. I just turned 24. It's not that old, but its about the time where every birthday is not something you look forward to like the first 20 plus years were.

I am going home this weekend to visit family and celebrate my and my two cousins birthday on sunday. During college years, I cant say I really looked forward to going home because I always felt like I was missing out on something down here during the weekend. Now, I cant wait to go back for many reasons. That is probably one of the reasons why I wouldnt mind moving back home. Maybe thats another sign of growing up and beginning to think beyond this moment and looking towards the future.

Monthly recap of events

2005-09-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

I thought this would be a good time to recap my month of September since I am bored/hungover here at work. Let's see what I can remember.

My Bday party:
As always, it was a success. We had a good amount of people show up, but considerably less than the usual turnout. I think some people were at home for the summer or on vacation. It was the second party at the new house and both have turned out well even though we felt when we moved in that this would not be a good party house based on its layout. Peter had a lot of friends come by too and it was good to see them. They bring that Vanderbilt style of partyin with them. I need to start kickin' it with them more often instead of staying at home. Anyway, after considerable beer bongs/shots/my concocted mix drinks, I was gettin my groove on. Apparently from what I gathered from others, I was a "dancing machine" that night. The pictures from Alice's phone seem to prove it. I was full of energy. I was going strong. I ended the night with some Denny's with Spencer, Robbie and Theresa. I dont really remember what I ordered, but it was pretty delicious. I think.

Last night:
I am going out of chronological order because, well I can't think of everything right now. This is why I am hungover right now at work. John, Jay, and I started off with some mad dogs, leading to some shots of vodka/rum/151 which made for some craziness. Peter Mills finally showed up from class with his own mad dog and joined the festivities. Ian and Desi came by as well to partake. Thank god I downloaded those Usher songs the other day so that john and i could have a big karaoke to "Nice and Slow" and "U make me wanna" just like we did over at Alice's on campus party. Oh shit. That happened in September too. I'll get into that later. Anyway, i think i passed out on the couch. When I woke up this morning, my light/fan were on, my blinds were up, my window was open and my screen door was off, somewhere on the roof. I dont really know what the fuck happened to my screen door, but I am sure somebody can explain it to me when I get home today. I'll fill you guys in once I know. Im sure it will be good.

Alice's last on campus party:
I'll make this one brief. Alice wanted to get hammered one last time on campus and say fuck to the RSO's. Since I had my share of run-ins with them over earlier in decade, I thought it was a great idea. We got hammered, big surprise. We threw toilet paper all over the building and from building to building. Nobody was really around because everyone had moved out already. Finally, the RSO showed up when Gary was trying to put more TP on. He said he was trying to clean up and didnt know who did it. Since he's Asian, they believed him and came up to question us. He asked us if we were still in highschool for doing something like this, and we laughed in his face. It was pretty funny. Had to be there.

Coming-up: Tha Alkoholiks at Belly Up Tavern, Sept 29th. 21 and over
This will top off the month and I will post afterwards with all the details. If you wanna go to the show, let me know. They do not dissapoint.

New Album Roundup:
I have heard some new shit this month. All in all it has been a good month for hiphop. Kanye came out. Although its not as good as College Dropout, I am very impressed with Mr. West. Musically, it sounds very different and I definitely appreciate that aspect. I think he has somewhat stepped up his MC skills but it still isnt great. There are a lot of better MC's out there than Kanye, but he is one of the best artists in hiphop currently. AZ came out with a new album. Although I havent heard it as much as Kanye, I definitely am feeling the beats on this. AZ always brings the heat with his rhymes. He is very underappreciated. I am gonna try to get this cd out to more people because he is good. If you'd like a copy of his cd, let me know. I'll burn one.

Katrina

2005-09-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is so much worse than 9/11. As devastating and despicable as 9/11 was, this hurricane is going to shatter that in a heartbeat. People have not only lost lives, but their homes, valuables, jobs, cities. This is not shit that is going to be recovered in a mere two months. This is lost forever to these people. I cannot even begin to know how all of them are feeling in this time because I have never gone through anything like this. And hopefully, I will not have to. I am a bit upset at myself because unfortunately in my financial situation, I can't really afford to send any money or help to them. Thank god there are people that have the ability and the finances to help. Warrick Dunn, RB for the Falcons who was named the NFL man of they year in 2004 for all the community stuff he has done has asked every NFL player to donate $5k to help fight the devastation. Deion Sanders asked every professional athlete to donate $1k. Now you might say they are just asking for others to do something. NO. Dunn has already done so much for his hometown in Louisiana sending all sorts of supplies and Deion along with a couple of his teammates sent the same as well. They can't do it alone, but they have the voice to stand up and to try to get their fellow players who also have the ability to do something.

In my previous post, I put up lyrics to a song Chuck D wrote yesterday in 45 min after a conversation with his dad. I thought it deserved its own post.

I have spent my entrie Saturday morning reading up and watching clips of Kanye West on the NBC telethon for relief. I did not watch any TV last night when i got home from work so I had no idea what had happened until I saw it on the internet. If you havent seen or heard it, here is one clip.

A lot of people are calling him selfish and only doing this to sell more albums, but if you really look at the video, you can tell he is really nervous and shook. All the media outlets have already written their articles saying that Kanye ruined the telethon and what he did was disgusting, but the man was speaking his mind and should be applauded for it. Now, what he said isn't revolutionary. Everyone should already know that Bush doesn't give one fuck about blacks or poor people. But, that he took his stance on such a big network and had the balls to be up there and say it, was pretty awesome. Fuck everybody who is going to trash him for being anti-American. Wait till Bill O'reilly starts talking about this. Fuck him too. You could tell Kanye was speaking from his heart because his explanation was not very polished and definitely did not sound rehearsed. Bush's lack of immediate response to this is unforgivable and could have prevented some of the lasting devastation.

What do youall think about this?

These are true words of wisdom

2005-09-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

HELL NO, WE AINT ALLRIGHT

New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night
Hell NO, we Aint Allright

Now all these press conferences
breakin news alerts
this just in
while your government looks
for a war to win
flames from the blame game, names?
where do i begin?
walls closin in
get some help to my kin
Who cares?
while the rest of the bushnation stares
as the drama unfolds
as we the people under the stares
50% of this son of a bush nation
is like hatin on haiti
an settin up assasinations
ask Pat Robertson- quiz him.....
...smells like terrorism.
racism in the news
still one sided news
saying whites find food
prey for the national guard ready to shoot
cause them blacks loot

New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night
Hell NO, we Aint Allright

Fires , earthquakes, tsunamis
i dont mean to scare
wasnt this written somewhere?
disgraces all i see is black faces
moved out to all these places
emergency state
corpses, alligators and snakes
big difference
between this haze
and them diamonds on the VMAs
we better look
whats really important
under this sun
especially if you over 21
this aint no tv show
this aint no video
this is really real
beyond them same ol 'keep it real'
quotes from them Tv stars drivin big rim cars
'streets be floodin, 'b'
no matter where you at, no gas
driving is a luxury
urgency
state of emergency
shows somebodys government
is far from reality....

New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night
Hell NO, we Aint Allright

I see here we be the new faces of refugees
who aint even overseas but here on our knees
forget the plasma TV-aint no electricity
new worlds upside down-and out of order
shelter? food? wsssup, wheres the water?
no answers from disaster them masses hurtin
so who the fk we call?--Halliburton?
son of a bush, how you gonna trust that cat?
to fix sht
when help is stuck in Iraq?
makin war plans takin more stands
in Afganistan
2000 soldiers dyin in the sand
but thats over there, right?
now what's over here
is a noise so loud
that some cant hear
but on TV i can see
bunches of people
lookin just like me..

Chuck D/ Public Enemy September 2 2005

Vegas, Baby!

2005-08-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

What up ya'll. Its been so long!

So much shit has happened since my last post. None of which is better than the annual summer Vegas bash. This years trip involved the biggest group of all. At one point, we were 18 people in 3 different rooms. Boy, Excalibur sure does love us. We left on Thursday morning and once we got there we had to start off with Ugly Sticks! And if you dont know what those are, you have never been to Vegas with me. The first night we headed to Studio 54, arguably the best club I have ever been to. We had a great time as always and topped off the night with Pancakes and Beer. YES.

The second night we went to Club Ice and we got smashed. That is when Long and Gary showed up and we all got hammered together. It felt like Freshman/Sophomore year again. Unfortunately, our ladies werent having as much fun as we were that night, but that didnt stop us. Too many Captain shots and Gary's bright idea to chase a shot of Captain with a Mind Eraser. That was classic! Somehow we got home that night and the next mornign found out that Long made a complete ass out of himself in front of some girls they were staying with and got he and Gary kicked out of their rooms. Typical Long. I can't realy say I am surprised.

The last night we headed over to Club Pure. It is a pretty amazing venue, especially the outdoor patio overlooking the srip and Shaq was there as well. John shook his hand and got a picture taken. I found out later that Shaq is co-owner of the club with my fellow Armenian Angre Agassi. For a brief moment that night, I was in awe and thought that Shaq was the man. Thank god I came to my senses and realized how much I dislike him. But, I have to admit. For a good hour, I was impressed.

That signaled the end of our trip pretty much. I would say that was the least I have drank for a 3 night trip to Vegas and besides the second night at Ice, I wouldnt say I really got hammered at any other point. I can't really explain the reason why, but thats just how things worked out. I still had a great time and definitely enjoyed the company of people I was with.

This post is dedicated to my boy John Deck, my #1 blog fan. He's been on my ass constantly to get this thing back and running. And I finally have. This is for you buddy. SURPRISE!

what a weekend!

2005-07-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

This was by far the best weekend I have had for awhile. Friday was our first annual International Beer Festival. It was supposed to be a hang out and discuss the fine tastes of beer from around the world, but it actually turned into quite a party. It was fun seeing people we havent seen for months. I miss hanging out with the crowd. We spent so much time over the past few years hanging out and now it seems like everyone has gone there separate ways. Don't get me wrong. I love kickin it with my roommates all the time, but it seems like we don't really hang out with a bigger group anymore. We need to throw the net out and attract different people. Get a bigger network out there.

I think Dennis is really good at that. He has so many different groups/networks that he is with and it definitely makes for better variety and options of stuff to do. I joined myspace this week mainly because I heard about how many girls you can meet. Although I dont seem myself being as successful as the others, it should still be cool. We'll see what happens with that. If ya'll are on there, do a search for me and add me to your friends. I need more friends on there.

Saturday, we headed out to Fiesta Island and the Over the Line Tournament. That was amazing. We boozed it up even more and met all the beautiful ladies of San Diego. We will hopefully be participating next year becasue the game just seems perfect for us. We came back around 6ish and passed out for a few years, got up and John, Pacey and I got 22's and chilled with the hookah for the rest of the night. It was a great way to end the night.

Sunday, just when i thought the weekend was over, here comes John Deck from work energized and focused to keep the spirit alive with champagne and captain morgan. All in all, my body really hated me this weekend but I had an awesome time. That's what i gotta do during the weekends, because during the week i gotta get up so early.

This week is planning Vegas for Aug 18-21. If you would like to go, let me know and we can coordinate it. There will be lots of debaucherry and a lot of fun.

Peace.

Recap

2005-07-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been awhile. I thought this would be a good time to write in it since I am sitting here at work and have nothing to do. I finally got a real job working at NASSCO as a claims analyst and getting a decent paycheck. I have to say my life is looking bigger and brighter every day and let's hope it continues that way.

This weekend is gonna be good 3 day weekend. Mr. Casey Fenton is coming down for our boy Mill's bday bash and whenever we get together, all hell breaks loose. If only Mikah was coming as well, then thing would have gotten crazy. Who knows what would happen? I might go to Rosarito tongiht with Dennis and check out Papas and Beer for the first time since our spring break trip last year. That should be fun.

I went to my soon to be brother-in-law's brother's wedding last saturday back home in Glendale. It was pretty fun to be ther and enjoy it with them and also hear about the wedding plans for my sister. Her and my mom are pretty excited about it and they are gonna go all out. The only drawback to this is the fact that i have to hear everyone mention that I am next and when I am gettin married? HA. It sounds too funny to me. I am a good 5 years away, unless some attractive lady comes along and completely wows me.

This is gonna be a good summer I think. Despite the fact that I sleep earlier on weeknights and get up at teh crack of dawn, I feel that I will be having a great time. It just means the weekends are that much more important.

Peace.

More shit about me

2005-06-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

What is your favorite day of the week?	Saturday
Whats your all time favorite TV show?	Fresh Prince
Favorite food?	California Burrito from Robertos #1 on Miramar Rd.
If you could do one thing at this moment, what would you do?	Sleep
What are your biggest fears?	Dont think about that shit
What are you most thankful for?	Health
Favorite subject?	P.E.
One thing you cannot leave the house without	Underwear
What do you spend most of your time doing?	Stupid surverys like these
Favorite holiday?	Thanksgiving
Describe yourself in one word.	Articulate
Name your favorite actress/actor.	Denzel's my boy
Name your favorite singer/band	I dont have one favorite, just lots of em I enjoy
How do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years?	Rich
What class are you failing?	No classes for me forever...hopefully
Name a person who always believed in you.	My mom i guess
Favorite restuarant?	Robertos (why I love Diego)
Favorite drink?	Mad dog 20/20 or Captain and Coke
Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera?	Britney is da bomb
Nysnc or Backstreet boys?	Didnt N'Sync have an alkaholik?
Jesse McCartney or Chris Trousdale?	Who?
Justin Timberlake or Ashton Kutcher?	I dislike them both
What is your favorite color?	Blue
Whats the color of your room?	White
You love your	family
Your obsessed with	music
You hate	people who are always late
Why are you taking this survery?	Bored
Where do you want to live?	Chicago (Bulls season tickets!!!!)
What'd you eat today?	Dim Sum
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Get to know me

2005-06-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

*TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey*
Name:	Dre
Birthday:	9/11/81
Birthplace:	Iran
Current Location:	San Diego
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Black
Height:	6'5"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	Southpaw
Your Heritage:	Armenian
The Shoes You Wore Today:	No shoes, only flip flops
Your Weakness:	Spending money I don't have
Your Fears:	Dont live life that way
Your Perfect Pizza:	Pepperoni
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	Make money
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	Nice
Thoughts First Waking Up:	I gotta piss
Your Best Physical Feature:	Wouldnt the ladies know better?
Your Bedtime:	When I passout from all the drinking I do
Your Most Missed Memory:	Walking to Sears with my sister and grandma and getting a bag of popcorn from the stand
Pepsi or Coke:	Coke
MacDonalds or Burger King:	Mickey Deez
Single or Group Dates:	What the fuck are group dates?
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	No thanks
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Vanilla
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Yoohoo
Do you Smoke:	Not cigarrettes
Do you Swear:	All the fuckin time
Do you Sing:	Yup, my roommates love it
Do you Shower Daily:	I think I have to
Have you Been in Love:	No
Do you want to go to College:	Been there, done that
Do you want to get Married:	Yes
Do you belive in yourself:	Fo shizzle
Do you get Motion Sickness:	Not really
Do you think you are Attractive:	Yup
Are you a Health Freak:	Uhh, me? Haha
Do you get along with your Parents:	All the time
Do you like Thunderstorms:	No
Do you play an Instrument:	I used to spin/DJ till my equipment got jacked
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	Past month? How about 20 minutes ago? YES
In the past month have you Smoked:	3 or 4 Hours Ago
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	What kind of drugs?
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	Nope, definitely a dry spell
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	I gots no moeny = no trips to the mall
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	No, but i did just eat a box of EL Fudge cookies
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	Yes
In the past month have you been on Stage:	No
In the past month have you been Dumped:	No, you cant get dumped if you dont have a girl
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	No, but many things have been stolen from me
Ever been Drunk:	Welcome to my life
Ever been called a Tease:	No
Ever been Beaten up:	No
Ever Shoplifted:	No
How do you want to Die:	No
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	Run my own company
What country would you most like to Visit:	Brazil, bring on the babes
*In a Boy/Girl..*
Favourite Eye Color:	Brown
Favourite Hair Color:	Brown
Short or Long Hair:	Long
Height:	Anything above 5'10 is ideal
Weight:	Greater than 120
Best Clothing Style:	Basketball shorts and t shirt
Number of Drugs I have taken:	Illegal-1 thats all i needed
Number of CDs I own:	~100 (90 of which are hip hop)
Number of Piercings:	0
Number of Tattoos:	0
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	0
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

"I'm an underground cat, but still love money and cars"

2005-05-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

This line is so true. Evidence from Dilated said it. There's a misconception that just because you are an underground artist/MC/ or a fan of it(like myself), that you are very pure and only like important things. Hell, I am a greedy bastard. I love money and love spending it to get things for myself. I want the nicest house, the nicest car, and the nicest girl (well I guess I can't really buy that, or can I?) but theres a distinction when it comes to making or listening to music. I can value music as an artform and would pick things I like that make me think and bring out emtions, and also get an understanding of the artist and what he is trying to express. Thats where some people are different. They see music as something that fits the background nicely and makes you happy and feel good. Thats fine. But I guess I am different.

I missed the Dilated show in downtown SD last night, not becasue I had an early morning interview but because my ass is broke. I wish I could have gone becasue they put on a good show and the guest appearances were people I wanted to check out as well. Oh well. Common. June 8th. NO WAY I am missing this show. BTW, his album comes out on Tuesday and I have the mp3s of it already so I definitely have given it a few listens already. I could post a full review, song by song, but whats the point on this blog. Nobody would really care anyway. Maybe one or two of my readers would. But it's pretty damn good and everyone should go out and BUY DAT SHIT.

I'll close with an old verse from Common off of Soundbombing II.

Yo yo, some get Range Rovers, some religion change-over
Angel on my main shoulder tellin me remain sober
Token nigga, game's over ain't no payola in freestyle
In battles, I'm warring/Warren like a G-Child
Searchin for the child in me, this style in me
This release is like the piece that's now in me
They tried to 'sassinate me god, like Martin on the bal-cony
Lyrically I put a hit on em, cuz I'm the style-Nitty
Catch a flick at the Liquid Kitty
Tryin to get a chick to kick it wit me till the tilt
Told her my Chamber's like Wilt
Built wit her for a sec, let her know I had respect
Less than a hour she was givin me neck, yo I'm still gettin mine...

Its been awhile

2005-05-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

It has been.

I cant front. I kinda forgot about the blog in between working and moving and watching my Bulls in the playoffs for the first time in 6 years.

But, I am back. Unfortunately the Bulls are out of the playoffs. I am very happy with this season and the way our young guys played and developed. We are only going to get better. But the last two games against Washington were tough games to watch and to forget. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes and make a run next year.

Finally after a few month drought, good hip hop shows are coming to SD. Too Short on May 12 at 4thandB. Dilated Peoples on May 18 at the new House of Blues and Common on June 8. If you are 21, id recommend to go see these shows because they are gonna be off the heezy. Especially Common. New Common album =15 more days!

Last week was a tough week as we had a break in at our old house before we officialy moved out of there and our turntables and records were stolen. It was a rough night but after talking to parents/friends I have tried to move on from it. I will get new ones once I am in better financial standing, but it's hard to think of all the time and money I spent building up my record collection to have some fucker take it from me. Karma. Thats all I got to say. That guy will get his.

Today is Mothers Day. I called my mom earlier and got a chance to talk to my aunts and grandma as they were all hanging out together. It is always nice to talk to them and tell them how much they are loved and appreciated. Ya I know I only live two hours away and didnt have anything major that kept me from driving up there so i prolly shouldve gone up there, but I think a good phone call can do wonders.

Check out: System of a Down - B.Y.O.B.
pretty sick song
Their album comes out in 8 days! Go out and support my fellow Armenians.

We got a house

2005-04-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

Finally. Our wait is over. We are not gonna be homeless come May. I still have yet to see the inside of it but I'm sure the boys know what they are doing. We move in on the 22nd. Maybe we can keep this house in somewhat non-filthy state come a couple months from now. It is across the street from places such as 7-eleven, the greatest liquor store ever, and the infamous Mira Mesa Inn. Man, just when we thought our hardcore drinkin days were over. OOPS!

What is your Wu-tang name???

http://test.recordstore.com/wuname/wuname.pl/wuname.pl

Mine is Well-Liked Assman.

Not too impressed with this but there are excellent opportunities for awesomeness.

House of Blues opened up a new venue in Downtown San Diego. That is awesome concerning the lack of good venues and good shows here lately.

May 18th - Dilated Peoples $25

On the heels of my last post, this is one of the many reasons why I can make such a bold statement.

"Yo...on The Amen, Corner I stood lookin at my former hood
Felt the spirit in the wind, knew my friend was gone for good
Threw dirt on the casket, the hurt, I couldn't mask it
Mixin down emotions, struggle I hadn't mastered
I coreograph seven steps to heaven
And hell, waiting to exhale and make the bread leavened
Veteran of a cold war It's Chica-I-go for
What I know or, what's known
So some days I take the bus home, just to touch home
From the crib I spend months gone
Sat by the window with a clutched dome listenin to shorties cuss long
Young girls with weak minds, but they butt strong
Tried to call, or at least beep the Lord, but didn't have a touch-tone
It's a dog-eat-dog world, you gotta mush on
Some of this land I must own
Outta the city, they want us gone
Tearin down the 'jects creatin plush homes
My circumstance is between Cabrini and Love Jones
Surrounded by hate, yet I love home
Ask my God how he thought travellin the world sound
Found it hard to imagine he hadn't been past downtown
It's deep, I heard the city breathe in its sleep
Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep
Deep, I heard my man breathe in his sleep
Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep"

Common

2005-04-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

The more I listen to Hip-Hop, The more I listen to Common,

The more I tend to believe that Common is the greatest MC of all Time.

Common - B.E. Coming May 24th, 2005

Disgusted

2005-04-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well its been awhile since I wrote in this and I think it's fitting that today is the day. Arguably one of the worst days I can remember. We had the Rho sorority party at our pad and although the party was a sucess and I had lots of fun, the night (early morning) ended rather terribly. Amy's wallet was taken from her purse that was in my room and my digital camera was taken from the turntables area. I tried to restep my steps from last night to see if I misplaced it or not but I couldnt think of anything. Then when Diana came by to pick up the keg shells, we realized that someone had jacked the second keg that was still full of beer. This revelation led me to believe that my camera was definitely stolen. To top it all off, we found out today that we didnt get the 6 bedroom house we were applying for and counting on to live at when we moved out at the end of this month. This seems like the biggest issue in my life at the moment, but somehow I can not stop thinking about the shit getting stolen.

I am pissed that my camera got stolen especially because it is expensive equipment and there is no way I can afford to get a new one right now with my situation. $200 is not easy to come by these days. But more importantly it is the fact that some fool came into my house and thought he could take whatever the fuck he wanted to and didnt give a single thought to it. Also I could tell that some of my boxes, stuff had been looked through because they had either been moved or left opened. Who knows what other shit this guy would've taken if he had an extra second or I had soemthing he wanted. That makes me upset. I would think that the same person/group was part of the 3 items being stolen and they also used Amy's credit card to buy gas after they left our house.

I thought I knew who stole the wallet, which he denied vehemently, but after finding out about my camera and the keg, I can't be so sure anymore. And I am not gonna go around accusing people of shit when Im not sure of it. But, I need to find out who it was and beat the shit out of them.

This leads me to our house situation. No more 6 bedrooms. All 5 bedrooms are over our price range. 4 bedroom means two people have to share a room again. There arent two people that want to share a room in our group anymore. We are in a huge mess at this point but all I can think about is this fucker that stole my shit. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me. I have never had anything stolen before (especially an expensive digital camera) and really dont like the way it makes me feel. Today has been an angry day.

Good weekend

2005-03-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

I went home this past weekend. It had been some time since I had been home. Over two months. It was defintely nice seeing my family including all my cousins. It was my moms bday last week so I went and bought a gift for her on behalf of me and my sister. We had a good time, especially getting together and doing more discussion concerning my sisters wedding next june. The only negative that comes out of this engagement is the constant references and questions from family members about when I am getting married. PLEASE STOP! I am not ready for marriage. I do not even have a serious girlfriend. I can barely take care of myself at this moment in my life. The more I think about it, it seems like I will be more of a late twenties/early thirties marriage. That seems to be the most reasonable for me.

But anyway, today was a fun day. JD, Mills and myself took a little trip to PB today and hit up Sinbads, the hookah bar. The beers are ridiculously cheap so we proceeded to get faded. We had some good talks about various subjects. It seems like recently, we have been doing a lot of that. I can say that I have grown up a lot in the last year of my life dealing with some of the things I have gone through and it has definitely given me a better grasp of other people as well. That's not to say our conversations rivaled Einstein, but we seem to discuss things that we would never do sitting around drinking beer. I have more fun these days, chilling with buddies in a quiet relaxed setting drinking some beers and hanging. It didnt hurt that their jukebox has some dope hip hop on there so I had to proceed to put 6 dollars in to pick 20 of my favorite songs.
Through all this, I noticed a couple girls that were there that seemed to be digging my collection and adding some of their own that I dug. Now, we never went over to talk to them cuz we were in our setting and im sure they were just fine in theirs and I didnt find the women all that attractive, but I did realize that a woman's taste in music is a huge factor for me. Not necesarily does that mean that they have to listen to everything I listen to (that is dope though, and is much appreciated) but that they can delve beyond the radio and its BS and find other artists that are good. I think ultimately I cannot see myself with someone long-term that is into all the pop/top 40 stuff. Girls I meet that are like that annoy the fuck outta me. But on the other hand, it's so hard to find women that do like the music I like that when I come across someone like that (like today) it's a pleasant surprise, but also makes me skeptical that I can end up wiht someone like that.

We are moving at the end of april. We saw a house nearby our existing house that is 6 bedroom, 3 bath that is dope. I actually only saw pics since i was out of town but it looks dope and we are applying for it in the next day or two. So wish us luck with that.

Common - The Corner (early candidate for video of the year 2005)
peep it!

Late night words

2005-02-26T02:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I just lost another five to the guys in poker. I feel that I am such a better poker player now than i was a month or two ago, but playing lately has not panned out for me. I can just blame it on not getting the cards. And I WILL. Anyway, who wants to go to VEGAS for Spring Break??? John and I are getting this planned, so hop on board before you get left out. Leaving March 21 till the 24th, hopefully staying at Excalibur Hotel and Casino. I can't wait to get back to my third home (behind LA and SD) and see how its doin.

I also want to go to Europe or South America this summer. That is definitely enhanced with hearing about Dennis' trip to Venezuela and hearing about all these women. Ooh-WEE!

I want to make a return trip to Armenia again. I have grown up so much since the only time i was there, 5 years ago and feel I would be able to experience a lot more this time. It's one thing going to a third world country that you have no ties to and seeing the poverty, crime, prostitution, etc but it's another when its your own native country and people. It motivates you to want to go back and help out any little way you can. And although I do not have the resources or capital to make that happen right now, I along with my sister and others, definitely have in mind to one day make that happen. And we will.

I got a nice response from my last post about if people were really reading my blog. It was nice to hear from a couple people that they read my shit. Keep up the good work. All five of you. HAHA.

We are in the second round of the A Prime IM Basketball Playoffs. We won the first round by 21 over an all-asian squad who must have been in a really crappy league if they won it cuz they were terrible. We didnt play our best game, well I didnt personally, but we still dominated. Next game, Sunday at 10pm should be tougher since we scouted the team and one of their players i guess works at CV now. We are four wins away from the championship!

Is anyone really reading this?

2005-02-14T01:57:00.000-08:00

Yes. yes I know. It's been awhile since I wrote in this. But I am really wondering. Did anyone notice? I only know of one person that has read my blog yet. So are there really people out there that signed on every day and checked my blog to read my wisdom only to get dissapointed that I hadn't. I would really like to know.

Well anyway, I spent all weekend playing poker. Either online or with friends and I did pretty well. I've been making some nice change so thats always nice. I feel consumed by poker. I wake up every morning and wonder if I can get a game of poker in before I do anything esle. And lately since I have had some more spare time, I have.

I was watching part of the Grammy's tonight and although I still think they know shit about real music, especially when it comes to hip hop, they did get the rap album of the year award right for a change. Kanye put out the BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR in my opinion and the Grammy's finally were able to get the rap album of the year award right for a change. I will be the first to admit that Kanye isn't one of the best skilled rappers out, but the album he made was almost perfect. And he should be given all the praise for it. So in honor of the Grammy's I will post my own awards: The DRE Awards

Album of the year: Kanye West - College Dropout
Runner up: Nas - Streets Disciple

Although I loved Nas's album, you cant deny Kanye with this one. I explained earlier.

Song of the year: Supastition - The Williams
Runner ups: Royce 5'9 - TODAY and Masta Ace - Beautiful

The two songs I played most on my winamp playlist out of the 1000 songs I have were the two runner ups in this category, but had to go with Supastition. Everyone can relate to that song, dealing with money and job problems. Especially when I have dealt with that myself over the past couple months, it makes me appreciate the song even more.

Video of the year: Talib Kweli - I Try
Runner up: Ludacris - Get Back

Luda consistently has the best videos out and this one is no different, especially given that Too Short and Fatlip from the Pharcyde made big guest appearances, but Kweli definitely set himself apart with the story of the young boy getting harrassed by bullies, starting to write his own rhymes about his feelings, and having the bullies read his rhymes and understand where he's coming from and become his friends. Yes, yes. I know sounds mad cheesy. But, that only means you havent seen the video.

Best MC of the year: Black Thought (from the Roots)
Runner up: Pep Luv (from the Hieroglyphics)

I would say that Pep Luv arguably became one of my favorite MC's, if not my favorite this past year. Not only from listening to his solo album that came out two years ago, but the work he did on the new Hiero album. But, you can't deny that Black Thought ripped apart all his rhymes on the Roots album. By far, his best lyrical work, on any Roots album and for that he deserves this spot. Just listen to Web, which is a 3 minute continous rhyme with no hook or breaks in between.

Lifetime Acheivement Award: ODB, Big Baby Jesus, Dirt Mcgirt, Osiris,

Yes, those are all the same person. Rest in Peace Ol' Dirty Bastard. It's a shame he had to pass, but he definitely gave us great years, great music, and great comedy.

Best Live Show: The Roots (Belly Up Tavern, HOB Anaheim Feb.13-14)
Runner up: Tha Alkaholiks (L5)

Yes. I saw them two nights in a row, in two different cities. And I wish I could see them every night. Arguably the best performance I have seen from them out of the 10-15 times I have seen them. Tha Liks show was awesome as well given the fact that we were front and center slappin fives with Tash and J-Ro and John ended up on stage and won a beer drinking contest. Classic Night! But, you can never outshine The Roots when it comes to live performance.

Best Musical Moment: Tribe Called Quest reunion show (San Diego Street Scene)
Runner up: Wu-Tang Clan Reunion concert (Rock the Bells, LA)

Any year, I would bet that nothing would be able to top a show where all 9 members of Wu-tang were there including ODB's last stage performance ever! But something did. I got into Tribe around the same time they broke up so I assumed I would never see them live. So when they were billed for the lineup I was not going to miss it. I almost ended up going to the show by myself because my roommates ended up bailing out. Unfortunately I got some friends to go with me. This was one of the best moments of my life. No BS. It was amazing seeing Tip and Phife on stage together. It looked like they had never broken up. They played almost everything I can imagine including closing the show with Award Tour (one of my top 5 songs of all time). Words really can't describe my true feelings, but I tried to do my best.

Well that was my 2004 DRE Awards, and yes it was dominated by Hip-Hop. If you know me, you are not suprised one bit.

2005 Predictions: The one album I am anticipating heavily has got to be the new Common album, which will be primarily produced by Kanye and J-Dilla. I've heard two songs off of it and I can predict that it will be my choice for Album of the Year. But it can get some stiff competition if Kanye, Brother Ali, Outkast, and The Roots are able to get their new albums ready and out in time. We will have to see.

Goin down memory lane

2005-01-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

Well Sat night we had a party at our pad for Joel's B-day. It brought me back to sophomore year. Arguably the greatest year of my life. It was awesome seeing a lot of people I hadn't seen for a while and all of us hanging out together. Gary, Long, Joel, Maureen, Lily, Katie, Aileen, Michelle, etc. I had a blast reminiscing and hanging out. It was a nice change to our usual scene and crowd.

It made me think of that year. Living at Goldberg Hall with Long, Jay and Jeff. We got drunk every night staying up watching ERCTV and calling in and requesting Shaq and Nate Dogg videos. Those guys on the show knew who we were and expected us to call every week. It was good times. Talking with Long last night,made me understand him better over the last two years and might have lightened my strong opinion of the situation. Now that Gary is back in town and Spencer is a lot more involved with us, we will see more of Long and get the crew back together. We also got Fisticuffs (JD) joined in and soon Dennis will be back from South America. It seems like the only person missing is Mikah (Hint, hint!).

Songs of the Day: Outkast - Da Art of Storytellin Part 1 and 2
(two of the most underrated Outkast songs)

Random Drunken thoughts

2005-01-28T01:30:00.000-08:00

Well today was a big day for me. I finally got my interview with Raytheon that I have been after for about 5 months now. It's funny because I had looked forward to this opportunity and this day to hopefully get a job with them. Anytime someone asked me my job situation, even when it looked grim, I mentioned: I'm waiting for my interview with Raytheon. Well now, that is over. No longer can I use that excuse.
If i get the job, the last year of my life will not matter anymore. Who cares I went from job to job, doing things I am well over-qualified for and working with the biggest idiots on the planet, because I finally have a fullfilling and well paying job.
If I don't get the job, I am back at zero, worse than before because now if people ask me how the job search is going, I don't have the soon to be interview with Rayhteon to throw at them. I have nothing to throw at them. I do not know what I can take a step towards. NOTHING. The last year of my life would be over-heightened. A part of me would wish that I hadn't interviewed yet with them and I was still waiting to hear from them.

Nevertheless, you can tell that I am pretty anxious to hear back from them. I havent had a stressfull nights sleep for a really long time. Until last night. I actually had a great time talking and meeting all the people I would possibly work with if I got the position. They all seemed great.

I think this past year has been a big development period for me with regards to character and taking things for granted. On top of the list of topics that helped me was my aunt's dedication to beating breast cancer. She is currently undergoing severe chemotherapy to fight the resurgence of the cancer. Instead of being down and depressed, she has been so strong through it all. Now granted I like two hours away and do not get to see her that much. But when I have, she still has her uplifting spirit and great sense of humor I have always known. It might actually be at a higher level than before. During the holidays, she was the first one to get up and dance and sing and get everyone to accompany her. This strength is not something you can teach. It has to come from within and seeing it has only given me a great appreciation for her. I am not the most religious person but I can honsetly say that I have prayed one time over the past 5 years, and that was the day I found out she had breast cancer.

My sister got engaged this past month to the guy she has been with for almost 1o years now. I've known Armen for pretty much the whole time. So has my whole family. It was something that was inevitable. But finding out that it was actually official definitely got me happy and thinking. I love the guy. I could not imagine her finding a better guy to be part of our family. I can remember years ago when I first got Gran Turismo for PS, where he would come by to supposedly hang out wiht my sis, but would end up playing GT with me for hours trying to build up our cars. I can remember tagging along with them when they went out sometimes on weekends when I didnt have anyone else to hang out with and getting stuck in the back of his GTI (somehting i would never be able to fit in today). He was not just my sisters boyfriend, but he was my friend as well, a close one. And through all that I can honselty say that my sister is in good hands. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

This also got me thinking about how I am nowhere near ready for marriage at 23. I do not have a career and do not have someone where I feel I can spend my life with. That is not to say that I would not be ready if the right person came along. When it does, I only hope I find someone that I am comfortable with and can have as good of a relationship as my sister and her fiancee have.

Well it looks like I have spoken too much already and who knows if i made any sesne at all with my blabbing.

Brother Ali - Star Quality

Songs of the day

2005-01-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

Goodie Mob - Beautiful Skin
Goodie Mob - In Due Time w/ Outkast

strugglin just a part of my day
many obstacles have been placed in my way
i know the only reason I make it through
is because I never stop believin in you
some people wonder why we here in the first place
cuz they have never seen your face
but even when you pray the next day you gotta try
and wait for nobody to come down out of the sky
you gotta realize that the world today
you can only do your best and let him do the rest
you got your life, you got your help
so quit procastinating and push it yourself

Weekend Wrapup

2005-01-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

My weekend was filled with a lot of beer-drinking and sports watching, culminated by the NFL conference championships. Although the Eagles lost, I am happy about the Pats taking care of the Steelers because I will enjoy seeing the Eagles get their butts kicked in the SuperBowl.

Note to the city of Philadelphia: Just because you finally got lucky and played a crappy team in the conference championships doesnt mean you did something great. Whoopty-dooo. They finally made the SuperBowl. Now they can go get slaughtered, but hey they didnt lose in the NFC championship game again.

We just got TiVo hooked up in our house and it is just amazing. Pausing Live TV is too much. What will they think of next? John has taken a special liking to it since he only had a crappy VCR growing up in T-Town and its functions were limited. Watching a sporting event and being able to rewind to see a play again is pretty damn nice. The main reason we got TiVo is because we have our IM basketball games Monday nights at 10 and we would miss episodes of the new season on 24, which by the way is AWESOME! But now that we know the endless possibilities of this machine, it will be used constantly.

Friday night, we headed out to a party in Clairemont and it turned out to be a good party, better than expected. It was great catching up with old friends that I knew from Earls Place and others but in the back of my mind I felt so old hanging with all these college students. Not to say that I am that much older than them, but it still feels weird.

Saturday night was quite a night of debaucherry at the pad. We had team case race with me and Soultrayne (Peter Mills) taking home the trophy beating out the teams of Fisticuffs (John Deck) and Pacey and TechFormula (Jay) and Feezy. Considering that Feezy was pussin it up and Pacey was drinking Guiness, it was an easy competition for us to say the least. After that, we proceeded to sing along to Meatloaf, Mighty Casey, and Too Short while certain individuals had no pants on. Eventually SoulTrayne ended up walking around the house with only a toolbelt on. Thats the kind of night it was.

Definitely a good weekend as always.

Last thoughts of the night:
Sometimes you get put in situations where a part of you wants you to do it and a part of you doesnt and you have to rely on your best judgment to make a decision. It might not please others and might make them question your judgment but ultimately it is about your own personal feelings. Sometimes you have to pass on something that at the time might be good, but you know that it is not the "right" way to go. At the end of the day you have to be able to look at yourself and like what you see and I can honestly say I can do that right now. Unfortunately, others might not agree with me and might handle the situation differently, but thats what makes them them and me me.

Am I really doing this?

2005-01-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

Well here we have it.

I never thought I would get to this point where I would actually sign up for this shit. But having read some of my other friends blogs/online journals recently I decided to go for it.

Now that's not to say that I will forget about this in a week and never use it again, but I think I'll use it more often. We shall see.

I do not really know these posts are going to go but I can be sure that it will usually revolve around my 3 greatest passions: Hip-Hop, Sports, and Drinkin Booze.

Along the way I am sure I will get into some more things and ideas. Who knows?