Let Shyne Shine

During my absence from typing out my honest opinions and thoughts a lot of stuff has annoyed me, things which inspired this post.

Let's talk about a man whom I have a unbelievable amount of respect for. Let's talk about how a majority of people who go out of their way to say ridiculously negative things about Shyne are the same people who praise Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman. Shyne did real time not no "2 months in daycare then 10 months on house arrest" like all these "real" rappers who did "time" and then bragged about it. After doing damn near 10 years in prison, Shyne gets released and guess what...he sounds different.
What?!?! No way? Is it horrible? No. It's much better than whats considered "hot" by the masses. His lyrics and beat selections are very good. He did his time and now he's making music.

He's matured, what, did you expect him to get out of jail and talk about how he's been trapping or dancing when he was in a cage for the past decade? Shyne is and will remain one of the most respected rappers by a lot of artists in this fucked up industry. So while you're hating on Shyne, that wack ass rapper who's balls are resting on your chin is wishing they had half the respect that Shyne has. What's wrong with maturing? Grow the fuck up society. Anyways I came here to get this off my chest and post Shyne's street single off his upcoming def jam album "Guess Who". The song is dope as fuck in my opinion. So download it and enjoy good music or pretend you heard it and just hate because it's the popular thing to do. You people do know it's ok to have your own opinon right?

Shyne - Roller Song (download)

Also here's his handwritten lyrics of the song.

According to Plan

You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go "according to plan." Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all "part of the plan." - Heath Ledger as "The Joker" in The Dark Knight (2008)

There is an established order to the world. Since the beginnings of civilization, there always has been. Be it the Catholic Church, the British Empire or the American Government, there has always been some "higher" authority telling average men and women what they should and should not be. (Since the Western World considers itself superior, I'll deal only with it. Specifically America.)

With the inventions of the steam engine, airplane, automobile and television in the 19th and 20th Centuries, this began to change. Men began to think more for themselves and not their country. Philosophers like Sartre, Bergson, Nietzsche, Marx, Kierkegaard and Heidegger (along with other types of thinkers, such as Oscar Wilde and Voltaire) began to question the very nature of our existence to a point not seen since the Golden Age of the Greek Empire.

While the rise of technology gave birth to existentialism and other forms of free-minded expression, it also signaled the rise of war on a global scale. For the first time in our bloody history, men would have the means to completely obliterate his fellow man from the face of the Earth with the push of the button.



"Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."- J. Robert Oppenheimer, lead of the Manhattan Project (creators of the Atomic Bomb.)

The Second World War, along with the so-called "Cold War" that succeeded it, gave rise to a brand new and terrifying method of subjugation: the threat of global war. For posterity's sake, I will focus my lens on these dark times, when the threat of M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) was all it took to keep an entire country under control. After the end of the Cold War, they realized that a more subtle method was in order. The television.



The advent of mass media in the 1950's combined with the Reagan Revolution of the 80's combined to a rise in anti-intellectualism in the United States, a trend that continued through the 90s and into the 2000s, which may have been the dumbest decade in recorded history. This is a country not just of ignorance, but of prideful ignorance.



This culture of ignorance is not accidental. Those in power, be they government or corporate, do not wish for an educated and intelligent populace. They would much rather prefer you quiet, stupid and interested in what they have to sell. You may be thinking me overly-critical, but ask yourself one question. When was the last time you can remember someone in power asking you to think, to analyze? They tell you what to think, what to believe. "Freedom is the right to say that two plus two equals four," Winston Smith said. But what happens when those in power tell you it doesn't? What happens when two plus two equals five? Do you have the ability to fight for it? Will you stick by something no one else will? Will you resist? To me, this is the true meaning of intelligence.



You might say that I am paranoid. You might say that I'm grasping at straws, or that I'm seeing connections where there are none. Maybe I am.

But maybe I'm not.

You are not paying attention.-
Cosmis

Theme Music

Everyone has their own personal theme music. A song that "gets them." It sounds really corny/cliche when you hear it from someone else, but it always seems to ring true for you. "No, really, you don't understand. Nobody else goes through the kind of shit I go through!"

Disillusionment/cynicism aside, here are my theme songs.

Pixies- Where is My Mind?


Thom Yorke- The Eraser



The more you try to erase me (the more, the more), the more that I appear-
Cosmis

Riddle Me This

As none of you may know, I'm a pretty massive Batman fan, it probably being 3rd or 4th on "Topics I can school you in," along with LOST, American Professional Sports and Star Wars. Of all of Batman's Rogues Gallery, The Riddler has always been near the top for me. I really don't know why, he's really not a great villain. Maybe it's because he always drags out the intellectual best of the Dark Knight Detective, but I seriously love the Riddler. Imagine my joy when I heard the rumor that the Riddler would be the main villain in Christopher Nolan's third Batman film.



So, in commemoration of what will soon be an announcement on the Riddler, I've decided to do a run-down of the best candidates to portray the E. Nigma. And, no, Jim Carrey will not be one of them.

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Hugh Laurie: That's right, Dr. Gregory Motherfucking House (official name). He could definitely portray the proper amounts of genius and obsession. He would also be able to use his natural British accent for the role (I think it works for the character). Hell, we also know he can handle a cane.

David Tennant: A fan favorite, I must admit I'm not that familiar with Mr. Tennant, but I know he's a very good Dr. Who. That's more than good enough for me.

Johnny Depp: What's this? An intelligent yet insane character with a eccentric manner of speaking and dressing in a movie? Must be a Depp character then. Not to say I wouldn't welcome him as the Riddler, he's Johnny Depp. I'm just saying that it might be too...obvious of a choice. And if the Riddler is anything, it's unexpected.

Michael Emerson: LOST's Benjamin Linus, Emerson has certainly proven that he can play the cryptic villain. He certainly has the intelligence and the build. I'm not sure that he would ever really get an opportunity, or that he would accept, but it's a thought nonetheless.

Guy Pearce: Well we know he's familiar with Christopher Nolan. Kind of a ho hum choice, but once again, Nolan knows him well. It could be very good if done properly (I didn't think Heath Ledger would be very good at first, either).

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Another Nolan-ite (or at least, a future Nolan-ite) who fits the bill physically and intellectually. He's one of the few actors listed that I can readily picture in the Green Tux.

Timothy Olyphant: Probably one of the most underrated actors in all of Hollywood (which is a really outdated phrase considering how many films aren't made in Hollywood), Olyphant has 3 things going for him. Looks, acting ability and how awesome his name would look on the marquee. Bale. Freeman. Caine. Olyphant.

Casey Affleck: After careful consideration, I really think he might be the best choice. Anyone who's ever seen The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford knows that Affleck the Younger can really handle that obsessed/jealous vibe, especially while playing against a character of bigger stature. My only real concern is that his voice might not be Riddler-y enough, but then again, it would definitely be a departure.

Eddie Murphy: No.

It's a mystery. Broken into a jigsaw puzzle. Wrapped in a conundrum. Hidden inside a Chinese box. A riddle.
Cosmis

The Greatest

Balthus23's wonderfully awesome Jordan tribute.



The scary thing about this is that there are eight of these videos, each one as good as the last. And they all use different sets of highlights.


Jordan with the shot over Ehlo...
Cosmis