The Homebase!

Michigan Senate Seat Up for Grabs in 2006 http://www.freep.com/news/politics/butler24e_20050924.htm One of Michigan's two senators (both Dems), Debbie Stabenow, is up for re-election in '06.. the two primary GOP contenders include two pastors, one white, one black.. one's from Grand Rapids, michigan, the other from detroit.. Keith Butler, along with Andrew Merritt of Straight Gate, Wayne T. Jackson of Great Faith Ministries, Glenn Plummer of Ambassadors for Christ Church & CTN TV ministries and Marvin Winans of Perfecting Church have been among G.W. Bush's strongest local supporters (both vocally and $$$ ) since Bush became the GOP frontrunner for prez in '99.. I've been to Butler's main church (he has like, 7 total) a couple times.. mostly to humor female friends (and no, I didn't get any).. huge place, seats 20,000 easily, but I guess typical for such mega-ministries.. almost like going to a basketball game.. guy has a curiously southern accent for...

class continues, in Africana Studies: History of Work & African Americans.. Had a big debate in this class, concerning Madame CJ Walker & her cosmetics/beauty empire, and what it means/meant for black communities who participated in working for her and/or using her products. What did this mean, in comparison to American/White beauty standards? Did her entrepreneurship exacerbate self-image problems for African-Americans, or did it help to enhance self-image? Consider also the well-documented philanthropy of Ms. Walker.. Does that mitigate the 'issue', for those who think she represented a reinforcement of European-derived standards? Or does that even matter at all? In class, things really got out of hand, as the discussion wavered from discussing the time frame of Mme. Walker, to discussing today's society, which is of course, still deeply affected by European derived standards of beauty, law & morality. The discussion went further to discuss rap music, and...

school daze, '05 style-- back to school at WSU this semester; taking a course in African-American History 1865 - Present: "The History of African-Americans & Work": more or less looking at the history of African-Americans within various industries that have come up since the end of the Civil War. Right now I'm reading On Her Own Ground , a biography of Madam C.J. Walker by her granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles. A very good read so far. Looks as if the course is going to be reading-intensive, we'll be reading about a book every other week. Naturally; as if I didn't have enough things siphoning my money as it is. But, I guess that's just par for the course for your higher education: But-- $128 for 6 books? Egads! All the hustler-types out there need to leave the weed, crack, meth and heroin alone and start selling college textbooks! Stores are making a killing, and it's all legal , and the bad thing is, if the books you use are "unique" t...

Return of the Legends Part II--- September 3, 2005 Hey, I told you this was a two-night show, right? If you missed part 1, it's right below this blog- go ahead, read that one first, I'll wait here 'til you get back: hmm-hmm-hmm... (taps toes).. Back already? Cool beans. So here we go: Earlier that afternoon, I headed downtown to the annual International jazz festival- big chunks of downtown streets were blocked off, and several stages were set up between Compuware headquarters and Hart Plaza on the riverfront. Street vendors were set up along the lower Woodward strip (T-shirts, purses, jewelry, oils/incense, African art, etc.) and you had to buy tickets to get food from all the various food outlets selling stuff. Mingling around the festivities, unfortunately I missed the Ford Field Football Classic that’s been happening this past couple of years, finally bringing some HBCU football—and their bands—to Detroit. Close to show time, I finally made my way down to Chene Park. I...

Return of the legends, part 1: Friday, September 2, 2005: Well, alrighty then.. At last, the concert is here. As I was representing Northwest Indiana for the vast majority of my youth, I never really got the chance to see any hip-hop glitterati during the so-named Golden Age heyday of the Reagan/Bush pt. 1 era of performers (see the archives- http://hypestyleshomebase.blogspot.com/2004_04_01_hypestyleshomebase_archive.html ). So when these 'Return of the Legends' showcases started up last year, I was definitely down. Last year, the two-night lineup included Slick Rick, SugarHill Gang & Melle Mel, Special Ed, Nice & Smooth, & more. This time, there were over 10,000 people packed in at Chene Park, just east of downtown Detroit, situated on the Detroit riverfront. Boat owners set anchor near the outdoor amphitheater and got to see the show for free. The first act started promptly at 8:10 p.m., as MC Serch served as the host, introducing all the artists, and providing ...

Make Politicians Pay Attention: a sample letter that i've been emailing to various elected officials, those near me as well as national-- every little bit helps. a lot of these folks are running for re-election circa '06, so keep that in mind: To whom it may concern: I would like the federal (regional, local) relief efforts to be steppedup to help New Orleans and the other areas affected by the disaster: Some suggestions- For transportation-- appeal to corporations-- get bus companies like greyhound, trailways, etc., to donate buses for evacuations. similar things can be done: charter moving groups like U-Haul, etc. at the various temporary shelter sites, donated food can come from restaurants and food distribution services. All these companies can get tax credit for their donated resources. The Army, Navy, and Marines should be brought in tohelp get people out. Military helicopters can be usedto lift people in groups, and Navy and Coast Guard ships can be used to transpo...

Disaster for the South- Hurricane Katrina has devastated a big stretch of the U.S. Gulf Coast. Louisiana. Mississippi. Alabama. Even northwest Florida. By now, over 80% of New Orleans is underwater. Thousands are feared dead throughout the path of the storm. Cities are in states of chaos; water engulfing entire homes and neighborhoods. Clean water, toilet facilities are at minimum. Power is out most places. The bottom-feeding frenzy has already started, with some desperate folks turning to violent means to get what they want. I can empathize with most of those who are scrounging to get sustenance and shelter. Seeing folks grabbing food, drink, basic clothing, blankets, etc. is one thing—a TV set or car rims is another—where the hell are you gonna plug in the TV? What the hell are you gonna put those rims on? A bicycle? You’re flooded out, your neighbor’s flooded out, too. So even in the midst of this great disaster, some folks have their priorities twisted, by some unseen force. Just l...

My review of the Power to the People & the Beats release from Public Enemy- Artist: Public Enemy Title: Power to the People & the Beats : Public Enemy’s Greatest Hits Label: Def Jam/Universal Release Date: 8/2/05 Behind Enemy Lines: Public Enemy’s Best of LP shines . By Christopher 'HypeStyle' Currie Power to the People & the Beats: Public Enemy’s Greatest Hits arrives in stores over a decade after the band’s zenith, but perhaps there was no better time than this for it to come out. What can be said that hasn’t already been said about arguably hip-hop’s most influential band? Well, first of all, this isn’t the first best-of PE set to hit American shores. The first was part of Universal Music Group’s ongoing 20th Century Masters series, in 2001. Designed as a budget-minded sampler of various artists’ work, it was a nice attempt, but far from comprehensive. Entire albums were overlooked, and several key singles were bypassed in favor of lesser album cuts. Power to th...

An essay about Malcolm X that I banged out for school in less than a day, under stress.. the assignment is (PSY 200) is to "address to various aspects of human development: Physical, cognitive, emotional, personality, and moral. Select a current day or historical famous figure. Research the background of this person to determine what forces have impacted the figure's life. Distinguish between the influences of heredity and environment on their psychological development (e.g., moral, emotional, etc). What parenting practices and/or social support systems may have optimized their developmental growth and adjustment? Biography/Personality Subject: Malcolm X Malcolm X’s birth name was Malcolm Little. He was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm’s father Earl—by his accounts a tall, darker-skinned man—was an ordained minister in the Baptist faith and was a supporter of black Nationalist ideals, as espoused by seminal black leader/speaker lack Marcus Garvey. Accor...

"Lady! Your weave's blocking my view!" A suburban Michigan legislature elected official is introducing a bill that would require Michigan's movie theaters to post "real-start" times for films, so moviegoers can avoid the 'torture' of the now-standard 10-20 minute run of commercials and previews for other movies. For what its worth, I think this is the best thing in the world for black folks. At the risk of giving 'Colored People's Time' a free pass, in my experience, most people show up late to movies anyway-- so, let's say a flick starts at 6 p.m., if most people get there between 6:15 - 6:25, the movie's literally just starting, so it's not like they've really missed anything. And, based on my own admitted quasi-film scholar tendencies, I don't mind getting to stretch and relax in my seat (with arms outstretched to the adjacent seats) for a few minutes before the main attraction starts. ...a little bird told me of a ...

I can't believe I found this old rant of mine floating around somewhere-- I think this was from an old DaveyD.com message board, and apparently somebody picked it up and posted it elsewhere.. Circa 2000/01.. at the time, I think there was some kind of public "report card" delivered by the NAACP, about the lack of blacks on prime-time shows-- The WB was reaching it's zenith of "pretty white kids with problems" shows, NBC's "Friends"and the like was still da bomb (in suburbia and with hipster urban Anglos).. of course, UPN and WB had their default handful of black sitcoms (I'm thinking FOX had long since washed their hands of this genre), but still there were no functioning dramas anywhere with a mostly black cast except for Showtime's Soul Food .. Blacks on TV: Written & sent by HypeStyle So what do folks think about most of these prime-time shows on television? Buffy, Dawson's Creek, Popular, Freaks & Geeks, Odd Man Out, etc...

"Represent yo' clique! Represent yo' clique! Bia-biaaahhh!!!" Lil Jon, "Bia Bia" (radio version, of course) 50 Cent. G-Unit. The Game. Fat Joe. Jadakiss. Sheek. Jay-Z. Nas. Lil' Kim. Lil' Cease. Trillville. Lil' Scrappy. Lil' Flip. T.I. Chingy. Ludacris. It's hard to tell who doesn't have beef with anybody in hip-hop anymore. The whole posse thing—excuse me, clique—(though, I suspect most of these folks would spell it ‘click’ if you asked them), is just out of control. Why is the ultra-clique necessary to go out anywhere? A mild-mannered group of folks that happens to meet each other at the same spot is one thing—But imagine five SUV’s arriving at the same time, or two of those Hummer limousines. They come into the club or wherever, and their entourage/crew, official or unofficial, is like 15, 20, 25 deep; at least half of them smoke weed, and damn near all of them drink, and for most it’s not a thing where they’re con...

i skipped school for the summer, i'm going back in the fall.. things are going "okay", but my car (1994 cutlass) just flaked out on me-- apparently it needs a new fuel pump and it would take $450+ to have it fixed. But on top of that, part of the undercarriage is really rusty, and it would take even more money to replace that if it falls apart.. so i'm junking it, and starting to look for something else.. Damn, if it's not one thing..

school's going a little better this semester.. got to get some freelance writing gigs, though... and finish a midterm...

Here we go. Blog.com ... I truly debated in myself who to vote for.. I didn't want to vote for Bush.. But I didn't really love John Kerry, either.. I wasn't familiar with most of the other names... Nader I knew of, but I knew he had no chance, as did the others.. So I went with a 'protest' vote to clearly be against Bush, and have some substantive impact-- So I voted for Kerry.

...school has started back this semester. I haven't.. I dunno if i'm going to start back this semester.. again.. after problems early on this semester..

It's going to take time for me to get over this.. in a major way.. i just don't know.. i hope all his property ends up intact.. for his kids, if nothing else.. i want to explore the music he collected.. that's probably still going to be worth something in the future... having graduated from Berklee college of music in boston, he was always working part-time as a producer, with local acts.. he never got his 'break', alas..

anybody been stymied by food allergies? my allergies: eggs (i don't dare try substitutes; if they taste "like" eggs, then...) tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, macademias, cashews, pistachios, coconut, etc.; everything except peanuts, which technically are legumes..) at least i get to enjoy peanut butter.. 99% of fish (except, for whatever reason, pollock.. even then, i tend to only eat the frozen sticks/filets; i don't try eating fish at restaurants at all...); i can't even stand to smell it cooking.. soy (including the milk & other derivatives) the mild allergies (eggs, soy) make my tongue itch really badly, slightly aggravate my windpipe and give me monster cramps.. after which I have to recline in the restroom for a while.. the extreme allergies (fish, nuts) go even further, contracting my windpipe so severely i can't breathe.. the allergy extends to any recipe that involves any of the above.. which by and large make most pastri...

Comic Book History- The Hypestyle Universe I have always enjoyed reading comic books, even before I could ‘read’, as per the term. Being the youngest out of five—more specifically, having three older brothers- I got ahold of their cast-offs in various capacities- including whatever comic books they had. Combined with the various animated adventure shows on television, my taste for superhero fiction was stoked like a furnace. My earliest interests in drawing and relateds artwork tended to revolve around super-characters. In terms of collecting comic books on my own, that didn’t happen for several years. You see, for a long time I didn’t have an allowance, per se’. I received spending money on a sporadic basis, and usually outside the context of where comic books were available. Also, my mother (indeed, all the elders in my family) had grown up in poor backgrounds, and when they were kids, comic books were still 10 cents. By the time I was 10 years old, the average price had ris...

Rap concerts in Gary were few and far between, though.. in suburban Merrillville and beyond, certain theaters like the Holiday Star would advertise mainstream pop and country acts-- Toto, Kansas, Mickey Gilley, Starship, Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle.. but forget about rap, really.. and the Jacksons never, I mean NEVER, came back to Gary for any kind of homecoming concert-- the closest they came was Chicago during the Victory tour, and that sold out in like 3 hours.. but like a good soldier, I kept my Mike Jax posters on the wall... "He'll come back someday.. Just you wait and see..." whoo-boy... well-- Jermaine did once do an impromptu visit to their old family house, which caused a minor stampede, but I digress... Whenever I got to hear about some show, I either didn't have the money, didn't have a ride (mom went through about 4 hooptie cars between 6th grade and 9th.. the last of which sat rusting in the driveway until well into my senior year when she finally s...