If it's not Raven, it's crap...

Maeckes - 2pw Lately, I think I've been quite mistaken about my temperament. I always thought I was a relatively laid back person for the most part. Also, I think that given some of the circumstances that I've found myself in as of late, I could be flipping out a lot more than I have been. See, I bet even some of you have been like, "You're flipping out? Seriously?" Yeah, sort of...internally. It kinda sucks. And some days, I can almost completely justify losing my shit and ripping some people a new asshole, but I don't. Why? Beats me. I guess, I'm just too fucking lazy on the one hand. On the other hand, I always think about how a quick explosion of emotion brings immediate results, but not necessarily lasting results. Maybe it's the sadist in me, but if I can't make the other party (parties) suffer as much as I do, then it's basically not worth it. That said, today I've come to the conclusion that sometimes it's okay to not be okay. S

I'll try to keep this brief. If you want an even briefer, German concert review (written in 3min 30sec) go visit Toby . Went to another Viva con Agua Wassertage concert last night. This time it was a bunch of acts including: Illo , Creme Fresh , Maeckes (sans Plan B), and the (somewhat annoyingly) ubiquitous Schmuf Hamburg people. Here's a quick rundown: Schmuf Hamburg: I wanna like Schmuf Hamburg. They've got a cool logo and a good concept. They've even got some MCs with a lot of potential and I for one think that pregnant rappers are pretty cool. However, I'd rather see them use their powers for good...instead of for wasting my time with meaningless drivel. Beatbox Elliot: I don't know who this dude was and for all I know he could be the nicest guy on the planet, but as cool as beatboxing is...no one should be allowed to do it for more than 10 minutes. Even Rahzel. It's an artform that quickly wears out its novelty and welcome. Illo: He rolled up in

On Sunday, the same day that I wrote my last update, I went to the last day of the Alstervergnügen with Schmidt and Lady Etch . At first it was gonna just be me and Etch , but then I decided to be nice and invite roomie, too. I kinda wanted to stay and walk around and possibly see the fireworks later, but that didn't happen. However, Etch and I filled out some cards so that we could try to be in the studio audience for the talk show Britt , which is sort of cool in a "meh...it's something to do" kind of way. Plus, they mentioned food and 2 free drinks. I don't know if said drinks are alcoholic, but knowing me and Etch ...it doesn't really matter. Our merry group also ran into French Christoph and Vinodh and some other dude, who recognized me from Rudolf-Laun-Haus, but I sure didn't recognize him. This actually isn't that noteable, except for the fact that I run into French Christoph fairly often in Altona these days, he's like some kind of fr

Not too long ago, I mentioned my general dissatisfaction with the current rapper + live band phenomenon. For the most part, it makes no sense to me -- I mean, at the very least from an economic standpoint, since: Rapper + DJ = splitting the money 3 ways (rapper+DJ+concert organizers) Rapper + 6 person band = splitting the money (at least) 8 ways. It drives up the ticket price for the concert goer and tends to leave everyone just slightly more pissed off than they were beforehand, with slightly less money. As far as Germany goes, I sort of blame Jan Delay for the whole band thing. Sure, Die Fantastischen Vier did that whole instrument thing with their unplugged album -- but that's the entire point behind an unplugged album. If you unplug the turntables, then basically what you get is a whole album of acapellas. Or slam poetry. Take your pick. But Jan Delay...first he goes and gets the Sam Ragga Band for Searching for the Jan Soul Rebels -- then last year, he ditched the reggae

There's some stuff that I've been pondering on all week and I think I'm sort of to the point where I want to write about it, just not right now, because I want to slip in a 30 min power nap and a shower before Toby and Lady Etch come over for a pre- Toni L. beer. Also I'm hungry, so I'm prolly gonna do that whole food thing, too. So, here is some Jay Smooth . And I will talk to you later. Love, Raven On Bill O' Reilly vs. Nas On the "death" of hip-hop

Hottest Women's College Smith College, Northampton, Mass. With 2,800 students, Smith is the nation's largest women's college, and the first to start an engineering program. It is part of the Five Colleges consortium with nearby Mount Holyoke, Amherst, Hampshire and UMass Amherst. The facilities, particularly the cottage-style houses where students live in groups of 13 to 80, are so attractive that visitors originally preferring a coed college often change their minds. "Smith kind of won me over," says Katie Green, who thought she would go to a school with men. "When else in your life can you get the experience of being surrounded by smart, motivated young women who really care about what they're doing?" From: Newsweek's 25 Hottest Universities . We should totally hook up with Morehouse (Hottest Men's College). I'll have to shave my legs first, though.

Schmidt came home from France this weekend, hopefully for good...but who knows? Sorry for the lack of posting over here, but I've been working on Evil Minions, Inc. plus going to my actual job and stuff. And when I haven't been doing either one of those things, I've been reading the book Mixed: My Life in Black and White out loud to my roommate. We're almost done with it. Yeah, I said it...my roommate and I sit around in our living room and I read to him. For all the technology contained within our apartment, we have no TV. Which is just the way that Schmidt likes it and I'm kind of an "out of sight, out of mind" type of gal. Plus, this is not just any book...it's required reading for the Mulatto Revolution. I think I'll follow it up with the book Evil Genius that MissFee sent me for my birthday. Also, I swear I'm getting the contest prize packages slowly, but surely put together. Please keep in mind that I'm half-Trinidadian and thes

'Gays Too Precious To Risk In Combat,' Says General There's a part of me that wishes that this was a real interview with a real general, even though I know that military leaders kinda don't give a crap about anyone, really. In other news, here's some rather boring stuff that I've been pondering this morning. Schmidt invited me to DJ with him at the 30th birthday party of a mutual friend of ours. I'm looking forward to this box social very much, because, first of all, the guy throws pretty awesome parties. But then I was thinking that I didn't want to DJ, because that would kind of put pressure on me to be at the party the whole time, and the dorm is not very close to where I live anymore. I mean I probably will be there until the bitter end anyway...but I don't like to be "tied down" ya know? But then, I actually bothered to read the whole invitation and I noticed that the party is gonna be in the Hamburger Berg ... which means if worse co

Sorry, it's been three whole days since my last post and my roommate is suffering from the lack of updating. So, for those of you who enjoy seeing no new posts, sorry...but what roomie says, goes...so buckle in, it's gonna be a long post of seemingly unconnected things. Yesterday evening, I kicked it with Mo , the Super Funtime Party Egyptian. As usual, he arrived about 2 hours later than he said he would. I pretty much expected that, which is why I had the two latest episodes of Big Love on hand, so that I could kill the time. He got over here about 20 minutes into the second episode and I basically spent the rest of the episode explaining to him what the show is about -- not an easy feat, as it is a rather complicated show about polygamists. Every time someone new came on the screen, I felt the inexplicable urge to explain to him who the person was and how they affect the plot -- which lead to me missing the last half of the episode. ( Click Below For More ) However, I could

It goes without saying...I love me some Mulatto Revolution, but this is the most asinine, ignorant, and just plain retarded piece of journalism that I've come across this side of the XXL Blogs . Could Mr. Right be White? To CNN and everyone who participated in this article: Yeah, fuck y'all...you're out of The Revolution. What a piece of shit article. I'd rather pick that Chocolate Rain Dude over you guys... Seriously, fuck that shit...

Superbad - Cop Car Confessions featuring Ian Roberts

Here's my lame attempt for some music recommendations based on three songs that I've been listening to on repeat for the past few days. 1.) Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth Brother Ali is the premier Midwestern, Muslim albino rapper (not to be confused with Krondon, the West Coast's and Strong Arm Steady's premier albino rapper). His album, The Undisputed Truth , is definitely the forerunner for my favorite album of 2007. Poignant and political, kinda reminds me of my dad...in a good way...and if my dad were a Midwestern, Muslim albino rapper in his late 20s. Wait, that wasn't a very good description maybe. I just mean, that when I listen to the album, it reminds me of conversations that I used to have with my dad. Not in terms of content, but it's just real solid and practical stuff, with undertones of, "Hey if this doesn't work out, then let's just kick somebody's ass" I kinda gotta give it up for Rhymesayers Entertainment . They'

Or whatever your browser's bookmark function happens to be. Anyway, for some dumbass reason or another, I decided to start up a group blog. It's partly due to gettting emails from friends who have things they want me to post on my blog, but refuse to make one themselves. It's partly about me wanting to write some different kind of stuff somewhere else. I kinda got a whole "thing" going on with this here page and I don't want to go and eff it all up, now. So, I asked a few people if they wanted to participate. Some already have their own blogs, some don't. And don't go getting your panties all in a twist if I haven't asked you (yet?). If you really want to participate just let me know. There's a loose "evil henchmen after hours" type theme going on, which (if you think about it) pretty much gives people a lot of room for playing around. The only catch is that I get to pick/approve your handle. It's still kind of a work in progress,

You know that trick where a magician or whatever tries to keep a bunch of plates spinning on the ends of different sticks? Sometimes I have the feeling that's kind of what my life is like at the moment. Optimally, all the plates are spinning with enough momentum to keep all of them from falling, but inevitably one or more will start slowing down and you gotta take your eyes off of the big picture and attend to those other ones for a moment. Sometimes one plate will just fall and break and your first reaction is to go like, "Oh shit" and stop and look at the broken plate. The problem is that this can distract you to the point where when you finally look at the other plates again, they're all wobbly and shit and you have to get them spinning again so that you don't end up with an even bigger mess on your hands. I don't know what this all means, but I kind of just thought about how one time I thought I was losing my shit and Pickles went out and got me a whole bu

I find this video amusing for two reasons: 1.) It makes me think of my roommate. 2.) It reminds me of the time when I worked in a call center at the Shittiest Place I've Ever Worked. Ever. and Louis C.K. came on my line to tell me that he had lost/forgotten some type of personal item in his rental car. Keys or a cell phone, I don't really recall. I knew I recognized his voice from somewhere and I tried really hard to find his lost thing...but to no avail. It was literally the only time I felt bad for not being able to help someone at that piece of shit job. I mean, c'mon...he directed Pootie Tang fer Christ's sake. Also, despite his dilemma, he didn't act like an asshole. Always a plus with me... ( Click Below for More ) Oddly enough, here is another Louis C.K. directed video that reminds me of my roommate...(probably not safe for work, by the way) Anyway...I just think he's very funny. You can go to YouTube and search for his bits or check out his special, S

Raven & Lady Etch ... three sheets to the wind I had this whole Shitty Metaphor post lined up, but then I got home from work and discovered that Lady Etch had sent me some of the pictures she took on her cell phone on Saturday at the Hamburg Christopher Street Day . So, I'm scrapping the aforementioned post and writing about all the fun that Lady Etch and I have whenever we hang out -- sometimes this is much to the dismay of her boyfriend and my arch-nemesis S.A.M. III , who always seems like he's looking for some kind of escape route. Lady Etch kinda reminds me of my sister Pickles , except vegetarian and with fewer weapons, and she would have made one hell of a Smithie (and I actually mean that as a compliment in this regard). Anyway, we get together and toss back a few cold ones every once and awhile...then we get loud and belligerent. She's a little bit louder, I think...but I might be more belligerent...it's a tough call, really. ( Click Below for More ) So,

I ask, "Dude...why?!" Then he says..."Because I want you to." Then, I imagine his big blue eyes welling up with tears and his bottom lip beginning to quiver. It's at that time that I know that if I don't comply, I'll have to deal with the waterworks unless I prove otherwise. I will do anything for my roomie, including posting videos that I feel are waaaay too much of a political statement for my retarded blog. He heard the song "Bin Laden" somewhere in France (go figure that one) and hasn't really been able to shut up about it since. It's a collaboration from 2005 between rappers Immortal Technique and Mos Def. If you're familiar with Immortal Technique, this track isn't going to come as much as a surprise. He's anti-establishment...goodness gracious me! The thing that lead me to post the song/video seen above, is the fact that I discovered there was a remix of the "Bin Laden" featuring Chuck D and KRS-ONE. Not as

Don't worry, I didn't forget about you. You did all the work...now it's time for your reward. The first ever This Contest is Crap(#1) has officially come to a close. I had a lot of fun going through the answers and it was really tough deciding a winner. So, because this is my blog and I can do what I want, I've decided that everyone who played is a winner. That's right... you all get to go out on a big group date with Schmidt !!!! Surprise, bitchesssss!!!!!! I'm only half kidding. Everyone who played is really getting a prize. Because I'm fantastical like that. Also because a reasonable amount of people played, which makes such an action possible. You are all just not winning the same stuff. So, I'm sure you're all curious as to who wins what and et cetera. ( Click Below for More ) The Date with Schmidt : This one was tough, because even though a fair number of hot hot females played, most of them were more interested in a big box of random stuff tha