So, my new laptop has this Windows Live Writer program that allows me to just click the icon and start typing and post it directly to my blog….in the past I have only used this blog to post music of mine and updates. In 2010 I have decided to also use this blog to give some insight into my mind by posting random thoughts and information that I think of.

So be on the lookout for all the randomness…this being the first display of that….

Check out my new pictures at my facebook too (Mag Dollars)

I know the logic behind things like taxes, even if I disagree with them. If the government’s role is to keep us safe, it has to have the funds to do it. (If you haven’t picked up what I think the government’s legitimate role is by now, maybe I should just write a huge article about it once and for all. But that’s a whole different topic)

What I don’t understand is car registration and the fees that go along with it. Using the logic of government’s supposed role of protecting us, I guess they would need to know who owns which car so that the cops can do their job. But why do they need to re-file the paperwork every year? Isn’t it enough that we notify the DMV (or whatever your state’s equivalent is) when we purchase the car? And what is the fee for? I guess I can understand that they would charge a filing fee to help pay for the man-power (wouldn’t our state taxes already pay for that though?). But then why is the fee based on a percentage of the car’s value? Are nicer cars HARDER for them to register? My car costs me $75 to register. My wife’s car costs $400…every year. Maybe car registration is a fee for using the public roads. Again, don’t our taxes pay for that? And again, do nicer cars like my wife’s damage the road more than clunkers like mine?

The only conclusion that I can come to is that Car Registration is a money-making scam. There’s no other way to explain it. It’s an on-going tax on something you already own and paid taxes for at the time of purchase. A better way to look at it is rent. You’re renting your car from the government. Don’t believe me? Don’t pay your registration this year and see what happens.

The icing on the cake for me was when my wife went to pay her registration online this year. When they were done extorting our Christmas money out of us, they didn’t say “Thank You”, they said, “Congratulations!”………….”CONGRATULATIONS!?” As if we’re supposed to NOT feel dirty about what just happened but instead feel proud that we did our “civic duty!”

Dicks.

This is one of the first songs recorded by YFTM with StreetLight…..  Wow!!!

These dudes are the future!!!

WELCOME TO DC!!!

Too funny!!!!

Details from Facebook Event posting:

Creative Hysteria is hosting a model call for 2010 fashion shows. Creative Hysteria will be teaming up with many of the DMV’s entertainment industry powers to bring to the DMV some of the hottest shows exhibiting many of the DMV’s hottest fashions, models, and talents! You think you got what it takes to rip the runway with the DMV’s best? C’mon out and strut your stuff and take part in Creative Hysteria’s continuous goal to help give the DMV the stronger presence in the entertainment industry it deserves!

Start time: Friday, January 8, 2010 at 6:00pm
End time: Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 12:00am
Location: BELLVUE Military Housing @ 1 Cargo Ct. SW Washington DC

This model call is open to both males and females!
MUST BE 18+
All models are to bring a photo & photo id
Ladies must bring 3″ heels or higher

**MUST RSVP with FULL NAME to info@creativehysteria.com to gain access through military gate**

If you have any questions, comments, and/or concerns please send e-mail to jrelosa@creativehysteria.com

Ciao,

This is one of our most favorite songs that we recorded!!!

This song is one of our favorites!!!!

This is one of the first songs we recorded!!

“We runWal-Mart shorty!!!!!”

Another concept song off of ‘Ready To Launch v1.0′ dropping Feb. 18th 2010. Be sure to leave your thoughts after the jump! POWW!!

New Years a time to put away the past and look to the future for bigger & better things. As we close the year and the decade, I wish to say good damn riddance.

According to the good folks at Pew Research Center (apropos) after a measurement of various criteria they declared this the Worst Decade in 50 years.

Most of us did not require an in depth study to come to that conclusion. Beginning with the false predictions of Y2K. And culminating with the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. It truly was a terrible decade.

 Somewhere in between we managed to find time to enter 2 wars, watch the demise of Saddam Hussein, followed by the demise of George W. Bush. We then elected our nations first African American president and commenced blaming him for the mess. He inherited an inflated economy, a Mortgage and banking system that was as inflated and ready to burst as an old bicycle inner tube. Though history may show he created one of his own. We bailed out banks, automakers & financial institutions like a bad relative from jail. Stimulus went from a term Masters& Johnson used to describe sexual arousal, to the term given to the Viagra of the nation’s economy.

 We have found our “realities“seem better on a Cable show than in real life.

Technology in the decade brought us the widespread use of Text messaging, cheap cell phone plans and high speed internet. We witnessed the advent of ending romance via text, virtual sex with amazing download speeds, and social networking via Facebook, Myspace and later, for the short attention span… Twitter. We created the first internet stalking lawsuit as adults soon tormented children on the social networks.

Blackberry’s and Palm pilots replaced conversation as the most likely communication form witnessed in Starbucks or other coffee shops. A new language was invented in order to fit our text & Tweeting lifestyles. LOL, LMAO & Smiley Icons replaced laughter and human emotion.

We witnessed the debate and signing in to law of the nation’s new healthcare plan, we bought American drugs cheaper from Canadian pharmacies. It became easier to achieve an erection via mail, than to renew your license at the local DMV.

E-mail has all but eliminated the need for the USPS. Seems the technology advances have passed by our government subsidized institutions like the postal service and DMV.

A trip to one of these bureaucratic & archaic hell holes finds few constituents LOLing, or LMAOing. and yet we entrust our government to administer our Nations healthcare.

It would be easy to blame all of this on my ex wife, but much like blaming President Obama, it might not be fair? (insert LOL here)

On a personal note I am glad this nightmare of a decade has come to a conclusion. I hope it is the kind of decade that only comes around “once in a blue moon”! Here is to a better year in 2010, and a new and better decade for all.

©JKDark2009.

A few photos taken by my homie, Eric Li.  He takes some amazing photos.  Here’s a few shots of my last Saturday of working at the shop.

Again, these photos are NOT taken by me.  See more of his work here.

Welcome to D.C.! The nation’s capital and the home of MTV’s newest season of The Real World. Let’s begin with the cast:

Meet Ashley: She’s a proud Christian girl that’s never been to D.C. She was so excited stepping foot onto the soil to the nation’s capital. She was a delegate for Barack Obama and she is in love with the man. Very liberal. A Cali girl who moved to Texas to be with her now ex-boyfriend.

Meet Mike: He’s a bisexual guy who believes strongly in his Christian values and befriends Ashley quickly. He says he feels comfortable with her because of their beliefs and she can be his shoulder to lean on. There was a little chemistry there until he revealed he was bisexual at the dinner table.

Meet Emily: I’m not sure if she’s as religious anymore because her family raised them in a cult like society. I was a little thrown off with her because as they argued over religion at the dinner table, she stayed out of it. When her and Andrew first met he couldn’t remember his own name.

Meet Andrew: I think he’s a weird guy. A nymphomaniac if you ask me. That’s ALL I got out of this first episode.

The Real World D.C. (Photo Courtesy of CNN)

Meet Ty: The only black person on the show and he seems very “anti-black” to me. I’m waiting for him to say he hates black people and he’s the blackest thing in the house. He’s from Maryland and he grew up in the projects. He resents the way he grew up a lot. Before he got on the train to come to D.C. his girlfriend broke up with him. I doubt she was a black girl. Just saying *shrug

Meet Callie: She’s a small town girl from Texas and she’s very conservative. She told the housemates she was  in between but she said Reagan was her favorite President. Photography makes her happy and she has talent by the shots they showed. She wants to read a map and break out of her shell in the “big city”

Meet Erica: She’s a lot of Rock n Roll. She’s a musician and seems very down to earth. There wasn’t much focus on her this episode.

Meet Josh- He’s a musician from South Philly. He dropped out of high school twice and has been locked up. He’s excited about getting out of South Philly because that’s all he knows.

Well…that’s the cast. I’m excited about this season. I can foresee a lot of “Obama” and “Jesus” fights this season. Tune in with me and follow me on Twitter!

Every once in a while, I’ll just randomly post photos I’ve taken…

DION!
One of the Social Study interns from this past year. I think this day we were at the shop doing what we do everyday (NOT A DAMN THING). So I decided to take a few photos of Dion in 10 Deep clothing… Out of boredom and joking around, this photo became one of my favorites.

I’ll miss Social Study terribly.

MIXTAPES

Here are a few mixtapes worth checking out this holiday season to help you end 2009 the right way:

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Following their successful event last week, Lunchbox theory Productions and DURKL present their EAT YOUR VEGETABLES mixtape. Mastered by DJ Underdog himself. Audible goodies you don’t want to miss out on hearing! Click  here to download.

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Badomedia presents Cerumentalism Volume 01.  This is what you need to listen to when you are deep into the holiday spirit and want a nice eclectic mix to ring in the new year. Click here to download.

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Monday Jazz brings us a deliciously syrupy mixtape, Waiting for the Winter, that will help ease us into and through this frigid winter. I came across this while surfing Blind I, which itself has an extensive collection of music, but this one mixtape really stood out to me. Click here to download.

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Hope you enjoyed these mixtapes! Let me know what you think!

-Selamawit

Yes. Finally.

Phil Ade Interview on Sugar Shack Radio-Free Download (Click on the Link and Follow the Instructions)

I KNOW.

I said I would get the Phil Ade interview up a month ago, and like the forward thinking person I was…I slacked. Life, and Other Life Related Activities got the best of me. Smoove* forgot all about it, then procrastinated like I got paid for it. So…

Dun dun dun da! It’s here! Yes, edited and compressed  for your listening pleasure since I spent many hours fighting with Audacity, then Garageband.

May God bless and keep Steve Jobs. This took forever!

So here we have it. This was a terrific interview to conduct, lots of ADD moments, random laughs and a couple drops from his mixtape Starting on JV to spice it up towards the end.

Check him out at:

twitter.com/PhilAde301 and/or myspace.com/philade301

A bientot!

This is footage of his farewell performance 3 weeks ago @ The Beat Clash (Bohemian Caverns) in DC, courtesy of IllVibes-DMV. “The Practice” will be dropping on January 26th.

Quote From IllVibes-DMV.com:

The circumstances of this event was a bit sad, as we said our goodbyes as Lyriciss transitioned to his new life up north. Despite what’s said or known, we know he’ll be back – and often! Out in support were his family from Inner Loop Records, EQuinox Professionals, Delorean Music Group and the entire DMV region. He performed such hits as “Give ‘Em a Show” and “Maybach Music” ft. Cayan & Nando – both off his The Practice set to drop next month – and “The Rapture” ft. Pro’Verb. Just watch the video, and you’ll see why Lyriciss is considered one of the best live performers in this (and the soon-to-be NY) region. Watch out for The Practice!

It was the slogan of American Honda’s safety awareness campaign back in 1998.

The “Stupid Hurts” (.pdf) campaign was intended to create a lasting impression on parents and youngsters as the company was under a lot of pressure with respect to marketing and promotion of ATVs.  It was a multi-million dollar program to deliver straightforward, no-nonsense messages encouraging rider training about helmet use, operator-only use, drug and alcohol-free operation, appropriate age/vehicle size, and youth supervision.

But, beginning Jan. 1, 2010  “stupid is as stupid does”…the Oregon legislature has passed a number of new laws to protect YOU as well as increase the fines because in case you haven’t heard the state has a “revenue challenge.”  Many would debate that it’s a SPENDING problem, but what do we know?  For example, the fine for riding a motorcycle without a motorcycle endorsement jumps from $360 to $720. However, the law also requires the court to suspend the fine if the rider completes training and receives an endorsement within 120 days of sentencing.  Of course if you’re under 21 years of age you are required to complete a TEAM Oregon Basic Rider Training (BRT) course which historically has had long lead times.

But, wait there’s more:

1. Oregon’s “Move Over” law in 2010 now means that you’ll have to move over for tow trucks and other roadside assistance vehicles. Under current law, drivers have to pull over from police cars, fire engines and ambulances rendering assistance on a highway having two or more lanes of traffic going in the same direction. The change also clarifies that if a motorist can’t pull over because there is a vehicle in the other lane, the driver must slow his or her vehicle to at least 5 miles an hour under the posted speed.
2. There was also an amendment to House Bill 2040 to add roadside assistance vehicles and tow vehicles to the list of vehicles that require motorist to “maintain a safe distance.”  Failure to maintain a safe distance (ORS 811.147) is a class B traffic violation.
3. For drunk drivers who are convicted with a blood alcohol level of .15 percent or higher — they will now pay a minimum fine of $2,000. Previously, the fine structure called for a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first offense, $1,500 for a second conviction and $2,000 for a third or subsequent conviction, without regard for level of drunkenness.
4. And what about protecting the children?  Any under 16 years of age will have to wear a safety belt or harness when operating a Class I or Class II all-terrain vehicle used for off-road use or a Class II ATV legal for street use. The safety belt or safety harness must be used when the vehicles are used both on public roads and premises open to the public. The law holds the parent, legal guardian or person responsible for the child responsible for compliance.
5. Operators and passengers of Class II ATVs who are younger than 18 must wear motorcycle helmets. There is an exception for vehicles that have a roof or roll bar and that are registered through the Department of Transportation.

Clearly these new rules will create a lasting impression and stop stupid!

Photo courtesy of Honda.

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

Another year, another Skillz Rap Up, coincidentally haven’t heard from Skillz in about a year, still killing these rap ups though, hopefully 2010 we can get a new Mad Skillz album.2009 Rap Up – Skillz

Make sure to follow the homie on twitter for his latest updates | http://twitter.com/Lyriciss