Ok so today I had to do a double music video post because I just really enjoy watching these next 2 videos. Kid Cudi I guess you can say is kind of the theme behind this post, but not really. The first video is Kanye West feat. Cudi on “Welcome to Heartbreak”. I love the “acid trip” visualization effects, Kanye actually said he didn’t make a big deal about this video because it was the 2nd video to come out with these video effects. I think it’s one of his best to date.

The next video is “Pursuit of Happiness” by Cudi himself. I can’t get over the slow-mo envrionment with Cudi solely being in regular speed. The video is kind of simple as far as storyline goes, but the visual aspect is ridiculous.

Who woulda known?

Alex

I don’t know what it is but maybe it’s just those sane individuals that realize you don’t have to let everyone know what your doing in order to be doing something. Apparently Kid Cudi agrees, the newcomer to the celebrity world has terminated his Twitter, and Facebook accounts. His decision to drop the accounts  were because of all the forged pages that claimed to be Cudi but actually aren’t. 

On his blog “Datnewcudi.com”, he explains the overwhelming feeling social media gives him.  

“I have an iPhone and I don’t even utilize all of the applications on it,” the rapper explained.. “Just alone on an iPhone, you can have multiple emails — I have two emails, text messaging — some people have AIM on there, MySpace, Facebook — and I don’t even have those things … With Twitter and my two emails, text messaging and my phone ringing, that’s just overwhelming. And you gotta think of it like this, what did they do before there were cell phones”

Another inspiring song by Kid Cudi.

I remember I listened to this song all the time, especially when i discovered it in Paris. Whenever I felt bad, or I had doubts, I turned on this song and I felt much better, felt inspired to do some action, and simply didn’t care about the rest. When something went wrong or I felt down, I went to this little park next to the place I lived (rue Lamande) I took my iPod, and took those french pink cigarettes (Pink Elephants) and I immediatly felt relaxed… Wonderful feeling… This song is exceptional.

So as Pink Elephants! Normally I don’t smoke, but when I drink sometimes I have this craving for a cigarette. And I found this pack in my hometown too!!! But here they are quite expensive and are available in only one gas station, I looked for them everywhere! But I got them

If you find them, try them! They are really light, taste good, are pink (!) and bring back good associations.

Here is me and Maggie smoking them! How I miss Paris…

We all want it, but what is happiness? Remember my happiness is not your happiness.

Source: Youtube

Official Music Video for CuDi’s third single “Pursuit of Happiness” featuring MGMT and Ratatat Produced by Brody Baker  Co-Directed by Josh Hartnett  Cameos : Consequence and Drake – From Album – Man On The Moon

So in Copenhagen just now, China said they’d do something about carbon emissions if the U.S. would just functionally and financially cripple itself first.  This makes me feel better, stupidity is not limited to Americans.  China is the largest carbon emitter on Earth, they have all the money, they are free to oppress anyone they want to, anywhere and whenever it suits them.  How about if China goes first, this time?

Thank God that the U.S. representative told Chine to go fork themselves.  Now if the same rep would come home and tell the domestic enviro-frauds the same thing.  What is so hard about evaluating a situation, determining if there’s a problem, if there is a problem selecting a rational approach to a solution that won’t do more harm than good?  We used to know how to do that in this country, but that was before The Great Society.

It honestly begins to feel that the “grand American resilience” so often invoked by President Obama is nothing but the memory of an echo of the generation that survived the Great Depression, built the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building (in 16 months, without computers!!!), whipped the Nazis and the Japanese, and came home to build a prosperous country for us: we, you and me.  We could put a man on the moon 40 years ago, but we don’t know how to do that today.

For anyone who thinks that things are going in the right direction, please take another look at where you’re going.  I can identify only two groups of people who think things are going fine.  First, the plutocrats who have so much and are getting so much more that nothing can ever really be wrong for them.  Second, those who imagine themselves to be unjustly “at the bottom” and seeing what they believe is the chance to adjust the balance through the thuggery of populist governmental coercion.

The golden glow to all this is that the Chinese, though not nearly so clever, are proving themselves just as shortsighted, manipulative, and stupid as the worst of Americans.

G’nite all, and may God continue to bless America.

Cudder.

-L.e

Kid Cudi releases his second music video to close out the year. As much as I disliked his debut album, I am really feeling this song, especially the production from Ratatat. The video does it justice as well. I don’t really understand why Drake is in it, but I can let it pass. Kudos to Cudi.

Side note: Hey, can you spot the white nooka watch in the video? Haha smiled when I saw it.

I’m not a heavy listener of rap nowadays – considering the state of the genre and the music being release under it lately however, their are a few Artist who are keeping me glued. Intriguing, relevant in growth and sharpness of his genre, Kid Cudi proves he’s here to stay. As a new comer, he released his forth coming album “Man on the Moon” earlier this year and its a distinctive record. One of the tracks that stood out for me was “Pursuit of happiness”. After listening to this individual track, I knew they had to release it as a single eventually – so they are. The video was shot and it is well done. I’m blown away by the simplicity of it as well. The concept is repeated, but its handled stylishly. Another Artist that is redefining the genre of rap itself is Drake. He makes an appearance in the video that is Directed by Brody Baker.

Newest video off of Kid Cudi’s debut album Man on the Moon for the Pursuit of Happiness featuring MGMT & Ratatat.

Pursuit of Happiness – Kid Cudi feat. MGMT & Ratatat

Fresh video from Kid Cudi off Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Download: Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness (Feat. MGMT and Ratatat)

I remember what it was like to have my first drink, too. Get ya’ mature life on, Drizzy.

From here or October’s Very Own.

This video is really crazy, the ending is “Like Whoa.” The concept of everything being in slomo but Cudi is really original. Drake just kicks it in the background like a broski, thats cool.

official video for one of my favorite jawns off man on the moon. drake and consequence are in the video and apparently (according the the notes at the beginning) josh hartnett directed it? ah well. i just want to go ahead and wish jerome/panda/sexiest mexican i’ve ever met a late happy birthday (on the blog, of course) and dedicate this video to him and the rest of the weworemasks familia for poppin’ dallas texas off this past weekend.

this video, strangely enough, parallels this past weekend. however, there are a few discrepancies between this video and our actual weekend. there were equal amounts of collars and ties, but way less female titties and way more of ours. there was way less champagne and way more shots. the rest is exactly the same. EXACTLY.

download:

kid cudi – the pursuit of happiness [f. ratatat and mgmt]

-grizzly

Looks like they’ve got another one! Cleveland’s relentless assault on our speakers hasn’t seemed to dwindle down after the release of Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon. The Cleveland Show is a mixtape that was recently dropped by Chip Tha Ripper and hosted by Mick Boogie. Among the tracks is a song entitled “Mic Check” which I am spotlighting because it was produced by one of Seattle’s finest. Jake One produced the track and trust me you can tell!! the combination of amunous pianos and razor sharp drum sounds results in a very Jake Onesque track.

The mixtape is available for free download so don’t worry about wasting your time trying to find the bootleg or torrent just go to Chip’s blog and get it. Ill post a link also.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE CHIP THA RIPPER MIXTAPE HOSTED BY MICK BOOGIE!!

The release of a new book, “If We Can Put a Man on the Moon . . . ,” by Bill Eggers and John O’Leary, helped set the stage for the National Academy of Public Administration’s annual meeting that centered on management issues related to health care reform.

The authors examine big successes undertaken by the government – like the Manhattan Project, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, and the moon landing – and draw some lessons about what each took to be successful.  They also contrasted these successes with failures such as Boston’s Big Dig, Iraqi reconstruction efforts, and Hurricane Katrina.

In surveys of senior career executives in the federal government, “60 percent said that government was less capable of executing large projects today than it was thirty years ago,” noted the authors.

The authors declare: “This book is about executing large, important, public initiatives. . . making sound policy choices is critical . . . however, brilliant policies poorly executed will likewise disappoint.” They then look at large government undertakings from a process perspective, identifying six key elements:

• The undertaking must start with a good idea.
• The idea must be given specifics, often in the form of legislation, that become an implementable design.
• The design must win approval, as when a bill becomes law, signaling commitment.
• There must be competent implementation.
• The initiative must generate desired results.
• Over time, the initiative must be subjected to reevaluation.

The authors take on each of these steps, describing potential pitfalls as well practical principles, tools, and techniques to be successful.  They provide entertaining, well-written stories of people and projects, from the efforts of Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen in the wake of Katrina; to the implementation of the 2003 London traffic congestion charging program by Mayor Ken Livingstone; to the rolling blackouts in the California energy crisis of the late 1990s created by well-meaning but ill-designed state legislation, that led to the recall of Governor Gray Davis.

Their book contains insights and warnings helpful to the ongoing health care reform debate.  For example, they note that poor policy design “occurs because the work of drafting a bill that launches a major initiative isn’t generally treated like the design process it truly is.  Instead of a sound, executable design, the goal of the legislative process is often producing a bill that can pass . . . “  The authors continue, “Fully 45 percent of federal executives say that policy is rarely designed by those with relevant experience.  The dramatic disconnect between policy designers and policy implementers is perhaps the most broken part of the journey to success.” They recommend role playing and scenario planning efforts, like those used by military strategists and the private sector before it launches major initiatives.

They conclude with a warning:  “The tendency to see the enactment of legislation as an end unto itself, to claim credit for a great achievement upon the creation of a new law, is one of the most destructive tende3ncies in democratic governance.”

While Congress leads the legislative and policy design, the executive branch (and the Government Accountability Office) could proactively offer insights on the implementability of the pending legislation.  Eggers and O’Leary offer an ideal(istic) approach, recommending an objective “implementation feasibility assessment” to be done by an independent review board, much like the Congressional Budget Office offers its independent assessment of the cost of legislation.  However, that is not likely to happen any time soon!