As I have been observing and digesting the many debates following the fallout of the Osama news I turned my attention back toward my finals week assignments. I usually listen to some sort of music during this endeavor, over the last few years the preference has been music by rapper Lupe Fiasco. I am a firm believer that music is a great inspirator for intellectual thought. This is especially true when trying to write academic material which can be a very time-consuming and laborious process.
For me I have to listen to music that matches with what I am doing at the given moment, in this case something with lyrical depth, substantive content and quite frankly is very intelligent. Or else I risk not gaining the proper inspiration or focus necessary for the task at hand. That is why I appreciate Lupe and others in his particular lane of music (genre nonwithstanding). The messages in the music speak to greater life themes than the superficial regurgitations that we all get caught up in (Soulja Boy's "Crank That" or Los del Rio's "Macarena" ring a bell?).
In connection to this particular recent event I began listening to Lupe's first release "Lupe Fiasco's: Food & Liquor". One of my favorite records is almost a direct narrative of what I came across in the discourse of the day and felt it necessary to share. The song also serves as a further assertion of my own personal viewpoint as articulated via clever metaphor, entendre and historical references. Check it out below:
So millions of Americans and citizens of the world recieved the very random, sudden and shocking news last night: Osama Bin Laden and a number of his key associates and family members were killed in a targeted US-Led attack. Personally it was such a throw from left field I didn't believe the news. Coming fresh from study and paper writing mode it was definitely a complete 180-degree change in where my perspective was and I'm sure others can concur. I have mixed feelings about the whole she-bang though.
On one hand I can understand the relief that many may feel about the news of his demise. However I have slight reservation to celebrate the death of any human being, even one associated with such horrendous acts like 9/11. I also do not believe this will be an entire gamechanger to the military operations still going on in Afghanistan, Iraq and now Libya; only a possible addition of fuel for a large bonfire to come. In the end I have a more vast outlook on how all of these displays of celebration are recieved globally and how we would react if the shoe were on the other foot so to speak. We have so far to go in this country not only in our foreign policy which imparts a monolithic, imperialist viewpoint that is very archaic and insensitive along social and ethical lines; along with the heap of domestic problems, i.e. our refusal to effectively and openly deal with our racial wounds (Birth Certificate fiasco anyone?), doesn't leave me shouting for joy. Hooray?...I think not.
As I was perusing the web during a small break in my completion of assignments for finals week I took a swing around to one of my favorite on-line haunts: Stupid Dope. Now while the name may implicate a varied opinion on what the site's content may be I assure you it is definitely one of the few of note. It is an "art farts dream" especially for one such as myself who loves to explore new and emerging forms of art from across the globe. This particular post stuck out to me since it deals primarily with a culture that has long been misunderstood and overlooked as an artform. Grafitti can be a nuisance and quite unslighty, true enough. However there are many talented artists who use this medium as a way to express their viewpoints of the world in a unique way unlike any other painting medium. I understand the annoyance city officials and others may find when done in a negative way, however when given a positive an open environment to express their talents moments of magic can occur. Their chosen canvas may differ tremendously from other art forms but it doesn't make it any less beautiful. At least this reigns true in the eyes of those who love the art like me. Definitely a post of note and you check it out here: Saber Exhibit
So I was randomly up around 3am this morning and happened to catch a live broadcast on MSNBC of the large Catholic Mass ceremony taking place at the Vatican. It was different than the many that are held there in that it was also a celebration of the Beatification process of making previous pontiff Pope John Paul II a Saint. It was an extremely large ceremony as people strectched far into the streets of Rome long away from the actual center of Vatican City. Even in spite of my slightly lethargic and sleep deprived state it was quite a sight to behold. There were visitors from all over the world, all of whom wanted to take part in the ceremony out of their love and admiration for the late religious leader. It was very cinematic, people held up banners, chanted phrases of their support, waved their flags of origin all against the backdrop of the tight corridors of Roman architecture. While I am not personally a Catholic ( I am Protestant) the process of a public mass in Vatican City has always been an object of interest for the sheer grandiose of it all. This event certainly was no exception and was at the least a re-affirmation of why I believe in Christianity in the first place. Very inspiring event indeed.
