Strange Times

"In life sometimes events seem to be moving on the right track. In reality it's two small steps forward...one large step back."

Amber and golden leaves fell on the damp ground as I inhaled the cool autumn breeze. Summer is over. Winter is coming. There's always a sense of meloncholy when summer ends. Summer is the time to be outside with lots of festivals and cultural events going on. The lose of warmth and sunlight is the same as a spring love that's gone cold. My apologies for rambling...I sometimes get distracted when writing.

We're living in strange times. The musical landscape has changed a lot since I released my first EP in 2002. Back then musicians could say some outlandish sh*t and it would be taken as art. We had freedom of expression and it's interpretation was never taken as literal. That is no longer the case. In fact over the last twenty years its become the complete opposite. It's like one of those B-rated sci-fi movies where the persons transported to a parallel world. A place where all the rules are reversed. In the age of "cancel culture," every spoken word, written thought, or musical composition can get u imprisoned. (Facts)

Now musicians are catching cases off songs. Art has become evidence used for persecution. This reminds me of the witch hunts in the 1800's. It's become such a serious matter that legislation has been drafted to stop the practice. The R.A.P. (Restoring Artistic Protection) act was introduced to the House of Representatives back in June 2021. The focus of the bill is to limit how an artists creative expression can be used against them in a criminal case. In a fair society legislation like this should never have to be written. Unlike other forms of music such as rock, country, or blues. The predominant type of artists catching cases off song lyrics are rappers. 

To keep it one hundred. Its different if someone is stating all the facts to a crime with details and locations in a song. That's self incrimination and they deserve whatever punishment is appropriate for the crime. Using circumstantial evidence based off song lyrics is a fear tactic that stifles artistic freedom and creativity. Let me get off my soapbox. I just celebrated another year above ground and it has me contemplative. My love of making music hasn't changed, but my motivation to release it has been somewhat daunted. I despise drama. Recently, I had a situation where my words were used against me. That's a story for another day. Because of that situation I'm more cautious with everything I write.

To keep the stress compartmentalized I've been creating art. Although I've enjoyed developing my digital painting skills at Bored.ai, its not the same as canvas. The biggest difference is when I paint on canvas (or draw on paper) I can taste the colors. Even without having a preset ideal of what I want to create. Just by blending flavors together the painting goes its own direction and the image takes form. With digital painting u have to come up with the concept first then use descriptive words to generate the image. Both styles have pros and cons but my soul resonates with exploring new flavors. One of these days I'm going to take pictures of the two new pieces and post them in the gallery. 

The Ethereum merger happened today. For all the anticipation in the crypto space, the outcome was quite anticlimactic. Most people were expecting the big pump up to 3k to begin. Instead the price dropped to 1450. Right now eth is struggling to get back up to 1500.  There's a chance we could see the bottom this month. If that happens eth is falling below 1k. Some people are saying this is a great place to accumulate. (not investment advice) 

Not me. September is such a volatile month I'm going to wait and see where the price is at the end. Its better to be a little late to the party then too early. I have a small dydx trade open with a liquidation point of 1340. If I lose that trade...I know were going down. Usually after we hit bottom the price goes sideways for awhile. That's the place I would accumulate. (not investment advice) I personally believe the price will rebound before the end of the year. We got a glimpse of the relief rally without any strong momentum. It's just my opinion but the charts are saying a pump is coming. So. I have my bags packed and I'm patiently waiting to board that ride to around 3K. You do what lets u sleep better at night. Regardless of the price action the eth merge was a success, which is a big win for crypto.

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only

Music, Money and Mayhem

"Only mystics can see the hidden future the rest of us wish to know. Is bitcoin falling down to 10k...which way will it go?"

It's been very busy in my warped reality and I'm enjoying the momentum. There are a few people I've been working with for over a decade who still make music. My guy Sliscobars is a producer, recording artist, and talent curator who has a list of hits. He's produced for local and international artists. On my last album he made beats for songs "That's Life, Overseas Connection, and New York Spit." When we're in the studio together the vibe is electric like a lightening storm.

Another friend B1 is throwing the Raw Amsterdam Hip-Hop event at the end of the month. B1 is half of the Dutch rap and production duo LPC. They put out a few vinyl's and did collabos locally back in the day. We used to perform at the same places with my guy DJ Nemo which is part of how we became friends. Now he organizes hip-hop events in between making luxury watches. The party is going to be lit. If you're in the city and want to rhyme or watch talent come through. I'll be there spittin' bars.

Talking about events. I'll be hosting a 45 minute workshop in the Bored.ai discord on June 12th at 11am (5pm Amsterdam time). As I mentioned in a previous blog I run the Mental Gymnastics Club in their server. Several of us curators have clubs and each week a different artist will give a workshop. My workshop will give instructions on how to generate text to art based on time, space, science, and technology. There will also be a live demonstration of my creation style, then a short creator contest at the end. If you're interested in joining just click the invite link. When you're in general chat just say "Mr.Poizonous sent u." They will give u some credits to try the generator.

The financial markets are falling like a tree cut with a chainsaw. As I write this Eth is at 1750 and struggling to hold it. No matter how juicy that price looks my mind says "bear trap, beware." Until I see some serious price action to the upside I still believe it can go lower. To combat the crypto price crunch. I've been staking and using Celsius. I mentioned Celsius before but didn't provide balanced information. First Celsius is not a bank. Their slogan is "Unbank Yourself."  It's a lending and borrowing platform. You can borrow money against your crypto to survive the bear winter without selling. This is not financial advice.

Second thing I didn't mention is that Celsius doesn't have a custodial wallet. That means your crypto isn't actually on Celsius. They take your crypto and loan it out to big hedge funds and market makers so that you earn a nice yield. Celsius pays it out every week like clockwork. In layman's terms they pay u to hodl on their platform. It's a good arrangement  and can be very lucrative, but not without flaws. Since they don't have your crypto when u want to withdrawal sometimes it can take a few hours depending on market conditions. That means it's not ideal if u need to withdrawal quickly for a trade or cash. 

Also, to get higher yield on your coins u need to hold some of the native Cel token. The more Cel u hold the higher the yield. This isn't really a flaw because Cel has great tokenomics. Not to get too nerdy, but the Cel token is deflationary. That means there is a finite amount of tokens (like Bitcoin). As they burn the tokens less are in circulation which makes the value keep rising over time. Most tokens in the crypto space are inflationary, which means the more there are the lower their value (like Doge). When u compare the pros and cons Celsius blows their competitors out of the water. That's exactly why I use them. (not financial advice) 

As u know I've always been a fan of disruptive technologies like A.I., cybernetics, virtual reality, blockchain and quantum computers. Celsius is disrupting the banking system by giving their customers an alternative to withdrawal fees and hidden taxes. Just ask yourself this. Is it better to sell your crypto while the market mayhem is happening and take the loss? Or is it better to lend it to Celsius and take out a loan until the market recovers. Only u know the answer. It's usually what lets u sleep better at night. Do your own research and see how they work. 

This bear market can last until middle of 2023, but expect a bounce before then. That means u possibly have a year to accumulate and time to wait. The future is in your hands like clay eager to be molded. I'm watching the market less, creating and working out more. The weather is finally getting nice so it's time for a beach body. It's always good to detach from the market, get outdoors and connect with nature. I don't know how things are where u live but in Holland the summers are quite short. I wish u health, wealth and success.

Until Next We Speak, Be Well 

Tha One an Only