Octo Problems

If humans were to go extinct which animal do u think would inherit the earth? Most western minds say the Bonobos or some great ape. A few of my Australian colleagues think it will be Kangaroo's or some other marsupial. Imagine a wallaby in a gang bandana hopping up to someone, pulling an AK-47 out its pouch saying "Break yo self fool!" in a Crocodile Dundee accent. As farfetched as that sounds it's not as weird as the truth. 

The animal most likely to inhabit the earth after the demise of humanity would be...the octopus. The octopus is unlike any other creature found on the planet. There are extensive studies being conducted to figure out just how alien the octopus really is. Were cephalopods dropped in our oceans from a different star system? To understand why this is a relevant question to modern science u have to look at the abilities of the octopus. 

Octopuses can change color like a chameleon. They can change their shape to imitate plants and other animals. They have a miniature brain in each of their eight legs and have three hearts. So for clarity octopuses have nine brains and three hearts. If that's not enough to make them unusual, they have one ability found nowhere else in nature. Octopuses can re-write their own DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Think of the DNA double helix as a zipper on jeans. They can unzip their DNA and insert new code (RNA) then zip it back up. 

This ability allows them to adapt to any environment. Changes in temperature, food sources, light and water composition (fresh or salt water) are no problem for the octopus. To any other species including humans these changes could mean extinction. The fact that cephalopods can re-write their DNA is what makes scientists ponder if they are an alien species deposited into our oceans. 

Riddle me this...If octopuses are so smart, why hasn't anyone done a study on how they respond to music? Think about it for a minute. Scientist believe that mathematics is the universal language. If we were to have alien contact our communication would be done through mathematic equations. I believe music is the universal language. Rhythm and harmony can be understood by land, sky and aquatic animals. There have been various studies done on how plants respond to music. You will find the results interesting.

If u played "Clair de Lune" by Debussy, would the octopus wave its arms like a conductor leading an orchestra? Or if u played "One Love" by Bob Marley would it tap its arms against the glass like a drum?  I digress...deep thoughts from a shallow mind. After learning about the remarkable properties of cephalopods, I was inspired to paint. Below is my newest culinary canvas creation. "Octo Problems" acrylic paint (90 x 200cm canvas) Enjoy. 

 

 

MixTape Flavor

Music is the closest thing to divinity. For me its the purest form of expression. Don't get it twisted...I love to write and paint. The thing is, those mediums of expression are only 2D (two dimensional). They use only one of the five senses "sight". That means someone has to view the painting or read the book for it to be appreciated. Or in some cases for a message to be conveyed. 

Music is 3D. Its three dimensional in the aspect that its felt not only with the ears, but also throughout the whole body. Our bodies feel music, not just hear it with the ears. It incorporates more of our senses and effects how we perceive our environment. You could be playing a song on the radio alone in your room and someone across the street hears that song. The music changes their day for the better, but u never know it. Music transcends language, culture, race and religion. It's the only medium of expression that is truly immortal, by being able to withstand the ravages of time. 

Tyger Vinum · Tha Monchichi Song

In the past I created music based on my emotional state in a particular moment. If I was angry I made angry music. If I was happy, I would make happy songs. Now I've matured. The songs I'm making now are messages and lessons to me in the future. Tunes I can listen too ten years from now and still appreciate them. This (selfish) mentality has always rubbed people and record labels the wrong way. Most artists are writing songs for the fans, money and fame. I write songs for me...only me. If the words in my songs resonate with you, that's superb. If not, kick rocks, and move on. 

While I'm recording I don't listen to a lot of whole albums. I prefer listening to mixtapes. There's a few guys I'm listening to who have real mixtape flavor. They blend original beats with new music and artists to make it sound like an album. First there's DJ Modesty. He makes the Real Hip-Hop Show. Its been going one for more than 15 years and hosts some of the best lyricists in the game. He also makes the Kings of Queens mixtape series featuring artists from Kings county and the surrounding area.  

Next is DJ GlibStylez. This brotha makes a variety of different mixtape shows. My favorites are the Boom Bap Soul Mix (a mix of soul beats and conscious Hip-Hop rhymes), Raw Flips (classic boom bap beats mixed over various Hip-Hop artists) , and the Underground Bangerz series. Just like the title says, its grimy underground tracks to make your head nod. If you're looking for new music that crosses different genres...DJ GlibStylez is the man. 

Last is DJ Ronsha & G-Zon. They host the Ronsha Mix show. It's raw, underground, boom bap Hip-Hop out of Paris, France. These guys get busy. The show is filled with new music, dope scratches and artists from not only America but Hip-Hop from world-wide. It doesn't matter if its English, Spanish, French or African. If the music is dope then DJ Ronsha will play it. 

Check out the music. If you like the tunes give these guys a like, a follow, and tell a friend to tell a friend.   

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only 

AniManga: Jujutsu Kaisen

 

First let me say I'm pleasantly surprised to see Bleach return to serialization. It was one of my top three manga's twenty years ago. I didn't like how the original story-line ended. It felt unfinished. I'm curious to see how the new arc develops.

 

Now with that p.s.a. (public service announcement) out the way, let's talk about the current manga in my top three. Jujutsu Kaisen, is written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. It been in serialization since 2018. The 24 episode anime ran from Oct. 2020 - Mar. 2021. If I had to describe the series in one sentence, I would say... "It has martial arts battles like Naruto, crazy powers like Dragon Ball Z, with plot twists and originality of Hellsing". It's off the chain.

The foundation of sorcery is control of cursed energy. All living beings release cursed energy. It's the build up of negative thoughts and emotions that's unconsciously leaked into the environment. When there's a strong convergence of negative energy it results in the birth of a cursed being. These cursed creatures or invisible to human eyes but can still kill, and consume humans. Cursed energy can also be imbued into objects such as weapons, places or jewelry. 

The most powerful cursed being was Ryomen Sukuna. He was so powerful it took the entire sorcery world to defeat him. All that remained of Sukunas' body were his twenty fingers (he had four arms) containing his cursed energy. The fingers were spread in various places throughout the world. Some were collected by sorcerers, others collected by curses, while the rest were lost.

The story revolves around a high schooler named Yuji Itadori. He goes from being a normal student to a fugitive in the dangerous world of Jujutsu sorcerers. Through a series of unfortune events Yuji ends up eating one of Sukuna's fingers to save his friends. Once Yuji ate the finger he became the host for Sukuna. Sukuna's goal is a world where curses rule and humans are servants. The more fingers Yuji consumes, the stronger Sukuna's possession over his body becomes. To help Yuji control Sukuna's possession they send him to a sorcerer school to learn how to control cursed energy. Aside from being able to see and exorcise curses, Jujutsu sorcerers can use it to recover from fatigue or heal wounds. 

The Jujutsu world is torn asunder once curses learned Sukuna had a vessel and could be revived. The majority of  the Jujutsu sorcerer's decided to execute Yuji. Most of the powerful curses hunted him for capture. Yuji spends the majority of the time fighting curses, other Jujutsu students, teachers, and rogue agents with nefarious agendas. The battles are intense and  exceptionally detailed. (They get busy!)  It's a fast paced, original story with good character development a lot of plot twists and dark humor. If you're looking for something new to read, u should definitely check out Jujutsu Kaisen. If u like the manga support the artist and tell a friend to tell a friend. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well 

Tha One an Only

Crypto Teddy

Do u know where the Teddy Bear comes from? I'm a big fan of origin stories. I like to know why we celebrate certain holidays and traditions while others are discarded. Recently I read the origin story of the Teddy Bear. The story was so fascinating it inspired me to paint. 

Back in 1902 president Franklin Roosevelt went on a bear hunt. He was a big game hunter. Out of the hunting party the president was the only one unsuccessful in taking down a bear. One of the men in the group captured a bear and held it tied up for the president to shoot. President Roosevelt chose not to display cruelty by killing the innocent animal. 

Another completely unrelated fact about this man is that he was a treasure hunter on Oak Island. I'm addicted to the show The Curse of Oak Island. I believe in a former life I was a pirate. A sea pirate with an eyepatch and parrot on the shoulder. Why? I love being in the water. My passion for travel is like an endless thirst. I appreciate fine liquor, have a problem with authority, and love shiny, expensive things. I was definitely a pirate! Pardon, me. I got distracted. It happens sometimes. 

As I was saying. The president decided not to kill the bear. The story of the presidents failed hunt was written in news articles and made into satirical cartoons. A candy shop owner who used to make stuffed animals with his wife read the story. The owner made a stuffed bear in recognition of the presidents humanitarian act...or sympathy for his failure. He named the bear "Teddys' Bear". The bear was a hit. The rest is history. Teddy Bears are one of the most popular stuffed animals ever created. 

When I get writers block or stressed, I paint. My work will never be fine art. I never aspired for it to make me rich. I just want to be part of the artist conversation. After a five year slumber my taste for colors has returned. Colors to me are ingredients. I combine them like a chef to create cuisine on canvas. Each color has a flavor. I mix and taste the flavors until a delicious dish for the eyes is created. 

Here is my newest painting...Crypto Teddy. It's a homage to the teddy bear story and my love of crypto. The canvas is 60 x 50cm with acrylic paint. Check it out.

Black American Art

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859 – 1937) was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania during the time of slavery. Henry Tanner was a self taught artist who achieved international acclaim. His father Benjamin Tucker Tanner (1835–1923) was a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). The first independent black denomination in the United States. His mother Sarah, was an escaped slave who made it north via the Underground Railroad. His sister Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson, was the first woman (of any color) certified to practice medicine in Alabama.

Coming from such a prestigious family legacy its no surprise Henry also inherited talent. Henry knew he wanted to be a painter by the age of thirteen. He took a chance enrolling at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879. Henry was the first and only black student accepted at the school. It was during that time he developed his style and began gaining notoriety. Although Henry was  acknowledged as a skilled painter he had difficulty selling his work due to the racial climate of that time. 

Henry was selling paintings trying to save for a trip to Europe. In 1891 he made it to Paris. The artistic circles of Paris didn't care about race, all that mattered was talent. Henry had it in spades. By 1895 his work was known throughout Europe. He took inspiration from the Parisian painters and it can be seen in his later work. Aside from brief visits back to the U.S. for art exhibitions Henry spent the rest of his life in Paris.

 

The Banjo lesson is probably Henry's best known painting. It was the first of his paintings that I ever saw. I was moved by the emotion such simple imagery invoked in me. What's depicted is a grandfather teaching his grandson how to play the banjo. To hear it described its ordinary. It's the vibrant yet somber colors and the beautiful detail in their expressions that give this piece so much life. 

It's the ability to capture moments from peoples everyday life on canvas that makes his art so extraordinary. Even now over one hundred years later when I look at a Henry Tanner painting, It feels like glimpsing through a lens back in time. He is one of the originators of the Black American Artist movement. Below are a few of his many paintings. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well 

Tha One an Only 

Summer Reading

I love books. When I was a child I used to pick up ants, spiders and other insects to study their anatomy. In my grandmothers basement was an old incomplete encyclopedia set. Whatever creature I caught would be researched in the encyclopedia's, then named and categorized. My insatiable curiosity was temporarily sedated after acquiring the desired knowledge from books. Those early days taught me that answers to all the mysteries of the world can be found between the pages of a book. (You only need to find the right book.) Below are a few summer reading books that helped expand my perception of reality. Perhaps they can do the same for you. They're in no particular order. 

The book that had the most impact on my self-esteem and ability to stay goal oriented is Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. This book changed my life. Psycho-Cybernetics, teaches how the brain processes information on the conscious and sub-conscious levels. It does this by breaking down the "self image," in laymen terms so u the reader understand how the brain creates a goal. Then, the book provides the necessary steps required to achieve that goal. You learn various mental practices, visualization techniques, breathing, and relaxation methods that produce quantifiable results. What makes this books so great is that its easy to read and based on solid proven science. 

The 48 Laws Of Power by Roberte Greene taught me how power brokers do business. It's an instruction manual on how to gain and use power. There are ruthless, cutthroat techniques that breakdown every aspect of how power is cultivated and maintained. Even if you're not a power hungry individual thirsty for global domination this book can still be useful. It teaches u about the cunning techniques employed to manipulate the average mind so that u can protect yourself from them.  It's like an instruction manual on how a magician does his trick. 

A book that taught me insight into male and female dynamics is The Game by Neil Strauss. When I heard there was a secret underground society of pick-up artists (PUA) I had to check it out. The book turned out to be more than a made up tale crafted in some forty year old virgins basement. The Game is more than about pick-up. Although it does contain a vast collection of techniques and material used in the art of seduction. The writing style is like gonzo journalism where the author is also a character in the story. Its a book about guys who decided to take control of their love lives and make it change for the better. The steps they took and methods used is what makes this book a great read for anyone who wants to improve their game. 

A People's History Of The United States by Howard Zinn is not what you learn in history class. I read this book before I migrated to Europe. It contains the factual accounts of  American history from its creation in 1492 to present. It's a hard book to read. Not because of the size. All the mortifying things u learn will change your perception about how America was founded and developed. It would be an understatement to say that the book exposes the complete white washing of history excluding contributions from various minority cultures. It also details the merciless eradication of the indigenous populations. If you're a fan of traditional holidays this isn't literature for you. After reading this book I guarantee u will never want to celebrate Thanksgiving again. 

This last book truly made me ponder the nature of consciousness and what makes people so unique. No two minds are identical even if the bodies are. Although twins bodies may be the same, how they think and who they are is individual. The Art Of Dreaming by Carlos Casteneda, is a story that's reads like a work of fiction. The author is an anthropologist who gets tricked into becoming an apprentice for a Yaqui Indian sorcerer named Don Juan Matus. It explores different shamanistic techniques to reach higher levels of consciousness, astral projection and alternate realities. Whether u believe the authors first person account or not, its an incredible story to read. 

That's my summer reading list for those who like to spend time building brain muscles. Have u read any of the books in this list? If so drop your impression in the comments below. If u like the list, share the knowledge, and tell a friend to tell a friend. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well 

Tha One an Only 

Digital World

As blockchain technology becomes more mainstream we stand on the precipice of a digital world. In this world all services, social networks, games, films, music, insurance, banks and everything in between will be found on the blockchain. I'm aware that my prior statement sounds like science fiction, or the conjectures of a madman. Allow me to illuminate your mind to what already exists and what's to come in the near future. 

Back in 2018 I heard of a company building a video game on the blockchain. At that time it was a revolutionary concept because the world was focused on Ethereum based (ERC-20) tokens. The arms race between developers for DApps was in full swing and no one discussed NFT's. The company is named Phantasma. They were creating a racing game using NFT's that could compete with one built for a console. They succeeded. 

Fast forward to 2021. Everyone and their grandmother knows what NFT's are. They have essentially been the entry asset for most new people to crypto. (If u want to check out my NFT collection of music and art go to opensea and type my name in the search box.) Developers expanded their use case beyond video games. Advancements in VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) are being integrated with blockchain to create new digital worlds. In these worlds u have an avatar and can interact with people from any location on the planet. Think of the film Ready Player One. We're not at that point yet but companies like Decentraland, Flow and the Sandbox are working to achieve that goal.  

Currently all banking services are available on the blockchain. The use case for Defi (Decentralized Finance) is rising like inflation. Companies like Compound, Aave, and Maker offer interest on deposits and loans to bankless people around the globe. For decentralized music there's Audius, for videos there's Theta, for insurance there's Armor (Armor Finance). You name the service and there's some company building a decentralized version on the blockchain. There's even a company named Helium building an entirely decentralized internet. 

At this point it would seem like blockchain technology is the wave of the future. If you think that you're not wrong. Although blockchain is new technology that's still growing. In the near future it could become old news. 

DNA digital data storage allows the user to encode and decode binary data from augmented strands of DNA. This is the future. By using these strands of synthetic DNA petabytes of data can be stored in a miniscule amount of space. To give u an idea of how much information can be stored. All sixteen gigabytes of data in the Wikipedia English language version could be stored on a single strand of synthetic DNA. This was reported by scientists back in 2019. The potential use cases in all fields of science and medicine are so vast they can't be easily quantified. 

A digital world is coming. The more u learn about the minds and technologies being used to create that world, the easier it will be to navigate. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only 

Life Goes On...

Like the title says...life goes on. No matter what struggle or challenges you face. The world doesn't care. If u were to disappear, people would miss you, but after tears were shed and kind words were spoken. Life goes on...

I made that statement because recently I was forced to accept that harsh, lonely reality. To be honest I'm glad I had to go through a tragedy that left my heart bearing scars. It's not because I'm a masochist. It's because it taught me three lessons. Each can be found in old expressions. "Life goes on" was the first. The second was "What doesn't kill u makes u stronger," is a fact. When I reached my lowest point is when I found the strength to stand back up and start walking forward again. Losing my daughter was the hardest thing to emotionally survive in my life. Now I'm conditioned, and there's very little left in this world that can harm me. 

One of the steps I've been taking to get back on track, is getting back in optimum shape. It's summer. The weather is hot. Masks are off. No better time to have a beach body. I spent the better part of two months doing my best impression of a couch potato. When I was in the bottomless abyss of despair the ice cream started talking to me. I'm not sure when it started. It was a few weeks after the break-up. I was sitting on the couch, crying like a child because Bruce Willis got shot in Die Hard 2 (or because I lost five figures on a trade), fluctuating between anger and sadness when the ice cream started talking. 

It would say "Hey, its cold and dark in here. Take me out. I'll keep u company and make u feel better." In all fairness the ice cream didn't lie. It made me feel better for a long time. I walked past a mirror one day and looked at my reflection. The mirror had become the enemy. I hadn't seen my reflection in months.  All it took was five seconds of appraisal for me to know the ice cream had to go. Immediately I rushed to the kitchen snatched the ice cream out the freezer and prepared to throw the whole pint in the trash. The Ice cream, frosty and emotionless asked. "Why throw me away? Didn't I make u feel better?" Trapped in the depths of rage and self hatred I yelled back. "Yes, but now I'm fat." Always cool, calculating, and compassionless, the ice cream replied. "I promised to make you feel better. Not look better. That's your job." The ice cream was right. It did what it promised to do. There was no one but myself to be angry with. Once I came to that realization my sanity returned. I thanked the ice cream by eating it. I haven't brought a pint home since. 

During the lockdown in Europe all the gyms were closed (like everything else). Here in the Netherlands we had a (21:00 - 05:00) curfew that only recently ended. No gym meant I had to device a way to get a full body workout at home. One thing to remember is no matter how much u exercise, if u don't eat healthy the results won't show.

The last lesson was perhaps the most important. "No Risk No reward" is also very true. Even if u don't succeed in achieving a goal, you gain more experience from every attempt. Trust me when I say, taking a risk on yourself is the best thing u can do. In eighteen months my entire life changed. I'm optimistic about the future, motivated in the present, and making peace with the past. The journey I'm on is like trying to climb Mount Everest, blindfolded, with one arm handcuffed behind the back. If you're going to stay around prepare yourself because its going to be a bumpy ride.  

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only