Chuck D of Public Enemy talks about Kenny K

Back in February, I had the opportunity to interview legendary hip-hop performer Chuck D of Public Enemy. Chuck D was speaking at Eckerd College in St Petersburg. Thanks to the folks at WMNF 88.5, Tampa's community radio station, I was able to get 15 minutes of Chuck D's time and ask him about his relationship with Kenny K Waters, Tampa's first hip-hop DJ.

On my list of interesting people I've had a chance to interview, Chuck D is on the top. Chuck was exceptionally courteous, give me time when everyone else wanted to talk or take pictures with him. And he gave great answers, especially considering we were talking about an old friend who passed away over 20 years ago.

This video is being posted now to raise awareness for this year's Kenny K Celebration and Concert taking place on October 25th in Tampa. This year's event is especially notable as it is the first time Shock G of Digital Underground will be making an appearance. According to the Facebook page on the event:

Kenny was the 1st DJ in Tampa to bring Hip Hop to the radio via WMNF.org 88.5 FM and expose the Tampa Metro area to the innovative hip hop coming from the east as well as the west. Kenny was also a founding member of the legendary rap group, Digital Underground, whose hits like 'Humpty Dance' and 'Doowhatchulike' as well as helping to start the career of 2Pac, cemented their place in history.

For more on Kenny K, check out my interview with Chuck D:

Will the Bill Murray Afghanistan movie help oppressed creatives?

A few months ago, I heard about Bill Murray's newest movie in which he plays a talent manager who finds a unique singing voice in Afghanistan. Recently a new trailer and release date came out.



Having read and written about female singers (and rappers) in Afghanistan, I am curious how this will play out. Will it be accurate? Will they mention any real world Afghan voices? That would be impressive.

I also wonder where the movie takes place. From the trailer, Bill Murray lands in a major airfield. There are only a few of them in Afghanistan. His location will play a big role in threats and situations he will be in. Even the weather and scenery are different depending on the region.

From her brief appearance in the trailer, the Kate Hudson character intrigues me. Who is she and what role does she play?

The out-of-place foreigner who relies on wit and charm is typical Bill Murray role. I hope Rock the Kasbah isn't too much like Lost in Translation meets School of Rock. That would be predictable, boring, and almost insulting to the plight of artists/musicians/creatives in Afghanistan, many of whom are threatened by violence everyday for trying to express themselves.

But if this movie has a serious underlying message, it could be really good. And the struggle of artists, singers, and creative people worldwide needs a good international movie to rally around. I'm skeptical that an American movie starring Bill Murray will carry that much weight.

It would be great if proceeds from Rock the Kasbah went to support international artists funds or creative endeavors in Afghanistan. But if this is another "fish-out-of-water" Bill Murray movie - one combined with a white man's burden and inaccuracies about Afghanistan - it has a chance to be really, really bad.

We will see on October 23rd.

We need Lesser Heroes

Sometimes in the course of daily affairs, we need help with the little things - those minor obstacles that frustrate us and stand in the way of us having a generally swell day. We often fight these frustrations alone. Unfortunately, like 911, the police, or late-night Taco Bell, super heroes should only be called upon in case of emergencies.

But what about when we don't need to be saved from a mugger, a fire, or a maniacal madman set on destroying the city? What if we don't need super strength, super vision, or the ability to tackle demons from another dimension?

We need a legion of lesser super heroes. Those who might not be "super", but kinda better than good. Not-so-heroic heros, but heroes nonetheless.

Advertising has given us a few examples of non-traditional heroes with niche talents who came in handy when needed. For example, there was "Condom Man" for sexual protection and "Keith Stone" for cheap, watered-down beer. But those needs don't occur often for most of us.

What we really need is a conglomerate of super friends who fly around helping people with their most common needs. Heroes such as:

Water Bottle Woman - A seasonal hero, she flies through the city with a belt and backpack full of water bottles. If she sees someone sweating, she fights dehydration by providing those in need with a cool drink of H2O.

Bottle and Jar Opener Guy - Sometimes beer bottles need a bottle opener. Sometimes there is no opener to be found. Sometimes jars are a pain in the ass to open. That's when Bottle and Jar Opener Guy appears. He has the tools to open any jar, bottle cap, or cork. No bottle too big, no bottle too small. But he may hesitate if he thinks you've had one too many.

Lighter Woman and Cigarette Man - These two heroes are often seen together fighting two ends of the same dilemma. Some citizens have a cigarette but need a light and others have a light but need a smoke. When they sense a smoker in trouble, one member of this team springs to the rescue.

Toothpick Man - Ever have a little piece of something caught in your teeth? No amount of tongue wrangling is going to dislodge it. That's where Toothpick Man comes in. This skinny semi-superhero senses your struggle and swoops in with a well-placed toothpick to help smooth your smile.

Milk Lady - Like the milkman of yesteryear, but with a cool super suit instead of stodgy truck, Milk Lady appears when you are out of milk and provides you with a bountiful amount of cow juice. Because nothing is worth than having cereal and no milk.

The Cologne and the Perfumer - Sometimes in the course of the day, you are forced to be in close proximity with someone who failed to execute proper hygiene earlier in the day. When this happens you call The Cologne or The Perfumer to spray some odoriferous emanations on the rogue . Or sometimes, you might need The Cologne or The Perfumer to spray on you before a hot date or a job interview.

The Flat Tire Twins - Like AAA or other roadside assistance, the Flat Tire Twins assist when a driver finds themselves in a dire predicament. Sometimes confused with the Michelin Man, the Flat Tire Twins ride on their own ride-flat tires.

The Phone Finder - The newest of our heroes has the most to do in today's culture. Whenever there is a phone lost or misplaced, the Phone Finder will be there to find it. He will search high and low, near and far, and under every bar to find missing phones. While he is usually busiest on Friday and Saturday, more than half of the phones he finds are forgottenly misplaced in pockets and purses.

And here is where we lament the sad demise of Atlas Man, a long-time hero who provided directions to the lost and wandering. Since the advent of cell phones and GPS devices, Atlas Man has had less and less to do. Even his full-time profession as a map maker shrunk in importance. He now spends most of his time in his mother's basement, building geographic databases of geological geniuses. While those he tracks are smart with the rocks, some say the once super map man has lost his own marbles.

Unpacking Pixar in a Box

This might be one of the coolest initiatives I have seen in a while. Pixar, one of the most creative companies in the world, has opened its doors to Kahn Academy to create online tutorials on every element of movie making used by Pixar. Here are the processes Pixar uses in regards to technology.

Where Pixar makes their money however, is in the people and their processes, many of which are described in Ed Catmull's book "Creative Inc". These videos also show the people behind the book.

So for those interested in entertainment, movie making, or creativity in general, this is definitely worth checking out.

Classic Daily Show Afghanistan video game segment

I've been reading a lot about national strategy, policy, and military use for a client I am consulting for. Great reads, to include America's Dirty Wars by Russell Crandall.

But as I read the final chapter on Afghanistan, I couldn't help but remember this classic Daily Show segment with John Oliver and host Jon Stewart.

Many have tried to win in Afghanistan, but we'll see if we can defeat the hardest level in the game of Empire. So far, America has the high score.

Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows

Exploring a Work-less World

Just before I finally left the ranks of the unemployed, I read a very interesting article on The Atlantic.com. Entitled "A World Without Work", the article discusses what happens to towns and people when their jobs are replaced by soulless machines. The article details the effect automation has had on demographics and segments of the American workforce and focuses on parts of our economy that have lost the most workers.

Author Derek Thompson predicts a future where:

I see three overlapping possibilities as formal employment opportunities decline. Some people displaced from the formal workforce will devote their freedom to simple leisure; some will seek to build productive communities outside the workplace; and others will fight, passionately and in many cases fruitlessly, to reclaim their productivity by piecing together jobs in an informal economy. These are futures of consumption, communal creativity, and contingency.

He then writes about "post-workists" - in an era where the fruits of labor are bountiful, we could distribute the goods fairly and people would be able to focus on social work, not economic work.

In a post-work society, Hunnicutt said, people might spend more time caring for their families and neighbors; pride could come from our relationships rather than from our careers.

While I thought the set-up, a post-industrial nirvana and communal society idea was interesting, the next part of the paper I wholly disagreed with.

But even leaving that aside for the moment, this vision is problematic: it doesn’t resemble the world as it is currently experienced by most jobless people. By and large, the jobless don’t spend their downtime socializing with friends or taking up new hobbies. Instead, they watch TV or sleep. Time-use surveys show that jobless prime-age people dedicate some of the time once spent working to cleaning and childcare. But men in particular devote most of their free time to leisure, the lion’s share of which is spent watching television, browsing the Internet, and sleeping. Retired seniors watch about 50 hours of television a week, according to Nielsen. That means they spend a majority of their lives either sleeping or sitting on the sofa looking at a flatscreen. The unemployed theoretically have the most time to socialize, and yet studies have shown that they feel the most social isolation; it is surprisingly hard to replace the camaraderie of the water cooler.

This was 180 degrees from my unemployed experience. I did not just "watch TV and sleep". I hustled. I slept only 6 hours a day. Yes, I browsed the internet, but that was mostly for jobs, networking opportunities, and other creative projects (such as this blog and my other online writing spots). I was also involved in the Tampa Bay Seminole Club and taking classes. I went to job fairs, met with job counselors, and shook hands at networking events. At times, I was working just as hard finding a job as someone with a job.

Although this part on unemployment I absolutely agree with:

Research has shown that it is harder to recover from a long bout of joblessness than from losing a loved one or suffering a life-altering injury. The very things that help many people recover from other emotional traumas—a routine, an absorbing distraction, a daily purpose—are not readily available to the unemployed.

Thompson then postulates on communities that create, instead of work. This is not unlike what I did to stay active, writing on various websites, to include my business analysis of baseball in Tampa Bay. That webpage was cited in national websites, I was quoted in the local newspaper, and I was told city council members mentioned my research in a prominent council meeting. So I was making a difference in what interested me, even if I wasn't getting paid for it.

I was also starting to get back into stand-up comedy. Doing open mics is labor-intensive but also doesn't pay. You are writing, rehearsing, driving to the venue, and performing not for the money, but for the rush of entertainment.

Now I find myself in a position not unlike Thompson's final option:

one can see a third possible future, where millions of people struggle for years to build a sense of purpose in the absence of formal jobs, and where entrepreneurship emerges out of necessity. But while it lacks the comforts of the consumption economy or the cultural richness of Lawrence Katz’s artisanal future, it is more complex than an outright dystopia.

Right now, I am working an internship to build skills in market research and analysis. I am also consulting for a military academic institution. Both of these jobs hold incredible potential for me down the road. They are both great for my resume. And the fact that I can do both speaks to my diverse background. There aren't many people with advanced degrees in both a social science and business and lengthy experience working with the military in various parts of the world. I am a rare breed, but learning how to capitalize on my experiences was a skill I had to learn. I now have two sources of income, which is incredibly important.

In the final part of the essay, Thompson outlines a utopian society where a basic living wage is provided to everyone and people are free to choose what they want to do for a living, whether that is engage in jobs that don't like, or live a creative life.

the simplest way to help everybody stay busy might be government sponsorship of a national online marketplace of work (or, alternatively, a series of local ones, sponsored by local governments). Individuals could browse for large long-term projects, like cleaning up after a natural disaster, or small short-term ones: an hour of tutoring, an evening of entertainment, an art commission. The requests could come from local governments or community associations or nonprofit groups; from rich families seeking nannies or tutors; or from other individuals given some number of credits to “spend” on the site each year. To ensure a baseline level of attachment to the workforce, the government could pay adults a flat rate in return for some minimum level of activity on the site, but people could always earn more by taking on more gigs.

"A World Without Work" is not a light read. It is the foundation from which novels are written. Thompson gives his readers a lot to think about in regards to life and labor.  Maybe the future will be selective parts of his essay and post-apocalyptic Mad Max conflicts over limited resources. Maybe a rich billionaire will create an online marketplace for work through a corporation, where people will have primary jobs, but be able to spend time on other endeavors. Maybe some corporations will have a "bullpen" of substitute workers who can relieve workers on occasion.

I really enjoyed "A World Without Work". Due to my education and experience, I think I am in an interesting place. I'm not sure how normal I am in regards to the rest of the workplace. I have had to do what I had to do and take what courses I had to take to set up future success. Again, I've had to hustle. But our current economy and the fields I have been in have made hustling a necessity.

Sometimes I might live in a world without work. Sometimes I might live in a world of abundance. The trick is stay afloat.

Pre-owned, post-owned, and a tear in the space-time continuum

Today I went to a music store.

I found a used CD I wanted. When I went to the counter, the cashier said the used CD was "pre-owned".

I asked him if I left the store with the CD, would he consider it "owned"? He said yes.

Then I asked him what he would think if I returned it. Would that be considered "post-owned"?

He said if I returned it, the CD would resort back to being "pre-owned".

I'm pretty sure that logic somehow defies Einstein's laws of space-time.

Star Wars and Bad Management Practices

Twitter e-migo Jon Pyle made some very interesting observations about Star Wars recently that I had never thought about.

I have thought about Star Wars a lot. I've thought about it from a meta-cultural perspective, a philosophical perspective, a warfighter's perspective, a theoretical perspective, and I've been working on exploring Star Wars from a military intelligence perspective. But I have never looked at Star Wars, particularly the Empire, from a managerial perspective. Since I am near completion with my MBA and have business management on my mind, Jon's tweets piqued my interest.

So with his permission, I decided to post them here in all their observational brilliance.

(Note: Alex Knapp wrote a similar piece on Forbes.com a few years ago.)

Absolutely brilliant. Perhaps a book is not a bad idea.

When the AfroSquad almost made Creative Loafing

I was rummaging through some old emails recently and I found an interesting correspondence. Back in 2008, when the Afro-Squad was running wild at pro wrestling shows throughout Central Florida, I emailed a writer for Tampa alternative publication Creative Loafing and invited him to check us out. I thought our colorful cast of characters and devoted fans would make an interesting story.

Alas, although they liked the idea, the story never came to be. The writer moved on as did Florida Championship Wrestling. Most of the Afro-Squad also moved on, some actually moving and others removing their afro wigs and drifting away, like small sailboats in the dark night.

But for the annuals of history, here is the correspondence I had with Creative Loafing:

December 1, 2008

Hi Jordi,

My name is xxxxxxx -- I am the staff writer for the Creative Loafing
newspaper here in Tampa. I was forwarded an e-mail you sent us about your
wild wrestling group. I took a look at the site and -- yep -- you definitely
fit our paper ;-)

I'd love to come to a Thursday meet up and see what your group is all about.
When are they? And what's a good date?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best,

My reply:

December 2, 2008

xxxxxx,

We would definitely like to meet with you. We meet regularly at the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) show on Thursday night at 7:30pm. FCW is located at 4535 South Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL 33611. We will probably be there between 6:30-7pm. You should be able to recognize us by our afro wigs.

Of note, FCW regularly does TV tapings for broadcasts on cable TV. These tapings usually draw a larger crowd (hence more people in afros) and we are able to better interact more with the crowd and the performers. I have been told that next Thursday will be a taping and that the show this week is merely a "house" show - without the full-out wrestling production.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me or call me any night after 6pm at ###-####.

Thanks,

And that was all.

The Army and I, twenty years ago today ....

There are several dates each year that cause me to take a moment and reflect. There is my birthday, family birthdays, and the anniversary of family deaths. And one date that marks the beginning of my adult life. The date when who I was changed forever.

Twenty years ago, on August 21st, 1995, I left home to join the US Army.

If that day was my start date, had I stayed in, I would be retiring from the military today.

I remember it well. Six months after signing the initial paperwork and waiting in the delayed entry program, I left for the Army on the same day my high school peers began life at universities and community colleges. Well, some did. That was part of the reason I enlisted, to get away and do something different. As I mentioned in previous writing, my grades weren't the best, and university life was not only out of financial reach but also out of intellectual reach at that moment in my life. I probably would have slacked through college as I did high school.

So on August 21, 1995, I said good-bye to my mother, visiting grandmother, and brother, and drove with my father to the recruiting office for the last time. I think it meant a lot to my father to see me off as he has always been very pro-military and his father, who had passed away earlier in the year, also served in the Army. I remember my Dad holding back tears as he gave me a hug before he left.

A moment I'll never forget.

From the recruiting station I was put on a small bus from Melbourne, Florida to Jacksonville with several other recruits. They were on their first of two trips north for processing. I was the only one on my final trip. Their bags were packed for a few days knowing they would return. My one gym bag was packed for good.

When I arrived at the Ramada Inn by the Jacksonville Military Entry Personnel Station (MEPS), I was put in a room with a guy I had never met and never saw again. The only thing I remember about him was that he was a big Grateful Dead fan. He made his fandom known early in our rooming experience when he gave me a speech on the greatness of Jerry Garcia, who had died two weeks earlier. He called the former guitarist a "hero and a great man". He then pulled out several magazines and newspapers from his suitcase and turned to articles on Garcia, as if quote scripture and prove he wasn't alone in his worship.

Looking back, I am not sure what he intended to do with those magazines in basic training. Nor am I sure he passed the necessary drug tests.

That was the only conversation I had with my Deadhead roommate. Shortly after I was given the rundown on Jerry Garcia's prominence, I left for dinner. When I returned, the Garcia acolyte was asleep. Whatever his purpose at MEPS, he was gone before I awoke the next morning and I never saw him again.

After finishing the necessary paperwork and processing, I left MEPS for the Jacksonville airport and the first step of my military journey. From Jacksonville, I flew to Atlanta, then to St Louis, where I finally connected with other new recruits. They were as awestruck as I was.

Shortly after connecting, we were herded into a white school bus headed for Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Over the next two hours, I chatted and bonded with the other soon-to-be service members. We were all excited, all young, and all had no clue what was going to happen.

Soon enough, the bus stopped. I didn't own a watch, so I had no idea what time is was. All I knew was that it was late and dark. We all sat in the bus for several moments, anticipating the unknown.

Our unknown was abruptly shattered by the first drill sergeant I ever saw. True to the stereotype, he barked at us to leave the bus and bring our belongings into the Fort Leonard Wood training processing center. As soon as I could, I grabbed my gym bag and hustled off the bus towards the facility.

For the next few days, Army in-processing was a labyrinth of shots, supplies, and adminstrata. I signed up for the GI Bill, was issued my first uniform, and received my first military hair cut. We were herded along by admin specialists and medical personnel who knew more about our futures then we did and liked it that way.

After each day of in-processing, we were led to old World War II-style temporary barracks for the night. It was a typical open bay of bunkbeds and lockers. Privacy was no longer an option. I went to bed almost immediately on that first night, my only post-dinner task securing my new Army gear in my locker. My gym bag, basketball shorts, t-shirts, and sneakers were no longer needed.

I remember being on the top bunk, asking myself on that first night, "what did I get into?". I remember drifting off comparing those first whirlwind moments of basic training to kindergarten or the first day of fifth grade after my family moved to Florida. If I made through those experiences, I thought to myself, I was strong enough to make it through the experience of basic training.

(Seventeen years later in Afghanistan, I used that same technique to get through my first few nights. After a long international flight, several hours of travel and moving, and incredible jet lag, I again laid on a crappy mattress in temporary open bay-style barracks and thought about how I made it though other new and unknown experiences.)

At 5:00 AM the next morning, the drill sergeant turned on the barracks lights and woke us up. He told us to hurry up and because we had work to do. My first day was done. It was August 22, 1995. My second day in the US Army.