Super Bass

Best cover ever, nuff said.

Red Ties and Guns

On April 11th 2012 I was blessed with the opportunity to go to the Colbert Report for the second time, and was pleasantly surprised by his guest Michelle Obama! Waiting in line I felt a sense of pride like no other. They opened the line hours earlier than usually for the taping of the show and there were secret service everywhere. While inside the lobby area(so to speak) where we were herded like cattle to wait until the taping began we were approached by one of the security staff. He was a short bald man with an intense stare and walked over to my friend and his girlfriend with a red card, and on this card it gave us access to the very first row!

This became an even more intimate experience to see the First Lady and first Black First Lady sitting only 12 feet away from me. I'm not really one to be star-struck but the air felt heavier while I was in the audience.While Mrs. Obama and Colbert discussed her initiative to help active duty armed forces and veterans get back on their feet, I couldn't help but think how amazing it is to live during this time. Regardless of how President Obama is viewed in history I am proud to know that I was a part in helping him get elected.

PS
I know I say this every year but I pledge to write in this more...or just get rid of it entirely. Either way it's a win win right!?

Black Gold

When I heard this song, I instantly fell in love with it. I've been a fan of Esperanza Spalding for some time now but this new song Black Gold really sealed the deal. It's soulful, upbeat, socially conscious, her vocals are mesmerizing, and the video is amazing. It reminds me of summer time, free concerts, chilling with my friends and family, just enjoying life, and above all being proud of my heritage. Without further adieu I present Black Gold:

Isn't her fro sublime?

Hip Hop Psychology

About Us

Hip Hop Psychology (HHP) is a school of philosophical inquiry which seeks to use the artistic components of Hip Hop (movement, visual art, music production and emceeing) as a means to provide a culturally sensitive, multi-linguistic way of expressing in a therapeutic or medical context (Gardner & Roychoudhury, 2010)

HHP is also praxis – a complex cyclical activity involving theory, application, evaluation, reflection and further theory which builds upon the metanarrative of Hip Hop, as the catalyst for a renaissance of emotional expression and transformative social change, in order to bridge gaps, pursue humanization and diplomatically work towards conflict transformation by using the best of capitalism and socialism to diminish power differentials and pursue a path towards emancipatory therapy and liberating education in order to achieve a dialectic or reconciliation (Roychoudhury & Gardner, in press)

http://www.hiphoppsychology.org/

So this an excerpt from this cool site I found. They use Hip-hop as a medium to help those in need through therapy. They are having a conference this Sat. Feb. 4th at Fordham University that culminates in a concert. It will have lectures, speakers, and workshops.

It's essentially another form of art & music therapy. They are trying to reach the population of youth that suffer from emotional psychological problems that normally wouldn't seek out help or have difficulty opening up through conventional therapeutic methods. 

I guess in my amateur experience as a student advocate working with at risk youth in Harlem I find it sometimes difficult to reach my students. Granted I am not a licences psychologist and we do not have formal sessions, but I do provide a type of counseling to help them work out problems in their daily lives. Some of my students have opened up and we are able to work together on certain things while others shut down completely. 

One of my co-workers in fact has experience in art therapy in a juvenile detention facility in CA and expressed her success in helping her students open up and get past traumatic experiences using art as a medium. I don't see why Hip-Hop can't also be used to reach those in need. 

Petition

So in case you didn't know, Sallie Mae sucks. Someone started a petition to make them suck less...Pretty much if you are unemployed they don't offer any type of deals to help lower your monthly payments except a 3 month forbearance, the  catch is the interest will be capitalized and there is a fee of 150$.Here is the link to the petition to stop Sallie Mae from charging to put a loan in 3 month forbearance.  Pass it on!

www.change.org/petitions/tell-sallie-mae-stop-the-unemployment-penalty

Happy New Year= save that money y'all

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/specialconsolidation.jsp

This is a link to a new Federal Student Loan Consolidation program available between now and June 2012. It locks in your interest rates so they do not exceed %8.25 and it lowers your interest by %0.25. There is more info on the site above...Wish Obama would do more, a lot of the programs coming into effect in the coming years pertain to loans taken out in 2008 and later, which sucks because most of my loans are from 2004 to 2008.

Alas 2012 is looking to be a great year. I've been reading this amazing book- Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman and it's nothing short of incredible. Reading this book is part of a larger project some co-workers and I are working on to figure out a way to motive our students and take their education and life more seriously with ambition and vigor. We noticed quite a few of our students seem to suffer from a learned hopelessness and lack the initiative to go HAM in school. This is only the beginning but we are optimistic. The good thing about HCZ is that they focus on a holistic approach to education so once we develop a curriculum that will foster positiveness, and an optimistic explanatory style i'm sure it will be welcomed with open arms.
Wish us luck in our venture to save the world one child at a time!