I recently listened to a video on the Vox channel on Youtube called ‘rappers deconstructed: the best rhymers of all time’. It was interesting to see such a mechanical approach to the analysis of hip hop music. The narrator described her appreciation for the artist MF Doom and started breaking down the lyrics of his songs. I was impressed by the intellectual acuity showcased in his rhymes as I’ve tried to listen to his music a couple of times and I’ve never liked it.
Tag Archives: history
Should I feel proud about slavery?
Language is very important when considering the appropriate feeling about the history of black slavery from the perspective of a black person, because as a black man there is definitely strong feelings when the topic of slavery is brought up. For clear context in this particular article, when I refer to slavery, I am specifically talking about the transatlantic slave trade which started in the 16th Century. Continue reading Should I feel proud about slavery?
Nigerian super rich
The super rich living amongst the super poor
The poverty rate in Nigeria is almost three times the size of the US’s poverty rate, but with an economy growing at more than 5% per year in Nigeria and a GDP of around $500 billion its’ difficult to comprehend how so many people can still be suffering. The first thing to keep in mind is that Nigeria has only been an independent Country since the 1960’s. The pre-colonial period was from around 1500 – 1800 and then the British owned the Country for over 150 years. Continue reading Nigerian super rich
No bullets changes history
We have a serious problem with guns throughout the world and I ask myself on a hourly basis, what if bullets were never invented?
A gun without any bullets is as useless rubber lips on a woodpecker, yet some of the most momentous historical situations have been carved from our use of weapons. Continue reading No bullets changes history
You can throw the strategy right out the window
Elbows thrown.
Hearn using the jab like a virus, keeping Hagler away.
Fancy footwork and hearts of steel.
The best first round in boxing ever!
Continue reading You can throw the strategy right out the window
The First Photo
First human in a photo
Daguerreotype was the first publicly announced photographic process. It was invented by Louis-Jaques-Mande Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839. To make a daguerreotype the daguerreotypist would polish a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish, treat it with fumes that made its surface light sensitive and expose it in a camera for as long as was necessary. Viewing a daguerreotype is unlike looking at any type of photo. The image does not sit on the surface of the metal, but appears to be floating in space. The first photo of a person was taken using the daguerreotype process. The man in the photo, we should call him Jean-Louis Le Franc, was having his shoes shined. It would be interesting to see howJean Louis would take to Snapchat or Instagram, but we’ve definitely come a long way since then. Modern day photography has become a convenient way to self promote but the ability to physically capture a memory will always be important for us.
Boulevard du Temple – Paris
First colour photo
Thomas Sutton collaborated with the theoretical physicist James Clerk Maxwell to take three separate exposures of a tartan ribbon through red, green and blue filters. The developed negatives were projected through separate magic lanterns, with the same coloured filters, on to a screen to create a single image. The principle of colour photography was born.
First war photo
One of the very first war photographs was of US forces fighting in the Mexican War in 1847. The image of American troops riding into the city of Saltillo was captured using daguerreotype technology. The photographer was an unknown American who wanted to take pictures of the likenesses of army officers, Mexican civilians and battlefields. The Mexican war resulted in the US forces being victorious and acquired 500,000 sq miles of land. It is estimated close to 5,000 Mexicans were killed during the land acquisition. The photos are rich in history and the rough and abstract finish makes for striking photography.
Rwanda Genocide: Part Two
An African life seems to have much less value than any other.
Popular press has portrayed the Rwandan Genocide as a tribal war between ethnic groups. Scholarly research has rejected this view, (Des Forges; 1999, Uvin; 1998, Prunier; 1995).
Krain (1997) found that ethnic fractionalisation is uncorrelated with the onset of genocide or political mass murder.
It is known now that there a few vital factors that heavily influence the chance of genocide in conflict ridden countries;
Rwanda Genocide: – Part One
Rwanda Genocide Remembered: Small Arms Involvement
The 7th of April 2014 was the day when France refused to take part in the commemorations ceremony for the Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda was a former French colony. Back in the colonial days, the Germans, Belgians and French enslaved the Rwandan people and set up international corporations, milking the country of its raw materials and natural wealth, they also had a large part to play in the genocide that followed.
Pitbulls are not that dangerous
The Truth about Pitbulls
It seems like every other week, we hear about how a dangerous dog has mauled a child, or even ended a child’s life. As a consequence of their actions, the dog has to be put down. Pitbulls are banned in the UK and dogs homes have to put down thousands of dogs every year purely based on their breed. Even pit bull puppies get put to sleep. I was looking at a list of places where certain breeds are banned and expectedly pitbulls always prop up. The UK, many US states, Australia, Brazil and Spain are just a few places where it is illegal to own a pit bull. Every now and then akita’s, malamutes and staffies pop up but it got me thinking, why are pitbulls so feared?
12 Years a Slave & Django Unchained Oscar winners
12 Years a Slave & Django Unchained are Oscar winners, but which did you prefer?
I preferred Django Unchained to 12 years a slave, no contest. I’m one of those people who doesn’t think many films made in Hollywood deserve much intellectual merit. The depiction of slavery was accurate yes, and I’ve read enough about slavery to grasp that. Roots, Confessions of Nat Turner, and Beloved are all good reads. But to hear Nigger…this and Nigger that, watch horrid torturous scenes, seeing little black children treated like animals, (and once again), black women raped was demoralising. I kept imagining it was me getting whipped, beaten, shackled and spat on and it was a surreal feeling. Thanks Steve McQueen, your doing a wonderful job representing your own race.
Continue reading 12 Years a Slave & Django Unchained Oscar winners