http://www.famelessfam.com/?p=1481

check out the single from time crisis

Why Cemistry BLOWS

So these are the class grades for my Biochem final... Also to help your perspective,the girl that I paid as an Ochem tutor wasn't even the smartest person in the class...

CHEM 340 - EXAM 3

High 85.5

Low 30.5

Mean 59.5

Median 57

DISTRIBUTION

100 - 0

90 - 0

80 - 5

70 - 3

60 - 6

50 - 8

40 - 4

30 - 3

20 - 0

Your Score: 44.5

Course Grade: C

At least i didn't get the low grade right.. and who the fuck makes a 44 a C..

The Secret Handshake App for Iphone

Secret Handshake App from Prameya Bhandari on Vimeo.

December 19th: Mel & Josh in Woodstock

Hey guys...my friend Mel and I are playing some music at my house on Sunday, December 19th at 5 PM.  It's a small fundraiser for Shining Hope for Communities (Leah's organization that founded the school in Kenya, the one my band has done three benefits for) and I'd love for any of you who are home to come.

Mel and I will be playing a bunch of our original songs, which are sort of an acoustic singer-songwriter/hip-hop hybrid.  I rap and sing and she plays cello (like a bass though, without a bow) and also plays guitar and sings and does spoken word.  The songs I've put together with her have been by far the most personal I've ever written, and it'd be mean a lot to me to have you guys there to see what we do.  Of course you've all seen me rap over the years, but this girl has something different...something really incredible that has to be experienced to be believed.  Let me know if any of you are going to be home around then and might be able to make it.

Peace,
J

New Render

The most current model. Check out the blog for more ev.entplex.org/blog

www.mkalish.com

speed bumpsss..

okay so, my pops is saying the Durango is out of commission.. which gives us two options:

train - we fill up water bottles and booze our way down, take the 4 and the L and make it to Brooklyn with little time to spare.

or

Jake's maroooon mini-van. (hilarity would no doubt ensue)

you tell me.???

Hotness

New MacAskill. Easily the best videos I've seen this year.

CHANGE OF PLANS. Doomtree on Friday, the 26th in BK

My Wayfinder Thanksgiving that I go to at Innis's every year got rescheduled for the 27th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so now I'm NOT going to the Boston show, but instead going to see Doomtree in BROOKLYN the day before that instead.  They're playing The Knitting Factory (which moved to BK a couple years ago) on Friday the 26th, that's the day after Thanksgiving, and it would be dope if a bunch of us could go.  I've already got my ticket.

Just so yall know, this is probably the only chance any of you will get for a looooong time to see all 5 Doomtree emcees on stage at once, with both Lazerbeak AND Paper Tiger dropping beats on the turntables/MPCs.  There are no opening acts, just 3 hours of Doomtree with small solo sets from each member and a crew part of the set with everyone.  I simply cannot miss out on this.  Tickets are pretty cheap, I think they're under $20.  Let me know who's down.

Peace,
J

Benefit Show on the 19th

Psi U.  A week from Friday.  Another benefit show for Shining Hope.  This one is gonna be big.

WordSmith & The Concert G's 
 (still using that name for shows at Wes)
Linus
Static Stamina

Let me know if anyone can make it out.

Peace,
J

break

hell yes!! im really excited to see all of you. hope we'll all be there.......? confirm........ we need to dance a lot and make things together. consuming inappropriate quantities of alcohol may also be necessary.

awesome

http://inhabitat.com/2010/11/05/artist-melts-1527-guns-to-make-shovels-for-tree-planting/

life indeed.

its been quite a year for me. lots of ups and downs so far. for the first month of school i was working my ass off. applied for a research fulbright to fiji to study rainwater harvesting/fiji bottled water. should hear back jan or feb. im taking a ton of classes. 6.5 at the moment, which sounds insane, and it sometimes is, but it will allow me to be a part time student next semester, so i will save a load of dollars, and have time to work on my own projects/interests. gonna try to do a bunch of traveling throughout California and do some backyard building projects. just built a ping pong table the other day to get back on that shit. i am planning on being in mexico for winter break to get on a building project with a guy i met last summer. perhaps in TJ or Pescadero...pretty far from each other, but not sure where it will be yet. ok, thats all for now. got to run to a meeting for the planning of a reggae festival. adios.

LETS ALL GO! I KNOW WE'LL ALL BE HOME

Josh already bought his tickets..

Found This

 Searched for the Kingston cement factory on google and THIS came up.  Dope.

Dont forget your roots.

who's trying to make it out to Cali during christmas break.?

MY THESIS>

Yeah I grew that..

senior photos. haha

Kno's Solo Album Dropped...

...and it is fucking incredible.  Get it here.  Just click the first album cover at the top left.

This Is Poetry

Jon Sands performing on the subway, doing a piece that plays with how a stranger's vernacular speech can be just as valid an example of poetry as anything else.  This is kind of an odd piece, it took me a couple watches to see how genius it is, but this guy is absolutely incredible.  No one else could make this poem work like he can.

note

i wish i could have stayed the night but even so your show last night was an amazing experience. so good to see your faces and share that. i want to see some of those videos and pictures i saw matt and jake taking up here. also when is there going to be a recording of you guys playing live? josh, i totally forgot the name of the song that you told me about last night. again, it was truly amazing to see and hear you all last night and i cannot wait for the next gathering.

song i'm listening to right now:

love

e

Threw this logo together for Tyler's guitar shop.

He started a shop in new paltz and is now opening a second one in saugerties. its called root note.

hehe

Some wise words from my pops..

lets look at it this way…

When I was 22, and didn’t have a clue…
I spent many hours on the road…they called me the wandering Jew

But somehow or another, without much time to wander
Things fell into place, and I’ve fared pretty well in the race

Sometimes you need to say thanks, and work hard to reap the rewards
Because in the end its not sleep you will miss, especially when granted all that you wish

The adventure has just begun my son. I know you have the motivation, skills, intellect and good humor to take this on…and more. Ride this beast, and touch the ground each day for just enough time to track the journey, enjoy the ride!

It begins

To be continuously updated. This is the first version of our project site. Time to work.

ev.entplex.org

Of Mics And Men

In case yall somehow didn't know...
http://www.TheNewConfusion.com/WordSmith

sound of the cosmos

this is dope. very dope. rhythm of the planets. i put it on when im typing, reading, power nap. whatever needs a peaceful background noise. i like it at a slow tempo. crazy cause first its a little awkward but then your mind gets used to the scale of the pattern and it just flows. try it.


http://www.whitevinyldesign.com/solarbeat/

History of the Motion Picture Camera INFOgraphic

just a little something something i threw together..

Time Crisis

This is a collaboration album that two friends from Conn and some of their friends from Pennsylvania and Boston. My friends Jon Markson and Will Brown produced the whole album. Josh, they want to send you some beats. They just opened on campus for Sleigh Bells. Such a amazing concert. I am definitely interested in coming to the Wordsmith & Concert G's show since I might be at a conference at Wesleyan anyway.

hope to see some of you at the show,

love,

erik

Album Drops 9/25, First Show 10/2

Hey, just wanted to let yall know (in case you didn't already) that Of Mics And Men officially drops this weekend.  I will post a link as soon as the Bandcamp page is up.  Also, the first WordSmith & The Concert G's show of this year will be happening on Saturday, October 2nd at 200 Church...it's sort of a mid-sized venue on this campus.  Bigger than a house party, smaller than Psi U or something like that.  That's not this Saturday but the next one.  Let me know by the week of if any of yall are gonna come visit for that so I know what to expect.  This week is crazy for me because of the release, but really exciting.  Hope all of you are doing well.

Peace,
J

Ken Arkind - Volume Knob

Seeing this poem performed live over the summer single handedly made me fall back in love with spoken word.  Ken was the 2010 Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion and was on the Nuyorican Slam Team that came in 2nd at nationals this year.  Enough said...check it out.

ridiculous

everyone should watch this. dude is the best driver ive ever seen.

Taking a swing

Hey friends,

i was inspired by the resurrection and although i have never been a major contributor i figured i would, you know, take a swing at it. right now i am in the library pretending to be working on my study abroad application. i am applying to an ecology program that is based out of quito, ecuador. matt and jordan, the trip sounded so fun from the brief but enthusiastic description jordan told me. check out the program if you want. some highlights: couple days snorkeling in the galapagos, orchidology and ornithology.

the house i am living in this semester is awesome. a four person house with only three people and a cat named thomis (pronounced thomas). plenty of space if anyone ever wants to crash.

i am trying to organize a group of kids to go down to dc to this conference/day of action appalachia rising

song i am listening to right now:

most recent inspiring youtube video:

yeah so i love you guys miss you guys and will try to stay in contact

e

draft of a new one

Tronics

an army on the road
five nights in Los Angeles
shredding for hours under crimson light
they gutted the codas
and threw griddle hiss into
the frequencies just below ear reach

in the crescent city            
they dropped Playa Playa from the setlist
and built a fire at stage left
til the floor turned to river mud

they cast horns as trumps
and sent young girls
dancing slackjaw toward the aisles
hands reaching to tear the roof off
and send it on skyward

a ripe sweet funk
curling toes til the morning
when brother Jacques watched
a second line coming down Esplanade
piping Blackbird Special into the distance

when they told how
D snapped the mic stand
like an olive branch
and busted through the pantheon
growling at Jimi on the way in

commissioned to
write a dirge for hip-hop
on a paint-splattered reel-to-reel
they packed the heat into buses
and wandered on to
try to shake that load off
roaming the french quarter
sounding the chords to Fall In Love
on a pawn shop Wurlitzer

Life and stuff

BRETHEREN!!!

its been a loooooonnnngg while. so, im back in school, working on this div3 project (building electric vehicle), riding and building bikes, living healthy, and having fun. finally 21 so ive been dancing my ass off and going to bars. good bit o fun. continuing to make things, building this business. gonna be a bit slow this year cause the thesis project is gonna take up a lot of time. got a house in northampton and a pull out couch so anyone and everyone should come visit! i promise a good time. pretty busy right now getting the semester rolling but here a re some photos from the summer of fun shit and a bit of tech stuff. this took me exactly 6 minutes to write and probably 4 more to load the photos. take 10 minutes from your day and do the same!!! much love boyos, keep winning....





i flew that plane!!!! the owner is the husband of a professor. he's a competitive stunt pilot. we did loop-to-loops, barrel rolls inverted flight, and hammerheads. then he let my fly and taught me to do barrel rolls. there is nothing like it on the ground. 180mph, 2.5 Gs, and lots of screaming. awesome. period.












photos from bike tour. Niagara falls to traverse city michigan through canada. 850 miles. 9 days. everyone needs to ride bicycles.

ALRIGHT KIDDIES LETS GET BACK TO IT!

The school year has now begun! Although Yakobo doesnt seem to have any classes this year. (fucking PDS 16th grade)
I assume we are all once again becoming productive members of society. Or at least trying to. Therefore I expect to see some of your work, ideas, concepts, and interests or just some funny shit youve found online.

The HesterP link at the top of your web browser may be lacking some lovin these days, but I know that the rest of the blogs/porn you view 6 times daily cannot possibly be updating fast enough to keep you too busy to throw something up here!

Miss you all and I hope that someone has an excuse for us all to see each other soon.

FINAL FINAL FINAL ALBLUM COVER.

Gettin accolades all over the world..

www.creaporchile.cl

Click on RESULTADOS.. over 400 entries incase your spanish is fading..

The Father's Day Post: A Taste of New Orleans

This is a Father's Day post dedicated to my dad, Kevin Smith. Dad, for you I put together a selection of some albums, both new and old, that represent some of the best New Orleans music I've heard recently. Considering how our interests in the city have grown watching Treme this summer, and how harshly this latest oil catastrophe is going to further damage the people of that city, the preservation of New Orleans culture is more vital now than ever, and music is at the heart of that culture. So, in the uplifting spirit of Father's Day, here are some albums that really convey the unmistakable, yet incredibly eclectic sound of New Orleans, and feature some of the best Big Easy musicians of many generations. Enjoy.

Love,
Josh

*EDIT -- Due to a copywrite complaint, I have had to take down the albums that were up for download in this post. Talk to me if you wanna actually hear all of this music.*
____________________________________________

Rebirth Brass Band - Ultimate Rebirth Brass Band

Rebirth is probably the second-best known brass band (after Dirty Dozen) in the extremely important New Orleans brass tradition. This tradition stretches back to the 19th century, in which brass bands would play music that fused the styles of European-style marching band tunes with West African folk music brought to America by slaves, a syncretism that would be instrumental in the creation of jazz, and the eventual swinging New Orleans jazz sound of many brass bands. Rebirth was founded in 1982 by sousaphonist Philip Frazier, his brother, bass drummer Keith Frazier, and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, who later left the group to found the Barbecue Swingers. Rebirth combines classic New Orleans second line brass music with elements of funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop to create a raw explosive sound, complete with strong backbeats, screaming horns, and harmonious chanting. This 2004 compilation of some of their greatest songs is a testament to almost three decades of music, and is also a great introduction to New Orleans brass.

The Meters - The Meters

The Meters were founded by Art Neville, keyboardist for the New Orleans' legendary soul group, The Neville Brothers. In the late 60's and early 70's, The Meters became the preeminent organ-based funk group in the world, a quartet that included Neville, now legendary bassist George Porter Jr. (who has worked with Paul McCartney, David Byrne, and Dr. John), guitarist Leo Nocentelli, and one of the most "in the pocket" drummers of all time, Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste. The Meters became the house band for Allen Toussaint's record label, Sansu Enterprises, and also released a string of their own albums. The first of these, The Meters, included funk classics like "Cissy Strut" (now one of the most covered funk songs of all time), "Sophisticated Cissy," and others. This album is the origin of New Orleans organ funk, and has influenced countless funk musicians today, as well as becoming a frequent sample source for hip-hop producers. Ask ?uestlove...he'll tell you.

Ivan Neville's Dumstaphunk - Listen Hear

Ivan Neville, son of Neville Brothers vocalist supreme Aaron Neville, has created his own brand of guitar and organ driven New Orleans funk/rock with his band Dumpstaphunk. Neville, who contributed to several Neville Brothers records himself, is a masterful keyboardist and a great singer as well (as if a Neville could be anything else). Dumpstaphunk's sound is almost like a sonic kick to the face at times, as certain songs come in with a bang and never seem to let up, though some of the intricate funk lines are like nothing you've ever experienced. 2007's 5-song release, Listen Hear, is short and sweet, and shows why The New York Times labeled Dumpstaphunk the best current funk band out of New Orleans.

Galactic - Ya Ka May

When Elvis Costello refers in one episode of Treme to Galactic as, "like The Meters, but a bunch of white guys, right?," he isn't completely off, but his statement clearly shows his unfamiliarity (at least in the fictional reality of the show) with the full range of Galactic's music, one of the reasons the scene is so funny. Galactic has really carved its own niche within New Orleans music, and within American music as a whole, moving from New Orleans funk to creating a unique fusion of funk, jazz, soul, New Orleans brass, hip-hop, electronica, and world music. Originally formed by guitarist Jeff Raines and bassist Robert Mercurio after the two met as undergrads at Tulane University and immersed themselves in the local New Orleans music scene, Galactic has really evolved over the years. These days, drummer Stanton Moore often uses phrase samplers to sample rhythms and then play over them, creating a very intricate percussive sound. The rest of the group has also used more synthesizers and effects recently, though not to the extent that the music feels any less authentic. The group is now known around the world, touring with The Roots and the Allman Brothers, and often inviting New Orleans acts both famous and locally respected to share the stage for guest appearances. Their latest album, Ya-Ka-May, includes features from Allen Toussaint, Trombone Shorty, Irma Thomas, and the aforementioned Rebirth Brass Band. Definitely one of band's best albums, and one that showcases many different aspects of Nola music, a sort of bridge between classic and contemporary New Orleans.

Trombone Shorty - Backatown

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews is one of the most exciting young musicians out of New Orleans right now, and is a member of the Andrews clan, who, along with the Nevilles, are one one of the city's most respectected musical families. Born into a family of brass players in the Treme neighborhood, the story goes that young Troy Andrews picked up the trombone and was marching with bands as a small child, before his arms were even long enough to reach all of the positions on the slide. As the newly christened "Trombone Shorty" grew up, he attracted attention as a both an incredibly young musician and as a virtuoso performer, eventually attending the well-known New Orleans Center For the Creative Arts, alma mater of Wynton and Branford Marsalis. Through various recording sessions and performances, Andrews ended up collaborating and performing with international acts like U2 and Green Day in 2006. Clearly rising in musical prominence, Troy has been recording with his own 6-piece band, Orleans Avenue, creating a fusion of New Orleans Brass, surprisingly hard rock, funk, and soul. The result, as can be heard on 2010's Backatown (produced by Galactic's Ben Ellman), is a true New Orleans concoction, one that feels as rich and seasoned as the city's famous cuisine.
________________

So there. Some New Orleans music for you to enjoy. I'll leave with this bonus track, Allen Toussaint's 1965 song, "Go Back Home." Famously sampled by DJ Premier for Jay-Z's now classic "D'evils," this seems like a perfect song to go out on, with bursting bluesy piano, thick contemplative horns, and the smooth voice that has helped to define New Orleans rhythm and blues for decades. Toussaint asks, "Where is the love that has meant so much?" It's right there in that troubled, sacred city. He had to "go back home" to to find it once again.

Allen Toussaint - Go Back Home

awesome!!!

talk about a freak bike!

-self portrait

time. anyways, life is great. im in taos new mexico. living in an earthship called the fallen angel and working on a new project. did some adobe mixing and bottle wall construction the first day. more to come. anyways, some photos yo from since september or so.

recent work

hope you all are doing well. heres a quick blog i set up to show some of my work. enjoy

http://willsearsfineart.wordpress.com

Treats

A few songs I've been enjoying lately:

This is one of my favorite Aretha songs...one that she wrote herself. You might recognize parts of it that Kanye sampled for "School Spirit" back on College Dropout. Vintage gospel/soul...no one can do what that woman could do vocally when she was in her prime.

Aretha Franklin - Spirit In The Dark



This is some new shit. No one knows too much about this dude Jai Paul from the UK, but this track has been in serious rotation lately. Really cool fusion of different influences from D'angelo-esque soul to electro to hip-hop.

Jai Paul - BTSU



Sabzi can flip any song and make it hot. Anyone who has heard "Fireflies" by Owl City will laugh at the fact that they sampled this, but the beat is tight, and Geologic holds it down.

Blue Scholars - Paul Valery

update

quick shot of the final model

Ma Shoe

dope

figured it was about time

a semester endevour.

something new. team project with a few friends and a master woodcarver de mexico y rastafari.
wood carving is amazing. reminds me of those big doors in my house.

where im at

im crankin to finish up. one week left, one big lab report, a series of shop projects, and then submitting final portfolio for the past two years. got some stuff to do. been having a great time but damn is it busy. here are a couple things. first, my bike is fully built! it is beyond words. here is a quick shot, we'll be doing a proper shoot soon and posting the shots online..

second, the most consuming thing ive been doing is building this uav for my smith class.

seminar engineering course, Aerial Vehicle Design, dopest professor, tons of funding and equipment, first 3/4 of course was lecture and lab based doing aerodynamics, aircraft design, wind tunnel testing, electronics, etc. we had two weeks to build! everything is from scratch. we assembled and programmed the flight board and ground station control. it receives commands from the ground, executes, transmits back flight speed, altitude, motor current, servo position, and then logs all the data. designed the airfoil (wing) and cut many iterations using a cnc foam cutter (funny machine). all other parts were laser cut and epoxied. and guess what, it flew! only one in the class to achieve sustained, controlled flight. i worked with two other students and we rocked it. soooo much fun! yesterday was the final presentation and we were expected to fly. we had just finished redesigning and building this new setup (two props, independent control for 'turning' (yaw)) and had never even done a flight test. worked first try :) im getting footage of the first flight from the school and unfortunately dont have a photo of the final model. we were at an indoor track and i crashed into a wall while attempting to avoid a massive net. shoulda hit the net. anyway we are rebuilding over the weekend and will be doing more tests. here are some shots of the build. (made of; foam wing reinforced with carbon, balsa wood vertical and horizontal stabilizers, carbon spine and crossbeam)

i miss you guys, want to have some fun with yall. keep making it happen, i hope all of you are happy where you are. cant wait to here about your experiences. post something up!!!!

--jake