Whatsup Syndicate,
I feel like it's been so long since I've walked on the blog side of TGS and because I have been distracted and somewhat neglectful I've decided to create a mega installment {guilt is a hell of a motivator}. About twice the cool stuff, twice the great information, twice the trivial crap (it's a gift) and twice the dose of my "in your face, witty, sarcastic, incredibly insightful and modest" repertoire.
The subjects of the mega installment are literally too numerous to type in the title bar of Blogger so here's a rundown of what you can find in this installment of The Genius Syndicate:
- StartUp
- Beautiful Wife: Marital Bliss/ Ugly Husband: Lucky Bastard
- Why I Like: Estelle
- Signs to Quit Your Gig
- The Beauty of Stimulation
- Def Jam's Secret to Success
- Polarizing Brilliance of The Boondocks' Banned Episodes
There you have it, a big heaping helping of TGS for you to sink your teeth into. So dig in.
-elbj
Start Up New Orleans
While in grad school {VCU Brandcenter} I worked with a group of friends {actually we were forced-- just joking-- nah really} to re-brand the city of
More recently my day job was re-branding the United States Virgin Islands. It sounds cool but when you look around at the competition and realize they offer the same damn things your brand does you respect the fact that creating a branded destination is a task that demands solutions to be strategic as well as creative and authentic. Branding any existing product is a challenge within itself but branding an actual place brings its own set of challenges to the table and I think no other U.S city has realized this more so than New Orleans.
Over two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the 
"Idea Village, a
Beautiful Wife: Marital Bliss/ Ugly Husband: Lucky Bastard
Okay, maybe I was mean and presumptuous with the whole "beautiful wife/ugly husband" thing but we've all seen couples where {in our eyes} the beauty was kind of skewed one way or the other. Either the wife was drop dead gorgeous and the husband looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame {with the income of Bill Gates} or the wife was a homely looking mess like Senator Hillary Clinton about 10 years ago {sorry senator but it's documented} and the husband was a real stud. Personally, I feel attractiveness, much like household chores, should be equally shared among a couple but once again science has proved me wrong. Damn you science.
Researchers at the University of Tennessee tested 82 newly-wed couples for facial attractiveness and marriage quality and their results were exactly what I thought all along: "most men who married attractive women were happy to bask in the glory of their partner's beauty {Why Gorgeous Girls are Happier with Plain Guys, The Daily Mail 2008}." Okay, so what about unattractive women who marry attractive men you may ask?
"Professor Jim McNulty reported: "Men who were more attractive than their partner demonstrated a tendency to offer less emotional and practical support to their wives" and this can be explained by the fact that attractive men are presented with more short-term mating opportunities. In other words, homeboy has more cooch thrown at him than home plate at Yankee Stadium. {I just came up with that one...you can have it}. More details of the study can be found in the Journal of Family Psychology.
So the next time you see a couple and think the date/boyfriend/husband is way out his league just remember that "Men are rated as more likable and friendly when they have a wife who is very attractive." So either way it's a win-win for homeboy. He has you hating on him and his wife is adored and satisfied. All of this information makes you think twice about the following couples:
Beyonce and Jay-Z: Ain't nothing I can say about this couple that hasn't already been said. I'll leave it alone.
Baddest chick in the game, indeed.
Jermaine and Janet: Chris Rock said it best, "Finding out Janet Jackson is dating Jermaine Dupree is like finding out they were selling Bentleys for $5. Everybody had a chance to get one!"
I ain't mad at JD though. I'm still in love with Janet from her "When I Think of You" days.
Catherine and Michael: This one threw everyone for a loop but you have got to respect the old playa's game. Catherine is going to be a banger for a long time.
Porschela Coleman and Russell Simmons: Russell keeps a looker on his arm and now I know why.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his Ex-wife: No disrespect to the former Mrs. Rock but you'd think she'd be a little more exotic, gorgeous and pretty....like her ex-husband. Maybe that's why they aren't together. {Read the article}.
Why I Like: Estelle
I like this chick. I really do and before you say anything it's not just because she's cute, incredibly talented and British. It's because she's cute and incredibly talented--her being British is a bonus though. {Stop hating}.
I read about her in a Rolling Stone article and hit the nail on the head when comparing her to a combination of Lauryn Hill {pre-crazy} and Amy Winehouse {pre-crack}. The girl {Estelle} is dope and so dope that John Legend scooped her up to be on his own label {Homeschool Records}. One thing that blew me away was the fact that she used to re-work secular music into gospel. "British singer-rapper Estelle spent her childhood "flipping secular music to gospel" with her eight siblings.”We'd take Brandy's 'Best Friend' and make it about God being your best friend," says the twenty-seven-year-old
Now someone is listening to Estelle's great music and wondering how they can flip it. Check out videos for Estelle's singles "American Boy {Kanye KILLED his verses}" and "Wait a Minute, Just a Touch" below. I really like this chick.
Writings on the Wall, Burning Bushes and Other Signs You Should Resign
I think T.D Jakes captured it best when he said "I have the gift of good-bye". It's a powerful thing to be able to walk away from an unproductive situation but it's more empowering knowing WHEN to walk away...from anything especially a job. Like I mentioned before, I'm not one of those bloggers who passes along info that I haven't applied {Crown Ministries} and I can say that I completely co-sign on this advice because I recently resigned from a position and I think it was best for both parties.
Susan M. Heathfield, not pictured to the left, over at About.com {one of my absolute favorite websites} lays it out on the line with her article "Top 10 Reasons to Quit Your Job". Here are a few of the Top 10.
"Your relationship with your manager is damaged beyond repair. You have sought help to mend the relationship but you know it is too damaged for recovery. (Perhaps you were untrustworthy, missed work on too many days, or the manager acts like an untrustworthy jerk.) Whatever the reason, the relationship is irrecoverably damaged."
"You've stopped having fun and enjoying your job. No matter what changed, when you dread going to work in the morning, it's time to quit your job."
"For whatever reason, you have behaved in ways that are considered improper at work. You've missed too many days of work, slacked off on the job, failed to maintain needed skills, and/or just generally developed the reputation of a loser. That reputation, once earned, is unlikely to change; you might as well quit your job, while you have the opportunity."
Of course every job has it's bumps and every career has it's rough patches but I firmly believe that everyone has the right to work at a place where they are challenged, valued and happy. If at the core of your frustration you can honestly say that your current situation doesn't check those three boxes then it may be time for you to peace out. Check out the rest of the article {and more great info} when you get a chance.
The Beauty of Stimulation
If you are a creative professional or just a professional with a mean creative streak {like yours truly} then I have the perfect web-resource for you--http://www.behance.com/ This website/group/resource/network is amazing and one thing they aren't short on is inspiration.
One of my favorite teachers, ever, {Mark Fenske} used to say that if you want something good to come out of your brain then put something good in it. He used to begin each of his classes with a piece of literature or music and he often showed movies for us to watch. Now that I think about it those two years were the most inspired I've been in a while. Tangent. I'm sorry.
The people at Behance offer great advice for creativity and creative thinking and the tip I stumbled across reminded me of Fenske.
"Some of the most productive creative minds rely on a periodic self-administered dose of randomness to stay stimulated. Stimulation is not only necessary when developing new ideas, but is also critical when refining solutions to a particular problem. Every brain benefits from new angles that often escape your traditional point of view {Seek Stimulation from Randomness, Behance Mag}."
Good info, right? Here's more.
"Travel without a map. When we venture beyond our comfort zone, we often over-compensate with extensive planning, maps, and itineraries. Instead, consider traveling somewhere without plans. Behance has interviewed many prolific Creatives that cite getting lost as the best way to find new solutions." That's good stuff. Although I can honestly say that traveling without a map only pisses me off at first then I end up enjoying it. Kudos to Behance.
Def Jam's Secret to Success
Before you get all huffy this isn't a stab at Rick Ross or Def Jam...it's more of a jab at the entire music industry. Rick {Rrrrrawus} just happened to be the butt of this spoof because homeboy had the #1 album in the country. Congrats man. Anyway, I found this clip over at the Complex blog the other day and have been cracking up at it ever since. Makes you wonder.
The Boondocks - Network Television = Brilliance
I still can't believe there are people {black people} who have never heard of, read or watched The Boondocks. Aaron McGruder has made some of the most insightful commentary on black life in
For two seasons in a row The Boondocks has been cleaning up with ratings while making people laugh and educating them all at once. Whether the main characters are tackling closeted gay rappers {Gangstalicious}, Katrina refugees, vengeful demons {Stinkmeaner}, eliminating the condition of black self-hate {Uncle Ruckus} or battling Killer Kung Fu Wolf Bitches {Killer Kung Fu Wolf Bitch} nothing, this season, has caused as much controversy as the two banned episodes.
I still am not clear as to exactly why these two episodes where banned but I'm sure some people, some where got really pissy, damn near salty {mainly Reggie Hudlin, former Boondocks executive producer and current BET head honcho}. BET {Black Entertainment Television} is the target for both episodes and...let's just say that the network and it's leaders come under some heavy and hilarious scrutiny.
Hey, Aaron and his crew may be tough but I never said they were wrong. If you watch BET you'll understand. Check out the two banned episodes. Thanks to the Complex blog for posting these. Y'all literally made my day.
Episode 14: The Huey Freeman Hunger Strike
Episode 15: The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show
Quote for the Day
“Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel.”
