Hip Hop Karaoke Video

I actually look like I kinda know what I'm doing, thanks to Oopey's awesome photography!

I've been getting some requests to see the video.  It's sure to give you guys a few good laughs.  Here it is (thanks Mon and Nakubu, for setting it up.  What a nice surprise)!

For more pics and videos (there were some really awesome and fun performances), check out HHK's website or find them on Facebook for the freshest info!

Also, props to Oopey Mason for the pics!  Here are some more of his pics from the show.  Be sure to check them out on the HHK Facebook page!

"Ready or Not" Translation

After having memorized and performed the entire song, Mon, Nakubu and I still didn't have much of an understanding of what the song means.  Fail, especially since I've been listening to this song since the album first came out in the 90s.


Luckily, the interwebs found me my answer in the form of an articulate woman on Youtube, who goes by the name of MISSRuby.  What I found most interesting about her translation is that she illuminated a lot of historical and pop cultural references that went over my head, while I was able to make sense of the few lines she couldn't decipher.


Listen to her breakdown of the lyrics here (Go to 0:56 to skip her intro):

Unfortunately, she also got stumped with the "Toss me high - only puff la" lyrics I mentioned in my previous post.  The mystery remains unsolved!

Mon's 1upcake Cupcakes Tutorial

Featuring Mon, Sharmycakes, and Nakubu

The 1upcake (pronounced one-UP-cake) is a cupcake fashioned to look like a Mario brothers 1up mushroom. Iconic in its vibrant green coloration and its power to grant the player an extra life, the 1up mushroom is perhaps the most coveted of all mushrooms.  Here’s a recipe to make your cupcake, or 1upcake, the most coveted of all baked goods. 

YOU WILL NEED

The X-ed out ingredients are for a future project...

Cupcake mix (read box for required ingredients and baking tools)

White frosting

Green icing

White icing

Black icing

Icing tube nibs

Cupcake tin

Cupcake baking cups

STEPS

1. Prepare the cupcakes according to the package instructions

Before the apron

After the apron

2. Let the cupcakes cool fully
3. Once they are completely cool, apply frosting as smooth and flat as possible

Make sure they're cold or the icing will melt!

4. Place the frosted cupcakes in the freezer for 15 minutes
5. Once the cupcakes are cold, take them out of the freezer and prepare your icing tubes with the appropriate nib



Mon = Awesome

6. Fill in the green section of the 1up first

7. Fill in the white second
8. Outline the black third

Close-up of Mon's 1upcake

9. Continue until you can no longer feel your fingers

The ghetto ones are mine.

10. Eat until you reach 1up status

OM NOM NOM

The End!

Wyclef's Part Memorized!

Last night I had dreams.  Strange ones.  All in the image of my drawings from yesterday.

They looked something like this:

I also woke up to the realization that somehow, overnight, or perhaps because of my experimental illustration memorization technique, I had MEMORIZED WYCLEF'S RAP! GREAT SUCCESS!


Now, I have the immense challenge of figuring out a way to teach my students this technique -- without coming off as a complete weirdo.

Memorizing The Lyrics to "Ready of Not"

I'm going to be rapping "Ready or Not" ON STAGE in about a week. I desperately need to memorize all the lyrics.  This task is particularly difficult for me, since I've often forgotten the lyrics to MY OWN songs and performance poems. 

The trouble is I can't bring a cheat sheet up on stage, and if I forget the lyrics, I'll not only be embarrassed, but I'll get booted off stage!

Having the responsibility of teaching my students effective memorization methods, I'm well aware of the techniques available.  However, none of them seem to work for me.  Therefore, I have devised a new method of memorization, albeit experimental.

The technique is relatively simple.  I will rewrite AND illustrate my understanding of the lyrics.  Luckily, I already know Lauren Hill's part.  However, Wyclef's verses mess me up, so I'm going to start with WYCLEF:

(I know a few lines here by heart:)


If I ruled the world, everyone would have gun
In the ghetto of course, we giddy-upping on the horses,


(and back to the part I don't yet know) 

(And YAY, I know the rest until Praz's verse!)

Stay tuned for Praz's part... to be posted once I effectively memorize these pictures!


******
Update: May 15, 2011


Having listened to the song dozens of times since this post, I internalized Praz's part.  Perhaps it's because his part is relatively uncomplicated, save for one line that I have yet to decipher.  It sounds like "Toss me high - only puff la."  Please let me know what this means, if anyone out there knows it.  Kthxbai.

Living with Parents: Part 2

The Pros and Cons of Living with your Parents
Part 2

Pro: Free rent

Con: Having to follow the same rules you had in high school

Living with Parents: Part 1

The Pros and Cons of Living with your Parents


Despite what most people might think, living at home when you're nearly thirty certainly has its benefits.  

Sometimes, however, the very same situation that is a "pro" can quickly transform into a "con." 

The following is part 1 of a series I'm calling "The Pros and Cons of Living with your Parents."

Pro: Free Food

Con: Being Forced to Eat Gross Vegetables

*Bitter melon, or bitter gourd, is a vegetable grown in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.


It also grows like weeds in my backyard.  


Bitter melon tastes EXACTLY as it sounds.  


It is bitterness personified.  


Eating it is like bitterness b*tch-slapped you in the face.