Good evening all,
I'm always looking for some different music/artists to rock with, and I happen to run across this guy Mike Posner the other day. I listened to a couple of his tracks and I was feeling them...he has a different type of vibe or swag (do we still say that?). Check him out here remixing Kiss Me Through the Phone in his dorm room.
Dude has talent and and is a senior Sociology major at Duke (never hurts to have a backup plan). Another favorite of mine is Cooler than Me (here you go).
Anyway, download his mixtape with Don Cannon ('nuff said) and DJ Benzi, "Mike Posner and the Brain Trust"
Almost forgot, check out that new mixtape as well, "One Foot Out the Door".
Cheers to something new,
JIP
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Just my thoughts...just what I was thinking at the time...
So I've told a few people that I was going to start writing again...it's been a long time coming. I'll spare everyone the details of why, but I put two poems (or whatever you want to call them) together and put them on here: "Mr. Probably So" and "Life's Dream"
Just as an aside, I encourage everyone to write their thoughts out, at least from time to time. It's a great way to get out all the information that's constantly running through your head. Who cares if you don't think it's great...give it a shot.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my writing and I'll try to do some more. Let me know your honest opinions...I have tough skin :-).
-JIP
Just as an aside, I encourage everyone to write their thoughts out, at least from time to time. It's a great way to get out all the information that's constantly running through your head. Who cares if you don't think it's great...give it a shot.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my writing and I'll try to do some more. Let me know your honest opinions...I have tough skin :-).
-JIP
Life's Dream
Late nights and early mornings,
the stuff that dreams are made of.
Leave me alone with my thoughts,
They're nothing to be afraid of.
Spending time on self reflection,
Thanking God for all my blessings,
Living life and living right,
The stuff that dreams are made of.
The progression of life,
Starting new chapters,
Taking lessons from the past and applying them thereafter,
Growing as a person and extending life with laughter,
Now that's the stuff that dreams are made of.
the stuff that dreams are made of.
Leave me alone with my thoughts,
They're nothing to be afraid of.
Spending time on self reflection,
Thanking God for all my blessings,
Living life and living right,
The stuff that dreams are made of.
The progression of life,
Starting new chapters,
Taking lessons from the past and applying them thereafter,
Growing as a person and extending life with laughter,
Now that's the stuff that dreams are made of.
Mr. Probably So
Am I gonna drink tonight?
Yeah probably so.
There's a party going on,
So I'll probably go.
There's some winning out there,
So I'll probably win.
The world is full of it,
So I'll probably sin.
This cycle can only go on so long before it takes a toll,
Inside you yearn for something more,
The standard gets old.
After awhile you realize it's probably time to grow,
Am I ready for that day?
Yeah, probably so.
Yeah probably so.
There's a party going on,
So I'll probably go.
There's some winning out there,
So I'll probably win.
The world is full of it,
So I'll probably sin.
This cycle can only go on so long before it takes a toll,
Inside you yearn for something more,
The standard gets old.
After awhile you realize it's probably time to grow,
Am I ready for that day?
Yeah, probably so.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
JIP's Picks: Gilt Groupe
Alright...I consider myself a fashionable, yet frugal guy so I'm going to try to add some of the places that I am able to come across some good deals online.
My first pick is a little site called Gilt Groupe. I ran across this at one of the blogs that I enjoy going to, Tweed and Velvet (check them out while you're at it).
Anyway, this site has high end clothing for men, women, and children at a highly discounted price; here's a brief description:
All you have to do is sign up via email and you're good to go. I've personally ordered a couple of things from them and have been completely satisfied. As it says above though, sales start at noon eastern time, and the best stuff goes fast, so you have to be ready. Also, you have to realize that if something is $600 retail, it might be on Gilt for $200. While that's a good discount, it can still be kind of pricey, so the "Frugal JIP" in me has to hold back sometimes.
So go forth...get your Cool Boy on...
Cheers to good deals,
JIP
My first pick is a little site called Gilt Groupe. I ran across this at one of the blogs that I enjoy going to, Tweed and Velvet (check them out while you're at it).
Anyway, this site has high end clothing for men, women, and children at a highly discounted price; here's a brief description:
For those that don't know, the Gilt Groupe is one of the first companies in the US to offers high end designer fashion, using the "sample sale" idea, to the masses via the Internet. Essentially, the sales start at 12:00 noon everyday and once the flood gates are open the feeding frenzy begins with designer wears being sold at up to 70% off or more.
All you have to do is sign up via email and you're good to go. I've personally ordered a couple of things from them and have been completely satisfied. As it says above though, sales start at noon eastern time, and the best stuff goes fast, so you have to be ready. Also, you have to realize that if something is $600 retail, it might be on Gilt for $200. While that's a good discount, it can still be kind of pricey, so the "Frugal JIP" in me has to hold back sometimes.
So go forth...get your Cool Boy on...
Cheers to good deals,
JIP
"God Knows My Heart"
Growing up in the Black church, this is a saying that I've heard millions of times. I'll even go as far as to say that it's one of the more overused phrases period...right behind "at the end of the day". Cliches aside, I completely agree that God knows all of our hearts at the deepest possible level. But you know what else he knows? Our actions.
Many of the times that I hear this phrase used it's when someone has neglected their responsibilities or just has done something in general that God would not approve of. While many of us use this in a joking manner (myself included), we should take a step back and think about what we're really saying.
In church Sunday, the reverend was talking about how God loves us so much that he gives us the power to choose the light or the darkness. I took from this that He knows what is at our core...the being that He created. But He also knows that the negative ways of the world play into our actions, hence creating the darkness.
I'm by no means perfect and there are often actions or inaction on my part that take me away from God's path for me. But as I hop off my soapbox, let's make sure that God is not only proud of the person we are on the inside, but also the person we show to the rest of the world.
Cheers to the Light,
JIP
Many of the times that I hear this phrase used it's when someone has neglected their responsibilities or just has done something in general that God would not approve of. While many of us use this in a joking manner (myself included), we should take a step back and think about what we're really saying.
In church Sunday, the reverend was talking about how God loves us so much that he gives us the power to choose the light or the darkness. I took from this that He knows what is at our core...the being that He created. But He also knows that the negative ways of the world play into our actions, hence creating the darkness.
I'm by no means perfect and there are often actions or inaction on my part that take me away from God's path for me. But as I hop off my soapbox, let's make sure that God is not only proud of the person we are on the inside, but also the person we show to the rest of the world.
Cheers to the Light,
JIP
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Rant #2- In My Zone
We all love our comfort zone or our inner circle, right? Why? Well, we believe we know what the people who comprise this zone are all about. The problem is, once most of us have our click, we don't feel the need to meet new people. We already have our friends, so who cares?
One of the key things that I've learned about this world is that the majority of us love convenience, and why not? We want to exert minimal effort to get maximum gains. This applies to all situations: relationships, jobs, school, etc. While I'm all for not overextending yourself, by not taking the time to get to know other people, you are severely limiting yourself. I would also say that the opinion that you form of those people probably has some sort of negative connotation attached to it as well. Why? Well, we feel that because the person does not feel the need to reach out to us, he or she is only concerned with themselves, when we did the exact same thing by not even attempting to reach out to them! Why? Because it's not convient.
Look, all of our life's relationships come from someone reaching out...they all don't work out, but whatever. Life is about stepping outside of your comfort zone and having positive interactions with others. Try it...Something beautiful may come out of it.
Cheers to you,
JIP
One of the key things that I've learned about this world is that the majority of us love convenience, and why not? We want to exert minimal effort to get maximum gains. This applies to all situations: relationships, jobs, school, etc. While I'm all for not overextending yourself, by not taking the time to get to know other people, you are severely limiting yourself. I would also say that the opinion that you form of those people probably has some sort of negative connotation attached to it as well. Why? Well, we feel that because the person does not feel the need to reach out to us, he or she is only concerned with themselves, when we did the exact same thing by not even attempting to reach out to them! Why? Because it's not convient.
Look, all of our life's relationships come from someone reaching out...they all don't work out, but whatever. Life is about stepping outside of your comfort zone and having positive interactions with others. Try it...Something beautiful may come out of it.
Cheers to you,
JIP
My View on Mid-Major College Football teams
Jon Becton might have you believe that I'm not a fan of mid-major college football teams...this is not entirely true. I'm not a fan of mid-major teams who don't play anybody all season and whine about why they should be in a BCS bowl. Yeah, Boise State somehow won in '06 against an Oklahoma team that had a high school quarterback-converted to college wide receiver-then back to quarterback for his senior season. Fantastic. The stuff movies are made of, especially the cheesy proposal after the game. But this is 2009, and this team is still riding off that victory. Of course you should go undefeated in whatever conference Boise is in (the WAC...appropriate title). But a season where an extremely average Oregon team is your toughest competition won't cut it.
Now, I'm sure that many who are reading this will, if you haven't already, will point to the weak schedules of some of the teams in automatic qualifying BCS conferences, particularly out of conference, take Florida for example. And I agree, there's no reason for the defending champs to have the 119th hardest schedule in the country, but being in a conference that is extremely competitive does afford you some luxuries.
For instance, your Floridas-Texas-Alabamas of the world can lose one game, maybe two and still make the national championship game, as they should. You have to judge a team on the level of competition of who they play the majority of their games against, which is their respective conference. As of today, when you face an FCS team in UC-Davis and 8 other teams that rank between 60 and 105 in the CollegeBCS.com ranking (yes you, Boise State) won't cut it.
Now, as much as it pains me to say this, Utah obviously had a good team last year and they showed that against Bama. But another luxury afforded to schools that are proven is that they are ranked more favorably in the polls because of their ability to consistently recruit top talent. Mid majors don't necessarily have that ability, and the polls reflect that. That's why Utah finished the year as #2 and started this year as #19 in the AP poll. They have to consistently show and prove.
To wrap this up, I respect mid-majors more for scheduling a hard, or at least competitive, schedule and losing a couple of games, than taking the Boise State route and whining about why they should be in the BCS and how they get cheated, etc. Once they learn that the only way to gain respect is to consistently challenge top talent and do it with success, then maybe it'll reflect in the polls. Who knows, maybe I'll even cheer for them.
Cheers to BYU after they got massacred on the 19th,
JIP
Now, I'm sure that many who are reading this will, if you haven't already, will point to the weak schedules of some of the teams in automatic qualifying BCS conferences, particularly out of conference, take Florida for example. And I agree, there's no reason for the defending champs to have the 119th hardest schedule in the country, but being in a conference that is extremely competitive does afford you some luxuries.
For instance, your Floridas-Texas-Alabamas of the world can lose one game, maybe two and still make the national championship game, as they should. You have to judge a team on the level of competition of who they play the majority of their games against, which is their respective conference. As of today, when you face an FCS team in UC-Davis and 8 other teams that rank between 60 and 105 in the CollegeBCS.com ranking (yes you, Boise State) won't cut it.
Now, as much as it pains me to say this, Utah obviously had a good team last year and they showed that against Bama. But another luxury afforded to schools that are proven is that they are ranked more favorably in the polls because of their ability to consistently recruit top talent. Mid majors don't necessarily have that ability, and the polls reflect that. That's why Utah finished the year as #2 and started this year as #19 in the AP poll. They have to consistently show and prove.
To wrap this up, I respect mid-majors more for scheduling a hard, or at least competitive, schedule and losing a couple of games, than taking the Boise State route and whining about why they should be in the BCS and how they get cheated, etc. Once they learn that the only way to gain respect is to consistently challenge top talent and do it with success, then maybe it'll reflect in the polls. Who knows, maybe I'll even cheer for them.
Cheers to BYU after they got massacred on the 19th,
JIP
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