dedication to the love of my life...

My ears paint the picture of what my eyes cannot see. Layers of words in conversations become life's little symphonies. The keys on the piano are singing their melodies. The drums are dancing to the rhythm of their feet. The sound of trumpets in the air soar like fighter jets across the sea. The bass brings heart beat to every living tree. The guitar is strumming to nature's simplicities. And for a split second, I see everything so clearly. This art, this craft...created so beautifully. This passion, this interaction, this love affair between MUSIC and me.

J. Lacsamana 07.30.09

Every song that I hear - old or new, every new YouTube talent I find, every lyric that I read...inspires me. The gift of music is more so like a gift of friendship; something that I can relate with in all aspects, every spectrum of what is and what was in my life. (Cliche alert) The shoulder I lean on through rough times, the breath of fresh air whenever I encounter something new, the fuel to the flame when I'm in love, the appreciation I feel with everything and everyone I have, the motivation, the challenge, and the drive to strive and learn more about myself, the knot that ties generation after generation to the next etc... Everyone has a soundtrack to their lives. For all those artists who have made an impact in my life, I thank you. For those I have yet to encounter, I thank you in advance.

picture a difference

Universal diversities lead to social complexities
And instead of making friends, we choose to make enemies.
It's the struggle that brings a person to their knees.
THE REAL STRUGGLE?
Those people working hard to provide for their families.

Down the street, derogatory remarks are being exchanged.
In the alley, some hopeless soul is shooting venomous liquid into his veins
To get fuckin' high out of his brain.
By-standers look at this guy like he's insane.
BUT THE REALITY IS...he does it to stop the pain.
It's our own negligence to blame.

Real eyes, realize the demise of this man's cries.
He is the sole example of those souls trapped, needing to be consoled
The most tragic story ever told.
He is the HUNGER, the ANGER that we choose to ignore.
He is the SADNESS, the MADNESS in which we close our doors.
He is the RICH, the YOUNG, the OLD, the POOR.
The REVOLUTIONIST, the ACTIVIST all in one core.
Everything that we choose to blindfold our minds to see.
Everything that if we worked to eliminate would set our souls free.
Everything that we deny ourselves to be.

But take a look around you and see,
just how many third worlds are dying of poverty.

THE ANSWER?
Starts with you and me.
Making dreams of UNITY, dreams of EQUALITY, into REALITY.

J. Lacsamana 07.08.09

never can say goodbye...to a legend

(August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009)
I remember the first Michael Jackson video I saw wasn't any of his really popular ones. Growing up to influences like The Beatles in the household and my dad being a Paul McCartney fan, we were sitting in the living room and my dad had a video collection of all Paul's hits. It was then that I was introduced to this legend of talent and music...Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson's "Say, say, say." I remember asking my dad to play it again and again. Soon MJ's music became a staple sound at my home. Mom's favorite was "Ben"...Dad's was "Got To Be There"...My brother's was anything from the "Thriller" album. When MJ and Janet came out with the video "Scream" that became MY favorite. Three different generations, one artist, all the same love and respect for him. The world is at a MORTAL loss of a great legend, but his music will forever be IMMORTALIZED to this world. May you finally rest in the paradise you so eminently deserve, Sir Michael Jackson.

I chose to post this video up because the person who made this video did a REALLY good job capturing Michael Jackson at what seems to be his happiest times. As well as I remember him saying how this song was most relative and personal to him and his life. Enjoy!

blackout 2

After much anticipation, Method Man and Redman finally released Blackout! 2 on May 19th. It's been 10 years since the last Blackout! Album was released and the expectations, for me anyway, were pretty up there. After seeing many comeback failures, *cough*Eminem*cough* I was reluctant on the outcome of Blackout! 2 BUT this album did not cease to fail. Definitely better than the solo projects they've embarked these past couple of years. Of course, like any movie or soundtrack or album, nothing's ever gonna be as good as the original...Y.O.U, Cereal Killer, Da Rockwilder!!!!!! Ohhhhh man...that track still plays at clubs till this day and people still go crazy. Needless to say, Method Man and Redman still got it going on with the new album. Showcasing to the world of hip hop what it's all about and serving them with that Wu-Tang flavor that we all nostalgically love and still enjoy. If I had the priviledge...and authority (hah!)...I'd put a "Joyce Recommends This" on every CD in all music stores across the world. Hahaha! But since that's humanly IMPOSSIBLE, this blog will have to do. Definitely one of the few refreshing albums of 2009.

fiendin' and jonesin'

I'm currently typing from a coffee shop near my house called WAVES. I've been a regular here for the past two weeks accompanying my best friend, Christine, as she studies for her Nursing exam coming up. I have probably consumed about 10 cups of Iced Lattes, Dark Roast Coffee, Red Rooibos Tea. Caffeine has become a food staple and I get headaches when I don't get my fix. Pretty bad huh? I've gotten to the point where even the songs running through my head are about caffeinated food and beverages aka "Chocolate High" by Musiq Soulchild and India Arie. Hahaha! "You're my double caffeine dream, yeah..." pretty much sums up how I feel everytime I walk into this place. Nonetheless, the company and the talks have been awesome.

I spent most of the night yesterday watching videos on the Philosophy of Life and Death. The prof is a guy from Yale University, Shelly Kagan. It's a very broad topic and in a world where death can be torn between a society of acceptance and a society where the concept is frowned upon...there are many heated arguments with human development about the concept of life. The class challenges the students to think outside of the box in more realistic ways as opposed to the values and traditions that we often are exposed to. I'm not quite done watching all the videos or even grasping the ideations that this prof is putting on the table but so far it has been an interesting philosophy to follow. I'll keep y'all posted on that!

I still have much of the day to finish. I haven't been following NBA too much but I hear it's Game One between Lakers and Denver. Not jumping on any band wagons so I'll just ride the "whatever" train and watch for the heck of it.

Happy Tuesday!

QOD

Every time truth comes we hate it, because it's coming against our ego. Are you going to let the ego come between you and this person you love? Lauryn Hill

I've had plenty of time in the past couple of days to reflect and think about life. Like a textbook received on that first day of class, I'm learning and discovering many new things about myself. I came across this quote and it made me realize the mistakes and struggles I've made in the past when it came to dealing with truth and love. Many people don't see how much these two go hand in hand with each other, or how ego can prevent these two from making a connection. I hope to take this new lesson learned and put my best foot forward in the next relationship I embark. Until then self-discovery will be a never-ending journey that I am willing to pursue.

it is sweet and most fitting...

Wilfred Owen
Dulce Et Decorum Est
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Pleasant and Beautiful Existence....before a Country's Morality...a lie. Came across this poem in an old histoire book of mine. It's very powerful isn't it? It signifies the realization that traditional values about war were altered by the first 'modern war.' In a world where countries are constantly at war with one another the rotten truth of human selfishness is inevitable. Why do we struggle to have so much control? So much power? and Why must we do the extreme to gain that power; knowing that there are detrimental consequences? I never could understand it. Yet there are times I want that self-control and power for myself...