Voicebox

As you may, or may not as it goes, know, I've recently become involved in a project for vinspired [the government backed volunteering Charity] called Voicebox. The project is based upon curating the views of young people and giving them a voice that will be heard and listened to, and not only by your peers, us at vinspired, or even the guys at your local corner shop [I find it oddly poignant that they must think I'm going to steal something every time I rock up in at that store - I've only been going there since I was 8 and have, to my memory at least, not even stolen a chocolate button - though did once pocket 20p I once found on the floor in there... I'm not sure if that counts - if so, then my very bad and I'll return it at once with the 7 years or so interest on top. If not, then sod off], but by the people that 'stalk the corridors of power' [such a wanky expression and I winced/cringed profusely when I heard some politician use the phrase today].

The initiative has few grand plans in the pipeline, a robot being strategically placed in the Houses of Parliament being one of them as well as one or two potential partnership with other interesting people to boot. The project will potentially [eventually I should say] be an amazing resource to provide people with true insights into what kids think, feel and do. Apart from asking kids their opinions on subjects such as knife crime, teenage pregnancy and drug use, we are, more importantly in my opinion, getting to the very core of what young people care about. A key part of this project is making sure that kids can be heard – we’re doing this by making all the results we gain from the questions on the site absolutely open source and therefore can be picked up and taken by any Tom, Dick and/or Harry, and can be played with as a child would a Lego set.

I'm also writing the blog on the site so please do stay tuned for my ever so insightful posting on there, whilst check out the results section for an up to date, blow by blow account of how our respondents are reacting. The project will be hugely successful, but I can't do it on my own. I'll need as much support from all the people that know me as is possible, so please do get as involved with Voicebox as is possible. If you're between 13 and 25 then please do proffer your opinions by filling out the questions here, and also please do talk about us - the project needs as much coverage as possible - whilst we are actively pushing people to pick up and play with our open source results.

Check out the site here - cheers.

Image taken from here. I've got to say I do blooming love Lego - not sure what it's got to do with Vociebox, but I saw small man, big headphones... Does anyone other than myself see the train of thought that has lead me here? Gosh it's late.

The Atroceruleous Homarus

Beware the Blue Lobster!

Props to Hypebeast - nice, nice, nice.

4/20

Apparently, and according to an unscrupulous source, post 4:20 PM on the twentieth day of the fourth month, the consumption of marijuana is a ritual procedure [not just a leisurely activity], and one ground deep into the culture of cannabis. Needless to say, I'm sure this attributed itself to much merriment amongst the denizens of our hedonistic, fun loving society... Still, it is something I didn't know and there is actually a history behind it... Find out more here.

'I smoke skunk with my peeps all day, Spread love...'

Image pick pocketed from here.

The death of the streetwear scene

London is under threat... With the demise of Footpatrol, Stussy, Bape, Maharishi and DPMHI, what of the future of our capitals streetwear scene? Bring them all back and, whilst we're on the subject, JD [effin'] Sports could you possibly back off and stop buying everything cool - this isn't Monopoly fellas!

The image is of artwork in the DPMHI store - taken from here.

The return of 1948...

Nike's 1948 warehouse space in Shoreditch reopened over a week ago now, but, due to other commitments, I didn't have the time to get down to the store until just the other day. The new interior decor is extremely impressive; designed by the renown Wilson Brothers, Nike have cut no costs in creating, what is essentially, the home for Nike Sportswear and tier 0 products in this country. With impressive flooring made from recycled sneakers, and neon lighting blazing from the illuminating installation cast from the ceiling, the Wilson Brothers have displayed their immens talent for creative installations once again. With quality products such as the Liberty dunk, the Cassette Playa blazer and the ACG Magma, 1948 is also home to Nike's NSW range, with hoodies, t shirts and sweats complimenting the exclusive array of sneakers. If you manage to get down to the store, be sure to pick up the 1948 booklet whilst you are there. Edited by Acyde, the magazine offers a breakdown of East London's creative scene with key features on some of the areas most influential individuals, including such luminaries as Mr Batlow of the Ugly Kids Club, Sharmadean Reid of WAH and Carrie Mundane of Cassette Playa. The store symbolises Nike's ability to be one with the culturally relevant movements of the times, whilst remaining evidently impressive and extremely [almost intimidatingly] cool - pop down when you have the opportunity.

Images courtesy of the Wilson Bros, taken from here - thanks, sorry...

We Ain't Hoes!

Check out the newly constructed WAH Magazine website, as the girls have cut no corners in making the site as brilliant as the concept behind it. WAH magazine [which I recently found out stood for We Ain't Hoes] is the lovechild of stylist and consultant supremo Sharmadean Reid, who felt that the female population of London deserved recognition and a voice - a proper and real female orientated space to talk about their ambitions, aspirations and achievements. WAH, I have come to realise, is about empowering women [Coca-Cola listen the fuck up], as the success of females can be somewhat over looked in many male dominated industries. Reid and WAH are working against this masculine sexist mentality, striking an aggressively feminist stance as she and her team of some of the most brilliant bright [extremely pretty] young things work to make sure that the magazine remains a sonorous success.

Check out the new website here.

All hail Obama?

'With great power, comes great responsibility...'

Now we shall see what sort of man Obama truly is... Though if he performs as brilliantly in his role as President of the United States, as he did as contender during his campaign, America shall be in safe hands. With 'Change', 'Hope' and 'Progress' on the agenda, Obama has a lot to live up to, now all I can really do is hope that he is as influential, innovative and fair as he has portrayed himself to be...

A credit crunch countering quote from Churchill

We are still to this day, learning from the great man of whom our nation owes so much:

"A love for tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril."

Let's revert to the traditional values from which this great isle was born; let's unite. Thank you Mr Churchill...

Image obtained from here.

Christmas Cheer

I may have to give blogging up for a hot, messy minute (ok a few days max) as I shall be overly busy with the combination of my university application (effin’ UCAS), a somewhat challenging piece I shall be helping an esteemed friend out with, and, obviously, the traditional merry making of this ever so joyous time of the year. Blogging has its many uses to say the absolute least, and, more over, there is a crisp sense of glowing pride in the art of self publication – alongside the airing of ones thoughts to, what is, an infinite audience. I am currently, well, supposedly (sorry Ruby), writing three blogs, including this one, though I do sometimes surreptitiously struggle to write just the one amongst all the other commitments of daily life. Alas, buried under the burden of self-imposed expectations, and weary already from the Christmas merriment, I bid all a hearty, alcohol-fuelled, very merry, Christmas – God bless – and shall continue blogging into the New Year and beyond. Have a great day...

Image taken without asking from here....

Opening my eyes to South Africa

Whoever watched Louis Theroux's excellent documentary on crime in South Africa a few weeks back, will have been absolutely shocked by the levels of poverty and lawlessness in the area. Undoubtedly a country racked with problems, South Africa, in particular parts of Johannesburg, has issues that are at the very core of the country - the police force, the ‘community’, the legal system et al – and the people have no notion of what we, as western citizens, perceive to be ‘normal’. The slums of Johannesburg are a truly terrible, poverty stricken, crime ridden place, yet they are also emblematic of a system that has left the country in economic and social turmoil. The documentary allows us to surmount a greater understanding of how very lucky the majority of us are – we live in relative calm, and secure safety in contrast to these pitiful peoples. Sad and tumultuously terrifying, I can’t even begin to empathize with these people, nor begin to describe the horrific struggle and unstable turbulence of day-to-day living in this environment – thankfully; though with that admission is the twinge of guilt alongside the dark warmth of appreciation.

Image stolen from here, sorry, thanks...

A quick quote from Russell Brand...

Russell Brand is a legend - read this below from his recent article...

‘Those people who predict the corporate future and commercial trends say that current global economic insecurity will lead to men growing beards to hide behind. I don't know what industry would fund that research as I don't see how you can make money out of men growing beards. Beard products? What, like beard dyes and beard beads? That'll never take off. Or just making other unrelated products appear more beard friendly, like cars with tiny beard scissors or thinner sandwiches that don't tarnish moustaches. Plus impotence is due to soar; this financial decline is nurturing a planet of vim-less Brian Blesseds strutting around, all nervous, knowing there's nothing down their trousers.’

Brilliant, absolutely bloody brilliant.

Yes the man is an absolute genius and an avid inspiration of whom I base my own writing technique upon quite ardently - I am unashamedly captivated with his uncaring, whimsical flirtation, and caught up in his eccentric, slightly feminine, ever so bizarrely barmy, British style of witty writing. I gush at his every declaration, drool at each and every crafty connotation, and lust for each trivial turn of phrase. The lanky lothario’s sexy, saavy and swooning, yet sharply structured, sentences and enticingly teasing literature style is something that I am endeavoring to bring to my own technique, though at the cost of forfeiting much semblance of an argument - well hell, you can’t have it all can you?

Check out Brand’s articles here and this is where the above image was stolen from (like a thief in the night). Nice

Roll Deep vs the BNP

Going back to the issues in my recent piece on the BNP earlier this month, I was recently shocked by this portion of marketing mischief from the jolly boys from Bow E3. Much like Dizzee Rascal’s outlandish outing on the BBC’s Newsnight a few weeks back, Roll Deep have let down the side for the young, British and black. The video stands for the right things – an attempt by the many members of the motley mob to bring essential awareness to anti race hate campaigns – yet it is being carried about in the completely wrong fashion. As the video is playing, the names and areas of several people off of the leaked BNP list scroll across the bottom; a total display of indifference to the privacy of these individuals. Roll Deep are in a fortunate position where they can make an actual difference - they are in a position where what they say will be heard, will be acted upon, will be an inspiration - and it makes my blood burn, bubble then boil when I see these opportunities wasted. And for what? A cheap shot at a few blushing BNP members which affects nothing, no one and nowhere. Roll Deep have made the video about the fact that they believe these people to be racist - it shouldn’t be about whether these people are or aren’t racist, it should be about taking a unyielding position against what the party stands for. There are certain ways of dealing with issues; making a music video that basically digresses into schoolyard cussing, is, unfortunately for Roll Deep, not one of them.

Image taken from here. And with thanks to RWD for the heads up.

The changing dynamics of the workplace

I was listening to 1Xtra the other day as they had a week devoted to the topic of careers. Far be it for me to sit back smugly as I listened to scores of stories of unemployment, I was instead pertinently provoked by the persistent insistence that young people are lazy - according to a recent survey, 75% of adults think that young people don't work as hard as they did when they were kids. Having read Don Tapscott’s brilliant article in the guardian, and also Alex’s one here, I have come to realise that there is a serious shift occurring in the dynamics of how we work. The emphasis that future employers must place upon the new generation of workers, or the net-geners /echo boomers, will mean that there shall be drastic changes in the work place over the next few years.

Regarding the argument over the airwaves, it was quickly made clear that many current employers aren’t, or haven’t, adapted to this new way of working. This new way of working is inherently different, as Tapscott enforces in his article: “They've (net-geners) shaken up the game of politics, and now they may do the same in the working world. Their culture of work is challenging, to be sure, but I think it is the way to work in the 21st century. They enter the working world with distinctly different attitudes. Nearly seven out of 10 net-geners, for example, want to choose where and when to work, compared with four in 10 workers from their parents' generation. Half of them value family over money.”

I don’t believe current employees are prepared to make these dynamic alterations to the workplace so readily. It peeves me when it is reported that the young people of today are lazy, don’t want to work hard and diminish responsibility - young people are being satirized enough as it is. It’s not that net-geners don’t work hard, it’s just that they work in a totally different manner to the apparently, solid hard working, dedicated generations before it. Kid’s these days are readily prepared to work their full time job, do the nine to five, but to also venture out more. Kid’s want to benefit more from the talents they have actively accumulated and honed over the years, and financially profit from them. Look at the influx of young creative’s that have hit over the past few years – everyone now wants to create their own clothes, or is in a band, or is a photographer, paints, graffiti’s, models, is a stylist, hosts their own nights – the creative and entrepreneurial possibilities are endeavoring, yet endless. And this is all being achieved whilst still working solid hours in other jobs. The net-geners may work in a different manner from the baby boomers, and those before it, but never has a single generation shown such an almighty ambition for enterprise.

Image robbed from here. Thanks.

The troubles with the BNP

Regarding the release of the British National Party’s members list, I don't know quite what to make of it all. I've never really condoned this sort of indiscriminant intrusion into people’s privacy that the net oft incurs. However here I am severed and split – the BNP have never, let’s contentedly say, been my favourite political party (if I could say I had one). It stands for the archaic principles and philosophies that find sanctuary amongst only the closest minded members of society and, much like the NF before it, controversially, yet comfortably, convenes alongside hateful and racist values. That being the case, this list, detailing the names, phone numbers and addresses of BNP supporters, pushes the absolute limit of what I find acceptable – it isn’t really fair; is it? The list could be fabrication, for all that we know. It would be the darkest of shames should these people be victimised, slandered and branded racists for a crime they didn’t commit, and, even if they are BNP supporters, you can’t, and shouldn’t, be attacked for your political allegiance. Please do correct me if I’m wrong.

As I don’t condone this intrusion I won’t post the link, but I’m sure a quick google will lead you to it, if you so wish. Stole the image like a thief in the nasty night from here (no I wasn't wearing a hood Mr Sunday Express!)...

I got thinking...

It’s been a seriously strange last couple of weeks in my world - amongst all the ups, the downs, the departures, the dramas and the overall lack of sleep, I do believe I have matured a wee tad. It’s generally difficult being eighteen – currently caught between the stroppy, selfish adolescent and a mature, responsible adult - without learning slowly and painfully, haphazardly even, the art of growing up. With such great people around me, and with such brilliant opportunities presented before me, I have found it personally unnerving that I could consider, even subconsciously, straying from the striking, shiny highway that potentially lies ahead. But this, I am told, is part of growing up. This, I am also promised, is common amongst kids – ‘Where will I go?’ ‘What will I do?’ ‘How can I achieve my goals?’ ‘Will I succeed?’ – are all questions I have fretted over at some point but crucially, and fortunately, all questions which I have received the semblance of an answer. So, if this self-doubting, self-questioning, quixotic air commonly surrounds kid’s futures, as I know it does, who guides those whom begin to drift – the kids that need it the most. It’s not difficult to lose your way, I know this to be true - we have all, at some point, strayed from the privileged path that keeps us on the broad, long, straight and narrow, but this is part of the learning process. It’s just growing up (or so I am told). Yet it worries me that a lot of kids feel they cannot, and therefore will not, entrust their concerns with adult figures. Generally it is these figures that know what is best, offer the soundest, most reliable advice, and are generally teh most helpful. Sometimes these mentors are all it takes to ensure that the right decisions are taken, and that the wrong ones are avoided, even if it’s just a few words from a respected someone in a rare, spare moment.

Just something that I got thinking about...

(A very pensive) Whathehelle?

Again with thanks to the illusive Mr LayLow for the image...

Wise words and sceptical cynicism...

I've spent the last two hours pondering passionate politics with a varied intellectual, insightful bunch of individuals. The US election has created a political storm that has swept both sides of the Atlantic, powered by the prospect of progress, change and a black man seated in, what has always been, a very white House. It was my good friend Niyi Crown that highlighted the issues with the hype surrounding Obama and, though I had been inclined to challenge his point, it makes severe sense. Obama is very popular amongst the young - he has created a campaign that has genuinely got kids excited and is generally perceived to ‘get’ the youth - however, this genuine hype has become overshadowed somewhat. Niyi highlighted the point that too many young black people support Obama for the sole reason that he is black himself. Niyi even went as far as to berate me somewhat for liking Obama for, what he perceived to be, the ‘wrong reasons’. Another friend of mine, Andrea, has long been ‘wondering why EVERY black person on (her) Facebook is voting for Obama?!... Have people even done their research?!’ Andrea, needless to say, is both black and an avid McCain supporter. She also has extremely strong elements of truth in her words. When I joked that I would be voting McCain, my friend Shakira wondered if I would be ‘scared of the abuse I would get from every black and young person on facebook’... Proving Andrea’s point somewhat.

I myself have not researched the policies, particular politics, or philosophies of Obama, yet I, alike many others, have been swept up in the monsoon of his groundbreaking arrival on the international scene. So, I had to ask myself, why isit that I am such an ardent advocate of Obama? As I explained to Niyi, it is the innovation of the man that has captured my enigmatic imagination, and the colour factor is very much a cog in the well-oiled machine that is Brand Obama. Obama, being a black man, is majestic modernization in motion.

Two years ago, could we have ever imagined a black man running for presidency, let alone actually winning it (as early indications shows that he will)? It was Tupac Shakur that uttered the infamous words ‘And although it seems heaven sent, We ain't ready, to see a black President’. Though we may have a black President come tomorrow morn, are we indeed ready for one? Even if Obama is voted in to the White House early tomorrow morning, this does not prove that we as a race are prepared to have a non-white man leading the most powerful nation on Earth (though I flippin’ hope we are). Only tumultuous, turbulant time will tell...

With thanks to Tupac, Niyi, Andrea and Shakira for their input. Image stolen from here.

It doesn't have to happen...

I was involved in a very interesting meeting today with representatives of the anti-knife crime campaign 'it doesn't have to happen'. Though I began the encounter skeptically (naturally), I was more than impressed by the motivation and drive of those involved. Surprisingly it is one of the most genuine campaigns I have come across - those involved deeply care about the issues affecting the youth, and there are real kids involved in the campaign at every single level (it has transpired, in fact, that two of my good friends are the two main representatives of ‘the youth’ behind the campaign). Check out the Bebo page here...

Obey Obama

As Barack Obama battles vigilantly, vehemently and victoriously towards world domination, the many subsidiaries of brand Obama are kicking off in similar fashion - from social networking sites to clothing to conducive, clever collaborations with cool, creative critters. One of said collaborations is brand Obama’s own t-shirt (as shown above). Powerful and provoking, the renown street artist and designer Obey has created a line of trim and trendy t’s with a clear, concise message, that have taken brand Obama to new heady heights. Check out the designs here and, though it is pretty damn hard, try get your hands on one of these ever so exclusive t-shirts.

Black History Month?

Black History Month dawns upon us once again - the annual turgid affair that the schools, or the government, or both, willy nilly drape over October (in, what I have always seen as, an audacious attempt to generate some positive PR). Having spent the past seven years (well, five - my last school celebrated Black History Month by taking a picture of all the black kids congregated together in the playground...) whimsically acknowledged the month long event over my school life, generally through the mediums of ‘special assemblies’ and the consumption of Caribbean cuisine, I have grown somewhat disenfranchised by the whole experience. I have always found Black History Month to be ostentatious, overbearing and ‘shouty’ ('LOOK WE CELEBRATE BLACK CULTURE' – The caps is what makes it all ‘shouty’ you see), if not wholly unfulfilling. Yet it needn’t be this way. The celebration, and the consumption of, culture is something that should be brought to the forefront in an exciting yet educational way. What invariably happens during October is that the academic territory is surpassed and the opportunity to enlighten and to education, superseded by a mass produced lamb Pattie and a look at the life of Martin Luther King Jnr. (for the fifth year in a row!). Black History Month has little significance, little relevance and very little meaning to millions of schoolchildren.

We deserve better. We deserve to be educated properly on an issue that is supposed to bring communities together. We deserve to be correctly taught about how different cultures have impacted upon both the world and society in general. We deserve to actually celebrate black history and culture. Black History Month has this opportunity to encourage learning and to connect the youth in a fun, intuitive way. I don't like seeing it go to waste.