At Last, We Begin Anew…

It has been a while since I last wrote on TPOT. And it wasn’t because I ran out of things to say, but rather it’s been so hectic lately that I lost track of time. And as time went on I forgot about a lot of things that were important to me. And writing openly and expressively is one of them. This school year is my last one at McNair Academic High School, my last year being a TORCH leader, a JROTC Cadet, and my last year spending my time with friends. And the sad truth is, it doesn’t feel like we’re seniors.

I spent a lot of time thinking about all the shit I have been through and all the times I spent laughing and crying. It’s been one hell of a year. And it is nice to think about the past, to take a second to step outside of what is currently going on and basically just… chill. I loved every moment of this year no matter how crappy it was. And the only thing I have to do today is wish it away with a good goodbye and get ready for this coming new year.

At the beginning of each new year, we write down a list of resolutions that we try to keep at the beginning, but sooner or later forget. And I’m actually no exception. I always write down the same shit each year, and once in a while I will keep it, but most of the time I don’t. However, this year, I want to have resolutions that I want to keep. So here is my list…

1. Get enough sleep.
2. Pick a college.
3. Have a girlfriend that’s worth the effort.
4. Keep my resolutions.
5. Cherish each moment.
6. Follow my path.

Seems easy enough, right? Well 1, 2, and 5 are a given. Yet 4 depends entirely on 3 and 6. And 3 is only considered a pass if I find a girl that’s worth keeping. So we are left with number 6. Follow my path. What I mean by following my path is I want to be “ME.” It may seem easy enough, but it really isn’t. Have you ever noticed, when you are with your friends, you act differently? Yes? No? Well you actually do if you compare your actions with how you act with your family or your neighbors. I want to be honest with others about who I am and what I do. And so we begin anew…

At this moment, I feel like I’m ranting about some random shit that no one really cares about. And if you actually read this far, it means you either care what I’m saying, you’re passing the time, or you find this to relate to you in some odd and creepy way. Well, I don’t blame you for either. And of course I’ll get those people who will read this and laugh and saying that this is some sort of bull shit when they themselves are too ignorant to understand the simply complex actions of a person or are too stupid too under human emotions and words pass the usual sexual hunger that fills their simple and pitiful lives.

Ok, now that I got that part out of the way, let us continue. What I mean about following my path is that I want to just be… open to possibilities. I want people to understand that I believe in God, but hate religion. That I have childish tendencies, like having a pikachu doll, and I don’t find it embarrassing. I love to take pictures and spend my time stargazing with friends while talking about nothing at all. I don’t want to be another run-of-the-mill McNair Academic High School Nerd that graduates this place without distinguishing his or herself.

I love people who are expressive and unique, as long as they aren’t offensive. I find lies to be intricate stories rather than hidden indications of what one wants. I rather sleep and play video games than study. And I love to eat at Heaven. (Inside McNair Joke.) This year, that’s my main resolution. To follow my path and be truthful to myself. And I hope other people can do so too.

I would really love for someone to approach me and say, “I read what you wrote. And I…” I don’t care if you agree or disagree, but if you have an opinion that isn’t retarded, I’ll listen. I love to hear people just randomly talk about tipping cows or solving calculus problems. I want to see people doing stupid things out of fun rather that attenton. I have the passion to try and understand what is going in the world and what people are thinking. To me, I enjoy the uniqueness that plagues my school and it’s diversity.

At last, we begin anew…and I end this old year with a rant about what I want for this new year.

Enjoy and Happy New Years.

- Romer Jed

new theme

hey to spruce up the world with a little holiday cheer, I decided to make tpot a little more festive.

So I hope you all enjoy.

Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays. 

-julian 

Everyone, finds out who they are. when they look inside.!

Just a few weeks ago, there came five people who combined their talents, they are called beats per miute, and will be changeing their name. I bradley, want be to known as akito, is one of the five. I’ve had musical talent for years now, then finally took the step to bring it to the next level, hell, even my friends that I’ have graduated with are accomplishing their own things. My friend Julian got his own Website now and in a hip-hop movement, my friend Jonjon is in college before I am; damn, luck don’t play no games. Who knows what all the rest of my friends are up to; a friend of mine , who I always sk8 with, Anthony wants to start his own Black Metal band. So much goin on, so many people who start off as losers then end up as stars and famous people. Heh, back then I used to hate myself, now, I found out whats inside me. We all have different perspectives, different aims, and maybe the same story. Its not just about changing yourself, because you want to, its about finding out who you are, where you want to go, and what you want to do. I still remember when I didn’t know who I was, all I knew was that I was a lost person breaking the doors open when I saw it. Its up to you to find out.Its up to you to open the doors.Its up to you to look and see the potential, thats burning hot and cold.We’re all human, but then we are not!Bradley….Akito!

Legal Beans Open Mic

Time and Place

Date: Saturday, December 8, 2007
Time: 6:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: Legal Beans
Street: 86 Garden Street HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY
City/Town: Hoboken, NJ

Legal Beans will be hosting its first Open Mic sometime next week. There will be two 1 hour and 30 minute sessions, and the acts will be different for both. Right now, we are looking for performers to fill up the time slots. If you are a new, upcoming poet, writer, singer, etc and you want to expose your talent, please join. (: Anyone else, please feel free to sign up. As for now, we cannot provide exact details of the event. But if you’re interested in performing, please contact Alexa at alexatolentino@yahoo.com. You can also contact Dominique at itzdom887@tmail.com. Thank you.

Bradley is in a band?

Alright so here we are now Beats Per Minute, so far we’ve had two practice sessions and they both were great, the future practices I pray are a lot better and fun. Now we are learning each others rhythm and rime. Cory, our lead singer and guitarist will bring his teacher into one of our practice sessions to help us out and give us advice on band coordination {i think i spelled it wrong}, because right now that’s the main thing we need. A few days ago it has been decided that we make a demo disc with 6 songs on it and our name; Beats Per Minute; might just be changed, do to the fact that an amazing group of people like us, such a name does not fit us although it is a good name. Hey, we might have a producer if our name is changed and we have a demo, so watch out.! This band is gonna ROCK!

Bradley…

I hope all of this works out, happens, and comes true,

because I’m scared, although I believe in the band and me.

I always wanted this dream to happen and now it is..

Growing Up Sooner.

Hey hope you enjoy. You may have seen this before at the beginning of the school year, but it’s been rewritten a bit.

Time for the turkey and jam…

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“Oh, they grow up so fast.” or “I can’t believe how much you’ve grown.” We usually always hear it from relatives of family friends that we haven’t seen in a while. Yet, we do grow up fast, faster than the generations before us and slower than those that comes after us. We are so obsessed with becoming an adult, looking towards the future, that we forget the present is just passing by and we forget to look around and see that we are in the future.

My dad told me that I shouldn’t be jealous of people who have Halo 3, and of course, I am, but I should think more about my future than some video game. I just think that with all the hard work I’ve been doing, all the TORCH and Rifle Team meetings I’ve been planning, all the tutoring I’ve been going through, and the amount of work I invested for colleges, I should get a time to relax, to chill.

I think one of the regrets I’ll have when I leave high school is that I never had a chance to live for the moment, to spend quality time with my friends, hang out at other people’s houses once in a while just to sit around and laugh about stupid moments in school and catch up with what’s been going on in their lives. Right now, I’m regretting that I don’t call Megan as much as I used to or hang out with my friends after school.

I’ve been putting on so many things on my plate that I forget that my friends in OLM are going through the point moment of their high school lives, and I truly and honestly wish I could spend time with them, find out what’s going on in their minds and be there for them. I really wish I could spend time with those people I’ll never see again in McNair Academic. In only a few more months, I’ll never get the chance to just run into them in a hallway or walk to them to class. I’ll never join in with the crowd about complaining that this teacher sucks or sitting in a hallway laughing for no apparent reason.

We grow up so fast that we forget to know what is really important in our lives. Each other. We forget that we are all moving on so fast, that we can’t grab a moment to sit down and just look at the stars. I remember when I used to do just that, sitting around with Francis and Mike playing Halo 2 or Double Dash, calling Ivan up about the latest game rumors, sitting in front of my window looking at the stars, walking late at night with Megan, and even sitting up for 4 extra hours playing Maple Story.

If only, time would stand still, even for a moment. But alas, time stops for nobody, including me.

- Jed

HIP HOP IS NOT DEAD MOVEMENT

WAYS TO JOIN THE MOVEMENT:

—-REPRESENT your love for hip hop by wearing a Hip Hop Is Not Dead shirt.
For every shirt sold $1 will be donated to the Hip Hop Association charity. Our goal is to donate $1,000,000 to the charity.

—-DONATE $1 to the Hip Hop Is Not Dead organization.
The proceedes will go towards conducting hip hop events in our communities, such as the Hip Hop Is Not Dead tour.

—-SHOW your love for hip hop by placing the Hip Hop Is Not Dead banner to your myspace, blog, or website. Help strengthen the movement by spreading the word.

—-SUPPORT the culture by adding Hip Hop Is Not Dead to your top friends on your MySpace page. Let all your friends know about the movement.

—-DOWNLOAD the Hip Hip Is Not Dead wallpaper to your desktop. Embrace the culture, support the movement.

Support the Culture
While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of gangsta rap, commercialized themes, and pointless lyrics thus marking this point in history as the death of hip hop. But is it really?

Since first emerging in the Bronx in the early 1970s the hip hop culture has become a world wide lifestyle. Hip hop as a cultural movement encompasses a wide array of human activities. The culture is comprised of five major elements: DJing, emceeing, breakdance, graffiti, and knowledge.

The emergence of hip hop helped reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with hip hop battles of dance and artwork. However, with the introduction of commercial and crime-related rap in the early 1990s, reoccuring themes of violence and illegal activity lead to controversey surrounding hip hop music and attracted negative feelings towards the culture as a whole. The people of the hip hop culture are responsible for turning the negativity into positivity.

The reach of hip hop is global. Youth culture and opinion is meted out in both Israeli hip hop and Palestinian hip hop, while France, Germany, the U.K., Africa, and the Caribbean have long-established hip hop followings. According to the U.S. Department of State, hip hop is “now the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world,” that crosses social barriers and cuts across racial lines. National Geographic recognizes hip hop as “the world’s favorite youth culture” in which “just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene.”

The hip hop culture is continually expanding. Despite the negative reviews by critics, the growth of hip hop will not be hindered by the controversial issues at hand, but will instead grow stronger and continue to live the the souls of the youth and elders alike. Commercialized rap should not strike fear in our eyes as the end of hip hop, but should inspire artists to make socially and politically conscious music to empower us as a people. Join the movement and represent the music, the culture, and the lifestyle. Let it be known; Hip Hop Is Not Dead!

(Research courtesy of Wikipedia.org)

Copyright 2007, CYCLONE ARTS STUDIO. All rights reserved. “Hip Hop Is Not Dead” and its logos are registered trademarks of CYCLONE ARTS STUDIO.

The Code

Hello everyone.

[Pyrotechnics, drum roll]

Finally, I get to make my TPOT debut! I spent much of this past week trudging through a blizzard of merciless homework, and I barely found any time to separate myself from school-related gaaa-bage (pencils and erasers still litter my normally clear table). This weekend has afforded me an opportunity to breathe, and I’m glad I can use it for my inaugural post. Props to Julian for laying the foundation for this project; to the posters for building atop it; to the readers, who truly make it worth something.

Away we go:

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The Code

It seems that these days, many of us are self-absorbed, whether we immediately realize it or not. The idea of “it’s every man for himself” has never been more relevant to our lives, as people look to save themselves from the prospect of trouble before even considering what their peers’ situation may be.

We may not always be able to help others, but it is awfully important that we – at the very least – teach ourselves to try to assist our friends when they are in need of assistance. To teach oneself to immediately consider how to help someone else would be a significant achievement. I would imagine many of us are trying to better ourselves as human beings each and every day; actually doing so is far from simple, but by no means is it out of reach if we teach ourselves to make the immediate effort.

To follow a set of tenants can help.

The concept of bushido will forever fascinate me. I think the feudal thinkers of as far back as the 2nd century set the foundation for a moral code which we can all learn something from.

Bushido (“Way of the Warrior”) is a Japanese code of conduct derived from the moral code of the samurai. It entails seven virtues, each of which we can learn something from. As long as I can keep these things in mind, I can assess real-life situations with a system I believe had the general idea right.

Tenant One: Rectitude

Each and every one of us has a set of principles, whether they were set down by ourselves, our parents, or people we deem wise. When presented with a problem (particularly if peer pressure is involved), we can avoid caving in to proposals we would not be proud of in the future. Abiding by principles enables us to safeguard our integrity.

Tenant Two: Courage

For us, courage does not involve the clanging of katanas and the woosh of shuriken. Oftentimes, though, we are presented with situations that hit us without warning and leave us momentarily off balance. The most effective way to regain balance is often to simply confront the problem head-on. Many of us sometimes suffer from the “I-Am-Indisputably-Right” illness, myself included. It is, in truth, okay to be wrong once in a while. It helps clear our minds and allows us to grow as people. There is no doubt that this takes a great deal of courage, but if we can muster it, we can grow. To grow is to acquire more of what life has to offer.

Tenant Three: Benevolence

We are all in need of a hand at certain times. Sometimes, we accept the help of others, but forget to return the favor. If we teach ourselves to think to help others, we increase the chances of bringing out our good nature. To be recognized as a nice person is a wonderful thing, but to know that you think purely – that the basis of all your actions is good-natured – is superb.

Tenant Four: Respect

I think respecting friends has grown easier over the years, and that respecting parents has grown harder. I, for one, am grateful for what my parents have done for me. They had no obligation to raise me properly, to provide me the essentials, to help me through my struggles – but they did. Just as the samurai respected their lords, we should respect our parents. They weren’t annoying when we were young and oh-so-needy, and they shouldn’t be considered annoying now.

Tenant Five: Honesty

Lying is ridiculously easy. For this reason, then, it makes sense that a weak-minded person resorts to lying. Those who are too weak to take the tougher, righteous path squirm off to travel the easy one. We should all keep this in mind when deciding whether to tell the truth or to spew a freshly woven tale, no?

Tenant Six: Honor

When we strive for honor, we strive to achieve our goals. It is pivotal for us to remain determined and focused as we strive to make names for ourselves. Along the way, though, we should try our best not to knock others aside. The person who reaches the top without disturbing his peers is the most honorable.

Tenant Seven: Loyalty

Traitor, snitch, whatever. Sometimes, it is better for us to take the fall than leave those who we promised our loyalty behind. This tenant is all about judgement; if you think a situation is too seriously damaging, it is okay to drop out. It is quite difficult today, though, to find people one can truly trust. When you find them, keep them and don’t let them down.

We are not samurai, and we don’t ever have to be. Bushido can teach us a thing or two, though. The key is embedding these things in our mind, so we may remember them when the time calls. Perhaps we can grow into better people this way.

- Syed