Much to the dismay of every Priest, Rabbi, Imam, etc., the words war and religion will (atleast in my eyes) always be combined. More people have died in the name of religion, in wars with religious backgrounds and retaliations, than anything else, leaving a long line of cults and martyrs.

Religion and Government are two things that have really never meshed together. The lack of religious freedom can have good and bad results. A good one being the creation of the United States, started by citizens of Britain that sought a place of their own to freely practice their own religious beliefs. The bad being those who were persecuted for their religious beliefs.

Quarrels between “Church and State” and whether or not they can coincide is something that, in my opinion, has really no solution in sight. I mean, this is an issue that has been in place since the first great civilization in Ancient Khemet (that’s Egypt for my brothers and sisters with no knowledge of self……i kid). In a time when the people of Egypt practiced the theology of the god Amun-Ra, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV decided to try and depart form the tradition religion of the people…..Changing his name to Akhenaten, and forcing people to worship the god Aten. It was that easy, those in power could switch the religion of the people to fit his own personal beliefs. In an act of pure irony, he bore a son named Tutankhaten who would go on to become Pharaoh, throw his fathers religion to the waste side, and change the name his father gave him from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun (You know that name). To recap? Man becomes leader, man forces new religion upon people, mans own son becomes leader and gets rid of religion. I’m sure these religious issues have dated back further than this, but I always found this situation very interesting.

The most puzzling part about religion is their inability to get along………………….with themselves. For example, again, i’ll take my own faith, Christianity. We go from Christians to Eastern Christians and Catholic Christians who cant get along, to adding Protestant Christians…..none of whom agree with eachother. Then Eastern Christains are either Eastern Ortodox or Oriental Orthodox….Then The Catholic church splits and goes to Tradional Catholic and Tridentine Catholic and then Protestants run from the church….and then they can’t agree on anything and split to Calvanist, Anglicans, Lutherans……..then Lutherans cant get along and split into LCMS and ELCA….and then LCMS and ELCA cant get along with…..themselves. QUESTION….if everything is laid out for you in the same Bible….then why can’t anyone agree on anything?  Jesus says everyone should teach God’s word, but then churches turn away people because they disagree on something small, block women from preaching and doing certain things in their churches, ban homosexuals from their sanctuary, etc. This lead Ghandi to say “I love your Christ, but not your Christians.” Wouldn’t be easier if you….followed the directions that were laid of for you in simple terms by your God?

In today’s age, we have this war between Muslims and Christians. All Muslims view all Christians one way, all Christians view Muslims one way.  It seems that our present day wars have religious motives involved. Ever since bin Laden took down the World Trade Center in 2001 in the name of Allah, Muslims have been public enemy number one in the minds of Americans, not even taking the time to research the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Let’s not forget some things. A reported asked Muhammad Ali once, “How does it feel to be the same religion as the terrorists?”. Ali responded by asking “How does it feel to be the same religion as Adolf Hitler?” Let us not forget that Hitler persecuted Jews and people who were the way he wanted them to be while practicing Christianity. Not every Christian or Muslim person that performs these acts against what is right embodies his religion.

People are just living their lives the only way they know how. Most of us learn our information from their environment. The vast majority of people don’t find their own religion without influence from someone else. We are in a never ending cycle. People are willing to fight for what they believe and this leads to blood shed, war, famine, etc…..it’s just a never ending cycle…but these people are just living their lives the way the environment has taught them. I told my best friend awhile back that I have the same sorrow in my heart for the families of 9-11 as I do for the families of innocent Afghan and Iraqi civilians that have their lives erased by American bombs.

These are 3 things that will be always be here, 3 things that will always be intertwined with each other and with death due to corruption. However, it’s at the fault of none….it’s the fault or the flow of time which has bought us to this point and has allowed the human race to adapt to the environment along with it.

I grew up in the Bronx in the 90′s, so I heard most of my Hip-Hop with my ear to the environment. I remembers the summer of the Fugees….Ready or Not, Fu-Gee-La, Killing Me Softly….those were in constant rotation on the block, and everyone knew the words. I didn’t learn the words through physical headphones, my headphones were the radios on the block playing Hot 97 when we were outside playing football, basketball, wiffle ball, manhunt, taps, etc etc (ahh….the 90′s…).

When you’re that young, the beats and flows of Hip-Hop draw you in. The melodies stay in your head and you recite every bar and hjook line for line….without really knowing what it means. The block also introduced me to my favorite rapper when the catchy beat, smooth flow and vocals blasted over the radio outside and a female voice sung out “If I ruled the world….”. One of Jin’s (I’ll get to Jin later when I get to the 2000′s) lyrics said something like “I copped It Was Written and then Illmatic”. I heard It was Written in the late 90′s and Illmatic the same year. My best friend is a Nas fan, so everytime I went over we would listen to a Nas album after a long day of playing ball. I didn’t start buying albums to the 2000′s, so when I started, I made sure to get all of Nas’, and since then, I buy them the day they are released. Nas was the only artist I would buy every album regardless of how it sounded, because i wanted to support him. No other artist got that dedication from me until 2006.

The 2000′s were very interesting. My parents didn’t want me listening to Hip-Hop alot when I got older and started learning what things meant. I couldn’t buy albums, but I did have my good old TAPE PLAYER/RADIO. I had to put that in caps, remembering those times brings a smile to your face. I remember having about 10 blank cassette tapes and every night I would record Funk Flex on Hot 97 and just listen to those. Bombs dropping on every song, Flex rewinding every song 10 times before letting the song ride out….I HATE when DJ’s do it now, but I loved it back then. It was so Hip-Hop. I remember the summers of Tupac and Biggie flooding the airwaves. I didn’t know them, but i knew their songs. I remembered the news coverage of both of their deaths.

By the time the new millennium began, I had moved to Queens, hometown of my favorite rapper. The FIRST album I bought….oh man….The Marshall Mathers LP. Do you know what I had to do to get and hide that album in 7th grade?! I saved money for weeks until I finally got enough money to hop on the Q13 to Main Street, Flushing after school and go to Coconuts (now FYE) and buy the CD. After struggling to get the plastic and the annoying sticker on the top of CD cases off, I popped the CD into my CD player that skipped if you took a deep breath and only worked when I held it upside down….and the rest is history.

The 2000′s were interesting….I grew and so did Hip-Hop. My favorite artist looked like he was on the way out. Jay-Z was getting big. I always went back to the Bronx alot after we moved, so the summer were still spent on the block. My best friend even said Nas was done. I was the only one on the block that said he would come back. When Ether dropped that winter, you better believe I was on the phone making calls!! That was the period I got into gangsta rap. i was into it before, but that’s when I got into it more. Mobb Deep, Cormega, Capone and Noreaga, all the New York rappers that came in and rapped about the street life were in rotation. Me and my friends rushed in EVERY FRIDAY to turn to 106 and Park (yes, when it was GOOD) to catch freestyle friday….man…this showed hip-Hop was universal…because this Chinese kid Jin..came through and CRUSHED THE BUILDINGS!!! Those were great days…

Then came High School. I thank it for starting to shape my taste in music today. That’s when I would share listening to music with one of my friends. That’s when I had the Nas in my CD player and that’s when as my favorite Tupac rivaled Nas, but also had the System of a Down and Linkin Park in my CD case. I was becoming rounded musically and it seemed Hip-Hop was just losing interest with me. I just didn’t relate anymore. The scene was changing. It was pop music, Ja Rule…Fat Joe…all the pop music/hip-hop had come in and I wasn;t really attracted to the gangsta lyrics as much because the beats didn’t catch me.

Then was the year…..the year of 50 Cent. This man that had came from about a 5-10 minute drive from where I lived. It wasn’t the lyrics that gained my attention, but his voice, flow….and those BEATS!! In Da Club…21 Questions…oh man, the boro was crazy at the time. You had to live in Queens during the time to get the full experience…the mixtapes….everywhere you went…Jamaica Ave…everywhere, just nothing but 50 Cent and G-Unit records. Funny thing is? Since then he’s become that pop artist that bored me before he came out…I can’t stand the man.

After High School, Hip-Hop took the back burner. My Mp3 player (as a recap, we’ve gone from radio on the block to tape player/radio to CD Player to MP3 player), was full of Linkin Park, System of a Down, Coldplay, Incibus, Metallica, etc etc. Hip-Hop was so watered down. I heard something that caught me from time to time, but I would always say Hip-Hop was dead (I’m waiting for that check from you Nas lol).

At this time Hip-Hop belonged to the South. I’m not a hater. Common once said “I’m not relatin’, If i dont like it, I dont like it…..It dont mean that i’m hatin’”. Hip-Hop had gone down South (Entendre…..don’t even ask me how). Funny thing is, I was going with it, right down to North Carolina. It was different from home. it was slower…and it seemed like the music was too. Sex, Drugs, Women, Cars, Money…..that’s what it had all become. My roommate blasted Plies records. I was on that “Hip-Hop is dead… and the South killed it”.

The same year, I changed rommates and he would always play these Hip-Hop songs that would have my head rockin’ back and forth. That’s when I was introduced to Little Brother for the first time. Where are they from? North Carolina. WHAT?! GTFOH.

Something connected that made me fall in love with Hip-Hop again. The beats were there…and there were CRAZY and they were smooth and jazzy….but the lyrics…the lyrics were REAL. It was stuff I could relate to. From that point on its the only Hip-Hop i listen to. I like conscious and just plain good hip-hop, it reminds me of the block in the 90′s. Nas was changing too, he has more positive messages in his music. I still loved my rock and alternative music, but hip-hop was alive.

It was alive, but there wasn’t that one rapper that I could always relate to…Nas was my favorite, but he’s from the streets of Queensbridge projects, so that stuff is still in his rhymes. That’s how he was raised. I was a black kid in college that listened to rock, read manga, watched anime, played video games, played baseball, and read books on communism and the illuminati….where was I going to get a artist that I could relate to?

This was the internet age…one day online I was downloading mixtapes and came across a gorillaz mashup tape. I was a fan of the gorillaz so I gave this new artist a listen. CRAZY TAPE! Flow was AMAZING, lyrics were killer but positive so I looked for more and found Fahrenheit 1/15 pt. 2…..this mixtape was CRAZY! A little while later, I found Kick, Push and the rest is history.

Lupe Fiasco isn’t only someone who I relate to, he makes other music I like….he has his own punk rock band, has mentioned things like wee ninjas, DBZ, etc in his rhymes.

These days, I love all music…..I’ve drifted from Hip-Hop again….I’ve accepted that it will never be the same, but you can always catch me with my Nas, Lupe Fiasco, and Little Brother albums going.

To me…Hip-Hop is like a love that has constantly been in and out of rehab….in and out of my life, and eventually died to me. However, it left behind a child in this new age of hip-hop….this underground and these news artists that spit intellectual lyrics over smooth beats so I can sit in my room in Queens in 2010 on my netbook and iTunes, close my eyes, and feel like i’m back on the block in the Bronx in the 90′s again.

I’m a guy. I enjoy Twilight. I’M NOT GAY.

There’s no team for us. No female vampires in small amounts of clothing….and that’s fine…..

Wait….no it’s not. Let do something Twilight fans haven’t done….and look at this from a male point of view. I’m not like one of the fan girls that yell, scream, and drool all over Taylor Lautner or Robert Pattinson.

But there is SOMETHING about Kristen Stewart. I haven’t been able to put my finger on it. There’s something about her that is drawing me closer to becoming a deranged fan of one of these characters. GIVE THIS WOMAN SOME CREDIT!!

She isn’t the symbol that Edward and Jacob are to the female fans of the series. You know, the model type guys with 12 pack abs who get on the movie screen and forget the concept of clothing. She’s just a normal person, one of those people who you can say is beautiful with their clothes on while looking awkward during most of the movie….and in interviews…..and while dropping trophies at award shows.

Give the male fans of this series some credit, i think Kristen is very marketable to male fans. Show us some thanks, because believe me, there aren’t that many of us.

They were on some late night show yesterday….Letterman perhaps. My best friend (who got me into all of this….a girl of course) kept talking about it so I changed the channel to it. Someone asked Kristen something along the lines of “Do you find yourself getting the attention from guys and the men on the cast get from girls?”. Obviously she answered no like the person who asked the question was completely insane. It shouldn’t be like that. Maybe i’m biased because I’m a guy….but shes pretty damn beautiful and deserves the same amount of attention.

I’m sure i’ll end up seeing this movie with my best friend sooner or later. There’s a possibility i’ll go opening night and that thought scares me. I’ll be sure to bring some earplugs for when the guys appear on screen…..and shrug it off when Kristen gets no reaction lol. Oh well, it’s a good series, but I understand what demographic it’s intended for.

-Team Bella-

I LOVE anime and manga. I must take this time to thank Japan for making life interesting and enjoyable. From video games, electronics, etc, Japan has single handedly made life enjoyable.

There are many different manga and anime series. Manga being in written “comic” form and Anime being the animated version. Sometimes, they differ from each other. I’m not sure the Dragonball series can ever be replaced as my favorite anime of all time, but Rurouni Kenshin sure gave it a run for its money, and if not for the unfortunate fact that half of the Rurouni Kenshin manga was never animated, it may hold the title of greatest.

However, I’m sure its content as being the greatest manga of all time. A brilliant mix of Japanese history, romance, tragedy, action….I mean it has everything to go with an amazing story line.

The story is about a boy named Shinta who was sold into slavery as a child and saved by a sword master when his new family was slaughtered by bandits. In the middle of nowhere, the sword master leaves the boy and tells him to live his life in memory of his family that have been killed. Thinking the boy would most likely commit suicide, he comes back the next morning to look for him….only to discover the boy dug graves for not only his family, but the bandits as well. At this point, the sword master renames the boy Kenshin, and takes him in to teach him the secrets of Hiten Mitsurugi Swordsmanship, a legendary style that is used to protect the lives of people.

However, when he is a teenager, a war shapes up in Japan and millions are dying below them. His master begs Kenshin not to go knowing that whatever side he choses will win, but also he will be turned into a murderer. Kenshin, just wanting to stop the suffering of people, decides to ignore this and joins the war against the Shogunate to try to bring an era of peace to Japan. With the unbeatable Hiten Mitsurugi, he brings peace to Japan, but in the process he kills hundreds and hundreds of people, earning the name Hitokiri Battosai (Battosai the Man Slayer) and the title of strongest swordsman in Japan…striking fear into all the oppose and in a tragic turn of evens, receiving a cross shaped scar on his left cheek . After winning the war, Kenshin leaves Kyoto without a trace to wander Japan and vowing, for some reason (a shocking and very sad story when you get to it down the line….it also explains Kenshin cross-shaped scar), to never kill another person as long as he lives.

And then the story starts.

The story starts in Tokyo 10 years after Kenshin leaves Kyoto…..he has wandered Japan for 10 years, yielding a reverse blade sword (which is incapable of killing), doing anything in his power to save lives and repent for his sins as Hitokiri Battosai.

It only goes up from there.

I could go on and on….but I would sit here and type up the whole plot. It’s such a genius manga, and I wish the whole thing could have been animated. I would recommend it to anyone.

The stadium is….big and holds expensive stuff….but I don’t know. It seems kind of bland. I wont complain about the cushioned seats though.

It was the firs time the Jets took the field at the new stadium and we Jets fans came to show our support to the team and new comers such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor, and Santonio Holmes.

Mark Sanchez looked very sharp coming off knee surgery, showing arm strength and accuracy.

Backup Kellen Clemens started off with a bang…..immediately throwing into double coverage and being picked off.

LT looked very sharp and looks like he could return to form and become an impact player for this team.

Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards were running sharp and fast routes making one-handed grabs look routine.

I can forget the chants of “Please pay Revis”, in reference to Darrelle Revis’ ongoing contract negotiations with the club. Today, he showed why he is worthy of being the highest paid corner in the league.

Speaking of contract negotiations, Nick Mangold also participated in all activites.

All in all, it’s looking like it will be a very special season.

That being said, here are my 5 albums I’m tired of waiting for my 5 most anticipated studio albums of 2010:

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5. The Roots – How I Got Over

What a great surprise this announcement was a year or so back. After releasing Rising Down in 2008, i thought that was it for the Roots….as they stated that it would be their last album. Thankfully, that’s not the case, as their 9th studio album, How I Got Over, is due to hit store June 22, 2010.

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4. N.E.R.D. – Nothing

N.E.R.D. has never disappointed. Chad, Pharrell, and Shay are back with “Nothing”, their follow up to the pure work of brilliance that was Seeing Sounds. Their 4th studio album is set to be released on September 7, 2010, off the strength of their  single Hot-n-Fun, which features Nelly Furtado.

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3. Common – The Believer

He’s back. You might say “He’s back? Where did he go? He just released Universal Mind Control.” Congratulations, you just answered your own question (those are my teacher skills at work). Universal Mind Control wassn’t bad….I enjoyed a few tracks off it. It just wasn’t Common. Now he’s back with the real Hip-Hop we know him for with his 9th studio album, The Believer, which is due to be released in December.

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2. Coldplay – TBA

I hope this is still on track to be released by the end of the year. There is still no title, but I still have hope. When does Coldplay disappoint? Never. In my mind, they have never made an album that isn’t a classic. A Rush Of Blood to the Head is probably the best album I’ve ever heard and Viva La Vida was a great album to add to their strong discography. Supposedly, their 5th studio album is due to be released this winter.

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If you know me well, you probably know number 1

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1. Lupe Fiasco – Lasers

I’ve never been on drugs, so I don’t know what crack addiction feels like. However, I’ve heard stories, seen movies, etc….and waiting for the release of this album has me feeling like a drug addict. I’ve been a fan of Lupe since High School. Since the Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape series, to his debut album Food and Liquor, and to his 2nd album, The Cool, which is probably my most played record of all time. I’ve been to concerts and purchased from his clothing line. Now, after the release of The Cool in 2007, Lupe announced his 3rd, and final, album L.U.P.End. We figured late 2008-early 2009…..and it all went downhill from there.

L.U.P.End was announced at a Haloween concert in…2008 i think…as a TRIPLE DISK ALBUM. I completely went insane. He said it would be out in 2009. Then (probably because his record label wouldn’t let him) he said it would be released as 3 separate albums….the first coming in the summer of ’09.

Then the album was cancelled.

But not to worry…a Lupe Fiasco album will still be released in summer ’09 called The Great American Rap Album! This summer is going to be great! I’ll be in China and there will be new Lupe while I’m over there!

Not so said the brown turtle. It was cancelled as well.

But no worries!! Enter Lasers. Lasers was announced in March of 2009. There have been 2 song officially released (Shining Down and I’m Beamin’), A music video, a 20 minute mixtape, a slew of guest appearances, interviews, tweets, and blog entries….even A WORLDWIDE TOUR to promote the album….but no album….not even a release date….not even a peep from Atlantic Records…but they say it will be out in 2010…so…..we’ll see.

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Honorable Mention

Kanye West – Good Ass Job

This will probably move up to as high as number 3. To me graduation was ok, but it was Late Registration and College Drop Out. After the release of the single, Power, I actually started checking for this album. Yeezy says he’s bringing it back to the real hip-hop, I hope so Mr. West.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those guys that think the series sucks. I happen to enjoy it and there’s just something about Kristen Stewart that…..well, let me just keep it PG and leave it at that. However, fan girls of this saga make me want to commit Japanese ritual suicide.

The movies have been pretty good, but I find myself being excited when a new movie comes around strictly for the soundtrack. Somehow, one of my favorite bands or artists always end up on these soundtracks.

For Twilight, there was Linkin Park, one of my favorite bands from my High School days. I couldn’t have gotten through High School without  Hybrid Theory. Of course, there is Paramore, with the lead single Decode. Overall, it was a good album.

Being that the soundtrack for twilight was good, I waited patiently for the tracklist for New Moon to be released.

Oh my God.

Lupe Fiasco?! If you know me, you know I’m probably the absolute biggest Lupe Fiasco fan you will ever meet. They’ve recruited Lupe to do a track for the Itunes release and have also recruited Thom Yorke from my favorite band, Radiohead, to contribute to the album. Another great soundtrack.

I don’t know how long ago the soundtrack for Eclipse was released, but for some reason I’ve been putting it off (Probably because I’ve been waiting for Lasers, Mr. Fiasco’s upcoming album, for about 2 years). So tonight, while searching Itunes for some new music, I decide to check out the tracklist.

They’ve done it again. UNKLE.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with UNKLE, they are an Electronica group from London. I was introduced to them in 2003 with the album Never, Never, Land. They’ve also collaborated with Thom Yorke and Lupe Fiasco.

The song is great. I’d expect nothing less from UNKLE. I’d post a youtube link or something…..but I think they’ve all been taken down.

I usually hate blends. They are all usually pretty bad and offbeat. It makes you wonder if people really lack rhythm that bad. However, there are some that catch on with me. I’m critical of music. i have $90 headphones, what did you expect?

But…this one. Blends my favorite rock  Alernative band (Coldplay) with my favorite Hip-Hop artist (Lupe Fiasco). A blend of Coldplay’s Lovers in Japan from their album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends and Lupe Fiasco’s Paris, Tokyo from his album The Cool.

It turned out awesome.

Meet Bagheera. Name sound familiar? Remember The Jungle Book? Theeere you go.

I’m shocked he sat still long enough for me to get this picture because he’s a ball of lightning energy.

This is my child. I’ve had him for what….9 years now? Amazing how he knows me better than most people.

So, the other morning at 6:30, dad lets him out in the yard as usual. he always does his business, and sits at the door when he’s done (and barks orders sometimes when he’s tired of waiting). he goes to let him and…..aaand he’s gone.

Lord. Have. Mercy.

This can’t be happening can it? 1 hour passes, 2 hours, 3 hours….3 hours of driving around the neighborhood, filing a missing dog report, and complete aggravation and worry. By the time I get back in, I’ve given up all hope….hopefully someone finds him and looks at his tags….but in the meantime, I need sleep before I go insane.

I lay down. Then I hear jingling sounds.

I run downstairs, open the door, and he runs in the hous and carries on as if nothing has happened -_-

It figures lol